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"If you are determined enough and willing to pay the price, you can get it done." ~ Mike Ditka, NFL Super Bowl Winning Coach and Businessman
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Predators-Blackhawks Preview.
By KEVIN CHROUST (STATS Writer)
The Chicago Blackhawks' three-month struggle for consistency is costing them in the Western Conference standings.
Having dropped to fifth in the West with a pair of teams surging past them and toward the top spot, they begin a two-game home stretch against the Nashville Predators on Friday night.
Chicago (38-14-14) lost 3-2 to Colorado on Wednesday, allowing the Avalanche to leapfrog the Blackhawks and take over into second place in the Central Division.
"Maybe we can learn our lesson now that games aren't going to get easier this time of the year," captain Jonathan Toews told the team's official website. "It's time to play hard, it's time to play playoff-style hockey if we want to win games. That's another two points we let slip, six in a row against this team."
The Blackhawks got goals from Patrick Kane and Brandon Saad, but weren't able to recover from a pair of two-goal deficits despite a 28-19 shot advantage in the final two periods.
"We need to find that urgency and determination we had later in the game and bring that right from the start," Toews said.
Chicago has been unable to put together a long winning streak, failing Wednesday to win three in a row for the first time since Dec. 8-11.
They've split two games against last-place Nashville, which they'll face three times in the final 30 days of the season.
Chicago has won three straight at home in this series and seven of eight overall meetings, the most recent a 3-1 victory in Nashville on Dec. 17. Kane scored in a fourth consecutive matchup and has seven goals and three assists in the past eight against the Predators.
He has a goal in two straight games to pull within one of matching his career high of 30, set in 2009-10.
Defenseman Duncan Keith has seven points in a four-game point streak in the series.
The Predators (28-28-10) have won two in a row since dropping four straight, defeating Buffalo 4-1 on Tuesday. After closing out this three-game trip, they return home to face St. Louis on Saturday before heading back out on the road for four more contests.
Nashville has gone 5-1-3 in its last nine away from home.
"It's a good start to the road trip so far," captain Shea Weber told the team's official website. "We've got a challenge in Chicago coming up. They're a very good team and we've got to make sure we keep pushing forward and trying to get on a roll here."
Weber has six points during a four-game streak in the series. He joined Craig Smith and Nick Spaling with a goal and an assist Tuesday.
Carter Hutton made 26 saves in the tail end of Nashville's back-to-back games, likely paving the way for Pekka Rinne to play Friday.
The Predators' No. 1 goaltender is 1-3-0 with a 2.25 goals-against average since returning from an E. coli infection in his hip. He's lost his last six starts against the Blackhawks with a 3.30 GAA.
Chicago figures to have Corey Crawford back in goal after backup Antti Raanta started against Colorado. Crawford had started the previous 10 games and is 3-1-0 with a 1.51 GAA in his past four outings, but he's allowed nine goals in his last two contests against Nashville.
Blackhawks to wear St. Patty's warmup jerseys Sunday.
By Nina Falcone
Fans attending this weekend's Blackhawks-Red Wings matchup are in for a real treat as green warmup jerseys, green hats, and let's be honest, most likely an octopus or two, will be making an appearance inside the United Center.
The Blackhawks' green St. Patty's jerseys aren't new to Chicago, but on Thursday the team announced that the players will be wearing these greener (dare I say, chrome?) jerseys during Sunday's warmups:
And to really complete the effect, Sunday's game against the Red Wings features the annual green-hat giveaway, which basically means the United Center will greatly resemble the Chicago River.
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!! GM: Bears' changes just 'a step' in overhaul.
By ANDREW SELIGMAN (AP Sports Writer)
The Chicago Bears are not done with their overhaul.
General manager Phil Emery said big issues still need to be addressed after a flurry of moves this week that included luring defensive end Lamarr Houston from the Oakland Raiders and releasing eight-time Pro Bowler Julius Peppers.
''We've got a lot of work to do on our roster,'' Emery said Wednesday. ''I want our fans to know the work's not going to stop. We just consider these signings a step.''
The Bears agreed to a five-year contract with Houston, a two-year deal with former Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants safety Ryan Mundy and one-year contracts with linebackers Jordan Senn and D.J. Williams while releasing Peppers on Tuesday. On Wednesday, they brought in former Green Bay safety M.D. Jennings on a one-year deal.
The Bears still have plenty to do, particularly on a defense that ranked among the league's worst a year ago as Chicago missed the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years.
The Bears could still use help on the defensive line and in the secondary. Defensive tackle Henry Melton and cornerback Charles Tillman remain unsigned.
Backup quarterback is a question, too, with Josh McCown agreeing to a two-year contract with Tampa Bay and reuniting with former Bears coach Lovie Smith. That leaves the Bears with the re-signed Jordan Palmer behind Jay Cutler, at least for now, although Emery said they will try out potential veteran backups and might add a QB in the draft.
He also did not dismiss the possibility of going after a high profile defensive end on the market such as Jared Allen or even bringing back Peppers at a low rate, although he did not sound optimistic about that.
''We're going to look at a number of players. Obviously, Jared is one of those,'' Emery said.
But he also said the Bears ''will wait and see'' what price the market sets for players such as Allen.
As for Peppers returning, Emery said, ''We're always open to getting better at every level of our team and our roster so any player including Julius, if they want to have an opportunity to come back and we can provide that opportunity, meaning we have the cap space, we're always open to it.''
What they've done so far is a start, at least.
The 26-year-old Houston gives them a young and versatile lineman who could be used on the right or left side and play inside as well. He started all 16 games last season for Oakland and was one of the few playmakers on a 4-12 team. He led the Raiders with a career-high six sacks and recorded 16 in four seasons with them, and although he's new, he also has some connections with his new team.
Houston played with Melton at Texas, trained with guard Kyle Long last summer and played high school basketball against offensive lineman Matt Slauson in Colorado. And he made it clear: He hopes Melton stays.
''I'm doing everything I can to convince him to stay here with me and put in work,'' Houston said.
''We'll see how that turns out for him and I wish him nothing but the best.''
''We'll see how that turns out for him and I wish him nothing but the best.''
The arrival of Mundy could signal the end for Major Wright in Chicago, particularly since Mundy is getting his number - 21.
Mundy, who made nine starts with the Giants last season after spending his first four behind Ryan Clark and Troy Polamalu in Pittsburgh, is expected to compete for a starting spot in Chicago.
''I feel like I'm coming in here to compete for a starting opportunity, and that's all I can ask for,'' Mundy said. ''I don't shy away from competition.''
Buccaneers lock up Josh McCown.
By Joe Fortenbaugh
Lovie Smith and the new-look Tampa Bay Buccaneers continue to overhaul the roster, with the latest addition coming to the offensive side of the ball.
According to multiple reports, free agent quarterback Josh McCown has reached an agreement on a two-year, $10 million contract with the Buccaneers. The deal has a maximum value of $15 million.
A ten-year veteran journeyman, Tampa Bay will mark McCown’s sixth franchise since joining the league as a third-round pick out of Sam Houston State in 2002. In eight appearances with the Chicago Bears last season, McCown posted a QB rating of 109.0 with 13 touchdown passes and only one interception. In addition, the 34-year-old went 3-2 as a starter in place of the injured Jay Cutler.
The big question people have asked regarding McCown is whether or not his success in Chicago was a byproduct of playing in head coach Marc Trestman’s system.Well, it looks like Tampa Bay will find out come September.
Just another Chicago Bulls Session… Bloodied Dunleavy lifts Bulls past Rockets.
By The Sports Xchange
Mike Dunleavy #34 of the Chicago Bulls drives past Jeremy Lin #7 of the Houston Rockets at the United Center on March 13, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. The Bulls defeated the Rockets 111-87. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Chicago Bulls forward Mike Dunleavy left a trail of blood when he headed off the court and into the locker room in the second quarter.
When Dunleavy returned to the game after getting 10 stitches above his right eye, he seemed to have a better view of the basket.
Playing with a large bandage of his eye, Dunleavy scored 18 of his team-high 21 points in the third quarter, leading the Bulls to an easy 111-87 victory over the Houston Rockets on Thursday night at the United Center.
The gash on Dunleavy's forehead came when he successfully took a charge from Houston forward Chandler Parsons.
"It was a pretty tough hit. My neck is sore, a little bit of whiplash-type stuff," Dunleavy said. "We're a little concerned about that. I just knew once they got the stitches done, I was coming back."
Dunleavy took another charge, against Rockets guard James Harden, just 1:29 after halftime. He survived that collision and drained 7 of 11 shots from the field in the third quarter.
"To me when you talk about toughness, that's toughness," Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said.
The Bulls (36-29) knocked down 14 of 24 shots from 3-point range. Houston leads the NBA in 3-pointers attempted but made just 5 of 26 from behind the arc.
Guard Kirk Hinrich added 19 points for the Bulls and forward Carlos Boozer scored 18. Center Joakim Noah barely missed his third triple-double of the season, finishing with 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Dunleavy's stitches provided fodder for a Noah comedy routine in the locker room.
"I think it inspired the team," Noah said. "He had a huge knot on his head, looking like (boxer Evander) Holyfield, the white version. ... It was good for Duke's street credibility."
The Bulls were pounded on Tuesday night by San Antonio, but have now won 12 of their last 13 games after a loss.
Guard Jeremy Lin led Houston with 21 points and center Dwight Howard added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Harden tied a season low by scoring eight points, and Parsons hit 1 of 11 shots from the field for two points.
The Rockets (44-21) have now lost two in a row after a stretch of winning 15 of 17 games. They will wrap up a three-game road trip at Miami on Sunday.
"We did not come out ready to play," Houston coach Kevin McHale said. "I have no idea why. We were walking it up. We were not running. We were not coming off screens. We were not doing anything we said we needed to do."
Leading 50-42 at intermission, Chicago broke the game open by opening the second half with a 20-2 run. At one point, the Bulls knocked down 3-point baskets on four of five possessions, two each by Hinrich and Dunleavy. When guard D.J. Augustin made a 3-pointer, the lead was 77-48 with 2:05 remaining in the third quarter.
Boozer helped the Bulls get off to a fast start, scoring 10 points in the first quarter. Chicago jumped to a quick 18-10 advantage and never trailed.
"Everything was lacking," Harden said. "We didn't stop them and they did whatever they wanted to on defense. We didn't push the ball like we needed to and the score showed it."
Howard picked up a technical foul with 2:36 left in the second quarter for complaining to a referee entering a timeout.
NOTES: Houston coach Kevin McHale gave a surprisingly unbiased opinion on Thursday, plugging Chicago C Joakim Noah for the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year Award. McHale's starting center, Dwight Howard, has won it three times. "He (Noah) should be defensive player of the year," McHale said at the morning shootaround. "They've been winning a lot just on his energy and effort, his kind of determination and toughness. Those are all qualities everybody appreciates." ... Houston G Patrick Beverley played an NBA game in his hometown of Chicago for the first time on Thursday. Beverley gave Howard a tour of his West Side neighborhood the day before the game. When Beverley was in high school, his Marshall team lost in the 2006 state semifinals to a Simeon squad featuring current Bulls G Derrick Rose. ... The Rockets started the night with a 20-3 record against teams from the Eastern Conference, including 14-0 at home.
By Tim Brown
They call it Rule 7.13 or the Posey Rule, and it is the recent amendment to the book every capable manager and umpire knows by heart, and it is that fresh legislation that carried Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero up the first-base line and away from home plate, the area he is designated to protect.
The rule says a catcher may block the plate if he is in possession of the baseball. It says a runner may not alter his course to the plate in order to demolish the catcher. In either case, leading with a shoulder or a forearm or, say, a poleax is forbidden. The gray areas of this – real-world absolutes such as "block the plate," "possession of the baseball" and "alter his course" – are reviewable by umpires through instant replay. They are not challengeable by managers, however.
This is where a fine idea with good intentions gets choppy. That is, in the implementation. In the enforcement. In the clarity.
This is where a fine idea with good intentions gets choppy. That is, in the implementation. In the enforcement. In the clarity.
On this particular afternoon, Montero was preparing himself for the sort of play he'd executed thousands of times before. An opposing baserunner – in this case Oakland's Yoenis Cespedes, a man of considerable size and speed – had been at second base. There'd been a hard line drive into right field. Gerardo Parra, an outfielder with an arm strong and precise, had gathered the ball on a bounce and in one motion flung it back toward home plate. Cespedes rounded third. Montero waited, both eyes on the ball, Cespedes in his peripheral vision. It's March and nobody – or hardly anybody – blocks the plate in March. Nobody arrives head-high. Yet, still, there is a game to be played, and a run to be scored or denied, and Cespedes was running hard and Montero had a job to do.
So, along came the ball, and in came Cespedes, and Montero reached out and felt the thud and pivoted and swept to his left, only to discover his mitt was a good three feet short of the plate, and then the ball rolled away anyway, and Cespedes slid in for a run, and the whole thing was just so soft and unsure.
So, along came the ball, and in came Cespedes, and Montero reached out and felt the thud and pivoted and swept to his left, only to discover his mitt was a good three feet short of the plate, and then the ball rolled away anyway, and Cespedes slid in for a run, and the whole thing was just so soft and unsure.
"I was thinking about the rule instead of catching the ball," Montero said. "I was thinking about if I was in the right position or not. I gotta get that outta my head."
Should he have been closer to the plate? What happens when the ball carries into the runner? Does he just let it go? In the bottom of the ninth in September, is the rule still more important than the play? The win? What will the runner do? What should the catcher do?
Should he have been closer to the plate? What happens when the ball carries into the runner? Does he just let it go? In the bottom of the ninth in September, is the rule still more important than the play? The win? What will the runner do? What should the catcher do?
"I don't think the rule's changed that much, to be honest with you," Montero's manager Kirk Gibson said. "But the intent of what they're trying to do has. Basically, it was written for Buster Posey. That play is illegal."
You can still find yourself a healthy debate over that play, however. Either Posey played a difficult hop into a terrible position and was fair game. Or Scott Cousins targeted a defenseless man. At best, it's murky. Either way, Posey missed the better part of 2011 and three years later we have a rule that in some first references carries his name but few see as cut or dry.
On the very same afternoon, in another ballpark east of Phoenix, the Angels' Mike Trout roared around third base and Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis had thought this over and decided he'd keep playing these plays the way he'd always played them, so he stood with his left foot nudged up against the plate. The throw arrived from left-center field and drew Ellis across Trout's line, so he'd perhaps been in violation of Rule 7.13 momentarily, and then cleared it, and then lunged to tag out a sliding Trout. The play was reviewed. Discussion between Angels manager Mike Scioscia and the umpires revolved around safe or out, and around when Ellis had been where, and Dodgers manager Don Mattingly joined them, because between the replay and Rule 7.13 and who could challenge what, this was all new.
"I know what Mike's interpretation was," Mattingly said later. "That wasn't our interpretation. … It's just been a little confusing."
Major League Baseball and the players' union are leaning heavily on the word "experimental," which means the rule could be modified or even stricken after a year.
Meantime, that leaves catchers and baserunners to tend to the rule in an environment that in few ways feels like real baseball at real game speed, and umpires with one more assignment, and managers one more thing to measure. Long-term, the rule will prevent injuries and save careers. Short-term, it will promote many semi-private conversations at and around home plate.
"We've told our guys to slide," Indians manager Terry Francona said Wednesday. "Takes away any of the ambiguity. The game's going real fast. None faster than that play."
As to whether the rule ought to be subject to a manager's challenge, Francona said, "You're getting into a lot of gray area there. Being an umpire is hard enough.
"To a person, everybody wants this to go correctly. Everybody hopes the spirit of the rule works."
It's a smart rule. It'll also ask a man running at full speed to make a decision on finesse or force, and another man to measure the arrivals of ball and baserunner, and a third man to break it down by inch and intent, all for the greater good.
"I'm going to try to get it out of my head and play it as normal as I used to," Indians catcher Matt Treanor said. "Only time will tell."
For the Cubs, it all comes back to the Cardinals.
By Tony Andracki
The general consensus around the Twittersphere is that "The Cardinal Way" storyline is getting old. But whatever you want to call it, you can't argue with the way they’ve built it in St. Louis.
After another World Series appearance last season -- their second in the last three years and fourth in the last decade -- every team in baseball wants to be like the Cardinals. The hope is matching the sustained success of the big-league club with a budding farm system capable of continuously churning out impact players.
"They are a team that everyone is shooting for," said Joe Bohringer, Cubs director of professional scouting. "We are one of the teams that are trying to do it better than them.
"Anybody from a scouting or player development standpoint, what you're trying to do is be better than the other 29 clubs. You're trying to be the last team standing.
"Sometimes the ball needs to bounce your way to make that happen, but you can do the right things to put yourself in a position to let the ball bounce your way. That's what we're trying to do here."
The Cubs have made zero playoff appearances in the last five seasons, with a combined 137-190 record (.419 winning percentage) against the National League Central since the start of 2009.
The Cardinals, meanwhile, have six straight winning seasons and earned a trip to the postseason in four of the last five years, including three NLCS appearances and a World Series title in 2011.
Last year, while veterans like Matt Holliday and Carlos Beltran carried the lineup, a herd of young, hard-throwing pitchers emerged in the big leagues in one wave. Trevor Rosenthal, Michael Wacha, Shelby Miller and Carlos Martinez played vital parts in the a World Series run.
St. Louis was actually so good in the postseason that it didn't even need Miller -- who won 15 games and put up a 3.06 ERA in 31 regular-season starts -- to pitch in the postseason, as the righty accounted for just one inning in October.
This group of young pitchers figures to take another step forward while the team infuses talented young hitters into the lineup like second baseman Kolten Wong, first baseman Matt Adams and outfielder Oscar Taveras.
"You always try to model what other organizations do really well," said Jason McLeod, the Cubs senior vice president of scouting and player development. "I think on their side, it's a two-pronged approach. They've always been known as a player-development organization, going back 50, 60 years.
"The proof is in the pudding of what they've been able to do.
“They're our big rival, obviously. They're very, very good and, certainly, we want to find out what it is they're doing and start doing those things better ourselves."
The losing ways in Chicago led to a regime change and the results haven't paid off in the majors yet -- with 197 losses across the last two seasons -- despite building a top-five farm system.
But the Cardinals have been able to sustain their success at the big-league level -- with eight 90-win seasons since 2000 -- while also boasting one of the best farm systems in the game.
After winning the World Series in 2011, they lost Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa, franchise icon Albert Pujols and legendary pitching coach Dave Duncan. But they didn't miss a beat, getting to the NLCS in 2012 with rookie manager Mike Matheny at the helm.
"There's a lot of continuity," Bohringer said. "They have a lot of people that have been there for a while. They have systems in place that they've stuck with. And they know what they do well and they've done it over and over and over again."
Bohringer pointed to the Cardinals' excellent drafts over the last couple decades that has produced homegrown talent like first-round picks Wacha (2012), Miller (2009) and Colby Rasmus (2005).
But they've also hit on picks in the later rounds like 2009 13th-round selection Matt Carpenter, who led the NL in hits, runs and doubles in 2013, and Rosenthal, who was taken in the 21st round that season. And, of course, you can throw Pujols (13th round in 1999) into that mix as well.
McLeod credits the Cardinals' ability to teach fundamentals to players coming up through the system, altering a player's swing or arm action to make the absolute most out of every player.
The Cardinals aren't reinventing the wheel. They're just simply doing it all better than everybody else.
"One thing they do well is think outside the box and try to find a niche or a thing that you can find that might give you an advantage," said Jaron Madison, Cubs director of player development. "Some of it's luck, to be honest with you. Some of the guys they brought in were not expected to develop into the players they have [become]. That's how they were able to get some guys like Matt Adams and Trevor Rosenthal so deep in the draft.
"They have a system in place. The funny thing about it is they pattern a lot of their scouting systems off of what Theo [Epstein], Jed [Hoyer] and Jason [McLeod] did in Boston. I feel real good about the system that we have in place here in Chicago. The future is really bright here."
The Cubs will have to figure out a way to beat their division rivals if they want to end the 105-year championship drought.
So how can the Cubs catch the Cardinals?
Theo Epstein was asked the same question last September as he stood outside the visiting clubhouse at Busch Stadium and spoke with a few Chicago writers before Game 160 of a 96-loss season.
"There are small things we can do each day to make ourselves a healthier organization," Epstein said. "It's a goal every day -- whether it's a personnel move, player move, a process -- to make the organization healthier, more effective. And, ultimately, that leads to better players, betters contracts, more flexibility in the organization.
"That puts us in a better position [with] things we can do moving forward. You do that, you gain on your competition, regardless of what they're doing.
"You can't game-plan to beat one organization or contend in this division. We have a long way to go to get truly healthy as an organization. Look at big-picture pieces and I think we've gotten a lot healthier."
Either way, it will always come back to the Cardinals. All roads lead through St. Louis in the NL.
Pinehurst only the start of men's, women's doubles.
By DOUG FERGUSON (AP Golf Writer)
NCAA and Olympic officials might want to pay close attention to two weeks at Pinehurst No. 2 this summer, when the U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open are held on the same course.
It could be a blueprint for the next two years in how to set up a golf course.
The NCAA men's and women's golf championships in 2015 are being held at The Concession in Bradenton in back-to-back weeks, the first time they are being played on the same course in the same year. And then in 2016 at the Olympics in Rio, the men's competition will be held ahead of the women.
''I believe we were in the middle of the bid process when it was announced by the USGA that they were planning to do back-to-back weeks for the U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open,'' said Ty Votaw, the PGA Tour executive overseeing golf's return to the Olympics.
''The issues that present themselves in that, whether it's obviously tee boxes, landing areas, even the positioning of grandstands in relation to tee boxes from a fan perspective, are all things that we are going to be following and looking at and learning from,'' he said.
Votaw said the idea is to ''make it a fair and good test'' for men and women.
Meanwhile, the International Golf Federation is waiting for approval on eligibility for the Olympics. The IGF has proposed a 60-person field for 72 holes of stroke play, with the field determined by the world ranking. The top 15 in the world ranking at the cutoff would be guaranteed a spot, with a maximum of four from one country, and then no more than two from any country.
Votaw said the idea was to get the most number of nations involved, which would be 34 countries for the men and 33 for the women. He also said the proposal would include a golfer from the host nation if none is eligible from the ranking, and that athletes be represented from every Olympic continent.
Still to be determined is how the worldwide golf schedule will come together around the Olympics, which will run from Aug. 5-21.
The British Open and PGA Championship are likely to be played in July, with the FedEx Cup playoffs on the PGA Tour and the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine to be held after the Olympics. That could lead to a scenario where a player who wins the PGA Championship - and perhaps even the British Open - is not eligible for the Olympics, depending on the qualifying cutoff for making an Olympic team.
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GRADUATION DAY: Even though he is coming up on the one-year anniversary of turning pro, Hideki Matsuyama of Japan already has played in all four majors and every World Golf Championship. As a PGA Tour member, one tournament he looked forward to playing was the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.
That will have to wait.
The 22-year-old Matsuyama headed home after Doral for a big occasion. He's graduating from college.
Unlike Ryo Ishikawa, who turned pro as a teenager and played big events while working on a high school diploma, Matsuyama went to college and pursued his degree while competing against the world's best. His field of study was social welfare.
Asked if he was excited to graduate, Matsuyama smiled and said, ''I'm more excited about playing here in America.''
He won't play again until Augusta National, which makes him unusual in one respect. It takes most people at least one full year to go from a college degree to a Masters. For Matsuyama, it will only be a few weeks.
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NEW SPONSOR: The LPGA Tour is off to a good start even before it starts its domestic schedule next week. JTBC, a leading broadcasting company in South Korea, has agreed to be the title sponsor of what now will be the JTBC Founders Cup in Phoenix.
The tournament starts next week at Wildfire Golf Club.
JTBC is an affiliate of J Golf, which recently signed a contract extension with the LPGA Tour. Along with being a title sponsor in Phoenix, JTBC will be presenting sponsor at three other LPGA events this year. Those four events will be shown on JTBC's network, which is distributed to more than 21 million households in Korea.
Its first order of business for the Founders Cup was to give sponsor exemptions to Cheyenne Woods and former U.S Women's Open champion Birdie Kim.
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OOSTHUIZEN BACK: Louis Oosthuizen was worried about his back after losing in the quarterfinals of the Match Play Championship to eventual winner Jason Day.
He's not out of the woods yet, though he was pleasantly surprised by how he felt at Doral last week.
Oosthuizen, whose back injury caused him to withdraw from two majors and not play a third one last season, said tests have revealed disk problems in the L-5 and S-1. He had two cortisone injections during his week off between Match Play and Doral.
Of greater concern is practice.
Oosthuizen said he has only been able to warm up for about 30 minutes before each round. Even with arguably the sweetest swing in golf, ''You can't be consistent with your swing if you only do that,'' he said.
''But it's a lot better,'' he said. ''And that's a good sign.''
Oosthuizen is playing this week in the Valspar Championship.
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MASTER PLAN: Roberto Castro, who went to Georgia Tech, played four rounds at Augusta National before he qualified for his first Masters this year.
He already has played twice in the fall, and plans two more rounds during the week of the Texas Open.
How many times can he go before the Masters?
''Within reason,'' he said with a smile. ''They have been very nice to host me.''
He last went with Chris Kirk, who also lives in Atlanta, the week of Thanksgiving. The Eisenhower Tree was still standing, which Castro said presented a problem because he tends to hit a fade off the tee. What he remembers more is playing the championship tees on a cold, soft day.
''When the ball backs up in the fairway, it's like the longest course in the world,'' he said.
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DIVOTS: Patrick Reed (twice) and Ryan Moore are the only players to go wire-to-wire, including ties, in 16 stroke-play events on the PGA Tour this year. ... Derek Fathauer, who missed the cut last week in Chile, shot a 59 during a practice round for the Web.com Tour event in Brazil on Tuesday. ... Minjee Lee of Australia, the No. 1 amateur in the world, was among nine amateurs awarded exemptions to the Kraft Nabisco Championship on April 3-6, the first LPGA major of the year.
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STAT OF THE WEEK: Tiger Woods earned $82,194 in his first three PGA Tour events as a pro in 1996. He has earned $86,919 in his first three PGA Tour events this year.
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FINAL WORD: ''There are pretenders on Sunday, contenders and closers. The rarest of all golfers are closers that can actually win tournaments, not win by accident because of other people falling apart.'' - Johnny Miller.
Gordon ready to tackle latest Darlington changes.
By PETE IACOBELLI (AP Sports Writer)
Jeff Gordon's grown accustomed to change in NASCAR, especially at Darlington Raceway.
The four-time Sprint Cup series champion has won races at the track ''Too Tough To Tame,'' in March, May, August and September and is ready for Darlington's latest schedule shift when the Southern 500 takes place April 12th.
Gordon says things are always changing in stock car racing and when Darlington holds its race does not matter - as long as he's lined up at the starting line. Gordon is the series' active leader with seven victories at Darlington, trailing Hall of Famers David Pearson with 10 and the late Dale Earnhardt with nine.
''It's still Darlington,'' he said. ''The track conditions might change slightly, but you want to be positive and open-minded about what's best for the fans, for the sport.''
After all, ''The Lady in Black'' was a much different layout when a young Gordon first drove it in a Busch Grand National car in the early 1990s. The start-finish line was on the backstretch, there were no lights and the surface was the same tire-chewing asphalt racers like Pearson and Richard Petty grew up on.
Gordon quickly grew to love it and became the Darlington master of this latest generation of racers. His last victory here came in May 2007. Since then the track has been repaved, which Gordon believes has evened the playing field among competitors at Darlington.
''We've had to more aggressive with the new pavement and that may have taken away a little advantage of what we had,'' he said.
It hasn't slowed him down too much: Gordon's finished in the top five in four of the past six Southern 500s.
Gordon visited the track Thursday, meeting fans purchasing tickets for next month's event and taking a prize-winner for a pace-car ride around Darlington.
Two Sisters, 7-year-old Leanna and 6-year-old Kayla Sheffield, are huge Gordon fans and got to miss school to see their favorite driver. The girls gave him a black-and-white checkered-flag pattern scarf for his own 6-year-old daughter, Ella Sophia.
''Thanks, this will keep her really warm,'' Gordon said, draping the scarf around his neck.
Gordon's visit finished at an area food bank before he left for Bristol, Tenn., and this weekend's Food City 500 where his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team will try and continue its strong start this season.
Gordon's had three top-10 showings - fourth at the Daytona 500, fifth a week later in Phoenix and ninth last weekend in Las Vegas - and stands fifth in points 18 back of leader Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Gordon said he and crew chief Alan Gustafson are connecting as are Gustafson and team engineers.
''I'm very excited,'' Gordon said. ''It's one of the best starts we've had in a long, long time, if ever.''
Speaking of change, Gordon loves what NASCAR has done with its points system to put more emphasis on winning, its qualifying shift to the popular knockout format and even the latest wrinkle of allowing teams to use a cooling unit and prevent them from slowing down on the race track to reduce engine temperatures.
''NASCAR made a great call,'' Gordon said of the qualifying adjustment.
Gordon said he's long placed prime importance on victories - he's third all-time with 88 wins - and his glad to know that one checkered flag this season gets you into the sport's 16-driver playoffs. He's also glad that once a win is secured, it gives drivers and crew chiefs the ability to take chances at more wins as Gordon's teammate Earnhardt Jr. did in gambling that his fuel would hold in Las Vegas.
Earnhardt Jr. ran dry and got passed by Brad Keselowski on the last lap.
''Everything we do is risk vs. reward,'' Gordon said. ''You're the seeing the benefits of getting that win (at Daytona) and letting Dale Jr. and (crew chief) Steve Letarte take that big risk on fuel in Las Vegas. I like what they did.''
On American Soccer: Taking stock of the U.S. national team three months before Brazil.
By Ives Galarcep
Are you a U.S. national team fan who is extremely worried about the state of your team with just three months to go before the World Cup? Rest assured, you are not alone, and you have reason to be concerned.
The U.S. team’s recent 2-0 loss to Ukraine isn’t a reason by itself to press the panic button, but placed in context with a series of other events and trends, the loss is the latest problem and you get a picture that is far less encouraging now than the one painted during a memorable summer of 2013.
Jozy Altdore and Clint Dempsey have been out of form for extended periods of time. Long enough to raise questions about whether Dempsey’s dip is a product of circumstances or because of his age. Altidore’s painful struggles at Sunderland leave you wondering just how low his confidence will go over the next two months, and whether he will be able to shake off a forgettable first season at Sunderland in time to be a threat in the World Cup.
The fullback positions remain a serious area of concern as well, especially given the dangerous wingers the U.S. will face in Brazil. Brad Evans' national team struggles, coupled with Geoff Cameron's steady play at Stoke City appear to have given the edge to Cameron even if Klinsmann still seems hesitant to commit to him. At left back, Edgar Castillo's struggles make it more and more clear that Klinsmann will have to seriously consider committing to Fabian Johnson as a fullback. That is, unless DaMarcus Beasley can hold up against Group G's outstanding wingers.
Then you have the central defender position, which appears to have Klinsmann a bit worried. Matt Besler and Omar Gonzalez appear to be the first-choice tandem, but they lack big-game experience and neither has been to a World Cup. Both had good first years as national team regulars in 2013, and they continue to look like the top pairing in the pool, even as Klinsmann scours the pool for other potential options.
These are just some of the questions lingering with the World Cup fast approaching, and with the Group of Death looming, a lack of form within the group is making advancement from the group stages look tougher and tougher.
So how does the team look as the spring arrives and summer draws near? Here is how the U.S. World Cup roster is shaping up with three months to go before the World Cup:
GOALKEEPERS
Tim Howard, Brad Guzan, Nick Rimando
The easiest position to projected on the U.S. World Cup team, with Rimando reminding us last weekend why he considered the unquestioned No. 3.
Stock Rising: Rimando starts the MLS season in style, widening the gap on any other potential No. 3s.
Stock Falling: Sean Johnson and Bill Hamid. Not that either had a bad game in their MLS season debuts, but both their teams look to have some defensive issues to work out, which won’t help boost either's chances.
DEFENDERS
Geoff Cameron, Matt Besler, Omar Gonzalez, Fabian Johnson, Brad Evans, Clarence Goodson, Michael Orozco, DaMarcus Beasley
Klinsmann’s attempt to give Edgar Castillo another chance to prove himself as a left back failed miserably, and with Fabian Johnson not exactly tearing it up as a wing midfielder against Ukraine, the U.S. coach will have to consider whether to leave the midfield to other options and play Johnson at left back, where he would be the best option in the pool.
The fourth central defender spot on the squad is up for grabs, and with both Oguchi Onyewu and John Brooks struggling badly against Ukraine, the big winner might be Orozco, who has been a consistent starter for a Puebla side that has defended well. Orozco also happens to be a more natural option to replace Besler were the U.S. to need a replacement.
If Klinsmann sticks with playing Johnson as a winger, a player who could benefit is Michael Parkhurst. The versatile veteran won’t figure to play much as a fullback for the Columbus Crew, but playing regularly will help his sharpness, and he’s capable of playing anywhere along the back-line.
One player we won’t rule out is Timmy Chandler. Though he is out until April, the lack of strong fullback options keeps his faint World Cup hopes alive. It is tough to argue that he isn’t one of the top four fullbacks in the player pool, but he needs to recover from his knee injury and get back on the field quickly.
Stock Rising: Cameron. Looked solid at right back against Ukraine and seems more and more like Klinsmann’s best option.
Stock Falling: Brooks and Castillo. The young German-American Brooks just hasn’t looked ready for prime time, and his lost standing at Hertha Berlin has only exacerbated his struggles. As for Castillo, he once again looked incapable of handling defensive duties, making him, quite simply, someone Klinsmann can’t afford to bring to Brazil.
Missed the Cut: Parkhurst, Onyewu, Ream, Chandler.
MIDFIELDERS
Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Alejandro Bedoya, Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones, Graham Zusi, Kyle Beckerman, Mix Diskerud.
This group of eight is looking more and more like the probable group, though there are some other candidates who could make a late push. Diskerud spot seems ppotentially vulnerable, but Sacha Kljestan’s decline makes him a bit safer.
One interesting player to consider is Brek Shea, who has shown an ability to make an impact off the bench. His discontinued loan at Barnsley could set him back if he doesn’t continue to find playing time, and another key question is who among Donovan, Dempsey, Bedoya and Zusi would Klinsmann honestly think would be a worse roster option than Shea?
Maurice Edu looked good in his debut for the Philadelphia Union, and can’t be ruled out as a threat to Kyle Beckerman’s place on the team. The same can be said for Danny Williams, who is enjoying a good season at Reading. Beckerman didn’t exactly lose ground in his strong outing for Real Salt Lake in its season-opening win against the LA Galaxy.
Stock Rising: Bedoya. Regular minutes in Ligue 1, coupled with good showings for the national team, keep Bedoya looking like a clear midfield option for Klinsmann.
Stock Falling: Sacha Kljestan. Had what was probably his last real chance to impress against Ukraine and he didn’t get it done.
Missed the Cut: Brad Davis, Danny Williams, Maurice Edu, Brek Shea, Joe Corona, Benny Feilhaber
FORWARDS
Jozy Altidore, Aron Johannsson, Terrence Boyd, Eddie Johnson
Altidore’s struggles continue but he remains Klinsmann’s first-choice starting striker. Johannsson keeps scoring goals for AZ, and showing signs in his national team appearances, but he remains second choice to Altidore. That being said, Johannsson continues to make a strong case for being a starter alongside Altidore,
Johnson gets the nod here in a race that also includes Juan Agudelo. Klinsmann has shown an affinity for Johnson’s versatility, and if Johnson gets off to a strong start with D.C. United, he just might be able to hold of Agudelo’s push.
Boyd has long been considered Altidore’s backup in terms of being a pure target forward, but his failure to see any minutes against Ukraine has to raise some eyebrows. Boyd continues to score in the Austrian League, but you have to wonder just how safe his place in the team is at the moment.
Stock Rising: Johannsson. Keeps in scoring goals, but will need Klinsmann to reconsider his tactics if he’s going to have a serious chance at starting.
Stock Falling: Herculez Gomez. Hasn’t really gotten going for Club Tijuana this year, and until he starts finding the net for the Xolos, Gomez could be the odd man out.
Missed the Cut: Agudelo, Chris Wondolowski.
'Loser State': No programs from Indiana will be dancing in NCAA tournament.
By Pat Forde
The last stand of college basketball's Holy Land was brief and inglorious.
Here at the Big Ten tournament, the first two teams eliminated were Indiana and Purdue. The Hoosiers bogged down late and were beaten by Illinois, 64-54. The Boilermakers gave Ohio State all it could handle before falling, 63-61. Thus Elimination Thursday officially left the Hoosier State without a school whose name will be in the 68-team NCAA tournament bracket when it is unveiled Sunday.
From Fort Wayne to Evansville, there isn't even a bubble team to be found. Three days before Selection Sunday, the state is dismissed.
And that is a cultural disaster.
Nobody loves basketball more than the good people of Indiana. This is the state that gave us "Hoosiers." The home of John Wooden. The place where Bob Knight became a legend. And Larry Bird. The state where 41,000 people watched Damon Bailey win a state high school title. Hinkle Fieldhouse is here. UCLA's 88-game winning streak ended in Indiana. Butler's back-to-back miraculous Final Four appearances are the latest part of the lore.
And now? This year? When it comes to college hoops, Indiana might as well be Alaska.
This is the first time since 2005 that the state and its 10 Division I programs failed to put a team in the Big Dance – and there are four more bids to be had now than then. But before that, Indiana hadn't been shut out since 1973 – when there were 25 teams in the NCAA field.
So from a purely numerical standpoint, you can argue that this is the lowest the state has ever been in college basketball.
After being ranked No. 1 for part of last season, winning the Big Ten and earning an NCAA No. 1 seed, Indiana has backslid drastically. This will be the fourth time in six seasons under Tom Crean that the Hoosiers miss the NCAA tourney – something that wasn't expected to happen again after Crean's resolute program rebuild got Indiana back on the map in 2011-12. But here the Hoosiers are, 17-15 and likely to get an NIT bid based more on brand name and fan base than anything this particular team has to offer.
Asked postgame what the message is to his team, Crean paused. And thought. And paused some more. Nearly 30 seconds went by, and then he chose his words carefully.
"Bottom line is, we can play better," he said. "You have to match the toughness and the competitive spirit every time that you play. … Really what I want to do is try give a different way to say that message because I've given it a few times."
Purdue (15-17) was tied for last in the Big Ten this year. It was just the second time that's happened in the last 48 seasons. The other time was 2005-06, Matt Painter's first season at coach when he was rebuilding post-Gene Keady. The Boilermakers closed this year with 12 losses in their last 14 games, and now have consecutive losing seasons on their permanent record.
"I told our guys I didn't doubt their efforts [during the year], and our last game of the season I did doubt their effort," Painter said. "I didn't think we played hard as a group. We had a couple of individuals play hard, but as I group I didn't think we played very hard."
If the effort wasn't all there from the Indiana and Purdue players, their lethargy was matched by the fans. They were sufficiently beaten down to provide almost no home-court advantage for their teams Thursday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Illinois and Ohio State pretty much played on a neutral floor, with no discomfort brought on by the fans.
Apathy is never a good sign.
The good news for both Painter and Crean is that Brad Stevens is no longer looming in the wings. The guy who took Butler to those consecutive Final Fours – and thus became the fantasy hire for fans of Purdue, Indiana and virtually every other big-time program in America – skedaddled for the NBA and Boston Celtics last summer. Where, it must be said, he is losing games in bulk.
And now so is the program he left behind.
Butler's gradual ascendancy to unlikely power gave way to an instant collapse amid a perfect storm of difficult circumstances. Stevens left precisely when the Bulldogs were making a major move up in class, from the mid-major Horizon League to the Big East. Then to top it off, the team's best player – guard-forward Roosevelt Jones – was lost for the season before it started due to wrist surgery. That was just what rookie head coach Brandon Miller needed.
The result was predictably grim: a 14-17 record and ninth-place finish in the 10-team Big East. The Bulldogs lost on a last-second basket by Seton Hall in the first round of the league tourney – their eighth loss by six points or fewer.
Butler wasn't the only Hoosier State team to struggle with conference transition and player losses.
Notre Dame moved into the ACC, had Jerian Grant ruled ineligible and saw Cameron Biedscheid transfer. The Fighting Irish went 15-17 and were bounced in the first round of the ACC tournament by similarly woeful Wake forest.
On the mid-major level, Indiana State and Evansville were punched out by Goliath Wichita State in the Missouri Valley Conference. Ball State (5-25) was dismissed in the first round of the Mid-American Conference tourney. Valparaiso lost in the Horizon League semifinals to Milwaukee. And there was Hoosier-on-Hoosier crime in the Summit League, where IPFW eliminated IUPUI 84-57.
The dire status of the state was exemplified by the fact that IPFW – which went Division I in 2001 – became the last legitimate NCAA hope. Alas, it could not hold a late lead in the Summit final and lost to North Dakota State, 60-57.
When a newbie program nicknamed the Mastodons is the standard bearer for the state of Indiana, you know the season went off the rails.
In this moment of doubt and pain, there is only one place for the hoops Holy Land to turn: Hoosier Hysteria. The state high school tournament regionals are Saturday.
That will be the only meaningful basketball played in the sad state of Indiana this weekend.
Tennessee's Joshua Dobbs balances an aerospace engineering major while trying to win the starting quarterback job.
By Sam Cooper
The “dumb athlete” stereotype does not apply to Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Dobbs, who will be a sophomore next season, started four games for the Volunteers last season and is a part of a four-way competition for the starting job in 2014, but that’s not all that’s on Dobbs’ plate.
Dobbs is an aerospace engineering major, and in an interview with CBSSports’ Bruce Feldman, Dobbs detailed his rigorous coursework on top of his work on the football field and in the weight room. Impressive is an understatement.
Dobbs is an aerospace engineering major, and in an interview with CBSSports’ Bruce Feldman, Dobbs detailed his rigorous coursework on top of his work on the football field and in the weight room. Impressive is an understatement.
Just this semester he is taking Materials Science and Engineering, Honors Physics of Engineers II, Honors Calculus III and Honors Cultural Anthropology. He’s also taking a yoga class to help with his flexibility.
This class schedule, plus offseason practice and workouts make means Dobbs is putting in a 17-hour work day Monday through Friday. In Dobbs’ own words, here’s what it looks like:
A typical day for the spring semester:
- • Starts at about 7:00 a.m. with breakfast
- • Class starts at 8 a.m. on Tues. and Thurs. and at 9 a.m. on Mon., Wed., and Fri.
- • Classes go until about until 2:30 p.m.
- • I squeeze in lunch
- • Football film study, workouts, meetings, and/or independent throwing from about 3 until 7 p.m.
- • After dinner, I complete the day at the Thornton Academic Center from 7:30 to about 10 p.m.
- • Return to my room to finish homework and prepare to start the routine over for the next day
- • I try to get to bed by midnight
Dobbs told Feldman that he doesn’t think his demanding course load makes being a quarterback in the SEC any more difficult. In fact, he says his busy schedule has “helped (his) overall mental conditioning.”
Once the season and the fall semester rolls around, Dobbs will begin taking more classes closely associated with the aerospace engineering program. From taking advanced placement courses in high school, he already had close to 30 credits when he arrived at Tennessee, so he is well on his way to achieving his undergraduate degree early.
Dobbs is an extremely impressive young man, and the rest of the interview in which he details where his fascination with aerospace engineering originated and how he manages his schedule is well worth a read.
Sandusky's wife: Victims manipulated over money. What's your take?
AP Sports
The wife of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky says she ''definitely'' believes her husband is innocent despite being convicted of sexually abusing 10 boys and that the victims' financial gain was at play.
Dottie Sandusky said in an interview broadcast Wednesday on NBC's ''Today'' show that ''there was nothing that went on because I was here'' in the couple's small home in State College, where some of the victims reported being abused in the basement.
Although one accuser said his muffled screams went unheard by her upstairs, Sandusky heard nothing ''because he didn't scream,'' she said after giving interviewer Matt Lauer a tour of the house. ''It's not a dungeon,'' she noted of the basement."
She denied any suggestion that she was a ''weak spouse'' who enabled her husband and said she believes his accusers had been manipulated.
''I think it was, they were manipulated, and they saw money,'' she said. ''Once lawyers came into the case, they said there was money.''
In October, Penn State announced it was paying nearly $60 million to settle abuse claims by 26 young men. It's not clear how many suits are still pending against the university following those settlements.
Sandusky said in the interview recorded Monday that she believed that her husband showered with children but ''that's the generation that Jerry grew up in.''
She insisted the encounters went no further: ''I definitely believe him. Because if I didn't believe him, when I testified at trial, I could have not said what I said. I would have had to tell the truth.''
Sandusky, who testified for about 40 minutes during her husband's 2012 trial, also disputed a police investigator's account of a statement by her husband following a 1998 complaint by a mother who said Jerry Sandusky had showered with her son.
He ''would not say, 'I wish I was dead,''' Dottie Sandusky said.
She was joined in the interviewed by filmmaker John Ziegler, who is working on a documentary in defense of the late Joe Paterno, Jerry Sandusky's longtime boss. Ziegler told The Associated Press on Wednesday that neither of them was paid for the interview, and that she agreed to talk to NBC to express her belief in her husband's innocence and to demonstrate ''that she isn't delusional.''
Jerry Sandusky, who is serving a 30- to 60-year sentence, insists he is innocent and has a request pending that asks the state Supreme Court to consider his appeal.
Dottie Sandusky said she visits her husband once a week in his southwestern Pennsylvania prison but is allowed no physical contact.
''We talk about what's been going on with the family, we talk about things with the case, how things have been going for him,'' she said. Confined to his cell for 23 hours a day, he reads, meditates, writes and has a television, ''which is a lifesaver for him,'' she said.
She began to cry while saying the case has been ''really rough'' on her family.
''Some of our grandchildren are old enough that they know what's been going on, and they've been told what's been going on,'' she said. ''They know who their pop is and what he was.''
Many friends have stood by the couple, but lawyers have told others to keep their distance, she said.
Sandusky broke down again when asked what her husband misses most, finally replying, ''Family meals, the fun times with the grandkids, playing ball, doing special things with friends.''
''He said, 'I guess I took those too for granted,''' she said.
But Sandusky said many people may find it hard to believe that her husband has maintained a positive attitude.
''Jerry's still a happy person, and he smiles, and he tries to make people laugh, and he said, 'I'm in the situation I'm in and I'm going to make the best I can out of it.'''
We know that this is a dead issue, however, Mrs. Sandusky has to stand by her man for many reasons. The main one is to protect the integrity of the family for her grandchildren. Coach Sandusky has been found guilty and given a lengthy prison sentence. What do you think about the position Mrs. Sandusky is taking? We'd love to know, What's your take?
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