CS&T/AllsportsAmerica Monday Sports News Update, 01/19/2015.

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Sports Quote of the Day:

"Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose." ~ Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th President of the United States of America

Coming Attraction: Super Bowl XLIX pits strength against strength with Pats vs. Seahawks. Sunday, February 1, 2015. 

 

Packers blow it, it's just that simple.

By Rana L. Cash

To put it bluntly: They blew it.

Destiny might have hunted the Packers down, if you subscribe to such notions. But on the Packers' sideline, and in their locker room, what should have been will haunt them. Not what the Seahawks took away, but what Green Bay coughed up down the stretch and then in overtime in a 28-22 crushing defeat in the NFC Championship Game.

Aaron Rodgers dug deep to find the resolve reserved for the great ones. Curt Schilling and the bloody sock. Michael Jordan and the flu. Tiger Woods and the torn ACL. No doubt, Rodgers, playing on a badly injured and clearly painful calf, showed that kind of courage. 

The only difference between the Packers quarterback and his steel-willed brethren is that they all won.

Rodgers exited CenturyLink Field devastated. Instead of stripping the Seahawks of a chance to repeat as Super Bowl champions, the Packers pushed them along the way. After forcing Russell Wilson into the worst game of his career; after leading 16-0, and never trailing until the final 1:33; after tying the game on a 44-yard field goal to force overtime, Green Bay still, inexplicably, lost.

In three words, Rodgers brought the calamity into clear view: "We gave it away."
How secure was victory? Rodgers was 40-1 in his career when leading by at least 16 points. Somehow, the Seahawks made that lopsided advantage inconsequential.

Perhaps a line can be drawn back to the two red zone trips after turnovers that resulted in two field goals instead of two touchdowns early. But then you see Rodgers scrambling and hopping on one leg to pick up a first down, looking more like a wounded animal than a dangerous dual-threat playmaker.

It was there, in that one play. Physical pain was a mere gateway to the emotional torture the Seahawks were about to inflict. On the opposite side, Seahawks star cornerback Richard Sherman grimaced after injuring his elbow. Safety Earl Thomas was banged up, too. Sherman and Thomas found a balm in victory.

Rodgers, however, has nothing but time to ponder everything that went wrong for the Packers. The gut punch more specifically remembered as a fake field goal turned into a touchdown. An onside kick fumbled and recovered by the Seahawks, who went on to a score a touchdown and two-point conversion. 

It fell apart, one moment after another. The chance to get back to the Super Bowl for the first since the 2010 season went up in smoke, and the Packers lit the fire.

"It's going to be a missed opportunity that we're probably going to think about the rest of my career," Rodgers said. "We were the better team today and we played well enough to win and we can't blame anybody but ourselves."

You can give Seattle some credit. But the culprit is Green Bay.

Smart, simple Patriots keep rest of AFC looking silly.

By Vinnie Iyer

Who will stop the reign?

That's the question the rest of the AFC is asking after the Patriots just smashed Indianapolis 45-7 to win their third AFC championship in eight years.

Bigger picture, it's also their sixth trip to the Super Bowl in the past 14 seasons of the Bill Belichick and Tom Brady era. It has been 10 years since they won that last Super Bowl, but everyone knows the dynastic Patriot Way hasn't really gone away.

Strangely, the five other AFC franchises that have made it to the Super Bowl since the Patriots' most recent title in 2004 were all in this year's playoffs with them — the Colts, Ravens, Broncos and Steelers.

It's nice that those teams have flashed their own success, but none have come close to reaching New England's staying power. The Patriots are simply smarter than their conference competition, staying one step ahead and making moves that make their competition look silly.

Take this Colts game for instance.

It was stamped by yet another successful legal trick play, Brady's third-quarter TD pass to offensive tackle Nate Solder that put it away. But the Patriots also wisely went back to what worked in last year's playoffs: unleashing LeGarrette Blount against a sorry, poor tackling Colts run defense.

Consider that Blount, whom they chose not to re-sign in the offseason, came back to them in November thanks to the Steelers cutting him. The Steelers then were doomed without having Blount to fill in for an injured Le'Veon Bell in their one-and-done playoff appearance.

That of course helped the Ravens win a wild-card game to face the Patriots in the divisional round. While the Ravens, the Patriots' one playoff nemesis, were blowing a pair of 14-point leads last week, they got caught whining about the Patriots outsmarting them with sneaky formations. 

Then there's those Broncos. Their offseason upgrades weren't good enough  to stay on top in the AFC, paling in relation to what the Patriots did. The Patriots remixed to hit on an ideal offensive line combination during the season; the Broncos did not. Brady kept proving he's better than Peyton Manning, now and then. The Patriots still boasted the aggressive, more creative coaching staff that the Broncos couldn't match.

And now the Broncos will reportedly start fresh with Gary Kubiak, the guy who couldn't do it with the Texans, to trump Belichick. Good luck with that. Join the club that includes Chuck Pagano, Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh. We don't really need to mention Marvin Lewis' Bengals, do we?

The Patriots know they play in the weaker overall conference, and prey on it.

Luck's Colts just shared the field with them in the AFC's biggest game, and it felt like Manning's Colts — like they'll be lucky to break through once or twice while the Brady-Belichick Patriots stand in the way. 

What the Patriots do is complicated and not at the same time. They excel at both attacking your weaknesses and avoiding your strengths. They use every little-known rule and every bit of their personnel advantage. On Sunday, they went as far as activating but not playing running back Jonas Gray, who ripped the Colts in the regular season. The Patriots are talented, but clever, too. 

Compared to their cold and calculated way, everyone else among the AFC's best looks slow, steady, and yes, often silly.

How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Stars offense comes alive in victory over Blackhawks 5-3. Okay Hawks, enough is enough, the slump ends now, Let's go!!! 

By Tracey Myers

Brandon Saad scored twice but Cody Eakin also scored two, including the game-winner, as the Dallas Stars beat the Blackhawks 6-3 on Sunday night.

It’s the second straight loss and third in the last four games for the Blackhawks, who stay at 58 points and remain behind Nashville and St. Louis in the Central Division. The Winnipeg Jets, who were playing the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday, sit at 56 points pending the outcome of that game.

The Blackhawks got off to an energetic start, outshooting the Stars 7-0 in the first three minutes. But it was the Stars getting the early lead, with Tyler Seguin and Eakin (short-handed) staking them to a 2-0 edge about 11 minutes into the game.

Kane cut that to 2-1 with his 21st goal of the season, a rebound off a Patrick Sharp shot. Saad added his first of the night about five minutes later, a power-play goal to tie it 2-2. The Stars, however, took the lead back with Vernon Fiddler’s goal with 49 seconds remaining in the first.

The Blackhawks had a myriad of chances in the second period, outshooting the Stars 16-6. Saad capitalized on one, a spinning attempt from the slot to tie the game, 3-3.

But much like against Winnipeg on Friday, the Blackhawks gave up an opposing power-play goal again. Eakin got that one, scoring off a pretty tic-tac-toe play from Jamie Benn and Seguin. Erik Cole, on a 2-on-1, gave the Stars a 5-3 lead later in the third period and Shawn Horcoff added an empty-net goal with a minute remaining.

Jets defeat Blackhawks for third straight time 4-2. (Friday night's game, 01/16/2015).

By Brian Hedger

The Winnipeg Jets came into United Center on Friday tired, but they left rejuvenated after a third victory in as many games against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Fresh off a one-goal victory at the Dallas Stars on Thursday, Winnipeg didn't get into the Windy City until early Friday. Facing the well-rested Blackhawks, who hadn't played the previous four days, even Jets coach Paul Maurice had his doubts.

The Jets didn't, and that's all the mattered in a 4-2 win that further frustrated the Blackhawks (28-14-2).

Another strong performance by goalie Michael Hutchinson (31 saves) and two goals less than a half-minute apart in the third period from Bryan Little and Chris Thorburn were the difference this time.

"We play on energy, and I can't imagine [we] had any," Maurice said. "We won a game in Dallas [Thursday] night, and it was the quietest bus I've ever heard. You'd have thought we lost Game 7. Just great leadership in the locker room. They found a way to get themselves up and ready to play."

The Blackhawks were ready for revenge after losing to the Jets 1-0 on Nov. 2 and 5-1 on Dec. 23. They made it 1-0 on a goal by Brandon Saad 53 seconds into the game, but couldn't build off the early momentum.

Winnipeg (24-14-8) kept grinding and swept its third back-to-back set of the season to extend its winning streak to three games and leave Chicago victorious once again.

The remaining two games in the season series between the Central Division foes will be at MTS Centre.

"They seem to bring the best out of us," Jets forward Andrew Ladd said of the Blackhawks, his former team. "We know coming in here that it's going to be a challenge and that if you give them time and space to make plays, they can pick you apart. Maybe that gives us some urgency to get moving and get on them. We definitely seem to be able to do that."

Ladd assisted on Winnipeg's first goal, scored by defenseman Zach Bogosian at 10:46 of the first to tie it 1-1, and scored into an empty net to seal it in the third.

Little and Bogosian had assists for two-point games. Forward Blake Wheeler and defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, who played for the Blackhawks' Stanley Cup-winning team in 2010, each had two assists for the Jets, who lost forward Mathieu Perreault to an upper-body injury late in the second period.

Blackhawks rookie forward Teuvo Teravainen scored the first goal of his NHL career at 12:43 of the third to make it 3-2.

Hutchinson improved to 3-0-0 against the Blackhawks with a 1.00 goals-against average and .971 save percentage. He has allowed three goals on 105 shots in those outings.

"I don't think it was easy in the net for him tonight, because by the time it got to him, there were lots of legs and there were people swinging at pucks," Maurice said.

"Nobody could get a handle on [anything]. Especially after the first one early [by Saad], he and the team just fought through it."

Corey Crawford made 31 saves and fell to 0-3-0 against Winnipeg this season.

"I don't know if I'm disappointed," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "I thought we were better than the first two games against them here. I thought we were more competitive and had some good chances to score. Their goalie made some key saves."

One that Hutchinson didn't save was Saad's less than a minute into the game. Scored with a backhand from the right circle, the goal could've signaled a bad night for the Jets. Instead, Bogosian tied it 1-1 almost 10 minutes later with his third goal.

Physical play highlighted the opening period. The Jets and Blackhawks spent a combined 36 minutes in the penalty box in the first and racked up 48 penalty minutes in the game.

Neither team scored in the second, but more rough play at the end of the period knocked Perreault from the game. After he and Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith exchanged slashes, Keith gave Perreault a shove near the boards. Blackhawks forward Daniel Carcillo then cross-checked Perreault in his left arm.

Perreault, who didn't see the crosscheck coming, didn't return. Carcillo and Winnipeg center Mark Scheifele got matching cross-checking minors, which carried over to the third.

The stalemate continued until a holding penalty on Blackhawks center Andrew Shaw at 8:56 of the third led to Little's goal. After heading to the back side of the crease, Little tapped in a feed from Bogosian at 9:31 for the go-ahead goal.

Thorburn tipped a shot by Adam Lowry past Crawford at even strength 28 seconds later to make it 3-1. The goal turned out to be the game-winner because of Teravainen's goal with 7:17 left in regulation.

The rookie's first goal gave the Blackhawks a boost, but it wasn't enough.

"It's a nice feeling, of course," Teravainen said of his first NHL point. "First goal. I've been waiting. It's, of course, good to get the first one. I'm happy with that, but I'm not happy that we lost and we just couldn't win this tight game."

FYI Note: Right clicking any word in blue will take you to an additional link.

Blackhawks: Carcillo calls hit on Jets' Perreault 'a hockey play'.

By Tracey Myers

Winnipeg Jets forward Mathieu Perreault went down in pain moments after Daniel Carcillo’s crosscheck, an action that was unnecessary and once again had Carcillo drawing the wrong kind of attention his way.

And now, Carcillo has drawn more attention from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.

Carcillo has been offered an in-person hearing with the department for his crosscheck on Perreault in the Blackhawks’ 4-2 loss to the Jets on Friday night. An in-person hearing is offered, as required by provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for any suspension that can exceed five games.

Carcillo, speaking to reporters following Saturday afternoon’s practice and prior to the league’s announcement, said he just made “kind of a hockey play,” and that he hoped Perreault was OK. Carcillo wasn’t penalized for that crosscheck, but for an ensuing one on Jets forward Mark Scheifele.

Perreault did not return to the game. TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie said Perreault didn’t suffer a fracture but was injured and will miss some games as a result of the incident.

“It was just kind of a hockey play and it was at the end of a shift,” said Carcillo, who was finishing a one-minute, 35-second shift when he injured Perreault. “I must have just caught him between some padding. I've been hit there before too… it hurts.

“I don't really want to comment on something like that, but hopefully he's OK and I don't know what's going to happen,” Carcillo continued. “I don't like to jump to conclusions, so I just kind of wait it out and see how the day goes.”

Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice was obviously unhappy with the incident.

“I mean, it was a vicious crosscheck to an unsuspecting player,” said Maurice, when asked what he thought should happen as a result, said, “I’ll leave that for the league.”

Carcillo has already been suspended seven times in his NHL career. He served a seven-seven game suspension in his first stint with the Blackhawks – and also suffered a season-ending knee injury – when he boarded Edmonton Oilers defenseman Tom Gilbert in January of 2012. His last suspension was in June of 2014, while with the New York Rangers, for physical abuse of an official. That suspension, originally 10 games, was reduced to six by commissioner Gary Bettman.

“I think you [have] to know the balance and the fine line that you basically got to monitor game in, game out,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “He’s got to play with a purpose. He’s got to make sure [of] the boundaries, that leash is so tight that you don’t want to go the wrong way where all of a sudden you’re in the box or things like that.”

The Blackhawks wing has been watched closely for a reason; his reputation precedes him. Now he’s facing another lengthy suspension.

“I think they're watching everybody, but, yeah, you don't like to see guys get hurt, especially skilled guys. It's what the league wants is to see those guys out there. We don't want guys going after [Patrick Kane] and them…” Carcillo said. “I don't really like to speak on that too much, but I mean, you guys obviously know my reputation.”

Update: With Carcillo suspended, Nordstrom gets the call for Blackhawks.

By Tracey Myers

Daniel Carcillo did not play but Joakim Nordstrom did when the Blackhawks hosted the Dallas Stars Sunday night at the United Center.

Carcillo will have an in-person hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for his crosscheck on Winnipeg forward Mathieu Perreault on Friday night. Carcillo is suspended pending that hearing, the date and time of which has yet to be determined. (Note: Carcillo waived his in-person hearing and it will be done over the telephone.)

As far as the hearing and any punishment that may come Carcillo’s way, coach Joel Quenneville said, “it’s there and we’ll deal with it.”

Nordstrom, who worked with Marcus Kruger and Andrew Shaw in drills on Saturday, plays for the first time since Jan. 9.

“We’re looking to get energy from him,” Quenneville said. “He brings reliability, predictability and defensively he gives us speed.”

Michal Rozsival, who did not practice on Saturday, will play tonight. Corey Crawford will start.

Just Another Chicago Bulls Session… Bulls-Cavaliers Preview 

STATS LLC

The Chicago Bulls' gauntlet of an upcoming schedule began with a loss and doesn't look to ease up anytime soon.

That includes a matchup with the resurgent Cleveland Cavaliers.

Chicago tries to avoid its fourth loss in five games Monday night when it faces the Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Bulls (27-15) fell victim to red-hot Atlanta on Saturday, falling 107-99 at home despite 23 points and 10 assists from Derrick Rose.

The road from there only gets more challenging with Chicago's upcoming slate featuring contests against reigning champion San Antonio, 28-win Dallas and NBA-leading Golden State.

A fully functional roster would certainly help matters for the Bulls, who have lost five of seven. Rose has averaged 25.5 points and 8.0 assists over his last four games, but Jimmy Butler has topped the 20-point mark just once since Jan. 7 and Joakim Noah remains sidelined with an ankle injury.

"If I had the answer, I swear I wish I could tell you," Rose told Chicago's official site. "Once again, communication, trusting, and just the effort. It's frustrating, very frustrating. We've got to get it together if we want to go far.

"We definitely got to learn how to get stops. We're going to score enough points to win games, but our defense isn't up to par."

The Bulls ranked in the upper half of the NBA with 98.8 points allowed per game through the season's first 35 contests. In the last seven, however, Chicago has surrendered 103.1 points on a league-worst 49.6 field goal percentage.

Cleveland (21-20) meets Chicago at an opportune time considering the Cavaliers' upward trend. After falling below .500 with a six-game losing streak, they made the most of a two-game stint in Los Angeles, beating the Lakers and Clippers on consecutive nights. The Cavaliers shot better than 46 percent in each win -- something they had not accomplished since Dec. 23.

LeBron James and Kyrie Irving combined for 69 points in Friday's 126-121 win over the Clippers, leading Cleveland to its highest offensive output since Nov. 15.

"Communication between us and the coaches is getting a lot better," Irving said. "Just being out there and the coaches calling plays and me and LeBron seeing something out there and calling plays, and then we just got to go execute."

James has averaged 33.7 points on 52.3 percent shooting and 7.7 rebounds since returning from injury on Jan. 13. He experienced a similar level of success in Cleveland's previous game with the Bulls this season, scoring 36 points in the Cavaliers' 114-108 overtime road win on Oct. 31.

Chicago, however, has given James more trouble than most any other NBA team, defeating the four-time MVP in eight of their last 14 regular season meetings.

"They've put in a system over the years," James said of Chicago. "We have our system in place, but we've added a few new guys. We've had some injuries as well. We're starting to pick it up and guys are starting to get healthy, so I'm looking forward to seeing what we can become."

Kevin Love is questionable for Cleveland after he missed Friday's contest with back spasms. Tristan Thompson filled in nicely for Love, scoring a season-high 24 points on 10 of 12 from the field with 12 rebounds in a rare start for the fourth-year forward.

The Bulls have won seven of eight in Cleveland.

Bulls can't slow down red-hot Hawks, stay cold at home (Lose 107-99. Saturday night's game, 01/17/2015).

By Mark Strotman

The best recipe for the Bulls to get back on track at the United Center didn’t include facing the league’s hottest team in the middle of a historic road winning streak.

Kyle Korver connected on seven 3-pointers for a team-high 24 points, the Hawks handed out 31 assists on 40 made baskets and the Bulls wasted Derrick Rose’s best outing of the year as Atlanta came away with a 107-99 victory Saturday night.

The Hawks entered Chicago having won 25 of their last 27 games, the NBA’s longest extended streak since the Miami Heat won 27 straight in 2012-13. That Miami streak ended in Chicago, but the Hawks had no plans of slowing down facing a Bulls team that had lost three of its last four on their home floor.

Korver’s hot shooting allowed the Hawks a double-digit lead in the first half, and they led by as many as 15 in the third quarter before Rose went to work. The former MVP, on the heels of a 29-point, 10-assist effort the previous night in Boston, scored 15 points in the third quarter alone and helped the Bulls cut the deficit to as few as seven.

Rose was just as good in the fourth quarter, using a pair of up-and-under layups (one being a three-point play) to pull the Bulls within five.

But the Hawks, who one night earlier had cruised in a win over Toronto, showed plenty of life down the stretch, answering each Bulls’ basket and not allowing the hosts to get closer than that. Rose neared a triple-double in defeat, finishing with 23 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists, further distancing himself from the career-worst shooting slump he endured earlier in the month.

Saturday’s win marked the Hawks’ 12th straight road victory, and they’re one of just four East teams the last 15 years to win 10 straight on the road. The other three teams – most recently the 2013 Heat – all advanced to the NBA Finals. And on Saturday night the Hawks, leaders in the East by four games, had the look of a championship contender.

The Bulls, meanwhile, weren’t able to build on one of their most impressive offensive performances of the year on Friday. After scoring 119 points and turning the ball over just seven times in a win in Boston, Tom Thibodeau’s group committed seven miscues in the opening quarter that allowed the Hawks an eight-point lead, 24-16, in the opening stanza.

Pau Gasol finished with his 23rd double-double – 22 points and 15 rebounds – while Jimmy Butler added 15 points in the loss. But playing with Joakim Noah (ankle) for a second straight night and Mike Dunleavy (ankle) for an eighth straight game took its toll on a Bulls team forced to shift its rotation on the fly. Though they shot 47 percent and made nine 3-pointers, the offense took far too long to get going against a tough Hawks defense that ranked fifth in efficiency heading into the game.

The Bulls defense wasn’t much better. Playing without Noah, the Bulls were a step behind Atlanta’s pinpoint ball movement and penetration. And when help defense arrived, it left the Hawks’ sharpshooters open outside. Atlanta connected on 11 3-pointers and shot 48 percent from the field.

Al Horford had his way inside on Pau Gasol, scoring 22 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Jeff Teague managed the Hawks offense with ease, handing out eight assists in addition to his 17 points. Paul Millsap added 16 points in the win.

The Bulls will have Sunday off before a Monday showdown with LeBron James and the Cavaliers in Cleveland.

Rose, Bulls step up defensively to knock off Celtics 1119-103. (Friday night's game, 01/16/2015). 

By Jimmy Toscano

The Celtics put up a good fight against the Bulls but ultimately lost, unable to get enough breaks to overcome a razor-thin margin for error. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

The Bulls had been fresh off 11 quarters of pretty rough basketball on the defensive end.

They made the 12th one count.

Holding onto a two-point lead after allowing the Celtics to shoot 52 percent through three quarters, the Bulls clamped down on defense and limited the Celtics to 17 points on 40-percent shooting in the fourth quarter.

And as good as they were on defense in that time, they were equally as good on offense, scoring 31 points in the 4th en route to a 119-103 win.

While the effort really showed late in the game, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau was happy with things from the start.

“I thought we played with a lot more energy tonight, throughout the game both on offense and [defense],” Thibodeau said. “They’re a very good offensive team and I thought we challenged shots well, our pressure was good.”

Derrick Rose led all scorers with 29 points, 11 of which came in the fourth quarter. He added 10 assists and didn’t commit a single turnover. Rose wasn’t the only impressive Bull Friday night, though. Jimmy Butler had 22 points and Pau Gasol dropped a 20 and 11 stat line.

“I thought the energy was great, probably one of the best games we’ve played,” Thibodeau said. “I thought Derrick was great on both sides of the ball and that’s huge for us. I thought Jimmy stepped up and had a terrific game, Pau was great, and our bench was terrific.”

Though Thibodeau didn’t seem too upset with his team in the first half, the Bulls allowed the Celtics to shoot 60-percent in the first half.

It appeared as though this one was heading in the same direction as some of their recent letdown games. But there are two halves to every story, and the story in the second half was one the Bulls were fine with.

“We started the game off pretty well, just that second quarter we kind of let the pressure down and allowed them to get more comfortable,” Gasol said. “We went into the half giving up 58 points and them shooting 60 percent from the field which is not something we like at all.

“In the second half we did a better job defensively getting into them, contesting more shots. The rebounding was shaky tonight, too many opportunities for them on the offensive glass, but overall a much better effort defensively which is what we need and what we’re going to need critically [Saturday] night against the Hawks.”

Chicago won’t get away with a poor first half against the Eastern Conference-leading Hawks. Consistency is something Thibodeau talks about often, and he’ll be looking for it Saturday night. Butler thinks a fourth-quarter like Friday night’s could right some wrongs, but only if they use it as an example of good basketball.

“We play like that for 48 minutes, getting stops, the team won’t score 90 points, damn sure won’t score 100,” Butler said. “I think it’s always going to end up starting on the defensive end for us.”

Bear Down Chicago Bears!!!!! It's official: Bears land John Fox as franchise’s 15th head coach.

By John Mullin

John Fox will be introduced as the new Chicago Bears head coach today at 11:00 A.M. during a news conference at Halas Hall. (Picture borrowed from anonymous face book page. Name could not be used due to privacy issue.)

When Ryan Pace was introduced last week as the Bears’ new general manager, he left zero doubt as to his Job 1: get the next Bears head coach in place. ASAP. 

Pace made good on his declaration on Friday, securing the services of John Fox on a four-year deal, as reported by Jay Glazer, as the 15^th head coach of the NFL’s charter franchise. 

It marks the first time since George Halas returned in 1958 for his fourth stint on the sidelines that the Bears have hired a head coach who has NFL experience in the job, and high-level experience at that. 

Fox, out of work only since he and the Denver Broncos ended their four-year run last Monday, arrived at Halas Hall Wednesday for his initial – and as it turned out, only – interview. 

History of winning

 

Fox owns a 119-89 record in regular seasons, four with the Denver Broncos and the preceding nine with the Carolina Panthers. His teams compiled an 8-7 mark in postseasons. His combined Carolina/Denver win percentage (.572) is slightly better than that of Lovie Smith for Smith’s nine years running the Bears (.563).

 

If there is any shadow across the Fox resume’ it is that he has coached in three Super Bowls – two as head coach with Carolina and Denver, one as defensive coordinator with the New York Giants – and hasn’t been fitted yet for a ring. That, however, is a record of runner-up finishes far superior to the Bears’ record of reaching and losing just one Super Bowl over the same span.

 

On a reduced scale, though not unlike Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs, Fox has won both because of and in spite of a spectrum of quarterbacks. Gibbs won Super Bowls with Joe Theisman, Mark Rypien and Doug Williams. Fox reached Super Bowls with Jake Delhomme and Peyton Manning, and he won a playoff game with Tim Tebow, which may rank above the successes with Delhomme and Manning on the accomplishments list.

Colleges to NFL 

Fox was in the same San Diego State secondary with eventual NFL player and coach Herm Edwards. He started his coaching track as a graduate assistant with SDSU and spent 1978-88 in a succession of primarily college jobs before breaking into the NFL as DB coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1989 and then that same post with the San Diego Chargers in 1992. 

The step to the next level – defensive coordinator – came with the Los Angeles Raiders in 1994 and then with the New York Giants in 1997, hired by Jim Fassel during the general manager tenure of Ernie Accorsi. 

The Giants were overwhelmed by Ray Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens in the 2000 Super Bowl but Fox was hired in 2002 to succeed George Seifert as head coach of the Carolina Panthers.

The Carolina experience

 

The Panthers improved from 1-15 under Seifert to 7-9 with Fox and then reached the Super Bowl in 2003 where they lost to the New England Patriots on a field goal by Adam Vinatieri with four seconds to play.

 

Fox was able to keep the Panthers competitive through 2009, winning no fewer than seven games and peaking at 12-4 in 2008. But an 8-8 mark in 2009 was followed by a 2-14 season in 2010 in which the Panthers went through quarterbacks that included rookie Jimmy Clausen. Fox’s contract, which hadn’t been extended, was simply not renewed beyond 2010.

 

The Denver Broncos, who’d fired Mike Shanahan after 2008, tried Josh McDaniels for 2009-10, a regime most notable for jettisoning Jay Cutler and drafting Tebow.

 

Rocky Mountain not-high-enough

 

Fox was hired in 2011 to succeed McDaniels and improved the Broncos from 4-12 under McDaniels to 8-8, aided by Marion Barber stepping out of bounds in regulation and fumbling in overtime to hand Denver a win over the Bears.

 

Fox stayed with Kyle Orton to start the 2011 season but changed to Tebow after starting 1-4. After the season Broncos boss John Elway first announced that Tebow would be the starting QB going into 2012, but then traded for Manning. The Broncos went 13-3 in 2012 and lost in double overtime to Baltimore in the divisional round, then 13-3 in 2013 and lost badly to Seattle in the Super Bowl.

 

Elway, who’d obtained Manning expressly to win Super Bowls, then opened the trap door under Fox after the Broncos lost last weekend in the divisional round to the Indianapolis Colts.

Maddon gets rousing reception from Cubs fans.

By ANDREW SELIGMAN (AP Sports Writer)

New Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon greets fans during the opening night of the annual Cubs Convention, Friday, Jan. 16, 2015 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Daily Herald, Mark Welsh)

Cubs fans got on their feet and roared, a rousing ovation for the person they hope will lead their favorite team to prominence.

Joe Maddon was the man of the moment Saturday, and the reception for Chicago's new manager was every bit as warm as it was loud.

Maddon is quite popular around town these days, particularly on the North Side. After all, many believe the long-suffering franchise is poised for bigger things and he's just the guy to lead them there.

''Bring on the expectations,'' he said.

The Cubs did just that this offseason, signing ace Jon Lester to a six-year deal worth $155 million at the winter meetings in December. But the move that signaled they really were ready to accelerate their rebuilding project happened in late October, when they hired Maddon away from Tampa Bay.

Never mind that they had already told Rick Renteria he would be back for a second season. The Cubs couldn't resist going after one of the game's top managers.

Now, he's got a team that features a three-time All-Star in Lester at the top of the rotations established young players such as shortstop Starlin Castro and first baseman Anthony Rizzo in the lineup and a line of promising prospects that the Cubs hope can help them end a World Series championship drought that dates to 1908.

All that optimism aside, the fact remains - Chicago has five straight fifth-place finishes in the NL Central. The Cubs won just 73 games last season, although that was an improvement from 66 in 2013. And while prospects such as Javier Baez and Jorge Soler arrived at the majors, there are still big questions surrounding this team.

''Please hold us accountable,'' President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein told fans. ''We're trying to win. We're also continuing to try to grow the organization. That means we're going to be throwing a lot of young players out there. We ask for your patience with them because it's a process. But hold us accountable.''

It's not just the roster that has a different look.

The long-awaited renovation to Wrigley Field is finally underway, a five-year, $575 million overhaul of a ballpark that turned 100 last season and the surrounding area.

President of Business Operations Crane Kenney said the organization discussed playing a year or two at Miller Park in Milwaukee but decided against that.

The left- and right-field bleachers are being replaced this winter, but they won't be ready until May. The center-field bleachers will also remain closed until then because of the construction.

The team also said the left-field videoboard should be ready by April 5, but the smaller one in right won't be until May.

Meanwhile, Chairman Tom Ricketts confirmed the Cubs bought several neighboring buildings and plan to run them as rooftop businesses.

He also said Sammy Sosa remains estranged from the organization and that some things have to change before he is welcomed back. Ricketts would not say exactly what those things are for the former slugger whose huge home run totals were tainted by drug suspicions.

The Cubs' arms are wide open for Maddon, a two-time AL Manager of the Year.

 

He deftly guided several young Tampa Bay teams to contention in the AL East, leading the Rays to two division titles and a pennant in 2008, and his new bosses are looking for similar results.
 

There are some differences. 

Instead of managing in a dreary stadium, he will be working at what he referred to as the ''finest cathedral in all of major league baseball'' - Wrigley Field. He will have to contend with more day games, which he acknowledged won't be easy for someone who is not a morning person. 

On Saturday, he faced a wide range of questions. 

One young fan wanted to know who will play third base - Luis Valbuena, Mike Olt or prized prospect Kris Bryant? 

''Who do you want?'' Maddon said. 

''Kris Bryant,'' the boy responded. 

Maddon praised Bryant as a ''wonderful young man'' who is a ''huge part of our future'' but said who plays third will be determined at spring training. 

Another fan asked if he would go for a shot and a beer. In fact, Maddon offered to buy a shot and a beer for everyone at his introductory press conference at a bar across from Wrigley. 

There was another question about his RV - the Cousin Eddie. Maddon's interview with Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer happened outside the Winnebago at an RV park in Pensacola, Florida.
 

Cousin Eddie is in Mesa, Arizona, near Maddon's children and the Cubs' spring training complex. He is not sure if he will have someone drive it to Chicago.
 

''I'll keep you posted on that,'' Maddon said.

Cubs: New Wrigley Field bleachers won't be ready for opener.

AP - Sports
                            

In this Oct. 16, 2014, file photo, workers use hoses to keep dust down as construction equipment starts to take big bites out of Wrigley Field's outfield walls in Chicago. The Chicago Cubs have agreed to several changes in their Wrigley Field renovation plan in exchange for a federal tax credit worth up to $75 million. The Commission on Chicago Landmarks will consider the agreement during a meeting Thursday Dec. 4, 2014. Cubs spokesman Julian Green says the deal with the National Park Service will prevent other signs from encroaching on the historic centerfield manual scoreboard. The deal could earn Wrigley a spot on National Register of Historic Places. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)

The Chicago Cubs say new Wrigley Field bleachers won't be ready for the April 5 season opener.

The left- and right-field bleachers are being replaced as part of a five-year overhaul of the ballpark that turned 100 last season. 

President of Business Operations Crane Kenney said Saturday that the left-field bleachers won't be ready until early May, and the right-field ones in late May. 

About 1,000 season-ticket holders can choose to get a full refund for games before May 11, a credit or relocate to the grandstand.

The team also said the left-field videoboard should be ready by April 5, but the smaller one in right will be operational in May.

Meanwhile, chairman Tom Ricketts confirmed the Cubs bought several neighboring buildings and plan to run them as rooftop businesses.

MLB on course to spend more than $4 billion in 2015.

By Jeff Passan

The Los Angeles Dodgers are primed to shatter baseball’s payroll record, with an estimated $262.6 million worth of salaries on the books, and Major League Baseball almost assuredly will cross the $4 billion threshold as an industry in payroll and benefits during the 2015 season, according to a Yahoo Sports analysis.

Using reported salary figures from Baseball Prospectus, arbitration estimates from MLB Trade Rumors and the standard $500,000 for pre-arbitration players, opening day salaries for the 30 teams total nearly $3.6 billion. With the signings of remaining free agents – Max Scherzer, James Shields, Colby Rasmus and a handful of relievers, back-end starters and fourth-outfielder types – teams should guarantee at least another $125 million in 2015 salaries to players before the start of the season, pushing the total well past the $3.63 billion teams paid players last season.

By adding an estimated $12 million per team in benefits and other supplementary income, the total money paid should rocket past $4 billion, as the industry’s annual revenue exceeds $9 billion.

Nearly two-thirds of the teams in baseball could start the season with $100 million-plus payrolls, with the Dodgers, Yankees ($210.9 million) and Red Sox ($180.5 million) all certain to exceed the $189 million luxury-tax threshold. Rounding out the top five payrolls are Detroit ($168.8 million) and World Series champion San Francisco ($160.7 million).

The rebuilding Philadelphia Phillies, a perennial high-payroll team, dropped to eighth with a $136.4 million team – more than $43.6 million lower than their opening day figure in 2014. Arizona shed the next-highest figure, dipping $27.3 million to an estimated $85.4 million, and Atlanta was third, going from $110.9 million in 2014 to $93 million in 2015. Also down: the Los Angeles Angels ($145.5 million) and Toronto ($122.5 million), both a little more than $10 million under 2014.

The biggest salary jump comes in Seattle, where the Mariners’ offensive additions bumped their payroll to an estimated $122.5 million, more than $30 million ahead of 2014. The Dodgers are second at $27.3 million, though in reality they’ll actually be spending less on players in their uniform this year: they’re paying a combined $37.5 million to cover the salaries of the released Brian Wilson and the traded Matt Kemp and Dan Haren. Other big movers: the Chicago White Sox jumping $23.4 million to an estimated $114.6 million, the AL champion Kansas City Royals up $20 million to a record $112.1 million payroll, and the Chicago Cubs, finally spending again, ahead $19.1 million from last year and back into nine figures at $108.5 million.

The bottom five in payroll are some familiar culprits. The Houston Astros again are projected to have baseball’s lowest payroll at $64.7 million, even with a jump of more than $20 million from opening day 2014, and the Miami Marlins have the second lowest at $66.9 million despite a nearly equal bump to Houston’s. Tampa Bay ($73.5 million), Oakland ($80.6 million) and Cleveland ($83 million) round out the five lowest, each expecting to spend near what it did last season.

San Diego, surprisingly, remains near the bottom in total payroll despite its spending binge this offseason. Its 24th-ranked payroll of $87.7 million would actually be $2 million lower than last opening day. What gives? Include the $18 million balloon payment for Kemp and the Padres’ $105.7 million figure would actually be 19th overall.

Still under $100 million: The New York Mets, who play in America’s biggest market and would have a $96.7 million team if the season started today – about $15 million less than Kansas City, $14 million lower than Cincinnati, $10 million under Milwaukee and $8 million behind Minnesota, whose four metropolitan-area populations combined aren’t half as big as the Mets’.

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Golf: I got a club for that; Kaymer stunned as Stal steals Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

By Ryan Ballengee

Gary Stal of France, center, receives the trophy from Sheikh Nahyan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, left, and Mohammad Al-Tuwaijri, chief executive of HSBC Middle East and North Africa, after Stal wins the HSBC Golf Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2015. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

This is why there's no such thing as the Victory Formation in golf. 

Martin Kaymer entered the final round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship with a six-shot edge over Thomas Pieters and had the field convinced Saturday that they were playing for second place. By Sunday afternoon, Kaymer had finished third, two behind eventual winner, 22-year-old Frenchman Gary Stal, the 357th-ranked player in the world. 

“I’m surprised and a little shocked," Kaymer said. "I don't really know how to put it into words. It was very, very surprising today." 

In search of a fourth win in this tournament in eight years, Kaymer got off to a hot start at Abu Dhabi G.C., making birdies on three of his first four holes. Pieters was 1 over in his first five holes, giving Kaymer a 10-shot lead. Bulletproof, right?  

Then it started to fall apart. Kaymer made bogey at the par-4 sixth for just his third dropped shot of the week to that point. It happens. 

However, on the ninth hole, Kaymer made double-bogey 6, turning in even par as Stal was at the tail end of a stretch of six birdies in eight holes, including four in a row from the eighth to the 11th holes. Kaymer made the turn at 20 under par, where he started the day; Stal had gotten to within a shot.

The turning point for Kaymer was the par-4 13th. His tee shot found a bush inside a bunker, forcing him to take an unplayable lie. Kaymer extricated himself to the fairway, where he then chunked a wedge approach some 30 feet. After a recovery, Kaymer missed a 7-foot putt double bogey. All of a sudden, Kaymer had gone from 10 up to one down with five to play. 

 

From there, Kaymer made pars into the house, unable to capitalize on the par-5 finishing hole. Stal made one more birdie, on the 16th, to card a bogey-free, 7-under 65. Kaymer, who wound up shooting 3-over 75, finished on the podium but not where he expected. 
 

As it turned out, Rory McIlroy was runner-up and actually had a chance at the last to force a playoff. Playing a group ahead of Stal in the third-from-last tee time, McIlroy nearly holed a bunker shot for eagle that would have ultimately tied him at the winning total of 19 under par.
 

For the world No. 1, it's his fourth runner-up finish in his last five worldwide starts and perhaps a lesson that he should never concede a tournament, as he did Saturday afternoon.
 

"Going out today, my goal today was to finish second," McIlroy said. "I didn't think I was going to get close to winning the golf tournament."
 

For Stal, it's a dream come true.
 

"It's unbelievable to win, because when I saw the leaderboard on the fifth hole, I saw Martin Kaymer on 24 under par and I thought to myself then it's not possible to win," Stal said. "But when I saw my name on the leaderboard on the 16th green, I saw everything had changed, and then it was possible."
 

For Kaymer, who was left searching for heartening takeaways, it's a stunning setback.
 

“The positive is I was playing really good golf after the winter break but it’s tough to say that after that round," he said. "I certainly was shocked.”

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Robert Allenby kidnapped, beaten up and robbed in Hawaii.

By Kyle Porter | Golf Writer

File this one away in "most bizarre golf stories of 2015" because it might not be topped all year by anything.

 

Robert Allenby was kidnapped from a wine bar in Hawaii on Friday night after missing the cut at the Sony Open. He was beaten up, robbed and dropped off six miles from the bar. 

"I should be OK, just in a lot of pain," Allenby said in a text to the Associated Press.

"I didn't think I was going to survive this one."

 

The Golf Channel first reported on the incident:

"Allenby's caddie, Mick Middlemo, told Golf Channel's Steve Sands that Allenby was in a wine bar near Waikiki with Middlemo and another friend, identified by the Australian Associated Press as Anthony Puntoriero. Neither Middlemo nor Puntoriero was with the Aussie at the time of the alleged kidnapping."

Allenby told the Australian AP he might have been drugged in a Waikiki Beach bar before he was robbed and placed in the trunk of a car. A homeless woman told the 43-year-old she saw him thrown from the vehicle. A retired military man discovered Allenby and helped him get back to his hotel.

 

Here's a look at Allenby's injuries:

 

This is certainly not something you see every day from a golfer and it's extremely disconcerting to look at.

NASCAR: Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace goes off on Olbermann in radio interview.

By Chris Estrada
                                     

Rusty Wallace (Photo/Getty Images)

As part of his op-ed yesterday on how this NASCAR off-season has veered into the bizarre, my colleague, Tony DiZinno, brought up the recent Twitter scrap between big-name sports commentator Keith Olbermann and six-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson – a scrap that began with Olbermann spouting off on the Kurt Busch/Patricia Driscoll saga.

The details of the Olbermann/Johnson exchange are in the link above, so I won’t rehash.

But Johnson isn’t the only Cup champ that has jumped in. Yesterday on Phoenix’s Fox Sports 910 AM, 1989 champ and NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace put in his two cents on the matter and on Olbermann’s belief that racing isn’t a sport.

He didn’t hold back.

“I don’t pay any attention to Olbermann. He doesn’t know anything about our sport,” Wallace said. “Our sport’s the most popular form of motorsport in the world. There’s no doubt about that, you can’t argue it. You get in a car, you run 200 mph sweating your brains out. You lose anywhere between 10 to 12 pounds in a race – that’s what I used to do – I mean it’s physical.

“We’re not trying to say we’re stick and ball guys, by all means. But to try and belittle the drivers and say it’s not tough or something is not correct. Because every NFL guy or any basketball player, anybody like that, they’re in shock and awe when it comes to NASCAR and what it takes to run these cars in the Daytona 500 or Bristol or anywhere – two inches apart, running 200 mph, for 500 miles, three and a half hours.

“They don’t talk any crap on it.”

Wallace then said anti-NASCAR negativity in some corners of the American sports media is a constant obstacle that must be fought. Later in the interview, he returned to Olbermann.

“I’d love to have Olbermann in a car one time and run his ass around the track and see what he says then,” he said.

One of the radio hosts then proclaims that Olbermann could “kiss [his] ass.” To which Wallace replied: “He can kiss my ass, too, how’s that?”

While any Formula One fan may beg to differ on Wallace’s assertion of NASCAR being the most popular motorsport in the world, he otherwise puts up an OK defense. Racing does take a lot out of you physically and mentally, and you’d figure a lot of athletes in the ‘Big Four’ sports (Detroit Lions back Reggie Bush, being one example) have respect for racing.

However, it would appear that Olbermann’s mind is made up. He closed his tweets on the subject with the following on Friday:  

Keith Olbermann        ✔                                                              Follow

@KeithOlbermann  

 

I'd like to thank #NASCAR fans for proving every cliché about themselves. And creating new ones. #Secede

 

2:08 PM - 16 Jan 2015                      

98 Retweets 194 favorites  

All you can do is shrug and go back to my colleague’s op-ed and its central point: We really need to get some cars on the track, so we can focus on that.

The first practice at Daytona Speedweeks is in 27 days.

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Manchester City 0-2 Arsenal: Gunners win big on the road with tactical masterclass.

By Kyle Bonn

It’s been four years. Four long years.

That’s how long it’s been since Arsenal won a game on the road against an eventual top-four finisher. They’ve likely broken that trend, thanks to some brilliant tactical game-planning by Arsene Wenger.

A structured defense and lethal counter saw Nacho Monreal earn a penalty – which Santi Cazorla finished off – and Olivier Giroud head home a second as Arsenal comprehensively locked down the dangerous Manchester City attack to win 2-0.

Manchester City began the game with much of the possession, owning nearly 80% of the ball through the first 20 minutes, but did precious little as Arsenal was content to sit back and counter. In fact, the Gunners had the best chance of the opening portion as a cross found a diving Olivier Giroud’s head but he put it wide from a tight angle.

The positive breaks for Arsenal allowed them to take control, with a penalty given after Nacho Monreal, on a one-two in the corner of the box, was blocked and tripped by Vincent Kompany. Santi Cazorla tucked the penalty home inside the right post, and Arsenal took the early lead.

After the goal, Arsenal sat right back where they were, stuffing players behind the ball, and it continued to befuddle the home side. The first half ran out with very little in the Manchester City attack, as Francis Coquelin played brilliantly in a covering role just in front of the back four.

Halftime saw Manuel Pellegrini swap out James Milner for Stevan Jovetic looking for more attacking creativity. City turned things up a notch on 50 minutes, but still couldn’t unlock the Arsenal defense for the final ball. They had a massive chance on the hour mark minutes, but a ball across the face of goal by Jesus Navas somehow eluded both David Silva and Sergio Aguero despite the latter two beating the entire Arsenal defense to the space.

Again, though, the Manchester City defense would let the title contenders down. A free-kick from well outside the box came in from Santi Cazorla. It floated over the entire City defenders, who were playing in an aggressive position, and found the head of Olivier Giroud who completed an easy finish.

City continued to build up the possession and corner statistics, racking up over 65% possession and an 15-2 corner advantage, but it amounted to nothing offensively. Alexis Sanchez nearly picked out a third from distance if not for a quality save by Joe Hart with 17 minutes to go, and Arsenal was happy to see the rest of things out at the back as Manchester City had no answers.

The three points are enormous for Arsenal, who not only get a marquee win on the road, but also jump above rival Spurs into fifth and are now just a point off Manchester United for the final Champions League spot. Meanwhile, as big a win as this is for Arsenal, it’s equal of a blow to the hosts. City now falls five points back of Chelsea, unable to keep pace with the Blues at the top. Southampton is five points back of the Citizens in third.

LINEUPS:

Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis, Clichy, Fernandinho (Lampard 63′), Fernando, Navas (Dzeko 76′), Silva, Milner (Jovetic 46′), Aguero.

Arsenal: Ospina, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Ramsey (Flamini 84′), Oxlade-Chamberlain (Rosicky 66′), Cazorla, Alexis (Gibbs 84′), Giroud.

Goals: Cazorla (pen) 24′, Giroud 67′

Jose Mourinho asks Chelsea fans to show Steven Gerrard more respect. 

By Kyle Lynch

Jose Mourinho isn’t always one to dish out compliments, but when you’ve had a career like Steven Gerrard has had, even the “Special One” is paying his respects.

Chelsea travels to Anfield on Tuesday in the first semi-final leg of the Capital One Cup, and Jose Mourinho has asked the club’s supporters for one thing.

Show more respect to Steven Gerrard.

Mourinho has been open about his respect for the Liverpool captain, and talked about how he “dreamed” of signing Gerrard to Chelsea earlier in his career. Mourinho said he had plans to pair Gerrard in the midfield with Frank Lampard and Claude Makelele, but Gerrard never left Anfield.

Gerrard infamously slipped in the match between the two clubs last season, leading to a Demba Ba goal that derailed Liverpool’s title hopes. Ahead of the match on Tuesday, Mourinho has asked fans to refrain from using a chant that references Gerrard’s slip.

"The song that my fans have I don’t like at all.

A couple of times it is good fun but to go and go and go, especially with a player like him who deserves respect, I don’t think you don’t need that.

We have so many other songs, you don’t need that one."

Mourinho also said he “loved” the quotes Steven Gerrard made earlier this month when he said he would never score against Liverpool, which could be viewed as a slight dig at Frank Lampard, who tallied against Chelsea earlier this season.

While it is honorable of Mourinho show his respect for an opposing player, I’m sure you will still hear some anti-Gerrard chants from the away supporters at Anfield.

Iowa State topples Kansas thanks to blistering transition attack.

By Jeff Eisenberg

Iowa State Cyclones forward Georges Niang (31) signals a three pointer to the crowd during their game against the Kansas Jayhawks at James H. Hilton Coliseum. Iowa State beat Kansas 86-81. (Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports)

Even with his team clinging to a four-point lead and less than two minutes to play, Georges Niang showed no interest in bleeding the clock dry.

The Iowa State forward split a double team in the frontcourt, zoomed up court and fed point guard Monte Morris for a crucial transition layup.  

Revved-up Iowa State ran even when common sense dictated otherwise Saturday night against Kansas, and the unconventional strategy proved effective. The 11th-ranked Cyclones escaped with a satisfying 86-81 victory largely because the ninth-ranked Jayhawks could not keep up with them.   

Time after time, Iowa State players beat their Kansas counterparts down the court for uncontested layups, sometimes after missed shots but often after makes too. Bill Self burned through his timeouts chastising his team and played big men Cliff Alexander and Jamari Traylor far less than their usual minutes because they couldn't keep pace, yet nothing he did made much of a difference. 

Six Iowa State players scored in double figures as the Cyclones shot 50.8 percent from the field. Jameel McKay had maybe the most memorable basket for Iowa State, a powerful two-handed alley-oop slam from Monte Morris that sparked a lightning-quick 16-4 run to break open a two-point game and give the Cyclones the breathing room they needed to hold off a late Kansas charge.
 

Iowa State's win improved its record to 13-3 overall and ensured the Big 12 race will remain competitive for weeks to come. Had Kansas won, the Jayhawks (14-3, 3-1) would have opened up a lead of two or more games on everyone in the conference except rival Kansas State. Instead the perennial league champs fall back to the pack and will have to work a little bit harder to win a share of the Big 12 crown for the 11th straight year. 
 

While staying within striking distance of Kansas was important to Iowa State, the Cyclones were probably most excited to have avenged a pair of heartbreaking home losses to the Jayhawks the previous two years. Kansas is the only team besides Iowa State to have won at Hilton Coliseum since Jan. 2012, having beaten the Cyclones once in overtime and the other time by seven points.
 

The only reason Kansas still had a chance late in Saturday's game was its domination of the offensive glass and Iowa State's maddening inability to close things out at the foul line.
 

Kelly Oubre and Perry Ellis in particular out-muscled Iowa State in the paint as the Jayhawks gobbled up 15 offensive boards. Iowa State also missed 11 free throws, five in the game's final two minutes.
 

Nonetheless, Kansas never had the chance to deliver more heartbreak to Iowa State fans because it never had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead.
 

The Cyclones made sure of that with their transition attack. They turned the game into a track meet and ran off with a crucial win.

DePaul comes backs, beats St. John's 71-67 in OT.

AP - Sports

Myke Henry scored 19 and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds to help DePaul overcome an 11-point second-half deficit and beat St. John's 71-67 in overtime on Sunday.

Billy Garrett Jr. made 13 of 13 free throws and finished with a season-high 20 points for DePaul (10-9, 4-2 Big East), which already has its most conference wins since the 2007-08 season. Aaron Simpson added a career-high 13 points.

Forrest Robinson hit a 3 and Simpson made 1 of 2 free throws to put DePaul up 67-63 with 1:34 left in overtime.

Rysheed Jordan made a layup for St. John's, but couldn't convert the three-point play. After a turnover by the Blue Demons, Jordan made two free throws to tie it at 67 with 42 seconds remaining.

Henry and Durrell McDonald hit a pair of free throws apiece from there to seal it for DePaul.

Jordan, whose two free throws with 8 seconds left in regulation forced overtime, finished with 17 points, four assists and four steals for St. John's (12-5, 1-4).

Big 5 pass cost of attendance as NCAA autonomy begins.

By RALPH D. RUSSO (AP College Football Writer)

NCAA President Mark Emmert, left, and Division 1 board of directors member Kirk Schulz, Kansas State University president, speak with reporters during a news conference at the NCAA Convention in Oxon Hill, Md., Friday, Jan. 16, 2015. The NCAA announced Friday, a settlement with Penn State that will give the school back 112 wins wiped out during the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal and restore the late Joe Paterno as the winningest coach in major college football history. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Two huge video screens flanked a banner that stretched about the length of a third-and-long and hung behind the dais at the front of an expansive ballroom.

On the banner and the screens were the logos of the five wealthiest and most powerful conferences in college athletics: the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conference.

The future of the NCAA, big-time college sports and the definition of the term student-athlete is now in their hands. 

Their first order of business came Saturday when the so-called Big Five used its newly granted autonomy to pass NCAA legislation that increases the value of an athletic scholarship by several thousand dollars to cover the federally determined actual cost of attendance. 

It's not pay for play, but athletes will now get a bigger cut of the billions of dollars generated by college sports. 

''You can't miss the significance of the day,'' SEC Executive Associate Commissioner Greg Sankey said. ''The five conferences showed the ability to use this opportunity in a meaningful and positive way.''
 

Legislative autonomy for the Big Five was voted in last year and this year's NCAA convention was its first chance to use it.

The group of 65 schools can pass legislation on its own, without the support of the schools in the other 27 Division I conferences.

''It's historic, first of all, in that these 65 schools are in a room by themselves with the ability to pass legislation. That's never happened before,'' ACC Commissioner John Swofford said. ''I've never attended a convention where the primary focus of most of what was being discussed was about the student-athlete and the student-athletes' experiences.''

And for the first time in NCAA Division I history student-athletes were involved in the voting process, making up 15 of the 80 total delegates. They provided some of the most spirited debate during the discussion forum when a proposal to guarantee four-year scholarships that cannot be revoked because of athletic performance was introduced. That proposal passed, but five athletes voted against it.

''We literally walked in here with a vote that was equal to the president of the school, that was equal to the compliance director, that was equal to the guy with 17 degrees,'' Oklahoma football player Ty Darlington said. ''That may seem ludicrous to some people but I think it's important because we're the ones that are going through the experience.''

The new structure requires approval from three of the five conferences and 60 percent of the schools to pass legislation. A proposal can also be passed with a simple majority of schools if four of the five conferences approve.

The cost of attendance proposal passed with overwhelming support, by a 79-1 margin, drawing a smattering of anticlimactic applause from the delegates. It will go into effect Aug. 1.

By the same margin, the schools also passed a resolution to ''modernize the collegiate model.'' The only school to vote against both measures was Boston College.

''I never assumed that it was just, check a box,'' said Sankey, who has been one of the leading architects of the new NCAA governance structure. ''When I woke up this morning I said, 'I wonder what's going to happen?'''

Also passed was a proposal that requires all schools have a written concussion protocol approved by a concussion safety protocol committee.

The move toward autonomy began after a proposal to add a $2,000 stipend to the value of a scholarship to help cover the cost of attendance for athletes was shot down in 2011 by schools concerned they could not afford it and it would create a recruiting advantage for those that could.

Now those schools can't stand in the way on certain issues, though the legislation passed Saturday allows any school to opt in - or out.

The exact value of cost of attendance will vary from school to school. Currently, an athletic scholarship covers the cost of tuition, room and board, books and fees. The new scholarships will cover the cost of additional expenses, up to the full amount a traditional student might spend annually.

Some outside the Big Five fear the cost of attendance increase is a step in the wrong direction for college athletics.

Monmouth University President Paul Brown called it ''a slippery slope that is not only wrong, but also financially unsustainable for many institutions, including my own,'' in a recent editorial for NJ.com and The Star-Ledger.

Those in the room Saturday pledged to keep Division I together and think beyond their own best interests, but they are clearly shaping the future of college sports.

''It was great,'' Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said, ''to have five conferences singing off the same sheet of music.''

Students rally at Penn State, happy Paterno gets wins back.

By JIM CARLSON (Associated Press)

In this Nov. 8, 2011, file photo, Penn State football coach Joe Paterno speals with reporters as leaves the Louis and Mildred Lasch Football Building on campus in State College, Pa. A proposed settlement, announced Friday, Jan. 16, 2015, by the NCAA, will give Penn State back 112 football team wins that were vacated two years ago in the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal. If approved, the new agreement also would restore former coach Paterno's status as the winningest coach in major college football history with 409 victories. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Hundreds of Penn State students rallied and marched Friday to celebrate the career of late football coach Joe Paterno and the NCAA's agreement to restore 112 team victories deducted amid the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal.

About 300 people gathered outside the university's administration building in State College for a subdued rally lasting 20 minutes. They said Paterno didn't deserve to lose his title as major college football's winningest coach and they're glad he has it back.

The crowd grew to about 500 as it marched to the nearby Beaver Canyon apartment area, where someone projected a huge photo of Paterno onto the side of a building. Other people chanted Paterno's name and ''We are Penn State!''  

Earlier, as word of Penn State's new settlement with the NCAA reached the campus of 35,000, many students said they hoped it would help the university continue to mend its reputation, which was shattered with Sandusky's arrest in 2011 and subsequent allegations Paterno and top university officials helped conceal the abuse.
 

''We need to restore our program back to its past glory because we have such a strong and well-respected program and, unfortunately, with the scandal, it destroyed us,'' said T.J. Lindsay, a student from Darian, Connecticut.  

Paterno, the face of Penn State football since 1966, was ousted a few days after Sandusky's arrest. He died in January 2012 at age 85.  

Steven Choranski, a student season ticket holder from Bordentown, New Jersey, said the NCAA overstepped its bounds in its initial response to the scandal.  

''It's nice to see them coming back and giving back what they shouldn't have taken back in the first place,'' he said.  

Months ago downtown, giant posters spelling out ''409,'' the number of victories Paterno earned before the NCAA took more than 100 of them away, appeared in the window of the Student Book Store. The posters bear about 12,000 signatures, store owner John Lindo said.  

''We're happy for the Paterno family and the Penn State fans in general who have been hoping this would happen for quite a while. It's a really good day for Penn State,'' Lindo said Friday.  

In an evening game against Michigan State, Penn State hockey players put ''409'' stickers on their helmets. Basketball players planned to wear ''409'' T-shirts in warmups Saturday.

 

Sandusky, the university's former defensive football coach, was convicted of abusing 10 boys, some on campus, and is in prison. He maintains his innocence, acknowledging he showered with boys but saying he didn't molest them.

Derby, Preakness winner California Chrome horse of the year.

By TIM REYNOLDS (AP Sports Writer)

California Chrome's rags-to-riches story keeps getting better.

The winner of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness last year picked up two Eclipse Awards at Gulfstream Park on Saturday night, including horse of the year - the biggest prize, one that would have figured to be unthinkable for the offspring of an $8,000 mare and $2,500 stallion.

California Chrome also won the Eclipse for 3-year-old males, getting more than three times the first-place nods that went to Breeders' Cup Classic champion Bayern. 

''This has been an incredible journey,'' said Steve Coburn, California Chrome's co-owner. 

California Chrome's bid to become the sport's first Triple Crown winner since 1978 was foiled in the Belmont Stakes when he finished tied for fourth, but his year was still an unmistakable success with just over $4 million in earnings and six wins in nine starts. 

Bayern was also up for the horse-of-the-year award, as was Main Sequence - who went 4 for 4 in 2014, all on turf. 

''This is a fairytale come true for us ... it's just amazing,'' Coburn said.

Todd Pletcher extended his record with a seventh Eclipse award as top trainer, all in the last 11 years. Chad Brown was second and Art Sherman - California Chrome's trainer - was third.

 

Pletcher recalled the story of how his application for stall space at Gulfstream when he was getting started in 1995 was denied.
 

''And rightfully so,'' Pletcher said. ''I had seven horses, four of them were owned by my dad and they were all maidens. So at that time, I never could have even dreamed that being nominated for an award like this was possible.''
 

Javier Castellano won his second straight Eclipse award in the jockey division, making the 11th rider in history to take that honor in consecutive years. Castellano was the top choice on 77 percent of the ballots cast.
 

Main Sequence got a pair of Eclipse awards, in both the older male category - edging Palice Malice in perhaps a surprise - and as a runaway winner in the male turf division over Wise Dan.
 

Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey repeated as Eclipse winners in the owner and breeder divisions. They took the owner Eclipse for a record-tying fourth time, the breeder one for the second straight year.

''It never gets old,'' Kenneth Ramsey said.

Texas Red was an upset winner of last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile, a race that opened up when heavy favorite American Pharoah was scratched in the days leading up to the race with a foot problem. Voters rewarded American Pharoah's two wins in three races last year with the Eclipse, in the closest balloting - 126 votes for American Pharoah, 111 for Texas Red.
 

In many of the filly classes, the votes were runaways.
 

Out of the 265 ballots cast, Untapable was a unanimous selection for the 3-year-old filly Eclipse, Judy the Beauty got all but four votes in the female sprinter class, Dayaththespa got every first-place nod but five in the female turf division and Take Charge Brandi - who led all juveniles with just over $1.6 million in earnings last year - got 89 percent of the support in the 2-year-old filly division.
 

''I think you've made a smart decision,'' said Take Charge Brandi owner Willis Horton, as the room broke into laughs.
 

Others winners included Close Hatches (older female), Work All Week (male sprinter), Demonstrative (steeplechase horse) and Drayden Van Dyke (apprentice jockey). Retired track announcer Tom Durkin - who said he's allergic to horses - was given the Eclipse Award of Merit for outstanding lifetime achievement.
 

''All I ever had to do was describe what you made possible,'' Durkin said. ''It just doesn't seem right - but I'll take it.''
 

The Eclipse Awards are voted on by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers And Broadcasters.

On This Date in Sports History: Today is Monday, January 19, 2015.

Memoriesofhistory.com

1952 - The National Football League (NFL) bought the franchise of the New York Yankees from Ted Collins. The franchise was then awarded to a group in Dallas on January 24.

1953 - Jesse Owens was named Illinois Athletic Commission secretary.

1958 - The Canadian Football Council changed its name to the Canadian Football League.

1989 - President Reagan pardoned George Steinbrenner. Steinbrenner was indicted on 14 criminal counts on April 5, 1974, then pleaded guilty to making illegal contributions to Nixon's re-election campaign and a felony charge of obstruction of justice on August 23.

1993 - The Oakland A's unveiled a new elephant logo.

1995 - The NHL Board of Governors approved the sale of the Winnipeg Jets, officially clearing the way for the team to move to Phoenix for the 1996-97 season.

1996 - The NHL announced that the Winnipeg Jets could move to Phoenix.

1997 - Ivan Rodriguez signed a deal with the Texas Rangers worth $6.65 million for one year.

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