First thing's first: I have links on this blog post, and this time they go to the websites I intend to have them go to. I found that problem last time and fixed it up on the last blog post.
Anyways, now with the hockey and basketball postseason done and the College World Series over halfway done, now begins the long march through the summer towards football. The PGA's U.S. Open is this weekend, and I'll get to that a bit later. Now, normally this is a football based blog as I have said many times before. But there are other big stories this week, and I think I'll start with the NBA Finals, then the mess involving the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Golden State Warriors are the NBA champions for the first time in 40 years; first time since the Rick Barry days that the Warriors have been to the top of the mountain. They are more than worthy to hold the crown. They were the best team in the Association all season, 67 wins, and they lost just three games while going through a tough Western Conference.
Granted, they didn't have to play either of last year's Western Conference finalists (Oklahoma City missed the playoffs due to injuries and the Spurs lost in that epic seven game slugfest with the Clippers), but that's not their fault; they can only play who is in front of them. And they had to survive two tough series against a really physical Memphis team and then against the game's best player.
Two things about the Warriors: One is that the team's future is really bright. This is going to be a team right back in contention next year and for many years to come. High-caliber forward Draymond Green is a free-agent-to-be, but I'd really be surprised if he leaves this group. Everyone else is locked in, except for assistant Alvin Gentry who will be off to New Orleans to coach the Pelicans.
Two is that they made a really bold decision to fire Mark Jackson, who won over 50 games last year, but they wanted to get to the top of the mountain. And by hiring Steve Kerr, that's exactly what they did. Kerr is a championship caliber coach who played under Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich, and has spent time in color-commentary watching games. He was arguably last offseason's most sought-after coach and Kerr was able to take the Warriors to that elusive next level which they so badly wanted to get to.
That's not to say that Cleveland didn't show well though. They were without two of their three best players and still had Golden State nervous through the first three games of this series until Kerr made the necessary adjustments. Kevin Love will probably leave to go to the Lakers (he's an LA native and played at UCLA), but if they can get another good player to go with Kyrie Irving and Lebron they will be right back in the hunt next season.
At present, they're probably the only team in the East that could hang with any of the West heavyweights. The top four teams preseason next year will likely be the Spurs, Thunder, Warriors and Cavs, not necessarily in that order. The rest of the pecking order will likely be decided by free agency.
Now, on to baseball and the Cardinals situation. For those living under a rock, the St. Louis Cardinals are in a little bit of hot water with none other than the F.B.I. and it involves actions taken against the Astros, of all teams. You can read more about the details here: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/17/sports/baseball/st-louis-cardinals-hack-astros-fbi.html?smid%3D=tw-nytsports&_r=0
I've already seen comparisons between the Cardinals' actions and those of the Patriots; for those comparing the actions of the Cardinals to what the Patriots did by allegedly deflating footballs last year in the playoffs, that's really not a fair comparison. No matter what you think about the Patriots, they never got in trouble with the feds for deflated footballs. Also, if the NYT report is true that the hacking was done by vengeful Cardinals employees looking to get back at Jeff Luhnow for leaving the Cardinals to go to Houston, then it looks really bad for the Cardinals.
It looks really bad especially considering that they have the best record in the sport right now at 21 or 22 games over .500, whatever it is and that the Astros, until now, have been trying to get their team back to a respectable level. The Cards have also been to the league championship series each of the last four years and have been to a World Series once since he left, so why would any Cardinals employee or fan be angry with Luhnow? If anything they should be thankful for Luhnow helping to build the core of that team to what it is now.
And in case you're wondering, they've already said that "the alleged conduct has no place in our game." Pretty much what I'd expect them to say under the circumstances. If this investigation is proven to be true, it will be interesting to see if they actually take action against the employees who pulled this off.
In the wake of the Chicago Blackhawks' recently NHL Stanley Cup title which they won on Monday, a Korean newspaper made a huge mistake in a headline. As someone who has done copy editing/proofreading in the past, I find this worth a look. Right city, wrong team, editors. You can see it here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2498698-korean-newspaper-runs-headline-proclaiming-chicago-bears-stanley-cup-champs?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=programming-national
Time for some football news now. So apparently, TheScore, a sports news app centered towards mobile devices such as the iPhone, did an NFL likability list based on each team's front office. Unsurprisingly (in my view) the Washington Redskins came in dead last and it's mainly because of owner Daniel Snyder, who just can't seem to get out of his own way in the Redskins' front office.
If you want a general picture of how deep the agony in D.C. goes, take a listen to this epic rant by D.C. sports radio host Chad Dukes following a 59-28 beatdown by the Eagles several years back on Monday Night Football; this was when Shanahan was the coach there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSXwzlXEipc
The names have generally changed with the Redskins, but the frustration remains and the team cannot get out of the gutter and I sense they won't get out of the gutter until Snyder leaves. By the way, if you're wondering who is the No. 1 most likable team based on the front office, it's the Green Bay Packers which to me is not that surprising.
Besides the Cavs losing in the Finals, the other big piece of news today in Cleveland is that Johnny Football's going to put away the money sign that he has taken to doing since his last year at A&M. It appears, at least through words so far, that Johnny's stay in rehab in the offseason has done him some good as he also conceded today that he was a distraction to the team with his off-field behavior.
Granted, those are just words and actions always speak louder than words. But the first step to fixing the problem is admitting you have one, and by going to rehab and addressing the media, Johnny appears to be willing to try to fix that problem.
From college football, the big news today from a meeting of the Collegiate Commissioners Association is that a proposal to create an early signing period for recruits has been tabled for one year. This proposal, if passed, would allow high school players to make commitments binding to schools in mid-December. I'm honestly not sure how I feel about that if it's passed, to be honest.
Here in Texas, the big college football news is that the U of Texas athletic director Steve Patterson approved alcohol sales beginning this fall at UT home games. My response to that is this; like college football needs alcohol to be sold in stadiums. I don't think it enhances the fan experience, the last thing we need is fans actually drinking during a game. At Nebraska, alcohol is expressly prohibited inside Memorial Stadium, which I think is the correct stance.
Speaking of the Huskers, QB commit Patrick O'Brien from California got some very high marks at the Elite 11 quarterback camp last week, where he made the finals of that camp. In addition, in 247 Sports recruiting database he was upgraded to a four star because of his performance at that camp.
While we're on the topic of four stars, score one for Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh's program today. Offensive line Ben Bredesma from Wisconsin, who was rated No. 31 overall by 247 Sports, committed to Michigan's 2016 class today; this thus far is the biggest catch that Harbaugh has been able to land since taking the Michigan job a little less than six months ago.
And this is a really highly touted lineman: he had offers from many of the SEC's heavyweights such as Alabama, Auburn and LSU as well as Michigan's blood rivals Ohio State and Michigan State. Nebraska also offered him too, so score one for them. I believed when he was hired and I still believe now that Harbaugh is going to give Urban Meyer heartburn in the years to come.
I also like Harbaugh's stance on the satellite camp issue, which I touched on in a previous blog. He said, "In my America, you're allowed to cross state borders. That's the America I know."
Harbaugh's busy week though hasn't been without some jabs at his program, namely from their neighbors in East Lansing. Michigan State recently received their Cotton Bowl title rings for their win over Baylor. Take a look at the bottom right photo in this picture collection and notice the apparent jab at Michigan. It's a little hard to read, but it's there: https://twitter.com/RBOkerstrom/status/609852939121758208
A little piece of advice, Sparty: It's best not to poke a bear with a large stick, because that bear's eventually going to wake up.
Finally, as far as the U.S. Open golf tournament which starts tomorrow, Mickelson is my pick. He played his best golf maybe ever at Augusta, it's on the West Coast, he won't get many more shots at the career slam, and he finished very strong at the St. Jude Classic in Memphis. I do think this tournament will be won by a big name, whether it be Rory, Phil, Spieth, or someone like that. I don't think you're going to see some middling golfer rise up and win this tournament. If you're looking for sleepers though, Ian Poulter, Paul Casey and Kevin Kisner might be worth looking at.
Until next time....
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
6/3: All sorts of sports + visiting fans
Back with another blog. Arguably the best time of the sports year: College World Series breathing down our necks, NBA and NHL Finals on the way, MLB baseball heating up. Plus, Cam Newton got a nice, big, fat contract. As a matter of fact, that's where I'm going to start. This is a football blog, after all.
So let's talk about Cam Newton: Yes, he won a Heisman Trophy and a national championship at Auburn. He came from 24 points down against Alabama in their building in 2010 and brought the title back to Auburn. And in the NFL he had a stellar rookie campaign.
But let's look at the facts, too: He has a single season above .500, has a TD/INT ratio of just 1.5 and ranked 27th in the NFL last year in that statistic. Even E.J. Manuel, who got his behind benched in Buffalo for Kyle Orton, had a better ratio than him. He's also been progressively worse the last four years, and had his worst season in the NFL in 2014.
Yet, he got paid. Oh, he got paid all right. To the tune of a $103.8 mil contract extension. This includes $67.6 mil over the first three guaranteed years. Sure, this guy is a talented quarterback. But THAT much money for a guy who's gotten progressively worse each year in the league? Yeah, I don't know about that one.
On baseball: Wonder how many people saw Joey Gallo's debut for the Rangers last night. He has been a AA prospect in their system but a very highly prized one. Yes, AA, not AAA. Yet, because of Adrian Beltre's injury over the weekend (which sadly caused me to put Beltre on the DL in my fantasy baseball league), they called him up this week and he made his debut last night. And in his debut against Jeff Samardzjia and the White Sox he did not disappoint; he had three hits, and came within a triple of the cycle.
Makes you wonder, with the Astros injury situation at shortstop (their normal starting shortstop Jed Lowrie is currently on the DL), should the Astros bring up Carlos Correa right now. Correa, like Gallo, is a very highly prized prospect, and is probably the most talked about of the Astros young players in the minors (he is at AAA Fresno right now). His talent is definitely off the charts, but his #s aren't great in AAA. Personally, I don't think they necessarily need to bring him up right now, but with the AL West starting to heat up a bit, I'd keep my finger near that trigger. He could be the difference between the Astros making the playoffs and sitting at home.
While we're on baseball, let's go to the college game now and I'll start by saying this: even though the Huskers had a terrible year on the baseball diamond, the Big 10 having two teams (Illinois and Maryland) with a legit shot to make it to Omaha is a very healthy thing for the sport. In baseball, it's natural that a team from the south would have the advantages over the northern schools because of weather and days you can get outside to play baseball. Here in Texas, you can play ball all year round and the high school baseball season usually starts around late February and early March.
In fact, the Big 10 got more teams into the Super Regionals (two) than the Big 12 got (one, and the Big 12 wouldn't have any if North Carolina State hadn't gagged massively in their regional final Monday against TCU). No doubt, as much as I hate to say it, the SEC is the best baseball conference (they got five teams into the Supers and will likely put multiple teams in Omaha) but it is good to see the Big 10 with a pulse. In particular, Maryland, a team who kind of struggled at times this season, beating top overall seed UCLA (and a team that won it all two years ago) was huge for the Big 10.
And as far as NC State: How is it possible to give up SEVEN, yes, SEVEN unearned runs in the space of two innings? TCU was done like dinner and then NC State just...lost it. That's a loss they will never live down.
On the NBA Finals, which start tomorrow: The Warriors have the better team, but do not underestimate Lebron. That man is as close to superhuman as the NBA has right now. I think it goes 7 but the Warriors prevail.
One Rockets note: apparently James Harden was recently seen with Denver point guard Ty Lawson. Could the Rockets somehow snag Lawson in free agency? That would be terrific because a Rockets area of need is a point guard and Lawson would fill that void quite nicely.
Time to briefly touch on FIFA (soccer) now and their ongoing corruption scandal. The last anyone heard of this corruption scandal, seven men were being hauled out of a hotel in Switzerland a week ago today in connection to an investigation by the FBI into wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering.
Think about this: FIFA decided to give Qatar the World Cup in 2022, pretty much the highest level of that sport on a national scale. Now think about this: in Qatar it's hotter than blue blazes in the summer so they'd have to play it in the winter when the best players in the world are all playing in their respective worldwide leagues, and they don't have the stadiums to hold this huge event.
In addition, according to an article from the Washington Post, the workers who were hired to build these stadiums are dying at an alarming rate. From everything I have read, the worker conditions in Qatar aren't good.
So yeah, I think it's possible there was some dirty money underneath the table for Qatar to get this event. In all honesty though, this thing goes pretty deep: this investigation isn't just about the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids. I'm not going to go into all the details, but this whole problem FIFA's got goes a lot deeper than that.
The good news for FIFA is that Sepp Blatter, the head of FIFA, resigned yesterday. Hopefully for them that is a step in the right direction.
And finally, a first, and very possibly last, for this blog: something related to hockey. That sport played on ice with a puck. Actually, I'm not even sure it's hockey; it's more of a fans thing and the asinine decisions sometimes made by professional sports organizations and college athletic departments in response to a lot of visiting fans in their stadiums. I wasn't going to talk about this, honestly, until I saw the link below on my Yahoo feed yesterday. Thus, this little soapbox.
Something's happened relating to the Stanley Cup Finals between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Chicago Blackhawks, which begin tonight, that touches a bit too close to home as a lifetime fan of Nebraska and in particular football. You see, the Tampa Bay Lightning have this asinine dress code for visiting fans that, because they are playing in a final series, is getting a little national attention. They aren't going to throw Blackhawks fans out of the building, but it's asinine enough. You can read more about it here: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/pass-or-fail--tampa-bay-lightning-s-anti-visiting-fan-dress-code-140431070.html
See, this hits a bit too close to home as a lifetime fan of the Huskers because these are the kind of tactics Husker fans were used to from schools like Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas State, etc. who would see Nebraska fans fill their stadium for big games every Saturday during the fall and they would try various things to keep Nebraska fans out of the stadium (that is, before the Huskers went to the Big 10).
For example, CU used to drive up ticket prices for just the Nebraska game alone. Nebraska would get anywhere from 7,000 to 10,000 fans at places like Folsom Field and CU players and fans hated it. I don't like Notre Dame's football program at all (though Catholic, I still don't like them), but at least when the Huskers went there in 2000, Notre Dame didn't try any stupid tactics to keep Husker fans out.
Similarly, TCU will face A&M in college baseball's super regionals this weekend and with the powerful Aggie base of fans in this state there will be a lot of them in TCU's ballpark. A&M's school is about four or five times the size of TCU and they have a very powerful network. I hope TCU makes a concentrated effort to get their fans in the stadium while still allowing Aggies to watch their team.
Bottom line: bush league move by the Lightning, similar to what Colorado, K-State, and others used to do when the Huskers came to town on Saturdays during football. Get more of your fans in, and don't be bush league to other fans who want to see their team.
Until next time....
So let's talk about Cam Newton: Yes, he won a Heisman Trophy and a national championship at Auburn. He came from 24 points down against Alabama in their building in 2010 and brought the title back to Auburn. And in the NFL he had a stellar rookie campaign.
But let's look at the facts, too: He has a single season above .500, has a TD/INT ratio of just 1.5 and ranked 27th in the NFL last year in that statistic. Even E.J. Manuel, who got his behind benched in Buffalo for Kyle Orton, had a better ratio than him. He's also been progressively worse the last four years, and had his worst season in the NFL in 2014.
Yet, he got paid. Oh, he got paid all right. To the tune of a $103.8 mil contract extension. This includes $67.6 mil over the first three guaranteed years. Sure, this guy is a talented quarterback. But THAT much money for a guy who's gotten progressively worse each year in the league? Yeah, I don't know about that one.
On baseball: Wonder how many people saw Joey Gallo's debut for the Rangers last night. He has been a AA prospect in their system but a very highly prized one. Yes, AA, not AAA. Yet, because of Adrian Beltre's injury over the weekend (which sadly caused me to put Beltre on the DL in my fantasy baseball league), they called him up this week and he made his debut last night. And in his debut against Jeff Samardzjia and the White Sox he did not disappoint; he had three hits, and came within a triple of the cycle.
Makes you wonder, with the Astros injury situation at shortstop (their normal starting shortstop Jed Lowrie is currently on the DL), should the Astros bring up Carlos Correa right now. Correa, like Gallo, is a very highly prized prospect, and is probably the most talked about of the Astros young players in the minors (he is at AAA Fresno right now). His talent is definitely off the charts, but his #s aren't great in AAA. Personally, I don't think they necessarily need to bring him up right now, but with the AL West starting to heat up a bit, I'd keep my finger near that trigger. He could be the difference between the Astros making the playoffs and sitting at home.
While we're on baseball, let's go to the college game now and I'll start by saying this: even though the Huskers had a terrible year on the baseball diamond, the Big 10 having two teams (Illinois and Maryland) with a legit shot to make it to Omaha is a very healthy thing for the sport. In baseball, it's natural that a team from the south would have the advantages over the northern schools because of weather and days you can get outside to play baseball. Here in Texas, you can play ball all year round and the high school baseball season usually starts around late February and early March.
In fact, the Big 10 got more teams into the Super Regionals (two) than the Big 12 got (one, and the Big 12 wouldn't have any if North Carolina State hadn't gagged massively in their regional final Monday against TCU). No doubt, as much as I hate to say it, the SEC is the best baseball conference (they got five teams into the Supers and will likely put multiple teams in Omaha) but it is good to see the Big 10 with a pulse. In particular, Maryland, a team who kind of struggled at times this season, beating top overall seed UCLA (and a team that won it all two years ago) was huge for the Big 10.
And as far as NC State: How is it possible to give up SEVEN, yes, SEVEN unearned runs in the space of two innings? TCU was done like dinner and then NC State just...lost it. That's a loss they will never live down.
On the NBA Finals, which start tomorrow: The Warriors have the better team, but do not underestimate Lebron. That man is as close to superhuman as the NBA has right now. I think it goes 7 but the Warriors prevail.
One Rockets note: apparently James Harden was recently seen with Denver point guard Ty Lawson. Could the Rockets somehow snag Lawson in free agency? That would be terrific because a Rockets area of need is a point guard and Lawson would fill that void quite nicely.
Time to briefly touch on FIFA (soccer) now and their ongoing corruption scandal. The last anyone heard of this corruption scandal, seven men were being hauled out of a hotel in Switzerland a week ago today in connection to an investigation by the FBI into wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering.
Think about this: FIFA decided to give Qatar the World Cup in 2022, pretty much the highest level of that sport on a national scale. Now think about this: in Qatar it's hotter than blue blazes in the summer so they'd have to play it in the winter when the best players in the world are all playing in their respective worldwide leagues, and they don't have the stadiums to hold this huge event.
In addition, according to an article from the Washington Post, the workers who were hired to build these stadiums are dying at an alarming rate. From everything I have read, the worker conditions in Qatar aren't good.
So yeah, I think it's possible there was some dirty money underneath the table for Qatar to get this event. In all honesty though, this thing goes pretty deep: this investigation isn't just about the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids. I'm not going to go into all the details, but this whole problem FIFA's got goes a lot deeper than that.
The good news for FIFA is that Sepp Blatter, the head of FIFA, resigned yesterday. Hopefully for them that is a step in the right direction.
And finally, a first, and very possibly last, for this blog: something related to hockey. That sport played on ice with a puck. Actually, I'm not even sure it's hockey; it's more of a fans thing and the asinine decisions sometimes made by professional sports organizations and college athletic departments in response to a lot of visiting fans in their stadiums. I wasn't going to talk about this, honestly, until I saw the link below on my Yahoo feed yesterday. Thus, this little soapbox.
Something's happened relating to the Stanley Cup Finals between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Chicago Blackhawks, which begin tonight, that touches a bit too close to home as a lifetime fan of Nebraska and in particular football. You see, the Tampa Bay Lightning have this asinine dress code for visiting fans that, because they are playing in a final series, is getting a little national attention. They aren't going to throw Blackhawks fans out of the building, but it's asinine enough. You can read more about it here: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/pass-or-fail--tampa-bay-lightning-s-anti-visiting-fan-dress-code-140431070.html
See, this hits a bit too close to home as a lifetime fan of the Huskers because these are the kind of tactics Husker fans were used to from schools like Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas State, etc. who would see Nebraska fans fill their stadium for big games every Saturday during the fall and they would try various things to keep Nebraska fans out of the stadium (that is, before the Huskers went to the Big 10).
For example, CU used to drive up ticket prices for just the Nebraska game alone. Nebraska would get anywhere from 7,000 to 10,000 fans at places like Folsom Field and CU players and fans hated it. I don't like Notre Dame's football program at all (though Catholic, I still don't like them), but at least when the Huskers went there in 2000, Notre Dame didn't try any stupid tactics to keep Husker fans out.
Similarly, TCU will face A&M in college baseball's super regionals this weekend and with the powerful Aggie base of fans in this state there will be a lot of them in TCU's ballpark. A&M's school is about four or five times the size of TCU and they have a very powerful network. I hope TCU makes a concentrated effort to get their fans in the stadium while still allowing Aggies to watch their team.
Bottom line: bush league move by the Lightning, similar to what Colorado, K-State, and others used to do when the Huskers came to town on Saturdays during football. Get more of your fans in, and don't be bush league to other fans who want to see their team.
Until next time....
Thursday, May 21, 2015
5/21: Ray Rice, other football stuff and Rockets
Just a few quick notes as this Thursday winds down here in Texas:
From the NFL, the charges against Ray Rice of domestic violence stemming from him punching his then-fiancee Janay Palmer were dropped. That's just unbelievable. You mean to tell me that a guy can hit his girlfriend in an elevator, be caught doing it and have the charges be dropped? What kind of world are we living in today where Tom Brady and Deflate Gate gets more attention than a star running back hitting a woman?
What's even worse is that he's talented enough to play in the NFL again, and whichever team ends up with him in the future is going to see his jersey be a popular seller in stores in that market. Sadly, as a Nebraska graduate and lifetime fan I've seen this story one too many times.
Lawrence Phillips hit his ex-girlfriend in 1995, Osborne booted him but decided to give him a second chance (when he really didn't need to, as they won the title without him anyways) as did many other coaches but he never learned. I can only hope that unlike Lawrence, that Ray Rice learns from his mistake but how can the charges be dropped when he was caught on camera?
Speaking of the Huskers, Mike Riley landed his second quarterback recruit of Nebraska's 2016 class, Patrick O'Brien out of California. Amongst the many things I hope I will see with Riley that we didn't see with Pelini is he needs to be aggressive on the recruiting trail all year round. Sometimes, what we saw with Pelini was that during the school year he would recruit decently, but in the summer the recruiting really tailed off.
Two cases in point: Damore'ea Stringfellow and Hunter Dale. Stringfellow was a wide receiver transfer from Washington for approximately two to three weeks last summer, but then opted to go to Ole Miss instead. Then, two-sport star Hunter Dale from Louisiana committed to the Huskers, then said he didn't and went elsewhere. They had 11 commits last year in May then got stuck on that # for quite a while.
One final Husker take: The end of the Husker baseball season was a complete disaster and for as much as I like Erstad, he's got to take the brunt of the responsibility. There needs to be at least some pressure on him to perform next year and that goes for all three major Husker sports for that matter. This is by far the worst the three major Husker sports have done since Nebraska came into the Big 10. I think Riley can win the West this coming fall, but basketball has a ways to go and baseball needs better hitting and better assistants in the dugout.
A few more NFL takes: The Chargers are apparently optimistic they can sign Philip Rivers. Hopefully, for their sakes, they can. Rivers has a mouth, but he is a gamer and he is a winner. Chargers could have made the playoffs last year but all their running backs got hurt it seemed.
So apparently Tom Brady's endorsement value has dropped since Deflate Gate. Ha, you think? Do I think Deflate Gate is overblown, yeah, but considering what many people think about the Pats, they don't need a reason to not trust Tom Brady. Speaking of the Pats, returning New York Jet Darrelle Revis opened his mouth recently, saying that the "Patriots have a history of doing stuff." Which is pretty much what I would expect any player under contract with the Jets to say. Interesting that he said it, but not surprising.
Smart move by the Saints to sign Andrus Peat to a four year deal. The Saints can use some improvements in run-game blocking and in protection for Drew Brees and Peat is just what the doctor ordered. Oh and by the way, he's another recruit that Bo Pelini missed out on.
As far as the Rockets tonight, devastating loss. If they wanted any chance to win this series, they had to get one of the first two games in Golden State. They had chances in both of those games but could not get it done. I think they can win a couple of games, but asking them to beat that Golden State Warriors team four out of five times is asking quite a bit. Honestly, the Rockets' biggest weakness is point guard. Even if Patrick Beverley were out there checking Curry, he's not an elite point guard; career backup at best. If the Rockets want to take that final step to win a championship, then they must get an upgrade at that position.
As to whether Cleveland could beat Golden State, uh, no. Lebron as great as he is isn't beating this Golden State team four times in a seven game series. Sorry, but the Cleveland curse continues.
Until next time....
From the NFL, the charges against Ray Rice of domestic violence stemming from him punching his then-fiancee Janay Palmer were dropped. That's just unbelievable. You mean to tell me that a guy can hit his girlfriend in an elevator, be caught doing it and have the charges be dropped? What kind of world are we living in today where Tom Brady and Deflate Gate gets more attention than a star running back hitting a woman?
What's even worse is that he's talented enough to play in the NFL again, and whichever team ends up with him in the future is going to see his jersey be a popular seller in stores in that market. Sadly, as a Nebraska graduate and lifetime fan I've seen this story one too many times.
Lawrence Phillips hit his ex-girlfriend in 1995, Osborne booted him but decided to give him a second chance (when he really didn't need to, as they won the title without him anyways) as did many other coaches but he never learned. I can only hope that unlike Lawrence, that Ray Rice learns from his mistake but how can the charges be dropped when he was caught on camera?
Speaking of the Huskers, Mike Riley landed his second quarterback recruit of Nebraska's 2016 class, Patrick O'Brien out of California. Amongst the many things I hope I will see with Riley that we didn't see with Pelini is he needs to be aggressive on the recruiting trail all year round. Sometimes, what we saw with Pelini was that during the school year he would recruit decently, but in the summer the recruiting really tailed off.
Two cases in point: Damore'ea Stringfellow and Hunter Dale. Stringfellow was a wide receiver transfer from Washington for approximately two to three weeks last summer, but then opted to go to Ole Miss instead. Then, two-sport star Hunter Dale from Louisiana committed to the Huskers, then said he didn't and went elsewhere. They had 11 commits last year in May then got stuck on that # for quite a while.
One final Husker take: The end of the Husker baseball season was a complete disaster and for as much as I like Erstad, he's got to take the brunt of the responsibility. There needs to be at least some pressure on him to perform next year and that goes for all three major Husker sports for that matter. This is by far the worst the three major Husker sports have done since Nebraska came into the Big 10. I think Riley can win the West this coming fall, but basketball has a ways to go and baseball needs better hitting and better assistants in the dugout.
A few more NFL takes: The Chargers are apparently optimistic they can sign Philip Rivers. Hopefully, for their sakes, they can. Rivers has a mouth, but he is a gamer and he is a winner. Chargers could have made the playoffs last year but all their running backs got hurt it seemed.
So apparently Tom Brady's endorsement value has dropped since Deflate Gate. Ha, you think? Do I think Deflate Gate is overblown, yeah, but considering what many people think about the Pats, they don't need a reason to not trust Tom Brady. Speaking of the Pats, returning New York Jet Darrelle Revis opened his mouth recently, saying that the "Patriots have a history of doing stuff." Which is pretty much what I would expect any player under contract with the Jets to say. Interesting that he said it, but not surprising.
Smart move by the Saints to sign Andrus Peat to a four year deal. The Saints can use some improvements in run-game blocking and in protection for Drew Brees and Peat is just what the doctor ordered. Oh and by the way, he's another recruit that Bo Pelini missed out on.
As far as the Rockets tonight, devastating loss. If they wanted any chance to win this series, they had to get one of the first two games in Golden State. They had chances in both of those games but could not get it done. I think they can win a couple of games, but asking them to beat that Golden State Warriors team four out of five times is asking quite a bit. Honestly, the Rockets' biggest weakness is point guard. Even if Patrick Beverley were out there checking Curry, he's not an elite point guard; career backup at best. If the Rockets want to take that final step to win a championship, then they must get an upgrade at that position.
As to whether Cleveland could beat Golden State, uh, no. Lebron as great as he is isn't beating this Golden State team four times in a seven game series. Sorry, but the Cleveland curse continues.
Until next time....
Monday, May 18, 2015
5/18: Football never stops, Clutch City reborn
So, as you can probably tell, this blog post is going to be VERY heavily leaning towards both college and pro football (as it usually does) plus the Rockets shocking comeback over the Clippers in the NBA Playoffs. That having been said....
Let's begin with quite a bit of football, starting in the college game. Though it is the offseason, recruiting is heating up for National Signing Day 2016, and there are some transfers hitting the "open market" so to speak as well.
Two of the offseason's hottest transfer possibilities, Everett Golson and Braxton Miller, still haven't made their final decisions yet. In the last blog, I mentioned that there was a rumor several weeks ago that Finebaum of the SEC Network had a source who said Miller may transfer to Alabama.
Needless to say, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith doesn't see that happening, Sitting down with a reporter from Eleven Warriors, an Ohio State based website, Smith said, "No, he's not going anywhere. Where's the rumors? He never said that."
Smith further went on to say that Miller loves it in Columbus, has a child and is in a good position. Obviously, Smith is not waffling on this position.
We shall see. But the Ohio State depth chart at QB, plus him being able to play right away leaves the transfer possibility always open until we hear it from the horse's mouth.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson is also a hot "prospect" as far as transfer possibilities. The rumor was that he was going to make a decision on where he'd play football next year (he has a year of eligibility remaining and will be able to play immediately as he graduated from Notre Dame on Saturday), but it appears he will keep the college football world waiting a bit longer according to Brett McMurphy of ESPN.
In Norman, the rough waters since the 2014 Sugar Bowl continue for Oklahoma's football program, as sophomore wide receiver K.J. Young was dismissed for violating team rules, and defensive backs Tito Windham and Marcus Green are set to transfer. Those three join running back Keith Ford, who announced he would transfer last week.
Auburn has had a week of setbacks as well though they did land the services of former five-star offensive lineman (and ex-Longhorn) Darius James this week; War Eagle lost three defensive backs to transfers in the past week as Kamryn Melton will be joined by fellow defensive backs Derrick Moncrief and Joe Turner in leaving the program. Moncrief is the biggest loss of all of them experience wise, as he played in all 13 games for Auburn this past year.
From the NFL comes the most confusing thing of the day; the Miami Dolphins signed Ryan Tannehill to a six year, 96M contract extension. What they see in this guy I'll never know; he's not a bad quarterback, but I certainly don't think he's a quarterback that is worth that much money. But if they want to put all their money on a decent but not great quarterback, knock yourselves out Miami.
Also from the NFL, Justin Smith, consistently one of the best defensive ends in the game, retires after 14 seasons in the pros. Amongst consistently drawing double teams and opening up gaps for linebackers in his tenures in Cincinnati and San Francisco, he played in a remarkable 221 out of 224 games in his 14 year career (thanks to Chris Sprow of ESPN for that stat). That's just about impossible in today's NFL. Smith played his college ball at Mizzou, an old rival of the Huskers, but I tip my hat today to one of the most durable players the NFL has seen in some time.
This also continues the rough offseason for the Niners, who of course lost Jim Harbaugh after the regular season and lost their other defensive stalwart Patrick Willis, who also retired this offseason.
Elsewhere from the Shield, apparently former Denver Broncos and Washington Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan would coach again if the situation was right. Speaking at a panel discussion for a lifestyle brand founded by a former NFL player, Shanahan said,
"You go 18 hours a day for 40-something years, and then you got a year and a half to two years where you feel like you got the time to do whatever you want to do," Shanahan said. "I still study the heck out of football. I actually have more time. I study more football than I actually did before."
Listen, Shanahan is a great football mind, has been for years. But there was one decision that, to me, set back his entire professional coaching career significantly and that was continuing to play Robert Griffin III in that playoff game against Seattle (in the 2012-13 season) when it was obvious Griffin couldn't play anymore. Honestly, if anyone hires this guy after that I'll be shocked.
Also from the NFL, current Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (you may remember him as a national title winning quarterback at Auburn as well) had a great moment with a horse racing fan this weekend at the Preakness Stakes. American Pharoah won the race to bring him within a victory at the Belmont Stakes of the first Triple Crown in 37 years, but a fan who had a winning ticket got to be in a photo with Newton. That's pretty cool.
On a side note, I'd love to see the Triple Crown come true, but there's a reason it hasn't been done in 37 years; it's probably the hardest feat to pull off in all of sports.
Cancer got another victim this weekend unfortunately; this time it was former Miami Dolphins kicker Garo Yepremian, who was a part of the 17-0 Dolphins perfect season. My thoughts are with him and his family at this hour. Also, my thoughts are with Seattle defensive tackle Jesse Williams, who will undergo surgery for kidney cancer.
Chargers owner Dean Spanos stepped away from the day to day operations of the Chargers on Monday, ceding control of the team to his sons, John and Alexander Gus. Hopefully the Spanos boys can work with the NFL to keep the Chargers in San Diego; I would hate to see them become an LA product.
And finally, from the NFL Captain Obvious department, Joe Buscaglia of WKBW in Buffalo reports that unless E.J. Manuel makes significant progress in the offseason his time with the Buffalo Bills could be numbered. Uh, yeah, Captain Obvious. They wouldn't have gone and picked up Matt Cassel if they were totally confident in E.J. Manuel's ability.
Now, let's get to the NBA Playoffs, and more specifically, the return of the Clutch City Rockets, who became just the ninth team in NBA history to wipe out a 3-1 series deficit and just the second NBA franchise (joining the Boston Celtics of 1968 and 1981) to do it twice. Which, I might add, I believed had no chance of happening approximately one week ago. In fact, I said on this very blog one week ago that until they got some tougher players this was as far as the Rockets were going to go in the playoffs.
Ha. Maybe I should have said that about the Clippers. Who, by the way, reminded us all that they are still the Clippers and will forever be the little brother to the Lakers in Los Angeles.
I think, though, that you have to give a ton of credit to Kevin McHale and also to his assistants T.R. Dunn and J.B. Bickerstaff. In particular, it was the insertion of Josh Smith into the starting lineup in Game 5 last Tuesday in Houston that changed the momentum of the series. The biggest difference in the series was two factors; one, it's that McHale outcoached Doc Rivers as he did Rick Carlisle of the Mavs in the previous round. Both of those men, by the way, have won NBA titles as a coach.
The other is plain and simply that the Clippers have no bench and really are average outside of Blake Griffin and Chris Paul. It was something I thought might catch up to them earlier in the series with them having been through a seven game bloodbath with the Spurs, but it ended up happening right at the end of this series. Once the Rockets shut down the three main Clippers role players (Matt Barnes, Jamal Crawford and JJ Redick) the Rockets had the advantage.
To wit, in game 5, the three Clippers shot a combined 6 for 30. In the incredible Game 6 comeback in which the Rockets rallied from 19 down late in the third, those three men shot a combined 12 for 38. And yesterday, those three shot 10 for 32. I think most who watched that series knew that Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, James Harden and Dwight Howard would get their points but this series was decided in large part by role players. In the three Clippers wins, Redick, Crawford and Barnes all played very well.
In contrast to the Clippers, the Rockets are a much deeper team; they had eight guys who played 20 or more minutes yesterday. And it was a key reserve, Pablo Prigioni, that sparked the decisive run of yesterday's game.
I believe the mentality of this Rockets team is very strong and it is a find-a-way mentality; I don't think at this point that they feel they are out of any game. That was never more evident than last Thursday night where they wiped out a 19 point Clipper lead late in the third. The team has been that way all year; they had to go without Dwight Howard for the majority of the season, and they've lost two key starters including their starting point guard who hasn't played in two months.
Speaking of said point guard, Patrick Beverley, he finally got his cast off today for his surgically repaired wrist and despite the slim possibility that he'll be able to play, he has said he wants to try to suit up against Golden State in the West Finals. Will that happen, I'm not sure but it's something to keep an eye on.
As far as that matchup goes, would I pick them to beat Golden State, probably not. But after what they did against the Clippers, I'm not sure I'd bet against them either. It's a pretty good time to be a Houston sports fan right now with the Rockets in the West Finals and the Astros having the best record in baseball.
As far as the Clippers go, that's a series that franchise won't be able to forget for some time. All the bleach in the world can't blotch that series out. Up 3-1, a game away from their first ever conference finals, and up 19 in the third quarter of Game 6 and they lost it all. The only way the pain of this series can be erased is if some day the Clippers get to the NBA Finals, and maybe win it all. This one's roughly equivalent to the pre-2004 Red Sox collapses, specifically 1978, 1986 and 2003.
There are a lot of guys responsible for this collapse, but most significantly this loss lands at the feet of Doc Rivers. It's sad because I like Doc after he led them through the Donald Sterling mess last year, but fact is he is the general manager and the coach. That he didn't have the bench to counter Houston's depth is in large part his fault. The Clippers really have only six guys I would consider threats, which isn't enough in the playoffs.
Until next time....
Let's begin with quite a bit of football, starting in the college game. Though it is the offseason, recruiting is heating up for National Signing Day 2016, and there are some transfers hitting the "open market" so to speak as well.
Two of the offseason's hottest transfer possibilities, Everett Golson and Braxton Miller, still haven't made their final decisions yet. In the last blog, I mentioned that there was a rumor several weeks ago that Finebaum of the SEC Network had a source who said Miller may transfer to Alabama.
Needless to say, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith doesn't see that happening, Sitting down with a reporter from Eleven Warriors, an Ohio State based website, Smith said, "No, he's not going anywhere. Where's the rumors? He never said that."
Smith further went on to say that Miller loves it in Columbus, has a child and is in a good position. Obviously, Smith is not waffling on this position.
We shall see. But the Ohio State depth chart at QB, plus him being able to play right away leaves the transfer possibility always open until we hear it from the horse's mouth.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson is also a hot "prospect" as far as transfer possibilities. The rumor was that he was going to make a decision on where he'd play football next year (he has a year of eligibility remaining and will be able to play immediately as he graduated from Notre Dame on Saturday), but it appears he will keep the college football world waiting a bit longer according to Brett McMurphy of ESPN.
In Norman, the rough waters since the 2014 Sugar Bowl continue for Oklahoma's football program, as sophomore wide receiver K.J. Young was dismissed for violating team rules, and defensive backs Tito Windham and Marcus Green are set to transfer. Those three join running back Keith Ford, who announced he would transfer last week.
Auburn has had a week of setbacks as well though they did land the services of former five-star offensive lineman (and ex-Longhorn) Darius James this week; War Eagle lost three defensive backs to transfers in the past week as Kamryn Melton will be joined by fellow defensive backs Derrick Moncrief and Joe Turner in leaving the program. Moncrief is the biggest loss of all of them experience wise, as he played in all 13 games for Auburn this past year.
From the NFL comes the most confusing thing of the day; the Miami Dolphins signed Ryan Tannehill to a six year, 96M contract extension. What they see in this guy I'll never know; he's not a bad quarterback, but I certainly don't think he's a quarterback that is worth that much money. But if they want to put all their money on a decent but not great quarterback, knock yourselves out Miami.
Also from the NFL, Justin Smith, consistently one of the best defensive ends in the game, retires after 14 seasons in the pros. Amongst consistently drawing double teams and opening up gaps for linebackers in his tenures in Cincinnati and San Francisco, he played in a remarkable 221 out of 224 games in his 14 year career (thanks to Chris Sprow of ESPN for that stat). That's just about impossible in today's NFL. Smith played his college ball at Mizzou, an old rival of the Huskers, but I tip my hat today to one of the most durable players the NFL has seen in some time.
This also continues the rough offseason for the Niners, who of course lost Jim Harbaugh after the regular season and lost their other defensive stalwart Patrick Willis, who also retired this offseason.
Elsewhere from the Shield, apparently former Denver Broncos and Washington Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan would coach again if the situation was right. Speaking at a panel discussion for a lifestyle brand founded by a former NFL player, Shanahan said,
"You go 18 hours a day for 40-something years, and then you got a year and a half to two years where you feel like you got the time to do whatever you want to do," Shanahan said. "I still study the heck out of football. I actually have more time. I study more football than I actually did before."
Listen, Shanahan is a great football mind, has been for years. But there was one decision that, to me, set back his entire professional coaching career significantly and that was continuing to play Robert Griffin III in that playoff game against Seattle (in the 2012-13 season) when it was obvious Griffin couldn't play anymore. Honestly, if anyone hires this guy after that I'll be shocked.
Also from the NFL, current Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (you may remember him as a national title winning quarterback at Auburn as well) had a great moment with a horse racing fan this weekend at the Preakness Stakes. American Pharoah won the race to bring him within a victory at the Belmont Stakes of the first Triple Crown in 37 years, but a fan who had a winning ticket got to be in a photo with Newton. That's pretty cool.
On a side note, I'd love to see the Triple Crown come true, but there's a reason it hasn't been done in 37 years; it's probably the hardest feat to pull off in all of sports.
Cancer got another victim this weekend unfortunately; this time it was former Miami Dolphins kicker Garo Yepremian, who was a part of the 17-0 Dolphins perfect season. My thoughts are with him and his family at this hour. Also, my thoughts are with Seattle defensive tackle Jesse Williams, who will undergo surgery for kidney cancer.
Chargers owner Dean Spanos stepped away from the day to day operations of the Chargers on Monday, ceding control of the team to his sons, John and Alexander Gus. Hopefully the Spanos boys can work with the NFL to keep the Chargers in San Diego; I would hate to see them become an LA product.
And finally, from the NFL Captain Obvious department, Joe Buscaglia of WKBW in Buffalo reports that unless E.J. Manuel makes significant progress in the offseason his time with the Buffalo Bills could be numbered. Uh, yeah, Captain Obvious. They wouldn't have gone and picked up Matt Cassel if they were totally confident in E.J. Manuel's ability.
Now, let's get to the NBA Playoffs, and more specifically, the return of the Clutch City Rockets, who became just the ninth team in NBA history to wipe out a 3-1 series deficit and just the second NBA franchise (joining the Boston Celtics of 1968 and 1981) to do it twice. Which, I might add, I believed had no chance of happening approximately one week ago. In fact, I said on this very blog one week ago that until they got some tougher players this was as far as the Rockets were going to go in the playoffs.
Ha. Maybe I should have said that about the Clippers. Who, by the way, reminded us all that they are still the Clippers and will forever be the little brother to the Lakers in Los Angeles.
I think, though, that you have to give a ton of credit to Kevin McHale and also to his assistants T.R. Dunn and J.B. Bickerstaff. In particular, it was the insertion of Josh Smith into the starting lineup in Game 5 last Tuesday in Houston that changed the momentum of the series. The biggest difference in the series was two factors; one, it's that McHale outcoached Doc Rivers as he did Rick Carlisle of the Mavs in the previous round. Both of those men, by the way, have won NBA titles as a coach.
The other is plain and simply that the Clippers have no bench and really are average outside of Blake Griffin and Chris Paul. It was something I thought might catch up to them earlier in the series with them having been through a seven game bloodbath with the Spurs, but it ended up happening right at the end of this series. Once the Rockets shut down the three main Clippers role players (Matt Barnes, Jamal Crawford and JJ Redick) the Rockets had the advantage.
To wit, in game 5, the three Clippers shot a combined 6 for 30. In the incredible Game 6 comeback in which the Rockets rallied from 19 down late in the third, those three men shot a combined 12 for 38. And yesterday, those three shot 10 for 32. I think most who watched that series knew that Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, James Harden and Dwight Howard would get their points but this series was decided in large part by role players. In the three Clippers wins, Redick, Crawford and Barnes all played very well.
In contrast to the Clippers, the Rockets are a much deeper team; they had eight guys who played 20 or more minutes yesterday. And it was a key reserve, Pablo Prigioni, that sparked the decisive run of yesterday's game.
I believe the mentality of this Rockets team is very strong and it is a find-a-way mentality; I don't think at this point that they feel they are out of any game. That was never more evident than last Thursday night where they wiped out a 19 point Clipper lead late in the third. The team has been that way all year; they had to go without Dwight Howard for the majority of the season, and they've lost two key starters including their starting point guard who hasn't played in two months.
Speaking of said point guard, Patrick Beverley, he finally got his cast off today for his surgically repaired wrist and despite the slim possibility that he'll be able to play, he has said he wants to try to suit up against Golden State in the West Finals. Will that happen, I'm not sure but it's something to keep an eye on.
As far as that matchup goes, would I pick them to beat Golden State, probably not. But after what they did against the Clippers, I'm not sure I'd bet against them either. It's a pretty good time to be a Houston sports fan right now with the Rockets in the West Finals and the Astros having the best record in baseball.
As far as the Clippers go, that's a series that franchise won't be able to forget for some time. All the bleach in the world can't blotch that series out. Up 3-1, a game away from their first ever conference finals, and up 19 in the third quarter of Game 6 and they lost it all. The only way the pain of this series can be erased is if some day the Clippers get to the NBA Finals, and maybe win it all. This one's roughly equivalent to the pre-2004 Red Sox collapses, specifically 1978, 1986 and 2003.
There are a lot of guys responsible for this collapse, but most significantly this loss lands at the feet of Doc Rivers. It's sad because I like Doc after he led them through the Donald Sterling mess last year, but fact is he is the general manager and the coach. That he didn't have the bench to counter Houston's depth is in large part his fault. The Clippers really have only six guys I would consider threats, which isn't enough in the playoffs.
Until next time....
Monday, May 11, 2015
5/11: A lot of ground to cover in multiple areas
It has been some time, hasn't it? Close to a month, so there's quite a bit of ground to cover.
This is normally a football blog, so naturally I'm going to start there. And I'm going to start with what has to be the most overhyped, overblown "scandal," that I have seen in sports in a long time, known as "Deflate Gate." My thought on this is; why in the world are we still over-hyping this? It's four months out from what allegedly happened and we're still making it out to be some huge thing?
For those unaware, independent attorney Ted Wells was hired by the NFL to do some investigating into whether the Patriots deflated their footballs in the AFC title game. He completed his investigation last week, and concludes that it is "more probable than not that the locker room attendant, equipment assistant and Tom Brady were aware of releasing air."
Look, there's a distinction to be made here. I don't mind the NFL going and investigating whether the Patriots deflated the footballs. I do have a problem with everyone over-hyping this whole thing and saying it's completely the reason the Patriots won a Super Bowl, or all four of them. The final of the game in question (AFC title game) was 45-7. This whole thing is not the reason the Patriots won that football game, or the Super Bowl after that.
I told you guys back in January that the sports media and Patriots haters in general were making a mountain out of a molehill, and they still are. Frankly, if there's anything I was more concerned about regarding the Patriots, it was that Aaron Hernandez get what was coming to him, and he did.
Meanwhile, in Houston (and no the Rockets aren't off the hook, I'll get to them later), Texans coach Bill O'Brien, according to Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle, said that the Texans "have a lack of conditioning" and "need to get in better shape as a whole." He also didn't mince words when he said it was the long snapper who was in the best shape of those attending mini-camp.
Talk about no-nonsense; it's a far different cry from what we had in the previous regime. O'Brien is building toughness and setting high standards for the players that come in here. This is why he will be a winner here.
From Dallas Cowboys camp, it appears that there has been mutual interest prior to and after the draft about the possibility of the Cowboys acquiring Adrian Peterson from the Vikings. That having been said, it appears the Palestine, Texas native will not be returning home any time soon. So sayeth Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant, who told TMZ Sunday that "we are both from East Texas. We believe in the same thing. Just as much as he love the game, I love the game the same way I think it would be something very special."
The Vikings are not willing to cooperate according to Bryant, who said "the Vikings not lettin' that happen, cause if they did, the league would know what would happen," Bryant said. "That man is a monster. He's something special."
I can't honestly say I blame the Vikings for holding onto All Day, although this smells eerily similar to the Herschel Walker trade in 1989 where the Cowboys sent Herschel Walker and a few other picks to Minnesota. Dallas received a king's ransom in that deal; they got several players but more importantly, received three first round picks, three second round picks and a third round pick.
Two of those picks became Emmitt Smith and Darren Woodson, two of the cornerstones of the Dallas run in the 1990s. One thing I think we can all agree on, Adrian Peterson is the franchise in Minnesota.
One more NFL note; the saddest thing about the whole Deflate Gate thing is it is overshadowing Gronk being Gronk. Gronk, of course, refers to Rob Gronkowski of the Patriots, who celebrated his 26th birthday this past weekend in Las Vegas. You know how the old saying goes, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Not with Gronk. Some of the highlights featured Gronk in a wig, two Super Bowl themed birthday cakes, inflatable footballs, and as per usual with Gronk, lots and lots of dancing. No one in the League knows how to have a good time like Gronk, I'm convinced.
From college football, before I go to more current events, I want to double back and talk about a possibility that surfaced a few weeks ago that I should have touched on then. A few weeks ago, a report by the SEC Network's Paul Finebaum surfaced that he had a source who said that it is possible Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller may transfer to Alabama.
The thing that makes this believable and gives it legs is that 1. he would be immediately eligible to play next season; he has eligibility left but graduated in December 2. he'd be most probably third on Ohio State's depth chart with the rise of J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones and 3. he'd immediately be the most talented quarterback on Alabama's roster.
All I can say is this; the rest of the SEC better hope this does not happen. Because if it does, Alabama becomes that much more lethal, even without Cooper. They already have an abundance of talent every year, and if they were to add Braxton...watch out.
Speaking of Nick Saban (this was something I also should have touched on), it seems to me that he has a problem with schools like Michigan and Penn State setting up satellite camps in his own territory. In case college football fans, or non-fans for that matter, don't know what "satellite camps" are you can read up on them here: http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/110369/what-you-need-to-know-about-satellite-camps
My response to this is; et tu, Nick? The man who has no problem stuffing his team with talented players and walking into Iowa and poaching Ross Pierschbacher after he had already committed to Iowa has a problem with this? Can't have it both ways, Nick.
In more recent events, here in Texas, even though the Aggies and Longhorns don't play anymore, the fires of rivalry still run hot, particularly in the A&M camp. In a Thursday interview with the Texas Tribune, A&M system chancellor John Sharp didn't pass up the opportunity to take a shot at UT and its Longhorn Network when he said this,
"We're hopeful that sometime in the future there will be a bowl game that we're able to play in, you know, if (Texas) gets there," Sharp said. "But the great thing about playing us is that you can get on real TV if you play us."
Honestly, there's no reason why those two can't play each other but the thing is, it takes two to dance. And if Texas won't do it, then it won't happen.
On the NBA playoffs, a few things stand out:
1. LeBron James got one on Chicago Sunday just as Michael Jordan did to Cleveland so many times in the past. His buzzer-beating three tied that series at two, and may have swung it back in favor of the Cavs with 5 and 7 at home.
2. The Rockets' goose is totally cooked. The bad thing for them is this; they're playing a Clippers team that is much tougher than it was in the past (that San Antonio slugfest did something to the Clippers because they're tougher and nastier than they've ever been), and Chris Paul when he's in is a terrible matchup for the Rockets. Getting beat by 20 to 30 points in two straight games is not a good look at all. McHale's done a good job this year, but until they get some mentally tougher players this is about as far as they're going to go.
3. Mike Conley is back and playing well and that's bad news for Golden State. With that series at 2-1 Memphis, game 4 is obviously a must win for the Warriors.
4. That Spurs/Clippers series was a war; a seven-game war and a classic. The Spurs are still the Spurs but it's obvious the Clippers have learned a lot from that series too. I think the next time those two play each other the Spurs will be look to exact their pound of flesh much as they did to Lebron last year.
Next, a few baseball things:
1. Big series win by the Royals in Detroit, capped off with a 2-1 10th inning victory late last night. Like them or not, the Royals have been able to survive all the suspensions and several injuries and are still at the top of the AL Central. They have also, largely, managed to stay out of trouble since Yordano Ventura's brawl with the White Sox.
2. At least early on, the Yankees are in first place. It's their first year in a long while without either Mariano Rivera or Derek Jeter playing regularly for them, yet so far they are making it work after beating the Orioles three out of four this weekend.
3. The Astros are off to a good start, but I want to see how they do long-term against teams outside the AL West. The Astros have been helped a ton by playing the AL West for the majority of the first month of the year, which has been playing mediocre. I still feel that Seattle, if they can hang on until June when one of their better pitchers comes back will challenge the Astros, but the Angels, Rangers and A's have played mediocre so far. Most of the teams the Astros will be playing are outside the division for the next long while, so this will be interesting to see.
4. The Cardinals are the best team in the NL right now, but my feeling is that long-term, without Adam Wainwright, they won't be. That's the most well-run organization in sports or one of them, but you need big-time players to win a championship eventually. I pegged them to win the NL at the beginning of the year, but you need aces like that in the long run.
5. I'm still intrigued by the Mets, who still sit in first place in May. Them and Washington is going to be a great race all summer; the young stable of arms for the Mets vs Washington who bought the farm to go get Scherzer for a run at the title.
One final golf note; very glad to see Rickie Fowler win the Players' Championship yesterday at TPC Sawgrass. He had a great year last year, but couldn't get that proverbial 900 lb. gorilla off his back with a big win. He did so yesterday. Can he win one of the three majors this year? Maybe not, but it looks like he's gearing up for a run at it.
Lastly, I hope all the mothers and mothers to be had a great Mother's Day Weekend.
Until next time....
This is normally a football blog, so naturally I'm going to start there. And I'm going to start with what has to be the most overhyped, overblown "scandal," that I have seen in sports in a long time, known as "Deflate Gate." My thought on this is; why in the world are we still over-hyping this? It's four months out from what allegedly happened and we're still making it out to be some huge thing?
For those unaware, independent attorney Ted Wells was hired by the NFL to do some investigating into whether the Patriots deflated their footballs in the AFC title game. He completed his investigation last week, and concludes that it is "more probable than not that the locker room attendant, equipment assistant and Tom Brady were aware of releasing air."
Look, there's a distinction to be made here. I don't mind the NFL going and investigating whether the Patriots deflated the footballs. I do have a problem with everyone over-hyping this whole thing and saying it's completely the reason the Patriots won a Super Bowl, or all four of them. The final of the game in question (AFC title game) was 45-7. This whole thing is not the reason the Patriots won that football game, or the Super Bowl after that.
I told you guys back in January that the sports media and Patriots haters in general were making a mountain out of a molehill, and they still are. Frankly, if there's anything I was more concerned about regarding the Patriots, it was that Aaron Hernandez get what was coming to him, and he did.
Meanwhile, in Houston (and no the Rockets aren't off the hook, I'll get to them later), Texans coach Bill O'Brien, according to Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle, said that the Texans "have a lack of conditioning" and "need to get in better shape as a whole." He also didn't mince words when he said it was the long snapper who was in the best shape of those attending mini-camp.
Talk about no-nonsense; it's a far different cry from what we had in the previous regime. O'Brien is building toughness and setting high standards for the players that come in here. This is why he will be a winner here.
From Dallas Cowboys camp, it appears that there has been mutual interest prior to and after the draft about the possibility of the Cowboys acquiring Adrian Peterson from the Vikings. That having been said, it appears the Palestine, Texas native will not be returning home any time soon. So sayeth Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant, who told TMZ Sunday that "we are both from East Texas. We believe in the same thing. Just as much as he love the game, I love the game the same way I think it would be something very special."
The Vikings are not willing to cooperate according to Bryant, who said "the Vikings not lettin' that happen, cause if they did, the league would know what would happen," Bryant said. "That man is a monster. He's something special."
I can't honestly say I blame the Vikings for holding onto All Day, although this smells eerily similar to the Herschel Walker trade in 1989 where the Cowboys sent Herschel Walker and a few other picks to Minnesota. Dallas received a king's ransom in that deal; they got several players but more importantly, received three first round picks, three second round picks and a third round pick.
Two of those picks became Emmitt Smith and Darren Woodson, two of the cornerstones of the Dallas run in the 1990s. One thing I think we can all agree on, Adrian Peterson is the franchise in Minnesota.
One more NFL note; the saddest thing about the whole Deflate Gate thing is it is overshadowing Gronk being Gronk. Gronk, of course, refers to Rob Gronkowski of the Patriots, who celebrated his 26th birthday this past weekend in Las Vegas. You know how the old saying goes, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Not with Gronk. Some of the highlights featured Gronk in a wig, two Super Bowl themed birthday cakes, inflatable footballs, and as per usual with Gronk, lots and lots of dancing. No one in the League knows how to have a good time like Gronk, I'm convinced.
From college football, before I go to more current events, I want to double back and talk about a possibility that surfaced a few weeks ago that I should have touched on then. A few weeks ago, a report by the SEC Network's Paul Finebaum surfaced that he had a source who said that it is possible Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller may transfer to Alabama.
The thing that makes this believable and gives it legs is that 1. he would be immediately eligible to play next season; he has eligibility left but graduated in December 2. he'd be most probably third on Ohio State's depth chart with the rise of J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones and 3. he'd immediately be the most talented quarterback on Alabama's roster.
All I can say is this; the rest of the SEC better hope this does not happen. Because if it does, Alabama becomes that much more lethal, even without Cooper. They already have an abundance of talent every year, and if they were to add Braxton...watch out.
Speaking of Nick Saban (this was something I also should have touched on), it seems to me that he has a problem with schools like Michigan and Penn State setting up satellite camps in his own territory. In case college football fans, or non-fans for that matter, don't know what "satellite camps" are you can read up on them here: http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/110369/what-you-need-to-know-about-satellite-camps
My response to this is; et tu, Nick? The man who has no problem stuffing his team with talented players and walking into Iowa and poaching Ross Pierschbacher after he had already committed to Iowa has a problem with this? Can't have it both ways, Nick.
In more recent events, here in Texas, even though the Aggies and Longhorns don't play anymore, the fires of rivalry still run hot, particularly in the A&M camp. In a Thursday interview with the Texas Tribune, A&M system chancellor John Sharp didn't pass up the opportunity to take a shot at UT and its Longhorn Network when he said this,
"We're hopeful that sometime in the future there will be a bowl game that we're able to play in, you know, if (Texas) gets there," Sharp said. "But the great thing about playing us is that you can get on real TV if you play us."
Honestly, there's no reason why those two can't play each other but the thing is, it takes two to dance. And if Texas won't do it, then it won't happen.
On the NBA playoffs, a few things stand out:
1. LeBron James got one on Chicago Sunday just as Michael Jordan did to Cleveland so many times in the past. His buzzer-beating three tied that series at two, and may have swung it back in favor of the Cavs with 5 and 7 at home.
2. The Rockets' goose is totally cooked. The bad thing for them is this; they're playing a Clippers team that is much tougher than it was in the past (that San Antonio slugfest did something to the Clippers because they're tougher and nastier than they've ever been), and Chris Paul when he's in is a terrible matchup for the Rockets. Getting beat by 20 to 30 points in two straight games is not a good look at all. McHale's done a good job this year, but until they get some mentally tougher players this is about as far as they're going to go.
3. Mike Conley is back and playing well and that's bad news for Golden State. With that series at 2-1 Memphis, game 4 is obviously a must win for the Warriors.
4. That Spurs/Clippers series was a war; a seven-game war and a classic. The Spurs are still the Spurs but it's obvious the Clippers have learned a lot from that series too. I think the next time those two play each other the Spurs will be look to exact their pound of flesh much as they did to Lebron last year.
Next, a few baseball things:
1. Big series win by the Royals in Detroit, capped off with a 2-1 10th inning victory late last night. Like them or not, the Royals have been able to survive all the suspensions and several injuries and are still at the top of the AL Central. They have also, largely, managed to stay out of trouble since Yordano Ventura's brawl with the White Sox.
2. At least early on, the Yankees are in first place. It's their first year in a long while without either Mariano Rivera or Derek Jeter playing regularly for them, yet so far they are making it work after beating the Orioles three out of four this weekend.
3. The Astros are off to a good start, but I want to see how they do long-term against teams outside the AL West. The Astros have been helped a ton by playing the AL West for the majority of the first month of the year, which has been playing mediocre. I still feel that Seattle, if they can hang on until June when one of their better pitchers comes back will challenge the Astros, but the Angels, Rangers and A's have played mediocre so far. Most of the teams the Astros will be playing are outside the division for the next long while, so this will be interesting to see.
4. The Cardinals are the best team in the NL right now, but my feeling is that long-term, without Adam Wainwright, they won't be. That's the most well-run organization in sports or one of them, but you need big-time players to win a championship eventually. I pegged them to win the NL at the beginning of the year, but you need aces like that in the long run.
5. I'm still intrigued by the Mets, who still sit in first place in May. Them and Washington is going to be a great race all summer; the young stable of arms for the Mets vs Washington who bought the farm to go get Scherzer for a run at the title.
One final golf note; very glad to see Rickie Fowler win the Players' Championship yesterday at TPC Sawgrass. He had a great year last year, but couldn't get that proverbial 900 lb. gorilla off his back with a big win. He did so yesterday. Can he win one of the three majors this year? Maybe not, but it looks like he's gearing up for a run at it.
Lastly, I hope all the mothers and mothers to be had a great Mother's Day Weekend.
Until next time....
Monday, April 20, 2015
4/20: A lot of ground to cover
As the title suggests, this was a very busy sports weekend, football and otherwise.
The biggest news from the football world this weekend occurred yesterday, and it involved none other than Timothy Richard Tebow, who if you recall almost had a cult following the last time he was in the league especially when the Broncos went to the playoffs under his watch. It was a cult following that included, amongst others, Skip Bayless of ESPN.
One thing we've already seen is that Chip Kelly isn't afraid to do things his way, and this is just another example. He's already dealt away his two top offensive weapons, Shady McCoy and Nick Foles (although, to be honest, most average quarterbacks could probably do well in that system) and now he's got Frank Gore and whoever the Eagles QB is going to be - and it looks like TRT is going to be at least in the mix for a bit. Since they signed Tebow, my feeling that Kelly will go after Mariota is waning. But you never know with him.
In other football news, a possibility talked about in recent weeks in some NFL circles is that Philip Rivers might get dealt from San Diego to the Tennessee Titans. Fueling these rumors is the news that the Chargers sent people to the home of the Oregon Ducks, Eugene, to work out Marcus Mariota.
Now, I'm not sure whether the Chargers will deal Philip Rivers and take a chance on Mariota (who I am not sold on as an NFL QB to begin with). I do know this; I am no fan of Philip Rivers, but that guy is a gamer and has a lot of heart and talent. I would say it would be really stupid of the Chargers to trade Rivers, but as I mentioned in the last blog, there is at least a possibility the Chargers could move to LA in the near future. And according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, Rivers "ain't about LA." So maybe if the Chargers are going to move to LA, they trade Rivers and both teams get what they want.
Also from the NFL, Andre Johnson said recently that he didn't sign with the Colts to get back at the Texans. Yeah, that's reaaaaaalllll believable, Andre. If it weren't about revenge, then you wouldn't have signed with a division rival. You could have gone to the Pats or someplace else and had a chance to win a Super Bowl. But where did you go...to a Texans division rival.
On college football; it is ridiculous that the Big 10 and Delany are still pushing for freshmen to be ineligible in football and basketball. In case you missed it, Delany sent out a 12 page treatise Friday explaining why he favors freshmen ineligibility.
One thing that caught my eye was from an article in Friday's USA Today, where it is noted that Delany believes the balance between academics and athletics has tilted too far in the wrong direction. Now I'm not the best translator in the world, but I think what this really is, is a move against the SEC.
It's a move against the SEC and most notably the Kentucky basketballs of the world; as most fans who follow college basketball know, Kentucky has probably benefited the most from college basketball's one and done system as they sent seven players to the NBA draft this year and probably will still be ranked top 5 preseason next year. Football obviously pays the bills in college athletics, but I think the way Calipari runs his program at Kentucky has really gotten under Delany's skin.
Thing is though, there is an easier way to solve this problem and keep freshmen eligible at the same time (which is how it should be). They should use the NCAA baseball model, which I really like. In that first year draft, the guys who go into that draft are either straight out of high school or have completed at least three or four years in college and are 21 years old (and junior college players can be eligible any time). But wait, I forgot, the Big 10 doesn't care about college baseball all that much except for schools like Nebraska, which is truly a shame.
Also from college football, Ohio State gets over 99,000 for their spring game. I can't stand Ohio State but that's an impressive accomplishment. Their stadium holds between 104,000 and 105,000 so they did a good job almost filling the place up. They were part of a weekend where a lot of the SEC's heavyweights (Alabama, LSU, Auburn) also had their spring games.
Time to double back now and go to the Masters and golf; yeah, I know they played at Hilton Head this past weekend and Furyk won in a playoff but to be honest, not many of the top players played this weekend. Speaking of Spieth, there's your answer to the future of golf.
I've heard lots of chatter from talking heads in recent years that golf won't be the same without Tiger and Phil playing well. Bottom line is, golf will carry on just fine no matter who is leading it, even for as good as Tiger and Phil have been throughout their careers, and Spieth appears to be the flag bearer for the next generation. How many guys who are 21 can go do what Jordan Spieth just did at Augusta? Even more impressive was that every single one of the top golfers in the world took a run at him at one point but he had an answer for everything.
Perhaps the most appropriate thing about this Masters was that as legendary University of Texas golfer Ben Crenshaw played his final Masters, Jordan Spieth, the next generation of Texas golf and golf in general, has taken the torch and ran with it. That will not be the only major he wins, by the way.
Not a whole lot of surprises from the NBA playoffs this weekend, but I will touch on two things briefly. #1, Mavericks fans should be very concerned. Harden had a fairly quiet night and Howard played just 17 minutes Saturday and the Rockets still beat them by 10. #2, I'm not 100 percent sure the Clippers can knock out the Spurs, it's tough to knock them out 4 of 7, but the Clippers made a very large statement last night in the first game.
A few baseball things now:
1. Probably the biggest thing in baseball this weekend was the debut of highly publicized talent Kris Bryant, who made his MLB debut for the Cubs Friday against San Diego and went 0 for 4. He got a hero's welcome though, from Chicago dignitaries such as Mike Ditka. Astros fans may remember that the Astros were scouting him in the draft two years ago before they took Mark Appel instead.
2. A's/Royals looked and felt a bit like Chiefs/Raiders this weekend; there were skirmishes in all three of those games, for those who missed it. The whole thing started Friday with this play, when A's player Brett Lawrie slid into second base with his spikes up as Royals shortsop Alcides Escobar is trying to cover second. You can see the play here: http://deadspin.com/brett-lawrie-alcides-escobar-and-the-case-of-the-text-1698799891#
Now, Lawrie claims he texted Escobar after the game, Escobar claims he didn't and called Lawrie out for his slide. Personally, whether Lawrie did apologize or not, you absolutely cannot slide into second base with your spikes up. Those spikes on those cleats are dangerous. In any event, there were skirmishes on Saturday and Sunday as well. All I can say is it's going to be interesting when those teams meet again in June.
3. Like I said last week, the Mets intrigue me. They've won eight games in a row and currently sit in first in the NL East. The Nats will probably come back and take over first place, but the Mets should be a good team the whole year.
4. Almost as hot are Don Mattingly's Dodgers, who have used a seven game win streak to grab an early NL West lead and end the Rockies undefeated run of six in a row on the road.
5. Early on there is at least reason for careful optimism regarding the local nine in Houston; so far the division is playing mediocre. Even the division favorite (for a lot of people) the Seattle Mariners have had their struggles early this season. If the division continues to play mediocre, the summer could be pretty fun at Minute Maid Park.
Finally, the Boston Marathon is today. I have friends who are competing in that event. Best wishes to all the athletes in that event.
Until next time....
The biggest news from the football world this weekend occurred yesterday, and it involved none other than Timothy Richard Tebow, who if you recall almost had a cult following the last time he was in the league especially when the Broncos went to the playoffs under his watch. It was a cult following that included, amongst others, Skip Bayless of ESPN.
One thing we've already seen is that Chip Kelly isn't afraid to do things his way, and this is just another example. He's already dealt away his two top offensive weapons, Shady McCoy and Nick Foles (although, to be honest, most average quarterbacks could probably do well in that system) and now he's got Frank Gore and whoever the Eagles QB is going to be - and it looks like TRT is going to be at least in the mix for a bit. Since they signed Tebow, my feeling that Kelly will go after Mariota is waning. But you never know with him.
In other football news, a possibility talked about in recent weeks in some NFL circles is that Philip Rivers might get dealt from San Diego to the Tennessee Titans. Fueling these rumors is the news that the Chargers sent people to the home of the Oregon Ducks, Eugene, to work out Marcus Mariota.
Now, I'm not sure whether the Chargers will deal Philip Rivers and take a chance on Mariota (who I am not sold on as an NFL QB to begin with). I do know this; I am no fan of Philip Rivers, but that guy is a gamer and has a lot of heart and talent. I would say it would be really stupid of the Chargers to trade Rivers, but as I mentioned in the last blog, there is at least a possibility the Chargers could move to LA in the near future. And according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, Rivers "ain't about LA." So maybe if the Chargers are going to move to LA, they trade Rivers and both teams get what they want.
Also from the NFL, Andre Johnson said recently that he didn't sign with the Colts to get back at the Texans. Yeah, that's reaaaaaalllll believable, Andre. If it weren't about revenge, then you wouldn't have signed with a division rival. You could have gone to the Pats or someplace else and had a chance to win a Super Bowl. But where did you go...to a Texans division rival.
On college football; it is ridiculous that the Big 10 and Delany are still pushing for freshmen to be ineligible in football and basketball. In case you missed it, Delany sent out a 12 page treatise Friday explaining why he favors freshmen ineligibility.
One thing that caught my eye was from an article in Friday's USA Today, where it is noted that Delany believes the balance between academics and athletics has tilted too far in the wrong direction. Now I'm not the best translator in the world, but I think what this really is, is a move against the SEC.
It's a move against the SEC and most notably the Kentucky basketballs of the world; as most fans who follow college basketball know, Kentucky has probably benefited the most from college basketball's one and done system as they sent seven players to the NBA draft this year and probably will still be ranked top 5 preseason next year. Football obviously pays the bills in college athletics, but I think the way Calipari runs his program at Kentucky has really gotten under Delany's skin.
Thing is though, there is an easier way to solve this problem and keep freshmen eligible at the same time (which is how it should be). They should use the NCAA baseball model, which I really like. In that first year draft, the guys who go into that draft are either straight out of high school or have completed at least three or four years in college and are 21 years old (and junior college players can be eligible any time). But wait, I forgot, the Big 10 doesn't care about college baseball all that much except for schools like Nebraska, which is truly a shame.
Also from college football, Ohio State gets over 99,000 for their spring game. I can't stand Ohio State but that's an impressive accomplishment. Their stadium holds between 104,000 and 105,000 so they did a good job almost filling the place up. They were part of a weekend where a lot of the SEC's heavyweights (Alabama, LSU, Auburn) also had their spring games.
Time to double back now and go to the Masters and golf; yeah, I know they played at Hilton Head this past weekend and Furyk won in a playoff but to be honest, not many of the top players played this weekend. Speaking of Spieth, there's your answer to the future of golf.
I've heard lots of chatter from talking heads in recent years that golf won't be the same without Tiger and Phil playing well. Bottom line is, golf will carry on just fine no matter who is leading it, even for as good as Tiger and Phil have been throughout their careers, and Spieth appears to be the flag bearer for the next generation. How many guys who are 21 can go do what Jordan Spieth just did at Augusta? Even more impressive was that every single one of the top golfers in the world took a run at him at one point but he had an answer for everything.
Perhaps the most appropriate thing about this Masters was that as legendary University of Texas golfer Ben Crenshaw played his final Masters, Jordan Spieth, the next generation of Texas golf and golf in general, has taken the torch and ran with it. That will not be the only major he wins, by the way.
Not a whole lot of surprises from the NBA playoffs this weekend, but I will touch on two things briefly. #1, Mavericks fans should be very concerned. Harden had a fairly quiet night and Howard played just 17 minutes Saturday and the Rockets still beat them by 10. #2, I'm not 100 percent sure the Clippers can knock out the Spurs, it's tough to knock them out 4 of 7, but the Clippers made a very large statement last night in the first game.
A few baseball things now:
1. Probably the biggest thing in baseball this weekend was the debut of highly publicized talent Kris Bryant, who made his MLB debut for the Cubs Friday against San Diego and went 0 for 4. He got a hero's welcome though, from Chicago dignitaries such as Mike Ditka. Astros fans may remember that the Astros were scouting him in the draft two years ago before they took Mark Appel instead.
2. A's/Royals looked and felt a bit like Chiefs/Raiders this weekend; there were skirmishes in all three of those games, for those who missed it. The whole thing started Friday with this play, when A's player Brett Lawrie slid into second base with his spikes up as Royals shortsop Alcides Escobar is trying to cover second. You can see the play here: http://deadspin.com/brett-lawrie-alcides-escobar-and-the-case-of-the-text-1698799891#
Now, Lawrie claims he texted Escobar after the game, Escobar claims he didn't and called Lawrie out for his slide. Personally, whether Lawrie did apologize or not, you absolutely cannot slide into second base with your spikes up. Those spikes on those cleats are dangerous. In any event, there were skirmishes on Saturday and Sunday as well. All I can say is it's going to be interesting when those teams meet again in June.
3. Like I said last week, the Mets intrigue me. They've won eight games in a row and currently sit in first in the NL East. The Nats will probably come back and take over first place, but the Mets should be a good team the whole year.
4. Almost as hot are Don Mattingly's Dodgers, who have used a seven game win streak to grab an early NL West lead and end the Rockies undefeated run of six in a row on the road.
5. Early on there is at least reason for careful optimism regarding the local nine in Houston; so far the division is playing mediocre. Even the division favorite (for a lot of people) the Seattle Mariners have had their struggles early this season. If the division continues to play mediocre, the summer could be pretty fun at Minute Maid Park.
Finally, the Boston Marathon is today. I have friends who are competing in that event. Best wishes to all the athletes in that event.
Until next time....
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Aaron Hernandez and other thoughts 4/16/15
Back here on a Thursday with several thoughts to chew on. And yes, Rockets fans I'll get to the first division title in 21 years, but lots of football to get to first.
Of course, the biggest story in sports yesterday was Aaron Hernandez, which honestly has transcended far beyond sports at this point. This isn't even a Patriots or NFL thing anymore. Yesterday, he was found guilty of first degree murder in the killing of his friend Odin Lloyd and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Honestly, there are two sad things about this whole deal to me; the first thing is that the man actually had talent...elite talent. Two years ago, this guy was catching footballs from Tom Brady and was an integral part of the Patriots offense. Now, he's behind bars...permanently. As a Husker alum and lifetime fan, I've sadly seen this movie before thanks to a guy by the name of Lawrence Phillips; a massively talented running back who could have played 15 years in the NFL but wasted it, just like Hernandez has done. Very sad.
The second sad part about this is that he isn't done. That's because this guy faces double murder charges in Boston, as well as civil lawsuits over the killings and not only that, he faces a lawsuit in Florida from a former friend who claims he was shot in the face and left for dead after an argument.
That said, I'm moving on to other football stuff.
Elsewhere in the NFL, Von Miller is apparently on a diet, and is already running his mouth about how the Broncos could be the NFL's top defense next year. The Broncos are switching from a 4-3 to 3-4 defense, which should at least be interesting. That said, Miller really should stop running his mouth until the Broncos back that claim up. Manning's never really had a top defense anywhere he's been since college, so why should we believe this is going to be any different?
Meanwhile, the quest to get the NFL back in Los Angeles took a huge step forward Wednesday when a proposed stadium that could become home for both the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers hit a huge milestone; sufficient petition signatures have been verified by election officials to qualify the proposal for the ballot in Carson, where the stadium would be built. They have been trying to get the NFL back in Los Angeles for over 20 years, and now there may be some serious progress.
From college football, it seems College Football Playoff committee member Condoleezza Rice is against expanding the current four team college football playoff, citing the importance of the regular season as a major factor.
As ESPN's Heather Dinich notes, Rice said, "I feel pretty strongly about four now becuase I thought that the rivalry weekend - the Saturday after Thanksgiving - almost felt like a play-in game," Rice said. "Now, the Iron Bowl, Alabama has to beat Auburn. You could imagine the circumstances in another year where the Civil War, Oregon has to beat Oregon State. There are questions whether they will."
I appreciate the passion that Rice displays in those quotes, but honestly, the playoff is going to expand if and when it wants to, regardless of her opinion.
Elsewhere in college football, Ohio State lost a highly prized quarterback recruit Jarrett Guarantano on Wednesday; the pro-style quarterback chose the Volunteers over the Buckeyes and Rutgers. He didn't commit to Tennessee without one of the Buckeye coaches taking a jab at him though; Buckeyes wide receivers coach Zach Smith didn't mince words when he tweeted the following:
"Great players THRIVE in competition...Not amidst mediocrity...We hope you remember this."
Honestly, I can't blame the kid for choosing Tennessee. I mean, Ohio State only has three of the top 10 quarterbacks in all the land. They are as deep in that position as any team in America. However, I'd love to see Tennessee shock the world in the SEC and meet Ohio State in a bowl game. Some bad blood that already may be brewing there.
Also from the college game, but related to the NFL Draft, wide receiver prospect Jaelen Strong from Arizona State is fighting through a fractured bone in his wrist, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. He is considered by many to be a first round pick in this upcoming draft, and if the Texans were going to go wideout first, he'd probably be one of the guys they look at.
Big night in Houston Rockets franchise history last night; the Rockets, thanks to a win over Utah and San Antonio's loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, win their first division title since the 1993-94 season. Honestly, this is unbelievable what they did. If you'd have asked me before the season, I'd have said there's a decent chance they'd be a lottery team and they probably should have been with all the injuries they went through. No matter what happens in the playoffs 56 wins and a division flag is a tremendous achievement.
That said, they face some very tough mountains starting with the rival Dallas Mavericks in the first round. I'm not sure anyone who watches basketball would be surprised if the Mavs win that series. It may be a 2/7 matchup but this one's going 6 or 7 I think.
As a side benefit, no OKC Thunder in the playoffs thanks to the Pelicans win. It's only right and just that after Seattle had their team taken away from them and moved to OKC (ala the Oilers being taken from Houston and moved to Tennessee), that OKC at the least doesn't win a title till Seattle gets a team again.
On baseball, I like to wait a week or two before commenting on games, so 10 games or so in I do have a few things.
1. The Detroit Tigers are the most talented team in the American League, top to bottom. That said, their success as always will come down to their bullpen. So far, Joakim Soria, former Kansas City closer, has been very good for the Motor City. If he can continue to close games there's no reason the Tigers shouldn't win 95 to 100.
2. The Astros are playing crappy offensively yet they are 4-5. They need to channel Pedro Cerrano from Major League and "wake up bats."
3. It's only 10 games or so in but I'm intrigued by the Mets so far. I don't think they're better than the Nationals (though they beat the Nats two of three to open the year), but they have some integral parts necessary for a playoff run.
4. It's notable that the Colorado Rockies are 6-0 on the road to open the year; they are normally not a good team outside their mile-high paradise, but they swept the Brewers and Giants to open the year on the road and allowed the defending World Champs only three runs in the three games in the Bay Area. The West appears to be very tough so far, with Colorado, LA and San Diego all off to nice starts.
5. The Cubs are in first, yes I said the Cubs are in first. Hope they enjoy it while it lasts, although I can see them making the playoffs as a wild card.
Until next time....
Of course, the biggest story in sports yesterday was Aaron Hernandez, which honestly has transcended far beyond sports at this point. This isn't even a Patriots or NFL thing anymore. Yesterday, he was found guilty of first degree murder in the killing of his friend Odin Lloyd and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Honestly, there are two sad things about this whole deal to me; the first thing is that the man actually had talent...elite talent. Two years ago, this guy was catching footballs from Tom Brady and was an integral part of the Patriots offense. Now, he's behind bars...permanently. As a Husker alum and lifetime fan, I've sadly seen this movie before thanks to a guy by the name of Lawrence Phillips; a massively talented running back who could have played 15 years in the NFL but wasted it, just like Hernandez has done. Very sad.
The second sad part about this is that he isn't done. That's because this guy faces double murder charges in Boston, as well as civil lawsuits over the killings and not only that, he faces a lawsuit in Florida from a former friend who claims he was shot in the face and left for dead after an argument.
That said, I'm moving on to other football stuff.
Elsewhere in the NFL, Von Miller is apparently on a diet, and is already running his mouth about how the Broncos could be the NFL's top defense next year. The Broncos are switching from a 4-3 to 3-4 defense, which should at least be interesting. That said, Miller really should stop running his mouth until the Broncos back that claim up. Manning's never really had a top defense anywhere he's been since college, so why should we believe this is going to be any different?
Meanwhile, the quest to get the NFL back in Los Angeles took a huge step forward Wednesday when a proposed stadium that could become home for both the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers hit a huge milestone; sufficient petition signatures have been verified by election officials to qualify the proposal for the ballot in Carson, where the stadium would be built. They have been trying to get the NFL back in Los Angeles for over 20 years, and now there may be some serious progress.
From college football, it seems College Football Playoff committee member Condoleezza Rice is against expanding the current four team college football playoff, citing the importance of the regular season as a major factor.
As ESPN's Heather Dinich notes, Rice said, "I feel pretty strongly about four now becuase I thought that the rivalry weekend - the Saturday after Thanksgiving - almost felt like a play-in game," Rice said. "Now, the Iron Bowl, Alabama has to beat Auburn. You could imagine the circumstances in another year where the Civil War, Oregon has to beat Oregon State. There are questions whether they will."
I appreciate the passion that Rice displays in those quotes, but honestly, the playoff is going to expand if and when it wants to, regardless of her opinion.
Elsewhere in college football, Ohio State lost a highly prized quarterback recruit Jarrett Guarantano on Wednesday; the pro-style quarterback chose the Volunteers over the Buckeyes and Rutgers. He didn't commit to Tennessee without one of the Buckeye coaches taking a jab at him though; Buckeyes wide receivers coach Zach Smith didn't mince words when he tweeted the following:
"Great players THRIVE in competition...Not amidst mediocrity...We hope you remember this."
Honestly, I can't blame the kid for choosing Tennessee. I mean, Ohio State only has three of the top 10 quarterbacks in all the land. They are as deep in that position as any team in America. However, I'd love to see Tennessee shock the world in the SEC and meet Ohio State in a bowl game. Some bad blood that already may be brewing there.
Also from the college game, but related to the NFL Draft, wide receiver prospect Jaelen Strong from Arizona State is fighting through a fractured bone in his wrist, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. He is considered by many to be a first round pick in this upcoming draft, and if the Texans were going to go wideout first, he'd probably be one of the guys they look at.
Big night in Houston Rockets franchise history last night; the Rockets, thanks to a win over Utah and San Antonio's loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, win their first division title since the 1993-94 season. Honestly, this is unbelievable what they did. If you'd have asked me before the season, I'd have said there's a decent chance they'd be a lottery team and they probably should have been with all the injuries they went through. No matter what happens in the playoffs 56 wins and a division flag is a tremendous achievement.
That said, they face some very tough mountains starting with the rival Dallas Mavericks in the first round. I'm not sure anyone who watches basketball would be surprised if the Mavs win that series. It may be a 2/7 matchup but this one's going 6 or 7 I think.
As a side benefit, no OKC Thunder in the playoffs thanks to the Pelicans win. It's only right and just that after Seattle had their team taken away from them and moved to OKC (ala the Oilers being taken from Houston and moved to Tennessee), that OKC at the least doesn't win a title till Seattle gets a team again.
On baseball, I like to wait a week or two before commenting on games, so 10 games or so in I do have a few things.
1. The Detroit Tigers are the most talented team in the American League, top to bottom. That said, their success as always will come down to their bullpen. So far, Joakim Soria, former Kansas City closer, has been very good for the Motor City. If he can continue to close games there's no reason the Tigers shouldn't win 95 to 100.
2. The Astros are playing crappy offensively yet they are 4-5. They need to channel Pedro Cerrano from Major League and "wake up bats."
3. It's only 10 games or so in but I'm intrigued by the Mets so far. I don't think they're better than the Nationals (though they beat the Nats two of three to open the year), but they have some integral parts necessary for a playoff run.
4. It's notable that the Colorado Rockies are 6-0 on the road to open the year; they are normally not a good team outside their mile-high paradise, but they swept the Brewers and Giants to open the year on the road and allowed the defending World Champs only three runs in the three games in the Bay Area. The West appears to be very tough so far, with Colorado, LA and San Diego all off to nice starts.
5. The Cubs are in first, yes I said the Cubs are in first. Hope they enjoy it while it lasts, although I can see them making the playoffs as a wild card.
Until next time....
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