CS&T/AllsportsAmerica Wednesday Sports News Update, 10/12/2016.

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"Sports Quote of the Day"

"Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is." ~ Bob Feller, 18 season Major League Baseball Pitcher

Trending: Cubs pull off unreal comeback over Giants, headed to NLCS. (See the baseball section for Cubs and baseball playoff updates).

Cubs' mantra, "We Don't Quit". (Photo/www.kxxv.com)

Trending: Jay Cutler or Brian Hoyer? Right now Bears 'don’t have a plan'. (See the football section for Bears and NFL updates).  

Trending: Blackhawks' season starts tonight. (See the hockey section for Blackhawks updates and NHL news).

Trending: Woods withdraws from Safeway Open. (See the golf section for PGA news and tournament updates).

Trending: Cubs road to the "World Series".   

Best-of-5 series

Game 1 at Chicago: Friday, 8:15 p.m. San Francisco 0, Cubs 1 (W)

Game 2 at Chicago: Saturday, 7:08 p.m. San Francisco 2, Cubs 5 (W)

Game 3 at San Francisco: Monday, Oct. 10, 7:30 p.m. Cubs 5 (L), San Francisco 6

*Game 4 at San Francisco: Tuesday, Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m. Cubs 6 (W) San Francisco 5

*Game 5 at Chicago: Thursday, Oct. 13, time TBA. (NOT NEDESSARY)

* If necessary

Note: All times Central

(See the baseball section for Cubs and baseball playoff updates).  

Bear Down Chicago Bears!!!!! Jay Cutler or Brian Hoyer? Right now Bears 'don’t have a plan'.

By John Mullin

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

Mike Tomczak or Doug Flutie? Rudy Bukich or Bill Wade? Bob Avellini or Vince Evans? Rex Grossman or Kyle Orton?

Jay Cutler or Brian Hoyer?

Bears teams have been divided internally, sometimes into hostile camps, over which of two quarterbacks should be starting. That situation developing this season is unlikely — now — but what about when Cutler, elected by teammates as a co-captain, is back from his thumb injury?

“I think we’re managing it well,” coach John Fox said. “It kind of is what it is, and everybody on the team knows that Brian Hoyer is the quarterback right now and that’s where all our focus is going. I think Jay understands that, too. Moving forward, I can’t predict the future, otherwise I’d be in a different line of work. But I think everybody’s handling it professionally.”

As far as defensive end Willie Young is concerned, “I don’t know. That (has) got nothing to do with me, to be quite honest. Yeah, that’s got nothing to do with me. I deal with Vic (Fangio, defensive coordinator) all day every day, so I’m too busy trying to figure out how to cover a seam route, a wheel route, quarter flat, seam flats. So I honestly don’t even get into that part of (the quarterback question).”

What the Bears plan to do with Cutler has developed into a true two-part question. One is long-term, as in what the organization will do next offseason when Cutler’s contract no longer calls for guaranteed money as it has the past three.

The other is decidedly short-term, as in when the quarterback is deemed recovered from his thumb injury sustained during the game against Philadelphia, will he return to his spot as Bears starting quarterback.

Best guess is that plans and courses of action have been calculated for the 2017 offseason. But as far as the immediate Cutler-Hoyer future in remaining 2016 games:

“We don’t have a plan,” Fox said Monday. “Right now we’ve got two guys healthy in Matt Barkley and Brian Hoyer, and those are our quarterbacks right now. I think all our focus is there right now.”

Cutler had his right hand in a hard wrap during Sunday's 29-23 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. The thumb ligament was injured at some point of the Eagles game, and until it is to the point of Cutler being able to take direct snaps and grip a football enough to throw it at an NFL level, the discussion is just that: talk.

“Right now, (Cutler playing) is not a reality, so I don't like to get too much into that,” Fox said. “But I think Brian's played well. Unfortunately we didn't play quite well enough. If we score on that last drive, we win the game. But it did not materialize.”

Part of Cutler’s job as a co-captain is to keep teammates on point, on message, and keep the locker room unified. Like most players, he’s close with some, less so with others.

“Just that obviously it’s a tough spot,” Fox said. “You have to be a tough guy. In this business you’re under attack. It just comes with the territory; that’s why we’re all compensated pretty well. I think he understands that. He’s been through that probably much longer than I have. So he’s a tough-minded guy, and I’m sure he’s doing OK.”

Bears In-Foe: Blake Bortles, 'Allen Brothers' trying to help Jaguars gain traction.

By Chris Boden

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

Patience has been at a premium for head coach Gus Bradley with Jaguars owner Shad Khan, and the former Seahawks defensive coordinator should count himself a lucky man, considering a 12-36 record in his first three seasons. But that pressure for better results figures to be ramped up this season with a bumper crop of talent on both sides of the ball for the University of Illinois-schooled owner who made his fortune supplying auto manufacturers with...yes, bumpers.

Last year, Jacksonville was hanging in there at 4-6 before dropping five of its last six contests. They proceeded to drop their first three this season before beating the Colts, which the Bears just lost to, two Sundays ago in London. But despite Bradley's expertise, it was the offense that showed significant growth a year ago, jumping from 31st overall in 2014 to 18th under the direction of former Bears quarterbacks coach (2003) Greg Olson.

After a carousel of nine starting quarterbacks in ten years, 2014 third overall pick Blake Bortles settled in in his sophomore season to throw for over 4,400 yards, and 35 touchdowns opposite 18 interceptions. That sparked the scoring offense to spike by eight points per game, and the aerial attack to leap from 31st to 10th. Through the first four games this season, though, Bortles has plateaued. While his completion percentage has risen slightly to 61.4, his quarterback rating has slipped by nine points, with seven TDs and six picks. While the 6-foot-5, 240-pounder out of Central Florida had a league-leading 72 completions of 20-plus yards a year ago, there have been just seven games in his career he hasn't turned the ball over (most recently against the Colts).

A huge reason for his success? The "Allen Brothers" (duh...not related) - Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns. Both are 6-foot-3. Both arrived, like Bortles, in 2014; Robinson a second-round pick out of Penn State, Hurns an undrafted free agent out of Miami (Fla). Last season, the two combined for 144 receptions for 2,431 yards and 24 touchdowns. Wow. Of Robinson's 80 catches, 31 went for 20 or more yards. So far, a quarter of the way through this season, each is at roughly the same pace as a year ago (Robinson: 21-238, 3 TDs; Hurns: 15-226, 1 TD), meaning the Bears' cornerbacks had better be ready Sunday on the lakefront. Overshadowed is the other wideout the Jags invested a 2014 second-round pick in, injury-probe Marquise Lee. Former Broncos tight end Julius Thomas got a rich deal two offseasons ago, but settled for 46 receptions last year, with 11 this so far this year, but he's never played a full season. He thinks he'll be ready for the Bears after sitting out the game in London with an elbow injury. The first-round pick from ten years ago, Marcedes Lewis, starts as well in two-tight end sets.

2015 second-rounder T.J. Yeldon had groin and foot injuries his rookie year (740 yards rushing, 36 receptions) and is averaging only 3.2 yards a carry in a rushing offense averaging just 55 yards a game until he gained 97 yards on 18 carries against Indianapolis. Amidst all the Jags' defensive free agent investments, they also signed Pro Bowler and last year's sixth-leading rusher, Chris Ivory, away from a Jets team that had its eyes on Matt Forte. But Ivory was hospitalized suddenly the morning of the season opener, and the reason has been kept under wraps. That sidelined him the first two games, and as he's tried to get back to full strength, he's carried just 20 times for only 43 yards.

That's behind a rather ordinary offensive line that invested 2014 and 2015 third-round picks on the interior (center Brandon Lindner and guard A.J. Cann). But 2013 second overall pick Luke Joeckel had been a disappointment, being moved from tackle to guard. And after not being offered a fifth-year tender, sustained a season-ending left knee injury in London involving two ligaments and a meniscus. Former Bear Patrick Omameh could slide into that position. The tackles are offseason free agent signees the last two years: Kelvin Beachum (Steelers) and Jeremy Parnell (Cowboys). As a unit, the line has allowed 61 and 51 sacks the last two years, respectively, with a dozen so far this season.

So far on third down, the Jaguars rank last in the league (28.3 percent).

Bears In-Foe: Jags 'D' making small steps after big paydays.

By Chris Boden

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

After their offensive spike a year ago, Gus Bradley's defenses never ranked higher than last season's 24th, without much-hyped third overall pick Dante Fowler, whose rookie season was derailed even before Kevin White's, with a torn ACL in OTA's, weeks after he was drafted.

So Jacksonville went out and became the "Offseason Champs," at least.  Much of the $227.5 million they spent in free agency ($74.5 million guaranteed) was on the defensive side, and they used their first five draft picks this spring on that side of the ball, too. They also replaced former Lovie Smith understudy Bob Babich as defensive coordinator with former D-Line coach Todd Wash. While facing the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Philip Rivers, Joe Flacco and Andrew Luck the first four weeks, they sit 24th in points (three places below the Bears), allowing 27.8 per game. But they're seventh in yards allowed and pass defense, yet still 29th in third down defense. They have a dozen sacks while forcing five turnovers.

Fowler (two sacks) sets up on the left edge (ready, Bobby Massie?), lining up beside ex-Bronco Malik Jackson (six years, $90 million). Roy Miller III is the other starting tackle, but there's depth there with veteran Sen'Derrick Marks and rookie Sheldon Day from Notre Dame. The Jags also threw money at former Dolphin Jared Odrick to anchor the opposite side of the line, but rookie third-rounder Yannick Ngakoue out of Maryland has turned into a revelation on the edge, with three of their sacks (eight others split the defense's other nine sacks).

Miles Jack's meniscus issue leading up to the draft dropped the once-projected top-five pick all the way to the second round, sitting there when Jacksonville's fifth pick came up. They pounced. He's been worked in to a strong linebacking corps, and while his strength is in coverage on the weak side, reports this week indicate he'll take time from Dan Skuta on the strong side. That's because the other two `backers, Paul Posluszny and Telvin Smith, have been absolute tackling machines (a combined 232 the past two seasons).

As for that pass defense, their fifth overall pick in round one (rather than Jack) was Jalen Ramsey. Ramsey is their fourth-leading tackler and is blanketing opponents' top receiver, but still has to prove whether his lack of takeaway ability at Florida State (three interceptions in 41 games) sticks with him at this level. Former Packer Davon House had a club-record 23 pass breakups along with four interceptions in 2015, but may be replaced as soon as this week by ex-Giant Prince Amukamura. Aaron Colvin comes a four-game PED suspension to take over nickel duties this week. Tashaun Gipson (14 interceptions in 49 games in Cleveland) was handed $35 million over five years to take over at free safety alongside Jonathan Cyprien on the strong side.

Special teams

Kicker Jason Myers has been perfect on PATs so far after missing a whopping seven a year ago, and is 7-of-9 on field goals (1-for-3 from 50-plus). Brad Nortman (yes, he was signed in free agency, too) ranks ninth in gross punting average and fifth in net.

Corey Grant ranks 13th in the NFL with a 21.3 kickoff return average.  Rashad Greene is 15th in punt return average at 8.6.

Ravens fire former Bears head coach Marc Trestman.

By CSN Staff

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

This should sound familiar to Bears fans: Marc Trestman didn't get the job done.

It's why Adam Schefter reported early Monday morning that the Ravens have parted ways with Trestman, who has been the offensive coordinator since the start of last season.

The Ravens suffered their second straight loss on Sunday, managing just 10 points in a home loss to the Redskins. Washington had allowed 28 points per game entering the contest, but the Ravens were stifled following an opening-drive touchdown.

Through five weeks the Ravens rank 23rd in yards (338.2) and points per game (18.8). A year ago, Trestman's first year at the helm after taking over for Gary Kubiak, the Ravens ranked 14th in total offense but 25th in points.

Trestman spent two years as head coach of the Bears, compiling a 13-19 record.

How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Top six must deliver early, often for Blackhawks.

By Tracey Myers

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

Patrick Kane said he wouldn’t have minded if he and Artemi Panarin were split to start the season.

“I could understand why people would be up in arms one way or another about changing the line,” he said. “But I’ve played with pretty much everyone here except some of the younger guys that are coming up.”

Still, if ain’t broke...

So Kane, Panarin and Artem Anisimov are together again. So are Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa on the top line, where they’ll be with Richard Panik. The Blackhawks are loading up their top two lines heading into the season, which begins Wednesday night against the St. Louis Blues. And with so many young forwards with little to no NHL experience on the third and fourth lines, the onus is going to be on that top six.

It would be easy –— and for the Blackhawks, great — to think that the second line will immediately build off last year’s numbers. But Kane said throwing the three back together doesn’t mean the same results will automatically show.

“I think for us it’s important not to just think it’ll happen again,” he said. “We have to do what we did last year: work hard, try to get the puck back and when we get the puck back, work our magic a little bit. The biggest thing is work, especially with us three.”

As much as the Blackhawks would love to see the second line repeat what it did last season, they’d like the top line to get back to where it was prior to last season. Panik, who played on the top line some late last season, gets the first crack at it as the Blackhawks try to avoid playing the turnstile-at-left-wing game again. But overall, that line has to produce more.

“It’ll be huge for us,” Toews said of his line scoring early this season. “But again, we just want to go play with energy, play with excitement, and have fun. We know those results are going to come. I think last year, it was maybe a rougher start and then we were kind of forcing it as the season went along. It got maybe even more mentally tiring as that burden got bigger and bigger as the season went along. The start’s important, but we know we’re excited about things. Just play good hockey.”

The Blackhawks are revamped again this season, especially at forward. They’ll need the young players to do their part. They’ll need their veterans to do even more.

“I know that as a young kid or a veteran guy, I think you’re looking to get off to a great start and know how important, how tough it is to make the playoffs, have success early on in the year,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “We have a tough division, a tough conference. Both sides [young guys and veterans] have got to be looking to deliver their part and hold up their end of the bargain. I would say our guys have handled all situations extremely well. It seems like the bigger the challenge, the bigger game, they rise and they meet it head on.”

NHL 2016-17 Central Division preview: Can Blackhawks roll a four-line rotation?

By Charlie Roumeliotis

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

If there's any team that needed an extended offseason to rest and recharge, it was the Blackhawks.

After capturing three Stanley Cups and appearing in five Conference Finals since 2010, you could argue the toll of playing deep into June almost every year caught up to them in a first-round exit to the St. Louis Blues last postseason.

But it was also the inability to roll four consistent lines while trying to hide a leaky back end of the defense. The latter shouldn't be an issue this year. In fact, it's become their strength.

The Blackhawks' defensive corps from top to bottom is the deepest it's been in years, anchored by two-time Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Brent Seabrook. The addition of Brian Campbell was arguably the best bargain signing of the offseason, and he immediately slots into a top-four role.

The emergence of Gustav Forsling has given the Blackhawks another weapon on a crowded blue line that is rounded out by Michal Kempny, Trevor van Riemsdyk and Michal Rozsival.

Combine that with Corey Crawford, who was on his way to becoming a Vezina Trophy finalist before a late-season injury deflated his chances, and Scott Darling, the reliable backup who puts a stamp on one of the best goaltending tandems in the league, and it will be difficult for opposing teams to find the back of the net.

Up front is where the questions will lie all season.

Coach Joel Quenneville will surely be blending his lines even more than he's used to in an effort to find balance.

The line of Artem Anisimov, Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin was one of the most effective units in the NHL last year, controlling 53.41 percent of the even-strength shot attempts when on the ice together. But they could see more time apart if the Blackhawks have trouble distributing the scoring on the other three lines.

Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa will reunite on the top line, but Hossa is expected to take on more of a checking role on the third line with Marcus Kruger so it's only a matter of time when the juggling begins.

It's a top-heavy forward group to start, but that could change over time as prospects such as Ryan Hartman, Vinnie Hinostroza, Tyler Motte and Nick Schmaltz get acclimated to the NHL and will be relied upon to take on larger roles on the fly.

The rejuvenated Blackhawks will certainly be among the top teams in the Central Division and always pose as a serious threat come playoff time. How far they go will depend on how quickly the young guys can gel and help the Blackhawks be a strong four-line team again.

Blackhawks’ top lines looking familiar again.

By Tracey Myers

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

Coach Joel Quenneville said late last week that it wasn’t wise to read too much into the Blackhawks’ lines at the time.

On Monday you could read more into those lines, and the top two looked pretty familiar.

Marian Hossa was back with Jonathan Toews, with Richard Panik on the left wing, and the second line of Artemi Panarin, Artem Anisimov and Patrick Kane was together again as the Blackhawks prepped for Wednesday’s regular-season opener against the St. Louis Blues.

With Andrew Desjardins out 4-6 weeks with a lower-body injury, their bottom two lines are youth heavy. Tyler Motte, who wowed in training camp, is on the third line with Marcus Kruger and Ryan Hartman. Vinnie Hinostroza, Nick Schmaltz and Jordin Tootoo comprise the fourth line.

	Left wing	Center	Right wing
First line	Richard Panik	Jonathan Toews	Marian Hossa
Second line	Artemi Panarin	Artem Anisimov	Patrick Kane
Third line	Tyler Motte	Marcus Kruger	Ryan Hartman
Fourth line	Vincent Hinostroza	Nick Schmaltz	Jordin Tootoo

So the Blackhawks will start with top-six players who know each other very well.

“Right now we talk about balance, and we feel that balance and predictability is having four lines where we have familiarity,” Quenneville said. “That’s probably the most important reason why we’re looking to start with a couple of established lines up front and work our way.”

Quenneville had talked of making changes to get more balance in the Blackhawks’ lineup. When Hossa returned to practice last Friday he was part of a third line with Marcus Kruger, Panarin was on the top line with Jonathan Toews and Motte was with Anisimov and Kane. Hossa and Kane both said they would do whatever was in the team’s best interest but in terms of Panarin and Kane, specifically, there’s no doubt the two had tremendous chemistry that was tough to beat and even tougher to split up. When the two were together following a penalty kill in last week’s victory against Detroit, Kane had the primary assist on a Panarin goal.

Talking after that game, Kane commented on the possibility of he and Panarin being split.

"Yeah, I mean, you know, last year I think is probably the one year that I really only played with a couple players, so I'm used to playing all over the place, playing with different guys,” he said. “We'll see what happens. I know they wanted to try something different for the game tonight and maybe throughout preseason, so I'll just play where they tell me to play, I guess."

As of now, Kane and Panarin are together again. Same with Toews and Hossa. How long things last remains to be seen but a few players who have had great success together will see if they can build on that on opening night.

Blackhawks Notebook: Andrew Desjardins’ absence and Duncan Keith’s minutes.

By Tracey Myers

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

With Andrew Desjardins out 4-6 weeks, the Blackhawks will have to adjust.

The bottom six got that much younger and inexperienced without Desjardins, who was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury on Monday. And he’ll be missed on the penalty kill, too, as the Blackhawks open their regular season schedule tomorrow against the St. Louis Blues.

“I was watching the game; it looked like he blocked a shot but he skated off and I didn’t really think anything of it. Then all of a sudden he’s out for a little bit,” Patrick Kane said following Tuesday’s practice. “You feel bad for him, especially at the start of the season. but it’s like we’ve said all the time: when other players go down we need others to step in for them. He’s great on the penalty kill, great fore-checker. We saw, especially during the cup run in 2015, how effective a player he was whether he was on the fore-check, puck possession or killing penalties.”

Marcus Kruger agreed.

“Obviously you feel sorry for him,” he said. “We’re going to miss him for sure but other guys need to step up and take that role a little bit. Hopefully he gets back sooner rather than later.”

Relief for Keith?

Duncan Keith pronounced himself ready following his one preseason game last week. While the Blackhawks will keep an eye on Keith’s minutes as much as possible, coach Joel Quenneville said it’s unlikely he’d sit the defenseman on back-to-backs.

“I wouldn’t consider it unless there’s a problem with it,” he said. “He feels good right now and everything’s ready to go. He’s healed and fresh. I think that minute-wise, I think we’re going to watch our defense. I think it should be more balanced and shared comparably a little more equally. But obviously Dunc plays a lot. He plays in all situations. We’ll see how it is, but it seems like everybody’s going to be comfortable with everybody and eight guys can play.”

Briefly

- Brandon Mashinter and Mark McNeill cleared waivers and were assigned to Rockford on Tuesday.

- Niklas Hjalmarsson will not play on Wednesday; he will be serving the final game of the three-game suspension he received during the preseason. 

Cubs pull off unreal comeback over Giants, headed to NLCS.

By Patrick Mooney

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

A stunning comeback in an epic playoff battle launched the Cubs into the National League Championship Series for the second straight year, a giant leap for a team with an “Embrace The Target” attitude.

The San Francisco Giants are supposed to have nerves of steel, the will to win, or whatever other nonsense you want to call it. But a shaky bullpen that led the majors with 30 blown saves this season completely melted down on Tuesday night at AT&T Park. And the Cubs are a confident, talented, relentless group that doesn’t at all care about even years or 1908 or Billy goats or black cats.  

Just like that, the Cubs erased a three-run deficit in the ninth inning, storming back to win 6-5 and abruptly end a classic NL Division Series in four games in front of an orange-and-black crowd of 43,166 not accustomed to seeing this in October.

After lefty Matt Moore shut down the Cubs for eight innings, the Giants needed five different relievers to get three outs in the ninth, failing to protect a 5-2 lead. MVP candidates Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo singled and walked before Ben Zobrist – a clutch switch-hitter imported after earning a World Series ring with the Kansas City Royals last year – drove an RBI double into the right-field corner. Rookie pinch-hitter Willson Contreras then bounced a two-run single up the middle. Javier Baez – the breakout star during this NLDS – later drove in the game-winning run.

The Giants had won 10 straight elimination games, baseball’s longest streak in postseason history. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only two other teams in the NBA, NFL or NHL have won at least 10 consecutive postseason games when facing elimination: the Boston Celtics (11 in a row, 1959-67) and New England Patriots (10, 2002-06). 

The Cubs will next face either the Washington Nationals or Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night at Wrigley Field in the NLCS.

Aroldis Chapman decision backfires as Cubs let Giants back into NLDS. (Monday night's 13 inning nail-biter, 10/10/2016).

By Patrick Mooney

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

AC/DC’s “T.N.T.” blasted from the AT&T Park sound system as Aroldis Chapman walked in from the exposed bullpen in right-field foul territory. The superstar closer spit onto the grass and jogged toward the mound for the kind of high-stakes, thinking-outside-the-box moment the Cubs envisioned when they made a blockbuster trade with the New York Yankees this summer.

It blew up for the Cubs late Monday night in Game 3, Chapman failing to protect a one-run lead, get the unconventional six-out save and close out this best-of-five National League Division Series, suddenly giving the San Francisco Giants new life.

“You had it right there,” manager Joe Maddon said after a 6-5 loss that lasted 13 innings. “You had your good guys – your best guys – in there. Everything seemed to be lining up properly and you didn’t win. That’s just the baseball game.”

Maddon signaled in the eighth inning for Chapman – who ideally prefers to work one clean inning at a time without any traffic on the bases – after lefty Travis Wood and right-hander Hector Rondon lost their matchups against Brandon Belt (single) and Buster Posey (walk).

Chapman saved Games 1 and 2 at Wrigley Field, throwing 29 pitches clocked at 100 mph or higher. To this point, Chapman hadn’t allowed a run in September or October, understanding that Maddon would get more creative in the playoffs. With those two runners on first and second, Chapman struck out Hunter Pence swinging at a 102-mph fastball.

And then it all unraveled. Conor Gillaspie – the wild-card hero who killed the New York Mets with a three-run homer in the ninth inning last week – blasted a go-ahead two-run triple over the head of Albert Almora Jr. in right field. Brandon Crawford knocked an RBI single up the middle to make it a 5-3 game. Chapman then walked Joe Panik before Maddon pulled the plug.

“I had it set up before the inning began, based on their lineup construction,” Maddon said. “I was just hoping it wasn’t six outs. That was the whole point. There was a potential there for maybe four outs, if we get Belt. Or Belt, Posey, Pence, (if we) get two out of those three, (then) obviously you’re in a better spot.

“And it’s even a better spot mentally for him. That’s the part that’s much more difficult, having to get out good hitters, six outs in the latter part of the game. And that’s always been my concern.”

Chapman told Maddon he would be ready and available for the eighth inning, and that’s exactly the kind of game-changing, series-shifting impact the Cubs wanted when they added a dominant closer to a team with World Series ambitions.

“I did everything I possibly could to get that win,” Chapman said through a translator. “Once I get on the field tomorrow, everything is forgotten about what happened today.”

WHITE SOX: Arb-eligible players take up bigger chunk of White Sox payroll.

By Jim Margalus

(Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

Last year, the White Sox had five arbitration-eligible players, and all of them looked like easy tenders. Turns out the White Sox disagreed about Tyler Flowers, and I hope the Sox front office is more embarrassed about its judgment than I am with mine.

At any rate, with the Sox interfering with my instincts and more players coming to the table, this isn’t as easy an exercise as it once was.

Tim Dierkes at MLB Trade Rumors posted their projected arbitration earnings for all eligible players save two — Jose Abreu and Yasiel Puig. As we’ve talked about before with Abreu, he can opt out of the guaranteed back half of the deal and go year to year in arbitration, but that doesn’t look as advantageous as it once did. Dierkes says he will address the Cubans’ cases individually.

The White Sox have nine players besides Abreu eligible for arbitration (*denotes prorated salaries):

	2016	2017
Miguel Gonzalez	$513K*	$2.6M
Todd Frazier	$8.25M	$13.5M
Brett Lawrie	$4.125M	$5.1M
Dan Jennings	$810K	$1.2M
Avisail Garcia	$2.1M	$3.4M
Zach Putnam	$975K	$900K
J.B. Shuck	$521K	$1M
Jake Petricka	$535K	$900K
Daniel Webb	$513K*	$600K
Total	$18.34M	$29.2M

MLBTR’s system usually does a good job of projecting arbitration salaries as a group, as individual fluctuations cancel each other out. Last year, they were a little high on Garcia and a little low on Putnam and Jennings, but along with nailing the first year of Nate Jones’ new deal, the system projected total earnings of $4.78 million, just a smidge over their actual salaries of $4.7 million.

The White Sox have eight players under contract for roughly $75 million (including Abreu), and if they offered contracts to everybody, you’d get a projected payroll around $105 million payroll. Fill in the remaining spots with pre-arb players, and you’re looking at $110 million. (If Abreu goes through arbitration, that shouldn’t change the math for 2017 all that much.)

That only allows the Sox about $10-15 million between their “floor” and the territory where Rick Hahn and Kenny Williams start feting Jerry Reinsdorf for his magnanimity.

But the Sox don’t have to bring everybody back. The majority of this group should receive contracts, but there are a couple easy non-tenders on the other side. In between, there are a couple of players who could change the shape of the payroll if the Sox looked elsewhere.

No-brainers ($17.3 million)

*Todd Frazier ($13.5M): He’ll officially be making big-boy money in the last year of his contract, but he earned it last season, as uneven as it may have been.

*Miguel Gonzalez ($2.6M): I was curious about this figure, since the Orioles initially gave Gonzalez a $5.1 million contract for his second year of arbitration, but were only officially on the hook for 45 days’ salary after cutting him late in spring training ($1.25 million). The Sox signed him to a minor league contract and thus were only responsible for a prorated total of the league minimum. Under this projected version, he’ll make less than Mat Latos did in 2016.

*Dan Jennings ($1.2M): Jennings was the only lefty in the bullpen after the Zach Duke trade, and after September call-ups ... he was still the only lefty out there.

Probably, unless health ($1.8 million)

*Zach Putnam ($900K): This represents a pay cut, which he could suffer since injuries keep cutting into his availability (he’s gone from 54 innings to 48 to 27). Those 27 innings last year were good ones, though, so his figure could be a bit higher. Either way, he had elbow surgery, but only to remove bone chips, so he should be ready to go at the start of 2017.

*Jake Petricka ($900K): I thought this might be a bit higher because Petricka does have part-time work as a closer in his past, but a hip impingement and the subsequent surgery limited him to just eight innings, and ugly ones at that. Hahn said that Petricka also shouldn’t have any restrictions when spring training starts.

Nope ($1.6 million)

*J.B. Shuck ($1M): He hit just .205/.248/.299 in 2017 over 81 games, most of which he played in center field despite not being good there. The result: a -1.8 WAR.

*Daniel Webb ($600K): The cost isn’t a factor, but while he was out with Tommy John surgery, guys like Tommy Kahnle and Michael Ynoa passed him on the depth chart. He may still be around, but there isn’t a need to hold a roster spot for him.

Swingmen ($8.2M)

*Brett Lawrie ($5.1M): He’s the most trustworthy of the second base options, assuming that an offseason will allow his mysterious lower-body injury to heal. However, this salary would’ve been the biggest free agent acquisition last year, which is why I wonder whether the Sox can afford the luxury of second base depth that has a history of missing months. I’d imagine the question isn’t so much whether they should tender him, but whether they should trade him, even if the return figures to be less than what the White Sox gave up to acquire him.

*Avisail Garcia ($3.1M): Even with a bit of an increase in power, Garcia still can’t get his OPS above .700. The Sox are so short on outfielders that I don’t think a non-tender is realistic, but, like Lawrie, they can justify acting aggressively on these second-level salaries. An initial payroll without Lawrie and Garcia is an eight-figure one, which theoretically creates room for the kind of outside investment they were loath to make last year.

As with every post discussing the offseason ahead, this assumes the White Sox are on track to make one more push with Abreu, Adam Eaton, Chris Sale and Jose Quintana. If they choose to sell, then the matter of arbitration salaries becomes far less important.

Just Another Chicago Bulls Session..... Bulls: Monitoring Dwyane Wade a matter of feel as opposed to model.

By Vincent Goodwill

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

There’s been plenty of aging veterans who’ve been All-Stars and MVP’s or simply critical pieces to great teams, but there’s no true blueprint for the Dwyane Wade plan for this season.

Aside from Wade taking a practice day off last week, Wade and the Bulls are walking into this new relationship based off feel and communication, mostly leaving things to Wade to be honest about how he’s feeling some days compared to others.

Fred Hoiberg doesn’t have an example of anyone from his playing days and neither does Wade, but it seems like both sides will have to be cautious if they want Wade’s body to be in prime condition in the event the Bulls make a run at the playoffs.

“I give Dwyane credit, he does a really good job of understanding his body and when he needs a little time off during practice, we definitely give it to him,” Hoiberg said.

Even in the preseason, Hoiberg has had to deviate from his initial plan of keeping Wade out in the final stretches of third quarters to save his body, but with Wade prodding to get back in and Hoiberg liking Wade’s playmaking at the end of quarters, he couldn’t resist.

“Right now our plan was not to play him at the end of third quarter against Indiana, he wanted to go out there and get a couple minutes,” Hoiberg said.

That was when Wade was in full “Father Prime” mode, hitting a couple threes and setting up his teammates for eight assists in his 26-minute performance where he scored 22 points.

One wonders if Hoiberg will have to exercise foresight during the regular season, to go against his instincts of letting Wade be Wade to look at the big picture and suppress his playing time.

“It'll be a lot of communication,” Hoiberg said. “And we had that last week in a one day practice where he was a little stiff and we had a conversation and the decision was made to hold him out of practice and he took the day completely off and got off his legs and had a really good day of practice the day leading into the preseason game.”

As confident as Wade is about the evolution of his game, he’s also realistic in the moment, well-aware of the balance he has to walk between getting in rhythm during the meaningless preseason games and not burning out too quickly.

With the Bulls having a three-game in four-night stretch starting Friday — a rarity on the preseason schedule — Wade joked “I won't be playing all those. I guarantee you that,” while also adding he wants to maximize his playing time along with using the time to get to know his teammates at the ground floor.

“Just being smart and understanding I am turning 35 this year (in January 2017),” Wade said. “As much as some days I feel great. Some days I feel 34. So I have to be smart and I want to be out here with those guys most of the nights we put on those uniforms, so same thing I did last year. I know my body. I'm just trying to be smart about how much I push it.”

“For me it's pretty much, you have to learn your body. I've been around for a very, very long time now. I've figured out how to push myself, how much to push myself and when to kind of lay back a little bit. It's great that the coaches allow me to make those decisions. We just stay in communication. That's all it is, it's all communication on how you feel. These guys know that I'm a worker. Just like most of these guys here.”

Hoiberg has given Wade a certain amount of carte blanche on the floor and in the locker room, along with Rajon Rondo, as they’re more vocal as veterans than the mild-mannered coach.

And Wade, be it by design or as a mark of his own character, has complimented Hoiberg and continued the narrative of the second-year coach being a little tougher than his reputation said he is, both to the media and his All-Star friends in their famous group chat.

“I told him Fred was kicking our ass over here,” Wade said. “Everybody got a chuckle out of it. It’s good.”

Defense should be a point of Bulls' emphasis with practice time.

By Vincent Goodwill

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

Defense always seems to be a work in progress for the Bulls, and it’ll be a point of emphasis over the next three days of practice and six-day stretch between preseason games before a back-to-back set starting Friday.

Giving up 115 and then 105 points to the fast-paced Indiana Pacers would appear like this is the same toothless outfit it turned into in the second half of last season, but Fred Hoiberg said he saw improvement in the two preseason games last week.

“We were much better in our second game against Indiana than we were in the first,” he said. “They really exposed us in transition that first game, which maybe was good for us. You have to go back and watch it, simulate some of the things they were doing in practice and try to get better.”

Part of that could’ve been the absence of All-Star Paul George, who didn’t play in Saturday’s win at the United Center.

With Hoiberg saying he believes the Bulls have a shot at being a good defensive team, they certainly have the ability to turn opponents over and get out on the break for easy baskets, but at times Saturday they went for the steal and left themselves vulnerable for easy feedings inside.

“We still have a lot of room to grow in defensive transition but we took a step in the right direction,” he said. “I thought our overall intensity was really good. And that’s where it has to start with this group. If we have that type of urgency, that type of discipline -- we didn’t have as many gambles.”

Taj Gibson, the Bulls’ best defender this side of Jimmy Butler, is still exercising patience with the early returns considering there’s so many new players having to digest the system and learn each other.

“Young guys are still learning, we got new faces,” Gibson said. “It's still fun because everybody is competing. I can deal with the mistakes as long as guys are busting their tail on defense and flying around.”

Having another perimeter defender to aid Butler and save his body on some nights wouldn’t hurt. If anyone fits that bill, it would be Tony Snell, but he tweaked an ankle in Monday’s practice and sat out the last 30 minutes.

On the day Denzel Valentine emerged back onto the floor, getting some shots up after turning his ankle in the first preseason game, Snell goes out with an ankle ailment of his own.

But both instances are minor, as Valentine could be back to action next week and hopefully for Snell, he’ll have the same fate.

“He did a good job battling Giannis (Antetokounmpo, Bucks forward) in that first game when Jimmy only played in the first half,” Hoiberg said. “Tony understands our defensive schemes. He is going to stay in front of the ball. He’s going to get into his gap. Our big thing is becoming a good team defensive unit and have that trust behind the ball, especially the way we’re playing ball screens this year. I thought we were better the other night. We have to continue to improve and hopefully it gets to where it needs to be on Opening Night.”

Golf: I got a club for that..... Woods withdraws from Safeway Open.

By Ryan Lavner

(Photo/NBC Golf)

The wait continues for Tiger Woods’ comeback.

Saying that his game was "vulnerable," Woods confirmed Monday that he will withdraw from the Safeway Open, three days before the start of the event. 

The news was first reported by Golf Channel insider Tim Rosaforte. 

“After a lot of soul searching and honest reflection, I know that I am not yet ready to play on the PGA Tour or compete in Turkey,” Woods said in a statement. “My health is good, and I feel strong, but my game is vulnerable and not where it needs to be. It’s not up to my standards, and I don’t think it would be up to yours.” 

The stunning news comes just three days after Woods committed to play in the season-opening event, and the PGA Tour trumpeted his return in a press release. There was no mention of the Safeway commitment on his website, other than the initial post from Sept. 7, when he said that he “hoped” to play three events this fall.

Also on Woods’ upcoming schedule was the Nov. 3-6 Turkish Airlines Open and the Dec. 1-4 Hero World Challenge. After canceling the trip to Turkey, he said that he "plans" to play in his tournament in the Bahamas.

Speaking earlier Monday on Golf Channel, Notah Begay III said that Woods had "some concerns about the sharpness of his game" after sitting out the past 14 months.

Two weeks ago, Woods served as a vice captain for the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Players tempted him to hit a few shots at Hazeltine, but Woods declined. He practiced the past week in California, including at Stanford over the weekend, but didn't see enough progress to head to Napa. On Monday, he took part in a pro-am event on the Monterey Peninsula that benefits his foundation. 

“He just didn’t feel like his game is where he wanted it to be to be competitive," Begay said.

The 11th-hour withdrawal is a crushing blow for tournament officials, whose ticket sales have doubled over last year (a spike of nearly 30,000 tickets) after Woods initially stated his intention to play. Woods was reportedly set to play the pro-am with NBA star Steph Curry, then play alongside Phil Mickelson for the first two rounds at Silverado.  

Johnny Miller, tournament host of the Safeway Open, said that the news was very disappointing given the amount of attention his tournament has received over the past two months.

"You’ve got to break the ice sometime," he said. "I hope that he picks the right spot."

Woods, now ranked 786th in the world, has not played anywhere since Aug. 23, 2015, when he tied for 10^th at the Wyndham Championship. Since then, he has undergone two back surgeries (his third in the past 20 months). It was the first time in his career that he has missed all four majors in a year.

“This isn’t what I wanted to happen,” he said, “but I will continue to strive to be able to play tournament golf. I’m close, and I won’t stop until I get there.” 

Dustin Johnson wins PGA Tour Player of the Year.

By Ryan Ballengee

Jack Nicklaus presents Dustin Johnson with the Jack Nicklaus Trophy for winning PGA TOUR Player of the Year during the Player of the Year ceremony with Jack Nicklaus at The Bear’s Club on October 11, 2016 in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Stan Badz/PGA TOUR)

Dustin Johnson completed the Player of the Year two-fer on Tuesday, when the PGA Tour announced Johnson’s peers had voted him recipient of their POY award.

Johnson was one of six candidates on the ballot for PGA Tour players to acknowledge as having the best 2015-16 season. It’s hard to argue against Johnson, who won his first major at the U.S. Open in June, as well the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the BMW Championship during the FedEx Cup playoffs. Johnson also finished second in the final FedEx Cup standings, behind Rory McIlroy.

The South Carolina native also had a remarkably consistent season, notching 15 top-10 finishes in 22 starts.

Curiously, Johnson said Tuesday in accepting the award that he didn’t vote for himself. In fact, he didn’t vote at all. For what it’s worth, Jason Day had the second-best season by most standards, winning three times, including The Players, the WGC-Dell Match Play and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. However, an injury-plagued finish to the season may have cost him an opportunity to win the award.

During the week of the Ryder Cup, the PGA of America announced Johnson had won their points-based Player of the Year award. Johnson has also won the Vardon Trophy, which is awarded to the player with the lowest adjusted scoring average, as well the Palmer Trophy, awarded to the player who wins the money list title, and the Nelson Trophy, the PGA Tour’s scoring average title.

With so many awards and accomplishments in tow from this year, Johnson doesn’t feel like he’s reached his pinnacle. Rather, he feels he’s finally on his way to realizing his true potential.

“Obviously my expectations going into next year are going to be very high, and that’s going to drive me to keep continuing to work hard and keep doing exactly what I’m doing because it’s working,” he said Tuesday. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in the game right now, in all parts of the game. I feel good. There’s nothing that I don’t feel good with.”

Safeway Open: Power Ranking.

By Ryan O'Sullivan

Paul Casey ended the 2015-16 PGA TOUR season on fire. He will try and keep that up as he kicks off 2016-17 at the Safeway Open.

The Safeway Open ushers in the 2016-17 PGA TOUR season at Silverado Resort and Spa (North). Emiliano Grillo returns to defend his lone PGA TOUR title. Here is the first preview of the new season to get you off and running in your research!

Silverado Resort and Spa (North) is a 7,166 yard par-72 layout in Napa, California. It includes the expected breakdown of four par 5s, 10 par 4s and four par 3s. This is just the third year Silverado has served as the host course, with Sangmoon Bae winning in 2014.

Anytime we see a course with a quartet of par 5s, our attention should immediately turn to par 5 scoring average. Of note, 15-under-par was the winning score each of the first two trips to Napa. That means a player could theoretically dominate the par 5s and walk away with the trophy. Looking back at the stats for the last two editions, it seems as if SG:TTG stood tall with a tilt towards GIR. Furthermore, proximity to the hole was relevant as well.

One trend the Fall Series has produced of late is a penchant for players previously on the cusp of breakthrough wins shattering the glass ceiling. Over the last few years, those guys include names like Jimmy Walker, Kevin Kisner, Justin Thomas, Robert Streb, Emiliano Grillo, Smylie Kaufman, Ben Martin and Russell Knox. With that, it’s wise to give a hard look to those players who have yet to win but are trending in that direction.

It’s also not a bad idea to look at players coming in hot off the Web.com Tour. Mentally, they are still in Web.com Tour mode and playing a field that is only a half-step stronger than a Web.com Tour Finals event. They haven’t had time to sell out for different equipment and change other key variables. In short, they haven’t had time to process their step up to the big leagues.

With that as the backdrop, here we go with the first power ranking of 2016-17.

1.  Kevin Na – There are several things converging in his favor. For starters, Na lost in a playoff here last year. Less obvious but equally important, Na tends to play well in weaker events and has a nice history when the calendar turns to Fall. Throw in a shorter course, by TOUR standards, with par 5s in his wheelhouse, and he’s as dangerous as anyone.

2.  Emiliano Grillo – Defending a title has different impacts on different people. Because we have never watched Grillo defend a TOUR title, it’s probably a good idea to holster him in a OAD format. He played reasonably well in his last few starts of 2015-16, tying for 10^th in the TOUR Championship.

3.  Paul Casey – Last three PGA TOUR starts? They went runner-up-runner-up-T4. He finished last season ranked seventh in SG:TTG. That he’s never played here before is only a minor detail.

4.  Matt Kuchar – Has a T21 here and posted a boatload of top 10s and top 25s on TOUR last year. Arguably the safest option in the field if you are only looking for a guaranteed payday.

5.  Justin Thomas – Dumbing it down, he tied for third here last year and tied for sixth in the TOUR Championship. Par 5 scoring is one of his better stats, so a par-72 layout is right in his wheelhouse.

6.  Phil Mickelson – The only question that matters is how focused he will be for this event. We all saw him essentially shoot a 63 in his Ryder Cup Singles match with Sergio Garcia for a halve. He has not played this event at this venue.

7.  Grayson Murray – Web.com Tour grad and rookie posted a third and a win in his last two Web.com Tour starts. Fits the profile of a guy that can stay hot right into the beginning of his PGA TOUR career.

8.  Roberto Castro – One of the best players entering the new season without a PGA TOUR win to his credit, the ball-striking extraordinaire would fit the mold of a Jimmy Walker or Kevin Kisner knocking out a win during this portion of the schedule.

9.  Hudson Swafford – Has a top 10 and another top 20 in his two trips to Napa. Has the look of a PGA TOUR winner and this could be the time and place it all comes together.

10.  Brendan Steele –Owns a couple of top 25s in his two visits to Silverado Resort and Spa (North). His consistency on this course is appealing.  

11.  Jon Rahm – Baller will win in 2016-17. While there is no clear indication that this will be the week, there’s also no reason to ignore the possibility.

12.  Bud Cauley – While he missed the FedExCup Playoffs, he did end last season with back-to-back top 10s and enough money to secure his full status. Not bad for a guy that began the season on the bench due to injury. He was once a rising star, and can get back on that track now that he’s healthy.

13.  Bill Haas – While he’s never teed it up at Silverado Resort and Spa, he does play well in Presidents Cup seasons and has the class to contend.

14.  Keegan Bradley – The stats really line up for him this week. He also ended 2015-16 playing a little better, and an argument can be made that he can’t play much worse. He made his last seven cuts, including three top 25s.

15.  Smylie Kaufman – Kicked off a great rookie season with a T10 here last year. Recent form isn’t great, but he’s good enough to overcome that detail.

Here’s to a great start to the new campaign! Best of luck to all!

NASCAR: Power Rankings: A win vaults Jimmie Johnson to No. 1.

By Nick Bromberg

Jimmie Johnson moves up seven spots this week. (Photo/Getty)

1. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 8): Let’s get wild in this week’s set of Power Rankings. The wackiness of Sunday’s race along with the points reset following Dover makes it easy to shuffle the deck, so we’re going to vault Jimmie Johnson to the top spot. The win is exceptionally important for Johnson because of his luck at Talladega over the past few years. Since he won the spring race in 2011 he’s gotten two top-five finishes and his average finish is 18.5.

Past performance is especially not an indicator of future results at Talladega, but now the strategy plays are wide open. Johnson can drive to avoid a crash, run for the win to deny another driver an opportunity to move on in the Chase or work with Chase Elliott in the hopes of getting the No. 24 to the round of eight.

2. Matt Kenseth (LW: 5): Kenseth finished second to Johnson and gave the No. 48 a run after the race’s final restart. But Kenseth couldn’t keep Johnson pinched down to the bottom of the track and Johnson scooted away for the win.

A year ago Kenseth finished 42nd at Charlotte after hitting the wall. That finish is why Kenseth was so livid after getting spun by Joey Logano at Kansas and ultimately finishing 14th. If Kenseth finishes 14th on Sunday he’s going to be in pretty good shape heading to Talladega.

3. Kyle Busch (LW: 3): If Kyle Busch advances out of the second round of the Chase, Charlotte is why. The left front of his car was trashed after he made contact with Chase Elliott during the restart melee.

The team was able to get the car patched up after the wreck and Busch still had enough speed to finish sixth. Oh, and that restart clog came after Busch had been forced to pit earlier in the race because of a tire issue. This could be the No. 18 team’s  signature Chase moment of 2016.

4. Brad Keselowski (LW: 2): Keselowski finished a spot behind Busch in seventh. And that’s about where Keselowski’s car stacked up with everyone else’s throughout the course of the day. He qualified 21st and worked his way into the top ten in the race’s early stages though he never became a fixture in the top five.

But Keselowski has a 25-point lead over ninth. With another top-10 finish at Kansas, he’s got to be the most comfortable driver (without a round two win) heading to Talladega.

5. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 1): If this was, say, Chicago, a driver’s car stalling on pit road during the final pit stop of the day would big a big story. Charlotte was not anything like Chicago.

Truex rebounded and finished 13th, the lowest of any Chaser who didn’t have a (big) problem on Sunday. He’s 19 points ahead of Elliott, the driver in ninth.

6. Kurt Busch (LW: 12): Busch finished eighth but we’re keeping him behind Truex because the No. 78 showed race-winning speed. Busch had top-10 speed, which is perfectly acceptable in the context of this race given the calamity below him in the standings.

7. Kevin Harvick (LW: 4): Anyone going to doubt that Harvick can or will win at Kansas or Talladega? Thought so.

Kansas has been very good to Harvick recently. Since he won the fall race in 2013 (his last race at the track with Richard Childress Racing, he’s finished second three times and 12th and 16th. Though it’s worth noting that the three second-place finishes have all come in the spring.

We’re picking the No. 4 car for the win on Sunday and will be surprised if he finishes outside the top five.

8. Denny Hamlin (LW: 6): Hamlin was in position to have a massive points lead on ninth-place when his engine expired. It’s hard to drop a driver when he and his team have done everything they can to be in a great spot and get derailed by a mechanical failure.

While Hamlin has every right to lament his luck at Charlotte, he’s at least in a position where he’s in the best spot among the five Chasers now in the vicinity of the final spot in the third round.

9. Carl Edwards (LW: 11): Edwards’ 12th-place finish could have been a lot worse. He said something came apart in the exhaust — an issue that can lead to a terminal failure — and he also sustained damage in the restart melee.

Edwards has made no secret of his desire to win at Kansas, a track just two hours from his hometown. A win on Sunday may be the most important of his career.

10. Chase Elliott (LW: 7): The intermediate track speed Hendrick Motorsports is showing in the Chase (for the Sprint Cup, not Elliott) is no fluke. Elliott was going to be a contender for the win until he was taken out when Austin Dillon’s car didn’t accelerate with the rest of the field.

Elliott has led 342 laps in 2016. 179 have come in the Chase. The No. 24 team is stepping it up and don’t be surprised if he leads more laps at Kansas.

11. Joey Logano (LW: 9): The guy who swept the second round in 2015 is in a dicey spot thanks to two tire issues at Charlotte. The first was fixable … the second was not. The first tire issue was a left-front failure. The second was a right-front failure, possibly because of the damage sustained when Logano’s car first hit the wall.

12. Austin Dillon (LW: 10): We applaud the aggressiveness the No. 3 team showed to restart on the front row on lap 260. A two-tire pit stop put the No. 3 there alongside Jimmie Johnson.

And then things went horribly wrong. It was nearly a first-to-worst accident as Dillon’s car slammed into the inside wall and 11 other drivers were collected after Martin Truex Jr. bumped into Dillon.

SOCCER: Already out of playoff contention, Fire hope for positive finish to season.

By Dan Santaromita

(Photo/csnchicago.com)

The Major League Soccer regular season is nearing its conclusion.

With less than two weeks left until the playoff field is completely set, the league is making a push to show off the final two weekends of the regular season by having all matches played on Sundays, including simultaneous kickoff times on the final day.

While the league is hyping up its playoff races, the Chicago Fire are not only missing out on the postseason, but also missing out on playing big games. As teams around the league fight for their lives and either come up with crucial results or fall short, the Fire have already been done.

“We keep the motivation high, even though it’s difficult for us to know that we are out of the playoffs,” coach Veljko Paunovic said on Monday. “But the good thing actually about our team is we have a very competitive group. Everyone is very professional and everyone wants to give their best until the end of the season. In the next three games we have the opportunity to forge the mentality, the identity, which is still to improve. At least I think this year so far we were building that character that the team needs in order to be successful.”

Entering this season, expectations were not high for the Fire, but with a new coach and a rebuilt roster there was at least hope. Hope that the team could show signs of improvement and be competitive, even if the postseason was likely going to be out of reach.

That competitiveness has shown at times, but not consistently. Paunovic is a fiery competitor and has tried to impart that same mentality in his team, but he is a rookie coach in a complicated league with some challenges that aren’t in other leagues in the rest of the world. The transition for him has not been easy, at least in terms of results, and the team has fallen off lately after showing signs of life in the middle part of 2016.

“We always want to stay positive and we believe that we all know the challenges of our league… but we never want to take that as an excuse for any performance in any game,” Paunovic said in reference to the team’s recent 0-3 road trip that took place over nine days. “All other teams they may have at some point during the season the same kind of stretches where they have to manage and adjust in order to have the team ready to compete for every game. As I said it’s always going to be like that. We are playing in a continent and we know what are the challenges and we have to deal with that.”

No team in MLS history has been last place in consecutive years, but the Fire are closing in on that feat. The Fire have 27 points, five behind Houston to get out of last place. The Fire enter a week which features two home games in four days, against Columbus on Thursday and against New England on Sunday. Those are the last two home games of the season before the season closes at Toronto, which will likely be fighting for playoff position, on Oct. 23.

Other MLS clubs have been in multi-year tailspins and come out of them. Toronto FC missed the playoffs for the first eight years of its existence and is now headed for back-to-back playoff appearances. From 2011-2013 TFC posted three straight seasons with fewer points than matches played. Toronto is now in the upper tier of league attendance with a fun team that is in the mix to win the Eastern Conference. D.C. United had the worst season in league history in 2013 (3-24-7) and recovered to make the playoffs in each of the next two seasons, and is on track to make it three in a row this season.

The Fire can get out of this rut, even though it’s been so long since the team was competitive that it may seem impossible. MLS is a forgiving league both in that a majority of the teams make the playoffs and that the league’s salary cap and rules allow for quick turnarounds.

With a majority of the roster not guaranteed for 2017, the Fire could see a lot of turnover, again, this offseason. If the Fire want to imitate the turnarounds of Toronto and D.C., this upcoming winter will be crucial.

From the start of last offseason, general manager Nelson Rodriguez talked about building a team for the long-term and not just 2016. Patience, not haste, was his overall message.

“For us success will be measured by at the end of 2016, are we, according to our metrics and measures, closer to our ideal scenario, which is where we’re trying to be by 2018,” Rodriguez said back on Jan. 12.

With a last-place record in 2016, Rodriguez still needs to take a major step towards that 2018 ideal scenario as 2017 nears. With expectations not being that high in 2016, the on-field struggles were not damning with a team that did get younger. However, in 2017 demands will be higher after Rodriguez spent much of 2016 talking about the future.

Klinsmann doesn’t want CONCACAF World Cup qualifying to change.

By Joe Prince-Wright

(Photo/Getty Images)

Jurgen Klinsmann isn’t a fan of changing up the current format of World Cup qualifying in the CONCACAF region.

The head of soccer’s governing body in North and Central America and the Caribbean, Victor Montagliani, called the current system “archaic” and wants more CONCACAF teams included right up until the end of the qualifying window.

In the USA’s region the current format sees the final round of qualifying, known widely as the Hexagonal, include just six teams and of those the top three automatically go through to the World Cup and the fourth-place team is involved in a playoff with the playoff winner from the Asian Football Confederation for a World Cup spot.

Speaking to the media in Washington, D.C. ahead of the USMNT’s friendly against New Zealand on Tuesday, Klinsmann isn’t exactly a fan of the new suggestions to spice up CONCACAF qualifying.

“What is our lesson from Copa America? Our lesson from Copa America is if we want to get our program better we have to play with the best,” Klinsmann said. “In youth soccer terms, you need to play up. [If] you have an 11-year-old super talent, don’t play him with the 11-year-olds, Play him with the 12-year-olds. For us, if we want to get better, we need to play with the best teams out there from South America or from Europe.” 

“I’m not saying we need to join UEFA or we need to join CONMEBOL, but for us the eternal topic is the need to get the best games in order to improve our players. So if we can have every two years a Copa America, we need to let a [biennial] Gold Cup go.”

Simply put: the less games against CONCACAF opponents, the better.

As much fun as it would be to see an expanded qualifying system for CONCACAF — say, 12 teams make it through to the final round (cut out the third round altogether) and then the top three go through and the fourth place team goes to the playoff — in terms of FIFA rankings and testing yourself against the best it would be harmful.

Of course, not too many people care about the FIFA rankings but for the U.S. there are obviously benefits of playing friendlies against top South American or European teams in non-competitive windows rather than playing CONCACAF teams who they know they’ll easily beat.

Other CONCACAF nations will likely feel a lot different than Klinsmann and the USMNT but when all is said and done would any other team other than the U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama and Trinidad & Tobago seriously challenge to make the World Cup?

The smaller CONCACAF nations will argue they could and the decision will lie with Montagliani rather than Klinsmann or the other big players in the region. However if there are more teams in the final round of qualifying would it be possible for CONCACAF to suggest to FIFA that it needs four automatic spots to a World Cup and fifth place in CONCACAF would go to a playoff with the AFC?

There will be plenty more chatter on this in the days to come.

Assessing the field after three matchdays of UEFA World Cup qualifying.

By Nicholas Mendola

(Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images}

UEFA World Cup qualifying is 364 days away from its final group stage match day, with thirty percent of matches in the books ahead of next month’s fourth batch of games.

If it all wrapped up today, uneven schedule and all, we’d see five Pot 1 sides heading to Russia: Germany, Belgium, England, Spain, and Croatia. Two Pot 2 sides — France and Switzerland — would join them, while Serbia (Pot 3) and Montenegro (Pot 4) complete the nine automatic bids.

Headed to the playoffs would be eight of the following team, with the remaining ninth second-place team eliminated: Azerbaijan, Ireland, Portugal, Sweden, Poland, Lithuania, Italy, Greece, and Iceland.

Notable names who would miss out on the 2018 World Cup? Iceland, Ukraine, Slovenia, Slovakia, Denmark, Wales, Austria, Northern Ireland, Czech Republic, and Netherlands (amongst others).

Perhaps you’re asking which of these national teams currently have misleading statuses? Let’s take a look.

Netherlands (Group A, third place)

The Dutch sit third, but have already played two of its toughest matches. Danny Blind’s side lost 1-0 at home to France and drew 0-0 at Sweden. It’s a tough group, but the Dutch still have plenty of hope of catching second-place Sweden. Verdict: Contender 

Azerbaijan (Group C, second place)

These guys might be for real in the race to finish 1-2 with Germany, who is 3-0 and cruising. Azerbaijan have scooped a road point at Czech Republic while winning at home against Norway. Second place and a playoff bid is a legit thought. Verdict: Contender

Czech Republic (Group C, fifth place)

Conversely, the Czechs are in real trouble with their winless start. Two home draws gave points to Azerbaijan and Northern Ireland, giving them loads of work to do on the road to make up points on the field. Verdict: In real trouble

Wales (Group D, third place)

Gareth Bale and the Dragons are two points back of Serbia and Ireland, which doesn’t seem bad until you consider Wales has played the fourth, fifth, and sixth place teams in the group. The home draw against Georgia is tough to stomach. Verdict: Not dire, but not good

Montenegro (Group E, first place)

A draw at Romania and a win in Denmark have the Brave Falcons dreaming big, and deservedly so. Given the relative on-field struggles of Poland — who still have 7 points — and a November date with in Armenia, Montenegro should be in first over the four-month break. Verdict: Contender

England (Group F, first place)

No, the Three Lions have not looked good in a single match of qualifying. But England is unbeaten through three and has the two toughest road matches out of the way (draw to Slovenia, win over Slovakia). England is probably going to Russia (Yes, already). Verdict: Contender

AFC World Cup qualifying: Two surprise nations on pace for Russia.

By Nicholas Mendola

(Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

A pair of surprises would be headed for Russia if Asian World Cup qualifying finishes the way it stands after four match days.

Because of that, we’d also have an incredible playoff match for the fifth spot with Japan and South Korea points off the pace.

The surprises come courtesy of Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia. The former some of us saw coming, the latter not-so-much.

Here’s how it all played out on Tuesday.

Iran 1-0 South Korea

Sardar Azmoun continued his insane run to start life as a senior international, as the 21-year-old Rostov striker netted his 16th goal in 22 caps for Iran, which is atop Group A while Korea Republic slips third.

Uzbekistan 2-0 China

The White Wolves rebounded from a home loss to Iran to clinch its third win of qualifying on two second half goals. Veteran Marat Bikmaev and 20-year-old Otabek Shukurov scored for the hosts.

Australia 1-1 Japan

Aston Villa midfielder Mile Jedinak converted a 52nd minute penalty to keep Australia in an automatic qualifying spot, one point ahead of Japan. The visitors opened the scoring through Hertha Berlin winger Genki Haraguchi in the fifth.

Saudi Arabia 3-0 United Arab Emirates

Both sides had the chance to take advantage of group powers Australia and Japan drawing, and it was the Saudis who got the job done on goals from three different players. The Green Falcons lead Group B with 10 points, while UAE is a point back of Japan and sits fourth.

Qatar 1-0 Syria

The lone goal of the game comes from a Hassan Al Haidous penalty.

Iraq 4-0 Thailand

Not one, not two, not three, but four goals came from 23-year-old Mohannad Abdul-Raheem, who plays for Al-Zawra’a SC in Iraq.

CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying: Chile’s alive, Argentina in trouble.

By Nicholas Mendola

(AP Photo/Luis Hidalgo)

CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying continues to thrill, and some big names remain in danger of missing Russia 2018 after Match Day 10.

While it seems certain that Peru, Bolivia, and Venezuela will miss out, the remaining seven teams stand without seven points of each other with eight qualifiers to play.

Bolivia 2-2 Ecuador

The visitors looked to have thrown away the match after a rough first half saw Pablo Escobar put Bolivia up 2-0. That’s when the Valencias took over, with Manchester United’s Antonio hooking up with Everton’s Enner for a pair of goals and a big point. So, yes, that means Enner avoided Ecuadorian jail, if you were wondering.

Colombia 2-2 Uruguay

This was a thriller in Baranquilla, as Uruguay’s Cristian Rodriguez answered Colombia’s early goal and Luis Suarez gave the hosts a 73rd minute lead only to see Jefferson Mina pull back a point in the rain for Los Cafeteros. Uruguay now sits second, a point back of Brazil and three points clear of Ecuador and Colombia.

Chile 2-1 Peru

Arturo Vidal gave Chile a pair of leads, and the two-time defending Copa America champs held onto the second to move to within three points of fourth and two points of fifth. The bleeding, for now, is stopped.

Argentina 0-1 Paraguay

It remains no Messi, lots of problems for Argentina, who fell at home to Derlis Gonzalez and Paraguay. The fifth-place hosts now lead the visitors by just one point, and are two ahead of Chile. Fifth, of course, is simply a playoff spot, so Argentina is more concerned with its one-point deficit to both Colombia and Ecuador. Unfortunately, a trip to Brazil is next.

Venezuela 0-2 Brazil

Neymar’s crew is back atop the table after goals from Gabriel Jesus and Willian led Brazil to a multi-goal win at lowly Venezuela. Next up for Brazil is a visit from Argentina.

Match Days 11 & 12 schedule

November 10

Colombia vs. Chile
Uruguay vs. Ecuador
Paraguay vs. Peru
Venezuela vs. Bolivia
Brazil vs. Argentina

November 15

Bolivia vs. Paraguay
Ecuador vs. Venezuela
Argentina vs. Colombia
Chile vs. Uruguay
Peru vs. Brazil

NCAAFB: 2016 NCAA Associated Press Football Rankings, 10/10/2016.

AP

RANK	SCHOOL	POINTS	RECORD	PREVIOUS
1	Alabama (56)	1520	6-0	1
2	Ohio State (2)	1444	5-0	2
3	Clemson (2)	1406	6-0	3
4	Michigan (1)	1339	6-0	4
5	Washington	1286	6-0	5
6	Texas A&M	1202	6-0	8
7	Louisville	1193	4-1	7
8	Wisconsin	1020	4-1	11
9	Tennessee	962	5-1	9
10	Nebraska	958	5-0	12
11	Baylor	934	5-0	13
12	Mississippi	800	3-2	14
13	Houston	701	5-1	6
14	Florida State	628	4-2	23
15	Boise State	590	5-0	19
16	Miami (Fla.)	576	4-1	10
17	Virginia Tech	546	4-1	25
18	Florida	483	4-1	18
19	Oklahoma	476	3-2	20
20	West Virginia	424	4-0	22
21	Utah	287	5-1	24
22	Arkansas	203	4-2	16
23	Auburn	166	4-2	NR
24	Western Michigan	154	6-0	NR
25	Navy	122	4-1	NR

Dropped from rankings: Stanford 15, North Carolina 17, Colorado 21

Others receiving votes: Georgia 59, Arizona State 53, North Carolina 51, LSU 50, Oklahoma State 48, North Dakota State 36, Stanford 26, Colorado 22, South Florida 20, TCU 14, Washington State 9, NC State 9, Iowa 3, Air Force 2, San Diego State 2, Wake Forest 1

Forde-Yard Dash: 7 teams in position to make College Football Playoff without any help.

By Pat Forde

All roads to the College Football Playoff lead through Nick Saban and Alabama. (Photo/Getty)

POLITICAL FOOTBALL

By the time the absurd spectacle was over Sunday night, a terrible realization fell upon The Dash: college football and politics had become indistinguishable from one another.

Save us, please.

It started with the “locker-room banter (1)” explanation Friday from Donald Trump, ascribing some terrible comments to simply being Stuff Players Talk About. Count The Dash among those who have spent a lot of time in a lot of locker rooms without hearing that.

Then there was the highly partisan argument over a game that wasn’t played Saturday. The LSU-Florida Hurricane Bowl (2) had all the elements of a presidential debate: bickering, finger pointing, a refusal to hear out the other side and an ineffective moderator in Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey (3). And with LSU athletic director Joe Alleva rhetorically digging in Monday and insisting that potentially rescheduling the game to Nov. 19 in Gainesville won’t happen – “We’re going to have a home game on Nov. 19” – we’re moving toward another hallmark of politics: gridlock.

There was vulgar dialogue, and not all of it came from a hot mic: Arkansas associate professor of agri-economics and agribusiness Lawton Nalley was arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after the Razorbacks lost at home to Alabama. Nalley reportedly was heard yelling at coach Bret Bielema (4) as the coach walked off the field, “If I had your record I’d be [expletive] fired. [Expletive] you.” Bielema now is 22-22 at Arkansas, 7-19 in SEC games, though the latter stat is skewed by an 0-8 debut year in 2013.

The barbarism being committed upon Rutgers (5) by Ohio State and Michigan on the past two Saturdays – a combined 136-0 by the two brutes of the Big Ten – is uglier than any negative ad campaigns in the presidential campaigns.

Deflecting blame and instead pointing out the moral and ethical inadequacies of opponents is a strategy employed by politicians forever – and now actively being copied by college football fan bases. Baylor (6) and Mississippi (7) fans have studied up.

Given all that, it’s time for a one-week revival of the Dashette. Give it up for Ken Bone (8), America’s sweetheart and a man worth writing songs about in the wake of a dismal debate.

CONTROLLING THEIR OWN PLAYOFF DESTINY

Just seven teams are in position at present to make the College Football Playoff without outside help. The list:

Alabama (9). Status: 5-0 and ranked No. 1 in every human poll. If the defending national champions keep winning and get through the toughest division top-to-bottom in America undefeated, then win the SEC championship game, they’re a playoff lock. How easy will 13-0 be: Not very. Next game is at Tennessee on Saturday. Then comes unbeaten Texas A&M in Tuscaloosa, and the Aggies will arrive off a bye week. In November there is a game at LSU and the Iron Bowl at home against an improving Auburn team. The SEC title game is most likely to be either a rematch with Tennessee or a game against Florida. (And the above-mentioned Hurricane Matthew game rescheduling could play a part in that.) ‘Bama likely will be favored in every remaining game, but it has also lost at least one game each of the past six years – and still won three national titles in that time. If the Tide is going to drop one, this Saturday against the Volunteers would be the least costly because Nick Saban’s team would still control its SEC West destiny and thus still would have a path to the conference championship.

Texas A&M (10). Status: 6-0 for the first time since 1994 and ranked No. 6 in the major polls. Like Alabama, the Aggies are a playoff lock if they can run the SEC table. How easy will 13-0 be: When the road to undefeated runs through Tuscaloosa, it’s not easy at all. However, the bye-week advantage is a consideration – thus far this year teams at a bye-week disadvantage are 11-19. There have been some notable flops in that situation: Southern Mississippi was blown out last Saturday by Texas-San Antonio; Notre Dame fell behind 36-7 to Michigan State; Oregon was walloped by Washington State; and North Carolina no-showed Saturday in the water-logged loss to Virginia Tech. (On the flip side, South Alabama upset San Diego State, Auburn routed Mississippi State and Wake Forest upset Indiana.) Texas A&M could lose a close game at Alabama and remain in the playoff hunt, but at that point it would require some help to get there.

Ohio State (11). Status: 5-0 and ranked No. 2 in the human polls. Win eight more and the Buckeyes are in. How easy will 13-0 be: There are significant challenges, starting this week in Madison. Ohio State faces the same bye-week disadvantage on Saturday that Alabama will face next week, and this one is on the road. And then the Bucks follow it with another game in the same situation Oct. 22, at Penn State. (The Big Ten office might have given Urban Meyer’s team a soft entry into league play with home games against Rutgers and Indiana, but the following two weeks are a doozy.) Then there are two November games against current unbeatens: Nebraska on Nov. 5 and Michigan on Nov. 29. Both of those are in the Horseshoe, at least. As of today, Ohio State will be favored in every remaining game. But a young team must continue playing above its experience level to handle everything in its path.

Michigan (12). Status: 6-0 and ranked No. 4 in the human polls. The Wolverines have ridden a wonderfully user-friendly schedule – five home games and a trip to poor, pitiful Rutgers – halfway to an unbeaten regular season. The playoff possibilities are real. How easy will 13-0 be: Not impossible by any means, but it figures to require one huge effort Nov. 26. The back half of Michigan’s schedule is looking easier now than it did in August, with Michigan State (2-3) and Iowa (4-2 against nobody) both surprisingly pedestrian at this point. Team Harbaugh plays both on the road – the Spartans on Oct. 29 and the Hawkeyes on Nov. 12. The remaining home games are against Illinois, Maryland and Indiana – not much to lose sleep over, although the Hoosiers are not bad. So it absolutely could come down to a Michigan-Ohio State showdown of similar magnitude to the No. 1 vs. No. 2 game a decade ago. The Wolverines lost that one by three points in Columbus and claimed they had a right to play for the national title, but instead were passed over for Florida (which destroyed Ohio State in the BCS championship game). They may have the same argument as a one-loss team if it happens the same way in 2016 – but overall schedule strength remains in flux at this point.

Nebraska (13). Status: 5-0 and ranked No. 9 AP, No. 10 coaches. The Cornhuskers are no better off than Baylor or West Virginia to this point in terms of quality wins – thanks to Oregon’s sudden collapse – but there are three potential opportunities to change that. Nebraska plays at Wisconsin on Oct. 29, at Ohio State on Nov. 5, and could have a potential Big Ten championship game rematch with the Buckeyes or a game against Michigan. Run the table against a better schedule than anything a 12-0 Big 12 champion could muster and the Huskers are in. How easy will 13-0 be: arduous and unlikely. Nebraska hasn’t beaten anyone ranked higher than 50th by Sagarin, and the past three victories – over Oregon, Northwestern and Illinois – are by an average of 9.7 points. This team appears to be much more solid than last year’s 6-7 bust – start with a positive turnover margin, something the Huskers haven’t finished the season with since 2009 – but it would be a crazy quantum leap to undefeated.

Clemson (14). Status: 6-0 and ranked third in the human polls. The Tigers have resumed resembling their 2015 selves, which is a very good thing. It took some dramatics to hold off Louisville at home, but ACC road wins over Georgia Tech and Boston College were no-doubters and the season-opening road win over Auburn is improving in quality. Even the confusing slog past Troy looks better now, by virtue of the Trojans’ 4-1 record. How easy will 13-0 be: It seems both attainable and challenging, which is the perfect combination. The most significant test remains at Florida State on Oct. 29, but this is not a vintage Seminoles team. On the other hand, North Carolina State (4-1) and at Wake Forest (5-1) might be better tests than in recent years. An ACC championship game against Virginia Tech, Miami or North Carolina could be a moderate challenge, particularly the former.

Washington (15). Status: 6-0 and ranked fifth by the human polls. The Huskies came into 2016 with big expectations and thus far have exceeded them, winning with eye-opening dominance the past two weeks against Stanford and Oregon – with the caveat being that both those teams look like significant disappointments. How easy will 13-0 be: In what has been a quickly shifting Pac-12 landscape, far from impossible but still hard to predict. Washington has clearly been the best team in a mediocre league, but some second-half traps exist: at Utah on Oct. 29; home against regrouping USC on Nov. 12; home against Arizona State on Nov. 19; and at Washington State on Nov. 26 in what could be a quite momentous Apple Cup. Yet even at 13-0, there will be some flaws with the résumé: a non-conference slate of Rutgers, Idaho and Portland State; three remaining opponents with losses to non-Power Five teams in Oregon State, California and Washington State (which lost to an FCS school and Boise State).

Not in control, despite being unbeaten: Baylor, West Virginia, Boise State, Western Michigan. Could an unbeaten Big 12 champion be snubbed? Absolutely. Especially given, say, the Bears’ non-conference schedule, plus the weak profile of the league. West Virginia played an SEC school and BYU, but to date beating them doesn’t pull much weight. Because poll voters just love undefeated teams, Baylor is ranked far too high: eighth with the coaches and 11th with the media, having moved up three spots in the former and two in the latter during a bye week that followed a sketchy victory over Iowa State. Boise’s best chance is to hope that Washington State and Oregon State play great the rest of the way, while other unbeatens lose. Western Michigan is just here for the free appetizers.

LOCKED IN A SHAME SPIRAL

Losing records. Losing streaks. What has gone wrong for programs that at one point in time looked promising:

Notre Dame (16). Began the year in the Top 10, and now is 2-4 with all the losses to unranked teams – which makes the Fighting Irish the Bust of the Year to this point. There has been a leadership void from the upperclassmen, plus personnel losses in the secondary, plus a defense that was bad enough overall to get coordinator Brian VanGorder fired before October. Then the Irish brought their finesse offense into a quagmire at North Carolina State on Saturday and scored a grand total of three points. Notre Dame is 92nd nationally in rushing offense and 98th in yards per rush, which is a problem. Brian Kelly has been a very good coach for a very long time, but this is looking like his worst season so far.

Oregon (17). Began the year uncharacteristically low in the rankings at No. 24 in the AP poll and No. 22 with the coaches, and wasted little time making that look wildly overrated. The Ducks have lost four straight after a 2-0 start, and the past two losses were just ghastly: 51-33 to Washington State and 70-21 at home to Washington – two programs Oregon has handled with almost disdainful ease during their semi-recent ascendance. That 70 was the most points the Ducks have allowed since 1971 – and there were some lean decades between then and now. If ever a team needed a bye week to get things turned around, this would be it.

Texas (18). Sept. 4 was a glorious night in Austin, when the Longhorns showcased a new offensive firepower and withstood Notre Dame 50-47 in overtime in a wildly entertaining game. Unfortunately for Charlie Strong, it augured nothing. Texas now is 2-3, has demoted defensive coordinator Vance Bedford and has surrendered 45 or more points to everyone but UTEP. The last time Texas gave up 45 or more four times in a season was never. And there are still at least seven games remaining.

Michigan State (19). Texas wasn’t the only team that thought highly of itself after beating Notre Dame. So did the Spartans after winning in South Bend on Sept. 17. Since then: three straight losses, including two at home by an average margin of 20.5 points. Thus far Michigan State is a team that isn’t great at anything and has stopped winning the turnover game. After being a massive plus-46 in turnover margin the past three years, Michigan State is a minus-two this year.

Stanford (20). The Cardinal were ranked as high as No. 7 after a 3-0 start, but since then the state of Washington has pulverized the defending Pac-12 champion. Stanford lost to Washington by the shocking margin of 44-6, then lost to Washington State by the more shocking margin of 42-16. With a Heisman Trophy finalist in Christian McCaffrey, the Cardinal still rank last in the league in total offense and scoring offense – a clear indication of problems up front and at quarterback.

Here’s the good news: Stanford plays Notre Dame on Saturday. Which means some spiraling team will have something to feel good about. As for the loser …

THE HEISMAN RACE – A LOT CHANGED IN SIX WEEKS

Your current list of leading candidates doesn’t bear much resemblance to the preseason list. That’s often the way it happens, but this might be an even more substantial shakeup than most years. The current group of front-runners:

Lamar Jackson (21), Louisville. On preseason national radar: Only a little. The thrilling loss to Clemson and a bye week do not change the fact that he is the most exciting and dangerous player in the nation. Jackson is first nationally in scoring (14 touchdowns), first in touchdowns accounted for (28), second in total offense (463 yards per game) and first in jaw-dropping plays (the hurdle at Syracuse, the dazzling run through Florida State, the amazing escape and incomplete pass against Clemson). No telling what he might do next.

J.T. Barrett (22), Ohio State. On preseason national radar: Yes. He does the most important things best: lead and win. But he also produces as both a runner (342 rushing yards, four TDs) and passer (981 yards, 15 TDs). Being the most important guy on a top-five, undefeated team certainly helps, too, and there are some marquee games to come that could help his candidacy.

Jabrill Peppers (23), Michigan. On preseason national radar: Yes, but not really as a Heisman candidate. Speaking of being the most important guy on a top-five, undefeated team – that would be Peppers, too. He’s been used in at least 13 positions on the field thus far, and the production has come from everywhere. He’s made 38 total tackles, 10 of them for loss, as a member of a thoroughly nasty defense. He’s been credited with five quarterback hurries and one forced fumble. He’s averaging 17.8 yards per punt return and scored once. He’s averaging 31.7 yards per kickoff return. He’s run the ball five times and scored two touchdowns, averaging 19.6 yards per carry. Most versatile player in America? Yes. And it’s not close.

Jake Browning (24), Washington. On preseason national radar: Kind of. The nation really started paying attention to the sophomore quarterback the past two games, which is good timing. He threw for 304 yards and six touchdowns in the obliteration of Oregon, which followed up a 210-yard, three-TD game against Stanford. All told he has accounted for 26 touchdowns, second only to Jackson, and leads the nation in pass efficiency. Last time Chris Petersen had a quarterback this good, his name was Kellen Moore and he led the nation in efficiency while guiding Boise State to a 12-1 season in 2010.

Deshaun Watson (25), Clemson. On preseason national radar: Yes. Watson was solid in the first half of last year, then escalated to dominant in the second half. He’s following a somewhat similar script this year. After a slow first few games, the quarterback has averaged 347 yards total offense and 3.7 touchdowns in three ACC contests. He was held to 303 total yards last week against Boston College – but the Eagles are second in the ACC in total defense, so that’s excellent production. The only drawback has been turnovers – seven interceptions and a fumble in six games.

Donnel Pumphrey (26), San Diego State. On preseason national radar: His ability was known, but nobody was talking Heisman. He’s the lone survivor of the Great Running Back Purge of 2016 (see below). Pumphrey, who knocked Marshall Faulk out of the SDSU record books, leads the nation in rushing by 30 yards per game at 178.2. Against FBS competition he’s had at least 141 yards in every game, and he went for 281 against Pac-12 member California. But it’s hard to be a Heisman candidate at a non-Power Five school, and a loss to South Alabama doesn’t help. He’ll need to be ridiculous the rest of the way to remain in the picture.

Greg Ward Jr. (27), Houston. On preseason national radar: Yes. But beating Oklahoma in the opener substantially increased the profile. Another guy trying to fight his way into it from outside the Power Five, but Ward has greater name recognition than Pumphrey after last year and a great start this year. Yes, the Cougars lost to Navy – but the Midshipmen are a good team and it certainly wasn’t Ward’s fault. He produced more than 450 total yards and had his fourth 300-yard passing day of the season. The fearless little guy (listed as 5-foot-11, 185 pounds) takes a pounding and keeps playing. He’ll need to keep producing numbers over the next month, and then hope to outplay Jackson when Louisville comes to Houston on Nov. 17.

WHAT HAPPENED  TO THE YEAR OF THE RUNNING BACK?

That’s how it was billed by a lot of people in August, The Dash included. Instead, it’s been something of a plague year for players at that position. Among the casualties:

Christian McCaffrey (28), Stanford. What happened: The 2015 Heisman finalist has seen his production decline and the Cardinal’s losses increase. The guy who set the single-season NCAA all-purpose total yardage record last year is third nationally this year, and had just 83 total yards in the blowout loss to Washington State. He’s become progressively more banged up as the season has progressed.

Leonard Fournette (29), LSU. What happened: He’s played in only three out of five games due to injury, and the Tigers lost two of those that he did play. That’s a bad combination. Fournette’s season has been sufficiently star-crossed that some people are wondering whether he should shut down and save himself for the NFL draft, which he will surely be entering at the end of his junior season.

Dalvin Cook (30), Florida State. What happened: It took Cook four games to produce a 100-yard rushing effort. Although he has broken out since then (and been productive catching the ball as well), the Seminoles’ two losses have combined with that slow start to shove him off center stage.

Samaje Perine (31), Oklahoma. What happened: He shared the carries with Joe Mixon for the first four games, which led to him never having a 100-yard effort. Perine finally went back to being the feature back against Texas, and the result was a 214-yard day on a career-high 35 carries. Maybe that will convince the Sooners to utilize Perine more going forward.

Nick Chubb (32), Georgia. What happened: He got injured in a blowout loss to Mississippi, barely played in a heartbreaking loss to Tennessee, and by the time he came back Sunday against South Carolina the Heisman traveling road show had left town. Chubb has gotten the most carries on the team but on a per-carry basis has been no more productive than backups Sony Michel and Brian Herrien.

Royce Freeman (33), Oregon. What happened: Like others on this list, Freeman has been slowed by injuries and hurt by losses. He missed most of one game and all of another, and to date has just 67 carries – about half of what he had last year at this point.

THE LAST OF THE WINLESS

While 11 undefeated teams remain, there are only two completely defeated programs within the FBS ranks. Looking at the two winless teams still out there, and what their chances are for that elusive first victory:

Rice (34). The record: 0-5. Closest brush with greatness: a 42-35, double-overtime loss to North Texas in which the Owls’ tying touchdown attempt was stuffed at the 1-yard line. Will the Owls win: Yes. Prairie View A&M is on the schedule Oct. 22. Misery stat: Rice is being outgained by 230 yards per game. Coach status: David Bailiff is a classy guy in his 10th season, but this one looks hard to survive.

Miami of Ohio (35). The record: 0-6. Closest brush with greatness: The RedHawks took a 10-point lead into the final four minutes against FCS Eastern Illinois but somehow lost, 21-17. Will the RedHawks win: Sure. Miami still has three games remaining against teams that are winless in MAC play: Buffalo, Bowling Green and Ball State.

LIP UPDATE

The Last Interception Pool lost a major player last week. North Carolina’s
Mitch Trubisky is out after two picks against Virginia Tech in the horrendous weather conditions in Chapel Hill.

So who is still in?

Zach Terrell (36), Western Michigan. No interceptions in 142 attempts, part of an incredible team stat. (See below note.) Next: At Akron, which has intercepted five of opponents’ 218 passes this season.

Ryan Finley (37), North Carolina State. No interceptions in 128 attempts. Finley somehow made it out of the same hurricane that tripped up Trubisky, due to fastidious care of the ball, good luck and the Wolfpack’s decision to attempt only 12 passes against Notre Dame. Next: At Clemson, which has an ACC-leading nine interceptions.

Advantage, Terrell.

COACH WHO EARNED HIS COMP CAR

P.J. Fleck (38), Western Michigan. Though he’d rather just row the boat than drive the comp car. Through six unbeaten games, his Broncos still have not committed a turnover on the season. That’s incredible, and has Western Michigan on pace to shatter the NCAA record for fewest turnovers in a season. The record is eight, set in 1940 by Clemson and tied in 1966 by Miami (Ohio) and again last year by Navy. That 2015 Navy team owns the NCAA record for fewest turnovers per game, at 0.62. Fleck will be a red-hot commodity on the coaching carousel in a few weeks, with good reason.

COACH WHO SHOULD TAKE THE BUS TO WORK

Tommy Tuberville (39), Cincinnati. Tubs has had a fine career, but this is far from his finest work. The Bearcats are 0-3 in the American Athletic Conference, not really sending a commanding signal to the waffling Big 12 that they are a must-add candidate if the league expands. Worse, all three of those losses are by double digits, including a 20-9 loss at Connecticut on Saturday in which Cincinnati could have led by about three touchdowns in the first half.

POINT AFTER

When hungry and thirsty in the terrific college town of Chapel Hill, The Dash defers to friend William Heyward Harrison III’s quick dinner choice: Al’s Burger Shack. Get the slider sampler and include the Bobo and the Kenny J burgers in your assortment.

After dinner head to The Crunkleton (40), which is both very cool but not overly collegiate. They’ll pour you a Ballast Point Sculpin IPA on tap, but the must-try drink is an Elderflower Sour, complete with a rakish slice of cucumber.

Try both and thank The Dash later.

NCAABKB: Big Ten Conference Preview: Michigan State and Wisconsin fight for the top spot.

 By Scott Phillips

(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

The Big Ten will look much different this season but it will still have many of the same teams near the top of the standings. Wisconsin returns pretty much their whole Sweet 16 team while Michigan State will try to counter with a lot of talented freshmen. Purdue and Indiana will also be firmly in the Big Ten picture and Maryland gets Melo Trimble back.

It should be an interesting year of turnover in the league that could leave it wide open.

FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW:

1. The league lost a ton of talent and experience: A lot of familiar players left the Big Ten from last year including Denzel Valentine, Caris LeVert, A.J. Hammons, Yogi Ferrell, four starters at Maryland and Jarrod Uthoff. So the conference will have a lot of new faces leading the charge this year and it could be a rare season in the Big Ten in which it’s the underclassmen that shine the brightest.

2. Wisconsin returns an entire team that went to the Sweet 16: The Badgers shook off a rough start and then-interim coach Greg Gard rallied a tough and experienced roster to the Sweet 16. The entire roster is back as seniors Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig are joined by redshirt sophomore Ethan Happ and a slew of quality role players. Now with Gard as a stable coach and a confident, experienced roster, the Badgers are hoping for a Big Ten title and tourney run.

3. Michigan State will rely on potential one-and-done freshmen: Many of Tom Izzo’s best teams at Michigan State have relied on experienced upperclassmen leading the way. That likely won’t be the case in 2016-17. Although the Spartans are still a major contender for the Big Ten title, they’ll rely a lot on five-star freshmen like Miles Bridges and Josh Langford. Four-star point guard Cassius Winston and four-star forward Nick Ward could be key pieces as well.

4. Melo Trimble has a new lineup to work with at Maryland: Junior point guard Melo Trimble will be dealing with an entirely new lineup again this season as Maryland will have four new starters with the amount of talent that departed last spring. Senior center Damonte Dodd is a former starter, so he should fit right in, but the Terps need more from juniors Dion Wiley and Jared Nickens. A talented freshmen class could be a key difference.

5. Indiana’s roster will have a lot of changes, namely no Yogi: Things are going to look a little different in Bloomington next season now that senior point guard Yogi Ferrell has exhausted his eligibility. Troy Williams is also gone, along with valuable reserves Max Bielfeldt and Nick Zeisloft. It leaves Indiana with a number of question marks. At point guard, Pitt transfer Josh Newkirk will get minutes, but he wasn’t a spotlight player for the Panthers and is coming off of a knee surgery. James Blackmon Jr. also has to improve defensively and dealt with his own knee issues last season.

PRESEASON BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Thomas Bryant, Indiana
The sophomore big man could have easily been a first-round pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, but he’s back to work on his shooting, defense and consistency. Leading the Big Ten in field goal percentage at 68 percent last season, Bryant is a load to handle on the interior. He can also knock down threes and he plays as hard as anyone in the country, but Bryant needs to be more impactful on the defensive end. If he figures out how to help defend high ball screens, Indiana could ride him a long way.

THE REST OF THE BIG TEN FIRST TEAM:

• Melo Trimble, Maryland: Trimble’s play dipped as a sophomore, but he’s still a potential All-American who isn’t afraid to take and make the big shot.
• Peter Jok, Iowa: The senior guard should take a ton of shots and put up crazy numbers this season after averaging 16.1 points and 3.5 rebounds as a junior.
• Malcolm Hill, Illinois: Hill put up numbers all over the board as a junior as he averaged 18.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He’s one of the most under-appreciated players nationally.
• Ethan Happ, Wisconsin: Bronson Koenig and Nigel Hayes have a higher profile, but Happ is a potential double-double machine and very good defender. Wisconsin always had good bigs.

FIVE MORE NAMES TO KNOW:

• Miles Bridges, Michigan State
• Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig, Wisconsin
• James Blackmon Jr., Indiana
• Vince Edwards, Purdue
• Derrick Walton, Michigan

BREAKOUT STAR: Indiana wing O.G. Anunoby has a chance to be a major contributor this season and he might be one of the best pro prospects in the Big Ten. The 6-foot-8 sophomore will see a lot of minutes in replacing Troy Williams as he can defend multiple spots on the floor.  If Anunoby shoots it anywhere near 44 percent from three-point range like he did as a freshman, he could be a major contributor on both ends.

COACH UNDER PRESSURE: Things haven’t gone very well for Richard Pitino at Minnesota since a promising first season. Transfers, off-the-court issues and a 2-16 record last season has the Golden Gophers fanbase getting restless. If things don’t turn around this season, Pitino could be searching for a new job.

ON SELECTION SUNDAY WE’LL BE SAYING … : The Big Ten wasn’t deep with NCAA tournament teams and doesn’t have the firepower to produce a serious title contender.

I’M MOST EXCITED ABOUT: Seeing how good Wisconsin can be with a full Sweet 16
roster returning and their coach in place for the entire season.

FIVE NON-CONFERENCE GAMES TO CIRCLE ON YOUR CALENDAR:

• Nov. 14, Purdue vs. Villanova
• Nov. 15, Michigan State vs. Kentucky
• Nov. 29, Wisconsin vs. Syracuse
• Nov. 29, Michigan State at Duke
• Nov. 30, North Carolina vs. Indiana

ONE TWITTER FEED TO FOLLOW: @B1GMBBall

PREDICTED FINISH

1. Michigan State: This isn’t the typical senior-laden Tom Izzo team but he has perhaps the most talented freshman class he’s ever had. Eron Harris returns and could be a big scorer while five-star freshmen like Miles Bridges and Josh Langford take over.

2. Wisconsin: The Badgers return everyone from a Sweet 16 as they’re loaded with toughness and experience. Considering Nigel Hayes was very inefficient last season, Wisconsin could have room to grow as they add some redshirts like guard Brevin Pritzl and stretch forward Andy Van Vliet.

3. Purdue: Losing A.J. Hammons in the middle is going to be hard to replace, but the Boilers still have a loaded frontcourt that returns Isaac Haas, Caleb Swanigan, Vince Edwards and Basil Smotherman. Point guard play and perimeter shooting will once again be a huge key. Is Spike Albrecht healthy enough to provide anything in either category?

4. Indiana: Replacing Yogi Ferrell, Troy Williams and some key rotation players will be tough, but the Hoosiers bring back Thomas Bryant and O.G. Anunoby and have a lot of firepower on the perimeter with James Blackmon Jr. and Robert Johnson. The key will be point guard play.

5. Michigan: Battling injuries the past few seasons, Michigan is relying on seniors Derrick Walton Jr. and Zak Irvin to lead again. The development of junior forward Duncan Robinson and the team’s role players is key to another NCAA tournament run.

6. Maryland: Things will look very different from last season but point guard Melo Trimble does have talent around him. Big men Damonte Dodd and Michal Cekovsky are experienced and Jared Nickens and Dion Wiley should help. The talented freshmen class could be the difference.

7. Ohio State: Transfers dominated the headlines for the Buckeyes in the offseason headlines by lots of talent is back. Marc Loving, Jae’Sean Tate, JaQuan Lyle and Keita Bates-Diop are all capable of breakout seasons.

8. Illinois: Illinois is hoping to stay healthy and make a run that could save head coach John Groce’s job. Point guard Tracy Abrams gives leadership while Malcolm Hill gets help from guard Jalen Coleman-Lands and center Mike Thorne Jr.

9. Northwestern: The Wildcats continue trying to build towards the NCAA tournament as point guard Bryant McIntosh has some talent around him. Sophomore Vic Law returns from injury along with forwards Aaron Falzon and Derek Pardon.

10. Penn State: Exciting times could be ahead for the Nittany Lions as they return the talented backcourt of juniors Shep Garner and Payton Banks and get a great recruiting class. Watch out for UConn transfer guard Terrence Samuel.

11. Iowa: The Hawkeyes will mostly be rebuilding and ride senior Peter Jok as far as they can. Nobody else returning to the team averaged more than six points per game as Iowa needs to find new impact players.

12. Minnesota: Transfers and freshmen are the key to a Golden Gophers team that needs to show progress. Center Reggie Lynch, forward Davonte Fitzgerald and guard Akeem Springs will all help, as will in-state wing Amir Coffey.

13. Nebraska: Losing Andrew White hurt as the Huskers need to find a new go-to scorer. Tim Miles could be on the hot seat with another bad season as senior guard Tai Webster needs help.

14. Rutgers: New coach Steve Pikiell has some talented guards in sophomore Corey Sanders and junior Mike Williams. If junior forward Deshawn Freeman returns well from injury, this team might be way better.

NLRB rules players at private universities cannot be banned from tweeting, speaking with media.

By Graham Watson

Offensive lineman J.B. Butler #59, offensive lineman Tommy Doles #71 and running back Corey Acker #25 of the Northwestern Wildcats sing their fight song. (Photo/Getty Images)

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) declared this week that football programs at 17 private universities, including Notre Dame, Stanford, Northwestern and Baylor, must allow players to post on social media, speak with the media and talk about health and safety issues.

The NLRB governs relations between private employers and their employees and referred to the athletes at these private universities as employees.

According to an article on ESPN.com, which obtained the ruling through a Freedom of Information Act request, this ruling was a result of an August 2015 charge filed by David Rosenfeld, an activist labor lawyer with the firm of Weinberg Roger & Rosenfeld in Alameda, California. Rosenfeld was essentially piggybacking on the 2014 attempt by Northwestern players to form a union. Rosenfeld, who has no affiliation with Northwestern, claimed the school was guilty of “unfair labor practices” as it pertained to football players because of an earlier ruling that classified Northwestern players as employees.

While the main things addressed by the ruling have to do with communication, it’s important to note that this ruling opens the door for compensating players.

From ESPN.com:

In addition to granting players greater freedoms, the NLRB ruling will offer athletes a clear path to bring their issues before an independent agency outside of the organizations that have historically governed college athletics — the universities, the conferences and the NCAA. 

So while this ruling did not address compensation for athletes, someone could now file a charge with the NLRB asserting that failing to pay players constitutes an unfair labor practice. After all, if the NLRB — which is led by a five-person board and a general counsel, all appointed by the president — declared that close monitoring of social media is an unfair labor practice, it is an open question how it would view failure to pay players. Until now, the issue has been contested only in antitrust courts.

Representatives for the 17 private universities affected by these labor changes have not yet spoken publicly about the ruling.

On This Date in Sports History: Today is Monday, October 12, 2016.

Memoriesofhistory.com

1986 - Walter Payton (Chicago Bears) became the first National Football League (NFL) player to accumulate 20,000 yards.

1997 - Barry Sanders (Detroit Lions) passed Jim Brown and moved into fourth place on the NFL's all-time rushing list with 12,513 yards.

1997 - Eddie Murray (Minnesota Vikings) set an NFL record when he kicked his 235th consecutive extra point.

2002 - Ron Tugnutt (Dallas Stars) became the first NHL goalie to win a game for seven different teams.

2010 - The Texas Rangers won the first playoff series in franchise history when they defeated the Tampa Devil Rays.

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