First-round tee times for Utah Championship Presented by Utah Sports Commission (PGATOUR.com)
First-round tee times for Utah Championship Presented by Utah Sports Commission (PGATOUR.com)
Shots of the Week ending July 24, 2011 Check out the top five shots of the week from the RBC Canadian Open and the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational. Posted Jul 25 2011 More: Golf video
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Kobe Bryant is no longer America’s most popular athlete
Kobe Bryant is no longer America’s most popular athlete
Every year, Harris Interactive conducts a poll to list America’s most popular sports stars. While popularity can be a fungible concept, the results remain somewhat instructive, especially in terms of which players have reached a level of fame beyond their sport’s diehard audience. Last season, Kobe Bryant(notes) found himself at the top of the list of male stars. Now, he’s dropped to No. 3 in a tie with Michael Jordan, and behind Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and new champ Derek Jeter of the Yankees. From Janis Carr on OCRegister.com: Kobe Bryant no longer is the favorite athlete in America, according to a Harris poll, having slipped to No. 3 in 2011. But that’s nothing compared to the free fall for LeBron James(notes). James, who was rated the No. 6 overall favorite athlete in 2010, didn’t make the top 10 list this year after leaving Cleveland for Miami’s South Beach. He shouldn’t feel too badly, though. Brett Farve (No. 4) New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees (No. 9) and NASCAR great Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 10) also were left off the list this year. [...] According to the poll, Bryant remains the top athlete among Hispanics and African-Americans and on the West Coast. You can access the poll directly here if you have concerns about methodology. While Jeter is the new champ, Serena Williams is listed as the most popular female athlete for the third year in a row. Better luck next time, Abby Wambach. It’s not a surprise to learn that Bryant and James have dropped on this list, because popularity in America is often tied to winning at the highest levels. In the past, both players have been divisive, to the point where they’ve only been considered likable when they win championships. With the Lakers losing to the Mavericks in the second round of the playoffs, Bryant is no longer the league’s golden god. James, obviously, is largely seen as a bratty loser. As such, they’re no longer at the top of this vaguely scientific heap. Maybe next year they’ll see their fortunes change. Or, perhaps, Derrick Rose(notes) (No. 9 this year) will move higher after another long playoff run. Worse yet, maybe there won’t be an NBA season and the poll participants won’t name anyone from the league. And then this post will end up on Shutdown Corner, and you can substitute Tom Brady in for Bryant and read the same post. The world works in mysterious ways. Here’s the complete Top 10: Male 1. Derek Jeter2. Peyton Manning3. (tie) Kobe Bryant3. (tie) Michael Jordan5. Tiger Woods6. Tom Brady7. (tie) Albert Pujols7. (tie) Hines Ward9. Derrick Rose10. Aaron Rodgers Female 1. Serena Williams2. Venus Williams3. Danica Patrick4. Maria Sharapova5. Mia Hamm6. Anna Kournikova7. (tie) Martina Navratilova7. (tie) Sue Bird9. (tie) Kerry Walsh9. (tie) Michele Wie Related: Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, LeBron James
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McCoughtry scores 24 to lead Dream over Sky 76-68 (AP)
McCoughtry scores 24 to lead Dream over Sky 76-68 (AP)
ATLANTA (AP)—Angel McCoughtry scored 24 points, Lindsey Harding added 14 and the Atlanta Dream snapped a two-game losing streak with a 76-68 victory over the Chicago Sky on Saturday night. Sylvia Fowles finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Sky (7-8), who have lost five straight on the road. Chicago missed 11 of its first 12 shots, but overcame a 15-point first-quarter deficit by going on a 40-17 run that ended with Cathrine Kraayeveld’s 3-pointer and a 42-35 Sky lead with 7:56 left in the third. But Atlanta (4-9) never trailed after Courtney Paris’ layup made it 56-54 in the first minute of the fourth. Armintie Price handed out a career-high 10 assists and scored 13 points for the Dream. McCoughtry, whose steal and ensuing layup with 6:56 left in the game put Atlanta up 62-56, ended a four-game stretch in which she scored no more than 17 points. She averaged 21.1 last year in helping the Dream win the Eastern Conference, but started the season slowly with an injured knee. Atlanta had lost four of five and is now 3-5 at home despite playing a ninth straight game without Sancho Lyttle, who didn’t dress because of a sore back. Lyttle averaged 12.5 points and 7.8 rebounds last year, but she’s played in only four games this season after spending a month playing for Spain’s national team and returning with an aching back July 3. There were five lead changes entering the fourth, but the Sky never led after McCoughtry’s 15-footer forced a 54-54 tie in the opening seconds of the final period. The Dream outscored Chicago 42-22 in the paint, thanks in part to Erika de Souza’s 12 points. De Souza and Alison Bales each pulled down eight rebounds. Kraayeveld hit three of five 3-point attempts and finished with 12 points in a reserve role. Sky forward Michelle Snow had 12 rebounds. She and guard Epiphanny Prince each scored 11 points, but combined to go just 8 of 26 from the field
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LB Vrabel retires, named Ohio St. asst. (AP)
LB Vrabel retires, named Ohio St. asst. (AP)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)—Former All-Pro outside linebacker Mike Vrabel believes his 14 years in the NFL will help him as an assistant coach at his alma mater. After several days of speculation, Vrabel officially retired from the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday and also announced he was returning to Ohio State as a linebackers coach. He’ll take the spot vacated by his former roommate and teammate, Luke Fickell, who was elevated to head coach after Jim Tressel was forced to resign on May 30. Vrabel believes his playing days relate and translate to his new job. But that doesn’t mean he’ll often be sporting the three Super Bowl rings he won with the New England Patriots. “I haven’t worn them since the day I got them,” he said at a news conference on Monday morning in the Buckeyes’ practice facility. “Once you win them, you don’t really have to wear them. People know that you won the Super Bowl and you helped contribute to a championship team. I don’t anticipate, you know, putting three rings on and going out on a recruiting trip.” The 35-year-old Vrabel played four years for the Pittsburgh Steelers, eight seasons with the Patriots and, for the past two years, the Kansas City Chiefs. He said working with so many young players on the Chiefs roster was good preparation for a coaching career. “I got plenty of practice,” he said of coaching. “That’s a young football team. It was a great role to go out there and play. And not only help them on the field but help guys in the locker room and film room. I was blessed to have a lot of great coaches. But these last two years, when you’re coaching 20- and 21-year-old guys that are fresh out of college, that’s probably helped me the most.” Chiefs GM Scott Pioli, who sent a second-round draft pick for Vrabel and quarterback Matt Cassel before the 2009 season, called Vrabel a winner. “His genuine love for the game, his preparation, his work ethic, leadership and dependability are qualities you want from every player,” Pioli said. “He is a champion in every sense of the word and I’m confident all of these qualities will make him a great coach. I cannot overstate my respect for him as a person and a football player.” Vrabel lettered from 1993-96 at Ohio State when John Cooper was the head coach. He was a two-time Big Ten defensive player of the year. As a senior in high school in Akron, his host on his official recruiting visit to Ohio State was Fickell. “Mike is something that our kids obviously emulate,” Fickell said. “They want to be like him and what he’s done here at Ohio State, what he’s done in the NFL and obviously what he’s done later in life as a father and husband. It’s a great role model.” Active in the NFL Players Association’s executive committee and its negotiations with the league, Vrabel said he was unsure if he would have retired if there were no lockout going on in the pros. He also conceded that he had grown tired of gearing up for another new season. “I just came to the point where I couldn’t train to prepare for an NFL season. I’m not going to pretend I can do it anymore,” he said. “This is where I want to be.” While with the Patriots in 2007 he had 54 solo tackles, 12 1/2 sacks and forced four fumbles and was selected to the Pro Bowl and All-Pro teams for the only time in his career. He finished with 742 tackles and 57 sacks in 206 games. He was also known during his Patriots days as a short-yardage or goal-line fullback/tight end. He caught 10 career passes—every one going for a touchdown. Fickell said he consulted several people about the pitfalls of hiring a close friend. “(Vrabel) said to me, `Give me a reason to retire,”’ Fickell said. “I remember going to (Ohio State men’s basketball) coach (Thad) Matta and asking him, `Can you hire your best friend?’ He knew what I was talking about. He said very clearly, `Yes, you make sure you set the standards and the guidelines of what you need to have done.”’ Vrabel has had at least two skirmishes with the law. During his Ohio State playing days, he was arrested along with a teammate for beating up a man in a bar parking lot in Kent, Ohio. They eventually pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of disorderly conduct, paid a fine and performed 30 hours of community service. Their attorney in that case was Chris Cicero, the Columbus lawyer and former Ohio State walk-on who sent emails to Tressel in April 2010 that players were taking improper benefits from a tattoo-parlor owner. Just this past April, Vrabel was arrested for theft from an Indiana riverboat casino. The charge will be dropped if he isn’t charged with another crime for 180 days, according to a diversion agreement signed in late June. Ohio State has been through a tumultuous last few months. Five players were suspended last December for the first five games of the upcoming season for taking cash and discounted tattoos from a Columbus businessman. Ohio State later discovered Cicero’s emails to Tressel. Tressel was required by his contract and NCAA rules to report any possible violations involving his players, yet he did not report anything to his superiors for more than nine months. Shortly after he was pressured to step down, star quarterback Terrelle Pryor—one of the suspended players—gave up his senior season for a shot at playing in the NFL. In a related matter, a source close to the Ohio State program has disclosed that Dorian Bell, a linebacker from Monroeville, Pa., was also handed a five-game suspension last week by the NCAA. Bell, a redshirt sophomore, had already been suspended for the entire 2011 season by Tressel for an undisclosed violation of team policy. AP Sports Writer Doug Tucker in Kansas City contributed to this report. Follow Rusty Miller on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/rustymillerap
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Blues sign Fs Langenbrunner, Arnott (AP)
Blues sign Fs Langenbrunner, Arnott (AP)
ST. LOUIS (AP)—The St. Louis Blues signed veteran forwards Jamie Langenbrunner(notes) and Jason Arnott(notes) to one-year deals on Wednesday. Each deal is worth $2.5 million, plus $300,000 in bonuses. The 35-year-old Langenbrunner is coming off a disappointing season, totaling nine goals and 23 assists in 70 games with Dallas and New Jersey. In 2009-10, Langenbrunner had 61 points with the Devils. The 36-year-old Arnott is a 17-year veteran and had 17 goals and 14 assists in 73 games last season for New Jersey and Washington. His best season was with Dallas in 2005-06 when he had 76 points. Arnott was captain of the Nashville Predators for three seasons from 2007-10. He ranks sixth among active players in career games and seventh in points, and has 12 seasons with 20 or more goals.
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Lap-by-Lap: Daytona (NASCAR.com)
Lap-by-Lap: Daytona (NASCAR.com)
RaceBuddy | Live Leaderboard | Live Points | TrackPass | Live Chat 6:30 p.m. ET — Countdown to Green is under way on TNT. 6:24 p.m. ET — It’s a beautiful day at Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400. It’s currently 83 degrees under sunny skies. Temperatures are expected to fall into the low-70s as the evening progresses with a stray rain shower possible. Mark Martin will bring the field to the green for the 50th time in his Cup career at 7:52 p.m. ET.
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