Torre presented team owners with an update on replay at meetings held the last two days in New York, an agenda item that received added focus after two mistakes by umpires in the past week drew criticism from the commissioner’s office.
“We’re just trying to do what makes sense for the game,” Torre said at a news conference. “You could start replaying stuff from the first inning on and then time the game by your calendar. We have rhythm in this game that we don’t want to disrupt.”
Torre said technology has to complement what MLB wants to implement and decisions still have to be made on how extensively replay would be used. Currently, replay is only used to review home runs — whether they’re fair or foul, cleared the fence or were subject to fan interference.
“Right now it’s just trying to make a decision on how to go about it and what we think is most important to take a look at,” Torre said. “We’re hopeful that replay will be in place by 2014.”
Torre said the only thing not being considered for expanded review is judgment calls by umpires such as balls and strikes. Tag and trap plays may be reviewed, as could balls hit down the foul lines, with baseball looking at employing a system similar to that used by tennis on line calls.
“I’ve been approached many times with people saying, ‘Why don’t you just put a couple guys in the booth and that should solve it?’” Torre said about calls for baseball having a separate replay official. “Well, this past week we had three umpires look at the replay and they got it wrong, unfortunately. It’s not always that easy.”
Torre said he hopes to have specific replay proposals to present at the next league meeting in August and that whatever system is implemented won’t be a “knee-jerk thing.”
“We just can’t throw something to somebody and say, ‘Here, we’re going to do this tomorrow,” Torre said. “We need to make sure when we do roll it out that we’re prepared and training is a part of it.”
Nearly one whole year out of the boxing ring didn’t have a major effect on Floyd Mayweather, as he retained his WBC welterweight championship title against Robert Guerrero at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 4.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. throws a right to the face of Robert Guerrero in their WBC welterweight title bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 4, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Credit: Al Bello (Getty Images)
The 36-year-old Mayweather did show some signs of his age and his time out of the ring. The first two rounds had Guerrero throwing more punches, while Mayweather played defense and acted like a patient warrior waiting for his moment to attack. By round three, Mayweather finally started to feel comfortable with his position, and started throwing strong punches with his right and powerful counters with his left. Guerrero played a great defense, and was able to keep up with Mayweather through all 12 rounds, but his punches never had a major effect on the undefeated champion.
Mayweather may be six years older than the 30-year-old Guerrero, but his age never fully caught up with him during Saturday’s match. He is still quick with his feet, and smart with his punches. His defense is a powerhouse, and he still comes across as a threat to anyone who wants to face him in the ring. And he’s going to need to hang onto all those abilities, as he just signed a six-fight contract with Showtime/CBS.
Toward the end of the match, though, Mayweather did realize that he had the win in the bag and just found ways to burn time off the clock – a decision that didn’t please the boxing fans in Vegas, who began booing and shouting “boring.” Mayweather would go on to win the bout by a unanimous decision, with all three judges giving the score of 117-111. Mayweather now has a record of 44-0, while Guerrero is 31-2-1.
The undercard matches leading up to the Mayweather/Guerrero bout were strong, too, with a few of them having questionable outcomes.
The first match of the night had J’Leon Love in a split decision battle against Gabriel Rosada for the vacant NABF middleweight championship title. Both boxers landed plenty of punches, and were pretty even for most of the match. Rosada was even able to knock Love down at the end of the sixth round. But, in the end, it was Love who was decided as the winner, and that upset the audience at the arena. Love remains undefeated at 16-0, and Rosada is now 21-7.
Next up was Leo Santa Cruz and Alexander Munoz for the vacant USBA junior featherweight championship title. Munoz hardly had a chance against Santa Cruz and his strong offense and fists of fury. Santa Cruz went for as many punches as he could, giving Munoz very little time to defend himself. By the end of the fourth round, Munoz was questioning whether he should continue or throw in the towel. He decided to give it one more round, and that round was all Santa Cruz. The match was called at 1:05 in the fifth, and Santa Cruz won by technical knockout (TKO). Santa Cruz is now 24-0-1, and Munoz is 36-5.
The final match before the Mayweather/Guerrero bout was Daniel “Ponce” De Leon putting his WBC world featherweight championship title on the line against his friend Abner Mares. De Leon went down by the end of the second round, but was able to get up for another round. Both fighters took turns winning rounds, and there were some times where it was tough to decide who had the upper hand in the match. By round nine, after De Leon had gone down a second time in a previous round, there was still uncertainty as to how the match would go. But Mares was able to throw some strong jabs and put De Leon into a corner. Even though De Leon still seemed focus and ready to strike back, the referee called the match at 2:20, ruling it a TKO. Questionable at first, the replays showed that De Leon could have gone on for a little longer, but Mares was definitely overpowering him before the match was decided.
Roger Goodell will host the 2013 NFL draft, which kicks off with Round 1 on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. (Courtesy of SI.com)
The first round of the 2013 NFL Draft kicks off in prime time on Thursday night and the production as become as big of an event as the draft itself. It’s the NFL’s marquee off-season event that has become a mega production ever since Roger Goodell took over as NFL commissioner. Last year, ESPN and the NFL Network combined for an average of 8.1 million viewers for its opening-round coverage, an increase of 16 percent from the previous year and the second-most-watched first round ever.
Roger Goodell will host the opening 2013 NFL draft, which kicks off with Round 1 on Thursday at 8 p.m. simulcast on ESPN and NFL Network. The two heavyweight networks will While ESPN and NFL Network will compete fiercely for audience this week, they have once again come together for a gentleman’s agreement on the subject of tipping draft picks. Both networks have pledged not to show images of players on the phone in the green room at Radio City Music Hall. In addition to that, both networks tell SI.com that they will tell staffers not to report pick-by-pick selections on their Twitter feeds prior to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announcing the picks on the podium. The Twitter edict will extend into the second round of the draft. Teams have 10 minutes to pick in the first round, seven minutes in the second round and five minutes for the rest of the draft.
ESPN NFL senior coordinating producer Seth Markman, who oversees draft coverage for the network offered his thoughts on the agreement:
“Our fans have told us they would rather hear from the Commissioner and I think it is a better TV show when we speculate and let the Commissioner do it, I have said in the past that [ESPN reporters] Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen can basically announce all the picks before they are made if they really wanted to. It goes against a lot of our instincts as journalists and it’s totally different than anything I deal with, but we feel like it is a win for the fans and our viewers.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter added his own perspective on the influence of Twitter.
“[Twitter is] such a part of the life we live now so it just figures it would extend to the NFL draft. Some people like having that news instantaneously, many don’t like the surprise to be spoiled. I am not looking to spoil the drama or ruin the experience.”
In my personal opinion, I think its important to keep the integrity and importance of the experience of watching the draft unfold on TV rather than the computer or someplace else. Along with that, I prefer the pre-prime-time days of the NFL Draft when it took place on Saturday afternoon and an entire day was made of it. Of course, I understand why the NFL decided to move it in to prime time because in this world, it’s all about money.
How about you guys? Do you prefer the draft in its current prime time format or the former? Additionally, do you support the “gentleman’s agreement” between ESPN and NFL Network not to ‘tip’ picks or show images of players on the phone in the green room at Radio City Music Hall or report pick-by-pick selections on their Twitter feeds prior to the announcement at the podium?
When Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant went down to what is believed to be a torn Achilles tendon, the basketball world was in shock. It could be the sudden end to a career of one of the game’s all-time greats and Bryant seems to understand what the injury could mean. He also all but officially confirmed that he will undergo surgery and begin rehab for his torn Achilles.
You never want to see anyone injured, especially something this severe. After a long and storied career, could this be it for “mamba”?
Here is Bryant’s entire statement from his Facebook page:
This is such BS! All the training and sacrifice just flew out the window with one step that I’ve done millions of times! The frustration is unbearable. The anger is rage. Why the hell did this happen ?!? Makes no damn sense. Now I’m supposed to come back from this and be the same player Or better at 35?!? How in the world am I supposed to do that??
I have NO CLUE. Do I have the consistent will to overcome this thing? Maybe I should break out the rocking chair and reminisce on the career that was. Maybe this is how my book ends. Maybe Father Time has defeated me…Then again maybe not!
It’s 3:30am, my foot feels like dead weight, my head is spinning from the pain meds and I’m wide awake. Forgive my Venting but what’s the purpose of social media if I won’t bring it to you Real No Image?? Feels good to vent, let it out. To feel as if THIS is the WORST thing EVER! Because After ALL the venting, a real perspective sets in.
There are far greater issues/challenges in the world then a torn achilles. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, find the silver lining and get to work with the same belief, same drive and same conviction as ever.
One day, the beginning of a new career journey will commence. Today is NOT that day.
“If you see me in a fight with a bear, prey for the bear”. Ive always loved that quote. Thats “mamba mentality” we don’t quit, we don’t cower, we don’t run. We endure and conquer.
I know it’s a long post but I’m Facebook Venting LOL. Maybe now I can actually get some sleep and be excited for surgery tomorrow. First step of a new challenge.
Guess I will be Coach Vino the rest of this season. I have faith in my teammates. They will come thru.
A pair of intriguing contests await the large crowd that will assemble inside Atlanta’s Georgia Dome this Saturday evening for the 2013 NCAA Final Four.
In the first game, scheduled to tip off just after 6 p.m. Eastern time, Louisville, the tournament’s overall No. 1 seed out of the Midwest region, will meet Wichita State, a ninth seed and upstart champions of the West region.
This weekend, the ‘Wheat’ Shockers make their second trip to the Final Four. The last time Wichita State reached the national semifinals was 1965, when they lost to the repeating national champion UCLA Bruins.
Ironically, back in 1965, Wichita State and Louisville were both members of the Missouri Valley Conference. The Cardinals left in 1975 to join what was then called the Metro Conference and has since morphed into Conference USA.
Wichita State defeated second seed Ohio State last weekend in Los Angeles, behind the outstanding play of Regional MVP Malcolm Armstead and Cleanthony Early. Carl Hall and Tekele Cotton also have made important contributions throughout the Shockers’ season.
Louisville overcame the emotionally draining injury to backup guard Kevin Ware to prevail over second seed Duke in the Midwest Region final last Sunday. Paced by the terrific play of guards Peyton Siva and Russ Smith, the Cardinals are hoping to capture the school’s third national championship.
The big question in the first national semifinal: What can the Shockers do to solve the Cardinals’ full-court pressure and fast-breaking offense?
“They’re (Louisville) very, very fast, athletic, … push it extremely hard. What you’ve got to do is not turn the ball over. If we’re turning the ball over and giving them transition opportunities, then we’re not doing what we’re trying to do,” Shockers head coach Gregg Marshall told reporters Friday.
Saturday’s second game will feature a pair of fourth seeded teams – Michigan and Syracuse. The Wolverines are making their first trip to the Final Four since 1993. After upsetting top seed Kansas, Michigan shot their way past Florida for the South regional title.
Trey Burke, named this week the John Wooden Award winner and Associated Press Player of the Year, and Mitch McGary made names for themselves during the Sweet 16. Tim Hardaway Jr. and Glenn Robinson III, sons of NBA stars bearing the same names, have been season-long leaders for Michigan.
Following a win over region top seed Indiana, Syracuse is the East region champ by virtue of a win over fellow Big East member Marquette. Head coach Jim Boeheim’s team last reached the Final Four in 2003, when they won it all.
Junior forward C.J. Fair leads the Orange in scoring, followed by senior guard Brandon Triche and sophomore point guard Michael Carter-Williams.
The question in this national semifinal nightcap is whether Trey Burke and Michigan’s other wing players can penetrate the Orange’s vaunted zone defense and score inside and out. Meanwhile, Jim Boeheim is concerned about his team’s offensive production.
“I think it probably needs to better, because Michigan is the best offensive team we’ve played,” Boeheim told reporters in Atlanta Thursday.
CBS will televise the NCAA Final Four, beginning at 6 p.m. Eastern time Saturday.
What a weekend in college hoops. Of the 68 teams in the NCAA tournament, 52 have been eliminated after an
elongated weekend that started with two 16-game marathons (Thursday-Friday) and culminated with two 8-game slates (Saturday-Sunday) made up of stunning upsets, highlight-reel plays, and as always…busted brackets. Have no fear, the madness is far from over and now the anticipation begins for the always intense Sweet 16 battles.
There’s always a Cinderella in the NCAA tournament, and this year Florida Gulf Coast epitomizes the term. Yet there’s a difference between the “Dunk City” Eagles and the Virginia Commonwealths and George Masons of the past. It’s been how FGCU has been winning. Aside from a somewhat sluggish first half against Georgetown during that second-round stunner, this team has dictated the tempo and looked like the higher seed against the Big East champion and a perennial top-25 team, a bizarre realization considering this team just made history as the only No. 15 seed to reach the Sweet 16. Cinderella teams are always defined by moments. The highlight-reel dunks (18.5 % of their scoring comes from slams) and their confidence on the court. Every player on that team knows they’re writing history and they’ve been surfing that shock-the-world momentum since the start of the tournament.
Looking ahead to Thursday/Friday, match ups in the Sweet 16, the most intriguing matchup appears to be one with a Final Four feel to it in Duke vs. Michigan State in the Midwest Regional. Izzo vs. Krzyzewski never fails.
The NFL’s 2013 league year is just three days old, but the start of free agency and ability to officially trade players have already shifted the landscape of power significantly with dozens more moves to come. Here’s a quick glance at some of the early winners and losers of the past 48 or so hours:
WINNERS
Kansas City Chiefs: He may not have come in free agency, but getting Alex Smith was a great start. They followed that up by signing Bowe long term and placing the franchise tag on Branden Albert. After keeping some of their best players in town, they went out and made some great depth moves. They signed Dunta Robinson last friday, and when free agency started they snagged Chase Daniels, Anthony Fasano and Mike DeVito. Nothing too flashy, but great depth moves.
Chicago Bears: The Bears made arguably their best move before free agency started by placing the franchise tag on Henry Melton. After doing what they could to keep their amazing defense in tact, they quickly moved on to their more pressing needs on offense. Getting a good tight end in Martellus Bennett and a Pro Bowl tackle in Jermon Bushrod. The signing of Bennett must have Cutler grinning from ear to ear right now. Not only does he now have a tight end capable of catching, but Bennett is also a great blocker. Next up, signing Brian Urlacher.
Indianapolis Colts: Their top priority to this point has been protecting their budding star quarterback Andrew Luck. They signed one of the better tackles on the market in Gosder Cherilus and added former Patriots guard Donald Thomas. On the defensive side of the ball they signed one of the more underrated cornerbacks in the game in Greg Toler. Something tells me they’re just getting started too.
Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins kicked off free agency by throwing money at players like a drunken sailor. They signed arguably the best player on the market – no matter what position – with the addition of Mike Wallace, and replaced Karlos Dansby with former Ravens linebacker Dannell Ellerbe. They continued their defensive makeover by adding Philip Wheeler. The Fins also re-signed Chris Clemons. Just imagine if they were able to sign Jared Cook too, as they had hoped to. All of a sudden Ryan Tannehill’s not so short on passing options.
Mike Wallace is all smiles while facing the South Florida media on March 13, 2012 in Davie. Wallace signed a five-year, $60 million deal with the Miami Dolphins. JOE RIMKUS JR. / STAFF PHOTO
Philadelphia Eagles: They aren’t the sexiest picks in free agency, but they’re the kind of underappreciated guys that go a long way in winning. The Eagles signed NT Isaac Sopoaga, FB/TE James Casey, CB Bradley Fletcher, LB Jason Phillips and S Patrick Chung. Chung is the best pick up of the group, as this team needs a serious makeover at safety. Their best move though came not with an addition, but a subtraction. The Eagles finally released Nnamdi Asomugha after he refused to take a pay cut. This move will save the Eagles roughly $11M against the cap, and could prompt further spending.
LOSERS
It’s a little early to go judging the effects of players lost to free agency, but it’s never too early to speculate.
Baltimore Ravens: I don’t think the loss of Dannell Ellerbe or Paul Kruger is going to take a huge toll on this defense, but it’s certainly worth noting they lost two key contributors from their Super Bowl run. They also run the risk of losing Ed Reed if they don’t sign him soon. The addition of Chris Canty certainly softens the blow of losing Ellerbe and Kruger, but then again, they lost Kruger to a team in their division. The reviled… Cleveland Browns.
Dannell Ellerbe #59 of the Baltimore Ravens celebrates with teammate Paul Kruger #99 (Jared Wickerham/Getty Images North America)
Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals went into free agency with over $45M in cap space, and to this point have done nothing. Well, that’s not entirely true. They did resign their kicker, punter, long snapper and Robert Geathers. This is a team on the cusp of contending, if there were ever a time to start spending it’s now. Not sure why they didn’t make a push for Mike Wallace.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Not sure why I’m surprised but the Jaguars haven’t spent a single penny to this point. With all their holes on defense, and the prospect of losing both of their starting corners in free agency could they not at the very least make a depth signing?
It’s a question that’s worth literally millions of dollars and could ultimately determine the future of the Atlanta Falcons for the next decade. And unfortunately questions of that magnitude never seem to come with easy or “right” answers.
While the article doesn’t give exact specifications to what the contract would entail, it does remind us that in 2004 Falcons owner Arthur Blank once made Michael Vick the highest-paid player with a ten-year, $130 million dollar deal.
The same Joe Flacco who is the reigning Super Bowl MVP and that just signed a six-year, $120 million dollar contract. A contract which makes him the highest paid player in the history of football.
It’s not real surprise though, Ryan and Flacco have been tied to each other and compared relentlessly since entering the league together in 2008. Ryan was selected third overall by the Falcons and Flacco 18th overall by the Ravens.
With that, let’s compare their production from the 2012 season and over the course of their entire careers and you can decide for yourself just how much you think Ryan deserves.
If there’s anyone who knows about storming the court, it’s Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. Damn near every time Duke loses, the opposing team’s fans storm the court.
It has happened 4 times this year, once in each of Duke’s losses.
The most recent one was last night, when Virginia beat the Blue Devils 73-68.
Elated Virginia fans stormed the court after the game, despite the fact that it technically wasn’t even an upset. Sure, Duke was the higher ranked team, but Vegas odds had Virginia favored by a point before the game.
Coach K’s main beef was with the fact that his team wasn’t allowed to get off the court before the fans took over.
“When we’ve lost in the last 20 years, everybody rushes the court. Whatever you’re doing, you need to get the team off first. Celebrate, have fun, obviously you won. That’s cool, but just get our team off the court and our coaching staff before students come on.”
He’s not necessarily saying that fans shouldn’t be allowed to storm the floor after a big win. Just let the players get off the court, so you make sure nothing happens.
With thousands of fans rushing the floor, running by a dozen or so people from a rival school, literally anything can happen, and Coach K knows that. Not only that… if anything happens between players and fans, the players will be the ones held accountable every time.
“Look, do you know how close you are to — just put yourself in the position of one of our players or coaches. I’m not saying any fan did this, but the potential is there all the time for a fan to just go up to you and say, ‘Coach you’re a [expletive],’ or push you or hit you. And what do you do? What if you did something? That would be the story. We deserve that type of protection. I’m always concerned about stuff like that, especially at this time of the year. What if that happened and we get a kid suspended? That becomes the national story. It’s not all fun and games when people are rushing the court, especially for the team that lost. Again, congratulations to them, and they should have fun and burn benches and do all that stuff. I’m all for that. They have a great school, great kids, but get us off the court. That’s the bottom line.”
He raises a valid point.
If a fan hits one of the players, or does something that could potentially injure someone on the visiting team, there’s really nothing that the players could do without risking suspension or possibly worse.
It’s a safety issue, and teams need to be able to get their players off the court safely. If you must storm the floor, go ahead. But safety should be the top priority, and that’s being lost amid the chaos, when fans just storm the court before the players get a chance to leave.
As spring training games get rolling in Florida and Arizona around Major League Baseball, there’s no shortage of news coming from Yankees camp stationed in Tampa. Some positive news on Derek Jeter and Phil Hughes and some really unfortunate news on Curtis Granderson.
The latest from Tampa:
Derek Jeter took the next step in his recovery on Saturday, running and doing agility drills on the field for the first time since breaking his ankle in the 2012 postseason. On Sunday, Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman gave a more definite timetable for Jeter, stating that his shortstop would return to game action around March 10. Cashman did note that Jeter would be limited to serving as a designated hitter in his first few games back.
Phil Hughes is taking the next step in his recovery from a bulging disc in his back today. He will be in a pool today, either doing some jogging or swimming as he works his way back from injury. Cashman indicated on Sunday that Hughes would do three to five days of pool work before he is able to pick up a baseball.
During his first at-bat of Spring Training, Yankees slugger Curtis Granderson was hit in his right forearm on a pitch from Blue Jays left-hand pitcher J.A. Happ and exited the game. He was taken to a local hospital for what was thought to be precautionary x-rays which ultimately revealed the fracture. The Yankees expect Granderson to be out of action for approximately 10 weeks.
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Derek Jeter took the next step in his recovery on Saturday, running and doing agility drills on the field for the first time since breaking his ankle in the 2012 postseason. On Sunday, Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman gave a more definite timetable for Jeter, stating that his shortstop would return to game action around March 10. Cashman did note that Jeter would be limited to serving as a designated hitter in his first few games back.
Phil Hughes is taking the next step in his recovery from a bulging disc in his back today. He will be in a pool today, either doing some jogging or swimming as he works his way back from injury. Cashman indicated on Sunday that Hughes would do three to five days of pool work before he is able to pick up a baseball.
During his first at-bat of Spring Training, Yankees slugger Curtis Granderson was hit in his right forearm on a pitch from Blue Jays left-hand pitcher J.A. Happ and exited the game. He was taken to a local hospital for what was thought to be precautionary x-rays which ultimately revealed the fracture. The Yankees expect Granderson to be out of action for approximately 10 weeks.
