News sport : Board of Regents chairman wants to threaten Houston's way into the Big 12

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Oct 2, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; A Houston Cougars helmet on the field before a game against the Central Florida Knights at TDECU Stadium. (Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports) The chairman of Houston’s Board of Regents thinks the legislature should threaten to pull funding for Texas schools if the Big 12 doesn’t invite Houston to join the conference.


Tilman Fertitta, in a meeting with the Houston Chronicle's editorial board Thursday, said it was "an embarrassment" that the namesake university for the fourth-largest city in the United States had not already been asked to join the conference.


"Put pressure on the presidents; say, 'If you don't do this, we're not going to fund you for this,'" Fertitta told the editorial board. "It's just the way it is. That's the way to do it.


"Be a big boy, step up and put this school that has almost 50,000 students and is so high profile, has so many of the top schools in the United States, it's a tier one university -- we belong in the Big 12. We're a big, major school with an unbelievable history in athletics and academia."


The Big 12 is currently made up of 10 schools, but rumors about expansion have swirled, especially after the conference was left out of the inaugural College Football Playoff and criticized because it doesn’t play a conference championship game.


However, the conference also has applied for a waiver that would allow it to have a championship game with just 10 teams.


Fertitta’s empty threats and attempts at intimidation probably won’t go very far in terms of endearing Houston, which is currently in the ACC, to the Big 12 brass. The conference already boasts four teams from the state of Texas, including the flagship university, which pretty much covers the conference in terms of television revenue from the state.


It would make more sense for the conference to look at schools toward the east such as Cincinnati or UCF. Still, for any expansion to happen, the Big 12 would have to agree to give up some of the largest financial slices in college football to share with two other universities, and the league’s 10 members aren’t going to be so quick to do that.


For more Houston news, visit CougarsDen.com.


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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 : Kurt Busch's attorney seeks to reopen hearing on protective order

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Feb 14, 2015; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kurt Busch (41) before the Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway. (Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports) Even as Kurt Busch prepares for Sunday's Daytona 500, his attorney has filed a motion to reopen a hearing on a protective order Busch's former girlfriend filed against him last year.


On Monday, a Delaware judge ruled that Busch must maintain a reasonable distance from Patricia Driscoll, and may not own or purchase firearms for a year. Driscoll had filed the protective order after a disputed incident in Busch's motorhome last September while at Dover International Speedway. Driscoll claimed Busch assaulted her, while Busch said the incident was far more benign and did not warrant a protective order.


The complete statement from Busch's attorney Rusty Hardin follows:


“Today, Kurt Busch’s legal team filed a motion in the Delaware family court to reopen the hearings on the court ruling imposed against Mr. Busch on Monday. As Ms. Driscoll’s contentions became ever more public, independent witnesses, who are close personal acquaintances of Ms. Driscoll’s, have come forward and provided information that contradict her version of events after the split, before the alleged assault and immediately following the incident.


“All the witnesses confirm Mr. Busch’s testimony that Ms. Driscoll presented herself to close friends and acquaintances as a covert agent involved in deadly conduct on behalf of the government. One witness was threatened not to talk; and another finds Ms. Driscoll’s story completely incredulous based on his knowledge of the parties involved.


“Ms. Driscoll’s frantic media onslaught of the last 48 hours at a time Mr. Busch is scheduled to drive in the most important NASCAR race of the year is further evidence that this is not about domestic violence, but instead about ruining the career and reputation of the man who left her. We are also asking the Attorney General’s Office to open an investigation of Ms. Driscoll to determine whether or not she has violated the Delaware criminal code offense of Tampering with a Witness through her repeated attempts to harass and intimidate witnesses who she fears will come forward with evidence that will totally undermine her credibility.


“We fervently hope that the Commissioner will delay his issuing findings in support of his order until we are given an opportunity to present sworn testimony from these newly available witnesses, which we know will support findings of perjury and lack of merit to her allegations.’’


Busch could face criminal charges, as well. The Delaware attorney general's office is currently weighing whether or not to charge the former NASCAR champion. That decision is expected soon.


NASCAR has stated it will wait for that decision before deciding whether or not to discipline Busch.


____

Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter.



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News sport : Maryland and defensive coordinator Brian Stewart agree to part ways

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COLLEGE PARK, MD. - August 16: Maryland defensive coordinator, Brian Stewart , during the football scrimmage and fan appreciation day on August 16, 2014 in College Park, MD. (Photo by Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post) Maryland and defensive coordinator Brian Stewart have mutually parted ways, the school announced Thursday.


Stewart had been with the Terps for three seasons.


“We appreciate Brian’s contributions to our program over the past three seasons,” coach Randy Edsall said in a statement. “Brian played an integral role in developing our student-athletes both on and off the field during his time at Maryland. While overseeing the defense he helped elevate our program to compete in one of the nation’s premier conferences. In our conversations, we both felt this was the best of course of action for Brian and his family, and the Maryland football program. I wish Brian the best in his future endeavors.”


Inside linebackers coach Keith Dudzinski has been promoted to defensive coordinator.


Stewart joined Maryland in 2012 after spending the previous two seasons with Houston. Prior to that, he spent nine years as an assistant with four different NFL teams.


Stewart had signed a multiyear contract extension last January after the Terps finished eighth nationally in tackles for loss, 18th nationally in sacks per game and 44th in total defense. However, those numbers slipped in 2014 and Maryland ranked 12th in the Big Ten in total defense and 13th in pass defense.


“I truly enjoyed working with the coaches, student-athletes and administration at the University of Maryland,” Stewart said in a statement. “It was an exciting time to be a part of this program, and I will always have great memories and relationships from my time in College Park. After talking with my family and then meeting with Randy, we both agreed that this was best direction moving forward. I would like to thank Randy for the opportunity to coordinate the defense for the past three seasons. I also want to express my appreciation to the defensive staff and players for their hard work and commitment to the football program.”


For more Maryland news, visit TerrapinSportsReport.com.


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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 : Outside of the top two, can anyone in this QB draft class succeed?

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INDIANAPOLIS – Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty had a blast at the Senior Bowl.


He enjoyed getting out and competing, being around fellow draft prospects, and it was a real treat getting to call a play for the first time.


Yep, even with 845 passing attempts over four years at Baylor, he hadn’t called a play. And you wonder why it’s harder for teams to evaluate quarterbacks coming out of college, with so many teams running the no-huddle spread attack.


“We were a signal system at Baylor,” Petty said. “I love Baylor. I wouldn’t change it for the world. If I had to go back and do it all again, I’d do it the same exact way.


“It’s a learning curve a little bit going from what we were doing at Baylor to where we are now. But it’s all part of the process, so you’ve got to enjoy it.”


Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota are the top two quarterbacks in this class (and Mariota has his own spread offense stigmas; he said he hasn’t called a play since high school and when asked what his biggest NFL challenge will be his serious answer was, “For us, it’s going to be huddling”). Then there’s a significant drop to No. 3.


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UCLA’s Brett Hundley is considered the third best quarterback in the class. Petty is in the mix for No. 4, along with Colorado State quarterback Garrett Grayson, but neither looked great at the Senior Bowl. Maybe Hundley sneaks into the end of the first round, but that would be a bit of a surprise.


So it’s not a good class, but there’s another thing that has been clear during the combine: There are a lot of teams with quarterback issues.


Many of the general managers and coaches who have spoken at the combine have fielded questions about their unsettled quarterback situations. The Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, Chicago Bears, St. Louis Rams, Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and many other teams came to the combine with varying levels of uncertainty at quarterback. Even if teams aren’t in love with this quarterback draft class, they need someone to play and there won’t be much available in free agency.


The quarterbacks outside of the top two, predictably, don’t share the assessment that this is not a strong quarterback class.


“We’re going to have to prove them wrong, too,” Hundley said. “I think not only myself, but we’re all ready to show the nation that we’re better than maybe people think.”


There’s no sure thing, though. Petty has talent but played in an offense that won’t resemble what he’ll do in the pros, and it took him a couple days at the Senior Bowl to get comfortable taking snaps from under center because he didn't do that at Baylor either. Hundley had to answer questions about being a quarterback who makes one read and runs.


“If … I need (to be) in the pocket and make all the throws, then I will do that,” Hundley said. “In our offense, sometimes the situation dictated if I didn’t see something, I’m taking off running.”


This might not be the best year to be in the market to draft a quarterback, but there are plenty of teams who will be shopping out of necessity. Maybe Hundley, Petty, Grayson or someone else will be a good find for a team who takes a shot on them, but it seems like there will be some patience required as the quarterbacks get used to the pro game.


That will be a recurring theme for years to come as more college teams use spread, no-huddle offenses. It'll get harder and harder to find a quarterback who can run a pro-style offense.


"You’re evaluating a quarterback who has never called a play in the huddle, never used a snap count," Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said. "They hold up a card on the sideline, he kicks his foot and throws the ball. That ain't playing quarterback. There’s no leadership involved there. Now, there might be leadership on the bench, but when you get them now and they have to use verbiage and they have to spit the verbiage out and use a snap count and change the snap count, they are light years behind. Light years behind."


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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 : Todd Gurley talks about his knee injury and a very lofty draft goal

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INDIANAPOLIS – Georgia running back Todd Gurley had a surprising draft goal: He wants to be first overall.


"I want to be the No. 1 pick," Gurley said.


Never mind that a running back hasn’t gone in the first round in either of the last two drafts. That doesn’t bother him.


“I’m not here to be No. 5 overall or a second-round pick,” Gurley said. “I want to be the best.


“I know what I can do. I can come in and help a team. That might sound ridiculous, but that’s the confidence I have in myself.”


You have to respect his confidence, although his goal is obviously not realistic, even if he was healthy.


And it's Gurley's health that makes him a bit of a question going into the draft. An ACL injury suffered last November makes him a tougher evaluation.


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If he was healthy he’d clearly be the first back off the board, no matter how great Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon was last season. Gurley is 6-1, 222 pounds and runs with tremendous power and agility. If he came along 10 years earlier, in an era in which teams still used high picks on running backs, a healthy Gurley would probably be a top five pick. He's everything you want in a back.


After the ACL surgery? It’s tougher to predict. He is just starting light jogging and he said there was likely no chance he’d be working out at Georgia’s pro day on March 18. Teams might not get a chance before the draft to see how Gurley is moving after his surgery. The uncertainty might be one reason Gurley has a whopping 24 interviews scheduled at the combine. Teams have more questions for him now than before Nov. 15, when he tore his ACL.


“I’m just trying to get back safe, but as quick as possible,” Gurley said.


Gurley said he has a six-to-nine month recovery period, and if he’s on the fast side of that recovery he should be fine for training camp. He’ll have to balance being smart and patient with his recovery with trying to get back as soon as he can. He'll need all the time he can get to acclimate himself to the NFL game and contribute as a rookie, but he'll need to be healthy first.


Many players have returned with no issues from ACL surgery, and Gurley didn’t seem worried about returning strong. He was asked about Adrian Peterson, who rushed for nearly 2,100 yards the season after coming back from ACL surgery.


“Adrian Peterson, I mean, that guy is a freak of nature,” Gurley said. “But my goal is to be a freak of nature as well.”


- - - - - - -


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 : Report: Big Ten proposing freshmen ineligibility for football, men's basketball

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Oct 12, 2013; University Park, PA, USA; A general view of the Big Ten logo prior to the game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Michigan Wolverines at Beaver Stadium. (Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports) The idea of making freshmen ineligible seems to be gaining some traction among Power Five conferences.


Last week it was reported that the Pac-12 suggested the idea to restore the freshman ineligibility rule to the other Power Five conferences. The Big Ten is reportedly on board with the idea.


According to The Diamondback, the University of Maryland’s student newspaper, the Big Ten hopes to begin a “national discussion” with a proposal that would make freshmen ineligible to for both football and men’s basketball. The proposal, which is titled “A Year of Readiness,” is meant to look at “the health of the education experience,” according to The Diamondback, which has obtained the document.


The document details how making freshmen ineligible would help athletes from an academic standpoint.



The document, which shows football and men’s basketball as the only sports with graduation rates less than 75 percent across the NCAA, states that a push for freshman ineligibility would benefit athletes academically. Men’s basketball and football players lag behind other sports in terms of academics, according to data provided in the document. Among the 34 sports listed in the Graduation Success Rate data, football and men’s basketball ranked last in the 2004 to 2007 cohort, according to the document. Among the 38 sports listed in the Academic Progress Rate data from 2009 to 2013, those two sports also ranked last.



Additionally, the Big Ten’s proposal points to academics among men’s basketball and football athletes and how they differ from other sports.



The proposal examines “the imbalance observed in those two sports” and cites that football and men’s basketball student-athletes account for less than 19 percent of Division I participants, yet they account for more than 80 percent of academic infraction cases. It also suggests applying current academic eligibility standards for freshman student-athletes to sophomores if the “Year of Readiness” is approved.



Maryland President Wallace Loh seems to be intrigued by the possibility.


“What I like about the concept of the proposal is it puts right up front the basic issue: Are we basically a quasi-professional activity or primarily an educational activity?” Loh told The Diamondback. “And if you support it, you are basically saying very clearly the No. 1 priority is the education of the students.”


In general, this proposal seems more designed to be a deterrent to the one-and-done route taken by many college basketball players, who leave school after a single season to head to the pros.


As far as football goes, the large majority of freshmen take a redshirt year when they first arrive on campus. Players must be three years removed from high school in order to enter the NFL Draft anyway, so it’s hard to say what kind of impact this could potentially have on college football.


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News sport : Kevin Garnett is coming back to Minnesota, and not for basketball reasons

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There should be no attempt to analyze the latest and last Kevin Garnett trade from a basketball angle. This was strictly a move made to do right by a legend. It won’t act as symbolic as, say, the one-day contract NFL players sometimes sign with favored teams prior to retirement, but it’s not far off. KG can still play and he would have helped a contender down the stretch this season, but he also doesn’t like change and didn’t want to back into another team’s championship run.


The Brooklyn Nets traded Garnett back to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday in exchange for forward Thaddeus Young, David Aldridge was the first to report the move. Garnett had to waive the no-trade clause in his contract in order to make this happen, the same no-trade clause he waived in order to become a Brooklyn Net in 2013. Garnett had no such clause in his contract when the lacking Timberwolves dealt him to Boston in 2007, but the team still waited until he gave a years-late go-ahead to be traded in order to do right by a person that will probably be the best player the Timberwolves ever have – a designation that will probably stay in place even if Andrew Wiggins leads the Wolves to a championship someday.


Garnett never had the sort of supporting cast that Wolves coach and president Flip Saunders hopes to put around Wiggins in Minnesota. The best group of his era came during KG’s MVP year in 2003-04, a season that saw the Wolves felled by injury at the absolute worst time in the playoffs. That year stands as the last time Minnesota made the postseason, and the fact that Garnett may have even improved on his MVP year the following season speaks volumes about how MVP voters tend to oftentimes vote for the best player with the best team.


The 2015-version of the Garnett deal is not an admission that the Timberwolves erred in dealing him back in 2007. Minnesota received a 20-and-10 guy in Al Jefferson and cap space in return, and they should have been able to move on. No, this deal is an admission that the move to grab Young from the Philadelphia 76ers last summer (in a part of the otherwise-fine deal for Wiggins) was needless and shortsighted. Minnesota now owes the 76ers a pick they grabbed from the Heat a while back, a selection that could be an unprotected first-round draft pick in 2017, unless Miami falls into the top ten in 2016 or this year.


Even with Minnesota’s promising core, they may not even get out of the top ten themselves by then, and Wolves fans will have to steel themselves to the realization that they may have to give up a significant draft pick in the future in return for 46 games of Thaddeus Young.


Having Kevin Garnett around to cheer for, as the Timberwolves finish out a season that currently sees them at the bottom of the Western Conference, will help. Saunders, who kick-started KG’s career by giving the rookie extended minutes after Saunders himself took over as a rookie coach, will no doubt try to convince Garnett to remain a member of the Timberwolves franchise following the expiration of his contract and his probable retirement this summer.


If Garnett wants to wait a while on deciding to take up Saunders’ offer, it’s fine. He’s certainly earned a break.


- - - - - - -


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 : H.S. baller bounces pass of opponent's back, dunks

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When he couldn't find an open teammate for an inbound pass, Devon Andrews decided he'd take care of it himself. The Lorain (Ohio) High School senior guard bounced the ball off an opponent's back, then grabbed it and went straight to the net.



Andrews will play at Kent State next year. He scored 39 in Lorain's 95-55 route on Feb. 17, as the team advanced to 20-0 on the season.



____

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News sport : Jerry Krause on Phil Jackson's New York Knick gig: 'He took the job for the money'

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Phil Jackson is being paid $12 million a year to act as the president of the New York Knicks. The former Knick forward and 11-time championship coach of the Bulls and Lakers uprooted from the Malibu furnishings he’s called home since 1999 to help save the franchise he won two titles with as a player.


Those Knicks have yet to win a title since Jackson and his teammates earned a ring in 1973. The Knicks are currently working with the NBA’s worst record, and there is genuine concern as to how this lacking roster is going to win a single game in the wake of the news that Carmelo Anthony is going to sit out the final 29 games of the season after having knee surgery.


Since the beginning of New York’s courtship of Jackson, led by entertainment industry power brokers and performed on both coasts, many have concluded that the only reason Jackson returned to the scene of the crime at Madison Square Garden was because of that $12 million a year. One particular voice however, coming to this typical conclusion, is a little different. The man behind it is Jerry Krause, the man who helped save Phil Jackson from a life away from basketball in the mid-1980s, the man who acted as Chicago’s general manager and Jackson’s boss with the Bulls during the title-winning years, and the man who frequently clashed with Jackson in the final years of the Bulls’ dynasty.


From a talk with Ian O’Connor at ESPN New York, who asked Krause if he was surprised at the Knicks’ miserable season:



"I'm not surprised at all," Krause said by phone Wednesday night. "I knew Phil had a bad ballclub. If [James] Dolan offered him $2 million a year or even $5 million, he wouldn't have taken it. But $12 million is overwhelming. Phil didn't take the job because he thought he had a playoff club. He took the job for the money."



Well, yeah.


It’s just fine to take a job for money. Jackson has had myriad hip and back surgeries and even a heart scare over the last decade, he is 69-years old and his fiancée Jeanie Buss is not going to leave her post as the boss of business operations with the Los Angeles Lakers to join him permanently in New York. Money had to talk in this situation, and even after over a decade of mostly futility, the Knicks can still print money.


Is Jackson supposed to move into Atlanta to take over after Danny Ferry’s implosion or stage a power coup in Milwaukee to work for one-sixth as much … just ‘cause?


Of course, Krause might not even be taking shots, here. He’s just being accurate in pointing out that Jackson is not going to uproot a too-comfortable lifestyle and family situation in Los Angeles in order to put his reputation on the line for $2 million. Put another one in front of that, and we’ll discuss things.


Even when the Knicks put that “one” in front of it, Jackson still had to be talked into taking the gig. The Knicks were full of salted crops, Jackson would have had to immediately make a decision on retaining a superstar in Anthony that he probably wasn’t and isn’t a huge fan of (at least not at the price Anthony demands), and he would have had to encourage the team to take on Jackson’s beloved triangle offense from the front office, and not the sideline.


Krause introduced him to that offense, by the way. And Krause is no stranger to the controversies that come from having to deal with an injured superstar on a team bound for the lottery that wants to grit things out and play.


In 1985 Michael Jordan, coming off of a Rookie of the Year season that saw him lead the league in total points, broke his right foot in his team’s third game of the season. Jordan pressed to return early, but worried doctors kept Jordan on the bench as the injury was the same sort of break that befell oft-injured center Bill Walton several times. With the team out of the playoff picture, Jordan accused Krause and the Bulls of tanking for a lottery pick:



"Michael wanted to keep playing, and we had some heated arguments about it," Krause recalled. "Michael knew his body probably better than any athlete I've ever known, but we had five doctors saying he shouldn't play and so we wouldn't allow it. We had to protect the player.




"Carmelo is a veteran who knows his body, but Phil should have the final authority. When you delay the surgery like this, the doctors had better do a hell of a job. If the player comes out of it and he's not the same, then you've really got a problem."



Carmelo, famously, wanted to ride out the season until he could take part in the All-Star Game as the only Knick included the exhibition shown at Madison Square Garden. Even with three decades’ worth of technology advancements, Jordan’s injury remains a frightening one, and a team like the Bulls would probably take the same approach today. Kevin Durant suffered a somewhat similar fracture last year, and the Thunder smartly went slow in their approach to his recovery.


(Jordan’s Bulls didn’t hit the lottery, by the way. Jordan returned for 15 games and his Bulls won six of 10 down the stretch to secure the final playoff spot in the East with 30 wins.)


Another longtime combatant, former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, also railed against Anthony’s decision. From Randy Miller at NJ.com:



"I totally disagreed with this whole idea that the All-Star Game is so important that we should sit out regular-season games to get ready for the All-Star Game, and now with Anthony's decision to not only play in the All-Star Game but to end his season," Gundy said Thursday on ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike show. "I think it's backwards thinking from these organizations or players. It's got to be about the team, the team, the team.




"The All-Star Game doesn't need any specific player. But these teams do need these maximum salary guys."




Gundy also pointed out that Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler also missed his team's final game (against Cleveland) before playing in the All-Star Game.




"I also don't understand guys sitting out the games before the All-Star Game and then playing in the All-Star game," Van Gundy said. "I don't get it. I love Jimmy Butler, but I don't understand not playing against LeBron James and then playing in the All-Star Game.




"To me, some of these decisions are really out of whack from the team concept."



That is understandable, as Anthony’s knee surgery is set to delay him for even longer than expected – four to six months – which led some to conclude that his delay may have exacerbated a knee injury that has been bothering him for a year.


All of these sides – the money, the rest, the showcasing – are understandable, though. There is never going to be a set approach with these New York Knicks.


- - - - - - -


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 : Blazers enter West arms race, add Arron Afflalo from Nuggets for playoff push

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The Portland Trail Blazers entered the trade deadline looking like they could use an injection of two-way play at the off-guard spot and a veteran to shore up their second unit on the wing as they try to stake a claim to the No. 2 spot in the Western hierarchy, or perhaps even chop into the Golden State Warriors' seven-game lead atop the conference. They found a player who seems tailor-made to check off all those boxes ahead of Thursday's 3 p.m. ET trade deadline, agreeing to terms with the Denver Nuggets on a deal that imports veteran shooting guard Arron Afflalo, as well as backup swingman Alonzo Gee, from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for reserve forwards Thomas Robinson and Victor Claver and live-wire guard Will Barton.


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Yahoo Sports NBA columnist Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the deal. Denver will also receive a lottery-protected 2016 first-round draft pick from the Blazers; it's not conveyed that year, it will become a lottery-protected 2017 first-rounder; if it still doesn't change hands that year, the Nuggets will get two future Portland second-round choices, per Woj.


Portland's had one of the best starting fives in the NBA for the past two seasons, led by All-Stars LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard, flanked by do-it-all wings Nicolas Batum and Wesley Matthews, and backstopped by steady-as-she-goes center Robin Lopez. Problems have started, however, when Terry Stotts has had to turn to his bench. While this year's second unit looked to be sturdier than last year's model after the summertime acquisitions of Steve Blake and Chris Kaman, the Blazers' bench still produces fewer points per game than all but two teams.


The frontcourt mix might not be ideal — Kaman, in particular, has tailed off after a hot start — but it looks to be strong enough, with Aldridge showing no ill effects from the torn thumb ligament in his non-shooting hand, Lopez back after missing a month and a half with a hand injury, third-year big Meyers Leonard taking a step forward on the offensive end, and long-injured reserve Joel Freeland likely back in the mix soon. The big concern, though, has been on the wing, where none of the Blazers' wing options — Barton, C.J. McCollum, Allen Crabbe or Dorell Wright — have looked particularly capable of picking up the slack off the ball behind Lillard, Matthews and Batum. Now, they've got a more bankable commodity on which to rely down the stretch.


Afflalo didn't exactly cover himself in glory during his second stint with the Nuggets, after the Orlando Magic shipped him back to Denver this summer. He averaged 14.5 points per game on just 42.8 percent shooting from the field (his worst mark since his rookie season with the Detroit Pistons) and a sub-par 33.7 percent from beyond the 3-point arc while generating nearly two fewer free-throw attempts per game than he did last season in Central Florida.


But the 29-year-old wing is a career 38.4 percent shooter from long distance, just one season removed from scorching the nets to the tune of 42.7 percent from deep in Orlando, and he should see an awful lot more open, in-rhythm looks playing in Stotts' free-flowing offensive scheme than he did in the systems run by the since-deposed Jacque Vaughn and the still-scuffling Brian Shaw. The 6-foot-5 Afflalo also has a sharp post game that Portland could deploy against smaller or weaker opposing guards, something we knew Stotts likes to do with Matthews as a change-of-pace option in favorable matchups.


Afflalo's a smart, heady player who doesn't make a great many mistakes and does little things well, and while he's not exactly a decorated playoff vet, he does have some postseason experience from his days with the Nuggets. He also has a $7.5 million player option for next season, though, meaning he's got the freedom to opt out of his contract this summer and enter unrestricted free agency. And even if Afflalo would want to stick in the Pacific Northwest, Blazers general manager Neil Olshey also has to deal with extensions for Aldridge, Lopez and Matthews, all of which would figure to take precedence over a recent short-term acquisition.


That in mind, a future first-rounder — even a lottery-protected one that transmogrifies into two second-rounders in two years' time — and three players seems like a steep price for what could be a two- to four-month rental. Then again, none of the outgoing players figured prominently in Stotts' rotation; Robinson's set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer; and both Claver and Barton have qualifying offers for next summer. They don't offer immediate help and they're not long-term building blocks, and the Blazers, right now, are just four games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the No. 2 spot out West.


This is a team that made it to the second round last year, has made a dramatic defensive improvement (16th in points allowed per possession last season, fourth this year) and believes it has a legitimate chance to compete for a championship right now. These chances don't come around very often; when they do, you pay your money and take your chances. Arron Afflalo might not make the Blazers the favorite to topple the Warriors and represent the West in the NBA Finals, but he represents a marked improvement in an area of need, and he makes an already hard-nosed and talented Portland squad an even a tougher out in a seven-game series. (Gee, for what it's worth, is a well-traveled vet with springs who's more a spot-minutes place-holder than a player likely to make a significant impact on Portland's rotation).


From Denver's perspective, the trade's all about recouping some semblance of value for a summertime deal gone sour.


General manager Tim Connelly gave up young wing Evan Fournier and a a 2014 second-rounder for Afflalo back in June with the expectation that the veteran would help propel the Nuggets back into the playoffs. That, um, hasn't worked out, as Denver has slid to 20-33, the fifth-worst record in the West. Afflalo was unlikely to re-up in Denver this summer, and picking up a protected future first-rounder from the Blazers helps replace the protected future first-rounder they used to pay JaVale McGee's freight to Philly.


Barton's a fun player whose quickness, wiry frame and explosiveness might remind some Nuggets fans of Corey Brewer's time in the Mile High City, albeit without much of his defensive acumen, and Robinson's a former top-five pick who has at time shown flashes of being an energetic rebounder capable of scoring on put-backs and broken plays around the rim. Denver gets a chance to take a two-month look-see at whether they might be worth keeping around for the future while bringing back a pick. It's not what Nuggets fans might have hoped for heading into this season, but as damage control with things already having gone way down south, Connelly and company could've done worse.


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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!



Stay connected with Ball Don't Lie on Twitter @YahooBDL, "Like" BDL on Facebook and follow Dunks Don't Lie on Tumblr for year-round NBA talk, jokes and more.






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News sport : Duels Primer: Will any big names miss the Daytona 500?

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla – There's a chance a NASCAR star could miss the Daytona 500.


It's a true statement, though on the surface, it is a bit hyperbolic. Because of the abolishment of the top-35 rule, 13 drivers are locked in to Sunday's Daytona 500, leaving 36 drivers to race for 30 spots in Thursday's Budweiser Duels.


Here's how it works. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are starting the Daytona 500 on the front row. If they crash and are forced to go to a backup car in either of Thursday's qualifying races, they'll have to start at the back of the field. But they're still in the race.


Outside of Gordon and Johnson, Jamie McMurray, Carl Edwards, Aric Almirola and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are also guaranteed to be in the 500. They posted the four-fastest non-front row times on Sunday.


However, it's not guaranteed where those four will start the race. The top 15 finishers (outside of Gordon and Johnson) in each Duel take starting spots 2-32 in the race. If the four finish in the top 15 of their duels, the spots guaranteed on speed move to the next eligible drivers who didn't finish in the top 15.


Then, rounding out the field are seven provisional spots, including one for a past Sprint Cup Series champion. The first one up on that list (who isn't guaranteed a provisional via the 2014 owner's points standings) is Tony Stewart. He's guaranteed in the Daytona 500, but if he finishes in the top 15 in his race or gets in on speed, it could go to Kurt Busch or Bobby Labonte.


The chances of Dale Earnhardt Jr. missing the 500 are quite slim. Junior isn't guaranteed in because he didn't have a top-six speed in Sunday's front row qualifying session and didn't finish high enough in the 2014 owner's points standings to guarantee himself a provisional. But for Junior to miss the 500, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth (all guaranteed into the 500) would all have to take provisionals. It's (incredibly likely) not happening.


Danica Patrick? Well, her chances of missing the 500 are bigger. After posting the 31st-fastest qualifying time on Sunday, Patrick needs a lot of cars faster than she was on Sunday to race into the top 15 in their duels and not need a provisional. That is, of course, if Patrick doesn't finish in the top 15 of her duel. If she does, she's in.


Here are the starting lineups for the Budweiser Duels and who our best guesses as to who will make the Daytona 500. We're not expecting any surprises, but just one crash could throw a wrench into anyone's best guesses.


RACE 1


1. Jeff Gordon - IN

2. Matt Kenseth - IN

3. Kasey Kahne - IN

4. Ty Dillon - IN

5. Jamie McMurray - IN

6. Johnny Sauter - IN

7. Trevor Bayne - IN8. Aric Almirola - IN

9. Brad Keselowski - IN

10. Joey Logano - IN

11. J.J. Yeley - IN

12. Paul Menard - IN

13. AJ Allmendinger - IN

14. Kevin Harvick - IN

15. Tony Stewart - IN

16. Casey Mears - IN

17. Michael Annett

18. Kyle Larson - IN

19. Michael McDowell - IN

20. Clint Bowyer - IN

21. Justin Marks

22. Cole Whitt - IN

23. Landon Cassill - IN

24. Ron Hornaday Jr.

25. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - IN


RACE 2


1. Jimmie Johnson - IN

2. Kyle Busch - IN

3. Carl Edwards - IN

4. Austin Dillon - IN

5. Martin Truex Jr. - IN

6. Greg Biffle - IN

7. Sam Hornish Jr. - IN

8. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. - IN

9. Ryan Blaney - IN

10. Michael Waltrip - IN

11. Bobby Labonte - IN

12. Alex Bowman - IN

13. Ryan Newman - IN

14. Kurt Busch - IN

15. Danica Patrick - IN

16. Brian Scott - IN

17. Justin Allgaier - IN

18. David Gilliland - IN

19. Jeb Burton

20. Reed Sorenson

21. David Ragan - IN

22. Josh Wise - IN

23. Mike Wallace

24. Denny Hamlin - IN


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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 : Fred Couples 'not bitter' about being passed over for Ryder Cup captain

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A lot of people figured Fred Couples would be the 2016 U.S. Ryder Cup captain.


Several players on the losing 2014 Ryder Cup team asked him to take on the task. Multiple players on the 11-person PGA of America Ryder Cup task force implored him to lead. Couples, who led the U.S. to three consecutive Presidents Cup wins in his tenure as captain, said he wanted the job.


PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua told Couples in December that there would be more conversation and the decision, perhaps already made at that point, wouldn't be made for some time. Well, here we are: Davis Love III is going to be once again be captain and Couples has been shunned.


Couples is happy for his friend.


“I was in Chicago with Davis, he did a phenomenal job,” Couples said Wednesday, according to Golf Channel. Couples was an assistant captain for Love in 2012 at Medinah, where Love's charges surrendered a four-point, final-day lead in record-tying fashion to lose for the second consecutive time in the biennial matches.


He added, “In maybe a couple of years down the line, I’ll have another shot at it. I’m not bitter or upset or anything like that, because in my opinion they picked a great guy."


However, the 1992 Masters champion indicated that were Love, his good friend, not given a crack at redemption, he would have not reacted as cordially to the news.


“And to be honest with you, I will tell you that if it was maybe not Davis, I might have a different attitude toward this, but he’s been my friend for 30 years and I’m very happy for him," Couples said.


Couples acknowledged back in November he didn't consider himself a "PGA of America guy," meaning he didn't fit the archetype of a U.S. Ryder Cup captain. He also questioned the necessity of the task force. It's an open and obvious question to wonder if those public statements didn't cost Couples this opportunity.



Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.







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News sport : Denver cuts ties with JaVale McGee, sending him and a conditional draft pick to Philly

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Not only were the Philadelphia 76ers nearly $22 million below the salary cap line entering Thursday’s trade deadline, the team was also almost $12 million below the salary cap minimum. That’s a floor that no other NBA team had dug beneath since that relatively unheard of cap was established in 1999, with some squads even making minor moves in rebuilding years just to move above it.


That changed last season, when the tanking Sixers happily stayed beneath the minimum. And the Sixers would have gotten away with it this year as well, had they not just dealt for JaVale McGee on Thursday.


This is tanking at its best.


Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report that the Sixers will deal for McGee and his $11.25 million contract to both near that minimum cap and take in a first-round pick from the Nuggets along the way. The penalty for staying below the minimum line isn’t all that severe; teams only have to redistribute the difference between the final payroll number and the minimum cap number amongst the players left on the roster. The real kicker here for Philly is gaining yet another draft pick to work with.


McGee’s salary nearly doubles that of the second-highest paid player on the Sixers’ roster, that of Jason Richardson – making around the NBA league average this year. He’ll join Nerlens Noel and the “rehabbing” Joel Embiid as another raw 76ers big man that can jump real high and block a lot of shots and not do a whole hell of a lot of other things.


The issue with McGee, in this instance, is that this raw big man is in his seventh NBA season. He’ll be in his eighth next year when he also makes $11.25 million for the Sixers, and he is currently the only 76er who won’t be working on a rookie contract next season. McGee has played in just 22 games over the last two years, and though the center has had his moments, he is best known for his perpetual inclusions on blooper reels. How former Denver Nuggets general manager Masai Ujiri won an NBA Executive of the Year award just 10 months after signing McGee to a four-year, $44 million contract will remain a secret that only the otherwise-highly regarded Ujiri will know.


The Nuggets, after a miserable year and a half attempting to win in the wake of Ujiri and George Karl’s departure from the team, are looking to start over. Their deadline day is likely done …



… but not after dealing Arron Afflalo to Portland to start Thursday, and sending Timofey Mozgov to the Cavaliers for a pair of conditional first-round picks that both the Thunder and Grizzlies owed Cleveland. The selection sent to Philadelphia is top 18 protected this year and then top 15 protected in 2016 and 2017.


If the Nuggets continue to rank below those numbers in the standings, the pick then becomes two second-round picks in 2018. Denver may kick itself years down the line in acting so anxious to get McGee’s contract off the books, but before these ghost assets turn into real people it’s hard to judge this move too harshly on Denver’s side of things. The team will also have significant cap space this summer as a result of their work.


Whether or not JaVale McGee’s NBA presence remains ghostly is up for debate, as the Sixers could buy him out or attempt to work with him. It’s feasible that a new coach, new system and new start to things could turn him into a contributor once again, but we’ve said that far too many times over the course of his seven seasons, six (now seven) coaches, and three teams. The Nuggets were willing to part with a piece of their future in order to make JaVale McGee part of their past. That’s sadly telling.


- - - - - - -


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 : Richmond had to be rescued after a snow drift ensnared its bus

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Richmond's team bus got stuck in a snow drift on Wednesday night (via Richmond Basketball)

Securing only its second road win of the season Wednesday night at St. Bonaventure wasn't Richmond's greatest challenge of the evening.


That was a distant second to making it home from snow-covered Western New York.


The bus driver who was taking the Spiders to the airport after their 71-56 victory missed a turn and tried to make an ill-fated u-turn. That proved to be a very poor choice as the bus got stuck in a snow drift for about two hours until a tow truck came along to pull it out.


While Richmond's misadventure was routine compared to the 24-hour ordeal endured earlier this winter by the Niagara women's basketball team, the Spiders still made light of their situation on social media as they waited to be rescued. The best of the #URStuck hashtag is below:





style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;">Spiders stuck in a snow bank #onerichmond #getusoutofhere #urstuck


A photo posted by Matt Smith (@spidur) on Feb 18, 2015 at 7:40pm PST













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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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Messi, Enrique truce on shaky ground

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Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and coach Luis Enrique appear to have agreed an uneasy truce.


|||

Madrid - Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and coach Luis Enrique appear to have agreed an uneasy truce but hostilities could break out again if the Argentina forward's form dips and the club stumbles as the season reaches a crucial stage.


A series of inspirational Messi performances have helped Barca put together a streak of 11 wins in all competitions since a 1-0 La Liga defeat at Real Sociedad on Jan. 4, matching their best run under former coach Pep Guardiola in 2008-09.


They are on the verge of a place in the King's Cup final, through to the Champions League last 16 to face Manchester City and will climb above Real Madrid to the top of La Liga if they avoid defeat at home to Malaga on Saturday.


The surge in form means that rather than looking on helplessly as their club teetered on the edge of crisis, Barca fans are now starting to dream of a repeat of their historic 2009 treble.


The turmoil that followed the reverse at Sociedad, when reports of a rift between Messi and Luis Enrique surfaced in the Spanish media, is a distant memory, at least for the time being.


The forward quashed speculation he was considering leaving the club he joined as a 13-year-old but has pointedly declined to comment on his relationship with Luis Enrique, who took over from Messi's compatriot Gerardo Martino at the end of last term.


A former Barca and Spain midfielder, Luis Enrique knows that if Messi is not content, the team's chances of getting back to winning ways after failing to win major silverware in 2013-14 will be seriously diminished.


For the moment, the smile is back on Messi's face and the fans are happy but that could all change very quickly if the team loses its way again.


Messi sounded a note of caution in a Argentine television interview broadcast on Wednesday.


“We still haven't won anything,” he told Mundo Leo, a TV channel dedicated to the four-times World Player of the Year.


“There are many months of competition left both in La Liga and in the Champions League,” added the 27-year-old.


“The truth is that we are in very good shape. Luckily, after the Real Sociedad game, when we did not start the year well, everything changed.


“Now we are on a different path and everything is coming off for us.


“The team is confident and changed its attitude and desire and that is why we are like we are today. But there is a long way to go.”


Barca play their last 16, first leg at City on Tuesday, with the return at the Nou Camp on March 18, and take a 3-1 advantage to Villarreal for their King's Cup semi-final, second leg on March 4. – Reuters






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