By Tom Jones, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, August 11, 2012

Matt Barkley, QB, Southern Cal

The favorite. Barkley turned down a chance to enter the NFL draft in the spring and, instead, returns to start his fourth year with the Trojans. He threw for a Pac-12 record 39 touchdowns last season and being at USC doesn't hurt his Heisman hopes. The Trojans have produced seven Heisman winners if you count Reggie Bush, who was forced to vacate his award. In addition, playing for the Men of Troy means plenty of high-profile games. This season, that includes games against Oregon, Stanford and Notre Dame. He is surrounded by an outstanding receiving corps, including junior Robert Woods, who might be a Heisman candidate himself. Same goes for Penn State transfer Silas Redd, who should provide a running game to take some of the heat off of Barkley. The biggest issue he faces is meeting high expectations.

Montee Ball, RB, Wisconsin

The senior was a Heisman finalist last year after leading the country with 1,923 rushing yards and 39 touchdowns, which tied the single-season NCAA record. In fact, maybe Ball should be considered the favorite, seeing as how no active college player had more Heisman votes in 2011. If he can score 18 touchdowns, he will become college football's all-time touchdown king. That and the fact that he is probably going to end up among the NCAA's all-time top 10 rushers would make it pretty difficult for voters to deny him the Heisman. But, alarmingly, he sustained a concussion after being beaten up in an on-campus attack last week. He is, however, expected to be ready for the season opener.

De'Anthony Thomas, RB, Oregon

Maybe pound-for-pound, the best all-purpose running back in the country. He can run and catch and might end up on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays more than any player in the country. He scored 18 touchdowns (seven rushing, nine receiving, two kick returns) last season in Chip Kelly's high-powered, go-go-go offense. He has two things that could hurt him. One, he's a sophomore, although that didn't hurt Tim Tebow or Sam Bradford. The other problem is, believe it or not, a West Coast bias. (Yes, it is real.) Oregon is a high-profile team, yet those in the East don't watch Oregon when it is not playing a big game against, say, a USC or Stanford. Needless to say, Thomas needs huge games against those two programs.

EJ Manuel, QB, Florida State

Actually, we should be listing someone else in this spot, someone like Arkansas RB Knile Davis, Kansas State duel-threat QB Collin Klein or Clemson QB Tajh Boyd, who threw for 33 touchdowns and nearly 4,000 yards last season. We could even list sophomore QB David Piland, who will put up video game numbers playing in Houston. But we have to at least mention the state of Florida's best chance at a Heisman, though we're not sure Manuel has much of a chance. Here's what the redshirt senior has going for him: FSU should be good, maybe even in the national title hunt. He also has become more consistent. He threw only eight interceptions last season, none in his last 121 passes. On the downside, he wasn't well protected, being sacked 33 times. So his protection must get better. Also, FSU's schedule, overall, is weak. That bodes well for putting up big numbers, but a lack of marquee opponents might not impress Heisman voters.

Denard Robinson, QB, Michigan

Heisman voters love duel-threat quarterbacks, and there's probably no better duel-threat QB in the land than Robinson. Last season, he threw for more than 2,100 yards and rushed for more than 1,110, while accounting for 36 touchdowns. The schedule is hard — Michigan opens with Alabama and closes with Ohio State — and that could throw a wrench in his Heisman hopes. Then again, success in those games could give him the upper hand. As with any spread-offense QB, the senior might have a tough time staying healthy, especially considering he's only 6 feet and 190 pounds. Meantime, when you're talking about duel-threat QBs, it would be wise to keep an eye on Michigan's rival and Ohio State sophomore QB Braxton Miller. His new coach — that would be Urban Meyer — knows a thing or two about building good quarterbacks.

Marcus Lattimore, RB, South Carolina

Lattimore is off the radar a bit because a knee injury cut his 2011 season short in October. But he rushed for nearly 1,200 yards as a freshman and was on pace for 1,500 yards before last season's injury. All reports are that he is back to 100 percent. The upside is the junior plays for offensive guru Steve Spurrier, who loves to run the football way more than his gunslinger reputation suggests. The downside is Lattimore plays in the ultratough SEC.

Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia

Maybe you don't realize the monster season Smith had in 2011: 4,379 yards passing with 31 touchdowns. You might think West Virginia leaving the Big East for the Big 12 would make things tougher on the senior, but actually, playing in the defensively porous Big 12 might be an advantage. Plus, the Big 12 will give him a few more games that will be noticed by the national media. What might work against him is the Mountaineers likely won't win the conference. Then again, maybe he can be like last year's Heisman winner, Robert Griffin III. RG3 didn't win a conference title, but his numbers were so impressive that they couldn't be overlooked.

Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma

Jones has had a superb career at Oklahoma with more than 12,000 yards passing and 93 touchdowns. He plays for a top 10 team and any quarterback in the national championship race will get a long look from Heisman voters. The key for the senior is playing well in an intriguing nonconference game against Notre Dame. If he can do that, in addition to playing well against Big 12 rivals Texas, Oklahoma State, West Virginia and TCU, he has a shot. But one bad game in a loss could sabotage his changes.

Aaron Murray, QB, Georgia

The Plant High grad is an interesting Heisman candidate. The junior likely would have to put up incredible numbers to be in the conversation. That's because Georgia is good, but probably not good enough to win the SEC. And because Murray likely won't get any extra hype by playing on a national championship contender, he will have to put up monster numbers. You wouldn't think that would be easy in the SEC, but, actually, Georgia's schedule might not be overwhelming. There's no LSU, no Alabama and no Arkansas, unless they get to the SEC title game. They do have Florida and Tennessee, but the Gators and Vols aren't the Gators and Vols from 10 years ago.

tom jones' two cents

College football is just around the corner. That makes this the perfect time to put together a Heisman Trophy watch list. There are those not on this list who will emerge as Heisman contenders as the season progresses. There are those on this list who will drop off as the season rolls along. But here's our first look at who we believe will be in the Heisman conversation in 2012.

By Ed Walker, Times Correspondent
Saturday, August 11, 2012

What's hot: Offshore fishing has produced surprises lately. While targeting gag grouper, scamp and mangrove snapper in water deeper than 150 feet, we also caught kingfish and cobia. One trip southwest of Tarpon Springs produced three kings up to 30 pounds and two cobia. These migratory pelagic species have been appearing more often than normal in recent weeks, prompting a modification to our typical bottom fishing.

Tackle tips: When fishing deep, we often keep a flat line with a monofilament leader and live sardine behind the boat for blackfin tuna. If that line gets hit but the hook gets cut off, we quickly deploy a similar rig with a wire leader. Tuna seldom strike a wire rig, but the kings will, even after they bite a hook off a mono leader.

Chum: When fish on the sonar appear high in the water column, try setting a block of chum in a large meshed bag off the stern. Pelagic fish are often found near schools of other fish, such as snapper, that are suspended off the bottom. Chum not only brings the snapper higher, it can draw open-water fish into range of the baits. Even mahimahi that wander by will stay around the boat longer if there is a steady flow of ground fish in the water.

Ed Walker charters out of Tarpon Springs. He can be contacted at lighttacklecharters.com or at (727) 944-3474.

Times wires
Saturday, August 11, 2012

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — When push came to shove, Carl Edwards got the best of Brad Keselowski.

Edwards, making his first NASCAR Nationwide series start of the season, beat Keselowski on a two-lap dash to the checkered flag on Saturday and won the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International.

It was Edwards' 38th victory in the second-tier series, breaking a tie with Kevin Harvick for third on the career list.

Pole-sitter Sam Hornish finished third, followed by Ricky Stenhouse and Ron Fellows.

Elliott Sadler finished 12th and holds a 13-point lead over Stenhouse in the standings.

Edwards pulled away on the final restart, speeding up through the esses before Keselowski began to close.

"I hate to admit it, but I missed a downshift in Turn 6," Edwards said of the next sequence, in which Keselowski got beside him as they neared the white flag. "All day, that was where he was beating me, so I went in there extra hard, and I missed my downshift and he got next to me."

The two banged in the turn at the top of the front straightaway but Edwards sped away.

"He came up the track and hit me, put me in the wall there," Keselowski said. "I didn't have a chance after that."

Danica Patrick was taken out by Ryan Truex on the first turn of the lap. Patrick, with a broken radiator, could not return. She finished last in the 43-car field for her worst NASCAR result.

Times wires
Saturday, August 11, 2012

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Jeff Gordon is fresh off his first Sprint Cup victory of the season and next up is today's race on the road course at Watkins Glen International, one of his most successful tracks.

Or is it?

For a great deal of Gordon's NASCAR career, he was known as the series' road warrior, racking up victories at the Glen and the road course in Sonoma, Calif.

That was then.

Gordon has four wins at Watkins Glen, but his last came in 2001. In fact, in the 10 races since that victory, he only has two top-10 finishes and a best finish of ninth in 2007 in upstate New York.

Where did Gordon's mojo go?

"We have not run very well at Watkins Glen in recent years, and it's been very disappointing to me and the team," he told the Charlotte Observer. "It was not from lack of effort. We've just not had the setup and grip that we've needed at that track."

Gordon saw improvements this season at Sonoma, where he started second and finished sixth — his seventh consecutive top-10 at that track.

"Sonoma is not Watkins Glen, so I'm optimistic. I think we've made improvement, but we won't really know until we get there," Gordon, 41, said. "I hope the things that we've learned we can apply there and see the results.

"I always love going to the road courses, and Watkins Glen is always one of my favorites. You've got to attack the race track in the braking zones, and the car has got to be there for you and (it has to) stick. If it's not, it makes for a long day."

MONTOYA ON POLE: This week, the pole was no surprise to Juan Montoya.

The unexpected pole-sitter last week at Pocono, Montoya made it two in a row Saturday at Watkins Glen, the 2.45-mile road course where he'll start first in today's Finger Lakes 355.

With seven wins in Formula One, Montoya expects to run well at road courses, and he did, setting a track record in 69.438 seconds (127.020 mph).

"It's about how well you can put it all together, and I think we did a pretty good job of that," Montoya said.

Montoya edged Kyle Busch (126.928 mph) by 0.05 seconds. Busch also broke the mark of 126.421 mph he set last year, as did third-place Jimmie Johnson (126.925 mph), No. 4 Brad Keselowski (126.626), and No. 5 Marcos Ambrose (126.524), the defending race winner.

AMBROSE'S DRIVE: A year ago, Ambrose outdueled Busch and Keselowski in a green-white-checkered finish at the Glen for his first and only Sprint Cup win.

Another victory today would vault Ambrose and Richard Petty Motorsports into the wild-card picture for the 10-race Chase for the Championship. He's somewhat far back in points (18th) but as it stands, only Kasey Kahne has two wins among the drivers ranked 11-20 in points. If he wins today, Ambrose would almost certainly need another win before the end of the regular season.

Ambrose, 35, has one win and four top-fives at Watkins Glen for an average finish of 2.3, tops in the series.

Though he's desperate for a victory on an oval, Ambrose likes what RPM has done. Ambrose has won his first two career poles this year and has five top-10s.

"We're proud of winning the race here last year, and we're pleased with how we've gone this year," Ambrose said. "We're not a super team, but we're a really strong two-car team, probably one of the strongest out there right now. We feel like we've had a good year, but not a great year, and we need to finish off really strong."

Times wires
Saturday, August 11, 2012

SYLVANIA, Ohio — For the lead groups, the final round of the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic will be just like a friendly round back home in South Korea.

Oh, and give the winner a check for $195,000.

South Koreans Jiyai Shin, I.K. Kim, So Yeon Ryu and Hee Kyung Seo dominated the leaderboard, sharing the top spot at 11-under 202 Saturday through the third round.

Two more South Koreans, Inbee Park (69) and second-round leader Chella Choi (70), were a shot back along with Japan's Mika Miyazato (69).

"It will be really exciting" today, said Kim, chasing her fourth career LPGA victory. "These are players that I grew up with. I know them personally, and I know their family issues and all that. So, even though we're playing in the U.S., having them around I feel much more at home."

In addition to filling the top four spots and six of the top seven, South Korean players occupied seven of the top 11 positions and 11 of the top 25.

Seminole's Brittany Lincicome (69) was tied for 33rd at 2-under 211. Tampa's Cindy LaCrosse and Tampa resident Kristy McPherson both shot 71 and were tied for 43rd at 212.

U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR: Lydia Ko, 15, a South Korean-born New Zealander, and Jaye Marie Green, 18, of Boca Raton advanced to today's 36-hole final, winning semifinal matches in wet and windy conditions at the Country Club in Cleveland.

Times wires
Saturday, August 11, 2012

Yankees 5, Blue Jays 2

TORONTO — Ivan Nova snapped a five-start winless streak, Casey McGehee hit a three-run home run and the Yankees won their fourth straight. Derek Jeter had two hits to join Hank Aaron as the only players with 17 straight 150-hit seasons. Nova went in 0-3 with an 8.36 ERA in five starts since winning at Boston on July 8 but was sharp against an injury-depleted Blue Jays lineup.

Times wires
Saturday, August 11, 2012

Reds 4, Cubs 2

CHICAGO — Ryan Ludwick hit a two-run double in the eighth inning as the Reds rallied. After Drew Stubbs doubled and Brandon Phillips singled off Cubs reliever James Russell, Ludwick looped a pitch down the leftfield line and into the corner. Former Hernando High standout Bronson Arroyo allowed two runs in the second inning but settled down to improve to 5-0 in his past seven starts at Wrigley Field.

Times wires
Saturday, August 11, 2012

Giants 9, Rockies 3

SAN FRANCISCO — Buster Posey homered and drove in two runs to back Matt Cain's 7⅓ solid innings for the Giants. Cain added an RBI single en route to his first win since July 15. Angel Pagan hit a two-run triple, and Marco Scutaro, Hunter Pence and Joaquin Arias also drove in runs for San Francisco.

Times wires
Saturday, August 11, 2012

TRIATHLON

COMPETITOR DIES AFTER SWIM LEG OF NYC Ironman

An athlete in the Ironman U.S. Championship in New York City and New Jersey died Saturday after having a medical problem during the swimming portion of the grueling triathlon, race officials said.

The competitor "experienced distress" during a 2.4-mile swim in the Hudson River, a publicist for the race organizers said.

The swimmer was taken to a hospital in nearby Englewood Cliffs, N.J. The organizers said the cause of death is unknown. New York City police said the competitor was a 43-year-old man, but his name was not released.

Earlier in the week, officials issued health warnings after 3.4 million gallons of chlorinated sewage was discharged into the river. Eventually, the discharge was stanched, and tests were done Friday to determine the race course was safe for swimming, organizers said.

The race also included a 112-mile bicycle ride and a 26.2-mile marathon.

In recent years, triathlon deaths have almost always come during the opening leg, the swim, and the Hudson River has been dangerous. Two people died during the swim in the New York City Triathlon last summer and a man died during the same race in 2008.

ET CETERA

Basketball: The head of the sport's governing body doesn't foresee an age limit for the 2016 Olympics. FIBA secretary general Patrick Baumann said his feeling is an under-23 policy limit for men probably won't be proposed for the Rio Games. NBA commissioner David Stern has said the league may favor using a model like soccer, in which Olympic teams are made up of players 23 and younger, thus eliminating any more Dream Teams.

SOCCER: American midfielder Alejandro Bedoya signed a short-term contract with Swedish champion Helsingborg. He leaves Scottish club Rangers, which was placed under bankruptcy protection and forced to play in the fourth division.

TENNIS: Aleksandra Wozniak became the first Canadian in 20 years to reach the Rogers Cup quarterfinals in Montreal. … Tampa resident John Isner lost to Richard Gasquet in the Rogers Cup semifinals in Toronto.

Times wires

By Gary Shelton, Times Sports Columnist
Saturday, August 11, 2012

LONDON

They did not play very well. They missed too many shots, and they made too many turnovers. There were moments along the way when they seemed to lose focus, like schoolchildren staring out the window.

Yeah, it sure was a disappointing night for the U.S. women's basketball team.

After all, it won by only 36.

They are the most underappreciated dynasty in the history of the Olympics, these women. They crush opponents — absolutely destroy them. They pick up gold medals as if they were plucking apples from low-lying branches. They steamroll the world, and still they do not seem to be appreciated nearly enough.

The American women won their fifth consecutive gold medal Saturday, frying France in an 86-50 stroll through the park. It was the 41st straight victory in the Olympics for the United States, and despite how much the Americans insist the world has improved, it figures to be some time before they lose another.

What women's team is going to run with this one? It is so deep, and it is so talented. During the eight games of this Olympics, it won by an average of 34 points.

Every time out, it is like watching Attila vs. the villagers. And afterward, Attila tries to convince the media of how much better the villagers are performing. No, really. This time one of the villagers kept it close for a good 10 minutes.

"You can't apologize for being really good," coach Geno Auriemma said. "The reason some people don't think there's any competition is because they don't have to be the ones here playing. We know how good the competition is. We know how hard we have to play to make it look easy, but it's not easy."

Well, yeah, it kinda is. Consider the words of French point guard Celine Dumerc.

"We knew there was no way we were going to win," she said.

Frankly, everyone knew that. France heaved up 64 shots against the United States, and it hit only 18 of them. Once the United States ran off 19 straight points in the third quarter, it was all over but the anthem.

"Maybe in other sports there isn't the same level of expectations that they have to win all the time," Auriemma said. "But we're not going to start losing to make them feel better."

Let's face it: After a rather ragged first 10 minutes or so, the Americans were no longer playing against France. They were playing against legacies. For one thing, there is that 41-game winning streak staring at them.

"For us, that's just building off a legacy," said Tamika Catchings, who won her third straight gold medal. "It's not pressure, but it is 'Oh, my God. What's going to happen to that team that loses a game?' Hopefully, I'm not a part of that. It's just women's basketball and how dominant we've been over the years. We go out with that target on our back."

For all its winning, women's basketball still struggles to gain traction with some observers. There was a headline in Britain's Guardian that summed it up fairly well the other day: "So Amazing, So Ignored." Even Auriemma, the UConn coach, pointed out that fans can watch women play tennis without comparing them to the men, or women play soccer. But in basketball, how women play compared with men always seems the subject.

Still, aren't we supposed to admire excellence. Think about it. The U.S. women's team hasn't lost in the Olympics for 20 years. Maybe that's why winning lopsided games for high stakes has come to be the expectation.

"In a way, it's a compliment that people expect this from us," said guard Sue Bird. "What I think people don't realize is just how difficult it is to be this consistent. That part they take for granted."

And why not? Coming into the tournament, the Americans had averaged a 29-point winning margin since '96. This time that went up. Not even the U.S. men win that big or that often.

Not that Auriemma is griping. Before the tournament began, he joked about the folly of those coaches who spin it around to make the opponent the favorite.

"A lot of people want to coach the underdog," Auriemma said. "Me, I don't like being the underdog. I like to coach the best team, the best players, and if we lose, then it's my fault. It's like poker. I don't want to win with 7s because I got lucky. I want to have four aces right off the bat and beat everyone's (rear end)."

This time Auriemma had a fistful of aces. Diana Taurasi. Catchings. Bird. Maya Moore. Candace Parker. Tina Charles. And on and on.

"The world is getting better," Parker said.

Thirty-six points? A fifth straight gold? Forty-one straight games?

Sure it is.

Track

• Usain Bolt gets his triple for a second straight Games, winning a third gold anchoring Jamaica to a world record in the 400-meter relay. Also, Allyson Felix gets her third gold as the American women win the 1,600 relay. 10C

Around the games

• The United States gets its first diving gold in 12 years when David Boudia wins the men's platform. … The favored U.S. women's volleyball team is stunned by Brazil in the final. 11C

Today

• NBC will stream the closing ceremony live on NBCOlympics.com at 4 p.m. EDT. It still will be on TV on tape delay tonight on Ch. 8.

•The U.S. men take on Spain for basketball gold at 10 a.m. live on Ch. 8.

More TV, 6C

Saturday, August 11, 2012

LINCOLN, Neb. — Former Countryside High offensive lineman Tyler Moore has left the Nebraska football team to address personal issues, coach Bo Pelini announced Saturday.

Pelini, who declined the elaborate on the circumstances, said Moore, who hasn't practiced since Thursday, is welcome to return.

Last year, Moore became the first Nebraska freshman to start on the offensive line in a season opener. He started the first four games at right tackle and appeared in nine games.

He was the projected starter at left tackle this season.

Moore was a key recruit in the 2011 class, which has already seen the exits of running back Aaron Green and offensive lineman Ryan Klatchko, who both left since the end of spring practice.

More Nebraska: Sophomore cornerback Jonathan Rose, who was given his release from Auburn for undisclosed reasons, signed to play with the Cornhuskers, choosing them over FSU and several other schools. Rose must sit out this season, and he will have three years of eligibility.

'Honey Badger' may have I-AA home

LAKE CHARLES, La. — Tyrann "Honey Badger" Mathieu visited McNeese State hours after the junior cornerback was kicked off the team at LSU and is considering transferring to the Division I-AA Southland Conference school located about 200 miles from his hometown of New Orleans.

McNeese State coach Matt Viator confirmed that he met with Mathieu.

LSU dismissed Mathieu and revoked his scholarship for a violation of athletic department rules. According to multiple reports, he failed a drug test, the same reason that previously cost him playing time.

According to other media outlets, Mathieu may be considering Jackson State and Prairie View A&M.

Mathieu, a Heisman Trophy finalist last season, can play this season if he transfers down a level from Division I-A, otherwise he must sit out a season.

Auburn: Freshman running back Jovon Robinson is not practicing while the NCAA investigates allegations that his high school transcript was falsified, CBSSports.com reported. Memphis City Schools said in a statement it investigated a former Wooddale High athlete and a school guidance counselor resigned after admitting to creating the fake transcript. The statement did not identify the athlete.

Other sports

Basketball: Villanova assistant coach Doug Martin resigned because of inaccuracies on his resume. A school release at the time of Martin's hiring said he had played for Wisconsin-Green Bay from 1991-95. ESPN.com first reported there was no record of Martin playing there.

Volleyball: Tulane hired former USF assistant coach Stephanie Serna as its recruiting coordinator.

Times wires
Saturday, August 11, 2012

Indians 5, Red Sox 2

CLEVELAND — Brent Lillibridge homered, drove in two and scored on a squeeze bunt to back Zack McAllister's strong pitching for the Indians, who are 3-1 since an 11-game losing streak. The Red Sox have lost eight of 11. Lillibridge, acquired in July from Boston, tied a career high with three hits and slugged his first homer in nearly a year.

Times wires
Saturday, August 11, 2012

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — By the time the thunderstorm rolled through the Ocean Course on Saturday afternoon, putting a premature end to the third round of the PGA Championship, it may already have been too late for Tiger Woods.

While Rory McIlroy had moved into a share of the lead with Vijay Singh, and Adam Scott had moved within a stroke of them, Woods had played his way down the leaderboard and outside the top 10 on a rain-interrupted day that might have doomed his shot at his 15th major championship victory.

Woods, who has never won a major from behind entering the final round, started the day tied for the lead but quickly began a retreat.

When he pulled a 5-foot birdie putt at the short, par-4 third, Woods' frustration flashed. He lingered before holing his par putt, seeming to brood over the missed opportunity.

Trying to hold his tee shot into a right-to-left wind on the long par-4 fourth, Woods lost his drive to the left, finding a bad lie in the rough. He muscled his approach shot long and left, bouncing it off a spectator's foot and into another bad lie, leading to bogey.

He made a second straight bogey at the par-3 fifth, then bogeyed the par-5 seventh. He begins play today at 1 under, five shots back.

"I got off to a rough start (Saturday) and couldn't get anything going," Woods said through a spokesman. "I'll come back (this) morning and see what happens. There are a lot of holes left to play."

WHO'S THAT? David Lynn had a feeling he'd have a good week, even if few others gave him a chance to make it this far in his first PGA Championship.

Lynn, who has one win on the European Tour, is at 1 under after a stellar 68 that left him five shots behind the leaders.

Lynn, 38, said he had been practicing well the past few weeks and thought he'd have some surprises in store.

"My game has sort of turned a corner a few weeks ago," he said. "Practice has felt good. I feel like I'm hitting it well. Yeah, I came here this week thinking my game feels pretty good, so why not?"

RYDER CUP HOPES: Maybe Padraig Harrington has a shot at the European Ryder Cup team after all.

Harrington, put on notice by captain Jose Maria Olazabal that he needed something special to happen to be selected, had resigned himself to missing next month's matches when he followed an opening 70 with 76.

But he rebounded in the third round with 69, moving five shots off the lead. "Who knows what's going to happen now?" Harrington said.

MAJOR WINNERS: There probably won't be a double-major winner this season. Masters champion Bubba Watson started the day eight behind the leaders and shot 70, leaving him 2 over, and British Open champion Ernie Els never got things going with one birdie on each nine to end with 73 and was 4 over.

By Rick Stroud, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, August 11, 2012

TAMPA — Shedding tacklers never has been an issue for LeGarrette Blount. What took a little more effort was making the pounds fall off him.

"I feel faster. I feel a lot quicker," Blount said after the Bucs' 20-7 preseason win Friday over the Dolphins in Miami.

He claims to have lost 5-10 pounds and is in obviously better condition than 2011: "I feel a lot lighter on my feet."

Perhaps, but Blount might not be fast enough to run away from rookie Doug Martin in the battle for the No. 1 running back spot. Just as the elusive Martin might not be able to shake Blount.

Coach Greg Schiano would prefer to ride one back throughout the season. But what Blount and Martin proved Friday is both deserve an opportunity to split touches until one clearly wins the job.

In the meantime, the Bucs believe they have enough footballs to go around for both of them.

"I think no matter what the decision is, I think they've both shown already they're going to help us, and they're both going to run the ball," Schiano said Saturday. "So I think it's going to be a fluid situation until somebody kind of distinguishes themselves as deserving more touches, and that will go into that lead and trail back deal.

"But I can't tell you how it's going to go right now. I don't know."

Both had solid performances against the Dolphins.

Blount had 30 yards on seven rushing attempts and a 1-yard touchdown leap to cap the team's first possession.

Martin finished with 21 yards on seven carries, including a 2-yard touchdown run to punctuate a 92-yard drive on the second possession.

Each caught a pass. Blount split wide to the left of the formation and caught a bubble screen for 3 yards. Martin circled out of the backfield and turned a swing pass into a 7-yard gain.

"It definitely lets teams know that you're not one-dimensional," Blount said. "It lets teams know you can do certain things in other areas. … But I'm definitely going to be the same type of back I've always been."

The running back-by-committee approach is certainly one that is common in the NFL. Since the powerful Blount and explosive Martin have complementary running styles, they each will play important roles on offense. Schiano was asked if the battle could continue into the regular season?

"Sure. Until it happens, I'm not going to make it happen," Schiano said. "If I feel it should go one way and the staff feels that way, then we'll do it. Otherwise, we have two good backs, and a lot of teams do that in this day and age."

The Bucs are no strangers to the two-back system. Mike Alstott and Warrick Dunn split carries from 1996 to 2001, until Dunn signed as a free agent with the Falcons.

The 5-foot-9, 215-pound Martin is thick enough to handle a bigger workload, but the Bucs still aren't sure how much punishment he can take.

The biggest beneficiary of the increased emphasis on the ground game will be quarterback Josh Freeman, who won't have to carry the entire offense on his right shoulder.

And after one preseason game, at least, Schiano seems content to play King Solomon and split the carries between Blount and Martin.

"We can definitely be the best duo in the NFL, with the schemes that we have, with the offensive line that we have, with the blocking and the confidence (Martin) has in me and the confidence I have in him," Blount said. "It's definitely going to be a really good fit. We have the potential to be the best backfield in the league."

Staff writer Stephen F. Holder contributed to this report.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

LONDON — NBC is broadcasting boxing's last two days without announcers Bob Papa and Teddy Atlas in the arena after a dispute with the International Boxing Association.

The group asked Papa and Atlas to move from their seats close to ringside to a broadcast booth farther away because they were "very disturbing" to officials, even during bouts they were not calling, spokesman Sebastien Gillot said. The broadcasters said they didn't want to stay anyway because no U.S. boxers were in the running, Gillot said.

It was not clear why Papa and Atlas, who have been critical of the judges and referees, were judged disturbing with two days of boxing remaining.

"There are two sides to every story," NBC Sports spokesman Greg Hughes said. The network will talk to the International Olympic Committee after the Games, he said.

The announcers were to call the remaining 10 matches off video piped into the International Broadcast Center. Reporter Russ Thaler was to remain at the venue.

USOC down on boxing: U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun said he was disappointed by the performance of the men's team and the committee would evaluate USA Boxing. The U.S. men didn't win a medal for the first time.

Politics in play: A South Korean men's soccer player who held up a sign with a political message after a victory over Japan did not get a bronze when the medals were handed out to the team. Park Jong-woo is under investigation by the IOC and soccer's governing body for displaying the sign with a slogan supporting South Korean sovereignty over disputed islets claimed by his country and Japan. Political statements by athletes are prohibited at the Games.

By Rick Stroud, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, August 11, 2012

TAMPA

Even the most pirate-garbed Bucs fan contemplated wearing two eye patches when the team played defense last season.

Tampa Bay was last in the NFL a year ago with only 23 quarterback sacks, down from 26 in 2010, and missed tackles contributed to the Bucs ranking last against the run.

No surprise that the two main areas of emphasis for the defense this offseason has been finding a way to pressure the quarterback and improve tackling.

Coach Greg Schiano said the starting defensive line got decent pressure on Miami QB Matt Moore, who went 7-for-12 passing for 79 yards with no touchdowns and an interception on Friday. But the Bucs, who won 20-7, did not record a sack against three quarterbacks who combined for 50 pass attempts.

"Early on, I felt like we kind of moved the guy off the spot a little bit, which is the key," Schiano said Saturday. "Later, I don't think we did as good of a job and that showed. They threw for a lot of yards. Some of that was coverage, some of that was lack of pressure. But overall, I thought there was some good things."

Schiano said the defense had seven tackles for a loss, but his players also missed 12 tackles.

How far has the defense fallen over recent years? From 1999 to 2003, Tampa Bay went a record 69 consecutive games with at least one sack. Even more mind-boggling is that during that stretch, the Bucs went 50 games with at least one sack and one forced turnover.

Schiano is taking the Bucs back to the basics.

"You see the circuit we do every day. We work on tackling," Schiano said. "Although it's not live tackling, you're practicing the fundamental parts of the live tackle. We just need to get better. We need to do it more. So the more games we play, the better we should get."

DOT, DOT, DOT: The Bucs need Donald Penn at left tackle, but his backup, Demar Dotson, is proving to be capable.

Dotson played well Friday night against Dolphins sackmaster Cameron Wake. Dotson is a converted basketball player who played only one year of football at Southern Mississippi, as a defensive lineman. He has played in 22 games for the Bucs since 2009, though he missed the 2010 season with a knee injury.

"I thought he did a solid job," Schiano said. "I'm sure he will use this experience and really use it as a reaching out or stepping out point. I hope that's what he'll do with it. There are certain things, fundamentally, he's got to get better at. But it's a great story. I mean, for having not played — what did he play, one year — and it was defensive line in college, and he was the starting left tackle last night in an NFL football game.

"Good for him. He's a guy you root for. He works his tail off, he's got a great attitude, great team guy, so you love when guys like that do well."

INJURY UPDATE: Rookie S Mark Barron was expected to start at Miami, but he felt discomfort in his injured toe during warmups and was a late scratch. Schiano doesn't expect the injury to linger.

"If it keeps dragging on, then certainly it becomes a concern," Schiano said. "Is there something more wrong than initially thought? I don't think that's going to be the case. But until he starts going, you can't say that."

TE Dallas Clark did not play, but Schiano said the Bucs were just being smart, preserving the 11th-year veteran.

Times wires
Saturday, August 11, 2012

TORONTO — LHP CC Sabathia went on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with inflammation and pain in his left elbow, the Yankees ace's second trip to the DL this season.

Neither a corresponding roster move nor a starter for Monday's game against the Rangers was announced. The move is retroactive to Thursday.

The Yankees agreed to a contract with free agent RHP Derek Lowe and plan to finalize the deal and activate him Monday. Lowe, cut Friday by the Indians, likely will pitch in relief. RHP David Phelps is a candidate to take Sabathia's rotation spot.

Manager Joe Girardi said Sabathia, the 2007 AL Cy Young Award winner, felt stiff two days after his Aug. 3 start against the Mariners, but an MRI exam showed nothing. Sabathia felt stiff again after pitching Wednesday at Detroit. He threw on flat ground Friday rather than throwing his regular bullpen session and felt mild discomfort.

"It's not any worse than it was after the first start, but our concern is it didn't go away," Girardi said.

"As far as the concern, it's pretty low level, because it's not like it got any worse. He wants to pitch on Monday, which I'm not surprised (at) because he said he dealt with it before. We just decided, let's try to get it cleaned up now."

BOSOX ROOKIE OUT: Red Sox 3B Will Middlebrooks went on the 15-day disabled list with a broken right wrist a day after being hit by a pitch and is out for the season. INF Danny Valencia was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket. Middlebrooks, 23, hit .288 with a .325 on-base percentage and a .509 slugging percentage in 75 games. In other Red Sox news, DH David Ortiz, out since July 16 with a strained right Achilles tendon, is progressing slowly and is unlikely to be activated today as hoped.

VOTTO SETBACK: Reds 1B Joey Votto returned to Cincinnati to have cartilage removed from his surgically repaired left knee. Manager Dusty Baker said Votto felt soreness in his knee after participating in a sliding drill. The 2010 NL MVP had arthroscopic surgery to repair torn cartilage on July 17.

ATHLETICS: RHP Ryan Cook was removed from the closer's role, at least temporarily, by manager Bob Melvin. The rookie has converted just two of his past six save opportunities.

D'BACKS: RHP Josh Collmenter went on the 15-day disabled list because of ulcers.

INDIANS: RHP Roberto Hernandez, the former Fausto Carmona who was arrested in January on false identity charges in his native Dominican Republic, is set to make his season debut Wednesday against the Angels.

PADRES: Closer Huston Street went on the 15-day disabled list with a left calf strain.

RANGERS: C Mike Napoli went on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left quad muscle. C Luis Martinez was called up from Triple-A Round Rock.

TWINS: 3B Trevor Plouffe, out since jamming his right thumb on a swing on July 20, was cleared to begin a minor-league rehab assignment and could be activated Monday.

WHITE SOX: The contract of OF Dewayne Wise was purchased from Triple-A Charlotte, and LHP John Danks was moved to the 60-day disabled list.

Times staff, wires
Saturday, August 11, 2012

You can anger Canada, too

For $29.95 you can get the T-shirt the U.S. women's soccer team donned after beating Japan for the gold, and that ticked off Canadians, still smarting over their semifinal loss (okay, some Americans weren't happy, either). Nike's "Greatness has been found" shirts are at teamusashop.com, among other websites.

On the fast track

On the first day of track and field, athletes and other knowledgeable people at Olympic Stadium talked about the track being "fast" and prime for record-setting. The nine-day competition ended Saturday having had three world records — including the United States' demolition of the women's 400-meter relay mark by .55 seconds — two Olympic records, and a slew of national records, and season and personal bests. The track was built with technology that has been generating track-world buzz all season. Its surface, called Mondotrack, has shock-absorbing material built into the bottom instead of the top, meaning the upper layer provides better traction. That, in turn, lets runners wear flatter spikes that don't dig into the track as much, allowing for quicker turnover. But the track's maker isn't about to try to assess its "fastness." "There's such a human element involved," said Amy Millslagle, vice president for Olympic operations at Dow, which provides materials for the track. "And you can't prove one track is faster than another."

Closing live online

NBC is giving in a little bit to criticism for not showing big events live. It said Saturday that it changed its mind and will stream today's closing ceremony live on NBCOlympics.com at 4 p.m. EDT. The ceremony still will be seen on TV in prime time on tape delay. NBC got its first big heap of grief for these Games when it didn't stream the opening ceremony live. "Going into the opening ceremony, we didn't have a sense for what our ratings would be and what streaming would or wouldn't do to our broadcasts," NBC Sports chairman Mark Lazarus said. "But we think we've learned enough and have promised to innovate and continually evolve our broadcast coverage."

Term of the day

"Martialgym," used by Canadian martial arts and gymnastics instructor Mario Lam to market rhythmic gymnastics to men to make the ball-throwing, ribbon-waving, club-tossing activity sound less female-only. Rhythmic gymnastics is one of only two Olympic sports in which both sexes don't compete. The other is synchronized swimming (which for some will bring visions of a classic Saturday Night Live skit with Martin Short and Harry Shearer; Youtube it). The international gymnastics federation found in a survey that there is little activity in men's rhythmic gymnastics outside Japan, where it has martial arts elements. The International Olympic Committee says the federation has never mentioned that it would like men to join the Olympic event.

You said it

After the U.S. women's relay team broke a world record, which stood since 1985, and vanquished their Jamaican rivals, I was expecting to see their victory dominating the front page of the sports section (Saturday). Instead, a very small article appeared below the fold while the entire page was dominated by male athletes. Then I turned to another article and was dismayed to see a picture of the men's relay team. After all the years since Title IX has allowed equal access for women to facilities, scholarships and opportunities, the Times really missed the mark on this coverage.

Susan Pendergraft, Largo

Compiled by Times staff writer Sharon Fink from Times wires.

Readers ask us II

Could you please explain the violations for which the officials give out cards in race walking?

Race walking is a progression of steps taken so the walker makes constant contact with the ground. No visible loss of contact may occur, and the advancing leg must be straightened (not bent at the knee) from the moment it hits the ground through the vertical upright position. The walkers' movements are monitored by judges on the course; each race must have a minimum of six judges and a maximum of nine. Under the rules of track's governing body, when a judge is "not completely satisfied" a walker is "fully complying" with the contact rule, he shows the walker a yellow paddle. When a judge sees a walker lose contact with the ground or bend a knee, he sends a red card to the chief judge. When three judges send a red card on one walker, the walker is disqualified and shown a red paddle.

Readers ask us I

Does the long hair flying out behind the runners create drag? Same for the swimmers: Does long hair shoved into those caps impact them somehow? Obviously not, based on the records, but it seems that it should.

The short answer: not enough to make a big difference. The effect on runners is discussed in an article at Slate.com's Olympics blog, Five-Ring Circus (click on Blogs at the top of the home page). For swimmers, caps help reduce the drag caused by the surface of the head in general (with caps' high-tech materials, they can even work better against drag than shaving a head). Covering long hair helps keep the hair from adding to the drag.

Times wires
Saturday, August 11, 2012

Braves 9, Mets 3

NEW YORK — Freddie Freeman had five RBIs in the first two innings and the Braves battered Johan Santana in his return from the disabled list. Michael Bourn had three hits, Chipper Jones chased Santana with an RBI single in a seven-run second and Atlanta sent the two-time Cy Young Award winner to the worst outing of his career.

Times wires
Saturday, August 11, 2012

Padres 5, Pirates 0

PITTSBURGH — Jason Marquis took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before settling for a two-hitter for the Padres. Travis Snider hit an infield single off the pitcher's mound leading off the seventh. Second baseman Alexi Amarista dived to his right, but the ball glanced off his glove. Released earlier this season by the Twins, Marquis pitched his first shutout since April 29, 2011, for the Nationals against the Giants.