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Bear Down Chicago Bears!!! The New Monsters of the Midway.
By Robert Mays
For nearly a century, the Bears have been known for anything but their offense. Then along came coach Marc Trestman. Now, the Windy City may have the scariest weapons in the NFL.
Muhsin Muhammad’s time with the Bears is best remembered for its six-word eulogy. In 2008, Muhammad had just returned to the Panthers after three forgettable seasons in Chicago. In his final year, he’d caught just 40 passes for one of the league’s worst offenses. When Sports Illustrated’s Peter King asked him about those dark days in Chicago, Muhammad didn’t hold back. “That’s right,” he said. “It’s where receivers go to die.” It would seem cruel if it weren’t so true.
I grew up about 45 miles from Soldier Field and spent plenty of Sundays there. Muhammad’s stay in Chicago was an extension of the franchise’s identity for the past half-century. From Doug Atkins and Bill George to Dick Butkus and Mike Singletary, from Dan Hampton and Richard Dent all the way to Brian Urlacher, the Bears have long been defined by defense. Even the way Walter Payton played felt like a safety who just happened to run the ball.
To be a Bears fan was to give up on offense, and nowhere was that sacrifice bleaker than at receiver. The Bears’ all-time leader in receiving yards is Johnny Morris, a flanker type who played from 1958 to 1967. In 10 seasons, he totaled 5,059 yards and 356 catches, another Bears receiver record. On average, it comes out to a little less than 42 yards a game. He had one season with more than 1,000 yards. No Bear has ever had more than two.
Founded in 1920 as the Decatur Staleys, the Bears are one of the league’s original franchises. Even with 94 years’ worth of players, only the Buccaneers have a career receiving leader — Mark Carrier — with fewer yards than Morris, and Carrier did it in 33 fewer games. For nearly a century, Chicago has been, in almost every way, the most receiver-starved team in league history.
Chicago’s playmaking past is so barren that the team’s trade for Brandon Marshall two years ago made him the best receiver in team history before he even caught a pass. By the standards he set in Denver, the seasons Marshall spent in Miami were pedestrian. They also would have been the best two-year stretch the Bears have ever had. Even Marshall’s enormous talent wasn’t enough to calm the fears that he would end up another victim of the receiver-eating sarlacc pit that is Soldier Field.
What actually happened was beyond anything Bears fans could have hoped. Instead of slipping, Marshall was better than he’d ever been. In two years, he has compiled 2,803 yards — more than halfway to Morris — and owns two of the best receiving seasons in team history. The production was undeniable, but to watch Marshall was to watch a player unlike any the Bears had ever had. He bullied cornerbacks, tossed them aside in the open field, and overpowered them in the end zone. He looked how a star receiver should look.
The Bears rewarded him like one in March with a three-year extension worth up to $30 million, news he announced live on The View. He was on the show to promote mental-health awareness, which he does often these days. In 2011, Marshall was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, a disease that can lead to emotional outbursts like the ones that marred Marshall’s early years in the league.
At the press conference announcing his extension, he fought back tears. “He was desperate,” said Jay Cutler during his press conference after the team’s OTAs. Cutler has known Marshall since they were rookies in Denver. “He was searching for something. He found it here.” After signing the deal, Marshall called coming to Chicago “lifesaving and career-saving.”
That’s what has happened in the time since Muhammad buried the Bears. In just two years, Chicago has transformed from one of the league’s most putrid offenses into one of its best. For the first time since the 1940s, the Bears look like a team defined by offense. Chicago is no longer a franchise where receivers go to die. It’s where they’re reborn.
Phil Emery swears that Cutler had no hand in the trade for Marshall. Soon after Emery was hired as the Bears’ general manager, in early 2012, he sat down for a meeting with his quarterback. Emery told him what he would tell a lot of people in those early days. “When I came in, I said the one thing we had to do was increase the playmakers on our team,” he says. But Emery claims Cutler didn’t even bring up Marshall’s name.
Jeff Ireland, then the Dolphins’ GM, is the one who did that. Ireland was looking to shop Marshall.1 “Obviously,” Emery says, “he thought we would be an interested party.” During the negotiations, Emery learned that Marshall had been implicated in an incident at a New York nightclub, but after looking into the incident he felt confident that Marshall hadn’t been involved.
Emery agreed to send two third-round picks to Miami in exchange for the Dolphins receiver.
Bringing in Marshall was a start, but it still left the Bears only one-third of the way to a quality receiving corps. The trade became official on the opening day of the league year, about a month and a half before Emery’s first draft as GM. “The draft for me, at the end, always gets down to repetitively watching players that you like with the head coach,”2 Emery says. “And we just kept coming back to Alshon.”
Alshon Jeffery had an uneven final season at South Carolina. The Gamecocks’ starting quarterback, Stephen Garcia, had been booted from the team. Jeffery’s weight had ballooned. His receiving totals were cut nearly in half. But it was the previous season that Emery was drawn to, the year when Jeffery had 1,517 yards, tops in the SEC, and looked like one of the most physically dominant players in the country.
The combine was a chance for Emery to prod Jeffery about his lagging finish in college. “We tried to shake his tree a little bit,” he says. The conversation started light. They talked about basketball, the first sport in which Jeffery starred in high school. Jeffery talked up his hardwood game, but Emery wanted to know if he thought he could really play receiver. That’s when the tone changed. “He got taller in his chair,” Emery says. “There was no doubt, in terms of how he spoke, that the guy knows he can play. It’s in his fiber.”
This is Emery’s second stint in Chicago. The first started in 1998, as a regional scout. For three of his first seven seasons with the Bears, one of Emery’s pre-draft roles was as the wide receiver cross-checker. Along with scouting his territory, he was tasked with evaluating every receiver the Bears considered draft eligible — typically about 65 players. The theory, he says, is that you develop an expertise. He left the Bears in 2004 to become the Falcons’ director of scouting. The next offseason, Atlanta took Roddy White with its first-round pick. Emery likes to think he knows what he’s looking for in wide receivers, and in Jeffery, he saw the best hands in the draft. On the Bears’ final draft board, Jeffery was among the top three receivers.
When the 2012 draft actually came, six receivers were gone by the 44th pick.3 None of them was Jeffery. The Bears were picking 50th, and calls came in and went out as Emery schemed to trade up. Finally, the voice on the other end of the phone was Les Snead, the Rams’ general manager and a former colleague of Emery’s in Atlanta. He wanted a fifth-round pick to move down from 45. It was a small price for Emery to make good on his mandate for playmakers. “I wanted to be living what we spoke,” he says.
The returns came slowly. Jeffery limped through his rookie season, in every sense. Injuries limited him to just 10 games, and when he did play, he seemed to collect more pass interference calls than catches. That seems like a long time ago now.
Jeffery wasn’t a star from the Bears’ first snap last season. It might feel that way now, but through the first three games, he was relatively quiet. Week 4, in Chicago’s ill-fated comeback attempt in Detroit, is when it really started. He had two spectacular catches — one on each sideline — that were worthless to the outcome, but revealing both for fans and for him. “As soon as he began to step up and make the plays, he became more confident, [showing] that, ‘Hey, I do belong here,’” says Mike Groh, the Bears’ receivers coach. “Then, he really started making big jumps.” The next week, Jeffery finished with 10 catches for 218 yards against the Saints, the highest total in franchise history. It was also a record he’d break eight weeks later.
Groh admits that, like most young receivers, Jeffery still has work to do as a route runner, but “his hands are always going to separate him.” Trestman’s offense allowed Jeffery to flourish because it made those hands his primary tool. Only six receivers were targeted at least 20 yards downfield more often, and only A.J. Green had more yards on those throws. Getting away from cornerbacks matters less for players who can just jump over them.
Marshall had already set a new standard, but Jeffery was something different. Marshall was established when he arrived in Chicago. Jeffery was one of our own. Matt Forte, whom the Bears took in the second round in 2008, has long been one of the most reliable and underappreciated offensive players around. But in Jeffery, Chicago had a handpicked 23-year-old who went beyond reliable. His raw totals were impressive (89 catches for 1,421 yards), but the best part of watching Jeffery every week was seeing what he might do next. He wasn’t just a receiver. He was a fireworks show.
Phil Emery press conferences should come with intermissions. Emery went for 54 minutes the day he announced Lovie Smith’s firing. The choice did warrant some explanation. Chicago won 10 games that fall, the fifth winning season in Smith’s nine-year tenure. Smith had once again put together the NFL’s best defense, but the Bears’ offense continued to toil near the bottom of the league. When Chicago failed to make the playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons, that was the end.
In its search for a new head coach, the front office found that most successful head coaches have one of two backgrounds — former quarterback coaches or defensive back coaches who’ve become coordinators. “Because they see things from a big-picture perspective,” Emery says. “They see the game from the lens of having to know it all.” With the hope being that the Bears could retain its defensive form by keeping coordinator Rod Marinelli, Emery shifted his focus to former offensive coordinators. The list was eventually narrowed down to three: Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, and CFL coach Marc Trestman.
Most important for Emery was finding a coach who could unearth everything Cutler had to offer. Ultimately, that’s what cost Smith his job. Three offensive coordinators failed to turn Cutler into the quarterback Chicago thought it had traded for in 2009. “I wanted a coach that would have a natural connection or experience in connecting with a quarterback,” Emery says. “Marc was that person for us.”
In his initial interview, Trestman presented his plans for Cutler. “We weren’t going to get caught up in Jay’s skill set, because that was very observable,” Trestman says. “The no. 1 thing was being able to develop a relationship with him of secure trust.” The first time the two met, it was over a pair of boxed lunches at a room in Halas Hall, the Bears facility in nearby Lake Forest.
“We just started talking about, I don’t remember what — football, not football — and it was easy,” Trestman says. “I never tried to get him to like me.” Ninety minutes later, neither had touched his food.
The legendary George Halas wore glasses. Hardly what fans think of when they hear “Bears head coach.” In 1993, the Bears went from Mike Ditka, with his full mustache and sandy brown hair, to Dave Wannstedt — with his full mustache and sandy brown hair.
When Bears coaches haven’t looked alike, they’ve at least thought alike. The tough-minded Ditka was an offensive-minded coach only by default. Three former defensive coordinators not terribly concerned with offensive innovation followed Ditka. Trestman was the first offensive-leaning head coach hired by the organization in 30 years. Not only does he think like Halas, but with the floppy cap and thick frames, he looks like him too.
With five years leading the Montreal Alouettes on his résumé, Trestman was initially pegged as an offbeat hire. But really, Chip Kelly was the new NFL head coach with the nontraditional background. Trestman’s past is that of a coach educated in the West Coast offense. It included coordinator jobs in Cleveland, San Francisco, Arizona, and Oakland, where he worked under noted West Coast disciple Jon Gruden. Trestman was a Raiders offensive assistant until 2002, when he was promoted to offensive coordinator after Gruden left for Tampa Bay. It was also the year Rich Gannon threw for nearly 4,700 yards and was named the league’s MVP.
“Quarterback whisperer” is the title that gets thrown around, and it’s one Trestman started earning long before he made it to the league. In 1982, Trestman, a former backup quarterback at Minnesota, was a volunteer assistant at the University of Miami. He and freshman quarterback Bernie Kosar took to watching film together late into the night, going over the finer points of quarterbacking. A year later, Trestman was promoted from volunteer to quarterbacks coach and Kosar was winning Miami its first national championship.
Trestman came to Miami for law school, where he passed the bar the same year the Hurricanes won the national championship. And there’s still some lawyer in him. He jumps on questions with gaps in their logic, parses out semantics as far as they’ll go. When I ask him about the differences between Year 1 and 2 as a head coach, he stops me.
“I don’t look at this as being Year 2,” he says. “It’s just another Year 1. It all starts over. Yes, the players have a better understanding of the offense and the communication, but moving forward, that’s really where it ends.”
Each offseason, Emery has mounted an all-out assault on the weakest area of his roster. Addressing needs isn’t innovative, but for most general managers, change means tinkering, a small alteration here or there. Emery has rebuilt his roster with dynamite. In his first year, it was two new starting receivers. This year, it was the defensive line, where the Bears handed out three considerable contracts and used two picks in the first three rounds. In 2013, it was the offensive line.
The Bears ranked 24th in adjusted sack rate in 2012, which actually wasn’t terrible considering the past few years. In the two seasons prior, Chicago had never finished higher than 31st. “It was kind of a hit parade back there,” Cutler says.
Emery’s solution was to turn the line almost completely over. Left tackle Jermon Bushrod, who was always buoyed by playing with Drew Brees but looked like a revelation compared to his predecessors, was signed before the first day of free agency ended. The Bears brought in tattooed, steamrolling former Jets guard Matt Slauson to play left guard, and Emery took Oregon lineman — and future first-year Pro Bowler — Kyle Long with the 20th pick. “I’ve never been a part of something like that, where there was so much transition in the room,” says Roberto Garza, the center and lone holdover.
Garza has seen three iterations of the offensive line in his 10 seasons with Chicago. When he arrived in 2005, the line was the highlight of the Bears’ offense, led by fixtures like Olin Kreutz, John Tait, and Ruben Brown. Then came the steady stream of failed picks and misguided signings: Chris Williams, Gabe Carimi, Frank Omiyale.
This new group wasn’t complete until training camp. Former left tackle J’Marcus Webb had the first crack at starting opposite Bushrod on the right side, but early in training camp, Emery and offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer started to notice something. “We both said … in different ways that the best right tackle on the team was probably Jordan Mills,” Emery says. Mills was a fifth-round pick from Louisiana Tech, not a player anyone expected to start from the beginning. “You could see when they put Kyle [Long] and Jordan Mills there, something happened,” Garza says. “The line started to come together.”
In one year, the Bears’ sack rate went from 24th to fifth.
Fresh talent helps, but Trestman’s real achievement last year was turning the old parts of the Bears offense into something new. At his postseason press conference after the 2012 season, Emery talked about the need to better use the middle of the field in their passing game. In Smith’s final season, the offense ranked 28th in yards per play between the numbers. Trestman’s Bears finished eighth.
Bringing in tight end Martellus Bennett helped that cause, but so did deploying Forte the way he should have been used all along. After catching just 44 passes in 2012, Forte caught 74 last year — a career high. The shifty and versatile Forte is the type of receiver who should succeed in Trestman’s quick-passing game, and his efforts to attack the softest part of a defense even unearthed some unpredictable wrinkles in the offense. During his first season in Chicago, Brandon Marshall ran just 130 routes from the slot. Last year, it was more than twice that. Only nine players in the league were targeted out of the slot more than Marshall.
With the 6-foot-4 Marshall and Jeffery and no. 3 receiver Marquess Wilson4 standing 6-foot-3, no one on the Bears offense looks like a traditional slot receiver. But that isn’t a problem. Principles, not positions, are what rule Trestman’s offense.
Trestman says that when he first presents his offense, players “perceive it as throwing a bunch of plays against the wall and seeing what sticks. But there’s a plan in mind, and that’s to get them to see the bigger picture first.” Next, it’s about filling in the details, fine-tuning what the concepts look like when the camera zooms in. “Pretty soon,” Trestman says, “it becomes a lifestyle of how we do things.”
That immersion into the system — and proof of Trestman’s power over quarterbacks — was most obvious when the Bears lost Cutler early in their Week 7 loss to Washington. Over the next seven weeks, Josh McCown, at age 34 and three years removed from being out of the league, was one of the best quarterbacks in football. He led the league in QBR, was third in passer rating and fourth in DVOA, and parlayed his season into a two-year deal and a starting job with the Buccaneers. When it was time for Cutler to return, in Week 15 against the Browns, there was a contingent that believed McCown should be the one starting.
Jay Cutler fidgets. On the field, it’s a quick roll of the head, almost as if he’s trying to crack his neck. It happens a lot.
While Cutler sat on the podium for his press conference at the end of Chicago’s OTAs, the movements were subtler, but constant. Rarely did he go for more than a few seconds without adjusting the brim of his hat or moving a hand to rest on his face.
With his cheek resting on the knuckles of his left hand, black wedding ring in sight, Cutler was asked what’s changed since he came to Chicago, where he’s now spent the majority of his NFL life. He was 25 when he arrived. The roster has almost completely turned over. Forte, Garza, kicker Robbie Gould, safety Craig Steltz, cornerback Charles Tillman, and linebacker Lance Briggs are the only ones left. He’s married now, has two kids. He’s grown up. “If you don’t want to grow up, you’re probably not going to last,” Cutler says. “They’ll find something else.”
At the end of last season, the Bears had to decide whether to extend Cutler’s contract. What Cutler did in his limited time with Trestman mattered, but it was only part of the process. “That was the end of the evaluation cycle,” Emery says. “That evaluation cycle started the first day I got here, with who Jay is, who the player is, who the person is.”
What Emery saw last season was “a player that could be the key reason that you’re winning.” Emery isn’t insulated. He heard the chorus that didn’t think Cutler should play against the Browns. “He started out rough [in Cleveland], and he came back and showed that he’s the guy that can be a pivotal player in the game.” In March, the Bears gave Cutler what amounts to a three-year deal worth $54 million in guarantees.
Emery says on-field performance will always be paramount, but what he saw everywhere else is what he’d hoped for when hiring Trestman. “I’ve felt comfortable with him from the beginning, and we’ve obviously spent a lot of time together since then,” Trestman says. “I would hope there’s been an evolution.”
After missing five games last year, there’s still no way to know what Cutler can be in Trestman’s offense, but when Marshall was asked to levy a guess, he aimed high: MVP of the league. If that seems like a stretch, that’s because it is.5 The Bears may not need an MVP, but if they’re going to make their transition into one of the league’s best offenses, they’ll need the best version of Cutler there’s ever been.
Chicago’s offense finished sixth in DVOA last season, the franchise’s best mark in 18 seasons. None of the teams from Smith’s tenure finished in the top 10. It was an entirely new world for the organization, and as this season gets closer, there’s reason to believe it could be even better. Learning an offense is like learning a language. Progress isn’t measured in how many words are learned; it’s about how quickly you can process them. A year in, with almost the entire offense returning, it should all move faster and smoother than it did before.
Cutler, strangely, is one of the only factors who has changed. The Bears spent nearly half the season without him a year ago. Now, the hope is that if the combination of Cutler and McCown could be a top-six offense, a full season of Cutler could lead to even more.
From the beginning, Emery’s decisions have been made with Cutler in mind. His first spring was spent assembling a new group of targets, his second a new offensive line and head coach specifically aimed at building up his quarterback. Now, the refinements can come.
In the same interview in which Muhammad sounded the death knell for Chicago’s receivers, he trotted out the well-worn list of starting quarterbacks to come through Soldier Field. Cutler was brought to Chicago to put fire to that list. Emery has given him the matches. The rest is up to him.
Footnotes:
1 Ireland did not respond to an interview request for this story.
2 At the time, Lovie Smith.
3 Justin Blackmon (fifth overall), Michael Floyd (13th), Kendall Wright (20th), A.J. Jenkins (30th), Brian Quick (33rd), and Stephen Hill (43rd).
4 Wilson broke his clavicle yesterday in training camp. There’s no timetable for his return, but he’s vowed to return sometime this season.
5 Though Gannon did win his under Trestman at age 37.
Bears lose key receiver with broken collarbone.
The Sports Exchange
The first major injury of Chicago Bears training camp occurred at a position where the team could least afford it -- No. 3 wide receiver.
Coach Marc Trestman said last week that 2013 seventh-round draft pick Marquess Wilson led the battle for third receiver behind Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall.
On Monday, Wilson went down in practice with a broken collarbone.
"I'm extremely disappointed," Trestman said. "He was continuing to ascend. That's football, unfortunately."
There was no immediate timetable for Wilson's return, but players often return from such an injury in the same season. Last year, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers broke his collarbone against the Bears in Green Bay at midseason and then came back at the end of the year to beat Chicago at Soldier Field in a game to decide a playoff berth.
Losing Wilson as the Bears did made it all the more aggravating. He was laying out for a pass in the end zone on a deep route in a meaningless scrimmage play.
"That's the hardest part about coaching in practice," Trestman said. "You hear us say it all the time: stay off the ground, stay off the ground. And diving for balls is one of the most difficult things not to do when you're a competitive player.
"We promote (not diving), we talk about it a lot. But from my experience, it's very difficult to stop. When a guy goes to make a play for the ball, you're not going to be disappointed with him if a guy doesn't go to the ground."
Wilson admitted it was instinctive.
"I look back at it, and I probably shouldn't have done it, but it just happened," he said.
Wilson was having one of his better practices in a series of them.
"He's been showing it consistently making plays," Bears tight end Martellus Bennett said of Wilson. "Back in the day, he was a flash player. But he's been working so hard, and he's been stepping up, so those are going to be some hard shoes for us to fill because he's been doing a great job."
Bennett said Wilson, who worked out extensively with Marshall and Jeffery in the offseason, understood the offense to the point that he was helping line veterans up on some plays.
"Another guy has a chance early in camp to step up to find out who that guy is going to be," Bennett said.
The problem is identifying the replacement.
Eric Weems is one possibility. Like the rest of the candidates, he isn't ideal. Weems has only 27 catches in six seasons because he is largely considered a special teams player. He's also 5-foot-8, 182 pounds. Wilson is 6-3.
"Eric is not just a returner," Trestman said. "He's a very good receiver in terms of route-running. Quarterbacks trust him. He plays bigger than his size. He's got a big catch radius."
Former Redskin and 49er Josh Morgan is on the team but hasn't made much impact in practices, and neither has veteran Josh Bellamy. Armanti Edwards and Micheal Spurlock were viewed more as return men when signed.
Recently signed Dale Moss had some big practice days and fits in as a 6-3 receiver, while return man Chris Williams can catch but is very undersized at 5-8, 175.
As long as the Bears have both Marshall and Jeffery healthy, and Bennett at tight end, as well as one of the game's best receiving running backs in Matt Forte, they appear capable of functioning for at least a while without a high-level third receiver.
Backup tight end Dante Rosario also is making an impact in camp. He made only one catch last year but didn't go through training camp with the Bears before joining them in the second week of the 2013 season, so Chicago is capable of going with two tight ends more often.
Bears fine, suspend Martellus Bennett.
By Larry Mayer
General manager Phil Emery announced Tuesday that the Bears have fined and suspended tight end
Bennett was involved in an altercation with rookie cornerback
An incensed Bennett jumped to his feet, grabbed the rookie and slammed him down. Several teammates on both sides of the ball intervened and order was quickly restored. But coach Marc Trestman opted to end practice at that point with a walkthrough period.
“Last night we made a decision to fine and suspend Martellus Bennett for an undetermined length of time,” Emery told reporters. “This is a process we’re working with Martellus. We are in contact with him. Our goal is to have Martellus back as soon as possible. He’s a very loved and respected teammate. We want him back, but it’s a process we have to work through.”
Bennett will remain on the active roster, but he is away from the team and will not participate in any team activities at this point. Asked how the decision to discipline Bennett was reached, Emery said: “As we always do, we work through as a staff collectively and hear everybody out and we reached a conclusion that this is the best course of action.”
So you think you know football, Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica is going to give you a chance to prove it!!!!!
Who will win the Superbowl 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, however, let it be known that the Bears are on a mission. Enhance your season and support your team with the challenge below. Try it, you'll love it. Good Luck.
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Love of game still drives Hawks' Kane.
By Scott Powers
Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane is already an NHL veteran after seven seasons and he will soon enter his late 20s, but being around hockey still has a way of making him feel like a kid.
Kane especially felt that way Monday as he, along with Gatorade, unveiled a renovated locker room at Southwest Ice Arena in Crestwood, Ill. to 13- and 14-year-old players on the St. Jude Knights.
“I think the main thing for me is to come back and see the kids’ faces and see how excited they are,” Kane said. “Just walking in here and seeing them excited. It’s a special day for me just to come back and try to give back any way I can to the kids. St. Jude has a lot of hockey history and a lot of respect.
”[I remember from my childhood] it's just kind of surreal when you do meet a pro athlete that it’s actually happening. You look up to them like your role models and idols and probably something more than you probably should. It’s still exciting nonetheless, especially for young kids. Probably hits the heart most for me working with young kids whether they play hockey or not. It’s just exciting to see their faces and see their reaction when someone like yourself comes by and tries to give them any input or intake on how to help with anything. It’s special for me." Kane spent time with the players and answered a variety of questions. He also asked them questions about themselves and their team. When he spotted the team’s captain, Kane said, “Are you keeping them in line? Good. Just like Tazer [Jonathan Toews.]”
Kane joked he had some butterflies before meeting the players.
“I was nervous," Kane said. "I was joking what if I walk in and they don’t know who I am. When I did walk in, they were pretty excited and probably in shock a pro athlete was here just to present something for them. I probably would have had more success with the figure skating team out there because when I was walking by I heard a few screams.”
The 25-year-old Kane felt as if it wasn’t that long ago he was also a teenager with hockey dreams.
“Time flies,” Kane said. “I feel like I was one of these kids yesterday. Trying to work as hard as I could to get as far as I could in the game of hockey, but at the same time having fun doing it. It was my childhood growing up. That’s pretty much what I did -- play hockey.
“If there’s 365 days in the year, I was probably on the ice 350 of them, maybe multiple times a day. That was what I loved doing growing up. I don’t know if it was because I was good at it or I enjoyed scoring goals. It was fun for me growing up. Looking at these kids today, I could see kind of the same look I had on my face when I played.”
Kane’s desire to play hockey wherever and whenever was apparent when he recently suited up and played in recreation league game in his hometown of Buffalo. Kane scored five goals and dished out five assists to help the Piranhas defeat Essex St. Pub, 13-5.
“When I go back home, it’s exciting for me and my buddies to play hockey,” Kane said. “It’s something we do for fun. By no means if we’re playing a game like that, do you think it’s going to get out to the media or you think it’s going to be a big story or anything like that. You’re just going to have fun. That’s exactly what we were doing.
“I love the game. I love playing it whether it’s in the NHL or in a little men’s league during the summer. It’s obviously not all the same, but it’s still the game of hockey. You can enjoy that way.”
His Buffalo buddies and his family keep Kane down-to-earth despite his fame and money, which in the 2015-16 season will begin to include an eight-year, $84-million contract extension.
“If I don’t [stay grounded] my parents will, my sister will or my buddies back home,” Kane said. “They’re pretty good at it. It’s something I don’t think about it. It’s obviously an honor to have a contract like that given to you from an amazing organization like the Blackhawks, but I have always maintained the same notion that I’m just a kid having fun playing hockey. That’s what I love to do. I’m lucky I get to do it for a job.”
Just another Chicago Bulls Session… Coach K: Derrick Rose 'elite' again.
By Nick Friedell
Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski continued to rave about Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose on Tuesday, saying the superstar played his way back to an "elite" level during the U.S. training camp last week in Las Vegas.
Rose, who has played just 10 games in the past two seasons because of a torn ACL in his left knee and a torn meniscus in his right knee, opened eyes throughout the past week with his play.
"It takes an exceptional person, which is why we're talking about Derrick," Krzyzewski said, discussing how difficult it is to return to such a high level after missing so much time. "I think he's exceptional in every way. He went right at it. The first defensive exchange in the camp, he was all over the ball handler. Moving his feet, attacking him -- there was a buzz right away -- because it was basically his saying, 'Look, I'm not just back. I'm back at a level that's elite.'"
Team USA players and coaches continually said Rose was playing like he did before the ACL injury in April 2012. Krzyzewski maintained that during his conference call with the media.
"Derrick was sensational the whole week," Krzyzewski said. "He really did that every day, how fast and strong and decisive he was. He really created an air of excitement for the team because we all were anxious to see who he was right now. And who he is very, very good. We're ecstatic about it and so happy for him."
So is Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, who also serves an assistant on Team USA's staff under Krzyzewski.
"I think it's ideal for him in this particular case," Thibodeau said of Rose's experience during an appearance on ESPN Radio's "The Herd" on Tuesday morning. "One of the great things they do is the way they pace the team. There's days where there is no contact at all. ... We never went past two hours, and oftentimes it was an hour and a half. There was not a lot of contact. I think it's good for Derrick. It's great for him, actually."
Rose, who will join Team USA in Chicago next week as it continues training for the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain later this month, seems like a lock to make the team at this point.
"Being with the other elite guards helps you," Krzyzewski said. "And Derrick maintained that the entire week. We could not be happier about that particular situation."
Krzyzewski also couldn't be happier about the fact that he gets to take Team USA back to his hometown of Chicago.
"As far as coming to Chicago, we'll be playing about a mile and a half from where I grew up so it's an honor," he said. "What an honor for me to bring a U.S. team and be able to coach it in the United Center. And it's a homecoming for Anthony Davis and also for Derrick Rose, in addition to Jerry [Colangelo]. So Chicago's our town."
Chicago is looking forward to seeing Rose in action again -- especially if he can continue playing like he did last week.
"The big thing for Derrick is he has to take this step by step," Thibodeau said. "The summer league practices were very good for him but the talent level is not at an NBA level. The way he looks right now, his body is strong, he's feeling great. It's been two years now since he's had the ACL injury, and I think he feels good about where he is physically and mentally he's doing very well."
Team USA cuts roster to 16.
By The Sports Xchange
Team USA trimmed its roster to 16 players as it departs Las Vegas training camp and shifts gears to Chicago for workouts and an exhibition showcase with Brazil.
National Team Managing Director Jerry Colangelo announced the 16 players Tuesday: DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings); Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors); Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans); DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors); Andre Drummond (Detroit Pistons); Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder); Kenneth Faried (Denver Nuggets); James Harden (Houston Rockets); Gordon Hayward (Utah Jazz); Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers); Kyle Korver (Atlanta Hawks); Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers); Chandler Parsons (Dallas Mavericks); Mason Plumlee (Brooklyn Nets); Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls); and Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors).
Twelve of those players will make the final roster.
"The ending to our Las Vegas training camp with the injury to Paul George was very emotional for everyone involved in USA Basketball," Colangelo said in a statement. "I very much appreciate the outpouring of support Paul and USA Basketball has received the past couple of days from the basketball world. Past Olympic coaches and some of our past Olympic and World Championship players have reached out offering their continued support and that's very important. Paul's injury was an extremely unfortunate occurrence; it was truly a freak accident. We're all very pleased that his recovery is going well."
George was injured Friday night in an exhibition blue-white scrimmage that was called early in the fourth quarter as the Indiana Pacers All-Star was taken from the court on a stretcher.
In addition to George, Team USA will not include several big-name stars at the forward position. LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Love are not participating.
"Their willingness to represent the United States says a lot about our players' patriotism and their willingness to sacrifice their time to this commitment," Colangelo said. "Not every American has the opportunity to represent their country and our players have embraced each opportunity to do it. They have worn the USA jersey with respect and honor, and by their commitment they have made all Americans extremely proud."
Team USA finalists will practice Aug. 14-15 at the Quest Multisport Complex, Chicago, and play an exhibition contest versus Brazil at the United Center on Aug. 16.
"We're excited about where the team is headed," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Really all 16 guys have a chance to make to the team, which usually does not happen in a training camp, and it shows that all of the guys thus far have done an excellent job. Then it's just a matter of finding what chemistry that we can develop with the entire group and I don't think we'll know that until we play some exhibition games. The 16 guys give us a chance to look at a way of playing in a number of different ways and we just have to figure out what those ways are and then the 12 who will fit best."
World Cup preparations will continue Aug. 18-22 in New York, including exhibition games at Madison Square Garden, Aug. 20 against Dominican Republic, and Aug. 22 versus Puerto Rico.
The FIBA Basketball World Cup stops also including Senegal before arriving for workouts Aug. 28-29 in Bilbao, Spain, the site of its World Cup preliminary round games.
The World Cup is played Aug. 30-Sept. 14 in Spain. Group C will include Team USA, the Dominican Republic, Finland, New Zealand, Turkey and Ukraine. The first game for the United States is scheduled for Aug. 30 against Finland.
Spurs hire WNBA star Becky Hammon as assistant.
AP Sports
Becky Hammon #25 of the San Antonio Stars handles the ball against the Connecticut Sun at the AT&T Center on August 1, 2014 in San Antonio, Texas.
The San Antonio Spurs have hired WNBA star Becky Hammon as an assistant coach.
The Spurs made the announcement Tuesday. Hammon plans to retire from the San Antonio Stars after this season. She joins South Carolina assistant Lisa Boyer, who served on John Lucas's staff in Cleveland in 2001-02, as women to coach in the NBA.
Hammon spent some time around the Spurs during last season's run to the championship, and coach Gregg Popovich says she made a strong impression. Popovich says he's ''confident her basketball IQ, work ethic and interpersonal skills will be a great benefit to the Spurs.''
It's the latest trailblazing move for the Spurs, who hired European coaching legend Ettore Messina to join Popovich's staff earlier this summer.
Cubs call up Javier Baez.
ESPNChicago.com
The Chicago Cubs will call up prized infield prospect Javier Baez, who will make his major league debut on Tuesday against the Colorado Rockies.
The Cubs' first-round pick in 2011, Baez, ranked by ESPN.com's Keith Law as the eighth-best prospect in baseball, has recovered from a slow start in his first season at Triple-A Iowa. After batting just .172 in April, Baez has trended up each month since.
In the 20 games following the Triple-A All-Star break, he hit .342 with nine homers and a 1.159 OPS. He batted .300 with 10 home runs in July and hit his 22nd and 23 home runs on Sunday. For the season, the 21-year-old Baez is slashing .260/.323/.510 with 80 RBIs.
A shortstop for much of his career, Baez, who hit 37 home runs between Class A and Double-A last season, has played more second base lately in anticipation of a big league call-up because the Cubs have three-time All-Star Starlin Castro entrenched at short.
"He's done a great job," Cubs infielder Chris Valaika said, when asked about Baez's position change, according to MLB.com. "I think that transition is really smooth. I think the more he does it, he'll keep getting better and better. That transition has been pretty seamless."
Arismendy Alcantara, a 22-year-old infield prospect called up to the Cubs on July 8, likely will shift from second base to play mostly center field with Baez in the lineup.
Baez played in the Futures Game during the All-Star festivities in Minneapolis, hitting a home run.
"He's a good kid -- what a gamer and a great athlete," Iowa manager Marty Pevey said, according to MLB.com. "It'll be a learning curve for Javy. He'll want to hit every ball 600 feet. He's such a great competitor."
Girls power Little League contenders. (Another reason why America is the land of opportunity. "Competition breeds excellence" so let the best man/woman win. Let the games begin.....)
By Melissa Isaacson
Forty years ago, Little League was for boys only. A few brave girls decided that wasn't acceptable and changed the game forever.
Mo'ne Davis and Kayla Roncin almost couldn't help but run into each other last week in Bristol, Connecticut.
As the only two girls among the hundreds of kids on the 52 U.S. teams remaining in the race to the Little League World Series, Davis, 13, who plays for the Taney Youth Baseball Association in Philadelphia, and Roncin, 12, from Toms River, New Jersey, are both competing in the Mid-Atlantic regional. Sunday's final will send the winner to Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Kayla Roncin was 8 when she predicted she would play in Williamsport one day. (Courtesy of Pete Avallone)
"We said 'Hi' and took a couple pictures," Davis said. "It's definitely really cool being the only girls there and showing we can hang with all these boys."
They can do more than hang.
With the New Jersey Little League championship on the line a little more than a week ago, Roncin was brought in to pitch to the opposing team's cleanup hitter -- with a 2-0 count, two outs, the bases loaded and the tying run on third in the bottom of the final inning.
Roncin, a 5-foot-9, 120-pound seventh-grader-to-be, already had crushed a two-run home run when her one and only pitch -- a low fastball -- got the batter to pop up. A diving catch by center fielder Jon Giordano secured the 7-6 victory.
"Having her on the team," said Toms River shortstop and pitcher Nick DeRose, "is the same thing as having another guy, a little different, but we treat her like all the other guys. If she wasn't good, we would still accept her, but she really is good."
A week later in Bristol, playing against a Delaware team that had been to the regionals the past four years and the World Series last year, Davis, who at 5-4 and 105 pounds will enter eighth grade in the fall, struck out 10 batters and gave up a lone questionable hit in 5 1/3 innings of an 8-4 victory.
Both Taney and Toms River are undefeated and continue playing Tuesday in pool play.
"I think it's great that we made it this far, and it would be really cool if we get to play each other," Roncin said.
Roncin remembers watching the 2010 Toms River team in the Little League World Series with her father.
"I was 8, and I remember they were all really excited and I wanted to be like that one day," Roncin said. "I told my dad, 'One day when I'm 12, we're going to make it to Williamsport.'"
Roncin's father, Ray, a Toms River assistant coach, said his youngest daughter reminds him of the movie "Hoosiers."
"She's very mature, not self-centered, just a girl who goes out seven days a week, throws and catches 100 balls against a concrete wall and shoots 200 free throws in the driveway," he said.
In the state championship game, Kayla had to deal with a loud group of hecklers, booing when she took the mound then laughing when she bounced in her first three warm-up pitches.
"I was really nervous," she said. "But I was just thinking that if I didn't pitch, we wouldn't win. So I just had to do it for the team and see what happened."
Her teammates, most of whom have played with Roncin for the past five years, "have her back," said coach Pete Avallone. "Her athletic ability stands alone, but her personality fits right in with the team."
If anyone ever gave Davis a hard time, no one can remember it.
"They probably did in the beginning," said Jack Rice, the Dragons' third baseman. "But once the game is done, they know who Mo'ne is and they know she's the real deal."
Davis, who, like Roncin, excels at both baseball and basketball, is hoping to continue her team's unlikely pursuit of a spot in Williamsport. No Little League team from Philadelphia had won its local district tournament, much less the sectional and state titles to earn a chance to play in Williamsport.
Davis' talent was discovered in a rec center league in the city, said her coach, Alex Rice. But it is the intangible qualities she brings to the team that makes her such a valued teammate, he said.
"She has incredible leadership, and you can't shake her; she's unflappable," he said. "Hit a home run off her and she'll just give a little smile and get back to work. She doesn't get rattled."
Told of the heckling Roncin received, Davis called it "rude."
"No matter who you are, you should be able to do what you like to do and what you've always dreamed of doing," said Davis, whose walk-up song is "Run the World (Girls)" by Beyonce.
To that end, she said, she would love to see her team make it to Williamsport.
"I want to go for the experience and see how everything is," she said. "It would be a great moment in my life and something all kids should get to do."
And if her Taney team happens to meet Toms River in the regional final, with a trip to Williamsport on the line? It would mean the Little League World Series would have its 17th female participant out of the 8,781 players who have competed in 67 years up until this year.
For Davis, it's a little more personal.
"I would actually really like to see how it is to play against another girl in baseball because I never have," she said. "I actually want to see how it feels to be a person on the other team."
The possibility was posed that if the teams do play, she might pitch to Roncin.
"No matter if she hits a home run on me or if I strike her out," Davis said, "I just want to see what I can do."
She's not the only one.
"I think it's cool having a girl on our team," said DeRose, "but having one girl on both teams would be really cool."
One year later, Team Biogenesis is far from a cautionary tale.
By Howard Bloom
Has it really been a year since Major League Baseball announced a series of player suspensions directly related to its Biogenesis investigation? A year later to the day, one of the questions that wasn’t asked in 2013 remains — do baseball fans really care about the use of performance-enhancing drugs? And what, if any, damage has been done to the business of MLB's brand?
On Aug. 5, 2013, MLB announced 50-game suspensions for Nelson Cruz, Jhonny Peralta, Everth Cabrera, Antonio Bastardo, Jesus Montero, Francisco Cervelli, Jordany Valdespin, Fautino De Los Santos, Jordan Norberto, Cesar Puello, Fernando Martinez and Sergio Escalona.
Blue Jays outfielder Melky Cabrera, Athletics pitcher Bartolo Colon and Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal, all of whom had served 50-game suspensions as a result of their violations of the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program stemming from their connections to Biogenesis, did not receive additional discipline.
And yes, Alex Rodriguez is sitting out the entire 2014 season. A-Rod’s current contact (he isn't being paid his full salary this year) still has three years and $61 million remaining.
On the day the suspensions were announced, MLB commissioner Bud Selig offered this: “Major League Baseball has worked diligently with the Players Association for more than a decade to make our Joint Drug Program the best in all of professional sports. I am proud of the comprehensive nature of our efforts — not only with regard to random testing, groundbreaking blood testing for human Growth Hormone and one of the most significant longitudinal profiling programs in the world, but also our investigative capabilities, which proved vital to the Biogenesis case. Upon learning that players were linked to the use of performance-enhancing drugs, we vigorously pursued evidence that linked those individuals to violations of our Program. We conducted a thorough, aggressive investigation guided by facts so that we could justly enforce our rules.
"As a social institution with enormous social responsibilities, baseball must do everything it can to maintain integrity, fairness and a level playing field. We are committed to working together with players to reiterate that performance-enhancing drugs will not be tolerated in our game."
Cruz, a member of Team Biogenesis, signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Orioles prior to the start of this season after turning down a one-year, $14 million offer from the Rangers. Cruz was voted into his third MLB All-Star Game as a designated hitter for the American League, a clear indication how baseball fans feel about Cruz — by all appearances, they couldn't care less what Cruz does or did.
"While we take no joy in proving that our players were involved in PED use,'' Rob Manfred, MLB vice president/labor, told USA TODAY Sports, "I am very proud of the way the Commissioner's office performed under very difficult circumstances. …
"When baseball learns of possible PED violations, Commissioner (Bud) Selig made clear we have no choice but respond aggressively. I believe that over the long haul, the Biogenesis case will cause players to avoid PED use.''
It's sad how wrong Manfred and baseball are when it comes to understanding what drives professional athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs. The average MLB career is 5.6 years, the NFL's is 3.5 years and the NBA's is 4.8 years. Contracts are performance-based; the better your results, the more you’re paid, the longer you can play, the longer your contract — and the more you get paid.
"When you fail a drug test,'' Victor Conte, founder of the Bay Area Lab Co-Operative (BALCO), told USA TODAY Sports, "you're really failing an IQ test. I still believe it's relatively easy to take PEDs. It's like taking candy from a baby. "But do I think that people are afraid after what happened with Biogenesis? Yes. It serves as a deterrent.''
Yes, as Conte suggests, a "deterrent" but nothing more. The use of performance-enhancing drugs is a lot like the story of the guy who builds the better mousetrap. There’s always demand for a new and better mousetrap until someone builds a newer and better one. As soon as someone creates the next undetectable PED, baseball players and other professional athletes will line up outside their door. Professional sports has created a system that invites corruption.
Since 2005, MLB loves to let everyone know that players have annually been suspended for the use of PEDs, but baseball is only kidding itself if the Lords of the Diamond believe baseball is a clean sport.
"Our game is far cleaner today than it was 20 years ago,'' Manfred said, "and we will remain aggressive in that area to make sure it stays that way.''
At the end of the 2014 season, Cruz and Melky Cabrera will both be free agents. Cabrera is in the second of a two-year, $16 million contract. Both players can expect to receive multiyear agreements worth tens of millions of dollars. What messages will the teams that sign two of the Biogenesis group send to baseball and their fan bases?
Major League Baseball has done a good job in dealing with PEDs since 2005. MLB has delivered a clear, consistent and concise message — get caught using PEDs and you’re going to pay a price. What, if anything, can MLB do to once and forever end PED use? As tough as the penalty process is, it can be even tougher. Much, much tougher. Get caught once and you're banned from baseball for life. Make the penalty for the use of PEDs as forbidden as betting on baseball. Place signs inside every major league and minor league clubhouse (as is the case with betting on baseball) that spells it out.
That will never happen, though. Between the reaction from the players association and, more important, the message fans sent to MLB with Cruz's All-Star election, fans don’t care. Fans would love to see a clean game (maybe), but what fans really care about is their team winning.
It has been 106 years since the Cubs have won a World Series. Ask a Cubs fan how he or she really feels and what a World Series would mean. If the Cubs can win it all but key members of the team were found to have used PEDs, who cares? Their beloved North Siders will finally have won a title.
Golf: I got a club for that… PGA Championship: 10 to watch.
PGA.com; By Joseph Demling
Not long after Valhalla Golf Club was awarded the 2014 PGA Championship, some in the golf world assumed it would be another prime opportunity for Tiger Woods to add to his list of major championships.
And for good reason since Woods captured the 2000 PGA at Valhalla after a playoff battle with Bob May and later said the course "just suited my eye."
But as we head into the 96th PGA this week at Valhalla, Woods is struggling with his game and his health. He hasn't won a major championship since the 2008 U.S. Open and withdrew on Sunday from the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational because of back spasms after missing much of the year after back surgery.
So, he's not in our top 10 players to watch. But the world's new No. 1 - Rory McIlroy - and plenty of others should give us a fabulous finish to the majors this year. Here are a few guys to keep an eye on at Valhalla:
10. Kenny Perry Best finish in 2014: Won twice on Champions Tour; T28 in the U.S. Open Reason to watch: Sure, he turns 54 years old on Sunday and has only played in four PGA Tour events this year. But it's a home game for Perry, who lives a couple hours away in Franklin, Ky., and he knows the course. He lost in a playoff in the '96 PGA at Valhalla, was a member of the 2008 Ryder Cup team and has been to the course several times this year for practice rounds. Plus, Perry is playing great. He won the 3M Championship on the Champions Tour last week, has five top 10 finishes in his last seven starts and was T-28 in the U.S. Open.
9. J.B. Holmes Best finish in 2014: Won Wells Fargo Championship Reason to watch: Another local hero, Holmes is from Campbellsville, Ky., less than two hours away and has played the course a lot. He played on the U.S. winning Ryder Cup team at Valhalla in '08 and his long-hitting style is good, especially knowing the course and where to put it. The course has changed a lot since '08 and Holmes has played it more than anyone but Perry. He has eight top-25 finishes this year and was T-26 last weekend at the WGC-Bridgestone.
8. Justin Rose Best finish in 2014: Won Quicken Loans National Reason to watch: With two wins to his credit this year, including the Scottish Open, Rose comes into the PGA after a T-4 at the WGC-Bridgestone. Europeans have won two of three majors this year and Rose has been on the top 25 of all three with a T-12 at the U.S. Open and a T-14 at the Masters. But he's done it without a great start in with an average opening round score in the majors this year is a 74. He was a T-3 in the PGA two years ago and did play in the '08 Ryder Cup at Valhalla.
7. Matt Kuchar Best finish in 2014: Won the RBC Heritage Reason to watch: One of the most consistent players, Kuchar leads the Tour in top-10 finishes with 10 and just missed another with a T-12 at the WGC-Bridgestone last weekend. He has six top 10s in majors during the past five years, including a T-10 in the 2010 PGA. It will be his first trip to Valhalla but is on a good path heading into the year's final major and the course should suit his game.
6. Jordan Spieth Best finish in 2014: T-2 at Hyundai Tournament of Champions and Masters Reason to watch: The top young American will break through at a major championship sooner or later and with his impeccable short game it could come at Valhalla. He's never played a tournament on the course but should like the Kentucky Bluegrass and the newly renovated greens. He was T-2 at the Masters and also had a top-20 finish at the U.S. Open. He missed the cut last year in his first PGA.
5. Adam Scott Best finish in 2014: Won Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Reason to watch: Was the No. 1 player in the world until McIlroy passed him last week; Scott still playing solid golf and has all season. He has a win and eight top-10s in 12 starts on the PGA Tour and has been in the top 15 of each major. He hasn't finished outside the top 10 since May and dropped to No. 2 in the world despite a T-8 last weekend at the WGC-Bridgestone. Should be there on Sunday.
4. Rickie Fowler Best finish in 2014: Second at U.S. Open and British Open Reason to watch: Fowler hasn't won a tournament in 58 starts but he's been a major player in all of the big tournaments this year. He was a T-5 in the Masters and runner-up in the U.S. Open and British Open before a T-8 at the WGC-Bridgestone last weekend. First player since 2005 - Tiger Woods - to finish top five in the first three majors, but he has just one top 50 - T-19 in 2013 - in four PGA starts.
3. Sergio Garcia Best finish in 2014: Second in WGC-Bridgestone; T-2 in Travelers Championship and the British Open. Reason to watch: Garcia has been on fire in recent weeks, three straight second-place finishes, but he hasn't fared well at Valhalla. The last time he played the course was a 5 and 4 loss to Anthony Kim on Sunday of the '08 Ryder Cup and he was T-34 in the '00 PGA. But still, Garcia has to be a favorite. He has four top-10s at the PGA and it very well could be time for his first major win.
2. Jim Furyk Best finish in 2014: Second at the Wells Fargo Championship; The Players Championship and the RBC Canadian Open Reason to watch: There are reasons not to like Furyk - hasn't won in four years and seven times in a row he hasn't converted a 54-hole lead. But there are plenty more reasons to like his game at Valhalla, a place he finished T-72 in 2000 but had a successful week during the '08 Ryder Cup. Has five top-10s in his last nine starts, was PGA runner-up last year and is already a lock for the Ryder Cup team.
1. Rory McIlroy Best finish in 2014: Won the British Open and WGC-Bridgestone Reason to watch: Only six players in history have ever won the final two majors of the year, but McIlroy just jumped to No. 1 in the world rankings and is on an amazing hot streak. He's won two starts in a row and comes in as a heavy favorite to win the PGA, an event he claimed by eight strokes in '12. He's never played in an event at Valhalla but has four top-10s in five PGA starts. Everything points to a fourth major title for McIlroy.
An Interesting Theory Explains Why Tiger Woods Keeps Getting Hurt.
By Tony Manfred
In his column about the new back injury that forced Tiger Woods to withdraw from the WGC Firestone on Sunday, Robert Lusetich of Fox Sports outlines an off-beat but plausible explanation for why Tiger keeps getting hurt.
It comes from "The Big Miss," a tell-all book by Tiger's old swing coach Hank Haney.
According to Haney, Tiger was always fighting against the stereotype that golfers weren't "real athletes." He got himself in ridiculous shape, did Navy SEAL training workouts, and generally did everything he could to convince people that he was as athletic as an NBA or NFL player.
As a part of that, he took pride in his injuries.
From Haney's book:
"Of course, Tiger still could have worsened his knee with heavy workouts or Navy SEALs activities. But Tiger preferred that people see his injuries related to his sport, so that he could wear them as a badge of honor. To him, injuries were a way of being accepted into the fraternity of superstars who played more physical sports than golf. For example, a couple of times when I knew he'd just gotten off the phone with Derek Jeter, I'd asked what they had talked about. Both times Tiger said the conversation was about injuries they were each dealing with. Once in the clubhouse at Isleworth, Shaquille O'Neal came by the lunch table and exchanged pleasantries with Tiger. When Tiger asked him how he was doing, Shaq said, 'Trying to get through this thing with my knee,' and Tiger had nodded knowingly."
This passage comes after Haney argues that Tiger consistently risked injury with a training program that was unnecessarily hard on his body.
As the theory goes, Tiger sees injuries as an element of his legitimacy as an athlete. That's why he keeps working out like crazy and refuses to wait until his body is fully healed to come back.
Power Rankings: Should we call it a tie between Gordon and Earnhardt Jr.?
By Nick Bromberg
1. Jeff Gordon (LW: 1): You can make an argument for putting Dale Earnhardt Jr. in this spot rather than Gordon. And if you are one of the people who would like to make it, now's the chance. OK, done? While we see your point, it's important to remember that Gordon was the best car throughout most of the race on Sunday. That shouldn't be overshadowed by a strategy call.
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 2): Though that strategy call was pretty damn good. Earnhardt Jr. had a top-five car for most of the day, but that turned into a leading car when Steve Letarte had him pit for no tires to get out ahead of Gordon. You can't blame Gordon and crew chief Alan Gustafson for taking four tires, however, It was worth a shot to see what would happen. Oh, did you see Junior's interview with Dan Patrick Tuesday morning? It's worth a watch.
3. Kevin Harvick (LW: 6): How interesting would the final four laps have been if Harvick had a car at 100 percent? He had narrowly avoided the 12-car pileup on the backstretch before his car bottomed out and hit the inside wall with the left front. The damage looked significant enough to limit the speed in his car, but after his team repaired it, Harvick was still pretty damn fast. But it wasn't freaky fast enough to catch Junior.
4. Brad Keselowski (LW: 3): Keselowski only drops a single spot because of the awesomeness of his save on the first lap after his car got loose in the tunnel turn under Kurt Busch. If he doesn't save the car, we're looking at a crash similar to the one that Harvick had semi-missed on the backstretch. Instead, the race stayed green and his car only had minor damage.
5. Joey Logano (LW: 8): This is an interesting stretch in the Sprint Cup Series right now as we're entering the third of three-straight "working backward" races where drivers and teams are focusing their pit strategies around making it tothe end of the race with the fewest (and best-timed) pit stops. More on this Wednesday, but if there's been a team that's been the best at this working backwards thing over the past two weeks, it's Logano and crew chief Todd Gordon.
6. Matt Kenseth (LW: 5): Oh no, winless Matt Kenseth was in the big crash. His Chase chances had to take a hit, didn't they? *Looks at standings* Oh, no, he's still in fourth. While Kenseth certainly can't afford to crash every week until the Chase begins and expect to make it, he's still not in the danger zone. And yes, this sounds eerily like the paragraph for Kenseth last week. JUST WIN ALREADY, MATT. THE SPIN SURROUNDING WINS IS SO MUCH MORE FUN.
7. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 5): Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus have an issue with low tire pressures! Jimmie Johnson is slumping! He's not a title contender! Make another panicked Jimmie Johnson narrative here! Yes, Johnson isn't having a great stretch of races right now. But he didn't have one last year. And don't put anything past Knaus. With Johnson in the Chase, now is the time to try a bunch of things in anticipation of the final 10 races.
8. Ryan Newman (LW: 10): Ryan Newman is fifth in the standings. I repeat, Ryan Newman is fifth in the standings. Newman is basically having a Kevin-Harvick-at-Richard-Childress-Racing Lite season, which is fitting given that he's driving for RCR and kind of sort of swapped places with Harvick before the season.
9. Denny Hamlin (LW: 10): The points penalty Hamlin got after Indianapolis is more than a drop in the bucket, but it's not an overflowing mess that calls for an industrial-sized mop. And in his first race without Darian Grubb, Hamlin finished ninth. Plus, that ninth-place finish came after Hamlin brushed the wall. Oh, and yeah, he brushed the wall after getting loose in front of Brian Vickers, who reacted and caused the big crash, but we won't harp on that.
10. Clint Bowyer (LW: NR): Who do you think is going to be more of a factor in the Chase, Bowyer or Carl Edwards? Yes, Edwards is, as of now, going to start six points ahead of Bowyer when the Chase begins because of the two wins, but the two are a single point apart right now. And they're basically running equally well at the moment. It's a question that can go either way.
11. Kyle Busch (LW: 8): Busch was up for running all 400 miles at Pocono on Sunday. His engine was not and he finished second after consecutive second place finishes. Busch has six top 10s in 2014. He also has six finishes of 25th or worse. What does that mean? Under the new Chase format, if a couple of those top-fives turn into wins, who knows?
12. Kyle Larson (LW: 12): Larson holds serve in the final spot after finishing 11th. He could have been a Pocono Saturday dominator again (he smoked the field in the ARCA race in June) but an engine issue derailed his chances at a win. That meant the Yuengling Light truck won in Pennsylvania, which is fitting.
Lucky Dog: By virtue of his fifth-place finish on Sunday, Greg Biffle now occupies the final Chase spot by two points over Austin Dillon and a point over Kasey Kahne.
The DNF: How about A.J. Allmendinger, who was not only in the 12-car crash, but also crashed to bring out the second-to-last caution of the day?
Dropped out: Carl Edwards
Soccer: Summer tours reveal an ugly truth.
By Rory Smith
It was the summer of 1954, and Mr. Coley was quite appalled. The football of his Luton Town side's European hosts might not have been too bad -- "surprisingly good," in fact -- but their timekeeping was terrible, and their idea of accommodation deeply disappointing.
"They are very lax," he wrote. "The kick-off may be anything up to half an hour over the stated time. Our hotel would be rated third class in England, but it was looked upon as first class [there]." There was only one way of expressing his disillusionment. Mr. Coley and his companions would not have a bath until they reached a locale they deemed sufficiently clean. "It was our first since leaving England, a matter of 14 days."
Phil Coley, the Luton Town secretary, was a member of the party that embarked on the club's tour to Greece and Turkey in the summer of 1954. By that stage, English teams had been undertaking such ventures for almost half a century: the first recorded trips came at the start of the 20th century, and by 1914 even Exeter City had been invited out, their journey to South America taking in the first-ever game played by the Brazilian national team.
As Coley's recollections, sent to the FA News, make clear, these were not always easy trips. It was, though, something of a money-spinner -- Luton were paid 150 pounds for each of the seven games they played in Athens and Istanbul -- but just as importantly, it was educational, and not for the travelling side.
"Unless some teams are prepared to make the effort and show these people the English way of conducting and playing the game, it is difficult to see how their standards are ever going to be brought on a par with our own," Coley wrote, quite wonderfully pompously.
Nothing is new in football. The world turns and the game with it, but everything has been done before. Tiki-taka? Try Queens Park, in the 1880s. Zonal marking? Brazil were doing that in the 1950s. The front-loaded formations beloved of Barcelona and Real Madrid? Look at it on the pitch and it looks an awful lot like a 2-3-5, the very first tactical system.
The summer tour, cast now as the very embodiment of the modern game's obsession with money, is in reality a tradition dating back to football's early years.
Of course, there are differences between Luton's adventure in 1954 and those undertaken this summer by the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool. The hotels are probably a bit better now, while the rewards are even greater -- the two Premier League giants shared $1.5 million between them ($1 million going to United) for reaching the final of the International Champions Cup, which sounds an awful lot like what the Champions League used to be called on "Pro Evolution Soccer" before the game bought the naming rights.
And then there is the hype, of course. That article in the FA News was just about all the coverage Luton's tour got in 1954. They were not exactly a high-profile club, but suffice to say that even the larger sides would have just a local reporter with them most of the time.
There was no television coverage or breathless articles dictating "what we learned." What happened in the games was incidental. Not so now. Now we are told, increasingly, that all of these matches matter. This is odd, because they do not. Not really.
There are many reasons that hyperbole has been allowed to manifest. The International Champions Cup, for example, garnered some pretty impressive attendances, and it fuelled the storyline of America's "new" "infatuation" with football. Never mind that it's not new, that it's not an infatuation, and that it has been the case for some time that there are a lot of people in the States who like football. Such things are immaterial. They get in the way of the narrative.
Those attendances showcased the appeal that the top English clubs have in the States, giving rise once more to the subject of the 39th game, Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore's short-lived idea for the league to introduce an extra game every season, to be played abroad. That has fed the frenzy over the International Champions Cup, too.
Mostly, though, the buzz around these matches is linked to the nature of modern football, its capacity to hyperbolize anything and everything, to pretend that everything matters all of the time and to refuse, generally, to let go of its vice-like grip on the collective consciousness.
It would be easy to suggest that it is because of the post-World Cup buzz, that we are all desperate to see some competitive football again, but in reality the opposite is probably true.
Europe's clubs must loathe the World Cup, with its ability to hold the planet in its thrall in a way that they can only dream about. These preseason adventures are being turned up to 11 to make us forget about the World Cup, to convince us that these old tribal meetings are what we really want, that the summer is just a fevered dream, to keep the fever going.
Forget the hype, though, and the standard of the hotels and the amount of interest, because there is a much more significant difference between the tours English teams used to take and those that they go on now. And no, it is not money; they get more of it these days, but it was a factor then, too. No; what has gone is the educational element. Luton and the rest thought they were seeding the rest of the world to love the game. United and Liverpool are doing the exact opposite.
All this talk of the 39th game, of more tours and more tournaments and bigger television markets offers a glimpse of an important truth. The way representatives of La Liga and the Premier League and Serie A talk about the U.S. and the race to achieve primacy there, too, tells us something. It tells us what the old world thinks of the new.
These teams do not want to popularize football across the Atlantic. They do not want to teach the natives the best way to play. They see America as virgin territory, as ground to be conquered, as a canvas on which to paint their imperial dreams. They do not see it as a legitimate football culture.
There is a reason nobody goes on high-profile tours to Brazil or Argentina. There is a reason that South Africa has become less popular, too. In places where local clubs take precedence, there is a limit to how much money can be made. Yes, United would get vast crowds if they came to play in Rio de Janeiro, but they would not convert lots of new Manchester United fans. The cariocas would go on supporting Flamengo or Vasco or Fluminense.
That is not the case in the United States. The leagues of the old world see America as a place to be fought over and to be conquered -- in that sense, some things never change. What they are doing is not designed to support the development of a healthy, native football culture. It is aimed at casting Major League Soccer into the shadows.
They do not want Americans to watch their own league. They want them to watch the Premier League, or the Bundesliga, or La Liga, or Serie A. That way their viewing figures are higher, their broadcast rights are more lucrative. These tours do not help to increase awareness of football in the States. They increase awareness of the Premier League and Real Madrid and Roma. They have little to do with football. These clubs are not missionaries. They are evangelists.
Mr. Coley might have been appalled by the foreigners' ways, but cut through his pomposity and he and his club were engaged in something vaguely noble. They were trying to spread the gospel of the game. Their modern descendants are doing nothing of the kind. Luton were trying to teach the world to play; Liverpool, United and the rest just want them to watch, and to pay.
MLS All-Stars prep quickly for Bayern Munich.
By ANNE M. PETERSON (AP Sports Writer)
By the time the MLS All-Star game rolls around on Wednesday night, coach Caleb Porter will have had two training sessions with his All-Stars.
Yes, just two practices to prepare for Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich.
Porter is hoping his side has some fast learners.
''It's a celebration of these players, their careers,'' said Porter, coach of the host Portland Timbers. ''Hopefully, we can make it a competitive game and try to make it exciting with a lot of good attacking players.''
Ultimately the game is an exhibition, and Porter said his main job - besides putting on a good show - is to return the players to their teams with no injuries.
The All-Star game is part of a summer exhibition tour for Bayern Munich, which hasn't visited the United States in a decade. The team defeated Chivas Guadalajara 1-0 last Thursday night at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey.
Winner of 19 straight matches at one point last season, Bayern Munich brings six players from the German national team that won the World Cup this summer, including Mario Goetze and Thomas Mueller. But coach Pep Guardiola said not to expect them to play more than about 15 minutes apiece.
The MLS team will also include several players from the U.S. World Cup team that advanced out of the group stage in Brazil, including Seattle's Clint Dempsey and Toronto's Michael Bradley.
''We just played against these players on the biggest stage in the world. I think in the past, the All-Star teams have had only a few days to come together, but it's a little bit different this year because most of us are used to playing together on the national team,'' said Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando, who was also on the U.S. national team.
The MLS All-Stars hope to have six players from the U.S. team on the available roster. On Tuesday, midfielder Kyle Beckerman of Real Salt Lake had to withdraw because of an unspecified injury.
Omar Gonzalez and Robbie Keane of the L.A. Galaxy both made the team but also had to bow out. The Galaxy did send forward Landon Donovan, who is appearing in his record 14th All-Star game.
A player to watch on Bayern Munich's side is 19-year-old Julian Green, who played for the United States in Brazil and became the youngest American player to score in the World Cup with a goal against Belgium.
Green, who was born in Florida but grew up in Germany, has dual citizenship. With Bayern Munich since 2010, Green is vying to make his debut with the club's senior side this season. He'll likely see more play than Bayern's other World Cup stars.
''He's going to play a little bit more - for the fans, for the girls,'' Guardiola joked.
Last year, Italian powerhouse AS Roma, led by longtime star Francesco Totti, defeated the MLS All-Stars 3-1 in Kansas City. The Galaxy's Gonzalez scored the only goal for the MLS side in second-half stoppage time.
Bradley was on Roma's side for that match.
The MLS is 7-3-1 against international opponents since the league adopted the current All-Star game format, the only losses coming to English Premier League club Manchester United and Roma.
''The best thing you can do is keep it simple.'' Porter said. ''I want these players to go back to their clubs healthy.''
Steve Spurrier would rather schedule East Carolina than a 'bottom Big Ten team,' and rightly so. (Total Big Ten Diss)
By Sam Cooper
South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier has never been known to hold back his opinion, and at his media day news conference Sunday, the Gamecocks head coach offered what could be perceived as a slight at the Big Ten.
Spurrier, who is entering his tenth season with the program, was asked about the upcoming vote that would give additional autonomy to the schools in the “Power Five” conferences moving forward. Before voicing his support for providing full cost of attendance for student-athletes, Spurrier focused his answer on non-conference scheduling.
“Well I like the other conferences, too. Heck, those guys deserve the chance to go play just like the big conferences,” Spurrier said. “The SEC – we’ve got some down the line teams just like every conference has down the line teams. The big five conferences all playing each other, I don’t think that makes a lot of sense really. Playing East Carolina is a lot tougher game than maybe picking up one of those bottom Big Ten teams. Plus the fans around here, we’d rather see a team from close by.”
Earlier in the offseason, the SEC voted to keep an eight-game conference schedule. However, starting in 2016, all SEC teams will be required to play a team from one of the other power conferences – the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 or Pac-12. Notre Dame also meets that qualification.
Spurrier’s point is that he’d rather schedule a tough regional American Athletic Conference opponent like East Carolina than schedule a lower-level Big Ten opponent like, for example, Purdue or Illinois. ECU is coming off a 10-3 season and is entering its first year in the AAC. The Pirates and Gamecocks will square off on Sept. 6 in Columbia and that game is going to be a lot more exciting for fans in that region of the country than a forced matchup with a Power Five school without a lot of recent success.
Spurrier’s comment is more of a compliment toward ECU than a slight to the Big Ten. Spurrier could have named any of the other conferences there. And like he said, “every conference has down the line teams,” even the SEC.
Additionally, Spurrier is addressing a comment made by Nick Saban a few months ago that schools from the power five should only play other power five schools.
So even though his answer didn’t address the question he was asked, Spurrier’s point is a good one.
Duke won't be caught without a quality big man again.
By Jeff Eisenberg
Having paid a steep price for being caught without a quality big man on his roster this past season, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski is doing his best to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Last November, he landed Jahlil Okafor, the most polished center in the Class of 2014. Then Monday, he secured a commitment from Okafor's potential replacement.
Chase Jeter, Rivals.com's No. 8 prospect in the Class of 2015, announced he will attend Duke after the third-place game at the Adidas Nations tournament. The agile, athletic 6-foot-10 Las Vegas native also considered UCLA, Arizona and UNLV, among others.
"I just liked the feel of the environment," Jeter told ESPNU. "Cameron Indoor is a great place, a great basketball environment and I just felt like it was the right place for me."
Jeter's commitment is welcome news for a Duke program that found out the hard way this past season why having at least one capable big man on the roster is so essential. The Blue Devils finished third in the ACC and lost in the opening round of the NCAA tournament to upstart Mercer largely because they had to play forwards Jabari Parker and Amile Jefferson at center and they had no shot-blocking presence to erase their defensive mistakes on the perimeter.
Okafor, a potential one-and-done prospect will fill that void next season and Jeter will have a chance to do the same thereafter. Although Jeter would benefit from adding more muscle to his spindly frame, he is still able to get position down low and finish with his trademark jump hook. He also blocks shots, runs the floor well and has a solid face-up game.
The addition of Jeter makes Duke one of two programs with two or more five-star recruits in the Class of 2015, joining Arizona. The Blue Devils also have a commitment from shooting guard Luke Kennard, an Ohio native rated Rivals.com's No. 19 player in the class.
Duke had been the favorite to land Jeter for a while, but there was some talk that UCLA had made a late push after the 6-foot-10 center followed UCLA's athletics account and basketball account on Twitter over the weekend.
Predictably, that amounted to nothing. Jeter is Duke-bound, and the Blue Devils surely couldn't be happier.
On This Date in Sports History: Today is Wednesday, August 6, 2014
MemoriesofHistory.com
1879 - The first Australian rules football game to be played at night took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The game was to promote the introduction of electricity to the city of Melbourne.
1890 - Cy Young achieved his first major league victory. He would accumulate 511 in his career.
1926 - Gertrude Ederle became the first American woman to swim the English Channel. She was 19 years old at the time. The swim took her 14 1/2 hours.
1949 - Chicago White Sox player Luke Appling played in the 2,154th game of his 19-year, major league career.
1952 - Satchel Paige, at age 46, became the oldest pitcher to complete a major league baseball game.
1969 - The first fair ball to be hit completely out of Dodger Stadium occurred. Willie "Pops" Stargell, of the Pittsburgh Pirates, hit the ball 506 feet from home plate.
1981 - Lee Trevino was disqualified from the PGA Championship in Duluth, GA when he had his scorecard signed by Tom Weiskopf instead of himself.
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