Spurs clear last obstacle for stadium

Tottenham Hotspur have removed the final obstacle blocking the building of a new 400 million pound 56 000-seater stadium.


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London - Tottenham Hotspur have removed the final obstacle blocking the building of a new 400 million pound ($592.84 million) 56 000-seater stadium by agreeing to buy the last parcel of land preventing the start of construction work.


The Premier League club have started laying foundations for the new ground, adjacent to their existing stadium, but said on Tuesday they had agreed a deal to buy land occupied by Archway Sheet Metal Works' company which had held up the development.


Tottenham have planning permission for the stadium, which will replace White Hart Lane, their home since 1899 where the capacity is currently only 36,000.


Spurs said they would take possession of the land “later this year” to give the company time to relocate.


In November, a fire destroyed much of the Archway premises, which is located metres from the Park Lane (North) stand at White Hart Lane.


The firm took the club to court in February challenging a compulsory purchase order for the land but the appeal was dismissed and Archway decided this month to accept the decision. – Reuters






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Townsend earns England a draw

England substitute Andros Townsend fired home a superb late goal to earn a 1-1 draw against Italy in a fiercely contested international friendly.


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TURIN, Italy - England substitute Andros Townsend fired home a superb late goal to earn a 1-1 draw against Italy in a fiercely contested international friendly in Turin.


Townsend struck in the 79th minute by rifling an unstoppable shot past goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon from 20 metres to give England a deserved result at the Juvetus stadium.


Italy had taken the lead on the half-hour through Graziano Pelle's deft header after defender Giorgio Chiellini waltzed around Phil Jones and provided a precise cross from the left.


It was Pelle's second goal in his three appearances for the “azzurri” although the striker has failed to score a Premier League goal for his club Southampton since December.


“It didn't seem like a friendly,” Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci told Rai TV. “It was a high-paced match. We let the win slide through our fingers but Townsend scored a fantastic goal.”


Antonio Conte's side dominated the first half by pressing when England had possession and quickly attacking with crisp, short passes once they won the ball.


Marco Parolo had the first effort on goal after 10 minutes with a rising shot from 30 metres that England goalkeeper Joe Hart deflected over the bar.


England were not given time to catch their breath as the Italians kept on attacking and defender Phil Jagielka had to be alert seven minutes later to foil Brazilian-born Eder who would otherwise have had an easy tap-in.


A Wayne Rooney volley from the edge of the area almost put England ahead against the run of play but his shot clipped the crossbar after deflecting off Roberto Soriano before the home side took the lead through Pelle's header.


Four minutes after the break Eder, whose late goal had salvaged a 2-2 draw away to Bulgaria in Italy's Euro 2016 qualifier on Saturday, almost put the hosts 2-0 ahead but his shot was brilliantly parried with one hand by Hart.


Italy could not sustain the pressure, though, and Roy Hodgson's side began to take control with Rooney testing Buffon with a fierce strike after 72 minutes.


Townsend, who came off the bench nine minutes earlier for Fabian Delph, then popped up with his third goal in seven appearances for for England, whose run of seven straight wins since last year's World Cup was brought to an end.


The result left both teams undefeated since the finals in Brazil where Italy beat England 2-1 in a group match but neither side managed to qualify for the knockout stages.– Reuters






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Portugal lose against Cape Verde

A second-half sending off for Andre Pinto capped a miserable evening for a second-string Portugal side, who were beaten 2-0 at home by African minnows Cape Verde in a friendly.


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Lisbon - A second-half sending off for Andre Pinto capped a miserable evening for a second-string Portugal side, who were beaten 2-0 at home by African minnows Cape Verde in a friendly.


Portugal fielded none of the players that beat Serbia in Euro 2016 qualifying on Sunday and were undone by two first-half goals scored within six minutes of each other.


Odair Fortes opened the scoring for Cape Verde after 37 minutes in fortuitous fashion as his right-wing cross appeared to catch the wind and flew over Anthony Lopes in the Portugal goal.


Centre back Gege grabbed the second with an expert far-post finish after a free kick from Cape Verde captain Heldon had reached him through a forest of legs.


The match, which was in aid of the victims of last November's volcanic eruption on the Cape Verdian island of Fogo, went from bad to worse for Portugal when Pinto received a red card for a foul following an audacious piece of skill by Heldon.


A mass of second-half substitutions by both sides interrupted the game's flow, but the team from the tiny African archipelago held on comfortably to record a memorable victory. – Reuters






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News sport : Gregg Popovich's reaction to Mario Chalmers' beyond-half-court buzzer-beater was perfect

The San Antonio Spurs opened up their nationally televised matchup with the Miami Heat playing sound defense, holding Erik Spoelstra's club without a made field goal for the first 6 1/2 minutes of Tuesday's contest. The Spurs didn't capitalize early, though, committing seven turnovers that turned into 10 Miami points and kept the Heat up after 12 minutes.


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Things tightened up considerably in the second, as San Antonio coughed it up just twice while cranking up the ball movement and offensive effectiveness to outpace the Heat by nine points heading into the final seconds of the half ... only to see the Heat stay within a handful of points at intermission thanks to a wing-and-a-prayer, buzzer-beating, 53-foot 3-pointer by point guard Mario Chalmers:



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The best thing about Chalmers' 3? How Spurs coach Gregg Popovich reacted to it, naturally:



Such bemusement. Such resignation. Such grudging acceptance. This is the face of a man who knows that sometimes, the breaks won't go your way, and that as long as you're controlling what you can control, you can live with it.


It's also the countenance that confirms Pop's expression can be arresting even when he's not going from serious to cheesin' ...



... or vice versa ...



... in no time flat.


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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!



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News sport : UConn coaches prohibited from attending the Final Four

Indiana's controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act has disrupted the travel plans of UConn coach Kevin Ollie and his staff.


They're boycotting the Final Four in Indianapolis and the annual National Association of Basketball Coaches convention that coincides with it in compliance with Monday's order from Gov. Dannel Malloy's prohibiting all state of Connecticut employees from traveling to Indiana.


"In support of Governor Malloy's travel ban to the state of Indiana, Kevin Ollie and other members of the UConn men's basketball staff will not travel to Indianapolis for the NCAA Final Four and events surrounding it," UConn president Susan Herbst said in a statement Tuesday night. "UConn is a community that values all of our members and treats each person with the same degree of respect, regardless of their background and beliefs and we will not tolerate any other behavior."


UConn will undoubtedly be one of the few schools without any coaches in Indianapolis. Most coaches travel to the Final Four every year because the annual NABC convention and other events throughout the week are good opportunities to catch up with old friends and network with potential future colleagues.


Ollie and his staff are not alone in their decision. Earlier Tuesday, USC athletic director and College Football Playoff selection committee member Pat Haden tweeted that he is the "proud father of a gay son" and would not attend the CFP meeting this week in Indianapolis.


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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!







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News sport : LeBron James has so few friends that only his kids will play video games with him

(We’re joking, people.)


Assured of his status as the East’s second seed and rightfully confident in his Cleveland Cavaliers’ ability to wipe the floor with the Eastern Conference come playoff time, LeBron James has now taken to destroying his kids at video games.


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From James’ Facebook page on Tuesday:



(Courtesy Facebook dot com)

Possibly playing as himself on a Cavalier off-day, James gave his sons LeBron Jr. and Bryce fair warning prior to their time with the controller, while letting daughter Zhuri and wife Savannah off the hook.


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The welcome respite came toward the end of another rather event-filled day for James, who disclosed on Monday evening that, shock horror, he doesn’t consider himself to be great friends the whole of the NBA. From Joe Vardon’s feature at Northeast Ohio Media Group:



"People get so infatuated with the best of friends, things of that nature," James said. "First of all, I've got three very good friends in this league, and that's Carmelo (Anthony), and that's C.P. (Chris Paul), and that's D-Wade. And after that I have a bunch of teammates. I have guys I ride for every day.”



This should make the “purists” happy!



Of course, this should only remind you of Marc Maron’s bit about only needing to have two friends, and little else. Anthony, Wade and James were drafted in the same class together and immediately pegged as the standard bearers for a post-Shaq and post-Tim Duncan NBA (we got that one half-right), while the similarly-aged Paul has ranked just below James for the title of the NBA’s best player for the better part of his healthy career.


Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love? They were opponents until last summer, and didn’t share the same drafting history as Wade and Chris Bosh did prior to their formation as teammates in 2010.


(Wait, where is Chris Bosh in this list? I smell a feud! Hop on it, daytime programming on ESPN!)


James’ shocking disclosure comes on the heels of Kevin Love “admitting” that he and James don’t spend every waking hour palling it up off the court, what with their on the court work doing most of the talking that actually counts. Not listing co-workers, Facebook pals or Twitter followers or minor acquaintances as “very good friends” is more than normal for a 30-year old married father of three who recently moved and has some video game work to do once he finishes dinner and helping his kids with their homework.


The Cleveland Cavaliers are playing video game-level ball at exactly the right time of year. Behind James, they’ve grown into the championship favorite we’d long assumed them to be, and that’s all that matters, per usual.


Good luck, Bryce and LeBron Jr. Good luck, NBA.


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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!






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News sport : Tip Drill: A beginner's guide to daily fantasy baseball


Realistically, you will not become a zillionaire by playing daily fantasy baseball. Sorry to smack you with cold truth right here at the top, but there it is. Advertising efforts from various DFS sites may have convinced you that such games offer a clear and easy path to extreme, life-changing wealth, but, um ... no, probably not happening.


In fact, a comprehensive review of the Forbes 400 list will reveal that zero of our richest citizens acquired their fortunes via daily fantasy games.


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However, this fact doesn't mean you can't still profit by dabbling in DFS. Daily games are really an excellent complement to the standard fantasy portfolio. If you regret not drafting any shares of, say, Taijuan Walker or Nolan Arenado or whoever else, you can always find opportunities for single-serving ownership in daily.


Today, the mission is to assist those of you considering a foray into daily baseball — we're talking to the first-timers, not seasoned sharks. The advice below is strictly 101 stuff. If you've already built your forecasting algorithm and you're playing dozens of lineups each day, then you're free to leave. Go away. Shoo. But if you're new to daily and hoping to turn a two-figure bankroll into perhaps a modest three-figure bankroll, then please read on...


Know your scoring settings


REPEAT: KNOW YOUR SETTINGS


This is the most basic piece of fantasy advice, applicable to all sports, and yet so many managers brush it off. Really, you shouldn't do much of anything — ever, anywhere — without a careful examination of the rules and terms. The major daily games assign different values to common events, and roster construction is slightly different from site to site. Here's a link to rules and scoring at FanDuel, these are the contest rules at DraftKings, and here's a snapshot of a few others. Many in-game events carry negative point values at DK, and pitcher wins are less important relative to innings and Ks.


Just as you wouldn't draft a standard fantasy team without understanding the league settings, you shouldn't construct a daily lineup without familiarizing yourself with the scoring system.


Vegas is your friend


This is most definitely not true in all aspects of life, but it's certainly true with daily gaming. For obvious reasons, you're looking for starting pitchers tied to heavy favorites, and you want batters involved in potentially high-scoring games. Vegas handles much of the heavy-lifting for you, accounting for park factors, weather conditions, pitcher quality, lineup construction and other trends and traits. If bookmakers expect a big pile of runs to be scored in a given game, you should seriously consider stacking hitters in those lineups. Simple enough, right?


Both FD and DK require users to choose players from at least three different MLB teams, so there are limits to your stacking possibilities. It's a solid tactic nonetheless, because predicting any individual hitter's performance in a single game is kind of a ridiculous endeavor. Which brings me to this...


Pitching is priceless


OK, that's not completely accurate, because each site literally puts a price on each pitcher. This is fundamental to the whole DFS thing. I just really like alliteration in the subheads.


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Anyway, here's my point: You absolutely cannot screw up your pitching choices and still expect to profit. In full-season fantasy leagues, experts will often recommend going cheap on pitchers, sketching in your rotation in the late rounds. But in daily games, I'll usually select my pitcher(s) before scanning the bat rack. Even baseball's most reliable hitters — players like Cabrera, Cutch and Trout — can easily post an 0-fer at any time, regardless of matchup. Forecasting any batter's stats for a single day is incredibly tricky. I almost always feel more confident in the one-day projection of a quality starting pitcher at home in a friendly park, against a less-than-intimidating opponent. You don't need to build around a Kershaw or Scherzer-level starter each day (or any day), but you do need to remember that scoring is driven to a great extent by innings, strikeouts, wins and run-prevention. When chasing Ks, it's easy enough to exploit strikeout-prone lineups and avoid others.


Don't obsess over batter-vs.-pitcher stats


I won't go so far as to say that player-vs.-player history has zero relevance, but, in most cases, we're dealing with sample sizes that are much too small to be useful or predictive. I'm not going to make a spending decision based on, say, a hitter's 7-for-18 history against a certain pitcher. Instead, you should always prefer larger sets of data — the sort of stuff you'll find in Yahoo's Matchup Ratings, for example. All of you already know that handedness of hitters and pitchers is a big deal; typically, you want left-handed bats facing right-handed arms. If you can start Matt Adams against Edwin Jackson and the price is right, great. Jump all over it — even though Adams is 0-for-6 in his career against Jackson. You should care a great deal more about the fact that A) Edwin is a mess, and B) Adams hammers right-handed pitching (.851 OPS vs. RHPs, .553 vs. LHPs).


I hate to suggest that batter-vs.-pitcher history never matters, however. When two players have seen plenty of each other and one of them consistently wins, well ... that's not something you can easily ignore. Omar Infante versus R.A. Dickey has been an unfair fight (17-for-34, 2 HR). Victor Martinez kinda owns Mark Buehrle (28-for-78, 4 HR). Joe Mauer has toyed with Justin Verlander (24-for-65, 8 XBH, 12 BBs). If you believe in a matchup, play it. It's your money.


And here's the final and most obvious tip...


Players can't help us if they don't play


Nope, you didn't need an expert for this one. Nothing mysterious here. We simply need to emphasize the importance of verifying that every player in your daily lineup is also in his real team's lineup. When you mess around with platoon players and other part-timers, this is no small detail. In your hometown roto league, it's not usually a disaster when a player on your active roster gets an off-day. But in daily, you immediately lose money.


It's easy enough to find reliable sources for batting order info — like this feed, for example. The difficult part is making a daily habit of daily lineup hawking. Weather-related postponements are a terror, too. Stay on it.


As in traditional fantasy baseball, you won't profit from the daily game unless you're an active, engaged player. The Yahoo fantasy team will cover daily baseball all season around here, from opening night through September. We're here to help.


I've personally made tens if not dozens of dollars playing daily, so you should totally listen to me.






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News sport : Check out this 5-year-old's incredible ball-handling skills

A five-year-old Chinese boy has ball-handling skills most adults can only dream about. The website Shanghaiist posted a series of GIFs showing Mai Zizhou basically putting on an exhibition.



Courtesy Shanghaiist


Courtesy Shanghaiist


Courtesy Shanghaiist


Courtesy Shanghaiist

If he was in the U.S., he'd be getting ready for kindergarten. Shanghaiist reports that he started practicing when he was two years old – and if you look closely, you can see he's not just practicing his ball skills. He's can shoot daggers with his eyes, too.






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News sport : Ryan Newman loses 75 points after tire manipulation penalty

Tire manipulation is a confirmed reality in the Sprint Cup Series.


Just days after drivers and crew chiefs commented on the talk surrounding tire tampering in the Sprint Cup Series garage, NASCAR leveled a big 75-point penalty against Ryan Newman and the No. 31 team for issues found with the team's tires at Auto Club Speedway.


NASCAR had been taking tires from some teams after races for audits as suspicions of teams drilling holes in the tires to regulate air pressure became public (Newman's team was one of the teams who had tires taken after the race on March 22). Tuesday, NASCAR docked Newman the points and suspended crew chief Luke Lambert, tire technician James Bender and team engineer Philip Surgen for the next six races. Lambert was also fined $125,000.


The penalty is a P5 penalty under NASCAR's tiered penalty system. According to NASCAR it violates rule 20.16.2 which says tires can't be modified and 12.5.3.5.1 which defines a P5 penalty as "effecting, modifying and/or altering the standard tires in any way, other than through authorized means such as tire pressure adjustments within the recommended range, permitted tire cooling when mounted on the race vehicle; or heat-cycling on the race vehicle on the race track earlier in the event."


The standard P5 penalties are 50 points and a $75,000 fine for Lambert. However, the points penalty was increased 25 points and the fine increased $50,000 because the infractions were found after the race. Newman finished fifth at ACS. He was asked about manipulation rumors on Friday after qualifying at Martinsville and concluded his answer with "I'm not worried about anything."


It's fair to wonder how long the No. 31 team (and others?) have been modifying tires. Newman had 16 top-10 finishes in 2014, but qualified for the Chase with 10 in the first 26 races. He had six top-10 finishes in the final 10 races, including finishing second to Kevin Harvick in both the final race at Homestead and in the points standings.


The speed Newman had in the final races of 2014 carried over to 2015. He has three top-five finishes and four top-10 finishes in the first six races of the season. However he's now 27th in the standings with the points penalty.


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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!







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News sport : Suspended Alabama RB Tyren Jones arrest on marijuana possession

Alabama's week just got a little bit worse.


Running back Tyren Jones, who was already serving a team suspension, was arrested Tuesday for marijuana possession, the third arrest for the Tide since Saturday morning.


Jones was suspended on Feb. 10 for what coach Nick Saban called "conduct not to the standard of the Alabama football program." He has not been working out with the program.


According to AL.com, which obtained the arrest report, police stopped Jones and smelled marijuana in his car. Jones had a small amount of marijuana in the pocket of his pants, but officers also found digital scales in the Dodge Challenger belonging to Brandon Lee Hansberry, who also was arrested.


Jones was charged with second-degree possession of marijuana and was released on $1,000 bond.


On Saturday morning, safety Geno Smith was arrested for DUI and later that day, Jonathan Taylor was charged with domestic violence. Taylor was dismissed from the team on Sunday and Smith was suspended. Saban said Smith would have to earn his way back.


For more Alabama news, visit TideSports.com.


Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!


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News sport : The NBA has a tanking problem because the NBA used to employ a lot of problems

On Monday evening, the Los Angeles Lakers downed the Philadelphia 76ers on a last-second shot from rookie Jordan Clarkson. Hands were rung and eyes rolled, as a significant portion of NBA fandom could hardly recall what number Clarkson wore prior to this professional event, and yet they could recite the two teams’ 2015 NBA draft odds by rote: Los Angeles keeps its pick unless it either continues to win, or in case bad lottery luck pushes the team out of the top five. If it falls out of the top five, the lowly Sixers takes in its own high end lottery pick, and the Lakers’ selection.


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Los Angeles has won three of five, quite the warming trend for a 20-53 club, putting its fans in an impossible position that we see yearly amongst the lower rungs of the NBA. The team’s fans understand that most of the current Lakers won’t have a spot in the rotation when the franchise finally turns it all around, there is no point in rooting for their growth and success, and every added win lowers the team’s odds at the draft pick of their choice – presuming they get to keep it anyway.


Philadelphia? They’ve spent the better part of two seasons auditioning players for rotation spots nine through 15 on the 2017-18 Philadelphia 76ers. The guy they drafted in June of 2013 didn’t play until October of 2014, the guy they drafted in June of 2014 won’t play until October of 2015, and another really good guy they drafted in June of 2014 possibly won’t play until October of 2017. Their best young prospect from last season, Michael Carter-Williams, was recently traded for a draft pick that may not make his debut until October of 2016 – if then.


Minnesota coach Flip Saunders recently had to back down from earlier, heated comments he made about Utah Jazz broadcasters that he called “irresponsible” after they discussed the Timberwolves’ decision to rest several key (and also injured) starters as the team worked its way toward its tenth straight lottery appearance. The Wolves have the second-best odds at entering 2015-16 with the last three top overall NBA draft picks on its roster, and yet the team will still be ages away from a playoff berth, and not likely to end a postseason drought that is about to enter its second decade.


Phil Jackson’s New York Knicks have the best odds at a top overall pick, but even with cap space and the return of Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks are still several significant moves away from even playoff contention. They’re so far away that Jackson even asked season ticket holders to turn their frowns upside-down as the team readies itself to ask its fans to reward the worst season in Knick history with the highest ticket prices in the NBA.


The Sacramento Kings haven’t sniffed relevance in nearly a decade, and yet the team is still content to possibly sit DeMarcus Cousins down for the rest of the season. Cousins, the team’s beleaguered franchise star working for a franchise in turmoil, is coming off his first All-Star appearance, and he’s been hustling since Team USA training camp in July. Sitting Cousins would also give the Kings better odds in keeping its first-round draft pick this year, as a dip out of the top ten this season would mean the selection would move on to the Chicago Bulls.


Denver, essentially, gave up on its season midway through 2014-15. Boston, rightfully, has its fans worried that the team may perpetually overachieve its way out of earning the chance to acquire a star. Talk of tanking used to dominate NBA headlines in March and April, but the modern cycle has fans discussing it on draft night in June, and wondering if the reboot will take two or three years, as could be the case with the Lakers, as opposed to the single-year dive.


This is where the hand-wringing comes in. The NBA could do away with the weighted lottery. It could fine teams for blatantly sitting winning prospects. Khrushchev's shoe, on the table, Mark Madsen shooting three-pointers, all that fun stuff.


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The NBA doesn’t need to revisit how it deals with such thing. The NBA, simply, needs to get rid of bad general managers. The NBA is also well on its way toward achieving that.


By now the GM shaming has become a well-worn trope (and you’re welcome!). The deal that sent a Kings first-rounder to Cleveland (and eventually Chicago) for J.J. Hickson was laughed at as much then as it is now, as the Bulls watch the Western standings. Brooklyn GM Billy King was mocked almost from the outset of his time with the team. Even while pegging the 2012-13 Lakers for a championship run, we all wondered why the Lakers felt compelled to send a potential first-round pick Phoenix’s way in the Steve Nash sign-and-trade. Fans had no idea what Minnesota was chasing when it declined to give Kevin Love the contract he deserved or when it handed Kevin Martin four years and $27.7 million in 2013.


We’re slowly getting away from this, however. Several teams, unfortunately, have had to play dumb this season in order to make up for past mistakes. Teams are getting smarter, though.


Even the Knicks, just a few months from being roundly mocked for trading draft picks for Andrea Bargnani, declined to send a draft pick to Toronto for a player in Kyle Lowry that was soon to be a free agent. Phil Jackson’s longtime buddy and former assistant coach Charley Rosen may want the team to trade the top overall pick for Greg Monroe (something that isn’t NBA-legal) on draft night, but Charley Rosen (thankfully) does not work for the New York Knicks. Meanwhile, the Lakers might be playing possum currently, and might enter 2016 without Kobe Bryant, without Byron Scott, with three high-end draft picks, cap space, and the waves of Malibu to offer.


The game has passed some general managers by, like Washington’s Ernie Grunfeld (who once traded the aforementioned Jordan Clarkson for freaking cash considerations), but they’re probably not long for the league in that role. King is out of Brooklyn as soon as new owners swoop in. Soon enough, general managers won’t have to take several rebuilding years to clean up the messes of their predecessors, as we’re currently seeing in Detroit, Orlando, Sacramento, Philly, New York, Minnesota, and …


That’s a lot of teams, but the NBA has also rid itself of several very poor general managers over the last few years. This isn’t to say that parity will hit and the ranks of competition will level, as you still may have GMs being hired partially because they’re from the same state that the team plays in, but things are changing in ways that don’t have to lead to a change of the lottery rules.


This is what happens when you let Dwight Howard run your franchise, or David Kahn, or Joe Dumars, or Doug Collins, or James Dolan, or when you basically give up on basketball while trying to sell your team. A goodly chunk of the NBA is in a bad place because the work of some lacking ex-GMs put their teams in bad places. Outfits in Philadelphia, Los Angeles and New York aren’t guaranteed future success with the NBA draft still three months away, but these front offices had to start somewhere.


There are five to a side in basketball, stars matter, and there will always have to be 25-win teams. This is part of the reason why so many of us follow the NBA, and the biggest reason why comparisons to other sports or leagues are anachronistic at best and pointless at worst. The NBA’s job right now, as it recovers from the work of so many executives who were stuck in 1991 while working in 2011, is to get smarter.


Not more unhinged. We’ve tried that already, and it didn’t work.


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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!






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News sport : Kyle Larson released from hospital, not cleared to drive yet

Kyle Larson was released from a Charlotte-area hospital Monday evening. However, the driver of the No. 42 car is still not cleared to drive in the Cup Series.


“After extensive testing and observation over the last few days, Kyle Larson was released from the hospital last night and has finished up final tests today," a Chip Ganassi Racing statement said. "He is currently waiting for final doctor recommendations in order to clear him to return to all NASCAR related activities.”


The Sprint Cup Series is off Sunday because of the Easter holiday. The next race is Saturday, April 11 at Texas Motor Speedway.


Larson missed Sunday's race when he fainted after an autograph session on Saturday. He was taken for tests -- tests that the team said found no issues -- but was told by doctors that he needed to miss Sunday's race for further tests.


Regan Smith drove the No. 42 in his absence and finished 16th. Larson is now 24th in the points standings.


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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!







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News sport : NBPA's Michele Roberts sees no reason for 2017 work stoppage, warns NBA against 'cry of poverty'

NBPA executive director Michele Roberts (left) and the Detroit Pistons' Anthony Tolliver attend the H.I.S. Official Launch Party at the Park Hyatt New York on Feb. 12, 2015. (D Dipasupil/BET/Getty Images) It's been a pretty exciting regular season, and it looks like it ought to be a similarly thrilling postseason push to June's NBA Finals. But amid all the bright, shining Stephen Curry bombs, James Harden stepbacks and Anthony Davis detonations, it's become difficult to ignore the stormclouds gathering on the labor relations front.


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The collective bargaining agreement struck by the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association in November 2011 stretches through the 2020-21 campaign, but both the league and the union can elect to opt out of the CBA after the 2016-17 season in favor of renegotiating its terms. There are arguments for doing so on both sides — for the NBPA, to attempt to recoup some of the hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenues that were shifted from players to owners in the 2011 resolution, and for the owners, to have their way on issues like the imposition of a hard cap on team salaries, an increase in the minimum age at which a prospect can be eligible to enter the NBA draft, human growth hormone testing and perhaps contract structures.


Under the leadership of new executive director Michele Roberts, it's considered all but a foregone conclusion that the players' union will opt out of the CBA by the Dec. 15, 2016, deadline. But despite the seemingly contentious atmosphere between the league and union — most recently highlighted by the NBPA's rejection of Silver's "cap smoothing" proposal for gradually phasing in the monster influx of cash from the NBA's new $24 billion broadcast rights deal — the commissioner doesn't think we should start worrying about the possibility of a work stoppage preventing the start of the 2017-18 season. In somewhat heartening news, neither does union leader Roberts, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe:


[...] Roberts said she views the $24.9 billion war chest from the nine-year television deal as a positive, suggesting the league is fully healthy.

“We want a deal. We want a deal that is as fair as we can get. We understand you’ve got to give a little to get a little,” she said. “There’s going to be a deal and my view is let’s get it done. Silver has said the same to me, so I think the good news is we don’t have the backdrop of poverty. There’s all this money. The game is growing in popularity. Everyone should be singing, ‘Hallelujah.’ They’ve got a new commissioner. I’m new. I have no bad blood with Adam because I don’t know him. Nor he with me. Everything in the world suggests we should be able to get through this without a problem. And if that doesn’t happen I would be, and I think Mr. Silver would be, disappointed.”

When asked whether a deal could get done before 2017, Roberts said, “Sure. Wouldn’t it be great for everybody, the players, for the owners, and God knows the fans, if we could say these were the major issues that we knew we had to deal with and we saw no reason to wait until 2017, so we got them done? Not only is there not going to be any opting out, but we’ve agreed to these new terms and an extension of the CBA. Wouldn’t everybody just be delighted? It would be great for the game.”

So the commissioner doesn't see any reason not to get a deal done, and the players association's executive director doesn't seen any reason not to get a deal done. OK! Great!


And yet ... the problem here is that, even if there's not a problem now, there was a problem then.


The players are still smarting from the beating they took in the last round of negotiations, a whitewashing precipitated by claims that NBA owners were losing money — claims that few players likely ever believed then, and that hardly any players are likely to believe now, in the aftermath of the multibillion-dollar rights bonzanza and record-setting franchise valuations. While David Stern was still the commissioner during the last round of bargaining, then-deputy Silver was right there alongside him, holding the owners' hard line in negotiations, and while Roberts wasn't there, she's still got to show her membership that she's capable of charting a better path forward than ousted predecessor Billy Hunter.


So, with a nod to Faulkner, part of Roberts' preparation for 2017's negotiations seems to have to consist of continuing to make noise about the raw deal of 2011 at a volume that might make friendly conversation difficult. More from Washburn:


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“$24.9 billion ain’t a problem,” Roberts said from her New York office. “There’s only a problem because the owners have suggested that there is, that there’s a problem with the injection of that money into the system. Frankly, we don’t quite understand why that’s a problem. If it’s not a problem that the teams can make more money, why is it a problem if the players are going to make more money?

“It’s too bad that this successful [television contract] negotiation has suddenly become a problem that I can’t get my arms around.” [...]

“That’s why it may have been unfortunate if there was some misrepresentations made about the health of some of these teams because you only create mistrust going into the next round of negotiations,” Roberts said. “That’s unfortunate. I would submit that it’s in the league’s best interest not to try to do that again. Don’t try that again. There’s no human being out there that’s reasonable that, having heard about the TV deal, and if you’re aware that gross receipts are going up, ticket sales are going up, I’d be very disappointed if we heard that cry of poverty again.

“So if we could avoid a repetition of that cry of poverty and all the mistrust referenced by the players can be resolved, we can go on and not say, ‘You lied to me,’ but just go back to business.’’

Both Silver and Roberts say there are no contentious feelings on either side of the table, and that there's no ill will that will make arriving at an agreement impossible. The question, though, is whether there's enough lingering mistrust on the players' side and enough willingness from ownership to stand firm and stop writing checks to make arriving at an agreement in time for the start of the 2017-18 season impossible. These seem to represent Roberts' most collegial comments on the matter, which offers some hope for the future, but when you re-read that "Don't try that again" section, it gets that much harder to ignore the encroaching cloud cover.


Hat-tip to Brett Pollakoff at ProBasketballTalk.


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News sport : J.J. Watt shows off acting, singing chops in 'New Girl' episode


When he's not training in a log cabin of sorts, J.J. Watt is acting. And singing.

Seriously.


The Paul Bunyan-esque offense wrecker for the Houston Texans is apparently a big fan of the show "New Girl." Although we confess to having not seen the critically acclaimed program, we are fans of the work of leading lady Zooey Deschanel. And now Ms. Deschanel and Mr. Watt can say they've been teammates, having worked together on an episode of the show.


Watch above for a tease of Watt singing and — we think — ad libbing through what could be a funny few scenes in "The Right Stuff" episode. We don't assume anything about Watt's day job status changing, but a brief glimpse at his acting chops actually has us feel that the 6-foot-5, 290-pound beast could have been.


Is he Peyton Manning-on-SNL good? No, we're not ready to go there yet, but Watt might be far better at acting than your typical NFL player.


The singing, well, that's another thing altogether. We're not quite sure what key he's in, actually.


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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!






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News sport : Urban Meyer: Ohio State could use 'specialty quarterback'

Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer watches during the first half of the NCAA college football playoff championship game against Oregon Monday, Jan. 12, 2015, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero) Ohio State coach Urban Meyer hasn’t ruled out using two quarterbacks in 2015.


His depth chart at the position is incredibly crowded with Braxton Miller, J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones and Meyer admitted Tuesday he could use one in the same way he used Tim Tebow at Florida in 2006 to complement the starter.


“You might have a specialty quarterback. That’s kind of what we did in 2006 (at Florida),” Meyer said per Cleveland.com. “That was kind of two different skill sets, a very unique situation, a very ego-less approach to the game. One quarterback drives them down, the other guy comes in and is the goal-line quarterback, but it worked.”


Meyer is referring to Chris Leak and Tebow, who was a freshman at the time and was mainly used as a runner. How that would translate to the 2015 Buckeyes – a team with three accomplished passers – is anybody’s guess.


Jones, who led the Buckeyes to a national title after Miller and Barrett were injured, is 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds. He could potentially fit into the Tebow mold where he is used to run over defenders and into the end zone while also presenting a passing threat.


Meyer certainly has a tough decision ahead, but he still has time with the season still five months away. Not to mention, Miller (shoulder) and Barrett (foot) are still on the mend from their respective injuries and have not been at full strength during the spring.


“I’ve thought about that a little bit,” Meyer said. “I think it’s one day at a time right now. That’s get Braxton healthy, get J.T. as many reps as he can, and Cardale, he’s only played three games.”


Once all three are healthy, that quarterback competition will be one of the top storylines in college football.


For more Ohio State news, visit BuckeyeGrove.com.


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News sport : USF former starting QB Mike White granted his release

South Florida quarterback Mike White, who started 15 games for the Bulls, has been granted his release.


White, who opened last season as the team’s starter, appeared to be trailing in the quarterbacking competition this spring behind Quinton Flowers and senior Steven Bench.


"Mike and I talked after the conclusion of spring practice and he expressed his desire to pursue the remainder of his career at another school," coach Willie Taggart said in a release by the school.


“We wish Mike all the best in his future and thank him for his contributions to our program and university.”


White won the starting job during fall camp last August and while his grip on the role was tenuous, he did rally the Bulls from a 20-point halftime deficit for a 38-30 win against Tulsa. However, he threw two interceptions in the first half against Cincinnati the following week and was benched at halftime. His only playing time at the end of the season came in the fourth quarter against SMU where he rallied the Bulls to a 14-13 win.


White was a big-league pitching prospect during high school, but turned his attention solely on football last spring in an effort to become the Bulls starter.


White will have to sit out a season if he transfers to another FBS school. However, he could play immediately if he transfers to lower division program.


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News sport : The 10-man rotation, starring Zach Randolph going to work on the low block

A look around the league and the Web that covers it. It's also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren't always listed in order of importance. That's for you, dear reader, to figure out.


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C: Sports Illustrated. Rob Mahoney talks with Zach Randolph about the finer points of low-post positioning, and how a player who has spent most of the last decade and a half viewed largely as a bruiser has built an All-Star career out of precise footwork, sharp angles and all the little things that can make a successful big man.


PF: Waiting for Next Year. The Cleveland Cavaliers have been crushing opponents for the past two months, but even as he makes his push for a fifth Most Valuable Player trophy, LeBron James is committing turnovers at a career-high rate. What gives? Kirk Lammers digs into the tape to find out.


SF: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Lori Nickel explores Jared Dudley's value to the Milwaukee Bucks, which comes less from his floor-spacing (although he can do that) or his team defense (although he helps there) or his experience (although he has that) than from his ability and willingness to communicate.


SG: Talking Points. Tim Kawakami lays out Stephen Curry's MVP case, which includes turning one of the more common critiques — he's played about 350 fewer total minutes than James Harden, and about 100 fewer in fourth quarters — on its head: "Curry should win the MVP because he doesn't play meaningful fourth-quarter minutes. He destroys teams in the third quarter."


PG: Scout.com. Evan Daniels chats with the recently returned Emmanuel Mudiay to get the likely top-five draft pick's perspective on how his decision to pass on enrolling at SMU to play professionally in China wound up working out, and what he's taken away from his year studying abroad: "I was playing against 30-year-old men that are trying to feed their family. In college, they are trying to get an education and try to get a job after that."


6th: SI Vault. A very cool collection of some of the magazine's most arresting NBA portraits over the years. Not many slideshows more worth your time than this one, I'll wager.


7th: New York Post and Posting and Toasting. Charley Rosen, longtime NBA scribe and Phil Jackson's former assistant coach back with the Albany Patroons, thinks Kentucky star Karl-Anthony Towns might have an insufficiently significant backside to be the sort of low-post anchor the New York Knicks need in the triangle offense, which means Knicks draft talk will include a fair amount of butt chatter, which sounds about right, really.


8th: Mavs Outsider Report. Whether he's part of the problem, part of the solution or somewhere in between, is Monta Ellis too tough for his own good?


9th: Grantland. A pretty gutwrenching read from Jonathan Abrams on the death of former Charlotte Hornets guard Bobby Phills, and the impact it had on his family, teammates, coaches and friends.


10th: The Triangle. Zach Lowe identifies the potential problem with the Boston Celtics' mid-rebuild rise to contention for an Eastern Conference playoff berth: "The Celtics have made the leap to mediocrity so fast that they may have no easy way out."


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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!



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News sport : Path to the Pros: Melvin Gordon says, 'I want to be the best back'




With a month left before the draft, one of the more interesting prospects is Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon.


There has been a ton of talk about running backs not going in the first round for consecutive years, a lot of talk about Georgia back Todd Gurley's ceiling (and his knee injury), and there sits Gordon, coming off a phenomenal near-Heisman season at Wisconsin.


In a "Path to the Pros" interview with Stack.com, Gordon lays out his goal, and that's to outdo every other back in the 2015 class.


"I want to be the best back, that's my goal," Gordon said.


Gordon is known for his big runs, and his speed, but in the video above he looks pretty strong and he's not a small back at 215 pounds. To get into the first round, teams will have to be convinced that he is more than a home-run threat.


Gordon has another goal, and that's to be a part of a winner. He didn't win a state title in high school or a national championship in college and he wants to experience being a champion.


"To win a Super Bowl, that's better than a national championship, that's better than anything," Gordon said to Stack.com. "But you have to put in the work."


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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!






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News sport : Jameis Winston's appearance at FSU pro day weigh in gets attention


In the history of the NFL, no quarterback has ever played with his shirt off.


So really, it doesn't matter much what Jameis Winston looked like at his weigh-in at Florida State's pro day on Tuesday. But yet, some heads turned when Winston was shown on NFL Network and he wasn't looking like what we'd expect from the presumptive first pick of the draft.





This isn't the first time Winston has dealt with questions about his conditioning or weight. Before the NFL scouting combine, a photo of him working out went viral:



But that was debunked, which basically just turned the whole thing into the overreaction over the "fat" Eddie Lacy photo a couple years ago that made it look like Lacy was huge but apparently the photo was just not his good side. Winston looked a lot different in this photo:



And at this point we've discussed Winston's physique entirely too much because, again, he won't be playing with his shirt off. His actual pro day workout was the most important part of the day (but even that isn't too important in the grand scheme because the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have barely tried to hide that they'll take him first overall). Winston is not a phenomenal athlete compared to some other recent quarterbacks, like Oregon's Marcus Mariota (Winston barely broke five seconds flat in the 40-yard dash, compared to 4.52 for Mariota), but he has a fantastic arm, is very good from the pocket and it's not like his athleticism is a hindrance. He's the top quarterback in the draft and for good reason; the stuff about what shape he's in is part of the pre-draft season in which a lot of things that don't matter much get dissected.


And, well, let's go back to what Winston said at the scouting combine the first time there was a hullabaloo about what shape he was in.


"A lot of people thought I was fat, but I’m here, I’m proving everybody wrong," Winston said. "I look good and I know it."


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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!






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News sport : USC AD Pat Haden is skipping CFP meetings in Indianapolis to honor his gay son

USC athletic director Pat Haden said in a tweet Tuesday that he would not be attending the College Football Playoff meeting in Indianapolis this week because of the newly signed Religious Freedom Restoration Act.



The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which was signed into law last week and takes effect July 1, would prohibit laws that "substantially burden" a person's freedom of religion. The broad definition of the Act has caused many critics to claim the bill would open the door for discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.


Indiana Gov. Mike Pence denied Tuesday that the bill was intended to discriminate against any group of people, but the perception already has caused the NCAA to issue a statement against the bill, and the Big Ten, which holds its conference title game in Indianapolis, said it will discuss the effects of the new law at its next conference meeting. A petition to move the Big Ten title game out of Lucas Oil Stadium already has picked up steam.


Nine CEOs of major corporations have sent strongly worded letters to Pence urging him to clarify the bill so that it doesn’t discriminate against people based of their sexual orientation.


If Indiana does not change the bill, if faces losing a lot of business, especially in the sports world.


"If we have to make adjustments to this law to make it clear that this law as never intended to give businesses the right to turn away customers on the basis of sexual orientation, we will fix that," Pence told Fox News on Tuesday.


For more USC news, visit TrojanSports.com.


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News sport : Don't ever change, Martinsville

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – The back road to Martinsville dips and turns through the woods. There are a few houses on each side. Then, suddenly, there are cars parked along the side of the road. We’re close to the track?


After parking, the walk continues down the road. A sign with “17” stands in the middle of a field that’s used as a makeshift parking lot. We take a right into the field.


Up a short hill, the grandstands appear.




If you’ve never been to Martinsville and wonder if the descriptions of it’s rural location are hyperbole, they’re not. The track basically sits in a bowl, with hills and trees all around. Houses too. And the train tracks, which run along the backstretch and separate the track from the helipad, which is essentially a flat spot of land where helicopters shuttling drivers and VIPs take off and land.


Sunday was my first time at Martinsville, and I also have a confession to make. It was my first Sprint Cup Series race as a fan. I started covering Sprint Cup races as an 18-year-old but never had been to one as a fan. Previously, if I’d been at a Cup race, I’d been there to work. This time was different.


And man, was it fun. Martinsville Speedway won’t ever be mistaken for a state-of-the-art facility, nor should it be. The houses behind the frontstretch wouldn’t tolerate any newfangled and modern construction.


Before finding our seats in turn one, we explored the infield and it’s evident that the track and NASCAR have years of practice in organizing all of the haulers in the middle. Not an inch of space goes unused and when we walked up the steps from the pedestrian tunnel in turn four, we were greeted by the mammoth front grill of BK Racing’s No. 83 hauler. If the parking brake was turned off and the cab started a slow crawl, well, it wasn’t going anywhere.


We also found this thing just hanging out behind a tent next door to the media center.




There are two things television doesn’t capture accurately about the track. First is the size of the pit boxes. When you’re standing in them, you wonder if you could lay down with your entire body inside the stall. How does a car fit?


Second, the turns aren’t nearly as flat as they look. The pit crews in the turns are stationed considerably lower than the outside walls. The track is still flat, especially in NASCAR terms. But if you had a giant parking lot at your disposal, you’re not simply creating a paperclip-shaped track with orange cones and calling it a Martinsville replica.


We made sure to order hot dogs — one, in my case — from the infield concession stand. Leonard Wood was two lines over, which made the experience about as authentic as possible. It is a bit unnerving, however, to see this sign. The thought of engine additives to give the Martinsville dogs their bright red color is enough to make someone squeamish head to the bathroom.




Our seats were stationed six rows from the top in turn one. We could see the entire track and watching the field stomp on the brakes as they headed towards us for 500 laps was riveting. The incident that ruined Chase Elliott’s day was right in front of us and there was absolutely nothing he could have done outside of installing illegal brakes on his car. He was about the seventh car behind someone who had almost come to a complete stop in the middle of the corner..


Though Martinsville is the slowest track on the circuit, the sense of speed still prevails, possibly because of the 20-second laps. Especially as the field gets strung out, there’s non-stop action in front of you.


And watching Brad Keselowski attack Denny Hamlin over the last 10 laps was great in person too. Keselowski had plenty of chances to use his front bumper as a weapon and didn’t. With a little more gas in the middle of one of the final corners, Hamlin’s car could have been crumpled up against the wall.


Sunday was a perfect example of why more short tracks should be on the schedule. Not only was the racing great, but the experience was too, from the intimacy of the infield to the cramped concourses, retro bathrooms and, of course, the trains passing by the backstretch during the race.




Is it a glamorous experience? Hell no. But that’s not the appeal of Martinsville. If you think NASCAR isn’t as authentic as it was 25 years ago and you haven’t been to the paperclip, start making your travel arrangements now. Your thoughts will be a lot different when you’re walking back to your car.


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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!







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News sport : Cincinnati QB Jarred Evans acquitted of assault, hopes to rejoin team

Cincinnati backup quarterback Jarred Evans was found not guilty of assault after a jury sided with his claim that he punched a fellow student in self-defense.


On Friday, Evans testified that he and his girlfriend were walking down the street when they heard a series of racial remarks. Evans is black and his girlfriend is white. The couple ignored the comments and continued walking, but Evans said one of the men, Ryan Smith, blocked their path.


"He flinched at me with his hands up," Evans testified, "and I just reacted with a punch, a jab."


That punch left Smith unconscious on the sidewalk.


However, Smith gave a contradictory account, stating that he was behind the couple and that Evans sought him out and punched him for no reason.


The jury took three hours to deliberate. Judge Robert Taylor also declared a mistrial on a disorderly conduct charge after jurors could not reach a verdict.


"We're very, very happy with the outcome," Kimberly Reese, a spokeswoman for Evans' family told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "(And) thankful for a jury that saw what really happened."


Evans is still awaiting a sentence after pleading no contest to obstructing official business. Prosecutors said he ran from police after the incident. He will be sentenced on that charge April 28.


Evans had been suspended since last October when the incident occurred, Reese said the hope is he will be allowed back on the field for spring practices, which are currently underway.


For more Cincinnati news, visit BearcatReport.com.


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News sport : NASCAR says it's 'disappointed' in Indiana religious-freedom law

NASCAR said Tuesday it was disappointed in the recent measure to enact a religious-freedom law in Indiana.


The measure has come under intense scrutiny since it passed because many believe it opens the door to discrimination against certain groups on religious grounds.


"NASCAR is disappointed by the recent legislation passed in Indiana," chief communications officer Brett Jewkes said in a statement. "We will not embrace nor participate in exclusion or intolerance. We are committed to diversity and inclusion within our sport and therefore will continue to welcome all competitors and fans at our events in the state of Indiana and anywhere else we race."


As you can see, the statement doesn't hint at or rule out any action by NASCAR if the law isn't changed or repealed, though it's unclear what NASCAR could do if it decided to protest. Pulling the Brickyard 400 seems like quite the extreme step.


NASCAR also used similar language in its statement about Travis Kvapil when he was arrested for domestic abuse in 2013. In the statement following the arrest, NASCAR said it was "disappointed to learn of this incident." No action was taken by the sanctioning body against Kvapil after he was given two years probation.


The NCAA issued a statement last week about the Indiana law, threatening the presence of future events in the state. The NCAA is based in Indianapolis.


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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!







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News sport : H.S. best of the best show off crazy dunking skills

High school basketball's best of the best showed off some insane dunking talent on Monday night in the Powerade Jam Fest Dunk Contest at the University of Chicago.


The overall title went to Dwayne Bacon, who dunked straight over former NBA star and current ESPN analyst Jalen Rose. Bacon will play at Florida State next year.




But it was Stephen Zimmerman, a senior at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, Nevada, who nearly stole the show with his series of slams. Rvials.com lists Zimmerman No. 11 in the class of 2015.





Zimmerman has yet to decide where he will play next year. He's being recruited by Kansas, Kentucky, UNC, UNLV, and slew of other schools.






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News sport : Clemson coach Dabo Swinney loves his moped anonymity

Attention residents of Clemson, S.C., we have a game for you. Notice coach Dabo Swinney on his moped.


After safety Jabar Johnson wore a non-contact jersey at practice on Monday after he had an incident with a moped, Swinney was asked about his scooter opinion. Instead of pontificating about the risks of the automated transportation, he supported the method.


"They have to handle their business," Swinney said via TigerIllustrated.com. "Wear helmets and be safe whether you're in a car or a moped or a bike. Sometimes there are things you don't control. I ride a moped, wear a helmet. I cruise all over town and nobody knows who I am. I love it. It's fun."


If Swinney isn't noticed much, he must not have an "I troll South Carolina" sticker on his helmet or have his scooter painted in bright Clemson orange with tiger paw logos plastered all over it. And we're also assuming the "wear helmets" advice doesn't apply to a car. Because it'd be pretty hard to be anonymous at an intersection if you're the driver wearing a helmet.


For more Clemson news, visit TigerIllustrated.com.


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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!







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News sport : UCLA WR Devin Lucien to transfer

UCLA's Devin Lucien will play at a different school in 2015.


The Bruins' third-leading receiver in terms of receptions in 2014 has decided to transfer according to the Los Angeles Times. He could graduate in the summer and be immediately eligible at his new school.


Per BruinSportsReport.com, Lucien said "a lot" went into his decision to make the move out of UCLA though he didn't get into specifics. In 2014, he had 29 catches for 225 yards and two touchdowns.


While losing a receiver with over 20 catches is rarely considered a positive, UCLA is well-equipped to handle his departure. While Lucien was third on the team in catches, he was sixth in yards. All five of the players ahead of him in the yardage column are returning for 2015.


Lucien's most productive season was his redshirt junior year. After redshirting in 2011, he had 29 catches combined in 2012 and 2013. According to BruinSportsReport, Arizona State is a candidate to be his transfer destination. If he moves to the Sun Devils, he could be the second high-profile player to transfer in-conference if Iowa quarterback Jake Rudock moves to Michigan. The Wolverines have been considered a strong candidate for Rudock's services as he's a graduate transfer.


For more UCLA news, visit BruinSportsReport.com.


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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!







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News sport : Temple's Praise Martin-Oguike given extra year of eligibility

Praise Martin-Oguike will be a redshirt junior in 2015 after he was given an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA.


Martin-Oguike, a key contributor for Temple's defensive line in 2014, missed both the 2012 and 2013 seasons. In 2014, he had 37 tackles and 7.5 sacks.


"I said throughout this process that I just want to get back to the life I had before," Martin-Oguike said in a Temple statement. "There was a path that I was on, to play four years of college football and get my college degree, then hopefully, have an opportunity to play at the next level. I'm working towards that goal and I'm very thankful that I'm back on that path."

He missed those two seasons because of rape allegations. In 2012, he was accused of sexual assault in his dorm room and expelled from Temple. As the case moved on, prosecutors in 2013 withdrew the charges of forcible rape, false imprisonment and other offenses because of a lack of evidence. Martin-Oguike's attorney had said the relationship with the woman was consensual.


His attorney also said that one of the reasons the charges were withdrawn was inconsistency in the woman's text messages. Martin-Oguike had allegedly texted the woman about the incident and the attorney had said she wasn't truthful about the incident in texting others.


Martin-Oguike was reinstated to Temple in January 2014.


"I can't imagine what Praise and his family were put through from the time those accusations were made," Temple coach Matt Rhule said. "Hopefully he - and the rest of our players for that matter - learn from that experience how close they are to having the privilege of playing college athletics taken away. Fortunately, in this instance, Praise has been able to restore his life and his reputation. He has done everything we've asked of him since returning to the team."


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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!







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Mashaba happy with youngsters

Coach Shakes Mashaba has taken lots of positives from the two friendlies his team played in the past week.


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The look of contentment that flickered across Shakes Mashaba’s face as he addressed a post match conference could easily have been mistaken for the Bafana Bafana coach being pleased with the 1-1 draw with Nigeria.


That, though, was not the case for Mashaba would have loved to see his team take advantage of their dominance and the many chances they created to see South Africa register only their second win over their West African nemesis.


The source of the South African senior national team coach’s glee had more to do with the positives he saw from the two friendlies his team played in the past week.


Sunday’s draw with the Super Eagles at Mbombela Stadium followed a 3-1 victory over Swaziland last Wednesday and Mashaba was pleased not only by his team’s application but the fact that he got to blood new players.


“I’m happy that we have widened the base (of the squad). A number of players have raised their hands up and now no players can come here and feel that they have a jersey number guaranteed,” he explained.


In the absence of both former captain Dean Furman and Anele Ngconcga, who pulled out of the squad on the eve of the matches, there were concerns the team could be found wanting at leftback and in the heart of midfield.


But those worries proved unfounded as both Thabo Matlaba and Sibusiso Khumalo did well in the defensive position and Bongani Zungu combined superbly well with Andile Jali in the heart of the pitch.


Also delightful for the coach would have been the performances of the few newcomers he used in Swaziland, striker Thabo Mnyamane’s goal on debut no doubt the highlight.


While the Pretoria University forward did not play against Nigeria, the youngster has no doubt impressed Mashaba and will surely get more chances to show what he can do at the international level.


Also given their debuts in Swaziland were Daniel Cardoso, Thapelo Morena, Cole Alexander, Lebogang Phiri as well as Siphelele Ntshangase – players who will no doubt don the national team jersey once more soon. With the Cosafa Cup next in line before Bafana start playing in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches, Mashaba was happy to have had these two competitive matches. But being the realist he is, he knows that he will not be able to use the southern African tournament as preparation for the highly competitive Afcon qualifiers that start in June.


“If we could get the players maybe a month before the qualifiers then we would be fine. But the clubs will be saying the players are tired (after a long season). We will be told the players need to go and rest, we will get the bench warmers and that will be a problem with preparing for the qualifiers,” he lamented.


Mashaba was, however, quick to point out that the release of players for the national team is not a coach’s problem. - The Star






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