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"Sports Quote of the Day"
"Life is full of challenges and surprises." ~ Jil Sander, Fashion Designer
TRENDING: Why is the media so harsh on the Bears' Trubisky pick? (See the football section for Bears news and NFL updates).
TRENDING: Always Dreaming wins 2017 Kentucky Derby. (See the last article on this blog for Thoroughbred Racing News and Kentucky Derby updates).
TRENDING: Blackhawks prospect Alex DeBrincat wins Red Tilson Trophy as OHL's most outstanding player. (See the hockey section for Blackhawks updates and NHL news).
TRENDING: Cubs, White Sox swept over the weekend. (See the baseball section for Cubs and White Sox updates).
TRENDING: Blackhawks prospect Alex DeBrincat wins Red Tilson Trophy as OHL's most outstanding player. (See the hockey section for Blackhawks updates and NHL news).
TRENDING: Cubs, White Sox swept over the weekend. (See the baseball section for Cubs and White Sox updates).
TRENDING: Harman birdies 18 to edge DJ, Perez at Wells Fargo. Daly's Champions win a victory for fans, tour. S.Y. Kim tops A. Jutanugarn for Ochoa title. (See the golf section for PGA news and tournament updates).
TRENDING: Ricky Stenhouse wins first career NASCAR Cup race, captures Geico 500. (See the NASCAR section for NASCAR news and racing updates).
Bear Down Chicago Bears!!!!! Why the Bears defense needs to be healthy, ready when the bell rings.
By Chris Boden
(Photo/USA TODAY)
John Fox has yet to win a game as Bears head coach in the month of September. And when the schedule was released a few weeks ago, fans probably didn’t feel it would get much better in 2017.
While the offense adapts to new quarterbacks and receivers trying to learn a new system, the defense (particularly the secondary) will still be in the fresh stages of “getting-to-know-you.” If there’s any unit that needs to be ready (and, especially healthy) at the starting gate, it’s Vic Fangio’s guys. The offenses they’ll face will be powerful, with weapons galore.
To wit:
Sept. 10 vs. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were the league’s No. 2 offense last season behind MVP Matt Ryan. The quarterback ranked first in passer rating (117.1), second in touchdown passes (38) and passing yards (4,944) and third in completion percentage (69.9). The NFC Champions also had the receiver with the third-most yards (1,409) in Julio Jones, and the ninth-leading rusher in Devonta Freeman (1,079). He and Tevin Coleman combined for 1,600 yards on the ground
Sept. 17 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs only ranked 18th in offense a year ago, and the NFL’s second-best rusher from two years ago, Doug Martin, may be out due to a suspension, forcing them to lean on ex-Bear Jacquizz Rodgers. But he still averaged 4.3 yards per rush in Martin’s absence before a season-ending injury. Jameis Winston enters his third season coming off two 4,000-yard passing seasons to begin his career. Mike Evans was a big part of that, especially last season, when he was tied for second in TD catches (12), fourth in yards (1,321) and sixth in receptions (96). But all they’ve done in the offseason is add receivers DeSean Jackson (free agency) and Chris Godwin (third round draftee), and All-American tight end O.J. Howard (19th overall draft pick).
Sept. 24 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
A week later, it’s back home against the Steelers and their seventh-ranked offense from a year ago. Ben Roethlisberger tied for sixth in touchdown passes (29) and ranked 11th in passer rating. Main target Antonio Brown was second in the NFL with 106 catches, tied for second with a dozen TD catches and was fifth in receiving yards (1,384). Not to be outdone, Le'Veon Bell ranked fifth with 1,268 rushing yards. Second-round pick JuJu Smith-Schuster is insurance if Martavis Bryant can’t stay off the suspended list.
Sept. 28 at Green Bay Packers
So four days after the black and gold on the lakefront it’s the green and gold up the road at Lambeau. Do we really need to go there? Well, if you want: the No. 8 offense featured the quarterback who led the league in touchdown passes (40) and finished fourth in passing yards and passer rating (4,428 and 104.2, respectively), not to mention the fact Aaron Rodgers almost always finds a way to beat the Bears. They may need to turn to fourth round rookie Jamaal Williams to run the ball, but remember how ex-wideout Ty Montgomery had no problem facing the Bears (with a 5.9 yard rushing average for the season). Then there’s Jordy Nelson, first in touchdown catches (14), fifth in receptions (97) and sixth in yards (1,257). Davante Adams’ 12 touchdown catches tied for second with Evans, as he and Randall Cobb combined for 135 receptions. Oh, and they signed former Bear Martellus Bennett to fill a “need” at tight end.
If the defense can keep the games close (a big “if”), there’s no doubt the offense will lean on Jordan Howard. Against the run a year ago, Atlanta ranked 17th, Tampa Bay 22nd, Pittsburgh 13th, and Green Bay eighth.
While the offense adapts to new quarterbacks and receivers trying to learn a new system, the defense (particularly the secondary) will still be in the fresh stages of “getting-to-know-you.” If there’s any unit that needs to be ready (and, especially healthy) at the starting gate, it’s Vic Fangio’s guys. The offenses they’ll face will be powerful, with weapons galore.
To wit:
Sept. 10 vs. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were the league’s No. 2 offense last season behind MVP Matt Ryan. The quarterback ranked first in passer rating (117.1), second in touchdown passes (38) and passing yards (4,944) and third in completion percentage (69.9). The NFC Champions also had the receiver with the third-most yards (1,409) in Julio Jones, and the ninth-leading rusher in Devonta Freeman (1,079). He and Tevin Coleman combined for 1,600 yards on the ground
Sept. 17 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs only ranked 18th in offense a year ago, and the NFL’s second-best rusher from two years ago, Doug Martin, may be out due to a suspension, forcing them to lean on ex-Bear Jacquizz Rodgers. But he still averaged 4.3 yards per rush in Martin’s absence before a season-ending injury. Jameis Winston enters his third season coming off two 4,000-yard passing seasons to begin his career. Mike Evans was a big part of that, especially last season, when he was tied for second in TD catches (12), fourth in yards (1,321) and sixth in receptions (96). But all they’ve done in the offseason is add receivers DeSean Jackson (free agency) and Chris Godwin (third round draftee), and All-American tight end O.J. Howard (19th overall draft pick).
Sept. 24 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
A week later, it’s back home against the Steelers and their seventh-ranked offense from a year ago. Ben Roethlisberger tied for sixth in touchdown passes (29) and ranked 11th in passer rating. Main target Antonio Brown was second in the NFL with 106 catches, tied for second with a dozen TD catches and was fifth in receiving yards (1,384). Not to be outdone, Le'Veon Bell ranked fifth with 1,268 rushing yards. Second-round pick JuJu Smith-Schuster is insurance if Martavis Bryant can’t stay off the suspended list.
Sept. 28 at Green Bay Packers
So four days after the black and gold on the lakefront it’s the green and gold up the road at Lambeau. Do we really need to go there? Well, if you want: the No. 8 offense featured the quarterback who led the league in touchdown passes (40) and finished fourth in passing yards and passer rating (4,428 and 104.2, respectively), not to mention the fact Aaron Rodgers almost always finds a way to beat the Bears. They may need to turn to fourth round rookie Jamaal Williams to run the ball, but remember how ex-wideout Ty Montgomery had no problem facing the Bears (with a 5.9 yard rushing average for the season). Then there’s Jordy Nelson, first in touchdown catches (14), fifth in receptions (97) and sixth in yards (1,257). Davante Adams’ 12 touchdown catches tied for second with Evans, as he and Randall Cobb combined for 135 receptions. Oh, and they signed former Bear Martellus Bennett to fill a “need” at tight end.
If the defense can keep the games close (a big “if”), there’s no doubt the offense will lean on Jordan Howard. Against the run a year ago, Atlanta ranked 17th, Tampa Bay 22nd, Pittsburgh 13th, and Green Bay eighth.
Question: Why is the media so harsh on the Bears' Trubisky pick?
By Jacob Infante
(Photo/Yahoo/Cover32)
The Chicago Bears traded up one spot in the 2017 NFL Draft. In doing so, they traded away two third-round picks and one fourth-round pick. The Bears used this trade to select North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky. In case you’ve been living under a rock, most people are in disapproval of the move.
Fans have been calling for Ryan Pace’s head ever since his team orchestrated the move. The media has ridiculed the Bears for giving up that much to make the trade.
And that’s fine.
Fans have been calling for Ryan Pace’s head ever since his team orchestrated the move. The media has ridiculed the Bears for giving up that much to make the trade.
And that’s fine.
However, while I was scrolling through Yahoo! Sports, I found an article that piqued my interest, albeit for all the wrong reasons. The title read: Was the Bears’ Trubisky debacle the worst NFL draft flub ever?
The fact that this is even a question just one week after the 2017 NFL Draft is incredibly asinine. The worst ever? That is reaching to Skip Bayless levels of absurdity.
Although other media outlets have not reached these extremities, almost all of them are in agreement: the Chicago Bears lost the trade.
Why are we jumping to conclusions so early?
Mitch Trubisky has yet to step on an NFL field. The same goes for all of the other draft picks involved in the deal. Sure, the deal looks lopsided on paper, and the Bears did reach quite a bit. But how can you call the deal bad before any of the players involved play?
Fellow cover32 Bears writer Jay Cobb tweeted out an infographic that compares the trade Chicago made for Trubisky to other notable draft trade-ups:
As you can tell, the trade is nowhere near as lopsided as other notable draft-day trades.
Sure, losing two third-round picks will sting, but if Trubisky pans out, does it really matter? His ceiling is much higher than those of anyone the Bears could get in Round 3.
The value of this trade is made apparent in the famous trade value chart. According to the chart, the Bears overpaid, but by a very slight margin. It’s certainly not as bad as some of the other trades listed above, that’s for sure.
Another popular rebuttal against the Trubisky pick is the Bears’ signing of Mike Glennon. Chicago did pay Glennon a lot of money, but most of his guarantees will be coming in the first year. So although the deal itself is three years long, it’s practically a glorified one-year deal. This sets the Bears up in a perfect position to have Trubisky sit for a year and develop.
Would I have traded up to the second pick to get Mitch Trubisky? Probably not, but I’m not Ryan Pace. He has shown that he has the courage to get the players he wants, no matter the cost. He did it last year with Leonard Floyd, and he did it again this year with Trubisky. Trubisky was Pace’s guy from the very beginning, and he got him.
If he made the move that he believes is best for the team, then who are we to judge?
Answer: Polian, Wolf laud Pace for bold trade.
By Larry Mayer
Former NFL general managers Bill Polian and Ron Wolf were both inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015. But that's not the only thing they have in common.
In recent days, the two men have separately praised Bears general manager Ryan Pace for trading up in the first round of the draft to select North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky with the second overall pick.
Polian helped the Bills reach four Super Bowls and the Colts advance to two, winning one. Appearing on "The Waddle and Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000, he called the Bears trade for Trubisky "a stroke of genius."
"The Bears kept quiet," Polian said. "The Browns told the world that they were going to take [Myles] Garrett and trade back up for Trubisky assuming no one else would do it.
In recent days, the two men have separately praised Bears general manager Ryan Pace for trading up in the first round of the draft to select North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky with the second overall pick.
Polian helped the Bills reach four Super Bowls and the Colts advance to two, winning one. Appearing on "The Waddle and Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000, he called the Bears trade for Trubisky "a stroke of genius."
"The Bears kept quiet," Polian said. "The Browns told the world that they were going to take [Myles] Garrett and trade back up for Trubisky assuming no one else would do it.
"The Bears kept quiet. They talked with San Francisco, they made a deal and boom, they took him at the very spot that Cleveland could have had they made a deal with San Francisco and assured themselves of both guys.
"I thought it was just tremendous of Ryan Pace. Great move, great organizational move, great discipline in terms of keeping things quiet and staying out of the press. Bottom line: Great, great move. That's what general managers are paid to do. That's draft management at its best."
The Bears traded up from No. 3 to No. 2 in the first round to take Trubisky, the top quarterback on their draft board. The deal cost them third- and fourth-round picks this year and a third-rounder next year.
"[Trubisky] has the most ability of anybody that came out in the draft this year," Polian said. "The most natural ability. The most natural thrower. He's a good athlete, probably a superior athlete. He can use his feet to get out of trouble and do things in the pocket. He's a pretty accurate thrower."
The fact that Trubisky started only 13 games in college is no longer as big of an issue as it would have been when Polian was a general manager.
"The rules have changed," Polian said. "The idea that Bill Parcells put forth, which I certainly subscribed to, that you've got to have a quarterback with 30 starts and a 70 percent winning percentage and all that kind of stuff is long gone.
"Now quarterbacks are so scarce that Andy Reid traded up to the 10th pick in the draft to get a project. So that's just the way it is. Those are the rules and you have to play by them. And so good for Ryan Pace and George McCaskey and the Chicago Bears. Terrific job."
Wolf, who helped the Raiders win two Super Bowls and the Packers one after trading for Brett Favre, spoke about the Bears trade to the Chicago Sun-Times.
"I admire anyone with the gumption to [do that]," Wolf said. "If they have the conviction, which they obviously do, that this is their savior … you go and get him. It takes intestinal fortitude and [Pace] displayed that. He has a belief in the player. And not only Pace, but the other people must be in line with that, too. If that's your guy, you go do it."
"You've got to give credit where credit is due. They thought enough of [Trubisky] and got him. Lord knows they needed a quarterback, so they got one."
Bears wide receiver Kevin White switching numbers from unlucky No. 13.
By #BearsTalk
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
For Kevin White, No. 13 has certainly been unlucky.
The Bears wide-out couldn't wear his NFL number at all during his rookie season, thanks to a stress fracture in his shin that kept him sidelined, and only sported it four times in the 2016 season due to another leg injury.
White and the Bears will hope for more production in his third season, when he returns to a familiar jersey number.
To let newly acquired receiver Kendall Wright take No. 13, which he wore throughout his tenure with the Tennessee Titans, White has agreed to switch to No. 11.
The 24-year-old rocked No. 11 at West Virginia, where he pulled in 109 passes for 1,447 yards and 10 touchdowns during his senior campaign. His impressive numbers led Ryan Pace and the Bears to draft him seventh overall in the 2015 draft.
Maybe his number change will flip the mojo and boost Chicago's receiving core.
The Bears wide-out couldn't wear his NFL number at all during his rookie season, thanks to a stress fracture in his shin that kept him sidelined, and only sported it four times in the 2016 season due to another leg injury.
White and the Bears will hope for more production in his third season, when he returns to a familiar jersey number.
To let newly acquired receiver Kendall Wright take No. 13, which he wore throughout his tenure with the Tennessee Titans, White has agreed to switch to No. 11.
The 24-year-old rocked No. 11 at West Virginia, where he pulled in 109 passes for 1,447 yards and 10 touchdowns during his senior campaign. His impressive numbers led Ryan Pace and the Bears to draft him seventh overall in the 2015 draft.
Maybe his number change will flip the mojo and boost Chicago's receiving core.
Report: Bears sign defensive lineman Jaye Howard.
By CSN Staff
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
The Bears didn't address defensive line during last week's NFL Draft, but general manager Ryan Pace added to its depth today.
The Bears agreed to a one-year deal with defensive lineman Jaye Howard, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Howard appeared in eight games for the Chiefs last season, compiling 23 tackles and a sack. He was placed on the injured reserve in November after suffering a hip injury.
The 6-foor-3, 301-pound lineman had a career year in 2015, recording five sacks, forcing one fumble and recovering two others in 16 games. The 57 tackles were a career-high for the 28-year-old.
He was released by the Chiefs in April. Howard originally was drafted in the sixth round by the Seattle Seahawks.
The Bears agreed to a one-year deal with defensive lineman Jaye Howard, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Howard appeared in eight games for the Chiefs last season, compiling 23 tackles and a sack. He was placed on the injured reserve in November after suffering a hip injury.
The 6-foor-3, 301-pound lineman had a career year in 2015, recording five sacks, forcing one fumble and recovering two others in 16 games. The 57 tackles were a career-high for the 28-year-old.
He was released by the Chiefs in April. Howard originally was drafted in the sixth round by the Seattle Seahawks.
How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Daniel Carcillo staying busy by helping out former players and future ones.
By Tracey Myers
(Photo/AP)
Daniel Carcillo has plenty keeping him busy these days.
At home, he and his wife are parents to a month-old daughter and a 2 ½-year-old son in the potty-training phase – “it’s man-on-man coverage with my son,” he said. There’s also his Chapter 5 Foundation, which helps athletes transition into life after the game, and the Team Illinois Mission U15 AAA team, which Carcillo coaches.
The former Blackhawks forward, who was part of the NHL’s “Go Beyond” event in Chicago on Thursday, is happy in his personal life and giving back to the game, even if he doesn’t really look at it that way.
“I just enjoy being around those kids. It really helps me to kind of ground myself a little bit after being on the business side of it,” Carcillo said of the U15 team. “[They’re] 14, 15 years old, and it’s so funny to be around those kids and listen to what they have to say and the energy they bring. Being able to help them grow, not only in the game but off the ice as people, to get them to have fun, to be good teammates, that’s what I like to emphasize. The development part of it on the ice is a really big focus, and that’s been a challenge for me, going from player to coach. But it’s been a lot of fun.”
Carcillo retired from the NHL in the fall of 2015. He then focused his attention to his Chapter 5 Foundation, named for former Blackhawks forward and Carcillo’s close friend Steve Montador, who died in February 2015. He said the foundation has helped more players – “we don’t make them public though. If they want to talk about it they’re more than welcome,” he said.
Carcillo says he misses some aspects of his playing days.
“I miss the guys, miss the room. Away from hockey, you’re just trying to recreate that outside-of-the-locker-room atmosphere and it’s a little difficult because everyone’s so far away and so busy during the year. You don’t want to feel like a burden. When guys want to connect with you and need the help or just want to talk, they end up reaching out,” Carcillo said. “With my foundation, it’s not much of a formal process. But one of the biggest things with Chapter 5 is building that community so when guys get out of the game they can lean on other guys in a mentorship type of role.”
As for watching hockey, Carcillo has caught some of this year’s playoffs.
“There are some teams surprising people, but the teams that are being successful right now are working hard, outworking other clubs and taking the will away,” he said. “It’s nice to see that. It’s nice to see guys going to the net hard, getting gritty and trying to take the will of the other team away. That’s what has to happen in a seven-game series. You have to take that other team’s will away.”
The Nashville Predators seemed to do just that to the Blackhawks, who were dismissed in a four-game sweep in April. The Predators are now headed to the Western Conference final after eliminating the St. Louis Blues on Sunday afternoon.
Asked if he was surprised at how the Blackhawks lost, Carcillo said, “nothing surprises me hockey-wise, but I think everyone was taken back, just looking at the season they had. They ran into a hot goaltender and [Predators coach Peter] Laviolette, I was on the 2010 [Philadelphia Flyers] team and he can trap it up with the best of them. It was a perfect recipe for Nashville.”
From helping those players ending their careers to those who hope to have one someday, Carcillo’s contributing plenty. His playing days are done but his work with the game isn’t.
“I’m just trying to stay busy and stay around the youth of Chicago,” Carcillo said. “I’m enjoying that part of my job.”
Bryan Bickell feeling comfortable one month after retirement.
By Tracey Myers
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Physically, Bryan Bickell’s decision to retire from hockey was pretty much made for him. Months after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis Bickell battled back enough to finish the season as he started it, as part of the Carolina Hurricanes’ lineup. But it was tough getting to that point.
Mentally dealing with the retirement decision, however, was another story.
“I’m sure you guys saw the video,” said Bickell referring to the emotional interview he did after playing with the Hurricanes on April 6, two days before he announced his upcoming retirement. “That’s the day before I talked to [my wife] Amanda and thought, ‘This is it.’
“We knew it was going to come,” Bickell continued. “Playing normally is tough. Now playing with what I have, it was tough to [get to] the point where I got back and finished up the way I wanted. It was tough to decide to move on. But for me and my health, and to be around my kids, was the most important thing.”
It’s been about a month since that announcement and Bickell is in a better place. The former Blackhawks forward was in Chicago on Thursday night for the NHL Go Beyond Competition, which benefits the Inner-City Education (ICE) Program. Bickell has come to terms with the end of his hockey career and is feeling much better these days.
“I’m feeling a lot better now that I’m not playing hockey. Slowing the heart rate down, slowing the body down and slowing the mind down definitely helps me feel a lot better. From the get-go to a month afterward and then working my way back, I got better,” he said on Thursday night. “I feel comfortable now. I can do a lot of things that, that month, I couldn’t really do. To move on and enjoy and hang out with the kids and do things like this [Go Beyond Competition], I’m looking forward to it.”
Bickell kept his eye on what his former Blackhawks teammates were doing, from the end of the regular season to their abrupt first-round playoff exit.
“Nashville was underrated. I know with their season they just got in [to the playoffs], but they’re a good team. I don’t say Chicago took them lightly but they didn’t find their game,” Bickell said. “I was watching the Hawks over the course of the year, what they were doing. It just didn’t carry over. With a handful of games where they didn’t matter in the standings, I don’t know if it rubbed off going into the playoff but they didn’t find that next step.
"But you can see what Nashville’s doing to St. Louis. They could be the real deal. They could be the team coming out of the west. For the Hawks to get swept, it’s definitely a hard one to swallow. But they’ll bounce back.”
Bickell and his family are still in Raleigh, N.C., but will be heading back to Canada soon. He’ll still be doing plenty with The Bryan & Amanda Bickell Foundation, which helps rescue abused pit bulls. The foundation will soon launch an MS-service dog program to help those suffering from the illness.
As for what else he may do in the future, Bickell said he’ll worry about that later. Right now, he’s just enjoying some peace.
“I’m not really looking forward to anything other than relaxing, enjoying some time and doing nothing, really. Not waking up and having a schedule, not having to be at practice and work out and do all that,” Bickell said. “I’ll just take a step back and relax.”
Blackhawks prospect Alex DeBrincat wins Red Tilson Trophy as OHL's most outstanding player.
By Tracey Myers
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Alex DeBrincat’s current focus is to claim the trophy that’s eluded he and his Erie Otters teammates the past two seasons, the J. Ross Robertson Cup that’s earned by the Ontario Hockey League champion.
But as he pursues a team trophy, DeBrincat claimed an individual one.
DeBrincat won the Red Tilson Trophy, awarded to the OHL’s most outstanding player of the year, on Friday morning. The Blackhawks prospect set OHL highs in goals (65) and points (127) for the Otters, who are currently playing for the league championship.
The Red Tilson Trophy is voted on by writers and broadcasters who cover the OHL. DeBrincat garnered 85 percent of the first-place votes (314 points). DeBrincat is the first Blackhawks prospect to win the Red Tilson Trophy since Stan Mikita did it in 1958-59.
DeBrincat and the Otters are currently facing the Mississauga Generals for the OHL championship. The Otters took Game 1 on Thursday; Game 2 is Sunday. As for what next season holds for him with the Blackhawks, DeBrincat said he’s not sure yet.
“We haven’t had too much contact, but the contact we have had, I need to get bigger and stronger and I think they like the way I’m playing right now,” DeBrincat said of his contact with the Blackhawks’ brass. “In regard to next year, don’t think we’ve gone over that. They don’t know what they’re going to do with me, either. I have to have a big summer and get stronger and be able to play that pro game. Those are the things I need to do.”
For DeBrincat, offense hasn’t been a problem in his time with the Otters. He’s had three straight 50-plus goal and 100-plus point seasons. This season he had goals in 19 consecutive games and finished the regular season with a 27-game point streak. But DeBrincat said he has made strides in another area.
“My defensive game has come a long way. My plus-minus has been a lot better than last year,” said DeBrincat, who finished a plus-60. He was a plus-18 the previous season. “Defense is a big part of the game. If you have a good defense, you’ll be able to go on the offense. That was a big step and in the program you need to have that to win games. I think that’s the biggest thing I tried to get better at.”
DeBrincat has earned some tremendous accolades in an OHL career that isn’t over yet. He’ll be taking the next step at some point soon, and when he does he’s confident he’ll be successful there, too.
“I’ve always believed in myself,” said DeBrincat. “My (5-foot-7) height’s not a problem, but some people doubt me because of my height. I always believed in myself. It was probably minor midgets that I figured I could do something with hockey and make it a career more than just a hobby. I think that’s kind of brought me to where I am today. If I doubted myself, I probably wouldn’t be in this position.”
Just Another Chicago Bulls Session..... Ask Sam Mailbag: 05.5.17
By Sam Smith
(Photo/chicagobulls.com)
SAM SMITH OPENS HIS MAILBAG TO ANSWER READERS' QUESTIONS
Do you think the Bulls would have won that series with Rondo?
Alejandro Yegros
Sam: Yes. The Celtics really were reeling. You could see and hear the shock after that Game 2. They clearly were doubting themselves, and even with the tragedy in the Thomas family, he played great with 33 points in Game 1. The Rondo factor was huge, and, really, specifically to Boston. If it were Toronto or Washington it probably would not have mattered as much. But against Boston not only was Rondo motivated and agitated, but they were intimidated. You could see the guards watching for him all the time and you heard them talking about “playoff Rondo.” They knew the stories, and whether he was that guy anymore, they believed he was. Did you see the difference in the way Boston played Games 1 and 2 against a more talented Washington team? Plus, Rondo emboldened his teammates, especially the young guys. It was like having a big brother at the park. Rondo was stopping to yap at the Celtics’ bench; no one said much to him. The Bulls hoped Wade could be that guy, but he’d lost the passion with the decline in his game. Rondo reveled in it. But sports is a last out, last play endeavor. It was like 2012 when I was convinced--especially the way the Bulls with a tougher team were pushing Miami around in the regular season, unafraid of LeBron or Wade--that the Bulls would have won the title. Then Rose was hurt and they were out in the first round. So they were a team that lost in the first round; just as were this season’s Bulls. That’s all they can be remembered as.
This roster with or without the trade of Taj Gibson was still very talented and had we had a coach like a Tom Thibodeau could’ve won up to 50 games. What I mean by common sense is why not go with your strengths instead of trying to play something you’re not as Bulls are not: a 3 pt shooting team. Hoiberg should’ve have had his team pound the ball inside with Lopez, Butler and even Wade at all times which not only would’ve have drawn fouls but better chances to score. Hoiberg by far is the worse coach in the history of the Bulls. You would think Tim Floyd was bad but not this bad. Can’t believe Gar Forman was stupid enough to believe Hoiberg could make this team better.
Tom Choi
Sam: It’s difficult to debate anger and irrationality disguised as opinion, but I’ll try again. So that was a 50-win roster? It is comforting to at least know we found the one person in the world who thought it was. Interesting since the Vegas guys who bet on this as opposed to likely most everyone else had them at 38 wins. The preseason national media consensus was 36-43 wins, sixth through 10th in the standings. Seemed right. No offense to Tom as he did a good job with the Bulls, though his playing minutes basically broke down everyone (Rose, Noah, Gibson surgeries; Deng old before his time and surgery again). But his Timberwolves this season ranked as perhaps the most underachieving team matched with their talent and potential.
I don’t want to get into another Thibodeau comparison because he is a very good coach, one I also lobbied for to come to the Bulls. And whom I believe will do well again. But he would have been gone in any organization based on his players having broken down and been traded and leaving as they did in free agency. And anyone around that last Thibodeau team will tell you it was a team ready for a new voice. Every single one of them. Fred’s never going to get a break here because once people turn on you out of frustration and ignorance instead of fact, you have no chance. Same with Del Negro. You hear someone is a bad coach; you’re not sure what that means. Is it strategy, adjustments, play calling, discipline? Screaming at refs? Yelling at media? Does he run UCLA cuts too infrequently or too many floppy actions? We all can argue strategies, and I advocated things different than were done also. But the fact is the team won more games this season than virtually all predictions despite Wade missing a quarter of the season, a major trade of two of the top six players and a message from management to see more players on a sort of audition basis. Maybe not A, maybe not even B. But hardly worse than average.
Did you see the first two Washington/Boston games? The Bulls defense and strategies against Isaiah Thomas and the Celtics were much better, tougher, smarter and more effective. They attacked Isaiah Thomas’ matchup from the start, which it took Washington until Game 3 to figure out. Scott Brooks will get Coach of the Year votes, and he should. But in the big games, Hoiberg’s team was much better prepared, executed and competed better. Sure, I have my share of differences, but I did with Phil and will with Popovich. That’s the nature, fun and beauty of the game. There are so many ways to play. We can see it right in front of us, unlike football with all those guys holding everywhere and baseball with its 20 minute at bats. There are many ways to potentially succeed. No one questions it when it works. But the Bulls got better as the season went on, finished strong and played well in most of the biggest games. That’s pretty much what you’d hope with your coach. Perhaps you had a reasonable point and some knowledge until you lauded Tim Floyd.
If I'm the Celtics, I think Ball or Fultz are franchise type players. If Thomas doesn't get you to the NBA Finals, why not look to trade Thomas? An excellent scorer, however at 29 years of age you have to wonder he probably has three years of high-level scoring left at his height, and you'd figure by then the Celtics would look to the future. If I'm Ainge, I too keep the pick and get one of those point guards (or possibly Josh Jackson) and look to deal Thomas if I'm taking Ball or Fultz.
Tom Plonowski
Sam: It’s a scenario I’ve speculated on. It’s also why I don’t believe the Boston pick (from Brooklyn) has been available or likely will be available. The league wide consensus seems to be the Washington point guard as the top pick. Everything you hear is that not only do the Celtics like him—I guess everyone does—but Boston believes to make a serious run they need a high lottery pick. They go back to the death of Len Bias as believing that maybe set them back a decade or more, that gifted a crack at a top pick they cannot turn it down. Especially with optimism about the top of this draft. That’s why it may be impossible to get a top pick from anyone. Boston was brilliant in getting Thomas on a small contract—about $6 million next season—and he has been an unexpected marvel. Maybe until they call palming next season.
In any case, you also are right in that they have a big question. Do you want to pay him based on production after next season when he’ll be going on 30? Well over $100 million for a small guard going into his 30s with a buildup of minutes like he’s getting? And tough minutes the way they count on him in fourth quarters. You get the sense their community is thrilled with the way things have gone and don’t believe they have to make a run at Cleveland now or even next season. Which probably will give them an opportunity to plumb their draft picks for a few years and enjoy Thomas’ antics. I don’t think playing position will matter, and it really doesn’t in this era. Whereas one time you had to have a center and work around that, now, like the Golden State model, you can put guards all over the floor. The Cavs do it as well, though LeBron out plays every position. Positions matter less in basketball than ever. You always wanted to get your five best talents on the floor, but were limited by size matchup issues and the way the game could be controlled inside. Now with the rules changes to enable the perimeter and make interior more difficult, talent is all that matters. You pick the best player and talent will transcend.
Victor Devaldivielso
Sam: I understand community angst and frustration. It helped elect a president. But a lot of what you hear with the Bulls lately reminds me of a kid whose parents are unemployed, but the kid is demanding a new toy. Be patient; things will turn around. No! I want what I want now! I deserve it! Of course, since it’s just sports, it’s OK. It’s more acceptable with escapism. It’s very difficult to get a star to pair with Butler, and, after all, who’s not trying? But at some point you have to consider if you cannot do that you have to sell the only thing you have of value. You hate to let go of your grandmother’s ring, but if you are starving and that’s all you can sell, you do it. Sometimes you have to sacrifice what you love most for long term survival. I don’t believe the Bulls are there yet given I see this as less than a year since breaking up the team after a six-year run. Unfulfilling, sure. But it was a competitive period. No one deserves a title. All you can do is try.
The Bulls got unlucky, but they spent with anyone, the only team in major free agency discussions in 2010 and 2014 with LeBron and Wade, Carmelo, Pau. They even finally got Wade. No team was more active or successful in free agency in the last decade. Other than Miami, of course. Which was all that mattered. OK, Golden State last summer, but no one else was even in in the discussion. Carmelo said the Bulls were No. 2. LeBron said the Bulls were No. 2. There were only winners those years. There was 1 and a 29-way tie for second. I think the Bulls will get someone in free agency, and then after next season they’ll get more. They’ll also be in position to take on a salary, like the Pelicans did with DeMarcus Cousins. It’s just not time yet with Wade and Rondo. Though with better defined roles—Butler playing with Rondo, Wade playing with the second unit, a tighter rotation and good luck with healthy—this could be an interestingly competitive team as it gets in position. I don’t think it will be a vastly different roster, but if the Bulls could fill some holes like shooting and have the bench guys understand they are bench guys and won’t be starting—even a little—it could be a reasonable step forward.
Mike Sutera
Sam: The irony in this whole drama is the kid appears to be an ideal type team player, sort of a Jason Kidd guy with a little better shot and a lot less speed, team oriented. But you’d be scared to death as a team to pick him. The dad seems way over the edge, and the problem, especially in a big city, is that the media will be all over him. He obviously loves seeing his name or hearing his name and you know one day he could be ripping the coach or his kid’s teammates or making a scene in the arena, sort of the ugly soccer dad whom everyone is turning away from. Except in pro sports it becomes a story and damage control for the team. Hey coach, the dad of your rookie just said you are a moron. Hey coach, the dad of your rookie just said your best player is selfish and out for himself. Hey coach, the dad of your rookie just said your management better get some better players. Most of the mock drafts I’ve seen have Ball second or third. You can’t pass on talent, but be scared, be very scared.
So rooting for bad teams and lots of lottery picks I guess. Time to pull out those lucky charms and hope the lottery balls don't give us the next Marcus Fizer. Free up the cap space. Been there before. Maybe better this time.
Jeff Lichtenstein
Sam: You just made a heck of a convincing case for not doing that. Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry and Marcus Fizer. The Orlando Magic hired a bright young GM from Oklahoma City, schooled under the respected Sam Presti. They made some reasonable picks. Traded a pick for Serge Ibaka. Hezonja wasn’t good in 2015, but next was Cauley-Stein, Mudiay, Johnson, Kaminsky, Winslow. No starters; 2014 Aaron Gordon at No. 4, who is OK, just ahead of Exum, Marcus Smart, Julius Randle, Stauskas, Vonleh and then they got Payton right before McDermott; 2013 was the Anthony Bennett No. 1 draft. They did well with Oladipo No. 2 ahead of Otto Porter, Cody Zeller, Alex Len, Noel, Ben McLemore. The point is you can tank for five years and not end up with anyone special. Often you don’t get a special one. They are the exceptions. Philly has done it for several years and has a special guy in Embiid, who can’t get through two months. Unless it’s a great draft and you have the top pick, you better be really sure. Paxson was exactly right. Easy to say, but it’s much more difficult in practice.
John Petersen
Sam: Paxson and Forman indicated that at the media conference this week, and, obviously, they wouldn’t get into specifics. You don’t name names. You could be blacklisted at Hop Sings. This should be a big summer for all those guys. To me, no one is guaranteed a spot. Some obviously are under contract, and, yes you hear about Butler trade rumors and that no one can be safe when a team is .500. But Butler should be safer than anyone else because he is better than everyone else. He obviously would be more valuable to other teams, but the Bulls made a point they have to narrow the rotation. And it will be in the interest of production. No one among everyone you mentioned impressed enough to say the team cannot do without them. So, to me, all their jobs are in danger. You work and come back better like Butler did. As Paxson pointed out, he was a 30th pick who played 359 minutes as a rookie without being hurt. He nagged Thibodeau constantly to play him. Thibodeau constantly said he wasn’t good enough, didn’t have the offensive component and had to get a lot better. Butler did. There was no more expectation for him than most of the guys you mentioned. Payne is intriguing to me even though he came in and looked like he never played team ball before. He is quick and had a unique ability to get his shot off. He looked like a poor man’s Brandon Jennings when he came, which is D-league level. But he also looks like a guy who if he works might be something. The Thunder liked him and, like with the Spurs, you like their guys because they have a good organizational eye for talent. It’s probably the way it should be. Guys will have to earn their way into the regular rotation. There were too many tryouts this season because it was their turn. I think that’s over.
Shades of 2012? Pretty much, except this time it was the Bulls failing to beat the number one seed instead of caving to the number eight seed. But, nonetheless, it was a repeat of the Bulls losing the guy they depended on to put them into position to win with an injury in the second game of the series. Next years' starting lineup. Any ideas? I'll go with Rondo, Wade, Butler, Portis, and Lopez, with Mirotic getting traded in the off season.
William Kochneff
Sam: I don’t exactly think Rose’s ACL and Noah’s ankle that had him out two months was caving in. But, yes, the Bulls have had a lot of playoff bad luck since they never had any in the 1990s. Which in the long run you’d probably take even if you are upset now. After all, what would have happened then if Jordan tore his ACL in 1991? Well, I’d have a book that didn’t sell as well, but that’s probably not the big issue. Remember, basically no one vital ever got hurt. Yes, Longley did get knocked out by that rogue wave in 1996 and a piqued Pippen did put off his surgery for three months so he could vacation through the start of the 1997-98 season. But never anything to match what happened to Rose. Or even Noah. The Bulls this season didn’t get there the most direct route, sort of like using one of those direction apps. But you get there. It looked like a .500 team or thereabouts and whether you sweep Cleveland and get swept by the Knicks, talent reaches it’s appropriate level over the long term. The Bulls predictably did. None of us know who will be on the roster five months from now. But one thing is perfectly clear from last season. Rondo has to play with Butler and without Wade. Paxson basically said it in that press conference. Butler is best when he runs the court; Rondo is best when he looks ahead to find runners; Wade is best when he can control the action with his own group. They can fit; just not together.
Mike Burgher
Sam: I understand it’s much more fun to be angry. Hey, that doesn’t make sense. I saw no issue with what the Bears did; the reaction seemed to stem from having bad jobs and your kids were a pain. Of course, it all depends on if the guy works out, like with Tyrus. I actually applaud going for the guy. I never understand all these gms who say they have to have value. I believe as long as you get what you want, who cares what the other guy gets. But I find most gms spend half their time worrying about what others think. It’s why guys like Red Auerbach and Jerry West were the best. If you criticized them they thought you were an idiot. If the Bears got a great quarterback, who cares if they gave up eight linemen and two receivers. It’s their greatest need and the game’s only important position. I still don’t know the name of any NFL player not a quarterback.
Have any ever been mentioned on ESPN? I liked the Tyrus deal at the time. If you recall, the Bulls were being beaten up—yes, again—because they weren’t athletic enough. They had these hard workers, character guys, Hinrich, Gordon, Deng, Nocioni, but you needed an athlete star for the next level. Thomas looked the part. Crazy athletic ability, skilled, a 6-7 guy who could outjump centers and outrun guards. They were going to take him No. 2, but there was Aldridge. He didn’t look great in college. Put up good numbers, but scouts said he played soft, shot a lot of jump shots; you couldn’t go anywhere with him. Which proved accurate despite his personal success. Khryapa looked like a version of Andrei Kirilenko, who was the in thing at the time. Everyone was enamored of the 5x5 guy, like Kirilenko, who could get at least five in each of the stat categories plus at 6-8 guard with the ability to switch.
It seemed perfect. Until Tyrus showed up as bad a guy as you’d run into in the NBA, arrogant, condescending, lazy, indifferent. But SEC freshman of the year, regional NCAA MVP as a freshman taking the team to the Final Four even playing on a bad ankle. He practically beat Duke by himself with his defense. Dominated against No. 2 seed Texas. But that’s the problem with the draft these days. He was 19 and still a baby, immature, a small town kid overwhelmed by it all. It should have worked; he should have been the perfect fit with Khryapa. Most everyone around the NBA believed it would work. It didn’t. Then most everyone said they never would have done that.
CUBS: Weird baseball: Cubs fall to Yankees in 18, teams set MLB record for strikeouts.
By JJ Stankevitz
(Photo/USA TODAY)
A frenetic rally against Aroldis Chapman, over 500 pitches, a major league record record 48 total strikeouts and about six hours of play still conspired to end with the Cubs getting swept.
Starlin Castro’s go-ahead infield single in the top of the 18th inning sent the Cubs to a 5-4 defeat to the New York Yankees Sunday night into Monday morning in front of 40,584, most of whom had left the frigid late-night conditions of Wrigley Field by the end of the game.
It was a game that didn’t appear destined for anything special for most of the evening, as the Cubs had just a four percent chance of winning (according to FanGraphs’ win expectancy) when Chapman took the mound with a 4-1 lead in the ninth.
The Cubs’ rally started with Russell drawing a leadoff walk and Jon Jay flipping a single into center. After Willson Contreras struck out, Albert Almora Jr.’s RBI single in the ninth inning off brought Baez to the plate as the winning run. Baez worked a solid at-bat against Chapman and lined a two-strike single to left to score Jay and bring the Cubs within one, and later took second to get in scoring position as the winning run.
After Kyle Schwarber struck out, Bryant was intentionally walked after Chapman fell behind the Cubs’ third baseman 3-1. That brought up Anthony Rizzo, who feebly struck out as the tying run in the eighth inning against right-hander Dellin Betances and had two hits in his last 31 at-bats.
But Chapman drilled Rizzo with a 98.9 mile per hour fastball on the first pitch of the at-bat, bringing the tying run to the plate. That gaffe knocked Chapman out of the game, and right-hander Tyler Clippard retired Ben Zobrist to keep the score knotted at four.
The Cubs’ couldn’t do much against 24-year-old Yankees starter Luis Severino, who allowed only a Baez solo home run while striking out nine in seven innings of work. Aaron Judge ripped a go-ahead triple in the top of the seventh off an effective Jon Lester, and Jacoby Ellsbury’s two-run home run an inning later off Justin Grimm gave New York a seemingly insurmountable lead with the dominant Betances and Chapman lined up.
Wade Davis and Carl Edwards Jr. each struck out the side in the 10th and 11th innings, respectively, and Schwarber punctuated Koji Uehara’s scoreless 12th inning with a spectacular catch while barreling into the stands down the left field line.
The Cubs had a chance to end things in the 12th, with Rizzo leading that frame off with a double. He advanced to third on Miguel Montero’s deep flyout to left, but former Cubs right-hander Adam Warren struck out Russell and got Contreras to ground out to first to end the inning.
The Yankees finally pulled ahead in the 18th when Aaron Hicks bunted and advanced to second on Contreras’ throwing error. Ronald Torreyes then bunted Hicks to third, and the speedy outfielder scored when a drawn-in Russell couldn’t hurry a throw home on Starlin Castro’s sharp ground ball. Pedro Strop took the loss.
Baez grounded out, Schwarber struck out and after Bryant walked, Rizzo was intentionally walked to bring pinch hitter Kyle Hendricks to the plate. Hendricks, the third Cubs pitcher to pinch hit (along with Jake Arrieta and John Lackey), struck out to end the game.
The previous high for combined strikeouts at Wrigley Field was set on May 31, 2003, when the Cubs and Houston Astros combined for 37 strikeouts. The major league record was 43 strikeouts between two teams, which was set in a 20-inning California Angels-Oakland A’s game in 1971.
Eddie Butler or Mike Montgomery looks like next man up in Cubs rotation.
Starlin Castro’s go-ahead infield single in the top of the 18th inning sent the Cubs to a 5-4 defeat to the New York Yankees Sunday night into Monday morning in front of 40,584, most of whom had left the frigid late-night conditions of Wrigley Field by the end of the game.
It was a game that didn’t appear destined for anything special for most of the evening, as the Cubs had just a four percent chance of winning (according to FanGraphs’ win expectancy) when Chapman took the mound with a 4-1 lead in the ninth.
The Cubs’ rally started with Russell drawing a leadoff walk and Jon Jay flipping a single into center. After Willson Contreras struck out, Albert Almora Jr.’s RBI single in the ninth inning off brought Baez to the plate as the winning run. Baez worked a solid at-bat against Chapman and lined a two-strike single to left to score Jay and bring the Cubs within one, and later took second to get in scoring position as the winning run.
After Kyle Schwarber struck out, Bryant was intentionally walked after Chapman fell behind the Cubs’ third baseman 3-1. That brought up Anthony Rizzo, who feebly struck out as the tying run in the eighth inning against right-hander Dellin Betances and had two hits in his last 31 at-bats.
But Chapman drilled Rizzo with a 98.9 mile per hour fastball on the first pitch of the at-bat, bringing the tying run to the plate. That gaffe knocked Chapman out of the game, and right-hander Tyler Clippard retired Ben Zobrist to keep the score knotted at four.
The Cubs’ couldn’t do much against 24-year-old Yankees starter Luis Severino, who allowed only a Baez solo home run while striking out nine in seven innings of work. Aaron Judge ripped a go-ahead triple in the top of the seventh off an effective Jon Lester, and Jacoby Ellsbury’s two-run home run an inning later off Justin Grimm gave New York a seemingly insurmountable lead with the dominant Betances and Chapman lined up.
Wade Davis and Carl Edwards Jr. each struck out the side in the 10th and 11th innings, respectively, and Schwarber punctuated Koji Uehara’s scoreless 12th inning with a spectacular catch while barreling into the stands down the left field line.
The Cubs had a chance to end things in the 12th, with Rizzo leading that frame off with a double. He advanced to third on Miguel Montero’s deep flyout to left, but former Cubs right-hander Adam Warren struck out Russell and got Contreras to ground out to first to end the inning.
The Yankees finally pulled ahead in the 18th when Aaron Hicks bunted and advanced to second on Contreras’ throwing error. Ronald Torreyes then bunted Hicks to third, and the speedy outfielder scored when a drawn-in Russell couldn’t hurry a throw home on Starlin Castro’s sharp ground ball. Pedro Strop took the loss.
Baez grounded out, Schwarber struck out and after Bryant walked, Rizzo was intentionally walked to bring pinch hitter Kyle Hendricks to the plate. Hendricks, the third Cubs pitcher to pinch hit (along with Jake Arrieta and John Lackey), struck out to end the game.
The previous high for combined strikeouts at Wrigley Field was set on May 31, 2003, when the Cubs and Houston Astros combined for 37 strikeouts. The major league record was 43 strikeouts between two teams, which was set in a 20-inning California Angels-Oakland A’s game in 1971.
Eddie Butler or Mike Montgomery looks like next man up in Cubs rotation.
By Patrick Mooney
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
"It's still my goal to make this team out of camp," Eddie Butler said near the end of spring training, sounding very confident and a little delusional, or the type of attitude needed to make the leap from prospect and survive in this game. "I'm doing everything I possibly can to try to force their hand."
The Cubs talked up Butler as the next great hope for their pitching infrastructure, an ideal change-of-scenery guy to get out of Coors Field in a minor deal with the Colorado Rockies. But the entire fifth/sixth starter conversation revolved around Brett Anderson and Mike Montgomery — and the Cubs hoped to get through more than 19 percent of their schedule before the rotation became a problem.
Anderson forced the issue during Saturday night's 11-6 loss to the New York Yankees at Wrigley Field, exiting in the first inning with a back issue that will likely put him on the disabled list for the 10th time in his career. The injury-prone lefty is 1-for-6 in quality starts with an 8.18 ERA as a Cub.
Now what?
"You got Montgomery right here," manager Joe Maddon said. "Butler down in Triple-A, I hear, is throwing the ball really well. We definitely have good options."
Montgomery, the lefty swingman who got the final out in last year's World Series Game 7, might have more value at the moment out of the bullpen, where he's put together 14 consecutive scoreless innings.
The Cubs could eventually trade for pitching from their surplus of hitters at Iowa — Ian Happ, Jeimer Candelario, Victor Caratini — but three weeks out from Memorial Day weekend isn't the time to make deals.
Remember when the Cubs "jumped the market" as sellers in 2013? Flipping Scott Feldman to the Baltimore Orioles in the Jake Arrieta/Pedro Strop heist didn't happen until July 2 that summer.
It says something about the state of the farm system - plus the nonlinear nature of developing arms and the difficulty in pitching through mile-high altitude — that the Cubs could pin their hopes on a guy who's 6-16 with a 6.50 ERA across parts of three seasons in the big leagues.
But Butler does have pedigree as a supplemental first-round draft pick (2012), All-Star Futures Game selection (2013) and Baseball America's No. 24 overall prospect (2014).
That sense of momentum in Arizona carried over to Des Moines, where Butler threw six scoreless innings on Saturday night against the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, slicing his ERA to 1.17 through five starts.
Sooner or later, the Cubs are going to get another look at Butler, but they will ultimately need Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, John Lackey and Kyle Hendricks to kick-start a 16-14 team with a 4.79 rotation ERA.
"My biggest concern is always health (and) if they're trying to pitch through issues," Maddon said. "None of them are. With Anderson right now, maybe he has been. But we're going to eliminate that for now."
Cubs' pitching problem isn't the bullpen, it's quick-to-exit starters, per Joe Maddon.
By Vinnie Duber
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
“What’s the deal with the Cubs’ bullpen?”
That might have been a common query in barrooms and basements all over Chicagoland after Friday afternoon’s result at Wrigley Field, when Brett Gardner turned a Cubs win into a victory for the visiting New York Yankees with a two-out, go-ahead home run off Hector Rondon in the ninth inning.
But a better question is this: “What’s the deal with the Cubs’ starting rotation?”
No, it wasn’t Kyle Hendricks who coughed up that two-run lead Friday. But once again a Cubs starter failed to get out of the sixth inning. Through the first 29 games of this season, every Cubs starter is averaging fewer than six innings an outing. That cumulative total of short work by the starting pitchers is having a detrimental effect on the relief corps, says Cubs manager Joe Maddon. And it’s the biggest issue on a team that while still in first place isn’t exactly setting the world on fire the same way it did last spring.
“The biggest thing for me is just to get our starters more deeply into the game,” Maddon said ahead of Saturday’s game against the Yankees. “As of right now, if you look at our bullpen, actually look at the numbers, easily the best bullpen in the National League on a lot of different fronts. And they’ve actually been pitching too often, and that was personified yesterday by the fact we didn’t have enough guys left for that game.
“So really to get this all right, we’ve got to get our starting pitching straightened out. Last year, if you remember, the bullpen didn’t pitch a whole lot because the starters were so good, and I thought that’s what kept the bullpen really solid through the course of the season. And with the starting pitching pitching so well, there was not as much emphasis of having to score so many runs. They were that good.
“I think it all starts with the starting pitching. When we get these guys back on solid ground being like they can be, the hitting’s going to show up and the bullpen won’t be utilized so much. That’s always, for me, the equation for success. ... At the end of the day, you’ve got to starting pitch well to really play this game properly.”
As Maddon pointed out, the Cubs’ bullpen has been one of baseball’s best. The team entered Saturday’s game with the best relief ERA in the NL, at 2.84. And no relief corps in baseball is holding opposing hitters to a lower batting average than the minuscule .191 mark batters are putting up against the guys dispatched from underneath the left-field bleachers.
But Cubs starters rank just 19th in baseball in innings pitched (159.1), while Cubs relievers have thrown the seventh-most innings in the game (104.2).
“When people have always talked in the past about pitchers who throw 200 innings, ‘Why is that so important?’ Everything we’re talking about is the complementary positive effects of starting pitchers pitching more innings,” Maddon said. “You’re able to do what you want to do at the latter part of the game and you don’t wear people out. But when they’re called upon, the relievers, to do more than that consistently, it makes it difficult.”
There’s been no better evidence of that than this week. Brett Anderson, also Saturday night’s starter, recorded just four outs before exiting Monday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies. Jon Lester and John Lackey went just five innings in their respective starts in that series with Philadelphia, and Hendricks went just 5.1 innings Friday against the Yankees. That’s a lot of innings for the bullpen to pick up. Throw in the offense’s penchant for scoring late and playing close games, and the late-inning portion of the Cubs’ bullpen gets more work, too. Closer Wade Davis pitched Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Koji Uehara pitched Wednesday and Thursday. Pedro Strop pitched Thursday and Friday. Carl Edwards pitched Tuesday and Thursday.
That kind of usage limits Maddon’s options late in games like Friday’s. So even if he did want to give Rondon some help after he put two men on base ahead of Gardner, the option wasn’t there.
The Cubs swapped Justin Grimm for Felix Pena before Friday’s game. They added another arm to the bullpen before Saturday’s, bringing up Rob Zastryzny and designating outfielder Matt Szczur for assignment.
It all stems from the starting pitchers getting early hooks.
“That’s the perfect example, not having enough guys available to really work the end of that game,” Maddon said. “But that’s just the way it happens sometimes. And that’s based on starting pitching not getting deeply and having to utilize too many folks.
“It’s part of the nature of the game over the course of the season. But we expect that good number from the starting pitching on a consistent basis. I see this working its way through. The innings are going to pick up.”
What's the solution?
Maddon preached patience, which isn’t bad advice in a 162-game season. He went through the list of Cubs’ starting pitchers and said he didn’t see much difference between last season’s championship campaign and this season. Only Hendricks, whose dip in velocity has been well chronicled in the early going of 2017, warranted a mention.
And while one could understand any fatigue from back-to-back runs through October, Maddon said it’s not that either. He’s willing to ride things out. And considering three of the Cubs’ five starters have finished in the top three in Cy Young voting in the past two seasons, it seems like a perfectly reasonable strategy.
“We’re in May, so I think we’re OK by now. I think they’re fine,” Maddon said. “I don’t think they’re beat up mentally, I don’t think they’ve been pushed physically. It’s always a concern when you play — not only just last year but two seasons in a row — deeply that you have that among your pitchers, no doubt. But I’m not seeing, even speaking to them I’m not hearing wear and tear.
“I’m just going to be patient and see it evolve back to what it’s supposed to look like.”
Yankees knock around Brett Anderson as another painful first inning sinks Cubs.
By Vinnie Duber
That might have been a common query in barrooms and basements all over Chicagoland after Friday afternoon’s result at Wrigley Field, when Brett Gardner turned a Cubs win into a victory for the visiting New York Yankees with a two-out, go-ahead home run off Hector Rondon in the ninth inning.
But a better question is this: “What’s the deal with the Cubs’ starting rotation?”
No, it wasn’t Kyle Hendricks who coughed up that two-run lead Friday. But once again a Cubs starter failed to get out of the sixth inning. Through the first 29 games of this season, every Cubs starter is averaging fewer than six innings an outing. That cumulative total of short work by the starting pitchers is having a detrimental effect on the relief corps, says Cubs manager Joe Maddon. And it’s the biggest issue on a team that while still in first place isn’t exactly setting the world on fire the same way it did last spring.
“The biggest thing for me is just to get our starters more deeply into the game,” Maddon said ahead of Saturday’s game against the Yankees. “As of right now, if you look at our bullpen, actually look at the numbers, easily the best bullpen in the National League on a lot of different fronts. And they’ve actually been pitching too often, and that was personified yesterday by the fact we didn’t have enough guys left for that game.
“So really to get this all right, we’ve got to get our starting pitching straightened out. Last year, if you remember, the bullpen didn’t pitch a whole lot because the starters were so good, and I thought that’s what kept the bullpen really solid through the course of the season. And with the starting pitching pitching so well, there was not as much emphasis of having to score so many runs. They were that good.
“I think it all starts with the starting pitching. When we get these guys back on solid ground being like they can be, the hitting’s going to show up and the bullpen won’t be utilized so much. That’s always, for me, the equation for success. ... At the end of the day, you’ve got to starting pitch well to really play this game properly.”
As Maddon pointed out, the Cubs’ bullpen has been one of baseball’s best. The team entered Saturday’s game with the best relief ERA in the NL, at 2.84. And no relief corps in baseball is holding opposing hitters to a lower batting average than the minuscule .191 mark batters are putting up against the guys dispatched from underneath the left-field bleachers.
But Cubs starters rank just 19th in baseball in innings pitched (159.1), while Cubs relievers have thrown the seventh-most innings in the game (104.2).
“When people have always talked in the past about pitchers who throw 200 innings, ‘Why is that so important?’ Everything we’re talking about is the complementary positive effects of starting pitchers pitching more innings,” Maddon said. “You’re able to do what you want to do at the latter part of the game and you don’t wear people out. But when they’re called upon, the relievers, to do more than that consistently, it makes it difficult.”
There’s been no better evidence of that than this week. Brett Anderson, also Saturday night’s starter, recorded just four outs before exiting Monday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies. Jon Lester and John Lackey went just five innings in their respective starts in that series with Philadelphia, and Hendricks went just 5.1 innings Friday against the Yankees. That’s a lot of innings for the bullpen to pick up. Throw in the offense’s penchant for scoring late and playing close games, and the late-inning portion of the Cubs’ bullpen gets more work, too. Closer Wade Davis pitched Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Koji Uehara pitched Wednesday and Thursday. Pedro Strop pitched Thursday and Friday. Carl Edwards pitched Tuesday and Thursday.
That kind of usage limits Maddon’s options late in games like Friday’s. So even if he did want to give Rondon some help after he put two men on base ahead of Gardner, the option wasn’t there.
The Cubs swapped Justin Grimm for Felix Pena before Friday’s game. They added another arm to the bullpen before Saturday’s, bringing up Rob Zastryzny and designating outfielder Matt Szczur for assignment.
It all stems from the starting pitchers getting early hooks.
“That’s the perfect example, not having enough guys available to really work the end of that game,” Maddon said. “But that’s just the way it happens sometimes. And that’s based on starting pitching not getting deeply and having to utilize too many folks.
“It’s part of the nature of the game over the course of the season. But we expect that good number from the starting pitching on a consistent basis. I see this working its way through. The innings are going to pick up.”
What's the solution?
Maddon preached patience, which isn’t bad advice in a 162-game season. He went through the list of Cubs’ starting pitchers and said he didn’t see much difference between last season’s championship campaign and this season. Only Hendricks, whose dip in velocity has been well chronicled in the early going of 2017, warranted a mention.
And while one could understand any fatigue from back-to-back runs through October, Maddon said it’s not that either. He’s willing to ride things out. And considering three of the Cubs’ five starters have finished in the top three in Cy Young voting in the past two seasons, it seems like a perfectly reasonable strategy.
“We’re in May, so I think we’re OK by now. I think they’re fine,” Maddon said. “I don’t think they’re beat up mentally, I don’t think they’ve been pushed physically. It’s always a concern when you play — not only just last year but two seasons in a row — deeply that you have that among your pitchers, no doubt. But I’m not seeing, even speaking to them I’m not hearing wear and tear.
“I’m just going to be patient and see it evolve back to what it’s supposed to look like.”
Yankees knock around Brett Anderson as another painful first inning sinks Cubs.
By Vinnie Duber
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
The start of games seems to be the most difficult part for Cubs starters.
A disturbing trend of Cubs starting pitchers giving up first-inning runs — and a lot of them — continued Saturday night, as the visiting New York Yankees knocked around Brett Anderson for five first-inning tallies, effectively finishing this one as it started. Down in another big hole before they even stepped to the plate, the Cubs stumbled to an ugly 11-6 loss at Wrigley Field.
Joe Maddon spent the bulk of his pregame press conference Saturday detailing why his starting pitchers need to be pitching deeper into games, but he sure didn't get what he wanted out of Anderson, who followed up Monday's performance — in which he recorded just four outs against the Philadelphia Phillies — by surrendering five runs on six hits while throwing just 23 pitches to only seven batters before exiting with an injury and only one out on the board.
"No one feels worse than I do," Anderson said after the game. "I wanted to have a quality start based on my last outing. I didn't get very deep into the game, obviously.
"Need to figure some things out, get healthy and get some more people out going forward. It's as simple as that."
That first inning was a hit parade for the Yankees, six of the game's first seven batters reaching via a base knock. Brett Gardner, Starlin Castro and Chase Headley all doubled off Anderson, the latter two driving in a combined three runs.
Cubs pitchers entered with an already oversized 10.24 first-inning ERA through the team's first 29 games. After five runs in the first inning of Game No. 30, that ERA is an even more grotesque 11.40.
Anderson entered with a 6.23 ERA and saw it jump up to 7.83 on Saturday night. Maddon said after the game that Anderson will likely head to the disabled list. Throughout his career, it's been injuries that have slowed Anderson down. This season, the on-field performance hasn't gone well, either.
"It's a combination of getting healthy and figuring out how to get people out again," Anderson said. "Right now, every ball that gets put in play seems like it's a hit, and every ball that's put in play seems like it's a run.
"Last two starts at home for me, personally, have been embarrassing."
But it wasn't just the starting pitching, as this was an all-around stinker for the Cubs. Anderson committed a throwing error that allowed the Yankees' first run to score. Two innings later, a ball bounced over Kris Bryant's glove at third base, and the Yankees crossed the plate for the sixth time.
Cubs relievers were tagged for six runs, five of them earned, with the Yankees showing a pair of pitchers called up in the last two days why they're called the Bronx Bombers. Castro blasted a two-run homer off Felix Pena in the fourth to make it 8-0. Rob Zastryzny, called up before Saturday's game in a bullpen-strengthening move that saw outfielder Matt Szczur designated for assignment, gave up a three-run homer to Aaron Hicks that made it 11-3 in the eighth.
In how bad of shape is the Cubs' bullpen right now? Miguel Montero pitched the ninth inning for the North Siders.
The Cubs' offense didn't do much against Yankees starter Jordan Montgomery, who allowed just three hits in his 6.2 innings of work.
It didn't mean Cubs hitters didn't score, though. But unfortunately for them it all came after the Yankees jumped out to an 8-0 lead.
Albert Almora Jr. and Javier Baez came home on ground balls in the fifth, with Baez scoring thanks to a Didi Gregorius throwing error. In the seventh, Ben Zobrist chased home Jon Jay with a triple into the left-field corner. Baez plated Addison Russell with an RBI hit in the eighth, and two more runs scored when a Montero hit bounced off the glove of Rob Refsnyder at second base.
But for all of Maddon's chatting about his confidence that his starting staff will turn things around, the Cubs needed a whopping 8.2 innings out of their bullpen Saturday night. This at the end of an already taxing week for the relief corps.
"They need to get in the groove," Montero said of the starting rotation. "And I think the whole team needs to get in a groove right now. For the hitters, obviously we're putting a lot of pressure on them because for the most part this year we've been coming from behind because in the first inning (the opponents) score some runs. And it's hard to come back all the time, even though we have done it quite a few times this year. But it's not easy. And it's something we need to get better at in order to give us a chance early in the game. Put some zeroes on the board, and that way our hitters feel a little bit better going in to do some offense."
Jon Lester takes the hill Sunday night to try and avoid a sweep at the hands of the Yankees. He'll also try to become just the second Cubs starter this week to get out of the sixth inning.
Maddon, who preached patience during his pregame talk about the starting rotation, showed the same kind of stay-the-course approach after the game.
"Listen, we lost badly tonight," he said before shifting to the positives. "Last night, we were ahead for eight innings. And we just came off a three-game winning streak.
"The sky is not falling for me. We just had a bad night."
A disturbing trend of Cubs starting pitchers giving up first-inning runs — and a lot of them — continued Saturday night, as the visiting New York Yankees knocked around Brett Anderson for five first-inning tallies, effectively finishing this one as it started. Down in another big hole before they even stepped to the plate, the Cubs stumbled to an ugly 11-6 loss at Wrigley Field.
Joe Maddon spent the bulk of his pregame press conference Saturday detailing why his starting pitchers need to be pitching deeper into games, but he sure didn't get what he wanted out of Anderson, who followed up Monday's performance — in which he recorded just four outs against the Philadelphia Phillies — by surrendering five runs on six hits while throwing just 23 pitches to only seven batters before exiting with an injury and only one out on the board.
"No one feels worse than I do," Anderson said after the game. "I wanted to have a quality start based on my last outing. I didn't get very deep into the game, obviously.
"Need to figure some things out, get healthy and get some more people out going forward. It's as simple as that."
That first inning was a hit parade for the Yankees, six of the game's first seven batters reaching via a base knock. Brett Gardner, Starlin Castro and Chase Headley all doubled off Anderson, the latter two driving in a combined three runs.
Cubs pitchers entered with an already oversized 10.24 first-inning ERA through the team's first 29 games. After five runs in the first inning of Game No. 30, that ERA is an even more grotesque 11.40.
Anderson entered with a 6.23 ERA and saw it jump up to 7.83 on Saturday night. Maddon said after the game that Anderson will likely head to the disabled list. Throughout his career, it's been injuries that have slowed Anderson down. This season, the on-field performance hasn't gone well, either.
"It's a combination of getting healthy and figuring out how to get people out again," Anderson said. "Right now, every ball that gets put in play seems like it's a hit, and every ball that's put in play seems like it's a run.
"Last two starts at home for me, personally, have been embarrassing."
But it wasn't just the starting pitching, as this was an all-around stinker for the Cubs. Anderson committed a throwing error that allowed the Yankees' first run to score. Two innings later, a ball bounced over Kris Bryant's glove at third base, and the Yankees crossed the plate for the sixth time.
Cubs relievers were tagged for six runs, five of them earned, with the Yankees showing a pair of pitchers called up in the last two days why they're called the Bronx Bombers. Castro blasted a two-run homer off Felix Pena in the fourth to make it 8-0. Rob Zastryzny, called up before Saturday's game in a bullpen-strengthening move that saw outfielder Matt Szczur designated for assignment, gave up a three-run homer to Aaron Hicks that made it 11-3 in the eighth.
In how bad of shape is the Cubs' bullpen right now? Miguel Montero pitched the ninth inning for the North Siders.
The Cubs' offense didn't do much against Yankees starter Jordan Montgomery, who allowed just three hits in his 6.2 innings of work.
It didn't mean Cubs hitters didn't score, though. But unfortunately for them it all came after the Yankees jumped out to an 8-0 lead.
Albert Almora Jr. and Javier Baez came home on ground balls in the fifth, with Baez scoring thanks to a Didi Gregorius throwing error. In the seventh, Ben Zobrist chased home Jon Jay with a triple into the left-field corner. Baez plated Addison Russell with an RBI hit in the eighth, and two more runs scored when a Montero hit bounced off the glove of Rob Refsnyder at second base.
But for all of Maddon's chatting about his confidence that his starting staff will turn things around, the Cubs needed a whopping 8.2 innings out of their bullpen Saturday night. This at the end of an already taxing week for the relief corps.
"They need to get in the groove," Montero said of the starting rotation. "And I think the whole team needs to get in a groove right now. For the hitters, obviously we're putting a lot of pressure on them because for the most part this year we've been coming from behind because in the first inning (the opponents) score some runs. And it's hard to come back all the time, even though we have done it quite a few times this year. But it's not easy. And it's something we need to get better at in order to give us a chance early in the game. Put some zeroes on the board, and that way our hitters feel a little bit better going in to do some offense."
Jon Lester takes the hill Sunday night to try and avoid a sweep at the hands of the Yankees. He'll also try to become just the second Cubs starter this week to get out of the sixth inning.
Maddon, who preached patience during his pregame talk about the starting rotation, showed the same kind of stay-the-course approach after the game.
"Listen, we lost badly tonight," he said before shifting to the positives. "Last night, we were ahead for eight innings. And we just came off a three-game winning streak.
"The sky is not falling for me. We just had a bad night."
WHITE SOX: Swept in Baltimore, White Sox keep an eye on top prospect Yoan Moncada.
By Dan Hayes
(Photo/csnchicago.com)
Down at Triple-A Charlotte, opposing pitchers can’t seem to stop the Yoansanity.
Top prospect Yoan Moncada continued his reign of terror as he finished a triple shy of the cycle and reached base four times.
Meanwhile, the major league White Sox offense sputtered against a pitcher that Charlotte rocked only five days earlier. Combined with a few defensive misplays and another day of bad fortune for Jose Quintana, the White Sox dropped a 4-0 decision to the Baltimore Orioles in front of 31,806 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Chris Tillman pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning and went on to combine with two relievers on an eight-hit shutout to close out a three-game sweep of the White Sox. Manager Rick Renteria was ejected in the third inning, the first of his White Sox career.
“The first inning started off very well getting guys on with a couple of bases on balls and still ended up loading the bases with one out, weren’t able to drive a run across,” Renteria said. “He was probably able to take a deep breath getting through it.
“It gives you a little boost. I don’t think by the same token we were too focused on that it was just the rest of the time continuing to see if we could get anything started at that point and we weren’t able to do so.”
Looking to avoid a third straight loss and a losing road trip, the White Sox had Tillman in trouble almost immediately. Tillman was making his Orioles season debut and was only five days removed from allowing three home runs against Charlotte.
The right-hander opened the game with seven straight balls and walked the first two men he faced. But Tillman got Jose Abreu to pop out on a 3-2 pitch in and then wiggled out of a bases-loaded jam. Todd Frazier lined out to shortstop and Cody Asche grounded out to first base to strand the bases loaded.
That gave the Orioles an opening and they pounced on it. Quintana issued a pair of one-out walks in the first inning and Tyler Saladino double-clutched on Chris Davis’ infield grounder, which caused his throw to first to be just late. Chris Davis followed with a sac fly to put Baltimore ahead and Trey Mancini singled in a run to make it 2-0.
A pair of bloop singles in the second inning by Joey Rickard and Adam Jones kicked an Orioles’ rally into gear with the latter driving in a run. Manny Machado’s RBI single to left made it a 4-0 contest and effectively wiped out the chance of the White Sox avoiding a sweep.
Quintana allowed four earned runs and nine hits in five innings, walked three and struck out four.
“It was a battle the whole game,” Quintana said. “It was a tough day for me today.
“It was the first bad series we had. It was straight three games, but we have to turn to the page and keep doing what we were doing before. We were playing good, so we have to keep going. Everybody knows that. Turn the page and get ready for the next series.”
The White Sox offense never quite rebounded from their first-inning failure.
They mounted only two other threat all afternoon. Tillman got Melky Cabrera to ground out to second base to strand a pair and end a fourth-inning rally. Brad Brach wiped out the other opportunity with a game-ending double play off Leury Garcia’s bat.
The White Sox finished 0-for-7 with 11 runners left in scoring position.
Down on the farm, Moncada continued a 15-game tear with three more hits and a walk in a Charlotte victory. Over the span, Moncada is hitting .400/.464/.617 with 16 runs scored, three homers and seven RBIs in 69 plate appearances.
The top-rated prospect in baseball has also made two key improvements as the season has progressed. Not only has he begun to lower his strikeout rate — 21.7 percent since April 20 — but Moncada’s play has improved in the field. By playing more aggressively in the field, Moncada has tapped into his tools, which has resulted in fewer mistakes and better turns of double plays. Earlier in the week, he drew rave reviews from general manager Rick Hahn, who spent part of the week observing the Knights.
“Had a chance to visit with all of (Charlotte’s coaches) and they were very impressed with Yoan and the progress he’s made,” Hahn said. “There were a couple things that Super Joe (McEwing) and (Renteria) were working on with him defense in spring training and mark and Vance (Law) and the staff down here picked up where they left off. And Yoan continues to improve in that regards. We’re real pleased with where he’s at. The fact is he does remain a 22-year old that coming into the year had fewer than 200 plate appearances above A-ball. His development is by no means complete at the minor league level, but he certainly is making a great deal of progress and we’re thrilled with where he’s at.”
If Moncada continues to perform at the same level, he could force the White Sox into changing his locale. The threshold to keep Moncada under team control for a seventh year is only a week away.
One of Hahn’s favorite sayings regarding prospects is that the best ones tend to force their way into the majors. If Moncada can continue to reduce his strikeout-rate, play sharp defense and be an overall force on offense, he could find his way to Chicago soon enough.
Golf: I got a club for that..... Harman birdies 18 to edge DJ, Perez at Wells Fargo.
By Nick Menta
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
Brian Harman birdied the 72nd hole Sunday to shoot 4-under 68 and win the Wells Fargo Championship by one shot over Dustin Johnson and Pat Perez. Here’s how things played out down the stretch at Eagle Point:
Leaderboard: Harman (-10), Johnson (-9), Perez (-9), Jon Rahm (-8)
What it means: This is Harman’s second PGA Tour victory after breaking through at the 2014 John Deere Classic. Two back to start the final round, Harman was one of a host of players to pass struggling overnight leader Patrick Reed on Sunday. Harman made four birdies and two bogeys across his first 16 holes and arrived at the 17th hole one shot behind Johnson, who had already posted 9 under. Harman flagged his approach at 17 and rolled in a 4-footer to work his way into a tie at 9 under with Johnson and Perez. Rather than join them in a playoff, Harman blasted his second shot to the par-5 home hole well left of the green, took relief from the grandstand, wedged his way onto the putting surface and poured in a 28-foot putt to take the lead by himself. The victory was cemented when Rahm, two back, flew his approach long of the green at 18 and failed to hole his pitch for eagle.
Round of the day: Johnson made three birdies on each nine, dropping his only shot of the weekend when he failed to get up and down from over the back of the eighth green. He appeared headed for a playoff and a chance to win his fourth straight start, but had to settle for runner-up. Had he pulled it off, DJ would have joined Tiger Woods as the only players to win four consecutive PGA Tour events since Ben Hogan in 1953. Johnson was matched on Sunday by Jonathan Randolph, who used a final-round 67 to record his best finish on Tour, a tie for eighth.
Best of the rest: Perez fought his way to T-2 with eight birdies, two bogeys and a double for a round of 4-under 68. A winner already this year in Mexico, Perez, currently 58th in the Official World Golf Ranking, will qualify for the U.S. Open at Erin Hills if he can crack the top 50 by May 22.
Biggest disappointments: The 54-hole leader, Reed made the turn in 1 under par but was unable to scramble his way through the back nine. Wayward off the tee all day, Reed bogeyed four of his last nine holes to shoot 75 and tie for 12th. His playing partner, Alex Noren, started Sunday in search of his first U.S. victory but limped in with 77.
Leaderboard: Harman (-10), Johnson (-9), Perez (-9), Jon Rahm (-8)
What it means: This is Harman’s second PGA Tour victory after breaking through at the 2014 John Deere Classic. Two back to start the final round, Harman was one of a host of players to pass struggling overnight leader Patrick Reed on Sunday. Harman made four birdies and two bogeys across his first 16 holes and arrived at the 17th hole one shot behind Johnson, who had already posted 9 under. Harman flagged his approach at 17 and rolled in a 4-footer to work his way into a tie at 9 under with Johnson and Perez. Rather than join them in a playoff, Harman blasted his second shot to the par-5 home hole well left of the green, took relief from the grandstand, wedged his way onto the putting surface and poured in a 28-foot putt to take the lead by himself. The victory was cemented when Rahm, two back, flew his approach long of the green at 18 and failed to hole his pitch for eagle.
Round of the day: Johnson made three birdies on each nine, dropping his only shot of the weekend when he failed to get up and down from over the back of the eighth green. He appeared headed for a playoff and a chance to win his fourth straight start, but had to settle for runner-up. Had he pulled it off, DJ would have joined Tiger Woods as the only players to win four consecutive PGA Tour events since Ben Hogan in 1953. Johnson was matched on Sunday by Jonathan Randolph, who used a final-round 67 to record his best finish on Tour, a tie for eighth.
Best of the rest: Perez fought his way to T-2 with eight birdies, two bogeys and a double for a round of 4-under 68. A winner already this year in Mexico, Perez, currently 58th in the Official World Golf Ranking, will qualify for the U.S. Open at Erin Hills if he can crack the top 50 by May 22.
Biggest disappointments: The 54-hole leader, Reed made the turn in 1 under par but was unable to scramble his way through the back nine. Wayward off the tee all day, Reed bogeyed four of his last nine holes to shoot 75 and tie for 12th. His playing partner, Alex Noren, started Sunday in search of his first U.S. victory but limped in with 77.
Shot of the day: Harman’s birdie putt to win at the 72nd hole:
http://www.golfchannel.com/media?guid=harman_050717
Quote of the day: “It’s a lot of emotion for sure. I’ve been fighting really hard. … This feels really good.” - Harman
Daly's Champions win a victory for fans, tour.
By Will Gray
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
Quick, name the last five winners on the PGA Tour Champions.
Ok, time’s up. And no, Bernhard Langer didn’t sweep every title.
But ask a casual golf fan about the over-50 circuit in the coming days, and he’ll let you know that John Daly is once again relevant after hanging on for a one-shot win at the Insperity Invitational.
The victory comes exactly one year after Daly made his Champions debut, and it gives the tour the much-needed jolt in the arm that his presence was expected to provide. Daly was surprisingly quiet last year, rarely contending and failing to quickly transition into success like many of his predecessors did upon turning the big 5-0.
But then came Sunday’s round outside Houston, and we were reminded once again how and why Daly has captivated audiences over the last 26 years.
Granted, it wasn’t pretty and didn’t exactly go according to plan. Few things with Daly ever do. He led the whole day but bogeyed each of his final three holes, essentially running out of time in his effort to hand the trophy to Tommy Armour III.
Despite his stumble to the finish line, there was Daly – clad in stars-and-stripes pants, celebrating his first worldwide victory since the 2004 Buick Invitational. A man who has been through the wringer bent down and kissed an umbrella logo in the 18th fairway, an homage to Arnold Palmer and another example of why fans so often blindly back him through both ups and downs.
“For me it’s like, you know, some guys come out here and win right off the bat, get the monkey off their back,” Daly said. “But now I can say I’m a champion on the Champions Tour, which is really cool and hopefully I can keep this confidence going.”
Daly has spent his entire career resonating with the everyman like few golfers outside of Palmer ever have. Since his breakthrough at the 1991 PGA Championship, the masses have cheered his fleeting success and sympathized with the demons that more often held him back.
Little has changed about that relationship in the intervening decades, and Sunday’s victory is cause for celebration for the many who have remained in his corner since he faded from relevance more than a decade ago. There goes Long John, victorious once more, the legend who once overpowered the game and whose success now elicits a flood of nostalgia.
The person cheering the loudest Sunday may have been PGA Tour Champions president Greg McLaughlin. Every few years the circuit has been blessed with a player whose star-power and resonance with the casual fan can draw thousands of eyeballs, but none have surfaced since Fred Couples turned 50 in 2009. Daly was thought to be just such a figure, and now it appears he may still achieve that status despite a middling rookie campaign.
Whether Daly can sustain his newfound success against his aging competition remains to be seen, but frankly it doesn’t matter. His rampant popularity has never hinged on a string of top-10 finishes or a run of consecutive sub-par rounds.
Daly’s form is often fleeting, his frustrations always worn on his sleeve. He is one of us, a player who you could just as easily envision saddling up next to you at the 19th hole as hoisting a major trophy.
The Wells Fargo Championship featured an action-packed ending, with several big names vying for the title. The tournament was ultimately decided by a dramatic birdie putt on the 72nd hole.
But somehow, what transpired in Wilmington was outshined by the Insperity conclusion in Texas. A quick scroll through social media around dinnertime Sunday clearly showed that the biggest storyline in golf wasn’t Brian Harman’s second career win.
It was John Daly, the mystifying figure who wears his scars with pride, standing with open arms as his friends and peers doused him with champagne on the final green. Golf’s quintessential everyman was once again on top of the mountain, and it was a beautiful sight to behold.
“I just want a Miller Lite,” Daly said afterwards. “That’s all I want.”
It’s the type of role reversal the Champions circuit has always envisioned, and one that few players could ever deliver. But Daly has always had a penchant for stealing the show, and that flair didn’t disappear when he turned 50.
S.Y. Kim tops A. Jutanugarn for Ochoa title.
By Associated Press
(Photo/Golf Channel Digital)
Sei Young Kim held off Ariya Jutanugarn, 1 up, on Sunday to win the Lorena Ochoa Match Play for her sixth LPGA title.
After Jutanugarn won the par-5 17th with a birdie to force another hole, Kim finished off the match with a halve for a par on the par-4 18th.
In the morning semifinals at Club de Golf Mexico, Kim beat Mi Jung Hur, 5 and 4, and the third-ranked Jutanugarn topped Michelle Wie, 4 and 3. Hur won the third-place match, overcoming a five-hole deficit to beat Wie in 22 holes.
Kim also beat Maude-Aimee Leblanc (3 and 1), Danielle Kang (3 and 2), Charley Hull (3 and 1) and Karine Icher (5 and 4) in the event that switched from stroke to match play and moved from November. The 24-year-old South Korean player is projected to jump from 12th to eighth in the world ranking.
After Jutanugarn won the par-5 17th with a birdie to force another hole, Kim finished off the match with a halve for a par on the par-4 18th.
In the morning semifinals at Club de Golf Mexico, Kim beat Mi Jung Hur, 5 and 4, and the third-ranked Jutanugarn topped Michelle Wie, 4 and 3. Hur won the third-place match, overcoming a five-hole deficit to beat Wie in 22 holes.
Kim also beat Maude-Aimee Leblanc (3 and 1), Danielle Kang (3 and 2), Charley Hull (3 and 1) and Karine Icher (5 and 4) in the event that switched from stroke to match play and moved from November. The 24-year-old South Korean player is projected to jump from 12th to eighth in the world ranking.
NASCAR: Ricky Stenhouse wins first career NASCAR Cup race, captures Geico 500.
By Jerry Bonkowski
(Photo/www,follownews.com)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. took the lead on the final lap and then held on to win his first career NASCAR Cup race, capturing Sunday’s Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
The race finished in overtime at 191 laps, three laps past the scheduled 188 laps.
Jamie McMurray finished second, followed by Kyle Busch, Aric Almirola and Kasey Kahne.
Sixth through 10th were Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson, Paul Menard and David Ragan.
Stenhouse, a former two-time Xfinity Series champion, earned the victory in his 158th career NASCAR Cup start and becomes the 11th first-time winner at Talladega. The win broke Roush Fenway Racing’s 101-race winless streak (last victory was June 22, 2014 at Sonoma) and was the organization’s 136th all-time win.
“We’ve been terrible for a long time, but this year, every race, we’re getting better and better,” Stenhouse told Fox Sports. “This car was so fast today, qualifying on the pole, get the win. It’s cool to have Jack Roush back in victory lane. This is cool, closest track to my home town and man, the fans were here this weekend.”
The win marked Stenhouse’s third top-five finish and fifth top-10 in the last seven races.
“Stenhouse got a real good run and good push and got by us and then it was about retaliation, to get back on him,” Busch told Fox Sports. “I just never had enough help from behind. … We did all we could today. Unfortunately, circumstances didn’t go our way.”
A multi-car wreck – the only big one of the race – occurred with 20 laps to go, resulting in a red flag that lasted 26 minutes and 51 seconds. Eighteen cars – nearly half of the 40-driver field – were involved.
Those involved were : A.J. Allmendinger, Michael McDowell, Austin Dillon, Trevor Bayne, Danica Patrick, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, Erik Jones, Matt Kenseth, David Ragan, Kurt Busch, Cole Whitt, Brendan Gaughan, Corey LaJoie, Chase Elliott and Gray Gaulding
It appeared that Allmendinger was trying to push Elliott forward in the draft when the former hooked the latter around. Meanwhile, Kevin Harvick hooked Allmendinger’s car, too.
The race finished in overtime at 191 laps, three laps past the scheduled 188 laps.
Jamie McMurray finished second, followed by Kyle Busch, Aric Almirola and Kasey Kahne.
Sixth through 10th were Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson, Paul Menard and David Ragan.
Stenhouse, a former two-time Xfinity Series champion, earned the victory in his 158th career NASCAR Cup start and becomes the 11th first-time winner at Talladega. The win broke Roush Fenway Racing’s 101-race winless streak (last victory was June 22, 2014 at Sonoma) and was the organization’s 136th all-time win.
“We’ve been terrible for a long time, but this year, every race, we’re getting better and better,” Stenhouse told Fox Sports. “This car was so fast today, qualifying on the pole, get the win. It’s cool to have Jack Roush back in victory lane. This is cool, closest track to my home town and man, the fans were here this weekend.”
The win marked Stenhouse’s third top-five finish and fifth top-10 in the last seven races.
“Stenhouse got a real good run and good push and got by us and then it was about retaliation, to get back on him,” Busch told Fox Sports. “I just never had enough help from behind. … We did all we could today. Unfortunately, circumstances didn’t go our way.”
A multi-car wreck – the only big one of the race – occurred with 20 laps to go, resulting in a red flag that lasted 26 minutes and 51 seconds. Eighteen cars – nearly half of the 40-driver field – were involved.
Those involved were : A.J. Allmendinger, Michael McDowell, Austin Dillon, Trevor Bayne, Danica Patrick, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, Erik Jones, Matt Kenseth, David Ragan, Kurt Busch, Cole Whitt, Brendan Gaughan, Corey LaJoie, Chase Elliott and Gray Gaulding
It appeared that Allmendinger was trying to push Elliott forward in the draft when the former hooked the latter around. Meanwhile, Kevin Harvick hooked Allmendinger’s car, too.
While Elliott rode the top of the wall while Allmendinger’s car wound up on its roof, and safety workers had to pull the car on its wheels before he unstrapped and climbed out. Allmendinger walked to the ambulance under his own power.
“I was battling for the lead, the 18 and 24 were leading the two packs, and the 4 was just on me,” Allmendinger told Fox Sports. “Once I got to Chase, I got loose, I barely tapped him, I tried to get off him and at that point, it was just too late.”
Elliott added to Fox Sports, “He just apologized. I don’t know if it was really his fault, per se. He had a big run, got to my bumper and was kind of in a bad spot.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr., the winningest active driver at Talladega with six wins, suffered a loose wheel 14 laps to go and limped back to pit road for service, finishing 22nd.
STAGE 1 WINNER: Brad Keselowski
STAGE 2 WINNER: Denny Hamlin
HOW STENHOUSE WON: Having the fastest car of the weekend was a major factor. Stenhouse has been steadily climbing up the performance ladder this season, led 14 laps in Sunday’s race and emerged with his first winner’s trophy of his Cup career after more than six years of trying.
WHO ELSE HAD A GOOD RACE: Jamie McMurray got past Kyle Busch on the final lap, but didn’t have quite enough to reach Stenhouse. Another lap, and maybe he might have. … Aric Almirola won Saturday’s Xfinity race and rallied to finish fourth in Sunday’s race, tying his highest finish this season of fourth in the season-opening Daytona 500.
WHO HAD A BAD RACE: Several drivers suffered poor finishes due to being involved in wrecks, including Chase Elliott (30th), Joey Logano (32nd), Erik Jones (33rd), Martin Truex Jr. (35th), Austin Dillon (36th), Trevor Bayne (37th), Danica Patrick (38th) and Ryan Blaney (39th).
NOTABLE: The No. 43 Ford of Aric Almirola failed post-race inspection. He finished the race one point out of 16th place — the last playoff-eligible spot — but now faces a potential 35-point penalty. Also, the No. 7 of Elliott Sadler was found to have one lug nut not secured. … Joe Gibbs Racing had strong runs from Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, but remains winless in the first 10 races of the 2017 season. … Kasey Kahne’s fifth-place finish was his second top-5 of the season. He finished fourth at Atlanta in the second race of 2017.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We go to a real race track next week and try to win there.” – A disappointed Kyle Busch, who couldn’t hold off Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for the win and finished third.
WHAT’S NEXT: Go Bowling 400, Saturday, May 13, 7:30 p.m. ET, Kansas Speedway
Cup points standings after Talladega: Kyle Larson widens lead.
By Nate Ryan
(Photo/nbcsports.com)
Rebounding from an impact with the wall for a 12th-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway, Kyle Larson increased his lead in the Cup Series standings.
Larson is in first by 54 points over Martin Truex Jr., who finished 35th after getting caught in a wreck.
Brad Keselowski jumped two spots to third in the points with a seventh at Talladega. Chase Elliott (30th) fell a spot to fourth in standings ahead of Jamie McMurray
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (22nd) dropped from 24th to 25th in the points.
Click here for the standings after Sunday’s Geico 500 at Talladega.
Aric Almirola wins Xfinity race at Talladega.
By Dustin Long
(Photo/nbcsports.com)
It is Almirola’s third career series win.
This victory is special for Almirola. He’s given credit for winning at Milwaukee in 2007 because he started that race but he was pulled from the car when Denny Hamlin arrived from Sonoma and drove the car to the win. Last July, Almirola won at Daytona, nosing Justin Allgaier by inches when the caution waved in overtime.
Saturday, there were no questions or doubts about his victory.
“This one was ours fair and square,” Almirola said. “We led a lot of laps. We won the first stage, and we got up there in the end. There was no caution at the end. We crossed the start/finish line first and those are the most gratifying to win.”
Sadler, who finished second, lamented his actions at the end.
“I made a huge mistake coming to the white,” Sadler said. “Me and my spotter were so focused on (Logano). I kind of made a mistake where I was on the track.”
Logano finished third. Ben Kennedy placed fourth in his first series race of the year. Erik Jones was fifth.
STAGE 1 WINNER: Aric Almirola
STAGE 2 WINNER: Justin Allagier
HOW ARIC ALMIROLA WON: He had a strong car throughout the day and put himself in the right spot to withstand challenges in the final four laps.
WHO ELSE HAD A GOOD DAY: Points leader Elliott Sadler finished second after hitting the wall early in the race. … Ben Kennedy placed fourth in his first series start of the year. … Jeff Green finished 10th for just his second top-10 result in the last decade.
WHO HAD A BAD DAY: Brennan Poole lost his 12th starting spot for unapproved adjustments, ran into the back of a car early and then hit Daniel Suarez, triggering a nine-car crash to bring out the red on Lap 21. He finished 24th. … Daniel Hemric, coming off a career-best third last week at Richmond, was collected in a nine-car crash and finished 38th. … Ryan Reed, who won at Daytona, finished 29th after a wreck triggered by a bump from Aric Almirola.
NOTABLE: Biagi-Denbeste scored its third career Xfinity win. All have come at restrictor-plate tracks.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Aric got careless there and he took the blame for it, but I think it being Saturday and him not racing here that often, he was a little more careless. I don’t think if it was Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. or somebody he races with every week in front of him that he would have done that,’’ Ryan Reed said of Aric Almirola after a bump from Almirola caused Reed to crash (Almirola apologized for the incident).
NEXT: The Xfinity Series is off until May 27 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Elliott Sadler remains Xfinity points leader.
By Dustin Long
(Photo/Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
Elliott Sadler remains the points leader after his runner-up finish in Saturday’s Xfinity race at Talladega Superspeedway, but his lead dwindled.
Sadler holds a 29-point lead on JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier. Sadler had a 41-point lead entering the event but lost some points to Allgaier, who won a stage Saturday.
JR Motorsports driver William Byron remains third in the standings. He’s 44 points behind Sadler. Darrell Wallace Jr. moved up a spot to fourth. Daniel Hemric fell a spot to fifth.
Click here for Xfinity points report
Sadler holds a 29-point lead on JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier. Sadler had a 41-point lead entering the event but lost some points to Allgaier, who won a stage Saturday.
JR Motorsports driver William Byron remains third in the standings. He’s 44 points behind Sadler. Darrell Wallace Jr. moved up a spot to fourth. Daniel Hemric fell a spot to fifth.
Click here for Xfinity points report
SOCCER: Fire blow two-goal lead in draw at LA.
By Dan Santaromita
(Photo/USA TODAY)
However, the LA Galaxy scored on a pair of corner kicks in the second half to rally for a 2-2 draw at the StubHub Center on Saturday.
David Accam was the creator of both of the Fire’s goals. He weaved into the box in the 11th minute and set up Nemanja Nikolic open in the box. Nikolic’s first touch got away from him, but he was able to win the race to the loose ball and was tripped by Jelle Van Damme for a penalty kick. Accam converted from the penalty to give the Fire (3-3-3, 12 points) its first road lead of the year.
Four minutes later Accam got an assist to go with his goal when he hit Nikolic in stride on a counterattack. Nikolic scored on his first touch for his sixth goal of the season.
LA (2-5-2, 8 points) didn’t have a shot on goal in the first half and hadn’t scored in its previous two matches, but was able to get back in the match from corner kicks.
Daniel Steres’ glancing header following a corner kick in the 56th minute got LA on the board. Nine minutes later Giovani Dos Santos tied the match by sliding in to finish a Dave Romney flick header following a corner kick. Those were LA’s only two shots on target, meaning the Galaxy didn’t put a shot on target from open play.
The Fire nearly went back ahead with a Luis Solignac header later in the half, but Brian Rowe was able to get a hand on it and push it onto the crossbar. Nikolic also put the ball in the net in the 94th minute, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Coach Veljko Paunovic made two changes in the starting lineup. Both goalkeeper Jorge Bava and right back Michael Harrington were benched for the first time this season. Matt Lampson, who made 11 starts last season, started in goal and was not credited with a save. Drew Conner played at right back in his first career start. Conner was replaced by Jonathan Campbell in the 75th minute.
Arsenal 2-0 Manchester United: Wenger tops Mourinho.
By Kyle Bonn
(Photo/nbcsports.com)
Thanks to goals from Granit Xhaka and Danny Welbeck, Arsene Wenger has beaten Jose Mourinho for the first time ever in Premier League play, a 2-0 result that keeps Arsenal’s faint hopes for a Champions League place alive and puts Manchester United in a weaker position in that same race.
United had the first big chance of the game as Wayne Rooney fed through Anthony Martial, but the Frenchman’s effort was stymied at close range by Petr Cech. The Gunners went down the other end minutes later, and Aaron Ramsey forced a save from David De Gea.
The proceedings went back and forth as neither side gained full control. Rooney had a header just wide off a corner, while Ramsey’s 30th minute pull-back was blocked with a pair of Gunners waiting. Ramsey and Ozil were both wide open on the end of an Alexis Sanchez far-post cross, but it was just out of reach with the goal gaping.
Rooney had the game’s biggest chance down the other end after picking out Rob Holding‘s back-pass, but he was smothered by Cech with no one else back.
With the score untouched at halftime, the game seemed to take a dip after the break as both teams looked to have hit the reset button. Then, out of nowhere, the Gunners led. Xhaka took aim from a huge distance out, and a massive stroke of fortune came his way as the shot struck the back of Ander Herrera and looped perfectly into the top corner.
The game sprung to life after the goal, and the Gunners doubled their lead. A cross by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from the right touchline floated over the head of Chris Smalling and right to Welbeck who blasted his header off the underside of the crossbar and in.
Once down 2-0, Manchester United struggled to produce the chances they had in the first half. The Gunners were forced into a change as Xhaka was left with his seat on the turf, and he was replaced by Francis Coquelin on 75 minutes.
United looked for a way back in, but they had little to offer Cech’s goal as Arsenal did well to hamper them on the ball. Axel Tuanzebe delivered an impressive volley in stoppage time but it was too close to the Gunners’ shot-stopper.
The win for Arsenal keeps their very faint top four hopes mathematically alive. On 63 points, they sit two back of Manchester United in fifth and six behind Manchester City for that final Champions League place. The Gunners have four matches remaining, which gives them a game in hand on the rest of the competition.
Manchester United falls back in the race, on 65 points, four back of Manchester City after the club’s first loss since October, ending a run of 25 matches. Jose Mourinho has publicly claimed they are prioritizing the Europa League, and rested a number of usual starters for this game as a result.
Liverpool 0-0 Southampton: Forster foils sputtering Reds.
Kyle Bonn
(Photo/nbcsports.com)
The Liverpool attack again came up empty against Southampton, shut out for the fourth time this season against the Saints in all competitions as a drab game ended 0-0 at Anfield.
The Reds produced 17 shots, eight on target, but could not get by Fraser Forster who was massive in net for Southampton under heavy pressure, saving a penalty midway through the second half.
Overall, the first half was a drag. Liverpool was clearly the more attacking side for the opening half-hour, but couldn’t manage a shot on target until an ambitious but meek effort by Philippe Coutinho in the 24th minute that was easily collected by Forster.
Jurgen Klopp decided not to change his side despite having Adam Lallana at his disposal on the bench, and the German struck a pained figure on the sideline as his team struggled to break down a structured Southampton. Coutinho looked to turn on the style with a backheel at the top of the box before the hour mark, but Emre Can didn’t see it coming and the ball squirted through untouched.
James Milner was pesky down the left as Liverpool maintained all the meaningful possession, but Southampton packed the box and he was unable to find teammates. Southampton looked to press harder after bringing on Nathan Redmond, and it gave the Reds some problems.
Liverpool appeared to have the breakthrough after referee Bobby Madley pointed to the spot for a hand-ball on Liverpool defender Jack Stephens after 64 minutes. The penalty was incredibly harsh on Southampton, but with Stephens’ elbow coming up and unknowingly hitting the ball, the call seemed fair. Unfortunately for the Reds, Milner’s low penalty was saved emphatically by Forster, and the scoreline remained untouched.
Klopp finally made a change with 22 minutes remaining, bringing on both Lallana and Daniel Sturridge. Southampton looked to have an injection of life with the addition of Shane Long, but Liverpool always looked the more likely to score. Coutinho again tried a curler from distance, but again put it right into the waiting arms of Forster.
With 12 minutes left, Liverpool again had a big chance as Lallana found Sturridge who got free with a smart touch, but it was just too heavy and Forster was there to collect the weak attempt on net.
Forster was again needed in added time as substitute Marko Grujic delivered a powerful header, and the England international produced a stunning acrobatic leap to tip it over the bar.
The disappointing draw for Liverpool sees them still vulnerable in the top four, moving to 70 points and into third place but still just a point ahead of Manchester City and four in front of Manchester United. Southampton’s point sees them jump barely back into the top half on goal differential, even with Bournemouth and West Ham on points.
Serie A: Roma hammer 10-man Milan; Lazio drop 7 on Sampdoria.
By Andy Edwards
Klopp finally made a change with 22 minutes remaining, bringing on both Lallana and Daniel Sturridge. Southampton looked to have an injection of life with the addition of Shane Long, but Liverpool always looked the more likely to score. Coutinho again tried a curler from distance, but again put it right into the waiting arms of Forster.
With 12 minutes left, Liverpool again had a big chance as Lallana found Sturridge who got free with a smart touch, but it was just too heavy and Forster was there to collect the weak attempt on net.
Forster was again needed in added time as substitute Marko Grujic delivered a powerful header, and the England international produced a stunning acrobatic leap to tip it over the bar.
The disappointing draw for Liverpool sees them still vulnerable in the top four, moving to 70 points and into third place but still just a point ahead of Manchester City and four in front of Manchester United. Southampton’s point sees them jump barely back into the top half on goal differential, even with Bournemouth and West Ham on points.
Serie A: Roma hammer 10-man Milan; Lazio drop 7 on Sampdoria.
By Andy Edwards
(AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
A roundup of Saturday’s action in Italy’s top flight…
AC Milan 1-4 Roma
Roma had to win to keep Juventus from clinching the Scudetto for a sixth straight season on Sunday, and they did just that away to AC Milan. Edin Dzeko fired Roma to a 2-0 lead after just 28 minutes (his opener came in the 8th minute), and that would prove to be enough on the day.
Mario Pasalic pulled Milan back to 2-1 in the 76th minute, but the comeback lasted all of two minutes, as Stephan El Shaarawy re-established the two-goal lead in the 78th. Gabriel Paletta got himself sent off for a challenge on Mohamed Salah in the 86th minute, and Daniele De Rossi converted from the penalty spot a minute later.
Juve’s lead in the title race sits at seven points, meaning that with three games left to play. Next Sunday, at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, it’ll be Roma versus Juventus; anything short of a victory for Roma would see Juve clinch the title.
Lazio 7-3 Sampdoria
Lazio’s quest for UEFA Champions League qualification fell apart a couple weeks ago, but Simone Inzaghi’s side seems determined to rebound and finish the season strong regardless. Sunday’s thrashing of Sampdoria made it three straight wins for Rome’s “other” team, and all but secured their fourth-place finish with fifth-place Atalanta dropping points away to Udinese.
The scoring started early, and it never slowed down. Balde Keita made it 1-0 after just two minutes; Sampdoria’s Milan Skriniar was sent off in the 18th minute, and that’s when the floodgates opened; Ciro Immobile converted from the penalty spot a minute later; Wesley Hoedt made it 3-1 in the 36th minute; Felipe Anderson converted from the penalty spot for 4-1 in the 38th; and Stefan de Vrij made it 5-1 in the 45th.
Senad Lulic and Immobile completed the scoring in the second half, in the 65th and 70th minutes, before Fabio Quagliarella bagged a late brace in consolation.
Genoa 1-0 Inter Milan
Another unforgettable (they wish they could at this point) season is nearly in the books for Inter Milan, having suffered defeat in the league for the 13th time this season (no side in the top-10 has lost more games — they currently sit 7th in the league table). Goran Pandev scored the game’s only goal, as Inter failed to capitalize on Milan’s defeat. Doing so would have seen them move level on points, and ahead on goal differential.
Elsewhere in Serie A
Udinese 1-1 Atalanta
Empoli 3-1 Bologna
Pescara 0-1 Crotone
Sassuolo 2-2 Fiorentina
Chievo 1-1 Palermo
Championship playoff matchups are set.
By Kyle Bonn
(Photo/Getty Images)
With the final day of the Championship regular season complete, all eyes are now on the playoff as four teams vie for the final spot in next season’s Premier League action.
Brighton Hove & Albion and Newcastle are both in automatically, and now we look for a third team to join them. The teams to participate were all but set before the day, but the playoff positions were clogged, so determining the matchups was down to the results on the final day.
Reading took down Burton Albion 4-2 on the final day, leaving them in third position. They will take on Fulham, who finished 6th after one of the best second halves of any team in the Championship. The Whites were in 10th in early January, but stormed through the Championship with 11 wins and five draws over their final 20 matches, keeping pace with Newcastle at the top.
Sheffield Wednesday fell to Fulham at Hillsborough on the final day, but it doesn’t affect their matchup as they take on Huddersfield Town, who also lost at home. Wednesday also had a fantastic second half of the season, playing 1-2 with Fulham at the top of the form table the entire way.
Here’s a closer look at each of the four teams in the playoff:
READING
One of the most baffling table positions of the entire season, Reading is considered by many to be the weakest team in the playoff despite finishing third. Their +4 goal differential gives a peek into how confusing it is to see them finish so high, but a closer inspection produces even more head-scratching. They conceded 62 goals this league season, far more than anyone else in the top 7, and at times look like a bottom-half team before peeking at the scoreboard and realizing they’ve won again. A perfect microcosm of this is their final-day result, a wild 4-2 win over struggling Burton Albion, a game which they were out-possessed and out-shot.
So where did they win their points? A scrappy team, Reading ground out 18 wins in one-goal games, while only losing five and drawing seven. They play their attack through French striker Yann Kermorgant, who has 17 goals on the season for sixth-highest in the Championship this year. They can also get goals from Jamacian international Garath McCleary on the wing or Chelsea youth product John Swift. Their weekly starting 11 features Premier League experience in goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi, and their squad features USMNT midfielder Danny Williams. Another recognizable name is former Manchester United central defender Tyler Blackett.
Reading was last in the Premier League for one season in 2012/13, seeing their way up after winning the league before immediately dropping back down. They also reached the semifinals of the 2014/15 FA Cup as a Championship side, losing to Arsenal.
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY
With Fulham receiving the bulk of the attention for their attractive style of play, Sheffield Wednesday fans felt slightly aggrieved as their side has been just as good in 2017, topping the form table over the final few weeks with six straight wins until defeat on the final day. They are the opposite of Reading in every way, a defensively stout club that can still move forward and put on a show. This team is a serious contender for promotion, and can shut down teams on their best day.
Their leading scorer for the second straight year is former Watford striker Fernando Forestieri. The Argentinian never saw the Premier League with the Hornets after they were promoted, but he moved to Hillsborough and bagged 12 goals for the Owls this campaign after hitting 15 last season. They have a pair of former Sunderland players with Premier League experience in goalkeeper Kieran Westwood and striker Steven Fletcher, with the latter bagging four goals amid the late-season winning streak. January signing Jordan Rhodes has been a relative disappointment, coming over from Middlesbrough and only bagging three goals in 17 appearances. Captain Glen Loovens is an experienced central defender who spent four seasons at Celtic plus a year in Spain before coming to Wednesday four years ago.
Sheffield Wednesday was a founding member of the Premier League in 1992 and has spent much of its history in the top flight, but they have not been there since relegation in 2000, and have even fallen into League One twice since then amid financial trouble.
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN
Another team with an ugly goal differential that somehow ended up in the playoffs, Huddersfield Town is a club that has not seen top flight action since relegation in 1972. The Terriers have come a long way since their 19th place finish last season, thanks in large part to manager David Wagner, a former United States international who has impressed as the first non-British manager in the club’s history.
Like Reading, at times this season Huddersfield has looked completely off the pace, and they’ll be happy not to have drawn Fulham in the semifinals, who beat them a combined 9-1 in their pair of regular season meetings. However, again like Reading, an ability to grind out wins and avoid disappointing draws, they collected their points throughout the year. They had a fabulous turn of the calendar year, with a 14-match run between December and February that featured 12 wins and a draw, but they enter the playoffs having come back down to earth. Their -2 goal differential speaks for itself, as the next team down the table with a negative goal differential is Aston Villa who finished 12th. Huddersfield finished the season with three straight losses and just one goal in those games, a bad omen for the postseason.
Leading scorer Elias Kachunga spent his entire career in Germany before moving to Huddersfield last summer, but the 25-year-old has struggled with calf problems of late, and his playoff status is unclear after missing the last four games. Fellow striker Nahki Wells has seen his goals dry up, with just one score in his last 13 appearances.
FULHAM
The Whites have gathered the most publicity between these four teams throughout the last few months, and are considered by many as the favorites to win at Wembley. Manager Slavisa Jokanovic has the team playing free-flowing, possession-heavy football that looks absolutely gorgeous. Their Achilles heel this season has been finishing, a big reason why they are only sixth in the table. They also have been awful from the penalty spot, dropping a healthy amount of points on the year thanks to missed penalties that would otherwise have earned a higher league position. The defense is leaky, but U.S. international Tim Ream has improved greatly as the season has progressed alongside Chelsea loanee Tomas Kalas.
Fulham is a completely overhauled squad over the past few years, completely unrecognizable from the team that was relegated from the Premier League in 2014 or even the one that battled relegation to League One last year. American owner Shad Khan has given his son Tony a large say in transfer dealings, and it paid off in a huge way this past summer. At its best, Fulham is fabulous to watch. Tom Cairney pulls the strings in the attacking midfield, and there is no focal point up front, with anyone from Sone Aluko, Neeskens Kebano, Floyd Ayite, Chris Martin, or Lucas Piazon can deliver a stunning finishing touch. In fact, they played a number of games without a true striker while Martin was either suspended or tapped up by his parent club Derby County. Their leading scorer is somehow midfielder Stefan Johanson, who has partnered with Kevin McDonald to produce one of the best central midfield partnerships in the Championship. 16-year-old Ryan Sessegnon has an attacking flair that has reportedly caught the attention top Premier League clubs.
What has baffled Fulham this season are sides that bunker in and defend. They have often performed better against the top sides in the Championship, as shown by their pair of wins over Newcastle. However, against teams that close down the lanes and put defense first, the Whites at times have looked lost. Their matchup with Reading is fascinating in that regard, having obliterated Reading 5-0 on one occasion this year before losing 1-0 the next time around.
Serie A: Juventus drop points in Turin derby, need Roma loss for title.
By Andy Edwards
(Photo/Alessandro Di Marco/ANSA via AP)
A roundup of Saturday’s action in Italy’s top flight…
Juventus 1-1 Torino
A win would have moved Juventus 12 points clear of Roma, who have four games still to play, thus meaning a single point dropped against AC Milan on Sunday would have seen Juve crowned Serie A champions for the sixth straight season. Instead, Massimiliano Allegri’s side drew 9th-place Torino at home and sit just 10 points clear of Roma, who could trim to the gap to seven points tomorrow.
Adem Ljajic put Torino ahead in the 52nd minute, a lead that would remain intact for nearly 40 minutes. Gonzalo Higuain would spoil the party in the 91st minute, though, dashing dreams of a famous derby victory for the visitors, and rescuing a point despite a poor, wasteful performance by Juve (22 shots, 5 on target).
Napoli 3-1 Cagliari
Dries Mertens celebrated his 30th birthday in style on Saturday, bagging a brace either side of halftime (2nd and 49th minutes), as Napoli topped Cagliari at home to go two points clear of Roma in the race for Italy’s second and final automatic place in the UEFA Champions League group stage.
Lorenzo Insigne made it 3-0 to the home side in the 67th minute, before Diego Farias grabbed a late consolation goal for Cagliari in the first minute of second-half stoppage time. Napoli are unbeaten in nine league games (just four points dropped in total) and have gained three points on Roma (who have lost twice and drawn once) during that run.
La Liga: Barcelona, Real Madrid win in routs, remain tied in title race.
By Andy Edwards
A roundup of Saturday’s action in Spain’s top flight…
Barcelona 4-1 Villarreal
Barca and Real Madrid remain tied, now on 84 points, as La Liga’s title race begins the final sprint to the finish (Barca have just two games remaining). Each of the title hopefuls won in convincing fashion on Saturday. First up, it was Luis Enrique’s Blaugrana.
First up for Barca was Neymar, who put the home side 1-0 up in the 21st minute. Cedric Bakambu pulled Villarreal level 11 minutes later, but Lionel Messi bagged 50th goal of the season, and what would turn out to be the winner, just before halftime.
Luis Suarez made it 3-0 halfway through the second half, and Messi bagged no. 51, from the penalty spot, with exquisite style, not long before full-time. The Barcelona freight train is moving full-steam ahead, hoping against all likelihood for a slip-up that’ll hand them their 25th league title.
Granada 0-4 Real Madrid
Madrid’s game in hand, which won’t be played until May 17 (away to 11th-place Celta Vigo), seems almost certain to decide the 2016-17 La Liga champions, as Barca hold onto the top spot by virtue of their better record in head-to-head matchups this season. On Saturday, there was absolutely nothing that 19th-place Granada, who were relegated last weekend, could do to slow down a side that omitted Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Luka Modric from the starting lineup. As it turns out, Madrid’s backups are also quite talented.
James Rodriguez put Los Blancos ahead in the 3rd minute and doubled the advantage just eight minutes later.
Another quick double, this one by Alvaro Morata, made it 3-0 and 4-0 in the 30th and 35th minutes, and that was that. Game over after barely half an hour.
Elsewhere in La Liga
Sporting Gijon 1-0 Las Palmas
Atletico Madrid 1-0 Eibar
Monday’s La Liga schedule
Leganes vs. Real Betis — 2:45 p.m. ET
Premier League wrap: Safety shakeup for Swansea, Hull, Palace.
By Nicholas Mendola
(Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images)
The Premier League day began with a thunderous Manchester City win over Crystal Palace, but started to nap through 45 minutes of four 10 a.m. ET matches.
My, did that change.
Swansea City 1-0 Everton — RECAP
What a day for Paul Clement and Wales’ Premier League mainstay, as Fernando Llorente scored early and Swansea pursued a second while defending doggedly in a massive win which moves it a point ahead of Hull City in the race to avoid the drop.
As for Everton, which was shutout for the third-straight match, it’s hard to fake desperation. That said, Kevin Mirallas, Romelu Lukaku, and Ross Barkley combined to miss or just miss on a half-dozen quality chances.
Hull City 0-2 Sunderland — RECAP
This seemed like the easiest part of Hull’s run-in, but the relegated Black Cats mustered goals from Billy Jones (?!?) and Jermain Defoe and shocked the KCOM Stadium and put the Tigers into 18th place after Swans’ win.
Manchester City 5-0 Crystal Palace — RECAP
Manchester City was fantastic, as Gabriel Jesus, David Silva, and Nicolas Otamendi all had shouts as Man of the Match. City moves level with Liverpool, four points ahead of fifth place Manchester United and nine ahead of sixth place Arsenal.
As for Crystal Palace…
Confident Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce on Friday: “Here, nothing happens in the middle. It doesn’t seem the ideal place for Guardiola’s brand of passing football. Yet, he says he knew all about it before he came. It’s no surprise because I was a fan of the Premier League as a teenager, as an adult, as a player and as a manager.”
Less confident Sam Allardyce on Saturday: “We simply lost control and Manchester City scored more and more. … My team was unrecognizable from what I’ve seen over the last two or three months – hopefully that is a one-off and the lads have got it out of our system ahead of the biggest game of the season next week at home to Hull. But [we were] very disappointing here.”
Bournemouth 2-2 Stoke City — RECAP
Adam Smith helped produce a pair of goals for the hosts, but an own goal and a Mame Biram Diouf marker made sure both teams got the points they needed to clinch another season in the Premier League.
Burnley 2-2 West Bromwich Albion — RECAP
Ashley Barnes set Sam Vokes up for a first half goal, then watched as Vokes rescued a point for Burnley after Salomon Rondon and Craig Dawson scored to put the visitors ahead. West Brom has one win in its last nine matches.
Leicester City 3-0 Watford — RECAP
Manager Craig Shakespeare has presided over 22 points won in Leicester’s last 10 matches, and goals from Riyad Mahrez, Marc Albrighton, and Wilfried Ndidi have the Foxes within distance of eighth place.
NCAAFB: College Football Power Rankings: Florida State, Alabama jockey for No. 1 post-spring.
By Dennis Dodd
Post Spring
Now that spring practice is over, let's take a look at the top 25 teams in college football.
Rk
|
Teams
|
Chg
|
Rcrd
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Despite the loss of Dalvin Cook, the Noles have enough depth to make up for the backfield production. Cam Akers, anyone? Deondre Francois should make the natural progression in his second season becoming the ACC's best quarterback. The defense is aching for the return of safety/leader Derwin James. This is the Noles turn in the annual battle with Clemson in what has become the nation's best conference. | 2 | 10-3 |
| 2 |  | The Tide have lost a staggering 41 players to the draft since 2013. Rebuild is not in the Saban vocabulary. That means there is little reason to doubt Bama can't "rebound" after losing a school-record tying 10 draftees last week (most since 1945). The Tide were a second away last year. Does a new OC (Brian Daboll) mean a new Jalen Hurts? | 1 | 14-1 |
| 3 |  | New offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson was the best name on the board after the Doughnut in the Desert vs. Clemson. Wilson has always been one of the best play callers in ball. J.T. Barrett will benefit huge in his last season. | 1 | 11-2 |
| 4 |  | The first instinct is to tamp down the USC hype, but this time it seems real -- and it's about time. It's been eight years since the Trojans won the league. Another miss this year would be the longest drought ever between the Trojans winning at least a share of a conference title. Unless Lamar Jackson goes historic, Sam Darnold is the Heisman favorite going in. The defense and receiving corps will need some work but fun fact -- no Washington on the schedule. | 1 | 10-3 |
| 5 |  | No one involved got enough credit for winning the Big Ten. The playoff letdown probably had something to do with it. According to this ranking, the Nits will be left out again. But what can't be denied is the program has turned around under James Franklin. Saquon Barkley will chase a Heisman. Trace McSorley will win hearts and souls. Penn State will compete for another Big Ten title. | 1 | 11-3 |
| 6 |  | Chris Petersen is very bad news for everyone around him. That would be Oregon, Washington State and Stanford in the Pac-12 North. Dare I say, Peterson has it going at a Don James level again in Montlake? Jake Browning returns after a late-season slump cost the Huskies. The secondary has to be retooled after a magnificent draft took three of its starters. | 1 | 12-2 |
| 7 |  | The quarterback situation remains up in the air. That's reason enough to make Florida State the ACC favorite. The Tigers were the first non-Alabama team to play for back-to-back national championships since Ohio State. They'll take a step back this year, though not a big one. The defense will sustain them, maybe even lead the way to an FSU win, but this isn't a playoff team or ACC champion. | 6 | 14-1 |
| 8 |  | Death, taxes and Stanford winning at least 10 games. Book it because the Cardinal have won at least that many six of the last seven years. Quarterback Keller Chryst rested a surgically repaired knee in the spring. Meanwhile, fifth-year senior Ryan Burns and redshirt freshman KJ Costello split reps. Watch for Bryce Love, who carved out 783 rushing yards playing with some guy named McCaffrey. | 3 | 10-3 |
| 9 |  | It's a coin flip in the Big 12. Sooners or Cowboys. Bob Stoops has replace his top two tailbacks and retool the receivers, but OU always seems to have plenty of both. Oklahoma has the nation's longest active winning streak (10 games) and Baker Mayfield. That's reason enough to consider it Big 12 champs (again) and a possible playoff team. | 5 | 11-2 |
| 10 |  | We'll assume Gus Malzahn was trying to make a statement allowing Jarrett Stidham to throw it all over the lot in the spring game (267 yards). This is the best the Tigers have been at the position since Nick Marshall. Kamryn Pettway -- college football's leading returning rusher -- makes it a 1-2 punch with Kerryon Johnson in the backfield. | 8 | 8-5 |
| 11 |  | If the Pokes are just average on defense, they can win the Big 12. The offense might be the best in the game with James Washington, Justice Hill and gunslinger Mason Rudolph. Mike Gundy has won at least 10 games in five of the last seven years. Get ready for more double digits. OU comes to Stillwater. What's not to like? | 3 | 10-3 |
| 12 |  | You want to know why Charlie Strong took all of 19 days off before jumping back into his next job? The Bulls are loaded, starting with quarterback Quinton Flowers. They begin the season as the odds-on favorite to grab the CFP's Group of Five golden ticket in a New Year's Six bowl. | 2 | 11-2 |
| 13 |  | Jim Harbaugh won the draft (No. 1 with 11 picks!). Jim Harbaugh charmed Italy. Jim Harbaugh caused the NCAA to rewrite its rules. Is it too much to ask for a Big Ten title in 2017? Probably. Wilton Speight must progress significantly as a passer. The running game has to get better. Jabrill Peppers and 10 other draftees are gone. It will be interesting to see how a third straight season of double-digit wins would be viewed without a Big Ten title. | 5 | 10-3 |
| 14 |  | I still haven't figured out what Bobby Petrino was trying to prove by having Lamar Jackson throw 32 times in the spring game. We get it, Bobby! He's really, really good. The defending Heisman Trophy winner could actually be guiding a better team in 2017. | 2 | 9-4 |
| 15 |  | The running game will be great because it always is. Paul Chryst goes into the fall with the usual depth at tailback. It's just a question of whether Bradrick Shaw (four carries in the spring game), Pitt transfer Chris James or Taiwan Deal are the man. More likely, they'll share. At age 34, two years removed from the NFL as a player and in his second year as an on-field coach, Jim Leonhard becomes the defensive coordinator. | 3 | 11-3 |
| 16 |  | How can you not root for Ed Orgeron? A Louisiana native son from humble roots who built himself back up as head-coaching material. This looks a lot like the team that got Les Miles fired. Example: quarterback issues. But tailback Derrius Guice and a usual athletic defense will put the Tigers in the mix. | 7 | 8-4 |
| 17 |  | Bill Snyder has returned from throat cancer no less determined than he was before the diagnosis. His Wildcats should be picked no lower than third in the Big 12. A program that (probably) has never had a five-star just plays harder than everybody else. Quarterback Jesse Ertz is the biggest weapon at the position since Collin Klein. | -- | 9-4 |
| 18 |  | The Dawgs are going on Year 13 without an SEC title. No one should be thinking that streak will end in 2017, but the program is trending up in Kirby Smart's second year. Georgia should be favored to win the SEC East. Jacob Eason must get better in his second year at starter. (A 60 percent completion rate would nice for starters.) Either way, he'll lean on a ground game benefitting from the return of Sony Michel and Nick Chubb. | 3 | 8-5 |
| 19 |  | The Broncos will have to outscore people to break through against the three-time defending Mountain West champs San Diego State. It can happen. (The teams haven't met since 2014.) Although the top four tacklers (and six of the top seven) are gone, Brett Rypien threw for almost 3,700 yards last season. | -- | 10-3 |
| 20 |  | Butch Jones isn't going anywhere, not with a $16 million buyout and not after consecutive nine-win seasons. And especially not have starting a churn of NFL prospects. Hopes may have dimmed after the loss of Josh Dobbs and Derek Barnett, but amazingly, 16 starters return. Consider the Vols the dark horse in the SEC East. | 2 | 9-4 |
| 21 |  | Until someone actually does it, the Gators are the team to beat in the SEC East. It starts with quarterback play where redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks should be an improvement. What amounted to an NFL secondary was picked apart by the NFL Draft. If Jim McElwain can find a QB to go with his playmakers, the Gators will be the chief challenger to Alabama. Not this year, though. | 5 | 9-4 |
| 22 |  | Strip away the flashy graphics, the national championship ring and a constant embracing of the grind, Tom Herman is a quarterbacks coach at his base. Not 100 percent satisfied with Shane Buechele and Sam Ehlinger, Herman sniffed around for free agent Malik Zaire. At this time, Zaire is still considering the Horns as a grad transfer. They should be a bowl team but how much better than that is the question. | 2 | 5-7 |
| 23 |  | It wasn't the offense that sagged in Mark Helfrich's final season. His defense got run out of the building on several occasions. Considering the Ducks' worst season in 25 years (4-8), it's hard to rank these guys. But Willie Taggart has brought lots of energy. That includes an immediate defensive upgrade at tackle with Clemson transfer Scott Pagano. There is much to be done. Oregon didn't have a player drafted for the first time since 1985. | 2 | 4-8 |
| 24 |  | Quarterback Skyler Howard as a try-hard guy who led a 10-win team and third place in the Big 12. The Mountaineers get an upgrade with Florida transfer Will Grier. This will be a typical Big 12 squad. Dana Holgorsen's crew will be able to sling it around and score plenty. The issue will be stopping the other team. | 1 | 10-3 |
| 25 |  | Sorry to do this to you again, Canes fan, but think slow and steady. That's Mark Richt's track right now. Nine starters return on defense including a rock-solid front seven. The spring revealed no definitive replacement for quarterback Brad Kaaya. There was no spring game due to Hard Rock Stadium renovations and precious few spring practices were open to the public. It's All About The (Who Are) U? | 1 | 9-4 |
NCAABKB: UK's John Calipari celebrates on hoverboard after snagging five-star recruit Knox.
By Alex Butler
John Calipari added to his already premier 2017 recruiting class Saturday by securing forward Kevin Knox.
The Kentucky basketball coach, known for his ability to recruit, celebrated the news by riding a hoverboard around in his house.
"#Mood," he wrote in the Twitter caption for a video he posted Saturday night.
Knox explained his decision in a blog for USA Today High School Sports.
"There were a lot of reasons why I chose Kentucky; first the coaching staff is phenomenal! They know how to get players to the league and get them outside of their comfort zone and push players to the limit," Knox wrote. "Then I'll be playing with a lot of great players every day in practice getting better against the best competition and, lastly, they know how to win.
"The program knows how to win and I'll have a lot of players around me that know how to win and want to learn how to win even more."
Since Calipari's arrival in 2009, the Wildcats have posted a 260-53 record. Kentucky has won a national title and appeared in four Final 4s. The Wildcats have been regular season champions five times and have also won the SEC tournament five times.
According to 247 Sports, the Wildcats are No. 1 in the class of 2017 recruiting rankings with six five-star prospects and two four-star prospects.
The five-star recruits include: SG Hamidou Diallo, SF Jarred Vanderbilt, PF P.J. Washington, C Nick Richards, PG Quade Green and Knox. It also has SG Jemarl Baker and CG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Knox is ranked the No. 10 player by 247 Sports and the No. 9 player in the ESPN 100 in the class of 2017.
He was also considering Duke, North Carolina, Florida State and Missouri.
"To my BBN family, let's get ready to rock! We're gonna win this national championship so get ready," Knox wrote for USA Today High School Sports.
The 6-foot-9-inch, 203-pound wing averaged 28.9 points and 11.3 rebounds per game last season at Tampa Catholic.
Another five-star recruit named Mohamed Bamba is still deciding where he will go next season. Bamba is considering Michigan, Duke, Texas and Kentucky.
The Kentucky basketball coach, known for his ability to recruit, celebrated the news by riding a hoverboard around in his house.
"#Mood," he wrote in the Twitter caption for a video he posted Saturday night.
Knox explained his decision in a blog for USA Today High School Sports.
"There were a lot of reasons why I chose Kentucky; first the coaching staff is phenomenal! They know how to get players to the league and get them outside of their comfort zone and push players to the limit," Knox wrote. "Then I'll be playing with a lot of great players every day in practice getting better against the best competition and, lastly, they know how to win.
"The program knows how to win and I'll have a lot of players around me that know how to win and want to learn how to win even more."
Since Calipari's arrival in 2009, the Wildcats have posted a 260-53 record. Kentucky has won a national title and appeared in four Final 4s. The Wildcats have been regular season champions five times and have also won the SEC tournament five times.
According to 247 Sports, the Wildcats are No. 1 in the class of 2017 recruiting rankings with six five-star prospects and two four-star prospects.
The five-star recruits include: SG Hamidou Diallo, SF Jarred Vanderbilt, PF P.J. Washington, C Nick Richards, PG Quade Green and Knox. It also has SG Jemarl Baker and CG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Knox is ranked the No. 10 player by 247 Sports and the No. 9 player in the ESPN 100 in the class of 2017.
He was also considering Duke, North Carolina, Florida State and Missouri.
"To my BBN family, let's get ready to rock! We're gonna win this national championship so get ready," Knox wrote for USA Today High School Sports.
The 6-foot-9-inch, 203-pound wing averaged 28.9 points and 11.3 rebounds per game last season at Tampa Catholic.
Another five-star recruit named Mohamed Bamba is still deciding where he will go next season. Bamba is considering Michigan, Duke, Texas and Kentucky.
Always Dreaming wins 2017 Kentucky Derby.
By CBS/AP
John Velazquez rides Always Dreaming to victory in the 143rd running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 6, 2017. (Photo/Morry Gash/AP)
Always Dreaming splashed through the slop to win the Kentucky Derby by 2 3/4 lengths on Saturday, giving trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey John Velazquez their second victories in the race but their first together.
Always Dreaming has now won three consecutive races this year after finishing second and third in his first two contests, according to CBS Sports.
Pletcher and Velazquez have teamed up often over the years and are the sport's leading money winners. On their own, they were a combined 2 for 63 coming into America's greatest race.
Together, they were unbeatable on a cool and rainy at Churchill Downs.
Sent off at 9/2 odds, Always Dreaming made it the fifth straight year that a Derby favorite has won, the longest such stretch since the 1970s.
Always Dreaming was followed across the finish line by a pair of longshots: 33-1 Lookin At Lee and 40-1 Battle of Midway. Always Dreaming ran 1 1/4 miles in 2:03.59 and paid $11.40, $7.20 and $5.80.
Lookin At Lee returned $26.60 and $18.20, while Battle of Midway was another five lengths back in third and paid $20.80 to show.
Pletcher won his first Derby in 2010 with Super Saver; Velazquez won the following year with Animal Kingdom.
Going into his 17th Derby, Pletcher saddled the post-time favorite for the first time. Much had been made of his 1 for 45 Derby record. Altogether, he's had 48 runners, tying mentor D. Wayne Lukas for the most in Derby history.
"It's becoming a little more respectable now," Pletcher said.
Velazquez used his colt's speed out of the gate to get good position early in a chaotic start that saw several horses, including Classic Empire, get sandwiched. He steered Always Dreaming into an ideal trip behind pacesetter State of Honor, with mud flying in all directions on a track that resembled creamy peanut butter.
On the final turn, Always Dreaming took command as State of Honor faded. Despite chasing a quick early pace, Always Dreaming was still full of run. No other horses threatened him down the stretch and Velazquez furiously pumped his right arm as they crossed the finish line.
Always Dreaming earned his fourth straight victory, proving that his five-length win in the Florida Derby was no fluke.
By winning the Derby, he accomplished something his sire Bodemeister couldn't do. Bodemeister finished second in the 2012 race.
Classic Empire finished fourth, followed by Practical Joke, Tapwrit, Gunnevera, McCraken, Gormley and Irish War Cry. Hence was 11th, followed by Untrapped, Girvin, one-eyed Patch, J Boys Echo, Sonneteer, Fast And Accurate, Irap, and State of Honor.
Pletcher also trains Tapwrit and Patch.
Thunder Snow, the Dubai-based entry, didn't finish. He broke poorly out of the starting gate and began bucking. He was caught by the outrider and he walked back to the barn on his own.
Earlier in the day, Limousine Liberal survived a sudden downpour and a stretch scramble to win the $500,000 Churchill Downs Sprint.
It was up for grabs in the final furlong with several horses still having a shot. The 5-year-old gelding trained by Ben Colebrook pulled it out by a head over Awesome Slew for a 13-1 upset as the skies opened up again. Limousine Liberal paid $28.40 to win.
Jose Ortiz was aboard for his second stakes win of the day. Earlier, he rode Paulassilverlining to victory in the Humana Distaff.
Trainer Chad Brown won a second stakes Saturday on the Kentucky Derby undercard when Roca Rojo prevailed by a head in the $300,000 Distaff Turf Mile.
The race ended with a head-bobbing finish as the pacesetting Believe in Bertie and Roca Rojo hit the wire together. The photo awarded the victory to 6-5 favorite Roca Rojo, her sixth in eight starts.
A 5-year-old with international experience, Roca Rojo won her first two races in her native Ireland before joining Brown's U.S. stable last year. Florent Geroux guided her over the mile in 1:37.53 on a rain-softened turf course. Roca Rojo paid $4.60 to win.
The sun broke through the clouds early in the afternoon Saturday after a gloomy morning, allowing fans to discard their rain gear and show off their best Derby outfits.
But the rain returned late in the afternoon, prompting many fans to seek whatever cover they could find at Churchill Downs. Others sat through the rain, looking over soaked programs to consider any final bets leading up to the Kentucky Derby.
Kentucky Derby 2017 results
1. Always Dreaming, 9/2
2. Lookin at Lee, 33-1
3. Battle of Midway, 40-1
4. Classic Empire, 6-1
5. Practical Joke, 27-1
6. Tapwrit, 27-1
7. Gunnevera, 10-1
8. McCracken, 6-1
9. Gormley, 22-1
10. Irish War Cry, 9/2
11. Hence, 15-1
12. Untrapped, 58-1
13. Girvin, 22-1
14. Patch, 14-1
15. J Boys Echo, 47-1
16. Sonneteer, 39-1
17. Fast and Accurate, 41-1
18. Irap, 41-1
19. State of Honor, 54-1
20. Thunder Snow, 16-1
Finally, boxing delivers and we get Alvarez-Golovkin ... let's just hope it's not too late.
By Kevin Iole
Canelo Alvarez (R) punches Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. during fight on Saturday. (Photo/Getty)
Boxing is a great and noble sport which has long been plagued by problems, not the least of which is frequently horrible promoting and promoters who ignore the wishes of their customers.
When done well, though, as was the case on April 29 in London when more than 90,000 enthusiastic fans squeezed into Wembley Stadium to cheer heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on to a pulsating 11th-round stoppage of ex-champion Wladimir Klitschko, it can be breathtakingly good.
The good news, though, is that things should get significantly better.
Joshua-Klitschko was just one of the many excellent matches put on so far in 2017 – Keith Thurman-Danny Garcia, Gennady Golovkin-Daniel Jacobs and Shawn Porter-Andre Berto also come to mind – and the trend continued on Saturday after Canelo Alvarez blew out a largely disinterested Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. before a T-Mobile Arena-record crowd of 20,510.
After Alvarez’s unanimous decision victory, in which he swept all 12 rounds on all three judges’ cards, the announcement that boxing fans wanted to hear for more than a year was dramatically made in the arena.
Alvarez will fight Golovkin for the IBF, WBA and WBC middleweight belts in September, as Alvarez promoter Oscar De La Hoya finally fulfilled the promise he made in 2015.
“Boxing was in a hiatus, but with these fights tonight, fights coming in the future, boxing is back, bigger and better than ever,” De La Hoya said. “You have ups and downs in any sports, basketball, all of them. Boxing has had its ups and downs, but it’s a roller-coaster sport.”
It’s the kind of match that has the potential to uplift the sport. Joshua and Klitschko captured the world’s imagination with an edge-of-the-seat battle in which the young champion and the aging ex-king poured their hearts out in search of victory.
Alvarez-Golovkin figures to promise more of the same.
Hopefully, those promoters who far too often make shows filled with mismatches, and who keep their stars away from the best opposition for as long as possible in order to milk them before taking a risk, catch on to what is happening.
Give the customers what they want and they’ll respond in a big-time way.
Saturday’s bout was a microcosm of what boxing at its best can be. Alvarez and Chavez Jr. are long-time rivals. Chavez’s father, Julio Sr., is the patron saint of boxing in Mexico and one of its most revered figures.
Alvarez has largely assumed that mantle, as Chavez Jr. turned many of his countrymen off by acting like the rich kid he grew up as, and rarely produced at a level his talent suggests he could. He became so unreliable at making weight that promoters put a $1 million-per-pound penalty clause into his contract for Saturday’s fight with Alvarez.
He made the weight easily, coming in a half-pound under the limit on Friday at 164, but he gave a feeble effort, and said he was drained.
His legendary father was urging him to fight, animatedly jumping out of his seat and shadowboxing several times But it was to no avail, as Chavez didn’t perform in an effort that typifies his desultory career.
“I wanted to box, but he went to the ropes and I just needed to throw more punches,” Chavez Jr. said. “I would’ve attacked more but I would’ve been countered by his punches. [Trainer] Nacho [Beristain] told me to do that, but the strategy didn’t work. The speed and the distance was the key.
“I didn’t feel that much power because I felt dwindled. I couldn’t throw as many punches as I wanted. My father kept telling me to throw more punches from the ringside.”
The crowd, in town to cap the Cinco de Mayo Weekend celebration with a fight between the two Mexican icons, was loud and passionate from start to finish.
Alvarez did what a pro does: He varied his attack, used his left as well as his right and went upstairs as well as to the body. He didn’t have much opposition, given that Chavez seemed not to care much, but the always professional Alvarez seemed to take a step ahead and was better than he was in either of his 2016 bouts, wins over Amir Khan and Liam Smith.
Finally, after nearly two years of begging for it, the fight that can define each man’s career is at hand.
Golovkin-Alvarez – or is it Alvarez-Golovkin – has the potential to turn both of them from stars into icons.
“I expect the fight to be explosive,” Alvarez said.
Their styles nearly guarantee that, which is why it was so painful to watch both men going through opponents who weren’t close to their equals without fighting each other lately.
But the match figures to guarantee 2017 will be a banner year for the sport. It’s one of the top sports in many countries in the world but nowhere near that in the U.S. But these kinds of fights are the type that made many of us boxing fans in the first place.
Those who grew up in the 70s can’t forget the three Ali-Frazier matches. The Hagler-Hearns, Duran-Leonard and Leonard-Hagler bouts made the ’80s one of the sport’s finest decades.
Tyson-Holyfield I, Riddick Bowe-Holyfield I were among the great matches of the 90s.
Those bouts made fans for life, and there will be those whose first major fight will be Golovkin-Alvarez, and they’ll talk about it for years to come.
The fight is being dubbed, “Bombs Away,” which is extremely appropriate.
There was another choice that would have worked, and it came to mind Saturday when the announcement that the fight was made.
Finally.
On This Date in Sports History: Today is Friday, May 08, 2017.
emoriesofhistory.com
1866 - Australian Rules Football was created.
1878 - Paul Hines made baseball's first unassisted triple play.
1909 - Chief Bender (Philadelphia Athletics) hit two inside the park home runs against Boston.
1915 - H.P. Whitney's Regret became the first filly to win the Kentucky Derby.
1935 - Ernie Lombardi (Cincinnati Reds) hit four doubles on consecutive at-bats against four different Philadelphia pitchers.
1954 - Parry O'Brien became the first to toss a shot put over 60 feet. O'Brien achieved a distance of 60 feet 5 1/4 inches.
1961 - New Yorkers selected a new name for their new National League baseball franchise. They chose the Mets.
1966 - Frank Robinson (Baltimore Orioles) became the first player to hit a ball completely out of Cleveland's Memorial Stadium.
1966 - The St. Louis Cardinals played their last game at Busch Stadium. They lost to San Francisco 10-5.
1967 - Muhammad Ali was indicted for refusing induction in U.S. Army.
1970 - The New York Knicks won their first NBA title when they defeated Los Angeles in Game 7 of the Finals.
1971 - Joe Frazier defeated Muhammad Ali at New York's Madison Square Garden. It was Ali's first defeat of his pro career.
1973 - In Cincinnati, Ralph Miller, the last of the 19th century baseball players, died at the age of 100.
1984 - Kirby Puckett (Minnesota Twins) debuted with four singles.
1984 - The Soviet Union announced that they would not participate in the 1984 Summer Olympics Games in Los Angeles.
1984 - The Chicago White Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-6 in 25 innings. The game was actually completed on May 9.
1988 - Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) completed the first round the playoffs with 226 points in five games against Cleveland.
1993 - Lennox Lewis defended his WBC heavyweight title for the first time. He was in a unanimous 12-round decision over Tony Tucker.
1995 - Mark Messier (New York Rangers) became the third player to reach 100 playoff goals.
1999 - Ken Griffey Jr. (Seattle Mariners) hit his 361st home run. The feat tied him for 45th place on the all-time home run list with Joe DiMaggio.
2000 - Mark McGwire (St. Louis) hit his 534 home run. He tied Jimmie Foxx for ninth place on the all-time home run list.
2000 - Jason and Jeremy Giambi (Oakland) became the 10th set of brothers to hit home runs in the same game.
2012 - Josh Hamilton (Texas Rangers) became the 16th major league baseball player to hit four home runs in one game.
1878 - Paul Hines made baseball's first unassisted triple play.
1909 - Chief Bender (Philadelphia Athletics) hit two inside the park home runs against Boston.
1915 - H.P. Whitney's Regret became the first filly to win the Kentucky Derby.
1935 - Ernie Lombardi (Cincinnati Reds) hit four doubles on consecutive at-bats against four different Philadelphia pitchers.
1954 - Parry O'Brien became the first to toss a shot put over 60 feet. O'Brien achieved a distance of 60 feet 5 1/4 inches.
1961 - New Yorkers selected a new name for their new National League baseball franchise. They chose the Mets.
1966 - Frank Robinson (Baltimore Orioles) became the first player to hit a ball completely out of Cleveland's Memorial Stadium.
1966 - The St. Louis Cardinals played their last game at Busch Stadium. They lost to San Francisco 10-5.
1967 - Muhammad Ali was indicted for refusing induction in U.S. Army.
1970 - The New York Knicks won their first NBA title when they defeated Los Angeles in Game 7 of the Finals.
1971 - Joe Frazier defeated Muhammad Ali at New York's Madison Square Garden. It was Ali's first defeat of his pro career.
1973 - In Cincinnati, Ralph Miller, the last of the 19th century baseball players, died at the age of 100.
1984 - Kirby Puckett (Minnesota Twins) debuted with four singles.
1984 - The Soviet Union announced that they would not participate in the 1984 Summer Olympics Games in Los Angeles.
1984 - The Chicago White Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-6 in 25 innings. The game was actually completed on May 9.
1988 - Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) completed the first round the playoffs with 226 points in five games against Cleveland.
1993 - Lennox Lewis defended his WBC heavyweight title for the first time. He was in a unanimous 12-round decision over Tony Tucker.
1995 - Mark Messier (New York Rangers) became the third player to reach 100 playoff goals.
1999 - Ken Griffey Jr. (Seattle Mariners) hit his 361st home run. The feat tied him for 45th place on the all-time home run list with Joe DiMaggio.
2000 - Mark McGwire (St. Louis) hit his 534 home run. He tied Jimmie Foxx for ninth place on the all-time home run list.
2000 - Jason and Jeremy Giambi (Oakland) became the 10th set of brothers to hit home runs in the same game.
2012 - Josh Hamilton (Texas Rangers) became the 16th major league baseball player to hit four home runs in one game.
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