To be honest, I did my fair shore of finger boarding back in the day. Not that it took much talent, but it was always good to kill a little down time. This clip right here is pretty impressive as he busts out some pretty amazing juggling of the soccer ball, er, I mean balled up sticky note. He must be beyond finger boarding, and decided to step it up a notch. If there’s one thing we know about this guy, he has a lot of time on his hands!
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Doin Lines Week 1
Throughout the season I will be try to predict the outcomes of the NFL spreads. I used to gamble quite a bit, and had good and bad times with it. I think I would’ve done better if I hadn’t gone for so many parlays, but that makes it more exciting. Anyways, I’ve never kept track over a whole season, so this should be interesting. The home teams are in bold, and the first team listed is the favorite. I will also be giving a confidence rating on my picks with a scale of 1-5. A one would be “I like me betting on the Raiders, because they’re my favorite team”, and a 5 would be “Parlay this one with any other 5 on the board” Without further ado here is the predictions.
Pittsburgh (-6) Tennessee
3, It’s going to be tough for everyone going to Pittsburgh, but Tennessee proved last season that they are for real with their 12-4 mark, but are a fairly big underdog against the Steelers. The Titans have pretty much the same look as last year minus Haynesworth. They should be ready to at least cover in this one, since I feel like this line should be around -3. Plus, I have a feeling the Titans will want to pull out everything they have to get a win off the newly crowned champs.
Atlanta (-4) Miami
4, I felt like the Dolphins were huge overachievers last season. They would
probably do fine in the AFC West, but in their division I think it’ll be a long tough road for them. Their first game is going to be in hostile territory against a team looking to see improvement through acquisitions and growth from their young QB. The Falcons should cover this spread with all the offensive firepower they have.
Baltimore (-13) Kansas City
2, It’s always hard to tell how crappy a team is going to be. I doubt that KC will win this, but can you really give a guy named Flacco enough confidence in covering a two TD spread? I didn’t think so. KC will kill a few bettors at the end of this game scoring some points in garbage time. They seemed to do that well last year even with Thigpen.
Philadelphia (-1.5) Carolina
2, this is a tough one. I don’t like it when the home team isn’t favored, but in this one I can’t argue. Carolina’s often stalling offense is always a roller coaster that I wouldn’t bet a replica ring on.
McNabb has two weeks to prove he is the undisputed starter, so I like Philly taking this one either by a good offensive effort or Jake Delhomme choking it away.
Cincinnati (-4.5) Denver
3, With all the drama in Denver this off-season it’s hard to tell what is going to come out of the once proud franchise. Saying they are dysfunctional is an understatement, but saying Cincinatti hasn’t had it’s problems isn’t fair either. I don’t like any team coming off as many problems and changes as Denver had this off-season, and they won’t figure it out until it’s too late.
Minnesota (-4) Cleveland
5, Like I said before I don’t like road teams being favored, but I really can’t bet on a franchise that just named it’s starter today, Quinn. Cleveland didn’t make any upgrades and sorely needed to over the off-season. Minnesota should run away with this one. We could even see a chunk of playing time for Tavaris or a tryout from Anderson if Quinn struggles…
Houston (-4.5) NY Jets
4, it’s Mark Sanchez’s first start as a pro, and I have a feeling that he’s going to get acquainted with Mario Williams early and often.
If the Jets had a solid running game or receivers that didn’t disappear, I’d give them a chance. Schaub is expected to go today, so as long as that stays the same I’m taking the Texans.
Indianapolis (-7) Jacksonville
3, I think it would be impossible to pick anyone but Indy at home. Jacksonville usually gives them a good fight, but in a home opener it’s going to be hard for the Jaguars to pull it out especially with their disappointing 5 win campaign last season. I think the Colts will start the season as they usually do undefeated with a convincing win.
New Orleans (-13) Detroit
5, The question is when will the Saints be up by 13? First half? First quarter? Watch the bottom line or your stat tracker to see just how many they can put up. I don’t see the Lions 20 game losing streak ending in week 1 especially in a tough environment.
Dallas (-6) Tampa Bay
4, Tampa Bay is in shambles after barely missing the playoffs last year. They are doing an overhaul with minimal talent, so it’s pretty hard not to like the Cowboys in this one. Dallas will probably run a little more smoothly with TO out of the way. Look for the Buccaneers fans to be one of the blackout teams soon.
Arizona (-6.5) San Francisco
2, I really don’t know what to expect from this one. I’ll loosely pick the Niners to cover.
Arizona had an incredible season last year, but I don’t see lightning striking twice. It was kind of funny watching Kurt Warner fall to late rounds in nearly all my fantasy drafts. That has to say something about their chances.
NY Giants (-6.5) Washington
2, it seems like the Giants start off strong and slowly fade away as the season wears on. If Eli had one good receiver, I’d probably bump up my confidence rating, but in this rivalry game it’s always tough to give a team nearly a TD. Washington just ends up being disappointing every season, and this year doesn’t look much brighter, as I see the Giants taking this one.
Seattle (-8.5) St. Louis
3, One rule I have is never to bet on crappy teams, because you never know what you’ll get. Seattle vs. St. Louis definitely fits that mold, and I can’t really give more than a TD to any team I deem crappy. St. Louis should make this competitive while they cover the spread.
Green Bay (-3.5) Chicago
4, I like the way the Packers look this year.
Rodgers has a lot of guys to throw to, and proved that he is going to be a good starter for years to come. The Bears have issues on defense especially against the passing game. I like the Pack to set the division tone with a convincing win.
New England (-11) Buffalo
4, If Brady is indeed back to 07′ form, we could see the stats that only a QB on Madden puts up. I don’t really see the impact of TO on the field overshadowing the gaping hole left by Lynch in the backfield. I think Buffalo is a decent team, but they are no match for the Pats in Foxboro on opening night. There could be two Monday night blowouts.
San Diego (-9.5) Oakland
2, it’s never easy picking against your team especially when they are giving a TD plus, but the Raiders are starting to mirror the Timberwolves as their franchise spirals out of control. They have talent, but no direction. On a side note, I hope Gruden calls this game on ESPN, it would be nice to hear what he has to say about his former employer! Plus I caught him during a pre-season game and he was pretty funny.
Labor Day Weekend Sports Notes
I just wanted to throw my two cents on the fun stuff that happened over this past Labor Day Weekend.
Shawne Merriman doing his Lights Out Dance all over Tila Tequila after giving her the Undertaker choke slam!
Well, that’s not exactly how TMZ reported it, and I guess he’s saying he was innocent. Which could be believable seeing how she was drunk, and he was ordering water towards the end of the night. I don’t really buy that he wasn’t drinking even if he was ordering water at the end of the night, because I do the same thing when I’m too drunk. If there was any question to why the AFC West is arguably the worst division in the league, all you have to do is look at the summer of fun it produced. You have a head coach hitting his other coach causing a broken jaw. There are Broncos star players (Cutler and Marshall) whining about every conceivable thing, and then taking it back then ripping on fans, and not practicing. Now we have Shawne Merriman beating down Tila Tequila. Keeping it classy down there in San Diego!
The Deutche Bank Classic. I caught the end of this battle, and it wasn’t even Tiger related which always instantly turns a tournament into only watch able for true golf fans. That actually makes me more interested than when Tiger is in the running. Anyways Steve Stricker ended up with dramatic come from behind win with a birdie on 18 to seal the deal.
Although I was hoping that there would be a playoff, I would have rooted for him once the playoff began, so it was good to see him win and take the top spot on the FedEx points leader board. I think this third victory of the season firmly plants him behind Tiger in the PGA Player of the year race, who I’d previously given to Y.E. Yang. If he can somehow pull out a victory next weekend in the BMW, voters would definitely have to consider giving it to him over Tiger. Especially since winning the FedEx playoffs is almost as good as a major, since the field is so strong! So far, I’m really happy with the way these playoffs have been going the past couple years. It makes golf relevant after the last major. It’s a great way to keep the top players going to events.
Shocker of the Weekend, Matthew Stafford will be the starting quarterback for the Lions, and be throwing the ball exclusively to Megatron when the season starts. This is about as shocking as Joaquin Phoenix selling out one of his rap concerts.
Tennis US Open. Melanie Oudin’s improbable run is still going as the 17 year old has advanced to the quarter finals. It’s a cool story, but I’m not really that into it…
With Isner getting defeated by Verdasco, it’s the first time there isn’t an American in the quarter finals on the men’s side for eight decades. It’s a shame that men’s US tennis hasn’t been good in nearly a decade. Roddick has tried, but he is more Stiffler from American Pie than Aggasi, Sampras, or even Jim Courier. It looks as though Federer should be winning another grand slam title. Hopefully Nadal can meet him along the way for one of their epic matches. Has anyone else noticed how much more relevant Nadal has made Federer? It’s really his first and only rival since he started dominating, and it feels like he’s made Rodger a bigger icon than he was before the two were consistently squaring off. I guess it’s hard to have a rival when you beat everyone, but Nadal’s emergence only makes Rodger’s legacy greater!
I’ll skip the College Football, because it’s been documented by Mceezy already!
Can the NFL Survive a Blow From the Recession?
I wrote my plea for the NFL to change the Blackout rule, because it’s robbing the fans of seeing the home teams play, and further detaches the fair weather fans and people that happen to move to a new area that features a franchise. The NFL is holding it’s cards close as they insist they aren’t in bad shape financially, and are recession proof. A report from Forbes came out today that showed the NFL was telling a half truth, as they are okay, but the future is fairly uncertain. Their $1 billion in equity plus debt average among the teams has not changed. The bad part of the report was that eight franchises declined in value for the first time in 10 years! Not surprisingly my Raiders were the worst on the list decreasing 7% from last season, and as of now the Lions are even worth more than them. There were good playoff teams on the list that declined as well including the Colts(-5%), Dolphins(-3%), and Falcons (-2%). The factors that the findings were derived from were; the decline in people who could afford to purchase or invest a franchise, lowered revenues and lower revenue expectations, and the tightened credit markets.
The all powerful NFL isn’t too worried that a quarter of their franchises that have dropped in value as they get huge revenues in the $7 ½ billion range for all their assets. Their TV deals with ESPN, NBC, CBS, FOX, and Sunday Ticket on DirecTV alone give teams a whopping $116 million per year. Facing obvious challenges in the near future the NFL extended their TV contracts recently for two more years through 2013. The drawback to the agreement was that there was a very low 2% increase per season. The real problem for the NFL looks to be the new collective bargaining agreement that was supposed to go through 2012, but the owners voted unanimously to opt out at the conclusion of the 2010 season. Many owners have complained that they’ve had to spend over half their revenues to pay the players, and when there are jackass’s like Michael Crabtree out there squabbling over his contract it all becomes clear why their gripes are justified. Who knows by the time Crabtree gets a contract there could be a lockout, one more bad reason for players to holdout. I still can’t fathom how players are worth millions before they take one snap as a pro. Next year for the first time since 1993, the NFL will play without a salary cap.
This sounds like an instant lockout by the owners, if this is allowed to happen. I doubt too many owners will be thrilled to compete for players against teams that turn the most profit like the Redskins ($90 million), Patriots ($70 million), and Buccaneers ($68 million). I guess Tampa might fall off this list as they are due to be one of the teams this season that could not sell a home game out, and fall under the retarded blackout rule. They once had a 100,000 person waiting list to get season tickets, but those days are long gone as they hope to fill up the stadium for eight weeks out of the year.
We will see what happens, but you can bet that the NFL isn’t ready for what is coming. I have a feeling that they are under estimating their worst case scenario, and shouldn’t be telling the public that everything is all good and happy times. Goodell is good at doing the PR through as his sleazy car salesman act has fooled me from time to time. I hope it doesn’t stoop to the NBA’s depths, which I wrote about a couple months back. If teams are close to bankruptcy, and are having to borrow money I’ll be the first to say I told you so. I know with the recession comes cutbacks by everyone feeling the wrath of the mighty economy, and that translates to a lot more empty seats, which keeps snowballing as a lot less concessions are being bought. I’m sure that in these unforgiving times less people are willing to pony up the money for that ridiculous DirecTV Sunday Ticket package. If people can’t afford tickets, then we can’t even watch our favorite teams on TV from the blackouts. Looks like we’ll have to suffer as we watch the Giants, Jets, Patriots, Redskins, and Cowboys during our blacked out games. I’m already depressed thinking about having to watch Romo and Eli more than they were regularly scheduled!
Is the Kid Going to Ride Off into the Sunset?
If this ends up being the final season for the Kid, it will be the same way many stars end their careers, on the down slide. Junior returned to Seattle in hopes of regaining that effortless swing that bashed back to back 56 home run seasons in 97 and 98, and consistently played gold glove defense robbing homers regularly, but that wasn’t meant to be in this chapter of his career.
Junior is hitting .221 with 14 homers and 43 RBI’s in his return season to the great northwest. His smile is still the same, and his body looks relatively the same, except maybe a extra spare tire around his gut that he didn’t have in his first tour with Seattle. He was my favorite non-A’s player growing up, and you couldn’t ask for a better role model. He showed us how dominating a game can be made to look easy from defense to that perfectly smooth swing.
If this is in fact his final season, why isn’t there more chatter about him? I find it odder than Rafael Nadal’s freakishly smaller right arm that Griffey, one of baseball’s golden boys in the steroid era, isn’t being paraded around like a hero during his last tour of duty. He is Pujols clean from a PED standpoint, so shouldn’t the MLB be kicking up a mini campaign to celebrate his career as it comes to a close. It’s not like he’s going to be like Barry Bonds, and be able to play three more seasons averaging 45 home runs a season. Which is a shame since we all were so sure he’d be past the all time and season home run records by now.
I wouldn’t blame him if he wanted to continue to play as all stars like to hang on, unless you’re weird like Barry Sanders. His return to Seattle mirrored many stars that are past their prime trying to hang on. It may not have looked good numbers wise for The Kid this year, but Steve Kelley of the Seattle Times really believes his time there this year has been worthwhile. It’s good to see a player end their career where it started, even if he never had the chance to play in a world series. He’s going out like Hank Aaron going back to Milwakee and Willie Mays going back to New York. He is undeniably a first ballot hall of famer with his 625 home runs (and counting). It’s a shame, that not even The Kid can fight off the old age…
Air Jordan’s Enshrinement Caps Off a lot of Memories
His Airness will be enshrined into the Hall of Fame on September 11 in Springfield Mass, and he is undoubtedly the head of this class. He’s probably the greatest competitor and basketball player we’ll see in our lifetime. I don’t think I fully appreciated until I was about 12 years old around the time of his first retirement. Growing up a Warriors fan, I probably didn’t even realize the importance of the playoffs. I honestly couldn’t stand Jordan in my youthful days. I did like his shoes, commercials (Jordan and Bird playing H-O-R-S-E was my favorite), and of course Gatorade. I just despised him because he always won. Maybe that’s why I’ve never really been a Tiger fan, but I would and do watch whenever a great player is displaying their talents. I can’t even fathom how hard they work to be that good.
By the time he was on his way to his second three-peat I started to become a fan, and realized that this was a type of player that we’d never see again.
He was such a competitor that he didn’t let business and pleasure ever come together. He never really befriended his teammates calling them “co-workers”. He decided against playing in a second Olympics, for what many felt were selfish reasons. Jordan showed Barkley in the 92 Olympics how a player works so hard on a daily basis to be at the level he was. Jordan let out some of his secrets that showed other guys in the league what made him great. He payed for it, as Barkley had his best year following those Olympic games. MJ showed Chuck too much of what he did to prepare himself, and Barkley must’ve taken notes winning the MVP over Jordan in that 92-93 season. Never again would Jordan play in the Olympic games. You have to admire a man who goes out of his way to not get to close to teammates or play for a gold medal to avoid showing them what makes him tick.
I looked through his stats awhile back when comparing him to Kobe through the first part of his career, so if you double those that’s about what he ended with. Here’s a few random ones that you don’t always see 30.1 PPG (highest average of all time), 32,292 points (Kareem and Malone had more), 2,514 steals (2nd to Stockton), and the best shoes in the game. We all know about his MVP’s and Championships as well, that dubbed him the greatest of all time. There’s still youtube clips of him tearing it up. It almost looks like he could still play in the NBA. Good thing they don’t count your post career to get into the Hall of Fame, because he is not a good GM or Owner. I guess it would be hard when you expect your players to be as good as you or possibly just doesn’t care.
Also joining him in the very good class of 2009 is John Stockton, David Robinson, and Jerry Sloan. Once again Stockton will be in the shadows of Jordan even being enshrined into basketball immortality. Tough break for short shorts.
The Admiral won a couple championships and gold medals. Stockton won gold medals, but unfortunately he played his prime in the Jordan era. Jerry Sloan is being inducted, but is still coaching. I never understood this, why induct a coach for coaching if they are still roaming the sidelines?!? I think they should have to wait until 3 or so years pass after they coached their last game to be eligible. It makes so much more sense!
Budweiser Has the Right Idea
First thing I think everyone should do in the morning tomorrow is put this in the f*#%in suggestion box. Who knows, maybe you could have a keg’s worth of money by the end of the week!
The Rockies are White Label Hot!
The Rockies started off slow just as anybody would start off an ice cold Coors in April, but just after the All-Star break the Rockies have powered their way close to a .700 record turning that blue bottle label white hot indicating it’s time to pound! The Rockies have pounded the ball and surprised us with some decent pitching as well. The Rockies took the wild card lead back by one game today, and they truly look like the force they were in their last playoff run in 2007. The Rox 2.0 just picked up Jason Giambi, who arrived in Colorado today.
They have added him as a pinch hitter plus a sub for Helton to keep that always troublesome back of his from acting up. Giambino made his first NL atbat of his career tonight that netted a bases loaded RBI walk. He knows he’s not a major piece, but feels he can help them out with his experience saying “There is no small role when you’re in a pennant race.” The Rockies also added Jose Contreras from the White Sox for a minor league pitcher yesterday who should fill in nicely for injured starter Aaron Cook. He should get his first start this Saturday. The move from AL to NL has been very kind to many pitchers that were performing at a much lower level (See Smoltz).
Their closest competitors are the Giants, which I unfortunately don’t see them hanging in there. I hope they can pull it out, because they have great pitching that would be fun to see in the playoffs. They still can’t consistently score runs though. They never really filled that hitting void that everyone was talking about for the months leading up to the trade deadline. It feels like they just have big holes in their lineup where you decide, they won’t score this inning before they even bat. They were shut out tonight, which could have been Hamels brilliance, but it could just as easily been that they don’t have that many good hitters. Freddy Sanchez and his continually delayed return could help a little, but they need some more power. He wasn’t the guy they should’ve gone for at the trade deadline. Penny just signed with SF, and just like the cases mentioned earlier going from the AL to the NL should treat him well or at least descent.
Zito is quietly throwing up lots of zeros on the scoreboard. It’s unfortunate that he hasn’t pitched to the level of his contract, but this is a start.
The Braves and Marlins are the next closest teams to them, but seem to have trouble playing any better than .500 ball as both teams have been just above or below there all season. I think the Wild Card winner should be a good 8 games over .500, at least we’ll hope that’s the case! Tim Hudson made his return tonight for Atlanta, and pitched pretty well. That has to help the Braves chances if he can stay healthy. He’s always been a big competitor, and should give them everything he can. I do like the makeup of the Braves, but they’ll need their pitching to step up especially Lowe. I just saw that Hanley left the game tonight in Florida with some more of that hamstring tightness he seems to have a lot of. They can ill afford to lose him, and if they do you can kiss goodbye to the wild card spot.
Ultimately I think it’s the Rockies spot to lose, since they have been consistently playing better than the other teams in the hunt over the second half of the season. I don’t care if the Giants swept them in a series, and they lost a couple more.
They could have broken the spirits of the Giants, but now I believe it’s just a minor stumble as they are now back in first. Another reason I attach myself to the Rockies, is because they have some former A’s players on their team. With the addition of Giambi, it’s too hard to resist picking them. Carlos Gonzalez homered tonight, and he’s heated to white label hot over the last month! I hate second guessing things, but I wonder if we should have kept him over trading for Holliday. We’ll have to see how Brett Wallace turns out to answer that one, on another post.
The NFL Really Cares… About Making Money!
It’s looking like the NFL is about to see some hard times of their own due to the economy. Everybody knew it was coming, and we are seeing the first signs of it as there are 10 to 12 teams that may not sell out every game. This would mean mass local blackouts on TV broadcasts for many supportive fans.
Last season there were only three teams that didn’t sell out games and not surprisingly the list was Oakland, Detroit, and St. Louis. They combined for a total of nine blacked out games last season. I can’t blame any of the fans for not going to those games though, especially since I’m a Raiders fan and value paying to see them as much as going to see “Thunder from Down Under” for a bachelor party in Vegas. Despite the fact that there are about one third of teams finding it difficult to sell out, the blackout rule will stay in effect for it’s 37th straight year. The Jaguars have stated that they may not even sell out one home game all season. Sorry Jacksonville fans, you have to sign up for Direct TV and pay an extra $200 just to watch your local team for those eight games.
Tim Keown explored the reasons why the blackouts are out dated, and only hurt the league. I fully agree, as it deters possible fans that would have to watch the locally televised games. Many times a casual fan that lives in the area is exposed to the local team to the point where they start to follow them. I’ve had that transformation since my move to Southern California about three years ago. I used to root mildly for the Giants as a Northern California resident, but without being able to watch them, I now root for the Dodgers since I see them on TV nearly every day. I definitely never thought that I’d say four years ago when I was living in Northern California surrounded by that media market.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fair weather fan, I’ll always be a fan of the A’s, Raiders, and Warriors which sholuld say enough looking at their track records this past decade. I’ll root for all the Oakland teams no matter where I live, but every sports fan has “other teams” or man crushes on a certain players so we follow them. If they’re in the local media market, they are certainly going to be watched. That won’t happen if eight of a teams games are being blacked out. How can anyone get attached to a player or team that isn’t shoved down your throat? It won’t happen, and that’s why this rule that’s older than Al Davis needs to be changed.
Sometimes we’ve been saved from these blackouts by local companies that will buy up the rest of the tickets, so that the game can be televised. In these uncertain economic times it’s much less likely that companies are going to open up their wallets to get a game televised. Teams that have had no problem selling out all their tickets in the past like the Cheifs, Dolphins, and Jets are struggling to sell tickets, and have noticeably ramped up the promotions to get people out to the games. San Diego, Miami, and Minnesota are on the list of teams that might not sell out all their tickets, and they were all playoff teams last season. If I was jobless, and couldn’t watch my team play on their way to a playoff run I’d be mad. The NFL is still in great shape either way financially, so why not give the fans a break. It’s bad enough that the fans are asked to spend taxpayer money on the ridiculously large stadiums, and they expect people to be okay with them not being on their local programming!
Goodell is too smooth of a talker to be able to trust!
This quote pretty much sums up how much Goodell and the NFL care about the fans that support the game and teams of their home towns.
Sean McManus, president of CBS Sports and CBS News, said last week that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told him that “he is not going to make any major adjustment to a rule that has lasted a long time just because of a short-term economic problem.”
When asked if CBS had concerns about blacked-out games, McManus said, “I don’t think there is any way they are going to change it, so it is pointless to talk to them about it.”
SJax on the Move?
New York City, Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington were at South Street Seaport for a block party put on by their sneaker company Protege. One of the MCs at the event asked Stack Jack in front of the crowd whether he thought the Warriors were going to make the playoffs. Jackson paused then smiled before responding, “Um…I don’t think I’ll be a Warrior next year. I’m looking to leave.”
Dime: You made a big declaration earlier today by saying you wanted out of Golden State. When did you decide this?
Stephen Jackson: It’s not about a decision I made. It’s just things are in the air right now. I really can’t get too much into it right now, but I’m just looking to go somewhere where I can go and win a championship.
Dime: Are the Warriors aware of this?
SJ: Yeah they all know.
Dime: Is there anywhere specifically you want to go?
SJ: Either Cleveland, anywhere in Texas or out here with Al in New York.
As if the Warriors didn’t have enough problems in the locker room with Don Nelson’s sometimes stubborn methods. Jackson is the on, and off court captain of the team. He wants out of Oakland for a chance to join a contending team. Not that the Warriors are strangers to conflict as there seems to be some kind of negative off season drama every year in the front office or with players. Last year it was both as Harrington and Ellis had their disagreements with management, and it was enough of a distraction to keep them out of the playoff hunt. The news today about SJax worries me. He seemed to be the guy that held the team together no matter what the circumstances were. He went to Robert Rowell last year and asked for his contract extension, which basically told me he wanted to spend the rest of his prime in Oakland. If he truly wasn’t happy, why wouldn’t he just wait until his contract was up and sign somewhere else? It’s not like he signed his extension when they were competitive. I have a feeling if the Warriors do get rid of him, they’ll get a draft pick that they’ll blow or a player that doesn’t help the team nearly as much as Jackson. I hope he stays, we need at least one veteran leader! Cmon SJax, don’t you want to see the beginning of the Randolph era!
The Raiders Outlook May be Bleak, but there’s Always a Silver Lining Before the Season Starts
With Raiders Camp concluding on the 27th, I thought I’d take a look at our chances this season. I usually try to talk myself into believing that we will do good, and keep a positive attitude. This year, in all honesty an 8-8 season would feel like we made the playoffs. I’m not saying we’ll win that many, but I hope that we play good enough to at least cover the Vegas lines!
This off-season has been highlighted by Cable’s haymaker, but I’d say that last season’s Jevon Walker saga was much more dysfunctional. At least this season, it was football related. Plus, I really like that he did it. It makes me feel like he really cares. Whatever happens, I’m glad we have a coach that gets fired up enough to sock someone. If I was a player, he’d have my respect instantly. Anyways, if we’re going to win a significant amount of games this season it all falls on Jemarcus and his ability to lead this offense.
Entering his third season, he really needs to show the team something or their contingency plan (Garcia) will kick into effect. One thing about Russell, is he’s good at not turning it over, but on the same notion he doesn’t throw many TD passes and completes only %53 of his passes. I’m not a big fan of the pre-season telling you much since both teams are working out the kinks on both sides of the ball. I did catch some of the Raiders vs. Niners game, and was surprised to see Russell play pretty well with the exception of one wild over throw. He looked more comfortable than I’ve ever seen him. I’m not saying he won’t make bad decisions when the season starts, but at least he looks more comfortable/calm on the field.
As for their receivers, it’s definitely not completely figured out. I’ve read that #7 pick Darius Heywood-Bey (DHB), has seemed to be getting into a rhythm, and has made a memorable catch in mini camps.
Jevon Walker made his first appearance at yesterday’s practice since last November after repairing his knee. He’s probably going to disappear more often than not whether he’s injured or on the field. Chaz Schillins, is not a # 1 receiver. Tight End Zach Miller, Russell’s favorite target last season, should be seeing just as much action. I just hope he’s not leading the team in receiving yards again, because we really need to get our receivers involved. If DHB is the highest rated receiver on the Raiders in Madden 2010 with an 81, then it’s definitely an area that needs a lot of improvement.
Our running game has been the one strong part of our offense for the past couple years, but we need some passing too. Having a clog in the backfield with Fargas, Mcfadden, and Bush, might be one to many backs. Not that they won’t be a great combo to put out there to force teams to stop, but why wouldn’t you try to shop Fargas and Bush around?
They could address a number of needs and still have a two headed monster that teams covet in the backfield. They don’t even need to go for a receiver that I stated they need so desperately. They could upgrade the offensive or defensive line. In this scenario, I’d much rather see Fargas go as he runs into his own linemen more than tacklers, but if it takes Bush to make a drastic improvement in any of the above mentioned areas, I’m all for it. I’m not saying that Mr. Davis would make a sensible move such as this one, but we can hope. I’m ready for the Chargers on the Monday edition of season openers!
PGA Player of the Year, Tiger Woods Once Again
With the PGA Season wrapping up, it’s time to evaluate whether anyone not named Tiger has a chance to win the Player of the Year honors pending the FedEx Cup results. It’s almost a given each year that Tiger will win the award, but sometimes there are a few players that give Tiger a run for his money. I have no idea how they figure out who had the best season or what the exact criteria is, but here are some of my picks for players that had a good enough season to be considered!
Tiger Woods (0 Majors, 5 PGA Wins, and 1st in the FedEx Cup Standings)
Coming off his knee surgery it took him a whole three tournaments to record his first win of the season. He went on to win three of the next four tournaments that he played in. The only real scuff on Tiger’s season resume was that he didn’t win a single major. Many believed (myself included) that he’d be able to win one and probably two of the majors this year. This was the first year failed to win a major since 2004, which would be the equivalent of blacking out, and having money still in your wallet the next morning. He didn’t even make the cut for this years British Open, which I personally enjoyed. You can’t say it was an off year for him as he leads the tour in average round scoring, money, and wins. Pretty easy choice for POTY, but he did show that he is vulnerable.
Y.E. Yang (PGA Championship, 2 wins, 7th in FedEx Cup Standings)
Y.E. won his first two PGA events of his career this season, and seems to be on the path to a great career.
He is the only player to post a win in a major and a win in another PGA tournament. His year will undoubtedly be known for beating the best player in the world in the final pairing of the PGA Championship. He showed us something that nobody else has, he can fist pump as good as Tiger when making a charge in the final round. He is easily the runner up for player of the year in my mind. I hope we get to see him and Tiger can battle it out again in the FedEx Cup.
Steve Stricker (0 Majors, 2 wins, 2nd in the FedEx Cup Standings)
He earned the “Mr. Consistent” award from me for his performance this season. The 42 year old has had one of his best seasons winning twice, and had eight top ten finishes. The technically sound Stricker should be a threat to Tiger in the FedEx Cup.
Kenny Perry (0 Majors, 2 wins, 4th in the FedEx Cup Standings)
Perry won the FBR Open for his sick father. Perry will tell you his father held on just to watch his son play some good golf.
He won the next weekend as well. Perry also had the lead in the Masters through 16 holes. He needed to finish with a par and a bogey to win. His chipping hurt him as he finished with two straight bogeys and handed the trophy over to Cink.
Zach Johnson (0 Majors, 2 Wins, 3rd in the FedEx Cup Standings)
ZJ, the guy I can never seem to like/root for, had a good season winning two events. He was consistently high on the leader boards finishing in the top 10 in 7 events.
He is also the golfer who played the least PGA events (21) on my player of the year list. He either needs a new pair of shades or to grow a little taller before you’ll find me rooting for him.
Honorable mention, Tom Watson, he probably would have been just under Tiger had he won the British Open. He’s a 59 year old, and almost won a Major. It was by far the most interesting major of this season, and probably the best since Tiger’s hobbled effort at the US Open last summer. If only he could have made that 8 ft. putt to avoid going into a playoff.
So it looks like Tiger should be Player of the Year once again. It will be his tenth POTY award that he can add to his always expanding trophy room down in Florida.
The Duke Shutting it Down For the Season
Our two time All-Star pitcher, Justin Duchscherer has been a question mark all season. It seemed like he was on the road to making his A’s debut about a month ago, but he kept delaying his starts. I along with many A’s fans found it weird as we wanted to see our “ace” back in action for at least the last month or so of the season. He did make a few rehab starts in Sacramento that MCeezy watched in person, and it appeared he pitched good. He has been on and off the DL for a good portion of his career, so everyone just figured he wasn’t ready after having season ending surgery towards the end of last season.
It was made public today in the SF Chronicle that he will shut it down for the season due to “a very treatable clinical depression.” I’ve been outspoken about letting these guys just pack it in due to “depression“. Duke’s case is no different. I can’t understand why he’d jump ship at this point, especially since his contract expires after this season is up. Maybe he didn’t feel right when he was pitching in Sacramento. Maybe he thinks he can get a contract based on what teams remember of his good days. Either way, I think he’s made his last pitch in Oakland, so thanks for the memories Duke!
Cleveland 50% Off Discount Codes
I get some discount codes from work for friends and family. If you come to our site, then you are a friend to me! The items that you can use the discount code for are on this site. It’s a limited selection and only clothes, but how can you argue with 50% off in these tough economic times! It only lasts until August 31st, and free ground shipping is offered. When you’re checking out enter the VIP code: a9classics. Happy Shopping!
Did the Vikings get Favre or Farva?
There has been way too much hoopla over Favre for a third straight summer. I’m not surprised he came out of retirement again, but since there are so many people talking about it I guess I need to weigh in with my thoughts on Farve. At the end of his Green Bay tenure he ended their playoff run by throwing a crucial interception in his NFC Championship game. This was when he entered the Farva era. Everthing he’s touched since that game has crumbled. He has been hurting organizations by doing the ol: I’m going to retire, and ended up un-retiring to play again. Wait, no I’m going to be retired, no wait I want to play. Okay, I’ll play again. He had a crappy season in New York, and I was pretty sure that would show him that he wasn’t what he used to be. He’s covered in grey hair now, and he doesn’t bring the same arm or legs to the game.
Personally I don’t really care about Minnesota or Favre all that much. He’s been an outstanding player, but this has disaster written all over it.
Visions of Jordan playing on the Wizards are crossing my mind. They have AP in the lineup, so that might save his body some blows, but in the end car ramrod will probably run the Vikings fans to the depths of the Love Boat days. It just feels like it’s a panic move for Minnesota, since they already were trying to figure out who their QB of the future is in Tavaris and Sage. Childress should have taken a nice firm stance like Mike Singletary has taken with Crabtree. Once he made him decide by a certain date, he should have closed the door once that day passed. Childress should have moved on. Why not just see how the duo does for the first half of the season? If they are struggling during a very favorable first five weeks of the season, and the QB position is a weak spot, give Favre a call. Instead they’ll have Farva running around in their locker room on his path to find out if this is his final year. I predict that it will finally be the year we see that he has nothing left…
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