Cam Newton Appears to Be Ready for the N.F.L.

The only problem with Cam Newton’s passing for 422 yards in his N.F.L. debut was that his Carolina Panthers needed 423.

For Newton, the first pick in the draft, the first day at work was full of positives. He completed 24 of 37 attempts — short passes, long passes, passes across the middle and passes to the sideline. He was intercepted only once, mostly avoided trouble (though he was sacked four times) and even ran for a score. His yardage total broke Peyton Manning’s mark for the most by a rookie making his debut.

The only thing Newton did not do was win the game. Trailing by 28-21 in the fourth quarter, Newton got one final chance to produce a winning ending when he took over at Carolina’s 17 with 2:20 left. Two quick completions moved the Panthers into Arizona territory before the two-minute warning, and a deep ball to Steve Smith and a roughing-the-passer penalty gave him the ball at Arizona’s 11 with 1:39 to go.

But Newton threw three straight incompletions, and another on fourth down that was erased by an offisde penalty. That gift gave him one do-or-die play: a fourth-and-5 from the 6. But Newton’s final pass, a quick throw to running back Mike Goodson out of the shotgun, gained only 4 yards.

The ball went back to the Cardinals, and Kevin Kolb — who had a pretty good day in his own debut for Arizona — kneeled three times to seal Newton’s first loss in two years.

“The last time I lost a game was Navarro Junior College,” said Newton, who was unbeaten and won the Heisman Trophy last year in his only season at Auburn. “What do you want me to say, it feels great? It is not a comfortable feeling for me.”

There was one big winner for Carolina, though. That man was Steve Smith, who had eight catches for 178 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Smith is entering his 11th season with the Panthers, and for most of them he was reliably productive — and frequently sensational — at the end of balls thrown by Jake Delhomme. But Delhomme lost his way, and a series of replacements left Smith waiting for off-target and underthrown balls from the likes of Matt Moore, David Carr, Vinny Testaverde and, at rock bottom, Brian St. Pierre.

It got so bad last year that Smith told the team’s bumbling rookie savior, Jimmy Clausen, that he ought to apologize for the way he was playing.

Newton is more likely to get a thank-you card.

“He was everything everybody didn’t expect him to be,” Smith said. “He was on point, he made some great runs, he made some great reads, made some fantastic throws. He made some throws out there that honestly as a receiver it made it easy to catch them.”

U.S. Open: Serena Williams upset in finals by Samantha Stosur

Serena Williams suffered another temper meltdown at the U.S. Open and then a momentous loss Sunday in the women's final of the U.S. Open.

Ninth-seeded Samantha Stosur of Australia won her first major championship with a 6-2, 6-3 win over 28th-seeded Williams on Sunday on Arthur Ashe Stadium. If the seedings made Stosur the favorite, Williams, who was already a 13-time major winner, was the heavy favorite.

But in the first game of the second set, as Williams hit what was about to be a definitive forehand winner to save a break point, Williams bellowed just before the ball landed. Chair umpire Eva Asderaki of Greece called Williams for a violation and the point was awarded to Stosur.

It also meant the game went to Stosur and as boos filled Arthur Ashe Stadium, Williams had a contentious discussion with chair umpire Asderaki that included Williams saying,"If you ever see me walking down the hall, look the other way."

The last time Williams played at the Open, in 2009, she lost to Kim Clijsters in the semifinals, a match that ended with a controversial foot fault called on Williams that caused Williams to burst into an obscenity-laden tirade that included a threat of shoving a racket down the throat of the lineswoman who made the call. It also resulted in a penalty point that ended the match in Clijsters' favor.

Sunday, after the code violation was called, Serena seemed to say, "I get a code violation for this? I express who I am. We're in America last I checked."

Stosur seemed momentarily unnerved by the incident and the Ashe crowd booed loudly for almost a minute and Williams came back to win two straight games to take a 2-1 lead from 0-1 down.

But the 27-year-old Stosur never changed expression or quit hitting winners. On her third attempt at match point, Stosur pounded a forehand return winner past Williams to complete the 1 hour, 13-minute win.

Williams was gracious on court during the awards ceremony, saying the point that was given to Stosur didn't matter because Stosur was playing too well anyway.

ALSO:

US Open: Memories of a decade ago

Samantha Stosur advances to women's finals

Caroline Wozniacki, Serena Williams: Who's No. 1

-- Diane Pucin, reporting from New York

Photos: (Left) Serena Williams reacts as she plays Samantha Stosur during the U.S. Open women's final. Credit : John G. Mabanglo / EPA (Right) Australian Samantha Stosur hits a return to Serena Williams during the final.  Credit : John G. Mabanglo / EPA

Wales Robbed by Duff Call and Question Marks about Ball

Why, oh why didn't Wayne Barnes go to the TMO when there was clearly doubt about James Hook's penalty kick in the 14th minute? The technology is there. Use it. It may not even have been conclusive but while there is doubt, there is controversy. Wales deserve better, so does the game.

 

But what a game. Not one of the Welsh bleaterd about the result or Barnes' stance. Good on them. That shouldn't stop us though. Was he right or wrong?

 

A few other thoughts before heading out of rainy Wellington to Queenstown where England are based.

Is there anything wrong with the World Cup ball or did Jonny just have a nightmare evening? James Hook missed a late one too, not to mention drop goal miss by Rhys Priestland.

Is there a better prospect in Britain and Ireland than Sam Warburton? A Lions captain in the making.

Didn't England look a ragged bunch in those black shirts, numbers falling off their back. Mind you, no-one in England complains when the Kiwis wear a white change strip. Too precious by half AB fans. It's the silver fern that defines the shirt not a shade of colour.

USC basketball: Trojans receive verbal commit from Serbian forward

The USC men's basketball team has received a verbal commitment for 2012 from Serbian forward Strahinja Gavrilovic, said a source close to the team Sunday who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

Gavrilovic is 6-foot-8, 220 pounds and is enrolled as a senior at La Jolla High, the source said, adding that he is an inside/outside player who's also a good three-point shooter. 

His father, Zoran, played professionally overseas for more than a decade. 

Gavrilovic is USC's second verbal commitment for 2012. The other is Larry Lewis, a shooting guard from Arizona. 

-- Baxter Holmes

9/11 anniversary: Memories of a decade ago

Ten years ago I was in New York for the U.S. Open and because of that and a couple of other random circumstances, there was a moment or two when I had a seat on American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane that was taken by terrorists and flown into the World Trade Center.

Back here again, a decade gone by so quickly and there is no embarrassment from me in saying, for certain, when the United States Tennis Assn. holds its 9/11 ceremony before the women’s singles final Sunday between Serena Williams and Samantha Stosur, tears will be shed. Mine.

Some things the U.S. Open doesn’t do well: preventing rain, having covered courts, needing ball kids with towels to mop up the spills from the sky.

But ceremonies the Open does do well and it seems appropriate to have “9-11-01” inscribed on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.

I had to look up who won the 2001 men’s Open final, held on Sept. 9. It was Lleyton Hewitt, who beat the diminishing Pete Sampras, 7-6 (4), 6-1, 6-1.

On Monday, Sept. 10, instead of flying home to Los Angeles as planned, I got a new assignment: to write about the Yankees and Red Sox and Roger Clemens aiming for his 20th straight pitching victory. The game was rained out, of all things, but in the rescheduling of my flight home I briefly held a seat on American Flight 11 on Sept. 11.

Because I’m not much for getting up early, and because of the luck of the airline sticker upgrade lottery, I switched off Flight 11 to one later in the day. My husband woke me up that morning and from that moment, I will never not cry if I’m in New York.

And so I’m back again, 10 years later, staying at the same place, the Grand Hyatt.

It’s always the media hotel for the U.S. Open. Some hate it for its largeness and busy buzz and crowded lobby, but the hotel will always feel like home to me. It felt like a safe hideaway 10 years ago. After helping report on the awful personal tragedies around the city, that Hyatt room was where I’d go to cry.

It’s also attached to Grand Central Station where, within hours of the Twin Towers tumbling, people from all over the city had taped up handmade fliers or pieces of cardboard or business cards with photos and pleadings that if anyone had seen their father or mother, son or daughter, neighbor or friend who had suddenly disappeared, to please, please, phone or fax or text or email. A year later when I was back at the Hyatt many of those handwritten, hope-filled postings were still up. Two years later they were gone.

They stay in my mind, though, as if they had been written just yesterday. That day will always stay in my head, as if it were yesterday.

-- Diane Pucin in New York

Tuck Inactive for Giants Opener

LANDOVER, Md. — The Giants opened their season Sunday afternoon against the Washington Redskins without their defensive leader, Justin Tuck, who was declared inactive just before the game because of a lingering neck injury.

Early last week, Tuck said he was certain he would play. He was still feeling discomfort in his neck, the result of a stinger he sustained in a preseason game, but it would not keep him out, he said. By Thursday, however, Tuck had backed off that assertion and the defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said it would be “a bonus” if Tuck played. Tuck did travel with the team Saturday on the chance his neck improved, but joined Prince Amukamara, Travis Beckum, James Brewer, Jerrel Jernigan, Mitch Petrus and Osi Umenyiora on the inactive list.

The backup lineman Dave Tollefson will start in place of Tuck, who had played in 64 straight games.

Vitali Klitschko dominates Tomasz Adamek with 10th round TKO in one-sided WBC heavyweight title defence

Vitali Klitschko retained the WBC heavyweight title with a performance of complete dominance over Polish challenger Tomasz Adamek at Stadion Miejski, winning by technical knockout in the 10th round. The Klitschko brothers, Vitali and Wladimir, continue to control the four major heavyweight world title belts.

Klitschko, 40, rocked Adamek from the opening round onwards with heavy right hands, using his considerable size advantage to keep the 34-year-old Adamek at bay with the jab. Early in the contest, it looked as if Adamek would be stopped, but showing great heart, but little else, the Pole hung in there. Italian referee Massimo Barrovecchio stepped in to stop the one-sided contest 2 minutes, 20 seconds into the 10th round.

The first heavyweight fight held in Poland was cheered on by the 42,000 spectators at Wroclaw's sold-out football stadium, built for next year's European Championship.

"He's a very good boxer," said Klitschko, who looked in great condition for this contest. "He was a cruiserweight champion, he was a light heavyweight champion, but he's not good enough to be a heavyweight champion because it's another league."

Klitschko's only blemish came when he slipped in the eighth round, but he found his feet to continue his commanding ring generalship in the ninth and 10th to improve his record to 43-2, including 40 knockouts. Adamek drops to 44-2. "You win some, you lose some. This was one I lost," said Adamek. Comprehensively so.

Rugby World Cup 2011: a mixed bag of good and bad, of deserving winners and desperately unlucky losers

What an opening weekend! After a fairly meek and predictable start to proceedings on Friday, the tension and intensity just got better and better, and it's fair to say there were some very deserved winners and some very unlucky losers.

A quick 'soundbyte' on each of the big teams – who's starting to look good and who's not – and then let me have your thoughts please.

New Zealand Pretty flash in the first half against a very plucky Tonga, pretty flat and sloppy in the second – something they simply can't afford to be against better teams. Still, will be happy to have had a proper workout and to have survived opening night without major injuries. Will need to step up seriously.

Scotland So nearly terribly embarrassed. Came into this tournament very confident after a good run of warm-ups, but will have feet very firmly on the ground again. Play like this against England and Argentina, and you'll have an early taste of Scottish sleet back home.

England Disjointed and slightly backwards for most of the match, but ultimately had the nous and seized the moment to deny Argentina. All credit to them for that. They have the bloody-mindedness to compete with the top boys, but still looked flat on attack and discipline could easily trip them up. Were deservedly on the receiving end of the penalty count and Courtney Lawes' penchant for being the enforcer may yet cost them dearly. Good enough for the quarter-finals, but then?

Argentina Brave, brilliant and battered – were in serious danger of clearing their bench by half-time – but continued to show magnificent commitment. Yes, profited from Jonny Wilkinson having a horror show with the boot, but also squandered a good few kicks themselves. Possible progress now depends on how well they mentally deal with this heartbreaking loss – and whether New Zealand has enough plasters to tape their broken bodies together. Alarm bells whispering.

 France Another embarrassment was on the cards but hey, this is France. Highly unlikely to lose any sleep over this. A typical French shoulder shrug, a nonchalant lift of the eyebrows, and it's on to the next match. Deep down Les Bleus will know that they'll have one of those magic days when everything clicks. Will hope it comes against New Zealand on Sep 24 or in the quarter-final. Jury still out.

Australia A bit flat in first half and well matched by the Italians, but take the weekend's points for a brilliant, decisive and clinical second half. Have the most reason of all to feel very optimistic.

Italy So much promise in first half, then fell off tackles and had no answer to the Wallabies' power and precision. Likely to have felt pretty miserable immediately after their match, but would have perked up on watching their most likely contenders for runner-up spot in the pool, Ireland, struggle against inferior opposition. Like Silvio Berlusconi, a dead man walking or will they rise up?

Ireland See the surprise  on the Irish faces at the end? They'd almost forgotten what it felt like to win. And let's be honest here, on this showing they're likely to forget it soon again. It simply beats me how so many fabulous players and individuals can be so average as a unit. Their showdown with Italy will be massive.

South Africa Would be harsh to call them the weekend's most undeserving winners, but very tempting to do just that. Looked tired, harassed and there for the taking – then showed just enough game management to prevail. No matter how ugly or how close, first blood and four points to the Springboks. Deep down, though, they'll know that big trouble could yet loom further down the line.

Wales Brilliant for the most part, clueless when it mattered most. And I'm not talking only about conceding that try, that contentious penalty or James Hook missing his last penalty attempt, but when, on the attack and only a few minutes to go, they were so desperate and so frenzied to attack that they failed to commit enough players to the breakdown and simply got bulldozed off the ball. Suddenly the Boks had the ball in their hands, the bit between their teeth and the points in the bag. Wales have worked hard on most aspects of the game and their fitness – now they must very quickly learn the meaning of composure. Their progress – or not – depends entirely on how they mentally respond to this gutting, galling defeat.

 As for the others, hats off to Fiji for an entertaining win, and all the other teams for entertaining, plucky defeats. Opening weekend is over and nobody's been disgraced. My only disappointment of the tournament so far is the seemingly big blocks of empty seats at some of the games (even some of the bigger ones). What's going on there?

Your take on the weekend's action please! And I'll name the winner of the Maximuscle gear and products tomorrow. 

This blog is supported by Maximuscle, the sports nutrition choice of Courtney Lawes, Joe Simpson and the Welsh team. For more information on how Maximuscle is the Team Behind the Team go to www.maximuscle.com/tbtt

Rugby World Cup 2011: Pieter de Villiers must drop the dead wood in his South Africa team

Sink or swim: Pieter de Villiers has a big decision to make (Photo: GETTY IMAGES)

If Pieter de Villiers and South Africa are to achieve anything at this Rugby World Cup he must realise what his best team is – and fast.

The substitution of John Smit, Pierre Spies and Bryan Habana, with the Springboks on their knees against Wales, brought about an instant change in fortunes for the struggling world champions.

Bismarck du Plessis lead the way in defence and carried well when called upon, Willem Alberts brought ballast and application to the back row and Francois Hougaard made more yardage with the ball than Habana had managed for the preceding 60 minutes.

If De Villiers can extend his mea culpa even further by picking young Sharks fly-half Pat Lambie at 10 then South Africa may have something resembling a competitive team.

If the marked improvement in South Africa's performance after those substitutions was not evidence enough for De Villiers then he should look to England's campaign in 2007.

They were also world champions and they also began the tournament in a mess. By the end of the 2nd pool game they had sneaked past the USA and been thrashed by the Boks.

Player power and cold hard reality sunk in and they adapated. Tactics were changed (actually tactics were employed for the first time having been missing in action before). Also, and most importantly, players like Shaun Perry who were quite clearly not up to the task of defending the trophy were removed.

Reinventing the wheel mid-tournament requires guts, but England showed it can be done, going on to reach the final when it looked impossible.

There is however a spanner in the works for South Africa: the fitness of Bakkies Botha, Victor Matfield and Jean de Villiers. If they are all unavailable (and it doesn't look good for Botha) then the Boks lose three towers of experience. If you also drop John Smit you are down four big, big leaders.

Does De Villiers have the courage to do what needs to be done? Will the players need to tell him so? Or will he carry on blindly with Plan A?

For what it's worth this is the team that I would pick for the big game against Samoa:

South Africa: Beast, Du Plessis, Du Plessis, Rossouw, Matfield (captain if fit), Brussow, Alberts, Burger, Du Preez, Lambie, Hougaard, De Villiers (if fit), Fourie, Pietersen, F Steyn

Thoughts?

 

UCLA football: Kicker Kip Smith feels, looks like a new man

Kip Smith appears to be winning the confidence game that is kicking.

"Thoughts of missing just aren't in my mind anymore," the UCLA kicker said late Saturday night after making both his field-goal attempts, including a 20-yarder midway through the fourth quarter that provided the go-ahead score during the Bruins' 27-17 victory over San Jose State at the Rose Bowl.

Smith said he had spoken with sports psychologists, coaches and teammates (past and present) the last two weeks in an effort to boost the mental side of his game. He needed help after missing a 32-yard try and an extra point during UCLA's season-opening loss to Houston.

 "You just can't think about negative things," Smith said. "You just have to believe in yourself."

Smith's first field goal, from 38 yards midway through the third quarter, gave UCLA a 17-10 lead. He said he didn't feel extra pressure when he lined up for his second attempt, even though San Jose State had tied the score on Brandon Rutley's 65-yard touchdown run.

"Honestly, I didn't realize that kick was that big until afterward," said Smith, who also converted all three extra-point attempts.

One flawless game does not constitute a successful season, so Smith said he's trying to put it in perspective.

"It was a great night," Smith said. "I have to enjoy this and come back and be consistent."

--Ben Bolch

Photos: (Top) UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel congratulates kicker Kip Smith after his PAT gave the Bruins a 27-17 lead over San Jose State on Saturday. Credit: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times. (Inset) Kip Smith. Credit: Don Liebig / UCLA

UCLA football: Plenty of seats were available for Bruins-Spartans

At least UCLA’s near-debacle against San Jose State was a private affair.

The Bruins drew 42,685 to the Rose Bowl for their 27-17 victory Saturday. It was the second-smallest crowd since UCLA moved to the Rose Bowl. UCLA had 37,965 show up for a game against Cal State Fullerton in 1992.

Saturday was the sixth sub-50,000 crowd for UCLA at the Rose Bowl, joining Rice (44,808) in 2005, Boise State (46,752) in 1999, Oklahoma State (48,702) in 2004 and Northeast Louisiana (49,990) in 1996.

Coach Rick Neuheisel, though, was relentlessly optimistic about the small crowd.

“I never get disappointed at people who come to a game,” Neuheisel said. “Our job is to get more to come, but the ones who come we love and appreciate them and look forward to them coming next week.”

Still, Neuheisel broke with his tradition and did not address the crowd following the victory.

--Chris Foster

Photo: UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel gives the thumbs-up to fans as he arrives at the Rose Bowl for Saturday's game against San Jose State. Credit: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

USC football: Pac-12 explains rationale for changing score of USC victory

The final score of USC's 23-14 victory over Utah on Saturday night was not determined until the Pacific 12 Conference office weighed in.

Specifically, Pac-12 officiating consultant Mike Pereira.

Players from USC and Utah, as well as fans at the Coliseum and millions watching on TV, listening on radio and following the game on the Internet, thought the game ended with USC winning, 17-14.

But two hours later, the Pac-12 ruled that officials erred by not allowing Torin Harris' touchdown return after Matt Kalil blocked a field-goal attempt on the game's final play.

Here's Pereira's statement:

"The new Unsportsmanlike Conduct rule is Rule 9, Section 2, Article 1. It states that Unsportsmanlike Conduct fouls by players are administered as either live ball or dead ball fouls depending on when they occur. The rule does not apply to substitutes. All Unsportsmanlike Conduct fouls by substitutes are enforced as dead ball fouls. Since the game was over, the penalty could not be enforced and the referee stated it was declined by rule. The officials did rule it a touchdown making the final score 23-14.”

--Gary Klein