Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica
"America's Finest Sports Fan Travel Club, May We Plan An Event Or Sports Travel For You?"
Sports Quote of the Day:
"The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score." ~ Bill Copeland, American Poet and Historian
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!! Game Scout: Bears at Vikings.
By Jeff Reynolds, The Sports Xchange
“I told you you’d have a pick against Baltimore,” Bennett yelled to Bostic, who laughed. “I think I should get a piece of your check!”
Bostic laughed again (but didn’t reach for his checkbook — this isn’t Miami, after all).
The by-play was nothing special and yet was in its way, telling, as were assorted members of the defense walking off the Walter Payton Center practice field with members of the offense.
Teams where one side of the ball is performing at a very high level — the Bears rank fourth in the NFL in scoring — and the other is near qualifying for federal disaster relief — the Bears rank 28th in points allowed and among the NFL’s worst in nearly every significant statistical category — can start to splinter. Do the math: players on one side of the ball string together failures; team loses; players lose playoff money or more; wives, girlfriends, hangers-on, players themselves, whomever see bonus money evaporating. Everybody gets testy.
It still could. But it is decidedly not happening with the 2013 Bears, for some interesting reasons.
“We’re a close team,” Bennett told CSNChicago.com. “Everybody is busting their (tails) every day, putting in the work, and sometimes it just doesn’t go your way.”
Bad antecedents
But some very good teams have splintered into deadly factions. In Chicago.
Matters in 1963 between a dominant defense and a bumbling offense were so bad that, after the defense had registered yet another stop, a defensive lineman bellowed at the offense coming onto the field, “OK, just hold ‘em!” The dominant defensive team of the decade had just two winning seasons the rest of the decade.
Relations between the offense and defense on the 1985-86 teams were nothing short of open hostility at times, not necessarily because of incompetence but just simply because of personalities. The team that should have won multiple Super Bowls never reached another one.
This season still has five games to run and anything, good or bad, is still possible. The Bears still have a winning record and are tied for first in the NFC North at 6-5, and if catastrophes like St. Louis recur, mood swings have happened over less.
“When you're part of a team everybody is pulling their weight and doing what they can to get their job done,” quarterback Josh McCown said. “And when one side maybe doesn't perform as well as they'd like to, it's not the mark of a good team or great team to look at that side and say, 'well, that's why.'”
Shared blame
No one is harder on the defense than the defense. Linebacker Lance Briggs issued a direct challenge on his Comcast SportsNet show Tuesday: “It just really comes down to heart, right here, what you’ve got in here.” Briggs said, tapping his chest. “You’ve got to make a play. Period.
“It’s too bad that collectively so many guys didn’t get the job done play after play.”
And if the offense were to begin grumbling about the run defense costing them games, consider that a case of short-term memory loss.
The Bears do not win the Minnesota, New York Giants or Baltimore games without defensive scores:
— Tim Jennings TD interception return — Bears 31, Vikings 30 (four Bears offensive giveaways)
— Tim Jennings TD interception return — Bears 27, Giants 21
— David Bass TD interception return — Bears 23, Ravens 20
“We all pull together,” McCown said, “because they've certainly, especially over the years and even this year certainly, done their fair share of taking over games, too, and causing turnovers and doing the things that they do. So we're a team and we're together, and that's really all it is.”
And it wasn’t the defense that couldn’t score on four snaps from the St. Louis 4-yard line or needed eight trips to the line of scrimmage and two Rams penalties to score from the St. Louis 1-yard line last Sunday.
“We (on offense) just have to do our part because there are going to be games where we’re not scoring and they’re stopping everybody, and games where the other team’s offense is doing well,” Bennett said.
Practice partners
Coach Marc Trestman brought in a practice program that includes the No. 1 offense and defense matched against each other on occasion during the week. Rather than simply practice-squad and backup players running scout-team plays for the other unit, starters are going against starters in designated situations.
Coaches think they know players. Sometimes they actually do. Players definitely do know players. Meaning: What members of the Bears’ offense are seeing in practice against their counterparts has left an impression.
“We do go against each other, sometimes one-on-one, so you see what guys are doing and how hard they’re working,” Bennett said. “I run scout team, and I know how hard I have to work to get open just in practice.
“You never know what’s going to happen on any day. Don’t worry about somebody else doing their job. Do yours. Me, I just pull for those (defensive) guys to make plays.”
By Jeff Reynolds, The Sports Xchange
Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, at Mall of America Field, Minneapolis - TV: FOX
*TV announcers: Thom Brennaman, Brian Billick, Laura Okmin
*Keys to the game: Long, time-consuming drives are the order of the day from Bears coach Marc Trestman, who needs the offense to play keep-away to minimize the self-inflicted damage of his defense. Chicago hogged the ball last week -- for 36 minutes in St. Louis -- but a putrid run defense giving up an NFL-worst 145.2 yards per game is a handicap. The Bears will play man defense, with one safety, hoping to hem in RB Adrian Peterson. Hamstring and groin problems are slowing Peterson, but a season-high 146 yards on 32 carries in last week's tie against the Packers are an indication he's ready to be fed against Chicago's pliable front seven. QB Josh McCown is mobile, but he hasn't done much damage outside the pocket and will be wary of venturing outside the tackles with DE Jared Allen and Brian Robison lingering. More could fall to McCown if RB Matt Forte (knee) is on a pitch count. If the Bears beat the initial jam at the line of scrimmage, big WRs Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall could do significant damage against the Vikings defensive backs.
*Matchup to watch - Vikings CB Marcus Sherels vs. Bears WR Alshon Jeffery: Josh Robinson and Xavier Rhodes are hurt and A.J. Jefferson was released. Sherels, a 5-10, 180-pound corner stands a small chance holding back the 6-5 Jeffery, who has 58 catches and is on his way to a 1,000-yard second year in the NFL (860 yards).
*Player spotlight - Bears RS Devin Hester: A return touchdown in the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis was called back last week. Hester has one return touchdown this season, but had 249 kickoff-return yards against the Vikings Sept. 15.
*Fast facts - The Bears have allowed 49 rushes of 10-plus yards this season. ... Vikings PK Blair Walsh (2012) and Bears PK Robbie Gould are the only two kickers with 12 straight made field goals from 50-plus yards.
WHO WILL WIN AND WHY
Adrian Peterson can keep the Vikings in the game and even win it on his own. But if Chicago can get on the board early and often, the Vikings will have to throw into the teeth of the Bears defense.
*Our pick: Bears 24-19
No antagonism between 'O' and 'D' with Tresman Bears.
By John Mullin
Bears Coach Marc Tresman
Linebacker Jonathan Bostic was waiting after practice on Wednesday for fellow rookie Khaseem Greene to finish with an interview. Few Bears had struggled more than Bostic in the loss at St. Louis, but Martellus Bennett reminded him of something else.
“I told you you’d have a pick against Baltimore,” Bennett yelled to Bostic, who laughed. “I think I should get a piece of your check!”
Bostic laughed again (but didn’t reach for his checkbook — this isn’t Miami, after all).
The by-play was nothing special and yet was in its way, telling, as were assorted members of the defense walking off the Walter Payton Center practice field with members of the offense.
Teams where one side of the ball is performing at a very high level — the Bears rank fourth in the NFL in scoring — and the other is near qualifying for federal disaster relief — the Bears rank 28th in points allowed and among the NFL’s worst in nearly every significant statistical category — can start to splinter. Do the math: players on one side of the ball string together failures; team loses; players lose playoff money or more; wives, girlfriends, hangers-on, players themselves, whomever see bonus money evaporating. Everybody gets testy.
It still could. But it is decidedly not happening with the 2013 Bears, for some interesting reasons.
“We’re a close team,” Bennett told CSNChicago.com. “Everybody is busting their (tails) every day, putting in the work, and sometimes it just doesn’t go your way.”
Bad antecedents
But some very good teams have splintered into deadly factions. In Chicago.
Matters in 1963 between a dominant defense and a bumbling offense were so bad that, after the defense had registered yet another stop, a defensive lineman bellowed at the offense coming onto the field, “OK, just hold ‘em!” The dominant defensive team of the decade had just two winning seasons the rest of the decade.
Relations between the offense and defense on the 1985-86 teams were nothing short of open hostility at times, not necessarily because of incompetence but just simply because of personalities. The team that should have won multiple Super Bowls never reached another one.
This season still has five games to run and anything, good or bad, is still possible. The Bears still have a winning record and are tied for first in the NFC North at 6-5, and if catastrophes like St. Louis recur, mood swings have happened over less.
“When you're part of a team everybody is pulling their weight and doing what they can to get their job done,” quarterback Josh McCown said. “And when one side maybe doesn't perform as well as they'd like to, it's not the mark of a good team or great team to look at that side and say, 'well, that's why.'”
Shared blame
No one is harder on the defense than the defense. Linebacker Lance Briggs issued a direct challenge on his Comcast SportsNet show Tuesday: “It just really comes down to heart, right here, what you’ve got in here.” Briggs said, tapping his chest. “You’ve got to make a play. Period.
“It’s too bad that collectively so many guys didn’t get the job done play after play.”
And if the offense were to begin grumbling about the run defense costing them games, consider that a case of short-term memory loss.
The Bears do not win the Minnesota, New York Giants or Baltimore games without defensive scores:
— Tim Jennings TD interception return — Bears 31, Vikings 30 (four Bears offensive giveaways)
— Tim Jennings TD interception return — Bears 27, Giants 21
— David Bass TD interception return — Bears 23, Ravens 20
“We all pull together,” McCown said, “because they've certainly, especially over the years and even this year certainly, done their fair share of taking over games, too, and causing turnovers and doing the things that they do. So we're a team and we're together, and that's really all it is.”
And it wasn’t the defense that couldn’t score on four snaps from the St. Louis 4-yard line or needed eight trips to the line of scrimmage and two Rams penalties to score from the St. Louis 1-yard line last Sunday.
“We (on offense) just have to do our part because there are going to be games where we’re not scoring and they’re stopping everybody, and games where the other team’s offense is doing well,” Bennett said.
Practice partners
Coach Marc Trestman brought in a practice program that includes the No. 1 offense and defense matched against each other on occasion during the week. Rather than simply practice-squad and backup players running scout-team plays for the other unit, starters are going against starters in designated situations.
Coaches think they know players. Sometimes they actually do. Players definitely do know players. Meaning: What members of the Bears’ offense are seeing in practice against their counterparts has left an impression.
“We do go against each other, sometimes one-on-one, so you see what guys are doing and how hard they’re working,” Bennett said. “I run scout team, and I know how hard I have to work to get open just in practice.
“You never know what’s going to happen on any day. Don’t worry about somebody else doing their job. Do yours. Me, I just pull for those (defensive) guys to make plays.”
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Musings: Blackhawks' successful trek through Canada.
By Tracey Myers
The Chicago Blackhawks couldn’t have had a better trek through Canada on their annual circus trip.
They’re on a four-game winning streak, picking up all possible eight points on their northern-neighbor teams. Some came convincingly (please see Edmonton), others came with just a touch of drama (last night in Calgary). Whichever way you cut it, the Blackhawks are 4-1-0 on their circus trip heading into the final two games.
But before we get to the weekend back-to-back, and before everyone delves into a day of turkey, tryptophan hangovers and football, let’s visit some random musings on the Blackhawks’ last few games.
1. Congratulations to Antti Raanta on his first NHL victory. The rookie won Rockford teammates and coaches over with his affable personality and strong work ethic, and he’s doing the same with the Chicago group. Raanta didn’t have to be dazzling against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night, although he did show flashes of brilliance on the point-blank shots Calgary threw his way. Will he play again vs. Dallas? As coach Joel Quenneville often says, “we’ll see.” With the back-to-back against the Stars and Phoenix on Friday and Saturday, it’s possible. Even if he doesn’t, Raanta showed the Blackhawks that, despite having little North American experience heading into training camp, he’s a quick learner.
2. The one guy possibly more thrilled than Raanta last night may be Corey Crawford, who didn’t have to relieve on a scheduled night off for the first time since Oct. 24.
3. Why are we still surprised when Patrick Kane does what he does? We know the Blackhawks right wing has a bottomless bag of tricks when it comes to his shots, and he grabbed two more out of that on Wednesday in Calgary. Yes, the first one was as lucky as lucky can be; even Kane admitted that. But Kane has two assets that every great NHL scorer has: great hands and the penchant to take a shot — any shot. Hey, you saw the results. He extended his point streak to 12 games, a career best, and we wouldn’t be surprised if he tacked on a few more games to that.
4. Speaking of point streaks, Kane is just six games away from tying the record for point streak by a U.S.-born player at 18. The two other U.S.-born players who have done it: Phil Kessel and former Chicago Blackhawks player/current broadcaster Eddie Olczyk.
5. Marian Hossa said he “felt good for missing so much (hockey) lately” after Wednesday night’s game, his first since the Blackhawks played Winnipeg on Thursday night. Back after attending to a family emergency that thankfully got better, Hossa once again wondered how his timing would be. Shockingly enough, it was fine. Strong on the puck, making plays, it was like Hossa never missed a shift. His teammates don’t even question his readiness. “He always talks about timing and rust but I’ve seen him take weeks off and step right in and be a top player,” Patrick Sharp said. “There are no worries with Hoss. We’re just glad he’s back.”
6. Niklas Hjalmarsson just quietly goes about having a great season for the Blackhawks. The defenseman has said the past few seasons he wanted to add more offense to his repertoire. This season he’s doing it; he recorded two more assists on Wednesday and now has 12 points in his first 26 games. He had 10 points in the 2012-13 regular season. Hjalmarsson admitted he’s extra motivated by the possibility of making Sweden’s Olympic roster. You have to think he’ll be heading to Sochi this winter.
7. Remember when the Blackhawks struggled to score third-period goals? Yeah, neither do we.
8. The Blackhawks are making November their quick-strike month. Three times this month they’ve scored twice within a minute: last night at Calgary (Kane and Sharp in 56 seconds), Saturday at Vancouver (Andrew Shaw and Marcus Kruger in nine seconds) and Nov. 9 at Dallas (Hossa and Hjalmarsson, who had an empty netter, in 34 seconds).
9. The Dallas Stars, Chicago’s next opponent, had their own quick-strike moment on Tuesday, scoring three goals in 53 seconds in a 6-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. Friday could be a goaltender’s nightmare.
10. Remember when the Blackhawks couldn’t score power-play goals? Yeah, neither do we.
11. Duncan Keith has been among the game stars lately, and rightfully so. He’s been a beast again this season and has to be in the Norris Trophy talk. It’s a tough field — Wild defenseman Ryan Suter’s going to be in the mix again and so should Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who just quietly goes about his business in Phoenix. But there’s a lot of season left; and if Keith keeps this up he deserves strong consideration.
12. Brandon Saad needs to be selected for Team USA. We’re going to keep harping on this until it happens. And if it doesn’t happen we’re going to harp about that.
13. We love the cause that Movember represents but let’s be honest: there are some odd and creepy mustaches growing out there. Here’s to a clean-shaven December.
14. Before we enter our own turkey-induced coma we wish you all a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving. See you back at the rink on Friday.
(Getty Images)
They’re on a four-game winning streak, picking up all possible eight points on their northern-neighbor teams. Some came convincingly (please see Edmonton), others came with just a touch of drama (last night in Calgary). Whichever way you cut it, the Blackhawks are 4-1-0 on their circus trip heading into the final two games.
But before we get to the weekend back-to-back, and before everyone delves into a day of turkey, tryptophan hangovers and football, let’s visit some random musings on the Blackhawks’ last few games.
1. Congratulations to Antti Raanta on his first NHL victory. The rookie won Rockford teammates and coaches over with his affable personality and strong work ethic, and he’s doing the same with the Chicago group. Raanta didn’t have to be dazzling against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night, although he did show flashes of brilliance on the point-blank shots Calgary threw his way. Will he play again vs. Dallas? As coach Joel Quenneville often says, “we’ll see.” With the back-to-back against the Stars and Phoenix on Friday and Saturday, it’s possible. Even if he doesn’t, Raanta showed the Blackhawks that, despite having little North American experience heading into training camp, he’s a quick learner.
2. The one guy possibly more thrilled than Raanta last night may be Corey Crawford, who didn’t have to relieve on a scheduled night off for the first time since Oct. 24.
4. Speaking of point streaks, Kane is just six games away from tying the record for point streak by a U.S.-born player at 18. The two other U.S.-born players who have done it: Phil Kessel and former Chicago Blackhawks player/current broadcaster Eddie Olczyk.
5. Marian Hossa said he “felt good for missing so much (hockey) lately” after Wednesday night’s game, his first since the Blackhawks played Winnipeg on Thursday night. Back after attending to a family emergency that thankfully got better, Hossa once again wondered how his timing would be. Shockingly enough, it was fine. Strong on the puck, making plays, it was like Hossa never missed a shift. His teammates don’t even question his readiness. “He always talks about timing and rust but I’ve seen him take weeks off and step right in and be a top player,” Patrick Sharp said. “There are no worries with Hoss. We’re just glad he’s back.”
6. Niklas Hjalmarsson just quietly goes about having a great season for the Blackhawks. The defenseman has said the past few seasons he wanted to add more offense to his repertoire. This season he’s doing it; he recorded two more assists on Wednesday and now has 12 points in his first 26 games. He had 10 points in the 2012-13 regular season. Hjalmarsson admitted he’s extra motivated by the possibility of making Sweden’s Olympic roster. You have to think he’ll be heading to Sochi this winter.
7. Remember when the Blackhawks struggled to score third-period goals? Yeah, neither do we.
8. The Blackhawks are making November their quick-strike month. Three times this month they’ve scored twice within a minute: last night at Calgary (Kane and Sharp in 56 seconds), Saturday at Vancouver (Andrew Shaw and Marcus Kruger in nine seconds) and Nov. 9 at Dallas (Hossa and Hjalmarsson, who had an empty netter, in 34 seconds).
9. The Dallas Stars, Chicago’s next opponent, had their own quick-strike moment on Tuesday, scoring three goals in 53 seconds in a 6-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. Friday could be a goaltender’s nightmare.
10. Remember when the Blackhawks couldn’t score power-play goals? Yeah, neither do we.
11. Duncan Keith has been among the game stars lately, and rightfully so. He’s been a beast again this season and has to be in the Norris Trophy talk. It’s a tough field — Wild defenseman Ryan Suter’s going to be in the mix again and so should Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who just quietly goes about his business in Phoenix. But there’s a lot of season left; and if Keith keeps this up he deserves strong consideration.
12. Brandon Saad needs to be selected for Team USA. We’re going to keep harping on this until it happens. And if it doesn’t happen we’re going to harp about that.
13. We love the cause that Movember represents but let’s be honest: there are some odd and creepy mustaches growing out there. Here’s to a clean-shaven December.
14. Before we enter our own turkey-induced coma we wish you all a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving. See you back at the rink on Friday.
Blackhawks-Stars Preview.
By ELI KABERON (STATS Writer)
By ELI KABERON (STATS Writer)
The Dallas Stars finally won again on home ice. They'll look to make it two in a row Friday night against one of the best road teams in the NHL.
"We want to establish ourselves as a good home team," Robidas said. "We want to take pride and play well at home in front of our fans. We haven't been able to do it this year, and we want to make a statement that it is going to be tough to play in our building. We've got to keep moving and keep getting better."
The Stars (12-9-2) trailed 2-1 entering the third period, but scored four unanswered goals in less than seven minutes en route to exceeding their goal total of the previous three games by one.
"I thought our fans were awesome, and got behind us. The energy in the building was tremendous," coach Lindy Ruff said. "We might have had to have a little bottle of NoDoz after the first period, but we woke them up in the third."
To win two in a row at home for the second time this season, the Stars will have to top a Blackhawks team they've struggled against recently. Chicago has won the past five meetings, the most recent a 5-2 victory Nov. 9 in Dallas.
Batum headed up the court and Rose turned to get back on defense, but as he turned he planted awkwardly on his right knee and was left hopping and limping his way off the court. It definitely didn't look good, but surely it couldn't be as bad as 2012 when Rose tore his ACL in his left knee and missed the 2012-2013 season in its entirety, could it?
Finish at, or really anywhere close to the bottom, you get a chance to jump-start your franchise by selecting from a myriad of highly touted one-and-done college players. These are the true dregs of the league, the Utah Jazz, the Sacramento Kings, and whether they want to believe it or not, the Milwaukee Bucks.
A four-game losing streak and a devastating injury to their best player had the Chicago Bulls reeling. A game against the Detroit Pistons came at just the right time.
Small forward Luol Deng scored a season-high 27 points as the Bulls ended their skid by toppling the Detroit Pistons 99-79 on Wednesday at The Palace. Forward Taj Gibson had a season-high 23 points for Chicago (7-7), which has defeated the Pistons in 19 of the last 20 meetings.
It's the first win for Chicago since star point guard Derrick Rose suffered another season-ending knee injury in Portland on Friday. The Bulls were blown out by the Los Angeles Clippers two nights later, then fell in overtime to the downtrodden Utah Jazz before regaining their footing against their Central Division rival.
Chicago moves to allow the Cubs to sell beer outside of Wrigley Field. What's your take?
Officials from the sanctioning body made the announcement Wednesday afternoon, just days after court documents and a special city council meeting indicated that a transfer of ownership was imminent.
NASCAR announced it will host a special event Dec. 12 in Des Moines to outline further details of the purchase and plans for 2014 and beyond. According to Wednesday's news release, "NASCAR has no plans for Iowa Speedway to host a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race next year or in the immediate future."
The sale -- made to a wholly owned subsidiary of NASCAR called Iowa Speedway, LLC -- is the latest development in an offseason of change for the 0.875-mile asphalt track in Newton, Iowa.
Doug Fritz resigned as the speedway's CEO on Sept. 9, one day after the track concluded its 2013 racing schedule.
The track was formerly owned by U.S. Motorsport Corp., with minority ownership from NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Rusty Wallace, who also served as the track's designer.
Wallace will continue to have a role with the track -- located on Rusty Wallace Drive in Newton -- under its new ownership.
The facility, located approximately 30 miles east of Des Moines, has 30,000 permanent grandstand seats.
"Iowa Speedway is a great entertainment facility with a very bright future," said Eric Nyquist, NASCAR vice president, strategic development. "The facility has the support of the region, it's positioned well in the heart of the Midwest, and year in and year out it provides great short-track racing action for motorsports fans.
"NASCAR ownership will allow us to draw on the entire resources of our company. It also provides us with the opportunity to execute first-hand a number of entertainment ideas and engagement opportunities with fans -- much of which we have outlined repeatedly as the core of our Industry Action Plan."
Iowa Speedway has three NASCAR national series events scheduled in 2014 -- May 18 and Aug. 2 for the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and July 11 for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Two races for the combined East and West divisions of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series are also scheduled, as is a July 12 event for the IndyCar Series.
The track opened in 2006 and played host to its first NASCAR national series events three years later, with Brad Keselowski (Nationwide) and Mike Skinner (Truck Series) the inaugural Iowa winners. Joey Logano edged Kevin Harvick to win the first NASCAR event of any type on the 7/8-mile layout, capturing a K&N Pro Series event in May 2007 -- just four days before his 17th birthday.
US soccer tabs Altidore, Wambach athletes of year.
Thankfully, we’ve been treated to some really good finals in recent years, which isn’t always the case in pro sports. The problem is, the date of the game has moved around too much as the league has grown and the schedule expanded.
As recently as two years ago, everyone around MLS always circled Thanksgiving as a date when the marathon season was over. Cup was done and dusted and everyone welcomed a break before hitting the reset button.
But last year, with 19 teams stretching the schedule further than ever, we had the first MLS Cup in December. This year, it’s pushed even a week later than last and probably won’t change drastically in 2014.
That’s a problem in my mind. As Major League Soccer approaches a landmark television deal and wraps its arms around how it’s going to be among the biggest and most popular leagues in the world by the end of the decade, it needs to keep working to solidify a consistent image.
Part of that is by giving fans and potential fans a better idea of exactly where and when to find it. Commissioner Don Garber has acknowledged as much, and it’s no secret why the league has scheduled more and more Friday night games over the past few years, culminating with 25 in 2014 – the most ever.
The hope is that perhaps Friday can become to MLS what Saturday is to the English Premier League, or what Monday night is to the NFL. Those are days essentially branded by those leagues, and fans literally plan out their weeks with the games in mind.
But there’s an easier way to start, too. These leagues are also well-known for their showpiece events. That means Thanksgiving Day games for American football, and for every single professional team in the UK, matches on Boxing Day. College football still maintains high-profile bowl games on New Years Day. The NBA has scored a hit with big-ticket games on Christmas.
Fans know where and when to find these games, and they flock to them as part of their holiday experience.
MLS wants to drive its flag deeper into the American sporting landscape? Well, this is the way to do it. Make MLS Cup a tradition by giving it an established, traditional time slot during the festive season.
Funny enough, this has been considered by the execs in Midtown Manhattan. Scheduling Cup on Thanksgiving Day has been suggested in the past, but was an idea that was quickly passed over due to a number of logistical reasons that are legitimate ones: limited TV time slots, big competition from the NFL and prohibitively expensive travel for teams, fans and league employees.
That makes perfect sense, especially over the past decade. But I believe that if MLS is to realize its ambitions of a more prominent place at the world table, it’s going to have to figure out a way to take these sacred cows head on at some point.
Maybe claiming Thanksgiving Day proper is the wrong fight. But what’s wrong with branding Black Friday as MLS Cup day? Or even the Saturday after Thanksgiving?
It’s time to make a new Thanksgiving tradition, and that could start right here if the league were willing to take a chance like this.
Otherwise, we’ll all just remember this time of year as the anniversary of the Butt Fumble.
America can do a lot better than that.
By Rob Dauster
It’s no secret that the biggest story in college basketball this season is the freshmen class: Jabari Parker, Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle, Aaron Gordon.
Those guys are superstars. They’ve been talked about as high schoolers. They’re already being talked about as the savior of NBA franchises. There’s a reason that the Champions Classic, which featured three of those four freshmen, got massive ratings.
But is that a good thing for the sport?
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski says no.
“Nationally, I’m a little bit worried that that is always becoming a thing,” Krzyzewski told reporters Tuesday. “I think part of it is that people who show our games show NBA, too. So, the constant thought is cross-promoting.”
“I love ESPN, and I think they should do whatever they want to do. But what I’m saying is, in some ways, we as a college basketball community should not completely buy into that.”
Coach K also said that two guys that he coached with Team USA this summer, Marcus Smart and Doug McDermott, should be getting more attention.
“These kids [the freshmen] are all great, don’t get me wrong,” he said. “But there are other great kids. Two kids who played in the summer for me in a five-day mini camp in Vegas with 28 other NBA players were McDermott and Smart. Well, they’re two of the best players in the country. They may be the two best.”
Coach K has a point. What the one-and-done rule has done is force college basketball’s biggest stars, the guys that NBA fans can watch and “scout” and imagine leading their team to the NBA finals, into one-year stopovers at the collegiate level. But it has also made college basketball that much more relevant. Star power attracts viewers. People want to witness greatness, and while I would love to see those four freshmen spend three or four years playing at the collegiate level, it ain’t gonna happen.
The one-and-done rule is here to stay, and frankly, it’s a good thing for college basketball. Getting these talents onto a college campus, even for a year, is a good thing for the sport. It’s a good thing for coaches landing recruits like Jabari Parker, Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones and Justise Winslow. It’s a good thing for fans that enjoy watching awesome basketball players and it’s a good thing for writers that love writing about awesome basketball players.
You don’t like freshmen being stars? You want them on campus longer? Give them a way to tap into their value. I bet if Jabari Parker could make a comparable amount in college to what he can make in the NBA, he’d be much more likely to hang around for more than one season.
Dates set for three 2014 gridiron games at Wembley.
AFP
Dates were announced Thursday for the National Football League's unprecedented three regular-season games in London in 2014, all of them at Wembley Stadium.
The Raiders, Falcons and Jaguars will be designated as home teams for their respective contests. Jacksonville began a run of playing one home game a season for four years in London this season.
The Dolphins will make their first trip to England next year since facing the New York Giants in 2007 in the first NFL regular-season game staged in London. Dallas, Detroit, Atlanta and Oakland will play in London for the first time in 2014.
The Stars ended a drawn-out four-game home skid with an impressive victory over one of the top clubs in the league, and they'll now face another in the Chicago Blackhawks.
Dallas defeated Anaheim 6-3 on Tuesday as Cody Eakin, Stephane Robidas and Ryan Garbutt scored in a 53-second span of the third period, giving the Stars their first win at the American Airlines Center since Oct. 24. A road-heavy schedule during that time limited their chances to get a victory on home ice, where Dallas is 4-3-2."We want to establish ourselves as a good home team," Robidas said. "We want to take pride and play well at home in front of our fans. We haven't been able to do it this year, and we want to make a statement that it is going to be tough to play in our building. We've got to keep moving and keep getting better."
The Stars (12-9-2) trailed 2-1 entering the third period, but scored four unanswered goals in less than seven minutes en route to exceeding their goal total of the previous three games by one.
"I thought our fans were awesome, and got behind us. The energy in the building was tremendous," coach Lindy Ruff said. "We might have had to have a little bottle of NoDoz after the first period, but we woke them up in the third."
To win two in a row at home for the second time this season, the Stars will have to top a Blackhawks team they've struggled against recently. Chicago has won the past five meetings, the most recent a 5-2 victory Nov. 9 in Dallas.
At 9-3-1, the Blackhawks are tied for the league lead in road victories and they've won four in a row since dropping the opener of a season high-tying seven-game trip.
The latest win came Wednesday against Calgary, as the Blackhawks (18-4-4) rallied from a 2-0 third-period deficit for a 3-2 victory. Patrick Kane scored twice, including the winner with 18 seconds remaining.
Kane extended his point streak to 12 straight games, during which he has eight goals and nine assists.
''It's nice to be on a streak like that, try to produce consistently. I think the biggest thing is just to try and go into every game with a clean slate and take it for what it is,'' Kane said. ''You have the chance to play with good players, playing on a pretty hot power play right now, you're going to get some points.''
Kane has 15 goals on the season, and the Blackhawks' 95 easily lead the league. They've scored at least five goals eight times during a 12-2-1 surge.
Kane had a goal and an assist Nov. 9 to give him two goals and seven assists during a five-game point streak against Dallas.
Patrick Sharp added four assists in the last matchup with the Stars, and he has three goals and six assists in a three-game point streak in the series.
Corey Crawford got the night off in Calgary in favor of backup Antti Raanta, who earned the win in his first NHL start. Crawford has won four consecutive games at Dallas with a 1.49 goals-against average.
The latest win came Wednesday against Calgary, as the Blackhawks (18-4-4) rallied from a 2-0 third-period deficit for a 3-2 victory. Patrick Kane scored twice, including the winner with 18 seconds remaining.
Kane extended his point streak to 12 straight games, during which he has eight goals and nine assists.
''It's nice to be on a streak like that, try to produce consistently. I think the biggest thing is just to try and go into every game with a clean slate and take it for what it is,'' Kane said. ''You have the chance to play with good players, playing on a pretty hot power play right now, you're going to get some points.''
Kane has 15 goals on the season, and the Blackhawks' 95 easily lead the league. They've scored at least five goals eight times during a 12-2-1 surge.
Kane had a goal and an assist Nov. 9 to give him two goals and seven assists during a five-game point streak against Dallas.
Patrick Sharp added four assists in the last matchup with the Stars, and he has three goals and six assists in a three-game point streak in the series.
Corey Crawford got the night off in Calgary in favor of backup Antti Raanta, who earned the win in his first NHL start. Crawford has won four consecutive games at Dallas with a 1.49 goals-against average.
Just another Chicago Bulls Session… The Strange New Reality for the Chicago Bulls.
By Blake Baxter
COMMENTARY | It lasted just 10 games. The stats read: 15.9 points, 4.3 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 0.5 steals, 3.4 turnovers, and 31.1 minutes per game, with a .354 field-goal percentage, .844 free-throw percentage and a .340 three-point percentage.
On Friday November 22, 2013, in the third quarter against the surging Portland Trail Blazers, Bulls center Joakim Noah attempted to feed the ball down the baseline to a streaking Derrick Rose. Portland forward Nicolas Batum stepped in front of Rose and batted the ball away.
Batum headed up the court and Rose turned to get back on defense, but as he turned he planted awkwardly on his right knee and was left hopping and limping his way off the court. It definitely didn't look good, but surely it couldn't be as bad as 2012 when Rose tore his ACL in his left knee and missed the 2012-2013 season in its entirety, could it?
The next day an MRI indicated that Rose tore his meniscus in his right knee. The news prompted the Bulls and the collective basketball community to shake their heads in dismay. It appeared that the electrifying 2011-2012 NBA MVP was going to miss extended time yet again.
On Monday, their worst fears were confirmed as Rose underwent surgery and the Bulls made the announcement. Less than a month after Rose's highly anticipated return to the NBA, his season was over, and it lasted only 10 games.
But, for the Chicago Bulls, the season goes on and they have to face a sad, strange new reality. Before the season began, many predicted that the Bulls' always-tenacious defense coupled with the offensive firepower from a rested and rejuvenated Derrick Rose would make them one of the best teams in the league. That is not the case anymore. The Chicago Bulls are no longer good enough to be considered title contenders.
However, what is worse is that this is a season in which every team wants to be either at the top or at the bottom, anywhere in between is a road to no-man's land. Finish at or near the top, you get home-court advantage during the two-month marathon that is the NBA playoffs. These are the super powers and up-and-coming hopefuls, the San Antonio Spurs, the Miami Heat, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Indiana Pacers and many more.
Finish at, or really anywhere close to the bottom, you get a chance to jump-start your franchise by selecting from a myriad of highly touted one-and-done college players. These are the true dregs of the league, the Utah Jazz, the Sacramento Kings, and whether they want to believe it or not, the Milwaukee Bucks.
So, if the choices are go for it or bottom out, what should the Bulls do? On one hand, this was a team that was built to win this season, so why not roll the dice and worry about what it has instead of what it lacks. Well, that is exactly what the Bulls did last year with very impressive results. The 2012-2013 Bulls won 45 games, finished second in the Central Division, snapped the Miami Heat's ridiculous 27-game win streak, won their opening playoff series and had the sixth-best defensive rating in the league, all despite having one of the league's worst offenses.
The problem, however, is that the Bulls lack the depth that they had last year. Not having fiery little Nate Robinson puts far too much pressure on dependable but limited veteran guard Kirk Hinrich. Not having the versatile Marco Belinelli has also proved problematic. Mike Dunleavy Jr. has been solid, but not as dynamic. Although this has been an issue all season, with Rose's absence it becomes a much more glaring one. And, let's be honest, it's not like this team was exactly setting the world on fire even when it had Rose.
Before Rose's injury, the Bulls were 6-4, they lost three of their first four games of the season, and continued to struggle mightily on offense. However, they did manage to play better defensively as the young season progressed, handed a tough Pacers team their first loss of the season and won five games in a row before their brutal western road trip. They were a talented, promising team that definitely had a long way to go, yet it was hard to deny they had a good chance of getting there. Without Rose for the whole season, and without starting shooting guard Jimmy Butler for a few weeks with a toe injury, the Bulls are an unsightly shell of what they once were.
Some think the Bulls would be better off if they folded their cards and bottomed out to focus on next season. In order to do so, the first move would be to ship off their likable and ultra-versatile forward Luol Deng for lesser parts. Deng will be a free agent at year's end. He was a staple for the Scott Skiles, mid-2000s, Hinrich/Ben Gordon/Chris Duhon/Andres Nocioni Bulls teams that tangled with the Shaq/Dwyane Wade Heat teams in the playoffs, and has been an invaluable piece of the Derrick Rose/Tom Thibodeau era.
Deng is excellent on defense and does a little of everything on offense. He also covers more ground than any player in the league (a staggering 2.68 miles per game last season), save teammate Joakim Noah. He is due for a payday, and no one would want to see him get one more than Thibodeau. However, extension talks between Deng and the team fell apart before the season began, and it seems unlikely he will be a Bull in 2014-2015. Trading Deng would be the first sign that Chicago is waving the white flag this season.
However, considering the collectively awful condition of the Eastern Conference, it might be a pointless move. The East is so putrid that the Bulls probably couldn't miss the playoffs if they tried. But that is beside the point, because Tom Thibodeau is too proud of a coach to ever consider tanking; his teams will always be relentless, even if they are a little quixotic.
The new reality is that the Bulls are now just good enough to not miss the playoffs, but not good enough to make much noise during them.
Bulls end skid with win over Pistons.
By Dana Gauruder, The Sports Xchange
A four-game losing streak and a devastating injury to their best player had the Chicago Bulls reeling. A game against the Detroit Pistons came at just the right time.
Small forward Luol Deng scored a season-high 27 points as the Bulls ended their skid by toppling the Detroit Pistons 99-79 on Wednesday at The Palace. Forward Taj Gibson had a season-high 23 points for Chicago (7-7), which has defeated the Pistons in 19 of the last 20 meetings.
It's the first win for Chicago since star point guard Derrick Rose suffered another season-ending knee injury in Portland on Friday. The Bulls were blown out by the Los Angeles Clippers two nights later, then fell in overtime to the downtrodden Utah Jazz before regaining their footing against their Central Division rival.
"We feel for him, we were disappointed but we have to move on," said point guard Kirk Hinrich, who delivered 13 points and seven assists. "Nobody's going to feel sorry for us. The games are going to keep on coming and we just have to play well. It's important for us to rely on each other. We can't be down or let a cloud hang over us."
The Bulls won't be able to replace Rose's transcendent talent but they can still count on their usually suffocating defense. That wasn't apparent in the first half on Wednesday, when the Pistons shot 58.5 percent. They clamped down after the break, holding Detroit to 27.8 percent shooting and forcing nine turnovers.
"In the Clippers game, we were in a funk," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "I thought after that, our guys were great. They've been through this and they know what we have to do. They love Derrick, we all love Derrick and we've got to support him but we've got to do what we have to do and that's get ready for each and every opponent."
Rookie guard Tony Snell showed his readiness in his second career start, scoring a career-high 13 points. He made 3 of 5 3-pointers, a welcome sight for a team shooting 32.7 percent beyond the arc.
"All the hard work I've put in, it's finally showing," Snell said. "I've just got to go out and prove myself."
Reserve guard Rodney Stuckey poured in 25 points for Detroit (6-9), which had won two straight. Forward Josh Smith (13 points, 11 rebounds) and center Andre Drummond (10 points, 11 rebounds) added double-doubles but Detroit's starting five went AWOL in the second half, making just two of 18 field-goal attempts while committing eight turnovers.
"They obviously were a lot better in the second half than they were in the first half," Detroit coach Mo Cheeks said of the Bulls. "We couldn't score and a lot of it had to do with their defense. Their defensive pressure picked up in the third and fourth quarter."
Chicago defenders were much more active during the third quarter, forcing eight turnovers as the Bulls outscored Detroit 25-15 to take a 76-68 lead.
Stuckey got the Pistons into the bonus early in the fourth by driving to the basket and drawing contact. He shot six free throws in the first four minutes but the Bulls maintained the lead.
When center Joakim Noah (13 points) made a reverse layup with 6:12 left, the Bulls had their first double-digit advantage at 86-75. Hinrich's three-point play with 4:59 remaining extended the lead to 14 and the Pistons never threatened from that point.
"They played hard, played physical," said Pistons center Greg Monroe, who was held to five points and three rebounds. "I don't think we did a bad job against them. I could have played better but I think as a group we did a good job."
NOTES: Bulls SG Jimmy Butler missed his fifth straight game with a sprained toe. Detroit G Chauncey Billups didn't play for the eighth consecutive game because of knee tendinitis. ... Pistons coach Mo Cheeks called Chicago PG Derrick Rose's season-ending knee injury a loss for the entire league. Rose tore the medial meniscus in his right knee on Friday. "He plays the game with such passion," Cheeks said. "When you lose a player like that, it's a blow for everyone because we all look forward to seeing him out there." ... Rose's injury has ratcheted up trade rumors involving the Bulls. The latest has Cleveland shopping second-year SG Dion Walters, with Chicago SF Luol Deng as a possible target. "You're starting to hear about it now. Usually, it's later in the season around the trade deadline," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "For every 100 that get talked about, one gets done. So, the likelihood of something happening is small." ... Boxer Floyd Mayweather had a courtside view, 10 seats down from Detroit owner Tom Gores.
Chicago moves to allow the Cubs to sell beer outside of Wrigley Field. What's your take?
By Craig Calcaterra
The Cubs have made no secret of their desire to have the streets surrounding Wrigley Field turn into pedestrian plazas on game days, much the way the Red Sox have done with the streets outside of Fenway Park. Concessions and such, which will serve to not only make the ballpark more fun and comfortable for fans coming to the game, but which will also capture pre-game revenue that would otherwise go elsewhere.
All of that is a step closer now, thanks to a bill introduced before City Council. The Sun-Times:
Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica take: While the owners of the Chicago Cubs may run their business as they see fit, it seems to us that it would make more sense to build a winning team first. 105 years without winning a championship does not bode well and will probably be a record that will live in infamy forever. If you want to follow a model, simply look across town at he Chicago Blackhawks. They acquired good young talent through the draft, mixed in some feisty young experienced players, hired a mature, experienced coach that could teach and at the same time discipline and earn the faith, confidence and respect of his players. They worked with the front office staff to establish goals and stuck with the plan. They've won two Stanley Cups in the last three years. Their venue is not in the greatest location in Chicago, but they fill it up for every game. Also their ticket prices are not the least expensive in the league but they fill the stands because fans love to come and see a winner. It seems to us that the Cubs ownership and management have put the cart in front of the horse. Let's build this great facility, make it a fun place and generate as much revenue as we can. Again, they can run their business anyway that they would like, however, it seems to us that if they built a winner, (A World Series Champion), they would acquire the keys to the kingdom. In other words, they could do whatever they wanted without question. Improve the facility, raise prices, put up all the signs they would like, etc. Until that happens, fans are going to get disgruntled, attendance is going to drop and the ownership and management are going to find out that no one really likes "loveable losers." What do we know, we're just fans hungry for a championship on the Northside. It's just our opinion, we'd love to know what you think, what's your take?
All of that is a step closer now, thanks to a bill introduced before City Council. The Sun-Times:
The Cubs would be allowed to sell beer and wine from kiosks at an open-air plaza adjacent to a renovated Wrigley Field — and fans would be allowed to bring drinks in plastic cups to the plaza — in the latest in a string of concessions to the team.There are obviously neighborhood politics to all of this. What taking up the space for the plaza does for traffic, access by residents, parking, etc. But from the fan’s and the team’s perspective alone this kind of setup is a win. Fans will have more stuff to do down by the park and the team will benefit from people willing to get there and spend their money earlier. Having seen how it all works before a game at Fenway, it’s hard to argue that it’s anything but a plus for the game-going experience.
Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica take: While the owners of the Chicago Cubs may run their business as they see fit, it seems to us that it would make more sense to build a winning team first. 105 years without winning a championship does not bode well and will probably be a record that will live in infamy forever. If you want to follow a model, simply look across town at he Chicago Blackhawks. They acquired good young talent through the draft, mixed in some feisty young experienced players, hired a mature, experienced coach that could teach and at the same time discipline and earn the faith, confidence and respect of his players. They worked with the front office staff to establish goals and stuck with the plan. They've won two Stanley Cups in the last three years. Their venue is not in the greatest location in Chicago, but they fill it up for every game. Also their ticket prices are not the least expensive in the league but they fill the stands because fans love to come and see a winner. It seems to us that the Cubs ownership and management have put the cart in front of the horse. Let's build this great facility, make it a fun place and generate as much revenue as we can. Again, they can run their business anyway that they would like, however, it seems to us that if they built a winner, (A World Series Champion), they would acquire the keys to the kingdom. In other words, they could do whatever they wanted without question. Improve the facility, raise prices, put up all the signs they would like, etc. Until that happens, fans are going to get disgruntled, attendance is going to drop and the ownership and management are going to find out that no one really likes "loveable losers." What do we know, we're just fans hungry for a championship on the Northside. It's just our opinion, we'd love to know what you think, what's your take?
Scott looks to complete Australian Triple Crown.
AP Sports
Adam Scott has lifted three trophies in three weeks - two from his Australian PGA and Australian Masters wins - and one he shared with Australian teammate Jason Day at last week's World Cup at Royal Melbourne.
Scott began his attempt to complete the Triple Crown of Australian majors on Thursday at the Australian Open at Royal Sydney, which is hosting the country's national championship for the 14th time.
He'll play in the same threesome during the first two rounds with Day, who also won the individual stroke-play event at the World Cup, and American Kevin Streelman.
''I'm excited about this week, with the chance to win the Triple Crown,'' he said after Wednesday's pro-am. ''I did roll a few in on the back nine. To see a few going in in the pro-am is always good ... you set the tone for the week.''
It's Scott's first trip Down Under - four tournaments in four weeks - since he became the first Australian to win the Masters at Augusta in April.
Robert Allenby in 2005 is the only player to have won the Australian Masters, Australian PGA and Australian Open in the same season.
Former Australian Open champion Craig Parry is among a group of players including Greg Norman, Peter Lonard and defending champion Peter Senior to have won all three Australian majors, but Parry did it over 15 years.
''It's hard enough to win once, let alone the next week and now he's trying to win the Australian Open - and that's the big one,'' Parry said Wednesday. ''Just the history of it, the great names that have won it, the mystique.''
Gary Player won the Australian Open seven times, Jack Nicklaus six and Norman five times.
''Scotty's playing fantastic and the fact that he's had all the pressure on him coming back home to Australia and then delivered ... it's one thing to expect and another to do it,'' Parry added.
Scott's other major threat to what Australian media are calling the ''Scotty Slam'' is Rory McIlroy, who admitted Wednesday that ''it's been a long year, mentally more than physically.''
McIlroy, who has eight top-10 finishes in 2013 but hasn't won a tournament this year, has been embroiled in court cases over his management company and a major sponsor.
But McIlory says he arrived in Australia feeling refreshed from a monthlong tournament break.
''I took four weeks off and did some great work with my coach,'' McIlroy said Wednesday. ''Once you start to see results your confidence comes back.''
The Australian Open also begins qualifying for next year's British Open at Royal Liverpool at Hoylake.
In the first event in the new Open Qualifying Series for next July, the three players who finish in the top 10 and ties, who have not already qualified, will get a spot at Royal Liverpool.
Only four players in the 156-man field at Royal Sydney have qualified for The Open - McIlroy, Scott, Day and Streelman.
Scott began his attempt to complete the Triple Crown of Australian majors on Thursday at the Australian Open at Royal Sydney, which is hosting the country's national championship for the 14th time.
He'll play in the same threesome during the first two rounds with Day, who also won the individual stroke-play event at the World Cup, and American Kevin Streelman.
''I'm excited about this week, with the chance to win the Triple Crown,'' he said after Wednesday's pro-am. ''I did roll a few in on the back nine. To see a few going in in the pro-am is always good ... you set the tone for the week.''
It's Scott's first trip Down Under - four tournaments in four weeks - since he became the first Australian to win the Masters at Augusta in April.
Robert Allenby in 2005 is the only player to have won the Australian Masters, Australian PGA and Australian Open in the same season.
Former Australian Open champion Craig Parry is among a group of players including Greg Norman, Peter Lonard and defending champion Peter Senior to have won all three Australian majors, but Parry did it over 15 years.
''It's hard enough to win once, let alone the next week and now he's trying to win the Australian Open - and that's the big one,'' Parry said Wednesday. ''Just the history of it, the great names that have won it, the mystique.''
Gary Player won the Australian Open seven times, Jack Nicklaus six and Norman five times.
''Scotty's playing fantastic and the fact that he's had all the pressure on him coming back home to Australia and then delivered ... it's one thing to expect and another to do it,'' Parry added.
Scott's other major threat to what Australian media are calling the ''Scotty Slam'' is Rory McIlroy, who admitted Wednesday that ''it's been a long year, mentally more than physically.''
McIlroy, who has eight top-10 finishes in 2013 but hasn't won a tournament this year, has been embroiled in court cases over his management company and a major sponsor.
But McIlory says he arrived in Australia feeling refreshed from a monthlong tournament break.
''I took four weeks off and did some great work with my coach,'' McIlroy said Wednesday. ''Once you start to see results your confidence comes back.''
The Australian Open also begins qualifying for next year's British Open at Royal Liverpool at Hoylake.
In the first event in the new Open Qualifying Series for next July, the three players who finish in the top 10 and ties, who have not already qualified, will get a spot at Royal Liverpool.
Only four players in the 156-man field at Royal Sydney have qualified for The Open - McIlroy, Scott, Day and Streelman.
NASCAR buys Iowa Speedway, bolsters heartland track.
By Nascar staff report
Officials from the sanctioning body made the announcement Wednesday afternoon, just days after court documents and a special city council meeting indicated that a transfer of ownership was imminent.
NASCAR announced it will host a special event Dec. 12 in Des Moines to outline further details of the purchase and plans for 2014 and beyond. According to Wednesday's news release, "NASCAR has no plans for Iowa Speedway to host a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race next year or in the immediate future."
The sale -- made to a wholly owned subsidiary of NASCAR called Iowa Speedway, LLC -- is the latest development in an offseason of change for the 0.875-mile asphalt track in Newton, Iowa.
Doug Fritz resigned as the speedway's CEO on Sept. 9, one day after the track concluded its 2013 racing schedule.
The track was formerly owned by U.S. Motorsport Corp., with minority ownership from NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Rusty Wallace, who also served as the track's designer.
Wallace will continue to have a role with the track -- located on Rusty Wallace Drive in Newton -- under its new ownership.
The facility, located approximately 30 miles east of Des Moines, has 30,000 permanent grandstand seats.
"Iowa Speedway is a great entertainment facility with a very bright future," said Eric Nyquist, NASCAR vice president, strategic development. "The facility has the support of the region, it's positioned well in the heart of the Midwest, and year in and year out it provides great short-track racing action for motorsports fans.
"NASCAR ownership will allow us to draw on the entire resources of our company. It also provides us with the opportunity to execute first-hand a number of entertainment ideas and engagement opportunities with fans -- much of which we have outlined repeatedly as the core of our Industry Action Plan."
Iowa Speedway has three NASCAR national series events scheduled in 2014 -- May 18 and Aug. 2 for the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and July 11 for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Two races for the combined East and West divisions of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series are also scheduled, as is a July 12 event for the IndyCar Series.
The track opened in 2006 and played host to its first NASCAR national series events three years later, with Brad Keselowski (Nationwide) and Mike Skinner (Truck Series) the inaugural Iowa winners. Joey Logano edged Kevin Harvick to win the first NASCAR event of any type on the 7/8-mile layout, capturing a K&N Pro Series event in May 2007 -- just four days before his 17th birthday.
US soccer tabs Altidore, Wambach athletes of year.
AP Sports
Jozy Altidore and Abby Wambach were honored as the men's and women's athletes of the year by U.S. soccer.
The men's Athlete of the Year honor is the first for Altidore. He becomes the 22nd player to earn the award since its inception in 1984.
Altidore set a U.S. men's national team record by scoring a goal in five consecutive matches from June 2 to Aug. 14. His eight goals in 2013 were a career best and tied for a team high.
The men's Athlete of the Year honor is the first for Altidore. He becomes the 22nd player to earn the award since its inception in 1984.
Altidore set a U.S. men's national team record by scoring a goal in five consecutive matches from June 2 to Aug. 14. His eight goals in 2013 were a career best and tied for a team high.
Wambach earns her sixth women's Athlete of the Year award. Wambach led the U.S. in scoring this year with 11 goals and tied for the team lead in assists with six.
Wambach scored four times in the opening half of a match on June 20 against Korea to increase her goal total to 160. She broke Mia Hamm's record of 158.
The Throw-In: You want tradition? Why not schedule MLS Cup on Thanksgiving weekend?
By Jonah Freedman, MLSsoccer.com
The word that gets thrown around the most this time of year is “tradition.”
It’s why we stuff our faces full of turkey and assorted starchy side dishes. It’s why we brave the busiest and consistently worst travel conditions of the calendar year.
It’s why we, for some godforsaken reason, continuously stomach the Detroit Lions on national TV (respect to the Motor City) as well as the Dallas Cowboys and, nowadays, a third NFL game on turkey day to distract us.
It's all good. It’s pure Americana, all woven into the fabric of what unites families for a few days every fall, and by definition, is something of a comfy, warm blanket we all can depend on this time of year. It’s a Norman Rockwell painting come to life.
Maybe it’s time to add another tradition to Thanksgiving weekend: MLS Cup.
As much attention as we pay Major League Soccer’s own big game, let’s be honest: It could be so, so much bigger.
Thankfully, we’ve been treated to some really good finals in recent years, which isn’t always the case in pro sports. The problem is, the date of the game has moved around too much as the league has grown and the schedule expanded.As recently as two years ago, everyone around MLS always circled Thanksgiving as a date when the marathon season was over. Cup was done and dusted and everyone welcomed a break before hitting the reset button.
But last year, with 19 teams stretching the schedule further than ever, we had the first MLS Cup in December. This year, it’s pushed even a week later than last and probably won’t change drastically in 2014.
That’s a problem in my mind. As Major League Soccer approaches a landmark television deal and wraps its arms around how it’s going to be among the biggest and most popular leagues in the world by the end of the decade, it needs to keep working to solidify a consistent image.
Part of that is by giving fans and potential fans a better idea of exactly where and when to find it. Commissioner Don Garber has acknowledged as much, and it’s no secret why the league has scheduled more and more Friday night games over the past few years, culminating with 25 in 2014 – the most ever.
The hope is that perhaps Friday can become to MLS what Saturday is to the English Premier League, or what Monday night is to the NFL. Those are days essentially branded by those leagues, and fans literally plan out their weeks with the games in mind.
But there’s an easier way to start, too. These leagues are also well-known for their showpiece events. That means Thanksgiving Day games for American football, and for every single professional team in the UK, matches on Boxing Day. College football still maintains high-profile bowl games on New Years Day. The NBA has scored a hit with big-ticket games on Christmas.
Fans know where and when to find these games, and they flock to them as part of their holiday experience.MLS wants to drive its flag deeper into the American sporting landscape? Well, this is the way to do it. Make MLS Cup a tradition by giving it an established, traditional time slot during the festive season.
Funny enough, this has been considered by the execs in Midtown Manhattan. Scheduling Cup on Thanksgiving Day has been suggested in the past, but was an idea that was quickly passed over due to a number of logistical reasons that are legitimate ones: limited TV time slots, big competition from the NFL and prohibitively expensive travel for teams, fans and league employees.
That makes perfect sense, especially over the past decade. But I believe that if MLS is to realize its ambitions of a more prominent place at the world table, it’s going to have to figure out a way to take these sacred cows head on at some point.
Maybe claiming Thanksgiving Day proper is the wrong fight. But what’s wrong with branding Black Friday as MLS Cup day? Or even the Saturday after Thanksgiving?
It’s time to make a new Thanksgiving tradition, and that could start right here if the league were willing to take a chance like this.
Otherwise, we’ll all just remember this time of year as the anniversary of the Butt Fumble.
America can do a lot better than that.
Grambling's stormy season comes to merciful end.
By PAUL NEWBERRY (AP National Writer)
A season like no other at Grambling State University comes to a merciful end Saturday when the Tigers face their biggest rival in the annual Bayou Classic at the Louisiana Superdome.
Three head coaches in less than two months. Players refusing to take the field over allegations of neglected facilities and shoddy treatment. A nasty dispute between the administration and many of the alumni who helped make the school famous.
Good thing Eddie Robinson isn't around to see what has become of his beloved school.
Certainly, nothing has come easy to Grambling in this year of discontent, casting an ominous light on the historically black school that holds a special place in college football history.
Robinson won 408 games at the rural outpost in northern Louisiana, building a nationally known powerhouse during the days of Jim Crow.
''For all the people like me who love the school, to see it in this situation is frustrating,'' said James ''Shack'' Harris, who played for Robinson in the 1960s and went on to become the first African-American to start at quarterback in the NFL. ''When you go around the country, everyone wants to know 'What's going on at Grambling?' instead of talking about the respect we built up.''
When the Tigers forfeited a game at Jackson State, it stirred a national debate over whether the players had gone too far in their protest. More importantly, their actions exposed much deeper divisions in this once-proud program.
The Tigers went 1-10 last season, the worst mark in school history. If they lose to Southern on Saturday, they will finish 1-11.
''It's been tough to watch,'' said Kerry Briggs, the acting director of ''Friends of Football,'' a fundraising group that has sparred with university President Frank Pogue. ''We just have to think there are better days ahead.''
Grambling's troubles can be traced to a not-so-uncommon occurrence on college campuses - a power play between the president and influential alumni over the direction of the football program.
It's a program that has sent more than 200 players to the NFL, including trailblazing quarterbacks Harris and Doug Williams, not to mention four members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Willie Davis, Buck Buchanan, Willie Brown and Charlie Joiner.
Briggs said his group has raised some $200,000 with the hope of addressing a specific need each year, such as a decrepit football practice field and an aging locker room floor. But he said Pogue wanted the money to go through the university foundation, which raised doubts it would be used as intended.
Angry words flew. The flow of donations slowed. A brand that should give Grambling a formidable fundraising edge over other historically black colleges and universities was squandered.
''The only reason why Grambling is in the news as big as it has been is because of those people who came before,'' said Williams, the first of three coaches this season. ''Now, somebody who had nothing to do with building that legacy has been tearing it down.''
The first black QB to win a Super Bowl title, Williams was fired two games into the season, despite a 61-34 record and four conference titles. He said he was given no reason for his dismissal. University spokesman Will Sutton said on Oct. 19 that Williams' dismissal was not related to his ''wins or losses, or Xs and Os.''
After five games under interim coach George Ragsdale left the Tigers 0-7, schools officials made another change, handing over the team to Dennis ''Dirt'' Winston.
At that point, the players revolted.
They refused to travel to Jackson State for their next game - perturbed at the revolving door of coaches, disgusted at what they saw as an uncaring administration, fed up at being subjected to appalling conditions. Some were disputed by school officials, such as mold in the locker room and improperly cleaned uniforms raising the risk of staph infections. Budget woes were blamed for other issues, most notably a brutal 17-hour bus trip - each way - to a game in Indianapolis.
The players returned the following week and some of their issues have been addressed, including a new floor in the weight room. The Tigers also won their first game, beating Mississippi Valley State.
Pogue has referred all questions to Aaron James, a former Grambling basketball player who was appointed interim athletic director in June and took over the job permanently in August.
James said state budget cuts have hurt the entire university, with funding sliced by 57 percent since 2008 and a staggering $53 million in unmet needs cropping up around campus. The financial woes, he said, are felt even more at HBCUs, which have long said that chronic underfunding is a lingering vestige of segregation.
''I don't think it's just a Grambling thing,'' James said. ''It's bigger than athletics. It's all over the university, but we never hear about what academics is not getting.''
A survey by The Associated Press found Grambling's athletic budget of $6.7 million for the current school year ranks sixth in the 10-team Southwestern Athletic Conference - significantly lower than the top school (Alabama State at $9.9 million) but nearly double the one at the bottom of the list (Mississippi Valley State at $3.6 million). In fact, the game the Tigers forfeited would have been against a school with a slightly lower budget, Jackson State at $6.5 million.
Pogue sent a letter to alumni and supporters, asking them to give $10 via text during a two-day fundraising campaign that will coincide with the nationally televised game against Southern.
Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Jason Hatcher, one of two former Grambling players currently in the NFL, intends to give back over the offseason.
''It's very embarrassing to me,'' Hatcher said. ''I'm going to be down there as much as I can trying to build the program back up, do what I can to help my school get back to where it used to be. It's a historical program - Eddie Robinson, Doug Williams, guys like that. We've got too much history in that school to let it go under like that.''
Even if Grambling does raise more money, Harris questions how it will be spent. For instance, Williams is still owed his $245,000 annual salary through 2014.
One thing is clear: The school must patch up the fractured relationship between the administration and its notable alumni base. Grambling is leaving a lot of money on the table, and it's not clear if that will improve as long as Pogue is president.
''We need someone in there rallying everyone together,'' Harris said. ''Then we can hopefully get things back to where everybody is supporting one cause - and that cause is Grambling.''
Good thing Eddie Robinson isn't around to see what has become of his beloved school.
Certainly, nothing has come easy to Grambling in this year of discontent, casting an ominous light on the historically black school that holds a special place in college football history.
Robinson won 408 games at the rural outpost in northern Louisiana, building a nationally known powerhouse during the days of Jim Crow.
''For all the people like me who love the school, to see it in this situation is frustrating,'' said James ''Shack'' Harris, who played for Robinson in the 1960s and went on to become the first African-American to start at quarterback in the NFL. ''When you go around the country, everyone wants to know 'What's going on at Grambling?' instead of talking about the respect we built up.''
When the Tigers forfeited a game at Jackson State, it stirred a national debate over whether the players had gone too far in their protest. More importantly, their actions exposed much deeper divisions in this once-proud program.
The Tigers went 1-10 last season, the worst mark in school history. If they lose to Southern on Saturday, they will finish 1-11.
''It's been tough to watch,'' said Kerry Briggs, the acting director of ''Friends of Football,'' a fundraising group that has sparred with university President Frank Pogue. ''We just have to think there are better days ahead.''
Grambling's troubles can be traced to a not-so-uncommon occurrence on college campuses - a power play between the president and influential alumni over the direction of the football program.
It's a program that has sent more than 200 players to the NFL, including trailblazing quarterbacks Harris and Doug Williams, not to mention four members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Willie Davis, Buck Buchanan, Willie Brown and Charlie Joiner.
Briggs said his group has raised some $200,000 with the hope of addressing a specific need each year, such as a decrepit football practice field and an aging locker room floor. But he said Pogue wanted the money to go through the university foundation, which raised doubts it would be used as intended.
Angry words flew. The flow of donations slowed. A brand that should give Grambling a formidable fundraising edge over other historically black colleges and universities was squandered.
''The only reason why Grambling is in the news as big as it has been is because of those people who came before,'' said Williams, the first of three coaches this season. ''Now, somebody who had nothing to do with building that legacy has been tearing it down.''
The first black QB to win a Super Bowl title, Williams was fired two games into the season, despite a 61-34 record and four conference titles. He said he was given no reason for his dismissal. University spokesman Will Sutton said on Oct. 19 that Williams' dismissal was not related to his ''wins or losses, or Xs and Os.''
After five games under interim coach George Ragsdale left the Tigers 0-7, schools officials made another change, handing over the team to Dennis ''Dirt'' Winston.
At that point, the players revolted.
They refused to travel to Jackson State for their next game - perturbed at the revolving door of coaches, disgusted at what they saw as an uncaring administration, fed up at being subjected to appalling conditions. Some were disputed by school officials, such as mold in the locker room and improperly cleaned uniforms raising the risk of staph infections. Budget woes were blamed for other issues, most notably a brutal 17-hour bus trip - each way - to a game in Indianapolis.
The players returned the following week and some of their issues have been addressed, including a new floor in the weight room. The Tigers also won their first game, beating Mississippi Valley State.
Pogue has referred all questions to Aaron James, a former Grambling basketball player who was appointed interim athletic director in June and took over the job permanently in August.
James said state budget cuts have hurt the entire university, with funding sliced by 57 percent since 2008 and a staggering $53 million in unmet needs cropping up around campus. The financial woes, he said, are felt even more at HBCUs, which have long said that chronic underfunding is a lingering vestige of segregation.
''I don't think it's just a Grambling thing,'' James said. ''It's bigger than athletics. It's all over the university, but we never hear about what academics is not getting.''
A survey by The Associated Press found Grambling's athletic budget of $6.7 million for the current school year ranks sixth in the 10-team Southwestern Athletic Conference - significantly lower than the top school (Alabama State at $9.9 million) but nearly double the one at the bottom of the list (Mississippi Valley State at $3.6 million). In fact, the game the Tigers forfeited would have been against a school with a slightly lower budget, Jackson State at $6.5 million.
Pogue sent a letter to alumni and supporters, asking them to give $10 via text during a two-day fundraising campaign that will coincide with the nationally televised game against Southern.
Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Jason Hatcher, one of two former Grambling players currently in the NFL, intends to give back over the offseason.
''It's very embarrassing to me,'' Hatcher said. ''I'm going to be down there as much as I can trying to build the program back up, do what I can to help my school get back to where it used to be. It's a historical program - Eddie Robinson, Doug Williams, guys like that. We've got too much history in that school to let it go under like that.''
Even if Grambling does raise more money, Harris questions how it will be spent. For instance, Williams is still owed his $245,000 annual salary through 2014.
One thing is clear: The school must patch up the fractured relationship between the administration and its notable alumni base. Grambling is leaving a lot of money on the table, and it's not clear if that will improve as long as Pogue is president.
''We need someone in there rallying everyone together,'' Harris said. ''Then we can hopefully get things back to where everybody is supporting one cause - and that cause is Grambling.''
Coach K not a fan of fascination with one-and-done freshman.
By Rob Dauster
It’s no secret that the biggest story in college basketball this season is the freshmen class: Jabari Parker, Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle, Aaron Gordon.
Those guys are superstars. They’ve been talked about as high schoolers. They’re already being talked about as the savior of NBA franchises. There’s a reason that the Champions Classic, which featured three of those four freshmen, got massive ratings.
But is that a good thing for the sport?
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski says no.
“Nationally, I’m a little bit worried that that is always becoming a thing,” Krzyzewski told reporters Tuesday. “I think part of it is that people who show our games show NBA, too. So, the constant thought is cross-promoting.”
“I love ESPN, and I think they should do whatever they want to do. But what I’m saying is, in some ways, we as a college basketball community should not completely buy into that.”
Coach K also said that two guys that he coached with Team USA this summer, Marcus Smart and Doug McDermott, should be getting more attention.
“These kids [the freshmen] are all great, don’t get me wrong,” he said. “But there are other great kids. Two kids who played in the summer for me in a five-day mini camp in Vegas with 28 other NBA players were McDermott and Smart. Well, they’re two of the best players in the country. They may be the two best.”
Coach K has a point. What the one-and-done rule has done is force college basketball’s biggest stars, the guys that NBA fans can watch and “scout” and imagine leading their team to the NBA finals, into one-year stopovers at the collegiate level. But it has also made college basketball that much more relevant. Star power attracts viewers. People want to witness greatness, and while I would love to see those four freshmen spend three or four years playing at the collegiate level, it ain’t gonna happen.
The one-and-done rule is here to stay, and frankly, it’s a good thing for college basketball. Getting these talents onto a college campus, even for a year, is a good thing for the sport. It’s a good thing for coaches landing recruits like Jabari Parker, Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones and Justise Winslow. It’s a good thing for fans that enjoy watching awesome basketball players and it’s a good thing for writers that love writing about awesome basketball players.
You don’t like freshmen being stars? You want them on campus longer? Give them a way to tap into their value. I bet if Jabari Parker could make a comparable amount in college to what he can make in the NBA, he’d be much more likely to hang around for more than one season.
Dates set for three 2014 gridiron games at Wembley.
AFP
Dates were announced Thursday for the National Football League's unprecedented three regular-season games in London in 2014, all of them at Wembley Stadium.
The American football invasion will commence on September 28 when the Oakland Raiders face the Miami Dolphins.
Four weeks later, the Detroit Lions will play the Atlanta Falcons on October 26 and just two weeks later, the Dallas Cowboys and Jacksonville Jaguars will meet.
The Raiders, Falcons and Jaguars will be designated as home teams for their respective contests. Jacksonville began a run of playing one home game a season for four years in London this season.
The NFL staged two games in London this year for the first time in league history, with the Minnesota Vikings defeating Pittsburgh 34-27 on September 29 before 83,518 fans at Wembley and the San Francisco 49ers ripped Jacksonville 42-10 on October 27 before 83,559.
The Dolphins will make their first trip to England next year since facing the New York Giants in 2007 in the first NFL regular-season game staged in London. Dallas, Detroit, Atlanta and Oakland will play in London for the first time in 2014.
**********************************************
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