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"Sports Quote of the Day"
"One thing about championship teams is that they're resilient. No matter what is thrown at them, no matter how deep the hole, they find a way to bounce back and overcome adversity." ~ Nick Saban, NCAA Championship Football Coach (University of Alabama)
Trending: How the Cubs match up against the Giants in the NLDS. (See the baseball section for Cubs and baseball playoff updates).
Trending: Brian Hoyer using time-honored simple approach to running Bears offense. (See the football section for Bears and NFL updates).
Trending: Prospects giving Blackhawks plenty to think about. (Please see the hockey section for Blackhawks updates and NHL news).
Trending: Dear MLB: Please cancel the playoffs before the Giants win another World Series. Not..... What's Your Take? (See the last article on this blog for our take).
Trending: Bulls Fall to the Pacers 115-108 in First Preseason Road Game. (Please see the basketball section for Bulls updates and NBA news).
Trending: Cubs road to the "World Series".
Best-of-5 series
(Cubs won season series, 4-3)
Game 1 at Chicago: Friday, 8:15 p.m. Giants’ Johnny Cueto (18-5, 2.79 ERA) vs. Jon
Lester (19-5, 2.44). TV: FS1
Game 2 at Chicago: Saturday, 7:08 p.m. Giants’ Jeff Samardzija (12-11, 3.81) vs. Kyle Hendricks (16-8, 2.13). TV: MLBN
Game 3 at San Francisco: Monday, Oct. 10, time TBA. Giants’ Madison Bumgarner (15-9, 2.74) vs. Jake Arrieta (18-8, 3.10). TV: FS1 or MLBN
*Game 4 at San Francisco: Tuesday, Oct. 11, time TBA. Giants’ Matt Moore (13-12, 4.08) vs. John Lackey (11-8, 3.35). TV: FS1
*Game 5 at Chicago: Thursday, Oct. 13, time TBA. Giants’ Cueto or TBA vs. Lester or TBA. TV: FS1
* If necessary
Note: All times Central
(See the baseball section for Cubs and baseball playoff updates).
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!!!! Indianapolis Colts-Chicago Bears Preview.
By Noey Kupchan
Though the Indianapolis Colts got a lengthy look at what life would be like without Peyton Manning last season, they have to be feeling a whole lot better about their quarterback situation with Andrew Luck under center.
The Chicago Bears, meanwhile, are undoubtedly looking forward to Jay Cutler's return from injury - all the more with Brandon Marshall at his disposal.
The Chicago Bears, meanwhile, are undoubtedly looking forward to Jay Cutler's return from injury - all the more with Brandon Marshall at his disposal.
Luck makes his highly anticipated debut Sunday at Soldier Field as the Colts take on a Bears team hoping to have eight-time Pro Bowl linebacker Brian Urlacher available.
Selected No. 1 overall in the draft after an outstanding career at Stanford, Luck - arguably the most NFL-ready rookie quarterback since Manning in 1998 - has some big shoes to fill.
For the first time in 15 years, Manning will be wearing a different uniform. The Colts decided to let the four-time MVP go after he missed the entire 2011 season due to a series of neck operations, releasing Manning in March following a storied career in Indianapolis.
"I know that if I woke up every morning trying to compare myself to Peyton, I think I would go crazy. It's impossible," Luck told the Colts' official website.
"I realize that, so I am going to go out there and do the best I can. I'm going to put my best forward, and if one day I can be mentioned alongside Peyton in quarterback lore, it would be a football dream come true. Until then I will try to do my best and not get worried about the comparisons."
With Manning now in Denver, Luck will do his best to get the Colts back on track. Indianapolis went 2-14 last season to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2001, but Robert Mathis, Dwight Freeney, Adam Vinatieri and Reggie Wayne are still around to help ease Luck's transition.
In addition to handing the keys to a rookie QB, the Colts are also welcoming a new coach. Indianapolis fired Jim Caldwell after three seasons and hired Chuck Pagano, who spent last season at Baltimore's defensive coordinator.
"I don't think anybody is viewing it as a rebuilding season," Luck said. "There are great players on this team. Guys that have made the playoffs for X amount of years in a row, and then maybe missed out last year, so I know they are hungry. I just hope that I can help them achieve that goal."
While some of the uncertainty surrounding Indianapolis stems from Luck's lack of experience, the veteran-laden Bears are dealing with their fair share of issues.
Chicago, though, hopes to have solved one of its biggest problems by acquiring Marshall from Miami, giving Cutler a legitimate No. 1 receiver for the first time since he joined the Bears in 2009. Cutler and Marshall proved to be one of the league's more dynamic duos during their time in Denver - then-QB coach Jeremy Bates is now doing the same job in Chicago - and appear primed for another big season.
"We did some good stuff when we were in Denver," Cutler told the Bears' official website. "We were young. (Coaches) Mike Shanahan and Jeremy Bates were very good about putting us in situations for us to be successful, being very safe and at the same time trying to be explosive."
Cutler should also benefit from Alshon Jeffery's presence. The 6-foot-3 receiver was taken in the second round of the draft.
"We've got some guys that can play football on the outside. There's no doubt about that," Cutler added. "Hopefully, it's going to make my job easier just being able to get them the ball and let them work."
Bears fans will be getting their first look at Cutler since he suffered a season-ending broken right thumb while trying to make a tackle following an interception against San Diego in Week 11. Chicago improved to 7-3 after winning that game but finished 8-8 following dismal displays from Caleb Hanie and Josh McCown.
While Chicago appears to be in much better shape with Jason Campbell now backing up Cutler, much of the team's success could hinge on how Urlacher's left knee holds up. He was injured during the final game of 2011 and underwent arthroscopic surgery in mid-August.
After missing most of the preseason, though, Urlacher practiced Monday for the first time since July 31 and appears to have a good chance of playing Sunday.
In addition to Urlacher's status, the offensive line remains a question mark. Chicago was tied for 27th in the league with 49 sacks allowed last season, a total Mike Tice knows needs to come down.
"I have trouble sleeping at night until I know that our quarterback is protected," said Tice, who replaces Mike Martz as offensive coordinator.
The line will also need to come up big for Matt Forte, who enters this season fresh off signing a four-year, $31.5 million contract. Forte ranked third in the league with an average of 123.9 scrimmage yards last year but missed the team's last four games with a sprained ligament in his right knee.
Though Forte is likely to see the majority of the carries, recently signed Michael Bush should also get plenty of work.
Sunday marks the second meeting between Chicago and Indianapolis since the Colts defeated the Bears 29-17 in Super Bowl XLI. Chicago won 29-13 at Indianapolis on Sept. 7, 2008, behind 123 rushing yards and a touchdown from Forte.
Brian Hoyer using time-honored simple approach to running Bears offense.
By John Mullin
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
With many more efforts like last Sunday’s – 28-for-36 passing, 302 yards, 2 touchdowns, zero interceptions – he will be awarded the Bears starting-quarterback job, which would make the Bears the third team he has started for in his career. Hoyer, who’d started 26 career games before joining the Bears on a one-year contract last offseason, may have gotten his Chicago shot because of injury but is now positioned to keep the job through performance.
His first task, however, is keep it simple and direct, because that is precisely what has put him in this position.
“With every situation that I’ve dealt with in my career, dealing with the quarterback situation, at this point I’m just trying to keep doing what I’m doing,” said Hoyer, whose NFL record as a starter is 16-12 going into next Sunday in Indianapolis. “Keep doing what I’m asked, and when I get a chance to play, play the best I can. That’s really all I’m trying to focus on.”
That’s not always easy. Quarterbacks are centerpieces of football teams, Chicago is a Bears town, which makes Hoyer the primary non-Cubs story rippling through sports coverage. Even if Hoyer is living in a cone of silence, others close to him aren’t.
“I try not to pay attention to the media, but when friends, family members reach out to you, you kind of figure it out,” Hoyer said. But for me, I’m not putting too much into it. I’m just trying to prepare the best I can and do what I’m asked of.”
Hoyer’s strength in coaches’ evaluations is obvious: He has thrown zero interceptions in 97 pass attempts spanning the last two games and part of a third (Philadelphia). The offense has incurred no delay-of-game penalties on Hoyer’s watch.
“He’s been very efficient moving the offense, done a nice job getting us in and out of the huddle, and distributing the ball to the right guy,” said offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains.
Maybe none of Hoyer’s success, however small the Chicago sample size so far, should be a surprise. He suffered through some of the Johnny Manziel quarterback circus while with the Cleveland Browns in 2014 and was 10-6 in starts for the Browns over 2013-14.
Hoyer is older now (31) but “he’s not a different player,” Loggains said. “You know, he had a really good year for us in 2014. I think he’s a little more confident because he’s played more, and taken a team to the playoffs. I see his personality coming out a little more. He’s just excited to be out there with the guys and helping us win a game last week.”
Interestingly, Hoyer’s Bears course has roughly paralleled that of Josh McCown, whose career high point came in 2013 when he replaced Cutler on two injury occasions. McCown approached the one-season heights of his 2013 (101.0 passer rating) once in his career, ironically in Cleveland as Hoyer’s successor in 2015 (93.3 rating).
Hoyer play over his two-plus games has produced a lofty 103.3, like McCown’s the reflection of being nearly interception-free. For his career, Hoyer has a respectable interception rate of 2.4 percent. By comparison, Cutler had a solid 2015, with a pick-rate of 2.3 percent but is a below-average 3.3 percent over his career.
The Hoyer mission statement is precisely matched with Loggains’ notion of a quarterback’s job: Facilitate and enable the other 10 members of the offense to do theirs.
The approach that has worked is virtually identical with that of McCown: “Just trying to go out and execute the game plan,” Hoyer said. “I think Dowell has done a good job of coming up with plays and knowing where our strengths are and I think really the offense kind of coming together.
“The offensive line really kind of jelling together. They’ve been playing better, giving me some time to throw the ball. And you know, a bunch of receivers, tight ends, everybody making plays, the running game going. So I think it’s just the total of the whole offense improving each week and that’s what we touched on. Just learn from the mistakes, keep doing the things we’re doing well, keep doing those and keep progressing.”
Bears staying 'next man up' course but these injuries are getting ridiculous.
By John Mullin
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Injuries are part of every NFL week and team, and Wednesday reports are considerably less conclusive than those later in the week. But by the time John Fox finished going through his injury list Wednesday, it was approaching Thursday.
Seven starters (Jay Cutler, Jeremy Langford, Zach Miller, Eddie Royal, Eddie Goldman and Leonard Floyd, plus Kevin White on IR) did not practice at all, and nine others were “limited,” which means doing little or nothing in the team sessions that are the core of practice.
Things were reaching the point of Fox beaten down to some gallows humor.
“I think back in ’04 [at Carolina] we had about 18 guys on IR. So I think that kind of broke the record and I am not sure you can even get close to that one.
“But we’re still early.”
Replacing Kevin White, ex-QB Cam Meredith putting QB experience to use.
By John Mullin
Things were reaching the point of Fox beaten down to some gallows humor.
“I think back in ’04 [at Carolina] we had about 18 guys on IR. So I think that kind of broke the record and I am not sure you can even get close to that one.
“But we’re still early.”
Replacing Kevin White, ex-QB Cam Meredith putting QB experience to use.
By John Mullin
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
When he went from St. Joseph’s High School in Westchester to Illinois State, Cameron Meredith went as a quarterback, and he played there sparingly through his sophomore year.
Then he switched to wide receiver as a junior and played well enough to eventually make the Bears as an undrafted free agent. But he never entirely stopped thinking like a quarterback.
“A little bit. It’s started to kind of fade away,” said Meredith, whose 40 snaps over the past two games included 26 in the win over Detroit when Kevin White suffered a potentially season-ending broken leg. “It helps a little bit but it’s a little different on the other side of the fence. You’ve definitely got to get on the same page as the quarterback and those things kind of take care of themselves.”
Meredith played in 11 games last season, with zero starts and a total of 134 snaps. Now he confronts coaches with a decision.
Eddie Royal has regained explosiveness after an injury-marred 2015, but Royal did not withstand the rigors and assaults of starting and was himself lost for a combined seven games because of an ankle injury, a knee injury and illness. Royal has played the fewest snaps of the Bears’ top three wideouts prior to White’s injury, and inserting him into the starting lineup, in addition to his nickel-package responsibilities, could break the smallish Royal.
Additionally, Meredith as a backup spent most of his training camp and preseason working with quarterback Brian Hoyer, now the presumptive starter.
“I’ve been working with Brian for a while now because I was working with the ‘2’s’ for a little bit,” Meredith said. “I think it’s different for everybody, but Brian has definitely stepped up and made a lot of big plays and we’re getting a lot more comfortable with his ball and his release and stuff like that. It’s good to get on the same page with him early and going forward.”
Then he switched to wide receiver as a junior and played well enough to eventually make the Bears as an undrafted free agent. But he never entirely stopped thinking like a quarterback.
“A little bit. It’s started to kind of fade away,” said Meredith, whose 40 snaps over the past two games included 26 in the win over Detroit when Kevin White suffered a potentially season-ending broken leg. “It helps a little bit but it’s a little different on the other side of the fence. You’ve definitely got to get on the same page as the quarterback and those things kind of take care of themselves.”
Meredith played in 11 games last season, with zero starts and a total of 134 snaps. Now he confronts coaches with a decision.
Eddie Royal has regained explosiveness after an injury-marred 2015, but Royal did not withstand the rigors and assaults of starting and was himself lost for a combined seven games because of an ankle injury, a knee injury and illness. Royal has played the fewest snaps of the Bears’ top three wideouts prior to White’s injury, and inserting him into the starting lineup, in addition to his nickel-package responsibilities, could break the smallish Royal.
Additionally, Meredith as a backup spent most of his training camp and preseason working with quarterback Brian Hoyer, now the presumptive starter.
“I’ve been working with Brian for a while now because I was working with the ‘2’s’ for a little bit,” Meredith said. “I think it’s different for everybody, but Brian has definitely stepped up and made a lot of big plays and we’re getting a lot more comfortable with his ball and his release and stuff like that. It’s good to get on the same page with him early and going forward.”
Significantly, Meredith has indeed appeared to be on a same page with Hoyer. The quarterback targeted him as many times – five – in the Detroit game as he did Alshon Jeffery, and that in less than half the number of snaps that Jeffery played. And “targets” in part reflect a quarterback’s confidence in a receiver.
Meredith caught all three throws to him on a critical drive for a field goal midway through the second half. That field goal was the winning margin.
“I’ve been impressed with Cam,” Hoyer said. “I think skill-wise he’s big, he’s fast. I think you have seen that the last two weeks — the one in Dallas where he went up and snatched it and even this past week, he had a good catch on one of the rollouts where he went up and grabbed it.
“His hands are impressive for being a guy who hasn’t really played receiver that long, I know he’s a former quarterback. He’s going to get his opportunity to step up and I think he’s made strides to be ready for that opportunity.”
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Prospects giving Blackhawks plenty to think about.
By Tracey Myers
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
There are certain phrases that have become part of the Blackhawks’ vernacular. Coach Joel Quenneville has uttered one several times in the short time he’s been back in Chicago.
“We like tough decisions,” Quenneville said on Tuesday night.
If that’s the case, the Blackhawks have got to be loving their current situation.
Be it Alexandre Fortin, Gustav Forsling or Vinnie Hinostroza, among others, the Blackhawks are seeing some impressive performances from their prospects. That’s good, considering the vacancies, especially on the forward lines, the Blackhawks need to fill. The good impressions continued on Tuesday night, when those three, as well as Nick Schmaltz and Ryan Hartman had great outings in the team’s 6-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.
“We could talk about all of our young guys tonight,” Quenneville said following the game, “and it was positive in every facet.”
Hinostroza, who was moved back to the wing — he said he felt better there than at center — got his first goal of the preseason. His speed has been noticeable throughout. Schmaltz, back at center after playing some wing, tipped in his first goal. Hartman provided the net-front presence. Fortin lined up with Patrick Kane and Artem Anisimov and didn’t get rattled. Forsling was strong again and making some slick passes.
Yes, the situation isn’t so bad, really.
“I would say it’s definitely deeper,” Quenneville said of this group of young players. “Definitely the type of ingredients that we’re looking for our team, the addition of speed and depth and skill. To me, that’s the way the game is progressing, so I think it can be healthy and not just [for] these guys coming into our lineup. They’re going to be in some really important spots for us. So that could be a good sign.”
“We like tough decisions,” Quenneville said on Tuesday night.
If that’s the case, the Blackhawks have got to be loving their current situation.
Be it Alexandre Fortin, Gustav Forsling or Vinnie Hinostroza, among others, the Blackhawks are seeing some impressive performances from their prospects. That’s good, considering the vacancies, especially on the forward lines, the Blackhawks need to fill. The good impressions continued on Tuesday night, when those three, as well as Nick Schmaltz and Ryan Hartman had great outings in the team’s 6-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.
“We could talk about all of our young guys tonight,” Quenneville said following the game, “and it was positive in every facet.”
Hinostroza, who was moved back to the wing — he said he felt better there than at center — got his first goal of the preseason. His speed has been noticeable throughout. Schmaltz, back at center after playing some wing, tipped in his first goal. Hartman provided the net-front presence. Fortin lined up with Patrick Kane and Artem Anisimov and didn’t get rattled. Forsling was strong again and making some slick passes.
Yes, the situation isn’t so bad, really.
“I would say it’s definitely deeper,” Quenneville said of this group of young players. “Definitely the type of ingredients that we’re looking for our team, the addition of speed and depth and skill. To me, that’s the way the game is progressing, so I think it can be healthy and not just [for] these guys coming into our lineup. They’re going to be in some really important spots for us. So that could be a good sign.”
As previously written, some of the Blackhawks’ roster decisions also come down to contracts and playing time as much as preseason performances. There’s no doubt Fortin and Forsling have done some tremendous work this fall. They’ve turned heads, and they’ve turned the right heads. Do the Blackhawks see enough in Fortin to keep him here and burn the first season of his entry-level contract? Is there a place for Forsling among a defensive group that’s a lot deeper this season than it was the last? And if Forsling stays, you would think the Blackhawks would want to give him enough playing time to justify his staying here. As Quenneville always says about prospects, the team wants to keep them playing.
It sounds like some of these young hopefuls will get one more look on Saturday in the Blackhawks’ preseason finale against St. Louis. Decisions, decisions. The Blackhawks love when they have to make the tough ones. They’ve got to be enjoying their situation immensely right now.
“Nothing got sorted out [Tuesday]. [They] made it real difficult on us. It’s real positive organizationally,” Quenneville said. “These young guys, we need some of them. How many we need will be determined going forward, because they all enhanced their chances.”
Blackhawks' Ryan Hartman bringing more 'bite' to his game.
By Tracey Myers
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
When the Blackhawks traded Andrew Shaw in July, they started looking at possibilities within their system to replace him. One of the first names that popped up was Ryan Hartman.
As training camp continues, Hartman is showing he’s still under consideration for that gritty, net-front presence.
Hartman scored his first preseason goal in the Blackhawks’ 6-1 victory over Detroit on Tuesday. It was the type of goal the Blackhawks are looking for: a shot from close range – in Hartman’s case, a backhand – off a rebound. The goal helps Hartman’s camp case but for a guy who grew up in West Dundee, it was a great personal moment, too.
“I don’t know how many games total, including regular season, preseason, I’ve played in since I was drafted. That was my first in a Hawks uniform, so it was pretty special,” said Hartman.
But this is more about Hartman making the team. As of now, his game has gotten positive reviews.
“I think he’s got a little bit more of that bite in his game,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “We’re looking for more consistency pace-wise and tenacity and he’s got some good skills in those areas. We want to see him try to be a little faster in his overall approach. But I think the way he thinks and sees the game and competes in the game, we like the progression that he’s had in camp.”
The Blackhawks will still be playing a good amount of their prospects in Saturday’s preseason finale in St. Louis. Hartman, who skated on a line with Alexandre Fortin and Marcus Kruger at Thursday’s practice, is likely among them. The spots are there, but so is the competition.
“I mean, there’s a lot of guys battling for very few spots, some are the same, some are different. But there’s definitely good competition. It makes us battle every day and pushes us to get better,” Hartman said. “We’re just trying to earn our trust with the coaching staff. Just do what you can and it should push you through.”
Forsling staying?
The Blackhawks have made it clear they like how defenseman Gustav Forsling has looked in camp. The way it looks right now, the young Swede could be with the Blackhawks this season.
“I think his play really has kept us on one topic, and that’s looking at him being around here,” Quenneville said. “That’s something that’s really been more on the forefront than the other discussions.”
According to generalfanager.com, this first year of Forsling’s contract will count, regardless of whether the 20-year-old plays here or in Sweden. While Forsling would be joining an already deep defense, the Blackhawks would get him in the lineup.
“If he's going to be here, he'd be playing,” Quenneville said.
Briefly
- Quenneville said the Blackhawks “could” exercise the 10-game option with forward Alexandre Fortin. The 19-year-old just signed a three-year, entry-level contract on Sept. 25. If he plays in at least 10 games this season, that will burn the first year of his contract. Considering how Fortin has played, it may be worth it. “He's definitely been giving us something to think about each and every day. Loved his progression here and we love his speed; did some good things on the power play as well last game,” Quenneville said. “He's not making it easy on us.”
- Marian Hossa did not skate on Thursday. He’s expected to do so on Friday.
- Corey Crawford is expected to play the entire game on Saturday.
Blackhawks wish Cubs good luck in playoffs holding 'W' flag in locker room.
By CSN Staff
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Chicago is ready for the MLB postseason, and so are the Blackhawks.
Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and crew wished the Cubs good luck in the playoffs by taking a team picture while holding the "W" flag behind the Blackhawks logo in the locker room.
Several of them displayed their support by wearing Cubs hats as well:
************************
Chicago Blackhawks@
NHLBlackhawks
Good luck in the playoffs, @Cubs! The #Blackhawks will be cheering you on each step of the way. #FlyTheW #OneCity #OneGoal
4:15 PM - 6 Oct 2016
*************************
The Cubs were appreciative of the message and responded back with a GIF of an excited Anthony Rizzo, and it's safe to say this is how Cubs fans feel knowing the championship journey starts Friday:
Chicago Cubs
@Cubs
@NHLBlackhawks Thank you! #OneCity #FlyTheW
*************************
CUBS: How the Cubs match up against the Giants in the NLDS.
By Tony Andracki
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Can the Cubs halt the Giants' even-year magic?
Until proven otherwise, the San Francisco Giants are unstoppable in even years, and they proved it again with another superhuman performance from Madison Bumgarner in the National League wild-card game Wednesday night.
Bumgarner threw 119 pitches in a complete-game shutout in the Giants' 3-0 victory over the Mets in New York, extending his postseason shutout streak to 22 innings.
Now he and the Giants are on their way to Chicago, looking to take another step toward their fourth straight even-year championship after winning the World Series in 2010, 2012 and 2014.
That's no matter for the Cubs. They're already staring down a 108-year drought and more than a century rife with "curses" and postseason meltdowns.
The Cubs are only focused on themselves and taking care of their own business, with Joe Maddon referencing legendary basketball coach John Wooden Tuesday afternoon at Wrigley Field.
"Coach Wooden was never really concerned so much about his opposition as much as we he was concerned about his team doing what they do well," Maddon said. "For me, I really subscribe to that theory - let's worry about what we do well and make sure that we do and in turn, you have this other team that you're gonna play.
"You can scout them, you can react to that particular team, but the trap again is that you don't focus on what you do well first."
To a man, the Cubs claimed they weren't pulling for any one particular team to emerge from Wednesday's winner-take-all showdown.
Jason Heyward insisted he wouldn't watch the game live. Maddon said he refused to watch the wild-card contest while taking copious notes ("that's a bad way to live").
Miguel Montero brushed off any talk of "even-year magic" from the Giants.
"We don't even look at that," Montero said. "I don't even care who we're facing. Those guys that won three out of five; in a five-year span, they've got three championships. It's a good team. Two of the three, they were a wild-card team and won the whole thing.
"That's the one you can't sleep on - the wild card. We did it last year; we knocked the Cardinals out. You create some momentum from that. You don't want to take it for granted. Whoever you play, you want to go after the first game and go from there."
So how do the Cubs match up against the Giants in that first game and beyond?
Until proven otherwise, the San Francisco Giants are unstoppable in even years, and they proved it again with another superhuman performance from Madison Bumgarner in the National League wild-card game Wednesday night.
Bumgarner threw 119 pitches in a complete-game shutout in the Giants' 3-0 victory over the Mets in New York, extending his postseason shutout streak to 22 innings.
Now he and the Giants are on their way to Chicago, looking to take another step toward their fourth straight even-year championship after winning the World Series in 2010, 2012 and 2014.
That's no matter for the Cubs. They're already staring down a 108-year drought and more than a century rife with "curses" and postseason meltdowns.
The Cubs are only focused on themselves and taking care of their own business, with Joe Maddon referencing legendary basketball coach John Wooden Tuesday afternoon at Wrigley Field.
"Coach Wooden was never really concerned so much about his opposition as much as we he was concerned about his team doing what they do well," Maddon said. "For me, I really subscribe to that theory - let's worry about what we do well and make sure that we do and in turn, you have this other team that you're gonna play.
"You can scout them, you can react to that particular team, but the trap again is that you don't focus on what you do well first."
To a man, the Cubs claimed they weren't pulling for any one particular team to emerge from Wednesday's winner-take-all showdown.
Jason Heyward insisted he wouldn't watch the game live. Maddon said he refused to watch the wild-card contest while taking copious notes ("that's a bad way to live").
Miguel Montero brushed off any talk of "even-year magic" from the Giants.
"We don't even look at that," Montero said. "I don't even care who we're facing. Those guys that won three out of five; in a five-year span, they've got three championships. It's a good team. Two of the three, they were a wild-card team and won the whole thing.
"That's the one you can't sleep on - the wild card. We did it last year; we knocked the Cardinals out. You create some momentum from that. You don't want to take it for granted. Whoever you play, you want to go after the first game and go from there."
So how do the Cubs match up against the Giants in that first game and beyond?
2016 season series
That included Bumgarner single-handedly beating Kyle Hendricks and the Cubs on national TV on Sunday, May 22, driving in the only run in a 1-0 ballgame.
It also included a four-game series at Wrigley Field over Labor Day weekend in which the Cubs won three games and limited Giants hitters to a measly .108 batting average (14-for-132).
The Cubs had a 1.94 ERA against the Giants in the seven regular-season games.
Lineup
Of course, we all know how that turned out.
Gillaspie's three-run homer sent the Mets home and gave Bumgarner yet another notch on his postseason belt.
Buster Posey and Hunter Pence anchor a professional lineup that refuses to give away any at-bats throughout the order.
Denard Span sets the table at the top with Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford, Joe Panik and Angel Pagan rounding out the rest of the lineup. If Nunez can get past his hamstring issue, he poses by far the biggest threat on the basepaths.
The Giants don't have a ton of power (Belt led the team with 17 homers), but they wear down opposing pitchers and they know how to deliver in October. The core was here in '14 and Posey has been the heart and soul of the team for all three championships.
Rotation
Yeah right.
After watching Bumgarner come out of the bullpen to throw five shutout innings in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series, nothing would be shocking in this five-game series.
Beyond Superman, the Giants will trot out 18-game winner Johnny Cueto (2.79 ERA, 198 Ks) in Game 1 and then some combination of Jeff Samardzija and Matt Moore after that.
Moore was the Giants' big acquisition at the trade deadline as they dealt away young third baseman Matt Duffy. (Of course, if Duffy was still in San Francisco, Gillaspie wouldn't've been starting at third base, so maybe there is something to that even-year magic?)
Samardzija, of course, came up through the Cubs system and has a knack for rising to the occasion when the lights are brightest. He undoubtedly will get up to face his old team.
Oh, and by the way, Bumgarner has an 0.50 ERA on the road in postseason history. Umm...
Bullpen
Here's where the Cubs have a clear advantage. The Giants' bullpen woes were the top storyline throughout the entire second half, at the forefront of the collapse that forced the Giants out of first place and into the wild-card crapshoot.
The Giants led all of baseball with 30 blown saves in the regular season, converting only 59 percent of their save opportunities.
Santiago Casilla went just 31-for-40 in save opportunities, but nobody else has emerged to claim the closer's role from him, with Sergio Romo, Hunter Strickland, Will Smith, Derek Law and Cory Gearrin all enduring struggles of their own down the stretch.
If the Giants bullpen can't figure it out, it could be their undoing in the NLDS.
Key to the series
If that holds up in the five-game series, the Cubs will be in a good spot.
That might seem obvious, but with the Giants' unstable bullpen, it becomes top thing to watch come Friday night.
Scouting report: Breaking down where it should go right for Cubs and how it could all go wrong in the playoffs.
By Patrick Mooney
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
One Cubs official perfectly described the mood around this team: The Cubs are World Series favorites, because they have the best record and the most talent. At the same time, people automatically expect something to go wrong because, well, they’re the Cubs.
Cubs fans will experience that mixture of anticipation and dread on Friday night – a strange feeling heightened by hours of pregaming in Wrigleyville – when they see the San Francisco Giants in their black-and-orange uniforms and think of their even-year championship pedigree from 2010, 2012 and 2014.
Somewhere between the dream of winning the franchise’s first World Series since 1908 and the randomness of playoff baseball is this thought: The Cubs are head and shoulders above the rest of the National League field, an American League scout said, quickly adding that anything can happen in a best-of-five series, especially when you’re facing Johnny Cueto and Madison Bumgarner three times.
“I don’t think anybody on paper can match up with the Cubs,” an NL West scout said. “At full strength, they’re going to be really tough. If you try to poke holes in this team, it’s hard to find.”
Whether you’re optimistic or fatalistic, here’s a clear-eyed view of where it should go right – and how it could go wrong – for your 2016 Cubs:
• To quote Jon Lester himself: “Don’t want to sound like an a--hole, but…” the entire industry saw how the Kansas City Royals attacked him during the 2014 AL wild-card game, stealing three bases off the lefty and seven overall against the Oakland A’s. The New York Mets exploited that team weakness during last year’s NL Championship Series sweep, and the Cubs will have to deal with a San Francisco offense that knows how to manufacture runs in October.
“Lester has got to be flawless,” an NL East scout said. “When you get into his head, you got him.”
Lester absolutely delivered in Year 2 of that $155 million megadeal, putting together a Cy Young Award-caliber season (19-5, 2.44 ERA). Those throwing issues can be minimized with a career-low WHIP (1.016), swing-and-miss stuff (197 strikeouts in 202-plus innings) and personal catcher David Ross. Lester already has two World Series rings from his time with the Boston Red Sox, making him a worthy Game 1 starter opposite Cueto.
“I don’t have any concerns with Lester, unless people put pressure on him and make him field the baseball,” an NL Central scout said. “People can run on the Cubs.”
• The focus will be on the starting pitchers during what John Lackey calls “Big Boy Games.” But the Royals created another blueprint with that 2014 AL pennant and last year’s World Series title, unleashing the power arms out of the bullpen that made it feel like Game Over.
The Cubs took on Aroldis Chapman’s off-the-field baggage and sent four players to the New York Yankees for what could essentially be a three-month rental. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein made that blockbuster trade expecting Chapman to get the final out of the World Series.
“The only way I see the chink in the armor is they get in these tie games in the seventh or eighth (inning) and they’re not sure who to go to,” the NL West scout said.
Stay tuned to see how manager Joe Maddon uses Chapman, and if the superstar closer can rack up four-out saves. But is Hector Rondon (8.53 ERA in September) at full strength after dealing with a right triceps issue? Will Pedro Strop’s slider have the necessary sharpness after missing six weeks with a torn meniscus in his left knee? How much do you trust Justin Grimm (4.10 ERA) and his curveball? Does rookie Carl Edwards Jr. (52 strikeouts in 36 innings) burst onto the scene?
“You just got to get that bridge to Chapman,” the NL Central scout said. “And you got to go deep with your starting pitching. It’s the normal recipe (in the playoffs).”
• With his arsenal of pitches, pinpoint control and unpredictable sequencing, Kyle Hendricks earned the majors’ ERA title and Saturday’s Game 2 start against ex-Cub Jeff Samardzija. Hendricks isn’t loud or flashy, but he’s been dominant this year at Wrigley Field (9-2, 1.32 ERA) and will need that cerebral approach against a Giants lineup that doesn’t give away at-bats.
The AL scout noticed that Lackey – approaching his 38th birthday and coming off a strained right shoulder – is hovering in the 88-to-92-mph range and wondered if he will have the extra velocity that helped make him one of the best big-game pitchers of his generation.
But the biggest question mark might be Jake Arrieta, who will start the pivotal Game 3 against Bumgarner on Monday at AT&T Park. Will the Cubs watch a reigning Cy Young Award winner get back in the zone, or see the guy who couldn’t finish the sixth inning 11 times this season?
“He’s still one of the best pitchers in the game,” the NL Central scout said. “It’s just with that delivery, there’s the type of stress it puts on a body. It’s fastball command – that’s where everything goes. If you look at Lester and his fastball command – that’s what he pitches off of. Look at Hendricks – he doesn’t throw that hard, but he’s got very good fastball command and then he’s got contrast along with it. Jake just hasn’t been locating his fastball. It’s a little better, but he’s making mistakes and guys are hitting them. I (still) think he’ll do fine in the playoffs.”
• Don’t get fooled by any flashes in September and expect a huge offensive uptick from Jason Heyward in October. Any major changes would probably have to wait until the second season of that $184 million megadeal. But despite the seven homers and .631 OPS, the Cubs love the Gold Glove defense in right field and aggressive, opportunistic mentality running the bases, attributes that should play in low-scoring, one-run games.
“He’s got mechanical issues in his swing that are very exploitable,” the NL Central scout said. “He’s going to get that fixed. (But) he’s got hot spots that you can stay away from (now). In the playoffs, you’re facing No. 1s and 2s and power closers. It’s the best of the best. If he gets hot and gets going, then that bodes well for the Cubs. If he doesn’t, it doesn’t matter, because they’ve been doing it offensively the whole year anyway, so it’s a bonus.”
• This is Year 5 for Epstein, who recently signed a five-year extension worth in the neighborhood of $50 million after building a 103-win team. The Giants have a proven pitching-and-defense formula, but the Cubs led the majors in ERA (3.15), batting average against (.212), opponents’ OPS (.633) and defensive efficiency.
MVP candidates Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo – “Bryzzo” combined for 71 homers and 211 RBI – anchor a deep lineup with mix-and-match parts. The Cubs didn’t have a three-game losing streak after the All-Star break.
Epstein – who says there’s no other team he’d rather have in October and knows what he’s talking about after delivering two World Series titles to Red Sox Nation – sort of sounded like Ferris Bueller while trying to make sense of any five- or seven-game series.
“It goes pretty quick,” Epstein said. “There’s a handful of plays and bounces and breaks and moments that’ll define the series and dictate the outcome. So in those moments, there’s no favorite. There’s just competition. And that’s the way our guys approach it.”
Why the Cubs and Kris Bryant feel ready to face Giant pitching.
Cubs fans will experience that mixture of anticipation and dread on Friday night – a strange feeling heightened by hours of pregaming in Wrigleyville – when they see the San Francisco Giants in their black-and-orange uniforms and think of their even-year championship pedigree from 2010, 2012 and 2014.
Somewhere between the dream of winning the franchise’s first World Series since 1908 and the randomness of playoff baseball is this thought: The Cubs are head and shoulders above the rest of the National League field, an American League scout said, quickly adding that anything can happen in a best-of-five series, especially when you’re facing Johnny Cueto and Madison Bumgarner three times.
“I don’t think anybody on paper can match up with the Cubs,” an NL West scout said. “At full strength, they’re going to be really tough. If you try to poke holes in this team, it’s hard to find.”
Whether you’re optimistic or fatalistic, here’s a clear-eyed view of where it should go right – and how it could go wrong – for your 2016 Cubs:
• To quote Jon Lester himself: “Don’t want to sound like an a--hole, but…” the entire industry saw how the Kansas City Royals attacked him during the 2014 AL wild-card game, stealing three bases off the lefty and seven overall against the Oakland A’s. The New York Mets exploited that team weakness during last year’s NL Championship Series sweep, and the Cubs will have to deal with a San Francisco offense that knows how to manufacture runs in October.
“Lester has got to be flawless,” an NL East scout said. “When you get into his head, you got him.”
Lester absolutely delivered in Year 2 of that $155 million megadeal, putting together a Cy Young Award-caliber season (19-5, 2.44 ERA). Those throwing issues can be minimized with a career-low WHIP (1.016), swing-and-miss stuff (197 strikeouts in 202-plus innings) and personal catcher David Ross. Lester already has two World Series rings from his time with the Boston Red Sox, making him a worthy Game 1 starter opposite Cueto.
“I don’t have any concerns with Lester, unless people put pressure on him and make him field the baseball,” an NL Central scout said. “People can run on the Cubs.”
• The focus will be on the starting pitchers during what John Lackey calls “Big Boy Games.” But the Royals created another blueprint with that 2014 AL pennant and last year’s World Series title, unleashing the power arms out of the bullpen that made it feel like Game Over.
The Cubs took on Aroldis Chapman’s off-the-field baggage and sent four players to the New York Yankees for what could essentially be a three-month rental. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein made that blockbuster trade expecting Chapman to get the final out of the World Series.
“The only way I see the chink in the armor is they get in these tie games in the seventh or eighth (inning) and they’re not sure who to go to,” the NL West scout said.
Stay tuned to see how manager Joe Maddon uses Chapman, and if the superstar closer can rack up four-out saves. But is Hector Rondon (8.53 ERA in September) at full strength after dealing with a right triceps issue? Will Pedro Strop’s slider have the necessary sharpness after missing six weeks with a torn meniscus in his left knee? How much do you trust Justin Grimm (4.10 ERA) and his curveball? Does rookie Carl Edwards Jr. (52 strikeouts in 36 innings) burst onto the scene?
“You just got to get that bridge to Chapman,” the NL Central scout said. “And you got to go deep with your starting pitching. It’s the normal recipe (in the playoffs).”
• With his arsenal of pitches, pinpoint control and unpredictable sequencing, Kyle Hendricks earned the majors’ ERA title and Saturday’s Game 2 start against ex-Cub Jeff Samardzija. Hendricks isn’t loud or flashy, but he’s been dominant this year at Wrigley Field (9-2, 1.32 ERA) and will need that cerebral approach against a Giants lineup that doesn’t give away at-bats.
The AL scout noticed that Lackey – approaching his 38th birthday and coming off a strained right shoulder – is hovering in the 88-to-92-mph range and wondered if he will have the extra velocity that helped make him one of the best big-game pitchers of his generation.
But the biggest question mark might be Jake Arrieta, who will start the pivotal Game 3 against Bumgarner on Monday at AT&T Park. Will the Cubs watch a reigning Cy Young Award winner get back in the zone, or see the guy who couldn’t finish the sixth inning 11 times this season?
“He’s still one of the best pitchers in the game,” the NL Central scout said. “It’s just with that delivery, there’s the type of stress it puts on a body. It’s fastball command – that’s where everything goes. If you look at Lester and his fastball command – that’s what he pitches off of. Look at Hendricks – he doesn’t throw that hard, but he’s got very good fastball command and then he’s got contrast along with it. Jake just hasn’t been locating his fastball. It’s a little better, but he’s making mistakes and guys are hitting them. I (still) think he’ll do fine in the playoffs.”
• Don’t get fooled by any flashes in September and expect a huge offensive uptick from Jason Heyward in October. Any major changes would probably have to wait until the second season of that $184 million megadeal. But despite the seven homers and .631 OPS, the Cubs love the Gold Glove defense in right field and aggressive, opportunistic mentality running the bases, attributes that should play in low-scoring, one-run games.
“He’s got mechanical issues in his swing that are very exploitable,” the NL Central scout said. “He’s going to get that fixed. (But) he’s got hot spots that you can stay away from (now). In the playoffs, you’re facing No. 1s and 2s and power closers. It’s the best of the best. If he gets hot and gets going, then that bodes well for the Cubs. If he doesn’t, it doesn’t matter, because they’ve been doing it offensively the whole year anyway, so it’s a bonus.”
• This is Year 5 for Epstein, who recently signed a five-year extension worth in the neighborhood of $50 million after building a 103-win team. The Giants have a proven pitching-and-defense formula, but the Cubs led the majors in ERA (3.15), batting average against (.212), opponents’ OPS (.633) and defensive efficiency.
MVP candidates Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo – “Bryzzo” combined for 71 homers and 211 RBI – anchor a deep lineup with mix-and-match parts. The Cubs didn’t have a three-game losing streak after the All-Star break.
Epstein – who says there’s no other team he’d rather have in October and knows what he’s talking about after delivering two World Series titles to Red Sox Nation – sort of sounded like Ferris Bueller while trying to make sense of any five- or seven-game series.
“It goes pretty quick,” Epstein said. “There’s a handful of plays and bounces and breaks and moments that’ll define the series and dictate the outcome. So in those moments, there’s no favorite. There’s just competition. And that’s the way our guys approach it.”
Why the Cubs and Kris Bryant feel ready to face Giant pitching.
By Paul Mooney
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Kris Bryant – a “Game of Thrones” binge-watcher – likes to imagine the pitcher on the mound as a nameless, faceless opponent. Bryant is too polite to give the Jake Arrieta answer – “Who gives a s---?” – but he really wouldn’t stress over Johnny Cueto or Bartolo Colon.
Those blinders – and that innate sense of confidence – helped Bryant evolve from a unanimous National League Rookie of the Year in 2015 to a likely MVP this season. That helped transform the Cubs from the happy-to-be-here team the New York Mets dominated during last year’s NL Championship Series to a 103-win machine expected to roll down Michigan Avenue in the parade.
The Big Boy Games start on Friday night at Wrigley Field, where the Cubs will face Cueto and the San Francisco Giants in a best-of-five series. The even-year Giants did it again, surviving Wednesday night’s wild-card game at Citi Field as Madison Bumgarner added to his legend with a 3-0 complete-game win over the Mets.
But after New York’s power pitching didn’t allow the Cubs to take a lead at any point during that four-game sweep last year, Bryant feels ready for whatever the Giants throw at him now.
“I’m more comfortable with it,” Bryant said. “You see the big-name guys on the mound and you know that you’ve faced them before. It’s not anything new or crazy.
“With the No. 1 and 2 guys, you just got to go out there and battle, have good at-bats, wear them down. And I think this whole team has been doing that all year long.
“But then you look at last year and the Mets – it felt like (that with) every one of their pitchers. They had four pitchers who were all aces. I don’t know if it’s going to be like that this year. But we’re certainly a lot more prepared for it.”
Bryant went 6-for-34 (.176 average) with two homers in nine playoff games last year, but he’s a different hitter than the one who led the NL with 199 strikeouts during the regular season.
Bryant cut that strikeout number down to 154 this year, even while getting 49 more plate appearances, and without sacrificing his power, boosting his home-run total from 26 to 39 and seeing his OPS jump 81 points to .939.
“His bat’s on plane more – it’s not as steep in and out of the zone,” an NL Central scout said. “He understands the league now and how people pitch him. Having (Anthony) Rizzo on the other side of the diamond really helps him with his preparation and what to look for and how to go about his business. The talent is coming through.”
“Mentally, he’s the best guy (they got) in the clutch,” an NL East scout said of Bryant. “It doesn’t matter if he’s having a good day or a bad day at the plate, he doesn’t let that affect his game.”
The Cubs were never going to face all of New York’s aces, because Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz are all recovering from season-ending injuries. With Bumgarner, Cueto, ex-Cub Jeff Samardzija and lefty Matt Moore, the Giants lurked as the more dangerous opponent, even as they stumbled toward the finish line and didn’t clinch a wild-card spot until the final day of the regular season.
But that’s why the Cubs invested $253 million in Dexter Fowler, Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward, to diversify a lineup anchored by Bryant and Rizzo and Addison Russell, who also made year-over-year improvements, putting up 21 homers and 95 RBI during his age-22 season.
The Cubs led the NL in walks and on-base percentage (.343), trailing only the Colorado Rockies in runs scored (808). Their strikeouts dropped from 1,518 last season – or 174 more than the next NL team – to 1,339 this year.
This should be a more sustainable offense. But the Giants still seem capable of giving the Cubs flashbacks to the 2015 Mets.
“Their pitching was unbelievably good,” manager Joe Maddon said. “That’s it. I’m not trying to be smart in any way. They were just good. They just pitched that well. You would hope to not run into that same method of pitching among the entire group. I was part of that also with the Angels against the White Sox in 2005 – their pitching was absolutely phenomenal.
“When you run into hot pitching like that, there’s not a whole lot you can do about it. … Their pitching was just that good. There’s no lesson to be learned, I don’t think. You just hope that the team you run into is not that hot with their pitching.”
Those blinders – and that innate sense of confidence – helped Bryant evolve from a unanimous National League Rookie of the Year in 2015 to a likely MVP this season. That helped transform the Cubs from the happy-to-be-here team the New York Mets dominated during last year’s NL Championship Series to a 103-win machine expected to roll down Michigan Avenue in the parade.
The Big Boy Games start on Friday night at Wrigley Field, where the Cubs will face Cueto and the San Francisco Giants in a best-of-five series. The even-year Giants did it again, surviving Wednesday night’s wild-card game at Citi Field as Madison Bumgarner added to his legend with a 3-0 complete-game win over the Mets.
But after New York’s power pitching didn’t allow the Cubs to take a lead at any point during that four-game sweep last year, Bryant feels ready for whatever the Giants throw at him now.
“I’m more comfortable with it,” Bryant said. “You see the big-name guys on the mound and you know that you’ve faced them before. It’s not anything new or crazy.
“With the No. 1 and 2 guys, you just got to go out there and battle, have good at-bats, wear them down. And I think this whole team has been doing that all year long.
“But then you look at last year and the Mets – it felt like (that with) every one of their pitchers. They had four pitchers who were all aces. I don’t know if it’s going to be like that this year. But we’re certainly a lot more prepared for it.”
Bryant went 6-for-34 (.176 average) with two homers in nine playoff games last year, but he’s a different hitter than the one who led the NL with 199 strikeouts during the regular season.
Bryant cut that strikeout number down to 154 this year, even while getting 49 more plate appearances, and without sacrificing his power, boosting his home-run total from 26 to 39 and seeing his OPS jump 81 points to .939.
“His bat’s on plane more – it’s not as steep in and out of the zone,” an NL Central scout said. “He understands the league now and how people pitch him. Having (Anthony) Rizzo on the other side of the diamond really helps him with his preparation and what to look for and how to go about his business. The talent is coming through.”
“Mentally, he’s the best guy (they got) in the clutch,” an NL East scout said of Bryant. “It doesn’t matter if he’s having a good day or a bad day at the plate, he doesn’t let that affect his game.”
The Cubs were never going to face all of New York’s aces, because Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz are all recovering from season-ending injuries. With Bumgarner, Cueto, ex-Cub Jeff Samardzija and lefty Matt Moore, the Giants lurked as the more dangerous opponent, even as they stumbled toward the finish line and didn’t clinch a wild-card spot until the final day of the regular season.
But that’s why the Cubs invested $253 million in Dexter Fowler, Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward, to diversify a lineup anchored by Bryant and Rizzo and Addison Russell, who also made year-over-year improvements, putting up 21 homers and 95 RBI during his age-22 season.
The Cubs led the NL in walks and on-base percentage (.343), trailing only the Colorado Rockies in runs scored (808). Their strikeouts dropped from 1,518 last season – or 174 more than the next NL team – to 1,339 this year.
This should be a more sustainable offense. But the Giants still seem capable of giving the Cubs flashbacks to the 2015 Mets.
“Their pitching was unbelievably good,” manager Joe Maddon said. “That’s it. I’m not trying to be smart in any way. They were just good. They just pitched that well. You would hope to not run into that same method of pitching among the entire group. I was part of that also with the Angels against the White Sox in 2005 – their pitching was absolutely phenomenal.
“When you run into hot pitching like that, there’s not a whole lot you can do about it. … Their pitching was just that good. There’s no lesson to be learned, I don’t think. You just hope that the team you run into is not that hot with their pitching.”
WHITE SOX: White Sox leadership blew a great chance to compete in 2016.
By PNoles
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(Photo/Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)
A few bad decisions, not player under-performance, was the biggest reason the White Sox spent this season mired in mediocrity rather than contending.
I think the most painful part of the 2016 Chicago White Sox season was just how avoidable this outcome really was.
A hot start provided some hope that for the first time in four years, we'd spend our summer with our hearts pounding with every pitch. September would once again be a month of late-inning thrillers, fist-pumping, and aggressive scoreboard-watching instead of (fantasy) football. Finally, gone would be the familiar feeling of playing out the string, just watching for a Trayce Thompson or a Marcus Semien or a Tyler Saladino to give us some minor optimism for the future before turning the page.
The White Sox weren't fortunate enough to experience regression after their scorching April run. Regression would have been kind. Regression would have kept the team in the race through the trade deadline and beyond. Instead the White Sox took a nosedive right past regression and straight to a total evening-out of their early luck from which they'd never recover. A bullpen that was initially lights-out eventually succumbed to its peripherals. The late-inning clutch hitting completely disappeared. The depth of a flimsy roster was put to the test and failed. Every die-hard White Sox fan knows by heart what this team's record was after the first 33 games. That fact is deceptively sad.
It didn't have to be this way.
It's been a full decade since the White Sox put a team on the field on April 1 that you could definitively project to be better than average. Robin Ventura (who was retained for 2016 because reasons) may not be a good manager, but I usually find sympathy for the man who sits in that chair. The owner wants to win, not enough to make risky monetary moves that could put the White Sox in the upper echelon of the American League, but you know, "wants." He'd prefer it to not winning. The front office publicly insists that the team is good, despite every projection system saying it's just OK. Here is your average baseball team, White Sox Manager. Go out there and try to win the standard deviation lottery while we announce to the world that we're not okay with losing.
Despite the White Sox winding up at 78-84 this year, the path to competing in 2016 wasn't a drastic reconstruction away. They just needed to avoid a couple of mistakes and apply a situationally appropriate level of boldness in their approach to the offseason. Here's how a few different choices could have reversed this team's fortunes.
To avoid conflicts between metrics, win-valuations are based on an average of Baseball Reference WAR (bWAR), FanGraphs WAR (fWAR) and Baseball Prospectus' WARP, with the exception of catchers. Catchers are valued using only WARP because it is the only metric of the three that incorporates framing.
The Dino Navarro fiasco
It's been beaten to death far too often already, so I'll be brief. Tendering Tyler Flowers was the obvious correct decision rather than giving him the boot in favor of Dioner Navarro. At the time, it looked like voluntarily swapping out an average catcher for a replacement-level one. Looking back on it, the White Sox actually swapped out an average catcher for the worst position player in baseball. Now that the book is closed on the season, we can assess the damage:
- Dioner Navarro WARP: -2.5
- Tyler Flowers WARP: 2.7
That's five wins for the taking right there, and all it would've required was making an easy, brainless choice. Navarro worked out far worse than even the most vocal of critics (which may have been me) could have anticipated, but the White Sox don't deserve the benefit of the doubt when it comes to acquired players living up to expectations.
2. The approach to free agency
Though not a certainty, I feel that this one probably falls on ownership, as there's not a general manager in baseball that would try to compete with fewer resources than budgeted. The White Sox went into March with Avisail Garcia, he of the -2.0 career fWAR through over 1,000 career plate appearances, as the starter in right field. Adam LaRoche, a platoon bat with no obvious platoon partner, was coming off of a -1.4 fWAR season and was first on the depth chart at DH.
Earlier in the winter, the White Sox had built themselves into a roughly .500 team with no obvious juggernaut in the division. The free agency class for players at their problem positions was ridiculously deep. This was a perfect intersection of need, player availability, and spot on the win curve to take a big risk and make an unprecedented splash.
The White Sox responded to that situation by signing Austin Jackson, a sub-par starter at best and 4th outfielder at worst, for $5 million on March 6, after all of the numerous superior options had flown off the board.
Jackson was essentially lost for the season after putting up replacement-level numbers for a couple months. This subjected the White Sox to way too much J.B. Shuck, who was the fourth outfielder despite no discernible major league skill and zero ability to competently play center. During his overexposure, Shuck performed 1.6 wins below replacement level.
There were several players available that would have represented dramatic upgrades. The obvious one is Yoenis Cespedes, though choosing a risky play on a premium free agent would have also necessitated dodging the Justin Upton and Alex Gordon bullets (admittedly, I had a slight preference for Gordon over Cespedes). Even if these targets were considered far out of the White Sox' league, they had two cheaper alternatives that practically fell into their lap. Ian Desmond and Dexter Fowler lingered on the market until late February and received relatively small contracts due to the attachment of draft pick compensation. These guys were the low-cost, relatively disappointing fallback options in the eyes of the fans. The White Sox shattered those modest dreams and found a way to skimp even further on their biggest need.
It's thought that the compensatory pick was the reason the White Sox didn't make a major push to ink either player, and it's confusing why they let that be an obstacle. The Todd Frazier trade announced an intent to win immediately. If a compensatory pick really held the White Sox back from pulling the trigger on the best player possible, that's hedging. Teams making a serious push don't hedge; they accept that near-term aggression may adversely affect their future.
Here's how the five primary options shook out in 2016:
Assuming something close to the median outcome and taking into account the reduction in everyday playing time for JB Shuck, I'm comfortable estimating that the decision to not sign one of these players cost the White Sox about three and a half wins.
Earlier in the winter, the White Sox had built themselves into a roughly .500 team with no obvious juggernaut in the division. The free agency class for players at their problem positions was ridiculously deep. This was a perfect intersection of need, player availability, and spot on the win curve to take a big risk and make an unprecedented splash.
The White Sox responded to that situation by signing Austin Jackson, a sub-par starter at best and 4th outfielder at worst, for $5 million on March 6, after all of the numerous superior options had flown off the board.
Jackson was essentially lost for the season after putting up replacement-level numbers for a couple months. This subjected the White Sox to way too much J.B. Shuck, who was the fourth outfielder despite no discernible major league skill and zero ability to competently play center. During his overexposure, Shuck performed 1.6 wins below replacement level.
There were several players available that would have represented dramatic upgrades. The obvious one is Yoenis Cespedes, though choosing a risky play on a premium free agent would have also necessitated dodging the Justin Upton and Alex Gordon bullets (admittedly, I had a slight preference for Gordon over Cespedes). Even if these targets were considered far out of the White Sox' league, they had two cheaper alternatives that practically fell into their lap. Ian Desmond and Dexter Fowler lingered on the market until late February and received relatively small contracts due to the attachment of draft pick compensation. These guys were the low-cost, relatively disappointing fallback options in the eyes of the fans. The White Sox shattered those modest dreams and found a way to skimp even further on their biggest need.
It's thought that the compensatory pick was the reason the White Sox didn't make a major push to ink either player, and it's confusing why they let that be an obstacle. The Todd Frazier trade announced an intent to win immediately. If a compensatory pick really held the White Sox back from pulling the trigger on the best player possible, that's hedging. Teams making a serious push don't hedge; they accept that near-term aggression may adversely affect their future.
Here's how the five primary options shook out in 2016:
- Dexter Fowler: 4.2 wins
- Yoenis Cespedes: 3.8 wins
- Ian Desmond: 2.6 wins
- Justin Upton: 1.6 wins
- Alex Gordon: 0.5 wins
Assuming something close to the median outcome and taking into account the reduction in everyday playing time for JB Shuck, I'm comfortable estimating that the decision to not sign one of these players cost the White Sox about three and a half wins.
3. The James Shields blunder
Early in the year, the White Sox were remarkably proactive about trimming the fat on their roster and showed little patience for John Danks and Mat Latos. A nice free-talent find in Miguel Gonzalez eliminated the need for the former and the latter was displaced via a trade for James Shields. Acquiring Shields didn't feel like a horrible idea, but with multiple voids in the lineup, it felt like ignoring a gunshot wound to treat a paper cut. At the very least, he seemed like he could hold his own as a fourth starter, eat innings, and keep the White Sox in games.
Shields unraveled quickly after his acquisition in early June. After three disaster starts, we were treated to this Jeff Sullivan piece that illustrated that Shields has actually been broken for quite some time. There wasn't a strong negative reaction among White Sox fans at the time of the acquisition because without taking such a deep analytical dive, we didn't know any better. Maybe the White Sox didn't either.
The problem is that it is the White Sox' job to know better.
That Sullivan piece (which was very well done) didn't look at Shields' mechanics. It didn't show any film or discuss scouting reports. All it did was review publicly available data from Brooks Baseball and FanGraphs to draw a conclusion that turned out to be pretty on-point. An analysis like this should be the minimum level of research that a major league baseball team should do when attempting to acquire a player. Even if the White Sox saw the trend and thought it wasn't pointing towards Shields becoming this bad, why was this the player to whom they felt the need to commit $27 million? That's more than five times their largest free agent acquisition from the 2015-16 offseason, and it was directed at fixing the least of their problems.
It's only fair to point out that there's a significant possibility that the Padres withheld medical information on Shields that may have reduced his price tag or (less likely) scared off the White Sox from acquiring him. But it's still another example of the White Sox failing to understand their problems and targeting the wrong guys to solve them. Instead of going all-in on Shields, the White Sox could have simply accepted Mat Latos (a replacement-level pitcher) or rolled the dice on some fungible ones that would have required no investment. Hell, Scott freaking Carroll once posted a replacement-level season over 129 innings.
The resources used on Shields could have instead been put towards a different midseason acquisition that could have helped the team in a meaningful way. Even if we assume the White Sox wouldn't have acquired anything of value instead, Shields performed 1.5 wins worse than a replacement-level pitcher.
Shields unraveled quickly after his acquisition in early June. After three disaster starts, we were treated to this Jeff Sullivan piece that illustrated that Shields has actually been broken for quite some time. There wasn't a strong negative reaction among White Sox fans at the time of the acquisition because without taking such a deep analytical dive, we didn't know any better. Maybe the White Sox didn't either.
The problem is that it is the White Sox' job to know better.
That Sullivan piece (which was very well done) didn't look at Shields' mechanics. It didn't show any film or discuss scouting reports. All it did was review publicly available data from Brooks Baseball and FanGraphs to draw a conclusion that turned out to be pretty on-point. An analysis like this should be the minimum level of research that a major league baseball team should do when attempting to acquire a player. Even if the White Sox saw the trend and thought it wasn't pointing towards Shields becoming this bad, why was this the player to whom they felt the need to commit $27 million? That's more than five times their largest free agent acquisition from the 2015-16 offseason, and it was directed at fixing the least of their problems.
It's only fair to point out that there's a significant possibility that the Padres withheld medical information on Shields that may have reduced his price tag or (less likely) scared off the White Sox from acquiring him. But it's still another example of the White Sox failing to understand their problems and targeting the wrong guys to solve them. Instead of going all-in on Shields, the White Sox could have simply accepted Mat Latos (a replacement-level pitcher) or rolled the dice on some fungible ones that would have required no investment. Hell, Scott freaking Carroll once posted a replacement-level season over 129 innings.
The resources used on Shields could have instead been put towards a different midseason acquisition that could have helped the team in a meaningful way. Even if we assume the White Sox wouldn't have acquired anything of value instead, Shields performed 1.5 wins worse than a replacement-level pitcher.
Just Another Chicago Bulls Session..... Bulls Fall to the Pacers 115-108 in First Preseason Road Game.
By Easy Els
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(Photo/Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports)
Other than a fantastic game from Spencer Dinwiddie, it was an uninspiring performance from Chicago.
The Chicago Bulls fell to the Indiana Pacers 115-108 Thursday night in what was a competitive contest for three quarters before the Bulls’ bench collapsed in the fourth. Going into the game, Paul George declared his belief that the Pacers’ offense could average as much as 115 points per game this season, and the Bulls did nothing to deter that hypothesis thanks to terrible transition defense and a hot shooting night from three for Indiana.
The Bulls opened the first quarter with Nikola Mirotic starting at the four spot and Rajon Rondo’s first of what I’m sure will be many violations of the “no-headband” rule. It must have helped him get into a groove, because Rondo scored ten of the Bulls’ first twenty-one points—all on layups—without missing any of his five attempts (though he bricked an And-1 freethrow pretty badly). However, the Bulls struggled to execute successfully elsewhere, as their transition defense failed to contain the Pacers early on and the team committed three turnovers in the first four minutes. The Bulls also did not hit a three until Doug McDermott canned one eight minutes into the quarter, while the Pacers went 4/8 from downtown for the period. Fortunately, Dougie caught fire in the final two minutes and hit two more threes to help knot the game at 33 apiece going into quarter number two.
The three alphas facilitated very well in the first half, finding the Bulls’ bigs in the paint and in transition with great consistency. Perhaps the best pass came during a fast break via a Dwyane Wade alley-oop to Bobby Portis.
The Bulls opened the first quarter with Nikola Mirotic starting at the four spot and Rajon Rondo’s first of what I’m sure will be many violations of the “no-headband” rule. It must have helped him get into a groove, because Rondo scored ten of the Bulls’ first twenty-one points—all on layups—without missing any of his five attempts (though he bricked an And-1 freethrow pretty badly). However, the Bulls struggled to execute successfully elsewhere, as their transition defense failed to contain the Pacers early on and the team committed three turnovers in the first four minutes. The Bulls also did not hit a three until Doug McDermott canned one eight minutes into the quarter, while the Pacers went 4/8 from downtown for the period. Fortunately, Dougie caught fire in the final two minutes and hit two more threes to help knot the game at 33 apiece going into quarter number two.
The three alphas facilitated very well in the first half, finding the Bulls’ bigs in the paint and in transition with great consistency. Perhaps the best pass came during a fast break via a Dwyane Wade alley-oop to Bobby Portis.
Though Rondo didn’t record an assist of his own until the second quarter, he made some nice pocket-passes, including one to Mirotic for a slam dunk.
Jimmy Butler quietly had four assists of his own to bring the trio’s total up to eleven in the first half, and Rondo banked in a buzzer-beater jumper to give the Bulls a 67-65 lead going into the lockeroom. It’s worth mentioning Fred Hoiberg got “creative” with his rotations fairly early on, giving Spencer Dinwiddie an extended run at backup point guard and—at one point—trotting out a Canaan/Rondo/Snell/Mirotic/Lopez lineup.
Curiously, Fred Hoiberg opened the second half with Tony Snell in the starting five over Butler. Butler would not re-enter the game after playing twelve total minutes in the first half. The Pacers promptly went on an 11-0 run after the Bulls scored the first two baskets of the quarter. Wade and Rondo had trouble holding onto the ball, committing four turnovers in the first six minutes combined.
Midway through the third, Paul Zipser made his Chicago Bulls debut. He had his hands full defensively being matched up with veteran Thaddeus Young, but overall played about as well as you could ask from a rookie in his first NBA action. Though he bricked his only three-point attempt badly, he had a nice blow-by on Young for a layup and did a great job of swinging the ball for open looks and setting solid on-ball screens. In what ended up being a rather quiet stretch for both teams following the Pacers’ initial run, Indiana concluded the third period up 84-83 on Chicago.
The fourth quarter opened with Dinwiddie continuing his excellent game off the bench, pouring in seven of the Bulls’ first nine points. Meanwhile, Zipser continued some solid play of his own by blocking Georges Niang down low (he also had another very athletic block stolen from him on a goaltend call), beating his man off the dribble numerous times, and drawing a shooting foul on a three. Unfortunately, the Bulls’ transition defense continued to get abused by the Pacers to the tune of Indiana surpassing the century mark with a six point lead midway through the quarter.
At this point, the Bulls had not hit a three in the second half before Snell finally knocked one in from the corner with four and a half minutes remaining. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t matter much as the Bulls couldn’t stop a nosebleed on defense other than a thunderous block from Cristiano Felicio in the final minute. Portis also committed a monumentally stupid foul that led to a four-point play for Glen Robinson III that pretty much sealed the deal for Indiana down the stretch. The final score ended up 115-108 in favor of the Pacers.
Take this result with a grain of salt, as Butler didn’t play in the second half and Rondo/Wade each only played 22 minutes, but there were a lot of areas tonight that the Bulls need to drastically improve going forward. The three point shooting was abysmal the entire game, as eight players failed to convert any of their downtown looks and the team shot a horrific 6/30 (20%) for the entire game. The transition defense also looked abhorrent, surrendering 21 fast break points.
Individually, there were good and bad performances. Spencer Dinwiddie vastly outplayed all of the guards not named Rondo, pouring in 19 points on 9/13 shooting and snagging six rebounds while committing only one turnover in 23 minutes. Nikola Mirotic was just flat-out awful, recording more turnovers than field goals and missing all five of his attempts from beyond-the-arc.
For the Pacers, Rodney Stuckey absolutely roasted the Bulls’ second unit players—particularly Doug McDermott—to the tune of 20 points on only ten shots and seven assists. Quite literally every time Stuckey got the ball, he immediately looked to attack a helpless McDermott that could do nothing but foul when Stuckey inevitably got into the lane. Though Paul George had a fairly bad game despite playing 24 minutes, five players other than Stuckey all scored in double figures and the team shot 47.4% from three while also beating Chicago on the glass 55-40.
Not a great game, but Hoiberg kept most of the Bulls’ best talent on the shelf for the majority of the second half, so its hard to draw any concrete conclusions. The Bulls will have an opportunity for some payback as the play host to the Pacers on Saturday night.
Golf: I got a club for that..... Hurricane threat wipes out final Web.com Tour Finals event.
By ESPN.com news services via ESPN
The final event for players to earn PGA Tour cards was canceled Wednesday because of Hurricane Matthew, cutting short the four-tournament qualifying series.
The Web.com Tour Championship was to start Thursday at Atlantic Beach Country Club.
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry ordered an evacuation for the beaches near Jacksonville, including Atlantic Beach, and the PGA Tour felt it had little choice but to scratch the tournament so everyone could get out of town.
"It is unfortunate that we've had to cancel our season-ending event," said Web.com Tour President Bill Calfee. "However, our first priority is the safety of our players, fans, volunteers and staff."
Golf Channel was busy taking down its platforms and towers used to televise the event.
The Web.Com Tour Finals consists of four $1 million tournaments. The top 25 from the regular season are assured their cards, while 25 more cards are awarded based on a money list from those four events. The money list instead is final after three events.
The final card went to Tim Wilkinson of New Zealand, beating out Rob Oppenheim by $392. A year ago, Oppenheim won the final card by $101. He made it to the PGA Tour last year for the first time at age 36 but will be relegated to the Web.com Tour this year.
The Web.com Tour Finals are typically held in four straight weeks. This year, the tour opted for a week off between the third and final event so that the Web.com Tour Championship would not go up against the Ryder Cup.
That left no time to postpone the final event by one week because the PGA Tour season starts next week at the Safeway Open in Napa, California.
Wesley Bryan won the regular-season money title, and with three victories, he earned an instant promotion to the PGA Tour. Grayson Murray won the Web.com Tour Finals money list, making him eligible for The Players Championship next May.
The priority ranking, the list that determines who gets into tournaments, alternates between the top 25 from the regular season and the top 25 from the Web.com Tour Finals. Among those who earned their cards through the finals were former U.S. Amateur champion Bryson DeChambeau and past PGA Tour winners Scott Stallings, Will MacKenzie, Rod Pampling, D.A. Points and Rory Sabbatini.
Ryder Cup Victory not the end, just the beginning.
Rex Hoggard
Ryder Cup Victory not the end, just the beginning.
Rex Hoggard
(Photo/Sports Channel)
It would be easy to confuse Sunday’s celebration for a coronation, an exhale moment after two years of vague promises and lofty expectations.
If the U.S. team wanted to gloat they’d come by it honestly, they’d just rolled over the Europeans, 17-11, for America’s first victory in the biennial event since 2008.
The changes had worked. The curse was over.
But those involved with the Ryder Cup task force-turned-committee never, not once, mentioned winning the 2016 matches and ending the drought. Those involved talked of continuity and legacies, not quick fixes and Band-Aids.
From the captain all the way down to the cart drivers – that would be Bubba Watson – this was about preparing for the future. If anything, Hazetline National was a test case, not the final exam.
“We had a long-term plan and a goal for the next five to 10 Ryder Cups. I’ve said all along, personally, if we won this week that’s great, but let’s not raise the flag and say, ‘This is the greatest thing ever,’” said Jim Furyk, one of Davis Love III’s vice captains. “And if we lose let’s not say, ‘Oh s***, this doesn’t work.’ It’s a long-term plan.”
As devastating as a loss would have been to the cause of building a winning foundation, a victory could be just as debilitating if it leads to a loss of focus.
That is, after all, what many believe happened following the 2008 Ryder Cup. It’s what prompted Phil Mickelson to challenge the U.S. leadership two years ago in Scotland following the team’s third consecutive loss, which in turn led to last year’s task force.
“The pressure started when some dumbass opened his mouth two years ago in the media center,” Mickelson said on Sunday at Hazeltine with just a dollop of self-deprecation.
Mickelson was on the task force and by many accounts a de facto vice captain last week. For all those who have criticized Lefty over the years for his relatively pedestrian Ryder Cup record, know that this process has taken a toll on the veteran. And when he spoke on Sunday it wasn’t in terms of wins and losses as much as it was a testament to the legacy that he and the other American leaders hope to create.
“We need to build on this. Otherwise, it's all for naught,” Mickelson said. “We created a very solid foundation this year. With the input that Davis Love had and each vice captain, with Tom Lehman and Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods and Bubba Watson, all brought integral parts to the success of this foundation, and it's important that we build on that.”
That foundation started with Love, who has been billed as the captain’s captain. From the first task force meetings, the challenge was to appoint a front man with the ability to incorporate vastly different ideas into their own leadership model.
Someone willing to share the room with other voices and keep their ego tucked away. If, as the story goes, the Europeans have perfected the art of continuity in their captains, the U.S. team’s first leader in this new era had to be a pragmatist and consensus builder.
“We tried to identify the qualities of the next person who would become a Ryder Cup captain,” Furyk said. “Davis Love fit all those qualities perfectly. He was the right guy. He had experience, he had the media’s respect, he had the player’s respect. We couldn’t identify a better person.”
Love’s leadership-by-committee style turned out to be a perfect fit for this U.S. team. He engaged his side’s best players, challenged them for ideas and, this is most telling, he listened.
Late in Saturday’s foursomes session, Love was struggling to find the right lineup for the afternoon four-ball matches. Everybody had an idea, even his son, Dru, but ultimately it was Woods who convinced the captain to send Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth back out.
“I finally just said to Tiger, ‘Are we playing them or are we sitting them?’” Love recalled. “He said, ‘No, you have to send them back out there, they are playing so well.’”
Reed and Spieth ignited the crowd and U.S. team room with a 2-and-1 victory over Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose to give the home team valuable momentum heading into Sunday’s singles matches.
It wasn’t so much leadership by example as much as it was leadership by design. If the 2016 Ryder Cup is a template for future matches, Love is the prototype of future U.S. captains.
The legacy concept holds that each team will have a mix of former and potential future captains that connects each group in a way that hadn’t happened in the past.
For this year’s squad, that specifically applies to Furyk and Stricker in the immediate future and Woods a little further down the road.
“A vice captain under [Tom] Watson, a vice captain under Jay Haas last year [Presidents Cup] and a vice captain under Davis here, I’ve really learned a lot in three years,” Stricker said. “If I get the opportunity to be a captain, I’ll have a lot of knowledge behind me.”
Furyk, who would be a popular choice to lead the U.S. team in 2018 in France, has taken a particularly long view when it comes to the U.S. team changes and paused when asked how his experience at Hazeltine might impact a potential future captaincy.
“It really helped to be an assistant for Davis, who has done it twice, the best leader,” Furyk said. “Any time you can do this, you’re learning. You’re going to make some mistakes, you’re going to do some things right. We did a lot of good things this week. We made some mistakes, and we’ll learn from this week and keep building on the system.”
Moments later Furyk rushed into the night toward the team room to join the victory party. Sunday night he and the other members of the U.S. leadership would celebrate, but on Monday the work would continue.
Woods among six assistants named for 2017 Presidents Cup.
By Will Gray
(Photo/Sports Channel)
Tiger Woods enjoyed his time as an assistant captain at Hazeltine so much, he's signed on for another run.
Woods was among three assistant captains named to the 2017 Presidents Cup squad by Steve Stricker, who will captain the American team next year at Liberty National Golf Club.
Woods made his debut as an assistant at last week's Ryder Cup, where he helped the U.S. to its first win in the biennial matches since 2008.
"It's just a tremendous honor. Steve is one of my best friends," Woods said in a statement. "It's been a lot of fun getting to know him and Nicki and the kids, so for him to have the confidence in me, to be part of the crew and help him in any way I possibly can - I'm thrilled to be his assistant."
Woods is expected to make his return to competition next week at the Safeway Open after missing more than a year while recovering from multiple back procedures. Stricker addressed the possibility that Woods - who missed the Presidents Cup in 2015 for the first time in his professional career - might make the team on merit.
"Tiger certainly could play his way onto the U.S. team, and if that happens, replacing him as a captain's assistant will be a great problem for me to have," Stricker said.
In addition to Woods, Stricker added Davis Love III and Fred Couples as assistant captains. Love captained the U.S. Ryder Cup team to victory at Hazeltine, while Couples won three Presidents Cups as a captain from 2009-2013.
Nick Price, who will captain the International team for the third consecutive time, also named Ernie Els, Tony Johnstone and Geoff Ogilvy as his assistant captains.
Woods was among three assistant captains named to the 2017 Presidents Cup squad by Steve Stricker, who will captain the American team next year at Liberty National Golf Club.
Woods made his debut as an assistant at last week's Ryder Cup, where he helped the U.S. to its first win in the biennial matches since 2008.
"It's just a tremendous honor. Steve is one of my best friends," Woods said in a statement. "It's been a lot of fun getting to know him and Nicki and the kids, so for him to have the confidence in me, to be part of the crew and help him in any way I possibly can - I'm thrilled to be his assistant."
Woods is expected to make his return to competition next week at the Safeway Open after missing more than a year while recovering from multiple back procedures. Stricker addressed the possibility that Woods - who missed the Presidents Cup in 2015 for the first time in his professional career - might make the team on merit.
"Tiger certainly could play his way onto the U.S. team, and if that happens, replacing him as a captain's assistant will be a great problem for me to have," Stricker said.
In addition to Woods, Stricker added Davis Love III and Fred Couples as assistant captains. Love captained the U.S. Ryder Cup team to victory at Hazeltine, while Couples won three Presidents Cups as a captain from 2009-2013.
Nick Price, who will captain the International team for the third consecutive time, also named Ernie Els, Tony Johnstone and Geoff Ogilvy as his assistant captains.
NASCAR: How the 12 remaining Chase drivers have done at the 2nd round tracks.
By Nick Bromberg
Martin Truex Jr. won at Charlotte earlier this season while Kevin Harvick was second (Photo/Getty).
The second round of the Chase is the first of two rounds in NASCAR’s playoffs that is composed entirely of tracks the Sprint Cup Series is visiting for a second time. So we figured this would be a good opportunity to see how the 12 remaining Chase drivers have performed at Charlotte, Kansas and Talladega, the three tracks that make up the second round.
Martin Truex Jr.
Charlotte: 1st
Kansas: 14th
Talladega: 13th
If we’re looking outside the box score, Truex has the strongest track record at the second-round tracks this year. He dominated at Charlotte (392 laps led!) and Kansas (172) but doesn’t have two wins because a late pit stop issue derailed his chances at Kansas.
Kevin Harvick
Charlotte: 2nd
Kansas: 2nd
Talladega: 15th
Mr. Consistency rides again. It’s going to take an issue for Harvick to not be in the top five at Charlotte and Kansas. We won’t talk about Talladega right now because there’s going to be a lot of flashing back to last year’s Talladega Chase race in a
couple weeks.
Kyle Busch
Charlotte: 33rd
Kansas: 1st
Talladega: 2nd
Busch was the beneficiary of Truex’s bad luck at Kansas (and subsequently got a lug nut penalty after the race). He hit the wall late at Charlotte for his 33rd-place finish.
Matt Kenseth
Charlotte: 7th
Kansas: 4th
Talladega: 23rd
The second round was Kenseth’s undoing last year. He hit the wall at Charlotte and had his whole kerfuffle with Joey Logano at Kansas. He finished 23rd at Talladega in the spring despite his car flying through the air.
Joey Logano
Charlotte: 9th
Kansas: 38th
Talladega: 25th
Logano was caught up in a crash while racing at the front of the pack at Kansas and also got caught in a crash at Talladega, where he and Kenseth had another on-track conflict.
Chase Elliott
Charlotte: 8th
Kansas: 9th
Tallladega: 5th
We all know Talladega is a crapshoot, so it’s hard to put much stock in a fifth-place finish there. But Elliott’s performance at Charlotte and Kansas has to be heartening, especially if Hendrick Motorsports can carry over the speed it showed at Chicago.
Brad Keselowski
Charlotte: 5th
Kansas: 10th
Talladega 1st
Just after saying it’s hard to put stock in Talladega, it’s pretty apparent that Keselowski is the best restrictor-plate racer in the Cup Series at the moment. Repeating his Charlotte and Kansas performances will put him in a great spot at Talladega this fall.
Kurt Busch
Charlotte: 6th
Kansas: 3rd
Talladega: 8th
This looks really good. But Busch hasn’t been really good lately. Maybe his team can recapture the early season form it showed.
Denny Hamlin
Charlotte: 4th
Kansas: 37th
Talladega: 31st
Hamlin was caught up in the crash with Logano at Kansas and also crashed at Talladega. But the Kansas crash happened because Hamlin could afford to be aggressive given his Daytona 500 win.
Carl Edwards
Charlotte: 18th
Kansas: 11th
Talladega: 35th
Edwards was also in a crash at Talladega and struggled relatively at Charlotte, finishing a lap down. Can the No. 19 find some intermediate track speed?
Jimmie Johnson
Charlotte: 3rd
Kansas: 17th
Talladega: 22nd
Johnson has seven career wins at Charlotte, though one has happened since 2009. His third-place finish there was his first in the top 15 in four races.
Austin Dillon
Charlotte: 12th
Kansas: 6th
Talladega: 3rd
Bet you didn’t think Dillon would be one of the strongest second-round contenders based off early-season performance, did you?
Kevin Harvick wins Sprint Cup Series pole at Charlotte.
By Kelly Crandall
(Photo/nbcsports.com)
Kevin Harvick will start the second round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup on the pole for the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Harvick laid down a lap of 196.029 mph Thursday night to win his first pole of the season. While Harvick has gone to victory lane three times at Charlotte, the pole is his first at the speedway in 32 starts.
“I just felt like I got to the green a little bit better,” Kevin Harvick told NBC Sports about the final round of qualifying. “The car was too loose the time before and I got to the green better that time anticipating it and got through (Turns) 1 and 2 good. Felt like I gave up some in (Turns) 3 and 4 coming to the checkered, but all in all, just have to thank Busch Beer, Jimmy John’s, everybody on this team … This has just been a fun car to drive today. Hopefully, we can get it dialed in for race trim.”
Harvick will lead the field to the green flag alongside Alex Bowman, who clocked in second at 196.000 mph. The career-best qualifying effort for Bowman comes in his fifth start driving for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88.
Chase Elliott qualified third at 195.759 mph with Kyle Busch qualifying fourth at 195.228 mph and Tony Stewart qualifying fifth at 195.228 mph.
Kurt Busch qualified the worst of the Chase drivers with a lap of 192.205 mph. Busch will start 23rd on Saturday night.
Click here to see how qualifying played out at Charlotte.
NASCAR’s weekend schedule at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
By Daniel McFadin
(Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
NASCAR’s top two series return to the sport’s home track this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Sprint Cup Series begins its second round of the Chase with the Bank of America 500.
Xfinity Series teams brace for the first cutoff race of its Chase.
Both will be on track beginning Thursday, which culminates with Sprint Cup qualifying.
There is the chance the schedule could be impacted by Hurricane Matthew. Here is the current schedule, complete with TV and radio info.
All times are Eastern.
Friday, Oct. 7
11 a.m. – Xfinity garage opens
1:30 – 10 p.m. – Sprint Cup garage open
3:30 – 4:25 p.m. – Sprint Cup practice (NBCSN)
4:45 p.m. – Xfinity qualifying; three rounds/multi-car (NBCSN)
6:15 p.m. – Xfinity driver-crew chief meeting
6:30 – 7:20 p.m. – Final Sprint Cup practice (NBCSN)
7:30 p.m. – Xfinity driver introductions
8 p.m. – Drive for the Cure 300; 200 laps, 300 miles (NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday, Oct. 8
1 p.m. – Sprint Cup garage open
4:45 p.m. – Driver-crew chief meeting
6:15 p.m. – Driver introductions
6:45 p.m. – Bank of America 500; 334 laps, 501 miles (NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Five drivers to watch at Charlotte.
By Chris Estrada
(Photo/nbcsports.com)
Keep an eye on these drivers in the opening race of the second round this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Truex and the No. 78 team are peaking at the right time with an eye-popping 2.6 average finish and three wins over the last five races. Now they return to Charlotte, where they put on one of NASCAR’s most dominant performances back in May at the Coca-Cola 600. Look no further for your favorite.
The 2004 Cup champion had an unspectacular Round of 16 (finishes of 13th, fifth, and 15th), and needs to pick things up in order to stay in the Chase. Bad news: He’s got only one win in 84 starts across the Round of 12 tracks. Good news: That one win came in 2010 at – yep – Charlotte. As for a more recent effort, he finished a solid sixth there in May.
Considering Dillon’s past Dover record, he didn’t seem to have a good shot at advancing last weekend. So naturally, he finished eighth and made the cut. In the five races prior, though, Dillon had finished 16th, 12th, 13th, 14th, and 16th. If Dillon wants a chance to make the Round of 8, he needs to keep converting those top-15 finishes into top 10s.
Like Dillon, Edwards has something to prove. He comes off an opening round that wasn’t particularly great (finishes of 15th, sixth, and 14th). Reclaiming the speed he had in the early season will be critical – and so will be avoiding pit road penalties. Edwards was tagged twice for speeding at Charlotte in May and was relegated to 18th at the finish.
With just 16 laps led in the Chase, Keselowski is still down on speed compared to the Toyotas and Kevin Harvick. But he also is the only driver to turn in top-five results in each of the three Chase races. Charlotte has been good for him lately, too, with a win and five top-10 finishes in his last six races there.
SOCCER: Arturo Alvarez putting up career numbers for the Fire.
By Dan Santaromita
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Arturo Alvarez joined the Chicago Fire without much fanfare in the offseason.
The 31-year-old midfielder was initially brought on as a trialist in the preseason after spending four years abroad in Portugal and Hungary. After signing with the Fire, Alvarez quickly established himself as a regular, starting the first nine matches of the season.
Lately, Alvarez has been padding his numbers as the Fire’s attack has come to life in the second half of the season. Alvarez, who is in his 11th season in Major League Soccer, has set a new career-high with seven assists and has matched his career high with five goals.
“I’ve just been playing with confidence, enjoying the game,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez, born in Houston, joined MLS out of high school in 2003 and played for three teams, San Jose, Dallas and Salt Lake. His 27 appearances and 21 starts have both matched career-highs set in 2007 with Dallas. He is likely to break those numbers before the season ends.
He has been used as an attacking and wide midfielder with the Fire. He is the only player on the team to have a positive goal differential when he is on the field (+3).
“I think Arturo is having one of the best seasons so far in his career,” coach Veljko Paunovic said. “His experience that he brings to our team is very important. But we were also very happy to see that he can even increase the number of goals he scores and assisting our players is something he always did very well.
“We will continue pushing and asking the best for Arturo, but because we believe there is still a lot to give from him and we expect that he will do that.”
Alvarez has added the bulk of his stats more recently with three goals and four assists in his last 10 matches. He credited the additions of Luis Solignac and Michael de Leeuw as being big parts of that.
“They bring positive energy to the team,” Alvarez said. “I think myself and David (Accam) and all the attacking players, you kind of feed into that. You know the season has not been going your way the whole time, you get new players in, you kind of want to do the right thing and make sure you work hard. With that, goals and assists or whatever comes your way.”
The Fire have just three games remaining in the season and are out of playoff contention. That could easily lead to complacency and players wanting the season to end, but Alvarez says he has not seen that.
“You know you can’t get down,” he said. “It’s been really tough. I’ve been in teams where things have not gone well and it hasn’t been a positive attitude around the locker room. This is completely different. We’ve been putting in the work, working hard, working for each other, which is important.”
This week the Fire are off while international teams play. David Accam (Ghana) and Collin Fernandez (Peru U-20s) have left the team and the Fire took Monday and Tuesday off before returning to training on Wednesday.
For Alvarez this would have been a time to play for El Salvador, which Alvarez represented 43 times, but he has not played with the national team since last October. In March he said he would not be playing for El Salvador, but now he says he misses playing internationally.
If FIFA insists on expanding the World Cup, here is a better way to 48.
By Nicholas Mendola
(Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
Plenty of criticism has been fired at Gianni Infantino’s suggestion of a 48-team World Cup, and rightly so.
While an increased field wouldn’t dramatically hurt the tournament — several decent sides missed the last outing in Brazil — a poorly-implemented and high-volume expansion would hurt the dramatics of the world’s best tournament.
Look no further than EURO 2016 for this, as many of the group stage games lacked flair thanks to teams knowing points here or there could be enough for one of four third-place berths (Northern Ireland advanced with a win and two losses, while tournament-winning Portugal went to the knockout rounds with three draws).
Infantino’s suggestion would be to have 16 seeded teams advance to the group stages, and have the remaining 32 teams battle to avoid a potential “one and done” tournament via a pre-group stage knockout round.
We see a way to expand the field without dealing in such a dramatic end for 16 teams’ World Cup dreams: knockout round byes for the top eight group winners.
This would allow an even more jam-packed World Cup schedule — *cough* broadcast revenues *cough* — and also avoid most of the pesky final matches with no ramifications for an already-advanced team by offering a bye to the second round of the knockout rounds for the top eight sides.
The four remaining group winners get the four worst second-place finishers, while the other eight second-place sides draw each other for a second-round berth. This adds one more round of games.
How would this affect a field? Take the 2014 tournament.
AFC (4): Australia, Iran, Japan, South Korea
CONCACAF (4): Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, USA
CAF (5): Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria
OFC (0): New Zealand lost playoff to Mexico
CONMEBOL (6): Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Uruguay
UEFA (13): Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Switzerland
There are 211 associations in FIFA. They break down as such:
Africa: 54
Europe: 55
CONMEBOL: 10
CONCACAF: 35
OFC: 11
AFC: 46
The easy additions would be throw in playoff losers New Zealand and Jordan. That’s 34 teams, and guarantees a slot for OFC.
Now Europe’s four playoff losers: Sweden, Ukraine, Romania, Iceland. That’s 38.
Africa’s five playoff losers: Senegal, Egypt, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso. That’s 43.
CONCACAF’s remaining Hex teams: Panama and Jamaica. That’s 45.
Another CONMEBOL side: Venezuela (46), a second OFC side (New Caledonia 47), and sixth Asian side (Uzbekistan 48).
That would mean the final breakdown would be:
Africa: 10 of 54
Europe: 17 of 55
CONMEBOL: 6 of 10
CONCACAF: 6 of 35
OFC: 2 of 11
AFC: 6 of 46
There is also the option of an off-year tournament run at the same time or near the Confederations Cup that would take the next-best two sides from each confederation and put them in group play for the final slots. In 2014, that would’ve arguably been Uruguay, Venezuela, Romania, Iceland, Panama, Mexico, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Ethiopia, and Burkina Faso.
Again, the system is not broken, but if FIFA demands an expansion as high as 48 teams — which is still less than a quarter of its members — there’s a better way than so many one-and-dones on the world’s biggest stage.
Ellis names USWNT roster featuring 11 uncapped players; Morgan, Rapinoe left off.
By Andy Edwards
(Photo by Stanley Chou/Getty Images)
Jill Ellis has named her latest U.S. women’s national team roster for a pair of friendlies against Switzerland later this month (Oct. 19 and 23), and Surprise! doesn’t even begin to do it justice.
Left off the roster of 24 players were forward Alex Morgan, midfielder Megan Rapinoe, and defenders Meghan Klingenberg, Ali Krieger and Julie Johnston — all of whom featured heavily during the USWNT’s disappointing run at the 2014 Olympics in Rio.
In their places are 11 currently uncapped players, a group which includes eight players from the National Women’s Soccer League, and three college players, Stanford goalkeeper Jane Campbell, Stanford midfielder Andi Sullivan and BYU forward Ashley Hatch. Lynn Williams, who plays for the NWSL’s Western New York Flash and finished top of the league scoring charts with 11 goals in 2016, is one of the eight first-time professionals.
Given the USWNT’s failure this summer, along with the looming expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement, these are uncertain times for the United States’ only consistently successful national side. It’s most likely the current generation of stars has been omitted from the latest roster in favor of having time off to rest and recover. It remains possible, though, that Rapinoe, who’s fresh off a torn ACL, is 31 years old, and has been publicly admonished by U.S. Soccer for kneeling during the national anthem, is being ushered toward and through the exit door by her coach and/or the powers that b.
Uncertain times, indeed.
FULL USWNT ROSTER
Defenders: Abby Dahlkemper (Western New York Flash), Arin Gilliland (Chicago Red Stars), Merritt Mathias (Seattle Reign), Kelley O’Hara (Sky Blue FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City), Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars), Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC)
Midfielders: Morgan Brian (Houston Dash), Danielle Colaprico (Chicago Red Stars), Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC), Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash), Allie Long (Portland Thorns FC), Samantha Mewis (Western New York Flash), Andi Sullivan (Stanford)
Forward: Crystal Dunn (Washington Spirit), Shea Groom (FC Kansas City), Ashley Hatch (BYU), Kealia Ohai (Houston Dash), Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars), Lynn Williams (Western New York Flash)
Premier League Playback: Assessing the title contenders.
Joe Prince-Wright
ASSESSING TITLE CONTENDERS
Who is on the up?
Liverpool: Jurgen Klopp’s side are the top goalscorers so far this season and they are showing signs of defensive solidity despite still giving up sloppy goals from set piece situations. Still, if you’re going to score at least two goals per game, you can afford the odd slip up and it hasn’t cost Liverpool who have beaten Arsenal and Chelsea away from home, and also drawn with Tottenham on the road. Not bad at all. Liverpool has so many attacking options currently on form with Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana and Roberto Firmino all on their game. The fact that Daniel Sturridge, Divock Origi and Danny Ings are on the outside looking in says it all. Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum are quietly building a formidable partnership in central midfield too with Klopp’s tactics and the extra time to work on the training ground with no European action paying dividends already.
Arsenal: The Gunners are red-hot with five wins from five going into the break. Shkodran Mustafi looks like a superb addition in central defense and with Alexis Sanchez through the middle and Mesut Ozil, Alex Iwobi and Theo Walcott feeding off him, Arsene Wenger’s side look so dangerous in attack. After just celebrating his 20th anniversary in charge, will Wenger be celebrating a first PL title since 2004? His side is surging and after finishing second last season despite a dip in the second half of the campaign, the Gunners look like the biggest threat to Manchester City for the title as things stand.
Tottenham: These guys, somehow, have flown completely under the radar. After a summer of careful additions to the squad and being focused on signing a dozen key players to new contracts, Mauricio Pochettino’s squad looks much stronger from 1-16 and they’ve coped masterfully with the recent absence of Harry Kane and Mousa Dembele. In their win over Manchester City before the break, Spurs showed just how good they are. High-press, defensive solidity and then relying on Dele Alli and Kane for goals and assists is a pretty formidable formula. The only unbeaten team in the PL has tougher tests ahead but so far they’ve vastly exceeded expectations.
Stalling after strong starts?
Man United: Yes, they’ve still won four of their opening seven games, but United has shown that they’re still very disjointed and I’m a firm believer that Jose Mourinho still doesn’t know what his best team is. The Portuguese coach has chopped and changed so much in midfield but now Wayne Rooney is out, finally he’s getting the best out of Paul Pogba with Ander Herrera alongside him. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has, so far, been a hit and with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial around, he has competition. United have looked really good in flashes but are yet to get firing on all cylinders apart from the first half of the big win against Leicester City. Work to do, Jose.
Chelsea: So, the Blues have defensive issues. Big time. Antonio Conte‘s boys won their opening three games but since then they’ve won just once, losing to Liverpool and home and they were trounced by London rivals Arsenal. With John Terry out injured, Conte’s defense has looked porous, although they did go to a three-man central defensive at Hull last week and it worked a treat. That seems to be the way forward because the plan was for this Chelsea team to be tough to beat and rely on the clinical finishing of Diego Costa and the wizardry of Eden Hazard and Willian to get wins. Conte has a lot of work to do at Chelsea and he knows it.
Man City: Okay, they’re top of the league with six wins from seven but in the last week or so doubts have crept in as to just how good this Man City side is under Pep Guardiola. In truth, they steamrollered opponents early in the season but the toughest game they had was against a Manchester United who were poor on the day at Old Trafford. Both Celtic and then Tottenham showed that intense high-pressing can work a treat against City with Claudio Bravo and his defense unable to find midfielders with the ball. Of course, City have missed Kevin De Bruyne of late and Vincent Kompany too but maybe this small blip will keep their feet firmly on the ground with a tough stretch of games coming up. We’ll find out how good City is in the weeks to come.
BRADLEY’S ARRIVAL HUGE FOR USA, WELL-DESERVED
It actually happened.
For so long now Bob Bradley has been linked with the vacant positions in the Premier League (Fulham, West Brom, Hull, Sunderland to name a few) but on Monday Swansea City announced the former U.S. national team head coach was their new boss.
Bradley, 58, has been working his whole career for this opportunity. From NCAA to MLS, USA to Egypt and then on his recent travails across Norway and France, Bradley has taken the long road and now he has his big chance.
Swansea hasn’t had a great start to the season (four points through seven matches will tell you that) but they have real talent and if Bradley can get through the first six games with 7-9 points on the board, a real stretch of winnable matches arrives throughout the busy December period.
Speaking following his final game for French second-tier side Le Havre on Monday, Bradley revealed his feelings on joining Swansea.
“In this moment the opportunity to go to the Premier League, on many levels, is special,” Bradley said. “I am sorry to leave, especially at this moment. It is still an opportunity for me, my family, for American football. I thank Le Havre for the opportunity to work in the best league in the world. It’s a unique opportunity.”It’s a safe bet that everyone in the U.S. Soccer community had a wry smile on their faces when Bradley was appointed Swansea’s new manager and uttered something along the lines of: “Good for Bob.”
He’s a much liked figure and although he’s globe-trotted in recent years, the U.S. connection remains strong with his time in charge of the USMNT, plus great success in MLS’ early years. The American soccer community holds him close to their hearts as he starts this exciting journey in the Premier League.
Bradley will now prepare for a huge task ahead — starting with his managerial debut in the PL away at Arsenal on Oct. 15 (Watch live, 10 a.m. ET online via NBC Sports) — but it is one he will be relishing and an opportunity he thoroughly deserves.
Premier League Schedule – Week 7
Results Recap and Highlights
| Burnley 0-1 Arsenal | Recap, watch here |
| Everton 1-1 Palace | Recap, watch here |
| Hull 0-2 Chelsea | Recap, watch here |
| Leicester 0-0 Saints | Recap, watch here |
| Man United 1-1 Stoke | Recap, watch here |
| Tottenham 2-0 Man City | Recap, watch here |
| Sunderland 1-1 WBA | Recap, watch here |
| Swansea 1-2 Liverpool | Recap, watch here |
| Watford 2-2 B’mouth | Recap, watch here |
| West Ham 1-1 M’boro | Recap, watch here |
The Premier League also has a new American midfielder making a name for himself: Lynden Gooch.
A 20-year-old from Santa Cruz, California, Gooch has come up through Sunderland’s ranks after joining their academy as a 16-year-old and he has made seven appearances for the Black Cats, starting their first four games in the Premier League.
Last Thursday I went up to Sunderland’s Academy of Light training ground to speak with Gooch about his incredible rise and over the weekend it was announced he’d been called into the U.S. national team for the first time.
Looks like it was a good decision to ditch surfing in Santa Cruz to play soccer in Sunderland at the age of 16.
Watch the video below of our Facebook live chat, plus here’s a snippet from an exclusive chat we had as the wind howled in England’s north east as Sunderland remains winless through their opening seven PL games.
Even if the Mackems aren’t enjoying a good start to this season, Gooch is in dreamland.
“People still ask me ‘why have you come to Sunderland from California!?’ Well, I wanted to be successful. I wanted to be a professional footballer. I wanted to play in the Premier League and I want to play for this football club. Hopefully I can do that for a long time,” Gooch said, proudly. “Some people are still surprised at how far I’ve come. It was a no-brainer for me. As soon as I could’ve come to this club. I would’ve come early at aged 14, or 12, whenever… I would’ve came.”NCAAFB: How the SEC is outclassing the Big 12 in Texas during Red River Showdown week.
By Jon Solomon
It's Oklahoma-Texas week and Texas A&M-Tennessee matters more nationally.
The SEC's dream and the Big 12's nightmare play out Saturday afternoon in Texas. What should be one of the Big 12's best days to showcase its brand (Oklahoma-Texas) will pale in comparison to the national significance of the SEC's top game (Texas A&M-Tennessee).
The top-10 matchup everyone wants to watch on Saturday will be the first Texas A&M-Tennessee SEC game, not the Red River Showdown.
The very early College Football Playoff implications will be felt in College Station, where ESPN's "College GameDay" will be stationed, not at the Cotton Bowl for Oklahoma-Texas.
The SEC is the one that lately owns the Houston television market, not the Big 12.
The SEC's planning by former commissioner Mike Slive produced this Texas strategy, not the Big 12's dysfunction.
When Texas A&M left for the SEC in 2012, then-Longhorns athletic director DeLoss Dodds condescendingly said the Aggies' recruiting was limited to "a sliver down the east side" of Texas. While Texas A&M still hasn't won a championship since joining the SEC, the Aggies and the entire SEC are benefitting on TV and in recruiting from the state of Texas.
The fact is Houston, the fourth-largest city in America, is now an SEC town. That should be a very tough pill for the Big 12 to swallow.
Last year, six of the 10 most-watched college football games in Houston came from the SEC. Alabama's games against Texas A&M, Florida and LSU all drew higher ratings than Oklahoma-Texas. When SEC commissioner Greg Sankey was asked if he expected several years ago for SEC games to draw more Houston viewers than the Big 12, he bluntly responded, "Yes."
"Our vision has always been to reach people beyond only our 11 states, and Texas is the SEC," Sankey said. "Texas A&M did a great job saying Texas is SEC country, and I think you see that reality reflected in those TV ratings. We've gone to the Cotton Bowl. We've gone to the Texas Bowl in Houston. Our alumni bases in those cities are huge."
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby declined to comment for this article. The Big 12 is considering expanding -- Houston is one of the candidates -- but it's possible the conference will stay put. A future question looms for the Big 12: Will Texas and Oklahoma go elsewhere in the next decade?
On Saturday, Oklahoma-Texas won't match ranked teams for the third straight year. It's a byproduct of the Longhorns' ongoing struggles, though the Sooners are 2-2 this year after losses to top-10 teams Houston and Ohio State. Texas and Oklahoma were both ranked in 12 of their previous 13 meetings, including four top-10 games.
For the third straight year, Oklahoma and Texas enter the Red River Showdown with four combined losses. Until 2014, these teams hadn't entered their annual rivalry game with those many defeats since 1998
It's a real problem for the Big 12 when its two marquee programs struggle and the conference's playoff hopes already look dicey in early October. On the surface, there aren't many reasons for a national audience to tune into many Big 12 games moving forward.
So far in 2016, Big 12 teams have been involved in three of the top 20 highest-rated games, according to Sports Media Watch. The number of top-20 rated games by other leagues: SEC nine, Big Ten seven, ACC four, Pac-12 three.
Last week, Oklahoma-TCU -- which should have been one of the Big 12's most attractive matchups -- drew fewer viewers than Alabama-Kentucky. Earlier this season, Oklahoma State-Baylor (two quality Big 12 teams in recent seasons) had fewer eyeballs than Duke-Notre Dame and Florida State-South Florida.
The Big 12's talent drain comes on the front end (high school recruiting rankings) and on the back end (NFL draft picks). Texas' struggles are certainly a big part of this equation. But it's probably no coincidence the talent drain occurred after Missouri, Texas A&M, Colorado and Nebraska had all left by the Big 12 by 2012.
In 2010, the Big 12 signed 41 of the top 50 recruits from Texas. The SEC got just three. By 2016, the scoreboard read 22 for the Big 12, 20 for the SEC.
That dramatic change can't simply be explained by Texas A&M bringing its Texas prospects to the SEC. The Aggies had only six top-50 players from Texas in 2016, according to 247Sports. Meanwhile, the number of non-Texas A&M SEC schools to sign top-50 Texas players soared to 14 (up from three in 2010 and up from seven as recently as 2015).
The starting quarterback for No. 1 Alabama is Jalen Hurts, a true freshman from Channelview, Texas. Hurts' other two finalists were reportedly SEC schools (Texas A&M and Mississippi State).
The SEC's second-leading rusher is Arkansas' Rawleigh Williams III, a sophomore who comes from Dallas. Williams was once committed to another SEC school (Ole Miss).
The SEC's second-leading receiver in yards is Missouri's J'Mon Moore, a junior from Missouri City, Texas. He reportedly chose Missouri over West Virginia, Texas Tech, TCU, Oklahoma State and Miami.
Recruiting better players in Texas wasn't part of the SEC's strategy when it added Texas A&M, Sankey said. Instead, he points to Texas A&M's recruiting success opening doors for other SEC schools.
"You've got to keep some things in mind contextually," Sankey said. "Our universities are recruiting the state of Texas for their student body in aggressive manners. A number of SEC schools have recruiting offices for students in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio so they're very intentional about recruiting that state in an overall fashion."
Meanwhile, Big 12 talent has decreased since 2010 when it became the first conference at the NFL Draft to have the first four players picked. From 2014-16, the Big 12 averaged 6.8 NFL Draft picks per school, trailing the SEC (11.0), Pac-12 (8.8), ACC (8.2) and Big Ten (8.0). The Big 12 did fare better in 2016 when it produced more draft picks per school than the ACC.
The Big 12 talent drain is even more startling when looking at first- and second-round picks per school between 2014-16: SEC 3.6, Big Ten 3.4, Pac-12 2.5, ACC 2.2, and Big 12 1.3. The Big 12 has been closer to the American Athletic Conference in producing first- and second-round players than to any of the Power Five conferences.
Beyond Texas getting better, there is no slam-dunk solution for the Big 12 to quickly reverse this fortune. If there was an obvious expansion choice, the Big 12 would have moved by now.
Still, some of the thinking by Big 12 schools is incredibly shortsighted. Kansas State offensive coordinator Dana Dimel told Kansas.com that, should Houston get into the Big 12, "they will be tough to beat in recruiting because of the proximity."
Here's a more pressing question for the remaining Big 12 schools: What is the state of Texas going to look like if the Sooners and Longhorns one day leave? All things being equal, why wouldn't the Big 12 want to try to regain the Houston market?
Saturday provides just the latest example that the sliver of Texas is growing for the SEC and slipping away from the Big 12.
The Red River Showdown is a now or never moment for Texas coach Charlie Strong.
By Ben Kercheval
Strong is taking over the defense full-time for the Longhorns against Oklahoma.
One year ago, Texas players hoisted coach Charlie Strong into the air for some crowd surfing as time ran out on a shocking 24-17 win over then-No. 10 Oklahoma. A corner, it seemed, had finally been turned.
Two games later, on Halloween night, the Longhorns were shut out by Iowa State 24-0. Texas went on to finish 5-7 while Oklahoma represented the Big 12 in the College Football Playoff.
College football is a week-to-week sport. To predict exactly what will happen Saturday when Texas and Oklahoma kick off in the Red River Showdown, or how it will affect the rest of their respective seasons, is impossible.
Still, it's hard to look at the Oklahoma game and beyond as anything other than a now-or-never moment for Strong.
What's different about it this time as opposed to last year? Besides being one year further into his five-year deal that pays a starting base salary of $5 million annually, Strong is also going to call the defensive plays full-time.
This is Strong's last stand -- or, at the very least, the beginning of it. He's relying on himself, a defensive specialist, to fix the team's biggest issue. In fact, it has been that for the past year and a half. In 2015, the Longhorns gave up 30.3 points per game. Through four games this season: 38.2. That's last in the Big 12 and 106th in the nation, better than just 22 other teams.
It's not just scheme issues. Texas struggles with the basic fundamentals, tackling chief among them. How Strong plans to fix that in a week's time when it's been a problem for well over a year is interesting to say the least.
On Monday, Strong confirmed he was demoting defensive coordinator Vance Bedford following a 49-31 loss to Oklahoma State. It was the second time in as many seasons Strong was forced to demote a coordinator. Last year, Strong demoted co-offensive coordinators Shawn Watson and Joe Wickline after one game, promoting Jay Norvell to head play-caller.
Norvell left for Arizona State this past offseason. In all, only two assistants have been with Strong since the 2013 season: Bedford and linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary. (Bedford has actually been with Strong since he was Florida's defensive coordinator.)
Strong has done many things right at Texas. He's recruited well despite some initial concerns about his ties to the geographical area -- or lack thereof -- by hauling in top-10 classes (per 247Sports) in each of the last two years, with the 2016 class getting some help from Baylor's sexual assault scandal. Strong has also kept his word about changing the program's culture. The identity of Strong's core values takes years to come to fruition, not months.
But Strong hasn't done as good a job at hiring quality assistant coaches. That was equal parts loyalty and stubbornness, both to a fault. His disinterest in committing to a hurry-up spread offense would have been understandable if his offensive plan with Watson worked, but it didn't. It took three years for Strong to finally hire the right guy -- offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert -- to fix the offense.
Now, it's on Strong to make his own bed with the defense. But Strong has mismanaged in-game situations before, the most recent being the inexplicable punt to Cal and timeout before the half at Oklahoma State. And now he's adding more to his plate. Can he handle it? There's a simple solution in Texas' mind if he can't.
For the time being, Strong's future is muddled. He has the dreaded "vote of confidence" from the university's president and ... well .. something not quite as confident from prominent booster Red McCombs.
Citing an anonymous high-ranking Texas official, a Sports Illustrated report this week stated, that Strong was "'very close' to losing his job at the end of the season." To recap: Some within Texas are apparently interested in moving on from Strong, likely to get near the front of the line of the Tom Herman sweepstakes, but not just yet because that would be too blatant.
All of this would be befuddling if it wasn't old. For all of Strong's mistakes, and there have been plenty, the reality is he also never quite started with a clean 0-0 record with Texas. Remember, it was McCombs who, in January of 2014, said hiring Strong was a "kick in the face." McCombs added that Strong would "make a great position coach, maybe a coordinator." The prominent booster later recanted his words.
So here is Strong now, one month after beating Notre Dame, facing perhaps the most important games of his time at Texas. Three years is the new five years for a coach, and it's not a good sign if Strong's back is up against the wall nearly midway through Year 3.
If Strong is going to turn it around, it starts with Oklahoma. Win or lose, though, the defense and overall team consistency has to improve. The mistakes, whether on special teams or in penalties and turnovers, have to dissolve. There can no longer be big wins if they're not accompanied by little ones. Strong figured that out last year.
Losing to Oklahoma doesn't necessarily mean Strong will be fired come Sunday, just as beating the Sooners for the second consecutive year doesn't mean Strong is destined for a Kirk Ferentz-like extension. But the vision of Texas football under Strong is either going to be realized or not over the next couple of months.
This is no longer Mack Brown's problem that Strong is trying to fix. Starting in Week 6, Strong has to fix what he's created.
NCAABKB: NCAA's decision to rule Army veteran ineligible defies common sense.
By Jeff Eisenberg
The NCAA has ruled Oakland’s Isaiah Brock ineligible to play this season (Photo/AP)
Even for an organization known for sometimes making tone-deaf decisions, the NCAA has outdone itself once again.
It has reportedly denied immediate eligibility to a decorated U.S. Army veteran because of a 2011 high school transcript that no longer accurately reflects the caliber of student he is.
Isaiah Brock is a Baltimore native who enlisted in the military in 2012 because he believed it was his best means of escaping his hardscrabble neighborhood. He served four years in the Army including six-month stints in Kuwait and Afghanistan.
Oakland coach Greg Kampe told the Detroit Free Press and CBSSports.com that he first met Brock at a charitable event in Kuwait connecting soldiers with basketball coaches. While Kampe wasn’t sure that Brock would ever develop into an impact player at Oakland, he offered the 6-foot-8 forward a spot on his team anyway in hopes that his life experience would make him a valuable locker room presence.
Oakland admitted Brock after he got a qualifying ACT score. He earned As and Bs in online courses he took while still enlisted and in a pair of summer courses he took at Oakland. Everyone was optimistic he’d receive a waiver making him eligible to play for the Golden Grizzlies this season, but the NCAA eligibility center denied his request, citing his inadequate high school GPA.
“I thought they would be more lenient — not show me sympathy, but review my service,” Brock told the Detroit Free Press. “I understand you’ve got to look back on the grades and all that, but that was five years ago. Of course you’re going to be a changed person. … But clearly, I wasn’t worthy.”
The uncompromising ruling by the NCAA reflects one of its most glaring problems. Too often initial decisions are made based on strict interpretations of the rulebook even if they fly in the face of common sense, a habit that often results in a hail of criticism once the rulings become public.
Remember Nathan Harries, the Colgate basketball player who initially lost a year of eligibility for playing in three church-league games between graduating high school and enrolling in college? Or Steven Rhodes, the Middle Tennessee football player initially denied eligibility because he played in a few recreational games after high school while serving in the Marines?
The NCAA eventually reversed both those rulings on appeal amid heavy public pressure. Oakland is hoping its appeal of the Brock ruling will have a similar outcome, which is why it was smart of school officials to apply pressure in advance by sharing Brock’s story with the Free Press and CBSSports.com.
Even if Oakland wins its appeal and Brock is declared eligible this season, it’s hard to cite it as an example of the system working.
Someone at the NCAA eligibility center should be PR-savvy enough to recognize the potential fallout from ruling a decorated army veteran ineligible over a five-year-old high school transcript. Then administrators need to give staffers the flexibility to make a logical decision rather than always following a strict interpretation of the rules.
Or if the eligibility center is always going to rely on simple math and leave it to the appeals committee to apply common sense, the NCAA should still be flagging cases like this one and getting out in front of the ensuing media firestorm. Why not release a statement beforehand acknowledging the injustice and pledging to expedite the appeals process to correct it?
Of course being proactive is not typically the NCAA way, which is why Brock is in the headlines today.
Hopefully his story has a happy ending. And hopefully the NCAA favors logic over rigidity more often in the future.
2017 college basketball recruiting: Kentucky hanging over Big Ten surge.
By Gary Parrish
John Calipari currently has zero commitments, but that will surely change.
Bruno Fernando's commitment to Maryland on Sunday did two things.
1. It gave the Terrapins their first pledge from the Class of 2017.
2. It pushed the Big Ten ahead of the SEC as it pertains to top-100 commitments.
It's true. As of this moment, 60 of the top 100 prospects in the Class of 2017, according to 247Sports, have committed. And no league has more of those 60 than the Big Ten. Things break down like this:
- Big Ten: 11
- SEC: 10
- Pac-12: 9
- ACC: 9
- Big East: 9
- Big 12: 6
- Atlantic 10: 2
- C-USA: 2
- American: 1
- West Coast Conference: 1
That said, there are some interesting things here -- most notably that a league that hasn't won a national championship since 2000 currently has more top-100 recruits committed than any other league. (Note: I'm not giving the Big Ten credit for Maryland's 2002 title.)
Also worth noting is the fact that the American Athletic Conference -- despite having big basketball brands like Connecticut, Cincinnati and Memphis, historically solid programs like Temple and Tulsa, and on-the-rise programs like Houston and SMU -- only has one top-100 player committed at this moment. (The player is Makai Ashton-Langford, who is ranked 33rd and committed to UConn.)
That's eight fewer than the Big East, one fewer than both the Atlantic 10 and C-USA, and exactly the same as the WCC, meaning the AAC has fewer top-100 commitments than all five Power 5 leagues -- plus three other non-Power 5 leagues. And that's not a good look for a conference that on the court has finished seventh among all leagues in each of the past two seasons at KenPom.
OTHER RECRUITING NOTES FROM THE WEEKEND
1. Indiana secured its third commitment from the Class of 2017 this weekend when Clifton Moore pledged. The 6-8 forward is ranked 133rd nationally, according to 247Sports. IU's class is currently ranked 15th nationally and fourth in the Big Ten.
2. North Carolina State landed its first prospect from the Class of 2017 when Thomas Allen committed this weekend. The 6-2 guard is ranked 134th nationally, according to 247Sports. He had additional offers from Ohio State, Illinois, Cincinnati and Nebraska.
3. Kansas accepted a commitment from Class of 2019 standout Markese Jacobs this weekend. The 5-10 point guard is just the latest Chicago-area player to pledge to KU coach Bill Self, who previously coached at Illinois. Some other examples are Julian Wright, Sherron Collins and Cliff Alexander.
4. In addition to Jacobs, KU had a long list of elite prospects on campus this weekend highlighted by five-star recruits Trevon Duval, Collin Sexton, Troy Brown and Billy Preston. None of them committed, but their mere presence on campus suggests the Jayhawks are seriously involved with the type of recruits that could lead KU to several more Big 12 titles.
FINAL THOUGHT: The biggest commitment of the weekend was delivered by Chaundee Brown, who picked Wake Forest and thus rejected reported offers from Kansas, UConn, Florida, Indiana, Maryland and many others. The 6-5 guard is the highest-rated prospect to commit to Wake Forest since Class of 2008 stars Al-Farouq Aminu and Ty Walker pledged to Skip Prosser nine recruiting classes and two coaches ago.
So, yeah, this is a huge development for the Demon Deacons.
Dear MLB: Please cancel the playoffs before the Giants win another World Series. Not..... What's Your Take?
By Jason Foster
The postseason is upon us, but whatever. We know how this ends: The Giants will win the World Series — again.
(Yes, they will.)
It's all so predictable, so why even bother? Let’s just go 1994 on everything and call the whole thing off. There’s no reason to move forward with this silly charade.
You know it's true. Search your feelings. It's an even year.
C’mon, Jason. The even year junk is a bunch of crap.
Agree to disagree. It’s as real as Cardinal Devil Magic. (And thank goodness we don’t have to deal with that this year.) Plus, once the Giants somehow were able to collapse and make the postseason, it became all too real once again.
Seriously, the Giants are going to win. Not the Cubs. Not the Indians. Not the Mets. The Giants. It’s 2016. It’s what they do. It can’t be stopped. Baseball won’t allow it.
Now you’re just being silly, Jason.
Why are you fighting this? It doesn’t matter what the stats say. It doesn’t matter how hot the other teams are or how cold the Giants appear to be. Like day follows night and like disappointment follows postseasons in Atlanta, the Giants are going to win again. There’s nothing anybody can do about it.
So, please, MLB, just call it all off. For the good of the game. For the sanity of everyone.
Of course, I know that’s a pipedream. I'm not crazy. MLB will surely insist on going forward with this joyless march to inevitability. Our only hope is that things will be somewhat entertaining along the way.
But, Jason, what if the Giants don’t even make it to the World Series?
You’re funny. Look at a calendar, dude. That sure would be nice, though. But we don’t live in that kind of utopia.
It's an interesting thought, though: What if the Giants weren’t involved in the 2016 World Series?
Here are my rankings of World Series matchups, from most desirable to least desirable.
Cubs-Indians: This would be epic. Someone would end a long drought. Cubs in five. Sorry, Cleveland. But you know that’s what would happen.
Cubs-Red Sox: Not as epic as it would’ve been in 2003, but still highly watchable. Red Sox in six.
Cubs-Orioles: This could be fascinating. Joe Maddon vs. Buck Showalter. A battle of the minds. Finally, a World Series with 21st century baseball thinking. Orioles in seven.
Cubs-Rangers: The Rangers haven’t had much luck in the World Series. Cubs in five.
Cubs-Blue Jays: Lots of offense. Offense is good. Cubs in six.
Dodgers-Red Sox: Could be fun, could be boring. Red Sox in five. They’re the Giants of the American League, you know.
Dodgers-Indians: I’d watch. Dodgers in six.
Dodgers-Rangers: This doesn’t excite me. Rangers in seven. Why not?
Dodgers-Orioles: Feels like something that probably happened in an alternate early ‘80s reality. Orioles in six.
Dodgers-Blue Jays: Eh, that's a lot of blue.
Mets-Red Sox: Hey, 1986! But 30 years later! Red Sox in four.
Mets-Indians: I think last year’s World Series was a preview of how this would play out. Sorry, Mets fans. Indians in five.
Mets-Rangers: This is only mildly interesting. Rangers in seven.
Mets-Orioles: Party like it’s 1969! But no miracle this time. Orioles in six.
Mets-Blue Jays: Tolerable, but meh.
Nationals-Red Sox: Just kidding. The Nationals won't make it this far.
Nationals-Indians: Just kidding. The Nationals won't make it this far.
Nationals-Rangers: Just kidding. The Nationals won't make it this far.
Nationals-Orioles: Just kidding. The Nationals won't make it this far.
Nationals-Blue Jays: Just kidding. The Nationals won't make it this far.
Alas ...
We live in a broken world, so none of that is going to happen. This postseason will end in one of five ways:
Giants-Red Sox: I guess this could be interesting. But whatever. Giants would win.
Giants-Indians: The Indians would have a chance to slay decades worth of demons, but the Giants would still win.
Giants-Orioles: Everyone outside of the Bay Area would be rooting for the Orioles in this All-Halloween Colors World Series, but the Giants would still win.
Giants-Blue Jays: The Giants can win in other countries, too.
Giants-Rangers: See 2010.
Why do you hate the Giants, Jason?
I don’t hate the Giants. I hate boredom. Once the Giants reach the playoffs in an even year, the outcome is decided. We see this outcome every two years. This outcome is boring.
Wait, are you serious? Do you really think this is inevitable?
We exist in a fixed timeline, according to my extensively researched theories on spacetime. (I got my physics degree from the Appalachian State University communications department.)
Marty McFly can’t help us. Neither can Sam from “Quantum Leap” and neither can the guys from “Voyagers,” which, if you were born after about 1978, you won’t remember.
Nope, we’re stuck. Go ahead and measure ring sizes and plan the parade route through downtown San Francisco. It’s all about to happen — again.
Nothing can be done.
Time is a flat circle, as deep and penetrating as Hunter Pence's eyes.
Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Take: We read this article and just had to laugh. Obviously, Mr. Foster doesn't realize that this is the Cubs' year. The Giants will be knocked out in the first round by the Cubs. We won't even write about this any further, We'll just say, Let's Go Cubs!!!!! We'll write about the fantastic happenings that occur at Wrigley Field this weekend on Monday. We truly believe that the 100+ year wait is over. That's our story and we're sticking to it. Let's Go Cubs!!!!! What more can we say?
What do you think about this article and what's your take? Go to the comment section at the bottom of this blog and share your feelings with us. We just love to hear from you. Thanks in advance for your time and comments.
The Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Editorial Staff.
On This Date in Sports History: Today is Friday, October 07, 2016.
emoriesofhistory.com
1918 - The Georgia Tech football team defeated Cumberland College 222-0. Georgia Tech carried the ball 978 yards and never threw a pass.
1956 - Al Carmichael (Green Bay Packers) returned a kickoff 106 yards to set an NFL record.
2001 - Barry Bonds (San Francisco Giants) hit his 73rd home run of the season and set a new major league record.
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Please let us hear your opinion on the above articles and pass them on to any other diehard fans that you think might be interested. But most of all, remember, Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica wants you.
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