Johnson, had fallen at the 38th lap when he blew a tire only 39 laps into the 160-lap event, the question that fell to Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus’ head was to stay out and hope track position gets a little credit for the team, or go to pits and try to drive the mess out with fresh new tires? The answer came to us all after when he drove into the pits and proceeded to change his four tires on the final restart of the day and then used that brand new set of wheels to pass seven cars. We all know what happened then, the celebration and the kissing of the famous yard of bricks.

The first laps Johnson ever led at Indy could be called critical. The end of the concern came when he led the last 18 laps before finishing the race. With 16 laps to go once the race restarted, Johnson and Co. would soon find out whether the tires were, indeed, worth more than track position. Back on the track Matt Kenseth and Johnson passed most of the lapped cars, with only Busch, Junior and Bowyer able to take advantage of track position to stay out front. But their moment was going to be shorter than they thought. Not even a lap after Junior managed to get by Busch to take the lead amid a roar of approval from the fans, Johnson made the official race-winning pass.

When a left-front tire goes down, what usually happens is that the fender gets severely torn up. That was what Harvick assumed had happened to Johnson. He also assumed he wouldn’t see much out of the 48 the rest of the day. Imagine how shocked him and the 48 squad were when they discovered that the blown out tire didn’t mess up the fender more. And he was thankful that a caution flag soon after saved him from falling off the lead lap when the tire did go down.

He was a strong contender for the title the past two seasons and every year his plans came were ruined at Indy. A 36th-place finish in 2004 knocked him from his perch atop the standings and he watched Kurt Busch win the title. A 38th-place finish last year preceded a decline to fifth as Tony Stewart, last year’s Indy winner, claimed the championship. This year the team leaves with more momentum than it’s had at any other point this season.

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The Chiefs used four QBs last night and they combined to complete 13 of 24 passes for a total of just 90 yards. Seven Chiefs carried the ball at least once, gaining 40 yards (17 attempts), as the team gained a pathetic 111 net yards (seven FDs) in their 17-0 loss to the Giants. In last night’s other game, the Eagles jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter but never scored again, eventually losing to the Ravens, 20-10.

My free play for Friday is on the LA Angels over the Sea Mariners at 10:05 ET. Join me tonight for my lone 20* in Week 2 action of the NFLX and for another exclusive Las Vegas Insider in MLB (4-1 current run and 65% winners since May 1!).

With both home teams winning and covering last night, home teams are now off to a 13-5 SU start in the preseason, going 10-7-1 ATS. Both of Thursday’s games went under the total, leaving under bettors winning at a 78.9 percent clip at 15-4! The Chiefs lost for the eighth consecutive preseason game both SU and ATS.

The Colts will have a chance to match that eight-game streak on Sunday night when they host the Seahawks (8:00 on NBC) but the Colts are 2-5 ATS during their seven-game slide (Indy is a three-point choice over Seattle with a total of 38 1/2). Nick Saban is just 1-5 as a head coach in the preseason with the Dolphins and has yet to cover, going 0-4-2 ATS. The Dolphins are in Tampa to play the Bucs Saturday night at 7:30 ET (TB is a 2 1/2-point choice / 34 1/2).

The Giants win and cover, gives them the longest active winning streak of any team in the preseason, as it was the team’s fifth consecutive win (including the final three games of the 2005 preseason). The Giants have also covered in all five wins and their ATS winning streak is matched by only the SF 49ers, who went 4-0 ATS in 2005 (just 2-2 SU) and made it five straight covers with their 28-14 win over the Bears in Week 1.

The 49ers will try for their sixth straight ATS win Sunday night in Oakland at 8:00 ET (Raiders are favored by three points with a total of 36 1/2). The Cowboys beat the Seahawks last week 13-3, giving them a four-game ATS winning streak in the preseason and will play the Saints on Monday night (8:00 ET on ESPN) at Shreveport (Dallas is favored by three points with a total of 35 1/2).

There are three games tonight in the preseason. The Bengals at the Bills at 7:30 ET (Buffalo 3 1/2 and 34 1/2), the Lions at the Browns at 7:30 ET (Cleveland 2 1/2 and 34) and the Chargers at the Bears on CBS at 8:00 ET (Chicago is 3 1/2 and 34 1/2).

MLB notes

Friday’s MLB schedule is one of the busiest of the season as 17 games are featured on the card, due to a pair of doubleheaders. The Yankees (70-48) and Red Sox (69-50) open a five-game series (Yanks lead the Red Sox by 1 1/2 games in the AL East) today with games at 1:05 ET (Wang vs Johnson) and then at 7:05 ET (Ponson vs Lester). The other doubleheader is the Oakland A’s at the Kansas City Royals (5:10 ET and .8:10 ET).

The A’s enter the weekend with MLB’s longest active winning streak at six games and Oakland has opened August by going 12-2. While the Yankees/Red Sox series gets top-billing this weekend, the White Sox open a big three-game series tonight in Minnesota against the Twins (8:10 ET). The White Sox (72-48) trail the Tigers by 6 1/2 games in the AL Central but lead the wild card race by two games over the Twins (70-50) and 2 1/2 games over the Red Sox.
The Chicago White Sox need to avoid a repeat of their last series against the Minnesota Twins if they want the chance to defend their World Series championship. The White Sox look to avenge a sweep last month by the Twins in Chicago (July 24-26). Chicago begins play with a two-game lead in the wild card over Minnesota but the Twins, owners of the best home record in the majors at 42-19, could overtake Chicago with another sweep.

The Mariners are worth mentioning only because after last night’s 5-2 loss in Anaheim to the Angels, they extended MLB’s longest active losing streak to eight games. Pathetically, they’ve also has lost 17 straight games to AL West teams, matching the major league record for consecutive losses in a division. Detroit lost 17 straight from 1996-97.The Mariners’ last victory within the division was a 6-2 win over Los Angeles on June 11 at Angel Stadium. Seattle is 10-29 against divisional foes in 2006.

Tonight’s game (10:05 ET) features one of last year’s rookie pitching sensations, Felix Hernandez, vs one of this year’s rookie pitching stars, Jered Weaver. Hernandez went just 4-4 last year but posted a 2.67 ERA while allowing just 61 hits over 84.1 innings of work. Year-two has not gone as well as he enters tonight’s game 10-10 (4.50), having allowed 143 hits in 142 innings. As for Weaver, he’s 8-0 in 11 starts with a 2.14 ERA in 2006, allowing just 50 hits in 71.1 innings.

A closing note points out that all teams, Seattle is the only team in the majors that has used only five starting pitchers this season (you can’t make this stuff up!). However, that distinction will likely end Sunday when LHP Jake Woods is expected to make his first major league start. He’ll replace Joel Pineiro, who has been demoted to the bullpen.

Don’t forget my special edition of Ness Notes Saturday and Sunday when I’ll examine some of CFB’s most notable turnarounds (both good and bad) since 2000, as well as offer some thoughts on possible surprise teams and flops in 2006.

Ness Notes is available Monday through Friday at 1:00 ET.

Tags: baseball, football, handicapping, Larry Ness, MLB, NFL, procappers, professional handicappers league, sportsbaseball, football, handicapping, Larry Ness, MLB, NFL, procappers, professional handicappers league, sports

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If it’s so easy to coach youth baseball and do it well, why do you see so many poor coaches? In my years as a player and as a coach, I can tell you that my opinion of poor coaching can be simply boiled down to: A LACK OF KNOWLEDGE AND A LACK OF PREPARATION! Simply stated… NO Game Plan! The great news is…both can be taught and both can be learned! And please don’t say that you don’t have the time. You do!

Here’s the math over a typical 15 week season:
10 practices of 90 minutes = 15 hours
20 games (includes exhibitions, etc.) = 40 hours
Misc. phone calls of 2 hours a week = 30 hours
Plus meetings, evaluation & draft, rainouts, team pictures, personal
instruction, travel time, etc. Lets say that = 65 hours

Plus, who knows what I haven’t added in, and the money you spend just doing these activities! You’ve just spent 150 hours… 10 hours per week (plus cash) on a hobby, community service, enjoying baseball, mentoring kids, or whatever your motive is for being a coach.

Get a plan…save your sanity… NOW! It will flat out save you time, not cost you time. It will reflect positively on your kids and your team’s play, and as a byproduct, coaches, parents and players will see a better coach who is having a better time!

So… What does it take?

1. Interest in becoming a better coach.

2. A PLAYBOOK. A simple 3-ring binder where you can write out your practice plans on lined paper. If you write in it the night before each practice or game, you will be dedicating about 25 minutes each week (based on 2 practices/games). You will begin remembering to do it as soon as practice sessions start because you will be bringing it with you and referring to it at each practice.

Hints for your Playbook

Include all the correspondence, notes, and forms from your league or school that you find yourself collecting and passing out to your players. Keep that stuff in your new “playbook.” It will easily become a habit and a central spot to refer to regularly.

Use a pencil and simply make it legible. Don’t make a big deal out of this, just get it done!

Beginning in practice #2, you should always spend 10-15 minutes reviewing any new concept you might have introduced in practice #1 or the previous practice. It is a common fault (not to mention a complete waste of time) to teach your team a concept and assume that players will perform when the time comes in a game situation just because you taught it once. And it just kills player confidence after the play because he knew he’d been taught. But obviously, not well enough. Your error, coach!
So … What’s in the binder?

The practice session number

The date, time and field of the practice.

Goal of the particular practice (keep it simple).

Each activity or drill. Note whether a review or new concept.

Time allowed for the activity or drill. NEVER OVER 20 MINUTES! If you’ll simply wear a watch, you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish and how much fun your kids have, not to mention how much more baseball your team will learn. Keep ‘em moving: No drills over 20 minutes!!

Anything else that will help you, such as: which coach runs which drill, which pitchers and catchers throw together, reminders of when the next game or practice is. Just make it legible and don’t allow this to take up too much time. This isn’t supposed to be work, it’s an activity to keep coaching from becoming work! ENJOY YOURSELF!

Coach JP’s Note

Want to know the easiest way to teach and learn winning, fundamental baseball? Check out our newest videos aimed at younger ballplayers. Why do we suggest videos? Quality repetitions!! Learn at your own pace and on your own time. A remote control lets you slow it, repeat it, absorb it and understand it…year after year. Trust yourself to learn. If you are a dad or are coaching a team, you are your kid’s best chance of learning about the game. Camps, clinics and lessons can be great, but you are there to teach and reinforce through quality repetitions. Every day…every week…all season long! You can help! It is your responsibility to get better and learn more! You want it for your kids so you should ask it of yourself! Videos will give you a chance to help your kids quickly…and for a reasonable cost. Start a library now and watch your knowledge grow and your teams improve while everyone has a lot more FUN along the way!

Tags: AABC, ASA, baseball, coaching, little league, softball, youth sportsAABC, ASA, baseball, coaching, little league, softball, youth sports

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