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How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Blackhawks vs. Rangers Preview.

By AP - Sports
                                                       

If someone said the New York Rangers would be without star goalie Henrik Lundqvist for more than a month during a crucial stretch, their postseason prospects might seem no better than wishful thinking.

That might have been the popular opinion, but not one shared by the defending Eastern Conference champions.

Cam Talbot looks to stay hot in net while guiding the Rangers to a sixth straight victory when they host the streaking Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night.

Not only are the Rangers (44-17-7) setting themselves up for perhaps another long playoff run, they have vaulted to the top of the NHL standings. And Talbot is a big reason why.

New York is 15-2-3 since Lundqvist was forced out of the lineup by a vascular injury, caused when he was struck in the neck with a shot against Florida on Feb. 2. Talbot has played every game except for two at Buffalo that were started and won by 20-year-old rookie Mackenzie Skapski - including a 2-0 victory on Saturday.

Talbot was back in net Sunday against Florida and made a career-high 38 saves in a 2-1 win to extend his winning streak to four. In his last 10 appearances, Talbot is 8-1-1 with a 1.49 goals-against average, a .951 save percentage, and two shutouts.

He has allowed one goal or fewer in regulation in each of his last six appearances, and the Rangers have earned at least one point in 15 of his last 16 outings (12-1-3).

Lundqvist is moving closer to a return, having been medically cleared Tuesday to resume practicing with the team. No timetable has been set for when he will play in a game. Forward Martin St. Louis, who has 20 goals and 27 assists, suffered a lower-body injury Sunday and will be out 10-14 days.

On Jan. 29 - four days before Lundqvist's most recent game - the Rangers were in eighth place in the East. Now, they're tied atop the NHL standings with Montreal, Anaheim and St. Louis and have games in hand on all three clubs.

"When Hank went down it was a big deal, but we knew what we had in Talbs,'' defenseman Dan Girardi said. ''He is a great goalie. He's a real focused guy and he is a big part of our success.''

Talbot was chosen Monday as the NHL's second star of last week. The 27-year-old goalie is 17-6-4 with a 2.19 GAA and five shutouts in 29 games.

''No one wants to see what happened to Hank happen, but we were excited for (Talbot) to get an opportunity to show what he's got on a consistent basis,'' defenseman Marc Staal said. ''It's his time to shine."

Talbot did just that in the first meeting with the Blackhawks on March 8, stopping 29 shots before Derick Brassard's overtime goal gave New York a 1-0 win. That marked the last defeat for Chicago (42-21-6), which has outscored opponents 12-4 during a three-game winning streak after beating the Islanders 4-1 on Tuesday.

The Blackhawks improved to 6-1-1 since Patrick Kane suffered a fractured clavicle Feb. 24. Jonathan Toews scored twice in the first period, then assisted on both of Marian Hossa's goals.

''Obviously, one player can't step up and start producing and playing like Patrick Kane,'' said Patrick Sharp, who had two assists skating on the top line with Toews and Hossa. ''The team in general has played good hockey. We're moving on and hope he comes back soon and helps us.''

Corey Crawford made 38 saves, leaving the possibility that backup Scott Darling will get the nod to complete the back-to-back set as Chicago begins a four-game road trip.

Forward Joakim Nordstrom is eligible to return after serving a two-game suspension, but Andrew Shaw could face disciplinary action after receiving a game misconduct for head-butting Islanders forward Brock Nelson.

The Blackhawks have lost the last three meetings.

Toews, Hossa score twice each as Blackhawks down Islanders 4-1.

By Tracey Myers

Jonathan Toews talked Tuesday morning of the Blackhawks building off momentum gained from their latest road trip.

“When you show up and give that effort, the little things, the details, take care of themselves,” he said.

Then the Blackhawks captain went out and led by example.

Toews had a four-point night (two goals and two assists) and Corey Crawford stopped 38 of 39 shots as the Blackhawks beat the New York Islanders 4-1 on Tuesday night. It was the third consecutive victory for the Blackhawks, who have also claimed five of their last six.

The Blackhawks now have 90 points and remain in third in the Central, but are just four points behind Nashville, which lost to Minnesota in overtime. They’re five points behind St. Louis, which blanked Calgary 4-0.

The Blackhawks’ top line was stellar on Tuesday night, with Patrick Sharp joining Toews and Marian Hossa after playing with them some against San Jose on Saturday.  Hossa had two goals and Sharp added two assists. After so many close games, the Blackhawks were strong from start to finish in this one. The goals are coming, too, with the Blackhawks recording 10 in their last two games.

“Our team game’s been getting better,” Sharp said. “It was a great father’s trip, the way we won both games on the road. It was nice to come back home and have a win like that.”

Still, it could’ve been more interesting if not for a big five-minute penalty kill in the second period. Andrew Shaw head-butted Islanders forward Brock Nelson and was given a five-minute major as well as a game misconduct. Coach Joel Quenneville said afterward it was “not a smart penalty”; asked if he thought there’d be further discipline on Shaw, Quenneville said, “killing a five-minute major, to me, is enough.”

The Blackhawks were up 2-0 heading into that kill, and came out of it holding that lead. Hossa would score the first of his two about four minutes later.

“Whether it’s high-sticking penalties, four- or five-minute penalties, we focus on getting our shifts short and getting through that,” Toews said. “Crow has helped us get through them as well and always seems to make a huge difference, especially when we’re protecting a lead.”

Hossa agreed.

“There are always key points in a game,” Hossa said. “That was definitely one of them.”

Once again, Crawford did his part en route to his 29th victory of the season. Outside of a Nikolay Kulemin shot late in the third period, Crawford was strong once again. He gave a lot of the credit to those in front of him.

“Today our guys did a great job most of the game keeping [the puck] outside and getting sticks on rebounds,” Crawford said. “They were throwing a few from bad angles, trying to get something going, and our guys did a great job in front of the net.”

The Blackhawks wanted to bring what they did on the road back to the United Center. They needed to keep up the intensity, the momentum gained on that trip. From Toews to the top line to Crawford, they did that. Now to take it back on the road against the New York Rangers. It won’t be getting any easier down the stretch.

“It was a fun game; we got off to a good start all three of us [on the top line] were skating,” Sharp said. “It was just one game and we can feel good about it for a bit. But we have a tough game tomorrow and have to get ready for that.”

Blackhawks: With Teuvo Teravainen, patience has paid off.

By Tracey Myers

Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman has long talked of the team’s plan with Teuvo Teravainen, to have him get acclimated at his pace and to give him the opportunity when he was ready for it.

“These things take time as things go on. He’s a more confident player now than when he first came up,” Bowman said recently. “It takes a while to get comfortable, to feel you belong here. You’re starting to see that from him. He’s got a lot of great games ahead of him.”

Indeed, the Blackhawks are starting to see that side of Teravainen, the confident, comfortable side of a player who obviously has talent but needed time to adjust to North American life and North American hockey. Be it 5-on-5 or on the power play, Teravainen is playing more minutes and is more noticeable presence.

“I think it’s been a good couple games now, three or four, and I think I’m getting better all the time,” said Teravainen of his recent progress. “I’m getting better, learning from my mistakes. I just try to keep going, getting better every day.”

Teravainen is playing on the second line with Brandon Saad and Antoine Vermette, who has fit in well in his short time with the Blackhawks. Teravainen has an assist in each of his last two games and has played around 16-17 minutes in his last three contests. Coach Joel Quenneville likes how the young Finn has progressed.

“I think he’s really getting better. He’s got some speed when he touches the puck; he’s good off entries, his play recognition, he’s got a lot of options,” Quenneville said. “You’ve got to anticipate the puck coming to you when the puck’s on his stick. He’s got some nice attributes to his 5-on-5 game. That line was excellent in San Jose. I like his progression as the season’s gone on here. He looks like he keeps getting better. That quickness to his game adds to our team game.”

As quiet as Teravainen is, you could tell he was excited to get a power-play opportunity. Be it in Finland or North America, Teravainen was confident he could play well there – “that’s been my strength for all my life,” he said – and he has.

Teravainen can be flashy on the ice but he has to also be cautious. Most of the time he errs on the side of the latter, knowing mistakes at this level can be very costly.

“In this league, if you do something stupid they’ll score right away. So you have to be careful with that,” Teravainen. “When I was younger I could do some things, lose the puck or turn it over and maybe just get it back the next shift. Here, you can’t do that. You have to be really careful with the puck.”

Teravainen is earning more playing time. He’s earning the trust of coaches and teammates. Bowman and the Blackhawks brass knew what they had all along in Teravainen. They just knew he needed time and everyone’s patience.

“Certainly Teuvo’s here now and he’s getting more confident and comfortable with each game,” Bowman said. “We looked at him internally as our acquisition at the deadline. Even if we didn’t do anything else, we felt him getting an expanded role in Rockford, he’d be the guy right under our nose to come up and emerge.”

NHL GMs approve 3-on-3 overtime, but what format?

By Nicholas J. Cotsonika

The NHL’s general managers have recommended 3-on-3 overtime in an effort to reduce shootouts. 

The question now is which of two ideas to use: five minutes of 3-on-3 or the American Hockey League format. Starting this season, the AHL went to seven minutes of OT – 4-on-4 until the first whistle after the three-minute mark, then 3-on-3.

The GMs will discuss it with their coaches and players. The competition committee, which includes representatives from the NHL Players’ Association, will discuss it.
 

Ultimately rule changes must be approved by the NHL Board of Governors.

If all the hurdles are cleared, the NHL could have 3-on-3 OT as soon as next season.

“We’re trying to make a move to a format that we think is going to decide more games in overtime,” said Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland, who has been pushing for overtime reform for a long time. “We’re not looking to eliminate shootout. We think the fans like the shootout. But we think the fans will enjoy 3-on-3.”

The NHL introduced 4-on-4 overtime in 1999-2000. It introduced the shootout in 2005-06, eliminating ties. That season, 11.79 percent of games ended in a shootout. Every season since, the percentage has been higher. This season, it’s 14.12.

Though NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is a big supporter of the shootout – and he often says market research shows the fans love it – there has been a growing sentiment among GMs to deemphasize it because too many games are being decided with a skills competition instead of some form of actual hockey.

This season, the NHL introduced the dry scrape before OT to improve ice quality and the long change to make defense more difficult. But it scrapped the dry scrape in November because it took too long, and the long change has not had a dramatic effect.
 

 Meanwhile, the AHL format has achieved the desired results, according to data provided by Jason Chaimovitch, the AHL’s vice president of communications. Through Sunday, about the same amount of games have ended in regulation (75.9 percent last season, 75.7 percent this season), but far less have ended in a shootout (15.6 last season, 5.7 this season).

Out of 171 OT goals, 98 have been scored during 4-on-4 time, 73 during 3-on-3 time. Those numbers include special-teams goals based on original manpower. In terms of actual manpower, 80 goals have been scored 4-on-4, 67 3-on-3 and 21 4-on-3. Three have been scored on penalty shots.

Fewer players means less coaching. More ice means more speed and skill. It remains to be seen, though, how it will look in the NHL.

“You’re dealing with more experienced players, much more talented players, coaches which may come up with different sort of plans,” said Colin Campbell, NHL senior vice president of hockey operations.

In the AHL, most coaches have used two forwards and one defenseman. Some have used three forwards. But Campbell said: “I think you’re going to see a lot different results and different ways games are played than we see in the American Hockey League.”

Some NHL GMs would prefer not to go straight from 5-on-5 to 3-on-3.

“It’s a team game,” said Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon. “I would like to get more players involved. If you go right to 3-on-3, you are going to eliminate half of your bench. Six or seven guys aren’t going to get any action.”
 

But going straight to 3-on-3 would solve two problems with the AHL format: More overtime puts more stress on top players. Sometimes there isn’t a whistle for a while after the three-minute mark, leaving little to no 3-on-3 time.

Holland said the Swedish Elite League went to five minutes of 3-on-3 overtime during this season and saw a dramatic decrease in shootouts. Holland said he called his fellow GMs before the meeting to get their thoughts, and the Calgary Flames’ Brad Treliving brought up the idea of five minutes of 3-on-3.

“At the end of the day, we’re happy as a group here going either way,” Holland said. “We think both are good solutions. Now we’ll go to the competition committee. That’s the recommendation of the general managers’ group, that we make a change and we’ve got a couple of changes to consider and we’re happy with either change.”

Just Another Chicago Bulls Session… Pacers-Bulls Preview. 

By JEFF MEZYDLO (STATS Senior Writer)

As Indiana continues to deal with the uncertainty surrounding All-Star Paul George's return, its main focus is to get back on track and take the season series from an even less healthy Central Division rival.

Both the Pacers and Chicago Bulls look to avoid a third consecutive defeat Wednesday night at the United Center.

After George wasn't ready to make his targeted season debut from a broken leg Friday, it's unknown when or if he'll play in 2014-15.

"A lot of guys know I'm pushing to come back," George, who averaged a career-high 21.7 points last season, said last week. "It's a matter of how I'm feeling and (how) the medical staff thinks I look.

"I definitely want to play still. ... But I want to be fully healthy."

In the mix for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, the Pacers (30-36) likely can't wait for George. After winning a season-high seven straight, Indiana's regressed with losses to Boston and Toronto.

The Pacers went 2 of 19 from 3-point range while the Raptors shot 12 of 23 during Monday's 117-98 home defeat.

"We still have a lot of high hopes," said guard Rodney Stuckey, who is averaging 22.8 points in his last four games - 9.6 better than his season average. "There's a lot of basketball to be played. We can't get down."

The Pacers have reason to feel confident considering they held Chicago (40-28) to an average of 88.7 points and 37.5 percent shooting in winning two of the first three meetings. They won 99-90 at the United Center on Nov. 15 and at home 98-84 on March 6.

"It's going to be a tough, grind it out road game but I like our chances," said Stuckey, who was injured for the win at Chicago then totaled 17 points 7-of-18 shooting in the other two.

"We know it's a must-win game for us."

Fourth in the East, the Bulls are in a much safer playoff position than Indiana but have more health concerns.

With Derrick Rose (knee) hoping to be back at some point this season and All-Star Jimmy Butler (elbow) and key reserve Taj Gibson (ankle) not yet ready, Chicago must rebound after losing five of six. That injured trio did not play while the Bulls shot 36.0 percent at Indiana this month.

"We really miss those guys," rookie forward Nikola Mirotic told the Bulls' official website. "We need to find a way to win these games. We need to be in good situation when they come back. We need to stay together."

Mirotic has helped the Bulls' attempt to tread water by averaging 20.3 points while they've gone 3-6 in March. He had 27 points in Sunday's 109-100 loss at Oklahoma City.

Without Stuckey, David West and George Hill, the Pacers still shot 48.1 percent at Chicago in November. Though Chicago's last five opponents have shot 43.0 percent, it's allowed an average of 104.4 points. This comes after yielding 92.7 points while winning four of the previous seven.

"We're good enough," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "We've got to find a way to get it done."

Paul Gasol (18.4 points, 12.0 rebounds per game) leads the league with a career-high 44 double-doubles, but his 18-point, 10-rebound performance at Indiana this month is his only one in the three against the Pacers.

Four things the Bulls can do to end their tailspin. 

By Vincent Goodwill

It’s not panic mode yet, but the Chicago Bulls have to be keenly aware of where things stand in the Eastern Conference. After sitting in the second spot a short time ago, barely holding off the hard-charging Cleveland Cavaliers, they now sit in a jumble with the Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards.

Both those teams have cooled off considerably from their hot starts, perhaps coming back to Earth more than anything. The Bulls, losers in five of six games, need to regain their footing as the season’s final weeks are rapidly approaching.

Gaining the third seed seems appears to be the most reasonable goal at this point, but fourth would have them avoiding LeBron James until the conference finals, if one chooses to look ahead in such instances.

But here’s the top priorities the Bulls need to get things back trending in the right direction, before a promising season tumbles into disappointment.

1. Taj Gibson’s health

Of the three Bulls who have sat out this recent stretch, Gibson appears closest to returning. Gibson has to battle the delicate balance of wanting to return so badly to help his ailing team but also recovering enough so the risk of re-injuring his left ankle down the line is as minuscule as possible.

He’s back practicing and hopes to play this week (games against Indiana, Toronto and Detroit are upcoming), as he estimates he wants to be “75-80 percent” before returning to action.

If he does, and provides any semblance of the high-impact, high-energy player he’s been known to be, it’ll give coach Tom Thibodeau a fourth-quarter defensive option that can be depended on to rebound—the Bulls have gotten killed on the boards in the last two games.

More than anything, a potential return from Gibson could provide an emotional boost to a team that ebbs and flows in that department. If nothing else, a symbolic signal to the rest of the team that all is not lost, that perhaps the other prime-time players aren’t far behind.

2. Emotion

 

This Bulls team has been at its best when playing on the emotional edge, usually keyed by Joakim Noah, and the team follows his lead. The emotion was evident against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, as they kept battling back when it looked like the Thunder would run away and hide multiple times in the second half. Not controlling the boards was their worst enemy, but for the most part, they kept mistakes to a minimum and appeared to execute Thibodeau’s game plan for the better part of three quarters after a disastrous opening 12 minutes.

That emotion wasn’t evident against the Charlotte Hornets for three quarters Friday. They were bullied, run over and ran past—things that traditionally don’t occur under Thibodeau teams, especially not this time of year.

Sunday’s effort, in different environments and away from Russell Westbrook, is usually good enough to win most nights. And if nothing else, it’s what the Bulls do best.

3. More help for Gasol and Mirotic

Yes, those words are being said about the latter, Nikola Mirotic, who’s become the fourth-quarter scorer for the Bulls lately. Putting up 20 points and grabbing over eight rebounds a game makes him the second-most reliable player behind Pau Gasol, and Mirotic is a rookie.

Rookies, no matter how experienced with international play, aren’t expected to lead veteran teams in crucial moments of the season. Gasol’s performances have been a given, but you wonder how long he can keep this up before his 34-year old body begins to wear down late in the season.

They haven’t gotten enough consistent play from their backcourt, and Mike Dunleavy has struggled since a three-game stretch where he scored in double figures ending in San Antonio.

The opportunities for aggression are there for Dunleavy, Kirk Hinrich and Tony Snell. They just have to be more consistent.

4. Stop worrying about Derrick Rose

He’s the elephant in the room, always a topic of discussion whenever the issue of health or contention is spoken about when talking about the Bulls. When or if he’ll return is a mystery, and until he begins actual practice it’s tough to predict whether he’ll adhere to the timeline set forth by Bulls management and team doctors following his right knee surgery in late February.

This is the beginning of Week 3 in a 4-6 week process laid out by Bulls general manager Gar Forman when he addressed media the morning following Rose’s procedure.

Worrying about it won’t affect things positively, because there’s already an air of negativity surrounding his refusal to back himself into a corner about a potential return.

Nobody’s putting pressure on Rose to rush this, given his history with knee injuries and it’s probably best for everybody involved to keep it that way, because whatever happens is out of everyone’s hands.

Former Bulls, Lakers player Jack Haley dead at 51.

By BETH HARRIS (AP Sports Writer)

Jack Haley #54 of the Chicago Bulls celebrates winning the1996 NBA Championship after defeating the Seattle Supersonics in Game Six of the NBA Finals on June 16, 1996 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
 

Jack Haley, who played nine seasons in the NBA including a reserve role on the Chicago Bulls' 1996 championship team, has died. He was 51.

 

Haley's family confirmed his death, saying the cause was heart disease. He died Monday at Los Alamitos Medical Center, according to the Orange County coroner's office website. There were no indications of foul play and an autopsy will be performed, the coroner said. 

Haley played for the Bulls, New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs during his career, when he averaged 3.5 points and 2.7 rebounds mostly as a reserve. He sat out the entire 1992-93 season because of injury. 

The Bulls drafted the 6-foot-10 forward-center as the 97th pick overall in 1987 out of UCLA, where he played three seasons and helped the Bruins with the NIT championship in 1985. 

He graduated from Huntington Beach High and spent one season at Golden West College before transferring to UCLA. He played in Spain before joining the Bulls. 

Haley had two different stints with the Bulls, starting his career with them and then returning to the team in 1995-96. He appeared in only the final game of the regular season, scoring five points in seven minutes. He didn't make the playoff roster, and the Michael Jordan-led Bulls set a record for victories in a season, going 72-10 on their way to winning the NBA title.

Haley was known on that team for his friendship with Bulls star Dennis Rodman, and he bristled at suggestions that he primarily served as a baby sitter for the eccentric rebounder.

''I've felt it's important to be a part of the greatest team in history and to get out and show people I'm not Dennis' babysitter,'' Haley told the Chicago Tribune. ''I never have been. I've been a basketball player from Day One.''

Rodman posted a photo of Haley kissing him on the cheek on Twitter, with the comment, ''RIP to my brother Jack Haley. Sending love to his family.''

Former Bulls star Scottie Pippen tweeted, ''Very sorry to hear my old teammate, Jack Haley, has passed away. Great guy who I stayed in touch with over the years. RIP.''

After his playing career ended, Haley worked as an assistant for the Nets under current Kentucky coach John Calipari, who tweeted, ''Jack was one of the most positive, upbeat guys I've ever been around. He was on that unbelievable 1996 championship team in Chicago. Sad day.''

Haley later worked as a broadcaster on Lakers telecasts. He lived in the Orange County city of Seal Beach.

''He cherished every moment and gave 100 percent whether on or off the court. And more than anything, Jack dearly loved his family. We are humbled and grateful for the outpouring of love, support, and prayers from around the country,'' Haley's family said in a statement issued Tuesday through the Lakers.

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak said in a statement that Haley was ''a hard worker and always very professional.''

''He was proud to wear the Lakers uniform, and he was always a credit to our organization and the Lakers family,'' Kupchak said.

Haley appeared in the movies ''Eddie'' and ''Rebound,'' and was in the music video for ''Love in an Elevator'' by Aerosmith.

He is survived by his sons Jack Jr. and Jeff, his mother Jeanette, brother Tim, sister Sondra and ex-wife Stacey.

Bear Down Chicago Bears!!!! One week into free agency, a revised look at Bears ’15 schedule.

By John Mullin

With the first full week of free agency done, CSNChicago.com takes a second look around the Bears’ schedule to tally up the moves by the teams that the Bears will be lining up against in 2015.

A few opponents have been rocked (see: 49ers, San Francisco), others have been their usual quiet selves with the biggest “moves” being ones that didn’t happen (Packers, Green Bay; Cobb, Randall).
 
Some of the player movements didn’t take certain talents off the Bears’ schedule, just moved them to different teams, even within their same divisions.

NFC North

The Detroit Lions continued on their course of disassembling significant parts of their defense. Ndamukong Suh going to the Miami Dolphins was followed by Nick Fairley leaving for the St. Louis Rams, who now represent the best defensive line the Bears are likely to encounter in 2015. The run game will have to do without Reggie Bush, but the offense relied more on Joique Bell last year (36-165-3 vs. Bears in ’14) anyway.

A day before releasing veteran wideout Greg Jennings, the Minnesota Vikings sent a shot across the division’s bow with the trade for speed receiver Mike Wallace from Miami. Losing part-time starter Vladimir Ducasse to the Bears does not significantly affect either team at this point, although if it helps backfill behind moving Kyle Long to tackle, it’s a Bears win.

Green Bay may miss cornerbacks Davon House (Jacksonville) and Tramon Williams (Cleveland). But the Packers’ history of keeping their own top players suggests that they have a succession plan in place. Ted Thompson found Micah Hyde (12 starts, two INT’s in ’14) in the 2013 fifth round and House himself was a fourth-rounder in 2011.

NFC West

The St. Louis Rams moved the attention meter with their trade of quarterbacks with the Philadelphia Eagles, sending Sam Bradford to Philadelphia for Nick Foles. Foles annihilated the Bears in the 54-11 Eagles win in 2013 but that was the high-functioning Chip Kelly offense against the non-functioning Mel Tucker defense.

After cutting left tackle Jake Long, center Scott Wells and defensive lineman Kendall Langford, the Rams added Nick Fairley to defensive line that already includes Michael Brockers, Aaron Donald, Chris Long and Robert Quinn – all five being No. 1 draft choices. The Rams have used No. 1’s in each of the past four drafts on their front seven, plus Long in ’08 and now Fairley.

The Seattle Seahawks kept a major element in their run game with Marshawn Lynch’s contract extension, then shocked the NFL with a trade to bring in tight end Jimmy Graham from the New Orleans Saints.

The San Francisco 49ers’ losses have been something of a drumbeat: Jim Harbaugh, Vic Fangio, running back Frank Gore, linebacker Patrick Willis (retired), linebacker Chris Borland (retired) receiver Michael Crabtree, guard Mike Iupati, cornerbacks Perrish Cox and Chris Culliver, and linebacker Dan Skuta, a total of six starters from last year.

The 49ers have worked on filling the holes, with Bush from Detroit, defensive tackle Darnell Dockett out of Arizona and wideout Torrey Smith from Baltimore.

The Cardinals, who muscled up their offensive line with the Iupati signing, were without Dockett (torn ACL) in 2014 and still fielded a top-tier 3-4 scheme. Arizona’s biggest loss clearly was defensive coordinator Todd Bowles going to coach the New York Jets. Signing linebacker LaMarr Woodley is a “name” but Woodley was a one-year bust with Oakland after a distinguished career in Pittsburgh.

NFC “others”

Washington has made over its defensive interior, first with signing tackle Stephen Paea from the Bears and then bulked up the front even more with a contract for Terrance Knighton from the Denver Broncos.

Lovie Smith and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers welcomed safety Major Wright last offseason and added Wright’s running mate – Chris Conte – in the first wave of free agency. They also signed former Dallas linebacker Bruce Carter, a spot starter last season who has played two of the three positions in Smith’s scheme.

AFC West

The Denver Broncos received two gifts from Peyton Manning: his commitment to return for 2015, and his $4 million pay cut. But even with that, the Broncos have seen core players trickle away – Knighton to Washington, tight end Julius Thomas to Jacksonville, right tackle Orlando Franklin to San Diego and safety Rahim Moore to Houston.

All of this on top of losing John Fox and Adam Gase to the Bears.

The Kansas City Chiefs swapped out Dwayne Bowe for Jeremy Maclin, which is a significant upgrade on offense, and made another improvement by picking up two-time Pro Bowl guard Ben Grubbs from New Orleans for a fifth-round pick.

The Oakland Raiders released quarterback Matt Schaub and added Christian Ponder, recognizable names but neither threatening starter Derek Carr. Running back Maurice Jones-Drew retired and Darren McFadden takes an under-achieving career to Dallas, leaving the run game in the hands of Latavius Murray.

More significantly, the Raiders signed nose tackle Dan Williams away from Arizona and inside linebacker Curtis Lofton from New Orleans as coach Jack Del Rio fortifies his defensive front.

View from the Moon: Will Bears move Kyle Long to tackle?

By John Mullin

Neither coach John Fox nor GM Ryan Pace has said anything definitive about where Kyle Long will play in 2015, beyond that the two-time Pro Bowl guard has the skills to play either tackle or guard. The Bears have talked to him about both and he is open to whatever works.

But what the Bears are and aren’t doing early in free agency makes for an interesting trail of breadcrumbs to follow, and it appears to lead toward … well, you decide:

Crumb: When the Bears were tackle-challenged in 2013, Jermon Bushrod was a virtual Day 1 signing for left tackle. That was with J’Marcus Webb projected for the right side, and the Bears picked up Jordan Mills with a fifth-round selection for insurance, which they needed…

Crumb: Mills, troubled all year with the after-effects of foot surgery, was shaky enough at times last year for coaches to consider moving him to guard. The staff has changed but Mills has not secured his job at the NFL level…

Crumb: What shopping the Bears have done has been strictly on the interior of the O-line. Per Brad Biggs over at the Chicago Tribune, the Bears have had interest Samson Satele, primarily a center, and Stefen Wisniewski, also a center but who was All-Rookie at guard. Neither was signed but Vladimir Ducasse was, and Ducasse is a 325-pound guard…

Crumb: The Bears did not make an effort in the direction of Orlando Franklin, the massive former right tackle for Fox and the Denver Broncos (he filled in at guard last season, so Fox and coordinator Adam Gase are more than fine with towering guards), but who signed with San Diego for five years averaging $7.3 million per…

… and so, while decisions may not be official until Fox or Pace announce them, the Kyle crumbs lead toward…tackle.

Following Chris Borland retirement, NFL says 'football has never been safer'.

By Sam Cooper

"Football has never been safer."

That’s the sentiment the NFL shared Tuesday morning in a statement from Jeff Miller, the league's senior vice president of health and safety policy, after San Francisco 49ers linebacker Chris Borland announced his surprising retirement on Monday night.

Borland, 24, is coming off a great rookie year in San Francisco, but decided to step away from the game due to fears for his long-term health.

Here is Miller’s statement, in full:

“We respect Chris Borland’s decision and wish him all the best. Playing any sport is a personal decision. By any measure, football has never been safer and we continue to make progress with rule changes, safer tackling techniques at all levels of football, and better equipment, protocols and medical care for players. Concussions in NFL games were down 25 percent last year, continuing a three-year downward trend. We continue to make significant investments in independent research to advance the science and understanding of these issues. We are seeing a growing culture of safety. Everyone involved in the game knows that there is more work to do and player safety will continue to be our top priority.”

While the NFL has made significant improvements and paid closer attention to player safety in recent years, more and more is being discovered about the long-term impact associated with head injuries.

Borland told ESPN’s "Outside the Lines" that he has done his research on the issues at hand.

"I just honestly want to do what's best for my health," Borland said. "From what I've researched and what I've experienced, I don't think it's worth the risk.

“I just thought to myself, 'What am I doing?' Is this how I'm going to live my adult life, banging my head, especially with what I've learned and knew about the dangers?"

Borland is the fourth player in the last week to retire at age 30 or younger.

MLB: Rose asks for his ban to be lifted, commissioner says.

Reuters; Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Steve Keating

Former Cincinnati Reds player and manager Pete Rose waves to the crowd during the 5th inning of play against the St. Louis Cardinals in their MLB baseball game at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, June 10, 2008. (Photo/REUTERS/John Sommers)

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said on Monday he had received a formal request from Pete Rose asking that his lifetime ban for gambling on baseball games be lifted.

Manfred told reporters at the Dodgers' spring training camp in Arizona that he would consider Major League Baseball's all-time hits leader's request "on its merits."

"I want to make sure I understand all of the details of the Dowd Report and Commissioner [Bart] Giamatti's decision and the agreement that was ultimately reached," Manfred said after a routine meeting with Dodgers players, according to mlb.com.

"I want to hear what Pete has to say, and I'll make a decision once I've done that."

Rose, 73, played from 1963 to 1986, amassing 4,256 hits, still the major league record.

Three years after he retired, Rose agreed to a permanent ban from baseball in 1989 amid accusations he gambled on games while playing and managing for the Cincinnati Reds.

Rose denied for nearly 15 years that he gambled on baseball, the game's cardinal sin since 1919 when members of the Chicago White Sox conspired to throw the World Series.

He finally admitted in his 2004 autobiography to making baseball wagers when he was manager of the Reds but insisted he never bet against his team.

Gaining reinstatement could be the first step to Rose reaching the Hall of Fame. In 1991, the Hall voted to ban players on the permanently ineligible list from induction.

"I don't think people should read any disposition into what I'm saying about this. I see it as a really simple thing. He's made a request," Manfred said.

"Part of my obligations under the major league constitution is to deal with those requests, and I'll deal with it."

Manfred, who has been making routine rounds of spring training camps in Florida and Arizona, said the subject of Rose's standing has been among the more frequent questions he has fielded from players.

Golf: I got a club for that; Power rankings: Arnold Palmer Invitational.

By Ryan Ballengee

The PGA Tour's Florida Swing started with Jack Nicklaus' Bear Trap at PGA National and it concludes this week in Orlando at Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill with the Arnold Palmer Invitational. 

A strong field is assembled to take on the King's Florida digs, including world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson, Adam Scott and Henrik Stenson. In such a top-heavy field, you'd expect us to rank the top players highly, but our top five players may not come in the order you'd expect.

1. Henrik Stenson — The Swede didn’t get the job done at Tampa, but it was a great debut at the Valspar Championship. Stenson has never missed an API cut and has been in the top eight here each of the last two years.

2. Adam Scott — The Aussie let this one slip away from him last year to Matt Every. Scott was the 54-hole leader, finishing alone in third. His cuts-made streak ended last week at 45 events, concluding the Tour's longest active streak.

3. Jason Day — Day is playing the golf of his life, but finished a modest T-31 in Miami. He wasn’t a part of the 2014 event, but was T-45 in 2013. If you pick him, don’t do it based on his Bay Hill record.

4. Bubba Watson — Bubba should be able to overpower Bay Hill and dominate it in windy conditions. However, his record at Arnie’s place is inconsistent. He has three top-15 finishes in nine career starts, but pulled out after an 83 to open last year. Then he won the Masters. He gave it a good run at Doral, but came up a bit short and looked flustered as he faltered.

5. J.B. Holmes — Gotta like Holmes here as a guy almost a mortal lock to make the cut. He’s eight for eight here and posted his best-ever API finish, a T-10 effort, last year. He almost won at Doral.

Turkey out of race to stage 2022 Ryder Cup, 5 countries left.

AP - Sports

Turkey has withdrawn its bid to stage the Ryder Cup in 2022, leaving five countries in the running ahead of inspection visits by competition officials starting this week.

Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria and Portugal are now competing to host golf's biggest team event.

The European Tour quoted Ahmet Agaoglu, president of the Turkish Golf Federation, as saying that Turkey's bid was unable to ''secure the necessary logistical arrangements in order to proceed.''

Turkey's bid was first withdrawn in November because it required up to 15,000 trees to be cut down to accommodate grandstands at its chosen course. However, the country announced the following day that it was back in the race.

Ryder Cup officials start a series of inspections by visiting Germany this week, before trips to Spain and Italy.

Rory McIlroy now the cover boy for EA Sports' golf franchise.

By Ryan Ballengee

EA Sports has a new face on the cover of its PGA Tour golf franchise, and it's world No. 1 Rory McIlroy.

The video-game maker has renamed its annual golf game to "EA Sports Rory McIlroy PGA Tour," with the Ulsterman replacing Tiger Woods in the game. Woods and EA Sports ended a 15-year relationship in 2013, with the company not producing a golf title in 2014. EA Sports announced it would be releasing a 2015 game last June, but the title did not have McIlroy's name in it.

McIlroy has been a playable character in each of the last two editions of the game and appeared on a Europe-only cover of the game in 2013, "Tiger Woods PGA Tour '14."

The reboot of the franchise is expected to debut in June.

NASCAR: Power Rankings: Kevin Harvick and then everyone else.

By Nick Bromberg

1. Kevin Harvick (LW: 1): Let's get this out of the way: Kevin Harvick is on a historic streak. Four-straight top-two finishes to start the year and seven overall might have seemed unthinkable in this era of NASCAR. But thanks to Harvick, it's now a reality. And while what the No. 4 team is doing right now is incredible, let's not get ahead of ourselves and make comparisons to Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team just yet. Yes, Harvick is the defending Sprint Cup Series champion and the favorite for 2015 at this point. A point that's 1/9th of the way through the season. Johnson and co. reeled off five straight titles from 2006-2010. The No. 4 bunch needs three before we seriously start going in that direction.

2. Joey Logano (LW: 2): If we rewind to the beginning of the race, Logano drove past Harvick on the first lap while Harvick fell to fifth. Logano then led the first 25 laps before Harvick passed him and then led another 10 in the second half of the race. He finished eighth. Logano, after four-straight top-10 finishes to start the season, has 160 points and is second in the points standings. Last year, he would have been three points off the lead at this point, six points off the lead in 2013 and the points leader in 2012. He's 22 back of Harvick right now.

3. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 4): Yes, we're mimicking the points standings right now, but that's also because of process of elimination. A driver who was above Truex last week finished last and we can't be justifying last place finishes all up in this joint. At worst, Truex is giving himself a nice points cushion to boost his chances of qualifying for the Chase if he doesn't win a race. At best, he's going to win a race and make the Chase. This doesn't seem like a fluke right now, does it?

4. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 5): Nice little comeback for Johnson, though did we really think he was going to be mired back in the pack after what happened with Brian Vickers? Phoenix is a notoriously tough track for spotters and Vickers was told he was clear. He wasn't, and he ended up in the wall. Johnson immediately pitted for his team to check the damage on his car and he was soon rifling his way back up through the field. He ended up 11th.

5. Kasey Kahne (LW: 9): Hey, Kahne finished fifth. He was fast all day and the fastest Hendrick Motorsports car. Well, he had the best track position, anyway. You never really know with Phoenix given the inability of cars to pass and how being back in traffic can ruin a day. We figure we're good to talk about these things as long as we don't diss the car, because as Denny Hamlin showed us, talking about the car's inability to pass at Phoenix can have financial consequences.

6. Ryan Newman (LW: 10): Newman finished third, the second-straight week he's done so. It's fair to say that Newman has showed more speed than he did in 2014. OK, for the majority of 2014. He was much faster as the Chase went on. There ain't going to be no claims of flukiness in the 2015 Chase at this rate. (Before you go looking at the average finish stats, Newman's average finish is actually lower in 2015 than it was last year. That's because of a 38th-place finish at Daytona.)

7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 3): You know Junior finished last so we'll take this opportunity to talk about the new change to qualifying. Yes, there was another change. Starting Friday, cars won't be backing out of their stalls to exit pit road and head out on the track. We've previously wondered why they had to back out of their pit stalls to begin with, and this may be a fortunate change that's not precipitated by an accident.

8. Jamie McMurray (LW: NR): While it's fun to wonder what could have happened if McMurray cleared Harvick on the final restart, how many of the "what if?" scenarios actually have McMurray winning the race? 3 of 100? 4? Yes, it sounds quite remote, but that's how good Harvick's car was. Whenever he wasn't in the lead, he reeled in the leaders and was quickly back in front. Like the time he made up four seconds and passed Joey Logano for the lead and Fox completely ignored it in favor of commercials and the mid-race report. Remember that?

9. Brad Keselowski (LW: 12): Keselowski and Harvick are showing that they're both good race analysts as well as drivers. However, Fox hasn't had them both in the booth at the same time. Think of the ratings gold when Harvick pushes Keselowski during a boring stretch during an Xfinity race. Given the stunts Fox's coverage pulls at times, we wouldn't be surprised if this has been discussed.

10. Denny Hamlin (LW: 7): Hamlin was not happy with his team's performance at Phoenix. Carl Edwards was the highest-scoring Toyota driver and he was in 13th. On the bright side, Toyota has won the past two races at Auto Club Speedway. On the dark side, the driver who has won both those races isn't scheduled to race this weekend. Or anytime in the near future, unfortunately.

11. Matt Kenseth (LW: 8): Kenseth is back on Twitter. So there's that. He finished 16th at Phoenix, so there's that. He hasn't won in 48 races, so there's that. He'll still probably make the Chase this year, so there's that. This is our best "meh" Flatline impression and we're not doing to well at it. We need more Kenseth tweets for a better idea. Tweet more, Kenseth. Now.

12. Kurt Busch (LW: NR): No, this isn't going to serve as a paragraph of validation for Busch. The fifth-place finish (and running as high as second) is enough of that. He's already higher in the points standings than teammate Tony Stewart. And his run Sunday is also proof that getting into the top 30 in points is going to be ridiculously easy. Winning, not as easy, but we're not going to discount a former champion in Hendrick-provided equipment.

Lucky Dog: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s 12th-place finish is his highest finish since Bristol in August.

The DNF: Oh, Tony Stewart.

Dropped Out: AJ Allmendinger, Casey Mears

As Harvick soars, it's not clear who can stop the champion.

By JENNA FRYER (AP Auto Racing Writer)

To the surprise of none, Kevin Harvick won at Phoenix.

Now in a zone not seen in NASCAR in several years, Harvick and crew chief Rodney Childers head to California amid a looming question: Can anyone stop the No. 4 team?
 

The only way Harvick was going to lose at Phoenix was if he or his Stewart-Haas Racing team made some sort of mistake that would derail the inevitable. It didn't happen, and he routed the field Sunday while grabbing his fourth consecutive win at the Arizona short track.

It's part of a streak that dates back to last season, when Harvick grabbed his first Sprint Cup championship. He's won five of the last 10 races, two straight this season, and has seven consecutive top-two finishes.

His streak of top-two finishes is the longest since Hall of Famer Richard Petty did it during his 1975 championship season.

So now the No. 4 teams heads to California looking to sweep this three-race West Coast swing. 

It's left his competitors awe-struck at the chemistry that team has created in just over one year. Harvick moved from Richard Childress Racing to SHR after the 2013 season, and he and Childers sent a message to the entire garage area that December in their first test together when they were head-and-shoulders better than the rest of the field.

 

''I remember the days when Jeff Gordon won 13 races in a year. I remember watching every week, it was incredible,'' said Jamie McMurray, runner-up to Harvick at Phoenix.

''I think our sport is much tougher now to do that. I remember when the 4 car unloaded at the Charlotte test last year, first lap on the track he was literally the fastest car. For a year it's been that way.''

There have been other streaks in recent memory that rival Harvick: Tony Stewart won five of 10 Chase races in 2011; Jimmie Johnson won four straight Chase races in 2007, a run that rivaled his four wins in five races in 2004, when he fell eight points shy of his first title; and Gordon in 1998, when he won 13 times and finished first or second in 15 of the final 19 events.

So drivers do indeed cycle to the top of the Sprint Cup Series, and only Johnson, with five consecutive titles, has been able to maintain his grip as the best in NASCAR for any considerable length of time.

But until SHR shifts into R&D mode to prepare Harvick for the season-ending 10-race Chase for the championship, there's no indication he can be stopped anytime soon.

If there was going to be a serious challenge, though, it would likely come from one of these drivers:

-JOEY LOGANO: The Daytona 500 winner is so far this season the only driver able to keep pace with Harvick. He has top-10 finishes in all four races and has started on the front row three times. He knew it was going to be tough to keep up with Harvick at Phoenix, where he led 35 laps but finished eighth.

He's pretty good at California - remember, he was racing for the win against Denny Hamlin in 2013 when their accident left Hamlin with a broken back - and Team Penske is thought to have the best setups for grip in the garage.

-BRAD KESELOWSKI: The 2012 NASCAR champion was neck and neck with Harvick last year, and might have given Harvick a run for the title had he qualified for the championship round. His team has not shown the same muscle yet this season as Penske teammate Logano, but the No. 2 does not appear to be that far off.

Add in Keselowski's relentless drive, and it's hard to believe he won't push the entire Penske organization to close the gap on Harvick.

-JEFF GORDON: The four-time NASCAR champion is coming off one of his finest seasons in several years, and many believe he would have won the championship if he had not been eliminated from contention with Harvick's win at Phoenix last November.

Set to retire at the end of the season, he's made it clear he wants to go out on top. Although his results haven't come yet through the first month of the season, he can't be counted out. Plus, his Hendrick Motorsports team uses the same chassis and engine package that Harvick gets at SHR.

-JIMMIE JOHNSON: Never count out the six-time champion or his crew chief Chad Knaus, who many believe are the model for Harvick and Childers.

Johnson is regarded as the most balanced, all-around driver in the field; like Gordon has the same chassis ad engine package as Harvick; and already has a win this season. That victory at Atlanta gives Knaus breathing room and time to make a plan for the Chase. The No. 48 team can take risks and have some fun the next few months, then turn attention to preparing for the final 10.

-KYLE BUSCH: Obviously, Busch won't stop Harvick this year. He's sidelined with a broken right leg and broken left foot suffered in a Feb. 21 crash at Daytona.

But, if were in the car, he'd be one of the guys to eventually challenge Harvick. Regarded as one of the fastest drivers in the field, Busch is also one of the only drivers who has consistently beaten Harvick in Xfinity Series competition over the years.

NASCAR's 2015 rules have given the Cup cars an engine and aero package that is more similar to the Xfinity Series, which would give Busch a comfortable feel that could play to his advantage.

As MLS expansion continues to thrive, could we soon see two separate divisions?

By Joe Prince-Wright

(Photo/Getty Images)

The great race for MLS expansion continues as North America’s top flight is set to expand exponentially in the next decade.

On Monday MLS Commissioner Don Garber released a statement confirming that the league was close to making Minnesota United the league’s 24th team — meaning that the goal of making MLS a 24 team league by 2020 will be met at least two to three years earlier than expected — and that the league will reconsider its expansion plans beyond 24 markets.

With talks currently ongoing with potential expansion cities in Sacramento, San Antonio, St. Louis and Las Vegas, the demand for MLS franchises is rife with 30 teams by 2022 (don’t forget LAFC, Atlanta and Miami are coming soon too) a real possibility.

As PST’s Andy Edwards pointed out on Monday, there are plenty of potential markets and plenty of options on how to do this. Should MLS split up and realign to three separate conferences to ease travel for teams and create fiercer regional rivalries?

Here’s an idea for you: who about two separate divisions called MLS 1 and MLS 2?

Not only would the huge number of fans wanting to see promotion and relegation in the North American soccer pyramid be mildly satisfied, but the owners of MLS club wouldn’t be at risk of dropping down to a so-called second or third tier. Revenues would be split evenly across all 30 teams, with extra incentives and prestige given to those clubs in MLS 1. It would help to make MLS more competitive and absorbing with matches between bottom feeders towards the end of the season turning into huge games as they battle against the drop. It’s just a thought I have had, and I know others in U.S. media circles have been thinking about this for a little while too.

So, this is how I would split things up. Create two 15 team divisions with MLS 1 having two automatic relegation spots, then MLS 2 having two automatic promotions spots. Then there would be a playoff system — similar to what they have in Scotland with three teams from MLS 2 and the third from bottom team in MLS 1 entering — to determine who is the final team in MLS 1.

The 15 MLS teams which were already in the league before the expansion round of 2010 would start off in MLS 1 and the 15 teams who joined the league after 2010 would all be in MLS 2. Many would argue that it isn’t the fairest way to do it, but right now I think it would be the best way to go about it and reward the MLS originals and at least give them a chance to establish themselves in MLS 1.

In theory, there would be more incentives for owners to spend more money on DPs and use all of the money available in the salary cap. It would also give greater competition for every single game as not only the playoffs but survival would be on the line. Look, this decision would be hugely controversial among MLS owners and officials if every introduced but I’m just throwing it out there as an option as the league is in its 20th year. The likelihood is that it will stay in a single league format, but why not explore other options as MLS continues to grow?

Sure, I am from Europe where the soccer system is based on pyramids and I understand the difference in MLS and the American sports market. But I have also spent a long time living in the U.S. and speaking to many soccer fans, this huge upsurge of interest in the league expanding its horizons could be the perfect way to restructure things and create a two-tier system without muddying the waters between MLS, NASL and USL.

Just a thought. Let me know what you think…

UEFA Champions League roundup: Monaco survives Arsenal, Atleti tops Bayer in PK's.

By Nicholas Mendola

Just two slots remain in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals after Monaco and Atletico Madrid made sure France and Spain were twice represented in the next round.

One match featured a tense PK shootout while the other never got to extra time thanks to an incredible final-moments save from a Croatian goalkeeper.

AS Monaco 0-2 (3-3) Arsenal — RECAP

The Gunners are going to be rightly hailed for their spirit in Tuesday’s near comeback, but there’s a bigger question to haunt Arsenal supporters: “What if our club didn’t take Monaco lightly in leg No. 1?”

Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil both keyed a strong Arsenal attack, with the Frenchman and Aaron Ramsey providing goals in what could’ve been a storied comeback had they found one more. Danijel Subasic made a simply marvelous save on Giroud late, with the ball as close to crossing the goal line as possible before being slapped away.

And the Premier League’s last hope in Europe this season is City overcoming a 2-1 deficit to Barcelona.

Atletico Madrid 1-0 (1-1) Bayer Leverkusen — RECAP

Once Mario Suarez put the two clubs on level terms with a deflected first-half goal, Bayer basically started playing for penalty kicks.

That backfired, and maybe Atletico’s aggression at trying to find the match-winner translated to their confidence in the shootout despite a pair of misses. Fernando Torres got the winner as his Spanish career is going a bit better than his recent stints in Italy and England.

And the Bundesliga’s hopes for a pair of German teams in the quarters rest with Borussia Dortmund after Bayer’s penalty kicks went nowhere near the plan. Airmailed kicks joined an awful flubbed shot down the middle, and Atlei needed conversions from just three players to win it.

Wednesday

Barcelona vs. Manchester City, 345pm ET — Barca leads 2-1

Borussia Dortmund vs. Juventus, 345pm ET — Juve leads 2-1

UEFA Champions League Weds preview: Man City as England's hope, BVB to host Juve.

By Nicholas Mendola

Barcelona and Juventus are in the driver’s seat for each of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 ties, with 2-1 leads heading into second legs on Wednesday.

Whether they’ll be able to hold off charges from Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund to join the other six teams to clinch berths in the quarters is another story.

AS Monaco and Atletico Madrid found homes in the quarters on Tuesday, joining Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, FC Porto and Paris Saint-Germain. Let’s dig into the fortunes of the four teams dueling on Wednesday.

Barcelona vs. Manchester City — 345pm ET

On Wednesday we learn whether Joe Hart‘s rejection of a Lionel Messi penalty attempt late in the first leg is a real difference maker. Barcelona leads 2-1 after the leg in Manchester, and 3-1 is a much taller task (as we saw in Arsenal’s second leg with Monaco).

Manchester City will also be the last hope for the Premier League in this season’s competition, a fact that could serve to empower the club or keep it tentative. City can’t afford the latter, and the English side will be facing an in-form Barca side that’s looking better each week and is now atop La Liga… but has an El Clasico looming this Sunday.

Borussia Dortmund vs. Juventus — 345pm ET

Alvaro Morata was the star of the show in the first leg, and Juventus has a comfortable 14-lead in Serie A while BVB is still fighting for its Bundesliga life. Can the Germans use their away goal to advantage and pull off a 1-0 win (or better)?

A draw won’t do the trick, and once Carlos Tevez, Paul Pogba (right) and dangerous Juve starts scoring it could become an unmanageable track meet for the hosts.

Will Germany’s top flight have two teams in the quarterfinals, or will Bayern Munich be left holding the torch?

Seven teams that can win the NCAA tournament and two that can't.

By Jeff Eisenberg

Unlike last season when there was enough parity in college basketball to allow UConn to come from totally off the radar to win a national championship, that doesn't seem likely this year. 

This season's elite teams have achieved a degree of separation from the rest of the field that last year's never did. 

There's unbeaten No. 1 overall seed Kentucky, such a heavy title favorite that Las Vegas oddsmakers have dropped the Wildcats' odds to better than 1-to-1 to win a championship. There's a handful of teams that are among the top challengers to Kentucky. And other than that, well, there's pretty much everybody else.

Here's a look at the seven teams that have the best chance to cut down the nets in Indianapolis in three weeks and the two high seeds that realistically don't have much hope. 

SEVEN THAT CAN WIN A TITLE:

1. Kentucky (34-0): Explaining why Kentucky can win a championship this season is a lot like explaining why Brazil is a title threat at a World Cup or Usain Bolt is a gold medal contender at the Olympics. They're simply more talented than the rest of the field. The Wildcats have been the nation's premier defensive team all season, thanks to a stable of long, athletic big men who contest every shot at the paint. That gives their guards the security to pressure the ball and help force an SEC-best 14.1 turnovers per game. Kentucky's offense started the season well behind its defense, but the Wildcats ended the season as the ninth most efficient team in the nation. Opponents who double the post or pack in their defense surrender too many open 3s to lights-out shooter Devin Booke, Aaron Harrison and Tyler Ulis. Opponents who play Kentucky straight up often can't handle Karl-Anthony Towns or Dakari Johnson 1-on-1 in the post. And even missed shots are dangerous because Kentucky is fifth nationally in offensive rebounding percentage. Kentucky looked mortal occasionally in SEC play when it wasn't focused, but at the Wildcats' best only a few teams in the nation can challenge them.

2. Wisconsin (31-3): Ask coaches which team is best equipped to challenge Kentucky, and by far the most common answer you'll get is Wisconsin. The Big Ten champion Badgers have an ultra-efficient offense fueled by big men skilled enough to force the Wildcats to defend them out to the 3-point arc, guards who can drive and kick, and shooters who are lethal when left free. They also have enough size to defend Kentucky in the post and protect the glass. The challenge for Wisconsin will be getting back to the Final Four and earning that rematch. The Badgers could draw an Oregon team that has won 12 of 14 and a North Carolina team with Final Four-caliber talent even before a potential Elite Eight rematch with an Arizona team they edged in the West Regional final last year. Wisconsin may be the nation's best offense, but the Badgers have proven susceptible defensively to quick, athletic teams who can spread the floor and attack the basket off the dribble. That's something Wisconsin will have to show improvement defending in order to win a national title.

3. Arizona (31-3): If three midseason losses to opponents outside the RPI top 100 suggested Arizona wasn't ready to take Sean Miller to his first Final Four, the Wildcats' improvement during the past few months has proven otherwise. They've adjusted to the departure of Nick Johnson and Aaron Gordon and re-emerged as an elite defensive team that dominates the defensive glass and scores more efficiently than it did the previous year. Point guard T.J. McConnell has emerged as the team's emotional leader and become more aggressive on offense. Forward Brandon Ashley has fully recovered from the injury that cost him the second half of last season and scored 59 points in three Pac-12 tournament games. Freshman wing Stanley Johnson has learned how to defend to Miller's standards and how to best unleash his immense talents on the offensive end. And Gabe York is shooting with confidence, providing Arizona with a much-needed deep threat. The one concern about Arizona is that it still can go through prolonged stretches where jump shots aren't falling and points are hard to find. The Wildcats defend, rebound and compete well enough to endure some of those, but it could be fatal against the wrong opponent.

4. Duke (29-4): Though Duke won neither the ACC regular season nor tournament titles this year, the Blue Devils proved they're a title contender. They won at Wisconsin and Virginia, they swept the regular season series against North Carolina and they notched single victories over Louisville, Notre Dame and Michigan State. Duke averages the fourth most points per possession nationally because it boasts the nation's best low-post scorer in Jahlil Okafor, an array of shooters who are lethal when left open and a point guard in Tyus Jones who creates for himself and others off the dribble. Defensively the Blue Devils are better than last year but far from elite, which is a huge concern, especially against teams with quick guards or big men who can force Okafor to defend out to the 3-point arc. One huge reason Duke could be higher on this list is its draw. The path to the Elite Eight couldn't be better for the Blue Devils if they'd designed it themselves. Iowa State or Gonzaga pose a threat in a regional final, but it's hard to envision Duke going down early this year.

5. Villanova (32-2): Will Villanova remain the same formidable team that tore through the Big East with ease and rolled to a conference tournament title? Or will the Wildcats fall apart in the postseason as they often have in recent years? Nagging doubts about that have probably caused Villanova to be undervalued and overlooked entering the NCAA tournament. Though the Wildcats don't have a surefire NBA player on their roster, they have six players averaging at least nine points per game headlined by high-scoring wing Darrun Hilliard. They shoot a lot of threes, but they also make a Big East-leading 38.9 percent of them too. Thanks to strong guard play, solid perimeter defense and the rim protection of Daniel Ochefu, Villanova really has no glaring weaknesses. They aren't as talented as some of the teams above them on this list, but they're more than capable of taking advantage of a wide-open East Regional and returning to the Final Four for the second time under Jay Wright.

6. Iowa State (25-8): Few teams are more fun to watch than Iowa State because of its free flowing, impeccably spaced, sweet-shooting offense. The Cyclones average 78 points per game, shoot 48 percent from the field and boast five players averaging at least 9.6 points per game. Defensive indifference and a tendency to surrender too many second-chance shots sometimes puts Iowa State in a hole, but no matter because the Cyclones have proven they can dig their way out in a hurry. In its last five games, Iowa State has fallen behind by a total of 75 points and gone 5-0 anyway, a stretch that included a stirring second-half comeback to topple Kansas in the Big 12 title game. Last year, Iowa State had a favorable path to the Final Four but a season-ending injury to Georges Niang dashed its hopes. This year, the path looks relatively friendly again. The top two seeds in Iowa State's bracket — Duke and Gonzaga — are both teams that score better than they guard and the Cyclones can score with anyone.

7. Gonzaga (32-2): Given Gonzaga's recent history of failing to make it to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament, I understand your skepticism about this choice. I also understand if you want to see the Zags breakthrough at least once before allowing them to burn you again in your bracket. That's totally fair — maybe even smart — it's also not wise to discount a team with this collection of talent, depth and experience. Gonzaga boasts a frontcourt trio that fits together perfectly. Przemek Karnowski is a mammoth 7-footer with soft touch and a back-to-the-basket game. Kyle Wiltjer is one of the nation's most skilled big men, capable of burying pick-and-pop 3s, scoring on the low block or even attacking the rim off the dribble on occasion. And Domantas Sabonis is the third big man the Zags have never had, a good athlete who can rebound and finish in the paint. Throw in a senior-laden backcourt, some quality role players off the bench and the hunger that comes from hearing you can't do something time and time again, and the Zags at the very least are a team worth keeping an eye on. There are good teams in their path — Iowa, Iowa State and Duke in particular — but there's nobody in the region Gonzaga isn't capable of beating.

TWO THAT CAN'T:

1. Virginia (29-3):  The Virginia team that spent the first three-plus months of the season stifling opposing offenses on one end and scoring methodically but efficiently at the other can definitely win a championship. I'm skeptical that the current incarnation has that type of potential. Since second-leading scorer Justin Anderson went down with a thumb injury and then underwent an emergency appendectomy, the Cavaliers have been more turnover-prone and less efficient on offense. They miss his 50 percent 3-point shooting, they miss his slashing and they miss his ability to lighten the burden on Malcolm Brogdon. The turnovers and misses are also diminishing their defensive dominance because they're leading to more run-outs. Anderson returned to Virginia in the ACC tournament but he did not look right, going scoreless on 0-for-6 shooting in two games. If Virginia is able to advance deep enough into the tournament for Anderson to shake the rust off and regain his previous form, the Cavaliers can be a title threat. Considering they have a dangerous 3-point happy Belmont team in the round of 64 and potentially Michigan State and Oklahoma lurking down the road, that's not an easy path for a team at less than full strength.

2. Kansas (26-8): Any team good enough to win an outright league title in this year's loaded Big 12 probably shouldn't be discounted as a title threat, but these aren't normal circumstances for Kansas. First of all, the Jayhawks will be without freshman big man Cliff Alexander for the foreseeable future. Secondly, they have what can only be described as the draw from hell. Round of 64 opponent New Mexico State is the second highest-rated 15th seed in the 14-year history of the KenPom rankings. Potential round of 32 opponent Wichita State is underseeded as a No. 7 and would be highly motivated facing an in-state team that has refused to schedule them. Potential Sweet 16 opponent Notre Dame is a top 10 team just days removed from beating Duke and North Carolina to win the ACC tournament. And just in case Kansas gets all the way to the Elite Eight, its likely opponent merely would be No. 1 overall seed Kentucky, which smashed the Jayhawks by 32 points in November. At full strength, with all its best players performing to their ability, Kansas is good enough to make a deep run in this tournament. Given its draw, its season-long inconsistency and the absence of Alexander, it's probably not happening this year.

Notre Dame gets No. 1 seed again, faces tough bracket.

By TOM COYNE (AP Sports Writer)

 
Notre Dame's path in the NCAA Tournament as it attempts to make it to its fifth straight Final Four won't be easy.

The Oklahoma City Regional includes fifth-ranked Baylor (30-3), perennial power Stanford (24-9), which is ranked No. 14, a Miami (19-12) team that beat the Irish and DePaul (26-7), which lost to the Irish in overtime in December only because Jewell Loyd scored a career-best 41 points and because the Blue Demons were 12 of 29 from the free-throw line.

Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said like every other coach in the tournament, she believes the second-ranked Irish (31-2) are in the toughest bracket. But McGraw she said she has no problem with the Irish being placed in Oklahoma City instead of the Greensboro Regional where some though they would land.
 

''I think the women's game is at a point where we have to attract a lot of fans and I think South Carolina going to Greensboro just makes a lot of sense,'' she said.

 

But she also said playing Baylor in Big 12 territory would be a challenge.

''That would be a home court advantage for them,'' she said.

Loyd said the Irish players aren't concerned about whether it's a difficult bracket.

''It's the tournament. Everyone is playing with more passion, more desire. So you just have to take it one game at a time,'' she said. ''I was just excited to see our name up there and have the opportunity to do great things.''

The Irish will be opening the tournament with home-court advantage 7:30 p.m. Friday against Big Sky Conference champion Montana (24-8), which is making its 21st NCAA Tournament appearance. In the other game in South Bend, Minnesota (23-9), led by Amanda Zahui B., will make their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2009 against DePaul (26-7).

McGraw said Notre Dame's win over the Blue Demons helped set the tone for the season.

''That's one of the games that could have turned our program around,'' McGraw said.

Notre Dame heads into the NCAA Tournament looking to break a familiar pattern.

The Irish are a No. 1 seed for the fourth straight season, ranked No. 2 for a third straight year and will be favored to join a select group of LSU, Stanford and Connecticut twice to advance to five straight Final Fours.

''We have a team that's really hungry,'' Loyd said. ''We're just trying to play our best basketball at the end of the season and enjoy the ride.''

McGraw said this Notre Dame, which has no seniors making significant contributions, has overachieved compared to other recent Irish squads.

''I think this team has had to battle more. I think we've had to overcome some things. I think we've been challenged a little more. I think we're probably overachieving a little bit more than some of the other teams because we didn't have quite the experience. But they certainly earned where they are.''

NCAA cites 1984 Supreme Court case in O'Bannon appeal.

By Nick Bromberg

An attorney for the NCAA cited a 1984 ruling from the Supreme Court in defense of the sanctioning body's definition of amateurism in front of a federal appeals court on Tuesday.

In August, a judge ruled against the NCAA in the O'Bannon case, which challenges the NCAA's definition of amateurism. Plaintiffs contend that the NCAA doesn't have the right to prevent players from being compensated for the use of their name, image and likenesses.

Tuesday, the NCAA appealed in an hour-long hearing that featured 30-minute arguments from both sides. The NCAA, via former U.S. Solicitor General Seth Waxman, brought up the NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma, a case that primarily centered around the television rights for college sports – and one that helped spur the ubiquity of college football on television.

While the case didn't go the NCAA's way, the NCAA cited (both Tuesday and previously) a line in the majority opinion that says in order to "preserve the character and the quality of the 'product,' athletes must not be paid," and required to attend class.

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken, the judge who ruled on the initial case, said college sports had changed dramatically since the 1984 ruling. She said schools should set aside no fewer than $5,000 per season for each athlete plus money to cover cost of attendance expenses. The money would be put in a trust for players to be withdrawn after a player's eligibility expires.

From CBS Sports:

Judge Jay Bybee said the question of $5,000 per year in trust for athletes “feels like we've crossed the line … and it has crossed into some theoretical line of pay for play.” Bybee also questioned how deferred payments could be enforced.

“Does that mean it has to come out of a particular fund? Does that mean the NCAA has to say NIL revenues weren't so great this year, so you don't get that this year?” Bybee said. “I'm a little puzzled by how it's enforceable.” O'Bannon attorney Michael Hausfeld pointed to statements by three NCAA witnesses who suggested $5,000 a year would not cross an acceptable line.

A major crux of the NCAA's argument could be defined by one statement from NCAA attorney Seth Waxman, the former U.S. solicitor general: “We define what pay constitutes.”

A decision in the appeal is expected in the coming months.

In Wilken's ruling in favor of the plaintiffs, she said the "challenged NCAA rules unreasonably restrain trade in the market for certain educational and athletic opportunities offered by NCAA Division I schools." Her injuction, however, did not prevent the NCAA from putting a cap on how much players can be compensated for their NILs.

If the ruling holds up – this is likely not to be the final appeal – the trust would go into effect before the 2016-2017 school year.

Paper All-Star ballots being retired by MLB.

By David Brown
                                    

The punch ballot from 1977. (Getty)

The only hanging Chads left in Major League Baseball this season will be any errant pitches left over the plate by the likes of Chad Billingsley, Chad Qualls and Chad Bettis. Major League Baseball is doing away with the paper punch ballots for All-Star voting that have been a fixture at ballparks (and sometimes drug stores) every season since 1970.

An official MLB memo obtained by Bloomberg News notes that, going forward, every All-Star vote be digital in nature:

The March 9 memo from Bob Bowman, baseball's president for business and media, said online voting accounted for more than 80 percent of ballots cast last season and that more than 16 million paper ballots went unused. 

“We therefore have made the decision to go green, while also saving the cost of managing an offline program,” Bowman wrote in the memo, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News.

This change was inevitable, pragmatic and prudent, given how most votes are cast, and that only 4 million paper ballots were cast in 2014. It's just easier for fans to use their phones or sit at their computers and vote — which is why the sports all introduced electronic voting. All of the other major sports leagues already exclusively use electronic voting since 2011, so MLB actually is a little behind the curve here, though they can afford to be. By comparison, interest in the baseball All-Star game always laps that of the other sports.
  
From a nostalgia standpoint, some might miss the punch cards because of the tradition. If you're old enough, it's how you grew up voting for the All-Star game because it was the only way to vote. They were great for write-in candidates as well, though that almost never worked. One downside of the paper ballot: The names had to be known a certain amount of time in advance in order to get the ballots to the printer, which led to some inappropriate names on the ballot. Guys at the wrong position. Injured players. Guys traded out of the league. Guys who don't deserve to be on the ballot because they're having down years. Guys who aren't on the ballot but should be. Going all digital won't eliminate those red herrings, but it ought to reduce them. The ballot should be a better ballot. Paper, schmaper!

Once the "final vote" concept began (it's always been online-only) the handwriting was on the chat-room wall for paper ballots. It was just a matter of time. If there's enough complaining — and people always complain — maybe MLB will bring back the punch cards in future seasons in some form. Certainly, if they do, they'll be in smaller quantities.

Not to get all Aldous Huxley, but is anyone going to be using paper in quantity in 25 years?

On This Date in Sports History: Today is Wednesday, March 18, 2015.

Memoriesofhistory.com

1892 - Frederick Arthur, Lord Stanley of Preston, announced that he had purchased a trophy to be presented to the hockey champion of Canada.

1945 - Maurice "Rocket" Richard became the first National Hockey League (NHL) player to score 50 goals.

1953 - The National League owners approved the move of the Braves from Boston to Milwaukee. It was the first major league franchise shift since 1903.

1970 - The NFL selected Wilson to be the official football and scoreboard as official time.

1990 - The 32-day lockout of baseball players ended.

1990 - In Tampa, FL, a little league player was killed after being hit with a pitch.

2002 - Brittanie Cecil became the first NHL fan fatality directly related to action on the ice. She had been hit by a puck during a game two days before between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Calgary Flames. Her death was caused by a rare injury caused when her head snapped back after being hit.

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