Pat Burrell Jhan Marinez Anibal Sanchez John Baker Brad Davis Logan Morrison
UFC 130 may not have been the greatest card of all time, but a few fights helped to establish the contenders from the pretenders in their respective divisions.
One example of this is Rick Story, a fighter who was not ranked in most folks top 20 welterweights coming in, pulling off a huge upset over Thiago Alves.
Alves fought for the UFC welterweight belt back in July of 2009, and despite only being 1-2 since then, he was still generally considered a top three welterweight fighter coming into the match up with “The Horror” Story.
This is a major shake up for the UFC’s welterweight division, so an updated power ranking for the top 10 most credentialed fighters in the division seems in order.
Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/717736-ufc-130-results-power-ranking-the-top-15-welterweights
Andrew McDonald Matt Martin Frans Nielsen Dwayne Roloson Jon Sim Jason Arnott
This past week, Pat Haden and the Trojans athletic department got the bad news: The NCAA will not be lifting the sanctions they received last June.
The Trojans will not be able to participate in any bowl games again this season, including the inaugural Pac-12 championship game taking place in early December. They will also continue to lose scholarships.
Despite these sanctions, the Trojans were able to finish third in the Pac-10 last season, getting eight wins. They were able to stay focused on winning games even though they had absolutely nothing to play for.
The Trojans now face another season where they have nothing to play for. They need to stay motivated and still challenge opponents. But here are five reasons why the Trojans will still survive after this season despite all the penalties.
Dustin Kohn Andrew McDonald Matt Martin Frans Nielsen Dwayne Roloson Jon Sim
ATLANTA (AP) — DUI and reckless driving charges have been dismissed against Braves pitcher Derek Lowe.
One of Lowe's attorneys, Cory Yager, said Thursday that solicitor Raines Carter, the chief prosecutor in Atlanta Municipal Court, agreed to dismiss the charges for lack of evidence.
Yager says police video following the April 28 arrest showed Lowe "did remarkably well" in his field sobriety tests after declining a breath test.
Yager told The Associated Press the reckless driving charge, which stemmed from an allegation Lowe was racing, "was absolutely unfounded."
Lowe, 37, did not contest a traffic violation for making an improper lane change.
Lowe apologized following the arrest.
The Braves were off on Thursday and open a home series against Cincinnati on Friday.
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Juan Miranda Colin Curtis Kevin Russo Curtis Granderson Nick Johnson Javier Lopez
If you write a book titled The Winners Manual to the Game of Life, which talks about doing the morally right thing, then do the exact opposite of that in your own life, it doesn’t end up good.
Jim Tressel, the author of that book, did just that and was caught doing it. He has since resigned as coach of the Ohio St. Buckeyes.
The question is will he ever recover from this tragedy?
He could be a successful coach at another program, but will another program be willing to take a chance on him? This mistake will follow him where ever he goes from here.
If he does get hired again, the first question asked will be what happened at Ohio St.
But is that fair?
Not really, when you realize that every coach in college football cheats the way Tressel cheated. Most coaches haven’t been caught yet. But if you do get caught, you cannot lie about it.
That’s the big issue that—he lied to the NCAA. He should have learned from Bruce Pearl that lying to the NCAA is the worst thing you could do.
Let me clarify cheating. There are several NCAA rules that seem ridiculous. For example, giving a player $5 to eat lunch so that he doesn’t have to skip lunch because he can’t afford to eat. Those rules are there to punish coaches that would abuse it if it wasn’t a rule, but most of the time coaches are just being human.
There are coaches that abuse the system. I played with an All-American cornerback in high school that later played in the NFL. Not only did he receive a convertible car from a booster of the school he went to, but our high school team was given stuff from the team’s assistant coaches that were there to recruit him as well. When your job depends on 18 to 22-year-old kids, you have to get the best ones out there. If that means doing things that are technically illegal, but will help your team out, you’ll do what you can.
Jim Tressel was simply looking out for what he thought was best for his star players. It backfired big time for him.
Will he get another job somewhere in the future? Absolutely. But it will never be at a school that is as big and as prominent as the Ohio St. Buckeyes.
Bruno Gervais Dustin Kohn Andrew McDonald Matt Martin Frans Nielsen Dwayne Roloson
Jim Tressel Resigns and Jon Gruden is the Perfect Fit as Next Ohio State Head Coach
According to the Columbus Dispatch, Jim Tressel, head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team, resigned after allegations from the NCAA tarnished the program.
With Tressel out, Ohio State will be looking for a big name to fill the head coaching vacancy but someone who is not attached to controversy.
I think Jon Gruden is looking for a way to get back into coaching and a place with a lot of prestige and power would be as the head coach of Ohio State.
Must Read: Ohio State Football: 10 Possible Replacements for Jim Tressel
Mike Freeman tells CBS Sports:
Gruden will be linked to many big-time coaching openings, in college and the pros. But over the past few months, and before Tressel was kicked out on his ass, Gruden told more than a few people he was antsy and desired a return to coaching. One assistant told me Gruden hasn't been shy about it, either. Indeed, Gruden and Ohio State would be a perfect fit (though Urban Meyer might even be more perfect). Expect the usual Gruden denial to the Ohio State speculation but don't believe it for a second. Repeat: don't believe it. He'd listen and take it if offered. And Gruden coaching at Ohio State in 2012 would be perfect timing.
Jon Gruden is the face of a school that Ohio State needs to get out of this mess that Jim Tressel got the team into.
Gruden has a clean slate and his professional knowledge and experience will not only benefit the team on the field, but he will be one of the top recruiters every season.
If a kid wants to get to the NFL level, he will go to be coached by an NFL person who can put him in the best position to succeed on the next level.
Check back here for up-to-the-second news, info and predictions, or check Bleacher Report?s College Football section.
Lars Eller Hal Gill John Madden Petr Kalus Colton Gilies Justin Falk
Jim Tressel Resigns, Columbus Dispatch Reporting Luke Fickell Will Be Interim Head Coach
Now that Jim Tressel has stepped down as head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes, the team is already moving forward with assistant coach Luke Fickell at the helm.
The Buckeyes made it clear that Fickell would be their coach during Tressel five game suspension to start the 2011 season and that he would be a strong candidate moving forward.
Now that Tressel has resigned, the Ohio State upper brass has made the quick decision to stick with Fickell for at least the rest of the 2011 season.
Must Read: Ohio State Football: 10 Possible Replacements for Jim Tressel
The Columbus Dispatch is reporting:
Sources said assistant coach Luke Fickell, who had been named to coach the first five games of the season while Tressel served his suspension for withholding information from the university compliance office and the NCAA, will serve as interim coach of the Buckeyes all of next season.
If I were in charge of Ohio State at this point, I wouldn?t be looking to bring in a coach like Urban Meyer because the sanctions that the NCAA will hand down will make no coach want to come there until the sanctions are lifted.
Ohio State needs to go out and find a young coach with potential that isn?t surrounded by a cloud of suspicion. Fickell could be a great coach in the long run, but he was too closely associated with the whole Tressel discrepancies.
Check back here for up-to-the-second news, info and predictions, or check Bleacher Report?s College Football section.
Josh Bailey Mark Eaton Trent Hunter Andy Hilbert Bruno Gervais Dustin Kohn
GENEVA (AP) —FIFA placed its own president under investigation Friday in a widening bribery scandal just days before Sepp Blatter faces re-election against Mohamed bin Hammam. With both candidates now under investigation, it is unclear whether Wednesday's election will proceed.
Blatter is accused of ignoring alleged bribes to Caribbean voters, and soccer's governing body said he must submit a statement by Saturday before appearing at an ethics committee hearing in Zurich the next day.
"I cannot comment on the proceedings that have been opened against me," Blatter said in a statement released by his advisers. "The facts will speak for themselves."
Bin Hammam requested Thursday that FIFA also investigate Blatter in the affair that has thrown the sport's leadership into chaos. British Sports Minister Hugh Robertson said the election had "descended into a farce" and should be postponed.
Michel Platini, president of European soccer's ruling organization and a former French soccer great, is a contender to be FIFA president in 2015. He said in London on Friday he expected next week's election to be held.
"To not have elections you need three-quarters of the assembly who will say, 'No elections,'" said Platini, a FIFA executive member for nine years who has never been linked to scandal. "You know the people who are corrupt; they know who can be corruptible. They know I am incorruptible."
In Moscow, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin offered support to Blatter, calling the allegations against him "complete nonsense." Putin was a a key figure in Russia's winning bid for the 2018 World Cup.
Bin Hammam and senior FIFA official Jack Warner were summoned Wednesday to go before an ethics panel on charges of bribing voters during a Caribbean campaign visit.
The allegations were made by American FIFA executive committee member Chuck Blazer. Blatter, who is seeking a fourth term as FIFA president, has described suggestions he "masterminded" the scandal to remove his Qatari rival from the race as "ludicrous."
Up to 25 delegates who have votes in the election were allegedly offered cash bribes at the May 10-11 conference in Warner's native Trinidad, where he is a government minister. Delegates were allegedly offered $40,000 in cash for "development projects."
Bin Hammam, who denies bribery, contends Blatter broke ethics rules by not reporting apparent corruption attempts. FIFA's ethics rules require officials to "report any evidence of violations of conduct."
Bin Hammam, Warner and two Caribbean Football Union officials were ordered to go before the ethics panel based on Blazer's explosive file of evidence.
Warner, a senior FIFA official for 28 years, allegedly said "the FIFA president would have had no issue" with the payments.
Support from the Caribbean has long been seen as crucial to unseating Blatter, who took the presidency in 1998 when bin Hammam helped manage his campaign.
Blazer, the highest-ranking American in FIFA, has been an executive committee and CONCACAF regional body colleague of the men he accuses for more than 15 years.
Blatter is the eighth current member of FIFA's 24-man ruling panel under investigation for alleged corruption. Two former members were suspended after a British newspaper investigation into vote-trading leading to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup votes.
FIFA was sifting through evidence Friday while also preparing for next week's gathering of 208 soccer nations in Zurich. Blatter has called for accusations made in a British Parliamentary inquiry this month to be resolved before election day.
Lawmakers published claims two weeks ago from a Qatari bid whistleblower that African soccer president Issa Hayatou of Cameroon and Jacques Anouma of the Ivory Coast received $1.5 million bribes to vote for the emirate's successful 2022 bid.
The former head of England's failed 2018 bid, David Triesman, told the inquiry that Warner asked for money to build an education center and buy 2010 World Cup broadcast rights for Haiti. Warner denied the allegation.
Triesman said three other FIFA voters made improper requests for inducements: Nicolas Leoz, South America's soccer president from Paraguay; Ricardo Teixeira, who heads Brazil's 2014 World Cup preparations; and Worawi Makudi, a bin Hammam loyalist from Thailand. They have all denied the accusations.
FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke and legal director Marco Villiger will take the lead on making decisions on whether any officials should face separate ethics investigations.
The ethics panel suspended Nigerian Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii from Tahiti last November following an undercover sting by The Sunday Times. Adamu is appealing his three-year ban for bribery to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and Temarii accepted his one-year sanction for breaking FIFA loyalty rules.
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The WatchESPN iPad app is now available, ESPN PR just told us.
It only works if you are a Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, or Verizon FiOS TV subscriber.
(Which we are. Sweet.)
This all just proves that ESPN "gets" it. It's somobical; social, mobile, local. And that's as cool as the other side of the pillow.
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Martin Erat Marcel Goc Jamie Lundmark Nick Spaling Pikka Rinne Mathieu Carle
Matt Martin Frans Nielsen Dwayne Roloson Jon Sim Jason Arnott David Clarkson
It has been announced that Hulk Hogan has teamed with Majesco to offer the first fully motion controlled wrestling game for the X-Box Kinect motion sensor system.
The announcement came a few days ago, and the plans for a Hulk Hogan-only video game have many wrestling fans scratching their heads.
The description released by the developer states that a player will create a custom wrestler, and then face off against the Hulkster in nine different venues. These include a backyard, gym and numerous stadiums.
The moveset will consist of approximately 30 moves that can be performed by utilizing the Kinect feature. The actual game has yet to be demonstrated so it is still unknown how certain things like kicking out of a pin and diving moves will work.
Since this game only features Hogan and a small moveset, I'm led to believe this may end up as a download-only game, not available in disc format.
Hopefully the developer and Microsoft don't charge too much for the game because I have a feeling that very few people would be willing to pay the average $59.99 price tag for a game that only features one known wrestler.
Hogan has had a variety of different projects over the last few years ranging from infomercials to film projects to his role in TNA, and now he appears to be branching off from TNA to create this game.
TNA's frist video game was met with little enthusiasm by gamers and a lack of sales prompted the company to hold of on making another game anytime soon. Its later-than-anticipated release didn't help much either.
With WWE ruling the wrestling game world—with their highly popular Smackdown vs. Raw series and the newly released WWE All Stars—I have a hard time thinking this game will make any kind of a dent in those sales.
I praise Hogan for being proactive in keeping his name relevant and continuing to work, but sometimes I wonder why he signs up to do these things.
I guess only time will tell if the game will be successful. So far Kinect has seen relatively strong sales, so there could be a large enough market for this game to succeed.
What do you think, will the Hulk Hogan game be good or a dud?
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CHICAGO (AP) — Once LeBron James and Dwyane Wade took over the game, the Chicago Bulls didn't stand a chance.
Miami's two biggest stars played like it Thursday night, scoring all but two of the Heat's points in an 18-3 run that turned a 12-point deficit late in the fourth quarter into an 83-80 victory and a spot in the NBA finals. They combined for 22 points in the final period — the rest of the Heat had four — and were merciless defensively on Derrick Rose, including James' block of the MVP's last-ditch shot.
"We have some special players that, when we needed some big-time plays to save us, they were able to do that," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
If only Wade and James could remember it.
"We want to watch the last four minutes of the game and see what happened," James said. "It went so fast."
Furious, too. James scored 12 of his 28 in the fourth quarter while Wade went 4 for 5 in the final period. He scored 10 of his 21 points in the final period.
Now it's on to the NBA finals, where the Heat will face the Dallas Mavericks in a rematch of 2006, when Miami won its only title. Game 1 is Tuesday in Miami.
That it was James and Wade delivering down the stretch was only fitting. With apologies to Chris Bosh, they are the biggest stars in Miami — the entire NBA, really — and this is what everyone expected since they teamed up last summer. Forces on their own in Miami and Cleveland, they saw when they played together at the Beijing Olympics how dominant they could be if they combined efforts.
So Wade spurned his hometown Bulls to stay in Miami. And James spurned his entire hometown.
"I understand a lot of the backlash. I also understand I did what was best for me, best for my family," James said. "I wanted to team up with guys that would never die down in the moment. ... D-Wade came to me and said it was possible, and we made it happen."
And in the most dramatic of fashions, of course.
After all, these are the same guys whose introduction party in Miami was a spectacle usually only seen with rock stars.
"They're Hollywood as hell," Joakim Noah said, "but they're very good at the same time."
Wade is a proud Chicago native, growing up on the South Side, going to school at Marquette in nearby Milwaukee and coming back for part of the offseason. He even flirted with the Bulls during last summer's free agency free-for-all. But playing in his hometown has always been a challenge for Wade — he came into the game shooting just 43 percent in 22 career games at the United Center — and it was no different early on.
He was 2 of 8 for 11 points through the first three quarters, and had tied his playoff career high with nine turnovers. When he went in for a fast-break with five minutes left, only to watch the ball roll off the rim, it seemed to sum up his night and his woes in Chicago.
When Ronnie Brewer made a 3-pointer a minute later to give Chicago a 12-point lead, it looked as if James, Wade and the Heat would be taking the series back to South Beach.
"We don't even know what happened," Wade said. "I just remember in the timeout (after Brewer's 3), our coaches looked at us and said, 'We've done this before. We've gone on 12- or 14-point runs. Just believe.' That's all I remember."
Wade banked in a shot, and the Heat were off and running. Wade stole the ball from Rose at the other end, and raced back downcourt for a layup. He then fed James for a 3-pointer, cutting Chicago's lead to 77-72.
After a pretty turnaround by Rose, Wade drilled a 3-pointer from what seemed like half-court. He drew a foul from Rose in the process and made the free throw for the four-point play.
"(Wade's) got something different, a different makeup inside of him. He's able to rise up to the occasion no matter what's happening during a game," Spoelstra said. "When it's winning time, there's really not many players better than him in the last two minutes."
Not to be outdone, James made his own long-range shot to tie the game at 79 with 1:07 left. He then forced Rose into another bad pass, and scored on a long jumper, giving the Heat its first lead since late in the first quarter.
Rose had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds, but James — who stands a good 5 inches taller — was relentless. He got in Rose's face and refused to budge, forcing Rose to put up a bad shot that wasn't anywhere close to being good.
When the final buzzer sounded, Wade and James found each other at halfcourt and embraced.
"There's no sense of relief right now," James said. "We have a lot of work to do still, and we look forward to the challenge."
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It is not uncommon for managers to make strategic errors or to lose the trust of his players due to a lack of communication. It is far less common for a manager, as Oakland A's manager Bob Geren has done, to offer a false statement about his managerial philosophy.
After being swept last weekend by the Giants, reliever Brian Fuentes blasted Geren for what he called "unorthodox managing," when he was called upon in three-straight tied ball games at AT&T Park.
After Fuentes struggled in all three games, Geren told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle that he could no longer confirm any one pitcher as the closer.
"I could use anybody," Geren said. "It's been that way. Everybody knows that."
Pardon? Nobody knows this because it has simply not been the case. Could you articulate further, Bob?
"I've always said I've used a guy in the right situation," he added. "The eighth inning is a good spot for [Grant] Balfour. If there's a better spot in reverse, we could do that, too. It's about winning games."
Not only did Geren contradict himself by tabbing Balfour the interim closer the very next day, his statement about bringing in relief pitchers based on matchups, not arbitrary roles, is unequivocally false.
Brian Fuentes has been a former closer and was brought in to fill that role in the event that Andrew Bailey lost time due to injury, and that was well established in the spring.
Moreover, Susan Slusser reported that incentive clauses were added to Fuentes' base salary in the event that he closed a large amount of games for the A's, essentially saying that the A's were prepared to use him as an interim closer and that they were also prepared to pay him like a closer in the event that Bailey got hurt.
With the front office making their expectations of Fuentes' role in the bullpen clear, Geren has followed through by making Fuentes the closer out of spring training with Bailey on the DL, which contradicts his previous statement regarding his supposed well-known inclination to "use anybody" to close games.
Entering Friday's action, in 23 appearances, Fuentes has 11 save opportunities (converting nine) compared to Balfour's 23 appearances and three save opportunities (converting one).
Even if you hadn't watched any A's games this year, by sheer probability you could reasonably conclude that if Geren's statement were remotely true, the right-handed Balfour would have the majority of save opportunities, considering the majority of hitters in MLB are right-handed.
Anybody who has watched A's games this year can easily recognize that both Fuentes and Balfour have been confined to their rigid ninth- and eighth-inning roles. The mere fact that Fuentes hadn't seen a save opportunity since May 8th was due to a lack of closing opportunities (i.e., the team had not entered the ninth inning with a lead of three runs or less).
If Geren is aware of this contradiction, he is a liar; it means he is attempting to insulate himself to criticism by misleading others as to what his managerial philosophy is. If he sincerely believes that his statements correspond to his managerial philosophy, then he is incompetent.
Neither being a liar or incompetent is very flattering—in any profession—and ought to immediately call his job into question. How Geren wasn't asked to elaborate on his egregiously false statements by media is beyond my comprehension.
If it is any consolation to Geren, nobody would have been happier than myself, who has written about the absurdity of the "closer role" and the uselessness of the "save" statistic, had his statements been true.
Had Geren, or any other manager who is willing to challenge long-standing but counterproductive baseball traditions, utilized his entire bullpen in a way that minimized its weaknesses and maximized its strengths, the A's would be better off because of it.
If the opposing team has two left-handed hitters due up in the ninth, then it would make sense to use Fuentes if he is available. On the other hand, if all right-handed hitters are due up, then it would make sense to use Balfour if he is available. These factors have not played a part in Geren's managerial style.
The source of Fuentes' frustration affirms Geren's errant statements—that it was clear Fuentes was in the "closer" role, thus when he started being brought into games with the game tied or in the seventh inning without being told in advance, he felt blindsided.
This is fair for Fuentes to say only because Geren's statements are false—that is, everything Geren was doing up until that point affirmed that he was not willing to use anybody at anytime.
If it were understood that relievers had no specific and well-defined role and were expected to be prepared to enter the game at any time, then Fuentes' complaint should rightfully fall on deaf ears; but this is not the case.
This also reaffirms recent complaints regarding his lack of communication with players; but if he doesn't understand what is going on in his own head, evidenced by his statements, then expectations of him are too high, and he no longer needs to be employed by a baseball team anymore.
Despite all this, the unfortunate fact remains that Fuentes is not very good, and neither is Geren.
And, unfortunately, Geren is probably the least likely manager to buck an inept baseball philosophy and literally drop the rigidly defined roles in the bullpen. Relievers are paid a lot to do very little; it is not too much to expect readiness at any point—if you let them know in advance, that is.
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Twitter created a new medium in which professional athletes could communicate with the larger world. No longer were they hidden behind PR speak or the boring venue of a post-game press conference.
They can easily share what's on their mind.
And while most tweets from sports figures are fairly innocent, these are not.
What follows [sic'ed throughout] is an assortment of the most regrettable tweets sent out by athletes.
A few dabble in homophobia, while one links to a video showing the athlete in question eating petroleum-based products. One player even tells the world about their future book plans.
Deets On The Tweets: LJ is a multiple-offender in the Twitterverse. After a game against the San Diego Chargers, Johnson decided to throw his coach, Todd Haley, under the bus. A fan took exception to his criticisms, and LJ tweeted back a condescending message that was compounded with a gay slur.
The Chiefs ended up releasing the running back a few days later.
Deets On The Tweets: Immediately following the news of Osama Bin Laden being killed by the United States, Reshard Mendenhall took the Devil's Advocate role to new heights.
Deets On The Tweets: During a pre-season game, Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco tweeted in response to a big hit during the game. "'Man Im sick of getting hit like that , its the [expletive] preseason [expletive]! 1day I'm gone jump up and start throwing hay makers , #Tylenolplease."
The NFL fined Chad $25,000 for violating their rule on players using social media during games.
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Coming out of the 2010 US Open, where Rafael Nadal earned his first championship trophy in New York, all talk turned to Nadal's chances to complete the "Calendar Slam." He had just defeated the rising, but still inconsistent Djokovic for his ninth major, well ahead of the pace set by Roger Federer at the same point in his career.
The question was not if, but when, Rafael Nadal would catch Roger Federer's record for all-time Grand Slam titles. Currently, Federer sits at the top of the heap with a comfortable lead over Nadal, holding 16 Grand Slam titles. However, at 24 years old and already holding nine Grand Slams of his own, with seemingly nobody on the planet that can stop him, it would only be a matter of time before Nadal reigned supreme in the tennis record books.
The records held by Federer were all on full display. With every passing tournament, and seemingly every win by Nadal, Federer's aura of invincibility and title as the tennis GOAT seemed to crumble, just slightly.
At each post-tournament press conference, the same questions would come up regarding Federer's stranglehold at the pinnacle of the men's game. Was he past his prime? Is Federer in decline? Could he even be considered the GOAT if he didn't have a winning record in his own era, against his main rival?
That was the tone almost nine months ago leaving New York. Fast-forward to today, and the landscape of men's tennis has been shaken. Neither Nadal or Federer hold the last major title, and both come into the French Open with questions about their game.
Novak Djokovic has slowly, but firmly taken the steam out of the Nadal/Federer reign at the top of the Men's game. Djokovic enters the French Open with an unbelievable 39 match winning streak, holding seven consecutive titles, including his second Australian Open Championship.
Nadal faces the reality that his No. 1 ranking is being ripped from his tight grip, and fully aware that Djokovic will become the first Men's player not named Federer or Nadal to hold the No. 1 ranking since Federer displaced Andy Roddick in February of 2004.
What does the emergence of Novak Djokovic mean to Roger Federer's legacy?
Djokovic taking the No. 1 ranking from Nadal so soon, will make it certain the he cannot catch Federer's record for consecutive weeks at No. 1. It also begins to put into question whether or not Nadal can catch Federer for the overall Slams Record at 16. The impact of Djokovic perhaps stealing a few majors from Nadal, only ends up padding the cushion for Federer.
By no means does Djokovic's rise take away from Nadal or Federer's place in history, but it does help cement the long term standing of Roger Federer's stat lines. It would have been difficult to imagine that anyone would conquer Pete Sampras' previous record of 14 Grand Slam titles, until Federer came along and currently sits on 16.
It would have been a tall order for Nadal to catch Federer at 16, however only six months ago, that was not a far fetched idea. Now with Djokovic playing at a different level than his tennis peers, and a perfect 7-0 against Nadal and Federer in 2011; it seems like he might make it difficult for Nadal to catch Federer.
To put it in simple terms: Djokovic will help Federer maintain his spot in history, because he will make life difficult for Nadal.
Federer Records that will be near impossible for Nadal to catch, once Djokovic becomes the new world No. 1:
1. 237 Consecutive weeks at No. 1. Until Nadal took over the No. 1 ranking from Federer the first time on August 18, 2008, Federer was the top ranked player for 237 consecutive weeks, surpassing the previous record of 160 weeks held by Jimmy Connors.
2. 23 Consecutive Grand Slam Semi Finals. Previous record was 10 held by Ivan Lendl and Rod Laver.
3. 16 Grand Slam Titles. While Nadal holds nine Grand Slam Titles, The emergence of Djokovic will make it increasingly difficult for Nadal to catch Federer for the record. Federer won his 16 titles in a span of 27 majors (2003 Wimbledon to 2010 Australian Open), while Sampras won 14 in 49 majors.
Javier Lopez Alex Hinshaw Ramon Ramirez Sergio Romo Brian Wilson Eli Whiteside
Kevin Russo Curtis Granderson Nick Johnson Javier Lopez Alex Hinshaw Ramon Ramirez
CHICAGO (AP) — Once LeBron James and Dwyane Wade took over the game, the Chicago Bulls didn't stand a chance.
Miami's two biggest stars played like it Thursday night, scoring all but two of the Heat's points in an 18-3 run that turned a 12-point deficit late in the fourth quarter into an 83-80 victory and a spot in the NBA finals. They combined for 22 points in the final period — the rest of the Heat had four — and were merciless defensively on Derrick Rose, including James' block of the MVP's last-ditch shot.
"We have some special players that, when we needed some big-time plays to save us, they were able to do that," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
If only Wade and James could remember it.
"We want to watch the last four minutes of the game and see what happened," James said. "It went so fast."
Furious, too. James scored 12 of his 28 in the fourth quarter while Wade went 4 for 5 in the final period. He scored 10 of his 21 points in the final period.
Now it's on to the NBA finals, where the Heat will face the Dallas Mavericks in a rematch of 2006, when Miami won its only title. Game 1 is Tuesday in Miami.
That it was James and Wade delivering down the stretch was only fitting. With apologies to Chris Bosh, they are the biggest stars in Miami — the entire NBA, really — and this is what everyone expected since they teamed up last summer. Forces on their own in Miami and Cleveland, they saw when they played together at the Beijing Olympics how dominant they could be if they combined efforts.
So Wade spurned his hometown Bulls to stay in Miami. And James spurned his entire hometown.
"I understand a lot of the backlash. I also understand I did what was best for me, best for my family," James said. "I wanted to team up with guys that would never die down in the moment. ... D-Wade came to me and said it was possible, and we made it happen."
And in the most dramatic of fashions, of course.
After all, these are the same guys whose introduction party in Miami was a spectacle usually only seen with rock stars.
"They're Hollywood as hell," Joakim Noah said, "but they're very good at the same time."
Wade is a proud Chicago native, growing up on the South Side, going to school at Marquette in nearby Milwaukee and coming back for part of the offseason. He even flirted with the Bulls during last summer's free agency free-for-all. But playing in his hometown has always been a challenge for Wade — he came into the game shooting just 43 percent in 22 career games at the United Center — and it was no different early on.
He was 2 of 8 for 11 points through the first three quarters, and had tied his playoff career high with nine turnovers. When he went in for a fast-break with five minutes left, only to watch the ball roll off the rim, it seemed to sum up his night and his woes in Chicago.
When Ronnie Brewer made a 3-pointer a minute later to give Chicago a 12-point lead, it looked as if James, Wade and the Heat would be taking the series back to South Beach.
"We don't even know what happened," Wade said. "I just remember in the timeout (after Brewer's 3), our coaches looked at us and said, 'We've done this before. We've gone on 12- or 14-point runs. Just believe.' That's all I remember."
Wade banked in a shot, and the Heat were off and running. Wade stole the ball from Rose at the other end, and raced back downcourt for a layup. He then fed James for a 3-pointer, cutting Chicago's lead to 77-72.
After a pretty turnaround by Rose, Wade drilled a 3-pointer from what seemed like half-court. He drew a foul from Rose in the process and made the free throw for the four-point play.
"(Wade's) got something different, a different makeup inside of him. He's able to rise up to the occasion no matter what's happening during a game," Spoelstra said. "When it's winning time, there's really not many players better than him in the last two minutes."
Not to be outdone, James made his own long-range shot to tie the game at 79 with 1:07 left. He then forced Rose into another bad pass, and scored on a long jumper, giving the Heat its first lead since late in the first quarter.
Rose had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds, but James — who stands a good 5 inches taller — was relentless. He got in Rose's face and refused to budge, forcing Rose to put up a bad shot that wasn't anywhere close to being good.
When the final buzzer sounded, Wade and James found each other at halfcourt and embraced.
"There's no sense of relief right now," James said. "We have a lot of work to do still, and we look forward to the challenge."
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It was as if there was no season at all.
Just an 18-3 run, a bad missed free throw and 22,000 shocked fans all in three quick minutes.
Just. Three. Minutes.
It was almost surgeon-like, the way Miami ripped out Chicago’s collective heart. The procedure was neat, clean, efficient and precise. It was as if the Bulls had no idea that something so disastrous was being done to them.
But, just after the damage was done, you could feel it. There was something quite wrong. It was painful to watch it unfold before your eyes. In a mere three minutes, hope was turned to despair. Joy was turned to sorrow. And Chicago’s most prized gem, Derrick Rose, walked off the court in a vast melting pot of sadness and frustration.
Just one year earlier, Chicago fans were treated to a Stanley Cup by a young, talented group of Blackhawks. They proved that a band of youngsters could take down veteran stars. They showed Chicago that success was back.
Fast-forward 12 months from then. But this time, you’re dealing with a whole other animal: the NBA Playoffs. “Youth doesn’t win championships,” and “The Bulls are too inexperienced to succeed,” commonly rained down upon Chicago.
And in truth, those phrases were indeed correct.
But what makes this loss so stunning, so saddening, is the connection that Chicago had with this group of Bulls.
D-Rose grew up on the south side of the city, a humble hometown hero who lets his play to the talking.
Joakim Noah’s hard hat and lunch pail attitude are instilled deep in the blood of Chicagoans. Noah is a blue-collar player for a blue-collar town.
Luol Deng’s relentless effort and constant energy endear him to Bulls fans. They love the way he is shoved off as an afterthought and is constantly being underrated. Trust me, Chicago knows what its like to be an afterthought.
Chicago fans love head coach Tom Thibodeau’s obsession with basketball. We all respect a man who is dedicated to his profession.
All the way down to Brian Scalabrine’s passion and leadership, Chicagoans unconditionally loved the 2010-2011 version of the Chicago Bulls.
But for now, it is over.
How ironic that the three players the Bulls were chasing last offseason ended their season this year. There is no longer any doubting the ability of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. They have learned to play together, and it's damn good basketball.
Yes, they did put a whole city into an emotional depression, eliminate the NBA’s sweethearts and destroy the hope of a city longing to return to the glory days of Michael Jordan. But most impressively, it was all in three damn minutes.
In three minutes, a season was lost. Three swift minutes.
Two LeBron James threes, one James jumper, a Wade four-point-play and two layups,and two Chris Bosh free throws stole the season from the Chicago Bulls before anyone knew what had happened.
Few times before has something this shocking occurred for Chicago fans.
It is somewhat comparable to Game 6 in the 2003 NLCS between the Chicago Cubs and Florida Marlins. Leading the series 3-1 and the game 3-0 in the eighth inning, the Cubs were on the brink of a World Series appearance. But in one inning, the Marlins systematically scored eight runs to win the game and eventually the series.
It is these types of sudden heartbreak that hurt the most.
As luck would have it, one thing came to mind when watching Derrick Rose hoist up a contested three to tie the game. Stacey King, a former Chicago Bull and current television broadcaster for the team, has developed the catchphrase, “too big, too strong, too fast, too good,” for Derrick Rose.
And ironically, in the final three minutes of Chicago’s Game Five loss to Miami, the Heat were just “too big, too strong, too fast, too good” for the Chicago Bulls.
There was no player that could have saved them, no defensive set that could have helped, no offensive play to aid them. For just three minutes the Miami Heat were too good.
Many times, losses like these go in two different directions.
One, is that a player, team, or franchise is never the same. They just can’t recover from such as a devastating loss.
But, on the other hand, some teams use a traumatic loss such as this to fuel them towards a brighter future. They use it as a constant reminder to work hard and strive for success.
And based on the character of the players on the Chicago Bulls’ roster, the latter choice seems to fit the mold.
It is time to move on, focus on the positive, and be optimistic about the Bulls’ future. Sure, it’s discouraging, it absolutely is. But, three minutes will not kill this franchise.
Three minutes is a spark to light the fire to a hungry Bulls team.
A fire that will fuel them towards greater heights, towards success, and towards NBA Championships. It will push them to work harder day in and day out, because as hard as fans will take this loss, no one feels it more than Rose, Boozer, Noah, Deng and the rest of Chicago’s team. They will not let this happen to them again.
If you want to blame a lack of a second option, poor coaching, or inexperience for the final three minutes of Game 5, that is fine. Just realize that a loss such as this can turn into a catalyst for a team.
And for this group of Bulls, it will indeed push them towards greater heights. It will harness their focus into one goal of an NBA Title. Three minutes may turn a once discouraged loser into a determined champion.
Remember, those three minutes.
Just. Three. Minutes.
Josh Rosenblat is a high school student from Chicago looking to find a way to break into sports journalism. He often writes about the NBA (primarily the Chicago Bulls), as well as the MLB, college basketball, and the NFL. You can email him at joshua.m.rosenblat@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @JMRosenblat. Feel free to send him comments.
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