Thursday, December 30, 2010

2010-2011 College Football Bowl Game Gifts/Swag

2010-2011 College Football Bowlgames Gifts

New Mexico Bowl (BYU vs. UTEP)
Gift Suite, Oakley Fuel Cell Sunglasses, Oakley beanie, New Era cap, Oakley Panel backpack, pen with box, Christmas ornament

uDrove Humanitarian (Northern Illinois vs Fresno State)
Sony gift suite, New Era Skull cap, waterproof breathable parka, winter gloves, hand warmers, Ogio Fugitive backpack, Big Game souvenier football

R+L Carriers New Orleans (Ohio vs Troy)
Apple iPod Touch, Balfour ring

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s St. Petersburg (Louisville vs. Southern Mississippi)
Microsoft XBOX 360 4GB, Oakley Fuel Cell sunglasses, Oakley Panel backpack, Mini-helmet

MAACO Las Vegas (Utah vs. Boise State)
Gift Suite

S.D. County Credit Union Poinsettia (San Diego State vs. Navy)
Best Buy gift card, Fossil watch, hooded sweatshirt, cap

Sheraton Hawaii (Hawaii vs. Tulsa)
Kicker EB141 earbuds, Oakley Fuel Cell sunglasses, Pro Athletics custom shorts, commemorative t-shirt, golf shirt, visor, Oakley Surf backpack, beach towels, calendar

Little Caesars (Florida International vs Toledo)
Gift suite, Timely Watch Co., leather duffle bag, commemorative football

AdvoCare V100 Independence (Georgia Tech vs. Air Force)
Gift suite, Timely Watch Co., New Era hat, souvenir hat,

Champs Sports (West Virginia vs North Carolina State)
$420 shopping free at local Best Buy*, Timely Watch Co.

Insight Bowl (Missouri vs Iowa)
Sony Gift Suite, Tourneau watch, cap, Ogio Cooper backpack

Military Bowl Presented By Northrop Grumman (Maryland vs. East Carolina)
Sony Dash, Altec Lansing inMotion portable speaker, Beanie, cap, duffel bag, tailgate blanket

Texas Bowl (Illinois vs Baylor)
Apple iPod Touch, Fossil watch, t-shirt, backpack, belt buckle

Valero Alamo (Arizona vs Oklahoma State)
Microsoft XBOX 360 with Kinect, $20 GameStop gift card, Kicker 541 headphones, Apple iPod Shuffle

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces (Army vs. SMU)
Sony Gift Suite, Timely Watch Co., Ogio All Terrain duffel bag, commemorative football

New Era Pinstripe (Kansas St. vs. Syracuse)
would not disclose1

Franklin American Mortgage Music City (North Carolina vs Tennessee)
Skullcandy headphones, Apple iPod Shuffle, iTunes gift card, Fossil watch, Majestic fleece, Port & Co. long sleeve t-shirt, Ogio Newt backpack

Bridgepoint Education Holiday (Washington vs Nebraska)
Best Buy gift card, Fossil watch, hooded sweatshirt, cap

Meineke Car Care (Clemson vs South Florida)
would not disclose2

Hyundai Sun (Miami (FL) vs Notre Dame)
Gift Suite, Timely Watch Co., Majestic fleece pullover, Top of the World Cap, Ogio Politan backpack, Helen of Troy hair dryer, souvenir coin

AutoZone Liberty (UCF vs. Georgia)
Apple iPod Nano 6th generation 8 GB, Fossil watch, Nike training shoes, Nike sport sandals, Nike sunglasses, Nike Air Jordan backpack, commemorative football

Chick-fil-A (Florida State vs South Carolina)
$250 Best Buy gift card, Fossil watch, Russell Athletic knit cap, Russell Athletic travel bag, commemorative football, Chick-fil-A gift card

TicketCity (Northwestern vs Texas Tech)
Gift suite, Timely Watch Co.

Outback (Florida vs Penn State)
$150 Best Buy gift card, Fossil watch, cap, Jostens ring, $25 Outback Steakhouse gift certificate

Capital One (Alabama vs Michigan State)
$420 shopping spree at local Best Buy*, Timely Watch Co.

Gator Bowl (Mississippi State vs Michigan)
Fossil watch, Oakley sunglasses, Leather duffle bag, Jostens ring, commemorative football

Rose Bowl Game presented by VIZIO (Wisconsin vs TCU)
Gift suite, Fossil watch, Oakley cap, Oakley Bugeye backpack

Tostitos Fiesta (Oklahoma vs UConn)
Gift suite, Fossil watch, cap, Ogio Cooper backpack

Discover Orange (Stanford vs Virginia Tech)
Gift suite, Tourneau watch, New Era cap

Allstate Sugar (Ohio State vs Arkansas)
Sleek Audio custom earphones, gift suite, Reactor Meltdown watch, New Era cap

GoDaddy.com (Middle Tennessee vs Miami (OH))
Nikon S70 touchscreen camera package,  Timely Watch Co., leather luggage bag, commemorative football

AT&T Cotton (Texas A&M vs. LSU)
would not disclose3

BBVA Compass Bowl (Pittsburgh vs Kentucky)
Oakley Blade II watch, Oakley Fuel Cell sunglasses, Oakley Surf backpack, Big Game souvenir football

Kraft Fight Hunger (Boston College vs. Nevada)
Sony noise-canceling headphones, Fossil watch, cap, Ogio backpack, $100 Levi’s gift certificate

Tostitos BCS National Championship Game (Auburn vs Oregon)
Gift Suite, Fossil watch, cap, Ogio Cooper backpack

* To be spent during team’s official store visit. Balance not used that day will be forfeited
1- New bowl game, no prior gift list
2 – gift list last year included a choice of Bose gift packages or iPod Touch, speakers and a $20 gift card, Fossil Watch, Ogio duffel bag, commemorative Richard Petty Driving Experience photo
3- Gifts last year included a 32-inch Vizio LCD HDTV and a watch
Gift suites are set up as private events in which game participants and often bowl VIPs, are given an order form and allowed to select a gift or gifts up to a value predetermined by each specific bowl, not to exceed the NCAA limit of  $500 per person

[Sox and Dawgs]

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

South Panola earns National Championship - David Lighty's 29 points, Jared Sullinger's 16 boards propel Ohio State




COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- There was no complicated reason why David Lighty was so hot.
He was just open.
Lighty scored 13 of No. 2 Ohio State's first 16 points and sat out most of the second half while finishing with 29 points to lead the Buckeyes past UNC Asheville 96-49 on Tuesday night.
"I was knocking them down," he said. "I'm not sure what (defense) they really started in but I was wide open at the beginning of the game. I just started feeling good after I hit the first one."
Lighty, who came in averaging 11.6 points, had 23 at halftime. He left with 10:23 left - one point shy of his career high - and did not return.
"We made some shots early and Dave was rolling," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. "Honestly, I think we just took advantage of what they were giving us."
William Buford added 14 points, Deshaun Thomas 13 and Jared Sullinger added nine points and 16 rebounds for the Buckeyes (11-0).
J.D. Primm had 15 points, D.J. Cunningham 13 and Chris Stephenson 11 for the Bulldogs (5-6).
Lighty hadn't hit double figures in his past four games but had that covered in the opening 2:45.
"I honestly felt Lighty was their best player," Asheville coach Ed Biedenbach said. "We elected to try to point him in our zone. What we did was we turned him loose to show that he was one of the best players around."
He almost outscored the Bulldogs in the opening half by himself. He hit 9 of 12 shots from the field including 5 of 7 3-pointers as the Buckeyes led 48-24.
Down 26 points in the opening half, the Bulldogs scored 10 of the first 12 points in the second half to pull to 50-34, but then Lighty made a 3 and the Buckeyes were off and running again.
Asheville fell to 0-12 against Big Ten teams. The Bulldogs have played eight of their 11 games on the road, including an 80-69 loss at No. 24 North Carolina on Nov. 23 and an 87-72 defeat at No. 16 Georgetown on Nov. 27.
Over its past four games, Ohio State has had three different players score at least 29 points. First Sullinger set an Ohio State freshman record when he had 40 points against IUPUI, then two games later Jon Diebler tied the school record with nine 3-pointers in scoring 29. And now Lighty.
"That's how our season's been going so far," Lighty said. "There's not one person you can key on."
Biedenbach said he didn't have much choice but to lay off Lighty.
"It's an old cliche of coaches, which I don't particularly like, but you have to pick your poison," he said. "They're that good. You can't just go out there and play them straight up when you're UNC Asheville and expect to win the game."
The 23-year-old Lighty is the Buckeyes' elder statesman. He came in with the "Thad Five" in the fall of 2006, a recruiting class that included three players (Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr. and Daequan Cook) who would be taken in the first round of the NBA draft after their freshman season.
He missed most of the 2008-9 season with a broken bone in his foot, had his finest season a year ago and then re-broke a bone in the same foot this past spring, requiring more rehab.
The fifth-year senior from Cleveland was making his 99th start. He's played at Ohio State with six first-round draft picks, played in the 2007 NCAA title game and his teams have won 106 games in which he's played - just five off the school mark.
Lighty's previous career high came 364 days earlier on Dec. 22, 2009, against Cleveland State.
"Maybe I'm happy to go home," he said with a wide grin. "I'm not sure what it is. But I'm just happy we got a win and we almost put 40 minutes together."
Against Asheville, he set career highs for field goals made (11), 3-pointers made (seven) and attempted (10) and he matched his most field goals attempted (16).
"They opened in a triangle-and-two (against Sullinger)," Matta said. "(Our guys) found him. He was the open guy. He kind of got rolling there. He did a good job of driving it. Once again, we did a good job of moving the basketball tonight, finding open guys."
Asheville's John Nwannunu suffered an injury in the final minutes and was helped to the dressing room.




South Panola earns National Championship

The biggest challenge for the South Panola High football team in Batesville, Miss., came the past two weekends.
When it wasn’t playing.
South Panola wrapped up its undefeated 15-0 season on Dec. 3 with an overpowering 287 victory over Meridian High in the Mississippi Class 6A state final.
It then had to wait and watch other states – the traditional power states where the national champion usually comes from – finished up their postseasons, wondering if a school there would be impressive enough to knock South Panola off the top spot in the RivalsHigh Top 100 rankings.
“We were nervous,” South Panola coach Lance Pogue said. “We were hoping that finishing our season two weeks ago wouldn’t work against us.”
It didn’t.
South Panola held off its four biggest challengers – Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas, Lakewood (Ohio) St. Edward, Concord (Calif.) De La Salle and Rock Hill (S.C.) Northwestern – to win its first national championship. Last year’s national champion, Ramsey (N.J.) Don Bosco Prep, finished sixth.
“We are very excited,” Pogue said. “It was my goal when I came here in 2007 to take this program to the national level and win a national title. It is very rewarding for the team and the town.”
South Panola is no stranger to success inside its own borders – winning a state title in eight of the past 10 seasons. And it has been on the national scene for a while, finishing No. 28 in 2008 before improving to No. 11 last season.
“Obviously we had high hopes entering this season,” Pogue said. “We brought back 19 starters from last year’s state championship team and a lot of those kids were very talented.”
The team, which took over the top spot on Aug. 30, was never really challenged on the field, outscoring its opponents 687-117.
Its closest game – a 24-13 victory over Olive Branch in the state quarterfinals, marked the only time it didn’t win by three touchdowns or more.
“We beat them pretty good earlier in the season, but we knew the second time around it would be more difficult,” Pogue said. “That is a rivalry game for us and those guys have their pride. Our kids had a hard time getting energized for the game and it nearly cost us.”
Running back Qyen Griffin led the team with 2,670 yards and 37 TDs. He averaged over 9 yards per carry. But he wasn’t the only star.
Nickolas Brassell is the No. 1 ranked college prospect in the state and shined on both sides of the ball as a wide receiver, safety and the team’s primary return man. Playmaker Kendrick Market was the Tigers’ best cornerback and a change-of-pace quarterback who could come in to spark the offense when needed.
And then there’s the defense, which gave up more than 13 points in a game only once all season – and that came against Georgia Class AAAA runner-up Colquitt County with the majority of those points coming after South Panola took a 30-7 lead in the first quarter and pulled its starters.
It is the first national championship on any level won by the state of Mississippi – something that’s not lost on Pogue.
“Sometimes we get overlooked in high school football because we aren’t Florida, Texas or California,” he said. “A lot of that has to do with population and we can’t control that. They have a lot of good teams, but they are going to because of size, but percentage wise we are right there with the best of them.”

Team City State Record Pvs.
1 South Panola Batesville MS 15-0 1
National Champion. Mississippi Class 6A State Champion: The Tigers ascended to the top of the rankings at the end of August and were able to hold off a late charge from several teams from power states to claim the title.
2 St. Thomas Aquinas Ft Lauderdale FL 15-0 3
Florida Class 5A State Champion: The Raiders could give any team in the country fits with its physical defense and balanced offense. It cleaned house in its class.
3 St. Edward Lakewood OH 15-0 2
Ohio Division I State Champion: The Eagles played the most difficult schedule in the nation and navigated it without a blemish.

4 De La Salle Concord CA 14-0 12
California Open Division Champion: The Spartans left no doubt as to which team was the best in California this year, rolling Pac-5 champion Servite in the Open Division Bowl. A win over Nevada champion Bishop Gorman ends the year as the best out-of-state win.
5 Northwestern Rock Hill SC 15-0 4
South Carolina Class 4A Division II State Champions: National Player of the Year favorite Justin Worley led the Trojans to a state title beating Greenwood, 42-10. Worley threw for over 5,000 yards and 64 touchdowns this year, beating five ranked teams in the process.
6 Don Bosco Prep Ramsey NJ 12-0 8
New Jersey Non-Public Group IV State Champion: A season after winning a national championship, Don Bosco will end in the Top 10. The Iron Men downed rival Bergen Catholic, 37-27 for the state crown.
7 Pearland Pearland TX 16-0 37
Texas Class 5A Division I State Champion: Not enough respect was paid to Pearland (which was the No. 44 team in the Texas preseason rankings) until it had to beat Katy and Trinity to win the state title. A fantastic run to the school's first state title.
8 Trinity Euless TX 15-1 5
Trinity fought hard and was on the cusp of a claim for a national title. The team was so good that Pearland only made two mistakes in the Texas 5ADI finals and it almost cost it the game. Trinity was by-far best one-loss team in the country.
9 Butler Matthews NC 16-0 7
North Carolina Class 4AA State Champion: One of the best years in Butler history ended with a state title. With the number and quality of returning juniors and sophomores, there could be two more state titles very soon.
10 Bingham South Jordan UT 13-0 14
Utah Class 5A State Champion: The Miners rolled through Utah this season. With a team loaded with Division I talent, this Bingham squad could have played with any team in any state.
11 Wheaton Warrenville South Wheaton IL 14-0 10
Illinois Class 7A State Champion: The Tigers finish the year as the top team in Illinois, defeating Lake Zurich in the title game.
12 Daphne Daphne AL 15-0 16
Alabama Class 6A State Champion: Under the radar for much of the season, Daphne made an impressive run through the state tournament and ended with a 7-6 win over Hoover.
13 Hamilton Chandler AZ 15-0 15
Arizona Class 5A Division I State Champion: The Huskies began and ended the season as the top team in Arizona.
14 Miami Central Miami FL 15-1 21
Florida Class 6A State Champion: The Rockets used an amazing championship performance by Devonta Freeman to win the first state title in Central history. The team ends the year No. 2 in Florida.
15 Hoover Hoover AL 14-1 18
Hoover played a fantastic schedule and proved to be one of the elite programs in the nation. A solid season ended with a 7-6 loss in the Alabama Class 6A state finals.
16 Mullen Denver CO 14-0 19
Colorado Class 5A State Champion: The Mustangs had one of the best defenses in the nation and it flexed its muscles all year, only allowing 89 total points against it.
17 Acadiana Lafayette LA 10-5* 22
Louisiana Class 5A State Champion: The Wreckin' Rams were one of the hottest teams in the country come December. It had to forfeit four games so the 10-5 record is decieving; it should be 13-1.
18 Phoebus Hampton VA 15-0 20
Virginia Division V State Champion: The Phantoms used a dominating defense to take home another state title. The team only allowed 80 points all season.
19 Coppell Coppell TX 13-1 23
The Cowboys had one of the best teams in the country and nearly knocked off Trinity in what may be one of the best high school football games of all time.
20 West Monroe West Monroe LA 14-1 24
The Rebels came up just short against Acadiana in the state final, losing 21-14. The season was still a good one and the team proved to be a Top 25 team.
21 Dr. Phillips Orlando FL 14-1 6
One of the most talented teams in Florida made it to the state finals before falling to Miami Central. It was still a Top 25 season for the Panthers.
22 Meridian Meridian MS 14-1 34
One of the better defenses in the country was worn down by one of the best teams in the country. Meridian lost to South Panola in the Mississippi Class 6A state final.
23 Jefferson Tampa FL 14-0 35
Florida Class 3A State Champion: The Dragons high-flying pass offense set plenty of Florida state records on its way to the title and a Top 25 national ranking.
24 Katy Katy TX 13-1 45
Katy was oh-so-close in its loss to Pearland in the Region 3 final. With Pearland winning the state title, it boosts the stock of Katy back into the Top 25 nationally.
25 Harrison Farmington Hills MI 13-0 26
Michigan Division 2 State Champion: Harrison was a latecomer onto the scene but made a solid run through the playoffs, downing Lowell in the state final, 38-28. And to settle any debate, it has a win over the Division I state winner, Lake Orion, on its resume as well.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Dale Earnhardt Jr. most popular driver - 540 Dunk by a 5'9 kid - Speculation increases about Mangini’s future in Cleveland

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.







Dale Earnhardt Jr. most popular driver
LAS VEGAS -- Despite struggles on the track, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won NASCAR's most popular driver award for the eighth straight year.
The award was presented to the Hendrick Motorsports driver during Thursday's National Motorsports Press Association Myers Brothers luncheon at the Bellagio.
Earnhardt is closing in on the record 10 straight most popular driver awards won by Bill Elliott from 1991 to 2000. Elliott is the all-time winner of the award with 16, followed by Richard Petty with 10, Earnhardt with eight and Bobby Allison with seven.
Earnhardt won despite finishing 21st in points and missing the Chase for the second straight year and third time in four seasons. He is in the midst of a 93-race losing streak dating back to Michigan in 2008.
Team owner Rick Hendrick announced last week that he was moving Earnhardt into the same shop with five-time defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and pairing him with Jeff Gordon crew chief Steve Letarte.
Gordon will now share a shop with Mark Martin and have Alan Gustafson as his crew chief.
Johnson's crew chief, Chad Knaus, said it's "hard to say how it's going to affect us."
He also said change is good and he's "definitely looking forward to having Dale as a part of the 48-88 shop."
"It's definitely got some potential," Knaus said.



Speculation increases about Mangini’s future in Cleveland
Don’t tell Browns coach Eric Mangini that December games are meaningless for losing teams.
Last year, a four-game winning streak to close the season saved Mangini’s job. This season, back-to-back losses to the Bills and Bengals have folks in Cleveland believing that Mangini could be on his way out.
Marla Ridnour of the Akron Beacon-Journal believes that “not even a split” of the Browns’ final two games would save Mangini’s job. Dennis Manoloff of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer also believes the entire coaching staff will be gone unless the Browns win the last two games. (The same paper said last week Mangini needed to win two of their final three games for him to stay.)
Rookie quarterback Colt McCoy partially blamed the team’s effort for the loss.
“It’s our division — you’ve got to get hyped up. I thought early on we lacked a little bit of energy — we lacked a little bit of intensity,” McCoy said.
The Browns gave up 188 yards rushing, and only had one rushing first down on offense. Essentially, the Browns looked like the opposite of what we’ve come to expect from a team that has mostly played better than their 5-9 record indicates.
Once again, the team’s December play may decide Mangini’s January fate.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Darrell Hazell hired at Kent St. - Buckeyes Land Important Commitment -

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel was so busy recruiting this month, he hadn’t even had time to properly scout Arkansas when he met with the media this past Monday for the team’s Sugar Bowl media day.
All that hard work paid off for Tressel and his coaching staff on Friday, as the Buckeyes landed a much-needed commitment from 4-star linebacker Ryan Shazier.
The Plantation, Fla. native had committed to play for the hometown Gators back in June, but the sudden retirement of Florida coach Urban Meyer opened the door for Shazier to look at making a switch.
“To me it's kind of crazy because I thought everything was okay there and everything was fine,” Shazier told GaitorBait.net earlier this week.
“I was committed and I had everything planned out. Everything was set. Then out of nowhere it's not okay.”
When Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp took the job in Gainesville, he and area recruiter Zach Azzanni popped in to see Shazier at his high school. He also received a visit from LSU coach Les Miles and his staff, but it was Tressel who made the biggest impression.
In town to visit Shazier’s teammate Jeremy Cash, a safety who was already committed to play for the Buckeyes, Tressel made it very clear how important Shazier could be for the Buckeyes and how well he might fit in at Ohio State.
Shazier eventually visited Columbus with his dad this week and it didn’t take long for him to pull the trigger, officially making the switch Friday evening. He will join his high school teammate Cash as an early enrollee in January, but to end the story there doesn’t do justice to just how big this commitment was for the Buckeyes.
One of the top-rated outside linebackers in the country, Shazier would have been a big get for anyone. The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder was rated as the No. 4 outside linebacker by ESPN, No. 8 by Scout.com and No. 12 by Rivals.com.
As the 19th player in Ohio State’s class of 2011, Shazier is hardly a building-block, but the Under Armour All-American fills a critical need for the Buckeyes. Although the focus of the class is clearly to build up the offensive and defensive lines, the star of the class is sure to be quarterback Braxton Miller.
The one thing this class lacked, however, was an elite-level linebacker. Maryland product Conner Crowell is a solid player with a good list of offers, including Penn State, Stanford, North Carolina and West Virginia, but he badly injured his ankle in the state playoffs.
Either way, Crowell isn’t on the same level athletically is Shazier. Few are. A pass-rushing specialist who had 19 sacks as a junior, Shazier would be a perfect fit for Ohio State’s Leo position, or at the very least, an outside linebacker spot. He has a blazing first step and a surprising bull-rush for a kid as long and lean as he is.
Getting a player of this caliber this late in the game is big for Tressel, who hasn’t always had the best success landing high-profile kids late in the process (other than Glenville kids of course). Tressel tends to focus a lot of attention on the kids who are interested in being Buckeyes right from the start, but making a strong push for Shazier when he came available was the right move.
Not only does it help fill a void in the class, it also helps to offset the fact Ohio State has missed on the top linebacker in the state of Ohio the last two seasons. First it was Lakota West’s Jordan Hicks opting for Texas over Ohio State in the class of 2010 and then this year Springfield’s Trey DePriest went with Alabama over the Buckeyes.
Shazier wasn’t rated quite as highly as either Hicks or DePriest, but he’s a Buckeye, and that’s all that matters to Tressel.





Darrell Hazell hired at Kent St.
Kent State will name Ohio State assistant Darrell Hazell as its new football coach at a news conference on Monday, school sources said Sunday night.
Hazell has been assistant head coach to Jim Tressel since 2005 and has also coached wide receivers.
The school has been searching for its 20th coach since Doug Martin resigned with a few weeks left in the season.
Athletic director Joel Nielsen interviewed a dozen candidates, including four on KSU's campus: Hazell, Alabama wide receivers coach Curt Cignetti, Texas wide receivers coach Bobby Kennedy, and Kent State defensive coordinator Pete Rekstis.
Hazell has 23 years in coaching, including at schools like Rutgers, West Virginia, the U.S. Military Academy and Western Michigan. He's a native of New Jersey and a former standout player at Muskingum College.
Kent State went 5-7 in Martin's final season and 29-53 in his seven seasons overall.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Mark Cuban's Plan to End the BCS - College Basketball Power Rankings - Ohio vs Troy Preview



Mark Cuban's interest could be significant step in playoff push
good article from si.com
A lot of us want a college football playoff. A lot of us know a playoff would be infinitely superior to the BCS. A lot of us -- including university presidents and athletic directors -- know a playoff would make a lot more money for schools than the BCS does.
But we aren't worth $2.3 billion. We don't have venture capitalists sprinting to throw money at us every time we have an idea.
Mark Cuban does.
Recently, the Dallas Mavericks' owner decided that instead of spending his energy and considerable financial resources to buy a Major League Baseball franchise, he could profit more -- financially and historically -- from creating a playoff system in major college football.
"It just dawned on me that for the amount of money that I would consider spending on a baseball franchise, you could take that money and turn the BCS upside down and start a playoff system," Cuban said Thursday on the Dan Patrick Show.
Cuban's interest might be the playoff movement's most significant step forward yet. Dan Wetzel, Jeff Passan and Josh Peter, the authors of Death to the BCS, deserve all the credit for inspiring the new proponent of a fair, reasonable and profitable method of deciding major college football's champion. Cuban's idea is a 12- or 16-team tournament. (His twist is that those who lose later in the tournament would get to play in the best bowls.) He would try to raise about $500 million as a financial inducement to convince schools a playoff is a better option. He did not mention the significantly higher television rights fees a playoff would bring. The BCS receives $125 million a year in rights fees from ESPN. A playoff would command three to four times that number. "It's an obviously profitable opportunity for colleges -- which is something all schools need in this economic period we're in," Cuban said.
Does this mean we can start planning playoff-watching parties for 2014? Certainly not. People have tried to throw money at this issue before and failed.
But Cuban is different.
International Sports and Leisure, a Swiss company, tried in 1999 to convince university presidents to start a playoff by offering $3 billion over eight years and got soundly rebuffed. That probably was a wise move. The once-powerful sports marketing company had serious cash-flow problems, and it went belly-up within a few years. (Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott probably remembers this all too well; Scott was second-in-command of the ATP when ISL failed to pay for a deal it had signed with the men's tennis governing body.)
Cuban is more prudent. He made his fortune in the '90s with Broadcast.com, which advanced the then-novel idea of listening to sports broadcasts over the Internet. Yahoo! bought the company for $5.04 billion in stock. Cuban didn't just sit on the stock, though. He survived the dotcom bust with a huge fortune intact by diversifying and seeking out new markets. Shortly after the turn of the century, Cuban realized before most that someone needed to start producing content for high-definition televisions -- which at the time were a pipe dream for the average consumer.
The guy clearly has a knack for identifying markets in need of improvement. Major college football's postseason certainly qualifies.
"As a college football fan, I hate the BCS simply because of all the inefficiencies," Cuban said. "My orientation always is if there is something everybody hates, and there are all kinds of inefficiencies and a lack of transparency, then somewhere in there is a business opportunity."
What is unclear is whether Cuban understands that he'll be fighting against people who are well aware that they are short-changing schools with the current system. Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany, the man Cuban ultimately would have to topple, freely admits a playoff is the far more profitable alternative.
If Cuban thought MLB was a fuddy-duddy, old-boy network resistant to new and better ideas, wait until he meets some of the conference commissioners. Wait until he meets the bowl directors who will fight tooth and nail to keep their bloated salaries right where they are.
Source: SIOn Thursday's Dan Patrick Show, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban discusses his desire to help bring about a college football playoff. Of course, Cuban may find he already has some allies. We know SEC commissioner Mike Slive and ACC commissioner John Swofford support the idea of a four-team bracketed tournament. (They call it a plus-one so simpletons won't realize it's actually a playoff.) Scott, who took over the Pac-10 in 2009, already has tried to blow up the current conference configuration and is quite fond of pointing out how undervalued college football still is. He's in a delicate spot because he's tied at the hip to the Rose Bowl, but he seems to have enough maverick in him to listen to new ideas. In an e-mail to The Associated Press on Thursday, Scott toed the party line.
"The fact is that college football has never been more popular in its current format, and it's a mistake to assume the impediment to a playoff is money," Scott wrote. "We could get a lot more money tomorrow from lots of folks by moving to an expansive playoff; this is about a broader set of priorities benefiting schools and student-athletes."
Ultimately, Cuban would have to convince university presidents. To do that, he said, don't go to the presidents. Go to major donors at the most powerful schools and convince them to cut off their donations unless the president gets behind a playoff. "That's the big missing piece that other folks who have considered this haven't done," Cuban said. "Most of them have gone to the presidents and have gone to the athletic directors and kind of taken the sports path. In reality, you go to the stakeholders."
Would that work? Maybe. Maybe not. Boosters love their bowl trips, too. But they love championships more. Cuban might start by explaining to the big-money boosters at Big Ten schools that the BCS actually is keeping their football teams from playing for the national title. Why? Because Ohio State lost two consecutive BCS title games, and now poll voters are unfairly painting the entire conference with a broad brush. A one-loss SEC team can play for the title, but a one-loss Big Ten team is a lock for the Rose Bowl.
That's just one example of an angle Cuban and his investors could attack. They might also want to target Connecticut legislators, who may have to explain to the state's taxpayers how the University of Connecticut could get stuck with a $2.5 million bill for unsold Fiesta Bowl tickets. According to UConn, 26 percent of the athletics budget for fiscal year 2010 comes from the publically-funded university. So guess who will pay any unexpected costs? Even better, Cuban could offer to buy all of Connecticut's unsold Fiesta Bowl tickets on the condition that university president Philip E. Austin support and vote for a playoff system in the future. That's putting your money where your mouth is.
Cuban will probably meet with a lot more resistance than he realizes, but who knows? Cuban's name, bank account and business acumen may open some doors that were previously closed. At any rate, the fight for a playoff beats buying the Dodgers and getting bashed hilariously by T.J. Simers on a regular basis. "This sounds a lot more interesting and a lot more fun," Cuban said. "And [it's] a lot better business."
Of course, Cuban could always get bored or frustrated and move on to another opportunity. That's certainly the most likely possibility. But any time a billionaire gets behind a good idea, it's progress.








NCAA Basketball Power Rankings
1 Last Week: 1 Duke Blue Devils (10-0)
Until there's a definitive answer on the Kyrie Irving situation -- his foot is in a cast awaiting another evaluation -- it remains the biggest story in college hoops. Last week in the Rankings, I illustrated the differences in assist distribution between Irving and Nolan Smith, who's had to take over the point full time in Irving's absence. This week, in search of more insight about how the loss of Irving might affect the Blue Devils, I had a conversation with an opposing assistant coach who had scouted them thoroughly.
"One thing that really hit me," the coach said, "was how fast and powerful Irving was from end line to end line. To have any chance of stopping him from getting to the basket, your defense would get drawn into the paint. And I think that when your defense is drawn in like that, it just magnifies all of Duke's strengths, with all those guys [Smith, Kyle Singler, Andre Dawkins, Seth Curry, Ryan Kelly] who have the ability to make shots from anywhere on the floor. ... And Irving doesn't just do this in transition; he puts so much pressure on your defenders in pick-and-roll sets, too. There's just no one who plays off the [screens] with the explosion and strength that he does."
The coach isn't from Michigan State, but I went to the video of that game to look for examples of the defensive "contraction" that Irving was creating. This pick-and-roll set with Mason Plumlee was particularly good, and it's broken down into four stages in the image below.

Next Three: 12/20 vs. Elon, 12/29 at UNC-Greensboro, 1/2 vs. Miami

2 Last Week: 2 Kansas Jayhawks (9-0)
At the time of these Rankings, the eBay auction for Skype-ing With Bill Self on Christmas Eve was only up to $450. That's not even going to come close to covering the cost of repaying Josh Selby's extra benefits, people! (Actually, it's for a good cause: Self's Assists Foundation, which provides grants to Lawrence-area youth organizations, and earned the coach a nomination for a United Nations award.)
The odds are the winning KU fan will want to have some Selby-related discussion, given that he is the Jayhawks' early Christmas present, set to make his debut on Dec. 18 against USC. I covered that topic on Tuesday, pointing out that Kansas' offense without Selby has been nearly as good as Duke's with Irving, so there's a risk Selby could throw things out of whack. Don't be stunned if Selby isn't even the highest-scoring newcomer in that Dec. 18 game. Jio Fontan, who was formerly a star scoring guard at Fordham, is making his debut for USC that day as well, and Trojans coach Kevin O'Neill is hyping the kid as much as is humanly possible.
"He's our best player," O'Neill said of Fontan. "He's our best leader. He's our best scorer. He's our best defender. He's our best passer. He's our best guard. He's our best player."

Next Three: 12/18 vs. USC, 12/22 at Cal, 12/29 vs. Texas-Arlington

3 Last Week: 4 Ohio State Buckeyes (9-0)
In the same spirit of the Derrick Williams-vs.-Kansas shot/drive chart from a few weeks ago (which I can confirm Mr. Williams has seen!), I was interested in examining how Jared Sullinger amassed his Buckeyes freshman-record 40 points against IUPUI on Dec. 9. Sullinger generated points or trips to the foul line in five different ways, each represented by a different color on the chart: red for drop-step moves (DS); green for offensive-board putbacks of teammates' shots (OR); blue for spins over his right shoulder (RS); purple for standard layups (LU); and gold for dunks (DK).

Next Three: 12/18 vs. South Carolina, 12/21 vs. UNC-Asheville, 12/23 vs. Oakland

4 Last Week: 6 Connecticut Huskies (8-0)
In a conversation with an opposing assistant who scouted UConn this season, this is what was said about Kemba Walker, who's second in the nation in scoring at 28.1 points per game: "Right now he's like a video game player. If you created your own guy in an Xbox game and made him almost unstoppable, that's what I think of Kemba, now that he has the perimeter game he didn't have as a freshman and sophomore. He wasn't a bad shooter then, but now, if you're guarding him and you go under a ball screen or a dribble handoff, he can knock down an NBA-range three on you. That's on top of his crossover and change-of-speed game off the dribble; he just has a burst that you can't teach. ... He's also picking his spots well, deciding when he needs to turn it on and score, and when he needs to get his teammates involved. ... I think defensively, your best option is blitz ball-screens and try to get the ball out of his hands. And other than that, just stay solid and try not to give him alleys for dribble penetration. As good as the jumper has been, I'd rather give that up than I would let him get into the lane."

Next Three: 12/20 vs. Coppin State, 12/22 vs. Harvard, 12/27 at Pitt

5 Last Week: 7 Tennessee Volunteers (7-1)
What does one do with the Vols? Since being ranked No. 7, they recorded the most impressive win by any team in the 2010-11 season (routing Pitt in Pittsburgh) ... and then paid somewhere between $40,000-50,000 in guarantee money for the pleasure of being upset by Oakland in Knoxville three days later. My solution: Move them up slightly, to No. 5, but devote their blurb space to Oakland's Larry Wright for his act of heroism.
With 6:52 left in a game the Grizz were trailing 76-70, Wright was leveled/clobbered by what The Dagger called the "screen of the year", a blind, midcourt pick set by Tennessee's Brian Williams. He's listed at 272 pounds in his official Vols bio, and may be heavier than that; Wright is listed at 165 pounds in his Oakland bio. It was a clean screen but an unfair collision.
Wright scraped himself off the deck and, in the game's final minute, had the composure to hit a dagger three with 38 seconds left to put the Grizz up five ... and then ice the victory with a couple of free throws 14 seconds later. Perhaps Williams knocked all the fear out of the kid.

Next Three: 12/17 at Charlotte, 12/21 vs. USC, 12/23 vs. Belmont

6 Last Week: 8 San Diego State Aztecs (11-0)
The San Diego Union-Tribune brings us the secret behind Malcolm Thomas' recent free-throw shooting surge, as the notorious brick-layer has made 16 of his past 21 from the stripe: He recites the names of his daughter, mother and sister ("Mikeala ... Lori ... Sheala") before each attempt. "Before, when I was shooting free throws, I was thinking, 'Man, if I miss ..." Thomas told the paper. "Thinking of them puts me at ease."
I watched tape of the Aztecs' win over San Diego, in which Thomas was 8-of-9, and it seems that his recitation isn't visible at a Karl Malone level; it's more of a subtle thing. Either way, it's helped convert a player who's been a 50s percent shooter from the stripe for his career into something more respectable. This is a trick Kansas State -- the third-worst free-throw shooting team in America -- might be interested in trying ...

Next Three: 12/18 vs. UC-Santa Barbara, 12/21 vs. San Francisco, 12/22 vs. IUPUI

7 Last Week: 5 Georgetown Hoyas (9-1)
Two quality thoughts from a conversation with an opposing assistant who scouted the Hoyas this season:
• "I honestly think, because their guards [Chris Wright, Austin Freeman and Jason Clark] are so talented and skilled, that the faster they play, the better off they are. Because the more chances you give those three guys to make decisions on the fly and create shots, the better off they're going to be."
(I alluded to this Hoya-speed thing a few weeks ago, noting that they're 7-1 in their past eight 74-plus-possession games.)
• "They're really well-coached, and their offense has changed a lot based on the personnel. Whereas they used to have a lot of post plays to get [Greg] Monroe in situations where he could shoot or make a play that led to a shot, now they're doing a lot more side pick-and-rolls, which do a good job of putting Wright, Freeman and Clark in position to make plays."
I screen-grabbed an example of this from the first half of Georgetown's win over Appalachian State on Sunday.

Next Three: 12/18 vs. Loyola (Md.), 12/23 at Memphis, 12/29 at Notre Dame

8 Last Week: 3 Pittsburgh Panthers (10-1)
I'm a fan of simple, direct slogans. There's no better one in college hoops right now than at Northwestern, where the official student shirt says "MAKE SHOTS." This is precisely what the Wildcats do; they rank No. 2 in the nation in effective field-goal percentage, at 60.6 percent. Their junior star, John Shurna, shoots an amazing 64.5 percent from long range. He makes shots. What does this have to do with Pittsburgh? Well, seeing that Northwestern shirt made me think of a potential Panthers derivation ... based on the fact that they still rank No. 1 in the country in offensive rebounding:



Next Three: 12/18 vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore, 12/22 vs. American, 12/27 vs. UConn

9 Last Week: 10 Syracuse Orange (10-0)
New information in the Fab Melo Mystery: The Brazilian 7-footer told the Syracuse Post-Standard that he doesn't have an Achilles injury, as was previously reported; he actually has a tear in his right calf muscle. Melo has not practiced all week and may not be available for Saturday's game against Iona, but the Orange are used to him being near-absent by now. He's averaging just 2.1 points and 2.2 rebounds in 12.7 minutes despite having been hyped for Big East Freshman of the Year honors in the preseason. The team's intention is to rest Melo until he's healthy, at which point it'll be nice to see what he can actually do. In the meantime, they'll keep leaning on senior Rick Jackson, who's having a phenomenal year, posting offensive/defensive rebounding splits of 14.4%/23.7% and an offensive rating of 117.8.

Next Three: 12/18 vs. Iona, 12/20 vs. Morgan State, 12/22 vs. Drexel

10 Last Week: 12 Brigham Young Cougars (10-0)
Thoughts on Cougars guard Jimmer Fredette, from an opposing assistant coach who's scouted BYU: "He's as good a player as there is in college basketball, but he doesn't try on defense other than gambling for the occasional steal. ... He can score in so many different ways -- go 1-on-1 with you and get in the lane or create space for his own shot; or come off of single- and double-screens on the side. He has great range. I think you can bother [his offensive game] with speed, though. You could see Jacob Pullen get [Fredette] out of his game during the NCAA tournament by picking him up full-court, but few teams have a guy who can do what Pullen did. You really need an elite-level defender to stop him."

Next Three: 12/18 vs. UCLA (in Anaheim), 12/21 at Weber State, 12/23 vs. UTEP



Ohio vs Troy Preview
msnbc.com
Ohio's Frank Solich is no stranger to bowl games, having won two as a coach and playing for a national championship in his time with Nebraska.
Now, Solich will try again to deliver the first postseason victory in Bobcats history in his third attempt.
Ohio makes its fifth postseason appearance when it takes on Sun Belt Conference champion Troy in the New Orleans Bowl on Saturday night.
Solich, who led the Cornhuskers to a 58-19 record from 1998-2003 before arriving at Ohio in 2005, guided the Bobcats to their first bowl appearance in 38 years in 2006. The Bobcats, though, lost 28-7 to Southern Miss in the GMAC Bowl.
Solich had his team back in the postseason last year, but the Bobcats fell to 0-4 in bowl games with a 21-17 loss to Marshall in the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl on Dec. 26Now they'll look to earn the elusive first postseason victory in the Big Easy.
"The opportunity to play a bowl game there makes the experience even more memorable," safety Donovan Fletcher told the school's official website. "Troy is an exceptional team and competing against them will be a challenge that I know our team is looking forward to."
Ohio (8-4) finished second in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference and earned a second straight bowl berth for the first time.
"Coach Solich is a high-caliber man," Troy coach Larry Blakeney said. "You never heard a peep out of him when he was fired from his alma mater when he went (9-3 in 2003). He just went on and got himself another job and went to work."
The Bobcats had their seven-game winning streak snapped in a season-ending 28-6 loss to Kent State on Nov. 26. Senior Boo Jackson threw his school-record 35th career touchdown pass for Ohio, breaking a mark that had stood for 41 years.
Senior wide receiver Terrence McCrae also set a school record with his 19th career TD catch.
Troy (7-5) hopes to slow down that duo, and it could help that Blakeney has seen Solich's offensive schemes before. Solich went 3-0 against the Trojans from 2001-03.
"There's no question that we'll have to defend across the board," Blakeney said.
Troy defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi led the MAC with 17 1/2 tackles for loss.
Troy won at least a share of its conference championship for the fifth straight season, joining BYU, Southern California, Ohio State, Alabama and Florida State as the only programs to accomplish the feat.
The Trojans are making their third straight bowl appearance and fifth in seven seasons. They lost 44-41 in double overtime to then-No. 25 Central Michigan in the GMAC Bowl last season.
Troy, first in the Sun Belt with 32.9 points per game, will be facing an Ohio defense that is yielding 21.8. The Trojans also topped the conference with 441.1 yards per contest, but the Bobcats are giving up 332.7.
Troy's Corey Robinson threw for a conference-leading 3,320 yards with 24 touchdowns, but also was intercepted 15 times.
"Hopefully we can give them some problems too from our offense to their defense and in the kicking game," Blakeney said. "We've got a little time, but not a whole lot, to prepare."
Troy is 1-1 in the New Orleans Bowl, beating Rice 41-17 in 2006 and falling 30-27 in overtime to Southern Mississippi in 2008. The Trojans are 1-4 in bowl games.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Indians legend Bob Feller dies at 92 - Diebler Dials in 9 Threes - 24/7 Penguins/Capitals an instant classic



Diebler Dials in 9 Threes
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Nine straight times Jon Diebler flicked his wrist behind the arc, and every time the ball swished through the net.
It was one of the greatest shooting performances ever for an Ohio State player.
Diebler matched an Ohio State record with those nine 3-pointers, scoring a career-high 29 points and leading the second-ranked Buckeyes past Florida Gulf Coast 83-55 on Wednesday night.
"I knew I missed my first two of the game and Coach told me I wasn't ready to shoot and to just get ready and get my feet set," the senior guard said. "I started doing that and they started falling for me."
Boy, did they. After hitting nine in a row, he stayed in another 4 minutes but missed his last three attempts at the record. That made him 9 for 14 overall on 3s.
"When he let it go, you felt good that it was going to go in," coach Thad Matta said. "Even the last couple he missed I thought were pretty good looks and had a chance."
Matta said it was more than just a sharp night.
"The thing about Jon, and I've said this since the day he got here, for every nine he made, he's probably shot 90,000 in the offseason," he said. "To see him shoot the ball like this is rewarding because the work's paying off."
Diebler passed another former Ohio State star, Jay Burson, to become Ohio's leading high school scorer four years ago. The nine 3s were a Value City Arena record and tied the school mark previously held by Burson.
"We can't get away from each other, I guess," Diebler said with a grin.
He now has made a school-best 291 shots behind the arc. With his second 3 of the game, Diebler moved past Indiana's A.J. Guyton (1997-2000) into seventh place all-time in 3-pointers made by Big Ten players.
FGCU coach Dave Balza said it was the best 3-point marksmanship he had seen since one of his own players, Ryan Hopkins, had a similar game in 2002.
"(Hopkins) was here in the building tonight," Balza said. "After the game, as I was walking by him, I said, 'Well, that's the best shooting performance I've ever seen.' Just to rub it into him a little bit."
William Buford became the 47th Buckeye player to reach the 1,000-point career mark, finishing with 17 points. Jared Sullinger, the Buckeyes' 6-foot-9 center, added 11 for Ohio State (9-0). He had scored 40 points, a freshman school record, just two games ago.
"Eventually we're going to have to put it together," Matta said. "That's a thing we're still striving for. That's kind of how we preach to our team, that we want to be able to strike inside and outside."
Chase Fieler had 12 points and Anthony Banks 10 for the Eagles (2-6), playing their first game after an 11-day break.
Diebler made three 3-pointers in an 11-0 run in the first half that put the Buckeyes in command.
The Eagles were intent on preventing Sullinger from going off on them. As a result, they tried to pack the middle whenever possible.
"Ohio State does such a good job of taking what the opponents give them," Balza said. "We spent a lot of time watching IUPUI because it's one of the few teams that really zoned Ohio State for the majority of the game. And obviously Sullinger had 40 (points) and 17 (rebounds), so he had a career night that night. You kind of pick and choose which poison with Ohio State."
The Buckeyes took control early and never let up, thanks to Diebler. They led 7-0 after the opening 2 1/2 minutes. After Fieler hit a 3 to put the Eagles on the board, Ohio State ran off the next 11 points - with Diebler hitting three 3s in that run.
The second half was never close as the Buckeyes led by 32 while trying to blend in their six freshmen with four veteran starters.
When it was over, Matta told Diebler he was lucky.
"I told him afterward, 'You're just fortunate I didn't have a chance to play in this building,"' he said, laughing.





Indians legend Bob Feller dies at 92
A great article from espns Tim Kurkjian
CLEVELAND -- Teenage pitching sensation, World War II hero, outspoken Hall of Famer and local sports treasure. Bob Feller was all of them.
One of a kind, he was an American original.
Blessed with a right arm that earned the Iowa farmboy the nickname "Rapid Robert" and made him one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, Feller, who left baseball in the prime of his career to fight for his country, died Wednesday night. He was 92.
Feller, who won 266 games in 18 seasons -- all with the Indians -- died at 9:15 p.m. on Wednesday night of acute leukemia at a hospice, said Bob DiBiasio, the Indians vice president of public relations.
Kurkjian: A proud life
Bob Feller's numbers are spectacular, but they don't tell you everything you need to know about one of the best pitchers of all time, writes Tim Kurkjian. Story
Remarkably fit until late in life, Feller had suffered serious health setbacks in recent months. He was diagnosed with leukemia in August, and while undergoing chemotherapy, he fainted and his heart briefly stopped. Eventually, he had pacemaker implanted.
In November, he was hospitalized with pneumonia and recently released into hospice care.
Even as his health deteriorated, Feller continued doing what he loved most -- attending Indians games deep into last season.
"Nobody lives forever and I've had a blessed life," Feller said in September. "I'd like to stay on this side of the grass for as long as I can, though. I'd really like to see the Indians win a World Series."
Feller, in fact, was part of the rotation the last time the Indians won it all -- in 1948.
Fiercely proud and patriotic, Feller was an American original. Blessed with a fastball that could make any hitter look silly, Feller began his major league career at the tender age of 17. His win total remains a Cleveland team record, one that seems almost untouchable in today's free-agent era.
"Bob Feller is gone. We cannot be surprised," Indians owner Larry Dolan said in a statement. "Yet, it seems improbable. Bob has been such an integral part of our fabric, so much more than an ex-ballplayer, so much more than any Cleveland Indians player. He is Cleveland, Ohio.
"To say he will be missed is such an understatement. In fact, more to the point, he will not be missed because he will always be with us," he said.
Feller was part of a vaunted Indians' rotation in the 1940s and '50s with fellow Hall of Famers Bob Lemon and Early Wynn. He finished with 2,581 career strikeouts, led the American League in strikeouts seven times, pitched three no-hitters -- including the only one on opening day -- and recorded a jaw-dropping 12 one-hitters.
The first pitcher to win 20 games before he was 21, Feller was enshrined in Cooperstown in 1962, his first year of eligibility.
The Indians retired his No. 19 jersey in 1957 and immortalized the greatest player in franchise history with a statue when they opened their downtown stadium in 1994. The sculpture is vintage Feller, captured forever in the middle of his patented windmill windup, rearing back to fire another pitch.
"When you think Cleveland Indians, you think Bob Feller and vice versa," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "He was a genuine patriot and a big-time Hall of Famer. Boy, he loved the Indians and we all loved him back."
Baseball was only a part of Feller's remarkable story.
Stirred by Japan's bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Feller enlisted in the Navy the following day -- the first major league player to do so. He served as a gun captain on the USS Alabama, earning several battle commendations and medals.
Never afraid to offer a strong opinion on any subject, Feller remained physically active in his later years. At the end of every winter, he attended the Indians' fantasy camp in either Florida or Arizona. One of the highlights of the weeklong event was always Feller, in uniform, taking the mound and striking out campers, some of whom were 50 years younger.
Another rite of spring for Cleveland fans was seeing Feller at the Indians' training camp. Before home exhibition games in Winter Haven, Fla., or more recently in Goodyear, Ariz., Feller would throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Introduced to a rousing ovation every time, Feller delivered the throw with the same high leg kick he used while blazing fastballs past overmatched hitters.
"We have all lost a friend and the nation has lost an icon," former Indians manager Mike Hargrove said. "Bob was always there with a word of advice or a story. The thing is that they were always relevant and helpful. I will never forget before the first game of the '97 World Series, Bob came up to me and patted me on the back and told me how proud he was of me and the team, then gave me a buckeye and said it was for luck.
"I don't think that Bob ever believed in luck, just hard work and an honest effort. I will miss Bob very much. He was my friend," he said.
An eight-time All-Star, Feller compiled statistics from 1936 through 1956 that guaranteed his Hall of Fame enshrinement. He led the AL in victories six times and is still the Indians' career leader in shutouts (46), innings pitched (3,827), walks (1,764), complete games (279), wins and strikeouts.
Despite losing his two starts, Feller won a World Series title with the Indians in 1948.
When he returned from military duty in 1946, Feller arguably had his finest season, going 26-15 with a 2.18 ERA and pitching 36 complete games and 10 shutouts. For comparison's sake, the Indians' entire pitching staff had 10 complete games and four shutouts last season.
Born Nov. 3, 1918, near Van Meter, Iowa, Robert Andrew William Feller was 16 when he caught the eye of Indians scout Cy Slapnicka.
Feller made his first major league start on Aug. 23, 1936, two months shy of turning 18. He never pitched in the minors, and when the Indians decided to use him in a relief role on July 19, 1936, he was the youngest player ever to pitch in a major league game. Many wondered if the kid -- who would later credit his arm strength to milking cows, picking corn, and baling hay -- was in over his head.
Hardly.
Using a fastball later dubbed "the Van Meter heater," Feller struck out 15 -- two shy of the major league record in his first game, beating the St. Louis Browns 4-1 -- a star was born. Later that season, Feller established the AL record by striking out 17 Philadelphia Athletics.
In 1938, Feller set the major league record by striking out 18 against the Detroit Tigers. The record stood for 36 years before being broken by Nolan Ryan in 1974. By the time he joined the military at 23, Feller had won 109 games and was well on the way to baseball fame.
In his day, nobody threw harder than Feller, who sometimes had trouble with his control. Because speed devices weren't as advanced as they are today, it's impossible to gauge precisely how fast Feller threw in his prime. There is famous black-and-white film footage of Feller's fastball being clocked as it races against a motorcycle said to be traveling at 100 mph.
Feller once said he was clocked at 104 mph.
Even in his later years, Feller could recall pitch-for-pitch duels with great hitters like Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio. He said his biggest thrill in the game was when he returned from the military to pitch a no-hitter against New York at Yankee Stadium.
“My father kept me busy from dawn to dusk when I was a kid. When I wasn't pitching hay, hauling corn or running a tractor, I was heaving a baseball into his mitt behind the barn. ... If all the parents in the country followed his rule, juvenile delinquency would be cut in half in a year's time.”
-- Bob Feller

"I had been away four years and people were saying I was washed up," Feller said. "They had a right to say it, too, since few come back after being away so long. But this game proved to me that I was still able to pitch."
He always credited his father, Bill, with encouraging his baseball ambitions.
"My father kept me busy from dawn to dusk when I was a kid," Feller said. "When I wasn't pitching hay, hauling corn or running a tractor, I was heaving a baseball into his mitt behind the barn. I couldn't repay my debt to him, but I wanted to pass along the thought that if all the parents in the country followed his rule, juvenile delinquency would be cut in half in a year's time."
Feller said the greatest hitter he ever faced, without question, was Williams, although Williams had only a .270 average against him.
"I was a little luckier against him than the others," Feller said. "But he beat me in more games than I care to remember. Joe DiMaggio was the only right-hander who hit me consistently. The fellow who hit me best, though, was Tommy Henrich, the Yankees' old reliable.
"Funny thing, I've run across a lot of former ballplayers who said to me, 'You know, Bob, I wasn't a great hitter, but I've always had pretty good success against you.' I must have kept a lot of .250 hitters in the game."
After retiring from baseball, Feller worked in the insurance business, but he never got completely away from baseball. In 1981, he returned to work for the Indians as a spring training pitching coach and in the team's public relations office.
As recently as last season, Feller was a fixture in the press box at Progressive Field. Sitting in the media dining area before games or in the same seat during them, he would offer his thoughts on any current event and, of course, give his assessment on how the Indians were playing.
Cleveland's chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of American recently asked the Indians to turn Feller's press box seat into a shrine area.
Feller didn't care for crowds and didn't particularly enjoy interacting with fans, but he often attended memorabilia shows to sign autographs for a nominal fee. Sometimes gruff, Feller would sign his autograph and listen as fans asked him questions and posed for pictures with an iconic man who meant so much to them.
Feller was critical of contemporary ballplayers. He viewed them as spoiled and felt they didn't work as hard at their craft as he and his peers. Feller never softened on his stance that Pete Rose, baseball's hits leader, should remain banned for betting on baseball and he was revolted by the idea that players who cheated by taking steroids could one day join him as a Hall of Famer.
Feller, who lived in Gates Mills, Ohio, is survived by his wife, Anne, and three sons, Steve, Martin and Bruce.
The Indians said details on a public memorial service will be announced in the near future.



24/7 Penguins/Capitals an instant classic
If you get a chance you have to watch this..... Simply amazing and I hate hockey!
by joe yerdon Great article on NHL HBO Series
I’m writing this review as the encore showing of the debut episode of HBO’s documentary series “24/7 Penguins/Capitals Road To The Winter Classic” is going. I’m watching it again because watching it the first time I found myself so mesmerized with what I was watching I got lost in the show. The backstage access provided to the cameras to see how things go down inside the rooms of both teams as things are going in very different directions.
What everyone will be talking about is how Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau found a way to outdo New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan when it comes to using colorful language when addressing his team. Ryan became known for throwing four-letter words around like they were going out of style during HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series during NFL training camp this year. Boudreau managed to top Ryan by slinging the f-bomb 15 or 16 times during a rant at his Capitals team between periods in their loss to the Florida Panthers. We were given the heads up that the language would be spicy and Boudreau did not disappoint. Of course when your team is mired in a losing streak when they should be one of the top teams in the league, these things will happen.
HBO captures the game the way it’s meant to be seen with beautiful video that makes the game stand out unlike how it’s ever been seen before. The ice level shots are gorgeous and make hockey even more worth watching. Providing a look at how the guys live life off the ice helps give you a sense of how tough it can be for these guys to part ways with their family when it’s time to hit the road. Getting a comparison of how a married guy like Pascal Dupuis goes about life and bachelor Maxime Talbot do things is fascinating to see. It’s reality television that’s actual real life that isn’t scripted at all. It’s seeing how our heroes go about daily life and yet we’re fascinated.
It’s the little things that were the most enjoyable to see. Seeing the Penguins players playing PSP against each other and chiding one another is a pleasant change from seeing them giving the same responses during post game press conferences. Basically, we’re excited to see the players being regular guys. Seeing the players busting each other’s chops verbally is fantastic to see because it all plays into the colorful personalities a lot of these guys have. HBO adding subtle nuances like using music from the movie “Slap Shot” to bring road trip scenes together help make you enjoy things all the more.
Getting to hear players on the ice that are miked up for sound provides incredible insight to see what’s going on. These aren’t the sound bytes you hear during the game when a guy is wired for sound. Hearing Leafs enforcer Colton Orr engage Penguins defenseman Deryk Engelland for a fight using a battle of f-words is humorous and seemingly typical of fighting guys.
Hearing Alexander Ovechkin talk to officials after teammate Alexander Semin cross checked Avalanche defenseman John-Michael Liles and got kicked out of the game shows Alex’s skills as a one-liner master. As the referee described what happened to Liles after the cross check and that he started bleeding on his neck because of it, Ovechkin fires back saying, “Well maybe he’s got sensitive skin, no?”
The juxtaposition of the Penguins and their winning streak compared to the Capitals and their losing streak makes for incredible theater. The Penguins look light-hearted and affable enjoying the game, meanwhile the Capitals are downtrodden, frustrated, and downright depressing to watch. HBO doesn’t need to craft the drama, it’s all right there plain as day for us to see and now we get to see it up close and personal and most of all, we like it.
You too often hear that professional athletes don’t care as much as the fans do when the team struggles. That’s not the case here at all. These guys live and die by how things go on the ice and witnessing it up close, warts and all, thrills us. We want and crave more of it and right now, with there only being three more episodes of this to watch we’re going to eat this up and love every bit of it.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

SI.com's 2010 All-Americas - AP All-America First Team - Prince James Says He Will be Doing More Talking



SI.com's 2010 All-Americas

QB Cam Newton
Jr., Auburn
Nation's pass efficiency leader is the first SEC player to throw for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000

DE Da'Quan Bowers
Jr., Clemson
Nagurski Award winner led the nation in sacks (15.5) and was second in tackles for loss (25)

RB LaMichael James
So., Oregon
Star of the undefeated Ducks led the country in both rushing yards (1,682) and TDs (23)

DT Nick Fairley
Jr., Auburn
Dominant defensive force for the SEC champions led the league with 21 tackles for loss

RB Jordan Todman
Jr., Connecticut
Nation's No. 2 rusher (143.1 yards per game) led the Huskies to their first BCS berth

DT Stephen Paea
Sr., Oregon State
Pac-10's Defensive Player of the Year notched six sacks and forced four fumbles

WR Justin Blackmon
So., Oklahoma State
Already tied an NCAA record by notching at least 100 yards and a score in 11 straight games

DE Ryan Kerrigan
Sr., Purdue
Kerrigan led the nation in tackles for loss (26) and tied for second in forced fumbles (five)

WR Ryan Broyles
Jr., Oklahoma
Had more receptions (118) than any other player and topped the 100-yard mark nine times

LB Nate Irving
Sr., NC State
Returned with a vengeance after missing 2009 to injury, notching 88 tackles and 20.5 for loss

TE Lance Kendricks
Sr., Wisconsin
His 39 catches and 627 yards made him the top receiver for the Rose Bowl-bound Badgers

LB Greg Jones
Sr., Michigan State
Repeat All-America registered 98 tackles and forced five turnovers to lead the 11-1 Spartans

OL Jordan Holmes
Sr., Oregon
Key figure in Oregon's prolific offense helped open holes for playmakers like James

LB Luke Kuechly
So., Boston College
No other player came close to matching his 171 tackles, including 102 solo stops

OL Gabe Carimi
Sr., Wisconsin
6-foot-7, 327-pound four-year starter allowed just one sack and won the Outland Trophy

CB Prince Amukamara
Sr., Nebraska
Lockdown cornerback helped the Huskers limit opposing passers to a 98.0 pass efficiency rating

OL Rodney Hudson
Sr., Florida State
Dominant guard became the seventh player ever to garner All-ACC honors four times

S Quinton Carter
Sr., Oklahoma
The Big 12 champions leaned on Carter, who notched 92 tackles and four interceptions

OL Nate Solder
Sr., Colorado
Outland Trophy finalist played all 847 snaps and graded out at a remarkable 94.3 percent

S Tejay Johnson
Sr., TCU
Thorpe Award finalist forced six turnovers and anchored the nation's top-ranked defense

OL Lee Ziemba
Sr., Auburn
A starter in 51 straight games, he helped Auburn gain 300-plus rush yards against six SEC foes

CB Patrick Peterson
Jr., LSU
Decorated cover man picked off four passes and earned the Bednarik and Thorpe awards

SPECIAL TEAMS

K Alex Henery
Sr., Nebraska
Huskers' all-time scoring leader made 10 of 11 field goal tries from 40 yards or longer

R Cliff Harris
So., Oregon
Ducks' speedster returned four punts for touchdowns, including a crucial score at Cal

P Chas Henry
Sr., Florida
Led the nation with a 46.4-yard average, pinning 16 of his 44 kicks inside the 20-yard line

AP Randall Cobb
Jr., Kentucky
Averaged 182.7 all-purpose yards; scored rushing, receiving, passing and punt-return TDs

Second Team

QB Andrew Luck, So., Stanford
DE J.J. Watt, Jr., Wisconsin
RB Kendall Hunter, Jr., Oklahoma State
DT Jared Crick, Jr., Nebraska
RB Vai Taua, Sr., Nevada
DT Drake Nevis, Sr., LSU
WR Alshon Jeffery, So., South Carolina
DE Dontay Moch, Sr., Nevada
WR Juron Criner, Jr., Arizona
LB Lavonte David, Jr., Nebraska
TE D.J. Williams, Sr., Arkansas
LB Von Miller, Sr., Texas A&M
OL Jake Kirkpatrick, Sr., TCU
LB Manti Te'o, So., Notre Dame
OL Derek Sherrod, Sr., Mississippi State
CB Jayron Hosley, So., Virginia Tech
OL John Moffitt, Sr., Wisconsin
S Mark Barron, Jr., Alabama
OL Caleb Schlauderaff, Sr., Utah
S John Boyett, So., Oregon
OL Anthony Castonzo, Sr., Boston College
CB Keith Tandy, Jr., West Virginia

SPECIAL TEAMS

K David Ruffer, Sr., Notre Dame
R Eric Page, So., Toledo
P Aaron Bates, Sr., Michigan State
AP Damaris Johnson, Jr., Tulsa

Honorable Mention
QB Andy Dalton, TCU; Landry Jones, Oklahoma; Colin Kaepernick, Nevada; Ryan Mallett, Arkansas; Kellen Moore, Boise State; Greg McElroy, Alabama; Dan Persa, Northwestern; Denard Robinson, Michigan; Ricky Stanzi, Iowa; Tyrod Taylor, Virginia Tech; Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State

RB Knile Davis, Arkansas; Lance Dunbar, North Texas; Jay Finley, Baylor; Montel Harris, Boston College; Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina; Mikel Leshoure, Illinois; Owen Marecic, Stanford; Bilal Powell, Louisville; Bobby Rainey, Western Kentucky; Rodney Stewart, Colorado; Daniel Thomas, Kansas State

WR Patrick Edwards, Houston; A.J. Green, Georgia; Leonard Hankerson, Miami; Jeff Maehl, Sr., Oregon; Austin Pettis, Boise State; Aldrick Robinson, SMU; Greg Salas, Hawaii; DeMarco Sampson, San Diego State; Titus Young, Boise State; Jordan White, Western Michigan; Cody Wilson, Central Michigan

TE Michael Egnew, Missouri; Coby Fleener, Stanford; Charlie Gantt, Michigan State; David Paulson, Oregon

OL Levy Adcock, Oklahoma State; Tim Barnes, Missouri; Chase Beeler, Stanford; Michael Brewster, Ohio State; Marcus Cannon, TCU; David DeCasto, Stanford; Zach Hurd, Connecticut; Eric Mensik, Oklahoma; David Molk, Michigan; Ryan Pugh, Auburn; Stefen Wisniewski, Penn State

DL Sam Acho, Texas; Jeremy Beal, Oklahoma; Jurrell Casey, USC; Adrian Clayborn, Iowa; Tyrone Crawford, Boise State; Vinny Curry, Marshall; Wayne Daniels, TCU; Ricky Elmore, Arizona; Bruce Irvin, West Virginia; Brandon Jenkins, Florida State; Karl Klug, Iowa; Jabaal Sheard, Pittsburgh

LB Akeem Ayers, UCLA; Tanner Brock, TCU; Tank Carder, TCU; Mason Foster, Washington; Mario Harvey, Marshall; Ross Homan, Ohio State; Justin Houston, Georgia; Jamon Hughes, Memphis; Brian Rolle, Ohio State; Sean Spence, Miami; Danny Trevathan, Kentucky; Lawrence Wilson, Connecticut

DB Ahmad Black, Florida; Chimdi Chekwa, Ohio State; Eric Hagg, Nebraska; Cliff Harris, Oregon; Jermale Hines, Ohio State; Jeron Johnson, Boise State; Chase Minnifield, Virginia; DeAndre McDaniel, Clemson; Johnny Patrick, Louisville; Mana Sliva, Hawaii

K Dan Bailey, Oklahoma State; Chris Hazley, Virginia Tech; Danny Hrapmann, Southern Miss; Josh Jasper, LSU; Grant Ressel, Missouri; Will Snyderwine, Duke; Justin Tucker, Texas; Blair Walsh, Georgia; Nate Whitaker, Stanford

P Drew Butler, Georgia; Tyler Campbell, Ole Miss; Reid Forrest, Washington State; Jeff Locke, UCLA; Rob Long, Syracuse; Kyle Martens, Rice; Quinn Sharp, Oklahoma State; Tress Way, Oklahoma

RETURNS Eugene Cooper, Bowling Green; Andre Debose, Florida; Jeremy Kerley, TCU; Tony Logan, Maryland; Quincy McDuffie, UCF; Marlon McClure, UTEP; Patrick Peterson, LSU; William Powell, Kansas State; Shaky Smithson, Utah

ALL-PURPOSE Cyrus Gray, Texas A&M; Alex Green, Hawaii; Jerrel Jernigan, Troy; DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma; Pat Shed, UAB





AP All-America First Team
QB Cam Newton Auburn
RB LaMichael James Oregon
RB Kendall Hunter Okla. St.
OT Gabe Carimi Wisconsin
OT Nate Solder Colorado
Guard Rodney Hudson Fla. St.
Guard John Moffitt Wisconsin
Center Chase Beeler Stanford
Tight End Michael Egnew Missouri
WR Justin Blackmon Okla. St.
WR Ryan Broyles Oklahoma
All-purpose Randall Cobb Kentucky
Kicker Alex Henery Nebraska
DE Da'Quan Bowers Clemson
DE Ryan Kerrigan Purdue
DT Nick Fairley Auburn
DT Stephen Paea Oregon St.
LB Luke Kuechly Boston College
LB Greg Jones Mich. St.
LB Von Miller Texas A&M
CB Patrick Peterson LSU
CB Prince Amukamara Nebraska
Safety Tejay Johnson TCU
Safety Quinton Carter Oklahoma
Punter Chas Henry Florida







Prince James Says He Will be Doing More Talking
MIAMI - No extra security this time. No concerns about unrest in the stands. Probably not much in the way of organized "Akron Hates You" chants, either.
LeBron vs. Cleveland, Round 2 awaits in Miami on Wednesday.
And it won't have anywhere near the cache of the first meeting.
James took notice of that truth on Tuesday when the Heat finished practice and only a dozen or so reporters were in the gym, as opposed to the "300," by his own estimate, who were around the team for the buildup to Miami's trip to Cleveland back on Dec. 2 — the two-time MVP's return to the city he jilted by signing with the Heat.
Led by James, Miami won by 28 that night, even with fans chanting that his hometown hates him and other rather colorful things for much of the evening.
The Heat haven't lost since. Cleveland hasn't won since.
"It doesn't feel like just another opponent," James said.
That's because, well, Cleveland isn't just another opponent. Not to James, anyway.
He was criticized for talking to some Cavs' players, longtime friend Daniel Gibson in particular, and Cleveland's bench during the game two weeks ago.
More heat might be coming, because James apparently has more to say to his old team.
"I'll probably be talking to them ... again," said James, who insisted that there was no joking around going on during the exchanges he had in the Dec. 2 matchup.
Not much is funny to Cleveland these days.
Losers of eight straight — four of those by at least 20 — whatever good feeling there was over a 5-5 start without James is long gone now. Cavaliers guard Mo Williams downplayed the rematch between teams heading in opposite directions.
"Our concern is not them right now, it's us," Williams said following practice Tuesday. "We're going through a tough time right now and we need to get a win. We need to stay positive and stay focused and this thing will turn around. Nobody likes to lose. We definitely know we can play better. We can't let anything else cloud our goal and our goal is getting better."
As if the James-Cavs stuff wasn't saucy enough for a story line, there's also the matter of Miami looking for NBA history.
According to STATS LLC, only three teams have won 10 consecutive games by at least 10points apiece. Miami has won nine straight, all of them by double figures, and could join the 2007-08 Houston Rockets, 2003-04 New Jersey Nets and 1946-47 Washington Capitols in that exclusive club if they beat the Cavs by 10 or more on Wednesday.
"We're starting to figure out how this team is going to play all year, how we're going to be effective," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. "The spurts and the runs that we go on is going to be probably the most effective thing that other teams can't do that we have the ability to do."
The Heat went through a relatively light practice Tuesday, which in no way suggests Miami is taking things easy right now.
Much in the same way that the struggles in their 9-8 start were part of the "process" that Heat coach Erik Spoelstra spoke of often in the season's opening weeks, continuing to refine things remains part of that same process.
"It's no different than when we lost four out of five," Spoelstra said. "We still had to work and stay together to try to improve and that's where we are right now. If you just try to relax and think of the wins that we've had, you're not getting any better. And we have a long ways to go, still."
Relaxing against a team that's struggling isn't an uncommon occurrence.
James said he won't let Miami fall into that trap — not against Cleveland.
"It's a tough situation going on in Cleveland," James said. "I wish those guys the best. It just so happened they haven't won since we played them and now they come in here when we're still rolling. As much as I would love for them to get back on track, I don't want them to get back on track against us."

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Cliff Lee to return to Phillies - Big Ten Names New Divisions -



Big Ten settles on Leaders and Legends as new division names
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- When the Big Ten plays its first conference championship game next season, it'll be the Leaders division against the Legends division.
The conference, expanding to 12 teams in all sports and adding divisions and a championship game in football starting next season, on Monday also unveiled a new logo and 18 football awards, each named after two standout Big Ten performers.
"The Legends, not too hard in that we have 215 College Football Hall of Fame members, we have 15 Heisman Trophy winners," Commissioner Jim Delany said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press. "We thought it made perfect sense to recognize the iconic and the legendary through the naming of the division in that regard. ... We've had plenty of leaders in the conference, that's for sure, but the emphasis here is to recognize the mission of using intercollegiate athletics and higher education to build future leaders."
With Nebraska becoming the conference's 12th team next year, the conference created new divisions that it introduced in September. Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin will be in the Leaders Division, with Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska and Northwestern in the Legends Division.
Delany said the conference had considered naming the divisions after coaches, players, commissioners and faculty but it was too difficult to single out just two. It also disdained from going with compass points since geography had been only the third consideration when the conference announced the divisional setup three months ago. In order, the main factors were competitive balance, maintaining rivalries, and then geography.
Asked if Leaders and Legends was too bland, or not unique to the Big Ten, Delany responded, "All of these things will engender discussion. We want to engage our fans. All I can tell you is that we thought long and hard about what not to do. We thought harder about what to do."
The logo is a block "Big Ten" which includes an homage to the original 10 members with those numerals embedded in the last two letters of the word Big.
The design firm Pentagram came up with the new logo. And, no, the conference never seriously considered putting a 12 in its logo or changing its well-known brand name to include the number of members today.
"There will be people who would want us to be digitally correct with our name and our number, but I think we have 100-percent support of the people who have responsibility for these programs - in fact, it was a presidential directive - that we maintain our name," Delany said.
The conference also introduced 18 new football awards which will be presented starting in 2011 with the advent of divisional play and Nebraska joining the fold.
The awards include the Stagg-Paterno Championship Trophy, presented to the winner of the conference title game, an offensive player of the year award honoring Otto Graham and Eddie George and a defensive trophy which will honor Bronko Nagurski and Charles Woodson. The Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year trophy will also be introduced next season.








Cliff Lee to return to Phillies
The numbers had been crunched and all the scenarios exhausted Monday night when Cliff Lee finally made his decision.
He picked up the phone, thanked Rangers general manager Jon Daniels for his time in Texas and revealed he was signing with the Philadelphia Phillies. Agent Darek Braunecker simultaneously delivered the news to New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. And just like that, Lee was back where he felt he belonged.
The most intriguing negotiation of the hot stove season came to a stunning conclusion late Monday when Lee, 32, spurned bigger offers from the Yankees and Rangers and agreed to a five-year, guaranteed $120 million contract with the Phillies, sources said. The deal includes an "easily reachable" vesting option for a sixth year, a source said, and most likely will ensure that Lee finishes his career in a Philadelphia uniform.
Lee's deal includes a $27.5 million option that vests if he pitches 200 innings in 2015 or a total of 400 innings over the 2014-15 seasons. If the option doesn't vest, the deal includes a $12.5 million buyout.
Lee joins Carl Crawford of the Boston Red Sox and Jayson Werth of the Washington Nationals as the third free agent to sign a contract of more than $100 million this offseason. In addition, Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki recently signed an extension that tacked $134 million onto his deal with the Rockies.
Lee's agreement carries the third-biggest guarantee ever for a pitcher, behind CC Sabathia's $161 million contract with the Yankees and Barry Zito's $126 million deal with the San Francisco Giants. But in the end, his negotiations were as much about heartstrings as purse strings.
In July 2009, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. acquired Lee from the Cleveland Indians to be a stretch-drive savior in a pennant race. Lee helped pitch the Phillies into the playoffs and posted a 2-0 record with a 2.81 ERA in Philadelphia's World Series loss to the Yankees.
Beyond that, Lee came to embrace the clubhouse culture in Philadelphia, and he and his wife, Kristen, quickly grew to love the city. So when the Phillies acquired pitcher Roy Halladay in a trade with Toronto last December and sent Lee to Seattle for three prospects in an ancillary move, it came as a crushing disappointment to the family. One Phillies front-office member said the Lees were "heartbroken" by the news.
Lee split the 2010 season between Seattle and Texas, dominated the postseason before suffering two losses to San Francisco in the World Series, and was at the top of every publication's free-agent rankings in November. The Yankees and Rangers quickly made their interest known, sending delegations to Lee's home in Little Rock, Ark., and gradually increasing their offers well beyond their initial comfort zones.
Sabathia, Lee's former Cleveland teammate, lobbied him to come to New York, and Lee's teammates in Texas wore out his cell phone imploring him to come back to Arlington.
The Phillies, meanwhile, lurked on the periphery, intent on becoming a player as Lee neared his decision. Baseball sources said Amaro and his front office jumped into the process with increased fervor after last week's winter meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. "It happened in a hurry," said a source familiar with the negotiations.
There were some significant obstacles to overcome. The Phillies' club policy typically precludes contracts of longer than three years for pitchers, and they held the line with Halladay to three years and $60 million, plus a $20 million vesting option for 2014. But it was clear that wouldn't get it done with Lee, and Amaro broke with the policy of his predecessor, Pat Gillick, and kept sweetening the Phillies' offer to Lee. Eventually, the Phillies got it close enough to the New York and Texas packages that Lee couldn't say no.
The Yankees' final offer to Lee came in at $132 million over six years, a source said, with a $16 million player option that could have brought it to $148 million. But as that whopping figure stood out there for days without a positive response from Lee, Yankees officials grew increasingly pessimistic over their chances of landing the pitcher.
Lee's decision now leaves Cashman with some serious salvage work to do. Sabathia is coming off knee surgery, A.J. Burnett sported a 5.26 ERA this past season, and Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova will begin the 2011 season at age 24. The Yankees haven't expressed much interest in trading for Kansas City's Zack Greinke, and they probably would be challenged making a deal within the division for Tampa Bay's Matt Garza. In addition, what remains of the free-agent market is a monumental dropoff from Lee.
ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney explains how Cliff Lee ended up back with the Philadelphia Phillies. Olney says the Phillies were always in the conversation on the periphery. Plus, Olney talks about the incredible Phillies rotation on paper.
As for the Rangers, they made a six-year offer for an undetermined figure with a seventh-year option, only to come up short in their bid to land Lee. Now they'll have to either explore a deal for Garza or take a look at Carl Pavano, Brandon Webb, Jeff Francis and some other free-agent pitchers who are still available. The Rangers apparently don't match up with Kansas City in a potential trade for Greinke.
"We're disappointed but now we can move on and look at other ways to improve the team," Daniels told ESPNDallas.com. "We still have every expectation to win this year. It's hard to find fault with Cliff's decision when he chooses a spot where he and his family are comfortable, and he has a chance to win. He was a part of the most successful team in club history, to this point, and we thank him for his role here."
Sources said Amaro is trying to trade pitcher Joe Blanton to free up some money, but the Lee acquisition signifies another major commitment for a franchise that hasn't been hesitant to spend money. The Phillies ranked fourth among the 30 MLB teams with a $142 million Opening Day payroll, and they continue to throw bouquets to a fan base that's produced 123 straight sellouts at Citizens Bank Park.
A Red Sox source told ESPNBoston.com's Gordon Edes that Boston and Phladelphia talked Monday about a Blanton trade but couldn't come to agreement on a deal. At this point there is no reason to expect a deal, the source said.
Beyond the finances, the Phillies have a starting rotation that will be the envy of baseball in 2011. Most teams are fortunate to have one starter who can be classified as a bona fide ace. With Halladay, Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels in the mix, Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel now has four. If the Phillies thought expectations for the team were high in 2010, they haven't seen anything yet.



College Hoops Dec. 13, 2010
AP Top 25 Rank Team Record Pts Pvs
1. Duke (65) 10-0 1,625 1
2. Ohio St. 8-0 1,547 2
3. Kansas 9-0 1,467 4
4. Connecticut 8-0 1,343 6
5. Syracuse 10-0 1,331 8
6. Kansas St. 9-1 1,320 5
7. Tennessee 7-0 1,316 11
8. Pittsburgh 10-1 1,137 3
9. Baylor 6-0 1,023 10
10. Villanova 8-1 926 12
11. San Diego St. 10-0 914 14
12. Illinois 10-1 779 16
13. Missouri 8-1 771 15
14. Michigan St. 7-3 755 7
15. Georgetown 9-1 722 9
16. BYU 10-0 688 18
17. Kentucky 7-2 668 17
18. Memphis 7-1 561 13
19. Purdue 9-1 506 19
20. Louisville 8-0 464 24
21. Minnesota 9-1 336 22
22. Texas 7-2 181 25
22. UNLV 9-1 181 20
24. Notre Dame 9-1 165 23
25. Texas A&M 9-1 105 -
Others receiving votes: UCF 62, Florida 55, Washington 37, Temple 30, Vanderbilt 29, North Carolina 21, Cleveland St. 15, Arizona 8, Wisconsin 8, Saint Mary's, Calif. 6, Cincinnati 5, Northwestern 5, Washington St. 5, Richmond 3, Old Dominion 2, West Virginia 2, Boston College 1.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Congrats to Cam Newton on the 2010 Heisman Trophy - Bucks Roll Despite Playing in Old St. John Arena - Video of the Metrodome Roof Falling In




Video of the Metrodome Roof Falling In






Bucks Roll Despite Playing in Old St. John Arena
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Due to fall quarter graduation at its home arena, No. 2 Ohio State was forced to return to the program's roots and play Western Carolina at aging St. John Arena on Sunday.
That was fine by the Buckeyes, who rolled to an 85-60 victory.
But it wasn't so good for coach Thad Matta.
"It's funny, coming in here in the blizzard, they made me park over by Tommy's Pizza," Matta cracked, referring to a landmark pizzeria a half-mile or so from St. John.
Just about everything else went according to plan.
Freshman Jared Sullinger scored 17 points and the Buckeyes came out of the blocks fast to beat the turnover-prone Catamounts. Dallas Lauderdale, William Buford and Deshaun Thomas each added 13 points and Jon Diebler 10 for the Buckeyes (8-0).
Sullinger was coming off a record-setting 40-point outing in Thursday night's 75-64 win over IUPUI. He set an Ohio State mark for points by a freshman, in addition to records for free throws attempted (23) and made (16). It was the most points scored by a Buckeye since Dennis Hopson had 41 in 1986.
In Sunday's game, he was just happy to play in an historic venue where Jerry Lucas, John Havlicek, Jim Cleamons, Bill Hosket, Hopson and Jim Jackson starred.
"I love it. It's loud," Sullinger said while sniffling because of a bad cold. "It's
away smaller than (home court Value City Arena), but St. John has a lot of history here. I was just happy to be a part of it."
Ohio State broke free from an early tie with an 11-0 run and were never headed. They led by as many as 35 points before substituting freely.
Western Carolina coach Larry Hunter, the former coach at Ohio University, came away impressed with the Buckeyes.
"What I saw on videotape and watching several games was verified in person," he said. "I really like Thad's team. They're a very good passing team, got a very good inside presence, you can't help away from perimeter people too far because they shoot it so doggone well and they find the open man. They play with a lot of poise."
Mike Williams led the Catamounts (4-8) with 22 points, while Trey Sumler had 12 and Brandon Boggs 11.
They had 14 turnovers - matching what they average for a game - at halftime. They calmed down to finish with 20 but still remained winless all-time against ranked teams (0-36).
The biggest cheer of the game came late in the half when Ohio State rapidly whipped five passes around and through Western Carolina's man-to-man defense before Lauderdale jammed off a feed from Buford.
Matta said that was a template for how he wanted his team to play.
"We have a call for that - it's called unselfishness," Matta joked. "That to me is what I hope is a blueprint, anytime we can get the ball moving and share it like that. As I told them at halftime, I think each guy touched it twice in that possession and we get a wide-open dunk. With who we have on the floor at times, that's a great way for us to play."
Matta was an assistant at Western Carolina when the 16th-seeded Catamounts stretched top-seeded Purdue to the limit before bowing out of the NCAA tournament with a 73-71 loss. It remains one of the closest calls ever for a No. 1 seed, which has never lost a first-round game in the tournament.
Hunter said, other than the outcome, he enjoyed the visit to the 52-year-old arena.
"Someone told me tonight that they were thinking about maybe tearing it down," he said. "There's so much tradition and history, so much of Ohio State's in here. It's a special facility."







Congrats to Cam Newton on the 2010 Heisman Trophy
2010 Heisman Voting Voting for the Heisman Trophy, with first-, second- and third-place votes and total points (voting on 3-2-1 basis): Player 1st 2nd 3rd Total
Cam Newton, Auburn 729 24 28 2,263
Andrew Luck, Stanford 78 309 227 1,079
LaMichael James, Oregon 22 313 224 916
Kellen Moore, Boise State 40 165 185 635
Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State 1 23 56 105
Denard Robinson, Michigan 6 16 34 84
Ryan Malllett, Arkansas 0 11 19 41
Colin Kaepernick, Nevada 0 7 17 31
Andy Dalton, TCU 4 3 12 30
Owen Marecic, Stanford 3 1 5 16