Now that the re-match between Alabama and LSU bored everyone for a second time, it means that we've officially wrapped up another successful Bowl season... well maybe it was successful. Let's take a look at some of the highs and lows from this past Bowl season.
The Highs:
The Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Sugar Bowl: The BCS had to be extremely happy with the way their first three games started out, close and exciting. The Rose Bowl saw a 45-38 shootout between the Oregon Ducks and Wisconsin Badgers, the game ended when Badgers' QB Russell Wilson decided to try and spike the ball with :02 seconds remaining.
Moving on to the Fiesta Bowl, we had Oklahoma State (who should've been in the National Championship game) take on Stanford. Stanford jumped out big early behind the soon-to-be number one NFL Draft Pick, Andrew Luck and the Cardinal running game. But the Cowboys woke up and showed that they were determined to show they belonged. Justin Blackmon proved why he's going to be the first wide receiver taken in the draft, 8 catches 186 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Cowboys won 41-38 in overtime thanks in large part to 3 missed field goals by Stanford but it's a win still.
The Sugar Bowl might not have been as exciting as the two games preceeding it but it ended with a lot of excitement. A called touchdown in OT for Va Tech overturned on a judgment call led to their third string kicker missing a field goal after converting his first four attempts. That set Michigan up to put it on the leg of redshirt sophomore kicker Brendan Gibbons to knock home a 37 yard attempt for the win, the same Gibbons who was 1 for 5 last year on field goals. Gibbons told reporters after the game that he was "thinking of brunette girls" before the kick, something Coach Hoke encouraged. Worked out well.
The SEC: The SEC continued it's recent dominance in college bowl by going 6-3 in Bowl play including winning the conference's sixth straight National Championship. In fact, since the NC was an SEC affair they went 5-2 against all other conferences. As much as I hate to admit it, the SEC is still miles ahead of the rest of the game. Oh by the way, the two newcomers to the SEC next year, Missouri and Texas A&M also won their bowl games. So that means 8-3 for the SEC.
The BCS Winner Shirts: Nike was the official sponsor of the BCS apparel this year and did a nice job the t-shirts that the winners threw on after the game. Here's how they rank in order of how I liked them, "Nacho Victory" for the Fiesta, "Pour Some Sugar On Me" for the Sugar, "Rose To Power" for the Rose and "Orange You Glad We Won" for the Orange.
The Alamo Bowl: Heisman winner Robert Griffin III and the Baylor Bears won 67-56 over the Washington Huskies en route to RG3 turning pro. Washington QB Keith Price actually outplayed RG3 and put his name into the Heisman race early for next year, this game set all sorts of records and lacked defense. So if you like offense then you loved this game.
Kellen Moore: The Boise State QB is going out as the most winningest quarterback in NCAA history as Moore won his 50th game of his career when BSU beat Arizona State badly, 56-24 in the MAACO Las Vegas Bowl.
The Lows:
The National Championship Game: As if the 9-6 game between LSU and Alabama wasn't horrible the rematch might have been just as bad if not worse. Bama of course won 21-0 and LSU just barely got over the 50-yard line in the game. Oklahoma State has to feel robbed and disappointed. A bad loss at Iowa State late in the year cost them. While the Cowboys probably would've lost due to a faulty defense, they would have at least put up points.
Nelly: ESPN tabbed Nelly and his God awful song "The Champ" to be their theme for the Bowl season, a decision I'm sure not only they regret but the rest of the nation as well. Nelly hasn't come close to duplicating Country Grammar, heck he hasn't come close to duplicating Nellyville and that CD wasn't even that good. Hopefully ESPN gets it right next year.
The Orange Bowl: This game started out promising, looking like the Alamo Bowl Part 2 until West Virginia decided to start playing defense. WVU went on to hang 70 points on Clemson which ultimately cost the Tigers defensive coordinator, Kevin Steele, his job. The best part of the game was when WVU's Darwin Cook tackled the Obie the Orange Bowl mascot after his 99-yard fumble return. Check out Darwin's reaction after he found out Obie was a girl:
The Big Ten: While Michigan State and Michigan saved the conference from complete embarrassment with their respective wins, the Big ten still went 4-6 in the Bowl season. Their other two wins were Purdue over MAC Western Michigan and Illinois who beat a terrible UCLA that finished 6-8 this season. The last two years, the Big Ten is 1-9 in their January 1 Bowl games, which is where they showcase their "marquee" teams.
The Lack of a Playoff: Honestly when will the BCS go to a Plus One system or a four team playoff, maybe even an eight or sixteen team playoff? Never. Which means the 2011 Oklahoma State Cowboys will go down in infamy with the 13-0 2004 Auburn Tigers and 2001 Oregon Ducks as teams who got screwed from their shot at the National Championship.
Anything you feel I left off the list? Let me know and speak up.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Apparently Xavier Has Gangsters On Their Team
The annual crosstown shootout between Cincinnati and Xavier took things to a new level today when the two teams decided to slug it out at the end of the game. The two schools are only a few miles apart leaving the game to decide yearly bragging rights. Last year Cincy won by 20 points on their home court and this year Xavier got their revenge winning 76-53.
These games are always intense, with their hard fouls, trash talking and general hatred for the other school. The trash talking got so out of hand that Xavier junior guard Mark Lyons was warned by officials in his locker room at halftime to cut it out or get hit with a technical. Lyons shut up in the second half.
I'm all for running up the score in games, especially in rivalry games but Tu Holloway a senior guard for Xavier has a lot of blame for what happened. After his layup he made with time running out he ran back on defense yelling at everyone and anyone on Cincy's bench before getting in the face of Cincy's Ge'Lawn Guyn. That's when freshman Dezmine Wells came over to help Halloway and then shoved Guyn. Here's what happened next:
Bearcats senior Yancy Gates is the player who sucker punches Xavier's Kenny Frease in that video. A Bearcat player appears to stomp on Frease while he is bloodied and on the ground and more punches are thrown while coaches tried to separate the teams. Not shown after the game was called with 9.3 seconds remaining was Holloway jumping on the scorer's table celebrating the victory.
Then in the post-game interview Holloway dropped this bomb on everyone, "That’s what you’re going to see from Xavier and Cincinnati,” Holloway said. “We got disrespected a little bit before the game, guys calling us out. We’re a tougher team. We’re grown men over here. We’ve got a whole bunch of gangsters in the locker room—not thugs, but tough guys on the court. And we went out there and zipped them up at the end of the game.”
The sad thing is neither Halloway nor Lyons apologized for their actions rather they seemed to be proud of themselves for "not letting people get in their faces". We'll see how proud they are when the NCAA and the teams' respective conferences and ADs figure this mess out and hand out their suspensions.
Good news is at least the coaches understood how incredibly dumb this was. Cincy coach Mick Cronin made his players turn in their jerseys afterwards, he even had to take them off some players. "I made everybody take their jersey off and they will not put it on again until they have a full understanding of where they go to school, what the university stands for and how lucky they are to even be here let alone have a scholarship." Cronin also said he'd be meeting with his AD and school President hoping they wouldn't ask him to resign after this.
Xavier coach Chris Mack tweeted this after the game, "No one, no one regrets our ending to the UC game more than me. My 5 and 6 yr olds were in the stands. Both teams were at fault period. I'm disappointed to the enth degree. I've got good kids. Mick's got good kids. They made DUMB decisions."
Sad thing is Xavier was a legit Final Four contender but after today's game who knows what they'll be or who will still be on the team.
These games are always intense, with their hard fouls, trash talking and general hatred for the other school. The trash talking got so out of hand that Xavier junior guard Mark Lyons was warned by officials in his locker room at halftime to cut it out or get hit with a technical. Lyons shut up in the second half.
I'm all for running up the score in games, especially in rivalry games but Tu Holloway a senior guard for Xavier has a lot of blame for what happened. After his layup he made with time running out he ran back on defense yelling at everyone and anyone on Cincy's bench before getting in the face of Cincy's Ge'Lawn Guyn. That's when freshman Dezmine Wells came over to help Halloway and then shoved Guyn. Here's what happened next:
Bearcats senior Yancy Gates is the player who sucker punches Xavier's Kenny Frease in that video. A Bearcat player appears to stomp on Frease while he is bloodied and on the ground and more punches are thrown while coaches tried to separate the teams. Not shown after the game was called with 9.3 seconds remaining was Holloway jumping on the scorer's table celebrating the victory.
Then in the post-game interview Holloway dropped this bomb on everyone, "That’s what you’re going to see from Xavier and Cincinnati,” Holloway said. “We got disrespected a little bit before the game, guys calling us out. We’re a tougher team. We’re grown men over here. We’ve got a whole bunch of gangsters in the locker room—not thugs, but tough guys on the court. And we went out there and zipped them up at the end of the game.”
The sad thing is neither Halloway nor Lyons apologized for their actions rather they seemed to be proud of themselves for "not letting people get in their faces". We'll see how proud they are when the NCAA and the teams' respective conferences and ADs figure this mess out and hand out their suspensions.
Good news is at least the coaches understood how incredibly dumb this was. Cincy coach Mick Cronin made his players turn in their jerseys afterwards, he even had to take them off some players. "I made everybody take their jersey off and they will not put it on again until they have a full understanding of where they go to school, what the university stands for and how lucky they are to even be here let alone have a scholarship." Cronin also said he'd be meeting with his AD and school President hoping they wouldn't ask him to resign after this.
Xavier coach Chris Mack tweeted this after the game, "No one, no one regrets our ending to the UC game more than me. My 5 and 6 yr olds were in the stands. Both teams were at fault period. I'm disappointed to the enth degree. I've got good kids. Mick's got good kids. They made DUMB decisions."
Sad thing is Xavier was a legit Final Four contender but after today's game who knows what they'll be or who will still be on the team.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Lions Still Don't Get It
The most frustrating part of being a Detroit Lions fan during their Week 13 loss, 31-17 to New Orleans wasn't the loss itself but the fact that if not for boneheaded plays and poor officiating the Lions could have upset the Saints at home. Now while I hold the Lions more accountable for this loss the officials had some critical calls that we saw the 0-16 Lions get time and time again when no one respected them.
The Lions, one week after watching teammate Ndamukong Suh selfishly stomp on an opponent and put the team in a bad spot committed three more selfish and uncalled for personal fouls this week. It started early in the third quarter when rookie Titus Young tagged a Saints defender in the facemask while a referee was trying to separate the two. Instead of 3rd and 1 from New Orleans 5-yard line it became 3rd and 16. The Lions settled for a field goal and not a touchdown that they most likely would have scored. Young was benched for most of the game after this, seeing the field for a handful snaps when needed.
Then in the fourth quarter return man Stefan Logan flipped the football into the face of an opponent after a return. Logan who hasn't been an impact on returns this year has been understandably frustrated but this selfish act came back to haunt the Lions as they settled for a 55-yard field goal attempt. They missed and gave the Saints the ball on their own 45, the seven point game quickly became a 14 point game and was pretty much over. There's no guarantee the Lions drive like they did and kick a 40-yard field goal if Logan didn't get that penalty but it's still a dumb penalty to commit nonetheless.
And lastly Brandon Pettigrew picked up a personal foul for contact with an official as he shoved an official who was trying to separate him from a Saints defender. There's absolutely no excuse for what Pettigrew did here and while his penalty didn't cost the Lions points it did cost them position.
Head coach Jim Schwartz has said that the plan is to bench those who continue to make these selfish and costly penalties. If I were him or front office personnel you can bet that not only am I benching them but I am fining them whatever amount it is under the new CBA that I can. You thought Suh's suspension would have opened their eyes, it didn't so maybe this will.
Ultimately the Lions cost themselves the game with the Saints but I do have some qualms with the officiating in that game. Right before the half the Saints clearly jumped offsides en route to blocking the Lions field goal which wasn't called. Nate Burelson was flagged not once, not twice but three times for offensive pass interference. Has there even been three OPIs called all season long? To me you can call offensive pass interference is 99 percent of the one on one jump balls and under throws, so why all of sudden was the crew working that game deciding to call every little hand check battle Nate got into? Conveniently enough they also missed the defensive pass interference on Nate which led to Stafford's only interception on the night. These were the calls and officiating when the Lions were irrelevant and the laughing stock of the league. Like I said I don't blame the officials so much but that was an awful officiated game.
Schwartz says it's on him to stop this "trend" of idiotic personal fouls let's just hope for our sake, his sake and the playoff's sake that the guys get the memo.
The Lions, one week after watching teammate Ndamukong Suh selfishly stomp on an opponent and put the team in a bad spot committed three more selfish and uncalled for personal fouls this week. It started early in the third quarter when rookie Titus Young tagged a Saints defender in the facemask while a referee was trying to separate the two. Instead of 3rd and 1 from New Orleans 5-yard line it became 3rd and 16. The Lions settled for a field goal and not a touchdown that they most likely would have scored. Young was benched for most of the game after this, seeing the field for a handful snaps when needed.
Then in the fourth quarter return man Stefan Logan flipped the football into the face of an opponent after a return. Logan who hasn't been an impact on returns this year has been understandably frustrated but this selfish act came back to haunt the Lions as they settled for a 55-yard field goal attempt. They missed and gave the Saints the ball on their own 45, the seven point game quickly became a 14 point game and was pretty much over. There's no guarantee the Lions drive like they did and kick a 40-yard field goal if Logan didn't get that penalty but it's still a dumb penalty to commit nonetheless.
And lastly Brandon Pettigrew picked up a personal foul for contact with an official as he shoved an official who was trying to separate him from a Saints defender. There's absolutely no excuse for what Pettigrew did here and while his penalty didn't cost the Lions points it did cost them position.
Head coach Jim Schwartz has said that the plan is to bench those who continue to make these selfish and costly penalties. If I were him or front office personnel you can bet that not only am I benching them but I am fining them whatever amount it is under the new CBA that I can. You thought Suh's suspension would have opened their eyes, it didn't so maybe this will.
Ultimately the Lions cost themselves the game with the Saints but I do have some qualms with the officiating in that game. Right before the half the Saints clearly jumped offsides en route to blocking the Lions field goal which wasn't called. Nate Burelson was flagged not once, not twice but three times for offensive pass interference. Has there even been three OPIs called all season long? To me you can call offensive pass interference is 99 percent of the one on one jump balls and under throws, so why all of sudden was the crew working that game deciding to call every little hand check battle Nate got into? Conveniently enough they also missed the defensive pass interference on Nate which led to Stafford's only interception on the night. These were the calls and officiating when the Lions were irrelevant and the laughing stock of the league. Like I said I don't blame the officials so much but that was an awful officiated game.
Schwartz says it's on him to stop this "trend" of idiotic personal fouls let's just hope for our sake, his sake and the playoff's sake that the guys get the memo.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Jags Fire Del Rio... Who's Next?
The Jacksonville Jaguars are the first of what could be many teams making changes to a coach on the hot seat by firing Jack Del Rio today. Del Rio was hired before the 03 season began and compiled a 68-70 record during his eight and a half seasons there. He won one playoff game but hasn't made the playoffs since 2007. It was no surprise that the Jags fired him, what with the team being 3-8 and Del Rio throwing his offensive coordinator under the bus the last two weeks. However the shock is that the Jags didn't wait until the end of the season. That that one hot chair has been put out, let's take a look at who might be next.
Andy Reid: Hard to imagine Reid in this position before the season started but with the Dream Team sitting at 4-7 and players (DeSean Jackson) running a muck Reid could be in serious trouble. The fans were chanting "FIRE ANDY" during this past week's embarrassing loss at home to New England. Reid's one saving grace is that team owner Jeffrey Lurie might show some loyalty to one of the most successful coaches in franchise history by giving him one more year.
Tom Coughlin: The New York Giants have been on the decline the last few weeks. They've lost their lead in the NFC East and trail Dallas by a game. At 6-5 they also fall one game short of the Wild Card. If the Giants blow their great start and miss the playoffs Coughlin might be on his way out too.
Jim Caldwell: Hard to believe the man with Peyton Manning as his QB could be fired but with no Peyton this year the Colts have no wins through Week 12. It's thought to be believed that one win could save Caldwell but an 0-16 season could mean a new coach with a new franchise QB.
Steve Spagnuolo: The Rams are 10-33 under Spagnuolo working on his third year with the club. The team has taken a huge step backwards from last year's season in which the Rams just missed winning the NFC West and making the playoffs. A strong finish could buy Spagnuolo one more year in the STL.
Norv Turner: Turner is believed to be a goner at the end of the year and rightfully so. This team has never reached their full potential under Turner and fails to win the big game when needed. Making the playoffs could save him but the Chargers are basically out of it after last week's crushing loss to Denver.
Tony Sparano: Most people thought Sparano was gone after last season when the team collapsed at the end of the season and missed the playoffs but owner Stephen Ross couldn't persuade Jim Harbaugh to come to Miami and was stuck with Sparano. After this all but disappointing season it's hard to see Sparano being the head coach in 2012.
These coaches could be next to go but only time will tell when.
Andy Reid: Hard to imagine Reid in this position before the season started but with the Dream Team sitting at 4-7 and players (DeSean Jackson) running a muck Reid could be in serious trouble. The fans were chanting "FIRE ANDY" during this past week's embarrassing loss at home to New England. Reid's one saving grace is that team owner Jeffrey Lurie might show some loyalty to one of the most successful coaches in franchise history by giving him one more year.
Tom Coughlin: The New York Giants have been on the decline the last few weeks. They've lost their lead in the NFC East and trail Dallas by a game. At 6-5 they also fall one game short of the Wild Card. If the Giants blow their great start and miss the playoffs Coughlin might be on his way out too.
Jim Caldwell: Hard to believe the man with Peyton Manning as his QB could be fired but with no Peyton this year the Colts have no wins through Week 12. It's thought to be believed that one win could save Caldwell but an 0-16 season could mean a new coach with a new franchise QB.
Steve Spagnuolo: The Rams are 10-33 under Spagnuolo working on his third year with the club. The team has taken a huge step backwards from last year's season in which the Rams just missed winning the NFC West and making the playoffs. A strong finish could buy Spagnuolo one more year in the STL.
Norv Turner: Turner is believed to be a goner at the end of the year and rightfully so. This team has never reached their full potential under Turner and fails to win the big game when needed. Making the playoffs could save him but the Chargers are basically out of it after last week's crushing loss to Denver.
Tony Sparano: Most people thought Sparano was gone after last season when the team collapsed at the end of the season and missed the playoffs but owner Stephen Ross couldn't persuade Jim Harbaugh to come to Miami and was stuck with Sparano. After this all but disappointing season it's hard to see Sparano being the head coach in 2012.
These coaches could be next to go but only time will tell when.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
What Is So Wrong With This Picture?
I'm going to preface this by saying some people might not like to hear what I'm about to say and I never play the "race card" but enough is enough already. Why is that the Lions mocking "Tebowing" and the comments they made about his performance drawing such attention?
I'll tell you why, it's because Tim Tebow is white male who stays out of trouble and openly crams his religion down you throat, not to mention the ladies think he has a cute smile. So why is he so special from every other man on an NFL roster, why is it you can't point that his mechanics are horrible, that he can't hit water with a pass if he were on a boat in the ocean, that he wasn't deserving of a first round draft pick? Now you can't even take a knee and pray if you play him because clearly Tebow was the first and only player to ever do that in a game.
People say that Stephen Tulloch, who was seen "Tebowing" over Tebow after a sack was mocking him and his religion. Here's what Tulloch had to say:
" “The fact that anyone could ever say that I’m mocking God is outrageous,” said Tulloch. “We were just having fun. If you watch the game, the guys that parachuted into the game ‘Tebowed’ as they came down. It’s a fad. “I was able to get to Tebow and sack him first, so I did it. It wasn’t out of disrespect, it was out of fun.” "
I don't like when athletes try to force their religion on me every time someone puts a microphone in their face, Kurt Warner was notorious for this. But you know what, Warner never ran and hid after a bad game he kept that forcing belief whether his team won or lost and whether he played great or awful. After Sunday's embarrassment of game, Tebow didn't want to say one thing about religion but only a week earlier it had everything to do with the Broncos comeback against a terrible Miami Dolphins team.
Where were people to cry outlandishly like this when Andre Ware was being dragged through the mud, when Akili Smith was busting, Charles Rogers JaMarcus Russell and Lawrence Phillips. Yeah sure, you laughed at Joey Harrington because Tony Siragusa basically questioned Harrington's sexuality when he mocked him for playing the piano and saying he probably enjoys strawberries and champagne. Everyone had a good time when Ryan Leaf blew up because in all honesty he was a bad QB on a bad team and he made things interesting with his temper. I don't recall anyone fighting for these guys.
Or how about when people openly mocked Shawne Merriman and his celebration. What about LaDanian Tomlinson and his TD celebration that teams love to mock when they play him? Those dumb enough to mock Ray Lewis end up paying the price because Lewis usually tags them pretty good but no one says anything. The only people to complain are the ones being jocked, sans Lewis. LT cried like a baby about but no one went on a mission to help him and crucify those who mocked he and Merriman.
To Tebow's credit, he came out and said he found nothing wrong with what happened. And it's not his fault that he isn't a good QB yet (although I don't see things getting a lot better), not his fault Denver foolishly traded up to get him in the first round. It is someone's fault though.
So you tell me, what's so wrong with this picture?
I'll tell you why, it's because Tim Tebow is white male who stays out of trouble and openly crams his religion down you throat, not to mention the ladies think he has a cute smile. So why is he so special from every other man on an NFL roster, why is it you can't point that his mechanics are horrible, that he can't hit water with a pass if he were on a boat in the ocean, that he wasn't deserving of a first round draft pick? Now you can't even take a knee and pray if you play him because clearly Tebow was the first and only player to ever do that in a game.
People say that Stephen Tulloch, who was seen "Tebowing" over Tebow after a sack was mocking him and his religion. Here's what Tulloch had to say:
" “The fact that anyone could ever say that I’m mocking God is outrageous,” said Tulloch. “We were just having fun. If you watch the game, the guys that parachuted into the game ‘Tebowed’ as they came down. It’s a fad. “I was able to get to Tebow and sack him first, so I did it. It wasn’t out of disrespect, it was out of fun.” "
I don't like when athletes try to force their religion on me every time someone puts a microphone in their face, Kurt Warner was notorious for this. But you know what, Warner never ran and hid after a bad game he kept that forcing belief whether his team won or lost and whether he played great or awful. After Sunday's embarrassment of game, Tebow didn't want to say one thing about religion but only a week earlier it had everything to do with the Broncos comeback against a terrible Miami Dolphins team.
Where were people to cry outlandishly like this when Andre Ware was being dragged through the mud, when Akili Smith was busting, Charles Rogers JaMarcus Russell and Lawrence Phillips. Yeah sure, you laughed at Joey Harrington because Tony Siragusa basically questioned Harrington's sexuality when he mocked him for playing the piano and saying he probably enjoys strawberries and champagne. Everyone had a good time when Ryan Leaf blew up because in all honesty he was a bad QB on a bad team and he made things interesting with his temper. I don't recall anyone fighting for these guys.
Or how about when people openly mocked Shawne Merriman and his celebration. What about LaDanian Tomlinson and his TD celebration that teams love to mock when they play him? Those dumb enough to mock Ray Lewis end up paying the price because Lewis usually tags them pretty good but no one says anything. The only people to complain are the ones being jocked, sans Lewis. LT cried like a baby about but no one went on a mission to help him and crucify those who mocked he and Merriman.
To Tebow's credit, he came out and said he found nothing wrong with what happened. And it's not his fault that he isn't a good QB yet (although I don't see things getting a lot better), not his fault Denver foolishly traded up to get him in the first round. It is someone's fault though.
So you tell me, what's so wrong with this picture?
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Why The Lions Should Embrace Their Role As The Bad Boys.
It's been a long time since Detroit Lions' fans could say their defense let alone the team has been walking around with a swagger. Now it would appear the Lions and their swagger have struck fear in not only the opposing team but the outside media too. Everyone outside of Detroit wants to label our defense as "dirty" or "classless" when in reality they aren't.
You say Ndamukong Suh is dirty, well then prove it. I'll give you last year's preseason hit on Jake Delhomme but other than that Suh has been a victim of his own strength. Getting flagged for unnecessary roughness for pushing Jay Cutler in his back last year was joke. Go ahead and tell me this was dirty, if you think that's dirty then football might not be for you.
Teams like the Atlanta Falcons have cried about Suh and Cliff Avril taunted Matt Ryan when he got hurt even saying Avril was kicking Ryan's feet as he cringed in pain. In the lead up to the Week 8 matchup with the Broncos, NFL.com posted a picture of Suh and Tim Tebow. The headline read "Good vs Evil", if the league if willing to give you this kind of cred might as well take it.
That's exactly what they did too as they made that game a nightmare then the controversy swirled again. Stephen Tulloch sacked Tebow and then struck Tebow's prayerful "pose" also known as "Tebowing". Let's get one thing straight, one, Tebow isn't the first player to drop to a knee and say a quick prayer. Two, Tulloch mocked the ridiculous movement not the player and if he was mocking the player that's fine too. Tebow is being paid to play this game just like Tulloch so why not mock the guy being made out to be the second coming of Christ and the greatest thing to football since the forward pass.
Tebow wouldn't be the first thing the Lions have mocked this year. Week 1, Tony Scheffler celebrated his touchdown against the Buccaneers by pretending to be a swashbuckling pirate. Week 2, Scheffler this time mocks the Chiefs by sending out smoke signals after a touchdown and Roary the mascot was temporarily blamed for Jamaal Charles tearing his ACL. Weeks 3 and 4, people took offense to Jim Schwartz's fist pump he threw after his team completed second half comebacks from 20 and 24 points down. Week 6 people questioned why Schwartz wouldn't just take Harbaugh's post game back slap and shove and let it go, here's a question, would you have been fine with it? Week 7 the Falcons cried like babies and falsely accuse the Lions of dirty play. And now Week 8, we had Tulloch and Scheffler both go "Tebowing" and Scheffler even threw in a Mile High Salute.
If this makes the Lions "dirty" and "classless" so be it but the Lions need to embrace it and run with it. They looked completely different this past week after that fire had been lit underneath them as opposed to Weeks 6 and 7 when they lost to San Francisco and Atlanta and looked to be swaggerless. People don't like change, they like having the Lions as the laughingstock of the NFL and now that the Lions are willing to hit you in the mouth and let you know about it people are scared. People outside of Detroit should get acquainted with this because these Lions aren't backing down from it.
You say Ndamukong Suh is dirty, well then prove it. I'll give you last year's preseason hit on Jake Delhomme but other than that Suh has been a victim of his own strength. Getting flagged for unnecessary roughness for pushing Jay Cutler in his back last year was joke. Go ahead and tell me this was dirty, if you think that's dirty then football might not be for you.
Teams like the Atlanta Falcons have cried about Suh and Cliff Avril taunted Matt Ryan when he got hurt even saying Avril was kicking Ryan's feet as he cringed in pain. In the lead up to the Week 8 matchup with the Broncos, NFL.com posted a picture of Suh and Tim Tebow. The headline read "Good vs Evil", if the league if willing to give you this kind of cred might as well take it.
That's exactly what they did too as they made that game a nightmare then the controversy swirled again. Stephen Tulloch sacked Tebow and then struck Tebow's prayerful "pose" also known as "Tebowing". Let's get one thing straight, one, Tebow isn't the first player to drop to a knee and say a quick prayer. Two, Tulloch mocked the ridiculous movement not the player and if he was mocking the player that's fine too. Tebow is being paid to play this game just like Tulloch so why not mock the guy being made out to be the second coming of Christ and the greatest thing to football since the forward pass.
Tebow wouldn't be the first thing the Lions have mocked this year. Week 1, Tony Scheffler celebrated his touchdown against the Buccaneers by pretending to be a swashbuckling pirate. Week 2, Scheffler this time mocks the Chiefs by sending out smoke signals after a touchdown and Roary the mascot was temporarily blamed for Jamaal Charles tearing his ACL. Weeks 3 and 4, people took offense to Jim Schwartz's fist pump he threw after his team completed second half comebacks from 20 and 24 points down. Week 6 people questioned why Schwartz wouldn't just take Harbaugh's post game back slap and shove and let it go, here's a question, would you have been fine with it? Week 7 the Falcons cried like babies and falsely accuse the Lions of dirty play. And now Week 8, we had Tulloch and Scheffler both go "Tebowing" and Scheffler even threw in a Mile High Salute.
If this makes the Lions "dirty" and "classless" so be it but the Lions need to embrace it and run with it. They looked completely different this past week after that fire had been lit underneath them as opposed to Weeks 6 and 7 when they lost to San Francisco and Atlanta and looked to be swaggerless. People don't like change, they like having the Lions as the laughingstock of the NFL and now that the Lions are willing to hit you in the mouth and let you know about it people are scared. People outside of Detroit should get acquainted with this because these Lions aren't backing down from it.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: Stanley Cup Finals
Oh how I should have known better than to pick the San Jose Sharks to win the Stanley Cup, thus making my prediction useless. The Sharks and Canucks have been known as choke artists lately in the playoffs, unfortunately I picked the wrong ones to bust out of that role. The Canucks dismantled the Sharks in 5 games deserve to be playing for Lord Stanley's Cup. Meanwhile I still have the Boston Bruins playing for the Cup, like I predicted as they needed 7 games to squeak by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tim Thomas played phenomenal and if the Bruins win has to be strongly considered for the Conn Smythe trophy.
Before we breakdown the final matchup, I am 12-2 these playoffs but I am missing the key piece to the puzzle, my Stanley Cup winners, the San Jose Sharks.
3. Boston Bruins v 1. Vancouver Canucks
The Boston Bruins have gotten to the Stanley Cup finals by piggybacking Tim Thomas, to win they'll continue to do that but they're going to need help. They'll need to stay out of the penalty box and the Canucks punished the Sharks whenever they were given the opportunity including back-to-back-to-back 5 on 3 power play goals in one game. Another thing they'll need their power play to show up as so far this postseason the Bruins 5 for 61 (8.2%). The Bruins need to cash in on a some of those opportunities because the Canucks are the more talented team. Finally if the Bruins plan on winning the Cup they'll need to be the more aggressive and physical team because if Vancouver's skilled guys are skating freely without taking hits it'll be a quick series for Boston.
The Vancouver Canucks got some good news during their time off before the Stanley Cup finals, forward Manny Malhotra has been cleared to return to the team after taking a puck in the eye on March 16th. The Canucks jumped all over the Sharks in the Western Finals as they won in 5 games in dominating fashion. They did it on the power play, even strength and penalty kill. They got scoring from guys not named Sedin or Kesler and their defense was active too. Lastly they neutralized the Sharks talent by being the more physical team, enabling them to shutdown Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. Did I mention Roberto Luongo? He's totally put that disaster of a first round behind him and has looked near unbeatable at times. If the Canucks continue to play like they have these playoffs they can make fans forget about that 1994 crushing defeat to the New York Rangers.
Vancouver Canucks in 6.
Before we breakdown the final matchup, I am 12-2 these playoffs but I am missing the key piece to the puzzle, my Stanley Cup winners, the San Jose Sharks.
3. Boston Bruins v 1. Vancouver Canucks
The Boston Bruins have gotten to the Stanley Cup finals by piggybacking Tim Thomas, to win they'll continue to do that but they're going to need help. They'll need to stay out of the penalty box and the Canucks punished the Sharks whenever they were given the opportunity including back-to-back-to-back 5 on 3 power play goals in one game. Another thing they'll need their power play to show up as so far this postseason the Bruins 5 for 61 (8.2%). The Bruins need to cash in on a some of those opportunities because the Canucks are the more talented team. Finally if the Bruins plan on winning the Cup they'll need to be the more aggressive and physical team because if Vancouver's skilled guys are skating freely without taking hits it'll be a quick series for Boston.
The Vancouver Canucks got some good news during their time off before the Stanley Cup finals, forward Manny Malhotra has been cleared to return to the team after taking a puck in the eye on March 16th. The Canucks jumped all over the Sharks in the Western Finals as they won in 5 games in dominating fashion. They did it on the power play, even strength and penalty kill. They got scoring from guys not named Sedin or Kesler and their defense was active too. Lastly they neutralized the Sharks talent by being the more physical team, enabling them to shutdown Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. Did I mention Roberto Luongo? He's totally put that disaster of a first round behind him and has looked near unbeatable at times. If the Canucks continue to play like they have these playoffs they can make fans forget about that 1994 crushing defeat to the New York Rangers.
Vancouver Canucks in 6.
Monday, May 30, 2011
The Check Swing: 2 Months Gone and Suprises Everywhere
Today is Memorial Day in the United States, which means that the baseball season in two months deep. I'm not sure what's more surprising, the fact that the Indians hold a six game lead in the AL Central, the Arizona Diamondbacks taking the lead in the NL West or the fact that Boston is in first so quickly after their horrible start to the season. In the other spectrum, who could have foreseen the Minnesota Twins or Chicago White Sox playing so poorly at this point? The Twins rank near the bottom in every major statistic category in the AL. How about the tight race in the AL West as every team is one and a half games back or less. Just an absolute crazy season so far.
One topic that has been bumped up by baseball is collisions at home plate after Buster Posey had his season end earlier this week on that very play. Later in the week we would see Prince Fielder collide with the Giants backup, Eli Whiteside and Ryan Roberts injured Astros' catcher Humberto Quintero. Quintero has been place on the 15-day DL with a right ankle sprain. Now people are talking about taking the play out of the game but to me, if MLB didn't do it after Pete Rose plowed Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star Game then how can they do it now? I mean Fosse was never the same after the collision and subsequent broken bone in his left shoulder killed his swing. The collision is part of the game whether MLB and the fans like it or not.
Arizona Diamondbacks: 29-24, 1st NL West. For the first time since Sept. 5, 2008 the D'Backs are in first place in the NL West. The D'Backs have been the hottest team in baseball the last two weeks as they've gone 14-2 since May 14th to overcome a 5 1/2 deficit in the West.
Atlanta Braves: 30-24, 3.5 GB 3rd NL East. Jair Jurrjens is leading all of baseball among starting pitchers in ERA with an outstanding 1.51. Jurrjens has allowed 11 earned runs in his nine starts this season and in no start has he allowed more than two earned runs.
Baltimore Orioles: 24-27, 5 GB 5th AL East. As if things couldn't get any worse for Baltimore, they lost center fielder Adam Jones Sunday to a sore right shoulder. No word on how serious of an injury it is, but skipper Buck Showalter doesn't think it'll be too serious.
Boston Red Sox: 30-23, 1st AL East. David Ortiz hit a pinch-hit game-winning home run in game one of Sunday's double header to give the Sox a 4-3 win over the Tigers. The last time Ortiz hit a pinch-hit home run came April 27, 2003 which just so happened to be his first as a Red Sox.
Chicago Cubs: 23-28, 7.5 GB 5th NL Central. Here's how badly the Cubs starting pitching has been this year, last year they led the league in quality starts. Yesterday was only their 17th quality start of the season, good for dead last this year.
Chicago White Sox: 24-31, 9.5 GB 4th AL Central. Ozzie Guillen seemingly lost his mind this weekend in Toronto. After Saturday's loss in a 14-inning game the manager ripped his team then before Sunday's game he ripped the fans and his critics. To say Ozzie is feeling some heat woud be an understatement.
Cincinnati Reds: 27-27, 5 GB 3rd NL Central. The Reds are coming off a rough 2-8 10-game road trip which saw them play a 19-inning game and a 12-inning game. However one Red not struggling is Jay Bruce who hit his NL leading 15th home run last night. In May, Bruce has hit 11 home runs with 29 RBI.
Cleveland Indians: 31-19, 1st AL Central. The Indians got Grady Sizemore back this week but perhaps the guy they miss even more is Travis Hafner. Since Hafner has been out of the lineup the Indians have gone 5-6 and have been shutout three times. In seven of the 11 games he has missed, the team had scored two or fewer runs.
Colorado Rockies: 25-27, 3.5 GB 3rd NL West. When it rains it pours and Colorado is finding that out the hard way. In the midst of some horrible baseball, the Rockies lost their top starter, Jorge De La Rosa to a torn ulnar collateral ligament in the left elbow. He's expected to have Tommy John this week and be out until next summer.
Detroit Tigers: 26-26, 6 GB 2nd AL Central. After the 2009 season the Tigers decided to let Placido Polanco go because of the amount of talent they thought they had at second base. So far that decision has been awful, the guy thought to replace him Scott Sizemore was traded away on Friday and the likes of Will Rhymes, Danny Worth and Carlos Guillen have failed to hold down the spot. The team hopes Ryan Raburn can now fill the hole but the team may want to look at Ramon Santiago who should do enough to get them by until the offseason.
Florida Marlins: 30-21, 2 GB 2nd NL East. Logan Morrison extended his reaching base safely streak to 30 games on Sunday when he doubled in the seventh inning. Bad news for the Marlins is shortstop Hanley Ramirez had leave Sunday's game in the second inning with lower back stiffness.
Houston Astros: 19-34, 12.5 GB 6th NL Central. The Astros placed starter Wandy Rodriguez on the the 15-day DL this week and have turned to 20-year old Jordan Lyles to take his place in the rotation. Lyles is considered to be the Astros top pitching prospect.
Kansas City Royals: 23-29, 9 GB 3rd AL Central. What's going on with Joakim Soria these days? Soria blew his fourth save in 11 chances on Sunday which is odd because prior to this year, Soria had never blown more than three in a season. That being said manager Ned Yost is sticking with Soria as his closer for now.
Los Angeles Angels: 28-27, 1 GB 2nd AL West. Things aren't going well for some Angels players on the DL. Vernon Wells out since May 9th with a groin pull still can't run much, Kendrys Morales just had a second surgery including a bone graft for ankle his snapped off last year and Scott Kazmir got rocked in his first rehab start in AAA Salt Lake.
Los Angeles Dodgers: 24-30, 5.5 GB 4th NL West. Clayton Kershaw has been one of the lone bright spots for the Dodgers this season. Kershaw (6-3) picked up his second complete game shutout Sunday in the 8-0 win over Florida and is picking up All-Star considerations. He ranks top ten in every major NL pitching stat including first in strikeouts.
Milwaukee Brewers: 29-24, 2.5 GB 2nd NL Central. Most Brewers fans were excited about the chance to see Zach Greinke pitch, now they might get excited about seeing him bat too. Greinke hit his second home run of his career and first since 2005. Greinke was also considered a great prospect in the field too before signing to pitch with the Royals.
Minnesota Twins: 17-34, 14.5 GB 5th AL Central. Joe Nathan was placed on the 15-day DL with inflammation in his right forearm, the Twins were told by Nathan's surgeon who performed the Tommy John surgery on him last year that this isn't uncommon.
New York Mets: 24-28, 8.5 GB 4th NL East. Jose Reyes is leading all of baseball with his 76 hits on the season which is good news for the Mets as it seems like they probably won't re-sign him this offseason. But if Reyes continues to play like this, the Mets could cash in nicely on him come July 31st.
New York Yankees: 28-23, 1 GB 2nd AL East. Quite the weekend for Yankees captain Derek Jeter this weekend. First he passed Rickey Henderson as the Yankees all-time leader in stolen bases with 327. Then he went 1 for 3 Sunday leaving himself 20 hits away from 3,000 in his career.
Oakland Athletics: 27-27, 1.5 GB 4th AL West. The A's might be able to put their closer controversy to rest soon as they activated two time All-Star Andrew Bailey off the DL. The A's plan to move slowly with Bailey before putting him in the closer role again.
Philadelphia Phillies: 33-20, 1st NL East. Wilson Valdez became the second player ever to start a game as a position player only to end up as the game's winning pitcher when he pitched a scoreless 19th inning Wednesday. The other player to do it, Babe Ruth.
Pittsburgh Pirates: 24-27, 6.5 GB 4th NL Central. On Sunday the Pittsburgh Pirates lost their catcher Ryan Doumit, who was believed to be a possible trade bait material for the San Francisco Giants. Doumit injured his ankle when Carlos Pena slid hard into him on a play at the plate.
San Diego Padres: 22-31, 7 GB 5th NL West. For the second time this month, one of the Padres better starters picked up his first win with Tim Stauffer getting his on Saturday. Stauffer is 1-3 with a 3.60 ERA this season and the Padres are 6-5 in his starts.
San Francisco Giants: 28-24, 0.5 GB 2nd NL West. If you live under a rock then you probably missed Buster Posey breaking his ankle on a collision play at the plate Wednesday night. Posey had ankle surgery the other day to fix two ligaments and is done for the year. He's is however, thought to be ready by the 2012 opener.
Seattle Mariners: 26-26, 1.5 GB 3rd AL West. Before Sunday the M's had won nine of their last 10 and fans were so happy about the streak they decided to go streaking themselves. On Saturday, four separate fans went streaking during the Yankees Mariners game, including one guy who made a naked b-line for Derek Jeter.
St. Louis Cardinals: 32-22, 1st NL Central. Kyle Lohse is tied for the league lead with seven wins this season, what's more impressive is the fact that Lohse has had to overcome injuries the last two years which saw him win a combined 10 games. Lohse should surpass that total if he stays healthy.
Tampa Bay Rays: 28-24, 1.5 GB 3rd AL East. Evan Longoria had been struggling mightily in the cleanup spot as of late and figured he'd drop a few spots in the lineup. Instead on Saturday, Joe Maddon moved Longoria into the leadoff spot. In the two games there, he's been on base 10 times hitting 4 for 7 with three walks with a homer and a double to boot.
Texas Rangers: 28-25, 1st AL West. Mike Napoli might have taken advantage of the recent rash of catchers getting hurt on collisions at home plate with his play on Sunday. Royals catcher Brayan Pena had the plate blocked but appeared to brace for a collision when Napoli slid and caught him off guard. Can you blame Pena for not wanting to get plowed by Napoli?
Toronto Blue Jays: 27-26, 3 GB 4th AL East. Tonight Jo-Jo Reyes will attempt to make avoid making history for all the wrong reasons. Reyes has gone winless in his last 28 starts which has tied the record and if he fails to get the win tonight at home against Cleveland he'll have the record to himself.
Washington Nationals: 22-30, 10.5 GB 5th NL East. Closer Drew Storen has seen his 21-scoreless inning streak go by the wayside. Sunday Storen took his second loss on the season and has allowed runs in each of his last three appearances.
Until next week... FIRE LEYLAND!
One topic that has been bumped up by baseball is collisions at home plate after Buster Posey had his season end earlier this week on that very play. Later in the week we would see Prince Fielder collide with the Giants backup, Eli Whiteside and Ryan Roberts injured Astros' catcher Humberto Quintero. Quintero has been place on the 15-day DL with a right ankle sprain. Now people are talking about taking the play out of the game but to me, if MLB didn't do it after Pete Rose plowed Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star Game then how can they do it now? I mean Fosse was never the same after the collision and subsequent broken bone in his left shoulder killed his swing. The collision is part of the game whether MLB and the fans like it or not.
Arizona Diamondbacks: 29-24, 1st NL West. For the first time since Sept. 5, 2008 the D'Backs are in first place in the NL West. The D'Backs have been the hottest team in baseball the last two weeks as they've gone 14-2 since May 14th to overcome a 5 1/2 deficit in the West.
Atlanta Braves: 30-24, 3.5 GB 3rd NL East. Jair Jurrjens is leading all of baseball among starting pitchers in ERA with an outstanding 1.51. Jurrjens has allowed 11 earned runs in his nine starts this season and in no start has he allowed more than two earned runs.
Baltimore Orioles: 24-27, 5 GB 5th AL East. As if things couldn't get any worse for Baltimore, they lost center fielder Adam Jones Sunday to a sore right shoulder. No word on how serious of an injury it is, but skipper Buck Showalter doesn't think it'll be too serious.
Boston Red Sox: 30-23, 1st AL East. David Ortiz hit a pinch-hit game-winning home run in game one of Sunday's double header to give the Sox a 4-3 win over the Tigers. The last time Ortiz hit a pinch-hit home run came April 27, 2003 which just so happened to be his first as a Red Sox.
Chicago Cubs: 23-28, 7.5 GB 5th NL Central. Here's how badly the Cubs starting pitching has been this year, last year they led the league in quality starts. Yesterday was only their 17th quality start of the season, good for dead last this year.
Chicago White Sox: 24-31, 9.5 GB 4th AL Central. Ozzie Guillen seemingly lost his mind this weekend in Toronto. After Saturday's loss in a 14-inning game the manager ripped his team then before Sunday's game he ripped the fans and his critics. To say Ozzie is feeling some heat woud be an understatement.
Cincinnati Reds: 27-27, 5 GB 3rd NL Central. The Reds are coming off a rough 2-8 10-game road trip which saw them play a 19-inning game and a 12-inning game. However one Red not struggling is Jay Bruce who hit his NL leading 15th home run last night. In May, Bruce has hit 11 home runs with 29 RBI.
Cleveland Indians: 31-19, 1st AL Central. The Indians got Grady Sizemore back this week but perhaps the guy they miss even more is Travis Hafner. Since Hafner has been out of the lineup the Indians have gone 5-6 and have been shutout three times. In seven of the 11 games he has missed, the team had scored two or fewer runs.
Colorado Rockies: 25-27, 3.5 GB 3rd NL West. When it rains it pours and Colorado is finding that out the hard way. In the midst of some horrible baseball, the Rockies lost their top starter, Jorge De La Rosa to a torn ulnar collateral ligament in the left elbow. He's expected to have Tommy John this week and be out until next summer.
Detroit Tigers: 26-26, 6 GB 2nd AL Central. After the 2009 season the Tigers decided to let Placido Polanco go because of the amount of talent they thought they had at second base. So far that decision has been awful, the guy thought to replace him Scott Sizemore was traded away on Friday and the likes of Will Rhymes, Danny Worth and Carlos Guillen have failed to hold down the spot. The team hopes Ryan Raburn can now fill the hole but the team may want to look at Ramon Santiago who should do enough to get them by until the offseason.
Florida Marlins: 30-21, 2 GB 2nd NL East. Logan Morrison extended his reaching base safely streak to 30 games on Sunday when he doubled in the seventh inning. Bad news for the Marlins is shortstop Hanley Ramirez had leave Sunday's game in the second inning with lower back stiffness.
Houston Astros: 19-34, 12.5 GB 6th NL Central. The Astros placed starter Wandy Rodriguez on the the 15-day DL this week and have turned to 20-year old Jordan Lyles to take his place in the rotation. Lyles is considered to be the Astros top pitching prospect.
Kansas City Royals: 23-29, 9 GB 3rd AL Central. What's going on with Joakim Soria these days? Soria blew his fourth save in 11 chances on Sunday which is odd because prior to this year, Soria had never blown more than three in a season. That being said manager Ned Yost is sticking with Soria as his closer for now.
Los Angeles Angels: 28-27, 1 GB 2nd AL West. Things aren't going well for some Angels players on the DL. Vernon Wells out since May 9th with a groin pull still can't run much, Kendrys Morales just had a second surgery including a bone graft for ankle his snapped off last year and Scott Kazmir got rocked in his first rehab start in AAA Salt Lake.
Los Angeles Dodgers: 24-30, 5.5 GB 4th NL West. Clayton Kershaw has been one of the lone bright spots for the Dodgers this season. Kershaw (6-3) picked up his second complete game shutout Sunday in the 8-0 win over Florida and is picking up All-Star considerations. He ranks top ten in every major NL pitching stat including first in strikeouts.
Milwaukee Brewers: 29-24, 2.5 GB 2nd NL Central. Most Brewers fans were excited about the chance to see Zach Greinke pitch, now they might get excited about seeing him bat too. Greinke hit his second home run of his career and first since 2005. Greinke was also considered a great prospect in the field too before signing to pitch with the Royals.
Minnesota Twins: 17-34, 14.5 GB 5th AL Central. Joe Nathan was placed on the 15-day DL with inflammation in his right forearm, the Twins were told by Nathan's surgeon who performed the Tommy John surgery on him last year that this isn't uncommon.
New York Mets: 24-28, 8.5 GB 4th NL East. Jose Reyes is leading all of baseball with his 76 hits on the season which is good news for the Mets as it seems like they probably won't re-sign him this offseason. But if Reyes continues to play like this, the Mets could cash in nicely on him come July 31st.
New York Yankees: 28-23, 1 GB 2nd AL East. Quite the weekend for Yankees captain Derek Jeter this weekend. First he passed Rickey Henderson as the Yankees all-time leader in stolen bases with 327. Then he went 1 for 3 Sunday leaving himself 20 hits away from 3,000 in his career.
Oakland Athletics: 27-27, 1.5 GB 4th AL West. The A's might be able to put their closer controversy to rest soon as they activated two time All-Star Andrew Bailey off the DL. The A's plan to move slowly with Bailey before putting him in the closer role again.
Philadelphia Phillies: 33-20, 1st NL East. Wilson Valdez became the second player ever to start a game as a position player only to end up as the game's winning pitcher when he pitched a scoreless 19th inning Wednesday. The other player to do it, Babe Ruth.
Pittsburgh Pirates: 24-27, 6.5 GB 4th NL Central. On Sunday the Pittsburgh Pirates lost their catcher Ryan Doumit, who was believed to be a possible trade bait material for the San Francisco Giants. Doumit injured his ankle when Carlos Pena slid hard into him on a play at the plate.
San Diego Padres: 22-31, 7 GB 5th NL West. For the second time this month, one of the Padres better starters picked up his first win with Tim Stauffer getting his on Saturday. Stauffer is 1-3 with a 3.60 ERA this season and the Padres are 6-5 in his starts.
San Francisco Giants: 28-24, 0.5 GB 2nd NL West. If you live under a rock then you probably missed Buster Posey breaking his ankle on a collision play at the plate Wednesday night. Posey had ankle surgery the other day to fix two ligaments and is done for the year. He's is however, thought to be ready by the 2012 opener.
Seattle Mariners: 26-26, 1.5 GB 3rd AL West. Before Sunday the M's had won nine of their last 10 and fans were so happy about the streak they decided to go streaking themselves. On Saturday, four separate fans went streaking during the Yankees Mariners game, including one guy who made a naked b-line for Derek Jeter.
St. Louis Cardinals: 32-22, 1st NL Central. Kyle Lohse is tied for the league lead with seven wins this season, what's more impressive is the fact that Lohse has had to overcome injuries the last two years which saw him win a combined 10 games. Lohse should surpass that total if he stays healthy.
Tampa Bay Rays: 28-24, 1.5 GB 3rd AL East. Evan Longoria had been struggling mightily in the cleanup spot as of late and figured he'd drop a few spots in the lineup. Instead on Saturday, Joe Maddon moved Longoria into the leadoff spot. In the two games there, he's been on base 10 times hitting 4 for 7 with three walks with a homer and a double to boot.
Texas Rangers: 28-25, 1st AL West. Mike Napoli might have taken advantage of the recent rash of catchers getting hurt on collisions at home plate with his play on Sunday. Royals catcher Brayan Pena had the plate blocked but appeared to brace for a collision when Napoli slid and caught him off guard. Can you blame Pena for not wanting to get plowed by Napoli?
Toronto Blue Jays: 27-26, 3 GB 4th AL East. Tonight Jo-Jo Reyes will attempt to make avoid making history for all the wrong reasons. Reyes has gone winless in his last 28 starts which has tied the record and if he fails to get the win tonight at home against Cleveland he'll have the record to himself.
Washington Nationals: 22-30, 10.5 GB 5th NL East. Closer Drew Storen has seen his 21-scoreless inning streak go by the wayside. Sunday Storen took his second loss on the season and has allowed runs in each of his last three appearances.
Until next week... FIRE LEYLAND!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
How To Fix The Detroit Red Wings
The 2011 Detroit Red Wings had their season end in a near similar fashion to the 2010 season, a semi-final knockout at the hands of the San Jose Sharks. The one glaring difference between last year's playoff run and this one's was the goaltending as Jimmy Howard proved that he's ready to take this team forward. The Wings were second in the league in scoring goals while they ranked 23rd in goals allowed, the main problem for the Wings in the regular season was inconsistent play from their defense and Jimmy Howard. Both seemed to improve in the playoffs when the Wings cut their goals against to 2.48 opposed to the 2.84 they were allowing in the regular season.
Taking a look at what the Wings have coming back from their 2011 team.
Forward: Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, Dan Cleary, Todd Bertuzzi, Valterri Filppula, Jiri Hudler, Tomas Holmstrom, Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader.
Defense: Niklas Kronwall, Brad Stuart, Jakub Kindl.
Goalie: Jimmy Howard
The Wings have some decisions to make and some money to spend now that Brian Rafalski is expected to announce his retirement tomorrow. Factor that money with the cap expected to jump anywhere from one to four million dollars next year and the possibility of Nicklas Lidstrom retiring too and the Wings can seriously hit the market. The team is likely to bring back Patrick Eaves and Drew Miller, both forwards who do their damage on the third and forth line and killing penalties. But their real attention needs to be aimed at improving the defense. Mike Modano and Kris Draper are unlikely to return to the team.
Jonathan Ericsson has reportedly turned down a two million dollar per year deal and is likely to walk after failing to develop into a big, physical defenseman. They'll wait on captain Nick Lidstrom to make his decision on retirement or returning for his 20th season. The team could very well let Jakub Kindl and Brendan Smith both play on the blue line next year especially after Kindl blossomed post all-star break. The Wings could make a play at Shea Weber but he's a restricted free agent and Nashville has a chance to match any offer. Nashville has also been on record saying that they will in fact match any offer.
If the Wings can't land Weber there are plenty of other possible replacements. Some top unrestricted defensemen: Andrei Markov, Scott Hannan, Eric Brewer, Tomas Kaberle, Joni Pitkanen, Kevin Bieksa, James Wisniewski, Christian Ehrhoff and Ian White. The salaries on those gusys were three million or higher, so it is highly unlikely the Wings would sign more than one of those guys. Some cheaper UFAs include: Shane O'Brien, Hal Gill, Steve Montador and Kent Huskins.
The Wings could go after some restricted free agents the likes of: ATL Zach Bogosian ($3.3 mil), CHI Chris Campoli ($1.4 mil), COL Matt Hunwick (1.45 mil), EDM Ladislav Smid ($1.3 mil), LAK Alec Martinez ($875,000) and PHX Keith Yandle ($1.2 mil). Now the problem with going after RFAs is the team they came from can choose to match any offer they are given. And if you do sign a RFA compensation usually costs you a draft pick, usually first round picks and sometimes multiple first rounders.
One last problem is finding a backup goalie because Chris Osgood and Joey MacDonald are both free agents. They'll have to decide if it's worth the risk to re-sign either of them. Osgood is aging and missed the last half of the year due to a sports hernia surgery. Meanwhile, MacDonald has been a life long minor league goalie while spending some small amount of time in the NHL with a handful of teams.
If I were Ken Holland I'd try to target one defenseman on each of those lists and with the near 14-20 million the Wings will have to spend this offseason it shouldn't be too hard for Holland to revamp this team. But his main focus needs to be defense and a backup goalie.
Taking a look at what the Wings have coming back from their 2011 team.
Forward: Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, Dan Cleary, Todd Bertuzzi, Valterri Filppula, Jiri Hudler, Tomas Holmstrom, Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader.
Defense: Niklas Kronwall, Brad Stuart, Jakub Kindl.
Goalie: Jimmy Howard
The Wings have some decisions to make and some money to spend now that Brian Rafalski is expected to announce his retirement tomorrow. Factor that money with the cap expected to jump anywhere from one to four million dollars next year and the possibility of Nicklas Lidstrom retiring too and the Wings can seriously hit the market. The team is likely to bring back Patrick Eaves and Drew Miller, both forwards who do their damage on the third and forth line and killing penalties. But their real attention needs to be aimed at improving the defense. Mike Modano and Kris Draper are unlikely to return to the team.
Jonathan Ericsson has reportedly turned down a two million dollar per year deal and is likely to walk after failing to develop into a big, physical defenseman. They'll wait on captain Nick Lidstrom to make his decision on retirement or returning for his 20th season. The team could very well let Jakub Kindl and Brendan Smith both play on the blue line next year especially after Kindl blossomed post all-star break. The Wings could make a play at Shea Weber but he's a restricted free agent and Nashville has a chance to match any offer. Nashville has also been on record saying that they will in fact match any offer.
If the Wings can't land Weber there are plenty of other possible replacements. Some top unrestricted defensemen: Andrei Markov, Scott Hannan, Eric Brewer, Tomas Kaberle, Joni Pitkanen, Kevin Bieksa, James Wisniewski, Christian Ehrhoff and Ian White. The salaries on those gusys were three million or higher, so it is highly unlikely the Wings would sign more than one of those guys. Some cheaper UFAs include: Shane O'Brien, Hal Gill, Steve Montador and Kent Huskins.
The Wings could go after some restricted free agents the likes of: ATL Zach Bogosian ($3.3 mil), CHI Chris Campoli ($1.4 mil), COL Matt Hunwick (1.45 mil), EDM Ladislav Smid ($1.3 mil), LAK Alec Martinez ($875,000) and PHX Keith Yandle ($1.2 mil). Now the problem with going after RFAs is the team they came from can choose to match any offer they are given. And if you do sign a RFA compensation usually costs you a draft pick, usually first round picks and sometimes multiple first rounders.
One last problem is finding a backup goalie because Chris Osgood and Joey MacDonald are both free agents. They'll have to decide if it's worth the risk to re-sign either of them. Osgood is aging and missed the last half of the year due to a sports hernia surgery. Meanwhile, MacDonald has been a life long minor league goalie while spending some small amount of time in the NHL with a handful of teams.
If I were Ken Holland I'd try to target one defenseman on each of those lists and with the near 14-20 million the Wings will have to spend this offseason it shouldn't be too hard for Holland to revamp this team. But his main focus needs to be defense and a backup goalie.
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