Morning Jolt: Urlacher defends Cutler, calls out Jones-Drew
Tuesday, May 24
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Brian Urlacher is still seething about questions regarding Jay Cutler's toughness. "It was stupid," Urlacher said Sunday, referring to other NFL players who criticized Cutler on Twitter after he left the NFC Championship Game in the third quarter. ... During an interview at St. Rita High School, where he was an honorary captain in the Chicago First Responders Memorial Bowl, Urlacher singled out Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew, one of the most vocal to attack Cutler. "He missed two games," Urlacher said of Jones-Drew, who didn't play in the final two games of the Jaguars' 8-8 season. "I don't know what was wrong with his knee, but don't sit on the couch and talk about someone who is playing." (Chicago Sun-Times)Comment
Amaro: Change will come if runs don't
Chase Utley went 0-for-5, a fact overshadowed by the 10 runs scored by the Phillies -- who will be facing change if the runs don't keep coming. Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro has made the transformation clear over the past few years when he turned an offensive juggernaut into a pitching juggernaut. Yet, the Phillies general manager expects his team to hit better than it has the past three weeks, and Utley's return gave the general manager the impetus to put the offense on notice. "If they don't produce, we're going to have to find a way to have them produce, whether it's internally or externally," Amaro said. "They're going to have to get better. I don't think we can survive getting two runs a game for the next 100 games." (Courier Post)Comment
Next Lakers coach will come cheap
The number may be more clear than the name in Los Angeles. The Lakers have yet to pare down a short list of coaching candidates but one thing is certain. The winner of their coaching derby won't make anything remotely close to what Phil Jackson earned the last several years. Jackson topped out at $12 million in 2009-10 before taking a pay cut last season to about $10 million. The new Lakers coach can expect an annual salary of $3 million to $5 million, according to people who are familiar with what the Buss family is thinking. That is barely half what Jackson made in a best-case scenario for the new hire. ... Candidates for the Lakers job include Rick Adelman, Mike Dunleavy, Jeff Van Gundy, Mike Brown and Lakers assistant Brian Shaw. (Los Angeles Times)Comment
Must-See Photo
A true Oklahoma City Thunder fan. Right? (AP)
Must-See Video
Kyle Singler gets buckets.
Game To Watch
Bulls vs. Heat, Eastern Conference finals Game 4 -- 8:30 p.m. ET, TNT
SI Vault: More Larry Bird
This Day in Sports
- 1935 -- In the first major league night game, the Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 before 25,000 fans in Cincinnati.
- 1987 -- Boston's Larry Bird steals an inbounds pass from Detroit's Isiah Thomas and feeds over his shoulder to a cutting Dennis Johnson for the winning basket as the Celtics pull out an improbable 108-107 win over Detroit in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
- 1992 -- Al Unser Jr. wins the closest finish at the Indianapolis 500, beating Scott Goodyear by 0.043 of a second, barely half a car length.
