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TRENDING: NASCAR Fans Suddenly Upset by Monster Energy Girls’ Revealing Outfits. (See the NASCAR section for NASCAR news and racing updates).
TRENDING: Patrick Kane nets hat trick as Blackhawks cruise past Coyotes. (See the hockey section for Blackhawks updates and NHL news).
TRENDING: Jay Cutler is reportedly considering retirement. (See the football section for Bears news and NFL updates).
TRENDING: NBA Trade Deadline: Bulls deal Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott to Thunder. Bulls acquire Payne, Morrow, and Lauvergne from Thunder. What's Your Take? (See the basketball section for Bulls news and NBA updates). Please read our take and share your thoughts with us.
TRENDING: After winter of taking heat, Cubs still have Joe Maddon's back. (See the baseball section for Cubs and White Sox updates).
TRENDING: NASCAR: 2017 Daytona Speedweeks schedule. (See the NASCAR section for NASCAR news and racing updates).
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Patrick Kane nets hat trick as Blackhawks cruise past Coyotes.
By Tracey Myers
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Patrick Kane recorded a hat trick and Michal Rozsival’s first goal of the season proved to be the game winner as the Blackhawks held off the Arizona Coyotes 6-3 on Thursday night.
The Blackhawks have won eight of their last nine games and are now three points behind the Minnesota Wild, who are on their bye week. Nick Schmaltz and Ryan Hartman each had a goal and an assist and Jonathan Toews had two assists.
Corey Crawford stopped 34 of 37 shots in the victory.
Kane’s hat trick came one game after Jonathan Toews recorded one against the Minnesota Wild. It was the second time the Blackhawks have had hat tricks in consecutive games since May 5-7, 2010 (Dustin Byfuglien and Toews vs. Vancouver in the postseason that year).
The Blackhawks dressed Michal Rozsival as one of their seven defensemen and it proved to be a necessary move. Niklas Hjalmarsson left the game with 8:22 remaining in the first period and did not return. His status was not immediately known.
Schmaltz gave the Blackhawks a quick 1-0 lead just 37 seconds into the game. About 16 minutes into the first the Blackhawks had a 3-1 edge thanks to goals from Hartman and Kane. But as good as the Blackhawks offense was on that end, their defense was just as sketchy on the other. The Coyotes took advantage, with Ryan White and Radim Vrbata scoring within 57 seconds of each other to tie it 3-3 late in the first.
Early in the second Rozsival, who had been out with a foot injury and hadn’t played since Jan. 15, made up for a tough first period with his first goal of the season. Kane added his second of the night for a 5-3 advantage.
The Blackhawks kept the Coyotes from getting closer late in the second/early in the third when they killed off Richard Panik’s four-minute high-sticking penalty. Kane completed his hat trick midway through the third period.
By the bye: Blackhawks keep rolling following break.
By Tracey Myers
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
When you're on a roll, you hate disrupting it for anything.
The Blackhawks probably felt that in some respect heading into the new NHL-mandated bye week on Feb. 12, but the need for rest usurped any worry on that front. Still, when the Blackhawks reconvened last Friday, the question remained if they could pick up where they left off on that pre-bye, five-game winning streak.
As coach Joel Quenneville said of the unusual break, "we talked about it going into it: you don't know how you're going to come out of it."
Apparently it hasn't been a problem.
The Blackhawks have won two of their first three out of the bye, including their 5-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night.
Coming out of this break hasn't been easy for a lot of teams. The Blackhawks, like 11 other teams up to this point, lost their first game out of it. But in that loss to Edmonton, the Blackhawks played well. That continued on Sunday in Buffalo and on Tuesday in Minnesota. Now back in a rhythm schedule-wise, the Blackhawks are hitting their stride performance-wise.
"I thought we played a good game against Edmonton but we still felt there'd be some good will down the road. I thought we continued on with these next two on the road, probably played the same way going into it. So it's been a good stretch for us, and much better than we were at the beginning of the year," Quenneville said. "I like the improvement in our game."
A big part of the Blackhawks' success is finding their four-line rotation.
Jonathan Toews was joined by Nick Schmaltz and Richard Panik early in the Ice Show trip, the three were given time to mesh and it's paying productive dividends. The second line is always a threat. Their third and fourth lines are a great combination of defense, skill and youth.
As the lines have started rolling, so have the Blackhawks. Each line had someone score against Buffalo. The top line thrived vs. the Wild.
"I think all year we kind of expected the offense, coming from Arty's [Artem Anisimov's] line and maybe my line, but what's making us a really good team is our third and fourth line going out there and just battling every shift, just working, giving other teams no time, no chance to make plays with the puck," Toews said. "I think when you can rotate four lines like that, everyone starts to pick up their pace and their speed and then you just rotate in and it doesn't matter who scores on a given night. We're getting contributions from all over the place and it makes you a dangerous team and a tough team to beat."
Instead of taking steam out of the Blackhawks' sails, the bye appears to have re-energized them.
"Yeah it was good for our team," Ryan Hartman said. "We had a few guys who didn't get [rest during] the all-star break. They were still playing, and it was nice for those guys to get away from the rink and kind of get in the sun and take your mind of hockey for a bit, refresh the brain and body. I think we all needed those couple days of rest. As it's looked the last couple of games we've looked fresh and we've been bringing it almost a full 60. I wouldn't say we're quite playing a full 60 but we're really close and that was crucial for us."
Playing a full 60 was one of the Blackhawks' biggest problems earlier this season. Much like the four-line rotation, it's showing up at the right time. The Blackhawks have a great opportunity this week to get closer to the Wild, who started their break on Wednesday.
The issues that plagued the Blackhawks earlier this season are starting to dissipate. They weren't sure how they were going to come out of this break. So far, they've followed rest and relaxation with a rejuvenated game.
"We're just rolling four lines now. Every line can score and every line's playing the best hockey," Panik said. "That's helped us."
The Blackhawks probably felt that in some respect heading into the new NHL-mandated bye week on Feb. 12, but the need for rest usurped any worry on that front. Still, when the Blackhawks reconvened last Friday, the question remained if they could pick up where they left off on that pre-bye, five-game winning streak.
As coach Joel Quenneville said of the unusual break, "we talked about it going into it: you don't know how you're going to come out of it."
Apparently it hasn't been a problem.
The Blackhawks have won two of their first three out of the bye, including their 5-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night.
Coming out of this break hasn't been easy for a lot of teams. The Blackhawks, like 11 other teams up to this point, lost their first game out of it. But in that loss to Edmonton, the Blackhawks played well. That continued on Sunday in Buffalo and on Tuesday in Minnesota. Now back in a rhythm schedule-wise, the Blackhawks are hitting their stride performance-wise.
"I thought we played a good game against Edmonton but we still felt there'd be some good will down the road. I thought we continued on with these next two on the road, probably played the same way going into it. So it's been a good stretch for us, and much better than we were at the beginning of the year," Quenneville said. "I like the improvement in our game."
A big part of the Blackhawks' success is finding their four-line rotation.
Jonathan Toews was joined by Nick Schmaltz and Richard Panik early in the Ice Show trip, the three were given time to mesh and it's paying productive dividends. The second line is always a threat. Their third and fourth lines are a great combination of defense, skill and youth.
As the lines have started rolling, so have the Blackhawks. Each line had someone score against Buffalo. The top line thrived vs. the Wild.
"I think all year we kind of expected the offense, coming from Arty's [Artem Anisimov's] line and maybe my line, but what's making us a really good team is our third and fourth line going out there and just battling every shift, just working, giving other teams no time, no chance to make plays with the puck," Toews said. "I think when you can rotate four lines like that, everyone starts to pick up their pace and their speed and then you just rotate in and it doesn't matter who scores on a given night. We're getting contributions from all over the place and it makes you a dangerous team and a tough team to beat."
Instead of taking steam out of the Blackhawks' sails, the bye appears to have re-energized them.
"Yeah it was good for our team," Ryan Hartman said. "We had a few guys who didn't get [rest during] the all-star break. They were still playing, and it was nice for those guys to get away from the rink and kind of get in the sun and take your mind of hockey for a bit, refresh the brain and body. I think we all needed those couple days of rest. As it's looked the last couple of games we've looked fresh and we've been bringing it almost a full 60. I wouldn't say we're quite playing a full 60 but we're really close and that was crucial for us."
Playing a full 60 was one of the Blackhawks' biggest problems earlier this season. Much like the four-line rotation, it's showing up at the right time. The Blackhawks have a great opportunity this week to get closer to the Wild, who started their break on Wednesday.
The issues that plagued the Blackhawks earlier this season are starting to dissipate. They weren't sure how they were going to come out of this break. So far, they've followed rest and relaxation with a rejuvenated game.
"We're just rolling four lines now. Every line can score and every line's playing the best hockey," Panik said. "That's helped us."
Bear Down Chicago Bears !!!!! Jay Cutler is reportedly considering retirement.
By Tony Andracki
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
This is apparently the week of Jay Cutler news.
Reports surfaced earlier this week the Bears are pushing hard to find a trade partner for the enigmatic quarterback, though Ian Rapoport reported the organization informed Cutler in mid-January they were shopping him around.
It seems clear Cutler's time in Chicago has come to an end and an ensuing move is more of a formality at this point.
But apparently Cutler may not even suit up again...for ANY team.
Rapoport reported on NFL Network Wednesday night Cutler is mulling over retirement, even as he's healthy and working out now after shoulder surgery.
"There's no guarantee Cutler even plays in 2017, one of several veterans who are still considering whether they want to play or not play, retire, walk away. A lot of things at play here for Jay Cutler."
Host Dan Hellie immediately followed up, asking for clarification on the retirement part.
"It is a consideration; it's something he's confided in people," Rapoport said. "But Dan, I would say, it's not a surprise for quarterbacks this age. We've heard [Ben] Roethlisberger talk about it; we've heard Tony Romo talk about it. If it's not perfect, if he can't find the team he wants or the contract he wants, it's very easy for Jay Cutler to walk away."
Whoa.
Cutler, 33, has made more than $112 million in his 11-year career and is owed at least another $2 million in 2017, even if he's cut by the Bears.
University of Illinois names inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame class.
By Richard Flesch
The UI announced 28 people will be in the inaugural class of its Athletics Hall of Fame. There are 16 living members of the class, broken down to 10 men and six women.
All-time great Dick Butkus was introduced as the first member of the class in the fall of 2016, and is joined by football legends Red Grange, George Halas, Claude “Buddy” Young and long-time coach Robert Zuppke.
Women’s athletics were added at the varsity level in 1974, 84 years after the UI Athletic Association was formed in 1890. Women in the first class are track and field stars Tonja Buford-Bailey and Perdita Felicien, gymnast Nancy Thies Mashall, golfer Renee Heiken Slone, volleyball star Mary Eggers Tendler and trailblazing administrator Karol Kahrs.
Women’s athletics were added at the varsity level in 1974, 84 years after the UI Athletic Association was formed in 1890. Women in the first class are track and field stars Tonja Buford-Bailey and Perdita Felicien, gymnast Nancy Thies Mashall, golfer Renee Heiken Slone, volleyball star Mary Eggers Tendler and trailblazing administrator Karol Kahrs.
Several members were multi-sport stars, including Dwight “Dike” Eddleman, Andy Phillip, Lou Boudreau, Halas and Young.
Basketball is represented by Nick Anderson, Dee Brown, Deron Williams, Phillip, Boudreau, Mannie Jackson and Jerry Colangelo.
In addition to their time as student-athletes, Halas, Jackson and Colangelo were recognized for their contribution to sports after groundbreaking leadership in professional and international athletics.
A long line of Fighting Illini track and field greats is represented by Herb McKenley, Harold Osborn, Craig Virgin, Eddleman, Buford-Bailey and Felicien.
Boudreau, Illinois’ only member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Phillip and Huff represent baseball.
Golfer Steve Stricker, wrestler Allie Morrison and gymnast Abie Grossfeld represent their respective sports.
Illinois coaching legends included in this class are track and field coach and innovator Harry Gill, tennis coach Craig Tiley and Zuppke. Grossfeld, McKenley, Kahrs and Huff all had successful coaching careers internationally and at Illinois in addition to their playing and administrative careers.
George Huff, considered the “Father of Illini Athletics,” is connected to all areas as a player on the initial football team in 1890, several years as a coach for football and baseball and serving as athletics director for more than three decades.
The Class of 2017 will be introduced at the Fighting Illini Athletics Hall of Fame Gala at the Field Museum of Natural History, in Chicago, Friday, June 23. Ticket information will be released in the coming weeks.
The University of Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 30, at State Farm Center, on the UI campus. Illinois hosts Nebraska in football on Sept. 29.
Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2017
Nick Anderson, Basketball (1988-89)
Nick Anderson earned First-Team All-Big Ten honors after helping lead the famed Flying Illini to the 1989 NCAA Final Four. Anderson averaged 17 points per game during his Illini career and his 35-foot buzzer-beating jump shot to defeat Indiana is considered one of the iconic plays in Fighting Illini history. Anderson entered the NBA Draft following his junior season and was the 11th overall pick by Orlando Magic, becoming the franchise’s first-ever draft pick. Anderson played 13 years in the NBA with a 14.4 career scoring average.
Lou Boudreau, Baseball/ Basketball (1937-38)
Lou Boudreau is the only Illini in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He concluded his 15-year MLB career, including 10 seasons as a player-manager, as a seven-time All-Star and the 1948 American League MVP. Boudreau managed the Cleveland Indians to their last World Series title in 1948, and led AL shortstops in fielding eight times. The “Good Kid” won the AL batting title in 1944 and still holds MLB record for hitting the most consecutive doubles in a game (4) on July 14, 1946. As an Illini, Boudreau served as captain of Illini baseball and basketball teams. He led the Illini to both basketball and baseball Big Ten titles during the 1936-37 season before earning All-America honors in basketball in 1938. Boudreau is one of just three athletes (along with Grange and Butkus) to have their Illini number retired. He died in 2001 at the age of 84.
Dee Brown, Basketball (2003-06)
Dee Brown, quite possibly the most popular Fighting Illini basketball player in history, was named the 2005 Sporting News National Player of the Year. Nicknamed “The One-Man Fastbreak,” he was a two-time consensus All-American, including first-team in 2005 and second-team in 2006. Brown was named the 2005 Big Ten Silver Basketball winner and 2005 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year after helping lead the Illini to a Big Ten title and appearance in the NCAA national championship game. Brown was a four-time All-Big Ten selection and finished third in voting for 2005 Wooden Award. In 2006, Brown was winner of the Bob Cousy Award as nation’s top point guard. Brown is the winningest player in Illinois history with 114 victories. Following his Illinois career, he played professionally for 10 years, including two years in the NBA.
Tonja Buford-Bailey, Track and Field (1990-93)
Tonja Buford-Bailey is a three-time Olympic hurdler in 1992, 1996 and 2000, earning Bronze in ’96 in the 400 meter hurdles; She won an incredible 25 individual Big Ten titles, had 10 All-America performances and was four-time Big Ten Athlete of the Year in women’s track and field. Buford-Bailey won the 1992 NCAA title in the 400 meter hurdles. Her best result came in the 1995 World Championships in Sweden where she won the silver medal in the 400 meter hurdles, losing the race by 0.01 seconds, which was under the previous world record. As Illini women’s track coach, she led the team to one Big Ten championship in 2013. Buford-Bailey is currently the track and field sprint and relay coach at Texas.
Dick Butkus, Football (1962-64), (Chicago Bears)
Dick Butkus is regarded by many as the greatest linebacker in football history. He is one of four Illinois players in history to earn consensus All-America honors in two seasons. Butkus played center on offense and linebacker on defense for Coach Pete Elliott, leading the Illini to the 1963 Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl victory over Washington. He is a member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame. Butkus was two-time consensus All-American, three-time All-Big Ten and the 1963 Silver Football Award winner. He finished third in the 1964 Heisman Trophy balloting and went on to a nine-year Hall of Fame career with the NFL’s Chicago Bears. Butkus’ Illinois jersey, No. 50, was retired in 1986 and he was named to the Walter Camp Foundation All-Century team in 1989. The nation’s top linebacker receives the “Butkus Award” each season.
Jerry Colangelo, Basketball/Contributor to Sport (1960-62)
Jerry Colangelo played basketball at Illinois from 1960-62 before embarking on a long and influential career in professional sports as a coach, general manager and even as team owner. Colangelo is the former owner of the Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury, Arizona Sandsharks, Arizona Rattlers and Arizona Diamondbacks. He became youngest general manager in professional sports in 1968 after being hired by Suns. Colangelo has served as Chairman of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, as well as many leadership roles with the NBA, MLB, charitable foundations and community organizations. He is a four-time NBA Executive of the Year selection and was named as one of Phoneix’s 15 all-time most influential citizens and the Most Influential Sports Figure in Arizona for the 20th century by the Arizona Republic. Colangelo was elected to Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004. Colangelo was named Director of USA Basketball in 2005 and helped lead the U.S. National Team to Olympic gold in 2008, 2012 and 2016.
Dwight “Dike” Eddleman, Football/Track/Basketball (1943, 1947-49)
Dike Eddleman is generally considered the greatest athlete in UI history. He earned a combined 11 letters in track, football and basketball while being named the 1949 Big Ten Silver Basketball winner. Eddleman played in the 1947 Rose Bowl as a punter, competed in the high jump (tying for second) in the 1948 Olympics, and led Illinois to the 1949 NCAA Basketball Final Four. He won the NCAA high jump title. Eddleman earned first-team All-America honors in 1949 after being named second-team in 1948, while earning first-team All-Big Ten recognition in 1948 and second-team honors in 1949. He served as the team captain, earned team MVP honors, and led Illinois to the Big Ten title and NCAA Final Four appearance in 1949. He played four seasons in the NBA, including All-Star Game appearances in 1951 and 1952. Eddleman is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations Hall of Fame. Beginning in 1969, Eddleman served the UI as chief fundraiser for the athletics department. He died in 2001 at the age of 78.
Perdita Felicien, Track and Field (2000-03)
Perdita Felician was a three-time NCAA hurdles champion and was named 2001 and 2003 NCAA Track Athlete of the Year. She earned All-America honors 10 times while at Illinois. Felicien was a two-time world champion in the 100-meter hurdles and two-time world silver medalist. She set UI, Big Ten and NCAA records in 60 meter and 100 meter hurdles. Felicien represented Canada at 2000 and 2004 Olympic games and is a 10-time Canadian champion. She set the Canadian record in the 100 meter hurdles in 2004, which still stands today. Felicien was the first Canadian woman to ever win a medal at the World Championships. During her career, she won gold and silver at both the World Championships in the 100 meter hurdles and World Indoor Championships in the 60 meter hurdles. Felicien was inducted into the Athletics Canada Hall of Fame in 2016.
Harry Gill, Track Coach (1904-29, 31-33)
Harry Gill won an Illinois record 22 Big Ten team championships in indoor and outdoor track and field. He was a driving force behind the NCAA sponsoring team championship events. Gill led the Illini to two NCAA team titles, including the 1921 outdoor track and field title, which was the first-ever team championship awarded by NCAA. Competed as a multi-event athlete at Harvard and was a one-time holder of the discus world record. Under Gill, Illinois athletes appeared at the Paris 1924 Olympic Games, where they scored more points than any other nation’s entire team. Gill is a member of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame and coached numerous Olympic competitors. He built a career record of 111-24 in dual meets. He was the founder of Gill Athletics in 1918, and continues to be a world leader in track and field equipment. Gill died in 1956 at the age of 80.
Harold “Red” Grange, Football (1923-25), (Chicago Bears)
As its first legitimate star, Red Grange is credited with establishing the popularity of professional football. A charter member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame, Grange was a three-time consensus All-American from 1923-25 and considered by many still today to be the greatest collegiate football player of all time. The 1924 B1G Silver Football Award. Grange’s legendary No. 77 was retired after the completion of his final game at Illinois. He was named a member of the Walter Camp Foundation’s All-Century team in 1989. After his final game at Illinois, Grange signed with the Chicago Bears, owned by Illinois alumnus George Halas. During an age when professional football rarely saw crowds of more than a few thousand, Grange attracted 36,000 spectators for his pro debut on Thanksgiving Day at Wrigley Field; 10 days later 73,000 watched him play at New York’s Polo Grounds. Grange’s most memorable performance came Oct. 18, 1924, when he scored four touchdowns in the first 12 minutes vs. Michigan in the Memorial Stadium dedication game. Later in the same game, he ran for a fifth touchdown and threw for a sixth. Nicknamed the “Wheaton Iceman” and “Galloping Ghost,” he was named to The Sporting News All-Time Team, the Big Ten Diamond Anniversary Team, the Walter Camp All-Century Team and UI All-Century Team. In 2010, he was named the No. 1 Icon in Big Ten history by the Big Ten Network. Grange died in 1991 at the age of 87.
Abie Grossfeld, Gymnastics (1957-60)
Abie Grossfeld won four gold, three silver and three bronze medals at NCAA Championships, finishing among the top three in 10 of 16 events from 1957-59. In 1957, he finished second in the all-around at the 1957 NCAA Championships. Grossfeld won seven Big Ten individual titles and four AAU national titles and competed in the Olympics for the U.S. in 1956 and 1960. He coached American gymnasts at the 1964, 1972, 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games. Grossfeld won 15 medals at the Pan American Games and 17 combined gold medals while dominating the Maccabiah Games. He was head coach of U.S. men’s gymnastics team at five World Championships and was named NCAA National Coach of the Year three times. Grossfeld was selected to the U.S. Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1979 and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1991. He spent 41 years as head coach at Southern Connecticut State University where he is now a Professor Emeritus of Athletics.
George Halas, Football/Basketball/Baseball/Contributor to Sport (1916-18), (Chicago Bears)
George Halas played football, baseball and basketball at Illinois, helping the Illini to the 1918 Big Ten football championship under Bob Zuppke. He graduated from the UI with a degree in civil engineering. While serving as an ensign in the Navy during World War I, he played for a team at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station and was named MVP of the 1919 Rose Bowl after receiving a touchdown and returning an interception 77 yards in a 17-0 win. Afterwards, Halas played minor league baseball, eventually earning a promotion to the New York Yankees, where he played 12 games as an outfielder in 1919 before a hip injury effectively ended his baseball career. In 1920, Halas represented the A.E. Staley Company at the meeting which formed the American Professional Football Association (which became the NFL), and after one year, moved the team to Chicago where they eventually became the Bears. He was player-coach for the Bears for 10 years until 1930 but remained as club owner. Halas eventually returned to coaching and in 40 years as head coach, he endured only six losing seasons while compiling a record of 318-148-31 and winning six NFL championships. He added two additional championships as owner. His No. 7 is retired by the Bears. Halas was named a charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. Halas’ last year as coach was in 1967, and he remained as owner until his death in 1983 at the age of 88. A pioneer both on and off the field, the George Halas Trophy is awarded by the NFL to the National Football Conference champion and the Pro Football Hall of Fame is located on George Halas Drive.
George Huff, Football/Football Coach/Baseball Coach/Athletics Director (1901-36)
Considered the “Father of Illini Athletics,” George Huff was a player, coach and athletics director during the first 46 years of the Athletic Association. Huff was a member of Illinois’ first varsity football team in 1890, served as head football coach from 1895-99, compiling a record of 21-16-3, served as head baseball coach from 1896-1919, tallying a mark of 317-97-4 and was director of athletics at Illinois from 1901-36. Huff briefly managed Boston Americans (later Red Sox) at start of 1907 season, but managed only eight games before returning to Illinois. He led Illinois to 11 Big Ten baseball titles. Huff was the driving force behind construction of Memorial Stadium and Men’s New Gym, later named Huff Hall. The first school for collegiate athletic coaches was that which he organized in 1919. In his earlier years, Huff, during the summer, scouted for the Chicago Cubs and later for the Boston Red Sox. His greatest scouting achievement was the discovery of future hall of famer Tris Speaker in the Texas bushes. He was selected to the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame (1968) and is a member of NACDA Hall of Fame (1973). Huff was Instrumental in establishing the Western Conference, the forerunner of the Big Ten Conference, in 1896. Huff died in 1936 at the age of 64.
Mannie Jackson, Basketball/Contributor to Sport (1958-60)
Mannie Jackson was born in a railroad boxcar in Illmo, Missouri, before moving to Edwardsville, Illinois and finding statewide high school success on the basketball court. In college, he broke down barriers, when he and former high school teammate Govoner Vaughn became the first African-Americans to start and letter in basketball at the University of Illinois. Jackson earned All-Big Ten honors twice as an Illini before playing three years with the Harlem Globetrotters. After starting a long career at Honeywell, where he became one of the company’s senior corporate officers, Jackson became the nation’s first African-American owner of a global sports and entertainment brand when he purchased the Globetrotters in 1993. He won the 2015 Theodore Roosevelt Award by the NCAA, the association’s top honor. Jackson served as Chairman of the National Basketball Hall of Fame from 2007-09. He was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State’s highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in 2010 in the area of Sports.
Karol Kahrs, Coach / Athletics Administration (1966-2000)
Recognized with the NACWAA Legacy Award in 2014, Kahrs created and developed the Illinois women’s athletics program from the ground up starting in 1974 after working in the physical education department since 1966. More well-known for her role in shaping women’s athletics, she served as basketball, volleyball and softball coach during her collegiate career. Kahrs is a past president of NACWAA (1998-99) and member of numerous NCAA and organizational committees, including a spot on the Executive Board of the AIAW. Kahrs is a member of the NACDA Hall of Fame (2006) and was the first chairman of the Big Ten Women’s Athletic Administrators from 1974-76. She was a member of the committee that submitted the initial proposal to add women’s athletics to the Big Ten Conference in 1981.
Nancy Thies Marshall, Gymnastics (1976-77)
Nancy Thies Marshall is the only Illinois women’s gymnast to compete in the Olympics, when she made the 1972 team as a 15-year-old out of Urbana High School. Marshall placed third in the all-around at the 1972 AAU Meet and was fifth at the Olympic Trials to make the Olympic Team. She is credited with being the first person to perform back aerial tumbling on the balance beam in Olympic competitions. During her career, she has served as vice-chair for women at USA Olympics. Marshall has co-authored athletic-themed books, volunteered and led nonprofit organizations, worked for NBC as a commentator for television broadcasts of gymnastics, and traveled as a tireless proponent of athlete wellness. She was a four-year member of the U.S. National Team and was two-time Big Ten Gymnast of the Year. Marshall won the Big Ten All-Around title and earned All-American honors. She was inducted into the World Acrobatic Society Hall of Fame in 2010. Marshall is currently the director of Human Resources at Corban University in Salem, Oregon.
Herb McKenley, Track & Field (1946-47)
Herb McKenley was a four-time NCAA Champion in the 220 yard and 440 yard dashes in 1946 and 1947. He was an eight-time Big Ten Champion and AAU champion in the 440-yard dash in 1945, 1947 and 1948 and had world best times in the 100 meters (10.3), 200 meters (20.4) and 400 meters (46.2) in 1947. He’s the only person to ever have achieved this feat. McKenley won a gold and three silver medals as a Jamaican sprinter at the 1948 and 1952 Olympic Games while setting a world record in the 440, and is the only person to have made the finals in all three sprinting events, the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters at the Olympics. McKenley was coach of the Jamaican national team from 1954-73. He died in Kingston, Jamaica in 2007 at the age of 85.
Allie Morrison, Wrestling (1927-29)
Allie Morrison won the freestyle featherweight gold medal at the 1928 Olympics as the only American wrestler to capture gold at those Games. He also won three consecutive U.S. AAU National Wrestling Championships, losing just once during his career. Morrison was forced to retire in 1929 after suffering broken vertebra in his neck. The 1928 Big Ten champion, Morrison was undefeated as an Illinois wrestler. Morrison was state of Iowa’s first Olympic gold medalist in any sport. He won three National AAU titles starting in 1926 as a high school senior and is a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Morrison died in 1966 at the age of 61.
Harold Osborn, Track & Field (1920-22)
Harold Osborn is a member of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He competed for the U.S. at the 1924 and 1928 Olympic games and was the 1924 high jump and decathlon gold medalist (only time ever an athlete won decathlon gold and individual event gold) and 1928 high jump silver medalist. Osborn set six world records during his career and helped the Illini win Big Ten team championships indoors and outdoors all three years at Illinois. Osborn won NCAA and AAU high jump titles in 1922, while setting the high jump world record with a leap of 6’8 ¼” in 1924. Altogether, he won 17 national titles and held world indoor records in the standing hop, step and jump; the 60-yard high hurdles and the running high jump. His world record in standing high jump of 5-5 ¾ still stands today. He won the AAU outdoor high jump title in 1925 and 1926, the indoor title four years in a row, 1923-26, and he was the AAU decathlon champion in 1923, 1925 and 1926. After his international competition career, he received his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine in 1937 and returned to Champaign where he practiced osteopathic medicine, continued to compete in athletics and assisted the UI track team in the 1940s. He was selected as a charter member of the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1974, a year before his death in 1975 at the age of 75.
Andy Phillip, Basketball/Baseball (1942-43, 47)
Andy Phillip is the only Illini elected to the National Basketball Hall of Fame as a player. His Illini career was highlighted as a three-time consensus All-American and All-Big Ten selection. A star on the baseball field as well, Phillip was additionally named 1947 All-American in that sport. He was the most decorated member of famed Whiz Kids. Phillip went on to an 11-year NBA career, with five appearances in the NBA All-Star Game and twice earning second-team All-NBA honors. He is a member of the Illinois All-Century Team and was the 1943 Sporting News National Player of the Year. Phillip was a two-time consensus First-Team All-American in 1942 and 1943, and consensus Second-Team All-American in 1947. Phillip died in 2001 at the age of 79.
Renee Heiken Slone, Golf (1990-93)
Renee Heiken Slone was named the 1993 National College Player of the Year by both the National Golf Coaches Association and Golfweek Magazine. She was the most dominant women’s golfer in Illini history. Slone was a three-time All-American, claiming three straight Top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships, with a high place of third in 1991. She was a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year and two-time Big Ten Championship medalist. Slone was a tournament medalist eight times as a senior to set the Illinois record. She is currently the head coach of the Fighting Illini women’s golf program.
Steve Stricker, Golf (1986-89)
Steve Stricker was a two-time All-American in 1988 and 1989 and three-time Big Ten Championship medalist in 1986, 1988 and 1989. His outstanding professional career includes 21 tour victories with five Top-10 finishes at Majors. Stricker’s most successful season on tour came in 2009, when he had three tournament victories and finished second on the money list. He has ranked as high as No. 2 in the Official World Golf Rankings. Stricker spent 57 consecutive weeks in the world Top-10 from Aug. 26, 2007 to Sept. 21, 2008, and was there for a further 157 consecutive weeks from May 31, 2009 to May 26, 2012. He has a total of 253 weeks in the top-10. Stricker was twice named the PGA Tour Comeback Player of the Year (2006 and 2007), won the Payne Stewart Award in 2012 and Byron Nelson Award in 2013. He has been a five-time member of the U.S. Presidents Cup team, including Presidents Cup team captain in 2017. Stricker was also a three-time member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team (2008, 2010, 2012) and played on the U.S. Dunhill Cup team in 1996.
Mary Eggers Tendler, Volleyball (1985-88)
Mary Eggers Tendler is the most decorated player in Illinois volleyball history. The 1988 Honda Broderick Award winner as the nation’s top player, Tendler was a three-time First-Team All-American and four-time First-Team All-Big Ten selection. She led the nation in hitting percentage in 1986 and 1988 and was named Big Ten Player of the Year three times while helping the Fighting Illini to NCAA Final Four appearances in 1987 and 1988. Her .420 career hitting percentage stood as the NCAA record until 1993. Before a long coaching career, Tendler spent a year-and-a-half playing with the USA Olympic team and spent two years playing professionally in Europe. In 2003, Tendler was named head coach at Elon University, where she remains today.
Craig Tiley, Tennis Coach (1992-2005)
Craig Tiley led the Fighting Illini to the NCAA men’s tennis national title in 2003 with a perfect 32-0 record and ITA National Team Indoor Championships in 2003 and 2004. The tennis national championship was the first by a school not from the south or either coast. Tiley left Illinois following the 2005 season to serve Tennis Australia as their Director of Player Development. In 2006, he was named Director of the Australian Open in addition to his prior duties. After Tennis Australia’s CEO stepped down in 2013, Tiley was selected as the successor of the governing body that oversees tennis in Australia. As head coach of the Illini, he built a head coaching record of 274-77 (.781) while leading the Illini to nine Big Ten regular-season titles and six Big Ten Tournament championships. Tiley was a two-time Wilson/ITA Division I National Coach of the Year (1999 and 2003) and eight-time Big Ten Coach of the Year. He led Illinois to an NCAA record 64 consecutive wins during the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Tiley served as captain of the South Africa Davis Cup team from 1998-2001. Tiley is a member of the ITA Men’s Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame.
Craig Virgin, Cross Country (1973-77)
At Illinois, Craig Virgin won nine Big Ten championships, nine All-American awards and was the 1975 NCAA Cross Country champion. He was a three-time Olympic qualifier in 1976, 1980 and 1984 at 10,000 meters, and is a seven-time American record holder in road and track events. Virgin was a three-time national champion in 10,000 meters at U.S. National Track and Field Championships, and winner of the 1980 Olympic Trials 10,000 meters. He was a nine-time member of the U.S. squad at the World Cross Country Championships and became the first (and still the only) American man to win the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, which he did twice. Virgin was inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame and National USA Track & Field Hall of Fame.
Deron Williams, Basketball (2003-05)
Deron Williams is the most internationally decorated Fighting Illini basketball player in school history. He helped lead the U.S. Olympic team to gold medals at both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic games. Williams earned consensus 2005 Second-Team All-American honors after helping lead the Illini to the national championship game and school-record 37 victories. He was a two-time All-Big Ten first-team selection before entering the NBA Draft after his junior season and becoming the third overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, highest ever by an Illini player. Williams is a three-time NBA All-Star and named All-NBA Second Team twice. Williams was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team and is playing in his 12th year in the NBA.
Claude “Buddy” Young, Football/Track & Field (1944, 46)
Buddy Young was a football and track star for Illinois. At just 5’4” Young, also known as the “Bronze Bullet,” had exceptional quickness and acceleration. On the track, he won NCAA titles in the 100 and 220-yard dashes, tied the world record for the 45 and 60-yard dashes (6.1 in the latter), and was the AAU 100-meter champion. Inducted as a member of College Football Hall of Fame in 1968. He was drafted by the Navy following his All-American freshman season and played for a service team. After his stint in the Navy, Young returned to Illinois and helped the Illini win the 1946 Big Ten football title and 1947 Rose Bowl against UCLA, where he earned Co-MVP honors. He later was named to the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame. Young was a trailblazer as one of the first African-American players in NFL. He played 10 years of pro football and was the first Baltimore Colt to have his number retired. In 1966, Young the first African-American executive hired by the NFL. At his death in 1983 in a car accident, Young was 56 years old and Director of Player Relations for the NFL.
Robert Zuppke, Football Coach (1913-41)
Robert Zuppke is a charter member of College Football Hall of Fame after leading the Illini to four national titles in 1914, 1919, 1923 and 1927, along with seven Big Ten championships. Zuppke is Illinois’ all-time winningest football coach with his 131-81-13 record. The playing field at Memorial Stadium was dedicated as “Zuppke Field” in 1966. Known as “The Little Dutchman,” Zuppke was known as an innovator and trend-setter as a coach. He is credited with introducing the offensive huddle, the screen pass, the long snap to the punter, the linebacker position and the flea flicker play. Along with George Huff, was a driving force behind the construction of Memorial Stadium. He died in 1957 at the age of 78.
Just Another Chicago Bulls Session..... NBA Trade Deadline: Bulls deal Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott to Thunder. Bulls acquire Payne, Morrow, and Lauvergne from Thunder. What's Your Take?
By chicagobulls.com
(Photo/chicagobulls.com)
The Chicago Bulls announced today that the team has acquired guards Cameron Payne and Anthony Morrow (MORE-roe), and center/forward Joffrey Lauvergne (LA-vern) from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for forwards Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott and a 2018 second-round draft pick.
In his second year in the NBA, Payne (6-3, 185) is averaging 5.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 20 games played after missing 35 due to a right foot fracture and two to a D-League assignment with the Oklahoma City Blue. He has scored in double figures twice this season. In 77 career contests (one start), Payne holds averages of 5.1 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 13.2 minutes played. He has career shooting averages of .385 from the field, .319 from long range and .821 from the foul line.
In his ninth NBA season, Morrow (6-5, 210) has appeared in 40 games (seven starts) and is posting averages of 5.8 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 15.7 minutes per game. He is shooting .387 from the field, .294 from three and .885 from the line for the year. He has eight games with double-digit scoring, and a season high of 21 points vs. Detroit on Nov. 26. In 555 career contests (142 starts), Morrow is averaging 9.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 22.0 minutes. For his career, Morrow is shooting .447 overall, .417 from distance (5th among active players) and .878 from the stripe. In 2008-09, his three-point percentage of .467 ranked first in the league, and he has had five total seasons where his three-point percentage has ranked in the top 10.
In his third season in the NBA, Lauvergne (6-11, 220) is averaging 5.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.0 assists across 50 games this year while shooting .455 from the field, .346 from three and .638 from the charity stripe. He’s scored in double figures eight times with a season high of 17 points on Feb. 13 at Washington, which tied Russell Westbrook for the Thunder high in that game. In 133 career appearances (16 starts), Lauvergne is posting averages of 6.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 0.9 assists in 15.4 minutes played. He is shooting .480 from the field, .293 from distance and .755 from the line for his career. Lauvergne will be the fourth international player on the Bulls roster.
Gibson was selected by the Bulls with the 26th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. He is averaging 11.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 0.91 blocks in 27.3 minutes per game this season and is shooting .521 from the field, .167 from three and .714 from the line.
In 562 career contests (229 starts) with Chicago, Gibson held averages of 9.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.24 blocks and shot .495 from the field and .694 from the stripe. Gibson ranks in the top-10 of several Bulls franchise leader categories, including games played (10th), offensive rebounds (sixth), defensive rebounds (ninth) and blocks (fifth). Gibson also appeared in 56 playoff games (seven starts) for the Bulls and averaged 8.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.16 blocks while shooting .499 overall and .691 at the free-throw line.
In his third season, McDermott is averaging 10.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 assist and 24.5 minutes in 44 games. McDermott is shooting .445 from the field, .376 from long range and .881 at the line. For his career, McDermott is posting averages of 8.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.7 assists and 20.2 minutes across 161 games (eight starts). He is shooting .445 overall, .399 from three and .849 from the foul line. In three career playoff games for Chicago, McDermott averaged 1.7 points in 3.3 minutes of action.
Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Take: It's not going to pretty but it is what it is. In our opinion, nothing is going to change with the Bulls until they change the front office management and the head coach. It is obvious that they are just grabbing at straws hoping to catch lightning in a bottle. It's not going to happen. The other major Chicago sports franchises have acquired much young talent but have also brought in coaches and managers that are NFL, MLB and professional soccer experienced. The Bulls decided to mix young talent with veteran talent which is okay but they don't have that mature, experienced, authoritative leader that the players respect and fear at the same time. I'm sure the head coach is a great guy but it's not happening. The messages aren't getting through and we're wondering where the breakdown is? Do they believe in and trust the head coach? Are the assistant coaches getting through to the players? What's wrong? They need a head coach that can develop talent!!! Now back to the front office, it just needs to be swept clean. They are destroying the Bulls and their beautiful legacy. Replace them with management that will hire a proven head coach and let him do his job. Paxson (and we like him a lot) and Gar Foreman (who we can't figure out what he does) have got to go. Why Thibodeau is gone is your guess as good as ours. Hopefully, someone will eventually see what's going on at the ownership level and get the train back on the track.
Some of you will like our take and others of you won't. So now it's your turn. Share your thoughts with us and let us know what's your take? Please go to the comments section at the bottom of this blog and let it rip. We love hearing from you and can't wait to hear what you have to say.
Thanks in advance for your time, consideration and thoughts.
The Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica Editorial Staff.
What the Bulls are getting in point guard Cameron Payne.
By Mark Strotman
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
The Bulls got more than a good dancer when they traded Doug McDermott and Taj Gibson for Cameron Payne and two others at Thursday's trade deadline. Though the 6-foot-3 point guard has been known more for his pregame dance routines with Russell Westbrook than his play on the court through two seasons, he’s still a 22-year-old two years removed from being a lottery pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.
Payne was a relative unknown to the casual NBA fan coming out of Murray State in 2015. Payne won the Ohio Valley Player of the Year as a sophomore, averaging 20.2 points, 6.0 assists and 1.9 steals, and ultimately became the lone mid-major selected in the lottery that year. He said at the 2015 Combine in Chicago that he wanted to be the next Steph Curry, going from an unknown at a mid-major to NBA stardom.
The Oklahoma City Thunder selected Payne that June over fellow point guards Terry Rozier, Delon Wright, Tys Jones and Jerian Grant, the last of whom the Bulls traded for this past offseason.
Payne’s biggest struggle in the NBA through two seasons backing up Westbrook has been his shooting. Though he shot nearly 46 percent from the field and 38 percent from deep as a college sophomore, Payne has been among the worst shooters in the league this season. In fact, among 295 players averaging at least 16 minutes per game, Payne’s 40.2 true shooting percentage is second worst in the league, in front of only Justise Winslow (39.7 percent).
Part of his lackluster shooting may be attributed to rust, as Payne missed the first 37 games of the season while recovering from a broken foot suffered in the preseason. He’s appeared in each of the Thunder’s last 20 games running the second unit, but with Westbrook putting up historic numbers there hasn’t been much of a need for him – he and Westbrook have shared the court for just 59 minutes this season.
The Thunder bench has produced the eighth worst net rating in the NBA this season, which could be part of the reason general manager Sam Presti made the move to acquire Doug McDermott and Taj Gibson. Payne’s shooting woes have attributed to that, as the Thunder are more than 8 points per 100 possessions worse offensively with him on the floor.
But Payne has provided value on the other end of the court; he has a positive net rating and his defensive RPM is 20th among point guards. Put in layman’s terms, Payne has been a solid defender, which has allowed him playing time despite his shooting.
He hasn’t shown a knack for being a great passer, as his assist ratio (Thunder possessions that end in a Payne assist) of 21.3 percent is 67th among 96 qualified point guards. He has improved on taking care of the ball, with his turnover ratio shrinking this season despite a slight uptick in minutes from his rookie season. It’s not uncommon to see a reserve point guard take a backseat, so the verdict is still out on how good a passer he can become.
Where he fits into the Bulls’ equation is another story. Fred Hoiberg’s group now touts five point guards, with Grant the only real player who can move off the ball – Rajon Rondo, Michael Carter-Williams, and Payne are strictly point guards, and Isaiah Canaan is simply an end-of-the-bench option.
The Bulls liked Grant enough to include him in last summer’s trade for Derrick Rose, and he’s under contract for two more seasons. Rondo and Carter-Williams are likely playing their final seasons in Chicago, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Gar Forman and John Paxson go after a floor general in a loaded point guard draft class.
All told, Payne projects as a nice second unit guard capable of playing solid defense. He’s under contract for two more seasons on a rookie deal and, given that he was playing behind Ironman in Westbrook, still has room to grow. He and Grant will challenge each other in practice and only be better for it, but the long-term solution at the point is not currently on the team’s roster.
Receiving Payne – as well as Anthony Morrow and Joffrey Lauvergne – wasn’t a terrible haul given Gibson’s impending free agency and Doug McDermott’s defensive limitations. But the trade certainly wasn’t the splash Bulls fans were hoping to see at the trade deadline, either.
Payne was a relative unknown to the casual NBA fan coming out of Murray State in 2015. Payne won the Ohio Valley Player of the Year as a sophomore, averaging 20.2 points, 6.0 assists and 1.9 steals, and ultimately became the lone mid-major selected in the lottery that year. He said at the 2015 Combine in Chicago that he wanted to be the next Steph Curry, going from an unknown at a mid-major to NBA stardom.
The Oklahoma City Thunder selected Payne that June over fellow point guards Terry Rozier, Delon Wright, Tys Jones and Jerian Grant, the last of whom the Bulls traded for this past offseason.
Payne’s biggest struggle in the NBA through two seasons backing up Westbrook has been his shooting. Though he shot nearly 46 percent from the field and 38 percent from deep as a college sophomore, Payne has been among the worst shooters in the league this season. In fact, among 295 players averaging at least 16 minutes per game, Payne’s 40.2 true shooting percentage is second worst in the league, in front of only Justise Winslow (39.7 percent).
Part of his lackluster shooting may be attributed to rust, as Payne missed the first 37 games of the season while recovering from a broken foot suffered in the preseason. He’s appeared in each of the Thunder’s last 20 games running the second unit, but with Westbrook putting up historic numbers there hasn’t been much of a need for him – he and Westbrook have shared the court for just 59 minutes this season.
The Thunder bench has produced the eighth worst net rating in the NBA this season, which could be part of the reason general manager Sam Presti made the move to acquire Doug McDermott and Taj Gibson. Payne’s shooting woes have attributed to that, as the Thunder are more than 8 points per 100 possessions worse offensively with him on the floor.
But Payne has provided value on the other end of the court; he has a positive net rating and his defensive RPM is 20th among point guards. Put in layman’s terms, Payne has been a solid defender, which has allowed him playing time despite his shooting.
He hasn’t shown a knack for being a great passer, as his assist ratio (Thunder possessions that end in a Payne assist) of 21.3 percent is 67th among 96 qualified point guards. He has improved on taking care of the ball, with his turnover ratio shrinking this season despite a slight uptick in minutes from his rookie season. It’s not uncommon to see a reserve point guard take a backseat, so the verdict is still out on how good a passer he can become.
Where he fits into the Bulls’ equation is another story. Fred Hoiberg’s group now touts five point guards, with Grant the only real player who can move off the ball – Rajon Rondo, Michael Carter-Williams, and Payne are strictly point guards, and Isaiah Canaan is simply an end-of-the-bench option.
The Bulls liked Grant enough to include him in last summer’s trade for Derrick Rose, and he’s under contract for two more seasons. Rondo and Carter-Williams are likely playing their final seasons in Chicago, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Gar Forman and John Paxson go after a floor general in a loaded point guard draft class.
All told, Payne projects as a nice second unit guard capable of playing solid defense. He’s under contract for two more seasons on a rookie deal and, given that he was playing behind Ironman in Westbrook, still has room to grow. He and Grant will challenge each other in practice and only be better for it, but the long-term solution at the point is not currently on the team’s roster.
Receiving Payne – as well as Anthony Morrow and Joffrey Lauvergne – wasn’t a terrible haul given Gibson’s impending free agency and Doug McDermott’s defensive limitations. But the trade certainly wasn’t the splash Bulls fans were hoping to see at the trade deadline, either.
CUBS: Braves Way: How Cubs are still focused on next wave of young talent.
By Patrick Mooney
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Chairman Tom Ricketts wants the Cubs to be known someday as one of the greatest sports franchises in the world, right up there with global brands like the New England Patriots, Manchester United and Real Madrid.
But the most relevant blueprint for baseball operations right now might be the Atlanta Braves model that won 14 consecutive division titles between 1991 and 2005, an unbelievable run that still only resulted in one World Series title.
In a "Chicks Dig The Long Ball" era, the Braves had 60 percent of a Hall of Fame rotation (Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz) and a manager (Bobby Cox) who would get his own Cooperstown plaque.
The Braves Way still didn't only revolve around baseball immortals. The churn of young talent and under-the-radar contributors makes big-time prospects Eloy Jimenez and Ian Happ — and somehow finding a next wave of pitching — so important to The Plan.
"The Braves did such a great job during their run of always breaking in a guy or two," general manager Jed Hoyer said this week. "There's a lot of benefits to always trying to break in a guy every year, trying to add new blood every single year. Young guys are great even for a veteran team, because they provide the spark. They provide new energy.
"I thought Willson (Contreras) was a big part of that last year. Coming up in the middle of the season, it was like a great spark for our guys. Maybe one of these guys can provide that spark."
During that 15-year window, the Braves had 14 different players show up in the National League Rookie of the Year voting:
1991: Brian Hunter, Mike Stanton
1992: Mark Wohlers
1993: Greg McMichael
1994: Ryan Klesko, Javy Lopez
1995: Chipper Jones
1996: Jermaine Dye
1997: Andruw Jones
1998: Kerry Ligtenberg
1999: Kevin McGlinchy
2000: Rafael Furcal
2001: –
2002: Damian Moss
2003: –
2004: –
2005: Jeff Francoeur
The Braves produced Rookie of the Year winners in 1990 (David Justice), 2000 (Furcal) and 2011 (Craig Kimbrel). That gap in the early 2000s foreshadowed a relative down cycle where the Braves averaged almost 82 losses between 2006 and 2009 and made zero playoff appearances.
Jason Heyward's big-league debut in 2010 coincided with a run of four straight seasons where the Braves averaged 90-plus wins and made the playoffs three times.
Baseball America put Jimenez (No. 14) and Happ (No. 63) on its preseason top-100 list of prospects. Whether it's making an impression on Joe Maddon's coaching staff, being showcased for a future trade or getting more comfortable in the spotlight, Jimenez and Happ will be two players to watch when the Cubs begin their Cactus League schedule on Saturday.
"Everyone thinks our future is here," Hoyer said. "It's really important to never get caught in that. You always want to have guys in the minor leagues ready to come up. Having organizational depth is really important. Those guys are good players and they're going to help us at some point."
Jimenez is a dynamic 6-foot-4 corner outfielder from the Dominican Republic who figures to begin his age-20 season at advanced Class-A Myrtle Beach. Happ, a 2015 first-round pick, finished last season at Double-A Tennessee and can switch-hit and move between the infield and the outfield.
Contreras is trying to make the leap from energizer to everyday frontline catcher. Albert Almora Jr. — who also contributed to a championship team as a rookie — is trying to earn the center-field job. The Cubs already trusted Carl Edwards Jr. in the 10th inning of a World Series Game 7 and now hope he can keep evolving into an Andrew Miller-type reliever.
The Cubs need the assembly line that's rolled out Anthony Rizzo (June 2012), Kyle Hendricks (July 2014), Javier Baez (August 2014), Kris Bryant and Addison Russell (April 2015) and Kyle Schwarber (June 2015) to keep delivering talent.
"It's something that we have to be really mindful of," Hoyer said, "to make sure that we continue to put a lot of focus on player development, the same kind of focus that we put on it when we were rebuilding, because those guys are going to have a huge impact on us."
Why Joe Maddon sees Kyle Schwarber as the leadoff guy in Cubs lineup.
By Patrick Mooney
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
The analytical and emotional sides of the brain – the Big Data influence and obvious intimidation factor – are leading Joe Maddon to this conclusion: Kyle Schwarber should be the leadoff guy for a thumping Cubs lineup.
"Schwarber is the frontrunner," Maddon said Thursday at the Sloan Park complex. "You could always consider (Ben) Zobrist if you wanted to. You could talk about Jon Jay. I'd say they're the leaders in the clubhouse right now. But primarily I like the idea of 'Schwarbs.'"
Because that would fit the Bill Jamesian ideal of lineup construction – put your best hitters at the top to get them more at-bats – as well as force the opposing pitcher to worry about Schwarber, reigning National League MVP Kris Bryant and Silver Slugger Anthony Rizzo in the first inning.
"None of it's attractive," Maddon said. "There's pause involved there, because if you don't want to pitch to him, then the guys coming up behind are really pretty interesting. It's formidable, so it's uncomfortable from the other side."
That left-right-left balance would set up the switch-hitting Zobrist, a World Series MVP known more for his patience, clutch-time nerves and contact skills than brute force.
"When people say cleanup hitter or third-place hitter, everybody's applying conventional means from several years ago," Maddon said. "My thinking is more: Better hitter, get on base and then who can actually protect Rizzo. Who's going to make them pitch to Rizzo as often as possible?"
The conditionals: The Cubs are a deep team built around versatile players with a seven-month marathon in mind. Schwarber is coming off a traumatic knee injury that limited him to two regular-season games and designated-hitter duties during the World Series. Daily matchups and inevitable injuries will shape the lineup.
Still, Maddon said 140 games "sounds like a nice number" for Schwarber, who has five homers and a 1.178 OPS in 51 career postseason plate appearances.
"He's everyday, but you have to do that with some kind of foresight," Maddon said. "You don't want to beat him up and have that knee bark on him. You give him his day off probably against a tough left-hander you just don't want him to see. And then you just do something differently. But otherwise you'll see him up there."
The Geek Department still needs to send more information to Maddon, but the Cubs are toying with the idea of again hitting the pitcher eighth, in front of the Jay/Albert Almora Jr. platoon.
"I'm just waiting to hear back from the boys if there's a significant bump or difference in that or not projection-wise," Maddon said. "This would be theoretically perfect, in a sense, where either like Almora or Jon to Schwarber to KB. That's kind of nice.
"The only concern I have there is who's hitting seventh. We have a nice lineup, so the seven-hole hitter then would lose some benefit by having the pitcher hitting eighth. So that's the give-and-take with something like that. And it has nothing to do with the eight-hole and hitting sooner and all that. My concern is who's hitting seventh and what that's going to do to that."
"Schwarber is the frontrunner," Maddon said Thursday at the Sloan Park complex. "You could always consider (Ben) Zobrist if you wanted to. You could talk about Jon Jay. I'd say they're the leaders in the clubhouse right now. But primarily I like the idea of 'Schwarbs.'"
Because that would fit the Bill Jamesian ideal of lineup construction – put your best hitters at the top to get them more at-bats – as well as force the opposing pitcher to worry about Schwarber, reigning National League MVP Kris Bryant and Silver Slugger Anthony Rizzo in the first inning.
"None of it's attractive," Maddon said. "There's pause involved there, because if you don't want to pitch to him, then the guys coming up behind are really pretty interesting. It's formidable, so it's uncomfortable from the other side."
That left-right-left balance would set up the switch-hitting Zobrist, a World Series MVP known more for his patience, clutch-time nerves and contact skills than brute force.
"When people say cleanup hitter or third-place hitter, everybody's applying conventional means from several years ago," Maddon said. "My thinking is more: Better hitter, get on base and then who can actually protect Rizzo. Who's going to make them pitch to Rizzo as often as possible?"
The conditionals: The Cubs are a deep team built around versatile players with a seven-month marathon in mind. Schwarber is coming off a traumatic knee injury that limited him to two regular-season games and designated-hitter duties during the World Series. Daily matchups and inevitable injuries will shape the lineup.
Still, Maddon said 140 games "sounds like a nice number" for Schwarber, who has five homers and a 1.178 OPS in 51 career postseason plate appearances.
"He's everyday, but you have to do that with some kind of foresight," Maddon said. "You don't want to beat him up and have that knee bark on him. You give him his day off probably against a tough left-hander you just don't want him to see. And then you just do something differently. But otherwise you'll see him up there."
The Geek Department still needs to send more information to Maddon, but the Cubs are toying with the idea of again hitting the pitcher eighth, in front of the Jay/Albert Almora Jr. platoon.
"I'm just waiting to hear back from the boys if there's a significant bump or difference in that or not projection-wise," Maddon said. "This would be theoretically perfect, in a sense, where either like Almora or Jon to Schwarber to KB. That's kind of nice.
"The only concern I have there is who's hitting seventh. We have a nice lineup, so the seven-hole hitter then would lose some benefit by having the pitcher hitting eighth. So that's the give-and-take with something like that. And it has nothing to do with the eight-hole and hitting sooner and all that. My concern is who's hitting seventh and what that's going to do to that."
After winter of taking heat, Cubs still have Joe Maddon's back.
By Patrick Mooney
(Photo/Csnchicago.com)
It only took 21 minutes into spring training — or the first press conference on the day pitchers and catchers officially reported to Arizona — before Joe Maddon listened to another question about all the heat he took for his World Series Game 7 decisions.
More than 2,000 miles away at Yankee camp in Florida last week, Aroldis Chapman told the Chicago Sun-Times that he "was just being truthful" when he used the conference call to announce the biggest contract ever for a closer — five years and $86 million — to inform the New York media that Maddon misused him during the playoffs. Nothing lost in translation there.
Miguel Montero finally declared a ceasefire on Monday night, getting the sit-down meeting the Cubs felt should go longer than the standard meet and greet after the veteran catcher's jarringly critical comments on WMVP-AM 1000 (if only because it happened on the same day as the championship parade and Grant Park rally).
"It's such an unusual situation," general manager Jed Hoyer said, "because we won the World Series, and theoretically you think that people would be really happy."
As ex-Cub manager Dale Sveum might say: "Ya think?"
Ending the 108-year drought might lead Maddon's Hall of Fame plaque someday, but it also led to waves and waves of second-guessing and speculation about how it might impact his clubhouse credibility. But with Maddon and Montero declaring their Andreoli Italian Grocer summit a success, gonzo strength and conditioning coordinator Tim Buss cruising onto the field in a Ferrari for the first wacky stunt of 2017 and Cactus League games beginning on Saturday, it's time to remember that the Cubs still have their manager's back.
"Everyone says they don't see or read anything," pitcher Jake Arrieta said. "We see and hear a lot of the stuff. But I just think that critics are going to find holes in something always.
"Joe was our leader all year last year. He obviously set the tone in spring training and gives us all these freedoms that help us play the way we played. So the people that matter — and know what Joe's about — are on the same page with his philosophies.
"The way he expresses himself to us is the most important thing. And we stand behind him. We trust that he's going to do what's in our best interest. And we know that any decision he makes is geared towards trying to help us win."
Within the last two seasons, the Cubs have won 200 games, five playoff rounds and their first World Series title since the Theodore Roosevelt administration. Maddon readily admits that the scouting and development wings of Theo Epstein's front office did most of the heavy lifting and credits the strong coaching staff he largely inherited. Spending more than $475 million on free agents like Jon Lester and Ben Zobrist certainly helped.
But all this doesn't happen without Maddon and the environment he created. The Cubs Way absolutely needed a ringmaster for this circus.
Arrieta developed into a Cy Young Award winner. Kyle Hendricks transformed into an ERA leader. Kris Bryant burst onto the scene as a Rookie of the Year and the National League MVP. Addison Russell became an All-Star shortstop by the age of 22. Maddon didn't prejudge Javier Baez, immediately appreciating the dazzling array of skills and super-utility possibilities.
Surprised by the Maddon backlash?
"Yes and no," All-Star first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. "Because there needs to be a story. But what he did — people who are real involved know that since Day 1, he came in and he set the tone.
"He completely flipped the way people think, the way we believe, and everyone has bought into it. The credit he deserves — he gets a lot of it — but I don't think he gets enough of it. Because he lets me be me. He lets Javy be Javy.
"Willson (Contreras), Kris and Addie — everyone has their different personalities. He understands that. And it's not easy to do."
It's such an impossible job, at times, that even Cubs officials and players have acknowledged their frustrations with some of Maddon's in-game decisions and communication gaps. This can't just be written off as a media creation. But imagine the grumbling if the Cubs didn't have a leader with seven 90-win seasons and three Manager of the Year awards on his resume.
"We have a competitive group of guys," Hoyer said. "Every guy wants to be on the field at the right time. Every guy wants to be on the roster. Every guy wants to pitch in winning games.
"That's not realistic sometimes. It comes from a great place. It doesn't come from a place of selfishness. It comes from a place of: 'I want to contribute to winning.'
"The meetings we've had have been awesome. Our camp is unbelievably focused. We are just as focused as last year. I really don't look at it as a negative."
The last word from Maddon, who turned 63 this month and has a $25 million contract, a wide range of off-the-field interests and the championship ring that will make him a legend in Chicago forever, no matter what kind of heat he took this winter.
"Stuff like that doesn't bother me at all," Maddon said. "Regardless of what people may have thought — like any other game that I worked all year long — I had it planned out like that before the game began. So it wasn't anything I tried to do differently game in progress. Had I not done what I thought I was supposed to do — then I would have second-guessed myself.
"So, no, I have no problem with that. I really don't mind the second-guessing from anybody. I kind of encourage it. Please go ahead and do it, because I'll take that kind of second-guessing after winning a World Series on an annual basis. Thank you very much."
WHITE SOX will retire Mark Buehrle's number in June.
By Dan Hayes
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Mark Buehrle apparently has retired after all.
The longtime White Sox pitcher, who never officially called it quits, will have his No. 56 retired on June 24.
Buehrle, who won 161 games and completed at least 200 innings in 11 straight seasons for the White Sox, last pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015. The White Sox will honor their former ace — he's the 12th player in franchise history to have his number retired — before they host the Oakland A's at 1:10 p.m. in June.
Buehrle was a human highlight reel over his 12 seasons with the White Sox. Whether it was his fancy glovework, a perfect game, his no-hitter or recording a save in the 14th inning of Game 3 of the 2005 World Series, Buehrle was a South Side legend.
"Mark Buehrle is one of the most accomplished pitchers in franchise history," White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. "Mark carried himself with class and professionalism throughout his career, and his popularity with staff, teammates and Sox fans is very well deserved. Although a very humble person, he certainly showed a flair for the dramatic on the mound, from a no-hitter to an unforgettable perfect game to a World Series title. A standout on the field and a standup teammate in the clubhouse, it is our honor to retire Mark Buehrle’s No. 56 and to welcome him into the legendary class of all-time White Sox greats."
The White Sox selected Buehrle in the 38th round of the 1998 amateur draft and he debuted in 2000, going 4-1 in 28 games (three starts). Buehrle also earned four All-Star nods while with the team (five overall) and was a three-time Rawlings Gold Glove winner (four overall). He also won two of three starts during the team's 2005 World Series run as the team snapped an 88-year championship drought.
"Mark is one of my favorite people and that is saying a lot," former manager Ozzie Guillen said. "He was the best teammate ever. Everyone loved this man. Everyone."
Buehrle signed a four-year, $58-million deal with the Miami Marlins ahead of the 2012 season and was later traded to the Toronto Blue Jays. He pitched 200 innings in 14 consecutive seasons before falling four outs shy of the feat in his final campaign (2015). Though Buehrle never officially retired, he hasn’t pursued pitching for another team since.
Pitching coach Don Cooper said he broached the subject with Buehrle last April, asking him if he wanted to try a comeback with the White Sox. But Cooper said he sensed that Buehrle was ready for retirement and to spend time with his family.
“There’s a text message from him and I sent it back and I said, ‘You want to come back?’” Cooper said. “He says something to the effect of, ‘You’ve got guys that outdo me now.’ I said ‘I’m not so sure about that.’
“We talk from time to time and I think now he’s enjoying his retirement, enjoying his family, his kids, which are important to him, enjoying his house, his farm, his hunting, all of that staff. Obviously we wish him all nothing but the best.”
White Sox rebuild offers 'leeway' for Lucas Giolito after frustrating 2016 season.
By Dan Hayes
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Lucas Giolito knows if he had performed better in 2016 he wouldn’t have endured the season from travel hell.
Instead, the top pitching prospect in baseball struggled with consistency in the big leagues and the Washington Nationals constantly shuffled him around. Giolito — one of three pitchers acquired in the Adam Eaton trade in December and MLB.com’s 11th-ranked prospect — was moved eight different times throughout the Nationals organization last season.
More irritated by his inability to pitch well for a team in a pennant race, the tall right-hander understands why he spent much of last season on the go. But it’s also one of the main reasons why Giolito, who is likely to begin the 2017 season in the starting rotation at Triple-A Charlotte, is excited for a fresh start with the White Sox.
“It was frustrating because I knew if you get up there and pitch well I can stay, but I didn’t,” Giolito said. “I wanted to help the team win. That’s really all I wanted to do. And all my starts, aside from my debut, which got cut short by the rain, I did not give the team a chance to win. So rightfully so I got sent down. But yeah, it’s frustrating.
“At the same time, with this club I know there might be a little more leeway. I know they might allow younger guys more time to settle in, at least from what I’ve seen.”
The White Sox have made no secret about their plans to rebuild. Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech are four of the seven prospects acquired in December whom the White Sox hope to build around.
General manager Rick Hahn has made it increasingly clear that player development is the team’s top priority.
“At this point going forward we’re really not going to have anyone in Chicago until they’ve answered any questions we’ve had for them at the minor league level and we feel they’re ready to succeed,” Hahn said last month at SoxFest.
And once those players arrive, they’ll be given ample opportunities to prove whether or not they belong. The routine will be normal with regular turns in the rotation rather than spot starts here and there.
The team’s mindset is in stark contrast with Washington, which has been in win-now mode for the past few seasons. Whenever the Nationals called upon Giolito, who hadn’t pitched above Double-A Harrisburg before last June, they needed him to fill in for a rotation that only had three pitchers make more than 25 starts.
Giolito pitched four scoreless innings in a rain-shortened MLB debut on June 28 and then didn’t pitch again until July 7. With Stephen Strasburg back in the rotation, the Nationals then sent Giolito to Single-A Hagerstown so he could get another turn before the All-Star break. Then it was on to Triple-A Syracuse for one start and back to Washington for another.
After he struggled in that outing, Giolito spent a month at Syracuse, returned to the bigs to struggle again on Aug. 28 against Colorado, and went back to Triple-A for one more. Finally, Giolito returned to Washington on Sept. 7 and stayed the rest of the season, though he only pitched twice in a month. In six big league games (four starts), Giolito had a 6.75 ERA.
The up-and-down nature of Giolito’s season prompted MLB.com’s Jim Callis to write: “I also don't think the Nationals handled him very well last season, calling him to Washington on five separate occasions but never letting him take consecutive turns in the rotation, as well as having him change teams nine times.”
Giolito remembers a couple of small planes back and forth from Washington to Syracuse. He also drove a few times because it was so close.
“All sorts of ways of moving around,” he said.
It’s also treatment that’s normally reserved for a Four-A pitcher who has options to burn rather than a top prospect trying to find stability.
Giolito — who was drafted 16th overall in the 2012 draft out of high school — thought some of his struggles were related to poor mechanics and getting away from what had made him successful. The 6-foot-6 pitcher said he tried to simplify his mechanics this winter in order to allow the ball to leave his hand more freely and easily.
Giolito is pleased with the results so far. His main goals early in camp have been commanding his fastball low and away to right-hander hitters and learning how to throw his curveball for a called strike.
“It’s coming out very good,” Giolito said. “Much better than last year. I made a lot of positive changes.
“The time in the big leagues was definitely fun. But going up and down a lot can be like a grind. Getting on the plane, doing this, you’re pitching the next day. You have to be able to try and stay level headed and focus on the next day or task at hand. But when you’re moving around a lot it can be difficult.”
Lighter Avisail Garcia wants to show White Sox his best.
Instead, the top pitching prospect in baseball struggled with consistency in the big leagues and the Washington Nationals constantly shuffled him around. Giolito — one of three pitchers acquired in the Adam Eaton trade in December and MLB.com’s 11th-ranked prospect — was moved eight different times throughout the Nationals organization last season.
More irritated by his inability to pitch well for a team in a pennant race, the tall right-hander understands why he spent much of last season on the go. But it’s also one of the main reasons why Giolito, who is likely to begin the 2017 season in the starting rotation at Triple-A Charlotte, is excited for a fresh start with the White Sox.
“It was frustrating because I knew if you get up there and pitch well I can stay, but I didn’t,” Giolito said. “I wanted to help the team win. That’s really all I wanted to do. And all my starts, aside from my debut, which got cut short by the rain, I did not give the team a chance to win. So rightfully so I got sent down. But yeah, it’s frustrating.
“At the same time, with this club I know there might be a little more leeway. I know they might allow younger guys more time to settle in, at least from what I’ve seen.”
The White Sox have made no secret about their plans to rebuild. Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech are four of the seven prospects acquired in December whom the White Sox hope to build around.
General manager Rick Hahn has made it increasingly clear that player development is the team’s top priority.
“At this point going forward we’re really not going to have anyone in Chicago until they’ve answered any questions we’ve had for them at the minor league level and we feel they’re ready to succeed,” Hahn said last month at SoxFest.
And once those players arrive, they’ll be given ample opportunities to prove whether or not they belong. The routine will be normal with regular turns in the rotation rather than spot starts here and there.
The team’s mindset is in stark contrast with Washington, which has been in win-now mode for the past few seasons. Whenever the Nationals called upon Giolito, who hadn’t pitched above Double-A Harrisburg before last June, they needed him to fill in for a rotation that only had three pitchers make more than 25 starts.
Giolito pitched four scoreless innings in a rain-shortened MLB debut on June 28 and then didn’t pitch again until July 7. With Stephen Strasburg back in the rotation, the Nationals then sent Giolito to Single-A Hagerstown so he could get another turn before the All-Star break. Then it was on to Triple-A Syracuse for one start and back to Washington for another.
After he struggled in that outing, Giolito spent a month at Syracuse, returned to the bigs to struggle again on Aug. 28 against Colorado, and went back to Triple-A for one more. Finally, Giolito returned to Washington on Sept. 7 and stayed the rest of the season, though he only pitched twice in a month. In six big league games (four starts), Giolito had a 6.75 ERA.
The up-and-down nature of Giolito’s season prompted MLB.com’s Jim Callis to write: “I also don't think the Nationals handled him very well last season, calling him to Washington on five separate occasions but never letting him take consecutive turns in the rotation, as well as having him change teams nine times.”
Giolito remembers a couple of small planes back and forth from Washington to Syracuse. He also drove a few times because it was so close.
“All sorts of ways of moving around,” he said.
It’s also treatment that’s normally reserved for a Four-A pitcher who has options to burn rather than a top prospect trying to find stability.
Giolito — who was drafted 16th overall in the 2012 draft out of high school — thought some of his struggles were related to poor mechanics and getting away from what had made him successful. The 6-foot-6 pitcher said he tried to simplify his mechanics this winter in order to allow the ball to leave his hand more freely and easily.
Giolito is pleased with the results so far. His main goals early in camp have been commanding his fastball low and away to right-hander hitters and learning how to throw his curveball for a called strike.
“It’s coming out very good,” Giolito said. “Much better than last year. I made a lot of positive changes.
“The time in the big leagues was definitely fun. But going up and down a lot can be like a grind. Getting on the plane, doing this, you’re pitching the next day. You have to be able to try and stay level headed and focus on the next day or task at hand. But when you’re moving around a lot it can be difficult.”
Lighter Avisail Garcia wants to show White Sox his best.
By Dan Hayes
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Avisail Garcia said he worked all but two weeks this offseason in an effort to prove he can play the outfield.
Whether it was winter ball in Venezuela or working out, the White Sox right fielder said he has lost nearly 15 pounds from the end of last season. He hopes to lose even more before the start of the season and thinks the lighter weight should help him in the field. Garcia — who was acquired in a three-team trade from Detroit in July 2013 — appears to have the inside track to be the team's starting right fielder.
"I feel better like this," Garcia said. "I can run better like this. I can play better defense like this. I can hit better like this. I just have to keep working and lose a little bit more."
Garcia said he reported to camp at 254 pounds and wants to get down to 248. He's hopeful that lighter playing weight and more consistent playing time help him improve in the outfield, where he's been below average for his career. While defensive metrics show he was OK in limited play last season, Garcia had a miserable 2015 campaign in the field when he produced a minus-11 Defensive Runs Saved and minus-6.2 Ultimate Zone Rating. That came on the heels of a minus-8 DRS and minus-6.2 UZR showing in 2014.
Still, Garcia is hopeful he can make progress and prove to the rebuilding White Sox he's the man for the job.
"That's my regular position, and I know can do my job there, a really good job," Garcia said. "I'm just trying to prepare myself to get ready for the season and try to get in better shape, try to do my best to help my team win."
The field isn't the only area the White Sox and Garcia are hoping for improvement. Garcia hit .245/.307/.385 with 12 home runs and 59 RBIs in 453 plate appearances last season. For his career, Garcia has a OPS-plus of 93, which is seven points below league average.
But based on his .355/.421/.538 slash line with runners in scoring position, the White Sox still think Garcia can become a very good hitter. They just need to help him translate the focus he puts into those 107 plate appearances into the majority of his trips to the plate.
"In those situations for us where he was a key person in terms of RBI situations, he didn't try to do too much," manager Rick Renteria said. "If he ended up hitting, getting an extra base hit in those situations, great. But if he didn't it wasn't anything he concerned himself with. I think we are just trying to make sure he focuses on honing in and simplifying what he wants to do in terms of approaches. Hopefully that can lead to him being more effective without runners on base."
Though there was some thought he wouldn't return this season, Garcia — who signed a one-year deal worth $3 million in December — tried not to think about it. He instead focused on his offseason program to have himself ready for what is likely his last chance to prove to the White Sox he belongs.
"I have a lot of responsibility coming," Garcia said. "I just want to be ready. I want to be my best. I want to have a good year for me, but for the team also. I have to get ready and play baseball."
Golf: I got a club for that..... Bryan, Gribble co-lead Honda; Kaymer 1 back.
By Will Gray
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
The Bear Trap didn’t inflict much damage during the opening round of the Honda Classic, as several players were able to get well into red figures amid calm conditions. Here’s how things look after the first round at PGA National, where a pair of rookies share the lead:
Leaderboard: Wesley Bryan (-6), Cody Gribble (-6), Martin Kaymer (-5), Ian Poulter (-4), Rickie Fowler (-4), Ben Crane (-4), Graham DeLaet (-4)
What it means: Both Bryan and Gribble posted their scores early, before conditions began to firm up on the Champion Course. While Gribble locked up a long-term card with a win in the fall, Bryan enters off a career-best T-4 finish at Riviera in search of his first victory. Both will look to keep at bay a group of contenders highlighted by Kaymer, who hasn’t won since the 2014 U.S. Open.
Round of the day: Bryan got off to a relatively slow start, playing his first eight holes in even par before a birdie on the par-5 18th. That sparked the reigning Web.com Tour Player of the Year, who fired a 5-under 30 on his second nine that included four birdies in a six-hole stretch from Nos. 3-8.
Best of the rest: It doesn’t get much easier than finding every target in sight. That’s what Gribble accomplished Thursday, becoming the first player in tournament history to hit all 18 greens in regulation en route to a 64. Gribble racked up four birdies from Nos. 4-8 and bounced back from his lone bogey on No. 16 with a pair of birdies to close out the round.
Biggest disappointment: Branden Grace has contended at several majors and finished T-22 just last week at Riviera, but his stay in South Florida will be brief after an opening-round 77. Grace did not make a single birdie, struggled to a 6-over 41 on the back nine and withdrew from the event hours after finishing his opening round.
Main storyline heading into Friday: The two rookies will have a chance to separate from the pack, but PGA National tends more often to bring leaders back into the fold. So keep an eye on Kaymer as well as Fowler, who led this event at the halfway point last year before fading over the weekend. The star-studded group at 2 under that includes Sergio Garcia and defending champ Adam Scott also can’t be overlooked.
Shot of the day: Scott Stallings was over par for his round before an ace on the par-3 15th, the first in tournament history. Stallings holed an 8-iron from 184 yards en route to a 3-under 67.
Quote of the day: “It’s so different. I can’t even explain to you the pressure that you feel in that type of environment. It’s not real golf.” – Bryan on his last appearance at PGA National, which came during 2015 Web.com Q-School.
Fore Things: Sponsor invite scenario playing out again.
By Will Gray
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
As the Florida swing gets underway, a number of veterans are looking to chase down a pair of rookies at PGA National. Here are Fore Things you should know after the opening round of the Honda Classic:
1. Cody Gribble couldn’t miss. Gribble broke through earlier this season for his first win at the Sanderson Farms Championship, but now the southpaw shares the lead after finding all 18 greens in regulation. That’s no small feat on the Champion Course, and Gribble becomes the first player in tournament history to find the target with every approach.
2. Wesley Bryan picked up right where he left off. Bryan earned a rare promotion to the PGA Tour last year by winning three Web.com events, and he notched a career-best T-4 finish last week at Riviera. That result was largely off a third-round 63, and Bryan is contending again after opening with 64 at PGA National.
3. European major champ contending on sponsor invite at Honda. If it sounds familiar, it should. That’s the script that played out two years ago when Padraig Harrington won this event in surprising fashion, and it’s again on tap here after Martin Kaymer opened with a 5-under 65 to sit one shot off the lead.
4. Rickie Fowler feels right at home at PGA National. The Oklahoma State product has plenty of experience playing in the wind, and he now makes his home a short drive from the course. Fowler played the first 36 holes of this event last year without dropping a shot before fading over the weekend, and he’s again lurking after a 4-under 66 in the opening round.
Poulter out to retain status, qualify for Masters.
By Randall Mell
1. Cody Gribble couldn’t miss. Gribble broke through earlier this season for his first win at the Sanderson Farms Championship, but now the southpaw shares the lead after finding all 18 greens in regulation. That’s no small feat on the Champion Course, and Gribble becomes the first player in tournament history to find the target with every approach.
2. Wesley Bryan picked up right where he left off. Bryan earned a rare promotion to the PGA Tour last year by winning three Web.com events, and he notched a career-best T-4 finish last week at Riviera. That result was largely off a third-round 63, and Bryan is contending again after opening with 64 at PGA National.
3. European major champ contending on sponsor invite at Honda. If it sounds familiar, it should. That’s the script that played out two years ago when Padraig Harrington won this event in surprising fashion, and it’s again on tap here after Martin Kaymer opened with a 5-under 65 to sit one shot off the lead.
4. Rickie Fowler feels right at home at PGA National. The Oklahoma State product has plenty of experience playing in the wind, and he now makes his home a short drive from the course. Fowler played the first 36 holes of this event last year without dropping a shot before fading over the weekend, and he’s again lurking after a 4-under 66 in the opening round.
Poulter out to retain status, qualify for Masters.
By Randall Mell
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
Ian Poulter delivered one of the wildest finishes in Honda Classic history two years ago, and he’s still smarting over how it got away.
Poulter has so much to play for at PGA National this week, but he may burn most for a Sunday chance to wipe away the memory of that frustrating close call back in 2015.
With a 4-under-par 66 Thursday, Poulter is in early position to do just that, positioning himself two shots off the lead.
Back in ‘15, Poulter took a three-shot lead into the final round on the Champion Course. He hit five balls in the water, but somehow, some way, kept climbing out of the grave, kept fighting back to give himself a chance to the bitter end.
With a pair of closing birdies, Poulter missed out on a playoff by a single shot.
“I'd like to have another go at the cherry,” Poulter said. “I found myself in a position, obviously, that week where I was a number of shots in front, and it's just a real shame not to convert those chances.
“They hurt, because you really should finish tournaments off when you're in positions like that. So, if I'm in a chance on Sunday to grab hold, then I would love to finish it a little differently than a couple years ago.”
Poulter has a lot of reasons to play well this week.
Out for almost half of last season with an arthritic joint in his right foot, Poulter is playing the PGA Tour on a major medical extension this year. He needs to make $220,301 or accumulate 155 FedEx Cup points in his next six starts to keep full status.
But Poulter wants more than that. He wants to keep his streak of appearances at the Masters going.
“I'm trying not to get in the way of thinking, 'Oh, I just need X.' Because I don't need X,” Poulter said. “I have to earn enough money to continue the season. So if I play well in those six events, I've obviously got a great chance to do that. If I can win one of those six, then, obviously, it takes care of that. And if I can win one of the first few, I can get into Augusta.”
Poulter has played in 12 Masters, the last 10 in a row, but he plummeted to No. 206 in the world rankings with all that time off last year. He needs to climb among the top 50 in the world the week prior to the Masters to qualify - or win a PGA Tour event.
“So there's a bigger picture, right,” Poulter said. “It's definitely not just medical. I don't want to miss Augusta. So I need to play well and I need to play well quickly.”
Poulter has so much to play for at PGA National this week, but he may burn most for a Sunday chance to wipe away the memory of that frustrating close call back in 2015.
With a 4-under-par 66 Thursday, Poulter is in early position to do just that, positioning himself two shots off the lead.
Back in ‘15, Poulter took a three-shot lead into the final round on the Champion Course. He hit five balls in the water, but somehow, some way, kept climbing out of the grave, kept fighting back to give himself a chance to the bitter end.
With a pair of closing birdies, Poulter missed out on a playoff by a single shot.
“I'd like to have another go at the cherry,” Poulter said. “I found myself in a position, obviously, that week where I was a number of shots in front, and it's just a real shame not to convert those chances.
“They hurt, because you really should finish tournaments off when you're in positions like that. So, if I'm in a chance on Sunday to grab hold, then I would love to finish it a little differently than a couple years ago.”
Poulter has a lot of reasons to play well this week.
Out for almost half of last season with an arthritic joint in his right foot, Poulter is playing the PGA Tour on a major medical extension this year. He needs to make $220,301 or accumulate 155 FedEx Cup points in his next six starts to keep full status.
But Poulter wants more than that. He wants to keep his streak of appearances at the Masters going.
“I'm trying not to get in the way of thinking, 'Oh, I just need X.' Because I don't need X,” Poulter said. “I have to earn enough money to continue the season. So if I play well in those six events, I've obviously got a great chance to do that. If I can win one of those six, then, obviously, it takes care of that. And if I can win one of the first few, I can get into Augusta.”
Poulter has played in 12 Masters, the last 10 in a row, but he plummeted to No. 206 in the world rankings with all that time off last year. He needs to climb among the top 50 in the world the week prior to the Masters to qualify - or win a PGA Tour event.
“So there's a bigger picture, right,” Poulter said. “It's definitely not just medical. I don't want to miss Augusta. So I need to play well and I need to play well quickly.”
NASCAR: 2017 Daytona Speedweeks schedule.
By Daniel McFadin
Friday, Feb. 24
9 a.m. – 6 p.m. – Cup garage open
10:30 a.m. – Truck garage opens
10:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. – Xfinity garage open
Noon – 12:55 p.m. – Xfinity practice (FS1)
1 – 1:55 p.m. – Cup practice (FS1, MRN)
2 – 2:55 p.m. – Final Xfinity practice (FS1)
3 – 3:55 p.m. – Cup practice (FS1, MRN)
4:30 p.m. – Truck qualifying; single vehicle/two rounds (FS1)
6:15 p.m. – Truck driver – crew chief meeting
7 p.m. – Truck driver introductions
7:30 p.m. – NextEra Energy Resources 250; 100 laps/250 miles (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday, Feb. 25
9 a.m. – Xfinity garage opens
10:30 a.m. – Xfinity qualifying; single car/two rounds (FS1)
11 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. – Cup garage open
12:10 p.m. – Xfinity driver – crew chief meeting
12:30 – 1:55 p.m. – Final Cup practice (FS1, MRN)
3 p.m. – Xfinity driver introductions
3:30 p.m. – PowerShares QQQ 300; 120 laps, 300 miles (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday, Feb 26
8 a.m. – Cup garage opens
Noon – Driver – crew chief meeting
1:15 p.m. – Driver introductions
2p.m. – 59th Daytona 500; 200 laps, 500 miles (Fox, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Chase Elliott wins first Can-Am Duel race at Daytona.
By Jerry Bonkowski
(Photo/Getty Images)
In what could be a preview of Sunday’s main event, Daytona 500 pole-sitter Chase Elliott won the first of Thursday night’s two Can-Am Duel races at Daytona International Speedway.
Elliott took the lead on Lap 37 of the 60-lap race and held off challenges from several drivers including runner-up Jamie McMurray, third-place finisher Kevin Harvick and fourth-place finisher Brad Keselowski.
It was Elliott’s first win in his NASCAR Cup career.
“We had some steam tonight, and it was apparent,” Elliott told Fox Sports 1. “I’m excited about how this thing ran tonight, keeping it in one piece. I know this is only a Duel win and doesn’t count towards a win in the playoffs, but it still means a lot to me and the team. It’s a great way to start the season.”
For the first time in the modern NASCAR era, the top-10 finishing drivers earned points for their finish in both duel races. Also earning points in the first Duel were Matt Kenseth (finished fifth), Trevor Bayne (sixth), Martin Truex Jr. (seventh), Aric Almirola (eighth), Joey Logano (ninth) and Cole Whitt (10th).
There were only three lead changes in the race.
There were two cautions (including a scheduled competition caution on Lap 26) and just one significant wreck in the event.
On Lap 48, Reed Sorenson’s hopes of racing his way into Sunday’s Daytona 500 ended after he was tapped from behind by Corey LaJoie, spun and slammed head-on into a SAFER barrier. Also collected in the wreck was Paul Menard.
LaJoie, who finished 18th, will race in Sunday’s event, while Sorenson will have to wait until the end of Thursday night’s Can-Am Duel No. 2 to see if he will drive in the “Great American Race” as well, or if he will fall short.
Who else had a good race: Jamie McMurray, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski finished second through fourth and all had strong performances, but couldn’t catch Elliott in the closing laps. … Aric Almirola, the only car running in the Cup series for Richard Petty Motorsports this season, looked strong and finished eighth.
Who had a bad race: Brendan Gaughan, also hoping to make Sunday’s main event, could never get going and finished 19th in the 21-driver field.
Notable: Brad Keselowski led the first 24 laps. … 2015 Daytona 500 winner Joey Logano had to make an unscheduled pit stop due to a vibration on Lap 13. He fell one lap back as a result and finished ninth. … Daniel Suarez, who will be competing in his first NASCAR Cup full event Sunday, finished 12th.
Quote of the day: “Guess he felt like he did what he needed to do. Hope he’s proud of it.” – Reed Sorenson after being spun by Corey LaJoie with 12 laps to go, potentially causing Sorenson to fail to make Sunday’s Daytona 500.
What’s next: The Can-Am Duel No. 2 follows immediately after this race. Both races will set the entire 40-car field for the 59th Daytona 500, which takes place Sunday with a 2 p.m. ET green flag.
Pressure, prestige, mistakes mark Daytona 500’s glory and consequences.
By Nate Ryan
(Photo/nbcsports.com)
Brad Keselowski compares racing in the Daytona 500 with attending your first day of school and taking a final exam.
On the same day.
“The biggest race is also the first race of the season,” the 2012 Cup champion said during Daytona 500 Media Day. “With it comes all the pressure and opportunity that comes with that to really set the stage for your season but also all the new faces and first-day jitters you have to work out with your team.
“There also is a lot of unpredictability and a lot of things that can go wrong. You make one mistake in this race, especially in those late stages and you find yourself out of it.”
That happened to Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2015 when he made a mistake on a restart with 20 laps to go that essentially cost him a shot at back-to-back victories in the Great American Race.
Joey Logano took advantage, executing a series of perfect maneuvers in his No. 22 Ford over the final 20 laps and holding off a squadron of challengers without teammate Keselowski (whose engine expired earlier).
“It’s exhausting because there’s a lot going on,” Logano said. “If you’re trying to race up front the whole time, it’s an exhausting race. If you’re running around in the back, which I don’t think anyone is going to do now with the new format, but there’s a lot going through your mind.
“You have to try to see what’s going on a lap ahead all the time, and that’s really hard to put all of that together because to be able to do that you have to have great information from behind and what your spotter sees, and you have to have that communication really well, and then you have to see runs forming, and you have to know who you’re racing against and what type of moves they’re prone to making. You have to process all of that information before you make that split-second move when that opportunity comes up to make that big pass.”
Jimmie Johnson said it doesn’t always come down to just one mistake and added that a rules tweak (a smaller restrictor plate) will have an impact this year.
“It’s much more difficult to pass for the lead, so the pit stop or two prior to the end of the race and how you come off of pit road and how you line up on the ensuing restarts has more to do with it,” he said. “So we might be able to now kind of find a moment in time like, ‘Man, messed up on pit road, I got a bad restart.’ So it’s starting to develop now, and spending time watching last year’s 500, once you get the lead, it’s hard to lose it. It has to be the perfect storm behind you to create the opportunity to pass.”
Keselowski, who crashed Sunday with defending Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin while batting for the lead on the last lap of The Clash, believes the chips are ready to fall his way.
“A lot of things that you can’t control with respect to getting your car back up front, a lot of things you can’t control with getting cars to work with you at the right time,” he said. “There’s a lot of timing involved in these races. I feel like in some ways plate racing is almost like playing cards. You stack the odds and know you haven’t gotten a card in a long time. We haven’t caught any breaks at Daytona as a team in a long time.
“I know we have the car that can win this race this year. We have the speed. I feel I have the knowledge and intuition of the right moves to make. The last few years, we haven’t caught any breaks. And that pendulum is going to swing and we’re going to catch some good breaks. I believe that in my heart, and I believe this is the year to do it.”
Michael Waltrip prepares for final Daytona start, last career race.
By Jerry Bonkowski
(Photo/Getty Images)
A NASCAR Cup career of 32 years, 784 races, four wins – including two triumphs in the Daytona 500 (2001, 2003) – plus 41 top-five and 132 top-10 finishes will come to an end in Sunday’s 59th edition of the Daytona 500.
Veteran driver Michael Waltrip will not only drive in his 30th and last Daytona 500, it will also be the final race of his career.
“I just thought it was a cool place to run my last race,” Waltrip said Wednesday during Daytona 500 Media Day at Daytona International Speedway. “I’ve been thinking about calling it a day over the last couple years, and this just seemed like the perfect time to do it.
“I’m looking forward to my opportunity to go out there and compete one last time and then sort of slow down I guess.”
Piloting the No. 15, with backing from long-time sponsors Toyota and Aaron’s and driving a car for Premium Motorsports, Waltrip comes back to Daytona one last time for some unfinished business.
“When we ran last year’s Daytona 500, it didn’t go well,” Waltrip said. “We didn’t run good and I guess we got into a little bit of a fender bender and messed up the car and I finished 30th – and I just didn’t want to quit like that.
“I went to Talladega and we got a 12th place finish and I ran up front a little bit and then I decided we would just try to have one more competitive run down here this year. You’ve got to quit sometime.”
Waltrip will have a number of family members, including both of his daughters, and friends on-hand to share his final race with, as well.
“Obviously it’ll be different because we know that’ll be my last race,” Waltrip said. “I don’t know how it’ll affect me. I’m looking forward to it though. I’m thankful that I get to drive – that’s something that I’ve really liked doing and people wonder why I would race more – but I drove a car here in 1986 and I have that car in my shop in North Carolina and I get to drive the technology of a 2017 NASCAR Cup car.
“It’s crazy how different they are and I just like experiencing that and feeling that and seeing what the guys are up to on the track and being a part of a team and I’m a part of a team with the TV with FOX. I’ve got great teammates there and it’s just fun to experience what I did for so long one more time.”
Making his first appearance in a NASCAR race at the age of 22 (1988), Waltrip retires at the age of 53.
In addition to his 784 Cup starts, if you add his 279 starts (11 wins) in the Xfinity Series and nine starts (one win) in the Camping World Truck Series, Waltrip will end his career with 1,072 combined starts in all three of NASCAR’s pro series.
“You know, I try not to get reflective or nostalgic because it just – it’s too emotional,” Waltrip said. “Mostly I just think about getting to race the car. I have faced a range of emotion that humans probably aren’t designed to face and in all happened within 10 seconds, so that’s hard to think about and it’s hard to figure out, but I love Daytona. I’ve been coming here since I was a kid, so every time we talk about coming to Daytona I get a big smile on my face, which is crazy, but that’s racing I guess.”
Michael has long raced in the shadow of older brother, NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip.
“Within the Waltrip family, I never was searching for identity, you know?” Michael Waltrip said. “I’m Margaret and Leroy’s little boy and my brother is Darrell.
“It certainly created my identity in the sport and it made my name relevant when it came to milestones or major accomplishments and so I’m thankful for that because I ran so many races before I finally won one that it was kind of getting to be a bummer. You know, when we close the books on this, it’ll say 11 XFINITY wins and one Camping World truck win, and it’ll definitely say four Monster Energy NASCAR Cup wins. Maybe it’ll say five, but I qualified 35th, so unless our strategy is we’ve got them right where we want them, they don’t even know we’re here, then we might be in a little bit of trouble on this one, but I’m looking forward to trying.”
While Waltrip has spent his career with primarily a fun-loving, effervescent personality, there’s one day he’ll never forget for two diametrically opposite reasons: Feb. 18, 2001. It was the day Waltrip won his first Daytona 500, and also the day his good friend and team owner Dale Earnhardt was killed in a last-lap crash while protecting Waltrip’s route to victory and Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s runner-up finish.
“It’s just what I live with,” Waltrip said. “I wouldn’t call it haunting. It’s just my life. I accepted it and I think I said it very well the days after that race. I think we have a number of days when we’re born that we’re going to live. Everybody has that number and that was Dale’s day, and me winning was the perfect person to win because I just wanted to give him the credit.
“I still honor him by giving him the credit and I will say also as I get older, as you think about your day coming up, it’s a pretty good day when you’re watching your two cars drive off to win the Daytona 500 and then you’re in heaven right after that. Obviously, I wish I could have got a hug from him and everything had have turned out different, but that’s just not the way it was meant to be.”
As each hour and day clicks off until Sunday, Waltrip will continue a long run of reflecting on his career, knowing this will be the end of the road once the checkered flag drops after the 500.
“You know, I’ve had a lot of time for reflection and I’ve been reflecting for a few years about this and what it – when it would come and what it would mean. You know, I quite honestly thought about just running my last race and not telling anyone, just say thank you all after it was over with.”
Now there’s just one thing left to do: finish his last race – and his career – strong.
“Well, I qualified 35th, so that’s not good,” Waltrip said. “I think I qualified about there at Talladega in April last year and I finished 12th, so if I can figure out a way to get to the front, run up front and finish in the top 10, I would walk away proud.”
Waltrip already has and will continue to receive a great deal of congratulations from his fellow drivers for the milestone 30th appearance in the “Great American Race.”
“It’s an amazing accomplishment,” Joey Logano said. “You think 30 500’s, that’s crazy. Where am I at? Nine? Ten maybe? I’ve got a long ways to go.”
Waltrip plans to enjoy his final 500 and final race as much as possible, knowing there won’t be any more in the future.
When asked how he’d like to be remembered for his racing career, Waltrip remarked, “Just a fun guy, friendly guy, nice to old people and kids – even nice to the media.”
Veteran driver Michael Waltrip will not only drive in his 30th and last Daytona 500, it will also be the final race of his career.
“I just thought it was a cool place to run my last race,” Waltrip said Wednesday during Daytona 500 Media Day at Daytona International Speedway. “I’ve been thinking about calling it a day over the last couple years, and this just seemed like the perfect time to do it.
“I’m looking forward to my opportunity to go out there and compete one last time and then sort of slow down I guess.”
Piloting the No. 15, with backing from long-time sponsors Toyota and Aaron’s and driving a car for Premium Motorsports, Waltrip comes back to Daytona one last time for some unfinished business.
“When we ran last year’s Daytona 500, it didn’t go well,” Waltrip said. “We didn’t run good and I guess we got into a little bit of a fender bender and messed up the car and I finished 30th – and I just didn’t want to quit like that.
“I went to Talladega and we got a 12th place finish and I ran up front a little bit and then I decided we would just try to have one more competitive run down here this year. You’ve got to quit sometime.”
Waltrip will have a number of family members, including both of his daughters, and friends on-hand to share his final race with, as well.
“Obviously it’ll be different because we know that’ll be my last race,” Waltrip said. “I don’t know how it’ll affect me. I’m looking forward to it though. I’m thankful that I get to drive – that’s something that I’ve really liked doing and people wonder why I would race more – but I drove a car here in 1986 and I have that car in my shop in North Carolina and I get to drive the technology of a 2017 NASCAR Cup car.
“It’s crazy how different they are and I just like experiencing that and feeling that and seeing what the guys are up to on the track and being a part of a team and I’m a part of a team with the TV with FOX. I’ve got great teammates there and it’s just fun to experience what I did for so long one more time.”
Making his first appearance in a NASCAR race at the age of 22 (1988), Waltrip retires at the age of 53.
In addition to his 784 Cup starts, if you add his 279 starts (11 wins) in the Xfinity Series and nine starts (one win) in the Camping World Truck Series, Waltrip will end his career with 1,072 combined starts in all three of NASCAR’s pro series.
“You know, I try not to get reflective or nostalgic because it just – it’s too emotional,” Waltrip said. “Mostly I just think about getting to race the car. I have faced a range of emotion that humans probably aren’t designed to face and in all happened within 10 seconds, so that’s hard to think about and it’s hard to figure out, but I love Daytona. I’ve been coming here since I was a kid, so every time we talk about coming to Daytona I get a big smile on my face, which is crazy, but that’s racing I guess.”
Michael has long raced in the shadow of older brother, NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip.
“Within the Waltrip family, I never was searching for identity, you know?” Michael Waltrip said. “I’m Margaret and Leroy’s little boy and my brother is Darrell.
“It certainly created my identity in the sport and it made my name relevant when it came to milestones or major accomplishments and so I’m thankful for that because I ran so many races before I finally won one that it was kind of getting to be a bummer. You know, when we close the books on this, it’ll say 11 XFINITY wins and one Camping World truck win, and it’ll definitely say four Monster Energy NASCAR Cup wins. Maybe it’ll say five, but I qualified 35th, so unless our strategy is we’ve got them right where we want them, they don’t even know we’re here, then we might be in a little bit of trouble on this one, but I’m looking forward to trying.”
While Waltrip has spent his career with primarily a fun-loving, effervescent personality, there’s one day he’ll never forget for two diametrically opposite reasons: Feb. 18, 2001. It was the day Waltrip won his first Daytona 500, and also the day his good friend and team owner Dale Earnhardt was killed in a last-lap crash while protecting Waltrip’s route to victory and Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s runner-up finish.
“It’s just what I live with,” Waltrip said. “I wouldn’t call it haunting. It’s just my life. I accepted it and I think I said it very well the days after that race. I think we have a number of days when we’re born that we’re going to live. Everybody has that number and that was Dale’s day, and me winning was the perfect person to win because I just wanted to give him the credit.
“I still honor him by giving him the credit and I will say also as I get older, as you think about your day coming up, it’s a pretty good day when you’re watching your two cars drive off to win the Daytona 500 and then you’re in heaven right after that. Obviously, I wish I could have got a hug from him and everything had have turned out different, but that’s just not the way it was meant to be.”
As each hour and day clicks off until Sunday, Waltrip will continue a long run of reflecting on his career, knowing this will be the end of the road once the checkered flag drops after the 500.
“You know, I’ve had a lot of time for reflection and I’ve been reflecting for a few years about this and what it – when it would come and what it would mean. You know, I quite honestly thought about just running my last race and not telling anyone, just say thank you all after it was over with.”
Now there’s just one thing left to do: finish his last race – and his career – strong.
“Well, I qualified 35th, so that’s not good,” Waltrip said. “I think I qualified about there at Talladega in April last year and I finished 12th, so if I can figure out a way to get to the front, run up front and finish in the top 10, I would walk away proud.”
Waltrip already has and will continue to receive a great deal of congratulations from his fellow drivers for the milestone 30th appearance in the “Great American Race.”
“It’s an amazing accomplishment,” Joey Logano said. “You think 30 500’s, that’s crazy. Where am I at? Nine? Ten maybe? I’ve got a long ways to go.”
Waltrip plans to enjoy his final 500 and final race as much as possible, knowing there won’t be any more in the future.
When asked how he’d like to be remembered for his racing career, Waltrip remarked, “Just a fun guy, friendly guy, nice to old people and kids – even nice to the media.”
NASCAR spinning out of control, Wall Street Journal article says.
By Joe Marusak and David Scott
Fans in turn 4 at the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October. At Speedway Motorsports, which owns nine tracks including the one in Charlotte, revenue from admissions fell 28 percent from 2010-2015. (Photo/Davie Hinshaw)
On its front page Wednesday, the nation’s largest newspaper by circulation said NASCAR’s problems “seem to have spun out of control.”
On its front page Wednesday, the nation’s largest newspaper by circulation said NASCAR’s problems “seem to have spun out of control.”
“Long a Cultural Icon, NASCAR Hits the Skids,” reads the headline on the article in The Wall Street Journal. One of the article’s two writers, Tripp Mickle, graduated from Myers Park High in Charlotte.
The article says NASCAR’s largely working class and white fan base is aging and was knocked harder by the recession than more-affluent fan bases of other major national sports.
“There’s no magic pill for this one,” former NASCAR race team owner Ed Rensi told the Journal. “It’s about economics and demographics.”
NASCAR also has suffered from a lack of stars, the article says, noting how Dale Earnhardt Jr. was sidelined last year by a concussion but is scheduled to race in the season-opening Daytona 500 on Sunday.
The article quotes a spokesman for seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty and comments by three-time champion Tony Stewart that NASCAR chief executive Brian France should attend more races.
France said he attended roughly half of the race weekends last season, according to the Journal. France said NASCAR teams, drivers and automakers are working more closely to improve competition and boost interest in the sport.
The article said members of the France family met with NBC Sports executives in October over declining TV ratings and agreed to act. Each race will now be divided into three stages, awarding points to the top drivers at the end of each stage.
The article also cited how NASCAR is working on at least a dozen more potential changes.
NASCAR Fans Suddenly Upset by Monster Energy Girls’ Revealing Outfits.
By Maggie Parker
The Monster Energy girls’ revealing outfits at the Daytona NASCAR race. (Photo: Getty Images)
Monster Energy Drink is in hot water. The beverage brand paraded around its famous Monster Girls at Clash at Daytona, a NASCAR event that took place this past Sunday. The girls were scantily clad, as car-racing models tend to be. But this time, for some reason, viewers were not happy about it.
The uniforms consist of black leather corsets, black leggings, necklaces with the drink’s logo as a pendant, black boots, and a lot of makeup and hairspray. That’s more than the average Kardashian wears to a meeting. But fans were outraged by the look, and took to Twitter to express their feelings.
The uniforms consist of black leather corsets, black leggings, necklaces with the drink’s logo as a pendant, black boots, and a lot of makeup and hairspray. That’s more than the average Kardashian wears to a meeting. But fans were outraged by the look, and took to Twitter to express their feelings.
Some were upset because NASCAR is apparently a family program, and they didn’t want their children seeing such scantily clad ladies.
Others went as far as to liken their look to hookers.
And some wished NASCAR would revert back to the girls they used at last year’s Sprint models, who were covered head to toe in racing gear.
Some users made the point that this is actually a lot of clothing compared to the outfits models have worn in previous races, which included bikinis.
Another pointed out that, compared to the cheerleaders in most sports, this is a lot of coverage.
“Look at the old races when the girls wore bathing suits,” Mitch Covington, Monster’s vice president of sports marketing, told ESPN. Needless to say, Monster is not budging. “Monster has always been about racing and girls, and that won’t change,” Covington said.
He compared this year to when Monster first started with NASCAR in 2009: “Our models today were conservatively dressed compared to what they had on back then.”
According to ESPN, Covington has had no discussion with NASCAR officials about changing the outfits and “doesn’t expect to.” In fact, you can expect to see these lovely ladies and their leather corsets at the Feb. 26 Daytona 500.
No. 2 Team Penske driver Brad Keselowski understands why parents watching might be upset but thinks they need to look at the bigger picture. “When you have kids and you start to see the world through their eyes because you’re raising them, you see how much differently we all look at the world,” Keselowski told USA Today. “Because my daughter doesn’t see a scantily clad model — she just sees another person who’s wearing black or whatever colors or a lot of leather. She doesn’t see sex appeal. She’s a kid. … So sometimes people say, ‘What about the children?’ No, it’s more reflective of you seeing this as over-zealous than your kids, because your kids have no idea, and that example could be applied in a number of other areas.”
Keselowski added: “I always feel like how you feel about situations like that is reflective of your own baggage, and it’s not fair to apply it to others.”
What do you think of the outfits? Par for the course or an accident waiting to happen?
He compared this year to when Monster first started with NASCAR in 2009: “Our models today were conservatively dressed compared to what they had on back then.”
According to ESPN, Covington has had no discussion with NASCAR officials about changing the outfits and “doesn’t expect to.” In fact, you can expect to see these lovely ladies and their leather corsets at the Feb. 26 Daytona 500.
No. 2 Team Penske driver Brad Keselowski understands why parents watching might be upset but thinks they need to look at the bigger picture. “When you have kids and you start to see the world through their eyes because you’re raising them, you see how much differently we all look at the world,” Keselowski told USA Today. “Because my daughter doesn’t see a scantily clad model — she just sees another person who’s wearing black or whatever colors or a lot of leather. She doesn’t see sex appeal. She’s a kid. … So sometimes people say, ‘What about the children?’ No, it’s more reflective of you seeing this as over-zealous than your kids, because your kids have no idea, and that example could be applied in a number of other areas.”
Keselowski added: “I always feel like how you feel about situations like that is reflective of your own baggage, and it’s not fair to apply it to others.”
What do you think of the outfits? Par for the course or an accident waiting to happen?
SOCCER: Luis Solignac, Michael de Leeuw score in Fire's fifth straight preseason win.
By Dan Santaromita
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
The Chicago Fire's preseason continued with yet another win on Wednesday.
Luis Solignac and Michael de Leeuw scored off headers in each half in a 3-2 Fire win against United Soccer League foe FC Cincinnati at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., on Wednesday.
Solignac's goal came in the 31st minute following a short corner. John Goossens whipped in a cross from the left after the corner and Solignac headed it home.
Cincinnati had put the ball in the net earlier in the half, but it was ruled out for offside.
A lineup that featured mostly Fire regulars in the first half was swapped out at halftime. For the second straight preseason match the Fire played two different elevens in each half.
Homegrown signing Djordje Mihailovic played his first game action of the Fire's preseason as part of the second half lineup, playing in central midfield. He was with the U.S. under-19 team for the Fire's first week in Florida.
Trialist Chad Barson, who has made 50 appearances with the Columbus Crew from 2013-2016, started the second half at right back.
De Leeuw's goal in the 70th minute was also a header. Patrick Doody crossed from the left and de Leeuw headed it back across to the far post for the 2-0 lead.
Cincinnati got on the board in the 88th minute when rookie goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland came too far off his line to clear a cross and an easy header went into the net.
A minute later the Fire restored the two-goal lead with rookie Matej Dekovic finding some open space on the back post following a corner kick. Dekovic was able to easily score from close range.
The frantic finish continued when Kenney Walker scored directly from a free kick in the 90th minute for Cincinnati's second goal. It came just seconds before the end of the match.
Former Fire defender Austin Berry, who won 2012 MLS Rookie of the Year, started for Cincinnati.
The Fire are now 5-0 this preseason with one game left in Florida before returning to Chicago. The Fire will take on Toronto FC on Saturday in Tampa.
Top Premier League Storylines – Week 26.
By Kyle Bonn
(Photo/Getty Images)
Well. This weekend’s return of Premier League action was already slated to be an exciting one, but now with today’s enormous bit of breaking news, it has become even more intriguing.
There’s plenty to discuss at the top of the Premier League table, as Arsenal and Spurs look to heal their European wounds, but it’s what’s at the bottom that has everyone talking today.
How will Leicester City react after the firing of Claudio Ranieri?
Leicester City vs. Liverpool — 3:00 p.m. EDT Monday on NBCSN and NBCSports.com
Well. The Foxes had their work cut out for them coming into this match already, but now it has a whole new flavor. Claudio Ranieri has been dismissed just nine months after winning the Premier League title, and sitting just a point off the drop coming into the weekend (and inside the relegation zone coming into the match?) Leicester City will be lead into King Power Stadium by Assistant Manager Craig Shakespeare and First Team Coach Mike Stowell.
Liverpool stopped a five-match winless streak last time out with a quality 2-0 win over Tottenham, but the Reds defense has been leaky all season, and if Leicester is to break its horrid 610-minute goalless streak, it would be here. The Foxes are without a win in five and have not scored a Premier League goal in all of the 2017 calendar year. Can they respond and begin to play for themselves rather than their former manager?
Can Dele Alli and Tottenham bounce back?
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Stoke City — 8:30 a.m. EDT Sunday on NBCSN and NBCSports.com
Spurs looked like they had rediscovered their Champions League form with a comprehensive smothering of Championship side Fulham in the FA Cup. Then, they welcomed KAA Gent to Wembley and promptly lost their heads. Dele Alli was sent off for one of the worst challenges you’ll see, and Spurs were vulnerable as a result, crashing out of the Europa League.
Now, Mauricio Pochettino must regroup the squad and get them ready to host Stoke, a team they clobbered 4-0 in the third match of the season. The squad is still healthy, and the loss of European play may actually help them in the long run. Here, however, it provides them with negative form and a short prep time. They need this one badly to solidify a top four place moving forward, can Poch turn it around?
Can Sunderland get a result against surging Everton?
Everton vs. Sunderland — 10:00 a.m. EDT Saturday on NBCSports.com
Hull City hosts Burnley. Crystal Palace welcomes Middlesbrough. With those two fellow occupants of the relegation zone playing at home against lower-half sides, the spotlight is squarely on Sunderland. The Black Cats have a tough matchup, on the road at Everton.
The Toffees haven’t lost a Premier League match since falling to Liverpool in mid-December, and have scored 19 goals in the eight matches since that blemish. With that in mind, Sunderland must get some kind of a result to pull off the bottom of the Premier League table. Can they snatch points at Goodison Park?
EFL Cup final could leave Chelsea well out in front
Chelsea vs. Swansea City — 10:00 a.m. EDT Saturday on NBCSports.com
Chelsea is already eight points ahead of the pack and looks to be the clear favorite to win the Premier League title. It could get even clearer after this week. Manchester United is off, Manchester City is off, and Arsenal is off. Couple that with Tottenham struggling and Liverpool facing a desperate Leicester City side, and it’s entirely conceivable that a win for Chelsea over Swansea City could leave the Blues as far as 11 points clear at the top of the table, albeit a game ahead of some. That would all but wrap things up, wouldn’t it?
There’s plenty to discuss at the top of the Premier League table, as Arsenal and Spurs look to heal their European wounds, but it’s what’s at the bottom that has everyone talking today.
How will Leicester City react after the firing of Claudio Ranieri?
Leicester City vs. Liverpool — 3:00 p.m. EDT Monday on NBCSN and NBCSports.com
Well. The Foxes had their work cut out for them coming into this match already, but now it has a whole new flavor. Claudio Ranieri has been dismissed just nine months after winning the Premier League title, and sitting just a point off the drop coming into the weekend (and inside the relegation zone coming into the match?) Leicester City will be lead into King Power Stadium by Assistant Manager Craig Shakespeare and First Team Coach Mike Stowell.
Liverpool stopped a five-match winless streak last time out with a quality 2-0 win over Tottenham, but the Reds defense has been leaky all season, and if Leicester is to break its horrid 610-minute goalless streak, it would be here. The Foxes are without a win in five and have not scored a Premier League goal in all of the 2017 calendar year. Can they respond and begin to play for themselves rather than their former manager?
Can Dele Alli and Tottenham bounce back?
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Stoke City — 8:30 a.m. EDT Sunday on NBCSN and NBCSports.com
Spurs looked like they had rediscovered their Champions League form with a comprehensive smothering of Championship side Fulham in the FA Cup. Then, they welcomed KAA Gent to Wembley and promptly lost their heads. Dele Alli was sent off for one of the worst challenges you’ll see, and Spurs were vulnerable as a result, crashing out of the Europa League.
Now, Mauricio Pochettino must regroup the squad and get them ready to host Stoke, a team they clobbered 4-0 in the third match of the season. The squad is still healthy, and the loss of European play may actually help them in the long run. Here, however, it provides them with negative form and a short prep time. They need this one badly to solidify a top four place moving forward, can Poch turn it around?
Can Sunderland get a result against surging Everton?
Everton vs. Sunderland — 10:00 a.m. EDT Saturday on NBCSports.com
Hull City hosts Burnley. Crystal Palace welcomes Middlesbrough. With those two fellow occupants of the relegation zone playing at home against lower-half sides, the spotlight is squarely on Sunderland. The Black Cats have a tough matchup, on the road at Everton.
The Toffees haven’t lost a Premier League match since falling to Liverpool in mid-December, and have scored 19 goals in the eight matches since that blemish. With that in mind, Sunderland must get some kind of a result to pull off the bottom of the Premier League table. Can they snatch points at Goodison Park?
EFL Cup final could leave Chelsea well out in front
Chelsea vs. Swansea City — 10:00 a.m. EDT Saturday on NBCSports.com
Chelsea is already eight points ahead of the pack and looks to be the clear favorite to win the Premier League title. It could get even clearer after this week. Manchester United is off, Manchester City is off, and Arsenal is off. Couple that with Tottenham struggling and Liverpool facing a desperate Leicester City side, and it’s entirely conceivable that a win for Chelsea over Swansea City could leave the Blues as far as 11 points clear at the top of the table, albeit a game ahead of some. That would all but wrap things up, wouldn’t it?
Premier League player Power Rankings – Top 20.
By Joe Prince-Wright
(Photo/Getty Images)
The Premier League action is back after the FA Cup and European action took center stage. Hug someone. This is awesome.
With that in mind, there are a handful of new faces in our Power Rankings, with Chelsea and Man City continuing to dominate.
Remember: this is a list of the top 20 performing players right now in the Premier League.
Let us know in the comments section below if you agree with the selections of the top 20 players in the PL right now.
- Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal) – Even
- Harry Kane (Tottenham) New entry
- N’Golo Kante (Chelsea) – Down 1
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Man United) – New entry
- Sadio Mane (Liverpool) – Down 1
- Raheem Sterling (Man City) – Even
- Paul Pogba (Man United) – New entry
- Sergio Aguero (Man City) – New entry
- David Luiz (Chelsea) – Down 4
- Manolo Gabbiadini (Southampton) – Down 4
- Diego Costa (Chelsea) – Up 7
- Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea) – Down 5
- Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Man United) – Down 4
- Christian Eriksen (Tottenham) – New entry
- Kevin De Bruyne (Man City) – Down 4
- Juan Mata (Man United) – Even
- Leroy Sane (Man City) – Down 4
- David Silva (Man City) – Down 1
- Eden Hazard (Chelsea) – Down 9
- Anthony Martial (Man United) – Down 4
Europa League: Spurs sent packing, Ajax advances, Gladbach comes back.
By Kyle Bonn
(Photo/Getty Images)
Tottenham Hotspur was sent home in the Europa League Round of 32 after a 2-2 draw with Belgian side Gent at Wembley Stadium, leaving them down 3-2 on aggregate.
Christian Eriksen and Victor Wanyama scored for Spurs, but the road back was too long after Dele Alli was sent off in the 39th minute for a horrible challenge on Brecht Dejaegere that left the referee with no choice but to show the English international the first straight red card of his career.
With Spurs down to 10 men for the majority of the match, they were still able to press forward and pummel the Gent penalty area, but they wasted chances and were open on the counter, and that’s how they struck. With Spurs leading 2-1 and pressing for the third they needed to advance, Jeremy Prebert followed up his goal in the first leg with one in the second, punishing Spurs for throwing men forward to settle things in the 82nd minute.
Elsewhere, Ajax advanced thanks to a goal from Nick Viergever who bagged the only score of either leg in the 49th minute after Legia Warsaw goalkeeper Arkadiusz Malarz spilled an initial shot from Amin Younes. The Dutch side is through to the Round of 16 for the second time in the last three years.
Fiorentina held a 1-0 lead over Borussia Monchengladbach after the first leg, and they scored twice in the first half of the second leg, but the German side shattered that with a remarkable comeback. Finding themselves down 3-0, Gladbach scored four times in 16 minutes to put themselves into the Round of 16 on a 4-3 aggregate score. Lars Stindl was the man of the hour, as he scored a hat-trick, including one from the penalty spot to start the comeback. The incredible stunt was completed by an Andreas Christensen header in the 60th minute, and Gladbach held on from there to advance.
AS Roma eased into the Round of 16 thanks to their huge first-leg advantage, falling 1-0 to Villareal but still advancing 4-1 on aggregate.
Anderlecht clung on to a Round of 16 place in thrilling fashion despite falling 3-1 to Zenit St. Petersburg, moving on thanks to an away goal after a 3-3 aggregate draw. 24-year-old Swede Isaac Kiese Thelin scored in the 90th minute in Russia to give Anderlecht the away goal it needed.
Lyon obliterated Dutch side AZ Alkmaar 7-1 en route to a huge 11-2 aggregate victory. Nabil Fekir scored a hat-trick, while Maxwel Cornet, Sergi Darder, Houssem Aouar, Mouctar Diakhaby all bagged goals as well to put the French club through with ease.
Cypriot club Apoel Nicosia earned a come-from-behind berth in the Round of 16 despite being reduced to 10 men with a half-hour to go. After a 3-2 defeat in Spain, they scored two at home to beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 and advance 4-3 on aggregate. Pieros Soteriou and Giannis Gianniotas scored before the hour mark, and while Soteriou was sent off for a second yellow in the 65th minute, Apoel held on for the slim win as Athletic needed two more to advance.
Celta Vigo completed a comeback over Ukranian giants Shakhtar Donetsk. Down 1-0 after the first leg in Spain, Celta hit the road and seemed on its way out until Iago Aspas hit from the penalty spot in injury time, forcing extra time where they scored again via Gustavo Cabral which saw them through.
The Round of 16 draw will be Friday at 7 a.m. ET, while the matches begin on March 9th.
RESULTS: (team in bold advances)
Tottenham 2-2 KAA Gent
AS Roma 0-1 Villareal
Fiorentina 2-4 Borussia Monchengladbach
Ajax 1-0 Legia Warsaw
Zenit St. Petersburg 3-1 Anderlecht
Shakhtar Donetsk 0-2 Celta Vigo (AET)
Lyon 7-1 AZ Alkmaar
Osmanlispor 0-3 Olympiakos
Apoel Nicosia 2-0 Athletic Bilbao
FC Copenhagen 0-0 Ludogorets
Racing Genk 1-0 Astra Giurgiu
Sparta Prague 1-1 FC Rostov
Besiktas 2-1 Hapoel Be’er Sheva
NCAABKB: No. 22 Butler ruins No. 2 Villanova’s seniors’ perfect Pavilion record.
(AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)
Then another ‘0’ turned that zero into a ‘1.’
The Bulldogs ripped off an 18-0 run in a 5-minute span to ultimately claim a 74-66 victory over second-ranked and defending national champion Villanova.
Villanova looked like it was going to cruise to another home win when Josh Hart’s 3-pointer with 10 minutes, 37 seconds remaining put the Wildcats up 49-42.
They wouldn’t score again until nearly the 4-minute mark.
During that span, Butler made 7 of 11 shots, with three being 3-pointers, while the Wildcats went 0 of 6 from the field and turned the ball over twice.
A seven-point lead for Villanova became an 11-point advantage for Butler. Villanova would try to rally, but couldn’t pull it off as it saw its home winning run stopped, its seniors’ perfect Pavilion record blemished and its seven-game winning streak come to a halt.
Beyond it probably being immensely annoying to the senior class, the loss probably doesn’t hurt Villanova too much as it looks to hold on to a No. 1 seed, preferably in the East region. The Wildcats’ resume is still as strong as nearly anyone in the country and they are, after all, the defending champs. They’ll be fine.
For Butler, it’s a signature win for a team that’s had a number of really good victories, but a few confounding losses, like St. John’s on the road and to Creighton (without Maurice Watson) and Georgetown at home. Beating Villanova – at the Pavilion, no less – could be worth a seed line.
Kelan Martin was fantastic for Butler, going for 23 points and eight boards, while Kamar Baldwin went for 15 points off the bench.
Jalen Brunson led the way for Villanova with 24 points while Josh Hart had 18 points and six rebounds. Kris Jenkins struggled, going 1 of 8 from the floor while scoring eight points.
The Wildcats get a chance to start a new streak at the Pavilion on Saturday with Creighton coming to town.
John Gillon banks in buzzer-beater, Syracuse upsets Duke.
By Henry Bushnell
Syracuse’s back was against the wall. It came into Wednesday’s game against Duke having lost three in a row. It went into halftime down eight, and with a road trip to Louisville looming over the weekend, the Orange were staring a five-game losing streak in the face.
Then came the comeback. Then came the hero.
John Gillon banked in an off-balance, buzzer-beating 30-footer to beat the Blue Devils and likely send Syracuse to the NCAA tournament.
Syracuse fans immediately filled the Carrier Dome court. Over 30,000 of them, packed to the ceiling in the upper deck, were in attendance for the showdown with Duke, and if given the choice, all of them probably would have found their way onto the floor to join the hundreds that did.
Gillon had to be dragged away from the chaotic celebrations for his postgame interview. Asked about his mindset down the stretch, Gillon said, “My mindset was that I’m unstoppable.”
Syracuse trailed by as many as 10 in the first half, but stormed back early in the second to take the lead with just under 13 minutes to play. The two teams went back and forth over the final quarter of the game.
Duke had the ball and a fresh shot clock with 37 seconds remaining, but missed its shot. Syracuse rather casually got the ball to Gillon, who then sped up the floor and hit the leaning 30-footer.
Gillon, who has been as crucial as any player for the Orange during their resurgence in ACC play, scored 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting to secure a massive 78-75 victory over the 10th-ranked Blue Devils.
Gillon is also a remarkable story. He is playing for his third college program. Originally from Houston, he enrolled at Arkansas-Little Rock in 2012, played one season, then transferred to Colorado State. After sitting out a year, he played two seasons for the Rams, then took advantage of the graduate transfer rule to make the jump to Syracuse.
Gillon was erratic early in the season, but has been invaluable for Jim Boeheim’s team over the past month. He’s played at least 35 minutes in each of the past eight games, and is second in the ACC with an assist rate of 33.2.
Wednesday also wasn’t the first time Gillon had played the role of hero. He scored an incredible 43 points against NC State, and led Syracuse back from a double-digit deficit. He hit a 3 on the final play of regulation that night to send the game against the Wolfpack to OT, where the Orange would eventually win it.
North Carolina pulls away from Louisville to seize control of ACC race.
By Jeff Eisenberg
(Photo/Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Not long after tip-off of Wednesday night’s showdown between North Carolina and Louisville, the Dean Dome crowd howled with excitement.
The final score of rival Duke’s buzzer-beating loss at Syracuse had just appeared on the video board.
The roars at the Dean Dome only grew louder as the night wore on and North Carolina began to methodically impose its will. The eighth-ranked Tar Heels pulled away from seventh-ranked Louisville in the second half, cruising to a 74-63 victory that gives them control of the ACC title race.
With three games left in league play, North Carolina has finally gained the separation that no other ACC team has managed to achieve this season. The first-place Tar Heels (24-5, 12-3) hold a two-game advantage in the standings over second-place Louisville, Duke, Florida State and Notre Dame.
Maintaining that advantage would give North Carolina the upper hand in the race for the fourth No. 1 seed alongside Villanova, Kansas and Gonzaga. Baylor has a slew of quality wins and a Pac-12 team may yet have a case, however, it’s hard to see the committee relegating an outright champion in college basketball’s toughest league to the No. 2 line.
If North Carolina keeps playing at its current level, it’s difficult to imagine the Tar Heels coughing up their ACC lead. They’ve beaten Notre Dame, Virginia and Louisville this month alone, with their lone February loss coming in a close game at Duke.
In some ways, Wednesday’s victory followed the script North Carolina envisioned: Justin Jackson was the best player on the floor for long stretches, Kennedy Meeks and Joel Berry provided secondary scoring and the Tar Heels dominated the offensive glass.
In other ways, Wednesday’s victory absolutely deviated from North Carolina’s typical blueprint: The Tar Heels struggled to score against Louisville’s length in the paint, played without Isaiah Hicks for much of the game due to foul trouble and received a spark from Theo Pinson’s 3-point shooting of all things.
All in all, enough good things happened for North Carolina to turn a three-point halftime advantage into a 17-point second-half lead, more than enough cushion to cruise the rest of the way. The Cardinals never cut the deficit to fewer than eight points in the final minutes.
North Carolina’s final three games of the season are at Pittsburgh, at Virginia and home against Duke. Two wins will deliver an outright ACC title for sure and perhaps a No. 1 seed as well.
NCAAFB: 30 years later: The legacy of SMU's death penalty and six teams nearly hit one.
The death penalty is a topic of conversation to this day, though the NCAA hasn't used it in three decades.
The Death Penalty lives -- well, at least its legacy does.
Thirty-years after SMU became the one and only major college football program to be shut down by the NCAA, that much can’t be denied.
Saturday marks the 30th anniversary of SMU football getting The Big Haircut. Already on NCAA probation, the Mustangs became subject to the infamous repeat violator rule that was enacted only two years before SMU football was shuttered on Feb. 25, 1987.
You remember -- boosters, regents, players and coaches conspired for the most brazen, widespread pay-for-play scandals in the NCAA’s history. At least the worst that we know about.
Then-NCAA enforcement chief David Berst fainted under the bright lights of the television cameras. The NCAA never went on campus again to announce penalties.
Three decades later, we have a legacy to unpack. Books have been written. Documentaries have been produced. Football itself has become too big to fail. A television penalty -- common in the death penalty era -- hasn’t been applied to a football program since Ole Miss got hit in 1995.
Today, billion-dollar rights fees contracts would be impacted.
The college athletic world still wonders if the NCAA’s nuclear option will ever be used again.
“As long as that penalty is on the books, you can envision that penalty could always happen,” said Alabama law professor Gene Marsh, who spent nine years on the NCAA Infractions Committee.
Thirty years later, though, it’s hard to tell whether lessons have been learned or the NCAA is afraid of its own destructive powers.
In the three decades since the death penalty, there have been 50 major infractions cases involving Division I-A/FBS football programs. In the previous 30 years before that, there were 102 such cases.
Has college football been scared straight? Doubtful. BYU remains the only national champion free from NCAA sanctions in the wire service era (since 1936).
Amazingly, SMU president Gerald Turner knowingly hired Larry Brown as his basketball coach in 2012. That would be the Larry Brown who has now been in charge of three programs penalized by the NCAA (Kansas, UCLA, SMU).
“I don’t think the death penalty will happen again,” said Scott Tompsett, a veteran attorney with experience in several high-profile cases. “What kind of case would it have to be?
“I guess you could come up with a scenario, but there’s not going to be another SMU case. People are more careful. They’re not as brazen anymore. They’re more aware of the consequences.”
Because of the death penalty, SMU literally lost its place at the table as a major college football program. The Southwest Conference broke apart a few years later -- in part because of multiple NCAA scandals.
SMU was left behind when the Big 12 formed in 1996. For more than 20 years, the Mustangs have wandered through three Group of Five conferences (Western Athletic, Conference USA, American), missing out on the riches of the BCS and College Football Playoff.
SMU long ago stopped being a destination coaching job. These days, it has a middling, respectable program in a middling, respectable stadium (32,000-seat Gerald Ford Stadium). SMU has posted only three winning seasons since the death penalty.
The latest blow was missing out on the Big 12 expansion that never was.
Rival schools swept in the next day to pick off players who suddenly had no home. We didn’t see a transfer free agent free-for-all like that until current NCAA president Mark Emmert opened up the Penn State roster in 2012.
Safe to say, SMU has never recovered.
“If you need to shut down USC or Alabama, they can probably recover from that,” said Chuck Cooperstein, who covered the SMU scandal for KRLD radio in Dallas back in the day. “If you shut down SMU, they aren’t coming back. It would send a greater message if you shut down USC, Alabama or Penn State.”
The NCAA has actually gotten close to that scenario in recent years. In each case, the NCAA either considered the death penalty or applied penalties so crippling it seemed like it.
In the present day, Ole Miss, North Carolina and Baylor are possibly in line for major penalties. Those cases remain ongoing.
“I think if [the NCAA] has a similar set of circumstances, I think they would do it again,” said Danny Robbins, the former Dallas Times Herald investigative reporter who wrote some of the most compelling stories on the case.
“I can’t see how they wouldn’t.”
Given time, space and perspective, Marsh has this lasting take on the death penalty legacy:
“Imposing the death penalty is really punching the wrong dummy,” he said.
“If you are really mad at a program and a bunch of fans and boosters and trustees who have really gone over the top … you can be mean to them by making them watch a bad football team rather than no football team at all.
“Hit ‘em hard in scholarships so that they have a terribly non-competitive team. That’s more retribution and meanness.”
That actually may have been done in some form with these five schools and their programs that have come closest to the death penalty since SMU.
1. Baylor basketball, 2005: Marsh was on the COI that actually considered killing Baylor hoops in the wake of the Patrick Dennehy murder, academic fraud, unethical conduct and hidden drug positives. The basketball program was limited to conference games only in 2005-06.
“In the nine years I was on the committee, we only brushed up against [the death penalty] once, and that was in the Baylor basketball case,” Marsh said. “We actually decided to impose some form of the death penalty and backed off it … That was the closest.”
Out of the shambles of that scandal came Valparaiso assistant Scott Drew to lead the program. Today, Baylor basketball has never been better. The school’s brand, though, may never be worse with the ongoing sexual assault scandal.
2. Penn State football, 2012: The NCAA has never been good at legislating morality. It overreached in applying unprecedented penalties stemming from the Jerry Sandusky scandal. For the first time, the NCAA penalized a school with major sanctions outside the traditional enforcement route.
The negative reaction was swift and significant. The courts had taken care of the core issue -- convicting Sandusky. When the NCAA cracked down on the innocents -- the existing players -- only it could make Penn State seem almost like a sympathetic figure in the scandal. Penn State football was slapped with a four-year bowl ban and the loss of 40 scholarships. Many Penn Staters considered the vacating of Joe Paterno’s wins from 1998-2011 the ultimate insult.
At that point, what was more outrageous -- going off the reservation with unprecedented penalties or rescinding many of them two years later? (As part of that, Paterno’s wins have since been restored.) Which is it, guys?
Many think NCAA president Mark Emmert held the possibility of a death penalty over Penn State officials to get them to accept the penalties. Whatever the case, the Nittany Lions recovered rather quickly. Four-and-a-half years later, Penn State won the Big Ten and played in the Rose Bowl. Emmert hasn’t been as outspoken since that historic July day in Indianapolis.
3. Alabama football, 2002: Then COI chairman Tom Yeager famously told Alabama it was “ absolutely staring down the barrel of a gun ” in the infamous Albert Means case. He did not have to elaborate. Several schools jockeyed for the services of Means, a blue-chip defensive lineman. Alabama was caught in a vast scandal that included now-deceased booster Logan Young.
Repeat violator? Alabama was in the midst of four major infractions cases in 14 years. Alabama’s administration was indignant. It appealed the findings that included a two-year bowl ban and the loss of 21 scholarships over three years.
Think what would have happened had Yeager’s COI not stepped back from the brink. Alabama probably wouldn’t have been able to lure Nick Saban. The fate (and success) of the SEC in general probably would have been altered. Cooperstein was right. Like Penn State, Alabama was able to recover. Less than five years after those penalties, Saban came to T-Town. Three years after that, he won the first of four championships at Bama.
4. USC football, 2010: There have been few cases where the fallout was as vast. One player with his hand out (Reggie Bush) caused the Trojans to suffer a two-year bowl ban and lose 30 scholarships. But that was only the beginning: The BCS eventually vacated the Trojans’ 2004 national championship over the scandal. Bush gave up his Heisman Trophy from 2005. That was after the school sent back their copy of the trophy.
Evidence of one of USC’s best players winning the school’s sixth Heisman literally doesn’t exist. The Heisman Trust doesn’t list a winner for 2005. Bush’s name has basically been expunged from the USC record books. In that sense, the school essentially can’t acknowledge his existence. Bush has been “permanently disassociated.”
What’s left for some is the smoldering, hollowed out remains of any sense of fairness, anywhere, in college athletics. In the midst of the probation, Lane Kiffin -- of all people -- won 10 games. The NCAA had relied on the testimony of a convicted former felon to make its case. The subject of that testimony, former running backs coach Todd McNair, is suing the NCAA for defamation and hasn’t worked in football since.
Athletic director Mike Garrett did the program no favors taking a combative attitude throughout. A day after the penalties were handed down, Garrett curiously said critics “were just jealous.” Uh, no. Garrett was in charge of a program that somehow missed its best player touring the extra benefits sampler platter -- a house for his parents, cash, etc.
Like Penn State and Bama, the Trojans recovered rather quickly. Clay Helton became USC’s third permanent head coach in 71 months, USC’s highest rate of turnover in more that a century. But seven years after the penalties, the Trojans have averaged almost nine wins in that span (62) and made it back to win a Rose Bowl.
5. Oklahoma State football, 1989: Cowboys receiver Hart Lee Dykes became perhaps the biggest snitch in enforcement history. Given immunity -- he was allowed to play while singing to the NCAA -- Dykes put four schools on probation: Texas A&M, Illinois, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
Dykes testified that he had taken cash and a car with the help of former OSU assistant Willie Anderson. The Cowboys lost 20 scholarships, were hit with a three-year postseason ban and a two-year TV ban. As many as 14 boosters were involved. According to a source, Anderson played them off each other to get the best offer.
The school’s attorney, Mike Glazier, said it was only because of Oklahoma State’s cooperation that it avoided a modified death penalty -- the loss of three home conference games in 1989.
“I always thought, if he could have gotten himself a TV program, he could have raised more money than Jim Bakker or Jerry Falwell,” Glazier told me in 2008 regarding Anderson. “… He is one of the friendliest, nicest cheaters I ever came across.”
Dishonorable mention -- Miami football and basketball, 2013: USC types still steam over then-COI chairman Paul Dee wagging his finger at their program while Nevin Shapiro was running free within Miami. Had the NCAA not screwed up with Shaprio, this had the potential of being the mother of all infractions cases.
As the NCAA proudly said in the public report, there were 18 allegations involving 79 incidents. There were 118 interviews involving 81 individuals. All well and good, except the NCAA improperly used Shapiro’s testimony in a bankruptcy deposition to help make a case that was all laid out for it.
That horrible misstep mitigated the fact Shapiro had been a Sugar Daddy on steroids, running wild within the program for years. But when the NCAA screwed up, that neutered it in the penalty phase. The result was the loss of some scholarships and probation. Miami had already self-imposed a two-year postseason ban.
The intersection of a convicted felon in a New Jersey prison spawning an NCAA investigation that fell woefully short seems to be a good place to leave the death penalty’s legacy 30 years later.
Thirty-years after SMU became the one and only major college football program to be shut down by the NCAA, that much can’t be denied.
Saturday marks the 30th anniversary of SMU football getting The Big Haircut. Already on NCAA probation, the Mustangs became subject to the infamous repeat violator rule that was enacted only two years before SMU football was shuttered on Feb. 25, 1987.
You remember -- boosters, regents, players and coaches conspired for the most brazen, widespread pay-for-play scandals in the NCAA’s history. At least the worst that we know about.
Then-NCAA enforcement chief David Berst fainted under the bright lights of the television cameras. The NCAA never went on campus again to announce penalties.
Three decades later, we have a legacy to unpack. Books have been written. Documentaries have been produced. Football itself has become too big to fail. A television penalty -- common in the death penalty era -- hasn’t been applied to a football program since Ole Miss got hit in 1995.
Today, billion-dollar rights fees contracts would be impacted.
The college athletic world still wonders if the NCAA’s nuclear option will ever be used again.
“As long as that penalty is on the books, you can envision that penalty could always happen,” said Alabama law professor Gene Marsh, who spent nine years on the NCAA Infractions Committee.
Thirty years later, though, it’s hard to tell whether lessons have been learned or the NCAA is afraid of its own destructive powers.
In the three decades since the death penalty, there have been 50 major infractions cases involving Division I-A/FBS football programs. In the previous 30 years before that, there were 102 such cases.
Has college football been scared straight? Doubtful. BYU remains the only national champion free from NCAA sanctions in the wire service era (since 1936).
Amazingly, SMU president Gerald Turner knowingly hired Larry Brown as his basketball coach in 2012. That would be the Larry Brown who has now been in charge of three programs penalized by the NCAA (Kansas, UCLA, SMU).
“I don’t think the death penalty will happen again,” said Scott Tompsett, a veteran attorney with experience in several high-profile cases. “What kind of case would it have to be?
“I guess you could come up with a scenario, but there’s not going to be another SMU case. People are more careful. They’re not as brazen anymore. They’re more aware of the consequences.”
Because of the death penalty, SMU literally lost its place at the table as a major college football program. The Southwest Conference broke apart a few years later -- in part because of multiple NCAA scandals.
SMU was left behind when the Big 12 formed in 1996. For more than 20 years, the Mustangs have wandered through three Group of Five conferences (Western Athletic, Conference USA, American), missing out on the riches of the BCS and College Football Playoff.
SMU long ago stopped being a destination coaching job. These days, it has a middling, respectable program in a middling, respectable stadium (32,000-seat Gerald Ford Stadium). SMU has posted only three winning seasons since the death penalty.
The latest blow was missing out on the Big 12 expansion that never was.
Rival schools swept in the next day to pick off players who suddenly had no home. We didn’t see a transfer free agent free-for-all like that until current NCAA president Mark Emmert opened up the Penn State roster in 2012.
Safe to say, SMU has never recovered.
“If you need to shut down USC or Alabama, they can probably recover from that,” said Chuck Cooperstein, who covered the SMU scandal for KRLD radio in Dallas back in the day. “If you shut down SMU, they aren’t coming back. It would send a greater message if you shut down USC, Alabama or Penn State.”
The NCAA has actually gotten close to that scenario in recent years. In each case, the NCAA either considered the death penalty or applied penalties so crippling it seemed like it.
In the present day, Ole Miss, North Carolina and Baylor are possibly in line for major penalties. Those cases remain ongoing.
“I think if [the NCAA] has a similar set of circumstances, I think they would do it again,” said Danny Robbins, the former Dallas Times Herald investigative reporter who wrote some of the most compelling stories on the case.
“I can’t see how they wouldn’t.”
Given time, space and perspective, Marsh has this lasting take on the death penalty legacy:
“Imposing the death penalty is really punching the wrong dummy,” he said.
“If you are really mad at a program and a bunch of fans and boosters and trustees who have really gone over the top … you can be mean to them by making them watch a bad football team rather than no football team at all.
“Hit ‘em hard in scholarships so that they have a terribly non-competitive team. That’s more retribution and meanness.”
That actually may have been done in some form with these five schools and their programs that have come closest to the death penalty since SMU.
1. Baylor basketball, 2005: Marsh was on the COI that actually considered killing Baylor hoops in the wake of the Patrick Dennehy murder, academic fraud, unethical conduct and hidden drug positives. The basketball program was limited to conference games only in 2005-06.
“In the nine years I was on the committee, we only brushed up against [the death penalty] once, and that was in the Baylor basketball case,” Marsh said. “We actually decided to impose some form of the death penalty and backed off it … That was the closest.”
Out of the shambles of that scandal came Valparaiso assistant Scott Drew to lead the program. Today, Baylor basketball has never been better. The school’s brand, though, may never be worse with the ongoing sexual assault scandal.
2. Penn State football, 2012: The NCAA has never been good at legislating morality. It overreached in applying unprecedented penalties stemming from the Jerry Sandusky scandal. For the first time, the NCAA penalized a school with major sanctions outside the traditional enforcement route.
The negative reaction was swift and significant. The courts had taken care of the core issue -- convicting Sandusky. When the NCAA cracked down on the innocents -- the existing players -- only it could make Penn State seem almost like a sympathetic figure in the scandal. Penn State football was slapped with a four-year bowl ban and the loss of 40 scholarships. Many Penn Staters considered the vacating of Joe Paterno’s wins from 1998-2011 the ultimate insult.
At that point, what was more outrageous -- going off the reservation with unprecedented penalties or rescinding many of them two years later? (As part of that, Paterno’s wins have since been restored.) Which is it, guys?
Many think NCAA president Mark Emmert held the possibility of a death penalty over Penn State officials to get them to accept the penalties. Whatever the case, the Nittany Lions recovered rather quickly. Four-and-a-half years later, Penn State won the Big Ten and played in the Rose Bowl. Emmert hasn’t been as outspoken since that historic July day in Indianapolis.
3. Alabama football, 2002: Then COI chairman Tom Yeager famously told Alabama it was “ absolutely staring down the barrel of a gun ” in the infamous Albert Means case. He did not have to elaborate. Several schools jockeyed for the services of Means, a blue-chip defensive lineman. Alabama was caught in a vast scandal that included now-deceased booster Logan Young.
Repeat violator? Alabama was in the midst of four major infractions cases in 14 years. Alabama’s administration was indignant. It appealed the findings that included a two-year bowl ban and the loss of 21 scholarships over three years.
Think what would have happened had Yeager’s COI not stepped back from the brink. Alabama probably wouldn’t have been able to lure Nick Saban. The fate (and success) of the SEC in general probably would have been altered. Cooperstein was right. Like Penn State, Alabama was able to recover. Less than five years after those penalties, Saban came to T-Town. Three years after that, he won the first of four championships at Bama.
4. USC football, 2010: There have been few cases where the fallout was as vast. One player with his hand out (Reggie Bush) caused the Trojans to suffer a two-year bowl ban and lose 30 scholarships. But that was only the beginning: The BCS eventually vacated the Trojans’ 2004 national championship over the scandal. Bush gave up his Heisman Trophy from 2005. That was after the school sent back their copy of the trophy.
Evidence of one of USC’s best players winning the school’s sixth Heisman literally doesn’t exist. The Heisman Trust doesn’t list a winner for 2005. Bush’s name has basically been expunged from the USC record books. In that sense, the school essentially can’t acknowledge his existence. Bush has been “permanently disassociated.”
What’s left for some is the smoldering, hollowed out remains of any sense of fairness, anywhere, in college athletics. In the midst of the probation, Lane Kiffin -- of all people -- won 10 games. The NCAA had relied on the testimony of a convicted former felon to make its case. The subject of that testimony, former running backs coach Todd McNair, is suing the NCAA for defamation and hasn’t worked in football since.
Athletic director Mike Garrett did the program no favors taking a combative attitude throughout. A day after the penalties were handed down, Garrett curiously said critics “were just jealous.” Uh, no. Garrett was in charge of a program that somehow missed its best player touring the extra benefits sampler platter -- a house for his parents, cash, etc.
Like Penn State and Bama, the Trojans recovered rather quickly. Clay Helton became USC’s third permanent head coach in 71 months, USC’s highest rate of turnover in more that a century. But seven years after the penalties, the Trojans have averaged almost nine wins in that span (62) and made it back to win a Rose Bowl.
5. Oklahoma State football, 1989: Cowboys receiver Hart Lee Dykes became perhaps the biggest snitch in enforcement history. Given immunity -- he was allowed to play while singing to the NCAA -- Dykes put four schools on probation: Texas A&M, Illinois, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
Dykes testified that he had taken cash and a car with the help of former OSU assistant Willie Anderson. The Cowboys lost 20 scholarships, were hit with a three-year postseason ban and a two-year TV ban. As many as 14 boosters were involved. According to a source, Anderson played them off each other to get the best offer.
The school’s attorney, Mike Glazier, said it was only because of Oklahoma State’s cooperation that it avoided a modified death penalty -- the loss of three home conference games in 1989.
“I always thought, if he could have gotten himself a TV program, he could have raised more money than Jim Bakker or Jerry Falwell,” Glazier told me in 2008 regarding Anderson. “… He is one of the friendliest, nicest cheaters I ever came across.”
Dishonorable mention -- Miami football and basketball, 2013: USC types still steam over then-COI chairman Paul Dee wagging his finger at their program while Nevin Shapiro was running free within Miami. Had the NCAA not screwed up with Shaprio, this had the potential of being the mother of all infractions cases.
As the NCAA proudly said in the public report, there were 18 allegations involving 79 incidents. There were 118 interviews involving 81 individuals. All well and good, except the NCAA improperly used Shapiro’s testimony in a bankruptcy deposition to help make a case that was all laid out for it.
That horrible misstep mitigated the fact Shapiro had been a Sugar Daddy on steroids, running wild within the program for years. But when the NCAA screwed up, that neutered it in the penalty phase. The result was the loss of some scholarships and probation. Miami had already self-imposed a two-year postseason ban.
The intersection of a convicted felon in a New Jersey prison spawning an NCAA investigation that fell woefully short seems to be a good place to leave the death penalty’s legacy 30 years later.
Lance Armstrong’s $100 million trial set for November.
Associated Press
(Photo/Getty Images)
Lance Armstrong‘s $100 million legal fight with the federal government has been set for a November trial.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper on Thursday set a Nov. 6 trial start in Washington. Armstrong’s legal team had asked to postpone trial until 2018 because of a potential scheduling conflict.
The government wants Armstrong to pay back the $32 million the U.S. Postal Service paid his team for sponsorship, plus triple damages.
Armstrong’s former teammate Floyd Landis initially filed the whistle-blower case in 2010, accusing him of violating the sponsorship contract by taking performance-enhancing drugs. The government joined the case in 2013 after Armstrong admitted cheating and was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and 2000 Olympic bronze medal.
Landis, who was stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title for cheating, could collect up to 25 percent of damages awarded.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper on Thursday set a Nov. 6 trial start in Washington. Armstrong’s legal team had asked to postpone trial until 2018 because of a potential scheduling conflict.
The government wants Armstrong to pay back the $32 million the U.S. Postal Service paid his team for sponsorship, plus triple damages.
Armstrong’s former teammate Floyd Landis initially filed the whistle-blower case in 2010, accusing him of violating the sponsorship contract by taking performance-enhancing drugs. The government joined the case in 2013 after Armstrong admitted cheating and was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and 2000 Olympic bronze medal.
Landis, who was stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title for cheating, could collect up to 25 percent of damages awarded.
On This Date in Sports History: Today is Friday, February 22, 2017.
emoriesofhistory.com
1937 - Lou Gehrig did a screen test for the role of Tarzan. Johnny Weissmuller eventually got the part.
1980 - Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) became the first player in NHL history to score 100 points in a season before the age of 20.
1980 - In Lake Placid, NY, the U.S. hockey team defeated Finland 4-2 to win the gold medal at the Winter Olympic Games.
1982 - Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) scored his 77th goal of the season to break the NHL record of 76 held by Phil Esposito. Gretzky ended up with 92 goals for the season and 212 points. He was the first player to finish a season with more than 200 points.
1987 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, of the Los Angeles Lakers, got his first three-point shot in the NBA.
1993 - Steve Yzerman (Detroit Red Wings) scored his 1,000th career point.
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