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"Sports Quote of the Day"

“Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.” ~ Wilma Rudolph, Track and Field sprinter, who was considered the fastest woman in the world in the 1960s. and competed in two Olympic games, in 1956 and in 1960.

Trending: Blackhawks-Blues Stanley Cup Playoffs start tonight. (See the hockey section for Blackhawks updates). 

Trending: Jim Harbaugh rips SEC, ACC, NCAA Hypocrisy, Hugh Freeze In Rant. (See the college football section for details).

Trending: Becky Sauerbrunn Comments on Potential 2016 Olympics Boycott by USWNT. (See the soccer section for details).

Trending: Cubs and White Sox road to the "World Series".

                  Cubs 2016 Record: 6-1

                  White Sox 2016 Record: 5-2

(See the baseball section for Cubs and White Sox updates).

How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Who has the edge in the Blackhawks-Blues series?

By Tracey Myers

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

Well, here we are again: the Blackhawks and the St. Louis Blues, returning to their rivalry on the playoff stage.

There are no secrets between these two: you know what you get with each team. So how does each part of each team stack up? Glad you asked. As we’ve done in the past, here are our edges in the first-round playoff matchup between the Blackhawks and Blues.

FORWARDS

Each team has its steady captain (Jonathan Toews and David Backes). Each team has its explosive forwards (Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko). The Blackhawks’ second line has been a consistent source of offense throughout the season. Kane finished with a career-high 46 goals and Artemi Panarin had 30, the most for a Blackhawks rookie since Eric Daze (1995-96). The top line has had its moments — Toews finished with 28 goals — but the third and fourth lines haven’t brought offense as they have in the past.

For the Blues, Tarasenko led the Blues with 40 goals. Backes, who is expected to be back from a lower-body injury, is next with 21. After that, the Blues have six players with 10 or more goals this season.

The big question is: will the Blackhawks get the more balanced scoring in the postseason that was so hit and miss in the regular season? Playoff history says they will. This is a close one to call, but...

EDGE: Blackhawks.

DEFENSE

The Blackhawks know what they’ve got in their top three defensemen (Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson). Finding consistency from 4-6 hasn’t been as easy, and the Blackhawks’ overall defense hasn’t been as strong this season as in the past. Also, the Blackhawks will be without Keith for one more game. The Blues have jumbled up their defensive pairs plenty this season, but that’s been because of injuries, not lack of good play. Despite those injuries, the Blues’ defense has been consistent and strong this season.

EDGE: Blues.

POWER PLAY

We’re not used to saying this entering the playoffs but: the Blackhawks’ power play is good. We mean ranked-second-in-the-league good (22.6 percent). Kane and Panarin have been great on it this season but as Kane said, when the Blackhawks are moving on the power play, it’s worked well. The Blues, meanwhile, aren’t too shabby on this either. They’re sixth in the league, converting 21.5 percent of the time. Both will be threats to penalty kills.

EDGE: Even.

PENALTY KILL

The Blackhawks’ usual bread and butter was not nearly as strong and consistent this season as it’s been previously. Yes, it’s been much better down the stretch (29 of 31 in the last 11 games) and if that continues the Blackhawks will be in good shape. The Blues’ kill, however, has been great throughout this season, ranked third in the league (85.1 percent). As much as the Blackhawks’ improvement lately is a good sign, the confidence for the Blues in this category has been there all season.

EDGE: Blues.

GOALTENDING

Corey Crawford is back after missing nearly a month with an upper-body injury. He was hit and miss in the regular-season finale, where getting the timing back was the toughest part. But said he feels great and is ready for the postseason. Brian Elliott will be the Blues’ starter for Game 1. Elliott was great down the stretch and when the Blues recorded four consecutive shutouts in late March, he was in goal for three of them. Will this be the postseason Elliott proves himself? Perhaps. But to this point, the other guy already has.

EDGE: Blackhawks 

Blackhawks' health returning at the perfect time.

By Tracey Myers

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

Andrew Shaw summarized his feelings succinctly after Monday’s practice.

“I feel great, energized,” he said. “Ready to get this started.”

He’d probably feel that way regardless. It is, after all, that postseason time of year, and it’s never difficult for these guys to get up for a series with the St. Louis Blues. But for he and a few other injured Blackhawks the energized level may be that much higher.

Shaw will be good to go for Game 1, as will Marian Hossa and Artem Anisimov, when the Blackhawks face the Blues on Wednesday night. Those three, who missed the last few games with injuries – Shaw and Anisimov were upper body while Hossa was lower – practiced on Monday. Andrew Ladd did not but coach Joel Quenneville said he was fine and would practice on Tuesday.

For the Blackhawks overall, entering this series healthy is critical. The break benefits those individuals, too.

“It definitely helps, especially obviously what I had, definitely the pause was good for me. Now I feel like I did before,” Hossa said. “Obviously, the good thing after the first time I injured myself, I play I think around eight games. So I didn’t miss that many games this time and I can be ready to go.”Corey Crawford played his first game in nearly a month on Saturday night. While he gave up five goals, it was nevertheless a good opportunity to shake off some of the rust he had during his upper-body injury. Crawford said he’s felt better with each passing day.

“Today was a big step in practice,” he said. “That game was a big step. I mean, numbers-wise it didn’t look so good, but just getting in there and getting a feel for the speed – little details, stuff you don’t see in practice – was definitely important.”

Quenneville said Crawford looked even better Monday.

“I thought he did a good job in the last game, but I thought he was outstanding here today,” he said. “He looked like he hasn’t missed a beat. It’s the best we’ve seen him on the ice. He looked like he was himself.”

When facing the Blues, the Blackhawks don’t need much more reason to be motivated. Getting healthy at the right time, however, is a wonderful incentive.

“It’s nice to get a little extra rest, makes me more hungry to get things started,” Shaw said. “I’m just excited for Wednesday.”

Blackhawks’ penalty kill getting back to playoff mode.

By Tracey Myers

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

The Blackhawks’ penalty kill was not looking like itself for a few weeks.

Usually so strong, for a while it was a bane to the Blackhawks’ existence. It wasn’t reliable. It wasn’t strong. It wasn’t...killing.

But in the last few weeks the trend has reversed itself. The Blackhawks killed off 29 of 31 penalties over their final 11 regular-season games. Considering how many postseason games come down to one goal, and how big special teams are, the kill’s resurgence couldn’t be coming at a better time.

“We rely on that being a big part of our team success, knowing important times of games. Games are tied, the next goals are so important and the special teams can make the difference one way or another,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “We rely on our penalty killing to get us through some tough spots.”

Marcus Kruger returning certainly helped the kill but it’s been more than that. The kill has allowed fewer shots and has also been better at clearing pucks. That, and with each successful kill the Blackhawks’ confidence is growing. It’s a far cry from earlier in the regular season, when the Blackhawks struggled to get out of a kill without allowing a goal.

“There was a hiccup there for 15-20 games. We weren’t that great. But it seems like a few guys coming in through trades, also Krugs is back, it just seems like it’s clicking,” Andrew Desjardins said. “Obviously having special teams going, anytime anything’s going, that positive confidence you have. It’s always good to bring that into the playoffs.”

During the past three Stanley Cup-winning postseasons, the Blackhawks’ penalty kill has been Top 10. It was really great during the 2010 and 2013 runs (fourth and third in the playoffs, respectively). Those successful kills mean momentum at critical times.

“It’s so important for the playoffs,” said Marian Hossa, another critical member who’s about to return to the kill. “In one year because of the penalty killing [it] definitely helped us to win the Cup. It is important, just like the power play. But killing penalties is huge. It gives you so much extra jump after you kill a penalty in a crucial moment. It’s a key factor.”

The Blackhawks need to be at their best in every category during the postseason, but some perhaps even more than others. The kill is one of those parts of the game that’s extra important, and the Blackhawks are improving on it at just the right time.

“Paying attention to detail, awareness of where we’re at and what were trying to do in series with everybody making adjustments. I know these guys are pretty adaptive of moving around and doing different things,” Quenneville said. “We’ll need them to be good.”

Blackhawks: Patrick Kane wins 2016 Art Ross Trophy.

C. Roumeliotis

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

Patrick Kane has officially captured the 2016 Art Ross Trophy after leading the NHL with 106 points during the regular season. He's the first American-born player to lead the league in scoring, and is also the fourth Blackhawks player to win the award.

“It is an honor being the first American to win the scoring title as there have been so many great hockey players from the United States in the NHL,” Kane said in a statement. “I take a lot of pride in that, but I also take a lot of pride in doing it with the Chicago Blackhawks. I owe a lot to my teammates, coaches and the organization as I couldn’t have done this without them.

"This has been a special season, but we still have a lot to accomplish as a team and I look forward to another long run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.”

Kane set career highs in goals (46), assists (60) and ice-time average (20:25) while skating in all 82 games this season.

He also recorded a 26-game point streak from Oct. 17-Dec. 13, which set a franchise record — previously held by Bobby Hull (19) — and an American-born record, breaking 18-game point streaks previously set by Eddie Olczyk and Phil Kessel.

Kane joins Roy Conacher (1949), Hull (1966, 1962, 1960) and Stan Mikita (1968, 1967, 1965, 1964) as the only others in franchise history to win scoring titles.

Just Another Chicago Bulls Session... Philadelphia 76ers-Chicago Bulls Preview.

The Associated Press

It isn't surprising the Philadelphia 76ers won't be going to the playoffs thanks to a horrific rebuilding project that led to the resignation of general manager Sam Hinkie last week.

That the Chicago Bulls are missing out is a much bigger surprise given the club had made seven straight trips and won 50 games a year ago before losing a tight series in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

These teams are disappointing for far different reasons and the Bulls seek their 10th straight win in this series Wednesday night at home to close the season.

Philadelphia's wretched three-year run with Hinkie's imprint on the team will come to a merciful end. He quit last Wednesday after running an analytics-minded front office and stripping the organization of all major talent with the idea of bottoming out in the standings and acquiring lottery picks. A loss Wednesday will make this season's edition the second-worst team in NBA history to the 1972-73 Philadelphia club that went 9-73.

While the 76ers (10-71) are badly in need of a new direction, the road forward for Chicago is less clear. The Bulls (41-40) fired popular coach Tom Thibodeau and brought in Fred Hoiberg before 2015-16 to guide a squad considered a leading contender in the East after a six-game loss to Cleveland in last year's playoffs.

Instead a season full of turmoil has ensued that saw star guard Jimmy Butler criticize Hoiberg in December while injuries to Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose hampered the club's rotation.

Rose and Pau Gasol opted to sit out the final two games once the Bulls were eliminated, and that decision caused controversy when Butler played through a sore knee Monday and had 23 points and 11 assists in a 121-116 victory at New Orleans.

''I don't want anyone to think I'm quitting on my team,'' Butler said. ''I love this game and I'm fortunate to play every day. I don't care if we're in the playoffs or out of the playoffs. I don't like to lose, period. I play to win.''

Butler, who had a career-high 53 points in a 115-111 overtime win in Philadelphia on Jan. 14 in the last meeting, later clarified that his comment didn't mean that he thought Rose and Gasol had quit for the last two games.

Rookie Cristiano Felicio, who has totaled 32 points on 13-of-15 shooting in his last two games, will get major minutes in this contest. So will Bobby Portis and Justin Holiday, who combined for 27 points Monday.

The word quit is what the 76ers used to describe how Hinkie parted ways, although the club was clearly headed in a different direction once Jerry Colangelo was named chairman of basketball operations Dec. 7. That move came in the wake of an embarrassing stretch for the organization when star rookie Jahlil Okafor was attached to a string of off-court incidents that included reckless driving and a fight in Boston.

Colangelo helped bring in veteran players like retiring center Elton Brand, who will play his final game Wednesday if he gets into this contest. Brand, the No. 1 overall pick by the Bulls in 1999, sat out Tuesday's 122-98 defeat to Toronto.

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Philadelphia, which has dropped 15 of 16, is 0-11 in road games in the second half of a back-to-back.

Robert Covington, who grew up outside Chicago, is averaging 24.3 points in his last three games and scored 25 in the last meeting.

Youth impresses, Jimmy Butler closes in Bulls win over Pelicans. (Monday night's game, 04/11/2016).

By Vincent Goodwill

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

Evaluation time.

With nothing to play for except lottery position, the Bulls have found themselves in unfamiliar territory with two games remaining, meaning the roles have reserved among the personnel.

The proven players take seats, and the young guys take center stage — except for Jimmy Butler, who was determined to be on the floor for the Bulls’ 121-116 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night at the Smoothie King Center.

Pau Gasol sat, as the probability that he’s played his final game for the Bulls is a real option, along with Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson and E’Twaun Moore. It meant more of a look for Cristiano Felicio and first-round pick Bobby Portis to get extended time without looking over their shoulders, and they played with usual intensity.

It wasn’t much in the way of entertainment value, considering the Bulls were without prime players and the Pelicans have been riddled by injuries all season, but seeing Felicio and Portis wrestle with veterans Kendrick Perkins and former Bull Omer Asik was compelling enough to produce honest assessments.

Portis scored 13 with eight rebounds, while Felicio was again efficient around the rim, scoring 16 with six rebounds on 6-for-8 shooting.

“He’s still very early in the process and the sample size is still very small, but for everything that he’s shown out there that he can do it fits the way we want to play,” Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said of Felicio when asked if the rookie could be a starter next season.

“He’s got the mobility and the athleticism to affect the game in a lot of ways. So we’re excited to have him back next year with another year under his contract, and we’ll see what happens. But I absolutely think Cris can be a long-term guy for the franchise."

Butler, the closest thing the franchise has to a long-term option, didn’t want to sit and essentially refused to stay on the bench with the vets, seizing an opportunity to play point guard like he boldly stated in the offseason.

After dishing out 11 assists through three quarters, he returned with six minutes remaining and many wondering why he or Hoiberg would put him in that situation given the stakes and his health.

Pouring in 12 fourth-quarter points to finish with 23 on 8-for-11 shooting, he felt it was his obligation to give the fans what they wanted — and the competitor in him perhaps wanted the challenge of finishing a game out.

“I tried to keep Jimmy under 30 minutes tonight,” Hoiberg said. “It says a lot. It says he wants to be the leader of this team. He was getting guys the ball, leading us to the finish line.

“He’s shown me a lot, shown his teammates a lot. He can get good looks for himself and his teammates. We run a lot of pick and roll (with him). Jimmy does a good job with that, he was making the right play all night long.”

Hoiberg almost didn’t put Butler back in the game at the midpoint mark of the fourth, but Butler’s stares down the sideline forced Hoiberg to playfully admit, “I caved, I caved.”

Butler scored nine straight to help the Bulls pull away, after helping Justin Holiday (14 points) and Nikola Mirotic (20 points) go off early. The Bulls shot a season-high 57 percent from the field.

Somewhat defiant about his reasoning to play with the stakes being meaningless, Butler laid out his case.

“I don’t ever want anybody to think I’m quitting on my team. I’m not,” Butler said. “I’m not saying Pau or Derrick is, either. That’s not what I’m saying. I love this game, I’m fortunate to play every day. If I can go out there and compete, that’s what I’m gonna do.”

When it comes to playing point guard, Butler knows the look might not be as smooth but he can be effective, as Monday was his fifth game with 10 assists or more.

“I know what I’m capable of,” Butler said. “It’s what I tell coach, what I tell Aaron (Brooks) when he jokes with me: I may not be the best shooter or passer, but I can pass the ball to the open man and I can get to where I need to on the floor.”

And being able to finish the game with some of the young players, he hopes will set some kind of example going forward.

“It’s very important. I was in that position in one point in time in my career, not too long ago,” Butler said. “I know what it feels like to want to get reps with guys who play more than you. When they see me out there competing, fighting with them, they’re always gonna give me everything they have on the floor. I want them to continue to compete, continue playing hard.”

Lottery reality setting in for Bulls, Hoiberg: 'I have to be better'.

By Vincent Goodwill

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

The finality has set in for the Chicago Bulls, as they begin the short wind-down to an offseason that will officially begin Wednesday night around 10 p.m.

Derrick Rose will miss the final two games, along with Pau Gasol, Taj Gibson and E’Twaun Moore, players who won’t risk further injury in the face of the meaningless final two games this season.

“Kinda speechless,” Rose said. “But at the same time, we put ourselves in this position and as men we have to deal with it.”

Missing the playoffs in his first year as coach is something Fred Hoiberg knows he’ll have to face head-on, especially considering the Bulls have been annual participants since 2009—the second-longest streak in the Eastern Conference next to the Atlanta Hawks.

“The first person I’m looking at in this whole situation is me. I have to be better,” Hoiberg said. “I have to get our guys to play more consistent basketball.”

“It’s incredibly disappointing to find ourselves in this position. Looking back on the season, a lot of things contributed to us being in the spot we’re in: not taking advantage of a favorable schedule, not closing out games when we had great opportunities to do that.”

Hoiberg has been in this situation before, when as a player with the Minnesota Timberwolves coming off a conference finals appearance in 2004, missed the playoffs in 2005. Head coach Flip Saunders was fired midseason that year and it started a downward spiral that led to the trade of former MVP Kevin Garnett in 2007 after three straight lottery appearances.

“There’s nothing worse than having high expectations and sitting around on the weekend and watching the NBA on ABC,” Hoiberg said. “It’s gonna be a painful offseason for a lot of us, especially me with the expectations that were there when I took over.”

Hoiberg disputed the expectations were too high considering how dependent the roster was on young players, but he hopes it’s a stepping stone for them and himself.

“I’m confident in my abilities. I’ve been in this league a long time,” he said. “I’ve been in this league 16 years, it’s a long time. My first as a coach. There’s things looking back I can do better and know I’ll do better. Learning opportunity for all of us. The guys are gonna be back in a Bulls uniform next year and all involved in the summer. Yeah, we’re gonna try to correct some things. It’ll be a big offseason for some of our guys and we’ll come back prepared.”

Beating up on the likes of the conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors with a 7-1 mark is offset by losing three of four to the New York Knicks and being swept by the equally lottery-bound Minnesota Timberwolves.

“Obviously it’s disappointing,” said Jimmy Butler, who will play against the Pelicans. “Only thing you can say is you gotta learn from it. We know what we were capable of this season. It didn’t happen. It is what it is now.”

Butler caught a late flight Sunday night because of a family issue, an excused absence according to Hoiberg. By the time he landed in New Orleans, the Bulls’ playoff fate had already been decided and he seemed resigned to the fact he likely saw this coming with the team’s inconsistencies.

“Yeah but if you don’t play as hard as you’re supposed to, it don’t matter,” Butler said after being asked if this team had enough talent to win. “Everybody has talent or you wouldn’t be in this league. It’s about coming out and competing, playing as hard as you can.”

It’s the first time Butler will miss the postseason, along with Gibson and Rose, with the latter being drafted after the last lottery season in 2008.

“I’m still giving my all to the team. I still believe we can win a championship,” Rose said. “We let things slip too early and it followed us through the entire year. Next year we gotta come in and this should be fuel to go into the offseason and come into the season with revenge on our minds.”

Bear Down Chicago Bears!!!!! Draft Priorities through the Ages.

By Josh Sunderbruch

(The fifth pick in the 1961 draft - Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)

The way the league drafts reinforces the idea that today's league is very, very different from the one that many grew up with. Looking at draft classes from 25 and 50 years ago reveals some of the many ways that the NFL has changed.

The NFL has its share of traditionalists and innovators, and while some lament the way the game has changed, others embrace it. Every so often, people even deny it. As a different spin on draft season, I thought it would be fun to look at the changing priorities in the NFL as viewed through the lens of the first round of the draft. Were quarterbacks as valued in previous years? Has the value of a tackle remained constant? I wasn't sure.

In order to get a handle on trends, I looked at the five most recent years of the draft (2011-2015) and compared the drafting patterns to the five years after the Bears won the Super Bowl (1986-1990), and then for fun I went to some of the last years before the merger (1961-1965). These snapshots are 25 years removed from one another, but each also contains five years of information. They should be able to show some kind of trend.

First, a couple of side notes

Obviously, we don't know the length of the careers of picks from this most recent batch of players, but the average length of a career for a first-round pick drafted at the end of the 80s was 7.7 years. Back in the pre-merger days, the average career length of a first-round pick was 8.7 years. I was actually surprised at how close those two numbers were, although I can't actually tell you what I was expecting.

Next, colleges care about getting their players into the NFL, and there is a clear winner in this regard, at least with respect to the first-round samples I collected. In the pre-merger days, only one college contributed more than 5% of the first round draft picks: Ohio State had 5 picks, and a few schools had two or three players go in the first round. Then, twenty-five years later, Miami and Florida both had 8 first-rounders (6% each), trailed by Michigan State with 6. Finally, in the last five years, Alabama has had 14 players go in the first-round (9%), or as many as both of its closest two competitors (Florida and Texas A&M with 7 each) put together. Wow. Say what you might about Alabama, but that's remarkable.

Now, onto the draft itself. Some might disagree with my categories, but I included the two players drafted as nose tackles in with the other DTs, and I also put flankers and split ends in with the wide receivers. However, I did make note of fullbacks distinct from running backs (even while I put half-backs in with running backs). I noted cornerbacks differently from the other defensive backs in the last group.

Most of the time, I will be talking about percentages of the field as opposed to total numbers, because while there were only fourteen first-round picks in 1961, there were thirty-two of them in 2015. Finally, because order matters, I looked at which positions went in the first round, in the top half of the first round, and in the top quarter of the first round.

Holding the line

Guards and centers don't get a lot of love through the generations. Collectively, they make up only a hair more than 7% of the first-round selections, with no more than 2% of first-round picks being spent on centers in any given era and 4-7% of first-rounders being spent on guards. No top-half picks were spent on centers in any of these groups, and the best era for guards to be selected was 1985-1990, but even then only 7% of top-half first-round picks went to their position.

However, offensive tackles have seen an amazing change in fortunes. Only making up 7% of first-rounders in the pre-merger period (and in the same range at the top-half and top-quarter marks), they have now climbed to 14% of all recent first-round picks (claiming 15% of the top half and 18% of the top quarter picks).

Backs of different kinds

For those still bristling at my last article, here's some food for thought. From 1961-1965, 16% of all first-round picks were running backs. Moreover, 23% of top-half picks were running backs and 25% of top-quarter picks were running backs. This was the premier position, dominating all three categories. Even twenty-five years ago, 21% of first-round picks were spent on running backs, with 16% of top picks being spent on the position (the ratio is the same for both top half and top quarter). In the last five years, however, a mere 4% of first-round selections have been running backs, with exactly one pick in top quarter being spent on the position. Once king, the running back is now the eighth-most valued position group, as measured by draft priority.

For fans of a particular style, the demise of the fullback is even more notable. Originally claiming 6% of the first-round picks, the position earned only a single first-round pick from 1985-1990 and no first-rounders in the last five years.

Quarterbacks have garnered a fair amount of high-end interest in all three eras (climbing from 15% of all top-quarter picks in pre-merger days to 20% of all top-quarter picks of the last five years). However, the opposite pattern holds for the position in the first round outside of the top slots. 13% of first-round picks were spent on quarterbacks from 1961-1965; this number fell to 7% in the late 80s and recovered partway to 9% today. Basically, nowadays the quarterbacks go off the board early, whereas once they were spread out across the whole first round (not that we really needed a study to tell us that).

Receivers and Tight Ends

First-round interest in receivers has hovered around 10-13% in all three eras, and the two to three tight ends taken over each stretch (2-4%) shows little adjustment.

However, the position is not valued in a steady fashion. For example, it earned 9% of top-half picks in the 60s, only 4% of top-half picks in the 80s, and has now climbed to 14% of top-half picks today. The same pattern holds true at the very top of the draft, with the era markers playing out at 15%, 5%, and then 20%. Maybe this is a sampling issue, but it really seems like the late 80s were a bad time to be a receiver.

Perhaps that's because of the defense.

Defense and the 80s

The late 1980s were a golden age for linebacker drafting. 13% of all first-round selections in the 1980s went to linebackers, and 18-20% of top-half and top-quarter first-round picks were spent on linebackers. Those are the highest numbers for the position in any of the eras, and the Bears fan in me wants to claim it was the echo of the 1985 Bears, prompting a game of "catch the leader" as everyone else scrambled to emulate the best team in football. A similar bump sees defensive backs jump from 5% of all top-quarter, first-round picks picks in the 60s to 16% in the 80s before falling to 10% today. Defense beyond the line of scrimmage was clearly more prioritized in the late 80s drafts than it was in either of the other two eras.

Up front, focus has shifted from the middle of the line (20% of top quarter, first-round picks from 1961-1965 versus 3% today) to the ends (no elite picks in the pre-merger days compared to 13% today).

Conclusions

Currently, quarterbacks (20%), receivers (20%), and offensive tackles (17.5%) dominate the top positions of the first round. A generation ago, it was linebackers (18%), defensive backs (16%), and running backs (16%). A generation before that, it was running backs (25%) and defensive tackles (20%). Whereas I once could have gotten one of top-ten quarterback prospects in five years in the second round, today that player would be chosen halfway through the first. Nearly six running backs a year were selected on average in the first round in the late 80s, but now it would take all five years to see that many go that early.

Smart GMs (and let's hope Pace is a smart GM) know what value will be available later in a round and what positions will be depleted of talent. As the league's priorities shift, so does the availability of talented players at positions of value.

The Bears need a good draft class that fits the needs of the team and the shape of the league.

Focused on winning big with Cubs, John Lackey doesn't care what you think.

By Patrick Mooney

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

In the middle of a sit-down interview near the end of spring training, Theo Epstein noticed John Lackey and called out: “I’m just saying nice things about you.”

“Oh Jesus,” Lackey said, stopping for a moment in between the Cubs clubhouse and the weight room at the team’s Arizona complex.

Epstein kept talking: “You don’t give a f--- what people think. And that’s why…”

“That’s a good point,” Lackey said with a smile. “That’s a fact.”

Epstein laughed and turned back to the reporter sitting at a patio table: “Ask any clubhouse he’s ever been in — he’s beloved by the other 24 guys.”

The last time he pitched at Wrigley Field, a raucous crowd chanted “LACK-EY! LACK-EY!” after he gave up a thunderous three-run homer to Javier Baez in the National League divisional round, the Cubs eliminating the St. Louis Cardinals in their first-ever playoff matchup in a rivalry that stretches all the way back to 1892.

Lackey should get a warmer reception on Wednesday night when he faces the Cincinnati Reds and makes his first start in a Cubs uniform at Clark and Addison. If not, hey, he’s not angling for a media gig in his post-playing career or worrying if the bleacher bums will boo him.

“I just think it’s irrelevant,” Lackey said. “Who cares? As long as the guys in here feel a certain way about me, I’m good.”

The Cubs wanted an edgier personality to push their pitching staff and enhance their clubhouse chemistry. Lackey called Chicago his favorite city as a visiting player and knew enough people inside the organization that he didn’t even string his free-agent decision out to the winter meetings.

As president of baseball operations, Epstein has autonomy over scouting, player development and the big-league product, the aura that comes from the two World Series teams he helped build for the Boston Red Sox and the expectation that he will soon become the highest-paid personnel executive in the game.

In Chicago, seemingly every waiver claim, trade throw-in and faded Red Sox prospect became a chance to look at the roster churn and find deeper meaning in The Plan. Like the T-shirts said after he arrived in October 2011: “In Theo We Trust.”

That made the mixed reactions to the Lackey signing on Twitter so interesting. Even Epstein noticed the hot takes on social media after closing a two-year, $32 million deal that looked very reasonable in an overheated pitching market.

“He’s someone who doesn’t spend any time whatsoever trying to manicure his reputation anywhere besides inside the clubhouse,” said Epstein, who had put together a five-year, $82.5 million contract for Lackey in Boston. “He doesn’t care what the media thinks. He doesn’t care what the fans think. 

“So that combined with his intense demeanor on the mound, I think he’s perceived — as someone from the outside looking in — as like this big brute who must be a tough guy to get along with.

“And the reality is — ask anyone who’s ever played with him — he’s beloved inside the clubhouse.”

Lackey pitched Game 4 for the Cardinals on short rest last October, and teammates appreciate how he always wants to take the ball. It’s the way he made 28 starts and accounted for 160 innings with the Red Sox in 2011 — and then had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.

Manager Joe Maddon — the Anaheim Angels bench coach when Lackey beat Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants in Game 7 of the 2002 World Series — compared the 6-foot-6 Texan to John Wayne.

“He’s a fun guy to have around, actually,” veteran catcher Miguel Montero said. “He’s a guy that you hate when you played against him. I never thought he was a nice guy. The way he is, I mean, I never thought he was a really good guy. I didn’t really like him. And (I find out) he’s a great teammate.”

Some of this is inevitable when you pitch almost 2,500 innings in The Show, perform in 15 playoff series (8-5, 3.11 ERA) and have that snarling demeanor on the mound.

Just ask Jon Lester, Lackey’s close friend through the turbulence in Boston who also helped the 2013 Red Sox go worst-to-first and win a World Series title.

“Lack sometimes gets a bad rap,” Lester said. “I would imagine I’m not liked too much on the other side. I think when you compete against guys — and he’s been around a long, long time — you just end up getting that kind of stigma.

“Listen, when we’re pitching, we’re grinding. We’re yelling and spitting and screaming and hollering. Just like in life, you have different personalities when it comes (to) playing (the game).

“Jake (Arrieta) doesn’t show emotion. You never see him show emotion. I actually envy guys like that. Their face never changes and it’s just hard for guys like me and (Lackey). We wear our emotions on the sleeve.”

The Angels drafted Lackey with the 68th overall pick in 1999 — or five years after shortstop Addison Russell was born. Lackey made his big-league debut in June 2002 — against a Texas Rangers lineup that featured Alex Rodriguez, Juan Gonzalez and Rafael Palmeiro.

“When you’re on the other side – especially when somebody’s good — you want to beat them,” Lester said. “When somebody has a name and they’ve established themselves, you always watch them a little bit more.

“Once you have a name and (some success), guys start nitpicking at things that stand out and bother them. But I would put money on it: There’s not one person that he’s ever played with that would have a bad thing to say about him.”

If Lackey doesn’t obsess over his legacy at the age of 37, he’s still aware of how he will be remembered if he’s part of the Cubs team that finally wins the World Series for the first time since 1908.

“Coming here was a chance to make history,” Lackey said. “Choosing to do something special was a factor, for sure. It’s something I thought about. Hopefully, we get it done.”

Late Cubs fireworks turn one-time no-hitter to wild comeback win. (Monday night's game, 04/11/2016).

By Tony Andracki

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

Joe Maddon took off his now-iconic black-framed glasses, looked at them to make sure they weren't rose-colored and flashed a smile to the standing-room-only media crowd on hand in the newly-refurbished press room.

The manager had just been boasting about his team for 15 straight minutes, talking up every aspect of the organization — from base-running to the state-of-the-art clubhouse — before a reporter asked him if there was anything that wasn't rosy with this club right now (besides the obvious Kyle Schwarber injury).

Of course Maddon had an amusing response, but hours later, his team almost made the reporter look clairvoyant, needing a late comeback to beat the Cincinnati Reds 5-3 in front of 40,882 fans in the Wrigley Field opener.

On a night when both Maddon and Theo Epstein talked up the depth and quality of the lineup, the Cubs didn't pick up their first hit until two outs in the seventh inning when David Ross stroked a two-strike pitch into left-center.

Three batters later — after two walks and a pair of pitching changes — a fan set off fireworks on Addison St. beyond the center-field scoreboard, prompting free-agent prize Jason Heyward to ignite some offensive firepower of his own with a two-out, two-run single.

"I did see some fireworks when I was on third base," Ross said. "Me and [Cubs third base coach Gary Jones] were trying to figure out what the heck was going on out there."
Addison Russell gave the Cubs the lead for good with a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth on the first pitch he saw from Reds reliever Jumbo Diaz.

"We had good at-bats the whole game," Maddon said. "I'll give their pitcher a lot of credit - he had an outstanding game. We hit some balls well. Our geometry was bad; early on in the game, it was at everybody."

For the second straight year, Jon Lester got the ball in the first home game of the season and left with the Cubs losing.

Lester pitched well enough to earn the minimum qualifications for a quality start (six innings, three earned runs), striking out five while allowing five hits and a walk on 102 pitches. He surrendered a two-strike homer to light-hitting Billy Hamilton in the third inning and a two-out RBI single to Reds pitcher Brandon Finnegan.

"I think I was just a little over-amped in the first, overthrowing a little bit," Lester said. "The ball flattened out on me. Settled in a little bit. I felt like I made a good pitch to Billy Hamilton there and he hit it out. It is what it is.

"It was a little bit of a grind. Didn't have a lot to go off of. A lot of 1-0 counts, which is just never good. These guys are swinging the bats really well right now. When you're constantly behind, it just makes you work even harder.

"The biggest thing is I kept us in close enough to come back and win. That was huge."

The Cubs tallied just three hits on the evening, but found a way to grind out the victory to improve to 6-1 on the season.

Matt Albers continues to excel in tight spots for White Sox.

By Dan Hayes

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

After he played for five teams in five seasons, Matt Albers has become a trusted member of the White Sox bullpen. He’s done so even though he has only pitched in 34 games for the club.

Albers — who in February signed a one-year deal worth $2.25 million with a club option for 2017 — said familiarity with the White Sox was a key factor in his decision to return. And that relationship is a big reason — along with Albers throwing the ball extremely well — as to why the veteran has already begun to in key spots for the 5-2 White Sox.

“There’s something he’s got, about being in there when stuff is burning down around him,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “He can calm it down and throw some stuff that guys can’t hit.”

The White Sox have acted accordingly when it comes to Albers’ performance. He’s in the midst of a scoreless streak that has extended 27 1/3 innings and over 24 games. The last time he allowed a run was July 31st.

And these aren’t just throwaway appearances; Albers has appeared in high-leverage situations in 11 of 30 games (36.7 percent) since he returned from the disabled list last July. Before he pitched for the White Sox, Albers only appeared in high-leverage spots in 91 of 364 games (25 percent) in his career.

“It’s great to come back,” Albers said. “I really enjoyed it here last year. I knew in the beginning of the offseason that it’s definitely a place I’d like to come back to and they showed interest and we were able to get a deal done. Just the familiarity with all the guys. Now that we’re putting it all together and winning games and it’s a lot of fun.”

A big reason Albers, 33, has had early success is an increase in his fastball velocity. Albers’ two-seam fastball is averaging 93.3 mph in 2016, up from 90 mph last season, according to brooksbaseball.net.

Through five innings this season, opponents are hitting .176 against Albers. They hit .228 in 2015 and he has allowed a .262 average against for his career.

Albers attributes his success to improved pitch location and the ability to effectively mix in his slider and changeup. He also credits the knowledge of Dioner Navarro and Alex Avila and their books on opposing hitters.

“Just locating, just being able to mix slider and changeup in,” Albers said. “Really just fine tuning those pitches and throwing them for strikes early in the count and move the ball in and out and really go off my catchers. It’s nice to have a couple of guys who have been around the league. I can really lean on those guys. …

“That just makes it easy for me. Lean on those guys and putting that all together.”

Pitching coach Don Cooper also thinks Albers’ experience is a big portion of the equation. Earlier in his career Albers was a long reliever. But as he’s grown older, Albers has figured out how to slow the game down in the midst of chaos.

He’s a calming presence in the clubhouse, the elder statesmen of the bullpen along with fellow Texan Zach Duke. Whereas Albers might get emotional on the field (see: Monday’s reaction after catching a bunt and turning a double play), he’s as composed as can be in the clubhouse. Cooper likes that along with the stuff Albers brings to the mound.

“He's a veteran guy, he's got movement, he keeps the ball down, he's got a good changeup,” Cooper said. “His velocity has come back a little more, which means he's even more dangerous, too. I like the veteran presence that he has.

“Because of his experience, now we feel very comfortable with him handling any situation.”

That security goes along way for Albers. He definitely considered leaving the White Sox if the right deal came along this offseason. But at the same time, Albers knew he had a good thing going if the White Sox made a competitive offer.

“It’s a place I feel comfortable with the coaching staff and obviously I had success last year,” Albers said. “So I think it’s a pretty easy decision to come back.”

White Sox offer Jose Quintana enough support in win over Twins. (Monday game, 04/11/2016).

By Dan Hayes

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

Only in Jose Quintana’s world does Austin Jackson’s potential grand slam hook just outside the foul pole for a long, loud strike.

Of all the sick and twisted ways that Quintana has been denied run support the past few seasons, Monday’s could have qualified as one of the cruelest. Up a run and in search of more, Quintana saw a potential windfall sneak inches past the foul pole for a long strike in the top of the fourth inning.

Fortunately for Quintana, Jackson rebounded with a two-run single off Kyle Gibson that offered enough support to boost the White Sox to a 4-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins in front of 40,638 at Target Field. Quintana earned his first victory with six strong innings, and David Robertson recorded his third save as the White Sox improved to 5-2. The loss dropped the Twins to 0-7.

“Especially with Q going, seeing something like that, I thought it was even bigger that he gets the hit after that,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “When you see it go foul you hope Q has something go his way and it did. That next hit is a big one, that he was able to do it, especially how long everything took in between those pitches.”

The White Sox had never really fared well against Gibson, who entered with a 4-0 mark and a 2.13 ERA against them.

But they made him work starting in the second inning and ran up a high enough pitch count to force Gibson (0-2) out by the sixth.

Brett Lawrie’s one-out RBI single in the second put the White Sox up a run.

Two innings later, they were in search of more when Jackson stepped in with the bases loaded and two outs. For an instant, Jackson appeared to break the game wide open when he ripped Gibson’s 81-mph changeup toward the corner in left. The drive had plenty of height, but hooked madly and just passed to the front side of the pole.

“I saw it start, it had a little topspin on it,” Jackson said. “I saw it start curving toward the foul pole. I still wasn’t really sure if it hit it or not. It just kind of disappeared. Dang.”

Third-base umpire Joe West instantly signaled that Jackson’s drive was a foul ball. Shortly thereafter, West and his crew of umpires conferred on the field. But they didn’t feel the need to look at a replay, and the White Sox ultimately didn’t request it because the ball somehow slipped by without contact.

“If it’s even close, maybe just nicking it, we’re going to look at it,” Ventura said. “But (pregame instructor Mike Kashirsky) said 100 percent it was foul, which to the naked eye it doesn’t look like it could fit in that little sliver without hitting the pole.”

Despite the lengthy delay, Jackson wouldn’t be denied. As soon as he stepped back in, Jackson ripped Gibson’s 2-2 fastball into center for a two-run single and a 3-0 lead.

“You have to re-focus yourself, take a deep breath and realize you still have a job to do,” Jackson said.

Quintana has managed to keep his focus on his next start time and time again despite a notoriously lengthy run of bad luck. With 53 in 121 starts, Quintana has eight more no decisions than any other starter in baseball since 2012.

But it hasn’t kept him from plugging away and continuing to be one of the most consistent pitchers in the majors going on four seasons. Ventura said Quintana never wavers no matter how unlucky he has been, not in the way he pitches, not during his side sessions or even how he acts on a daily basis. Quintana said he simply believes his luck will change and always worries about his next turn instead of overanalyzing his misfortune.

That might have helped him get out of a 29-pitch fourth inning, where it appeared he was squeezed. Miguel Sano walked on a borderline 3-2 pitch to open the inning, and Trevor Plouffe doubled to left. Byung Ho Park took Quintana to a full count when a close 1-2 pitch missed. But ultimately Quintana won that battle with a foul out.

Quintana retired Eddie Rosario on an RBI groundout and struck out Eduardo Escobar to keep the White Sox ahead 3-1.

Quintana also pitched out of jams in the second and sixth innings, limiting the Twins to a run and four hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

Matt Albers then extended his scoreless streak to 27 1/3 innings over 24 games despite allowing a pair of hits in his only frame. Zach Duke, Nate Jones and Robertson recorded the final six outs.

Todd Frazier also added an insurance run in the ninth with an RBI double. Nobody was more excited than Quintana, especially with the way Jackson responded to his near-homer.

“It was exciting when I thought it was a homer,” Quintana said. “It was a close situation. After that, he came back, made a good swing and brought two runs for us.

“I feel this is the year for no more no decisions and for the team. We are excited. When you come into the ballpark every day, you come in excited for it because you have a new team, the real thing.

“We’ve got to change.”

Golf: I got a club for that..... RBC Heritage Preview.

By Allen Etzler

Who: Nine of golf’s top 30 players in the Official World Golf Ranking highlight the 132-man field including world No. 1 Jason Day.

What: 72-hole stroke play.

When: Thursday-Friday: 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday: 1-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS).

Where: Par-71, 7,101 yard Harbour Town Golf Links.

Why: Winner receives 500 FedEx Cup points and $1,062,000 purse.

What to watch for

DeChambeau debut: Bryson DeChambeau is no longer amateur Bryson DeChambeau. He’ll be making his pro debut at the RBC Heritage a week after making his Masters debut.

Hometown boy Kevin Kisner: Kevin Kisner was considered the hometown boy at Augusta as he grew up 30 minutes down the road in Aiken, SC. He didn’t grow up quite as close to Harbour Town, but he’s looking to become the first home-state winner in this event. He nearly won last year but finished second.

Luke still looking: Luke Donald has five top-3’s here but is still in search of first win at the Heritage. There is no better place for the Englishman to try and find his form as this event has been one of his best throughout his career.

Welcome back, Jason: Jason Bohn returns to action seven weeks after suffering a heart attack at the Honda Classic. Doctors inserted a stent into an artery found to be more than 90 percent blocked.

Still no Furyk: Defending champ Jim Furyk hit the opening tee shot Monday, but he will miss another tournament with a wrist injury. Furyk apologized for missing the event and called it his favorite stop on Tour.

Jordan Spieth: Where does he go after epic Masters meltdown?

By EDDIE PELLS and PAUL NEWBERRY

Defending champion Jordan Spieth, left, shakes hands with Masters champion Danny Willett, of England, following the final round of the Masters golf tournament Sunday, April 10, 2016, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Where does Jordan Spieth go from here?

He could have been sailing along on the second act to one of the greatest years in golf history. Instead, the young Texan left Augusta shaking his head, and trying to figure out how to shake off one of the most epic collapses in the history of the game.

It won't be easy.

''Big picture, this one will hurt,'' Spieth said, still sounding in a bit of shock outside the Augusta National clubhouse Sunday evening after it all slipped away. ''It will take a while.''

Not only will Spieth have to erase the memory of his splashdown on No. 12 - a quadruple-bogey 7 that included two water balls and turned a one-time five-shot lead into a three-shot deficit to the eventual champion, Danny Willett.

Spieth will also have to clear all the bad thoughts out of his head. Over the weekend, he played 31 holes of good-to-great golf and put himself in position for a second green jacket at the tender age of 22. Those other five holes were 17 and 18 on Saturday, then 10, 11 and 12 on Sunday. He went a cumulative 9 over on those and had bad swing thoughts that he simply couldn't overcome.

''The wheels kind of came off the last ... holes on Saturday,'' said Spieth, who brought his coach, Cameron McCormick, back into Augusta for a quick tuneup before tee time in the final round.

It helped. For a while.

My confidence going into the first hole was fantastic,'' said Spieth, who made four straight birdies to hit the turn at 7 under, in the lead by five strokes. ''But listen, I had my 'B-minus' game tee to green. Ultimately, you have to have your 'A' game every single part, and I just didn't have those iron swings, as it showed on the back nine.''

All of which set up an awkward award presentation in Butler Cabin, which was then replicated on the practice green in front of the clubhouse.

First, Spieth had to present the green jacket to Willett in front of the television cameras.

Then, he had to do it again for the patrons.

Willett earned the honor by shooting a bogey-free round of 67 that left him three ahead of Spieth and Lee Westwood. Willett finished at 5-under 283.

Still looking a bit shocked, Spieth managed to muddle through.

''I can't imagine that was fun for anyone to experience,'' he said, ''other than maybe Danny's team and those who are fans of him.''

He fully expected to be taking home his own green jacket for another year, as is the custom for the Masters champion.

''I can't think of anybody else who may have had a tougher ceremony to experience,'' said Spieth, who now has to leave his jacket at the club.

For Willett, this is a career-changing victory that almost never got started. His first child was due Sunday. But Zachariah James Willett came early, on March 30, which allowed the new dad to rebook his ticket to Augusta and play in his second Masters.

Now, Willett can be mentioned in the same sentence with none other than Nick Faldo - the only other Englishman to wear the green jacket.

Faldo's third and final victory at Augusta came courtesy of Greg Norman's epic collapse back in 1996. Willett's came courtesy of Spieth, though the 28-year-old Englishman, who will move up to ninth in world ranking, did plenty to earn the victory, as well.

He went bogey-free through the last 18 holes, which looks all the more impressive considering the shaky play going on around him.

Westwood, still 0-for-the-majors, chipped in for an eagle on 15 to get within one shot of the lead, only to miss a 4-footer to save par at the 16th - right after Willett had drained a longer birdie putt.

The two-shot swing finished off Westwood, who at least showed he's still got game at age 42 after enduring a winless 2015, when his focus was clearly distracted by a divorce and a move back to his native England to be closer to his kids.

''Obviously, I must be doing something right,'' Westwood said.

Dustin Johnson, another extremely talented player who has dealt with personal issues, also got within a shot of the lead but couldn't pull out his first major title.

For Johnson, it was a familiar story - plenty of good shots, but some shaky putting and mistakes at the most inopportune times. He double-bogeyed the fifth and was all done after another double-bogey at the 17th. He finished in a tie for fourth with J.B. Holmes and Paul Casey, four shots back.

''I think my game's exactly where it needs to be,'' Johnson said, not looking at it as another one he let get away. ''I feel like I've got control of my game. I'm looking forward to the year for sure.''

For Spieth, the next major can't come soon enough.

But he has to wait two painful months for the U.S. Open at Oakmont.

Time to clear his head, and try to move past the one he gave away.

''I'm very confident in the way that we play the game of golf,'' Spieth said. ''I think that when we're on, I believe we're the best in the world.''

Steve Stricker, Nick Price Tabbed as 2017 Presidents Cup Captains.

By Sean Zak

Steve Stricker, Nick Price Tabbed as 2017 Presidents Cup Captains. (Photo/golf.com)

Steve Stricker is the next Team USA Presidents Cup captain.

Announced today by the PGA of America, Stricker will captain the American team at the 2017 Presidents Cup held at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, N.J. Nick Price will captain the International team.

It will be Stricker's first time as head captain of an event, although he'll get practice as a co-captain under Davis Love III for the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club this fall.

"I’m incredibly honored to have been selected as a U.S. Team captain for the Presidents Cup and am looking forward to it coming to Liberty National, one of my favorite venues," Stricker said. "This even has meant a lot to me, and I’m looking forward to leading what will be a very promising U.S. Team in 2017."

Price, on the other hand, has plenty of experience, having captained the International team in both 2013 and 2015. The International squad has not won the event since 1998.

The Presidents Cup will take place Sept. 25-Oct. 1, 2017.

NASCAR; Power Rankings: Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson stay at the top.

By Nick Bromberg

Kyle Busch (18) celebrates winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, April 10, 2016. (AP Photo/Larry Papke)

1. Kyle Busch (LW: 1): Busch needed a caution and some pit strategy to go his way Saturday night and he got it. When restarting fourth with fresh tires, he likely wasn't going to make up all the ground he needed to on Martin Truex Jr. to take the lead if the race was to go green the rest of the way. But Austin Dillon crashed as he fell through the pack and that put Busch on the front row of what ended up being the final restart. Combine that position with fresher tires than Truex, who didn't pit, and you know how the race ended.

2. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 2): Johnson's race got off to an inauspicious start during the competition caution when he ran into the back of Busch's car on pit road. The contact left a giant dent in

3. Joey Logano (LW: 5): Logano's car wasn't terrible throughout the race but it certainly wasn't in the stratosphere that the Joe Gibbs Racing cars were in. The No. 22 team worked on it all night and he was the fastest he'd been at the end of the race. Logano finished third.

4. Kevin Harvick (LW: 3): Harvick was a bit frustrated with the handling of his car throughout the entirety of the race. The No. 4 team couldn't get the car to Harvick's liking so he could challenge for a top three position. Instead, he spend a majority of the race comfortably in the back part of the top 10. Of course, it's a great problem to have when you have a bad car and are still in the top 10, but these are the standards Harvick and crew chief Rodney Childers have set.

5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 9): Hey there, Junior. He took home the win in the non-JGR class by finishing second to Busch. He also had this to say about the final run of the race: "Obviously our car was good ... we had a lot of passing, which with the '14 or '15 package, I'd have never got by Joey," Junior said. "So it was fun to have an opportunity to sort of set somebody up and get it by him there at the end, and that's due to the direction we went this year with the low downforce."

Pretty good endorsement.

6. Brad Keselowski (LW: 4): While Logano and his team kept their car in the ballpark the entire night, the same can't be said for his teammate. Keselowski had a pit road penalty and a car that simply wasn't very fast as the race progressed. He ended up finishing 18th, two laps down in a Richard Childress Racing sandwich between Ryan Newman and Austin Dillon.

7. Carl Edwards (LW: 7): If you're looking at the entirety of the race, it's feasible to believe Edwards had the second-best car to Martin Truex Jr. And it's feasible to wonder if it would have been Edwards in victory lane instead of Busch had he not had to come down pit road for a loose wheel after a restart. Edwards bounced back to finish seventh, and we'll take the Junior line of thinking with his finish too. It's dubious to think he'd have climbed back in to the top 10 last year.

8. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: NR): Truex fell back to sixth by the end of the race because of the tire strategy the team was on. Had Truex had fresh(er) tires at the end of the race, he probably would have won. But would he have won had he pitted on that final restart? We're not sure. He would have needed to climb through a few really good cars. Once the strategy bed was made, he had to drive in it.

9. Denny Hamlin (LW: 6): Hamlin finished 12th, the worst of the four JGR cars (plus Truex). But good enough to keep him in a tie for eighth in the points standings. Without quotes from Hamlin following the race and a notable in-race moment, we're kind of at a loss for words to describe his day.

10. Chase Elliott (LW: NR): Elliott is quietly 14th in the points standings through seven races. That's an even bigger accomplishment than you think when you take into consideration his crashes at Daytona and Las Vegas. He could have 50 more points without those crashes, and if he did, he'd be sixth in the standings. He finished fifth at Texas.

11. Austin Dillon (LW: 8): Dillon restarted second late in the race on older tires and slid back through the field. Then he crashed. He ended up 19th, two laps down. The finish was his second-worst of the first seven races ... and two positions higher than his average finish in 2015. That's when you know you've made a huge improvement.

12. Kasey Kahne (LW: NR): For the second time in three races, a driver went into the wall after contact with Kahne. This time it was Greg Biffle. Kahne's car didn't have any damage and he ended up finishing eighth. The top 10s could keep coming assuming Kahne doesn't make an enemy of half the field by the time the summer hits.

Lucky Dog: Hey, Matt Kenseth finished 11th. Though he had a top-five car.

The DNF: It was a struggle for Brian Vickers.

Dropped Out: AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Larson

Full schedule for Bristol.

Staff Report, NASCAR.com

(Photo/NASCAR.com)

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series will head to Bristol Motor Speedway this week while the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is off. Check out the full weekend schedule below.

Note: All times are ET

FRIDAY, APRIL 15:

ON TRACK

-- 11 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FS1 (Follow live)
-- 12:30-1:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, FS1 (Follow live)
-- 3-3:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, FS1 (Follow live)
-- 4:15 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FS1 (Follow live)

SATURDAY, APRIL 16:

ON TRACK

-- 8:30-9:25 a.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series second practice, FS1 (Follow live)
-- 9:30 a.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FS1 (Follow live)
-- 11-11:55 a.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, FS1 (Follow live)
--12:30 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 Heat #1 (50 laps, 26.65 miles), FS1 (Follow live)
--1:10 p.m. (approx): NASCAR XFINITY Series Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 Heat #2 (50 laps, 26.65 miles), FS1 (Follow live)
-- 1:45 p.m. (approx): NASCAR XFINITY Series Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 main race (200 laps, 106.6 miles), FS1 (Follow live)

SUNDAY, APRIL 17:

ON TRACK

-- 1 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 (500 laps, 266.5 miles), FOX (Follow live) 

SOCCER: Becky Sauerbrunn Comments on Potential 2016 Olympics Boycott by USWNT.

By Gianni Verschueren

(Photo/Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)

U.S. women's national team member Becky Sauerbrunn won't rule out boycotting the 2016 Summer Olympics unless the ongoing dispute between the team and U.S. Soccer regarding unfair wages is resolved.

The star defender made the admission during a recent interview with ESPN W. Asked whether a boycott would be "on the table" if the issue hasn't been resolved by July, she said:

It would still be on the table. We are reserving every right to do so and we're leaving every avenue open. And if nothing has changed, if we don't feel real progress has been made, then that's a conversation that we're going to have.  

... The outcome I hope is equal pay for equal play. I think, compensation-wise, respect-wise, that's what I'm really hoping comes out of this complaint. I hope that it puts enough pressure on the federation to show them our worth, our value.

Per Michael McCann of Sports Illustrated, the USWNT filed a discrimination suit against U.S. Soccer in March, stating its players are entitled to the same wages as the men's team, as they've had more recent success on the pitch and generate greater revenue.

A total of five players filed the suit, including Sauerbrunn. The other four were Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, Hope Solo and Megan Rapinoe. In the suit, the players alleged they're paid almost four times less than the men, despite producing almost $20 million in revenue last year, per Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated.

While only five players were named in the suit, Sauerbrunn took to Twitter to inform her fans the entire team was behind it:

"Five players signed the complaint, but the decision to file was whole-heartedly supported by the entire team. #equalplayequalpay #thegals"

The USWNT will enter this year's Olympics as the strong favorites to win the gold after their dominant showing during last year's World Cup. The Stars and Stripes cruised through the tournament, crushed Japan, 5-2, in the final and have been in excellent form ever since.

The men's team didn't even qualify for the Olympics, losing to Honduras in the semi-finals of the CONCACAF qualifiers and to Colombia in a play-off.

Support for the team's suit has been widespread, with even former male player Landon Donovan siding with the USWNT:

"You're correct, I'm not for equal pay, I'm for fair pay. If #USWMT generate more revenue, they should be paid more https://twitter.com/JuddLegum/status/715585548665102336 …"

But per Wahl, U.S. Soccer argues the current payment structure was agreed on as part of a collective bargaining agreement, and while the team believes the CBA has expired, the federation maintains it's in effect for the rest of 2016.

An Olympic boycott is something both sides will want to avoid, but it would be a powerful bargaining tool for the USWNT. The hype surrounding Sauerbrunn and her team-mates has never been greater. And if the side isn't there to defend its title, it would be a humiliating development for U.S. Soccer.

It would also be a blow for some of the younger players who have yet to taste international success, but given the team's recent track record, they'll have every chance to win silverware in the future. Sitting out one tournament is a sacrifice most will likely make if it means better wages moving forward.

As Fire's defense has solidified, offensive woes surface.

By Dan Santaromita

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

Entering the season arguably the biggest perceived weakness of the Chicago Fire was the team’s defense.

Coming off a 2015 campaign in which the team allowed the most goals in the league and entering 2016 with an all new defense, the Fire weren’t expected to get three shutouts in a row and certainly not so early in the season. Either the new faces weren’t going to be significant enough upgrades or they would take time to build the cohesion needed for a good defense.

Even after the first match of the season the defense didn’t look improved and coach Veljko Paunovic said as much. However, following Sunday’s 0-0 draw in Yankee Stadium (the first ever scoreless draw in Yankee Stadium for New York City FC), the Fire now have three shutouts in a row and a shutout streak (356 minutes) that is the second longest in the team’s history (the record is 395 minutes).

So of course now that the defense appears to have gone from weakness to strength, the offense has gone from what looked threatening after scoring three in the opener to listless. The Fire didn’t put any shots on goal on Sunday and have scored just two goals in the past four matches.

“We have to understand that this is going to be a long season and streaks like this may happen again,” Paunovic said when asked about the offensive struggles in his weekly conference call with media on Tuesday. “We’ve improved very well (in defense) and we can see in the data we didn’t concede any goals in the last three games, which is very important for us. Still we have to know that we have to convert opportunities and create more opportunities than we are doing so far, but it’s not frustrating. That’s part of building the team, part of the long season and we can also understand that every time the team has that solid defense it helps during the season to build a successful year and reach all objectives and goals.”

The absence of David Accam has certainly loomed large. Accam had two goals and an assist in the first two matches. The Fire have scored one goal, which came while the Fire were playing up a man after a red card, in the three matches without him.

It also sounds like Accam may miss another week. Paunovic has repeatedly said how important Accam is to the team and mentioned that again when explaining how he is progressing from injury.

“It’s tricky because we want him as soon as possible, but we also don’t want to push him in order to not make the injury worse,” Accam said. “So far he is improving well, but still we are not sure he is going to be ready.”

The Fire’s recent stretch of low-scoring matches raises the question if this is what the Paunovic era will look like. Is he actually a very defensive, pragmatic coach?

“Every team has some strengths and some weaknesses,” Paunovic said. “I believe that in order to sell your strengths you have to work on your weakness. I think that in the first game we saw what our weaknesses are and so far we are working to fix those and I think we are improving very well.

“You have to score, for that you have to control the game, but sometimes that control starts from a good defensive system and from that building up to progress to be very, very offensive.”

Premier League Preview: Crystal Palace vs. Everton

By Nicholas Mendola

(Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images)

We’re unsure whether Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew will be channeling Lou Brown’s “winning streak” speech from “Major League”, but the Eagles have stumbling Everton on Wednesday in the lone midweek fixture of the Premier League week (Watch live, 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN and online via Live Extra).

It’s a big one for Palace in the sense that chairman Steve Parish said finishing higher than last season is imperative to considering this season a success. Palace finished in 10th with 48 points last season, and is in 16th with 37 right now.

A win would jump the Eagles over Everton, which is having a poor season outside of the FA Cup. The Toffees have played one less game than the Eagles, and have 16 goals better differential. Still, 14th place is not acceptable at Goodison Park.

While Palace won at Everton last year and drew there earlier this season, the Selhurst Park faithful haven’t seen a home win over the Toffees in their last 4 meetings, with the last win coming in Oct. 1994.

Phil Jagielka will miss Everton’s next two games with a hamstring injury, but Ross Barkley should be good to go for the Eagles tilt.

What they’re saying

Eagles leader Pardew on building off the win: “It gives everybody a lift; you would expect that, we weren’t expecting the run to go on that we went on. We’ve still got the FA Semi Final to look forward to and this last programme of league games. Hopefully the confidence levels have gone up and our nervousness has disappeared and we saw the game out reasonably well against Norwich which was a pleasing factor.”

Toffees manager Roberto Martinez on the season: “The home results haven’t been good enough. You have to be consistent with your results over 10 months and we’ve managed to do that away from home but not at Goodison.”

Prediction

No doubt Everton has been a decent road team this year, and that Palace has struggled for much of the second half despite decent efforts. Everton’s back line has been leaky even with its name defenders, but Palace hasn’t exactly found many ways to score. Romelu Lukaku just may be the difference maker here in a 1-0 Toffees win.

Zidane lavishes praise on “best in the world” Ronaldo after hat trick.

By Nicholas Mendola

(Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)

That finishing touch Cristiano Ronaldo was lacking last week in Wolfsburg? Yeah, he found it.

Portugal’s megawatt superstar scored all three goals in lifting Real Madrid from a 2-0 first leg hole into the UEFA Champions League semifinals with a 3-0 second leg win on Tuesday.

In doing so Ronaldo became the only player to score 15 or more goals in two UCL campaigns, and equaled Lionel Messi for the most UCL hat tricks all-time.

And Zinedine Zidane has little interest in the “Messi’s No. 1” crowd.

From the BBC:

“He [Ronaldo] is showing what he is, which is the best player in the world. 

“Cristiano needs the whole team, I want to speak about the team because they achieved this together. 

“But he is special because not everyone is capable of scoring three goals.”

Zidane has the acumen to weigh in here, even if he’s most obviously biased and I believe he’s wrong. Ronaldo’s the second best player in the world. No shame in that.

I’m winking, CR7. You can’t see me, but I’m winking.

NCAAFB: Jim Harbaugh rips SEC, ACC, NCAA Hypocrisy, Hugh Freeze In Rant.

By Chip Patterson

(Photo/Harbaugh is throwing heaters at the NCAA, SEC and ACC. (Photo/USATSI)

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh was the face of college football satellite camps. Now that the NCAA has put an end to the practice, he's taking aim at the NCAA, SEC and ACC for their role in what he called a "knee-jerk" reaction.

The NCAA Division I Council banned satellite camps earlier this month, ending a practice that existed long before Harbaugh was hired at Michigan. The ones held by Harbaugh's Wolverines increased exposure for the program and camps of their kind across the country, but at this point, anything Harbaugh touches gets attention.

Silent for nearly four full days following the ban, Harbaugh has come out throwing heat, offering pointed remarks on several hot topics to Michael Rosenberg of Sports Illustrated.

On the SEC and ACC's efforts to get the NCAA to ban satellite camps: "It seems to be outrage by the SEC and ACC. They power-brokered that out ... the image that comes to my mind is guys in a back room smoking cigars, doing what they perceive is best for them. It certainly isn't the best thing for the youngsters. It's not the best thing for the student-athletes."

On Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze, who previously stated satellite camps create more work for coaches and too much time is spent away from home already: "You've got a guy sitting in a big house, making $5 million a year, saying he does not want to sacrifice his time. That is not a kindred spirit to me. What most of these coaches are saying is they don't want to work harder."

On the NCAA's hypocrisy in regards to the term "student-athlete": "During the NCAA basketball tournament, we discuss the term 'student-athlete' ad nauseam in promoting our governing institution and our member institutions. Then, when we have an opportunity to truly promote the 'student-athlete' with a concept shared by educators and football men from all backgrounds, our leadership goes into hiding.

"I suggest we drop the term 'student-athlete' for consistency."

That last quote, targeting the message of the NCAA, is sure to generate responses across the country. The association moved swiftly to ban the camps after Harbaugh's much-profiled tour, but in doing so, some say they hurt high school players by lessening their chances of exposure to Division I programs, particularly those that may not otherwise be recognized by Power Five conferences for one reason or another.

The NCAA's ruling also gives Harbaugh a talking point heading into the offseason. At each turn with Harbaugh and members of the press, expect his stance on "student-athlete" to be questioned. If Harbaugh continues to build on his points regarding the ruling, we have the Michigan football coach challenging the NCAA, which is a pretty big deal.

Cardale Jones slams NCAA.

By Mike Florio

(Photo/AP)

Former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones opted a year ago to return to school for another year. He probably regrets the decision, for a variety of reasons.

For starters, the iron was much hotter for Jones a year ago, after he led the Buckeyes to a national title with multiple impressive performances. By staying another year, having his game cool considerably, and ultimately landing on the bench, Jones’ stock is much lower now than it would have been in 2015.

Apart from the decision to pass on entering the NFL, Jones embraced another season of NCAA football. And if there was any doubt about it, Jones isn’t a fan of the NCAA.

Via Deadspin, Jones went off on college football’s governing body in a series of tweets posted on Monday.

“I’m so happy to be done with the NCAA and their rules & regulation[s],” Jones said. “They do any & everything to exploited collegiate athletes. It’s deeper than thinking we should get paid. The NCAA control[s] our lives with insane and unfair rules. Why should a collegiate athlete be able to use their OWN likeness/brand to benefit themselves but yet the NCAA can sell [their] jerseys. That’s my [two cents] on the NCAA. It’s not like that’s going to change how the athletes are exploited, even [though] 98% of people feel the same way.”

Jones may be overstating the extent to which people agree with him; a large segment of the population seems to be willing to cling to the misguided notion that major college football and basketball players should be content to receive tuition, room, board, and snacks in exchange for the millions they generate.

Regardless of whether and to what extent anyone agrees with Jones (and I definitely do), the best vehicle for change continues to be the multiple antitrust lawsuits alleging that universities fix the compensation provided to college athletes by collectively agreeing, under the umbrella of the NCAA, to a system that limits what they can receive. If that argument is accepted in the courts where it is pending, the current NCAA system could be overhauled in dramatic ways.

NCAABKB: NCAA Tournament deal with CBS, Turner extended through 2032.

By Rachel Cohen

Villanova players celebrate after the NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball championship game against North Carolina, Monday, April 4, 2016, in Houston. Villanova won 77-74. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

With eight years left on their deal to broadcast the NCAA Tournament, CBS and Turner are tacking on another eight.

The extension announced Tuesday goes all the way through 2032. The length of the contract is not unusual for college sports these days, though with the NCAA facing legal challenges on multiple fronts, a lot can change in 16 years.

Provisions in the agreement protect CBS and Turner should the tourney start to look very different. But network executives hope this deal itself increases the odds that March Madness marches on mostly the same.

''One reason we're confident the tournament will remain the premier event it is, is the financial underpinning that CBS and Turner are providing to the NCAA,'' CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus told The Associated Press.

The extension pays an average of $1.1 billion per season, up from more than $770 million on average under the current contract.

McManus and Turner President David Levy expressed confidence, too, in the value of the terms - what McManus called ''a very prudent decision.''

''We believe it will be financially profitable at the end,'' Levy said.

The new deal includes the rights to technologies that have yet to be invented. It retains the existing format for TV, with early-round games aired across CBS and three Turner networks: TBS, TNT and truTV. The Final Four will keep alternating between CBS and TBS.

McManus acknowledged one small change for next season unrelated to the extension: announcing the brackets quicker after this year's expanded selection slow was widely panned for how long it took to reveal the field.

''We'll address that,'' he said, ''and I'm sure we'll make it right.''

The championship game aired on cable for the first time this month and drew a record-low rating on TBS in a season in which viewership had been down all tournament. When interest soared in 2015, though, the semifinals on TBS attracted huge audiences.

''This was sort of an anomaly,'' Levy said of 2016.

''If there's the right story line, the right matchup, a competitive game, you're going to get a rating whether it's broadcast or cable,'' he added.

The field will remain at 68 teams. Back when the NCAA first agreed to a 14-year deal with CBS and Turner in 2010, there was talk of expanding the tourney to 96. That debate has all but disappeared since, NCAA President Mark Emmert said, and no discussion of increasing the field took place during negotiations for this extension.

''We've had such great success with this format,'' Emmert said.

Levy suspects that once each game was televised live for the first time starting in 2011, the added options ''absorbed a lot of the thirst'' for a larger field.

The switch to making every matchup available on TV proved instantly popular. Long gone are complaints about CBS's decisions to switch among games back when the network solely carried the tournament.

CBS and Turner essentially act as one company under the contract, combining forces both in front of and behind the camera in announcing, production, marketing and ad sales. Their predetermined split of revenue is based on overall viewership across all four networks.

At the time of the initial deal, CBS wanted to keep the tournament but needed a partner to afford it. For Turner, a Time Warner company, another big-time sports event offered exposure for its cable channels.

''We've exceeded all our expectations on almost every line, whether it's ratings or financial impact,'' Levy said.

Under provisions in the original contract, the sides started to look into an extension last year. Aware of the ''upheaval'' going on in the television business, Emmert said, the NCAA was keen to lock in long term its main source of revenue.

''Big events'' are the most valuable properties in TV these days, McManus said, and in some ways, nothing is bigger than March Madness, stretching over nearly a month. In an era of off-the-court turmoil for the NCAA, the unknown is how long the tourney will endure as a big event. For now, it's a very attractive one to CBS and Turner.

''There are clauses that the tournament remains the premium tournament that it is today, the destination for Division I basketball schools to play in and compete in,'' Levy said. ''If that changes in any way, shape or form, there are clauses that will allow us to have conversations if that's necessary.''

College athletes react on Twitter after receiving EA Sports lawsuit checks.

By Jon Solomon

The check received by ex-Eagles player Dan Mulrooney. (Twitter/@Coach_Mul)

Current and former college football and men's basketball players are starting to receive settlement checks for previously appearing in NCAA-branded video games. This marks what's believed to be the first time active college athletes are permitted by the NCAA to get paid for use of their names, images and likenesses.

The checks come from the 2009 Sam Keller and Ed O'Bannon lawsuits against the NCAA, Electronic Arts and Collegiate Licensing Company. The likenesses and characteristics of college athletes were used by EA in football and men's basketball video games without their permission or any payment -- and with NCAA officials aware of the use behind the scenes.

The case was settled in June 2014 for $60 million with lawyers receiving 30 percent of the settlement. Now the checks are finally reaching players who made successful claims for appearing in games between 2003 and 2014, when the NCAA video games ended due to the litigation.

Leonard Aragon, the attorney for Hagens Berman Sobol Shaprio who is handling the settlement, said 24,932 checks are being issued. The average recovery for a player is $1,237, the median is $1,071, the maximum is $7,622 and the lowest is $58. The lowest payment is an outlier because that player opted out of the EA settlement and only got paid from the NCAA settlement, Aragon said. Otherwise, the lowest payment is $100.

People who received the largest checks were generally those that played five years and were featured in more recent games, plus players on legacy teams who appeared in multiple years, Aragon said. The lawyers created a point system to determine how much to award each player's claim.

P.J. Fitzgerald (Alabama football, 2006-09) told CBS Sports he's receiving about $3,800 for four years on the video game. “I have two little girls, so I'll definitely put it aside and save,” Fitzgerald said.

Maryland defensive back Jarrett Ross, Central Florida quarterback Nick Patti and Oklahoma State wide receiver Marcell Ateman are among the current players expected to receive a check, USA Today reported. Aragon said about nine people receiving checks were identified as potentially active college athletes, all in football.

“Three we were able to find on next year's rosters, but when we tried to contact the schools the administration wouldn't let them talk to reporters,” Aragon said.

Aragon provided to CBS Sports additional names of current players who received video-game checks: West Virginia offensive lineman Tyler Orlosky, a team captain and an All-Big 12 player in 2015; South Alabama offensive lineman Joseph Scelfo; Ohio cornerback Kevin Houchins, a recent transfer from Louisville; Tulane cornerback Parry Nickerson; San Diego State defensive end Alex Barrett; Texas cornerback Sheroid Evans; Georgia State defensive end Carnell Hopson; Colgate linebacker Charles Cairnie; and Kent State defensive tackle Jontey Byrd.

In addition, Notre Dame All-American defensive lineman Sheldon Day and Georgia starting defensive lineman Sterling Bailey are on the list of players getting checks. Both players were seniors last season. USA Today reported that Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green and Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews are among the NFL players getting paid from the settlement based on their time in college.

NCAA rules do not allow college athletes to be paid for use of their names, images and likenesses. When the video game settlement occurred in 2014, the NCAA said it would allow a blanket eligibility waiver for any current college athletes who receives money from the settlement.

“In no event do we consider this settlement pay for athletics performance,” NCAA chief legal officer Donald Remy said in 2014.

Still, the fact is a small number of current college football players are being paid for use of their name, image and likeness.

“I would point out that these are some large checks that equals or significantly exceeds what most players would have been paid had they been able to license their name, image and likeness -- whether as a group license or individual license,” Aragon said.

Given the NCAA's current rules, no one can say for sure if that statement is accurate. It's not known what the market would bear unless it was permitted to be tested. Just like no one knows if these payments will ever occur again.

But for one moment in time, college athletes are getting paid for appearing in video games.

Report: NBA expected to approve advertising on jerseys.

By Dan Feldman

(Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press via AP)

Adam Silver has repeatedly called advertising on NBA jerseys inevitable.

Now – after facing numerous obstacles – the commissioner is on the verge of being proven correct.

Brian Windhorst and Darren Rovell of ESPN:

NBA owners are scheduled to vote this week on putting ads on jerseys for the 2017-18 season, multiple sources told ESPN. 

The measure is expected to pass, according to sources. Several teams have begun testing the market to sell the potentially lucrative ads, which would be placed in a 2.5-by-2.5-inch patch on the left shoulder.

The initial proposal to owners was for teams to keep 50 percent of the sponsorship money from the jersey ads and for 50 percent to be added to the revenue-sharing pool for all teams.

The NBA recently signed new national television and apparel deals where the ads were part of the negotiations. In 2017, Nike will take over from Adidas as the league’s uniform provider when the ads are expected to debut.

Like most, I don’t like the idea of advertising on NBA jerseys – or advertising creeping into any facet of my life. But the NBA should not operate based on my comfort. The NBA is a business that should attempt to maximize profit, which also benefits players thanks to their salaries being tied to revenue.

That doesn’t necessarily make these ads wise, though.

Will the ads diminish the prestige of the NBA? Will the ads cause fans to buy fewer jerseys? Will potential sponsors pay teams’ asking price for the ads? Will sponsors spend new money on the ads rather than diverting money already spent on the NBA?

These are practical, not philosophical, concerns.

If NBA teams feel they have found suitable answers to those questions, more power to them.

There’s also the issue of how they split up their money, but a 50-50 split – after the players’ cut, I presume – between keeping and sharing seems reasonable.

That said, the measure hasn’t officially passed. Lottery reform looked inevitable until enough owners reversed course late in the process to vote it down. If anyone has reservations about jersey advertising – or, more likely, this specific plan for jersey advertising – now is the time to convince owners.

But as Silver has said, it seems inevitable.

On This Date in Sports History: Today is Wednesday, April 13, 2016.

Memoriesofhistory.com

1954 - Hank Aaron debuted with the Milwaukee Braves.

1957 - The Boston Celtics won their first NBA Championship. They beat the St. Louis Hawks 125-123 in Game 7.

1963 - The New York Mets played their first home game. The game was played at the Polo Grounds.

1963 - Pete Rose (Cincinnati Reds) got his first hit in the major leagues.

1972 - Major league baseball owners and players agreed to not make up the games lost to the players strike. It was the first strike in the history of major league baseball. Players had walked off the field 13 days earlier.

1979 - The world's longest doubles ping-pong match ended after 101 hours.

1985 - Howard Cosell was a guest on "Saturday Night Live."

1986 - Jack Nicklaus, at age 46, won his sixth Masters.

1997 - Eldrick "Tiger" Woods became the youngest and the first African-American person to win the Masters Tournament at the age of 21. He also set a record when he finished at 18 under par with a tournament-record score of 270.

2002 - Barry Bonds hit his 574th career home run. He moved past Harmon Killebrew and into sixth place.

2003 - Mike Weir became the first Canadian to win the Masters Tournament.

2009 - The New York Mets opened the season at their new stadium, Citi Field.

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