Heath Slocum Wins McGladrey Classic as Fall Finish Plays On

The PGA Tour, amid much fanfare and self promotion, ended its season two weeks ago. You think Heath Slocum cares?

The Fall Finish means golf, much like telemarketing, never shuts down. So while Slocum's final-round 68 and 14-under finish Sunday in the McGladrey Classic at St. Simons, Ga., may not have earned center stage, it needs no apologies.

"I mean, I think that's why we play golf is to win," Slocum said. "I mean there's just no other feeling like it. "

The last time Slocum won was the 2009 Barclays, when a birdie on the final hole gave him a one-shot victory over Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington and Steve Stricker. It came in the FedEx Cup playoffs and vaulted Slocum into the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup hoopla. In contrast, Sunday's victory came against a field that featured only four players ranked among the world's top 50.

Guess what?

 

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Roy Helu Jr. Says Hello to Record Books

Filed under: Nebraska, Big 12

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Roy Helu Jr. couldn't really explain his success. He smiled, laughed and thanked everyone in Nebraska red. When informed that Cornhuskers fans were chanting his name in the closing seconds of Saturday's 31-17 victory over No. 7 Missouri here at Memorial Stadium, Helu seemed genuinely surprised.

"I wish I would have heard it," Helu said.

Well, not really. The sellout crowd of 85,907 actually had pronounced Helu's name wrong. Way wrong. "HAY-loo, HAY-loo" should have been "HEL-lou Jr.," that according to the polite and slightly embarrassed senior I-Back who set a Nebraska record with 307 yards rushing against the Tigers.

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Dayne Crist, Notre Dame Quarterback, Suffers Knee Injury and Is Out for Year

Filed under: Notre Dame, Injuries

Notre Dame quarterback Dayne Crist will miss the rest of the season with a ruptured patella tendon in his left knee, according to NBC Sports' Alex Flanagan.

Crist suffered the injury in Saturday's game against Tulsa in the first quarter when he was hit hard and driven out of bounds by Tulsa's Tanner Antle following a 29-yard run.

At this point in the game, Notre Dame had been trailing 7-0 and Crist was 0 of 2 passing.

Freshman quarterback Tommy Rees replaced Crist, who had thrown for 2,033 yards and 15 touchdowns against seven interceptions this season.

Thus far, Rees has thrown for over 250 yards passing and four touchdowns in relief.

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Golf Notebook: Tiger Woods on the Mend

Filed under: LPGA, PGA, Nationwide Tour, Golf Odds and Ends

The Chevron World Challenge, played in early December at Sherwood CC in Southern California, is Tiger Woods' event, held annually to benefit his youth foundation.

Everybody knows why he was a no-show for last year's competition. Only a few days before tournament week, Woods wrecked his SUV in Florida, taking out a fire hydrant -- and a lot of dirty laundry spilled out.

The father of two young children now is divorced and hasn't won a golf tournament since. That made Woods' media day appearance via satellite this week particularly interesting.

"Certainly, I'm a lot more at peace now," Woods said. "Everyone's getting used to the new living conditions. The kids are adjusting. I think everyone's certainly more at peace, and so am I, too.

"I learned a lot about myself, and I learned how things went wrong, why they went wrong and had to take a pretty deep and introspective look at myself. And there weren't a lot of things I liked about it. But I had to do it, and I did it and (am) grateful that I did. I think that I come from a much better place, much more grounded place now than I ever have before."

 

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What's next for Jaime?

Now that his playing days with D.C. United are over, everybody is looking for the answer to the important question, ?What will Jaime do now??  To shed some light on the subject, we asked Jaime and Louise that very question.

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Moreno's gifts

Jaime Moreno concluded his historic Major League Soccer career Saturday night in front of the Black-and-Red faithful at RFK Stadium. Moreno's career ended with a crescendo of emotion, as fans crowded the field to thank a true club hero for the final time. On his lap around the stadium field, Moreno...

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Elena Dementieva Leaves Court an Almost Champ

Filed under: WTA

We never say goodbye to the almosts, and Elena Dementieva wasn't asking, anyway. She retired from tennis Friday, not after a long farewell tour or anything like that. The sports world won't even notice.

But tennis will. She lost a match in Doha, Qatar, and just said she was done. The whole thing lasted for one emotional moment, and women's tennis is now less without her.

She was almost a winner of a major championship in her career, and while she is unknown outside of tennis, she was almost a major sports superstar, too. Women's tennis mixes talent and marketability more than any game. By that, I mean skill and looks.

And for years, Dementieva was the best player in the world after the ball was in play. Meaning: after the serve. She just didn't have a serve.

As for marketability, well, simply put she had the stunning looks that advertisers would love from, say, a Wimbledon champ or a U.S. Open champ. She almost won both.

She didn't play up her appearance, didn't turn herself into a sexpot. She could have made millions more. Instead, she wore her hair pulled back tight to her head, under a visor.

Honestly, the first time I talked to her, after a match when she wasn't all business, I had to turn and ask someone nearby if it was really her.

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Miami Heat Fans, Players Revel in Opening Night Festivities

Filed under: Heat, Magic

MIAMI --

The Scene Outside

It's late October and thousands upon thousands of Miami fans are descending upon the town's hottest sports event. People are tailgating behind their parked cars as multiple scalpers and buyers do business. Yet this is all taking place in downtown Miami and not at Sun Life Stadium where that other prominent team does its business at this time of the year.

With a planned protest near the arena by the city's policemen and firefighters that had threatened to snarl traffic in the area fizzling out and a tipoff time a half hour later than usual, most fans with a ticket were at their seats long before the Heat's new player introduction began. Doors to the arena had opened two hours prior to game time with increased staff handling the gates, leading to a much improved and expedited process for entry. The palpable sense of collective energy from the fans hadn't been felt since the days of Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade pairing up for the franchise's first title back in 2006.

 

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NFLPA Blows Chance to Teach College Players, Agents Life Lesson

by David Whitley

Filed under: Saints, Sports Business and Media

That didn't take long. One day after the Powers That Be seemed intent on staring down sleazy agents in college football, one of the powers blinked.

It was the players' union. Try to act shocked.

The NFL Players Association came out against penalizing its members for any misdeeds in college. That after Monday's announcement that the union, NCAA, NFL and American Football Coaches Association had finally gotten together to address the issue.

There is no silver bullet that will solve this problem. But fining and/or suspending players would be far more effective than the pop-gun approach currently in use. And in a marvelously fair twist, it would actually punish the guilty instead of the innocents they leave behind.

So you knew it was just a matter of nanoseconds until somebody would protest.

As always, look for the union label.

"The NFLPA is opposed to any penalty being imposed on a player in the NFL for conduct relating to the receipt of benefits in violation of NCAA rules," a union statement said.

That has sent everybody backtracking, with the NCAA now saying it won't push for NFL rookie suspensions. Consider this a classic example of unions at work.

Before the SEIU sends its thugs over to my house, let me make it clear that I am not against unions. They did a heroic job of protecting workers in the garment industry after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.

It's just that in the ensuing 99 years, unions have been far more concerned about helping themselves than the public. It's one thing for the UAW to destroy America's auto industry and the SEIU to turn California into Bolivia. That's just the real world.

 

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Dayne Crist, Notre Dame Quarterback, Suffers Knee Injury and Is Out for Year

Filed under: Notre Dame, Injuries

Notre Dame quarterback Dayne Crist will miss the rest of the season with a ruptured patella tendon in his left knee, according to NBC Sports' Alex Flanagan.

Crist suffered the injury in Saturday's game against Tulsa in the first quarter when he was hit hard and driven out of bounds by Tulsa's Tanner Antle following a 29-yard run.

At this point in the game, Notre Dame had been trailing 7-0 and Crist was 0 of 2 passing.

Freshman quarterback Tommy Rees replaced Crist, who had thrown for 2,033 yards and 15 touchdowns against seven interceptions this season.

Thus far, Rees has thrown for over 250 yards passing and four touchdowns in relief.

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Late Goal Lifts FC Dallas to Dramatic 2-1 Win over Real Salt Lake in First Leg

Filed under: FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake

Three fabulous goals, brilliant saves from each goalkeeper and a pair of second-half red cards highlighted an incident-filled playoff opener between FC Dallas and visiting Real Salt Lake that ended in a dramatic 2-1 victory for the hosts.

The result puts significant pressure on Salt Lake heading back to Rio Tinto Stadium, where the reigning MLS champion hasn't lost in 17 months. But they'll kick off the second leg on Nov. 6 without creator Javier Morales, one of the players ejected by referee Kevin Stott on Saturday.

Stott risked being the game's chief talking point until the 88th minute, when he smartly kept his whistle silent as Dallas playmaker David Ferreira (above, left) was muscled over while dribbling in the RSL half. He managed to touch it to reserve midfielder Eric Avila as he fell, and the San Diego native did the rest, unleashing an unstoppable drive from just outside the penalty area that beat RSL's Nick Rimando inside the left post.

 

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The Works: Where Is the Love?

by Bethlehem Shoals and Tom Ziller

Filed under: Kings, Nets, Nuggets, Pistons, Timberwolves, NBA Referees, Sports Business and Media, The Works

In The Works today: interrogating NBA finance; how the techs were won; the cool, cool world of Melo's free agency; and the League Pass Cup begins.

But first, the season's first big question about the Minnesota Timberwolves, featuring their one good player.

New Dawn Fades

The season is exactly one game old for the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Kevin Love is already getting disrespected by his coach. Fitting that Love's new blog for GQ is called Love Will Tear Us Apart, because he's doing just that to the Twin Cities. Wolves coach Kurt Rambis sat Love for the final 8-1/2 minutes of Minnesota's tight opening night game against the Kings (who were without star guard Tyreke Evans). Why, pray tell?

He told reporters he liked what Anthony Tolliver was doing defensively. So he sat his best player.

The opponent Rambis needed Tolliver for was Carl Landry, who ended up dropping seven points in less than nine minutes in the fourth on Tolliver. The supposedly great defensive team Rambis wanted to put on the floor when Love came out allowed 18 points in 16 possessions (before the Wolves were forced to foul with 23 seconds left). Again, Landry had seven of those and rookie center DeMarcus Cousins added another five. That's 12 of the 18 points through the critical stretch of the game against Rambis' defensive frontline that Love is apparently too poor a defender to be featured in.

In the end, Tolliver played 28 minutes to Love's 24, and I'm sitting here wondering how long it will be until K-Love is run out of town the way Al Jefferson was. Think about it: Minnesota traded Big Al for two mid-to-low first-round picks and Kosta Koufos because Al and Love couldn't play together. In the first game of the post-Al era, Love is benched because he can't defend Carl Landry. Meanwhile, the replacement has trouble guarding Carl Landry because -- surprise! -- Carl Landry is a pretty good scorer.

 

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John Wall Gets Dose of Reality from Magic in NBA Debut

Filed under: Magic, Wizards

ORLANDO, Fla. - If you hated last season's big dance craze, you had to love the Wizards' opener Thursday night. It marked the official end of the John Wall Dance.

There's not much to cha-cha about when your team is down by 35 points entering the fourth quarter. Orlando went on to wipe out Washington 112-83, all of which just drove home what we all knew.

Wall is good, and is going to be very good. But nothing the No. 1 pick does in the next three or four years will amount to more than top-10 plays on SportsCenter.

"We came out and didn't play together as a team," he said.

Wall will probably repeat some version of that about 60 times this season. Even if the Wizards play together, they won't make much of a team.

It's almost a shame the best rookie always ends up on the worst team, but that's how the draft works. Players like Wall give teams like Washington hope. But when you see the gulf between the Wiz and the Magic, you wonder whether Wall will eventually give up and try to hitch a ride out of town with Albert Haynesworth.

"We played scared at times," Wizards coach Flip Saunders said.

 

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NFL Two-a-Days: Steelers at Saints

Filed under: Saints, Steelers, NFL Video, FanHouse Previews, NFL Analysis

A missing piece might help the Saints regain their bearings, but they'll have to do it against one of the league's best defenses.

LeCharles Bentley tells us who will win Halloween night's Steelers-Saints showdown in this version of NFL Two-a-Days.

Click below to watch:

 

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Delonte West, Von Wafer Reportedly Exchange Punches After Practice

Filed under: Celtics

The Celtics took a bit of a risk when they decided to bring Delonte West back to the team for a second tour of duty this season. Besides the fact that West wouldn't even be able to play during the first 10 games of the season due to a league suspension for pleading guilty to multiple weapon charges in July, there was the possibility that West's emotional state could randomly force him to miss time, as it did with the Cavaliers last season.

West's emotions got the better of him at Celtics' practice on Friday when he reportedly got into a physical altercation with teammate Von Wafer in the locker room after practice. According to the report from Hoopsworld, the problems began during the practice session, with West getting so physical with Wafer in a three-on-three game that Wafer left midway through and headed to the locker room.

West approached Wafer from behind as Wafer sat at his locker and threw the first punch, with Wafer quickly responding by connecting two blows of his own before the two wrestled to the ground and had to be separated.

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Craig Conroy Recalls Icy Welcome in Calgary as 1,000th Game Looms

Filed under: Flames

CALGARY, Alta. -- When Craig Conroy was acquired the first time by the Calgary Flames, the fellow who would become his best friend and favourite linemate wasn't quite sure what to make of him.

"Off the start, (Conroy) says I was a little bit grumpy, but we'd just had a coaching change ... we'd just lost our leading scorer (Cory Stillman),'' said Jarome Iginla. "But it was a good move. He's not only one of my best friends, but he's one of the best passers I've ever played with. I had my best years with him.''

When, as expected, Conroy suits up Thursday night for the visiting Colorado Avalanche, it will be the centreman's 1,000th NHL game. It's been 20 years since he was drafted and 16 seasons since he first pulled on a Montreal Canadiens' sweater and a lot of proverbial water under the bridge for the personable New Yorker.

That first game is etched in his mind.

 

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Erick Dampier Agrees to One-Year Deal With Rockets

Filed under: Bobcats, Rockets

Veteran center Erick Dampier has agreed to sign a one-year deal with Houston, his agent Dan Fegan told FanHouse.

Dampier, the 35-year-old who was waived by Charlotte on Sept. 14 so the Bobcats could avoid paying the $13 million in nonguaranteed salary he would have earned this season, is being signed by way of the team's bi-annual exception worth approximately $2 million.

The Rockets must do some juggling before the agreement can be made official, as they already have 15 players on their roster. A source close to the situation tells FanHouse Dampier is expected to take the roster spot of Jermaine Taylor, who will be dealt shortly to the highest bidder.

"Erick made a decision that he would like to play for the Houston Rockets, and that feeling is mutual," Fegan told FanHouse. "Hopefully Daryl Morey is able to create a roster spot."

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George Karl Hopes for Multi-Year Contract Extension With Nuggets

by Chris Tomasson

Filed under: Nuggets, NBA Rumors, NBA Coaches, NBA Preseason, Sports Business and Media

DENVER -- To cut to the chase, Denver coach George Karl wants to return next season with a multi-year contract extension.

Karl isn't ready to make an ultimatum. But that time could come for Karl, who signed a one-year contract extension last February to take him through this season.

"I don't like being a businessman,'' Karl said in an interview Monday with FanHouse. "But, if that's what I have to be, I will be.''

Karl, who Wednesday against Utah will coach his first regular-season game since March 16 before he missed the final 1 ½ months of last season due to a form of throat cancer, said there haven't been contract discussions yet with management. But, he wants to return next season to the Nuggets.

 

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Lee Westwood Set to Pass Tiger Woods as Golf's Top-Ranked Player

Filed under: PGA, Ryder Cup

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) -- Lee Westwood is set to replace Tiger Woods at the top of the rankings Oct. 31 after saying Sunday he does not expect to play again until November because of an ankle injury.

The Englishman will climb to No. 1 if he does not return before the end of the month and Woods follows through with his intention not to play again until the HSBC Champions on Nov. 4-7.

Westwood has been struggling with a right ankle injury and finished tied for 11th at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Asked when he might play again, Westwood said: "At the earliest probably HSBC, maybe Dubai [Nov. 25-28]."

Woods has topped the rankings for over five years, since the week before the 2005 U.S. Open at Pinehurst. Woods will have been at No. 1 for 279 weeks in Monday's rankings.

Westwood said his injury had been troubling him for a while.

 

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FOX, Cablevision Fail to Resolve Dispute as World Series Begins

by FanHouse Newswire

Filed under: MLB Playoffs, World Series, Sports Business and Media

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- FOX on Wednesday rejected a last-ditch offer from Cablevision Systems Corp. to pay it more for its TV stations' signals, a move that could leave some 3 million Cablevision subscribers in the New York area with few options besides heading to a bar to watch baseball's World Series on TV.

In preparation for an extended blackout, Cablevision e-mailed its customers Wednesday saying it will reimburse them $10 to cover the cost of paying to watch the games online through MLB.com.

Cablevision said earlier in the day that it offered to pay the same rate as Time Warner Cable Inc. for signals from FOX 5 in New York and FOX 29 in Philadelphia for one year, even though the rate is more than it pays for any other New York broadcast station.

The cable operator did not explain what it was offering for My 9 in New York and cable channels FOX Business Network, NatGeo Wild and FOX Deportes, which are also part of the fee dispute.

 

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UConn Shifts Practice Habits Because of Alleged Spy

Filed under: Connecticut, Rumors

Randy Edsall moved UConn's Wednesday practice indoors because of the rain and another, more interesting reason: someone is allegedly watching UConn's practices.

On Wednesday, when asked whether the Huskies would be practicing indoors, Edsall said, "Yeah, so people don't report on what we practice. No, we'll be inside because of the rain but we got an issue where we have somebody that wants to write everything we do from the dorm room so ... we have to look at that now.

"One of our former players' parents e-mailed [Program Assistant Joanne Fazio]. We had somebody that was giving a blow by blow of everything that happened in practice [Tuesday]. We might have to practice inside all the time now."

 

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Elena Dementieva Retires From Tennis

Filed under: WTA

Elena Dementieva, one of the most accomplished women's tennis players of the last decade, retired from tennis Friday.

"It's so emotional," Dementieva, 29, told the crowd after Francesca Schiavone defeated her 6-4, 6-2 in her last round-robin match at the year-end WTA Championships in Doha, Qatar. "It's so hard to say goodbye to all of you. I'm going to miss you so much."

Dementieva finishes her career with 16 WTA titles after 12 years on the tour. She entered the top 20 in September 2000 and remained ranked inside the position for 524 weeks of the last 529, including this week.

Although Dementieva ends her career without a Grand Slam, one of her greatest accolades came at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, where she won the gold medal in singles, defeating Caroline Wozniacki, Serena Williams, Vera Zvonareva and Dinara Safina in an incredible run.

It is a bittersweet ending for Dementieva. Injuries plagued the Russian all season long, as she was forced to retire in the middle of her semifinal match at Roland Garros with a calf injury that later kept her sidelined from Wimbledon.

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Jonathan Byrd Wins Shriners Open With Hole-in-One

All that fun stuff you hear about in Las Vegas that nobody is supposed to talk about? It usually happens after dark. The PGA Tour's Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open was no exception.

"I couldn't see it" said Jonathan Byrd.

On this occasion, Byrd had good reason for the temporary blackout.

The script wasn't looking promising Sunday night at TPC Summerlin. After a 72-hole regulation play ended in a three-way tie, Byrd, Martin Laird and Cameron Percy were heading to the fourth playoff hole as daylight was fading fast.

Before stepping to the 204-yard par 3 17th hole (for the third time of the day) the three players were given the option by PGA Tour officials to continue play or return Monday morning to decide a winner.

If any of the three had declined to go forward, play would have been halted until Monday. When Byrd was asked, he offered to go with the flow.

"Whatever you guys want to do," he said.

The agreement was to press on.

They didn't have to go far.

 

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Nino Niederreiter Sent Back to Juniors

Filed under: Islanders, Eastern, NHL Draft, Junior Hockey

As noted on FanHouse earlier this week, this is a crucial week for a number of high draft picks from this past summer. NHL teams are allowed to keep their draft picks as long as they want, but if they stay past the ninth game of that team's season, the season counts on their entry-level contract.

For the New York Islanders, the promise of a young star on the roster has given way to the sense of letting him get better in juniors. The team sent forward Nino Niederreiter back to the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League, according to a tweet by FanHouse senior writer Chris Botta.

As a result, Niederreiter's entry-level deal -- assuming the Islanders don't bring him back at some point -- won't kick in until next season.

 

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Fresno State and Nevada to Remain in WAC Until 2012

Filed under: Fresno State, Nevada, WAC

WAC commissioner Karl Benson finally scored a win for his conference.

Nevada and Fresno State will remain in the Western Athletic Conference through June 30, 2012, according to a settlement reached by the conference and the two schools.

"I don't think I'm prepared to say if it was a good deal or a bad deal," Benson said. "It's time for all parties to move on."

Previously, Nevada and Fresno State, which accepted invitations to the Mountain West Conference in August, were trying to leave for their new stomping grounds after this school year. But Benson, on behalf of the league's remaining six schools -- Utah State, San Jose State, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, Idaho and Hawaii -- filed a lawsuit to keep Fresno State and Nevada in the conference through the 2011-12 school year. The three parties and the Mountain West Conference, which was also named in the suit, went through mediation and the WAC came out on top.

 

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SEC Projections: The Cocktail Party Drops From Polls

Filed under: Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, SEC

It's been 31 years since neither Florida nor Georgia were ranked in the polls for the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. To put that into context, I was six months old when that happened back in October of 1979.

Yet, Bulldogs fans are the most excited 4-4 team in the history of Georgia football. After three consecutive big wins over the three worst teams in the SEC -- Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky -- Bulldogs fans have almost forgotten the woeful start to the season.

That's because the idea that Georgia will win the SEC East has taken root among the faithful. On Monday, I explained why this won't happen -- in fact, Florida and South Carolina both have much greater chances of going to Atlanta than Georgia -- but the idea continues to circulate. It's amazing, really, the latest dirigible of hope to be floated by Bulldogs faithful who still can't quite believe that they are 3-17 in the past 20 cocktail parties.

As rivalry games between top 25 programs go, there isn't a more sustained level of generational dominance in the country than Florida's ownership of Georgia. Yet this year, Florida has no offensive hope and Georgia's offense and defense appear to be rolling. If you ever doubted how much football fortunes in the SEC can change in less than a month, this game is the poster child. On Oct. 3, Florida was ranked in the top seven and preparing for a road game against Alabama. By Oct. 4, Georgia was 1-4.

Now the Bulldogs are favored. Amazing, really.

 

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Eagles Enter Bye Week With Plenty of Injuries, but a Healthy Michael Vick

Filed under: Eagles, NFC East

Kevin Kolb took the first snap of Philadelphia's post-Donovan McNabb era on Sept. 12 at home against Green Bay. His pass to tight end Brent Celek, which lost two yards, was nullified by an illegal formation penalty on left tackle Jason Peters.

Kolb took the last snap of the Eagles' seven pre-bye games this past Sunday at Tennessee. His pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown.

In between those two plays, it was a wild ride for the Eagles, who lost Pro Bowl fullback Leonard Weaver and solid center Jamaal Jackson for the year in the opener while also losing Kolb and middle linebacker Stewart Bradley, the quarterback of the defense, to concussions that sidelined them the next week. Kolb's absence opened the door for Michael Vick.

The former Atlanta focal point turned convicted felon played the best football of his career, leading the league in passing and in yards per carry before being tearing rib cartilage in the first quarter of his third start. Peters (knee scope), defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley (elbow) and 2009 Pro Bowl receiver/return specialist DeSean Jackson (concussion) all joined Vick on the inactive list for last week's game at Tennessee which Philadelphia led 19-10 in the fourth quarter before being outscored 27-0 the rest of the way to head into its bye at 4-3.

What went right: Vick, who was out of football in 2007-08 and played sparingly in 2009, was not only as dangerous as ever with his feet, he was better than ever with his arm. Jeremy Maclin emerged from Jackson's shadow to catch six touchdowns. Second-year running back LeSean McCoy played like a worthy successor to the departed Brian Westbrook with 770 yards and five touchdowns on 143 touches. Kolb rebounded from a tough start to play well, lighting up Atlanta in a Week 6 showdown of NFC contenders. The offense ranks in the top 10 in points, yards, rushing and passing. Only the Giants can match that.

Rookie free safety Nate Allen has justified being handed the starting job in training camp with three interceptions, tied with Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel for the team lead. Veteran defensive end Juqua Parker responded to being beaten out by top draft pick Brandon Graham by recording four sacks. End Trent Cole remained a beast with a team-high six sacks. The defense ranks 11th against the pass. Rookie Jorrick Calvin, acquired from Arizona in August, ably replaced Jackson on punt returns.

 

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Keydrick Vincent Waived by Bucs in Search for Answers to Running Game

Filed under: Buccaneers, NFC South

The Tampa Bay Bucs waived veteran left guard Keydrick Vincent on Thursday as they continue to try and find some remedy for a below average running game. Vincent missed last week's win over the Rams with back spasms and the organization apparently was not going to wait for him to heal in the midst of the youth movement.

 

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SBI MLS Playoff Preview: New York Red Bulls vs. San Jose Earthquakes

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Craig Anderson Out Indefinitely Following Injury in Warmup

Filed under: Avalanche, NHL Injuries

VANCOUVER, B.C. -- It has been a long time since NHL teams played with only one goalie in a game.

But the Colorado Avalanche found themselves in that position Tuesday night.

Colorado lost No. 1 netminder Craig Anderson -- who wasn't supposed to play anyway -- to a knee injury suffered in the warmup before a 4-3 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks. Coach Joe Sacco confirmed after the game that Anderson would fly back to Denver for evaluation.

A team spokesman said after the second period that Anderson is out indefinitely. He is expected to miss Thursday's game in Calgary.

 

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Tony Stewart Says Repaved Daytona Will Feature Even Closer Racing

Filed under: Tony Stewart, Daytona Int'l Speedway, NASCAR Tracks, Sprint Cup, Stewart-Haas Racing, NASCAR

The repaved Daytona International Speedway might as well be a brand-new track, two-time Sprint Cup champ Tony Stewart said Thursday.

Although the project is still only about 75 percent complete, Stewart had a chance to run a production car through turns three and four before a ceremonial appearance at the 2.5-mile speedway Thursday to help paint the new start-finish line.

"I got to rip through three and four and it's not the same race track, I can promise you," Stewart said before taking a roller in hand and joining track president Joie Chitwood III to paint the first few black-and-white squares of the start-finish line. "This place is going to have a totally new look to the drivers and the teams. We're going to fill every square inch of the race track because the surface is so even now."

"tt's going to have a ton of grip," he said. "Before, you had to really work on your handling" because it was so bumpy. "Now, handling is not going to be as crucial. You're going to have more cars in a tighter pack, as wide as they can get, and literally you'll be able to use every inch of the track. And guys will be comfortable doing it, knowing how smooth this surface is now.

"It's going to allow us to go places we've not been able to go and run a lot closer width-wise."

 

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Woman Claimed Junior Seau Grabbed, Shoved Her, According to Police Report

Filed under: NFL Police Blotter

Although the San Diego County District Attorney's Office has declined to press charges against former NFL star Junior Seau, a police report obtained by TMZ.com contains claims from Seau's girlfriend that he grabbed her by the arm and shoved her into a wall during a domestic incident.

Seau was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence on the morning of Oct. 18, then drove his vehicle off a cliff after he was released.

Seau's girlfriend, whose name has not been released, told Oceanside (Calif.) police that Seau shoved her so hard that she inadvertently knocked over a fish bowl.

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TMZ.com: Read the Full Police Report
More: Seau Arrested on Oct. 18 | Hospitalized After Accident

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NASCAR Goes Green, Switches to Ethanol Mix for 2011

Filed under: NASCAR

CONCORD, N.C. -- NASCAR Chairman Brian France announced Saturday that the stock car series will be switching to a 15 percent American-made ethanol mix in its Sunoco race fuel beginning in the 2011 season.

NASCAR's exclusive fuel supplier, Sunoco, has been working with the series to develop a suitable mixture -- called Sunoco Green E15 -- and race teams have been using it during test sessions for the past several months. It's a big step for NASCAR, which only began using unleaded fuel a little more than two years ago.

"A couple of years ago we laid out what we hoped would be a smart, environmentally smart approach in all areas of the industry of NASCAR, given we have lots of partners and most importantly our fans who want to continually see this sport evolve and be smart in every area when it comes to the environment and when it comes to things they care about,'' France said.

All three of NASCAR's national touring series will use the fuel. NASCAR Vice President for Competition Robin Pemberton said the initial feedback from teams has been positive. He expects there to be a slight increase in horsepower and to have a negligible affect on fuel mileage.

"All drivers like more power so they all have smiles on their faces for that,'' Pemberton said, promising further development during test sessions and also at NASCAR's Research and Development Center.

 

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Lee Westwood to Remain in Europe for Most of 2011

Filed under: FedEx Cup

Lee Westwood will not be a regular on the PGA Tour in the United States next year. The 37-year-old Englishman will put family first in 2011, staying in Europe and forgoing the bigger paydays he could receive by competing for the FedEx Cup.

"I don't want to get into a situation where I have to play events in America just to make up 15 needed for tour membership," he said. "The FedEx Cup sits right in the middle of the kids' summer holidays and I like going on holiday with them for a couple of weeks."

The No. 2-ranked Westwood - and most likely soon to be top ranked- will only play in the U.S. for major tournaments, World Golf Championships and other select events of his choosing in 2011.

"I'm not taking my card up in the States," Westwood said Wednesday as he prepared for Thursday's start of the Dunhill Links Championship.

 

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Shriners Open Preview: Rickie Fowler's Chance to Shine

Filed under: PGA

As the PGA Tour enters the final two weeks of its season, players head to Las Vegas for the Justin Timberlake Shiners Hospitals for Children Open in what shapes up to be an exciting tournament.

The field, highlighted by 10 winners on Tour this season, will be taking dead aim at TPC Summerlin. This par 72, 7,243-yard course yielded 1,821 birdies a year ago -- the highest total of any tournament in 2009. Martin Laird, pictured right, recorded two eagles and 23 birdies on his way to a 19-under total and a playoff victory over Chad Campbell and George McNeill.

While both Laird and Campbell return to Las Vegas in 2010, much of this week's attention will be focused on rookie Ricky Fowler. The 21-year-old has enjoyed a breakout year with five top 5s and a top 25 standing on the money list. A win would make him one of the youngest winners on tour since Tiger Woods notched his first career victory at this tournament in 1996 at the age of 20.

If Fowler can pull off the win, he would be the 10th first-time winner in the tournament's 29-year history. And you have to like his chances. Fowler returns to his home course after finishing fifth in putting last year, so look for him to know use his familiarity with the course to get a leg up on the field.

 

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Mathias Kiwanuka Officially Done for Season With Neck Injury

Filed under: Giants, NFL Injuries

Mathias Kiwanuka's health has been the subject of uncertainty in recent weeks, but that situation has been cleared with the news that the Giants plan to place Kiwanuka on injured reserve, ending his season.

Kiwanuka suffered a herniated disc in his neck during a 34-10 win over the Texans on Oct. 1. Initially, Kiwanuka expressed hope that he would return quickly, but that obviously isn't the case. Surgery is an option, but it's uncertain whether or not Kiwanuka will choose that route. Still, doctors expect full recovery.

It's a bad turn for Kiwanuka, who is in a contract year. He's a versatile player who can rush from the edge or in a stand-up position, and he had four sacks in three games before the injury. His loss definitely impacts the Giants' defense, though they've remained one of the league's best in his absence.

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FanHouse TV: Sticking With Alabama

Filed under: Alabama

As top-ranked teams in the polls and BCS standings continue to fall, FanHouse TV's LeCharles Bentley is sticking to his guns. When the season reaches its conclusion, defending national champion Alabama will be firmly in the title picture. Bentley offers that thought and more in a discussion with Pat McManamon.

Click to watch:

 

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