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Happy Memorial Day USA.
“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” ~ John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States of America
"Ability is a poor man's wealth." ~ John Wooden, Legendary NCAA Basketball Coach at UCLA
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Blackhawks-Kings Preview.
By GREG BEACHAM (AP Sports Writer)
Darryl Sutter is a hockey coach and a farmer, not always in that order. He is not the type of person to argue about etiquette and unwritten rules.
So while the Kings rested and the Blackhawks went through a light practice Sunday, Sutter and Joel Quenneville left the touchy-feely rhetoric to the coaches in the Eastern Conference finals.
With little separating Chicago and Los Angeles in a series headed to a key Game 4 on Monday night, both coaches believe the West is likely to be won with simple, straightforward execution and effort. The Kings have been slightly better at both in the first three games, but they're not comfortable or complacent.
''We're playing the Stanley Cup champion,'' Sutter said. ''If you go into every game thinking it's an elimination game, that's a good way of doing it. That's what we'll do again, and when it's over, it'll be over, and we'll get ready for the next elimination game. It's not as complicated as it seems.''
When the Kings attempt to take a 3-1 series lead at Staples Center, they'll stick to their no-nonsense game plan against the powerful Blackhawks. At its core, the Kings require scoring and defense from all four lines, because Sutter won't mix his forwards or play matchup games against Chicago's top players.
The plan is working splendidly so far against the Blackhawks, who have managed just four 5-on-5 goals in the series' nine periods - just two in the Kings' two victories. Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa and Bryan Bickell haven't scored a goal against Los Angeles, while Patrick Sharp only got his first with 5 seconds left in Chicago's 4-3 loss in Game 3.
''L.A. is playing pretty well, and we know they have momentum,'' said Kane, a minus-3 with no points in the conference finals. ''They're maybe the best team in the league, and have been the best team in the playoffs when they do have the momentum, so we've got to try to get it back from them and sustain it.''
The Blackhawks are trailing 2-1 for the fourth time in their last six playoff series, but the champions have won their last six consecutive playoff series. They see simple solutions to their latest deficit, starting with a commitment to gritty goals and penalty-free defense - but Kane also realizes he must step up soon.
Kane's only goal in the last eight games was his overtime series-clincher against Minnesota, and he has identified two goals for himself in Game 4.
''Demand the puck, and when I do get it, be confident with it,'' Kane said. ''Just put it on yourself to play better for your teammates. Try to get the puck in better spots and let my instinct take over.''
The Kings have done a remarkable job limiting Kane, whose famed first step isn't much use when Los Angeles constantly shadows his moves and limits him largely to the perimeter of the offense. Much of the defensive work against Chicago's top line is done by Anze Kopitar, the Selke Trophy finalist and the playoffs' leading scorer with 20 points in 17 games despite managing just one goal in the last 10.
''Kopitar versus Toews, that's clearly a good matchup, but there's also times where it's dictated by what's just happened on the ice,'' Sutter said. ''I believe our fourth line should be able to take three or four shifts a game against that line. If they can't, they shouldn't be in the lineup.''
Los Angeles' defensive success also is related to its shockingly effective offensive game in the postseason. The Kings were the lowest-scoring NHL team to make the playoffs this season, but they're the highest-scoring team in the playoffs after another four-goal performance in Game 3 led by dynamic center Jeff Carter, who has 10 points in four games.
The Kings put 18 shots on Corey Crawford in the third period of Game 3, forcing Chicago to play defense instead of trying to tie it. The Blackhawks been in too many tight spots to worry, but their leaders realize it's time to counter the Kings' successes.
''You can't think about what's going to happen in the series too much, but tomorrow is obviously a huge game,'' Kane said. ''It gets us right back in the series if we can win it. ... We've had a good track record of coming back in series, so hopefully history can repeat itself and we can do it again, but it's not going to be easy.''
Although the Kings' regulars stayed off the ice Sunday, defenseman Robyn Regehr skated with the reserves. The veteran has missed Los Angeles' last nine games with a knee injury.
Motor racing-Hunter-Reay has Indy buzzing with American win.
By Steve Keating, Editing by Frank Pingue
Run on the U.S. Memorial Day holiday weekend in the country's heartland, the Indianapolis 500 is an iconic American event but for the last two decades has rarely produced a homegrown winner.
But the American flag was being waved loud and proud on Sunday as Ryan Hunter-Reay ended the American drought at the Brickyard by outduelling Helio Castroneves over the final lap to become the first U.S. winner since Sam Hornish in 2006.
"I'm just so proud of this race, for more than one reason," Hunter-Reay, who finished third here last year, told reporters. "I grew up as a fan of this sport first and foremost. My dad took me as a kid to some IndyCar races.
"This is the biggest one; this is the granddaddy of them all. This is where drivers were made and history is made."
While the Indy 500 is an American sporting institution the race had taken on an international flair with just two U.S. drivers reaching Victory Lane since 1998 heading into Sunday.
During that span British and Brazilian drivers had claimed the Borg Warner Trophy five times along with a Swede, Colombian and New Zealander.
But there was no mistaking who was chugging from the traditional quart of cold milk that goes to the winner on Sunday as chants of "USA USA" rang across the sprawling 2.5 oval speedway.
"Being an American boy. I think when you look at maybe the NASCAR side of it, it's all Americans.
This is an international sport, open-wheel," said Hunter-Reay.
"We do battle on every different type of discipline, short ovals, street courses, the only series in the world like that."
For U.S. sport fans, Hunter-Reay's victory was more than simply a long overdue win.
It was also the type of "boy makes good" tale of perseverance, determination and hard work that Americans embrace.
Despite showing immense promise, Hunter-Reay bounced around the Indy car scene.
He began his career with Stefan Johansson Racing in 2003, the following season he raced for Keith Wiggins and then Paul Gentilozzi in 2005 before not having a seat in 2006.
After sitting out that season, Hunter-Reay found part-time employment with Rahal/Letterman Racing in 2007 and 2008 then was on the move again in 2009 driving for both A.J. Foyt and Tony George Vision Racing.
Almost out of the sport, Hunter-Reay signed a one-race deal with Andretti in 2010 and finished second in the series opener in Sao Paulo.
Three races later, still on a race-to-race arrangement, Hunter-Reay was a winner in Long Beach and landed a permanent home with the powerhouse Andretti operation.
"It's crazy. It's so long ago now," said Andretti. "When we looked at Ryan, one of the reasons we wanted to have him in our family was the series, you have to be a diverse driver, be able to race on all different types of racetracks, including here at Indianapolis.
"We knew he would fit in here. He's been everything we had ever hoped for."
Hunter-Reay rewarded Andretti's faith in him by winning the IndyCar series title in 2012 and an Indy 500 win on Sunday.
"I remember going back to 2010, having a shot at Andretti Autosports. It was a one-off deal," recalled Hunter-Reay. "This is the opportunity of a lifetime.
"I was bouncing from team to team to team. I had to make it happen in a short amount of time, pressure-packed circumstances.
"It's just a fantastic story. You can't do it alone.
"You also need people that believe in you when the days don't go right.
"That's this guy (pointing at Andretti) over here. I have him to thank for making my IndyCar career."
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!! Reggie Bush on Bears: 'They have gotten better'.
CSN Staff
Lions running back Reggie Bush knows the Bears always present a tough matchup. And he also knows that matchup just got much tougher.
Bush might be one of the specific reasons the Bears went on an upgrading spree on the defensive side of the ball this offseason, in particularly bringing in defensive linemen Jared Allen, Lamarr Houston and ex-Lion Willie Young. Two of Bush's three 100-yard days a season ago came against the Bears defense, including a season-high 139 yards on Sept. 29.
Bush knows the revamped defense will be a new challenge when the Bears and Lions get together this season.
“They have gotten better," Bush said Friday on SportsTalk Live. "Obviously the Chicago Bears are a really good team. And they’re a divisional opponent for us, so we’re going to face them twice this year and it’s going to be two tough battles every time we play them. It’s a tough place to play in Chicago, especially in the winter when it’s freezing cold. Two really good teams will be going at it and battling for that No. 1 spot.”
The upgrades in Chicago mean higher expectations for the Bears, but it's the Lions who have been dealing with the effects of high expectations in recent seasons. They've failed to make much noise despite being heralded by fans and experts alike as a team that should be reaching the next level in the NFL.
“We’ve got to win. That’s what this league is about. This league is about wins and losses. And if you’re not winning, people are going to bash you and you’re going to hear a lot of criticism, and it’s going to come from all directions," he said. "But we do have the talent that we need to get to that next level. And I don’t think it’s just fans and media that think that, we think it, too. We know that we have the talent here, that we don’t really need much else. We have what it takes, and now it’s just about fine-tuning those little things so that we can get to that next level.”
Bears roster projection: Let the competition commence.
By Chris Boden
It's Memorial Day weekend, but I'm already looking at Labor Day weekend. After just getting out of that brutal winter, shame on me for these momentary thoughts that skip summer. But with most of Phil Emery's heavy roster reconstruction finished, I started looking ahead towards Sunday, Sept. 7, like any geek.
Every roster has its locks, but the Organized Team Activities that begin this week are opportunities for veteran reserves and rookies to begin making their cases for the decision-makers. I came up with 57, four over the final Opening Day limit. The general manager might make another veteran addition or two after June 1 and during the course of the preseason. I also did not take into account salary-cap ramifications (hey, it's a holiday weekend). Unfortunately, injuries will happen in training camp, too. So as the roster stands now, here's what I have:
Quarterbacks (3): Jay Cutler, Jordan Palmer, David Fales
Running backs (4): Matt Forte, Ka'Deem Carey, Michael Ford, Jordan Lynch (who's battling the bubble)
Full backs (1): Tony Fiammetta
Tight ends (3): Martellus Bennett, Dante Rosario, either Fendi Onobun or Matthew Mulligan
Wide receivers (6): Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Marquess Wilson, Domenik Hixon, two of three from among Josh Morgan, Eric Weems and Chris Williams
Offensive tackles (3): Jermon Bushrod, Jordan Mills, Eben Britton
Centers (2): Roberto Garza, Brian DeLaPuente (who can back up at guard)
Guards (2): Kyle Long, Matt Slauson (eighth offensive line spot open for where they need the most depth from among guard James Brown and tackles Joe Long and Charles Leno, Jr.)
Defensive ends (5): Jared Allen, Lamarr Houston, Willie Young, Israel Idonije, David Bass
Defensive tackles (5): Jeremiah Ratliff, Stephen Paea, Nate Collins, Ego Ferguson, Will Sutton
Linebackers (7): Lance Briggs, D.J. Wiliams, Jon Bostic, Shea McClellin, Jordan Senn, Khaseem Greene, Christian Jones
Cornerbacks (6): Charles Tillman, Tim Jennings, Kyle Fuller, Kelvin Hayden, Isaiah Frey, Sherrick McManis
Safeties (6): Ryan Mundy, Brock Vereen, Chris Conte, M.D. Jennings, Craig Steltz, Danny McCray
Punter (1): Pat O'Donnell
Kicker (1): Robbie Gould
Long snapper (1): Patrick Mannelly (or successor if his health forces him to retire)
So there are my thoughts on the most likely 57 before the final four difficult cuts, if this group made it through training camp and four preseason games healthy. But as I said, there will be injuries and additions affecting the numbers game. I could see either five cornerbacks (McManis versus Frey) and/or five safeties (Steltz versus McCray). It could come down to Jones versus Greene if it's just six linebackers. Bass had a much more productive rookie season than last year's sixth-round pick, Cornelius Washington, but will need to continue to show improvement. Perhaps they wind up keeping just five wideouts, and Lynch will have to win some hearts to make it. There's no doubt his effort and commitment will be there.
Obviously, much will depend on whom can provide what on special teams, especially as they seek a new returner with the departure of Devin Hester.
Just a little at-first-glance holiday weekend roster fun before OTA's begin Tuesday at Halas Hall.
Just another Chicago Bulls Session… LeBron James has message for NBA owners, players.
By Marc J. Spears
LeBron James has a message for Donald Sterling – or any other owner or player who holds racist views: Keep your thoughts to yourself.
"If you own a team or play for a team, you are a face in a huge [league]," James said. "No one face is bigger than this brand – NBA, NFL, MLB, whatever the case may be. …If you want to say it in your own confinement, go ahead. It can't get to the public."
Sterling has reportedly agreed to allow his wife Shelly to negotiate the franchise's forced sale, though the NBA said Friday it is continuing with plans to hold a June 3 hearing and vote on Sterling's ouster.
James has been among the league's most vocal players in criticizing Sterling's comments. He reiterated Friday that Sterling "shouldn't be a part of this league."
"It's very important. We don't want this to linger on in our sport," James said. "It sucks that it happened. The players, the owners and everyone associated with this game, there is no need for it. The quicker it gets done, the quicker we move on."
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban drew some criticism this week for his own comments on racial prejudice. Cuban said he would walk to the other side of the street "if I see a black kid in a hoodie on my side of the street" or "a white guy with a shaved head and tattoos." Cuban issued an apology to the family of Trayvon Martin for his analogy. James had no reaction to Cuban's comments.
James used to rarely offer an opinion on big issues facing the NBA, but has become more outspoken as he's grown older. Two years ago, James and the rest of the Heat wore hooded sweatshirts in tribute to Martin. James also wrote, "We want justice" on his Nikes.
James, 29, appears to be the vocal leader of the NBA now, even more so than Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant. James is currently followed by 12.9 million people on Twitter. James said maturity has helped him feel more comfortable speaking out.
"It's knowing the position I'm in and being a role model and a leader in my sport. …I don't need to do it. It's something I want to do in the position I'm in."
Heat guard Dwyane Wade believes James' confidence in speaking out came after he received criticism for publicly announcing he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Heat during free agency in the summer of 2010.
"As he's gotten older, I think he understands that the things that he is passionate about, he can speak out on it," Wade said. "Coming here that first year when he was judged for whatever he did, I think that allowed him to feel confident. 'You know what, I'm going to be judged for whatever I do or don't do. If I say something or don't say something, they are going to judge me.'
"So it allowed him to feel more confident when he was ready to use his voice."
Why the final pitch of Josh Beckett's first no-hitter was so perfect.
By Jeff Passan
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Josh Beckett throws first career no-hitter vs. Philadephia Phillies, Sunday, May 25, 2014, in Philadelphia. Los Angeles won 6-0. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
The last pitch was so Texas of him. Just a big, nasty stream of dip spittle at convention. Josh Beckett built his entire career around embodying every archetype of the Texas power pitcher. He threw hard, he acted mean, he snarled, he grumbled, he won. He coordinated one of the great moments of ignominy in Red Sox history, heading the fried chicken-and-beer brigade, and he never bothered apologizing, because he didn't really care what anyone else thought.
So in this situation, on top of the mound Sunday at Citizens Bank Park, 8 2/3 no-hit innings in the books, a 3-2 count against the great Chase Utley, he chose the only pitch that could have prompted second-guessing. If Beckett leaves a curveball hanging, it happens, and if Utley dumps a changeup into left field, bummer, and if a fastball on the corners finds daylight, what an effort. A fastball down the middle, though? One right down the pipe, hollow of the knees, bisecting the plate like a knife halving a sandwich? If that goes for a hit, the very first question is: Who throws a fastball down the middle with a no-hitter on the line?
The answer is the pitcher smart enough to know it's the one thing a hitter won't anticipate. It's like the soccer player who strokes his penalty kick right up the middle because he knows the goalie is going right or left. There's always that sliver of a chance he's wrong, but the confidence it takes, the cool, needs to be bottled and sold.
Utley stared at Beckett's offering, of course, a 94-mph pea, the single hardest pitch he threw all day. And so began the celebration for the first no-hitter of his career and the first of the 2014 season, a 128-pitch, six-strikeout, three-walk gem of a 6-0 victory for the struggling Los Angeles Dodgers over the feckless Philadelphia Phillies. The Dodgers turned Beckett's personal space into a mosh pit, dumped a cooler of water on him and toasted the apex of his resurrection since Boston dumped him on the Dodgers two years ago.
Beckett's 2013 season ended with surgery to remedy the thoracic outlet syndrome that rendered him little more than mediocre for the Dodgers. Minus a rib from the procedure, Beckett came with the sort of stuff not seen from him for two years. While his fastball wasn't the 98-mph rocket fuel he threw as a 21-year-old, his 92 mph today more than suffices, especially with the curveball he's throwing nearly as often as his fastball.
It's a big, bendy beast, at 73 mph only 2 mph harder than the curves of soft-tossing Mark Buehrle and Bronson Arroyo. Only A.J. Burnett, his former teammate and opponent Sunday, throws his curve more than Beckett's 30.5 percent usage. He flung 40 of them against the Phillies, garnering four whiffs and making up for a sinker that didn't get a single swinging strike.
No-hitters are about luck as much as they are stuff, and for the 34-year-old Beckett to wait until his 14th season and 321st career start to get his first illustrates that. He's not better than he's ever been, and this wasn't the best start of his career. His World Series-winning shutout against the Yankees in 2003 as a 23-year-old was an all-time great performance. The no-no showed Beckett can cause havoc for an ill-constructed team that should be sponsored by Geritol.
Oh, sure, it also showed that Beckett still carries himself with that Texas swagger and that the Dodgers cannot be as bad as they've been so long as the similarly resurgent Dan Haren, Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu stay healthy. Few rotations can match the Dodgers', and this is why they ate his contract during the Red Sox's mega-dump of 2012.
Beckett's contract was the price for getting Adrian Gonzalez, and now he's in his last year, no-hitting the Phillies for the first time in 36 years, throwing the Dodgers' first no-hitter since Hideo Nomo nearly two decades ago. He's not any smarter, not any more mature, not at all repentant, not anything but the Josh Beckett who spent his baseball career living by the ethos of his home state and never wavering.
When Beckett got a generous call for a strike on a curveball off the plate to bring Utley to a 3-2 count in the bottom of the ninth, in theory he had a choice. He could double up with his best pitch or flash the change that generated the most swings and misses Sunday or nibble at a corner – or go back to the one nobody expected.
Truth is, this wasn't a choice. This was Josh Beckett, Texas through and through, and he was going to do whatever he damn well pleased no matter what anyone else thought.
How Adam Dunn is working to be a Magic Johnson-level entrepreneur.
By Jeff Passan
A couple years back, Adam Dunn was at Charlie Sheen's house doing some business. And, no, doing some business is not a euphemism. Sheen invited his old friend Dunn and Joe Newcomb, a Texas entrepreneur and Dunn's business partner, to discuss a venture for which he needed funding: "Major League 3."
Newcomb passed, not yet ready to expand from the fertilizer business into entertainment. He needed a project that dovetailed with how he made millions in his original industry: low risk, high upside. When the company that owned the script for "Dallas Buyers Club" went bankrupt, Newcomb saw that very opportunity. Only he needed some cash.
That's when he went to Dunn, the Chicago White Sox's designated hitter and proprietor of 447 career home runs. Dunn is a Texas boy. He was an acquaintance of the movie's would-be star, Matthew McConaughey, whom Dunn met during the year he played football at the University of Texas in 1998. This was a story that deserved telling. Newcomb hadn't steered Dunn wrong before in any of their ventures. He wanted Dunn to help cover a piece of the $1.8 million script.
"Adam negotiates things from a pack of chewing gum to buying a multimillion-dollar home," Newcomb said. "It was tough. He's tough when it comes to investing his money."
Three Oscars, a worldwide gross of more than 10 times the $5 million budget and a non-speaking role as a bartender later, Dunn couldn't be happier that he listened to Newcomb again. As has been the case with his commercial real-estate investments, a Houston-area baseball academy and other projects, Dunn is well into the beginning of what he hopes is a seamless transition when he eventually leaves baseball and begins his real life.
And that, Dunn said, is what his entrepreneurship represents: Not just a way to grow his worth beyond the $113 million baseball has given him, but the second part of what he deems "a two-part life" that too many baseball players ignore until it's too late and post-baseball reality wallops them.
"It happens all the time," said Dunn, 34. "I don't mean to be rude or have this come off bad, but there's a lot of guys that baseball is all they can do. That's it. That's all they've done from age 4 to now. It's tough. When you've done something your whole life and all of a sudden you're not doing it, what do you do? I love golf, fishing, hunting. But I don't love it that much where I can do it every day."
When he recognized this more than half a decade ago, Dunn started paying more attention to his conversations with Newcomb, a former minor league pitcher whose career ended when he lost his velocity after Tommy John surgery. A mutual friend introduced them, and Dunn marveled at the tentacles of Newcomb's businesses. Chemicals. Real estate. Design. Entertainment.
Dunn asked questions. He sought information. He came up with ideas. And Newcomb, 14 years his senior, saw the sort of intelligence and acumen with which he wanted to partner.
"He's going to be one of those athletes who surprises people when they look up and he's on the Fortune 100," Newcomb said. "Not only is he smart, he's ambitious and he has an entrepreneurial spirit. He talks business all the time."
Whether it's with teammates who seek his business advice (the retiring Paul Konerko and All-Star Chris Sale, among others) or CEOs he meets, Dunn plays the role well, vacillating between ballplayer talk and balance sheets. Ideally, Dunn wants to be the next Magic Johnson, a world-class athlete who parlayed his name into businesses that have sent his net worth toward a reported $500 million. Dunn remembers playing for the Class A Dayton (Ohio) Dragons in 2000, the year Johnson partnered with Mandalay Sports to launch the franchise. Less than two weeks ago, the Dragons sold out their 1,000th consecutive game, the longest such streak in American sports history.
When Johnson showed up at a Dragons game, it awed Dunn – and, in retrospect, showed him how life outside of the vacuum of his sport can exist for those with the willingness to risk it.
"I get it," Dunn said. "You don't know how long you can play. You don't know how long you want to play. You don't know how long you'll get an opportunity to play. I want to be ready, whether it's today or 10 years from now, to step right on in to my second life. That's there now.
"I'm not the smartest guy in the world, but I did surround myself with some very intelligent people who get that there's life outside of baseball. A lot of people don't revolve around baseball. There's real-life [expletive] out there. Guys who are real smart in here, it doesn't necessarily translate."
Dunn isn't sure when he's retiring. He's a free agent this offseason. He's also having a positively Adam Dunn-like season: mediocre batting average (.248), great on-base percentage (.403), plenty of home runs (seven). So long as balls still travel upward of 500 feet off his bat, he'll find work in baseball should he desire as much.
The challenge of business, of course, does allure him. Newcomb said during the season Dunn doesn't often buy real estate properties under the corporation they established together, Hammer Back LLC, because he prefers to be more hands on. Ensuring his baseball academy, run in partnership with bat manufacturer Marucci, runs smoothly isn't easy from afar, either. And the production end of the movie business left Dunn craving more.
Newcomb's movie company, Truth Entertainment, is considering its next projects to finance, and Dunn wants in. Even if the days on set were long, the film's ability to create a beautiful new world staggered him. Being in front of the camera, then looking at it from the audience's perspective, gave him a greater appreciation of all the work it takes.
Dunn realizes business is risky, that plenty of wannabe Magic Johnsons end up in bankruptcy court. So he'll stay with Newcomb, with investments that are good deals, with only what he knows. And he'll learn soon enough what he doesn't.
"I told him after he was the bartender in ‘Dallas Buyers Club,' " Newcomb said, "he ain't gonna make the money in Hollywood being an actor that he made in baseball."
Rory McIlroy wins the BMW PGA Championship thanks to a closing 66 on Sunday.
By Shane Bacon
This week was not supposed to end this way. Rory McIlroy was not supposed to be standing on the 18th green with his fist raised after back-to-back birdies capped off a back nine 32 and a final round 66 to win the BMW PGA Championship, basically the second biggest event on the European Tour calendar.
It wasn't supposed to be this crowning moment for Rory, who earlier this week announced that his relationship with Caroline Wozniacki had ended and that he had turned off his cell phone and gave away his computer in hopes of reestablishing a little normalcy in his life.
But that is why we love sports so much. Sometimes the golf course is exactly where one needs to be when they have a million things bouncing around in their head, and Rory looked comfortable and content all week when he was walking between golf shots.
His opening round 68 included two eagles, his third round got going after an opening hole double bogey, and that back nine on Sunday was simply an art form. Rory birdied the 10th the 12th and the 13th, and while he had some chances before he got to the back-to-back par-5 finish, he knew birdies were needed there if he really wanted to avoid a playoff.
Rory rolled in a great birdie putt on the 17th, and after his second shot found the greenside bunker on 18, it was another up and down needed to secure the closing birdie and a two-shot lead over the field. He hit a great bunker shot, made his birdie and was in the clubhouse at 14-under, just what he needed after his buddy, Shane Lowry, rolled in a bomb of a birdie putt on the 18th himself to end just a shot back of Rory.
A lot of people will be talking about Wozniacki and what all this means after the win, but I'm guessing that didn't have a ton to do with what happened on Sunday at Wentworth. Rory McIlroy, a man that has won two major championships by a combined 16 shots, went out and simply played the game better than everyone else.
He's done it before, just this time it probably means a bit more.
Jimmie Johnson passes Matt Kenseth late, wins Coca-Cola 600.
By Nick Bromberg
We can stop with the needless worrying about Jimmie Johnson's winning stretch in 2014. It's over.
The six-time Sprint Cup Series Champion caught and passed Matt Kenseth in the final stages of Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600 and got his first win of the season. Yes, he is now virtually guaranteed to be in the Chase.
But if you were fretting for some inexplicable reason about Johnson not winning in the season's first 11 races, the defending champion certainly was not.
"Absolutely," Johnson said when asked in victory lane if winning was a relief. "It's great to win. But believe me, I promise you, all the hype and all the concern and all the worry, that was elsewhere. That wasn't in my head. There are plenty of voices in my head, I'm not going to lie, but we've had a great race team. We've had opportunities right there in front of us and had stuff taken away from us. And we've had some bad races, I've got to be honest about that too. But tonight we had a great race."
Johnson didn't venture far from the front all night. He started on the pole and led the first 79 laps of the race before he was caught by Kevin Harvick, who eventually finished second. And he grabbed the lead for the final time by clearly having the strongest car on a night that made clean air look like an invincible turbobooster.
Kenseth got the lead with 17 laps to after he powered around Jeff Gordon on the race's final restart. After getting past Gordon, Kenseth set sail in the clean air as the leader while Johnson was trapped in fourth on the inside in traffic. By the time he got past Gordon and into second place, Kenseth had a lead of a second.
It didn't matter. Johnson immediately clawed into Kenseth's lead by tenths of a second each lap and before Kenseth could start thinking about his first win of the season, Johnson was on his bumper and then alongside him. Soon, he was ahead of him, with Kenseth powerless to fight back against a driver who led 165 of the race's 400 laps.
Kenseth wound up third while Carl Edwards was fourth and Jamie McMurray, the winner of last week's Sprint All-Star Race, finished fifth. Before the race's final caution flag, Edwards was in position to swipe a potential win on fuel strategy after inheriting the lead without pitting. But those plans were foiled when Alex Bowman hit the wall.
Kurt Busch, attempting to complete both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same day, saw his engine expire in the latter race after he had completed just over 400 miles. He finished 40th.
Johnson's win was his seventh points race win at Charlotte Motor Speedway despite being his first since 2009, when he also started on the pole. From 2003-2005, Johnson had five wins in six Charlotte races. He's now sixth in the points standings, 44 points behind Gordon, who maintains the points lead.
Oh, and he's in the Chase too, remember. But also remember that there was never any doubt. This win was on it's way. It simply showed up Sunday night.
Inexperienced US back line heads to World Cup.
By JANIE McCAULEY (AP Sports Writer)
Matt Besler and Geoff Cameron might hear it from every angle if they were paying any attention or had a moment's spare time. They could be reminded every day that this is the first time since 1990 the U.S. heads to a World Cup with no central defenders having played previous minutes in soccer's showcase event.
And that makes an already daunting task in Group G much more challenging for the Americans, who face Ghana, Portugal and Germany next month in Brazil.
The competition for spots on the Americans' back line is fierce, leaving no time to analyze the group's inexperience.
''For us, there's nothing we can do about it,'' Besler said before Sunday's training at Stanford Stadium. ''We can't change the fact that we've never experienced a World Cup. We're looking at it as a great opportunity. We've never done it before but everyone is excited and really hungry to prove that we belong here and that we can do well.''
Nobody knows how the foursome will look for the team's World Cup opener June 16 against Ghana in Natal, yet Klinsmann will get a glimpse during an exhibition against Azerbaijan on Tuesday night at Candlestick Park. He has several choices for each defensive spot.
If there are concerns with Omar Gonzalez, who tweaked his left knee during a May 3 game with the Los Angeles Galaxy against Colorado, Klinsmann might go with Cameron in the middle alongside Besler. Gonzalez has since returned to full training.
Pac-12, Big Ten commissioners talk autonomy plans.
By ANTONIO GONZALEZ (AP Sports Writer)
Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott and Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany believe it's time for the NCAA model to change and for autonomy to be given to the five major football conferences.
They're not alone, either.
Two of college football's biggest powerbrokers spoke out on the topic Wednesday during an event in downtown San Francisco to promote the bowl game at the new 49ers' stadium. The upgraded bowl will be played between teams from the Pac-12 and Big Ten on Dec. 30 in Santa Clara.
Scott said there is ''broad support'' to let schools from the five major conferences - which also includes the SEC, ACC and Big 12 - decide how their own legislative process works in many areas affecting their athletes. Delany said ''I hope we can develop some momentum and act, and act in a way that maybe we haven't been able to act over the last 25 years.''
The public calls for action come after Pac-12 university presidents sent a letter to their colleagues at the other major football conferences last week formalizing plans for sweeping changes to the NCAA model and autonomy for those leagues. A copy of the letter was first obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Spurred in part by Northwestern football players' move to unionize, the Pac-12 presidents' plan for reform includes many proposals commissioners have been advocating for several years, including a stipend for athletes. The NCAA is working on a new governance structure that will allow the five wealthiest conferences to make some rules without the support of smaller Division I schools.
''The letter represents a sense of urgency that our presidents have,'' Scott said. ''But maybe more importantly, our desire to be really, really clear about what we want to see happen. And we want to make sure that we have alignment among conferences. We don't want to go through this governance reform process and get autonomy and wake up and find out in January that not everyone agrees. We want to know now. And we want to tell the world now what we want to do.''
SEC Commissioner Mike Slive, who has long advocated for many of these same reforms, also said during a phone interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday that his conference will continue to support autonomy. The NCAA board of directors is expected to vote on restructuring in early August.
The five power conferences are seeking decision-making powers in funding the full cost of scholarships, handling health care and other areas involving their athletes. Other changes under consideration include providing money for families to travel to NCAA tournaments, more resources for academic and career counseling, creating mandatory break times from sports and relaxing transfer rules.
Scott said he doesn't expect much pushback on the issue from schools in small and mid-major conferences. Asked if the autonomy initiative could create a bigger divide between conferences, Scott said most collegiate leaders - even those from non-major conferences - believe that idea is outdated.
''One size fits all doesn't work anymore,'' Scott said. ''The conferences that can afford to and want to do more for student-athletes ought to be able to do it. I'd be a little surprised if that view were still out there.''
The push for reform is being accelerated because of the seemingly countless issues facing the NCAA right now.
Besides the movement to unionize by Northwestern football players, the NCAA is also facing litigation and possible Congressional hearings. That includes an antitrust lawsuit led by former UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon and 19 other former athletes who claim the NCAA unlawfully profits off of athletes while restricting their ability to earn income while in college. The trial is scheduled to begin June 9.
One thing the commissioners can all agree on: the litigation will probably take several years - and likely several appeals - to resolve and, therefore, so will the collegiate model.
''I don't think it's a Democratic or Republic issue,'' Delany said. ''I think people have a lot of affection for college sports in America. And I think in a lot of cases they say, 'Why don't you guys do better?' And I agree with that. I think that will be the challenge, whether it's a large group or small group, to find the sweet spot - the right balance between education and athletics, entertainment, student-athlete health and welfare, and so on.''
Maryland captures its 11th NCAA women's lacrosse championship.
The Associated Press
Maryland captured its 11th NCAA women's lacrosse championship Sunday night, getting five goals from Beth Glaros in a 15-12 victory against Syracuse.
Kristen Lamon, Taylor Cummings and Brooke Griffin had three goals apiece for the top-seeded Terrapins (23-1), whose last championship was won on this same field in 2010.
In this one, Maryland let a five-goal lead dwindle to 9-7 early in the second half before using four-goal burst to pull away.
Syracuse (21-3) lost in the title game for the second time in three years and must wait until next season to resume pursuit of its first national championship.
The game drew a crowd of 10,311, a record for the NCAA women's championship game. The combined attendance for the final and semifinals was 18,567, which was also a record.
Top-seeded Maryland utilized a balanced attack and a solid ground ball advantage to defeat No. 5 seed Northwestern 9-6 Friday in the semifinals of the 2014 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship in front of 8,256 fans at Johnny Unitas Stadium.
On This Date in Sports History: Today is Monday, May 26, 2014.
MemoriesofHistory.com
1896 - In Manhattan Beach, NY, the first American intercollegiate bicycle race was held.
1917 - Walt Cruise hit the first home run out of Braves Field.
1923 - The first Le Mans Grand Prix d'Endurance began. The race was won by Andre Lagache and Rene Leonard. The race ended the next day.
1925 - Ty Cobb became the first major league baseball player to collect 1,000 extra-base hits.
1980 - Steve Carlton (Philadelphia Phillies) became the first National League player to record 6 1-hitters.
1988 - The Edmonton Oilers won their fourth NHL Stanley Cup in five seasons. They swept the series 4 games to 0 against the Boston Bruins.
1990 - The Philadelphia Phillies retired Mike Schmidt's number 20.
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