No doubting Tiger Woods after 63 at Buick open

The technological advances of the modern world served only as a tease Friday. Tiger Woods was doing something special, and unless you were seeing it in person, only the live scoring updates could satisfy your curiosity.

There was Woods at the Buick Open, for a time looking like he was going to shoot nothing, and it wasn't on live television! How spoiled we are.

And how spoiled we are by Woods, the game's No. 1 player and attraction.

It was only a day earlier that some were wondering what was wrong with him. On Friday morning, Woods played his first five holes in 6 under par and shot 30 for his first nine despite a bogey. So much for missing the 36-hole cut.

OK, so he cooled off a bit on the back nine and ended up with a 9-under-par 63 at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club, a birdie-fest of a track if there ever was one on the PGA Tour.

Still, Woods had muddled his way to a disappointing 71 on Thursday, bemoaned his poor iron play, called it his worst putting day of the year and had those of us who document such things scrambling to find the last time he had ever missed consecutive cuts.

That would be never.

Of course, this is just one more example of why no one should ever cast doubt upon Woods too quickly. Yes, he missed the cut two weeks ago at the British Open, when he had a horrible six-hole stretch that saw him go 7 over par with two double-bogeys at Turnberry.

It was one of the rare times that Woods was unable to crawl back out of a hole he dug, and he ended up missing the cut by one stroke, just the second time he had done so in a major championship as a pro.

So naturally when he was missing a few greens, hitting indifferent chip shots and taking 32 putts Thursday, it was only natural that the ambulances and fire trucks were called. Surely something was wrong.

Once again, the beauty of Woods. ...

He has not won 68 PGA Tour titles and 14 major championships by panicking at the first, second or even third sign of trouble.

"No. The same. Absolutely the same," Woods told reporters Friday when asked if he spent any extra time working on his putting stroke before the round. "Same routine, didn't change anything. Just made sure I was committed to what I was doing out there today, and I got my speed a little bit better. Yesterday my speed was bad, and today the read was smoother, and I just made sure I got my speed correct and I was all right -- even though the one hole, 18 [his ninth, and his only bogey], didn't have my speed very good and ended up costing me a shot."

OK, but surely Woods put in some extra time Thursday night on the driving range to correct those flaws he saw in his iron game, right?

"I normally do, but I was a little bit hot yesterday, so I decided to just go home and get away from it for a little bit," Woods said. "And came out today with a better understanding of what I was going to do and just hit the ball.

"I drove it great yesterday. Just didn't hit my irons as close and didn't putt well, so I was just going to drive it just as good today and hit my irons a bit better and see if I can pour some in."

The 63 was Woods' lowest round of the year, and his lowest since shooting a second-round 63 -- tying a major championship record -- during the second round of the 2007 PGA Championship at Southern Hills.

But it wasn't even his lowest at Warwick Hills. Woods shot a second-round 61 after opening the 2005 Buick Open with a 71. He went on to finish in a tie for second.

So what does Friday's performance mean? Probably not much, other than a boost of confidence, which it is difficult to fathom Woods needing, anyway. He has won three times this year, more than any other player on the PGA Tour. He has eight top-10s.

But each time he won a tournament -- Bay Hill, Memorial, AT&T National -- it raised expectations for the upcoming major championship that, coincidentally, was only two weeks away. And disappointment followed, with two ties for sixth and a missed cut.

So would a victory at the Buick mean anything in two weeks at the PGA Championship? Probably not. But it certainly wouldn't hurt.

Earlier this week, Hank Haney, Woods' coach, was trying to put things in perspective, which is what everyone should try to do in Tiger's case.

The missed cut at the British Open, while surprising, should be viewed in the broader context, Haney said.

"Golf is a hard game," he said. "How realistic is it to never get beat in golf? You quickly see that there is so much more to golf than driving the ball. At Augusta and the U.S. Open, [Tiger] lost those tournaments because of putting. That was pretty obvious. I saw where his putting average at the majors is two strokes higher than the regular events. That's eight shots [per tournament]. Two more putts per round ... it happens, but you have to move on.

"He's got a big stretch coming up. He looked good last weekend [when we practiced together]. And we'll see how it goes."

On Friday, it went really well. source>>>

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Baseball reacts to Ortiz, Manny news Players wonder whether names on list should be revealed

Add the names of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez to those that have been leaked from the list of 104 players who tested positive for the use of performance-enhancing drugs during Major League Baseball's 2003 survey testing. And the big question now on the minds of many observers -- ironically, in the wake of supposedly anonymous identities getting leaked by unauthorized, unnamed sources -- is, what will happen with the rest of the names?

David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez
Ortiz, Ramirez named
Complete coverage
- Ortiz tested positive in '03; Manny named
- Manny mostly mum
- Ortiz responds
- Timeline of 'The List'
- Sox support Ortiz
- Baseball reacts
- News upsets Yankees
- Bodley: Reveal names
- Ortiz lifts Sox
- Ortiz's statement
- Drug Policy in Baseball
- Ortiz's bio/stats
- Ramirez's bio/stats

Sights and Sounds
Ortiz responds
MLB Tonight
Bodley
Reynolds & Duquette
Ortiz comes to plate
Photo gallery

"Can somebody in baseball, please -- we're all begging people -- get that stupid list out and move on?" White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said on Thursday night in Chicago. "This is ridiculous. This is embarrassing. This is a joke. Whoever is there is there, get them out and that's it.

"Every week we've got to come up with this thing. It's getting old. We all know the list is out there. It's like, who's going to be next? I think we should do it. Believe me, if that list is going to be out there, it's not going to be any problem for baseball. Maybe people will be upset, disappointed. But there are already a few names out there. Maybe they need to talk about it. Maybe we need to talk about this every week to get people's attention, but it's not the right way to get attention."

Prior to Thursday, the names of Barry Bonds, Jason Grimsley, Alex Rodriguez, David Segui and Sammy Sosa had also been made public. Ortiz confirmed Thursday's report, which first appeared on The New York Times' Web site, quoting unnamed sources, was accurate. Ramirez has declined to comment.

A-Rod, when asked about the latest revelations, said, "He's my friend and I care for David. I have nothing else to say about it."

Several of his Yankees teammates were more expansive in their responses.

"That list, names are going to keep coming out," Mark Teixeira said. "I agree with everyone else who says just put it all out. It's ridiculous. Just let all the games go on and let everyone deal with it at the same time. Every two months things come out. It's not good for the game. It happened in 2003. Let it all come out, let everyone talk about it for one or two days and then we can move on. I don't understand how something that was supposed to be anonymous can come out in the first place."

"Too bad for everyone, once again, we're sitting here talking about it," added Yanks shortstop Derek Jeter. "I'm pretty sure someone will come up with something else. I'll stick to what I said before: Not everyone was doing it. You're talking about 100 people. There are a lot more than 100 people playing baseball. It's unfortunate that we have to sit here and talk about another name a couple of months later. I wish that wasn't the case but unfortunately it's the situation."

The Players Association is ardently against releasing the names. Regarding the '03 results, the Players Association was supposed to destroy the tests, but officers of the federal government, investigating the case against the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, seized them under a warrant from an MLB-approved lab. They are still in government possession and the union continues to contest the seizure with the case at the federal appellate court level.

The tests are supposed to be under court seal and the union again on Thursday said it would fight to maintain that legal privacy. Major League Baseball declined to comment and deferred queries to the union.

"That list was supposed to remain confidential, so whoever is leaking it, I can assure you, he isn't from the Players Association," said Dave Bush, a pitcher with the Brewers. "I don't know who has it or who knows about it, but that list is not supposed to be out there. At the time that test was taken, it was to remain confidential. The situation we're at right now -- with testing -- is because of that '03 test, so it's irrelevant who was on it. It's sensational now."

"This is all kind of pointless to be honest," said Jonathan Papelbon, Boston's closer and a teammate of Ortiz. "What's the point of even talking about [what happened] six years [ago]? That's the way I feel about it. I don't see the point of releasing any names."

"From a players' standpoint, it's not going to do any good to see the people you love and you care about have their name tarnished by the entire list coming out," said Mariners veteran Mike Sweeney. "In the same breath, if it does come out [in its entirety] maybe we can move on. I think the entire list will eventually get out."

"I wish they would just get the whole list out there," added Seattle left-hander Jarrod Washburn. "It's bad for the game to keep dragging it out. It stinks that all of these guys used performance-enhancing drugs, but when names on the list keep coming out every couple of months, it just keeps opening a wound that we're trying hard to close."

In 2003, 5-to-7 percent of the players tested positive for using performance-enhancing drugs, reaching a threshold that led to the establishment of MLB's current drug policy that includes random testing and was renegotiated three times. In '03, there were no punitive measures and the names were not supposed to be disclosed. Suspensions and/or fines began in '04.

As far as performance-enhancing drugs are concerned, the current program calls for a 50-game suspension for the first positive test, a 100-game suspension for the second and a lifetime suspension with a right to seek reinstatement after two years for a third. All three are accompanied by a loss of salary for the suspension. A different set of penalties apply if a player tests positive for a stimulant.

Ramirez, who now plays for the Dodgers, is the only Major Leaguer to violate the drug policy this season. He lost 50 games from May 17 to July 3, a suspension that cost him $7.7 million of his $25 million salary, which is partially deferred.

"I see both sides of it," said White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle, who tossed only the 18th perfect game in MLB history on July 23. "When we got tested, they said it never was going to come out. So for that reason I can see it not coming out. But it seems like it's giving baseball a bad name. Every couple of weeks, every month, one name gets leaked out here and there. It's almost like, get it all out and get it over with and go forward."

"Don't just keep busting out two to three names a year or whatever it is," said Cardinals pitcher Joel Pineiro, who played with Ortiz and Ramirez on the '07 Sox. "Just get it out there now, get it over with. I'm pretty sure some people are going to have different opinions. So many good things have happened for the game. We've got all this good stuff going on and it just goes back to the names coming out. It hurts the game. Hopefully we can just get it out of the way, get it over with and enjoy the game for what it is."

"I don't sit here and judge people one way or the other," said pitcher Derek Lowe, another former Boston teammate who now plays for the Braves. "Everybody has the opportunity to take stuff or not take stuff. I don't think they're bad people for doing it. I'm probably in the minority. Baseball is baseball. You still have to get guys out."

Lowe and Johnny Damon, who both played with Ortiz and Ramirez on the Red Sox, wonder if the news will taint Boston's 2004 World Series championship team.

"That probably is what's being said, and that's what makes guys like me upset," said Damon, a member of a team that swept the Cardinals in the '04 World Series and is now playing for the Yankees. "I was never in that conversation with guys who said when and where they would do it. It wasn't in lockers. That's the tough thing. I've never been in that conversation."

Ortiz, Jason Varitek and Kevin Youkilis are the only players remaining on the active roster from the Red Sox teams that won the World Series in 2004 and '07, although Youkilis played a minor role in '04.

The '04 Red Sox clawed back from an 0-3 deficit in the American League Championship Series to defeat the Yankees and win the first World Series title for the franchise in 86 years.

"I clearly didn't know of anything that was going on," said Lowe, the winning pitcher in Game 4 of the '04 World Series. "Fair or not fair, you have to look at both sides. In 2003, people said everyone was going to get tested, but nobody was ever going to know. From what I understand, people who were taking it at that time were notified that they had failed. But at that time, who cared?" source>>>

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MLB News: Trades, Roy Halladay, Martinez

Yankees facing race against Red Sox for Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay. Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi's best hope now is to get the Yankees and Red Sox in a bidding war for the former Cy Young winner, and according to a source, that's exactly what he's trying to do. Both the Yankees and Red Sox have issues to address in their starting rotations, but the prospect of keeping Halladay away from the other team could play as much into the situation as anything. Halladay would give either team an enormous edge. - NY Daily News

Red Sox after Tribe's Victor Martinez. The two sides have been talking Victor Martinez for weeks now, but Boston has been reluctant to give up Clay Buchholz as part of the deal and Cleveland has not been interested in some of Boston's lesser prospects. By trading their ace, the Indians have signaled that they are building for the future. Trading Martinez and his $4.5 million contract now would allow the Indians to have maximum financial flexibility, and clear room on their roster for the power bats they have sitting at Triple-A. - Providence Journal

Blue Jays would trade Halladay to Dodgers for five or six prospects. The Blue Jays have told the Dodgers they can get Roy Halladay without trading anyone off their major league roster, for five or six prospects. The Dodgers said no, arguing that would gut their minor league system. They already had thinned the system considerably last summer, trading six prospects to get Manny Ramirez, Casey Blake and Greg Maddux. The Blue Jays also said they would take fewer players if Clayton Kershaw or Chad Billingsley were one of them. The Dodgers said no to that too. No to Kershaw? Of course. No to Billingsley? There has been discussion within the organization about whether to reconsider that stance, although the Dodgers are not expected to do so. source>>>

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MLB TRADE DEADLINE: TODAY, 4 P.M.

The sobering words were spoken at a World Series. They also apply to today's trading deadline in major league baseball.

Before Game 7 of the 1982 World Series, St. Louis manager Whitey Herzog was about to go to the field for batting practice. As he did, a few journalists in his office told him the many factors his team had in its favor that night in the one-game showdown with Milwaukee for the title.

Herzog responded to all their evaluations as he walked toward his office door, his fists jabbed into his Cardinals windbreaker. "It doesn't mean anything if we don't execute," he said.

Soon after the trade deadline passes at 4 p.m. today, you'll be able to hear "winners" and "losers" declared. But no playoff berths will have been clinched. Even the teams that appear to have done the best in this year's trade market must still go out and play well in the big-game glare to reach the World Series.

As many years of baseball have shown us, if a team has an abundance of talent but doesn't execute -- doesn't play the game properly -- it puts itself in jeopardy of losing to a team with inferior talent.

Conversely, a team that doesn't have the most talent but that does executes consistently -- hits the cutoff man, makes double plays and takes the extra base -- gives itself a chance to beat a team with a more dazzling roster.

In that Game 7 in '82, the Cardinals executed beautifully at a key moment. They threw out a Milwaukee runner who tried to go from first to third on a single to right. They wound up winning, 6-3.

TIGERS' INTERESTS: As the trading deadline approaches, it's clear the Tigers could use a boost in four areas (in no particular order of priority): starting pitching (they didn't plan to have two rookies in the rotation, as they do now), left-handed hitting (Carlos Guillen can alleviate their imbalance there), relief pitching (with Joel Zumaya headed for shoulder surgery) and backup catcher (an experienced big-leaguer who has shown run-production ability). The Tigers' chances at acquiring any of those?

They could change hour-by-hour today, or minute-by-minute as the deadline approaches.

OUTSIDE INFLUENCE: For Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski, as for any general manager of a contender, two potential last-minute factors can loom at the trade deadline beyond the trade offers themselves: recent struggles by his team and deals by his competitors.

Until their 13-run outburst Wednesday night, the Tigers ranked last in the American League in runs in the few weeks since the All-Star break. Asked how that slowdown affects his interest in getting a hitter, Dombrowski said, "It doesn't affect it at all. It was our interest before, and it continues to be an interest."

Dombrowski said that he's not swayed by any trades fellow contenders might make: "I think you have to take care of your own situation first and foremost and not react to what other people do. That would continue to be what our plans are." source>>>

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Juan Pablo Montoya says he has turned the page on his frustrating pit road speeding penalty

Juan Pablo Montoya says he has turned the page on his frustrating penalty at Indianapolis, which prevented him from scoring what would have been his first NASCAR victory on an oval last week.

Montoya was up to 5.1mph over the speed limit according to NASCAR's timing system when he entered the pits for the final time, having led 116 of 125 laps completed of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

The Colombian said his team checked its tachometer following the race to try to find an answer for the pit road violation, as he insists that he was within his referenced limits when he drove into the pits in the closing stages of the race.

He also recalled an incident at Phoenix this year where he was mistakenly penalised for speeding, although he avoided getting deep into the topic.

"We checked ourselves after the race and it seemed okay and everything seemed to be in the right place," said Montoya. "For some reason [NASCAR] said we were speeding and that's what it is. I've moved on and that's it.

"I think the Phoenix incident is a past incident and it happened already. Things like that whether you're right or wrong or they're right or wrong, today we can't change it. I can't. At least we showed to everybody how much potential this team has, everybody, Earnhardt, Ganassi and the Target team is doing an amazing job. We've just got to keep doing it."

The 33-year-old said he was not pushing the limits in the pits at the end of the race because he had a big enough lead over second-placed Mark Martin at the time, making it unnecessary to take risks.

He added that pit roads like the one at Indy, where the speed limit is set higher than at other tracks, are easier for him to deal with than venues where keeping a constant speed at 35 mph and lower revs make a speeding violation more likely.

"I think there are times you've got to push but I think when you've got a five-second lead with 30 laps to go you don't have to push it and I wasn't pushing it, but it didn't change anything," Montoya said.

"I don't know. The slower the pit road is the harder it is for me. The reason why is because the gear is shorter and the car just bounces a lot. When you're running faster it's a lot more stable. The RPMs are a lot more stable.

"Some weeks we can just hold the throttle, you put the throttle in a certain position and it just rides along pit road. Some places you've got to ride the hell out of the brakes just to try to stay in touch with it."

The Earnhardt Ganassi driver will race this weekend at Pocono in the same car that he ran last weekend at Indianapolis. Although there are some similarities between both tracks given their low banking and atypical radius in the turns, he doesn't expect his Indy pace to translate into this weekend.

"We actually brought the same car because the car we were going to bring here we're not as happy with it as we thought we were going to be," said Montoya. "The Indy car was in one piece so we brought it here. Does it mean we're going to run as good as Indy? I would really doubt it.

"I would hope so but you know, this is very bumpy. I don't know what people see similar between this and Indy, so I hope I can find it. I'm sure if I find it we'll probably run really well."

Montoya currently ranks 10th in the Sprint Cup Series driver standings and remains a strong candidate to make the Chase for the championship in seven weeks' time. source>>>

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Kentucky Speedway, NASCAR face off in appeals court

Whether premium stock-car racing can be considered a "market" when determining a monopoly and whether NASCAR works with sister company International Speedway Corp. to keep tracks such as Kentucky Speedway off the Sprint Cup schedule were the primary issues discussed Thursday morning during a hearing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

The hearing was for the appeal of Kentucky Speedway's founders in an antitrust case filed in 2005 against NASCAR and ISC over NASCAR's decision not to grant the track a Sprint Cup event. In January 2008, U.S. District Court Judge William Bertelsman rejected the validity of the testimony from Kentucky Speedway's expert on what exactly is the market for the track and granted NASCAR's motion for summary judgment based on the fact that Kentucky Speedway didn't have grounds for a case.

Each side had 15 minutes during the hearing Thursday and the three-judge panel said it would take the case under advisement. Decisions typically come three weeks to six months after the hearing. If Kentucky Speedway founders win, the case would go back to U.S. District Court for trial. If NASCAR wins, the track founders could appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. There also could be an appeal to the entire 24-judge panel in Cincinnati.

"(Kentucky Speedway) wanted the most premier product, the most scarce product. They didn't get it in five years, so they sued,' " argued attorney David Boies, who was representing NASCAR. "They didn't get it in eight years, so they sold. They wanted NASCAR to give them for free this very valuable right. ... They want one (Cup race). Everybody wants one. Everybody who has one wants two."

Kentucky Speedway opened in 2000 at a cost of $152 million. It has not obtained a Sprint Cup date and was sold to Speedway Motorsports Inc. in a $78.3 million deal in 2008. SMI plans to move a Cup date to the track, but NASCAR won't consider a realignment request until the antitrust litigation, brought by the founders, is resolved. SMI is considered a co-conspirator in the alleged conspiracy to keep independent tracks from getting Cup dates.

"(We were told) on the merits, we would have gotten a Cup race, but we weren't going to get a Cup race on merit alone," said attorney Rick Rule, who was arguing for the Kentucky Speedway founders. He also noted, "This is a classic version of anti-competitive, illegal conduct."

The founders seek in excess of $200 million in damages and are asking for the France family to sell off NASCAR and/or most of its tracks, and for new criteria to be created for awarding Sprint Cup race dates.

The basis of that claim is the relationship between NASCAR and ISC and the number of races controlled by ISC. According to court documents, NASCAR, the sport's sanctioning body, is owned privately by Jim France, the brother of the late Bill France Jr., and Lesa France Kennedy, daughter of Bill France Jr. and sister of NASCAR Chairman Brian France.

ISC is a publicly traded company, the majority of whose stock is owned by the France family. ISC has 19 of the 36 Sprint Cup events at its 12 tracks, while SMI has 12 races at seven tracks. The other five races are held at independent facilities.

The three France executives (Brian, Jim, Lesa), as well as NASCAR President Mike Helton and ISC President John Saunders, were all in attendance at the hearing.

Judge Ronald Lee Gilman, who noted the complexity of the case, asked the most questions from the three-judge panel. He asked Rule about the fact that other tracks don't have to sell to ISC or SMI and that NASCAR doesn't require tracks to have exclusive relationships. He asked whether the track founders believe NASCAR is trying to run Kentucky Speedway out of business.

Rule stressed that the issue before the judges is whether NASCAR has a monopoly because that is what Judge Bertelsman based his decision on. Bertelsman ruled that Kentucky Speedway's expert failed to consider other sports and entertainment when determining the market and failed to use a merger guidelines test established by the justice department.

Rule argued that to have a monopoly, there needs to be a defined market, and he contends that premium stock-car races are a market. Rule, who worked in the justice department's antitrust division in the 1980s, said the guidelines aren't meant to be the sole determination of a monopoly. He said NASCAR clearly has one in the market of premium stock-car racing because there is a difference in ticket prices, fan loyalty and the television revenue for Sprint Cup events.

That, combined with actions by NASCAR and ISC, is why the case should not be determined without a trial, he argued.

"We tried to go out and get independent tracks ... and we were stymied at every turn," Bill Markovits, an attorney for Kentucky Speedway, said outside the courtroom. "We were stymied by the pressure on these independent tracks by NASCAR and ISC."

Rule noted in court that by buying up tracks, NASCAR and ISC created "artificial barriers of entry" for Sprint Cup races.

Boies dismissed the Kentucky Speedway founders' argument that ISC and SMI work together to keep from getting into bidding wars for tracks. He said that could have been the case in the 1990s but certainly hasn't been the case since an SMI shareholder filed suit against NASCAR and ISC in 2002 (and later settled).

One of the nation's most noted attorneys as part of Al Gore's legal counsel in the disputed 2000 presidential election, Boies noted that the track founders failed to prove a market, failed to show what their injury was and that there was no link from the combined actions of NASCAR and ISC to Kentucky Speedway's getting a Cup date.

"Here you have the independent, lawful decision not to do (Cup) business with them," Boies said.

Boies listed several other racing series that compete at ISC tracks and said that any lack of success of other sanctioning bodies is not because of anything ISC has done.

"We made the point that, like other sports, NASCAR has the right to create its schedule and host events where it wants to," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said outside the courtroom. "We've done that to the benefit of the entire industry. ... The track developers were told repeatedly that the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule was full and we would not be expanding the schedule for Kentucky Speedway."
source>>>

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NASCAR's Busch in Iowa: Ickler and track make fiery star smile

They're friends, colleagues and often share the same seat.

The mentor is well known and polarizing: fiery NASCAR star Kyle Busch.

The protégé?
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The mentor is well known and polarizing: fiery NASCAR star Kyle Busch.

The protégé?

He's Brian Ickler, who, during a news conference Thursday at Iowa Speedway, searched for at least one personality trait that distinguishes the pair.

"I throw stuff a lot less than Kyle does," said a grinning Ickler, who along with Busch, spoke with the media today before NASCAR Nationwide Series testing in advance of Saturday's U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway.

Busch smiled and shrugged.

"I haven't thrown anything," the series points leader said.

Both Busch and Ickler own wins at the 7/8-mile asphalt track in Iowa.

Ickler won the Camping World East/West combination event in 2008, outpacing ringer Kasey Kahne. Busch won the same race May 17, topping Ickler.

He also has played an integral role in getting Ickler a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series ride -- his, the No. 51 Billy Ballew Motorsports Toyota.

"We're the same size, we fit the same belts," Busch said. "I might like mine a little tighter than he does, but we're still able to use all the same equipment and everything. So it makes things a lot easier. He's a good kid, really like working with him -- he's only a year younger than me, so it's fun to have a relationship off the track as well as on."

Busch, given his five Nationwide wins this season and eight-race streak of first- or second-place finishes, emerges as the obvious favorite -- along with fellow Sprint Cup star Carl Edwards -- for Saturday's 3:30 p.m. main event.

Iowa Speedway president Jerry Jauron said track officials expect the crowd to top 57,000, a number that drew a retort from track founder Rusty Wallace -- who was roasted later Thursday by friends and colleagues in a fundraiser for the NASCAR Foundation.

"That's a big crowd," Wallace said of the 57,000-plus figure. "That's more than Chicago had for a (Sprint) Cup (Series) race."

Speaking of Cup, Busch sees it as a future possibility for Iowa Speedway -- but peppered his comments with a few caveats.

"Anything's a possibility, for sure," said Busch, whose Cup team is racing Sunday at Pocono. "This place has some good amenities to it. It might not have all the grandstands it needs to accommodate a Cup race. It might not quite have the roads in or out to accommodate a traffic pattern, but that's about all I see it lacks. But you've got to look at NASCAR giving you a date before you can go to the county or city to work on those things -- to put up more structure here for grandstands, or put roads in or something like that. It's the chicken or the egg. It kind of takes one in order to get the other."

And the Cup schedule is currently full -- as is Busch's.

As for Ickler, Busch continues to offer tips and advice. Even comic relief.

"Kyle actually spotted for me at the ARCA race in Michigan, which was interesting," Ickler said. "I'm kind of, 'We've got 250 laps, I'm going to take what position I can get at the time, keep the fenders on it.' Kyle's more, put it on kill, four-wide, first corner, wide-open, on-the-outside kind of guy. So it was fun. I've never laughed so hard on the radio or had so much fun." source>>>

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Darlington cuts prices for 2010 NASCAR race

Darlington Raceway has trimmed ticket prices on more than half of its seats for its 2010 NASCAR race in light of continuing tough economic times.

Darlington president Chris Browning told The Associated Press on Thursday that the track "Too Tough To Tame" would offer reduced prices on about 35,000 seats for next year's Southern 500. Add that to the 9,000 or so seats reduced by $10 for last May's event, and 44,000 of the track's 62,000 would cost less than they did in 2008.

Darlington came within 3,000 tickets of a fifth straight sellout this spring, a strong showing in a region afflicted with 12 percent unemployment. But Browning said officials didn't want to just hold the line and pray more prosperous times were ahead by May.

"We kicked around a whole lot of different scenarios," he said by phone, "and at the end of the day, we felt like this was the right thing to do."

Browning said renewal forms will go out to all ticket buyers next week. Should they respond by the deadline of Sept. 18, purchasers could receive an additional $5 discount.

The biggest reduction comes in the Wallace Grandstand along the start finish line and affecting about 2,500 seats that had been $85 this May and will go for $59 next spring. A timely renewal would mean a savings of $31 a seat.

A section in the Colvin Grandstand along Darlington's backstretch where seats cost $70 last year would also drop to $59. People in sitting in the track's two most recently built grandstands, the Brasington Tower in turn one and the Pearson Tower in turn four would see prices dropped from $95 to $90, along with the additional $5 discount for renewing before Sept. 18.

Browning said post-race questionnaires and studies Darlington conducted among ticket buyers found that price was a big drawback to attending. "We want to do everything to make it as affordable as possible," he said.

It wasn't too long ago that Darlington had trouble attracting people to its races. The 1.366-mile egg-shaped layout was built in 1950 but had languished through the decades while other, more modern tracks sprang up as NASCAR became a fan favorite from coast-to-coast.

Darlington lost one of its two Sprint Cup weekends after 2004 and saw its lone race date shifted to Mother's Day weekend. However, the track has added lights for Saturday night racing and recently used $10 million for capital improvements to repave the surface and construct a wide infield access tunnel.

Browning said the track recently received a copy of its sanctioning agreement for 2010 and wanted to make sure its fans could afford to show up.

Tom Regan, a University of South Carolina researcher who has conducted economic impact and fan studies for Darlington in the past, said the cost reduction is Darlington understanding its fan base.

"It's not desperation," he said. "I think it's a marketing move. Lets listen to the fans and see what they're saying."

Browning believes NASCAR will bounce back strong when the economy improves. He's glad that Darlington can make things a little easier for fans in the near future instead of down the road.

"We've faced hardships before," Browning said. "We always seem to be able to adjust. Hopefully, the whole country will adjust and move on." source>>>

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There's room for BMW in NASCAR too

I see Ford's announcement of the Mustang coming to the Nationwide series as yet another example of the manufacturers trying to show NASCAR fans how important they believe our sport can be to them selling product. The Mustang obviously has been a very popular car. I think it's pretty cool and phenomenal.

In my mind, this does a number of positive things. I think you will see the other manufacturers following suit. This will also give Ford a distinction between the two series. Additionally it gives Ford another marketing angle. I think it's great that Ford is leading the way on this. I really think the fans will get behind and support this.

I am a fan of whatever will help jump-start our racing again. I was around when we used to run the pony cars. The Mustangs and the Camaros used to race against the Cup cars back in the day because we didn't have enough cars to fill a field out. So on short tracks, NASCAR used to let the Grand American type series cars race against the Cup cars. I was at North Wilkesboro counting laps for Tiger Tom Pistone when he was driving a Mustang. Tiny Lund in a Camaro beat Richard Petty that day to win the race.

What about a new player?

Following BMW's statement of leaving Formula 1, with what they have done here in our country putting people to work, with manufacturing plants in place and their history in motorsports going back so far, I think it would be exciting to possibly see them enter NASCAR racing.

The BMW brand is recognized not just here in the United States but worldwide, so if they wanted to put their hat in our ring, I see nothing but positives coming from it. It's just the continuing evolution of our sport. Again, I think it would be great for BMW, if they were willing to take a look at it and give NASCAR a chance.

We've said this for a few years now and wondered who would be the next one to follow Toyota into NASCAR. To me, BMW would make a lot of sense. It's not just car manufacturers, but drivers from other series that want to be in NASCAR. It's the competitiveness that drives them.

Juan Pablo Montoya is a perfect example. People have given him a hard time the last few years for being in our sport. Is he different from what our sport is accustomed to? The answer is probably somewhat because he raced in a much different environment than what we have in our series.

That being said, the common denominator is Juan Pablo is a competitor. He wants to be successful with this series. Every other series he has been in, he has succeeded. His success has been limited over here. It's been somewhat hit and miss. But now, I think he believes that not only can he race with these guys, but he can beat these guys.

Around the track

Follow the action:

* Pocono practice speeds

Watch:

* Video Central

Picture perfect:

* Action at Indianapolis

Read all about it:

* Red Bull bosses meet, decisions coming
* Stepmom sues Mayfield
* Darlington slashes ticket prices

Analysis:

* Spencer: Drivers to watch at Pocono
* Hammond: BMW to NASCAR? It could work

The Montoya surge

I am really looking forward to what I believe will be the No. 42 car and Juan Pablo making the 2009 Chase. I think we will see a totally different driver in Juan Pablo when that happens. I think Indy last Sunday was a pretty good indicator that you better watch out. He's not just a road race ace anymore. He has figured this thing out. He's starting to make it happen in a lot of different places. He and his crew chief Brian Pattie make a great combination.

I don't think folks really understand the depth of Juan Pablo's competitiveness. It doesn't matter if he is playing video games with his kids, playing paint ball, playing golf or racing his Cup car, Juan Pablo plays to win. He is a very competitive, driven individual.

That team did struggle at Pocono early on back in June. They made some changes during the race and pulled out a good finish. I have to believe that now we have made the swing to start coming back to the tracks for a second time, we will see who has been doing their homework to improve. So I think a lot of people will keep their eyes on Juan Pablo this weekend because of how extremely strong he was at the Brickyard last Sunday.

The No. 42 bunch needs to stay focused on posting another top 10 or top five in their trek towards making the Chase after Richmond in September. As I have said in past weeks, that bunch is big-picture racing and it shows. They can't lose sight of that. Instead of being able to take some risks like Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and others, right now it is much more important for the No. 42 team to say they are 2009 Chase contenders.

I think the same guys we saw have success at the Brickyard are the ones we need to keep our eyes on Sunday at Pocono. Watch the Hendrick cars across the board. Watch the Stewart-Haas cars. I will also be watching Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards.

Even though the No. 88 blew an engine at Indy, keep your eye on them this weekend. At Indy they practiced, qualified and raced well. That's a bright spot for them, especially when you also factor in that Dale Jr. wasn't feeling well. I still think Junior can play a role as spoiler in this Chase. Getting to Victory Lane would be a great step in getting the media off his back and I think that would be a huge plus not only for him but that whole team. source>>>

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More from Former MLB commissioner Fay Vincent on Pete Rose

Former baseball commissioner Fay Vincent is taking every opportunity to weigh in on the recent New York Daily News story that said current commissioner Bud Selig was "seriously considering" reinstating Pete Rose to the game.

Vincent, a strong critic of any potential reinstatement of Major League Baseball's all-time hit king, had this to say yesterday on ESPN's Jim Rome Is Burning:

"Selig's not going to be wobbly on gambling at this stage, especially with what happened in the NBA. This issue is not about Pete Rose. It's about the effectiveness of the deterrent."

High & Inside would like to see a panel discussion pitting Vincent and Selig against Rose backers such as Hank Aaron, Mike Schmidt, and Joe Morgan. Also, to add spice, throw in a few Hall of Famers who think Rose greatly tarnished the game with his admitted gambling. source>>>

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PGA Golf Odds: Tiger Woods and Company at Buick Open

So now that you saw Tiger Woods play like a mortal at the British Open, is he still your bet heading into this week's Buick Open?

Tiger heads to Michigan trying to gear up to take his run at the final major of the year. It will be interesting to see if he swings like he did in his three wins, or like he did in his three major losses.

Regardless, Woods is the favorite to win the Buick Open, listed at +137 when players teed off.

Looking for a reason to tune in other than Tiger? What about John Daly?

Daly's rebirth continues this weekend in familiar territory. If you recall, this is where he unleashed that infamous beer-can tee shot of last year.

It would be great to see him challenging on Sunday again, but at +15000 to win don't get your hopes up. source>>>

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PGA Golfer John Daly Has a New Reality Television Show

John Daly, former Hooters arrestee, purveyor of heinous knickerbockers and fat guy in a tiny bus tunnel, isn't leaving your lives just quite yet. No, sir. In fact, thanks to the Golf Channel, Daly is going to be all up in your face kid.

That's because starting in just a few months (or "early next year") Daly's going to get his own reality television show. But, really, um, of course he is.

It shouldn't be surprising at all, frankly -- and getting to see the train wreck that is John Daly appearing weekly on your teevee sets is something that should have never gone away. The surprising part is Daly's show is happening now ... after he's actually cleaned up his act.

Instead, the Golf Channel's show will focus on Daly turning his life -- they're calling it his "boring life" actually -- around and trying to make something of himself other than a bloated pile of Diet Coke and peanut M&M's. Frankly, I think it will be interesting; even at his most reserved, Daly is still pretty out there (see: fluorescent pants). Excellent example: the first part of the show will feature him finishing up practice for the Buick Open and then going to Kid Rock's studio to record a song. He will also iron his awesome pants.

Daly has, of course, turned to Twitter in order to get this puppy named; "Daly Planet" is out, and he's considering "Out of the Rough" which is obviously appropriate given the multiple meanings inherent there. Got a better idea? Hit him up. He'll probably answer and if it's good enough, he might even use it. (Personally, I think "Cinderella Story" with Bill Murray voice overs to pseudo-house beats would be pretty awesome, but I'm a weirdo. What? You do better.) source>>>

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This Weeks NASCAR Top 10 Power Rankings

1. Tony Stewart -- Stewart finished third at Indianapolis, his series-leading 12th top-five result of the year, and padded his lead atop the point standings. Stewart now leads Jimmie Johnson, who passed Jeff Gordon for the No. 2 spot in the standings, by 192 points.

"As an Indiana native," Stewart said, "this is the one race I really want to win. I've got two wins here already, but now that Jimmie Johnson has more, I can't say that I wasn't jealous watching him kiss the bricks."

"Not that I also didn't get a cheap, voyeuristic thrill watching, much like one would by viewing grainy footage of a naked ESPN reporter. But what Dr. Jerry Punch does in the privacy of his hotel room should be his business, and his business alone."

2. Jimmie Johnson -- Johnson won his second consecutive Brickyard 400, and third in his career, in an eventful race at Indianapolis that was rendered wide open when Juan Montoya was ticketed for speeding on pit lane on lap 127. Montoya had led 116 of the first 124 laps before the fateful infraction.

"You could say NASCAR gift-wrapped that one for me," Johnson said. "And you could say the package came not with a 'Colombian necktie,' but with a 'Colombian bow tie.' Man, talk about a champion's provisional."

"Besides, Montoya's stepmother said he was speeding, so it must be true."

3. Jeff Gordon -- Gordon finished a lackluster ninth at Indianapolis, collecting his 14th top-10 finish of the year at the track where he has four career victories. Gordon's No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet lacked the handling to challenge the cars of race winner Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, and Juan Montoya, but some timely passes as the laps dwindled salvaged the top 10. Gordon dropped to third in the points, 192 behind Tony Stewart and 15 behind Johnson.

"I'm happy for Jimmie and Mark," Gordon said, "and I'm happy for Rick Hendrick, as well. He spares no expense to provide this team with the best equipment. I wouldn't be surprised if Hendrick engineering played a part in the timing devices used to catch those pit lane speeders. But please don't buy into another one of Jeremy Mayfield's conspiracy theories."

"It looked like it was Montoya's race to win. The No. 42 Dodge was so dominant, I thought Juan would win going away. But things can change quickly in this sport. What was looking like a 'Juan-coup' finish became a '1-2' Hendrick finish."

4. Mark Martin -- Martin won the pole for the Brickyard 400 on Saturday, becoming the oldest driver to accomplish that feat in NASCAR's history. He nearly cashed in for victory, but was unable to pass Jimmie Johnson after an exciting 20-lap duel to the finish. With his runner-up finish, Martin moved up two places in the point standings to ninth, and holds a 42-point cushion over the 12th spot.

"Jimmie got by me on that final restart," Martin said, "and that was all she wrote. I gave it everything the No. 5 Car Quest Chevrolet had, but I couldn't catch him. I think it was Jimmie's way of sending a message that he's still the man to beat. It's good that he cleared that up, because most drivers, Tony Stewart and Jimmy Spencer among them, have always recognized Kurt Busch as the man to 'beat.'"

"Honestly, though, there's really no secret to my longevity as a driver. If you're looking for a 'Fountain of Youth,' there's not one, although the talent at a Tony Stewart hauler party comes mighty close."

"No, I attribute my success to hard work, but mostly the credit is due to the competitive fire coursing through my veins. Now, if I could bottle that up and sell it, I'm sure Aaron Fike and Jeremy Mayfield would be first in line to try it."

5. Kasey Kahne -- In his 200th career Sprint Cup start, Kahne finished seventh in the Brickyard 400, his second-straight top-10 and fifth-consecutive top-15. He held on to eighth place in the Sprint Cup point standings, and has a 53-point lead over Matt Kenseth in 12th.

"I'm really sympathetic to what Juan Montoya must be feeling," Kahne said. "He was pushing that car to the limit, with a 'checkered flag or bust' mentality. Well, he got 'bust'-ed all right, for speeding."

"Me? I can definitely relate to getting 'busted.' It happens to me quite often, actually, usually at meet-and-greets, when a comely female admirer 'busts' me. Luckily, it only costs me an autograph, and not a Brickyard 400 win."

"Anyway, I'm pleased with the team's performance. We've really come on strong in the second half of the season. I attribute that to hard work, a focused outlook, and some words of wisdom offered by 'The King' Richard Petty. He told me that there's no reason a driver with my talent should miss out on the Chase. I think his exact words were 'You know you don't have to be that guy, son.'"

"But right now, our Chase standing is in good shape. If I blow it and fall out of the top 12 in the next six races, it will be nothing less than a 'Kahne Mutiny.'"

6. Kurt Busch -- Busch was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop under green to tend to a wheel vibration on lap 33, and incident which left him a lap down. And, with a scant three caution periods during the entire race, Busch was never in position for the "Lucky Dog" free pass. He finished 27th, one lap down, but held on to fourth in the Sprint Cup point standings.

"Jimmie Johnson had everything working in his favor," Busch said. "A great car, a Juan Montoya speeding penalty, a timely caution, and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge nowhere near him. That's a heck of a lot of ingredients, but a recipe for success nonetheless."

"I'm still waiting for a good time to talk to Jimmie about the run-ins we've had on the track recently. With the Chase looming and Jimmie coming into form, he's kind of hard to catch nowadays. I asked him when would be a good time to talk, and he told me he could be reached anytime at 867-5309/Jimmie."

"When we talk, I'll expect an apology. If Jimmie doesn't oblige, the No. 48 Lowe's car can expect to 'Ride the Lite-ning' into a wall pretty soon."

7. Carl Edwards -- Hampered by a poor qualifying effort that gave him the 41st position of the starting grid, Edwards' prospects of success at Indianapolis were slim. But perseverance, determination, and a slew of other words used to indicate a slow car helped Edwards improve 26 positions and finish 15th in the Brickyard 400. He moved up one spot in the point standings to fifth, and trails Tony Stewart by 498.

"I think all of the guys are sympathetic to the plight of Jeremy Mayfield," Edwards said. "At Indianapolis, we all had an inkling of what he must be going through, because 'passing' was difficult out there."

"Now, if you're like me, you've had enough of the Mayfield versus NASCAR drug saga. I like my Sprint Cup filled with racing action, not urine. Lately, the Cup runneth over."

"And the drama shows no signs of slowing. NASCAR recently accused Mayfield of lying in federal court. It seems Mayfield said he didn't talk to a laboratory employee about submitting to a test when and audio recording indicated that he did. Is there a movie in the works? You bet. It's called Meth, Lies, and Audiotape."

8. Juan Montoya -- On his way to what likely would have been the most dominating Brickyard 400 victory in history, Montoya was nabbed for speeding on pit lane with 35 laps to go. Montoya had led 116 of the previous 124 laps and had built leads as large as five seconds, but the drive-through penalty assessed rendered those statistics irrelevant. Montoya finished 11th and dropped one place to tenth in the point standings.

"Jeremy Mayfield would agree," Montoya said, "that NASCAR obviously has a vendetta against drivers with the initials 'J.M' and 'speed' problems. I feel even more 'Target-ed' than normal."

"I'm proud to be a Colombian, but all too often, I'm finding that misconceptions about people of my nationality are apparently affecting the decisions of NASCAR. There's a misguided assumption that all Colombians have a cocaine problem, but that's still no reason for NASCAR to give me a 'snow' job."

9. Denny Hamlin -- Like his Joe Gibbs teammate Kyle Busch, Hamlin found the going tough at Indianapolis. Early in the race, a broken drive shaft forced the No. 11 Fed Ex Office Toyota to the garage. By the time repairs were completed, Hamlin was 16 laps down. He finished a game 34th, and fell one place in the points to sixth.

"Kyle and I both have been dealing with our share of adversity," Hamlin said, "most notably the fact that we're both being outdriven by an 19-year-old rookie."

"But that kid Logano is as talented as he is skinny. He has no shortage of talent, his greatest being the ability to exit his car without letting down his window netting."

10. Ryan Newman -- Newman finished 14th in the Brickyard 400, behind Stewart Haas teammate and fellow Indiana native Tony Stewart, who finished third. Newman is seventh in the points, 548 behind Stewart.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with controversy in NASCAR," Newman said. "At least it keeps people from talking about Kyle Busch."

"And controversy promotes discussion, and everyone's talking about Juan Montoya's speeding penalty. While it may not be of the magnitude of mysteries such as 'Who shot J.R.,?' the question on the minds of many in NASCAR circles is 'Who clocked J.M.?'" source>>>

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Pocono Preview

For the second time since June 7th the NASCAR Sprint Cup teams will again be taking on the challenge of the mammoth Pocono Raceway for this Sunday's running of the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500. This unique track places a lot physical stress on engines and transmissions and it can be equally demanding on the drivers as well. It's also a severe challenge for crew chiefs. There is no one definitive car set up that will allow maximum performance through the trio of turns and straightaways. When it comes to pre race prep at Pocono a crew chief has to pick the one portion of the track where he thinks his car and driver is going to need the most help.

THE TRACK BREAKDOWN

The 2.5 mile Pocono Raceway's uniqueness lies in the fact that it's shaped like a triangle and features three virtually flat turns linked by three straightaways.

Turn one is only banked 14 degrees. Turn two, also known as the dreaded "tunnel turn" is extremely challenging because, with only 2.8 degrees of banking, it's almost as flat as a pancake. Turn three is also virtually flat with only six degrees of banking. SOURCE>>>

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Lisa Mayfield is seeking damages against her stepson, suspended Sprint Cup driver Jeremy Mayfield,

Lisa Mayfield is seeking damages against her stepson, suspended Sprint Cup driver Jeremy Mayfield, for public comments he made in regard to his civil case against NASCAR, according to court documents.

Lisa Mayfield is seeking compensatory damages in excess of $10,000, punitive damages in excess of $10,000 and any other "relief as the court may deem just and proper" in a civil suit claiming slanderous, false and defamatory statements.

The complaint was filed Wednesday in the Iredell County Civil court in Statesville.

Court documents refer to statements that Jeremy Mayfield made to ESPN.com and WSOC-TV in Charlotte, which came after NASCAR filed court documents that included an affidavit from Lisa Mayfield in which she said she had witnessed her stepson taking methamphetamine at least 30 times since 1998.

The testimony was part of NASCAR's argument that the temporary injunction lifting his indefinite suspension for violating the sport's substance-abuse policy should be overturned.

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has since ordered that Mayfield's suspension be reinstated.

Lisa Mayfield's testimony also included accusations that Jeremy Mayfield was involved in the production of methamphetamine.

Jeremy Mayfield, responding during a phone interview with ESPN.com, said: "She's basically a whore. She shot and killed my dad."

He also accused his stepmother of accepting money from NASCAR in exchange for her testimony.

"It wouldn't take much money," he said at the time. "She tried to get money from me."

Jeremy repeated the accusations on a Sirius radio talk show that same day, and then a few days later made them again to WSOC.

Mayfield has since told ESPN.com that he has an attorney working on a wrongful death suit against his stepmother in the death of his father, and said he plans to file by Aug. 15 or earlier.

According to autopsy and police reports, the cause of death of Mayfield's father was suicide, and there were no signs of wrongdoing. The report included testimony from Lisa, who said her husband had been depressed for some time over the relationship with his son.

" ... Just came from Salisbury today with some stuff that I had an investigator on her for a while, she knows it, she's been running and basically either her, or conspired on killing my dad, shot my dad in the heart," Mayfield told WSOC, according to his stepmother's complaint.

Lisa Mayfield's complaint states that Jeremy Mayfield knew his legal case was heavily covered by the media and "knew or reasonably should have known that statements as set forth ... would be widely disseminated in the media."

The complaint added that the statements made by Jeremy Mayfield regarding his stepmom "were false and defamatory."

He was suspended by NASCAR on May 9 after a random drug test came up positive for methamphetamine. He has argued that the test was the result of combining Claritin-D for allergies with the prescription drug Adderall for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Officials who run NASCAR's drug-testing procedure have ruled that out as a possibility. Mayfield has since tested positive again for methamphetamine, the results of which were made public on the day Mayfield made his comments about his stepmother. source>>>

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Jamie McMurray, now officially, is Without A Ride at Roush Fenway Racing

Roush Fenway Racing has made its decision, now Jamie McMurray must make his.

Less than a week after announcing Matt Kenseth's sponsor had decided not to return in 2010, Roush officials said Tuesday that Crown Royal, McMurray's sponsor this season, would move to Kenseth's No. 17 team next year.

That means Roush - which is required to move from five teams to four next season - will field cars for Kenseth, Greg Biffle, David Ragan and Carl Edwards in 2010.

McMurray, now officially, is without a ride at Roush, although team president Geoff Smith says he hopes to transfer McMurray's No. 26 team intact to Yates Racing next season.

Is that really the best move for McMurray?

He left Chip Ganassi Racing in a much-publicized move to Roush in 2006, but since arriving his tenure has been less than stellar. He's won one race with the No. 26 - the 2007 July race at Daytona - and has never finished better than 16th in points. He is currently 20th.

A move to Yates - which gets car chassis, technical support and the same engines as Roush teams - wouldn't really change the dynamic for McMurray. Granted, it's not the best time to be looking for new rides in NASCAR right now, but for whatever reason it's clear the Roush-McMurray pairing never blossomed.

In three full seasons with Ganassi, McMurray didn't win a race (he won as a fill-in for Sterling Marlin in 2002), but he never finished worse than 13th in points. He was a lot closer to competing for a championship with Ganassi than has ever been at Roush.

Just by chance, there is an opening at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing next season, the No. 1 Chevrolet being vacated by Martin Truex Jr.

Is it out of realm of possibility for McMurray to return to the team where his Cup career started? Sponsors would have to be located, of course, and contract negotiations held.

But in the end, McMurray's best hope of moving his Sprint Cup career forward may be looking back. source>>>

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Jimmie Johnson Makes Case as One of NASCAR's All-Time Best

"No worries."

Spend much time around Jimmie Johnson and you'll hear that expression often. You won't meet a more down-to-earth, easy-going person making a 200-mph living than this 33-year-old San Diego native whose actually had to defend himself for being too nice of a guy.

But don't let the laid back demeanor deceive you.

In only his eighth season in NASCAR's premier Sprint Cup ranks, the three-time champion is quietly and methodically establishing himself not just among the best of his generation, but among the best in all of NASCAR history.

Just don't ask him about it.

"If I can keep that stuff out of my head, not think about what could be or what I could do for myself and my career and status, the better I'm gonna be,'' Johnson said this week, days after becoming the first stock car driver to win back-to-back races at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"Nobody will be offended if I dodge those questions and try not to let that stuff in my head. It's what I'm trying to do to stay focused on what I do best,'' Johnson added.

What he does best these days, is be the best.

Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, is deservedly getting extra attention this week after earning his third win at Indy -- a feat only his Hendrick Motorsports teammate and good friend Jeff Gordon (four wins) has bettered in the stock car ranks. Only three other Indy car drivers whose names are racing royalty -- Mears, Foyt and Unser -- along with a Formula One driver by the name of Michael Schumacher, have won more than Johnson there.

It is significant because winning the big races distinguishes Johnson among a list of stock car greats -- the ability to win the big races and the championships.

In addition to Johnson's three Indy victories, he won the 2006 Daytona 500 and three consecutive Coca-Cola 600s from 2003-05 -- the Cup Series' marquee trifecta. The NASCAR traditionalists' favorite, Southern 500 at Darlington, S.C.? Johnson's won that, too -- part of a 2004 sweep at the track Too Tough to Tame.

Of the Cup champions in the past 20 years only Johnson, the late Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon have won the Brickyard 400, Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500.

Johnson has proven himself to be among the most diverse in NASCAR. With the exception of road courses -- where Johnson is winless but accumulated seven top-10 finishes in 15 starts -- he has spread his 43 victories out over short tracks, super speedways and his specialty, intermediate tracks.

Through his first seven and a half seasons, Johnson has a career average finish of 11.2. It's on par with the first eight seasons of seven-time champ Earnhardt (12.2), two-time champ Tony Stewart (12.3) and three-time champ Darrell Waltrip (10.9).

Jimmie JohnsonOf champions from the past two decades, only Gordon had more wins (54) in his first eight seasons than Johnson. In this category, the comparisons for Johnson aren't with his contemporaries, but with sure Hall of Famers.

Three-time champion Cale Yarborough had 55 wins in his first eight seasons. Waltrip had 51 wins, Earnhardt 20.

Of course, part of the difference from 20 years ago is that Johnson started his career with a superpower. And he'll be the first to say so. But there have been -- and still are -- others with successful teams that didn't produce the results. It's one thing to have opportunity. It's another to seize it.

"It's not one thing that makes Johnson so good, it's three things: Hendrick Motorsports, [crew chief] Chad Knaus and it's Jimmie Johnson,'' 1989 Cup champ-turned ESPN analyst Rusty Wallace offered this week.

"Pull any one of those three things out and they would not be as successful. Chad with another driver isn't successful. Jimmie with another crew chief wouldn't be this successful.

"He's got to be an odds-on favorite to win the championship four times in a row, I know I picked him to, and here's the thing, he's a second-half driver. He's only just about to really turn it on.''

Many don't realize that Johnson, who began his career racing motorcross and off-road trucks, didn't even start driving stock cars until 1997. His first full season was 1998. He spent a couple years in the ASA series then two more in the Nationwide Series before Gordon convinced Hendrick to give Johnson his big break.

Often Johnson gets criticized for being "too nice" for being that happy-go-lucky, kid-next-door. But anyone who still questions his grit should watch replays of Johnson's hard-nosed win at Texas in 2007 or the way he races his own teammates in the waning laps. He is as competitive as anyone ever was behind the wheel.

Only he's proven you don't have to be a jerk to be a winner. Or a champion.

The win at Indy has positioned Johnson to make a real run at history -- a fourth straight Cup trophy. He goes to Pocono, Pa., this weekend -- where he's won twice -- second place in the championship behind Tony Stewart with six races remaining before the 10-race Chase for the Championship.

If the rankings were reset for the Chase today, he'd still be in second place behind his teammate Mark Martin by virtue of Martin's four wins to his three.

As Wallace mentioned, Johnson's team has proven itself the class of the late season field. His performance in the intermediate-track heavy Chase races is a major reason why he will be the man to beat.

A fourth consecutive title would be unprecedented in this sport and one of the greatest accomplishments in sports.

And try as you might, it's still not something Johnson wants to consider. He's having too much fun.

"I don't think it's in my nature to think long about it or focus on that,'' Johnson said with a laugh. "The less I let in my head the better. I joke around with it a lot that I'm not good at thinking. I'm better when I strap myself in that car and go out there and do what I know how to do.''

No worries, Jimmie. source>>>

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MMA's Miguel Torres Calls Out Floyd Mayweather Junior!

Boxing great Floyd Mayweather Junior has an opinion on most everything with regards to pro fighting, be it boxing, MMA or UFC, and some of "Money's" recent remarks about MMA have annoyed one of that discipline's top practitioners. MMA weekly has an internet article in which Miguel Torres, the current WEC bantamweight champion, expresses his anger at Mayweather's derogatory remarks about MMA, and Torres also calls Mayweather out in the article..

Reportedly, the 32-year-old unbeaten multi-weight world champion referred to MMA as a sport that was "for beer drinkers," and Floyd also stated that the reason the sport was invented in the first place was because "there's no white fighters in boxing that's dominating." It's possible Floyd was quoted out of context, but Torres, as he explained to MMA Weekly, heard these comments and he is ready to make Mayweather eat his words (Torres is proud, the article states, of his Hispanic background).

"I'm not going to lie, I don't talk a lot of (expletive)," Torres said. "I did an interview with ESPN and they told me what (Mayweather) had done. I heard he was talking garbage about mixed martial arts, and he was being pretty racist on certain subjects, and that made me kind of angry because I love boxing. I grew up watching boxing."

Torres then said that although he rates Mayweather as a good boxer and a great champion, he has no time for his mouth. Torres also made it clear he would relish a fight with Floyd - in whatever form of fighting Mayweather were to choose.

"I haven't watched a ton of Mayweather's fights," Torres continued. "I know he's a good boxer. But he's very flamboyant, he's very cocky, he's a bit of a prick, and I think he's broke now because of whatever financial reason he has, but you can't talk about a complete fighter when you're not a complete fighter yourself.

"I think in a real fight, in a mixed martial arts fight, he wouldn't stand a chance against a mid-level MMA fighter. He'd get taken down in a heartbeat. I'd be the first one at my weight class to say I'd fight Mayweather, anywhere, any way he wants. We can even do modified kind of rules, we can box for three rounds, do kickboxing for three rounds and then fight MMA for three rounds. I would even do something like that so he could have a little more confidence."

Will Mayweather, who returns to the boxing ring in September after a new two-year layoff, hear or read this challenge? Maybe. But even if he does, what's the chances of the hybrid fight taking place? Slim. Very slim. We've seen boxers Vs. MMA fighters clash recently, but never at the elite level. Mayweather-Torres sure would be a huge promotion if it were to happen. But it won't. I'd bet on it.

It just goes to show, though, how "Money" Mayweather's brashness and loudness can be heard and felt in arenas other than those of the boxing world. After having insulted a large number of fellow pugilists, Mayweather is now getting on MMA fighter's nerves! source>>>

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Delaware pol says ,NHL, NBA,NFL,and NCAA ‘hypocritical’ on gambling

The NFL, three other pro sports leagues and the NCAA are hypocritical for suing the state of Delaware to stop sports gambling while helping to promote gambling elsewhere, according to the Delaware House majority leader, Rep. Peter C. Schwartzkopf.

Schwartzkopf sent a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, with copies to the other four organizations, criticizing the lawsuit filed last week in federal district court in Wilmington. The Inquirer obtained a copy of the letter.

Delaware is working toward single-game sports betting for the start of the NFL season on Sept. 10 at its three racetrack casinos.

Major League Baseball, the NHL, NBA and the NCAA joined the NFL in the suit.

In the letter, Schwartzkopf criticizes the "blatant hypocrisy" of the leagues and the NCAA claiming a threat to the integrity of their contests while also entering business relationships with gambling interests.

The NFL could not be immediately be reached for comment.

The letter appears below:

July 28, 2009

Dear Commissioner Goodell:

I write this letter in response to the lawsuit the National Football League and other sports leagues filed against the State of Delaware concerning recent legislation reintroducing the sports lottery in Delaware. I was lead House sponsor of that legislation and write this letter in response.

The issue of Delaware expanding state sponsored gambling activities, such as sports betting, is an important one. For those of us who supported it, we sought to lighten the tax burden on Delawareans and help pay for core government services, like public safety and education. For those that oppose it, they often cite moral concerns and the potential for over reliance on a potentially volatile revenue source. While I have supported this expansion, I have great respect for those legislators and Delawareans who have taken the opposite view.

What I do not respect is the blatant hypocrisy of the professional sports leagues like the NFL that have now brought a lawsuit against Delaware. The lawsuit complains that legalized sports betting in Delaware will somehow undermine the integrity of their leagues. But the stance taken in these legal filings is belied by the close nexus between gambling and the leagues themselves. Thanks to the investigative reporting by the (Delaware) News Journal, we already have learned that the NFL receives millions from CBS, FOX, ESPN and others for broadcasting their games and those same broadcast companies openly and aggressively promote gambling on NFL games on their websites.

We also learned that the NCAA, while threatening our Delaware universities with taking away home playoff games if sports betting moves forward, sponsored the Las Vegas Bowl last year, housing its players in hotel casinos where bets are taken on games. Now, the NBA, the NHL and MLB have joined the fray as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Yet, the NBA permits those that have ownership interests in Las Vegas casinos with sports books to own NBA teams. Indeed, the Maloof family has ownership interests in both the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas and the Sacramento Kings basketball team. News reports revealed that the NBA Board of Governors specifically authorized sports betting on NBA games at the casino. A similar arrangement exists and was also endorsed by the NBA between the Boston Celtics and the chairman and CEO of Harrah's Entertainment Inc.

Apparently, the NBA is not as concerned about the integrity of the league when their money (or their teams' owners' money) is at stake. Meanwhile, NHL Commissioner, Gary Bettman, recently teamed up with George Maloof to host the league's annual award ceremony at the sky villa suites at the Palms Casino. The league's top players and "legends of the game" reportedly attended and participated in charity poker games. Apparently, a few lucky guests and players were also invited to an exclusive party at the Rain Nightclub located within the casino later that night.

The NHL's history with gambling does not end there. Former Philadelphia Flyer Rick Tocchet was accused of financing a nationwide gambling ring in 2006 and later pled guilty to conspiracy and promoting gambling. He was sentenced to two years probation, but the NHL reinstated Tocchet, allowing him to coach young players less than two years after his conviction. So while NHL players and executives party in Las Vegas casinos where sports betting abounds, its lawyers are here in Delaware claiming the NHL's reputation is at stake if Delaware moves forward with sports betting.

Major League Baseball should also be more vigilant about policing its associations with gambling enterprises. Visitors to the new baseball stadiums this season have undoubtedly noticed ties between the teams and gambling interests. Visitors to the Mets' new CitiField can enjoy the game from the Caesars Club, courtesy of a partnership between the Mets and Harrah's Entertainment, the owner of Caesars in Atlantic City. Prefer the Yankees? New Yankees Stadium includes the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar, where fans can watch Rodriguez, Jeter and Sabathia while considering the short trip to the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut. Other MLB teams, including the Cubs and the Braves, have marketing partnerships with casinos. In the end, MLB should spend their resources on something other than paying lawyers to stop Delaware from legalizing and properly regulating something that happens every day in this country.

It is hard to imagine why moving forward with sports betting in Delaware will undermine the integrity of professional or college sports. Las Vegas has promoted sports betting for many years, so Delaware is not covering new ground here. When it comes to expanding state sponsored gaming, legitimate debate and discussion should continue among Delaware's elected representatives and its citizens. But the self-serving, hypocritical pronouncements and legal threats by these for-profit sports leagues that have sued Delaware should be rejected.

Sincerely,

Peter C. Schwartzkopf

House Majority Leader

Delaware House of Representatives

cc: Major League Baseball

National Basketball Association

National Collegiate Athletic Association

National Hockey League

source>>>

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Brett Favre says this time, he's retiring for real

Brett Favre has handed the Minnesota Vikings one more loss.

The 39-year-old Favre called coach Brad Childress yesterday to say he wouldn't be coming out of retirement to play for Minnesota.

"It was the hardest decision I've ever made," Favre, a three-time MVP quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, told ESPN. "I didn't feel like physically I could play at a level that was acceptable. I would like to thank everyone, including the Packers, Jets, and Vikings - but, most importantly, the fans."

The decision was a crushing blow for Minnesota, which had openly courted Favre.

He came out of retirement last year to play for the New York Jets. He retired again, had surgery in May to alleviate a torn biceps tendon, then openly flirted with the idea of coming back again with the Vikings, the Packers' NFC North rival. source>>>

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Cleveland has one unsigned draft choice, Brian Robiskie, an Ohio State receiver

The Cleveland Browns placed wide receiver Braylon Edwards on the non-football injury list.

The team did not specify an injury in making the announcement Tuesday. A message seeking comment was left with a Browns spokesman.

Edwards is the only established receiver on the roster, and he was mostly a spectator during the team's three-day camp in June because of an undisclosed injury. At the time, Edwards and coach Eric Mangini said it was not serious, and Mangini added that Edwards was expected to participate fully in the team's training camp, which begins Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Browns announced receiver Mohamed Massaquoi signed with the team.

Massaquoi was the 50th overall selection in the NFL draft. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Cleveland has one unsigned draft choice, Brian Robiskie, an Ohio State receiver taken in the second round.

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Golf fans urged to Come to Buick while you still can

As reports keep circulating about the Buick Open's impending demise, fans have tried to remain upbeat.

Darryl Edmonson, a skills trader who works at GM's Pontiac plant, stopped by Warwick Hills this morning to catch Tiger Woods and other players before his 2 p.m. shift.

"I've been to five or six Buick Opens," Edmonson said. "They keep saying that it won't be here anymore, and I don't want to believe it. But I don't what the deal is."

For certain, though, Edmonson has noticed a scaled-down Buick event.

"Like, there used to be bleachers right here," said Edmonson, standing just beyond the roped area at the practice range. "They've really cut back."

Golfweek is reporting that the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., is awaiting confirmation from the Tour to join the schedule in 2010. The new stop would be the tour event vacated after this year by the Buick Open, a mainstay in Michigan for the past 51 years, according to the report.

For certain, if this week is indeed the Buick's last stand, golf fan Brad McMath of Port Huron said he wants to make sure that he and his two sons enjoy as much golf as they can today.

"I've never been to a Wednesday pro-am, and everybody told me that it's a great time for the kids because the pros are so relaxed," said McMath, who brought his sons Alex, 14, and Kyle, 11 to Warwick Hills. "This is one of my favorite venues - for a lot of reasons. I went to the Canadian Open last week, and it was $55 to get in and $30 parking. Here's it's $20 to get in, and $5 to park across the street."
(3 of 3)

McMath said losing the Buick would be "another thing that's going to hurt this area - and golf in general."

"We have more golf courses per capita than almost any place in the country,"McMath said. "It's going to be like the Canadian Open will be the closest thing that we can go to." source>>>

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Women's golf looks to Michelle Wie for boost

Women's golf is desperately in need of a boost. Perhaps it will receive it in the next few days when the Ricoh Women's British Open, the fourth and last major championship of the year, is played at Royal Lytham & St Annes. If this event has a conclusion that is half as good as was the men's Open at Turnberry two weeks ago, then it will be all right.

What with the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour in the US losing seven events since 2007 and its commissioner being sacked two weeks ago, as well as Annika Sorenstam, the greatest female player for a generation, retiring last year, the women's game is in turmoil - and this with the Solheim Cup, the biennial match between the women professionals of Europe and the US, coming up in three weeks.

Step forward Michelle Wie, 19, who is playing her last major championship as a teenager. Wie has for some time been the gifted but trouble child of the LPGA tour and has not yet qualified for the US team. She is currently 16th. A win here would get her into the team as an automatic selection; anything less and she will have to rely on being picked by Beth Daniel, the US captain.

Wie spoke tongue in cheek yesterday about death threats and how the last time she was at this venue, when she was handled by the William Morris Agency, she was given ten bodyguards and now, having moved to the International Management Group, she appears to have none.

"There have been no death threats to my face" Wie said. "But I am sure there have been. You always have to sign these forms in tournaments like if you receive a death threat, do you want to be informed or not and I'm like no, I don't want to know. I'm still alive, I'm still breathing and it's all good."

Wie competed in this event at this venue in 2006 and finished tied 26th having been tied 3rd the previous year at Royal Birkdale. She says she has recovered from the injury to her left wrist that seemed to bedevil her for so long and now, as a full member of the LPGA tour while on holiday from school, she has had one third place finish and two runners-up finishes this year.

What would the powers that be give for Wie to win on Sunday? source>>>

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Golf star Tiger Woods and rock legend Bob Segerat the pro-am round at the Buick Open today.

Tiger Woods, two-time Buick Open winner, and his pro-am group finished their round shooting a combined 8-under 64. Woods said he shot 5-under with his own ball. For those keen on driving to Grand Blanc to watch him play in Thursday's first round, he tees off at 12:54 p.m.

The Buick is Woods' first tournament back since he missed the cut at the British Open. He called the rumored demise of the Buick Open - the only PGA Tour event in Michigan -- "unfortunate."

"Obviously, this area's been struggling a bit, and, as I said, I think the atmosphere, all the players, have really enjoyed playing in front of the fans here," Woods said. "It is very intimate. You see the same people at the same holes each year, and it is a venue that we don't get to play in front of very often. It's much more personal here."

Woods' group included Detroit rock musician Bob Seger, who actually was supposed to play with Woods at last year's Buick until Woods pulled out because of knee surgery.

On a hole on the back nine, Woods and Seger had a chuckle when one of Seger's hits, "Old Time Rock and Roll," began blaring from a house off the fairway.

"I already had in my mind that if I would have hit the driver off the fairway with a bad (drive), I would have blamed it on him," Woods said with a smile. "So I hit a good one, so he got the credit."

Seger, 64, said he had a blast playing with Woods. And he has a few aches and pains to show for it.

"I haven't walked a golf course in 30 years," Seger said.

Seger made three longs putts on the front nine - on hole Nos. 2, 4 and 6 - and then "age kicked in."

"Boy, my feet hurt; my back hurt," he said. "I was stretching as much as I could." Seger was humbled that he received a bigger cheer than Woods on the first tee.

"Oh, I've been here 40 years, you know," he said. "I've got a few fans around here. He's really special. To stand that close to (Woods) - such a privilege."

In the media room after their pro-am round, Seger was equally as effusive when asked a question by a certain Free Press sports columnist.

"Are you Mike Rosenberg?" Seger asked.

"I am," Rosenberg said.

"I LOVE your stuff. I am your biggest fan. I really am. You've got a great sense of humor." source>>>

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PGA plans golf tournaments in Louisville

The PGA of America and officials with the city have set a news conference for Thursday, when they will announce the return of the PGA Championship and Senior PGA Championship to Louisville.

Jim Remy, president of The PGA of America, and Joe Steranka, CEO of the PGA, will take part in the news conference.

A PGA official who asked not to be identified confirmed that the Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.-based organization will hold the 2011 Senior PGA Championship and the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville.

The official declined to disclose additional information.

A spokesman for Louisville Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson said the news conference involves future golf tournaments that are coming to Louisville.

"We are looking forward to making an announcement tomorrow (with PGA officials) about some major events coming to our city," said Chris Poynter, deputy director of communications for Abramson.

Poynter said the events would have a "significant economic impact for our city in future years."

Valhalla Golf Club, where the news conference will be held, has hosted the PGA's 1996 and 2000 PGA Championships, the 2004 Senior PGA Championship and the 2008 Ryder Cup, an international event that the PGA of America helps organize.

The PGA owns the course.

Earlier this month, Diane McGraw, former president of the Greater Louisville Sports Commission, sent an e-mail letter to the group's board of directors, saying she expected an announcement this week regarding the 2014 PGA Championship returning to Louisville. McGraw later resigned from the agency.

The PGA has set dates and locations for its annual championship through 2016, except for the 2014 date, leading to speculation that the event might return to Louisville. The Senior PGA has been set for 2010 in Denver so the earliest it could return to Louisville is 2011.

According to previous a Business First report, the 2000 PGA Championship was a sellout with 33,000 weeklong passes sold, and it had an estimated economic impact of $40 million.

Larry Bisig, the founding vice chairman of the sports commission who no longer serves on the panel, said the speculation about the PGA events was fueled by McGraw's letter and later resignation.

Although Bisig could not confirm that 2014 is the date when the championship will return to Louisville, he said it is not surprising, given the traction the city has gained related to luring major sporting events to town.

"The city is experiencing a ton of sports-related momentum," he said, noting that the success of the Ryder Cup and plans to bring the 2010 Breeders' Cup Championship and future PGA events back to Louisville.

He also noted that the 22,000-seat downtown arena will open in 2010 and host the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Women's Volleyball tournament later that year.

"We are really becoming the go-to destination for a lot of big sporting events," he said. "And it is only going to get better."
source>>>

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Phil Mickelson to Play in PGA Championship, Two Other Events

 

- Phil Mickelson, who has taken off more than a month while his wife and mother were treated for breast cancer, said he'll play in next month's PGA Championship, the season's final major golf tournament.

Mickelson, who's second to Tiger Woods in the official World Golf Rankings, had a run of 61 straight major appearances end when he skipped the British Open earlier this month.

Mickelson, 39, said yesterday that he'll return to action at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational from Aug. 6-9 in Akron, Ohio. He'll also play in the PGA Championship the following week at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, and in the U.S. PGA Tour's first playoff event, the Barclays, which is scheduled for Aug. 27-30 at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey.

"I have had a great six weeks at home," Mickelson said on his Web site. "Things are going very well and I am excited about the opportunity to start playing some tournaments again."

Mickelson has been off since he tied for second in last month's U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park in New York. He hasn't committed to the rest of his 2009 schedule beyond the Barclays.

"If things continue to go well, I'll be able to play more," he said.

Mickelson's wife Amy had breast cancer surgery on July 1 and his mother Mary had a similar procedure on July 10. source>>>

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Nathan Green sheds choker tag and gets first Tour victory winning The Canadian Open

NATHAN GREEN has never been strong on self-belief. Nor blowing his own trumpet. Now, if he is so inclined, he can shout from the rooftops that he is a winner on the US PGA Tour.

The 34-year-old from Toronto on the NSW Central Coast triumphed in Toronto on the other side of the world, winning the Canadian Open on the second hole of a sudden-death play-off with two-time US Open champion Retief Goosen over the Jack Nicklaus-designed Glen Abbey course.

Green joins Geoff Ogilvy (twice) as the only Australian winners on the US tour this year. His victory was worth $US918,000 ($1.1m), boosting him to 43rd on this year?s money list with earnings of $US1,282,017. Four rounds in the 60s ? 68, 65, 69, 68 ? gave him an 18-under tally, which Goosen matched with an eagle on the 72nd hole to force the play-off.

He looked remarkably composed in the play-off and why not? He went through his baptism of fire about three years ago in his rookie year on the PGA Tour in the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines in California. He played with home-town favourite Phil Mickelson in the final round and then found himself in a play-off with the great man himself, Tiger Woods, along with dual Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal.

Woods won. Doesn?t he always? Victory that day took Woods?s play-off record to 9-1 and it is now 11-1.

??I was definitely a lot calmer today than I was then,?? Green said of his encounter with Woods in 2006.

??It?s been a bizarre week, a long week. To win in Canada where I spent a lot of years playing the Canadian Tour is a great way to have a first one [PGA Tour victory].??

Yes, it took five days to complete the championship with Green playing 31 holes on Monday (Canadian time) to complete his third round, play the fourth round and then the play-off.

His first win as a professional was in the Toronto area on the Canadian Tour in 2000 and he can thank a hole-in-one earlier that year for that. An ace on the 12th hole at Huntingdale in the Australian Masters gave him a cheque for $500,000 and, with that in his pocket, he embarked on his golfing odyssey that reached a new peak with victory on Monday.

??Without that, I probably wouldn?t be here today,?? he said. Now he has his player?s card until the end of 2011.

On his own admission, he?s had difficulty in the past finishing off a tournament when in contention ? and with the year slipping away his chances of retaining his playing rights were diminishing. Until Monday, he?d made a lot of cuts this year with no great result, but patience and perseverance are his greatest virtues.

??I was sort of slipping further and further down [the money list to 132nd going into the Canadian Open],?? Green said. ??I couldn?t afford another slip up. I had to do something quickly just to make sure I kept my card.??

And, his saviour might very well have been the torrential rain and thunderstorms that plagued the tournament all week.

??The one benefit for me was I didn?t have to sleep on it [the fact that he was in contention going into the final round],?? Green said. ??I was hitting the ball well and able to take that straight into the final round.??
source>>>

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Tiger Woods ramps up play heading for homestretch

Barring any scheduling surprises, Tiger Woods is about to try something new.

He had played three weeks in a row on the PGA Tour in every season since he was a rookie -- including a career-high five straight weeks in early 1999 -- until last year, when two knee surgeries crimped his schedule.

That third consecutive tournament, however, has never been a major.

This year looks like it will be different. Woods decided to play this week at the Buick Open, where he is a two-time winner and has never finished worse than 11th in eight previous starts at Warwick Hills.

Next week is the Bridgestone Invitational, and while Woods has yet to make that official, he has never missed a World Golf Championship in America when he wasn't on crutches. Besides, he is a six-time winner at Firestone, one of his favorite golf courses.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: PGA Tour | Tiger Woods | FedEx | Anthony Kim | Buick | American Express | Bridgestone | BMW

Then it's off to Hazeltine for the PGA Championship, his last shot at winning a major this year.

That he chose to play the Buick Open was only a mild surprise. Woods likes the golf course, and although he ended a decade-old endorsement contract one year early because of the economy, there remains a sense of loyalty to his longtime relationship with Buick.

"We've had a great relationship with Tiger for nine years, and this is his way of showing that," said Larry Peck, Buick-GMC's national promotions manager. "He provides such a lift."

Woods didn't offer much insight on his Web site, saying only that he was looking forward to the Buick Open and "the golf course suits my eye," a loose translation for "I see myself winning."

What his appearance at Warwick Hills should not suggest is any sense of panic.

Woods has not played more than two weeks in a row since returning from reconstructive knee surgery. Even though he is leading the PGA Tour money list by more than $500,000 and his three victories are more than anyone else, he has played only 10 times this year.

Some have suggested he needs to play more.

Then there was his last tournament, nothing short of a disaster. Woods played a six-hole stretch at Turnberry in 7-over-par and wound up missing the cut in the British Open by one shot, only his second missed cut in a major and his first weekend off in three years.

Swing coach Hank Haney worked with him last week in Florida, then offered a self-deprecating assessment as he headed to the airport.

"He's doing really good," Haney said. "He had a bad tournament, and I'm getting fired."

He has been working with Woods for more than five years and knows what kind of scrutiny to expect. He was on the range at Augusta National when Woods vented about how poorly he was hitting the ball, and speculation soon shifted to Haney being shown the door.

Haney looks more at the big picture.

Woods hit the ball great at the Memorial, then finally got some putts to fall on the final day to shoot 65 and win. He hit it just as well at Bethpage Black and never got anything to drop at the U.S. Open. And he continued to play well at Congressional, where Woods won a duel with Anthony Kim to capture his AT&T National.

Turnberry was a surprise, nothing more.

"There wasn't cause for that much alarm," Haney said. "He's played so well, it was a little easier to brush off."

Even so, there is a sense of urgency this time of the year.

Woods is at the halfway point of his schedule -- that includes The Presidents Cup, tournaments in Asia and Australia, and his Chevron World Challenge in December -- but he has only two months left in the meat of the PGA Tour schedule.

And there is only one major left.

Woods rarely plays the week before a major, but there has always been an exception or two for the PGA Championship. He has played five times the week before the PGA Championship, and last year won at Firestone by eight shots before winning the PGA at Southern Hills.

The last time he played three in a row? That was during the inaugural year of the FedEx Cup in 2007, when Woods tied for second at the Deutsche Bank Championship, then won the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship.

He has played at least three straight weeks 21 times in his career, and twice won all three events (Disney, Tour Championship and American Express at the end of 1999; and the PGA Championship, Firestone and Deutsche Bank in 2006).

Whether he can win three in a row this time will be as trivial as the other two streaks.

What people will remember is whether Woods wins the last one. source>>>

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DA seeks jail time for former NY Giants receiver Plaxico Burress

: Manhattan district attorney Robert Morgenthau says he wants former Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress to serve time in prison, the New York Post reported. Morgenthau told the newspaper that Burress, who shot himself with an unlicensed gun in November, was willing to agree to spend a year in jail, but prosecutors insisted on two. source>>>

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Pro leagues, NCAA resist push by states to legalize betting

It's a sign of a lagging economy: American pro and college sports teams seeking new revenue through increasingly bold marketing relationships with gambling interests. It's why team logos have begun appearing on state lottery tickets and why some basketball games have been played at casino hotels.

Now officials in Delaware and New Jersey, facing their own budget problems, say it's time for a bolder move: full-scale, legalized sports betting in states other than Nevada, currently the only place such activity is allowed. They are pushing hard to add legalized, in-casino sports betting to their states' gambling offerings, which include horse racing, lotteries, slot machines and -- in Atlantic City -- table games.

The plans are being resisted by the nation's four major pro sports leagues -- the NFL, the NBA, the NHL and Major League Baseball -- as well as the NCAA. Despite marketing arrangements schools and pro teams have with gambling, sports officials are asking a federal court to stop the Delaware effort, saying widespread legalized betting would threaten the integrity of their sports by creating incentives for cheating and game-fixing.

That view is not unanimous among sports owners, however.

Joe Maloof, whose family owns the NBA's Sacramento Kings and the WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs as well as the Palms casino resort in Las Vegas, says well-regulated sports gambling would help prevent such problems.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: New Jersey | New York Yankees | Boston Red Sox | New York Mets | World Series | Delaware | Cincinnati Reds | Nevada | National Football League | Washington Redskins | Baltimore Ravens | Cleveland Browns | Baseball | Seattle Seahawks | Federal Bureau of Investigation | Sacramento Kings | Houston Texans | Vancouver Canucks | Atlantic City | Duke University | Jon Corzine | Major League | Pete Rose | Tim Donaghy | NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship | Heath Shuler | Jack A. Markell | Adam Silver

"With all the different casinos in different states that have legalized gaming, why not legalize sports betting?" Maloof asks. "When it's regulated, it's safer. There's no hanky-panky."

As one of four states that once had a form of sports betting, Delaware was exempted from the federal ban on sports wagering that was passed by Congress in 1992 and took effect Jan. 1, 1993. Led by Gov. Jack Markell, the state plans to capitalize on its exemption by allowing bets on NFL games beginning with the start of the 2009 season. The NFL, the NBA, the NHL, Major League Baseball and the NCAA last week sued in U.S. District Court in Delaware to block the plan, citing state and federal laws.

Meanwhile, in New Jersey -- which is not exempt from the ban -- state Sen. Ray Lesniak and Gov. Jon Corzine are involved with a lawsuit filed in March that seeks to have the federal sports-betting ban declared unconstitutional.

Last week two U.S. senators and three congressmen -- including Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., a former NFL quarterback -- joined the fray. They wrote to Attorney General Eric Holder, urging him to fight the lawsuit and Delaware's plan.

Compared with previous challenges to the USA's sports-betting system, "I'm not aware of anything close to this," says Paul Haagen, a Duke University Law School professor and sports law expert. "I am sure the current economy is playing a significant role in terms of the shape of state budgets. The other part is that there's either an acceptance of gambling or the acceptance that this is inevitable. There's a sense of the traditional cultural resistance (to sports betting) is weakening."

He adds that if Delaware and New Jersey officials succeed in their quests to open sports betting, "I would expect to see that kind of activity spread, just as you saw the spread of state lotteries."

Drawing a line on gambling

Sports betting in the USA is restricted by the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. The law contains one grandfather provision for states that had forms of sports betting between Jan. 1, 1976, and Aug. 31, 1990; that covered Nevada, Delaware, Montana and Oregon.

The law also gave other states with existing casinos a one-year window after its effective date in which to establish sports betting that then would be allowed. New Jersey never had legalized sports betting and didn't use the one-year window to start it. That was probably a mistake, Corzine says.

Gambling generates tax revenue and economic impact not only from the betting but also from ancillary spending by visitors to casinos.

Delaware's plan could give it a competitive edge as a gambling attraction not only over Maryland and Pennsylvania -- which have joined Delaware in adding slot machines to horse racing and lotteries -- but also over New Jersey and its Atlantic City casinos. Delaware projects an addition of $55 million in annual revenue if its sports betting plan goes ahead.

Sports betting would make Atlantic City a more attractive venue for boxing and other big-time sporting events, Corzine says. "We're trying to make Atlantic City a destination resort. ... We certainly don't want to be at a disadvantage with other venues" that can offer sports betting.

Even as the pro sports leagues and the NCAA oppose Delaware and New Jersey, teams, schools and conferences are earning millions from varied business deals with gambling concerns -- just one part of corporate sponsorship initiatives that have reached further as the economy has soured.

In May, NFL owners voted to allow clubs to sign deals with state-sponsored lotteries for the first time. Since then the Washington Redskins, New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks have gone into business with state lotteries for 2009.

They're following the path blazed by MLB and NBA clubs such as the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and Boston Celtics, who have slapped their trademarks on lottery tickets in recent years. For years, the NHL has allowed teams to partner with state and provincial lotteries, and teams such as the Vancouver Canucks have done so.

The WNBA's Connecticut Sun are named after a casino resort, the Mohegan Sun, and play home games at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville. (The WNBA All-Star Game was held there last weekend.)

Major-college athletics programs accept sponsorships from state lotteries and Indian tribes with casino hotels; San Diego State, for example, has an arena naming-rights deal with the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians. The West Coast Conference holds its postseason basketball tournaments at the Orleans Hotel's arena in Las Vegas, and the Western Athletic Conference will do so in 2011 and '12.

Then there's pro sports' flirtation with Las Vegas, with the NBA and MLB staging events there.

"I understand what they're trying to do with the logos," New Jersey's Corzine says. "But it isn't perfectly consistent with this other view (of opposing legalized sports betting). And it's not consistent, frankly, with tolerating it in other places."

MLB President Bob DuPuy says there's a clear distinction between inviting fans to buy a Yankees or Red Sox lottery ticket and encouraging them to bet on what happens between the lines.

"It's part of promoting the game. Logos allow people to associate themselves with the team they have an affinity for. Those games have no bearing on competition on the field," he says.

Baseball knows the corrupting influence of gambling all too well, from the "Black Sox" scandal, in which eight players conspired to throw the 1919 World Series, to the lifetime ban of career hits leader Pete Rose, who bet on the Cincinnati Reds when he was their manager. The NBA endured a betting scandal involving then-referee Tim Donaghy, who pleaded guilty in 2007 to wire fraud and transmitting betting tips to gamblers.

League executives worry about the potential for point-shaving and other gambling scams if legalized sports betting spreads. "Remember, the office of the commissioner was formed in response to gambling," says DuPuy, citing the 1919 scandal. "Obviously, we have a certain level of sensitivity. ... We are opposed and concerned about the proliferation of sports books betting on the outcome of baseball games. We sell the integrity of the game -- and more betting on the outcome is troublesome."

NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver takes a wider view. "We have a global business where many countries like the U.K. and China have legalized sports betting," he says. "We can't live with our heads in the sand and pound our fists that we don't want betting on our games. We realize there is enormous interest in betting on our games. ...

"Over time, there is no question that it will be more accepted (in the USA). What we need are safeguards that can be put in place so that it won't affect the outcome of games. ... There's a long tradition of sports gambling in the state of Nevada. They have enormous infrastructure to monitor it. It's unclear if other states that went into the business would be able to establish similar safeguards."

Even so, the prospect of betting in Delaware on individual games -- as opposed to parlay wagers that can be won only if bettors correctly choose the outcomes of multiple games -- was the tipping point for the pro leagues' and NCAA's lawsuit against the state, says their lead attorney, Kenneth J. Nachbar. Single-game wagering is far more attractive to bettors than parlay wagering, which is what Delaware offered in the 1970s.

"We are not challenging what Delaware conducted in 1976, which was parlay betting limited to NFL games," Nachbar says.

"The only aspects that are being challenged are single-game betting and betting on sports other than the NFL. Delaware has never had sports betting on anything but NFL games."

Markell, the Delaware governor, says, "We figured there would be a challenge."

'The hypocrisy of it is just mind-boggling'

If they're so concerned about gambling, why are pro sports leagues venturing into that realm at all, asks Lesniak, the New Jersey state senator.

"The hypocrisy of it is just mind-boggling," he says. "The only reason they're objecting is they're not getting a piece of the action. Sports betting's legal throughout the world. Billions of dollars are bet here illegally in the U.S. It hasn't destroyed soccer and the other sports overseas, and it won't destroy sports here."

Legal or not, FBI Special Agent Mike Plichta says, there always will be an unseemly element to sports betting where individuals will try to fix games.

"There's more money on it now than ever before," says Plichta, a unit chief who monitors organized crime activity. "Because it's bigger, it's also more attractive to criminal organizations to be involved. I strongly believe they are out there right now trying to fix games."

In May, seven former University of Toledo football and men's basketball players were indicted along with two Detroit-area businessmen accused of contriving a game-fixing scheme. In a separate indictment unsealed the same day, authorities alleged a former horse racing jockey attempted to fix races in Florida, Delaware and other states.

There also are those who don't see that great of a leap between the sports betting occurring legally outside the USA and the betting occurring in the USA. Office pools based on NFL games and the NCAA men's basketball tournament are common, and fantasy sports leagues involving entry fees and end-of-season payouts have exploded in popularity.

"We are in a halfway position now," Duke's Haagen says. "Given the number of friendly pools and the acceptance of betting lines in the newspaper, there's been a substantial movement toward acceptance (of sports betting). Would more people place bets if a state is promoting the act? Yes. More people drank after Prohibition ended source>>>

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College Coaches Pay to Find Out Who's on the Court

After driving three hours to watch a basketball recruit play a game at a tournament in Memphis earlier this month, Vanderbilt Coach Kevin Stallings turned around minutes later and went home.
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College coaches watching a tournament involving potential recruits last week in Las Vegas.

Just after sitting down with some fellow college coaches, two tournament employees told Stallings that he had to pay $295 for a packet of rosters and information that doubled as an admission fee for college coaches. The coaches in attendance told him that they had been required to do the same thing.

Stallings said he had paid a $10 admission fee and did not want or need the packet, so he hit the road out of principle.

Ryan Luttrell, the tournament organizer, denied trying to force Stallings to buy the packet. But Stallings said he would not cut a deal with Luttrell and left because it would not be fair to the other coaches.

"I'm not protesting or insisting that my moral compass is better than anyone else," Stallings said. "But mine won't allow me to do something like that that is that blatantly wrong."

Tournament organizers and summer basketball coaches have long charged significant fees for packets of information about potential Division I recruits -- player rosters, phone numbers and e-mail addresses -- that are the lifeblood of the billion-dollar college basketball business.

But with the economy sagging, college recruiting budgets being slashed and tournaments in the April recruiting period being eliminated because of an N.C.A.A. rule change, the costs and the complaints have risen sharply this summer.

Coaches have been especially irate at tournaments where the packet is a mandatory part of admission, in some cases making it cost hundreds of dollars to watch one game. They point to the N.C.A.A., which approves all the tournaments coaches can attend, as an enabler.

Not all packet purchases double as admission costs. But this week in Las Vegas, where five tournaments featured thousands of players, the packet costs ranged from $180 to $275, with cash being preferred.

A black market of bootleg packets and copies of receipts flourished so freely that tournament directors policed copy centers to prevent coaches from making duplicates. At numerous events this summer, coaches have changed out of their university-logoed shirts to watch games disguised as fans to save hundreds of dollars.

"It's a crazy racket," said Yale Coach James Jones, who once paid $350 to watch one player play a single game in South Carolina. His other option was to buy the tournament organizer Jeff Schneider's $600 recruiting service.

"It's extortion," Jones said.

Stallings's experience offers a window into the complicated subculture of recruiting. The Memphis tournament, called the River City Showdown, was put on in part by a local Amateur Athletic Union program, the Memphis Magic. Stallings said Luttrell, one of the tournament's organizers, told him that part of the $295 was going to help ship the Memphis Magic A.A.U. team around the country to play in other tournaments.

Many college coaches pay the fees because they do not want to alienate the teams' coaches, who often control the recruiting of their players.

Luttrell denied the tournament was a direct fund-raiser for the Memphis Magic but said he was hired to put on the tournament by Eric Robinson, who runs the Memphis Magic program.

Stallings said that college coaches directly supporting a summer basketball program in which prospects are playing is, "by definition," a violation of N.C.A.A. rules. "If I'm knowingly giving you money, I'm not allowed to do that," Stallings said. "It's really an indirect funneling of money to summer programs, which again is not what the institutions should be doing."

While not all tournaments have direct financial relationships with summer basketball teams, most coaches are keeping their thoughts to themselves. While many coaches agreed that the cost of tournament packets was egregious, few spoke on the record. Those who declined included the Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski, the U.C.L.A. Coach Ben Howland and the Ohio State Coach Thad Matta. "It's one of the important things on our agenda," said Michigan Coach John Beilein, the head of the N.C.A.A.'s new Ethics Coalition. "That's all I'm going to say."

Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo refused to pay $100 for admission to the Summer Jam tournament in Milwaukee earlier this month after one of his assistants had already paid $250 for the packet that doubled as an entry fee. Izzo said the tournament director should visit him if he had a problem.

Antonio Curro, the tournament director, defended his prices, saying that he provided food for the tournament coaches and that he needed to feed his family. Curro also cited the costs of gym rental, employees and referees. He said that three coaches sneaked into the gym to avoid paying the $250 and that he made them purchase the packet because bootlegs were so prevalent.

"Everything we did was legitimate by the N.C.A.A.," he said. "There is no rule for anyone setting the price."

The N.C.A.A. spokeswoman Stacey Osburn said, "It is misleading for event organizers to state that the N.C.A.A. allows them to charge elevated prices."

While Izzo confirmed the story about the Milwaukee tournament, he declined further comment. His silence and the hesitancy of other prominent coaches to speak underscores the importance of their relationships with summer basketball programs.

"That's exactly what's wrong with our business," Stallings said. "There's a mentality where coaches want to cover themselves and not get out there and say what's right and call out the people that are wrong.

"That's precisely why things are the way they are. That's why we have culture issues in our game. It's a darn shame. The people who could have influence and do have a voice, they choose not to use it because it doesn't help them. They don't want anything unsettling their smooth little boat ride."

Traditionally strong programs rarely need the expensive packets. Universities like North Carolina, Texas and Connecticut rarely recruit more than a dozen players, so they're already familiar with them.

At the other end of the spectrum, Texas-Pan American Coach Ryan Marks, whose recruiting budget is $25,000, needs the packets to identify and reach out to undiscovered players. "We could spend a fifth of our recruiting budget on packets in July alone," he said.

While the packets usually cost hundreds of dollars, they rarely have pertinent information, like players' jersey numbers.

"I refuse to pay $250 for a blank piece of paper," the Louisville assistant Steve Masiello said.

Still, the packets and the issues surrounding them have become an accepted part of the recruiting process.

"The N.C.A.A. should get involved," Jones said. "These events have to be sanctioned. They need to have these guys validate some of the things they're doing." source>>>

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Ohio State is Big Ten favorite

Just getting settled into my place at the Big Ten meetings.

No surprise: Ohio State is the preseaosn favorite, according to a media poll. Penn State is second, followed by Michigan State.

Only the top three are listed.

Buckeyes quarterback Terrelle Pryor is the preseason offensive player of the year. Spartan linebacker Greg Jones gets the defensive nod
source>>>

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Allstate drops sponsorship of Brickyard race at lnianapolis

Allstate Corp. is ending its sponsorship of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard following a five-year sponsorship run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Northbrook, Ill.-based Allstate announced Monday that it will not renew its sponsorship of the NASCAR race. Allstate spokesman Raleigh Floyd says the company's contract runs through the end of the year.

The announcement comes a day after this year's race, during which large pockets of empty seats were evident during the race and an estimated crowd of about 180,000 turned out.

Floyd says Allstate's decision was not motivated by the speedway's performance, but instead by the company's desire to expand its college football and Olympic sponsorships.

Speedway spokesman Ron Green says officials at the track are disappointed but understand the decision in light of the nation's struggling economy. source>>>

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Did NASCAR's Jeremy Mayfield commit Perjury in Federal Court

NASCAR accused Jeremy Mayfield of lying to a federal court about the chronology of a second random drug test, offering to provide an audio tape of the conversation in which Mayfield was told to submit a sample. The driver says the telephone call went to voicemail.

The accusation came Monday in court filings that ask U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen to lift the July 1 injunction he granted Mayfield so he could return to racing.

NASCAR disputed the sworn testimony Mayfield provided to U.S. District Court last week, including the assertion that a July 6 request for a second drug test went to his voicemail at 1:18 p.m. He said he didn't get the message until about 40 minutes later, making it difficult for him to meet the two-hour deadline to report for testing.

NASCAR provided a transcript of the actual conversation between Mayfield and Regina Sweeney, an employee of Aegis Sciences Corp., which runs NASCAR's drug-testing program. NASCAR said it would provide the recording upon request.

"I'm calling on behalf of NASCAR who has requested that you take a drug test today within the next two hours ... and I was going to help find you a location that you could go to based upon where you are right now," Sweeney said in the transcript.

"Right, well I'm gonna have to -- let me talk to my attorney first. ... So, and I'll get back with you," Mayfield is quoted as replying.

According to Mayfield's affidavit from last week, he was in a meeting and did not receive the message until 2 p.m. and it was 2:44 p.m. when he was finally told what labortatory to go to -- making it impossible for him to meet the testing deadline.

"Mayfield appears to have completely "forgotten" that he had a live conversation with Ms. Sweeney ... in which she advised him he could go to a testing place ... the address of which Mayfield did not take down because he wanted to talk to his attorney first," the filing said.

NASCAR also accused Mayfield of lying when he told the court he was instructed to return to his home at 5 p.m., where he waited almost three hours for NASCAR representatives to collect a sample.

"This account is contradicted by Mayfield's counsel, who claimed that at 5:32 p.m., Mayfield was still driving around Concord, looking for the testing location," the filing said. NASCAR submitted e-mail exchanges between Mayfield attorney John Buric and its counsel to contradict Mayfield's claims.

Buric did not immediately return a request for comment.

Mayfield was suspended May 9 for failing a random drug test taken eight days earlier for what NASCAR has said was a positive test for methamphetamines. The driver sued, and Mullen lifted the suspension based on the argument that NASCAR's testing system is flawed.

NASCAR has asked Mullen to reverse the injunction based on new evidence -- the failed July 6 test, and sworn testimony from Mayfield's estranged stepmother that she witnessed him using meth at least 30 times over the years.

An appeals court last week issued a ruling that put Mayfield back under suspension, but the request to reverse the injunction is one of the unresolved legal challenges before Mullen.

NASCAR's filing Monday also contends that in addition to the eyewitness account from Lisa Mayfield, it has several other witnesses willing to testify about Mayfield's methamphetamine use if subpoenaed.

"Mayfield has apparently contacted at least one witness to convince the witness that despite her recollection, he never used drugs," the filing said. source>>>

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Crew Chief Brian Pattie saves Juan Pablo Montoya's day at Indy Brickyard 400

Brian Pattie doesn't really come to mind when listing NASCAR's best crew chiefs, a distinction probably reserved for guys like Chad Knaus, Greg Zipadelli, or maybe even Alan Gustafson.

Pattie doesn't have their wins, championships or reputations. He doesn't have their big budgets or their unlimited resources.

What Pattie does have is Juan Pablo Montoya, and on Sunday, he might have single-handedly saved his season.

Montoya had the field covered at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he led 116 laps while building a five-second lead over the competition. Then he was caught speeding on his final pit stop of the day, and the penalty with 35 laps to go ended his chance at a monumental victory at The Brickyard.

Simply put, Montoya melted down.
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He ranted and raved, insisted he wasn't speeding and directed his missives directly at NASCAR. He blamed president Mike Helton for an errant call, criticized chairman Brian France and moaned that he should simply park his car and call it a day.

Pattie didn't flinch.

He coddled and cajoled, urged his hot-tempered driver to calm down and fretted that Montoya was inching dangerously close to the kind of language that usually lands a team in very hot water with NASCAR. Pattie knew the opportunity for his first Sprint Cup Series win -- at Indy, of all places! -- had just slipped away. But with his thumb at the ready to key the mic in case of an emergency need to drown out Montoya, he eased his driver off the ledge.

It was critical they not throw away the entire day, and Montoya not halfheartedly complete the closing laps or, in a kamikaze effort to race back toward the front, do something stupid that resulted in a horrendous finish.

They wound up 11th -- disappointing, but not terrible -- and gained points on the 13th-place driver in the standings.

Because staying inside the top 12 and making the Chase for the championship is all that really matters to Pattie.

"I have to pay attention to the big picture, even if Juan veers off once in a while like yesterday," Pattie said Monday from the Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing shop, where he was looking over data before 7 a.m.

"I understand this game and how it's played, and I know the facts and how important a win would have been to Juan, to the team, to (sponsor) Target. I was totally upset, but it's my job to not flip out and remember what we're trying to do."

Pattie has been on a mission to make the Chase for the better part of a year. He's Montoya's third crew chief in three seasons since leaving Formula One, and took over at a time Ganassi was again overhauling his NASCAR organization in an effort to catch-up to the industry leaders.

Even if Montoya is one of the best drivers, adapting to stock cars and ultimately finding success was not going to happen without an overhaul of attitude and ideas. Besides improving the organization, Pattie needed his driver to trust him, to follow a plan and race smart.

He needed him to think more like Jimmie Johnson or Mark Martin, and less like the guy who played chicken with Michael Schumacher and never flinched. The Montoya from open-wheel earned a reputation as an all-or-nothing racer who easily rattled, a style that would never get him anywhere in the points-racing world of NASCAR.

Somehow, he's gotten Montoya to buy into the plan.

Currently 10th in the standings, Montoya has been points racing all season and refused to chase a better finishing position at the detriment of an acceptable afternoon. It goes against everything he's ever believed, but it's working.

"Is it?" Pattie wondered Monday. "I mean, you'd have to ask him if he's bought into it."

See, Montoya erred Sunday, when maybe he was looking for the end zone before catching the pass. He made a mistake akin to missing the game-sealing free throw when he was caught speeding, by an electronic system that doesn't play favorites.

There's an allotted 5 mph cushion on pit road, where the speed limit Sunday was 55 mph. Montoya wasn't going to 56, or 57 or even 58 mph on that final stop. The printed results, which Pattie has seen, showed 60.06 mph in one spot and 60.11 in another.

Montoya was adamant he didn't speed, a contention he still believed Monday, when he said he believed it was his slowest trip down pit road all day.

Pattie said the system doesn't lie, and instead planned to examine Monday if his equipment gave Montoya an inaccurate reading.

"It's not like the old days, you don't worry about NASCAR saying 'We're going to look the other way for that guy,' or 'I'm going to screw that guy,"' he said. "It's pretty black-and-white and I think the system they have is foolproof."

So is Pattie's.

He studied 10 years of results before this season, when he figured out just what the No. 42 team had to do to make the Chase. He knew where Montoya needed to improve, and by just how much, to put together numbers Pattie believes will get them into the championship race.

His plan covered the first 26 races, and he's certain "we won't fail, we'll be there." But there's the final 10 races this year that Pattie has yet to put into his plan, because while winning the championship is the ultimate goal, earning an invitation was the first and more pressing hurdle.

"A win would have been huge for us," Pattie said. "But we want to be able to run with Hendrick Motorsports. And we did that." source>>>

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Kyle Busch falls out of NASCAR top 12

Kyle Busch is working on his attitude. Now, he needs some help with his car and his luck after falling out of the top 12 in points for the first time since February.

Busch scraped the wall a couple of times and later blew a right front tire and crashed in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He finished 38th, dropping him four spots to 14th in the season standings.

He's 82 points out of 12th - the last spot for the Chase - with six races to go before the title field is set.

Earlier this weekend, Busch said he knew he needed to adjust his attitude, especially toward his team. That was tested Sunday when he struggled with his car and then blew the tire.

"This is obviously frustrating because I don't know if it was our car, the tire or what," Busch said. "The guys on pit road were going to save this day because you can't pass out there. I showed that. I can't even pass a lapped car. Something with our cars maybe."

It wasn't the tire. Greg Stucker, director of race tire sales for Goodyear, said the problem with Busch's right front tire was "self-inflicted."

"We stress to the guys you still need to look at your setups and work on it, and some guys pay attention and some guys don't," Stucker said.

Busch's problem wasn't the only one for Joe Gibbs Racing. Denny Hamlin broke a driveshaft and finished 34th. Rookie Joey Logano started at the rear because of an engine change before the race, but finished 12th. source>>>

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NASCAR Brickyard 400; A story of Drive Shafts and Drivers Shafted

Another weekend of NASCAR racing brought about another weekend of controversy over NASCAR decisions. Saturday night during the Nationwide race at ORP, caution was displayed on the speedway just as the leader's were crossing the start finish line and heading for turn one.

O'Reilly Raceway Park is a short, and narrow, .686 oval track.

Slowing from a speed of over 100mph, leader Trevor Bayne and second place Steven Wallace entered turn one and were surprised by an emerging pace car.

Bayne stood on his brakes to avoid a collision, and a rules infraction.

Wallace, also surprised by the emerging pace car, jammed on his brakes to avoid a collision, but caught Bayne's Toyota in the left rear and spun him around in the middle of the track.

Still in harms way, Bayne barely missed striking the pace car during this spin.

Bayne and Wallace both got their cars stopped, Bayne's was sideways on the track, and Wallace's was still pointed in the right direction.

Once both cars resumed, they were penalized for not maintaining a proper pace lap speed, and were relegated to positions behind the cars that had passed them during the incident.

As bizarre as this may sound, it is true.

Had Bayne passed the emerging pace car, he would have also incurred a penalty. If he had hit the pace car...well, that's never happened, so who knows what penalty would have been assessed.

Obviously NASCAR dispatched the pace car way too early and put all three drivers in harms way. Bayne and Wallace both avoided imminent disaster by reacting quickly, but were penalized in doing so.

Denny Hamlin, sitting fourth in the driver standings, seemed to be doing everything right at Indy on Sunday.

Then he made a pit stop, and all that changed.

While exiting pit road, Hamlin accelerated his Fed Ex Toyota and shifted up through the gear box. During one of those gear changes, Hamlin says the gear shift lever came right out of the transmission.

It would be later determined that a broken drive shaft is what caused Hamlin's dilemma, and his eventual short day.

While it was thought that Hamlin's problem would cause a significant drop in the points standings, he eventually fell only one position from his comfortable nest in the standings.

Juan Pablo Montoya was also cruising comfortably in Sunday's race. Actually, he was cruising with a five second lead.

Then, he made a pit stop, and all that changed.

During what was supposed to be his final scheduled pit stop, JPM was assessed a penalty by NASCAR.

Infraction: Speeding

Fine: Pit road pass through at pit road speed.

Result: Bye bye Brickyard win.

NASCAR said Montoya was going too fast exiting pit road. According to NASCAR, he was caught going a fraction over the posted speed limit in two of the eight loops he passed through.

On the radio Montoya was assuring his crew chief, even swearing on the life of his wife and children, he was not speeding.

"If anything, I was slower," said Montoya. "I swear on the life of my wife and children, I was not speeding, all three lights were green."

Montoya's car was fixed with three lights on the dashboard. These lights turned green when he was at or under the mandated pit road speed limit. If he exceeded it, they turned red.

If those lights were wrong, or his gage was out of calibration, then why wasn't Montoya speeding each time he was on pit road?

Before this stop, he was leading the race, but not by five seconds.

NASCAR uses loop data to check speed on pit road. Each car is fixed with a transmitter those talks to other transmitters around the track, and on pit road.

It was those transmitters that said Montoya was speeding. A NASCAR official inside the NASCAR trailer sees this data and reports it to officials on the track.

A crew chief can request to see the data, but like other departments of NASCAR, say the drug testing department, it is up to NASCAR if they chose to reveal the results.

As with anything NASCAR, there is room for improvement here. As with anything NASCAR, it's shrouded in secrecy.

Brian France called Felix Sabates after the race and assured him they were correct in their decision, and were not targeting Montoya. Suggestions were made about calibration of Montoya's equipment.

If not Montoya, then what was the target?

Indy is not a place where you pass. If your ahead leaving pit road, or on a restart, then your pretty much staying there.

Was Johnson's back to back win more important? Was Montoya dominating this snooze fest a little too much? If tires were no longer the top story, did they need to create another one?

Once again issues are suspect and shrouded in secrecy. Things just don't add up. Once again, this time at both races, NASCAR makes decisions and then waits in the shadows while others are left to figure out what happened.

There are those who doubt the conspiracy theories.

To those I say this: If fans can think up different scenarios, so can NASCAR. source>>>

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GM May Be Set To Abandon Buick Open Golf Tournament

General Motors appears to be poised to end its 51-year relationship with the Buick Open golf tournament, according to media reports.

The automaker did not respond to an e-mail query from Inside Line on Monday morning asking for official comment about the reports coming out of Golfweek magazine and ESPN.com that GM is ending its sponsorship of the Buick Open. Golfweek reported that the Tour is planning to make an announcement the week of August 3 -- after the event -- to unveil a new title sponsor and venue.

This year's Buick Open runs from July 27 to August 2.

The GM media Web site is still touting its link with the Buick Open, saying that the golf tournament is a "fitting event to showcase Buick." It said the event is "exactly in line with the image of the Buick automobile."

Golfweek quoted Tom Pernice Jr., a member of the Tour Player Advisory Council, who said GM "can't afford it." "From a perception standpoint, you can't lay off all those people and then sponsor a golf tournament."

Buick terminated a nine-year relationship with golfing icon Tiger Woods in 2008, a year before the deal was supposed to have ended. source>>>

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In China the land of superlatives, world’s largest golf resort gets even bigger

Shenzhen is home to a lot of things: hundreds of factories, one of China's two mainland stock exchanges, a theme park called Window on the World that features more than 100 miniature versions of monuments like the Taj Mahal, a Soviet aircraft carrier, and, of course, the world's largest golf resort: Mission Hills.

But even in this land of superlatives, the Mission Hills team was not content with just one world record. Last month they opened the world's largest practice putting green, a beautiful 17-acre spread of 18 rolling greens and tiny sand bunkers.

Officials say they are just keeping up with demand from an upwardly mobile population discovering the game for the first time. Already the resort boasts 12 world-class golf courses designed by some of the most famous names in the game - Greg Norman, Vijay Singh, and Nick Faldo - and hosts major world tournaments.

Mission Hills is a curious mix of extreme luxury and developing world. It has three spas, 3,000 caddies (all of them women - to seem less intimidating to novice golfers - and all wearing red jumpsuits and plastic helmets). Some 2,000 rounds of golf are played here each day. The resort abuts the city's industrial outskirts, and to drive from one end of the resort to the other requires passing a vacuum sealing plant, an electronics factory, and acre upon acre of actively tilled peasant farmland.

Even the staff works to keep up. Though he'll soon be touting the new $3 million villas that line the green, a marketing associate gasped when he drove a reporter to the site and saw the expanse for the first time. "It's so big," he said. source>>>

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Five storylines to watch as NFL training camps open

QUARTERBACKS IN SITUATIONS

Training camp is always highlighted by quarterback controversies -- but this year brings a different kind. In Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger is facing a civil suit stemming from rape allegations, which he has called "reckless and false." Ex-Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, recently released from a 23-month federal dogfighting sentence, is waiting for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to rule on his football future (Goodell is fond of the phrase "in the near future," meaning the ball is very much in his hands). The drama is just enough to make sure that our attention can't completely be on football.

THE T.O. SHOW COMES TO BUFFALO

We don't mean the reality TV series (though we know you're watching). After San Francisco, Philadelphia and Dallas, Terrell Owens' next stop is Buffalo, where he was already given the keys to the city. Premature, clearly, but nonetheless a sign that the Bills are banking on the 35-year-old receiver to take them where they haven't been in a decade: The playoffs. If not, there could be another messy divorce with the team -- and starting quarterback -- when his one-year deal is up.

TOM BRADY'S RETURN (AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE AFC EAST)

The week of Super Bowl XLII, all eyes were on Brady's boot. This month, they're going to be on the knee that cost him his 2008 season. It's been nearly 10 months since his ACL and MCL surgery, and he seems physically ready. For the Patriots, a healthy Brady could mean the return of their record-setting 2007 offense. For the rest of the AFC East, it could mean a shift in power back to Foxborough. Remember, without their MVP last season, the
Patriots were 11-5.

THE UNRETIREMENT OF BRETT FAVRE

The speculation about whether the former Packers great and one-year Jet will return is a foolproof sign of summer, right along with watermelon and trips down the Shore. The 39-year-old quarterback has excelled at many things during his 18-year career, but ending it is not one of them. Even after the Jets' failed experiment last year, it would be surprising not to see Favre and his surgically repaired shoulder in a Vikings jersey very soon.

A WHOLE LOT THAT'S NEW IN DALLAS

They have a brand-new stadium. They cut ties with Terrell Owens and Pacman Jones. Tony Romo broke up with Jessica Simpson. Will the Cowboys also be able to put their underachieving ways behind them? After missing the playoffs in 2008, and flopping to the Giants in the divisional round in 2007, Dallas is hoping for a different kind of season. Head coach Wade Phillips' job might depend on it. source>>>

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Terrell Owens rounding up support for Michael Vick on Twitter

Terrell Owens has taken his campaign for Michael Vick's immediate reinstatement by the NFL to Twitter.

The Bills receiver, who called commissioner Roger Goodell's treatment of Vick "unfair" on Sunday, said Vick has already received enough punishment for his federal dogfighting conviction and should not be suspended more games by the NFL. (Owens referenced an ESPN report on Thursday saying the league would suspend Vick for four games, which the NFL said was premature.)

And then Owens went to Twitter to seek support from his fellow NFL players and his fans.

On Sunday evening, he tweeted: "Who's w/me on the Vick situation? All n favor, lemme get a tweet 2 support Mike Vick! He did the time 4 the crime! Let the guy play!!"

Several NFL players, including Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald, responded with support of Owens' campaign for Vick.

-- Fitzgerald: "im in support of mike vick too man.I wanna c him back in action being the human highlight film he is.Im with ya bro."

-- Vikings TE Visanthe Shiancoe: "Never heard him complain or wine... I respect him. Let the man play."

-- Cardinals DE Darnell Dockett: "he did time and lost his shoe deal, and paid fines. Dear Commissioner please reinstate mike vick. PLEASE."

-- Rams RB Steven Jackson: "Don't agree with 4 games, 23 months is enough." ... "He will not be able 2 vote anymore. He has lost enough, allow the man 2 move on with his life. We dnt have a heaven or a hell 2 put him n."

Said Owens when he met reporters on Sunday, "The guy's already suffered so much. And to add a four-game suspension on a two-year prison sentence, that's ridiculous."

And in a comment to ESPN, Owens suggested Goodell was not respecting the 20-month sentence Vick served. "The commissioner needs to go sit in jail for 23 months," he told the network. source>>>

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Angels now sit atop MLB power rankings

Each year after the all -- star break the better teams begin to show their strength. This year is no exception.

The Phillies, Yankees, Dodgers and Angels have all recently gone on significant winning streaks, establishing themselves as the teams to beat in their divisions.

As a consequence of their winning ways, the Phillies have put the pressure on the Marlins, Mets, and Braves in the NL East. The Red Sox and Rays are struggling to keep pace with the Yankees in the AL East while the Rangers and Mariners are losing valuable ground to the Halos in the AL West. In the NL West the Rockies and the Giants are now long shots to overtake the Dodgers for the division crown.

These are my final Sunday of July power rankings with last month's rankings in parentheses at the end of the paragraph.

1) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Even with Torii Hunter and Vladimir Guerrero on the DL, the Halos are scoring runs in bunches as they are getting key hits daily from Kendry Morales, Mike Napoli, Howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar and Juan Rivera. Brian Fuentes leads the AL in saves. I expect the Angels to bolster their pitching through at least two acquisitions this week. (4)

2) New York Yankees. The Bronx Bombers are tough to beat at home (34-17). Set-up man Phillip Hughes has been a strikeout machine. Mark Teixeira leads the AL with 25 home runs. The Yanks have a knockout punch in Mariano Rivera at the end of the game. Derek Jeter is hitting .320.
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Alex Rodriguez (he doesn't look right at the plate) still hasn't hit with his customary power, yet this team beats everyone in the AL easily except for the Red Sox (0-8). (7)

3) Philadelphia Phillies. The Phils are built for their home park with power hitters who routinely reach the seats. No lead is safe in this homer haven. The Phils have legit MVP candidates in Raul Ibanez, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. Cole Hamels looks like he is finally pitching like the Series star he was last fall. Whatever the price, the Phillies should meet the Blue Jays' demands and acquire Roy Halladay before the trade deadline this week. (11)

4) Los Angeles Dodgers. Baseball teams are judged on wins and losses and the Dodgers have more wins than anyone in the majors (61). L.A. has speed at the top of the line-up. Power with Manny Ramirez and Andre Ethier. The Dodgers have a star in lefty Clayton Kershaw. LA must pick-up a starting pitcher and a set-up reliever for the stretch run. Other than that the former Brooklyn Bums are ready for the playoffs. (2)

5) Boston Red Sox. Boston has two aces in Josh Beckett and Jon Lester. David Ortiz (13 home runs) appears to be a threat once again. Boston like Philadelphia should make a serious offer for Halladay. With one more legit starting pitcher to go along with the league's best 'pen, Boston should be strong enough to hold off the Rays for a playoff spot. The Red Sox offense clicks at home (32-14), but still is vulnerable on the road (24-25). (1)

6) Texas Rangers. Ron Washington's club is fighting to keep pace with the Angels. Josh Hamilton needs to have a huge last two months for this club to stay in the race. Despite the flu bug running through this team, the Rangers continue to play excellent defense, have a very good 'pen, and have stars in Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, and Nelson Cruz (23 home runs). Starting pitching is always the question in Texas let's see if the Rangers can add a Jarrod Washburn or Doug Davis at the deadline. (9)

7) St. Louis Cardinals: The Cards added right-handed bats Mark DeRosa, Matt Holliday, and Julio Lugo to the offense sending shock waves through the NL Central. Albert Pujols is still the most feared hitter in the game. Starters Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, Joel Pineiro, and Kyle Lohse get the job done for manager Tony La Russa. The 'pen is the question, but St. Louis is now the team to beat in the NL Central. (12)

8) Tampa Bay Rays. Last year's AL champs are still searching for the magic of 2008. Manager Joe Maddon doesn't quite know what to expect from a rotation whose ace is now righty Jeff Niemann (9-4). The Rays are still vulnerable to left-handed pitching, the best evidence being the perfect game thrown at them by White Sox southpaw Mark Buehrle on Thursday. The 'pen is not a sure thing. Carlos Pena hits home runs (24), but his batting average (.219) sinks the team more often than not. (8)

9) Colorado Rockies. It's hard to ignore the strides this club has made since Jim Tracy was named skipper. The Rockies may be overachieving right now, but they have been leading or close to the NL Wild Card lead long enough to be taken seriously. Brad Hawpe, Troy Tulowitzki, and Todd Helton need to hit over the next two months. The Rockies starting pitching doesn't have much of a track record outside of Aaron Cook and Jason Marquis (two pitchers who are not thought of as the best in the NL). (10)

10) Detroit Tigers. The Tigers are very tough to beat at home (31-15) and inexplicably poor on the road (21-29). Justin Verlander, Edwin Jackson, and Armando Galarraga are all throwing the ball very well. Fernado Rodney closes games while Bobby Seay and Brandon Lyon set him up. More help is needed in the 'pen. Miguel Cabrera is their MVP candidate. Tiger offense still very inconsistent. (3)

11) Chicago White Sox. The Sox are built to hit the long ball. If they are going to beat Detroit they better start hitting at home (27-23). The 'pen has shown signs of cracking this month. Is there a physical issue with closer Bobby Jenks? Has set-up man Scott Linebrink been over worked? With Buehrle, Gavin Floyd, and currently injured John Danks as starters the Sox better win their games because Jose Contreras and Bartolo Colon are unsteady at best. (18)

12) San Francisco Giants. Bruce Bochy counts on wins from Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum each time his all stars take the mound. Barry Zito has pitched acceptably well compared to his first two years in SF. The key is getting some offense to take the pressure off the pitching staff. At some point the Giants must add another major league bat (Aubrey Huff, Freddy Sanchez, or Nick Johnson?). The 'pen has been reliable. Jonathan Sanchez and Ryan Sadowski now need to fill the void left by the injury to Randy Johnson. Will the NL catch up with Pablo Sandoval? Giants, like the A's in the early 2000s, would be a scary team to meet in a five game playoff series. (13)

13) Chicago Cubs. The Cubs haven't hit the ball like they did in 2008. Still with the Aramis Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano, Derek Lee, and Milton Bradley this team must be watched carefully to see if they pull out of their offensive doldrums. The 'pen is less than spectacular with walks and home runs the major culprits in late game collapses. Cubs need a starter to pick up for Ted Lilly (DL) and Ryan Dempster (due back Tuesday). A trade for a pitcher for this team (like last year for Rich Harden) is necessary. (16)

14) Houston Astros. Starters Roy Oswalt and Wandy Rodriguez are on hot streaks. Other veteran starters Brian Moehler, Mike Hampton, and Russ Ortiz will need help over the summer, won't they? Still with Miguel Tejada (.329), Carlos Lee (59 RBI), and speedy Michael Bourn (.287) this team wins games (swept the Cards last week). Colorful Jose Valverde is one of the most reliable closers in the game. (22)

15) Seattle Mariners. The M's don't hit much. Russell Branyan is having a career season at the plate (24 home runs). Seattle's pitching is outstanding. King Felix Hernandez hasn't pitched a bad game in two months. Jarrod Washburn is everything Seattle thought Erik Bedard would be. Closer David Aardsma has been lights out. Yet the Mariners more than likely will be sellers this week because their hitting is so sub-par. The M's offense is too weak to catch the Rangers or the Angels this year. (19)

16) Minnesota Twins. Take the Twins out of the Metrodome and bad things happen (20-30) on the road. The Twins blew a 12-2 lead to the A's this week in Oakland. The Angels came from behind to beat closer Joe Nathan. Lefty swingers Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, and Jason Kubel carry this club. The starting pitching and the 'pen have been a problem for manager Ron Gardenhire all season. If the pitching somehow straightens out Minnesota will be tough because they win at home (28-20) and the crowds will be huge in September as the team closes its domed home for good. (5)

17) Milwaukee Brewers. Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun are the two stars on this team. GM Doug Melvin will get manager Ken Macha another arm for the 'pen and one for the rotation (Cliff Lee?). Macha has done a remarkable job keeping this team in the race, juggling his 'pen nightly. (14)

18) Atlanta Braves. You can never count out a Booby Cox team, especially if it has pitching. Starters Derek Lowe, Javier Vazquez, Tommy Hanson, and Jair Jurrjens can win any game they start. Closer Rafael Soriano has been lights out all year. If Chipper Jones, Brian McCann, and Yunel Escobar hit the Braves will be the NL Wild Card dark horse team. Martin Prado (.326) has been a revelation in the infield and Nate McLouth (.257) anchors the outfield. (20).

19) Florida Marlins. Florida has a great one-two pitching punch in Ricky Nolasco and Josh Johnson. Hanley Ramirez might spoil Albert Pujols Triple Crown bid by winning the NL batting title. The 'pen has been much better than anyone thought possible led by A's castoffs Kiko Calero and Dan Meyer. Cody Ross needs to pick things up with the bat. Starting pitching will tell the story for the Fish. Other than Johnson and Nolasco the remaining starters are very unreliable. (15)

20) Oakland Athletics. Because of their pitching, the A's are still a team that can beat you. Gio Gonzalez threw a great game against the Yanks. Trevor Cahill shut down the Twins with the help of a 15-run cushion. Brett Anderson pitched a masterful two-hitter in Fenway Park. Dallas Braden gives the team seven innings, of two-to-three run ball virtually every time he pitches. Closer Andrew Bailey is finally showing signs of fatigue as he is missing his spots more than earlier in the year. This team, despite its poor record (41-55), hasn't quit on the manager. The A's should make more trades this week seeking more impact AA or AAA bats. The Matt Holliday trade was set in motion once he was acquired last winter from the Rockies. Newcomer Brett Wallace can hit and might be the A's Buster Posey (Giants top prospect) before too long. (25)

21) Toronto Blue Jays. Even if the Jays move Roy Halladay this week they are a decent team. Marco Scutaro is having a career year at shortstop. Aaron Hill is an all-star second baseman. Lefty Ricky Romero is in the mix for AL Rookie of the Year. Adam Lind has arrived as one of the top DHs in the league. Blue Jays hope to rebuild with a trade of their ace pitcher. If they get what they want the road back will be much shorter. If not this club will need to find two starting pitchers for next season. (6)

22) New York Mets. Only Johan Santana prevents this team from falling further in the rankings. Mets might be the most dysfunctional organization in baseball. GM Omer Minaya, manager Jerry Manuel, and assistant GM Tony Bernazard all might be looking for new jobs next season. If Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran return this season perhaps the team might move up in the rankings. K-Rod must be wondering what he got himself into by signing with this disorganized finger- pointing crowd. (17)

23) Arizona Diamondbacks. Talk about disorganized teams. The players have spoken out about the club's lack of hustle, makes one wonder what the manager A.J. Hinch thinks about his team's effort. All that aside, Justin Upton, Mark Reynolds, and Stephen Drew are keepers. Dan Haren could win the NL's Cy Young award. Starters Jon Garland and Doug Davis are on the block along with relievers Jon Rauch and Chad Qualls. (28)

24) Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles are going more with their younger players that should mean the end of the Baltimore careers for Melvin Mora and Aubrey Huff. Outfielders Adam Jones and Nick Markakis, plus catcher Matt Wieters are the core stars of the future. Watch for more pitching prospects to make their debuts this summer. (23)

25) Cleveland Indians. The Tribe usually puts on a late season rush when the club is hopelessly out of the race. Will they trade either Victor Martinez (Boston) or Cliff Lee (Texas)? In any case it's unlikely manager Eric Wedge will be back next year. Closer Kerry Wood might help a contender down the stretch too. (24)

26) Cincinnati Reds. Reds have one of the best 'pens in the league. Trouble is the club doesn't hit very much. Once Jay Bruce broke his wrist the lineup lost one of its top power bats. If pitcher Homer Bailey is the real deal and Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto make comebacks in 2009 -- joining Aaron Harang (trade bait) and Bronson Arroyo -- then Dusty Baker has a chance to see his club get back into the race. Too many "ifs" still remain for this team. (21)

27) Kansas City Royals. The Royals have the makings of a good rotation with the breakthroughs of Luke Hochevar and Brian Bannister. After two lackluster years it's tough to see manager Trey Hillman returning in 2010. Injuries have held this team back. The 'pen failures and all the losses usually add up to a managerial change. (27)

28) Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates are one of the most active teams during the trading season. One has to wonder why the players the Corsairs receive in return for their established players don't seem to amount to too much. Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson should be the next to go along with relievers Matt Capps and John Grabow. (26)

29) Washington Nationals. Why doesn't President Obama attend some Nats games to stimulate interest in his new hometown team? The Nationals can hit and once they get some more pitchers to join Jordan Zimmermann, Craig Stammen, and John Lannan they might see the light at the end of the tunnel. (29)

30) San Diego Padres. Adrian Gonzalez stopped hitting home runs about one month ago about the time the bottom fell out of the club's season. Lack of any offense has killed the season. Injuries to Jake Peavy and Chris Young did not help matters either. Don't blame the manager Bud Black he is a solid baseball man. (30) source>>>

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At last! MLB commissioner Bud Selig mulling pardon for hit Pete Rose

Thanks to the behind-the-scenes lobbying from some of the most influential Hall of Famers, commissioner Bud Selig is said to be seriously considering lifting Pete Rose's lifetime suspension from baseball.

The tip-off that Selig may now be inclined to pardon baseball's all-time hit king was Hank Aaron's seemingly impromptu interview session with a small group of reporters in the lobby of the Otesaga Hotel on Saturday. In declaring for the first time that he would want an asterisk put on the achievements of any steroid cheats elected to the Hall of Fame, Aaron brought up Rose, who, in August of 1989, was given a lifetime ban for gambling on baseball, saying: "I would like to see Pete in. He belongs there."

It is no secret that Selig considers Aaron one of his closest friends and values his opinions over perhaps all others. It was also learned by the Daily News that in a meeting of the Hall of Fame's board of directors at the Otesaga later on Saturday, two of Rose's former teammates on the board, vice chairman Joe Morgan and Frank Robinson, also expressed their hope that Selig would see fit to reinstate Rose.

Said another Hall of Famer familiar with the situation: "I think a lot of the guys feel that it's been 20 years now for Pete, and would lean toward leniency and time served. If he had admitted it in the first place and apologized way back then, he'd probably be in the Hall by now."

According to another source, the behind-the-scenes lobbying process began five years ago, but stalled because Selig was still not satisfied that Rose was "reconfiguring" his life, as the late commissioner Bart Giamatti had instructed for him to do when he initially placed him on baseball's permanent ineligible list. In addition, the source said, Selig's conditions for any reinstatement would be stiff. Rose likely would need to make another public apology and he would be prohibited from managing.

If Selig does reinstate him, Rose then would become eligible for the Hall of Fame, but on the Veterans Committee ballot, as his 15 years on the Baseball Writers ballot expired during his time on the ineligible list. He would thus have to be elected by his peers, the 65 living members in the Hall of Fame, not all of whom agree with Aaron, Morgan and Robinson that Rose has done his time. It's hard to say if he would get the necessary 75% for election. "I know there are still guys who feel strongly against him," said one Hall of Famer, "and I don't know if that would change even if Selig clears him."

Nevertheless, it is beginning to look as if Rose will at least finally get Hall of Fame consideration, at the same time the Hall of Famers are taking an even harder stance on all the steroids cheats. "Believe me," said Reggie Jackson, to a couple of writers, "that little session Hank had with you guys was anything but impromptu. He wanted to get that out there. It was time."

source>>>

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Kimo Leopoldo writes about reports of his death

MMA fighter Kimo Leopoldo responded today to news reports of his death that surfaced last week on TMZ.com and other news agencies (not The Times). In an open letter, which follows, Leopoldo explained the event was a wake-up call to focus on the positives in life.
"I'd like to thank all the members of the media, my fans, friends, and especially my family members with regards to their concern and support about me.

I went to sleep late Monday (July 20) and woke-up to my promoter, Ron Kort, shaking me sometime between 12-1 PM/PT on Tuesday, telling me that the media is going crazy over my death, and that he and others had been looking everywhere for me.

I had spent the night with a friend and my phone was turned off like it normally is overnight. I'm used to people spreading weird rumors about me, but I didn't think this one was funny. So, I blew it off, but when Ron looked at me with that serious face of his, I knew this wasn't a joke.

I got up and looked on my friend's computer, read through some of the media reports, and couldn't believe my eyes. From the time I went to sleep to the time I woke-up, the rumor of me dying had spread like wildfire. All I had done was go to sleep. I kind of felt as important as Michael Jackson, considering the media hoopla. While reading articles, I had to stop and look in the mirror. The overwhelming power of the media almost felt like my death was being predicted.

I was a little taken back and, as I attempted to compose myself, Ron informed me that Brandt Stebbins (New Era Fighting's Business Development Manager) all day had been dealing with consoling my family and friends over this issue. Ron immediately got on the phone with members of the press and the Orange County Sheriff-Coroner's office about getting a press release out immediately. As I was piecing the puzzle together, I had various friends yelling at me as if I set this up as a publicity stunt.

I woke-up to being told I was dead and getting yelled at. This wasn't a fun wake-up. Before I go any further, I want to let everyone know that we are investigating this matter and have a good idea of how it originated, and that NONE of this came from me or anyone around me. I am sorry to all who know me for your grief and am amazed to see that I can make front page news in the press for negative items but not for anything good I have done. The media has always been quick to jump on negative rumors about me without verifying the truth.

I consider myself one of the founding fathers of MMA and an important figure in this industry. I was in this sport before it was a sport. I have seen the many ups-and-downs of this industry and have dedicated the last few years of my life to trying to making a difference by running for California State Athletic Commissioner, trying to get fighters paid what they are worth, and getting fighters more exposure even when they are not fighting. Given my contributions, it is amazing to me that I can get this kind of press on negative items, yet, not on my accomplishments.

In the last few months I have been called a Meth addict in the media and now I am dead. Both items are obviously proven not to be true. The power of the media is strong and it is the responsibility of the media to verify the information they post; it isn't about being the first one on the scene. TMZ confirmed that I was dead. Well, that's weird because they did that without a body or autopsy report. In my opinion, TMZ just became the next Inquirer. Why didn't TMZ just confirm my body was abducted by Aliens?

No offense to TMZ or anyone else, but how about you guys in the media giving me a real chance at making a difference in this industry? Let's try to use your power for some good. For example, I registered on the Bob Sapp www.FightEngine.com website. If I get enough hits, I will be able to fight whomever the fans want. No one will dictate who I fight except for you, the fans. I will fight whomever you guys want, not what promoters want. You guys decide. I want my last fight to be a freak show of a fight. I want to go out the same way I came in. I came in carrying the cross, but lost my path along the way, and didn't want to be a hypocrite by carrying the cross if I wasn't living that life style. I always believe that through Christ Jesus, all things are possible, and I believe Jesus Christ himself is my guiding angel with everything that has happened in my life.

I was pronounced dead and now I am resurrected. This is my second chance and I don't want to let fans down. I am here to help train fighters for combat in the ring. I will train and walk fighters to the ring at any event. I am here to help fighters get paid their worth, I am here to entertain my fans and the whole MMA community, win or lose, and I am here to help make this fun and enjoyable for everyone. If I hit a certain number of votes on www.FightEngine.com, I will be a main event fighter for one of their scouting events, and you will be the ones to vote about whom you want me to fight. I would appreciate just as much attention as was given to me in these last few days on google.com, yahoo.com and other media sources to also occur on fightengine.com. Show me you guys really believe that I am as exciting to watch fight as everyone tells me to my face and I promise to live the right life style, train hard, and walk to the ring in my last fight with the cross on my back and with a real aggressive fight for the fans to watch. I've been known to head-butt guys in the back of the head, slap my opponent in the face, and even in Tank's case, kiss my opponent on the cheek after I wipe the floor with them.

... I am currently being approached to do cartoon voice-overs, interviews, and more. I am eager and happy to accommodate all of your requests. So, please, let's try to keep this fun and entertaining but, most of all, truthful and positive.

Remember, it isn't necessarily about being first in the media, rather, being accurate. I love my fans, family and even the media for all you have given me and will drive my focus on the positive, not the negative. Thank you all."

source>>>

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UFC and Dana White on CNBC this week - details

It's a hit business like no other, a violent and growing sport that's attracted controversy, millions of fans, and some deep pockets. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has battled its way to the top of mixed martial arts, continuing to dominate the competition and thrive in a troubled economy when other sports are faltering.

On Wednesday, July 29th at 10PM & 1AM ET, CNBC presents "Ultimate Fighting: Fistful of Dollars," a CNBC special reported by CNBC's Scott Wapner that takes a new behind-the-scenes look at Ultimate Fighting Championship- the biggest brand in mixed martial arts, one of the fastest growing sports in the world. The documentary builds on earlier reporting, first aired in 2007, with new interviews and coverage throughout.

Wapner travels to Germany for the UFC's first-ever event in mainland Europe, and goes inside the Octagon with Dana White, the controversial front man who's helped raise the brand to new heights with a shrewd business sense and a style shaped more in the gym than the corporate suite. CNBC also speaks with wealthy backers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, and profiles a stable of standout fighters -- including star Rich Frankin -- who have helped the league grow from a dying franchise to a global sensation in less than a decade.

The program explores the early days of UFC, when it played to meager crowds and was banned from television. Today, the UFC has established a formidable presence in the sporting world and on the landscape of popular culture, and Madison Avenue has taken notice. In 2007, marquee brands were reluctant to advertise with a league that had a dubious, no-holds-barred past. Though some controversy remains, the UFC has gone mainstream, and Fortune 500 companies like Budweiser and Harley-Davidson have become big-time backers.

With a reported $275 million in revenues last year, the UFC's success has not gone unnoticed, and a number of would-be competitors have emerged. Wapner interviews billionaires Mark Cuban and Donald Trump, who are working together to present mixed martial arts events, promising top fighters and revenues to match. Dana White tells Wapner that they are just another in a long list of competitors he is ready to take to the mat.

CNBC also takes a look at the range of promotions, endorsements and movie deals tied to the sport, as well as at TapouT, the successful apparel company created by three hardcore fans who turned their passion for mixed martial arts into a $100 million dollar business.

For more information including video clips and slideshows log onto: ufc.cnbc.com.

CNBC's "Ultimate Fighting: Fistful of Dollars" will re-air on Friday, July 31st at 1AM ET and Sunday, August 1st at 10PM ET. source>>>

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UFC 101 free bet on Penn vs. Florian, Silva vs. Griffin

UFC 101 is fast approaching and iFight365.com have teamed up with leading online bookmaker Paddy Power to give all visitors to the website a free £20 bet on the huge August 8 pay-per-view.

Even better, to qualify for the bet, you only have to wager £10, meaning Paddy Power are offering you double your money!

The main event at UFC 101 in Philadelphia, PA sees UFC Lightweight champion BJ Penn defending his title against Kenny Florian, while also scheduled is Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin in a Light Heavyweight bout.

To claim your free £20 bet, click here!
source>>>

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Do you think Matthew Stafford will play in a Super Bowl for the Lions?

Do you think Matthew Stafford will play in a Super Bowl for the Lions?

Will we put a man on Mars? Will we find a cure for cancer? Will a Pistons coach last longer than three seasons?

Until the Lions actually make the Super Bowl nobody in their right mind can predict such things. I suppose the Cardinals run to the NFC title gives all football fans hope, but this is the Lions after all, so let's not get crazy.

But all this does lead to a logical line of questioning what with Stafford's first camp looming this week. What does he have to do to be considered a success in Detroit? How far does he have to take the team for his draft position and his contract to be justified? Does he have to go to the Super Bowl? Does he have to win a playoff game? Does he simply have to make the Pro Bowl?

I know those all seem like pipe dreams coming off an 0-16 season, but it's totally fair for fans to demand a lot of Stafford. Since the Super Bowl era began, 15 quarterbacks have gone No. 1 overall. Four are legends (Terry Bradshaw, John Elway, Troy Aikman and Peyton Manning). One (Jim Plunkett) was a seriously late-bloomer who developed into a winner. Six made the Pro Bowl and have to be considered very solid to very good starters (Steve Bartkowski, Vinny Testaverde, Jeff George, Drew Bledsoe, Carson Palmer and Eli Manning). One is Michael Vick, define him as you wish. And the last three are, at this point, total busts (Alex Smith, Tim Couch and David Carr). So if you want to apply math, there's about an 80% chance that Stafford will at least turn out to be a solid starter who will make a Pro Bowl or two and win some playoff games.

The downside for Stafford is that he comes to a bad team and will be expected to be great right away given his No. 1 selection. The upside is that he'll be compared to the likes of Jeff Komlo, Joey Harrington and Milt Plum. In other words if Stafford can simply make a Pro Bowl, he'll go down as the Lions greatest quarterback since Bobby Layne. And down deep, that's all were asking for. Sure we want a Super Bowl, and we want a winner and we want to be talking about the playoffs every single year. But I think most Lions fans are willing to start small. Matthew -- work hard, play well, don't try to do too much, and the fans will be behind you.

Will he play in a Super Bowl? I'm not making that prediction. Will he be a success? I say yes, simply because the bar has been set so low when it comes to success as a quarterback in Detroit. source>>>

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Mark Dantonio has lofty goals for Michigan State: Big Ten title, BCS bowl

The sample is fairly small, just two full seasons, so to extract any conclusions or absolutes out of the Mark Dantonio reign at Michigan State might be premature.

But a nascent trend has developed: Dantonio delivering on promises. The working premise his first season was returning some respect to the Spartans, and a three-game turnaround to a 7-6 record ensued. The idea last year was to make a New Year's Day bowl game, and voila, the Spartans played in the Capital One Bowl.

"I remember mentioning that and people gave me a little bit of a look," Dantonio said Monday. "But we made it there."

The next step might be a little more difficult to manage this year. Dantonio hedged no bets in naming a Big Ten Championship and a Bowl Championship Series berth as goals on the Spartans' immediate horizon during the conference media days Monday. But a "relatively young team" -- Dantonio's own estimation -- and thus inexperience at critical positions in 2009 could be a sizeable roadblock.

But then the Spartans were picked to finish third in the league, and linebacker Greg Jones was named the preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

"I think it's very, very important to recognize that we've been in that situation before at times, the Spartans raised up a bit, and we fell a little bit flat," Dantonio said. "We've won very, very few games just going away. We've been involved in a lot of close games.

"The goal for us, basically, is to play up. Win our last game. We've gone to bowl games, we need to win our last game. We need to play up when we play these marquee games, where more than winning and losing is riding on that."

As for one of the most pressing concerns -- choosing a quarterback between sophomores Kirk Cousins and Keith Nichol, who have played in eight college games total between them -- Dantonio flatly labeled the players "very strong, but inexperienced." There is some athleticism there, but nothing that should change drastically what Michigan State does.

"We'll continue to use what's been good for us," Dantonio said. "We'll always add wrinkles as we move forward. But our quarterbacks, they need to be able to create plays when things break down for them. Some guys make it with decision-making, some guys make it with wheels. But we'll run the same offense for both quarterbacks. I don't see any big wrinkles we'd change for one or the other." source>>>

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esurgent U.S.A. Basketball Team Attracts Young Stars

Jerry Colangelo, the managing director of USA Basketball, beamed as he looked around a high school gym at a collection of America's top young basketball players. With Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose and Greg Oden racing up and down the court, Colangelo said, "I feel like a proud papa."
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Kevin Durant has closed in on a spot on the United States' 2012 Olympic team.
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Derrick Rose at practice with USA Basketball during a minicamp in Las Vegas.

Since being hired in 2005, Colangelo has helped USA Basketball overcome the years of apathy and strife that resulted in an embarrassing bronze-medal performance at the 2004 Olympics. And although the organization's renaissance culminated with a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, the best barometer of its stability and promise might have come this week.

Of the almost 20 players who came to Las Vegas for USA Basketball's minicamp, seven are not of legal age (21) to play blackjack. The only notable absentees were Blake Griffin (shoulder injury), Brandon Roy (contract) and Rajon Rondo (attending a wedding).

The performance of players like Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James in Beijing has helped make USA Basketball a destination for the game's young stars. Jeff Green, Kevin Love, Brook Lopez, O. J. Mayo, Rudy Gay, Eric Gordon and Russell Westbrook also attended the minicamp.

"I don't know if I'm the standard for cool," Lopez said when asked if USA Basketball has regained its cachet, "but I think so."

In some sense, the gathering was more important symbolically than for pure basketball reasons.

The biggest revelation on the floor was Durant, who averaged 25.3 points in the N.B.A. hinterland of Oklahoma City. Colangelo said Durant "set himself apart" and has practically assured himself a spot on the 2010 world championship tournament team and the 2012 Olympic team.

USA Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski joked that there was no such thing as a safe bet in Las Vegas, but it appeared that Durant's play, combined with his years of participating as a practice player with USA Basketball, has destined him to become the program's next star.

His attitude toward the program is what USA Basketball is looking for.

"Once Mr. Colangelo took over and kind of told the whole country what he wanted in the team, everyone jumped on board," Durant said. "Kobe Bryant didn't have to play. Jason Kidd, he didn't have to play. Those guys wanted to come back. That's when you knew it was for real.

"I was just excited to come here and practice with USA Basketball, never mind playing with them."

Durant's evolution from practice player to USA Basketball linchpin is what Colangelo envisioned when he began four years ago.

Colangelo said he expected the core of the USA Basketball team to return as well. He said he had oral agreements with James, Bryant, Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh.

Krzyzewski said, "We're way ahead of where a USA Basketball team has ever been, and we need to capitalize on that."

And the continuity found among the players will be duplicated by the staff: Krzyzewski is returning along with his entire staff of coaches: Knicks Coach Mike D'Antoni, Portland Trail Blazers Coach Nate McMillan and Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim.

Krzyzewski said subtle culture changes would take place. In the past, players would not try out for USA Basketball because they were afraid of the hit to their ego and image that being cut or being named an alternate would bring them.

"If you develop this and we bring in 15 and 18 guys, it would be an honor to be an alternate," Krzyzewski said.

When USA Basketball has success at the top, there is a trickle-down effect, too. Sean Ford, USA Basketball's national team director, is still giddy over the program's Under 19 world championship victory in New Zealand over the summer. USA Basketball won the title for the first time in 18 years with a team of players who had little name recognition but blended well. Many of them weren't even the best player on their college team the previous year.

Ford's hope is that the United States can build its credibility in world basketball by winning the 17-and-under championships next year and the 2010 world championship in Turkey. USA Basketball has not won a world championship since 1994.

"If we take care of business, we could be the reigning champion in all three of FIBA's major world competitions at one time," Ford said. "I don't think that's ever happened."

And as USA Basketball enters a new era of stability, the optimism was palpable this week. source>>>

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FSU public records challenge could reshape NCAA

As Florida State University begins its fall football practice next month, lawyers a few miles away at the Leon County courthouse will argue a case inextricably linked to football coach Bobby Bowden's legendary career and potentially representing an unprecedented challenge to the powerful governing body that oversees all collegiate athletics.

While the litigation involves Florida State football and Florida's public records law, it also contests the authority of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. And it reveals how far the NCAA goes to shield how it enforces collegiate athletic rules. The NCAA wants to take away 14 of Bowden's 382 victories as punishment for an academic cheating scandal at the school that involved the football team and nine other sports.

Florida State, which disclosed the violations in 2007, has appealed the sanctions. For Florida State supporters, the NCAA's proposed penalty seems particularly harsh because it would effectively deny Bowden, who turns 80 later this year, the chance to become the coach with the most wins in college football history. Bowden, already a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, trails Penn State Coach Joe Paterno by one victory.

But as the case moves toward a hearing before Circuit Judge John C. Cooper next month, the NCAA and its ability to investigate and punish schools is becoming the focal point of litigation that began over Florida's public records laws.

When Florida State appealed the NCAA penalty, the NCAA blocked public access to its response to FSU -- providing the records through a confidential "read only" Web site available only to Florida State and its lawyers. The NCAA later allowed Florida State to transcribe the appeal response and provide it to the public, but not release the record itself.

Florida newspapers and television stations, including The Tampa Tribune, TBO.com, News Channel 8 and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, have sued the NCAA and Florida State, alleging that the use of a confidential system violates the state's public records law.

The NCAA, a private agency that represents more than 1,000 schools across the country, contends it is not covered by the state law.

Critics say if the NCAA confidentiality system is not overturned, it would provide a "road map" for others to sidestep the Florida's public records law.

"The scheme developed by the NCAA, and aided by FSU and its counsel, is particularly insidious to Florida's constitutional and statutory guarantee of access to public records," the Florida news organizations wrote in their initial lawsuit.

Attorney General Bill McCollum has also joined the litigation, writing a letter to NCAA President Myles Brand last month, telling him the refusal to release the records would be a violation of state law.

On Friday, the case took a new turn as Florida State, a defendant in the lawsuit, essentially decided to sue the NCAA, filing a counter-claim urging the collegiate body to comply with state law and turn over the documents. FSU, like the news agencies, is also seeking legal fees from the NCAA.

"The NCAA observes the same rigid secrecy in all infractions cases," Florida State wrote in its lawsuit. "For many years, the NCAA has prevented educational institutions from retaining copies of documents in infractions cases."

Even before the use of the private Web site, the NCAA closely guarded its infractions documents, Florida State said, allowing their inspection only at the organization's Indianapolis headquarters or other designated locations "where the documents remained within its own absolute control and supervision."

"The NCAA has applied its secrecy policies uniformly in all states against all institutions in all infractions cases, from time immemorial," Florida State wrote.

With the Web site, in use for roughly five years, the NCAA makes schools or their representatives sign a "web custodial confidentiality agreement" that threatens them with "civil or criminal actions" or Bar complaints if they disclose information, FSU said.

Veteran NCAA officials, including David Berst, are scheduled to testify at the August hearing that the NCAA has long used a confidentiality system. If the system is voided, it could hinder the NCAA's ability to discipline wayward schools, they say.

Berst, now NCAA vice president for Division 1, has lengthy experience in infractions cases, having led the probe that resulted in the so-called "death penalty" for Southern Methodist University's football team in 1987 after uncovering cash payments to players.

Berst is scheduled to be joined by Julie Roe, a lawyer and former Millikin University basketball player who is now the NCAA's director of enforcement.

The lawsuit is unique in several ways. Lawyers say it is one of the first direct challenges to the NCAA practice of conducting its investigations and decision-making largely outside of public review. And although a court ruling against the collegiate body would only apply in Florida, it could provide the impetus for challenges in other states with similar public records laws. The case also represents the evolution of the state's Public Records Act in the electronic age, with the challenge being the first to contest the use of a confidential Web site to avoid the state law.

Confidentiality has been a pivotal tool in NCAA investigations.

"The NCAA has always had a provision in its enforcement procedures to maintain the confidentiality of any information that comprises a case," said Rick Evrard, a Kansas lawyer who spent seven years with the NCAA. Evrard's law firm, Bond, Schoeneck and King, has represented most of the major Florida schools, including Florida State and the University of Florida, in NCAA cases in recent years.

Evrard said confidentiality is particularly critical early in the investigation. He noted the NCAA does not have many standard investigative tools, such as the ability to subpoena records, that can be used by law enforcement agencies or lawyers in criminal and civil litigation. If the NCAA loses some of that authority, Evrard said it could "weaken" the organization.

But Rachel Fugate, a Tampa lawyer representing the news organizations, said the lawsuit is focused on records involving the NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee, which is handling Florida State's appeal now that the NCAA investigation has ended.

"This is pretty far down the road in the process," she said.

She said state law requires law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to turn over records once they are provided to the defendants in criminal cases.

"I really don't see why at this point there is a huge need for secrecy," she said. source>>>

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Gators release non-conference men's basketball schedule

Billy Donovan told his 2,000 tweeps on Twitter a couple weeks back that there's reason to be excited about next year's non-conference schedule.

Now he's got some heat to prove it.

It's hard to complain with these reputable opponents the Gators sought out and scheduled: 2009 national runner-up Michigan State, Xavier, Syracuse, Florida State, American, either UMass/Rutgers and North Carolina State.

Five of those teams made the NCAA Tournament last season. The Spartans -- who have made five Final Fours the last 11 years -- are UF's highligtht for either Nov. 27 or 28 as part of the Legend's Classic at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

Xavier is the best from a nine-game home schedule after the Musketeers have made four straight NCAA Tournaments. Xavier comes to Gainesville on Feb. 13, the first time the Gators will play a non-conference game during the conference season since 2003.

Season tickets are also now on sale at the Gator Ticket Office and renewals have gone out to existing season ticket holders.

"This is as challenging a non-conference schedule as I can remember us having," Donovan said. "It's a great mix of getting some experience playing high level teams on neutral courts and getting a few really good road games in, but also being able to bring a number of high caliber opponents to Gainesville for our fans, that part was really important to us as well. This schedule will definitely challenge us and prepare us for our conference season."

National power Syracuse will play the Gators in Tampa on Dec. 10 as part of the Big East/SEC Challenge. American, Florida's Dec. 28 home appearance, lost to Villanova in last year's NCAA Tournament.

Times and television schedule for all non-conference games will be announced later. The conference schedule will be released at a later date.

The Gators certainly addressed the strength-of-schedule issues that plagued the SEC last year. This could easily be a top-50 national schedule. One more home game against a traditional power would have helped curb that projected $500,000 loss in ticket sales in the school's 2009-10 budget, but perhaps American can serve as that third O'Connell game to circle in the calendar. source>>>

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Joey Logano shines in his Cup Series Brickyard debut comming from back of field

The word mature has been used to describe Joe Gibbs Racing rookie Joey Logano a lot lately.

But one could argue the adjective fit most on Sunday evident by the way Logano, 19, made his way through the field in his first outing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, one of the most technically difficult tracks NASCAR visits.
Allstate 400

The youngest driver to make a start in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, Logano was forced to start at the rear of the field due to an engine change. Nevertheless, he and the No. 20 team climbed into the top 15 in less than 100 laps and brought home a 12th-place finish.

He even showed maturity near the end during a battle with Juan Montoya, who dominated Sunday's race but faltered after a pit road speeding violation.

"We were racing hard," Logano said surveying his No. 20 Toyota after the 400-mile race. "Every position counts you know. We run hard. I didn't want to blow our good finish away though. It's like race hard but eventually enough is enough and you've got to be smart out there. We had a really good car. We took off on restarts like no other."

The team and crew chief, Greg Zipadelli, were pleased with the finish. Still, Logano regretted not being able to start closer to the front -- he originally qualified 18th.

"We could run with top-10 cars," he said. "We were as fast as anybody on the restarts, just at the end I started over-driving it and giving it all I had and killed the car. I've had to start in the back before for other reasons and had a real good race car. If we were at Charlotte or somewhere you can move around and pass race cars it wouldn't be a big deal, but here it's a big deal."

A big deal because passing is difficult. The racing groove is narrow at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the speeds are fast making it rather challenging heading into the corners.

Logano managed however to pass 31 cars, mostly in the short chute, he said.

"That was the best place for me. That way I could try and clear them before I get off to the big straightaway so I could keep some momentum going," Logano explained. "That's kind of a big deal there. That's probably the biggest part where it's hard to get them. You get them wherever the heck you can really. It's so tough. It's all about timing.
"
[We] ran good at Indy so that's pretty neat for the first time here and we had fun with it. Learned a lot and we'll come here next time and be even better.
"
-- JOEY LOGANO

"You get behind these cars at the same speed or you're faster and I mean just get behind them and you're stuck. You're totally screwed and you can't do anything about it. ... So you've got to get them quick when you get there but you've got to have a plan while you creep up on them."

Zipadelli, who has two previous Brickyard wins with Tony Stewart, was impressed with Logano's run and the entire team's effort.

"It was a great day for our group, [Logano] did a great job all weekend," he said. "Those green flag runs gave us opportunity to gain track position and he's learning and he's doing better. The whole team is doing better and I couldn't be prouder."

The start of Logano's rookie season left opponents wondering if Joe Gibbs Racing made the decision to take Logano Cup racing too soon. But since Darlington and his Cup win at New Hampshire, the young racer has silenced the critics.

"You never die and keep digging and figuring all this out. The motivating part is, like I say, getting better every week and going to some of these places for the first time like here and running better than we would in the beginning of the season at a first-time place. That's motivating to me," Logano said.

"[We] ran good at Indy so that's pretty neat for the first time here and we had fun with it. Learned a lot and we'll come here next time and be even better." source>>>

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Jimmie Johnson wins Brickyard 400 as Juan Montoya's penalty erases lead

Juan Montoya's loss was Jimmie Johnson's gain Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Capitalizing on a pit-road speeding penalty to the dominant car of Montoya -- and on the outside lane on a restart with 24 laps left -- Johnson held off teammate and pole-sitter Mark Martin to win his second consecutive Allstate 400 at the Brickyard and his third in the past four years.

Johnson staved off a last-ditched challenge from Martin through the first two corners at the 2.5-mile track and streaked across the yard of brick -- the unique finish line at the Brickyard -- .400 seconds ahead of Martin in a race that gave no hint of the chronic tire problems that punctuated last year's event.

Montoya led 116 laps, more than twice the 57 combined he had led in 92 previous Cup starts, but ended the day frustrated in 11th place. Cup points leader Tony Stewart ran third and leads Johnson by 192 points with six races left before the 12-driver Chase is set Sept. 12 at Richmond.

Johnson moved past ninth-place finisher Jeff Gordon, who trails Stewart by 207 points. Greg Biffle came home fourth, followed by Brian Vickers, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne and David Reutimann. Matt Kenseth ran 10th to hold the 12th and final Chase-eligible position in the standings by 68 points over Reutimann.

"Geez, was he fast," Johnson said of Martin, 50. "For an old guy, he had me pretty worried. ... Those last 15-20 laps, we had to drive it so hard just to stay ahead of the 5 [Martin]. I was better in [Turns] 3 and 4 than he was, and he had me beat in 1 and 2, and it was kind of a give-and-take thing that was going on. Luckily, we held him off."

To Johnson, the last restart was critical. Martin chose the inside lane for the restart on Lap 137 of 160, and Johnson surged into the lead from the outside as the cars sped through the first two corners.

"Clean air was everything," said Johnson, who won his third race of the year and the 43rd of his career. "You could only get so close to the car in front of you. ... I got that restart and put on a great show for the fans. I hope they enjoyed it."

Over the final green-flag run, Martin said he drove his car as hard as he could without wrecking it.

"I drove my heart out and gave it everything I had," he said. "I'm just thankful that I had a chance to race for the win. I'm disappointed we didn't win, but I got beat by Superman."

Montoya had a lead of more than 4 seconds when he came to the pits under green for tires and fuel on Lap 125. According to NASCAR, Montoya exceeded the 55 mph speed limit entering the pits and was preparing to serve a pass-though penalty when Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s engine exploded at the entrance to pit road, causing the third caution of the race.

The yellow flag saved Montoya from losing a lap, but Montoya was adamant he had not exceeded the speed limit.

"I swear on my children and my wife, I was not speeding," Montoya radioed to crew chief Brian Pattie. "You know, I was being very conscious of that, you know what I mean?

"I've been robbed before, I've been screwed before, but [NASCAR] overdid themselves this week."

Team co-owner Felix Sabates radioed Montoya in Spanish, trying to calm him. Pattie added his own words of caution.

"Dude, please -- you're making it worse," Pattie said.
Get Your Jimmie Johnson Gear!

Montoya restarted 12th after the caution for Earnhardt's blown engine and improved one position before the finish. By the time he climbed from the car, his attitude had mellowed somewhat.

"Once it happens, you can't change it," Montoya said. "So I'm pretty frustrated, but it shows where we're going with the team."

NASCAR said Montoya had been clocked in excess of 60 mph in two segments entering pit road (NASCAR allows a 5 mph tolerance). Sabates confirmed the data after the race.

Another agonizing finish put Kyle Busch in serious jeopardy of missing the Chase. On Lap 57, the right-front tire on his No. 18 Toyota blew as he rolled through Turn 3, sending the car hard into the outside wall.

Busch brought the car to the garage for extensive repairs and lost 46 laps in the process. He finished 38th and fell from 10th to 14th in the Cup standings, 82 points behind Kenseth.

"We were biding our time running there [in the seventh position], and I got stuck behind the 71 [David Gilliland] there and had to push the right-front a little bit," Busch said. "Right from that point, I just started losing the right-front tire, just getting real tight.

"I had been loose the whole run, so I didn't think I had been abusing it at all, but all of a sudden it just started vibrating, and then, in two laps, it just blew out." source>>>

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Another bogey drops Kyle Busch to 14th in points

Kyle Busch�s run of bad finishes continued Sunday as he blew a right-front tire and hit the wall early in Sunday�s Allstate 400, relegating him to a 38th place finish.

Busch is now 14th in the series standings, 82 points behind 12th, the cutoff to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Six races remain before the 12-driver field is set.

�I think it�s pretty self-explanatory that we�re trying to fight for a spot in the Chase and this is obviously frustrating because I don�t know if it was our car, the tire or what,� he said.

"We were biding our time running there and I got stuck behind the 71 (David Gilliland) and had to push the right-front a little bit," Busch said. "Right from that point I just started losing the right-front tire, just getting real tight.

"I had been loose the whole run, so I didn�t think I had been abusing it at all, but all of the sudden it just started vibrating and then in two laps it just blew out."

Sunday�s finish was Busch�s second consecutive of 33rd or worse and he has finished 22nd or worse in five of the last eight races. source>>>

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Jeremy Mayfield sells off his Hauler,Cars, and spare parts.

Suspended Sprint Cup owner/driver Jeremy Mayfield has sold his hauler and inventory of cars and parts to John Carter, who plans to compete in as many races as he can the rest of the season.

Carter said the deal included six cars, including one Terry Labonte will use in Sunday's race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Labonte has agreed to drive in five races -- Indianapolis, Michigan, Bristol, Atlanta and Charlotte -- and could drive in more if sponsorship is available.

Carter will run the team out of his shop in Toccoa, Ga., and the shop Mayfield rented in the Charlotte, N.C., area. Four of Mayfield's crew members, including crew chief Tony Furr, are now employed by Carter.

The deal did not include an opportunity for Mayfield to drive for Carter if cleared.

"That wasn't even discussed,'' Carter said.

Mayfield was suspended on May 9 after testing positive for methamphetamines. The suspension was lifted by a federal judge in June, but reversed earlier this week.

Mayfield plans to use all of his resources to fund his legal suit against NASCAR. He has maintained he never used methamphetamines, that the positive test was the result of combining Claritin D for allergies with Adderall for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

His attorneys have filed papers showing Mayfield tested negative to methamphetamine on the same day he tested positive in a second test conducted by the laboratory representing NASCAR.

NASCAR maintains that test is not valid. Carter said Mayfield's legal issues were not a factor when he decided to purchase the equipment.

"This was strictly a business deal,'' he said. "It was good for me. I hope it was good for him. source>>>

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Blown engine forces Dale Earnhardt Jr.out at Indianapolis

Dale Earnhardt Jr. felt fit enough to drive 400 miles Sunday.

It was the engine that broke down.

After battling a stomach virus the previous three days, Earnhardt looked and sounded more like himself - including the latest explanation for another run of bad luck. The popular driver ran in the top 10 most of the day until a blown engine with 33 laps to go dropped him to 36th, a mishap Junior blamed on himself.

"We haven't had engine problems, so I assume it was driver error," he said. "I broke the valve train on the last pit stop and a couple of the pieces dropped to the bottom of the motor. They rattled around and must have blown the engine."

The No. 88 car was not in question entering Sunday.

Earnhardt started third and his practice speeds were good enough to crack the top 10.

Instead, the concern was whether Earnhardt would be healthy enough to finish. He needed intravenous fluids to recover from the illness, and Earnhardt even suggested the team adopt a backup plan in case he couldn't complete the race.

Earnhardt didn't need any assistance from Hendrick Motorsports developmental driver Brad Keselowski on Sunday.

"I feel great, I was ready," he said. "I was having a great time in the car, and I was good - ready to go to the end."

Until his engine let go, leaving a huge cloud of smoke near the entrance to pit road. Earnhardt drove down pit road and turned into Gasoline Alley.

But he took some solace in the performance.

"It's pretty frustrating," he said. "But after the year we've had, it feels good to run better." source>>>

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Technology is the Steriods of Golf

For whatever reason people think I'm a technology guy. Because I work with the Internet? Yeah, well, I'm not a tech guy. But I am a golfer. And not a great one. I'm OK, I suppose. An 11 handicap which will make me zero money in my life, only cost me lots of money, anxiety, and heartache. A terrible habit.

So today I'm going to talk about golf technology. This topic came to me on a whim when, caught with a few free hours this weekend at my wife's family's cabin on the North Shore, I decided to head to Superior National Golf Course, a great and beautiful track. I've played it nearly more than any course in MN. This weekend, however, I hadn't brought my clubs so I went down into the dungy basement of the old house and found a set of Ben Hogan blades and Persimmon woods. To the uninitiated this is like saying I found a Model T and decided to take it on 394 during rush hour.

First a little background as to why I thought this to be a good idea. A good friend of mine J Matt Keil is a natural golfer and athlete. We golf a couple of times a year, and he consistently kicks my butt even though he probably plays a quarter of the golf I play. In his bag is an old - and I mean OLD - Persimmon 5-Wood. It looks so out of place with a game so good. But every time he hits it it's pure and beautiful, and the ball flight is old school - low with a slight draw. I'm envious.

Today I played golf with those types of clubs. A whole bag full. On the first tee I decide to hit the Persimmon 3-wood. The face is tiny, proving to me that the old pros are better ball strikers than current pros. There's no forgiveness. I get lucky and hit a sweet-spot shot and the ball floats low down the right hand of the fairway and gently bends to the left, roughly 210 yards, right to the middle of the fairway. Now grant you this drive is shorter than my typical drive on a Par 4, but the ball flight is something I have dreams about. I can't hit that shot with my current technology. I'm hooked. I can't wait to hit that club every time I get the chance.

Next shot I'm a good 170 yards from the pin. Typically I would hit a 6-iron. With these old clubs I grab a 4-iron. I hit it pure enough, but it ends up a little short. If I were playing with typical d-bag golfers they'd laugh at a 4-iron from 170.

And then it dawns on me, what should ego have to do with the game of golf? Who cares how far the ball goes? Who cares if one pulls a 9 iron and pushes it 20 yard west of the hole, where the person who pulls the 7-iron and sticks it tight to the hole? Isn't that what the game is about?

I think ego - particularly the male ego -- is driving golf technology innovations. "Hit it further." "Go long." "The Longest Ball in Golf." Great golf courses all over the world have "gone long" and have essentially been ruined. Great golfers rarely can compete at the U.S. Open simply because they can barely get their drives to the fairways simply because of length. It's ridiculous.

In my dreams, I'd love to see a PGA tournament that puts Augusta's tees back to 1960's era length, then give the guys era-specific clubs and play a tournament. In fact, I wouldn't mind if we spotted them a couple of generations of golf balls and gave them some 80s era Balata balls. It would be a fascinating exposition. The fact that 59-year old Tom Watson, a five-time British Open Champion, came within a putt of winning the 2009 British Open means this type of tournament would be priceless.

(The British Open awards great shot-making, one reason why Tiger Woods missed the cut. The assistant golf pro at Superior told me after I told him what clubs I was playing, "Andrew, Tiger Woods wouldn't compete in yesterday's game." That's a shocking statement. Tiger Woods? Seriously? But wouldn't that be an incredible experiment? Give Tiger six months with 60s or 70s era clubs and balls and have him play some traditional courses from the same tees as the old pros. Wonder what would happen?)

There's great debate in the golf world as to whether golf technology has ruined the game much as steroids is ruining baseball or doping is ruining cycling. I think it's a legitimate argument. And, yet, I look at my own golf "career" and can tell you that my best rounds in my entire life - a pair of 75s - were achieved using hack equipment and Top Flite XL golf balls, aka the "Rocks." I have never matched those scores, even though I'm guilty as most golfers to falling prey to buying new (or slightly used in my case) clubs, drivers, and $50/dozen golfballs. No matter what I do, I remain an 11 handicap. I always shoot low- to mid-80s, no matter what.

Falling prey to new technology is what modern golf is all about. Even retailer Second Swing's slogan is at least sly about it, tongue firmly planted in cheek: "It's not you. It's your clubs."

That's why we'll never see a 60s era exhibition with Tiger Woods. The manufacturers would never do it. The USGA would love it. The fans would love it. But not the multi-billion dollar golf industry. No way. And it's too bad. It would bring an interesting perspective to The Game, not just to the celebrity of individual players. All sports should be pure in my mind. Soccer seems like one of the purest of all. It's a ball, position players, and a net. Baseball, equipment-wise, is but steroids - male ego - have tarnished it. Basketball is now a game of giants. Modern tennis racquets harbor so much power it makes the old Jack Kramer wood racquets - the racquet of champions - look downright Playskool.

I decided today that I'm no longer bringing my own modern clubs up north to the cabin. I found today's round to be extraordinarily enjoyable, challenging, and charming. I can't wait to pick up that Persimmon 3-wood. It was perhaps the sweetest feeling, most satisfying club I've ever hit.

Finally, I have accomplished something Tiger Woods may never achieve. source>>>

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2009 RBC Canadian Open: Final Leg of the Golf Triple Crown

The Triple Crown of Golf? Yes, there really is a Triple Crown of Golf which is made up of golf's three oldest tournaments: the British Open, U.S. Open, and Canadian Open. Actually there are only two golfers who have won all three in one season. Lee Trevino accomplished this in 1971 and Tiger Woods brought home all three trophies in 2000.

Click here to view a slideshow of golf's Triple Crown Winners

The Canadian Open which held it's first tournament in 1904 has a rich tradition and this year's field is loaded with talent including nine tournament winners from 2009 and six golfers ranked in the top 30 of the world golf ranking.

A weather shortened first round kicked off on Thursday and play was later suspended due to darkness. Numerous players did not start their first round until early Friday morning. Kevin Na finished with a first round 63 and is sitting at the top of the leaderboard at 9-under. Na managed a bogey-free round and enjoyed the course conditions. "The greens are holding, so you can get aggressive with the irons, but off the tee you must put yourself in the fairway," Na said. "The rough is very thick."

Also in the hunt after day one is 2001 Canadian Open winner Scott Verplank who finished his day on Thursday with a 7-under 65. He was also okay with the weather delay. "I felt a little shaky on the first three holes where I had pretty decent looks at birdie," said Verplank. "And I got two or three hours of putting on the putting green (during the delay) and kind of got it worked out."

The crowd favorite is Canadian Mike Weir, who is aiming to become the first native Canadian to win the tournament since Pat Fletcher accomplished the feat in 1954. Weir nearly nabbed the trophy in 2004, but stumbled down the stretch on Sunday blowing a three shot lead and eventually lost to Vijay Singh in a sudden death playoff. Weir didn't enjoy the weather as much as other players in the field on Thursday as he finished with a 1-under 71. "I had a tough time finding my rhythm today for some reason," said Weir. "Maybe all the waiting around and getting warmed up and then getting pushed back another hour (caused trouble)."

Bad weather will be lingering for most of the tournament as there is a chance of rain on Friday and Saturday, so we could see this tournament finishing up on Monday depending on how much rain Glen Abbey Golf Club can handle. source>>>

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Manny Ramirez bobbles his way on to EBay

Manny2.250 If nothing else, Manny Ramirez has a sense of the dramatic and an impeccable sense of timing. He picks Manny Ramirez bobblehead night at Dodger Stadium to hit one of the most memorable home runs in Dodgers history.

Pinch-hitting in the sixth inning, bases loaded, sidelined at the start of the game because his hand still hurt from being hit by a pitch the night before ... and he wastes no time at all, drilling the first pitch to him from Nick Masset to left field for a grand slam. Naturally, the line drive ended up in Mannywood.

Now a piece of that history is all over EBay. Right now, there are 198 Manny Ramirez bobbleheads on EBay, and bidding seems pretty brisk. Not all are the bobbleheads from the giveaway at Dodger Stadium.

Manny.140 The older collectibles don't seem to be drawing as much attention. But top bid as of about 1:15 p.m. PDT for the giveaway from last night is $57.00 for a single bobblehead, with most fetching somewhere in the $30 to $40 range. And if you're interested in a lot of 10, opening bid there is $529.

In May, the Dodgers had a Casey Blake bobblehead giveaway night. There are 15 listed on EBay right now. You can get one for about 20 bucks. source>>>

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Commentary: Lawsuits Give NFL, NCAA An Opportunity

I am not a sports lawyer. Anything I could charge $1000/hour for is probably illegal. But there are two lawsuits pending that I felt you should know about: one, involving the NFL, is to decide whether the 32 franchises are 32 separate businesses or 1 business with 32 branches; the second, involving former UCLA star Ed O'Bannon, is to decide if the NCAA should be splitting their revenue with their former players who are no-longer-amateur.

I can't address the legal merits of either case, I haven't researched every Supreme Court Justice's voting record to determine who's likely to support the NFL, I don't have any prediction as to how these cases will actually turn out; but here's what I do know: the NCAA and NFL are missing HUGE opportunities by going forward with these cases.

The NFL's case.

At first glance it appears to be a typical frivolous sour grapes lawsuit- a company, American Needle Inc, sued the NFL because the NFL granted exclusive merchandise rights to Reebok. My first thought was 'what's next, an ex- suing you because you broke up with her?' It seemed natural to me that the NFL as a league could decide who to do merchandising through, just as it seemed logical that the league should be negotiating something like TV contracts as one body. It just wouldn't make sense for CBS and Fox to have to negotiate separately with 32 different teams, if that were the case we'd just end up with one team like the Cowboys on every week...oh we already do? Well either way there are just things that make sense for the NFL to act as one body on.

But those things were never really in danger; the NFL won both lower court decisions and their ability to grant exclusive rights to merch is generally accepted. For some inexplicable reason ANI decided to push this case up to the Supreme Court but their request would have been ignored had the NFL not drunkenly stumbled out of the bar and said 'Ill be your huckleberry.' Again, the NFL had won- game over, man, game over- but rather than take their chips and go home, instead they decided to push all their chips in and push for a Supreme Court decision on their rights as a monopoly once and for all.

And here's where the problem begins. If they Supreme Court says the NFL is 32 separate businesses then Merch and TV contracts go to hell. The NFL becomes messy; every team sets their own rules, every jersey is designed differently, etc. That "No" vote on the NFL's monopoly says Roger Goodell has no real power. But if the Supreme Court says "Yes", then we're all screwed. Fans, players, everyone but the owners. A high-court decision that gives the NFL full immunity means that free agency is gone, means that contract negotiations are gone. It means that the NFL is the all-powerful ruler and the players merely servants. I know the 'Millionaires-vs.-Billionaires' fight is a hard one to care about but think about this: since Reebok took over nine years ago the cost of a jersey has risen 60%. Monopolies aren't fair- there's a reason they're illegal. So if you're Matt Ryan and the NFL says 'here's what you're worth, take it or leave it,' what do you do?

Enter the UFL. 4 franchises, one of them run by Dennis Green. This would be a punchline were it not for two things- 1) Mike Vick and 2) this lawsuit. Vick will play in the UFL, mark my words. Maybe as penance, maybe as an audition, maybe just as a sideshow, but it is his best and only option. But what if the NFL, backed by 9 people in black robes, decides that as a monopoly they won't allow free agency or contract disputes? What if they become so power hungry that the UFL can pay players more than the NFL? The AFL is long gone but the lessons are lingering- if you pay, they will play. Since the merger, nothing has (or will) ever be able to challenge the NFL, unless the NFL forgets those lessons.

There needs to be a compromise- the NFL is one body for contracts with companies, but 32 bodies for contracts with players; and that compromise was sitting on the table. Instead the NFL decided to push for more power, and like something out of a children's fable, that quest for power could prove to be their undoing.

The NCAA

The NCAA too has allowed a lawsuit to pop up that they never should have allowed to happen. For years the NCAA has exploited student-athletes and we've made our peace with it- they get free college, the schools get millions and millions of dollars. But now there's a twist: what happens when they're no longer getting free college? What if you're a former college superstar, like say Ed O'Bannon, and for a decade-and-a-half the NCAA has still been making money off of you? Shouldn't you- with your amateur status long gone- be entitled to it? When Kevin Love got put on the cover of EA Sports after he left school, he got money; so when EA Sports puts you in their game after you too have left, shouldn't you too get paid?

There are some heavy hitters on this case- not one but two of the biggest law firms in the country are representing every former NCAA player in a case to get back money for the years of commercials, jerseys, games, etc. that they should get royalties from. Rest assured the NCAA is going to pay.

But here's what they're going to miss: turn this into an opportunity. This lawsuit is not about current players getting paid. That suit has come and gone repeatedly. This instead is about ex-players who are still being used. But who gets used, and how much, seems like such a difficult debate that no one- not the NCAA, not the players- no one wants that debate. So why not make this deal: we'll split the money evenly with every former player from now on. Yes it cuts NCAA revenue in half theoretically but it also allows them to come out and really use old players. Ed O'Bannon's character in EA sports isn't allowed to use his name, but if you settle this suit you can come right out and pimp every old player. Make more jerseys, make more stars. Make the NCAA relevant again.

And here's the real kicker- make the payments to players be based on how many years they played in college. Now more than ever you've got guys skipping college altogether in order to get paid. Well what if you were able to say to them: if you play in the NCAA for this year, you will then qualify for residuals for life. Heck stay your sophomore year and you have doubled your NCAA pension check. If you pull a Tim Duncan, you will now have 4 years of NCAA, and that means 4 times the paychecks ...for life! This only really effects NCAA football and basketball players, I'm not expecting swimming to get a check.

It settles the argument about them getting paid (they just aren't getting paid WHILE they're in college), it lures more players to the NCAA and keeps them there longer. Offering a settlement might also help avoid having to pay the back residuals, and considering how long they've been exploiting ex-players that back-payment could bankrupt the NCAA.

If you really want to keep your credibility, NCAA, you should be looking for ways to keep kids in school longer. Who knows, with this motivation you just might be helping more of them become lawyers, and the ways things are looking- you're gonna need 'em. Written by Ryan Thies source>>>

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NCAA committee wants Ban on composite-barrel bats

College baseball is getting ready to crack down on composite-barrel bats.

The NCAA Baseball Rules Committee this week proposed an indefinite ban on the bats after anecdotal evidence and research conducted during this year's Division I national tournament, which culminated with the College World Series, indicated many of the bats didn't comply with NCAA standards.

NCAA spokesman Cameron Schuh said the proposal is being sent to schools for comment and will be reviewed next week. A formal vote could be taken next month and, if approved, the ban would go into effect at the start of the 2010 season.

Aluminum bats have been used in college baseball since 1975 and remain the most popular choice.

Composite-barrel bats have been around since the late 1990s but have become more popular the past two seasons, said Jim Sherwood, director of the Baseball Research Center at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. Sherwood's laboratory is in charge of the NCAA certification process, though it did not do the research at this year's tournament.

There are different types of composite bats, each with varying amounts of graphite, fiberglass and resilient plastic, Sherwood said. Bats with composite handles and composite transition areas - between the handle and barrel - would still be allowed under NCAA rules if the ban is approved, Schuh said.

The beef is with the barrel, which softens over time, creating a trampoline effect. This doesn't happen to factory-fresh bats - it's what happens later, after repeated use or after the bat is put through a process known as "rolling.''

Composite-barrel bats that are broken in or "rolled'' tend to have more pop and often violate NCAA limitations on the allowable speed at which the ball comes off the bat. The NCAA requires that this so-called "exit speed'' be no greater than that of its wooden counterpart, lest it become a safety hazard for infielders and pitchers.

"I commend this legislation and am just elated that this is going forth,'' Florida State coach Mike Martin said Thursday. "You just cannot imagine how far I saw a ball hit with an altered bat.''

He added: "If a guy took a bat and hit it a thousand times off a telephone pole, he'd likely bat better. That's not right.''

During the Division I tournament, 20 of the 25 composite-barrel bats selected for "Ball Exit Speed Ratio'' certification tests were not in compliance, the NCAA said. Because all bat designs must pass the test before mass production begins, the NCAA said, it was determined that the performance of those bats had changed, most likely because of repeated normal use or intentional alteration.

The committee said the ban should remain in place until manufacturers and the baseball community suggest ways that would allow composite-barrel bats to be used within NCAA guidelines.

There are a number of Web sites that offer to "roll'' bats for about $30 apiece. Rolling, which hastens the break-in time, flattens the barrel and stretches graphite fibers so the ball propels 10 mph to 15 mph faster and, theoretically, leads to more hits.

"While the committee does not believe tampering or altering of bats is widespread, there is evidence that it has occurred,'' said UC Santa Barbara coach Bob Brontsema, the rules committee chairman. "The larger issue here is that the performance of composite bats improves through repeated, normal use, and these bats often exceed acceptable levels. By removing these bats from competition, we believe all bats used will be at or below acceptable levels.''

Rick Redman, a spokesman for bat manufacturer Louisville Slugger, said the company's top three selling bats have aluminum barrels. He said composite-barrel bats represent a small percentage of Louisville Slugger's sales.

Officials at bat manufacturer Easton-Bell Sports did not return a phone message. source>>>

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Another Victory Lane for Jeff Gordon

Jeff Gordon has visited Victory Lane 82 times so far in his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career, but on Thursday Gordon was in a different type of lane.

Gordon hosted his eighth annual Celebrity Bowl to benefit Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. He brought together some of the NASCAR family to raise over $1.5 million for the hospital.

"I am extremely proud of our affiliation with Riley Hospitals," Gordon said. "Each year during my visit I am reminded of the undeniable level of care that is available to the children of Indiana. I am so grateful that my Foundation has the opportunity to help Riley Hospital's outstanding medical and support staff with funding from this event."

Some of the NASCAR drivers that joined Gordon were Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Sam Hornish Jr., Reed Sorenson, Clint Bowyer and Kurt Busch.

The bowling tournament was held on 54 of the 80 lanes at Western Bowl in Indianapolis. Each team consisted of four bowlers plus a celebrity.

RacingOne's Pete Pistone along with his Sirius NASCAR Radio "The Morning Drive" co-host Mike Bagley took part in the event.

"This was a great event for a great cause," Pistone said. "I can't wait to talk about it on the air tomorrow morning. Looking at the scores it looks like I beat Bagley, so that will make for some great conversation."

Patients from the Riley Hospital had the chance to attend, and the event brought smiles to their faces when they met with Gordon and bowled.

Prior to the event, Gordon spent the day visiting cancer patients at Riley.

As Gordon was leaving the hospital, he had a request from a child to play a game of foosball, one Gordon gladly accepted.

"He wore me out on that foosball," Gordon said. "It was pretty funny and it was a good time. He had a lot of fun. He won and his parents were really thanking me because that meant a lot to him."

Many sponsors came together to make Gordon's Celebrity Bowl possible led by presenting sponsors Nicorette and Village Pantry. source>>>

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NASCAR midseason report card; Stewart-Haas, Hendrick are teams that earn top grades

One race past the midpoint of its 36-race season, NASCAR visits Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend with story lines, good and bad, in abundance.

Indiana native Tony Stewart is authoring arguably the biggest story of the year in his first season as an owner-driver. He has won twice (plus the non-points all-star race at Lowe's Motor Speedway) and sits comfortably atop the Sprint Cup standings. Stewart-Haas Racing teammate and fellow Hoosier Ryan Newman is seventh.
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"If you go back to the beginning of the season, just saying that if we got both of these cars in the Chase, it was going to be a huge accomplishment for a first-year organization," Stewart said. "I don't know why at this point, leading the standings, we wouldn't feel like we (have a shot at the championship). I feel like we have just as good a shot as anybody else that's out there."

Among the challenges NASCAR faces over the second half of this season and beyond:

» Waning attendance and TV ratings, attributable to the economy and perhaps in part to the continuing on-track struggles of marquee star Dale Earnhardt Jr.

» Decreased promotion and financial support from its four participating auto manufacturers, two of which (General Motors and Chrysler) have gone through bankruptcy proceedings.

» The black eye from the drug suspension of driver Jeremy Mayfield, who continues to maintain his innocence.

After the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on Sunday, just six races will remain before the 12-man field is set for the 10-race postseason Chase. A look at how the teams have fared thus far based on expectations:
Grade A

Stewart-Haas Racing: Score this one an A-plus as Stewart has virtually overnight put together a championship-caliber organization around himself and Newman.

Hendrick Motorsports: Earnhardt's problems notwithstanding, Rick Hendrick's bunch continues to set the standard as Jimmie Johnson pursues a fourth consecutive Cup title and Jeff Gordon goes after his fifth. Newcomer Mark Martin has been up and down, but his four wins lead the series. Grade B

Penske Racing: Kurt Busch has returned to championship form and former IRL and Indy 500 champ Sam Hornish Jr. has shown marked improvement in his second season. David Stremme has struggled to replace the departed Newman.

Joe Gibbs Racing: Kyle Busch has three wins but has stumbled of late and is no sure bet to join teammate Denny Hamlin in the Chase. Rookie Joey Logano, after a slow start, has a win and, at 19, looks to be a star of the future.
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Michael Waltrip Racing: David Reutimann scored the team's first win and is very much in Chase contention. The future looks bright as Waltrip, who is headed for semi-retirement, was able to lure a talented replacement in Martin Truex Jr.

JTG/Daugherty Racing: Australian Marcos Ambrose is doing a lot with a little for this first-year Cup team.
Grade C

Earnhardt Ganassi Racing: Juan Pablo Montoya seldom challenges for wins, but consistency is keeping him in Chase contention. Truex is playing out the string before heading to Waltrip's team.

Roush Fenway Racing: Carl Edwards is winless but solidly in the Chase. Not so for Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle, who could wind up fighting over the final spot. David Ragan has struggled and Jamie McMurray is likely to be gone when owner Jack Roush is forced by NASCAR to downsize after this season.

Richard Petty Motorsports: Team's recent improvement makes it less likely Kasey Kahne will seek to leave after this season. Elliott Sadler, A.J. Allmendinger and Reed Sorenson all face uncertain futures.

Team Red Bull: Brian Vickers has five poles and is on the edge of Chase contention, but Scott Speed has looked like the rookie he is.

Front Row Motorsports: John Andretti has kept the team in the top 35 in the standings, no small accomplishment.
Grade D

Richard Childress Racing: After putting three drivers in the Chase each of the past two years, RCR's Jeff Burton, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick and newcomer Casey Mears all are on the outside looking in.

Hall of Fame Racing: Bobby Labonte has finished 20th or worse in 15 of the season's 19 races.

Robby Gordon Motorsports: Third place in rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 is Gordon's only finish above 15th.

Yates Racing: Paul Menard is yet to record a top-10 finish for a team that won the Cup championship 10 years ago with Dale Jarrett driving.

TRG Motorsports: David Gilliland just happy to have a ride.

Wood Brothers Racing: Rich past but bleak present for Bill Elliott and once-proud team.

Nemco Motorsports: Back with family-owned team, Joe Nemechek keeps plugging along.
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Furniture Row Racing: Running only a partial schedule, overachieving Regan Smith has made 51 career starts and finished them all source>>>

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NASCAR Needs A Guy Like Kyle Busch

In the last season and a half, NASCAR driver Kyle Busch has won 11 Sprint Cup races and 16 Nationwide Series races.

His visit to Toyota of Warsaw Wednesday evening, where he and fellow driver Michael Waltrip signed autographs for hundreds of fans, was a victory for each and every person that stood in the rain to get close to the racing superstar.

 

While Busch, a 24-year-old from Las Vegas who speaks his mind and doesn't show remorse doing it, isn't the most popular driver on the circuit - that role belongs to Dale Earnhardt Jr. - there are few drivers that are more talented.

As a friend of mine likes to say, "Kyle Busch is the best driver not named Juan (Montoya) or Tony (Stewart)."

There was no Sprint Cup Series race last weekend, but Busch did win his sixth Nationwide Series race of the season, taking the checkered flag at Gateway International Raceway.

Busch is currently first in the Nationwide Series points standings, while he has won three Sprint Cup races this season and is 10th in points in that series.

Only Mark Martin, with four victories, has won more Sprint Cup races this season.

While Busch is ultra-talented and wins a lot of races, fans love to boo him during driver introductions.

I went to races at Texas and Talladega this season, and during pre-race introductions, two drivers' names drew more crowd reaction than any - Busch and Earnhardt Jr.

And for different reasons, I might add.

Like a good comic book, NASCAR has always had good guys and villians, and Busch is without a doubt stock car racing's newest bad boy.

And I think it's great for the sport.

That's right, I said it, I think Busch is great for NASCAR.

Let me also say this, I'm a proud member of Junior Nation. I've got plenty of Earnhardt Jr. merchandise. I've been to Mooresville, N.C. and toured what used to be known as Dale Earnhardt Inc.

And even though Busch has made plenty of remarks about my favorite driver in the media, basically saying Junior isn't as good as his millions of fans think he is, I can't force myself to hate Busch.

What hurts the most is that I don't think Busch is that far off.

In the last season and a half, Busch has won 11 Sprint Cup races. Earnhardt Jr. has one victory in that time and is 21st in points.

And it isn't like Busch's equipment at Joe Gibbs Racing is so superior to Earnhardt Jr.'s Hendrick Motorsports stuff.

I mean, Gordon is a four-time series champion in his No. 24 Hendrick ride. Jimmie Johnson has won the past three championships in his No. 48 Hendrick Chevy. Martin is the winningest driver on the tour this season, and didn't he retire like four years ago or something?

So go ahead, keep booing Busch.

And when you think the way Busch acts sometimes is bad for the sport, let's keep it in perspective.

Former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick served a 23-month jail term for funding a dog-fighting ring. And he was the face of the NFL.

Manny Ramirez, everybody's favorite L.A. Dodger, is just coming off a 50-game suspension for a failed drug test.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisbeger is now being accused of rape.

And there's NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield's drug suspension.

These athletes, in my opinion, cause a black cloud to hover over their respective sport.

But Busch, he's not really all that bad afterall.
source>>>

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DeWalt drops sponsorship deal with NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth

DeWalt is pulling the plug on its longtime sponsorship of NASCAR's Matt Kenseth.

The Towson power tool maker cited the "unprecedented decline in the construction industry" for ending its 12-year marketing deal with NASCAR. The deal with Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Ford Fusion, will end in November when the 2009 NASCAR season comes to a close. The announcement comes just five months after the driver won the sport's biggest race, the Daytona 500

DeWalt, a unit of Towson tool giant Black & Decker Corp. (NYSE: BDK) notified Kenseth's team at Rouse Fenway Racing of the news Thursday.

It's uncertain how much DeWalt spent annually on the sponsorship, but the company said it would redirect those resources.

John Howland, DeWalt's director of brand marketing, declined to disclose Thursday the value of the deal. In a conference call with reporters, Howland said NASCAR remains a prime demographic for the company to reach and it had no immediate plans to sign any new deals with other sports.

The sponsorship generated millions of dollars worth of exposure for DeWalt annually, especially following Kenseth's string of success during the current 2009 season.

During DeWalt's deal with Kenseth, he and his crew won the 2000 Rookie of the Year Award, two World Pit Crew Championships, the 2003 Series Championship, and qualified for the "Chase for the Cup" every year since its inception by NASCAR.

"Our decision to discontinue the sponsorship, while a difficult one, will help us to continue delivering value to our customers and end users, while managing our financial results," said Les Ireland, president of the North American Power Tools and Accessories Group for DeWalt. DeWalt will continue to have a presence in the sport through building and maintaining race cars and equipment, executives said.

Black & Decker has been hit hard by the building slowdown. Slumping sales drove Black & Decker's first-quarter earnings down 93 percent to $4.9 million.
source>>>

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Jeremy Mayfield's hair may be tested in ongoing battle with NASCAR

The back and forth between NASCAR and driver Jeremy Mayfield over drug allegations has gotten so bad that in Mayfield's latest statement he describes the humiliation of having to go to the bathroom while someone watched.

So what could bring it all to an end? It turns out it could come down to a piece of hair.

"It's like the bully in school," Jeremy Mayfield told NewsChannel 36 last week. "Every three to five days I go get tested."

Who ends up in victory lane may come down to the difference between urinating in a cup and pulling a hair.

"The drug that is incorporated into your hair -- it stays there. You get a record, basically, of drug use with the hair," said Dr. Ruth Winecker, the chief toxicologist for the North Carolina Medical Examiner's Office.

She says there's no messing with hair. But no one has tested Mayfield's hair, just his urine samples.

"There are techniques people can use to try to cheat the system," Winecker said.

That's exactly what both sides have accused each other of doing. NASCAR says Mayfield diluted his urine even before testing positive for meth, and Mayfield says NASCAR did something to his urine.

"It's for sure a spiked sample," Mayfield said.

Because 40 minutes after the alleged positive NASCAR test, a separate sample shows Mayfield came up clean.

"There are ways that an individual can also decrease the concentration of the drug in their urine by drinking excess water," Winecker said.

But she says that's not likely in just 40 minutes.

So we asked Mayfield's attorney if they'll be testing his hair as the judge in the case suggested several weeks ago. Attorney John Buric told us they are looking at the possibility, but right now they have been told Mayfield's hair is too short. source>>>

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The search for NASCAR's next minority or female star

It has worked for aspiring models, chefs and fashion designers. So why not a reality TV series that chronicles the search for NASCAR's next minority or female star?

"Changing Lanes" is its working title. And through 10 hour-long episodes, this reality docu-drama, to be aired next year on Black Entertainment Television, will tell the back-stories of roughly a dozen African American, Hispanic and female stock-car racers chosen this fall to take part in NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program.

It's the brainchild of Max Siegel, an entertainment lawyer and former president of Dale Earnhardt Inc. whose marketing company took over management of NASCAR's on-track diversity effort earlier this year.

Siegel likens the concept to " 'American Idol' meets 'The Contender,' " a boxing-based reality show.

"The objective is three-fold," Siegel said. "To create awareness of the sport in the minority community, to give a marketing platform to these unknown drivers, and to celebrate the accomplishments of women and minorities in the sport currently."

It represents an entirely new tack in NASCAR's six-year campaign to make the faces behind its 800-horsepower racecars look more like that of America.

Launched in 2004, the Drive for Diversity initiative has sputtered more than succeeded.

-- More than 30 young racers have taken part, competing in 18 minor league races each season, but none has landed a full-time job in NASCAR's top three divisions.

-- None of the five drivers in its inaugural class is racing in NASCAR five years later. source>>>

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UFC Heavyweights Finally Pulling Their Weight

As Brock Lesnar stood in the Octagon delivering his now infamous promo, he was THE story of the biggest UFC show of all time. The stories that everyone were talking about after the show were all in some way about him. Whether it was about the match, that promo, his possible challengers within the UFC or whether he could hang with Fedor, it was all about Lesnar.

And the bizarre thing is that it was never meant to be that way. Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir II was never meant to take place at UFC 100, let alone be the Main Event. No, until Mir injured his knee the plan had been for Lesnar vs. Mir II to take place at UFC 98 and for the UFC 100 Main Event to be Rashad Evans against Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson for the Light Heavyweight Title.

And while that decision sounds crazy now, back then it made sense.

The light heavyweight championship has for a long time been presented as the company's most prestigious belt. Whether it was the heel antics of Tito Ortiz, the everyman stardom of Chuck Liddell or the epic Griffin-Bonner TUF 1 Final, the light heavyweight division has provided the marquee matches and fighters in recent years. Hell, the biggest heavyweight draw before Brock Lesnar, Randy Couture, did his biggest business at light heavyweight with matches against Liddell and Ortiz.

And it wasn't just the light heavyweight division; the UFC has always been a company that focused on smaller fighters. From the early days of Royce Gracie showing how Gracie Jiu-Jitsu could allow him to beat bigger men to the dominant title reigns of George St Pierre and Anderson Silva the heavyweights have always struggled to secure the spotlight.

And yet for many of the potential MMA fans that the UFC is trying to reach out to, this focus on smaller fighters was a disappointment. Many of these potential fans are disillusioned boxing and pro-wrestling fans, and as such have a 'bigger is better' mentality. Both boxing and pro-wrestling were built on their heavyweight titles and helped embed the assumption that a much bigger man would always win in a fight. The potential interest that such causal fans would have in a dominant heavyweight was shown by the early ratings success that EliteXC enjoyed with Kimbo Slice.

What's more the mainstream sports media also buys into this 'bigger is better' mentality and so believe that the Heavyweight Title is the apex of any combat sport. That's why the likes of ESPN have hyped Randy Couture as the legend of the sport and why they are now rushing to assume that Brock Lesnar is the "face of the UFC".

And yet for a long time, the UFC heavyweight division was a joke, with the title held up in a legal dispute and a lack of marquee fights. The past 17 months has changed all that. The debut of Brock Lesnar, the reinvigoration of Frank Mir and the return of Randy Couture has given the heavyweight division the prestige that many casual fans would expect. With veterans seeking redemption such Nogueira and Cro Crop and rising stars such as Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez there are now numerous marquee matches in the heavyweight division.

And at the centre of it all is Brock Lesnar, the man who is quickly establishing himself as the world's biggest PPV draw. While his Tyson-lite persona and pro-wrestling past may appal more fastidious MMA fans, his dominant style and overwhelming size is exactly what the mainstream expects from the world's greatest fighter. Lesnar is the type of crowd-baiting champion that fans and journalists who grew up watching Ali or Tyson can understand. Far from scaring away the mainstream, Brock Lesnar finally allows the UFC to place the emphasis on its heavyweight division that the sports media and casual fans would expect.

And yet as the emphasis on the heavyweight division increases so does the pressure on the UFC to sign the legendary Russian fighter Fedor. It was okay saying he was irrelevant and overrated when most UFC fan didn't care about the UFC heavyweight division but now they have a champion they want to see tested by the best. Given that much of the UFC's appeal is its apparent lack of promoter politics and confusion over world titles, there's only so long that Brock Lesnar can reign as undisputed UFC heavyweight champion but not the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. source>>>

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Vikings sign Antoine Winfield to 5-year extension

The Minnesota Vikings have signed cornerback Antoine Winfield to a five-year contract extension.

Winfield was heading into the final year of his contract and negotiations stretched into the summer. That prompted Winfield to skip the team's optional workouts. He also missed a mandatory minicamp in June.

But the team reached agreement Thursday with one of the trusted leaders of a veteran defense. The 32-year-old Winfield is coming off his first Pro Bowl appearance.

In his 10th season out of Ohio State, Winfield had 95 tackles, four forced fumbles, two interceptions and two sacks last season to help the Vikings to the NFC North title. source>>>

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White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle THROWS PERFECT GAME

White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle threw the second perfect game in club history on Thursday, blanking the Tampa Bay Rays, 5-0, at U.S. Cellular Field. It was the second no-hitter of Buehrle's career - he also threw one at home on April 18, 2007, vs. the Rangers. The only other perfect game in White Sox history was Charlie Robertson's perfect 2-0 victory over the Tigers on April 30, 1922. source>>>

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UFC 103 bout with Dan Henderson makes sense to Rich Franklin

There were more than a few fans of the sport that were left scratching their heads when a rematch between Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson was announced as the headliner for UFC 103.

According to Franklin, the bout makes more sense than initially meets the eye.Hendo Rich

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Franklin for an exclusive interview which was featured in Extreme Fighter Magazine, and the former UFC champ made it quite clear that he still felt as if he had some serious unfinished business with Henderson left over from there back and forth brawl in January of 2009.

When asked whether or not he believed he had done enough to be awarded with the decision in his UFC 93 headlining bout with Hendo, Franklin wore his heart on his sleeve, "I do believe that I did. It's difficult for me to accept losing a fight when really, I never ended up getting hit flush at any point in that fight where I was like "Wow", not even when we were on the ground. The only time that he mounted any kind of damage on the ground was midway through the first round when he had me against the cage, but still, nothing really landed. Even when he had me against the cage, he couldn't land a punch to my head so he had to resort to kneeing me in the back of the leg, and I stood up from there. From that point on, I just don't feel that offensively he did a whole lot in that fight, and I did.

"I was very effective on the feet if you look at the punch stats. I don't think that the judges took the amount of body shots and body kicks I was landing into consideration. At the end of the fight there was more damage inflicted on him than there was on me. He was able to take me down a couple times, but I was able to get back up. Even when I didn't get back up he wasn't able to advance out of my guard or improve position.

"The only damage he really did to me was from the headbutts and the eye poke."

Even when the conversation turned to other topics, the bad taste left in his mouth from the controversial loss at the hands of Henderson had a way of spilling over.

It truly seemed like Franklin had a desire to fight Henderson for the second time more than anyone he had ever wanted to face before.

"The first fight with Anderson is a good example, and this will tie in; In the first fight with Anderson I had some things going on in my life and I wasn't really zeroed in on that fight the way I should be, and with a fighter like Anderson, that's not going to work," explained Rich when asked whether or not he would like to avenge his loss to Lyoto Machida in the future. "So after the first fight there was a desire to fight him again, but the second time he just legitimately beat me. Well, he legitimately beat me both times, but even if I wanted to fabricate some excuse, I just couldn't. The same thing goes for Lyoto. He's a great fighter, and he beat me. I can put my head down on my pillow at night and say, 'These are the fights that I've lost.' If I don't fight them again I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

"However, you take a fight like the Henderson loss, where I really, truly feel like I won that fight, then that's the one that I would definitely like to fight again."

As we all know, Franklin has recently been granted his wish. Now it's up to him what he does with it.

One thing is for certain though, Rich will have redemption on his mind when he climbs into the Octagon this September. source>>>

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Michael Vick has served his punishment, deserves chance to return to NFL

Of course Michael Vick should be reinstated to the NFL. Whether that comes immediately or after a suspension is up to the commissioner. Roger Goodell's mission to scrub the league's image should not pre-empt Vick's right to rally from a crime for which he has paid deeply.

Besides, it is the NFL we're talking about. Character doesn't exactly live here. It pretty much rents by the week.

If Goodell wants to add a month of games to Vick's 23-month federal sentence on a dogfighting conviction, fair enough. Imagine the PR blowback if Vick is starting for somebody's team on opening day. Plus, the last time Vick talked to the commissioner, he barked a few lies about not being involved. He also lied to his former employer, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank.

Goodell wants to sense genuine remorse from Vick. He wants to see that Vick has changed. That's a purely subjective call. You have to think Vick is sorry he lost many, many millions of dollars in salary and endorsements. He's sorry he's bankrupt. He's sorry about losing his reputation and two years of his prime. As for remorse regarding the savagery he practiced on dogs? Who knows?

If Goodell senses a lack of remorse, does he give Vick eight games off instead of four? Does he give him a year? What's the shelf life for lack of remorse?
FIND MORE STORIES IN: National Football League | Atlanta Falcons | Peyton Manning | Tom Brady | Michael Vick | Roger Goodell | Ben Roethlisberger | Arthur Blank | James Harrison | Boomer Esiason | The Longest Yard

Has Vick changed? He spent 18 months in the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan. Leavenworth doesn't have tennis courts or a spa. That could change a man. One way or another.

The point is, Vick has done what was mandated. That is really the only point. The NFL is not in business to set conduct standards or determine levels of morality, any more than Hollywood is. The NFL is entertainment. Vick was a very good entertainer. He should be allowed to make money at it. If he can still do that at the highest level, he should be given the chance. Case closed.

The bigger question is: Can he?

And who will give him the chance?

He's 29. He has missed two seasons. I don't know if they reprise "The Longest Yard" in Leavenworth. Maybe they do, but James Harrison doesn't play there. "Nobody has any idea what kind of shape he's in," Boomer Esiason said Tuesday.

Vick the player was dynamic and wildly entertaining. He was not a great quarterback, even at the top of his game. He didn't complete enough passes (53.8% for his six-year career) and his touchdown passes-to-interceptions ratio (71 to 52 ) wasn't good. He fumbled 55 times and lost 46 of them.

Compare that to the Peyton Manning/Tom Brady gold standard. Manning's career completion percentage is 64.4; Brady's is 63. Manning has thrown about twice as many TD passes as interceptions, 333 to 165. Brady is even better: 197-86. Ben Roethlisberger has completed 62.4% of his throws.

Vick was a running quarterback in a league that likes its QBs mobile, but pocketed. In 2006, when Vick ran for 1,039 yards and passed for 2,474, the Falcons ranked 25th in points scored and finished 7-9.

"Michael Vick is arguably greatest athlete ever to play the position," Esiason said. "(But) he's not a championship quarterback, because the game is meant to be played the way Tom Brady and Peyton Manning play it."

Vick's game is spontaneity. The NFL doesn't work that way.

That said, Vick needs to be allowed a chance. Some team will throw him a lifeline. It will be a team with a forgiving fanbase and an owner not bothered by public perception. It will be a team whose coach has some job security and is creative enough to maximize Vick's unique skills.

"He's going to be polarizing, wherever he goes," Esiason said. "Ownership will be hammered for signing the guy. You could look at 32 teams and see four or five willing to give him a chance."

Esiason's Ouija board says Washington, Oakland, maybe Jacksonville. After that, it's anyone's guess. Just like Vick's future in the NFL. The only certainty is Vick should be allowed to spin the wheel. source>>>

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Rule changes in the offing for 2009-2010 college basketball season

OK, I know. Football season is around the corner, but this is North Carolina where basketball is king, except on high school Friday nights. Be that as it may, let's spend a moment considering the changes set to take start when UNC and Duke, etc., kickoff the 2009-10 basketball season.

The two major ones, I believe, are overdue.

The first is what is being called the no-charge rule underneath the basket, which is already the rule of the road in the NBA. The change will prohibit a secondary defender from just standing around under the basket in hopes of taking a charge.

Under the new rule, so-called "help" defenders must establish position outside the area between the backboard and front of the rim to draw a charge. More on this change in a moment.

The other rule change alters what happens when a fouled played is hurt. In the past, a coach could replace the injured player with anyone on his roster. Now, the opposing coach picks one of the four remaining players on the court.

I like that rule because it prevents a player who hits less than half his foul shots from faking an injury down the stretch to allow an 80 percent shooter to step to the line. Tell me that has never happened. Right.

Now back to the no-charge rule.

It's about time. I get tired - and I'm sure a lot of college basketball fans do, too - watching some player sliding in at the last second to try to take a charge from a player making an offense move to the basket.

Play some defense, please. Or get out of the way.

During the recent East Coast Invitational team basketball camp at the Jacksonville Commons Recreation Center, I talked with Shawn Williams, who was overseeing the officials at the four-day camp. He officiates junior college games as well as women's college games.

The no-charge rule was designed to reduce the amount of contact under the basket, a concern expressed by coaches that led to the change. While that likely will occur, the change will only make life more difficult for officials since there is no line on the court to determine the no-charge area.

" Without a line underneath, I think that's going to put more of burden on officials to try to watch the paint area and judging whether, from the lead position, if he's underneath the basket," Williams said. "Then if he's underneath the basket we've got to determine that's a block, automatic. Whereas years past we judged charge-block by chest-to-chest contact no matter where on the court.

"So it's going to be a major change. Now not only do I have make one of the toughest calls in basketball, but I got to decide where he's standing at on the court, which changes the whole philosophy of that whole call."

Williams, a Brooklyn, N.Y., native who lives in Sanford, said officials won't have to change where they stand on the court because of the rule change. But, he added, it is sure to "add to more controversy" between the officials and coaches.

"Now that just gives the coaches another tool. Not only do they think that call is missed most of the time, now they're going to say he was underneath the basket. And that's also a judgment because there are no lines on the court," Williams said.

If the rule remains in years to come, Williams predicted that "eventually" a line will be painted on the court, which he would welcome - as, no doubt, his fellow officials would as well.

"It would take the question mark out of it. In this game there's lines for everything. Out of bounds, 3-points, coach's box," he said. "But there is no line to say whether he is or isn't underneath."

Regardless, Williams doesn't see the rule changing the game that much.

"I don't think it's going to have any impact. I really don't. The calls of the game I don't think are going to change much," he said. "I think what's it going to do is make the coaches tell that young man he must get out and play some defense. You can't just stand there no longer. You've got to play some defense."

He also predicted the demise of the 2-3 zone, which makes one wonder how Syracuse will play defense under coach Jim Boeheim.

"I see the zone, 2-3, going away because that's pretty much what the big man did, he just turned and got hit. Now he turns and gets hit, it's a block," he said. "So it's no longer going to be an advantage for him to be in a 2-3 and not move and play defense." source>>>

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It's time for NBA to ditch one-and-done rule

Even though the NBA's precious rule in question probably will survive the latest challenge, most of the talent evaluators who support it have come down with a serious case of the heebie-jeebies.

"Any time you get Congress involved, anything can happen," said one scout currently employed by an NBA team. "Oh, I still know who the best high school players are, but if that rule wasn't in place, I'd be packing my bags for Vegas right now."

Ah, Vegas ... where hundreds of club teams (including mine) will descend upon the three sneaker-company-sponsored tournaments that serve as this week's one-city meat market for the discerning stares of college coaches. Back in the good, ol' days before Commissioner David Stern and his players' union (unwittingly?) turned college basketball into a one-and-done free-for-all, NBA scouts often were obliged to witness high school hotshots in person.

But thanks to objections filed by a Tennessee congressman, the league's age-restriction rule (must be 19 and one year removed from home room) has, once again, become a national hoop debate.

In case you hadn't noticed, prom-fresh high school players have been banned from entering the NBA Draft -- without first spending a year in college or Europe -- since 2005. It should be mentioned that since then, the college basketball landscape has been pock-marked by players entering college against their ultimate NBA wishes, often blowing off classes during the second semester of their freshman year to prepare for the draft.

The one-and-done format has graced us with a test-taking controversy involving Derrick Rose and an alleged-cash-oriented scandal co-starring O.J. Mayo. I actually heard a basketball-specializing big thinker inform his TV audience that the development of Rose and Mayo is an argument FOR the age restriction. That's just beautiful.

If O.J. Mayo hadn't spent a year in college, Tim Floyd might still be USC's coach. (Stephen Dunn / Getty Images)

Ironically, the (ahem) concerned media members -- whose love of college basketball's tournament often fuels their fiery, on-the-record criticisms of anyone daring to play professionally without working for at least a year in the NCAA -- aren't exactly enjoying the compromising nature of this one-and-done perk.

For years, I've argued that teenagers with NBA-caliber talent should be allowed to enter the draft right out of high school -- and not just because preps-to-pros happens in other sports, or because you can go to war at the same age or because ruling against it often inspires a worthy race-related debate.

I'm also against making NBA-level prospects attend college for at least one year because doing so takes away a few scholarships from kids who actually may want an education.

I'm against it because -- oh, my high-school coaching peers will just love this -- the best place to prepare for playing in the NBA is the NBA. Believe it.

An interesting witness on this subject was Mike Dunleavy Jr., who -- after spending appreciable time in the Duke basketball genius-in-training program -- seemed a bit miffed at himself for not leaving earlier.

What's the reasoning?

Well, based on NCAA workout restrictions and most coaches game-planning themselves to death during the season to survive in a brutally fluid job market, players have less school-year time than you could imagine to eliminate individual weaknesses.

In college, you're an investment in a coach's ability to win games. That's just fine; it shouldn't be his job to prepare you for an NBA career. Doing so within the context of winning games can make recruiting a lot easier for the college coach, but he has more than your bank account to worry about.

Yeah, with an 82-game schedule, NBA coaches have very little time to teach and refine team concepts, but actual time spent on improving skill work -- especially for young players -- can be relatively enormous. You are an investment for the pro team; it's their business to make sure you can make plays.

Even without a college stint, LeBron and Kobe are pretty good basketball players. (David Liam Kyle / Getty Images)

For the record, how many centers and power forwards arrive in the NBA with a clue about how to play on the post?

Cue the scout: "Almost none."

OK, so you can practice more drop-spins or squeeze off more turn-out jumpers with an NBA player-development guy than you can with the No. 3 assistant at State U. But doesn't the college experience accelerate the off-court maturity of anyone wise enough to enroll?

Let's slow this one down a bit. You ... can become mature ... more quickly ... while attending college. Sure, there are knuckleheads who went to the league right out of high school, but please note that Rasheed Wallace and Ron Artest attended college.

In my experience, attending college only postponed the need to demonstrate a whisper of maturity.

Anyway, I also reject the notion that for every Dwight Howard, you have a Leon Smith or Korleone Young. I'm not arguing that every player who entered the draft was wise to do so. But if the prospect in question isn't Kobe or LeBron or KG or T-Mac or Dwight Howard or Amare or Monta Elli or Al Jefferson or Rashard Lewis or Josh Smith ... don't draft him.

The scout referenced earlier admitted that identifying the great player at age 17 or 18 is easier said than done. I don't doubt it. I also don't doubt that adding a year or two to the evaluation process might -- in theory -- make for more sound hiring practices. But have we really been treated to more informed drafting since 2005?

Less than a month after going second in the 2009 draft, serial collegian Hasheem Thabeet has several NBA talent sharpies shaking their heads. (More on that later this week.)

And before you continue trotting out more busters like Leon Smith, it should be pointed out that many who since have disappeared lacked the academic profile to even qualify for college.

Since Kevin Garnett kick-started the trend back in 1995, 38 high schoolers have hopped into the draft; 14 are -- or have been -- star-caliber players. And if you're truly embracing the notion that Kobe or LeBron still would have been just dandy (or better) with one year under Coach K, please tell me where they might be after a catastrophic injury during that freshman season.

It's true that there are more opportunities to be injured in an NBA season; but first-round picks receive guaranteed millions. Anyone can return to school and pay for an education after destroying a knee in pro basketball. But you have just one opportunity to make seven figures at age 18.

By the way, if you're prepared to suggest that skipping college to pursue a professional sports career is an inappropriate referendum on the importance of education to minority youth, please point that finger at the hundreds of kids skipping college to pursue careers in music and acting.

I agree that club basketball and sneaker-company infiltration have helped diminish the skill refinement of the American player.

But I also believe the preps-to-pros critics -- who generally embrace the development model used for European prospects -- should remember that Ricky Rubio has been playing professionally since he was 14. source>>>

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Class-action suit filed vs. NCAA over use of players' likenesses

A class-action antitrust lawsuit on behalf of former college men's basketball and football players was filed at 4:30 p.m. ET Tuesday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, seeking unspecified damages from the NCAA and Collegiate Licensing Company for the use of players' images and likenesses in video content, photographs and other memorabilia.

Ed O'Bannon, who starred on the UCLA basketball team that won the 1995 NCAA tournament, is the only named plaintiff thus far but lead attorney Michael Hausfeld said he expects the lawsuit will expand to include hundreds, if not thousands, of former Division I basketball and Football Bowl Subdivision players. Attorney Jon T. King confirmed the suit was filed.

"Essentially, the case seeks to correct a major imbalance between the NCAA, its institutions, former student-athletes and the commercial market," Hausfeld said.

NCAA spokesman Erik Christianson said in an e-mail the association will defer comment on the lawsuit since officials haven't had a chance to review it. "However," Christianson wrote, "the NCAA categorically denies any infringement on former or current student-athlete likeness rights."

This is the second class action lawsuit filed recently against the NCAA and Collegiate Licensing. Former Arizona State and Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller has a class action lawsuit pending against those groups as well as their video game partner, EA Sports, for unspecified damages for using player likenesses in video games. It's filed in the same San Francisco court as O'Bannon's class-action suit.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: George W. Bush | San Francisco | Al Gore | National Collegiate Athletic Association | Arizona State University | Adidas | Reebok | NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship | EA Sports | Smith College | Andrew Zimbalist | Friedrich Schiller | Ed O'Bannon

Former Rutgers quarterback Ryan Hart is suing EA Sports in a New Jersey court for using his likeness without permission.

EA Sports is named as a co-conspirator in O'Bannon's suit along with NCAA member schools and conferences. O'Bannon's suit wants the NCAA and Collegiate Licensing to provide accounting of the revenue generated by their commercial ventures. Additionally, the suit asks the court to create a constructive trust for players.

"We put in our time to become better student-athletes, and when you're done playing, you move on," O'Bannon, the 1995 national college player of the year, said in a telephone interview. "At the same time, once you leave your university, one would think your likeness belongs to you."

The suit claims the NCAA's conduct is "blatantly anticompetitive and exclusionary, as it wipes out in total the future ownership interests of former student-athletes in their own images -- rights that all other members of society enjoy -- even long after student-athletes have ceased attending a university."

Forms that athletes are required to sign when entering college, which allow the NCAA or third parties to use the athletes' name or picture to promote NCAA events, are a point of contention in the lawsuit. The suit alleges the consent forms deprive former student-athletes of earning rights and requests an injunction to force the NCAA to stop using them.

Commercial success

Commercialism is a touchy subject for the NCAA. The association, a non-profit, is dependent on commercial endeavors but critics argue that athletes are exploited and the definition of amateurism is distorted when players' images and their likenesses are marketed and sold in what has become a multi-billion dollar industry.

"College sport is a business and a free market system for everyone except the athletes," Richard Southall, director of the College Sport Research Institute at the University of North Carolina, said in an interview last week on the rights of past and present student-athletes. "I'm not criticizing it, but there's ample evidence of the commercial nature of college sport."

That commercial aspect increasingly is under scrutiny, coinciding with the rapid growth of digital technology that continually delivers new products. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think all this money would be generated based on what I did 15 years ago," O'Bannon said.

His lawsuit lists DVDs from UCLA's championship run in the '95 NCAA tournament that are on sale on the NCAA On Demand online store and promoted with references to O'Bannon's standout performances (he was named the Final Four's most outstanding player).

The suit also alleges O'Bannon's likeness is used in the EA Sports NCAA Basketball 09 Classic Teams video game. "Ask yourself a question," Hausfeld said. "How can the NCAA continue licensing the use of those images after a student-athlete (has left) a university?"

More and more, that question is being asked by former players, lawyers and scholars. "The notion that the NCAA can profit from selling likenesses in video games is silliness," said Smith College economics professor Andrew Zimbalist. "The NCAA and video game companies are treating the rest of us like we're 2-year-olds."

To compensate former players, O'Bannon's lawsuit suggests revenue sharing modeled after group licensing deals in professional sports. An alternative, the suit says, could be the creation of funds for health insurance, additional educational or vocational training or pension plans for former student-athletes.

Vaccaro's role

O'Bannon said he does not expect to receive large sums of money if he wins the case. After playing two years in the NBA and later overseas, he settled in Nevada and makes a comfortable living by working in sales and marketing for a car dealership.

"This isn't really about the money," he said. "This is about going after what's right. It's almost like, 'How dare they put us out there and not compensate us?'"

He said he had been bothered by the NCAA's recent business ventures that included his image and likeness but had not considered suing until he was approached by former shoe company executive Sonny Vaccaro and Vaccaro's wife and business partner, Pam.

"It's so cool the Vaccaros are behind this and really want to help us out," O'Bannon said. "They are pathfinders."

Vaccaro was once a controversial figure for commercializing youth basketball by outfitting scores of players in athletic apparel while searching for the next superstar to endorse the company for which he worked, whether it was Nike, Adidas or Reebok.

He now considers himself an advocate for players' rights and has been railing against the NCAA's strict parameters on amateurism that he says strips players of rightful earning power. In part through speeches he made on the university lecture circuit, Vaccaro said he got the attention of Hausfeld's high-powered Washington, D.C.-based firm. In legal circles, Hausfeld is a well-known antitrust lawyer on a global scale.

Attorney William Isaacson is co-counsel in the case and is from the prominent firm Boies, Schiller and Flexner, which represented former Vice President Al Gore against George W. Bush in 2000 when the Presidential election was too close to call and ultimately decided by the Supreme Court in favor of Bush.

Vaccaro is serving as an unpaid consultant in this case.

"Questions will finally be answered," Vaccaro said. "I need these people -- the NCAA -- to explain how they can rule over (athletes) and nobody questions them."

Depicting the act of swearing an oath in court, Vaccaro said: "They're going to have to put their left hand down and right hand up. They're going to have to answer to thousands of kids." source>>>

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