Ichiro's patience snaps with Yankees: report

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese outfielder Ichiro Suzuki has lost patience with the New York Yankees over a contract extension and has begun talking with other teams, his agent said on Friday.
The Yankees have been busy locking up their principle pitchers, paying Hiroki Kuroda $15 million, Andy Pettitte $12 million and Mariano Rivera $10 million, drawing frustration from Ichiro.
"At the beginning we talked a lot but since that time, zero," Ichiro's agent Tony Attanasio told Friday's New York Post.
"As far as we are concerned we don't care what the Yankees do. We have had conversations with multiple clubs. If we see something we like he will go through with it."
Only a week ago Attanasio said the 39-year-old outfielder preferred to stay with the Yankees despite interest from several Major League Baseball teams.
Ichiro, who holds MLB's single-season hits record with 262, one of several he set at the Seattle Mariners from 2001-12, had become a fan favorite in New York.
During a seven-game streak in August, Ichiro, Japan's most successful sporting export, batted .526 - going 10 for 19 - and finished .322 for the season in 67 games as a Yankee.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman refused to rule out Ichiro staying.
"Our focus was first on pitching and see the amount of dollars we needed to secure pitching," said Cashman. "Now we will focus on players who want to talk to us."

Read More..

Yankees' Rodriguez to have hip surgery

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez will likely miss the start of the 2013 Major League Baseball (MLB) season because of hip surgery, the team said on Monday.
The 37-year-old Rodriguez, MLB's active home runs leader, must complete a four-to-six week pre-rehabilitation regimen before having a left hip arthroscopy in January that will require four to six months of recovery, the Yankees said in a statement.
That means the 14-times All-Star and three-time American League Most Valuable Player, who was benched in the playoffs after struggling at the plate, will likely miss at least the start of the Yankees' season set to begin on April 1.
Doctors believe there is a strong possibility that the hip condition might have had a negative effect on Rodriguez's playoff performance, according to the Yankees.
The surgery to repair a torn labrum, bone impingement and the correction of a cyst is similar but not identical to the one performed on Rodriguez's right hip in 2009, according to the Yankees.
Rodriguez, who has a career 647 home runs, is coming off a disappointing season in which he hit 18 homers, drove in 57 runs and batted .272, and slumped during the postseason with a .120 batting average and no runs batted in.

Read More..

Ex-baseball star Lenny Dykstra sentenced in bankruptcy fraud case

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Lenny Dykstra, the 1980s World Series hero who pleaded guilty earlier this year to bankruptcy fraud, was sentenced on Monday to six months in federal prison and ordered to perform 500 hours of community service.
The 49-year-old former ballplayer - who is already serving time in state prison for grand theft auto, lewd conduct and assault with a deadly weapon - was also ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution.
In the federal case, Dykstra pleaded guilty in July to bankruptcy fraud and other charges.
According to the written plea agreement, he admitted defrauding his creditors by declaring bankruptcy in 2009, then stealing or destroying furnishings, baseball memorabilia and other property from his $18.5 million mansion.
He also admitted giving false or misleading testimony about the property he removed from the Los Angeles-area home, which he had purchased from hockey great Wayne Gretzky, according to the court documents.
Dykstra, nicknamed "Nails" during his playing days, spent 11 years in the major leagues, mostly as an outfielder for the Mets and Philadelphia Phillies.
He is perhaps best remembered by Mets fans for the 1986 season, when he struck a walk-off game-winning home run in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series.
And in Game 3 of the World Series, he hit a key lead-off home run, sparking a comeback by the Mets from a 2-0 series deficit to win the championship over the Boston Red Sox.
But in recent years Dykstra has become embroiled in a series of criminal cases.
In March of this year, he was sentenced to three years in state prison after pleading no contest to grand theft auto in what Los Angeles County prosecutors said was a scheme to lease cars using phony business and credit information.
And in April, the former athlete was sentenced to 270 days in jail and 36 months probation after pleading no contest to lewd conduct and assault with a deadly weapon.
Those charges stemmed from accusations that Dykstra exposed himself to women who answered his Craigslist ad for an assistant and housekeeper. One of the women told authorities the former athlete held a knife and forced her to massage him.
A no contest plea is the legal equivalent to pleading guilty under California law.

Read More..

Pitcher Adams agrees to two-year deal with Phillies

(Reuters) - The Philadelphia Phillies and relief pitcher Mike Adams have agreed to a two-year, $12 million contract, Major League Baseball's website said on Saturday.
The deal is pending a physical.
Adams, 34, posted a 5-3 record with a 3.27 earned run average in 61 appearances with the Texas Rangers last season.
Regarded as one of the major league's top setup men, Adams underwent surgery in October for a condition in which a rib bone presses against a nerve, causing pain and numbness in the arm. He is expected to recover in time for spring training.
In eight Major League seasons, Adams has an 18-15 record with a 2.28 earned run average.

Read More..

Hamilton to give Angels everything on and off field

(Reuters) - Josh Hamilton was introduced as a member of the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday and the slugger immediately promised to give everything he has to the team on and off the field.
A five-time All-Star who overcame drug and alcohol addictions to become one of Major League Baseball's most feared hitters, Hamilton signed a five-year, $125 million deal with the Angels earlier in the week, leaving the Texas Rangers after helping them to consecutive World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011.
"Excited to be here, excited to think about the next five years, excited to think about this lineup and what it's capable of," Hamilton told reporters.
"It's going to be a good run and I'm going to give everything I've got to the organization on and off the field."
Hamilton joins a high-powered Angels lineup that includes three-time National League Most Valuable Player (MVP) Albert Pujols, a 32-year-old slugger who signed a 10-year, $240 million deal with the team last year.
Hamilton, a 31-year-old hard-hitting outfielder, broke into the major leagues in 2007 with the Cincinnati Reds but was traded to the Rangers after the season.
Hamilton has a career .304 batting average, 553 runs batted in and 161 home runs, including a career-high 43 last season.
The Rangers stood by Hamilton as he battled to control his addictions, including a relapse before the start of last season.
But the slugger got the campaign off to a sizzling start and looked to be a Triple Crown threat after slamming 18 homers in the Rangers' opening 34 games.
Hamilton, however, saw his production fall off in the second half of the season finishing with a .285 batting average and 128 runs batted in.
"His qualities on the field really don't need much rundown -- five consecutive All-Star appearances, an AL MVP, batting champion, Silver Sluggers, you name it," said Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto. "But more importantly, a fascinating story. And we look forward to this being the next chapter in his life and our organization's history."
The Rangers had been hopeful of re-signing the 2010 American League MVP and admitted they were caught off guard by Hamilton's jump to their American League West division rivals.
Hamilton said he was just as surprised that the Rangers did not try harder to get his name on a contract.
"I gave (the Rangers) everything I had for five years," said Hamilton. "I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me a little bit that they didn't put the press on.
"The relationships I created in Texas, I love (manager Ron Washington), I loved spending time with him, talking to him.
"There's no reason I can't be in the offices with (manager Mike) Scioscia over here, spending time with him, talking to him, picking his brain - he's got a lot of knowledge about the game and I'm sure life as well.

Read More..

Blue Jays acquire Cy Young winner Dickey from Mets

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Toronto Blue Jays bolstered an already formidable starting rotation by acquiring reigning National League Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey in a seven-player swap with the New York Mets, the team said on Monday.
Dickey, a 38-year-old knuckleball pitcher who went 20-6 with a 2.73 earned-run average last season, is the centerpiece of a trade that also sends catcher Josh Thole and a prospect to Toronto, the Blue Jays said in a statement.
The deal, which was contingent upon Dickey securing a three-year, $29 million extension from the Blue Jays, sends catcher John Buck, blue-chip prospects Travis D'Arnaud (catcher) and Noah Syndergaard (pitcher) and another prospect to New York.
The acquisition marks the third major offseason move by a Blue Jays team that is suddenly a contender in the American League East after years of toiling near the bottom of a tough division that includes the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

Read More..

Heads roll on Black Monday as seven coaches fired

 Heads continued to roll for under-achieving head coaches across the National Football League as the Philadelphia Eagles' Andy Reid, Buffalo Bills' Chan Gailey and Cleveland Browns' Pat Shurmur were all fired on what has become known as Black Monday.
The unemployment ranks swelled even further later on Monday with the Chicago Bears' Lovie Smith, Kansas City Chiefs' Romeo Crennel, San Diego Chargers' Norv Turner and Arizona Cardinals' Ken Whisenhunt also getting the axe to bring the total to seven teams with head coaching vacancies.
The 5-11 Browns, who closed out the season on Sunday with a 24-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, were among the first to begin house cleaning by announcing Shurmur and general manager Tom Heckert had been relieved of their duties.
The news was quickly followed by the 6-10 Bills confirming they had sacked Gailey and the 4-12 Eagles announcing Reid was being relieved of his duties after 14 years in charge.
Reid's departure had been widely expected but still came as shock to many after a mostly successful tenure in Philadelphia leading the Eagles to six NFC East titles, five NFC championship games and a Super Bowl appearance in 2004.
His 140 victories are a franchise record and rank 22nd on the all-time NFL coaching list.
But a bitterly disappointing 2012 campaign that ended in a 42-7 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday signaled to owner Jeffrey Lurie that is was time for a change.
"Andy Reid won the most games of any head coach in Eagles' history and he is someone I respect greatly and will remain friends with for many years to come," said Lurie in a statement. "But, it is time for the Eagles to move in a new direction.
"Andy leaves us with a winning tradition that we can build upon and we are very excited about the future."
UNEXPECTED FIRING
If there was a surprise it came in Chicago where Smith was sacked despite guiding his team to a respectable 10-6 record and narrowly missing out on a playoff berth.
In nine seasons in Chicago, Smith posted a record of 81-63 in leading the team to an NFC championship and Super Bowl appearance in 2006.
But in five of the past six seasons, the Bears have failed to make the playoffs and after a sparkling 7-1 start to the 2012 campaign stumbled down the stretch to again miss out on the post-season.
After a league worst 2-14 season, that earned the Chiefs the number one pick in 2013 draft, it came as no surprise that Kansas City would be looking for a new head coach.
It was a difficult season on and off the field for Crennel, who watched the losses pile up then looked on as linebacker Jovan Belcher shot himself dead at the team's training facility after killing his girlfriend.
San Diego fired both coach Turner and general manager A.J. Smith after the team went 7-9 and missed the playoffs for the third consecutive season.
Arizona also removed its coach and general manager with Rod Graves dismissed along with coach Whisenhunt.
The Cardinals started the season 4-0 but won only one other game as quarterback problems beleaguered the team.
Black Monday began with the Jacksonville Jaguars announcing they had fired general manager Gene Smith and was followed by the New York Jets dumping GM Mike Tannenbaum.
The Jets, however, ended the speculation swirling around Rex Ryan by confirming the under-fire head coach would be back next season.
"Rex Ryan will remain the head coach of our football team. I believe that he has the passion, the talent, and the drive to successfully lead our team," said Jets owner Woody Johnson on the team's website.
After a tumultuous 6-10 season, overshadowed by a quarterbacking controversy around the use of incumbent Mark Sanchez and polarizing Tim Tebow, Ryan was widely expected to pay for the Jets under-achieving results with his job.
With Ryan back for next season the speculation will now center on the futures of Sanchez and Tebow in New York.
The Jets' sputtering offense ranked 30th among 32 teams, generating an average of just 299 yards per game.
Changes had been expected in Jacksonville after the toothless Jaguars finished the season tied with the Chiefs for the NFL's worst record (2-14).
"Now it is time for the Jacksonville Jaguars to begin a new chapter," new owner Shahid Khan said in a statement. "We're not looking back.
"I've made it clear from Day One that we pledge nothing less than to deliver the first Super Bowl championship to Jacksonville.

Read More..

Ryan stays as Jets coach, GM Tannenbaum fired

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Mike Tannenbaum pulled out a letter as he stood in front of the New York Jets players for one last time.
It was a farewell address to the group of men he signed, traded for and drafted over the last seven years as the team's general manager. He choked back tears as he read it, and received a round of applause when he was done.
"It was really heartfelt," defensive end Mike DeVito said Monday. "I know Mike, and he'll bounce back."
The Jets fired Tannenbaum after a dismal 6-10 season, but owner Woody Johnson announced that Rex Ryan will be back for a fifth season as the team's coach.
"I believe that he has the passion, the talent, and the drive to successfully lead our team," Johnson said of Ryan in a statement.
The futures of both Tannenbaum and Ryan were unclear after a 28-9 loss to Buffalo on Sunday, a miserable finish to the team's first losing season in Ryan's four years as coach. While it appeared Tannenbaum was a likely goner, it was believed Ryan might also be on shaky ground.
Ryan's scheduled news conference with the media Monday afternoon was postponed amid speculation that there could be several changes on the coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Tony Sparano is expected to be fired after one season, although no coaching moves were immediately made by Johnson after a staff meeting. Defensive coordinator Mike Pettine's status is uncertain after he turned down a contract extension earlier in the year, while special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff retired following Sunday's game.
Johnson started shaking things up early by parting ways with Tannenbaum, who had been with the organization since 1997. Johnson said he has consulted with several "football executives" and also hired a search firm to help aid in finding a new GM. Former Colts vice chairman Bill Polian, 49ers director of player personnel Tom Gamble, Texans director of college scouting Mike Maccagnan, Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta and Raiders director of personnel Joey Clinkscales — who was previously a member of New York's front office — could all garner attention from the Jets.
"My goal every year as owner is to build a team that wins consistently," Johnson said. "This year, we failed to achieve that goal. Like all Jets fans, I am disappointed with this year's results. However, I am confident that this change will best position our team for greater success going forward."
The Jets were a team in turmoil from the moment they acquired quarterback Tim Tebow in a trade with Denver last March. The move was made by Tannenbaum and highly criticized by fans and media — and failed in just about every way.
Tebow was brought in as a backup for Mark Sanchez and expected to play a key role in certain offensive schemes. He played sparingly, and spent several weeks out of the lineup with injured ribs.
Meanwhile, Sanchez was having a poor season, the Jets kept losing and Tebow never got a chance to be the No. 1 quarterback.
"I underachieved and didn't play the way I'm capable of playing," Sanchez said. "I want another crack at this thing."
Tebow's time with the Jets began with a splashy news conference, but his one and likely only season ended with the popular backup going out quietly as he wasn't available to the media as the players cleared out their lockers.
Tannenbaum's tenure as the Jets' GM included two trips to the AFC championship game. He had two years left on his contract, but Johnson made the change after the Jets failed to make the playoffs for a second year in a row.
In a statement, Tannenbaum thanked Johnson for "the opportunity of a lifetime" and added that "there are champions on this team that haven't been crowned yet."
Tannenbaum was hired as the team's director of player contract negotiations in 1997, and served in various other roles before replacing Terry Bradway as general manager in 2006.
With a knack for navigating the NFL's salary cap, Tannenbaum was never afraid to make splashy signings or trades — Tebow, Brett Favre, LaDainian Tomlinson, Santonio Holmes and Plaxico Burress, to name a few. He also made his mark on draft day, bringing in some of the team's best players such as Darrelle Revis, Nick Mangold, D'Brickashaw Ferguson and David Harris. But Tannenbaum had more misses than hits in recent drafts, with Vernon Gholston, Vladimir Ducasse and even Sanchez high-round picks that didn't perform as expected.
The trade for Tebow was perhaps the biggest mistake. By acquiring Tebow last March, the Jets brought in a player with immense popularity to provide a spark to the offense — just a matter of days after giving Sanchez a contract extension that included $8.25 million in guarantees for next season. Many fans and media argued that rather than trade for Tebow, Tannenbaum could have addressed some of the Jets' more-pressing needs, such as the offensive line, wide receiver and depth on defense.
The next GM will face an unstable salary cap situation, along with a dozen players scheduled to become unrestricted free agents, including starters Dustin Keller, LaRon Landry, Yeremiah Bell, Shonn Greene and Brandon Moore. Decisions will also have to be made on high-priced and aging veterans such as Calvin Pace and Bart Scott.
Meanwhile, that new GM will also have to work with Ryan, who has two years remaining on his contract and is two years removed from the second of consecutive trips to the AFC championship game.
"I'm excited that Rex is going to be here," Mangold said. "I know he has a passion and a fire for this game and for this team. We have to do a better job on the field, and that starts here shortly."

Read More..

Buffalo Bills fire coach Chan Gailey

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Chan Gailey didn't work out after three losing seasons, leaving the Buffalo Bills looking for their fifth head coach since 2001.
The Bills fired Gailey on Monday after he failed to deliver on his vow to transform a losing franchise into a playoff contender. Gailey's entire staff was fired, too, but the status of general manager Buddy Nix remained uncertain.
Gailey's teams lost twice as many games as they won, going 16-32 over three seasons. The Bills have now posted eight straight losing seasons, and closed with a second straight 6-10 mark after beating the New York Jets 28-9 on Sunday.
"I understand this is a business," said Gailey, who had at least one year left on his contract. "We didn't get the job done."
Gailey spoke for a little over a minute. He declined to take questions, while growing emotional at one point. Among the assistants fired were assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt.
"I've been called two other times to get things turned around, was able to do it," Gailey said, referring to previous stops with Dallas (1998-99) and Georgia Tech (2002-07). "We weren't able to get this one done soon enough, and I understand that completely."
It was a disappointing finish for a team that had much higher aspirations. The Bills spent much of the past 14 months securing their best player, re-signing receiver Stevie Johnson and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to lucrative multiyear contracts.
The spending spree reached its peak in March, when they signed defensive end Mario Williams to a six-year, $100 million contract.
"It's always disappointing," said defensive tackle Kyle Williams, one of the only players left in the locker room when the team announced Gailey's firing.
What frustrates Williams more is how the Bills keep making changes without getting any results.
"I get tired of losing," Williams said. "More than anything, I get tired of putting in tons and tons of work. And it's hard sitting here talking to you guys at the end of December feeling like another one kind of slipped through your fingers."
What's next remains unclear. Nix was at the team's facility Monday, but he nor the team provided any indication as to whether he'll be retained.
Gailey's dismissal is a significant setback for Nix. The general manager announced in November that Gailey wasn't going anywhere, because another coaching change would stunt the team's development.
The Bills, however, closed by losing seven of their final 10 games.
Bills owner Ralph Wilson had initially backed Nix's build-through-the-draft approach. Three years ago, the 94-year-old owner said he expected the rebuilding process could take as long as five years.
CEO Russ Brandon has been unhappy with the criticism leveled at the Bills, and how it's translated into poor ticket sales. Buffalo failed to sell out its four final home games.
One option is for the Bills to make a splash in hiring their next head coach, as they attempted in their previous search.
After firing Dick Jauron in November 2009, Wilson expressed a desire to open his checkbook to lure a high-profile coach to Buffalo only to be rebuffed by Mike Shanahan, who instead landed in Washington.
The most high-profile candidates available include coach-turned-broadcaster Jon Gruden and Andy Reid, who was fired by Philadelphia on Monday. Then there's two candidates in the college ranks, Oregon's Chip Kelly and Penn State's Bill O'Brien, who had numerous friends and former colleagues on Gailey's staff.
An offensive specialist, Gailey was unable to spark the Bills popgun attack under Fitzpatrick. The Bills finished 19th in the NFL in yards gained and 21st in points this season. Gailey was faulted for under-utilizing the offense's most dynamic threat, running back C.J. Spiller.
"It's sickening," running back Fred Jackson said, referring to how the Bills failed to play up to expectations. "As players, we had the highest hopes out of everybody. And for us to fall short of that, we don't like it at all. It's depressing."
Ultimately, it was the Bills' porous defense that doomed Gailey.
The Bills allowed 400-plus points in each of the past three seasons, including 435 this year — the second-most in team history. Though Williams' presence improved the pass rush, Buffalo became the NFL's eighth team, and first since the 1986 Jets, to allow 45 points four times in one season.
Fitzpatrick's status is uncertain in part because he's due a $3 million bonus in March. He went 16-29 since taking the starting job three games into the 2010 season.
Fitzpatrick declined to speculate on his future. After speaking to reporters, Fitzpatrick hugged Johnson, and the two left with the receiver's arm over the quarterback's shoulder.
Reading from notes he jotted on a Bills pad, Gailey's eyes welled with tears when he credited Bills fans for their loyalty, and Buffalo for being a passionate football city.
"I think that the next staff will have a great opportunity for success, and make this another great football franchise," Gailey said. "This will probably be, and I say probably, but I think it will be the first place that's ever fired me that I'll pull for.

Read More..

Chiefs fire Crennel, restructure organization

the end of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, in Denver. Denver won 38-3. …more
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs are doing more than looking for a new coach after firing Romeo Crennel on Monday. They're changing the entire structure of the organization.
Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said in an interview with The Associated Press that he will hire the next head coach and that person will report directly to him. That's a departure from the previous 53 years in Kansas City, where the head coach had always reported to the general manager.
"The reason for it is I think it gives us the best chance of hiring the most outstanding coach," said Hunt, who had already begun working the phones to find Crennel's replacement.
Hunt relieved the 65-year-old Crennel of his duties after a 38-3 loss to Denver on Sunday that finished off a 2-14 season, tied for the worst in franchise history. But he has not made a decision on the future of GM Scott Pioli, whose job has hung in the balance for weeks.
"I don't have a timeline laid out on that," Hunt said. "Obviously the beginning of February, there are a lot of important events related to the upcoming draft, the combine and so forth, and we want to be solidified in that regard before that."
The Chiefs will have the No. 1 pick for the first time since joining the NFL.
The Chiefs' only victories this season were against New Orleans and Carolina, the latter coming one day after linebacker Jovan Belcher shot his girlfriend to death and then drove to the team's practice facility and turned the gun on himself as Crennel and Pioli looked on.
Crennel seemed to know the end was coming Sunday night when he was asked to defend his job and said, "If your criteria is wins and losses, there's not much defense."
"The NFL is a performance-based league, and we weren't able to win," Crennel said in a statement Monday. "As for my future, I'm planning to take some time to reflect on this season, evaluate everything, and make a decision based on what's right for myself and my family."
The only other time the Chiefs finished 2-14 was 2008, the year before Pioli was hired. They were 2-12 in 1977, the only other time they've failed to win at least three games.
"It's a tough day, but I can't say I didn't see it coming," said right tackle Eric Winston, among several players cleaning out their lockers Monday.
With five players voted to the Pro Bowl last week, there are certainly pieces in place for the Chiefs to make rapid improvement. But four of them were inherited by Pioli's regime, and that haul of Pro Bowl players may have been Crennel's biggest indictment.
"You always want to be able to give a head coach as long as you can to build a program. I just felt we really were not headed in the right direction," Hunt said. "The Pro Bowl balloting tells us a little about what coaches and players around the league think about the roster, that there's some very talented players. But at the same time, we all know there are holes."
The biggest hole is at quarterback, where the Chiefs benched Matt Cassel and his $63 million contract in favor of Brady Quinn, who struggled all year and is now a free agent.
The Chiefs' inept offense managed 18 touchdowns in 16 games, finished minus-24 in turnover margin and lost nine times by two touchdowns or more. Along the way, they broke an 83-year-old NFL record by not holding a lead in regulation until their ninth game.
"It has been by far the hardest year I've ever had as a professional," Hunt said. "I was miserable throughout the season, just in terms of what I was seeing. It was so hard on me because I want the team to succeed, not only for everyone in this building but most importantly for our fans. It just killed me that we weren't competitive. I hated it."
Crennel, whose career record as a head coach is 28-55, was hired in 2010 as defensive coordinator. Respected by his players, he was appointed interim coach last December when Pioli fired Todd Haley with three games left in the season.
Crennel immediately brought a sense of stability to a floundering franchise, defeating the previously unbeaten Green Bay Packers and winning at Denver in the season finale.
With the support of the players, Pioli made Crennel the permanent coach a few weeks later, giving him another opportunity as a head coach after four failed seasons in Cleveland.
This season was a disappointment from the start, too. The Chiefs were blown out by the Falcons in their opener, trounced by the Bills and later lost eight consecutive games.
Empty seats began to multiply at Arrowhead Stadium, once one of the NFL's most intimidating venues. An organized fan rebellion paid for banners to be towed behind airplanes asking for Pioli to be fired, and the majority of fans dressed in black for a home game against Cincinnati.
Nothing Crennel did seemed to work, either.
He fired himself as the defensive coordinator and turned those duties over to linebackers coach Gary Gibbs. He shuffled his quarterbacks, changed inspirational posters outside the locker room and even tinkered with the way practice was run.
But injuries were numerous, turnovers plentiful and penalties crippling as blown assignments became the hallmark of a team that was rarely competitive in games.
Then came the morning of Dec. 1, when tragedy struck.
Belcher, a part-time starter, shot the mother of his 3-month-old daughter, Kasandra Perkins, multiple times at a home not far from Arrowhead Stadium. The linebacker then sped to the team's practice facility and was confronted by Pioli, who tried to talk him out of more violence.
After thanking Pioli and Crennel for his chance in the NFL, Belcher shot himself in the head.
The Chiefs played the following day against Carolina, and Crennel was praised for the way he stoically led a team in turmoil. Kansas City put together its best performance in a 27-21 victory.
It wound up being their last win. The Chiefs were blown out by Cleveland, shut out by Oakland and beaten by the Colts before an embarrassing finale against the Broncos.
That was enough to finish Crennel, and enough to put Pioli's future in jeopardy.
"I kept looking for the team to improve, to show signs that we were turning the corner," Hunt said, "and we just never got there.

Read More..

Who might fill the NFL coaching openings

When NFL coaching jobs open, the names Jon Gruden, Bill Cowher and Tony Dungy immediately surface as potential candidates.
Much more likely than any of those Super Bowl winners returning to the sideline for 2013 would be the hirings of more obscure assistant coaches such as Mike Zimmer, Mike McCoy and Gus Bradley.
And Jon Gruden's younger brother, Jay.
Sure, some of the best-known coaches, including Andy Reid, Lovie Smith and Ken Whisenhunt, who lost their jobs Monday, will be in the mix. So might college coaches Chip Kelly of Oregon and Bill O'Brien of Penn State.
Maybe even Nick Saban, although leaving Alabama for the NFL is a long shot.
Bringing in highly accomplished coordinators has been the most common route for NFL teams lately. Cincinnati's Zimmer and Gruden and Denver's McCoy top most lists, along with Bruce Arians, who went 9-3 as Indianapolis' interim coach this season.
"Obviously, he's earned any phone call he gets, he's earned that right," Colts coach Chuck Pagano said of Arians, who replaced him for 12 games while Pagano underwent chemotherapy for leukemia. "And let me just say this, we do not want to lose Bruce Arians. We know who he is and what he's meant to this football team ..."
Zimmer was turned down twice last season after interviewing with Tampa Bay, which brought in Rutgers coach Greg Schiano, and Miami (Green Bay offensive coordinator Joe Philbin). The defensive mastermind still wants to be a head coach somewhere, but isn't getting his hopes up.
"Honestly, I don't listen to that stuff anymore," he said in early December. "Honest-to-God's truth. I've had for so many years, have people say, 'This is your year.' Then at the end of the year for about three days I'm totally depressed because I see this guy get a job, that guy get a job, that guy get a job.
"So it's in my best interest not to think about it, talk about it and just try to do the best job I can because I'm like (everybody else), I get disappointed too."
Gruden, who cut his coaching teeth in Arena Football and has revived Cincinnati's offense around Andy Dalton and A.J. Green, got some interest from other teams after last season. He quickly took himself out of the running, but might get more suitors with seven jobs open.
So might McCoy, whose adaptability is unquestioned after he adjusted Denver's offense for Tim Tebow's skill set last season, then made Peyton Manning's transition from the Colts to the Broncos so smooth.
Arians joined the Colts after he was released as Pittsburgh's offensive coordinator. When Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia, Arians stepped in and guided a team that went 2-14 a year ago into the playoffs.
Bradley has helped Pete Carroll build a physical, sometimes intimidating and always effective defense in Seattle. That style of defense will be attractive to teams such as the Bears, Browns and Eagles who have to deal with cold weather late in the schedule.
Kelly is one of the most intriguing candidates. The NFL is loath to admit it is enamored of anything college teams do, but Kelly's wide-open, speed-based offense has lots of pro franchises salivating.
He has been mentioned for most NFL openings, and that figures to continue.
Retreads also will get interviews, and not only the coaches who were canned on Monday. Denver defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and Atlanta DC Mike Nolan might have earned another chance.
"When you're a young guy and you haven't been there, the urgency and desire to get that opportunity is such that you'd take just about any job given to you," said Del Rio, who was in charge in Jacksonville for nine seasons. "I don't feel that way now. If there's something that fits and the right situation comes along, so be it. But in the meantime, I'm all in, 100 percent as a lieutenant on this staff. I'm somebody that John Fox, John Elway ... and the players can count on. I'm 100 percent invested in helping them be their best.

Read More..

NFL-National Football League playoff picture

The National Football League playoff picture after Sunday's early games:
Already qualified: (9) Atlanta Falcons (NFC South Division*) New England Patriots (AFC East*) Denver Broncos (AFC West*) Houston Texans (AFC South*) Cincinnati Bengals (AFC North) Indianapolis Colts (AFC South) Green Bay Packers (NFC North*) Baltimore Ravens (AFC North) San Francisco 49ers (NFC West) * Division champion
In contention (6): New York Giants (NFC East) Washington Redskins (NFC East) Dallas Cowboys (NFC East) Chicago Bears (NFC North) Minnesota Vikings (NFC North) Seattle Seahawks (NFC West)
Eliminated (17): Philadelphia Eagles (NFC East) Detroit Lions (NFC North) Carolina Panthers (NFC South) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFC South) New Orleans Saints (NFC South) Arizona Cardinals (NFC West) St Louis Rams (NFC West) Cleveland Browns (AFC North) Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC North) Buffalo Bills (AFC East) New York Jets (AFC East) Miami Dolphins (AFC East) Jacksonville Jaguars (AFC South) Tennessee Titans (AFC South) Kansas City Chiefs (AFC West) Oakland Raiders (AFC West) San Diego Chargers (AFC West) (Compiled by Julian Linden and Gene Cherry

Read More..

Lions WR Johnson living up to $132 million deal

ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — The Detroit Lions have gotten quite a return on the $132 million, eight-year investment they made in Calvin Johnson nine months ago.
"He's not trying to live up to a contract," Detroit coach Jim Schwartz said Sunday. "Personal records are great, and we certainly celebrate the season Calvin that has had, but it hasn't translated to enough wins.
"We need more help around him."
That's a fact.
The Lions (4-11) have lost seven straight, the league's longest active skid, after reaching .500 at the midway mark of a disappointing season.
During the losing streak, Johnson has been perhaps Detroit's only bright spot.
He broke Jerry Rice's single-season yards receiving record of 1,848 in Saturday night's 31-18 loss to Atlanta.
"It's an accomplishment that took a lot of work," Johnson said. "You can't take that thing away."
Schwartz said Johnson hasn't racked up yards in blowouts because Detroit hasn't had many of them in a season filled with closely contested losses. He does acknowledge that the team's record doesn't let Johnson's accomplishment ring as true as anyone would like.
"It's hollow in the fact that we only have four wins," he said. "You'd like for that production to translate to wins and you'd like to be able to celebrate that production with wins."
In the win, the Falcons tried to take Johnson away as an option for Matthew Stafford in the passing game and couldn't do it.
With 11 receptions for 225 yards against Atlanta, he also became the only player in NFL history with 100 yards receiving in eight straight games and with 10-plus receptions in four games in a row. He had seven receptions of 20-plus yards for the second time in his career, a feat no other player in the league has done since at least 1991, according to STATS LLC.
Johnson, who has tied another league single-season mark with 100 yards receiving in 11 games, can add to his record total of 1,892 yards receiving in Detroit's finale Dec. 30 at home against Chicago and could reach the 2,000-yard mark.
Johnson's 10th catch Sunday night was for a 26-yard gain with 2:57 left in the game. After breaking the record with that catch, he jogged over to the sideline to give the football to his father, Calvin Johnson Sr., and told him not to let it go.
Not even if someone from the Pro Football Hall of Fame wants it?
"Oh no," he said. "That's my ball."
Stafford has done a good job of getting the ball to Johnson despite every team trying to stunt their connections and not having to worry about other playmakers because of Detroit's injury-depleted receiving corps.
Stafford threw for 443 yards against the Falcons, setting an NFL record for the most yards passing in a game without a touchdown. With 4,695 yards passing and a game to go against the Bears, he and New Orleans' Drew Brees could become the first two NFL players to throw for 5,000-plus yards in consecutive seasons.
"I'd love to be able to be able to do it again," Stafford said. "But I'd love for it to come with a win."
Stafford, who thrown the ball 685 times this season, is seven attempts away from breaking the NFL single-season record for attempts set by Drew Bledsoe with New England in 1994.
Johnson and Stafford have not been able to overcome the team's minus-12 turnover ratio this season that ranks among the NFL's worst in perhaps the statistical category that is tied most to winning and losing.
Against Atlanta, the Lions turned the ball over three times and their defense didn't recover a fumble or make an interception.
"We lose by 13 and 17 points come off turnovers," Schwartz said. "We need to do a better job of taking care of the football. And also on defense, we need to come up with some."
Detroit's comeback hopes were definitely dashed after getting a safety with 1:21 left to pull within 13 points only to have Stefan Logan take a knee at his 4 on a free kick.
"That's probably the first time I've seen somebody concede a punt in the field of play," Schwartz said. "It was a poor decision. Part of a returner's job is to know where he is on the field. Saying, 'I didn't know where I was. I thought I was in the end zone,' is not a valid excuse.
"When that error was made," Schwartz added, "it made it very, very difficult for the team to come back."
NOTES: The Lions are hopeful TE Brandon Pettigrew will play against Chicago after missing the last previous two games with a sprained left ankle. ... Lions DT Sammie Hill was scheduled to have a foot injury examined, Schwartz said.

Read More..

NFL: Bengals and Colts claim playoff berths

The Cincinnati Bengals edged the Pittsburgh Steelers to reach the NFL playoffs, and the Indianapolis Colts joined the postseason party by capping their remarkable turnaround in pressure-packed action on Sunday.
The advancement of Cincinnati (9-6), 13-10 winners over their bitter AFC North rivals, and Indianapolis (10-5), who beat the Kansas City Chiefs 20-13, completed the playoff list in the American Football Conference, though seeding issues remained.
The Houston Texans (12-3) failed to capitalize on a chance to clinch top seeding in the AFC by losing 23-6 to the Minnesota Vikings (9-6), who stayed alive for an NFC playoff berth.
The NFC still had several playoff berths up for grabs.
The Washington Redskins (9-6) maintained the upper hand in their quest for the NFC East title by hanging on for a 27-20 win against the Philadelphia Eagles (4-11), while the Dallas Cowboys (8-7) suffered a 34-31 overtime loss to the New Orleans Saints.
DOUBLY SATISFYING
In Pittsburgh, it was a doubly satisfying result for the Bengals whose three-point victory on Josh Brown's 43-yard field goal with four seconds left to play not only put them in the playoffs but also knocked the Steelers (7-8) out of contention.
It was the first victory for the visiting Bengals over their bitter AFC North rivals in six meetings.
For the Colts, victory over the Chiefs gave them their 10th playoff trip in 11 years but first in that span without Peyton Manning as quarterback.
This postseason berth came one season after a woeful 2-14 record that put them in position to take quarterback Andrew Luck from Stanford with the first pick of the 2012 NFL Draft.
Luck led the Colts to victory over the Chiefs (2-13) by hitting a leaping Reggie Wayne in the back of the end zone for the winning touchdown with 4:08 left in the game.
During the game, Luck set the league record for passing yards in a season for a rookie, eclipsing the mark of 4,051 yards last season by Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers and he still has next week's regular season-ending game against AFC South champion Houston. Luck has 4,185 yards this season.
Houston slowed down league-leading rusher Adrian Peterson, but the Minnesota Vikings held the Texans to just a pair of field goals in their road victory.
Peterson was held to 86 yards, but quarterback Christian Ponder threw a touchdown pass, Toby Gerhart rushed for a score and Blair Walsh kicked three field goals to give the Vikings an upset win.
Peterson, who had a streak of eight 100-yard games snapped, finished the game with 1,898 yards this season and still needs 208 yards to break the NFL single-season rushing record set by Eric Dickerson in 1984.
GUT-WRENCHER
Washington, who welcomed rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III back to the lineup after being sidelined a week with a knee injury, escaped a scare when Philadelphia had a first-and-goal at the five-yard line with 11 seconds left but failed to score a touchdown that would have sent the game to overtime.
"Winning always cures all ills. It was just good to be back out there with the guys," said Griffin.
"We're playing the best ball we've played all year at the right time. We're rolling. We know that we can win any kind of game we have to, whether it's a high-scoring game or a low-scoring game or a gut-wrencher at the end."
Dallas rallied with 14 points in the last four minutes to send their game against the Saints into overtime, but they failed to mount a threat with their first possession in extra time and New Orleans (7-8) won on a 20-yard field goal.
The Cowboys and Redskins meet next week in Washington with the division title on the line.
NFC North champion Green Bay Packers (11-4) maintained their strong form with a 55-7 thrashing of the Tennessee Titans as Aaron Rodgers threw for three touchdowns and 342 yards.
Tom Brady threw a pair of interceptions in the first quarter but recovered to lead the AFC East champion New England Patriots (11-4) to a 23-16 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-13).

Read More..

UPDATE 1-NFL-Colts clinch playoff berth with win against Chiefs

* Indianapolis goes from 2-14 to postseason
* Luck sets rookie record for passing yards in season (Adds details, quotes)
Dec 23 (Reuters) - The Indianapolis Colts crowned their remarkable turnaround by clinching an AFC wild-card playoff berth with a 20-13 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
The Colts, who tied for the NFL's worst record last season at 2-14, improved to 10-5 with their win over the 2-13 Chiefs.
Rookie quarterback Andrew Luck, who the Colts claimed with the top pick in the NFL Draft thanks to their woeful record, hit a leaping Reggie Wayne in the back of the end zone for the winning seven-yard touchdown pass with 4:08 left in the game.
That connection capped a 73-yard drive that marked their NFL record-tying seventh fourth-quarter comeback victory.
Luck set the league record for passing yards in a season for a rookie, finishing the game with 4,183 yards to eclipse the mark of 4,051 yards last season by Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers with one regular season game still to play.
"I'm very proud to be a part of this team, to be associated with a playoff team. What a great win for us," Luck told reporters. "We've been in that situation before when we've been down or tied.
"It was a great all-around effort on that last drive."
The Colts bucked even longer odds this year, learning they would have to carry on without head coach Chuck Pagano, who left after three games to go through treatment for leukemia.
Pagano, who was replaced by interim coach Bruce Arians (9-3 with the team), has been cleared by doctors to return to the team and is expected to be back on the sidelines next week.
"I can't say enough about the guys in the locker room, mission accomplished." said Arians.
"We set out to extend this season for Chuck. Now he can come back Monday and not be in the stressful time that we were in. He can get back into the flow of things at his pace."
Luck, who completed 17-of-35 passes for 205 yards including five to Wayne for 81 yards, was one of a group of Colts players who shaved their heads in solidarity with Pagano, whose hair fell out during his cancer treatments.
"It means the world," Luck said about Pagano's return. "I'm glad we could get this win for him so he can come back knowing we'll be in the postseason."
The Colts close the regular season against the visiting AFC South champion Houston Texans (12-3).

Read More..

NFL: Colts clinch playoff berth with win against Chiefs

The Indianapolis Colts crowned their remarkable turnaround by clinching an AFC wild-card playoff berth with a 20-13 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
The Colts, who tied for the NFL's worst record last season at 2-14, improved to 10-5 with their win over the 2-13 Chiefs.
Rookie quarterback Andrew Luck, who the Colts claimed with the top pick in the NFL Draft thanks to their woeful record, hit a leaping Reggie Wayne in the back of the end zone for the winning seven-yard touchdown pass with 4:08 left in the game.
That connection capped a 73-yard drive that marked their NFL record-tying seventh fourth-quarter comeback victory.
Luck set the league record for passing yards in a season for a rookie, finishing the game with 4,183 yards to eclipse the mark of 4,051 yards last season by Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers with one regular season game still to play.
"I'm very proud to be a part of this team, to be associated with a playoff team. What a great win for us," Luck told reporters. "We've been in that situation before when we've been down or tied.
"It was a great all-around effort on that last drive."
The Colts bucked even longer odds this year, learning they would have to carry on without head coach Chuck Pagano, who left after three games to go through treatment for leukemia.
Pagano, who was replaced by interim coach Bruce Arians (9-3 with the team), has been cleared by doctors to return to the team and is expected to be back on the sidelines next week.
"I can't say enough about the guys in the locker room, mission accomplished." said Arians.
"We set out to extend this season for Chuck. Now he can come back Monday and not be in the stressful time that we were in. He can get back into the flow of things at his pace."
Luck, who completed 17-of-35 passes for 205 yards including five to Wayne for 81 yards, was one of a group of Colts players who shaved their heads in solidarity with Pagano, whose hair fell out during his cancer treatments.
"It means the world," Luck said about Pagano's return. "I'm glad we could get this win for him so he can come back knowing we'll be in the postseason."
The Colts close the regular season against the visiting AFC South champion Houston Texans (12-3).

Read More..

No. 1 Notre Dame has underdog in its DNA

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — The rankings say Notre Dame is No. 1 going into the BCS championship against Alabama. Plenty of folks aren't buying it, starting with the oddsmakers who currently have the Crimson Tide as about a touchdown favorite for the Jan. 7 meeting in Miami between two of college football's proudest programs.
The Fighting Irish aren't sweating the point spread. In fact, it's pretty much business as usual for Notre Dame, which has a chance to become the first team since 1984 to start the season unranked and end it as national champions.
"Everybody thought everybody was better than us," defensive tackle Louis Nix III said Monday. "Oklahoma was better than us. USC was better than us.
"We get it. We know how everyone thinks. We're just Notre Dame. Overrated Notre Dame. No one gives us credit for anything. Just the luck of the Irish, I guess."
History suggests that being the underdog in the BCS title game hasn't been a bad thing. Of the 14 BCS championship games played since the system was implemented in 1998, seven have been won by the underdog.
Alabama was a slight underdog last year after losing to LSU in the regular season, and then shut out the Tigers with the national title on the line.
In the 2005 championship game between Texas and Southern California, Vince Young and the Longhorns felt as if they were being talked about as nothing more than a speed bump on the road to USC's coronation as one of the greatest teams in college football history. Plus, Young was still seething over coming in second to USC's Reggie Bush in the Heisman Trophy voting.
The result: Texas 41, USC 38, and a performance for the ages by Young.
The following season, Ohio State reached the national championship game with a perfect record, No. 1 ranking and a Heisman Trophy winner in quarterback Troy Smith. Florida was the Buckeyes opponent and the question was: Did the Gators even belong in game?
Urban Meyer, the Gators' coach, made sure his players got that message. Even if it meant stretching the truth a bit. After a month of being told that nobody thought they had a chance to beat Ohio State, the Gators routed the Buckeyes 41-14 to start the Southeastern Conference's run of six straight BCS championships.
It's impossible to quantify what, if any, effect being the underdog has actually had on any of those "upsets." Any team that gets to a championship game must be good in the first place.
Whether Notre Dame can or will use the slights — real or perceived — as motivation remains to be seen.
"I've used the technique before during my time as a head coach," Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said about playing the underdog card. "I don't know that that is pertinent because it's a one-game deal. It's all or nothing.
"Both teams have different dynamics to deal with because of the long layoff. Preparation is more important than any kind of fire and brimstone speech that I can bring to them."
Offensive coordinator Chuck Martin said the coaches don't even need to bring it up. The Fighting Irish have played all season like a team with something to prove.
"I think it's a little bit part of our kids' DNA now," he said. "We don't have to use it as much as maybe early in the year when we went on the road to Michigan State and they were ranked eighth and nobody was thinking we were very good. I think we've kind of just built it into who we are. Everybody likes telling us what we're not good at — which is fine by us. One of our strengths is knowing what we're not very good at. We try to play to our strengths and play away from our weaknesses."
It's a style that has led to more than a few close calls on the way to Miami.
Notre Dame beat Purdue and BYU by three points each. The Irish needed three overtimes to beat Pittsburgh by a field goal and went to overtime against Stanford, too. In both the Pitt and Stanford games, Notre Dame caught a few breaks. A missed field goal here, a questionable call by the officials there.
Meanwhile, except for its upset loss to Texas A&M, Alabama has rarely been challenged on its way to a third BCS title game appearance in the past four seasons.
The Tide is outscoring its opponents by an average of 28 points per game. Notre Dame's average margin of victory is 16 points per game, as the Irish have leaned on Heisman Trophy finalists Manti Te'o and a stellar defense while they developed first-year starting quarterback Everett Golson.
"I understand why people say Alabama's going to win," said Nix, the 325-pound anchor of Notre Dame's defensive front. "Great offensive line. Good quarterback. Great guys on the edge. They've been in the national championship twice in the last three years. I would probably pick Alabama, too.
"At the end of the day it's all about what's on the scoreboard."

Read More..

Big Ten teams all underdogs in bowl season

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Big Ten spent much of the year as a national punch line.
It might get worse during bowl season.
The Big Ten could only fill seven of its eight predetermined bowl slots — and each of those bowl-bound teams is currently an underdog.
From the five-loss Wisconsin team that still wound up in the Rose Bowl to the 6-6 Purdue squad that fired its coach, the beleaguered Big Ten isn't expected to do much of anything in the postseason.
The league went just 1-6 in bowl games in 2008. According to odds makers, things could go even worse in 2012.
"I'm not apologizing for us to go to the Rose Bowl with five losses," Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez said during his press conference to announce he would coach the Badgers in that game. "I didn't have anything to do with two teams being ineligible in our division. That allowed us to play in that championship game, and we soundly defeated the champion from the other side."
That they did, thumping Nebraska 70-31.
Still, the current symbol for the league's plight has to be Badgers (8-5, 4-4 Big Ten).
They finished four games behind Ohio State and one behind Penn State in the Leaders Division. But the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions weren't eligible for the Big Ten title game, and the Badgers made the most of their lucky break.
Wisconsin is currently in upheaval after Bret Bielema stunned nearly everyone by bolting for Arkansas a few weeks ago. Alvarez will lead the Badgers in their third straight Rose Bowl, where they're about a touchdown underdog to 11-2 Stanford. Afterward, he'll resume his search for a new coach.
"It will be a great challenge for us, but I think it's a good matchup. I think it's a great bowl matchup. The game hasn't changed," Alvarez said.
The way Wisconsin manhandled the Huskers also took some buzz out of the Capital One Bowl.
Nebraska (10-3, 7-1) fell to the game in Orlando following their loss to the Badgers. The Huskers face Georgia (11-2) in a matchup that would have looked like good on paper — in mid-November.
While the Bulldogs were within about 5 yards of beating Alabama and earning a shot at Notre Dame in the BCS national championship, the Huskers were embarrassed by the five-loss Badgers a few hours later.
Georgia is a 10-point favorite over the seemingly reeling Huskers.
"They're resilient," Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said. "They look forward to going out and playing again. They were hurting, but you know what, they are grown men. You move on. That's what you have to do. We'll be ready to go."
Perhaps no bowl matchup epitomizes the current gap between the Big Ten and the powerhouse Big 12 and SEC more than Purdue-Oklahoma State in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.
Even though the Boilermakers fired coach Danny Hope, they're still on a three-game winning streak. Yet the Cowboys, who at 7-5 are just a game better than Purdue, are an 18-point favorite.
That's the biggest line of the postseason — bigger than even Florida State over MAC champs Northern Illinois in the Orange Bowl.
Minnesota (6-6, 2-6) is also a heavy underdog in its matchup with Texas Tech in the Meineke Car Care Bowl, even though the Red Raiders (7-5) lost coach Tommy Tuberville to Cincinnati.
Even with all those apparent mismatches, going 0-7 is probably a long shot for the Big Ten.
Michigan (8-4, 6-2) and South Carolina should make for an entertaining Outback Bowl. Few would be surprised if the Wolverines won their second straight bowl game under coach Brady Hoke.
Northwestern (9-3, 5-3) can reach the 10-win plateau for just the third time with a win over Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl.
The Wildcats, who were perhaps the only Big Ten team that can claim they were underrated in 2012, are just a 2-point underdog.
"Our guys are hungry. This is an opportunity for 10 wins for this ball club and to potentially be ranked in the top 15 in the country. That's an unbelievable foundation of success that this senior class will have laid. Ten wins makes a good season great," Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said.
Michigan State and TCU are also a virtual toss-up in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl.
The Spartans were one of the nation's most disappointing teams, but five of their six losses were by four points or less.
Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio is hoping his team can finally catch a few break.
His Big Ten colleagues might be thinking along those same lines.
"One play here, one play there, we're a different football team. But you have to play what you've got. We want to point our compass north. I believe the glass is half full, not half empty," Dantonio said.

Read More..

Big 12 basketball lacking depth this season

The top of the Big 12 looks familiar, with Kansas in first place and ranked in the top 10.
The rest of the league doesn't appear to be nearly as deep as usual this season, its first with West Virginia and TCU instead of Missouri and Texas A&M.
No. 24 Oklahoma State (8-1) is the only other league team to join the ninth-ranked Jayhawks (8-1) in the Top 25 and nobody else received a single vote for Monday's poll.
This wasn't entirely unexpected, of course. Missouri won the conference tournament before bolting for the SEC and its currently ranked 12th. But beyond the Cowboys, nobody has emerged as a serious threat to the Jayhawks with non-conference play winding down.
Big 12 teams are just 2-10 against opponents ranked in the Top 25 and the league is seventh in overall RPI — behind the Atlantic-10 and the Mountain West. The inconsistent play of Baylor and Texas has a lot to do with that.
The Bears (7-3) were picked to finish second in the preseason poll, while the Longhorns (6-4) were slotted fourth. But Baylor has been up and down, while the Longhorns could find themselves at 6-6 at the end of the week.
Baylor's biggest win was about as big a resume builder as a team could ask for. The Bears knocked off Kentucky in Rupp Arena on Dec. 1, 62-55, snapping the Wildcats 55-game home winning streak. But Kentucky later fell out of the Top 25and Baylor lost at home to Northwestern.
The Bears have already lost to Charleston in Waco. But they've got a chance to pick up a pair of quality wins before meeting Texas in the league opener on Jan. 5. Baylor hosts BYU and plays at Gonzaga on Dec. 28.
Baylor coach Scott Drew said he saw positive signs after his team led by just two at halftime before rallying to beat USC-Upstate, 73-57.
"Early in the year I think that you are always adjusting, changing and tweaking," Drew said. "I'm so pleased with this effort though because we were able to defend and still take care of the ball and win. I thought that we made some extra effort passes. We made a more conscious effort to get the ball inside. We're learning how to get more touches inside."
Texas is scuffling in part because of a challenging schedule and the absence of point guard Myck Kabongo (NCAA eligibility investigation) and forward Jaylen Boyd (left foot injury).
If the Longhorns want to turn their season around, this would a good week to get started.
Texas, which doesn't have an upperclassman in its starting lineup, hosts No. 23 North Carolina on Wednesday and plays at No. 20 Michigan State on Saturday. A pair of wins would be a massive boost for a team that has lost to Division II Chaminade and by 23 points to No. 15 Georgetown.
"You've just got to go into it with a mindset of getting better every day. Build on the positive. And that's what we've been trying to do as a young group," Texas freshman guard Javan Felix said.
Of course, not everyone in the Big 12 is off to a slow start.
Kansas brought a seven-game winning streak into this week. Oklahoma State has already beaten Tennessee and North Carolina State behind freshman point guard Marcus Smart, who is averaging 13 points, seven rebounds and 5.2 assists a game and is on the short list of the game's top freshmen.
New coach Bruce Weber got Kansas State off to a respectable 7-2 start, and Oklahoma beat old foe Texas A&M 64-54 on Saturday to move to 7-2.
Iowa State (8-3), which was picked to finish eighth in the league, has lost to three quality opponents; Cincinnati, UNLV and Iowa.
Coach Bob Huggins led West Virginia to five straight NCAA tournaments out of the brutal Big East. Right now, the Mountaineers find themselves last in the Big 12.
West Virginia (4-5), fresh off a 15-point loss to No. 2 Michigan, is one of the nation's worst shooting teams at just 38.9 percent. The Mountaineers have lost to Gonzaga and fellow Big 12 team Oklahoma, but they've also fallen to Davidson and Duquesne.
"We'll win. We've won before and we'll win again," Huggins said. "We've got to continue to guard better and we've got to continue to rebound the ball better."

Read More..

Notre Dame's Kelly wins AP coach of the year

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — After two seasons as Notre Damecoach, Brian Kelly decided he wasn't spending enough time doing the best part of his job: coaching players.

Kelly changed that in 2012, and he shuffled his staff. Then, with Kelly more in tune to his team and the assistants in sync with the head coach, Notre Dame went from unranked to top-ranked.

For leading the Fighting Irish to the BCS championship for the first time, Kelly was voted Associated Press college football coach of the year.

"When you're talking about the coach of the year, there's so many things that go into it," Kelly said. "I know it's an individual award and it goes to one guy, but the feelings that I get from it is you're building the right staff, that you've got the right players and to me that is a validation of the program. That you put together the right business plan."

Kelly received 25 votes from the AP college football poll panel. Penn State's Bill O'Brien was second with 14 votes. Stanford's David Shaw (four), Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin (three), Kansas State's Bill Snyder (two) and Alabama's Nick Saban (one) also received votes.

Kelly is the first Notre Dame coach to win the AP award, which started in 1998.

Of course, the Irish haven't played for a national championship since 1988 and spent much of the past two decades trying to find a coach who could restore a program that was becoming a relic of its proud past.

It turns out Kelly was the answer.

He arrived in 2010 after two decades spent climbing the coaching ladder and winning big everywhere he worked. But in the world of college football, Notre Dame is a long way from Grand Valley State — where Kelly won Division II national titles — and Cincinnati, his previous stop, for that matter.

"I think the job tends to distract you," Kelly said earlier this week. "There are a lot of things that pull you away from the primary reason why you want to be head coach of Notre Dame, and that is graduate your players and play for a national championship.

"Now, to do that you have to have the pulse of your football team and you've got to have relationships with your players. If you're already going around the country doing other things other than working with your football team, it's hard to have the pulse of your team."

Kelly said he made a point of spending more time with the team this year.

"That's why I got into this. I want to develop 18 to 21 year olds. My development as the head coach at Notre Dame this year has been about getting back to why you would want to coach college players. You want to learn about them; you want to know their strengths and weaknesses; you want to help them with leadership skills; you want to help them when they're not feeling confident in their ability.

"For me, that is why it's been the most enjoyable year as the head coach at Notre Dame, is that I got a chance to spend more time with my team."

The first step, though, toward a successful 2012 season for Notre Dame can be traced to Feb. 10. On that day Kelly announced his coaching staff. The most notable change was moving Chuck Martinfrom defensive backs coach to offensive coordinator to fill the hole left when Charley Molnar became the coach of Massachusetts.

Martin was defensive coordinator for Kelly at Grand Valley State, then replaced his boss as head coach of the Division II power when Kelly was hired by Central Michigan after the 2003 season.

The move might have seemed odd to some, but Kelly, who built his reputation on offensive acumen, wanted a right-hand man who understood exactly what he wanted.

To replace Martin on the defensive side, Bob Elliot was hired from Iowa State to coach safeties. Harry Hiestand was hired away from Tennessee to replace offensive line coach Ed Warinner, and co-defensive coordinator Bob Diaco, who had been with Kelly at Central Michigan and Cincinnati, was promoted to assistant head coach.

"The voice of your coordinators has got to be in lock step with the head coach," Kelly said. "Now both of these guys have been with me a long time.

"Chuck Martin on offense, I wanted a voice that went back with me to Grand Valley State. And with Bob Diaco someone that goes back to Central Michigan with me. So yeah, it was important to get that voice right."

The last change Kelly needed to make involved Xs and Os. Kelly wanted to win now, but with a first-year starter and redshirt freshmen at quarterback. He had to adjust his style.

Out went the push-the-pace offense that had helped him reach two BCS games at Cincinnati. In came a more deliberate approach.

"We conduct the game differently," Martin said. "We set out how we thought this team could win with the personnel we had and with the young quarterback. Most people say 'OK, you're going to play the young guy, you're playing for the future.' We just went 12-0 with the young guy and he got yanked four times.

"The rest of the world wants 12-0 with no warts. We have plenty of warts. Somehow we're 12-0. Just goes to show the job (Kelly) did that we made it work week in and week out with what we have."

Kelly's ability and willingness to adapt have been his greatest strengths.

"He made some of his biggest changes ever in the last year. Going away from some things that really were his bread and butter, and 12-0 later, the guy did it again," Martin said.

"He saw what Notre Dame football needed in 2012 and he got to know this university."

Read More..