CHARLOTTE, N.C.(AP) Team owner Jack Roush said Wednesday he's satisfied with the penalty NASCAR levied against driver Carl Edwards for his intentional accident with Brad... More...
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As fantasy drafts get underway, D.J. Short takes a look at some of the biggest risers and fallers in recent mock drafts.
Anthony Ballantoni suggests drivers not rated as track favorites to fill your fantasy team for the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Tyreke made his first foray into triple-double territory and T-Will continued to roll. Thursday's Dose breaks it down.
In this week's edition of In The Crease we'll take a look at how the battles for the final few playoff spots in the Eastern Conference are shaping up.
Johnny Mac previews the Blue Monster in Miami, FL and discusses who should play at both tournaments on the PGA Tour.
Adam Levitan ranks the five biggest fantasy winners and losers in free agency so far.
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Jon Rauch threw a perfect inning and collected one strikeout during Thursday's 8-3 spring victory over the Orioles. A few more of those and Twins manager Ron Gardenhire will have no choice but to turn to Rauch for the club's ninth-inning vacancy. The towering right-hander is thought to be battling setup man Matt Guerrier for the role, and so far has a nice leg up. We'll be tracking this thing until Opening Day.
Kevin Millwood was lit up for five earned runs and nine hits over just 2 2/3 innings Thursday as the O's lost to the Twins. Ouch. Millwood was brutally shaky in his spring debut last weekend against the Tigers and showed no signs of improvement tonight. Spring stats can normally be ignored, but it's easy enough to identify a glaring red flag. Millwood needs to be better next time out.
Adam Moore has caught the eye of Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu this spring and will catch Felix Hernandez this weekend. Moore has made a few impressive plays in the field, including gunning Aaron Rowand as he tried to swipe second base in the first inning Thursday. "I really like what's going on behind the plate," Wakamatsu said. "He threw a runner out and made a couple of nice bunt plays. Just the way he's moving back there." Moore went 1-for-2 in the game and is batting .571 this spring.
Lance Berkman didn't seem all that concerned about his sprained left knee when he chatted with MLB.com's Brian McTaggart on Thursday. "It keeps swelling up, that's the problem," Berkman said. "They're trying to figure what's causing that. Obviously, I'm able to play and do everything I need to do. While we still have some time here in the spring, we need to make sure everything is as it should be." Big Puma will have his knee professionally examined on Friday by Dr. David Lintner, the Astros' medical director.
Jair Jurrjens (shoulder) is scheduled to make his spring debut Friday. The Braves had scheduled Jurrjens' spring debut for Thursday, but their evening game against the Yankees was canceled due to rain. Jurrjens was slowed by shoulder inflammation early on in camp but has not experienced a setback and appears to be on track for the start of the regular season.
Shaun Marcum is in line to start for the Blue Jays on Opening Day. Marcum pitched two hitless innings in his spring debut last week and three scoreless frames on Thursday afternoon against the Rays. "If he keeps going like that," manager Cito Gaston said after today's start, "I would say he's got a good chance to be the Opening Day starter." Marcum has a 3.95 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 7.1 K/9 over parts of four major league seasons.
Mobile-Shop will sponsor Michael McDowell's No. 81 Dodge Charger for the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 20. McDowell is in his second full season in the Nationwide Series and in his first season with MacDonald Motorsports. Mobile-Shop Professional Maintenance Systems allow maintenance personnel to easily transport over 400 professional quality tools and parts to a job site without having to first evaluate the job, then determine which tools and parts will be necessary, and then search for and retrieve them.
Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) announced Ollie's Bargain Outlet has come on board as a sponsor. The Mid-Atlantic's largest retailer of closeouts and salvage merchandise has joined KHI as a primary sponsor on the No. 33 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for the event at Dover (Del.) International Speedway on May 15th, 2010. -Kevin Harvick Inc.
During a rare off-weekend in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule, Robby Gordon will spend his time racing across Mexico's Baja Peninsula as a part of the Tecate SCORE International Off-Road Series. As a two-time class winner, Gordon hopes to improve on his 2009 second-place finish and to bring home a victory for the Monster Energy / Toyo Tires team. -Robby Gordon Motorsports
Jay Robinson Racing and HotRodGrills jointly announced that HotRodGrills will serve as the primary sponsor of the No. 28 driven by Kenny Wallace, for the NNS race Saturday March 20th in Bristol. The HotRodGrills product is the ultimate grill for race fans and gear heads alike. This is the only grill on the market featuring an authentic 1:1 scale for a true, realistic engine look. It has a die cast aluminum lid & body, 30,000 BTU's, two stainless steel burners with individual cords, electric igniter, a stainless steel cooking grate, professional grade temperature gauge and locking casters and full moon hubcaps.-TheHotLap.com
In celebration of its 55th year, Aaron's, Inc. will sponsor PRISM Motorsports' No. 55 with driver Michael Waltrip in the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway April 25. Waltrip, a two-time Daytona 500 champion and former winner at Talladega, will return to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing with a long-time sponsor in Aaron's and a long-time friend in PRISM co-owner Phil Parsons. "This is cool. I'm ready to race again and Talladega is a place where I know we will be very competitive," said Waltrip who owns four restrictor plate victories including a Talladega win in the fall of 2003. Waltrip owns 760 Sprint Cup starts and finished 18th in the Daytona 500 on Feb. 14 in his lone 2010 start.
David Reutimann started the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in ninth and experienced a difficult handling condition that dropped the No. 00 to the 26th position within the first 30 laps. When Reutimann came to pit road on lap 36 Rodney Childers called for several adjustments that made the car come to life on the restart. Reutimann soon found himself back among the top-10 and battling to crack the top-five on the restart on lap 164. Reutimann soon began to experience overheating which eventually ended his day prematurely. This marked Reutimann's first "Did Not Finish" since Oct. 5, 2008 at Talladega-the longest such streak in the Sprint Cup Series (44 races).
Brad Miller, who is dealing with an injured left thumb, was held to just two points on 1-of-5 shooting against Dwight Howard and the Magic on Thursday. He also added just one rebound, steal, and assist in his foul-plagued 20-minute effort. With the way the Bulls folded after Derrick Rose's wrist injury, and the fact he was facing Howard, we're comfortable throwing this game into the circular file.
Jannero Pargo saw playing time with the first unit after Derrick Rose (wrist) left Thursday's game, and finished with 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting (including a three) with two rebounds, one assist, and one steal in 23 minutes of action. In a difficult game to judge, the Bulls cleared their bench in the blowout loss. The fact that he saw time with the first unit is promising, but his lack of assists is troubling. It's also possible that Vinny Del Negro didn't want to destroy his rotation by inserting Flip Murray into the first unit, which is a possible configuration going forward. Either way, Pargo is worth a look in deep leagues.
Jason Richardson had dental work done and also has been dealing with a back strain, but is expected to play Friday against the Lakers. This is the first we've heard about this, but it shouldn't deter owners from using him unless we hear more serious reports about it. He has been very hot lately, having scored 20 or more points in seven of his last nine games.
C.J. Watson is back with the team after missing Wednesday's practice to be at a funeral, and will presumably be available to play in Thursday's game against the Blazers. Don Nelson's pregame comments didn't indicate that he would be held back, and aside from Nellie's normal antics he should be used as he normally is. Keep in mind, however, that Monta Ellis is returning from a back injury, which should eat into everybody's production.
James Singleton was held scoreless in Thursday's loss to the Hawks, going 0-for-5 from the field with seven rebounds, one assist, and without any blocks or steals in 17 minutes off the bench. Throw into the mix that he had three turnovers, and this may be enough for his owners in deep leagues to throw him back to the waiver wire. We don't think he'll be this bad on most nights, but his propensity to do this every once in a while makes him a very risky play.
Andray Blatche double-doubled in the Wizards' 105-99 loss to the Hawks on Thursday, scoring 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting with 10 rebounds, one assist, and three steals. He did have seven turnovers but that's probably a moot point for most owners. He continues to impress with the array of ways he attacks the basket, and is still making his case for waiver wire pickup of the year.
Martin Biron played great Thursday night however the Islanders fell 2-1 in a shootout to the Blues. Biron hasn't had much of a productive season. Hopefully this start will turn things around. He made 35 saves on 36 shots. He record dropped to 4-12-3.
Chris Mason was excellent Thursday night as the Blues beat the Islanders 2-1 in a shootout. Mason has quietly had one of the best seasons of any net minder in the league. He has been extremely durable and reliant for St. Louis. His season record improves to 23-18-8.
Patrik Berglund scored in the Blues' 2-1 shootout win over the Islanders Thursday night. Berglund's 11th goal of the season came on the power play. It was assisted by Andy McDonald and Alex Steen. Both T.J. Oshie and Brad Boyes sniped in the shootout to secure victory.
Matt Moulson scored his 24th goal of the season however the Islanders fell to the Blues 2-1 in a shootout. Moulson's incredible season just will not end. His power play marker was assisted by Mark Streit and Blake Comeau.
Sam Gagner scored his 15th goal of the season however Edmonton still fell to Montreal 5-4 in a shootout Thursday night. Gagner has been one of the few bright spots for the Oilers all season. Andrew Cogliano, Robert Nilsson, and Shawn Horcoff all scored as well. Tom Gilbert added two assists.
Devan Dubnyk picked up another loss as Montreal won in a 5-4 shootout Thursday night. Dubnyk cannot buy a win. His record sits at 0-8-1 in his career. It does not help that he is playing for the NHL's bottom dwellers. Don't ride Dubnyk if you are looking to lock up a fantasy championship.
The Associated Press is reporting tonight that Tiger Woods will not return to competition until the Masters on April 8-11. The AP cites two anonymous sources in its update. This news comes immediately on the heels of the New York Post report we relayed earlier today that the world's #1 would play Bay Hill and likely the Tavistock Cup early that week. It's likely that only partial-season salary formats are flailing in the wind with the persistent rumors of Woods' return.
Ernie Els posted a 4-under-par 34-34=68 in his opening round of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship. Els buried six birdies thanks to a taut 25-putt effort (11 GIR). He's the third to finish one stroke off Charl Schwartzel's 18-hole pace. With inclement weather forecast on Friday afternoon and into Saturday morning, the tee times for the second round have been moved up several hours. Groups will go off in threesomes off split tees beginning at 8:00 a.m. ET.
Vijay Singh carded a 4-under-par 33-35=68 in the opening round of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship. Singh drained seven birdies at Doral today, but rinsed his tee ball at the 18th, which led to a double bogey. As a result, he finished one stroke off the clubhouse lead. The bigger picture though is that he is once again earning our attention.
Steve Marino posted a 3-over-par 35-40=75 in his opening round of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship. Back in action after withdrawing after 27 holes from last week's Honda Classic, Marino is making his first career appearance in a WGC event. After starting eagle-par-birdie, it was all downhill, as he carded one bogey, one double and one triple thereafter. He hit just six (of 14) fairways and nine greens.
Henrik Stenson signed for a 1-under-par 36-35=71 following his opening round of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship. This is the first meaningful golf Stenson has played since conceding his opening match at the WGC-Match Play on Feb. 17. Today, he hit 12 GIR and still needed 30 putts, but managed three birdies at Doral.
Charl Schwartzel crafted a bogey-free, 5-under-par 34-33=67 in the opening round of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship. In difficult conditions, the South African hit 11 greens and took just 25 putts at TPC Blue Monster today, finishing with the clubhouse lead. He won twice in his homeland in January, but hasn't played since going 2-1 at the WGC-Match Play.
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Free agent Jake Delhomme is not expected to seriously consider signing with the Browns unless he's promised a legit shot at the starting job. That makes sense. Why should he accept the backup job in Cleveland when he can play the same role closer to home (New Orleans) or in his former quarterback coach's offense (Denver)?
Michael Vick said he now realizes he can't be a "disgruntled employee" and has accepted that the Eagles control his fate for the 2010 season. "If I'm in the same situation, I'll just have to suck it up and go out and play ... and understand I'm there to play a certain role to try to help the Eagles win a Super Bowl," reasoned Vick. Though he clearly wants a starting job elsewhere, Vick knows that he's lost his right to complain about his predicament.
Free agent OG Chester Pitts revealed that he has a visit scheduled with the Lions next Wednesday. He's also scheduled to visit the 49ers next week. Recovering from microfracture surgery, Pitts has drawn cursory interest from the Bengals, Dolphins, Seahawks and Texans. If he can return to pre-injury form, Pitts would be a major upgrade at left guard for the Lions.
Cardinals re-signed C Ben Claxton to a one-year contract. The 29-year-old journeyman did not draw a qualifying offer last week, so the Birds are bringing him back on a cheaper deal. He'll back up Lyle Sendlein if he makes the team.
The Jets will reportedly put on a "full-court press" for free agent LaDainian Tomlinson on Friday. The Vikings may have also pulled out all of the stops, with Tomlinson reportedly "wowed" by his Thursday visit. Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum has a history of getting his man (Brett Favre, Mark Sanchez), though, while coach Rex Ryan offers plenty of charisma. Despite the dog and pony shows for LT, we're still skeptical that he'll beat Thomas Jones' deal.
Cardinals agreed to terms with OL Rex Hadnot on a three-year, $9 million contract. Along with Jeremy Bridges, the Cardinals have locked up two versatile veterans in the past eight hours. Unfortunately, neither one is a prototypical right tackle, which is what the team needs. Hadnot's experience is at guard and center, so he could push inconsistent Deuce Lutui and Reggie Wells while adding depth.
As expected, Purdue's Keith Smith will take off the spring to recover from wrist surgery.
Assuming Smith heals completely from the surgery he should again be one of the top receiving targets in the Big Ten.
Purdue running back Ralph Bolden and Offensive Coordinator Gary Nord has been very impressed with Miami transfer Robert Marve as of late. At the helm of the Boilermakers' offense, Marve should be primed for a breakout season.
The Daily Aztec reports that San Diego State running back Atiyyah Henderson has been present at the team's spring practice, however he is still awaiting word from the NCAA on his appeal for a sixth season of eligibility. Henderson missed the 2009 campaign with a back injury, and it appears it'll be a little while before he knows if he can return to action.
Rutgers coach Greg Schiano told ESPN.com that he expects the running back battle between Joe Martinek, De'Antwan Williams and the incoming freshies will be "wide open." Reading between the lines of Brian Bennett's piece, it sure sounds like Schiano is clamoring for someone to take the job from the "tough, consistent" Martinek. Williams missing spring while recovering from an undisclosed injury doesn't help matters.
Arizona State wide receiver T.J. Simpson may miss spring ball while he recovers from an ankle injury suffered last season. When healthy in 2009, Simpson showed a knack for making the big play. In fact, in two seasons Simpson has only caught seven passes, but three have gone for touchdowns.
The Oregonian reports that Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli will faces charges stemming from a fraternity house theft back in January. He (and a former Duck wide receiver Garrett Embry) will appear in court on Friday.
As the linked article references, LaMichael James will be in court earlier that day dealing with his domestic violence case. Can coach Chip Kelly's winter get any worse? When your two offensive stars can carpool to their separate court appearances...things clearly aren't going well.
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