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"Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t." ~ Jerry Rice, NFL Wide Receiver, Record Holder and Hall of Famer
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!! Jackson sets up winning FG, Bills beat Bears 23-20.
By ANDREW SELIGMAN (AP Sports Writer)
Buffalo Bills kicker Dan Carpenter (2) reacts as he kicks the game-winning field goal in overtime to beat the Chicago Bears 23-20 during an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Fred Jackson showed no signs of slowing down as he raced along the sideline, and the Buffalo Bills might be ready to kick things into a higher gear, too.
A stunning overtime victory over the Bears was a good start.
Jackson set up Dan Carpenter's field goal in overtime with a 38-yard run to the 1 and the Buffalo Bills surprised Chicago 23-20 on Sunday.
The veteran running back ran for just 61 yards, but he came through with a big one at the end.
''I am old, but I can still play,'' the 33-year-old Jackson said.
The Bears had just punted to open the extra period and Buffalo took over on its own 22 to start the winning possession. The Bills got the ball to the Chicago 39 when the 33-year-old Jackson turned toward the left side and broke off his big run, pushing safety Chris Conte out of the way twice inside the 10 before being knocked out of bounds at the 1.
Buffalo's EJ Manuel backed up 3 yards and put the ball in the middle of the field. After a delay of game, Carpenter won it with a 27-yarder.
It was a good start for the Bills as they enter a new era following the death of founding father and Hall of Fame owner Ralph Wilson. They're trying to end a 14-year playoff drought and they started by knocking off a team eyeing a run to the postseason.
''It's so difficult to win on the road in this league, especially on opening day I think it's even tougher,'' Bills coach Doug Marrone said. ''I'm proud of them. It was different, I'm not going to lie to you. It was different in that locker room before the game.''
Jackson said, ''It was a great statement win for us to put all that stuff behind and focus on the season.''
This was not what the Bears had in mind. They got little pressure from a revamped defense despite the addition of five-time Pro Bowl end Jared Allen, and there were some questionable decisions at times by Jay Cutler, who got picked off twice while throwing for 349 yards and two touchdowns.
The Bears trailed 17-7 at the half after Buffalo scored 17 unanswered points and came up short down the stretch after tying it.
The Bills looked like they might pull this one out in regulation with a 20-17 lead after Dan Carpenter kicked a 33-yard field goal.
That came after Cutler threw across his body and tried to squeeze a pass to Martellus Bennett on a third-and-1 at the Buffalo 34. Kyle Williams came away with his first career interception, instead.
But the Bears answered after the Bills grabbed the lead.
They drove from the 20 to the Buffalo 19, and Cutler threw an incomplete pass to Brandon Marshall in the end zone before Robbie Gould tied it with a 37-yard field goal with 30 seconds left in regulation.
''You guys are going to be as negative as possible,'' a surly Cutler said. ''But we've got a lot of games left, we did a lot of good things. Obviously we made mistakes today and we've got to clean them up and got to keep it going.''
Manuel completed 16 of 22 passes for 173 yards for Buffalo. He also had a 2-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
Robert Woods added 78 yards receiving.
Chicago's Matt Forte ran for 82 yards and had 87 receiving. Brandon Marshall caught eight passes for 71 yards and a touchdown. Alshon Jeffery also had 71 yards receiving, although he spent most of the second half on the sideline because of a hamstring injury.
Bennett had 70 yards receiving and a TD, but left guard Matt Slauson and center Roberto Garza left the game with ankle injuries.
It wasn't a great afternoon for a revamped defense, either. Allen, the star addition in the offseason overhaul, was a nonfactor in his Bears debut. But Trestman thought it was a good day overall for that group - Jackson's long run aside.
''At the end of the day you keep them in the 17 to 20-point range, that should be enough for us to win,'' he said. ''And if we hang onto the football, take care of it we would have been in a good position to do that.''
NOTES: Bills LB Keith Rivers left the game because of a groin injury and S Aaron Williams was being evaluated for a concussion afterward. Buffalo also held out CB Stephon Gilmore because of a nagging groin injury. ... Trestman thought Jeffery might return at some point in the second half, but that didn't happen. ... Slauson and Garza did not think they were seriously injured.
NFL Scores, Sunday, 09/07/2014.
Chicago Tribune
NFL's attention to Los Angeles heightens as season begins.
By Ray Slover
Imagine if you will … the NFL building a stadium for two teams in Los Angeles. Even Rod Serling might find the idea farfetched in the twilight zone of professional sports.
Not so fast: There are rumblings the league is increasing its attention to the largest U.S. television market without pro football.
And when they trot out for their home opener Sunday, the St. Louis Rams will be in the cross hairs.
Suggestions continue to float that the San Diego Chargers might skip town and head to the richer environs of L.A. And if history teaches us anything, it's this: Never count on the Oakland Raiders to do what is expected.
You know the drill. The Rams and Raiders fled L.A. 20 years ago. That's the equivalent of the Giants and Jets leaving the New York market. Crossing the river to New Jersey doesn't count.
So with the Rams entering a possible walk season, one should expect to hear stories of their Los Angeles return grow by the week.
While the Raiders appear to be close to a deal with Oakland for a stadium of their own, they had good years in Los Angeles. And the Chargers spent their first season in L.A.
There's smoke but no fire from San Diego, where owner Dean Spanos says jabber about his team going to L.A. and the league building a stadium is nothing new.
That leaves the Rams, whose owner has land available in Los Angeles and a lease he can negate. Stan Kroenke isn't sentimental about St. Louis, even though he is a Missourian.
For now, the NFL seems content to let speculation have a life of its own. It doesn't seem to be interested in snuffing the smoldering embers.
At least until the season ends.
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? 5 Ways the Blackhawks Can Be Better This Season.
By Kate Cimini
With the summer winding down and the Blackhawks first game fewer than 60 days away, it’s impossible not to obsess over what the new season will be like. With that in mind, here are some choices the Blackhawks have already made (and a couple more they should consider) to improve the upcoming season.
1) Traded Brandon Bollig to the Flames.
As much as I liked Bollig as a part of the team — his interviews made him seem like a real stand-up guy — he was a fourth-line bruiser on a team like the Blackhawks. He was great at morale and worked just as hard as the rest of them, but didn’t have the skating or the stick skill to make it any higher in the ranks. With Bollig gone, a spot has opened up where someone like Jeremy Morin could add some depth.
Paul Konerko
By Ray Slover
Imagine if you will … the NFL building a stadium for two teams in Los Angeles. Even Rod Serling might find the idea farfetched in the twilight zone of professional sports.
Not so fast: There are rumblings the league is increasing its attention to the largest U.S. television market without pro football.
And when they trot out for their home opener Sunday, the St. Louis Rams will be in the cross hairs.
Suggestions continue to float that the San Diego Chargers might skip town and head to the richer environs of L.A. And if history teaches us anything, it's this: Never count on the Oakland Raiders to do what is expected.
You know the drill. The Rams and Raiders fled L.A. 20 years ago. That's the equivalent of the Giants and Jets leaving the New York market. Crossing the river to New Jersey doesn't count.
So with the Rams entering a possible walk season, one should expect to hear stories of their Los Angeles return grow by the week.
While the Raiders appear to be close to a deal with Oakland for a stadium of their own, they had good years in Los Angeles. And the Chargers spent their first season in L.A.
There's smoke but no fire from San Diego, where owner Dean Spanos says jabber about his team going to L.A. and the league building a stadium is nothing new.
That leaves the Rams, whose owner has land available in Los Angeles and a lease he can negate. Stan Kroenke isn't sentimental about St. Louis, even though he is a Missourian.
For now, the NFL seems content to let speculation have a life of its own. It doesn't seem to be interested in snuffing the smoldering embers.
At least until the season ends.
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? 5 Ways the Blackhawks Can Be Better This Season.
By Kate Cimini
With the summer winding down and the Blackhawks first game fewer than 60 days away, it’s impossible not to obsess over what the new season will be like. With that in mind, here are some choices the Blackhawks have already made (and a couple more they should consider) to improve the upcoming season.
1) Traded Brandon Bollig to the Flames.
As much as I liked Bollig as a part of the team — his interviews made him seem like a real stand-up guy — he was a fourth-line bruiser on a team like the Blackhawks. He was great at morale and worked just as hard as the rest of them, but didn’t have the skating or the stick skill to make it any higher in the ranks. With Bollig gone, a spot has opened up where someone like Jeremy Morin could add some depth.
If the Blackhawks miss Bollig too much, they might be able to compensate by calling Brandon Mashinter up from the IceHogs for a few games to crack some skulls and earn some PIM, but I’m ever-hopeful that the role of the enforcer is less and less necessary in this iteration of the NHL.
2) Michael Handzus Replaced by Brad Richards.
Again, ‘Zus seemed like another good addition to the team in the room, but on the ice his production was minimal and it seems that he dragged down his line mates’ production as well, judging by Kane’s point tally over the last season. I’m not sold on Richards just yet, but at this point, nearly anyone could do a better job centering Kane and Saad than Handzus.
The second part of this is that it gives 19-year old center Teuvo Teravainen time to adjust to NHL play. It’s practically a foregone conclusion that he will be on Chicago’s roster before the New Year. He is highly spoken of by players and coaching staff alike, and he fits in with the system already in place. Coach Joel Quenneville was right to send him down to Rockford for a period of time after letting him see just how not-ready he was in March, when he registered a total of 0 across the board in points and +/-. It gave Quenneville the chance to see Teravainen in action, introduce him to the system, and deliver a reality check on the difference between the Finnish Liiga and NHL play. Teravainen didn’t take the ice by storm, but acquitted himself well, winning seven out of seven face-offs at the dot.
Had the Blackhawks held on to Handzus, Teravainen might have seen NHL ice before December. While Quenneville clearly likes him, bringing him up too early very well could handicap or slow his development as a player, putting the team in a tough position of either sending him back down, or offloading his entry-level contract on a team that has the cap space and needs a dynamic center. The first team that comes to mind is Dallas, but a number of GMs would certainly be happy to get their mitts on Teravainen.
3))Got rid of ‘The Stripper’.
No, this isn’t a roster change, but what franchise doesn’t want more money flowing into its bank accounts? Fans that no longer feel uncomfortable and vaguely unwelcome at games are likely to return, purchasing tickets, merchandise, and buying from the concession stands while at the game itself. With women measuring approximately 40% of Chicago’s fan base this is plain good business sense and will likely grow that number even more, which in turn will push revenue streams higher.
4) Bring Shaw Back to 2C.
While Brad Richards’ 1-year contract is essentially designed to give Teravainen the development time he needs to be a second-line center in the NHL, there’s no reason not to give Shaw a shot at the second line again. We saw a dynamic Kane-Shaw-Saad line in Game 6 against L.A. in the Western Conference Finals. The untested combination registered one of the 4 points Chicago won with, and seemed to give Kane a little more pep in his step, resulting in his scoring the winning goal.
5) Shake Up the Defense – Specifically, Keith and Seabrook.
These two have been a dynamic, puck-stopping combination for years, Keith’s rushing defensive style complementing Seabrook’s stay-at-home mentality. They are the superstars of the Blackhawks defense, not least because they’ve won two Cups with Chicago. However, the past two playoff series have seen them play better apart than together.
Whether it’s general fatigue from a year of hard play or a comment on the way they approach playoffs individually, at this point, it’s worth separating them occasionally during the regular season to see if that has any impact on their postseason play together. They are both more than good enough to deal with a change in partners on occasion during the season and if it improves their play in the post then the downside would be minimal.
Capitals, Blackhawks finally book Winter Classic at Nationals Park.
By Greg Wyshynski
The Washington Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks will face each other at Nationals Park in Washington DC on Jan. 1, 2015, ending months of speculation that the NHL wouldn’t settle for the most obvious, tepid choice..
The Washington Post cited three sources on Saturday who confirmed the League and the Washington Nationals finally closed their deal. Several other venues in the DC region were considered, from football stadiums in Maryland to RFK Stadium in DC to the National Mall, which would have made up for its lack of capacity with insanely amazing aesthetics.
The Washington Post cited three sources on Saturday who confirmed the League and the Washington Nationals finally closed their deal. Several other venues in the DC region were considered, from football stadiums in Maryland to RFK Stadium in DC to the National Mall, which would have made up for its lack of capacity with insanely amazing aesthetics.
Instead, it’s a Winter Classic in a relatively new baseball stadium with fabricated character. And we just had one of those two years ago.
From the Post:
FedEx Field had been ruled out, according to a person familiar with the discussions, because a Dec. 28 Redskins would leave insufficient time to build a rink. M&T Bank Stadium is also set to host an NFL game that day.
While Nationals Park was built and is owned by the District of Columbia, the Nationals control the use of the stadium under its lease with the city — meaning the NHL had to come to terms with owner Ted Lerner and his deputies.
The Lerner family has ties to both teams; Ted’s son Mark is a minority owner with Monumental Sports, which owns the Capitals.
Look, it’s a fine ballpark. It’ll be a fun event. Any Winter Classic with Ben’s Chili Bowl available is one worth attending. And hey, maybe Obama finds his way there to see his Blackhawks and his first ever NHL game.
But RFK Stadium would have been a more inspired choice. Ditto Camden Yards, despite the protests of DC locals. There are Winter Classics where the even is in a building and ones in which the building is the event. And now we know into which category to place DC’s Classic.
Common hockey injuries: explanation, treatment and prevention.
By Jo Innes
Hockey is fast, involves blades and sticks, and is played on ice. Obviously injuries are part of the game. Most injuries are a result of player-to-player contact, although like any sport, there’s plenty of overuse injuries as well.
While injury patterns differ by age group, gender, and level of play, there are a few constants that cross all the lines.
Concussions
A concussion can be any number of symptoms that happen after brain trauma. The trauma can be a blow to the head, a sudden stop, or even being shaken hard enough. The symptoms can be headaches, nausea, balance problems, mood problems, and a multitude of other issues. A concussion isn’t something you can see on a CT scan — it’s a clinical diagnosis, meaning it’s based on the athlete’s symptoms after a head injury. Concussions can be a mild irritation that lasts a day or two, or crippling lifelong issues that can end a career.
Concussions in sport are increasingly at the forefront of safety discussions. Rule changes at both amateur and pro levels have been rolled out in the recent years in response to the fact that concussions remain very common in hockey. Research has made it increasingly clear that a career spent suffering concussion after concussion can have devastating effects — early dementia, depression and other behavioral changes.
So how do you avoid a concussion? Do whatever you can to keep your brain from sloshing around in your head. Avoid direct blows to the head (hence rules against head contact), avoid whiplash-type scenarios (hence rules against checking in kids and hits from behind), and wear a helmet.
No, helmets don’t actually prevent concussions, because helmets can’t stop your brain from moving inside your skull. What they can prevent is other direct head injuries like skull fractures and the sort of brain injuries that do show up on CT scans. And you can’t just wear a helmet — you have to wear it properly, meaning the chin strap should actually be under your chin. If you fall down and your helmet flies off, you’re doing it wrong.
Shoulder injuries
It’s hard to fly around the ice slamming into players and boards without eventually messing up a shoulder. AC separations and broken clavicles are two common shoulder injuries often seen in hockey.
That's the AC joint, and those two sides should be connected. (Source: Mayo Foundation)
The AC (acromioclavicular) joint connects the clavicle (collar bone) to the scapula (shoulder blade) at its highest point via several ligaments. You can find your AC joint by feeling along the length of your clavicle towards your shoulder. The little dip at the end is the joint. Keep your hand there and move your arm around, and you’ll have an idea what a miserable injury an AC separation can be.
Also called a shoulder separation, this injury usually happens when you slam into something with your shoulder. If it’s mild enough, it can be treated conservatively with a few weeks of a sling, anti-inflammatory meds, physical therapy and a hefty dose of self-pity. Rarely surgery may be needed to reconstruct the ligaments.
A broken clavicle is a broken clavicle. That’s pretty self-explanatory. It’s also usually from a direct blow, and is dealt with in much the same way as an AC separation — with several weeks of self-pity, pain meds and therapy.
See if you can spot the broken clavicle in this picture. A hint has been provided. (Source: Mayo Foundation)
Gone are the days of the old figure-eight splint, which wrapped around your shoulders. It wrapped around your shoulders from behind, pulled them back, hurt like crazy and smelled bad. Now the solution is a sling, which keeps the arm close to the body and limits the ends of the bone from grinding together. Occasionally surgery will be needed — generally if the clavicle breaks through the skin, is displaced any significant amount, or breaks into several pieces.
Like with most injuries, avoidance is the way to go. Don’t barrel into the boards at full speed unless you know you can stop. Don’t forget to put your shoulder pads on. Don’t miss a check and end up checking the ice instead of a person.
Knee injuries
While knees aren’t as complicated as shoulders, they’re still a pain in the butt when they’re injured. The ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) is one of the four ligaments that stabilizes the knee. It connects the bottom of the femur (upper leg) to the top of the tibia (lower leg), and it keeps the lower leg from rotating too much and from sliding forwards out from under the upper leg.
An ACL and an angry ACL. (Source: Mayo Foundation)
The ACL (and the other knee ligaments) don’t like sudden changes in direction, twisting, or direct blows, all of which are common in hockey. An ACL strain or minor tear can be treated conservatively — more suffering, therapy, ice and anti-inflammatories. A complete tear leaves you with an unstable knee and generally means you’ll need a reconstruction.
A repair can either be done with a piece of one of your own tendons stolen from somewhere else (like the hamstring) or a piece of cadaver tendon. That’s right. Dead guy tendon. Either way, you’re looking at a lengthy recovery — six months to a year, possibly less for elite athletes. You’ll also be susceptible to arthritis and stiffness in the joint, and less flexibility than before. You’re really better off not tearing your ACL at all if you can avoid it.
How do you avoid it? Strengthen the surrounding muscles to better support the knee joint, try not to let that big clumsy guy in your beer league fall on your leg, and avoid knee-on-knee hits. Not to mention those hits are complete jerk moves anyway.
Special mention: teeth and eyes
Teeth and eyes have two things in common: They’re easily injured playing hockey, and you only get one set of each (baby teeth don’t count). The NHL is one of the few holdouts on facial protection. College hockey in both Canada and the US, youth hockey, IIHF and just about everyone else requires some form of facial protection. Currently the NHL requires nothing but a helmet.
People love to argue that more facial protection results in more injuries because players feel like they can be more reckless. Those people are wrong. There’s plenty of research showing that without facial protection you’re twice as likely to have a facial injury, and almost five times more likely to have an eye injury. Interestingly, there’s also evidence that lacerations to the upper half of the face are more severe when wearing a half shield (maybe from the shield itself) but that contusions are less severe. Lacerations are easier to repair than a shattered cheekbone, so I’d probably take that chance.
Going to the dentist to get fitted for one of theses is easier than going to the dentist for a mouthful of root canals. (Source: Bite Tech )
As for mouth guards, there’s no disagreeing with the fact that they help protect against dental injuries. In the past it’s been generally agreed upon that there wasn’t much evidence in the scientific literature that they do a whole lot to prevent concussions. A recently published dental study has shown that a professionally made guard (which tend to be much thicker and higher quality than the store-bought variety) can halve the incidence of concussion in high school football players. Obviously football is not hockey, but the forces in concussive injuries are similar in the two sports. And if the guard will keep your teeth in your mouth where they belong, why wouldn’t you wear it?
The moral of the story…
A lot of injury avoidance in hockey has to do with properly fitted equipment, making smart plays, following the rules, and a heavy dose of luck because hockey is inherently risky. Why not augment your luck with protective equipment? Would you rather get used to playing in a visor, or learn first-hand what an eyeball laceration repair feels like?
Just another Chicago Bulls Session… Curry's six 3's send U.S. to basketball worlds quarters.
Associated Press
Stephen Curry (Getty Images)
Stephen Curry made six 3-pointers and scored 20 points, leading the U.S. national team into the quarterfinals of the Basketball World Cup with an 86-63 victory over Mexico on Saturday.
The Golden State Warriors All-Star was 7 of 10 from the field and 6 of 9 behind the arc, continuing to move a dismal start to the tournament for one of the game's best shooters.
Warriors teammate Klay Thompson added 15 points for the Americans, who advance to a game Tuesday against either Slovenia or Dominican Republic, who they are a combined 3-0 against this summer. The U.S. beat both easily in exhibition play, then handled the Dominicans again during the group stage in Bilbao.
Curry was just 4 for 17 overall in his first two games, though shot the ball over the next three. He saved his best performance for Barcelona, where the Americans are used to them.
He made consecutive 3s early in the third quarter when the Americans put away the game, the second coming as he was knocked down by a defender who was lucky not to be called for a foul.
Gustavo Ayon scored 25 points for Mexico, which won last year's FIBA Americas tournament to qualify and then advanced as the No. 4 team out of Group D despite a 2-3 record.
The 6-foot-9 Ayon played for the Atlanta Hawks last season but had his season cut short by right shoulder surgery in February. He is a free agent and showed enough footwork and shooting touch to warrant a look from someone else.
But he couldn't prevent what ended up as the usual American romp in Barcelona, where the Dream Team crushed the competition in the 1992 Olympics.
The Americans averaged 117.3 points and won by 43.8 points a game then at nearby Badalona, but expect things to be a little more difficult here at the Palau Sant Jordi.
The U.S. surged to a quick 13-2 lead, and after Mexico answered with seven straight, pushed the lead back up to 23-13 after one. It stayed in double digits for nearly entire second, though Ayon had a 10-point period to keep the Americans from getting too far ahead, and it was 42-27 at halftime.
Curry's consecutive 3s made it 50-27, and had back-to-back baskets again later in the third — including a layup for his only one inside the arc — before DeMarcus Cousins' bucket made it 57-30.
Despite being bordering countries, the teams hadn't met since the 2007 Olympic qualifying tournament. They hadn't played in the World Cup since 1967.
James Harden finished with 12 points for the U.S.
The Golden State Warriors All-Star was 7 of 10 from the field and 6 of 9 behind the arc, continuing to move a dismal start to the tournament for one of the game's best shooters.
Warriors teammate Klay Thompson added 15 points for the Americans, who advance to a game Tuesday against either Slovenia or Dominican Republic, who they are a combined 3-0 against this summer. The U.S. beat both easily in exhibition play, then handled the Dominicans again during the group stage in Bilbao.
Curry was just 4 for 17 overall in his first two games, though shot the ball over the next three. He saved his best performance for Barcelona, where the Americans are used to them.
He made consecutive 3s early in the third quarter when the Americans put away the game, the second coming as he was knocked down by a defender who was lucky not to be called for a foul.
Gustavo Ayon scored 25 points for Mexico, which won last year's FIBA Americas tournament to qualify and then advanced as the No. 4 team out of Group D despite a 2-3 record.
The 6-foot-9 Ayon played for the Atlanta Hawks last season but had his season cut short by right shoulder surgery in February. He is a free agent and showed enough footwork and shooting touch to warrant a look from someone else.
But he couldn't prevent what ended up as the usual American romp in Barcelona, where the Dream Team crushed the competition in the 1992 Olympics.
The Americans averaged 117.3 points and won by 43.8 points a game then at nearby Badalona, but expect things to be a little more difficult here at the Palau Sant Jordi.
The U.S. surged to a quick 13-2 lead, and after Mexico answered with seven straight, pushed the lead back up to 23-13 after one. It stayed in double digits for nearly entire second, though Ayon had a 10-point period to keep the Americans from getting too far ahead, and it was 42-27 at halftime.
Curry's consecutive 3s made it 50-27, and had back-to-back baskets again later in the third — including a layup for his only one inside the arc — before DeMarcus Cousins' bucket made it 57-30.
Despite being bordering countries, the teams hadn't met since the 2007 Olympic qualifying tournament. They hadn't played in the World Cup since 1967.
James Harden finished with 12 points for the U.S.
Paul Konerko: "I'll finish on the field."
By Bill Baer
Paul Konerko
White Sox 1B/DH Paul Konerko vows to return before the end of the season, saying “I’ll finish on the field,” via Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune. Konerko added, “I don’t care if I go up there and take three pitches and strike out, I’ll finish on the field.” In fact, the 38-year-old veteran seems rather optimistic, saying that returning for only the final series at home would be a “worst-case scenario.”
Konerko suffered a fracture in the sesamoid bone in his left hand applying a tag on Twins SS/CF Danny Santana following a bunt in the eighth inning on Tuesday. Konerko, who has played in parts of 18 seasons in the major leagues, has posted subpar offensive numbers, slashing .220/.272/.344 with five home runs and 22 RBI in 202 plate appearances.
Konerko suffered a fracture in the sesamoid bone in his left hand applying a tag on Twins SS/CF Danny Santana following a bunt in the eighth inning on Tuesday. Konerko, who has played in parts of 18 seasons in the major leagues, has posted subpar offensive numbers, slashing .220/.272/.344 with five home runs and 22 RBI in 202 plate appearances.
MLB: Texas stunner: Washington steps down as manager
By SCHUYLER DIXON (AP Sports Writer)
Ron Washington resigned from the Rangers as the most successful manager in team history. (AP)
Ron Washington gathered his players for what they thought would be another team meeting in a surprisingly dreary season.
Instead the Texas manager delivered the biggest shock of all: He was stepping down immediately.
Washington resigned Friday, saying he needed to devote his full attention to an ''off-the-field personal matter.''
The announcement came a day after the injury-ravaged Rangers (53-87) lost their sixth straight game and became the first team in the majors mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Only three years ago, Texas reached its second consecutive World Series under Washington.
''It's like losing your dad,'' pitcher Derek Holland said. ''I was extremely close with him. He's taught me a lot both on and off the field and I didn't see any of this coming at all. I'm lost for words.''
Washington issued a statement in which he said his resignation had nothing to do with the team's record. He did not disclose any details of why he was leaving, but did give general manager Jon Daniels permission to say at a news conference that the move ''was not drug-related.''
During spring training in 2010, it was disclosed that Washington had admitted to using cocaine once the previous year, but team executives stood by him. The manager got a two-year contract extension in 2012, then during spring training earlier this year had another season added through 2015.
''As painful as it is, stepping away from the game is what's best for me and my family,'' Washington said. ''This is in no way related to the disappointing performance of the team this season. We were already discussing 2015 and looking forward to getting the Rangers back to postseason contention.''
Tim Bogar, who is in his first season as Washington's bench coach, will be the interim manager. Daniels said the club ''most likely'' would open a managerial search after the season.
''It's obviously not exactly how you want to become a manager for the first time, especially when you take over for a really good friend,'' Bogar said. ''He coached me in Triple-A, he basically taught me how to get to the big leagues, and then I was a colleague.''
Third baseman Adrian Beltre said he hadn't noticed anything different in Washington in recent weeks, the time frame offered by Daniels for when Washington's issue arose.
''It's difficult trying to separate what was going on with him or the team,'' Beltre said. ''If you see a guy not being himself or not being happy, we've got plenty of reasons for not being happy here. So I couldn't pick up if something was going on with him and I have no idea.''
When asked if people should be concerned for Washington or someone in his family, Daniels again would not get into specifics. The 62-year-old Washington is married, but has no children.
''I certainly think well-wishes and thoughts for him and his family are appropriate,'' Daniels said.
The Rangers have been out of contention for months in a season so filled with injuries that they are the first team in major league history to use 60 players. That total reached 63 after two more pitchers made their major league debuts in a 10-2 loss to Seattle on Thursday night.
Of the primary additions last winter, slugger Prince Fielder missed most of the year after neck surgery and leadoff hitter Shin-Soo Choo was slowed all season by an ankle injury before an elbow issue shut him down for good.
Ace pitcher Yu Darvish is likely to finish the season on the disabled list because of right elbow inflammation. Left-handers Matt Harrison (back) and Martin Perez (elbow surgery) also are sidelined, and Holland didn't make his first start until this week after injuring his knee tripping over his dog.
''This has been a difficult season for the team on the field for a variety of reasons, but it was very clear throughout the organization, publicly, privately, and with Ron, that he was coming back,'' Daniels said. ''We were planning on him to be back as our manager for 2015, and the bottom line is that you don't have a season like we had without a number of things going wrong.''
Washington was hired after the 2006 season, replacing the fired Buck Showalter. The team's winnings' manager and the only one to lead the franchise to the World Series, Washington leaves with a 664-611 record (.521 winning percentage).
The hiring of Washington came a year after Daniels had become the youngest GM in major league history. Washington had been a coach the previous 11 seasons in Oakland, where he had been credited for developing the organization's top infielders.
Washington was a skinny middle infielder who had more than twice as many games in the minors than the majors in 20 seasons as a professional player. He then spent four years as a minor league coach before his 11 seasons in Oakland.
''He means everything,'' said shortstop Elvis Andrus, who made his big league debut at 20 without playing a game above Double-A. ''I think he's actually the reason that I always feel so comfortable here in the big leagues. He always had my back no matter what.''
Bobby Jones, an assistant hitting coach who has been with the organization for 27 years, will be Bogar's bench coach.
Golf: I got a club for that… Horschel holds on for title at BMW Championship.
By EDDIE PELLS (AP National Writer)
The bad swing a week ago is a distant memory. The blown lead Sunday - that wasn't enough to derail Billy Horschel, either.
Alabama beat Florida Atlantic 41-0 on Saturday. The game was suspended in the fourth quarter because of thunderstorms and not resumed.
The Joneses were able to rent cheap hotel rooms by the week for a while, and then the money ran out.
That's when Terri reached out to Jones' former AAU coach, Johns. She asked if he could float some money — three monthly payments of $1,195 — to put toward the mortgage on the family's house and keep them off the streets.
Here's the catch, though. Terri paid those loans back, and she did it by the 15th of the same month.
"Basically, I got suspended because we were struggling, and my mom didn't want us to live on the streets," Jones told ESPN in 2012. "We were down to nothing and someone helped us out. I always ask people, 'If you were in that situation, and you didn't have a place to stay, would you ask someone you'd known since the sixth grade for a little help?' Everyone knows they would."
2. Enes Kanter's life overseas.
The sentence: Permanently ineligible, not allowed to play at Kentucky.
The infraction: Kanter accepted $33,000 in salary while playing for the Turkish professional team Fenerbahçe Ülker.
Let us explain: Kanter, who was born in Switzerland and lived in Turkey, signed to play with Fenerbahçe Ülker as a teenager. He played three years with the Turkish professional team before he ultimately emigrated to the United States. While the NCAA does permit European-born players to play with professional clubs, the players are only allowed to accept money for basic expenses (food, shelter, etc.).
Twenty-thousand dollars of that pay went toward Kanter's tutoring. The NCAA considered the remaining $13,000 that was unaccounted for an impermissible benefit because it was unclear whether it was tied directly to Kanter's basic expenses.
Kanter's father, who said the additional money sat untouched in a bank account, even offered to give the funds back to the Turkish club.
Rather than suspend him for a few games or a season, the NCAA ruled instead that he would never be allowed to play in college.
"The final decision of the reinstatement committee is completely compatible with the collegiate model of sports our members have developed, since he received a significant amount of money, above his actual expenses, from a professional team prior to coming to college," Kevin Lennon, NCAA vice president of academic and membership affairs, told ESPN in 2011.
Horschel let a three-shot lead drop to nothing early in the final round of the BMW Championship before rebounding for a two-stroke victory over Bubba Watson. Horschel shot a 1-under 69 and finished at 14-under 266 to put himself in prime position for the FedEx Cup title and its $10 million bonus at the Tour Championship next week.
''If I were a betting man, I'd put some money on me,'' said Horschel, who made $1.44 million for his second career PGA Tour victory.
Horschel heads into the final week of the playoff chase in second place in the points standings thanks to the victory and his tie for second a week ago - when he chunked a 6-iron well short on the final hole at TPC Boston, squandering a chance to win or force extra holes with playoff leader Chris Kirk.
This time, nursing a two-shot lead, the 27-year-old from Grant, Florida, smoothed a 9-iron into the middle of the 18th green and the only drama was whether he'd have time for a quick pit stop before he had to putt. Horschel sprinted up the fairway, ducked under the ropes and was back in plenty of time to two-putt and close out the victory.
''Obviously, after last week, a lot of people on Twitter were calling me a choker,'' Horschel said. ''I didn't choke. I made one bad swing at a bad time. To start with a three-shot lead today and hold on means a lot.''
About an hour earlier, it was another chunked shot that drastically altered the course of the tournament.
Ryan Palmer erased his opening three-shot deficit to Horschel and was tied after six holes, then again after 11.
Palmer was one behind as the final threesome walked down the 13th fairway, with Horschel buried in the right rough and Palmer buried in the left. Horschel hit his second shot safely on the green. Palmer shanked his into a small creek that runs in front of the green. He made double bogey to fall three behind.
''A shank? (Doesn't happen) very often,'' Palmer said. ''But I'm doing with the downhill, down in the rough, I'm blaming it on that. But it happens. It's a fickle game.''
That left Sergio Garcia, who cut a seven-shot deficit to two, as the last true threat, but his chance imploded on the par-5 17th - when he laid up, cooked his third shot over the green, then chipped into the water. He made a triple-bogey 8 - sullying a round of 67. He finished at 9 under, tied for fourth with Palmer (71), Rickie Fowler (68) and Jim Furyk (66).
''It's what happens when you're not mentally sharp,'' Garcia said about the decision not to go for the green in two. ''Then, just a mistake after another mistake.''
Horschel said losing the lead early didn't bother him much.
''That's why you have a three-shot lead. To have a little wiggle room,'' he said.
Unlike Palmer and Garcia, Watson, who shot 66, never truly threatened to take the lead, but he didn't blow up, either. He missed a 25-foot birdie putt on 18 that would've drawn him within one of Horschel, who was behind him in the fairway.
But Watson didn't make much all week. He finished 42nd in putting over four rounds. Still, he'll go to Atlanta third in the standings, joining Kirk, Horschel, Rory McIlroy and Hunter Mahan among the top five, all of whom control their destiny - meaning a win will give them the playoff title, as well.
''Maybe that's when I make my putts,'' Watson said.
Palmer's fourth-place finish moved him from 37th to 23rd in the standings.
''Obviously, after last week, a lot of people on Twitter were calling me a choker,'' Horschel said. ''I didn't choke. I made one bad swing at a bad time. To start with a three-shot lead today and hold on means a lot.''
About an hour earlier, it was another chunked shot that drastically altered the course of the tournament.
Ryan Palmer erased his opening three-shot deficit to Horschel and was tied after six holes, then again after 11.
Palmer was one behind as the final threesome walked down the 13th fairway, with Horschel buried in the right rough and Palmer buried in the left. Horschel hit his second shot safely on the green. Palmer shanked his into a small creek that runs in front of the green. He made double bogey to fall three behind.
''A shank? (Doesn't happen) very often,'' Palmer said. ''But I'm doing with the downhill, down in the rough, I'm blaming it on that. But it happens. It's a fickle game.''
That left Sergio Garcia, who cut a seven-shot deficit to two, as the last true threat, but his chance imploded on the par-5 17th - when he laid up, cooked his third shot over the green, then chipped into the water. He made a triple-bogey 8 - sullying a round of 67. He finished at 9 under, tied for fourth with Palmer (71), Rickie Fowler (68) and Jim Furyk (66).
''It's what happens when you're not mentally sharp,'' Garcia said about the decision not to go for the green in two. ''Then, just a mistake after another mistake.''
Horschel said losing the lead early didn't bother him much.
''That's why you have a three-shot lead. To have a little wiggle room,'' he said.
Unlike Palmer and Garcia, Watson, who shot 66, never truly threatened to take the lead, but he didn't blow up, either. He missed a 25-foot birdie putt on 18 that would've drawn him within one of Horschel, who was behind him in the fairway.
But Watson didn't make much all week. He finished 42nd in putting over four rounds. Still, he'll go to Atlanta third in the standings, joining Kirk, Horschel, Rory McIlroy and Hunter Mahan among the top five, all of whom control their destiny - meaning a win will give them the playoff title, as well.
''Maybe that's when I make my putts,'' Watson said.
Palmer's fourth-place finish moved him from 37th to 23rd in the standings.
But outside of Horschel, Sunday's biggest winner was third-place finisher Morgan Hoffman, who turned the old-school, mile-high layout at Cherry Hills into his personal pitch and putt over the weekend. He shot 7-under 63 on Sunday to go with his course-record 62 on Saturday and vaulted from 68th to 21st in the standings. He started the playoffs 124th, matching the worst starting ranking to make the 30-player Tour Championship in the eight-year history of the playoffs.
''That's the perfect way of putting it - 'nothing to lose,''' Hoffman said. ''Carefree and just go out and fire at pins.''
McIlroy finished tied for eighth after a 66 that included a replay of the worst kind - a four-putt on the 12th green for the second straight day. Still, he's comfortably in the mix for next week.
Not so for Stuart Appleby, who missed an 18-foot birdie try on his last hole to end up in 31st. And Keegan Bradley's decision to withdraw Saturday because of a question over a drop he took in the opening round left him in 33rd, a five-spot drop.
Seven Nations express interest to host The 2022 Ryder Cup.
By PGA.COM
Ryder Cup Trophy(Getty Images)
Ryder Cup Europe is delighted to announce that seven nations have expressed an interest in bidding for the right to host The 2022 Ryder Cup.
The date for officially advising tournament organizers of their intention to submit a bid was last Sunday, August 31, and, by that time, notifications had been received from Austria, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Turkey. Ryder Cup Director Richard Hills said: "We are absolutely delighted at the level of interest we have received from across Europe in respect of hosting The 2022 Ryder Cup and we welcome each and every one of the seven letters of intent, each received through the respective national golf association, in accordance with bidding regulations. "The implementation of this kind of formal bidding process for The 2018 Ryder Cup marked a new era for us all at Ryder Cup Europe, and this take up for 2022 shows that the introduction of a fair, transparent and objective methodology has been welcomed across the Continent. "Not only that, we feel it is a process which befits a sporting event of the stature of The Ryder Cup and, as we have consistently stated, the key criteria in place will enable us to evaluate each bid equally on both its sporting and commercial merits while, at the same time, allowing us to judge each bid fairly, thoroughly and on a level playing field." All seven interested nations will now be given an official information pack before a series of meetings and inspection visits by Ryder Cup Europe officials are undertaken before the end of the year. Monday February 16, 2015 is the next important date in the process; that being the day the formal submission of official bids needs to be made. Following that, a period of detailed analysis of each bid by a management team working on behalf of Ryder Cup Europe - together with the assistance of an independent panel of experts - will be undertaken, with the announcement of the successful host country and venue for The 2022 Ryder Cup expected in autumn 2015. KEY BID CRITERIA FOR THE 2022 RYDER CUP 1. Demonstrable Government, Political, Institutional and Golfing Community support 2. Commitment to the development of a world-class golf facility (new or existing) to host The 2022 Ryder Cup 3. Provision of ancillary facilities, suitable access and infrastructure commensurate with the staging of an international sporting event, including proximity to a major international city 4. Commercial opportunities available to The Ryder Cup 1. Demonstrable Government, Political, Institutional and Golfing Community support 2. Commitment to the development of a world-class golf facility (new or existing) to host The 2022 Ryder Cup 3. Provision of ancillary facilities, suitable access and infrastructure commensurate with the staging of an international sporting event, including proximity to a major international city 4. Commercial opportunities available to The Ryder Cup 5. Contribution of the Bid Country to the development of golf, for example: ? Legacy ? Contribution to the professional game ? Integration of golf within tourism and business communities ? Development of levels of golf participation ? Professional tournament golf at all levels ? Contribution to The Ryder Cup: e.g. Player eligibility and participation.
--------------------- The Ryder Cup - Upcoming Venues 2014: The Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire, Scotland 2016: Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, Minnesota, USA 2018: Le Golf National, Paris, France 2020: Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wisconsin, USA 2022: TBC 2024: Bethpage Black Course, New York, USA.
Keselowski dominates at Richmond; Newman, Biffle nab final Chase spots.
By Jay Busbee
Sept. 6, 2014; Richmond, VA, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski (2) celebrates with crew members in victory lane after winning the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway. (Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports)
NASCAR's regular season ended with a bang for one car and a whimper from the field, as Brad Keselowski thoroughly dominated the Federated Auto Parts 400 in Richmond.
Keselowski led 383 of 400 laps (Kevin Harvick covered the rest), a performance that ranks as the best in NASCAR history since Jeff Burton's wire-to-wire win in New Hampshire in 2000.
"I pulled into victory lane and I pinched myself once to make sure I wasn't dreaming," Keselowski said. "These are nights you don't forget as a driver, and you live for."
The race also set the Chase grid for NASCAR's postseason. Two spots remained up for grabs, with any of 16 drivers theoretically able to grab one of them with a victory. But with the way Keselowski was running, a victory was all but impossible, meaning Richmond became a points race for the few drivers remaining in the hunt. In the end, Ryan Newman raced his way in easily, while Greg Biffle only barely held off a charging Clint Bowyer. In the end, Bowyer finished just seven points behind Biffle, meaning seven positions in any race of the last 26 would have gotten Bowyer into the Chase.
"Those guys that ran up in the top five probably didn't break a sweat," Biffle said, "but I tell you what, this is the toughest thing I've ever had to do in my life, driving and trying to stay in the top 10 like this."
"That was our best effort," a clearly frustrated Bowyer said after the race. "That's all I had, that's all we had as a race team. We put it all out there, and still, we were just third best."
Keselowski, with four wins, is seeded first in the Chase with 2012 points. Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Joey Logano all have 2009 points. Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards have 2006 points. Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, Aric Almirola, and AJ Allmendinger have 2003 points. Matt Kenseth, Biffle and Newman end the regular season with 2000 points.
And now, the Chase begins. But this is a Chase unlike any other, indeed unlike anything in NASCAR history. Of the 16 members of the Chase, four will be knocked out after every third race: Dover, Talladega, and Phoenix. That will leave four drivers to battle it out for a winner-take-all battle at Homestead. It could be a fascinating, tense, week-by-week showdown, or it could end in controversy. (There will be complaining, regardless. We already know that.) And it all begins Sunday at Chicagoland.
Soccer: Insane England will lose to Swiss... what we must change to fulfil our potential.
By Eurosport
In an exclusive blog for Eurosport-Yahoo, Joey Barton says England will continue to fail at international level until we allow young players to develop away from the limelight.
It’s often said that the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different result. On that basis, English football is insane.
We've come back from the World Cup and haven't improved for the experience or learnt from it. If I'm honest, I expect us to get beaten by the Swiss.
Player development in this country is good up to somewhere around 16 or 17. Then between 17 and 21 we're really poor. The development of players stops and we get obsessed with results and the top level.
All of a sudden players change from being youngsters who are developing in the game into being the best in the world and worth millions after five good performances.
Then, after a few bad performances, they're suddenly rubbish and getting vilified in the press. It's unfair to put that much pressure on such young players and it's naive to expect players under that much pressure so early to develop and fulfill their potential.
Just look at the current media coverage of Raheem Sterling, he's a top talent and he has loads of potential, but after a season of solid performances for Liverpool and England, he's being held up as the man that can change England's fortunes.
He's 19.
Switzerland are a good example of how it can be done. They have a group of excellent young players like Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka, who have been allowed to focus on honing their skills rather than being hailed as the next national savior.
As a result, Switzerland consistently punch above their weight considering the size of the country.
It’s a time of change for England after the passing of the so-called ‘Golden Generation’ - Lampard, Gerrard, Beckham, Scholes, Sol Campbell and all those boys.
For me, they were a generation of very good players; very good players individually, but they didn't make a good team. They didn't gel.
And strangely that gives me hope for the current England team: I do feel that Roy Hodgson has a chance to build a team of players that can work together as a collective without, as yet, any of the huge reputations and individual agendas that may have hurt some squads over the last 10 years or so.
Roy has lost that trusted midfield duo of Gerrard and Lampard, so he is looking to try out some of the younger players. From what I've seen of Jack Colback, he looks energetic, full of running, and similarly with Fabian Delph. Only time will tell whether they have what it takes to become full internationals.
The appointment of Wayne Rooney as captain is a strange one for me. When you look at the options Roy had, it was down to Wayne and Gary Cahill. And with the utmost respect for Gary Cahill, Wayne's international goals, his tournament experience and his experience with Manchester United, made him the obvious choice.
While he's not the most vocal leader on the pitch, he leads by example and he's won pretty much everything there is to win in the game. But the England captaincy comes with a lot of pressure, and for a man who is already getting a fair amount of stick for his performances from some sections of the media and the fans, it's a lot of added weight on his shoulders.
But being the man he is, I'd expect him to thrive on that pressure. I suppose we'll have to wait and see.
Thanks to win over Michigan State, Oregon jumps Alabama in AP poll.
By Nick Bromberg
Oregon is now higher than Alabama in the AP poll.
The Ducks are the No. 2 team in third AP poll of the season after beating then-No. 7 Michigan State 46-27 on Saturday. Last week, the Ducks were No. 3 and had five first place votes. After beating the Spartans, Oregon got 16 first-place votes.
Alabama beat Florida Atlantic 41-0 on Saturday. The game was suspended in the fourth quarter because of thunderstorms and not resumed.
If you think this has possible ramifications on the College Football Playoff, think again. The AP poll has no bearing on the playoff, which will determine its four teams via a selection committee. Simply put, this poll is a talking point, especially this early in the season when teams have played two games at most and many have been against inferior opponents.
Florida State remains at the top of the AP poll with 38 first-place votes after beating The Citadel 37-12.
Michigan State fell to No. 13 after the Oregon game. Ohio State, which lost to Virginia Tech 35-21 at home, fell all the way from No. 8 to No. 22. The Hokies vaulted into the poll for the first time this season and are at No. 17.
After beating Stanford, USC is now No. 9. The Trojans and LSU are the two new entrants into the top 10.
The only two teams to drop out of the top 25 completely were winners Saturday. However, they were ridiculously close wins. Nebraska fell from No. 19 after getting an incredible TD from Ameer Abdullah to beat McNeese State and North Carolina survived at home against San Diego State after getting a very late interception in the fourth quarter.
Here's the entire poll, with last week's rankings in parentheses.
1. Florida State (No. 1 last week)
2. Oregon (3)
3. Alabama (2)
4. Oklahoma (4)
5. Auburn (5)
6. Georgia (6)
7. Texas A&M (9)
8. Baylor (10)
9. USC (14)
10. LSU (12)
11. Notre Dame (16)
12. UCLA (11)
13. Michigan State (7)
14. Ole Miss (15)
15. Stanford (13)
16. Arizona State (17)
17. Virginia Tech (NR)
18. Wisconsin (18)
19. Kansas State (20)
20. Missouri (24)
21. Louisville (25)
22. Ohio State (8)
23. Clemson (23)
24. South Carolina (21)
25. BYU (NR)
2. Oregon (3)
3. Alabama (2)
4. Oklahoma (4)
5. Auburn (5)
6. Georgia (6)
7. Texas A&M (9)
8. Baylor (10)
9. USC (14)
10. LSU (12)
11. Notre Dame (16)
12. UCLA (11)
13. Michigan State (7)
14. Ole Miss (15)
15. Stanford (13)
16. Arizona State (17)
17. Virginia Tech (NR)
18. Wisconsin (18)
19. Kansas State (20)
20. Missouri (24)
21. Louisville (25)
22. Ohio State (8)
23. Clemson (23)
24. South Carolina (21)
25. BYU (NR)
The most ridiculous NCAA violations in college basketball.
By Kami Mattioli
The NCAA is infamous for addressing some laughable, absurd and sometimes jaw-droppingly stupid rules violations.
More often than not, the public is left shaking our heads wondering how the organization came to a particular conclusion.
Such is the case this week, after the NCAA announced that UConn women's head coach Geno Auriemma would be hit with a secondary violation for calling to congratulate 13-year-old Mo'ne Davis on her series of brilliant performances in the Little League World Series.
Let's take a look back at some of the other ridiculous decisions that the NCAA has handed down in college basketball. Cue the head-scratching.
1. Perry Jones' mother's loan.
The sentence: A six-game suspension at the end of Jones' freshman year. He served five of those games at the beginning of his sophomore year.
The infraction: Jones' mother, Terri, took a $4,500 loan (without Jones' knowledge) from his old AAU coach, Lawrence Johns.
Let us explain: While finishing out his senior year of high school, Jones was essentially homeless.
The bank had foreclosed on his family's home because the family, struggling under the weight of his mother's medical bills as she battled a severe heart condition, couldn't make the mortgage payments.
More often than not, the public is left shaking our heads wondering how the organization came to a particular conclusion.
Such is the case this week, after the NCAA announced that UConn women's head coach Geno Auriemma would be hit with a secondary violation for calling to congratulate 13-year-old Mo'ne Davis on her series of brilliant performances in the Little League World Series.
Let's take a look back at some of the other ridiculous decisions that the NCAA has handed down in college basketball. Cue the head-scratching.
1. Perry Jones' mother's loan.
The sentence: A six-game suspension at the end of Jones' freshman year. He served five of those games at the beginning of his sophomore year.
The infraction: Jones' mother, Terri, took a $4,500 loan (without Jones' knowledge) from his old AAU coach, Lawrence Johns.
Let us explain: While finishing out his senior year of high school, Jones was essentially homeless.
The bank had foreclosed on his family's home because the family, struggling under the weight of his mother's medical bills as she battled a severe heart condition, couldn't make the mortgage payments.
The Joneses were able to rent cheap hotel rooms by the week for a while, and then the money ran out.
That's when Terri reached out to Jones' former AAU coach, Johns. She asked if he could float some money — three monthly payments of $1,195 — to put toward the mortgage on the family's house and keep them off the streets.
Here's the catch, though. Terri paid those loans back, and she did it by the 15th of the same month.
"Basically, I got suspended because we were struggling, and my mom didn't want us to live on the streets," Jones told ESPN in 2012. "We were down to nothing and someone helped us out. I always ask people, 'If you were in that situation, and you didn't have a place to stay, would you ask someone you'd known since the sixth grade for a little help?' Everyone knows they would."
2. Enes Kanter's life overseas.
The sentence: Permanently ineligible, not allowed to play at Kentucky.
The infraction: Kanter accepted $33,000 in salary while playing for the Turkish professional team Fenerbahçe Ülker.
Let us explain: Kanter, who was born in Switzerland and lived in Turkey, signed to play with Fenerbahçe Ülker as a teenager. He played three years with the Turkish professional team before he ultimately emigrated to the United States. While the NCAA does permit European-born players to play with professional clubs, the players are only allowed to accept money for basic expenses (food, shelter, etc.).
Twenty-thousand dollars of that pay went toward Kanter's tutoring. The NCAA considered the remaining $13,000 that was unaccounted for an impermissible benefit because it was unclear whether it was tied directly to Kanter's basic expenses.
Kanter's father, who said the additional money sat untouched in a bank account, even offered to give the funds back to the Turkish club.
Rather than suspend him for a few games or a season, the NCAA ruled instead that he would never be allowed to play in college.
"The final decision of the reinstatement committee is completely compatible with the collegiate model of sports our members have developed, since he received a significant amount of money, above his actual expenses, from a professional team prior to coming to college," Kevin Lennon, NCAA vice president of academic and membership affairs, told ESPN in 2011.
3. Memphis' 2008 season vacated by Derrick Rose's SATs.
The sentence: Memphis was forced to vacate all 38 wins from its 2008 season. They were also told to take down the banners inside the FedEx Forum relating to any accomplishments the team had secured that season. The school also had to forfeit all NCAA Tournament revenue form that particular year.
The infraction: Someone allegedly took Derrick Rose's SAT for him, and as such, Memphis played (allegedly unknowingly) an ineligible player for the entirety of its 2007-2008 season.
Let us explain: It's both the NCAA Clearinghouse's and the individual school's job to vet SAT scores. With the permission of the NCAA, Memphis decided Rose's scores made him eligible to play. The school claimed to have done its due diligence in trying to vet the authenticity of the scores.
"We know the rules," Memphis' president Shirley Raines said in 2008. "We did our due diligence. We did everything we could to determine the student-athlete was eligible and that the rules were being followed."
However, 16 months after the Tigers lost in the NCAA Championship game, SAT officials tipped off the NCAA about the allegations that Rose didn't actually take his own test. They voided his scores ex post facto, after Rose had already declared for the NBA Draft.
The particularly bone-headed move in this case is that the NCAA punished the entire team, its fans and the school by vacating wins and taking money away from the school (that could have been used to benefit other sports, mind you), and they did all of that after the organization itself had given Rose clearance to play in the first place.
Who exactly was the NCAA punishing more?
One-and-done Derrick Rose? Or the three Tigers seniors (who came to the university long before Rose did) whose recognition for most wins by any player in NCAA history was liquidated by a season's worth of wins getting vacated?
4. UConn's APR postseason ban.
The sentence: UConn was ruled ineligible for the 2013 postseason, regardless of how the team performed during its 2012-13 season.
The infraction: The school's two-year APR score, otherwise known as academic progress rate scores, fell below the NCAA's required threshold.
Let us explain: Simply put, schools get APR points deducted when its players leave the university in bad academic standing. Whether a player's departure is a function of graduating or transferring does not matter.
According to the NCAA's rule adopted in the summer of 2011, the penalty for schools falling below the 900-point APR threshold was a postseason ban in addition to a reduced number of scholarships.
There was one problem, though. The APR score is calculated on a rolling, four-year basis.
Here's ESPN to explain what that meant for the Huskies:
"Under rules approved in October, a school must have a two-year average score of 930 or a four-year average of 900 on the NCAA's annual Academic Progress Rate, which measures the academic performance of student athletes. Connecticut's men's basketball scored 826 for the 2009-10 school year. UConn's score for the 2010-11 school year was 978.
That would not be high enough. It would give Connecticut a two-year score of 902 and a four-year score of below 890."
In an appeal to the NCAA, UConn argued that the team showed incredible improvement in the year preceding the adoption of the new rule, and therefore should be grandfathered into postseason eligibility based on the school's two-year APR score, and not its four-year score.
Their appeal was denied, and again, the NCAA punished a majority of players for an infraction that their predecessors committed.
The sentence: UConn was ruled ineligible for the 2013 postseason, regardless of how the team performed during its 2012-13 season.
The infraction: The school's two-year APR score, otherwise known as academic progress rate scores, fell below the NCAA's required threshold.
Let us explain: Simply put, schools get APR points deducted when its players leave the university in bad academic standing. Whether a player's departure is a function of graduating or transferring does not matter.
According to the NCAA's rule adopted in the summer of 2011, the penalty for schools falling below the 900-point APR threshold was a postseason ban in addition to a reduced number of scholarships.
There was one problem, though. The APR score is calculated on a rolling, four-year basis.
Here's ESPN to explain what that meant for the Huskies:
"Under rules approved in October, a school must have a two-year average score of 930 or a four-year average of 900 on the NCAA's annual Academic Progress Rate, which measures the academic performance of student athletes. Connecticut's men's basketball scored 826 for the 2009-10 school year. UConn's score for the 2010-11 school year was 978.
That would not be high enough. It would give Connecticut a two-year score of 902 and a four-year score of below 890."
In an appeal to the NCAA, UConn argued that the team showed incredible improvement in the year preceding the adoption of the new rule, and therefore should be grandfathered into postseason eligibility based on the school's two-year APR score, and not its four-year score.
Their appeal was denied, and again, the NCAA punished a majority of players for an infraction that their predecessors committed.
5. Rick Majerus' proclivity for pizza-sharing.
The sentence: Majerus had to attend a regional compliance seminar hosted by the NCAA. They also reduced the number of days he could spend recruiting on the road prior to the 2001-02 season by 75 percent.
The infraction: Majerus paid for pizza for his student-athletes after practice or during film sessions. He also occasionally met one-on-one with players at restaurants and paid for the meal.
Let us explain: Majerus lived in a hotel while coaching at Utah so rather than meet his players in the room, he'd meet them at local restaurants. They'd have dinner, and Majerus would pay the bill. No different, really, than visiting your parents or friends or relatives, except for one damning detail: the guy paying the bill also happened to be a coach.
Former Utes player Keith Van Horn explained the significance of meals with Majerus in a 2013 interview.
"After more than three hours of eggs and wisdom, Majerus picked up the check -- 'That was probably an NCAA violation,' Van Horn says, only half-joking -- and they headed back out into the cold. Van Horn felt different, almost physically changed by his predawn breakfast, as though he had sat down at the table as one person and risen as another. Now he truly knew how hard three and a half hours could be."
The sentence: Majerus had to attend a regional compliance seminar hosted by the NCAA. They also reduced the number of days he could spend recruiting on the road prior to the 2001-02 season by 75 percent.
The infraction: Majerus paid for pizza for his student-athletes after practice or during film sessions. He also occasionally met one-on-one with players at restaurants and paid for the meal.
Let us explain: Majerus lived in a hotel while coaching at Utah so rather than meet his players in the room, he'd meet them at local restaurants. They'd have dinner, and Majerus would pay the bill. No different, really, than visiting your parents or friends or relatives, except for one damning detail: the guy paying the bill also happened to be a coach.
Former Utes player Keith Van Horn explained the significance of meals with Majerus in a 2013 interview.
"After more than three hours of eggs and wisdom, Majerus picked up the check -- 'That was probably an NCAA violation,' Van Horn says, only half-joking -- and they headed back out into the cold. Van Horn felt different, almost physically changed by his predawn breakfast, as though he had sat down at the table as one person and risen as another. Now he truly knew how hard three and a half hours could be."
6. UNLV player buys used mattress.
The sentence: UNLV forward Chris Richardson was suspended for part of his junior season in 1998.
The infraction: Richardson allegedly lied to NCAA investigators about how he acquired a used mattress and boxspring from an assistant coach.
Let us explain: When the NCAA questioned Richardson about how he acquired the mattress, he said his mom paid for him to buy it from an assistant coach. His mother also told the school that she paid for it. Richardson failed to inform the investigators that he used a moving truck provided to him by the same assistant coach to transport the mattress, the Las Vegas Sun reported in 2000.
In conclusion.
The cycle is never-ending.
This week it's Geno Auriemma and Mo'ne Davis, whose only real violations were being a kind human being and being young and a good athlete who turned heads, respectively. That Davis happened to mention she wanted to play basketball, and that Auriemma is a basketball coach befell the otherwise innocent and heart-warming story of a young girl meeting her idol.
Tomorrow or next week or next year it'll be someone else. And, again, we'll roll our eyes or point and laugh, but the reality of the situation is that college sports' governing body is sealed inside some kind of vacuum continuum where human decency and change don't exist.
The circumstances, players and public opinions on the subject change, but the NCAA's governance machine whirrs away autonomously, almost identically to way it did when it began in March of 1906.
The NCAA speaks on behalf of so many individuals, but it's not — nor has it ever been, really — an analogous representative of the interests or individuals it represents.
That's why the cycle continues.
Serena Williams wins third straight U.S. Open.
By Danielle Elliot
For the third year in a row, Serena Williams is the U.S. Open champion. Her 6-3, 6-3 win over 10th-seeded Caroline Wozniacki makes her the second woman to win this title six times, and the second to complete a three-peat. She also moves into second place on the all-time wins list, joining Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert with 18 Slam titles. Only one woman, Steffi Graf, has more.
Wearing a black and white leopard print outfit with a hot pink headband, Williams didn't seem bothered by the pressure of winning title No. 18. "Whatever happens, I'm just gonna have fun," she said in the tunnel, just before making her way onto the court. At match point, she threw her racket aside and collapsed on the court, looking as grateful as the first time she accomplished this feat.
Williams made quick work of her first two rounds, finishing each in less than an hour. In the third round, she needed one hour and 35 minutes to defeat Varvara Lepchenko, the third fellow American she faced in as many matches. Her fourth round, quarterfinal and semifinal wins barely passed the one hour mark; she didn't drop a single set leading into the final.
On This Date in Sports History: Today is Monday, September 8, 2014.
"I have been trying to reach it for so long, since last year," she said after the match. "I didn't really think would I get there."
Williams held serve in the first game, then broke Wozniacki with the help of two double faults to take a 2-0 lead. From there, they traded breaks. Throughout marathon rallies, Wozniacki seemed on the defensive, standing more than two feet behind the line while Williams bounced in front of her line. In the fifth game, it was Williams double faulting twice as Wozniacki broke her. But she came right back, converting another break before holding serve at 4-2 and again at 5-3.
In the intermission, the scoreboard cameras panned the crowd, showing Spike Lee, Gladys Knight, Debra Messing, and about a dozen other stars in attendance, all hoping to see Williams make history.
By the second set, Wozniacki looked deflated. Williams again started with a break, for the 2-0 lead. It took Wozniacki until the ninth game, trailing 3-5, to hit a non-ace winner.
Williams, 32, had already been on the tour for a decade when Wozniacki, 24, turned pro. Winning the U.S. Open title last year made her the oldest woman to win in New York; she's already won more titles in her 30s than any other woman. Steffi Graf, by comparison, won all 22 of her titles before her 30th birthday.
Many wondered if her career was on the decline as she struggled throughout the 2014 season, failing to make the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam in the first three opportunities this year. Despite her poor showings in the Slams, Williams won five singles events, a strong showing by most standards. But this was Serena, a woman who has dominated her sport for nearly 15 years and is thus held to a higher standard. She arrived in New York saying she was relaxed, but everyone else seemed to think she had something to prove.
Williams made quick work of her first two rounds, finishing each in less than an hour. In the third round, she needed one hour and 35 minutes to defeat Varvara Lepchenko, the third fellow American she faced in as many matches. Her fourth round, quarterfinal and semifinal wins barely passed the one hour mark; she didn't drop a single set leading into the final.
Wozniacki, meanwhile, spent more than 10 hours on court. Two of her wins came through opponents retiring, including the semifinal. Her toughest match came in the round of 16, where she upset No. 5 Maria Sharapova. She came into the final looking for her first career Grand Slam title and first win over a reigning world No. 1. She was the runner-up here in 2009, losing to Kim Clijsters in the final, and has played in 31 Slams without a title.
With the straight-sets win Sunday, Williams became the first woman to win the U.S. Open without dropping a set since she did it in 2008. She also did it in 2002. Her winning span has gone on longer than that of any woman before her: She won her first title at 17, a good 15 years ago.
On This Date in Sports History: Today is Monday, September 8, 2014.
MemoriesofHistory.com
1965 - Bert Campaneris became the first major league baseball player to play all nine positions in one game.
1973 - Hank Aaron hit his 709th home run.
1986 - Herschel Walker made his start in the National Football League (NFL) after leaving the New Jersey Generals of the USFL.
1998 - Mark McGwire, of the St. Louis Cardinals, hit his 62nd home run of the season. He had beaten a record that had stood for 37 years by Roger Maris. McGwire would eventually reach 70 home runs on September 27.
2002 - The NFL's Houston Texans played their first regular season game. The beat the Dallas Cowboys 19-10.
2002 - Pete Sampras won his 14th Grand Slam title when he beat Andre Agassi in the U.S. Open.
1973 - Hank Aaron hit his 709th home run.
1986 - Herschel Walker made his start in the National Football League (NFL) after leaving the New Jersey Generals of the USFL.
1998 - Mark McGwire, of the St. Louis Cardinals, hit his 62nd home run of the season. He had beaten a record that had stood for 37 years by Roger Maris. McGwire would eventually reach 70 home runs on September 27.
2002 - The NFL's Houston Texans played their first regular season game. The beat the Dallas Cowboys 19-10.
2002 - Pete Sampras won his 14th Grand Slam title when he beat Andre Agassi in the U.S. Open.
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