Thursday, December 23, 2010

NFL Week 16 Predictions

Drew Brees plays the red hot Falcons on Monday Night

Panthers vs Steelers: 28-13 Steelers
After a loss to the Jets, the Steelers will get out their anger tonight, by destroying the 2-13 Panthers. Look for Big Ben and Wallace to shine and for Mendenhall to rush for over 100 yards in an easy win.

Cowboys vs Cardinals: 28-16 Cowboys
Since the Cowboys fired Wade Phillips and promoted Jason Garrett, they have been much better of a football team. This should continue as they play the struggling Cardinals saturday night. Kitna will shine and hit multiple receivers for touchdowns.

Bills vs Patriots: 35-10 Patriots
The Patriots are the best team in football, case closed. They also happen to be playing one of the worst teams in football, in the Bills. Brady to Branch all day in this one in a whooping over the Bills.

Jets vs Bears: 24-13 Bears
Although the Jets pulled out a W last week, the result should be different this week. The offensive is still struggling and although their defense stepped up, the Bears have a much better offense then the Steelers. The Bears come off a big win vs the Vikings and will use that momentum to win this big game.

Ravens vs Browns: 27-17 Ravens
The Ravens are a very good team. They just defeated the Saints who are one of the top teams in the NFL. They play the Browns, a significantly worse team and should dominate all aspects of this game.

Titans vs Chiefs: 23-17 Chiefs
Although Chris Johnson is heating up, the run game won't be enough to win the game vs a very good Chiefs team. When Cassel plays, the team wins and with Jamaal Charles running the way he has been, the Chiefs look like a playoff team.

Redskins vs Jaguars: 28-20 Jaguars
The Jaguars are a playoff team and the Redskins aren't. Look for MJD to show some leadership and run through a weak Redskins D and help keep the Jaguars in the playoff hunt.

Chargers vs Bengals: 27-13 Chargers
The Chargers have a great offense and the Bengals have a bad defense. Philip Rivers should be able to go right through this defense and pass for multiple touchdowns. The Bengals have been very disappointing this year and although they won last week, will not get the same result this week.

Texans vs Broncos: 28-27 Texans
This was one of the tougher decisions i have had to make this week. The Texans started off great but have been on a decline and the Broncos started off terrible, still are terrible but have a new energetic quarterback in Tebow. Texans by 1.

Colts vs Raiders: 35-30 Colts
The Colts and Jaguars will both win this week still giving the Colts the edge in the tiebreaker. But the Colts will struggle more playing a very underrated and surprising 7-7 Raiders team. although they don't have a solid quarterback, the defense and running game are both great for the Raiders, still though Peyton wins when it means the most.

Rams vs Niners: 21-14 Niners
The Rams are too inexperienced and the Niners despite their 0-5 start will win this game and make the playoffs. Look for a big game from Brian Westbrook and a solid passing game by Alex Smith.

Lions vs Dolphins: 17-13 Lions
Both of these teams are very unpredictable but i have to give this one to the Lions. The Lions have an offense and the Dolphins don't. Although i predicted a low scoring game, the edge goes to the Lions just because they have been in many close games this year, and this time they will win.

Giants vs Packers: 34-28 Giants
The Giants had a terrible loss last week and will not make that same mistake. Although Rodgers is playing, he is still a little knocked up and the Giants have one of the most hard hitting defenses knocking 5 quarterbacks out of the game this year. Giants end the Packers season sunday.

Seahawks vs Bucs: 21-14 Bucs
The Bucs play another bad team and will win like usual. It will be a close low scoring game and look for a Mike Williams touchdown. Bucs still will not make the playoffs thought but they are improving.

Vikings vs Eagles: 35-14 Eagles
The Eagles are such a great team and their offense is unstoppable especially when Vick plays. The Vikings have had a disappointing season and will get crushed by the Eagles on Sunday Night.

Saints vs Falcons: 35-34 Saints

When i made this decision i pretty much closed my eyes and when i opened them i looked at the Saints. This is going to be the most controversial game this week and a very good one. Look for a close high scoring game to decide the NFC South.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Newton Wins AP Player of the Year

Newton was an absolute Beast this year winning 5 huge awards

Today, Auburn Quarterback Cam Newton has won another prestigious award, the AP player of the year.

The award is pretty self explanatory, it is awarded to the nations top college football player. Newton won this award in a land slide though ranking up 51 votes out of 56 votes. Boise State Quarterback Kellen Moore got 3 votes while Stanford Quarterback Andrew Luck got the last 2.

This award pretty much sums up Newton's season this year, outstanding.

His team, the Auburn Tigers are set to face the Oregon Ducks on January 7th in Glendale, Arizona for the BCS National Championship game. They are undefeated and one of the top offenses in the nation. This is mostly because of Newton.

Newton was by far the most dominant player this year.

First off his passer rating was 188.8. This was not only the best of this years quarterbacks, but of all time. Nobody has ever had a passer rating better then Cam Newton in a single season. He passed for 2,589 yards and added 1,409 more on the ground. He passed for 28 Touchdowns, ran for 20 Touchdowns, and even caught 1 touchdown in a game vs Mississippi.

Newton with his Heisman
He also won numerous other awards such as the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Award, the Davey O'Brien Award, and the NCAA most prestigious award, the Heisman Award.

Newton wasn't superman this season and definitely had his faults.

He was the center of a lot of controversy mid season when it was reported that his father had made deals with colleges saying that if they wanted Newton to play for their team they would have to "pay-to-play". This means Newton's family would get improper benefits through his abilities.

Ultimately though the NCAA realized that Cam did not know of this and that his father, Cecil, was behind all of it. They did not suspend him and let him win all his awards. Even though Auburn went undefeated and knocked off many top SEC teams, many thought that Newton's luck would end at the SEC championship game vs South Carolina.

Newton's father was not allowed to attend the Heisman Award Show which Cam won.

Cam was quoted saying, "It hurts a lot. (not having my dad here)" regarding to the Heisman Award Show in New York.

Newton like the rest of the season, did not back down and continued to show the country he was the best player. He passed for 335 yards, his season best and ran for 73 yards. He threw 4 touchdowns and ran in 2 more and didn't have a single turnover.

Newton on the sidelines backing up
Tebow during his time at Florida
Many people though would have never predicted Newton to have the season he did. Two years ago, he was backing up the countries old best quarterback, Tim Tebow at Florida. Newton got limited playing time and ended up transferring to Blinn College, a small subdivision school where he got a lot of playing time.

At his time at Blinn, he showed many division I schools how good he was and this is where the 'pay-to-play" came in. In the end he chose Auburn.

Speaking about his time at Florida Newton said,  "I learned a lot during my tenure at Florida. I wouldn't say it  was a waste".

Newton must had have learned a lot backing up Tebow at Florida because this year he followed his footsteps.

Newton was the nation's top play and definitely deserved this award. Good luck in the National Championship Game and congrats again on all these awards.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Heat Check-Up

Can LeBron, Dwayne, and Chris continue to Lead Miami and eventually pass the Celtics for the top of the East?

July 8th 2010 would be a historic day in NBA History. It was one of the most highly anticipated free agent signings of all time. People in 2008 were talking about the summer of '10 because all of the 2003 rookies who are now big named superstars plus some other all stars would all be on the free agent market; the most famous though? LeBron James. Which team would land LeBron James

The day before, July 7th 2010 the Miami Heat signed star power forward Chris Bosh. This signing came a few days after the Heats leader, Dwayne Wade resigned an extension to play in Wade County.

Many teams were looking forward to July 8th though. All of them nervous but excited at the same time. The Knicks, Heat, Cavs, Nets and Clippers all believed they had a chance at LeBron James.

At the end of the ESPN Special though, only one team came out victorious, the Miami Heat.

The Heat were the most highly anticipated teams ever after signing 3 big superstars to all wear the same jerseys on the same court this season. People were saying how they could give the 1990's Chicago Bulls a run for their money on the best single season record ever.

So how are those Heat doing now?

Not to bad.

After 30 games the Heat are 21-9. They are atop the Eastern Conference's Southeast division. In perspective of all the teams in the Eastern Conference, they rank 2nd, just 3 games behind the Boston Celtics who in 2008 were the topic of many NBA discussions after they landed 3 superstars in Garnett, Allen, and Pierce.

Before they lost last night, the Heat had a 12 game win streak. They are averaging 100 points a game and have a great defense only giving up 90 which gives them a 10+- ratio.

The Heat are actually playing great ball, the thing that is keeping them from atop the power rankings though is how good people expected them to be. I mean seriously people, its not like Superman, Batman, and Flash are playing against a bunch of gym rats. It's professionals playing professionals.

In the 30 games so far, Wade has lead the team in scoring in 12 games. In those 12, the team is 11-1 with their only loss being against the Hornets by 3. At the Time though the Hornets were red hot and undefeated. LeBron has lead the team in scoring 11 times. The team is 7-4. And finally Bosh. Bosh has lead the team in scoring 2 times but the team is 2-0.

That leads me to my next point.

Throughout the season, i have noticed a few things by the Heat.

First off, they are not beating the Bulls record of 72-10. They already have 9 losses so their chances are under 1%. The other thing i noticed is that in all of the Heat's losses, they are not getting enough production from the Big 3. Always 1 guy is off in their losses. This man is usually Chris Bosh.

Although Bosh was probably the most happy about the teams formation, he has not been on top of his game. He has lead the team in scoring only 2 games but has still taken close to the number of shots. He also is not getting it done on defense. Bosh's rebounds per game have dropped too, and he's supposed to be the Big Man On Campus. Bosh is averaging about 18 points and 8 rebounds. His season but last year he averaged 24 and 10. Yes i understand he was the only arguably good player on his team last year, but he is still getting around the same amout of touches for scoring, and for rebounding he is just getting boxed out.

Still combined the Big 3 have combined for over 75% of the teams total offense. This is good because due to injuries from their other players like Haslem and Miller, the Heat were lacking depth in their lineup, making Bosh, Wade, and James play a lot of minutes per game.

Still don't get me wrong, the Heat are playing great ball.

The thing they can argue with the Bulls about is that there weren't as many good teams in the NBA back then. This year and in past years, the league has gotten much more talented where each team has a core of good players. The Eastern Conference has many tough teams in the Magic, Celtic, Bulls, and Knicks while the West has the big 3 of the Lakers, Spurs, and Mavs, and also the uprising Thunder.

If the Heat can continue to spread the wealth evenly and play efficient basketball, they should have no problem staying in the top 5 teams in the league. Also if they let Chris Bosh lead the team in scoring in every game they actually might beat the Bulls 72-10 record haha.

The Heat are one of the most exciting teams in the league and I'm looking forward to attending their game on the 28th vs the Knicks in Miami. Maybe the Knicks will get some revenge when the Heat beat the Knicks earlier this month at MSG. The Knicks hung in there but in the 2nd half started to play worse and eventually lost the game by 20.

For all you Knick fans, i will be posting an article about how the 2010 Knicks with Amare, Chandler, Gallo, and Ray may remind a few of the Championship winning Knicks teams with Reed, Frazier, Dave Debusschere and Earl the Pearl .

NFL Week 15 Recap

Ray Rice Showboats in the Endzone, something he did twice on Sunday

This week my record in games were 12-4

Chargers vs Niners: 34-7 Chargers
Chargers Player of the Week: Vincent Jackson-112 Receiving Yards and 3 Touchdowns
Niners Player of the Week: Josh Morgan- 106 Receiving Yards
The Chargers dominated the Niners on Thursday Night as Vincent Jackson took over his old job as Philip Rivers favorite target in Antonio Gates' absence.

Browns vs Bengals: 17-19 Bengals
Browns Player of the Week: Colt McCoy- 243 Passing Yards and 2 Touchdowns
Bengals Player of the Week: Cedric Benson- 150 Yards and 1 Touchdown
The Bengals snap a 10 game losing streak with a game over their divisional rivals, the Browns

Eagles vs Giants: 38-31 Eagles
Eagles Player of the Week: Michael Vick- 242 Passing Yards, 130 Rushing Yards, 4 Total Touchdowns
Giants Player of the Week: Eli Manning- 289 Passing Yards and 4 Touchdowns
The Giants blow a 21 point lead and lose in the final seconds as Desean Jackson returns a terrible punt by Matt Dodge for a touchdown

Redskins vs Cowboys: 33-30 Cowboys
Redskins Player of the Week: Rex Grossman- 322 Passing Yards and 4 Touchdowns
Cowboys Player of the Week: Jason Witten- 140 Receiving Yards and 1 Touchdown
The Cowboys win another game under Jason Garrett as Head Coach and are now tied for last place with the struggling Redskins in the NFC East

Titans vs Texans: 31-17 Titans
Titans Player of the Week: Chris Johnson -130 Rushing Yards and 1 Touchdown
Texans Player of the Week: Matt Schuab- 325 Passing Yards and 2 Touchdowns
The Titans beat the Texans to pretty much spoil their season and end all hopes there were of them making the playoffs

Colts vs Jaguars: 34-24 Colts
Colts Player of the Week: Donald Brown- 129 Rushing Yards and 1 Touchdown
Jaguars Player of the Week: Daryl Smith- 15 Tackles, 1 Pass Deflection 1 Sack
The Colts beat the Jaguars to tie up the AFC South after a big unexpected game from the Colts running backs

Chiefs vs Rams: 27-13 Chiefs
Chiefs Player of the Week: Jamaal Charles- 126 Rushing Yards and 1 Touchdown
Rams Player of the Week: James Laurinaitis- 11 Tackles and 1 Pass Deflection
The Chiefs win another game with Matt Cassel back at Quarterback to still lead the AFC West

Bills vs Dolphins: 17-14 Bills
Bills Player of the Week: Ryan Fitzpatrick-223 Passing Yards and 2 Touchdowns
Dolphins Player of the Week: Brandon Marshall- 106 ReceivingYards and 1 Touchdown
The Bills defeat the Dolphins to get their 4th win of the season

Lions vs Bucs: 230-20 Lions (OT)
Lions Player of the Week: Maurice Morris- 109 Rushing Yards and 1 Touchdown
Bucs Player of the Week: LeGarrette Blount-110 Rushing Yards and 1 Touchdown
The Lions upset the Bucs in OT to drop them a game out of the wildcard

Panthers vs Cardinals: 19-12 Panthers
Panthers Player of the Week: The Team - scored more points then allowed! only happened the 2nd time all season
Cardinals Player of the Week: Larry Fitzgerald- 125 Receiving Yards
The Panthers win for the 2nd time all season after beating the terrible Cardinals in Carolina

Saints vs Ravens: 30-24 Ravens
Saints Player of the Week: Drew Brees -267 Passing Yards and 3 Touchdown
Ravens Player of the Week: Ray Rice- 233 Totals Yards and 2 Touchdowns
The Ravens beat the Saints to retake over the AFC North

Falcons vs Seahawks: 34-18 Falcons
Falcons Player of the Week: Matt Ryan- 174 Passing Yards and 3 Touchdowns
Seahawks Player of the Week: Marshawn Lynch- 60 Rushing Yards and 1 Touchdown
The Falcons improve to 12-2 after an easy win over the Seahawks. They now have the best record in the NFL and have clinched a playoff berth

Raiders vs Broncos- 39-23 Raiders
Raiders Player of the Week: Darren McFadden -119 Rushing Yards
Broncos Player of the Week: Tim Tebow- 138 Passing Yards, 78 Passing Yards, and 2 Touchdowns
The Raiders spoil Tim Tebow's starting debut with a solid win and now improve to 7-7

Jets vs Steelers: 22-17 Jets
Jets Player of the Week: Braylon Edwards- 100 Receiving Yards
Steelers Player of the Week: Rashard Mendenhall- 100 Rushing Yards and 1 Touchdown
The Jets pull out only their 2nd win over a team over .500 in the final seconds at Pittsburgh

Patriots vs Packers: 31-27 Patriots
Patriots Player of the Week: Tom Brady- 163 Passing Yards and 2 Touchdowns
Packers Player of the Week: Matt Flynn- 251 Yards and 3 Touchdowns
The Patriots beat the Packers in the final minutes without Aaron Rodgers playing

Vikings vs Bears: 40-14 Bears
Vikings Player of the Week: Percy Harvin- 72 Receiving Yards and 1 Touchdown
Bears Player of the Week: Devin Hester- Punt Return for Touchdown, 23 Receiving Yards and 1 Touchdown
The Bears embarrass the Vikings on MNF in the freezing cold as Favre gets knocked out and Hester impresses the freezing fans

Monday, December 20, 2010

The Reemergence Of Michael Vick

Vick Clearly has proved to everyone how great of a person he is on and off the field this season

In The 2001 NFL Draft the Falcons selected Michael Vick, a quarterback out of Virginia Tech with the #1 pick. Vick was known for his great abilities on the field but sometimes got in trouble off the field.

At Virginia Tech he helped lead the Hokies to conference championships and even a trip to the National Championship game and placed 3rd in the heisman voting. He was also the first player ever to be voted his conference's player and rookie of the year award.

Nonetheless, the Falcons chose Vick to lead their team. In his first season as the starting quarterback in 2002 Vick lead the team to the playoffs with a 9-6-1 record. Then after missing most of 2003 due to injury, in 2004 Vick lead the team to win the division with a 11-5 record. Vick was one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the country because he was a rare quarterback who could run and pass.

Vick became the first player to run and pass for 1,000 yards in a season along with a couple of other records. He was elected to a few Pro Bowls with from his time with the Falcons (2001-2006)

Michael was also one of the most popular players in the league. It was a fact, not an opinion that he was the most fun player to play with in the madden series. Every kid who played that game loved to run around with Vick. He covered the 2004 version of the game and also had endorsements for Nike, Coke, Powerade, Rawlings, Kraft, and AirTran.

Then in 2007 everything went downhill for Vick.

Rumors were going around that Vick had hosted a "dogfighting" event at his house. Although he claimed he did not participate he was still accounted for all the blame for his guest actions that severely hurt many innocent dogs.

After going to court and being held guilty for his actions Vick was sentenced to 23 months in jail. 

After awaiting results and hearing the final verdict, Falcons owner Arthur Blank decided to cut Vick from the team. For the 2007 and 2008 seasons, Michael Vick wasn't playing on sundays, he was serving time. 

Nobody knew if he would ever play again. All of his talent could have gone to waste, but Vick was determined to redeem himself and get back to where he was. He didn't slack off in jail, he was friendly to his inmates, participated in their pickup games and was allowed to move onto Federal Prison earlier after being in a halfway house.

Now it was just time to wait, who would give Michael his redemption time. Vick was unemployed, bankrupt, and had no supporters.

After getting a tryout for the Philadelphia Eagles, Michael Vick made the team. He backed up McNabb for a year getting around 5 snaps a game but mostly used as run designed WildCat plays. He was frustrated he did not get to show the world what he could do but was still very grateful for the Eagles giving him the opportunity to play.

After McNabb was sent to the Redskins the Eagles gave the 2010 starting quarterback position to Kevin Kolb. Kolb was drafted in 2007 and was assumed to fill in for McNabb when his time with the Eagles was over. After Kolb got injured in the 1st game of the season. Vick took over and led the team to a huge comeback vs the Packers but still lost the game.

Vick was then named the starter and ever since he has been rolling.

Vick is in talks for the MVP award this season and i  must say, if i had a vote, he has mine. Although Vick has missed a few games this season due to injury and week 1 where he did not start, Vick is near the top of all quarterback categories. He has the most fantasy points of all players in the whole league and has not even logged in nearly the amount of minutes Brady, Foster, and Rodgers have.

On average Vick is averaging a 103.6 passer rating which ranks 3rd of all quarterback. He has passed for over 2,750 yards and has ran for over 600 yards. Combined he has 28 Touchdowns and only 8 turnovers. When Vick has played the full game this season, the Eagles are 8-1. 

For those who say stats aren't everything Vick is a leader on and off the field. His leadership and character have changed dramatically since his accident. He is even in a commercial for a local car dealership in New Jersey. Also he has been participating in Community Service and has given back to his community.

Even players not on the Philadelphia Eagles admire and look up to Vick. Many players have said that what he has done is a great story and Dallas Cowboys Running Back Tashard Choice even asked for his autograph. Even though the autograph was for his nephew that is still amazing. 

Vick has led the team to many comebacks this year, most recently this week vs the Giants. While most players lost hope in the game Vick cheered up the team and helped them score 38 unanswered in 7 minutes vs the Giants and win the game. I am even a Giants fan and i am furious at the loss, but i still must admit Michael Vick is amazing. Vick passed for 242 yards, ran for 130 yards and had a combined 4 touchdowns and 1 turnover. 

It would be crazy for Michael Vick not to be chosen as the MVP. Yes i understand Tom Brady has been great this year, but is he as consistent and can he do it all? The Patriots have always been good and it is expected of Brady to have a big season but nobody predicted Michael Vick to breakout this season. He was originally drafted in under 25% of all fantasy football leagues this year and leads most leagues in points. His story is incredible and i hope he continues his path back to prime.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Brewing Up Some Trades

2009 Cy Young winner, Zach Greinke, was traded to the Brewers today for a few top prospects

Today sources are reporting the the Milwaukee Brewers have just traded for former Cy Young Award Winner Zach Greinke.

The Kansas City Royals ace would be sent to Milwaukee for the Brewers top prospects in outfielder Lorenzo Cain, shortstop Alcides Escobar, and pitchers Jake Odorizzi and Jeremy Jeffress. The Royals were also supposed to send up their shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt, but that never happened.

Although Greinke did win the 2006 AL Cy Young Award, this season was not his finest. Yes, he did play for the Royals and got no run support but his ERA was 4.17. He posted a 10-14 record in 33 games started. He struck out 181and only walked 55, so at least those stats were consistent.

Greinke joins a pretty solid rotation up in Milwaukee. The Brewers have been known for their pitching when they had aces CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets. Today their ringer was Yovani Gallardo but with the addition of Greinke he will likely be the #2 pitcher. The other pitchers in the rotation are Randy Wolf, Shaun Marcum, and Chris Narveson.

The other teams interested in Greinke were the Yankees, Nationals, and Rangers.

The Yankees claim they would have gotten Greinke if it weren't for his anxiety problems. Greinke was forced to miss the whole 2006 season because of these problems. Playing in the "Big Apple" in front of thousands of heckling new yorkers, the Yankees decided it would not be a great idea to risk signing him.

The Rangers would have gotten Greinke but failed to meet expectations with the Royals on what they would have to give up for him. For the Nationals, they were probably the closest to landing Greinke. The only problem was they would have to give up one of their new pitchers, Jordan Zimmerman along with two other prospects.

Overall in his MLB career, the 28 year old Greinke has a 60-67 record. Put that in a city who competes year in and year out and that maybe is 75-52. Still the facts are facts and it may show that Greinke was a one hit wonder in 2009 (no pun intended).

The Brewers will now likely compete in the NL Central like they did a few years ago. With the reemergence of the Reds and the always good, Cardinals, the Brewers would like to get back to the top of the division. They have they bats in Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder, and now they have the pitching in Zach Greinke and Yovani Gallardo. We will find out in the spring if this trade was worth it for the Brewers.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Do You Believe in Magic?

These new Additions to the Magic along with Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson will help lead the Magic back to the Top

The Orlando Magic are negotiating huge talks right now with multiple teams. Those teams being the Wizards and Suns. The Magic have lost 5 of 6 and are looking to rebound back to the top of the Eastern Conference.

They have already agreed in principle to send Vince Carter, Mickael Pietrus, Marcin Gortat, a 2011 1st round pick, and cash to the Suns for Jason Richardson, Earl Clark, and former Magic Hedo Turkoglu. This would give the Magic two solid guards/ small forwards along with some young talent in Clark.

The other deal has not yet happened but is heating up and very close to being done. The Magic would send power forward Rashard Lewis for troubled Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas.

Arenas has had some trouble in the last few years in Washington. He has been injury plagued, as well as losing a lot of chemistry with the team, and being suspended for 50 games last year after threatening a teammate with a gun.With the Wizards drafting guard John Wall with the 1st pick in the draft, it was clear that it was now Wall's team and that Arenas' time was done.

Trade talks with Arenas have been going around since the summer.

So the projected starting five for the Magic would be Jameer Nelson,Gilbert Arenas, Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkeglo, and the big man, Dwight Howard.

Along with the Heat and Celtics, the Magic would now have a "super team" with 3 players who have been all-stars, in Nelson, Arenas, and Howard. Still Richardson and Turkoglu are both super dangerous players especially on the offensive side where Turkoglu can spot up for 3 and Richardson can do it all. Although the Celtics big three and rondo, and the Heats big three are definitely more talented then the Magics big, the Magics starting 5 as a whole is much more talented and adds more depth.

With the Bulls and Knicks transforming into top teams, the Magic need to reestablish themselves in the top three in the East with the Celtics and Heat. We will see how this star-studded team can play with each other because as we saw with the Heat, it took a few teams for all of them to find their balance.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

NFL Week 15 Predictions


Chargers vs Niners: 27-20 Chargers
Both teams started off slow but have made their way back to the hunt in the AFC and NFC West. Also both have lost star players like Frank Gore and Antonio Gates. I chose the Chargers on this one simply because the Chargers in December are unstoppable, fact. With Rivers hitting any receiver who goes out on the field and a solid running game in Tolbert and Matthews, i think it will be too much for the Niners tonight.

Eagles vs Giants: 24-23 Eagles
I am a Giants fan and I'm sorry to all other fans who disagree with my decision, but to be completely honest and unbiased, the Eagles should win this one. I know they are playing in New Jersey not Philly so the Giants have the edge on that but the Eagles offense just may be too much for the underrated Giants D, especially with an injury plagued Giants team.

Bengals vs Browns: 23-12 Bengals
The Bengals haven't won a game in forever. I know they have had a tough schedule, and play in one of the tougher division in the NFL but still they should be better than 2-11. I have them with the upset over the Browns though because i feel Palmer, and the Offense will be back on track and ready to beat the Browns on Sunday.

Redskins vs Cowboys: 28-14 Cowboys
Both teams have been disappointing this year and although the Cowboys have a worse record, the Redskins have been far more disappointing. After bringing in the big money players and coaches, the Redskins just haven't found ways to win. Look for a Cowboys victory at home against the Redskins to improve to 4-1 under Head Coach Jason Garrett.

Texans vs Titans: 30-13 Texans
The Titans put up 28 on the Ravens D and could have beaten them on MNF if it weren't for a game losing pick 6. Look for the Texans D to continue to dominate and rip apart the worsening Titans D. Blowout for the Texans.

Jaguars vs Colts: 24-21 Colts
Let's admit it, the Jaguars have been phenomenal this season and the Colts have been far worse, but still when it matters the most, the Colts will win this game. With Peyton returning to Peyton-form last week, the Colts are back to business in the AFC South.


Chiefs vs Rams: 23-21 Chiefs *
This one comes down to Matt Cassel playing. It's that simple, Cassel plays: the offense shows. Cassel doesn't play: the offense doesn't show. Also give the Rams credit, after having the #1 pick in the draft they are now fighting for a playoff spot in the terrible NFC West.

Bills vs Dolphins: 20-10 Dolphins
The Dolphins upset the Jets last week at the Jets and i believe they will return to the winning team many thought they would be this year. With a huge defensive performance, look for the offense to shine this week against one of the NFL's worst: the Bills. Ronnie and Ricky will Run all over the Bills.

Lions vs Bucs: 20-17 Lions
I've been saying this for a while: The Bucs are pretenders. They really haven't beaten any true playoff teams and have had a relatively easy schedule. After almost losing an easy game last week @ Washington, look for the hot Lions coming off a victory vs the Packers to claim the victory .

Cardinals vs Panthers: 24-17 Panthers
Although their record doesn't show it, the Panthers really aren't THAT bad. I mean they have been unlucky with injuries and all but still should have more than 1 win. With a solid run game, and other players like Beason, Munneryln, and Gross, the Panthers are just lacking a confident QB. Look for them to resolve that problem and beat the Cardinals.

Saints vs Ravens: 28-24 Saints
The Saints are red hot and have won 6 straight. They have realized that if they don't pull it together the Falcons might run away with the division. After the Ravens almost lost to the Texans on MNF they are worn out obviously and i think Drew Brees and the nation will be too tough of a challenge for the Ravens.

Falcons vs Seahwawks: 35-10 Falcons
The Falcons are the best team in the NFC so far. Look for it to stay that way this week vs the Seahawks. To say it nicely, the Seahawks suck. Look for Turner, White, and Ryan to destroy the Seahawks this week in the bird battle.

Broncos vs Raiders: 28-14 Raiders
The Broncos have been terrible this season and the Raiders have been unexpectedly good. They have found a true leader on the offense this season in Darren McFadden, and he will again be great this week vs the Broncos and their slacking rush defense.

Jets vs Steelers: 14-7 Steelers
The Jets will score a touchdown for the 1st time in 2 weeks, but they will not come out with the victory. The Steelers give the Pats a run for their money as the best team in the AFC and at home they just don't lose. The Steelers have the top defense along with a solid offense with Big Ben back. I'll agree with Wiz on this one and say Black and Yellow.

Packers vs Pats: 24-20 Patriots
The Patriots are the best team in the NFL and the Packers have not been what they were projected to be. Especially with Rodgers not at full strength, look for the Patriots to continue to roll over their opponents in Foxboro.

Vikings vs Bears: 21-10 Bears
And for the Monday Night Game. The Bears and Vikes will be playing outdoors in Minnesota which will definitely effect the game. Look for a run first game for both teams even with Cutler playing for the Bears. AP vs Forte will be a good one to watch and even though AP gets the nod, the Vikings are no where near the skill level of the Bears, who lead the NFC North.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

NFL Week 14 Recap


All the following games will be recapped under the following format:

Team vs Team: Score
Team 1 Player of the Week: Name-Stats
Team 2 Player of the week: Name-Stats
Short one line summary of game

Titans vs Colts: 30-28 Colts
Titans Player of the Week: Chris Johnson- 111 Rush Yards, and 1 Touchdown
Colts Player of the Week: Peyton Manning- 319 Pass Yards and 2 Touchdowns
The Colts cut closer to passing the Jaguars to take the lead of the AFC South again with a defeat of the Titans on Thursday Night Football

Browns vs Bills: 13-3 Bills
Browns Player of the Week: Chris Gocong- 10 Tackles and 1 Sack
Bills Player of the Week: Fred Jackson-112 RushYards
The Bills hold the Peyton Hillis and the Browns to 0 touchdowns in a 13-3 defeat

Lions vs Packers: 7-3 Lions
Lions Player of the Week: Defense- 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery, 3 points allowed, 4 sacks
Packers Player of the Week: Desmond bishop- 10 Tackles and 1 Pass Deflection
The Lions knock out Aaron Rodgers and the Packers making the NFC North a little more interesting with loses from the Packers and Bears

Steelers vs Bengals: 23-7 Steelers
Steelers Player of the Week: Defense- 3 interceptions(2 for Touchdowns), 3 Sacks, and 7 points allowed
Bengals Player of the Week: Roy Williams- 11 Tackles, 1 QB hit
The Steelers shut down the Bengals and caught more touchdowns from Palmer then the Bengals did

Bucs vs Redskins: 17-16 Bucs
Bucs Player of the Week: Arrelious Benn- 122 Receiving Yards
Redskins Player of the Week: Santana Moss- 82 Receiving Yards and 1 Touchdown
Thanks to Graham Gano's missed PAT with under a minute to go, the Bucs pull out a victory in Washington

Panthers vs Falcons: 31-10 Falcons
Panthers Player of the Week: Jonathan Stewart- 133 Rush Yards
Falcons Player of the Week: Michael Turner 122 Rush Yards and 1 Touchdown
The Panthers lose again and the Falcons clinch a playoff berth at 11-2

Jaguars vs Raiders: 31-31 Jaguars
Jaguars Player of the Week: Rashad Jenings- 109 Rush Yards and 1 Touchdown
Raiders Player of the Wee: Darren McFadden- 123 Rush Yards, 86 Pass Yards, 3 Touchdowns
The Jaguars, led by their run game come back to defeat Darren McFadden and the Raiders

Saints vs Rams: 31-13 Saints
Saints Player of the Week: Marques Colston- 46 Receiving Yards and 2 Touchdowns
Rams Player of the Week: Steve Jackson- 96 Rush Yards
The Saints score 30+ again as they defeat the Rams and improve to 10-3

Niners vs Seahawks: 40-21 Niners
Niners Player of the Week: Alex Smith- 255 Pass Yards and 3 Touchdowns
Seahawks Player of the Week: Ruvell Martin- 73 Receiving Yards and 1 Touchdown
The Niners explode against the Seahawks to show they can comeback and win the division without Gore

Bears vs Patriots: 36-7 Patriots
Bears Player of the Week: Brian Urlacher- 11 Tackles, 1 Sack, 3 For Loss, and 3 Pass Deflections
Patriots Player of the Week: Tom Brady- 369 Pass Yards and 2 Touchdowns
The Patriots destroyed the Bears, one of the better teams in the NFC. The Pats prove they are serious Super Bowl contenders

Jets vs Dolphins: 10-6 Dolphins
Jets Player of the Week: Sione Pouha- 10 Tackles, 1 Sack
Dolphins Player of the Week: Defense- 4 Forced Fumbles(1 recovered), 1 interception, 6 Sacks and 6 points allowed
The Jets losing streak hits 2 as they fail to score a touchdown for 10 straight quarters

Cardinals vs Broncos: 43-13 Cardinals
Cardinals Player of the Week: Tim Hightower- 148 Rush Yards and 2 Touchdowns
Broncos Player of the Week: Knowshon Moreno- 81 RushYards and 1 Touchdown
The Cardinals get some random, explosive offense to beat the Broncos by 30

Chargers vs Chiefs- 31-0 Chargers
Chargers Player of the Week: Mike Tolbert- 56 Rush Yards and 1 Touchdown
Chiefs Player of the Week: N/A
The Chargers demolish the Chiefs without Matt Cassel and show signs that they are not quite ready to be the divisional champs

Cowboys vs Eagles- 30-27 Eagles
Cowboys Player of the Week: Jason Witten- 69 Receiving Yards and 2 Touchdowns
Eagles Player of the Week: Desean Jackson- 210 Receiving Yards and 2 Touchdowns
The Eagles defeat the Cowboys on SNF as "Vick to Jackson" shines

Giants vs Vikings: 21-3 Giants
Giants Player of the Week: Brandon Jacobs- 116 Yards and 1 Touchdown
Vikings Player of the Week: N/A
The Giants defeat the Vikings in Detroit on MNF after the Vikings stadium and team collapsed

Texans vs Ravens: 34-28 Ravens (OT)
Texans Player of the Week: Andre Johnson- 140 Receiving Yards and 2 Touchdowns
Ravens Player of the Week: Josh Wilson- 12 Yard Interception Returned for Touchdown Game Winner, 7 Tackles, 3 Pass Deflections
The Ravens escape an overtime thriller on MNF as Schaub throws the game away

You can read this Blog Also @ http://fanvsfan.com/articles/nfl-week-14-recap--2

Cliff Lee to the Phillies

Cliff Lee will rejoin the Phillies after considering the Yankees and Rangers

Yesterday, MLB ace, Cliff Lee made his decision on what team he will be playing for in the upcoming seasons.

Many thought it would come down to the New York Yankees, notorious for getting those big named players for large amounts of money, and the Texas Rangers, Lee's former team who reached the World Series this year.

The Result?

Neither.

That's right Cliff Lee shocked the world after a late offer came from the Philadelphia Phililes the night before. By the time everyone woke up, Lee was a Philly. The final offer was 6 years worth $135 million.

He turned down the Yankees offer of 7 years for $150 million and a Rangers deal of 6 years $160 million. The problem for the the Rangers is they couldn't give Lee that 7th year. The hypocrisy of that is that Lee's offer with the Phillies isn't even 7 years.

Lee joins one of the most deadly pitching rotations of all time. The projected 4 would be Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, and Roy Oswalt in that order. The only other rotation on the top of my head i can think of coming close to the Phillies would be the Atlanta Braves in the 1990's. The Braves had Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz. With these 3 the Braves made it the World Series 5 times that decade.

If you added up all four of Lee's, Halladay's, Hamel's, and Oswalts averages you would get: 2.86 ERA, a 15-10 record, and 202 strikeouts.

The funny thing about this rotation is with the exception of Hamels, all of these players came from bad teams and ended up all together, kind of like the Miami Heat big 3. Lee was with the Indians, and after a short stint with the Phillies, landed in Seattle. Halladay spent his whole career with the Blue Jays who had to face the Yankees and Redsox every year. and for Oswalt, he pitched in Texas for 10 years before joining the Phillies last season.

So where does this leave the Yankees?

The Yankees really got screwed over with Lee's signing. With the Red Sox jumping on Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez while the Yankees hoping for Lee, they are far behind in the offseason. Although they did sign Russel Martin today, that isn't nearly enough compared to the Red Sox. The Yankees say their next idea is patience, which really killed them hear so i don't know why they will try it again. The current big named pitchers the Yankees might go after are Royals ace Zack Grienke, Matt Garza of the Rays, and Dbacks ace Brandon Webb. The Rangers will likely go after these pitchers as well.

So the Phillies lose Jayson Werth but regain Cliff Lee, i guess it was smart after all to not resign Werth.
It also looks like he heavy World Series favorites would be the Red Sox vs the Phillies. Only time will tell what the real outcome is, but don't be surprised if my Yankees end up victorious over Boston, because as we have seen in the past, players who sign with the Red Sox (Lackey, Lowell, Daisuke) have not really produced.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Newton Wins Heisman



Newton in 2010 for the Auburn Tigers

Breaking News: Cam Newton, Quarterback for the Auburn Tigers has won the 2010 Heisman Award!

In 2nd was Andrew Luck, Quarterback for Stanford, followed by LaMichael James, Running Back for Oregon, and in 4th, Kellen Moore, Quarterback for Boise State.

Heisman wins the award in the end despite a mid season allegation against him. It was said that colleges were paying Newton to go and play for their college. His dad was trying to make a "pay to play" deal with Mississippi State, but in the end it never worked. Cam did not know about this and that is why it was eventually dropped.
Newton in 2007 throwing the ball as a backup on the sidelines

A few years ago, who would have guessed that Cam Newton would have won the Heisman. At the time,  he was backing up Florida's Quarterback and Heisman Winner Tim Tebow. After transferring to a small college called Blinn College, he was recruited heavily by many colleges; this is where the "play to play" came up. In the end Newton settled with Auburn and led them this season to an undefeated season.

Newton will be playing the Oregon Ducks in the BCS National Championship Game. Like Auburn Oregon who is #2 in the country was also undefeated.

To be quite honest, although at first i did not want Cam Newton to win the Heisman, i realized how ridiculous i was being because his stats were just incredible. Cam plays a dual threat Quarterback position where he can pass but if its not open, run for many yards.

On the season he passed for 2,538 yards and threw 28 touchdowns. He also ran for 1,409 yards and ran in 20 touchdowns. Newton even caught a touchdown pass to total up to 49 touchdowns this season.

He was voted SEC player of the year and on thursday night, he won many other prestigious awards such as the Maxwell Award which goes to the nation's most outstanding player, the Walter Camp Award which goes to the nation's most valuable player, the Davey O'Brien Award for the nation's top Quarterback, and ofcourse the Heisman award.

Newton becomes the 3rd player from Auburn to win the Heisman Trophy. The most recent winner was Bo Jackson who in the 1980's was one of the most dominant rushers. Newton won the Heisman by the most points this decade besides Troy Smith in 2006 for Ohio State.

Good luck to Newton and Auburn as they get set to play Oregon on January 10th in Pasadena for the BCS Championship Game.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

NFL Week 14 Predictions





Colts vs Titans: 30-10 Colts

Giants vs Vikings: 27-24 Giants

Browns vs Bills: 24-20 Bills

Packers vs Lions: 28-21 Packers

Steelers vs Bengals: 28-21 Steelers

Bucs vs Redskins: 21-13 Redskins

Falcons vs Panthers: 24-17 Falcons

Raiders vs Jaguars: 27-21 Jaguars

Rams vs Saints: 30-21 Saints

Seahawks vs Niners: 27-14 Niners

Patriots vs Bears: 28-10 Patriots

Dolphins vs Jets: 24-21 Jets

Broncos vs Cardinals: 28-20 Broncos

Chiefs vs Chargers: 35-28 Chargers

Eagles vs Cowboys: 24-23 Cowboys

Ravens vs Texans: 17-10 Ravens

Another New Red Sox




Today the Boston Red Sox added to their free agent signing list by signing Tampa Bay Outfielder Carl Crawford. This comes roughly 5 days after signing Adrian Gonzalez, former Padre.

The Red Sox gave him an even bigger contract than Gonzalez. The final deal was 7 years worth $ 142 million.

Crawford is totally deserving of this money due to what he produces on the field. Even though his time with the Rays only lasted in 2 playoff runs, Crawford led the team almost every year.

This year he batted .307 with 19 Home Runs and 90 RBI's. Those are all stats that are in the top half of the league especially the ERA which was 9th in the American League. He also had 110 Runs which were 4th in the majors and had 47 steals which were 3rd best.

He was awarded a Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove award this year, which was his best in the majors. As well as 2009 All Star Game honors a year ago, Crawford's game has been improving every year.

Known for his speed, fielding, and hard work I'm sure the Red Sox will not regret this deal. He also is only 29 years old, and for a baseball player that is baby with most players now a days playing into their 40's

With all of this being said i will now say that i believe Cliff Lee will be a Yankee. The Red Sox probably do not have the money to fund another all star who will probably get more money than Crawford and Gonzalez. Also in other MLB Off Season news, the Orioles have acquired another good player in Shortstop JJ Hardy. Also the Yankees have offered Cliff Lee a 7 year contract, but the money is not known. More updates to come

Suburban


Yesterday, Florida Gators football coach, Urban Meyers, stepped down from the team.

If you can remember, this same situation occurred last year after the Gators lost the SEC Title game vs Alabama.

The only difference though was just shortly after his announcement he took back what he said and continued to coach the team through this season and was expected to coach the team. This was also the first season Urban didn't have Tim Tebow on the team.

This season, being the first year without Tebow the team did not have much success. They are currently 7-5 and play Penn. State in the Outback Bowl. The team's offense was not as explosive with John Brantley at quarterback and had a lot of problems in the beginning of the season adjusting to the new QB.

Urban does not blame the resignation in spite of the record. He says that he did not get the chance to watch his 2 daughters play high school volleyball and just in general spend enough time with his family.

The big discussion now is who to replace Meyers, who has been one of the greatest coaches this decade.

Florida could look at current College Coaches like Randy Shannon, Rich Rodriguez, Chris Peterson, Gary Patterson, or Jim Harbaugh.

Another idea is to look at some NFL coaches, former and active. The leading candidates would be John Gruden, Josh McDaniels, or Mike Leech who coached Texas Tech before he got fired amid controversy with a player.

What Urban will do now, nobody knows. He says he wants to spend time with his family so that is his first priority so do not excpet him to make moves to quickly. Once he is ready, if he is ready, he could possibly start at a High School Level or even coach his kids. Also it is possible he could coach at another College or even go to the NFL.

With Josh McDaniels being fired very recently in Denver, is it a coincident or not that Tim Tebow is on the team, and Urban Meyers has randomly decided to resign. Only time will tell what happens.

Anyways, Meyers will coach his last game with Florida in their bowl game vs Penn State on January 1st.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

NFL Week 13 Recap


Eagles vs Texans: 34-24 Eagles
Eagles Player of the Week: Michael Vick- 350 Yards and 3 Touchdowns
Texans Player of the Week: Matt Schuab- 337 Yards and 2 Touchdowns
The Eagles defeated the Texans on Thursday to take at least a share of the NFC East

Giants vs Redskins: 31-7 Giants
Giants Player of the Week: Running Backs Jacobs and Bradshaw- 200 Yards and 4 Touchdowns
Redskins Player of the Week: Anthony Armstrong- 97 Yards and 1 Touchdown
The Giants demolished the Redskins to also take at least a share of the NFC East

Saints vs Bengals: 34-30 Saints
Saints Player of the Week: Chris Ivory 117 Yards and 2 Touchdowns
Bengals Player of the Week: Cedric Benson- 49 Yards and 2 Touchdowns
The Saints beat the Bengals in the last minute due to some dumb errors by the Bengals

Bears vs Lions: 24-20 Bears
Bears Player of the Week: Jay Cutler-234 Yards and 1 Touchdown
Lions Player of the Week: Drew Stanton- 178 Yards and 1 Pass Touchdown, Rush Touchdown
The Bears beat the Lions to take control of the NFC North

Niners vs Packers: 34-16 Packers
Niners Player of the Week: Vernon Davis- 126 Yards and 1 Touchdown
Packers Player of the Week: Greg Jennings- 122 Yards and 2 Touchdowns
The Rodgers to Jennings connection has been on fire the last few weeks, and scorched the Niners

Jaguars vs Titans: 17-6 Jaguars
Jaguars Player of the Week: Maurice Jones Drew- 186 Yards
Titans Player of the Week: Stephen Tulloch- 17 Tackles and 1 Pass Deflection
The Jaguars are making the Colts more nervous with another win Sunday to increase the divisional lead

Broncos vs Chiefs: 10-6 Chiefs
Broncos Player of the Week: Knowshon Moreno- 161 Yards
Chiefs Player of the Week: Jamaal Charles- 116 Yards
The Chiefs win another divisional game to take a demanding lead on the AFC West

Browns vs Dolphins: 13-10 Browns
Browns Player of the Week: Jake Delhomme- 217 Yards and 1 Touchdown
Dolphins Player of the Week: Chad Henne- 174 Yards and 1 Touchdown

Bills vs Vikings: 38-14 Vikings
Bills Player of the Week: Ryan Fitzpaterick- 157 Yards and 1 Touchdown
Vikings Player of the Week: Adrian Peterson- 107 Yards and 3 Touchdowns
The Vikings give Frazier another win and if it weren't for a bad start, they would be competing for a playoff spot; Favre gets injured

Raiders vs Chargers: 28-13 Raiders
Raiders Player of the Week: Darren McFadden- 97 Yards and 1Touchdown
Chargers Player of the Week: Antonio Gates- 73 Yards and 1 Touchdown
The Raiders finish off a sweep of the Chargers with a great defensive performance vs the Chargers

Cowboys vs Colts: 38-35 Cowboys (OT)
Cowboys Player of the Week: Tashard Choice- 100 Yards and 1 Touchdown
Colts Player of the Week: Reggie Wayne- 200 Yards and 1 Touchdown
Peyton Manning throws two more touchdowns this week, to the other team! That is his 4th in 2 weeks. Also the Cowboys are now 3-1 with Jason Garrett as Head Coach

Rams vs Cardinals: 19-6 Rams
Rams Player of the Week: Steven Jackson- 102 Yards and 1 Touchdown
Cardinals Player of the Week: Tim Hightower- 81 Yards
The Rams defeat the Cardinals, improve to 6-6 and have a share of the NFC West

Panthers vs Seahawks: 31-14 Seahawks
Panthers Player of the Week: Jonathan Stewart- 92 Yards and 1 Touchdown
Seahawks Player of the Week: Marshawn- Lynch- 83 Yards and 3Touchdowns
The Seahawks beat the worst team in the NFL to take a tie lead in the worst conference in the NFL

Falcons vs Bucs: 28-24 Falcons
Falcons Player of the Week: Michael Turner- 88 Yards and 1 Touchdown
Bucs Player of the Week: LeGarrete Bount- 103 Yards and 1 Touchdown
The Falcons beat the Bucs and now have the best record in the NFL with the Patriots at 10-2

Steelers vs Ravens: 13-10 Steelers
Steelers Player of the Week: Ben Roethlisberger- 253 Yards and 1 Touchdown
Ravens Player of the Week: Anquan Bolind- 118 Yards and 1 Touchdown
The Steelers beat the Ravens in the final minutes to take control of the division lead

Jets vs Patriots: 45-3
Jets Player of the Week: Rex Ryan- Ate 15 Hotdogs and Drank 5 Beers
Patriots Player of the Week: Tom Brady- 326 Yards and 4 Touchdowns
The only thing in the air that night were Tom Brady's Touchdown Passes as the Patriots keep the Jets grounded and take lead of the AFC East

Monday, December 6, 2010

Fire on the Mountain

Christmas came early for this Broncos Fan

Today the Denver Broncos fired their head coach, Josh McDaniels. McDaniels succeeded the Broncos old coach Mike Shanahan he led the team to several Super Bowls and even a victory.

McDaniels was one of the youngest head coaches in the NFL. Last year was his first year as a head coach and led the Broncos to a 8-8 record. If it weren't for the end of the season collapse the team would've made the playoffs.

Before that McDaniels was the Offensive Coordinators for the New England Patriots. He did a great job for New England, most noticeably for their prolific 2007 offense when "Brady to Moss" broke almost every single offensive record. He also won 2 superbowls with the team.

McDaniels though has been in the center of much controversy.

It all started when ex-Denver Broncos high profile Quarterback Jay Cutler was complaining about, well everything. McDaniels decided to bench Cutler and totally ruined the chemistry of the team which lead to their losing streak which then ended their playoff hopes. McDaniels pretty much said one of us has to go me or him, so this time they chose McDaniels. He also caused a lot of controversy when benching another ex- Bronco in Brandon Marshall.

Another controversy McDaniels was a part of was the spygate of the Denver Broncos. Not only was he part of this but if you remember, he was part of that Patriots team that also videotaped another team. McDaniels took a lot of heat for this one because it was the second time it occurred and it is cheating. Also McDaniels was the coach when a Denver Broncos player died.

This season things did not get better for McDaniels. Along with spygate the Broncos record is not very good. Although Orton and Brandon Lloyd are producing nice stats, Moreno is often hurt and the defense  just has not shown up. The team is currently 3-9 and out of the playoffs.

College Football Week 14 Recap


This week will be a very short Recap because only a few teams played this week. It will also be my last College Football Recap post until all the bowl games are over and i will have 1 huge post summing up the season and the bowls. In between though look for my Heisman post which will come up soon.

Teams in the Top 25 that Lost:

13. Nebraska vs Oklahoma
19. South Carolina vs Auburn
21. Florida State vs Virginia Tech
23. Arizona vs Arizona State
24. Northern Illinois vs Miami (OH)

Top Performances:
1. Auburn QB Cam Newton- What else is new here but seriously, Newton had a great performance in his biggest game of the season, the SEC Championship game. He threw for 335 and ran for 75. He also had 6 Total touchdowns and helped bring Auburn to the Title Game
2. Virginia Tech Hokies- After starting the season 0-2, the Hokies have yet to lose and have the 4th longest streak in the Nation. They defeated FSU in the ACC Championship game and are set to face Stanford in the Orange Bowl. QB Tyrod Taylor has greatly improved himself and his team
3. Oklahoma Sooners- the Sooners came back from a 20-0 hole on saturday to defeat Nebraska and advance to the Fiesta Bowl where they will play UCONN and most likely win. Great Performances from Broyles, Murray, and Jones

Top Disappointments:
1. The BCS System- Again another fail with college sports postseason systems. Somehow UCONN who is 8-4 will make it to a BCS game over teams like Michigan State, LSU, Boise State, and Alabama
UCONN did not play a single ranked team this season and lost to some bad teams like Rutgers Temple and Louisville as well as Michigan
2. Nebraksa Cornhuskers-  After starting off hot and having great offense from Martinez and Co. The Huskers failed to score a Touchdown in the 2nd half and choked itself out of the Big 12 Title game and BCS Bowl Contention.
3. Arizona K Alex Zendejas- He missed 2 PAT that would have won Arizona its in-state game vs the Sun Devils. I don't understand why he is even on the team.

Game of the Week:
The Game of the Week Goes to the SEC Championship game between Auburn and South Carolina. The game started off close with South Carolina only down a touchdown. But with a defensive stand and a lack of defense from the Gamecocks the game became out of hand by the second half. Newton and Co. dominated the South Carolina Defense and claimed the SEC Title and will now move on to face Oregon in the National Championship Game in Glendale, Arizona.

Look Forward To:
1. The Heisman
2. The Holidays
3. Vacation
4. Bowl Games
5. The Draft

Other Major League Signings


The Major Leagues next season will have a couple of faces in different places come opening day. The Red Sox have just agreed in principle to trade 4 prospects for Padres 1st Basemen and slugger Adrian Gonzalez. Also just today, it looks like the Orioles have acquired Arizona Diamondbacks 3rd Basemen and slugger Mark Reynolds for the same scenario

The Red Sox signed Gonzalez after failing to sign Werth and in need of new talent. The Red Sox failed to make the playoffs this season after great seasons by the Yankees and Rays. Also the Blue Jays had a good run going  but blew it at the end. The Red Sox also picked up some big names last year in Adrian Beltre and John Lackey but still could not make the playoffs.

As for the Orioles. They have not have a good season in a very long time. They lack the money, players, fans, and the will to make a playoff run. They have been on the bottom of the wins list for the last decade and are just a depressing team to watch. I'm sure the Yankees AAA team would be able to defeat the Orioles. Hopefully for them, Reynolds brings something to the plate for them this season and returns to All Star form.

This season was not Reynolds best. He struck out a MLB record 233 times in '09. This season he struck out 22 times fewer but still that is still not good. He had only 99 hits this season so do the math yourself. On the bright side he hit 32 home runs and knocked in 85 RBI's. This also was in the NL West which does not nearly compare itself to the AL East. When Reynolds will have to deal with CC, Price, and Beckett I'm sure his stats will slump even more.

Now to Gonzalez. He has just been getting better every season and it is a shame he had to do it for the Padres. Now with a team that can pitch, hit, and compete look for his stats to rise. This season he batted .298 with 31 Home Runs and 101 RBI's all of these stats are remarkable and without great seasons from Pujols and Votto he could have been the MVP.

Both players will look to make both teams improve and will be playing each other many times throughout the course of the season because they play in the same division. Good luck to both of them but still I'm sure my Yankees will take care of business.

Is it Werth It?


The Washington Nationals have just signed ex Philadelphia Phillies Outfielder Jayson Werth. Every year Werth has become a better player in the Majors and was a recent All Star. The Nats signed him to a 7 year $126 million contract.

$126 million is a big deal and I'm not sure Werth is Worth it. Although they have recently lost their starting Outfielder in Adam Dunne, Werth is not worth the 126. Yes hes a great team player and a fan favorite but he does not have the killer stats that a player getting payed $18 million a year.

Heres some comparisons: Kevin Durant makes $6 million a year and is one of the best basketball players today. His former teammate and reigning NL Cy Young winner Roy Halladay makes $15 million. As for Football, remember the best corner back in the league, Darrelle Revis' big contract dispute. Yes he's only averaging $11.5 million dollars a year and he's one of the best defensive players in the league. And finally for hockey, Both Alex Ovechkin and Sydney Crosby make $9.5 million and $8.6 million respectively.

So the top athletes in all of the major 4 sports leagues are not making as much as Werth which is a shame.

On the bright side lets look at Werth's stats this season. He batted .296 which is a solid Batting Average. He hit 27 Home Runs and drove in 85 RBI's which both are very good. He also had very good Slugging % as well as a good number of runs scored. Werth definitely is a good player in the Majors, I'm just saying he is not worth that much money.

As for Washington, they now are looking to become a good team in the Major Leagues. They have star power now with Ryan Zimmerman, Steven Strausberg, Bryce Harper, and now Werth. Although they are playing in one of the toughest divisions in baseball, the NL East. The division is dominated by the Phillies almost every year, and occasionally produce Wild Card teams like the Mets, Braves, and even the Marlins. In a couple of years when their young guns have some experience and the other teams age, don't be surprised to see the Nationals making a run for their money, no pun intended.

World Cups 2018 and 2022


On Friday Fifa announced in Switzerland that after Brazil hosts the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Russia and Qatar will host the next two world Cups.

Russia is already hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics but again are hosting a worldwide sporting event in 2018. The other nations that put in bids to host the World Cups were Portugal/ Spain and Netherlands/ Belgium, both dual hosting a World Cup and finally England.

Qatar will be the first Middle East team to host a World Cup. It was chosen over the United States, Japan, Australia, and South Korea. Although Qatar is a very small country with under 2 million people total in the country.

Qatar brings much controversy to the table when it was elected host. Qatar has only 1 Soccer Stadium right now, though they are planning to build at least 5 more. Also on a average hot day in the summer of Qatar it is over 100 degrees so all stadiums will have air condition. For the new stadiums, many of them have very cool designs and perks to them that make them one of a kind. You can see a video of the stadium designs here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcAi3GLQyOI&feature=player_embedded

Also another controversy Qatar has is that it has a feud going on with Israel due to being allys with Palestine. They did say they will allow Israel to compete if they qualify. The last controversy is that Qatar does not allow Alcohol to be purchased and their are only a few spots in the country that allow the purchase. For the world cup they will likely get that fixed because it is the most popular drink at sporting events.

As for Britain and the United States both of these countries were shocked. They both formed an alliance and dropped out of each others bidding years so it would increase the chances of winning. Yet neither of them won and it brought great anger to each country. The US before the announcement said they were very confident and said it was very likely they would host the World Cup.

Either way congratulations to Russia and Qatar and I'm sure both World Cups will be great

Thursday, December 2, 2010

White Sox Land Dunn


Adam Dunn is one of the hardest hitting players in the majors today. He also just signed with the Chicago White Sox.

The White Sox and Dunn agreed to a 4-year deal worth about $56 million in total. Last year Dunn played for the Nationals and before that the Diamonbacks for a season and the Reds. He is looking to finally play on a contending team

Last Year Dunn batted .260 but had 38 Home runs and 103 RBI's which was a major contribution to the teams total offense. He also had a slugging % of .536. Since 04' Dunn is 2nd in the entire Major Leagues in Home Runs with 282. Only Albert Pujols has more.

Dunn plays the Outfield but the White Sox are pretty deep in outfielders, if they were to resign Paul Konerko who has been a White Sox forever. If not, Dunn will probably play DH where the White Sox have been lacking since Frank Thomas was DH for a little bit.

If the White Sox were able to bring back Konerko they could be a serious contender in the AL Central next season. The AL Central along with the West usually do not produce the best teams but have a few decent teams like the Twins, Angels, and Rangers over the past few years. Next year with the Royals, Indians usually being bad and the Tigers although they have talent do not play well together, the only real competition would be the Twins. The Twins have won the division 5 of the last 6 years but that other year was when the White Sox went to the World Series and won against the Astros in '05.

NFL Week 13 Predictions

Texans vs Eagles: 28-24 Eagles

Saints vs Bengals: 30-14 Saints

Giants vs Redsksins: 27-17 Giants

Bears vs Lions: 24-15 Bears

Niners vs Packers: 28-20 Packers

Titans vs Jaguars: 26-17 Jaguars

Chiefs vs Broncos: 35-24 Chiefs

Browns vs Dolphins: 30-23 Dolphins

Bills vs Vikings: 30-28 Vikings

Chargers vs Raiders: 35-27 Chargers

Cowboys vs Colts: 28-20 Colts

Rams vs Cardinals: 27-13 Rams

Panthers vs Seahawks: 23-12 Panthers

Falcons vs Bucs: 24-23 Falcons

Steelers vs Ravens: 27-21 Ravens

Jets vs Patriots: 30-14 Patriots

Drama Jeter

The Way it should be

The Yankees are currently in a mini feud with Derek Jeter and his agent over new contract negotiations. Right now the Yankees offered about 3 years with around $12 million each year.

Jeter says he would like more years because he feels he can still play at a major league level, i mean he is the captain of the best team of baseball right? No Although Jeter is one of the greatest Yankees ever and brings a lot off the field, he is still asking for too much.

If Jeter wants the years he should defiantly take a pay cut for the better of the team. Soon after a few years anyways, Jeter will probably get moved to the outfield or DH so new players in the farm system can be the "next ones".

Every year, Jeter stats have been declining; this year he batted only .270 with 10 Homeruns and 67 RBI's. Also one must think Jeter is still a great fielder because of those great flip throws he makes. That too is a false assumption because he made quite a few errors this season and his gold glove was not very deserving.

The Worst thing on thing on Earth that could ever happen ^
Still i believe the Yankees should 100% sign Jeter. Just imagine Jeter in another teams jersey, its like picturing Peyton Manning in a Patriots jersey,  Kobe in green, and LeBron on the Heat. Oh wait that last one actually happened.

Anyways, Jeter is still a good average player in the league and brings many features of the field. He is an avid member of the organization always going to charity events and getting publicity for the Yankees. Even if the Yankees over pay to get Jeter, they will get the money back through not only performance, but tickets being purchased, jerseys being bought, and many other things people will do to get Jeter on the team.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Jeter to test the market if he does not like the offer but just recently, they have been back in negotiations trying to hit both teams interests in the negotiations. As a Yankee fan i hope the Yanks sign Jeter because since i have been born in '95,  #2 has been in between third and second every season winning championships, gold gloves, and other prestigious awards.

NFL Week 12 Recap


Sorry this ones a little late but i have been really busy in the last few days but here it is:

Patriots vs Lions: 45-24 Patriots
Patriots Player of the Week: Tom Brady-341 Yards and 4 Touchdowns
Lions Player of the Week: Maurice Morris- 55 Yards 2 Touchdowns
The Patriots were very thankful to play the Lions this Thanksgiving getting an easy Dub.

Saints vs Cowboys: 30-27 Saints
Saints Player of the Week: Drew Brees- 351 Yards and 1 Touchdown
Cowboys Player of the Week: Miles Austin- 60 Yards Rushing 1 Touchdown
The Saints were thankful for Roy Williams un-clutch fumble that put them back in the game which they won

Jets vs Bengals: 26-10 Jets
Jets Player of the Week: Brad Smith- 55 Rush Yards, 1 Rush Touchdown, and 1 89 Yard Kickoff Return
Bengals Player of the Week: Jordan Shipley- 38 Yards 1 Touchdown
The Jets defeated the Bengals on Thanksgiving Night in a very one sided game dominated by the Jets

Giants vs Jaguars: 24-20 Giants
Giants Player of the Week: Kevin Boss- 74 Yards 1 Touchdown
Jaguars Player of the Week: Maurice Jones- Drew-113 Yards
The Giants come back after being down as much as 11 to defeat the Jaguars

Packers vs Falcons: 20-17 Falcons
Packers Player of the Week: Aaron Rodgers- 344 Pass Yards, 51 Rush Yards, and 2 Total Touchdowns
Falcons Player of the Week: Michael Turner- 110 Yards and 1 Touchdown
The Falcons prove they are the best in the NFC with a nice win over a top team in the Packers

Steelers vs Bills: 19-16 Steelers (OT)
Steelers Player of the Week: Rashard Mendenhall- 153 Yards and 1 Touchdown
Bills Player of the Week: Fred Jackson- 163 Yards and 1 Touchdown
The Steelers are thankful for Steve Johnson's fumble that won the Steelers a game and saved them from humility

Panthers vs Browns: 24-23 Browns
Panthers Player of the Week: Captain Munnerlyn- 6 Tackles, 1 Interception for a Touchdown
Browns Player of the Week: Peyton Hillis- 194 Yards and 3 Touchdowns
The Browns are thankful for John Kasay missing 2 field goals that could had won the Panthers the game

Vikings vs Redskins: 17-13 Vikings
Vikings Player of the Week: Toby Gerhart- 76 Yards and 1 Touchdown
Redskins Player of the Week: Fred Davis- 25 Yards and 1 Touchdown
The Vikings defeat the Redskins even though they lost AP after the 1st half

Texans vs Titans: 20-0 Texans
Texans Player of the Week: Defense- gave up 0 points and held Chris Johnson to 5 Yards even though being known for having one of the worst defenses, also Andre Johnson for fighting Cortland Finnegan
Titans Player of the Week: Stephen Tulloch- 14 Tackles
The Texans beat up on the Titans literally and figuratively

Dolphins vs Raiders: 33-17 Dolphins
Dolphins Player of the Week: Ricky Williams- 95 Yards and 1 Touchdown
Raiders Player of the Week:  Jacoby Ford- 121 Yards and 1 Touchdown
The Dolphins come back from a losing streak and with Chad Henne at full strength defeat the Raiders

Chiefs vs Seahawks:  42-24 Chiefs
Chiefs Player of the Week: Matt Cassel-223 Yards 4 Touchdowns, Jamal Charles- 173 Yards 1 Touchdown, Dwayne Bowe- 170 Yards 3 Touchdowns
Seahawks Player of the Week: Ben Obomanu- 107 Yards and 1 Touchdown
The Chiefs offense Obliterates the Seahawks defense in a one sided game

Bears vs Eagles: 31-26 Bears
Bears Player of the Week: Earl Bennett- 56 Yards and 2 Touchdowns
Eagles Player of the Week: Mike Vick- 377 Yards and 2 Touchdowns ( 1 Interception though)
The Bears defeat the Burning hot Eagles with big performances from Forte and Cutler

Broncos vs Rams: 36-33 Rams
Broncos Player of the Week: Kyle Orton- 347 Yards and 3 Touchdowns
Rams Player of the Week: Sam Bradford- 308 Yards and 3 Touchdowns
The Rams defeat the Broncos and look like they could end up with the Division

Ravens vs Bucs: 17-10 Ravens
Ravens Player of the Week: Derrick Mason- 87 Yards and 1 Touchdown
Bucs Player of the Week: Kellen Winslow- 44 Yards and 1 Touchdown
The Ravens shut down the improving Bucs

Chargers vs Colts: 36-14 Chargers
Chargers Player of the Week: Defense- 2 Interceptions for Touchdowns (4 total Interception, plus 1 Fumble Recovery), and 67 Tackles
Colts Player of the Week: Jacob Tamme- 64 Yards and 1 Touchdown
The Chargers shock the Colts as they pick off Peyton 4 Times on SNF

Niners vs Cardinals: 27-6 Niners
Niners Player of the Week:Brian Wesbtrook- 136 Yards and 1 Touchdown
Cardinals Player of the Week:N/A
The Niners destroy the Cardinals but lose Frank Gore in doing so