And this is what we know ..
Over the past week I have not thought to delve back into the world blogging ,regaling readers with my impressions from the world of sports . In reality, I find this time of the year extremely boring , with their being nothing of note to be seen . The NFL remains in a quandary and it would appear that the once respectful relationship between Bob Kraft and Roger Goodell has now come to an unsavory end. NFL Commissioner Goodell , has seen fit to punish not only the New England Patriots’ star quarterback Tom Brady, but also the Patriots’ organization , owned by billionaire Kraft. As to where this now places the New England Patriots among the most hated professional sports’ franchises in the country , let alone history , I am prepared to let you all figure it out , as I believe it would actually make for a great debate among the sports fans’ fraternity.
Slideshow.
With Brady having been suspended for four games and his appeal being unsuccessful , the next step is for the player and the commissioner to once again lock horns in a US Federal Court, where there is likely to be a finality to this idiocy. Personally, I believe both sides to be culpable in this mess , with the track record of the Patriots being there for all to see, while the league hierarchy under Goodell has always been weak, apathetic and without a clue. The Patriots are not the only team in the NFL bending the rules. It just happens to be that they are the only ones to have been caught more than once , albeit , we have seen the antics of the New Orleans Saints under Sean Payton , Gregg Williams and general manager Micky Loomis. How easily one seems to forget the Bounty-gate Scandal .
Entering into the NFL preseason , I am not so sure I would be happy as a fan of the Buffalo Bills , knowing head coach Rex Ryan is unsure who is starting quarterback will likely be for the Bills’ preseason schedule , let alone the regular season. His choices are, veteran Matt Cassel , EJ Manuel and Tyrod Taylor ,as competing quarterbacks for the starting role. Based on last season’s performances and the statistics noted , it easy to suggest Ryan’s worries might are justified , but then I look at his own experiences with Tim Tebow, Mark Sanchez and Geno Smith during his last few years with the New York Jets. His failure there, alongside the poor play of the players mentioned, is not only a cause for concern, but it would hardly allay one’s fears as a fan of the Buffalo Bills let alone being a fan of the NFL.
Buffalo with a new owner in tow , billionaire Terry Pegula ,has promised to bring back the luster to a franchise long starved of success. Consider the fact , the last time the Bills won the AFC East was in 1995 and their last playoff appearance was in 1999 and you can well understand why success has been something of a non-factor in the franchise’s struggles over the last sixteen years. The preseason schedule almost in sight , Buffalo’s coaching staff will be looking to use this time to assess not only the quarterbacks on the staff, but also lesser players hoping to make the team’s final roster before embarking upon their regular season schedule.
With the possibility of Tom Brady still being out for the first four games of the regular season , unless the Justice System has a change of heart, then the other three teams within the AFC East must feel they are in with a chance to dethrone the current divisional champions. To my mind the task will not be that easy, as I believe the Patriots will still be a force to be reckoned with should Jimmy Garoppolo start in replacement of Tom Brady , while the three-time Superbowl MVP sits out the first four games of the Patriots’ regular season schedule.
It’s going to be fun watching as the teams embark upon this preseason schedule, when one bears in mind, in 2014, nothing from the preseason pointed us in the direction of how the regular season would finally pan out. Granted, the belief remained the Seattle Seahawks were seen as the class of the NFC , with the Green Bay Packers perhaps their biggest conference rival. What we found out in the end, Peter Carroll while being a very good head coach, needs to show more authority among his coaching staff and place responsibility where it lays when an assistant makes a bone head decision , as seen during the waning moments of last season’s Superbowl . Russell Wilson will never be able to distance himself from the play and I am sure Marshawn Lynch must be feeling a great deal of anger from the fact he was not allowed to make one final dash into the end-zone. Talk about nightmares, there are still thousands of Seahawks’ fans reliving the image of Malcolm Butler intercepting Wilson’s pass during the waning moments of the game.
The Hall of Fame game kicks off this season’s preseason schedule , with the Pittsburgh Steelers facing the Minnesota Vikings at Fawcett Stadium in Canton, Ohio on Sunday afternoon. Week one of the preseason actually kicks off on Thursday 13th August ,2015 when the Baltimore Ravens play hosts to the New Orleans Saints , with the two teams being viewed among the favorites for their respective divisional titles and possible contenders for this season’s Superbowl. Opposing head coaches Sean Payton and John Harbaugh will have a great deal to prove this upcoming season for their respective teams.
So if this baseball season has proved to us anything, it has been the fact being complacent is still prevalent within the game. Fallout, has not only been the managerial departures but also what appears to be dissatisfaction between an owner and a front office executive. Jerry Dipoto left the Los Angeles Angels , after what appears to be an internal power struggle , as to who had the ear of team owner Arte Moreno .
In Detroit , the abrupt stepping down of Dave Dombrowski as the general manager of the Detroit Tigers has shocked not only the fans of the ball-club , but the entire baseball community. Michael Ilitch has thanked the executive for his fourteen years of service and the success brought , but with the missing piece to the puzzle being a World Series title. It clearly wasn’t enough for the eighty-two year old owner and his long-held ambitions of a world championship. Al Avila, a protege of Dombrowski now ascends to the position of general manager for the franchise , hoping to turn things around for the team as they enter the stretch run of the season , looking to close the gap on the Kansas City Royals who lead the AL Central and are seen as one of the primary contenders for the AL Pennant this season.
Boston Red Sox team President Larry Lucchino has stepped down from his role within the organization as team owners John Henry and Tom Werner have to be wondering what went wrong this season, as John Farrell , his managerial and playing staff have been so lax with their play and performances this season. With no chance of mounting a sustainable challenge within the AL East the Red Sox aren’t even competitive enough to challenge for a wild-card berth as the schedule enters its final third of the season. Needless to say. GM Ben Cherington will have some major decisions to make once the team’s season comes to an end. Boston’s record since winning the World Series in 2013 have simply been an unmitigated disaster both on an off the field of play.
Mike Trout remains the best player of his generation and has now become the best player in the game, bar none. If you doubt that , then simply look at the player’s statistics since he entered baseball and now having won the AL Rookie of The Year as well as ALMVP . He now has his sights set on a World Series crown with the Los Angeles Angels , something last accomplished by this franchise in 2002 , under their current manager Mike Sciocsia .
Trout alongside teammate , Albert Pujols have led an offensive onslaught for the Angels this season, with the duo likely to finish with a projected combined home run total of ninety-five home runs. The last duo to accomplish the feat of one hundred home runs in a season were Alex Rodriguez and Rafael Palmeiro as teammates with the Texas Rangers in 2002. The Rangers for their part , as competitive as they were , simply lacked the the stamina for the long haul and also failing to make the postseason. Both Palmeiro and Rodriguez’s careers have respectively taken unexpected turns due to their web of deceit and lies. These two players have become infamous , with their names now synonymous with the use of banned substances with their repeated denials in light of the mounting evidence which suggested to the contrary.
Mike Sciocsia and the Angels have what appears to be an insurmountable lead within the AL West and can be seen as one of the prohibitive favorites within the AL (American League) this season alongside the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees. I certainly believe given their play , the Angels might just be the best team among the aforementioned trio , but the Royals appear to be on a mission of redemption after last season’s heroics during the postseason , ultimately ending with their series’ defeat in the World Series against the San Francisco Giants.
Trout and the Angels will be up against the Baltimore Orioles when they begin a weekend three-game home series at Angels Ballpark in Anaheim, California , starting on Friday, 7th August, 2015. On the mound for the opening game of the series will be Andrew Heaney of the Angels as he squares off against Kevin Gausman of the Orioles.
In recent months the term ā the most dominant athlete in sportsā has been banded about like its the only acclaim which can best describe an athletes’ prowess in their chosen field. As to that might be of late , can be best summed by how one might view the accomplishments being lauded over. Serena Williams continues to dominate the WTA Tour like no other female tennis player of her generation , with the last such player to have matched Williams’ feats being the now retired Steffi Graf . There the comparisons can come to an end , because until Williams has actually achieved the Grand Slam of winning the four tennis Majors in the same calendar year, all of this apathetic stupidity can stop. I have always maintained that the North American sports’ fans and members of the media would rather deal in hyperbole, than the evidence actually in front of them. In the case of sports such as tennis , soccer , auto racing outside of NASCAR , the fans and media alike are simply oafs with little or no intelligence at all !
Now comes the case where the comparisons are actually being made among female and male athletes , as to who the most dominant just happens to be . So next up , I guess it will be left to idiots such as Christine Brennan , Stephen A Smith and Bill Simmons to enlighten us all and tell us that Floyd Mayweather just happens to be a better athlete than LeBron James , Ronda Rousey , Serena Williams , and Jimmy Johnson ? While each of the individuals are considered to be among the best in their chosen fields , all of the hype and conjecture simply makes for a great debate and not much else beyond that. Trying to adjudge the dominance of an athlete from differing sports’ endeavors is like trying to count the grains of sand on a one foot square area on a beach . It is impossible to do, especially when you are simply going by what’s said to be their achievements and then not looking at the level of competition.
Ronda Rousey destroyed her last opponent Bethe Correia inside of one round at UFC 190 in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil on 1st August , 2015. It would be fair to suggest Rousey has become the brightest face in UFC at the moment and perhaps its biggest star. With their being no real challengers within her bantamweight division of note and the UFC weight class for female fighters solely tied to the bantamweight and strawweight division . There seems to be little chance Ronda Rousey will be dethroned as the female bantamweight champion within the UFC. She has been by far the best female fighter within the UFC ever since her first appearance inside the octagon and now with growing and unrelenting calls for her to face Cristiana Chris Cyborg Santos , a fighter within the rival Strikeforce organization .
There seems to be growing optimism the fight could take place. However, Santos has ran afoul of Strikeforce having tested positive for a banned substance leading to her being suspended by the organization . Rousey for her part, has drawn this fact to everyone’s attention and the fact she believes Santos has devalued the sport with her suspension, having tested positive for a banned substance. Now as if to keep the feud going ,Cristiana Santos has sought to have her lawyers draw a defamation lawsuit against Ronda Rousey , stating the fighter has defamed her character with unsubstantiated allegations. Much ado about nothing I believe , as Santos is more in need of seeing her profile being raised. while also seeking a big payday for a proposed bout against Rousey.
As if to prove the state of disarray the sport of boxing just happens to be in . Floyd Mayweather has announced his next opponent as he defends his welterweight title belts will be against the lightly taken and exceedingly mediocre Andre Berto . Mayweather may well be seeking to equal and then best the 49-0 record of the late Rocky Marciano , but taking fights against lesser opponents now simply demeans a sport now dying on its feeble and last legs, .
The welterweight title holder (Mayweather) was barely tested in his last fight a unanimous decision over the past his prime Manny Pacquaio . The fact that both fighters split an estimated $225 million purse, only adds further injury to insults, one would still like to throw not only at both fighters, but the various international governing bodies of the sport of boxing. Needless to say , with promoters such as Don King , Bob Arum , Oscar de La Hoya and Mayweather himself , pulling the strings as marionettes , there is little that can be done by the likes of the WBA , WBC , IBF and WBO . Not that the governing bodies in question has ever had the sport’s best interests at heart. Consider the fact , there is not an undisputed champion in any of the weight categories in the sport of boxing and it easy to understand why there is now growing disinterest in the sport. With Mayweather’s likely retirement coming sooner, rather than later , boxing will lose its biggest draw and most acclaimed and gifted fighter of the last fifteen years. Vacuum in the sport ? I guess so !
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So Floyd Mayweather Jr in order to seek legitimacy believes he can best do so by surpassing the record of 49-0 set by the great Rocky Marciano . Granted , Marciano was never a truly great fighter , but he did carry himself with a great deal of dignity and respect for the sport of boxing . I certainly don’t believe the same can be said of Mayweather !
Rocky Marciano
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Rex Ryan will have to choose between EJ Manuel , Matt Cassel and Matt Simms .
From left to right . Matt Simms (8), EJ Manuel (3) and Matt Cassel (16). Not pictured Tyrod Taylor
If Bills’ fans truly believe that either of the three quarterbacks in question can lead the team to a divisional title much less a winning record for this season, then they are sadly mistaken . Even with the switching of passers made by Dough Marrone last season the Bills were just mediocre in terms of their offense . Not much will change with Rex Ryan and his new coaching staff in charge this season .
At best the Buffalo Bills are no better than an 6-10 or a 7-9 team , which will not be good enough to guarantee them a wildcard berth within the AFC for the postseason. .
Tyrod Taylor
Is there really anything else that really needs to be added concerning the Bills and their continued incompetence ?
Buffalo Bills’ news
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So now I’m meant to believe the Baltimore Orioles are now the most underrated team in the AL ? I mean what have they been able to achieve since Buck Showalter took over as the manager of the Orioles ?
Chris Davis (left) and Buck Showalter .
In Showalter’s five years since 2010. Baltimore, have under- achieved rather than being deemed to be the most underrated franchise in the AL .
Chris Davis had one good season having hit fifty home runs and that has been just about the most memorable as well as the most overrated achievement by a Baltimore player during that time-span . Need we mention Davis then fell foul of the league’s substance abuse policy ? At the same time Manny Machado has yet to rediscover the form that made him one of the brightest young players in the game .
Now comes the idiocy of the need for the Orioles to resign Chris Davis .
Davis has never been a leader on this team and he remains a one trick pony with a declining skill-set all round .,
Baltimore should they gain a wildcard berth , because it is abundantly clear they are not good enough to challenge the New York Yankees for the AL East divisional crown this season .
The Orioles’ last postseason appearance was none too impressive , leading me to believe the same fate awaits them again should they gain a berth into baseball’s postseason foray .
No doubt the O’s have been good over their last ten games (7-3) as of 6th August . but they’re now struggling to keep apace with the Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays within the AL East. while staying apace also on the wildcard ladder. Baltimore has a three-game weekend series against the Los Angels Angels starting today (Friday) . It is a road series that they must win against the game’s best player Mike Trout and his teammates if they are to have any chance of making this postseason.
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If there are two well-known players with something to prove this season then atop my own personal list it would have to be Robert Griffin III and Eli Manning .
RG III and Eli Manning (right)
Over the last three seasons both have under-achieved while their respective teams have been abysmal failures. Say what you want about the Washington Redskins and New York Giants in terms of their monetary worth and attendance levels , but if you don’t have a winning product on the field then , what the fu$k is the use of talking about how good a player or a team just happens to be ? That’s the sort of asinine bull#hit I continue to read by clueless ba$tards when they begin to opine about the NFL.
One particular a#shole continues to whine on about Chip Kelly and the Philadelphia Eagles , but his mother $ucking #ss doesn’t seem to be intelligent enough to realize that Kelly is an overrated head coach who simply doesn’t know how to motivate players in the NFL , much less get them to play with zeal . In terms of his playoff record Kelly is as broke as a homeless vagabond. If anybody believes his having Sam Bradford as the Eagles’ starting quarterback will see this team win the NFC East , then they are in for a rude awakening.
Foles and Kelly
They’re going from this (Nick Foles) pictured above , to this (Bradford & Kelly). God bless America , with their dumb #$s sports’ and Eagles’ fans .
Is Kelly hoping to shove this up an Eagles players’ @ss or is he just quirky like that ?
The Eagles simply don’t know how to play defense , as proven with the teams under Chip Kelly since he became the head coach of the franchise.
It is not about race concerning the head coach , it is about his ego and the fact his dumb #ss is still under the impression he is dealing with college players rather than players in the NFL .
Clearly , when you’re no more intelligent than a lump of $hit , kerbside , then it clearly shows , that claims of a higher IQ and knowing about the NFL is simply a frigging joke and a real cause for never-ending ridicule
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Want to start the season off right in the NFL , have several key players go down with serious injuries right before the start of the preseason and regular season , because the coaches are simply too dumb .
Houston Texans’ running back Arian Foster will likely be lost to the team for the entire pre and regular season with his having to undergo surgery to repair a torn groin muscle. To understand how invaluable to the team Foster has been. Other than Andre Johnson , there is no other player who has been more productive and that includes the asinine notion of JJ Watt being the best player in the NFL, as adjudged by his peers.
JJ Watt(99) and Arian Foster (23)
Watt might be the best defensive player in the league but , in no way is he the best player in the NFL . This is the type of asinine horse#hit that continues to make the league such a joke at times , never-mind the ongoing stupidity of the media and the anal retentive fans who buy into the league’s ( NFL’s) odious bull#hit .
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So now that the New York Mets are finally showing what they’re capable of and the question has to be will this team actually fold under pressure or make it all the way to winning their first divisional title in almost a decade ? Their postseason foray in 2006 was not a memorable one at all
J P Ricciardi & Sandy Alderson (right)
I’ve been told by Mets’ fans that the organization under Sandy Alderson and JP Ricciardi needed time to mesh a team together capable of winning an NL Pennant as well as a World Series’ title.
To my mind owners, Saul Katz and Fred Wilpon have simply negligent in their custodianship of the franchise , never-mind the financial issues faced by the Mets after the Bernie Madoff ‘scandal’ which the MLB hierarchy under Bud Selig were so incompetent in their handling of the matter , considering how close to filing bankruptcy (Chapter 11) was an issue for the New York Mets , had they not been able to get the financing needed to stave off their financial woes.
It must be said , the organization is still not out of the woods as of yet , in spite of their being able to facilitate the use of Citi-Field for other public engagements beyond home games played at the ballpark.
The Mets still remain one of the best supported teams in the NL and among the best supported among all of baseball.
For years David Wright has been the face of the Mets , but for all of his ability , Wright has yet to show himself to be a leader of this team throughout his career vocal or otherwise.
Mets’ manager Terry Collins and David Wright.
Mets’ results this season so far and their standing within the NL East and wildcard . Next up for the for the New York Mets will be a three-game intra-league road series at Tropicana Field in St Petersburg, Florida against the Tampa Bay Rays. Series between the two teams have resulted with the following record .
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Of all the divisions within baseball this season the most disappointing to my mind has to be the NL East where the Washington Nationals , Atlanta Braves , Miami Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies have been a monumental disappointment . Never mind taking into account their payrolls .
Mismanagement , front office decisions which have simply been idiotic beyond the poor play of the pitching , defense and offense of the teams in question . It has been one the primary reasons why I believe the Marlins , Phillies and Nationals been so inconsistent .
One of the best series taking place over this weekend will be the San Francisco Giants taking on the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago , Illinois. Ryan Vogelsong of the Giants will be on the mound against the Cubs’ Jon Lester.
MLB results 4-6th August
MLB schedule 7th August
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Let’s see what’s been happening here within the Tampa Bay sports’ area with regard to the two major professional sports’ franchises within the locale. It’s said that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ number one overall draft pick , quarterback Jameis Winston has been steadily impressing his teammates and the coaching staff of Lovie Smith with his command of the playbook.
Lovie Smith and Jameis Winston (right)
Perhaps it’s me , but Winston might well be able to make plays on the practice field , but if the truth be known mistiming passes and having thrown interceptions on 40% of your plays is not an impressive stat to have at all , practice or in an actual game . This doesn’t bode well for the Buccaneers for the preseason or the regular season .
Tampa will be no better than a 7-9 team during this upcoming season , which is likely to place them as the third best team within the NFC South. Say what you will, but Lovie Smith will be hard-pressed to get this team to be playing with any sense of fluidity or consistency.
Elsewhere , Kevin Cash and the managerial staff of the Tampa Bay Rays seem to be struggling to keep apace with their divisional rivals within the AL East.
Kevin Cash (left) and Evan Longoria .
Far be it for me to suggest, . but this team simply wasn’t built for the long haul with their pitching staff said to be their strength while not being able gain any type of momentum over the course of this season. From an offensive standpoint , no one player has been able to show any type of sustainable consistency . Clearly. during the off-season . GM Matt Silverman will have to reassess the entire roster and then seek possibly acquire several productive free agents while also looking at their farm system .
I would sincerely like to thank the Rays for one again showing how mediocre a team they just happen to be on their way to securing another home loss , as they seem to be going down in flames in their game against the New York Mets.
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MLB results 7th August, 2015
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ depth chart
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With the loss of Ndamokung Suh the Detroit Lions will be hard pressed to overtake the Green Bay Packers within the NFC North this season . For all of the stats put up by Matt Stafford over the course of his career with the Lions, they have still yet to prove themselves worthy of being considered contenders for the division much less the NFC conference champions.
Jim Caldwell is being asked to do a great deal with a team assembled by a front office which actually seems out touch with reality. Detroit has suffered from showing any type of real consistency when it mattered most and Stafford has yet to show any real leadership qualities sought in an elite quarterback within the NFL .
Matt Stafford (9) and Calvin Johnson (81) .
Calvin Johnson may well continue to break records but individual success seems to be only thing the wide receiver is likely to acquire with the franchise.
From left to right Lions’ GM Martin Mayhew , head coach Jim Caldwell and team President Tom Lewand .
It will be interesting to see how the Lions deal with the Packers during their divisional match-ups this season which will take place during weeks’ ten and thirteen . Both quarterbacks Matt Stafford and Aaron Rodgers will likely be tested in each of the contests .
Aaron Rodgers (12) and Matt Stafford (9)
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With the Cleveland Cavaliers having lost the NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors after the heroics of LeBron James . It would be fair to suggest on the sporting front among the state of Ohio’s professional sports franchises, things are not going exceedingly well, The Cavaliers are looking to rebound from last season’s series loss , rebuilding the roster under the watchful eye of David Griffin and head coach David Blatt .
Cavaliers’ GM David Griffin (right) and head coach David Blatt.
Elsewhere , in the world of baseball the Cleveland Indians are struggling to keep apace with the Kansas City Royals , Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins within the AL Central . Terry Francona and his managerial staff have tried their best to get this team playing with any semblance of consistency throughout the season .
Indians’ manager Terry Francona and GM Chris Antonetti .
Francona has watched as the Indians dropped another home game losing to the Twins in a narrow loss , 10-9 . For Cleveland their season has already come to an abrupt end.
In the NFL for AFC North occupants the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Brown this will be the season where their quarterbacks Johnny Manziel , Brian Hoyer and Andy Dalton will be looking to pull out all of the stops as they each seek their chance of stopping the Pittsburgh Steelers from winning another divisional title . Mike Tomlin will be looking to add to his already impressive resume’ .
Brian Hoyer ,left and Johnny Manziel .
I don’t believe Johnny Manziel is capable of beating out Brian Hoyer for the starting role as the Browns’ quarterback ! Manziel hasn’t been able to show signs of maturity , much less the ability to play the position with any great authority.
Marvin Lewis and Andy Dalton .
For Andy Dalton , his season will be measured by whether or not he can take the Bengals to another postseason appearance. This might well be Marvin Lewis’ last chance to prove his worth to the front office executives of the franchise.
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In the NFC and in particular, the NFC West , the team with the biggest need to show they are still worthy contenders are the San Francisco 49ers. After a season of missed opportunities and internal upheavals with the departure of Jim Harbaugh to head the coaching staff of the Michigan Wolverines Football program .
Jim Harbaugh , Michigan Wolverines’ head coach.
Niners’ head coach Jim Tomsula , foreground and GM Trent Baalke
There will be a fresh start for the Forty Niners with Jim Tomsula succeeding Harbaugh as the Niners’ head coach with a number of new faces among not only the coaching staff , but also the roster as well. San Francisco also chose to cut Aldon Smith, a player whose off the field troubles became more of a distraction than anything else. Add in the fact , Smith’s teammate , Ray McDonald was also sent packing and one could suggest a new broom was needed to sweep out the dust as trash on the playing staff.
Colin Kaepernick also saw something of a regression in his game, along with Jim Harbaugh’s nonchalant approach to having the team play with any sense of urgency. The Niners never seemed capable enough to challenge the Seattle Seahawks for the NFC West divisional crown and it seems the Seahawks will again be in the driver’s seat as they seek to make a successful defense of their crown.
Kaepernick of the Forty Niners
Pete Carroll , I believe know that he and the team have to make amends for the loss last season in the Superbowl to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
The waning moments of the game will likely go down in NFL history as one of the most improbable endings ever to happen the league’s postseason finale .
Brady might well have won the Superbowl MVP for the third time , but the real heroics belonged to Malcolm Butler and his intuitive interception of Russell Wilson’s attempted red-zone pass which would have won the game for Seattle.
San Francisco’s future does seem uncertain given the fact over the next two years there are likely to be several moves made by GM Trent Baalke , as he seeks to improve the Niners’ roster . 2016 will see the NFL cap at an all-time high for the league’s thirty-two teams, along with escalating salaries for several players in many of the skilled positions ( quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight-end , defensive end , corner-back and defensive tackle) . Questions also are being raised concerning Colin Kaepernick’s temperament , leadership abilities as well as his new found status as being one the league’s highest paid players as well as one of the highest paid quarterback in the league by way of his salary and contract.
Jim Tomsula knows if the Forty Niners are to have a successful season , then this team will have to be very competitive on both sides of the ball in terms of their defense and offense. San Francisco were very lax in several games last season , where the team simply faltered , failing to make the postseason and languishing mid-table in terms of the conference standings and a disappointing placement in the NFC West.
San Francisco 49ers news
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Can’t help but wonder what the courts finding Brady innocent will do for the NFL’s decision… if anything.
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Chris Humpheries Sportschump)
It will prove to be an embarrassing situation for the league hierarchy , because Roger Goodell has a great deal riding in the decision by the judge in US District Court in New York . If the decision is rescinded , it begs the question , what is it the NFL is now seeking to achieve ? For far too long, Goodell has been given free rein to do as he pleases in spite joint collective bargaining agreement between the league and the NFLPA (Players’ Union) .
To my mind fans of the NFL are simply too fu#king dumb to even be cognizant of the real underlying issues and that includes an @sshole such one your most loyal patrons who profoundly shows his ignorance and intelligence by insulting others, because he’s devoid of intellect altogether , by trying to suggest as an African-American veteran, he has some insight. He actually makes Stevie Wonder seem like a sighted individual . Nothing more needs to be added to this subject matter because plain and simple it’s way beyond the comprehension of apathetic @ssholes who continually have their heads buried in the sand.
I can’t see Tom Brady’s suspension being overturned or lessened, as part of any type of evidential premise, because the player has not in any way , proven his innocence in this matter. There is no plausible excuse for his being uncooperative or having destroyed his cellphone. You would have to a compete dumb @ss to buy into any type of explanation by the player , even if you didn’t understand basic jurisprudence (rule of law)
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I can’t see Jeff Fisher as head coach of the St Louis Rams improving to such an extent where this season the Rams will be challenging the likes of the Seattle Seahawks or even a less impoverished San Francisco 49ers in 2015.
As good as Nick Foles has been over the last two seasons the roster as it now stands, doesn’t really impress me from an defensive or offensive standpoint !
From left to right , Jeff Fisher, Nick Foles and Rams’ general manager Les Snead .
St Louis will have to start off fast , coming right out of the gate going 3-1 through their first four games , if they’re to be in with a remote chance of winning the NFC West.
St Louis Rams news
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Today’s games in MLB and the probable pitchers on the mound for Saturday, 8th August , 2015.
Perhaps the most intriguing game of the day pits the newly acquired starting pitcher David Price of the Toronto Blue Jays facing off against Ivan Nova of the New York Yankees .
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Jay Cutler was somehow inexplicably given a seven-year $126.7 million contract which he has failed to live up to while with the Chicago Bears. So it would be prudent to suggest that even with the departure of Phil Emery as the Bears’ general manager still remains a mess , because there is no way in hell any other NFL team would be interested in the veteran at this stage of his career.
Jay Cutler of the Chicago Bears
Cutler has been unproductive, lacks leadership ability , but above all has become more of a liability than an asset to franchise and this team.
I do not believe the Bears are competitive enough to challenge the Green Bay Packers within the NFC North for the divisional title this season . And I do not believe under Jay Cutler’s so called skill-set they are even good enough to gain a playoff berth for 2015 !
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As great a season as Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira are said to be having for the New York Yankees . This team under Joe Girardi’s managerial abilities are certainly finding innumerable ways of imploding this season .
Girardi literally watched as the Yankees were subjected to one of their worst home losses of the year as they succumbed to the Toronto Blue Jays in a 6-0 drubbing .
New York Yankees news
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I am not so sure the games being played over the next few days date are likely to change the climate of the play we’re now seeing within baseball . The inconsistency of the teams is now self-evident to be seen .
MLB press release
Tophatal ………………..
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No real surprises today with regard to the MLB results .
MLB standings
MLB starting pitcher’s stats
MLB player’s stats (offense)
Tophatal …
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Sunday’s Hall of Fame Game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings at Fawcett Stadium in Canton, Ohio. The contest itself proved to be uneventful with the Vikings prevailing in a 14-3 victory over the Steelers . Neither team was effective many of their respective front-line starters barely playing any noticeable minutes through the four quarters.
NFL player stats
NFL team stats
Tophatal …………
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With the New York Mets and New York Yankees leading their respective divisions within the AL and NL as of the 8th August. Are fans of these two teams now hoping they will be the representatives from each league in this season’s World Series ?
The Yankees have begun to show their vulnerability with the Toronto Blue Jays on a winning streak , their best run of the season having closed in on New York to narrow the gap within the AL East.
MLB press releases
MLB schedule 10th August, 2015
MLB probable pitchers
Tophatal …
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Not only have the Miami Marlins given up on their season with the recent dissolution of the team roster but their managerial staff and front office seems to be completely devoid of intelligence .
Miami has nothing but mediocre talent within its farm system where a number of players are one two years away from being anywhere near being productive. The current team based on performances have simply shown up , then crashed and burned. That has been clearly evident over the last ten games for the Miami Marlins .
Miami Marlins’ press releases
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The NBA schedule is now official and on view for the public to view . The regular season begins on 27th October with it being the seventieth NBA season in the game’s professional history . Defending NBA champions the Golden State Warriors will begin the defense of their title against the New Orleans Pelicans . There will be several games on opening night , 27th October , 2015 .
Last season’s beaten finalists the Cleveland Cavaliers will have their opening game against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center , in Chicago , Illinois .
NBA news
2015-16 NBA Opening Night regular season schedule
2014-15 First month’s schedule
Tophatal …………..
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The NFL and Tom Brady will come to a compromise which will lead to the player’s four game suspension being reduced or quite possibly rescinded with the only action still intact being the monetary fine and draft picks taken away from the franchise . If that is the case , then it leads to another embarrassing situation for Roger Goodell and sustains the belief he should no longer be the sole arbiter presiding over hearings concerning player misconduct.
As a league it is now imperative for the commissioner and hierarchy to seek out new steps to make the whole process more transparent rather than being continually secretive and without there said to any type process where Goodell is seen to be impartial. This an institution (NFL) rife with inconsistencies , full of its own self-importance while now lacking a great deal of credibility on all fronts.
Roger Goodell lacks real leadership and communicative skills which is self-evident for everyone to see and has been seen ever since he succeeded Paul Tagliabue as the NFL Commissioner.
Other than the tenures of Bud Selig , Garry Bettman and David Stern , I would say the incumbent commissioner of the league (NFL) is the most incompetent and least intelligent of the executives now presiding over a major professional sports’ governing body.
Granted , Bettman is sinking with his aptitude as it concerns the NHL , where now one of its most popular players Patrick Kane is embroiled in a sex scandal , that if proven to be true could sink his career and adversely affect his team as well as the NHL.
Rob Manfred having succeeded Bud Selig , is proving to be as much of an imbecile as his predecessor.
Adam Silver by any measure in one fail swoop proved that David Stern was a fu#king as$hole , by dealing swiftly with Donald Sterling who is now seeking to sue V Stiviano and ESPN for his loss of the Los Angeles Clippers . Which begs the question what did Stern feel would be an appropriate way for the league to deal with Sterling’s antics ? I have repeatedly heard idiots jump to David Stern’s defense , while not having any fu#king idea what the hell they are talking about.
Tophatal …….
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There are games to be played in the NFL on Friday evening , as well as on Saturday . Last night’s results did not necessarily provide us with a precursor of things to come, but it certainly opened up our eyes as to how meaningless the exhibition season of the league continues to be in spite of the NFL steadily increasing prices for these games.
New England embarked on their preseason with a week one loss to the Green Bay Packers . Jimmy Garoppolo was the starter for the Patriots who played without Tom Brady , as he undergoes his appeal’s process in having his four game suspension overturned .
Michael Vick currently a free agent will be looking to the preseason to see if he can perhaps catch on with a team in need of a veteran quarterback’s presence on a team in need of a player of his stature. I am not so sure what Vick can offer a franchise at this stage of his career given his lack of success during the regular and postseason .
NFL news
NFL standings division
NFL player stats
NFL quarterback stats (preseason)
New England Patriots’ news
Tophatal ………………
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