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"Sports Quote of the Day"
“Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.” ~ Thomas Carlyle, Philosopher, Satirical Writer, Essayist, Historian and Teacher.
TRENDING: Chicago Blackhawks Vs. Winnipeg Jets Preview, 02/10/2017. (See the hockey section for Blackhawks updates and NHL news).
TRENDING: Jeffery's status to be determined soon and How many draft picks do Bears have? (See the football section for Bears news an NFL updates).
TRENDING: NBA Buzz: No easy answers to Bulls rebuild. (See the basketball section for Bulls news and NBA updates).
TRENDING: Can anyone chase down the Cubs in 2017? (See the baseball section for Cubs and White Sox updates).
TRENDING: Spieth one back at suspended Pebble Pro-Am. (See the golf section for PGA news and tournament updates).
TRENDING: John Paxson and Gar Forman jobs safe moving into Bulls' offseason. What's Your Take? (See the last article on this blog for our thoughts. Please take a minute and read them and share your take with us).
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Chicago Blackhawks Vs. Winnipeg Jets Preview, 02/10/2017.
LAST GAME
The Blackhawks defeated the Wild 4-3 in overtime on Wednesday night at Xcel Energy Center. Chicago is now 23-7-2 when scoring first this season. The Blackhawks share fifth in the NHL with 15 road victories. Ryan Hartman, Nick Schmaltz, Richard Panik and Jonathan Toews each scored for Chicago. Corey Crawford made 35 saves and improved to 21-12-3 this season.
VS. JETS
Chicago holds an 18-12-0-0 all-time record against Winnipeg, including an 11-4- 0-0 mark at MTS Centre. The Jets are 4-0-0 against the Blackhawks this season, notching victories on Nov. 15 (4-0), Dec. 4 (2-1), Dec. 27 (3-1) and Jan. 26 (5-3). Tonight's matchup concludes the five-game regular-season series between the clubs. Patrick Kane leads the team with three points (3A) against Winnipeg this year.
HERE'S JONNY
Toews netted the game-winning goal and had two assists against the Wild, passing Jeremy Roenick for ninth in Blackhawks history with 597 career points (262G, 335A). Toews scored his ninth career overtime goal and his first of the season. Per Elias, he passed Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp for the most regular-season overtime goals by a Blackhawks player since the NHL instituted the 5-minute tiebreaker in the 1983-84 campaign. He has notched 12 points (5G, 7A) over his last eight games.
ROOKIE REPORT
The Blackhawks hold a 6-2-0 record when rookies score two or more of the team's goals. As a group, Chicago rookies have contributed 65 total points this season, which ranks second in the NHL behind Toronto (205). Hartman extended his career-long point streak with goals in three consecutive games. He ranks second in goals (13) and is tied for fourth in points (22) among Western Conference rookies. Schmaltz netted a goal vs. the Wild. Three of his four goals this year have been scored since Jan. 15. Vinnie Hinostroza collected an assist on Hartman's goal. Four of his eight helpers this season have come on the road.
ONE-TIMERS
Duncan Keith picked up two assists vs. the Wild. His 34 helpers this season rank fourth among NHL defensemen and share seventh overall ... Panik registered a goal and an assist. It was his fifth multi-point outing of the season ... Niklas Hjalmarsson collected his eighth assist of the season and led the team with five blocked shots. He ranks second in the league with 137 blocks this season ... Artem Anisimov won six of eight (75 percent) faceoffs.
3 OPPONENTS TO WATCH
RW Blake Wheeler: The Jets captain leads the club in assists and ranks third in points. He is one goal away from passing Andrew Ladd for fourth in Jets history with 139 career goals. He has picked up six points (1G, 5A) over his last five contests. Wheeler has posted point streaks of six games (Dec. 15-29) and five games (Jan. 7-14) this season.
C Mark Scheifele: Scheifele paces Winnipeg in points and goals and shares second in assists. He ranks fifth in the NHL in goals this season. He has recorded 23 points (12G, 11A) in 18 games against the Central Division. He is five goals away from surpassing his career best of 29, set last season.
D Jacob Trouba: The ninth-overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft, Trouba has recorded five points (1G, 4A) over his last five home games. He has already matched the 21 points he registered last season in 81 games. He has a career-high 0.54 points per game this season. He collected two assists on Dec. 27 vs. the Blackhawks.
Scotty Bowman named to Order of Hockey in Canada.Toews netted the game-winning goal and had two assists against the Wild, passing Jeremy Roenick for ninth in Blackhawks history with 597 career points (262G, 335A). Toews scored his ninth career overtime goal and his first of the season. Per Elias, he passed Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp for the most regular-season overtime goals by a Blackhawks player since the NHL instituted the 5-minute tiebreaker in the 1983-84 campaign. He has notched 12 points (5G, 7A) over his last eight games.
ROOKIE REPORT
The Blackhawks hold a 6-2-0 record when rookies score two or more of the team's goals. As a group, Chicago rookies have contributed 65 total points this season, which ranks second in the NHL behind Toronto (205). Hartman extended his career-long point streak with goals in three consecutive games. He ranks second in goals (13) and is tied for fourth in points (22) among Western Conference rookies. Schmaltz netted a goal vs. the Wild. Three of his four goals this year have been scored since Jan. 15. Vinnie Hinostroza collected an assist on Hartman's goal. Four of his eight helpers this season have come on the road.
ONE-TIMERS
Duncan Keith picked up two assists vs. the Wild. His 34 helpers this season rank fourth among NHL defensemen and share seventh overall ... Panik registered a goal and an assist. It was his fifth multi-point outing of the season ... Niklas Hjalmarsson collected his eighth assist of the season and led the team with five blocked shots. He ranks second in the league with 137 blocks this season ... Artem Anisimov won six of eight (75 percent) faceoffs.
3 OPPONENTS TO WATCH
RW Blake Wheeler: The Jets captain leads the club in assists and ranks third in points. He is one goal away from passing Andrew Ladd for fourth in Jets history with 139 career goals. He has picked up six points (1G, 5A) over his last five contests. Wheeler has posted point streaks of six games (Dec. 15-29) and five games (Jan. 7-14) this season.
C Mark Scheifele: Scheifele paces Winnipeg in points and goals and shares second in assists. He ranks fifth in the NHL in goals this season. He has recorded 23 points (12G, 11A) in 18 games against the Central Division. He is five goals away from surpassing his career best of 29, set last season.
D Jacob Trouba: The ninth-overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft, Trouba has recorded five points (1G, 4A) over his last five home games. He has already matched the 21 points he registered last season in 81 games. He has a career-high 0.54 points per game this season. He collected two assists on Dec. 27 vs. the Blackhawks.
By Hockey Canada / hockeycanada.ca
(Photo/chicagoblackhawks.com)
Hockey Canada has announced that three legends of the game are being recognized for their outstanding contributions or service to the growth and development of the sport of hockey in Canada as part of the 2017 class of the Order of Hockey in Canada.
Scotty Bowman (Verdun, Que.), Murray Costello (South Porcupine, Ont.), and Fran Rider (Etobicoke, Ont.) were selected as this year's Distinguished Honourees, and will be celebrated during the 2017 Hockey Canada Foundation Gala & Golf, June 19 and 20, in Saskatoon.
Scotty Bowman - Presently the senior advisor of hockey operations for the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks, Bowman has found success as a coach and executive. Highlighting his resume are 14 Stanley Cup championships with four teams, including: Montreal (1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979), Pittsburgh (1991, 1992), Detroit (1997, 1998, 2002, 2008), and Chicago (2010, 2013, 2015); a victory at the 1976 Canada Cup; as well as a Memorial Cup with the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens in 1958. Bowman also holds the NHL record for most wins by a coach - 1,244 regular season games and 223 playoff games. He was also named NHL coach of the year twice, winning the Jack Adams Award in 1976-77 and 1995-96. Bowman was invested as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2012, and inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 2003 and the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991.
Murray Costello - Serving as an IIHF vice-president from 2008-12, Costello has sat on numerous IIHF committees since 1998, chairing four. As president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and Hockey Canada from 1979 to 1998, he directed the merger between the two associations in 1994 and played a key role in the creation of the Program of Excellence and Canada's National Women's Team. Dedicating his time to boards and committees, Costello served as a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee and the Order of Hockey in Canada executive committee, and spent 17 years on the Hockey Hall of Fame Board of Directors. He was also an arbitrator for the World Hockey Association Players' Association. Costello played 163 games in the NHL from 1953-57 with Chicago, Boston, and Detroit. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005, the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2014, and appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2013.
Fran Rider - Currently the president and CEO of the Ontario Women's Hockey Association, Rider has been playing an integral role in the development of women's hockey since 1967 as a player, coach, volunteer, and executive. Involved with Hockey Canada's Female Council since its inception in 1982, she has chaired six international championship committees and two National Women's Under-18 Championships. Named the first executive director of the OWHA in 1975, Rider has served as its president and CEO since 1982. Rider also spent four years as a member of the Canadian Women's Hockey League Board of Directors, and served as chair or volunteer for multiple Ontario provincial championships and events. In 2015, Rider was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada and inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame as the first female builder.
"This year's class has worked endlessly in their numerous roles as coaches, directors, executives, and committee members to the benefit of others in the game," said Tom Renney, president and chief executive officer, Hockey Canada. "To be selected as a Distinguished Honouree of the Order of Hockey in Canada is one of the most prestigious accomplishments one can receive in hockey in Canada, and on behalf of my colleagues at Hockey Canada, the Order of Hockey in Canada selection committee, as well as our board members, I would like to congratulate Fran, Scotty, and Murray on their well-deserved recognition."
Since its inception in 2012, the Order of Hockey in Canada has recognized 21 honourees, including: Jean Béliveau (2012); David Branch (2016); Cassie Campbell-Pascall (2012); Clare Drake (2014); Jim Gregory (2015); Wayne Gretzky (2012); Geraldine Heaney (2016); Paul Henderson (2013); Gordie Howe (2012); Dave King (2013); Mario Lemieux (2016); Mark Messier (2013); Bob Nicholson (2016); Pat Quinn (2015); Gordon Renwick (2012); France St-Louis (2014); Serge Savard (2015); and Steve Yzerman (2014).
A selection committee of 12 members - appointed by the Order of Hockey in Canada executive committee, established by Hockey Canada - is tasked with nominating and selecting, via secret ballot, the annual recipients of the Order of Hockey in Canada. The committee members represent a cross-section of individuals with great and varied experience around the game of hockey in Canada, including members of the media and hockey administration.
Honourees to be celebrated at 2017 Hockey Canada Foundation Gala & Golf
Each year, the Distinguished Honourees of the Order of Hockey in Canada are formally celebrated at the annual Hockey Canada Foundation Gala & Golf - the Foundation's largest fundraising event.
Last December, Hockey Canada and the Hockey Canada Foundation announced Saskatoon as the host of the 14th annual Hockey Canada Foundation Gala & Golf, June 19-20, 2017. Half of the net proceeds of the event will support legacy programs and projects in Saskatoon and throughout the province. The local steering committee noted it would be announcing the specifics of its legacy plan in the near future.
TCU Place will host the gala portion of the event on June 19, while Willows Golf & Country Club will welcome the event's golfers on June 20.
All remaining proceeds will go to the Foundation to support the future development and delivery of Hockey Canada programs, projects, and activities across the country.
Visit the Hockey Canada website for more information on the Hockey Canada Foundation and the Order of Hockey in Canada.
Corey Crawford shines, Jonathan Toews scores game-winner as Chicago Blackhawks beat Wild in OT. (Wednesday night's game, 02/08/2017).
By Tracey Myers
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Corey Crawford was his usually cool self after Wednesday’s game, the inconclusive review that went against the Blackhawks and took quite a long time to figure out didn’t seem as much of a big deal anymore.
“I mean, sometimes you get them, sometimes you don’t. It’s a fast game, tough for the refs to call everything you want and call it perfectly,” he said. “I know in the moment you want to swear at them and break your stick, but sometimes you just don’t get it and you have to keep playing.”
The Blackhawks did keep playing. Crawford kept stopping pucks. And by the end, despite that lengthy look and a lost lead in regulation, the Blackhawks got the necessary two points.
Crawford stopped 35 of 38 shots and Jonathan Toews had the game-winning goal in overtime, part of his three-point night, as the Blackhawks beat the Minnesota Wild 4-3. The Blackhawks are now five points behind the Wild, who still lead the Western Conference.
Ryan Hartman had his third goal in as many games and Richard Panik scored his 12th of the season. Nick Schmaltz also scored. It was a great game with a few interesting moments – including that lengthy review on Zach Parise’s game-tying goal, which the Blackhawks thought was offside, in the second period. But the Blackhawks kept their cool and got through it.
“Huge win,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “We had to win the game, keep us within striking distance [of the Wild]. They were on such a roll, first game back off a road trip and a tough game for them. I thought Crow was big down the stretch. Jonny had a big game. We did a lot of good things and had the start we were looking for as well. Tough to give up that one at the very end [of regulation] but certainly getting two points was important.”
The Blackhawks had a 2-0 lead thanks to Hartman and Schmaltz’s goal. But the Wild, who were coming off a victory in Winnipeg on Tuesday night, never looked fatigued and responded after Schmaltz’s score. Jared Spurgeon scored first before Parise scored on his own rebound. The Blackhawks claimed offside on their review but, after officials looked at it for more than five minutes, they deemed their views inconclusive and the goal stood. The NHL explanation was this:
Review was not conclusive in determining whether Parise had had tagged up at the instant the puck touched Charlie Coyle's stick. According to Rule 78.7, “If a review is not conclusive and/or there is any doubt whatsoever as to whether the call on the ice was correct, the On-Ice Official(s) will be instructed to confirm their original call.”
The result was frustrating. So was the delay.
“Tough time to wait that long and it end up being a goal,” Hartman said. “But we responded well and kept with it.”
Full marks to Crawford, who may have had his best post-appendectomy game on Wednesday night. Many of the opportunities Crawford stopped were stellar, as the Wild got to the doorstep too often.
“He certainly was huge,” Quenneville said. “Had to make [stops on] some dangerous plays, a couple key ones there in overtime. Nice to see him get big win for us and break that schneid that we had against this team. Certainly nice to break it.”
The Blackhawks broke the Wild’s regular-season hex on them. It wasn’t easy and it took a little longer than they expected but they kept their cool.
“That was a big win for us against one of the best teams in the league for now. Some good momentum for us on the road, too,” Crawford said. “Just have to bring that to the next game.”
Bear Down Chicago Bears !!!!! Jeffery's status to be determined soon.
“I mean, sometimes you get them, sometimes you don’t. It’s a fast game, tough for the refs to call everything you want and call it perfectly,” he said. “I know in the moment you want to swear at them and break your stick, but sometimes you just don’t get it and you have to keep playing.”
The Blackhawks did keep playing. Crawford kept stopping pucks. And by the end, despite that lengthy look and a lost lead in regulation, the Blackhawks got the necessary two points.
Crawford stopped 35 of 38 shots and Jonathan Toews had the game-winning goal in overtime, part of his three-point night, as the Blackhawks beat the Minnesota Wild 4-3. The Blackhawks are now five points behind the Wild, who still lead the Western Conference.
Ryan Hartman had his third goal in as many games and Richard Panik scored his 12th of the season. Nick Schmaltz also scored. It was a great game with a few interesting moments – including that lengthy review on Zach Parise’s game-tying goal, which the Blackhawks thought was offside, in the second period. But the Blackhawks kept their cool and got through it.
“Huge win,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “We had to win the game, keep us within striking distance [of the Wild]. They were on such a roll, first game back off a road trip and a tough game for them. I thought Crow was big down the stretch. Jonny had a big game. We did a lot of good things and had the start we were looking for as well. Tough to give up that one at the very end [of regulation] but certainly getting two points was important.”
The Blackhawks had a 2-0 lead thanks to Hartman and Schmaltz’s goal. But the Wild, who were coming off a victory in Winnipeg on Tuesday night, never looked fatigued and responded after Schmaltz’s score. Jared Spurgeon scored first before Parise scored on his own rebound. The Blackhawks claimed offside on their review but, after officials looked at it for more than five minutes, they deemed their views inconclusive and the goal stood. The NHL explanation was this:
Review was not conclusive in determining whether Parise had had tagged up at the instant the puck touched Charlie Coyle's stick. According to Rule 78.7, “If a review is not conclusive and/or there is any doubt whatsoever as to whether the call on the ice was correct, the On-Ice Official(s) will be instructed to confirm their original call.”
The result was frustrating. So was the delay.
“Tough time to wait that long and it end up being a goal,” Hartman said. “But we responded well and kept with it.”
Full marks to Crawford, who may have had his best post-appendectomy game on Wednesday night. Many of the opportunities Crawford stopped were stellar, as the Wild got to the doorstep too often.
“He certainly was huge,” Quenneville said. “Had to make [stops on] some dangerous plays, a couple key ones there in overtime. Nice to see him get big win for us and break that schneid that we had against this team. Certainly nice to break it.”
The Blackhawks broke the Wild’s regular-season hex on them. It wasn’t easy and it took a little longer than they expected but they kept their cool.
“That was a big win for us against one of the best teams in the league for now. Some good momentum for us on the road, too,” Crawford said. “Just have to bring that to the next game.”
Bear Down Chicago Bears !!!!! Jeffery's status to be determined soon.
By Larry Mayer
Alshon Jeffery played in 12 games in 2016, catching 52 passes for 821 yards and two touchdowns. (Photo/www.chicagobears.com)
One of the most important issues the Bears will face over the next few months will be resolving receiver
Jeffery played the 2016 season under terms of the franchise tag and is due to become an unrestricted free agent in March. The Bears seemingly have three options: 1) Sign Jeffery to a long-term deal; 2) Place the franchise tag on him again at a cost of about $17.5 million for 2017; or 3) Allow him to sign elsewhere in free agency.
Jeffery played in 12 games in 2016, catching 52 passes for 821 yards and two touchdowns. His only 100-yard outing came in a season-opening loss to the Texans. Jeffery did not miss any games due to injury, but he was suspended for four contests for violating the NFL policy on performance enhancing substances.
Jeffery had 89 receptions for 1,421 yards and seven touchdowns in 2013 and 85 catches for 1,133 yards and 10 TDs in 2014. But multiple injuries limited him to nine games in 2015 and his production dipped to 54 receptions for 807 yards and four TDs.
Jeffery surpassed Hall of Famer Walter Payton for third place on the Bears' all-time receiving list with 4,549 yards, trailing only Johnny Morris (5,059) and Harlon Hill (4,616).
While Jeffery remained healthy throughout the season, injuries once again decimated the Bears' receiving corps.
Veteran
Wilson appeared in three games in 2016. In his only start he established career highs for receptions (eight) and yards (125) in a Week 12 loss to the Titans.
The most positive development at the receiver position for the Bears this past season was the emergence of second-year pro
"You've got to give credit to Cam that he stepped up and made himself very valuable, a really important part of the offense," offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains said late in the season. "Where Cam really separated himself from the rest of the group was the ability to play all three [receiver] spots.
"We can move him around when guys do get banged up. Or we've been down in a couple of these games. All of a sudden you're throwing the ball more and the receiver rotation starts to change. Cam gives you the flexibility. If [other receivers] need a break, he can step in at X, Z and F and play, and that's critical."
The rash of injuries at the receiver position gave
How many draft picks do Bears have?
By Larry Mayer
How many picks do the Bears have in the draft?
Greg F., Harvard, Illinois
The Bears have seven picks in the draft; their own in Rounds 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 and a fourth-rounder that they acquired from the Buffalo Bills during last year’s draft when they traded down twice before selecting offensive lineman
I’ve heard a lot about Jimmy Garoppolo, but I haven’t heard much about the Bills’ Tyrod Taylor. He’s only 27, is coming off two productive seasons and rarely turns the ball over. He’s mobile outside the pocket and I see him as a perfect bridge quarterback for the next two or three years. Is there something I’m missing?
Justin, Chicago
I don’t think you’re missing anything, but as far as I know the Bills have not yet determined whether they’re going to commit to Tyrod Taylor as their starter, which still could happen. He has a large roster bonus that’s due March 11, so we’ll know by that time whether he’ll be available. Bears general manager Ryan Pace and his staff are considering all options, so I’m sure they’re in the process of evaluating Taylor along with many other quarterbacks. Taylor started the first 15 games with Buffalo this past season, completing 61.7 percent of his passes for 3,023 yards with 17 touchdowns, six interceptions and an 89.7 passer rating. He’s been the starter the past seasons with the Bills after serving as a backup for four years with the Ravens.
That was an amazing comeback by the Patriots in the Super Bowl! What’s the most points the Bears have ever overcome to win a game?
Dave S., White Plains, New York
The Bears have erased 20-point deficits to win games on two occasions since 1980. They trailed the Buccaneers 20-0 at the end of the first quarter in Tampa on Oct. 25, 1987 before rallying to win 27-26. And then in a 2006 Monday night game in Arizona, the Bears overcame a 23-3 deficit late in the third quarter to shock the Cardinals 24-23, fueling Dennis Green’s famous “they are who we thought they were” rant. This past season the Bears nearly rallied back from a 20-point deficit in the fourth quarter, cutting a 27-7 deficit to 27-21 before
Bears announce 2017 ticket prices.
By Larry Mayer
(Photo/www.chicagobears.com)
The Bears on Wednesday announced ticket prices for the 2017, with the team distributing a letter to season ticket holders from team president/CEO Ted Phillips.
While season ticket prices have not increased since the 2014 season, all sections of Soldier Field will see price adjustments in 2017. Most will receive a 1-4 percent increase, but some will see a price decrease. The overall average increase for 2017 season tickets is 2.6 percent with non-club seats seeing an average ticket price increase of 2.9 percent and club seats seeing an average ticket price increase of 2.0 percent.
In his letter to season ticket holders, Phillips wrote: "Thank you for your support in 2016. It was a challenging and disappointing season. One we will not repeat. We shared in your frustration and do not take your passion and loyalty for granted. We are humbled by your dedication to the Bears and know we must be better."
Variable ticket pricing will continue in 2017. However, starting in 2017, in addition to a preseason tier, each regular season game will be assigned to one of three pricing tiers which will be announced with the release of the 2017 NFL schedule in April.
Individual game tickets will continue to be sold at a higher price, giving season ticket holders the greatest value for game tickets.
The Bears are scheduled to host the Packers, Lions, Vikings, Falcons, Panthers, Browns, Steelers and 49ers at Soldier Field during the 2017 regular season.
In his letter, Phillips wrote that the Bears "are committed to building a winning team that can sustain success." He points to a young core that includes five all-rookie selections the past two seasons and vows that the Bears are "focused on acquiring ascending players who can contribute to championships."
"We are positioned for an exciting offseason with the third overall pick in the draft and one of the best salary cap situations in the NFL heading into free agency," Phillips wrote. "We will take advantage of these assets to bring in more talent to strengthen the foundation we have in place."
Miller expects to be ready in April.
By Larry Mayer
While season ticket prices have not increased since the 2014 season, all sections of Soldier Field will see price adjustments in 2017. Most will receive a 1-4 percent increase, but some will see a price decrease. The overall average increase for 2017 season tickets is 2.6 percent with non-club seats seeing an average ticket price increase of 2.9 percent and club seats seeing an average ticket price increase of 2.0 percent.
In his letter to season ticket holders, Phillips wrote: "Thank you for your support in 2016. It was a challenging and disappointing season. One we will not repeat. We shared in your frustration and do not take your passion and loyalty for granted. We are humbled by your dedication to the Bears and know we must be better."
Variable ticket pricing will continue in 2017. However, starting in 2017, in addition to a preseason tier, each regular season game will be assigned to one of three pricing tiers which will be announced with the release of the 2017 NFL schedule in April.
Individual game tickets will continue to be sold at a higher price, giving season ticket holders the greatest value for game tickets.
The Bears are scheduled to host the Packers, Lions, Vikings, Falcons, Panthers, Browns, Steelers and 49ers at Soldier Field during the 2017 regular season.
In his letter, Phillips wrote that the Bears "are committed to building a winning team that can sustain success." He points to a young core that includes five all-rookie selections the past two seasons and vows that the Bears are "focused on acquiring ascending players who can contribute to championships."
"We are positioned for an exciting offseason with the third overall pick in the draft and one of the best salary cap situations in the NFL heading into free agency," Phillips wrote. "We will take advantage of these assets to bring in more talent to strengthen the foundation we have in place."
Miller expects to be ready in April.
By Larry Mayer
Bears tight end Zach Miller expects to be able to return by the time the team starts its offseason program in April. (Photo/www.chicagobears.com)
Zach Miller picked up in 2016 where he left off during a breakout 2015 campaign before a broken right foot sustained in a Week 11 loss to the Giants ended his season.
At the time of the injury, Miller led the Bears with 47 receptions for a career-high 486 yards and a team-high four touchdowns. The converted college quarterback had three catches for 61 yards and one TD in the first half against the Giants before getting hurt.
Miller, who suffered a similar injury to his left foot in a 2014 preseason game with the Bears, said this week on the team's All-Access radio show that he expects to be able to return by the time the team starts its offseason program in April.
"Everything's going according to plan, ahead of schedule," Miller said. "I've been through this exact rehab schedule before. So I know what it entails and I've been able to bounce back and play at a high level, so I'm comfortable with that. We've just got to put in the time, put in the work, and when it's time to get back in April and as we move through the OTAs I'll just build on that and work towards getting ready for training camp."
Miller emerged in 2015 after missing the previous three full seasons, catching 34 passes for 439 yards and a team-leading five touchdowns in 15 games.
After appearing in 33 contests with five starts with the Jaguars from 2009-11, he spent the 2012 season on injured reserve with the Jaguars, failed to make the Buccaneers roster in 2013 and landed on injured reserve again with the Bears in 2014.
Miller traveled a unique path to the NFL even before he was bitten by the injury bug. A quarterback at Nebraska-Omaha, he was immediately converted to tight end after being selected by the Jaguars in the sixth round of the 2009 draft. His only experience at his new position in college came in the Cactus Bowl, a Division II all-star game.
The Bears are relatively thin at tight end behind Miller, though second-year proDaniel Brown showed promise late in the 2016 season, catching 16 passes for 124 yards and one touchdown after being claimed off waivers from the Ravens Oct. 24.
VeteranLogan Paulsen provided leadership and blocking in the run game, but he caught only three passes for 15 yards and drew a couple of very costly penalties.
The Bears remain high on young tight endsMyCole Pruitt , who they signed off the Vikings practice squad last Dec. 14; and Ben Braunecker , who caught four passes for 41 yards in 13 games as an undrafted rookie from Harvard.
Miller, who suffered a similar injury to his left foot in a 2014 preseason game with the Bears, said this week on the team's All-Access radio show that he expects to be able to return by the time the team starts its offseason program in April.
"Everything's going according to plan, ahead of schedule," Miller said. "I've been through this exact rehab schedule before. So I know what it entails and I've been able to bounce back and play at a high level, so I'm comfortable with that. We've just got to put in the time, put in the work, and when it's time to get back in April and as we move through the OTAs I'll just build on that and work towards getting ready for training camp."
Miller emerged in 2015 after missing the previous three full seasons, catching 34 passes for 439 yards and a team-leading five touchdowns in 15 games.
After appearing in 33 contests with five starts with the Jaguars from 2009-11, he spent the 2012 season on injured reserve with the Jaguars, failed to make the Buccaneers roster in 2013 and landed on injured reserve again with the Bears in 2014.
Miller traveled a unique path to the NFL even before he was bitten by the injury bug. A quarterback at Nebraska-Omaha, he was immediately converted to tight end after being selected by the Jaguars in the sixth round of the 2009 draft. His only experience at his new position in college came in the Cactus Bowl, a Division II all-star game.
The Bears are relatively thin at tight end behind Miller, though second-year pro
Veteran
The Bears remain high on young tight ends
Just Another Chicago Bulls Session..... Chicago Bulls Vs. Phoenix Suns, 02/10/2017.
Scores & Stats
Scores & Stats
The Chicago Bulls could be without All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler for the fourth consecutive game when they visit the Phoenix Suns on Friday. Butler is bothered by a bruised heel and he reported issues to team trainers when he attempted to partake in Wednesday's shootaround.
Chicago expects to have shooting guard Dwyane Wade back in the lineup after he missed Wednesday's 123-92 loss to the Golden State Warriors due to an upper-respiratory infection. The Bulls averaged 119 points during the first three games of a six-game excursion before the sluggish offensive output against Golden State dropped them to 2-2 on the trip. Phoenix owns the worst record in the Western Conference and lost eight of its last nine games. Second-year shooting guard Devin Booker scored 20 points in Wednesday's 110-91 road loss to the Memphis Grizzlies and scored 20 or more points in 17 of the past 18 games.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, WGN (Chicago), FSN Arizona (Phoenix)
ABOUT THE BULLS (26-27): Butler professed he plans to be careful with the injury as he doesn't want to return and then suffer a setback. "I don't want to be able to go out there and play like 10 minutes and be like, 'I can't move,'" Butler told reporters. "I want to go out there and be the player I can be on both ends of the floor. My coaches, my teammates understand that. When I go out there I want to play. There ain't gonna be no restrictions." Butler scored 28 points in each of his last two games prior to the injury.
ABOUT THE SUNS (16-37): Rookie forward Dragan Bender underwent ankle surgery to remove a bone spur on Wednesday and the prognosis is that he will be sidelined four-to-six weeks. The 19-year-old from Croatia was the fourth overall selection in last summer's draft and is averaging 3.2 points in 38 games. "It's tough, it's unfortunate," Phoenix coach Earl Watson told reporters. "But at the same time, he's 19. We don't want to rush him back. We want him to get healthy and come back and have a long career."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Bulls won 11 of the past 15 meetings.
2. Chicago PG Michael Carter-Williams was 1-of-9 shooting against Golden State after connecting on 19-of-30 over the previous two games.
3. Phoenix backup SG Leandro Barbosa was just 2-of-12 shooting against Memphis after being 5-of-7 two nights earlier versus New Orleans.
PREDICTION: Suns 109, Bulls 103
NBA Buzz: No easy answers to Bulls rebuild.
By Mark Schanowski
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
I made some time last week to watch Washington guard Markelle Fultz, the presumptive first pick in this June's NBA Draft, play last week against USC.
There's no question the 6-4 point guard will be a quality NBA player. He has a nice touch on his jump shot and excellent handles, with the ability to draw double teams in the paint and finish at the rim.
My biggest concern involves his motor, or rather, the lack thereof. Fultz spent most of the game playing at three quarters speed, bringing the ball up the court, passing to a teammate and then watching how plays would develop. Even though Fultz was the best player on the court, he rarely took advantage of his 1-on-1 match-up to create shots for himself or his teammates.
Now granted, this was only one game, and NBA scouts love Fultz's potential, but is he the kind of franchise-changing talent a team can build around? It's hard to answer with a definite yes.
That's where the Bulls come in. We've all read the rumors about Boston's long-standing interest in acquiring the 3-time All-Star, with this year's Brooklyn Nets first round pick (acquired in the brutal Kevin Garnett-Paul Pierce trade) as their biggest trade chip. Right now, the Nets own the league's worst record, which means they'll have the best chance at winning the lottery and potentially drafting Fultz in June.
From the Bulls' perspective, would you really want to trade a 27-year-old All-Star starter in his prime for a chance to pick a 19-year-old point guard, who may or may not develop into one of the NBA's Top 15 players? (which Butler already is) Add in the fact Butler continues to improve his game every season, and is one of the league's best perimeter defenders, and you get the idea. Sure, Boston might throw in an additional No. 1 pick (not the 2018 pick they're still owed from Brooklyn) and a complementary player like Jae Crowder or Avery Bradley, but the NBA is a league built on stars, and 3-for-1 trades don't usually turn out well for the team giving up the best player (Butler).
Butler sounds like a guy who plans to be here for the duration of his contract (two more guaranteed seasons and a player option for 2019-20). In recent interviews, he talked about wanting Dwyane Wade to stay with the Bulls beyond the 2017-18 season, and even indicated he'd be willing to talk with Carmelo Anthony about coming to Chicago if the Knicks are determined to trade him. Apparently, Butler and Anthony developed a good friendship playing for Team USA at the Olympics last summer.
Both Butler and Wade are willing talent recruiters. So, if a major rebuild isn't the direction the Bulls' front office wants to go, why not see what the two well-connected stars can come up with to add more veteran talent? The rules have changed somewhat in free agency, making it more attractive for the best players to stay with their current teams, but there will always be quality players looking for a new situation.
A lot of Bulls fans would love to see the front office blow up the roster and start from scratch. But as we witnessed firsthand with the baby Bulls from 1999-2005, building a team from ground zero isn't very easy.
Around the Association
Interesting column this week from Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer regarding the Bulls reported interest in 76ers center and Chicago native Jahlil Okafor. Brookover wrote the Sixers need to get a reliable 3-point shooter in any deal for Okafor, and either Denzel Valentine or Doug McDermott would have to be included in any potential Bulls-Sixers trade. Brookover praised Valentine for his outstanding play at Michigan State, saying he would be the kind of young outside shooting prospect the Sixers need to add to their developing roster.
Question is, how come Valentine can't get any run with the team that drafted him?
The Bulls sent Valentine out to the D-League last weekend to get some consistent playing time with the Windy City Bulls. All he did was average over 30 points in two games, shooting over 50 percent from 3-point range, flirting with triple-doubles in both contests. The Bulls ended his D-League stint a game early because of the Butler injury, but he got another DNP-CD in Sacramento Monday night.
There's no reason why the 6-5 rookie can't get rotation minutes at point guard. Valentine's floor vision and passing ability were his biggest strengths at Michigan St. and he improved his 3-point shooting percentage every season. Yes, the NBA three is a tougher shot, but it's time for the coaching staff and front office to see what they have in their lottery pick from the 2016 draft.
All kinds of trade discussion around the league with the deadline only two weeks away. It sounds like Phil Jackson is determined to get Anthony to waive his no-trade clause and ship him out of New York. Cleveland and the L.A. Clippers are probably the only destinations Anthony would agree to in a trade, but the Cavs won't give up Kevin Love in a deal, and they don't have any tradeable draft picks in the upcoming years to get the Knicks interest.
Similar story with the Clippers, who reportedly aren't willing to give up any of their "Big 3", Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan in a Melo deal.
If Jackson really is determined to get Anthony's contract off the Knicks books, he may have to get a third and fourth teams involved to come up with the combination of young players on affordable contracts and draft picks that would make a deal to the Cavs or Clippers work from New York's end.
You can count on reading all kinds of crazy rumors over the next two weeks, most of them having very little basis in reality.
Quotes of the Week
Speaking of the Cavs-Knicks rumors about a Melo deal, the well-respected New York Daily News NBA columnist Frank Isola wrote that according to one of his sources, LeBron James was pushing hard for a deal to bring his good friend Anthony to Cleveland, even if it meant shipping Love back to the Knicks.
Which brought this angry response from James after Love put up a 37-point, 12-rebound game in an overtime win over Washington on Monday: “I saw and heard about it. It’s trash. And the guy who wrote it is trash, too.”
“That is a lie,” Love told Cleveland media about the report. “What do they say? A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put his pants on. It’s just not true. It’s almost laughable.”
Rest assured, we'll be hearing a lot more about an Anthony to the Cavs deal over the next two weeks.
Minus Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade, Bulls get blown out by Warriors. (Wednesday night's game, 02/08/2017).
By Vincent Goodwill
There's no question the 6-4 point guard will be a quality NBA player. He has a nice touch on his jump shot and excellent handles, with the ability to draw double teams in the paint and finish at the rim.
My biggest concern involves his motor, or rather, the lack thereof. Fultz spent most of the game playing at three quarters speed, bringing the ball up the court, passing to a teammate and then watching how plays would develop. Even though Fultz was the best player on the court, he rarely took advantage of his 1-on-1 match-up to create shots for himself or his teammates.
Now granted, this was only one game, and NBA scouts love Fultz's potential, but is he the kind of franchise-changing talent a team can build around? It's hard to answer with a definite yes.
That's where the Bulls come in. We've all read the rumors about Boston's long-standing interest in acquiring the 3-time All-Star, with this year's Brooklyn Nets first round pick (acquired in the brutal Kevin Garnett-Paul Pierce trade) as their biggest trade chip. Right now, the Nets own the league's worst record, which means they'll have the best chance at winning the lottery and potentially drafting Fultz in June.
From the Bulls' perspective, would you really want to trade a 27-year-old All-Star starter in his prime for a chance to pick a 19-year-old point guard, who may or may not develop into one of the NBA's Top 15 players? (which Butler already is) Add in the fact Butler continues to improve his game every season, and is one of the league's best perimeter defenders, and you get the idea. Sure, Boston might throw in an additional No. 1 pick (not the 2018 pick they're still owed from Brooklyn) and a complementary player like Jae Crowder or Avery Bradley, but the NBA is a league built on stars, and 3-for-1 trades don't usually turn out well for the team giving up the best player (Butler).
Butler sounds like a guy who plans to be here for the duration of his contract (two more guaranteed seasons and a player option for 2019-20). In recent interviews, he talked about wanting Dwyane Wade to stay with the Bulls beyond the 2017-18 season, and even indicated he'd be willing to talk with Carmelo Anthony about coming to Chicago if the Knicks are determined to trade him. Apparently, Butler and Anthony developed a good friendship playing for Team USA at the Olympics last summer.
Both Butler and Wade are willing talent recruiters. So, if a major rebuild isn't the direction the Bulls' front office wants to go, why not see what the two well-connected stars can come up with to add more veteran talent? The rules have changed somewhat in free agency, making it more attractive for the best players to stay with their current teams, but there will always be quality players looking for a new situation.
A lot of Bulls fans would love to see the front office blow up the roster and start from scratch. But as we witnessed firsthand with the baby Bulls from 1999-2005, building a team from ground zero isn't very easy.
Around the Association
Interesting column this week from Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer regarding the Bulls reported interest in 76ers center and Chicago native Jahlil Okafor. Brookover wrote the Sixers need to get a reliable 3-point shooter in any deal for Okafor, and either Denzel Valentine or Doug McDermott would have to be included in any potential Bulls-Sixers trade. Brookover praised Valentine for his outstanding play at Michigan State, saying he would be the kind of young outside shooting prospect the Sixers need to add to their developing roster.
Question is, how come Valentine can't get any run with the team that drafted him?
The Bulls sent Valentine out to the D-League last weekend to get some consistent playing time with the Windy City Bulls. All he did was average over 30 points in two games, shooting over 50 percent from 3-point range, flirting with triple-doubles in both contests. The Bulls ended his D-League stint a game early because of the Butler injury, but he got another DNP-CD in Sacramento Monday night.
There's no reason why the 6-5 rookie can't get rotation minutes at point guard. Valentine's floor vision and passing ability were his biggest strengths at Michigan St. and he improved his 3-point shooting percentage every season. Yes, the NBA three is a tougher shot, but it's time for the coaching staff and front office to see what they have in their lottery pick from the 2016 draft.
All kinds of trade discussion around the league with the deadline only two weeks away. It sounds like Phil Jackson is determined to get Anthony to waive his no-trade clause and ship him out of New York. Cleveland and the L.A. Clippers are probably the only destinations Anthony would agree to in a trade, but the Cavs won't give up Kevin Love in a deal, and they don't have any tradeable draft picks in the upcoming years to get the Knicks interest.
Similar story with the Clippers, who reportedly aren't willing to give up any of their "Big 3", Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan in a Melo deal.
If Jackson really is determined to get Anthony's contract off the Knicks books, he may have to get a third and fourth teams involved to come up with the combination of young players on affordable contracts and draft picks that would make a deal to the Cavs or Clippers work from New York's end.
You can count on reading all kinds of crazy rumors over the next two weeks, most of them having very little basis in reality.
Quotes of the Week
Speaking of the Cavs-Knicks rumors about a Melo deal, the well-respected New York Daily News NBA columnist Frank Isola wrote that according to one of his sources, LeBron James was pushing hard for a deal to bring his good friend Anthony to Cleveland, even if it meant shipping Love back to the Knicks.
Which brought this angry response from James after Love put up a 37-point, 12-rebound game in an overtime win over Washington on Monday: “I saw and heard about it. It’s trash. And the guy who wrote it is trash, too.”
“That is a lie,” Love told Cleveland media about the report. “What do they say? A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put his pants on. It’s just not true. It’s almost laughable.”
Rest assured, we'll be hearing a lot more about an Anthony to the Cavs deal over the next two weeks.
Minus Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade, Bulls get blown out by Warriors. (Wednesday night's game, 02/08/2017).
By Vincent Goodwill
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Winning a game at Oracle Arena is almost an impossible task under normal circumstances for even the best of teams.
Subtract Jimmy Butler.
Subtract Dwyane Wade.
So when the odds are recalibrated, giving a roster that's the equivalent of the land of misfit toys a chance to win — meaning it would take something miraculous.
It didn't look as bad as the score indicated, but the Bulls never truly felt in it despite the relatively mild 123-92 outcome Wednesday night at Oracle Arena.
Since the Bulls pulled off an improbable win at Oracle on Jan. 27, 2015, the Warriors have lost just five regular-season games on this floor, and there would be no miracle to be had Wednesday night.
Kevin Durant wasn't a member of the Warriors during the last Bulls win, and he was chief reason there wouldn't be a second one as he slashed through the lane for dunks and popped out for easy triples on his way to 22 points and 10 rebounds in a relatively sweat-free performance.
It was pretty easy for the Warriors because the Bulls had seven first quarter turnovers, helping an already-focused Warriors team ready to atone after a bad outing in Sacramento filled with a little controversy between Draymond Green and Durant.
In other words, just what the Bulls needed — an angry team. After an 11-11 start, the Warriors went on a 13-0 run that put some distance between the two, having the Bulls playing catch-up all night.
"They came out the gate with a big lead," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. "It's a team that lost and had some time to recover and regroup, especially when there's controversy that sounds like mostly b.s., it's a tough team to come out and play against."
Klay Thompson came on after a slow first half to score 26, and Green — the man who'll forever live in Bulls' fans nightmares — scored 16 with seven rebounds and four assists.
"We know they didn't have their whole team, but we still tried to play our game and get better. And keep growing," Durant told CSNChicago.com in the immediate aftermath.
"I think we're moving in the right direction. I've never been 44-8 on a team before."
Robin Lopez and Taj Gibson led the Bulls with 17 and 15 points, respectively, getting inside for some easy baskets against the stingy, aggressive Warriors, but they were the only ones with a flow.
"That's what we wanted to do coming out. I thought we missed them numerous times when they had (defenders) on their back and we ended up turning it over," Hoiberg said. "We gotta do a better job so we can take advantage."
Michael Carter-Williams' recent magic seemed to wear off, and Jerian Grant also struggled as the Bulls were under 40 percent for most of the night.
If there were some foolish observers who dared claim Butler and Wade were holding back the development of the younger players, that blew up in smoke quite quickly as there was little creativity in terms of shot creation unless Rajon Rondo's 12 points and seven assists truly count in that way.
But it was a meritocracy of shots — shots that missed all night as the Bulls never led and shot 42 percent, trailing by double figures nearly from the onset.
It didn't mean Fred Hoiberg didn't try seemingly everything in his limited bag of tricks to keep some form of pace with the team that probably represents everything he would want his team to be, as he played Isaiah Canaan and finally gave Denzel Valentine some run after his stint in the D-League.
And to some degree the Bulls were hanging in there, limiting resident snipers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to just 5-for-14 shooting in the first half.
But when Thompson hit two corner triples to start the third quarter, Hoiberg was forced to call a timeout, the Bulls down 20 before they even blinked — as Thompson's first five made baskets were all 3-pointers.
To that point, the Bulls were 1-for-11 from the long line.
And it didn't get much better. They finished 4-for-24 from 3, with the Warriors hitting 15 triples on their way to an easy win.
CUBS: Can anyone chase down the Cubs in 2017?
By Tony Andracki
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
The Cubs entered the 2016 season with a target on their backs and they embraced it all the way to the first World Series title since 1908.
Of course, those expectations will be back in full force this year and everybody will be gunning for the Cubs.
The question is: Can anybody actually catch the Cubs?
Gone are Dexter Fowler, Aroldis Chapman, Jason Hammel, Travis Wood and Jorge Soler, but the replacements aren't exactly second rate.
Wade Davis is one of the elite relievers in the game when healthy, Mike Montgomery will be around for a full season now and Brett Anderson represents low-risk, high-upside rotation depth.
Jon Jay is a veteran influence in the clubhouse and he and Albert Almora may combine to serve as a defensive upgrade in center field over Fowler.
The Cubs are hoping Kyle Schwarber won't miss 159 regular season games again and all the young players are another year older, more confident and more experienced.
Plus, Grandpa Rossy is still around the organization in a front office capacity.
Oh, and there's no more talk of curses or Bartmans or goats or century-long droughts hanging over the franchise like a dark cloud.
So it's not hard to see the Cubs as the favorites to repeat in 2017 as we sit here in February.
Earlier this week, USATODAY released their projected win totals and the National League shook out as follows:
Cubs - 99
Dodgers - 92
Nationals - 90
Giants - 89
Mets - 89
Cardinals - 88
Rockies - 81
Pirates - 81
Everybody else is projected for a losing season.
With that, let's look at each contender's chances of dethroning the Cubs in the NL. (Keep in mind, we're just looking at NL West and East opponents here. The full NL Central breakdown will come later.)
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers' main losses this winter include Anderson (who accounted for only 11.1 innings in '16), outfielder Josh Reddick (who posted a .643 OPS in 47 games in LA) and a pair of veterans — 38-year-old second baseman Chase Utley and 36-year-old reliever Joe Blanton — in the twilight of their careers.
In their stead, the Dodgers have added infielder Logan Forsythe and Sergio Romo while ensuring Kenley Jansen, Justin Turner and Rich Hill weren't leaving town.
Keep in mind, Clayton Kershaw missed two months of the 2016 season and the Dodgers still won 91 games and advanced to the NLCS.
Expectations surrounding Los Angeles are high this year and they should be.
A pitching staff led by Kershaw, Hill, Jansen and 20-year-old Julio Urias is one of the best in the game and the lineup is packed with power and quality approaches from both sides of the plate (thanks in large part to the acquisition of the right-handed Forsythe).
Corey Seager is one of the game's best young players and very well may have won both the 2015 Rookie of the Year and 2016 MVP if he didn't play in the same league as some guy named Kris Bryant.
Right now, the Dodgers seemingly pose the biggest threat to the Cubs in the race for the NL pennant.
Washington Nationals
The Nationals have entered every season as a World Series contender over the last half-decade but have yet to live up to those lofty expectations when the postseason hits.
That could all change in 2017, especially if they're able to acquire David Robertson or some other closer to help stabilize the bullpen.
Catcher Wilson Ramos and closer Mark Melancon are the major departures from a squad that won 95 games last year. The closer vacancy is still an issue, but a December trade for Derek Norris helps shore up the catcher position.
Adam Eaton is also a nice fit for the Nats atop a lineup that will include MVP contenders Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy and upstart rookie Trea Turner who burst onto the scene in a big way in the last couple months of 2016.
The rotation is still one of the best in the game with Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Wilmington, Ill., native Tanner Roark who actually led the staff with a 2.83 ERA in a breakout 2016 campaign.
With only two more years left of control on Harper and an aging core that includes Jayson Werth (37), Scherzer (32), Ryan Zimmerman (32), Murphy (32) and Gio Gonzalez (31), the Nationals are going pedal to the metal in their quest for a championship and won't be shy in dealing more prospects for win-now pieces in-season.
San Francisco Giants
The Giants were very close to taking down the Cubs last season, igniting a sense of panic that was filtering through Chicago's North Side before the bullpen imploded worse than the Atlanta Falcons.
Had the Giants closed out that Game 4 victory, they would've sent Johnny Cueto to the mound at Wrigley for a winner-take-all Game 5, an unsettling prospect for Joe Maddon's Cubs and the entire fanbase.
San Francisco plugged the hole in the back of the bullpen by throwing $62 million at Melancon and parting ways with Romo and Santiago Casilla (who combined for 35 saves last season).
The rest of the Giants roster is intact and in the midst of their prime, led by perennial Cy Young candidates in Madison Bumgarner and Cueto and former MVP Buster Posey.
Full seasons of starter Matt Moore and reliever Will Smith add more depth to a pitching staff that won't need any "even year magic" to strike fear into opponents.
The Giants have the perfect blend of experience, talent and confidence to serve as contenders on a yearly basis and 2017 will be no different.
New York Mets
At this time a year ago, the Mets represented the biggest challenge to the Cubs after knocking Maddon and Co. out of the postseason in the 2015 NLCS.
But a rash of injuries to the starting rotation left New York in the crapshoot that is the one-game wild-card playoff where they couldn't solve Bumgarner and watched Conor Gillaspie transform into a new October hero.
When it comes to a five- or seven-game series in the frigid temperatures in October, no team will want to run into the power pitching staff of Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey and Jeurys Familia.
But the Mets' 2017 prospects hinge completely on the health of that rotation with Harvey, deGrom, Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler all returning from serious arm injuries. Wheeler is coming off Tommy John surgery and hasn't pitched since 2014.
The rest of the roster is largely unchanged from a year ago with 43-year-old Bartolo Colon as the biggest departure and while there are no additions of note, the returns of David Wright and Lucas Duda (who combined for only 84 games in 2016) will provide a huge boost to the lineup.
There's no guarantee Wright (back) will ever be 100 percent again or what kind of numbers he'll put up when he's in the lineup, but this is the organization's heart and soul who sports an .867 OPS and 53 WAR over his 13-year career.
Yoenis Cespedes and Neil Walker opted to return this winter and former top prospect Michael Conforto is waiting in the wings if the Mets lineup needs another jolt.
Colorado Rockies
The Rockies made waves this winter by signing Ian Desmond and rehabbing former closer Greg Holland, sending a message to the baseball world that they believe themselves contenders.
Desmond joins a lineup anchored by Nolan Arenado (one of the best two-way players in the game) and Carlos Gonzalez plus up-and-comers Trevor Story and David Dahl. Gerardo Parra, D.J. LeMahieu and Charle Blackmon represent quality depth and Tony Wolters is emerging as one of the best defensive catchers in the NL.
A starting rotation led by Jon Gray and Tyler Anderson may not be one of the game's elite, but all five projected starters will pitch at age 28 or under in 2017 and the Rockies believe their talents are suited to Coors Field.
Holland and veteran southpaw Mike Dunn help bolster a bullpen that already featured a slew of former closers in Adam Ottavino, Jake McGee, Jason Motte and Chad Qualls.
The Rockies still seem a year or two away from truly contending but after years of toiling away toward the bottom of the NL West, they've at least put themselves on the map and have everything in place to potentially get hot and make a run late in the season.
The rest
In order for the Arizona Diamondbacks to be a considerable threat in the NL pennant race, they need pretty much everything to go right, which is possible but unlikely. The D-Backs were a popular pick to contend before 2016 and still have a talented roster, but the success will hinge completely on the effectiveness of Zack Greinke, Shelby Miller and the rest of the pitching staff.
The San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and Miami Marlins are all in full-on rebuild mode, though the Marlins were kind of forced into that stance by the tragic passing of Jose Fernandez last fall.
The state of the farm system: Where will the Cubs find their next wave of pitching?
By Patrick Mooney
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
The Cubs ended the 108-year drought without a homegrown pitcher getting a single out during the World Series, so they should obviously get the benefit of the doubt here.
But what if the stress from the last two Octobers catches up to Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta and Kyle Hendricks this year? What if John Lackey pitches like a guy who is almost 40 years old and has already thrown nearly 3,000 innings in The Show? What if Mike Montgomery doesn't establish himself as the No. 5 starter? What if Brett Anderson spends most of another season on the disabled list? What if the post-Coors Field change-of-scenery trick doesn't work for Eddie Butler?
These are worst-case scenarios, the cracks in The Foundation For Sustained Success. But the Cubs continued with their low-risk depth strategy on Wednesday, acquiring right-hander Alec Mills from the Kansas City Royals for minor-league outfielder Donnie Dewees.
Mills — who got designated for assignment when the Royals signed ex-Cub Jason Hammel to a two-year, $16 million contract — went 5-5 with a 3.22 ERA across 125 2/3 innings for Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha last season. To create space on the 40-man roster, the Cubs designated lefty reliever David Rollins for assignment. More answers will start coming in one week, when pitchers and catchers go through their first official workout at the Sloan Park complex in Mesa, Ariz.
"We understand that's our challenge — to go get starting pitching," said Jason McLeod, the senior vice president who oversees scouting and player development. "That's going to be what we need to feed the major-league club over the next few years."
Because if super-agent Scott Boras gets Arrieta his megadeal somewhere else, Lackey retires after this season and no one else steps forward into the rotation, the Cubs could be looking at replacing 60 percent of their rotation by Opening Day 2018.
— Theo Epstein's front office views hitters as generating a better return on investment, spending four first-round picks on Albert Almora Jr., Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and Ian Happ, flipping pitchers Andrew Cashner and Jeff Samardzija in deals for Anthony Rizzo and Addison Russell and committing $240 million to free agents Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward.
All along, the Cubs planned to stockpile assets and trade for pitching, the way they packaged Gleyber Torres in last summer's blockbuster deal with the New York Yankees for superstar closer Aroldis Chapman.
"The significant reason that we built up our farm system is to play in Chicago," general manager Jed Hoyer said. "But a small ancillary reason is that there is a currency in prospects. And to go out and get a totally dominant closer is going to be expensive.
"We were aware of what we were trading in Gleyber. We had great reports on him. He's a terrific kid. We really enjoyed getting to know him. But (our fans) had been waiting a long time to win a World Series. And we felt like we had a team that was prepared to do it.
"We felt like: If not now, when?"
It won't be the last time Cubs officials ask themselves that question. Especially if Sonny Gray shows he's healthy and performs for the Oakland A's and the Tampa Bay Rays finally get serious about a total rebuild.
But what if the stress from the last two Octobers catches up to Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta and Kyle Hendricks this year? What if John Lackey pitches like a guy who is almost 40 years old and has already thrown nearly 3,000 innings in The Show? What if Mike Montgomery doesn't establish himself as the No. 5 starter? What if Brett Anderson spends most of another season on the disabled list? What if the post-Coors Field change-of-scenery trick doesn't work for Eddie Butler?
These are worst-case scenarios, the cracks in The Foundation For Sustained Success. But the Cubs continued with their low-risk depth strategy on Wednesday, acquiring right-hander Alec Mills from the Kansas City Royals for minor-league outfielder Donnie Dewees.
Mills — who got designated for assignment when the Royals signed ex-Cub Jason Hammel to a two-year, $16 million contract — went 5-5 with a 3.22 ERA across 125 2/3 innings for Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha last season. To create space on the 40-man roster, the Cubs designated lefty reliever David Rollins for assignment. More answers will start coming in one week, when pitchers and catchers go through their first official workout at the Sloan Park complex in Mesa, Ariz.
"We understand that's our challenge — to go get starting pitching," said Jason McLeod, the senior vice president who oversees scouting and player development. "That's going to be what we need to feed the major-league club over the next few years."
Because if super-agent Scott Boras gets Arrieta his megadeal somewhere else, Lackey retires after this season and no one else steps forward into the rotation, the Cubs could be looking at replacing 60 percent of their rotation by Opening Day 2018.
— Theo Epstein's front office views hitters as generating a better return on investment, spending four first-round picks on Albert Almora Jr., Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and Ian Happ, flipping pitchers Andrew Cashner and Jeff Samardzija in deals for Anthony Rizzo and Addison Russell and committing $240 million to free agents Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward.
All along, the Cubs planned to stockpile assets and trade for pitching, the way they packaged Gleyber Torres in last summer's blockbuster deal with the New York Yankees for superstar closer Aroldis Chapman.
"The significant reason that we built up our farm system is to play in Chicago," general manager Jed Hoyer said. "But a small ancillary reason is that there is a currency in prospects. And to go out and get a totally dominant closer is going to be expensive.
"We were aware of what we were trading in Gleyber. We had great reports on him. He's a terrific kid. We really enjoyed getting to know him. But (our fans) had been waiting a long time to win a World Series. And we felt like we had a team that was prepared to do it.
"We felt like: If not now, when?"
It won't be the last time Cubs officials ask themselves that question. Especially if Sonny Gray shows he's healthy and performs for the Oakland A's and the Tampa Bay Rays finally get serious about a total rebuild.
— Unless there's a dramatic breakthrough in 2017, the Cubs don't have any obvious or immediate internal options. Look at Baseball America's list of the organization's top-10 prospects and you'll see only four pitchers — Dylan Cease, Oscar de la Cruz, Trevor Clifton and Jose Albertos — who haven't yet played above the A-ball level.
Clifton, the organization's minor league pitcher of the year for 2016, is the only one within that group who has thrown more than 75 innings in a professional season and made it as high as advanced Class-A Myrtle Beach, where he led the Carolina League in ERA (2.88), WHIP (1.16) and opponents' batting average (.225).
"(This) is a guy that checks all the boxes as to what you're looking for — athleticism, stuff, feel for pitching, aggressiveness," farm director Jaron Madison said. "He has all those tools to be a starting pitcher."
— This will be a pivotal year for Duane Underwood Jr., who's had trouble staying healthy but still got added to the 40-man roster in November after a season that began with a spot on MLB.com's list of the game's top prospects (No. 77) and didn't live up to expectations at Double-A Tennessee (0-5, 4.91 ERA in 13 starts).
"We still consider Duane a priority and a prospect," Madison said. "He moved to Arizona in the offseason to get ready for the year, so he's completely dedicated to getting back on the field and showing us what he can do."
— The Cubs have used 107 draft picks on pitchers since the Epstein administration took over baseball operations after the 2011 season, and so far only lefty Rob Zastryzny has made it to the big-league club, accounting for 16 innings during the second half of last season and looking like Triple-A Iowa insurance to begin this year. (Zack Godley, a 10th-round pick in the 2013 draft, has made 36 appearances for the Arizona Diamondbacks across the last two seasons after being packaged in the Miguel Montero trade.)
"In no way am I making excuses (for) what we've done in amateur scouting," McLeod said. "(But) the fact of the matter is over 50 percent of major-league rotation (guys) that come out of the draft are taken in the first round.
"We've been taking position players our first four years, and we didn't have a pick until the third round last year. So we hadn't really played in that area yet. This year, it's really exciting because we do have two first-round picks. (But) we still feel good about the volume of arms that we've got."
— The Cubs always try to take a broad view and never get locked into one way of fixing a problem. The major-league infrastructure that helped elevate Arrieta into a Cy Young Award winner, transform Hendricks into an ERA leader and nurture Hector Rondon from a Rule 5 guy into a 30-save closer will get creative. Winning trades, hitting the jackpot with first-round picks like Bryant and Schwarber and locking up Rizzo with a team-friendly long-term contract creates financial flexibility.
The Cubs own the 27th and 30th overall picks in the 2017 draft and will select again at No. 67, with Baseball America reporting their bonus pool will be worth more than $7 million.
"I think it's a little bit dangerous to look at any draft class and rate where the strength is," amateur scouting director Matt Dorey said. "That's the job of our area scouts, and I want to really empower them to go and find the players they think are best for the Chicago Cubs.
"One of the biggest parts of this transition over the last (several) years was really talking through what the narrative is for a championship-level player, on and off the field. So that was one of the things that we've been (stressing to) our scouts, and really giving them the freedom to go and find not just guys that are going to play in the big leagues, but guys that they feel can contribute to first-division, championship-level teams.
"On paper, I would say that the depth of the draft is probably in the high school pitching. The elite college bats are a little bit limited this year. But like I told our scouts, let the players tell you who they are.
"I don't want to put our blinders on any one of our scouts. I want them to walk into ballparks around the country looking for impact makeup (and) impact tools and really let the player drive themselves to the Chicago Cubs.
"At the end of the day, when we come in and reconvene for the draft in the middle of June, I'm so confident we're going to have the best information in the industry to make the best choices for the Cubs."
WHITE SOX: Zack Collins and Zack Burdi 'excited' to be headed to first White Sox camp.
By Paul Roumeliotis
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Zack Collins and Zack Burdi are two of 19 non-roster invitees headed to big league camp with the White Sox this spring.
And the White Sox 2016 first round draft picks are itching to get to Camelback Ranch for their first spring training.
"I’m very excited," Collins said. "I think this is a good year to do it too because of the whole World Baseball Classic. Probably gonna be a good amount of opportunity just to meet the big leagues now or up and coming stars. I think it’s going to be a good experience for me and I’m ready to work hard."
For Burdi, he might have some extra motivation — having grown up a White Sox fan.
"It’s crazy. It’s a whirlwind," Burdi said. "Looking back to last June and being in a Louisville jersey and being around all the guys that I grew up with for the last three years and now I’m going to spring ball and most of them are back at school getting ready for their season in college and I’m going to AZ ball. It’s crazy.
"It’s going to be a real cool experience. I remember going there when I was younger with my family and watching at the Camelback Ranch. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I’m really excited."
Pitchers and catchers report to Arizona on Feb. 14.
Collins, who turned 22 on Feb. 6, was drafted with the 10th overall pick last year. Before the offseason trades in which Rick Hahn & Co. acquired a number of top prospects, Collins was ranked No. 1.
The University of Miami product had six homers and 19 RBI with a .258/.418/.467 slash line in 153 plate appearances in Single-A Winston Salem last year.
"My goals are to play as good as I can and have as much fun as I can," Collins said. "Everything else I can’t really control. That’s what I’ve been doing since I was little and I’m going to keep doing that."
Across four levels in 2016, Burdi pitched 26 games and had 51 strikeouts with a 3.32 ERA. His most success came at the highest minor league level in Triple-A Charlotte, where he recorded 22 strikeouts in 16 innings with a 2.25 ERA.
During the offseason, Burdi said he's been working closely with pitching coach Don Cooper and bullpen coach Curt Hasler. On the field, the 21-year-old is focusing on the little things like staying on top of the ball and filling the strike zone.
But he also wants to improve off the field, too.
"I’m a 21-year-old kid. I don’t want to feel like I have it all figured out cause I don’t," Burdi said. "I really want to grow and just try and take in as much as possible from the older guys. Carson (Fulmer) was in the same spot as I was last year. Guys like (Carlos) Rodon who have had kind of a college path and then made it to the bigs real quick. Just seeing what their whole take on it is and really grow from their experiences."
A pair of ex-White Sox players are getting another chance.
By Tony Andracki
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
A pair of ex-White Sox players signed deals Wednesday.
After Gordon Beckham returned to the San Francisco Giants, it was announced Carlos Quentin is receiving another chance, this time with the Boston Red Sox.
Quentin is 34 and hasn't taken an MLB at-bat since July 2014.
The oft-injured slugger hasn't played in more than 100 games in a season since 2011 with the White Sox when he finished up a stretch of four straight seasons with 21+ homers and at least 99 games played.
The White Sox traded Quentin to the San Diego Padres in December 2011 and was then shipped from San Diego to Atlanta as part of the Craig Kimbrel deal in April 2015.
Quentin was released less than two weeks later, signed with the Mariners for about a week and was then released and sat out the 2015 season. He then signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Twins before spring training last year only to be released in late March and sat out all of 2016, as well.
The two-time All-Star isn't ready to give up his playing career just yet, though he'll have his hands full trying to stick it out in Boston where the Red Sox have a crowded outfield and lineup with Hanley Ramirez settling in as the full-time designated hitter.
Beckham, meanwhile, just turned 30 in September and has been bouncing around the big leagues the last couple years. He finished last season with the Giants, but did not appear in the National League Division Series against the Cubs at all because he wasn't eligible for the postseason.
But he did impress the organization over the final few weeks and will be competing to try to make the big-league roster.
After Gordon Beckham returned to the San Francisco Giants, it was announced Carlos Quentin is receiving another chance, this time with the Boston Red Sox.
Quentin is 34 and hasn't taken an MLB at-bat since July 2014.
The oft-injured slugger hasn't played in more than 100 games in a season since 2011 with the White Sox when he finished up a stretch of four straight seasons with 21+ homers and at least 99 games played.
The White Sox traded Quentin to the San Diego Padres in December 2011 and was then shipped from San Diego to Atlanta as part of the Craig Kimbrel deal in April 2015.
Quentin was released less than two weeks later, signed with the Mariners for about a week and was then released and sat out the 2015 season. He then signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Twins before spring training last year only to be released in late March and sat out all of 2016, as well.
The two-time All-Star isn't ready to give up his playing career just yet, though he'll have his hands full trying to stick it out in Boston where the Red Sox have a crowded outfield and lineup with Hanley Ramirez settling in as the full-time designated hitter.
Beckham, meanwhile, just turned 30 in September and has been bouncing around the big leagues the last couple years. He finished last season with the Giants, but did not appear in the National League Division Series against the Cubs at all because he wasn't eligible for the postseason.
But he did impress the organization over the final few weeks and will be competing to try to make the big-league roster.
Golf: I got a club for that..... Spieth one back at suspended Pebble Pro-Am.
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
While the biggest storyline at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is often the scenic venues, on Thursday the main headline was the inclement weather. Here's how things look after the first day on the Monterey Peninsula, which was cut short by a blustery storm:
Leaderboard: Seung-Yul Noh (-4), Rick Lamb (-4), Joel Dahmen (-4), Jordan Spieth (-3), Tim Wilkinson (-3), Nick Watney (-3), Mark Hubbard (-3), Jim Furyk (-2), Jason Day (-2)
What it means: Conditions were far from ideal during the opening round, where gusting winds made the rotation of coastal layouts play even more difficult than usual. All three of the co-leaders played Spyglass Hill, the course most insulated from the elements, and play never resumed after a suspension at 1:34 p.m. local time. Those still with golf left, including Spieth, will return early Friday morning to complete their rounds.
Round of the day: Noh is the lone co-leader with a PGA Tour win to his credit, having captured the Zurich Classic back in 2014. He managed to make it around Spyglass without dropping a shot, carding birdies on Nos. 4, 5 and 9 before adding another circle on the back nine.
Best of the rest: Dahmen is a Web.com Tour graduate who has missed the cut in each of his first three starts this season. That streak may end after the 29-year-old made seven birdies against three bogeys during his opening-round, including a topsy-turvy second nine that featured only two pars.
Biggest disappointment: After a strong start to the season, Matt Kuchar dug himself an early hole with a 2-over 74 at the host course. Kuchar tied for ninth last week in Phoenix but now may struggle to make the 54-hole cut after playing his final 11 holes in 4 over, including a bogey-bogey-double bogey stretch across the iconic stretch of Nos. 8-10.
Main storyline entering Friday: The field will still be playing catch up after Thursday's delays, and the weather is still expected to play a significant role during second-round action. But keep an eye on Spieth, who has only two holes left at Monterey Peninsula, and Day, who closed out his 2-under 69 before the delay hit. Both players will head to Spyglass for the second round, where towering treelines should help deflect some of the power of the whipping winds.
Quote of the day: "I think the hardest part about today was to commit to a shot. Commitment was huge." - Day
U.S. hopes minor Ryder Cup tweaks yield major results.
By Ryan Lavner
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
Jim Furyk is used to starting his year at Pebble Beach, but Wednesday felt like the first day of school.
Catching up. Meeting newcomers. Shaking hands. Receiving congratulations.
“I felt like I was running for mayor,” he said.
It’s his new normal as U.S. Ryder Cup captain.
The good vibes from the Americans’ blowout last fall at Hazeltine are still evident as Furyk passes the one-month checkpoint of his captaincy. Even with the matches 19 months away, the questions surrounding the U.S. team are less about its recent futility and more about whether this is the start of a dominant run.
Furyk uses many of the same buzzwords as his predecessor, Davis Love III – process, system, program, succession – but listening to him speak Wednesday at Pebble Beach, you can’t help but get the sense that Team USA finally knows what it’s doing.
After an era of one-off captains, Furyk is following the blueprint left for him. Which is smart. The system works. They have proof. But his two minor tweaks to the selection process, announced Wednesday, have put the Americans in an even stronger position as they attempt to end a 25-year drought overseas.
The first is a seemingly small change to the points structure. Last year, the majors were worth double points, with players receiving two points for every $1,000 earned at the Grand Slam events. With total purses skyrocketing (the U.S. Open now offers a record $12 million), players can make significant jumps in the standings just by finishing in the top 10.
Here’s an example: Daniel Summerhays finished third at last year’s PGA. He earned $680,000, or 1,360 Ryder Cup points. Daniel Berger won the FedEx St. Jude Classic. He earned $1,116,000, but because it was a regular Tour event, it translated to only 1,116 Ryder Cup points – or 244 less than Summerhays.
Which performance was more impressive, a third at a major or a Tour title?
“I really value winning,” Furyk said. “I want the guys that hit shots down the stretch, that have the guts, the fortitude, the game to win golf tournaments.
The second change was the timing of the Ryder Cup picks.
No longer will the decision come down to the last minute, with an announcement after the Tour Championship. In 2018, Furyk will name three of his captain’s picks after the Dell Technologies Championship in Boston, then save the “hot-hand pick” for after the BMW, the third FedEx Cup playoff event.
Sure, it allows the final selection two weeks to prepare for the Ryder Cup, but it also gives him a chance to bond with his new teammates.
Before making the decision, Furyk solicited opinions from several team members, including Jordan Spieth.
“I think the changes are well done,” Spieth said. “I think they’re just going to be helpful going forward.”
Moving the deadline a week earlier eliminates some of the playoff awkwardness, with players unsure of where they stood, with each week feeling like an audition. The weekly melodrama produced chuckles from players across the pond, frustration from those already on the team, and middling golf from those vying for the final spot.
Ultimately, the process worked, and the right player emerged, with Ryan Moore losing in a playoff at the Tour Championship, then going 2-1 in his debut at Hazeltine. But it won’t be repeated, not with an away Ryder Cup.
“It’s obvious that we can’t wait until after the Tour Championship to make a pick,” Furyk said. “We have passports, travel to Europe, and I feel like the timing, we probably want to get it done a little earlier and not put those guys through that at the Tour Championship again.
“I think it’s wise, as well, for the captains to be discussing pairings the night before we leave, rather than who our next captain’s pick is going to be.”
There’s some risk involved here. There’s a chance now that the hottest player will be left home. Would Moore have been taken with the final pick if the decision had been made after the BMW, not the Tour Championship? Probably not. But one of Furyk’s tasks is to put his players in the best position to succeed, and this eliminates an unnecessary distraction.
Players will have ample opportunity – two years – to make a statement to the committee.
PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua said small changes such as these can be expected every two years. They’re not starting over anymore. They’re evolving.
“No matter how well you play or how good things seem, there’s always ways to improve,” Furyk said. “We have got things back on the rails and headed in the right direction. But the idea is to grow, to get better.
“To go back and re-invent the wheel, to break everything down and start over is not the way to go. But to keep building on the momentum we have right now is the goal.”
And that starts with these two moves. The Americans haven’t won on foreign soil since 1993, but thanks to Furyk and Co., they’ve never had a better chance to reverse the trend.
Catching up. Meeting newcomers. Shaking hands. Receiving congratulations.
“I felt like I was running for mayor,” he said.
It’s his new normal as U.S. Ryder Cup captain.
The good vibes from the Americans’ blowout last fall at Hazeltine are still evident as Furyk passes the one-month checkpoint of his captaincy. Even with the matches 19 months away, the questions surrounding the U.S. team are less about its recent futility and more about whether this is the start of a dominant run.
Furyk uses many of the same buzzwords as his predecessor, Davis Love III – process, system, program, succession – but listening to him speak Wednesday at Pebble Beach, you can’t help but get the sense that Team USA finally knows what it’s doing.
After an era of one-off captains, Furyk is following the blueprint left for him. Which is smart. The system works. They have proof. But his two minor tweaks to the selection process, announced Wednesday, have put the Americans in an even stronger position as they attempt to end a 25-year drought overseas.
The first is a seemingly small change to the points structure. Last year, the majors were worth double points, with players receiving two points for every $1,000 earned at the Grand Slam events. With total purses skyrocketing (the U.S. Open now offers a record $12 million), players can make significant jumps in the standings just by finishing in the top 10.
Here’s an example: Daniel Summerhays finished third at last year’s PGA. He earned $680,000, or 1,360 Ryder Cup points. Daniel Berger won the FedEx St. Jude Classic. He earned $1,116,000, but because it was a regular Tour event, it translated to only 1,116 Ryder Cup points – or 244 less than Summerhays.
Which performance was more impressive, a third at a major or a Tour title?
“I really value winning,” Furyk said. “I want the guys that hit shots down the stretch, that have the guts, the fortitude, the game to win golf tournaments.
The second change was the timing of the Ryder Cup picks.
No longer will the decision come down to the last minute, with an announcement after the Tour Championship. In 2018, Furyk will name three of his captain’s picks after the Dell Technologies Championship in Boston, then save the “hot-hand pick” for after the BMW, the third FedEx Cup playoff event.
Sure, it allows the final selection two weeks to prepare for the Ryder Cup, but it also gives him a chance to bond with his new teammates.
Before making the decision, Furyk solicited opinions from several team members, including Jordan Spieth.
“I think the changes are well done,” Spieth said. “I think they’re just going to be helpful going forward.”
Moving the deadline a week earlier eliminates some of the playoff awkwardness, with players unsure of where they stood, with each week feeling like an audition. The weekly melodrama produced chuckles from players across the pond, frustration from those already on the team, and middling golf from those vying for the final spot.
Ultimately, the process worked, and the right player emerged, with Ryan Moore losing in a playoff at the Tour Championship, then going 2-1 in his debut at Hazeltine. But it won’t be repeated, not with an away Ryder Cup.
“It’s obvious that we can’t wait until after the Tour Championship to make a pick,” Furyk said. “We have passports, travel to Europe, and I feel like the timing, we probably want to get it done a little earlier and not put those guys through that at the Tour Championship again.
“I think it’s wise, as well, for the captains to be discussing pairings the night before we leave, rather than who our next captain’s pick is going to be.”
There’s some risk involved here. There’s a chance now that the hottest player will be left home. Would Moore have been taken with the final pick if the decision had been made after the BMW, not the Tour Championship? Probably not. But one of Furyk’s tasks is to put his players in the best position to succeed, and this eliminates an unnecessary distraction.
Players will have ample opportunity – two years – to make a statement to the committee.
PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua said small changes such as these can be expected every two years. They’re not starting over anymore. They’re evolving.
“No matter how well you play or how good things seem, there’s always ways to improve,” Furyk said. “We have got things back on the rails and headed in the right direction. But the idea is to grow, to get better.
“To go back and re-invent the wheel, to break everything down and start over is not the way to go. But to keep building on the momentum we have right now is the goal.”
And that starts with these two moves. The Americans haven’t won on foreign soil since 1993, but thanks to Furyk and Co., they’ve never had a better chance to reverse the trend.
NASCAR unveils lengths of stages for Daytona.
By Jerry Bonkowski
(Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)
NASCAR announced Wednesday the lengths of the three stages in each of the upcoming races at Daytona International Speedway.
For the Feb. 26 Daytona 500, the first two stages will be 60 laps each: Laps 1-60 and Laps 61-120.
The final stage of the race will be 80 laps rom Laps 121 through the scheduled conclusion of the race on Lap 200.
For the Xfinity Series’ Powershares QQQ 300 on Feb. 25, the 120-lap race will see the first two stages being 30 laps each, from Laps 1-30 and Laps 31-60. The final stage will be 60 laps.
For the Camping World Truck Series’ Nextera Energy Resources 250 on Feb. 24, the 100-lap race will consist of two 20-lap stages (Laps 1-20 and Laps 21-40), and a third and final stage of 60 laps (Laps 41-100).
When NASCAR announced its enhancements, series officials stated that races would be official at the end of the second stage. Previously races were official after reaching halfway.
Now, the Daytona 500 won’t be considered official until after Lap 120 — which is 60 percent of the race. The Xfinity race will be official after 60 of 120 laps — 50 percent of the race. The Truck race will be official after 40 of 100 laps — 40 percent of the race.
NASCAR factored in fuel mileage considerations in determining the length of the stages.
Joey Logano says Drivers Council has lobbied for traveling safety team.
By Nate Ryan
(Photo/Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
After lobbying multiple times for the addition of a traveling safety team, a NASCAR Drivers Council member was pleased to see its arrival Wednesday in the Cup Series.
“(The safety team) is something that the council has brought up quite a few times, and it’s a struggle to figure out how to do that with insurance and legally,” Joey Logano said Wednesday in an interview with NBC Sports. “It’s a little over my head.
“But why can’t we have someone who is on site when get there? What are we waiting on? You’re not the only person to ask that question. Believe me, I think every driver has asked this question at some point in their careers. Why don’t we have a physician that we know? … When I got the call they were announcing it, I was like, ‘Hell, yeah!’ It’s super.”
NASCAR will partner with American Medical Response to have a team of doctors and paramedics who will be in a chase vehicle that responds to on-track incidents in the Cup Series (and companion Xfinity races).
AMR also will have a doctor installed as national medical director, who will coordinate with NASCAR’s medical liaisons (who have been part of medical services for more than a decade).
The teams still work with existing track-specific safety crews that have been NASCAR’s longstanding policy for crash response and driver medical care.
Logano, who has been on the council since its 2015 inception, said it would be a relief to be treated by more consistently familiar faces under the new system.
“We’re not saying hello to someone that we’ve never met before in a very vulnerable stage or a risky time,” the Team Penske driver said. “It’s a fairly safe sport, but we’ve all seen things go wrong pretty quick. NASCAR has done a good job with having the (liaisons) and being able to build a relationship with them, and you know that when you’re there it’s a familiar face.
“But when you first get out of the car, it could be the most traumatic time, and there’s nobody ever there that you know. You get out, and it’s a different face every time. Some of them haven’t spent a whole bunch of time around race cars, which is OK, but it just kind of makes it a little bit harder, and we’re all hot, heated and pissed off, so it’s not the most pleasant experience for anybody.”
There also are instances in which doctors who know drivers’ demeanors and patient histories could avoid potential misdiagnosis (Matt DiBenedetto’s situation at Texas Motor Speedway last November comes to mind).
A rotating pool of emergency trauma physicians will divide the travel to the 36-race season. Doctors will be licensed in the states where the races are held.
“There’s going to be a mix of a few different physicians, but there’s going to be ones that we know, and we’ll have an opportunity to meet them and get to know them,” Logano said. “And they’ll know our records and who we are and what we do and our (health) history.
“I think it’s a good play by NASCAR. It’s something that obviously has taken a long time to figure out how to do that, but I’m glad it’s getting done.
Questions and answers about NASCAR’s new limits on crash repairs.
By Dustin Long
(Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
NASCAR revealed some rule changes Wednesday and the one that got the most attention was the new policy that limits what teams can do to repair their vehicles during a race.
Here is an explanation of the rule and answers to some questions about the policy.
Here is the new rule:
— Damaged vehicles that go to the garage will not be permitted to return to the race.
— Damaged vehicles that can be repaired on pit road will have a five-minute cumulative time limit (yellow line to yellow line).
Pit road repairs:
— Body repairs are limited to the removal or reattachment of original body parts with fasteners and tape.
— Rods/supports may be used to reinforce original panels
— New or previously unused body panels are prohibited
— Series directors will provide teams an advance list of items that are required for competition (e.g. rear bumper cover, tail extension, etc.)
— 15-second time penalty for speeding on pit road or missing the commitment line
— Mechanical failures can be rectified so long as they are not a result of an accident.
Q: OK, why is NASCAR doing this?
A: NASCAR stated that this is something it has looked at before. NASCAR noted circumstances where damaged cars returned to the track and got in the way of the leaders, or lost body parts and created a caution, or had an oil leak that caused a lengthy caution.
Q: So any car that goes back to the garage is done now?
A: Not exactly. Follow me. If a car is damaged in an accident and goes to the garage (either on its own or towed) it is done for the rest of the race. Simple as that. There are exceptions. NASCAR stated that if a team goes to the garage to replace a transmission or electrical issue — not the result of a crash — the team can make those repairs and return to the race.
Q: Fine, what is this five-minute rule about repairs on pit road?
A: NASCAR is limiting the amount of time a team can spend on repairs on pit road to five minutes. The clock begins once the car crosses the yellow line at the start of pit road. The timing ends when the car crosses the yellow line at the end of pit road.
Q: Why is there a time limit?
A: NASCAR is limiting repairs to prevent an escalation of time spent on pit road by teams, along with an escalation of people and equipment in the pit area.
Q: What if a team speeds on pit road to return to the track before the five-minute clock expires?
A: They will be assessed a 15-second penalty. A team also can receive a 15-second penalty if it does not cross the commitment line to enter pit road to fix crash damage. Once a vehicle reaches the minimum speed on the track, the clock is cleared. However, if the vehicle must return to pit road for more repairs before reaching minimum speed, the time for the stops is cumulative.
Q: Five minutes to fix a car, no problem. A team will just send over 12 or more crew members instead of the allowed six to work on the car.
A: Do so and you’re done. Any team that exceeds the rule on crew members over the wall to repair a car damaged by an accident will be out the rest of the race. Understand, that if a team has too many crew members over the wall during a regular pit stop (not related to a crash repair scenario), then the penalty of a pass-through under green or restarting at the tail end of the field under yellow remains.
Q: OK, so a team has to be careful about how many people are over the wall to fix the car, but they still can fix anything right?
A: No. Teams can’t replace body panels. Body repairs are limited to removing or reattaching original body parts with fasteners and tape. Teams also can use rods and supports to reinforce original panels. New or previously used body panels are prohibited to be used.
Q: What about repairing the nose of the car?
A: NASCAR states that teams can put wire and mesh over the nose to protect the radiator if there is a large hole but noses cannot be replaced.
Q: What if the rear bumper cover comes off, then what? Can you repair that on pit road?
A: NASCAR notes that if the car is damaged and doesn’t have a quarter panel to attach a rear bumper cover to, then the car is done for the race. Teams can straighten parts and pieces to put them back in their original position. NASCAR notes that no major repairs are allowed on pit road.
SOCCER: Michael de Leeuw scores in Fire's preseason win against Philadelphia.
By Dan Santaromita
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
The Fire beat the Philadelphia Union 1-0 at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Michael de Leeuw scored the game's only goal on a header in the 56th minute.
The match represented the first time the Fire played an MLS opponent this preseason, after beating Florida Gulf Coast University in the first preseason match. It also was the first time the anticipated midfield pairing of Juninho and Dax McCarty and the forward pairing of de Leeuw and Nemanja Nikolic played together. McCarty didn't play in the preseason opener because he was returning from national team camp while de Leeuw and Nikolic played in different halves at FGCU.
This time around the starting group played for over an hour and Nikolie and de Leeuw combined for the goal in the second half. Nikolic crossed from the right towards de Leeuw, who headed it on target. Union goalkeeper John McCarthy made the initial save, but de Leeuw was able to head in the rebound in the 56th minute.
Nikolic was replaced by Luis Solignac in the 64th minute and de Leeuw exited about 10 minutes later. De Leeuw mostly played underneath Nikolic, who was trying to play on the offside line. Nikolic put the ball in the net in the first half after de Leeuw took advantage of a Philadelphia turnover, but Nikolic was offside on de Leeuw's feed.
Another near goal came on a play started by rookie Daniel Johnson. Johnson cut into the edge of the box from the left side and set up Solignac, whose shot hit the post. David Arshakyan's rebound attempt went right to McCarthy.
As for the midfield pairing, McCarty was typically deeper than Juninho and was used as more of a point man to start attacks and maintain possession. Both players were subbed off in the 73rd minute. They were flanked by David Accam and Arturo Alvarez on the wings in a 4-4-2 formation.
Defensively, it's the second straight shutout of the preseason for the Fire. Johan Kappelhof and Joao Meira got the starts at center back while Patrick Doody played left back and Michael Harrington started at right back. Kappelhof played the longest of any Fire player, getting subbed off in the 80th minute. He played about 15 minutes at right back after Jonathan Campbell replaced Harrington in the second half.
Jorge Bava started for the second straight match in goal. Matt Lampson played the final half hour.
One player who did not take the field was recently signed homegrown player Djordje Mihailovic. Mihailovic is currently playing with the U.S. U-19 team. He scored in a friendly today against North American Soccer League team Miami FC. On Monday, Mihailovic played all 90 minutes in a 2-1 win against El Salvador's U-20.
Top Premier League storylines — Week 25
By Nicholas Mendola
(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
There’s only one big battle for the Top Four sides this week, but don’t let the match-ups fool you into thinking there won’t be table tumult.
Struggling Arsenal and Liverpool are amongst the clubs hoping to stop the bleeding in a brutal couple of weeks (for the Reds, even longer).
Spurs next step and Reds last stand?
Liverpool vs. Tottenham Hotspur — 12:30 p.m. EDT Saturday on NBC and NBCSports.com
Thirteen points is a big gap, and that’s what former title darling Liverpool are staring down with 14 matches left in the season. The distance to second-place Spurs is a lot closer, as the Reds are four points behind Mauricio Pochettino‘s bunch.
Liverpool — and we can’t stop finding this stat hard to believe — has only won one match since the calendar hit 2017. Sure a couple of those matches were Cup games with weakened lineups, but it’s still a bad run.
Spurs are still harboring title hopes, but will be taking it one match at a time en route to a hopeful end to their 21-year run of finishing below rivals Arsenal.
Can Arsenal handle the giant killers?
Arsenal vs. Hull City — 7:30 a.m. EDT on NBCSN and NBCSports.com
The visitors have beaten Liverpool in league play and Manchester United in an EFL Cup semifinal leg in the last two weeks, and now take aim at another big boy in struggling Arsenal.
The Gunners have now lost back-to-back PL matches, home to Watford and away to Chelsea.
Arsenal hasn’t lost three-consecutive league matches since January 2012, when the Gunners were beaten by Fulham, Swansea City, and Manchester United.
Can Hull knock off another giant?
Relegation six-pointer No. 1
Swansea City vs. Leicester City — 11 a.m. EDT Sunday on NBCSN and NBCSports.com
Paul Clement‘s resurgent Swans would love to put another team in their rear view mirror, especially given that the team in question is the reigning Premier League champions. Both teams have 21 points, though the Foxes enter the day with eight goals’ better differential.
Relegation six-pointer No. 2
Sunderland vs. Southampton — 10 a.m. EDT Saturday on NBCSports.com
It reads kinda odd: Saints as relegation candidates. But Claude Puel‘s Southampton is 7 points clear of the drop zone and a tough handful of matches ahead. Sunderland will be buoyed by its battering of Crystal Palace, and primed to leap out of the drop zone.
West of Reality
West Ham United vs. West Bromwich Albion — 10 a.m. EDT Saturday on NBCSports.com
Both the Irons and Baggies aren’t yet out of the race for European action, especially if Manchester United wins the EFL Cup and another big boy takes the FA Cup. Slaven Bilic and Tony Pulis square off in a match of wits that may be decided by giant strikers Andy Carroll and Salomon Rondon.
Premier League player Power Rankings: The top 20.
By Joe Prince-Wright
(Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
The Premier League player Power Rankings for Week 24 are here.
Plenty of Chelsea and Manchester City players are in our top 20, while some struggling teams who sealed big wins have their star men duly rewarded.
Remember: this is a list of the top 20 performing players right now in the Premier League.
Click play on the video above to grab a closer look at the top five players in our rankings.
Let us know in the comments section below if you agree with the selections of the top 20 players in the PL right now.
- N’Golo Kante (Chelsea) – Even
- Gabriel Jesus (Man City) – Up 1
- Eden Hazard (Chelsea) – New entry
- Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea) – Up 9
- Romelu Lukaku (Everton) – New entry
- Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Man United) – New entry
- David Luiz (Chelsea) – Down 2
- Kevin De Bruyne (Man City) – Down 2
- Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea) – Up 2
- Dele Alli (Tottenham) – Down 3
- Diego Costa (Chelsea) – Down 7
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Man United) – Down 4
- Harry Kane (Tottenham) – Down 4
- Raheem Sterling (Man City) – Down 4
- Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea) – New entry
- Leroy Sane (Man City) – Even
- Jermain Defoe (Sunderland) – New entry
- Andy Carroll (West Ham) – New entry
- Gary Cahill (Chelsea) – Down 3
- Eldin Jakupovic (Hull City) – New entry
By Nicholas Mendola
(Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
United States men’s national team manager Bruce Arena held a conference call on Thursday, spilling a bit about his plans for March’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
Arena’s first two matches back in charge of the USMNT came after a lengthy January camp, and MLS-based players for March should come from that bunch.
The U.S. drew Serbia’s B Team 0-0 and beat Jamaica 1-0.
Among the highlights:
- Arena is comfortable starting goalkeeper Brad Guzan even if the future Atlanta United backstop isn’t playing regularly at Middlesbrough.
- He also won’t rule out (or in) Tim Howard as he continues his recovery from surgery.
- Arena admitted that both Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest) and Paul Arriola (Tijuana) will be “seriously considered” for call-ups.
- The coach will again be heading abroad over the next few months to watch his players based in Germany, England, and Mexico.
The U.S. sits last in its World Cup qualifying group after two matches, home to Honduras and away to Panama.
USMNT fall in latest FIFA rankings.
By Joe Prince-Wright
(Photo/Getty Images)
The latest batch of FIFA world rankings have been released following the conclusion of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.
Bruce Arena’s U.S. men’s national team have fallen one place to 29th, with CONCACAF rivals Mexico climbing one place to 17th and Costa Rica falling two places to 19th.
With the USMNT having two key World Cup qualifiers next month and then the Gold Cup, plus more World Cup qualifiers, to look forward to over the summer, Arena’s men will have ample opportunity to try and break into the top 20.
The top five is unchanged with Argentina in first place, Brazil in second, Germany in third, Chile in fourth and Belgium in fifth. France is the only mover in the top 10, moving up to 6th spot and trading places with Colombia in the process.
There’s no doubt who the big winners are from the latest rankings as the newly crowned Champions of Africa, Cameroon, moved up a massive 29 spots to 33rd, while runners up Egypt moved up 12 places to 23rd. While Burkina Faso moved up 15 places to 38th and DR Congo is up 12 spots to 37th.
Below is the latest list of the top 20 teams in the world.
1. Argentina
2. Brazil
3. Germany
4. Chile
5. Belgium
6. France
7. Colombia
8. Portugal
9. Uruguay
10. Spain
11. Switzerland
12. Wales
13. England
14. Poland
15. Italy
16. Croatia
17. Mexico
18. Peru
19. Costa Rica
20. Iceland
29. USA
NCAABKB: College basketball Power Rankings, Feb. 9: ‘Selection Saturday’ primer edition.
By Henry Bushnell
The NCAA selection committee will tease us with a look at the top 16 seeds as they stand on Saturday. (Photo/Getty)
Selection Saturday is almost upon us.
Selection Saturday is almost upon us.
That’s what we’re calling this, right?
Whatever we think of the exercise, whether we consider it an exercise or ill-fated gimmick, and whatever our level of excitement, the NCAA tournament selection committee has convened this week, will adjourn Thursday, and will reveal what amounts to an incomplete mock bracket Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
One month and one day prior to Selection Sunday, in a one-time event, the committee will announce its top 16 teams as they stand now. It’s a bracket taste-test, an effort to increase transparency and a plea for TV ratings all in one, and it’s all we’ll be talking about heading into a busy Saturday of college basketball.
There’s one thing, though, that we must hope it’s not: A gateway drug. In other words, we must hope the first-ever in-season bracket reveal is not an uncontroversial ploy to make further, grander, more frequent in-season reveals less controversial, more palatable, and perhaps even more desirable.
In theory, there is nothing preventing the NCAA from commissioning a full, 68-team mock bracket every week, and revealing it every Saturday morning through February up until the big reveal on the second Sunday of March. It’d be a logistical nightmare for many reasons — piecing together a bracket is a remarkably tedious and convoluted task, and it’s dependent on automatic qualifiers that don’t secure spots in the field until March — but it’s technically feasible. And TV ratings — also known as money — make a lot of seemingly unfeasible things feasible anyway.
It would also be terrible. It would create actual controversy — unnecessary and unwanted controversy — on Selection Sunday. It might even affect the way the committee does its job, the one job that matters: picking, ordering and bracketing the teams on that Sunday.
Criticism of pre-releases, even irrational criticism, could cloud judgment. And, most certainly of all, it would undermine the enthralling mystery of the wait for the final bracket.
This Saturday’s reveal, on its own, is a good thing for college basketball. It will increase discussion and banter. It won’t at all harm the anticipation and excitement leading into the real selection show four weeks from now. It won’t compromise the committee’s ability to make rational judgments based on a full season of data on March 12.
It likely will turn into much ado about nothing. Are we really going to get worked up over a 2-seed vs. 3-seed argument in early February? The committee’s job only really gets tough as résumés get more and more flawed, which is why much of the interest and controversy of Selection Sunday revolves around the bubble. Saturday won’t tell us anything about how the committee views Wichita State’s volume of wins up against Georgia Tech’s quality. This is where the committee has been maddeningly inconsistent in the past; this in-season reveal won’t hold them to any increased standard of consistency.
But this is fine. Let’s not let our thirst for more info overwhelm our knowledge that more info could harm the validity of that info in the long run.
Let’s just enjoy Saturday. Let’s argue about the 16 teams and their seeds. Arguing about sports is good. It can be infuriating, sure. But that’s why it’s fun.
So to prepare you for the fun, this week’s Power Rankings have been hijacked and turned into a bracket reveal primer. IMPORTANT: That does not mean the criteria for ordering the teams has changed. It’s the same as it’s always been, based on how good I believe a team to be. But the analysis this week concerns résumés, not predictive measures. You can and should read Ken Pomeroy’s piece on the distinction between, and uses for, the two.
After you do, you can and should read on below…
With strong overall numbers and wins over Duke (neutral), Kentucky (road) and Baylor (home), Kansas is a near consensus 1-seed at this point in time. And unless the Jayhawks are knocked off their perch atop the Big 12, it’ll be hard to knock them off the top line.
2. Villanova | 23-2 | KP: 5 | LW: 2 | Big Board: 2
The Wildcats have the second-best win-loss record in college basketball, and have compiled it against a tough, though not murderous, schedule. The win over Virginia two weeks ago solidified them as a 1-seed.
3. Gonzaga | 24-0 | KP: 1 | LW: 3 | Big Board: 2
Gonzaga’s schedule, which ranks somewhere near the Division I average, will inevitably be brought up as a point of contention. But don’t dismiss the quality of the Zags’ wins off hand. They’ve beaten Florida, Iowa State, Arizona and Tennessee on neutral floors. A road win over St. Mary’s on Saturday might even give Gonzaga some room for error over the season’s final month.
4. Virginia | 18-5 | KP: 2 | LW: 4 | Big Board: 9
The Cavaliers often play a challenging non-conference schedule, but this year’s non-league résumé was done in by losses to the two truly powerful teams on the slate, Villanova and West Virginia, and by disappointing seasons from the likes of Ohio State, Iowa and Cal. Virginia has plenty of opportunity over the season’s final month to ascend toward the top line, but as of now, it likely sits as a comfortable 3-seed.
5. Louisville | 19-5 | KP: 3 | LW: 10 | Big Board: 7
Louisville’s three banner wins — vs. Purdue, vs. Kentucky, vs. Duke — don’t look as impressive as they once did. They also all came at home. But the Cardinals’ computer numbers are strong, and could have them on the second seed-line Saturday.
The reason for the jump in these rankings, by the way, is the expected return of Quentin Snider from injury and the reinstatement of Deng Adel and Mangok Mathiang after one-game suspensions.
6. North Carolina | 21-4 | KP: 11 | LW: 7 | Big Board: 5
The Tar Heels could be in the conversation for the fourth 1-seed — that is, provided they beat Duke Thursday night. But even if they don’t — they’re underdogs in Durham, after all — they shouldn’t fall outside the top eight.
7. Baylor | 21-3 | KP: 8 | LW: 5 | Big Board: 4
The other contender for the fourth 1-seed is the Bears, who are No. 1 in the RPI despite losing twice last week. Their Nov. 25 win over Louisville in the Bahamas is one they’ll ride all the way to Selection Sunday. That November win over Oregon isn’t too shabby either, even if they didn’t have to contend with Dillon Brooks that afternoon.
8. Florida State | 21-4 | KP: 13 | LW: 14 | Big Board: 8
The Seminoles are a robust 9-1 against the RPI top 50, a record that should have them in the top eight on Saturday. They could fall to a 3-seed, though. Whether or not they do will tell us a bit about how the committee values the importance of good wins vs. bad losses — though Florida State’s two most recent losses, at Georgia Tech and at Syracuse, don’t look all that bad now, do they?
9. Oregon | 21-3 | KP: 19 | LW: 12 | Big Board: 6
Oregon may very well be the most interesting case study on Saturday, for two reasons. One is the Dillon Brooks injury. The Ducks opened the season 2-2 with losses to Baylor and Georgetown, but did so without a 100 percent Brooks. They’ve only lost once since. The other intriguing question pokes around at the committee’s view of the Pac-12. Which matters more: That Oregon is leading a major conference? Or that half of its conference wins have come against sub-100 foes, and that the conference is far and away the weakest of the power six?
Of course, Oregon’s seeding will also depend in part on the result of Thursday night’s showdown with UCLA.
10. West Virginia | 19-5 | KP: 4 | LW: 9 | Big Board: 14
No team has a better collection of three wins than the Mountaineers’ trio of vs. Kansas, vs. Baylor and at Virginia. Somehow, though, West Virginia is ranked 32nd in the RPI, behind the likes of Illinois State and Dayton. (Related: RPI is dumb.) It’ll be interesting to see how much the computer numbers knock the Mountaineers down the board. They should be secure in the top 16, though.
11. Duke | 18-5 | KP: 15 | LW: 15 | Big Board: 18
There’s a chance we don’t even hear Duke’s name on Saturday, especially if the Blue Devils lose at home to Carolina Thursday night. Their résumé is frail outside of a Dec. 6 win over Florida that looks better by the week.
12. Wisconsin | 20-3 | KP: 10 | LW: 13 | Big Board: 12
How does the committee perceive the Big Ten, the jumbled mess of a conference that the Badgers lead by two games? Its seeding of Wisconsin — whose best win is … um … at Marquette? — will tell us a bit about how its views that big Midwestern mass of mediocrity.
13. Kentucky | 19-5 | KP: 7 | LW: 8 | Big Board: 10
The Wildcats are 1-4 against teams that have a chance to hear their names called Saturday. It’s easier to see Kentucky falling to a 4-seed than jumping to a 2.
14. Arizona | 22-3 | KP: 22 | LW: 6 | Big Board: 11
Arizona is confusing, not only because Allonzo Trier missed the first half of the season with a suspension, but because it hasn’t been that great since Trier returned. This résumé has quantity, but not necessarily top-end quality.
15. UCLA | 21-3 | KP: 18 | LW: 11 | Big Board: 16
If UCLA had lost to Kentucky, and if its uniforms didn’t have those four letters across the front, it’d be a 6-seed right now.
16. Florida | 19-5 | KP: 6 | LW: 20 | Big Board: 13
The Gators have, for the most part, avoided bad losses, and now have that headliner win over Kentucky. Their metrics are strong. They should be in the top 16, if not the top 12.
17. Cincinnati | 22-2 | KP: 20 | LW: 16 | Big Board: 15
The committee’s seeding, or lack thereof, of Cincinnati will be telling for SMU as well. The two have been running rampant through the AAC. The AAC likes to think of itself as a major conference. Most beg to differ. Opportunities for quality wins are scarce.
18. Butler | 19-5 | KP: 23 | LW: 18 | Big Board: 17
Don’t be surprised if the Bulldogs are one of the 4-seeds on Saturday. They’re in the RPI top 10 and have wins over Villanova and Arizona. They also have a very nice computer profile.
19. Purdue | 19-5 | KP: 12 | LW: NR | Big Board: 19
It’s tough to see how the Boilermakers could crack the top 16. If they do, we’ll know the committee is looking at the words “BIG TEN” and not at the actual teams in the conference.
20. Notre Dame | 17-6 | KP: 25 | LW: 17 | Big Board: 24
The Irish were as high as a 3-seed until four straight losses. Now they’re unlikely to hear their name called Saturday.
Five more to keep an eye (or two) on: South Carolina, Oklahoma State, St. Mary’s, Kansas State, Syracuse
Best of the mids: Wichita State, Illinois State, Middle Tennessee State, VCU, Dayton
What’s wrong with Kentucky?: Why the Wildcats have struggled in recent weeks.
By Rob Dauster
(Photo/Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Kentucky has reached a crossroads of their season.
They steamrolled everyone in their path for the first month of the year. Losses at home to UCLA and at Louisville were explainable, particularly when there was a win over North Carolina in Las Vegas between them, and forgettable once SEC play started and the Wildcats were doing things like beating Texas A&M by 42 points.
But over the course of the last three weeks, the high-octane Wildcats have looked like a mustang on the highway being driven with the emergency brake on. As Drew Franklin of Kentucky Sports Radio put it, “Kentucky is a bad basketball team full of talented basketball players.”
“You won’t want to be at that practice tomorrow,” head coach John Calipari said in his postgame interview on ESPN after the Wildcats gave up 58 second half points in a 92-85 win over hapless LSU, the fifth straight game they’ve allowed more than 79 points to their opponent. “If someone wants to quit, they can quit. Because this has got to stop at some point.”
This is a team with as much talent as anyone in the country. This is a team that, at one point, looked like an unstoppable force.
How has it gone so wrong for Kentucky?
1. This just isn’t a good defensive team right now: That’s the crux of the issue for this team. They’re just aren’t getting enough stops. They’ve allowed an average of 86.2 points the last five games and, in the last four games, they’ve gifted their opponents an average of 54 points in the second half. They were beat up in the post by Tennessee. They were beaten in transition by Florida. Yante Maten of Georgia lit them up. LSU’s Antonio Blakeney scored 31 points, easily the best game he’s played this season.
“They couldn’t guard us for s***,” said a member of one staff that has faced Kentucky recently. Entering the game against Tennessee, the start of this recent slide, the Wildcats had totaled just 16 possessions of zone all season long. They’ve more than doubled that number in the last five games, with a total of 27 possessions coming against Georgia and Florida. Coach Cal relies as much upon a straight man-to-man defense as anyone, so while that number may not sound all that high in a vacuum, consider that in 2014-15, he played a total of 32 zone possessions.
Early on this season, Kentucky was able to thrive defensively because of the advantage they have physically. They were bigger, stronger and more athletic than anyone that they faced. Malik Monk, for example, didn’t need to understand how to scheme against a pick-and-roll when going up against Hofstra’s guards. The result was that Kentucky could force tough shots and turnovers which, in turn, allowed Kentucky to fire up their transition game, which is as terrifying in its speed, ferocity and directness as any in college hoops.
That’s the key to beating Kentucky.
You don’t let them beat you in transition.
“That was our No. 1 thing: make it a half-court game,” said an SEC coach who has scouted Kentucky this season. There are a couple of ways to go about this, the easiest of which is limiting the number of players that are going to the glass. Instead of sending three or four players to chase an offensive rebound, only send the two bigs. The more bodies behind the ball, the harder it is to get uncontested layups.
The other part of it is to avoid making the mistakes that lead to fast breaks. Don’t commit live-ball turnovers. Don’t take quick shots or forced jumpers. Run offense. Get the ball into the post. Because, unlike some of Kentucky’s best teams, this group will actually make mistakes defensively, which leads me into my next point.
2. This is what freshmen are supposed to be: One thing that got lost in Kentucky’s frenetic start to the season is that this lineup is as young as any that John Calipari’s ever had. His starting lineup includes four freshmen and a sophomore, and no one in that group is the kind of game-changing defensive presence that we’ve seen amongst Kentucky’s one-and-done players. There is no Karl-Anthony Towns. There is no Anthony Davis. There is no Willie Cauley-Stein or Nerlens Noel.
“They were as talented as they come, ahead of the game defensively as a freshman, and that’s a unique thing,” said an SEC assistant. “Most are ahead of the game offensively as freshmen. You don’t get freshmen that are like seniors as freshmen, and [Towns, Davis, Noel and Cauley-Stein] were killers on defense.”
This team, with all those young guys, they don’t have those guys that are seniors on defense. Isaiah Briscoe is the veteran presence on the floor and he’s a sophomore 50 games into his college career. Derek Willis is a senior, but his ineptitude on the defensive end of the floor is the reason that he can’t crack the starting lineup in a team that’s desperate for perimeter shooting. The same can be said for Mychal Mulder. In theory, Dominique Hawkins would be the ideal player to put in that role, but if he’s on the floor that means that one of Fox, Monk or Briscoe isn’t, and that’s simply not a recipe for consistent success.
The larger point is that freshmen are supposed to make mistakes defensively. That’s what freshmen do. The bigs are learning how to do something other than be really big and play in front of the rim. Guards are learning about a myriad of different ball-screens coverages, their defensive rotations, specific game-plans for specific players. Once you get into the meat of league play, defending isn’t as simple as “just stop your man,” and at this level, an individual’s defensive mistake leads to a breakdown of the entire defense.
Point being, Kentucky doesn’t have bad individual defenders as much as they have young defenders, and young defenders make mistakes.
Which brings us back to the issue of Kentucky’s transition game, because their defensive issues are compounded by the fact that …
3. … Kentucky is predictable in the half court: It’s not a secret what they’re trying to do, as their offense is, essentially, one of three things: Fox trying to turn the corner going left, Monk getting run off of screens and hunting jumpshots, or Adebayo getting the ball thrown into him in the post.
All three players are difficult to stop individually, but defenses don’t usually play them individually. Kentucky’s perimeter shooting woes have been a talking point since before the season started, and where those issues manifest themselves is in the inability for Fox to get driving lanes and for Adebayo to get a shot at going 1-on-1 in the post.
Monk can win any game on his own, but ‘hero ball’ can also shoot the Wildcats out of a game.
“We knew how dangerous Monk is in the half court, but you’re going to live with him taking tough shots,” said an SEC assistant. “If he gets 25, making tough shots in the half court, you deal.”
Against Georgia, Monk had 31 of his 37 points after halftime in a come-from-behind win. Three days later, he has his worst game of the season and Kentucky got smoked at Florida.
The other issue?
There seems to be a lack of fight with this group. Talk to people around the conference and you’ll hear things like “don’t really see a lot of leadership” and “they seem disinterested.” Tennessee is totally outclassed in terms of talent but, as one person that scouted the Tennessee’s win said, “Tennessee just played harder.” In the loss to Florida, they got punched in the mouth and didn’t have an answer, as Florida dominated the glass, picked up every loose ball and lit up Kentucky in transition.
In other words, Florida did to Kentucky what Kentucky wants to do to everyone else.
4. This is the danger of expectations: To me, this was the biggest take away I had from reporting on Kentucky.
Let’s look at this in a vacuum. As of today, the Wildcats are 19-5 on the season. They’re sitting tied for first place in the SEC with a good shot at getting a top three seed in the NCAA tournament come Selection Sunday. They have game-changing talent all over their roster and a back court that will be outclassed by exactly zero teams.
All things considered, that’s not a bad year to have for a team that starts four freshmen and a sophomore.
But this is Kentucky, where sitting atop a power conference has people questioning whether or not the basketball team is actually good.
The bottom line is this: At some point, all teams get found out. Once a few games worth of film make it to synergy, the coaches in this profession are good enough to figure out A) what it is that you want to do and B) how to slow it down. The best of the best are able to win when their opponent knows exactly what’s coming and make their adjustments while on a winning streak.
Everyone else, including teams as good and as talented and as flawed as Kentucky, will take a few losses along the way. They’ll go through a slump, and that’s where the Wildcats are right now.
“There’s a lot of stuff going on,” Calipari said, adding later, “[I] don’t want to shorten the rotation to five or six guys, but I will if I have to. I’d like to play eight or nine guys so they all get a chance to play, have fun, morale, all that. But you better deserve to be on that court.”
Duke dealt with this for a month before they made the decision to fully embrace playing small-ball. They're 3-0 since the change. Kansas had their issues and they made the decision to play zone; it earned them a comeback win in Rupp Arena despite playing short-handed.
Kentucky’s 2014 team – the last Cal-coached team to start four freshmen and a sophomore, the team that entered the year with hopes of going 40-0 and entered the tournament with 10 losses, finishing six games behind SEC champs Florida – had ‘the tweak’ before making their run to the national title game.
Calipari has been talking this week about a ‘reboot’.
Will that be enough for this group to fix what ails them?
Jayson Tatum shines as No. 18 Duke knocks off No. 8 North Carolina at home.
By Rob Dauster
Grayson Allen scored 25 points and Jayson Tatum chipped in with 19 points, all of which came in the second half, nine boards and five assists as No. 18 Duke knocked off No. 8 North Carolina, 86-78, in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Thursday night.
Luke Kennard chipped in with 20 points of his own as Duke moved to within a game of first place in the ACC regular season standings.
Justin Jackson led the way with 21 points for North Carolina, but he was quieted down the stretch. Joel Berry II finished with 15 points for the Tar Heels, who got Theo Pinson back but played this game without one of their starting big men, Isaiah Hicks.
Duke is now 4-0 since fully embracing small-ball by playing Tatum at the four, while UNC suffered their first loss with Pinson in the lineup.
NCAAFB: Connecticut considers law to protect health and safety of NCAA athletes.
They steamrolled everyone in their path for the first month of the year. Losses at home to UCLA and at Louisville were explainable, particularly when there was a win over North Carolina in Las Vegas between them, and forgettable once SEC play started and the Wildcats were doing things like beating Texas A&M by 42 points.
But over the course of the last three weeks, the high-octane Wildcats have looked like a mustang on the highway being driven with the emergency brake on. As Drew Franklin of Kentucky Sports Radio put it, “Kentucky is a bad basketball team full of talented basketball players.”
“You won’t want to be at that practice tomorrow,” head coach John Calipari said in his postgame interview on ESPN after the Wildcats gave up 58 second half points in a 92-85 win over hapless LSU, the fifth straight game they’ve allowed more than 79 points to their opponent. “If someone wants to quit, they can quit. Because this has got to stop at some point.”
This is a team with as much talent as anyone in the country. This is a team that, at one point, looked like an unstoppable force.
How has it gone so wrong for Kentucky?
1. This just isn’t a good defensive team right now: That’s the crux of the issue for this team. They’re just aren’t getting enough stops. They’ve allowed an average of 86.2 points the last five games and, in the last four games, they’ve gifted their opponents an average of 54 points in the second half. They were beat up in the post by Tennessee. They were beaten in transition by Florida. Yante Maten of Georgia lit them up. LSU’s Antonio Blakeney scored 31 points, easily the best game he’s played this season.
“They couldn’t guard us for s***,” said a member of one staff that has faced Kentucky recently. Entering the game against Tennessee, the start of this recent slide, the Wildcats had totaled just 16 possessions of zone all season long. They’ve more than doubled that number in the last five games, with a total of 27 possessions coming against Georgia and Florida. Coach Cal relies as much upon a straight man-to-man defense as anyone, so while that number may not sound all that high in a vacuum, consider that in 2014-15, he played a total of 32 zone possessions.
Early on this season, Kentucky was able to thrive defensively because of the advantage they have physically. They were bigger, stronger and more athletic than anyone that they faced. Malik Monk, for example, didn’t need to understand how to scheme against a pick-and-roll when going up against Hofstra’s guards. The result was that Kentucky could force tough shots and turnovers which, in turn, allowed Kentucky to fire up their transition game, which is as terrifying in its speed, ferocity and directness as any in college hoops.
That’s the key to beating Kentucky.
You don’t let them beat you in transition.
“That was our No. 1 thing: make it a half-court game,” said an SEC coach who has scouted Kentucky this season. There are a couple of ways to go about this, the easiest of which is limiting the number of players that are going to the glass. Instead of sending three or four players to chase an offensive rebound, only send the two bigs. The more bodies behind the ball, the harder it is to get uncontested layups.
The other part of it is to avoid making the mistakes that lead to fast breaks. Don’t commit live-ball turnovers. Don’t take quick shots or forced jumpers. Run offense. Get the ball into the post. Because, unlike some of Kentucky’s best teams, this group will actually make mistakes defensively, which leads me into my next point.
2. This is what freshmen are supposed to be: One thing that got lost in Kentucky’s frenetic start to the season is that this lineup is as young as any that John Calipari’s ever had. His starting lineup includes four freshmen and a sophomore, and no one in that group is the kind of game-changing defensive presence that we’ve seen amongst Kentucky’s one-and-done players. There is no Karl-Anthony Towns. There is no Anthony Davis. There is no Willie Cauley-Stein or Nerlens Noel.
“They were as talented as they come, ahead of the game defensively as a freshman, and that’s a unique thing,” said an SEC assistant. “Most are ahead of the game offensively as freshmen. You don’t get freshmen that are like seniors as freshmen, and [Towns, Davis, Noel and Cauley-Stein] were killers on defense.”
This team, with all those young guys, they don’t have those guys that are seniors on defense. Isaiah Briscoe is the veteran presence on the floor and he’s a sophomore 50 games into his college career. Derek Willis is a senior, but his ineptitude on the defensive end of the floor is the reason that he can’t crack the starting lineup in a team that’s desperate for perimeter shooting. The same can be said for Mychal Mulder. In theory, Dominique Hawkins would be the ideal player to put in that role, but if he’s on the floor that means that one of Fox, Monk or Briscoe isn’t, and that’s simply not a recipe for consistent success.
The larger point is that freshmen are supposed to make mistakes defensively. That’s what freshmen do. The bigs are learning how to do something other than be really big and play in front of the rim. Guards are learning about a myriad of different ball-screens coverages, their defensive rotations, specific game-plans for specific players. Once you get into the meat of league play, defending isn’t as simple as “just stop your man,” and at this level, an individual’s defensive mistake leads to a breakdown of the entire defense.
Point being, Kentucky doesn’t have bad individual defenders as much as they have young defenders, and young defenders make mistakes.
Which brings us back to the issue of Kentucky’s transition game, because their defensive issues are compounded by the fact that …
3. … Kentucky is predictable in the half court: It’s not a secret what they’re trying to do, as their offense is, essentially, one of three things: Fox trying to turn the corner going left, Monk getting run off of screens and hunting jumpshots, or Adebayo getting the ball thrown into him in the post.
All three players are difficult to stop individually, but defenses don’t usually play them individually. Kentucky’s perimeter shooting woes have been a talking point since before the season started, and where those issues manifest themselves is in the inability for Fox to get driving lanes and for Adebayo to get a shot at going 1-on-1 in the post.
Monk can win any game on his own, but ‘hero ball’ can also shoot the Wildcats out of a game.
“We knew how dangerous Monk is in the half court, but you’re going to live with him taking tough shots,” said an SEC assistant. “If he gets 25, making tough shots in the half court, you deal.”
Against Georgia, Monk had 31 of his 37 points after halftime in a come-from-behind win. Three days later, he has his worst game of the season and Kentucky got smoked at Florida.
The other issue?
There seems to be a lack of fight with this group. Talk to people around the conference and you’ll hear things like “don’t really see a lot of leadership” and “they seem disinterested.” Tennessee is totally outclassed in terms of talent but, as one person that scouted the Tennessee’s win said, “Tennessee just played harder.” In the loss to Florida, they got punched in the mouth and didn’t have an answer, as Florida dominated the glass, picked up every loose ball and lit up Kentucky in transition.
In other words, Florida did to Kentucky what Kentucky wants to do to everyone else.
4. This is the danger of expectations: To me, this was the biggest take away I had from reporting on Kentucky.
Let’s look at this in a vacuum. As of today, the Wildcats are 19-5 on the season. They’re sitting tied for first place in the SEC with a good shot at getting a top three seed in the NCAA tournament come Selection Sunday. They have game-changing talent all over their roster and a back court that will be outclassed by exactly zero teams.
All things considered, that’s not a bad year to have for a team that starts four freshmen and a sophomore.
But this is Kentucky, where sitting atop a power conference has people questioning whether or not the basketball team is actually good.
The bottom line is this: At some point, all teams get found out. Once a few games worth of film make it to synergy, the coaches in this profession are good enough to figure out A) what it is that you want to do and B) how to slow it down. The best of the best are able to win when their opponent knows exactly what’s coming and make their adjustments while on a winning streak.
Everyone else, including teams as good and as talented and as flawed as Kentucky, will take a few losses along the way. They’ll go through a slump, and that’s where the Wildcats are right now.
“There’s a lot of stuff going on,” Calipari said, adding later, “[I] don’t want to shorten the rotation to five or six guys, but I will if I have to. I’d like to play eight or nine guys so they all get a chance to play, have fun, morale, all that. But you better deserve to be on that court.”
Duke dealt with this for a month before they made the decision to fully embrace playing small-ball. They're 3-0 since the change. Kansas had their issues and they made the decision to play zone; it earned them a comeback win in Rupp Arena despite playing short-handed.
Kentucky’s 2014 team – the last Cal-coached team to start four freshmen and a sophomore, the team that entered the year with hopes of going 40-0 and entered the tournament with 10 losses, finishing six games behind SEC champs Florida – had ‘the tweak’ before making their run to the national title game.
Calipari has been talking this week about a ‘reboot’.
Will that be enough for this group to fix what ails them?
Jayson Tatum shines as No. 18 Duke knocks off No. 8 North Carolina at home.
By Rob Dauster
(Photo/Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Grayson Allen scored 25 points and Jayson Tatum chipped in with 19 points, all of which came in the second half, nine boards and five assists as No. 18 Duke knocked off No. 8 North Carolina, 86-78, in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Thursday night.
Luke Kennard chipped in with 20 points of his own as Duke moved to within a game of first place in the ACC regular season standings.
Justin Jackson led the way with 21 points for North Carolina, but he was quieted down the stretch. Joel Berry II finished with 15 points for the Tar Heels, who got Theo Pinson back but played this game without one of their starting big men, Isaiah Hicks.
Duke is now 4-0 since fully embracing small-ball by playing Tatum at the four, while UNC suffered their first loss with Pinson in the lineup.
NCAAFB: Connecticut considers law to protect health and safety of NCAA athletes.
By Jon Solomon
A bill has been proposed in the state legislature that would be a step in helping student-athletes.
A proposed bill in the Connecticut state legislature would create a "athletic protection commission" to monitor and enforce the safety for all NCAA athletes in the state.
If the bill ever passes -- and the concept is still in the very early stages -- it's believed Connecticut would be the first state to oversee college athlete medical care to this degree. State Reps. Matt Lesser and Patricia Dillon introduced the bill, which has support from the National College Players Association. NCPA executive director Ramogi Huma will testify Tuesday before the legislature's Higher Education and Workplace Committee.
So far, the bill's language is brief and vague, contributing to several athletic directors in Connecticut wondering why a commission is needed. The bill states it would be for the purpose of "protecting the health and safety of college athletes participating in an interscholastic athletic program by developing guidelines, gathering best practices, receiving and investigating complaints, and issuing remedies and penalties for violations."
Huma laid out the intent of the bill this way:
"That's very much what [Huma] is interested in. I would love to see that too," said Dillon, one of the bill's co-sponsors. "I think [enforcement] is way ahead of where we are. Ramogi is probably a lot more ambitious than I am.
"We're going to have a budget issue [in Connecticut] this year, so it may be more modest what we look at.
"The schools are going to be very nervous about their own core mission. I want to hear what they have to say. They're going to have lawyers on their shoulders. You want to start a process to help the players where it's data driven without hurting anybody and not trying to create embarrassment."
Dillon said her biggest concern is addressing athletes who play through concussions or become addicted to opioids from painkillers used to mask injuries.
"The NCAA has changed and it's a business," Dillon said. "It wouldn't be a bad thing if the NCAA would do a little bit more on safety, if they got in front of it. The data may disprove me, but the image is the NFL is making progress and college athletics is not. I don't know if that's a fair image."
Though any commission in Connecticut is still a long way from ever passing, it's the latest example of states and cities considering their own measures to protect NCAA athletes.
In 2014, Boston passed laws requiring a neurotrauma consultant at every Division I football, ice hockey and men's lacrosse event. Boston also requires local colleges to have an emergency medical action plan for all venues and bans a player -- including those from the visiting team -- from reentering competition if suspected to have a concussion. It's not clear how the laws have been implemented and enforced, and whether they're doing what they intended.
California passed legislation in 2012 that in part requires athletic departments to have guidelines for concussions and dehydration. Guidelines also are required to supervise athletes with life-threatening health conditions who participate in sports.
"Unfortunately, this law doesn't go far enough," Huma said. "Case in point is the death of UC Berkeley football player Ted Agu, who had sickle cell [anemia]. If UC Berkeley had complied with this law, Ted would be alive."
The NCAA provides health and safety guidelines in many areas. Over the past two years, different NCAA divisions passed rules requiring that primary athletics health care providers have unchallenged authority for all medical decisions. The NCAA doesn't enforce safety guidelines.
But NCAA chief medical officer Brian Hainline, while not speaking specifically about the Connecticut bill, said the independent medical care legislation is going to cause NCAA schools to decide what to do when standard care isn't being practiced. The NCAA is getting "closer" to enforceable health rules, Hainline said.
But it's not happening fast enough for some like Huma, who has brought his latest cause to Connecticut. It's a progressive state that's home to the popular UConn men's and women's basketball teams, both of which have won multiple national championships. Attempts to speak with UConn athletic director David Benedict were not immediately successful.
Two years ago, Lesser -- the other co-sponsor of the latest Connecticut bill -- watched Huma's attempt to unionize Northwestern football players. Lesser introduced a bill that would define some NCAA athletes at public Connecticut universities as employees, allowing them to collectively bargain for increased benefits. The bill hasn't passed.
Several athletic directors in Connecticut question why this athletic protection commission is necessary.
"Do I really think there's this kind of need? The answer is no," Fairfield AD Eugene Doris said. "Normally, you hear the nightmare things behind the scenes. I don't get any sense that student-athletes are in any jeopardy in any way. All of my colleagues, to a person, would be appalled if it happened on their campus and would fire people if they found out something was occurring and not being done correctly."
Dillon seems to recognize the uphill climb her bill faces. She said an effort to collect youth concussion data at municipal levels in Connecticut failed because some towns and leagues became upset about an unfunded mandate and worried about liability.
Dillon said she has heard anecdotes about opioid abuse among college athletes. "I'd like to unpack the whole notion of playing through an injury," she said.
Like many states, Connecticut faces an opioid epidemic. The state's governor, Dannel Malloy, has described it as a "public health crisis." In 2015, 729 people in Connecticut died from accidental overdoses and officials expect the number will be closer to 900 in 2016, according to The Connecticut Mirror. Many bills have been introduced, including requiring physicians to prescribe opioids electronically rather than on paper.
"After the NFL issues came out a number of years back [with painkiller abuse by players], I wish all medical people had gotten out of the prescription business with players," Doris said. "But a doctor feels if he didn't do that, his services would be terminated because there's pressure from alumni on getting players to come back. Where you might find that to be an issue is at a larger school with that kind of pressure. We don't really get that kind of pressure [at Fairfield]."
Hartford interim AD John Carson said if policy changes are needed to address the epidemic, it's a lot easier to make changes through dialogue than "having big brother and big sister government pass laws that look nice on paper. The real issue is implementation and carry through."
Carson, who has served as a legislative liaison at Hartford, said the NCPA has a "clear axe to grind." Given that Connecticut's state budget projects to have a $1.5 billion deficit on July 1, Carson questioned how the state can create and staff a commission for NCAA athlete safety.
"A good, healthy dialogue is probably what's needed, and you don't get that in a general session [at the state legislature]," Carson said.
Sacred Heart AD Bobby Valentine, a former Major League Baseball player and manager, said a commission to protect NCAA athletes in Connecticut isn't totally unfounded. He declined to elaborate much due to his university's wishes.
"I understand both sides of the equation," Valentine said. "It's about the times, not necessarily anything other than that. It seems like these times are changing so I think it's time for me to fasten the seat belt and see what happens when the turbulence ends."
If the bill ever passes -- and the concept is still in the very early stages -- it's believed Connecticut would be the first state to oversee college athlete medical care to this degree. State Reps. Matt Lesser and Patricia Dillon introduced the bill, which has support from the National College Players Association. NCPA executive director Ramogi Huma will testify Tuesday before the legislature's Higher Education and Workplace Committee.
So far, the bill's language is brief and vague, contributing to several athletic directors in Connecticut wondering why a commission is needed. The bill states it would be for the purpose of "protecting the health and safety of college athletes participating in an interscholastic athletic program by developing guidelines, gathering best practices, receiving and investigating complaints, and issuing remedies and penalties for violations."
Huma laid out the intent of the bill this way:
- Designate college, conference and NCAA staff as mandated reporters of suspected athlete abuse and violations of commission requirements. Huma said this could be the first state bill that would regulate the NCAA.
- Monitor and enforce best practices for player safety.
- Receive and investigate player abuse complaints, enacting penalties if allegations are substantiated.
- Provide whistle-blower protection for those reporting suspected player abuse.
"That's very much what [Huma] is interested in. I would love to see that too," said Dillon, one of the bill's co-sponsors. "I think [enforcement] is way ahead of where we are. Ramogi is probably a lot more ambitious than I am.
"We're going to have a budget issue [in Connecticut] this year, so it may be more modest what we look at.
"The schools are going to be very nervous about their own core mission. I want to hear what they have to say. They're going to have lawyers on their shoulders. You want to start a process to help the players where it's data driven without hurting anybody and not trying to create embarrassment."
Dillon said her biggest concern is addressing athletes who play through concussions or become addicted to opioids from painkillers used to mask injuries.
"The NCAA has changed and it's a business," Dillon said. "It wouldn't be a bad thing if the NCAA would do a little bit more on safety, if they got in front of it. The data may disprove me, but the image is the NFL is making progress and college athletics is not. I don't know if that's a fair image."
Though any commission in Connecticut is still a long way from ever passing, it's the latest example of states and cities considering their own measures to protect NCAA athletes.
In 2014, Boston passed laws requiring a neurotrauma consultant at every Division I football, ice hockey and men's lacrosse event. Boston also requires local colleges to have an emergency medical action plan for all venues and bans a player -- including those from the visiting team -- from reentering competition if suspected to have a concussion. It's not clear how the laws have been implemented and enforced, and whether they're doing what they intended.
California passed legislation in 2012 that in part requires athletic departments to have guidelines for concussions and dehydration. Guidelines also are required to supervise athletes with life-threatening health conditions who participate in sports.
"Unfortunately, this law doesn't go far enough," Huma said. "Case in point is the death of UC Berkeley football player Ted Agu, who had sickle cell [anemia]. If UC Berkeley had complied with this law, Ted would be alive."
The NCAA provides health and safety guidelines in many areas. Over the past two years, different NCAA divisions passed rules requiring that primary athletics health care providers have unchallenged authority for all medical decisions. The NCAA doesn't enforce safety guidelines.
But NCAA chief medical officer Brian Hainline, while not speaking specifically about the Connecticut bill, said the independent medical care legislation is going to cause NCAA schools to decide what to do when standard care isn't being practiced. The NCAA is getting "closer" to enforceable health rules, Hainline said.
But it's not happening fast enough for some like Huma, who has brought his latest cause to Connecticut. It's a progressive state that's home to the popular UConn men's and women's basketball teams, both of which have won multiple national championships. Attempts to speak with UConn athletic director David Benedict were not immediately successful.
Two years ago, Lesser -- the other co-sponsor of the latest Connecticut bill -- watched Huma's attempt to unionize Northwestern football players. Lesser introduced a bill that would define some NCAA athletes at public Connecticut universities as employees, allowing them to collectively bargain for increased benefits. The bill hasn't passed.
Several athletic directors in Connecticut question why this athletic protection commission is necessary.
"Do I really think there's this kind of need? The answer is no," Fairfield AD Eugene Doris said. "Normally, you hear the nightmare things behind the scenes. I don't get any sense that student-athletes are in any jeopardy in any way. All of my colleagues, to a person, would be appalled if it happened on their campus and would fire people if they found out something was occurring and not being done correctly."
Dillon seems to recognize the uphill climb her bill faces. She said an effort to collect youth concussion data at municipal levels in Connecticut failed because some towns and leagues became upset about an unfunded mandate and worried about liability.
Dillon said she has heard anecdotes about opioid abuse among college athletes. "I'd like to unpack the whole notion of playing through an injury," she said.
Like many states, Connecticut faces an opioid epidemic. The state's governor, Dannel Malloy, has described it as a "public health crisis." In 2015, 729 people in Connecticut died from accidental overdoses and officials expect the number will be closer to 900 in 2016, according to The Connecticut Mirror. Many bills have been introduced, including requiring physicians to prescribe opioids electronically rather than on paper.
"After the NFL issues came out a number of years back [with painkiller abuse by players], I wish all medical people had gotten out of the prescription business with players," Doris said. "But a doctor feels if he didn't do that, his services would be terminated because there's pressure from alumni on getting players to come back. Where you might find that to be an issue is at a larger school with that kind of pressure. We don't really get that kind of pressure [at Fairfield]."
Hartford interim AD John Carson said if policy changes are needed to address the epidemic, it's a lot easier to make changes through dialogue than "having big brother and big sister government pass laws that look nice on paper. The real issue is implementation and carry through."
Carson, who has served as a legislative liaison at Hartford, said the NCPA has a "clear axe to grind." Given that Connecticut's state budget projects to have a $1.5 billion deficit on July 1, Carson questioned how the state can create and staff a commission for NCAA athlete safety.
"A good, healthy dialogue is probably what's needed, and you don't get that in a general session [at the state legislature]," Carson said.
Sacred Heart AD Bobby Valentine, a former Major League Baseball player and manager, said a commission to protect NCAA athletes in Connecticut isn't totally unfounded. He declined to elaborate much due to his university's wishes.
"I understand both sides of the equation," Valentine said. "It's about the times, not necessarily anything other than that. It seems like these times are changing so I think it's time for me to fasten the seat belt and see what happens when the turbulence ends."
Sources: John Paxson and Gar Forman jobs safe moving into Bulls' offseason. What's Your Take?
By K. C. Johnson
By K. C. Johnson
With Dwyane Wade owning a player option and the Bulls perhaps repeating last June's internal debate on Jimmy Butler's future, this could be another offseason of significant change.
But one area that will remain static is the people overseeing that roster construction.
Despite some outside perception to the contrary, the jobs of executive vice president John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman are safe, sources familiar with ownership's thinking told the Tribune. In fact, ownership's trust in Paxson and Forman remains so intact that they would be retained even if the Bulls miss the postseason for a second straight season, one source said.
It's well-documented that Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and son Michael, who runs the business side as president and chief operating officer, are loyal and long have favored front-office continuity. But there's also inherent trust in the roster-building process that Paxson, Forman and their staff have in place.
One internal belief is that this represents the first season in the attempt to open a new championship window after the franchise had ridden out Derrick Rose's maximum contract — and myriad injuries — until finally trading Rose with one season left on the deal. There's also an internal feeling that Forman's publicly stated goal to remain competitive while overhauling the roster over several seasons to get younger and more athletic is working.
The Bulls sat at 26-26 and in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, 2 1/2 games clear of the ninth-place Hornets entering Tuesday. However, the main contributors to this playoff standing are the 35-year-old Wade and 27-year-old Butler, with Wade recently calling out the inconsistent commitment and success of "the young players."
After hitting on back-end first-rounders Taj Gibson in 2009 and Butler in 2011, Paxson and Forman have drawn outside criticism for recent picks or draft-day acquisitions Nikola Mirotic, Tony Snell, Doug McDermott and Bobby Portis.
But the Reinsdorfs still hold management's talent evaluation in high regard, one source said, and also have valued its ability to avoid hamstringing the franchise with bloated, long-term contracts for players with minimal impact.
Hitting on first-round picks always has been important because of the ability to hold team control on a rotation player on a rookie-scale contract. That need will be intensified when the new collective bargaining agreement begins this summer. New stipulations aimed at slowing the defections of franchise-type players are expected to alter free agency significantly.
The Bulls are projected to enter the 2017 offseason with $29 million to $53 million of salary-cap space, depending on whether Wade exercises his $23.8 million option. They own their own first-round pick and need the Kings to fall outside the 10 worst teams to acquire theirs, a byproduct of the January 2014 trade of Luol Deng to the Cavaliers.
Paxson succeeded Jerry Krause as general manager in April 2003. He moved into his executive vice president role when Forman was promoted to general manager in May 2009.
Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Take: Like everyone else, we were spoiled by the Bulls during their six championship years. They consistently made the playoffs during the years that Coach Thibodeau was there also. Now it's a new day with a new coach; Fred Hoiberg and some very young draft choices. This is Coach Hoiberg's second year and things are status quo. The team does not seem to be excelling in performance and the team does not seem to exhibit a winning attitude and desire to succeed. The players that have been drafted the last few years have good college pedigrees but their development is not progressing as expected. Is it the lack of professional coaching (the difference between college coaching and NBA coaching)? Is it the front office meddling with the coaching as experienced by Coach Thibodeau? Are the player's buying in? We aren't there but we know something is wrong. There appears to be much disharmony on this team and there's no need for it.
The Bulls have one of the most loyal fan bases in professional sports, however, they're starting to get a tad frustrated. Granted, we won't win championships as much as we did during the Jordan years but we should always be in the hunt for the playoffs. Chicago is a big time sports city with all kinds of options to choose from and work with and the city's diehard fans love their Bulls. They're still selling out the United Center but if things don't get back on track, that loyalty will start to fade and there's no reason for it. We have our personal opinion on the front office Executive VP and General Manager and many of you know what it is but we'll let the season play out before we state our position on them.
Do you see a problems with the Bulls and if you do, what do you think the causes are? Please take a moment and go to the comment section at the bottom of this blog and let us know, what's your take? As always, thanks in advance for your time and comments. We love hearing fro you and truly respect your thoughts.
The Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Editorial Staff.
But one area that will remain static is the people overseeing that roster construction.
Despite some outside perception to the contrary, the jobs of executive vice president John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman are safe, sources familiar with ownership's thinking told the Tribune. In fact, ownership's trust in Paxson and Forman remains so intact that they would be retained even if the Bulls miss the postseason for a second straight season, one source said.
It's well-documented that Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and son Michael, who runs the business side as president and chief operating officer, are loyal and long have favored front-office continuity. But there's also inherent trust in the roster-building process that Paxson, Forman and their staff have in place.
One internal belief is that this represents the first season in the attempt to open a new championship window after the franchise had ridden out Derrick Rose's maximum contract — and myriad injuries — until finally trading Rose with one season left on the deal. There's also an internal feeling that Forman's publicly stated goal to remain competitive while overhauling the roster over several seasons to get younger and more athletic is working.
The Bulls sat at 26-26 and in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, 2 1/2 games clear of the ninth-place Hornets entering Tuesday. However, the main contributors to this playoff standing are the 35-year-old Wade and 27-year-old Butler, with Wade recently calling out the inconsistent commitment and success of "the young players."
After hitting on back-end first-rounders Taj Gibson in 2009 and Butler in 2011, Paxson and Forman have drawn outside criticism for recent picks or draft-day acquisitions Nikola Mirotic, Tony Snell, Doug McDermott and Bobby Portis.
But the Reinsdorfs still hold management's talent evaluation in high regard, one source said, and also have valued its ability to avoid hamstringing the franchise with bloated, long-term contracts for players with minimal impact.
Hitting on first-round picks always has been important because of the ability to hold team control on a rotation player on a rookie-scale contract. That need will be intensified when the new collective bargaining agreement begins this summer. New stipulations aimed at slowing the defections of franchise-type players are expected to alter free agency significantly.
The Bulls are projected to enter the 2017 offseason with $29 million to $53 million of salary-cap space, depending on whether Wade exercises his $23.8 million option. They own their own first-round pick and need the Kings to fall outside the 10 worst teams to acquire theirs, a byproduct of the January 2014 trade of Luol Deng to the Cavaliers.
Paxson succeeded Jerry Krause as general manager in April 2003. He moved into his executive vice president role when Forman was promoted to general manager in May 2009.
Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Take: Like everyone else, we were spoiled by the Bulls during their six championship years. They consistently made the playoffs during the years that Coach Thibodeau was there also. Now it's a new day with a new coach; Fred Hoiberg and some very young draft choices. This is Coach Hoiberg's second year and things are status quo. The team does not seem to be excelling in performance and the team does not seem to exhibit a winning attitude and desire to succeed. The players that have been drafted the last few years have good college pedigrees but their development is not progressing as expected. Is it the lack of professional coaching (the difference between college coaching and NBA coaching)? Is it the front office meddling with the coaching as experienced by Coach Thibodeau? Are the player's buying in? We aren't there but we know something is wrong. There appears to be much disharmony on this team and there's no need for it.
The Bulls have one of the most loyal fan bases in professional sports, however, they're starting to get a tad frustrated. Granted, we won't win championships as much as we did during the Jordan years but we should always be in the hunt for the playoffs. Chicago is a big time sports city with all kinds of options to choose from and work with and the city's diehard fans love their Bulls. They're still selling out the United Center but if things don't get back on track, that loyalty will start to fade and there's no reason for it. We have our personal opinion on the front office Executive VP and General Manager and many of you know what it is but we'll let the season play out before we state our position on them.
Do you see a problems with the Bulls and if you do, what do you think the causes are? Please take a moment and go to the comment section at the bottom of this blog and let us know, what's your take? As always, thanks in advance for your time and comments. We love hearing fro you and truly respect your thoughts.
The Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Editorial Staff.
On This Date in Sports History: Today is Friday, February 10, 2017.
emoriesofhistory.com
1920 - Major league baseball representatives outlawed pitches that involved tampering with the ball.
1946 - Jackie Robinson and Rachel Isum were married.
1961 - The American Football League's Los Angeles franchise was transferred to San Diego.
1971 - Bill White (New York Yankees) became the first black baseball announcer.
1962 - Jim Beatty became the first American to break the four minute barrier for the indoor mile.
1992 - Mike Tyson was convicted in Indianapolis of raping Desiree Washington, Miss Black American contestant.
2003 - Brett Hull (Detroit Red Wings) became the 6th player in NHL history to score at least 700 career goals.
2005 - The NHL and the players' association broke off talks after two days. The previous day commissioner Gary Bettman had said that a deal would need to be ready by the weekend to save the season.
1946 - Jackie Robinson and Rachel Isum were married.
1961 - The American Football League's Los Angeles franchise was transferred to San Diego.
1971 - Bill White (New York Yankees) became the first black baseball announcer.
1962 - Jim Beatty became the first American to break the four minute barrier for the indoor mile.
1992 - Mike Tyson was convicted in Indianapolis of raping Desiree Washington, Miss Black American contestant.
2003 - Brett Hull (Detroit Red Wings) became the 6th player in NHL history to score at least 700 career goals.
2005 - The NHL and the players' association broke off talks after two days. The previous day commissioner Gary Bettman had said that a deal would need to be ready by the weekend to save the season.
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