Ryan Carter

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Lawsuit questions Hank Haney?s personal instruction time

Lawsuit questions Hank Haney?s personal instruction time When you attend Hank Haney's school, how much attention are you owed by Hank Haney himself? That's the question in a lawsuit brought by a Pennsylvania woman and her son against Haney.

The facts of the case, as noted in Golfweek: Maureen Fitzgerald and her son Matthew Teesdale are charging Haney with consumer fraud in the suit filed in the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia.

Fraud? What could he have done? This, according to the suit: Haney allegedly gave Teesdale a total of only seven minutes of personal instruction at the Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy in Hilton Head Island, S.C. This, after Teesdale paid $30,000 plus fees to enroll in the camp. They're seeking $150,000 in damages and a trial by jury.

Really, the issue here isn't that Haney spent seven minutes with the kid, but how much time students are promised in the first place. You don't go to, say, Wendy's and expect that Wendy herself is going to serve you a hamburger; similarly, it may be that Haney functions more as headmaster than hands-on teacher. But if the academy promises hours of one-on-one time with the former instructor for Tiger Woods, well ... then things get a bit more problematic.

Haney, meanwhile, declined comment. And not to take anything away from his academy, but if you're not on a professional path, save yourself thirty grand and just read his Twitter feed. Dude gives out some fine instruction there.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/blog/golf_experts/post/Lawsuit-questions-Hank-Haney-s-personal-instruct?urn=golf-wp6005

Sami Salo Bryce Salvador Bobby Sanguinetti Cory Sarich

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Oregon?s mascot had a ?Chip? on his shoulder against Cal ? literally

Oregon's football players weren't the only ones rocking new Nike "retro" uniforms during Thursday night's 43-15 win over Cal.

The Ducks' mascot, Puddles, also had a custom jersey with one tiny change: Where the shoulder pads of the players' jerseys featured the mascot's face, the shoulder of Puddles' jersey came with a silhouette of Oregon coach Chip Kelly, complete with visor.

It's unfortunate we can't read the front of the jersey to see if the "Fighting Ducks" text on the front of the player jerseys was replaced with the "Fighting Chip Kellys."

Either way, well played, Nike. Well played.

- - -
Curtsy (the female version of a hat tip) to Larry Brown Sports

Graham Watson is on Facebook and Twitter: Follow her @Yahoo_Graham.

Source: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/Oregon-s-mascot-had-a-Chip-on-his-shoulder-aga?urn=ncaaf-wp7540

Brad Stuart Mark Stuart P.K. Subban Sean Sullivan

Friday, September 23, 2011

A-10 Preview: Ranking the 15 best non-conference games

The Dagger's week-long Atlantic 10 preview continues with a look at the conference's 15 most intriguing non-conference matchups next season.

1. Cincinnati at Xavier, Dec. 10

Comment: One of the nation's fiercest inter-conference rivalry games will be as nationally relevant next season as it has been since the Bob Huggins era in the Queen City. Both Xavier and Cincinnati return the core of teams that made the NCAA tournament last year and expect to begin next season in the preseason top 25.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Collins coaxed out of retirement, concern over Peyton grows

Early on Wednesday, the Colts lured�octogenarian�Kerry Collins out of retirement, presumably with a Mercury Grand Marquis and a bottle of Centrum Silver, signing the well-traveled 38-year-old to a one-year deal.

Owners who took Tony Dungy's "Unless he's dead" words to heart and drafted Peyton Manning are absolutely (expletive) a brick.

For weeks, No. 18's Week 1 availability has been shrouded in mystery. Via Twitter and on the Colts' Week 2 preseason broadcast, team owner Jim Irsay hinted Manning, who is slowly recovering from offseason neck surgery, would not be ready. Earlier that same day, the four-time MVP said he was "hopeful" about suiting up in Houston. According to Adam Schefter, however, Indy's "braintrust" may be right. The Ironman's streak of consecutive starts may soon end at 208.

The move to sign Collins sent strong ripples through the fantasy community. After hearing the news, Mr. Commercial's large pool of supporters immediately expressed concern about the situation via Twitter, bombarding the Noise's account with questions: How far will he drop in drafts? Should I avoid him altogether? What about the values of the players around him?

Because fanatics, in general, walk on eggshells, Manning, already being drafted at a reduced price, may wind up on the clearance rack. His current ADP according to Mock Draft Central sits at 28.30, down over five-percent from two weeks ago. Expect it to drop further, possibly into the 40s in standard drafts. In Tuesday's Friends and Family draft, Chet Gresham of Razzball fame grabbed Manning with the fourth pick in Round 4 of a 14-team PPR league (No. 46 overall).

Subsequently, those directly associated with him (e.g. Reggie Wayne, Austin Collie, Dallas Clark, Joseph Addai, etc.) have seen a similar drop-off. Yours truly snagged Wayne with the last pick in Round 2 (No. 28) of F&F, a tremendous value considering the format. However, since Collins only has 18 days to absorb the offense, the Colts' vertical attack may struggle initially in the event their rock is on the sidelines wearing Wranglers.

For those that have yet to draft, the panic over Peyton presents an opportunity. Undoubtedly, it's a buyers market. Yes, he may miss a game or two, but in the grand scheme of things, it's a tiny fraction of the season. Due to the incredible depth at QB this year, savvy owners who do choose to buy on the bear have numerous stopgap options with favorable early season schedules. Who are they? Here are four late-round insurance policies Peyton purchasers should keep in mind in the later rounds:

Kevin Kolb, Ari (170.8 ADP) ? Carolina, at Washington
Kyle Orton, Den (194.2 ADP) ? Oakland, Cincinnati
Matt Cassel, KC (145.8 ADP) ? Buffalo, at Detroit
Colt McCoy, Cle (204.9 ADP) ? Cincinnati, at Indianapolis

With just over two weeks until the start of the regular season, Peyton's prognosis could easily change. But for those willing to roll the dice in Rounds 3-4, installing a contingency plan is a wise move.

Bring the noise on Twitter. Follow Brad @YahooNoise.

Image courtesy of the AP

Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/blog/roto_arcade/post/Collins-coaxed-out-of-retirement-concern-over-P?urn=fantasy-wp7245

Dan Hamhuis Travis Hamonic Roman Hamrlik Scott Hannan

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Tip Drill: Identifying overrated draft commodities (sorry, Vick)

The way I break it down at the end of the day, any fantasy draft or auction is about value: price relative to expected production, upside and downside. We're shopping. We're negotiating a market. We're trying to beat the room as much as anything, build a better mousetrap than the person across from us.

We'll tackle the sleeper unicorn a different day (sleeper might be the most nebulous word used in this fantasy racket). Today, three simple rules for identifying players likely to be overvalued.

1. Avoid name players off a career year

The concept is obvious, but it's worth repeating in any fantasy marketplace. When a player with respected skills has a silly year, the price next season will usually bank on a similar return, if not further growth. People just can't help themselves, the memories from last year are too vivid in their minds. If you follow me on this concept, you'll avoid taking Michael Vick in the first round this year.

Keep in mind we're only talking about name players with this. When a relative scrub goes off, the market generally doesn't chase those stats the following year. It has to come on a player that people want to believe in.

We could package this tip in another way, using the R word: regression. The Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx isn't real, and the Madden Curse isn't real, either; it's just natural for someone to step backwards a bit after they've hit a high point. Logical and obvious, sure, but SI has milked their jinx myth for three decades.

2. Avoid receivers with very high TD/reception rates

Receiving touchdowns are flukier than many rotoheads want to believe, especially when we're talking about scores from outside the red area. Consider Greg Jennings, who's had 12, 4 and 9 spikes in the last three seasons. Look at Lance Moore, who's gone 8-2-10 the last three years. Ask yourself why Andre Johnson has never scored 10 times in a season. Skill and design matter, but there's a lot of luck in the mix, too.

Dwayne Bowe gets the red flag for 2011. He scored on 15 of 72 catches last year, a rate that no one is likely to match this fall. And for all of Bowe's talent, it's not like he's some uncoverable freak; the Ravens held him without a target in their Wild Card victory at Kansas City. Push Bowe down to the 8-10 level for this year, and if you wind up not getting him as a result, so it goes.

3. Avoid any high-hype, buzz-friendly rookie

Skill players can produce in the NFL right away, of course. It's fairly common at running back, it's harder but not impossible at receiver, and occasionally we'll see it at quarterback, though the odds are stacked against them. I'm not saying you should dismiss all of the rookie skill guys out of hand.

Just keep in mind two things: for every Randy Moss, there are 10 Kevin Dysons. For every Adrian Peterson, there are 10 Donald Browns. And if you follow the buzz on highly-touted rookies, you're paying a markup at the window.

You want more examples, we'll go to the draft history board. The top runners selected in April 2010 read this way: C.J. Spiller, Ryan Mathews, Jahvid Best, Dexter McCluster, Toby Gerhart, Ben Tate, Montario Hardesty and Joe McKnight. It's hard to blame Tate and Hardesty for getting hurt, but no one in that group made us particularly happy. Dez Bryant (No. 24 overall) and Mike Williams (No. 101) got it done at the receiver position, but otherwise it was a mess here as well: Demaryius Thomas, Arrelious Benn, Golden Tate, Damian Williams, Brandon LaFell, Emmanuel Sanders (who wasn't bad), etc.

I realize that A.J. Green and Julio Jones come into 2011 with snappier credentials than any of last year's wideouts did. I see a handful of running backs that are stepping into cushy spots. But when I'm sitting at the draft table, I need to let these rookies fall to reasonable spots before I'll take the plunge. I'm not drafting to be a hero, I'm looking to load up the cart with as much value as I can.

I know plenty of good fantasy players who disagree with these concept, of course (it's the long-running Genius vs. Agnostic debate, which I think was coined my genius friend Chris Liss). Hell, any draft strategy can work if you pick (or fall into) the right players. But when I sit down at the table, it's a hunt for value above all else.

I've said my piece, now it's your witness. Share your value (or anti-value) manifesto with the world.

-------------

Follow Scott Pianowski on Twitter

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/blog/roto_arcade/post/Tip-Drill-Identifying-overrated-draft-commoditi?urn=fantasy-wp6094

Nate Prosser Dalton Prout

Power Rankings: Why the Busch boys are like badgers

Time for our latest round of power rankings. Each week throughout the season, we'll size up who's rising and who's falling, based on current standings, behind-the-scenes changes, expected staying power, recent history and general gut feelings. We're starting to sort matters out now, and like Winston Churchill once said about a woman of potentially dubious honor, we're down to negotiating numbers. Let's see who's where, shall we?

1. Carl Edwards. Although it would've been a much cooler story from a speculation standpoint had Edwards signed with Joe Gibbs Racing, the truth is he did exactly the right thing by re-upping with Roush. He's got an outstanding chance to win a championship, and the last thing a guy like him needs is to be perceived as disloyal. Now, if he goes and wins two or three of these? He's gone, baby! Last week's ranking: 1.

2. Kyle Busch. Do yourself a favor and check out the postrace interviews after a particularly edgy race, as with Sunday's Pocono one. While Kurt Busch was needling the media for focusing on the gossip aspect of his spat with Jimmie Johnson, Kyle sat back and observed, happy to answer the softballs like whether it was disappointing to come in second. (Surprisingly, he said yes.)� Last week's ranking: 6.

3. Kurt Busch. More on the Kurt-Jimmie thing: Kurt Busch has this way about him that makes you wonder whether you ought to believe him or not. Sure, he sounds sincere, and he's a great pitchman, but he could walk up to you, tell you your own name, and you might wonder if it was the truth. All of which makes Sunday night's ... oh, wait, hang on, we'll continue this next entry.� Last week's ranking: 4.

4. Jimmie Johnson. ...fight worthy of a little closer look. Johnson is a levelheaded kind of guy, but perhaps that's the problem; perhaps NASCAR needs a little more of the edginess that the Busch boys bring to the table. It's like having a badger for a pet. It's cool to admire when it's behaving, but every so often it goes insane and rips up the house. Which is fun to watch, as long as it's not your house. Oh yeah, and Jimmie got a fourth-place finish last night with a misfiring clutch. He's good. Last week's ranking: 5.

5. Jeff Gordon. Anybody who doesn't see Gordon as a legit championship contender just isn't paying attention. He's here, he's strong, and he and his crew have sorted out their inconsistencies and miscues. He drops two spots from last week's ranking, but don't freak out, 24 fans; everybody in the top five is an eyeblink away from each other.� Last week's ranking: 3.

6. Ryan Newman. Another week, another solid outing for Newman, who appears just about locked into the Chase. He's like Matt Kenseth in that you don't always notice him, but you turn around and he's standing right there. Like a very quiet but still lethal badger.� Last week's ranking: 8.

7. Matt Kenseth. Every time I use the "b" word in connection with Kenseth, I get angry emails from Kenseth fans screaming that yes, maybe he's not the most dynamic public speaker, but he's a good racer, darn it. Look, we know that. We've already said he's a dark-horse championship contender, even if he had a pretty rotten week this week. But hearing Matt Kenseth talk about a Pocono race? I thought we were about to drop into some kind of looking-glass wormhole. We were lucky to escape that one, people.� Last week's ranking: 2.

8. Kevin Harvick. Harvick has exactly two kinds of weeks: ones where he dominates the headlines, either by winning or fighting, and weeks where he's so invisible you wonder if he made the trip. This week was one of those second ones; perhaps Harvick used up all his mojo in his dominating trucks win on Sunday morning. Whatever, he was almost invisible in the afternoon. And probably ready for a nap, too.� Last week's ranking: 7.

9. Tony Stewart. You get the sense that this just isn't Smoke's year? Things really aren't clicking for him the way they ought to, and while he's running decently enough, "decent" isn't enough. On the plus side, as a result we're starting to get some more salty radio transmissions out of Stewart, which is always a nice bonus. � Last week's ranking: 9.

10. Brad Keselowski. Jet Ski is fast becoming the model for how to transition from enfant terrible to respected NASCAR driver. A couple years back, you'll recall he was getting into scrapes with pretty much everybody, and took a lot of grief for not having the garage's "respect." Winning twice in a season, including once on a fractured ankle, is one way to get respect in a hurry. Expect a couple other drivers to take hammers to their ankles this week in a bid for sympathy at Watkins Glen.� Last week's ranking: 11.

11. Denny Hamlin. Hmmm. This isn't quite how the story's supposed to go. Hamlin was totally dialed in at Pocono and yet finished an ugly 15th. Cars can change over the course of a race, yes, but Hamlin has to be a little bit worried about how much his car changed. It's the equivalent of [insert hack sexist analogy to picking up attractive woman in bar and finding she's not very attractive in daylight here]. Last week's ranking: 10.

12. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Week to week. That's where we are now for Junior's Chase hopes, week to week. He's basically down to racing just two guys now: Tony Stewart, who's one point ahead of him in ninth, and Denny Hamlin, who's 23 points behind him in 11th. Beat just one of those guys, and he's in the Chase.� Last week's ranking: NR.

Lucky Dog: Paul Menard, who followed up his win last week with a 10th-place finish this week. Were it not for Keselowski's win, he'd be in line for a Chase berth. Now he's gonna have to work for it.

DNF: Joey Logano. There was that nice, shiny rain-shortened win sitting there in his hands, and then they came and grabbed it away from him. I could swear I saw Greg Zipadelli running a garden hose on the roof of the NASCAR hauler, and now I know why.

Dropping out of the rankings: Kasey Kahne, who got taken out by Juan Pablo Montoya late in the race but hadn't really done much to justify a 12th-place ranking before that. We're not at the marking-time point for Kahne yet, but we're close.

Charging upward: Greg Biffle surged forward with an 8th-place finish, but is it too late for the Biffster to make a run for the Chase? (Spoiler: probably.)

Next up: Watkins Glen. Wait, you mean we have to turn right AND left? Send comments to us via Twitter at @jaybusbee, email by clicking here, and via Facebook at The Marbles page.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/blog/from_the_marbles/post/Power-Rankings-Why-the-Busch-boys-are-like-badg?urn=nascar-wp2971

Brandon Dubinsky Matt Duchene Gabriel Dumont Philippe Dupuis

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Random musings of footballers before they fall asleep?

Iker Casillas

Yes! YES! ... This is how we're going to beat Barcelona. .... 100 Chinese kids. ... Let's see Messi score when he's got 50 of these guys crowded around him. ... Mourinho is a genius. ... What better way to fight the UNICEF conspiracy than with actual children? ... There is no better way. ... It is kind of weird that they all keep calling Cristiano "dad" though...

Fernando Torres

Dun-na-na! It's time for another adventure of Fernandooooo Gingerbread! Dun-na-na! ... "Help me Fernando Gingerbread! We're lost in a far away land and the only way we can get back home is if you break free from your shackles of goallessness and cast a spell to save us!" ... "Then I will use the power of the freckles and the candy canes to break free and score once again!" ... "Oh Fernando Gingerbread, you did it!" ... "I know I did. Now there is nothing holding me back from storming the castle of mean old Sir Strawberrynose. Fernando Gingerbread, awayyyyyyyyy!"

Gerard Pique

Oh God. ... I think I'm going to start bleeding from the head any second now. ... I hope this kid brought a rain coat...

Didier Drogba

Well hello there. It's time for the disgraces. ... First, second, third and last, I'm trying to give a press conference and Kalou's giant head is overpowering this whole thing. Can't he ever let me enjoy anything by myself? I think his cat is clawing my leg under the table too. This is a giant Kalou head f***ing disgrace! Why can't we just sell him for Joey Barton already? Get this cat off my leg!

Photos: Reuters, Getty

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/blog/dirty-tackle/post/Random-musings-of-footballers-before-they-fall-a?urn=sow-wp3890

Warren Peters Toby Petersen Rich Peverley Brandon Pirri