Could Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola be after the same jobs?

By Andy Brassell European football expert

 Pep Guardiola's departure from Barcelona at the end of last season wasn't just the end of his involvement in a glorious era for the club. It also called time on one of the most fascinating managerial rivalries in Spanish - and world - football, between Guardiola and Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho.

It appears increasingly likely that Mourinho will also be a former La Liga boss by next summer. Monday's edition of Madrid-based newspaper Marca claimed the coach and his president Florentino Perez have mutually agreed that he will leave at the end of June 2013, with just the terms of the settlement to be decided.

Speculation on Mourinho's future in the Spanish capital stretches back for almost two years, but there is weight to this. Marca is strongly pro-Real Madrid and pro-Perez, and often acts as an unofficial conduit for the president's thoughts.

The current situation is, frankly, a pain for Perez. His relationship with Mourinho has always been cordial rather than affectionate, but he brought the Portuguese to the Bernabeu for one reason - to win the Champions League.

The problem is that Real's patchy domestic form has left them in third place in La Liga, 11 points behind Barcelona. This is despite Saturday's convincing derby win over second-placed Atletico.

Real finished second behind Borussia Dortmund in Champions League Group D and there is now a two-month hiatus before the knockout stages begin. Perez needs the club to remain competitive at home in the meantime if Mourinho is to remain to work his magic in Europe.

But whether or not Real end up winning May's final at Wembley, the timing could be right for Mourinho to move on. He will have completed three years in Madrid, which has tended to be his maximum at one club.

It is longer than most expected him to last. He has survived despite frequent rows with the media and persistent rumours of a schism between Spanish and foreign players in the camp.

Were he to leave, there are very few clubs in world football who could realistically hope to attract a coach of such renown. How his future will unfold is, however, complicated by his old sparring partner Guardiola.

Two aspects of Guardiola's status potentially muddle things in terms of Mourinho's immediate future. Firstly, the ex-Barcelona coach is a free agent, so there is no need to negotiate exit terms, as Mourinho would have to should he leave Madrid.

Secondly, the competition for Guardiola's signature is so fierce that it is hard to imagine any enamoured club waiting until the completion of his current sabbatical year with his family in New York to make a move. They may even fire a coach earlier than anticipated to create a vacancy.

One club where this could well happen is Paris Saint-Germain. Since his arrival in France last December, former Chelsea and AC Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti has failed to either capture silverware or produce any real quality, despite an outlay of around £120m on transfer fees alone.

Following Tuesday's Champions League win over Porto,  which saw Ancelotti's side top their group, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi backed his man in the most non-committal way possible. "Today, Carlo is here," he told reporters on his way out of the Parc des Princes.

With his team on a run of three defeats in their last five league games, Al-Khelaifi's reticence is unsurprising. Monday's L'Equipe carried the headline "Qatar wants a big clean-up", claiming the club's Middle East owners are already planning a future without the Italian.

Further down, the newspaper said PSG representatives had already entered into discussions with Guardiola's entourage. It's hard to imagine star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic would be too pleased after his disparaging comments about Guardiola in his autobiography last year.

PSG's Swedish star would be rather more cheered by the arrival of Mourinho, whom he named as his favourite coach, along with Fabio Capello, in his book. Mourinho already knows Al-Khelaifi on a personal level, having worked as a pundit for his Al-Jazeera Sport channel at Euro 2012.

Mourinho has won national titles in four countries already. The possibility of doing so in a fifth is something that could appeal to his well-developed sense of history.

But it is not only the PSG job that both Mourinho and Guardiola are being linked with. Manchester City's Roberto Mancini was recently forced to respond to reports that the Real boss's agent, Jorge Mendes, had met with Manchester City's sporting director Txiki Begiristain.

It is unlikely to be the last time Mancini has to do so. The fact Mourinho turned Mancini's domestic success and European failure at Inter Milan into a Champions League win has escaped nobody's notice.

Still, the suspicion is that Begiristain might have his sights trained elsewhere. It was he who chose Guardiola ahead of Mourinho for the Barcelona post back in 2008.

Wednesday's edition of Catalan Daily Sport again invoked the link between the pair. Sport claimed Begiristain "will clean up City to prepare for the arrival of Guardiola", suggesting he will slash the wage bill and reduce the size of the squad. This would leave Guardiola closer to the tight group dynamic he favoured at the Camp Nou.

Meanwhile, the difficulties being experienced by Rafael Benitez at Chelsea mean the prospect of Mourinho returning to Stamford Bridge is not off the table.

The possibility that when Mourinho and Guardiola eventually resume hostilities it will be in the Premier League is certainly an intriguing one.

Tennis legend Andre Agassi has raised an estimated $175 million for charity in his lifetime

by Yahoo Sport

Andre Agassi is adored in his native Las Vegas and, granted, winning eight Grand Slams and 60 men's singles titles might have a bit to do with that.

Everybody loves a winner, after all.

Las Vegans, though, adore Agassi for far more than his ability to run down a shot or return a serve. He's become an icon in the community with his philanthropic efforts, particularly his work to improve the quality of the American education system.

If there is a worthy charity out there, chances are pretty good that Agassi has helped raise money for it. He said that he has raised around $175 million to aid charity.

Most famous is the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas, which includes elementary, middle and high school students.

"It's my life's work," Agassi said of fighting on behalf of children.

The amount of money he's raised is enormous, but it is not what motivates him.

"I don't function by taking stock of what we've achieved or the distance we've covered," Agassi said. "It's about moving forward, finding solutions and trying to give every child an opportunity."

What Augusta and Chinese teen might mean for golf

By John Strege
GolfDigest.com | GolfDigest.com

The walls are crumbling around what was once America's most exclusive men's club, what with women and children now given the run of the place. More or less.

The Augusta National Golf Club will invite a 14-year-old boy to play in the Masters next spring, this in the wake of having conferred membership on Condoleezza Rice, its first female member. What next, public play days?

That said, the greater story here is not that China's Guan Tianlang, by virtue of his victory in the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship on Sunday, will become the youngest ever to play in the Masters. Instead, it's the latest example of what might happen should China embrace golf other than superficially.

Guan, who turned 14 less than two weeks ago, won by a stroke a tournament created by the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation in conjunction with Augusta National and the Royal and Ancient for the purpose of growing the game in the region. As an incentive, the trophy for winning is a Masters invitation.

Thus Guan will become the second Chinese 14-year-old to play in a major championship in a 10-month period. In June, Andy Zhang played in the U.S. Open at the Olympic Club. What each also has in common is that they train, at least part of the year, in Florida.

Golf remains largely an elitist sport in China, though it is growing; the number of courses there has increased from 170 to nearly 600 in the last eight years, according to a story by China Daily. We asked Dan Washburn, an expert on golf in China and a contributor to Golf Digest and Golf World for his thoughts on what impact Guan might have on Chinese golf. His email response:

"Guan's historic achievement certainly can't hurt golf's prospects for growth in China, but the obstacles the sport faces in the country are real. It will be interesting to see how much coverage Guan's Masters adventure attracts in China beyond the niche golf publications. Even Feng Shanshan, winner of China's first major, struggles for recognition in her home country.

"Golf is going to grow in China -- there is no doubt about that. Trying to predict how fast or to what heights, however, is a fool's errand. But if this drumbeat continues -- Feng, Zhang, and now Guan -- Chinese golf is soon going to be hard for the world to ignore, no matter how far from the mainstream the sport continues to be in China."

If China does begin to tap its golf potential, well, consider what happened to women's golf when Korean parents began sending their daughters en masse to train in the U.S. China might not similarly dominate a men's game that has substantially greater depth and international influence, but it might upend the balance of power and put Asia on equal footing with the U.S., Europe and Australia.

Guan, meanwhile, has been playing golf in the U.S. at least since 2005, when he finished fourth in the six-and-under division of the Callaway Junior World Championship in San Diego. He won the 11-and-12 division of the tournament by 11 strokes in 2011 and tied for 22nd in the 15-to-17 division in July.

His introduction to international golf at the elite level came last April, when he was 13 and became the youngest player in European Tour history, at the China Open (he missed the cut). The story received considerable attention in precincts other than the U.S., to the point that the British bookmaker Ladbrokes offered 1,000-to-1 odds that by his 18th birthday he'd be ranked No. 1 in the world.

Don't bet on it. Beyond that, don't bet against him. Among those Guan defeated on Sunday was Australian Oliver Goss, a quarter-finalist in the U.S. Amateur and the winner recently of the Australasia Tour's Western Australian Open.

Guan, of course, won't win the Masters in April, perhaps sparing, to which freelance golf writer Dave Andrews jokingly alluded on Twitter, Augusta National from having to serve Happy Meals at the Champions Dinner in 2014.

But he will make history and headlines, helping fulfill the Asia-Pacific Amateur's mandate, to grow the game, possibly doing so in ways that would have been unimaginable only a few years ago.

Sofia's Elite Eight: Breaking It Down

source wtatennis.com

SOFIA, Bulgaria - Istanbul had its elite eight, now Sofia has an elite eight too - and what a group it is, led by former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki and a slew of former Top 10 and Top 20 stars hoping to wrap up their seasons on a high.

The Qatar Airways Tournament Of Champions Sofia is the finale for the WTA's International Series, with the six highest-ranked players who have won an International title this year - and two wildcards - in the eight-woman field.

Bulgaria's own Tsvetana Pironkova is one wildcard, and talked about playing a WTA event in her home country for the first time. "It's funny, I feel like I'm a host here, and whenever there's a problem somewhere I just want to help and keep everyone happy! But it's great, I have many people coming to watch me this week, like tomorrow I have 30 or 40 friends coming. I'm very excited!"

And on her round robin group? "I think I'm happy with the draw - it's not very easy here no matter which group you're in, because the players here are the best of the best," she said. "I'm just going to try and stay calm and keep my energy, practice a little bit and get ready to play my first match tomorrow."

The tournament format will see the round robin groups play out over the first four days from Tuesday to Friday, with the semifinals on Saturday and the final on Sunday. Here's a breakdown of the two four-woman round robin groups:

Group Serdika

(1) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN #11)
~ International titles this year (1): Seoul
~ Head-To-Head against rest of group combined: 7-2
- 0-1 vs Vinci
- 2-0 vs Hsieh
- 5-1 vs Hantuchova

(4) Roberta Vinci (ITA #16)
~ International titles this year (1): Dallas
~ Head-To-Head against rest of group combined: 4-2
- 1-0 vs Wozniacki
- 1-0 vs Hsieh
- 2-2 vs Hantuchova

(5) Hsieh Su-Wei (TPE #27)
~ International titles this year (2): Kuala Lumpur, Guangzhou
~ Head-To-Head against rest of group combined: 0-4
- 0-2 vs Wozniacki
- 0-1 vs Vinci
- 0-1 vs Hantuchova

(7) Daniela Hantuchova (SVK #32)
~ International titles this year (1): Pattaya City
~ Head-To-Head against rest of group combined: 4-7
- 1-5 vs Wozniacki
- 2-2 vs Vinci
- 1-0 vs Hsieh

Group Sredets

(2) Nadia Petrova (RUS #13)
~ International titles this year (1): 's-Hertogenbosch
~ Head-To-Head against rest of group combined: 12-6
- 4-4 vs Kirilenko
- 8-1 vs Zheng
- 0-1 vs Pironkova

(3/WC) Maria Kirilenko (RUS #15)
~ International titles this year (0 - wildcard)
~ Head-To-Head against rest of group combined: 7-9
- 4-4 vs Petrova
- 3-5 vs Zheng
- 0-0 vs Pironkova

(6) Zheng Jie (CHN #29)
~ International titles this year (1): Auckland
~ Head-To-Head against rest of group combined: 8-11
- 1-8 vs Petrova
- 5-3 vs Kirilenko
- 2-0 vs Pironkova

(8/WC) Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL #44)
~ International titles this year (0 - wildcard)
~ Head-To-Head against rest of group combined: 1-2
- 1-0 vs Petrova
- 0-0 vs Kirilenko
- 0-2 vs Pironkova

The Tournament Of Champions debuted in 2009 in Bali, before moving to Sofia's Armeets Arena for the 2012 to 2014 editions. Tennis is increasingly popular in Sofia, which is Bulgaria's capital and largest city. It is home to many of the country's major universities, cultural institutions and businesses.

Breaking Down The Istanbul Elite Eight

ISTANBUL, Turkey - The eight competitors at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships - Istanbul 2012 were divided up into their two round robin groups at the official draw ceremony on Sunday, with play set to begin at the $4.9-million year-end finale on Tuesday. Here's how everyone stacks up...

Watch live action from Istanbul on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

RED GROUP: Azarenka, Williams, Kerber, Li...

(1) Victoria Azarenka (BLR)
~ '12 Titles: 6 - Sydney, Australian Open, Doha, Indian Wells, Beijing, Linz
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2012: Won Australian Open
~ Fall record: 13-0 (and 26-0 in sets)
~ H2H vs group: 1-10 vs Williams, 2-0 vs Kerber, 4-4 vs Li
~ Quote: "Every match here will be tough - I obviously have great champions in the group. It's challenging, definitely, but I'm looking forward to it."

(3) Serena Williams (USA)
~ '12 Titles: 6 - Charleston, Madrid, Wimbledon, Stanford, Olympics, US Open
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2012: Won Wimbledon & US Open
~ Fall record: 0-0
~ H2H vs group: 10-1 vs Azarenka, 1-1 vs Kerber, 5-1 vs Li
~ Quote: "I don't really care who I play or when I play, as long as I can play. I'm really happy to be here. I'm on the red side with Victoria, so it'll be good."

(5) Angelique Kerber (GER)
~ '12 Titles: 2 - Paris [Indoors], Copenhagen
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2012: SFs at Wimbledon
~ Fall record: 4-2
~ H2H vs group: 0-2 vs Azarenka, 1-1 vs Williams, 1-5 vs Li
~ Quote: "It doesn't matter which group you're in, it's not easy - we're the best eight players, and every match will be hard. But it's an honor for me to be here. I'll enjoy every match. It's a bonus after such a great year. When I started this year I wasn't thinking about No.5 or being here, so this is a great highlight."

(8) Li Na (CHN)
~ '12 Titles: 1 - Cincinnati
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2012: 4r at Australian Open & French Open
~ Fall record: 5-2
~ H2H vs group: 4-4 vs Azarenka, 1-5 vs Williams, 5-1 vs Kerber
~ Quote: "It doesn't matter which group you're in, everyone's tough. Only the Top 8 players play this tournament. It's a good challenge for yourself."

WHITE GROUP: Sharapova, Radwanska, Kvitova, Errani...

(2) Maria Sharapova (RUS)
~ '12 Titles: 3 - Stuttgart, Rome, French Open
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2012: Won French Open
~ Fall record: 7-2
~ H2H vs group: 7-2 vs Radwanska, 4-2 vs Kvitova, 1-0 vs Errani
~ Quote: "When you're coming here you pretty much know what you're going to get in terms of the level of the group. With the field we have, I think every match, no matter what group you're in, will be pretty tough from the get go."

(4) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)
~ '12 Titles: 3 - Dubai, Miami, Brussels
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2012: R-Up at Wimbledon
~ Fall record: 6-2
~ H2H vs group: 2-7 vs Sharapova, 0-3 vs Kvitova, 5-1 vs Errani
~ Quote: "It's the eight best players in the world, so there's no easy group and no easy match - but I'll have a good couple of matches, I hope."

(6) Petra Kvitova (CZE)
~ '12 Titles: 2 - Montréal, New Haven
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2012: SFs at Australian Open & French Open
~ Fall record: 1-2
~ H2H vs group: 2-4 vs Sharapova, 3-0 vs Radwanska, 3-0 vs Errani
~ Quote: "You can't choose who can be in your group. All eight players are great players who have had a great season. I'll try my best. I remember the great support I got last year. I'm looking forward to being on the court again."

(7) Sara Errani (ITA)
~ '12 Titles: 4 - Acapulco, Barcelona, Budapest, Palermo
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2012: R-Up at French Open
~ Fall record: 2-2
~ H2H vs group: 0-1 vs Sharapova, 1-5 vs Radwanska, 0-3 vs Kvitova
~ Quote: "Of course it's a tough group - both groups are tough, and the players are strong. We will see how it goes. I'll just try to play my best game, singles and doubles - it's amazing for me to be here."

Kobe Bryant calls ex-teammate Smush Parker ‘the worst,’ jokingly chides the Lakers for letting him ‘walk on’

Kobe Bryant confers with 'The Worst' (Getty Images)

By Kelly Dwyer | Ball Don't Lie

During the 2005-06 season, Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant averaged a career best 35.4 points per game, an astounding number only slightly pumped up by his famous 81-point outburst midway through that very potent season. Though the Lakers were downed in the first round, the campaign should have served at the very least as a personal highlight for Kobe, especially as he was back to working with coach Phil Jackson after the head man was exiled from the team during the 2004-05 campaign.

Instead, Kobe's still a little chippy about the lineups that surrounded him during that 45-win season. Up to and including calling former starting point guard Smush Parker "the worst," just before Wednesday night's exhibition loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. From Janis Carr at the Orange County Register:

    "I almost won an MVP with Smush Parker and Kwame Brown on my team," Bryant said before Wednesday's 93-75 exhibition loss to Portland. "I was shooting 45 times a game. What was I supposed to do? Pass it to Chris Mihm or Kwame Brown?"

    Bryant was referring to 2005-06 when the Lakers' roster included Brian Cook, Stanislav Medvedenko, Devean George and Parker, Mihm and Brown.

    Bryant continued, taking aim at his favorite whipping boy, Parker, calling him "the worst. He shouldn't have been in the NBA but we were too cheap to pay for a point guard. So we let him walk on."

Damn, dude. Daaaamn. Great players don't usually mind making indirect references to when their lives were tougher while working amongst less-heralded teammates -- "we've come a long way"-sort of nonsense. But rarely do you see players go on record with names like Kobe just did.

[Related: LeBron James' agent being investigated by NCAA]

About the talent surrounding him, or having to shoot 45 times (27.2, actually) a game, Kobe is spot on. Though Jackson was back to employing the triangle offense, the mismatched parts acquired to run an isolation-heavy attack during Jackson's one year away made it so Bryant had to break away from the offense continually just to keep the Lakers in games. They may have featured the best player in the world that year, though eventual-champion Dwyane Wade might disagree, but 45 wins for that lot was, well, a lot. Bryant was masterful as he led that team back to the postseason.

Calling the guys out, though? Parker, we can understand — he's been taking shots at Kobe for years, now, and any sort of contentious back and forth between the two is entirely Parker's fault. Players like Luke Walton and Devean George may have contributed less and hamstrung Kobe's efforts more than Parker in that season; but when you combine Smush's petulance towards Kobe, lack of professionalism, and play he truly does come off as "the worst."

Kwame? His effort was lacking, per usual, and he turned the ball over on nearly 17 percent of the possessions he used up. Could have played better, had he cared more, so it's probably fine for Kobe to call him out. Especially when a still-active Brown, now a Philadelphia 76er, can lay a hard foul on Bryant the next time the Lakers come through Pennsylvania.

(Though he totally won't.)

Chris Mihm? We're not feeling that as much.

Mihm at least tried, and played through injuries. Didn't have the greatest hands in the world, but he was serviceable in the wake of the deal involving Shaquille O'Neal that Bryant nudged the Lakers into (and Vlade Divac's injury-plagued 2004-05 campaign). Over ten points and six boards with a block in 26 minutes for the Lakers in 2005-06 — not bad. And, unlike Parker and Brown, he didn't try to cross the king with anything save for the odd dropped pass or 12.

(And, as far as the Lakers being "too cheap to pay for a point guard," Kobe's a little off there, as well. Though Los Angeles didn't pay the luxury tax that season, the team was well over the cap during the offseason and could only legally bring in a guard with an exception or on a minimum contract. Kobe, as well as Lamar Odom and the expiring Brian Grant, all played for over eight figures a year in 2005-06, so it's not as if Los Angeles had a lot of wiggle room.)

Life is a lot easier, now, with Steve Nash handling point guard duties and Dwight Howard ready to throw down as many lobs as Kobe will give him, so you can't blame the man for giddily considering how far he's come. Even with those two championships won in the space between.

But names, Kobe? Their names?

Cold. It's going to be a fun season in Los Angeles. And a hell of a lot of fun as Kobe gets older, and grumpier.

Danny Amendola’s injury could have been life-threatening

Danny Amendola's injury could have been even worse. (AP)

By Brian McIntyre | Shutdown Corner

The St. Louis Rams may be 3-2 in their first season under head coach Jeff Fisher, but they were dealt a significant injury blow on Thursday night when wide receiver Danny Amendola suffered a separated SC joint while laying out to haul in a 22-yard pass attempt from Sam Bradford.

Amendola did not break his collarbone, which the Rams initially feared, and will not require surgery. According to Jay Glazer of FOXSports.com, the injury could have been much, much worse.

During a report on FOX's pregame show, Glazer explained that Amendola dislocated his clavicle, which actually popped in and could have threatened Amendola's trachea and aorta. The Rams' medical staff acted quickly, putting Amendola to sleep before popping the clavicle back into place and making sure it could not dislodge again.

Glazer adds that the Rams have called around the league to find a case of another player suffering a similar injury, but they could not find one. The absence of a case study for this particular injury makes it difficult for the Rams to know when Amendola might return. Though surgery is not required, it may take between four and eight weeks for the injury to heal to the point where Amendola can play.

Rams quarterback Sam Bradford acknowledged how important Amendola is to the offense following Thursday night's win over the Arizona Cardinals.

    "Obviously, losing Danny is big," Bradford said via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "Everyone knows that he's a big part of our offense. A lot of what we do runs through him."

Through five weeks, Amendola has been targeted 49 times, more than twice as many targets as anyone else on the team (Brandon Gibson, 23), and he leads the team with 32 receptions for 395 yards and is tied for the team lead with two touchdowns. Amendola's 56-yard reception in a Week 2 win over the Washington Redskins is the Rams' longest offensive play of the season. Someone will need to step up while Amendola is out, with free agent addition Steve Smith, a 2009 Pro Bowler with the New York Giants, possibly returning to the 46-man game day roster after being inactive the last two weeks.

Pingpong passion stokes U.S. Ryder Cup team's competitive fires

Phil Mickelson has had a tough time measuring up to Matt Kuchar in pingpong. (Getty Images)

 

By Yahoo Sport

MEDINAH, Ill. – Perhaps the fiercest competition during this weekend's Ryder Cup will not take place on the golf course, but rather in the United States' team room.

That's where three pingpong tables have been set up in what's become a Ryder Cup tradition amongst U.S. players. The original intent was to build camaraderie, and to that end it worked – if you are to believe Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods ironed out some of their differences over a game of table tennis.

Lately, though, the games have taken on a more serious tone, with Mickelson and Matt Kuchar bringing their own paddles packed away in special cases.

"The Ryder Cup is all about pingpong, everybody," Bubba Watson declared Thursday. "When you bring your own paddles in cases, a briefcase with a paddle in it, then obviously it's about pingpong. … It's nuts."

While tongue in cheek, there is some truth to Watson's claim that the Ryder Cup is all about pingpong. When asked about how his relationship with Woods has evolved over the course of the six Ryder Cup teams they've been on together, Mickelson announced to a packed press room that while they haven't had a lot of success on the course, "as partners on the pingpong table, he and I are delivering."

"We are serving it up, and there are not many guys that can match us on the pong table."

That may be true in doubles; singles, however, is another story.

Kuchar is the unquestioned king of the table-top court. He started playing when he was young with his father. In what became a nightly routine, they'd head out to the garage, unfold the table and play.

In golf terms, Kuchar rates himself a "1 or 2" handicap in pingpong.

"It's been fun bonding, because there is that ability to kind of go out and be boys and kind of feel like you're in the locker room while you're competing against each other," Kuchar said of the pingpong competitions inside the American's team room.

Fun for most, but maybe not so much for Mickelson. According to Watson, this week Kuchar and Mickelson played five points against one another, with Kuchar winning all five.

"So he quit," Watson explained. "Phil Mickelson pouts ever time we make him play Matt Kuchar. Love you, Phil."

Watson also says that he and Jason Dufner "dominated" Mickelson and Jeff Sluman in doubles.

"Mickelson is still mad about it," Watson said. "He hates anytime I beat him because I'm just this goofy left-handed kid named Bubba.

"So anytime I can beat Phil Mickelson, I like to rub it in his face. So on that one, I do disrespect my own teammates when it comes to pingpong."

NFL Kicker Devises Noise To Summon Alligators

Written by: ThePostGame Staff

You've heard about people "speaking" to horses and even cats, but you'd be hard-pressed to find someone with a talent akin to that of Falcons placekicker Matt Bryant.

In a recent interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bryant discussed his unique and extremely impressive talent: He can communicate with alligators.

Bryant taught himself to mimic an alligator's distress call, and he has learned how to draw the animal out of the water and lead it around. He honed his skill at a retention pond behind his home in Tampa, and it comes in handy to trick friends on the golf course.

"I've had fun with it," Bryant told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Bryant, who is in his fourth year with the Falcons and is 4-for-4 on field goal attempts this year, showed off the skill to some teammates during a golf outing earlier this year in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Someone noticed an alligator in the water and encouraged Bryant to communicate with it. Sure enough, Bryant made the call and the animal came flying out of the water.

"I’ve never seen anything like that," said Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter. "… I didn’t wait to see how close it was going to get. There were some bushes there about 25 yards away, and I didn’t wait for it to get any closer. I got behind someone else so it would eat them before me."

A warning to Bryant's future golf partners: Remember to never shave strokes or move the ball, there could be dire consequences.

(H/T to Deadspin)

Sergio Martinez survives late barrage to defeat Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. by unanimous decision

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. takes a punch from Sergio Martinez during their title fight. REUTERS/Steve Marcus

LAS VEGAS – Sergio Martinez put on a masterclass on Saturday, using a blistering jab and blazing speed to easily handle Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. before an enthusiastic sell-out crowd at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Chavez, who had been routed throughout the fight, landed a big right and three lefts that floored Martinez in the final 30 seconds of the final round. But Martinez somehow hung on for the win.

"He's now a superstar," Promoter Lou DiBella said of Martinez.

Judges had it 118-109 twice and 117-110 for Martinez. Yahoo! Sports scored it 118-109 for Martinez, giving him the first 11 rounds.

Until that final sequence, Chavez seemed to have no game plan and no idea of how to cut off the ring. Martinez used the ring to move, create angles and generally befuddle his younger foe.

As the fight moved into the second half, Chavez's aggressiveness slowed and it was Martinez doing the bulk of the work. He bloodied Chavez from the nose and mouth with his jab and the left that he frequently brought behind it. Chavez's right eye was but a slit by the eighth round and he had welts all over his face.

In the 11th, Chavez finally trapped Martinez in a corner, where he could use his supposed punching advantage. He landed several good body shots, then came upstairs and ripped Martinez with a right to the chin.

The partisan Chavez crowd roared its approval, but Martinez landed a four-punch combination to the body and head that forced Chavez to back off.

"I was 20 seconds away from knocking him out," Chavez said. "I started way too late. I thought I could do the whole fight what I did the last round. I didn't get started until the eighth round."

The win enabled Martinez to reclaim the WBC middleweight belt he was forced to surrender in 2010. It was his title that Chavez won by defeating Sebastian Zbik for the vacant belt.

"The speed was the difference," Chavez trainer Freddie Roach said. "I told Chavez to go out and exchange with him in every round. He just couldn't catch him. I knew Martinez was good, but I didn't know he was that good. Chavez can do better. This was a good lesson. I kept asking to let his hands go. I told him in the 10th round he better start fighting or I was going to stop it."

It seemed a no-brainer as the fight moved into the final seconds, but then Chavez out of nowhere stepped it up and nearly pulled out one of the most dramatic wins ever.

He landed a crushing right to Martinez's head that wobbled the Argentinian. Chavez threw three left hooks in succession and Martinez went down.

The sellout crowd of more than 19,000 went wild, jumping to its feet and roaring. Chavez pursued the finish, but couldn't get the big shot in he needed before the bell sounded to end the fight.

"He fought a great fight and he was tougher than I expected," Martinez said. "He showed great heart in the ring. It's great for boxing to have a champion who is willing to fight anyone. It was a tough fight for Julio to have his first loss.

“We are two professionals and if Julio wants a rematch and the public wants a rematch, we'll do a rematch."

source Yahoo

Marcell Dareus’ brother a victim in Alabama triple homicide

By Jay Busbee | Shutdown Corner

Terrible news out of the weekend, as CBS42 News in Birmingham is reporting that the brother of Buffalo Bills tackle Marcell Dareus was one of the victims in a Sunday triple homicide in Pelham, Ala.

Simeon Gilmore, the 19-year-old brother of Dareus, died from gunshot wounds at a Pelham home, as did Casey Cumberland and Joshua Smith, both aged 22. Jon Staggs, age 20, has been charged with three counts of capital murder, and is being held in Shelby County prison without bond.

Dareus, a former defensive tackle with the University of Alabama, is reportedly in transit back to Birmingham. The SEC's sacks leader in 2009 and the BCS Championship Defensive MVP in 2010, he was the third pick in the 2011 NFL draft. In his rookie season, he played in all 16 games and notched 5.5 sacks. He recorded one tackle last weekend in a loss to the Jets.

Dareus has not commented publicly on the tragedy; his Twitter account has not been updated in more than a week. The Bills' next game is at home this weekend against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Andy Murray ends Great Britain's 76-year drought with epic U.S. Open win over Novak Djokovic

Yahoo Sport

Who knows whether it was a set of historical coincidences, the temperamental New York weather or just, at long last, it was finally Andy Murray's time. Whatever the case, Murray ended British tennis' 76-year drought without a men's Grand Slam tennis championship on Monday, a curse that didn't have the hype of a Bambino but whose passing was greeted with sheer delight in the United Kingdom.

Andy Murray kisses his trophy after defeating Novak Djokovic in the U.S. Open final. (Reuters)Murray, in danger of becoming modern tennis' nearly-man after four previous defeats in major finals, outlasted defending champion Novak Djokovic in an epic five-set match (7-6, 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2) at Flushing Meadows in conditions made unpredictable by the wind swirling around the Big Apple.

Yet, while the 25-year-old from Scotland certainly adapted better than his Serbian opponent, those who believe in fate will surely be unable to resist alluding to a series of factors that made this victory seem as if it was written in the stars.

Ever since Murray emerged five years ago as a player who could regularly mix it with the best in the world, he has, in effect, been chasing Fred Perry. Perry, the enigmatic star of the courts in the 1930s when prize money was banned and players wore long pants, was the last Brit to win a Slam before turning pro and going on to found a sportswear empire.

Perry won eight majors, the last being the 1936 U.S. Open. His first major title came at the U.S. Open three years earlier, on Sept. 10, 1933, a year after he'd won the Olympic gold medal.

Murray's first title also came on Sept. 10, at the U.S. Open and on the heels of winning Olympic gold just a few months ago in London.

To add further fuel to a coincidental fire, this year marks the Diamond Jubilee of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. The last Brit to win a Grand Slam came when Virginia Wade won the Wimbledon women's crown in 1977 – the year of the Queen's Silver Jubilee (25 years as monarch).

It was the positive vibes created by Murray's Olympic title, combined with the injury-enforced absence of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer's surprise quarterfinal exit, that led some to speculate that Murray may never get a better opportunity than this one.

His four finals appearance prior to this had yielded only one set victory, the opener against Federer in this year's Wimbledon final, and a strong start was vital here if he was to get a foothold against a favorited Djokovic, who was nursing a 27-match winning streak in Slam matches held on hard courts.

Murray broke in the first game but the advantage of service was somewhat negated by both the wind and the excellence of these two as returners. The Brit squeaked through a record tiebreaker – Murray won 12-10, the longest tiebreak in a men's title match in the tournament's history – to raise genuine hope back home, where millions surely tuned in deep into the night.

Murray faces enormous pressure in Britain, what with the screaming tabloids and that historical barren run to cope with. He even had the eyes of two of Scotland's most famous sons watching him in Flushing: James Bond legend Sean Connery and Manchester United soccer coach Sir Alex Ferguson.

Seemingly unfazed by either the occasion or the attention, Murray began the second set brilliantly, storming into a 4-0 and 5-1 lead. But then Djokovic showed the sort of heights he has regularly attained over the past couple of years to become the most regular Slam champion during that time.

He broke back once, then again to level it at 5-5, then started to make inroads into the Murray serve once more. Murray dug deep, though, holding his serve and then breaking Djokovic again courtesy of a surprising muffed smash from the world No.2.

It looked as if Murray's relaxed approach was working. He prepared on Sunday night by watching "Wedding Crashers" and playing Scrabble and showed none of the nerves from his other finals appearances.

Djokovic was not going away, though, and after breaking early in the third was gratified to see his groundstrokes settling into their usual rhythm. He took the set 6-2, and despite still trailing, had momentum firmly with him.

A break to start the fourth tilted things into Djokovic's favor again and with his serve now firing, the reigning champ was full of flair and confidence. Fist-pumping and firing up the crowd, Djokovic had no intention of surrendering meekly and pushed the contest into a deciding fifth set. The fifth was a tussle but it was Murray's tussle. He raced into a 3-0 lead and although Djokovic broke right back, it was Murray who had the greater will on this occasion, as his destiny approached, nearly five hours after the match started.

He broke for the third time in the set to lead 5-2, then closed it out with a flawless service game.

At last, after all the waiting, all the disappointment, and all that weight of history, the curse was lifted and a new champion was crowned.

"It's the best feeling for me," Murray told the television audience. "After the tough loss at Wimbledon to have have won the Olympics and now here is amazing.

"I got asked about it a lot, most weeks to be honest, why I hadn't won a grand slam," he continued. "Was it a mental thing? Was it to my tennis? It was probably a combination of a few things. I was competing against great, great players as well. I doubted it a little bit, but so happy that I managed to get through."

Mark Sanchez’s tryst with Eva Longoria is Jets’ latest non-distraction distraction

By Doug Farrar | Shutdown Corner

As it turns out, Mark Sanchez did score during the preseason -- he just didn't do it with the New York Jets.

The ostensible starting quarterback of everybody's favorite preseason offensive disaster has been spotted with the lovely Eva Longoria, and apparently, it's far more serious than Tony Sparano's offensive game plans.

From the New York Post:

    Wearing a lace top that offered even less resistance than the Jets' offensive line, the actress strutted her way to an evening of entertainment that included a viewing of the Broadway hit "Rock of Ages" followed by a romantic dinner at the Japanese hot spot Nobu.

    Longoria appears to have fully recovered from her marital airball with San Antonio Spurs star point guard Tony Parker and has become smitten with the Jets' starting quarterback.

Longoria also had a go-round with Spanish singer Eduardo Cruz, but that didn't last. By all accounts, the actress is head-over-heels for the Sanchize, and good for them. It's nice to know that even a big-market quarterback and former GQ model can outkick his coverage.

Well, you might be "distracted," too. (AP)Of course, this news will cause every Jets observer looking for more reasons for the team's woeful offensive performance -- they didn't cross the red zone in the preseason until third-string quarterback Greg McElroy led them there against the Philadelphia Eagles' seventh-string defense in the exhibition finale -- to wonder if Sanchez doesn't have his head in the game enough, and that's why the Jets are unable to bust a grapefruit near the goal line.

That's one thought, and we're quite sure that the Skip Baylesses of the world (hopefully, there's just the one Skip Bayless, we thought as we typed that) will squeal that Sanchez's time with Longoria is the real problem behind the quarterback's inability to move to the "next level." He went to the Caribbean with a hot actress? ZOMG!!! That's why he threw those red zone picks!!!

Here's another possibility: Maybe Mark Sanchez is just an average quarterback in a below-average offense, and if he plied his trade in Jacksonville or Tennessee, we would have heard very little about him after he left USC for the NFL in 2009. Sanchez has never finished higher than 28th in the league in Football Outsiders' per-play opponent-adjusted metrics (DVOA), and never higher than 20th in FO's season-cumulative DYAR stats. Forget the idea that his next level is the top: Sanchez still has to look up to see league average. Sanchez's potential "greatness" is trumped up by those who believe that quarterback wins are meaningful, and those who believe that New York needs a marquee quarterback at all times.

(Hint: New York actually DOES have a legitimate marquee quarterback based on performance, but he plays for the Giants. You know -- that Super Bowl champion team you backpagers keep ignoring).

Maybe Mark Sanchez will never become "elite," because it just isn't in him to do so, and shouldn't he take advantage of the good life while he can? After all, not every woman is monumentally impressed with Sanchez, and it seems that the more they understand the game, the less overwhelmed they are. As Stacey Greenberg, wife of ESPN radio jock and long-suffering Jets fan Mike Greenberg, recently put it on Twitter:

Andy Roddick tearfully bids farewell to tennis after career-ending loss

By Jeff Eisenberg | Busted Racquet

As Andy Roddick fell behind Juan Martin del Potro Wednesday in what would turn out to be the final match of his career, the 30-year-old American admits all his previous tennis milestones began drifting through his mind.

He thought about his mom driving him to practice when he was little. He thought about matches he played when he was 12. And he thought about all the memorable moments he experienced during a bumpy yet brilliant career.

The emotion of the match finally overcame Roddick after he sprayed a forehand wide on match point to send del Potro into the quarterfinals with a 6-7 (1), 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-4 win. A red-eyed Roddick buried his face in a towel as del Potro saluted him, then choked back tears once again as he addressed the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium one final time.

"For the first time in my career, I'm not sure what to say," Roddick said. "Since I was a kid, I've been coming to this tournament. I felt lucky just to sit where all of you are sitting today, to watch this game and to see the champions who have come and gone and I've loved every minute of it.

"It has been a road with a lot of ups, a lot of downs and a lot of great moments. I've appreciated your support along the way. I know I certainly haven't made it easy for you at times, but I really do appreciate it and love you guys with all my heart."

Roddick's four-set loss to del Potro on Wednesday evening concluded a career that at times has been hard to define. He never became the dominant player many predicted he'd become, yet he displayed longevity, resolve and charisma in winning one grand slam and reaching the finals of four others.

He emerged as the new face of American tennis post-Sampras and Agassi by beating back opponents with his booming serve. He briefly thrived in the role of Roger Federer's primary foil until other rivals eclipsed him. And he remained a fixture in the top 10 for a decade until injuries and age diminished his power and forced him to rely on other facets of his game.

It would have been a great story had Roddick been able to make a deep U.S. Open run at his final tournament, but it was probably too much to ask from a guy days away from retirement mostly because he could not compete at that level anymore.

Roddick won the first set and forced a tiebreaker in the second, but del Potro's powerful groundstrokes and consistent serves were too much later in the match. Del Potro won 10 of the first 11 points on Roddick's serve in the third set, survived a couple of break points in his first service game of the fourth set and coasted to victory from there.

When Roddick announced his imminent retirement last Thursday, part of his reasoning was so that fans wouldn't think he was a lunatic if he teared up during his final match.

Thankfully for Roddick, his tears received cheers. In fact, many in the crowd were so sad to see him go that they cried along with him.

Maurice Jones-Drew ends holdout; returns to Jacksonville Jaguars

By Doug Farrar | Shutdown Corner


On Sunday morning, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew will return to his team after a 38-day holdout. The report was confirmed by NFL.com's Ian Rapoport, and seriously confirmed by Jags running back Rashad Jennings.

Jones-Drew, who led the NFL in rushing in 2011 with 1,606 yards, has held out through the entire preseason because he wants a re-structured contract. In a recent conference call with local reporters, Jags head coach Mike Mularkey said that he was hearing "rumors" that MJD might return sooner than later — and in time for the Jags' regular-season opener against the Minnesota Vikings next Sunday.

"I have not heard from Maurice,'' Mularkey said in a recent conference call with local reporters. "I've heard those same things just like you have, but nothing from the people that need to tell its firm.''

But how, Mularkey was asked, does a head coach get those rumors when he spends so much time at the team facility?

"I get out," he said. "Today, I'm actually off to catch up with my wife to see what is going on in her life. I've heard things out on the street just like you guys do. It wasn't on Twitter.''

When the Jaguars cut their roster to the final 53 on Saturday, they placed Jones-Drew on the Reserve/Did Not Report list, so they would receive a roster exemption when the running back returned to the team. Jones-Drew would thus be available to start Week 1, but Mularkey has said that Jennings would most likely be the main man until Jones-Drew was sure to be in game shape. Jennings rushed for 209 yards on 47 carries in the preseason, finishing second to Arizona's William Powell in preseason rushing yards.

"That's hasn't come up, that discussion. We've got to get him in first. He's got to come in. We'll go from there. That has not been addressed yet,'' Mularkey said.

Jones-Drew, who signed a five-year, $31 million contract in 2009, has collected $21.8 million in the first three seasons, but wants to be paid in line with other elite backs. That would include the contacts recently given to Adrian Peterson (seven years, $100 million, $30 million guaranteed), Chris Johnson (four years, $53.5 million, $30 million guaranteed), LeSean McCoy (five years, $45.6 million, $20.8 million guaranteed), Arian Foster (five years, $43.5 million, $20.8 million guaranteed), and Matt Forte (four years, $32 million, $18 million guaranteed).

Jones-Drew could be fined up to $1.2 million by the team for off-season time should the Jaguars choose that option, but it's more likely that both sides will forgive and forget. Jones-Drew is returning now because if he doesn't, he starts losing game checks. And with a $4.45 million base salary in 2012, every week of in-season absence would have cost Jones-Drew $261,765.

In the end, the Jags are unlikely to move on Jones-Drew's requests. "There's no decision here,'' Jags owner Shad Khan told the Florida Times-Union in July. "It's his choice. There's been very little for us to do rather than wait on whatever he might choose to do ... There's more than 50 players [on the team] under contract. There are other people under contract in management, coaches. Does that mean if you do it for one, you do it for everybody.

"Where do you draw the line?''

Tennessee scores 16 points in 38 seconds (VIDEO)

By Graham Watson | Dr. Saturday

Tennessee coach Derek Dooley has been quietly confident about his 2012 Vols and we finally found out why during a 38-second span against N.C. State on Friday.

After the Wolfpack took a 7-6 lead with about 5 minutes remaining in the quarter, the Volunteers went a on 16-point barrage in 38 seconds to take a 22-7 lead.

Here's how it all went down:

In the final minutes of the first quarter, Vols quarterback Tyler Bray threw a bomb to Zach Rogers for a 72-yard touchdown. On N.C. State's ensuing drive, Tennessee linebacker Curt Maggitt sacked Wolfpack quarterback Mike Glennon, who fumbled the ball out of the end zone for a safety.

Just a couple seconds later, after Tennessee got the ball back on the kickoff following the safety, receiver Cordarrelle Patterson took an end-around 67 yards for the final score of the quarter. He outraced N.C. State's best defensive back David Amerson and made people around the state of Tennessee ask, "Da'Rick, who?"

The Da'Rick in question is former Tennessee receiver Da'Rick Rogers, who was indefinitely suspended last week and ended up transferring to Tennessee Tech. Rogers was an All-SEC receiver, but Patterson looks just as good, if not better, than the Vols former leading receiver.

By the end of the quarter, Patterson had 129 total yards of offense and two touchdowns.

- - -
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London 2012 Olympic Closing Ceremony Highlights

The London 2012 Olympic Games ended in style on 12 August with a celebration of music, sporting achievement and Olympic fellowship at the Olympic Stadium.

The Closing Ceremony marked the end of an amazing chapter in London's life. The show itself opened with a set featuring iconic London landmarks including:

•     The London Eye

•     St Paul’s Cathedral

•     The Gherkin

•     Battersea Power Station

•     Tower Bridge

•     Royal Albert Hall

•     And last and but not least Big Ben (out of which appeared Timothy Spall as Winston Churchill!)

This section was accompanied by artists from top West End show, Stomp.

British Music Mash-up

We were then treated to a journey through British music with a focus on artists from the last 50 years including The Kinks, George Michael, The Spice Girls, Queen, Tinie Tempah, Jessie J, Kaiser Chiefs, Liam Gallagher, Take That and The Who. You can explore the rich tradition of British pop music at the British Music Experience or revel in Queen’s music at We Will Rock You!

Fashion Rocks!
The ceremony also celebrated fashion with appearance of top models including Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell. You can find many top British designers in London along with some of the world best shopping districts. Fashionistas should also head to the V&A and Fashion and Textile Museum.

Looking to the Future

There was an injection of comedy with Eric Idle's rendition of 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life'. You can enjoy this and other Monty Python classics in popular musical, Spamalot.

The Olympic flag was passed to Rio de Janeiro ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games and London's Olympic Cauldron extinguished in a dance sequence starring Darcey Bussell. You can discover more about the cauldron at the current Thomas Heatherwick exhibition.

The athletes thoroughly enjoyed the show and Team GB were celebrating their success. You can join them for the Our Greatest Team victory parade in London on 10 September.

Now eyes turn to the London 2012 Paralympic Games from 29 August until 9 September, which promise to be another impressive display of sporting prowess and courage. Beyond that we can look forward to the legacy of London 2012.


VisitLondon.com

Synchronised Swimming to make splash

The world's top Synchronised Swimming athletes take to the pool in the Duets tomorrow, and there are hopes that the sport will see a surge in popularity as it reaches a worldwide audience.

Great Britain's Synchronised Swimming team practises
Jenna Randall and Olivia Federici practise during a training session at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park.

Great Britain's Jenna Randall, who is paired with Olivia Federici, said the sudden exposure at the Olympic Games will be a welcome boost.

The 23-year-old said: 'It's great for our sport to have that because Synchronised Swimming hasn't been popular in Great Britain until we had the London 2012 Games here.

'Hopefully with this Olympics we'll have more children joining in and wanting to take part in Synchronised Swimming. So it's a great journey for our sport to have that support and people watching.'

She and 22-year-old Federici are part of Britain's eight-strong squad, including Randall's sister Asha, who will begin the Team competition on Thursday.

The Host Nation pair are not daunted by the prospect of competing in front of a big crowd.

Federici said: 'It's going to be positive knowing that everyone's behind you, everyone wants you to do well. Hopefully it will give us an extra boost.'

Randall and Federici competed together in a Duet at Beijing 2008 and came 14th, and last year were ranked ninth in the World Championships.

Key challengers for medals could be Russia, the USA, Canada and Japan, who have all done well at previous Olympic Games.

Danes through after Doubles thriller

Denmark's Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen recorded a thrilling men's Doubles semi-final victory over Republic of Korea's Chung Jae-sung and Lee Yong-dae to advance to the final on the morning of Day 8.

After a high-quality exhibition, it was the third-seeded Danes who prevailed after coming from behind to win 17-21 21-18 22-20 against the third seeds in 83 minutes.

They will now have the chance to claim only Europe's second Olympic Badminton gold when they take on China's top seeds Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng.

The Chinese pair kept their country on course for a possible clean sweep of golds in the tournament with a 21-9 21-19 defeat of Malaysia's Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong.

source london2012.com

s Serena Williams’ purple headband against Wimbledon rules?

AP

By Chris Chase | Busted Racquet

Serena Williams' first-round match at Wimbledon was far less eventful than the one she played at the French Open. The four-time tournament champion didn't show any ill effects from her upset loss at Roland Garros and defeated Barbara Zahlavova Strycova 6-2, 6-4.

The most interesting part of her opener, as usual, was the clothing. When you hear "warmup jacket" you think of zipped-up nylon or hoodies. Serena's white, double-breasted Nike number is a bit of a genre bender. I can't tell whether the jacket looks like it belongs to a waiter at a party thrown by a James Bond villain or someone portraying a nurse in a Cinemax movie.

In recent years, Serena has opted for cardigans and shawls but wore the same style coat in 2008 and 2009.

The headband is even more interesting. Wimbledon has let players subtly flout the "almost entirely white" rule for years. Colored stripes, details on sleeves and bandanas are prevalent despite the seven rules forbidding such pigmentation. We detailed the trend during last year's tournament. But that purple headband is pretty blatant. Even the official Wimbledon site wondered whether it was crossing a line.

Maybe it's a nod to royalty. Either way, I wonder if that white swoosh on it has anything to do with officials at the All England Club looking the other way.

Ryan Lochte defeats Michael Phelps in Olympic trials showdown

Getty Images

By Chris Chase | Fourth-Place Medal

Ryan Lochte took the first round of his hotly-anticipated summer showdown with Michael Phelps, defeating the two-time defending Olympic champion in the 400 IM to open the U.S. Olympic trials in Omaha.

The 27-year-old from Florida led from the outset of the grueling race to touch in 4:07.06, nearly a full body length ahead of Phelps. Lochte had two won world championships in the event after Phelps "retired" from the lengthy discipline following his victory in the Beijing Games. Despite Phelps' pedigree in the race, Lochte was heavily favored to win Monday night, especially after he posted the fastest time in qualifying heats by four seconds.

It was Phelps first loss in a final at the U.S. trials since July 13, 2004, when Ian Crocker defeated him in the 100 butterfly. His defeat did have a silver lining: With his second-place finish, Phelps became the first swimmer in United States history to qualify for four Olympics. The 14-time gold medalist is three medals away from becoming the most prolific winner in the history of the Summer Games.

Monday's result was stinging for third-place finisher Tyler Clary. The 23-year-old Californian was the silver medalist in the 400 at the past two world championships without Phelps. Now, he won't swim the event in London.

Phelps confirmed as much after the race, immediately dismissing speculation that he'd skip the race at next month's Olympics. "This is a baby step," he said of the loss. "Ryan knows that, just like I do, that the race that counts happens in a couple of weeks."

Lochte didn't disagree. Instead of puffing his chest at beating Phelps for the first time in the 400, Lochte demurred to the Olympic king in an interview with NBC. "I still think I'm the hunter trying to catch him," he told Andrea Kremer.

Miami Heat victory party at LIV: LeBron, D-Wade, Bosh and Co. rack up $200,000 bar tab in all-night bash

Dwyane Wade smiles around his stogie during the Heat's afterparty at LIV. (Photo via padroncigars on Instagram 

By Dan Devine | Ball Don't Lie

You just won the NBA championship. You are ecstatic, eager to extend that ecstasy as long as you can, and desperate to celebrate, dance, carry on, drink champagne, smoke cigars and, to borrow a well-worn cliche from coach Erik Spoelstra, "live in the moment" of your career's greatest achievement. You are in Miami. So you go to LIV, the massive nightclub and den of debauchery at the Fontainebleau resort hotel in Miami Beach, and get to poppin' off.

That's what the Dallas Mavericks did last year after clinching the O'Brien at the AmericanAirlines Arena, with Dirk Nowitzki and company hammering down a monster magnum of Ace of Spades champagne en route to ringing up a $110,000 bar tab, happily paid by victorious Mavs owner Mark Cuban. On Thursday night — and, really Friday morning — the Miami Heat washed away the agony of that defeat and threw themselves whole-hog into the thrill of victory, taking over LIV and casting aside Cuban's credit-card bill like it was a receipt for your airport sandwich.

The Heat reportedly dropped (at least) $200,000 on their post-Finals victory party, an all-night rager that reportedly cost a stack to enter and featured surprise performances, dancing women twirling flaming sticks, carbon dioxide guns and an awful lot of your favorite hip-hop classics (read: the four songs on the radio now). That's an especially staggering sum when you consider that they've got seven more of these to cover.

Fans: LeBron's image won't be repaired with a title

By Darren Rovell | CNBC.com

Following "The Decision," where LeBron James declared he'd take his talents from Cleveland to Miami, he went from being hero to a villain in the eyes of many.

People who once rooted for his greatness started cheering for his downfall. They clapped at his inability to make the big shots at the end and reveled in his disappointment of losing to the Mavericks in last year's NBA Finals.

With the Heat up 3 games to 1, and LeBron on the cusp of hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy for the first time in his nine-year NBA career, the question is, does finally winning the big one change how people think of the NBA's "King."

The answer seems to be a resounding no, and it's not just coming from spurned Cavaliers fans.

I asked this question to my Twitter followers: If you dislike LeBron, would winning a title change your opinion? Out of the 404 people who voted, 82 percent said no, with 4.4 percent saying yes, while the other 13.6 percent said it depends on how he celebrates. Does he go down on one knee and get emotional or does he play the "me against the world" card?

"Winning helps, but you have to be perceived in a way that you've convinced people you're different than what caused the perception to happen and that's the hurdle that he is challenged with," said Henry Schafer, executive vice president of Marketing Evaluations, which conducts the Q Scores.

Schafer said that among sports fans age 13 and older who know of LeBron, 19 percent consider him one of their favorite personalities, but 27 percent of those that know him rank him among their least favorite personalities.

"The negative side is where he's hurting," Schafer said. "His negative score is almost twice the average."

On Twitter, Schafer's sentiment was echoed.

• Brad (@Texas_Cyn) said LeBron winning a title wouldn't change his negative opinion of him because he came off as "universally arrogant." "It was obvious in last year's Finals press conference how much better he thinks he is than everyone," he tweeted.

• Jermaine (@jermaine611) tweeted, "He can win five titles and I wouldn't like him. Dances, posing and entitlement has turned me off."

• Andrew (@AndrewGreth) said LeBron set himself up for more lofty goals that compromises how people should think about his first title.

• "He said he would win not 4, not 5, not 6," Greth tweeted. "so one (title) is not backing up bravado."

In a separate Twitter poll taken at the start of the NBA Finals, I asked my followers what endorser would most get you to buy a product? I gave them Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade as choices. Durant got 71.4 percent of the vote, LeBron got 21.3 percent and Wade finished last with 7.3 percent of the vote.

While LeBron is known by 85 percent of the population, Kevin Durant is known by 61 percent of the population, according to the Q Scores. But 23 percent of those that know him call him their favorite athlete, while only 9 percent list him as one of their least favorite athletes.

Austin Aune, top QB recruit, passes up on TCU glory for $1 million Yankees bonus

By Pat Forde | Yahoo! Sports

Ever wonder what it would take to lure a top quarterback prospect out of an ongoing training program with a major Division I college program? Now we know: $1 million and the lure of the New York Yankees.

As first reported by Baseball America and the Dallas Morning News, TCU quarterback signee Austin Aune, who was also a top baseball player at Argyle (Texas) High, left his summer training program at TCU to sign with the Yankees less than two weeks after he was selected by the Bronx Bombers in the second round of the draft with the 89th overall pick.

Baseball America's Jim Callis reported that Aune was given a flat, $1 million bonus to sign off on a future in baseball and not football, which he had long planned to play for the Horned Frogs. TCU was eager to work the state champion, pro-style quarterback into the mix as soon as he was ready, hoping to integrate the 6-foot-2, 190-pounder's leadership skills into a program which will enter the Big 12 at a gallop and hope to build off its recent success that includes a Rose Bowl victory to cap the 2010-11 season.

It appeared that Aune was just as eager to join TCU, too: The teen was already living in the school's dorms when he was drafted so he could take part in the school's summer football training program and summer school classes.

While Aune has drawn praise for both raw power and speed, it's the teen's arm that may stand out. That's appropriate for a quarterback who passed for a massive 3,411 yards and 42 touchdowns as a senior at Argyle.

It's clear that Aune, who starred as a shortstop in high school but projects as an outfielder at the major-league level, made his decision based on the lure of the Yankees and the money offer, too. New York paid well over the expected bonus value slotted for his pick — reportedly a touch above $500,000 — to help land a phenomenal athlete who was expected to compete in both football and baseball with the Horned Frogs.

And if things don't work out with the Yankees, Aune can always follow in the footsteps of Drew Henson, who passed up on a bright future at Michigan to sign with New York, only to eventually leave baseball and join the NFL.

For now, Aune will dip down into the overwhelming obscurity of the minor leagues rather than the crucible of major college football. If he eventually makes his way to the Bronx, that's a trade that he may feel was well worth making, even if it required him to walk away from an opportunity he was well on the way to experiencing to its fullest.

IMG agency will start a prep football program in Florida, but should it?

Former Florida State Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke — Getty Images

 

 

 

 

 

By Cameron Smith | Prep Rally

First, it was a charter school set up by Deion Sanders. Now, IMG, the worldwide talent agency, is getting in on the high school football act.

As noted by the Los Angeles Times, among other sources, IMG Academy will host a varsity high school football team for the first time in 2013. To get the program on a track toward future success, the sports-focused school will begin hosting interested football players during the 2012-13 school year. The football team will be coached by former Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Chris Weinke and will be hosted at the same site as the rest of IMG's programs in Brandenton, Fla.

While the IMG program may be destined for future success, that won't come without serious questions about whether or not the agency should be hosting a football team in the first place. IMG -- which features prep sports enterprises like a tennis academy hosted by famed-instructor Nick Bolliteri and a golf school led by David Leadbetter — has more recently begun breaking into full-fledged team sports where the involvement of a third-party entity like IMG are much less traditional.

While IMG launched its soccer academy years ago, its forays into the baseball, basketball and lacrosse world are much more recent. Naturally, all of those efforts will pale in comparison to what it will take to launch a successful football program, particularly in Florida, one of the nation's most talent-rich, competitive states.

There are also sure to be ethical questions to follow on IMG's new school, as well. Many have long questioned the wisdom in integrating pro or collegiate-style training into a traditional school day as a means of more adequately preparing young Americans for future athletic success at the expense of a more traditional scholastic experience.

While the resistance to more professional-style training was less significant with more individualistic or European-powered sports like tennis, golf and soccer, that may not be the case with football, which plays upon its deep roots with all things American and traditional.

Regardless of what happens next, IMG is clearly making waves by adding football in Florida at all. Whether or not those waves are positive may not be known for years in the future. If they are seen as a step forward, don't expect IMG to be the only academy running a pro-style prep football program for long.