The Times' Sam Farmer talks about the now-infamous handshake between Jim Harbaugh and Jim Schwartz on Sunday.
Monday, October 17, 2011
College football: Sizing up the first BCS standings [Video]
The Times' Chris Dufresne discusses what stands out in the first BCS standings and how injuries could affect the title race.
Devils Become Digital Host for New Jersey Youth Hockey
NEWARK — If you want up-to-date statistics for the players on the New Jersey Devils, the team’s official Web site is a wise place to click. If you want to find out how the Hackensack Comets, Edison Eagles, Livingston Lancers, Don Bosco Prep Ironman and all the other New Jersey high school ice hockey teams are faring, you can also go to Devils.nhl.com.
The Devils have become the first N.H.L. club to host the statistics, game scores and standings of the majority of high school and youth leagues in its state. Team officials say that more than 6,000 children play for more than 300 teams whose on-ice action will be reported on the site.
“We’re proud to be doing this,” Devils’ chairman Jeff Vanderbeek said in an interview. “Connecting all of these New Jersey teams to our Web site is a big step for us. We’ve worked hard to truly become New Jersey’s team. When it comes to social media and the digital space, we want to be the most cutting edge team in all of sports.”
Many of the local teams’ jerseys are displayed on the Prudential Center concourse and the Devils host the state high school championships. Vanderbeek said research has shown that hockey is the fastest-growing sport among children in New Jersey. The initiatives are civic gestures and practical business moves and Vanderbeek does not pretend otherwise. “Today’s youth hockey players are tomorrow’s season ticket holders,” he said, “and we want them to be Devils fans right from the start.”
The new section of the Web site, with the information from the state’s Youth Hockey League and Interscholastic Athletic Association, has been branded as New Jersey Youth Hockey Central. The Devils have provided the youth hockey leagues with LeagueStat, an online tracking system, so representatives from the teams can enter data in real time or after the game.
In addition, the Devils’ Mission Control – a group of 25 Devils-loving volunteers that monitors all team news on Twitter, Facebook and Web sites from the team’s office in Prudential Center – will provide coverage of the local leagues.
“This is a great opportunity for our student athletes to be featured on the Web site of an N.H.L. team,” said Jack DuBois, the assistant director of the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association. “Our long-term relationship with the Devils has taken high school sports to a new level.”
Wings Off to Fast, if Quiet Start
It’s time to introduce the Detroit Red Wings.
Remember them?
They’ve been Detroit’s forgotten team, lost in the giddiness of the Tigers playing in the American League Championship Series and the Lions cruising to a 5-1 start.
But the Red Wings, very quietly, have been on a torrid streak of their own, starting the N.H.L. season 4-0. One of the keys to the Wings’ fast start is the play of newcomer defenseman Ian White, who is plus-4 with a pair of goals and an assist.
White signed with the Wings for two years and $5.75 million in the offseason and was expected to fill the void left by the retirement of Brian Rafalski. White has played for the Maple Leafs, Sharks, Flames and Hurricanes since entering the N.H.L. in 2005.
White told the Detroit News he’s feeling good with the Wings so far, a team that plays his style of hockey.
“They pride themselves on hanging on to the puck and making plays,” White said. “They don’t have a whole lot of that dump and chase and have good puck possession. I feel that works good for me.”
White has been paired with team captain Nicklas Lidstrom and they seem to have found chemistry quickly.
“It’s been special, obviously he’s one of the best of all-time,” White told the Detroit News. “To get an opportunity to play with him, alongside him, and just watch the way he plays out there is amazing.”
The Wings have also gotten fast starts from Jiri Hudler, Jakub Kindl, Johan Franzen, Valterri Filppula. Hudler and Franzen are a plus-4, with two goals and two assists each. Filppula has a goal and two assists.
Kindl, a defenseman, has become a bigger part of the Wings lineup and is a plus-6.
Another strength, so far, for the Wings has been the steady goaltending of Jimmy Howard. He’s put up a 1.63 goals against average, good for fifth in the N.H.L.
Dan Wheldon crash: Two injured drivers treated and released
This post has been updated. See below for details.
Two other IndyCar drivers involved in the 15-car wreck that killed British driver Dan Wheldon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday were treated for minor injuries, their teams said.
Will Power of Penske Racing, who finished second in the title standings behind champion Dario Franchitti, complained of pain in his upper back after his car went airborne in the crash.
But "there was no evidence of significant injuries so he has been released" from University Medical Center in Las Vegas, Penske Racing said.
Another driver, Pippa Mann of the Rahal Letterman Lanigan team, had surgery Sunday night at the same hospital to treat a severely burned pinkie finger on her right hand. She was being released Monday morning, her team said.
[Updated, 12:20 p.m. Oct. 17: A third driver, J.R. Hildebrand, suffered a “severely bruised sternum” in the accident and was held overnight at University Medical Center but was released Monday, his team, Panther Racing, said.]
The Izod IndyCar Series, meanwhile, announced that it canceled its championship banquet scheduled for Monday night at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.
The series also said information on a public memorial for Wheldon will be released at a later date.
RELATED:
Graphic: Comparing tracks at Las Vegas and Indianapolis Motor Speedways
-- Jim Peltz
Photo: Drew Boyd places a checkered flag at a gate of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as part of a memorial for two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon. Credit: Scott Olson / Getty Images
Greatest sports figures in L.A. history, No. 16: Jerry Buss
Continuing our countdown of the 20 greatest figures in L.A. sports history with No. 16, Jerry Buss.
No. 16 Jerry Buss (no first-place votes, 723 points).
Amid the pageantry of the Lakers' ring ceremony for their 2010 championship, Kobe Bryant wanted to make sure one man received the proper credit.
"None of this would have been possible," the superstar guard told the Staples Center crowd, "without the greatest owner in the history of team sports … Mr. Jerry Buss."
Certainly, no owner in team sports has been more successful.
Since Buss bought the Lakers in 1979, they have won 10 championships and been to the NBA Finals 16 times. Only twice in that span have they missed the playoffs.
While building the Lakers into one of the premier franchises in sports, he's done so with a certain flair.
"Right after I bought the team, I used to go into this little lounge in Santa Monica," Buss said in an interview with Times columnist Bill Plaschke in 2008. "The owner was also the musical director for MGM and they used to perform musicals there late at night, it was fantastic. Just before they would start, everyone would start shouting, 'Showtime! Showtime!' I remember thinking, this is how I wanted people to feel about their team."
L.A. Times October MMA Rankings
Heavyweight
2. Junior Dos Santos
3. Alistair Overeem
4. Brock Lesnar
5. Fabricio Werdum
6. Daniel Cormier
7. Josh Barnett
8. Frank Mir
9. Antonio Silva
10. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
It was a busy month for MMA in every decision except heavyweight. With Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos, Alistair Overeem vs. Brock Lesnar and Daniel Cormier vs. Josh Barnett on the horizon, the biggest heavyweight bouts of the past month featured Travis Browne scoring an underwhelming win over Rob Broughton and Stefan Struve submitting Pat Barry.
Light Heavyweight
1. Jon Jones
2. Rashad Evans
3. Lyoto Machida
4. Quinton Jackson
5. Dan Henderson
6. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
7. Gegard Mousasi
8. Thiago Silva
9. Forrest Griffin
10. Rich Franklin
Jon Jones scored the most impressive win of his career in his first UFC Light Heavyweight Title defense at UFC 135. Quinton Jackson showed up in great shape and kept pushing Jones, but he was no match for Jones' much more varied and dynamic offense. That would have seemed to set up Rashad Evans finally getting his shot at Jones, but due to a hand injury he was passed in line again. Lyoto Machida will receive the next title shot at Jones December in Toronto. Evans took the news in stride and will fight the winner.
Middleweight
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