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2B Daily News – Wednesday, August 14, 2013 Premier League begins post-Ferguson era REID LONDON (AP) — For English soccer, it has long seemed unthinkable: a league season starting without the finger-jabbing, combative colossus of management on the touchlines. When England's top league opens its season, Alex Ferguson will be a bystander for the first time since 1986, watching from afar as Manchester United starts its pursuit of a record-extending 21st English title. David Moyes now carries that responsibility. Widely admired during 11 years at Everton despite failing to collect a major honor, Moyes was hand-picked by Ferguson in the biggest decision — gamble, perhaps — taken by the owning Glazer family. ''People are asking whether we can win the trophy again. Can we still be champions?'' captain Nemanja Vidic acknowledged. Although he openly flirted with United in the months before Ferguson's retirement was publicly disclosed, Jose Mourinho — one of the most talented but temperamental managers of his generation — wasn't approached for the job. The charismatic Portuguese is back in the Premier League, though, after six years collecting trophies with Inter Milan and Real Madrid. Claiming to have mellowed since leaving Chelsea after a fall-out, Mourinho is widely expected to return to his combustible self once the season begins and produce the touchline tantrums Ferguson can no longer provide. Just a week into the season, the 50-year-old managers will get a chance to size each other up in a match that could set the tone for the opening weeks, with United hosting Chelsea. ''That game will not decide who is going to be champions,'' Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic said. ''But it will decide a lot of things about the confidence.'' By then, the Blues may have gained an edge by having played an extra game. United will only have played once — its title defense begins Saturday at Swansea. Ill-feeling between the sides has been inflamed by Chelsea's hostile pursuit of United striker Wayne Rooney. Mourinho insists he's not engaging in ''mind games'' with Moyes, but has still offered a few pointed words of advice. ''One of the most difficult ''It has to be a new era. My job now is to make my history ... make sure now that my history and my time is something which the fans and people in the future talk about.'' — New Manchester United Manager David Moyes things in the club is to create a victory culture, where you walk through the door and you smell the success, you smell confidence, you smell self-esteem,'' said Mourinho, who has won league titles in England, Spain, Italy and Portugal. ''David is in a big club and that is a big help — everybody knows how to win. Of course, it is up to him now.'' And he knows just how daunting the task is. ''There has to be an element of fear that comes with managing a club like Manchester United,'' Moyes said. With the spotlight on Mourinho and Moyes, Manuel Pellegrini has been able to make a quiet start to his first job in English management. The 59-year-old Chilean left Malaga for Manchester City after Roberto Mancini was fired for failing to follow up the 2011-12 Premier League title with a single trophy last season, finishing 11 points behind United in second. Talk of dressing room disharmony has melted away as Pellegrini started to re-shape the squad, spending more than $130 million on strikers Stevan Jovetic and Alvaro Negredo, midfielder Fernandinho and winger Jesus Navas. Such a lavish outlay was easily affordable for the oil-rich Abu Dhabi ownership, but the spending could pose a challenge in complying with UEFA Financial Fair Play regulations, a requirement of playing in the Champions League. By contrast, United failed in its pursuit of Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas, and even more ambitious thoughts of bringing Cristiano Ronaldo back to Old Trafford from Madrid. Chelsea might have missed out on Rooney, but around $40 million has still been spent on signing striker Andre Schuerrle and midfielder Marco van Ginkel. As for Arsenal, which finished behind Chelsea in fourth, not a penny has been spent. That's despite chief executive Ivan Gazidis raising the hopes of fans in June by pledging to ''escalate'' spending. Moves to entice Luis Suarez from Liverpool for more than $60 million have been rebuffed by Liverpool, which is insisting that the Uruguay striker honor his contract after the club backed him through racism and biting controversies. The Gunners have seen north London rival Tottenham invest $65 million in the squad, although manager Andre VillaBoas could still be faced with losing arguably the league's most potent player in Gareth Bale before the transfer window closes Sept. 2. The appeal of the league to foreign businessmen is underscored by the new riches being injected, notably from the United States, where NBC has captured the TV rights and covered New York subway trains with its advertising. Meanwhile, Shad Khan bought out Mohamed Al Fayed last month, making Fulham the latest club to become Americanowned, along with Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa and Sunderland. New TV deals will generate around $8.5 billion over the next three years, with a record share of $90 million per season guaranteed for even the bottom team — and it is newcomers Crystal Palace, Cardiff and Hull who are predicted to go straight back down. Another landmark, highlighting the global allure, will be when Southampton's Victor Wanyama becomes the first player in the Premier League from Kenya, making the African nation the 100th country from outside Britain to be represented in a game. Yet for all the new arrivals and the dramas that unfold in the 20 grounds in the coming months, the absence of one man is still likely to be felt most. Moyes' job is to ensure United fans don't hanker after the 71year-old Ferguson and plead for his return. ''It has to be a new era,'' Moyes said. ''My job now is to make my history ... make sure now that my history and my time is something which the fans and people in the future talk about.'' (Continued from page 1B) speeds. ''We love the big hit and coach it and try and get it at any time. He's just got to be smart and know not to hit after the whistle, know not to hit a guy in the head, a defenseless receiver,'' Fangio said. ''He didn't really have any of those plays the other day. We're going to be as aggressive as we can and as physical as we can within the rules.'' Veteran strong safety Donte Whitner has been helping Reid adjust. He believes the rookie has all the natural ability and intelligence to become an NFL starter. ''It's going to take a little experience,'' Whitner said. ''He's going to take some lumps. He'll have to give up some passes and understand where he's supposed to be. But, hopefully, he comes along really fast. He's making plays on the football.'' The competition to replace Goldson — who signed a free agent deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason — has been among the closest in camp. C.J. Spillman, Trenton Robinson and Craig Dahl all have spent time starting in practice, though Reid has started to emerge as a real possibility to start in Week 1. Dahl played the opening minutes against Denver, but Reid got the majority of playing time, albeit against mostly second-stringers. That progress has slowed since because Reid sat out prac- came in the first eight games. Ramirez never played for the AL West leaders, even after AllStar slugger Nelson Cruz was suspended last week by Major League Baseball for the final 50 games of the season. They have since acquired right fielder Alex Rios from the Chicago White Sox. A 12-time All-Star, Ramirez is a .312 career hitter and is 14th on the career home runs list with 555. He started out this season playing in Taiwan, where he hit .352 with eight homers and 43 RBIs. Ramirez was suspended for 50 games in 2009 while with the Los positive for a banned drug. He retired in April 2011 instead of serving a 100-game ban for a second positive test while with Tampa Bay, but later agreed to a reduced 50-game suspension and played in the minors for Oakland in 2012. He won two World Series with Boston. Ramirez hit 17 homers in the final 53 games of 2008 after being traded from Boston to Los Angeles, but he has just 28 since then because of injuries and the suspensions. He was 1 for 17 without a homer with Tampa when the second drug suspension hit two years ago. opener as well with eight carries for 29 yards but has also missed time throughout (Continued from page 1B) camp with injuries to the disdone better, but it's all in the may of coach Dennis Allen. past whatever happened, it is ''Being available and in the past,'' he said. ''It's a fresh start as a Raider and being accountable are two that's what I'm out here to things that we have to make sure we're able to be,'' Allen capitalize on.'' said. Jennings entered camp in a competition with fifthNOTES: LT Jared round pick Latavius Murray Veldheer had a second MRI to be McFadden's backup on his injured triceps and and seems in position to get missed practice. ... LB Nick that job because of his expe- Roach left practice with an rience and reliability. undisclosed injury and DE Murray showed some Lamarr Houston returned to good signs in the preseason the field. (Continued from page 1B) Larson has 12 top-10 finishes in Nationwide and is eighth in the standings. Others options for the No. 42 Chevrolet could be Kurt Busch, who drives for single-car team Furniture Row Racing, or possibly Ryan Newman, who has been let go from Stewart-Haas Racing. It's not clear where Mon- NFL (Continued from page 1B) HGH program and says owners and players ''will likely finalize soon'' the in-season weekly testing. But the memo does not make clear what exactly the NFL has agreed to at this point or give specifics about what stands in the way of a final accord. No date has been set for the start of testing, because there are still issues that need to be negotiated between the NFL and union, including whether the commissioner or a neutral arbitrator will handle certain types of appeals of discipline. League spokesman Brian McCarthy declined to comment on any specifics in the NFLPA memo, writing in an email to the AP: ''We do not have yet a comprehensive agreement for HGH testing.'' Committee chairman Darrell Issa, a California Republican, and ranking Democrat Elijah Cummings of Maryland wrote NFLPA head DeMaurice Smith to chastise the union for standing in the way of HGH testing and to warn that lawmakers could ask players to testify on Capitol Hill. Late last year, that House committee held a hearing at which med- NFL PRESEASON Preseason Week 2 Thursday's games Atlanta at Baltimore, 4:30 p.m. Carolina at Philadelphia, 4:30 p.m. Detroit at Cleveland, 4:30 p.m. San Diego at Chicago, 5 p.m. Friday's games Oakland at New Orleans, 5 p.m. San Francisco at Kansas City, 5 p.m. Minnesota at Buffalo, 4 p.m. Tampa Bay at New England, 5 p.m. Saturday's games Dallas at Arizona, 1:30 p.m. Tennessee at Cincinnati, 4 p.m. Jacksonville at N.Y. Jets, 4:30 p.m. Green Bay at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Miami at Houston, 5 p.m. Denver at Seattle, 7 p.m. ical experts testified that HGH testing is reliable and that the union's request for a population study was unnecessary. But in March, a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in a case involving a cross-country skier raised questions about the reliability of thresholds for HGH tests. WNBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Minnesota Sparks Phoenix Seattle San Antonio Tulsa W 17 16 12 10 8 7 L 5 7 11 12 15 17 Pct .773 .696 .522 .455 .348 .292 GB — 1.5 5.5 7 9.5 11 EASTERN CONFERENCE W L Pct GB Chicago 15 7 .682 — Atlanta 11 8 .579 2.5 Indiana 11 11 .500 4 Washington 11 13 .458 5 New York 10 13 .435 5.5 Connecticut 6 15 .286 8.5 —————————————————— Tuesday's results Chicago at Los Angeles, late Sunday's game Indianapolis at N.Y. Giants, 4 p.m. Today's games Atlanta at Connecticut, 4 p.m. Indiana at Phoenix, 7 p.m. Monday's game Pittsburgh at Washington, 5 p.m. Thursday's game Chicago at Seattle, 7 p.m. It could force Montoya to look at sports car racing, a return to open wheel, or maybe even a European series if he chooses to continue racing. American League National League W 68 60 56 53 52 L 50 57 64 65 65 Pct .576 .513 .467 .449 .444 GB — 7.5 13 15 15.5 W Atlanta 73 Washington 57 New York 54 Philadelphia 53 Miami 44 Central Division W Pittsburgh 70 St. Louis 67 Cincinnati 66 Chicago 52 Milwaukee 51 L 47 60 62 66 73 Pct .608 .487 .466 .445 .376 GB — 14.5 17 19.5 27.5 L 47 50 52 66 67 Pct .598 .573 .559 .441 .432 GB — 3 4.5 18.5 19.5 Dodgers Arizona Colorado Padres GIANTS East Division toya goes next, either. He's got an impressive resume on the world level that's not appreciated in the confines of the NASCAR garage, and there aren't many open seats available — at least not any good ones — in the Sprint Cup Series. MLB MLB West Division The league and the union originally paved the way for testing in the 10-year collective bargaining agreement they signed in August 2011, but two complete NFL seasons have come and gone — and a third is right around the corner — without a single HGH test being administered on a player. During the two years since, the sides have haggled over various elements, including details of the appeals process and the union's insistence on a population study to determine what is a naturally occurring amount of HGH in NFL players. HGH is a banned performance-enhancing drug that is hard to detect and has been linked to health problems such as diabetes, cardiac dysfunction and arthritis. In January, shortly before the Super Bowl, House Oversight and Government Reform NOTES: Fangio said he doesn't expect his two injured rookie defensive linemen, second-round pick Tank Carradine (knee) and fifth-round pick Quinton Dial (toe), to return to practice anytime soon. He also said it's possible both will be on the non-football injury list to start the season. ... Former British Olympic discus thrower Lawrence Okoye, a 6-foot-6, 304pounder trying to make the transition to defensive lineman, played six snaps in the preseason opener. The 49ers are being patient with Okoye but hoping to give him more playing time in upcoming exhibitions. ''He is making slight improvements,'' Fangio said. ''And, in his case, slight is big.'' OAK Manny released from minor deal by Rangers NASCAR ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Round Rock. All of his homers Angeles Dodgers after testing Manny Ramirez is a free agent again after the Texas Rangers released him from his minor league contract. The Rangers released Ramirez on Tuesday, just more than five weeks after he started playing for Triple-A Round Rock. ''Based on our evaluation, there was not a spot for Manny on the club at this time,'' Rangers general Jon Daniels said. ''We released him so he could pursue other opportunities if he so chooses.'' The 41-year-old Ramirez hit .259 with three home runs and 13 RBIs in 30 games for Triple-A tices Saturday and Sunday with a stiff back, which he saw a chiropractor for Monday to get back on the field. ''I didn't know my spine could pop that much,'' Reid quipped. The 6-foot-1, 213pound Reid said comprehending the more advanced schemes in the NFL remains his toughest task. He's also adjusting to a 3-4 scheme after playing a 4-3 alignment in college, and while the concepts are the same for a safety, he said his responsibilities can change — often after the ball is snapped. Reid said his timing will improve — he just needs to keep learning and be patient. ''A coach told me a long time ago,'' Reid said, '"You don't necessarily look for the big hit. It will come to you.''' —————————————————— Tuesday's results San Francisco at Washington, late Atlanta 3, Philadelphia 1 Baltimore at Arizona, late Cincinnati at Chicago Cubs, late Miami at Kansas City, late Milwaukee at Texas, late N.Y. Mets at L.A. Dodgers, late Pittsburgh at St. Louis, late San Diego at Colorado, late Today's games San Francisco (Lincecum 6-11) at Wash. (Zimmermann 13-6), 4:05 p.m. Miami (Ja.Turner 3-4) at Kansas City (E.Santana 8-6), 11:10 a.m. Cincinnati (Arroyo 10-9) at Chicago Cubs (Rusin 2-1), 11:20 a.m. San Diego (Cashner 8-6) at Colorado (J.De La Rosa 11-6), 12:10 p.m. Baltimore (Tillman 14-3) at Arizona (Corbin 12-3), 12:40 p.m. Philadelphia (Lannan 3-5) at Atlanta (Beachy 1-0), 4:10 p.m. Milwaukee (Thornburg 1-0) at Texas (Garza 2-1), 5:05 p.m. Pittsburgh (Liriano 12-5) at St. Louis (S.Miller 11-7), 5:15 p.m. N.Y. Mets (Gee 8-8) at L.A. Dodgers (Capuano 4-6), 7:10 p.m. Thursday's games San Francisco at Washington, 1:05 p.m. Pittsburgh at St. Louis, 10:45 a.m. Cincinnati at Milwaukee, 5:10 p.m. N.Y. Mets at San Diego, 7:10 p.m. West Division Texas A's Seattle Angels Houston East Division W 69 67 54 53 37 L 50 50 63 64 80 Pct .580 .573 .462 .453 .316 GB — 1 14 15 31 W L Pct GB Boston 71 49 .592 — Tampa Bay 66 50 .569 3 Baltimore 65 53 .551 5 New York 60 57 .513 9.5 Toronto 54 64 .458 16 Central Division W L Pct GB Detroit 69 48 .590 — Kansas City 62 54 .534 6.5 Cleveland 63 56 .529 7 Minnesota 53 63 .457 15.5 Chicago 45 72 .385 24 —————————————————— Tuesday's results Houston at Oakland, late Baltimore at Arizona, late Boston at Toronto, late Cleveland at Minnesota, late Detroit at Chicago White Sox, late L.A. Angels at N.Y. Yankees, late Miami at Kansas City, late Milwaukee at Texas, late Seattle at Tampa Bay, late Today's games Houston (Cosart 1-0) at Oakland (J.Parker 8-6), 7:05 p.m. Cleveland (Carrasco 0-4) at Minnesota (Gibson 2-3), 10:10 a.m. Detroit (Porcello 8-6) at Chi.White Sox (Joh.Danks 2-9), 11:10 a.m. Miami (Ja.Turner 3-4) at Kansas City (E.Santana 8-6), 11:10 a.m. Baltimore (Tillman 14-3) at Arizona (Corbin 12-3), 12:40 p.m. L.A. Angels (Weaver 7-5) at N.Y. Yankees (Nova 5-4), 4:05 p.m. Boston (Lester 10-7) at Toronto (Jo.Johnson 2-8), 4:07 p.m. Seattle (Harang 5-10) at Tampa Bay (Price 6-5), 4:10 p.m. Milwaukee (Thornburg 1-0) at Texas (Garza 2-1), 5:05 p.m. Thursday's games Houston at Oakland, 12:35 p.m. L.A. Angels at N.Y. Yankees, 10:05 a.m. Boston at Toronto, 4:07 p.m. Kansas City at Detroit, 4:08 p.m. Seattle at Tampa Bay, 4:10 p.m. Chi. White Sox at Minnesota, 5:10 p.m.