Brandon Marshall Says He Love The Swagger Of Seattle’s CB’s

The Seattle Seahawks have a pair of cornerbacks who are big, physical and love to talk the talk.

The Chicago Bears have one of the games premier wide receivers, and he enjoys talking the talk also.

Something has to give on Sunday, it will turn out to be a very physical chatter field contest.

The combatants at least respect each other, and according to NFL.com, Marshall can appreciate their swagger.

Lions Suspended Titus Young For Sabotaging Passing Offense

Titus Young had a lot of potential coming out of Boise State, but potential to be a head case was not something I expected.

Young was deactivated from the Thanksgiving day game against the Texans, which led to two assistant coaches getting into a heated argument over the receiver.

Specifics were never identified as to why the coaches were fighting, or why Young was suspended for a game.

Pro Football Talk via the Free Press now can provide some insight into the situation.

According to reports, Young tried to sabotage the Lions passing game on purpose.

Hall of Fame Morals

When it comes to the Baseball Hall of Fame, they need to either change the record books, or let in everybody that cheated.

Roger Clemens‘ HOF vote is up next, and that is when we’ll really see who gets in and who is left outside looking in with Pete Rose.

Watching Clemens when he was in New Britain, CT in 1983, there was talent on the mound that had Cooperstown in my mind instantaneously.

That day when he threw a shutout to win the Eastern League Championship, I said “someday I will see him win the World Series for Boston.” When I went to Game Six in 1986, my dream was close to coming true.

He won 192 games in a Red Sox uniform and nobody has worn his number 21 since he left for Toronto in 1997.

The greatest pitcher in Red Sox history, and he threw it all away for a syringe a decade later.

How could using PED’s in the 1995-2007 era be any different than those that used greenies from the 50?s until 2011?

Louisville Leaves Big East, Signs with ACC

Louisville is the latest to bail on the Big East and jump ship to the ACC. The Cardinals have long been considered a perfect fit for the ACC in both Basketball and Football.

The conference should be a basketball powerhouse with these realignment moves but everyone knows that football is what drives these moves. Louisville has become competitive under head coach Charlie Strong and the ACC has never been confused with a powerhouse football conference.

Teams like Miami and Florida State consistently underachieve leaving the door open for some of these new ACC teams to make their way into major bowl games.

Golden State Warriors: Andrew Bogut on 'Indefinite Leave'

The Andrew Bogut injury saga continues to get worse for the Golden State Warriors. On Wednesday, Bogut answered questions from the media regarding a timetable for his return, and it most definitely will not be Saturday.

A Yahoo! Sports report stated that Bogut was targeting Saturday vs. the Pacers as the day he would like to return to the team. But after he missed practice on Monday and only participated in a brief shoot-around Tuesday, the likelihood of it was glum at best.

Doc Rivers Says The Celtics Are A Soft Team And Have No Toughness

The Boston Celtics have been struggling as of late finding chemistry, the correct lineups, and most importantly with rebounding.

It boiled over last night when the Celtics seemed to take their frustration out on Nets forward Kris Humphries.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers is so frustrated with his team that he called them out last night on their lack of toughness reports CSNNE.

Fights breakout at Hector Camacho’s wake

In life boxer Hector “Macho” Camacho was an electric yet polarizing figure and in death he is still living up to his lightning rod status.

The former world champion was shot dead outside of a bar in Puerto Rico on November 20 while sitting in a parked car that was found to contain multiple sealed and unsealed bags of cocaine.

Camacho battled the disease of addiction for most of his adult life and as that life was celebrated there were several undercards that took place at his wake/viewing in Puerto Rico.

ESPN is reporting that a mini-brawl took place between his alleged girlfriend and another female that claims to be his longtime love backed by his sisters.

“I am the actual girlfriend of Macho, and those who don’t like it better not bring it,” said Cynthia Castillo, who claimed to be Camacho’s girlfriend at the time of his death. “They shouldn’t be going after me.

They should be thanking me for being with him at all times.”

It broke loose when after Castillo kissed Camacho on the lips in his casket, she walked over to the family area to get something to eat.

Bart Scott Says Heckling Jets Fans Were Probably Picked Last In Dodgeball

Jets fans are like most fans in NFL stadiums around the league.

They are passionate about their team, and use the excuse of being passionate whenever they cross the line.

The Jets players were serenaded with boo’s and other profane language as they walked to the locker room  at the half of their humiliating loss to the Patriots.

Jets boisterous linebacker Bart Scott has a message for those same fans via the New York Daily News, and it’s not very kind.

Union Professional, Chief Economist, and Baseball Executive: How Marvin Miller Used the Law to Forever Change the Face of baseball forever

On Tuesday, the first chief of the Major League Baseball Players Association Marvin Miller passed away at the age of 95. It is without question that Miller not only changed the game of baseball economics, but had a profound impact on every professional sport and their players.
Friend of the blog and current American University law student Jennifer Simile was kind enough to forward us her term paper on Miller and his impact on the game. It has never felt more appropriate to share this insight with our readers so everyone who loves the game of baseball today can better understand how we’ve come to this point in time.

Baseball management has had a profound impact on organized baseball throughout history.  There have been successes and failures alike on the part of management but each decision, for better or for worse, brought the game one step closer to what it is today.  The baseball executive who had the most influence on organized baseball was Marvin Miller. Without Miller, players’ rights and bank accounts would have greatly suffered.  Organized baseball depends on the players, but the game also hinges on the direction that baseball executives provide.  Miller utilized his education and the law to direct baseball players to make enormous advances.

In order to appreciate how important Marvin Miller was to the game of baseball, it should be mentioned how baseball was before Miller made an impact.  Players typically needed to have a second job during baseball season and worked fulltime during the offseason just to support their families because their salaries were so low.  Players had little to no ability to negotiate for more money, different contracts, or even better working conditions.  One example that illustrates how truly difficult it could be for players to make ends meet was the Black Socks scandal which took place in 1919.  Eight members of the White Sox were permanently banned from baseball for intentionally losing games and allowing the Reds to win the World Series.  The players were motivated by a dislike of team owner Charles Comiskey who was known for severely underpaying his players.  Because of baseball’s reserve clause, owners like Comiskey could mistreat his players and make big profits.  The players worked out the plan to throw games in order to make money by betting on the Reds during the series.  Even with the lifetime bans, many fans view Comiskey as the true villain of the scandal because of the way he treated his players.  After Marvin Miller took control of the MLBPA, players would never again have to stoop to such lows simply in order to put food on the table and clothing on their children’s backs.

Report: Gruden To Get Ownership Stake In Browns If He Takes Vols Job

The rumor mill is churning right now in regards to Jon Gruden, and the longer this goes on, the more outrageous or insane the rumors get.

News Channel 3 in Memphis is reporting that Gruden has an amazing contract offer in his hands from the University of Tennessee, and the main sticking point of that offer would be Gruden owning a piece of the Cleveland Browns.

Buffalo Bills Spiller Could Break Team Record

While the Bills will need all they help they can get to make the playoffs in the upcoming weeks, one player is seeing his abilities bring him to the brink of a team record.

Running back C.J. Spiller, who is currently in the middle of a six-game streak of 100 yards from the line of scrimmage, is closing in on Thurman Thomas' record of nine in a row. While the Bills are only 2-4 in the six-game stretch, the running game hasn't been the issue. Both Spiller and Fred Jackson are creating positive plays for an otherwise stalling offense.

During his run, Thomas averaged 110 rushing yards per game and about 30 receiving yards per outing.

Spiller on his current streak is averaging 77.5 rushing yards per game and 35.5 yards receiving. 

Ray Lewis could return before playoffs

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis is a warrior and we all know that. So its not surprising that what would have been a season-ending injury for most players might just be a setback for Lewis.

Yahoo Sports is reporting that Ray Lewis could return by Week 15 to face the Denver Broncos.

The report states that Lewis has been “aggressively treating” his triceps injury with a plasma therapy and that he could return to practice this week.

The Ravens are desperate for a championship this year so that this group of players can enjoy one together.

Robert Guerrero beats Andre Berto in 12-round brawl

The Robert Guerrero vs Andre Berto boxing match on Nov. 24 in Ontario, California could have easily been staged inside of a phone booth. In fact, calling it a boxing match might also be a bit of a misnomer since it was more of a street fight than anything else.  However, the fans at ringside loved it as did the millions more watching on television. After the 12 brutal rounds had finished Guerrero’s hand was raised in triumph via a unanimous decision and he retained the interim WBC Welterweight Championship.

Guerrero, a former featherweight and lightweight titleholder, got off to a quick start by scoring a knockdown in each of the first two rounds. This was surprising to most fans since the southpaw has fought most of his career in the lower weight divisions and this was just his second bout as a welterweight. Berto is a more natural welterweight and also a former world champion.

The fight was contested at extremely close quarters with Berto having his back to the ropes most of the night. There was a lot of holding and wrestling by both men, but they also landed numerous heavy punches. Both of Berto’s eyes were virtually closed by the end of the fight as well as one of Guerrero’s. Referee Lou Moret warned Berto a couple of times during the bout, but ignored all of the champion’s fouls, such as holding and hitting.

College Football Rankings after Week 13

Well, that's that....nearly.




The conference games are done, the pancakes are cooked, and the rivalries are stoked. It's time for the conference championship games, and the final shakeout to see who lands where in the bowl picture.



What have we learned?



Well, Notre Dame is good, and lucky enough, to have gotten a shot at the title...deserved or not.



The other representative will be out of the SEC, and if it's not Georgia, they aren't going to be in the BCS.



Overall, the SEC is still the best at the top, but the Pac-12 and Big-12 are closer than people thought. On the flip side, the Big 12 is much better top to bottom than either of the other schools.



In my ranking system, looking at those 3 conferences, the top and bottom look like this.



TOP 10 TEAMS

BIG-12: 2

PAC-12: 2

SEC: 6



BOTTOM 10 TEAMS

BIG-12: 1

PAC-12: 4

SEC: 5



As you can see, the SEC is a league of the haves, and the have-nots this year. The BIG-12 is solid from the top to bottom, with the exception of the Kansas Jayhawks of course. The Pac-12 is somewhere in between the two, but is improved and looks to continue on their upswing. On to MY rankings. I make the point to capitalize because no one else in the country is likely to agree with them.

Big Baby Says Jacque Vaughn Is Gandhi Compared To Doc Rivers

Glen “Big Baby” Davis has never been one to be the sharpest knife in the drawer, so you tend to take what he says with a grain of salt.

Davis is enjoying success starting at forward for the retooled Orlando Magic.

That succes,s plus teammates that will hold him less accountable, has led Davis to start running off at his mouth about his former team.

Many players when asked to compare Celtics coach Doc Rivers to Magic new coach Jacque Vaughn, would simply say an old school approach versus a new school approach.

Not Glen Davis, and when the Boston herald asked him to compare coaches, Davis went off the grid with his assessment.

Gene Chizik Writes the Auburn Family One Last Time

As you know by now, Coach Gene Chizik was fired earlier today from his position as the head coach of the Auburn University football team. There is plenty of time to talk about this in later blogles, but for tonight, I give you the last email that Chizik sent to Auburn students just moments ago.

Once reading it, you will no doubt feel a little less anger than you may have felt over the last few months. He's just a guy, albeit a millionaire, that was doing his best to win football games at Auburn. For the most part, he did that.

Ichiro Suzuki Waiting for New York Yankees Despite Drawing Interest as Free Agent

Though free agent Ichiro Suzuki has drawn interest from around the league, the 39 year-old outfielder is waiting for the New York Yankees to decide if they would like to bring him back next season before negotiating with other teams, reports George A. King III of the New York Post.

"They are going after pitching first which is what the Yankees normally do," said Ichiro's agent, Tony Attanasio. "There has been a lot of interest from teams, but he enjoyed playing for the Yankees so much it's hard for him to say no to the Yankees. His preference is to stay there instead of going someplace else, but we will wait and see." 

After letting right fielder Nick Swisher leave through free agency as New York looks to stay away from long-term deals, the Yankees appear to have mutual interest in Ichiro returning next season. However, as Attanasio said, the Yankees are focused on resigning starter Andy Pettitte and closer Mariano Rivera before turning to other needs.

Brazil fires soccer coach Mano Menezes prior to World Cup

Brazil shocked most of the soccer world on Nov. 23 when the country’s football confederation (CBF) announced that national team manager Mano Menezes had been fired. It was announced that a new manager will be named in January. The timing is a little odd to many Brazilian fans since the country will be hosting the Confederations Cup in about seven months time and the World Cup a year later. The Confederations Cup is used as a trial run for the World Cup.

Menezes took over the team in 2010 just after it was eliminated from the World Cup in South Africa. He replaced former boss Dunga, but couldn’t beat the top teams in the world such as Germany and Holland. Menezes was also criticized for turning the creative and tacking team into a more boring and defensive unit.

Brazil hasn’t hosted a World Cup since 1950 and the CBF is more or less desperate to make sure it wins the trophy while hosting the tournament. The nation has earned a spot in every World Cup tournament in history and has also won it a record five times. Menezes leaves the team after managing it for 40 games. His record was 27 wins, seven losses and six ties.

Have Opponents Figured Out the Houston Texans?

The Houston Texans currently hold the AFC’s best record at 10-1, also tied for the top record in the NFL. However, as the Texans continue to pile up wins, their opponents continue to bring their “A” game in hopes of playing spoiler and knocking off a legit Super Bowl contender. The past two weeks, the Texans have put together a pair of thrilling, hard fought, close overtime victories, but against poor competition in the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Detroit Lions. This begs the question, are the Texans simply going through a bit of a midseason slump, or have opponents figured out the formula to defeat them?

The answer to this question might be a little bit of both. Coming down the home stretch of the regular season, the Texans are virtually a lock to simply make the playoffs (were one Dolphins loss away from actually clinching Sunday), the AFC South divisional crown seems in hand baring a complete late season collapse, and the Texans are still in great position to take the AFC’s top seed with a one game lead over the second place Baltimore Ravens and tiebreakers with those Ravens and AFC West division leading Denver Broncos.

U.S. Soccer launches new women’s professional league

U.S. Soccer announced on Nov. 21 that another professional women’s soccer league will be starting up in the New Year. The organization said the league will consist of eight teams and will kick off in the spring of 2013. There will be franchises in Washington D.C., Western New York, Chicago, Boston, Kansas City, Seattle, New Jersey, and Portland, but so far there isn’t a name for the league.

While women’s soccer is extremely popular in America at the Olympic and World Cup levels, it has failed to catch on with fans at the league level. There have been two previous attempts at women’s pro leagues, but they both folded. The WUSA ran for three years and ended operations in 2003, while Women's Professional Soccer also ran for three seasons and folded earlier this year.

The league is being launched so American national team members have a place to play before the next World Cup gets underway in 2015. It was reported that the franchises will be privately owned and the U.S. soccer federation will be paying the wages of the 24 American national team members as well funding the offices of the new league.

Heat have Clear Path in the East

Who is the best team in the western conference? The old man spurs? The new look Lakers? The up and coming Grizzlies? Blake and CP3? Oklahoma City?

The season is young and there is a long way to go, but it’s never too early to wonder. Playoffs are a different beast so we’ll focus on the “regular season crown” in other words, which team will earn the number one seed in their respective conferences.

Each of these teams could make a valid case that they will finish with the best record and claim the number one seed come playoffs. But if you ask who the team to beat in the East is, people may start to look at you funny.

Jeremy Lin Says He And Melo Would’ve Worked Eventually

Jeremy Lin was on the right end of things last night as his Houston  Rockets totally blew out the New York Knicks.

There still has been the topic of conversation for months now about Lin’s tenure in NY, and how things would have turned out had he stayed.

ESPN New York reports that Lin feels very confident things would have worked out well with he and Carmelo Anthony as a duo.

Tyson Chandler Takes Blame for Knicks’ Recent Defensive Woes

I recently said that this current Knicks team was starting to remind me of the 1990s Knicks under Pat Riley and Jeff Van Gundy because of how well they were playing physical defense.  Well, to quote my high school football coach, “you brag on a dog and he’ll crap on the porch.”  In their last two losses to the Rockets and Mavericks, the Knicks have given up a combined total of 245 points.  Here are Tyson Chandler’s thoughts on the Knicks’ recent defensive struggles courtesy of the New York Daily News:

“We just had lapses all over the place,” Chandler said. “I take responsibility  for that. I’ve got to get my team and myself better.
“We’re getting beat a lot off the dribble,” he added. “The penetration is hurting us. They’re  getting to the heart of our defense. We’re allowing offensive rebounds, easy  shots on the perimeter, dump offs for layups. Just a lot of easy baskets. Early  in the year we were making things tough, and now we’re letting guys off way too  easy.”

Duke Bests Louisville in the Battle 4 Atlantis 76-71

Congratulations on Duke for coming away with the win against the #2 or #3 ranked team in the nation depending on your source. The Devils downed a hot Louisville team 76-71 to become champions of the The Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament. Duke did it with exactly the formula they have used so far this season. Staunch defense, offensive efficiency and most of all poise. It’s a much overlooked trait that doesn’t necessarily show up in the box score. Duke was able to stay in front of the streaky Cardinals until the second half when Louisville took the lead on a 3 point shot, but it was short lived. Duke was able to whether the storm, trading basket with Louisville. It came down to stops, Duke as able to string together more and Louisville in the end. it also came down to Dukes ability to beat the full court pressure put on by Louisville that resulted in easy buckets with excellent passes by the bigs up court.

Quinn Cook was named the tournament MVP and deservedly so with his excellent handling of the offense and much improved defense. He was able to match up with Petyon Siva who as most know is a proven commodity at Louisville and one of the top guards in the nation. Cook had six assists and four turnovers against Louisville’s pressure defense. And scored 15 points on 4 of 8 shooting. His free throws at the end of the game sealed the victory for the Devils.

Mason Plumlee was once again huge for Duke scoring 16 points and missing a double-double by 3 rebounds, pulling down 7. Ryan Kelly Added 14 points, 4 assists and 2 blocks before fouling out. His offense was crucial down the stretch for Duke. Kelly is showing a much more aggressive offensive game this year and seems to be less hesitant to play to his size and post up smaller players.

Mark Cuban Says Lakers Fans are Twitter Thugs

In the past fans didn’t have a way to reach out to players, media members, coaches, owners and etc to voice their opinions. Then Twitter came out and everyone became a tough guy while sitting behind their computers.

A lot of it is truly pathetic, I would venture 90% of the threats made on Twitter wouldn’t be made face to face. Lakers fans can be a sensitive fan base, so I can only imagine the type of Tweets that

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban gets.

Brooklyn Nets Return Home and Snap Skid; Beat Los Angeles Clippers 86-76

After losing two straight on their tour through California, the Brooklyn Nets returned home Friday night and beat the Los Angeles Clippers 86-76. It was their third win this season holding their opponent to under 80 points.

-Brook Lopez led all scores with 26 points and had three blocks on the night. Reggie Evans had 12 rebounds off the bench.

-Chris Paul and Blake Griffin each had 14 points for the Clippers, and Griffin add two blocked shots, while Paul led LA with nine assists. DeAndre Jordan had the only double- double on the night with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

-The Brooklyn Backcourt combined for 30 points on the night, and Deron Williams chipped in eight assists.

-The Nets return to action on Sunday, traveling to Portland for a matinee with the Trail Blazers, while the Clippers travel to New Orleans to play the Hornets on Monday.

Dan Benton

Be sure to check out other great articles at Sports Media 101.

Pigs will fly before David Beckham joins West Ham

Pigs will fly before David Beckham dons the claret and blue of West Ham United. Every transfer window, we get the usual baloney of the 'East End Boy' David Beckham, finishing his career at West Ham United Football Club. Frankly, its all a bit ridiculous, yet you get some fans almost frothing at the mouth at the prospect of this 38-year-old hasbeen joining us.

I've heard drivel like he would be a good 'ambassador' for the club, He would 'provide the crosses for Andy Carroll  ,with him on the one side and Matty Taylor on the other side enthused another supporter. Well...on the one side, you'd have someone who moves slower than a statue, in Beckham. On the other side you would have Taylor, who simply hasn't got the pace or skill to beat his man...thus, he is hardly ever in a position to deliver a dangerous cross.

In his PRIME, Beckham had no pace, couldn't beat his man, couldn't tackle or even head a ball. His sole attributes being, that he was good at dead ball situations from the right hand side of the pitch. Beckham, like the rest of the so called 'golden' generation, was great on hype ,but delivered precious little.

Could RG3 become the first 3,000/1,000 QB? The third player named ROY and MVP?

Robert Griffin III has been without a doubt the best QB in the NFL over the past two weeks. The rookie sensation has thrown 8 touchdowns and one interception and put together a stat line of 34 completions in 43 attempts with 511 yards. He was named NFL Offensive Player of the Week against the Eagles and could do it again for his play against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day. Add his 113 yards on the ground on 18 carries the past two weeks and anyone can see that not only will RG3 make a claim for Rookie of the Year in the NFL, he is well on his way of making a claim for MVP in the NFL in 2012.…

Read more

Be sure to check out other great articles at The Penalty Flag.

Notre Dame football downs USC, will play for National Championship

The Notre Dame football team has accomplished what no team since 1988 has.

In defeating the USC Trojans 22-13, the Fighting Irish have gone undefeated in the regular season and will play for the BCS National Championship January 7th in Miami.

It couldn’t have come against a better rival, or ended in any other way than it did. The Irish, leading 19-13 in the 4th quarter, kicked a field goal to increase the lead to 22-13 with 5:58 remaining in the game.

All the defense had to do was slow down the Trojan offense, make them use up too much clock so that if they did score once, they wouldn’t have enough time to do it again.

Boxer Hector ‘Macho’ Camacho Brain Dead after Shooting

Hector ‘Macho’ Camacho, a former multiple time world boxing champion, was left brain dead on the night of Nov. 20 after being shot in the head in Puerto Rico. Camacho and a friend named Alberto Yamil Mojica Moreno were sitting inside of a car when the shooting took place. Moreno, who was the driver of the car, was killed in the attack. At first doctors thought Camacho would survive the ordeal, but recent reports out of San Juan say that he’s been taken off of life support and there’s nothing medically that can be done for the 50-year-old now.

Police said the shooting took place in the community of Bayamon, his hometown, and the boxer was rushed to a hospital in San Juan. Reports said that he was shot in the jaw and the bullet then left his head and went into his shoulder. Two of Camacho’s vertebrae were fractured and it’s believed if he survives he’ll likely be paralyzed. He also suffered cardiac arrest after the shooting and it looks like it will take a miracle for him to survive.

Camacho has had a rough life even though he was adored by millions of fans all over the world during his boxing career. He had problems with drugs and alcohol as well as family difficulties. Details coming out of Puerto Rico are a little sketchy with some of them claiming that police have a suspect in custody already. Steve Tannenbaum, who is Camacho’s representative, said that if anybody could survive this ordeal it would be Camacho since he’s got nine lives and has been through a lot in his life already.

Jeremy Who? The Post-Linsanity New York Knicks

It’s a pretty excellent time to be a Knicks fan.  The first few weeks of the season haven’t just been marked by a dominant record, but by a culture change that has fans believing like they haven’t in more than a decade.  Much has been made of Carmelo Anthony’s new-found commitment to defense, sharing the ball and leadership, and it has been a huge factor in the Knicks’ early season dominance.  But there’s more at play than just a rejuvenated superstar finally putting all the pieces together.  Mike Woodson is in contention for Coach of the Year for the way he’s motivated his roster to buy in and the numerous veterans, the object of many a pre-season joke, have given New York a maturity and a will to win that can’t be underestimated.  One of those veterans, Jason Kidd, is half of the Knicks’ other biggest change.

Their back court, lead by Felton, who starts alongside Kidd for a two point guard set, has cultivated ball movement that is practically Popovichian and has brought out the best in a roster which is shockingly, almost unbelievably, deep.  Over the summer the Knicks caught a great deal of flack for letting Jeremy Lin, the breakout phenom from the middle of the 2011-2012 campaign, go to Houston.  The move seemed to be motivated more by James Dolan’s spite than basketball and a young player with tremendous marketing appeal and lots of upside was suddenly gone, a scant few months after taking a city over.  Well now that move is looking like the craftiest of them all as the Felton/Kidd combo hasn’t just been tremendous, but they’ve been everything Jeremy Lin isn’t.

Jermichael Finley Wants Rodgers To Trust Him, And He Wants The Ball

Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley is not to fond of being quiet.

Finley has been running his mouth so much lately, that some think he’s trying to talk his way out of Green Bay.

Last month Finley shot his mouth off about he and Aaron Rodgers having chemistry problems.

Fair enough, if it’s a concern you can address it.

Finley is back at it again, and according to the Journal-Sentinel, he wants the ball, and he wants Aaron Rodgers to trust him.

Ed Reed Says If The NFL Wants To Stop Concussion, Stop The Game

The NFL has quite a conundrum going on with its attempts to make the game more safer, protect its shield, and still try to sell the general public on it being a great violent sports.

Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed won the appeal of his 1 game suspension and fine, but still has a bone to pick with the league.

Reed was quoted as saying he wasn’t about the way things transpired, and that it’s a shame it had to come to a suspension.

Reed continued to vent to the Baltimore Sun during a Thanksgiving event at Booker T. Washington High School.

SEC Back In Pursuit of 7th Straight Title

By: Dennis Grady Barker

            

The majority of college football fans rejoiced last weekend because they were certain the Crimson Tide’s untimely loss to the newly added Aggies of Texas A&M would strike the end of the SEC’s six year string of national championships. But after this past Saturday, they may be thinking they celebrated just a little too early.

            For the first time since 2007 both no. 1 and no. 2 went down in the same day. Oregon lost a late thriller in overtime to Pac-12 rival Stanford, and Kansas State let an unranked, and at the time under .500, Baylor squad embarrass them by 28. This not only allowed Notre Dame to take command of the no. 1 spot in the BCS since its conception in 1998, but now teams ranked two through four belong to one loss SEC teams.

Pre-Game For The Civil War

Coaches and players prepare for the game throughout the week. And pre-game begins on the day of the game. My pre-game starts Sunday, the day after a Beaver game. This is a special week. Clash of the Titans for a lot of people around here. Colossal. Mammoth. This one’s going to hurt. Either in a good way or bad one.

SUNDAY: I get up and read the paper. It’s a good week. Oregon State put the pasting on California, 62-14. The game went as expected. Finally. Articles on Beaver victories are always enjoyable and I treaded in unfamiliar waters by actually reading about Oregon‘s balloon popping.

Okay, I can start thinking about next Saturday. It’s the one everyone has been waiting for: Civil War. Since the Ducks lost on Saturday night to the Stanford Cardinal, 17-14 in overtime, already I can sense the extra tension building. This is no average matchup between the Ducks and Beavers. Bowl berths are in the balance. My nerves are starting to jangle and we are still a week away. Later in the day I travel to my local Starbucks to satisfy my iced caffeine addiction. One of the girls there, an avid Ducks supporter, has a bleak look on her face. Not happy. Wearing an orange and black clad OSU jacket I ask her,

“Would you like to rub my jacket for good luck?”  Ouch. My drink comes out different. Wait, didn’t I order an iced drink? No matter, this is the best day of the week. As I visit my favorite eating establishment, Chicken Bar, the owner and I commiserate about our joy. Ducks lose the night before and the Beavs dominated. Good times.

Sleep time Sunday night: 7 ½ hours.

A Timeless Sport With A Clock?

If baseball is going to use a challenge rule with instant replay, the best place to find guidelines is with tennis.

Since 2006, the electric line call, known as the “Chase Review”, has been used at the US Open.
Tennis has tried electronic line calling since 1974, but since 2006 the technology has been created by Hawk Eye.

Each player is allowed three incorrect challenges per set.

The average length of a challenge is about ten seconds.

In tennis, everyone in the crowd is allowed to see the review, and then the call stands.

In baseball we should use the Hawk Eye cameras to follow the ball at all times.

We also need to let everyone in the park see the Hawk Eye instant replays.

The number of challenges allowed is something that baseball is going to need to determine.

If MLB set the threshold at three wrong challenges per game, will teams use it too often?

Josh Hamilton’s life to be turned into a movie

It was only a matter of time. Josh Hamilton’s journey to the major leagues will be detailed in an upcoming movie from Relativity Media.

Relativity has a deal with Hamilton, along with a deal for Casey Affleck to write and direct the picture, according to Deadline.

Thunder Road Pictures’ Basil Iwanyk will produce along with The Walsh Company’s Kevin Walsh. Thunder Road’s Kent Kubena will executive produce and Hamilton and his wife Katie will co-produce along with Hamilton’s business manager Steve Reed. 

Locking Up Buster Posey: How Much Is Too Much For the San Francisco Giants?

Buster Posey's historic 2012 season earned him a box full of accolades, and with the Giants looking to spend money to lock up their respective free agents, this offseason may be the best time to lock up Posey as well.

How much do the Giants pay Posey? Probably the farm and then some -- but the years will be the most significant part of one of the biggest contracts offered in the MLB.


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Buster Posey fell to the San Francisco Giants in the 2008 MLB Draft.

Posey was coming off a 2008 junior season at Florida State where he hit .463 with 26 home runs and 93 RBI, winning the Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year Award, as well as the Dick Houser Trophy for best player in college and the Golden Spikes Award for the best amateur athlete in college. Yet with all those accolades, Posey fell to fifth in the MLB Draft that year, behind the Pirates’ Pedro Alvarez, the Orioles’ Brian Matusz, the Rays’ Tim Beckam and the Royals’ Eric Hosmer.

            

Baseball America’s scouting report of Posey pre-draft was spot on.

“…considered the top catching prospect, both defensively and offensively, in the country. His offensive numbers this season, including a .471 average, put him among the national leaders in several categories. His receiving, footwork and release are all advanced, and his athleticism is apparent. Posey's arm strength (he reaches 94 mph off the mound) and accuracy are pluses as well. At the plate, Posey has above-average bat speed and makes consistent contact. He has power to all fields but will probably be known more for his batting average than home runs. Drafted out of high school by the Angels in the 50th round in 2005, Posey is regarded as one of the safest picks in this year's draft. His projection as an offensive catcher with Gold Glove-caliber defense has boosted Posey's draft stock as much as anyone's over the weeks leading up to the draft.”

Angels stepping up pursuit for Japanese releiver Kyuju Fujikawa

The Los Angeles Angels are stepping up their pursuit of Kyuju Fujikawa. A handful of teams are known to have spoken or plan to speak the to 32-year-old. The Japanese born reliever is a free agent and thus is not subject to the posting system.

It was reported last week that the Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks had met with Fujikawa.

Fujikawa will meet with the Los Angeles Dodgers soon while the Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers have shown interested as well though no official meeting has been announced.

Willis McGahee Out 6-8 Weeks With A Torn MCL; Broken Leg

For those who were patiently awaiting the MRI for Broncos RB Willis McGahee, it’s not good news.

Not good news at all. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, McGahee suffered a torn MCL and will miss the next 6-8 weeks of action. Jay Glazer reports that McGahee will miss such a big length of time due to the fact that he also fractured his leg. Fantasy footballowners can’t count on McGahee being back for the rest of their season, but there is a chance he could be back if the Broncos make it deep into

the playoffs. He is droppable in redraft leagues.

With McGahee out, Ronnie Hillman is now expected to go from a mid-tier waiver option to the top, or one of the top free agent options as we head into Week 12. Lance Ball is also expected to see more work going forward, with Knowshon Moreno now likely being active on game days. But for owners, Hillman is the guy you want to grab.

Belichick Responds To Gronk Injury, Says Football Players Play Football

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is catching a heap of criticism, for having tight end Rob Gronkowski in the ball game, on the field goal unit, with the Pats up by a ton.

Gronkowski suffered a broken forearm on the play, and is expected to miss close to a month.

Belichick was on the radio this morning with WEEI, and addressed the critics, and spoke about why Gronk was in the game via ESPN Boston.

“We’ve seen those games in the NFL every year, teams that have a lead — you can go back to the Indianapolis-Tampa game when they scored like 24 points in four minutes,” he said, via Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com. “The Buffalo-Houston playoff game where it’s 35-0 at halftime and you lose 38-35, whatever it was. It doesn’t take much in this league. Teams can score quickly. Turnovers. I think you just keep playing. At some point, there is a point [but] then you only have so many players, so somebody has to play.
“I think you have to be careful when you are trying to run a team to go up to one guy and say, ‘Michael, we’re going to leave you in the game because we don’t really care about you, but Glenn, we’re going to take you out because you’re really important.’ I don’t think that’s really a good way to approach a team. I’ve never done that. I don’t think that would be a very successful approach to it.”

I don’t know about that one Bill.  Best tight end in the game, I’m sure you could have found someone to play and block that edge.

Robert Littal

Be sure to check out other great articles at BlackSportsOnline.

Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed suspended one game for hits

Baltimore Ravens safety, Ed Reed is being suspended without pay for one game for repeated violations of the rule prohibiting hits to the head and neck area of defenseless players. The suspension was imposed by NFL Vice President of Football Operations Merton Hanks.

Reed was penalized for unnecessary roughness in the third quarter of Sunday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers for a hit to the head and neck area of a defenseless receiver, Emmanuel Sanders according to NFL.com

The suspension means Reed can not practice this week or play in this Sunday’s game against the San Diego Chargers.  He is not even allowed to be at the teams practice facility, or team events until he is reinstated on Monday, Nov. 26.

What does Rousey’s signing mean for the UFC?

The worst kept secret in MMA was finally made official by UFC President Dana White when he confirmed that current Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey will be headed into the largest MMA organization in the world as the UFC’s first woman fighter and inaugural women’s 135 pound champion.

White had been infamously against the idea of women in the UFC for a long time, citing concerns of the amount of depth such a division would hold. But the sudden stardom of Rousey has convinced him to abandon that train of thought and see if Rousey’s star continues to rise with the UFC promotional machine behind her.

Many of the specifics of Rousey’s arrival are as of yet unknown, including her opponent. Names such as fellow Olympian Sara McMann and a possible rematch with former Strikeforce champion Miesha Tate have been rumoured, as well as a possible fight against former women’s 145 pound champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos.

Santos has campaigned for Rousey to come up to 145 pounds to fight her, even finding a doctor who said that cutting to 135 pounds would be hazardous to Santos’ health. But White was adamant at the UFC 154 post-fight media scrum that if Santos wants Rousey, she will have to come down to fight the champion at her weight class.

Miami Hurricanes Impose Ban; Won’t go to ACC Title game.

Monday morning Miami announced that it will self-impose a postseason bowl ban for the second consecutive season.

The decision was made in response to an investigation which started last year. Blake James, UM’s interim athletic director Blake James informed the team of his decision. The people responsible for the final decision were school president Donna Shalala, the office of the general counsel and athletic department leaders.

Coach Al Golden previously said he would have no say in the matter.

Miami released a statement:

Heavyweight Johnathon Banks demolishes Seth Mitchell in second round

Heavyweight hopeful Johnathon Banks stunned prospect Seth Mitchell at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Nov. 17 by knocking him out in the second round of their bout. Banks, who was one of the late Emanuel Steward’s protégé’s looked like a man possessed as he fought in the memory of his former trainer who passed away from cancer in late October. Banks had been working with Steward since he was just 15 years old and was learning how to become a trainer. Steward did such a good job with him that Banks is now the new trainer of heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.

The 30-year-old Mitchell, a former standout college football player at Michigan State, went into the bout as one of America’s top heavyweight prospects, was dominated right from the opening bell and couldn’t handle the power that Banks possessed. The 30-year-old Banks, who hails from Detroit, has now taken over his place in American boxing hierarchy and raised his record to 29-1-1 with 19 Kos. He started his pro boxing career in the cruiserweight ranks and has now gone unbeaten at 9-0-1 as a heavyweight. Mitchell had a 24 lb. advantage over him, but it didn’t mean anything.

Carl Froch defends Super Middleweight title by dominating Yusaf Mack

England’s Carl Froch retained his IBF Super Middleweight Championship at home in Nottingham on Nov. 17 when he knocked out Yusaf Mack of America in the third round. Froch launched a brutal body attack which doubled the challenger over and the bout was called off by referee Phil Edwards with 28 seconds to go in the round. Mack was also dropped in the first round after Froch caught him with a brutal left hook and straight right hand to the head.

The 35-year-old champion was dominant fright from the start of the fight and has now won 30 of his 32 pro bouts. He won the IBF crown last May when he demolished Lucien Bute, a Romanian now fighting out of Canada, and he may meet Bute in a rematch next. However, Froch has designs on fighting the unbeaten Andre Ward in a rematch. Ward is one of the only two men to have beaten Froch.

After the fight, Froch said he believes that he’s a level ahead of Mack, but that doesn’t mean anything if you aren’t properly motivated and prepared. Froch was definitely motivated as he’s determined to meet Ward again. He lost to the American by a unanimous decision a year ago in the final of the Super Six boxing tournament. Froch has looked unbeatable in his last two bouts, against Bute and Mack, and coincidentally they have both been fought on his home soil in Nottingham.

Los Angeles Clippers 101, Chicago Bulls 80: Well, That Happened

Look, we knew this was a possibility. We knew full well that the Chicago Bulls were inferior to the Los Angeles Clippers. And that has less to do with the Bulls being terrible and more to do with the Clippers being really, really good.

There were a few reasons the Bulls lost. Their defense got shredded, the bench got severely outplayed, the offense was terrible and…that about covers it.

Anytime you shoot 33.8 percent from the field while allowing your opponent to shoot 49.4 percent, you're going to get destroyed. Furthermore, HoopData's wonderful box score tells us that the Bulls shot 13/31 at the rim and 5/13 from 3 to 9 feet. The Clippers, meanwhile, shot 15/20 at the rim and 11/17 from 3 to 9 feet. That's really all you need to know about last night.

However, because we're apparently masochists here, we're going to keep going.

Boston Celtics Get First Blowout Win, Beat Toronto Raptors 107-89

Story
After managing a number of close wins to open the year the Boston Celtics breezed by the Toronto Raptors Saturday afternoon with a 107-89 victory. Jason Terry led the Boston attack with 20 points including 4-7 from beyond the arc while Rajon Rondo added six points and a season high 20 assists. Rookie Jared Sullinger also got in on the act, recording his first career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Raptors meanwhile had six players score in double figures but shot just 43 percent from the field, no match for Boston's 57 percent. The Celtics, who had struggled to put away inferior teams this year, notably needing overtime to beat the Washington Wizards, finally beat a bad team convincingly allowing them to rest their stars (Kevin Garnett played just 17 minutes) who will have play again on Sunday Night when the Celtics travel to Detroit.

Turning Point
With a 16 point second quarter lead all but gone and the Boston offense sputtering Terry stepped into a three pointer from the left wing and put it right down the middle. The Celtics had been struggling to break down Toronto's zone defense, a look that limited them to just 17 points in the second quarter after running up 30 in the first. Enter Terry, the self proclaimed "zone breaker." Toronto had been doing a nice job a shutting off Boston drivers and keeping them away from the hoop. However an elite shooter like Terry can lay waste to even the best laid plans, and he started launching threes and drilling them over the top of the zone. The JET's antics spurred a 16-3 Boston run that blew the game back open again after Toronto had gotten as close as two. Terry was brought to Boston to help diminish the scoring droughts that plagued Boston last season and provide game changing offense. He did that on Saturday as the three triples he put in during that run all but iced the game.

Toronto Raptors Defeat Orlando Magic 97-86

The Orlando Magic finally tasted victory again on Friday night, beating the Detroit Pistons 110-106. Unfortunately, their winning streak was short-lived, as they lost for the sixth time in seven games to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday at the Air Canada Centre.

“There's no other way we're going to win if we're not prepared,” Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. “If we're not ready to play at the start of the game and committed at the start of the game, not waiting till halftime and what happens after, then we won't have a chance.”

Toronto (3-7) was paced by DeMar DeRozan, who had 20 points and nine rebounds. Andrea Bargnani added 17 points, while Amir Johnson recorded 15, Linas Kleiza finished with 12, and Dominic McGuire tallied 11. Jose Calderon registered nine points and 18 assists.

Philadelphia 76ers Stifle Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers

11/18/12 – According to sources, Andrew Bynum's latest injury occurred while he was bowling. Wow.
With that said, the Sixers still had to play on Sunday night in the fifth game of their home stand. They had a nice win Friday night over the Jazz largely due to the efforts of Jrue Holiday and the front-court duo of Kwame Brown and Lavoy Allen. The opponent tonight was the Cleveland Cavaliers led by young star PG Kyrie Irving. For the Sixers to win, they would need to do their best to contain him. They also had to match the hustle and rebound effort put forth by Cleveland's active big men, Anderson Varejao and Tristan Thompson.

The game was very tight in the early going. The Sixers had 3 pointers from Turner, J-Rich, Jrue, and Dorrell Wright in the first quarter but Cleveland was matching everything that was being thrown at them. At the end of 1 the Cavs led 21-19. In the 2nd the game stayed close with both teams shooting well. Irving was leading the way for Cleveland with Turner and Nick Young for Philadelphia. The two put up a combined 19 points for the Sixers up to this point. The Cavs led for most of the quarter, but in the late going a Jrue deuce gave the Sixers the edge. They took the lead into half-time 43-42. The Sixers were getting good contribution from a number of players, while the Cavs were excelling in rebounding and second chance points. In the 3rd the Sixers finally got some separation. Nick Young, Turner, and Jrue led the charge. Good defense, getting to the free throw line, and a 7-0 run helped them get the advantage at the end of 3, 62-57. In the 4th the Sixers went up by as much as 10 but Cleveland stuck around to cut the lead by grabbing offensive rebounds for easy put-backs. The Sixers then responded and would put the game out of reach. Turner and Hawes had a couple buckets and helped to seal the deal, final score 86-79.

Brad Keselowski's Championship Run Proves Hard Works Pays Off the Way It Should

In an era of racing where a lot of drivers get their opportunities because of money, Brad Keselowski's run at a championship is something that shows hard work pays off the way it should.

Brad Keselowski broke into NASCAR in the 2004 when he drove eight races for his dad's team called K Automotive Racing. In 2005 Keselowski ran the full season for the team, recording only one top ten finish in 25 starts. In 2006 Keselowski drove a few races in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for the first time running for Keith Coleman Racing. Keselowski ran seven races in the truck series for his fathers team and the Mittler Brothers team. In 2007, Keselowski began running in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and had limited success with the small operation that was Keith Coleman Racing.  His best finish in 14 starts with the team was 24th at Dover International Raceway. By June funding on the #23 Chevrolet had gone away and the team was forced to shut down, leaving Keselowski without out of a ride.

It was on June 30, 2007 when Keselowski caught the eye of the NASCAR faithful and it would change Brad Keselowski's career forever. He got a one off deal with Germain Racing at Memphis Motorsports Park. He was filling in for Ted Musgrave, who was suspended for an altercation he had with Kelly Bires a weekend before at the Milwaukee Mile. For Keselowski it was a dream come true. It was a chance to prove himself in premier equipment. Germain Racing had won the Truck Series championship the year before with driver Todd Bodine.

Adrien Broner KO’s Antonio DeMarco for WBC Lightweight Title

Those boxing fans who were anxiously waiting to see Adrien Broner of Cincinnati taste defeat for the first time on Nov. 17 were out of luck as the 23-year-old won the WBC Lightweight Championship from Antonio DeMarco with an eighth-round KO in Atlantic City. Broner dominated most of the bout and eventually broke his Mexican opponent down with his accurate punching at the Boardwalk Hall.

After the bout Broner said he knew that DeMarco was a good champion, but he didn’t possess the skills needed to successfully defend his title for the third time. With the win, the undefeated Broner upped his pro record to 25-0 with 21 Kos while the 26-year-old DeMarco fell to 28-3-1 with 21 Kos. It’s Broner’s second world title as he previously held a version of the junior lightweight crown.

Broner displayed speed, a good defense and pretty solid punching power as the fight went on. He started slowly, but after a few rounds picked up the pace and DeMarco found it pretty difficult to keep up with him. DeMarco has fought some decent boxers in the past, but none of them are on the level of Broner. The ex-champion won the vacant WBC title just over a year ago when he staged a terrific comeback against Jorge Linares and stopped him in the 11th round. Up until then he had lost just about every round. His last defense was against John Molina Jr., who he knocked out in less than a minute back on September 8.

Report: Gruden Contacting Potential Assistants; Tennessee and Arkansas Interested

Hide your kids, Chucky may be coming to an SEC sideline near you. 

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports is reporting that both Arkansas and Tennessee have ex-Bucs coach and current ESPN analyst Jon Gruden at the top of their wish lists for their pending head coaching vacancies.  We have heard Gruden’s name come up frequently in connection with coaching vacancies at both the NFL and college level in recent years, but La Canfora is reporting that Gruden has actually had exploratory conversations with potential assistant coaches this time around.

Regardless of how much money Arkansas may offer, I don’t know how attractive that job is once QB Tyler Wilson leaves for the NFL.  As for Tennessee, given that Gruden is currently in the enviable position of being handsomely compensated for providing ESPN with commentary on what other coaches are doing, Vols fans shouldn’t get too excited until they see Gruden sporting an orange blazer behind a podium with AD Dave Hart’s arm around his shoulder (and even then you may want to wait until the season starts).   

Josh Freeman Leads Improbable Comeback as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Shock the Carolina Panthers in Overtime, 27-21

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers came into Sunday's contest firing on all cylinders.

The Carolina Panthers had them sputtering for nearly the entire game until quarterback Josh Freeman completed a crazy fourth quarter comeback that gave Tampa Bay a 27-21 overtime win.

The Bucs fell behind by 11 points late in the fourth quarter, but they never gave up and forced overtime thanks to some huge catches by wide receiver Vincent Jackson, who had six receptions for 94 yards and one touchdown.

In overtime, Freeman was 3-for-3 for 32 yards and one touchdown. Freeman was money late in the game when the Bucs needed him the most. He did a nice job shaking off two early interceptions and finished 25-of-46 for 248 yards with three touchdowns.

Too Much Tom Brady: Colts Routed by Patriots 59-24

Blowout.  We all knew it could happen, but we wanted to believe it wouldn't.

Today, the Indianapolis Colts walked into Gillette Stadium with a tall order to fill.  They needed to either get some stops against the NFL’s top offense or somehow match them score for score in a shootout.  For a team who has been outscored on the season, that is a difficult proposition.  For any team facing Tom Brady and the Patriots, it is a tough task.

This team has been winning despite having some big talent holes in their roster.  They have done so in admirable fashion, bonding together through adversity and playing for their leader, Coach Chuck Pagano. 

Today, the Patriots were just too much.  Too much Gronkowski.  Too much Tom Brady.  Too much Wes Welker.  Too much.

There have been games this season where the offense has felt the pressure to score, but none like this. 

Green Bay Packers snatch victory from Detroit Lions

The Green Bay Packers snatched a victory from the Detroit Lions Sunday afternoon.

Aaron Rodgers’ touchdown pass to Randall Cobb with just less than two minutes to go in the game was the game winner and improved the Packers to 7-3 and increased their winning streak to five games.

Green Bay’s defense was the star of the game, as they made key plays and created four turnovers, turning one of those into a touchdown.  M.D. Jennings interception returned for a touchdown, which happened in the earlier parts of the third quarter, really gave the Packers the boost they needed.  It gave them a 14-10 lead at the time.

The Lions stormed back and took a 20-14 lead late into the fourth quarter, but Rodgers hit Randall Cobb, who was double covered, for the go-ahead touchdown.  The Packers made a key defensive stop, kicked a field goal for good measure and sealed the victory by stopping the Lions final play.

It was going to be a tough task to stop the Lions top-rated passing attack but the Packers did a great job of slowing them down.  Matthew Stafford threw for only 266 yards and two touchdowns.  He also completed fewer than fifty percent of his passes and even though the Packers were without Clay Matthews, they sacked Stafford five times.

The defense kept the Packers in the game and really helped out the offense, which struggled most of the game.

Has Tampa Bay Buccaneers' SS Mark Barron Hit the Rookie Wall?

Strong safety Mark Barron came out on fire early in the season, but lately the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' first first-round selection has been a liability at times on the field.

Barron, who was drafted No. 7 overall by the Bucs in April, has struggled in the passing game as of late. He seems to be out of position way too much and has had trouble covering tight ends, which is something a fast, young player like himself should be able to do.

Barron also hasn't learn a very simple principle that all defensive backs need to do – get your head around when the ball is coming. Last week, Barron got flagged for pass interference after he didn't turn his head toward the ball while knocking down a pass. The flag was picked up so no harm was done.

Arizona Cardinals Drop Sixth Straight, 23-19 to Atlanta Falcons

This one stung.

Despite 127 rushing yards from LaRod Stephens-Howling and five defensive interceptions of Matt Ryan, the Arizona Cardinals dropped a tough 23-19 decision to the Atlanta Falcons Sunday afternoon in the Georgia Dome.

The loss was the sixth in a row for the fading Red Birds (4-6), their second six-game losing streak in as many years. This is a game they could have won.

Despite their very sloppy play, the Falcons improved to 9-1.

Report: Rob Gronkowski suffers broken forearm

There may not be any Gronk spikes for the foreseeable future.

Citing a source, Tom Curran of Comcast SportsNet New England reports that Rob Gronkowski suffered a broken forearm in Sunday’s 59-24 thrashing of the Colts.

The All-Pro tight end, who recorded seven catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns, exited late in the fourth quarter to undergo X-rays, and didn’t meet with the media after the game.

Gronkowski has dealt with a nagging hip injury this season, but continued to play through the pain.

Assuming tests reveal a fracture, the 23-year-old would almost certainly miss considerable time, potentially crippling an offense that’s still without tight end Aaron Hernandez.

Philadelphia Eagles demolished by Redskins

What a terrible game. This is the lowest of the low. The Philadelphia Eagles were destroyed again; this time by the struggling Washington Redskins. The final score of this game was 31-6, and this was game, set, and match for the Philadelphia Eagles 2012 season. The birds now sit at 3-7 and find themselves in the cellar of the NFC East for the first time in a long time. The worst part is that we still have to sit through six more games of this junk. But hey, the players don’t seem to care about losing, so why should we?

Offense:
The Eagles could only muster a pathetic six points against the lowly Redskins defense, which ranks near the bottom of many defensive statistical categories. Rookie quarterback Nick Foles looked like, well, a rookie.

Foles completed 21 passes for 204 yards and threw two interceptions. His first interception came on the third play of the game, and the Redskins scored two plays later. It was all down hill from there, and that was with about 13 minutes left to go in the first quarter.

The abysmal performance was not all Nick Foles’ fault. The offensive line was pathetic yet again. Foles ran for his life nearly every play.

The few times the line provided good protection was tainted by holding calls. I understand that four of the five starters are hurt, but this is just embarrassing. I’m five foot seven and 165 pounds but I could definitely block better than these bums on the offensive line. Heck, all I would have to do is get in the way of the defender and I would be doing a better job than these guys.

LeSean McCoy rushed for 45 yards on just 15 carries. He was carted off the field with one minute left in the game and has been diagnosed with a concussion. Why was he even on the field with a minute left in the game when the Eagles were down 31-6? Head coach Andy Reid explained in his press conference that they were trying to come back and win the game. Come on, man. I guess that’s the right attitude, but I have a better chance of walking on my hands from Philadelphia to San Francisco than the Eagles coming back in the final minute of this game.

The outside receivers were non-existent in this game. DeSean Jackson caught two passes for five yards. Jeremy Maclin did not catch any passes and was targeted only three times. LeSean McCoy was actually the leading receiver for the Eagles, catching six passes for 67 yards.  Riley Cooper chipped in with five catches for 61 yards and Brent Celek caught five passes for 42 yards.

Grade: F

Defense:

The defense was just as bad as the offense. Robert Griffin III looked like a superstar, completing 14 passes for 200 yards and threw four touchdown passes. The Eagles defense, however, made it easy for him. The low point of the game was a 61 yard touchdown pass to Santana Moss, who jumped over both of the Eagles safeties to make the catch. The second worst play of the game was for the defense was a 49 yard touchdown pass to Aldrick Robinson. There was no one within 10 yards of Robinson, who has been the third string receiver for the Redskins all year.

The run defense wasn’t much better. RG3 rushed for 84 yards on 12 carries. Alfred Morris rushed for 76 yards on 20 carries.  The Redskins could have rushed for -10 yards and they still would have blown out the Eagles. Somewhere out there, Juan Castillo is laughing.

Grade: F

It is now a pretty safe bet that Andy Reid will not be back next year. If the Eagles really want to get back to winning, getting rid of Andy Reid will not be nearly enough. I have never seen an Eagles team with players that just don’t care if they win or lose. There is no effort out there. The Eagles front office must blow up this entire team and start from scratch. There is only about five or six starters that I would keep on this team. The end of the season cannot come soon enough for Eagles fans. Hang in there, we only have six games left.

Robert White

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Dallas 23, Cleveland 20: An Outrageous Win

Some definitions of outrageous:

a : going beyond all standards of what is right or decent

b: deficient in propriety or good taste

This brings us to the Cowboys’ 23-20 overtime win over the Cleveland Browns. The Cowboys fielded a patchwork offensive line featuring Mackenzy Bernadeau at center and Derrick Dockery at right guard. Tyron Smith suffered an ankle injury, requiring Jermey Parnell to play left tackle.

It makes sense, then, that Tony Romo spent much of the day running for his life. He was pressured 10 times and suffered 7 sacks. When the team tried to help Romo, the line and others just decided to hold. In fact, on two different plays, the referees called two different Cowboys for holding.

Right tackle Doug Free is not a backup, nor was he hurt. But he turned in one of the the worst plays of the game, allowing Jabaal Sheard to sack Romo. Dan Dierdorf’s comment: “Wow. That’s inferior play.”

And that summed up the Cowboys’ pathetic, gutless, awful performance during the first 35 minutes or so of Sunday’s game. Fortunately for Dallas, the Browns entered the game at 2-7 for a reason.

Tomlin, Haley Cost Steelers in 13-10 Loss to Ravens

One of the three keys I said earlier this weekend would be crucial for both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens was game management and sure enough, it boiled down to that tonight in the Steelers 13-10 loss to rival Baltimore.

The Steelers burned two timeouts in less than a minute in the third quarter inside the red zone yet came away with only three points. After gaining much of the yardage on the ground, Steelers’ Offensive Coordinator Todd Haley called for a fade to the back pylon on third and short inside the five. Although Mike Wallace caught the ball, he had very little room to get his feet in bounds and the Steelers settled for the field goal.

The blown timeouts and poor play-call was the epitome of a bad night for both coaches who wasted an amazingly valiant effort by the defense who limited the Ravens’ offense to just two field goals.

J.R. Smith stops partying to help Knicks sink Spurs

SAN ANTONIO – On Wednesday we discussed the New York Knicks’ ongoing hot-streak.
At the end of that piece it was laid out there that if Carmelo Anthony’s unit could take aim at and take out the San Antonio Spurs, they have a legit claim to being one the Eastern Conference’s elite teams.

Having done so, they stand at 6-0 thumping their chests as an undefeated semi-juggernaut that faced adversity from one of the Western Conference’s most talented groups and came out on top.

It was a 3-point shot by J.R. Smith that put New York in front for good with 1:48 to play on Thursday.
Smith’s new lease on life has enabled him to make clutch contributions to the Knicks.

Boston Celtics Fall in Brooklyn Without Rajon Rondo

Story
The Boston Celtics three game winning streak ended Thursday night when they fell to the Brooklyn Nets 102-97 at the Barclays Center. The Celtics were without Rajon Rondo, but got 22 points from Paul Pierce and 17 in a spot start from Leandro Barbosa. On the second night of a back to back Boston floundered early only to storm back in the third quarter, erasing a 13 point deficit to take a slim lead into the fourth. Unfortunately their shooting touch deserted them, allowing the Nets to pull away, and a late Boston rally came up short. Brooklyn was paced by Deron Williams and Brook Lopez, who chipped in 24 points each while Joe Johnson overcame a tough shooting night to total 19. The Celtics saw their three game winning streak snapped, but on the second night of a back to back without their star point guard it was hard to expect anything else.

Avery Johnson Tired of KG knowing all the Nets Plays

After 17 seasons in the NBA, you can pretty much conclude that Kevin Garnett has seen it all.

As the future Hall of Famer has aged over the years, he’s turned himself into one of the premier defenders in the league. His attention to detail has also made him extremely aware of potential plays the opposing offense could be running.

Apparently, Nets coach Avery Johnson is sick of it.

Is Arian Foster a Legit MVP Candidate?

With his team at 8-1, Houston Texans running back Arian Foster has put forth another exceptional season to date. The Pro Bowler has rushed for 872 yards and a league leading 10 TDs while hauling in 17 passes for 92 yards and another two touchdowns. In the past, the league leader in TDs playing on the best team in the NFL was almost always a surefire front-runner in MVP discussions. Then how come Foster is seldom mentioned with the league’s elite and overlooked as a serious contender for MVP?

Foster has been overshadowed in 2012 as an MVP candidate largely because of the position he plays. As recent as five years ago, running backs were very important pieces to a team’s offense and served as the focal point of many offensive attacks. However, due to slew of rule changes that favor the passing game, quarterbacks are putting up astronomical stats and have virtually taken over the bill of postseason awards. With records falling and points being scored as a furious pace, QBs have further solidified their place as the most important position in all of sports.

If the MVP ballots were cast today, occupying the top of most lists would be QBs Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, and Matt Ryan. The next tier of candidates would probably include the likes of QB Drew Brees and RB Adrian Peterson and maybe somebody like WR Calvin Johnson or QB Tom Brady.

Deion Sanders Calls Reporter an African American Killer; Tells Him to Clean Up His Drawers

Deion Sanders has been no stranger to drama and controversy recently.  Now he’s back in the news for calling a Caucasian reporter “The African American Killer.”  The story behind this comment is filled with almost as much drama as his divorce from estranged wife Pilar.  Here’s the short version…

This past February, Sanders announced that he would be opening Primetime Prep Academy, a charter school that would be open to Dallas/Fort Worth students grades k-5 through 12.   In August, the school opened amidst a storm of controversy surrounding its athletic department, which had been banned from  participating in any sports due to allegations that the school was recruiting students to play on their athletic teams.  Athletic officials cited that too many athletes transferred improperly from outside the district.

This past fall tensions came to a head when Brett Shipp, a high school news reporter for Dallas/Fort Worth television network WFAA, was spotted by Primetime Prep football players video taping their football practice.  This is what happened next:

College Football: USC at UCLA, The Battle For The Victory Bell.

A year ago, Matt Barkley and Southern California walloped UCLA to extend their dominance of the Victory Bell.

The Bruins would like to return the favor as they try to continue their return to national relevance.

Meeting for the first time as ranked opponents in seven years, the No. 21 Trojans look to beat No. 17 UCLA for the 13th time in 14 tries Saturday with the Pac-12 South Division title on the line.

Barkley completed 35 of 42 passes for 423 yards with a career high-tying six touchdowns to lead Southern California (7-3, 5-3) to a 50-0 romp of UCLA last November. It was the most lopsided result between the Los Angeles rivals since 1930, and extended the Trojans’ winning streak in the series to five games.