CS&T/AllsportsAmerica Friday Sports News Update and What's Your Take? 04/10/2015.

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Sports Quote of the Day:

"Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening - and is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented." ~ Arnold Palmer, Professional Golfer, who is generally regarded as one of the greatest players in men's professional golf history

Trending: NFL hires Sarah Thomas, 1st female official.

By RACHEL COHEN (AP Sports Writer)

Developmental line judge Sarah Thomas smiles in the second half of a preseason NFL football game between the Seattle Seahawks and the San Diego Chargers in Seattle. The NFL has its first full-time female game official. Sarah Thomas, who has worked exhibition games, will be a line judge for the 2015 season, the league announced Wednesday, April 8, 2015. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear, File)

Sarah Thomas saw the New York City area code pop up on her phone and started praying it was the NFL calling to say she'd been hired as a full-time game official.

Not because that would make her the first woman to hold the job. Her hopes were those of any longtime official on the cusp of working at the sport's pinnacle.

Thomas will be a line judge for the 2015 season, the league announced Wednesday. She's proud to serve as an example that anyone can succeed in any endeavor. But breaking down barriers was just a byproduct of her goals, not the goal itself.

''It's just a mindset of an official that you don't want to be seen or noticed,'' Thomas said on a conference call with reporters.

Then again, the NFL doesn't typically host a conference call for a newly hired official. The 41-year-old Thomas was both self-assured and self-deprecating in fielding questions, unfazed by the attention but also trying to deflect it. She's already become the first female official at the major college football level and the first to work a bowl game.

Thomas expects to still wear her hair tucked inside her cap. She started doing it on a suggestion that it would keep her from sticking out, though these days it's more about habit than an attempt to blend in.

''I think my hair's the least of my concerns,'' Thomas said, laughing.

''I know that I will probably stand out being the first,'' she added, ''but as far as players and coaches, I've been around a good little while, and I think they know who I am and just want to make sure I can do my job.''

Thomas was in the league's officiating development program in 2013 and '14 and has worked at minicamps, training camps and exhibition games. She has officiated for Conference USA since 2007, with assignments including the Senior Bowl, the Pizza Bowl, the Fight Hunger Bowl, the Medal of Honor Bowl, and the league championship game in 2010 and '14.

Thomas officiated two seasons in the United Football League, which is now out of business.

''If you look at Sarah's background and her journey to get here, this is not something that happened overnight,'' said Dean Blandino, the NFL's vice president of officiating.

She's been officiating 20 years and been on our radar screen for 8-9 years.''

Thomas worked a Ravens preseason game last year, and coach John Harbaugh said that ''she might be one of the better ones we've had.''

''She's a good ref,'' he added, ''so it was a good choice.''

Shannon Eastin worked regular-season NFL games in 2012 as a replacement official, making her the first woman to do so in any capacity. She also was a line judge.

Thomas played softball and basketball growing up and earned a college hoops scholarship to NAIA University of Mobile. She was always around football and inspired to become an official when she attended a meeting with one of her brothers. The NFL was never the goal back then, but once she got into it, her natural competitiveness kicked in.

In 1996, Thomas became the first woman to officiate in a Division 1-A high school game in Mississippi. Less than a decade later, she was hired by Conference USA, working as a line judge and head linesman.

She said she hadn't experienced any problems with coaches or players.

''Everyone has been very professional and looked at me as another official,'' Thomas said.

NFL officials are part time, so Thomas' day job is as a pharmaceutical representative. She was already used to a heavy travel schedule with the college game. Thomas and her husband have three children: 14- and 11-year-old sons and a 2-year-old daughter.

Like any official moving up from the college to the pro level, she expects the greatest challenge will be the speed of the game. The preseason can't quite replicate the real thing, but she and Blandino are confident she's got the quick reaction time she'll need to monitor the line of scrimmage.

Thomas got her call from Blandino last Thursday, and she can tell you the exact time: 10:47 a.m.

She was one of nine first-year officials announced Wednesday. The group includes side judge Walt Coleman IV, the son of NFL referee Walt Coleman. The Colemans will become the third active father-son officiating duo, joining Ed and Shawn Hochuli and Steve and Brad Freeman.

The other new officials are line judge Kevin Codey from the American Athletic Conference; head linesmen Hugo Cruz of Conference USA and Bart Longson of the Pac-12; umpire Clay Martin of C-USA; side judges Aaron Santi of the Pac-12 and Jabir Walker of the SEC; and field judge Shawn Smith of the Big Ten.

How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Blackhawks drop third straight as Blues clinch the Central 2-1. 

By Tracey Myers

It’s the way of the Central Division, really: with defense being such a high priority for the division’s best teams, it’s not easy to score goals.

 

If you’re going to score goals, you have to work for them. You have to get in the dirty areas to get them. You have to swarm the goaltender and annoy the ever-living heck out of him to get them. The Blackhawks haven’t been doing enough of those things to get goals in recent games and, as a result, they’re not scoring them.

 

Andrew Shaw scored with 2:39 remaining in regulation but it was once again not enough as the Blackhawks dropped a 2-1 decision to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night. The Blackhawks, who have now lost three in a row, all by 2-1 scores, start the postseason on the road. They can do no better than third in the Central Division because the Nashville Predators hold the ROW (regulation/overtime wins) edge, 41-39.

 

The Blues, thanks to their victory and Minnesota’s triumph over the Predators, won the Central Division.

 

After once again saying what they had to do to score against the Blues, the Blackhawks didn’t do it. At least they didn’t do enough of it through the first 40 minutes. And by the third period — down 1-0 to start and later, 2-0 — the Blackhawks were once again chasing.

 

“In the third period we were better but I think too much action on the outside,” Marian Hossa said. “We have to find a way to be more involved inside to score goals because lately, we’re playing outside and this time of the year, it’s tough to score from there.”

When the Blackhawks and Blues played in Chicago on Sunday, the Blackhawks had plenty of energy early. They also had a lead early. On Thursday it was a combination of tight checking, for sure, but also the Blackhawks’ inability to break through it that hurt once again. Couple that with a bad power play that generated nothing, and the Blackhawks were once again offensively frustrated.

The Blues broke through in the second period when David Rundblad was called for a four-minute high-sticking. Corey Crawford looked ready to make a glove save on Alex Pietrangelo’s shot but David Backes, planted in front, tipped it and the puck hit the ice. Dmitrij Jaskin was there to clean up for a 1-0 lead. The Blues made it 2-0 when a bad hop led to a 3-on-1 and Paul Stastny’s 16th goal of the season.

“The last three games, we’ve been close in all three. [There] just seems to be breakdowns or rushes against that we give up in the third period that end up hurting us,” Jonathan Toews said. “That’s the case when you’re down a goal: you have to have guys going and trying to make plays in the offensive zone which, until the third, we didn’t do a whole lot tonight. We didn’t really get to the inside or to the net as much as we wanted to. And if you get behind a team like St. Louis or Minnesota, they’ll take advantage of the mistakes you make when you’re forcing for offense.”

The Blackhawks will definitely start the postseason on the road. Where they start remains up in the air. It could be in Nashville. It could be in St. Louis. It could even be in Anaheim. Wherever they begin the Blackhawks will be looking for offense. They haven’t had much luck finding it, or getting to where it’s best achieved, the last three games.

Blackhawks: Scott Darling's new mask is 'so Chicago'.

By Nina Falcone

Playing for the Blackhawks has been a dream come true for Lemont native Scott Darling.

So when it came to designing a new mask with the NHL club, he decided to feature his hometown.

InGoal Magazine showed off Darling's new mask for the first time on Wednesday, which was designed by fellow Chicago native Jason Livery of HeadStrongGrafx.

"The mask is so Chicago; I am going to have it the rest of my life and put it on the mantle when I'm older, just to remind me of my days playing for the Blackhawks," Darling told InGoal Magazine. "It's going to be a great piece of memorabilia for me."

Check out the new mask below:

    

Just Another Chicago Bulls Session… Bulls pull off amazing comeback in Miami to down Heat 89-78.

By Vincent Goodwill

Goran Dragic (7) of the Miami Heat drives past Pau Gasol. (Photo/Mike Ehrmann, Getty Images)

The stage was set for the Bulls to pack it in, on the second night of a road back-to-back swing, and take the approach that the desperate Miami Heat wanted it more while succumbing to tired legs and minds.

Hassan Whiteside was snarling, a guy who played in China earlier this year, Michael Beasley, was strutting after each open corner triple and the Heat were well on their way to reclaiming a spot in the crowded basement of the Eastern Conference playoff race.

But after arguably their worst stretch in a big game this season, where they scored just 12 points on 13-percent shooting in the second quarter, the Bulls came out of halftime determined to make a game of it, and did more than that.

Again pulling themselves off life support, they emerged with a 89-78 win at American Airlines Arena Thursday night — a result that seemed so unlikely given the circumstances.

A 19-point deficit was erased in a matter of minutes, as the Bulls cruelly and definitively snatched away momentum from a Heat team that’ll probably spend the spring months as outsiders to the playoff party.

And the Bulls did it with defense, holding the Heat to eight third-quarter points and returning the favor after the Heat went on a 29-6 run to finish the first half and taking a 51-32 lead.

No matter how many timeouts Heat coach Erik Spoelstra took, the Bulls were off and running, taking advantage of every Heat mishap and going on a 39-8 run from the third to the opening moments of the fourth quarter, when they continued their unlikely onslaught.

In a span of 24 minutes, they heroically saved their season, and did it without a hero, as no Bull scored 20 points and they shot under 40 percent from the field. But their third quarter blitz was enough to offset some pretty anemic and pathetic basketball that was sure to send some Bulls fans to the nearest insane asylum with their Jekyll and Hyde play.

Derrick Rose scored 12 points in 21 minutes, making five of his 15 shots as he was removed late in the third quarter — and the run in full effect. Pau Gasol led the Bulls with 16 points and 15 rebounds, while Taj Gibson scored 14 with 12 rebounds off the bench.

The momentum began to flow with each jump shot, sapping the energy from the American Airlines Arena crowd and life out of the team wearing white on the other side.

The Bulls were certainly aided by the play of Dwyane Wade, who was going through his worst possible stretch at the worst possible time, as the Chicago native missed nine straight shots to finish off his miserable 4-for-20 evening.

As the desperation grew in the fourth quarter, the Bulls didn’t execute flawlessly but as is custom in the playoffs, they did so timely.

Nikola Mirotic got a nice introduction to what playoff basketball will be like and turned out the lights with back-to-back triples, pushing the Bulls lead to 12 with 3:20 left.

Still nowhere near where they want to be with three games remaining in the regular season, but certainly nowhere near where they could be.

Bulls shocked by Magic as Derrick Rose returns to lineup 105-103. (Wednesday night's game, 04/08/2015).

By Vincent Goodwill

He snagged the outlet pass and was off to the races, galloping down the floor before rising, leaning and converting on a vintage Derrick Rose lefty layup that had the Bulls faithful standing and cheering.

Behind the Bulls’ bench, there was a sign from a fan that said, “Rose Has Risen,” which was a bit hyperbolic given it's days after Easter Sunday. But the sentiment was felt by everyone in the visiting Amway Center crowd.

It was the best, most definitive move from Rose—and it was his last, considering it came toward the end of his mandated 20-minute playing time limit, which he reached midway through the third quarter.

“I thought it was alright,” Rose said. “Of course it’s going to be challenging the more I play, but I think that I’ll work towards it. Getting better every week, so it’s going to take some time but I’ll get there.’’

His only real drive ended his night, as his early run appeared to be his best of the night, as he started the game with a unit that had only been on the floor together for 19 games—one fewer than this recent injury had cost him starting from late February.

But the Bulls have big concerns aside from Rose, and the danger is real with just four games remaining.

The Bulls played around far too much and far too long, as the Orlando Magic took advantage of every opportunity in the fourth quarter for an improbable 105-103 win, as Magic guard Victor Oladipo completed a 15-point comeback with a driving layup over Jimmy Butler and the Bulls’ interior, which had been a step slow all night.

Oladipo scored 23 points while Magic center Nikola Vucevic scored 22 with seven rebounds and Magic point guard Elfrid Payton played one of the best games in his rookie career, with 17 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

Butler scored 19 while Taj Gibson, also at the rim for Oladipo’s winning layup, scored 15 with seven rebounds.

And now the Bulls find themselves going from competing for the second seed to possibly losing home court advantage for the first round altogether, being tied with the Toronto Raptors for the third spot and only a game ahead of the Washington Wizards for fifth.

“Yeah we gotta play tough with the lead in this league,” Thibodeau said. “You gotta play for 48 minutes. It’s not a show, it’s a competition.”

Rose finished with nine points, two rebounds, two assists and the most important number, zero—as in number of heart-stopping moments in the form of dangerous falls or gimpy moves.

“Just happy to be playing. It’s not no one thing,” Rose said. “The shots I put up, I felt they were good shots, hard shots, and I’m more concerned with us losing more than anything.’’

There were flashes of quickness and confidence, balanced out by moments of having to re-familiarize himself with teammates again, as they’ll have to adjust to having him back on the floor.

“I thought his first quarter was very good. Then he got a little winded,” Thibodeau said. “That’s to be expected. But it gives us a baseline and we can go from there.”

After whizzing an on-target pass to Joakim Noah that hit Noah in the wrong place—his chest—Rose patted his chest to say “my bad” as the Magic sprinted down court in a game the Bulls were poised to blowout but couldn’t quite keep the energetic Magic down.

The signs of rust were evident.

Most of his nine shot attempts came from behind the 3-point line, as he launched six of them, hitting one, and a fast-break drive against Magic guard Oladipo resulted in a superstar call which he’ll certainly welcome.

“I felt good. I didn’t feel any discomfort at all, so that’s a good sign. Now I have to see how tomorrow is (game in Miami),” Rose said.

He wasn’t the headliner but “The Return, Part 3” will likely be viewed as a success, given the future implications.

But for the Bulls, a promising night turned into disaster—a puzzling theme of this up-and-down season.

Bear Down Chicago Bears!!!! Bears' preseason slate announced.

By Larry Mayer

Matt Forte and the Bears will open the preseason against the Miami Dolphins.

The Bears’ 2015 preseason schedule announced Thursday features four games against AFC opponents, including two that qualified for the playoffs last season.

Kicking off John Fox’s first year as coach, the Bears will open the preseason by hosting the Miami Dolphins at Soldier Field the weekend of Aug. 13-17.

The Bears will then play back-to-back road games against two 2014 playoff qualifiers, first in Indianapolis against the Colts the weekend of Aug. 20-24 followed by a trip to Cincinnati to face the Bengals the weekend of Aug. 27-30.

The Bears will then close the preseason with their annual match-up against the Browns at Soldier Field Sept. 3 or 4.

Exact dates and times for all four games will be released at a later date. All four will be produced and broadcast by the Chicago Bears Network in high definition and shown live on Fox32 Chicago and stations throughout the Midwest.

All four contests also will be broadcast on WBBM radio (780 AM and 105.9 FM) featuring Jeff Joniak on play-by-play and Tom Thayer as color analyst.

The NFL regular-season schedule is expected to be announced later this month. In addition to home and away games against the Lions, Packers and Vikings, the Bears are slated to host the Cardinals, Broncos, Raiders, 49ers and Redskins while visiting the Chiefs, Chargers, Seahawks, Rams and Buccaneers.

The Bears went 2-2 in the preseason last year, beating the Eagles and Jaguars at Soldier Field before losing to the Seahawks and Browns on the road.

Bears say goodbye to Charles Tillman as he reunites with Ron Rivera in Carolina.

By Scott Krinch

The "Peanut" era is over in Chicago.

The Carolina Panthers announced they have signed longtime Bears cornerback Charles Tillman to a one-year deal.

 Tillman was in Charlotte on Wednesday evening for a visit with the Panthers and head coach Ron Rivera, who was the Bears defensive coordinator for Tillman's second and third years in the NFL from 2004-06. Tillman notched career-highs interception totals (five in both 2005 and 2006) with Rivera as his coordinator.

Tillman suffered a season-ending triceps injury in Week 2 against the San Francisco 49ers last season, his second torn triceps in as many seasons. Tillman signed a one-year deal with Chicago prior to the 2014 season.

The 34-year-old Tillman exits Chicago as one of the greatest defensive backs in franchise history. In 12 seasons with the Bears, Tillman accumulated 738 tackles, 36 interceptions, 42 forced fumbles, eight fumble recoveries, 133 pass break-ups and eight touchdowns. He was named to the Pro Bowl back-to-back years in 2011 and 2012, and was the recipient of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award in 2013.

Bears general manager Ryan Pace and head coach John Fox indicated earlier this offseason that the team didn't intend to re-sign Tillman. Instead they opted to get younger at the position with the addition of former Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Alan Ball on a one-year deal.

Tillman was the last remaining starting positional player on the 2006 Bears team that lost to the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLI.

Kansas City clubbing: Royals complete sweep of White Sox.

By Dan Hayes

The White Sox expect they’ll be better when they return to Kauffman Stadium in August.

They’ll have to be.

Right now, the Kansas City Royals own them.

Delivering the same polished brand of baseball that nearly earned them a World Series ring, the Royals completed a three-game sweep of the White Sox with a 4-1 win in front of 20,236 on Thursday afternoon. Lorenzo Cain made two spectacular catches, Edinson Volquez kept his defenders busy over eight strong innings and the Royals offense provided just enough timely hitting to send the White Sox to their first 0-3 start since 2003. Salvador Perez had the big hit, a two-run homer off John Danks, who couldn’t escape the sixth inning for the White Sox, losers in 16 of their last 22 meetings with Kansas City.

“They play the game hard,” outfielder Adam Eaton said. “They're stealing bags … guys bunting guys over, playing great defense, making plays behind the guys. They've got a solid team. With that being said, it's a long season. Who gives a crap about the first three games? I want to be playing hot in September. Who cares about April? We'll get going. We're not worried about it.”

The White Sox didn’t expect to be a finished product overnight.

Though Rick Hahn’s massive overhaul, one that included $137 million spent on free agents and two trades, has been widely lauded, the White Sox figured it would take time. Manager Robin Ventura expects a team with 13 new players would have to endure some trials and tribulations before they figure each other out.

“When you get a new group together, there is a meshing period,” Ventura said. "There is a groove and right now, at times you see, you’ll have a big inning and you see it. But you have to create that stuff too. Once you get a win, a comeback win, late wins always help with that.”

Kansas City’s style doesn’t allow for many of those chances.

Whether it’s the shut-it-down bullpen or the stifling defense, the Royals severely limit their opponents’ chances. They followed that formula for the entire opening series, especially on Wednesday.

Cain made it clear the White Sox were in for a long day with two highlight-reel catches in the game’s first three innings. He crashed into the outfield fence in right center after a long run to rob Adam LaRoche of extra bases in the second inning and bumped up against it in center to haul in a long drive off Micah Johnson’s bat in the third. Mike Moustakas also made a diving stab of an Alexei Ramirez second-inning grounder destined for left field and Paulo Orlando had a nice long running catch to take an RBI single from Conor Gillaspie in the seventh.

There was also a Jose Abreu liner that Omar Infante somehow grabbed that led to a first-inning double play.

“We hit some balls hard today,” Ventura said. “Josey hit one that a couple of guys saw their lives flash before their eyes and it turns into a double play. Guys were hitting it hard, you have to stay with it.”

Royals hitters kept attacking Danks even though they struggled early. They went ahead 1-0 in the first inning as they manufactured a run after Alcides Escobar led off with a double. But a scintillating, diving grab by Eaton in the fifth inning stranded another runner, one of four the left-hander stranded in his first five innings.

But Danks couldn’t hold the Royals off in the sixth.

Cain doubled and scored on an RBI double by Kendrys Morales before Perez -- who flew out to deep left-center earlier -- homered into the home bullpen for a 4-0 lead.

It’s the kind of formula the White Sox would like to think they’ll be able to replicate in some fashion in the near future.

“I don’t really put too much (thought) into their team and think of ours,” Danks said.

“Certainly there’s things we need to do better and we will. That’s the way it’s going to be. We have too much talent in here to keep playing like this, but we’ll do better.”

Starlin Castro? Addison Russell? Cubs see wide-open possibilities.

By Patrick Mooney

It didn’t take long for the Starlin Castro rumors to start up again – if that trade speculation ever even stopped.

For all the growing hype and win-now expectations, the Cubs are still very much in a wait-and-see mode. That makes 2015 a pivot point for The Plan, an All-Star shortstop and arguably baseball’s best farm system.

“No agenda going into this year,” Theo Epstein said.

The Cubs confirmed the sad beginning to Triple-A Iowa’s season: Javier Baez is taking a leave of absence to be with his family after his sister, Noely, died on Wednesday night at the age of 21. 

Epstein is a believer in Baez’ talent and toughness, so the president of baseball operations will let this all play out, knowing that the 2015 group shouldn’t be the best team during this competitive window.

Even if you’re in love with Addison Russell – and you think you know the answer to the Castro question – it still leads to all sorts of follow-ups.

When will things click for Baez at the plate? Where will Kris Bryant play defensively? How does Arismendy Alcantara fit into the picture? Where is this payroll going? When will the business side deliver the TV megadeal? What, exactly, are the San Diego Padres, New York Mets and Seattle Mariners (or insert any other rumored team here) thinking?

“They can play together,” Epstein said. “Is it likely that they all play together and we bring in no one from outside the organization? No. The most likely outcome is that we keep a lot of these guys and we sign a free agent or so over the years and we make a couple trades, too. Big trades. That’s most likely.

“But my point is, when I say they can all play together, that’s a direct answer to the question: ‘What are you going to do with all these shortstops?’ Well, your three shortstops can play second, short and third. And Bryant can play third or either corner. I think (Kyle) Schwarber can catch and Alcantara can play second or he can play center. And (Albert) Almora can play center when he’s ready.

“They have a lot of versatility and there’s a way that they all fit together. It’s not like we’re sitting there with five first basemen wondering what the hell we’re going to do with them.”

The Cubs haven’t been inclined to pay the price in terms of prospects and salary for someone like, say, Cole Hamels. The Philadelphia Phillies aren’t particularly high on Baez, either. The Cubs could simply wait for what’s shaping up to be a banner class of free-agent pitchers – Jordan Zimmermann, David Price, Jeff Samardzija – next winter.

Russell made a great impression in spring training with his smooth defense at shortstop and serious attitude inside the clubhouse, showing maturity for a 21-year-old who’s played three games about the Double-A level.

Baseball America’s No. 3 overall prospect lived up to the hype, but Russell’s most impressive move might have been silencing Joe Maddon. At least that’s how the manager with no mute button remembered their meeting the morning the Cubs sent Bryant, Baez and Russell to minor-league camp.

“Addison Russell, how bout this kid?” Maddon said. “Nobody’s talking about him. (But) I couldn’t tell him what to work on. I’m not (kidding). He’s that accomplished at that age.

“(Addison’s) sitting in there talking and I had nothing. I was lost. Just keep doing what you’re doing, basically.”

While Bryant Watch became the national story, Russell is the other Scott Boras client who could eventually impact the 2015 Cubs.

“Absolutely, he would be able to help us this year,” Maddon said. “I totally believe that.”

Russell had been a late bloomer coming out of Pace High School in Florida, needing time to change his diet and reshape his body, really putting himself on the map later in the scouting process.

Russell fell to the Oakland A’s with the No. 11 pick in the 2012 draft, or five spot after the Cubs grabbed Almora, the first player selected by the Epstein administration.  

The A’s hoped Russell would be able to give their major-league lineup a jolt at some point last season – until he tore a hamstring and got healthy enough to become a headliner in the Jeff Samardzija Fourth of July blockbuster trade. 

“The biggest thing with him would be just to understand his body,” Maddon said. “A lot of the young players, to me, don’t really understand nutrition and things of that nature. I really try to emphasize (that) because you want to keep your body well and full of energy to play through September and October.”

Castro hasn’t played any meaningful games past, uh, the IRS filing deadline, maybe Memorial Day?

It’s not Castro’s fault the Cubs have finished in fifth place for five years in a row, but he sure takes a lot of heat for a three-time All-Star who just turned 25.

Before you ship Castro out of town, let’s see what he can do on a good team, how focused he will be in a pennant race, where his game can go with an established leader and a cohesive clubhouse.

Remember, Maddon is Castro’s fifth manager in six seasons and the shortstop remains under club control through 2020, so there’s no reason to rush into a deal.

Castro already knows this is a big year for him personally.

“Oh yeah,” Castro said. “I feel really good. I’m starting to feel great, offensively and defensively. I think we got a nice group. We can be together and we can do something.”

Castro made it happen during the seventh inning of Wednesday’s 2-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field. He drove in Anthony Rizzo with a line-drive single to left field for the season’s first run, hustled to second base on the throw and then scored on Miguel Montero’s sacrifice fly.  

Castro also struck out during a first-and-third, one-out situation in the fourth inning, and committed an error in the eighth. But the Cubs are in a place now where they can pick each other up and everything doesn’t have to revolve around Starlin all the time.

“We’re going to have a pretty fun year,” Castro said. “We can put something together and get a lot of wins.”

Major League Baseball set a spring attendance record.

By Craig Calcaterra

Spring training is not what it used to be. Time was when teams holed up in Cuba or on Catalina Island and had a camp full of inter-squad games and, like, throwing medicine balls at one another. The modern spring training seasons with a full slate of scheduled games is relatively new. The more modern model of doing that in palatial, high-capacity ballparks is even newer.

All of which is to say, get used to a lot more press releases like this every April:

Major League Baseball set a new Spring Training attendance record with 4,034,708 fans attending games over 481 dates for an average of 8,388 per game, it was announced today.

The 2015 total eclipsed the previous record of 3,823,479 set in 2013, while the average attendance of 8,388 eclipsed the previous best of 8,078 in 2014.  Total Spring Training attendance showed an 11.7 percent increase over last season’s total of 3,610,738, and the record-setting average reflected a 3.8 percent increase over last year.

The giant new park for the Cubs in Mesa had a lot to do with this. They drew 222,415 fans to Sloan Park, which is the largest single spring training attendance total for any team in history. They’d get over 15,000 a game sometimes. It was kind of nuts.

Spring training is a big business now, my friends. And only getting bigger.

Baseball is dying, you guys. What's your take?

By Craig Calcaterra                                                             

             
There's the October “baseball is dying” rush when football ratings dwarf baseball’s and then there’s the Opening Day rush when, “heck, let’s just throw shade at baseball” seems like a great idea. Anyway, here’s the latest.

Key angle: youth participation is the key to a vital sport and youth participation in baseball is down. That’s what it leads with, noting that youth participation is absolutely essential to loving it later in life. Then it gives stats on that which serve to undercut the premise:

Participation in all sports has dropped by more than 9 percent nationwide over the past five years, according to an annual study by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. Only lacrosse has shown double-digit growth over that period. Baseball participation dropped 3 percent, basketball fell by 2 percent, and football lost 5 percent of its tackle players and 7 percent of touch players. About half of American children do not participate in any team sport.

But cut the author some slack. This is one of those “throw every available statistic at the reader and hope a few blows are landed” kind of article, so he’s allowed some misses once in a while. And did you note the picture of the old base on the muddy,  disused baseball field? That’s some Serious Symbolic Stuff right there, you guys.

Overall, this is the same story we’ve seen over and over and over again: there are more things for kids to do now and they’re doing different things. There are more entertainment and sports options for people now and they’re watching different things. Baseball was once the only thing anyone cared about but that is not the case anymore. It’s spiced up with some pithy quotes about how baseball is going to go the way of Tower Records and Blockbuster video, but it says nothing new of substance.

As we’ve noted many, many, many times here, baseball has some challenges. As all products and all entertainments do. It is only a Big Important Issue worthy of a Big Important Article like this, however, if you approach baseball differently than you approach any of those other businesses and entertainments. If you have it in your head that baseball had some God-given place of primacy in the sports universe that it should maintain despite the entire world changing around it. If you buy in to the idea that it is The National Pastime and that it’s important and essential for it to be The National Pastime for it to be healthy.

Judge baseball on what it is, not on what it was. Only then are your conclusions and your rhetoric going to be reasonable.

Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Take: Howard Cosell, the late television sports commentator stated, "Sports is the toy department of human life." We totally agree with him because sports breeds healthy competition and we all know that, "Competition breeds excellence." Today's kids have a vast array of activities to do for entertainment especially with things associated with computers and telephones; i.e. games, music and social media. This is a major reason sports participation is dwindling, however, not to worry, sports competition will always be around and will thrive and continue to grow. Physical activity is essential to keeping the body healthy along with diet and the proper amount of rest. Everything in today's world is cyclical and sports is no different. There's a lot of money to be made in activities associated with sports, i.e. players contracts, ticket sales, apparel sales, food and beer vendor sales, pay per view, sports travel and soon to be legal betting on sporting events, (and yes, that will be happening nationally not just Las Vegas in the future), just to name a few.

We foresee sports continuing to grow and especially baseball making a comeback as young kids in urban areas are reintroduced to the sport. As evidenced in the 2014 Little League World Series, Jackie Robinson West, America's little league national champions and Monique Davis, Philadelphia's little league female pitching phenomenon come to mind as drivers reigniting an interest in the sport.

Also the article preceding this article in our blog is about major league baseball setting spring training attendance records and they have increased during the last couple of years. It is our consensus that sports are here to stay and are just going to get better.

Now that you know what we think and how we feel, we'd love to hear your thoughts and what's your take? Please go to comment section at the bottom of this blog and post away. Thanks in advance for your thoughts. The Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica editorial staff. 
   
Golf: I got a club for that: Jordan Spieth claims Augusta National as his own ... for a day, at least.
 
By Jay Busbee

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Jordan Spieth is 21. He took down Augusta Thursday. He’s ridiculous. (yahoosports, follow on Tumblr)

"What happened?"

Jordan Spieth stood in the rough to the right side of the fairway at No. 14 — "Chinese Fir" to you Augusta purists — and tried to figure out where his second shot had just gone. He was more than 180 yards from the hole, behind a few overhanging tree branches, and at first thought he'd flown the green. But the cheer from the crowd seemed suggest otherwise, and sure enough, Spieth had hit the flagstick. He followed that with a virtual tap-in to drop to eight under par. It was the signature shot of a signature round.
 

Golf is all about context. Had Spieth pulled off this miracle approach on a Sunday, it would vault into Masters lore and top-10-best-shot lists. But this is the first day of the 2015 Masters, and so Spieth's flagstick rattle is merely strut-worthy.
 

Golf is also all about metaphor. Just minutes after Spieth's gem, Tiger Woods, two holes and nine strokes behind, dunked his tee shot on No. 12 ("Golden Bell," but you knew that), the worst shot of an unspectacular 1-over round. It doesn't get much more obvious than that, does it?
 

Spieth roared into this tournament last year too young to even buy a cheap beer at one of the concession stands. He carried the lead into the final day, only to see it slip away.

"It's tough to sleep on a lead here, and I saw that last year," he said Thursday after carding an 8-under 64 that gave him a 3-stroke lead heading into Round 2. "But at the same time, I'm a lot more confident in the way that I can handle certain situations, and the patience levels I can have, having closed a couple of events out since [last year]."

His peers are taking note. In the midst of Spieth's birdie run — six in seven holes — playing partner Billy Horschel joked, "I need a tape recorder that just plays, 'Nice hole, Jordan,' on each tee box."

Ernie Els was even more effusive. “You just cannot see this kid not win many, many majors," The Big Easy said after his round, a 5-under 67. "I think he is by far the most balanced kid I’ve seen."

If Spieth isn't the future of golf, it's only because he's already arrived. His 8-under 64 is the lowest opening round at the Masters in 19 years. Only 14 players have ever gone that low or lower in a single round, and his finish was just one stroke off the low-score record not just for the Masters, but for all four of golf's majors.

Granted, there's a long way to go. Of those 14 low-scorers, only two ended up winning (Jack Nicklaus in 1965 and Gary Player in 1978). The last guy to go as low as Spieth in an opening round at Augusta was Greg Norman in 1996, and that round preceded what would be one of the ugliest collapses in all of sports history. And in the past 30 years, only one first-round Masters leader, Trevor Immelman in 2008, has gone on to win.

"It's Round 1," Spieth said. "It's just a lot of good breaks and good putting and chipping and short game. ... There's 54 holes left, and anything happens in a major."

So, yeah, there's work to do. But for almost every one of the last 80 or so rounds of the majors, the predominant question on everyone's mind has been "How did Tiger do?" On Friday, and perhaps for a long time afterward, the subject of that question will change.

What will Jordan do? No idea yet, but it's going to be fascinating to watch.

Jack Nicklaus cards an ace in the Par-3 Contest.

By Jay Busbee

Jack Nicklaus at the Par 3.

Yeah, yeah. Tiger Woods is back, and Rory McIlroy's got one of the dudes from One Direction caddying for him. Big deal. The largest, and most well-deserved, cheers of Wednesday at Augusta National Golf Club roared for none other than Jack Nicklaus, Masters G.O.A.T.

Playing in the traditional Par-3 Contest, Nicklaus fired a shot at the fourth tee that landed past the flag, then rolled gently back and dropped into the cup amid the delirious shouts of a crowd gathered 20 deep. An ace. An unbelievable, perfect hole-in-one. It was yet another magical, exceptional Masters moment for a man with a lifetime of them already.

Nicklaus, now 75, bent slowly and reached once, twice, three times before plucking the ball out of the cup. He touched his hands to his chest to acknowledge the crowd's cheers.

Nicklaus will next tee it up early Thursday morning to start the Masters with a ceremonial tee shot. Perhaps his success on Wednesday will convince him to play a shot or two past that.

NASCAR: Why Danica Patrick And Crew Chief Daniel Knost Could Make Quantum Leap.

By Tony Fabrizio

 

Daniel Knost, in his second full season as crew chief, was moved from Kurt Busch to Danica Patrick late last season. (Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports)

Danica Patrick laughs when asked whether her relatively new crew chief, Daniel Knost, talks about things like quantum theory and seven-post shaker simulations during their down time.

"If he did, it wouldn't make any sense to me," she said. "That's probably about the time I would tune out and be looking at Twitter or Instagram."

Patrick's crew chief for most of her first two seasons in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series was Tony Gibson, a salt of the earth, old-school racer who grew up around Florida's short tracks and runs his race teams on a mixture of guile, science and educated guesses derived from decades of experience.

Knost (pronounced Ka-noste) is only in his second full season as a crew chief, and he's heavily about the science. You might gather he's pretty good at it by the title of the dissertation he authored for his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Virginia Tech: "Parametric Investigation of the Combustor-Turbine Interface Leakage Geometry.''

The pairing of the jet engine guru and the driver who came up with an engineering-intensive approach in open-wheel racing got off to an uninspiring start late last year after the Stewart Haas Racing brass swapped out Gibson, 50, and Knost, 36, and their crews between Patrick's No. 10 and Kurt Busch's No. 41 cars.

But Patrick has steadily improved this year, and her season-high seventh-place finish at Martinsville, Virginia, on March 29 suggests the two may be starting to click. Patrick's average finish is 19.3 after six races, and she's tied for 16th in the standings entering Saturday night's race at Texas Motor Speedway, where she owns finishes of second and third in the IndyCar series.

"I'm really just encouraged by the start of the season and how it's gone so far," she said this week. "We've been to pretty much every style of track now. So I'm feeling confident in that we only have up to go based on how our new relationship is together as a driver and a crew chief."

Merging talent with a passion

The term "Saturday night racer" is a colloquial one for someone who grew up around racetracks such as Gibson, and probably, a majority of the drivers, crew chiefs and car builders in NASCAR. Knost doesn't fit the mold. Though raised just 40 minutes away from the hub of stock car racing in Charlotte, North Carolina, he took only a casual interest in the sport while becoming a standout tight end and tennis player at Providence Day School.

Higher education was a given for the son of a nuclear power plant engineer and a microbiologist. Although Knost went to North Carolina State intending to major in business and one day have his own company, he was quickly overwhelmed by the realization his natural calling was physics and, like his dad, he could earn a good living as an engineer.

But after he earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 2001 and interned at Duke Energy as a preface to working at a power plant, self-doubt set in.

"I didn't feel like I knew enough about engineering to be really good," he says. "I looked at my dad and I felt that he was just really talented and understood things and understood how they worked. And I didn't necessarily feel that way about myself."

NC State and Virginia Tech offered Knost a full ride to grad school, and while deciding, Knost took a trip to Tech on the invitation of a professor. She showed him her lab, where students were doing research on jet engine cooling and other types of cooling, and Knost was blown away.

"She kind of explained what they were doing, and quite frankly, I didn't understand any of it," Knost said. "But I felt like, 'Well, man, if I understood that, then I would know something.'"

Knost took the Virginia Tech offer and earned his master's degree in 2003 and Ph.D. in 2008. By then, though, he'd already begun his racing career.

He had stayed in contact with his boyhood best friend and high school quarterback, Trent Cherry, who had finished college and was working on Ryan Newman's pit crew at Penske Racing. Knost missed the competitiveness and camaraderie of team sports and thought he could bring his acquired knowledge to racing. In fact, he spent the last two years of his studies trying to relate everything he learned to theoretically making a race car go faster.

"With everything I was doing, I was thinking, 'How does this apply to racing?'" Knost said. "If I'm looking at a jet engine, what part of a race car is like this? What are the consequences of this? I was trying to build a tool set that I thought would be useful in racing."

Cherry passed along Knost's résumé to Matt Borland, an engineer himself who had been Newman's crew chief and by 2008 was director of competition at Haas-CNC Racing. Borland met Knost and hired him to the team's engineering group. In the coming years, Knost's simulation work on the seven-post shaker -- a costly piece of equipment that allows engineers to simulate track conditions -- would help lay the groundwork for SHR's championships with Tony Stewart in 2011 and Kevin Harvick last year.

"Daniel's one smart dude, man," said Cherry, who at one time was North Carolina's all-time leading high school passer and is now the pit crew coach at Penske. "And the thing about him is he's not only book smart, but he also has very good common sense, and that's hard to find. He's pretty well rounded in his street smarts, and that can take you far in business and life."

Knost actually finished his dissertation on airplanes and in hotel rooms while traveling to races in 2008 to provide computer support. In preparation for his promotion to crew chief, he became a race engineer on Patrick's part-time team in 2012 and under Borland with Newman in 2013.

Fighting paralysis by analysis

Knost is the only Ph.D. crew chief in NASCAR, but the brainpower on Patrick's No. 10 team doesn't stop there. Race engineer William Lee has a Ph.D. and No. 2 engineer Oliver Rivera has a master's degree in engineering.

NASCAR is rapidly moving toward degreed engineers taking over the crew chief role, although Knost isn't sure they always make the best crew chiefs. There can be a tendency, he says, to suffer from "paralysis by analysis."

"You want to go and collect all the numbers you can, and you want to cull through them and understand things the most in-depth you can to make a good decision," he said. "The reality is we're under high pressure in a very short time frame, and you're in a very dynamic environment."

Knost says he fights overanalysis by doing intense homework before getting to the track, "and what that allows me to do is, even if I'm shooting from the hip, I'm really being biased by all the homework I've done."

It's a somewhat different approach than Patrick had with Gibson, who was able to draw on experiences that included winning Cup-level championships as a car chief with Alan Kulwicki in 1992 and Jeff Gordon in 1998 and 2001.

"I would say it's very calm," she said of the new environment. "We laugh and have a good time, but [Knost] is also a thinker and he's a little more quiet. By no means ultra-quiet, because we need to talk about things. But instead of talking and asking a lot of questions, he's kind of letting me talk and sort of taking the information in. And he takes a lot of notes. That's one of the differences: He takes a lot of notes."

Knost believes he has come to understand Patrick as a driver, and that unlike Busch, who will instinctively change his line according to what he's feeling in the car, she is a rhythm driver who is "very repeatable." Patrick favors a car with a stable platform that doesn't move around much, which "makes her focus on rolling speed" and "run more of a round oval on the track," Knost said.

And Patrick, maybe more than most other drivers, responds to positive reinforcement, Knost said.

"Different people are motivated by different things," he said. "To me, she's motivated by having people around her that are positive and supportive and she's feels that they have her back."

There's playful banter between them now, a sign there's a good vibe on the No. 10 team and a growing confidence after the strong run at Martinsville. Knost, whose wife, Nicole, is about to give birth to a second son, says his engineers have the confidence that when they bring more speed to the track, Patrick will "go faster."

"I would say we've had this funny thing throughout the first two months where he's like, 'You just continue to surprise me,''' Patrick said, "and various things would happen and he would surprise me.

"We'll put music on and he'll know the artist and it's, like, a rap group. And I'm like, 'You know this?' So there's little funny things along the way that he's -- quote, unquote -- hip to. But I think it's funny to be hip at all if you're an engineer."

Hip or not, the jet engine guy and the racer could be positioning themselves for a quantum leap.

NASCAR unveils format changes for 2015 Sprint All-Star Race.

NBCSports.com

(Photo/Getty Images)

NASCAR released its format Wednesday for next month’s Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Among the highlights for the May 16 race:

• As previously reported by NASCAR Talk’s Dustin Long, the field will expand to include past champions and All-Star Race winners (not just from the last 10 years) as well as the race winners from the 2014-15 seasons.
• After much discussion about using a rules package planned for next year, the 2015 rules will be used in the event. Though the proposed changes for 2016 received strong reviews when applied during a test last month at Charlotte, teams expressed concern about the cost of using them in competition.
• The five-segment race will increase by 20 laps, with five laps added to each of the first four segments. The final segment will remain 10 laps, bringing the total to 110 laps.

 Here’s the NASCAR release announcing the format changes:

Showcasing the sport’s top talent, NASCAR announced changes for the 2015 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race that will elevate the excitement of this annual classic. Race coverage is set for 7 p.m. ET, Saturday, May 16 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (FOX Sports 1, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). 

The field will include race winners from the 2014 and 2015 seasons, as well as all former NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race winners and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions who are full-time competitors – all of whom will compete for the $1 million prize awarded to the winner. Prior to this change, former NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race winners and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions were eligible only if they accomplished the feat within the previous 10 seasons. 

In addition, the five-segment race will increase by a total of 20 laps, with the first four segments each scheduled for 25 laps as compared to 20 in recent years. With the final 10-lap shootout, the race now totals 110 laps. 

“These updates were made to ensure that our fans have every opportunity to see the best drivers in one of our crown jewel events and give them even more on-track action,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer. “Expanding this field and adding laps delivers that to our fans, raising the competition level and ensuring that this race continues to be the biggest all-star event in all of sports.” 

The 2015 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race will have a minimum field of 20 drivers. There are currently 17 drivers eligible, with three additional spots available. Two of those are reserved for the segment winners from the two 20-lap Sprint Showdown segments beginning at 7 p.m. ET, Friday, May 15 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM). 

The final spot belongs to the Sprint Fan Vote winner; voting at www.NASCAR.com/sprintfanvote and the NASCAR MOBILE application closes at 7 p.m. ET on May 15. The winner of the Sprint Fan Vote will be announced in Victory Lane following the conclusion of the Sprint Showdown. 

Drivers in the 2015 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race will compete in cars that conform to all 2015 rules. The race format will consist of a total of five segments: four 25-lap segments, with the average finish of the first four segments determining the order cars will enter pit road for a mandatory four-tire pit stop following the fourth segment. Running order ties will be broken by the finish of the fourth segment. The order of the cars returning to the track following the mandatory pit stop determines the starting order for a final winner-take-all 10-lap segment. 

All laps will count in segments one through four. In the fifth and final segment, only green flag laps will be counted. There will be optional pit stops during the breaks following each of the first three segments, with the field set by the pit stop/stay out positioning during the five caution laps. 

The following drivers are eligible to compete in the 2015 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race: AJ Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth (2004 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race winner), Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Jamie McMurray (2014 winner), Ryan Newman (2002 winner), Tony Stewart (2009 winner). 

This will be the 31st running of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. McMurray is the defending race winner. 

Fans can catch all the action from the Sprint Showdown and North Carolina Education Lottery 200 on Friday night to All-Star qualifying and the biggest all-star event in sports, the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, on Saturday with weekend packages starting at just $99. For just $20, fans can purchase a special Golden Ticket upgrade to secure a prime location with special early access to a reserved area directly in front of the stage for the Rayovac presents Little Big Town pre-race concert. A limited number of Golden Tickets are available and can be purchased online at www.charlottemotorspeedway.com or by calling the speedway ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS (3267).

Pit road penalties are up significantly with NASCAR's new officiating system.

By Dustin Long

Pit road penalties are up more than 50 percent from last year in the Sprint Cup Series with much of the change related to NASCAR’s new officiating system.

NASCAR Talk examined violations from the first six races this year and last and found that penalties are up 52.9 percent with one infraction increasing by 1,000 percent and another by 166 percent.

The change comes as NASCAR uses a camera system this season to monitor every pit stop.

“You can’t hide anymore,’’ said Trent Cherry, head coach for Team Penske’s Sprint Cup pit crews.

The cameras, placed across from pit road, send video to a NASCAR trailer where series officials review each stop. With officials no longer over the pit wall, watching for oncoming traffic as they check for violations, they can better scrutinize each stop.

A result is that officials have caught teams not in control of a tire on the outer half of the pit stall 22 times – a 1,000 percent increase from last year. NASCAR called the penalty 19 times last season.

Joe Gibbs Racing has been guilty of the infraction four times this year.

“I can’t remember in 10 years when we had an uncontrolled tire,’’ said Michael Lepp, athletic director for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Chad Little, NASCAR’s managing director of technical inspection and officiating, admits that the uncontrolled tire rule has more leeway than others.

“That’s probably the one penalty that still has a lot of subjectivity in it,’’ he told NASCAR Talk. “That’s still one that we have to be real smart at and try to have a lot of consistency at.’’

While the camera system detects many penalties, the uncontrolled tire infraction often is determined by the official watching the pit stop video.

“We’ve come up with a checks and balance that as long as the person controlling the tire is within one step and he or she is purposely moving in the direction of the tire, then we’re OK with it, we feel they have the proper control needed,’’ Little said.

“Where you get your subjectivity is a step can mean different things. Are you running, are you walking, are you tall, are you short? We want the person controlling the tire to be cognizant to what the tire is doing. That’s the second half of that test. They may be in a step of it, but he’s not paying any attention to it and it’s starting to roll away.’’

Another key, some pit coaches say, for the increase in the uncontrolled tire violation is that absence of officials over the pit wall. While it wasn’t an official’s responsibility, they could corral a wandering 60-pound tire to prevent it from being struck by a car.
Because officials no longer go over the pit wall, they’re not there to help.

Denny Hamlin’s pit crew was called for that penalty in each of the past two races. Had there been an official over the pit wall, Lepp notes that the official might have redirected the tire back toward the team and saved the team from those penalties.

“We’ve got to learn that that level of assistance is gone,’’ Lepp said.

Another key is a rule change that discourages teams pitted beside each other from grabbing an errant tire. Rule 10.11.1.k in the Sprint Cup Rule Book reads: “Any crew member interfering with another crew’s pit stop, causing the other team to incur a penalty or not, may incur a penalty.”

The rule was put in place after NASCAR saw teammates helping each other create quicker pit stops. Some read the new rule as penalizing a team for helping another even if it is for a safety reason. A result is that teams are less hesitant to help one another.

“We tell our guys don’t you dare touch another team’s tire or ask another team help you,’’ Cherry said. “You cannot touch another team’s tires, period.’’

Little says that “more than likely” a team helping another with an errant tire would not be penalized.

“We still want crew members from a safety standpoint (to help) and there’s a common sense involved here, too,’’ he said. “If a crew member on a team adjacent to your pit stall leans over and touches your tire, is that really a penalty? Probably not. If he stops that tire and assists you during your pit stop that probably is a penalty.’’

Lepp worries that if teams are less willing to help grab a tire for fear of a penalty, it could lead to a tire rolling into traffic on pit road.

“My biggest fear of injury on pit road is a tire getting hit because I’ve seen them fly and they generally go back toward pit wall,’’ Lepp said. “A car hitting one of those tires at 50 mph is scary. I’ve thought about it and coaches have thought about it. We've just got to learn to control tires. There’s a big safety factor in doing that.’’

Said Little: “We’re certainly going to keep an eye on it and if it becomes an issue, you know how NASCAR is, they react pretty quickly to safety issues.’’

Another penalty that has seen a significant increase this season is crew members going over the wall too soon. That has been called 16 times this season – an increase of 166 percent from last year.

Officials highlighted this area in the offseason when they met with teams and explained the new camera system.

“That’s just a discipline penalty,’’ Cherry said of the violation. “We’ve worked on it at Team Penske a bunch.’’

A penalty at the wrong time, though, could prove severe in a race or during the Chase for the Sprint Cup later this season.

“You don’t have a lot of room for error,’’ Cherry said. “Just preparing the guys as well as we can to be disciplined is a big part of it. I keep a very close eye on the penalty sheet. That’s important to me as a head coach to make sure our guys are coached up on what to look for and what NASCAR is looking for.’’

NASCAR also has seen 40 percent more speeding penalties this season. The new pit road technology has not impacted speeding penalties. NASCAR still uses electronic timing to determine speeding. So, why are speeding penalties up?

Lepp says that technology has played a role.

“We’re in the age of metrics and data,’’ he said. “Every week … we get pit road reports. We know the time of every pit stop. We know how the drivers are running the timing lines. Everybody gets it and they look at it. The key thing on there is … the time the car is moving on pit road.

Lepp says the time between the fastest pit crew and even the 10th-quickest can be half a second. That makes how fast a driver is at getting to their pit stall and back on track important.

“Drivers see that and they go ‘I’ve got to push the limits on pit road,’ ’’ Lepp said. “I think it’s just one more of many little things that make a difference. It doesn’t matter if you make a 10-second pit stop, if the driver was the 30th-ranked guy in rolling times, he erased the fast pit stop.’’

Lose, draw, climb -- USMNT up five spots in latest FIFA rankings.

By Nicholas Mendola

The United States men’s national team played a pair of experimental road friendlies in March, drawing in Switzerland after losing to Denmark, and improved in the FIFA rankings for their troubles.

In the latest example of the bizarre world of the aforementioned world rankings, the USMNT has risen five spots from 32 to 27 in April.

Germany remains atop the leaderboard, with Argentina right behind the World Cup champs. Belgium moves into third, while Brazil jumps to fifth.

As for the States’ opponents in March, Switzerland moves up three spots to ninth after its USMNT draw and a win over Estonia, while Denmark stays 28th — one spot below the U.S. — with its other match being a 2-0 loss in France.

Wales jumped 15 spots to its highest ever ranking, 22nd, after beating Israel 3-0, while Bhutan made the biggest jump of anyone (46 spaces to No. 163).

In CONCACAF, Costa Rica’s loss to Panama and draw with Paraguay dropped Los Ticos two spots to No. 15, while wins over Paraguay and Ecuador helped Mexico rise three slots to 18. Panama rose eight spots to 53rd after wins over Costa Rica and Trinidad & Tobago.

The U.S. next faces Mexico on April 15. El Tri released its roster on Wednesday.
 
View the rankings in full here.

FIFA announces bidding process for 2026 World Cup is underway.

By Kyle Bonn

(Getty Images)

With the 2018 and 2022 World Cup shroud finally lifted, and the decisions on dates and location finally wrapped in a neat little bow, FIFA has begun to move on. Specifically, four more years.

FIFA announced today that they will open the bidding process for the 2026 World Cup as soon as this year, with a decision to be made by May of 2017. The timeframe is consistent with recent processes, as the 2022 World Cup location was chosen in December of 2010. The vote will take place at the FIFA annual congress in 2017, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Jerome Valcke, FIFA Secretary General, said the process would start around early June and would be “transparent from the first minute.”

2026 #WorldCup: Bidding process will kick off in 2015, with appointment planned for FIFA Congress in May 2017. 

— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) March 20, 2015

The United States is widely considered the favorite to host the 2026 World Cup, with North America going on 32 years without a World Cup by the time 2026 rolls around, and seeing as how the US federation felt severely slighted during the 2022 voting process in the eventual loss to Qatar.

#FIFA will select the host of the 2026 #WorldCup in May of 2017 

— Sunil Gulati (@sunilgulati) March 20, 2015

Qatar is now resolved so FIFA has decided it will vote on the 2026 World Cup hosts in May 2017. US are favorites 

— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) March 20, 2015

Never mind Qatar National Day. Saturday, July 4, 2026, is the 250th anniversary of US independence. Perfect day for a World Cup final? 

— Ben Rumsby (@ben_rumsby) March 20, 2015  

Since the last time North America hosted a World Cup (1994 in the US), it has been brought to Europe three times, South America once, Africa once, and Asia twice. The attendance records that were set during that tournament still stand today.

With Europe and Asia hosting in 2018 and 2022, it’s likely that FIFA will rule those continents out for the 2026 bid, according to the Associated Press. Their report also states that Canada and Mexico could bid for the event along with the United States.

Reports: Manchester United's 2015 U.S. tour to be 12 days, limited to one coast.

By Nicholas Mendola

Manchester United’s planned tour of the United States is going to be a bit shorter than planned, and on one coast only.

That’s the word coming out of England, where Louis van Gaal has allegedly “won” his battle to organize the trip as he sees fit, with a return by Aug. 1 and only 12 days in the States.

The West Coast is reportedly van Gaal’s preferred base for his Red Devils, as he seeks to avoid the cross-country tour that saw United in Carson, Denver, Landover, Ann Arbor and Miami Gardens.

It’s said that United would play a minimum of three matches with the potential for a fourth. The Telegraph speculates that United could be based in Seattle:

The former Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach was also exasperated by United having to overcome altitude and temperatures in excess of 30 degrees in order to contest a 2pm kick-off against AS Roma in Denver.

United have investigated basing themselves in Seattle this summer, where they have previously used the state-of-the-art training facilities of the Seattle Seahawks, and using the city as a base from which to fly in and out of match venues elsewhere in the western US and Canada.

So get your travel budget ready if you’re in the East; You’ll need less than a fortnight for an entire United-based vacation.

Fire's Shaun Maloney named MLS Player of the Week.

CSN Staff

Being the catalyst to a comeback win will surely catch people's attention. 

That's why Fire midfielder Shaun Maloney earned himself the MLS Player of the Week after recording a goal and an assist to spark The Men in Red in their 3-2 win over Toronto FC on Saturday.

Maloney helped get the Fire on the board on Saturday with a slick pass to Joevin Jones, who found the back of the net off that feed in the 14th minute. Maloney then scored in the 56th minute during Saturday's match to even up the score at 2-2.

The Scotsman has made his presence felt so far early in the Fire's 2015 campaign, starting four out of the team's first five games and recording six shots including two on goal. 

The Fire return to action on April 18th when they take on the Montreal Impact on CSN+ at 2:00 p.m.

Barnes eager for chance to provide stability to Tennessee.

By STEVE MEGARGEE (AP Sports Writer)

Tennessee head basketball coach Rick Barnes addresses reporters after hired in Knoxville, Tenn. One week into his new job, Barnes talks about the challenges of his new assignment and his plans for stabilizing a program that has undergone plenty of turnover in recent seasons, Tuesday, April 7, 2015. (AP Photo/Wade Payne, File)

Rick Barnes believes he can provide stability for a Tennessee program that has undergone plenty of recent coaching turnover.

His track record also suggests he can produce immediate results.

Just two days after being fired at Texas, where he had reached the NCAA Tournament in 16 of his 17 seasons, Barnes was hired last week to take over Tennessee's program. Since his arrival, he has tried assembling a staff while also getting to know players dealing with their second consecutive offseason coaching change.

''Certainly we've been sensitive to that, the fact (there have) been three different coaches,'' Barnes said. ''You address it, and the bottom line is it is what it is, but this is what we have now. Let's learn from what we've gone through, and let's move forward and let's be thankful for what we have here. Let's be excited that we've got a chance to do something.

''Let's not sit around and moan and groan.''

Barnes replaces Donnie Tyndall, who was fired after only one season while the NCAA investigates his two-year tenure at Southern Mississippi. Barnes, who has had a career record of 604-314, will be Tennessee's fourth coach in six seasons.

Although he will be 61 when he makes his Tennessee debut, Barnes insists he's no short-term solution. When he's asked about his age, Barnes points to this year's Final Four, where three of the four coaches were in their 60s. The championship game pitted 68-year-old Mike Krzyzewski of Duke and 67-year-old Bo Ryan of Wisconsin.

''The day that I don't look forward to going to the gym and getting up excited about my job, that's when you know it's time,'' Barnes said. ''But I've never felt that. I think age is just a number. I love what I do.''

Barnes' career shows that he doesn't need much time to start winning. He got to the NCAA Tournament in his debut seasons at Providence and Texas. Barnes reached the NIT his first year at Clemson before getting the Tigers an NCAA bid the following season. He won 20 games his lone season at George Mason.

Now he inherits a Tennessee program that must replace all-Southeastern Conference guard Josh Richardson from a squad that went 16-16 this season. Barnes remains confident he can produce solid results right away.

''I don't think you can ever stand in front of a team and tell a group of guys this is a rebuilding year,'' Barnes said. ''I think kids are perceptive enough to know if you believe in them.''

It's been a busy week for Barnes.

Tennessee announced Tuesday the hirings of associate head coach Rob Lanier and assistants Chris Ogden and Desmond Oliver. Lanier and Ogden were part of Barnes' staff at Texas. Oliver spent the last five seasons as an assistant at Charlotte. Riley Davis, a special assistant-video coordinator at Texas this season, also is expected to join the staff in some capacity.

Barnes has spoken to each of his players, and only freshman forward Tariq Owens has indicated thus far that he plans to transfer.

Barnes has made the NCAA Tournament 19 of the past 20 seasons, a stretch that started with his last three years at Clemson and continued during his 17-year tenure at Texas.

Tennessee has made just one NCAA appearance in the four seasons since the exit of Bruce Pearl, who got to the tournament each of his six seasons at Tennessee before getting fired in 2011 amid an NCAA investigation.

''Every great school has its ups and downs - every one of them,'' Barnes said. ''But there's nothing more exciting than to be a part of a school that's had great tradition and you feel the energy moving forward. That's what I felt (last week) when I really came on campus. ... I felt it through (athletic director) Dave (Hart). He had me energized.''

Mavs’ Cuban Rips NCAA As ‘Ugly’ And ‘Ridiculous’.

By Mike Fisher

(Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

“Ugly.’’ “Crummy.’’ “Ridiculous.’’

Outspoken Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban on Wednesday shared his views on today’s sport of college basketball, calling it “uglier than ugly’’ and opining that the overall sport is hurt because college players don’t know “how to play a full game of basketball.”

“If they want to keep kids in school and keep them from being pro players, they’re doing it the exact right way by having the 35-second shot clock and having the game look and officiated the way it is,” Cuban said before the Mavs’ win over visiting Phoenix. “Just because kids don’t know how to play a full game of basketball … There are so many things that are ridiculous … It’s uglier than ugly.’’

Cuban’s comments come on the heels of this week’s Duke-over-Wisconsin national championship game in which a controversial call played a major role. His view is that the NBA has worked to fix its errors in this department and elsewhere.

Cuban helped motivate change when in the 2001-02 season he stated that Ed T. Rush (then the head of NBA officials) “couldn’t manage a Dairy Queen.’’

His thoughts on NCAA officiating?

They “couldn’t manage a White Castle,’’ Cuban said.

Italy has a game plan for facing Williams sisters in Fed Cup.

By ANDREW DAMPF

Serena Williams hits a return to Carla Suarez Navarro, of Spain, during the women's final at Miami Open tennis tournament in Key Biscayne, Fla., Saturday, April 4, 2015. Williams won 6-2, 6-0. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Italy captain Corrado Barazzutti has a straightforward formula for pulling off an improbable win over a United States team led by Serena and Venus Williams in a Fed Cup World Group playoff later this month.

"We simply have to play better than them," Barazzutti told The Associated Press on Wednesday ahead of the April 18-19 outdoor match on red clay in the southern town of Brindisi.

If top-ranked Serena plays at her usual level, Italy could theoretically open the best-of-5 series behind 0-2.

"If she plays well, yes, there's a good possibility of that," Barazzutti said. "We have to play very well. It's a tough matchup for us."

Making matters more complicated is that top-ranked doubles player Roberta Vinci will miss the match with an inflamed right elbow.

Barazzutti selected Sara Errani, Flavia Pennetta, Camila Giorgi and Karin Knapp for his squad.

Vinci and doubles partner Sara Errani announced last month they were splitting on amicable terms after winning five Grand Slam titles together. But they still intended to play Fed Cup together.

"I'm not going to worry too much about doubles for now," Barazzutti said. "We have four singles matches to play first. If we get to 2-2 then we'll think about that. But we have some of the best doubles players in the world."
 

The 14th-ranked Errani and 27th-ranked Pennetta are Barazzutti's top choices for singles, with No. 34 Giorgi — a rising 23-year-old — a third option.

"Errani and Pennetta are our two strongest players but we also have Giorgi, who has a lot of potential and could pull off some surprises," Barazzutti said.

Brindisi is Pennetta's hometown.  

"We're hoping that will motivate her," Barazzutti said.  

Italy and the U.S. have met four times in the last six years, including back-to-back finals in 2009 and 2010. The Italians won all four of those encounters but the U.S. still leads the career series 9-4.  

Led by the Williams sisters, the Americans beat Argentina 4-1 in Buenos Aires in February to advance to the playoff round.  

The winner in Brindisi will return to the World Group next year, while the loser will go to World Group II.

On This Date in Sports History: Today is Friday, April 10, 2015.

Memoriesofhistory.com

1916 - The Professional Golfers Association (PGA) held its first championship tournament.

1947 - Brooklyn Dodgers president Branch Rickey announced that he had purchased the contract of Jackie Robinson from the Montreal Royals. Robinson was the first African-American player of the modern era. 1961 - Gary Player of South Africa became the first foreign golfer to win the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, Georgia.

1961 - U.S. President John F. Kennedy threw out the first pitch at Griffith Stadium. The Senators lost to the Chicago White Sox, 4-3

2000 - Ken Griffey Jr. became the youngest player in baseball history to reach 400 home runs. He was 30 years, 141 days old. 

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