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Sports Quote of the Day:
"Tis a lesson you should heed, try, try again. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Don't give up too easily; persistence pays off in the end." Credit for this quote has been traced back to: Thomas H. Palmer, Frederick Maryat, and Edward Hickson during different periods of the 19th century.
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!! Bears pull away from fading Falcons.
By Mike Wilkening
"Tis a lesson you should heed, try, try again. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Don't give up too easily; persistence pays off in the end." Credit for this quote has been traced back to: Thomas H. Palmer, Frederick Maryat, and Edward Hickson during different periods of the 19th century.
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!! Bears pull away from fading Falcons.
By Mike Wilkening
Chicago Bears Quarterback Jay Cutler (6) (Photo/ AP)
Missing four linebackers and playing in a usually intimidating road environment, the Bears reached back and delivered one of their strongest performances of the season Sunday in Atlanta.
Led both by an offense that gained close to 500 yards and a defense that dug deep under tough circumstances, the Bears powered to a 27-13 victory over the host Falcons at the Georgia Dome.
Quarterback Jay Cutler completed 26-of-38 passes for 381 yards and a touchdown for Chicago, with receivers Brandon Marshall (six catches, 113 yards) and Alshon Jeffery (five catches, 136 yards) also having standout days. And dual-threat tailback Matt Forte was outstanding, rushing for a pair of second-half TDs and racking up 157 combined rushing-receiving yards.
Forte’s rushing scores came after Atlanta had tallied the first 10 points of the second half to tie the game at 13. But the Bears (3-3) would reassert themselves, with Jeffery’s 74-yard catch setting up the first of Forte’s touchdowns, a six-yarder, to make it 19-13 with about five minutes left in the third quarter.
Then, after a Falcons punt, the Bears put together a 15-play, 87-yard march taking more than eight minutes off the clock. And when Forte rushed in for nine yards out and Martellus Bennett caught a two-point try, the Bears had a comfortable two-TD lead with 10:07 left, and Chicago really was not hassled thereafter.
The Bears’ defense was the surprise star of the show. Playing without linebackers Lance Briggs, Jon Bostic, Shea McClellin and D.J. Williams, the Bears nonetheless held Atlanta (2-4) to 287 yards on 54 plays. The Bears’ defensive line especially came up big, sacking Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan four times, with end Willie Young notching a pair of takedowns.
The loss was the Falcons’ fourth in five games after defeating New Orleans in the opener. And it was a most disheartening defeat for Atlanta. The Falcons’ defense struggled vs. the run and through the air, surrendering nearly seven yards per play and 478 yards overall. The ground game (13 carries, 42 yards) was a non-factor. Ryan, meanwhile, was under far too much pressure. Though he completed just 19-of-37 passes for 271 yards with a touchdown and a pick, the Fox telecast counted at least a half-dozen drops.
Finally, as the Bears closed out the victory, their fans made their presence felt at the Georgia Dome, cheering loudly. It was another indignity in an afternoon full of setbacks for the Falcons, who now have to regroup for a matchup at Baltimore (4-2) next Sunday.
The Bears, meanwhile, will host 2-3 Miami, which suffered a punch-in-the-stomach last-second loss to Green Bay on Sunday. And they will do so after showing some real backbone in the Georgia Dome.
Another point of view concerning the Bears, Bears 'Musketeers' throttle Atlanta offense, defense and then finish.
By John Mullin
Kyle Long made it simple: “One for all, all for one,” the Bears right guard said in the aftermath of a desperately needed 27-13 win over the Atlanta Falcons. “We’re the 11 Musketeers.”
The win squared the Bears at 3-3, sent the Falcons (2-4) to a third straight defeat and kept the Bears close behind the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions, both of whom won to reach 4-2.
The Bears have flashed like this before, winning with strong second halves in victories over the San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets. Whether the Bears that accomplished the rare feat of winning in the Georgia Dome are the “real” Bears remains to play out, but at least they know it’s in them.
How this happened was perhaps as important as that it happened.
The Bears led 13-3 at halftime. They were caught from behind at 13-13. They then took over the game, scoring 14 unanswered points in the final 20 points while holding one of the NFL’s elite offenses to 45 total yards and zero points from the point of Matt Forte’s six-yard run with five minutes to play in the third quarter through the end.
“It’s all about finishing,” said defensive tackle Stephen Paea, who delivered a sack, his fourth of the season. “It’s just one game at a time, and we haven’t done a good job of finishing the last couple games.
As far as Musketeers, Long was speaking for the offense, which posted its third 400-yard day of the season (478) but only the first one in a victory. But he may as well have been characterizing both sides of the ball after the 11 Musketeers on defense, working without any of the top four linebackers on its depth chart because of injury, held the No. 3 yardage and scoring offense in the NFL to 13 points (vs. its normal 30) and 287 yards (vs. the 435 average).
The offense that had been shutting down and being shut down in second halves virtually all season put up 13 points in the first half, then 14 in the second. Three Musketeers piled up more than 100 yards each: Matt Forte 157 on 80 rushing yards (and two touchdowns) plus 77 on 10 pass receptions; Alshon Jeffery 136; and Brandon Marshall 113, with 100 of those in the first half.
Quarterback Matt Ryan had been sacked just six times total through five games. The Bears sacked him four times: two by Willie Young and once each by Jared Allen and Stephen Paea.
“When those inside two [tackles] are pushing the pocket back into the quarterback’s lap,” said Young, whose total stands at seven through six games, “it lets us outside guys eat.
What made Sunday so impressive was there in two principal areas.
On offense, after the Carolina Panthers had denied the Bears the deep throws to Jeffery and Marshall in particular, the Falcons showed some of the conservative, make-the-Bears-go-the-long-way scheming. The Bears were having none of it and simply challenged Atlanta deep anyway.
“We came in knowing that we would have to have some big chunks of yards and just couldn’t dink and dunk all day,” said quarterback Jay Cutler. “I thought the coaches did a great job of installing the game plan.”
The results included two completions of 20 yards or longer to each of them, plus a 25-yarder to tight end Martellus Bennett.
“We just executed what was in the game plan,” said Jeffery, whose 74-yard catch of a Jay Cutler pass was the longest play by the Bears in 2014.
“I think we took advantage of our opportunities,” Marshall said. “We just made plays and Jay was really just dropping those balls in places that he and only a few guys can do. I’m just proud of our offense bouncing back.
On defense, faced with a starting linebacker corps of Khaseem Greene, Christian Jones and Darryl Sharpton, who had never been on a field at the same time before Sunday, coordinator Mel Tucker eschewed caution and brought blitzes that allowed his secondary to tighten on All-Pro wide receiver Julio Jones.
“[Linebackers coach Reggie Herring] just told us to have fun, play fast, be calm, relax,” Greene said. “Set the front. Line up. Get your feet on the ground and play football.”
Jones, leading the NFL with 40 receptions coming in, managed just four on 12 targets and showed signs of being intimidated by hits from the Bears’ secondary at times.
“That’s always our mindset, always our game plan,” said rookie cornerback Kyle Fuller, credited with five solo tackles, a pass defense and a forced fumble, all on Jones. “It definitely has an effect.”
It definitely had an effect. It now falls to the Bears to turn this into a trend, not a flash.
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Stars shine as Blackhawks throttle Sabres in home opener.
By Tracey Myers
Brandon Saad #20 of the Chicago Blackhawks takes the puck around the net as Rasmus Ristolainen #55 of the Buffalo Sabres follows behind during the NHL game on October 11, 2014 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images)
The chemistry that clicked between Brandon Saad, Andrew Shaw and Patrick Kane last postseason was undeniable. It just worked, and it worked well.
Coach Joel Quenneville didn’t want to give up on the combination, so he put them back together to start the season. Good idea.
Saad had three assists and Shaw and Kane each had two-point nights, with Kane collecting the game-winning goal, as the Blackhawks beat the Buffalo Sabres 6-2 on Saturday night.
Marian Hossa scored the 30th short-handed goal of his career, the most among active players. Jonathan Toews had two assists. Patrick Sharp and Duncan Keith scored their second goals of the season and Daniel Carcillo had his first goal of the season. The Blackhawks, who Quenneville said were “100 times better” than in their season-opening game on Thursday. They were shooting, cycling, possessing and shooting some more, firing 47 shots on Sabres goaltender Jhonas Enroth.
The Blackhawks got off to a blazing start in their home opener and they had the same type of finish, too. When it was all said and done, that second-line combination was once again tallying points.
“They have good chemistry, work well together,” said Corey Crawford, who stopped 21 of 23 shots for the victory. “Their best work is in the offensive zone when they’re on the cycle there. Shawzy does a great job in front of the net the other two can wheel around and make plays.”
That Blackhawks as a team were wheeling around plenty in the third period, when they fired 19 shots on goal and scored four times to put the game out of reach. And for the Shaw trio, it was productive business as usual.
“We feel good,” Saad said. “Our first game we weren’t happy with it, so we wanted to come out flying tonight using our speed and getting pucks to the net. The rest of it will take care of itself making plays.”
The Blackhawks, whose first 40 minutes in Dallas were lackluster at best, were stellar in the first few on Saturday. Shaw redirected a Niklas Hjalmarsson shot for a 1-0 lead just 59 seconds into the game, and Keith added his goal about two minutes later. The Sabres would tie it at 2-2 by the end of the first, however, with Zemgus Girgensons scoring and Tyler Ennis adding a short-handed goal.
It would stay that way until the third, when the Blackhawks had their offensive outburst.
The Blackhawks were back to playing their type of hockey on Saturday night. They were strong at the start and at the end. They got good goaltending again from Crawford, whose stop on a Nicolas Deslauriers breakaway proved key. And they were shooting. A lot.
“I didn’t mind, even though it was 2-2 after 40, I liked the way we played in the first 40,” Quenneville said. “Across the board, though, we were 100 percent better than the other day. Today put us back on the right track.”
Carcillo capitalizing on his second chance with Blackhawks.
By Tracey Myers
Daniel Carcillo was looking like a happy man on Saturday night.
He was coming off a strong game, one coach Joel Quenneville considered one of Carcillo’s best. He brought energy, drew two Buffalo Sabres penalties and scored a goal.
“I don’t want to price myself out of the league,” Carcillo said of that tally, his first of the season. “So I better slow down.”
Carcillo has a few reasons to be happy now. He’s back with the Chicago Blackhawks after being traded away, and leaving on amicable terms, in the summer of 2013. He’s enjoying good health, something else he didn’t have much in his first Blackhawks stint. He’s engaged to be married, and he and his fiancée are expecting a child in a few months.
While the approaching family is a reason to smile, it’s also all the more incentive to play the right way with the Blackhawks. You never know how many opportunities you get or how long a career will last, so Carcillo is treating this chance like it could be his final one.
“It’s a bit of a second chance — a last chance if you will — as you see what’s going on around the league,” Carcillo said. “I just have to play hockey, man.”
Carcillo brought the necessary elements on Saturday when the Blackhawks won their home opener 6-2 against the Sabres. As part of a fourth line with Jeremy Morin and Marcus Kruger that got more playing time on Saturday — penalty trouble curtailed their time on Thursday — Carcillo brought energy and brought it the right way.
“He was good. That’s one of the best games I’ve seen him play,” Quenneville said. “He had good pace and purpose to his game. Knowing the limitations and those guys how they’re aware of them, he had real good pace and structure of his game.”
Quenneville understood what Carcillo was talking about regarding chances, and not knowing how many more there would be.
“Certain guys know where they’re at organizationally and contractually. You don’t know how many kicks you get at the can so you make sure that, whether it’s your last game, shift or season, you play accordingly,” Quenneville said. “Those players know where they’re at. It’s a special place to be, so you might as well give it everything you’ve got.”
Carcillo got a second chance with the Blackhawks. He’s feeling good and he’s got some great life changes coming. Those changes are impacting him on the ice, too, and for the better.
“I’m healthy and not injured, finally. I feel good,” he said. “I said it before when I was here: I feel very fortunate to come back and to contribute offensively. It’s good.”
How 'bout them Chicago Bulls Session… Bulls show improvement in earning first preseason win over Bucks.
By Mike Singer
Chicago Bulls Coach Tom Thibodeau
It might’ve just been a preseason game, but the Bulls wanted this one.
After dropping their first two exhibition games by a combined six points, coach Tom Thibodeau kept a number of his regulars, including starters Jimmy Butler and Pau Gasol, in the game to close out an unnerving fourth quarter.
Along with Butler and Gasol, Saturday’s starter Doug McDermott, Kirk Hinrich and Taj Gibson all helped withstand the Bucks’ fourth quarter barrage to win 91-85 and log their first win of the year. The trio of Butler, Gasol and McDermott scored 45 points and 26 rebounds in their most extensive action of the season.
To reiterate, Thibodeau wanted this one.
The Bulls were outscored 24-17 in the fourth, nearly blowing the 13-point lead built on the back of Derrick Rose’s third quarter effort.
Rose – at this point more important than the score – played 22 minutes, his longest stretch since returning from the torn meniscus that kept him out last season. His eight-minute stretch in the third quarter – seven points, including a 3-pointer and a soaring transition lay-up – helped give the Bulls a sizeable advantage as he took his planned fourth quarter rest. He finished with 16 points on 5 for 10 shooting with five rebounds and four assists. He was also 3-of-4 from the 3-point line.
The Bulls entered the half up 51-41 after outscoring the Bucks 27-21 in the second quarter. Thibodeau, still toying with rotations, played Gibson instead of Gasol with the starters as a defensive-centric sub. It could also be the way Thibodeau chooses to close out games come the regular season. Gibson had five points in the second quarter while Butler scored six himself.
Rose checked in at the 7:00 mark of the second and showed no hesitation in transition. He pushed the ball off Milwaukee misses, barreled through traffic in the lane and looked confident from the perimeter. He drained his second 3-ponter of the night to give Chicago a 40-34 lead, and the Bulls went on another offensive spurt capped off by McDermott’s alley-oop to Jimmy Butler from well beyond the perimeter.
The Bulls got off to a blistering start, scoring the first 10 points of the game, but the defensive tone was set early, too. Chicago swarmed on defense and held the Bucks to just 30 percent (7 for 23) from the floor in the opening quarter. Jabari Parker broke the Bulls’ early streak with a hanging floater in the lane, and briefly brought cheers to the BMHO Harris Center with a transition dunk.
Mike Dunleavy missed the contest with a sore left knee, giving McDermott the first start of his young NBA career.
Bulls' Doug McDermott on first start: 'It felt like college'.
By Mike Singer
Bulls Rookie Doug McDemott
The Bulls didn’t draft Doug McDermott to sit on the bench.
That’s becoming more apparent each preseason game. He’s averaged more than 30 minutes per exhibition, second only to the team’s iron man, Jimmy Butler.
McDermott started on Saturday night in Milwaukee because Mike Dunleavy sat with a sore left knee. Surprisingly, there wasn’t that big of a drop off between the 13-year veteran and the third-week rookie.
Asked how he felt the Creighton product played among the regular starters after Saturday’s 91-85 win, Thibodeau found some promising words.
“I thought very well, very well. At times he’s unselfish to a fault," Thibodeau said. "When he’s open, he’s got to shoot. Pass up open shots and then you end up settling for a tough shot. When you are open, you got to shoot.”
Shoot nearly 46 percent from the 3-point line throughout four years at college and that’s the kind of assessment you’ll get from Thibodeau. McDermott rotated well, utilized an effective pump fake and got hit teammates involved with three assists. He also came away with eight rebounds, despite having to contend with glass hogs Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol. His seven points weren’t particularly noteworthy, but he’s definitely looking more comfortable.
“It felt great. I kind of knew in advance, so I kind of mentally prepared myself for [the start],” McDermott said. “It felt like college.”
That’s a good thing for McDermott to recollect as he won the Naismith player of the year last year after finishing as a finalist the previous two years. If McDermott continues with his effort – almost a given considering that his father worked him hard as the coach at Creighton – it’s not inconceivable that McDermott sees time with Derrick Rose, Noah and Jimmy Butler, possibly as a starter down the road.
Of all the ways he impacted Saturday’s win, nothing was more memorable than the assist he picked up on a perimeter alley-oop to Butler just before halftime.
“I’m just throwing lobs,” McDermott joked. “Just giving Jimmy some hang time up there.”
Bulls' Thibodeau on Pau Gasol's defense: 'He can be great'.
By Mike Singer
Chicago Bulls Pau Gasol
Pau Gasol was added to the Bulls’ roster as an offensive boon, someone capable of facilitating points by himself in the paint or creating easy baskets for other cutting players.
Yet while the Bulls slowly transition to having another go-to scorer alongside Derrick Rose, it’s been Gasol’s length on the defensive end that’s had a bigger impact on the outcome of contests. Paired with other mobile big men Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson, Gasol isn’t being asked to stray too far from the rim. Not that all three play together at the same time, but Gasol will always guard an opponent’s center when he’s on the court.
Against Milwaukee on Saturday night, Gasol officially logged three blocks, giving him eight so far this preseason. “They took two blocks away from me. It was five blocks not three. I’ll let it slide because it’s preseason,” he joked following the team’s 91-85 preseason win over the Bucks.
Despite the first win, coach Tom Thibodeau wasn’t especially thrilled with his team’s effort after nearly blowing a 13-point lead entering the fourth quarter. It got as close as four points late in the game, prompting Thibodeau to leave starters Gasol, Jimmy Butler and Doug McDermott in along with Gibson and Kirk Hinrich.
“I like the way we started the game,” Thibodeau said. “I didn’t think [the starters] were particularly good in the second quarter. I thought they were OK in the third. You can tell they haven’t played a lot together and that’s going to be important.”
Gasol finished with team-highs at 20 points and 11 rebounds, but his numbers were marred by the fact that the Bucks registered 20 offensive rebounds that led to 16 second-chance points. That simply shouldn’t happen with the Bulls’ interior length.
“I think with our length, Jo’s and mine, Taj’s athleticism, I think we can cover a lot of ground and really protect the paint,” Gasol said. “Now we just got to make sure that we do a better job not giving up second shots. Defensively, I think we can be one of the top shot blocking teams in the league.”
“He can do better. He’s done well, but I think he can be great, and that’s what I want him to be,” Thibodeau said of Gasol’s defense. “He’s got great length, he has great timing, he’s smart, he can anticipate. He’s still not communicating as well as he’s capable of, but he’s done well thus far.”
Wong homers in 9th, Cards edge Giants to tie NLCS.
By R.B. FALLSTROM (AP Sports Writer)
San Francisco Giants' Matt Duffy slides safely past St. Louis Cardinals' Trevor Rosenthal during the ninth inning in Game 2 of the National League baseball championship series Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014, in St. Louis. Duffy scored from second on a wild pitch. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Kolten Wong hit a leadoff home run in the bottom of the ninth inning and the resilient St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants 5-4 Sunday night, evening the NL Championship Series at one game apiece.
The Cardinals won after losing All-Star catcher Yadier Molina to a strained oblique muscle in the sixth. Molina was getting further tests and manager Mike Matheny said it ''didn't look real good.''
''We just knew we had to keep grinding,'' Wong said. ''When you lose someone like Yadi, it's definitely tough for us, but we told ourselves we've been going through this all year. Grinding up and down, not getting any easy pass, so we're all so confident.''
In a back-and-forth game, St. Louis then got late homers from rookie pinch-hitter Oscar Taveras in the seventh and Matt Adams in the eighth to take a 4-3 lead.
It was a rare postseason failure for the reliable San Francisco bullpen, which allowed a home run in each of the final three innings.
''They are the reason we're in this situation, and you give (the Cardinals) credit,'' manager Bruce Bochy said. ''They threw out some good at-bats and we made a couple of mistakes and they took advantage of them.''
The Giants tied it when pinch-runner Matt Duffy dashed home from second base on a two-out wild pitch in the ninth. San Francisco wound up losing for just the second time in its last 14 postseason games.
The best-of-seven series resumes Tuesday night with Game 3 in San Francisco with John Lackey going for St. Louis and Tim Hudson starting for the Giants.
Wong hit an 0-1 pitch from Sergio Romo for his second big home run this postseason. The rookie's seventh-inning drive was the decisive blow in Game 3 of the NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
St. Louis, last in the NL with 105 home runs during the regular season, has hit 11 homers in six playoff games - seven in the seventh inning or later. Earlier, Matt Carpenter connected for the fourth time this postseason.
Seth Maness retired Pablo Sandoval on a comebacker with the bases loaded to end the top of the ninth, and got the win.
Maness came on after closer Trevor Rosenthal couldn't hold a one-run lead. Rosenthal's pitch bounced off the glove off backup catcher Tony Cruz and Duffy, running on a full count, never broke stride and slid home with the tying run.
Molina bent over in pain after a swing and didn't make it out of the batter's box on a double-play ball in the sixth. Wincing, he gingerly walked off the field.
Adams, whose three-run shot off Clayton Kershaw put St. Louis in front for good in their clinching playoff win over Dodgers, homered off Giants reliever Hunter Strickland.
Gregor Blanco's fourth postseason hit in 31 at-bats put the Giants up 3-2 in the seventh, but Taveras re-tied it in the bottom half with a homer off Jean Machi just inside the right-field foul pole.
Carpenter hit a solo home run off Jake Peavy in the third. Randal Grichuk singled with the bases loaded in the fourth to make it 2-0.
The Giants came back against Lance Lynn.
UP NEXT
Giants: Hudson pitched well vs. Washington in Game 2 of the Division Series, allowing a run in 7 1-3 innings.
Cardinals: Lackey has a win each of the last three postseason series and is the active leader with 111 postseason innings.
Royals' crazy run continues the best story in sports.
By Jeff Passan
Greg Holland and the Royals return to Kansas City with a 2-0 lead in the ALCS. (USA Today)
Section 31 at Camden Yards seats 134 people. At times on Saturday, the noise emanating from it drowned out the other 47,000 or so strewn about the rest of the stadium. Most of those in Section 31 didn't know one another. They were from New York and Florida, Kansas and Missouri, all over. This was supposed to be the friends-and-family section for the Kansas City Royals, and in a sense it was. These days, anyone wearing blue feels like family.
So down came the scattered masses, the Royals orphans tired of the dirty looks from Baltimore Orioles fans who couldn't believe what was going on. This Royals team – this group that was supposedly punchless and managed by a nincompoop and in need of some weird extra-innings magic to work its way through the franchise's first October in 29 years – was mashing home runs and watching its manager press the right buttons and about to dispose of the Orioles in nine innings.
Game 2 of the American League Championship Series barreled toward its conclusion, and the loudest voices chanted "Let's go, Royals" for encouragement and "Where you going?" for the fans heading toward the exits. The best story in sports raged on Saturday, the moments getting better, the celebrations more meaningful, the possibilities unimaginable to those who have internalized three decades of sporting suffering.
"I've been waiting my whole life for this," said Mark Kanter, 26, and a moment later he jumped and bellowed with everyone else in Section 31: Greg Holland struck out Steve Pearce swinging, the Royals locked up a 6-4 victory over the Orioles and they ensured a 2-0 series lead heading back home for three games.
Never has a team lost the first two games of a championship series in its own park and recovered, and it's the sort of history that's simultaneously encouraging and frightening, because for all of the faith these Royals have imbued in Kansas City, there remains the fact they are the Royals, a name synonymous with foibles capable of reproduction in only an episode of the "Twilight Zone."
In the middle of the ninth, Kanter's friend Jeff Kaplan yelled "¡Juntos podemos!," a reference only the die-hardest get: It was the slogan of the 2004 season, delivered by manager Tony Pena, meaning "Together, we can." By the end of the season, it was more like: ¡Juntos podemos perder ciento cuatro juegos! – "Together, we can lose 104 games," which they did.
Ten years later, the Royals need only win two of the possible five remaining games against Baltimore, with the next three coming at the madhouse that is Kauffman Stadium. The Royals will go into the game not having lost in more than two weeks, with six consecutive playoff wins capturing not just attention from around the country but admiration for the brand of baseball the Royals play.
They catch seemingly everything hit in the air, run like their feet are on fire and, after a regular season spent mostly in a power blackout, hit home runs in October like all 120 volts are flowing. They've got breakout stars like center fielder Lorenzo Cain, who went 4 for 5 and made what seemed like his 100th brilliant catch this postseason, and Mike Moustakas, the bonus baby who now leads all of baseball with four postseason home runs.
Even Ned Yost, their maligned manager, called for a typically questionable tactical maneuver – using Moustakas to bunt the potential go-ahead run to second base in the ninth inning against Baltimore's fireballing left-handed closer Zach Britton – and not only saw Moustakas lay down a perfect bunt but Alcides Escobar sting the next pitch to right field to score Terrance Gore. Jarrod Dyson followed with an infield hit, Cain scored Escobar on his fourth hit of the night and the lunatics in Section 31 howled with delight.
"I heard 'em," first baseman Eric Hosmer said. "It's exciting for everybody, man. We understand what this means to Kansas City. Everyone's involved in this. Everyone's living it, grinding it out with us. It's finally here. They've obviously waited long enough. You can see how long it's been."
Hosmer saw first hand when he invited fans to a downtown nightspot to celebrate their division series sweep of the Los Angeles Angels and ended up with a tab of almost $15,000 after promising to cover an hour-long open bar. He heard the noise at Kauffman Stadium during that series-clinching win over the Angels, and the sheer madness of the Royals' come-from-behind victory over the Oakland A's in the wild-card game, and Hosmer wanted to say thanks. He still can't forget the sound.
It was unlike anything he'd heard, which isn't saying much, because the Royals and games of import never found themselves in the same Venn diagram until this year. When they did start winning those games, beating Oakland, beating Los Angeles, pushing Baltimore to the brink, the feeling compelled people to do weird things, like lose their minds hugging strangers or their voices chanting or even their jobs.
Vin Porcelli, 21, said he quit his gig as a landscaper in Highland, N.Y., to drive 4½ hours to Baltimore and watch the Royals. During the ninth inning, he said to no one and everyone: "I'm gonna pass out." The games feel that intense, that meaningful, as all the most important sporting events do. And in the case of the Royals, their story, their ascent, is now so intertwined with their fans' that it's almost one and the same.
Section 31 buzzed in the ninth inning, and perhaps some of that was due to the collage of Bud and Miller and Coors cans that lined the ground. More than that, it represented the power of sporting camaraderie, of understanding the excitement of a moment as it's happening. There is great difficulty in that, in trying to reconcile the privilege of watching history with the reality of actually watching it.
No matter what happens, there will be history. Should Baltimore engineer some sort of a turnaround, it will be unprecedented. If the Royals follow in the steps of the 11 other teams that started an LCS with two road wins, they will play in a World Series for the first time since 1985, and that still sounds silly, even to those who dreamed of the day: The Kansas City Royals are two wins from the World Series, and they'll be positioned as the sort of team worth rooting for.
"We don't need the world loving us," Dyson said. "We just need Kansas City loving us. That's it."
There was defiance in his voice, a desire to remember those who braved cold days in the spring and disgusting ones in the summer and stayed with this team that fell into a miserable midseason slump. This, Dyson said, is the best time of his life, and he wants to celebrate it with those who hung with this team, just like this team hung with him.
Dyson was a 50th-round draft pick, the sort who doesn't make it. He did, fashioning himself into a major leaguer, ascending with the dozen or so others who on Saturday carried the Kansas City Royals almost to the brink of the World Series.
"Once we win this series," Dyson said, "what's everyone gonna say then?"
If it does happen – if Dyson's prognostication is more than bluster – they're not gonna say anything. They'll be too busy screaming.
Golf: I got a club for that… Late surge gives Korean Bae four-stroke lead in Napa.
Reuters
Sang-Moon Bae hits his tee shot on the first hole during the final round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
South Korean Bae Sang-Moon eagled the par-four 17th and birdied the final hole to earn a four-stroke lead after the third round of the Frys.com Open in Napa, California on Saturday.
In just two holes, Bae turned a tenuous advantage into a commanding lead at the PGA Tour season opener at Silverado Country Club north of San Francisco.
He carded 65 for 16-under-par 200, while American Zac Blair shot 69 for second place on 12-under with his compatriots Matt Kuchar (66), Brooks Koepka (67) and Scott Langley (69) tied for third at 11-under with Scot Martin Laird (71).
Bae, 28, is seeking his second PGA Tour victory. His lone success came at the Byron Nelson Championship in May last year, but he has not had a top-10 finish since.
The barnstorming finish was impressive but a 15-foot par save from the fringe at the par-five 16th was perhaps more important, preserving his confidence after three poor shots in a row looked like costing him a shot at an easy hole.
"It was more (important) than a birdie putt. It really woke me up," Bae told reporters afterwards.
Buoyed by the reprieve, he striped his tee shot at the driveable 17th and his ball landed on the green and nestled up within six feet of the hole, from where he drained the putt.
"I felt I played perfect today besides two bogeys (both three-putts)," continued Bae, whose round also included five consecutive birdies on the front nine.
"A four-shot lead makes me a little comfortable for Sunday but I don't think about a win."
Tour rookie Blair displayed poise beyond his experience to earn a spot in the final group on Sunday, while Kuchar has bounced back from the disappointment of being on the losing American Ryder Cup team less than two weeks ago.
"On the front nine I had (birdie) opportunities (on) every hole, so it was a good round," said the world number nine.
Lions CB Mathis wants son to play golf, not football.
By Ryan Ballengee
Rashean Mathis has made a big name for himself on the football field. He doesn't want his son to follow in his footsteps.
In an interview with the Detroit Free-Press, the Detroit Lions cornerback said he would prefer his son stay away from football -- at least until high school.
"I don't want him to," Mathis said. "He doesn't have to play any sport, as far as I'm concerned, but if he does get into it, football will be the last thing I introduce him to."
The toll football has taken on Mathis' body, including a complete knee reconstruction in 2011, dissuades him from encouraging his son to play.
"Just being in the league a long time, I know how rough it could be," he said. "But if he loves it, he loves it, and I'm not going to pull it away from him. That's not going to be the case, but I know that it's taxing on your body, and there's plenty other ways that you can make a living other than football."
Mathis, who is a 4-handicap golfer, would rather his son eventually find his way to golf.
"I would love to be his caddie and him on the golf course," Mathis said. "That's a dream."
NASCAR: Harvick wins Charlotte night race with restart.
Reid Spencer
Kevin Harvick celebrates with crew chief Rodney Childers and the rest of the No. 4 team in Victory Lane. (Jerry Markland/2014 Getty Images)
The Closer finally closed the deal, and the door swung almost shut on Dale Earnhardt Jr., six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and 2012 champion Brad Keselowski.
With the dominant car in Saturday night's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kevin Harvick led 162 laps and survived a wild two-lap dash to the finish after the final caution en route to his third NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win of the season and a free pass into the Eliminator Round of the Chase.
In a race that ended with battered cars, bruised egos, boiling tempers and physical confrontations in the garage, Harvick pulled away after a restart on Lap 333 of 334 and beat Jeff Gordon to the finish line by .572 seconds. Jamie McMurray ran third, followed by Joey Logano and polesitter Kyle Busch.
"I won't be anorexic and throwing up all week," Harvick quipped, knowing he won't need to avoid the inevitable major wrecks in the Oct. 19 race at Talladega Superspeedway to advance to the next round of the Chase. "This was the night that we needed to win. I don't want to go to Talladega next week."
Nicknamed "The Closer," Harvick had failed to win the last five races in which he had led the most laps, but his victory on Saturday night -- his third at Charlotte and the 26th of his career -- was an emphatic rebuke to the ill fortune that had kept him out of Victory Lane since April.
For Keselowski, Johnson and Earnhardt, it was a night of continuing disappointment -- and in Keselowski's case, a night of battling that continued onto pit road and into the garage after the race.
Keselowski and Johnson got shuffled back to their finishing positions of 16th and 17th, respectively, on the restart with two laps left after a caution for Brian Vickers' blown engine on Lap 327.
After the race, Keselowski and ninth-place finisher Denny Hamlin traded insults on pit road, as NASCAR officials and their crews kept them apart in the wake of a late race incident between their two cars.
Keselowski clipped Hamlin's rear bumper on the cool-down lap, then hit Kenseth's Toyota with his Ford on pit road after the race. After sustaining collateral damage on pit road during the melee, Tony Stewart backed into Keselowski's Ford, crumpling the nose of the car.
Keselowski insisted it was Kenseth's car and not his No. 2 Ford that bumped Stewart's Chevy.
"I rubbed into the No. 20 (Kenseth), and I think he gassed up and ran into Tony, and I don't think Tony knew what was going on," Keselowski said. "He's upset, and he has every right to be. His car was tore up. There was a whole lot of other stuff going on. I'm sure when he sees the whole situation, he'll understand."
Kenseth, whose No. 20 Toyota had been damaged by contact from Keselowski's car on a restart with 63 laps left, jumped Keselowski as he was walking between haulers in the garage, and the drivers scuffled before being separated.
"I had my HANS (head and neck restraint) off and my seat belts off and everything," Kenseth said of the hit from Keselowski on pit road. "He clobbered me at 50 (mph). And the access we have around here… the race is over, trying to come back to pit road...
"If you want to talk about it as a man, do that. But to try and wreck someone on the race track, come down pit road with other cars and people standing around with seat belts off and drive in the side of me -- it's inexcusable. There is no excuse for that. He's a champion. He's supposed to know better than that."
Hamlin also had some harsh words for the 2012 champion.
"There's a corner there, so you have to back off, and he just plowed into us," Hamlin said. "He's just out of control. He's desperate, obviously, and it's either four or five of us are wrong or he's wrong, because he's pissed off everyone. Just disappointing -- but we're trying to get in this deal. We're sitting in a decent spot, but we've lost six spots or so with the last restart when he ran into us and knocked us up the track.
"That was unfortunate. Matt (Kenseth) was nearly out of his car and he just plowed into Matt and then ran into Tony (Stewart) and then went in through the garage and cleared out transmissions and did burnouts in the garage."
Both Johnson and Keselowski head to Talladega on Oct. 19 in all probability needing a victory to advance to avoid elimination from the Chase. The same goes for Earnhardt, whose shifter broke early in the race and relegated the driver of the No. 88 to a 20th-place finish, one lap down.
Rookie Kyle Larson ran sixth, followed by Chase drivers Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards, Hamlin and Kasey Kahne.
With the cut from 12 to eight Chase drivers looming at Talladega, Kenseth, Keselowski, Johnson and Earnhardt are the four drivers currently in positions 9 through 12 in the standings.
Note: Keselowski and Jesse Sanders, a member of the Kenseth's crew, were called to the NASCAR transporter after the race. Kenseth's crew chief, Jason Ratcliff, also went to the hauler of his own volition in support of his crewman.
Afterwards Keselowski posted the following on his Twitter account:
Brad Keselowski ✔ Follow
@keselowski
Rough night.
Understand a lot of folks may not understand everything that happened and that's ok. I'm not perfect but also not the only one.
SOCCER: Landon Donovan's awkward, confusing finale to a legendary U.S. men's national team career.
By Max Thompson
Landon Donovan's U.S. national team career ended here Friday night in a 40,000-seat stadium playing for a coach who, on the one week of Donovan's life set aside to celebrate his career, said he could have done better.
"I think they missed the opportunity," Clayton said.
Gracious for the moment, Donovan did nothing but praise those that gave him the opportunity to embrace playing for the U.S. one final time.
"It was beyond my wildest dreams for sure," he said. "As a human being, to feel that kind of love and support is incredible. I've put a lot in to this game over many years, and tonight feels like it was all worth it. I'm very grateful."
He broke down during a postgame video tribute.
"The best for me was watching the video and actually letting myself go a little bit," Donovan said. "I've been so focused on all the other stuff that's going on and just doing, doing, doing and not allowed myself to just be with it. I watch some of the highlights and think about where I was in my life off the field then and how the game has given me an outlet to learn and grow."
Before crossing over from the grass to the concrete of the tunnel under the stadium, Donovan stopped one last time to say hello to the supporters that were still lingering, still serenading him. He soaked it in just a few feet from the barrier.
"A little out of character for me, but sometimes you've just got to let go and enjoy it," he said.
The tributes looked right. The serenades sounded right. The affection was genuine, the fans deeply cared that they were there to say goodbye to the only player most of them have ever known as the face of American soccer.
"Those people – supporters' clubs and American Outlaws – they're the blood of this team and this sport," Donovan said. "And when I started there probably would have been a few hundred people, and now there are thousands of people that probably made the trip from all over the country to support us, support me. That was a fun moment."
But it wasn't 3-2 over Portugal. It wasn't 1-0 at the death against Algeria. It wasn't dos a cero to Mexico. It didn't come close to equaling the highest moments that Donovan helped orchestrate. The night felt surreal, almost hollow.
Donovan's devotees will say the only stage this could ever have ended was the World Cup. And no matter what Klinsmann says or how many times he could point to the results as vindication, those same fans will argue that the U.S. could have used their No. 10 and, at the very least, the national team owed him that much.
United States' Landon Donovan celebrates with fans after an exhibition soccer match against Ecuador in East Hartford, Conn., Friday, Oct. 10, 2014. Donovan made his last international soccer appearance Friday. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Landon Donovan's U.S. national team career ended here Friday night in a 40,000-seat stadium playing for a coach who, on the one week of Donovan's life set aside to celebrate his career, said he could have done better.
Thanks for being the face of U.S. Soccer during its most successful run ever. Thanks for more goals (57), assists (58), and minutes (12,813) than anyone else to represent the Stars and Stripes. Thanks for more World Cup appearances (12) and goals (5) than anyone else in the red, white and blue.
Could have done better? This must be what Cristiano Ronaldo feels like every time someone brings up Lionel Messi.
If Jurgen Klinsmann meant that Donovan could have done better than an ending like this – in a post-World Cup friendly against Ecuador that resulted in a 1-1 draw – he's right. A national team career like his deserves a much more fitting ending.
Every attempt to bury the acrimony between Donovan and Klinsmann was made by U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati and the federation in the buildup to the match. Donovan said afterward that he and Klinsmann spoke before the game and agreed that "tonight would be about tonight."
Still, by all accounts, there is only napalm under the bridge for those two, and napalm sticks around. So much so that even on this celebratory night, the very fans here to say goodbye couldn't help but also feel like the children sitting down to graduation dinner with their divorced parents.
"It will be halfway emotional, but I also think it's going to be real awkward because the past week it's been really obvious how much he and Klinsmann don't get along," Prairie Rose Clayton of Boston said before kickoff. "It feels like, ‘Yes, we're totally going to start him and he'll be captain,' while Sunil is behind [Klinsmann] with a baseball bat. That's what it feels like.
"This is great, but there's something really forced and awkward about it."
Donovan walked into a Rentschler Field just beyond half-full, was presented with a few gifts, shook a few hands and then barely had time to settle in before the U.S. took control of the game.
He produced a cross to Jozy Altidore that didn't connect but it led to a sequence that ended with Mix Diskerud scoring in the fifth minute. Nineteen minutes later, Altidore held up play and set Donovan up beautifully for a clear run on Ecuadorian goalkeeper Maximo Banguera, who was beaten by Donovan's shot, but got helped out by the post. Minutes later, a final shot on goal by Donovan rolled wide left.
And that was it. All that was left was the awkward handshake, a half-hug and a few words with Klinsmann.
About 40 minutes had passed since kickoff, and the stadium still wasn't at capacity (it would never reach that point with a final attendance of 36,265). Donovan got one final roar – "Thank-you-Lan-don" was the chant of the night – between leaving his teammates and reaching the touch line. Even that one roar was a little underwhelming, all things considered.
But that wasn't too surprising. In fact, Clayton and other fans expected the night to be a celebration that couldn't fully be embraced. The proper time to say goodbye was somewhere else, or perhaps, not at all. There's nothing wrong with East Hartford. The scenery is beautiful this time of year. But this is where Donovan's story ends?
"I think they missed the opportunity," Clayton said.
Gracious for the moment, Donovan did nothing but praise those that gave him the opportunity to embrace playing for the U.S. one final time.
"It was beyond my wildest dreams for sure," he said. "As a human being, to feel that kind of love and support is incredible. I've put a lot in to this game over many years, and tonight feels like it was all worth it. I'm very grateful."
He broke down during a postgame video tribute.
"The best for me was watching the video and actually letting myself go a little bit," Donovan said. "I've been so focused on all the other stuff that's going on and just doing, doing, doing and not allowed myself to just be with it. I watch some of the highlights and think about where I was in my life off the field then and how the game has given me an outlet to learn and grow."
Before crossing over from the grass to the concrete of the tunnel under the stadium, Donovan stopped one last time to say hello to the supporters that were still lingering, still serenading him. He soaked it in just a few feet from the barrier.
"A little out of character for me, but sometimes you've just got to let go and enjoy it," he said.
The tributes looked right. The serenades sounded right. The affection was genuine, the fans deeply cared that they were there to say goodbye to the only player most of them have ever known as the face of American soccer.
"Those people – supporters' clubs and American Outlaws – they're the blood of this team and this sport," Donovan said. "And when I started there probably would have been a few hundred people, and now there are thousands of people that probably made the trip from all over the country to support us, support me. That was a fun moment."
But it wasn't 3-2 over Portugal. It wasn't 1-0 at the death against Algeria. It wasn't dos a cero to Mexico. It didn't come close to equaling the highest moments that Donovan helped orchestrate. The night felt surreal, almost hollow.
Donovan's devotees will say the only stage this could ever have ended was the World Cup. And no matter what Klinsmann says or how many times he could point to the results as vindication, those same fans will argue that the U.S. could have used their No. 10 and, at the very least, the national team owed him that much.
Donovan's detractors will say that this ending is on him. That had he done better, as Klinsmann wished, and pushed to excel in Europe or been more focused on the game than himself in the buildup to Brazil, it would have ended in the proper setting: Playing in a fourth World Cup.
During the week, Donovan said he thought he deserved this night. In truth, he deserved more. A brighter stage, a bigger crowd, better finishing. He is the greatest player to have worn a U.S. men's national team kit, the numbers and the wins say as much. There's no need to couch the praise by calling him "one of" the best ever just to spare the feelings and egos of those that think they should be considered.
He deserved the Elway finish – to walk off into the sunset at his peak and having conquered the tallest mountain of his life. The storybook ending is rare and few all-time greats get that moment. Donovan got a week of TV appearances, an endless branding campaign and a cold night in Connecticut in front of a nice enough crowd.
It felt weird. It felt forced.
It wasn't enough.
NCAA Football: Mississippi State ascends to No. 1 in AP and coaches polls.
By Nick Bromberg
Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott (15) under pressure in the pocket against the Auburn Tigers during the third quarter at Davis Wade Stadium. Mississippi State defeated Auburn 38-23. (John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)
After starting the season unranked, Mississippi State is now No. 1 in the AP and coaches polls.
Thanks to the Bulldogs' win over Auburn on Saturday, Mississippi State vaulted over Florida State for the top spot in the polls. FSU had taken the No. 1 slot last week in the coaches poll after Ole Miss beat Alabama.
Mississippi State's five week ascension from unranked to No. 1 is the fastest ascension to the top spot in the history of the AP poll. Here's how it went week by week:
Preseason: Unranked (11th among teams also receiving votes)
Week 2: Unranked (6th among teams also receiving votes)
Week 3: Unranked (8th among teams also receiving votes)
Week 4: Unranked (3rd among teams also receiving votes)
Week 5: No. 14 (Beat LSU)
Week 6: No. 12 (Bye)
Week 7: No. 3 (Beat Texas A&M)
Week 8: No. 1 (Beat Auburn)
The Bulldogs received 45 first-place votes in the AP poll while Florida State received 12. In the coaches poll, the Seminoles got more first place votes (31 to 26) but are No. 2 to Mississippi State by a single point. While MSU has beaten LSU, Texas A&M and Auburn, all top 15 teams at the time of the game, Florida State has played only one ranked team, No. 22 Clemson in the fourth week of the season. (Oklahoma State was unranked when the Seminoles played the Cowboys)
The top five in each poll was the same. After MSU and FSU, Ole Miss was third, Baylor was fourth and Notre Dame was fifth. Here are the complete polls:
AP poll
1. Mississippi State (45 first place votes) [3rd last week]
2. Florida State (12) [1]
3. Ole Miss (3) [3]
4. Baylor [5]
5. Notre Dame [6]
6. Auburn [2]
7. Alabama [7]
8. Michigan State [8]
9. Oregon [12]
10. Georgia [13]
11. Oklahoma [11]
12. TCU [9]
13. Ohio State [15]
14. Kansas State [17]
15. Oklahoma State [16]
16. Arizona [10]
17. Arizona State [20]
18. East Carolina [19]
19. Nebraska [21]
20. Utah [24]
21. Texas A&M [14]
22. USC [NR]
23. Stanford [25]
24. Clemson [NR]
25. Marshall [NR]
Coaches poll
1. Mississippi State (26) [6]
2. Florida State (31) [1]
3. Ole Miss (5) [4]
4. Baylor [3]
5. Notre Dame [5]
6. Michigan State [8]
7. Alabama [7]
8. Auburn [2]
9. Oregon [11]
10. Georgia [10]
11. Oklahoma [11]
12. TCU [12]
13. Ohio State [15]
14. Kansas State [16]
15. Oklahoma State [18]
16. East Carolina [19]
17. Arizona [13]
18. Arizona State [20]
19. Nebraska [21]
20. Stanford [22]
21. Texas A&M [14]
22. Clemson [25]
23. Utah [NR]
24. Marshall [NR]
25. USC [NR]
Big Ten becomes 1st major conference to guarantee scholarships.
By Jon Solomon
The Big Ten became the first major college conference to guarantee scholarships across all sports through the duration of an athlete's enrollment at a university.
In a statement released Wednesday, the Big Ten said scholarships won't be reduced or cancelled as long as an athlete "remains a member in good standing with the community, the university and the athletics department." The Big Ten also said it would guarantee an athlete may return to school at any time on an athletic scholarship if the athlete's pursuit for an undergraduate degree is "interrupted for a bona fide reason."
Chad Hawley, the Big Ten's associate commissioner for compliance, said Friday the phrases "good standing" and "bona fide reason" were intentionally left vague to give each school flexibility to create their own policies.
"In a general sense, what it means is if you're progressing academically, if you're following team rules, if you're behaving yourself in the community, then you're in good standing," Hawley said.
Team rules often vary by coach and university. For example, would lack of effort athletically be an appropriate team rule that could result in a scholarship being non-renewed? And who would decide if there's an appropriate lack of effort that can result in cutting the scholarship?
"Effort may be an issue where there could be rules," Hawley said. "What it's not referring to is a situation where someone comes in and the talent just doesn't match up to what you thought it might be. If someone is habitually late to practices or skips practices, those are effort and I could see how those would affect whether or not you're in good standing."
Regarding providing scholarships to returning players who left for a "bona fide reason," Hawley said the Big Ten has contemplated situations involving players who turn pro or left school due to a family reason. If a player leaves school while academically ineligible, "that's where there's going to be room for flexibility and that particular scenario may fall into being in good standing," Hawley said. "It's intentionally not an unconditional opportunity to come back."
The NCAA is now in its third academic year since passing a rule giving schools the option to provide multiyear scholarships. A recent CBSSports.com analysis showed some schools provide a growing yet small percentage of their athletes multiyear scholarships, but the practice is virtually non-existent at other schools.
Among Big Ten schools surveyed by CBSSports.com for 2013-14 data, Ohio State provided 104 multiyear scholarships and Michigan State gave out 35. Michigan sought $410 for its scholarship data and CBSSports.com declined to pay the amount.
Some schools promote that they give multiyear scholarships and clearly view the option as a recruiting benefit. Other schools stress there is no difference between a one-year scholarship and a multiyear scholarship since they say the same terms apply regarding how the financial aid agreement can be non-renewed.
"In most cases, at least in our conference, the single-year scholarship is renewed," Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said in late July. "But I do think the multiyear scholarship gives you more protection than the single-year scholarship."
An active lawsuit over multiyear scholarships is nearing a decision on whether the case can be certified as a class action. The suit in part seeks damages for Division I football players who were impacted by the NCAA rule banning multiyear scholarships from 1973 to 2012. A federal judge in Indiana could decide early next year whether to certify the class.
NCAA Basketball: Unprecedented success hasn't changed the roots of Harvard's program.
By Rob Dauster
The job that Tommy Amaker has done turning Harvard into a nationally relevant — and now, nationally ranked — program is criminally underrated, and the proof can be found simply by putting together a list of the best rebuilding jobs in college coaching.
Because you won’t find the Crimson on that list.
In order for something to be rebuilt there has to be a foundation, something to build on, and prior to Amaker’s arrival in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Crimson weren’t just irrelevant from a national perspective, they were non-existent in the Ivy League’s power structure.
When he took the job in the spring of 2007, Harvard had never won 20 games in a season.
They were the only member of the conference to have never won a title in men’s basketball, and of the 34 teams that Harvard has on their campus, men’s basketball was the only one that had never brought home an Ivy League championship. Their most recent NCAA tournament trip? 1946, a full decade before the first season of Ivy League basketball.
Things are different these days.
Harvard has won at least 20 games in each of the last five years, reaching the postseason each season. The last three years, the Crimson have won the Ivy’s regular season title and advanced to the NCAA tournament, where they pulled off upsets in 2013 (No. 3 seed New Mexico) and 2014 (No. 5 seed Cincinnati).
With yet another crop of high-major recruits joining the fray this year, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that we have Harvard ranked No. 23 in the country in our preseason top 25. There’s even an argument to be made that the Crimson are the best mid-major program in the country right now.
Hear me out.
Gonzaga can no longer be called mid-major despite the fact that they play in the WCC. It’s been that way for years. Wichita State plays in the Missouri Valley, but with the money they have invested in Gregg Marshall’s program and the success they’ve had in recent seasons, it’s fair to wonder if they still qualify as a “mid-major.” Butler and Creighton are in the Big East now. VCU and Davidson will be league foes in the Atlantic 10 this season.
Who’s better? Maybe Belmont? Stephen F. Austin? Wofford? Ohio? Maybe, but the argument isn’t the point. The simple fact that Harvard is very much in that discussion is, and I was curious: did Amaker actually think that was possible at Harvard?
So I asked him.
“Yes, to be very honest,” he said this week in a phone interview with NBCSports.com, and it makes sense. Remember, this is a guy that played and coached at Duke. He reached the Sweet 16 in 2000 and then reeled in an excellent recruiting class that included Eddie Griffin, Andre Barrett and Marcus Toney-El at Seton Hall. He coached at Michigan for six seasons. You don’t get those jobs without having a little bit of confidence in yourself.
And that confidence was easy to see on the recruiting trail, at least in the eyes of Siyani Chambers. Chambers, a junior guard, is one of the best players in the Ivy League. He’s been Harvard’s starting point guard since the day he set foot on campus, picking the Crimson over a handful of high-major programs.
“I was not aware of it,” Chambers said of Harvard’s lack of basketball pedigree in an interview with NBCSports.com this week. “I was just aware of what Coach Amaker was telling me and the future that he saw for us and how I could contribute to the rise of the program.
“When I was looking to come here my senior year in high school, I saw a program on the rise after their first trip to the NCAA tournament and Coach Amaker said, ‘This is what we’re trying to continue to do. So if we work hard and continue to bring in good recruiting classes, this is how we’re supposed to be for a long time.’ I bought into it. So did everyone else that’s come through here.”
And that, more than anything, is the most impressive part of the job that Amaker has done with the Crimson. Not only has he proven that it’s possible to win there, but he’s managed to convince everyone — the school, the coaching staff, the players he recruits — that this is the way it should have been all along.
It hasn’t hurt that he’s been able to bring in a roster full of recruits that had the chance to play at a higher level, but according to Amaker, the key to Harvard’s success has been that the talent in the program has bought into, as he puts it, “our goals, our identity and our standards.”
Case in point: Zena Edsomwan.
Edsomwan was the 82nd-ranked recruit in the Class of 2013, picking Harvard despite holding offers from programs such as Arizona State, USC, California and Colorado. As a freshman, minutes were difficult to come by for Edsomwan despite the fact that he was quite productive when he did get on the court. There were only four games last season where Edsomwan played more than 11 minutes, and in those games he averaged 11.5 points and 4.8 boards per contest. But he didn’t leave the program this offseason. He’s still on the roster, waiting for his opportunity. It’s not hard to see that patience as an example of the faith Amaker’s players have in him.
“We believe in the system that coach puts in front of us,” Chambers said. “We believe that we should be able to win and compete with anyone that plays us.”
It’s Chambers, says Amaker, that helps set that example. It’s why the junior has been named a co-captain on a senior-laden team.
“He knows nothing other than winning,” Amaker said. “His spirit, his presence, his work ethic, he’s ultra-competitive. If any of those aspects change or get pushed to the back, that’s what drives his engine. It’s not so much whether the shot goes in or whether he’s driving to the basket or not, all of that is secondary because of his presence, his way of being. He’s a natural-born leader, and he’s been that way since day one when he’s been with this program.”
Through two years, Chambers and Harvard have been a match made in heaven. But success does breed expectation, however, and at some point, people are going to start wondering when Harvard will have their program-defining tournament run. Winning in the regular season is great. Pulling off opening round upsets are awesome. But, eventually, the question will be asked: will Amaker ever get Harvard out of the NCAA tournament’s first weekend?
“That never crossed my mind,” Amaker said. “I guess, in a lot of ways, if that’s the case, that’s an amazing compliment.”
Kenya’s Kipchoge Wins Chicago Marathon, Jeptoo Repeats As Women’s Winner.
By STATS LLC and Associated Press
Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya crosses the finsh as the men’s winner of the 2014 Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 12, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel Getty Images)
Eliud Kipchoge had an ear-to-ear grin while he ran away with the Chicago Marathon. Minutes later, Rita Jeptoo raised her arms and sunk to her knees after she repeated as women’s champion.
Kipchoge led a 1-2-3 finish for his country at the Chicago Marathon, while Jeptoo again took the prize for the women on Sunday.
Kipchoge pulled away over the last two miles for his first major marathon victory, finishing in 2 hours, 4 minutes, 11 seconds. He was followed by Sammy Kitwara in 2:04:28 and Dickson Chumba in 2:04:32.
Jeptoo was timed in 2:24:35 in winning her fourth straight major marathon. She also won the Boston Marathon in April and captured the 2013-14 World Marathon Majors points championship.
Mare Dibaba of Ethiopia (2:25:37) was second and Florence Kiplagat of Kenya (2:25:57) was third.
“Today was a great day for me and my fans,” said Jeptoo, who struggled with the wind on a day when the temperature was ideal. “I’m happy to be here. … I was having fun.”
CLICK HERE TO CHECK CHICAGO MARATHON RESULTS
The winners earned $100,000. Jeptoo received an extra $500,000 for winning the series championship, and Kipchoge picked up a $55,000 time bonus.
With a flat course and an ideal forecast, there was plenty of talk before the race about fast times.
The skies were clear and the temperature — 46 degrees — was just about right when the race started. But the wind picked up and the men’s and women’s leaders didn’t break away until the latter stages of the races.
“It’s the marathon,” executive race director Carey Pinkowski said. “We talked a lot about fast times. … It became tactical racing. The women obviously started watching each other a little bit. The men became much more of a competition and much more gamesmanship. So that was exciting. Toward the end there, Eliud ran a great race and finished really strong. You bring the best athletes together, they complement each other and (you have) great competition.”
The men’s pack stayed together for about 20 miles before Kipchoge, Kitwara and Chumba drew away.
Kipchoge and Kitwara were side by side with Chumba right behind after 24 miles. But Kipchoge made it look easy down the stretch. He made a quick burst and was in command as he headed toward the finish at Grant Park, grinning for the final few miles.
“To enjoy the streets of Chicago, you need to smile,” he said. “With all these people, you need that big smile.”
Kipchoge, a two-time Olympic medalist in the 5,000 meters, was competing in his fourth marathon. He ran his first one in 2013 and is getting used to the longer distance.
“To run a good marathon, (you need) good preparation and good planning,” he said. “This is the fourth one. I can say my planning with my coaches is (good). I now understand. I’m still learning the ropes, but I can say today I am now fully experienced. … I am happy to be one of the winners here.”
Jeptoo hasn’t lost a major marathon since she finished second in a sprint to Ethiopia’s Atsede Baysa in the 2012 Chicago Marathon. She smashed the course record when she repeated as Boston Marathon champion in the spring and came away with an easy victory in Chicago for the second straight year.
She made her move at around 23 miles and pulled away for her fifth major marathon victory, with no one near her at the end.
“It was not easy,” Jeptoo said. “The beginning, nobody tried to push because everybody was looking for me. … Everybody was strong so I was like ‘Let’s wait.'”
The Americans swept the wheelchair races, with Joshua George winning the men’s event and Tatyana McFadden capturing her 11th major marathon victory.
It was McFadden’s fourth straight win in Chicago and fifth in six years. If she finishes first at the New York City Marathon next month, she will complete her second “grand slam” with four majors in one season.
On This Date in Sports History: Today is Monday, October 13, 2014.
MemoriesofHistory.com
1903 - The Boston Red Sox defeated the Pittsburgh Pirate 3-0 in the first modern World Series. They won the series five games to three.
1947 - The Toronto Maple Leafs lost to a group of NHL All-Stars in the first official All-Star Game.
1951 - In Atlanta, GA, a football with a rubber covering was used for the first time. Georgia Tech beat Louisiana State 25-7.
1960 - The World Series ended on a home run for the first time. Bill Mazeroski's bottom-of-the-ninth home run allowed the Pirates to beat the Yankees.
1961 - Jacky Lee (Houston Oilers) threw for 457 yards and two touchdowns against the Boston Patriots. The game ended 31-31.
1967 - The first game of the new American Basketball Association was played. Pat Boone, the owner of the Oakland Oaks, sang the national anthem.
1970 - Dave McNally (Baltimore Orioles) became the only pitcher to date to hit a grand slam in the World Series.
1971 - The first World Series night game was telecast on NBC. Baltimore defeated Pittsburgh 4-3 in Game 4 at Three Rivers Stadium.
1971 - Bing Crosby, part owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, threw out the first ball in Game 4 of the World Series between the Pirates and the Orioles.
1985 - Phil Simms (New York Giants) passed for 513 yards against the Cincinnati Bengals. He set NFL records with 62 pass attempts and 29 first downs.
1998 - The Pittsburgh Penguins filed for federal Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in their history.
1998 - The NBA canceled regular season games, due to work stoppage, for first time in its 51-year history.
2002 - The Anaheim Angels defeated the Minnesota Twins to advance to their first World Series.
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