CS&T/AllsportsAmerica Friday Sports News Update and What's Your Take? 11/13/2015.

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"Sports Quote of the Day"

"A competitor will find a way to win. Competitors take bad breaks and use them to drive themselves just that much harder. Quitters take bad breaks and use them as reasons to give up. It's all a matter of pride." ~ Nancy Lopez, LPGA Golfer

Trending: Will Theo Epstein build 2016 ‘super-team’ or try to keep window open longer for Cubs? (See baseball section for Cubs updates). 

Trending: Sixty-eight predictions that are sure to come true (unless they don't). (See college basketball section for updates).

Trending: Missouri back to football, but it's not business as usual. What's Your Take? (Please read the last article on this blog and share your thoughts with us. We look forward to sharing our take with you).

Bear Down Chicago Bears!!!!! Bears-Rams Preview.

By Jeff Bartl

Jeremy Langford relished his first chance to be the Chicago Bears' feature back while excelling in the running and passing games, something Matt Forte has done so often throughout his career.

With Forte pushing 30, injured and in the final season of his contract, the rookie's impressive performance placed credence in Langford's ability to make the transition into a bigger role should there be a changing of the guard in the Bears' backfield.

Langford could be counted upon again for a similar effort with Forte's status up in the air for Sunday's visit to St. Louis as the Bears face a Rams team hoping to have the newly signed Wes Welker on the field.

A knee injury kept Forte out of Monday night's game at San Diego. Langford made his first career start and rushed for 72 yards and a touchdown while adding three receptions for 70 yards to help the Bears (3-5) pull out a 22-19 victory.

Chicago's 109 rushing yards tied its second-most of the season and marked the first time it went over 100 in the last five games.

''Really it was kind of what we expected, and we expected a lot,'' coach John Fox said of the fourth-round pick out of Michigan State. "He's explosive. He can take short runs into longer runs. I thought he had a great night."

Forte has been limited in practice, leaving open the possibility that Langford gets the start again. Fox said Forte is considered day to day and will be consistently evaluated leading up to Sunday.

There's also a question of whether the Bears will be able to have a similar defensive effort after holding the Chargers, who entered with the league's No. 1 running game, to 77 yards on the ground.

Todd Gurley rushed for at least 128 yards in each of his first four starts for the Rams (4-4) before finishing with 89 and a touchdown in last week's 21-18 overtime loss to Minnesota.

The rookie averaged 3.7 yards per carry after entering with a league-best average of 6.12.

"I think he's probably a top-three running back in the league right now," Bears linebacker Lamarr Houston said. "We've got to keep him in the box, set the edge and make sure he's not back there hitting the holes without being stopped."

St. Louis had won back-to-back games before last week, when it converted just two of 16 third downs. It ranks last with a 23.8 third-down conversion rate, something coach Jeff Fisher believes will improve with Welker in the mix.

The Rams signed Welker to a one-year deal Monday after learning receiver Stedman Bailey will be suspended four games for violating the league's substance abuse policy. Welker said he didn't rush to sign with a team during the offseason after his wife gave birth to twins but has kept in football shape.

The coaching staff is trying to put together a limited package for Welker given his little time learning the system, but Fisher couldn't guarantee Welker will play.

''I don't see myself as being the solution,'' Welker said. ''I'm just here trying to learn the offense and trying to contribute any way I can.''

If anything, Welker might be able to provide some insight into the Bears' offense after playing under Fox and offensive coordinator Adam Gase in Denver the last two seasons.

Chicago finished with a season-best 446 total yards Monday as Jay Cutler threw for 345 and two touchdowns to become the franchise leader in passing TDs. The second went to Zach Miller, who made a spectacular 25-yard catch with 3:19 to play for the winning score.

Alshon Jeffery caught 10 passes for 151 yards, his third straight 100-yard game.

St. Louis will try to put pressure on Cutler with an imposing defense that is tied for second in the league with 27 sacks. The Rams rank fifth allowing 323.8 yards per game and haven't given up 200 through the air in any of the last seven.

The main problem has been penalties, with the Rams being flagged for 12 in each of the last two. They jumped offside five times against the Vikings.

''Teams that lead the NFL in sacks usually have a lot of offside penalties, and teams that are at the bottom have few,'' linebacker James Laurinaitis said. ''But we can't be naive and think it's not a problem. We recognize it as a problem."

Chicago had won four straight in the series before the Rams' 42-21 home win Nov. 24, 2013.

Bears have Alshon Jeffery injured, missing work – again.

By John Mullin

For the third time in barely four months, wide receiver Alshon Jeffery is on an injury list with a lower-body problem, this time a groin strain suffered in practice on Wednesday and which kept him out of practice on Thursday.

Also on the injury report for Thursday were not-practicing Pernell McPhee (knee), Eddie Royal (knee) and defensive Mitch Unrein (illness). Limited in practice were Jermon Bushrod (shoulder), Matt Forte (knee), Hroniss Grasu (neck), Shea McClellin (knee) Tracy Porter (hip) and Antrel Rolle (ankle).

Jeffery, who was walking ostensibly normally in the locker room both Wednesday and Thursday, missed all four preseason games with a calf injury in training camp. He missed Games 2-5 with a hamstring strain before coming back with games of 8-10-10 catches for 147-116-151 yards.

Quarterback Jay Cutler didn’t seem overly concerned about being without Jeffery, which he has been for half of this season. “I don't know,” Cutler said. “He'll be OK. If he can't go, we've had life without him and we'll figure it out with the guys we've got.”

The trouble is that the Bears, who did defeat Oakland and Kansas City without Jeffery, and also without Royal at Kansas City, are playing the St. Louis Rams, who are Top 5 against the pass. Kansas City, Oakland and San Diego are in the bottom half of the NFL against the pass.

There simply are things that Jeffery can do, and what the offense can do with him, that they cannot without him.

“It’s nice when he’s available to go because obviously he’s an impact player for us,” said offensive coordinator Adam Gase. “But we’ve got a lot of guys that step up when he’s not in.”

The reality is that plays can be called with Jeffery that can’t be with other receivers. In the San Diego game, when Cutler threw a pick-6, Jeffery firmly stated that he wanted the ball on a “go” route, which Gase obligingly called, and the Bears had a 47-yard completion.

The reason the play was both called and succeeded: Jeffery. Gase and all offensive coordinators don’t usually take play requests. But “when ‘17’ makes a request, you usually have a pretty good feeling about him making a play on the ball,” Gase said. “There’s been a couple times where he’s suggested some things we’ve gotten to and he’s made plays. I know Marty [Bennett] has made some suggestions we’ve gone to and were really good suggestions.

“So I feel like those two guys, they’ve played a lot of ball, made a lot of plays, so I feel confident when they bring a suggestion to the table.”

Bears believe they’ve re-established finishers persona.

By John Mullin

Back when the Bears were turning their season at least partway around with wins over Oakland and Kansas City, the Bears took pride in developing a self-image as fighters who’d shaken off the fatalism of the recent past and believed they could win games late.

Then came the disappointments in the losses to Detroit and Minnesota, where fourth-quarter leads were lost late, defeats that now are the difference between being 3-5 and 5-3 and in true playoff contention.

With the road win at San Diego, in which the Bears delivered game-winning plays within the final minutes on both offense and defense, as well as stops on special teams, the sense of identity has been restored in the minds of players who still believe they can reach the postseason.

“I think it was something we built toward the whole weekend, finally put it together as a team and were able to close one out,” said linebacker Lamarr Houston, whose two sacks of Philip Rivers in the last 2 minutes combined to put the Chargers in third- and fourth-and-23 situations. “I think that we just learned how to finish right now and I think it’s something that we’re going to keep on aiming for every week and keep on making sure we pay attention to detail so we can get better.”

 The Bears scored twice in the fourth quarter for the fourth time this season. They are 3-1 in those games, 2-1 when they score two touchdowns in the fourth quarter as they did in San Diego and Kansas City, losing in Detroit.

One of the foundation principles of the 2015 team has been the buy-in of players into what a veteran, proven coaching staff under John Fox is teaching, both in terms of technique/scheme as well as mindset.

“Well, Foxy always tells us ‘don’t flinch,’ ‘don’t blink,’” said tackle Kyle Long. “Things are going to happen, that’s the nature of the game. It’s not going to be all uphill or downhill for us. It’s going to be: You’re going to have some tough spots throughout the game and you need to be able to survive the body blows and keep working.”

How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Blackhawks ready to 'learn from' loss to Devils. Okay Blackhawks, let's buckle down and start playing Blackhawks hockey. Let's go Hawks!!! 

By Tracey Myers

The Blackhawks were close to getting a point, and every one of them helps with as inconsistent as they’ve been in this early season.

Then there was a penalty. Then there was the New Jersey Devils power-play goal. And just like that, the Blackhawks were once again letting one get away.

Patrick Kane scored his 11^th goal of the season and Artemi Panarin also scored, but the Blackhawks gave up a late power-play goal en route to their 3-2 loss to the Devils on Thursday night. It was another frustrating night for the Blackhawks, who are now 2-4-1 in their last seven games.

Coach Joel Quenneville was fine with what the Blackhawks did on the offensive side – “generate zone time, shots, traffic, everything we looked for. I think we deserved a better fate.” It was what they gave up that frustrated Quenneville.

“All three goals tonight nothing plays,” he said. “Nothing dangerous about them at all. [They] end up in our net.”

Blackhawks did make some miscues and the Devils capitalized. Their biggest goal came with 2:27 remaining in the game when Sergey Kalinin scored just eight seconds into Patrick Kane’s high-sticking penalty. Quenneville said after that he didn’t think it was Kane but another Blackhawks player who committed the infraction. Regardless, it was costly.

Corey Crawford allowed three goals on 22 shots.

“They didn’t create much offensively, a chance here or there throughout the game. We’re back in it and gave up another one late. Gotta learn from it,” Crawford said. “I made a mistake, too; I go reaching for a puck I shouldn’t be reaching for. We’ve just gotta learn from these little things that are costing us games.”

The Blackhawks may have liked how they played on the offensive side of the puck but they’re still just getting goals from the same players: their second-line guys. Kane scored with 20 seconds remaining on the Blackhawks’ 5-on-3 power play for an early 1-0 lead. Panarin scored with just over six minutes remaining to tie it, 2-2. Besides that, there were once again a lot of quiet Blackhawks.

“Yeah, you can’t have one line doing it every night,” Andrew Shaw said. “We’re trying to come together as a unit. Everybody’s trying to chip in as best they can. We’re going to learn from tonight’s game and move forward.”

The Blackhawks aren’t playing the hockey that’s gotten them so far in the last few seasons. They’re losing valuable points in the early going. They’ll get defensive help soon; Quenneville expects both Duncan Keith and Michal Rozsival to be playing at some point this weekend. But no matter who’s in the lineup, the Blackhawks have to start collecting points.

“We’ve got a bunch of new faces, new guys in the locker room. We can’t keep blaming it on that, we’ve got to come together as a team here,” Shaw said. “I think we played a good game tonight. A couple bounces didn’t go our way. Letting them score late in the game like that, it’s not acceptable. We’re going to learn from this game and move forward.”

Just Another Chicago Bulls Session... Hornets-Bulls Preview.

By JORDAN GARRETSON

The Charlotte Hornets have won four of five behind improved offensive play, especially from their bench.

They've also been taking care of the basketball well, which could be the difference against the more turnover-prone Chicago Bulls at the United Center on Friday night.

Charlotte posted the league's second-lowest field-goal percentage (42.0) and third-worst scoring average (94.2) in 2014-15. Those struggles resurfaced in the new season as the Hornets averaged 93.3 points on 39.1 percent shooting in the first three games.

Since then, however, they are averaging 106.2 points while shooting 47.7 percent.

They held on for a 95-93 home win against the New York Knicks on Wednesday as Kristaps Porzingis' buzzer-beating 3-pointer was ruled to be too late. Cody Zeller converted the go-ahead a layup on an inbounds play with 0.6 seconds left, finishing with 12 points and bouncing back after missing two free throws moments earlier.

The Hornets didn't shoot as well as they had been, shooting 41.7 percent, but committed an NBA season-low five turnovers compared to New York's 17.

"Again, the turnover game - if you're going to win, you can't turn the ball over," coach Steve Clifford said. "It was really probably the difference in the game."

Turnovers have been more of an issue for the Bulls, who are still adjusting to first-year coach Fred Hoiberg's offense and rank near the bottom of the league with an average differential of minus-1.6. Charlotte is plus-2.4.

Zeller, questionable for this contest with a strained left ankle, was one of three reserves to score at least 12 points along with Jeremy Lamb and Jeremy Lin, complementing starter Nicolas Batum's season-high 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting.

Those bench performances helped bail out Al Jefferson and Kemba Walker, who were a combined 4 of 21 from the floor. Six Hornets are averaging at least 10.4 points, and the club's bench is averaging 42.8 points.

Chicago (5-3) has split its last six games but beat up on hapless Philadelphia in a 111-88 victory Monday. The Bulls were 10 of 25 from 3-point range, with Nikola Mirotic and Doug McDermott hitting three apiece while scoring 20 and 18 respectively. That duo in particular helped Chicago compensate for Jimmy Butler's season-low seven points.

"We needed something like this," said McDermott, who is 19 of 33 from beyond the arc and has started three games in a row. "We've had a couple of good practices but it's good to play against someone else."

Joakim Noah had been listed as a starter but was a late scratch due to his sore left knee, which also gave him issues last season. Noah's 20.6 minutes per game are a career low, though Hoiberg said he got through all of Thursday's practice and would "hopefully" return for this game.

"There's nothing structurally wrong with it," Hoiberg said.

Chicago hopes to get Kirk Hinrich back from a toe injury that has limited him to only one game - he saw five minutes of action at Brooklyn on Oct. 28.

The Hornets have won four of the last six meetings, though Chicago has taken 12 of the last 16 at the United Center and is 3-1 there this season. Charlotte made 14 of 23 shots from beyond the arc in a 130-105 rout at home Nov. 3, with Jeremy Lamb scoring 20 to pace seven players in double figures.

Derrick Rose has played in only three of the teams' last 15 meetings, averaging just 10.3 points on 33.3 percent shooting. He's shooting 36.8 percent this season.

Dunleavy on the mend, could return in two weeks. 

By Vincent Goodwill

Mike Dunleavy was drenched in sweat, doing his usual routine of jump shots and free throws after Bulls practice, another sign his return is in the near future although not immediate.

Dunleavy declined to speak to reporters after his workout following Bulls practice, but it’s clear he’s on the mend after his unexpected lower back surgery was the first salvo in a somewhat rocky start to the season.

“He’s getting closer to getting back out there on the floor,” Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. “He did a tempo run (Tuesday), all in a straight line as of right now. Hopefully in the next few days he’ll be cleared to start cutting.

“Right now is about building his strength back up. He’s been in the weight room for I think five days. [Tuesday] was an off-day for him after getting his load back up pretty good, and now the next step is getting back full movement, which hopefully will happen within the next week.”

The Bulls aren’t trying to rush Dunleavy back on the floor with strict adherence to the initial timetable, but Dunleavy will accompany the team on the upcoming four-game, eight-day west coast swing next week.

Next week marks the eighth week of the 8-10 week prognosis given on September 25 when his surgery was announced. It appears he’ll be back closer to the 10-week mark than sooner.

“On our off-days out there hopefully he’ll be able to really increase his activity,” Hoiberg said. “So yeah, still too soon to say because of all the work he’s about to begin, and we’ll see how he handles that.”

The Bulls have been in flux at the small forward spot since Dunleavy’s injury, alternating between Tony Snell and Doug McDermott, and experimenting with Nikola Mirotic there in the preseason.

Dunleavy’s defensive awareness has been missed more than his timely shooting, as McDermott is third in the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage, but not many could’ve predicted Dunleavy’s importance would’ve been so critical, considering he turned 35 right before camp.

Whether it’s more an indication of the Bulls’ other inconsistencies remains to be seen, but Hoiberg will certainly welcome back Dunleavy’s stability.

“He means a lot. He means a lot to this team,” Hoiberg said. “He had a great year last year. Look at what he did with analytics, the numbers he had, he was as important as anyone on this team. He’s just a pro. He knows where to be, he’s always going to be in the right spot.”

Hoiberg has certainly been liberal with his lineups so far in the season, ready to deploy Joakim Noah as a starter in Philadelphia before his left knee flared up on him in warm-ups, so Dunleavy’s return will give him more to play with.

Or at least reduce the dependency on Dunleavy if he struggles defensively or if Snell struggles to make an offensive contribution.

“He brings an element of toughness as well, that guys that have been around the league as long as he has just have instilled in them,” Hoiberg said. “So yeah, we’re looking forward to getting him back, but in the meantime Doug and Tony have been good.”

Bulls' D-League team will further develop franchise's 'culture'.

By Mark Strotman

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

When the Bulls ceased ties with the Developmental League's Iowa Energy in 2014, hardly anyone took notice.

The Bulls hadn't assigned or recalled a player from the team since 2011, when second-year forward James Johnson was reassigned to the team. The closest general manager Gar Forman and the Bulls came in 2013, when first-round bust Marquis Teague was scheduled to be sent to Iowa before an injury to Mike James necessitated the Bulls keeping an additional point guard on the roster.

Cutting ties with Iowa marked a seven-year stretch in which the Bulls assigned just five players to Iowa a total of seven times, including draft picks in Johnson and JamesOn Curry, the latter twice during the 2007-08 season. Much of the Bulls' inactivity in using the D-League option was due in large part to the organization not having full control over the Energy.

They shared the team, owned and operated by Iowa Basketball, LLC, with the Miami Heat in 2007 and the Phoenix Suns in 2008 to 2011. From 2011 to 2014, they shared the team at various times with the then-New Orleans Hornets, Washington Wizards, Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Bulls then shared the Fort Wayne Mad Ants with 12 other teams in 2014-15.

It's why the Bulls worked so diligently the past 14 months with the NBA to earn the right to own and operate its own D-League team, which they announced Wednesday afternoon at the United Center. The organization will begin play in 2016-17 and will play 24 home games in Hoffman Estates, Ill., at the Sears Centre Arena, where the basketball and business operations will be housed.

"We haven’t used the D-League a lot in the past, the biggest reason being that we wanted our players in our culture and within our system," said general manager Gar Forman. "But now that we have control of a D-League team, and especially a proximity so close to where we’re at, we see it where we’re going to have the best of both worlds. We’ll have players in our building learning our culture, learning the game from our veterans, from our coaches. And yet we’ll have the opportunity to send those players to the D-League to get valuable minutes on the floor."

Forman and VP of basketball operations John Paxson said Wednesday that owning and operating a D-League team was a logical step for a franchise that values the NBA Draft and development of young players so highly. Of the 15 players on the roster, nine were drafted by the team and have never played for another team: Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Nikola Mirotic, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott, Tony Snell, Bobby Portis and Cameron Bairstow. A 10th, rookie Cristian Felicio, signed in July as an undrafted free agent and made the final roster.

Forman gave an example where a rookie such as Portis or Felicio could practice with the team in Chicago in the morning, take the 35-mile trip to Hoffman Estates and play 35 minutes of "great quality basketball" before returning to the NBA team the following day.

"We think it is a key ingredient to sustaining success over a long period of time," Forman said of the Bulls' draft philosophy. "This will be another important tool for us to help our young players develop and grow."

The timing is also significant as the Bulls begin a new era and philosophy under first-year head coach Fred Hoiberg. Whereas the core of the Bulls' veteran roster had played under Tom Thibodeau for six seasons, adjusting and acclimating to Hoiberg's up-tempo offense has been a work in progress for the 5-3 Bulls. The addition of a D-League team, said Paxson, will allow younger players to expedite their growth process by seeing the floor in Hoffman Estates rather than sitting on the bench behind one of the deepest rosters in the NBA.

The Bulls will be in charge of staffing the D-League team, and Paxson said the culture will mirror that of the NBA team, allowing for young players to learn the same system Hoiberg is teaching in Chicago while also getting valuable experience with live game action.
"We have to keep it seamless. So everybody’s talking the same language, players know when they go from our practice to a D-League game, the terminology’s going to be the same," Paxson said. "It has to be that way. And the other thing is expectations. Our expectations of players aren’t going to change from being here or when we do send them to the D-League."

The Bulls are the 13th NBA team to fully own and operate a D-League team. The Brooklyn Nets and Charlotte Hornets also will begin operations with their respective teams in the 2016-17 season, giving the D-League a record 22 franchises. Per the Bulls' press release, an all-time high 30 percent of current NBA players have at one point played in the D-League.

Will Theo Epstein build 2016 ‘super-team’ or try to keep window open longer for Cubs?

By Patrick Mooney

Theo Epstein knows the Cubs are walking a tightrope to get back to October, trying to balance their lofty ideals about the future with the reality these next two seasons might be their best chance to win a World Series.  

Putting David Price or Zack Greinke on a team that won 97 games last season and already has Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester at the top of the rotation must be tempting.  

Especially when Arrieta is positioned to become a free agent after the 2017 season, Lester will be 32 next year and soon enough the salary structure for Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and Addison Russell will explode.

Plus, the Cubs have sent mixed messages about their next media deal and how soon Epstein’s baseball-operations department will be able to tap into that TV money. Does that mean waiting until 2020 for a new cable network and the huge payroll surge?  

Cubs executives checked out of the Boca Raton Resort and Club on Thursday, the end of the general manager meetings and another step into what should be a dizzying winter.

“It’s hard to argue that the next two years represent a great chance to sort of amass maybe the most talent onto a single roster that we can,” Epstein said before leaving the South Florida hotel. “Because the young guys haven’t started to make a lot of money yet and Arrieta’s locked in and Lester’s pitching at the top of his game.

“One way to look at it is (this) might be the best opportunity to have the single most talented roster that you can. But things get a little more complicated as you move forward.”

The Cubs are worried about becoming a top-heavy team, with two 30-something pitchers making around $50 million combined and taking up too much payroll space.

So maybe signing John Lackey to a shorter-term deal makes sense, since he’s Lester’s buddy, a two-time World Series champion and just went 13-10 with a 2.77 ERA for the St. Louis Cardinals during his age-36 season.

“It’s a balancing act,” Epstein said. “You want to use the dollars that you have available to your advantage, especially when you’re in a position (where) every added win has great impact.

“And then you want to try to avoid a situation where you’re tied into too many big, long contracts that may lead to dead money on the books and inhibit your flexibility in the future.

“We’re out there trying to put the best team we can on the field, given the resources that we have.”

The Cubs also can’t count on being so lucky or healthy next year after winning 34 one-run games and having four pitchers make 30-plus starts. Realistically, the minor-league pipeline is years away from producing impact pitchers. 

The Cubs don’t sound willing and able to go to the top of the market to sign submarine reliever Darren O’Day, but they kept rebuilding their bullpen on the way to the National League Championship Series.

So the Cubs will hope to strike gold again in the Rule 5 draft – the way they did with Hector Rondon – and find the next Trevor Cahill or Clayton Richard on a minor-league deal (while maintaining interest in re-signing Cahill and bringing back Richard).

There’s also mutual interest between the Cubs and Ben Zobrist, but at this point it’s more about monitoring the situation. The Cubs would probably need to trade one of their young hitters for Joe Maddon’s super-utility guy to become an ideal fit again. And Zobrist’s versatility appeals to teams across the board.

But building a team that’s nimble, deep and multidimensional makes sense, given the financial parameters and a division where the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates won 198 games combined this year (and the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers are clearly rebuilding and playing for the future).

“We’re right at that point in the win curve where every win that we can tack onto this roster on paper is potentially really, really meaningful,” Epstein said. “I don’t take that for granted at all.

“Those wins could be really important. They can be the difference between getting in, not getting in. They can be the difference between winning the division or winning the wild card. If things go really wrong, it could be keeping you in contention so you can reshuffle the deck midseason and still make a run at it.”

Whether or not that involves signing Price, Greinke or Jordan Zimmermann, the Cubs will still be trying to build a perennial contender, especially when everyone knows winning the offseason can mean losing when it actually matters.   

“You can’t count on building a super-team and that will translate to winning the World Series,” Epstein said. “The best way to do it is have really good teams year after year, get in year after year. And eventually you’ll win it.” 

Cubs interested in playing exhibition game in Cuba.

By Patrick Mooney

The Cubs are interested in playing an exhibition game in Cuba if Major League Baseball can clear all the diplomatic hurdles.

President of baseball operations Theo Epstein confirmed the Cubs would like the opportunity to face the Cuban national team toward the end of spring training in 2016.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred reaffirmed his hopes to stage that groundbreaking game during his media session at this week’s general manager meetings in South Florida.

“If and when MLB approves that and the league moves forward, we would be one of many candidates to play in that game under certain circumstances,” Epstein said Wednesday at the Boca Raton Resort and Club.

“Clubs are allowed to say whether they would be interested or not interested. And we were interested under certain circumstances.”

The Cubs are an international brand that already features Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler, a star manager in Joe Maddon and a marketable core of young players that just advanced to the National League Championship Series.

“It would be an enriching experience for the players and the staff (to go) down there,” Epstein said, “and get a feel for Cuban culture and play the national team and start to get an understanding of Cuban baseball in a way that few of us have.”  

Cubs moving to 670 AM on radio for 2016 season.

By Tony Andracki

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

The Cubs are moving to their third different radio station in three seasons, as they will broadcast on WSCR AM 670 in 2016.

The Cubs had been on WGN Radio 720 AM for decades before switching over to WBBM AM 780 for the 2015 season.

CBS owns both 780 and 670, so it's just a matter of switching stations. The Cubs and CBS have a seven-year rights agreement.

670 The Score is only a sports station, whereas 780 is all news.

The White Sox were on 670 for the last 10 seasons, but are now moving to WLS AM 890 for 2016 and beyond.

Excited about White Sox, Renteria has no hard feelings toward Cubs.

By Dan Hayes

Though Wednesday’s press conference mostly dealt with Rick Renteria’s past, Robin Ventura is focused on what his new coach brings to the White Sox.

The White Sox introduced their new bench coach via a conference call Wednesday and --- in a not-so-shocking twist --- most questions for Renteria surrounded his abrupt dismissal by the Cubs a year ago.

But Ventura doesn’t care about what happened with the Cubs, nor is he concerned about the perception Renteria’s hire has created given his own contract status. Ventura, who has one year left on his contract, is just happy to have a coach of Renteria’s caliber on his staff and what it can mean for the White Sox next season.

“He’s not stained at all,” Ventura said. “We are looking at him -- we are bringing in a quality guy.

“He’s coming to do a job, he’s not looking back. But I think he’s eager for the opportunity. You can’t sit there and shy away from things. He doesn’t shy away from things like that. It is what it is and we’ll deal with that as we go along. I don’t look at that as we are always looking over our shoulder.

“We have stuff to do and that’s what he’s here to do.”

Still, this was the first time Renteria has addressed the Cubs’ decision to hire Joe Maddon and dismiss him after one season. Though he said he doesn’t have any hard feelings, Renteria admitted the move surprised him. He said Wednesday he exchanged texts with Maddon afterward but they never spoke --- “there was really no need,” he said. Renteria also didn’t believe he had much to gain from making any public comments.

“It would be foolish for anybody that's doing something or giving themselves to a task to not feel like, you know, you get the wind blown out of you a little bit,” Renteria said. “You take a step back. You regroup. I’m sure that there was no intent on anybody’s side to create a difficult situation. It was what it was. Quite frankly that’s something in the past. There are no hard feelings. There never was. When something like that occurs, you just want to take a step back and give it some space and some time. You really don’t want that to be the story. You want the story to be on the positive things that were going on there. That was a lot of the reason I just remained away.”

While they didn’t have a position open at the time, Ventura reached out to Renteria last December to express interest in potentially having him joining the White Sox coaching staff. Ventura sensed Renteria wanted to step back but also wanted to ensure Renteria knew he was wanted.

“You are always looking to bring in quality people and he’s definitely one,” Ventura said.

When it became clear Bud Black wouldn’t take over as the next manager of the Washington Nationals late last month, Renteria felt like the White Sox were the next best fit. He had already spoken to Rick Hahn once before and remained in constant communication. Once Black’s negotiations stopped, Renteria quickly met a second time with Hahn and Ventura.

While they didn’t know each other much before, Ventura and Renteria have spent a fair amount of time with each other recently and are comfortable.

“I thought it was actually a pretty good fit,” Renteria said. “I think our personalities will mesh. As a bench coach, I’m coming on board to make his job as easy as possible and transition into one of the rest of the staff. The conversation we had made it pretty easy for me to see myself coming on board with the Sox.”

Ventura doesn’t foresee any difficulties surrounding speculation that Renteria has been hired to ultimately succeed him. Headed into his fifth season, Ventura knows speculation and rumors come with the territory. He’s not fazed and is more interested in what a valuable addition can do for the club.

“That stuff doesn’t bother me,” Ventura said. “I don’t expect any rift or anything else with Rick. I’m excited to have him come in. He’s excited to be here. We are trying to do things to win games. For me, the quality of person you are bringing in is the key thing, not any of the other issues people might try to create.”

Golf: I got a club for that..... Spain's Sergio Garcia shot a sparkling eight-under-par 64 to grab the first round lead at the European Tour's BMW Masters in Shanghai on Thursday.

Reuters; By Patrick Johnston; Editing by John O'Brien

Sergio Garcia of Spain tees off on the 15th hole during the first round of the BMW Masters 2015 golf tournament at Lake Malaren Golf Club in Shanghai, China, November 12, 2015. (Photo/REUTERS/Aly Song)

Spain's Sergio Garcia shot a sparkling eight-under-par 64 to grab the first round lead at the European Tour's BMW Masters in Shanghai on Thursday.

The Spaniard produced nine birdies in his round at Lake Malaren Golf Club in Shanghai to sit one clear of South Korea's An Byeong-hun and Victor Dubuisson of France in the penultimate event of the European Tour's Race to Dubai series.

World number 11 Garcia is looking for his first win this year and was optimistic of breaking the drought after another trademark strong round tee-to-green.

"I drove the ball very well and that gave me a lot of opportunities to hit some good iron shots. It was a nice round," the 35-year-old Spaniard said.

"I had a couple of nice birdies, three birdies in the first four on my front nine and then another three or four birdies on the first four or five on the back nine.

"Hopefully, I keep improving as the week goes on and we'll be out there on Sunday having a chance."

Northern Ireland's Rory McIlory, the current Race to Dubai leader, is not playing in Shanghai this week which gives the chasing pack an opportunity to close in on the world number three before next week's finale in the UAE.

England's Danny Willett is second in the standings, Ireland's Shane Lowry third and South African Louis Oosthuizen fourth but all three struggled to keep pace with Garcia on Thursday's opening day.

Willett could only manage a level par 72, while Lowry and Oosthuizen were at two-under in a share of 24th.

England's Justin Rose boosted his chances of improving on his fifth place standing by firing an opening round five-under-par 67 to share sixth with compatriot Paul Casey and Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee.

Thongchai's card was spoiled by two dropped shots in his final four holes.

Queens of the greens - how South Korea rules women's golf.

By Lim Chang-Won

Park In-Bee of South Korea tees off at the third hole during the first round of the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship golf event in Incheon, west of Seoul, on October 15, 2015 (AFP Photo/Jung Yeon-Je)

Other golfers beware. With an ultra-competitive domestic tour and a seemingly limitless supply of young, talented players willing to sacrifice everything for success, South Korea's dominance of world women's golf is not going away -- and if anything, it could get even stronger.

For years now, rivals have watched in wonder as a succession of South Korean players with immaculate techniques and nerves of steel have lifted trophy after trophy, including five of the last 10 major championships.

Among the world's current top 10, six are South Korean, including world number two Park In-Bee. Number one is New Zealand's Lydia Ko, who was born in South Korea.

Nine of the top 20 are also South Korean and out of the 30 LPGA events contested so far this year, Korean golfers have won 14 -- two of them playing in their rookie season.

Theories abound as to why South Korean women are so dominant and include vague mumblings about "sensitive fingers" -- a real or imagined physical trait also cited when discussing their success in archery.

More considered opinions cite a combination of cultural forces: a strong work ethic, driven parental support and a grinding education system that encourages the sort of repetitive, focused effort that suits the quest for golfing perfection.

But Korean LPGA executive vice chairman Kang Choon-Ja believes the real answer lies in a top-quality domestic tour, which allows players to begin their international careers almost fully formed.

The prominence of South Korean women on the world stage is down to "the continued emergence of star players... through an extremely competitive domestic tour structure that gives them experience of top-class tournament play," Kang told AFP.

- Pak mentality -

South Korea's rise as a golfing power dates from the 1998 US Open victory of Pak Se-Ri -- then 20 years old and in her rookie LPGA season.

She was the first Korean -- indeed, the first Asian -- to win the oldest women's major, and became the poster-girl for a South Korean golfing boom that has gone from strength to strength.

Pak won Rookie of the Year in 1998, and seven other South Korean women have emulated her since then. The same number have won US Open titles, including this year's victor Chun In-Gee.

"Their work ethic, fundamentals, techniques are amazing," US women's golf legend Juli Inkster told reporters when she was in South Korea for the recent LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship.

"What I love about Korea is the way the people, the players, they have so much respect for women's golf," Inkster said.

From just a few hundred in the 1990s, the number of full professionals, semi-pros and teaching pros has exploded to more than 2,000, and the KLPGA has developed a three-tier tour system to try to meet the demand.

The Jump Tour has 16 events for fledgling players, while the Dream Tour for more advanced players boasts 20 tournaments. Finally there are the 29 first-class events on the full-fledged KLPGA tour.

- Eight hours a day -

Total prize money for the latter currently stands at 18.5 billion won ($16.3 million), up from 2.0 billion won in 1996 and nearly twice the 10 billion won available on the domestic men's tour.

"The lower-tier tours are a great opportunity for players to improve their skill sets and get the early, practical experience of tournament play that will set them up for the future," Kang said.

The players coming through the system certainly don't lack for confidence.

"Top KLPGA players are good enough to lift an LGPA trophy any time," said Park Sung-Hyun, a star in the making who has won three domestic tour titles so far this year.

Like many players of her generation, Park started early, picking up her first club at the age of eight and embarking on a strenuous training programmed backed by her parents.

"It was my mom who got me into it. At that time Pak Se-Ri was on TV a lot. So I really started out as one of the 'Se-Ri kids'," the 22-year-old said.

I practiced from dawn to dusk for up to eight hours almost every day," she added.

- 'Absolutely cut-throat' -

Further back down the line are the likes of 13-year-old Sophia Lee, who only started playing in January but is already enrolled in a top after-school golf academy which puts her through a strenuous daily programmed from 3:00pm to 9:30pm.

"After golf practice I work out a lot in the gym, especially on strengthening my core. It’s a tough workout," the teenager said.

Such academies don't come cheap, but South Korean parents are used to the idea of dedicating a whopping chunk of their income to extra tuition, whether it be evening cram schools or specialist training.

And the return on investment can be huge if your daughter breaks through into the big time.

"Women's golf is one of the most popular sports here in terms of fandom and corporate sponsorships," said veteran golf columnist Kim Maeng-Ryung.

Players are starting earlier than ever and, with the right financial support, the training and facilities they can access is second to none.

"But then the competition to become just a regular KLPGA player is absolutely cut-throat," Kim said.

NASCAR: Kurt Busch hopeful Phoenix finish earns him title chance.

By JENNA FRYER

Busch was suspended by NASCAR for the first three races of the season, so his debut didn't come until March at Phoenix International Raceway. Now, with his championship chances on the line, he will race there Sunday hoping to advance to the title-deciding season finale.

Busch is ranked seventh in the eight-driver field, and only Jeff Gordon has locked up a spot in the final four. That leaves three spots up for grabs, but Busch and his Stewart-Haas Racing team are approaching it as if they've got to win Sunday to earn a spot in the title race.

Standing in his way? Reigning NASCAR champion Kevin Harvick, his SHR teammate and winner of the last four races at Phoenix.

''We would be stupid not to run a Kevin Harvick setup,'' Busch said. ''He's won almost every race there the last few years.''

Indeed, Harvick has won five of the last six visits to the Arizona track.

But Busch hasn't been too bad, and he finished a respectable fifth there in March when he raced for the first time this season.

In 25 career starts, Busch has one win, six top-five finishes and 14 top-10s.

He tested at Phoenix recently and when the cars were working with the current rules package, he thought his No. 41 Chevrolet had similar speed to Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski, the two top cars at the test.

But Busch isn't sure that it won't be a free-for-all on Sunday with seven drivers racing for three spots.

''It's gotten pretty crazy. There are a lot of guys who think they need to be in that top-four who aren't, and there are guys who are in it who want to defend those positions,'' he said. ''The Chase is definitely at a boiling point for everybody.''

JONES-TRIPLE DUTY: Erik Jones has a chance to remain perfect at Phoenix International Raceway when he attempts to move closer to the Truck Series title.

Then he'll race another two times.

Jones will attempt to win his third consecutive Truck Series race on Friday night at a track where he's undefeated. He was the youngest winner in NASCAR national series history when he won at Phoenix in 2013 at 17 years, five months and nine days old. Then Jones routed the field in winning last year.

He takes a 17-point lead over two-time reigning Truck Series champion Matt Crafton into Phoenix, the penultimate race of the year.

''I don't think Phoenix is too big of a wild-card knowing that we've been so fast there the last two years,'' Jones said. ''I think Homestead is more of a wild-card for me just because I've never been there and don't really have any experience at that place, but the situation is going to differ so much depending on where the points are and how everything shakes out.

''If we were to go into Homestead with a 20 point lead, it would be a pretty easy day - just don't wreck. We'll see how that all shakes out, but I think Phoenix for us is one we're all looking forward to.''

Jones has a busy weekend as he'll run triple duty for the second consecutive week.

He'll drive the No. 20 Toyota Camry in the Xfinity Series race on Saturday, and he'll replace suspended driver Matt Kenseth for the second consecutive week in the Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday.

Jones is hoping by the time Sunday rolls around, he'll be ready to score a big finish in the No. 20 Toyota.

''I think that all that time on track provides an opportunity to have another strong run on Sunday,'' Jones said. ''I'd love to get a top-10 finish and even being able to get up into the top-five as well. We'll see how the weekend plays out, but I'm definitely looking forward to getting to Phoenix because it is one of my favorite tracks on the schedule.''

CHEVY CLINCH: Chevrolet will win its 13th consecutive manufacturers' championship this Sunday if the top-finishing Chevy at Phoenix is 10th or better. It would be the 39th manufacturers' title in Chevrolet history and will likely happen without a hitch: The worst a Chevy driver has finished as the highest finishing driver at a race was at Kentucky, when Jeff Gordon was seventh.

Questions about future of US Grand Prix as Texas cuts funds.

By JIM VERTUNO

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel, of Germany, pulls out of the pits during a practice session for the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix auto race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's office said Wednesday, Nov. 11, it is cutting nearly $6 million in funding for the event, raising questions about the race's future just four years after Formula One put what many saw as a permanent footprint on American soil. Officials at the Circuit of the Americas, a $300 million track built specifically to host the race, have said they already took a major financial hit this year when storms nearly wiped out two days of the race weekend in October. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's office said Wednesday it is cutting nearly $6 million in funding for the United States Grand Prix, raising questions about the race's future just four years after Formula One put what many saw as a permanent footprint on American soil.

Officials at the Circuit of the Americas, a $300 million track built specifically to host the race, have said they already took a major financial hit this year when storms nearly wiped out two days of the race weekend in October.

Track officials said they were promised $25 million per year for 10 years from the state's portion of the Major Events Trust Fund, public money spent largely to pay Formula One's commercial management for the right to hold the race. That deal was worked out with former Gov. Rick Perry and former state Comptroller Susan Combs.

But Perry and Combs are no longer in office and the trust fund was moved this year to Abbott's office.

The race still gets $19.5 million from the state portion of the fund and local tax money will bump it to $22.7 million, according to Abbott's office. But that's still a $6 million cut from 2014 and down about $7 million from the previous two years.

Circuit of the Americas officials said the race has pumped ''hundreds of millions'' of dollars into the Austin and Texas economies since 2012 and applied for state funding under the same formula as Super Bowls, NCAA basketball tournaments and other events.

''We're hopeful F1 will continue to race here,'' track officials said. Abbott did not take questions at a Veterans Day ceremony Wednesday.

Spokeswoman Cait Meisenheimer said the reduced figure was calculated under guidelines set by state lawmakers.

A recent state auditor's report criticized the generous formulas previously used to calculate payments, which have been tweaked with the move to Abbott's office.

''It's inappropriate for an applicant to expect the governor to violate the legal standard and an independent auditor's decision,'' Meisenheimer said.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler called the race ''a very important event for our city.'' Adler said he has ''some questions'' about previous financing deals, but would not commit to spending local government money to cover the gap.

''The F1 race is the way that a lot of people in the world are introduced to our city,'' Adler said. ''It brings a lot of people here. It helps brand us as an international city.''

Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone did not immediately respond to requests from The Associated Press for comment. Ecclestone told the Austin American-Statesman that if funding was changed ''it's going to make it difficult to continue the race in Austin.''

The prospect of losing the Austin race, ''for our sport, would be a disaster,'' said Mario Andretti, who won the Formula One championship in 1978. ''It would discourage any other entity from pursuing another way to making Grand Prix happen. Formula One needs a race in the United States.''

The Circuit of the Americas was built with private money and its investors include billionaire Red McCombs. The track hosts other events, notably the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas, a World Endurance Championship race, the summer X Games and multiple music concerts.

But the Formula One race is the key to its survival and officials have said they are still paying off construction debt.

The track is unique in that it is the first built specifically for F1 in the U.S. Previous American Formula One races have been held at Watkins Glen, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and on street courses in other cities.

Formula One didn't race in the U.S. from 2008-2011. Its return to a specialized facility was seen as a major move to gain a long-term foothold in a country where NASCAR is the most popular motor series by far. F1 is even poised in 2016 to have an America-led team, Haas F1, for the first time in 30 years. A Haas spokesman declined comment Wednesday.

The race has enjoyed a prominent late-season place on the Formula One calendar, which has made it an important stop in the season championship.

The races in 2012, 2014 and 2015 all played key roles in the title chase. Lewis Hamilton's victory last month wrapped up his third Formula One season championship.

But the race has been plagued by steadily declining attendance, and the storms this year were a severe blow. The U.S. Grand Prix also depended in previous years on fans from neighboring Mexico. But the Mexican Grand Prix, held this year in Mexico City for the first time since 1992, is viewed as likely to further erode attendance in Austin.

SOCCER: Donovan, Like "Most Of The U.S. Soccer Community", Criticizes Dempsey's USMNT Omission.

By Nicholas Mendola

(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

There’s no question Landon Donovan has less of a politically-correct bent since leaving the playing field.

Donovan knows he’s more willing to open up now that there’s less chance to harm his future with the national team or club teams.

And, in a way, he seems to relish it. As one of the best players to ever don a U.S. jersey, he’s now quite prepared to speak his mind on any number of issues

In a recent interview with Goal.com’s Seth Vertelny, Donovan shared his thoughts on everything from his hopeful coaching career to Clint Dempsey‘s omission from Klinsmann’s first World Cup qualifying roster.

From Goal.com:

“If I’m the manager, I want Clint to be part of what we’re doing – period, end of story. Maybe if it’s a friendly game that’s different and you can start to look at other players but in a World Cup qualifier, there’s no room for error.

“I didn’t agree with it. I think most of the U.S. soccer community didn’t agree with it. But it is what it is. Clint accepted it and did a good job at least publicly of dealing with it, but I would still want him on my team. If I’m a guy in that camp, I’m saying ‘I want Clint on this team.’”

Dempsey has been invisible if not plain bad during his past few trips to put on the U.S. shirt, but he’s still a legendary part of the American set-up who has scored nine times in nine appearances this year. Seven of those came in the Gold Cup, and his last goal against non-CONCACAF competition was against Portugal in the World Cup. But his success against CONCACAF competition is the argument here, no?

In a lot of ways, Dempsey’s omission — if it isn’t short-lived — bears a striking resemblance to Klinsmann’s ouster of Donovan from the World Cup roster. But does “the majority of the U.S. soccer community” agree that he’s a necessary part of this round of call-ups?

Donovan’s allowed to say what he pleases, but what bothers me is his highly-influential voice dropping the “If I’m a guy in that camp” line. When players like Geoff Cameron are trying to pull the group together, Donovan sure doesn’t mind kicking the Deuce’s nest.

How Will The USMNT Lineup Today's World Cup Qualifying Opener?

By Nicholas Mendola

(Photo/AP Photo/Don Ryan)

This is a more exciting post to type than in matches past, where the question was whether Jurgen Klinsmann was going to give Timmy Chandler another chance to look ridiculous in a United States uniform.

That’s because we’ve got new faces and a new plan. Whereas Klinsmann gave “The Old Guard” a chance to be heroes against Mexico, an opportunity they royally mucked up, we get a taste-test of what the German-born coach sees in store for his side.

That’s not to say this will be a “by the book” slam your best 11 out there and go for it. The Yanks are highly-favored to come out of their group and advance to the Hex. Finishing behind two of Guatemala, Trinidad & Tobago and Saint Vincent & The Grenadines would be shocking.

Take Friday’s Group C opener in St. Louis’ Busch Stadium: The U.S. is going to win, it’s just a matter of with how much style, class, and promise. With respect to Saint Vincent’s pair of USL strikers, this one’s going in the Yanks’ book.

So will Klinsmann experiment for a game before a trip to Port of Spain on Tuesday, the undebatable toughest match of the group? Maybe.

First off, here’s what he’s selecting from:

USMNT squad in full

Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan, Bill Hamid, Tim Howard

Defenders: Ventura Alvarado, Matt Besler, Geoff Cameron, Fabian Johnson, Matt Miazga, Michael Orozco, Tim Ream, Brek Shea

Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman, Michael Bradley, Mix Diskerud, Jermaine Jones, Darlington Nagbe, DeAndre Yedlin, Miguel Ibarra

Forwards: Jozy Altidore, Alan Gordon, Jordan Morris, Bobby Wood, Gyasi Zardes

Assuming Klinsmann and Fabian Johnson have patched things up, there’s little doubt that the following players will be fixtures in every 11 for a wild: Michael Bradley, Geoff Cameron and Johnson.

That’s really about it. While it’s safe to guess that Gyasi Zardes, Jermaine Jones and DeAndre Yedlin are still likely to feature, we can’t be sure. Tim Howard and Brad Guzan are competing for the No. 1 keeper’s job. Should Jozy Altidore still be a no-doubter?

Probably not, but with Aron Johannsson still out his resume will keep him in the XI.

Color me crazy, but I think Klinsmann is going to give Darlington Nagbe a chance to shine right out of the “new things” box. I don’t quite think Matt Miazga will get the same treatment (although I do expect Klinsmann to cap-tie the dual national, as he could easily be with the U-23s against Brazil tonight).

The biggest question will be how put off Klinsmann was with the carryover players from the Mexico game. Clint Dempsey was poor and not brought back into the fold, but also struggling were current squad members Matt Besler, Jermaine Jones and others. Will they get breathing room.

We also expect Bobby Wood to get a chance to show his wares as more than a super sub after scoring big goals against the Netherlands, Germany and Mexico.

Without further adieu, here’s a couple guesses at Klinsmann’s crew.

4-4-2 Diamond

Howard
Ream — Cameron — Besler — Shea
Bradley
Yedlin–Johnson
Nagbe
Altidore–Wood

4-3-3

Howard
Yedlin — Cameron — Ream — Johnson
Jones — Bradley — Nagbe
Zardes — Altidore — Wood

NCAAFB; TOUGH CALLS: 5 tricky scenarios for playoff committee.

By RALPH D. RUSSO

If you are the type of person who wants the College Football Playoff selection committee's job to be as difficult as possible then you should root for these scenarios to play out over the next four weeks.

1. Ohio State wins the Big Ten, but loses to Michigan.

The Buckeyes seem to be getting at least a little bump - maybe subconsciously - from the committee for being defending champions. But ultimately their resume will be built on three games - Michigan State, Michigan and the conference title game. Would the Buckeyes still get the benefit of the doubt as a one-loss conference champion?

2. Clemson wins the Atlantic Coast Conference, but loses to South Carolina.

The Tigers could be left with three good wins - Notre Dame, Florida State and North Carolina - and a loss to a team that probably won't be bowl eligible.

3. Oklahoma wins the Big 12 with one loss.

Similar to Clemson, the Sooners could have three big wins - Baylor, TCU and Oklahoma State - and one loss to a team that maybe doesn't break .500 (Texas).

4. Both Utah and Notre Dame beat Stanford.

The Utes at 12-1 against the Irish at 11-1?

5. Florida wins the Southeastern Conference, but loses to Florida State.

Could leave the SEC with nothing but two-loss teams. Though that might not make things difficult on the committee as much as it would make things difficult on the SEC.

No. 2 Ohio State expects no letdown against Illinois.

By CRAIG MERZ

J.T. Barrett is back at quarterback for top-ranked Ohio State after a one-game suspension.

Coach Urban Meyer had said Barrett would regain the starting job over Cardale Jones if he practiced well, and Barrett came through.

''He's looked sharp,'' Meyer said Wednesday. ''J.T.'s a unique guy, a guy who's an extreme competitor. He's a very focused guy. It's not like, 'Boy, he's working much harder this week.' He's a professional who's going to work to play quarterback for Ohio State.''

The second-ranked Buckeyes (9-0, 5-0 Big Ten; No. 3 CFP) are at Illinois on Saturday. They are trying to extend the nation's longest winning streak to 23 games and avoid looking ahead to the final two games of the regular season against Michigan State and Michigan.

''We have a fairly mature team so letdown is probably not the proper word; (it's) execution and doing the right things, just the grind involved in college football right now,'' Meyer said. ''I don't think there's a chance of a letdown.''

The defending national champions will play their second noon Eastern game this season and first since Oct. 10.

''The atmosphere might not be what we're used to the past couple of weeks, a few nights games, and this being our first noon game in a long time, and actually being 11 o'clock their time,'' defensive tackle Tommy Schutt said. ''That's something we had to address this week to really get up and being ready for that noon kickoff.''

Linebacker Joshua Perry loves playing under the lights like he did in high school outside of Columbus but said the early start has a benefit.

''Generally they're not as juiced up in terms of fans and all that stuff, but it's fun to get out there early and get the anticipation out of the way,'' he said. ''Obviously, a night-game atmosphere is second to none. We know it's going to be a little bit different of an atmosphere, so we're preparing for that now.''

Another factor could be the wind at Memorial Stadium in Champaign.

Not that Ohio State's kickers need more of a challenge.

Meyer this week replaced Jack Willoughby with Sean Nuernberger for field goals and extra points, although Willoughby will retain the kickoff duties.

It's something you have to evaluate,'' Meyer said. ''We made the decision to go with Jack and he struggled. So when he struggles, the other guy you give him chances.''

Minnesota-Iowa Preview

AP - Sports

Judging C. J. Beathard solely by his stats doesn't do him justice.

Fourth in the Big Ten in quarterback rating and just seventh in yards per game (203.4). Ten touchdown passes in nine games. He seems barely a candidate for an all-Big Ten team much less the leader of a program with national championship aspirations.

Yet there is a reason Iowa is 10-0 in games he has started dating to 2014. Beathard has a knack for coming through when it matters and he has inspired his team along the way.

Beathard leaped over three defenders - despite an undisclosed hip or groin injury that has hampered him for weeks - for the go-ahead touchdown in last week's 35-27 win over Indiana. It was also the kind of play Beathard has made all season for the eighth-ranked Hawkeyes (9-0, 5-0 Big Ten).

''That was epic,'' Iowa running back Akrum Wadley said. ''That made me want to hurdle somebody.''

Iowa heads into Saturday night's game against Minnesota in search of the first 10-0 start in school history partly because of the sensational play of its gutsy junior quarterback from Franklin, Tennessee.

''This is a special team. We've got a special thing going on right now,'' Beathard said. ''That's a nice part as well, making history, but we just want to keep playing for this team's sake.''

Iowa can cut its magic number for clinching a spot in the Big Ten title game to one by beating the Gophers (4-5, 1-4).

Coach Kirk Ferentz is focused more on that as opposed to where his team stands in the College Football Playoff rankings - though the Hawkeyes made quite a jump Tuesday, going from ninth in the initial CFP poll to fifth.

"For coaches and players I don't really see the point of it right now," Ferentz said. "If you can run the table and win your conference championship game, then you've got a chance to be in the discussion."

Beathard is a big reason why they could be. He first opened eyes with game-winning touchdown drives in the final three minutes on the road at Iowa State and at home against Pittsburgh in September. Despite playing the worst game of his career at Wisconsin on Oct. 3, Beathard's TD pass to George Kittle was the difference for Iowa in a 10-6 win that solidified it as a Big Ten title contender.

In a 29-20 win over Illinois, Beathard found freshman Jerminic Smith for 49 yards on a long third-down play in a drive that resulted in a touchdown. Beathard hurt his groin against the Illini, but he played through the injury in guiding the Hawkeyes past Northwestern 40-10.

Beathard then followed up his risky leap at Indiana with two touchdown drives in a row.

''A straight tough guy. When you do things like that, that just motivates us to do more,'' Wadley said.

But for all of Beathard's intangibles, there are two very tangible reasons why he's been so good in 2015: He protects the football and he's at his best in the fourth quarter.

Beathard has thrown just three interceptions and lost a lone fumble, an impressive stat given that he has run the ball 62 times. Beathard is also 26 of 38 passing for 352 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter this season.

''If you can take good care of the ball, you give yourself a chance to win,'' Beathard said. ''You may not produce so much offensively - not that we haven't all year - but if you're not turning the ball over, you give yourself a chance to win every game.''

That's exactly what the Hawkeyes have done so far behind Beathard, who has more than justified Ferentz's decision to start him over Jake Rudock, now with Michigan, before the start of the season.

''C.J. has a ton of heart,'' lineman Cole Croston said. ''He's got the best interests of the team in mind. Seeing him go out there and playing to his ability and play through injuries...it really hits home.''

His job has been made a bit easier this week with Minnesota learning that cornerback Jalen Myrick, who has a team-high three interceptions, will miss the rest of the season with a rib injury.

Myrick got hurt early in last week's 28-14 loss to the Buckeyes and was replaced by freshman KiAnte Hardin, who had five tackles in the game.

''I thought KiAnte Hardin the other night stepped in and did a great job,'' interim coach Tracy Claeys said. ''We'll just take the next healthy one, throw him in there and go. It's been a weird season as far as that goes. But at the same time, our kids, they've answered the bell and haven't used it as excuses and continue to compete.''

The Gophers have had 22 players on the two-deep depth chart miss a combined 81 games this season, including 12 starters who have missed at least one game.

Minnesota's top two running backs, Rodney Smith (ankle) and Shannon Brooks (shoulder), are also dealing with injuries. Claeys said Smith, who has a team-leading 574 yards, and Brooks, who has added 384, would be evaluated as they practice this week.

Claeys also said senior Rodrick Williams, who has just 29 carries this season, could be involved against Iowa.

Minnesota won last year's meeting 51-14 but has lost six straight in Iowa City since 1999.

NCAABKB: Sixty-eight predictions that are sure to come true (unless they don't).

By Jeff Eisenberg

Sixty-eight predictions for the new season that are sure to come true (unless they don't) 

College basketball season tips off Friday night with 23 AP top 25 teams in action. To celebrate the end of the offseason, here are 68 fearless predictions for the new season.

1. This may be the year of the whistle in college basketball. Expect new rules cracking down on hand-checking and physical contact to lead to a barrage of fouls, especially early in the season as players and coaches adjust to the changes.

2. And unlike two years ago when the rule changes to fade away by midseason, expect referees to stick with them this time. College basketball's rules committee has made it clear that changes are needed to increase scoring in the sport.

3. First-team All-Americans: G Kris Dunn, G Buddy Hield, G Malcolm Brogdon, F Ben Simmons, F Kyle Wiltjer

4. Exhibition loss that's a sign of things to come: St. Thomas Aquinas 90, St. John's 58. It's going to be a looooooong debut season for Chris Mullin.

5. Football schools which will have more success on the hardwood than the gridiron this school year: Miami and Texas

6. Basketball schools which will have more success on the gridiron than the hardwood this school year: Memphis and Temple

7. LSU's schedule will frustrate fans, media and most of all NBA scouts. You'll have to wait until January to see potential No. 1 draft pick Ben Simmons face marquee competition.

8. Best ESPN broadcasting decision, part I: Pairing analyst Doris Burke with veteran play-by-play man Sean McDonough for ACC Big Monday games. Not only is Burke a massive improvement over former Duke star Shane Battier, she's one of the most well-prepared and insightful analysts in the business.

9. Best ESPN broadcasting decision, part II: Parting ways with Bob Knight. The network had buried Knight in a three-man booth calling American Athletic Conference games last season after several years in a prominent role on Big 12 telecasts.

10. Bill Walton will continue to be college basketball's most polarizing analyst. Nobody is more entertaining than Walton if you're not emotionally invested in the game he's calling, however, nobody is more insufferable and off-topic if your team is playing.

11. Harvard's era of dominance in the Ivy League will take a one-year hiatus. With all the talent the Crimson lost from last season, they could finish behind Columbia, Princeton and Yale.

12. ACC breakout star: Grayson Allen, Duke

13. American Athletic Conference breakout star: Obi Enechionyia, Temple

14. Atlantic 10 breakout star: Scoochie Smith, Dayton

15. Big East breakout star: Jalen Reynolds, Xavier

16. Ben Ten breakout star: Keita Bates-Diop, Ohio State

17. Big 12 breakout star: Johnathan Motley, Baylor

18. Mountain West breakout star: Malik Pope, San Diego State

19. Pac-12 breakout star: Reid Travis, Stanford

20. SEC breakout star: Wade Baldwin, Vanderbilt

21. Gonzaga will scrap its supersized starting lineup by Christmas. It's understandable Mark Few wants to get his best three players on the floor at the same time, but I'm skeptical a lineup that includes Przemek Karnowski, Domantas Sabonis and Kyle Wiltjer can be effective on defense. Neither Wiltjer nor Sabonis are comfortable guarding high-major wings who can attack off the dribble.

22. Steve Prohm will have the most success of any new coach next season, but the hire I like best long-term is Ben Howland at Mississippi State. Howland seemed genuinely happy in Starkville when I caught up with him this summer and he's already recruiting at a level previously unimaginable for the school.

23. I've said I'll never project Wisconsin lower than fourth in the Big Ten under Bo Ryan, and I'm not going to break that pledge. While Maryland, Michigan State, Indiana, Purdue and Michigan each have Top 25-caliber rosters, look for the Badgers to remain in the mix with Zak Showalter, Ethan Happ and Vitto Brown emerging in support of Bronson Koenig and Nigel Hayes.

24. I've said I'll never project Kansas anywhere besides first in the Big 12, and I'm not going to break that pledge either. While Iowa State and Oklahoma are worthy challengers, the Jayhawks will win the league for the 12th straight year.

25. Wait 'til next year, Northwestern. Tre Demps, Alex Olah and Bryant McIntosh will get the Wildcats off to a strong start against a cupcake-heavy non-conference schedule, but the Wildcats will finish below .500 in the Big Ten and settle for an NIT bid.

26. Coach who will be in demand next spring: Brad Underwood, Stephen F. Austin. Underwood has led the Lumberjacks to three straight league titles and back-to-back NCAA tournament bids. They have an excellent chance to extend both those streaks this season with four starters back from last season.

27. Coach who will be out of work next spring: Georgia Tech's Brian Gregory. An influx of transfers could help the Yellow Jackets ascend a couple rungs in the ACC, but Gregory enters the season with a 19-51 record in league play and a buyout that diminishes this spring.

28. Coach on the hot seat who will keep his job: Indiana's Tom Crean. Not only will the Hoosiers make the NCAA tournament, they'll do so with ease this year. That ought to be enough to quiet Crean's critics ... for now.

29. The ACC will produce more NCAA tournament teams than any other league next season. North Carolina, Virginia, Duke are locks. Notre Dame, Miami, Florida State, NC State, Louisville and Syracuse have the potential to join them.

30. As if Louisville hasn't given hecklers enough material already with its scandal-tainted offseason, opposing fans should have a field day poking fun at Cardinals center Chinanu Onuaku attempting all his free throws underhanded.

31. You know what though? Onuaku won't care at all. He'll shoot far better from the foul line than the 47 percent he managed a year ago.

32. Common sense will prevail and the NCAA will clear 7-foot-6 UCF freshman Tacko Fall, an engineering major who grew up in poverty. Not even the NCAA will want to take this PR hit all season.

33. Preseason Top 25 team that could disappoint: Baylor. The frontcourt is a major strength but will an unproven backcourt be steady enough to keep the Bears in the Top 25? Lester Medford's play at point guard will be key.

34. Team outside the preseason Top 25 that could surprise: Cincinnati. All five starters and most of the bench return from last year's 23-win defensive juggernaut that lost to Kentucky in the NCAA tournament's round of 32.

35. He'll be on SportsCenter as often as Scott Van Pelt: UNLV's Derrick Jones II. The high-flying freshman is already one of college basketball's premier dunkers.

36. Expect a two-bid Missouri Valley Conference this March. My pick to join Wichita State is Evansville, but Northern Iowa and Illinois State both have a realistic shot.

37. Freshmen who will have the biggest impact this season: LSU's Ben Simmons and Mississippi State's Malik Newman

38. Freshmen ranked outside the top 10 who will have the biggest impact this season: Marquette's Henry Ellenson and Villanova's Jalen Brunson.

39. Freshmen ranked outside the top 40 who will have the biggest impact this season: Washington's Dejounte Murray and UCLA's Aaron Holiday

40. This is the year Florida's Kasey Hill will finally look more like a former McDonald's All-American point guard. Mike White's up-tempo system is a good fit for his skill set, and three years of maturity should help improve his shot selection and decision making with the ball in his hands.

41. Normally I'm a firm believer that two years is way too quick to evaluate a coaching hire, however, I'm not certain Missouri's Kim Anderson will get a third season. The Tigers went 9-23 in his debut season, lost two of their top players via offseason transfers and are projected dead last in the 14-team SEC this year. Worse yet, there's minimal recruiting momentum to offer hope for the future either.

42. Maui Invitational prediction: Kansas over Vanderbilt

43. Wooden Legacy prediction: Michigan State over Arizona

44. 2KSports Classic prediction: Duke over Wisconsin

45. Orlando Classic prediction: Notre Dame over Xavier

46. Puerto Rico Tip-Off prediction: Utah over Butler

47. NIT Season Tip-Off prediction: Villanova over Georgia Tech

48. Battle 4 Atlantis prediction: Gonzaga over UConn

49. Mid-major star whose name you'll know by March if you don't already: Louisiana-Lafayette's Shawn Long. The 6-foot-11 center averaged 16.4 points and 10.4 rebounds as a junior, upping his career total to 52 double-doubles.

50. The Big Ten hasn't lost its challenge with the ACC since 2008, but I think that changes this year. Give me ACC 8, Big Ten 6.

51. The combination of Marial Shayok and Darius Thompson will render Virginia's loss of NBA draft pick Justin Anderson less significant than many expect. Shayok, in particular, has breakout potential.

52. Louisville will enter ACC play without a single notable victory, putting pressure on the Cardinals to perform well in ACC play. Aside from two very difficult games against Kentucky and Michigan State, Louisville does not play a single non-conference opponent who finished in the top 100 in the RPI last season.

53. Team that will make the biggest jump from last year to this year: Cal. Can the Bears go from eighth-place in the Pac-12 standings to winning the league? It's certainly a possibility thanks to the return of a formidable backcourt and the arrival of a pair of McDonald's All-Americans.

54. Team that will take the biggest fall from last year to this year: Arkansas. Early-entry defections and off-court trouble have left the Razorbacks without all five starters from last year's 27-win team, relegating them to rebuilding mode.

55. Kansas can win the Big 12 and spend most of the season in the top 10 without Cheick Diallo, but the Jayhawks need the highly touted freshman big man to win a national championship. His ability to alter shots and finish above the rim makes him an ideal complement to highly skilled but modestly athletic Perry Ellis in the Kansas frontcourt.

56. The Mountain West could struggle to get more than two teams into the NCAA tournament this season. San Diego State and Boise State appear to be good bets, but the league really needs UNLV to navigate a daunting November schedule and play to its potential in order to have a third viable candidate. 

57. Small-conference team that will win a game in March: Valparaiso. With every rotation player back from a team that went 28-6 last year and pushed Maryland to the final possession in the NCAA tournament, the Crusaders will be a team nobody will want to draw.

58. Marcus Paige will play up to his potential this season once he recovers from a broken finger in his non-shooting hand. A lingering foot injury hampered Paige all last season, but the North Carolina guard will return to his sophomore year form this season.

59. The Ron Baker-Fred Van Vleet era at Wichita State will end a win or two shy of a second Final Four. Wichita State's backcourt is as formidable as any in the nation, but the Shockers will eventually run into an NCAA tournament team long and athletic enough in the frontcourt to hurt them on the glass.

60. Most compelling conference title race: the ACC. Virginia returns enough talent to potentially capture its third straight ACC regular season title, but North Carolina and Duke will again pose a formidable challenge.

61. Second most compelling conference title race: the Pac-12. The gap between reigning champ Arizona and other contenders has closed considerably. Cal has its most talented roster since the Jason Kidd era, Utah returns 9 of its 11 top scorers from a Sweet 16 team and Oregon is loaded too. 

62: Conference championship predictions: Virginia (ACC), UConn (AAC), Rhode Island (A-10), Villanova (Big East), Maryland (Big Ten), Kansas (Big 12), San Diego State (Mountain West), Arizona (Pac-12), Kentucky (SEC), Gonzaga (WCC)

63. Team that will bounce back from an uncharacteristically poor year and return to the NCAA tournament: UConn. The addition of freshman Jalen Adams and graduate transfer Sterling Gibbs will solidify the Huskies' backcourt in spite of the loss of Ryan Boatright.

64. Team that will struggle again this year: Memphis. The loss of Austin Nichols and Kedren Johnson's injury woes may doom the Tigers to another frustrating season. 

65. Four transfers who will make the biggest impact this season: Damion Lee (Louisville), Sterling Gibbs (UConn), Ryan Anderson (Arizona), Eron Harris (Michigan State). 

66. Early men's Final Four projection: Kentucky, Kansas, Virginia, Villanova

67. Early women's Final Four projection: UConn, South Carolina, Notre Dame, Baylor

68. Most of these preseason predictions will probably be wrong. The most fun part of college basketball is that it always defies expectation.

Missouri back to football, but it's not business as usual. What's Your Take?

By RALPH D. RUSSO

Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said Wednesday he had asked his coaching staff to stay in close touch with the team in a tense week that included a player plan to boycott and the arrest of a student following online threats against black students and faculty.

The Tigers play BYU in Kansas City on Saturday, one week after they threatened to stay on the sidelines without changes at the campus. The boycott threat vanished Monday when the university system president resigned.

Still, it was anything but normal at Missouri and the campus was strangely empty Wednesday as classes were canceled in some cases amid news that a white college student at another campus, in Rolla, had been arrested on suspicion of posting the online threats.

Pinkel said he asked his staff to stay in close contact with the players through texts and phone calls. Sometimes so-called distractions and off-the-field issues can galvanize a team during difficult times.

''Kind of a circle-the-wagons-type thing. I certainly hope it goes that way,'' Pinkel said.

Missouri brings a four-game losing streak into Saturday's game at Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium against the Cougars (7-2).

Pinkel said it is impossible to predict how his team will respond to a most unusual week.

''That's the million-dollar question right now. That's what's going to be the concern,'' he said. ''There's nothing normal about that. All this stuff is going on. We're going to address this today.''

Former Missouri defensive end Shane Ray, now with the Denver Broncos, said he was proud of his former teammates for taking a stand, though he admitted to not being close enough to the situation to make a judgment on the issues.

''And I just told those guys more importantly be safe and don't make any (rash) decisions that are going to cost you your life or anything,'' Ray said. ''And be smart about how you handle the situation. Your guys' voice has already been heard.''

The Tigers last played on Thursday, losing at home in the rain to Mississippi State. They practiced Tuesday and were set to do so again Wednesday and Thursday.

''Obviously there's potential for big distractions,'' Pinkel said. ''That's where you rely on your leadership.''

On Saturday night a group of players told Pinkel that they wanted to go a football strike to support hunger-striking Missouri graduate student Jonathan Butler, who said he would not eat until university system President Tim Wolfe resigned. Protesters were unhappy with Wolfe's response to their complaints about racial tension on campus and other issues.

Pinkel and athletic director Mack Rhoades suggested other means of supporting the cause such as a team walk through campus, wearing helmet stickers with Butler's initials or possibly armbands during their next game.

''We tried to find a couple alternatives,'' Pinkel said. ''They were very, very emotional.''

Pinkel also acknowledged that there were likely players who didn't back a boycott.

''I'm not naive to think that internally there are players that raised their hand and said 'I'm in,' but really just are in because of the team and just because of how much they care about their teammates,'' Pinkel said. ''How much healing is going to take place on our team? I don't know.''

Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Take: Generally, we state our position each week and ask for your take? This week because this issue has a different take for everyone, we're going to ask you for your thoughts and then we'll express our opinion to your comment(s). In some instances we're going to agree and in other instances, we aren't. However, an exchange of opinions will open all of our eyes and hopefully bring us to a reasonable if not mutually acceptable agreement on a solution with regards to this issue. It won't be easy and we will have to visit this situation many times before we can agree on anything, but if we don't take the first step and start somewhere, nothing will change and everything will remain status quo. We all know change is constant and in most instances good though not always. We're waiting to hear from you so let the dialogue exchange begin.

We value your opinion so please go to the comment section at the bottom of this blog and share your thoughts with us, we can't wait to hear them.

The Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Editorial Staff.

On This Date in Sports History: Today is Friday, November 13, 2015.

Memoriesofhistory.com

1900 - The Baltimore Orioles entered major league baseball's American League.

1934 - Ralph "Scotty" Bowman (St. Louis Eagles) scored the first penalty shot goal in NHL history.

1991 - Roger Clemens won his third Cy Young Award for the American League.

1993 - The Dallas Mavericks began a 20 game streak of losses.

1995 - Greg Maddox (Atlanta Braves) became the first pitcher to win four consecutive Cy Young Awards.

1997 - Mike Keenan was named the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks.

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