Monday, January 31, 2011

D12: Elderly Pirates fans are putting the pressure on Clint Hurdle

Duk's Dozen, a selection of 12 morning-fresh links and items, has returned in 2011 to start your baseball news day off right. Got links? Send 'em here or via Twitter.  

1. We've all faced high expectations when heading into a new job, but it sounds like first-year Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle is being asked to deliver some immediate results under a timeline that may not be realistic.

"One thing I hear from fans is, ‘My Dad's got one foot in the grave, and he wants to see the Pirates win ..." Hurdle said. "I've heard that more than anything. That's our goal."

Personally, I'd like to tell all those near death to enjoy the Steelers and Penguins in their remaining time on Earth rather than engage in what could be some dangerous fretting over a squad that has been its own worst enemy. But I do admire Hurdle as he refrained from saying exactly what kind of winning these fans want to see. (A five- or six-game winning streak at some point should do the trick, no?) Tribune-Review via Rum Bunter

2. Contrary to reports coming out of New York, Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon claims that Rafael Soriano was not a "problem child" in the clubhouse. Rays Report 

3. Chris Needham looks at the confounding Tom Gorzelanny and concludes that the Washington Nationals' newest pitcher is like a Gobot. "The Gobots could play," Needham writes. "Especially for the family on a budget." Capitol Punishment 

4. You know it's January when baseball bloggers are editing amphetamine-related sitcom clips together and making one giant YouTube reel of awesome. Wezen-Ball

5. Why the 2011 Oakland A's are poised to contend. Athletics Nation

6. Jose Bautista's 54-homer breakout season contains the ingredients to make what could be the offseason's most interesting arbitration case. Toronto Star 

7. Should San Francisco Giants fans be concerned about the new Showtime reality series being a distraction in the clubhouse this season? McCovey Chronicles 

8. Gaby Sanchez is the latest Florida Marlins player to join Twitter. FishStripes

9. While Dave Cameron thinks that Matt Garza is a rich man's Aaron Harang, Zachary Chiang believes Garza is actually the poor man's Matt Cain. Splashing Pumpkins

10. John Danks is in line for a nice raise this arbitration season. Chicago Tribune 

11. With fantasy football out of the way, Scott Pianowski answers some burning questions for the fantasy baseball season ahead. Roto Arcade

12. Finally, "Dave Niehaus" and "rap tribute" don't really seem like they would go together. But this one really works. NotGraphs

Bianca Kajlich Giulianna Ramirez Ashley Greene April Scott Mia Kirshner

Auburn is the new champion of BCS attrition

It's not exactly breaking news with the early departures of stars Cam Newton and Nick Fairley that Auburn's championship band is splitting up in spectacular fashion after one surprising, frenzied push to the top. Leave it to unrivaled stat head Phil Steele, though, to put in perspective just how much of the championship team is leaving the Plains: With just seven starters coming back in 2011, the Tigers have fewer returning starters than any other team in the country. That's not fewest in the SEC or fewest of the major conferences. In terms of front-line experience, the '11 Tigers will be 120th out of 120.

(In case you're counting, those seven are running back Michael Dyer, fullback/tight end Phil Lutzenkirchen, tackle Brandon Mosley, defensive lineman Nosa Eguae, linebacker Daren Bates, cornerback Neiko Thorpe and safety Mike McNeil. You can also include oft-used running back Onterio McCalebb and receiver Emory Blake to bring the number to nine, and it would still be the skimpiest returning lineup in the country by Steele's count.)

Of course, the biggest stars, Newton and Fairley, were both first-year starters in 2010 themselves. But you don't pull All-American, top-10 draft picks off your bench every year, and most of the supporting cast had been around the block: Seven offensive starters against Oregon in the BCS Championship Game were seniors playing their final game, along with seven more starters on defense. That number includes four-fifths of the offensive line and five members of the defensive front seven (not including Fairley), leaving exactly one returning starter on each line: Mosley on offense and Eguae on defense.

Altogether, the Tigers will defend their championship in the fall minus their leading passer, leading rusher, two of their top four receivers, four starting offensive linemen, their top two pass rushers and four of their top five tacklers – an unprecedented exodus for a championship team in the BCS era. In broader sports terms, that makes the Tigers the amateur equivalent of the 1997 Florida Marlins.

College football doesn't lend itself to that kind of attrition en masse, but the track record of teams that have suffered a major, one-time exodus after a championship or near-championship season over the last decade aren't exactly encouraging:

Florida State (2001): The Seminoles, losers to Oklahoma in their bid to repeat as BCS champions in 2000, sent off Heisman-winning quarterback Chris Weinke, as well as their leading rusher (Travis Minor), leading receiver (Marvin Minnis), three starting offensive lineman and eight starters on defense, five of whom were drafted in the first three rounds. Old habits dies hard enough that the '01 'Noles opened at No. 6 in the AP poll, but subsequently dropped four games en route to the Gator Bowl, ending a nine-year run atop the ACC and a 13-year run with at least 10 wins and a top-five finish at season's end. A decade later, FSU is still yet to renew the streak.

USC (2006): The exodus from the explosive outfit that fell just short of its second straight BCS championship in 2005 would have been enough to cripple almost any other team for the foreseeable future: A staggering 11 Trojans went in the '06 draft, including Heisman headliners Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush, the first of six offensive starters off the board in the first three rounds alone. In USC's case, though, all nine returning starters were All-Pac-10 picks in '05, and took the Trojans back within an eleventh-hour flop at UCLA of another championship trip the following fall. By the end of the year, the '06 lineup featured eight future draft picks who weren't listed as starters at the beginning of the season, not including backup quarterback Mark Sanchez.

Penn State (2006): The Nittany Lions may be the best analogy for Auburn's run in 2010, featuring a star quarterback who came out of nowhere in his only season as a starter (Michael Robinson), an overwhelmingly senior-laden offensive line and a dominating defensive lineman (Tamba Hali) at the head of a soon-to-be dismantled defense that lost the entire starting secondary and all but one member of the front four. The Lions went from back-to-back losing records in 2003-04 to Big Ten champions in 2005, finishing third in the final polls, and returned immediately to the fringes with just nine returning starters in '06.

Florida (2007): Not many championship teams can count on improving offensively after replacing a four-year starter with a true sophomore in a lineup that lost half its starters, but even Tim Tebow's Heisman-winning effort for the SEC's No. 1 offense in '07 couldn't overcome the growing pains of a defense replacing nine starters, seven of them draft picks. Even stocked with future draft picks itself, the spanking-new Gator D couldn't prevent four losses in a transition year between the plucky '06 champs and the juggernauts of 2008-09.

Hawaii (2008): The Warriors' 12-0 Sugar Bowl run in 2007 yielded one of the most prolific offenses of the decade, virtually all of which hopped the first flight out of the islands when it was over – including June Jones, who followed his record-breaking quarterback, Colt Brennan, and top receivers to the mainland to take over as head coach at SMU. The defense also lost most of its starters, plunging UH from the greatest season in school history to a losing record in '08, with almost three full touchdowns per game on the board.

Texas (2010): The numbers aren't as overwhelming, but the impact of the departures from the '09 BCS runner-up – quarterback Colt McCoy, his best receiver (Jordan Shipley), three starting offensive linemen, the Big 12's best pass rusher (Sergio Kindle), the leading tackler (Roddrick Muckelroy) and the best playmaker on defense (Earl Thomas) – added up to a disaster on every front last year, by far the worst of Mack Brown's tenure in Austin. Considering the expectations, the resulting collapse may exceed the implosions at Tennessee, Michigan and Notre Dame as the most spectacular in recent memory.

So precedent is a mixed bag. No defending BCS champion has ever opened the following season outside of the top 10 in the preseason polls; the closest a championship-caliber team has come to that kind of fall, in fact, was Auburn in 2005, which dropped all the way to 16th in the preseason AP poll after losing the core of its uncrowned, 13-0 team in 2004. (The Tigers finished 14th in '05 with a 9-3 record.) As far as actual results, only two defending BCS champs, Florida in 2007 and LSU a year later, have dropped more than three games the year after winning the title, and only the '08 Tigers fell out of the polls altogether.

The early line on 2011 has Auburn falling anywhere from 14th to nearly out of the polls altogether in the wake of their great departure, typically coming in somewhere in the mid-teens. Vegas is even less optimistic, especially with Alabama and LSU loading up for their own title runs in an intensely competitive division. A pair of back-to-back, top-10 recruiting classes eases the pain somewhat, but if the Tigers are going to count on that kind of youth movement filling the most massive gaps ever experienced by a defending BCS champ, just holding fast in the top 20 – or the top half of the SEC West – will be a more than respectable encore.

- - -
Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

Carmen Electra Amanda Marcum Leila Arcieri Kate Mara Izabella Scorupco

Mark your balls wrong, get a three-month involuntary vacation

The European Tour has handed down its decree on the Elliot Saltman cheating case, and the verdict is: death! No, wait, a three-month suspension. Sorry, I was way off.

Saltman, an up-and-comer who won his European Tour card for 2011 in last year's Q School, was facing accusations of cheating when marking his ball on the green. Saltman would mark his ball one way, then when replacing the ball, align it with the marker in slightly different fashion in order to move it closer to the hole, according to accusations made by two of his playing partners in a September qualifying tournament.

Saltman protested his innocence, saying that he agreed to the charges at the time because he was in "shock" and "didn't want to be labelled a cheat."  But the Tour did exactly that, saying in a statement that Saltman "committed a serious breach," according to the AP report.

We've railed before about the absurd overreaction of golf's ruling elite when infractions are an issue -- disqualifications for forgetting to sign cards or using swing training aids, extra strokes for inadvertent accidents like dropping the ball on the marker -- but in this case, the punishment is more in line with the crime. Saltman was getting a material advantage -- small, yes, but measurable -- and everyone who's ever marked a ball on a green understands how you can get away with this little technique.

As for precedent, Saltman should be glad he didn't get the effective death sentence handed down to David Robertson, who was fined £20,000 and banned for 20 years in 1985 for marking his ball incorrectly during a British Open qualifying tournament. Now, Robertson allegedly moved his ball a lot more than a couple inches -- up to 20 feet, by some reckonings -- by arriving at the green first, pretending to mark his ball, then carrying the marker on his putter and dropping it much closer to the hole. (Pretty slick trick ... er, no, no, that's horrible.)

Saltman has the right to appeal, but at this point, he may be better advised to ride this one out and put it behind him once and for all. The suspension will be over and done before the cold weather lifts ... assuming the European Tour marks the calendar correctly.

Scottish golfer banned for ball marked incorrectly [AP/Yahoo! Sports]

Sarah Michelle Gellar Olivia Munn Melissa Sagemiller Roselyn Sanchez Soft Cell

Vegas Watch Top 16: November (2011)

Paris Hilton Victoria Pratt Shakara Ledard Vanessa Marcil Rachel McAdams

Stanford promotes Shaw, in the name of keeping the band together

Stanford knew what it wanted in its successor for outgoing hero Jim Harbaugh, and today it has it: After token flirtation with Boise State's Chris Petersen, the Cardinal will stay in-house to promote offensive coordinator David Shaw to head coach, as expected. The university confirmed multiple reports of Shaw's promotion Thursday afternoon.

What Stanford wants, obviously, is someone to maintain the status quo for one more year. The moment All-American quarterback Andrew Luck decided to pass on the NFL to return to Palo Alto, the No. 1 priority became making that good fortune pay off. With Luck in tow on the heels of a 12-1, top-five finish – easily the school's best season since World War II – 2011 may be Stanford's only realistic chance at a Pac-12 championship in the foreseeable future, and a run at a national crown isn't out of the picture. If Harbaugh had hung around, in fact, the momentum of last week's 40-12 Orange Bowl rout over Virginia Tech might have propelled them among a handful of early frontrunners.

As it stands, Luck's return will have to negate the loss of not only Harbaugh, but three starting offensive linemen (including All-American Chase Beeler), his top two receivers, pile-driving fullback Owen Marecic, and 10 of the top 15 tacklers on defense. With Shaw's hiring, the Cardinal are also likely to lose fellow assistants Greg Roman (assistant head coach) and Vic Fangio (defensive coordinator), who were also up for the job and will probably join Harbaugh in San Francisco now that they've been passed over.

Shaw, 38, has never been a head coach, but he's been around the block on the West Coast. He was a wide receiver at Stanford in the early '90s, began his coaching career at Western Washington and spent four years with the Oakland Raiders (as well as four more with the Baltimore Ravens) before hooking up with Harbaugh at the University of San Diego in 2006. At Stanford, he's presided over the evolution of the Cardinal offense from one of the worst in the nation in 2006-07 to one of the best, highlighted by the emergence of two very different Heisman Trophy runners-up – Luck last year and thundering tailback Toby Gerhart in 2009 – in consecutive years.

But Shaw's most important qualification is simply that he's an inside man. He knows the players, he knows the recruits, he knows the daily routines and personalities of the program and he knows the offense that will be expected to carry the Cardinal back to double-digit wins in the fall, and possibly to the Rose Bowl. If they get there, whatever happens from that point on, it will be worth it.

- - -
Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

Marley Shelton ThalĂ­a Brooke Burke Thandie Newton Liz Phair

Hamilton cleared to leave hospital after treatment for pneumonia

AL MVP Josh Hamilton finally left a Dallas-area hospital Sunday after spending five days undergoing treatment for an early case of pneumonia.

That's great news for the Texas Rangers slugger, who was diagnosed a week ago and spent extra time in the hospital — he originally was supposed to stay a day or so — "to receive complete rest and accelerate his full recovery," the club said.

Doctors taking extra precautions with Hamilton is not surprising, but it's still scary given his history of drug abuse.

Hamilton's well-publicized addictions not only derailed his baseball career, caused havoc with his relationships and even endangered his life at the time, they also put his health at risk, probably, for as long as he lives.

As Hamilton himself acknowledged in a 2007 first-person story for ESPN Magazine:

It's not always easy, though. I got sick in late May and ended up on the disabled list after going to the hospital with a stomach problem, and I knew I'd have to answer questions about whether I was using again. I can't control what people think, but the years of drug abuse tore up my immune system pretty good.

Hamilton has a busy week ahead — it's awards banquet season — and doctors just wanted to make sure he was OK. Pneumonia can kill, of course, though an athletic 29-year-old such as Hamilton would seem fairly impervious to it. Until you factor in the consequences of drug abuse.

That, above all else — his playing career, his status as a role model, whatever — is why it's critical for Hamilton to stay clean of drugs, alcohol, etc.

And why there's no such thing as a routine hospital stay for Josh Hamilton.

Follow Dave on Twitter — @AnswerDave

Aki Ross Ashley Tappin Carmen Electra Amanda Marcum Leila Arcieri

The five least valuable players of Wild Card Weekend

Roman Harper, CB, New Orleans Saints.

I'd like to offer my compliments to whoever is responsible for stitching the Seahawks' names on the back of their jerseys. Roman Harper spent his entire Saturday inspecting your work, and offered nary a criticism.

The man who bit on play-action before turning around and watching John Carlson catch a wide-open touchdown pass in the first quarter? Roman Harper. The throw of the weekend, where Hasselbeck lifted a beautifully timed lob to Cameron Morrah down the sidelines for 39 yards? That was Harper biting on a hitch-and-go. Carlson's second touchdown, when he faked a blocking effort, went to the ground, got up and then caught a touchdown pass? Roman Harper was the man who was fooled. The safety who should have been deep on the long touchdown pass to Brandon Stokley? Roman Harper.

The Saints' other starting safety, Darren Sharper, was no prize, either. The Saints are going to have to find a way to get more speed in the back of the secondary before next season.

Matt Cassel, QB, Kansas City Chiefs.

Matt Cassel's strong suit this season was protecting the football. In 450 throws through the regular season, he was intercepted just seven times. Sunday, over 18 throws, he was intercepted three times. Had he thrown interceptions at that same rate over the regular season, he would have been intercepted 175 times this year.

Some of the throws he made Sunday, Brett Favre thought were irresponsible. He had a brutal day, which is kind of a shame, after he grew so much between Week 1 and Week 17. I'm curious to see how he'll do next season in someone else's offensive system.

Reggie Bush, RB, New Orleans Saints.

At this point, no one expects Reggie Bush to ever put a football team on his back and run, run, run them to victory. That's fine. But when your top two running backs, Pierre Thomas and Chris Ivory (both undrafted, by the way) are out, is it not reasonable to expect the second overall pick from the 2006 draft to contribute something?

You can be mad at Julius Jones for fumbling and failing to convert third and fourth downs if you want to, but why should the Saints have to lean on Julius Jones to begin with? Why are we handing the ball to DeShawn Wynn to convert a crucial two-point conversion?

Exactly what does Reggie Bush do in New Orleans?

David Akers, K, Philadelphia Eagles.

It wasn't a great day for David Akers, as the usually rock-solid kicker missed a couple of field goals that he'd normally bury. Some kind of unknown off-the-field issue is bothering him, but, to his credit, he won't use it as an excuse. No one would even know about it if teammate Quintin Mikell wasn't talking about it after the game.

•  Jim Caldwell, Head Coach, Indianapolis Colts

I like to give coaches the benefit of the doubt, and in general, I think there are too many people out there who believe they are clock management savants and would play it flawlessly on NFL sidelines. That said, that last Jim Caldwell timeout has me completely befuddled.

His explanation -- that he wanted the Jets to have another play in the hopes that they'd take a sack or turn the ball over -- doesn't help me much. Essentially, he was gambling that the Jets were the dumbest team of all time. The decision he made was basically that he liked the chances of the Jets turning the ball over better than the chances of Nick Folk missing a 50-yarder.

The percentages disagreed. Vehemently.

SofĂ­a Vergara Nicole Richie Norah Jones Nicky Hilton Garcelle Beauvais

Jamie McMurray wisely re-ups with Earnhardt-Ganassi

Everything's coming up Milhouse for Jamie McMurray, the onetime Roush Fenway castoff-turned-restrictor-plate-champion who's the reigning Daytona 500 winner. He's signed a multi-year contract with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, cementing his status with the team and paving the way for another rock-solid season.

McMurray, whom we call Zoolander around these parts for obvious reasons, won Daytona, the Brickyard 400 and the Bank of America 500 in Charlotte in 2010. He still managed to miss the Chase, which is a testament to the fact that you've got to show up every week.

But it's likely he'll mesh better with his team this year. He's already established himself as a restrictor-plate master, and he's running well at the cookie-cutters too. If he misses the Chase this year, there'll be a few questions to answer ... but odds are he'll be in the mix all season long.

Vanessa Minnillo Katie Holmes Victoria Beckham Missy Peregrym Sarah Gellman

All-Star Draft: Team Staal on strategy, drafting teammates/brothers

Team Lidstrom discussed the NHL All-Star Game yesterday and today, two-thirds of Team Staal were on a conference call with reporters this afternoon to lend their thoughts.

Eric Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green discussed the numerous injuries affecting the Game, reuniting with teammates and brothers and their strategy for building Team Staal.

The highlights:

On Injuries Impacting the Game

Every day it seems another NHL star or two has to drop from the game due to injury or personal reasons. Today, it was Evgeni Malkin and Tobias Enstrom having to pull out. Staal was asked if the missing stars will take away from attention on the game.

"There's injuries throughout this game. I mean, it's a long year," said Staal. "There's a lot of games. I think for the most part, guys want to be a part of the All Star festivities."

Said Staal on Sidney Crosby's absence: "I think missing arguably the best player in the league, you know, for an event like this, is missed," said Staal. "But like I said before, injuries happen and you deal with them as individuals and as teams." 

On Draft Strategy

Yesterday, Nicklas Lidstrom joked about selecting Cam Ward first to get the hometown fans on the side of Team Lidstrom.

What would Staal do in response?

"I don't know, I would have to figure out something as far as making a trade," said Staal.

"If he won the coin flip and ended up taking Cam first, I think it would be I don't think it would be as fun for our fans to be honest. I think we have to have all of us on the same team and let the one the home crowd cheer for one team."

The Hurricanes captain was then asked how Team Staal will go about building their squad.

"Obviously you have to have some rhyme or reason in what you're doing, but like I said before, there's a ton of talent there and not really any bad picks," said Staal. "Everyone is a great player and deserves to be there. So, you know, obviously goal scoring is a premium in the All Star Game, and goalkeeping, too, and defense. So there's no wrong way to go about it I don't think. You know, we are going to enjoy it, the three of us getting together and trying to figure out a game plan and making our pick."

On Teammate/Brother Reunions

Staal was asked about how he'd approach potentially drafting or not drafting his brother Marc.

"The way [Marc's] been talking, he's been telling me to take him first, and then he's telling me he doesn't want me to pick him; so he doesn't really know what he wants. You know, we'll see what happens. I've been having some pressure from my mom, making sure we are on the same team."

Said Green on whether he'd rather play with or against Alex Ovechkin: "I did an interview today and said it would be nice to have him on the team, have him do some one on one on you, but again, we'll see what happens with the draft."

On the All-Star Format Change

When asked if the All-Star Game needed a change, Staal noted the influence of fantasy sports makes the change this year intriguing.

"I would not necessarily say that it needed to be changed," said Staal. "I think the change is welcome. I think it was a great idea. I think it adds a different element, a different you haven't seen anything like this in pro sports before with anything. And I think in this day and age with all of the football pools, the hockey pools, the baseball pools, the sports fans pay attention to that kind of stuff. Why not have the athletes themselves kind of in that same mix for an All Star event."

Speaking of paying attention, Staal is currently in 10th place in the Y! Sports Fantasy Hockey Challenge.

On Separating the Sedins

Both captains have now been asked about the possibility of the Sedin twins finally playing on separate teams.

Said Staal: "You know what, kind of. When we have our discussions between Mike and I and Ryan, we can ask Ryan who he loves the best and we pick him and leave the other for the other team no, they are obviously two very, very talented players."

For the record, Kesler has said he'd prefer Henrik because he's a center.

On Being Out of the Player Pool

Finally, Green expressed his relief on being named assistant captain of Team Staal and not being available in the Draft.

"That's my worst fear is being picked last, so at least I don't have to worry about that now."

Giuliana DePandi Pamela Anderson Amber Arbucci Christina Aguilera Kate Hudson

Postmortem: Irish get by on D, but the future is still all about the O

A season in review.

When Notre Dame hired Brian Kelly last December to wake up the echoes, it was going in a specific kind of echo: Kelly's offense at Cincinnati in 2009 was the best in the Big East in passing, total and scoring offense, and ran the table despite rolling the league's worst total defense; the Bearcats also won 10 games with a top-20 offense and mediocre D in 2007, Kelly's first season in Cincy after a three-year stint at Central Michigan, which had led the MAC in total and scoring offense en route to the conference championship under Kelly in 2006. You can trace the thread to his Division II days at Grand Valley State: Where Kelly goes, fireworks follow.

But maybe it was no surprise that his first offense at Notre Dame looked less like the efficient, up-tempo assault Irish fans imagined before the season than it looked like what it really was: A unit in transition under a new coach and a new quarterback after losing the most prolific pass-catch combo in school history to the first two rounds of the draft. ND came in four points and 72 yards per game below its 2009 averages and ranked in the bottom half of the country on both counts. Instead, the Irish lived and died by coordinator Bob Diaco's defense, which held opponents below 21 points in all seven wins and yielded a mere 39 over the four-game November/December winning streak that saved the season from total collapse.

That streak – including validating wins over Utah, USC and Miami – was the first time all season either side of the ball particularly stood out against anyone worth standing out against. Prior to November, the defense had held Purdue to 12 points in the opener and Boston College to 13 on Oct. 2, but the Boilermakers and Eagles both went on to finish as the worst offenses in the Big Ten and ACC, respectively. The Irish offense rang up 535 yards in the last-second loss to Michigan in September and 44 points against Western Michigan a month later, but the Wolverine defense wound up being abused on a weekly basis, and Western Michigan is, well, Western Michigan.

Aside from a total offensive flop against Stanford on Sept. 25, the Irish were consistently mediocre in all respects, and only the defense raised its game down the stretch against respectable opposition: With true freshman Tommy Rees playing in place of Crist, the offense averaged 27 points on 330 total yards over the last four, barely above the season average in the former case and significantly below it in the latter.

On the heels of the eye-opening, 33-17 Sun Bowl rout over Miami, though, the good vibes carrying the Irish into Kelly's second season are clearly being emitted by the offense. Almost half of the defensive starters in El Paso were playing their last college game, but the offense gets back nine Sun Bowl starters in the fall, including Rees, three offensive linemen and receiver Michael Floyd, source of the most stunning draft snub this side of Andrew Luck, who'll push for his place among a crowded field of preseason All-Americans – and not including Crist, who's likely to regain his starting job as a senior, or running back Cierre Wood, who wound up leading the team in rushing despite spending the first half of the season as a virtual nonentity. This from an outfit that was justifiably left for dead at the end of October.

Instead, it rallied from back-to-back humiliations at the hands of Navy and Tulsa and Crist's injury to earn ND's first win over a ranked team since 2006 against Utah, then to snap an eight-game skid against USC with a rain-soaked, fourth quarter comeback in the L.A. Coliseum, and then to trounce a fellow traveler in underachievement in the bowl game. Given the circumstances and the alternatives – and the Irish are more than accustomed to the alternative, having stumbled through eight losses in nine games in back-to-back November collapses under Charlie Weis in 2008-09 – that's about as good an end to a roller coaster debut as Kelly could ask for. With Crist and Floyd back for one more go-round in the fall, it's also just a start.

- - -
Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

Bar Refaeli Jessica White Anna Friel Monica Bellucci Minki van der Westhuizen

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Video: Ovechkin's Hardest Shot performance a comedy of errors

Not long after he successfully defended his Breakaway Challenge title, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin had quite the experience in the Hardest Shot competition.

After tripping over a television wire, breaking his twig during an attempt and then seeing two of his shots (using Kris Letang's stick) not register due a gun malfunction, things seemed over for Ovie until the Carolina crowd eventually swayed  the judges give him one more opportunity:

Ovie's final attempt was good enough for the eighth best shot in the competition and his 48.3 mph attempt when shattering his stick was almost as impressive as Rick Nash's first try which hit a weak 88 mph.

Joanne Montanez Michelle Obama Kerry Suseck FSU Cowgirls Abbie Cornish

Goodell will take a $1 salary if there's a work stoppage

If the anticipated NFL work stoppage comes to fruition, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell won't let anyone accuse him of kicking back and cashing checks while no one else is making any money.

According to Jason LaCanfora, the commissioner will reduce his own salary to $1 per year if there's no football.

Makes sense to me. If a man is charged with running the NFL, and the NFL isn't running, then I don't know why that man would deserve a paycheck. In fact, I think a yearly salary of $1 would still leave Goodell overpaid. By about $1.

You don't have to worry about the Goodell family going hungry, though. The commissioner made $9.76 million a year ago.

Jeff Pash, the NFL's chief labor negotiator, will also have his salary dip to a buck in the event of a work stoppage.

I hate to be the skeptic, but I don't know how much of this is out of actual necessity and how much of this is a pure public relations move. Maybe it's a sincere gesture of compromise in the spirit of finding a fair agreement. Maybe it's a pre-emptive move to take a little PR ammo away from the other side. Maybe Goodell and Pash are pretty sure they'll be taken care of when a work stoppage ends, so there's no actual sacrifice at all. I don't know.

Just work it out, gentlemen.

Gracias, The Huddle.

Follow Yahoo! Sports on Facebook and be the first to know about the most interesting stories of the day.

Julie Berry Lori Heuring Nicole Scherzinger Jill Arrington Tami Donaldson

This Week's Links (7/5-7/9)

Donna Feldman Jodi Lyn OKeefe Emma Watson Amy Smart Sarah Wynter

Photo: Mike Pelfrey and R.A. Dickey battle a blaze in New York

While another National League team plans to tour the Big Apple with its World Series trophy this weekend, a few members of the New York Mets are training for a much more valuable public service: Fighting fires in American's biggest city.

OK, so the 'Politans might not graduate the entire course, but they went on a bit of a field trip to the New York Fire Department's training academy Thursday. That's Mike Pelfrey and R.A. Dickey handling a hose in the snapshot above.

Below the jump, that's a picture of owner Jeff Wilpon looking relieved that somebody can finally yell "FIRE!" without a "MANUEL!" or "MINAYA!" followup.

Ashanti Jennie Finch Lisa Snowdon Mariah Carey Taylor Swift

2010 NFL Survivor: Second Round

Katy Perry Vinessa Shaw Rebecca Romijn Nadine Velazquez Pink

Phan-Garcia rematch set for March: Phan produces this judging tutorial

Nam Phan was shocked that he didn't get the decision win against Leonard Garcia at the Season 12 "Ultimate Fighter Finale." So were UFC analyst Joe Rogan, most fans and lots of MMA media members.

Phan gets his shot at revenge at Ultimate Fight Night 24 in Seattle on Mar. 26. He's hoping for a little better work from the judges and has even offered to help out. The kid shows a good sense of our humor with his "MMA Judging in Under Three Minutes" video.  

Angela Marcello Paz Vega Rebecca Mader Eva Green Lauren Conrad

Scenes from the UFC's weekend at Ft. Hood for Fight for the Troops 2

The UFC's Fight for the Troops 2 was not just a fight card that featured two TKOs in the co-main events, or even a fundraising event for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. (By the way, the auction and donation drive will continue until Sunday evening. Donate or bid here.) Just as Bob Hope once did, the UFC also spent the weekend entertaining the troops.

UFC fighters Brian Stann -- a veteran of the Marine Corps -- and Jim Miller signing autographs.

The Octagon Girls -- Arianny, Chandella and Brittney -- hung out on top of a tank before the weigh-ins. 

Of course the UFC would have a helicopter.

The soldiers on hand presented colors, and the national anthem was sung, something that usually doesn't happen at UFC events. The sight of every service member standing at attention during the "Star-Spangled Banner" was quite moving. 

The scene from Ft. Hood, which was described by our photographer Tracy Lee as one of the best UFC events she's ever been to. Considering how rarely she misses fight cards, that's quite a compliment. Kudos to the UFC for not only raising money and awareness for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, but for giving the troops at Ft. Hood a weekend where they could take their minds off the fighting that they have to face.

Molly Sims Monika Kramlik Lacey Chabert Amber Brkich Gretha Cavazzoni

Star Power: Recruiting gurus' All-American track record, by the numbers

With signing day looming, it's time for the Doc's annual, week-long defense of the recruiting-industrial complex. Part One: Recruiting rankings and All-Americans.

The holy hour of the vast, seedy recruiting underworld, national signing day, is a little over a week away, which is also the signal for legions of recruiting skeptics to sound their annual, anecdotal chants of "Ryan Perrilloux!" and "Notre Dame!" and snake oil!" And occasionally, they make a persuasive case. On All-Americans, for example: If you were to go back and review the projections for American Football Coaches' Association, the Associated Press, the Football Writers of America, the Sporting News and the Walter Camp Foundation – in 2010, only five came into college as can't-miss, five-star blue chips, the cream of the crop.

By contrast, more than five times as many of those All-Americans – 28, to be exact, more than half of the total –were rated three stars or lower by the recruiting services. According to the gurus, the top three or four recruiting powers in the country should field more talented rosters than that by themselves.

If you didn't know any better, you might be convinced all those recruiting stars everyone gets worked up about every winter didn't correspond to future success at all, a theme you might become familiar with over the next week or so as the annual plague of mockery begins.

Fortunately, because we've been bestowed by the American education system with the magic of basic arithmetic, we do know better. If you look more closely at the relationship between initial expectations and eventual production, there's a very good reason for the heavy distribution of lower-ranked players among the nation's best, beginning with the distribution of stars at the beginning of the process, according to Rivals' extensive database of signees to I-A schools over the last five years:

I would hope that two and three-star players could acquit themselves well enough to produce a large number of big names, since they account for more than 85 percent of signees nationally. Again, using the rosters of the five NCAA-recognized All-America teams, the situation changes dramatically when you look at the All-America numbers in light of those ratios:

Maybe a raw ratio of 1 in 13 – or even 1 in 10, or whatever the "adjusted" number is after accounting for the early departures, injuries and academics that these numbers make no attempt to reflect – isn't all that impressive by itself. After all, that means far more elite recruits are falling short of their star-studded birthright than are reaching it. Across the board, failure and mediocrity are the norm, but if you think of a four or five-star player as a guy who is supposed to become an All-American – and a two or three-star guy as someone who is definitely not supposed to become an All-American – then yes, the rankings frequently miss.

On the other hand, if you consider the initial grade as a kind of investment – a projection of the how likely a player is of becoming an elite contributor compared to rest of the field – well, you'd put your money with the "experts" over the chances of finding the proverbial diamond in the rough every time:

Of course, a large number of players in that sample size haven't finished their careers, but you can divide up the numbers over any time period you'd like – one year, five years, 10 years: The ratio always looks identical on a per-capita basis, and it is not a crapshoot. Four and five-star players are roughly seven times as likely as two and three-star players to land on an All-America team, and the numbers in the NFL Draft tend to be even even more lopsided toward the hyped recruits. All the more reason to want as many of them as you can get your hands on.

That's the story on an individual level. We'll continue later in the week with a look at the rankings as they relate to team-wide success.

- - -
Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

Malia Jones Jennifer ODell Jenny McCarthy Zooey Deschanel Tara Reid

Video: CBS announcer bashes Jets' 'absurd' touchdown celebration

When you talk big, you'd better back it up. And if you back up the big talk, you deserve to celebrate even bigger. That wasn't a problem for the New York Jets during and after the team's decisive 28-21 victory over the New England Patriots in the AFC divisional playoff.

A bit of the celebration didn't please CBS announcer Jim Nantz, though. After Shonn Greene scored a late game-sealing touchdown, many Jets, Rex Ryan included, converged in the end zone to whoop it up and send one final message to the Patriots and their fans. Nantz didn't like this, particulary Greene's "nap time" celebration, which saw the running back fall to the ground and mimic that he was going to sleep.



"I've never understood the absurdity of all the self-aggrandizing and now you're going to cost your team 15 yards on the kick and you're going to give Brady and his unit a chance to do something."

All right, Jim. Come on down from that soapbox and let's talk about this. You're right that it's absurd for a player to cost his team 15 yards for an incident that was completely unnecessary. And you're right that Brady and his team were going to get another chance to do something. But did you have to go with "absurdity" and "self-aggrandizing" when ripping Greene's celebration? You know who's self-aggrandizing? People who use the phrase "self-aggrandizing." I assume you've been introduced to the pot and the kettle, Jim?

The real culprit here is the NFL for having lame rules in place that penalize players for having fun. Greene didn't get flagged for doing something wrong -- like taunting or disrespectful behavior --  no, he was penalized because he intentionally fell to the ground in the course of celebrating a touchdown. That's all.

Jets players flying around with their arms out like a kid in a meadow in an insurance commercial? Cool. Rex Ryan rumbling down the sideline and into the end zone (possibly producing another richter scale measurement in the process) to chestbump players and get his back jumped on by Mark Sanchez? Legal. Catching some game-clinching Z's in the end zone? Flag, and the contempt of Jim Nantz and the Patriots.

New England receiver Deion Branch didn't like any of the celebrations. "They don't deserve me nor my teammates' congratulations for them to act like that," he said. "You can tell they're not used to being in this position."

Harsh. For his sake, I hope Branch didn't catch this little postgame performance from Braylon Edwards. He might have blown a gasket:

That's some tremendous athleticism by Braylon. Figures he'd be able to shine in an athletic endeavor in which dropping a pass wasn't an option.

Nantz was quiet about the backflips and we'll see if he changes his mind about the Jets next week, when he'll call the AFC championship between New York and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Think you know sports? Play Yahoo! Sports Pop Quiz and you could win a year's worth of sports tickets!

Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
NFL defender's mockery of quarterback dance backfires
Video: Incredible atmosphere created by loud, raucous National Anthem
Basketball fan tossed from arena for wearing wrong team's colors

Rebecca Mader Eva Green Lauren Conrad Arielle Kebbel Jessica Paré

Brian Cashman predicts Derek Jeter will soon move to outfield

Is Brian Cashman going rogue?

In a candid Q&A conducted on Tuesday morning, the New York Yankees general manager made a number of predictions. Among them: Shortstop Derek Jeter would soon move to the outfield, Joba Chamberlain won't move back to the rotation because he got hurt as a starting pitcher, and that the Boston Red Sox are a better team than the Yankees.

Well, then! It wasn't long ago that Cashman volunteered that Yankees upper management overruled him on the signing of reliever Rafael Soriano, an admission that raised some eyebrows.

Cashman's lips were just as loose at a fan breakfast in New York City hosted by WFAN radio personality Mike Francesa. He asked most of the questions, but fans got to ask some, too.

ESPN's Amanda Rykoff live-tweeted a portion of the event:

Francesa to Cashman: "How are you?"
Cashman: "I'd be better if I could get a starter." [...] "We're one starter away from being a World Series contender."

Cashman said Andy Pettitte might be the starter, but Chamberlain apparently is not the guy: "No. He hasn't been same since injury in TX."

Eeenteresing, says the Pinstriped Bible.

Later, a fan asked Cashman "what will happen" with Jeter, who recently signed a contract extension after an acrimonious negotiation. Cashman's reply:

"I'd be surprised if he plays SS for all 4 years. I see him moving to OF."

Can of worms, meet opener. But, if Jeter's defensive range continues to decline, the Yankees would be well-advised to move him somewhere.

It's just ... surprising to hear the Yankees' GM come out and say it. It also might be a little something to motivate Jeter, to keep him trying to prove he can still play short.

Francesa also asked Cashman, point-blank, who was better right now: the Red Sox or Yankees?

Cashman: "Red Sox. But we have better bullpen."

Well, they better at those prices.

There was more, including a brief update on A.J. Burnett that's not terribly optimistic-sounding: "He knows he has a problem and he's doing all he can to fix it."

So, what's up with Cashman? Not that he ever had the reputation for being super secretive, but he just seems awfully transparent right now. Hey, more fun for us. But why?

Near the end, a fan asked Cashman what makes his job so hard.

Cashman: "to be honest what can wear you out here in NY is the media coverage."

That must be it. Well done, ladies and gentlemen of the press. You've worn down his defenses.

Follow Dave on Twitter — @AnswerDave

Follow Yahoo! Sports on Facebook and be the first to know about the most interesting stories of the day.

Shannon Elizabeth Maggie Gyllenhaal Foxy Brown Ivana Bozilovic Cristina Dumitru

Gracie kicks off Strikeforce: San Jose with submission win

Roger Gracie, a member of MMA's first family, kicked off Strikeforce's card in San Jose with a submission win over Trevor Prangley. 

After pinning Prangley to the cage, Gracie took Prangley to the ground. He worked into full mount. Prangley tried to stand up, but Gracie took advantage of Prangley's movement and took his back. Gracie applied a perfect figure-four body triangle, then maneuvered his arms into position for a rear-naked choke. As Prangley's face turned red, he had no choice but to tap out at 4:19 of the first.

The young Gracie is still undefeated in MMA, with a record of 4-0. He is the cousin of MMA legend Royce Gracie, and like the other members of his family, he has a strong background in grappling.

Prangley dropped to 23-7-1. His last fight was a win over UFC veteran Keith Jardine.

Maria Menounos Shakira Leslie Bibb Chelsea Handler Salma Hayek

NASCAR and hip-hop: Let's just take this slowly, shall we?

At first glance, you wouldn't think NASCAR and hip-hop have anything at all in common. And outside of Mark Martin inexplicably listening to Gucci Mane, they really don't. But give both phenomena credit for trying to cross the divide, ever so slowly.

Here's the deal: Vibe magazine is sponsoring Darrell Wallace Jr., one of the most successful products of the Drive for Diversity program. It'll put the Vibe logo on Wallace's car, but more significantly, it'll offer Wallace plenty of ink in upcoming Vibe issues.

Which is all for the good. No need for us to cling to old stereotypes that divide us rather than unite us, am I right? Let's converse rather than assume, friends. Otherwise, we'll be subjected to more, uh, performances like this:

Props to Mr. Vanilla C for working "Jerry Nadeau" into a rhyme, I guess. But I don't think Greg Biffle and Jamie McMurray could have looked any more uncomfortable if you'd lit their toes on fire.

Alecia Elliott Kat Von D Ana Paula Lemes Vanessa Simmons Chyler Leigh

Saturday, January 29, 2011

The Nationwide Series, where being No. 5 makes you a champion

NASCAR has done the right thing in forcing drivers to designate which series championship they will race for. That said, this new rule will be as impactful as using a marble as a wrecking ball.

You want a farce of a champion? Here you go.

Kyle Busch is going to win somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 Nationwide Series races in 2011. Joey Logano will win about half that many. And Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski will rack up hundreds of more points than everyone else.

None will be your champion.

Instead, it will be the fourth- or fifth-best driver declaring, "I'm No. 1!"

Uhh, not really.

This has all the feel of those newfangled PC little leagues where no scores are kept and everyone gets a trophy. While it may look good on the mantle, the "accomplishment" is as hollow as The Situation's fame, completely manufactured and not based on any sort of exceptionalism, and fans will see right through it.

Back in November when he hinted that this change was coming, Brian France said "[we] want to make sure the Nationwide Series is, you know, helping us find stars that stay there for a little while, earn their stripes and move up."

Banning Cup regulars from competing in the Nationwide Series altogether was not an option. Track promoters and television broadcasters depend on the big names to attract attention. So really NASCAR had no other option. But that doesn't mean this is going to fix the issue at hand which is the lack of "stars" being bred in the Nationwide Series.

If the curve says a 75 is an A, you get an A, but you're still a C-level student. Likewise, now if you win a Nationwide Series title you are a champion, but you're not necessarily a championship-caliber driver.

If Aric Almirola or Justin Allgaier or Brian Scott are to become stars – if they're going to attract the attention of Cup owners – it won't be because they won a Nationwide championship. It'll be because of something more tangible, like beating Busch, Edwards, Keselowski and the like. Until that happens, it'll be status quo on Saturdays.

Christina Applegate Shana Hiatt Tara Conner Drea de Matteo Trista Rehn

N.Y. Post video report: 'How can you regulate it so that there isn't serious injuries?'

The UFC's big press conference at Madison Square Garden unveiled a nice show of support. Scott O'Neil, President of Madison Square Garden Sports, is squarely behind the effort as was N.Y. assemblyman Dean Murray. There was little opposition in the room. As a result, no debate ensued.

There was one interesting moment when Megan Paznik asked this:

"If you're adding kicking and punching to mixed martial arts, how can you regulate it so that there isn't serious injuries?"

Dana White was so thrown off he had a tough time answering the question. He turned to referencing the fact that there hasn't been a death in the history of the UFC. The easiest approach would've been to mention that boxing, football and hockey are all contact sports to a certain degree and there really is no way to guarantee a sport is free of injuries. It's also worth noting that elements of MMA like Judo, karate, boxing, jiu-jitsu and wrestling are all legal in New York. Why would a combination of those disciplines be illegal? 

Paznik went on to voice this video. Yes, there is a dogfighting comparison and the producer of the video made sure to include plenty of violent looking images.

Lokelani McMichael Freida Pinto Eva Longoria Susan Ward Emmy Rossum

2010 NFL Survivor: Week 3

Kristin Cavallari Brittany Murphy Britney Spears Amanda Swisten Scarlett Chorvat

Auto Club Speedway race shortened 100 miles for 2011

The California race for 2011 has been shortened -- err, "re-mileaged," according to the press release -- 100 miles from 500 to 400.

"It’s impossible to ignore the on track excitement we experienced at Auto Club Speedway in October when NASCAR reduced our Chase race from 500 to 400 miles," ACS President Gillian Zucker said. "The intense side-by-side racing elicited rave reviews from everyone, including race winner Tony Stewart (who won by a mere 0.466 seconds), fans and the media. It was hailed by many as the “best race ever at Auto Club Speedway.”

You can't blame Zucker for the spin because she's in a very tough position. She's the president of a track that doesn't sell out and has a history and reputation of producing snooze-inducing racing. Plus, the track has gone from having two races to one race that's out of the Chase. This year's California race is March 27.

That 2010 race that Stewart won was the first 400 mile race at the track and clocked in at just over three hours. Until then, no California race had been shorter than 3:20 since 2002.

Katherine Heigl Lorri Bagley Leslie Bega Maria Sharapova Lindsay Price

Farmers Insurance Open could land some huge ratings

Call it good luck for the PGA Tour, or call it a blessing, but the Farmers Insurance Open lands on a week with nothing really doing. College football has long been concluded. The NBA is still in the "just a few more games until the casual fan starts to take notice" phase, and the NFL has kindly given everyone a week off between the conference championships and the Super Bowl, pushing something ironically named the Pro Bowl at us to keep us entertained. You aren't watching that. Neither is your neighbor. What they could be watching, and hopefully will be watching, is a golf tournament at Torrey Pines.

It has been too long since we got all the big hitters at this same place in the first month of the season. Tiger Woods hasn't visited the San Diego municipal since he won the U.S. Open here in 2008. Phil Mickelson hasn't been much of a factor since he tied for fourth back in 2004. Along with that, we have a ton of other story-lines that are making golf relevant.

Should the rules be changed about viewers calling in? Is Anthony Kim totally healthy and ready for a big comeback this season? How will Dustin Johnson fare his first time out since all the personal rumors were swirling about the four-time winner? How many times did Ben Crane get in the lake during the practice rounds to help his preparation?

And on top of all that, we have Tiger and Phil. Two names that are always atop the game of golf, neither has played well enough to win since the first major a year ago. It almost always seems that when one of these two is struggling, the other picks up the slack, but that hasn't been the case over the last few months.

We've debated who needs a win more, but the story is probably bigger than we're making it. Tiger desperately needs a win, and people are clamoring about it from all the different sports circles. Mickelson is now 40, and is struggling with some personal things that he hasn't ever had to deal with before (read: health). 

If the two played well this week, and were actually in the hunt come Saturday and Sunday, you'd have to be glued to your television if you care about this game at all. There isn't anything else on, and two of the biggest names in golf would be making comebacks together. If it happened, it could very well be the biggest ratings this tournament has ever pulled. The PGA Tour could use it. 

Donna Feldman Jodi Lyn OKeefe Emma Watson Amy Smart Sarah Wynter

Puck Previews: Sharks vs. Kings; Craig Conroy expected to retire

Here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished.

There are NHL Guardian shirts for sale at the All-Star Game in Raleigh. Myself and Leahy will be on-site this weekend. (Thanks to Cristi for the image.)

Preview: San Jose Sharks at Los Angeles Kings, 10:30 p.m. The Sharks try to win five in a row for the first time in more than a year. The Kings are 16-9-1 at home. That's the good news. The crap news is that this is the last game before their annual massive road trip, and won't be back until Feb. 24. San Jose is two points up on the Kings. Watch the Game Live Via Hockey Night on Y!

Preview: Washington Capitals at Atlanta Thrashers, 7 p.m. It's not even February and these division rivals are playing their last game of the season against each other. The Thrash are 3-2 against the Capitals, and trail them by eight points. Said Mike Green: "This game is important. They've taken it to us over the course of the season and going into the break here we want to make sure we have confidence and momentum."

Preview: New Jersey Devils at Detroit Red Wings, 7:30 p.m. Your VERSUS game of the night. The Devils are on a 6-0-1 roll, while the banged-up Wings are in a 2-3-1 funk. Jacques Lemaire says there is no chance he'll coach in the NHL next season. Nope. Not a chance. At all.

Preview: Nashville Predators at Vancouver Canucks, 10 p.m. Otherwise known as "Shane O'Brien's triumphant return to Vancouver." S.O.B., on Alex Burrows trying to goad him into penalties: "Burr can't get into my kitchen - he can never get in my kitchen. ... I know all his tricks and they have a lot of material on me over there. I've got to have some thick skin tonight because I'm sure there will be a few good ones sent my way."

Check out previews and updated scores for all of today's games on the Y! Sports NHL scores and scheds page. For tonight's starting goalies, check out Left Wing Lock.

Download or listen to today's episode of Puck Daddy Radio.

Puck Headline

• A fan favorite is expected to hang'em up on Thursday: Craig Conroy of the Calgary Flames, according to QMI. Said Conroy after clearing waivers: "I gotta talk to my girls. I just don’t think going down (to the minors) is an option." [Globe & Mail]

• Peter Forsberg on Matt Duchene: "I wish I had his legs." No word on the groin. [MHH]

• The Syracuse Crunch announced today that the Anaheim Ducks have assigned left wing Matt Beleskey and right wing Dan Sexton to the Crunch. [Crunch]

• Big changes coming to the Tampa Bay Lightning's arena and jerseys: "New blue and white uniforms with blue rather than black home jerseys (similar to the current blue alternate jerseys). There's an updated lightning bolt, and the name Tampa Bay will only appear on the white road jerseys. The jerseys will have ties at the front of the collars." [Tampa Tribune]

Jamie Benn is out for the Dallas Stars, and Brandon Worley takes a look at the team's chemistry in the face of adversity. [Defending Big D]

• Interesting read from the Star: The best and worst bargains in the NHL based on dollars-for-stats. [Toronto Star]

• Steve Wyno and Travis Hughes have a mock draft for the All-Star Game. We're taking Team Staal here. [Broad Street Hockey]

• Adam Proteau's Top 10 Wayne Gretzky achievements. [THN]

• Good SI piece on how Ryan Kesler learned to chill out and became a better player for it. [SI]

• Is obstruction back? "Neutral zone sludge is slowly beginning to build up across the league." [SI]

Puck Buddy Comment of the Day: From MCV on the Sean Avery shirt:

Shame on all of you. Sean Avery has done a lot of work for Hockey Fights Cancer and whether you want to call him for doing this to raise his prestige, the reality of the fact is that every celebrity who uses their power to draw attention to the cause does it for the same reason - for the cause, then for the PR. The fact that you're making fun of someone for doing a fundraiser for cancer is despicable. All of you should feel terrible about yourselves. Avery might be a jerk, but when you've done more for a noble cause then he has, you can call him out for not

Bold Prediction: Rick DiPietro outduels Cam Ward.

Ashley Tisdale Rachel Blanchard Sienna Guillory Tricia Vessey Aki Ross