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Trending: Only 5 teams still have a legit shot to win the NCAA Tournament.

By Cork Gaines

Kentucky is still the overwhelming favorite. After four gut-wrenching days of the NCAA Tournament there are now just 16 teams still alive. But the number of teams with a legit chance to win it all is much less according to the updated model by Nate Silver.

Kentucky is still the overwhelming favorite with Silver giving the Wildcats a 41% chance to finish the season undefeated, the same probability they had prior to the start of the tournament.
 

Arizona now has the second-best chance of becoming champs with a 14% chance followed by Duke at 12%.

In all, just five teams have at least a 5% chance of winning it all according to the model:

Kentucky (No. 1 seed, Midwest) — 41% chance to win the tournament

Arizona (No. 2 seed, West) — 14% chance

Duke (No. 1 seed, South) — 12% chance

Wisconsin (No. 1 seed, West) — 8% chance

Gonzaga (No. 2 seed, South) — 6% chance

No team still alive in the East has more than a 4% chance of winning the tournament. Michigan State is the favorite to reach the Final Four out of that region with a 33% chance of winning their next two games.
 

West Virginia, North Carolina, Xavier, UCLA, and North Carolina State are the longest shots to win it all, with each of those teams given a 1% (or less) chance to be the one team still standing at the end.

How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Blackhawks-Flyers Preview.

By JEFF MEZYDLO (STATS Senior Writer)

Kimmo Timonen watched Chicago clinch the 2010 Stanley Cup with its only victory at Philadelphia in almost two decades.

Hoping to finally hoist the Cup as a member of the Blackhawks, the 40-year-old defenseman returns Wednesday night to face a Flyers team that enabled him to chase that elusive dream.

Timonen spent seven seasons with Philadelphia, and was on the ice five years ago when Patrick Kane scored in overtime to give Chicago its first Cup since 1961 with a 4-3 victory in Game 6.

That remains the Blackhawks' only win in their last 13 regular-season or playoff games at Philadelphia. After the Flyers traded Timonen on Feb. 27, he makes his initial return looking to help Chicago (44-22-6) end an 0-9-1 regular-season skid at Philadelphia that dates to a 4-1 victory Nov. 9, 1996.

While it's likely to be an emotional night for the 16-year veteran, it's another on his journey to finally raise the Cup before retiring at season's end.

"If I'd won the Stanley Cup before I probably wouldn't be (in Chicago)," Timonen told the Blackhawks' official website. "So that is the driving factor here. That's why I'm here."

Sidelined because of blood clots discovered in his leg and lungs last summer, Timonen still expected to make his 2014-15 debut with the Flyers (29-29-16). But as their playoff chances dwindled, he talked with general manager Ron Hextall about a trade.

"If we're out of the playoffs, I asked Kimmo if he wanted to look at going somewhere and taking a run at winning a Stanley Cup," Hextall said.

"If Kimmo wouldn't have been amicable to being traded, we would not have traded him. He's meant too much to this organization to trade him if it was against his wishes."

Advertising Timonen's return on their website, the Flyers likely will pay tribute to the man who ranks third among active NHL defensemen with 571 points.

"Kimmo's definitely one of the really good guys in the game," Philadelphia goaltender Steve Mason said.

Though Timonen doesn't have a point and is a minus-2 while averaging 12:27 minutes in nine games with his new team, Chicago has allowed 13 goals to go 7-1-1 in those contests.

The Blackhawks rebounded from Saturday's 4-0 loss at Dallas by winning 3-1 at Carolina on Monday. Andrew Shaw scored twice and Corey Crawford made 43 saves to help Chicago win for the ninth time in 12 games .

"We'll do what we have to do to win those tight games," said captain Jonathan Toews, who recorded his 500th point with an assist on Shaw's empty-netter. "We know we could have played better, done some little things better but the main thing is to build off (it)."

Ex-Flyer Patrick Sharp added a goal and an assist.
 

With two assists during a 4-0 victory over Philadelphia on Oct. 21, Sharp has six and a goal during a four-game point streak against his former club.

The Flyers return from an 0-2-2 trip through Canada where they matched a club record with a ninth straight road defeat, 5-4 in overtime at Edmonton on Saturday.

"It's frustrating and disappointing," said forward Claude Giroux, who scored twice.

Philadelphia is 9-20-10 on the road but 20-9-6 at home, where it's 5-1-1 since dropping three straight to open February.

Giroux has three goals in two games after going 10 straight without one. He has one in his last 13 home contests but three scores with six assists in his last six regular-season and playoff meetings there versus Chicago.

Blackhawks: Corey Crawford's preparation paying off.

By Tracey Myers

Corey Crawford doesn’t divulge much when you ask why he’s been playing well. He won’t go into great detail. He just says he tries to be ready.

“I’m just going out there and playing hard and making sure that I feel the same way for every game at the start of every game,” Crawford said. “Preparation is a big part of it, to be ready right from the get go.”

Crawford was ready from the start on Monday night when he stopped 43 shots in the Blackhawks’ 3-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. That outing ensured Crawford of his fourth season of 30 victories or more; he’s just the third goaltender in franchise history to record four or more 30-victory seasons. He’s eighth in the league in goals-against average (2.19) and sixth in save percentage (.926).

Crawford has played his best as the regular season has wound down. The goaltender who once heard boos often from the United Center crowd — mainly in 2011-12, and he had 30 victories that season, too — now often hears his first name shouted in praise.

“I know Corey feeds off that,” said Patrick Sharp. “He seems to make bigger saves as he goes along. I’d like to say he’s playing his best hockey now but he’s the same to me always back there; he makes the saves he’s supposed to.”

Crawford has been seeing a lot of shots along the way. He faced 44 against the Hurricanes, 39 against the New York Islanders, 35 vs. the San Jose Sharks and 47 vs. the Edmonton Oilers. You’d be hell bent to find a coach who wants his goaltender to see that many shots in a game. At the same time, Crawford always seems to play better when he’s in a rhythm, facing shots at a steady pace.

He’s also shrugged aside the bad nights. Crawford gave up four goals against the Dallas Stars on Saturday — granted, nobody in a Blackhawks uniform played well that night. Two nights later he had his 43-stop outing vs. Carolina.

“When he has a bad game he forgets about it and gets ready for the next one, which is great,” Marian Hossa said. “He’s been confident for us and playing unbelievable games. We can help out better defensively, but he’s [been] tough to beat.”

Crawford’s preparation has obviously been where it needs to be, as his good games have vastly outweighed the bad this season. And those performances are a big reason why the Blackhawks are close to catching St. Louis and Nashville in the Central Division.

“He likes the pressure more and more,” Jonathan Toews said. “He’s just embraced that role, he’s playing so game loose. He wants more and more responsibility and he’s been able to undertake it and do it in style. He’s definitely coming into his own as being a household name around the league.”

Shaw scores twice, Crawford stops 43 as Blackhawks top Canes 3-1. (Monday night's game, 03/23/2015).

By Joe Johnson

It wasn't the easiest win for the Blackhawks, but it was a significant win.

Andrew Shaw and Patrick Sharp delivered coach Joel Quenneville's 750th career win in the Blackhawks' 3-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night. Shaw scored twice, while Sharp had a goal and an assist.

The Blackhawks, which made quick work of the Hurricanes with goals on their first two shots of the game, bounced back from a 4-0 shutout loss on Saturday to win for the fifth time in their last six games and maintain their third-place position in the Central Division.

But the Blackhawks had to work for it in the final two periods as they held off Carolina, which threw 34 of their 44 shots at Corey Crawford in the last 40 minutes. Crawford finished with 43 saves and improved to 30-15-5.

"We played great in the first and did all the little things right," Shaw said. "We got pucks behind them and made their D-men work. But we got away from that and started making cute plays. We weren't happy with our second and gave them momentum for the third.

"Crow played great and kept us in the game and helped us get the two points."
 Captain Jonathan Toews picked up his 500th career point with an assist on the Blackhawks' final goal, Shaw's empty netter, which gave him 12 goals on the season.

"It's not the ideal way to get it, but it's a big goal by Shaw-sy to close it out," Toews said. "It's now off to the next thing. It's kind of cool to think about, but the main thing is that we got our two points tonight."

Shaw gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead with goal from the slot at 7:48 of the first period. He took up position just to the right of Carolina goalkeeper Anton Khudobin and easily deposited a pass from Marcus Kruger, who won a battle behind the net to gain possession of the puck.

Less than two minutes later, Sharp gave the Blackhawks a 2-0 lead when he took a cross-ice pass from Marian Hossa and swept in from the left wing and beat Khudobin for the second straight time at 9:07.

Carolina's Victor Rask cut the Blackhawks' lead in half at 3:54 of the second period when he followed up Eric Staal's breakaway and collected the rebound off Crawford's pads.

Despite leading the NHL in shot production (34.1), the Blackhawks were way off their average against Carolina. They got nine in the opening period, six in the second and 10 in the third for finish with 25. Their season-low is 20 shots, which came against Minnesota in a 4-2 win.

The Blackhawks wrap up their four-game road trip on Thursday at Philadelphia.

Just Another Chicago Bulls Session…

AP
                                                          

The Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls have probably long considered playoff spots a given, and the latter have clinched.

Seeding remains entirely up in the air, and in that regard Wednesday night's meeting in Toronto could be the most influential remaining game for both of the nearly deadlocked Eastern Conference teams.

Toronto can clinch the postseason with a win or a Boston loss Wednesday night against visiting Miami, and it can secure its second straight Atlantic Division title with a win and a Boston loss. That too has been assumed for some time with the Celtics 10 1/2 games off the pace.

The Raptors (42-29) lost 108-104 Tuesday in Detroit, failing in a first attempt to secure a playoff spot and falling one-half game behind the Bulls (43-29) for the No. 3 seed.

Chicago became the third team in the East to clinch with Monday's 98-86 home win over Charlotte.

The Bulls welcomed back Jimmy Butler, who played for the first time in 12 games after suffering a sprained left elbow. The All-Star guard finished with 19 points and nine rebounds but showed some rust with a 6-of-20 shooting mark.

"It was great to have him back. Great," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "He had a bunch of bunnies that he always makes, so his timing was not quite there but I thought as the game went on, he started to get into a rhythm."

Pau Gasol had 27 points and 12 rebounds, which was nothing new for Butler to see, but newfound offensive threat Nikola Mirotic had a team-high 28 on 10-of-19 shooting. In 13 games this month, the rookie power forward has averaged 21.0 points and 8.2 rebounds.

Butler has played with Mirotic all season but just twice in March as his numbers have taken off.

 "Man, dude can play," said Butler, who has averaged 24.0 points on 53.8 percent shooting in two games against Toronto this season. "He's basically carried this month, to tell you the truth. He's confident, I think he's only going to continue to get better."

It was the Bulls' third win in four games, but their Central Division hopes are becoming slimmer. With 10 games to play, they trail streaking Cleveland by three games.

They do have recent success against the Raptors on their side with four straight wins, including three this season while shooting 51.7 percent, which is their top season mark against a given opponent. Toronto's 40.7 percent is its lowest against any of the 11 teams it has faced more than twice. Chicago has also taken three straight and seven of nine in Toronto.

The latest meeting was a 108-92 final Friday in Chicago with 29 points and 11 rebounds from Mirotic and eight points, 10 rebounds and 14 assist out of Joakim Noah. Noah, however, missed the win over the Hornets because of general soreness.

Chicago remains without Derrick Rose, but with Butler and Taj Gibson back - Gibson has played in the last three after missing 10 games - the healthier Bulls can try to begin correcting some road struggles. After going 14-4 through December, they are 6-11 away in 2015.

Toronto begins a three-game homestand with Kyle Lowry's health a growing concern. Lowry returned against the Pistons after missing two games with back spasms but left early in the second quarter and didn't return. He missed last week's matchup after averaging 27.0 points in the previous two meetings, but it sounds like he'll be out again.

"It's probably the same injury, so I'm going to have to take my time and get it right," he said.

It comes at a potentially bad time with DeMar DeRozan shooting 31.6 percent or lower in four of his last seven games.

Mirotic takes center stage in 4th as Bulls clinch playoff spot 98-86.

By Vincent Goodwill

Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic celebrate late in the second half. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Clinching a playoff spot is an annual rite of early spring for the Chicago Bulls, but it was the only constant coming into Monday night’s game against the Charlotte Hornets.

Would Jimmy Butler’s return have an adverse affect on the Bulls team, especially coming off their dud in Detroit?

Would they be bullied for the third time against a team that performed the basic tenets of Bull philosophy better than them this season, especially without the services of Joakim Noah, a late-game scratch (soreness)?

No, and no — and Nikola Mirotic has the late-game poster on Hornets forward Jason Maxiell to prove it, as the Bulls clinched their seventh straight playoff appearance with a 98-86 win Monday at the United Center.

By the time Mirotic nailed an open three in transition with 2:33 left to put the Bulls up 89-82, the question was no longer centered about Mirotic being lost in crunch time with Butler back and more around how could the Hornets players repeatedly lose sight of the impressive rookie.

“While we are waiting on our other guys to get back, Niko tends to get overlooked by the other team,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “And we can use that to our advantage.”

To be fair, even when Marvin Williams was glued to Mirotic as the shot clock ticked down early in the fourth, and he hit a leaning triple, it was likely a signal nothing was gonna be done about the 24-year old with a world full of confidence on this night anyways.

He finished with a team-high 28 points (14 in the fourth) and eight rebounds, a stat line becoming more and more common as the season winds down.

In perhaps the greatest compliment a player can say about a peer, Butler simply said of Mirotic, “Man, that dude can play.”

“He’s basically carried us this month,” Butler said. “He’s confident and I think he’s only gonna continue to get better because he’s always in the gym working on his game and it shows.”

Butler started in his return after his elbow injury, scoring 19 points in 40 minutes, grabbing nine rebounds and despite hitting just six of his 20 shots, got to the line 10 times. Pau Gasol registered another double-double with 27 points and 12 rebounds in 33 minutes.

“He missed a bunch of shots he normally makes so his timing is not quite there,” said Thibodeau of Butler. “But as the game went on, he started getting back in his rhythm. He started drawing contact and getting to the line and his rebounding was huge for us.”

Butler said his performance was “below average,” a statement that belies his high expectations for himself for the rest of the season.

“It was a lot of rust,” he said. “But timing wise, I think I’m a little off, like ball placement being in the right spot. It’s different when you miss three weeks of games. But I’ll get back into it.”

The Bulls couldn’t keep the Hornets off the 3-point line and by proxy, controlling the guards became too tough a chore as Kemba Walker, Mo Williams and Lance Stephenson repeatedly put stress on the Bulls defense.

Walker, the cat-quick guard who made his name known to NBA types in March, scored 29 in 34 minutes and helped the Hornets to a one-point halftime lead — putting palpable worry into the minds of observers who’ve seen the Bulls’ third-quarter disappearing act that’s occurred a few times since the All-Star break.

But the guards finally began to match the Hornets’ firepower, as Aaron Brooks began to dish out the abuse he’d been taking from Walker, scoring a quick six to give the Bulls a slim lead and a little breathing room.

“I thought Aaron was terrific with the pick and roll, and he made some great plays overall,” said Thibodeau of Brooks’ 13-point, 10-assist performance.

Gasol, starting in place of Noah at center, found himself in Noah’s position at the high post but was left open by Al Jefferson way too many times. And he kept extending his range to cap off that third quarter, hitting a corner triple to keep the Hornets down five.

And then they made way for Mirotic who eagerly stepped into the spotlight yet again — feeling quite comfortable as the Bulls’ closer.

Bear Down Chicago Bears!!!! NFL owners vote to suspend television blackouts for 2015 season.

By Marc Lancaster

NFL fans will be able to watch their local teams on television throughout the 2015 season, no matter how many tickets are sold.

NFL owners voted Monday to suspend the league's blackout policy for one year. The change will apply to preseason and regular-season games.

 The NFL noted that there were no blackouts in 2014 and only two in 2013, but that didn't necessarily occur organically. Teams up against the ticket-sales deadline to avoid a blackout often have sponsors buy blocks of tickets to get them over the hump for a given game and redistribute those tickets to charities or other organizations.

Since 2012, teams have had to sell 85 percent of tickets for home games at least 72 hours before kickoff to avoid a blackout.

The NFL imposed its blackout policy in 1973 as a way to ensure continued ticket sales. Though the policy has come under attack for years from various quarters, the league's owners have stood by the necessity of keeping the rules in place.

Owners will monitor any effect on ticket sales this season that might be tied to the suspension of blackouts, but if fans keep showing up at stadiums on Sundays, the change could be here to stay.

Bears sign DE Jarvis Jenkins to one-year deal. 

CSN Staff

The Bears announced they have signed defensive end Jarvis Jenkins to a one-year contract.

The move helps shore up the defensive line as the Bears shift to a 3-4 defense under Vic Fangio and John Fox.

Jenkins was a former second-round pick (Washington) out of Clemson and has spent the last three seasons with the Redskins. He has a combined 75 tackles and two sacks in three seasons, plus five tackles for a loss.

Jenkins will turn 27 in a month and has not rated very well over his career. Here's how Rotoworld describes the 6-foot-4, 315-pound defensive lineman: 

It's not a surprise Jenkins didn't draw much interest in free agency. A 26-year-old who offers nothing as a pass rusher, Jenkins finished 45th out of 47 qualified 3-4 defensive ends in Pro Football Focus' 2014 rankings. He's serviceable against the run, but still received a negative grade in that area over 552 snaps last season. Chicago's cellar-dwelling defense didn't improve with this minimum-salary signing. 

It's not a big splash in free agency, but the Bears needed more depth along the defensive line with the scheme switch.

Bears sign ex-49ers DE Ray McDonald to one-year deal.

By John Mullin

One of the questions looming over the Bears as they transition to the 3-4 defense of new coordinator Vic Fangio is how they would staff the two defensive end spots, which call for player types dramatically different from the speed rushers in the Jared Allen and Willie Young mold. 

The Bears began answering those questions at the NFL owners meetings, with the additions of former Washington Redskins defensive end Jarvis Jenkins and defensive end Ray McDonald, who played for Fangio last year with the San Francisco 49ers. 

Jenkins, 6-foot-4, 315 pounds, is bigger than any defensive lineman on the Bears’ 2014 roster and represents a clear indication of the kind of power two-gap front that Fangio will run. The signing of Jenkins, a second-round pick of Washington in the 2011 NFL Draft, coming out of Clemson, was first reported the Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.

Jenkins missed all of his rookie season with a torn ACL. He recovered to play all 16 games in two of the past three seasons, with his two career sacks coming in 2013.

McDonald, 6-foot-3, 290, was a fixture at left defensive end for Fangio, then sliding inside to a tackle spot when the 49ers went to a four-man front in passing situations.

His career took a dark turn last year when he was accused of rape and released in December by the 49ers. No charges were ever filed, however, and McDonald subsequently sued the woman making the accusations. McDonald had been previously arrested, in August, on a charge of domestic violence.

McDonald was the subject of controversy with calls for his benching or suspension until matters were resolved. But Jim Harbaugh and the 49ers started McDonald in week two against the Bears. McDonald was credited with two solo tackles in the Bears’ 28-20 win.

The Bears’ contact with McDonald was reported initially by Aaron Leming of Bear Report.

An NFL rule change that would make one of the most basic concepts of football obsolete is gaining support.

By Cork Gaines

Two-point conversions could become the norm in the NFL. The NFL owners meetings where teams will discuss and vote on proposed rule changes are this week.

While the focus will be on popular topics such as replay challenges, catches, and the number of overtime possessions, there is one potential rule change gaining support that would essentially eliminate one of the most basic concepts of football, the 7-point touchdown. 

Of course, a touchdown in football is actually worth six points. However, the point-after-try is so automatic (99.3% success rate in 2014) that a touchdown is basically worth seven points except for the rare occurrences when coaches attempt a 2-point conversion. 

The proposed rule change, which is gaining support according to Sal Paolantonio of ESPN, would move the 2-point conversion from the 2-yard line to the 1-yard line. 

While discussing the proposed change on ESPN, Paolantonio speculated that the successful conversion of 2-point tries would increase from 47.5% in 2014 to 60-65% by moving the extra-point attempt closer to the end zone. If true, teams would, on average, add 12-13 points for every ten touchdowns compared to just ten points if they kick the 1-point try after every touchdown. 

Former NFL head coach Herm Edwards predicted that if the change is made, 95% of the head coaches will go for the 2-point conversion, noting "there is no downside to it." 

Presumably, teams would only kick an extra point at the end of games when only a single point is needed or if the result of the game is no longer in doubt. In other words, 7-point touchdowns would become rare and would instead be worth either six or eight points far more often. 

Last season, the NFL experimented with moving the extra-point to the 15-yard line to make the kicks less automatic while the 2-point attempts stayed at the 2-yard line. This change is also still being considered. 

ESPN analyst John Clayton said any change is unlikely to made in time for the 2015 season, but noted that there "is a bigger groundswell" for moving the extra point to the 1-yard line and "more teams want to make this change." Clayton added that this proposal could be tested in the preseason.
 

NFL will not expand instant replay to include penalty calls.

John Mullin
 

(Photo/DenisPoroy)

  
The obvious desire of all involved with the NFL to get the game right was not enough to sway the league’s Competition Committee on Monday to extend the use of instant replay to include review penalties. The feeling here is that taking no action was the best action.

Those on both the league’s and the officials’ sides agreed that there was a real concern about the impact such an extension would have on on-field officiating.

And there’s a practical matter. To review only actual penalty calls doesn’t carry the get-it-right thinking through to its logical — and seriously unworkable — conclusion.

What then could conceivably have been argued was that “uncalled” infractions should be called. Meaning: Every play theoretically should be scrutinized to see if holding, face-mask, tripping or any other violation occurred. Which would be absurd.

In any case, the Committee concluded: no instant replay review of penalties.

Cubs lining up Jon Lester for Opening Night. 

By Patrick Mooney

The Cubs are still lining up Jon Lester for Opening Night at Wrigley Field, but their $155 million ace won’t be making another Cactus League start.

After going through what the Cubs described as a typical dead-arm period, Lester will throw about 60 pitches on Thursday in a minor-league game. The All-Star lefty’s final tune-up start next week will also be against minor-leaguers.

“He’s fine,” manager Joe Maddon said Tuesday at Hohokam Stadium. “We want to be able to control the number of pitches. For instance, if he’s having a long inning, just flip it over, come on into the dugout and let the other team play. So it’s just more of a controlled environment.”

 Lester stretched out to 70 pitches during his last Cactus League outing on March 16. The Cubs think 80 pitches in his final warm-up start would be enough to get ready for the St. Louis Cardinals on Easter Sunday.  
      
“Yeah, that would be fine for me,” Maddon said. “Theoretically, you’d like to be able to at least be in the mid-90s or 100 (pitches) before that first game. He might be somewhat restricted regarding length in that first game.

“If he says he feels good, I feel good.”

White Sox would love to see relievers start to produce.

By Dan Hayes

Pitchers have leeway to get work complete but Robin Ventura would love for his bullpen to start putting up zeroes.

With 13 days left until Opening Day, both Ventura and pitching coach Don Cooper are ready to see their relievers turn the corner from the work phase of spring training into the results-oriented portion.

So far some of the team’s top relievers -- David Robertson, Zach Putnam, Zach Duke and Daniel Webb -- have posted unsightly spring ERAs with the caveat being that they’re working on specific pitches, etc. But Ventura and his staff are almost to the point where they need to see all the work translate into performance.

“I don’t want to see any more crooked numbers,” Ventura said. “Yeah there’s stuff to work on, definitely. You’re getting closer to the end and guys are still fighting for a spot. It eventually catches up to you and you have to put up some zeros and throw strikes. There is a fine line that you can work on stuff, but eventually you have to see some stuff, too. It’s getting close to that.”

Robertson has said since February he works at a deliberate pace in spring. Cooper understands it and was pleased to see the closer, who signed a four-year, $46-million deal in December, bounce back on Saturday from a series of rough outings. Robertson -- who had hit a batter and allowed four earned runs, six hits and walked four in 3 2/3 innings -- struck out one in a perfect inning Saturday.

“I knew after the Cincinnati one I saw frustration,” Cooper said. “I saw this ‘Enough’s enough’ (look) and … when he was going out (the next time) I said ‘Boy, nothing would please the pitching coach more than if he goes out and has a nice inning’ and he did.”

Cooper said Putnam has looked good for individual batters but had failed to string together a complete inning. Putnam -- who allowed a single in a scoreless inning in Tuesday’s 7-6 loss to the Colorado Rockies at Camelback Ranch -- said he needed to pitch smarter and not leave fastballs over the plate. The right-hander has been happy with his split-fingered fastball, but had still yielded four homers in 3 2/3 innings before Tuesday.

Cooper isn’t concerned with Duke, who has pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings since Sunday, including one on Tuesday.

It hasn’t all been bad for the White Sox bullpen. Cooper cited Albers -- who gave up three unearned runs Tuesday -- Javy Guerra and Dan Jennings for their strong pitching in relief.

Golf: I got a club for that; Jack Nicklaus presented with Congressional Gold Medal.

By Ryan Ballengee

Jack Nicklaus answers questions from reporters after finishing the first round of the Father/Son Challenge golf tournament in Orlando, Fla. The Schwan Food Company in Minnesota is teaming up with the 18-time major champion to create Jack Nicklaus premium ice cream. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)

On Tuesday, the Golden Bear got the gold. 

In Washington, D.C., Jack Nicklaus was awarded with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor Congress can bestow. Congressional leaders attended the ceremony, including Speaker of the House John Boehner, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid. 

Among Nicklaus' friends in attendance included his wife Barbara, five children and 22 grandchildren. Arnold Palmer even made the trip to the nation's capital, as Nicklaus did the same when Palmer received the same honor in 2012. Members of the Ohio State University marching band, where Nicklaus went to school and dotted the "i" in Ohio in 2006 during their famous pre-football game manuever, were there, too. CBS Sports announcer Jim Nantz was also on hand, delivering remarks.

"Thank you, Jack, for being the most prolific winner in the history of the greatest sport of all time," Nantz said during the ceremony, "and for showing us what it looks like when one dedicates a lifetime to service to others and a lifetime to devotion to family. You've let us all see it right up close."

Nicklaus, who has won a record 18 professional (as he'd say) majors and 73 PGA Tour events, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- the executive branch equivalent of the Congressional Gold Medal -- by George W. Bush in 2005. He joins Palmer as the only other golfer, and just one of seven athletes, to earn the Congressional Gold Medal.

The 75-year-old graciously heaped praise on wife Barbara, crediting her with his incredible career.

“She is responsible for 15 of my major championships,” Nicklaus said with a smile. “I’ll give myself three of them.”

Nicklaus concluded his remarks with what a joke that may have played off Pelosi's remarks, when she called him "saintly."
 

He said, “Anything I’m not proud of was from before the Internet was invented."

Adam Scott considering long putter for the Masters.

By Ryan Ballengee

After a solid first week with the short putter and a more traditional putting stroke, Adam Scott has struggled.

In his last six PGA Tour rounds between the Valspar Championship -- where Scott missed his first cut, ending a streak of 45 made cuts -- and the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Scott has lost 9.3 shots to the field with the flatstick. That's not good. That's on the heels of gaining 3.1 strokes on the field at the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral, where he first put the traditional-length putter into play.

The bad results from Innisbrook and Bay Hill have Scott considering a change back to the broomstick and anchored stroke one last time at Augusta National in two weeks.

"Putting with a longer putter is maybe the smarter thing to do," Scott said to PGATour.com on Sunday at Bay Hill, where he finished T-35 after having a win in his hands a year ago. "I don't know. It's all about the lag putting. It's such a difference in weight of club and stroke and everything. I'm just trying to figure it all out."

The anchored putting stroke will become illegal on Jan. 1, 2016, so Scott will have to make a permanent transition soon enough. However, Scott intends to make the most of one last crack at the Masters with the long putter.

"It's not exactly where I want to be, but it doesn't matter when it comes to the Masters," said the 2013 Masters champ. "I've got two weeks and a really clear idea of what to work on."

Tensions heating up between caddies and PGA.

AFP
                                         

A view of the eighth green during the Arnold Palmer Invitational at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Florida on March 21, 2015 (AFP Photo/Michael Cohen)

A rift between caddies for some of golf's greatest players and US PGA Tour officials, which has resulted in a lawsuit by the bagmen, appears to be growing wider.

Duane Bock, a caddie for US PGA player Kevin Kisner, says a tour official scolded him for wearing salmon-red shorts last weekend at Bay Hill during the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Bock tweeted Monday about his Facebook posting Saturday following the third round of the tournament, with a photo of him in knee-length shorts and a message.

"This PGA Tour is at it again. Apparently they had a problem with the color of my shorts today," Bock said. "After the round, I was told in the scoring trailer by a PGA Tour official that these shorts are not an acceptable color. Funny how I've been wearing these shorts every week for the last 14 tournaments but now they have a problem."

Bock noted that regulations require "solid-color, knee-length tailored shorts" and then made his best guess as to why the color might not have pleased PGA rule makers.

"Guess the color of my shorts is taking attention away from that MasterCard symbol I'm advertising on my back for FREE," Bock said.

Bock was among 167 PGA caddies who filed a lawsuit last month against the tour, claiming restraint of trade and seeking a share of the income from sponsor-logo bibs with player names that all caddies are required to wear, serving as human billboards while carrying player clubs.

NASCAR Power Rankings: Kurt Busch is climbing.

By Nick Bromberg
                                                                             

                                                                                                                                              
1. Kevin Harvick  (LW: 1): Another race, another top two for Kevin Harvick. Ho-hum. Let's move on. He's so boring. OK, we won't just yet. Dude's setting a torrid pace and you do have to wonder if there's been some whispering wishes that this run was coming in the last five races of 2015 rather than the first five. For as great as the run Harvick is on has been, it's going to become a footnote if he doesn't win the Chase. It's not fair, but there's not much of the 2014 season pre-Chase that's replayed, is there?

2. Joey Logano (LW: 2): If the race had gone green the rest of the way, was Logano in the best position of anyone? After a speeding penalty on what could have been the final round of yellow-flag pit stops, Logano stopped again for fuel. He could have made it to the end without stopping while other drivers were forced to pit. We know that didn't work out, but the cautions did mean Logano could, like his teammate, take four tires late in the race without much fear of falling back and the fresh rubber helped net him a seventh-place finish.

3. Kurt Busch (LW: 12): Yes, it's a nine-place jump for Busch, but this isn't a statement. Look at how fast he's been over his two races. And, frankly, it was his race to win on Sunday before the wackiness of the final laps. Well, OK, it was his race to win after the first caution flag for debris that was never shown on television. Look, we're not supporting conspiracy theories. But when you have a segment of the fanbase that's already shown it doesn't consider the sport trustworthy and last 25 laps unfold the way they did, it's a recipe for minds to run wild.

4. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 3): Dropping Truex a spot after finishing eighth while leaving Logano in second after finishing seventh may not be the fairest thing in the world. But eh, we're in charge here. Truex got under Tony Stewart's skin after contact on the backstretch. Truex said he felt Stewart ran into him while Stewart said Truex cut in front of him. Maybe the truth is somewhere in the middle? Either way, the nine-years-older Stewart referred to Truex as a kid.

5. Brad Keselowski (LW: 9): Keselowski's acceptance of the circumstances of the win after the race was appropriate. While his drive to the front shouldn't be discounted -- one wrong lane choice on a restart and he's probably not in victory lane -- it's also a win that has not going to happen until the cautions fell the way they did. But hey, both Penske cars are probably going to be in the Chase and now it's all about bonus points.

6. Ryan Newman (LW: 6): Newman is putting together top fives like last year didn't happen. Last year, he had five top fives in 36 races. This year, he already has three. At this pace, he'll have his sixth top five after Talladega. Though given Ryan Newman's history at Talladega, we aren't so sure that banking on a top five is the best idea. If you want to continue this pace, Newman, have six top fives after Richmond, OK?

7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 7): Junior finished sixth at California, but he did a Twitter Q&A on the flight back from the west coast so that's totally more important. Now he's heading to the track where he got his last (points) win. How many times will his pass of Tony Stewart from the fall be replayed this weekend? No matter what the number is, it'll be higher than the number of Martinsville hot dogs we eat this weekend.

8. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 4): Yeah, this isn't fair to Jimmie Johnson either. But if you're looking at the drivers above him, who would you slot below Johnson? You can make an argument for his Hendrick teammate after his Phoenix finish, but that's about it. Johnson was fast, but not fast enough at California. And our guess is that he's got a great chance of being fast enough for a win at Martinsville.

9. Matt Kenseth (LW: 11): Your eyes aren't deceiving you. Flatline is getting a two-spot bump despite a poor finish. We're not the points standings, so we can reward good runs and "what if?" wins if we'd like. And we're awarding a "what-if?" win to Kenseth. Or at least a top five. There's no telling how a fuel-mileage race would have played out, but Kenseth had a great shot being the leader. And honestly? We would have preferred a fuel-mileage finish to the tailor-made-for-short-attention-spans thing that ended up being reality.

10. Paul Menard (LW: NR): Sunday was Menard's first top-five and top-10 finish of the season. But guess what? He's ninth in the points standings and has finished on the lead lap of every race this season. With an average finish of 13.6 so far, is he the 2015 version of Ryan Newman? Now, we're not saying that Menard is going to finish second in the points standings, but if the consistency continues, he's going to make the Chase.

11. Kasey Kahne (LW: 5): Kahne finished 17th after it looked like he got a bit of damage via contact on the backstretch. Kahne was in the midst of the melee that led to the debris caution from Kyle Larson's bumper flying off. He might have gotten a piece of Greg Biffle. 17th is also his lowest finish of the season. He's done it twice now coupling this with his kerfuffle with Carl Edwards.

12. Denny Hamlin (LW: 10): Hamlin was fast. Until he wasn't. He led 56 laps but his race went south after he hit the wall and had a pit road penalty. Instead of finishing up with Busch and Harvick, he was down with Brian Scott and Trevor Bayne. Quite the difference in company, don't you think? With Kenseth's troubles, Carl Edwards was the highest-finishing Joe Gibbs Racing car in 13th and David Ragan was 18th.

Lucky Dog: Two straight top-10 finishes for Jeff Gordon.

The DNF: Sam Hornish is 30th in the standings after his fourth non-lead lap finish of the year.

Dropped out: Jamie McMurray

NASCAR fans are buzzing over debris cautions.

By JENNA FRYER (AP Auto Racing Writer)

There's no way to dance around the fact cautions for debris at Auto Club Speedway twice changed the outcome of the race.

A race that at first should have been won by Matt Kenseth was derailed by a late debris caution. Then Kurt Busch was twice denied a trip to victory lane by yellow flags. In all, there were three cautions in the final 25 laps and only once were television viewers shown the actual debris.

So a day after Brad Keselowski's come-from-nowhere Sunday victory in California, NASCAR was again under attack for questionable officiating that altered the end of the race. It's a decades-old issue in auto racing, where many of the calls made from race control are subjective.

And for all the transparency that NASCAR is now promoting, there was no explanation available Monday that would satisfy conspiracy theorists convinced the sanctioning body is able and willing to manipulate races.

It didn't help that Busch, who had been closing in on taking the white flag that would have almost sealed the win, muttered ''WWE,'' on his team radio when a debris caution slowed his pace. The reference was apparently likening NASCAR to scripted television wrestling.

One had to wonder if there was any truth to Busch's gripe. Since Fox Sports did not show the actual debris on two of the final three cautions, no visible evidence was presented in NASCAR's defense.

So here is where it stands now: A fanbase that by nature is largely distrusting of NASCAR now seems to believe series officials conspired to keep Busch out of victory lane.

Why would they do that? Well, because Busch is two races removed from a NASCAR suspension for an alleged domestic assault on an ex-girlfriend. When the decision finally came from authorities to not charge Busch with a crime, he was reinstated by NASCAR and a months-long, embarrassing legal saga closed.

But fans used social media to vent that NASCAR simply wouldn't stand for Busch to win in his second race back, and those debris cautions were used as roadblocks on Busch's route to victory.

Not true, insisted NASCAR executive vice president Steve O'Donnell.

''That's a preposterous allegation,'' O'Donnell said Monday. ''It's a number on a race car to NASCAR. We reinstated (Busch) and we made him eligible for championship competition.''

Indeed, when Busch's suspension was lifted following a three-race suspension, NASCAR granted the 2004 champion a waiver that made him eligible to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship should he qualify. A win at California on Sunday likely would have put him in the 16-driver Chase field.

Alas, he'll have to wait another week after debris twice denied him a victory.

Matt Kenseth could certainly relate to Busch's frustration. That was actually his race to win. He had enough gas to get to the finish line and was the leader in what was shaping up to be a fuel-mileage race when the first of the three debris cautions was called.

The race leader is never going to be happy about a late caution flag, and Kenseth was no exception. But his day went downhill fast. A mechanical failure on the ensuing pit stop dropped him from racing for the win to a 31st-place finish.

Like everyone else, he wondered where the debris was that had ruined his race.

''There's a debris caution and you can't find debris anywhere,'' Kenseth said. ''Of course, the leader always thinks that, I guess. But I didn't see any (debris) that caution or the next one, so that's always disappointing.''

Sprint Cup Series director Richard Buck said after the race that multiple teams had reported debris on the track, ''so we went ahead and called the caution. By the time we called the caution, somebody hit (the debris)'' and knocked it out of the racing groove.

Here's the problem for NASCAR: Its television partner does them no favors whatsoever when the debris is not shown on camera. Maybe it was there? Maybe it was not? If viewers don't see it with their own eyes, they will believe only what they want to believe.

More times than not, the fan at home does not believe NASCAR.

That's an issue that NASCAR has to correct. There's no amount of transparency or electronic rule books or improved pit road officiating that can ever undue this overwhelming belief that NASCAR can do anything it wants to any competitor at any given time.

O'Donnell acknowledged Monday that officiating can be subjective in all sports. He pointed to the game-ending, goaltending call in the first round of the NCAA Tournament that gave UCLA a one-point win over SMU.

''Was that goaltending?'' asked O'Donnell. ''With that call came speculation. NASCAR has the ability to call races and will always err on the side of safety. Maybe that means there will always be a question, but that's part of what makes sports so great.''

Busch and Kenseth probably don't think there was anything great about NASCAR's calls on Sunday. And sure, the subjectivity that creeps into officiating will always be at NASCAR's detriment.

But the television partners are there to work hand in hand with the sanctioning body, and for credibility sake, it's time for everyone to get on the same page and prove there's nothing nefarious going on in race control.

Jurgen Klinsmann wastes another chance for teambuilding with latest U.S. roster mishmash.

By Leander Schaerlaeckens

 

This week, the United States men's national team will assemble for a series of friendlies in and against Denmark and Switzerland on March 25 and 31, respectively. It'll mark the first time since November that head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has his full national team at his disposal, courtesy of official FIFA match dates, as he prepares for the 2015 Gold Cup in July. 

Both of those opponents are currently on course to qualify for Euro 2016, and both sport young and exciting talent. Both, in fact, are ranked higher than the United States in the FIFA World Rankings. (In the ELO Ratings, however, the USA places highest of the three.)

 

This, then, is a fine opportunity for Klinsmann to begin shaping his team for this summer and the three that will follow it through the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

 

But this is also a strange year. Coming on the back of a World Cup, this is a time to rebuild and reassess and reinvent, a time to try out new players and systems. Yet it's also the year when the biennial Gold Cup really counts. Every other edition, it coincides with the home stretch of World Cup qualifiers and teams send the second string. In the post-World Cup years, however, the A teams show up and regional supremacy is contested properly. It's a tricky equation finding the balance between an opportunity to blood new players and try things while also performing under pressure. 

 So in his last major camp before an important summer, Klinsmann has chosen to call in a real mishmash of players. While he could pick any player he liked, just 11 of the 23 he called in were on last summer's World Cup roster. A few have aged out and goalkeeper Tim Howard is on a national team sabbatical of sorts. But even considering that, this is a very green team.

Defender Ventura Alvarado and goalkeeper William Yarbrough are first-time call-ups. Fellow goalie Cody Cropper still hasn't made his debut. Eight others have yet to reach double digits in U.S. caps. And just six players on this team have made more than 20 appearances. This has been a trend under Klinsmann. Since the World Cup, he has called in 55 different players. His track record before the World Cup was comparable.

It's a fairly strange blend of players to call in. In a Q&A with USSoccer.com, Klinsmann pointed out that his Major League Soccer players are only just beginning their seasons, meaning they lack match fitness. So he only called in one defender from MLS – Brek Shea, who is being retooled into a left back for both club and country. Fair enough. But then he also brought in five MLS midfielders and forwards, who are just as much at the start of their years and therefore short on reps. What's more, Miguel Ibarra plays in the North American Soccer League, which hasn't even begun its season yet. But then this certainly isn't the first time Klinsmann's actions haven't synced up to his words exactly.

When the senior team was announced on Sunday, the latest under-23 and under-20 rosters were unveiled as well. Both of those teams look ahead to big years, too, with the Olympic qualifiers and the U-20 World Cup, respectively, in the offing.

Several players on the youth national teams have already featured in the senior team. Bringing these teams closer together is a policy of Klinsmann's to smoothen the transition as players progress through the program, and it's certainly sensible.

"As we juggle the rosters for the different groups, we maybe even have players go between teams at a certain point," Klinsmann explained. "Julian Green is a good example. He's one of those players that can also play for the U-23s. He can play for the U-20s.

"It's similar for other players like a John Brooks and a DeAndre Yedlin, Emerson Hyndman and Rubio Rubin. Those are all players that we consider for each of those teams, and we want to make the best decision over the next couple of months with these players in order to get the right results when it really matters in the upcoming tournaments."

The thing of it is, creating one vast, fluid player pool also makes the task of teambuilding a lot harder. Klinsmann says now is a time for players to "showcase yourself."

"We have a lot of options now trying things out, but I think we just also need to grow as an overall group, building chemistry and building spirit towards the Gold Cup," Klinsmann said. "Because we're going to get closer to the summer and we really need to zoom in and become a very united national team that is very hungry to win the Gold Cup."

Those would seem to be contradictory notions – again, hardly out of character.

Consider, after all, that Klinsmann, who is forever hounding his players to seek out the highest possible playing level, left out the only man at his disposal who is regularly active in the Premier League: defender Geoff Cameron. "Geoff is obviously in a good swing with Stoke City and the Premier League," Klinsmann explained. "But I had a long conversations with him and explained that just now I would love [to] see other players coming in and proving to us how good they are."

That's the thing with Klinsmann, the search for players who might prove how good they are is never-ending. The churn of players is constant. And while this is a year that offers him some justification for testing new talent, his insistence on maintaining such a big headcount muddles the all-important hierarchy and almost certainly complicates team- and chemistry-building. That has led to plenty of disjointed performances from a team with so many changing faces that they might as well carry nametags at the start of each camp.

Klinsmann always seems to want the latest, shiniest toy. But his collection has now grown so large that he can't seem to make up his mind which ones he really wants to play with. Or how to get them to complement each other.

Ranking the most watchable/exciting Sweet 16 games.

By Matt Norlander

No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 5 West Virginia; (Thursday, approx. 9:45, CBS). It's Kentucky, so it's automatically the most riveting game to watch, especially as we enter the second weekend. And the cool part: West Virginia offers up a new kind of challenge. Yes, Kentucky is rightfully favored to win by 13.5 points, but West Virginia is turning teams over on 28.3 percent of their opponents' possessions. They are the best in the country at this. And with a 40.5 offensive rebounding percentage -- which is better than Kentucky's -- at least we know John Calipari is going to really have to scheme here to get an easy win. Will he switch up his looks, go with different lineups and put Andrew Harrison and Tyler Ulis on the floor together to break the press? Maybe. Plus, Bob Huggins is 8-2 lifetime against Calipari. At the very least, this game captures your attention a little more than you would've expected from a UK Sweet 16 opponent.

No. 1 Duke vs. No. 5 Utah; (Friday, approx. 9:45, CBS). It's Duke's incredible offense and somewhat suspect defense going up against the best overall point guard in college basketball, Utah's Delon Wright. The Utes were one of the 12-15 best teams in the country through the first 75 percent of the season. They've corrected their ways in reaching the Sweet 16, but if Utah's going to give the country the Duke upset it wants to see, it'll have to be more than just Wright. But really, Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow and Tyus Jones -- Duke's stellar freshman trio -- are a thing to watch when they're clicking. Utah's defense is top-10 good. Would love to see Winslow defend Wright, and for Okafor to go up against another impressive freshman big man, Utes galute Jakob Poeltl.

No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 7 Wichita State; (Thursday, 7:15, CBS). When Wichita State is involved and it's March, you know you're watching. The cool part here is, either we get to see Fred VanVleet, Ron Baker and Tekele Cotton win -- which would mean they go twice as far as last season's undefeated team, which lost in the Round of 32 -- or Mike Brey reaches his first Elite Eight. And the Notre Dame coach is going on with a heavy heart, having lost his mother hours before the Irish's win over Butler on Saturday night. The Fighting Irish have a first team All American-caliber player in Jerian Grant. And of course the backdrop to all of this: Will Gregg Marshall wind up coaching his final game at Wichita State?

No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 4 North Carolina; (Thursday, 7:47, TBS). Frank the Tank Kaminsky vs. UNC's bigs, Kennedy Meeks and Brice Johnson? That'll do. Consider Wisconsin the most vulnerable No. 1 seed left if Traevon Jackson doesn't play in this game. UNC's Marcus Paige showed some of his better stuff last weekend. If he plays that way again, it's going to be so interesting to see how Bo Ryan's coaching is adjusted. This isn't a classic UW team on defense. Ryan, by the way, bemoaned on Sunday that his team is the only one of the four playing in the West region who didn't get to finish up on Saturday night.

After one day of classes, Wisconsin team took a plane out of Madison toward LA on Monday night.

No. 2 Gonzaga vs. No. 11 UCLA; (Friday, 7:15, CBS). UCLA is still alive, and yet it still doesn't deserve to be in this tournament over the likes of Colorado State and Temple and maybe even Murray State, which is still playing deep into the NIT. But we're way past that. If we're going to get UCLA in the field, let's deliver some catharsis, then.
If you've got 25 minutes and want to get angry all over again, cue this up. The 2006 Sweet 16 between No. 2 UCLA and No. 3 Gonzaga. It is maddening to watch Gonzaga choke this away. Now that I think about it, I'm kind of questioning why I didn't put this Friday matchup as the first game up top.

At Oakland's Oracle Arena nine years ago, UCLA was down 17 at the half. Down nine with three minutes to go. Cue the 55-minute mark and watch the horror show play out. You may find it therapeutic; I once more reclaimed the urge to destroy furniture.

And I'm not even a Gonzaga fan.

No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 7 Michigan State; (Friday, approx. 10:07, TBS). So Tom Izzo's coaching staff essentially taught MSU how to play a completely new style of defense overnight. That's how MSU beat Virginia. Consider: Oklahoma has the sixth-rated points-per-possession defense in the country. So what's Izzo brewing up now? Hey, it's March. You know Izzo's team is going to show up. But Oklahoma has a star in Buddy Hield, who had not the best block of the tournament so far -- that was Notre Dame's Pat Connaughton -- but this stuff in the Dayton game I'd call the most impressive.

No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 6 Xavier; (Thursday, approx. 10:17, TBS). Sean Miller's prize for beating his former boss, Thad Matta, in the Round of 32 is to go up against a man who he was once chief to. Chris Mack and Xavier will try to do what nobody thinks they can do: Knock off an Arizona team that, frankly, has looked like the most impressive team in the country over the past three weeks. Yes, even stronger and more consistent than Kentucky. The coaching battle is intriguing, but it's not going to be fun for these guys. After Xavier beat Georgia State to ensure X would face Zona, Mack said on CBS, "Frankly, it stinks."

 No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 8 NC State; (Friday, 7:37, TBS). This is far and away the least enticing game because Louisville finds points hard to come by and NC State has been anything but a sure thing on a day-to-day basis. The Wolfpack looked so good against Villanova, it made you step back and ask why this team didn't find itself to be a No. 4 seed or better. But that's State for you: so talented and so up and down. It should have lost to LSU. So which team will we get on Friday night, and will Louisville be able to look even a little digestible on offense? This game has riddles to it, but that doesn't mean it's captivating.

Despite UAB debacle, football a must-have for status-hungry schools.

By Dennis Dodd

The debacle surrounding UAB football has made us care -– for once -– about UAB football. But that's where it ends, really.

Most of you wouldn't have given a flip. Not until a massive administrative blunder. What should have been a simple assessment of the obvious (red ink) became an American psycho-drama. Unless you're UAB president Ray Watts, that video of the players having their program ripped from them shakes the soul.

How it got that way is scandalous. Jon Solomon's fine reporting has detailed what looks like a railroad job. Watts called inaccurate an Alabama state representative's assertion that the decision was made to kill football before the season.

The school did hire a fancy New York crisis-management PR firm to oversee its dumping of football. Funny, but whenever these sorts of outsiders get involved, they tend to exacerbate crises instead of managing them.

This particular firm created a false narrative -- let's call it a lie -- suggesting that programs were folding right and left. " … including Hawaii and others, which will likely take the heat off UAB," the firm stated according to Solomon's story.

Except all of it was a load of crap. Turns out, UAB was a one-off, not a trend. It was an individual school's decision. The end of bad football that -- in the end -- was handled badly. Alabama-Birmingham remains no different than the other 83 percent of the athletic departments in FBS that don't make money.

Just don't buy the line about beer leading to heroin or a conga line of dying football programs.

Outside of downtown Birmingham, college football is a growth sport. The Football Bowl Subdivision roster (formerly Division I-A) has grown by nine to an all-time high of 129 in the last 10 years. Since 1999, the FBS membership is up 11 percent. Profit be damned.

For those 83 percent, an overall profit for the athletic department matters less than the residual benefits of sponsoring football. Ever hear of the Flutie Effect? The term has its own Wikipedia page. Forbes has taken on the subject.

The Flutie Effect refers to the Hail Mary pass thrown by Doug Flutie to beat Miami in 1984. In the aftermath, BC applications went up 30 percent. The private Catholic flagship went to a new, different, better level.
 
The Eagles have played 19 of their 24 bowl games since that pass. In the 79 years of the AP poll, BC has been ranked in the final Top 25 22 times. Thirteen of those occurrences came between 1984-2007. It can be argued the school is in the ACC today (after the leaving the Big East) because of that higher profile.

A Harvard professor estimates that lightning bolt achievements in football can increase applications up to 20 percent. It's the reason it can be argued with some certainty that Nick Saban is underpaid.

Boise State had its own "Fiesta Bowl Effect", enhancing its image -- as well as enrollment and research grants -- following the 2007 upset of Oklahoma.

Rutgers didn't make the Big Ten because of any current success in football. It's because of the promise of success, perhaps attracting New York media coverage and Big Ten Network viewers.

Football matters that much. The former Hawaii AD who let it slip that the school may have to drop football resigned in December.

All of it while an estimated 22 athletic departments in the country actually make money.

"I had it explained to me like this …," former Sun Belt commissioner Wright Waters told me on Monday.

One of his conference schools was losing $1 million a year in just in football. How, Waters asked the school's chancellor, do you justify that?

"'Do you know what these other institutions are spending on their admissions process?'" the chancellor told him. "'I have a $546 million [total] budget. I wish I could have two football programs.'"

In other words, football success -- even just the chance at football success -- is worth losing money. Especially when the athletic budget is perhaps only three percent of the total budget. FBS membership brands a school as big time. It is a label that attracts incoming freshmen as well as high-profile research professors.

It's a designation that is sometimes hard to quantify until it is lost. In some way, UAB is losing that label.

That same Harvard professor found that applicants with lower-than-average SAT scores prefer schools with athletic success. Those students "valued" athletic success for longer periods than high SAT applicants.

That theoretically translates to loyalty, which translates to donations. That translates into long-term financing of the whole enterprise -- even when it's bad football.

"Academicians can talk all they want to," Waters said. "The American public loves sports, period. It is what it is. We have a sports page, not a math classroom page."

That's why the college president has his own box at football games compared to his own seat at commencement ceremonies. In one setting he's wooing donors. In the other, he's handing out diplomas to potential donors who may or may not give a damn about football.

That's why Troy (2001) and South Alabama (2013) joined FBS in the same state where Alabama and Auburn rule. That's why Western Kentucky was able to lure Bobby Petrino for a year.

Playing at the top-level college football can be a heck of a loss leader.

"That's generally the rationale," said Sun Belt commissioner Karl Benson. "Not every program inside a university is expected to generate money."

In recent years, Benson has added start-ups South Alabama and Georgia State as well as FCS movers Georgia Southern, Appalachia State and Texas State.

"Those were decisions made by a university especially to get to FBS to align and to affiliate with membership [in order] to differentiate themselves from FCS or Division I that doesn't have football," Benson said.

It's a status thing. A status that UAB is losing as well. Despite the administration's mishandling, despite basketball's tournament success last week, football isn't returning to the school anytime soon. And a condition of ongoing Conference USA membership requires football.

Even if it's bad football.

No amount of crisis management can change that.

Rich get richer: Mayweather and Pacquiao purses soar.

By Tim Dahlberg

 

The first ticket has yet to be sold, but the richest fight in boxing history is getting richer by the day.

New estimates show Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s payoff for fighting Manny Pacquiao could easily be $180 million, up substantially from earlier predictions of $120 million. Pacquiao gets the short end of the purse, but even that is expected to be well over $100 million by the time everything is tallied up.

The money is staggering, though not exactly unexpected. Five years of waiting seem to have only piqued the public's demand for the one fight even casual fans of the sport want to see.

"For whatever it's worth, the buildup over these years has certainly enhanced the fight," promoter Bob Arum. "Everybody knows about it now, even people who don't follow boxing. Plus we have a good economy, unlike in 2009 when people were out of work and didn't have the money to spend."

Fans will certainly have to pay a price to see the May 2 welterweight title bout, especially those lucky enough to score a ticket inside the MGM Grand arena itself. Ticket prices there range from $1,500 in the upper deck to $7,500 at ringside — and only a small percentage of the tickets will actually be put on public sale.

Arum said Tuesday the gate at the MGM alone will be more than $72 million, obliterating the previous live gate record of $20 million in Nevada set by Mayweather's 2013 fight with Canelo Alvarez. Though the MGM will provide some tickets for its biggest gamblers, Arum said even the celebrities who can normally get free tickets to sit ringside will have to pay full fare for the fight — if they can get their hands on tickets at all.

Promoters announced a deal Tuesday with Sky Sports to televise the fight on pay-per-view in England and parts of Europe, part of another $35 million expected to come in from foreign rights. Add in another $10 million in sponsorships — Tecate beer will be the main sponsor — and the fight will gross more than $100 million before a single home in North America buys the pay-per-view.

Less certain is how many people will spend what is expected to be $100 or so for the pay-per-view in the U.S., but that could easily break records, too. Mayweather's 2007 fight with Oscar De La Hoya currently tops the charts with 2.44 million buys, but many think Mayweather-Pacquiao could do more than 3 million homes despite softness in the pay-per-view market in the last few years.

"That's the one element that's a mystery," Arum told The Associated Press. "It seems like it will break the record, but who really knows? Anyone who predicts the total pay-per-view is whistling in the dark."

Cable networks HBO and Showtime have yet to announce the pay-per-view price, saying they are still in negotiations with cable systems and satellite providers. Those negotiations are mostly about how the money will be divided between the broadcasters and the fight promoters, who historically have split revenues fairly equally.

With promoters holding the upper hand for this fight, though, that split could end up 65-35 in favor of the promotion. And if 3 million homes buy the fight at $100, that would mean about $200 million in revenue to Mayweather Promotions and Arum's Top Rank from pay-per-view alone.

Add in the other money and the two camps will have more than $300 million to divvy up. With Mayweather getting a 60-40 split, that would mean a purse of $180 million or more to Mayweather and $120 million or more to Pacquiao.

Both purses would dwarf the biggest ever in boxing, including the 2007 fight with Mayweather in which De La Hoya made a reported $52 million. Mayweather's biggest payday was against Alvarez, when he was guaranteed $41.5 million and may have made another $20 million off the pay-per-view sales.

"You get to this level where you're making nine figures in 36 minutes," Mayweather said at the fight press conference this month in Los Angeles, "and you have to be a winner."

Judging from the money on the table in this bout, it's hard to find a loser.

On This Date in Sports History: Today is Wednesday, March 25, 2015.

Memoriesofhistory.com

1936 - The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Montreal Maroons in the longest hockey game to date. The game lasted for 2 hours and 56 minutes.

1958 - Sugar Ray Robinson regained his middleweight title for the fifth time when he defeated Carmen Basilio in a 12-round decision.

1972 - Bobby Hull joined Gordie Howe to become only the second National Hockey League player to score 600 career goals.

1982 - Wayne Gretzky became the first player in the NHL to score 200 points in a season.

1995 - Boxer Mike Tyson was released from jail after serving 3 years.

1997 - Hartford Whalers announced that they would move from Connecticut following the 1996-97 season. In 1997-98 they became the Carolina Hurricanes.

2002 - The NHL suspended Keith Tkachuk (St. Louis Blues) for slashing Lyle Odelein (Chicago Blackhawks) during a game on March 23, 2002.

2002 - Bobby Holik (New Jersey Devils) was suspended by the NHL for slashing Rod Brind'Amour (Carolina Hurricanes) in the face. Brind'Amour needed seven stitches to close the cut around his left eye.

2004 - The NHL suspended Marty Turco (Dallas Stars) for four games for a high-sticking incident the night before against Ryan Smith (Edmonton Oilers). Turco forfeited more than $195,000 in salary.

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