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Sports Quote of the Day:
"Sports fosters many things that are good; teamwork and leadership." ~ Daley Thompson, Former Olympic Decathlete
Trending: Blackhawks deal Brandon Saad to Blue Jackets in 7-player swap. (See hockey section for details).
Trending: U.S. advances to Women's World Cup final with 2-0 win over Germany. (See soccer section for details).
The United States team celebrates following Kelley O'Hara's goal against Germany. (Photo/Reuters)
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Blackhawks deal Brandon Saad to Blue Jackets in 7-player swap.
By Scott Powers
The Chicago Blackhawks traded forwards Brandon Saad and Alex Broadhurst and defenseman Michael Paliotta to the Columbus Blue Jackets for forwards Artem Anisimov, Marko Dano, Jeremy Morin, Corey Tropp and a 2016 fourth-round pick on Tuesday.
Saad, 22, has 52 goals and 74 assists in 208 career regular-season games with the Blackhawks, including 23 goals and 29 assists in 82 games last season. He is set to become a restricted free agent, and Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman had previously said re-signing him was the priority for the offseason.
"It's a challenge to try to negotiate a contract, and we gave it our best shot," Bowman said. "We worked hard at it with Brandon and his agent and weren't able to reach an agreement. And when that became apparent, we turned our focus to trying to improve our team for next season."
Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said Tuesday that his team is working on a contract extension for Saad, adding that talks "accelerated pretty quickly."
Kekalainen said the Blue Jackets "want winners here" and Saad is "a proven winner."
Broadhurst, 22, had six goals and 14 assists in 29 games with the Rockford IceHogs last season. He sat out most of the season with an injury.
Paliotta, 22, recently signed with the Blackhawks after completing his college career at Vermont. He was among the top defensemen in college this past season and was drafted by the Blackhawks in the third round in 2011.
Anisimov, 27, had seven goals and 20 assists in 52 games for the Blue Jackets last season. He has 86 goals and 106 assists in 412 career NHL games.
Bowman said he has been in negotiations with Anisimov's agent for a contract extension and they're close to finalizing a deal. Anisimov has one year remaining on his current contract and has a $3.283 million cap hit for next season.
"He's a player we've been trying to acquire for quite some time," Bowman said. "I've talked a long time about our desire to find a big center man. There's very few of them in the NHL. You just look around the 30 teams. To be able to get a guy in the prime of his career at 6-foot-4 who can do a little bit of everything, it's someone we've been chasing a long time. We were finally able to acquire him. I think he fits in real nice to our team. He's able to play offensively as well as the penalty-killing role. He's done a little bit of everything in his career. For our needs, to know we have (Jonathan) Toews and Anisimov for years to come, that was a very big part of this."
Dano, 20, had eight goals and 13 assists in 35 games in his rookie season this past year. He also had 11 goals and eight assists with the Springfield Falcons of the AHL. He was drafted in the first round in 2013 by the Blue Jackets.
Morin, 24, returns to the Blackhawks after being traded to the Blue Jackets last season. He had two goals and four assists in 43 NHL games last season.
Tropp, 25, had one goal and seven assists in 61 games for the Blue Jackets last season. He has six goals and 21 assists in 148 career NHL games.
Bowman envisions Dano fitting in nicely with the Blackhawks and said Morin and Tropp could compete for NHL spots in training camp.
"In addition, we have a young player in Marko Dano who we think has a very bright future," Bowman said. "He kind of came onto the scene this year without a lot fanfare and he had 21 points in 35 games in Columbus. I think he opened a lot of people's eyes with his ability. I think when you look at that potential for those two for years to come, we're very excited to have a center man and a winger."
Blackhawks agree to extension with goalie Michael Leighton.
By C. Roumeliotis
The Blackhawks have agreed to terms with goaltender Michael Leighton on a one-year contract extension, the team announced Tuesday.
ESPN's Pierre LeBrun reports it's a two-way contract that pays $575,000 at the NHL level.
Leighton, 34, compiled a 22-13-4 record, 2.26 goals against average, .920 save percentage, and five shutouts last season with the AHL's Rockford IceHogs, good enough to be named the team's MVP.
He also registered a 2.58 GAA and a .919 save percentage in eight playoff games.
The move comes days after goaltender Antti Raanta was shipped to the New York Rangers, so the re-signing shouldn't come as a surprise. Although Scott Darling is expected to be the backup goaltender heading into the 2015-16 season, Leighton gives the Blackhawks some depth and experience at the position, and returns at a cheap cost.
Blackhawks re-sign David Rundblad to two-year deal.
By C. Roumeliotis
The Blackhawks have agreed to a two-year contract extension with defenseman David Rundblad, the team announced Monday.
The deal reportedly carries a cap hit of $1 million, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
Rundblad, 24, registered 14 points (three goals and 11 assists) in 49 regular-season games with the Blackhawks last season and also appeared in five postseason games en route to his first Stanley Cup championship.
While he was a healthy scratch throughout the majority of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Blackhawks don't have much room to work with this offseason being up against the salary cap, so it's a nice low-risk signing that fills a need.
Rundblad provides some stability on the back end of the blue line, and his familiarity with the Blackhawks' system gives him the early edge to becoming an every day starter next season.
2015 NHL Draft: Report Cards for Central Division.
By C. Roumeliotis
The NHL Draft is officially over, which means it's time to take an early look at how each team in the Central Division fared. Rather than breaking down and projecting how each player will turn out, we took each team's circumstance under consideration and based our grades by looking at the big picture.
Chicago Blackhawks: C
The Blackhawks cashed in their 2015 first-round pick for Antoine Vermette — who scored three game-winning goals in the final two rounds of the postseason — meaning they had to wait until pick No. 54 to make their first selection of the draft. It's difficult to make a big splash when you don't have a first-rounder, which general manager Stan Bowman would have liked to acquire, and are handcuffed due to salary cap restraints, so it was a quiet weekend for the Blackhawks. The most important part about it was, Bowman didn't make any impulse decisions, and rarely ever does, knowing he has the rest of the summer to shed salary. Second-round pick Graham Knott, a physical, skilled defensive player, highlights the class.
Colorado Avalanche: B-
The Avalanche traded away center Ryan O'Reilly to Buffalo minutes after the NHL Draft began on Friday, gaining an extra second round pick (which eventually turned into pick No. 39) and three other young players in return. While you'd rather have a guy like O'Reilly on a team looking to take the next step, the Avalanche feared the two sides wouldn't have been able to reach a long-term agreement when his contract expires next season so they got what they could for him before it was too late. The Avalanche quickly shifted their attention to the No. 10 overall pick, where they selected one of the more intriguing prospects in 18-year-old Finnish winger Mikko Rantanen, the best European skater in the draft. He may get a chance to compete for a roster spot as early as next season, adding to the collection of young studs developing in Colorado.
Dallas Stars: C+
The Stars only had five draft picks, but wisely sacrificed their seventh-rounder for the negotiating rights to goaltender Antti Niemi. That alone addresses a gaping hole. The problem is, the Stars may be spending close to $10 million on their goaltenders alone — assuming Niemi signs — with Kari Lehtonen already carrying a $5.9 million cap hit for three more years, so it certainly comes at a steep price. But the Stars are also excited about their No. 12 overall pick, Denis Guryanov, a talented Russian forward who may need a year to develop.
Minnesota Wild: B-
The best news over the weekend for the Wild was the six-year contract extension goaltender Devan Dubnyk signed to stay in Minnesota. It solidifies they can officially move forward with their long-term plan rather than approach free agency trying to stay above water by looking to replace a goaltender who played his way into the Hart Trophy discussion last season. The Wild strengthened their roster by selecting center Joel Eriksson EK, a highly-touted European player, at No. 20 overall and snagged a couple decent value picks in the later rounds.
Nashville Predators: C+
Like the Blackhawks, the Predators didn't have a first-round selection after they traded it to Toronto for Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli before the trade deadline last year. And they could've used one this year to continue adding young talent with 2012 first-round pick Filip Forsberg, who led the team in scoring. The Predators are looking to prove that last year wasn't a fluke and the only way to build a consistent winner is through the draft. It's no secret they're also looking to improve up the middle, and they addressed that by taking three centers with their first three picks. But they'll need time to develop.
St. Louis Blues: D
Entering the 2014-15 season, the Blues, on paper, looked like a complete team from top to bottom. But after another early playoff exit, rumors have swirled all offseason about the possibility of the Blues moving a big name such as David Backes or T.J. Oshie, making it difficult to assess their draft without having a clear sense of direction. Are the Blues looking to sacrifice picks for a chance to go all-in next season or stockpile them to plan for the future? If it's the latter, they're not off to a good start considering they only had one selection in the first three rounds, which didn't include a first.
Winnipeg Jets: A
The Jets easily had the best draft out of any team in the Central Division. While the Blackhawks, Predators, and Blues watched the first round pass without making a pick, the Jets made two of them: winger Kyle Connor at No. 17 and center Jack Roslovic at No. 25. The one Winnipeg has to be excited about is Connor, who fell into their laps. The 18-year-old who was named MVP of the United States Hockey League will give the Jets a much-needed boost on offense whenever they feel he's ready to be on their NHL roster full-time, which may take a year or two. Great value pick as the Jets continue their rise.
Just Another Chicago Bulls Session... Tables turn for Jimmy Butler in restricted free agency.
By Vincent Goodwill
Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler
While Bulls general manager Gar Forman intimated the Jimmy Butler situation would be resolved sooner rather than later at the announcement following the selection of first-round draft pick Bobby Portis, actions still had to follow from both sides.
The Bulls fired the first salvo, so to speak, in extending a qualifying offer and maximum qualifying offer to their restricted free agent. A maximum qualifying offer essentially limits Butler’s options as far as seeking an offer sheet from a prospective suitor, as the Collective Bargaining Agreement prevents a team from offering anything more than a three-year contract (which the Bulls will assuredly match) but it can’t contain any early termination options.
The Bulls don’t believe Butler wants out of Chicago like the rumor mill has suggested in recent weeks, but extending the maximum qualifying offer certainly gives the impression they were at least concerned about the possibility.
In this era of the CBA, that mechanism hasn’t been used, and rarely has a player of Butler’s caliber actually signed the initial qualifying offer—which on par, causes a player to lose money that will be hard to recoup with a very limited time to maximize earnings’ potential.
Detroit’s Greg Monroe rolled the dice on it last summer, turning down a deal in excess of $50 million when the Pistons wouldn’t trade him, choosing to sign a qualifying offer that would grant him unrestricted free agency while playing for just $5.4 million.
Monroe was dealing with a different set of circumstances than Butler, choosing not to take a chance on a new coach and new regime in Stan Van Gundy after years of losing and frustration.
Butler will have a new coach this season in Fred Hoiberg, but that could save his body from leading the league in minutes as he did under Tom Thibodeau, and he knows the Bulls’ brain trust very well.
Add to it, the Bulls have made the playoffs every year and seemingly have been on the doorstep of conference supremacy, as Butler has progressed and developed every year since entering the league in 2011.
Perhaps it’s as simple as Butler wanting to hear how much other teams want him. After all, he wasn’t heavily recruited coming out of high school, having to enroll at junior college before going to Marquette, where he had to fight to become the last pick of the first round.
Heck, his contract negotiations before the season with the Bulls were contentious enough, as the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement—one that if the Bulls signed him to would be an outright bargain for the next four seasons.
So now, Butler finally has a say—somewhat.
He bet on himself to become a bonafide All-Star this season, heard “MVP” chants during fourth quarters of playoff games and now doesn’t have to beg for what he believes he’s rightly earned.
Butler can take meetings with other franchises, although the current setup makes it hard for even the most interested team to come forward because of how impossible it is to obtain his services now. But he can sit back and listen to how coveted he is, how he’d be featured as a star should the opportunity present itself and for the first time in a very long time, Butler doesn’t have to fight.
He can weigh his options, and take the five-year, $90 million deal that has the potential to set his family up for life—or accept a shorter contract in order to catch the huge windfall that will hit the salary cap due to the new TV contracts in the next couple of years.
Whether he wants to get out of Chicago is immaterial at this point, which will only be displayed if he takes the one-year qualifying offer of around $4.4 million just to be free next summer.
What matters is Butler will be in a Bulls uniform next year playing for Hoiberg, being able to deal with the outcome of a situation he dictated—to a degree.
He won’t be begging or wondering, he will have seen all of his desirable options laid in front of him, being treated like the prize instead of the afterthought.
For once, everyone will be marching to his beat—which could be enough.
Money talk: A financial primer for Bulls free agency.
By Kevin Anderson
There will be no digital banners welcoming LaMarcus Aldridge or Marc Gasol to the United Center this July.
There will be no late-night dinners, and no drama over who did or did not attend.
This isn’t 2010, or even 2014 when we followed every visit and handshake on Twitter. No, this Bulls roster is about as flexible as a steel door — but there are moves that the front office can make to bolster a team that hopes to make a championship run before undergoing significant change in 2016.
Let’s start with the obvious question, and it’s really a rhetorical one: Will Jimmy Butler be a Bull next season? The short answer is yes, there is absolutely no chance that he plays for another team in 2015.
The real question is: How long will the contract be that Butler signs? There are reports that last year’s Most Improved Player is looking for a two-to-three year deal instead of the five-year max offer that the Bulls could give him. From a financial perspective, this would make a lot of sense. At 25, he could sign a three-year deal now and then sign a four-year max offer when he is an unrestricted free agent at 28 in 2018. The salary cap will see an unprecedented increase next summer, and if Butler continues to play at the level he did last season, he stands to make tens of millions more long-term by signing a shorter contract now.
Barring an unlikely trade, the Bulls will enter free agency with no cap space. Re-signing Butler was always the team’s top priority. After that domino falls, Gar Forman and John Paxson have to make a decision on free agent Mike Dunleavy Jr. Here is where the Salary Cap Exceptions come into play, and why the Bulls absolutely have to re-sign MDJ.
The salary cap for the 2015-16 season is projected to be $67.1 million. The luxury tax line is projected at $81.4 million, and the tax ‘apron’ is projected at $85.4 million (1 - below). These last two numbers are very important, and not just for Jerry Reinsdorf’s bank account. There are two main ‘exceptions’ that teams above the salary cap can use to add players: The non-taxpayer mid-level exception or the taxpayer mid-level (also called the mini mid-level) exception. Teams cannot use both and there are rules on which one can be used.
The non-taxpayer (full) MLE can be used to sign a player to up to $5.5 million; the mini-MLE can be used up to $3.4 million. The advantage is obvious, you can spend more, and hypothetically get, a better player using the full MLE (2). Re-signing Butler puts the Bulls into the luxury tax which mean's the Mini-MLE is the only exception available for them to use. It also means that they would have to choose between re-signing Dunleavy or signing a free agent at the veteran’s minimum. They are not going to get a player better than Dunleavy at the minimum. It’s a no-brainer from a roster and financial standpoint (3). They have to offer Dunleavy a more-than-fair deal because quite frankly, they can’t afford to let him walk.
OK, boring CBA talk out of the way. We’ve established that the mini-MLE is the Bulls' only option and after drafting a ‘big’ in Bobby Portis, the team’s glaring need is backcourt depth. $3.4 million is not going to get the Bulls an impact player that will put them over the top in the East, but it will get them a good rotation player that solidifies them having one of the deepest teams in the league.
Let’s go over some of the top players who will be available (4). There are a lot of options for players that might be in the Bulls' price range. It is very important to keep in mind though that any player’s value is completely based on the market. If one team views Player A as worth $3 million a season, another team may have a need and view him as worth $7 million a season. It’s an agent’s job to get the best value for his client, and it’s the team’s job to get the best player at a fair price. On to our list, focusing only on the backcourt:
Rodney Stuckey, SG, unrestricted free agent (UFA) - Pacers
Our Bulls insider Vincent Goodwill does a great job breaking down why Stuckey may be the best player at the right price for the Bulls. Summary: He’s an efficient scorer that can also handle the ball. Prob-a-Bull odds: High.
Cory Joseph, PG, restricted free agent (RFA) - Spurs
Joseph is intriguing for several reasons. He’s improved in every aspect each of his four seasons in San Antonio and new Bulls associate head coach Jim Boylen is very familiar with Joseph having coached him the last two years. The Spurs are also unlikely to match an offer because they are pursuing LaMarcus Aldridge. Fun fact: Joseph was picked one spot before Butler in the 2011 draft. Prob-a-Bull odds: Very high.
Jameer Nelson, PG, UFA - Nuggets
The 33-year old is coming off his worst season as a pro. He was traded twice last year and that certainly hurt his ability to get comfortable in a system. He posted good numbers as a starter for the Magic in the 2013-14 season and he could still be a productive member of a playoff team coming off the bench. He declined his player option for this season, but that likely had more to do with location than salary. Prob-a-Bull odds: Average.
Nate Robinson, PG, UFA - Clippers
This of course would be a popular pick with the fan base. The Seattle native was ironically traded for Nelson to the Celtics but was waived immediately. He signed on with the Clippers late in the season and he can still score in bunches, but does he fit in with Fred Hoiberg’s new vision of the Bulls? Prob-a-Bull odds: Very Low.
Gerald Green, SG/SF, UFA - Suns
Green can flat out score. Like Butler, he can play the 2 or 3 spots and he has great size at 6-foot-8. If he was unhappy with limited minutes in Phoenix, would he accept a reserve role in Chicago? The Bulls may also find themselves getting outbid by a significant amount to land him. Prob-a-Bull odds: Low.
Alan Anderson, SG/SF, UFA - Nets
Anderson has a player option for next season that he expected to decline. The 32-year old is a decent outside shooter who could provide some good bench scoring. Prob-a-Bull odds: Average.
Arron Afflalo, SG/SF, UFA - Blazers
Afflalo was linked to the Bulls last summer but like Green, could be outside of their price range. He declined a player option for $7.75 million. Even putting him on this list is a stretch, but I think he’d be a great fit here in Chicago. Prob-a-Bull odds: Very low.
Leandro Barbosa, SG, UFA - Warriors
The 12-year NBA veteran was a good bench contributor for the NBA champs last season. He’s a good perimeter shooter and would certainly fit the Bulls budget. Prob-a-Bull odds: Above average.
This is certainly not an extensive list, so feel free to add your own ideas or questions in the comment section. And for those of you wondering, the Bulls will likely have roughly $30 million in cap space in the summer of 2016, so get those digital banners of Kevin Durant ready.
Footnotes
1 - We’ll know the exact cap and luxury tax numbers when the league releases that information in early July.
2 - Larry Coon has a wonderful CBA FAQ explaining all of this in detail.
3 - Eric Pincus has very accurate league salary information at BasketballInsiders.com.
4 - NBA.com has an extensive list here.
Veteran Chicago Bulls guard Hinrich picks up 15-16 option.
Source: Chicago Tribune
Kirk Hinrich will return to the Bulls for Fred Hoiberg's first season. Hinrich, who will enter his 13th NBA season, picked up his $2.85 player option Monday morning, according to his agent, Jeff Austin. RealGM.com first reported Hinrich's decision. The Bulls expected this path from their 2003 first-round pick and his salary won't affect their free-agency plans or their knowledge they will be a tax team for just the second time in franchise history. With Hinrich in the fold, the offseason focus shifts to signing restricted free agent Jimmy Butler to a maximum contract and bidding for unrestricted free agent Mike Dunleavy. The Bulls also plan to sign a veteran guard with a salary-cap exception. Hinrich, 34, signed a two-year deal to stay with the Bulls in 2014.
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!!! Fangio among NFL's top coordinators.
By Larry Mayer
The Bears' Vic Fangio is one of the NFL's most highly respected assistant coaches.
NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks has ranked the Bears’ Vic Fangio as the second best defensive coordinator in the league.
Fangio, who was hired by the Bears in January, has spent 28 seasons as an NFL coach, including 15 as a defensive coordinator with the Carolina Panthers (1995-98), Indianapolis Colts (1999-2001), Houston Texans (2002-05) and San Francisco 49ers (2011-14).
In each of Fangio’s four seasons in San Francisco, the 49ers ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in points and yards allowed. Under his tutelage, NaVorro Bowman, Patrick Willis, Aldon Smith, Justin Smith and Dashon Goldson all were named first-team All Pro.
“The best defenses in football are not only fundamentally sound, but they exhibit a collective energy, toughness and physicality that overwhelms opponents over the course of the game. Fangio's defenses in San Francisco consistently exhibited those traits,” Brooks wrote.
“From a philosophical standpoint, Fangio eschews tricks and gimmicks in favor of a simple system designed to suffocate running lanes and keep the ball in front of the defense on passes. He routinely puts his guys in the proper position to make plays and allows them to play free of mental clutter. Given his recent track record and esteemed reputation, it's only a matter of time before the Bears' defense returns to the ranks of the elite under his tutelage.”
Fangio made a positive first impression on the Bears during the team’s offseason program.
“Vic is the ultimate defensive coach,” said linebacker
White Sox outlast Cardinals behind Chris Sale's masterpiece.
By JJ Stankevitz
Chris Sale had to wait about an hour after he threw his last pitch, but he finally got the run support he deserved.
Tyler Flowers’ 11th-inning, go-ahead 431-foot solo home run earned the White Sox a 2-1 win over St. Louis on Tuesday night in front of 45,626 at Busch Stadium in a game that saw Sale equal an MLB record.
Sale tied Pedro Martinez’s MLB record with his eighth consecutive start in which he struck out 10 or more, finishing his eight-inning masterpiece with 12. His only blemish came when Randal Grichuk led off the fourth with a long home run into the second deck of the left field stands, as he scattered six hits and one walk over his dominant outing.
Sale’s impact wasn’t limited to the mound, though. He led off the third by flipping a single to left — his first career hit — and raced around to score from second on Jose Abreu’s single later in the inning. The 26-year-old nearly put the White Sox ahead with two out in the fourth, but Cardinals first baseman Xavier Scruggs made a diving stop to his right to take a possible hit away with the go-ahead run on second.
Sale pitched out of an eighth-inning jam to keep the score level at 1. After allowing back-to-back singles to Peter Bourjos and Grichuk, Sale struck out Jhonny Peralta — his 12th and final strikeout of the evening, all swinging — and got Mark Reynolds to fly out to strand the go-ahead run on second.
The White Sox picked up six hits and drew a walk against Cardinals starter Lance Lynn but only managed that one run. After Flowers’ one-out single in the fourth, the White Sox didn’t pick up another hit until Abreu led off the eighth with a single. All eight of the White Sox hits were singles until Flowers’ colossal blast.
David Robertson allowed back-to-back two-out singles in the 11th but nailed down his 16th save with a scoreless frame.
Joe Maddon trying to create baseball magic in Cubs clubhouse.
By Patrick Mooney
With the Cubs on a five-game losing streak, Joe Maddon reached into his bag of tricks and asked for a magician to perform inside Citi Field’s visiting clubhouse.
A Cubs PR official asked the media to clear the room at 4:30 p.m. before Tuesday’s game against the New York Mets. This would be an unconventional team meeting. But these types of gimmicks – dressing up in pajamas or like nerds for themed road trips – helped make Maddon a star while managing the Tampa Bay Rays.
“It was about time,” Maddon said. “We’re always trying to create some magic around here, so why not bring a magician in?”
The Cubs (40-35) responded with a 1-0 victory over the Mets highlighted by six scoreless innings from Kyle Hendricks.
Maddon came up with the idea after watching the St. Louis Cardinals sweep his young team over the weekend – sometime early Monday morning on the bus ride from Busch Stadium to the airport or the flight to New York. Maddon asked traveling secretary Vijay Tekchandani – who gets all kinds of requests – to find a magician during the team’s off-day in Manhattan.
“It’s hard to grab a zoo animal on the road,” Maddon said. “You can do it at the last minute at home. You always have the home connection when it comes to animals. It’s much easier to acquire a magician on the road than it is a 20-foot python. I’ve always felt that way.”
Simon Winthrop – whose website bills him as a Las Vegas magician, mentalist and mind reader – entertained the players and coaches for about 30 minutes before batting practice.
“That was pretty sweet,” rookie second baseman Addison Russell said. “In the middle of his magic tricks, he would take like someone’s watch without us knowing, and then it would be in someone else’s back pocket.”
Maddon described a scene where Winthrop asked All-Star first baseman Anthony Rizzo to write down the name of a movie star – living or dead – on a piece of paper in a book.
“He held it up and then showed everybody it was John Travolta,” Maddon said. “So Simon types into Google: ‘What is Anthony Rizzo thinking of right now?’ And hit enter. Pictures of Travolta popped up all around (on his computer screen).”
The Cubs didn’t hesitate to give Maddon a five-year, $25 million contract because they wanted a leader to create a relaxed, positive environment where their young talent could thrive. Deflecting attention and distracting the media would be an added bonus.
“I’m more concerned about just mental fatigue more than anything,” Maddon said. “When you have a couple bad days in a row, or a bad week, it can wear on some guys who have never really gone through with it before. So my biggest concern is just keeping it light for them, because they work.
“Their work’s great. They care. All the stuff that needs to be in order is in order. The stuff that’s difficult is playing in the major leagues every day. You just went through (Zack) Greinke, (Clayton) Kershaw, the Dodgers and now St. Louis. It’s not easy.
“(It’s) keeping their minds intact. That’s all it is. They’re going to be fine. As we gain more experience by the end of the year, I really anticipate seeing a different group the next time we walk into Busch Stadium.”
Cubs can’t hold onto prospects forever but could cash in at trade deadline.
By Patrick Mooney
Mortgaging the farm system doesn’t make sense when the Cubs are a third-place team on a five-game losing streak that just got swept in St. Louis to fall 11.5 games behind the Cardinals.
But there’s also risk in holding onto too many unproven minor-leaguers, because prospects get overhyped, prospects get injured and prospects get exposed at higher levels of competition.
Buyers and sellers is the easiest way to break it down in 140 characters or less. But it’s more complicated than that, because the Cubs are fun to watch again after five straight fifth-place finishes, don’t appear to have that much financial flexibility right now and want to stay relevant in 2015 while still building for the future.
In Year 4 of the Theo Epstein administration, the July 31 trade deadline could be a huge opportunity to cash in some of the chips they have accumulated through the draft, win-later trades and international free agency.
“No doubt, there is a timing element to it,” general manager Jed Hoyer said. “We haven’t been in the position to move a lot of prospects. We’ve been in a position to go out and get them. But as we move forward, you can wait too long and a guy loses his value.”
Cubs hitting and Mets pitching will be a dominant storyline when these two big-market teams on parallel rebuilding plans meet on Tuesday night in New York. Mets left-hander Jon Niese – one of many pitching ideas the Cubs have reportedly kicked around – will start this three-game series that should have wild-card implications. But the shortstop angle played up by the New York and Chicago media is probably played out by now.
When the Cubs promoted Addison Russell in late April after only 11 games at Triple-A Iowa, it sent the message to any team that didn’t get the hint last winter: This kid is an untouchable piece of the big-league team.
Starlin Castro’s up-and-down play on both sides of the ball (.630 OPS, 14 errors) would mean selling low on a three-time All-Star who doesn’t fit the profile of the type of hitter the Mets would want to build around anyway.
Javier Baez is now sidelined with a non-displaced fracture of his left ring finger, but an aggressive swinger with world-class bat speed had started to make some adjustments at Iowa (.922 OPS) before that injury in early June.
The Cubs also might have missed a window to move Arismendy Alcantara during the offseason. Alcantara struggled to adjust to a super-utility role, went 2-for-26 with zero extra-base hits in April and got sent back to Des Moines.
This is the next phase of The Plan, something the president of baseball operations acknowledged during the welcome-to-camp news conference in spring training.
“The Braves almost created a dynasty out of evaluating their own players the right way,” Epstein said. “Everyone they traded didn’t pan out. Everyone they kept won a lot of pennants.”
The Cubs say they’re getting close, but they haven’t measured up to the Cardinals this season, going 2-7 against the best team in baseball. St. Louis already has 51 wins, even with so many key pieces on the disabled list: Opening Day starter Adam Wainwright; All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday; first baseman Matt Adams; and setup guy Jordan Walden.
“When you look at the Cardinals,” Hoyer said, “you see the value of depth. They have guys that get hurt and they call up good players from Triple-A that can step in and contribute. They’ve done that, in part, because they haven’t made a lot of big prospect deals.
“They’ve been steady and they’ve let those guys come up through their system. When they’re in Triple-A, they don’t rush them up to the big leagues. They let them play. And then when they have an injury, they come up and perform.
“Certainly, trading all your prospects can help in the near-term, but there’s a price to be paid for that, and that price is not having that depth.
“It’s something you have to really consider when you make those kind of moves. You can always say: ‘Oh, we don’t think any of these guys is an impact player.’ Or: ‘We don’t think any of these guys is going to start for us.’
“But get a couple injuries, and you’re wishing you had those guys, and I think that’s something the Cardinals have done really well.”
In the middle of January, a fan stepped to the microphone inside a downtown Chicago hotel ballroom and told the Cubs prospects on stage: “We love you like we love our wives and our children.”
If that sounds a little creepy, well, that’s how prospects are treated in the age of social media. They got the boy-band treatment at Cubs Convention, fans rushing forward for autographs as soon as the Q&A session ended.
From that group, Russell is now your starting second baseman and potential franchise shortstop. Kyle Schwarber made his big-league debut in June and could be back this summer as a big left-handed bat for the pennant race.
Carl Edwards Jr. doesn’t seem to project as a starter anymore, though he’s adjusting well as a reliever at Iowa. Pierce Johnson has made three starts at Double-A Tennessee after dealing with a strained calf muscle in spring training.
The Cubs can’t fall in love with their prospects because – as the Baseball Prospectus rankings like to say – they will break your heart.
Golf: I got a club for that: Spieth's Slam and 4 other things to look for.
By Kyle Porter
Jordan Spieth is primed for a world-class year. (Photo/Getty Images)
Baseball is entering the dog days of summer, football still feels forever away, basketball is forever away. But golf? Well, golf is entering its prime portion of the schedule (non-Augusta edition, of course).
There's a lot going on as the sport jams three majors into two months while the Masters is left to cover the other 10. It's been more than we could have asked for in a golf season. Tiger Woods narratives (they are endless), multiple Rory McIlroy wins, multiple Bubba Watson wins, multiple Jordan Spieth majors and another Phil Mickelson scandal (sort of)!
What are the main storylines as we rip apart the meat of the 2014-15 schedule? I have five of them. Let's take a look.
1. Jordan Spieth's Grand Slam: It should really be the sports story of the year, but some are too enthralled with LeBron's fake free agency and whether Tom Brady really will be suspended.
Spieth could post the third leg of the most difficult achievement in all of sports at St. Andrews in July, but yeah, keep bringing me your Tiger takes.
Even if he doesn't win it, he's already had one of the best seasons ever (ever!) for an American golfer. It's on par with Rory McIlroy's 2013-14 season which I argued was the best ever for a European golfer. Since 1983, the only Americans to win multiple majors in a season are Tiger Woods, Mark O'Meara and Spieth.
What if he makes it three?
2. Rory's response: McIlroy is going to win St. Andrews, and then we're going to have a war on our hands. Spieth and McIlroy holding the last five major championships heading to Whistling Straits? Whooo boy, that's Federer-Nadal territory.
McIlroy is coming off a 64-68 finish at the Old Course last fall at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and once shot 63 at this tournament in the first round of the Open in 2010.
He's the betting favorite and the favorite in my mind. That Spieth Train is rumbling but it hasn't met peak Rory yet. Hopefully, we'll get a two-golfer showdown in a couple of Sundays.
3. How does this summer portend for Tiger's future? It feels like every time Tiger tees it up, we leave with more questions than answers. At the US Open, we left with more astonishment than anything.
Woods will play the Greenbrier, the Open and PGA Championship and then ... that could be it until the Frys.com later on this fall. Woods is quickly becoming not just a non-factor atop leaderboards, but a non-entity at playoff and WGC events.
4. Which established superstar wins a major first? I can't bring myself to post a GIF of the Dustin Johnson putt quite yet. It's too much to swallow at this point. It does beg the question, though. Of the top 15 golfers on the planet, only Spieth, McIlroy, Jim Furyk, Adam Scott, Justin Rose and Watson have majors hanging in their home offices.
Who gets theirs first between DJ, Jason Day, Rickie Fowler,
You could make worse bets than Fowler at St. Andrews, but I think it will eventually be DJ who breaks through first. He'll need to recover from that Chambers putt first.
5. Which young gun wins first? Patrick Rodgers turns 23 on Tuesday.
Thomas has, along with
There's not a name I mentioned there older than 26. They'll all likely win at some point. I'd love for it to be sooner rather than later.
Tiger Woods’ magical mystery comeback tour rolls into the Greenbrier Classic.
By Emily Kay
Perhaps Tiger Woods ought to take advantage of the world-renowned mineral spa at The Greenbrier Resort as his bid to rebound from a season of "worst evers" continues at this week’s Greenbrier Classic.
Certainly, "taking the waters" in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., couldn’t hurt the struggling superstar, who may want to try something new to revive his sputtering career after he posted the highest 36-hole score of his career at Chambers Bay and missed his first U.S. Open cut since 2006.
Despite a spectacular swoon that has dropped him from No. 1 in the world last May to his current 220th ranking -- thanks largely to a second-round 82 and missed cut in Phoenix, a first-round withdrawal at Torrey Pines and an opening-round 10-over 80 in Washington state -- Woods remains the marquee attraction for this and every week’s PGA Tour stop.
"We’ve got to have Tiger," Jim Justice, owner of the Greenbrier, said after Woods committed to playing at his tournament for the first time since 2012, according to Roanoke.com. "Tiger is one of the biggest stars in all of sport, and he brings significant attention to any event he enters."
With newly crowned 2015 Travelers champ Bubba Watson, 2010 British Open champ and 2015 U.S. Open runner-up Louis Oosthuizen, and fan favorite John Daly just some of the high-profile names also making starts at the Greenbrier, any other player who shot 80-76 and missed his national championship cut by a whopping 11 shots would be filler at a golf event rather than the headliner. But until that guy loses his spot as the main man on the tour website’s "Players" page and stops putting fannies in the seats at home and on the course, every tournament director echoes Justice’s sentiments.
If one can’t help but wonder how much longer competitions will woo Woods to their venues, listen to the cheers Gene Wojciechowski reported he heard from Tiger’s fans during his two days of official play in the great Northwest:
- "You're still No. 1 Tiger -- always will be!"
- "You're still Da Man -- stay positive!"
- "You're still my favorite!"
By now, the most casual of golf fans know the drill. Woods has gone from being the best player in the world who went a tour-record 142 starts between 1997 and 2005 without missing a cut, to his lowest standing on the tour since his rookie year. Once on a trajectory to pass Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major wins, Woods has many wondering if he’ll ever add No. 80 to his career total of 79 PGA Tour wins.
Until this season, Woods had only one career score of 80 or higher, and that came at the 2002 British Open when he carded an 81 in what observers described as the most horrific weather ever to hit an Open Championship. After shooting a then-career-worst 82 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open to miss the cut, a currently worst-ever 85 in the third round of the Memorial to finish last among those who made the cut, and the opening 80 at Chambers Bay, Woods now has four scores higher than 79 on his resume.
"On a golf course like this, you get exposed and you have to be precise and dialed in," Woods said Friday from Chambers Bay, where he posted the worst 36-hole score to par in a major of his professional life. "And obviously I didn't have that."
Unfortunately for the scuffling former ace, even tracks he used to dominate (eight wins each at Torrey and Bay Hill, five at Muirfield Village) are unmasking each and every error in the flawed game of the 14-time major champion. It is stunning to realize, and shockingly sad to watch, the golfer who as recently as 2013 won five tour events fail to crack the top-15 in the last two seasons.
How to fix what ails Woods is the topic du jour whether Tiger’s playing on a particular week or not, and if there is a golf pundit in the world who has not weighed in with a cure-all, just wait. Opinions on the mysterious ills that plague Woods range from the seemingly simple (take more time off/play more golf, ditch fourth swing coach Chris Como/go back to Butch Harmon) to the more complex (hire a mental coach to rekindle his confidence) to the extreme (retire).
For now, Woods chooses to get more reps in competition and the Greenbrier will serve as his tune-up for the British Open two weeks later. He’ll take a week off after his start at St. Andrews, where he won in 2000 and 2005, then play his foundation’s Quicken Loans National event.
Though the PGA Championship is not on Woods’ schedule, it is difficult to imagine he would pass up another opportunity to nab that elusive 15th major -- or 16th, if the world turns upside down and he prevails at The Old Course. Only the top 60 in the world qualify for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational the week before the PGA, and it’s highly unlikely he would opt to play in the opposite tour event, the Barracuda Championship in Reno, while the big boys are teeing it up at Firestone.
Also improbable -- barring a complete turn-around in his overall game -- is Woods making it to the FedEx Cup playoffs. The top 125 golfers are eligible for the first leg, The Barclays.
The Aug. 27 start at Plainfield Country Club is only two months away and Woods has to start somewhere. The Greenbrier Classic, where he scored 71-69 and missed the cut by a stroke in his only previous appearance, is his next best shot at rebounding from a slump that, just two years ago, nobody saw coming.
NASCAR: The tires cut short Truex's ride at the top.
By Nick Bromberg
1. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 2): Oh, Johnson was an absolute sitting duck on the final caution flag for Casey Mears' broken axle. Had Johnson pitted, lots of cars behind him likely would have stayed out. So Johnson stayed out, and everyone else behind him came in. He had a great car and did a pretty damn good job to hold on to sixth with old tires while everyone else behind him had fresh ones. But it was the right call to stay out. He was simply damned no matter what happened.
2. Kevin Harvick (LW: 3): Harvick finished fourth after charging forward with fresh tires. He had one of the day's better cars, he simply started 17th, so he didn't spend the entire day at the front. Plus, all of the differing strategies make it difficult to assess who the dominant car is sometimes. And by the way, we love the different strategies. Sunday's race was almost perfect, save for the lengthy delays to clean up crashes. Lots of strategy, tire management and ample passing. Sonoma every week!
3. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 1): Truex isn't endorsing our exclamation after what happened on Sunday. The 2013 winner was in the tire barrier after contact from David Ragan. We're not going on a limb in saying that both drivers could have been a bit more patient in that fateful trip down the aisles; a little restraint could have gone a long way. But it did look to us that Ragan purposefully sent Truex into the tire barriers. Maybe we can get Ragan and Ryan Newman to have a feud? It'd never end.
4. Kurt Busch (LW: 4): During the final turn of Sunday's race we wondered aloud if a different Busch would win with another lap. Kurt clearly had a faster car than Kyle did and made up some significant ground. He wasn't close enough to do anything on lap 110, but if there was a lap 111.... well, we're thinking this driver would have his third win of the season. Either way, he's a championship contender. If you don't think so you're delusional.
5. Joey Logano (LW: 5): "What? Why is Joey Logano here? He was hardly a factor all race and he must have finished back in he pack somewhere." *Checks standings.* "Ohhhhhh." Logano finished fifth on Sunday, another driver who capitalized on fresh tires at the end of the race. Logano was near the front of the field when the final caution came and went from eighth to fifth on the final green flag stint.
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 6): Was it Junior's most impressive road course run? He finished third at Sonoma in 2014 but was a fixture near the front of the field for most of the day on Sunday. He might have been the most stout driver under braking too. How many times did Junior pull underneath another car entering a turn? Of course, the pass doesn't always work out in those scenarios; driving a car into the corner that deep means you can't accelerate off the corner as well. But damn, Junior was perfectly aggressive.
7. Kyle Busch (LW: NR): We know that Busch is a very good road course racer. A win at Sonoma under normal circumstances is no surprise. This, after the broken bones in February, is a bit of one. After feeling some pain during Friday's practice sessions, Busch was stout on Sunday. He timed his pass on Jimmie Johnson for the lead perfectly and got enough of a gap on the rest of the field to prevent a challenge for the win. He just now can't afford another bad finish.
8. Kasey Kahne (LW: 9): Kahne finished eighth and ran near the front of the field most of the day. He didn't have one of the race's strongest cars but he wasn't poor either. And he's now the third member of Hendrick Motorsports to become a father after the news his girlfriend will have a baby in October. Junior, you're up next, though Hendrick could be back to two child-less drivers in 2015 with the addition of Chase Elliott. Chase, you're still a teenager. Worry about drinking legally before you have kids.
9. Matt Kenseth (LW: 7): Kenseth qualifying third at Sonoma was a cause for Wisconsin celebration. He might have even gotten a congratulatory note from Aaron Rodgers. Alas, the qualifying success disappeared when he had a flat left rear tire and had to limp to the pits. Kenseth ended up finishing 21st. That's actually slightly above average. Thanks to one top 10 at the road course, his average Sonoma finish is 22.1.
10. Jamie McMurray (LW: 8): If the strategy was good enough for Jimmie Johnson at the end of the race, it was good enough for McMurray. And it worked out just the same for both drivers. As Johnson fell to sixth with worn tires, McMurray slid back all the way to 11th. He's seventh in the points standings now, so it's going to take a collapse of epic proportions for McMurray to miss the Chase.
11. Brad Keselowski (LW: 11): Keselowski was wrestling with his car all afternoon. We'll go ahead and call it a draw. The car fought valiantly, but so did Keselowski. His car struggled with getting off the corners so he was basically playing defense against the rest of the field. He finished 19th and is still sixth in the standings. The win at California seems a long way off, doesn't it?
12. Ryan Newman (LW: NR): Newman gets crew chief Luke Lambert back at Daytona on Sunday night. Lambert, as you likely know, has been out for six races because of the tire manipulation penalty the team received. How funny would it be if NASCAR stationed an official in blatant view of the No. 31 team to watch over their tires all weekend at Daytona in a "Hey, we're watching you" type move? We'd laugh. Newman was ninth at Sonoma.
Lucky Dog: Sam Hornish, who finished 10th. It's his first top-10 finish since Talladega. His last non-road course or restrictor plate top-10 came at Loudon ... in 2010.
The DNF: David Gilliland. That was a hard hit into the tire barriers after, coincidentally, a flat tire.
Dropped Out: Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards
IndyCar must balance daredevil vs. dangerous racing.
By JENNA FRYER
NASCAR returns this week to Daytona International Speedway, where 43 drivers are likely to race bumper to bumper for 400 white-knuckle miles.
Very few of them will enjoy the race. Fans will most likely love every moment.
IndyCar finds itself in the same situation following one of its most breathtaking races in recent memory.
The open-wheel series on Saturday staged a sensational 500-miler that featured an IndyCar-record 80 lead changes as drivers made moves that bordered on the absurd. Cars slid into gaps that put drivers five-wide across the track at times. Auto Club Speedway found itself hosting a race that rivaled NASCAR's version of Daytona or Talladega.
Fans watching on television - and that's where they were watching because there couldn't have been much more than 5,000 people in the stands in Fontana, California - used social media to marvel at what they were watching.
The drivers, though, were less than pleased with the product.
Most of IndyCar's top stars lambasted the racing and series officials for putting together a rules package that created pack racing. The complaints were loud and came from reigning series champion Will Power and Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya, who warned a day earlier that the conditions were ripe for dangerous racing.
Something to consider: Montoya is widely considered to be fearless. He has touched wheels with Michael Andretti at 230 mph racing for a win, shoved his car inside of Michael Schumacher's when there was no room and once crashed into a jet dryer, igniting a massive fireball and yet walking away. When that guy says the racing is inching toward too dangerous, he is probably correct.
There is no simple fix for IndyCar, which seemingly only draws eyeballs anymore during times of crisis.
The series was square in the spotlight a month ago after three cars went airborne during preparation for the Indianapolis 500. A fourth accident nearly killed driver James Hinchcliffe, who didn't go airborne but was saved from bleeding to death after a broken part pierced his thigh.
It created a buildup for the Indy 500 that drew the casual spectator to the television to see if cars really would fly during ''The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.'' It's no coincidence that the Indy 500 drew a higher television rating than NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 for the first time in 10 years.
Those who watched did not see cars fly through the air, but were treated to an intense and competitive race.
The problem? IndyCar hasn't figured out how to sustain any momentum and the four races that followed Indy failed to produce the same entertainment. Particularly disheartening was the June 6 snooze fest at Texas, where the action on the oval lacked any of the excitement fans had seen just two weeks earlier.
There doesn't seem to be much middle ground when it comes to IndyCar and oval track racing, and ovals were the bread and butter of this series when it was created in 1994. Indy, Texas and Fontana could not have been more different this year, and series officials can't seem to figure out how to find a rules package that works for every oval.
The result on Saturday was loved by the fans and hated by the drivers - many of them present at the 2011 season finale when Dan Wheldon was killed in a horrific accident just minutes after the start.
Wheldon's death has left a deep scar on the series and made his close friends wary of pack racing. What infuriates them even more is that they warned IndyCar prior to that Las Vegas race that conditions were too dangerous and felt they were ignored.
So when they spoke out Saturday, sure, some of it was emotional. It immediately led to sniping - from fans who felt the drivers were being whiney and even from fellow driver Ed Carpenter, who suggested on Twitter that his peers who don't like close racing should retire.
The Las Vegas memories have created two very distinct sides in this debate.
Team owner Chip Ganassi had four cars finish in the top eight Saturday and didn't understand what all the fuss was about. He also stressed that the drivers are in control of their actions on the track.
''Nobody wants to see anyone get hurt - (but) you can't touch wheels with open-wheel cars and for some reason these drivers think you can do that these days,'' he said. ''I think somebody needs to sit the drivers down and tell them they've got to stop chopping other guys and stop touching wheels and stop racing every lap like it's the last lap.''
Ganassi also downplayed the pack racing, calling the climate Saturday ''a pseudo pack,'' while noting that the same drivers seem to crash at every oval race.
''Some of the drivers don't want a pack,'' he said. ''I think it's pretty obvious, the older guys don't want a pack and the younger guys don't really care.''
True, there are hundreds of young racers around the world who would eagerly jump into an Indy car and not think twice about the style of racing. Even though the attendance did not show it, the attention paid to Saturday's race proved that's what fans want to watch.
It's never going to be safe, racing just isn't that way. But finding a balance between daredevil racing and over-the-top danger is a challenge IndyCar must unravel.
Mario Andretti believes America can rescue Formula One.
By Benjamin Zhang
(Jonathan Moore/Getty Images)
According to the Guardian's Paul Weaver, the 1978 F1 world champion told the publication that America could save Formula One from its financial troubles.
Andretti's comments were in response to a rumored deal for Miami Dolphins' owner- Stephen Ross to buy a 35.5% majority stake in Formula One.The potential deal is said to include backing from Qatari financiers.
The 75-year old racing legend believes there is room for a second US race in New York or Los Angeles. Currently, the United States Grand Prix is held every fall at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
Andretti is last American to win the Formula World Championship. In addition, the Nazareth, Pennsylvania native is also a past winner of the Indy500 and the Daytona 500.
SOCCER: United States defeats Germany, advances to Women's World Cup Final.
By Jeff Kassouf
(Photo/Getty Images)
The United States is headed to its second straight Women’s World Cup final after a 2-0 victory over world No. 1 Germany on Tuesday in front of a raucous pro-U.S. crowd of 51,176 fans.
Carli Lloyd scored for the second straight match and second-half substitute Kelley O’Hara added a late insurance goal to send the U.S. to the Women’s World Cup final for the fourth time in seven tournaments.
Lloyd scored from the penalty spot in the 69th minute, sending Germany goalkeeper Nadine Angerer the wrong way. Alex Morgan drew the penalty kick after having her path obstructed by Germany defender Annike Krahn on the edge of the box.
The goal came eight minutes after Celia Sasic missed the first penalty kick in Germany’s Women’s World Cup history, pushing her right-footed effort wide of the net in the 59th minute. Julie Johnston received a yellow card – not a red card- for bringing down Germany forward Alexandra Popp in the box as the last defender, keeping the U.S. at even strength with Germany.
Lloyd then played playmaker in the 84th minute, getting to the endline and driving a cross toward goal for O’Hara to tap in.
The U.S. will play winner of Wednesday’s Japan-England semifinal in Edmonton, Alberta, in the final on Sunday in Vancouver.
U.S. coach Jill Ellis started in a new formation for the first time, playing Morgan as the lone striker with Lloyd underneath her as a withdrawn forward in a 4-4-1-1 formation. The new setup allowed Lloyd, Morgan Brian and Lauren Holiday to all start in central roles.
Lloyd had her best game of the tournament in the quarterfinals against China while playing in a more attacking role and continued to improve in the semifinals. Brian’s presence as a more defensive midfielder gave Lloyd that “freedom,” as she often called it.
Holiday missed the quarterfinal due to suspension, but both she and Megan Rapinoe returned to the starting lineup for the U.S. on Tuesday after missing the quarterfinal due to suspension.
Transition was the operative word for a cracking first half of the match in which the United States forced Angerer into two point-blank saves.
Angerer first kick-saved Julie Johnston’s header in the 7th minute on a Rapinoe corner kick, and eight minutes later she denied Portland Thorns teammate Morgan, again with a left-footed kick-save. Morgan bent her run to stay onside and midfielder Tobin Heath played a ball in stride for Morgan and on the striker’s preferred left foot, but Morgan’s low shot was kicked clear by Angerer.
The United States’ pressure on Angerer and her back four was sustained throughout much of the first half. Morgan and Heath both had half-chances near the end of the half, but Morgan failed to put hers on frame and Heath’s was blocked after a scramble in the box following a U.S. corner kick.
Brian collided heads with Popp – causing the latter’s head to bleed – in the 29th minute, but both players stayed on the field.
With the shutout, the United States hasn’t given up a goal since the opening minutes of the World Cup against Australia; the Americans are currently on a 513-minute shutout streak.
Each of the three times that the United States and Germany have met at a World Cup, the winner off that match has gone on to win the World Cup (USA in 1991 and 1999; Germany in 2003).
The U.S. is now 21-4-7 all-time against Germany.
FIFA Women's World Cup Canada. 2015 Score Summary. 6 June - 5 July, 2015.
Tuesday 310 June 2015
Semi-Finals
USA 2
Germany 0
Second half goals help Fire atone for "edgy" start vs. Charlotte.
By Danny Michallik
The Fire were able to regroup following an "edgy" start against a USL delegation Tuesday night to secure a berth in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal.
Charlotte Independence forward Tomasz Zahorski opened the scoring early, with Mike Magee answering in the 37th and 81st minutes and Lovel Palmer's long-distance strike in the 50th minute ultimately sealed a 3-1 victory over the third-division side.
"It's great to be through to the next round," Yallop said in his post-match press conference. "Coming from behind is always important, but the highlight of the game was seeing Patrick [Nyarko] and Mike [Magee] back on the field and contributing. It's been a long way back for them, and I'm happy for the way the team kept going and got the result."
Head coach Frank Yallop made a quartet of changes to the side that dropped its fourth consecutive league match to Eastern Conference-leading D.C. United just six days earlier.
As Sean Johnson retained his position for a third successive outing, the netminder saw a duo of swaps along his back four. Lovel Palmer started in place of Eric Gehrig at right back, while Matt Polster replaced veteran defender and captain Jeff Larentowicz at center back for his second start in a defensive role in as many Open Cup appearances.
In the midfield, Englishman Matt Watson deputized for Razvan Cocis alongside Chris Ritter. Finally, the much-anticipated expectation Mike Magee's return was met as the forward partnered Designated Player Kennedy Igboananike to compliment Yallop's 4-4-2 formation. Patrick Nyarko, also making his way back from a long-term injury layoff, was a welcome sight on the bench, going on to make a 13-minute cameo. Zahorski, running between Matt Polster and Greg Cochrane in the fifth minute, collected the ball from Alex Martinez and strode through on goal as he finished past Sean Johnson at the far post to score his fourth goal of the tournament and give the visitors a shock lead.
The Men in Red gathered a bit of steam shortly after and came close after the 20-minute mark, as Charlotte's Richard Gilstrap was required to come up with a pair of fine saves. Nifty combination play from Cochrane and Magee led to a one-time chance for Joevin Jones, but the Trinidadian's effort was palmed away well by Gilstrap, before Magee nearly opened his account in the 22nd minute. A low cross from the right flank was met by the 2013 MLS MVP, whose first-touch chip spun just wide of the frame.
In the 37th minute, the Fire found their breakthrough courtesy of Magee, who, following a deft interchange between Igboananike and Palmer, made a perfect run to cut off Gilstrap and reach Palmer's cross, chipping it home to send both teams into the halftime interval on level terms. It was his first goal in all competitions since Aug. 10, 2014, and his sixth career Open Cup goal. The hosts emerged from the locker room with a greater sense of belief and began on the front foot, applying pressure early on and finding a second goal in the process.
Palmer would latch onto a ball following a corner kick, unleashing a 30-yard screamer past Gilstrap in the 50th minute. With just under 10 minutes remaining, Nyarko's first touch of the game translated into an assist, setting up Magee for his second goal of the match and securing a 3-1 win in front of 3,617 at Toyota Park.
"The great tradition of this club is to do well in the Open Cup," Yallop added. "I'm no different to that; I want to do well for the fans, the club and everybody involved."
The Fire will face Orlando City SC - 2-0 winners over Columbus Crew SC - in the quarterfinal on July 21/22.
Chicago Fire Starting XI (subs)
(4-4-2): Sean Johnson; Lovel Palmer (Eric Gehrig, 81'), Adailton, Matt Polster, Greg Cochrane; Harry Shipp (Patrick Nyarko, 77'), Chris Ritter, Matt Watson, Joevin Jones; Kennedy Igboananike (Jason Johnson, 71'), Mike Magee
NCAAFB: Big 12 expansion is not just a possibility, but an inevitability.
By Jake Trotter
OU president David Boren said the Big 12 should strive to expand to twelve teams. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Get ready, Big 12 fans: Expansion is coming. And if it doesn't, the conference may not survive.
Last week, Oklahoma president David Boren publicly proclaimed what most of us have known for some time. In the wake of losing Nebraska to the Big Ten and Texas A&M and Missouri to the SEC, the Big 12 has become, as Boren put it, “psychologically disadvantaged.”
Of course, Boren’s “OU’s not going to be a wallflower” remark four years ago, which prompted Mizzou to bail on the Big 12 salvage operation, contributed to said psychological disadvantage. But that’s another story.
The issue at hand is whether the Big 12 can survive in the long-term with 10. The tea leaves suggest it can’t (more on why later). But that doesn’t mean the conference needs to act rashly, either. Sure, the Big 12 seems not only to be operating at a psychological disadvantage, but a tangible one, too. The playoff committee said as much when it noted in April that a 13th game and conference championship, neither of which the Big 12 has, carries weight in playoff deliberations. After this revelation (which shouldn’t have been a revelation at all) Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby used the phrase himself: “We're at a disadvantage.”
The Big 12 can survive in the interim, despite the disadvantage. After all, Baylor would’ve made the playoff last year had Ohio State’s Cardale Jones not morphed into the greatest third-string quarterback in college football history. TCU would’ve made it, too, if it weren't for Florida State's nine lives.
Ultimately, though, the Big 12’s chances of long-term survival are slim sans expansion. In 10 years, the Big 12’s so-called “ironclad” granting of TV rights agreements will be up -- about the same time the College Football Playoff contract will be up, too. The closer those granting of rights contracts come to ending (assuming they’re even as ironclad as some suggest) the easier they will be to negotiate out of. Such a climate will make the landscape ripe for another seismic conference realignment shift, at which point other commissioners will be circling Big 12 programs like a shiver of sharks, just waiting to pick schools off to form their inevitable super conferences.
To avoid being picked apart, the Big 12 will have to act pre-emptively. A novel concept for this league, yet a necessary one.
Boren revealed last week that the previously given deterrent to expansion is really not a deterrent at all. The Big 12's TV contract calls for pro-rata increases with expansion. In other words, the conference’s members won't be losing TV money, as they've stated before, with expansion.
The Big 12, however, has one luxury at its disposal: time. The granting of rights slowed the realignment wheel enough for the Big 12 to meticulously weigh its expansion options.
Ten years ago, TCU didn’t have the look of a viable Big 12 expansion candidate. It ranked 74th in attendance, well behind the likes of Memphis, Fresno State and East Carolina. But behind a visionary leadership from its chancellors, athletic directors and coach Gary Patterson, the Horned Frogs forced Big 12 inclusion.
Today, the Big 12’s expansion options don’t look so hot. But five years from now, who knows?
Colorado State is building a $200 million stadium. Memphis will soon be adding new football and basketball facilities. Houston hired one of the budding stars in coaching in Tom Herman.
If the Big 12 expanded now, its options would be limited. By holding off, it can wait to see if another TCU develops. Or, in a home-run scenario, a rift could develop in another Power 5 conference. (It’s happened before; just ask Dan Beebe.)
Boren rightfully is frustrated with the trajectory of the league. But he holds the trump card to force the expansion issue. The Oklahoma brand will always have a home in another conference. Not everyone else in the league can claim the same.
Several Big 12 leaders have pushed back on expansion in the past. But the dissenters will come to realize what Boren already does: the Big 12's survival eventually will hinge on expansion. A 10-team conference isn’t just psychologically disadvantaged or competitively disadvantaged, it’s sustainably disadvantaged, too.
As Boren pointed out, Big 12 expansion should no longer be considered a matter of if but when.
NCAABKB: Bo Ryan's departure will mean the end of an old-school era.
By Pat Forde
Bo Ryan is 357-125 in 14 seasons at Wisconsin. (Photo/AP)
Wisconsin announced Monday that Bo Ryan will retire in 2016, and that will pretty much mark the end of an era in college basketball.
Ryan may well be the last guy to win big – really big – by building teams like it's still the 1970s.
Very little happens in a hurry in Ryan's program, which runs counter to our hurry-up society.
He will have seven players who redshirted on his final Badgers team. He had six of them on the team that lost to Duke in April's national championship game, including starter Josh Gasser and key sub Duje Dukan. Hardly anyone redshirts basketball players anymore, and almost never in bulk.
In a time when John Calipari, Mike Krzyzewski, Bill Self, Sean Miller and others go after national titles with one-and-done recruits, Ryan made consecutive Final Fours with rosters built on patience and long-term growth. Doing it in his late 60s, at the end of a lifetime of coaching, validates a philosophy many believed to be outdated.
"We don't do rent-a-player," Ryan said after losing the title game to Duke in April – a pugnacious and somewhat unsporting remark in defeat. But the truth of it in the context of 21st-century college basketball is undeniable.
"I like trying to build from within," he said. "That's just the way I am."
Frank Kaminsky arrived in Madison as a low-profile project and left it four years later as the national Player of the Year and a top-10 NBA draft pick. Traevon Jackson was an unranked three-star recruit whose scholarship offers largely were from Mid-American Conference schools who became a fixture in the backcourt. Ben Brust was an unranked three-star recruit who became the No. 2 scorer on the 2014 Final Four team.
The list goes on. And on. Ryan is simply unrivaled when it comes to player development and finding prospects who fit his unique system.
I checked the Rivals.com team recruiting rankings going back to 2003. In that 13-class span, this is how many times Wisconsin has been ranked in the top 25 (and later top 30): zero.
Yet Ryan's teams have played in the NCAA tournament every year since he arrived in Madison in 2001 (14 years running), won at least 23 games 11 times and had double-digit Big Ten wins 13 times. They are recession-proof. And they've made a lot of hotshot recruiters look bad by comparison.
Patience and long-term growth. They've become the Bo Ryan brand – and this is a guy who predates that corporate buzzword by a few decades. He's an unhurried program builder, and also an unhurried tactician.
The Badgers have been a famously deliberate (sometimes outright dawdling) team under Ryan. They chronically rank in the 300s in tempo rankings. Yet Ryan has found players who embrace that style and flourish within it, while endlessly frustrating impatient opponents.
Wisconsin has always run more clock. Made more passes. Made more cuts. And inevitably short-attention-span defenses crack and give up something.
Wisconsin has always run more clock. Made more passes. Made more cuts. And inevitably short-attention-span defenses crack and give up something.
But beyond tempo there is another eternal tent of Bo's system: don't beat yourself. Don't throw the ball away (Wisconsin led the nation in 2014-15 in lowest turnover percentage, and has ranked in the top five nationally in that category seven years in a row). Don't put the other team on the foul line (Wisconsin led the nation in lowest free-throw rate this past season). Simple stuff in theory, harder to do in practice.
The Badgers practice it to near perfection.
It is not always thrill-a-minute, but you cannot argue with the results. And while there is reason for Wisconsin fans to worry about a drop-off after Ryan leaves, there is every reason to believe the school has the ideal successor on staff.
Ryan said in his statement announcing his 2016 retirement that he hopes the job goes to assistant Greg Gard. I wrote this spring that Gard is way overdue to get a head-coaching job, and this might have been a big reason why he hasn't moved on – he was waiting to see what Ryan was going to do.
Ryan and his boss, athletic director Barry Alvarez, crave continuity. Gard would guarantee that, and probably would keep the Badgers at or near the top of the Big Ten pecking order. Nobody at Wisconsin is naming Gard the successor-in-waiting, but it's likely this seems like a no-brainer.
Ryan's final season as a basketball coach won't be easy. He's losing a pair of top-20 draft picks in Kaminsky and Sam Dekker, plus guards Jackson and Gasser and reserve Dukan. But this is one of the reasons why Ryan redshirts players and arranges his roster the way he does – so there are no complete rebuilding seasons.
With Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig, he has two excellent building blocks to maintain competitiveness.
With Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig, he has two excellent building blocks to maintain competitiveness.
The only active coach with a comparable philosophy – both in recruiting and style of play – is Virginia's Tony Bennett. But Bennett hasn't yet gotten his program to Ryan's level – he hasn't made a Final Four or a regional final as a head coach. Until those things happen, Bo Ryan is the game's most successful throwback coach.
And when he's gone, college basketball may well be at the end of an era.
Wimbledon champs Kvitova, Nadal and Federer all win easily.
Associated Press
It looked all too easy for the champions at the All England Club.
Defending women's champion Petra Kvitova and former men's winners Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal all won their first-round matches at Wimbledon on Tuesday in straight sets and in rapid-fire fashion.
Of the three, only Nadal lost serve and the big names imposed themselves with ease on Day 2 of the grass-court Grand Slam as London basked in warm, sunny conditions.
In keeping with Wimbledon tradition, Kvitova had the honor of playing the first match on Centre Court on the second day as the reigning women's champion.
The second-seeded Czech wasted no time in reasserting her dominance on her favorite court, overpowering Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 6-1, 6-0 in just 35 minutes.
Kvitova won 28 of 29 points on serve, with the only blemish coming when she double-faulted on the first point of the final game, hitting a 93 mph (150 kph) second serve just wide. She won the next four points, finishing - appropriately - with a service winner.
While Kvitova was happy to sail through so quickly, she felt bad for her parents, who were guests in the Royal Box and got to see their daughter play for barely more than half an hour.
"I have to say sorry to them," she said, smiling. "I think they are happy anyway."
Federer, the seven-time men's champion, followed Kvitova on Centre Court and also made quick work of his opponent. The second-seeded Swiss needed just 68 minutes to dispatch 88th-ranked Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia 6-1, 6-3, 6-3.
Federer, bidding to become the first man to win eight Wimbledon titles, broke five times and never faced a break point.
"I was happy I played aggressive," he said. "I must say I'm very happy, always, to win like that."
Federer, who has won 17 Grand Slam titles, is playing in his 63rd consecutive major.
"Somehow the streak is still alive and I'm also very proud of the fact that I never retired from a match once it started," he said. "Those two stats I care about and hope I can keep them up for the remainder of my career."
Nadal, the two-time champion, coasted to a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win over Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil on Court 1. He hopped in the air and pumped his fist after completing the victory.
"Here the feeling in Wimbledon is so special, and playing on grass, too," Nadal said. "So always is very emotional when you hit some good shots in this beautiful club."
Nadal, who lost in the first round of the Wimbledon warm-up at Queen's Club and has slipped to No. 10 in the rankings, was broken twice and was credited with fewer winners (21) than unforced errors (23) but still was never seriously troubled.
"In general, it was a very positive victory," the Spaniard said. "Straight sets. Not bad feelings."
Another former champion, 2013 winner Andy Murray, was playing the third match on Centre Court, facing Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan.
In another one-sided women's match, 10th-seeded Angelique Kerber swept fellow German Carina Witthoeft 6-0, 6-0 - the third "double bagel" in two days.
On Monday, both Venus Williams and Andrea Petkovic won their matches 6-0, 6-0. Those were the first double bagels at Wimbledon in six years.
Kerber said the score-line of the 44-minute match was misleading.
"I think it was a good match for me," she said. "Carina was playing not bad, actually. So the games (were) not like 40-0. It was very close, actually."
Other men's winners Tuesday included No. 13 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, No. 20 Roberto Bautista Agut, No. 22 Viktor Troicki, No. 23 Ivo Karlovic, No. 25 Andreas Seppi and No. 30 Fabio Fognini.
Jack Sock, the 13th-seeded American, was knocked out by Sam Groth of Australia, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Among the women, No. 17 Elina Svitolina and No. 20 Garbine Muguruza advanced to the second round.
On This Date in Sports History: Today is Wednesday, July 1, 2015.
Memoriesofhistory.com
1905 - Frank Owen (Chicago White Sox) pitched two complete games in one day.
1910 - White Sox Park opened. The park's name was later changed to Comiskey Park.
1917 - Fred Toney (Cincinnati Reds) pitched two complete games in one day.
1920 - Suzanne Lenglen became the first player to win three titles at Wimbledon in one year. She won the women's singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles.
1932 - Helen Moody won her fifth women's singles title in six years at Wimbledon.
1941 - Joe DiMaggio extended his hitting streak to 44 games.
1951 - Bob Feller set a major league baseball record when he pitched his third no-hitter for the Cleveland Indians.
1982 - Cal Ripken began playing shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles.
1985 - Robin Yount of the Milwaukee Brewers got the 1,800th hit of his career.
1995 - The NBA locked out its players. It was the first work stoppage in the league's history.
1996 - The Milwaukee Brewers ended a 19-game home run hitting streak.
1996 - Frank Thomas (Chicago White Sox) got his 1,000th hit.
1997 - Randy Myers (Baltimore Orioles) got his 300th career save.
1998 - The NBA locked out its players for the second time in its history.
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