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Bear Down Chicago Bears!!! Five Questions: Chicago Bears.
By Mike Wilkening
Chicago Bears Quarterback Jay Cutler (Getty Images)
There will surely be moments this season where the Chicago Bears look like contenders — legit contenders. They will look this way because of their offense, which is loaded with top-tier talent at quarterback (Jay Cutler), tailback (Matt Forte) and wide receiver (Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery). In fact, the Bears may look their very best when they are behind and it’s time for Cutler and Co. to pass Chicago back into the game.
Here are five questions to weigh about these intriguing Bears:
1. Will Jay Cutler be named to the Pro Bowl for the second time in his career?
We hear you: The Pro Bowl doesn’t matter, you say. Look at some of the recent rosters — the game has lost luster being moved a week before the Super Bowl, which precludes players from the conference winners playing in the NFL’s all-star affair. And what’s the deal with the new captains system? Why not call it the “Rock N’ Jock Football Jam” and get it over with?
Well, in the case of Cutler, a Pro Bowl selection would be a big deal. And we’re talking about a selection right off the bat, not an addition to the roster because of injuries/defections at the position.
Here’s why this would be notable:
It means he played all or nearly all of a full season. Considering he’s missed at least five games in two out of the last three seasons, 16 Cutler starts would be a welcome development for Chicago.
It means the Bears’ offense likely would have met the high expectations set for the group entering this season. There haven’t been many, if any, Chicago offenses with this much talent. If Cutler shines, the Bears’ skill position players should stand out, too.
He would have beaten out several other capable quarterbacks along the way. Consider the NFC’s depth at the position: Aaron Rodgers. Drew Brees. Russell Wilson. Colin Kaepernick. Nick Foles. Tony Romo. Cam Newton. Matt Ryan. Matthew Stafford. Robert Griffin III. Eli Manning. If Cutler is one of the NFC’s top three initial selections at the position, he likely will have had a monster year.
2. Was the Bears’ preseason debacle at Seattle an aberration — or a chilling hint of where the club fits in the NFC’s pecking order?
In the third preseason game for both clubs last Friday, Seattle converted all seven third-down attempts in the first half, running out to a 31-0 halftime lead on Chicago. Yes, it was just an exhibition, but it was the most important of the preseason games — the closest to a real dress rehearsal. And under the somewhat-bright lights, Chicago wilted. At best, it’s a throw-out performance, one not to be taken at face value. At worst, it’s a loss that suggests Chicago’s ceiling isn’t at high at all.
3. Is Chicago’s defense materially better than a season ago?
It better be. The Bears’ run defense was the NFL’s worst a season ago — and the pass defense wasn’t much better, frankly. Chicago spent big in free agency to improve the defensive line, signing defensive ends Jared Allen, Lamarr Houston and Willie Young. Then, in the draft, the club added secondary help in Round One, selecting Kyle Fuller.
The moves were a nod to the obvious — the Bears needed to get deeper and more talented on defense. If indeed the Bears have succeeded in this regard, it should show up early in matchups against the Bills (Week One) and Jets (Week Three) — clubs without much offensive punch.
4. Will the special teams be a weakness?
For years, the Bears’ special teams were a major strength, but entering 2014, they are, at best, a question mark outside of steady kicker Robbie Gould. The Bears’ coverage units are worth monitoring; Chicago really struggled in this regard at Seattle. The Bears also need a returner to emerge to replace Devin Hester. And Chicago is untested at punter and long-snapper, too.
5. Can the Bears survive their first nine games?
After beginning their season at home vs. the Bills on Sept. 7, the Bears then play 6-of-8 away from Soldier Field, with road trips to the 49ers (Sept. 14), Jets (Sept. 22), Panthers (Oct. 5), Falcons (Oct. 12), Patriots (Oct. 26) and Packers (Nov. 9). This will be a test of the Bears’ resolve and their readiness. They probably will have to shake off some adversity and perhaps steal a road game or two early to give themselves a chance to make the most of having five of their last seven at home. If the Bears are truly playoff contenders, they can emerge from these first nine games with a winning record. However, if they start slowly, it’s probably unreasonable to expect a strong stretch run.
Roger Goodell admits he didn't get Ray Rice suspension right, announces new strict policy on domestic violence.
By Ben Rohrbach
In direct response to widespread public criticism over Ray Rice's recent two-game suspension, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell accepted blame in a memorandum to all 32 of the league's owners, introducing a new policy with severe penalties for future domestic abuse and sexual assault violations.
While Goodell did not mention the Baltimore Ravens running back by name, his memo was a clear reaction to the controversy surrounding the rather lenient disciplinary action taken after Rice allegedly knocked his then-fiancée Janay Palmer unconscious in an Atlantic City casino elevator this past February.
In the memo obtained by Yahoo Sports, Goodell went so far as to admit, "I didn't get it right."
"Although the NFL is celebrated for what happens on the field, we must be equally vigilant in what we do off the field.
"At times, however, and despite our best efforts, we fall short of our goals. We clearly did so in response to a recent incident of domestic violence. We allowed our standards to fall below where they should be and lost an important opportunity to emphasize our strong stance on a critical issue and the effective programs we have in place. My disciplinary decision led the public to question our sincerity, our commitment, and whether we understood the toll that domestic violence inflicts on so many families. I take responsibility both for the decision and for ensuring that our actions in the future properly reflect our values. I didn’t get it right. Simply put, we have to do better. And we will."
Also in the memo, which can be read in its entirety here, Goodell announced a mandatory six-game suspension for first-time violators of the league's new policy on domestic abuse and sexual assault. A second violation will result in a potential lifetime ban from the NFL.
Effective immediately, violations of the Personal Conduct Policy regarding assault, battery, domestic violence or sexual assault that involve physical force will be subject to a suspension without pay of six games for a first offense, with consideration given to mitigating factors, as well as a longer suspension when circumstances warrant. Among the circumstances that would merit a more severe penalty would be a prior incident before joining the NFL, or violence involving a weapon, choking, repeated striking, or when the act is committed against a pregnant woman or in the presence of a child. A second offense will result in banishment from the NFL; while an individual may petition for reinstatement after one year, there will be no presumption or assurance that the petition will be granted. These disciplinary standards will apply to all NFL personnel.
This is no small concession from Goodell's office, even if it is long overdue. While Rice admitted the incident was "the biggest mistake of my life" and "my actions that night were totally inexcusable" during a press conference, he pled not guilty and ultimately settled into a pre-trial intervention program to avoid jail time, and the NFL initially used that in defense of its two-game suspension.
"The discipline that was taken by the NFL is the only discipline that occurred with respect to Mr. Rice in this case,” Adolpho Birch, the league's vice president of labor policy and government affairs, told ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike show last month. “Were he not an NFL player, I don’t know that he would have received punishment from any other source.
"We believe that the discipline we issued is appropriate. It’s multiple games and hundreds of thousands of dollars (in fines). It doesn’t reflect that we condone the behavior.”
Goodell completely reversed course on that stance Thursday, also announcing expanded educational and support programs for league personnel, youth football players and community members — all of which could have been instituted prior to Rice's two-game penalty.
The memo comes a day after the NFL upheld the one-year suspension of Cleveland Browns receiver Josh Gordon for a positive marijuana test.
It's NFL time, we want you in our office pool. It just wouldn't be the same without you. We hope you'll consider getting in. We're looking forward to sending you your winnings!!!!!
Attached is CS&T/AA first week's selection (Pick) sheet. "Competition breeds excellence" so you have to get in our office pool to test your skills and win some cash!!! What are you waiting for? If you don't want to go at it alone, get a partner, two heads are better than one. 6 days until kick-off, you don't want to be left out. Commit and sign up now!!! All of the pertinent information is listed below. It's a seventeen week pool and conducted over the internet. All pool information (stats, winners, info and news) are available 24/7. Good luck.
The 2014 NFL season starts September 4, 2014. It's going to be a fun year. Create some excitement for yourself and test your skills against other NFL fans. What have you got to lose? Enjoy one of Chicago's finest confidence pools. Remember, you can't win if you aren't in!!! Read the invitation below and take the plunge. We're looking for 35 players with 36 opportunities to win, what have you got to lose? Sign up now, Good luck and good picking!!!
Who will win the Super Bowl and be this year's NFL Champion???
Link: http://allsportsamerica.blogspot.com/2014/07/its-that-time-of-year-again-cs-nfl.html
It's NFL time, we want you in our office pool. It just wouldn't be the same without you. We hope you'll consider getting in. We're looking forward to sending you your winnings!!!!!
Attached is CS&T/AA first week's selection (Pick) sheet. "Competition breeds excellence" so you have to get in our office pool to test your skills and win some cash!!! What are you waiting for? If you don't want to go at it alone, get a partner, two heads are better than one. 6 days until kick-off, you don't want to be left out. Commit and sign up now!!! All of the pertinent information is listed below. It's a seventeen week pool and conducted over the internet. All pool information (stats, winners, info and news) are available 24/7. Good luck.
| Game ** = Pick cannot be edited, picks deadline has past. | Away Team | Home Team | Ranking [?] (Your goal is to get the most points.) | Game Date / Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Green Bay |  Seattle | 9/4/2014 7:30 PM* | |||
| 2 | 9/7/2014 12:00 PM* | |||||
| 3 | New England | 9/7/2014 12:00 PM* | ||||
| 4 | Tennessee |  Kansas City | 9/7/2014 12:00 PM* | |||
| 5 | Washington | 9/7/2014 12:00 PM* | ||||
| 6 | Buffalo | 9/7/2014 12:00 PM* | ||||
| 7 | Oakland |  New York J | 9/7/2014 12:00 PM* | |||
| 8 | Cleveland | 9/7/2014 12:00 PM* | ||||
| 9 | 9/7/2014 12:00 PM* | |||||
| 10 | New Orleans |  Atlanta | 9/7/2014 12:00 PM* | |||
| 11 | 9/7/2014 12:00 PM* | |||||
| 12 | Carolina |  Tampa Bay | 9/7/2014 3:25 PM* | |||
| 13 | San Francisco |  Dallas | 9/7/2014 3:25 PM* | |||
| 14 | Indianapolis |  Denver | 9/7/2014 7:30 PM* | |||
| 15 | New York G |  Detroit | 9/8/2014 6:10 PM* | |||
| 16 | San Diego | 9/8/2014 9:20 PM* | ||||
The 2014 NFL season starts September 4, 2014. It's going to be a fun year. Create some excitement for yourself and test your skills against other NFL fans. What have you got to lose? Enjoy one of Chicago's finest confidence pools. Remember, you can't win if you aren't in!!! Read the invitation below and take the plunge. We're looking for 35 players with 36 opportunities to win, what have you got to lose? Sign up now, Good luck and good picking!!!
Who will win the Super Bowl and be this year's NFL Champion???
The wait is over, the time is now, football is here.
Attention: Diehard NFL Fans: It's going to be a great year!!! Good luck to your favorite team. Enhance your season and support your team with the challenge below. Try it, you'll love it. Good Luck.
Tailgating time is just around the corner, September 7, 2014, the Chicago Bears Vs. the Buffalo Bills. Here we come. It doesn't get any better than this!!!
Marion P. Jelks, Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Blog Editor at Soldier Field in Chicago tailgating in 2013 with a bottle of "Bombay Sapphire Gin" and a whole pig getting ready for a little pig roast before walking over to see the Chicago Bears bring home another victory. Ah yes, for the good times.
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Does hockey need ‘warning track’ to prevent devastating injuries?
Greg Wyshynski
Does hockey need ‘warning track’ to prevent devastating injuries?
An outfielder runs full-speed to catch a fly ball hit towards the centerfield wall. Suddenly, the grass gives way to dirt under his feet, triggering a response in his mind: ‘Hey, slow down, because after the warning track comes the collision.’
The warning track in baseball is for the benefit of players speeding into the wall.
Thomas Smith hopes it has the same effect in hockey, preventing catastrophic injuries along the boards on hits.
Smith spent 27 months in a wheelchair and remains partially paralyzed after being tripped into the boards at 20 years old. Five years later, he’s championing “The Look-Up Line”: a 40-inch orange “warning track” along the boards that would help puck carriers and the players that would hit them know they’re in a dangerous area.
(As you can see from the image here, it looks like a thousand kids wiped Cheetoos dust from their fingers along the ice.)
From the official site for the “Look-Up Line,” here are its benefits:
1. Warn players to keep their heads up to prevent head and neck injuries.
2. Warn players to be careful not to body check (contact) opposing players from behind.
3. Allow players time to make proper bodily adjustments before hitting the boards.
4. Alleviate the failure to warn (board related) issue that currently exists in hockey.
5. Remind on ice coaches and officials to continue to warn players about safety in hockey.
Smith says it’ll be in 225 rinks around the U.S. this season. Here's a rather long video detailing how the line can be added to your rink:
From Kevin Allen of USA Today, who told Smith’s story, the reaction from USA Hockey is wait-and-see:
"We are interested in any idea that can improve the health and safety of our hockey community, and this is a very intriguing safety measure," said Michael Stuart, USA Hockey's chief medical officer. "The way to look at it is: It may seem ingenious, but we need to study it to demonstrate it is actually effective."
USA Hockey has appointed a task force. "It's been compared to a warning track in baseball," Stuart said. "But there is a difference because there is also a tactile response in baseball. A player can tell he is running from grass onto cinder or whatever a warning track is made out of. But again, it's a wonderful idea and needs to be researched."
It’s always a little depressing to think that we need bright orange lines and stop signs on the backs of jerseys to prevent skaters from bludgeoning each other along the boards, but obviously anything that prevents these injuries is a positive thing.
From a gameplay perspective, however … would referees use this as a guideline for reckless hits?
Smith tells Allen that there’s no desire to use the line to create a no-hitting zone, but it’s not hard to believe it could be an unintended consequence. But that’s a manageable fallout from what could be an invention that keeps other players from career-ending hits.
NHL says it is only discussing expanding league.
By LARRY LAGE (AP Hockey Writer)
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, right, and deputy commissioner Bill Daly, left, speak to reporters; NHL says it is only discussing expanding league (Photo/Mary Altaffer)
The NHL insists expansion is not imminent.
''Nothing has happened to change the status quo,'' NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said in a telephone interview Wednesday with The Associated Press. ''There continues to be interest from some markets, and we continue to be interested in discussing the possibilities, but there is no plan moving forward in terms of expansion.''
The NHL has not expanded since the 2000-01 season when the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets became the 29th and 30th franchises in the league. After last year's realignment, the Eastern Conference has 16 teams and there are 14 in the Western Conference.
Seattle, Toronto, Quebec City, Las Vegas and Kansas City have been mentioned as markets that might land a new team in the league.
Seattle, Toronto, Quebec City, Las Vegas and Kansas City have been mentioned as markets that might land a new team in the league.
''If we get to a point where there's enough interest in enough places that it warrants consideration, then the Board of Governors may well invoke a formal expansion process and we'll look at everything,'' NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has said. ''I don't think this is something you do on a piecemeal basis.''
A person with knowledge of the league's plans, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said reports of a possible four-team NHL expansion were news to him and ''I don't believe it.''
Bettman visited Seattle to meet with local elected leaders in May to get an update on the status of a possible new arena proposed by investor Chris Hansen.
Bettman has said Seattle's arena situation has to be settled before the NHL would consider expanding there. Legislation approved by city and county officials called for an NBA team to be placed in Seattle first before an NHL team unless the memorandum of understanding on the project is rewritten. Hansen has said his group does not have interest in being majority owners of an NHL team.
''Seattle seems to have the most number of people interested,'' Bettman said in June.
''The fact is there's no building that's on the horizon. The person who controls the rights to build a building in Seattle is intent upon having an NBA team before he builds a building. Based on what's happened to date, and the fact that his partner has now bought a different franchise, I don't know that there's any prospect of a building in Seattle. It's nice that there's interest, but there's really not a whole lot for us to do with it.''
''The fact is there's no building that's on the horizon. The person who controls the rights to build a building in Seattle is intent upon having an NBA team before he builds a building. Based on what's happened to date, and the fact that his partner has now bought a different franchise, I don't know that there's any prospect of a building in Seattle. It's nice that there's interest, but there's really not a whole lot for us to do with it.''
Just another Chicago Bulls Session… Progress, not production, should be focus for Rose with Team USA.
By Aggrey Sam
As Team USA prepares for its first FIBA World Cup pool-play game Saturday against Finland, featuring 2013 Bulls second-round draft pick Erik Murphy, in Bilbao, Spain, the focus in Chicago remains squarely on Derrick Rose.
The former league MVP had a subpar performance in Tuesday's exhibition finale, a blowout win over Slovenia in Gran Canaria, Spain, finishing with three points on 3-for-6 free-throw shooting, 0-for-3 shooting from the field and three turnovers in a reserve role behind All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers, though national team head coach Mike Krzyzewski previously claimed that he could alternate starting floor generals throughout the tournament. But while Tuesday's outing was certainly a lackluster outing by Rose's standards and there were prior alarm bells set off by the Chicago native missing two days of practice and Team USA's exhibition win over the Dominican Republic in New York last week, things have to be put into perspective.
Rose's strong July training camp in Las Vegas, coupled with glimpses of his previous form in the Team USA's intra-squad scrimmage and in his return to the United Center in a victory over Brazil might have raised expectations that he would be a dominant force for the national team, even as he's continually insisted that he wouldn't focus on being a primary scorer, his role for the Bulls. There's much room to improve from Tuesday's game for Rose, but the same could be said for many of his teammates, albeit less high-profile players, and if memory serves correct, even in 2010, when he played on the gold-medal FIBA World Championships squad ahead of his MVP campaign, the point guard was much more of a facilitator than a scoring threat.
More importantly, however, simply being back on the court in a competitive environment should serve Rose well, as the entire process, from training camp and scrimmages, to practices and games, feature his peers, some of the NBA's best rising stars, if not cream-of-the-crop talent with similar accolades under their belt. Team USA's goal is to win the re-branded World Cup, but as Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau, a national-team assistant, has said all along, it's a perfect situation for his star player to find his comfort level and get the kinks out as the regular season approaches, as playing with and against the likes of Irving and Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Stephen Curry presents a stiffer challenge than the Bulls' summer-league roster or whoever happens to be in the Berto Center as he's going through his workout routine.
Nobody can accurately predict exactly where Rose will be in two months, when the regular season begins, but avoiding some of the struggles he endured in those 10 games he played before suffering the torn right meniscus last November that sidelined him for the rest of last season will be imperative to the Bulls getting off to a good start and set the tone for what's widely expected to be a two-team race with Cleveland, now featuring LeBron James and officially as of this week, Kevin Love. In fact, the exciting beginning to his national-team duties and his current struggles are somewhat reminiscent of Rose's 2013 preseason exploits and early regular-season inconsistency last season, only now he has the opportunity to get through those stages on a team that doesn't need him to play like a superstar every single time out.
With the question of whether or not he will even make the trip overseas now in the rear-view window, it's natural to focus on aspects of his game like his ball-security issues, the accuracy of his outside jumper or his finishing ability around the basket, all things that can be adjusted. But Rose's trademark explosiveness is clearly present, and with an obvious emphasis on playmaking and defensive ball pressure, it bodes well for an upgraded Bulls roster that will have more offensive firepower and will still hang its hat on Thibodeau's top-tier defensive scheme.
Meanwhile, all Rose has to do is continue to fit in and perhaps there will be moments, stretches or even entire games where he will take over, as arguably the most accomplished player on Team USA, showing that he's not far off his previous form. For now, though, just simply being back on the court supersedes any notion that he has to consistently dominate the action for this offseason to have been an individual success.
A gold medal, potentially coming in a championship game against host country Spain and new teammate Pau Gasol, coupled with a healthy run through the event without logging heavy minutes, is a positive in itself.
Cubs having best year ever for a team that's 59-72 and ensconced in last.
By Jon Heyman
Things could not have gone better for the Cubs this year. That's a funny thing to say about a 59-72 team, but in the category that truly counts for them – their top young players and prospects – the Cubs could not possibly have hoped for more.
Top Cuban import Jorge Soler joins the Cubs prospect party Wednesday night at Cincinnati, and while the Cubs are still in last place, the key young players are putting together great seasons across the board, or at the very least showing magnificent potential. The same goes for the prospects still in the minors, where top Cubs prospects are generally dominating, raising hopes of a sustained run of success at the major-league level at some point.
“From a young player standpoint, it's been pretty good,” Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said by phone.
That seems like quite the qualified understatement, which actually may not be such a bad strategy considering the storied team is into its second century of disappointment, famously having not won a World Series since 1908 (or even gotten to a World Series since 1945). The numbers the vital 20-somethings are posting, both at the major-league level and in the minors, are nothing short of amazing, and that goes for basically each and every of them.
Towering third baseman Kris Bryant, who has 43 home runs and a .323 batting average between Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa, is having an all-time great season (“as good a minor-league season as I can remember for a player in his first full year in pro ball,” is the way Hoyer put it). And yet, Bryant's sterling 1.113 OPS is actually slightly lower than that of the outfielder Soler, who had a 1.132 mark at those two spots before his promotion.
Soler was promoted because he has a major-league contract and only one option remaining, meaning the Cubs want to get a closer look at what they have. “We want to learn as much as we can,” Hoyer said.
There isn't much question what they have in Bryant, the No. 2 overall pick out of the University of San Diego last year. That was one spot behind Stanford righthander Mark Appel, who went first to the Astros and has generally struggled before improving lately. According to the experts, Bryant is going to be a monster – maybe even someone to rank with crosstown star Jose Abreu, at one-tenth the price, at least initially. Bryant received $6.7 million compared to $68 million, which shows you the difference between the draft, where Bryant received the biggest bonus of anyone in 2013, and free agency. In any case, Bryant is ranked the top prospect in the minors in multiple places now.
Speaking of Soler's ascension to join Javier Baez, Arismendy Alcantara and the other top young guys already up with the Cubs, Hoyer said, “It's going to be fun. We're getting there. We have a chance to be young and fun and exciting.”
But, of course, they have to temper expectations, which are growing on the North Side. “We have to expect there are going to be growing pains,” Hoyer said. “That means there will be ups and down.”
Cubs fans will surely take that after their recent won-loss ledgers – they've lost 197 games in the first two years of the Hoyer-Theo Epstein regime after taking over an organization basically bereft of talent before showing noticeable improvement this year. Their current record is tied with their rival White Sox at eighth/ninth worst in MLB and has them buried in last in the otherwise tight NL Central. But it's hard not to get excited about what's there, and what may be coming.
The minor-league stats of their top young players are in many cases nothing short of eye-popping, but the very best news may be the progress of young first baseman Anthony Rizzo and shortstop Starlin Castro, who are already locked up to lucrative long-term deals and needed bounce-back seasons following struggles in 2013. Well, both made the NL All-Star team; Castro is second among qualifying NL shortstops (to Jhonny Peralta) with a .764 OPS, and Rizzo is doing even better; he's second (to Giancarlo Stanton) among all NL players with 30 home runs.
“Last year was just an anomaly (for Castro),” Hoyer said. “The rest of his career he's shown steady progress and been pretty consistent.”
Last year is in the past for the Cubs, who are doing nothing but celebrating the exploits of their under-30 players. There's no question they'll need more pitching help if they have a chance to contend next year, but Jake Arrieta and Kyle Hendricks give them a chance to fill two spots with productive young pitchers. Arrieta (7-4, 2.53) is seen a potential top-of-the-rotation starter while Hendricks (5-1, 1.78) is viewed as mostly a surprise.
Both pitchers sport sterling 1.01 WHIPs. Hoyer credited Arrieta and the Cubs coaches for helping him to harness his vast potential following his trade from the Orioles, who just lost to their former pitcher. Hendricks is surprising folks by having great command and being “really cerebral,” in Hoyer's words.
It doesn't take a genius to see positive things are ahead for the Cubs, not with Javier Baez, who hit 23 homers at Triple-A, adding seven homers in his first 21 big-league games while manning second base, and the other top prospects continuing to thrive in the minors.
Arismendy Alcantara, who preceded Baez to the majors, hit .307 at Iowa with 10 homers, and the younger prospects also are all starring, as well.
Twenty-year-old phenom Addison Russell, the top shortstop prospect who came in the Jeff Samardzija/Jason Hammel trade, is hitting .300 with 13 homers in the minors overall, and is doing even better than that since arriving from Oakland as the best prospect traded this summer. Billy McKinney, who came with Russell, is hitting .305 at high-A Daytona (Fla.) Former No. 1 pick Albert Almora, a center fielder, is hitting .299 between A-ball and Double-A.
Top draft choice Kyle Schwarber, the surprise pick out of Indiana University, is hitting .349 with 18 home runs in A ball. Schwarber, a catcher/outfielder, was seen by many as a mid-first round choice, but the Cubs appear to have pegged him correctly as perhaps the top college hitter who was a bargain ($3.125 million) for what seems now like a deserving fourth overall pick.
What's most remarkable of all: None of the big prospects is having off years.
These great young players do combine to create an issue about where to play them all, and it's natural to wonder whether the Cubs, who still need pitching, might package a few of them to bolster a rotation that needs at least two pitchers. Though Hoyer said, “I don't think there's any hurry to do anything.”
In any case, Cubs fans, who know a thing or two about patience, shouldn't have to wait too much longer to see what might be baseball's most exciting group of position players.
Keith Olbermann says Pete Rose should be reinstated, calls out MLB's hypocrisy. What's your take?
By Mike Oz
Pete Rose (Photo/AP)
ESPN's Keith Olbermann released a thoughtful and entertaining seven-minute commentary Monday about Pete Rose and his ban from MLB. The 25-year anniversary of Rose's banishment was Sunday, and that has brought a wave of Pete Rose talk back into the sports media mainstream recently.
Olbermann in particular put together a one-hour special called "Pete Rose: 25 Years in Exile." Since he's both an astute baseball fan and a man who knows a thing or two about second chances, Olbermann's perspective was interesting to hear.
Even though he once took a hardline stance against reinstating Rose, Olbermann said he's come around in recent years. Now he's in favor of allowing Rose back in MLB.
The recent PED controversies surrounding the game, Olbermann said, make Rose's misdoings look like "nickel and dime stuff." He said Rose's crime is "no longer a capital offense" and other players would have been forgiven by now:
Olbermann went beyond just stating his case, though. In that way he's known for, Olbermann tried to expose Major League Baseball's hypocrisy too. And it all comes down to money."If anybody else of Pete Rose's stature had done what he did, there would have been severe punishment and eventual forgiveness. This is still not the America of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the Black Sox. Say you're sorry and odds are awfully good that the rest of us will say 'Ahh, ok.' "
The MLB All-Star Game is in Cincinnati next season and Bud Selig has already said Rose could participate in All-Star festivities. Olbermann suggests that a corporate sponsor could want to involve Rose. Then what would MLB do? Take the money? It's already happened once.
"What happened last time?" Olbermann said. "The 1999 All-Century Team event, sponsored by a credit card company with ballots at a chain of discount stores, and Pete Rose — officially banned from baseball, who once got the Reds organization in trouble just by going on the field of one of their minor league farm clubs — persona non grata, banned for life, Pete Rose was trotted out as if nothing had ever happened. Because the credit card company wanted the whole All-Century Team there. Even him."
Earlier that same season Rose wasn't allowed to participate in another All-Century Team event that didn't have a corporate sponsor. Which leads to Olbermann's conclusion:
Larry King, another famous baseball fan, agreed with Olbermann, for what that's worth."The hypocrisy about Pete Rose, baseball's hypocrisy, Bud Selig's hypocrisy is subtle but still shameful," Olbermann says. "Pete Rose's lifetime ban can be and has been turned on and off like a light switch. Just remember to bring enough cash."
Many fans won't, however. What to do about Pete Rose is as divisive as the designated hitter. People have their beliefs, they've had them for years and they're probably not going to change them. In that sense, Olbermann's about-face is something of a rarity.
The anti-Rose crowd will listen to Olbermann's commentary and argue that it's Rose's job to prove himself worthy of reinstatement regardless of what MLB is doing.
No matter what side you're on, it sure will be interesting to see how Rose figures into the 2015 All-Star plans. And, perhaps more importantly, where the money falls.
Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Take: First, let's address the Pete Rose issue. I've watched baseball all of my life and have seen a lot of great players in what I call the "Golden Age of Baseball" in the 50's, 60's and early 70's. Pete Rose was an exceptional player and an intricate part of the "Big Red Machine" earning him, the nickname of "Charlie Hustle." He earned it and deserved it. Somewhere along the line, things went a little askew. He became the Red's manager and started betting on his team. A definite no-no in professional sports because it leads to unfortunate predicaments for players, managers, front offices and team ownership. Not to mention the embarrassing outcome of the games themselves. Pete Rose has a large role in baseball history. I don't think his on the field performance should be eradicated, hidden or erased from the laurels of baseball; however, I do feel that we are all responsible for the consequences of our action. He broke a "Cardinal Rule of Baseball" and will have to pay for that. We feel that he should never be allowed to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame period, paragraph, end of the story. We're sure baseball purist will not agree with us because they want him to just disappear and we're sure that the casual fan will not agree with us either because they feel he should be allowed back in the game and totally forgiven. We all know that that can't be done unless you're going to change all of baseball's history. Do you reinstate the 1919 White Sox for the Black Sox Scandal?" What about the PED and HGH users and abusers, should we excuse them? Is it fair to the players that have played by the rules and are having their records broken by the guys that are using drugs to enhance their performance? No, Absolutely not!!! And that brings us to the second thing that we feel should be addressed.
The second issue is that the Major League Baseball governing body, the commissioner's office and ownership management team, have got to become more consistent in applying the rules and enforcing the policies and procedures of baseball's guidelines. Their inconsistent enforcement has everyone confused as to what they can do and what they can get away with. Granted the commissioner's office and team ownership take the risk and finance the league, but they make mistakes too. I can name several instances where they are their own worst enemy but we'll save those stories for another time. What all of the people associated with baseball including: players, fans, vendors, ushers, groundskeepers and anyone else affiliated with the game in any capacity is looking for is fair and consistent enforcement of the policies, procedures and rules for a wonderful game that is known as "America's Past Time." We've just witnessed the 2014 Little League World Series where the fundamentals, enthusiasm and approach to the game actually showed why when played properly, baseball as a game cannot be beat.
So now commissioner's office and baseball ownership, the ball, bat and glove are in your hands. Lead by example, become consistent in your actions and make this game even greater than it is!!!
Now that you know what we think and how we feel, we'd love to know, what’s your take? Marion P. Jelks, Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Blog Editor. Please use the comment section below and have at it. Let us know your thoughts.
Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Take: First, let's address the Pete Rose issue. I've watched baseball all of my life and have seen a lot of great players in what I call the "Golden Age of Baseball" in the 50's, 60's and early 70's. Pete Rose was an exceptional player and an intricate part of the "Big Red Machine" earning him, the nickname of "Charlie Hustle." He earned it and deserved it. Somewhere along the line, things went a little askew. He became the Red's manager and started betting on his team. A definite no-no in professional sports because it leads to unfortunate predicaments for players, managers, front offices and team ownership. Not to mention the embarrassing outcome of the games themselves. Pete Rose has a large role in baseball history. I don't think his on the field performance should be eradicated, hidden or erased from the laurels of baseball; however, I do feel that we are all responsible for the consequences of our action. He broke a "Cardinal Rule of Baseball" and will have to pay for that. We feel that he should never be allowed to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame period, paragraph, end of the story. We're sure baseball purist will not agree with us because they want him to just disappear and we're sure that the casual fan will not agree with us either because they feel he should be allowed back in the game and totally forgiven. We all know that that can't be done unless you're going to change all of baseball's history. Do you reinstate the 1919 White Sox for the Black Sox Scandal?" What about the PED and HGH users and abusers, should we excuse them? Is it fair to the players that have played by the rules and are having their records broken by the guys that are using drugs to enhance their performance? No, Absolutely not!!! And that brings us to the second thing that we feel should be addressed.
The second issue is that the Major League Baseball governing body, the commissioner's office and ownership management team, have got to become more consistent in applying the rules and enforcing the policies and procedures of baseball's guidelines. Their inconsistent enforcement has everyone confused as to what they can do and what they can get away with. Granted the commissioner's office and team ownership take the risk and finance the league, but they make mistakes too. I can name several instances where they are their own worst enemy but we'll save those stories for another time. What all of the people associated with baseball including: players, fans, vendors, ushers, groundskeepers and anyone else affiliated with the game in any capacity is looking for is fair and consistent enforcement of the policies, procedures and rules for a wonderful game that is known as "America's Past Time." We've just witnessed the 2014 Little League World Series where the fundamentals, enthusiasm and approach to the game actually showed why when played properly, baseball as a game cannot be beat.
So now commissioner's office and baseball ownership, the ball, bat and glove are in your hands. Lead by example, become consistent in your actions and make this game even greater than it is!!!
Now that you know what we think and how we feel, we'd love to know, what’s your take? Marion P. Jelks, Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Blog Editor. Please use the comment section below and have at it. Let us know your thoughts.
Cubs' Jorge Soler homers in first AB.
ESPN.com news services
Jorge Soler became the second top Cubs prospect in the span of a month Wednesday to belt a home run in his major league debut. (Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
A second top prospect in the span of a month has homered for the Chicago Cubs in his major league debut.
Soler, 22, connected on a 2-1 pitch from Latos in the second inning with the bases empty, hitting the ball onto the netting above the Reds bullpen in center field at the Great American Ball Park. Soler also had a single and 2 RBIs.
Second baseman Javier Baez hit a go-ahead homer in the 12th inning of his debut Aug. 5, a 6-5 win over the Colorado Rockies.
Baez has homered seven times in 21 games but is batting only .198. He went 1-for-5 with a 2-RBI double against the Reds.
Soler became the first Cubs player to homer in his first at-bat in the majors since Starlin Castro connected off Homer Bailey in Cincinnati on May 7, 2010.
The Cuban Soler signed a nine-year, $30 million contract last season. He was promoted before the game on Wednesday.
Soler was the eighth Cubs player to make his debut this season.
Chicago celebrates Jackie Robinson West.
(Photo/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago's Jackie Robinson West team came up short in the Little League World Series finals against Seoul, South Korea, but that didn't stop the city from honoring the U.S. champs on Wednesday.
The parade route worked its way down Halsted Street and ended at Millennium Park in the Loop, where adoring throngs awaited them.
One might get the impression that Chicago is profoundly proud of JRW and their efforts in the Little League World Series. That's precisely the case.
Golf: I got a club for that… Playoff title, Ryder Cup add spice to PGA event.
AFP
World number one Rory McIlroy joins PGA season points leader Hunter Mahan and US Ryder Cup newcomer Jimmy Walker in the feature group when the Deutsche Bank Championship begins Friday.
McIlroy, who won the event in 2012, captured last month's British Open and the PGA Championship three weeks ago but was thwarted in a bid for a fourth consecutive victory last week when Mahan won at The Barclays to pass him in playoff points.
"Excited to be back here -- 2012 was a great year," McIlroy said. "I was in the middle of a great run like I am now.
"My frame of mind is very similar, very relaxed. I'm not really putting a lot of pressure on myself. My golf game feels a little more controlled than it did then. And I'm driving the ball as good as I ever have.
"You want to win every event you play. I don't think there's any point of trying to pace yourself that way. I'd much rather be first or second than third, fourth or fifth."
The playoff field was trimmed to 100 this week and only 70 will advance to next week's BMW Championship in Denver, where only 30 points leaders will advance to the season-ending Tour Championship.
The top five on the points list in the Atlanta finale can take the season crown by winning the tournament, but McIlroy said he would not try to pace himself in order to save his best for the end of the four-week playoff grind.
"You want to win every event you play," McIlroy said. "I don't think there's any point of trying to pace yourself that way. I'd much rather be first or second than third, fourth or fifth."
McIlroy wants to complete another item on his list of goals by taking home the playoff trophy.
"It's one of the only things in golf I haven't achieved. It would be great to win it," McIlroy said. "Apart from the money, I feel like I've played a lot of good golf this season and ... I'd like to give it the finish it should have."
Among those looking to leap into the top 70 and keep their chances for the $10 million (7.59 million euros) champion's bonus are England's Luke Donald, Ian Poulter and Paul Casey, Zimbabwe's Brendon de Jonge, New Zealand's Danny Lee, Fiji's Vijay Singh and Australian Geoff Ogilvy.
- Ryder Cup hopefuls on display -
American Brandt Snedeker, 71st in points, also hopes to play well enough to earn a Ryder Cup selection from Tom Watson, who makes his three captain's choices for the US roster on Tuesday, the day after the tournament concludes.
Mahan likely put himself into one of the open US Ryder Cup spots with last week's victory but Snedeker, Keegan Bradley and Webb Simpson are also figured to be prime candidates.
On the European side, it's the final weekend to make an impression upon captain Paul McGinley, the Irishman whose picks will also be made Tuesday.
Poulter, the hero of Europe's trophy-winning comeback two years ago at Medinah, and Donald would need captain's picks to make the European squad.
Italy's Francesco Molinari and Dutchman Joost Luiten are playing in the European Tour's Italian Open and also trying to make an impression on McGinley.
The final European Ryder Cup vacancy will be filled in Italy. Scotsman Stephen Gallacher needs a top-two finish to unseat Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell from the final automatic qualifying berth.
Both the Ryder Cup and playoff points chace enliven the event, which Sweden's Henrik Stenson won last year on his way to taking the US PGA playoff crown.
Stewart returning to competition after fatal crash.
By JENNA FRYER (AP Auto Racing Writer)
Stewart returning to competition after fatal crash (Photo/Terry Renna, File)
Tony Stewart will return to Sprint Cup competition Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway, ending a three-race hiatus taken after he struck and killed a fellow driver during a dirt-track race.
The three-time NASCAR champion has not raced since his car hit Kevin Ward Jr. at an Aug. 9 sprint car event in upstate New York. Stewart pulled out of the NASCAR race at Watkins Glen the next morning, then skipped races at Michigan and Bristol Motor Speedway.
Stewart, who was described by police as ''visibly shaken'' the night of Ward's death, has been in seclusion ever since. Stewart-Haas Racing executive vice president Brett Frood has said the emphasis was on giving Stewart time needed to get him ''in a better place than he is.''
Stewart's only comment since the crash was a statement the day after the crash in which he said ''there aren't words to describe the sadness I feel about the accident that took the life of Kevin Ward Jr.''
Ward had climbed from his car after it had spun while racing for position with Stewart. The 20-year-old walked down onto the racing surface waving his arms in an apparent attempt to confront Stewart.
Authorities said the first car to pass Ward had to swerve to miss hitting him. The front of Stewart's car then appeared to clear Ward, but Ward was struck by the right rear tire and hurtled through the air. He died of blunt force trauma.
Stewart will return with a decision pending on whether he will be charged in Ward's death. Ontario County Sheriff Philip Povero has said investigators did not have any evidence to support criminal intent by Stewart. Povero said Thursday the investigation is still ongoing.
Meanwhile, the 43-year-old NASCAR superstar will move forward with his career and attempt to salvage his season.
NASCAR released a statement saying that Stewart was eligible to return because he ''has received all necessary clearances required to return to all racing activities.'' NASCAR said it would have no further comment until President Mike Helton speaks Friday afternoon.
Stewart, who has 48 career Cup wins in 542 starts, is one of the biggest stars in the garage. His peers have been protective of him as questions emerged in the aftermath of the crash, and it pained them that Stewart was grieving in private and had cut off communication with so many of them. He will talk to the media for the first time since the fatal crash on Friday.
NASCAR rules state a driver must attempt to either qualify or race the car in every points-paying event to be eligible for Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, unless a waiver is granted. There was no immediate word if NASCAR would grant that waiver.
Since Ward's death, NASCAR has announced a rule that prohibits drivers from exiting from a crashed or disabled vehicle - unless it is on fire - until safety personnel arrive. Last week, Denny Hamlin crashed while leading at Bristol and stayed in his car until safety personnel arrived.
But Hamlin then exited his vehicle and angrily tossed a safety device at Kevin Harvick as he passed by moments later. He was not penalized.
Who will speak for Kevin Ward Jr. in biased Tony Stewart situation?
By Bob Pockrass
Investigators could complete their inquiry into Kevin Ward Jr.’s death in the next week, although it could take longer.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone if it takes longer. The investigation obviously is different than a normal car wreck that occurs in Ontario County (N.Y.), where investigators and prosecutors know how a car should react in certain situations.
This is an investigation involving a car they need to learn. They need to learn how the suspension works and how a sprint car reacts on a dirt track. They must consider the sightlines of a car that has a big wing above it, with dirt being kicked up in the turns and poor lighting at the track.
But in trying to understand these cars, investigators might have a hard time finding unbiased people to talk to.
Friends of Ward, who was killed when Tony Stewart's sprint car struck him, likely will have one view of the tragedy. And then there’s everybody else with knowledge of sprint cars. It’s likely there are few unbiased people.
If a driver has been wrecked by Stewart, by one of his other sprint-car drivers or is upset at a ruling at one of the tracks he owns, that driver could try to make a case against Stewart, whose car struck and killed Ward in an Aug. 9 race at Canandaigua Motorsports Park.
Other drivers likely would give Stewart the benefit of the doubt and explain things that could help him. They look up to Stewart and what he’s done for short-track and sprint-car racing. He has invested in it, owning teams and tracks. He has defended it when people have questioned the safety. He has worked to make it safer.
In other words, he’s a racer. And racers tend to protect racers. Racers need to protect racers.
If Stewart faces criminal charges, it would be a cloud over the entire motorsports world. His businesses — four Sprint Cup teams included — could suffer. Fans could be lost. Sponsors would be lost. And that means jobs would be lost.
There seems to be an inherent bias that most in the motorsports community would lean toward trying to protect Stewart. That’s not Stewart’s fault, and it’s not to imply any coercion.
In racing, a driver is taught to leave the pits when the jack drops; that it’s a crewman’s responsibility to get out of the way. So if someone is in the way of a car, it’s an accident, not the driver’s fault.
Many in racing believe this was just a horrible accident made by a young driver who should not have climbed from his car and walked out onto the track. It’s a pretty well understood code in sprint-car racing that a driver doesn’t get out of his car and get close to moving vehicles.
So Stewart is getting the benefit of the doubt in the motorsports world, which also knows of his many impressive efforts of compassion.
With the beating he is taking in the media, he needs people on his side to explain the workings of a sprint car to investigators and the general public. He needs people to explain to investigators logical reasons why what could be perceived as a negligent act wasn’t negligent at all. Stewart, as a three-time Cup champion and with his investment in the sport, deserves to have as many people on his side as possible.
But so does Kevin Ward Jr., the subject of this investigation. Obviously he wouldn’t have gotten run over if he didn’t approach the cars on the track. What should he have expected Stewart to do? Why would he seem to violate the law of common sense?
Who will stand up for him beyond his friends and maybe those who have had a run-in with Stewart? Who would be forthcoming if they have information or an explanation that might not shine Stewart in the best light, especially if they could face scrutiny and possibly be shunned by the racing community that they consider their family?
Many influential people in the sprint-car world and NASCAR world are viewing this as an accident. They have knowledge and insight that backs up that belief, and they do a great service for their friend and fellow racer in doing so. They also do a great service to their sport — it’s racing. They accept death as part of the sport, now let’s race.
They very well could be correct in their backing of Stewart. But investigators need to get a 360-degree view, and Stewart himself needs an investigation that goes to great depths to exonerate him so there are few lingering questions about his role.
What I wonder is, would the racing world not give that full view to investigators in order to protect itself?
If there is something that needs to be said for the one who can’t speak, who, beyond Ward’s friends and those who want to scream into a microphone on a news show, will say it?
NASCAR unveils 2015 Sprint Cup Schedule.
By: Lee Spencer, NASCAR editor, Motorsport.com
(Photo/motorsports.com)
Changes include the Southern 500 returning to Labor Day weekend, Atlanta moves to March 1.
NASCAR released the 2015 Sprint Cup Schedule on Tuesday.
As Motorsport.com reported earlier this month, the Southern 500 moves back to its traditional Labor Day date at Darlington Raceway on Sept. 6.
Other significant changes include Atlanta Motor Speedway takes over the second date on March 1, followed by a western swing of Las Vegas, Phoenix and Auto Club Speedway.
Bristol Motor Speedway also received a long awaited April date on the 19th. The Coke Zero 400 at Daytona will move to Sunday night, July 5.
The Cup calendar kicks off with Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway and culminates with the Daytona 500 on Feb. 22. 2015 NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES SCHEDULE
| Date | Site | Network |
| 2/14 | Daytona International Speedway (Sprint Unlimited) | FOX, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 2/15 | Daytona International Speedway (Daytona 500 Qualifying) | FOX, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 2/19 | Daytona International Speedway (Duel) | FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 2/22 | Daytona 500 | FOX, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 3/1 | Atlanta Motor Speedway | FOX, PRN, SiriusXM |
| 3/8 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway | FOX, PRN, SiriusXM |
| 3/15 | Phoenix International Raceway | FOX, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 3/22 | Auto Club Speedway | FOX, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 3/29 | Martinsville Speedway | FOX, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 4/11 | Texas Motor Speedway | FOX, PRN, SiriusXM |
| 4/19 | Bristol Motor Speedway | FOX, PRN, SiriusXM |
| 4/25 | Richmond International Raceway | FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 5/3 | Talladega Superspeedway | FOX, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 5/9 | Kansas Speedway | FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 5/16 | Charlotte Motor Speedway (NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race) | FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 5/24 | Charlotte Motor Speedway | FOX, PRN, SiriusXM |
| 5/31 | Dover International Speedway | FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 6/7 | Pocono Raceway | FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 6/14 | Michigan International Speedway | FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 6/28 | Sonoma Raceway | FOX Sports 1, PRN, SiriusXM |
| 7/5 | Daytona International Speedway | NBC, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 7/11 | Kentucky Speedway | NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM |
| 7/19 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway | NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM |
| 7/26 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | NBCSN, IMS, SiriusXM |
| 8/2 | Pocono Raceway | NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 8/9 | Watkins Glen International | NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 8/16 | Michigan International Speedway | NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 8/22 | Bristol Motor Speedway | NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM |
| 9/6 | Darlington Raceway | NBC, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 9/12 | Richmond International Raceway | NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 9/20 | Chicagoland Speedway | NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 9/27 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway | NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM |
| 10/4 | Dover International Speedway | NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 10/10 | Charlotte Motor Speedway | NBC, PRN, SiriusXM |
| 10/18 | Kansas Speedway | NBC, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 10/25 | Talladega Superspeedway | NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 11/1 | Martinsville Speedway | NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 11/8 | Texas Motor Speedway | NBC, PRN, SiriusXM |
| 11/15 | Phoenix International Raceway | NBC, MRN, SiriusXM |
| 11/22 | Homestead-Miami Speedway | NBC, MRN, SiriusXM |
Soccer: 10 World Cup vets on US roster.
AP - Sports
U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann selected 10 players from this year's World Cup team to play against the Czech Republic next Wednesday.
Such stars as Tim Howard, Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley were not on the roster as Klinsmann chose a mixture of youngsters and veterans to Prague. Howard is taking a one-year-sabbatical from the national team.
Players who represented the United States in Brazil and were chosen Thursday by Klinsmann are goalkeepers Brad Guzan and Nick Rimando; defenders John Brooks, Geoff Cameron, Tim Chandler and Fabian Johnson; midfielders Alejandro Bedoya, Mix Diskerud and Julian Green; and forward Jozy Altidore.
''We look at this as the start of our project towards Russia in 2018,'' Klinsmann said of the next World Cup, ''and in this first step we get to look at many of our talented young players based in Europe. We have some great youngsters coming through the ranks that are starting to break through with their clubs teams and are ready to challenge for spots on the senior team. And even most of our World Cup veterans from Brazil on this roster will be coming into the prime of their careers in the next four years, so this is an exciting opportunity.''
Altidore is the leading cap winner on the roster with 71 appearances. Five players have never played for the senior national team: goalkeeper Cody Cropper, defender Greg Garza, midfielder Emerson Hyndman, forwards Joe Gyau and Rubio Rubin.
The roster:
Goalkeepers: Cody Cropper (Southampton), Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake);
Defenders : John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Timmy Chandler (Eintracht Frankfurt), Greg Garza (Club Tijuana), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Monchengladbach), Michael Orozco (Puebla), Tim Ream (Bolton)
Midfielders : Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Julian Green (Bayern Munich), Emerson Hyndman (Fulham), Alfredo Morales (Ingolstadt), Brek Shea (Stoke City)
Forwards : Jozy Altidore (Sunderland), Joe Gyau (Borussia Dortmund II), Jordan Morris (Stanford), Rubio Rubin (Utrecht), Bobby Wood (1860 Munich).
US parents sue FIFA over safety concerns on headers.
AFP
(Photo/Jack Guez, AFP File)
The class action suit was filed Wednesday in California to demand more protection from concussions, and also names as defendants the United States Soccer Federation and the US Youth Soccer Association.
"There is an epidemic of concussion injuries in soccer at all levels around the world, including in the United States, from youth to professionals," the complaint alleges.
The suit calls for limiting the number of headers that young players can perform, arguing that their neck muscles are weaker and less able to absorb the impact of the ball.
It also calls for the monitoring of people who played football as children and young adults who may have suffered concussions, and other new safety rules.
The suit, who does not claim damages, says the defendants have the duty to minimize the risk of injury.
"FIFA and each defendant acted carelessly and negligently in their positions as the regulatory bodies for soccer and soccer players," the complaint alleges.
Donovan to play final match for US team in Oct.
AP Sports
Landon Donovan says he will make his final appearance for the U.S. national team Oct. 10 in a friendly against Ecuador.
Donovan announced the plan Tuesday.
Donovan is the top scorer in U.S. history with 57 goals and 58 assists in 156 appearances, but he wasn't chosen for his fourth World Cup roster earlier this summer by coach Jurgen Klinsmann.
Earlier this month, the 32-year-old Donovan announced he will retire from the LA Galaxy after the season. The five-time MLS champion is the North American league's career goals leader.
The U.S. team will face Ecuador at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut.
Klinsmann expressed excitement about Donovan's final appearance in a post on his Twitter account.
Note: This is the first week of College football, Good Luck to your favorite team. Go Tigers, The Tennessee State University Tigers, (My Alma Mater). It's so hard to beat a Tiger. Tennessee State University Vs. Edward Waters, August 30, 2014 (in Nashville, Tn.)
NCAA's revamped enforcement department processing cases.
By Pat Forde
(Image/Jeff Hanisch, USA TODAY Sports)
An annual rite of the opening week of college football is the last-minute, surprise withholding from competition of players due to NCAA eligibility concerns.
With the games upon us, expect the unexpected sight of some players not in uniform at kickoff this week.
Jon Duncan, NCAA director of enforcement, told Yahoo Sports Wednesday that there are some of those cases currently in play in Division I. He is forbidden by NCAA membership bylaws from speaking about specific cases, so the particulars are left open to guesswork at this moment. And the final decision on whether to sit players who might be ruled ineligible is left to the school itself.
"We have tried to prioritize institutions so they know as much as they can possibly know before the start of a football or basketball season," Duncan said.
That's a challenge, given the sheer workload facing enforcement at present. Duncan – with an assist from NCAA president Mark Emmert – wants the word out that contrary to popular belief, the enforcement staff is getting things done.
Duncan said there are 10 Division I cases that are being "taken to final disposition" at present, covering a total of 50 allegations. Eleven cases, with a total of 58 allegations, are in some stage of briefing before the NCAA Committee on Infractions – the group that decides penalties for schools. Of that total, Duncan said four or five cases totaling 36 allegations will be brought to conclusion by the end of the year.
And on top of that, Duncan estimated another 100-125 cases are in their formative stages at present.
"The pipeline is full for the foreseeable future," he said.
The complexity of some cases that involve potentially major violations at major programs has slowed the pipeline some. But the enforcement staff is up to the task of handling a high volume of cases, Duncan said.
Enforcement staffing is nearly back to 100 percent, down only two positions. And he likes the hires that have been made to fill spots left open by an exodus of experienced investigators in the wake of former director Julie Roe Lach's firing in February 2013.
"We've got the right people," he said.
Among the methods Duncan has used to get the new people up to speed was something of an "Enforcement Homecoming" at the NCAA earlier this year – an idea he credits to his associate directors. Seven former staff members who left the NCAA and went to work at member schools came back to share what they had learned working on campus that can be applicable to doing investigative work.
Duncan considers that symposium a success.
"I noticed the change in our staff immediately," he said.
The news Duncan wants known is that NCAA enforcement is alive and well and working cases all over the country – and the results of that work will be known more publicly and specifically soon.
As soon as this week, it seems, when football players may not be in uniform.
Williams: Carolina schedule 'off the charts'.
By C.L. Brown | ESPN.com
Glancing over the many challenges of North Carolina’s schedule prompted coach Roy Williams to say, “This one may be a little off the charts.”
The Tar Heels face a nonconference slate that’s highlighted by the Battle 4 Atlantis with a field that could lead to potential matchups against Oklahoma or UCLA and Florida or Wisconsin. The marquee games continue at home against Iowa in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and the CBS Sports Classic in Chicago’s United Center against Ohio State.
2014-15 TAR HEELS SCHEDULE
The North Carolina men's basketball schedule:
| Date | Opponent |
|---|---|
10/24 | Fayetteville State (exhibition) |
| 11/7 | Belmont Abbey (exhibition) |
| 11/14 | N.C. Central |
| 11/16 | Robert Morris (Battle 4 Atlantis) |
| 11/22 | vs. Davidson in Charlotte |
| 11/26 | vs. Butler (Battle 4 Atlantis) |
| 11/27 | vs. Oklahoma or UCLA (Battle 4 Atlantis) |
| 11/28 | UAB, Florida, Georgetown or Wisconsin (Battle 4 Atlantis) |
| 12/3 | Iowa (ACC/Big Ten) |
| 12/7 | East Carolina |
| 12/13 | at Kentucky |
| 12/16 | vs. UNCG in Greensboro Coliseum |
| 12/20 | vs. Ohio State (CBS Sports Classic, Chicago) |
| 12/27 | UAB |
| 12/30 | William & Mary |
| 1/3 | at Clemson |
| 1/5 | Notre Dame |
| 1/10 | Louisville |
| 1/14 | at NC State |
| 1/18 | Virginia Tech |
| 1/21 | at Wake Forest |
| 1/24 | Florida State |
| 1/26 | Syracuse |
| 1/31 | at Louisville |
| 2/2 | Virginia |
| 2/7 | at Boston College |
| 2/14 | at Pitt |
| 2/18 | at Duke |
| 2/21 | Georgia Tech |
| 2/24 | NC State |
| 2/28 | at Miami |
| 3/3 | at Georgia Tech |
| 3/7 | Duke |
Both of those games are sandwiched around a trip to Lexington to face Kentucky on Dec. 13.
In a released statement, Williams said the advantages of being successful against a tough nonconference schedule can be “enormous.”
“If you have some success, you can say that I am more prepared than just about anybody to get into conference play and that’s what we are trying to do,” Williams said. “In the pre-conference, get ready for conference play, but also to play some of those national-type games to measure yourself to see how you can do outside the league as well. It is planned to try and get better, get better, get better so that you are hopefully playing your best basketball at the end of the season, when it’s the most important.”
North Carolina opens against its other Durham rival, N.C. Central. The Eagles are coming off their first NCAA tournament appearance last season.
The “All in the Family” portion of the schedule includes dates against former Carolina players or coaches. It starts at home on Dec. 7 against East Carolina, coached by Jeff Lebo, who lettered from 1985-89; Dec. 16 versus UNC Greensboro, coached by Wes Miller, who lettered from 2004-07; Dec. 27 against UAB, coached by Jerod Haase, who played for Williams at Kansas and served on his UNC staff when he arrived in 2003 until 2012; Dec. 30 against William and Mary, coached by William Shaver, who lettered from 1972-75.
The ACC schedule is highlighted by a tough, five-game stretch that entails four road games including at Louisville, Pittsburgh and Duke. The Heels haven’t had a stretch like that since Dean Smith’s final season in 1997. It will mean 19 days away from home between facing Virginia on Feb. 2 and Georgia Tech on Feb. 21. The silver lining during that span is that the Heels have a week off between the Boston College and Pitt road games.
The Heels play Louisville, NC State, Georgia Tech and Duke twice in league play. Their road-only games are Clemson, Wake Forest, Boston College and Miami. Their home-only opponents are Florida State, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Syracuse.
North Carolina landed a top-five recruiting class and, with the return of national player of the year candidate Marcus Paige, will likely be ranked in the preseason Top 10. The season begins, in earnest, on Oct. 3 with the team’s annual “Late Night with Roy” celebration.
At least 20 of the Tar Heels’ regular-season games will be televised on the ESPN family of networks.
“The season is a long journey,” Williams said. “… We are going to have some incredible opportunities or incredible challenges; it depends on the way you want to look at it.”
NFL's emphasis on penalizing abusive language taking hold.
By Alex Marvez
All of the defensive penalties being called this preseason aren’t the only thing some NFL players and coaches are cursing about.
The league’s crackdown on verbally abusive language is making an impact as well.
During the first two weeks of exhibition games, six flags were thrown on those who crossed the line with their banter toward opposing players or the referees. NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino told FOX Sports that the majority were the result solely of “profane, abusive language,” although some stemmed from “language that involved a racial nature.”
“The initial impact is seen in the calls being made,” Blandino said Tuesday in a telephone interview. “It’s important to note that zero-tolerance wasn’t a change in this area. The point of emphasis when we’re looking at (unsportsmanlike conduct) fouls from 2012 to 2013 is up almost four times.
“We’ve had six calls through 33 games. That’s indicative of what the emphasis is. I think teams and players understand that abusive language at opponents and officials needs to be redirected.”
Though the league has tried cleaning up this area and related issues the past few years, the issue has taken on even greater importance since the start of the 2013 season.
The Fritz Pollard Alliance, which promotes diversity and the hiring of minority coaching and front office candidates by teams, called upon the NFL last November to discipline anyone in the league using racial epitaphs on or off the field.
The advocacy came after two well-publicized incidents: the bullying scandal involving Miami Dolphins offensive linemen Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin as well as a verbal altercation between Washington Redskins left tackle Trent Williams and game official Roy Ellison.
The Incognito/Martin controversy prompted the league to take a long look at workplace conduct – much of which isn’t politically correct when compared to the non-football world. Incognito, who is white, was alleged to have used repeated racial slurs toward Martin, who is African-American, and others in the Dolphins organization.
However, the context in which Incognito made those comments remains subjective when one considers that -- albeit crass -- some players use slang such as the “N-word” as a term of endearment rather than to express bigotry or hatred. And for better or worse, the Dolphins were far from the only team ever to house a culture of locker-room ribbing that involved ethnophaulisms.
Martin abruptly left the team last October amid claims that he was being bullied primarily by Incognito, who was subsequently suspended by the team. Incognito is now a free agent; Martin was traded in the offseason to San Francisco.
Ellison was suspended for one game after allegedly making racial slurs in a game toward Williams, who also is African-American. Williams has denied claims that he used a racial slur toward Ellison that provoked the exchange.
Although the Fritz Pollard Alliance asked the NFL to implement a specific rule regarding racial slurs, the league’s competition committee said it believes such language is already on the books for unsportsmanlike conduct and would be enforced more stringently. Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1 prohibits “using abusive, threatening, or insulting language or gestures to opponents, teammates, officials, or representatives of the league.”
Another element to consider for the NFL’s efforts was the addition of its first openly gay player. Rookie defensive end Michael Sam, who revealed his sexuality in January, was selected in the seventh round of last May’s draft.
How an admitted homosexual would be accepted in the machismo NFL landscape had been a long-standing debate. But not only has Sam gained quick acceptance from his Rams teammates, the league is hoping that use of homophobic slurs by all players will end. Blandino said none of the unsportsmanlike language calls this preseason have involved comments of a sexual nature.
Though the verbal abuse fouls haven’t drawn much media attention so far, that should quickly change when results are far more meaningful in the regular season. Calling these fouls also places pressure on referees to make a snap judgment about what should be penalized and trying to identify the violator, which isn’t easy in a sport where helmets are worn.
NFL field judge Barry Anderson admits among officials that there are “concerns this is going to be a challenge.”
“We’ve got to see it or know who said it,” Anderson said during a media officiating seminar earlier this month at Atlanta Falcons headquarters.
Anderson also said the league office told referees to “treat (the field) like a 9-to-5 workplace” in determining verbally abusive language. Because the gridiron is anything but that type of sanitized environment, Blandino allowed that subjectivity will be needed to make the correct call.
“We don’t want to take the emotion out,” he said. “We’re not going to run around and police screaming if you do something good. We know what happens on the field is a little different. But people have to understand this is a workplace for officials, players and coaches. Everyone has to be aware that sportsmanship is a big part of what this league entails.
“I think the biggest challenge is differentiating between what back-and-forth banter and trash talk really is and where it crosses the line and becomes abusive. It’s something we’re going to work with the game officials on and they’re going to continue to work on.”
Blandino said the same school of thought applies to players and coaches. Like when defenders learned how to tackle differently after the league stressed rules prohibiting hits to the head area, Blandino believes those involved in the game can be programmed to act accordingly. The NFL spelled out its plans to further regulate verbally abusive language through videos and officiating seminars held with all 32 franchises during the preseason.
“Teams are going to adjust,” Blandino said. “I don’t think we’re going to have an explosion of fouls. I think players and coaches understand where the line is. You’ve got to stay below it.”
Washington’s coaching staff crossed the line during Monday night’s preseason game against Cleveland. As referee Terry McAulay was announcing a holding penalty against the Redskins’ defense, he was hit with a barrage of obscenities from the Washington sideline. McAulay drew his flag and called a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Redskins bench.
I asked Redskins wide receiver Andre Roberts if he had heard less verbally abusive interaction through the first two preseason games and whether the NFL can truly scrub language that could sometimes make even Scarface blush.
“I have no clue as to whether this is the sort of thing that can be cleaned up, but the game isn’t going to be played a different way,” Roberts said. “The trash talking I think is still going to kind of be there. That has nothing to do with the ability of the players.
“Some guys talk more than others. But at the end of the day, it all depends on what you do on the field and what your play is like -- not what’s coming out of your mouth.”
Unless a game official feels differently.
On This Date in Sports History: Today is Friday, August 29, 2014.
MemoriesofHistory.com
1885 - The first prizefight under the Marquis of Queensberry Rules was held in Cincinnati, OH. John L. Sullivan defeated Dominick McCaffery in six rounds.
1892 - Pop (Billy) Shriver (Chicago Cubs) caught a ball that was dropped from the top of the Washington Monument in Washington, DC.
1971 - Hank Aaron became the first baseball player in the National League to hit 100 or more runs in each of 11 seasons.
1977 - Lou Brock brought his total of stolen bases to 893. The record he beat was held by Ty Cobb for 49 years.
1994 - Mario Lemieux announced that he would be taking a medical leave of absence due to fatigue, an aftereffect of his 1993 radiation treatments. He would sit out the National Hockey Leagues (NHL) 1994-95 season.
1995 - At the O.J. Simpson trial, tapes of Mark Fuhrman were played. The recordings were of Fuhrman making racial comments.
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