United’s post-Fergie agony

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Manchester United’s FA Cup elimination means they face the longest trophyless run since the early days of Sir Alex Ferguson's silverware-laden era.


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Few Manchester United fans thought life after Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford would be easy but fewer would have imagined the possibility of a second successive season without any silverware and devoid of Champions League football.


Monday's 2-1 home defeat by Arsenal, which eliminated United from the FA Cup, means United face the longest trophyless run since the early days of Ferguson's silverware-laden era.


Ferguson, who succeeded Ron Atkinson in 1986 after the latter lifted the FA Cup in 1985, barely kept his job during his first four barren years in charge but continued in the hot seat when he ended the drought by winning the competition in 1990.


Ferguson's compatriot and successor David Moyes lasted less than a season and was sacked last year when it became clear United would miss out on any European competition, with Ryan Giggs briefly taking over the reigns before handing them over to Louis van Gaal.


Heavy spending by the Dutchman has resulted in little improvement as United continued to look a side vulnerable at the back, bereft of ideas in midfield and lacking firepower up front against opposition of any quality.


Having enjoyed consistent results which flattered their performances largely thanks to superb goalkeeping by David de Gea, United paid the price for the many chinks in their armour in Premier League defeats by Southampton and Swansea before the FA Cup fiasco.


Although in no immediate danger of following in Moyes's footsteps through the exit door, van Gaal must be revisiting some of his transfer decisions although he put on a brave face in the wake of his reject Danny Welbeck putting his former club to the sword.


“It was a surprise that Wenger put him in the lineup in that position,” Van Gaal said after Welbeck, deemed surplus to requirements after misfiring Colombian Radamel Falcao was hauled in on loan from Monaco, struck an opportunist second-half winner.


“Also, a lot of times against the club who a player was playing for, he shall be very motivated. But I think we gave that goal particularly.”


Record signing Angel Di Maria has shown occasional flashes of brilliance like the inch-perfect cross for Wayne Rooney's headed equaliser, but his first season in English football has so far been a torrid one with the Argentine looking like a fish out of water most of the time.


Struggling to cope with decent tackling and often going down like a sack of potatoes under any kind of challenge, Di Maria was booked for diving and then sent off for grabbing referee Michael Oliver's shirt.


Even van Gaal had no excuse for the winger's shocking act, often a common sight in Argentine league football but almost unfathomable in the Premier League.


“I know, of course, and also Angel Di Maria knows that he doesn't have to touch the referee, so that is not so smart of him,” van Gaal said. “But to control emotion is not so easy in such a match.”


With Chelsea and Manchester City seemingly poised to fight it out for the Premier League title, United now have only a top-four finish to play for and with games against all their main rivals yet to come in the home straight, van Gaal will feel the heat.


Former United midfielder Roy Keane was confident the Dutchman would and should be given time to pick up the pieces and put them back together.


“They've got to give him a chance. He needs two or three years to rebuild the club,” Keane said. – Reuters






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News sport : Alabama's Nick Saban pens letter to NFL scouts for QB Phillip Sims, who transferred in 2012

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Quarterback Phillip Sims may have transferred from Alabama in 2012, but he never lost the respect of coach Nick Saban.


Saban wrote a letter to NFL scouts, a letter that was obtained by Rivals site TideSports.com, which painted a glowing picture of Sims, who has been working out for NFL scouts as the draft approaches.


"I believe Phillip Sims has the mental acumen and physical tools to be an asset for a team in the National Football League," Saban wrote. "He is hard-working, driven, tough and a coachable player."


Sims, who was rated the No. 2 pro-style quarterback prospect in 2010, spent two seasons with the Tide before losing the starting quarterback race to AJ McCarron and opting to transfer.


Sims spent a year at Virginia, made four starts and threw for 1,263 yards and nine touchdowns in 2012 before being declared academically ineligible in May 2013.


Sims told AL.com that as he was weighing his options that summer, Saban opened the door for him to come back to Alabama. Alabama wasn’t offering a scholarship for the 2013 season he had to sit out, but Saban did say he’d have the opportunity to compete for the starting role in 2014.


Sims passed, took a scholarship at Division II Winston-Salem State, sat out the 2013 season, and went on to throw for 1,560 yards and 15 touchdowns with just four interceptions while splitting time this past season.


However, there were no sour feelings between Sims and Alabama, and after Sims exhausted his eligibility, he kept in contact. That contact as paid off.


Sims was not invited to the NFL combine last month, but did have a stellar pro day at Wake Forest and piqued the interest of many NFL scouts. There’s no doubt that Saban’s words will only help Sims’ cause.


"I found him to be a quick study who was always ready and eager to learn," Saban wrote. "He is a special young man who always followed direction and did things the right way. He was a natural leader both in the classroom and on the field, won numerous Scout Team Player of the Week awards, and was well liked by his peers and coaches. Phillip also served as a member of our leadership team and won the Ozzie Newsome Award.


"I stand behind Phillip and wholeheartedly endorse him as a player and as a man."


For more Alabama news, visit TideSports.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 : Unlucky Jadeveon Clowney gets bit by teammate's pit bull, was hospitalized

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Houston Texans outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney is fine, and it doesn't seem like the story of him being bitten by teammate D.J. Swearinger's pit bull is that big of a deal.


However ... how many ladders did Clowney walk under after he was made the No. 1 overall pick last May?


Clowney's incredible run of terrible luck continued when he was bitten by Swearinger's pit bull on March 4, and according to SportsRadio 610 in Houston (via CBS Houston) he went to the emergency room. The bite was considered minor according to the report. Swearinger's dog's vaccinations were up to date, and the dog was issued a home quarantine, which is standard.


Swearinger, who also played with Clowney at South Carolina, explained on Twitter.



Again, the incident itself isn't a big deal. But man, Clowney has had quite a bad run the past year.


Clowney was injured in the Texans' season opener when he claimed he stepped in a hole in the turf. His knee never got right, he had just seven tackles and no sacks in four games, and was put on injured reserve. After that he had microfracture surgery, and there are legitimate questions about how it will affect his career going forward.


It's probably a bad sign when a dog bite that sent Clowney to the emergency room isn't even close to the worst thing that has happened to him in the past year.


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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 : Watch the Hawks hit a franchise-record 20 3-pointers and crush the Kings

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Let us never consider the Atlanta Hawks to be impolite or ungracious hosts. They did the Sacramento Kings the kindness of allowing them to hang around for a full eight minutes on Monday night before unleashing the hounds. How very civil of them.


[DraftKings: FREE Entry to a Huge Cash Fantasy Basketball Contest with First Deposit. Draft your team now.]


After dropping Saturday night's matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers thanks in part to coach Mike Budenholzer's decision to rest Paul Millsap, Kyle Korver and DeMarre Carroll on the second night of a back-to-back, the Hawks rediscovered their Kingslaying form on Monday, hammering visiting Sacramento, 130-105, to get back on the right side of the ledger.


A Rudy Gay 3-pointer drew Sacramento within two points at 20-18 with 4:20 left in the opening frame. That was quite close enough for the Hawks' taste, as Atlanta closed the frame on a 13-2 run before pushing their lead to 17 points on a Dennis Schröder to Mike Scott alley-oop three minutes into the second quarter, and running away with the contest on the strength of a franchise-record 20 3-pointers on 36 attempts.


The outcome was, perhaps, to be expected, considering the Kings entered Philips Arena allowing more 3-point attempts per game (24.4) than any team besides their hosts (26.2 for Atlanta), while the Hawks ranked eighth in the league in attempts (25.8 per game) and second in accuracy (38.2 percent) behind only the Golden State Warriors. And yet, expecting something doesn't necessarily mean you're not blown away by what it actually looks like in real life. Behold the deluge:



Seven Hawks connected from long-range on Monday, led (naturally) by league-leading 3-point marksman Kyle Korver, who'd been slumping a bit since the All-Star break but looked refreshed after his weekend rest, going 6-for-8 from deep on his way to 20 points in 31 minutes, and swingman DeMarre Carroll, who shot 4-for-9 from beyond the arc to chip in 20 points along with five rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes.


The 20 triples surpassed Atlanta's old high-water mark of 19, set in December of 1996, and also represented an NBA season-high, topping the 19 that the Golden State Warriors made during Stephen Curry's 51-point explosion and the Cleveland Cavaliers drained en route to a 127-94 win over the Hawks back in November.


As strong as the Hawks' 55.6 percent mark from long distance was, they actually shot even better overall as a team against the Kings' dire defense, making 53 of 88 field goals, a scintillating 60.2 percent clip. Atlanta logged direct assists on 42 of those 53 makes. That, too, is an NBA season-high, besting the 41 helpers that the Los Angeles Clippers logged in blowing out the Brooklyn Nets on Jan. 22.


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The Hawks set team season-highs for points in a game (130), half (76 before intermission) and quarter (43, in the second, where the Kings lost the plot) in the win, which improved them to 50-13 on the season and marked the first time in franchise history that Atlanta has been the NBA's first team to the 50-win plateau. (The Warriors would join them later Monday after dispatching the Phoenix Suns.)


The ball movement, the shot-making, the shared defensive responsibility without any evident concern regarding who gets the credit — it's what's made Atlanta so good all season long, what's got them a full 11 games clear of the second-seeded Cavs atop the Eastern Conference, and what had the NBA's winningest active coach singing their praises after the beatdown wrapped up:



There are a number of different factors contributing to that — Korver's brilliant shooting and the terror he strikes into opposing defenses, the full-health return of Al Horford (18 points on 9-for-13 shooting, four rebounds, three blocks, two assists in 31 1/2 minutes against the Kings) to serve as a two-way linchpin in the middle, the perennially underrated work of do-it-all forwards Carroll and Paul Millsap (13 points, five assists, three rebounds, two steals in 28 minutes), Budenholzer's freewheeling read-and-react system, etc.


But perhaps no Hawk has taken a bigger step forward this season than point guard Jeff Teague, a first-time All-Star who's averaging career-highs in scoring, assists and steals, who trails only the All-NBA triumvirate of Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry and Chris Paul in Player Efficiency Rating among point guards, and who dished a team-high 13 of those 42 dimes on Monday.


To hear his teammates tell it, according to Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated, everything the Hawks' sixth-ranked offense produces starts with the Indiana-by-way-of-Wake-Forest-bred triggerman:


“A lot of guys in this league, after three or four years, they’re kind of done: This is who I am. This is what I’m going to be,” Korver says. “Jeff mentally remade himself. Everything we do starts with him—coming off the screen, sucking in two defenders, reading the pick-and-roll, reading the weakside coverage and making the right decision. He dictates it.”

And yet, perhaps unsurprisingly, that's not how Teague sees it. More from Jenkins:


Teague is watching a clip of the Atlanta offense in a January game at Toronto. In the possession that piques his interest, the Hawks make six passes to five players. The ball switches sides twice yet never hits the ground. Power forward Paul Millsap turns down a five-footer, and Teague turns down an open three so Korver can line up a more open three. “That’s what we do,” Teague says. “That’s who we are. Everybody touches the ball, nobody dances with it, and even if you’ve got a layup, you give it to Kyle Korver.”

It's a pretty solid strategy, one that has turned the Hawks into one of the most balanced and brutalizing squads in the NBA, and that led to all sorts of record-setting net-scorching at Sacramento's expense on Monday night.


More NBA coverage:



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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 : Cornerbacks get snagged at high cost before free agency begins

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Free agency hasn’t even officially begun, but players are coming off the board left and right – cornerbacks especially.

After Byron Maxwell (signing with Philadelphia at more than $10 million per year), Brandon Flowers (staying with San Diego at $9 million per year) and Kareem Jackson (staying with Houston at $8.5 million per year) set the market high, Cary Williams and Davon House were both snatched up for nice paydays.


Williams, after two seasons and 35 starts for the Eagles, is reportedly headed to Seattle on a three-year, $18 million deal. Meanwhile, House – who played as a special teams guy who had just 14 starts in four years with Green Bay – will get his chance to start full-time with the Jacksonville Jaguars. According to Paul Imig of Fox Sports Wisconsin, House’s deal with Jacksonville is for four years and $25 million with $10 million guaranteed.


All of that movement sets up for the next big secondary prize: Darrelle Revis. New England declined to pick up the $20 million option for the four-time All Pro selection, but he could still end up back with the Super Bowl champs on a more cap-friendly deal. The Jets are also interested in bringing Revis back to New York. Cleveland has reported interest, as well.


Elsewhere on defense, long-time Eagles pass-rusher Trent Cole is headed to Indianapolis, according to Ian Rapoport. When Chip Kelly arrived in Philly, Cole made the transition from 4-3 defensive end to 3-4 outside linebacker and was able to register a combined 14.5 sacks over the past two seasons. Cole is better suited to play with his hand on the ground, and he’ll have that chance with the Colts. No details of Cole’s deal were reported.


Staying on the defensive line, the Cardinals will reportedly sign defensive lineman Corey Peters to a three-year deal worth “more than $3.5 million per season,” according to ESPN.com. Peters started just two games for the Falcons in 2014, but had a productive season with 26 tackles, two sacks and six tackles for loss.


Other reported free agent deals include:


Linebacker Dan Skuta has agreed to a five-year, $20.5 million contract with the Jaguars, per CSNBayArea.com. Skuta spent the past six seasons with San Francisco and filled in for the oft-suspended Aldon Smith on the outside.


The Jets will reportedly sign guard James Carpenter to a four-year deal worth “roughly $5 million a year,” per NFL Network. Carpenter started 39 games for the Seahawks over the past four seasons.


Wide receiver Brian Hartline, an Ohio State product, is headed back to his home state to play for the Cleveland Browns. According to ESPN.com, the deal spans two years and totals $6 million. Hartline spent his entire career with the Miami Dolphins and had over 1,000 yards receiving in both 2012 and 2013. His production fell off in 2014, however, as he hauled in 39 passes for 474 yards and two scores.


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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 : Power Rankings: Kevin Harvick swoops in for the top spot

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Our Power Rankings are far from a scientific formula. In fact, it's the perfect blend of analytics and bias against your favorite driver. And you think we dislike your favorite driver, so it makes sense, right? Direct all your complaints to us at happyhourmailbag@yahoo.com.



1. Kevin Harvick (LW: 2): Harvick has started the season with three-straight top-two finishes. He ended 2014 with three-straight top-two finishes. Not terrible, eh? In any circumstance, six-straight finishes of that magnitude is an impressive achievement, but Harvick and company have done this with two distinct rules packages. It's not like they've been able to roll with the same formulas for all six weeks. However, it does give credence to the thought that the good teams will always be the first (and best) to adapt to rules changes.



2. Joey Logano (LW: 1): If this was the Chase, Logano's performance to scrap for a top-10 finish would be lauded as an achievement worthy of a title contender. After starting second, he survived two speeding penalties and came back for a top 10. Now, with the way that this Chase format is set up, the effort is almost an afterthought. Logano's in the Chase. All he needs to do is remain in the top 30 to make it. Of course, that's the simplistic view, but it also serves as an example of how not to overlook teams making chicken salad out of chicken you-know-what early in the year.



3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 4): Why wasn't the Chase format seen as the primary catalyst for the decision to put two tires on Junior's car on the final pit stop to steal track position and perhaps a win? Because people are learning from the ridiculousness of last year at Vegas? The decision for the No. 88 crew to go for two tires was an easy one. Without it, they didn't have a shot to win, and the worst-case scenario from the pit stop wasn't very bad. After leading four laps, Junior ended up fourth.



4. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 5): A start like this is making Truex lose "Chase sleeper" status pretty quickly. If he doesn't win a race this year, the speed he's showing -- provided it continues, of course -- should be more than enough for a Chase berth. And even if he gets the crazy speed and bad luck combination that plagued Kurt Busch in the No. 78 in 2013, Truex should still be in good shape. Busch made the Chase that season despite eight finishes worse than 25th in the first 26 races.



5. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 2): Oh no, Johnson followed up a win with a tire issue. How will he be a championship contender? While Johnson had a fast car -- he was leading at the time he first started having issues -- his Vegas results show the ridiculousness of trying to figure out a "car to beat" after two races of the season. Was the No. 48 team the best team at Atlanta? Duh. But let's just all be aware of small sample sizes, OK?



6. AJ Allmendinger (LW: 11): Speaking of small sample sizes, it's funny that the two highest RCR cars in the points standings aren't actually RCR cars (in name). After finishing seventh and sixth at Atlanta and Las Vegas, Allmendinger is fifth in the points standings. Will this continue? With another good run at Auto Club, the evidence pointing to an intriguing season will keep mounting.



7. Denny Hamlin (LW: 9): How close was the kerfuffle between Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne from ruining Hamlin's day? We'll let him explain about the impact Edwards' car had with the right rear of Hamlin's car.


"It actually probably made my car a little bit better with the damage," Hamlin said. "It could have a millimeter worse and it would have been catastrophic for our car."


Plus, he also had a slice in the left headlight (decal) from contact on pit road. Not a bad day when you've got a car that's been dented on both sides and you still finish fifth at an intermediate track.



8. Matt Kenseth (LW: 10): Sunday was Kenseth's first race in a DeWalt-sponsored car since the final race of the 2009 season. Since then, Kenseth has had ... way too many sponsors to count, including sunglasses, multiple types of alcoholic beverages, sunglasses, Affliction clothing and even a bargain outlet. Because nothing says Matt Kenseth than buying your Affliction clothing at a bargain outlet.



9. Kasey Kahne (LW: 7): If you're ever looking to crash someone and not get caught up in it yourself, look to what Kahne did to Edwards. He cut his entry into turn one early and hit Edwards hard enough to get him to slide as he stayed away from the action. Of course, the penalties for Kahne's car wouldn't be incredibly severe had he been caught up in the accident anyway. Because of the previous contact with Edwards, he had a car that was smashed in on both sides. Still, he ended up 17th.



10. Ryan Newman (LW: NR): Newman's car resembled the one he had at Homestead over the final laps as he was charging to a third-place finish. Now he returns to Phoenix, where we all remember what happened the last time he was there. How many times will we see the replay of that throughout the race weekend? And if he's racing with Kyle Larson at any point on Sunday, how soon will it take for the incident to be mentioned?



11. Casey Mears (LW: 6): Mears hangs on to a spot in the top 12 after finishing 25th. One more finish like that and Casey won't be here next week. But he's still ahead of the three "real" RCR cars in the standings, so that's an accomplishment, even three races in. Will it happen for a fourth straight week? There's only five points separating Mears and Paul Menard.



12. Brad Keselowski (LW: NR): It was crazy how loose Keselowski's car was at times on Sunday, but the team kept working on it during every opportunity. And somehow Keselowski came home with a seventh-place finish. Not bad, eh? With the second-straight top 10, Keselowski is 17th in the standings, which speaks to how debilitating a bad finish is and how good Kevin Harvick has been.


Lucky Dog: Brian Scott finished 13th after having a hellacious Xfinity Series weekend.


The DNF: Alex Bowman suffered an engine failure 28 laps in.


Dropped Out: Clint Bowyer, Brett Moffitt


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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 : Iowa State AD Jamie Pollard hospitalized after heart attack

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Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard was taken to an Iowa hospital Monday night after having a heart attack while watching his daughters' track meet.


From Iowa State's statement:




Iowa State Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard was taken by ambulance Monday afternoon to Allen Hospital in Waterloo. He suffered a heart attack while watching his daughters compete in the Girls Varsity Invitational track meet on the UNI Campus.


Pollard spent Monday night in the hospital for observation and treatment. He remains hospitalized at Allen today.


Iowa State President Steven Leath has appointed Senior Associate Athletics Director David Harris the acting AD while Pollard recuperates.



Pollard is in his 10th year as Iowa State's athletic director. In October, he was fined $25,000 and reprimanded by the Big 12 after criticizing the officiating in a loss to Oklahoma State. In his postgame rant, Pollard called for increased accountability after poor decisions.


At the end of the first half, Oklahoma State was given a touchdown after a replay review when it appeared RB Desmond Roland may not have made it into the end zone.



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







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News sport : After all that trade speculation, it appears Jay Cutler will return to Bears

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Even after a tumultuous 2014 season for Jay Cutler in Chicago, the Bears “fully expect” him to be their quarterback in 2015, according to a report from ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.


Recent reports indicated that the Bears for a trade were shopping Cutler, who was benched in favor of Jimmy Clausen by former coach Marc Trestman in December. However, a source told Mortensen that there was “absolutely zero truth” to those reports.


From Mortensen:



At most, Chicago has been positioned as a passive listener if other teams have interest in any of its players, including Cutler -- which is the case for the majority of teams, a source noted.



Bears head coach John Fox and general manager Ryan Pace, both recent hires, have not publically committed to Cutler being the team’s quarterback, but Mortensen says “clarification is expected in the near future, perhaps as early as this week.”


Cutler, who signed a massive seven-year, $126 million extension just last year, is scheduled to make $15.5 million in 2015. Additionally, Cutler will make another $10 million guaranteed for injury in 2016 if he remains on the Bears roster “as of Thursday at 4 p.m. ET.”


Keeping Cutler around is clearly a massive financial undertaking for the Bears, but aside from the recently re-signed Clausen, they don’t seem to have a better option to lead the offense. Still, according to Mortensen, new offensive coordinator Adam Gase has been “enthusiastically making plans with a playbook they believe will accentuate Cutler’s strengths.”


In all, Cutler threw for 3,812 yards, 28 touchdowns and 18 interceptions for the 5-11 Bears in 2014.


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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 : Florida State files motion to dismiss TItle IX suit by Winston accuser

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Florida State is seeking to dismiss the Title IX lawsuit brought against it by the woman who accused Jameis Winston of sexual assault.


Winston was never criminally charged with sexual assault and the retired Florida State Supreme Court justice assigned to his Florida State code of conduct hearing ruled evidence didn't show he was responsible for any violations of the school's code of conduct.


From TampaBay.com:



"Nothing about FSU's handling of this matter was unreasonable …" the filing said.




The motion, filed late Monday evening, was FSU's response to a federal lawsuit filed in January in the U.S. District Court's Middle District of Florida.




Its 23 pages document some of the steps FSU said it took to help Kinsman, including the use of two victim's advocates, who are bound by confidentiality laws.




"Far from being deliberately indifferent to Kinsman, FSU provided her the services of its confidential Victim Advocate Program within hours of her alleged sexual assault and continuously thereafter …" FSU's filing said.



The woman filed the lawsuit in early January, alleging that the school didn't properly investigate the matter. Florida State's handling of the investigation came under scrutiny throughout the entire saga, as attorneys for the accuser maintained the university didn't follow Title IX protocol.


The school maintains in the filing it didn't know about the allegations against Winston until November 2013, the same timeline the university detailed in an open letter of how it handled the accusation released in October.


The woman is no longer enrolled at Florida State and the lawsuit said she was forced to leave campus because of Florida State's indifference. The university countered in its dismissal, saying media reports led to backlash against her.



"Regrettably, the media's reporting of Kinsman's allegations led to an Internet and social media backlash — harassment that FSU did not cause, in an environment that FSU could not control …" the university's filing said. "Here, of course, FSU controls neither the Internet nor the vicious trolls who allegedly used it to harass Kinsman."



For more Florida State news, visit Warchant.com.


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







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News sport : What would a Bill Belichick-themed wedding look like?

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So a New England-area couple decided to remind their friends to save the date for their upcoming nuptials by employing the face of one Bill Belichick, the man for whom the term "party" was truly invented. It's a nice idea, clever enough that it caught the Patriots' eye, but it got us to thinking: what exactly would it be like if The Hoodie decided to get into the wedding business?


A Bill Belichick-themed wedding would be a spectacular event, and we think it'd go a little something like this:


• One of the bridesmaids would be cut just prior to the ceremony for salary cap reasons. No refund on the dress.


• The groom would be swapped out for a younger, more handsome groom who turns the marriage into a dynasty.


• All guests expected to wear Patriots gear in church. Anyone wearing Jets or Bills attire may be cursed at openly. Anyone wearing Giants attire will be escorted from the premises.


• Couple's vows would be amended to include "wicked" as well as other quaint Boston aphorisms such as "@%#%," "$@^$," and "#%@% you, Rex Ryan."


• Quailty Belichick-themed reception entertainment:



• A few flowers would be removed from the bouquet to make it easier to throw.


• Peyton Manning would get an invitation to the reception, but would be seated in the hallway.


• Sum total of all reception toasts: "We're moving on to the honeymoon."


• Bride's dress includes a hoodie.


This needs to happen. Go for it, happy New England couples-to-be.


____

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 : Cal DE Brennan Scarlett to transfer and Stanford is reportedly an option

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Brennan Scarlett is transferring from Cal, and he could be heading to the program's biggest rival.


Cal coach Sonny Dykes confirmed the defensive end's departure on Monday and, well, he did it succintly with a "Gone" per InsideBayArea.com.


Scarlett's Cal career has been plagued by injuries and he played in five games last season before he tore his ACL.


He'll be graduate transfer and is eligible at his new program immediately following his graduation in May. His new program could also be Stanford, where his brother Cameron just signed to play. Cameron was a four-star recruit in the class of 2015 as an all-purpose back and the No. 1 recruit in the state of Oregon according to Rivals. InsideBayArea.com cited a source who said Brennan planned to join his brother.


For Scarlett to be able to transfer to a Pac-12 foe, Cal has to sign off on the transfer. When asked about any possible approval, Dykes was succinct again.


"Don't know anything about it," he said. "Don't care, don't know."


Scarlett has been a key contributor for the Bears when he's been on the field. He just hasn't been on the field much. In the five games he played in and started in 2014, he had two sacks and 10 tackles. He missed the entire season in 2013 and in 2012, his most active season, he played in nine games and had 40 tackles.


For more Cal news, visit GoldenBearReport.com.


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







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News sport : Rob Gronkowski gets his Gronk on at a Clippers game

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As the rest of the NFL world concerns itself with free agency and the draft, Rob Gronkowski is doing Rob Gronkowski things. It's comforting, in a way, to know that we'll always have Gronk.


The Gronkin' The World tour stopped in Los Angeles' Staples Center Monday night for the Los Angeles Clippers game, and the big screens caught Gronk and crew in mid-"dance." Gronk also threw footballs into the crowd and generally continues to live exactly the kind of life we all wish we could lead.


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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 : Four-star recruit: OU SAE members 'very uneducated people'

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Four-star recruit Jean Delance called the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity members captured on video saying a racist chant "very uneducated people."


Delance was verbally committted to Oklahoma, but after the video surfaced on Sunday night of the fraternity members chanting on a bus, he decommitted from the Sooners on Monday for reasons he said had nothing to do with the football team.


"Very uneducated people. I wouldn’t want my son or child to go there or to anywhere like that," Delance told CBS DFW. "It was just very disturbing to me I didn’t like it,”


Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops and football team members protested the chant on Monday morning and on Monday afternoon, team members wore all black and the football practice consisted of a prayer and a silent vigil.


The fraternity was banned from campus and all members had until midnight on Monday to move out of the house.


Delance's mother also told CBS DFW that she's had racial issues in her family and told her son that he needed to do what he felt was right. Per the site, the video was emailed to Delance and he showed it to his mother.


“I’ve had family history in racial issues, inequality, and Jean knows these things are serious to us, and the first thing I said was what do you want to do,” Altavian Delance told the site.


Perhaps not-so-coincidentally, Jean Delance, the No. 12 offensive tackle in the country according to Rivals and the No. 12 class of 2016 prospect in the state of Texas, tweeted he got an offer from Alabama Monday afternoon.



For more Oklahoma news, visit SoonerScoop.com.


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







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Fifa can rectify Qatar ‘mistake’

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Outgoing Fifa Executive Committee member Theo Zwanziger says Qatar should be stripped of the 2022 World Cup.


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Berlin - Qatar should be stripped of the 2022 World Cup in order to rectify the mistake of awarding them the world's biggest single sports event, outgoing Fifa Executive Committee member Theo Zwanziger said.


Zwanziger, the former boss of Germany's football association (DFB), said that could happen, however, only if a report into how the World Cup was awarded offers details of specific wrongdoing.


“The best solution would be not to play in Qatar and to rectify this wrong awarding,” he told Bayern 2 radio station.


“But that can only happen if the report provides sufficient clues that the awarding broke Fifa ethics rules,” he sad.


Fifa has been plagued by a wave of scandals and controversy, ranging from allegations of corruption in the 2018/2022 World Cup bidding processes to a row over $25,000 watches given as gifts to executive committee members at the World Cup in Brazil.


Former U.S. attorney Michael Garcia who investigated the claims and drafted a report, resigned in December, saying he felt he was no longer making progress and that soccer's governing body “lacked leadership.”


His report has not been made public while a redacted version will be published at an undisclosed date.


Garcia resigned after a disagreement with Hans-Joachim Eckert, head of the ethics committee's judgement chamber, over the handling of his report.


“Qatar was not suitable to host such a World Cup for a number of reasons,” Zwanziger, who steps down from Fifa in May, said, citing among other the scorching desert temperatures.


Fifa is expected to move the tournament to winter.


The energy-rich Gulf state has also been criticised over migrants' working conditions and protection of their human rights as they build the multi-million dollar football stadiums.


“One has to tell candidates (for World Cups) that sports, football, the clubs and Fifa, they all represent values that we expect to be observed,” said Zwanziger. – Reuters






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Welbeck’s mixed emotions

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Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck admitted having mixed feelings after his goal knocked former club Manchester United out of the FA Cup.


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Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck admitted having mixed feelings after his goal knocked former club Manchester United out of the FA Cup.


Born in Manchester, Welbeck joined United at the age of eight but was allowed to sign for Arsenal last September after new manager Louis van Gaal decided he was surplus to requirements.


The 24-year-old scored the decisive goal to give holders Arsenal a 2-1 win over United at Old Trafford in the FA Cup semi-finals on Monday, but said it had not been a case of claiming revenge.


“Manchester United is a club that means so much to me,” Welbeck said, in quotes published by the BBC on Tuesday. “I'm a fan and it's hard to knock them out.”


Despite celebrating his 61st-minute winner, which came after United captain Wayne Rooney had cancelled out Nacho Monreal's opener, Welbeck was granted a warm reception by the supporters of his former club.


“I'll always respect the fans,” he said. “I had a lovely reception from them and I'm thankful for that.”


Arsenal, who had not won at United since September 2006, were drawn to face either Championship side Reading or third-tier Bradford City in the semi-finals. – AFP






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