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Sports Quote of the Day:
"Nothing stops the man who desires to achieve. Every obstacle is simply a course to develop his achievement muscle. It's a strengthening of his power of accomplishment." ~ Thomas Carlyle, Historian, Critic, and Sociological Writer
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Blackhawks 2, Wild 1 (OT).
By Jess Myers, The Sports Xchange
Chicago Blackhawks Patrick Kane scoring the winning goal 2-1 in overtime at the Xcel Energy Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 13, 2014. (Facebook Timeline Photo)
Chicago Blackhawks star forward Patrick Kane scored off a fortunate bounce in overtime, lifting his team past the Minnesota Wild 2-1 to close out their best-of-seven playoff series 4-2 to advance to the Western Conference finals.
A dump-in shot hit a stanchion in the glass behind Wild goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov and bounced to the front of the net. Kane pounced on the play, lifting a backhand shot into the upper reaches of the net, ending the series near the halfway mark of the first overtime.
Right winger Kris Versteeg also scored for Chicago, which benefited from 34 saves by goaltender Corey Crawford in handing Minnesota its only home playoff loss of the season.
Rookie left winger Eric Halua scored the Wild's only goal. Bryzgalov made 25 saves in the loss as the Wild finished the playoffs 5-1 on home ice.
Chicago, which beat the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference finals last season en route to winning the Stanley Cup, will face either the Kings or the Anaheim Ducks this season.
Less than two minutes into the first period, Minnesota found itself trailing at home for the first time in the 2014 playoffs. Versteeg won a battle for the puck in the corner, getting free of Wild defenseman Keith Ballard and heading to the net. Versteeg's bad-angle shot deflected off the skate of a Wild player, bouncing up over Bryzgalov's right shoulder and into the net. It was Versteeg's first goal of the playoffs.
Minnesota responded early in the second period via Haula's fourth goal of the playoffs. The speedy Finnish rookie took a pass from winger Matt Cooke that deflected off the boards by the far blue line, then out-raced a pair of Chicago defenders to the loose puck, springing himself on a breakaway. Haula's quick wrist shot fooled Crawford to tie the game at 1.
Over the course of the series, both teams accused the other of playing slow-down defensive hockey, but the sellout crowd saw nothing of the sort in a wide-open middle period that featured more than 20 shots on goal and breakaways in both ends of the ice. Bryzgalov, as he did in Game 4, thwarted center Patrick Sharp on a breakaway, while Wild rookie Justin Fontaine had two solo rushes to the Chicago net and was stopped by Crawford both times.
By contrast, Minnesota out-shot the Blackhawks 7-6 in a tightly-played third period, holding Chicago without a shot for the first 12 minutes of the period. Chicago's penalty killers kept Minnesota from gaining momentum early in the third period, holding the Wild to just two shots during four minutes of man advantage.
NOTES: Wild D Keith Ballard missed Game 5 with an upper-body injury but was back in the lineup on Tuesday and recorded Minnesota's first shot on goal of the game. Ballard was injured when he was run hard into the end boards by Chicago LW Brandon Bollig in Game 4. Bollig was assessed a two-game suspension by the league for the hit. ... Chicago coaches are hopeful that C Andrew Shaw will begin skating in practice in the coming days. Shaw suffered a lower-body injury in Game 1 of the series after being checked along the boards by Wild D Clayton Stoner and has not skated or traveled with the team since then.
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!! 2015 Super Bowl Odds: Bridgewater boosts Vikings after NFL Draft.
By Will Brinson
We put a lot of stock into the outcome of the NFL Draft. But as the Super Bowl odds following the 2014 NFL Draft show us, Vegas doesn't put that much stock in what teams do.
Only a few teams really moved the needle to any serious degree after the draft weekend's action. By far more movement happened throughout free agency.
No surprise, there, though. Adding veterans should equate to more of an impact than first-year players.
There are still a few notable movers:
Not sure adding Jimmy Garropolo caused the Patriots to bump up. I'd pin it on the other teams in the AFC East having meh drafts.
- The Bears pulled off a very nice draft, adding Kyle Fuller at cornerback (arguably the best corner in the class) and then pairing Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton at defensive tackle. Their defense went from "unmitigated disaster" to "mildly intriguing unit" pretty quickly.
- The Panthers not addressing their left tackle needs clearly caused them to dip, along with the NFC South improving around them. In terms of adding quality players -- Kelvin Benjamin is raw but has massive upside, Kony Ealy is a potential stud -- I'd argue they had a nice draft. But they definitely didn't address their immediate needs. There's an interesting argument on that front that's for another time.
- If the Eagles landed Brandin Cooks I bet they move up in these odds. Instead, it's the Saints climbing after a bold move to land the speedster.
- Can't really figure out why the Cardinals, Falcons, Bengals and Ravens dropped. Kind of feel like it's a "reset" sort of thing maybe? I love all four of those teams in terms of having value right now as a long-term play. 40-1 is a nice preseason number for a group of teams that could either surprise, bounceback or both.
Teddy Bridgewater's the sole reason for the Vikings move, I'd think, although Anthony Barr doesn't hurt their odds. Pairing Teddy with Norv Turner should equate to immediate improvement for Minnesota regardless of the weather he plays in.
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Bears' Jordan Lynch (NIU'S college quarterback) on playing running back: 'I'm going to run with my shot'.By NBC Sports
Jordan Lynch wasn't one of the 255 players to hear his name called during this past weekend's NFL Draft.
But that doesn't mean he's any less excited to get his NFL career started.
The undrafted free agent who signed with the Bears shortly after the conclusion of Saturday's draft spoke with Comcast SportsNet about what he's looking to accomplish in the Windy City.
Here's some of what he had to say:
How your running ability at NIU will help you in the pros?
I feel like I have good vision. That's one of the strengths of my game. So running and carrying the ball 20-25 times in college defintiely helped me for this situation.
What excites you most about getting an opportunity with the Bears?
If you were to tell me when I was little that you'll have an opportunity one day to play with the Bears -- whether you're drafted or not -- I would have said heck yeah with it. So not getting drafted, that's just a goal early on, but now that you've got a chance to be on the team, I'm just going to run with my shot.
How your versatility will play a role in what you do?
I can do a lot of different things on the football field. And the Bears gave me a shot, and I want to help them out any way possible and I'll do whatever it takes. I'm excited about the position change.By Tom Ziller
Chicago GM Gar Forman made an eyebrow-raising comment on the science of "grit," the much-maligned cliche. But he might he be onto something.
It's the perfect quote to put Gar Forman and the Chicago Bulls in context, and it came in the Chicago Tribune last week:
Forman told reporters that he had studies to support that "grit is the No. 1 factor in having success."
The jokes write themselves. Kirk Hinrich has made millions and millions of dollars from the Bulls on account of his grit. Tom Thibodeau would have a rightful claim to the title of Grindfather if not for the existence of Tony Allen down I-55. The Bulls of the past few years openly decline interest in the finesse superstars of the NBA, instead preferring to ride with gritty wolves like Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and Jimmy Butler.
But as it turns out, there is some science on grit out there. What Forman might be referring to is the research of Angela Duckworth, who runs a lab at Penn focused on the study of grit and self-control. (She's also arrived on the TED Talk scene, resulting in grit questionnaires of dubious value like the one mocked by Drew Magary.) From The Duckworth Lab's research statement:
Grit is the tendency to sustain interest in and effort toward very long-term goals. [...] In prospective longitudinal studies, grit predicts surviving the arduous first summer of training at West Point and reaching the final rounds of the National Spelling Bee, retention in the U.S. Special Forces, retention and performance among novice teachers, and graduation from Chicago public high schools, over and beyond domain-relevant talent measures such as IQ, SAT or standardized achievement test scores, and physical fitness. In cross-sectional studies, grit correlates with lifetime educational attainment and, inversely, lifetime career changes and divorce.
The short version: having grit allows people to make, keep and achieve long-term goals and complete difficult tasks. When we think of grit in the sports context, it's with a much less positive intonation. "Grit" in sports has become a substitute for "less talented but still hard-working." It's the word used to describe David Eckstein, Wes Welker and Hinrich: they aren't as big or talented as their contemporaries, and as such the game doesn't look as natural or easy when they play it. But boy, they sure do try hard. Grit is used as qualitative attribute often covering up for inferior quantitative performance.
And yes, it's most often attached to white players. Deadspin combed 68,000 words worth of NFL Draft prospect profiles to determine whether white and black players were described differently. The word "gritty" was far more like to be mentioned in profiles of white prospects than black ones.
To be fair, the word "grit" was slightly more common among black prospects. Combined, white players still easily outpace black prospects in being referred to as gritty.
So if grit is a top indicator of success, and if white players are far more likely to be called gritty, what does that say about our definition of grit? Assuming the science is something approximating legit -- it seems to be a young field, so we'll see -- then it tells me our working definition is horribly wrong. We measure grit in the throes of the moment -- the floor burns, the dives into the first row, the reckless abandon of tight defense. We don't really look at time on the practice court, off-court hurdles overcome and how a player got through the struggles. We look at how their game is perceived to offer value to their teams.
For a guy like Hinrich, who hasn't shot 40 percent since 2011-12 and hasn't had a PER above league average in seven seasons, grit becomes one of the few positives you can offer. And it drives fans crazy! Where many fans see an underwhelming player given loads of minutes and rope, the coach or GM or broadcaster tells us that player has earned it via his immaculate grit. So "grit" becomes a dirty word, as it has with regards to the Bulls. When Forman says that "grit is the No. 1 factor in having success," we don't immediately consider that there is science to back that up. We just assume Forman is trumpeting his goofy devotion to less talented players with skinned knees.
But if Duckworth's science is right, there's value in it for general managers (in identifying truly gritty prospects) and coaches (in developing grit on the team). Surely some teams have already used cognitive tests to identify the presence or lack of grit; front offices do all of those prospect interviews at the Combine for a reason. And a lot of what would be specific about building grit is likely baked into existing player development philosophies. In a sense, Duckworth's work on grit (as far as I understand it) is a quantification of well-known theory.
The interesting question to me is how much grit is already priced into a player's statistical performance.
In other words, can a player without grit put up huge numbers in college or the pros? What would be valuable to NBA GMs is an ability to determine analytically what players have put up numbers due to having a high level of determination and long-term goal setting and what players have done that in spite of lacking grit. That swings two ways. Numbers without grit is either a red flag that warns against the player's long-term ability to flourish as the competition gets bigger, faster and better, or it's one other opportunity for a team to turn an unpolished gem into a valuable diamond.
Can grit be fixed? GMs already draft so-called "raw" players who have poor shooting mechanics or a lack of footwork. Once grit can be reliably measured (if ever, and if not already), should GMs draft the quantitatively ungritty with aims on fixing that deficit and building a star?
Beyond the initial joke of "grit" as the most important factor of success, there's a lot of grist here to consider. Given the incredible success Forman and his front office have had in the draft -- picking Derrick Rose, Noah, Gibson, Omer Asik and Butler -- it's hard to laugh too much at the Bulls' philosophy.
We tend to automatically assume that Forman and the Bulls are wrong about grit. But maybe that's backwards. Perhaps we're just not seeing the real definition and determinants of grit. That's what makes Duckworth's research rather fascinating and perhaps important.
A's 11, White Sox 0.
By Eric Gilmore, The Sports Xchange
Drew Pomeranz threw five shutout innings, first baseman Brandon Moss hit a pair of two-run homers, and right fielder Josh Reddick launched a two-run blast as the Oakland A's crushed the Chicago White Sox 11-0 for their season-high sixth consecutive victory Tuesday night at the O.co Coliseum.
Pomeranz (3-1) won his second straight start and first since being moved permanently from the bullpen into the rotation Friday when No. 4 starter Dan Straily was sent to Triple-A Sacramento.
Pomeranz extended his streak to 10 scoreless innings as a starter Tuesday, allowing just three hits while striking out eight and walking two.
The A's pounded out 17 hits, eight for extra bases.
Moss lofted a two-run homer to right in the in the sixth inning, then hit a monster two-run blast into the right field seats in the eighth, giving him eight homers for the season. He went 3-for-5, including a double, and he drove in five runs and scored twice. It was his fifth career two-homer game.
Reddick hit his third home run of the season during a four-run rally in the fifth inning when the A's received doubles by designated hitter John Jaso, left fielder Yoenis Cespedes and catcher Derek Norris.
Moss doubled home a run in the first, while shortstop Jed Lowrie doubled in the sixth and scored on Moss' first home run. Jaso also had three hits, while Lowrie, Cespedes, Reddick and center fielder Craig Gentry had two apiece.
White Sox right-hander Scott Carroll (1-3) allowed six runs on 11 hits over five innings in his fourth major league start. He struck out two and walked one as Chicago lost its fourth straight game and fell for the fifth time in six games.
A's relievers Dan Otero, Fernando Abad and Joe Savery combined to blank the White Sox over the final four innings on one hit.
The A's grabbed a 1-0 lead with a run in the bottom of the first off Carroll. With two outs, Cespedes lined a single to center. Moss brought Cespedes home with a double to left field, a high fly that landed on the warning track and one-hopped off the wall. White Sox left fielder Dayan Viciedo appeared to get turned around on the play as the ball carried to deep left.
Oakland used another two-out rally to score again in the fourth, taking a 2-0 lead. Reddick lined an opposite-field single to left, went to second when third baseman Alberto Callaspo walked and scored on Gentry's single to center.
White Sox right-hander Scott Carroll (1-3) allowed six runs on 11 hits over five innings in his fourth major league start. He struck out two and walked one as Chicago lost its fourth straight game and fell for the fifth time in six games.
A's relievers Dan Otero, Fernando Abad and Joe Savery combined to blank the White Sox over the final four innings on one hit.
The A's grabbed a 1-0 lead with a run in the bottom of the first off Carroll. With two outs, Cespedes lined a single to center. Moss brought Cespedes home with a double to left field, a high fly that landed on the warning track and one-hopped off the wall. White Sox left fielder Dayan Viciedo appeared to get turned around on the play as the ball carried to deep left.
Oakland used another two-out rally to score again in the fourth, taking a 2-0 lead. Reddick lined an opposite-field single to left, went to second when third baseman Alberto Callaspo walked and scored on Gentry's single to center.
The A's scored four more runs in the fifth, extending their lead to 6-0. Jaso lined a leadoff double into the right field corner and scored on Cespedes' ringing double to left-center. Norris roped a two-out double down the left field line as Cespedes scored from third. Then Reddick launched a two-run homer over the 388-foot mark in right-center field.
NOTES: Oakland CF Coco Crisp (strained neck) missed his sixth consecutive game. He took batting practice on the field Tuesday for the second straight day and did some work on the field. "Hopefully every day we're getting closer," A's manager Bob Melvin said. ... White Sox LF Alejandro De Aza, who is batting just .190, did not play. De Aza is hitless in his past 10 at-bats. "Yeah, I think he needs a breather," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "He's just swinging and missing at a lot of stuff. He just looks like he needs a day."
The Cubs have joined the 10,000 loss club.
By Bill Baer
With Sunday’s 5-2 victory, the Braves wrapped up a series sweep over the Cubs. The Cubs fell to 12-24, 10.5 games out of first place, dead last in the NL Central. But the embarrassment didn’t end there.
Sunday’s loss marked the 10,000th in club history for the Cubs, joining only the Phillies (10,480) and Braves (10,176) in the five-figure gang. The Cubs got there a bit sooner than they would have liked, having won games at a meager .417 clip since the start of the 2010 season.
The Pirates will become the next team to join the ignominious club with 55 more losses. And unless the Reds lose 142 games between Tuesday and the end of the 2015 season, the club won’t see a fifth member until 2016.
The list:
- Phillies: 10,480 losses (.473 winning percentage)
- Braves: 10,176 (.502)
- Cubs: 10,000 (.511)
- Pirates: 9,945 (.503)
- Reds: 9,858 (.508)
Adam Scott will become No. 1 in the world after the Byron Nelson.
By Shane Bacon
Life has been pretty friendly to Adam Scott, and it will continue on Monday when he becomes No. 1 in the world for the first time.
Scott, who isn't even playing this week at the Byron Nelson, will become the top ranked golfer in the world on Monday morning, surpassing Tiger Woods who had a serious command of that spot since he basically became a professional golfer (Woods has held the No. 1 position for 683 weeks over his career).
This accomplishment is coming just a week after Scott let the world know that he was officially off the market, getting married to his girlfriend Marie Kojzar in a private ceremony in the Bahamas the week after the Masters.
Now comes this accomplishment, meaning that he will join names like Woods, Nick Faldo, Fred Couples and fellow countryman Greg Norman as players who have had that top world ranking.
"I think it's a nice feather in the cap, probably," Scott said after his final round at the Players Championship. "I mean, if I was never world No. 1 when I'm this close, I'd be disappointed, but I'd also much rather win the U.S. Open and not be No. 1 at all this year. That's what it comes down to."
For Scott, now comes the always interesting battle to maintain the No. 1 ranking. We've seen Martin Kaymer, Lee Westwood, Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy all try and take command of the top spot over the last few years, but getting to the top and staying there is going to be the hardest thing for Scott.
Still, this is a man that was once regarded as the guy with the picture-perfect golf swing that never lived up to his potential. Now, in 2014, he's a Masters champion and will be the top-ranked golfer in the world on Monday morning.
His first shot at a major championship as the No. 1 ranked player will be at Pinehurst in June, with the U.S. Open being the only major championship that Scott has never recorded a top-10.
Power Rankings: There's no denying Jeff Gordon the top spot this week.
By Nick Bromberg
1. Jeff Gordon (LW: 1): The best way to keep the points lead and stay at the top of Power Rankings? Win a damn race. And that's what Jeff Gordon did Saturday night, even though it got a little dicey there at the end. Gordon slipped into turn three on the final lap and Harvick didn't, getting close to Gordon's back bumper as the checkered flag flew. Gordon's win also breaks a nine-race winless streak by Hendrick Motorsports. That seems like a long time, but in 2012, HMS had streaks of 10 and 11 races each.
2. Kevin Harvick (LW: 6): There was a moment late in the race Saturday night when the TV crew was trying to explain how Gordon overtook Harvick on the final pit stop. Except the data used on the screen (pit stop time, time on pit road) all favored Harvick. Say what? Yeah, it confused Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip too. Where Gordon got past Harvick was when Harvick ran out of gas in turn three heading to pit road. Since he had no fuel, he couldn't be as aggressive as Gordon was.
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 2): A one spot drop for a fifth place finish? Yup. Harvick led 138 laps, so he gets to move up. Junior was near the front for most of the race, but was never really a serious contender for the win. Through 11 races, Junior has six top-five finishes. An over 50 percent success rate is huge, and if he keeps it up, he'll be there in the final race at Homestead.
4. Joey Logano (LW: 3): After finishing fourth Saturday night, Logano also has six top-five finishes on the season, tied with Junior for the lead on the circuit. He's just further down in points because of issues at Bristol and California. Logano was by far the fastest Ford, but that was simply a continuation of a season-long theme, not an aberration.
5. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 8): Johnson was once again the voice of reason about his lack of wins in 2014 on Friday saying "Until we are not locked in, I mean there is nothing to worry about." The reason there isn't anything to worry about is because Johnson 1. will win and 2. he's performing well enough to get in without a win. But until that win happens, Johnson is going to have to answer questions about winning. (We've said "win" a lot in this post.) Going back to last season, Johnson stands at 13 consecutive points races without a win. His longest streaks are 15 (twice) and 14 (twice).
6. Matt Kenseth (LW: 5): There's not as much handwringing over Matt Kenseth's winless stretch and it's a bit surprising given his performance last year at Joe Gibbs Racing. And much like Johnson, there's nothing to worry about with Kenseth. He's tied with Jeff Gordon for the most top 10s in the series. A win is going to happen for Kenseth sooner rather than later too.
7. Kyle Busch (LW: 4): Since winning at California in the fifth race of the season, Busch hasn't finished lower than 15th. Not bad, right? No, not at all. But it's been very un-Kyle Busch-like as he's led 34 laps in those six races and 22 of them have come at Martinsville. Is it fair to say that Joe Gibbs Racing is searching for a bit of speed? Given what they've shown previously, yes.
8. Carl Edwards (LW: 9): Are we going to spend this space psycho-analyzing the comments Edwards made on Friday in the media center and on Saturday before the race when he (kind of) addressed his future plans? No, we're not. Edwards is hellbent on keeping the negotiations a secret and they'll be wrapped up soon enough. When was the last time a driver entered the Chase without a new contract?
9. Kyle Larson (LW: 10): Larson finished 12th after starting fifth. Not shabby, right? He's become the prime beneficiary of Ganassi's improvement this season. And is it us, or does Larson not really look anything like his poster for the Sprint All-Star Race? And speaking of that race, we're going to go with Clint Bowyer and Larson as the two drivers to advance from the Open on Friday night.
10. Brad Keselowski (LW: 11): Keselowski defended his Talladega actions reasonably before the race weekend. While you still may not agree with him, if you don't see his perspective, you're not looking in the right spot. He also went from euphoria to agony Friday night when Ryan Blaney was side-by-side with Logano for the lead in the Truck race while both were driving Keselowski-owned trucks. Not long after Blaney was to Logano's inside, his truck wobbled and hit the wall, before being clobbered by two trucks behind him.
11. Kasey Kahne (LW: NR): Did you know that Saturday night was the first time Kasey Kahne has finished in the top five all season? It's shades of his miserable 2007 season when he had just one top five all year. No, that season won't repeat itself, but Kahne's going to need to get a win to get into the Chase. We're going to say Pocono.
12. Danica Patrick (LW: NR): How long is the stay in Power Rankings for Danica? It's going to depend on what happens at the 600. The race is more important for her than it is for other drivers, simply because she needs to show that her seventh at Kansas wasn't a fluke. Right now, based off past history at intermediate tracks, it looks like one. Future performance will either validate or disprove that.
Lucky Dog: How about Aric Almirola, who finished seventh?
The DNF: Jamie McMurray can't catch a break. He had a decent car Saturday but lost a tire and smashed the wall.
Dropped Out: Denny Hamlin, A.J. Allmendinger
NASCAR: All-Star and Sprint Showdown entry lists for the weekend are out.
By Tony DiZinno
Entry lists are out for the weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, which this weekend, are the non-points Sprint All-Star Race (Saturday) and Sprint Showdown (Friday). The top two from the Sprint Showdown, plus a fan vote winner, advance into Saturday’s All-Star Race.
The Showdown has been moved to Friday this year to increase action for the fans; the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race runs that night, as well.
For the All-Star Race, the 19 drivers already in the field are the 19 race winners from 2013 and thus far in 2014. So that includes:
- Hendrick Motorsports: 48-Jimmie Johnson, 5-Kasey Kahne, 24-Jeff Gordon, 88-Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Roush Fenway Racing: 99-Carl Edwards, 16-Greg Biffle
- Joe Gibbs Racing: 20-Matt Kenseth, 18-Kyle Busch, 11-Denny Hamlin
- Stewart-Haas Racing: 4-Kevin Harvick, 14-Tony Stewart, 41-Kurt Busch
- Team Penske: 2-Brad Keselowski, 22-Joey Logano
- Front Row Motorsports: 34-David Ragan
- Furniture Row Racing: 78-Martin Truex Jr.
- Michael Waltrip Racing: 55-Brian Vickers
- Richard Childress Racing: 31-Ryan Newman
- Chip Ganassi Racing: 1-Jamie McMurray
By process of elimination, that leaves these 23 for the Showdown:
- Richard Childress Racing: 3-Austin Dillon, 27-Paul Menard
- Tommy Baldwin Racing: 7-Michael Annett, 36-Reed Sorenson
- Richard Petty Motorsports: 9-Marcos Ambrose, 43-Aric Almirola
- BK Racing: 23-Alex Bowman, 83-Ryan Truex, 26-Cole Whitt (ex-Swan)
- Joe Falk/Mike Hillman teams: 33-David Stremme, 40-Landon Cassill
- Stewart-Haas Racing: 10-Danica Patrick
- Germain Racing: 13-Casey Mears
- Michael Waltrip Racing: 15-Clint Bowyer
- Roush Fenway Racing: 17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- FAS Lane Racing: 32-Blake Koch
- Front Row Motorsports: 38-David Gilliland
- Chip Ganassi Racing: 42-Kyle Larson
- Xxxtreme Motorsports: 44-JJ Yeley (ex-No. 30 Swan)
- JTG Daugherty Racing: 47-AJ Allmendinger
- Jay Robinson: 66-Joe Nemechek
- Randy Humphrey: 77-Dave Blaney
- Mike Curb: 98-Josh Wise
Figure Larson, Bowyer, Allmendinger, maybe Menard, Dillon and Patrick and for sure Mears and Ambrose will be the ones to watch in the Showdown as they race for the transfer spots.
Patrick surprise of Kansas with career-best run.
By Dan Gelston
Danica Patrick added another May moment to cherish.
"Chicks rule, huh?" crew chief Tony Gibson playfully told her at Kansas.
She may not have totally ruled, but she put on a performance that recalled her better ones at the Indianapolis 500. Patrick showed that she can be a serious driver who can craft a complete weekend and contend for a top-five finish.
Patrick was the surprise of Saturday night with her seventh-place finish at Kansas Speedway, the best of her Cup career.
Stewart-Haas Racing boss and teammate Tony Stewart, Gibson, and her parents were among the throng of well-wishers in the garage that made it a celebratory scene straight out of her dazzling Daytona 500 to kick off 2013.
"I've always believed in myself and with the right situation, a good car, that I can do it," she said.
She easily had her best weekend of the season, spending most of the race inside the top 10, and brought a needed jolt of electricity in a race during which the lights went out on the backstretch, passing teammate Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. to move into third with 95 laps left.
She also passed six-time champion Jimmie Johnson on a late restart, adding him to the collection of heavy hitters left in the rearview mirror.
"The most rewarding part of my night was probably when I drove around the outside of the No. 48 on a restart," he said. "That was probably my most rewarding thing of the night. I say that with all the respect in the world. It's a big deal because he is Jimmie Johnson."
Patrick hadn't finished better this season than 14th at Fontana and her lone top-10 in the Cup series was eighth in the 2013 Daytona 500. She won a pole at Kansas in IndyCar in 2005.
Patrick qualified ninth for her second straight top-10 start, and SHR teammate Kevin Harvick said a little 15-minute pep talk may have spurred her to another solid qualifying run.
"She just basically needed to quit thinking about it and smash the gas," he said. "That's what she said. She's done a great job in trying to take in all the information."
She has the support system and even the car necessary to finish better than in the back of the pack. Patrick wants to reward their faith in her.
"It's really cool when you have teammates that are unconditional like that, that want to help you," she said. "And when everyone is better and we all get better, it pumps the team up and everybody wants it even more.
"I guarantee you we're going work even harder now. It's not just sitting back. We're going to work harder because we love where we're at and this is what we work for. When you taste it you don't want to let it go."
Patrick's finish came out of nowhere because there was little to indicate she was building toward any kind of breakthrough. She hadn't finished better than 22nd in any of her last five races and a brief flirtation with the lead at Talladega ended after she bumped Brad Keselowski.
Patrick and Gibson kept pushing, her Stewart-Haas teammates kept the encouragement coming, and now she has a result worth savoring.
Jeff Gordon, who won his 89th Cup race at Kansas, called Patrick's performance "impressive."
"That's a real testament to her work ethic and her talent, as well as Stewart-Haas," Gordon said. "Those guys are just really putting out some great race cars right now. She did a great job."
Patrick (27th) is actually ahead of SHR teammate Kurt Busch (28th) in the standings, a placement rendered almost meaningless by the revamped Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. While Busch has struggled the rest of the season, he is pretty much assured of a spot in the Chase field because he has a win.
Patrick's success is still measured in small steps — though she took a giant leap under the lights at Kansas.
Sara Christian's fifth-place finish in a 1949 race remains the best for a female driver in NASCAR's top series.
It seemed fitting Patrick's burst happened in May.
She challenged for the Indy 500 win as a rookie, becoming the first woman to lead laps while finishing fourth in 2005. She finished a career-best third in 2009.
"I had someone say they get a little sad when May comes, and I'm not (in Indy)," she said. "I said, 'You know, there's so many great memories.' Times change, things change, and I'm really happy where I'm at and proud of the progress we made. But I never forget Indy. Ever."
She won't forget Kansas any time soon.
Snubs grab the attention, but U.S. roster surprises deserve the credit.
By Ives Galarcep
Upon a first pass through the 30-player preliminary U.S. World Cup roster released Monday, it was only natural to quickly think about the missing names. Eddie Johnson was the first to come to mind, followed by the likes of Juan Agudelo and Tim Ream. Even past Klinsmann favorites like Brek Shea and Michael Orozco merited a passing thought to what might have been.
Tracking the snubs is a time-honored tradition for fans around the world, but in considering the snubs first, it is easy to overlook the players who played their way into a dream chance to participate in a World Cup. For every tear shed for an Eddie Johnson, there should be at least one smile for the others who did what they had to do to earn a call from Klinsmann.
Consider Joe Corona, who six months ago was stuck on the bench at Club Tijuana playing for a coach who seemed uninterested in giving him minutes in a World Cup year. Or Maurice Edu, who was swatting away cobwebs at Stoke City, facing an uncertain future, looking like he’d have no chance at a second World Cup before MLS came calling. He took full advantage of his return to the league where his career began.
Julian Green’s inclusion will surprise some, but it shouldn’t. From the moment Klinsmann began recruiting the Bayern Munich youngster, it was clear that committing to the USA would give Green a chance to play himself on the World Cup team. Only Klinsmann and Green know for sure if Green has actually been promised a World Cup place, but it is clear Green will be given a chance to impress. If he does, Klinsmann will bring him to Brazil.
That is the balancing act Klinsmann had to pull off when choosing his roster. Once you throw away the notion that the squad represents the 30 best players in the pool, and think about all the factors Klinsmann had to consider, it becomes easier to dispense with the notion that Green or Yedlin should be blamed for every snub on Monday.
Snubs grab the attention, but U.S. roster surprises deserve the credit.
By Ives Galarcep
Upon a first pass through the 30-player preliminary U.S. World Cup roster released Monday, it was only natural to quickly think about the missing names. Eddie Johnson was the first to come to mind, followed by the likes of Juan Agudelo and Tim Ream. Even past Klinsmann favorites like Brek Shea and Michael Orozco merited a passing thought to what might have been.
Tracking the snubs is a time-honored tradition for fans around the world, but in considering the snubs first, it is easy to overlook the players who played their way into a dream chance to participate in a World Cup. For every tear shed for an Eddie Johnson, there should be at least one smile for the others who did what they had to do to earn a call from Klinsmann.
Consider Joe Corona, who six months ago was stuck on the bench at Club Tijuana playing for a coach who seemed uninterested in giving him minutes in a World Cup year. Or Maurice Edu, who was swatting away cobwebs at Stoke City, facing an uncertain future, looking like he’d have no chance at a second World Cup before MLS came calling. He took full advantage of his return to the league where his career began.
Then you have Tim Chandler, whom many pegged as a lost cause as the months flew by without any sign of him in the national team picture. Rumors of a lack of commitment, as well as questions of whether Klinsmann had given up on him, made his inclusion seem like the longest of long shots as recently as six months ago. Chandler just kept on playing and impressing. Even after suffering a torn meniscus that looked like it might knock him out of the World Cup picture, he fought his way back.
So how exactly did Johnson miss out? His lack of production with D.C. United clearly played a part, as did the more consistent club success of players like Terrence Boyd and Chris Wondolowski. You also have to wonder how much Jozy Altidore’s own struggles factored in. Why? Klinsmann was always going to bring Altidore to the World Cup, his club struggles at Sunderland be damned. But could Klinsmann realistically bring along two out-of-form forwards to Brazil? We may never know, but if Altidore had spent the season pouring goals in for Sunderland, it may have been easier for Klinsmann to take a flyer on Johnson.
For Agudelo and Shea, their absences should serve as cautionary tales about how to handle career moves when you have World Cup aspirations. Both players took lucrative paydays to go to Stoke City and both saw those moves backfire, at least from a national team standpoint. Shea never broke through for playing time, settling for sparse loans that dropped him from Klinsmann favorite to an afterthought. Agudelo had his work permit appeal rejected and tried salvaging his move to Europe with a loan to FC Utrecht. It was a decent enough stopgap, but not enough to help him earn a UK work permit, or even a place on the 30-player preliminary World Cup roster.
The reality is none of the snubs were all that shocking, but they do seem a bit surprising when compared with some of the players who did make it.
Julian Green’s inclusion will surprise some, but it shouldn’t. From the moment Klinsmann began recruiting the Bayern Munich youngster, it was clear that committing to the USA would give Green a chance to play himself on the World Cup team. Only Klinsmann and Green know for sure if Green has actually been promised a World Cup place, but it is clear Green will be given a chance to impress. If he does, Klinsmann will bring him to Brazil.
DeAndre Yedlin was another surprise inclusion for a variety of reasons. First, when Klinsmann chose to start Tony Beltran instead of Yedlin against Mexico in April, it seemed like it might be a sign that the young full back wasn’t quite ready for the international level. Struggles with his defensive responsibilities in Seattle soon followed, and this past weekend he endured one of the worst matches of his young career.
So why bring Yedlin? Klinsmann clearly wants some youth in camp and sees Yedlin as a long-term prospect. There is also the fact that Yedlin is one of the fastest players in the national team pool. He could trouble U.S. starters in training if asked to go at them the way wingers in Group G most certainly will.
Does Yedlin realistically have a chance to make the World Cup roster? He seems like the longest of long shots, but even if he doesn’t make it, Yedlin should grow from the experience. It could serve him well in the 2016 Olympics and eventually the 2018 World Cup.
That is another factor that is easy to forget when considering Klinsmann’s roster decisions. He is under contract through the 2018 World Cup, meaning it is in his best interests to also think about the kind of young nucleus he is putting together. Nine of the 30 players chosen for the preliminary World Cup roster are 24-years-old or younger, and some of those are among the players drawing the most scrutiny for being chosen to the preliminary roster.
That is the balancing act Klinsmann had to pull off when choosing his roster. Once you throw away the notion that the squad represents the 30 best players in the pool, and think about all the factors Klinsmann had to consider, it becomes easier to dispense with the notion that Green or Yedlin should be blamed for every snub on Monday.
The only person to “blame” is Klinsmann, but do so knowing that he really didn’t deliver any shocking decisions. Those could still come in three weeks though, when he has to find seven players to trim from a stacked preliminary roster. As surprising as Eddie Johnson’s omission was, he was still likely on the outside of the 23-man World Cup squad.
The reality is there will likely be some even more surprising exclusions when the final roster is selected. That is the beauty of having the deepest player pool in U.S. national team history. There will be tough decisions, disappointed players and fans who will scratch their heads trying to understand just what Klinsmann is thinking. That isn’t a bad thing. it’s a great thing, because having options beats the alternative, and being able to come up with lists of snubbed players beats struggling to come up with a list of 23 players worthy of taking to Brazil.
Northwestern AD says athletes need a vote.
AP - Sports
Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips says college athletes need more than just a voice when it comes to issues that affect them. They need a vote.
''That has to happen,'' he said.
But unionization?
''I know it's not the right mechanism for change nationally,'' he said.
While Phillips opposes unionization, he hopes the discussion leads to changes that give athletes a greater say - including a vote - when it comes to their welfare, their health and their safety.
That's one of the biggest issues hanging over the college landscape, with former Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter leading the push to form the first union for college athletes. And as Big Ten administrators gathered at the conference's headquarters on Tuesday, Phillips made a few things clear.
He supports the motives behind the push to form a union. He just doesn't think it's the way to go.
A regional director of the National Labor Relations Board ruled in March that they are university employees, giving them the go-ahead. Northwestern appealed. Players voted last month on whether to form the first union for college athletes, but the result is not known because the NLRB impounded the ballots pending the appeal and a possible court fight.
''It goes against all that is what we believe is right in the landscape of college athletics,'' Phillips said. ''We're not the minor leagues. When 98.7 percent of your student-athletes don't go on to play professional sports ... college athletics is college athletics. Is it in the right place? It's not in the right place, but we're going to hopefully work to get it to the right place. But does that mean you drastically change the dynamics and the relationship of what college athletics is supposed to be?''
Phillips doesn't see a need for a third party to come between athletes and coaches and administrators.
He also warned unionizing would lead to higher costs and a decrease in scholarship opportunities.
But he is adamant that athletes need more power. Simply putting them in advisory roles is not enough.
''Let's get them ... in a position where they're allowed to vote and make a difference,'' Phillips said.
''They're living the experience. Why wouldn't we listen to them? They know more than we do about their day-to-day experiences as student-athletes.''
Supporters say a union would help athletes obtain better compensation, medical care and other benefits. The day before Northwestern football players cast their ballots, the NCAA's board of directors endorsed a proposal to give schools in the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC more power to address such issues for its athletes, including adding the full cost-of-attendance in scholarships, expanded health insurance, additional help with academic and career counseling, and providing money for the families of athletes to travel to NCAA tournament events. A formal vote is not expected until August.
''I think that we've got to find a way within the reform effort to find us some autonomy to do things a little bit differently given our situations,'' Nebraska AD Shawn Eichorst said.
Critics say the governing body is only moving on those issues now because of the possibility of unionizing. But NCAA officials have noted these issues have been on the agenda for years and got bogged down in the approval process.
Either way, steps are being taken. The discussion continues, with the union decision looming.
''It's been discussed to a degree, but some of it seems to be at this point out of our hands at least for a certain amount of time,'' Minnesota AD Norwood Teague said. ''We follow it, are concerned about it, want it to work out.''
Phillips said there's ''zero'' angst on his part about the union decision and that he's ''at peace'' with a process that thrust his school into the spotlight no matter how it plays out.
He said he's ''really proud'' of Colter and the players for bringing the issues to the forefront, for helping drive the discussion, for being a catalyst for change at the national level.
''Areas of welfare and health and safety, those are the right kinds of things for us to be talking about,'' he said. ''So I think there's some really good and positive residual that's occurred from the conversation about unionization.''
Rules committee recommends change to airborne shooter rule.
Greg Johnson | NCAA.com
The Men’s Basketball Rules Committee recommended an alteration to its airborne shooter rule during its May 7-9 meeting in Indianapolis, which if approved would become effective with the 2014-15 season.
In order to take a charge, the alteration will require a defending player to be in legal guarding position before the airborne player leaves the floor to pass or shoot. Additionally, the defending player is not allowed to move in any direction before contact occurs (except vertically to block a shot). All rules alterations must be approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel, which is scheduled to convene via teleconference on June 25. The proposal is allowed in the non-change year under PROP guidelines because the committee believes a new rule requires alteration.
“This alteration will impact block/charge plays in an effort to make this play easier to coach and officiate,” said Rick Byrd, head coach at Belmont and chair of the committee, which met jointly with the National Association of Basketball Coaches board of directors and the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship Committee. “In our discussions, the men’s basketball community, including coaches, officials and administrators, agreed that this rule needed adjustment.”
Last season, the committee changed the timeframe at which the defender must be in legal guarding position, adjusting it to when the airborne player started his upward motion with the ball to attempt a shot or pass. When reviewing game footage from last season, the committee concluded that those types of plays became more difficult to coach and officiate.
Experimental rules: restricted area and resetting shot clock in frontcourt
The committee also recommended an experimental rule to expand the restricted-area arc in front of the basket to 4 feet. The experimental rule can be used in multi-team events and the committee plans to work with the Preseason National Invitational Tournament and others who are interested to research the impact of a larger arc.
The current restricted-area arc, which marks an area on the court in front of the basket where a secondary defender is unable to draw a charge, is 3 feet in front of the basket.
Another experimental rule is to have the shot clock reset to 25 seconds (or the remaining time on the shot clock if more than 25) when a foul or a violation occur in the front court.
Defending the post
The committee addressed a major officiating concern for the 2014-15 season by focusing on play in the post area. The committee directed officials to call plays in the post as written in the rulebook. The officiating guidelines are below:
• A defensive player pushing a leg or knee into the rear of the offensive player shall be a personal foul on the defender;
• An offensive player dislodging a defensive player from an established position by pushing or backing in shall be a personal foul on the offensive player;
• A player using the “swim stroke” arm movement to lower the arm of an opponent shall be charged with a personal foul;
• Post players using hands, forearms or elbows to prevent an opponent from maintaining a legal position shall be charged with a personal foul.
Shot clock monitor reviews
The committee also approved an interpretation for the reviewing shot clock violations in the last two minutes of regulation or overtime. In cases where officials question whether a shot was released before the shot clock expired, the official must stop play before the ball is inbounded after a successful basket or immediately after the shooting team retains possession. In all cases in which the defense retains possession after a missed shot, there shall be no monitor review.
Team timeout experiment
Committee members also recommended an experimental rule involving timeouts, with an eye on potentially using this in the Postseason NIT. In this proposal, when a team calls a timeout within 30 seconds of the next scheduled media timeout (first dead ball under the 16-, 12-, 8-, and 4-minute marks), that timeout will become the first media timeout.
For example, when Team A calls a timeout at 16:02 in the first half, there will not be a media timeout at the first dead ball under the 16-minute mark. This would eliminate a stoppage of play without reducing the number of team timeouts.
On This Date in Sports History: Today is Wednesday, May 14, 2014.
MemoriesofHistory.com
1874 - McGill University and Harvard met at Cambridge, MA, for the first college football game to charge admission.
1904 - In St. Louis, the Olympic games were held. It was the first time for the games to be played in the U.S.
1906 - The flagpole at the White Sox ballpark broke during the pennant-raising.
1913 - Walter Johnson (Washington Senators) ended his scoreless streak of 56 innings.
1918 - Stan Coveleski (Cleveland Indians) set a club record when he pitched 19 innings.
1918 - Sunday baseball games were made legal in Washington, DC.
1920 - Walter Johnson (Washington Senators) won his 300th game against Detroit.
1967 - Mickey Mantle (New York Yankees) hit his 500th career home run.
1972 - Willie Mays hit a home run in his first game as a New York Met.
1983 - Rosa Mota set a female world record when she ran the 20k in 1 hour, 6 minutes and 55.5 seconds.
1986 - Reggie Jackson hit his 537th home run. He passed Mickey Mantle to move into 6th place on the all-time list.
1989 - Kirby Pucket hit his 6th consecutive double.
1995 - Eddie Murray hit his 463rd career home run to tie for 18th on the all-time list.
1997 - The Baseball Executive Council suspended New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.
2002 - It was announced that Ken Hitchcock had signed a four-year contract to be head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers.
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