AllSportsNews

Winners In NFL Draft Day One

2005-04-24T16:28:00.000-04:00

I think the following teams really helped themselved out in this years 2005 NFL Draft.

Philadephia Eagles - Really got a nice upgrade by selecting Mike Patterson with their first pick. Mike Patterson will be a solid man in the middle who should really push starter Cory Simon for a starter job this fall.

Minnesota Vikings - Troy Williamson from South Carolina should be a good wide receiver to help fill the void now that Randy Moss and left for the Oakland Raiders. Their other pick that I really like is Erasmus James from Wisconsin that I believe will be in the Pro Bowl within 3 years.

Dallas Cowboys - I really like their Defensive choices, Demarcus Ware and Marcus Spears. How they make the change from college to Pro Football will be another story, but if they live up to their expectations, the shoddy defense the Cowboys should really be upgraded.

NBA AllStar 2007 Game In Las Vegas?

2005-04-23T08:08:00.000-04:00

It's quite possible.

A owners meeting the day before the NBA playoffs there seemed to be no objections in having the 2007 NBA AllStar game in SinCity. Although the owners spent very little of their time discussing the issue, it is still quite possible that the NBA All Star game which includes many pregame parties leading up to the game could get just a little bit wilder if in fact Las Vegas is able to host the game.

Stay tuned.

Fabien Barthez Goalkeeper Received Six Month Ban

2005-04-22T18:12:00.000-04:00

Fabien Barthex received a six-month ban -- three of them suspended after spitting on a referee in a friendly match two months ago. Europe has it right with penalties on sports figures while us Americans gingerly put punishments on our athletes for these actions along with the penalties on using steroids.

If you remember, Baltimore Orioles second basemen Roberto Alomar spit on Umpire John Hirschbeck a few years ago and ONLY received a five game suspension. This is a major joke. Why not set an example and follow Europe's lead and hand out major penalties for these lude acts against officials. Shouldn't an example be set in the major leagues of our professional sports? Don't we want to teach fair play to everyone that watches or pays to watches these games?

NFL Draft Rumors and Thoughts

2005-04-22T17:51:00.000-04:00

Looks like Alex Smith the highly touted quarterback from Utah might not be the San Francisco 49ers pick afterall as it seems the reason behind this is signing him to a contract. Smith is their clear choice as their number 1 overall pick, but it seems like the 49ers might be a little cheap in actually wanting to give him a good offer. Aaron Rogers from Cal would love to play for the 49ers and might even take less money, if Aaron Rogers is indeed the #1 pick, a lot of articles will be written on Sunday morning stating that the 49ers went with the pick they could sign at the lower contract offer.

If Alex Smith is indeed their top pick, why not offer up the money and sign this kid, get him into camp and get him familiar with the system. This could be a major regret in 4 to 5 years if Alex Smith is having a great year with another team and Aaron Rogers is struggling to get the 49ers to a 8 and 8 record.

Stay tuned for the NFL draft at noon on ESPN.

UNC TarHeels Losing More Players?

2005-04-22T06:50:00.000-04:00

The North Carolina Tar Heels just won the NCAA Basketball National Championship about 3 weeks ago, but with the win comes the fact that they will lose some players to the NBA draft. The two players most recently looking to leave Chapel Hill look to be the powerful big man Sean May and Raymond Felton, their news conference will be Friday at 1pm EST. It's also possible that freshman Marvin Williams could also leave as their is speculation that he has been talking to an agent recently.

If this all plays to be true Roy Williams will begin next season without seven top scorers. By having so many losses, Roy Williams will need to show how brilliant of a coach he is in a very tough ACC conference.

NHL 2005-2006 Might Be Delayed

2005-04-21T22:19:00.000-04:00

The news concerning the NHL just seems to get worse each day. Commissioner Gary Bettman said this week that the season will have to be with a new collective bargaining agreement in place -- not with replacement players. Bettman and some team representatives felt that they expect to play next season and anyone that misses hockey this year as much as I do, really hopes that this is a reality. The good news is that both sides have met for the second time in about two months just recently in New York. With the little amount of talks they had after last years season, I'm glad to see that they are communicating now and hopefully early next fall we can turn on the TV and watch some great hockey from the NHL.

Nomar Garciaparra Out 2 to 3 months

2005-04-21T22:07:00.000-04:00

The Chicago Cubs were dealt a major blow to their lineup with the bad news that Nomar Garciaparra will be out 2 to 3 months with a torn groin muscle. Nomar got hurt while leaving the batter's box during a game against St. Louis. The Cubs currently at 8-8 will be tested without Nomar at the plate and field, so they will count on Derrek Lee and his .411 batting average to help carry them offensively. With a tough NL central divison, the Cubs will need to really count on Mark Prior to step it up as well as have Kerry Wood mow down a lot of batters to keep the Cubs in tight games these next 8 to 12 weeks.

NBA Playoffs 2005

2005-04-21T22:01:00.000-04:00

Looking over the Eastern Confrence playoffs, will anyone be able to beat the Miami Heat? The good news for the New Jersey Nets is that Heat center Shaqille O'Neal is still a little injured with a thigh injury. More good news is that the Nets have been on a tear recently and are probably the most likely out of the lower seeds to give the Miami Heat a challenge. I see this series going 6 games.

My other predictions for the Eastern confrence.

Detroit over Philadelphia in 6 games
Indiana over Boston in 5 games
Chicago over Washington in 5 games

NFL Draft 2005

2005-04-21T21:57:00.000-04:00

Who will the 49ers choose in this years draft? The majority of experts seem to think it'll be Alex Smith from the Univeristy of Utah. The 49ers coming off a terrile season will need a new face of the franchise and will most likely go with Alex Smith or Aaron Rodgers of Cal.

Whomever they choose, the 49ers will be rebuilding for years to come because the new quarterback will take 3 years to develop and finally the 49ers don't have any other major offensive threats?

Your thoughts?

College Football Coaching Positions Going Fast

2004-12-12T10:30:00.000-05:00

Looks like Notre Dame has signed Charlie Weis to a six year deal to coach the Irish. I really like this choice as it gives Notre Dame an offensive approach to their game and that should really open up a lot of scoring chances. Now all Notre Dame needs now is some players that can play on the offense.

Other coaching positions that appear to be filled are as follows:
Stanford will hand their head coaching position to Walt Harris formerly of Pittsburgh and Tyrone Willingham who was fired last month from Notre Dame will take over at Washington, the same confrence he coached at before he took the Notre Dame position.

Weekly NFL Picks

2004-12-12T10:27:00.000-05:00

The last two weeks I've gone 4-2 against the spread. Below are the NFL games I like this week.

Minnesota Vikings -6.5
Playing at home and they can still win their division so they should be ready to come out and win big today.

Carolina Panthers -6
St. Louis is going with a very old back up QB today and the Carolina Panthers have won 4 straight. They should cover and keep their streak alive.

Cleveland Browns +10.5
Buffalo will win this game today, but I find it really hard to believe they can cover 10+ points.

Will The NHL Play?

2004-12-11T08:09:00.000-05:00

The NHLPA offered a proposal to the NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and the league owners this week that includes a 24-percent salary rollback. Gary Bettman has called this proposal "a significant offer" but he is due along with the owners next week to display their counter offer, but the main sticking point is that the owners want or should I say demand a salary cap. If that is still their number one priority, then I believe this season will be lost as the NHLPA is against this offer. We shall see how things play out by mid week.

Oklahoma Sooners and USC Trojans Dominate Heisman

2004-12-09T17:03:00.000-05:00

The top four canidates in my mind come from two colleges, Oklahoma and USC. The interesting point will be to see if Jason White can join Archie Griffin as a two-time winner. Even more interesting, does Jason White have a chance to suit up on Sunday's next fall in the NFL? Lots of questions will be answered, the last question I posed is about 40%/60% that Jason White will be on the sidelines this coming fall. At best Jason White will be carrying a clipboard and will be the 3rd option on the team that drafts him. My predictions for the Heisman Trophy are as follows.

Winner - Matt Leinart
2nd Place - Jason White
3rd Place - Reggie Bush
4th Place - Adrian Peterson

Tune in this Saturday.

Marvin Harrison Gets A Huge Payday

2004-12-08T19:32:00.000-05:00

Marvin Harrison scored a huge contract from the Indianapolis Colts today by agreeing to a seven year $67 million extension. The Colts now have two of their three top offensive players wrapped up which means plenty of points will be lighting up the scoreboard in the AFC for years to come. With these two contracts they will have to look in the draft or free agency for a running back because with the cap it'll be tought to keep Edgerrin James, even thought the Colts say there is some flexibilty to re-sign him when his contract runs out.

Right Call In Suspending Latrell Sprewell

2004-12-07T18:33:00.000-05:00

Latrell Sprewell received a one game suspension for yelling a sexual vulgarity at a fan at a recent Minnesota Timberwolves game. Even though this was a minor incident compared to the Ron Artest ordeal, this suspension was called for in hopes that the there won't be any major outbreaks for the rest of the season. The NBA does need to work more closely with the security officers because the fans need to be dealt with as well because it wasn't all Latrell's fault.

Trouble Finds David Boston Once Again

2004-12-07T13:36:00.000-05:00

David Boston just recently pleaded not guilty to assaulting a ticket agent at a Burlington International Airport this past October. If you remember this has been quite a season for the injured Miami Dolphin receiver. He is out for the season with a knee injury and he is appealing a four game suspension by the NFL for testing positive for steroids.

What was to be a successful season for the wide receiver has been seasons of what-if's. You would think the season would just get a little easier for the Miami Dolphins, not worse. First Ricky Williams, now it's David Boston that is making the headlines for the Dolphins and he's not even playing.

Mike Bibby Fired From USC

2004-12-06T20:38:00.000-05:00

With a (2-2) record and with some players missing from the USC men's college basketball team, Mike Bibby was released from his coaching duties. This early into the season, I believe more will come out of this firing than just reasons of "We need to go in a new direction."

Stay tuned.

Why The BCS Fails

2004-12-06T19:08:00.000-05:00

I've written about it before and I still feel the same way, Division 1-A college football needs a playoff system. How does the #19 team in college football get a crack at one of the BCS ball games? This just doesn't make any sense whatsoever. Here's the problem with this, the Big East gets a bid, but look at how average the Big East is this year and look at the record of Pittsburgh. How is this far to Cal, a team that deserves one of the four major bowl games.

Look, we have three weeks before the January bowl games begin, can't we put a playoff system in that will fill the void until these games start?

NFL Top Five Rankings According To...

2004-12-06T11:52:00.000-05:00

According to AllSportsNews.blogspot we have come up with our Top Five NFL teams for the year.

#5 - San Diego Chargers
Who would of thought this team would be on the verge of making the playoffs, then again they are in the hunt to win the AFC West

#4 - Indianapolis Colts
Peyton just keeps throwing the ball and he's got about seven people that can catch and score

#3 - Pittsburgh Steelers
A good team, really the #1,#2 and #3 spots can all be the same

#2 - Philadelphia Eagles
This offense looks potent and they should continue to roll through the next four games. The run defense is looking good now.

#1 - New England
Having a good running back is making this offense look better than their Super Bowl teams.

NFL Week 13 Picks and Updates

2004-12-05T19:48:00.000-05:00

Went (2-1) again this week, what happened on that last play with Denver and San Diego?

Watched the Philadelphia Eagles dismantle the Green Bay Packers with Donovan McNabb throwing for over 460 yards along with 5 touchdown passes. With the great play of Brian Westbrook and the emerging success of Terrell Owens, the Eagles offense looks to have what it takes to get over the hump and win the NFC Championship this year.

College Football Bowl Schedule All Set

2004-12-05T17:55:00.000-05:00

The much anticipated FedEx Orange bowl gives us the best two teams in college football with Oklahoma playing USC. These two teams are the best in my eyes and I expect a great game between these two teams that will surely give us a great offensive showdown. Although this game will decide who is the best team in college football, the game I'm looking forward to is the Fiesta Bowl that will put Utah against Pittsburgh. I'll be interested in seeing how well Utah plays agaisnt a team from a major BCS confrence. I believe that the offense from Utah will have a great game and will show the country that they do belong by taking care of the Pittsburgh Panthers.

NFL Weekly Against The Spread Picks

2004-12-04T11:57:00.000-05:00

Went (2-1) last week. Below are my top picks for this week; December 5, 2004.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers -1.5
Tampa is just playing well and I think they expose the poor Atlanta offense.

Kansas City Chiefs -1.5
Tough call, but I think Oakland gave it their all and spent too much on the Denver game last week.

Buffalo Bills -3.5
The Buffalo Bills are playing really good football as of late and I think this carries on against a bad Miami Dolphins team.

Should IOC Take Marion Jones Olympic Medals?

2004-12-04T11:38:00.000-05:00

Simple answer is YES. The IOC should take Marion Jones Olympic medals just as they have done so with other Olympic ahtletes that have been found guilty of taking illegal drugs in the past. Remember this is the same federation that bans athletes from taking cough medicine if they have a cold during the Olympic games. Marion Jones knew exactly what she was getting into when she decided to take these illegal drugs to help her performance on the track. Victor Conte, head of the lab that distributed the illegal drugs has come out and said Marion Jones knew what she was taking and even watched as she injected these steroids into herself.

Marion Jones has claimed to be innocent for quite sometime now, but with the recent shakedown of steroids in Major League Baseball coming out this week from athletes, something doesn't smell right since these athletes can all be traced into having some sort of allegiance to the BALCO labs.

Army - Navy Football

2004-12-04T09:41:00.000-05:00

Even though today's Army / Navy game won't factor into a BCS Bowl game, in fact it never has played a role in determining who will play in a January major Bowl game, but it doesn't matter one bit. It doesn't matter to me or really anyone who enjoys watching college football because this college football game is much more than just a football game.

The tradition these two teams bring in today's game is so rich in tradition it really ranks as the number #1 college football rivarly. Army and Navy truely hate each other before the game and during the game but when it's all over they shake each other's hand and hug and they know that in these times they all have a common goal, to protect our great country. If you need any extra reasons to watch this game today, I suggest you read this great article courtesy of ESPN.com:
Army/Navy College Football Story.

While there will be more important college football games to decide what teams will play where in January, there is no more important and fun college game to watch today than Army/Navy.

Notre Dame Football Doesn't Get Their Man

2004-12-04T09:34:00.000-05:00

So what's Plan B at Notre Dame? As of this week when they thought they had Urban Meyer, there probably wasn't a Plan B.

I have to agree with Urban Meyer on this decision, why would you want to coach at Notre Dame when you could go to Florida where the team is better, the academics aren't as strict and you are in contention for a major bowl game every year. Let's face it Notre Dame just doesn't have what it used to and it will take at least 4 or 5 years before it will get in a major bowl game.

With Notre Dame not having a solid back up plan after it lost out on Urban Meyer, the BCS Bowl Games will most likely have to be watched by the football team at Notre Dame instead of being played in.

Ricky Williams Football Career Seems To Be Over

2004-12-02T11:43:00.000-05:00

It seems as if out toking buddy and former NFL running back has decided to not serve the NFL's four game suspension and resume play next year.

According to Ricky William's lawyer, "Ricky is going to stay on the retired list and I have to conclude that his career is over," David Cornwell said."

Somehow I don't think we have heard the end of this story nor have we heard the resolution of the estimated $8 million Ricky Williams owes to the Miami Dolphins.

Will Major League Baseball Enforce Penalties For Steroid Use?

2004-12-02T08:10:00.000-05:00

Jason Giambi of the New York Yankees has now publicly come out and said that he has in fact used steroids in 2003 according to transcripts that have now come out from a testimony he gave. What's even more appaling than the fact he took steroids is his denail in December of 2003 when he said he never took steroids.

Major League Baseball now has the opportunity to win some respect from it's fans by banning such players no matter who they are and really clean up their image. They already have had to take years to come back into the good graces of their fans from the last strike they had in the 1990's, by putting strict rules into steroids and drugs, they will send a clear message to their fans that they care about the game they put out on the field. By letting all of this slide Major League Baseball is telling their fans, "Hey, we don't like the drug and steroid use, but what they do on their own time we can't do anything about it."

What leads me to believe that Major League Baseball really won't enforce a strict penalty on steroid use is that when you go to www.mlb.com you really have to dig deep to find a link about this recent big news that is a major black eye to baseball.

Will The NFC Playoffs Produce a 8-8 Team

2004-12-01T13:39:00.000-05:00

It looks like the NFC will have a playoff team with a record of (8-8) this year, truly showing the average play of the NFL this year. It's my thinking that the NFL has done a disservice to it's league by having so much expansion in the recent years, thus causing teams to load up on average players which produces average teams. Granted even though that the league has gone down in it's level of play we will gather around the TV set each Sunday to watch because there's a mystique about the NFL that we will always love.

Looking over the possible playoff teams I see the following either making thumbs playoffs at records of (8-8) or (7-9).

Seattle Seahawks
St. Louis Rams
Minnesota Vikings

Looking over these teams, I think we would have looked over these teams thinking they would have at least 10 win seasons. As the saying goes; "Any Given Sunday," well that statement is holding true just about every week this year in the NFL.

Status Of Black Coaches In College Football

2004-12-01T08:20:00.000-05:00

Now that Ty Willingham has been fired from Notre Dame there seem to be only two black coaches left in Division I football. Is this a sad state of college football by not having more black coaches in the top level of college football?

In some ways the answer is yes, I'm sure there are some colleges that don't give a broad view of all the potential coaches out there because they are focused on one particular person, but isn't that their choice? Isn't that their right to feel that the coach they have pinned down is the right person for the job? Isn't that their choice to believe that the man they have in mind for the job will do the best to win the most games?

It's even a sadder thing to consider that people of a particular race need to be added to a head coaching position I believe, after all if they kept a person of color in a position and all they did was have .500 seasons year after year, isn't that college losing money because the Alumni probably will stop donating? I think the answer is yes.

I think we need to step back and think about the jobs need to be less about the color of someone's skin and more about what is best for a particular University.

Biggest Dissapointment - NFL Team

2004-11-29T13:56:00.000-05:00

After watching the highlights from week 12 from the NFL I couldn't believe my eyes when I watched the Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills game. This game didn't make any conclusions for me that the Seahawks are by far my biggest dissapointment this year, but this game didn't help. Currently at (6-5) the Seahawks have gone from challenging the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC championship to barley winning their own division. The bright side for the Seahawks, they have two games at home -- against the Cowboys and Cardinals, two teams that shouldn't give them any trouble at all. With five games left, they will probably only need to win 3 games to make the playoffs, that's the good news. The bad news, the Philadelphia Eagles are playing very strong football right now and at the beginning of the season these two teams looked like a great match-up, my how things change throughout the season.

Coach Bill Parcels Upsets Cowboys Owner???

2004-11-28T08:02:00.000-05:00

When Dallas Cowboys coach, Bill Parcels it seems as if he may have upset a few players and perhaps even the owner Jerry Jones.

"We cannot let that potential escape," the owner said after the game. He is referring to the fact that coach Parcells took out the rookie Drew Henson when the game was tied at (7-7) and replaced him with 41 year old Vinny Testaverde. Testaverde did eventually lead the Cowboys to a victory, but what does it all mean? The Cowboys seem to be all but out of the NFC playoff race and this seems to be the best spot for Drew Henson to play since there won't be any major pressure on the young quarterback.

Parcells did admit that Henson does need a lot of work before he will be a good full time quarterback in the league, with the Cowboys record standing at (4-7), there seems no better time than now to let Drew Henson work to eventually be that good quarterback.

Chicago Bears Sign Jeff George To One-Year Deal

2004-11-28T07:27:00.000-05:00

With the Chicago Bears going through three starting quarterbacks already, they have just signed the first overall draft pick from 1990, Jeff George. George, a journeyman quarterback in the 1990's will begin as the 3rd quarterback on the Beard depth chart, but if you look at how the Bears have been playing I think you will see Jeff playing at least three games this year since this is a tryout to be the team's backup for next year.

LeBron James Youngest NBA Player To Reach 2,000 Points

2004-11-28T07:20:00.000-05:00

What an amazing feat for LeBron James, 2,000 points all before he turns 20 years old. LeBron broke Kobe Bryant's record when he did it when he was 20 years, 183 days old. I know LeBron is a great basketball player but lets take a minute and look at the competition with whom he's going against. Granted, the 2,000 points he has scored is a great accomplishment, but the overall talent in the NBA is weaker than let's say the mid-90's, all of the 80's; 70's and so on. We can't take away any of the accomplishments he's done so far at a young age, but before we crown him one of the great players, let's see if King James can take the Cavaliers to a few NBA Championships first.

AllSportsNews NFL Picks

2004-11-27T08:11:00.000-05:00

The AllSportsNews top NFL picks against the spread are as follows:

Philadelphia Eagles -7
The Eagles have a chance to win their fourth NFC East division against a NY Giants team that has all but thrown in the towel this year.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers -2.5
Carolina has been crippled with injuries this year and Tampa has found their passing and running game.

New England Patriots -7
With Deion Branch back for the Patriots and Jamal Lewis likely out, New England should keep on rolling

I'll be back on Monday to see how well or not so well I ended up

NHL Lockout Update

2004-11-27T07:58:00.000-05:00

72 days and counting.

It's been a bad fall and soon to be winter for NHL fans across America, if there are any at this point. Myself, not just a Philadelphia Flyers fan, but a NHL fan has had a very tough time wondering who is actually right in all of this, but I'm starting to side with the owners. I agree that there should be a salary cap like the NFL and NBA, mainly for the reason that a 3rd line right winger shouldn't be getting $4 or $5 million per year when the NHL TV ratings are down the tubes. The players in the NHL need to take a hard look at their dying sport in small markets and think about their fans and work with the owners on an agreeable salary cap so that they can get back on the ice and save their sport while there is still time.

Just this week according to a CNNSI report, the NHL players' association will begin issuing lockout pay to more than 730 players. Payments will start this month, and players will get $10,000 each for November and another $10,000 for December, with subsequent monthly payments varying between $5,000 or $10,000, The Canadian Press reported. This is well below the amount a player like Jeremy Roenick or Martin Brodeur would be getting if they actually were playing the game. There haven't been any talks from both sides since about September 9 and over 280 games have been cancelled. I hope both sides can get together and work on a salary cap that works for both sides and get back on the ice to play this great game of hockey. By doing so, the NHL can be saved and I can watch some hockey during the week instead of all of those horrible reality TV shows.

Philadelphia Eagles To Clinch NFC East On Sunday

2004-11-26T09:49:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe that it won't even be December 1st and the Philadelphia Eagles have a chance to be the first team in the NFL this year to clinch their division. Granted the NFC East, well 75% of the entire NFC is pretty weak, it's still a great accomplishment for the Eagles to win their division so early in the season.

With great additions like Terrel Owens and Jevon Kearse, the Eagles have been able to add key componets that have been missing for the last three years. If you think about it, they have done a great job in getting to the NFC Championship games without stud players at key offensive and defensive positions.

If you live in the Philadelphia area like I do, you know that simply getting to the NFC Championship just isn't enough this year We expect more and I think the whole Philadelphia Eagles organization expects more and that "more" is getting to the Super Bowl in Jacksonville this year. With a very talented team, the Eagles should be there and facing a very tough opponent from the AFC in February.

Nike Ads Cause Stir In Singapore

2004-11-26T09:03:00.000-05:00

Nike ads showing graffiti type images at bus stops have angered many Singapore residents due their love for cleanliness. Public spaces are very clean in Singapore, and there has been a ban of chewing gum and there are still fines against people who spit in public or forget to flush common toilets. Attempting to lay your culture on another country is very hard to do in most places. I'm sure Nike regrets this decision and whomever thought this was a good idea must have overlooked their cultural ideas and how strong their feelings are towards keeping their downtown areas in immaculate condition.

NFL Thanksgiving Games

2004-11-25T08:34:00.000-05:00

So will you be watching the NFL football games this Thanksgiving? I don't care how bad the matchups are, I will still be in front of the TV watching both games because no matter how bad it gets, it still beats any parade on the TV.

This year, the best matchup of the two will be the Detroit Lions and Indianapolis Colts where might see Peyton Manning get closer to breaking Dan Marino's single season touchdown record of 48 touchdowns. My best guess is that Peyton will toss up at least three maybe four today. The only bad thing about Peyton throwing all of these touchdowns is that he might need to toss 4 or maybe 5 a game during the playoffs for the Colts to keep advancing.

The Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears game is a game of two teams that were supposed to at least still be in the hunt for the playoffs at this point. But with the Bears having a few major injuries and the Cowboys showing their true colors this year, both will be playing just to not finish last in their division.

Everyone sit down, relax and watch some football today and most of all Happy Thanksgiving.

Los Angeles Lakers - Better Than Expected?

2004-11-24T16:36:00.000-05:00

The Los Angeles Lakers as of November 23, 2004 would be the eight seed in the Western Confrence. Without their main star Shaq, they have played competitive in the tough Western Confrence and are clinging onto the last playoff spot. I wrote an article about a month ago questioning if they would indeed make the playoffs and as of today they would just scrape by.

It will be very interesting to see if they can hang on and hold off teams like the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets and the Memphis Gizzlies. If the Lakers do indeed make the playoffs as a seventh or eight seed, do they stand a chance at beating the top team; Seattle Supersonics or Phoenix Suns? I say no, especially without Shaq.

Plastic Cup Thrown At Artest On eBay

2004-11-24T13:59:00.000-05:00

Seems like the cup thrown at Ron Artest was on eBay for a short period of time. The cup was put up on the online auction site on Monday but was taken off sometime Tuesday after bids reached $99,999,999. Funny as it seems and it would be a item that would be talked about for hours if you actually had it, I doubt the authenticity was 100%.

Ricky Williams Might Be Reinstated To The NFL

2004-11-24T13:55:00.000-05:00

Crazy as it seems, it looks like Ricky Williams might be reinstated to the NFL after agreeing to serve a four game suspension this year and start playing again next fall.

Questions: Which teams would want Ricky Williams? Too much risk? How good will Ricky Williams still be after a full year off to smoke pot?

The NFL gives it's players sometimes two, three and even more chances when they screw up so I'm pretty positive we will see Ricky Williams next year, just not sure what team jersey he will be wearing. I'm sure he would prefer something green.

Utah Utes Dream Season Still Going On

2004-11-21T10:32:00.000-05:00

Now that the Utah Utes college football team has finished up their regular season undefeated, they can now turn their attention to the Fiesta Bowl on January 1, 2005. Utah will be in one of the BCS's bowl games, the first team in the BCS era from outside the six current BCS conferences, a huge milestone due to the fact that not many people have actually seen Utah play this year. How will they play in a major bowl on January 1? Not many people outside of Salt Lake City know for sure, but if they happen to win that game, the future of the BCS bowl games will get that much more fun in the future because if a non-traditional BCS conference team goes undeafeated again that team will need to be looked at more closely and they will more than likely deserve a shot at being thrown into the mix of a BCS bowl game.

Congratulations to Utah on a fine season and I'm looking forward to seeing them play in the Fiesta Bowl, hoping they give us something to talk about if they do happen to win their game.

Chaotic Fight Breaks Out In Pistons and Pacers Game

2004-11-20T09:28:00.000-05:00

This has to be one of the most unreal sports scenes I've seen since I've been alive, bear with me as I'm 28 years old and I wasn't around to see the fight in the stands with the Boston Bruins and New York Ranger fans.

This fight between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons started when Ben Wallace made a hard shove to Ron Artest after a foul and from there all hell broke loose. The arguing between the two teams was pretty heated and seemed to be getting under control until a fan threw what appeared to be a beer or a soda at Ron Artest who was laying on the scorer's table. After watching SportsCenter a few times it appeared to me that the fans caused this and it's a shame that any fan who was innocent and taking a possible hard punch by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now, I'm not condoning any of the players actions but it didn't appear any of the players from either side threw anything into the crowd before any of this started. They are in the heat of battle at a tense moment and you have some jerk throw something on you and you can see why this happened.

There will be some major suspensions from this outbreak which is a given, the question will be how many of those fans in the stands will contact their laywer for a possible payday.

Eli Manning To Finish The Season For NY Giants

2004-11-19T08:53:00.000-05:00

Now that the Giants are just about our of the race for a spot in the NFC playoffs due to a recent losing streak and losses to their defensive line, the keys are turned over the this year's top pick in the college draft Eli Manning. Looking over the NY Giants next five games, I can't think of a more difficult schedule to go against than the one the Giants have in front of them, let's take a look.

This week, the Atlanta Falcons. Not a great team, but one that should make the playoffs and their defense is pretty good. Then you are now looking at in order, the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Baltimore Ravens and then to top it all off, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Hey Eli, welcome to the NFL.

All said and done at the end of his career, I think the Pittsburgh Steelers will end of getting the best quarterback out of this draft. Only time will tell and I think the next 5 years will prove that that the Steelers got the better end of the deal by waiting for their man.

Steve Spurrier To Coach South Carolina

2004-11-19T08:13:00.000-05:00

The SEC will get that much tougher next year with Steve Spurrier back coaching college football. Lou Holtz will be retiring at the end of the year and it appears as if Spurrier will take the position of head football coach at South Carolina University. Having Spurrier coaching will make South Carolina better next year, although they won't be in contention for one of the four major bowl games, I do however think within 3 - 5 years South Carolina will have the recruits they need to not only with their division in the SEC, but you just might find them playing on January 1 to help decide a National Champion.

Desperate Housewives Backfires On Monday Night Football

2004-11-17T08:02:00.000-05:00

I'm sure everyone that reads our sports posts here has already scene the opening for Monday Night Football with an actress from Desperate Housewives and Terrel Owens. Everyone from ABC to the NFL and even the Philadelphia Eagles has apologized for the opening segment to which I don't think an apology is really necessary. Why do you ask? Well if you watch any football on Sunday you will get hit with commercials from the following: Cialis, Levitra, Viagra and those very sexy commercials from Coors Light featuring "The Twins". Let me also remind you that these commercials are at the hours between 1pm and 4pm EST where your average 12 or 13 year old is watching the NFL on Sunday. Which is worse a commercial for Cialis that actually has a voice on the commercial telling the viewers, "If you experience an erection for longer than 4 hours, please consult a physician", or is it a actress taking of her towel and showing nothing but her shoulders and back?

Will Utah Get a NCAA Bowl Championship Game?

2004-11-14T11:17:00.000-05:00

All Utah does is win and win by huge margins, but will it be enough to crack into the NCAA Championship Bowl picture? Utah is currently 10-0 and will most likely move into the top 6 and be put into position to get into that elusive field to choose a National Champion. If you read my earlier post about the NCAA football mess, this is exactly why there should be a playoff tournament for these teams. Utah having a great year might get snubbed because they don't play in the ACC, BigTen or Pac-10 and their games aren't on at 3pm EST where the 'so-called' top teams play in front of a national audience. If the NCAA took the top 8 or 6 teams, this would give Utah a fair crack against a Oklahomam, USC or Wisconsin and see if they really do belong. Until a playoff picture is set, we will keep wondering what might have been and what could be for these lesser known teams that go undefeated deep into the season.

Major League Baseball Thinking Of Instant Reply

2004-11-11T16:45:00.000-05:00

At this year's winter meetings, MLB is looking at instant replay and here's why I think it's a bad idea. Baseball is already long enough, some games go 3 or 4 plus hours and with instant replay you are looking at about 2 plays a game to be reviewed that will prolong an even longer game. The one thing I like about sports without instant replay is that it keeps the game real and it also gives us fans something to talk about on sports radio stations about the play.

It doesn't seem that the umpires are in favor of it and the traditional owners don't seem to like it either stating that, "Baseball is very traditional." I happen to agree with this and I would like to see one of the remaining sports to keep it as is and let human nature decide on the call, if the umpire gets it wrong, it will gives us something to complain about if it happens to our team, but hey, isn't that one of the fun things in being a fan?

Kansas Jayhawks Number 1 AP Polls

2004-11-11T13:11:00.000-05:00

Hard to believe that the Kansas Jayhawks college basketball team is ranked #1 in the AP preason poll for the first time since the 1950's. Think about all the great teams Kansas has had in the late 80's and throughout the 90's, think about all the great players they have sent to the NBA, and to think this is the first time they are ranked in the preason #1 in about 50 years is amazing.

Question I have, is this the best Jayhawk team in recent year? With four returning starters back, they do have the leadership to carry them into the Final Four, but I think recent teams with Paul Pierce, Raef Lafrentz, etc might be better than this current team, I just think those teams had bad luck in the tournament as well as having key players leaving early for the NBA draft.

Looking over the top 25 teams this year, I see Kansas making the Final Four with possibly Duke, Oklahoma St., and maybe Georgia Tech which only means that this will be a very tough Final Four. Can Kansas keep their team together and erase those mistakes they made in past tournaments to finally win the big game? Should be a great March and April.

Randy Moss To Miss Green Bay Game

2004-11-11T10:59:00.000-05:00

With the (5-3) Vikings playing the (4-4) Green Bay Packers this Sunday, this game just got a little more exciting and possibly will help Green Bay get above the .500 mark after playing Minnesota.

Randy Moss will miss another game this Sunday and that means that Green Bay can have one less worry now and maybe put more focus on blitzing Daunte Culpepper and forcing him to make poor decisions. The main key will be for Green Bay to control the game clock with their running game and give Culpepper less time on the field to work with his receivers. With the second half of the season starting, this game is crucial for both teams to win their divisional games as well as beating any and all NFC teams they play so they aren't on the bubble at the end of the season and hoping that they need another team to win or lose so that they can sneak into the playoffs at the last week of the season.

If Randy Moss only misses this game and the Viking happen to lose they should still be ok because they do have the Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins to play, both should be winnable games. If they can split with the Detroit Lions and Packers, the 9 games should be enough to put them into the playoff picture.

Ron Artest Benching....A Great Thing

2004-11-11T10:21:00.000-05:00

According to a ESPN report, Ron Artest was benched when he asked coach Rick Carlisle for time off because of a busy schedule that included promoting a soon-to-be released rap album. The suspension was for all of two games, two games too little.

Ron Artest made a commitment at the beginning of the NBA season to play in each game that is scheduled for the Pacers and now he wants off to promote a rap album? This is insane, I thought that's what the off-season was for? Can you imagine asking your boss for an extra 3 weeks of vacation to do other things outside of work, I doubt this would happen as your work needs you to be there so that they can succeed, just as the Pacers would need Ron Artest to be there during the 7 months or so. I have to think that this attitude is what turns off so many fans that like to watch sports on a daily basis, the players have really made it hard for the fans to feel sorry for them in any situation that might not be so favorable towards them during the season.

So tell me, was two games too little? Too much?

Womens Tennis, Sex Appeal Gets The Ratings

2004-11-09T20:45:00.000-05:00

How many here watch women's tennis for 'the game' only? Anyone tune in to watch the sport of women's tennis for the great athletic ability or do you watch because of the great outfits and the great looking women that are dominating the sport of women's tennis?

I will admit that the US Open is one of my favorite tennis events and I will tune in to watch the games from the quarterfinals through the finals, no matter who is playing in the women's game, quite frankly, those games are more exciting than the mens games.

However, when I get word that Maria Sharpova, Serena Williams, Jennifer Capriati and a host of others are playing in any round, I'm tuning in for a few mintues just to catch a few minutes of pure sex appeal. Recently Serena Williams made a comment stating, "She’s sexy," in refrence to Maria Sharpova. Serena also went on to say, “I know a lot of people who are 12 and doing things they shouldn’t be doing,” she said. “Whether you’re an actress or a singer, it’s always the sexier ones that are selling more tickets or selling more albums."

Well Serena, your 100% right and I'm gald that someone famous has come out and made a statement like this rather than reading it on a sports website. The press/media always get a bad rap when they come out and make comments and statements like this, but now that we have athletes coming out and saying this we can now see that they are thinking the way that most of us in our living rooms are thinking when we watch a sporting event and or T.V. show.

Should Ohio State Football Give Back Their Championship

2004-11-09T19:51:00.000-05:00

Almost two years ago, Ohio State football did the unthinkable, they beat the Miami Hurricanes in a greatly contested National Football championship game. This was a back and forth game and one of the most exciting championship games that I can remember for college football.

Now the story we all thought would come out, will do so in ESPN the magazine from an interview with Maurice Clarett. In this interview he admits that accepted cash, cars and other fun items to the typical college student. With all of these infractions, should the NCAA come down hard on Ohio State University and take away their National Championship? My answer without a question has to be yes. These infractions were done before the game was played and all of them go against what a student athlete is. Student athletes aren't allowed to accept monetary gifts during their time they are enrolled at their college instituion which clearly happened with Clarett. We also find out in this article that he passed classes he shouldn't have passed because the special tutors did the work for him so that he would be eligible to play. Perhaps the NCAA will come down on Ohio State in a year or so, have them on a few years suspension, but the next time this happens will the outcome take so long to come to a verdict?

College Football Bowl System

2004-11-07T19:44:00.000-05:00

The NCAA has to get it right and change their methods of naming a football champion at the end of the season. The system now just doesn't work without a playoff system. Seriously, how fair is it to have computers ranking where you play for a bowl game in December/January? How many games have the computers actually seen?

One reason why I'm sure the playoff system won't take affect is that money is a huge factor in all of this and money is KING. My plan and I'll let you know, the NCAA hasn't called or e-mailed me saying how much they like my plan and will institute it in 2005.

Take the top 8 teams in early December, have them play at a neutral site as they do now, heck you can even have the games called a Bowl game and have it sponsored as they are now. The winners advance, and keep playing each weekend until January 1 which will be the Final Four and the two teams that win their games play next Saturday night for the Championship. Now the NCAA will tell you that playing all these games will take away from the students not studying and losing valuable time on their finals, trust me they are more worried about the overall mighty dollar, not that some wide receiver gets a B on their biology exam. If this is the case, why is it that the 1A can do a playoff system?

I think a playoff system needs to be added to determine a a National champion or the talk will go on and on until the new season begins.

Philadephia Eagles Unbeaten Streak Ended

2004-11-07T19:09:00.000-05:00

Well I was wrong big time on my prediction for this week's Eagles and Steelers game. The Pittsburgh Steelers outplayed the Eagles every minute of the game with a great running performance from Jerome Bettis (149 yards) and a fantastic performance once again from rookie Ben Roethlisberger. The Steelers opened up a 21-0 lead on just their first three possessions. Now I was correct in stating that the Steelers would dominate the time of posession, but there was no way I would have guessed the Steelers would outgain the Eagles 420-111 in total yards.

With a poor defensive performance and even poorer offensive game, the Eagles were never in this game. They have until next Monday night to get back on track and gain control of the NFC once again against a Dallas Cowboys team that seems to be going nowhere this year. Monday night football is a stage where you need to showcase your teams' talents and the Eagles have plenty of talent. The question is, will they be able to display them on the Monday night football stage and increase their overall lead in the NFC.

Better question, will the Eagles and Steelers meet again in Jacksonville playing for it all?

Can The Steelers Beat Another Undefeated Team?

2004-11-06T11:17:00.000-05:00

After taking care of the New England Patriots in all of 10 minutes last week, I feel the Steelers have a tougher opponent this week in the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles have a much improved offense this year with the addition of Terrell Owens who is lighting up the statistics for all you Fantasy Football geeks. Pittsburgh did manage to take care of New England's offense last week, but the Eagles have a few more weapons than what the Steelers saw last week.

Corey Dillion didn't play for New England and the Patriots also miss that big time wide receiver weapon that the Eagles have. Also, word is just in, the running back weapon Brian Westbrook will be in uniform and playing for the Eagles this Sunday which should help the Eagles use all their weapons on offense.

Granted the Steelers will control the clock in this game because the Eagles use more big time (longer plays) to drive the ball whereas the Steelers will rely on Duce Staley to run the ball. If the Eagles can use their blitzing Defense and confuse the rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, they should keep the score low and force the Steelers to pass the ball and take it out of Duce's hands late in the game.

What does this all mean? Philadelphia 27 Pittsburgh 14

Each week, I''ll try to focus on one game that stands out in my mind and offer my thoughts. Fee free to comment.

Do The Lakers Make The Playoffs?

2004-11-06T09:18:00.000-05:00

With the loss of Shaq to the Miami Heat, can the Lakers make the playoffs? This is truely Kobe's team now and without a major force in the middle, it'll be that much tougher to get back to the NBA Finals or worse yet, just making the playoffs.

The Western confrence is loaded with talented big men in the middle and to get in that group of eight teams you need a center to carry you into the playoffs. How many teams in the last 5 to 10 years can say they won a NBA championship without a proven center? Being from the Philadelphia area I know first hand that making the NBA Finals is do-able without a big man, but to beat the western confrence representative, it's next to impossible.

If only the Lakers were a Eastern confrence team, then this would be a much different story as they would probably be a top 4 team going into the playoffs.

Your thoughts??

NHL Lockout Situation

2004-11-05T21:20:00.000-05:00

Well it's been 50 days now and the NHL still has the lockout going on while the other major fall sports, the NFL and NBA are in full swing. The 2005 NHL All-Star game has been cancelled and there appears to be no agreement in sight which means this could turn for the worse with the whole season being cancelled.

The right thing to do to save this dying sport is to have this situation solved ASAP, so that the season begins right around the end of the NFL playoffs and play a fun and exciting 50 game season. Having the whole season cancelled will only mean a huge loss of fans in smaller markets, didn't anyone learn from the MLB lockout?

Being a NHL hockey fan I hope this gets resolved, but with the way things look as of today, the future doesn't look so bright.