Lewis Hamilton says sorry to stewards after rant (PA SportsTicker)
By JEROME PUGMIRE AP Sports Writer MONACO (AP)—Lewis Hamilton apologized to stewards at the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday after jokingly suggesting he was penalized because he is black. The McLaren driver was given two drive-through penalties following incidents with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and Williams’ Pastor Maldonado during Sunday’s race, won by Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel. “It’s an absolute … joke,” Hamilton told the BBC. “I’ve been to see the stewards five times out of six this season. “Maybe it’s because I’m black. That’s what Ali G says,” Hamilton added, referring to the television character made famous by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Hamilton later said he visited the stewards to “make peace.” “What I said was a bit of a joke, which wasn’t funny at the time,” Hamilton told Britain’s Press Association. “I made them aware that when emotions are high, and it’s very intense at the end of those kind of races, you don’t always say the right thing, and the joke didn’t come at the most appropriate time.” Motorsport’s governing body, FIA, did not immediately react to Hamilton’s comment. But the 26-year-old Englishman said the stewards assured him they would “clarify” the situation with FIA and the matter “won’t go any further than the meeting room.” Hamilton drew his first drive-through penalty for the collision with Massa. The second was for coming in contact with Maldonado late in the race. He received a 20-second penalty, but it did not affect his race position of sixth, as Force India’s Adrian Sutil was a lap behind him in seventh. Hamilton, who was demoted from seventh to ninth on the start grid for cutting a curve in qualifying Saturday, felt Massa was to blame in the first instance. “He turned into me (during the race),” he said. “I got the penalty. These drivers are ridiculous. It’s stupid.” Hamilton is the only driver to have beaten Vettel in six races this season, defeating the German in China, but he is 58 points behind Vettel in the championship standings. “I’ll just try and keep my mouth shut and try to enjoy the rest of the season,” Hamilton said.
NFL betting Trends
New York Jets at Indianapolis ColtsLine: Colts -7.5- New York is 4-1 ATS in their last five matchups with Indianapolis.- The Jets are 5-2 ATS in their last seven playoff games.- New York is 10-3 ATS in their last 13 games as a road underdog.- The Jets are 7-1 ATS in their last eight games.- New York is 7-2 ATS in the second of back-to-back road games.- The Jets are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 encounters with AFC South opponents.- New York has produced 2 overs and 9 unders in their last 11 games visiting a .700 or better opponent.- Indianapolis is 11-4-1 ATS in their last 16 games.- The Colts are 7-0 ATS vs. an opponent coming off a SU win as an underdog.- Indianapolis is 5-2 ATS in their last seven playoff games.- The Colts are 1-4-1 ATS in the second of back-to-back home games.- Indianapolis has produced 5 overs and 2 unders in their last seven games.- The Colts are 3-6 ATS in their last nine games as a favorite of 7+ games.- Indianapolis is 12-6 ATS in their last 18 games after allowing 10 points or less in their previous game.Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans SaintsLine: Saints -3.5- Minnesota is 4-1 ATS in their last five matchups with New Orleans.- The Vikings are 2-6 ATS in their last eight playoff road games.- Minnesota is 3-6 ATS after allowing 10 points or less in their previous game.- The Vikings are 8-3 ATS following back-to-back SU/ATS wins.- Minnesota is 4-10 ATS in their last 14 games after allowing 10 points or less in their previous game.- The Vikings have produced 2 overs and 8 unders in their last 10 games.- Minnesota is 2-6 ATS after a SU win of 20+ points in their previous game.- New Orleans is 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games after a 20+ point SU win in their previous game.- The Saints have produced 1 over and 4 unders in their last five games.- New Orleans is 11-2 ATS at home vs. .666 or better non-divisional NFC opponents.- The Saints are 3-12-1 ATS in the second of back-to-back home games.- New Orleans is 10-4 ATS after allowing 14 points or less in their previous game.- The Saints have produced 15 overs
5 unders and 1 push in their last 21 home games.- New Orleans is 5-1 ATS after scoring 40+ points in their previous game.
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Rodgers knew that Aguilera goofed up National Anthem at Super Bowl
Those who remember the anecdote about San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana spotting comedian John Candy in the crows just as Montana was driving his team to victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII will appreciate Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers’(notes) ability to be aware of the entertainment around him just before Super Bowl XLV began. Rodgers, the MVP of the game in which his team beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-25, told radio station 540 ESPN Milwaukee this week that he was well aware that singer Christina Aguilera butchered the national anthem by omitting a line. “No doubt about it,” Rodgers said. “First of all the chick from ‘Glee’ [singer Lea Michele] killed the first song [God Bless America]. She should have sang the anthem too. I knew because it was the Super Bowl…I don’t like standing in the front row because I don’t like being or having that camera right in front of my face. I know I’m on the bazillion-foot Jumbotron, so I’m going to stand behind some people who maybe aren’t the most TV recognizable names and see if I can blend in. So I kind of went and hid in the back. “I don’t know who I was standing next to, but she [Aguilera] starts singing it and in most of the stadiums they have the words up on the board, kind of up-and-above the singer, so she can tell that she screwed up,” Rodgers continued. “She screwed up and I knew it and something was off. I’m looking around going, ‘Does anyone else realize this?’ I don’t think they had because I don’t think the people were listening, but I knew something was off, so I kind of tapped…I think it was Diyral Briggs(notes) next to me and said ‘Hey did you hear that?” The subpar version of the song certainly didn’t affect Rodgers, who completed 24 of 39 passes for 304 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions in a bravura performance that would have been even better had his receivers not flubbed several easy catches. And according to Rodgers, that wasn’t the only pregame distraction. . “We walked out for the coin toss and at the Super Bowl there are these long TV timeouts, so we go out for the coin toss. I’m one of the captains,” he told the same station. “There’s five of us. The Steelers’ guys are standing over there and we’re standing looking at each other for a good three minutes. Well over to the left, about 10 camera men have been trying to get in place for the best shot and two of them are fighting. They’re yelling at each other in different languages, flipping each other off and one guy is flipping him off and the other guy below him is just taking all of these pictures of him. The guy above is flipping off the little guy down below, who is kind of squeezed in to get the lowest spot … They’re both screaming at the other and taking pictures of each other for a good minute and a half and I’m tapping [linebacker] A.J. [Hawk] like, “Look at that over there! Look at those guys!’ It was unbelievable.” Proof positive that the circus around the Super Bowl can be a distraction to all but the most dialed-in of players. It’s a credit to Rodgers that he not only kept his head when all around him were obviously losing theirs, but kept a sense of humor about the whole thing. Joe Montana, scanning the crowd for comedians all those years ago, would have been proud.
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Delany: Nebraska the Packers of Big Ten (AP)
Jim Delany calls the Nebraska Cornhuskers the Green Bay Packers of the Big Ten. The Big Ten commissioner said Wednesday that the Big Ten’s attraction to Nebraska went beyond geography and a shared culture with member schools. “It’s really about the games,” Delany said. “We’re not the NFL, but the NFL has a very small-market team, Green Bay, and their games are national…
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Ravens at Patriots Betting Line
Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots NFL betting preview with point spread and game pick.
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Delany feels differently about Buckeyes (AP)
Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany believes he might have acted differently toward five Ohio State players who were allowed to play in the Sugar Bowl despite NCAA violations had he known the information that has since been uncovered. The players were permitted to wait until this fall to begin serving a five-game suspension for accepting money and tattoos from the owner of a Columbus tattoo parlor.
Lauren Jackson to skip part of 2012 WNBA season (AP)
Reigning WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson will skip the first half of the 2012 WNBA season to focus on training with the Australian national team in preparation for the London Olympics. The Storm say the agreement announced Tuesday came after negotiations with Jackson’s representatives and Basketball Australia.
Record crowd watches Oregon spring game (AP)
Just a few months removed from the BCS championship, the Oregon Ducks played their spring game Saturday before a Pac-10 record crowd of more than 43,000. Heisman finalist LaMichael James showed he hadn’t lost a step by running for a 67-yard touchdown for Oregon’s green team early in the day. Rob Beard added three field goals for a 16-0 victory over the white team.
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Nadal beats Ferrer to win Barcelona Open (AP)
Rafael Nadal beat David Ferrer 6-2, 6-4 in their second all-Spanish final in two weeks to claim his sixth Barcelona Open title Sunday. The top-ranked Spaniard won his 29th straight match at the clay court event when the fourth-seeded Ferrer hit his backhand wide. “It is a dream for me to win here six times,” said Nadal, whose sole loss at Barcelona came against another countryman, Alex…
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Gruden reflects on the 2011 quarterback class
His critical eye may frighten some of the quarterbacks of the 2011 draft class, but former NFL coach and current ESPN broadcaster Jon Gruden has as much intel on “these guys” (to use his vernacular) as anyone analyzing them pre-draft. In preparation for his QB Camp shows with Auburn’s Cam Newton, Missouri’s Blaine Gabbert, Washington’s Jake Locker, Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett and TCU’s Andy Dalton, Gruden crunched a bunch of game tape and then put those kids under the microscope. On a Tuesday media conference call, Gruden gave his grades on the QB Camp Five. And for a guy who was infamous for being brutal with young quarterbacks when he was a coach, Gruden certainly found enough to like about this group. Gabbert: “I do think Blaine Gabbert is a Top 10 pick. All you have to do is see the ball come out of his hand. He’s got a very quick, strong arm, prototype size. He’s over 6’4″, 235 pounds, a finance major, so you know he has intelligence. He has speed. I mean, Gabbert ran very well at the combine. He’s elusive back there. His scrambling and play making ability I think will be very enticing. Once again, here’s a junior quarterback that comes from a very unique, different style of spread offense at Missouri where he’s been in the no‑back set, and the shotgun predominantly. But I think his physical talents are very noticeable to everybody.” Newton: “Cam Newton with 14 career starts, the thing that impressed me, not only his physical attributes and his size, but his charisma. I think his eagerness to learn and prove that he can adapt to a pro style on offense. He showed very good retention to me in the meetings and the material that we covered. I just like the look in his eyes, the eagerness and feeling that he has a lot to prove to everybody including himself. I think Newton impressed me the most in that regard. “This is not a typical pro-style attack. Cam Newton is a tailback at times playing with a direct snap at Auburn. He’s carrying the football much like Cadillac Williams did, and Bo Jackson did on power running plays. But it’s a direct snap with some underneath misdirection. When they do throw the ball, a lot of it is off the play action. But I have seen him be very accurate. If you watch the South Carolina game late in the season to win the SEC Championship, he makes a couple of beautiful deep throws against Oregon in the National Championship game. I think he can make the throws. I think it’s a matter of him learning and getting conditioned to what the coach wants him to do, and he can do it. This guy has tremendous ability. “It’s not his fault that they don’t huddle. This is a no‑huddle offense. I don’t believe Auburn ever huddles. I saw them live against Oregon and never saw them get in the huddle. A lot of their signals come from the sideline. As a matter of fact, every one of them does. That is just the way the Tigers operate. Cam Newton will learn quickly what to call formations, what to call shifts, what to call motions. That is something that I learned. What he’s got to get ready for right away is learning the terminology and how to spit these plays out clearly, quickly, and get the team up to the line of scrimmage where he has time to deal.” Locker: “Well, Jake Locker said what he was going to do, and he did what he said he was going to do. He said he was coming back for his senior year. He said he wanted to take Washington to a bowl game, and I admire that about him. He could have walked away from the Husky program and potentially been the number one pick a year ago according to a lot of analysts. But he wanted to do what he said he was going to do, and that is a trait that I really admire. “This is one tough guy. I mean, Jake Locker has played for two head coaches. He had to endure an 0‑12 season. This guy took a lot of punishment. The whole offense was built around No. 10. From a running standpoint, from a passing standpoint, this guy was involved significantly on every snap for the Huskies. He does have to improve his accuracy. But I think when you’re hit a lot and asked to do as much as Locker’s been asked to do, sometimes your fundamentals wane a little bit. They disappear in key situations. He does have a good, strong arm. He’s an outstanding athlete. He’s got very good elusiveness and straight line speed with some power, and I think he loves football. I think there is a real passionate fire inside this guy that somebody’s going to capture. He would be a fun guy to coach. I know that.” (On Locker’s accuracy issues, and whether that can be improved at the NFL level): “Accuracy can be improved. Sometimes it’s because of your fundamentals. Sometimes you’re out of rhythm, you’re in the shotgun, you’re underneath the center. Sometimes you’re under duress and out of rhythm. Sometimes you’re hurrying, you’re playing too fast. You’re anticipating congestion around you when maybe there isn’t. “I just think he needs to go back and reestablish his fundamentals and work hard at that. He’ll get the right position coach that’s going to help him do that. But accuracy sometimes can be terminal. Sometimes you can’t cure that. I think that is a big concern with Jake Locker, because he does miss some throws. But if you pick up the Southern Cal film from this year, if you pick up the Oregon State film from this year, you can see what this guy’s capable of doing. He can be a one‑man wrecking machine. There is a brilliant talent inside this body he’s got. It’s a matter of regaining his fundamentals, confidence and composure a little bit, and he’ll be fine.” Mallett: “I think he does get it. He comes from a unique background. His mom and dad were teachers and coaches. Football is very important to him. The thing I really liked about Ryan Mallett was his background playing under Bobby Petrino at Arkansas. And I know Coach Petrino well enough to know that he coaches quarterbacks hard, very demanding. If you watch Mallett play, he’s in a lot of pro style situations, underneath the center, in the shotgun, audibling, check‑with‑me’s. They do a lot of good things on offense at Arkansas. Ryan Mallett can draw protections, blocking schemes, and he does have a beautiful throwing motion that I know a lot of guys in the league are excited about. He can really hum it. “So he has that ability, I think, to throw the football from a lot of different areas. In the pocket he can get it out of his hand with a lot of velocity in a hurry. And I think he’s got a very good football aptitude being in Coach Petrino’s attack for the last couple of years.” (On the drug rumors): “I can’t comment on any of that because I’m not aware of that. That’s the best way I can put it right now. But obviously that’s a red flag if that’s the truth.” Dalton: “I think Andy Dalton can play in any offense. I think when you become a pro quarterback and play in the National Football League, as the hash marks change, the field becomes more available. When you’re on a college hash mark and you’re throwing the ball to the wide side of the field, that’s almost an impossible task for anyone. “So I think putting the ball in the middle of the field favors Andy Dalton. I’ve seen him be an accurate passer down the field. I’ve seen him manage a high‑volume offense with great success at TCU. He’s got four years of production. And if you look at Texas Christian football, who would have thought they’d be 13‑0 and Rose Bowl champions? “I really think Andy Dalton can fit any offense. But the more you put on him above the neck mentally to make decisions and play the game with his heady nature, I think the better Andy Dalton’s going to be. He’s an outstanding, well‑versed quarterback that I think will fit a lot of schemes.” And to those who wonder where Gruden gets off talking about draftable quarterbacks, given his own poor record of quarterback development with the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (former Bucs quarterback Shaun King is among the unimpressed), Gruden has a surprise: He agrees with you … to a point. “I miss working with the quarterbacks. And I agree with Shaun. I wasn’t totally successful in developing all the young quarterbacks. Although Bobby Hoying and Ty Detmer did okay, and Chris Simms helped us win a division title. But I did fail miserably in developing Shaun King, and I’m sorry he’ll miss our show.”
French Open increases prize money (AP)
The singles champions at the French Open will each receive $1.7 million, up from about $1.4 million last year. Organizers say total prize money for the clay-court Grand Slam tournament is going up to $25 million from about $20.7 million in 2010. Women gained parity in prize money at the tournament four years ago.
Draft Masters Podcast #3: Rob Rang, NFLDraftScout.com
We continue our “Draft Masters” podcast series with a guy I've known for years, and the rest of the football world seems to know better and better every day — NFLDraftScout.com Senior Analyst Rob Rang. Whenever I have a question about a draft prospect, need to cross-check one of my own half-baked opinions, or just want to talk about the game, Rob's the man. If you want to find out why, check out his NFLDS blog and check him out all over the radio — especially in the next week, where his take on things is perhaps at its most valuable. In this podcast, Rob and I talk about this quarterbacks class, go in depth with the top offensive linemen, and analyze certain players who might be best off switching positions at the NFL level. Click the link below to listen (or right-click to save to your hard drive): Draft Masters Podcast: Rob Rang, NFLDraftScout.com Previous “Draft Masters” Podcasts: Chad Reuter, NFLDraftScout.com Charles Davis, NFL Network
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Selig: No change to Bonds’ HR records (AP)
Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig will not consider changing Barry Bonds’ records following the slugger’s conviction on obstruction of justice last week. Bonds holds the career (762) and season (73) home run records, breaking marks set by Hank Aaron (755) and Mark McGwire (70). During a meeting Thursday with the Associated Press Sports Editors Selig said, “In life there’s always got…
Rays DH Damon back after missing 3 games (AP)
Tampa Bay Rays designated hitter Johnny Damon is back in the lineup after being out with a left hand injury. Damon was second in manager Joe Maddon’s lineup for Thursday night’s game against the Chicago White Sox. He missed the previous three games with a bruised tip on his left ring finger. Damon was hurt while attempting to bunt in last Sunday’s game with Minnesota.
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Who will the Packers host in the NFL’s Thursday night opener?
The NFL schedule will be released sometime in the next few days
labor agreement or not. One of the biggest questions ahead of the release is who the Green Bay Packers will face in the traditional league’s Thursday night season opener. Shutdown Corner looks at the chances for the eight teams who will visit Lambeau Field this year and assigned completely arbitrary percentages to all the possibilities: 8. Detroit Lions — The Lions haven’t played in primetime since 2002. Recent news that the team’s nabbed a nationally televised appearance in the preseason was greeted with excitement in the Detroit area
so getting the league’s marquee regular season spot may be a ways away. WAYS away. Chance: 0% 7. Denver Broncos — Unless John Fox announces that John Elway will return to play quarterback and Tim Tebow will play all the other 21 positions on the field
don’t expect to see the Mile High crew in Lambeau. Chance: 0% 6. St. Louis Rams — Pros: Surprise 2010 playoff team
next potential quarterbacking star
underrated running back. Cons: Are St. Louis Rams. Chance: 2% 5. Minnesota Vikings — In theory
this should be a zero. But in theory
communism works and Brett Favre would have stayed retired the first time. Chance: 3% 4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers — There’s going to be one team that gets too many primetime games based on last year’s late-season push. (See: Cleveland Browns
2008; San Francisco 49ers
2010.) My bet for this year is the Bucs. Chance: 3% 3. Oakland Raiders — Of course
it could be the Raiders
too. We give them the slight edge here because of the team’s national following but not too much of one because showing Al Davis on live TV might be considered an FCC violation. Chance: 5% 2. Chicago Bears — One of the top rivalries in football
a rematch of last year’s competitive (if slightly boring) NFC championship game and a golden opportunity to show countless replays on Jay Cutler casually standing on the sideline. It’s a perfect opener for the NFL and NBC except for one thing: Since the tradition of the defending Super Bowl champions hosting the Thursday night opener began in 2004
a divisional matchup has only been featured once (in 2008
when the New York Giants played the Washington Redskins). Chance: 42% 1. New Orleans Saints — A matchup of the last two Super Bowl champions
each of which are helmed by marquee quarterbacks
would be a nice way for the NFL to start the process of healing after the lockout. If the game is half as good as it sounds
that process should last all of three hours. Chance: 45%
Adelman out as Rockets coach (AP)
Rick Adelman is out as coach of the Houston Rockets. The team announced that the Rockets and Adelman “have mutually agreed to part ways.” Adelman’s contract expires on June 30. General manager Daryl Morey said in a statement Monday night that the decision came after “numerous discussions and careful consideration.” “It has been a privilege and an honor to work with and…
Draft guide rips Newton personally – how much is too much?
Every year
I read and enjoy the Pro Football Weekly draft guide written by Nolan Nawrocki — it’s a very well-done and comprehensive guide that I put up there with the information given by Russ Lande of the Sporting News
and Rob Rang and Chad Reuter of NFLDraftScout.com (who strike me as the best in the business) when I want contrasting but trusted voices on draft-eligible players. And one of the main things I like about the pre-draft process is that aside from the ceaseless speculation about which prospect’s stock is rising and falling based on artificial factors (which you can easily sidestep if you just know who to avoid)
it’s more about watching tape and comparing football attributes than it is about throwing ridiculous rumors or baseless speculation out there. Sure
there seems t
o be one fake drug rumor per year
but those rumors generally come from “sources” in the second tier of the draft-o-sphere. And that’s why Nawrocki’s takedown of Auburn quarterback Cam Newton was both shocking and very much outside the box. As much as Nawrocki talked about what Newton brings to the field
he also went way off the reservation and got deep into what he considers to be Newton’s personal failings. Under “negatives” for Newton
Nawrocki writes
“Very disingenuous — has a fake smile
comes off as very scripted and has a selfish
me-first makeup. Always knows where the cameras are and plays to them. Has an enormous ego with a sense of entitlement that continually invites trouble and makes him believe he is above the law — does not command respect from teammates and will always struggle to win a locker room . . . Lacks accountability
focus and trustworthiness — is not punctual
seeks shortcuts and sets a bad example. Immature and has had issues with authority. Not dependable.” Now
I’m not arguing the merits of Nawrocki’s evaluation — I’ve heard enough “interesting” things about Newton from trusted sources to wonder if he has the tremendous mental fortitude it takes to be a successful NFL quarterback. I guess the question is — how much amateur psychology do you want in your draft guide? There’s no question that Newton has a very scripted notion of how to deal with the media; that’s why he opened his combine press conference with a pre-written statement. And there’s been enough off-field controversy linked to Newton’s name to make teams wonder if he’ll bear down when he needs to at the next level. But “enormous ego with a sense of entitlement”? “Always knows where the cameras are and plays to them”? How relevant are these evaluations to Newton’s future success? You could probably say these things about more than a few successful NFL players at any given time (and you could absolutely say them about one certain currently retired quarterback who may or may not stay retired for too long). And what does his “fake smile” have to do with anything? As I said
I respect Nawrocki’s opinion of draft-eligible players about as much as I respect the opinions of anyone who does this for a living. And just to make it clear
I’m planning to buy the guide this year
and I encourage others to do the same. But I question how relevant certain personal things are if you’re not a team possibly investing millions of dollars in a prospect. In those circumstances
I would absolutely want to know every little thing about Cam Newton
and I can then decide to separate the stuff from the stuff. And as a reader of other draft evaluations
I want to know if a player has been suspended from a program
or beat someone up in a frat house
or has been busted for PEDs. But I’m not sure how interesting or relevant it is that the prospect I’m reading about is unlikeable
phony
or has a bit too much media savvy for his own good. How much is too much? Follow Yahoo! Sports on Facebook and be the first to know about the most interesting stories of the day. Other popular Yahoo! Sports stories: • Jose Canseco caught in prank with twin • Kristi Yamaguchi thriving in a new career • MLB star had AK-47 stolen while at game