2 bidders to buy Coyotes emerge (AP)
2 bidders to buy Coyotes emerge (AP)
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP)—A group headed by former San Jose Sharks president and CEO Greg Jamison is one of two bidders for the Phoenix Coyotes. Glendale spokeswoman Julie Frisoni confirmed Friday that Jamison was one of the bidders and that no bonds would be sold as part of any proposed deals. She would not elaborate on the negotiations or who the other bidder was. The Coyotes have been owned by the NHL since the team filed for bankruptcy in the fall of 2009. The city of Glendale paid $25 million for the second straight year so the team could continue playing at Jobing.com Arena for the 2011-12 season. Chicago businessman Michael Hulsizer withdrew from talks to buy the team in June.
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Fantasy Preview: Michigan prone to streaks, alternate strategies (NASCAR.com)
Fantasy Preview: Michigan prone to streaks, alternate strategies (NASCAR.com)
Carl Edwards has been close to perfect at MIS, finishing in the top five nearly two-thirds of the time. NASCAR’s storybook season continued last week with its fifth first-time winner and 15th different winner to reach Victory Lane in 2011. Neither are records, but they are both well above the average of recent years. Marcos Ambrose’s victory at Watkins Glen was as predictable as any first-time win can be, however, and last week finally went according to plan for most of the favorites. Tony Stewart was the only one who didn’t when his accident in the bus stop chicane on the final lap denied the No. 14 team a decent finish. Somewhat surprisingly, they never really contended for the victory, but he clings to the top 10 in points and the guaranteed Chase position that goes along with that. One predictable weekend does not break the capricious spell cast on the season, but Michigan is another track that is often prone to streaks, which makes handicapping races there a little easier than normal. In addition, fantasy owners can look to Auto Club to deepen the data pool because these two tracks are closer to one another than any others on the schedule. That is great news for two drivers who crashed in last week’s Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen after going there in need of a strong run. Denny Hamlin has been stellar at Michigan in recent years and Stewart has been solid on both two-mile tracks combined. Rolling the dice As always, fantasy owners can only predict who will run strong and not necessarily who will finish well. Michigan is particularly susceptible to fuel-mileage strategies because this race can settle into long green-flag runs. Wide corners and multiple grooves allow drivers to conserve fuel by rolling through the corners without losing a ton of speed. In fact, the real surprise this week would be if several drivers in the top 10 did not get there by employing some kind of alternate strategy. This track is also long enough and the field gets spread out enough that drivers employing the reverse strategy opting for speed instead of fuel conservation, can make up significant ground and etch their names in the top 10 as well. This week, fantasy owners should set their rosters by the numbers, hope that a caution doesn’t wave on the cusp of a fuel window, and expect the cream to rise to the top. The Favorites Carl Edwards is one of NASCAR’s 15 winners this season, but his victory came all the way back at the beginning of the year in the third race of the season at Las Vegas. His most recent dozen races have been sporadic. They were strong enough to make him the points’ leader for most of that span, but six top-10s have been counterbalanced by another six outside that mark, which hasn’t made him a particularly good value in salary cap games. He hasn’t earned a top-five since Kentucky five weeks ago and he needs to develop some momentum before the Chase begins. This is the best track on which to achieve that goal, because he has been close to perfect at Michigan. In 14 career starts there, he has finished in the top five nearly two-thirds of the time and he has only one result worse than 12th. That means there is practically no downside to starting him and with a pair of victories in 2007 and 2008, the upside is immense. Selecting a roster at Michigan was once a no-brainer. Fantasy owners would fill their ranks with Roushketeers and ignore the remainder of the field, but other NASCAR teams have made serious inroads into their dominance. Joe Gibbs Racing tops that list in recent seasons with solid performances by all of their drivers. Hamlin in particular has been unstoppable with two victories, a second-, and a third-place finish in his past five attempts. The only race in which he didn’t finish among the top three netted a 10th in the second Michigan race of 2009. Like Edwards, he needs to reverse his recent trend. His situation is a little direr because he currently needs to rely on the wild card to get into the Chase. With so many other drivers rolling the dice and only four races remaining, he could find that one win is not enough to get in. It’s impossible to ignore the Cat in the Hat at Michigan. Jack Roush’s drivers have always done well on this course, and while his mystique is fading in comparison to the field, his drivers still have the best records over long periods of time. Matt Kenseth enters the weekend with back-to-back top-fives on this track as well as 15 top-10s and 21 top-15s in 24 starts. He practically never stumbles at Michigan. There is another compelling reason to start him this week, however. His place differential is second-best in the Series with an average start of 20th and an average finish of 9.5. The only driver in the field better is his teammate Edwards, who improves 14.6 positions on average in a Michigan race to finish slightly worse than sixth. Dark Horses If fantasy owners weren’t impressed with Brad Keselowski before his testing crash at Road Atlanta two weeks ago, they cannot fail to be overwhelmed now. He’s been driving with the proverbial one hand tied behind his back, only in this case it was one foot. His victory at Pocono was simply amazing because of the amount of pressure his broken left ankle had to take on an oval that required shifting. Fantasy owners expected reality to settle in at Watkins Glen, but he came within two laps of winning that race as well—and probably would have done so if any driver other than Ambrose was on his bumper on the penultimate trip around the track. By comparison, Michigan is going to be a cakewalk. His record there is not great with a previous-best finish of 24th, but a victory on the similarly flat Kansas Speedway this summer is enough of a reason to ignore his two-mile achievements. Sitting 28th in the standings and more than 100 points out of 20th, Brian Vickers has virtually no chance of making the Chase, but both he and the Red Bull team needs a strong finish this week. They are facing an uncertain future with funding drying up at the end of the season. A sponsor hunt could only be aided by running strong. Two-mile tracks have been incredibly kind to Toyota in the past. In fact, Vickers won at Michigan in 2009, which capped off a 12-race streak of top-12 finishes. At the end of that season, he stumbled once at Auto Club, but roared back with another 12th-place finish if their first race of 2010. He missed the next three races on this track type, but has swept the top 10 in two attempts at Auto Club and Michigan this season. Victory could continue to elude him, but a top-10 is certainly in the cards. This week, honorable mentions have to be doled out to Ryan Newman (with a fifth at Auto Club and sixth at Michigan), Clint Bowyer (seventh and eighth respectively), Kyle Busch (third on both tracks), Kevin Harvick (first and 14th), Paul Menard (16th and fourth), Tony Stewart (13th and seventh), Greg Biffle (11th and 15th) and A.J. Allmendinger (14th and 13th). If any of these drivers shine in practice, they deserve a spot on the roster. Underdogs Jeff Gordon is on a roll and he certainly knows how to race on a two-miler—in 2009, he finished second in all four races on this track type—but he disappointed fantasy owners earlier this year in both the Auto Club 400 and Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 with two finishes outside the top 15. Last year, two of his four attempts on this track type ended in 20-something results, which far outweighed his pair of top-10s. This is a big hurdle for the No. 24 team. If they can run strong this weekend, it could make them front-runners to win the championship on the back of consistent top-15 finishes. While fantasy owners want to watch their effort closely, the safer course of action is to leave them in the garage until Bristol. Gordon’s teammate Jimmie Johnson is another driver fantasy owners want to avoid this week. As strong as he is nearly everywhere else, this is one of only a handful of tracks where he has yet to win. In fact, with only two top-fives and seven top-10s in 19 starts, he hasn’t even come close. Moreover, his pass differential is one of the worst in the field. He typically qualifies strong with an average start of 8.5, but during the course of the race he drops more than seven positions. In his career, he has improved during the race only two times. Considering his salary cap, it is nearly impossible that he will be a good value this week even if he manages to eke out a top-10. 1. Jimmie Johnson 7.02 16. David Reutimann 18.61 31. Marcos Ambrose 31.02 2. Carl Edwards 9.84 17. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 19.15 32. Travis Kvapil 32.21 3. Matt Kenseth 10.00 18. David Ragan 19.87 33. Scott Speed 32.42 4. Tony Stewart 10.03 19. Jeff Burton 20.04 34. Landon Cassill 32.74 5. Greg Biffle 10.07 20. Ryan Newman 20.96 35. Bobby Labonte 33.92 6. Jeff Gordon 10.10 21. Joey Logano 21.33 36. Mike Bliss 34.24 7. Brian Vickers 10.18 22. Martin Truex Jr. 21.79 37. David Gilliland 34.45 8. Denny Hamlin 10.83 23. A.J. Allmendinger 24.23 38. Andy Lally 35.46 9. Kyle Busch 11.05 24. Jamie McMurray 24.32 39. Michael McDowell 36.30 10. Mark Martin 11.28 25. Paul Menard 27.12 40. Dave Blaney 36.75 11. Kevin Harvick 12.69 26. Regan Smith 27.95 41. Robby Gordon 36.93 12. Clint Bowyer 14.56 27. Brad Keselowski 28.93 42. J.J. Yeley 37.74 13. Kurt Busch 15.07 28. Trevor Bayne 29.40 43. Joe Nemechek 38.10 14. Kasey Kahne 15.47 29. Casey Mears 30.26 44. Mike Skinner 39.22 15. Juan Montoya 15.62 30. David Stremme 30.33
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Jimmie Johnson vents about Kurt Busch (AP)
Jimmie Johnson vents about Kurt Busch (AP)
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AP)—Jimmie Johnson says he wasn’t about to take any lip from Kurt Busch. The two drivers confronted each other after last week’s NASCAR Cup race at Pocono. They had slammed into each other on the final lap. Johnson is a five-time Cup champion, and he and Busch have had dustups in the past. Johnson said at a news conference at Watkins Glen International on Friday that he was angered by Busch’s remarks as Johnson walked away following their argument in the pits. Johnson says he thought things were settled and then “the guy gets real tough” and starts “running his mouth.” On Sunday, Johnson accused Busch of trying to run him down. Busch contends Johnson made the first move. Busch finished third and Johnson fourth.
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Umenyiora ready to start practicing? (AP)
Umenyiora ready to start practicing? (AP)
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP)—Two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Osi Umenyiora(notes) is showing some signs that he might be ready to practice with the New York Giants. For the first time in almost a week, Umenyiora is working with team trainers at practice simulating snap counts. The 29-year-old, who hasn’t practiced since reporting a little more than a week ago, got down in his stance and made pass-rushing moves during his session. Umenyiora looked explosive coming off the ball and showed no signs that his knee was bothering him. Umenyiora is upset the Giants have not reworked his contract, which will pay him $7.1 million over its final two years. The veteran had 11.5 sacks last season and a league-high 10 forced fumbles.
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First-round tee times for Cox Classic Presented by Lexus of Omaha (PGATOUR.com)
First-round tee times for Cox Classic Presented by Lexus of Omaha (PGATOUR.com)
Woods news conference from Bridgestone Invitational Prior to the 2011 World Golf Championships – Bridgestone Invitational, Tiger Woods spoke to the media about a variety of topics including his knee inj… Posted Aug 2 2011 More: Golf video
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Whalen lifts Lynx over Silver Stars 70-69 (AP)
Whalen lifts Lynx over Silver Stars 70-69 (AP)
SAN ANTONIO (AP)—Lindsay Whalen hit a fadeaway jump shot from the right corner over Jayne Appel with 1.5 seconds left to give the Minnesota Lynx a 70-69 victory over the San Antonio Silver Stars on Sunday in a battle of the WNBA’s best teams. Becky Hammon had a chance to give the Silver Stars the win but missed a runner at the buzzer. Whalen scored 23 points, while Seimone Augustus had 16 and Taj McWilliams-Franklin had 15 for the Lynx, who have the WNBA’s best record at 13-4. Minnesota now has won as many games as it did during the entire 2010 season and moved two games ahead of the Silver Stars (11-6) in the Western Conference. Jia Perkins scored 18 points, Hammon had 15, and Sophia Young and Danielle Robinson had 10 apiece for the Silver Stars. Sun 99, Dream 92 At Uncasville, Connecticut, Renee Montgomery scored 19 points and Asjha Jones had 17, including eight in the final 3:50, to lead Connecticut to its fifth win in six games. Danielle McCray scored 16 points and Tina Charles had 10 points and 11 rebounds to help the Sun (11-6) overcome a 10-point deficit in the second half. Angel McCoughtry scored 19 of her 36 points in the fourth quarter for Atlanta (8-10). Erika DeSouza and Coco Miller had 18 points each and Iziane Castro Marques scored 10. DeSouza also had nine rebounds. Fever 98, Sparks 63 At Indianapolis, Jessica Davenport scored 16 points as the Indiana reserves combined for a franchise-record 57 to help the Fever win their fourth straight. Tangela Smith scored 15 points to lead the starters for Eastern Conference-leading Indiana (14-6). The 98 points were a season high. Shavonte Zellous scored 13 points, Jeanette Pohlen added 10 for the Fever. Former Fever player Ebony Hoffman scored 13 points to lead the Sparks (7-11). Rookie reserve Jantel Lavender added 12. The Fever used a 17-5 run over the last 4:32 of the first quarter to take a 27-15 lead. Fever coach Lynn Dunn flooded the floor with reserves in the second quarter, and they followed the starters’ example, to extend Indiana’s lead to 53-30 at halftime.
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