SB Nation Boston: All Posts by Rodger Sherman

Charlie Weis buyout could cost Notre Dame $19 million

2013-05-24T14:28:57Z

Remember Charlie Weis, the guy who coached Kansas to a 1-11 record this season? Notre Dame certainly remembers him, because years after it fired him after going 16-21 over the course of three years with the Fighting Irish, it still owes him money. Lots of money. Per Brian Hamilton of the Chicago Tribune:

Weis received another buyout payment of $2,054,744 as part of the separation agreement for his firing in 2009, bringing the total amount paid to the ousted Irish coach and current Kansas head coach to nearly $10.8 million, according to federal tax documents the school provided the Tribune on Thursday. It is the second consecutive payment of $2,054,744 to Weis after the initial payment of $6,638,403 after his firing. The university is scheduled for "additional annual payments" through Dec. 2015, so four more installments of the same $2 million-plus figure would bring the total to $18,966,867.

Earlier this year, we wrote about how Charlie Weis was the most overpaid coach in the country this past season if we went by moneys received per win. Although it's quite silly that Kansas paid a coach who has never had any real success at the college level $2.5 million for a campaign wherein he won only one game, at least Charlie Weis was in Lawrence showing up to work every day and trying as hard as Charlie Weis could to win football games.

Weis hasn't been on campus in South Bend since the 2009 season, and they're still going to have to deal with this through 2015. Ugly.

There's good news for Notre Dame, though. First, the guy it brought in to replace Weis, Brian Kelly, is a relative bargain. Kelly has roughly brought them twice the success Weis ever did in half the time, and the school gave him just $1.088 million for the same time frame that they just paid Weis $2.054 million. (Kelly likely made more for his 12-1 2012 season, due to bonuses.)

That was less than the total compensation for both men's basketball coach Mike Brey and women's basketball coach Muffet McGraw. Yeah, the guy in charge of Notre Dame football, a worldwide famous brand, made less money in a fiscal year than the coach of Notre Dame women's basketball, which is a pretty damn good women's basketball team, but not as big a moneymaker. That's a bargain on Kelly. They extended him in early 2012 and he turned down the NFL in January to stay with the Irish, so they've likely upped his earnings, but still.

But the best news is that they can actually afford to do this. Iowa has a similarly prohibitive buyout for Kirk Ferentz that would see it owe the coach about $2 million a year through 2020 if it fired him. But they're not going to do that, so they're stuck with a guy who led the team to a 4-8 record this past year. As noted in February, his seat is cold as ice. Southern Miss fired Ellis Johnson after one dismal 0-12 season and was stuck with a $2.1 million buyout, forcing it to swap out a home game against Nebraska -- a unique opportunity for the program, both financially and in terms of on-field product -- for a trip to Lincoln that's guaranteed to be a lopsided loss. Idaho is squabbling with former coach Robb Akey over $100,000 from his buyout.

To Notre Dame, all that is chicken scratch. The Irish were financially able to do what they needed to in order to be successful, football-wise, no matter how much we can laugh at them for paying Charlie Weis $19 million to not coach their team.

Now let's laugh as hard as we can about the fact that Notre Dame is paying Charlie Weis -- CHARLIE DAMN WEIS -- $19 million -- 19 MILLION DAMN DOLLARS -- to not coach its team through 2015, which is abso-friggin-lutely hilarious.

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Chance Carter, Northwestern Wildcats football, No. 99

2013-05-24T13:00:06Z

It's that time of year again! We're under 100 days until football season, and that means each day we'll be profiling a Northwestern player as we get closer towards, you know, football!

Are many of these going to be pointless descriptions of players who won't have an effect on Northwestern? Perhaps. Will I put jokes in all of them? Probably. If you don't like the jokes, that's my fault, but this is more an exercise in passing away the long summer than it is one in relevance, and if you don't like exercises in passing away the long summer, go elsewhere, ya big dummie!

Today, we have Chance Carter, a 6'3, 270-pound defensive tackle playing in his backyard. Get to know him better!

Origin myth

Carter is a native Evanstonian - Evanstoner? Evan Stoner? Sup Evan - and went to Loyola Academy. He is proof that Northwestern is EVANSTON'S BIG TEN TEAM, so, Evanstoners, come to games, because dammit you shut down the Keg you selfish jerks. (Note to Jim Phillips: use "dammit you shut down the Keg you selfish jerks" as a marketing slogan to draw local fans.) Considered a defensive end, he was ranked the No. 18 player in Illinois by Rivals and had offers from Nebraska and Indiana alongside NU. He'd bulk up and move to the inside of the line - he was 235 pounds in high school, and is now 270, per his player page.

At Northwestern

Carter redshirted and only saw modest snaps as a redshirt freshman, but appeared in all 13 games last year as a spell defensive tackle, recording 15 tackles.

Career highlight

A TFL against Minnesota, wrapping up running back Rodrick Williams for a loss of two to bring up third-and-11. Two plays later, Minnesota would fake a punt that would come up short.

Anagram of choice

Discovering the true inner selves of the Wildcats through respelling their names

Chance Carter, anagrammed is:

THE CANCER CAR

Woah, this got off to an extraordinarily morose start.

(Rejected options: "Archer Accent" (h/t H. Jon Benjamin), "cheer Narc Cat!")

Relevant musical selections

"So Good", Chance the Rapper

He's weird. He's talented, playful, and clever. And most importantly, he's Chi! Why don't you listen to Acid Rap at least once a week/day?

"Mr. Carter", Lil Wayne ft. Jay-Z

I always really liked this song, despite the fact that you can somewhat track the descent of Wayne's lines into trash and the fact that Jay-Z appears to think there's something called a "Molotail Cocktail." I think it's because I appreciate Jay picking up Wayne's flow, in a Biggie-on-"Notorious Thugs" style. It's a weird moment in time: Wayne trying to tell everybody he's the best rapper alive, Jay-Z showing respect by giving him a verse, and a few years before these guys recorded diss tracks about each other.

Real name

"Chancellor Carter I", which, as if "Chance Carter" wasn't good enough, THE CHANCELLOR.

Number notables

COREY WOOTTON, DESTROYER OF WORLDS:

Also enjoy Woot scoring a touchdown for the Bears.

Corey was such a monster. I remember standing behind him in line at BK as a freshman and thinking "oh, THAT'S what football players look like." Unfortunately he had a knee injury in the Alamo Bowl -- a game where he was everywhere at the same time -- that slowed his production in what should've been a monstrous senior year, but that one play at Iowa shifted the perception of an entire season, even if it did unfortunately come at the expense of Mr. Stanzi's health.

How can he help?

As a defensive tackle with experience at defensive end, Carter's a little bit more athletic than your typical defensive tackle something that's shown in his playing time and to my eye in the spring practice. He brings a little bit of a pass-rusher's vibe to a spot where you want a run-stopper. And he hasn't seemed overmatched when it comes to plugging the gap in limited snaps.

Depth chart projection

We have Carter slated as a backup defensive tackle, although there's no reason he can't compete with a slightly more experienced Will Hampton for a starting spot opposite Sean McEvilly. Considering freshman Greg Kuhar is the fourth player in the mix, Carter should be the most commonly used backup if he can't win a starting spot.

Bears will retire Mike Ditka's No. 89 on Dec. 9

2013-05-24T12:53:27Z

Mike Ditka's playing days are less well-known than his coaching days, but the Chicago Bears will retire the No. 89 jersey he wore with the team as a tight end during the 1960's, per ChicagoBears.com.

Ditka, who became a mustached, sunglasses-wearing folk hero in Chicago for coaching the 1985 Bears to a Super Bowl, hasn't been on the best of terms with the team since being fired in 1992. But they appear interested in making amends with the Hall of Famer, beginning with the ceremony scheduled to be held during a Monday Night Football game against the Cowboys -- where Ditka also played and began his coaching career -- on Dec. 9.

They've chosen to do it by honoring his on-field career, although some have forgotten that the 73-year-old ESPN commentator was quite the player in his time: the fifth overall pick by Chicago in 1961, and would make the Pro Bowl each of his first five years with the team. He'd be a contributor on the 1963 team that won the NFL Championship, the team's last title before he coached them to one 22 years later. They'd trade him away in 1966 before bringing him back in 1982 as a coach. He'd have a .631 winning percentage over 11 years, winning 106 games.

No player currently wears No. 89 for the Bears. Thirteen other numbers are retired, including legends Bronko Nagurski, George Halas, Walter Payton, Gale Sayers, and Dick Butkus. Mike Singletary's number had remained out of usage from the time of his retirement until this upcoming season, when Singletary told linebacker James Anderson he could wear it.

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Giro d'Italia 2013 Stage 19: TV schedule, map, route and more

2013-05-24T12:00:07Z

Friday's Stage 19 of the Giro D'Italia won't be the legendary mountain trek it was intended to be, but its still a crucial stage through the Alps as Vincenzo Nibali looks to strengthen his lead even further.

The stage was originally intended to go past two renowned mountain passes: Gavia and Stelvio, each of which Podium Cafe had waxed lyrical over in anticipation of the stage. They're majestic, snow-lined roads that would have brought the riders more than 2,600 meters above sea level, with treacherous, hairpin-filled climbs that would have made for a brilliant day of racing.

More: Podium Cafe's Stage 18 coverage Podium Cafe's full Giro coverage Mountains preview

Unfortunately, late winter weather has made the roads unbikeable. The stage will be slightly longer -- 160 km, instead of 139 km -- but much less steep: the two major climbs of Friday's stage don't surpass 1,900 meters, with much lower average grades. The stage still finishes with a final climb towards Val Martello, finishing at 2,059 meters. Here's a revised map of the stage and its profile, from Steephill:

The change isn't exactly great news for Nibali, who looked spectacular extending his lead during a mountainous time trial in stage 18. He entered the day with just a 1 minute 26 second lead over Australian Cadel Evans, but burst out of the gates in a 20 km power climb. Although he was released three minutes after Evans due to the time trial format, he nearly caught up by the end of the stage, extending his lead to a whopping 4:02. He wouldn't just see his lead grow, he won the stage, bringing him to third in the points classification as well. With just three stages to go, the race is looking like its his to lose.

Indy 500 2013: A.J. Foyt overcomes surgery, back for 56th straight year

2013-05-23T21:31:02Z

A.J. Foyt is 78 years old and had surgery to repair four vertebrae in his back less than a month ago. But Sunday is the Indianapolis 500, his race, and he's not about to miss it. He will be involved with the race for the 56th consecutive year, this time in the pits helping a pair of inexperienced drivers for A.J. Foyt Enterprises try to win at the Brickyard.

More: Complete Indianapolis 500 coverage

Foyt's surgery stems from injuries suffered in his racing days: the four-time Indy 500 winner broke his back twice during his hall-of-fame career. He is not yet fully recovered from the April 23 surgery, but he'll be overseeing his team -- run by his adoptive son Larry -- on Sunday. From Phil Richards of USA Today:

Foyt Racing hasn't had a driver finish higher than 12th in the series standings in 10 years.

Foyt's son, Larry, 36, has led their IndyCar team's return to competitiveness. Larry has gained in competence and been rewarded with increasing authority and autonomy every year since he became team director in 2006.

"They've done a great job," said Foyt, 78. "Larry is running it pretty much 100% and I'm still paying the bills. I'm awfully proud of what he's done. I'm relaxed and happy."

Foyt's two drivers are Takuma Sato and Conor Daly, who will start 18th and 31st respectively. Sato has seen success in his first year with Foyt: On April 21, he won his first IndyCar race, at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, Calif. He's never finished above 17th in three tries at Indianapolis, but having taken the checkered flag just two races ago, he's a threat to compete Sunday.

For Daly, this is is his first time at the Brickyard: The 21-year-old has spent most of the season on the GP2 series, and this will be his first IndyCar race and first time behind the wheel for Foyt. He's tied for the lowest odds of anybody competing -- 250-1, per Bovada.

Watching French people tweet about John Shurna

2013-05-23T15:34:26Z

Do you have it? French basketball playoff fever! Or as they say in France, "la grippe du basket playoff française, pamplemousse ascenseur Amélie."

Anyway, its the semifinals of the Ligue National de Basket, and in it, John Shurna's SIG Basket from Strasbourg are playing against Juice Thompson's ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne. It's a three game series, apparently, and the first game was Tuesday, the second game is today. Before the first game, John and Juice met up:

John and Juice reunited prior to Tuesday's game. @juicethompson22 twitpic.com/csgf3e
— NU Men's Basketball (@NUMensBball) May 22, 2013

And the game was a Shurna party: he came in during the second quarter and hit three three-pointers on back-to-back-to-back possessions, giving his team a 24-9 lead, and later hit another to finish 4-for-5 from three in the first half. He'd end up with a game-high 16 points with three boards and an assist, while Juice had nine points, three assists, and three steals. Here, look, another photo:

A photo of John Shurna raining down jumpers in his team's playoff win over Juice Thompson's squad Tuesday in France. twitpic.com/csfyjm
— NU Men's Basketball (@NUMensBball) May 22, 2013

Oh, that shot STAYS broke. Nice job fronting the post, Juice.

Anyway, by simply searching Twitter for "Shurna," we could find out what the hordes of Frenchmen tweeting about John Shurna think about his jump shot. (Asking bloggers wasn't enough for us.) And I can once again put my French translation skills to the test. Let's take a look, shall we? (We're going in chronological order, so you can witness the explosion, but you have to scroll through a bit for the really good ones.) We sincerely apologize for using our real French translation skills instead of our fake ones, which was better.

View the story "French people talk about John Shurna's jumper" on Storify

It's sweet and funny to see French people with their silly little language embracing John Shurna the same way we do. Best of luck to John, although it would be nice to see Twitter embracing Michael "Jus" Thompson as much today as his squad tries to extend the series.

Crowne Plaza Invitational 2013 streaming: How to watch online

2013-05-23T12:30:05Z

The Crowne Plaza Invitational begins Thursday, and it's Zach Johnson's tournament to lose: the 2007 Masters winner has thrived at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, winning the tournament in two of the past three seasons and setting a course record in 2010.

Johnson hasn't had the best 2013: his best finish is a tie for 18th at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in January. But for whatever reason, things go right for the Iowa native down in Texas. In 28 rounds at Colonial, he's only shot over par five times.

More: SB Nation's golf hub The Sergio situation Anchored putting banned

Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia aren't competing, sadly, but notables include Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan, Angel Cabrera, Jason Dufner, and many more.

The tournament will be broadcast on TV through all four rounds, and will be simulcast on the PGA Tour's official website here, streaming live whenever the tournament is on TV.

Here's the TV schedule:

Thursday, May 23: Golf Channel, 3-6
Friday, May 24: Golf Channel, 3-6
Saturday, May 25: Golf Channel, 1-2:30, 3-6, CBS
Sunday, May 26: Golf Channel, 1-2:30, 3-6, CBS

Giro d'Italia 2013 Stage 18: TV schedule, map, route and more

2013-05-23T10:00:05Z

The 2013 Giro D'Italia heads to the mountains with just four stages to go, and leader Vincenzo Nibali is hoping to hold on to the lead in a climbing time trial.

Stage 18 is a short uphill rush, the cronoscalata: it's the shortest stage in the Giro at just 20.6 miles, but is still a grueling power climb due to its steep nature. The stage rises from just 192 meters at the start to 1,205 at the end, over 3,000 feet. Podium Cafe described it as a "do-not-miss stage for climbing fans" when previewing the mountains, and gave additional detail in their day-by-day preview of the race.

More: Podium Cafe's Stage 17 coverage Podium Cafe's full Giro coverage Mountains previewH

The stage goes from Mori to Polsa in the Alps' foothill range. Here's the map of the stage, from Cycling News:

And here's how the stage looks, climb-wise:

via cdn.media.cyclingnews.com

Nibali holds a lead of one minute, 26 seconds over Australian Cadel Evans. Although he shouldn't lose too much time off that lead on such a short stage, he could concede some time if he struggles with the climb. Of course, with just a few stages left, every second matters. Nibali's had the lead since the ninth stage, and this is where he thrives: earlier this year he won the Giro di Trentino, a mountain race centered around Trentino, the province of Italy where Thursday's race is located.

The race begins at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, with coverage on beIN Sport beginning at 9:30.