News sport : Marcus Mariota faster than Jameis Winston, but does it really matter?

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If we're judging 40-yard dash times for quarterbacks, we're entering some dangerous territory.


All hail Reggie McNeil, who blazed a sub-4.4 time but never made it as a quarterback and was switched to wide receiver in a nada NFL career. (Other fast 40 times in the same range delivered by more notable quarterbacks include Michael Vick and Robert Griffin III.)


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And on the other end of the spectrum, there are the painfully slow times of yore from Tom Brady and Philip Rivers, who have found ways to work around their foot-speed limitations to have excellent NFL careers.


So take the following 40 times for Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston — and any other QB, for that matter — with a serious grain of salt.


But it was impressive to watch Mariota, bulked up to 222 pounds, run a 4.52 — best among all QBs — and a 1.57-second 10-yard split that was better than some fast-running wide receivers. That's impressive, in a vacuum.


As for Winston, he ran two 40 times of 4.97 and 4.99, which coaxed Twitter to start digging up those photos of the Florida State quarterback's distended belly a week or so ago. But really, what did we expect him to run? Certainly not markedly faster; that's not his deal.


Does it raise a corner of an eyebrow that Winston's times were in the same range as 307-pound Hobart offensive lineman Ali Marpet? Perhaps. But it shouldn't take away the perspective of quarterbacks we regard as being respectably athletic for their builds — Tony Romo, Jimmy Garoppolo, Mark Sanchez and Blake Bortles — all turning in times that are in that Winston neighborhood when they were at the NFL scouting combine in years past.


Like any combine metric, perspective is what's most important. Foot speed is far more important to Mariota's game than it is to how Winston plays.


- - - - - - -


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 : Kurt Busch scrubbed from NASCAR shop, name blacked out in garage

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NASCAR and Stewart-Haas Racing are moving on without Kurt Busch.


Just hours after NASCAR announced Busch's indefinite suspension in relation to an alleged incident of domestic violence, Busch's name had been scrubbed from the list of available drivers in NASCAR's shop:



NASCAR's driver shop.

Of note: still present in the shop is merchandise bearing the name of Digger, the old Fox Sports mascot who was "retired" four years ago, as well as merch for drivers who haven't appeared on-track in years or decades. The link to Busch's NASCAR Shop page now redirects to the main shop page.


Stewart-Haas Racing has also begun to move on without Busch. Early Saturday morning, replacement driver Regan Smith's name had already appeared on the garage window:



At the Saturday morning press conference announcing Smith as the driver of the No. 41 for the Daytona 500, Stewart-Haas confirmed that even if Busch wins his appeal of NASCAR's decision, he would not be driving on Sunday. That's a definitive statement on Busch's position within the organization, at least for the moment.


As of 11 a.m. ET, Busch's gear was still on sale in the Stewart-Haas store. Busch's image still adorns Chevrolet trucks at the track, even though Chevy has suspended its personal-services relationship with 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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Ancelotti: I am here to stay

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Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti does not believe his future at the club depends on him winning a trophy this season.


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Barcelona - Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti does not believe his future at the club depends on him winning a trophy this season and says: “I am here to stay”.


Madrid finished 2014 on the crest of a wave, having set a new Spanish record of 22 straight wins, but less than two months later after a turbulent spell for the European champions, Ancelotti's future is already being questioned.


The Madrid press have reported that club president Florentino Perez has been unhappy with Ancelotti's preparation.


Yet speaking at a press conference on Saturday, Ancelotti responded: “I don't think that my contract renewal depends on whether we win a trophy this season.


“At the end of the season I think it would be a good moment to talk about the renewal but if that doesn't happen then it is not a problem as I have a contract until June 2016 and I am here to stay.


“My objective is always to win. When I arrived I knew that I had to win and in all the teams that I have trained the objective has been to win.”


Real have got back on track with victories over Deportivo La Coruna last weekend and Schalke in the Champions League but there is still an open wound following their 4-0 mauling by city rivals Atletico Madrid a fortnight ago.


Much of the attention after that defeat centred on the poor performance of Cristiano Ronaldo, and his subsequent birthday party, but the critics have since turned on Ancelotti.


Madrid face Elche away on Sunday and may need a victory to stay top of the table if Barcelona, a point behind, beat Malaga on Saturday.


While Ancelotti remains very popular among the players, he does not have as strong a relationship with the board and Spanish newspaper El Pais claims Perez would prefer former coach Jose Mourinho, now at Chelsea.


Ancelotti was unusually animated when Marcelo scored the second in the victory over Schalke last Wednesday but denied it was due to criticism he had received.


“I decided to go on the pitch to hug Marcelo because he scored a goal with his right foot. It was to celebrate the goal and not for a personal reason,” said the Italian.


“There is a good relationship between us (in the dressing room). There is a lot of respect towards my work and that of the players.”


Reuters






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News sport : Stewart-Haas planning on Regan Smith driving in Daytona 500

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Stewart-Haas Racing says it's going ahead with plans for Regan Smith to be in the Daytona 500 instead of Kurt Busch.


Smith is listed as the substitute driver for Busch, who was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR on Friday after a Delaware county commissioner said it was "more likely than not" that Busch committed an act of abuse against ex-girlfriend Patricia Driscoll. The decision came after Driscoll was granted a protective order against Busch after a hearing regarding the allegations of abuse in September at Dover.


Busch is currently filing an appeal against NASCAR that will be heard Saturday. When asked if Smith would be the driver of the No. 41 Chevrolet regardless of the results of Saturday's appeal, Stewart-Haas Racing spokesperson Mike Arning said, "Stewart Haas Racing is planning on having Regan Smith race in the No. 41 car in the Daytona 500."


No criminal charges have been decided in the incident. The Delaware attorney general's office has the evidence and has not made an announcement.


Smith, who currently drives in the Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports, has become somewhat of a substitute for the stars at Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing. He first was a last-minute sub for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2012 after Junior suffered a concussion and missed two races and then last year for Tony Stewart at Watkins Glen after Stewart struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr. at a dirt track in upstate New York.


"I would say anytime you have a chance to hop in a race car that you know is fast and know is more than capable of winning races, it's always an opportunity to showcase talent," Smith said. "No matter what the circumstances or situations are, you've got to always think that way and got to always be prepared that way. So, yeah, I think we have a shot to go out and win this race on Sunday. I absolutely think we do."


Smith, 31, has one Sprint Cup Series win on his resumé. He won in 2011 at Darlington while driving for Furniture Row Racing. He drove for the majority of 2012 with the team before he essentially traded rides with Busch in anticipation of the 2013 season. Busch was signed to drive for Furniture Row in 2013 while Smith drove the final two races of 2012 and six races in 2013 with Phoenix Racing, Busch's team in 2012.


- - - - - - -


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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Falcao attracting 'great clubs'

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“A number of great clubs are interested in Radamel Falcao if Man United decide against making his loan move permanent.”


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London - A number of “great clubs” are interested in AS Monaco striker Radamel Falcao if Manchester United decide against making his loan move permanent, the Ligue 1 side's vice-president said.


The 29-year-old Falcao, who joined United on a season-long loan for six million pounds, has scored just four goals in 19 appearances since making the switch to Old Trafford.


United have the option of paying around 43 million pounds to make the move for the Colombian permanent at the end of the season, but with Falcao in-and-out of Louis van Gaal's side his future remains uncertain.


“I'm not worried for Falcao, he is a world-class striker,” Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev told the BBC.


“If Manchester United decide not take up the option at the end of the season, we have interest from other great clubs. So I am really not worried for him at all.”


With Falcao struggling to recapture his best form in the Premier League, Van Gaal played down the amount of money United had spent on the misfiring striker.


“If a player costs 95 million pounds or 5 000 pounds it doesn't make any difference,” the Dutchman said last month.


“You have to prove yourself. We have made this deal and everything is clear.”


Reuters






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Cops probing 2nd Chelsea fans incident

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British police are they are investigating an allegation of racist chanting by men, believed to be Chelsea fans.


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London - British police said Saturday they are investigating an allegation of racist chanting by men, believed to be Chelsea fans, as they returned from a Champions League match in Paris.


British Transport Police said the “unsavory” incident was reported by a member of the public who was disgusted by the men's behavior at St. Pancras station in central London on Wednesday.


“The men shouted as they walked through the station having alighted from the train a short time earlier,” Gill Murray, superintendent of British Transport Police, said in a statement.


Chelsea has banned five people from its Stamford Bridge stadium pending an investigation into a separate racist incident, in which a black man was twice blocked from boarding a Paris metro train by a group of the club's fans on Tuesday. These fans then chanted:


“We're racist and that's the way we like it.”


The five people suspended by the club face lifetime bans if they are found guilty.


That incident was filmed by a passenger and brought widespread condemnation, from the United Nations to British Prime Minister David Cameron and FIFA President Sepp Blatter.


Chelsea drew 1-1 with Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.


The latest alleged incident happened at about 8 p.m. local time, with the men having travelled from Paris Gard du Nord station on the Eurostar.


British Transport Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward to assist their investigation.


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Chelsea disgusted at Metro abuse

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Roman Abramovich was described as “disgusted” at the racist behaviour of Chelsea fans on the Paris Metro.


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London - Roman Abramovich was described as “disgusted” on Friday at the racist behaviour of Chelsea fans on the Paris Metro, a rare occasion when the club have made a public declaration about their owner's feelings on an issue.


The sentiment from Abramovich, conveyed by the club's director of communications Steve Atkins, underlined the severity with which Chelsea view the actions of some of their fans towards a black man they prevented boarding a Metro train on Tuesday. At a press conference in which no punches were pulled by the club, manager Jose Mourinho said he was “ashamed” of those involved. Chelsea later suspended a further two fans from Stamford Bridge while the incident is being investigated, following the three supporters banned on Thursday.


The club began Mourinho's Friday press conference with a statement read on behalf of the club by Atkins in which Chelsea expressed their “disgust” at the fans who chanted “We're racists - and proud of it”. The club said they were “appalled” by the mobile phone footage of the incident and wanted to “apologise unreservedly to Souleymane [the victim] for the behaviour of a small number of individuals and their unforgivable actions towards him.”


The club have written to the man, known as Souleymane S, whose full identity has not been disclosed, to invite him to be a guest of the club's board at Stamford Bridge for the return leg against Paris Saint-Germain on 11 March. The club's chairman Bruce Buck went to meet his counterpart Lord Herman Ouseley of the anti-racism organisation Kick It Out on Friday.


A group of Chelsea fans had previously begun an online campaign to raise money to bring Souleymane S to Stamford Bridge to demonstrate that their club's support was not racist.


On Souleymane S, Mourinho said: “At this moment, he has maybe the wrong idea of what Chelsea Football Club is. I don't know if the gentleman loves football, but for sure he would love to feel that the miserable people that had this [inter]action with him are not Chelsea Football Club. This is not Chelsea. They are not Chelsea.


“Chelsea is the owner, the board, the manager, the players, is the people that works here, is the true Chelsea supporter. Yes, I would support the idea [of Souleymane coming to a match], even not knowing whether the gentleman loves football or not.”


Mourinho said he did not believe Tuesday's incidents should discourage non-white supporters from attending Chelsea games. He said: “I don't believe they [non-white fans will] think about not coming. Everybody knows what Chelsea is.


“You don't need words to know what our club is. What our club defends. We feel ashamed, but maybe we shouldn't. I refuse to be connected with these people. I am connected with Chelsea and so many good things the club defends and represents.”


He said that he had watched the video of the incident only once. “It is enough for me, it is sad enough for me. It is a humiliation for that gentleman. I imagine myself in that same situation. I want to go home after a day of work and a couple of guys kick me out of my public transport. And I cannot go home. It is difficult to believe that this can happen in modern times, but the reality is that it happens.”


Mourinho, whose team face Burnley at home this afternoon, was asked later whether there was still a cloud over the club from John Terry's Football Association charge for racial abuse of Anton Ferdinand during a game at Loftus Road in October 2011. Terry was cleared by a court of racial abuse in 2012. A regulatory commission, acting on the FA charge, fined him £220,000 and banned him for four games. The club said they took disciplinary action, undisclosed, against him.


The incident, and subsequent court case, took place when Andre Villas-Boas and then Roberto Di Matteo were in charge. Mourinho said: “I don't know. The only thing I know, and I know 100 per cent for sure, is that John Terry is not one single second of his life a racist. That I can assure you.


“He had a bad episode, I don't know, I was not here, maybe yes. But I can assure you, and you ask every player who has shared the dressing room with John - we are talking about dozens and dozens of players - they would tell you that John is not a racist.”


Mourinho said that his players had been “disgusted” by the Paris incident and warned that it would not be the last of its kind in football. “Unfortunately we will not be the last episode. Emphatically, it will not be the last, but we have to deal with it as if it is the last. We can't make it the last, but we have to deal with it as we can. And especially in relation to people who have some connection with our club if you can call it that. Everybody has to know that the club is ready to finish it. No more Stamford Bridge for them [those responsible].”


The Independent






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Rodgers: Balotelli must work harder

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Brendan Rodgers has brought Mario Balotelli crashing back down to earth with a warning to improve his work rate.


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London - Brendan Rodgers has brought Mario Balotelli crashing back down to earth with a warning he must improve his work rate to become a success at Anfield.


Liverpool’s manager yesterday clarified the controversy around Balotelli’s spot-kick against Besiktas, insisting the Italy striker was justified in taking the responsibility off Jordan Henderson as he is No 2 penalty taker to Steven Gerrard, who was not on the pitch.


Rodgers was unhappy with the bickering that took place after the penalty had been awarded but of far greater concern to him was the way Balotelli played after he had given Liverpool a lead to take to Istanbul.


This was the former Manchester City player’s third big contribution in 10 days, following his goal against Tottenham that secured three points and a free-kick that created Adam Lallana’s winner at Crystal Palace. But Rodgers is still looking for much more from his £16million signing.


Balotelli has been the subject of public criticism from Rodgers before, notably on Boxing Day when he explained that the 24-year-old’s qualities did not fit Liverpool’s system.


When asked if he had been happy with Balotelli’s cameo against Besiktas, Rodgers replied: ‘No. Not really. No. We need to ensure that we have everyone working as a team and once we got the penalty he stops working.


‘He needs to improve on that facet of his game - to play in his position rather than standing on the side of the football field. He has contributed. He has got the penalty and scored the goal but that is what he is paid to do.


‘So he needs to keep that efficiency in his game and show that he can affect the team whether he is asked to play from the bench or from the start. If he works harder than when he came on, he will (become an influence).’


One of the main qualities Rodgers looks for in a forward is an ability to relentlessly press and put opponents on the back foot.


‘In a different country and a different style of football (scoring goals) would be all that matters,’ said Rodgers. ‘But in this team it is more than that.’


Balotelli was roundly condemned for his behaviour before Thursday night’s winning spot-kick and former Liverpool midfielder and Sportsmail columnist Jamie Redknapp believes the Italian is coming to the end of his time at Anfield.


He said: ‘The problem with Mario is I don’t think he has got a lot of respect for anybody.


‘He has worked with some of the best managers in Cesare Prandelli, Jose Mourinho, Roberto Mancini — everybody has tried with this man but nobody seems to get to the bottom of it.


‘The objective is to put the ball into the back of the net, thankfully that is what he did, but it is not nice to see players arguing like that on the field.


‘He is an incredibly confident penalty taker and very good at it, but it is that lack of respect that he has.’


Explaining the penalty situation, Rodgers continued: ‘Steven and Mario are the top two penalty takers, but neither of them were on the pitch at the start so Jordan was nominated.


‘But when we had a penalty Mario had come on to the field so Jordan, being someone with responsibility and trust, gave the penalty to Mario so there was no issue. There was a little bit of a kerfuffle around it because he wanted to make sure Mario was happy to take it, but that was it really.


‘If you are the vice-captain and the captain is on the bench and then he comes on, it is the etiquette to give him the armband. It is a similar thing with the penalty.


‘Mario has scored nearly 30 penalties in big games and he is an outstanding penalty taker. Jordan was happy enough to take it, but he gave it to Mario. There is no drama.’


Rodgers, whose side travel to Southampton tomorrow, stressed that no decision has been made about whether Henderson will take over the captaincy when Gerrard eventually moves to LA Galaxy.


‘Jordan showed what a team player he is,’ said Rodgers. ‘People see him as that automatic next captain but that’s not necessarily the case. People are trying to catapult him into the next Steven Gerrard but he is a totally different player. He is working his role very well.’


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Mourinho urges refs to protect Hazard

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Eden Hazard wants shin pads that protect the back of his legs after suffering a record number of fouls this season.


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London - Eden Hazard has asked Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho to find him shin pads that also protect the back of his legs after suffering a record number of fouls in the Premier League and European competition this season.


Mourinho, who urged referees to offer the tricky Belgium forward more protection, said Hazard suffered from dangerous fouls and from sneaky, tactical challenges to prevent him racing away from defenders on the counter-attack.


“He told me to speak with my friends that make carbon shin pads to try to make some for the back like a horse that does jumping because he also gets fouled from behind,” the Portuguese told reporters ahead of Saturday's home game against Burnley,


Hazard, 24, holds the record for the most fouls suffered in the Premier League, at 74 a full 14 more than second-placed Raheem Sterling of Liverpool.


Against Paris St Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday the Chelsea player was crunched nine times.


Mourinho bemoaned the fact that, because Hazard was an honest player who tried to stay on his feet, opponents often escaped sanction.


“He should be the player that creates more yellow cards from opponents but he doesn't,” Mourinho said.


“Eden wants to play. Eden doesn't want people to get a red card... did you see a referee give a penalty for a player that didn't go (down)?.”


Mourinho said Hazard attracted strategic fouls because of his skill and quick feet.


“Referees have to understand exactly that. Sometimes little fouls are big fouls in the context of the game ... it can be a small foul but it stops the counter-attack,” he added.


“I think Eden is punished in both ways. He's punished by aggression. In Paris he had nine fouls but three of them are very bad fouls, very dangerous fouls and he can do nothing.”


Mourinho said it was perfectly normal that some players attracted more attention from defenders and were double marked.


“But after that there are fouls and the fouls need to be punished,” he explained, adding that dangerman Hazard was clearly a lucky player because he hadn't been seriously injured.


“He deserves to be lucky.”


Chelsea go into Saturday's game holding a seven-point lead at the top of the table.


Reuters






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News sport : NASCAR suspends Kurt Busch indefinitely; will miss Daytona 500

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Kurt Busch, right, talks with his crew chief Tony Gibson, left, in his garage during a practice session for the Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Terry Renna) DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - NASCAR has suspended driver Kurt Busch for an indefinite period of time, effective immediately, which means he will not be in Sunday's Daytona 500.


"Given the serious nature of the findings and conclusions made by the Commissioner of the Family Court of the State of Delaware, NASCAR has indefinitely suspended Kurt Busch, effective immediately," NASCAR said in a statement. "He will not be allowed to race nor participate in any NASCAR activities until further notice."


The former champion and current driver for Stewart-Haas has spent the last six months embroiled in a dispute with his former girlfriend Patricia Driscoll. The precipitating event was an incident at Dover, Del., last fall in which Busch allegedly choked Driscoll. During that Sept. 26 incident at Busch's motor home, Busch claimed he simply "cupped her head" and she struck her head by accident, while Driscoll claimed she was choked and thrown into a wall.


In the subsequent protective order hearing, Driscoll and Busch threw increasingly severe charges at one another, with Busch saying Driscoll claimed she was a trained assassin. In the end, the court sided with Driscoll, approving a protective order against Busch. Still unresolved are criminal charges against Busch; local police have completed their report but no charges against Busch have been filed.


Busch's attorney fought back on Thursday, seeking to reopen the protective order and charging that Driscoll had perjured herself. On Friday, Kent County commissioner David Jones released a report that indicated Busch's "actions on that occasion constituted conduct that a reasonable person would find threatening or harmful."


Jones' decision reads, in part:


The court is satisfied that the evidence presented at trial established that it is more likely than not that on September 26, 2014, Respondent committed an act of abuse against Petitioner by manually strangling Petitioner with his left hand on her throat while placing his right hand against her chin and face, causing her head to forcefully strike the interior wall of Respondent's motor home, thereby recklessly causing physical injury to Petitioner and recklessly placing Petitioner in reasonable apprehension of physical injury. The Court further finds that Respondent's actions on that occasion constituted conduct that a reasonable person would find threatening or harmful.

In granting Driscoll a protective order, Jones ordered Busch to remain a "practicable" distance from his ex-girlfriend and that he be evaluated “for mental health problems related to anger control and impulse control."


NASCAR had waited for further outside confirmation before taking action.


Domestic violence issues have surged to the forefront of sports in recent months, largely as a result of the NFL's inconsistent punishment of violators such as Ray Rice, and the last perception any league needs to have is that it doesn't take domestic violence seriously enough. The Friday release of the highly critical report left NASCAR with no real option but to levy some form of punishment on 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 : Mitch Kupchak won't surround Kobe Bryant with vets just 'because it’s Kobe’s last year'

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In a typically-interesting interview with GQ that was published earlier in February, Kobe Bryant told Chuck Klosterman this about the Lakers’ plans for the 2015-16 season, one that will probably serve as Kobe’s last year in the NBA:



The Lakers are not going to make the playoffs this year, and it seems unlikely that they will challenge for a title next year. So if titles are your only goal, why even play these last two seasons?




I know what Mitch [Kupchak, the Lakers GM] tells me. I know what Jim and Jeanie [Buss, the team owners] tell me. I know that they are hell-bent about having a championship caliber team next season, as am I.



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The Lakers, as was the case last summer when they attempted to surrounding Bryant with stars, will once again have significant cap space to work with in a market that would seem to want to encourage players to leave their current environs in order to come to Los Angeles. Stars like Marc Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge might not want to leave their current winning teams to play for less money in LA, but Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak could possibly put together a full roster of well-meaning vets via savvy signings and salary cap space-encouraged trades.


Speaking to reporters as the Lakers prepared to begin the final two months of their lost season, Kupchak more or less put the kibosh on that idea:



“This team primarily has been Kobe’s team now for almost 18 or 20 years,” General Manager Mitch Kupchak said in a wide ranging interview with media, “and we’re much closer to the end of those 18, 20 years than we are to the middle or the beginning. So at some point we have to start a new run.




[…]




“To jeopardize the next five or seven years,” Kupchak said, “bring in old veterans that make a lot of money, just to win one more year, because that’s Kobe’s last year or could be his last year, I’m not sure that fits into doing it the right way.”



No, that would not be doing it the right way. Even if the hypothetical high-priced-veteran-players-that-could-also-pair-with-Kobe-for-a-ring existed. To date, few Laker fans have come up with a cogent list of candidates that were also going to be realistically available this summer.


Kupchak, who told reporters that this subject “was not something you would talk about” with Bryant, went on:



“We’re going to look to do this the right way,” Kupchak said, “which is to try to make prudent decisions about youth and veterans and making commitments to players under the existing rules. I’d love to be able to put together a young team that can win 55 games next year, but it’s not that easy.”



No, it is not easy. Those teams have really never existed. There have been young and exciting teams cobbled together out of a series of lottery picks that have shown glimpses in the playoffs, but these were not 55-win teams. The young Thunder, even when making the playoffs in 2010 after three years with Kevin Durant, still fell five wins short. Those out-of-nowhere 2007 Golden State Warriors featured quite a few players in their prime. And it is far easier to go from 35 to 45 wins than it is to go from 45 to 55.


As the Lakers stand, they might have to settle for going from 21 wins (their current 2014-15 pace) to 31. That’s just how these things work.


Kobe knows this. He’s not acting out of touch or defiant in the face of GQ, because truly what is the guy going to say? He’s going to admit that the Lakers are likely just rolling over during his last year, sustaining cap space and acquiring assets as they attempt to make a big splash when his contract comes off the books in 2016? Bryant is as severe a competitor as the game has ever known, and he’ll sometimes take the loss if it meant shooting for the win his particular way, but he’s no dummy in this regard.


It’s just that “yeah, the 2015 offseason is probably going to be a lot like the 2016 offseason” isn’t much of a party line moving forward. Nobody wants to hear that. Nobody wants to say that.


Save for Mitch Kupchak, apparently.


- - - - - - -


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 : Suns GM Ryan McDonough had some choice words about Goran Dragic's departure

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By all accounts, the Phoenix Suns had a rough week. The franchise can walk away from Thursday’s trade deadline giddy at the idea of pairing new addition Brandon Knight with Eric Bledsoe, it can just as giddily rub its figurative hands together at the thought of taking in two first-round draft picks from what might be a terrible Miami Heat team in a few years, but by and large this was an embarrassing and destructive week.


Former guard Goran Dragic asked to be moved, he told reporters that he didn’t trust the team’s front office, and he was eventually sent to the Miami Heat in a move that convinced the well-versed Charles Barkley that the Heat were now one of three teams to beat in the Eastern Conference.


Many media outlets, even the ones aware of leverage-less trading position Dragic (who is an unrestricted free agent this summer) put the Suns in, still felt lukewarm at best about Phoenix’s two massive trades on Thursday. As such, it was understandable that Suns general manager Ryan McDonough was a little brusque in his assessment of the outsiders’ reaction to his work.


From Paul Coro at AZCentral Sports:



After hearing fans and media comment that the Suns traded their best player (Dragic), McDonough said Friday, "Our response to that, I think, is that Eric Bledsoe and Markieff Morris are still in Phoenix Suns uniforms."




In commenting on Knight, McDonough also added, "We feel like we got the best player in the trade, coming or going."



There was more:




Free to now do his work with the 22-30 Heat, alongside a guard in Dwyane Wade that has never been known for dominating the ball or taking a lot of shots, Dragic went breezy on Thursday night:






Nobody looks great, here.


As Tom Ziller at SB Nation wondered on Thursday morning, in the hours between Dragic’s trade request and the move that eventually sent him to Miami, the parallels between Carmelo Anthony’s 2011 silent trade demand and Dragic’s very public assertion of his wishes were striking. Dragic is not the star that Anthony was and is, but he also demanded his way off a pretty good team (the 2010-11 Denver Nuggets won 50 games, Phoenix is on pace to win 45) in order to play for a squad with a inferior record by comparison.


Anthony and Dragic also managed to have their cake and eat it too – Anthony did and Dragic can use Bird Rights to re-sign to a mark far over the salary cap. Instead of the critical backlash that Anthony (who, again, never went public with his trade demands), most in Dragic’s wake merely pointed to Phoenix’s repeated acquisitions of point guards before happily looking forward to Goran suiting up alongside Dwyane Wade.


No athlete should just shut up and put up with their lot in life, just because they get paid heaps of money to work at a game. It was just fine for Anthony to realize that his Nuggets had become too top-heavy, even though the Knick teams he starred on also became far too top-heavy with him on the roster, also acquiring several former Nugget teammates along the way, as the Anthony-less Nuggets roared past the Knicks in the overall NBA standings.


Dragic’s Heat will have the same problem. When healthy (thinking about you, Mr. Bosh, please hang in there) Miami’s starting five is as good as anyone’s on paper. Beyond those starters, though, sits a woefully thin bench. And, as we snarked about above, Dwyane Wade is going to have the ball quite a bit, Goran. That doesn’t make Wade or former Suns teammate Eric Bledsoe or Dragic selfish in the slightest, it’s just how it is. There are only so many possessions to move around.


The Suns swear that they got what they wanted, but that also shouldn’t preclude them from tossing out pointed comments like this in the wake of both the trade and the (slight) criticism. Again, most mindful media outlets were well aware of what the Suns were dealing with prior to the trade deadline, and credited them for bringing back a player in Knight (who is having a better year than Dragic, so far) and two future firsts.


Dragic and the Suns, loud and on record, appear to prefer their current surroundings to the ones that were in place on Thursday morning. We’ll see where this turns out.


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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 : Court decision: 'More likely than not' Kurt Busch committed 'act of abuse'

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After granting Patricia Driscoll a protection order from Kurt Busch, the commissioner assigned to the case issued an decision on Friday.


It comes a day after Busch's attorney, Rusty Hardin, filed a motion to re-open the hearing regarding the protection order, which stems from an alleged assault on Sept. 26. Driscoll accuses Busch of slamming her head against the wall of his motorhome, an accusation he denies.


In the conclusion of Kent County commissioner David Jones' decision, he says it's more likely than not that Busch committed "an act of abuse" against Driscoll by "manually strangling" her "with his left hand on her throat while placing his right hand against her chin and face, causing her head to forcefully strike the interior wall" of his motorhome.



The court is satisfied that the evidence presented at trial established that it is more likely than not that on September 26, 2014, Respondent committed an act of abuse against Petitioner by manually strangling Petitioner with his left hand on her throat while placing his right hand against her chin and face, causing her head to forcefully strike the interior wall of Respondent's motor home, thereby recklessly causing physical injury to Petitioner and recklessly placing Petitioner in reasonable apprehension of physical injury. The Court further finds that Respondent's actions on that occasion constituted conduct that a reasonable person would find threatening or harmful.



Busch has said he cupped Driscoll's face in his hands after she came to visit him uninvited that Friday night in Dover. He also testified in the hearing that she was a trained assassin, a claim that she denies by saying Busch can't separate fact from fiction.


The criminal case is still with the Delaware attorney general's office and no decision has been made regarding criminal charges. Busch is expected to compete in the Daytona 500 on Sunday. Earlier in the week, NASCAR said that it was awaiting "the full findings of the Commissioner and any actions by the Attorney General of Delaware related to the allegations against Busch."


You can read the entire decision below.


Kurt Busch Patricia Driscoll PFA Decision



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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 : Dan Enos: Being a head coach is 'not all it’s cracked up to be'

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Sep 20, 2014; Lawrence, KS, USA; Central Michigan Chippewas head coach Dan Enos on the sidelines against the Kansas Jayhawks in the second half at Memorial Stadium. Kansas won the game 24-10. (John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports) It came as a surprise when Arkansas announced nearly a month ago that it had hired Dan Enos as offensive coordinator. Enos already had a job – he was the head coach at Central Michigan – but resigned to take a lesser role on Bret Bielema’s staff.


It turns out that being a head coach wasn’t as great as Enos thought it would be.


“At one point in my career, I wanted to be a head coach and that was the whole thing I dreamed about and talked about,” Enos said on SportsTalk with Bo Mattingly, per CoachingSearch.com. “I’ve been a head coach. The one thing I’ll say about a head coach: It’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I had a coach tell me once that, one time, a very successful NFL coach told him that. ‘Remember, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.’ That hit home with me.”


Enos went 26-36 in five seasons at Central Michigan, but the program improved under his watch and finished at .500 or above in each of the past three seasons. Enos will receive a bump in pay at Arkansas, but FBS head coaching jobs are coveted. Stil, Enos says he hasn’t thought twice about his decision and doesn’t know if he’ll pursue another head coaching job in the future.


“To be honest with you, my family and I left for this opportunity. I really haven’t thought too much beyond,” Enos said. “I just would like to be here and be at Arkansas and be the coordinator for many years. Beyond that, I don’t have any other further aspirations, other than to help this program get better and do my part to help our team win a championship.”


Enos replaces Jim Chaney with the Razorbacks (after Chaney left to join Pat Narduzzi’s staff at Pittsburgh) and inherits a run-heavy offense that averaged 31.9 points per game in 2014 – up from 20.7 in 2013.


To replace Enos, Central Michigan hired Detroit Lions special teams coach Jon Bonamego, a CMU alum.


For more Central Michigan news, visit ChippewaCountry.com.


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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!







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News sport : Confident Jameis Winston says he can be the face of an NFL franchise

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INDIANAPOLIS – The buzz was that interviews with teams would be the most important part of the NFL scouting combine for Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston.


Based on how he handled his press conference on Friday, he’ll do just fine in that arena.


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Winston was remarkably confident and at ease during his nearly 12 minutes with the media. From his opening words about understanding the mistakes he has made off the field, he kept hammering home the same theme: That he will earn his next team’s trust by his actions moving forward.


“When I do get to a city, with a team, I plan on getting involved in the community and creating an image – a positive image – and put everything else behind me,” Winston said.


“My job as a quarterback is to be the face of a franchise. My job is to win games, hopefully win Super Bowls, and that’s a big responsibility. That’s a job up here. Whatever is behind me is behind me, so this is a new face.”


It won’t be so easy to put his past behind him. There were some silly allegations like stealing soda from the machine at a fast-food restaurant, some dumb ones like stealing crab legs from a supermarket, and a very troubling sexual assault allegation at Florida State. No charges were brought in that case because there wasn’t sufficient evidence, and he was cleared in a FSU code of conduct hearing.


Winston talked about visiting an elementary school in Tallahassee and his 7-year-old brother and how he realized that the bad headlines affected the little kids looking up to him. He didn’t mind laying it on a little thick.


“I’ve got so many people to inspire and I’ve got so many little kids looking up to me, not only as a quarterback but as a person,” Winston said. “I want to be that role model for them.”


Do you buy it? Winston sold himself incredibly well, and if teams aren’t totally put off by the allegations and incidents in his past, it’s easy to see them being smitten by how he can own a room. That’s a big intangible for any quarterback. He showed off a lot of charisma (he brought up a photo of him from weeks ago looking overweight and joked “I look good and I know it,” to laughter from the media) and either confidence or arrogance, depending on how you viewed it. He was aware he's riding that fine line.


“I’m a confident person. People may buy that as arrogance,” Winston said. “But I’m just out there confident because when my team looks at me, they’re going to see a smile on my face because I’m going to tell them you know what we’re capable of doing and we’re not going down with a loss.”


His confidence isn’t lacking at all. He and Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota have been discussed as possibilities for the top pick, but Winston seemed to dismiss that competition a bit because he has bigger things in mind.


“This is not no competition just between me and Mariota. Because one thing about me, I plan on winning a Super Bowl in the next year,” Winston said. “So it’s going to be Jameis vs. Peyton Mannings and Jameis vs. Tom Bradys. I want to be viewed like that. After all this combine stuff, you’re not going to hear any more about Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota. But I want my name to remain relevant for the next 15, 20 years of my career.”


People talk about winning the press conference, and Winston did that on Friday. He laughed off concerns about weakness in his shoulder, saying he had an MRI like everyone else did and his shoulder feels great. He said he'll throw on Saturday at the combine because he's a competitor. Winston talked about what a privilege it would be for the Glazer family that owns the Buccaneers to make him the first pick – and as long as his shoulder issues are as much of a non-factor as he claims, that seems to be a logical outcome when the NFL draft starts.


Everyone wondered how Winston would react to answering questions about his past and his future at the combine, but he was as comfortable as could be when the moment came.


“This is what I dream of,” Winston said. “I dream of being a Hall of Famer someday. And I dream of being the face of someone’s franchise.”


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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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