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Wed May 12, 2010 1:00 pm EDT
The post-Players Championship power rankings
Golf may be you vs. the course, but the end result is you vs. everyone else. That is what we do here with our Devil Ball Power Rankings, a glimpse at who is currently hot on tour, that will run every three weeks during the PGA Tour season. These are the top 10 golfers currently playing, with nothing factoring in except the present golfing world. 1. Phil Mickelson: His last three starts have been a win at the Masters, a second place finish at Quail Hollow and a top-20 at the Players Championship despite a tough week at TPC Sawgrass. He is the favorite anytime he enters an event, and is my early pick to with at Pebble Beach.2. Tim Clark: The breakthrough win at the Players boosted him up the rankings, but we can't forget Clark has four top-10s and six top-25s this season.3. Jim Furyk: The man that couldn't buy a win now has two in 2010, and followed the two wins in less than a month up with a top-10 at the Masters.4. Robert Allenby: Another man that has just been dirty consistent this season, Allenby's second place finish at Sawgrass was his fourth of the season, and he has eight top-25s.5. Rory McIlroy: The incredible 62 in the final round at Quail Hollow might go down as the round of the year on the PGA Tour. It gave the now 21-year-old McIlroy his first win on the PGA Tour and second nationwide in just two seasons.6. Ernie Els: His back-to-back victories at the CA Championship and Arnold Palmer Invitational were reason to make us believe that Els could compete again at a major championship, but he struggled at Augusta and missed the cut at the Players.7. Hunter Mahan: He won earlier this year in Phoenix, and has played reasonably consistent the last few weeks, with a top-10 at the Masters, and two top-20s at Quail Hollow and Sawgrass.8. Matt Kuchar: No wins this season for Kuchar, but that hasn't stopped him from leapfrogging just about everyone on the FedEx Cup list with his play. Nine top-25s in just 13 events, including a second, a third and two other top-10s.9. Anthony Kim: Surgery for an injured thumb has dropped Kim well down the list, but his last three events were a victory in Houston, a third place finish at the Masters and a tie for seventh at Quail Hollow. It's been tough seeing him have to go under the knife after that stretch.10. Dustin Johnson: He's missed only two cuts this season, has a win at Pebble Beach, and has been steady the last few weeks. With the U.S. Open upcoming at one of his favorite venues, you'd have to think the state of Johnson's game has him licking his lips. -
Wed May 12, 2010 12:49 pm EDT
The Bengals are pondering JaMarcus Russell
I don't know if the Cincinnati Bengals employ an official team sports
psychologist, but if they do, that man or woman is probably in their office
right now, door locked, balled up in the corner and sobbing, "Why
me?!"After already adding Pacman Jones and Matt Jones(notes) this offseason, there's talk out there that the Bengals are looking to bring in failed Raider quarterback JaMarcus Russell(notes), too.
Chad Ochocinco(notes) tweeted about it:
Jamarcus Russel, you on twitter, if not its cool ill see you in #minicamp , ooopsss, did I just leak that info #ocnn
And then ESPN's Adam Schefter did the same:
No leak, @OGOchoCinco. Your team has called JaMarcus Russell, as have others. But there are no plans for him to be at any minicamps now.
Both of these follow a report on Cincinnati.com indicating that yes, the Bengals have contacted Russell. Russell's agent, when asked about it, offered only a "no comment."
Taking just small financial risks on high-profile guys who have failed elsewhere is not a bad plan. With both Joneses and now JaMarcus, there's obviously talent there. If some brave team can work out the issues in their head, it could turn into a brilliant investment.
That said, though, if you're the Bengals, do you have to sign every headcase that becomes available? Isn't it possible to have too many of these guys? It's not like the Bengals are a model of organizational stability, having proven over time that they can absorb any distraction and keep running like clockwork. It wasn't that long ago that the Bengals were sort of a Midwestern version of the Raiders.
For a lot of teams, I think JaMarcus Russell makes sense. Sign him for the veterans minimum, and look at him like a 7th-round draft pick. He's a prospect. If something changes in him, and it works out, outstanding. You hit the lotto. And if he doesn't, you're probably not out much.
There's got to be a line, though, where a team gets to the point of having too many problem children hanging around the locker room. I fear that the Bengals may be flirting with it.
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Wed May 12, 2010 12:45 pm EDT
Heads-up: BDL Hump Day Chat!, later this afternoon
"YEAH!"Wot's that, Mike?
"I LOVE A GOOD BDL HUMP DAY CHAT!"
All CAPS, Mike?
"YEAH!"
You a big fan of the Hump Day Chat?
"YEAH!"
Can't wait to ask a few questions about the NBA playoffs, work a little pro hoop back and forth?
"YEAH!"
You seem awfully enthused.
"THEY'RE GOING TO SAY GREAT THINGS ABOUT ME! I HAVE THE CAVS JUST TWO WINS FROM THE CONFERENCE FINALS!"
Yeah?
"YEAH!"
BDL Hump Day Chat!, starting at 3 p.m., Eastern.
Yeah.
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Wed May 12, 2010 12:40 pm EDT
Rampage-Rashad hype machine needs to make up for lost time
It'll be interesting to see how UFC 114 performs on pay-per-view. Had the Quinton Jackson-Rashad Evans fight gone down last December as originally planned, with the momentum from Season 10 of "The Ultimate Fighter," it probably would've joined the handful of UFC cards that have eclipsed 1 million pay-per-view buys. The UFC now has three weeks to make up for the downtime.
Jackson bailed from UFC 107 in Memphis because he was offered the Mr. T role in the A-Team movie. Frankly, the end of TUF 10 was anti-climactic knowing the hated, trash-talking weren't going to fight anytime soon. Well, the fight is here. Can the UFC re-ignite your fire?
It starts tonight (11 p.m. ET/PT) with Episode 1 of UFC Primetime: Rampage versus Evans. The three part series continues on May 19 and May 26.
We're guessing the prefight theme is going to feature Jackson's anger and intensity versus the comedic stylings of Evans, who offers up a gift for Rampage in this video.
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Wed May 12, 2010 12:38 pm EDT
No perfect 10s for Shawn Johnson's first pitch in Iowa
It's been awhile since we featured an errant first pitch on par with Mariah Carey's throwdown in Tokyo, Dany Heatley being outdone by a young girl in San Francisco or President Obama's decided ball to Albert Pujols before last year's All-Star Game.
So here's star Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson grounding one in the dirt before last Saturday's Iowa Cubs game in her native state. Not exactly the best effort, but you have to love her trademark optimism. "That's why I'm a gymnast," she told KCCI afterward.I'm actually just going to chalk this one up to small sample size. That's because Johnson threw out a first pitch at Dodger Stadium while doing promo work for Dancing With The Stars and while it wasn't exactly a bullet, it was much better than this recent toss. Check it out below.
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Wed May 12, 2010 12:25 pm EDT
Maradona's original crazypants provisional 30
He kept everyone waiting through most of the day, but Maradona finally delivered his 30-man provisional roster for the Argentina's World Cup training camp late on Tuesday. After calling up more than 100 players in his 18 months as manager, Maradona's list excluded the likes of Javier Zanetti, Esteban Cambiasso, and Fernando Gago for a great concentration of talent from domestic clubs. The list Maradona originally handed to the Argentine Football Association, however, was far more interesting. The following is a copy of that list.
Goalkeepers: Lionel Messi, the guy with hair, the guy with the other thing
Defenders: Lionel Messi, Jim the Greek, My friend Herman, Fudgie the Whale, Michael Jordan, that homeless man near the strip club, a banana, the wind, Jimmy
Midfielders: Lionel Messi, Rio Ferdinand, Miego Daradona, several monkeys standing on each other's shoulders, a bath towel, Frank Furter, Miley Cyrus, diabetes, Superman, loose change, Pele
Forwards: Lionel Messi, a Girls Gone Wild DVD, socks, Bart Simpson, Martin Palermo, Martin Palermo, Martin Palermo
Photo: Reuters
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Wed May 12, 2010 12:06 pm EDT
Presenting the winners of the Kevin Harvick Photoshop contest
Last week, we announced our latest Marbles contest, a Kevin Harvick Photoshop showdown. It was a winner-take-all deal, with the top dog taking home that fine limited-edition brushed-metal No. 29 at right. The contest was brought to you by your friends at Shell/Pennzoil (motto: "It's not our oil rig that's leaking!") Thanks to Shell/Pennzoil for bringing us the fine little prize.
We received dozens of entries, ranging from the professional to the, uh, enthusiastic. So now, without further ado, your winner, along with a few honorable mentions:
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Wed May 12, 2010 12:04 pm EDT
Alexis Thompson is turning pro ... at age 15
What were you doing when you were 15? Chances are, some variation of "being an idiot kid." But Alexis Thompson, she's not like you and me. No, while the rest of us were obsessed with the mystery of the opposite sex or doodling Zeppelin logos in our algebra books -- come on, it wasn't just me -- Ms. Thompson is turning pro on the LPGA tour. Feelin' a little underachieving, are ya?
Anyway, Ms. Thompson has a solid golf pedigree. She qualified for the U.S. Women's Open in 2007, which, if you'll do a little math, means she was twelve years old at the time. She followed that up by qualifying again in 2008 and 2009. Oh, and she was Golfweek's 2009 Women's Amateur Player of the Year and the 2009 Junior Girls Player of the Year.
And now she's turning pro. She'll make her debut in June at the ShopRite LPGA Classic in New Jersey. Her final tournament as an amateur will be the Curtis Cup, the amateur women's team tournament, to be played in Manchester, Mass.
Thompson made national headlines last fall when she took the lead as a 14-year-old at the Navistar Classic. She ended up fading, but the fact she was there at all and not, say, geeking out over Taylor Swift or those "Twilight" nimrods is impressive all on its own.
This could be part of a trend, as news broke this week that the University of Michigan offered a basketball scholarship to a 13-year-old girl. All of which underlines a very frustrating fact: not only are our kids growing up faster than ever, but they're able to athletically kick our butts sooner than ever, too.
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Wed May 12, 2010 12:00 pm EDT
The Utah Jazz? Gone Till November
With every season that ends, for the playoff teams at least, we felt it right to take a look ahead. TNT already has the rights to "Gone Fishin'," and because we're sure that someone, somewhere, still likes that Wyclef song, we're going with "Gone Till November." And, yes, we know the season starts in October. Today? The Utah Jazz.It's hard to be overly optimistic about Utah's future, not with that El Lay conundrum in its way.
The team has now lost to the Los Angeles Lakers three years in a row, and while a potential bit of housecleaning might change the team's outlook, I can't imagine improved attitude, internal development, or a more consistent rotation being enough to put the Jazz over the top. To say nothing of roster add-ons.
Because they, honestly, have had enough offensive firepower to take the Lakers down in each of the team's meetings. Until this season, defense was Los Angeles' Achilles' heel, and the Jazz had more than enough interior passing and potency from the point guard position to at least compete with Los Angeles, and all three times the team failed miserably. Their closest attempt was actually this season, and with the Lakers as the gold standard, what possible rotation additions do you see helping this Jazz team moving forward?
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Wed May 12, 2010 11:54 am EDT
Been Caught Stealing: MLB warns Phillies about stealing signs
Major League Baseball has reportedly issued a warning to the Philadelphia Phillies over accusations of sign-stealing, a time-honored practice that isn't formally forbidden by the rulebook. If a team gets reprimanded for stealing signs, then generally they're either doing it too brazenly or too well (or both).
Tracy Ringolsby of Fox Sports reports that during Monday night's telecast of the Phillies-Rockies game, Philadelphia bullpen coach Mick Billmeyer was caught using binoculars to look in at Colorado catcher Miguel Olivo during the second inning. The camera also apparently caught centerfielder Shane Victorino in the dugout on the bullpen phone. If you accept the notion that the simplest explanation is usually correct, then, well … the Phillies were pretty much nailed. Guilty. Shame. Dishonor.
But of course Philadelphia won the game, 9-5, so that should take away the sting of the warning (which is kind of like a traffic warning. It's not a real penalty). Ringolsby spoke with a baseball official who had this to say:
"We have looked at the video and talked to the Phillies about the actions of their bullpen coach,’’ a Major League Baseball official told FOXSports.com.
"We found the evidence inconclusive on what was being done, but we have spoken to the Phillies about the situation, and the umpires have been told to be on full alert as to what is going on.’’
The Phillies will probably limit their thievery for a few days, the Rockies will change their signs, and maybe a batter will get plunked. And then Philadelphia will resume business as usual. The team was similarly accused during last year's World Series, and in 2008 by the Red Sox, and in 2007 by the division-rival Mets.
Earlier this season, after New York ace Johan Santana gave up 10 runs to the Phillies over 3.2 innings, the Mets reportedly complained to the league again about sign-swiping. (This should be a small comfort to those who own Santana in fantasy leagues).
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