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"You must have long term goals to keep you from being frustrated by short term failures." ~ Charles C. Noble, Author, Poet and Playwright
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Game 2: Blackhawks 4, Wild 1.
By Jerry Bonkowski, The Sports Xchange
Brian Bickell scored his fifth goal of the playoffs in the 4-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild at the United Center in Chicago, IL., Sunday, May 4, 2014.
Left winger Brandon Saad scored two goals, while center and team captain Jonathan Toews and left winger Bryan Bickell added solo tallies as the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Minnesota Wild 4-1 in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal series Sunday at the United Center.
Chicago takes a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, which shifts to Minnesota for Game 3 on Tuesday and Game 4 on Friday. If necessary, Game 5 will be in Chicago next Sunday.
Chicago right winger Marian Hossa had a great breakaway against Wild goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, but his shot bounced off the right side pipe of the net. Toews pounced on the puck and slapped a backhand and off-balance shot into the Wild net at 11:02 of the first period, giving Chicago a 1-0 lead. It was Toews' fourth goal of the playoffs.
Chicago went up 2-0 at 19:04 of the second period when Saad scored his first goal of the playoffs.
Minnesota finally got on the board early in the third period when center Cody McCormick scored his first points of the playoffs on a feed in front of Chicago's net by defenseman Clayton Stoner.
That was all Minnesota would manage in the contest, while Chicago added two more goals to seal the victory.
Bickell scored his fifth goal of the playoffs at 17:15, leaving him tied with teammate and right winger Patrick Kane for most goals in this year's postseason.
Saad tallied his second goal of the game at 18:37, this time an empty-net tally, to seal things up for the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford wound up with 18 saves to Bryzgalov's 18.
NOTES: Play was stopped with 5:15 left in the first period when Chicago D Niklas Hjalmarsson went down hard after being hit by a Wild shot in front of the Blackhawks' net. After laying on the ice for about a minute, Hjalmarsson was helped to the ice and slowly skated off to the team locker room. ... Chicago C Andrew Shaw, who left after being injured in the first period of Game 1, sat out Sunday's game. D Sheldon Brookbank was also a scratch. ... Depending upon who you talk to, Wild G Darcy Kuemper is still sidelined with either an upper-body injury (so says the team) or concussion (says the media). ... Attendance was 22,018. ... It's important for the Blackhawks to win Sunday, as the Wild are 3-0 at home thus far in the playoffs. Game 3 and 4 will be in Minnesota on Tuesday and Friday. ... Minnesota came into Sunday's game with an all-time record of 2-5 in the second game of playoff series. The Wild's last Game 2 win came in the first round of the 2008 playoffs vs. Colorado. ... Wild LW Zach Parise came into Sunday's game leading the NHL with 11 points (3 goals, 8 assists) thus far in this season's playoffs. Parise is tied for the team lead in goals with C Kyle Brodziak. ... The Wild's three wins at home in St. Paul during the first-round series vs. Colorado marked the first time they have won more than one game at home in any playoff series in team history. ... Blackhawks rookie backup G Antti Raanta, who was 13-5-4 in the regular season, has not played in a month (April 4).
California Chrome shines in Kentucky Derby.
By Rick Cushing, The Sports Xchange
Affirming his status as the beast of the West, California Chrome powered to a 1 3/4-length victory in the $2,177,800 Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs.
On a sunny, windswept day, the modestly bred son of Lucky Pulpit covered 1 1/4 miles in 2:03.66 under jockey Victor Espinoza and paid $7 as the overwhelming favorite in a field of 19 3-year-olds.
Commanding Curve, a 37-1 shot, finished second, 1 1/4 lengths in front of Danza (9-1). Wicked Strong (6-1) was another 2 3/4 lengths back in fourth.
California Chrome is trained by Art Sherman, who became at age 77 the oldest trainer to win the Derby. He was the exercise rider on the great Swaps in 1955 when he beat Nashua in what is considered the ultimate East-West Derby. This was Sherman's first time back since then, when he rode cross-country in the same railroad car with the California-based Swaps.
Sherman admitted that he "said a little prayer before the start." The prayer: "I hope he's another Swaps."
Starting from the No. 5 post, California Chrome got away well and was just off the lead at the start. He settled in third as the field headed into the first turn after a moderate quarter-mile in 23.04 seconds. Chitu led the way, with Uncle Sigh second.
Chrome remained third as Uncle Sigh took the field through a leisurely half-mile in 47.37 seconds and 6 furlongs in 1:11.80. Heading into the far turn, Espinoza asked Chrome to pick it up and the chestnut with four white socks and a full blaze responded with alacrity.
By the top of the stretch (1 mile in 1:37.45), Chrome had taken the lead on the outside and the race was over. He resolutely pulled away, opening a three-length margin by midstretch and then coasted home, leaving the only race was for second.
California Chrome's sire stands for $2,500 and his dam, Love the Chase, once ran for an $8,000 claiming tag. Despite such unfashionable breeding, Chrome was the beast of the West Coast this year, winning his previous four starts by a combined 23 1/4 lengths. A 5 1/4-length victory in the April 5 Santa Anita Derby made Chrome the Kentucky Derby favorite.
Sherman kept the horse in California at his home track of Los Alamitos until last Monday, when he flew to Louisville. He did not have a pre-Derby workout at Churchill, only jogging a couple of miles each day.
Some hardboots were not impressed, saying Chrome looked a bit stilted. Sherman was happy, however.
Chrome earned $1,417,800 for owner-breeders Steven Coburn and Perry Martin, who turned down a multimillion bid to sell their colt after the Santa Anita Derby. He is now 7-1-0 in 11 career starts and has earned $2,552,650.
"It's a dream come true," Martin said.
California Chrome was the overwhelming favorite of the crowd of 164,906, the second-largest in Derby history. Only two other horses had odds in single digits -- Wicked Strong at 6-1 and Danza at 8-1. The horse with the next-lowest odds was Intensive Holiday at 13-1.
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!! Emery likes extra time before draft.
By Larry Mayer
While some NFL executives have voiced their displeasure about this year's draft being held two weeks later than usual, Bears general manager Phil Emery is not among them.
"I love it, honestly," Emery said. "I've heard reports of people complaining about it. I don't know what they're complaining about. This is the juice in the personnel cycle. This is where the fun is."
The draft was scheduled for May 8-10 rather than late April due to a conflict at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Interestingly, the event that necessitated the move was canceled in March.
Emery said that the extra two weeks has been "very beneficial" for the Bears.
"It's allowed us to have less rushed conversations and to look at things from all different angles and to think future and now and to have those conversations and to come back and revisit and to try to look at fitting this piece of the puzzle from all different angles," Emery said.
While evaluating prospects, Emery isn't concerned about the Bears overthinking—or what some refer to as "paralysis by analysis."
"You feel about the players how you feel about it," he said. "It's working the plan, finding the best way to use this part of the year to fill as many needs that you have and to add as many dynamic players that you can that will help you now and in the future.
"So, no, it's not about overanalyzing players. It's about working your plan and having more time to do so, which I think is very beneficial and really has been an enjoyable process."
Working the phones: The Bears are spending the final week before the draft reaching out to prospects they'd be interested in signing as undrafted free agents.
"That takes a lot of work," Emery said. "There are a lot of phone calls. A lot of thought goes into that process in trying to find interconnections with those players. You want to stay in contact with them as much as you can in terms of: 'Do we have your right number? Just want you to know that you're in our plans. And good luck in the draft.'"
Last season three undrafted rookie free agents made the Bears' 53-man roster: Running back
"The planning takes a lot of work," Emery said. "To have a good class of rookie free agents takes a lot of work post-draft by everybody in the building and we've had some success."
Cornering the safety market: Emery revealed that the Bears have scouted some cornerbacks in the draft with the intention to possibly convert them into safeties.
"We've looked at every corner that has length as a possible safety," Emery said. "We've looked at them as a scouting staff and I reassigned them again to go look at that equation. I asked our coaches to do that, and I continue to give them lists for players to look at their position versatility.
"The problem is you have to project. To take a college corner and make a safety out of him, that's a big jump. You have to feel the player has the intelligence to do it; more importantly that he has the instincts to do it."
The Bears attempted to transform 2012 third-round pick Brandon Hardin from a college cornerback into an NFL safety. But that experiment failed and Hardin was released without ever appearing in a regular-season game.
"I put Brandon in a position he couldn't succeed, and that's on me," Emery said. "I said that at the end of the year. If it's a fifth- or sixth-rounder and it's someone that has dynamic suddenness and size, that's a little bit different story than somebody higher in the draft.
"But we have looked at them from all angles because there is a drop-off in terms of perceived level of ability between the first few safeties in the draft and the next grouping. Out of necessity, we have looked at them from all different angles in terms of their positional flexibility."
NFL welcomes small-school players to big stage.
By MICHAEL MAROT (AP Sports Writer)
Zach Moore and Larry Webster found unconventional ways to reach NFL draft weekend.
When Moore's subpar high school grades scared away big-time football schools from offering scholarships, the Chicago native enrolled at tiny Concordia University in Minnesota. Webster, the son of a former NFL player, spent three years starting on Bloomsburg's college basketball team before giving football a second shot in 2012.
League scouts still found them and next week, these two Division II stars could hear their names called out on the biggest stage of all, Radio City Music Hall.
The scouts have increasingly found talent at smaller schools, making sure they don't miss out on the next big thing in football, even if it comes far from the spotlight.
Examples can be found everywhere.
Football Championship Subdivision alums Kurt Warner and Joe Flacco both earned Super Bowl rings after becoming starting quarterbacks, although Warner had to play in Arena Football and NFL Europe first.
Robert Mathis, who also played in the FCS, is the NFL's reigning sacks champ. Offensive lineman Jahri Evans has been to five Pro Bowls despite coming out of Bloomsburg. And three of the greatest players in NFL history - Brett Favre, the late Walter Payton and Jerry Rice - all played college ball in Mississippi, though none of the three played at an SEC school and only Favre played in the top level of college ball.
Those sorts of oversights have prompted NFL decision makers to take their annual talent search to some unusual places.
''I was actually in Concordia this year and I wasn't the only GM, which really blew my mind when I saw a stack of business cards and saw another GM in there,'' Colts general manager Ryan Grigson said. ''I was always taught by my old boss Charley Armey, I remember him saying years ago, 'Scout the player, not the school.'''
It's a sentiment that seems to resonate within a league no longer totally reliant on traditional powerhouses to find talent.
A year ago, Central Michigan offensive lineman Eric Fisher was selected No. 1 overall by Kansas City. This year, Buffalo linebacker Khalil Mack is projected to go in the top five, giving the once overlooked Mid-American Conference the possibility of having top-five picks in back-to-back years.
The small-school talent pool is not drying up. Anything but.
-Quarterback Jimmy Garopollo has drawn comparisons to Dallas quarterback Tony Romo, a fellow Eastern Illinois alum, and isn't expected to last beyond the second round.
-Haitian immigrant Pierre Desir, a 23-year-old cornerback, husband and father who worked in sewers between stints at two Division II schools, Washburn in Kansas and Lindenwood in Missouri, could go on the second day of the draft.
-Short, powerful running back Terrance West ran for 2,509 yards and 41 touchdowns last season at Towson and appears to have a similar physique to Maurice Jones-Drew.
-Offensive lineman Billy Turner played on three straight FCS championship teams at North Dakota State.
-Receiver Jeff Janis of Saginaw Valley State impressed scouts at the combine with a 4.42-second 40-yard dash after measuring in at 6-foot-3, 219 pounds.
-Linebacker Johnny Millard of Cal Poly is attempting to follow in the footsteps of his father, Keith, a longtime NFL player.
Moore, a 6-5, 269-pound pass rusher who had 21 sacks over the past two seasons, and Webster, a 6-6, 252-pound defensive end who had 26 sacks in that span, are in the mix, too. Both were finalists for the Cliff Harris Award presented to the nation's best small-school defender.
None of these guys is surprised.
''I do feel like there is a lot of talent in Division II that does get overlooked because it's Division II, unless you stand out,'' Webster said. ''You have to really stand out. If you don't, you get overlooked.''
It's not that teams can't find the talent. It's just that sometimes it takes a lot more work to discover it beyond the traditional BCS schools.
Getting to some campuses can be complicated, and analyzing game tape isn't always easy. While BCS schools have plenty of tape available for scouts, often from multiple angles and against other potential draft prospects, that's not always the case in the FCS, Division II and III, the NAIA, or even all of the FBS leagues.
''That's where the real grinders on your staff find players. The lazy guys, they are not sitting there at a D-III school or another school that has poor facilities and you are sitting there with a VHS tape and an actual remote control where you hit rewind,'' Grigson said. ''I've been there before and then it rewinds all the way to the beginning of the tape and you've got to find where you were at before. It becomes a challenge, but the guys that work for me and work for the Indianapolis Colts have that type of drive to where they will sit there painstakingly through four, five tapes.''
Eventually, they're able to determine whether a Moore or a Webster can cut it in the NFL.
And more frequently, NFL decision-makers are giving guys like Moore and Webster the benefit of the doubt.
''Throughout the course of the season last year I have had over from 35-40 scouts from different teams come through,'' said Moore, who never played in front of a crowd bigger than 7,000. ''I just stuck to the mindset that if you are good they will find you, and that is how I am fortunate enough to be here.''
Just another Chicago Bulls Session… Bulls looking back and forward to 2014-15.
By Sam Smith
The contents of this article have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Chicago Bulls. All opinions expressed by Sam Smith are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Chicago Bulls or their Basketball Operations staff, parent company, partners, or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Bulls and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
So what’s next for the Bulls after yet another disappointing close to the season, a second first round exit losing to a lower seed.
In 2012, it was Derrick Rose’s devastating injury in the first game of the playoffs and then the six-game loss. Last season, it was the thrilling first round series and seventh game victory in Brooklyn before losing to Miami in five games. And Tuesday it was the 75-69 conclusion to a 4-1 series win going to the Washington Wizards, the Wizards’ second playoff series win since 1982 and both over the Bulls.
“How they wouldn’t quit,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said about what will be his memory of this team. “We took a couple big hits that past couple years. Actually the last three years; the lockout year, Derrick missed half of that season. They fought like crazy that year. He missed all of last season and this season with the trade of Luol… we were 12-19. You’re sitting there saying ‘OK, what are we going to do?’ These guys fought like crazy to make sure we had a good season. When a team commits to playing as a team, playing together and playing for each other, and give you everything they have there is nothing more you can ask for. A lot of people would have just laid down, but our team didn’t do that.
“I saw the fight and determination in them last year,” added Thibodeau. “We thought initially Derrick would come back after the All-Star break (last season). That didn’t happen. They wouldn’t let the season go by the wayside. We got to the playoffs and we lost Luol and Kirk and they found a way to win that series. Joakim was dealing with plantar (fasciitis) and missed the end of the season. I knew the fight the core guys had. When Derrick went down this year, I knew the disappointment the guys had because of the closeness of the guys to Derrick and the disappointment I knew they felt for him. But I knew once they got past that the fight would come back because that’s what they’ve shown.”
Thibodeau perhaps gave an inadvertent hint of the future in talking about going forward.
“The thing I was very pleased with I thought there was tremendous growth by Joakim and Taj,” said Thibodeau. “The addition of D.J. (Augustin) was big. I thought he was terrific. I though Mike Dunleavy did his job and did a lot more than we thought he would. He was brought in to add shooting and play a role off the bench. He ended up starting and doing a terrific job for us. It’s very unusual to have the type of scoring we had from D.J. and Taj coming off the bench. I thought Nazr did a terrific job for us. All the guys did. Even the guys who weren’t playing. They were real professional and worked hard and made the spirit of the team strong. That goes a long way. Sometimes you guys don’t see that. But it’s critical for our team.
“Obviously we were shorthanded this year, but I think we are positioned well,” said Thibodeau. “Obviously, we have to address the shooting; how we surround Derrick will be critical. Not only Derrick, but Taj and Joakim. You never can have enough shooting; we‘ll see how things unfold.”
There likely is no fixed plan in place for the Bulls as they’ll be open to acquiring any top player, especially on offense. You never know when a team will trade someone, like the Thunder did with James Harden. Carmelo Anthony has been perhaps the biggest name mentioned, though the odds remain he’ll resign with the Knicks. He’s made clear he’ll have an active free agency and visit many teams, certainly including the Bulls. So there’ll be plenty of speculation regarding Anthony and the Bulls.
The Bulls, though, would have to make several salary moves, including renouncing both Kirk Hinrich and D.J. Augustin, perhaps trading both draft picks (Nos. 16 and 19) and giving away Mike Dunleavy along with an amnesty of Carlos Boozer and passing on Nikola Mirotic this summer as Thibodeau seemed to indicate Gibson is part of the Bulls core going forward.
Kevin Love is a trade possibility because he could be a free agent after next season. Though he’d have to agree to sign an extension. Free agents who could be in the Bulls price range would include—depending on various personal moves as well though not as many as it would take for Anthony—Luol Deng, Pau Gasol, Vince Carter, Evan Turner, Rodney Stuckey, Lance Stephenson, Boris Diaw and Trevor Ariza.
Here’s a look at the roster:
Derrick Rose: With three years remaining on his contract averaging about $20 million, he is the key to the Bulls return to serious contention. Rose has recovered on pace from his November knee injury and is expected to try out for the USA Basketball World Cup team this summer. But free agents will not know his playing status until after the free agent signing period.
Carlos Boozer: One year remaining at $16.8 million. Likely candidate for amnesty, which is in July. Trade possibility as well. Boozer had a rough finish with 10 points and nine rebounds in Game 5. He declined to address reporters after the game after the home crowd inappropriately booed when he replaced Taj Gibson in the fourth quarter. He is not expected to return.
Joakim Noah: Two years remaining at a total of about $25 million. The core player for the team going forward as he had his career season winning Defensive Player of the Year but left with a knee injury.
Taj Gibson: Three years remaining at a total of about $25 million. Seemingly another core player and expected to be the starting power forward. Would the Bulls dump his salary for a chance to sign Anthony? Unlikely, especially with Nikola Mirotic not coming this summer if Anthony would.
Kirk Hinrich: Unrestricted free agent. He’d like to return to the Bulls and they’d like to have him, but it obviously depends on other moves. He’d likely like to sign one more contract after a good season and one of the better players in Game 5 and this series.
Mike Dunleavy: One year remaining at about $3.3 million. His name is always mentioned as a possible loss to clear space for Anthony. But the Bulls need shooting and how much sense would it make to drop one of the few shooters you have?
Tony Snell: Played spot minutes in the series averaging about 10 and less than a point. He’s on a two year rookie contract with two option years. He’ll have to become much more aggressive to crack the regular lineup.
Jimmy Butler: One season left at about $2 million. He’ll be eligible for an extension before next season and if he doesn’t sign will be a restricted free agent after next season with the Bulls able to match an offer. He’s probably better suited to move to small forward if the Bulls can bring in a shooting guard.
Nazr Mohammed: Unrestricted free agent. After 15 seasons in the NBA a good chance he’ll choose to retire.
D.J. Augustin: Unrestricted free agent. Had a strong season to make the Bulls playoff season possible, but had trouble against the taller Wizards and shot 29 percent in the series. He’s said he’d like to return to the Bulls, but given his tough last two years with three teams will look for a good guaranteed deal the Bulls may not be able to match.
Greg Smith: The Houston center/forward was signed late in the season and in need of knee rehabilitation. But he is expected to be back for next season and at a modest salary a good possibility as a backup center.
Jimmer Fredette: Late season pickup on his buyout from the Kings who never got into the playoffs. Will likely go elsewhere to look where he can play.
Mikes James, Ronnie Brewer and Lou Amundson: Contracts acquired to give the team more options in free agency with additional salaries to trade. None are expected to return for next season.
White Sox looking for a spark heading into Crosstown series.
By Dick Hayes
The earliest meeting in history between the Cubs and the White Sox comes at a difficult time for the South Siders.
Some of the luster of a solid first month has been stripped away from the revamped White Sox as key injuries -- almost too many to count -- have begun to catch up with the team.
With Adam Eaton the latest key performer to catch the injury bug, a once-torrid White Sox offense has cooled off under the weight of three Opening Day-starters going on the disabled list.
Despite their maladies the White Sox continue to show just how different a team they are from last season. On the eve of a four-games series against their crosstown rivals, Dayan Viciedo’s three-run, ninth-inning home run lifted the White Sox to a 4-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on Sunday. The drive snapped a four-game losing streak and gives the White Sox even more faith they’re headed in the right direction even in the midst of an obvious transition year.
“We feel like (general manager Rick Hahn) and (Kenny Williams) have done a good job of (making a transition) while also keeping us competitive,” pitcher John Danks said. “Losing is part of it. Every team is going to have a losing streak. It’s just the best teams minimize them and counter that with prolonged winning streaks. There’s certainly no panic in here. We know we need to play better than we have, but it’ll come.”
Whereas a season ago the White Sox roster was largely built upon veteran position players, the 2014 campaign is much different. The White Sox have followed the Cubs’ lead in heading toward a youth movement, though the one on the South Side is more accelerated given the strong starts by first baseman Jose Abreu and center fielder Adam Eaton.
One of seven players on the DL, Chris Sale, who is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Monday, is excited about the team’s new direction. He likes what he has seen from Abreu and Eaton as well as third baseman Matt Davidson, one of the team’s top prospects at Triple-A Charlotte.
Sale can see the White Sox, who were rated by Baseball America as having the No. 9 ranked group of players 25 or younger, having sustained success for years to come.
“We’ve got some young players, but they all bring something different and good to the table,” Sale said in April. “I know Davidson didn’t make the ball club, but he’s still a hell of a ballplayer and he’s going to be a key piece to the puzzle, if not this year, next year and years beyond that.”
Last week, Hahn said the White Sox would have to think about upgrading their roster were they to stay in contention. He and Williams have their eyes focused on the future with the team picking No. 3 overall in next month’s amateur draft. But if the offense could maintain its torrid pace and a number of other factors went their way the White Sox couldn’t easily bypass a chance to reach the postseason.
But little has gone right for the White Sox of late.
Eaton, who missed five games last month with left leg issues, went on the DL on Saturday with a right hamstring strain. He joined Avisail Garcia, who is out for the season.
Sale’s return to the mound from a flexor mass strain has taken a little longer than the team first predicted. And the White Sox learned they would be without Nate Jones for at least another six weeks after he undergoes surgery on Monday.
Viciedo said dealing with injuries is tough, but the White Sox have handled it as well as can be expected.
“That’s a bad thing to go through,” Viciedo said. “But the guys who have come in have stepped it up and done their job and that’s a good thing. That’s what team is all about.”
Despite the troubles, Danks likes what he has seen. The combination of energy from the team’s new players and the health from other key figures gives the White Sox a better chance of weathering the storm of injuries than they had when they lost 99 games in 2013.
“It’s draining whenever you’re hurt and not able to play,” Danks said. “I feel like all around guys are excited. We still feel we have a chance to win every ballgame and I think that has shown.”
Golf: J.B. Holmes completes comeback from two brain surgeries with Wells Fargo victory.
By Brian Murphy
But adversity is a funny thing. It can bury you, or it can stoke you. Holmes used the time off to spend time with his new wife and his family and friends, and to "recharge the batteries," as he said. He also is deeply religious, and leaned on that to fuel his comeback, too.
Oh, my. Pass the antacid.
Add it up and it's a Sunday 76 for Phil, in which he tumbled from two shots from the lead on Sunday morning to a tie-11th, seven shots off the pace.
Golf: J.B. Holmes completes comeback from two brain surgeries with Wells Fargo victory.
By Brian Murphy
The man himself called it "low-risk" brain surgery, and in terms of all-time oxymora, that ranks right up there with the old George Carlin standbys "jumbo shrimp" and "business ethics."
J.B. Holmes said it about the two surgeries performed inside his skull in 2011. And Holmes, who once was a two-time PGA Tour winner and member of the victorious 2008 U.S. Ryder Cup team, is about the last guy you'd expect to be reading about after the star-studded field played 72 holes of golf at Quail Hollow for the Wells Fargo Championship.
It's not just that he was ranked 242nd in the world entering Quail Hollow, or that it had been six years since he won. It's that in the time since he last tasted glory, he'd had his brain operated on twice. We won't even mention an ensuing elbow injury and broken ankle while rollerblading last year. Just focus on the guy coming back from brain surgery – pardon me, two brain surgeries – to beat back Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Jim Furyk and a cast of thousands to re-launch his career at age 32.
His insistence that it was "low risk" in the fall of 2011 was based on the diagnosis of Chiari malformations, which cause vertigo-like symptoms, and is treatable. Still. You want two brain surgeries? He had to have the second because he proved allergic to the titanium placed in his brain after the first one. He had to be airlifted from his Kentucky home to have the second surgery.
So forgive Holmes for his disappearance on the scene. While he made an admirable comeback as early as January 2012, and even had two top-10s in 2012 (at Riviera and Houston), he wasn't burning up anybody's Fantasy Golf draft boards. By the time he missed four of his first five cuts last year and then broke his ankle roller blading, you'd be forgiven if you forgot Holmes had a Tour card.
But adversity is a funny thing. It can bury you, or it can stoke you. Holmes used the time off to spend time with his new wife and his family and friends, and to "recharge the batteries," as he said. He also is deeply religious, and leaned on that to fuel his comeback, too.
Next thing you know, he's stringing together top-20s in the three weeks leading up to Quail Hollow, and then he starts playing that J.B. Holmes golf we used to know way back when: long, longer and longest. Always one of the biggest bombers on the planet, Holmes dialed up his home run swing at Quail Hollow to lead the field in driving distance, and more importantly married it to uncanny short game recoveries. It was not unimportant that he got hot with that best friend of a winner, his putter.
His Saturday 66 gave him a one-stroke lead over Martin Flores. His Sunday 71 was just one stroke better than a charging Furyk, who keeps reminding us that, even though he turns 44 next week, he will grind you and grind you and grind you, the latest example being his Sunday 65. And even though Holmes had to sweat out a couple of bogeys on 16 and 18, he had done enough to put the hay in the barn.
Just like that, his career is back on track. The two-year exemption, the big check, the FedEx Cup points, the Masters invite and even the last-minute, "Hey, we've got room for you if you can make it" entry to this week's Players Championship at Sawgrass. Pretty darn impressive, but then again, a guy who thinks of brain surgery as nothing he can't conquer probably expected it all along.
SCORECARD OF THE WEEK
69-76-65-70 – 8-under 280, Rory McIlroy, tie-8th, Wells Fargo Championship, Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, N.C.
The temptation was strong to reward Stacy Lewis for her solid, bounce-back LPGA win in Texas just a week after Lydia Ko went all "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" on her last week at the Swinging Skirts at Lake Merced.
But Sunday was Rory's 25th birthday, and the shaggy-haired Ulsterman hitting the quarter-century pole almost begs for a moment of reflection.
On the one hand, the lad's first 2½ decades on Earth have been a smashing success: two major championships, a time at No. 1 in the world, a massive Nike contract, engaged bliss to tennis star Caroline Wozniacki and the equanimity and good manners of a child well-raised.
On the other hand, those of us who bought a front-row ticket to see McIlroy take aim at golf history have been left twiddling our thumbs. While the Australian Open win over Adam Scott in December was fun and refreshing, we are bearing down on the two-year mark since McIlroy last won on the PGA Tour or European Tour.
Now, to be clear, the boy is playing much better golf than he did in last year's campaign, which went about as well as Donald Sterling's run-in with a tape recorder. McIlroy has found some level of consistency, and has top-10s in four of his past five starts. He's among the biggest hitters on Tour, he's making a lot of birdies (third on Tour), his scoring average is top five of anyone.
But even he himself is dissatisfied. McIlroy told reporters that his "backdoor" top 10s are not what he's looking for, and he wants some changes in his 72-hole fortunes.
"You want wins," he said. "I'd much rather be in the mix."
Maybe this bit of self-flagellation will get Rors all fired up for Sawgrass.
MULLIGAN OF THE WEEK
Speaking of players who are still searching, has anybody seen Phil Mickelson lately? Oh, there he is – he's at Quail Hollow, missing a three-foot putt, and another three-foot putt, and another three-foot putt, and another three-foot putt and …
Oh, my. Pass the antacid.
Add it up and it's a Sunday 76 for Phil, in which he tumbled from two shots from the lead on Sunday morning to a tie-11th, seven shots off the pace.
The whole week was Vintage Phil, in that it was entirely unpredictable. If you don't believe me, study a Friday 75, a Saturday 63 and a Sunday 76 and then get back to me. With next month's U.S. Open on Lefty's – and every golf fan's – mind in his bid for a possible career Grand Slam, Mickelson is turning in the kind of flawed golf that would suggest he's not up for a national championship anytime soon.
The putting on Sunday, though – that's hard to explain. Was it an issue with his set-up? His stroke? His concentration? CBS opened the telecast with Phil missing a short par putt on the short par-4 No. 8. That set a theme for the day in which he missed shorties all over the place, capped by a four-putt – three of them from four feet or closer – double bogey on No. 16. Said Phil after the round, in perhaps the most important statement of the day: "I'll see Dave Stockton on Monday."
The good doctor Stockton will need to do equal parts mechanical and psychological work.
In the meantime, let's go back out to the eighth hole, look at that little four-foot putt, remind Lefty that Quail Hollow would love a Mickelson Sunday charge, remind him the Players Championship and the Memorial and the U.S. Open are looming and it's time to get hot, remind him that taking a million putts from four feet is never a good look and … give that man a mulligan!
BROADCAST MOMENT OF THE WEEK
"It's been one of the subplots of the year on the PGA Tour, some notables being in position on Sunday to win a tournament and not coming up with the performance you'd expect." – Jim Nantz, CBS, as Mickelson walked up 18 at Quail Hollow.
This is the kind of thing Nantz is left to say when he's busy calling wins by the likes of a Seung Yul-Noh and a J.B. Holmes. And it's also the perfect coda to the previous two items in this column, because Nantz was talking about McIlroy's blown lead at the Honda Classic and Phil's missed opportunity in Charlotte, among others.
Nantz went on to say "this tournament was Phil's for the taking," while Nick Faldo lamented Mickelson's wild inconsistency.
Lefty, you've been served.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
The drama ratchets up. Mother's Day now means The Players Championship, and Sawgrass will bring its island-green stage and 18th hole watery terror to our TVs while we fete Mom with brunches and flowers.
In case you've forgotten, the defending champ had to send his regrets.
Yes, Tiger Woods tamed Sawgrass in 2013 – the very course at which he won his first U.S. Amateur back in 1994 over Trip Kuehne – and held off an unusual trio of runners-up in Jeff Maggert, David Lingmerth and Kevin Streelman. But there will be no Tiger at Sawgrass, so you start looking at other contenders from last year like Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson and Martin Laird and Lee Westwood and, yes, notching a top 10 last year, Rory McIlroy.
Philly Mick? He missed the cut at the Players last year. You know, just two months before he kissed the Claret Jug. So, golf continues being golf.
Denny Hamlin wins for first time at Talladega.
Chris Knight, NASCAR Wire Service
In his 300th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start, Denny Hamlin overtook Kevin Harvick coming to the white flag to win the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.
The 45th annual spring event at the 2.66-mile superspeedway finished under caution, as a multicar incident initiated behind the leaders as the white flag waved. As the final lap continued, debris sat on the frontstretch forcing NASCAR to throw the yellow and halt Hamlin's challengers.
The win awarded the 33-year-old driver his first points-paying triumph at a restrictor-plate track and virtually ensured him a berth into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
"We really just want to win races -- regardless of what implications this means for the Chase," Hamlin said. "It feels good to be back in Victory Lane. (We) just strategically saw that things were getting a little heavy there in the middle part of the race … and we were able to avoid (a wreck) and just play our cards right and make the right strategy."
Greg Biffle stormed to a second-place finish behind Hamlin, with Clint Bowyer, Brian Vickers and AJ Allmendinger rounding out the top five.
Brian Scott earned his first career Coors Light Pole Award in the Cup Series on Saturday, but never led a lap as Paul Menard, who started second, grabbed the lead for the first five laps before Danica Patrick in her No. 10 Chevrolet roared from her seventh starting spot to lead for two laps.
Brad Keselowski would eventually pass Patrick, but his time at the front would be short-lived as he made contact with Patrick racing for the lead, sending his No. 2 Miller Lite Ford for a wild slide before coming back onto the track in Turn 1, yielding the first caution on Lap 15.
The race was incident-free through a long stretch in the middle, but that simply set up a dramatic conclusion.
While leading late, Dale Earnhardt Jr. decided to pit on Lap 152 and never contended again. Meanwhile, Biffle had one of his strongest runs of the year to lead the field back to green ahead of Harvick and Kyle Larson.
"The last few restarts were actually really good for us," said Biffle, who exits Talladega eighth in the driver standings.
The second "Big One" of the afternoon came on Lap 175 when Jimmie Johnson lost control of his Chevrolet in Turn 4 and collected seven cars, Austin Dillon and Joey Logano among them.
On the restart, Hamlin and Harvick put on a show utilizing help from their peers, exchanging control of the race for the next two laps before Carl Edwards spun, collecting Ryan Newman and Cole Whitt to bring out the yellow yet again on Lap 184.
Hamlin, though, with help from Biffle and Bowyer, would execute his move on leader Harvick on the restart. With Biffle and Bowyer in-toe, Hamlin came to the white flag when a crash started from behind. The field remained under green, but when debris landed in the racing groove near the start/finish line, the eighth caution of the race was flown, immediately freezing the field and earning Hamlin his 24th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory.
"These cars are just so hard to pass believe it or not that you get bottled up, you get where you can't make any moves," Hamlin said. "You have to be in those top two lines to do anything. I knew once we were in the top three in those last 20 laps that we were going to be in good shape."
Menard finished sixth, Harvick wound up seventh, Kasey Kahne was eighth, Larson ninth and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. comprised the top-10.
The Sprint Cup Series returns to the track Saturday night for the 5-Hour Energy 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Soccer: Chelsea 0-0 Norwich City: No goals, no consequences (yet).
By Kirsten Schlewitz
Chelsea have put their destiny in others’ hands. By failing to beat relegation-threatened Norwich City at Stamford Bridge, the Blues’ title hopes rest on Liverpool dropping points against Crystal Palace on Monday. And should that happen, Chelsea will need to root for Aston Villa to beat Manchester City come Wednesday.
As for Norwich, they survive to see another day – but safety still looks unlikely. They’ll face Arsenal on the final day, and the Gunners have nothing left to play for, but the problem is Sunderland. The Black Cats have two games left, against West Brom and Swansea, and considering the Canaries’ -32 goal difference, almost certainly need just a point.
In the first half, Chelsea simply didn’t look like a team set for a challenge. Rather, they looked like a side broken by being knocked out of the Champions League midweek. Understandable, but it didn’t help that José Mourinho decided to rest the likes of Eden Hazard and David Luiz.
André Schürrle had a go in the third minute, but it was Norwich who could very well have been up before 15 minutes were out. Martin Olsson had no trouble slipping past an oblivious Ashley Cole to get on to the end of a pass from Bradley Johnson. Rushing in to save Cole’s blushes, John Terry tripped up Olsson, bringing him down inside the area. Neil Swarbrick waved away penalty appeals, while Neil Adams was absolutely livid on the sidelines.
Shortly thereafter, Demba Ba messed up a glorious chance to put the home side in front. The forward, free on the left, had two blue shirts available inside the area. However, the cross from Ba was terrible, and the ball collided with goalkeeper John Ruddy.
Around the half-hour mark, the woodwork declared itself a Canaries fan, doing its part to keep out a curling shot from Schürrle. Minutes later, Ruddy saved another shot from the German.
Johnson very nearly gave his side the lead going into the break. In the 40th minute, Terry just barely got a piece of a shot from the midfielder, but it was enough to deflect it out for the corner. The sides went into the locker rooms locked in a goalless draw.
Mourinho, having apparently remembered his side was still in the title race, made a double change to start the second half. Off came Mohamed Salah and Frank Lampard, on came Eden Hazard and David Luiz.
The change was immediate, with Chelsea having a much greater spring in their step. After just three minutes, the post had to bail out Norwich once more, this time denying a shot from David Luiz.
Then came Chelsea’s time to shout for a penalty…twice. First Branislav Ivanović and Schürrle both went down inside the area. A few minutes later, it appeared that Ryan Bennett went in recklessly on Hazard, who tumbled over. But with the offside flag already up, Swarbrick barely blinked.
Chelsea continued to ramp up the pressure, but somehow, Norwich held on. A rare advance on Mark Schwarzer‘s goal looked like it might end with the ball in the back of the net, but an excellent challenge from Gary Cahill stopped Robert Snodgrass from getting his shot in.
The Blues kept coming, attacking in waves, but for once, luck was on Norwich’s side. A brilliant shot from Hazard prompted a terrific save from Ruddy. Moments later, a first-time volley from Schürrle was deflected out for a corner.
LINEUPS
Chelsea: Schwarzer; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Cole; Lampard (David Luiz), Matic (Torres 73); Salah (Hazard), Willian, Schurrle; Ba
Norwich City: Ruddy; Martin, R Bennett, Turner, Whittaker; Tettey; Snodgrass, Johnson, Howson, Olsson; Elmander (Redmond 69)
Subs: Bunn, Bassong, van Wolfswinkel, Fer, Hooper, E Bennett, Redmond
ESPN committed to soccer without World Cup rights.
By RACHEL COHEN (AP Sports Writer)
ESPN executives gushed about the World Cup on Friday with no hint they are a lame-duck broadcaster when it comes to the tournament.
The tournament in Brazil, which opens June 12, is the sixth straight World Cup that ESPN will televise in the U.S. - and the last for at least a dozen years. Fox won the rights to the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.
In the meantime, ESPN still is committed to soccer, said its president, John Skipper.
''We have to be there,'' he said.
That's vital with the way the sport's popularity is growing with American viewers. The average rating for World Cup games on ESPN networks increased 31 percent between the 2006 and 2010 tournaments.
The numbers for international matches have kept going up ever since, and Skipper is particularly mindful of surveys that show the high interest in soccer among younger viewers.
ESPN is dedicating its vast resources to covering the tournament, with 290 hours of original programming planned - up from 250 four years ago. That's an easy decision even with its shortage of soccer content after the World Cup. And not just because of the way the audience has been swelling.
Unlike South Africa, Brazil presents no time zone problems, with games played in the afternoon and evening on the East Coast in the U.S. And the setting is alluring in a country so passionate about soccer.
''I think the numbers are going to be up fairly dramatically,'' Skipper said.
Even if the U.S. team fails to advance from the group stage, a very real possibility since the Americans face Ghana, Portugal and Germany. While viewership wasn't quite as robust after the U.S. was eliminated in 2010, the rating for the final on ABC was up 6 percent from the previous World Cup - another sign of the sport's growth in the country.
''We don't sit around with clenched fists going, 'Oh my gosh, if the U.S. doesn't win we have a problem,''' Skipper said.
He also is optimistic that Mexico will advance, and ESPN has been treating ''El Tri'' as a sort of second national team considering the big audiences the squad draws in the U.S.
For the first time, ESPN will stream every game online, leading senior director of marketing Seth Ader to quip: ''We fully expect workplace productivity to plummet.''
By Dan Wetzel
The folks running the College Football Playoff are banking on the public to trust the process because of the people involved. Condoleezza Rice. Tom Osborne. Archie Manning. And so on.
"The members of the Selection Committee are an outstanding group of people with high integrity and excellent judgment," said CFP executive director Bill Hancock.
I, for one, agree with both that statement and that sentiment. I trust the people (specifically in this case, but in general when it comes to college athletics) and trust the basics of the process – put 13 reasonable folks in a room and they ought to be able to pick the top four teams in America.
It won't always be neat, of course. There will be disagreements with the choices and seedings. Some years there will be intense ones. Some years it'll be simple. A selection committee isn't a perfect system but there is no perfect system when trying to choose four teams out of a field of 128, especially with limited (12-13 games) and disparate (few common opponents) data to work with.
Division-I college football is wild. It's played in 41 states by schools big and small, religious institutions, military academies, state schools, city schools, rural schools, you name it. That's the beauty of it. It's not neat. It can't be neat.
In the end, you get some people together and pick the playoff field. The dynamics of the group force everyone to be open and honest. Opinions on a team that may not appear reasonable to start, can be argued until it might make sense. It'd be best if there were a little more intellectual diversity on the panel (particularly someone with an advanced statistics or even a background in setting point spreads) but whatever.
These are good people. It'll work fine. This isn't that complicated.
Except, the College Football Playoff is making it seem complicated – really, really complicated in fact.
The flaw in how the system is being set up isn't the system – 13 people pick four teams – it's how they are trying to guard against unwarranted criticism. You'll never generate enough rules to eliminate screams for additional transparency or the elimination of individual bias. You're going to get called a liar and a cheat and get deluged with emails featuring the subject line: "your biased."
It's like the playoff has no confidence in itself, no willingness to at the end just sit there and say, 'Hey, here's the field, it's the best we could do, deal with it.'
It gives critics life by creating all of these rules and requiring secret ballots and weekly top 25 polls – polls are mathematically unsound to begin with and really, a top 25?
This system is setting the committee up for some serious heat.
Want a bad idea? The committee will meet in person six times, beginning on Oct. 28. Why in person? Who knows? Why beginning in the middle of the season? Who knows?
Whatever debates people will have on October 28 will almost assuredly be sorted out during the next six weeks of the season. Yes, we really like that currently 7-0 team but when they finish the season 9-3, what exactly was the point of discussing them in the first place? And why did we subject ourselves to getting blasted for under or overvaluing a team when assigning any value at that moment offered zero benefit?
The committee should meet once, in December, the day after all the games are played and all the available data is in and, in truth, opinions, friendships, rivalries and voting coalitions haven't been formed via weeks and weeks of meetings and pointless polls.
Wait until the committee starts loathing each other because they have to fly to Texas each week and spend hours and hours away from their jobs and families to debate futile items like which 5-2 team should be ranked No. 22 in early November. Omaha World-Herald columnist Dirk Chatelain said this looks like a plot from "The Office." I just hope they serve bourbon in the meeting room. They'll need it.
Then, for more fun, each week the committee will release its top 25 poll (why?) on national television (branding opportunity!) where it'll be explained and defended.
This is monumentally dumb.
The playoff can claim that each poll exists independent of the previous or following week but that isn't how the fans are going to take it. The truth is, polls have long shown the voter tendency to "weight teams" – i.e. when someone is ranked No. 1, they stay No. 1 regardless of fresh data.
Why subject yourself to that possible pratfall?
More importantly, why have fans assume that a team is thought of one way – in the top four or out – only to have it change in the final week, which will absolutely cause massive complaints about politicking and bias and cheating. Sorry Kansas State, we know we had you at No. 3 last week, but …
The best strategy is to release nothing to the public (because there is nothing to release) until a single and final decision is made – and then release everything. Instead the playoff has it backwards and will release unneeded information for a month and a half and then keep each person's ballot secret in the end, which is the opposite of "transparency."
Have fun with that. If the committee is so honorable (and it is), then it should let its votes be known.
Most of this stuff was so easily avoided. They didn't avoid it. They'll find out the hard way that they should have. This looks like a system created by Washington politicians.
There's good news though. In the end, the inevitable criticism against the committee members – the intensity of which is mostly self-inflicted – will help force change, both in the process and the playoff itself.
The best playoff available to college football has eight teams in it, with automatic bids given to the champions of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC. That gives everyone in a major conference a chance to pay its way in. If you don't win your conference, you can't truly complain.
The three at-large spots will go to great teams that didn't win their league, independents and party crashers from outside the big five.
Play the first two rounds on campus and use seeding to reward the great clubs with home-field advantage. Let the sport's great stadiums and gameday environments shine, rather than antiseptic bowl sites.
The reason an eight-team playoff won't expand to 16 or greater (a reasonable concern) is because conference championship games (the Big 12 will get one) will serve as de facto play-in games and have far greater television value than the first round of a bigger tournament. Something like the ACC title game would now annually become a huge deal.
The monetary incentive to hold at eight will keep it at eight.
The monetary incentive to hold at eight will keep it at eight.
Floyd Mayweather Narrowly Beats Marcos Maidana, Comes The Closest He Has Come To Losing A Fight In Years.
By Tony Manfred
In his most thrilling fight in a long time, Floyd Mayweather Jr. beat Marcos Maidana in a majority decision to remain undefeated on Saturday night.
This fight was supposed to be a blowout.
It turned into something else entirely.
The judges had Mayweather winning 117-111, 116-112, 114-114.
It was much closer than that, though. Most people thought Mayweather won, but it was way, way tighter than 117-111.
In an interview after the fight, Maidana said he thought he'd won.
Maidana turned it into a brawl in the early rounds, continually pushing Mayweather into the ropes and mauling him with a stream of punches that only occasionally landed, but still threw Floyd off his game.
BI
BI
That didn't happen tonight.
This was a brawl. Maidana even tackled him through the ropes at one point:
BI
BI
BI
Still, Maidana thought he won. When the final bell rang, he put his hands up:
BI
Floyd won fair and square, but this was still a shocking fight.
You don't see Floyd get mauled, look anxious in the ring, get cut, or have to conform to his opponent's style. He did all of that on Saturday.
Here are the official scorecards. Floyd won three out of the last four rounds on all three cards (via ESPN):
On This Date in Sports History: Today is Monday, May 5, 2014.
MemoriesofHistory.com
1904 - The third perfect game of the major leagues was thrown by Cy Young (Boston Red Sox) against the Philadelphia Athletics. It was the first perfect game under modern rules.
1922 - A contract was awarded to New York's White Construction Co. for the construction of Yankee Stadium I.
1925 - Everett Scott (New York Yankees) ended his game playing streak of 1,307 games.
1956 - Jim Bailey became the first runner to break the four-minute mile in the U.S. He was clocked at 3 minutes, 58.5 seconds.
1966 - Willie Mays broke the National League record for home runs when he hit his 512th.
1978 - Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds registered his 3,000th major league hit.
1989 - In Albany, NY, Mike Tyson got his second speeding ticket for drag racing.
1995 - The last game was played at Boston Gardens. The Orlando Magic beat the Boston Celtics.
2004 - It was announced that "Spider-Man 2" ads would appear on bases in major league games during games from June 11-13. The plan was canceled the next day.
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