Wiggins, who played his high school ball for Huntington Prep in West Virginia, is not your average blue chip recruit. The kid stands at 6-foot-7 and has the athletic skills of a point guard. He can cut like a knife and has the ability to score in and outside the paint. According to Scott Gleeson and Jim Halley of USA Today, he is “considered by many to be the best high school basketball player since Lebron James.”

His mixtape speaks for itself.

Wiggins was also considering North Carolina, Kentucky and Florida State, but Bill Self and the Jayhawks lucked out with his commitment. They’ll need to make it count because with skills compared to Lebron James, Wiggins may follow James’ path by heading straight to the NBA as soon as possible (unlike James, Wiggins is forced to go to college for one year before applying for the NFL draft, according to NBA rules).

“I think he’s going to be a great college player but I think he’ll be a better pro because of the way the defenses are. You can’t guard him in space.” – Huntington Prep head coach Robert Fulford in an interview with Dave Telep of ESPN

“This kid is better than advertised when you see him in person. He fits into the category of Lebron James as a high school player we’ve never seen before because of his explosiveness.” – Dick Vitale to USA Today

Photo Courtesy of NationOfBlue.com

A new, more traditional stance for Jon Jay and the simple approaches of rookies Seth Maness and Carlos Martinez have helped the Cardinals (21-12) get off to hot start in May – The team has won six of their first seven to start the month. During this stretch, Jay has collected two game winning hits, Maness two wins, and Martinez two scoreless innings in relief. But the key to their individual success stories has been simple approaches that focus in on baseball basics.

Jay’s quick turn-around

After getting off to a slow start which featured an 0-21 span, Cardinal center fielder Jon Jay has changed his often criticized “helicopter” stance to a more traditional stance, with Jay keeping his bat more vertical and his hands still. Jay has responded well, collecting four multi-hit games while hitting .417 with 1 HR, 8 RBI, and an OBP of .500 to start off May. The left-handed hitting Jay has also raised his average from .204 to .257.

Jay’s change comes after more time in the cage and the video room, as well as more time with hitting coach John Mabry. The two are hoping that the change will not only return Jay to form, but help the career .300 hitter maintain long-term success at the plate.

Rookie relievers contrast in style, achieve similar success.

After shipping relievers Mitchell Boggs and Marc Rzepcynski to AAA Memphis, people saw the call-up of the team’s No. 2 prospect Carlos Martinez and No. 18 prospect Seth Maness as an act of desperation. The two have done their best to prove the Cardinal doubters wrong.

Maness, a right-hander out of East Carolina, has been the biggest surprise out of all the young pitching talent the Cardinals have. The rookie has been overlooked because of names like Martinez, Miller, Wacha, and Jenkins, but achieved just as much, if not more success in the minors that any of those guys. The 2011 draft pick went 14-4 with a 2.97 ERA between high-A Palm Beach and AA Springfield last year on his way to earning the honor of being the Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

Despite the fact that Maness doesn’t have a pitch that is particularly devastating, the 24 year old has achieved success out of the bullpen due to his pinpoint control, which allows the righty to work around the plate with his sinking fastball. Maness’s great control has also allowed him to throw just 18 pitches in his three innings. The right-hander has also been a breath of fresh air by coming in and throwing strikes, a rarity of the Cardinals bullpen in April (15 of Maness’s 18 pitches have gone for strikes). The rookie’s high strike ratio has allowed him to get ahead of hitters and take control of the at-bat.

Also achieving success out of the bullpen is fellow rookie Carlos Martinez. Prior to his call-up, many Cardinal fans had not been exposed to the kind of stuff Carlos Martinez has – The same stuff that had scared No.1 prospect Oscar Taveras out of the hitting cage during Martinez’s first simulated game following his promotion to AA Springfield last year. Martinez’s electric stuff (a fastball that’s been hovering around 96-99 mph, a slider coming in at 88 mph, a plus curveball), Martinez’s early success, much like Maness’s, can be attributed to the fact that he is still pitching to contact. The prospect is ensuring that he is getting hitters out by either blowing past them with his arsenal of pitchers or making sure that anything that comes off the bat will be easily handled by his defense.

With Maness and Martinez showing no reason for them to be sent back down, it should not only show that some of the Cardinals young arms are ready, but show some of the bullpen guys that their jobs may not be as safe as they think.

Written By Chase A. Probert

Photo Courtesy of AP

To fully recover from this massive headache caused by the nightmarish 2012 season, the Jets need to cut the remaining piece of the Tebow-Sanchez tag-team.

The first reason being that Sanchez is not a very good NFL quarterback. During his 2009 and 2010 seasons, he looked very promising as a starting quarterback. In his first two seasons at the helm, his record was 19-12, his completion percentage was 54.3, he threw for 5,735 yards with 29 touchdowns and 33 interceptions.

Not terrible stats for a quarterback who entered the NFL too early (Sanchez left USC after one season as a starter and even his head coach at the time, Pete Carroll, said he wasn’t ready).

Then in 2011, Sanchez got a little better when he threw for 3,473 yards, 26 touchdowns and 18 interceptions, while completing 56.7 percent of his passes.

But that all changed in 2012. Sanchez crumbled under pressure and didn’t have the weapons that he had in the previous three seasons. In the 2009, he had Braylon Edwards and Jerrocho Cotchery to lean on. In 2010, he had Santonio Holmes, LaDanian Tomlinson, Cotchery, Edwards and Dustin Keller. In 2011, he had Plaxico Burress, Holmes, Tomlinson and Keller and in all three seasons, he had a dominating rushing game.

In 2012, Sanchez was trying to recover from the rifts he had with Holmes (but apparently they kissed and made up), had the Tebow faithful breathing down his neck and calling for his job and didn’t really have the offensive weapons around him to make a competitive campaign for the playoffs.

He also ran into his own lineman’s butt and fumbled the ball, to add insult to injury, during a Thanksgiving blowout by AFC East rival New England.

The Jets should have thought twice (something they are not very good at, as history shows) about drafting a quarterback. They already have Greg McElroy, who was a two-year starter at Alabama; why not let him compete for the starting position? I highly doubt that the Jets let McElroy compete for the starting spot because of their blind-faith in Sanchez.

Can’t have seventh-round pick starting over a first-round pick, right?

But since they drafted Geno Smith, they should go with him for the time being and get rid of Sanchez.

Sanchez reaks of mediocrity and has shown miniscule improvement, if any, and has done very little to prove to New York that he is the leader of the team. None.

All Sanchez has done is date Eva Longoria, goof around during Hard Knocks and take up a lot of cap space ($12.8 million hit in 2013). Does he have playoff wins under his belt? Yes, but so does Rex Grossman.

Cut Sanchez, swallow the cap hit and move on with your lives, New York.

Photo Courtesy of John Minchillo/Associated Press

In the Fan Nation post, the blog post writes

According to a source familiar with the case, Gronkowski is going to need a fourth operation to change the plate that’s securing the broken bone in the forearm. While there has been some suggestion recently that this step might be avoided, the source indicated the fourth operation still has to happen. The plate has to be switched, no matter what, and the surrounding tissue tested. The real question is if Gronkowski, who has been taking part in the team’s offseason program, will need a fifth operation. If tests show the infection has been completely flushed out, the plate will be replaced, and the recovery process begins.

While Gronk gets his RR, the Patriots will probably use that time to figure out who is going to play tight end, which might not be as easy as calling on the next man up.

Aaron Hernandez is still recovering from shoulder surgery that he received in April after missing the last six games of the season. Jake Ballard is looking like the next viable choice.

Ballard, who played for the Giants during their recent Super Bowl winning season, was claimed on waivers during the 2012 NFL offseason after the Giants waived him instead of putting him on the injured reserve.

Photo Courtesy of Robert Deutsch/USA TODAY Sports

Although the series is tied at two games-a-piece, the Kings have made two strong statements that should wake the Blues up like a punch to the face.

In Game 3, the Kings made it known to everyone that they weren’t going down without a fight. Even when the Blues had them gassed, the Kings kept fighting and never showed signs of defeat as they managed to fend the Blues off for three straight periods and earn their 1-0 win.

In Game 4, the Kings showed the Blues that they can score when they need to, something St. Louis has been lacking since Game 2. Two games, two statements and the Blues have come up with empty in the answer department. All they have done is squander scoring chances, which have come up by the dozen, and make Brian Elliot do a majority of the work.

Elliot is getting the short-end of the stick. More often than not, Elliot has had to make saves on his head just to keep the Blues in the game. His defensemen are inconsistent in protecting him and are not doing enough to make sure that he isn’t facing 3-on-1′s, 2-on-none or even 3-on-none like we saw in Game 4. One minute, Barrett Jackman is blocking a shot, the next minute, he blows a tire and leaves Elliot to face three kings by himself.

Vladimir Tarasenko needs to get more set-ups. In his NHL debut, he scored two goals like a seasoned veteran. In his NHL Playoffs debut, he played just under six minutes and didn’t fire a single shot.

That needs to change.

Tarasenko, although just a rookie, is a playmaker. He can cherry pick and wait for the quick pass or he can set up T.J. Oshie or David Backes. He’s not exactly a sniper, but we know that he can score goals and set people up.

Speaking of Oshie, somebody get this man some support. Oshie did an excellent job on the offensive side of the puck by redirecting shots and scoring goals off of good passes, but he cannot be the only one doing the work. What is killing the Blues is their failure to take advantage of Jonathan Quick‘s mistakes and failure to contain the rebound.

Quick is good, but he is has a tendency to heavily favor sides, leaving the opposite side of him so wide open you could drive a truck through. He also has been coming out of the net a lot; the Blues need to get those rebounds and slam the puck in the net. Quick has left St. Louis plenty of chances to get goals and yet they either miss the pass, make a bad pass or miss it wide. The Kings only did half the work in both of their wins; the Blues shot themselves in the foot in both games to help push the Kings pass them.

Keep C.P.R. together.

Adam Cracknell, Chris Porter and Ryan Reaves need to stay together on the fourth line. They are the driving force behind our physical play and they do a great job of setting the tone for the other lines to meet. Cracknell and Reaves are the toughest men on our team, besides Roman Polak, and bring the hammer down on any Kings player that crosses their path. Cracknell, Porter and Reaves also have the capability to score. Sure, they are the fourth liners but that doesn’t mean they cannot contribute in the goal column. Reaves has four goals this year, Cracknell has two goals and Porter has two himself.

In Game 4, Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock healthy scratched Cracknell so Tarasenko could play. If Hitchcock wants Tarasenko to play in Game 5, then healthy scratch David Perron.

I appreciate everything Perron has done this round but he is simply not doing what he needs to be doing, which is scoring. Throughout this series, Perron has been flying down the ice to keep the puck out of the St. Louis zone and has been nothing but a menace to Quick and the Kings by crashing the net. But that seems to be backfiring on St. Louis because when the Kings get angry, they get aggressive and play with the extra gears that they Blues haven’t had since Game 2.

Scratch Perron, put in Tarasenko, keep CPR.

The following players need to wake up: Chris Stewart, Roman Polak, Kevin Shattenkirk, Barrett Jackman, Andy McDonald and Patrick Berglund. 

Stewart needs to play likes he’s back on the fourth line again; like he’s trying to prove something. Stewart is a goal scorer and knows how to set people up. He was the one who fed the puck to Jackman that gave the Blues the game winning goal in Game 2. Since then. Stewart has been silent.

Polak, Shattenkirk and Jackman need to start being ruthless. All three of these men need to hit more. In Games 3 and 4, the only hits I’ve seen have been from forwards, like Oshie and the CPR line. That needs to change immediately. Polak is a monster and needs to get back to dropping the Mjolnir (Hammer of Thor) on Kings forwards and Jackman and Shattenkirk need to follow suit. It’s really frustrating seeing Los Angeles forwards march into the St. Louis zone while the Blues forwards have to kick in the door just to get the puck across midline.

Every forward on every line, especially the playmakers, need to do a better job of getting into the LA zone; put the arm up to block if you have to because the Kings defensemen are doing an excellent job at keeping us out of their zone. We shouldn’t be relying on these blue-line slapshots. Drive the puck into their zone and get point-blank shots off.

And last, but not least, someone start a fight.

Polak, Reaves, Cracknell and Backes need to fight the following players: Dustin Brown, Drew Doughty, Kyle Clifford, Anze Kopitar and Robyn Regehr. 

Those Kings have been a thorn in the Blues side all series and need to be dealt with. Fighting has it’s place in hockey; it pumps up the home crowd to no end and gives the bench an extra gear.

I have nothing left to say. Go Blues.

Photo Courtesy of the Associated Press

And that is exactly what happened. Chris Kluwe got cut.

Why he got cut seems to be a mystery that no one is having trouble solving. Even the Scooby-Doo’s stoner owner knew that Kluwe was cut because he was outspoken for gay rights and player safety and drew more attention to himself than the Vikings front office was comfortable with. The Vikings will say otherwise for PR purposes but everyone and their mother knows that Kluwe was cut because he voiced his opinions louder than anyone else in the league.

In the Star Tribune, the Minneapolis Newspaper, Chip Scoggins writes:

Regardless of whether they admit it, the Vikings are jettisoning Kluwe partly because they grew tired of his outspokenness. It’s naive to think the move is based solely on his age (31), salary ($1.45 million) or how he performed last season (inconsistently). Kluwe has become the most visible punter in NFL history because of his social activism. The Vikings deny that Kluwe’s public stance on issues factored into their decision — not that they would ever admit it — but they likely prefer someone who embraces the anonymous life of an NFL punter.

2012 was arguably Kluwe’s best year in Minnesota and he was nowhere near being a strain on the Vikings’ checkbook, yet he was shown the door. It could be the dumbest move that Minnesota has done all offseason and it’s right after they made the genius move of getting three first round picks.

Think about it; during a time where gay rights are at the forefront of any social debate, more and more people are not only coming out of the closet, but voicing their overwhelming support, Kluwe being the biggest athlete advocate of the gay rights fight. So when Minnesota gives Kluwe the pink slip, it makes the Vikings look intolerant.

Not of gay rights, necessarily, but of people’s opinions.

Regardless of the reasoning, every NFL team is a business and if the front office wants to let someone go, they should let them go.

Photo Courtesy of Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports

Hands down.

But there was one brave sportswriter, Gary Washburn, who made the argument, and the lone vote, for Carmelo Anthony as the MVP choice.

Interesting.

In Washburn’s article, which can be read here, he makes a very compelling argument that Melo has meant more to his team this season than Lebron. In the article, he writes:

If you were to take Anthony off the Knicks, they are a lottery team. James plays with two other All-Stars, the league’s all-time 3-point leader, a defensive stalwart, and a fearless point guard. The Heat are loaded.

If LeBron was taken away from the Heat, they still would be a fifth or sixth seed. He is the best player of this generation, a multifaceted superstar with the physical prowess of Adonis, but I chose to reward a player who has lifted his team to new heights.

Washburn’s right; if you take Melo off the Knicks, you’re left with J.R. Smith and a bunch of Knicks no-names.

The top three scorers on the Knicks are Melo (28.9 PPG), Raymond Felton (17.3) and Smith (15.5). The next two top scorers are Iman Schumpert (9.3) and Kenyon Martin (5.6).

The top three scorers on the Heat are Lebron (24.5), Ray Allen (16.5) and Dwayne Wade (13.7); followed by Chris Bosh (12.8), Chris Andersen (8.3), Udonis Haslem (7.5) and Mario Chamber (6.5). The Heat are packed with solid players who can not only start and put up big numbers, but can come off the bench and contribute, without the coach constantly asking his starters if they’re rested yet. The Heat can survive without Lebron. The Knicks cannot survive without Melo.

But there is something that Washburn said that I disagree with; that the MVP award is to acknowledge the player who is most valuable to their team. Yeah, there is an award for that; it’s called Team MVP.

This is the LEAGUE MVP; it doesn’t matter if he’s on a star-studded roster or on a dud-filled roster (Jason Kidd is physically done due to age and Amar’e Stoudemire has been on the IR for his weak knees).

When it comes to who is the better player. clearly, the answer is Lebron.

According to ESPN Stats and Information (all stats are up-to-date), Melo is 2nd in the league in PPG with 28.9. Lebron is 4th with 24.5. In PPG, Melo has Lebron beat, but that’s the only category where Melo is better than Lebron. If you look at any of the other statistical categories, Lebron is  ahead of Melo.

Assists-per-game:

Lebron: 6.8

Melo: 1.7

Field-Goal-Percentage:

Lebron: .627%

Melo: .378%

Rebounds-per-game: Lebron: 7.8

Melo: 6.1

And that’s just the offensive side of the ball. When you factor in the defensive side of each player, Lebron is head-and-shoulders above Melo. Lebron is not only tall, but powerful, conditioned and has the jumps to block layups off the backboards so often that it has become a search category on YouTube.

Melo has solid defense, but he isn’t as dominant as Lebron.

The MVP award is well-deserved by Lebron. He’s a marathon player and plays in almost every single game. He helped the Heat go on a 27-game winning streak this year and has been a monster in the playoffs (Before his championship-winning season, Lebron was good in the playoffs, but choked when his team really needed him).

No doubt, Melo is a good player, but Lebron is great.

Photo Courtesy of Blacksportsonline.com

In sports media, speculation and hypothetical talk is the foundation for programs Sports Center and magazines like Sports Illustrated. They can spend four months writing, rewriting and rerewriting mock drafts for the NFL or March Madness brackets and whenever a team signs a free agent or gets a new coach, they can spend weeks speculating thousands of different scenarios as to how that move or personnel change will affect the franchise. With Jason Collins announcing his sexuality to the sports world, he didn’t take a step forward with Civil Rights as much as he gave Sports Center and every other sports network another topic to discuss.

And that’s the problem.

Instead of addressing the problem and actually doing something about the question of “What would happen if there was a gay athlete in a locker room?”, all anyone does is voice their personal opinions, religious opinions, accuse each other of being too progressive or too conservative.

We kiss, make up and do it all over again the next day. Sunrise. Sunset. Except nothing changes and if it does, it moves so slowly it seems like it’s standing still. There are many culprits to this lack in culture change and the NBA seems to be the worst. Jason Collins is a player in their league and all they have done is give Collins a pat-on-the-back via Twitter and have not even begun to address the “important issue.”

NBA Commissioner David Stern statement re: Washington Wizards center Jason Collins announcement today: (1/4)

— NBA (@NBA) April 29, 2013

“As Adam Silver and I said to Jason, we have known the Collins family since Jason and Jarron joined the NBA in 2001 (2/4)

— NBA (@NBA) April 29, 2013

and they have been exemplary members of the NBA family. Jason has been a widely respected player and teammate throughout (3/4)

— NBA (@NBA) April 29, 2013

his career and we are proud he has assumed the leadership mantle on this very important issue.” #NBAFamily (4/4)

— NBA (@NBA) April 29, 2013

Who knows? Maybe I’m wrong, maybe the NBA is doing something right now, but I highly doubt it. The NBA, like all the other sports leagues and businesses across the nation, like to let the public know whenever they do ANYTHING that could be viewed as positive. When the NFL decided to finally do something about the concussion problem, they announced it on Twitter and gave formal announcements on who they are working with, what they will be working on and when we could expect them to release their findings and rule changes.

The NBA hasn’t made a single announcement about the “gay athletes in the locker room” issue. So, maybe I’m not wrong.

The topic of gays in sports is a topic that makes me sick to my stomach. Not because I am against it, quite the opposite in fact, but because this is a topic that has been discussed, and only discussed, for years and possibly decades, and we have done absolutely nothing other than to announce our verbal support or disapproval.

Those who support gays in sports are deemed as heroes themselves, but they are no more a hero than I am an interpretive dance instructor.

That’s how bad the “gay rights” movement has gotten; showing even a little support makes you a hero.

Give me a break.

In the 1950′s and 60′s, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and many like him went out and marched, protested and took every opportunity and avenue they could to reach their goal of equality. African Americans across the country rose up by the thousands and joined the movement and did something about it, knowing full well they could be severely injured, incarcerated or even killed.

Today, you change your Facebook picture and face the text wrath of those who disapprove.

Collins may get applause, endorsement deals and even an award, but he won’t be seeing others like him in sports anytime soon. There are too many questions with too little answers.

And that’s the truth.

Photo Courtesy of Kwaku Alston/For Sports Illustrated

1.) Quarterbacks:

• In a league that worships the quarterback position, general managers and coaches across the league didn’t really find anything to praise about this year’s quarterback class. 
• Every mock draft had Geno Smith either going to Jacksonville or to Buffalo, with Ryan Nassib and Matt Barkley following close behind. But it was E.J. Manuel who surprised everyone by being the first quarterback selected in the draft at No. 16 to the Buffalo Bills.

2.) Geno Smith:

• Poor Geno Smith. It was bad enough not being chosen in the first round (again, EVERYONE thought Geno Smith was going in the first round), but it got even worse for the former West Virginia product when the New York Jets handed the card to the Commissioner with his name on it. 
• The Jets may have gotten rid of Tim Tebow, but the Jets are still a cesspool for overwhelming media coverage, and the last time I checked, the Gang Green don’t do so well with drafted quarterbacks [see; Sanchez, Mark].

3.) New Orleans Saints:

• They managed to draft Kenny Vaccaro, which was a great pick. Other great picks the Saints got were….

4.) Cleveland Browns:

• They had one job to do on Thursday and they couldn’t even do that right. 
• The Browns had the sixth pick of the draft and they needed offensive linemen, defensive linemen, an offensive coordinator, a new general manager, a great defense lawyer (Oh yeah, Browns owner Jimmy Haslem is in trouble with the Feds for fraud) and yes, a linebacker. But they shouldn’t have taken Mingo. Mingo is fast, athletic, but if he was anymore raw, he would be sent back to the kitchen. He is a third round pick and the Browns made him a first round pick and then traded away their picks to everyone else, including rival Pittsburgh.
• They made their pick, hopped into bed and watched Seinfeld reruns until 1:30 a.m.

5.) Michael Vick:

• This guy just cannot catch a break, can he? 
• Not only is he 32 and coming off a terrible season, but the new head coach, Chip Kelly, drafted Matt Barkley, which means that he doesn’t really have that much faith in Vick or the guy who has been trying to replace for the past year, Nick Foles.
• I hope Vick likes holding a clipboard this season.

Winners

1.) The New York Jets Pass Defense/Local New York Dentists:

• Dee Milliner cracked a smile because he knew he would be getting a lot of money from the Jets and every New York City dentist smiled because they knew they could get a lot of money from Milliner via braces. 
• But all in all, Milliner is a monster in the backfield of the defense and will be able to establish an island by Week 8 for the New York Jets who made the genius move of trading away the best corner in the league (and they managed to save their awful quarterback and his massive pay in the process!).

2.) Minnesota Vikings:

• The Vikings, yes the Vikings, had three first round picks. Even more shocking, they didn’t pull an “Oakland Raiders” and screw it up. 
• Sharrif Floyd plugs up the middle and is athletic enough to chase down a running back. He also has the opportunity to have the coolest nickname in the NFL; The Minnesota Sharrif (pronounced, sheriff).
• Xavier Rhodes is a shut-down corner and Cordarelle Patterson is one of the fastest receiver/return men in the draft and is a nice replacement to Percy Harvin, who was traded away before the free agency period.

3.) Ryan Nassib; Landry Jones:

• There’s a great chance that these two will not be starting in Week One, but who cares? They both got drafted by great NFL organizations with Super Bowl winning quarterbacks to learn from.
• Both the Giants and the Steelers selected suitable replacements for their aging quarterbacks (Eli Manning is 32, Ben Roethlisberger is 31).
• Nassib can learn how to dissect film and know the playbook by heart from Manning and Jones can learn dating tips from Roethlisberger. Everybody wins.

4.) Offensive Linemen:

• Ode to the Big Men. 
• In the NFL, quarterbacks are the hot sorority girls and the offensive linemen are the cute, nerdy girls who help the quarterbacks with their math homework. What I am trying to say is, it’s about time people notice these big men and value them for what they’re really worth.
• Three out of the first four picks were offensive linemen and there were nine taken in the first round, more so than any other position on the first night of the draft. It was a great day for offensive linemen and an even better day for delis of the NFL cities where these men will be playing.

5.) Marcus Lattimore/San Francisco 49ers:

• Going into the draft, a lot of NFL teams were nervous about Lattimore and his newly repaired leg, which broke during an October game vs. Tennessee last season. Lattimore, who once thought that his football career was over, set out to prove to NFL coaches and scouts that his career was not only alive but could thrive in the right environment. It turns out that Jim Harbaugh and his staff believed in Lattimore enough to use a draft pick on him. 
• Now, with the help of one of the best backs in the league, Frank Gore (who overcame two knee injuries of his own during his time at the University of Miami), Lattimore has the chance to become what he was in college, a damn good back.

6.) St. Louis Rams:

• Rams head coach Jeff Fischer and general manager Les Snead are draft day kings and their selections are evidence to that. 
• The Rams already had two first round draft pick spots, No. 16 (thanks to a great season) and No. 22 (thanks to the Redkins trade in 2012), but like the professionals they are, Fischer and Snead traded up to No. 8 to get Tavon Austin and traded down to No. 30 to get Alec Ogeltree.
• The Rams also drafted Stedman Bradley, Tavon Austin’s complement at West Virginia, Barrett Jones, an offensive lineman from the feared National Championship Alabama offensive line and Zac Stacy, a speedster with a side of power  running back from the Harvard of the South, Vanderbilt.

What I am on the fence about:

1.) Ezekiel Ansah:

• This guy didn’t even play football until 2010 and had only one good season at BYU in 2012, where he recorded an impressive 62 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 13 games. He’s an impressive pass-rusher, considering his experience and body of work (tall and lean). 
• What I am worried about is him being left behind during the learning process of understanding the defensive playbook and not being able to put on enough weight to be shoved around by experienced linemen in the NFL. These aren’t college kids who live on Pizza Hut and Ramen Noodles, these are corn-protein-fed man-animals that have nothing to do all day except practice their technique and lift weights.

2.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback situation:

• Josh Freeman had a pretty good 2012 season, but if he fails to build on that season, like he failed to build on his great 2010 season, then he’s likely to fall back to No. 2 on the depth chart to Mike Glennon, the third-round draft choice.
• Glennon is a solid choice, but the Bucs could have done better in Ryan Nassib and Landry Jones as suitable No. 2′s for Freeman and possibly his replacement, but let me be clear, Glennon will not be stealing anything from Freeman. It’s Freeman’s job to lose.

3.) Manti Te’o:

• I’ve said it  before and I will say it again, Manti Te’o is a good player who has the potential to become great. But that’s if the media doesn’t crush him under the weight of his Catfish scandal that broke out in January.
• The media, especially in Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Bristol, CT., can hound an athlete to the point of insanity and in some cases, can even run them out of town. Media coverage is a double-edged sword because on one hand, it can serve as a viable tool to get the important news out that everyone cares about. But on the other hand, the media is sometimes too powerful and can escape the “neutral leash” (the thing that keeps journalists fair and unbiased), causing them to hound athletes and distract them from doing their jobs well.
• I’m happy for Te’o and the Chargers made a solid pick to fill a hole that they need filled. Let’s hope Te’o is mentally strong enough to block out those who still want to ask him about the scandal.

What I learned from this year’s Draft:

1.) Mock Drafts are the dumb:

• I do not know how or why anyone enjoys filling these things out. Predicting where a player will be drafted is like trying to predict the weather in St. Louis will be like tomorrow (inside St. Louis joke) or what Metta World Peace is thinking about (could range anywhere from the number 67 and how the stock market in China will fluctuate today, we will never know).
• Definition of insantiy; doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result = Mock drafts.

2.)  Mel Kiper knows as much about NFL prospects as the average Frat Meat Head who “saw that one guy play a game last year”:

• Mel Kiper once thought so highly of Glenn Dorsey that he put him No. 1 on his Big Board in 2008. After Dorsey was drafted by the Chiefs, he proved to be just as useful as planting a boulder in the middle of the defensive line (could stuff the run if the running backs ran directly at him, like, directly into his open arms). Four years later, the Chiefs dumped Dorsey and Kiper dumped enough hair gel on his hair the following draft, and every draft following, to grease every frying pan in America. 
• I’m sure Kiper is very intelligent and is highly respected in the NFL and ESPN, but he couldn’t predict what kind of cereal he’s going to have tomorrow, let alone where a guy will go in the draft. It’s simply too big of a draft class.
• I also learned that every college bro who played high school football knows everything and anything about the NFL. Except where the guy went to college, how many years he played, what his strengths and weaknesses are, what an NFL team needs and all of that other non-important stuff. Also, anytime I asked one of those guys why he felt that Eddie Lacy should go No. 1 overall, they simply replied, “I saw his highlight video on YouTube.”

3.) The NFL has turned the draft into an awards show:

• I hate award shows. 
• This is the NFL draft, not the Oscars. There is no need for red carpets, photo sessions before entering Radio City Music Hall and the 1st round shouldn’t last four hours.
• Players who want to go to the draft should dress like they are going to a job interview, not to the classiest wine mixer in New York.

Photo Courtesy of Al Bello/Getty Images

We all know that Tim Tebow is out of the NFL, but that’s not what this is about. Instead, it’s about 12-year NBA veteran Jason Collins. Today, Collins became the first major athlete to come out as gay. This is not only a momentous occasion for the world of sports, but also for the LGBT community who for so long has been shunned and kept quite in American sports.

Collins’ decision to come out happens only a week after WNBA #1 pick and former Baylor Lady Bear Brittney Griner came out as well. When she came out, many were wondering if her ease of doing so would open the door for male athletes to follow in her footsteps. Maybe it has, and maybe it hasn’t.

Collins is a free-agent so right now it is still up in the air as to whether or not he will be openly received by possible new teammates and whether or not a team will actually sign him. Many teams may see this as a problem, as many people in the NBA are not openly opposing what was said, but when former NBA player John Amaechi came out in 2007 following his retirement, he was met with negativity, especially from former teammates and so-called friends.

But this all seems different. Times have changed and are continuing to do so. Collins is being greeted with well wishes from prominent players around the league on Twitter.

“Proud of @jasoncollins34. Don’t suffocate who u r because of the ignorance of others #courage #support #mambaarmystandup #BYOU”
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 29, 2013

“Wow this is amazing all smiles.. So so happy Jason Collins came out & announce he was openly GAY ALL SUPPORT OVER HERE #ATHLETEALLY #LGBT”
— Kenneth Faried (@KennethFaried35) April 29, 2013

“I am so proud of my bro @jasoncollins34 for being real. #FTheHaters http://bit.ly/12J9el5 ”
— Baron Davis (@Baron_Davis) April 29, 2013

This is only a few players, but more are apt to follow.

An amazing thing about Collins though is that he has been wearing No. 98 the past two years for more than just one reason. He wears it in honor of Matthew Shepard. Shepard was an openly gay student at the University of Wyoming in 1998. He was kidnapped, tortured and then tied to a fence where he died, only to be found five days later. Jason Collins has been making a statement for two years in honor of those who were brave before him.

The world, especially the sports world, is a scary place, but Jason Collins isn’t afraid anymore.

Photo via USA Today Sports Images

The Jets released a press release with a quote from Rex Ryan:

We have a great deal of respect for Tim Tebow. Unfortunately, things did not work out the way we all had hoped. Tim is an extremely hard worker, evident by the shape he came back in this offseason. We wish him the best moving forward

According to several sources, Tebow was asked, not only by the Jets, but by several teams seeking to acquire him via trade, if he would be willing to switch positions from quarterback to tight end. Tebow refused and he was released by the Jets and it looks like no team will be signing him any time soon.

You can read the entire Costello article here.

Photo Courtesy of Drew Hallowell/Getty Images

With the 131st overall pick in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft, the 49ers took a chance on a guy who has two “bionic” knees, you could say. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to 49er, or NFL, fans. The 49ers took a chance on a guy who has had two knee surgeries before in Frank Gore, and if he is an image for how to come back from something like that, then Lattimore is going to the best possible situation.

With the addition of Lattimore, the Niners now have four running backs on their roster with Kendall Hunter and LaMichael James following behind Gore. If you’re keeping count, four running backs is actually two less players than the Jets have at QB, just a thought.

Lattimore’s comeback won’t be easy with three guys standing in front of him on the depth chart. Hunter is a great spell back for Gore when he takes the majority of the carries and James can be thrown anywhere on the field and he’ll somehow get yards. Lattimore is more like Gore than we might think. He’s a power back, with the ability to get into the open field and let the horses run. In the 49ers’ new system of get out and run, Lattimore could become the next big thing in San Fran.

As his rehab continues, let’s just hope that his regaining of strength and pure power continues as well.

Photo via jerseyal.com

Who is that “OK” player, Aaron Rodgers. Mr. Discount Double Check agreed to a five year extension yesterday worth $110 million. This deal will push him just over Joe Flacco and Drew Brees to become the highest paid player in NFL history. The deal consists of an NFL-record $62.5 million guaranteed. In 2013, Rodgers will make $40 million, most of which includes bonuses from the past season.

Rodgers’ new deal is being tacked onto his existing contract, which has two years left in it. When it comes to how much we will be making each year, it will never reach above $21 million per year, according to reports on ESPN by Chris Mortensen. Once again, those numbers are NFL-record numbers, beating out Flacco’s $20.6 million per year.

The deal itself shows the NFL that the Packers aren’t afraid to spend money to keep the players who make that team great. Their defense has been solidified and now their offense has been set in stone. With the draft still going on, the Packers are doing everything in their power to keep Green Bay known as “title town”. So far, the biggest name going to the Packers out of this years draft is Eddie Lacy out of Alabama.

Lacy will do more than just carry much of the load in regards to the running game. Lacy is BIG for a running back, not height wise, but sheer mass. He is 230 pounds and will be a big body in front of Rodgers in the coming years.

For the next decade, the Black and Blue division will have to deal with Rodgers and Matthews. For the Packers and Packers fans, they couldn’t be happier.

Photo via USA Today Sports Images

…That first of all, Carlos Quentin was right in charging the mound.

In baseball, pitchers are treated like the youngest children in the family; they get whatever they want, they are instantly given the benefit of the doubt regardless of what kind of punk-ass garbage they pull and if they are hurt, they are given all the ice cream and boo-boo kisses they want.

I’m not sure if the last one is entirely true, but you get my point. Pitchers are protected in baseball the same way quarterbacks are protected in football. Everyone else is inferior and is treated as such.

In my initial article that covered the incident, I said that there were countless sportswriters that damned Quentin for charging the mound and sympathized with Greinke. I couldn’t find a lot of those tweets because I didn’t think I would write a Grill on Greinke at the time, but most of the sportswriters sent a tweet out like the one below

Carlos Quentin was wrong. You shouldn’t charge mound. Doesn’t mean it’s Quentin’s fault Zack Greinke has broken collarbone. #8gamesuspension

— UTKevinAcee (@UTKevinAcee) April 12, 2013

And several baseball fans retweeted and sounded off the same way Dodgers manager, Don Mattingly, did after the game.

“That’s just stupid is what it is. He should not play…until Greinke can pitch.” – Don Mattingly on Carlos Quentin (es.pn/17vb9wo)

— ESPN (@espn) April 12, 2013

With all due respect, because I respect those two men and all of the other sportswriters and managers very much; shut up.

I haven’t seen a single person, besides yours truly, entertain the notion that maybe Greinke hit Quentin on purpose. I made this argument on Twitter myself and, of course, was met with some baseball traditionalist who would rather shut me down than actually talk about it.

@mrtimgodfrey You know nothing about baseball if you think Greinke threw at Quentin #youreamoron #learnthegame #chooseaprofession

— Mike White (@redgoblet) April 13, 2013

Little did this guy know, I chose a profession and it’s being a sportswriter who knows what is he talking about, which I made clear to him in the most well-behaved, non-cursing way I could

@redgoblet Greinke, the control pitcher, just, “let one slip”? Greinke has hit Quentin three times, only batter to be hit 3 times by Grienk

— Tim Godfrey (@MrTimGodfrey) April 13, 2013

@redgoblet I know more about baseball than you forgot, kiddo.

— Tim Godfrey (@MrTimGodfrey) April 13, 2013

Greinke is known more for being a control-man, so letting one slip is not something that Greinke does very much. So when he hurls a beaming fastball up and WAY in, at a long time division rival no less, it’s not farfetch to think that maybe Greinke hit Quentin on purpose. In fact, according to ESPN Stats and Information, Greinke hasn’t hit any batter he has faced more than once…except for Quentin, who has been hit three times.

The reasoning, however, could be any number of things.

Like Greinke could have been annoyed or possibly angered with Quentin because he leans too far in on the plate, which is a trait that Quentin is known league-wide for. Now, I’m with pitchers on this; I do not like when players hog the plate. Plate hogging cuts down on the pitchers strike zone, severely limits the choices of what pitches to throw and increases the chances of walking the batter. That’s why Quentin has been hit over 100 times.

But Greinke had Quentin on a 3-2 count. Why wouldn’t he throw the ball lower in the strike zone and try to have Quentin strike or ground out? Greinke’s pitch didn’t even look convincing enough to have the argument that he “let one slip”; the ball clearly took a direct flight to Quentin’s arm. So now we have another question to ask.

Is Greinke really that stupid? He must be because two things happened; he put his team’s lead in jeopardy and injured himself.

First off, when he hit Quentin, the Dodgers held a one-run lead of 2-1 and it was the bottom of the 6th inning with no outs. After he was relieved by Chris Capuano, the Padres tied the game at two runs-a-piece. If the Padres were not the Padres, they probably could have taken the lead and won the game.

But they didn’t.

Because they are the Padres.

Secondly, Greinke has no idea how to fight.

For the record, Zack Greinke took Carlos Quentin’s charge like a middle linebacker.

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 12, 2013

Have you ever watched a football game, Los Angeles Dodgers? That’s not how middle linebackers stop someone. They square their shoulders and hips and drive through the bottom half of the runner; not brace for impact in a stance that says, “I instantly regret this decision.”

I give props to Greinke for not backing down, but for the love of all that is good, why in the hell would you lead with your shoulder and shoulder-bump your adversary? Greinke’s shoulder bump was a sign that he was trying to protect himself and, in Charlie Brown-like fashion, it horribly backfired on him. Greinke’s “charge like a linebacker” (Seriously, Dodgers, that was the worst, and false, description of how Greinke fought Quentin.) got him a broken collarbone and eight weeks on the disabled list.

Shame on everyone who damned Quentin for charging the mound. If I threw an 89 MPH ball, made of cork and pain, at your head, you would be pretty pissed, too, and no one would blame you for trying to knock some sense into via a punch or a shoulder bump, in case you don’t know how to fight like regular people.

We live in an a terrible era of sports. Everything is softened and water-down to promote sportsmanship and protect the players, as well as the integrity of the game.

I’m all for protecting the players, but forget sportsmanship and integrity.

Sportsmanship is a fake aspect of the game. Showing sportsmanship for an opponent is like telling an ex that you’re “happy for them”; you don’t mean it and you hate them more than anything else in the world. I’m not saying every player should resort to cheap shots, but I’m saying that the crucifying of players who don’t “take the high road” (an aspect of sportsmanship) needs to end.

Integrity of baseball? You mean the baseball that banned African-American players from playing in their league until 1946 when Jackie Robinson made his debut with the Montreal Royals? That baseball?

Or do you mean the baseball that saw Nolan Ryan headlock Robin Ventura and punch him senseless in 1993?

Or do you mean both?

Although baseball eventually allowed equal-opportunity to all races, they should never ban charging the mound and should never frown on bench-clearing brawls. It’s a part of the game.

Charging the mound and bench clearing brawls happen as often as Haley’s Comet passes Earth, so baseball traditionalists should not be crying and howling that these things happen too often.

In conclusion, Greinke got what he deserved. I don’t say that with any ill-will at all, but if you hit someone with a fireball, you deserve the consequences that happen next.

Photo Courtesy of USA Today Sports

Amendola came out on Twitter today and tweeted that he will donate $100 for every pass he catches in the 2013-2014 NFL season and $200 for every pass he drops.

I will DONATE $100 for EVERY pass I catch next season to whatever “Boston Marathon Relief Fund” there is. And $200 for any dropped pass.

— Danny Amendola (@DannyAmendola) April 16, 2013

This is great news for the Boston Marathon Relief Funds, who will no doubt get a hefty donation from Amendola. In 2010, the slot-receiver caught 85 passes and in 2012, a season in which he sat out a few games due to injury, he caught 63 passes. Putting him together with Tom Brady, who favored his former slot-receiver, Wes Welker, who caught over 100 passes in five out of his six seasons in New England.

Photo Courtesy of Elsa/Getty Images

The Boston Channel is reporting that there are several casualties and several people suffering from injuries and burns. The Boston Police Department are saying that two people have been confirmed dead and 22 people are injured via Twitter. The injuries range from burns, cuts, bruises and severed limbs.

(3:47 P.M./Central: ): 64 wounded, via the Boston Globe

MARATHON EXPLOSION: Toll rises to 2 dead, 64 wounded in Boston Marathon explosions.

— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) April 15, 2013

  Witnesses have said they saw the first explosion come from a trash can. Police have advised those in the Boston area to not use their phones because it could set off other devices. Police Officials have said that they have shut down cell phone service.

UPDATE: There is ONE SUSPECT

NY Post: “Authorities have a identified a suspect, who is currently being guarded in a Boston hospital with shrapnel wounds.” — John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) April 15, 2013

President Obama is aware of the explosions and Washing D.C. has been put on “heightened state of alert”, according to The Boston Channel.    

RT @emmaroller: RT @digg: .@nytimes mapped out where the explosions happened in Boston: (nyti.ms/12gckh2) twitter.com/digg/status/32… — Slate (@Slate) April 15, 2013

The National Guard has been deployed and the White House has a perimeter set up surrounding the property.

WARNING GRAPHIC VIDEO OF EXPLOSION:

(3:53 P.M.): There has been a third incident at the JFK Library, according to the press conference. No injuries or fatalities at this point and time. Officials have not confirmed if the library is connected but they are “treating it as if it is”.

NY Post: “Authorities have a identified a suspect, who is currently being guarded in a Boston hospital with shrapnel wounds.”

4:00 p.m. Boston Bruins vs Ottawa Senators NHL game has been postponed. The game was in Boston tonight.

WCYB in BOSTON: The bombs have been reported to be small bombs that could have been stored in a backpack.

Stand by for more updates.

Photo used from Deadspin.com, photographer unknown at the moment

It’s a shame too.  You have a bunch of fit athletic guys, but the instigator is always tackled before anything good happens.  It would be nice to let the boys just duke it out like hockey, but putting a player on the bench for five minutes wouldn’t do much justice.  Any player can afford to miss three pitches.  So in honor of another waste of energy between two major leaguers with some bad blood, we’ll take flashback to some of the baseball fights that are worth watching the replay.

Paul Wilson vs. Kyle Farnsworth 

There’s nothing better than a 6’4” country boy sticking it to the starting pitcher.  Wilson probably regretted challenging the Cubs’ fire thrower as soon as he was nailed the ground.  Old Farnsie sacked Wilson for a measurable loss of yards and threw a few right hooks in.   Paul’s face ended up matching the same color as his jersey.  The Reds’ starter quickly became the laughing stock of the NL Central, playing only one more year with Cincinnati and ending his career.  Kyle Farnsworth reminded us how all baseball fights should be: quick, hard, and (most importantly) good.  Enough with waiting to throw in your best shot, time is precious during a baseball fight.

Nolan Ryan vs. Robin Ventura

The Texas Rangers actually removed this clip out of their intro video before games once Ventura was named the White Sox manager.  Ventura got a harsh lesson to not mess with Texas.  Ryan’s headlock on the White Sox third baseman was straight from the school yard.  It’s possible that Nolan slipped a noogie in there.  At the time Ventura was almost half the age of The Ryan Express, showing his experience on the mound and in the boxing ring.  Both Ryan and Ventura are past the rumble, but it is always fun to watch when Ryan put Ventura in his place.

Pedro Martinez vs. Don Zimmer

Okay maybe this wasn’t really a fight, but everyone remembers seeing Don Zimmersauras run to Boston’s iconic pitcher and being manhandled by the Dominican.  I don’t understand how people felt sorry for him getting owned by Martinez.  More power to the baseball sage.  Despite looking like he’s made out of play-doh, Don Zimmer is the baseball grandpa that everyone admires.  Kudos to him for sticking up for his fellow Bronx Bombers and taking matters into his own hands.  If everyone in baseball fought with Don Zimmer’s heart, Ultimate Fighting wouldn’t need to exist.

Hopefully the baseball gods will look down upon the MLB soon and give the players the gift of proper punches.  But until then we are looking at many more years of kicked catchers, tackling drills, and a whole lot of dog piling.

Written By The Sports Feast Chicago Insider Joe Brand

Photo Courtesy of FAYTOK/AP

Playing in front of a sold-out crowd at Scottrade Arena in St. Louis, Mo., the Blues and Blackhawks faced off for the second to last time this season, with their final meeting being the last game of the season on April 27.

In the first period, the tensions were high. The Blues and Blackhawks traded shots, hits and penalties. After the Blues were granted the 5-4 powerplay after a cross-checking penalty on Dave Bolland, Roman Polak and Sheldon Brookbank made that a 4-3 powerplay after the two big men each received two minutes in the penalty box for roughing.

During their man-advantage, St. Louis fired off five shots in a matter of two minutes, with only three of those shots being on goal. One shot was wide while another shot was blocked by Marian Hossa. The Blues were unable to score with the man-advantage.

After the Blues and Blackhawks played 4-4 for two minutes after a pair of slashing penalties to David Perron and Brandon Bolling, the Blackhawks drew a 4-3 powerplay after Andy McDonald was called for hooking. The Blues killed off a majority of the penalty as the two rivals would head into the locker rooms tied at zero.

In the second period, the Blues eventually killed the Blackhawks powerplay from the first period and the two teams played even strength hockey until the Blackhawks finally ended Elliot’s shutout streak at 214 minutes. At 4:31 in the second period, Viktor Stalberg fed a pass to Brian Bicknell who fired a shot that rebounded off of Elliot’s pads. Bicknell recovered the rebound and backhanded the puck in to give Chicago the 1-0 lead.

After the second intermission, the Blues came out firing and charging down the ice into the offensive zone, looking for the tying goal. Six minutes into the third period, Duncan Keith was called for tripping, giving St. Louis the man-advantage. After Blackhawks golatender, Corey Crawford, stopped two consecutive shots, the refs blew the whistle for high sticking, which brought the faceoff down to the St. Louis zone.

Jonathan Toews won the faceoff and passed it back to Marian Hossa, who ripped a slap shot near the blue line that whizzed past Elliot, giving the Blackhawks the shorthanded goal and the 2-0 lead, which would eventually be the final.

As of now, the Blues are still in sixth place, with Minnesota one point behind them in seventh place. The Wild will have to lose their Monday night game against Calgary for the Blues to stay in the sixth place spot until Tuesday, when the Blues take on the Vancouver Canucks at home.

Photo Courtesy of Mark Buckner/Getty Images

“If there’s going to be competition at the position, it’s not going to come from Tim Tebow,” Garcia said. “Having Tebow there (last season) just became more of a distraction, more of a circus show. Obviously, it’s their decision. But from an outsider looking in, having Tebow there doesn’t bring anything positive. It just brings distraction. For Mark, the main competition is going to be with David Garrard and Greg McElroy.” 

Garcia continued:

“When you’re a quarterback, you don’t need artificial competition,” Garcia said of Sanchez. “And it’s not fair to Tim to put him through all that. If there’s a place for Tim that gives him a chance to be a contributor in an offense with another team, let him go be that guy.”

Well, Garcia isn’t wrong.

Having Tebow on the team didn’t exactly make Sanchez a better quarterback like everyone thought it would. The mindset was, the Jets would scare Sanchez into being a better quarterback because if he performed poorly, which he did, then the Jets faithful would scream for Tebow like the Jews screamed for Barabbas, which they both did. But as it turned out, Sanchez crumbled and choked and only got worse and instead of giving the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart the ball, the Jets decided to give it to Greg McElroy, who should have gotten the ball from the moment he was drafted in 2011.

It’s an unfortunate saga for Tebow, who is just a victim to the insane masses that follow his every move and would kill for him to start. Judging from the harsh comments to Tebow naysayers on the internet, I think they might want to literally kill someone for him to start.

Tebow should not be the blame for the Jets and Sanchez’s epic fall from Super Bowl contenders to “first pick in the draft” contenders. The blame should solely rest on the shoulders of the front office and the coaching staff, particularly Rex Ryan. Putting too much faith in a terrible player will split the locker room, as it did in the Jets locker room; players were so upset they began talking to the press, under anonymous status, and badmouthing Sanchez and Tebow,

What Tebow really needs to call Tom Brady or Peyton Manning and beg them to teach him how to be a quarterback. Forget the training houses and complexes that Tebow can always be found in during the offseason, forget the publicity and the preaching and just work with the actual pros or do the research and find out the best quarterback coach in the country. Work with them for the entire offseason, stay out of the limelight and get better.

Tebow is on the verge of filling out a CFL job application and I would be surprised if a CFL team had the guts to take him and his tremendous fan base. All the CFL does is throw and if you aren’t a very good thrower, then you might as well play hockey or curling.

Photo Courtesy of US Presswire

After Columbus was called for Icing, the Blues left winger, Vladimir Sobotka won the faceoff and seconds later, Kevin Shattenkirk took a pass from Andy McDonald and nailed a wrist shot past Columbus goaltender, Sergei Bobrovsky, to make it a 1-0 game in just under two minutes in the first period.

But that would be the only goal for the Blues as Bobrovsky stood in net for the rest of the game like a stone wall.

Then, with six minutes left in the first period, Columbus left winger, Matt Calvert, fire a shot that went wide past the Blues net, only to have the shot bounce of the boards and recovered by his Columbus teammates. Shortly after, Calvert fed a pass to Cam Atkinson who hit the puck in on the rebound from Allen. Columbus and St. Louis would take the 1-1 tie into the locker room for the end of the first period.

With six minutes left in the second period, the Blue Jackets broke the tie with a point-blank wrist shot from Artem Anisimov to make the game 2-1 Columbus.

Four minutes later, Columbus took advantage of Allen as he deflected a shot off of his pads and Ryan Johansen quickly recovered the rebound to sneak it past Allen on a wrist shot. The Blue Jackets were up 3-1 and took that lead into the second intermission.

After the teams came out for the third period, the Blues could not find their second wind to try to make a comeback and defend their winning streak, which was at six games before the game against Columbus. In just under two minutes into the third period, the Jackets would score another goal off a backhand shot from Marian Gaborik  and seal the 4-1 victory.

Allen, who has been Jaroslav Halak’s replacement due to injury, faced 19 shots and made just 15 saves while Columbus’ Bobrovsky faced 32 shots and made 31 saves.

The Blues went on the power-play five times and were unsuccessful in all five man-advantages. Columbus was also unsuccessful during their only power-play of the game.

The St. Louis Blues will drop from 5th place to 6th in the Western Conference playoff race. The Blues were hoping to not only improve their seeding in the Western Conference, but to also give their head coach, Ken Hitchcock, his 600th victory, which seemed possible for the Blues who have been a dominant team in the past six games. But it seemed that the winning streak may have softened the Blues and changed their game-play.

“We’ve lived on this fine line for a while. When you’re scoring one goal in a game, you’re not going into those hard areas. They scored three goals by going in there,” Hitchcock said in a post-game interview.

The Blues Jackets are now in a three-way-tie for 10th place in the Western playoff race and are only two points away from the 8th and final playoff spot, currently held by the Detroit Red Wings. With only seven games left on their schedule, the Jackets are surging down the final stretch of the season schedule; they are 5-2 in their last seven games and show no signs of slowing down.

The only two things that will get the Blue Jackets to the playoff promise land will be if: they continue to win games and if Detroit, Dallas and Phoenix choke on their remaining regular season games. It may be a long shot, but it’s not impossible.

Photo Courtesy of Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

Paul Konerko, who was a former Chicago White Sox teammate of Quentin’s, supported Quentin’s decision to charge the mound after taking a pitch to the back on a 3-2 count. Konerko spoke to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune today and said that this wasn’t just a spur-of-the-moment charge.

According to Konerko, Quentin and Greinke have faced each other many times before when the outfielder played for the Sox and the previous meetings were not too pleasant. Greinke had “hit nine Sox players alone” and when he threw the ball at Quentin, that was the final straw.

“You get hit 110 times in your career, and you’ve never charged. To me, that speaks more volumes than anything. Why do you charge on just one? Do your homework and figure it out,” Konerko told the Tribune. “How many times can you let a ball get away from somebody before you do something? I guess that many. There it is.”

As soon as the announcement was made around 8 p.m./CT, every fan and sportswriter (especially the non-baseball writers, I’m looking at you, Peter King) began to mount their high horses and ride this story until the horse died of exhaustion and being crushed from the weight of the self-righteousness.

Quentin charged the mound; welcome to baseball, America.

This isn’t the first time, nor the last time, that baseball will see a mound charge. It’s as every bit a part of baseball as the 7th inning stretch and the high obesity rate of Houston Astros fans. Damning the action and demanding that Quentin be suspended 48 games, like the great Peter King had on Twitter, is nothing short but a knee-jerk overreaction. Then turning right around and making Greinke out to be the victim is just downright stupid.

A major league pitcher will throw a baseball anywhere from the high 70′s to the low 90′s, on average. That’s pretty damn hard. If you’re hurling a baseball, which isn’t exactly a ply of toilet paper (a baseball is giant, hard ball of yarn coated in cork, rubber and leather), at another person, then you deserve to get your butt kicked.

No athlete deserves an injury and I surely don’t wish injury on Greinke or any other player; but the kid had it coming. Bottom line; he threw a baseball at 89 MPH near a man’s head, he deserves to be physically called on his actions. Should Quentin have taken the high road? Of course, the high road is always the best answer, but I do not blame him nor damn him for charging the mound.

Photo Courtesy of Denis Poroy / Getty Images

On March 28, the right winger blocked a shot during a game against the Los Angeles Kings. Since then, Oshie has missed five games, all which the Blues have won. Head coach Ken Hitchcock told Rutherford that Oshie’s slow return to the ice is not due to his injury, but because of his boots.

“It’s more the comfort of the way the boot fits,” Hitchcock told Rutherford. “He can’t get it to where it’s flexible enough. It’s like he’s gone from practicing in skates to practicing in ski boots. I still think we’re days away (from Oshie playing) and we just have to keep building it up. But today was his best day period because he was able to do all the tight-turn drills that we need him to do. What he’s not able to do is do some of the pivot stuff because the boot’s so stiff.”

Oshie is a great talent in the right wing position and has no doubt proven to be a great part of the Blues’ offense, but since his absence, the Blues have been 5-0 and are looking to make that 6-0 tonight. Since Oshie has been out, we have seen the rebirth of Brian Elliot, the return of new fan-favorite, Jake Allen, and the stepping-up of Adam Cracknell, who has scored two goals in the last four games.

Photo Courtesy of Mark Buckner/St. Louis Blues

And he had a lot of great performances in goal, too.

In his first two full-seasons in Ottawa, who drafted him in 2001, the Senators goalie posted up a combined 56-21 record, a .910 save percentage and eight shutouts. Unfortunately, in his final season with the Sens, Emery recorded a 12-13 record, a .890 save percentage with no shutouts. It was also a season that saw the talented goaltender run his mouth and his career in Ottawa off the tracks.

In a February 2007 game against the Montreal Canadians, Emery received a three-game suspension for thumping a Canadians’ player in the face with his stick, which can be seen below:

His reasoning for the blow?

” They were charging the net a lot and cutting through the crease and I just got frustrated. (I) didn’t mean to hit him as hard as I did, I was kind of falling forward.”  - Ray Emery, February 2007. 

Richard Nixon then rolled in his grave after that awful lie. “I was…falling forward”?! What Emery forgot to mention was that after he fell forward, he reached up and hit Maxim Lapierre (the Canadians player) right in the face.

Fast forward to the following 2007-2008 NHL season. Emery enters the preseason with an injured wrist, which allowed more playing time for teammate Martin Gerber in between the pipes. Emery eventually got time in goal but he was shaky. From Oct. 20-Dec. 4, Emery started in goal six times and allowed 20 goals and his save percentage through those six games was .886. Then-coach, John Paddock, decided to put Gerber in goal and Emery decided to throw hissy fits during practice.

According to Scott Morrison of CBC Sports, Paddock began questioning Emery’s work ethic after the goalie didn’t show up to an optional practice. If Emery really wanted the starting job, then he would have taken every opportunity he could to show his teammates and coach to show that he wanted the No. 1 goalie spot, right? Wrong.

Morrison said that when “Gerber would start for the seventh time in eight games”, Emery decided to show up late to practice and then leave in a blase of immature glory, throwing a tantrum by hitting water bottles with his stick and leaving the ice way before everyone else.

This was the goaltender that the Senators gave a three-year/$9.5 million contract to; money well spent. Before he was cut Emery had been reportedly asked by the Senators general manager, Bryan Murray, if Emery had been taking any drugs, to which Emery replied, “No.”

What about partying? Was partying affecting his performance in goal? “No, no,” Emery said with a chuckle during an interview with Michael Landsberg on the show, “Off the Record”, of TSN.

Why were you late to practices? “I guess I’m not very good at showing up on time.”

After the Senators waived Emery from the team, because no other NHL team wanted to accept a trade for him, no surprise, Emery was off to Russia to play in the KHL and get that fresh start that he was craving. In an interview with Scott Burnside of ESPN, Emery talked about turning his career around and having “something to prove” in Russia; where he had hoped that a good season there would land him a job in the States as an NHL goaltender.

Which it did.

Emery landed in Philadelphia during the 2009-2010 season and in Anaheim in March of 2011. With the Flyers, Emery had a 16-11 record with a regular season save percentage of .905. Then the Ducks signed Emery to a one-year deal and rode him to the end of the regular season, where Emery had a 6-2 record and an astounding .926 save percentage. Then after sitting on the bench in Game One of the first round of the NHL Playoffs, Emery got the start for the rest of the series. Unfortunately, the Predators were too much for the Ducks and eliminated them in six games.

Then Chicago signed him in July of 2011 and Emery has been there ever since. In his two seasons with the Blackhawks, Emery has a combined record of 29-13 with a combined save percentage of .912. In the current 2013 season, Emery has a 15-1 record with a .924 save percentage.

Whether you like him or not (I do not), Emery is a talented goaltender. What makes fans spitting venom at the very sound of Emery’s name on the TV is the fact that he is a tool. While is record and save percentage say that he is a tremendous talent in goal, his mouth says that he is a punk-kid.

Photo Courtesy of Dennis Wierzbicki/US Presswire

A group of five recruits are signed to embark upon the Northern Iowa campus this fall and some will be counted upon early on to fill all the holes left from the departure of four seniors and transfer of scholarship forward Chris Olivier. In this first glance at the 2013 Panther recruiting class I’m looking at Jeremy Morgan of Iowa City West High School.

Jeremy Morgan 6’5” 180 G/F Iowa City West High School #100 SF – 2 star

Morgan’s dad Michael played for the Iowa Hawkeyes, Jeremy will look to carve out his own career with the Panthers in Cedar Falls. After a scholarship offer was extended last fall and a visit was made by the Morgan’s soon afterward Jeremy quickly made a decision to sign his letter of intent to play for the Panthers.

“It was a great experience,” Morgan said. “A lot of schools showed a lot of interest in me, and I’m thankful for that. I just picked UNI because I felt like it was the school that best fit me and it was close to home.”

Morgan chose UNI over Iowa State, Creighton Jeremy had a glowing review of head coach Ben Jacobson and the current Panthers, remarking,

“He’s a great coach, I think I fit in well in the offense that they run. He been a big part of the whole process. I loved playing with the guys. I can’t wait.” (per Carson Tigges – WCF Courier)

Morgan led the Trojans to the Class 4A state title and 26-0 records his junior and senior seasons. He averaged 14.8 points and led his team in assists his junior year and has averaged 12.1 points per game his senior season. Jeremy was named first-team all-state last year and this year and just missed on winning Iowa’s Mr. Basketball award to Iowa commit Peter Jok. Morgan played AAU basketball for the Iowa Barnstormers.

Morgan uses his athleticism well in creating separation for his jumpshot. He is deceptively quick when he puts the ball on the floor and is a above average passer. Jeremy runs the floor well and has a handful of notable dunks to his credit in his ICW career and could become the next freshman to receive substantial minutes under coach Jacobson.

Should Morgan workout well in the summer and play well in the pre-season he could be in competition for a starting spot. Regardless it’s expected that Jeremy will contribute considerable minutes to next year’s Panther team. The addition of a taller wing player into the Jacobson offense that has largely featured 3-guard sets will be new and something to watch for Panther fans in 2013-14.

Written By UNI Insider Cole Bair

Photo Courtesy of Charlie Litchield/The Des Moines Register

A group of five recruits are committed to embark upon the Northern Iowa campus this fall and some could well be counted upon early to fulfill all the minutes left from the departure of four seniors and the transfer of scholarship forward Chris Olivier. In this second glance at the 2013 Panther recruiting class I’m looking at Ankeny forward Ted Friedman and Waverly-Shell Rock forward Klint Carlson.

Ted Friedman 6’9” 220 Ankeny High School, IA #87 Power Forward – 2 star

Friedman averaged 10.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game for the Hawks as a junior and averaged 11 points per game as a senior. Ted helped Ankeny to a pair of third-place finishes at the Class 4A state tournament in 2012 and 2013. Sioux City East defeated Ankeny 60-56 in a double overtime game in the 2012 4A semifinal. Seven foot Iowa Hawkeye freshman Adam Woodbury held Friedman to four points in that game. Ankeny head coach John Peterson described Friedman’s skill set;

“He’s 6-9, so, obviously, in high school he plays a lot with his back to the basket, but he has 4-man skills. He can shoot the ball. He’s an excellent passer. But his best trait is probably his defense.” (per Carson Tigges – WCF Courier)

With Austin Pehl and Jake Koch both departing Ben Jacobson’s frontcourt the Panthers may count on Friedman to fulfill a role somewhat similar to that of Austin Pehl’s these past two seasons. Should Friedman prove to be a capable rebounder and defender that Peterson describes him to be he could find himself crafting his collegiate offensive game on the fly with the potential to grab a per game minutes total somewhere between the graduated Pehl’s and junior to be Seth Tuttle.

Friedman’s Ankeny team were known to be a collective unit of above average shooters, which is part of the explanation for his non-eye popping statistics as the Hawks ‘spread the wealth’ on offense. Ted could provide a threat from the high post to keep defenses honest while Seth Tuttle is certain to be scoring from the low blocks.

Panther fans should expect Friedman to benefit from the emergence of to be junior forward Seth Tuttle. ‘King Tutt’ will take the reigns as leader of the Panthers frontcourt in 2013-14 and whomever his counterpart is should benefit from the likelihood that Missouri Valley defenses will be focusing much of their defensive attention upon him. Should John Peterson’s description of Friedman’s game carry over as a true freshman to the collegiate ranks Ben Jacobson will have a well sized 4-man that could contribute in his first season in purple.

Klint Carlson 6’7” 220 Waverly-Shell Rock, IA Forward – 2 star

Carlson averaged 17.7 points in his senior season at Waverly-Shell Rock. Carlson shot 61 percent from the field and 39 percent from behind the 3-point stripe. Klint is a left-hander with decent touch, mild explosiveness off the bounce, and can score in a variety of ways.

Waverly-Shell Rock won its first 3A title since 2007 this year. After starting their season 3-4, Carlson led the Go-Hawks on a 20 game winning streak. As a junior Klint averaged 16.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game for the Go-Hawks. Carlson is expecting he can fit right in to head coach Ben Jacobson’s schemes, some of which have been used in the Go-Hawk offense.

“UNI has always been one of the top schools i’ve had in mind, I think I’m going to fit in pretty well, in high school, we’ve taken some stuff from UNI, so I feel like I’ve kind of already been practicing it.”

Go-Hawk head coach Nate Steege commented about Carlson’s strengths;

“He’s definitely a team first guy. He knows his role and that he’s the guy for us, but he also knows it’s important to get other guys involved. I’ve been a UNI fan, I’ve been to the games and know their system, Klint fits perfectly into what they do. He’ll play in and out, shoot the 3, rebound well and he’s only going to get better.” (per Carson Tigges – WCF Courier)

It is expected that Carlson will redshirt his freshman season as a Panther but nothing is guaranteed. Ben Jacobson’s offense should benefit from a athletic and diverse scorer like Carlson. It would be easy to make a comparison to current Panther Chip Rank due to Carlson’s combination of size and shooting touch, however it appears that Carlson could be capable of scoring more inside the 3-point stripe.

Friedman and Carlson could very well match up against one another on a consistent basis in practices. This could provide an open competition for the multitude of available minutes in the 2013-14 Ben Jacobson rotation. The Panthers will need an injection of size into their lineup and these two recruits could potentially provide that. One thing is certain, when it comes to the frontcourt, they is opportunity to be had, which should be plenty of motivation for Friedman and Carlson to get a running start this summer as they move to the Northern Iowa campus.

Check out these videos of the future Panthers;

Ted Friedman – via ny2lasports


Klint Carlson – via iaelites

Written By UNI Insider Cole Bair

Photo Courtesy of Tiffany Rushing

If you are Dale Sveum, it is in your best interest NOT to give Marmol the baseball at any moment after the 8^th inning, especially on the road.  Marmol’s recent lack of control shows he has not improved after years of struggling to close for Chicago.  Batters can be patient at the plate until he NEEDS to throw a fastball and by that time there is usually a runner in scoring position.  His slider is simply not what it used to be.  Then why does Dale Sveum continue to assure that Carlos Marmol is the Cubs’ closer?

There is one year and $9.8 million left on Carlos’ contract.  That is a lot of money just to be sitting on the bench or just to cut ties with the guy.  So what’s left? Two words: trade bait.

In my opinion, it is financially in the Cubs’ best interest continue using Marmol as a closer and hope for the best.  This is the only way to increase his trade value.  There are no promises that he will improve, but if there is any chance that he might return to the Carlos Marmol of 2009-2010 he needs to be given more than two opportunities.  Yes victories are on the line, but what if President Theo Epstein told fans that this was part of the rebuilding process?  Would you support that?  My theory is that Mr. President is telling Mr. Sveum to pitch #49 until it gets too ugly, which almost has happened both times.  Thank you Neil Walker for the game ending double play.

The other option available is to use Marmol as a setup man.  Most contending teams come July 31^st already have their closer anyway.  This way Dale could send in the unpredictable pitcher with less pressure and allow a few more swings for the Cubs’ batters.  Marmol has that fiery attitude.  A little emotion is usually good to have in your closer, but not in this case.  Sveum might be better off pitching him without the game on the line.

The good news is that even through the two Carlos Marmol’s nosedives, the Cubs have stayed above water.  Dale Sveum continues to call Carlos is closer.  I’m just interested to see for how long.

Written By The Sports Feast Chicago Insider Joe Brand

Photo Courtesy of CBS Sports

It is widely known that many, and that means almost all, reporters and college sports journalists have a large disdain for how Emmert has gone about his business as the head of what can be described as the largest amateur athletic corporation in the country. Last year alone, the NCAA brought in a total of $871.6 million in total revenue across all sports. 81% of which came from TV and marketing partnerships.

But money wasn’t the big issue of the day. Emmert knew he would have to answer to his critics. He knew that in the wake of the Mike Rice, Ed Rush and now the mishandling of Auburn football debacles, that he would be under even more of a microscope than before. Instead of letting it happen and doing his job, he did his best to make sure that his question and answer period would be as small, and apparently, as painful as possible.

Emmert opened with a “16-minute, over 2,500-word opening statement/monologue/filibuster”, according to this CBSSports.com story by  Andy Glockner. Emmert’s “short” story wasn’t the end of the 45 minute session, however. From there, it became a war between Emmert and the media.

(Sidenote: as stated by numerous, and I mean numerous, media members on Twitter in attendance, many reporters were merely trying to get a rise out of Emmert. This story is not about them, but about the others who are against Emmert for anything other than their own satisfaction.)

Emmert would repeatedly begin to answer questions, only to turn it around and throw a jab at whoever asked him something. Most notably, the comments were going in the direction of CBS College Football writer, Dennis Dodd. Dodd is known for having called out Emmert in the past, not for personal reasons, but for the sheer fact that Emmert has been doing a subpar job at keeping the NCAA out of hot water the past three years.

Dodd wrote a story last year in which he said, loosely, that Emmert should find work elsewhere. In an awkward exchange during one of Dodd’s questions, Emmert stopped mid-answer to deliver this:

“By the way, thanks for the career advice. [I] kept my job anyways.”

Nothing about that response screams “great leader.” It screams “scared child who knows that he’s about to get into trouble.”

Emmert hasn’t had an easy road since being appointed NCAA President back in 2010. He came in right after the USC football team had been given it’s two-year bowl ban following the four-year investigation surrounding Reggie Bush. Then, this past year, he was tasked with trying to find the best way to handle the Penn State Football scandal concerning the late Joe Paterno and former coach Jerry Sandusky.

Many reporters, including Dodd, thought that the decisions cast down upon Penn State were unfair and unlike anything they had ever seen. Emmert seems to know that and doesn’t care.

If Emmert thought that his job was going to get any easier today, he was wrong, especially after REPORTERS were the ones to find and then REPORT on allegations that have come out concerning the handling of and treatment given to players on the 2010 National Champion Auburn Tiger football team.

When Emmert was finally finished, he left with one last remark for Dodd and seemingly the rest of the world:

“I’m still here. I know you’re disappointed, but here I am.”

Written by Colin Ball (@Creighton_SF)

Photo via www.hsrn.com

Today, it doesn’t really mean a whole lot. Not to me, the division and especially not the 49ers, who signed him to a one-year/ $1.35 million, with incentives worth up to about $3 million, according to Mike Sando of ESPN.

Two years ago, Asomugha was an Eagle and everyone in Philadelphia started buying newspaper frames for the February 5th edition on the newspaper that read, “The Eagles Are Champions”. But instead, they bought Advil and 40′s from the liquor store to numb the embarrassing pain of an 8-8 season in 2011 and a 4-12 season in 2012. The Dream Team was dead and Asomugha’s influence in the defensive backfield was non-existent. In fact, Asomugha hasn’t been much of a factor since he wore silver and black for the Oakland Raiders.

During his breakout season in 2006, Asomugha grabbed eight interceptions and knocked down 19 passes thrown his way. The next five seasons were much less flattering in the stats department but that’s because quarterback’s took notice to how good Asomugha was as a pass defender. Throwing his way meant a strong possibility that the pass could be deflected or worse, intercepted. So, quarterbacks didn’t throw his way and Asomugha contributed to the defense by locking down big receivers and making them useless in the opposing passing game.

But when he got to Philly, it was a different story. Quarterbacks in the NFC East began to see the weakness in Asomugha and threw his way more often. It wasn’t because Asomugha was any less talented, it was because he just didn’t look like he had a good grasp on the Philly defense. There were many instances where Asomugha would get be because he thought that the safety would come over the top and pick up the wide receiver Asomugha let by him. There were also many instances where Asomugha was just plain beat; either by giving too much of a cushion in the coverage or the receiver outrunning him for the ball.

The San Francisco defense however, is far superior to the Philly D and Asomugha will benefit from the defensive genius of Vic Fangio, the defensive coordinator for the 49ers.

Look to see Asomugha contribute way more to the 49ers defense than he did with Philly and expect him to be a dominant force, once again, in the West.

Photo Courtesy of Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports

Matt Flynn to Oakland.

John Skelton is released by Arizona.

What in the hell happened today? Well, the NFC West just got a little tougher for everyone.

Just when we thought that the San Francisco 49ers would be the only team making major ripples in the free agency pool in the division, Arizona dropped a cannonball in the water when they announced they would be releasing their former big-name, free agency acquisition, Kevin Kolb. Then, they got on the diving board once again and did a jackknife when the news came out that they agreed to trade a few draft picks to Oakland in exchange for former 2003 first-round draft pick, Carson Palmer.

To add insult-to-injury to the Raiders, the Cardinals got the quarterback for much less than what the Raiders got him for back in 2011. The Cardinals restructured Palmer’s contract from $13 million this year to about $8 million (two-year, $16 million), which saves them a couple million and leaves them with about $4 million left in the cap (*Sporttrac.com did not have the Carson Palmer contract numbers on the site, so on the site they have the Cardinals cap space at $12 million, but using simple math, the cap room comes to about $4 million).

What makes this acquisition so interesting, and possibly dangerous to everyone else in the division, is that we haven’t seen Palmer play with major weapons since the 2009 and 2010 season,s when he was with the Cincinnati Bengals.

In 2009 he had a go-to offensive weapon in Chad Johnson and threw for 3,094 yards,  completed 60 percent of his passes  and threw 21 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. That season the Bengals won the AFC North and made the playoffs. In 2010, Palmer had Terrell Owens, Johnson, Jordan Shipley and Jermaine Gresham and threw for 3,970 yards, completed 61 percent of his passes and threw for 26 touchdowns and 20 interceptions.

After the Mike Brown-Carson Palmer standoff the following year, where Palmer sat out the season until the team traded or cut him, Palmer was sent packing to Oakland, where he stepped into the starting quarterback role like he had been with the team since training camp. In the 10 games he played in, Palmer threw for 2,753 yards, completed 60 percent of his passes; although he threw 13 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. The following season, Palmer improved his stats by throwing for 4,018 yards, 61 percent of his passes completed and 22 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

Carson Palmer actually IMPROVED when he didn’t have a dominant go-to receiver and relied more on spreading the ball around to a supporting cast of wide receivers and tight ends. He also did this while being listed as probable or questionable with some pretty nagging shoulder and thumb injuries. Those saying that Palmer-to-Arizona is just Kolb-to-Arizona with another name are sadly mistaken.

What the Cardinals get is damn-near elite quarterback and what everyone else in the West gets is a headache in the film room. Palmer played against the likes of the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers pass-defenses, who were and still are arguably the best in the league, for most of his career; playing the pass defense of San Fran, Seattle and St. Louis should not keep Palmer up at night, although all three are very talented.

Palmer is 33, but age is just a number. Think back to when the Cardinals got Kurt Warner; the old gunslinger managed lead the team to multiple playoff appearances while averaging 3,917 passing yards-a-season while he was 36, 37 and 38 years-old.

Photo Courtesy of Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

For the players on the Rutgers University Men’s Basketball team, they knew who their coach would be. They knew Mike Rice was hired before the start of the 2010 season and knew that he might be there a while. They could see on TV when he was the coach at Robert Morris University (Pittsburgh) he was a “fire you up” type coach. He’s one of those guys that will only go down kicking and screaming.

Unfortunately for the players, that kicking and screaming wasn’t always directed at inanimate objects or referees, it was more than likely directed at them.

Growing up playing sports, I can say that I have had my fair share of coaches who I have absolutely loved and those who I have absolutely loathed. Nonetheless, each has taught me valuable lessons in my life. Whether they have been trying to raise me up to be better or breaking me down to the point where I really just wanted to cry, they never did anything physically damning or harming to me.

Mike Rice can’t say the same for his players. Just take a look at this video obtained by ESPN’s Outside the Lines below of Rice during practices.

He continually cusses out players or calls them homophobic slurs, shoves them, kicks one and repeatedly will chuck a basketball at unsuspecting players, once almost hitting a player in the head.

I’ve gotten hit by a coach once in my life. It was in volleyball, and we were playing dodgeball.

The sad thing is, Rice is not the first coach to have done this and he won’t be the last. This happens all over the country and more often than not, goes unnoticed and unheard. Players have an unwritten code that their coach is their lifeline. If he’s gone, sometimes some players have nothing left and are cast aside by a newcomer. But when your personal well being is compromised, sometimes that lifeline needs to be cut.

Former NBA player and now former Rutgers director of player development Eric Murdock blew the whistle on Rice after Murdock was “unlawfully terminated”, in his opinion, from Rutgers University after first bringing up what Rice was doing in practices. Athletic Director Tim Pernetti was informed of what was going on by Murdock but did nothing. In Pernetti’s words, since “it was a first offense, the punishment was fitting.”

That punishment was suspending and fining Rice upwards of $75,000. $25,000 of which came from lost salary earlier this season for this type of conduct in practice. School officials had been informed of what he had been doing, but did nothing to stop it.

Now, the onus isn’t on Rice alone, it falls on the shoulders of all those who did nothing more to protect their student-athletes.

UPDATE (9:25 am, 4/3): As of this morning, April 3rd, 2013, Rutgers has fired Mike Rice in the wake of the practice video getting out. Athletic Director Tim Pernetti did something right it seems and realized that this wasn’t just a “first time offense” anymore. Let’s just hope no school out there is desperate enough for a coach that they would hire Rice now.

UPDATE (8:00 pm, 4/3): What’s worse is that in an interview with Pernetti on OTL yesterday, he said that he had brought this matter to the attention of Rutgers President Robert Barchi back in December when Rice was first disciplined. In a statement released at the time of Rice’s termination, Barchi said that he had seen the video’s for the first time yesterday. This seems to go against Pernetti’s previous statement, leaving all of us to wonder who exactly saw the tape back in December and if the correct steps had been taken. As of now, the first step has been.

UPDATE (9:30 am, 4/4): To add insult to injury. Following yesterday’s decision to fire Mike Rice, Rutgers is now obligated to pay him $100,000 in bonuses due to his contract. In it, it states that if Rice is to finish the season at the school, he will earn the bonus. Look at that, he finished the season, got fired and then got paid. The B1G has some bad publicity coming their way in a few months.

UPDATE (5:27 pm, 4/4): Rutgers Men’s Basketball assistant coach Jimmy Martelli has resigned following being seen on video shoving and berating players, via ESPN.

Photo via NJ.com

In the second half Evansville cut the Griffins lead to 1. The Aces played much better with the return of Mockevicius who had two first half fouls. Colt Ryan gave Evansville its first lead at 42-41 and the Aces had erased the Griffins 9 point lead in the first four minutes of the second half. The Aces kept the game close throughout the second half and trailed Canisius 60-57 with 8 minutes remaining in the game. Colt Ryan tied the game at 65 as once again the Aces cut away the Griffins lead. The Griffins scored the next 4 straight points to go ahead again. Evansville came back to tie the game at 69. Colt Ryan put the team on his back by scoring the next 14 points to put the Aces ahead 77-71. Ryan was fouled down the stretch and made free throws to put the game away. He scored 39 points and the Aces won by 1 as the team was up by 4, but the Griffins hit a three at the buzzer. Evansville picked up a road victory, which did not come often in the season. The Aces fought back in the second half to ensure they would come away with the victory. Colt Ryan scored 30 second half points which is the true mark of a scoring leader as well as a senior leader. Through this, Evansville is showing signs of improving throughout the season, which is something all teams try to do. Through playing in this tournament Evansville has been able to extend the careers of its senior players and give extra playing time to young players such as Adam Wing and D.J. Balentine who will carry the team next season. These players will have to step up so if they are able to experience pressurized situations now it can only help the team in the future.

Troy Taylor knows the importance of picking up this post-season victory for the Aces and he says Colt Ryan told the team at halftime to come out strong to begin the second half. “If we lose, we’re done. I told them we’re lucky to be in the position we are now, and we might as well take advantage of it. Colt, he was just telling everyone to do it together. It’s not about individuals. He challenged us to start the second half off with five stops.” Troy Taylor knows the bond between the team has grown stronger as the season progressed which has helped to create the long run in post season play. “Everybody plays well with each other. We all hang out with each other after practice. I feel like our bond is as strong as it’s been all season. Everybody loves playing with each other. Everybody’s willing to listen.” Colt Ryan says there were important defensive adjustments made at halftime so the Aces could erase the Griffins 9 point halftime lead and come out of Buffalo victorious. “We thought we didn’t play the way we were capable of playing. We felt like we needed to make sure to keep the ball in front of us better – just our defensive game plan. We had a lot of breakdowns in the first half that we eliminated in the second half.” Colt Ryan is extremely honored to pass Larry Humes as the all time leading scorer in Evansville basketball history and says Humes is a quality individual as well as one of the all-time greats at Evansville. “It’s a tremendous honor. Larry Humes was an outstanding player, and he’ll never be forgotten at Evansville. He did that in three years. He’s helped me a lot on my way, too. He’s come by practice multiple times and said things to the team and said things to me individually that’s helped me. I greatly appreciate everything he’s done for me and the program. He’s first class – an amazing player and just a great person.” Colt Ryan believes fellow senior Troy Taylor stepped up and made some big plays throughout the game. “Troy does such a great job. Down the stretch, he made a lot of plays that don’t get remembered now, but during the course of the game they were really big – getting steals to start the second half and down the stretch some put back baskets that kept us alive.” Marty Simmons says part of the accolades for Colt Ryan’s scoring accomplishment come to him and the rest are on his team mates who help him create high percentage shots. “I think part of it is just him. He’s a very special player. He’s a very competitive guy, and he’s a very confident guy. I think the other part is his teammates and their ability to execute – setting screens, delivering the passes to put him in a position.” Simmons says the start of the second half was key for the Aces turning the game around. “At half, we felt like we were giving good effort, but our ability to execute things especially defensively that we had set up wasn’t where it needed to be. You’ve got to give our players and our assistant coaches a lot of credit.”

On Saturday the Aces road trip continued when Evansville faced the East Carolina Pirates in the semifinals of the CIT. The Aces started off the game trailing East Carolina 9 to 6 at the first media timeout. Evansville came out strong on the road, which is something the Aces have not always done throughout the season. During the next four minute stretch Evansville only scored 2 points and the Pirates had a 9 point advantage. The Aces could not make shots, but Evansville was running a good offense. Evansville shot 25% in the first half and trailed the Pirates 40-26. Conversely the Pirates doubled the Aces shooting percentage as the Pirates made half of their first half attempts.

In the second half East Carolina came out strong and had a 20 point lead with 17 minutes remaining. The Aces tried to cut into the Pirates lead, but Evansville struggled to make a dent in the advantage. The Aces were defeated by the Pirates with the final score reading 81-58, East Carolina.

Marty Simmons was proud of how his Evansville team played throughout the CIT. “It’s not the NCAA tournament. It’s not the NIT. But it’s certainly been a lot of fun. The neat thing from me is, as disappointed as our team was after that Indiana State loss, the way they were able to rally and come back and play some pretty darn good basketball in three out of the four games is a credit to those guys in the locker room.” Simmons also knows the importance this senior class has played for Evansville. Simmons on the Aces’ six seniors — Ryan, Taylor, Ned Cox, Lewis Jones, Andy Chinn and Brandon Williams: “They’ve all been incredible. They came in that first year, and we struggled. They’ve had great attitudes, and they’ve continued to work and work. Even though we haven’t gotten to where we’re winning championships, we’ve certainly done some things here in the last three or four years that we hadn’t done here for a while.” Troy Taylor says the mood was bitter sweet for the Aces with the season coming to an end, but it was fun while it lasted. “You can’t dwell on this game too much because it’s done. We had a lot of success this season, which everybody’s proud of. These last couple weeks have been tremendous hanging out with these guys and everything.” Colt Ryan paced Evansville with 12 points and says he has had a great time being part of the Evansville basketball family. “I don’t think I could really do it justice or put it into words. There’s so many things that the Evansville community, the university, this program, the basketball team, my teammates have done for me. And I’m going to miss it. Being around such a great group of guys and great coaches – great mentors – and all the people I’ve met during the time here has been such a great ride.”

Evansville had a great season as they were able to win 21 games. This is a mark the team can build upon for next year. There were parts of the season where the Aces under performed. Evansville struggled to pick up victories on the road throughout the season, but had a three game road winning streak at the end of the season beating Wright State, Wichita State, and Canisius. Seniors such as Colt Ryan helped carry the Aces. When Colt Ryan was out early in the season with a hip pointer injury D.J. Balentine stepped up for the Aces to play well. His play along with that of Adam Wing will be key for the Aces as these players enter their sophomore year. Also, Evansville will not have any seniors on the team next season. Juniors such as Ryan Sawvell will have to become the vocal leaders both on and off the court. These leaders are important on any team and Evansville will need some players to step up without the advantage of having any seniors. The deep post season run can help the Aces in the bid to make the NCAA tournament. Evansville now knows the importance of winning road games along with being able to hold a lead. Egidijus Mockevicius has made a vast improvement since the start of his freshman campaign. Mockevicius is now an inside post presence who the Aces can rely upon in the years to come. Now Evansville will have a player who can handle the ball inside the paint and be a scoring threat. Also, he can block shots, which can lead to fast break points for the Aces, which Evansville can use to spark the offense if it starts to falter. With the start of a new season, hope springs eternally again for Evansville basketball as the future is bright for the Aces basketball program.

Written by theSPORTSfeast Aces Insider Bryce Weiler

Photo Courtesy of “The Sports Beast” James Range

Soon after tip-off Panther fans were suffering once again from anxiety, this time it was a 11-0 run by the Wolverines to start the game. Their lead grew to 16-4 before the Panthers decided to punch their time-cards and get to work.

The Panthers dwindled the Weber State lead down to two after a Marc Sonnen trey ball with just over 7 minutes left in the half. Weber State’s Scott Bamforth was putting on a shooting clinic, connecting for four first half 3-pointers, the last coming as time expired in the first half. The Bamforth three pushed the Wolverines lead back to 7 as the teams headed into the locker rooms for halftime.

After the coaches had their adjustments in place the second half looked nothing like the first. The Panthers were able to finally grab a lead at 44-43 but lost that lead on the Wolverines next trip down the floor. It was one of those games where Weber State had an answer each time the Panthers would land their best jab.

Head coach Ben Jacobson was able to adjust his defense and shut down the sharp-shooting Bamforth in the second half. Frank Otis and Davion Berry were able to shoulder the load left from Bamforth, much like they have done during their respectable 30 win season.

The Panthers were able to tie-up the game on three different occasions in the second half. This was largely thanks to the efforts on the defensive end of the floor where they held Weber State to a putrid 6 for 25 shooting effort.

Despite the defensive effort, timely three’s from Chip Rank, and three sensational Seth Tuttle dunks the Panthers found themselves down three with only seconds remaining. A 38 percent field goal percentage and a 17 percent effort from three was the numbers jumping off the box score showing the rhyme and reason the Panthers were constantly fighting an uphill battle.

Tuttle missed an opportunity to tie the game at the free throw line making 1 of his 2 attempts. Senior Jake Koch had his own opportunity to bring the game within one after Weber State purposely fouled with 4.5 seconds left up three. A tip of the cap to Weber State head coach Randy Rahe for strategically fouling, knowing the Panthers would have to travel 90 feet in less than four seconds to tie or beat his team.

Koch, a 79 percent free throw shooter missed both of his attempts and hope was all but lost inside the McLeod Center. However, Davion Berry missed the front-end of his 1-and-1 attempt allowing the Panthers to set up a last second attempt at tying the game. Senior Marc Sonnen inbounded from the side to fellow Senior Jake Koch for a turnaround fading three-point attempt that would come up short, marking the end of the Panthers season and the end of four senior’s career’s.

The four Panthers seniors have been involved in the greatest moment in Panther basketball history. They also won 20 games every year of their storied careers and were involved in postseason play each season.

Head coach Ben Jacobson was positively reminiscent of his time with the four graduating seniors;

“You think about the number of things that have happened over the last four and five years, these four guys have been involved in all kinds stuff, most of it really, really good and really, really fun and very positive for our program.” 

Jacobson on whether this season was one filled with regret or missed opportunity;

“Because of the way these guys handled themselves I’m not going to spend any time feeling like we didn’t reach our potential or feeling like, ‘Boy, we missed a couple opportunities. When I talk about it or, it comes up, I’ll feel good about it.” said Jacobson.

Senior Marc Sonnen was able to hold back just enough emotion to give a compelling post-game conference. Check out Marc and Deon Mitchell’s conference below.

“It’s hard because you’re so used to, after games, getting ready for the next one. It helps having good teammates, good coaches, fans, and good family. People like that get you through times like this. It’s hard realizing I’m never going to step back out there. I’m really proud more about how the younger guys are playing, how much experience, and how I’ve been able to help them and how much they’ve been able to help me. You know that will help me get by this.”

Asked to reflect on his career Sonnen made his affection for the University clear;

“It’s been the best four years I could ask for out of anything. The coaches I’ve had and the people I’ve met here, it’s going to be people I know for my whole life. I’m glad I came here. There’s no other school I would have rather gone to.”

Sonnen on his mindset in the final moments;

“It got all the way down to the last second and I still believed Jake was going to hit that. Ya know it didn’t go in but I had faith he was going to hit it, but that’s what happens, its the game of basketball.” said Sonnen.

Soft-spoken sophomore point guard Deon Mitchell was asked what he was able to take from the Panthers tournament run;

“Last year we didn’t get this far. Like Coach said we haven’t played this far in the postseason. It’s a good experience for us young guys.”

Mitchell on what he has taken from the Seniors;

“Just seeing how they work in the offseason. I mean it’s crazy how hard they work in the offseason how hard they push their teammates to get better. Just motivate your teammates, don’t get down on them, keep pushing them.”

Five freshman will hit the University of Northern Iowa campus to play for the Panthers in 2013-14. Jeremy Morgan, Robert Knar, Klint Carlson, Ted Friedman, and the third installment from the Koch family, Bennett, will suit up in purple and gold promising a bright future for the program.

Game Notes:

• Davion Berry led the Wolverines with 15 points. Scott Bamforth added 14 (all in the first half.)
• Bamforth holds the Weber State school record with 254 career 3-pointers
• Seth Tuttle led UNI with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Tuttle also threw down 3 prodigious dunks
• Panthers senior guard Marc Sonnen made one 3-pointer to move into a tie for 2nd all-time at UNI (201 3-pointers made)
• Sonnen made one 3-pointer in 23 consecutive games to end his Panther career
• Sonnen’s 96 made 3-pointers put him in a tie for the sixth-most ever in a single-season in Missouri Valley Conference history
• Marc Sonnen finishes his Panther career having played in the most games (139) in school history
• Jake Koch ranks No. 2 on the UNI games played list (138)
• Sonnen finished the 2012-13 season 28 of 29 from the free throw line (97%)
• The Panthers were out-rebounded 41-32
• Attendance: 5,033
• BOX SCORE
• UNI men’s basketball 2012-13 season statistics

Written By UNI Insider Cole Bair

Photo Courtesy of Tiffany Rushing

What no one was anticipating was Emery’s ability to fulfill roster holes with talented free agents that didn’t break the organizations bank. After Jerry Angelo missed on defensive line draft picks Michael Haynes and Dan Bazuin he followed that with another swing and miss trade for the late Gaines Adams. After those misses Angelo had forced his own hand and landed the Bears the Rolls Royce of free agency in 2010 with the signing of Julius Peppers. Peppers cap hit is reportedly in excess of 16 million this year and is certainly the elephant in the room limiting Phil Emery’s offseason agenda, or at least we thought it would.

Despite all the questionable drafts, signings, and trades of the Angelo era Phil Emery has put the Bears in an advantageous position, that is being able to draft the ‘best player available’ on their draft board. Drafting for a need only heightens the likelihood of a swing and miss in the draft.

Emery’s first 1st round pick as Bears GM was defensive lineman Shea McClellin from Boise State. McClellin played 369 snaps last season and was able to produce 2.5 sacks, 7 hurries, and 29 quarterback pressures. McClellin has a lot of development left but there is certain promise to the young man’s game. Emery followed up the McClellin selection with a trade up in the second round to improve the team’s wide receiver position with the selection of Alshon Jeffrey, the SEC’s all-time receiving yards record holder. Jeffrey broke his hand in the middle of the season but returned for the last four games. Jeffrey was targeted 48 times on the season and 17 of those targets came 20 yards downfield. Alshon should keep progressing much like McClellin will, providing the Bears with an up and comer on both sides of the ball, so another tip of the cap to Phil Emery.

After watching Brian Urlacher, Lance Louis, Kellen Davis, Matt Spaeth, and others walk out the door into the 2013 free agency class Phil Emery was faced with a tall task to accomplish what he preaches. Being able to draft best available come April 25th.

On the opening day of free agency Emery used what little cap room the Bears had to sign pro-bowl left tackle Jermon Bushrod and a super athletic three down tight end Martellus Bennett. Emery rounded out his “UFA” signings as he likes to call them with former New York Jets guard Matt Slauson, mike linebacker D.J. Williams, strong-side linebacker James Anderson, nickelback Kelvin Hayden, and safety/special teams ace Tom Zbikowski.

Bushrod and Slauson were highly regarded by Pro Football Focus’ ratings. Slauson did not allow a single sack last season and that’s just the type of numbers that will make Jay Cutler a happy quarterback. The additions also create competition on the offensive line among former 1st rounder Gabe Carimi, Edwin Williams, Jonathon Scott, 2nd year man James Brown, and the highly criticized J’Marcus Webb.

Martellus Bennett provides production at a position that has been a black hole since the trade of Greg Olsen to Carolina. Bennett’s addition gives new head coach Marc Trestman a better chest of toys to play with than predecessor Mike Tice. Bennett had career highs with the Giants last year grabbing 55 passes for 626 yards. It doesn’t take a film session with Ron Jaworski to understand the Bears passing offense was largely one-dimensional last year. Part of that was due to the roster, part of it due to Tice’s lack of scheming. Martellus’ transition to the blue and orange will give Jay Cutler a legitimate target down the seam.

Lastly, linebacker additions D.J. Williams and James Anderson both have outstanding statistics to their credit. Williams comes with some character marks after a DUI arrest and a substance abuse suspension. Despite the couple character questions with the 30 year old Williams his on field performance has been at or near pro bowl level. D.J. has three 100+ tackle seasons to his credit and has played strong, weak, mike, and the 3-4 ‘jack’ linebacker positions so he is unquestionably versatile should Emery draft a lineback in the early rounds. The 29 year old Anderson struggled to stay healthy toward the end of his stay in Carolina, however he holds the Panthers franchise record for tackles in a game with 20 and will fill the strong-side position vacated by Nick Roach who signed a long term deal with the Oakland Raiders.

With the draft less than a month away Phil Emery has his chess pieces right where he wants them. After the dismissing of Lovie Smith after a non-playoff 10 and 6 season expectations will remain high on the lakefront. With a multitude of players on 1-year deals and a signal caller entering the last year of his contract there is no question the Bears roster will be filled with players trying to perform at a level high enough to cash in during 2014 free agency.

Written By Cole Bair

Photo Courtesy of Steve Hill

As the Shockers pushed their way into the Elite Eight for the first time in 32 years, they remain the lone Missouri Valley Conference team competing in the big dance.  Outside of the MVC and the state of Ohio, it would be hard to find fans rooting against the Shockers.  Even if you have the Buckeyes going all the way in your tournament predictions, all the surprises in this year’s March Madness have made the majority of gamblers’ brackets bleed.  So another upset for WSU would create more interested fans than it would opposing ones.

Even losing the MVC Tournament championship game, Wichita State has played their best basketball of the year in this final stretch of the season.  Highlighted by denying Gonzaga to reach the Sweet 16, the Shockers have shown that they are not a one-win wonder.  A convincing win over LaSalle Thursday night shows that this team has more potential than just a typical bracket buster.

The Shockers’ physicality and rebounding is what has gotten them here, and it will be what keeps them going on.  Ohio State is riding back-to-back clutch victories both by a margin of three points.  Carl Hall and Malcolm Armstead are the two main seniors that need to step up to make sure Saturday is not their last collegiate game.  Both players have provided an offensive spark in their tournament presence, but Hall’s rebounding and defensive actions have set the tone of Wichita State’s style of play.

Wichita State and Ohio State have pretty similar overall records, but the Buckeyes come from the talented Big Ten.  The Shockers have only been to the Final Four one other time and that was back in 1965.  The Tournament has never seen a #9/#2 matchup.  We will have to wait and see how many more shocking wins this team has in them.  Tip-off scheduled for 6:05 p.m. CT

Written by theSPORTSfeast Redbird Insider Joe Brand (@BrandFlakes7), WZND

Photo Courtesy of Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

This deal comes as little surprise to most baseball fans. Verlander has been one of the best pitchers in either league over the past four seasons, ranking 1st in strikeouts each of the past two seasons and 1st in three of the last four. Verlander has also been in the top five in ERA in the MLB in each of the last two seasons.

Verlander is also two years removed from his first Cy Young Award and MVP Award, which in he won in the same season (2011). It was the first time since 1986 that a starting pitcher had been named the MVP (Roger Clemens, Boston) and the first time since 1992 that a pitcher in general had been given the award (Dennis Eckersley, Oakland).

The deal is being piled on top of his existing deal, in which he was set to make $20 million over the next two seasons and then adds $140 million in guaranteed money. This works out to about $28 million each season from 2015-2019. It also includes a $22 million option in 2020, which will become guaranteed if he finishes in the top five in Cy Young voting, according to Buster Olney.

Verlander wasn’t the only Major Leaguer to earn big money today. San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey, who was last seasons NL MVP, has agreed to a new nine-year deal worth $167 million, according to ESPN and other reports. The contract is the longest in Giants history and covers 2013-2021, with an option for 2022.

The deal is the second largest deal for a catcher behind Joe Mauer’s $184 million, eight-year deal with the Twins in 2010. This is also the largest deal for a player who has been in the league for less than four full seasons, according to ESPN.

Photo via USA Today Sports Images

Bradley (18-17 overall) had four players who scored in double figures and were led by junior Walt Lemon Jr. Lemon Jr. who scored 19 points. Braves Senior Will Egolf poured in 17 points despite foul trouble. Junior Tyshon Pickett tallied 16 points and Senior Dyricus Simms-Edwards who scored 32 points in his last outing against the Panthers was limited to 11.

The Braves led the Panthers by as many as 10 points in the first half. Bradley went on a 15 to 5 scoring run after the score was knotted at 14. The Panthers recaptured the lead just before the half at 40-38 after a 3-pointer from Marc Sonnen, however Bradley was able to tie the game at 40 on a Walt Lemon Jr layup.

The Panthers won the intensity battle to start the second half. A 13 to 4 run to start the second half pushed their lead to 53-44 with just over 15:35 minutes remaining. Bradley cut the lead back to six at 60-54, but the Panthers used three-pointers from redshirt freshman Matt Bohannon, sophomore Marvin Singleton, and Senior Anthony James to extend their lead to 12 with 8:59 left in the game.

Bradley pulled to within seven points at 71-64, but the Panthers responded and once again pushed their lead to 14 at 80-66 with only 6 minutes remaining. Geno Ford’s Braves would get no closer than 11 points the remainder of the game prompting Geno Ford to throw his white flag at the 1:29 mark when he subbed out all 5 of his starters.

Anthony James led Panther scorers with 21 points. On multiple occasions after set plays were unsuccessful or an offensive rebound was grabbed James was able to call his own number and shoot a 3-point shot over his defender.

Once again it was sophomore Seth Tuttle rallying his team from a deficit. Tuttle tallied 19 points and nine rebounds and was pivotal in regaining the lead. The crowd was once more treated to a one-handed slam from Tuttle after he beat his man off the dribble to the hoop for the crowd rallying dunk. Senior forward Jake Koch scored 14 on 6 of 8 shooting and took advantage of counterpart Will Egolf when he came into foul trouble.

Senior Marc Sonnen converted three 3-pointers and totalled 13 points. Sonnen’s backcourt mate, sophomore Deon Mitchell, scored 10 points and tied a career high with eight assists. The Panthers only had four turnovers in the game and Mitchell posted an 8 to 2 assist to turnover ratio and has been a critical part of the Panthers late season success. Head Coach Ben Jacobson commented on Deon’s play in the post-game;

“He’s had a pretty long stretch here where he’s been consistently good. He’s strong enough where if you get into him and really try to force him to do something he can use that against guys because he doesn’t get knocked off his dribble often. Where he’s improved is he sees the floor so much better now than a year ago at this time.”

Jacobson on the 2nd half run;

“I think we defended a little better in the second half. In the second half we did a better job on Lemon. I think it was a case where we had a 20 minutes where what we tried to run seemed to run. When it didn’t work, guys made shots anyway. When its a 5-6 point game and two or three different times Anthony just rises up and makes a three.”

On the pace of play and high scoring result;

“Because Bradley scored so well in the first 10 minutes of the game it got to be a little more in the open floor. I really like that for our offense. I’d prefer, as our guys would, to play that way offensively. To have a more open game offensively. I didn’t like what our defense was doing. Bradley deserves credit for the way the game started.” said Jacobson.

After the ‘official’ press conference was over local media asked UNI Athletics Director Troy Dannen about the rumored interest in Coach Jacobson;

“I kind of enjoy it. It reaffirms what we already know, we have a heck of a coach. If nobody is attracted to the coaches that you have, that says something about your program. Every coach we have has drawn interest at one time or another, and that’s something we should be pretty proud of at UNI. And be more proud that they’ve decided to stay.” – per Carson Tigges (WCF Courier)

The Panthers will host a CIT semifinal on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the McLeod Center. UNI will take on the winner of the Oral Roberts-Weber State game. ORU plays at Weber State on Wednesday night. All CIT games can be viewed at watchcollegeinsider.com

Game Notes:

• Senior guard Marc Sonnen is four 3-pointers away from breaking Ben Jacobson’s Panther career record of 203 after making 3 of 5 against Bradley
• All 5 Panthers starters scored in double figures
• Attendance: 3,390
• BOX SCORE

Written by UNI SPORTSfeast insider Cole Blair

Photo via WCFCourier.com

This years team has a lot to hang their hat on after another remarkable season. They did everything in their power to live up to the hype that the fans and the media put on them starting after the loss to North Carolina just over a year ago in the same round of 32 game.

The Rise

Creighton was a nobody going into 2012.

They were a figment of the nations imagination and a little sophomore named Doug McDermott had yet to break onto the scene. All anyone knew about Doug was that he had been a teammate of then UNC forward Harrison Barnes. The world was “rudely”(Creighton students do nothing rudely) awaken to what the Bluejays were capable of when they went 3-0 against Big Ten opponents in 2012 while finishing the season 29-6.

Still, Creighton was “Cinderella”. They were a nobody to the outside world. Then, that little sophomore from Ames, Iowa who was playing for his “daddy” decided that this was going to be his team and brought Creighton back to a place that they hadn’t seen since the Kyle Korver era. He helped bring the Bluejays back to the national stage.

The Jays started the 2013 campaign ranked in both the AP and USA Today Coaches polls, coming in at No’s. 16 and 15, respectively. Yet people were still asking, “are the Creighton Bluejays for real?” “Does having the 2011 Freshman of the Year, the 2012 MVC Player of the Year and Creighton’s first, first team All-American really make them that good?” Simple answer, yes.

Creighton was good enough and it wasn’t just because of Doug. Sure, Doug averaged 23.2 points per game this season (23.6 in conference play), which was good enough for second nationally only behind Erick Green of Virginia Tech who averaged 25 points per game. But Doug couldn’t have won games alone or scored 74.4 points per game offensively. So who or what else can the Jays rely on then?

Funny you should ask. Creighton was no longer a one trick pony that teams could feast on come January and February, they were a complete team. Offensively or defensively, Creighton was a forced to be reckoned with. A year ago the Jays were a lowly 222 in the nation in scoring defense and written off as a team who could score in bunches, but then let the opponent do the same. This year, the Jays buckled down and embraced the number “222″ as something of a scarlet letter.

Coach Greg McDermott had is plastered all over their practice gear so every day the players could see where the should never be again. They took it to heart and made sure that “222″ would be lower this year. Well, Creighton wasn’t a one sided team this season. After 36 games, Creighton rose to the occasion, and challenge, and turned “222″ into “85″, giving up an average of 63.2 points per game this season.

Back to Creighton no longer being a one-trick pony. As has been discussed, Doug was/is/will be good, so who else could the Jays rely on?  Five guys stick out: Gregory Echenique, Grant Gibbs, Ethan Wragge, Jahenns Manigat and Josh Jones. Yes, it’s obvious to us all that three of those five a part of the starting five, that’s just how it is.

Key Contributors

First, we’ll have to start with Josh Jones.

Jones, not by his own doing, became a catalyst for this team. His heart defined more than just the effort he put into the game he loves. His heart became the biggest contributing factor to this team and ended up being the sole contributor to his early and abrupt retirement from the game of basketball. No one could have predicted that Josh would pass out from an atrial flutter an hour before his final game against Nebraska at the Devaney Center.

What everyone could have predicted though, was that that same heart, the one that went through open heart surgery five years prior, would not only become bigger once basketball was over but also give a team that at one point seemed to be coming unhinged the “heart” it needed to survive.

Now, if Jones can be called the “heart” of the team, you can call Wragge and Jahenns the “sparks” of the team. Both provided the Jays with “sparks” all season. Wragge, the 2013 MVC Sixth Man of the Year, kept Creighton in games from deep. Sometimes VERY deep. He was and is the prototypical Dana Altman recruit. He can flat out shoot. He proved that by hitting 78 three pointers this season, some more important than others. Like the four he made against Cincinnati in this years second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Jahenns on the other hand, provided a different kind of spark. One that not every player has inside of them. It’s called effort. Effort is not only one of the hardest attributes to find in a person, it is the lone attribute that can only be taught from within. Jahenns made sure that the opponents best backcourt player never had a clean look.

He dove on every loose ball, tried to take every charge, whether or not anyone else outside of the team agreed with it, and just out hustled almost every other player on the court. Whether or not Jahenns scored in double digits or scored zero, he brought energy to the team when the crowd couldn’t.

Gregory gave himself the title of enforcer once again this season, eventually being named to the MVC All-Defensive team for the second consecutive year. If there is one player on Creighton’s roster that people can say with certainty had gotten better since last year, it’s Gregory. He slimmed down and bulked up and overpowered smaller defenders game after game.

He ended the season with six double-doubles, ranked second on the team in total rebounds (239) and was first in blocks (62). Gregory’s presence down low this season changed games. Teams weren’t as eager to bum rush the lane while Gregory was on the block and bigger opponents (e.g. Mason Plumlee) couldn’t always handle the Venezuelan native.

Next up is resident hard ass, team captain and floor general, Grant Gibbs. Gibbs made the game of basketball look easy during his two full seasons with the Jays. Both years Grant controlled the floor for the Point Forward position. He led the team in assists both years (176, 11-12/210, 12-13) and was 13th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio with a 2.69 ratio.

He “instigated” opponents and often times was able to bait players into getting a technical. *wink* He never showed other players up or got in their faces. Instead, he just made everyone else look like they were playing in slow motion while he and the rest of the Bluejays were in a perpetual state of fast-forward.

Last, but not least, the Jays wouldn’t have been in the position they were without Doug. He has won the MVC Player of the Year award two years in a row, been named a first team All-American again this year, been named to the MVC All First-Team all three years at Creighton and has now been in the running for the Naismith Player of the Year and the Wooden awards two years in a row. He is a one in a million type player and Creighton fans are in his debt (or his Dad’s for that matter) for bringing so much buzz and excitement to a campus that had been laying dormant for too long.

Doug not only helped bring Creighton back into the national spotlight, but in doing so helped Creighton find its way into the “new” Big East. He ranked first in almost every statistical category that the Jays have. He was first in points/game (23.2), rebounds (276), free-throws made (189-216, 87.5%), 3FG% (49%), FG Made (284) and finally, total points scored (834). He did all of this while breaking Creighton’s All-Time scoring record this year, which was previously held by Rodney Buford

Moving on Up to 2013-2014

Creighton leaves the 2012-2013 season with more than just regular season and MVC Tournament Title’s, but they also leave the Missouri Valley Conference for good. They have found themselves in the “Automatic Qualifiers” club or the “no longer mid-major” club, or truthfully, in the Big Six. With the move, Creighton is a part of one of the big six conferences (B1G, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC, ACC, Big East).

They have left 2013 behind with trophies, memories and history, all wrapped up into one. They lose key members of the team to graduation in May (Gibbs, Echenique) and may end up trying to figure out where to recruit if this little thing called the NBA comes courting Doug. In the end though, the 2012-2013 season was one to remember.

In the coming season, Creighton fans will have a lot to look forward to. They will get the chance to see young players like Austin Chatman and Will Artino mature into key role players. The evolution of both of their games has been an added bright spot on an already exciting year in Jays basketball. The formal introduction to Nevin Johnson will also take place upon the Jays’ move to the Big East come July 1, 2013. Nevin played sparingly all season due to injuries, as well as due to Doug, Grant and Jahenns. Next season though, Nevin could step into the shoes left by Grant and find himself in the mix to become a starter as a redshirt sophomore.

Coach McDermott still has a good team left barring any unforeseen transfers. Next season won’t be a rebuilding year and only maybe it will be a “reloading” year.

No one knows what the future will hold in store for the Jays. Only time will tell us that. But one thing is for sure: if we thought this year was fun, well, we’re in for a whole new ride next season.

Photo via US Presswire

The Basics

Michael Wacha was selected by the Cardinals with the 19^th overall pick in the 2012 Draft. The 6’6” Texas A&M product was projected a fast mover and a solid middle of the rotation starter. Baseball America said that Wacha had the “Best Change-Up in the 2012 MLB Draft” and hit the mid-90s with his fastball to go along with good command. There were questions about his breaking pitches, his curveball and slider, though there is hope that his slider could become a third plus pitch for him.

While Wacha has a great skillset, his most valuable weapon could be his confidence. Wacha knows exactly what he is working with and uses his large frame to his advantage. Wacha’s “downhill” pitching style allows him to carve up the strike zone with his fastball and makes a great pair with his deceptive changeup. If all of this didn’t seem good to Cardinal fans during the draft, their minds were probably changed quickly once Wacha made it to the minor leagues.

2012 Minors

After inking a $1.9 million deal with the Cardinals, he made his professional debut for the GCL Cardinals. Wacha’s stay there was short. Wacha only pitched in three games, pitching 5 innings, allowing one run, while collecting 7 strikeouts. It is worth mentioning that this was the only level that Wacha allowed a run. From there, Wacha went to Palm Beach. This is where things get interesting.

Wacha pitched in four games before being promoted to AA Springfield. In those four games, Wacha pitched eight innings, allowed one hit, one walk, while striking 16. After compiling that statline, he was called upon to help Springfield on their Texas League playoff run.

Coming out of the bullpen late in the season, Wacha achieved similar success. Again, after eight innings in four games, Wacha allowed one earned run, gave up three hits, three walks, while striking out 17. Texas League finished the year by winning the Texas League Championship, with top prospects Oscar Taveras, Kolten Wong, Carlos Martinez, and Wacha all on the roster. After finishing the season, Wacha was shut down due to the innings pitched from a full college baseball season and his final 21 innings in the minors.

Spring 2013

There’s a story circulating that prior to camp, Shelby Miller asked Michael Wacha if he needed to place to stay for Spring Training. Wacha told Miller that he hadn’t got the invite, nor did he expect one. Shelby supposedly went early 2000s Dell Commercial on him by saying “Dude, you’re getting the invite.”

Sure enough, Shelby was right and next thing you know, they are throwing together off of mounds in Jupiter, while manager Mike Matheny looks on. The two live fellow Cardinal pitcher/young person Joe Kelly. While Kelly and Miller are both competing for the fifth starting spot in the Cardinals rotation, Wacha is just determining how fast he will continue to rise. The housing situation has not only resulted in great Twitter banter, but has also allowed the three pitchers (who could end up being three members of the future Cardinal rotation) to bond and help motivate each other.

Wacha made his Spring Training debut against Miami on February 23^rd. Wacha made a great first impression by pitching two innings, striking out three, while allowing an unearned run. Four days later, Wacha pitched the game that will probably best defines his spring. In his game against the Mets, Wacha dominated in three innings, allowed one hit (to David Wright), and struck out five. Wacha was overpowering, as striking out two with his fastball, two with his change and one with his curveball. Wacha worked around the zone and ahead of his hitters all day. Wacha was all anyone could talk about postgame.

Yadier Molina was quoted as saying that Wacha was big league ready. Molina continued, talking about how he enjoyed playing with Wacha’s fastball, especially when used alongside his changeup. Molina wasn’t the only one gushing, either. Manager Mike Matheny added on by saying, “We heard a lot and absolutely wanted to see it for ourselves. He’s done a nice job.”

Outlook

Wacha eventually ended his Spring with the Big Birds by compiling a statline of 11 and two-thirds innings pitched, allowing 7 hits, 1 run, zero earned runs, and striking out 15. Wacha also went on to collect 1 win and 1 save for the Cardinals, as well. But even after Wacha was sent to the back fields on March 14^th, he continued to excel. So far in his two outings, he has pitched 8 innings and striking out eight, while only allowing two hits and two walks.

After all of his success and an empty spot in the rotation in AAA Memphis, it is not totally far-fetched to say that he may start there this year. It is also not totally far-fetched to say that he could not end the year there, as he could be a possible call-up to help St. Louis out in September.

Written By Chase Probert

Photo Courtesy of Steve Mitchell – USA TODAY Sports

Once more we are being treated to cinderella stories. Fifteen seed Florida Gulf Coast University upset the No. 2 seed Georgetown Hoyas and then defeated San Diego State to become the first 15 seed to reach the ‘Sweet Sixteen’. The University of LaSalle, who is a 13 seed, have also found themselves in the ‘Sweet Sixteen’ and we shall all wait for more ‘madness’ to ensue later this week.

Until then, the madness turns toward the available head coaching positions. The Northwestern Wildcats fired 13-year head coach Bill Carmody after a season that saw his team go 13-19 and only 4-14 in the Big Ten.

Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips stated:

“Look at 13 years. Athletic success does matter. It should matter,” Phillips said. “We were here a year ago. One of the key differences was, we were down to one year on Bill’s contract. I didn’t feel an extension was warranted. It would have been really detrimental to the program, to Bill or his staff to try to recruit with less than a year on his contract. So the combination of those factors resulted in us making the decision to make a change.”

Carmody came to Northwestern in 2000 after four years as head coach at Princeton. Comcast SportsNet’s David Kaplan was hard at work yesterday compiling the Wildcats list of candidates. Here’s his tweet.

“N’western search heating up w/Chris Collins first up. Also on list are John Giannini – LaSalle Dave Paulsen – Bucknell + Bryce Drew – Valpo”
— Dave Kaplan (@thekapman) March 25, 2013

While it’s unquestionable that the ‘buzz’ surrounding Ben Jacobson has cooled in the two seasons after his and the Panthers Sweet Sixteen tournament run that saw them defeat number one overall seed Kansas, there is still a formidable market for the 7th year head coach.

Jacobson has two regular season and tournament champion Missouri Valley titles to his credit in 2009 and 2010. Jacobson also took home Missouri Valley Coach of the year honors in both of those seasons. Understanding that the shine may not be as bright for Jacobson in 2013 as it was in 2010, he still fits into the profile of what a school like Northwestern is looking for in their next head coach. CSN’s Kaplan responded to a tweet of mine inquiring about Jacobson’s name being in the discussion.

“I did hear his name. Excellent candidate. RT @realColeBair: @thekapman hearing any Ben Jacobson – #UNIPanthers chatter Kap?”
— Dave Kaplan (@thekapman) March 25, 2013

Before anyone begins to picture the unfortunate scene that would be a Ben Jacobson departure from UNI, let us understand the he is one of multiple names on the Wildcats’ list of candidates. It’s always a good thing to hear a coaches name in rumors for power conference jobs, it simply means that he’s performing at a high level and has caught the attention of one of the country’s best known institutions, like Northwestern.

Kaplan published an article earlier today describing Northwestern’s hot pursuit of Duke assistant Chris Collins, who is a Northbrook, Illinois native and was the 1992 Mr. Basketball in Illinois;

“After conducting a handful of interviews in Atlanta (where the search firm Parker Executive Search is located) with four or more current head coaches who had teams in this year’s NCAA Tournament, Northwestern is zeroing in on Duke associate head coach Chris Collins as its next basketball coach.” per David Kaplan (CSN Chicago).

While there is certainly speculation and rumors surrounding Coach Jacobson’s name once again there will have to be some coaches tell Jim Phillips no before he could say yes to Jacobson. Prepare for Jacobson’s name to eventually crop up for the available Minnesota position after their dismissal of Tubby Smith. Lackluster facilities and an obvious lack of roster talent could limit the Gopher’s ability to sell the job to hot names such as Shaka Smart, Brad Stephens, and Ben Howland.

The madness of March is already reaching beyond the courts.

Written by UNI SPORTSfeast Insider Cole Blair

Photo via WCF Courier

The University of Illinois-Chicago countered Tuttle with big man Jason Crittle. When I say “big man,” I genuinely mean it. Crittle is 6 foot 9 inches and nothing but a slice of pizza away from 270. He transferred from UCF this September and played a large role in the games outcome. More on that later.

First though lets take a step back and refresh on Tuttles accomplishments. Playing in the CIT tournament last season as a true freshman Tuttle earned a spot on the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Freshman All-America team. He was named MVC Freshman of the Year, he earned MVC All-Newcomer team status, and became the first freshman to ever lead the MVC in field goal percentage (.652). Tuttle led the Panthers in rebounding (5.6 rpg), offensive rebounding, (75) and free throws made (85). To top the accolades boast session off Seth ranked second in scoring on the Panthers with 9.6 points per contest and shot 50 percent or better in 28 of 34 games as a true freshman.

Tuttle’s repertoire was built to shine against a matchup like Crittle. If the Panthers had themselves a ‘true’ 5 man (i.e. Jordan Egleseder) Tuttle could be regarded as one of the most dynamic 4 men in the entire nation. The combination of shooting ability, quickness, post moves, passing, and his x-factor of team inspiring emotion provides Ben Jacobson’s Panther squad with more than they could have expected from the Sheffield Iowa native.

Tuttle was available post-game and gave his always genuine recap;

“No matter what, at a point like this there are teams that could say its just the CIT. We could pack our bags and end it but we have four seniors on this team who have put alot in for this team this year and the program. Really we’re playing for those four seniors.”

On Chip Rank’s late game clinching 3;

“It’s one of those things where Chip’s been struggling a little bit lately and we all tell him, let it go, just let it go. He’ll sit in the gym and just make shot after shot after shot and come gametime he hasn’t been able to hit a couple lately. It was a big shot and a big play to step up and hit it. I think that dunk probably helped him.”

Seniors Anthony James, Austin Pehl and Jake Koch literally did what they’ve made a name for themselves as Panthers against the Chicago reigning Flames in the CollegeInsider.com‘s tournament second round.  Flames coach Howard Moore had high praise for former Valley colleague Ben Jacobson, remarking;

“Seth had a good run and got us up four. We went to him a couple more times and we weren’t able to get baskets that way. I wanted to see if we could move 34 (Jason Crittle) out onto the perimeter. Going with Chip and Jake forced 34 to guard out on the floor a little bit. When Chip slipped the screen and got the dunk that’s something we can run a little better with Chip and Jake in. We needed something to happen tonight. Both teams were playing hard, but neither team was playing that good on offense. It was a hard game to watch for a long time. Seth’s play got the crowd into the game and we needed that.”

Koch filled the stat sheet per usual; 11 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and one of his signature blocks.

“All of us can remember our first day on campus and it flies by fast. It may not be the tournament we really wanted, the NCAA tournament, but we’re in a tournament and have the opportunity to play so we’re going to keep busting our butts and we had a good talk about that with the team. We want to keep playing and everyone’s with us.”

Koch on 20 wins;

“We got 20 wins tonight? Pretty awesome. I don’t know the stats, how many 20 win seasons they had before but it’s pretty cool to do that for four straight years.”

After a first half that saw the Panthers unable to put distance between themselves and their opponent they were able to muster a run in the second half of a, offensive, offensive performance from both teams in large stretches.

Anthony James hit an all too common 3-pointer with a defender in his front pocket. Jake Koch took a charge and converted a 3-point play. Marc Sonnen took a overplaying defender off the bounce for a salty reverse layup, and the aforementioned Tuttle had a pivot move that Hakeem Olajuwon would thumbs up that turned into a 3-point play during the 12-0 game changing run.

When the game was in the balance it was once more a key Ben Jacobson adjustment that paid dividends. Realizing the enigma that Crittle was on the block against his Panthers Jacobson stuck with a 4-5 combination of Koch and Junior swingman Chip Rank. Rank who’s mysteriously been suffering from a uncharacteristic shooting slump nailed a 3 from a signature Deon Mitchell ‘penetrate and dish’ play that put the Panthers up 9 with just over a minute to play. The Flames would meltdown with the aforementioned Crittle receiving a technical after a charging foul. Leading point scorer Anthony James converted the free throws and Northern Iowa cruised to their 20th victory on the season.

The Panthers will face off against Missouri Valley rival Bradley on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the friendly confines of the McLeod Center in 3rd round action of the CollegeInsider.com tournament.

Game Notes:

• UNI has won 20 or more games in five consecutive seasons
• Senior Marc Sonnen has made at least one 3-pointer in 21 straight games
• Attendance: 3,025
• BOX SCORE

Written By The Sports Feast UNI Intern Cole Bair

Photo Courtesy of UNI Athletics

I’m not alone in my criticism of Geno Smith. Mike Sando, writer of the ESPN NFC West Blog, said that Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians didn’t “sound enamored with Smith” and said that no one really had that ‘Wow’ factor that the likes of Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III had in the spring of 2012.

Greg Cosell of the NFL Network said:

“…you see it consistently. When the throws are there, that are clearly defined, I think he has a tendency to be late.” 

Even Merril Hoge of ESPN said that Smith was an “inconsistent passer”, which I found to be true when I watched the tape from Smith’s Pro Day.

Reviewing the video of Smith’s Pro Day, found here, Smith has the arm strength and power that allowed him to make the deep throws at WVU, but he was hit-or-miss when it came to accuracy. About 50 percent of the balls thrown by Smith were behind the receiver, causing them to break their stride, slow down and adapt to make the catch. When Smith threw across the middle, it was the same outcome; about 50 percent of the balls thrown on 90 degree routes were thrown to the receiver’s inside shoulder or upper arm, which was behind him, instead of in the chest or towards the outer shoulder or upper arm. Although the entire workout was not recorded in this video, it was reported that Smith hit about 60 of the 64 passes thrown.

Which isn’t saying a lot. He threw without pads and with imaginary defensive linemen rushing him. Pro days for quarterbacks are just to give teams basic ideas of what they will be getting if they choose them. Does he have arm strength? Does he have accuracy? How can he throw on the run? How does he look under center; comfortable? Uncomfortable? Those are just a few of the questions that can be answered after a pro day workout.

Smith has the body of an NFL quarterback but not the experience of the mind of one. Many pro-Smith fans are going to ask me to “look at the stats” during his time at WVU. I did and I found the stats are cushioned and useless when it comes to determining whether or not Smith will be successful in the NFL.

First of all, Smith has never functioned under the “pro-style” offense; where the quarterback takes the majority of the snaps under the center and makes a lot of intermediate throws. At WVU, Smith ran Dana Holgorsen’s Air Raid offense, where he took most, if not all, of the snaps in the shotgun and threw a lot of shallow routes with a few drop-back, toss-it-up bombs. Smith showed that he could roll out and avoid the pressure, as well as throw on the run, but his stats in college aren’t going to cut it.

Take the Baylor game, which every Smith apostle seems to be pointing out to me whenever I make the debate that Smith doesn’t live up to the hype. In that game, Smith threw for 656 yards and eight touchdowns and it wasn’t because Smith carved up a good Baylor defense. Baylor’s defense was one of the worst offenses in college football in 2012; they were 113th in points allowed. The Baylor game proved that Smith can do well against awful college defenses, which is like saying a baseball player can do well if he hits the ball off a tee.

Air Raid Offense + College Defense = Huge passing yards. 

Contrary to the college defense, the NFL defenses are a lot faster and a lot smarter, especially when it comes to rushing the quarterbacks. Defenses in the 3-4 will have the pesky outside linebacker who can run past the left or right offensive tackles to make the sack, strip the ball or hit the quarterback in mid-throw, possibly resulting in an incomplete or interception. The 4-3 defenses have the quicker, more-athletic defensive ends to bull-rush or even deke past the tackles to make the hit or sack. Even the defensive tackles are starting to become stronger and more athletic, allowing them to not only bull-rush their way into the quarterback’s face but they can also jump up to swat the over-the-middle throws.

Cornerbacks and safeties in the NFL are demi-gods compared to the defensive backs in the college ranks. They can read the eyes of the quarterback like an open book and have the speed and the instincts to jump a route and pick off the late-thrown ball. According to scouting reports, Smith has a tendency to “lock onto his first read and force throws.”

Regardless of whoever picks him, the team has to know that Geno Smith is a high-risk/high-reward gamble. They’ll have to teach him the complicated pro-style offense and work on his across the middle and deep ball throws, but do not expect him to be relying on those in his rookie season. I would expect Smith to be using the quick throws (quick slants and out-of-the-backfield dump-offs) and handing it off to the running back; but that’s in a perfect world. If Buffalo takes him (which many have predicted), they’ll probably want him to be the Day One starter have him use the strong arm to throw it to Stevie Johnson.

Photo Courtesy of Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

The Ravens signed the ex-Denver Bronco pass-rusher to a 5-year/$35 million contract, according to ESPN.

The signing came almost two weeks after the Fax Machine Gate. On Mar. 16, the Broncos had offered Dumervil a contract worth about $4 million less than his previous contract with Denver. Then Dumervil declined the offer and half an hour later, Dumervil changed his mind, according to Isaac Rauch of Deadspin.com. When Dumervil’s agent tried to fax (Who the hell uses a fax machine anymore besides 1980′s Wall Streeters?) back the paperwork of the contract, a fax machine boner messed up the communication between the two parties and Dumervil missed the deadline to be resigned by the Broncos.

Dumervil fired his agent shortly after.

The Broncos had no intention of releasing Dumervil this offseason but expressed to the linebacker that they needed to restructure his contract to free up some cap space for the free agency period. Dumervil was currently in a 6-year/$61.5 million contract, which was paying him around $10.25 million-a-year, with $12 million due to him before the Broncos offered him a contract worth $4 million less. But when the communication was mixed up and Dumervil and his agent didn’t respond in time with the Broncos, he was released from the team.

This signing with the Ravens is a win-loss and possibly a lose-lose for Dumervil. The signing could be a win-lose if, well, the Ravens make it to the postseason in January and actually make a convincing push for the Super Bowl. That would definitely make up for the $4 million pay-cut that Dumervil had to take. But if the Ravens don’t make the playoffs or have a bad season (less than eight wins), then the signing will not be as sweet as everyone is making it out to be; Arthur Jones, a defensive lineman for Baltimore, claimed that the addition of Dumervil makes the Ravens a “Dream Team” (Last time a player said that about his team, they failed to have a winning season, make the playoffs and he was cut following the season; Vince Young).

On paper, however, the move is a win-win for the Ravens. They signed one of the best pass-rushers in the league for a discounted price. According to Will Brinson of CBSSports, Dumervil will be playing in a 3-4 defense this year, the same defense he played in 2009 when recorded “17 sacks in 16 games.” When the Broncos made the switch to a 4-3 defense, the 2011 saw Dumervil with a significantly lower sack count, 9.5, but in 2012, he picked it back up to 11.

Photo Courtesy of Gary C. Caskey/United Press International 

In the second half Evansville opened strong as the team was able to increase the lead to 14 points. Tennessee State cut the lead to 10 and then the Aces had another scoring barrage with a 10 -0 run which made the lead 20 points at 61-41. Tennessee State pressed Evansville throughout the game and this style became more frantic at the end of the game, which caused problems for Evansville. The Aces were forced into committing turnovers, which the Tigers converted into points. Evansville’s lead was cut to 8 with 1:44 left in the game. Evansville was able to make 8 out of 8 free throws to secure an 84-72 victory over the Tigers. The Aces made free throws down the stretch, which is something that plagued them during the season. However, there were times in the first, as well as the second half, where Evansville acted as if it did not want to play in the CIT. The Aces were able to come out of the offensive funk to pick up the victory, but were lucky Tennessee State did not make more three pointers. Evansville gave up to many offensive rebounds but Tennessee State could not knock down the three to cut into the Aces advantage. Evansville was 50% on threes going 9 out of 18. Evansville shot 47.6% for the game while the Tigers shot 39.7%. Jordan Nelson and D.J. Balentine scored 9 points apiece for the Aces. This scoring for the underclass players is key because they will be the leaders of the team next season since Evansville does not have any seniors on the roster. Colt Ryan scored 22 points in the victory and Ned Cox added 16 points for the Aces. Also, Ryan was 8 for 9 from the free throw line, which helped increase his superb free throw shooting percentage.

Ned Cox is trying to enjoy playing in a postseason tournament as his career is drawing closer to the end. “My mindset right now is I’m just trying to enjoy the moment while it lasts. I do realize this is coming down to the end, and I’m just trying to make the most of it – have a better attitude in practice – smile and laugh a little more than I used to.” Marty Simmons believes the Aces play throughout the game was up and down showing periods of brilliance and then disappearing at points throughout the contest. “That’s a very talented team we played against – very long, very athletic, very skilled. They pushed the ball, and I thought we had periods of really good play and then we had some periods of sloppy play – like a team that had been off for a while.” Ned Cox knows the importance of taking care of the ball as the Tigers cut the Aces lead to eight before Evansville made free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.  “We had gotten careless with the ball a little bit – let our pressure affect us – and we had a couple of turnovers. It turned into some shots for us. It took down to us taking care of the ball, being strong with it, and when we broke their press, finishing shots.”

On Saturday the Aces continued play in the CIT by facing the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in the second round of the tournament. The game was on the campus of the University of Southern Indiana due to the Ford Center having Evansville Icemen hockey. The gym the game was played in had a capacity of 2,000 people and this raucous atmosphere would help the Aces throughout the contest. As the game began Evansville needed help from the crowd to spark the Aces offense as they fell behind the Colonels 8-0. The Aces fell deeper in the whole as the Colonels led 16-5, but the Aces scored 7 straight points to cut the lead to 4. Evansville had an 8 point lead at the end of the first half with three minutes remaining, but just as in other games the Aces allowed the lead to slip away. Evansville and Eastern Kentucky were tied at 43 going into halftime.

Evansville continued to lead throughout the second half an the Colonels cut the lead to 8 points, but Troy Taylor hit a basket to stop Eastern Kentucky’s run. The Aces came away with the victory by a final score of 86-72 over Eastern Kentucky. Evansville out rebounded Eastern Kentucky 41 to 20 which is something the Aces have struggled to do at times during the season. Evansville shot 54% for the game while Eastern Kentucky shot 50%. Evansville made half of its threes hitting six out of twelve. This is something the Aces have improved upon throughout the season. Colt Ryan scored 25 points for the Aces, which leaves him nine points behind Lary Humes for the all-time scoring record at Evansville. Troy Taylor set a career high with 16 points while Ned Cox and D.J. Balentine each had 13 points.

Marty Simmons knows his team is giving him good play from the starters as well as the bench. “The last two games, we’ve really gotten good effort from our bench. I thought (D.J.) Balentine and (Ryan) Sawvell and (Lewis) Jones really gave us great play from the bench, and when you’re playing against good teams in the postseason, you’ve got to have multiple guys who do well.” Troy Taylor had a chat with the players before the game to remind them how important postseason play can be. “I was just like, ‘From here on out, don’t let anybody out-tough you. Don’t let anybody out-rebound you. Don’t back down from nobody, just because of the simple fact that when the ball goes up in the air, it’s all about who wants it.” Evansville now will play the Canisius Golden Griffins on the road as their are eight teams remaining in the CIT the next time Evansville steps on the floor in search of the CIT crown.

Written by theSPORTSfeast Evansville Insider Bryce Weiler

Photo Courtesy of “The Sports Beast” James Range

Highlights:

Losing to Northwestern

            Ironically I have a loss under the highlights section.  This is only because it came after five straight wins and was the beginning of people looking at this Redbird team a little more closely.  ISU gained a lot of recognition in their exciting postseason presence the year before, but now looked to be living up to their potential.  The first loss came in overtime and it was highlighted by a 36 point performance from Tyler Brown.  This was just the beginning of Brown’s spectacular year.  Unfortunately this was also the beginning of three-game losing streak and the preview of another narrow loss against a proclaimed team.  Slightly

Beating Dayton on the Road –

            At this point Illinois State was 7-3.  The three-game slide lightly showed the Birds’ true colors, but this road win over the Flyers proved that Illinois State was capable of closing out.  It was one of the better wins on the Redbirds’ resume, and provided a good running start heading into Valley play.  The win had many Redbird fans holding their breaths as Dayton missed two potential go-ahead baskets, but ISU would take a win in whatever way it could get it.  Carmichael led the way once again with his third double-double of the season, while Brown and Jon Ekey chimed in with double-digit efforts.

Winning 7 of 8 MVC games –

            Things quickly spiraled down for this team and if it weren’t for this surge towards the end of the regular season, ISU would have competed on Thursday of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.  Dan Muller’s team was finally winning the games they were supposed to, beating SIU (twice), Indiana State, Evansville, Drake, Bradley, and most notably Creighton.  Somehow Illinois State caught a surge and had a reason to anticipate the big weekend in March.  There was still plenty to prove, but the team was on the right track.

Advancing to semi-finals of MVC Tourney –

            In the regular season finale, Illinois State was able to control their destiny.  A win would guarantee a spot in the quarter-finals on Friday, but a loss would leave all Redbird fans checking their phones seeing if SIU upset the Drake Bulldogs.  Luckily the Salukis pulled off the win and even those ISU fell to UNI, the Redbirds and Panthers would meet up again less than a week later.

Third time was the charm for the Birds’ as Illinois State emerged victorious over Northern Iowa for the first time of the season.  ISU jumped out to an enormous lead in the beginning of the game, at one point by 15 points.  The Panthers started to creep back and ended up leading by a point into halftime.  But a few dunks later by Carmichael revived the Illinois State offense as the Birds took control of the game offensively.  Carmichael came up with two huge blocks later on in the game that would help seal a ticket to the MVC semi-finals.  This was the second straight year Illinois State defeated UNI in the quarter-finals and would take on Wichita State in the next round.

Lowlights:

Losing to Louisville –

It’s very bizarre to think Illinois State came within three points of beating the now #1 seed in the entire NCAA tournament.  At the time Louisville was ranked #5, but there was also an absence of their star center Gorgui Dieng.  Having not played in almost a week, the Birds were coming off their first loss of the season to Northwestern.  ISU knew this would be a pivotal win in convincing for an at-large bid into the tournament, but it wouldn’t be easy.  Illinois State’s offense came out guns-a-blazin’ as Carmichael led the Birds to a 17-4 lead in the first half and eventually a 33-25 lead at halftime.

The second half was a different story for Louisville.  The Cardinals started off the final 20 minutes with a 10-2 run.  This was also the half where Johnny Hill showed what he was capable of.  Hill started in his first game of his career, and his back-to-back layups charged a 6-2 run putting ISU back on top.  Louisville took a 63-61 lead later on and would never look back from there.  There was some controversy on Brown’s attempt at a buzzer beating three-pointer to tie the game, but no foul was called and Illinois State lost 66-63.

It was a very well performed game by ISU, but the way it ended became way too common for a team with so much potential.

Starting Valley play 0-6 –

            Jackie Carmichael mentioned what made the Valley slump so difficult, was the struggle to shake that losing feeling.  Starting 0-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference dug the Birds into such a deep hole, that it would have been historic if they emerged over .500.  The domino effect of losses brought Redbird fans closer and closer to hitting the panic button, and the spotlight shining on the new coach didn’t help either.  In Dan Muller’s first year, this was when he would be looked at most.  How he would regroup this team would be questioned, and how quickly.

Some Bad Eggs –

            Every team wants to avoid as many off-court obstacles that they can.  Geoffrey Allen looked to be a great addition to the team once joining, but later just ended up being a distraction.  On December 12^th Allen was suspended indefinitely due to violation of team rules, which was later found to be selling marijuana.  Allen was officially off the roster February 22^nd.   The disappointing factor came less than a month later.  Tyler Brown was also suspended indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team.  Brown only sat one game, but the incident happened crucially during the six-game skid.

The Wichita State game at Redbird Arena –

            In all reality the loss to Wichita State at home didn’t hurt the Redbirds too harsh in the Valley standings, but the way it came left a burn.  Illinois State was looking to win eight of their last nine in front of a packed home crowd.  Creighton was already a victim of the Birds’ recent surge and next up was the Shockers.  What most people will remember about this game is the final minute.  Wichita State’s 8-2 run with 40 seconds left put the Shockers on top.  Two of those points came from Carmichael’s flagrant foul when his foot made contact with Tekele Cotton’s chest on his way down from a rebound.  There is a lot of controversy whether the “kick” was intentional or not.  Personally I can’t see a player like Jackie purposefully kicking an opponent for a rebound, but a foul was the right call.  The stoppage of play went to the Shockers favor, and Jackie wasn’t able to complete a runner to go ahead late in the game.  ISU lost and fans started littering the court.  There was also a scuffle between opposing coaches while heading into the locker rooms before press conference meetings.  That event alone still leaves fans bitter against WSU head coach Greg Marshall.

Falling to WSU in MVC Tourney –

            For the second straight year, the only thing in the way of the Redbirds reaching the MVC Championship game was Wichita State.  ISU upset the Shockers by a point last season before losing to Creighton for the final crown.  The last handful of games were not Illinois State’s best, but the win over UNI convinced many that these might be the productive streaky Redbirds of old.  Each team had a fond memory of their last meeting.

Wichita State’s start mirrored ISU’s on Northern Iowa the night before.  The Redbirds didn’t put up a successful field goal until nine minutes into the game.  But just like the Panthers, Illinois State made a comeback.  Tyler Brown helped spark a 16-0 run and by halftime, ISU only trailed by two.  Brown continued in the second half putting up a quick three to put the Birds on top, but that would be the last time ISU led.  Carl Hall led the scoring for Wichita State with 16 points as the Shockers went on to win 66-51.  WSU lost the next day to Creighton in the championship.

Reflection

This was a very awkward year for the Illinois State Redbird Basketball team.  As I mentioned in the beginning, it was very streaky.  The Birds are put into a completely different scenario compared to last year’s end.  There were no seniors last season, there were four this year.  A strong duo of Carmichael and Brown leave the squad, and although there are some promises for next year, it will be very difficult to replace the two.

In his first year as head coach I would give Dan Muller a B – .  The team had a lot of potential, but no one really noticed how much losing Nic Moore hurt until halfway through the season.  Johnny Hill stepped up a lot this season and he will be a great point guard to help build a team around, but Moore’s scoring threat would have been an essential addition.  Muller was able to put the Birds’ on a stretch after a big hole in the beginning of the year, but had a lot of trouble closing out games.  It will be interesting to see how this team moves on and what is to come for the Redbirds next season.

Written by theSPORTSfeast Redbird Insider Joe Brand (@BrandFlakes7), WZND

Photo Courtesy of The Associated Press

The Panthers quickly jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first 3:25 of the game. Deon Mitchell was successfully setting the tempo and finding shooters. Marc Sonnen who ranks as the nation’s 7th most accurate 3-point shooter buried three first half 3’s and fellow senior teammate Anthony James, who missed the first ND game, made three 3’s himself and went into halftime with 15 total points.

UNI took a 41-28 lead into the intermission on the strength of 57 percent shooting from the field and 54 percent shooting from three.

North Dakota came into the game having won 5 of their last 7 games however they weren’t able to carry that momentum into Cedar Fallson Wednesday night. Head Coach Brian Jones, a UNI alumnus, mentioned in his press conference that they had to bus 18 hours back from the Big Sky Conference tournament on Sunday to turn around on Tuesday and bus 10 hours to Cedar Falls. While Jones said he wasn’t making excuses it can’t go unnoticed the challenge for the ND players to get their legs under them after all the riding time.

Despite the nearly 30 hours of bus time Jones’ squad wasn’t laying down in the second half. North Dakota leading scorer Troy Huff missed the November game and did his best to make a name for himself with the nearly 2,500 fans in attendance. Huff was able to score 22 total points, beating his average of 19 points per game, Huff’s teammates weren’t able to match his scoring ways as Jamal Webb was the only other ND player to score in double figures.

North Dakota closed the Panther lead to 9 points on two different occasions in the 2nd half but weren’t able to get it any closer. Jake Koch fouled out with 4 minutes remaining but he was picked up by the efforts of Seth Tuttle, Anthony James, and Marc Sonnen who combined to score 62 points. James displayed a devastating euro-step move in the 2nd half and Tuttle had a highlight reel dunk he threw down with massive authority to revive a mellow crowd when North Dakota was trimming the Panthers’ lead.

Coach Ben Jacobson was pleased with his team’s 77-66 win, commenting;

“The first 30 minutes I thought we were really sharp in just about everything we did. The team is together still and the four seniors have an opportunity to be around the group and play again saturday. Staying together and moving toward the championship is the best part. I told them let’s play as long as we can. That’s been the thing i’ve said every day now since we finished at the conference tournament. What i liked is we had a great practice yesterday and the way we started the game tonight it was easy to see these guys aren’t just riding this out.”

On playing a deeper rotation;

“Just trying to keep guys fresh the best we could. Nate hadn’t played for awhile and got some minutes tonight. They (Singleton, Buss, Pehl) haven’t played a lot of minutes and you’d like for those guys to go out and play great, but that’s got to be a tough situation to be in. My hope was those guys would be more comfortable on Saturday. Hopefully if the minutes aren’t huge those guys will be more comfortable next time.”

The Panthers will play their second round CIT game on Saturday at 7p.m. at home in the McLeod Center against University-Illinois Chicago (UIC). Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students.watchcollegeinsider.comprovides streaming coverage of all CIT games.

Game Notes:

1. Seth Tuttle, Anthony James, and Marc Sonnen combined for 62 of the Panthers points
2. Sonnen’s five made 3’s puts him 8 away from breaking Ben Jacobson’s school record of 203 career 3-pointers
3. All 11 Panthers played, however they were only able to muster 5 bench points
4. The Panthers largest lead was 19 at the14:48 mark in the 2nd half
5. Attendance: 2,450
6. BOX SCORE

Written by Sports Feast Intern; Cole Blair

Photo Courtesy of Randy Darst/UNI Athletics Communications 

Breer also reported that the Ravens general manager, Ozzie Newsome, had told Reed that he wanted to have him back but that he could field any better offers, which is what Houston offered for the veteran safety.

Which was expected because the Ravens were limited to who they could sign and for how much due to their shrunken salary cap after the Joe Flacco deal. But letting Reed go is not the Ravens biggest blunder this offseason (see Kruger and Ellerbe). In fact, it’s not even a blunder; Ed Reed is 34 years old and has had the injury bug bite him pretty hard over the last three seasons. Betting on Ed Reed is a risky move that the Ravens could not afford to take a chance on, despite his talent and experience.

Photo Courtesy of Nick Wass/Associated Press

First, the NFL’s ruling to take away the tuck rule. Only one team voted against it while two abstained, leaving 29 teams with the deciding vote and making sure that it wouldn’t be a rule any longer. Tom Brady as we can all remember was the biggest winner when it came to the tuck rule being called when he famously “tucked” the ball before fumbling it in the snow against the Raiders, eventually giving Adam Vinatieri the chance to kick the winning field goal to send the Patriots to the Super Bowl.

The second rule that the owners voted in seems to be  something that the NFLPA will be going after when all is said and done. As tweeted by Matt Forte over the weekend, the new rule truly is atrocious.

“The proposed rule change for running backs might be the most absurd suggestion of a rule change I’ve ever heard of.”
— Matt Forte (@MattForte22) March 17, 2013

“In order to lower ur shoulder u obviously have to lower ur head. It’s a way of protecting ur self from a tackler and a way to break tackles”
— Matt Forte (@MattForte22) March 17, 2013

“U can’t change the instinctive nature of running the football.”
— Matt Forte (@MattForte22) March 17, 2013

Forte isn’t speaking out just to say what he wants to, he has a point. Anyone who has played the sport of football knows that your head is connected to your neck, which in turn goes to your shoulders. If you lower one of these three, or try to, the rest comes with. Using the crown of their helmet is more safe than keeping their head up. If a running back, receiver, quarterback, etc. were to keep their head up, the chances of their head being ripped off increases exponentially. (Just think about if you would want a 230 pound man of muscle tackling you while your shoulders are lowered, but your head is straight up and down.)

The NFL and NFLPA are going to have it out over this rule because it won’t make anything safer. It will make the game more difficult to play, at least in my humble opinion. Change is good when it isn’t taking a players abilities away and that is exactly what this rule is doing.

Here is the link to the ESPN story that reported the story.

Photo via Chicagonow.com

As a country, we are in pretty bad shape.

Our debt is growing at the speed of sound and our government is moving at the speed of fart to try and stop it from growing. We give massive amounts of money that we apparently don’t have (if our government followed the laws of basic 1st grade math; if you don’t have five dollars, then you can’t give out five dollars) to Egypt, who hates our guts more than they hated their own dictator-president,  Hosni Mubarak. We have more people on Welfare and food stamps than ever before and we have hippies lining the streets, blocking traffic and making my downtown smell like hemp and incense, “occupying everything.”

Our educational system is such a joke that Chinese freshman in high school mock our MIT grads while typing their PhD thesis proposals.

You would think, nay, expect, that the President of the United States would be working around the clock to not only fix these problems, but to make sure that they never happen again under his watch, right?

Wrong. If you believe that then you probably believe that the Easter Bunny is real and that Rosie O’Donnell is moderately funny. You probably ate up that whole idea that you can make your voice heard and make a difference in the country by writing your local congressman or House Representative. News flash; it doesn’t. Especially if you are writing to a Chicago congressman  or House Rep.

While the Titanic is sinking into the icy waters of despair and total chaos, I see the captain of the ship, Barry Obama, filling out his NCAA Men’s Tournament bracket on TV. You know, the NCAA Men’s Tournament bracket; that thing that means absolutely nothing to you, me or the United States.

Look, I understand, the President of the United States is a hard job and it can get very stressful. Well, tough luck, Barry. This is the job that you literally begged everyone in the country to get. This isn’t a 40-hour, 60-hour or even a 100-hour work week job, this is an around-the-clock job. You don’t get, or shouldn’t get, all the down time you want. Small business owners are staying up all night, unable to sleep because they have no idea how they are going to make a profit for their families with all of the government regulations while you are unable to make up your mind about whether you think Louisville will be able to beat Creighton to make the Final Four.

Let me make something clear, Mr. President. Like every normal human being in America, I couldn’t give a damn about your bracket. Sure, everyone on ESPN is going to look at you like they’re seeing a majestic beast up close, but all I see on TV is an ass wasting time. I don’t mean donkey, by the way.

Tim, you’re overreacting. He has the most stressful job in the world; let the President have a little fun. 

Excuse me while I pull out my violin…

I’m not suggesting, or even expecting, the President to literally work around the clock for four years. But I am suggesting and expecting him to do something close to that because that’s what the job description calls for. It doesn’t call for making appearances on ESPN or Jimmy Fallon or any other televised show to come “hang out and chill”; it calls for him to work his butt off with the Legislative and Judicial Branches, everyone else in his cabinet, and the American people to get our country back to where it needs to be…

On top.

Last time I checked, we were pretty far from being on top and no amount of brackets or basketball advice will fix that.

Get back to work, Mr. President. You can come back to Bristol when your term is over.

Photo Courtesy of Pete Souza

In addition to their acceptance into the Big East, Creighton will also be apart of a new television agreement with Fox Sports and their new sports network, Fox Sports 1. The deal is not just centered around the basketball programs as said in today’s press conference that was held in New York. Fox and the Big East have a 12 year deal that extends to all other nine schools that make up the rest of the Big East.

There is still a little trepidation that comes with this move. Fox Sports holds ALL rights moving forward. This means that over 100 Big East games will be shown on Fox Sports 1, and it seems as though it will only be on Fox Sports channels. Aside from the monetary gains that the school will be receiving from this, I’m sorry I said school when I meant just the athletics, Creighton’s recruiting will finally expand as I have said before.

On a side note, Gus Johnson will now be calling games for Creighton. Not only does this mean that you don’t have to hear “hand down man down” 100 times a game, it means you have to hear “Rise and Fire” 100 times a game. Also he is an extremely good commentator. So win win it seems.

Photo Courtesy of NESN

I’m not buying that; not because I don’t trust Fischer, but because it is normal for a team to dismiss or downplay any problem that a player has with a team and for good reason. Now is not the time to have player distractions especially when you are trying to attract other players to sign with your team. Saffold being unhappy about being replaced means the team doesn’t offer very good job security or trust in their players. That may not always be the case, but that is how it looks to the players.

Take the Alex Smith incident in San Francisco; Smith was replaced because he was injured and then when he was back to full health, they wouldn’t give him his job back because the team decided to go with the “hotter hand.” That decision immediately brought up the debate about job security and made it look like the 49ers didn’t care about Alex Smith.

Which, again, may not always be the case.

It’s not that the 49ers didn’t care about Smith, it’s that they believed that Kaepernick gave them the better chance at winning games and making it to the Super Bowl; which as it turned out was true. Smith may have agreed in doing what was best for the team, but he sure wasn’t happy about it.

But the Smith-fiasco doesn’t apply to what is happening in St. Louis. Unlike Saffold, Smith couldn’t play another position; quarterbacks tend to only have one skill-set. Saffold, however, can play other positions. A couple of times the Rams have put Saffold in the tight end position and the guard position a couple of times during his two year career.

Saffold has to understand that nothing is guaranteed, not matter how long you have held your position. Since he was drafted in 2010, Saffold has started for the Rams on the left side of the line 35 times; which is more so than any other player since 2008, according to Mike Sando of the ESPN NFC West Blog. Saffold is a good, solid anchor at left tackle and has rarely been a problem on the line. A few injuries have sideline the young tackle, but when healthy, he has been more reliable than all of the players the Rams have stuck there since Orlando Pace.

Since Pace retired, the Rams have stuck Alex Barron, Jason Smith and a handful of players in that position, without any luck from any of them. Barron was awful and a waste of a draft pick, Smith was injury-plagued and, like Barron, was awful and everyone else followed suit. Finally, the Rams landed a good left tackle through the draft and the Indiana product stepped in and protected Bradford’s blind-side effectively.

The Rams signing Jake Long isn’t a slight at Saffold and they weren’t trying to send a message; they were simply improving the team. If you have the opportunity to go from good to great, you would take it. Otherwise, you would be the New York Jets, the team who wanted to show they were “loyal” to Mark Sanchez by dumping millions into a contract resign (even though his contract wasn’t up) and wound up with a quarterback who still flopped.

If Saffold Stays….

then the Rams need to move him to right tackle. Plain and simple. Saffold is a good left tackle and with enough work and determination, he can become a good right tackle. He would be better than whoever else the Rams planned on starting (Barry Richardson is fine, but Saffold could beat him out). Having two big, athletic book-ends keeping defensive ends and outside rushers at bay is a picture perfect situation for the Rams. They wouldn’t have to worry about opponents exposing the right side (and inside A-B gaps) the entire game and Bradford could focus on looking off defenders and finding the open receiver without having the threat of being slammed to the turf weighing heavily on his focus.

Saffold will have his offseason, OTA’s and training camp to get the right tackle position down. That’s about four months, 16 weeks, of work which is more than enough time to get the hang of right tackle.

Saffold will also need to drop the attitude.

I get it, you have been a left tackle you’re entire life and you don’t want to play another blah, blah, blah…

Life is tough, get used to it. Brad Smith wanted to play quarterback in the NFL but he switched to wide receiver and has made a pretty good career for himself doing so. It’s not about what you want, it’s about what you can do for the team. The want of an individual is far outweighed by the need of the group; Saffold wanting to play left tackle doesn’t mean anything to a team that needs players and playmakers to help them turn their franchise around, which they seem to be doing.

If Saffold can beat out Jake Long for the tackle spot, then perfect. He can play left tackle and Long can move to right. But until that happens, Saffold had better start practicing lining up on the right side of Bradford with his right hand in the dirt.

Photo Courtesy of Jeff Curry/US PRESSWIRE

The Long-to-St. Louis headline has been hanging in the balance ever since free agency started on Mar. 12 at 3 p.m. It was first reported that Long was taking his physical at the Rams facility, which is usually a sign that a player and a team have reached an agreement (Contractual agreements are not official until after a passing physical). But the physical for a couple of hours:

According to Rams, Rams have NOT agreed to terms with Jake Long. In fact, they haven’t even discussed “terms.” Long still taking physical.

— Jim Thomas (@jthom1) March 13, 2013

At last check, both Jake Long and Louis Delmas still in town. In fact, not long ago indications were Long was still taking physical.

— Jim Thomas (@jthom1) March 13, 2013

Jake Long’s physical is lasting longer than the conclave …

— Bernie Miklasz (@miklasz) March 13, 2013

Jake Long dining with Rams offiicials tonight. (Yes, the physical is over.)

— Jim Thomas (@jthom1) March 14, 2013

After the Rams met with Long’s agents in a local St. Louis restaurant, Long left town without a deal and many thought that the left tackle would sign with another team. But, at long last, ProFootballTalk reported at early Monday morning (12am) that Long and the Rams agreed on a deal.

The news of the signing reigned in celebration all over St. Louis except for maybe the residence of Rodger Saffold, who apparently said that he wanted to be traded if the Rams sign Long. On Mar. 14, in an article by Thomas of the Post-Dispatch , Saffold’s agent Alan Herman said: 

“I’m sure if you would ask Rodger what position he’d want to play, he’d want to be a left tackle. That’s his position. It’s a paying position in the league. He’s played left tackle his whole life since he was a little kid. Why would he want to move to the other side?”

According to Thomas, Rams head coach Jeff Fischer said that he had talked to Saffold about his disapproval of being put at right tackle (The projected depth chart is Long would be at LT and they would move Saffold to RT).

“We had discussions with Rog, not his agents, and what I’m concerned about now is Rodger,” Fisher said in the Post-Dispatch. “And Rodger’s fine.”

Saffold has played left tackle for the majority of his Rams career and has done a good job. He’s been a solid protector of Bradford’s blind-side and has arguably been the least of the Rams offensive line worries. But when it comes down to what is best for the team, the best decision for the Rams is to make Long the left tackle and move Saffold to the right.

Photo Courtesy of US Presswire 

Tuesday night San Jose came to town ready to rumble against the Blues.  They took 41 shots to the Blues 21, but luckily the Blues have Jake Allen and Chris Stewart.  Jake Allen had 39 saves and Chris Stewart had two goals to lead the Blues to a 4-2 victory.  Chris Porter and David Perron also had a goal each.  The Blues were mostly outplayed in this game but luckily Allen wasn’t, and when the Blues got chances they took care of business.

Thursday night the Blues were ready for the visiting Coyotes.  Jake Allen stopped all 28 shots he faced for his first shutout of his career and the Blues first shutout since January 24th.  Chris Stewart continued his amazing hot streak scoring two more goals and assisting on Alex Steen’s goal to lead the Blues to a 3-0 victory.  This was Steen’s first game back since being injured in practice a few weeks ago.  He played on a line with Backes and Stewart and they definitely seemed to click.

There was room for Steen on the Backes line because Oshie was injured Tuesday night against San Jose.  Saturday he was placed on Injured Reserved with an upper body injury.

Saturday night the Anaheim Ducks came to town.  The Ducks have been playing great hockey this season and had a 20-3-3 record coming into this game, but the Blues were ready.  Jake Allen may have had his best game of his young career, stopping 27 of 28 shots from Anaheim.  The goal they scored was on a great screen that Allen didn’t see until it was passed him.  Other than that he made some amazing saves on some great chances from Anaheim.  Kris Russell scored his first goal of the season and was assisted by Vladimir Tarasenko.  This was Tarasenko’s first game back since suffering a concussion versus Colorado on February 20th.  This goal tied the game 1-1 and it stayed that way the rest of the game.  Then just 45 seconds into overtime Chris Stewart scored his 14th goal of the season and the Blues won 2-1 in OT.

Three Stars

Chris Stewart – Stewart is on FIRE!  He has 15 points this month alone.  He has 28 points on the season only two shy of last years total in about 50 less games.  If Stewart can continue this streak he will earn a nice contract next year and could lead the Blues to a nice long winning streak.  Just so you know, since it’s his contract year, he could also get traded just so we get something out of him, I don’t want this to happen, but it’s part of the business sometimes.

Jake Allen –  Calling Jake Allen back up after the Kings loss was the best thing that could happen to the Blues and to Allen.  He’s been nothing but spectacular going 8-1-0 with a .920 Save Percentage good enough for 9th in the league and a 2.18 Goals Against Average good enough for 7th in the league.  Make no mistake Allen is ready for this role, this is no fluke.  Allen was the 34th overall pick in 2008.  If Allen keeps it rolling so will the Blues, and that means we’ve probably seen the last of Brian Elliott.

Alexander Steen – Even though he only played in two games this week, Steen had a goal and two assists.  He’s also brought a great point presence back to the power play, which the Blues have been lacking lately.

Long Live The Note  

Written By The Sports Feast NHL Insider Jeremy Green 

Photo Courtesy of Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images North America

Creighton, at long last, looks to be heading to the Big East.

As reported by both the Chicago Tribune (why they were the first, I do not know) and then by the Omaha World Herald (seriously, not even Omaha was top 2), it seems as though following Butler’s decision to leave the A-10 today has preempted what many have been waiting for. The Move.

Now, this move comes with a little bit of trepidation, at least I hope it does. Creighton is good this year. We all know that, but this year is not next year, or two years from now, or so on and so forth. The teams that make up the original “seven” you could say, all have a strong hold on the eastern recruiting block. It wasn’t until Greg McDermott got to Omaha that it seemed like Creighton’s recruiting area expanded beyond Oklahoma to the South and Iowa to the East. (Yes I know, there were players from California, but not many)

Creighton is going to have their work cut out for them, and as a Creighton student and big fan, I can’t say I’m overly excited for year one. I want to be and desperately encourage everyone else to be, but it’s going to have to come with a grain of salt. These aren’t the MVC teams that we know. These are long time national powers that show no pity.

Lastly, we must remember that this is A LOT of SPECULATION still. No Creighton affiliated member has come out and said “we’re going”. They have held strong on their stance of “no comment” and they will be sticking to it until the announcement is made. By the looks of it, IF there is an announcement, it would come either during or after Creighton’s first tournament game on Thursday, as per the OWH story. If there is no announcement, I’m sure we can all take to Twitter and let our feelings be heard.

Seeing as how we haven’t let everyone know how we have felt all season long about this, why not just do it one more time.

P.S. I am extremely excited that Creighton will finally put themselves in a position to become a “power” of sorts. By doing this, they will give themselves a chance at becoming an even bigger program because of what Creighton as a university itself has to offer. Let’s just hope money doesn’t get in some people’s ways.

Written by Colin Ball

Picture via Flyernewsonline.com

Jackson was the first-round draft pick for the St. Louis Rams in 2004 and became an eight-time, 1,000-yard rusher, the Rams franchise rushing leader and the heart and soul of the Rams offense for eight out of his nine years spent in the St. Louis backfield. In Oct. 2012, the Rams allowed him to void the final year of his contract (which would have paid him $7 million in 2013) so that he could become a free agent following the 2012 season.

The move by the Falcons is one that is bittersweet.

On one hand, they are getting a running back that put up 10,135 rushing yards and 3,324 receiving yards in nine years. That’s a feat that most backs will never achieve in their entire career, let alone nine years. Jackson also put up those numbers with a very poor offensive line; the Rams have had arguably the worst offensive line in the last nine years.

Steven Jackson is total-package back. Not only can he put his shoulders down and drive through defenders, but he can also run a quick route if the pocket collapses or cut it to the outside and kick on the burners. With Michael Turner, the Falcons got a hard-nosed back who could run out of steam very easily. Jackson can give the Falcons four quarters of aggressive rushing and be that extra receiver; in case Matt Ryan hasn’t already thrown it to Roddy White or Julio Jones.

They are also getting a running back who can play through injuries while taking care of his body with the same efficiency as a chiropractor or trainer.

But with all of those positive attributes, there is still the fact that Jackson is 29 and has a lot of tread on the tires.

Jackson spent his entire career driving for the extra yard and absorbing blows by unblocked linemen and linebackers for nine years and he has played through injuries. Jackson definitely has three years left in his NFL career, but as far as how many games he can play in those three years; no one knows. The Falcons will need to do everything they can to keep the former battering Ram healthy.

Photo Courtesy of David Welker/Getty Images

Desmond Bryant (DT): 5-year/$34 million (Mike Garafolo, USA Today)

Quentin Groves (LB): 2-year/$2.8 million (Tom Reed, The Plain Dealer)

Gary Barnidge (TE): TBD (Joe Person, Charlotte Observer)

Chris Ogbonnaya (RB): re-signed for 2 years (Tom Withers, AP Sports Writer)

Photo Courtesy of Joshua Gunter, The Plain Dealer

Robert Geathers: re-signed  3-year/$9.5 million  (Jamison Hensley, ESPN.com)

Photo Courtesy of Larry French/Getty Images North America

Jermon Bushrod (OT): 5-year/$36 million (Adam Schefter)

Photo Courtesy of Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune

Photo Courtesy of Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Photo Courtesy of David Duprey/Associated Press

Photo Courtesy of Getty Images

A year removed from getting the boot at the University of Illinois, Weber was not supposed to lead his new team, the Kansas State Wildcats, to a 25-6 regular season record, which already stands as the 5^th most wins the 15-year head coach has had in a season even before the post season begins.

College coaches are not supposed to hop back on their feet that quickly. For Weber, tough years are few and far between.

Weber has had only two losing seasons in his career, both coming while at Illinois, with the second leading to his dismissal as head coach last season. The remaining years of his career have been filled with postseason tournament appearances.

Weber got his first crack as a D1 head coach at Southern Illinois University in 1998. Three years later, the Salukis reached the Sweet 16. After another tournament appearance with SIU in 2002, Weber shipped north up I-57 to Champaign where he replaced Bill Self, who was off to Kansas. Weber had four-straight NCAA tournament teams in his first years at Illinois, the 2004 team reaching the championship game. Now, at Kansas State, Weber has his team poised for a lengthy dance in March.

It’s tough not to love Weber. His raspy voice cracks mid-sentence regardless of his emotion, creating the feel of utmost sincerity in his statements. Weber is a player’s coach who has always held the respect of the fans. But most of all, Weber seems like a normal guy. Unlike Frank Martin, who left K-State after last season to coach at South Carolina, Weber is approachable and genuine. In fact, while in Champaign, Weber and his wife Megan kept their house phone connected and their number listed in the phone book. He’s the type of down-home friendly guy that must feel right at home in the “other” Manhattan.

While Weber has just led K-State to its first share of the Big 12 Conference title since 1977, splitting with Kansas and Self, who has made a habit of winning conferences, he has some work to do in the coming years to prove himself as a coach who belongs in the upper echelon of the top college basketball coaches in the country. Weber’s biggest critics will say he has always had the good fortune of following great coaches who left him programs that were already ripe and ready to win. Short version: Weber wins with other coaches’ players. Shorter version: Weber can’t recruit.

The critics have a point.

At SIU, Weber followed Rich Herrin (career record: 225-174), at Illinois he replaced Self (record at Illinois: 78-24) and Martin this season (record at K-State: 117-54). There is no doubt that Weber has taken over for coaches who knew how to win, but the situation hasn’t always been the greatest. At SIU, Weber took the reigns of a Saluki program that had just finished 8^th in the Missouri Valley Conference and hadn’t sniffed a winning record for four seasons. At Illinois, Self left Weber some tremendous talent in the form of Deron Williams, Dee Brown and James Augustine, but they were all sophomores with only one year under their belt. It was Weber’s job to mold them into the players they became. At K-State, Weber took over a team that had barely slipped into the NCAA tournament a year before and saw 6 departures from the team, namely Jacob Pullen, the team’s star senior point guard.

Few saw this season’s success coming when Kansas State signed Weber last year. In fact, many called the decision a bad hire. Instead, K-State won steadily throughout the year, losing back-to-back contests only once, and remaining in the top 25 of the coaches’ poll for most of the season. With all the hoopla that has accompanied this team already, most will be forgotten unless K-State can make a run in the Big Dance. Luckily for K-State, Weber has seen 19 tournament games, with 11 wins to his resume. He knows what he’s doing. A year removed from getting the ax, Weber isn’t supposed to be leading a team deep into March. That doesn’t mean he won’t.

Written By Ben Conrady

(Scott Strazzante/Tribune photo)

James Ihedigbo (S): resigned for 1 year (Sports Illustrated)

Photo Courtesy of Rob Carr/Getty Images

Rashad Mendenhall (RB): 1-year/$2.5 million, (NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah)

Lorenzo Alexander (LB): 3-years/$9.5 million (Washington Post)

Drew Stanton (QB): 3-years/$8.2 million (Sports Illustrated)

Yeremiah bell (S): 1-year/$905,000 (Kimberly Martin, Newsday.com)

Photo Courtesy of Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Farewell, Danny. Amendola goes to New England: 5 years, $31 million,$10 million guaranteed per @rapsheet.

— Jim Thomas (@jthom1) March 13, 2013

Amendola, an undrafted free agent who was signed by St. Louis after being cut by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2009, was a major piece in the Rams offense. In 2010, Amendola became the favorite target of then-rookie Sam Bradford and caught 85 passes for 689 yards. In 2011, Amendola missed almost the entire season with an elbow injury and missed three games in the 2012 season with a nasty collarbone injury.

Jay Glazer said that the injury could have been “life-threatening”, according to CBSSports.com

The sign for the Patriots is a great one, especially considering that Amendola that Amendola is only 27. During the beginning of free agency, the Patriots were actually trying to resign Wes Welker to a two-year deal worth about $10 million, according to Albert Breer.

Word around the league is the Patriots’ offer to Welker came in substantially lower than expected, and he’s seriously considering bolting NE

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 13, 2013

Ian Rapport of NFL.com said that the signing came “just hours after Welker and the Denver Broncos” agreed on a 2-year contract.

Many think that the Patriots should have kept Welker because he shared a good rhythm with Tom Brady and that he was very reliable in their system. Personally, I think they should have kept Welker, especially after all he has put up with and done for that team; but far be it from me to question Kraft and the Patriots front office.

Amendola is far from a down grade for New England, quite the opposite in fact. Amendola has youth and speed and has been known to make some great, above-and-beyond catches. Amendola has the slot receiver down-pat and since he has a better quarterback in Brady, expect Amendola to  be targeted as much, if not more, than Welker ever was.

Photo Courtesy of Brian Bahr/Getty Images

Greene took to the free agent market and has gotten paid, or gotten paid more than he was ever making in New York. As reported by, guess who, Adam Schefter, Greene will be making $10 million over three years for the Tennessee Titans.

“Titans reached agreement on a three-year, $10 million deal with former Jets RB Shonn Greene.”
- Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 13, 2013

This doesn’t come as much of a surprise that Tennessee would go out and look for someone to back up CJ2K (Chris Johnson). Over the past few seasons, Johnson has had to carry all of the load in the running game for the Titans.

With a player like Greene waiting in the wings and able to give Johnson a break on 3rd down or for a series opens up the chances for Johnson to actually have a long career. Up to this point, Greene was having to deal with a club that didn’t want to use the talent that he had and ultimately, didn’t want to have to pay top dollar for it either. Instead, the Titans, who already pay Johnson $10 million A YEAR, picked up Greene on clearance you could say.

If Greene had been playing for an actual running team the past few years, he probably could have put up 1,500 yards or more. This is just probable though. He played for the Jets and did more than his share for a team that was more about throwing interceptions and allowing the travesty that is Tim Tebow to be apart of their team, than they were about winning with a good running game.

If the Titans keep shopping around and are able to find a solid defensive player to build a defense around and an anchor on the offensive line, they could once again begin to rise in the rankings.

Until then, Greene is going to have to make due with being a backup on a team that may be worse than the Jets. That’s a big “may be” though.

Written by Colin Ball

Photo Via USA Today Sports Images

If you’re thinking I’m talking about Sam Bradford, hit yourself on the nose with a rolled up newspaper. No! NO! Bad reader, BAD! Sam Bradford is a good quarterback getting a bad rap because some of the players around him weren’t doing their jobs.

During Bradford’s first season in 2010, the Oklahoma star led the Rams to a tie for first place and a seven-win season, which was more wins than the Rams had in the past three years combined (2007-2009: six wins). The rookie quarterback managed to throw 3,512 yards with a 60 percent completion rating and 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Not bad for a guy whose best receiver was one of the shortest guys on the team.

When the No. 1 receiver on the team is the slot receiver (Danny Amendola), something is wrong with your offense. Nothing against Amendola, he is one of the best slot receivers in the NFL, second only to Wes Welker. But a slot receiver is only going to get you those 15 yards or less, most of the time being less, and if you keep throwing to him, then the linebackers are going to cheat up and the defensive line is going to start jumping up to swat those over-the-middle passes down.

What the Rams have lacked since the days of Isaac Bruce and Torry Hot has been a stud No. 1 receiver. A guy with height and hops who could either outrun or out-deke the corner and get down the field for the deep ball. Unfortunately, the Rams have yet to find that guy (Brian Quick? Maybe in a couple years. Right now, more so Chris Givens). 

Without a big-man lining up on the outside, Bradford has been limited to throwing inside the 20-yard box, which has made him predictable and easily readable by the linebackers and the defensive backs; which has led to his increased interception stat (34 in three seasons, about 11 per year).

Advice #1: Resign Danny Amendola, Brandon Gibson

• If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Amendola was a great receiver; the Midwest Wes Welker. 

*UPDATE*: DANNY AMENDOLA SIGNED WITH THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS FOR 5-YEARS/$31 MILLION

• There are no “big-men” type wide receivers left in the free agency pool that the Rams have a chance at getting. The cheapest and best thing for the Rams to do is help their current receiving corps blossom.
• I really think that Brian Quick can be the No. 1 receiver that Fischer believes he can become. I trust Fischer’s eye for talent and if he thinks Quick is something special, then he must be. Give him a couple seasons to develop and I think Quick will be our No. 1 guy.
• Gibson definitely proved this past season that he was a good, solid receiver. He had the “hops” to go up and snag that ball.

Brandon Gibson, Exhibit A:

Another reason why Bradford’s INT count is that high is because he can’t get a second to look-off the defenders when he sees a 300-pound behemoth coming his way out of the corner of his eye. Hurried throws and throwing on the run hasn’t been Bradford’s strong suit. Time and time again, the offensive line has failed to protect Bradford efficiently enough, allowing him to get pummeled to the point of injury, which was the case in 2011 when Bradford finished the season after playing only ten games due to an ankle injury that he could no long play through. 

In 2010, the Rams offensive line allowed Bradford to be sacked 34 times and get hit 79 times. Not the worst, but certainly not good. Then in 2011, the train came off the tracks and the offensive line allowed their quarterbacks (Bradford, A.J. Feeley) to get sacked 54 (most in the league) times and hit 114 times (tied for worst). 2012 was an improvement, but not by much; 34 sacks, 81 hits.

If the Rams want to improve their team, they need to start at the heart of the offense; the line.

So far, they are doing a really good job by trying to sign Jake Long, the four-time Pro Bowl, All-Pro offensive tackle from Miami. Since he started blocking for the Michigan Wolverines, Long has been a great insurance policy for quarterbacks. The Rams have tried to invest in a left tackle to protect their quarterbacks, but have failed.

Picks like Alex Barron and Jason Smith blew up in the Rams face and ate up a lot of cap room, especially Smith who signed a massive rookie contract in the form of a 5-year/$60 million. Concussions plagued Smith, not to mention he had been beaten like a drum in both tackle positions by opponents and by teammates in practice, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Barron, well, he was awful. Barron couldn’t hold a block; instead he chose to just to hold onto jerseys.

Advice #2: Sign Jake Long, Convince Saffold to suck it up, draft guards/tackles. 

• The Rams have an astounding offensive line coach named Paul Boudreau. This guy is considered a guru and it must be true because he turned the worst offensive line in 2o11 into a middle of the pack offensive line. He’s a guru, not God, people. I think if he can continue to work with the young guys we have like Rokevious Watkins
• If Watkins loses some of that flab that he had trouble with in 2012 and show that same strong punch and solid base that he showed in South Carolina, then the Rams have a mean-machine at guard. Or tackle if…
• Rodger Saffold leaves St. Louis. According to NFL columnist, Bob Glauber, Saffold will apparently ask for a trade if the Rams land Long (please, God). I think Saffold is a solid tackle, capable of being a shut-down guy. But honestly, if he cannot suck it up and play right tackle, then the Rams don’t need him. Move Watkins to right tackle.
• Sign Jake Long, enough said.

Now, back to Bradford.

Although I praise Bradford, I am a realist and I can face the facts. His performance, regardless of who he had or didn’t have, is not worth the $9 million the Rams will have to pay him this year (He’s due a little over $14 million in 2014, $12.985 in 2015). The Rams also don’t have the wiggle room to make a splash in free agency and get the positions they need. So, the Rams need to sit down with the former Heisman Trophy winner and….

Advice #3: Make Bradford Take a Pay Cut

• If the Rams won’t pay Steven Jackson $7 million this year, then there is no way they can pay Bradford $9 million. Looking at what each player has done in position, Jackson has basically carried the team on his back since 2006. SJ has gotten 1,000+ rushing yards for seven consecutive years (Hall of Fame-like stat) and did so with arguably the worst offensive line in a seven year span. Bradford has done his best, but hasn’t put up numbers as a quarterback like Jackson has as a running back. 
• Bradford needs veteran weapons, no doubt about that. The Rams have already signed Jared Cook, which was a good start to building a better receiving corp, but they need to do more. In order to do that, they’ll need to free up cap space and to do that, they need to pay Bradford less….much less.
• Bradford needs to be a team player and take one for the team.

Regardless if the advice is followed or not, the Rams will be in good shape. They have Jeff Fischer and Les Snead; a tandem that worked their magic in the 2012 NFL Draft and Free Agency and brought in guys like Janoris Jenkins, Cortland Finnegan and Chris Givens, all who have made massive contributions to the team.

In Fischer and Snead we trust.

Photo Courtesy of Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images North America

“Wes Welker lands a two-year, $12 million deal from the Broncos. Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker, Wes Welker. Have fun, Peyton.”
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 13, 2013

After being offered what was considered by many stories to be “laughably low”, Patriots mainstay Wes Welker is moving forward into free agency in hopes of landing with a team that is willing to pay him what he is worth, as reported by Adam Schefter.

You may be asking, “what is Wes Welker worth?” He’s not as big as other receivers in the league and he may not be as fast as some of the best receivers in the league, but low and behold, he is by far one of the best and most consistent receivers in the NFL. Since joining the Patriots in the 2007 season, Welker has made himself into the most consistent receiver in the game.

Welker has ranked first in receptions in the NFL in all but three seasons with the Patriots. The other three seasons: he tied for and earlier earned 2nd outright (2012/2008) an then tied for 6th (2010). In six years, he hasn’t found himself outside of the top ten in the entire NFL, let alone, he has gained less than 1,000 yards in only one season (2010 w/ only 848 yards on 86 rec).

For a team like the Patriots to lowball and ultimately let one of the best wide receivers walk out the door should just baffle you. Tom Brady restructured his contract this offseason to free up cap space while making himself a Patriot for life. One could assume that the reason he was freeing up that space was for a player like Welker. The Patriots had a chance to keep a good group together, but have just slowly let it slip away.

Patrick Chung was the first domino to fall on the defensive side of the ball, but his domino didn’t seem big enough to cause any panic, especially with the Patriots retaining players like Aqib Talib, Devin McCourty and Alfonzo Dennard. It seemed as though the Patriots wanted to keep their core group of players together, and all was going to plan until today.

If Welker ends up going to the Bronco’s, this one move may ending up changing the face of the AFC for a long time. That is, if Peyton Manning as able to stay healthy and plays for a few more years. This could also give Manning the slot receiver that he needs and opens the field up even more for Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas.

The story is evolving as this is written, so stay tuned for further updates.

Written by Colin Ball

Photo via USA Today Sports Images

Mendenhall was a first-round draft pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008. Mendenhall was drafted to take help Willie Parker with the workload in the running game, but then took over the lead-back role and eventually became the workhorse of the Pittsburgh offense.

A balance of muscle and speed, Mendenhall quickly became one of the top running backs in the league from 2009-2010, where he recorded 1,000+ rushing yards in each year. But after the 2010 season, Mendenhall’s career with the Steelers began to decline.

Especially with the Pittsburgh fans and the rest of America.

In May of 2011, Mendenhall tweeted, “What kind of person celebrates death?”, after SEAL Team Six killed the terrorist, Osama bin Laden. This pegged many to think very poorly of Mendenhall and although he apologized, the damage to his popularity had already been done.

During the 2011 season, Mendenhall failed to reach the 1,000-yard rushing mark when he tore his ACL in the first quarter of the final game against the Cleveland Browns. 

The 2012 season wouldn’t fare much better for the former Illinois product, either.  Besides fumbling the ball three times, Mendenhall failed to reach even 200 yards for the season; he only rushed for 182 yards in six games. Mendenhall has reportedly lost his starting job and had the injury bug, in addition to having “clashes with the coaching staff”,  according to ProFootballTalk.com. 

The signing of Mendenhall signing is a positive for Arizona, who needed a running back to help out young buck, Ryan Williams, after the Cardinals decided to let go of their former first-round pick, Beanie Wells. Mendenhall is only 25 and despite having an ACL injury, he is a pretty solid back. I don’t expect him to rack up anything more than 1,000 yards because he is most likely going to be sharing the load with Williams.

A one year deal is good for both sides. Arizona doesn’t have commit to a question mark player and Mendenhall can use this one year to show every team, including Arizona, that he can  be a back worth committing multiple years to. According to Evan Silva, NBC sports writer, the Mendenhall-Arizona relationship will be a pretty good one.

New #Cardinals HC Bruce Arians once compared Rashard Mendenhall to Edgerrin James. Arizona would be sensible landing spot for Mendenhall.

— Evan Silva (@evansilva) January 28, 2013

Photo Courtesy of the Associated Press

“Bill Polian said the Lions, with Reggie Bush, will be the new “Greatest Show on Turf.”"
- Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 13, 2013

As confirmed by Adam Schefter by way of ESPN’s NFC North blog, former Saints and now former Miami Dolphins running back Reggie Bush is on his way to the Detroit Lions.

This move comes as little a surprise. Bush had ready to make his way out of Miami and become more of a featured back. Detroit is the perfect landing spot for Bush also. He will have little competition by way of limited back ups. Mikel Leshoure and Devin Moore have served as the two backs that the Lions have had to work with since former first round pick Jahvid Best has been in and out of the lineup due to complications from concussions, dating back to the vicious hit he took his senior year at Cal.

The video in the link isn’t “graphic” by any stretch, but it isn’t pretty either. Watch if you want, I am not making you.

Back to Bush though. Bush is coming off of two of his most productive seasons since coming into the league back in 2006. He never lived up to the expectations that everyone had set for him back when he came into the league. Having to deal with the NCAA sanctions that he brought upon USC after he graduated didn’t help his rep either, especially when he voluntarily gave back his Heisman Trophy.

All that seems to be forgotten finally. Bush is going to the old “black and blue” division. He seems quicker, smarter and lighter than he was during his first five years with New Orleans, which in the long run could help the Lions open the passing game up. But what’s even more impressive? This:

“Reggie Bush averaged 1,036 Rush yds & 4.7 Yds/Rush over last 2 years. The last Lion with 2 years like that? Barry Sanders.”
— Numbers Never Lie (@ESPN_Numbers) March 13, 2013

Bush seems to be heading in the direction of the Reggie Bush we once knew at USC. The Reggie Bush that broke off long runs and bowled over opponents, stronger or not. The Lions were in desperate need  of a backfield presence since Best went out and have been putting together a Frankenstein like group since Best’s first concussion. With the addition of Bush though, the Lions may be able to avoid another terrible season.

For this to not be a bust though, Bush can’t come in and only rack up 500 yards. He has to be the Optimus Prime to Megatron.

Even though in reality those two are enemies. They feed off one another. That’s what that means.

Reggie Bush has put himself in a winning situation on a REALLY good and REALLY dangerous team, especially with the addition of two key defensive guys in Jason Jones on the defensive line and Chris Houston at corner. They also seem to have gotten rid of the “cancers” that had permeated in the locker room a year ago. By bringing in Bush, they are showing that they want to bring in team oriented guys.

Next step in the purification of Detroit. Get rid of Jim Schwartz.

Written by Colin Ball

Photo via US Presswire

Five years, $26 million for Wheeler in Miami, with $13 fully guaranteed.

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 13, 2013

The Wheeler signing is another solid move by the Dolphins, who seem to be retooling their defense with younger, faster players. They have already let go Karlos Dansby, who had a 5-year/$43 million deal with the Fins, to make room for their biggest defensive signing, 27-year-old Dannell Ellerbe. Wheeler is 28, not much younger, but still has more years left on his NFL life than some of the other Dolphins linebackers, like Kevin Burnett, who the Dolphins let go along with Dansby.

Wheeler, who was originally drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft, is a tackling machine. The strong-side linebacker (Sam Linebacker, whatever), has played in 77 games and recorded 329 tackles with five sacks (three coming from the 2012 season), which comes to just over four tackles (anything above three tackles-a-game is solid). In his five years in the NFL, wheeler has only missed three games. 

In 2011, Wheeler missed three games due to an “unspecified right leg/foot injury”, according to Coltsauthority.com. In that season, he recorded more total tackles (84) than he had in the previous season (61) where he played all 16 games. His breakout year was the 2012 season where he managed to get 109 total tackles. 

A strong-side linebacker who racks up the tackles and almost never misses a game; a dark horse sign by the Fins.

Photo Courtesy of Robb Carr/Getty Images

This signing comes as another brutal shot to the Baltimore Ravens, Ellerbe’s former team. The defending Super Bowl champions deemed it a major victory by signing their franchise quarterback, Joe Flacco, to 6-year/$120.6 million. Since then, the Ravens have done little to re-sign their other major contributors to their Super Bowl season, like Paul Kruger and Ellerbe.

Ellerbe is a great sign by the Dolphins. The linebacker is an athletic and balanced player who can rush the quarterback, get to the running back and cover receivers in the passing game. He also has youth on his side; Ellerbe is only 27.

NFL.com’s Ian Rapport said the Ravens “resigning Dannell Ellerbe was the number one priority for them after reaching a long-term deal with Joe Flacco.”

Although he wasn’t a consecutive start in Baltimore, Ellerbe played an important role on the defense. In 46 games with the Ravens, Ellerbe made 182 tackles (almost four tackles-a-game, very good for a part-time player) and 5.5 sacks. His breakout year was 2012 where he made 92 total tackles and 4.5 sacks. He was supposed to be a free agent last year, but Ravens managed to sign him to a one-year/$1.97 million rental.

Since the retirement of Ray Lewis, some believed he would step in and take over as the inside backer. Rapport said that Ellerbe wanted to stay in Baltimore and Baltimore wanted him to stay, but the Ravens couldn’t match what the Dolphins were offering.

The Dolphins are signing Ellerbe shortly after they cut their own linebacker, Karlos Dansby, because Dansby would not restructure is massive 5-year/$43 million contract that he signed about three years ago.

Photo Courtesy of  Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images North America

Second year general manager Phil Emery has already done what he can to fill two of the biggest needs for Chicago. The Bears have put their hopes in former New York football Giants tight end Martellus Bennett and former Saints offensive tackle Jermon Bushrod. The terms of Bennett’s deal that have been released are that it is a four-year deal, but Bushrod is set to sign a five-year contract worth $35.9 million ($17.7 million guaranteed). Both stories were first reported by Adam Schefter.

The Bears didn’t seem afraid to spend top dollar on a position that they desperately need. The Bears have been inept (nicest word I will use on the internet) at the left tackle position, more so than at tight end. The J’Marcus Webb and Gabe Carimi (a former first round pick) projects just didn’t pan out the way that the Bears had once hoped. The Bears need quarterback Jay Cutler on his feet and not on his back anymore. A “should be” potent offense has yet to be able to get the wheels rolling. Whether it be a lack of offensive diversity, which would put blame on the Bears’ offensive coordinator, Mike Tice, or it be a lack of skill at on the offensive line, it rests in those in front of and in the ear of Cutler.

Cutler also has another weapon in tight end Bennett. Bennett is exactly what the Bears have been looking for in a tight end, even before Greg Olsen. Bennett can either stay in and work as an extra blocker or leak out into both the flat or across the middle, giving Cutler another weapon to go along with both No. 1 receiver Brandon Marshall and second year player Alshon Jeffery. By opening up the passing game and adding two respected blockers, not only will Cutler’s play become better, but running back Matt Forte may finally be able to live up to the potential that Chicago sports writers have placed upon him.

First year head coach Marc Trestman may be coming into a good situation after all. Only thing is, the Bears need to lock up Bears lifer, Brian Urlacher, or find someone who can replace him. If they wait until the draft, they may be putting themselves in a corner and may end up leaving themselves with nothing to work with except for an angry Urlacher.

Lastly, franchise tendered defensive tackle Henry Melton signed his tender today. This deal assures that Melton who’s entering his fourth NFL season, all with the Bears, will make $8.45 million for the 2013 season. This at least gives the Bears an opportunity to look into a long term deal for the breakout defensive lineman and former college running back who went to his first Pro-Bowl last season.

For the first time, it seems like the Bears are trying to put together a team that has the looks of winning the Super Bowl.

At least they’re making it look that way.

UPDATE: It has been released that the Martellus Bennett deal is for four-years and $20 million. As per Adam Schefter.

Bears gave TE Matellus Bennett a four-year, $20 million deal.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 12, 2013

Written by Colin Ball

Photo Courtesy of New York Daily News

NFL.com’s Jeff Darlington and ESPN’s Adam Schefter have both confirmed that the deal is for five years, although the amount of money the deal is worth has yet to be disclosed. Regardless, the Rams have made an impressive first step in the free agency pool.

*UPDATE*

Jared Cook: 5-year/$35 million

Cook was drafted out of South Carolina in 2009 by the then-Titans head coach, Jeff Fischer. According to Mike Silver, current Yahoo!Sports writer, Fischer was pretty happy to have drafted the big Gamecock tight end.

I remember how fired up Jeff Fisher was when the Titans drafted Jared Cook. Could be a breakout player in 2013…

— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) March 12, 2013

At South Carolina, Cook was a big-time target, recording 73 catches for 1,107 yards and seven touchdowns during his three years in Columbia. The 6’5″, 248-pound Cook may not have been a starter in Tennessee, but he was a very big contributor for their offense. Playing in 59 games, Cook managed to catch 131 passes for 1,717 yards and eight touchdowns.

Like I said earlier, the addition of Cook is a major positive for the Rams, who should be spending a lot of time and money improving their offense this offseason. In the past, the Rams have been notorious for having a poor offenses, due to poor quarterback play and a lack of talented options at the receiver and tight end positions. But now the Rams have a good quarterback in Sam Bradford and good options at wide receiver in Chris Givens, Lance Kendricks and Austin Pettis. Adding Jared Cook to the mix will only increase the talent on offense and will help Bradford prove to the league that he is the franchise quarterback everyone thought he was in 2010.

Photo Courtesy of Robert Smith/The Leaf Chronicle 

*UPDATE*

Anthony Fasano: $4-year/ $16 million

Fasano, a former second-round draft pick out of Notre Dame by the Dallas Cowboys, spent most of his seven-year career with the Miami Dolphins, where he became a large part of the offense. During his 76 games with the Dolphins, Fasano played in 76 games where he caught 177 passes for 2,104 yards and 23 touchdowns.

But Fasano is not only a great receiving tight end, he is also a very solid blocking tight end, too, making him a double-threat for defenses. A receiving-blocking tight end can open up the door for Alex Smith and the Chiefs offense to run a lot of play-action, which is what Smith ran in San Francisco with Vernon Davis. Another blocking tight end to go alongside Tony Moeaki will help improve the Chiefs running game.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Chiefs have reached an agreement, “in principle”, to a three-year deal; meaning that although they haven’t figured out anything concrete as far as amount of money and incentives, the two parties have agreed that whatever they come up with Daniel will be in Kansas City for three years.

Chiefs reached agreement in principle on three-year deal with former Saints QB Chase Daniel, who played at Missouri.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 12, 2013

Although Daniel will most likely be the No.2 quarterback heading into training camp, Alex Smith should still be worried. Daniel was a pocket-scrambling hybrid during his time as Mizzou’s quarterback and even helped lead the Tigers earn the No. 1 rank for a week in 2007. After college, Daniel was signed and later cut by the Washington Redskins before being signed by the New Orleans Saints to backup Drew Brees for the next four years.

Working under Drew Brees, who is arguably the hardest working quarterback in the NFL behind Peyton Manning, has probably benefited Daniel. Studying under Brees for four years, coupled with his athletic ability and precision-passing will make Daniel a formidable No.2 in Kansas City. The minute Alex Smith struggles or goes down, expect Daniel to step in and pull a “Kaepernick.”

Photo Courtesy of Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

It was at 12:15 that the Tweet was heard round the world (or just in Atlanta, no one can tell for sure).

I’m happy to say that after speaking with my family, I’m coming back.

— Tony Gonzalez (@TonyGonzalez88) March 12, 2013

To say that you were surprised by the fact that Tony Gonzalez decided to come back for one last season, is a little bit of an understatement. Following the disastrous loss to the 49ers in the NFC Championship game back in January, Tony Gonzalez seemed ready to hang up his pads for good. The way he talked, his body language and the way his team went out seemed almost to perfect for Gonzalez.

Throughout his career he has been a constant positive force in the NFL. He goes about his business without batting an eyelash. He keeps his mouth closed and just lets his play do the talking. But when he finally stood on the field, emotional, it seemed just like the perfect goodbye. Ya, he may not have been able to go out the way Ray Lewis would eventually would, but he was going to do it on his terms. And then, this morning happened.

The Falcons desperately needed something like this to happen after the way their season came to an abrupt end. A player like Tony Gonzalez deserves the chance to make one last run at a championship. After going 16 years before he was able to be a part of a winning playoff football team, year 17 should turn itself into a Super Bowl winning football team.

Elsewhere in the NFL, big name free agents like: Steven Jackson, new FA Ryan Fitzpatrick and Mike Wallace, all have their eyes on big contract, SJ39 and Wallace for sure. Jackson is in the prime of his career. He is a battle tested 3-down back who has the ability to pound it straight through the defense, or break it for a long gain. Every team wants a guy like Jackson, and some may even have one (i.e. Adrian Peterson) but if Jackson wants to put himself in a situation where he can win, and win big, then he needs to go somewhere with an 0-line. That may be easier said than done.

From a bleacher report article posted late last week, they think that Jackson would be best suited in either Pittsburgh or New York. At this point, I would think that he would be better served in New York. As Jackson continues on in his career, he is slowly but surely going to become more of a power back than a feature back. In New York, they have already shown that bringing together not just two, but three running backs can help propel you towards the playoffs and Super Bowl. Although, the downside to the Giants is that in the past two years, they have ranked near the bottom in rushing yards per game.

When it comes to Mike Wallace, his best landing place is the Miami Dolphins. For the first time, the Dolphins were able to grab a premium player without having to pull out of the running right when they had the chance. Congratulations Miami. Find a better quarterback now.

So for all you big free agent buffs, today is your day. You got Tony Gonzalez back, and you might just land another big name to your favorite team. Even the St. Louis Rams are trying to get better this year.

Trying being the key word there.

Written by Colin Ball

Photo Courtesy of US Presswire

Although Kruger was not a regular starter in Baltimore, his talent and potential are worth spending money on, which Cleveland has plenty of this offseason ($46.3 million as of March 1).

His breakout year was 2012, where he recorded 42 tackles and nine sacks in the regular season and 14 tackles and 4.5 sacks in the playoffs. Kruger will be a great fit in Cleveland and will only improve as a pass rusher because the Browns hired former Ravens defensive coordinator Ray Horton on Jan. 18. Kruger won’t have to worry about learning a new defensive scheme and will be able to pick up where he left off in Baltimore.

Do not let the tackle count fool you, Kruger is an effective pass rusher and is worth the money that Cleveland is paying him. If you look at the tape from this year’s Super Bowl, you will see Kruger making things difficult for Colin Kaepernick, who many believed would run all over the field that day. Instead, Kruger sacked the San Francisco quarterback twice and helped hinder the 49ers rushing attack.

Had Kruger not suffered a bad back injury in September, I’m certain that his sack total would have been higher. Kruger’s injury limited him from being a defensive threat during the first half of the season, but once he got healthy, Kruger was a force to be reckoned with throughout the second half. Kruger was such an effective pass rusher that his total quarterback pressures in 2012 was 55. The next linebacker on the Ravens roster had 21.

Photo Courtesy of the Associated Press

According to ESPN.com, the deal’s length is five years. While the amount of the contract is yet to be known for certain, CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora says that the deal will average $12 million a year and NFL.com’s Jeff Darlington said that the deal is “looking at around the 30 million dollar range for guaranteed money.”

*UPDATE*

Mike Wallace: 5-year/$60 million

This signing came as no surprise to anyone. Many football writers, including Sports Illustrated’s Peter King, predicted that the Dolphins were the No.1 contender to sign Mike Wallace. The Wallace signing was actually in the works days earlier, but the team couldn’t make it official until after 4 p.m./ET today, the beginning of the new NFL year.

Miami came into the free agency period with around $45.5 million in cap space and seem hell-bent on improving their receiving corps for franchise-quarterback Ryan Tannehill and making division-rivals sweat this season. Although the team loses Reggie Bush and Anthony Fasano due to free agency, the addition of Wallace and the resigning of team-leading receiver, Brian Hartline (5yr/$30.55 million), is proof of the Dolphins commitment to success.

In my opinion, Wallace is definitely worth the $60 million that contract is apparently worth. Since the Steelers traded Santonio Holmes to the New York Jets after the 2009 season, Wallace has led the Steelers in receiving yards for three consecutive years. Although 2012 was a down year for the former Ole Miss product, he has a lot of years left on those legs, which make him one of the fastest wide receivers in the league.

With Wallace’s speed, expect him to be the down-field threat that he was in Pittsburgh. Tannehill has a very strong cannon and is improving on his down-field accuracy.

Photo Courtesy of Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers

According to BuffaloBills.com, Bills general manager, Buddy Nix had this to say about the release of their former starting quarterback:

“We kept every possible option open right down to the wire when we had to make a decision on whether to keep Ryan. In the end, we had to do what we feel is best for our football team and it was a very difficult decision.” - Buddy Nix

This move is not a surprising move by the Bills. Just hours before Nix and the Bills cut Fitzpatrick, Deadspin.com released an audio recording of Nix and Tamba Bay Buccaneers general manager, Mark Dominik, talking on the phone about how Nix must have dialed the wrong number and their own team struggles; which Nix was not shy about expressing.

In the recording, Nix told Dominik, “We’re still struggling here with our quarterback…We’re not really struggling–he’s going to have to do something, or we’ll have to.”

Nix also went on to say that the Bills couldn’t afford to “pay that kind of money for a guy who’s fighting for probably a backup job.”

[Full audio can be found here on Deadspin.com]

Fitzpatrick, a former St. Louis Rams draft pick out of Harvard, came to Buffalo in 2009 and was supposed to backup the Bills 2007 third-round draft pick, Trent Edwards. But when Edwards proved that he couldn’t maintain his starting-quarterback status, Fitzpatrick was named the starting quarterback for the rest of the 2009 season.

Following the 2009 season, Fitzpatrick was kicked back to the No.2 spot on the depth chart by then-new head coach, Chan Gailey. After dropping the first two games of the season, Fitzpatrick was renamed the starting quarterback. The change, however, didn’t help the team improve at all. The Bills finished the 2010 season going 4-12.

During his third year of duty for the Bills, Fitzpatrick lead the Bills to an impressive (by Buffalo Bills standards) 4-2 start. The franchise was so appreciative of Fitzpatrick that they signed the quarterback to a massive 7-year contract, worthy of a franchise quarterback, which it at the time, Fitzpatrick was for the Bills.

During those first seven weeks, Fitzpatrick’s completion percentage was 66 and had thrown 12 touchdowns and six interceptions.

After he signed the new deal, however, Fitzpatrick’s output quickly plummeted; finishing the season with a 1-9 record, 59 percent completion and threw for 12 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. The 2012 season wasn’t much better; 6-10 as a starter, 60 percent completion percentage and threw for 24 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.

Photo Courtesy of Steve Mitchell/USA Today SPORTS

Making the move to Allen made the difference.  Thursday the Blues went to Phoenix to play a Coyotes team that had basically the same record as the Blues.  Although on paper the Blues are definitely more talented and it showed.  Patrik Berglund had 2 goals, Stewart, Sobotka, Pietrangelo, and Nichol added one each.  David Perron has 3 assists and the Blues won 6-3.  Jake Allen made 27 saves, didn’t have to stand on his head, but was solid in net.

The Blues continued their season long road trip in San Jose on Saturday afternoon and continued their winning ways.  The Blues were on their heels going into the third period but came out strong.  Vladimir Sobotka scored his 2nd and 3rd goals of the game in the third to give him his first hat trick of his career.  Patrik Berglund netted his 12th goal of the season in overtime to give the Blues a 4-3 win, and two important points on the road.

The Blues went in to Anaheim Sunday night hoping to continue their winning streak.  Unfortunately it didn’t work out that way.  The refs made some horrible calls and gave Anaheim way too many powerplays.  I’m not trying to take anything away from Anaheim here, they are now 18-3-3 on the season and if it wasn’t for the Blackhawks insane start to the season, we would be talking about the Ducks more.  The Blues killed off 6 penalties including a 5-3 for a minute and a half.  They were tied 2-2 halfway through the third period after Ryan Reaves scored his first goal of the season and Berglund scored his 13th of the season on the Power Play.  But then Barret Jackman went to the box for a PHANTOM slashing call that he somehow committed without his stick. Of course this lead to the Ducks taking the lead on the ensuing power play.  They added an empty netter near the end to make it a 4-2 final.  The Blues played hard and deserved at least a point out this game, but no such luck.

This week they come home for three games against two teams they just beat in San Jose and Phoenix, and the Ducks again.  I expect Jake Allen to start two of the three games if not all three.  Halak was good in Anaheim Sunday night, but Allen has been solid more consistently and for some reason the rest of the team seems to play better in front of him.

Three Stars

Vladimir Sobotka - Getting a hat trick against anyone is tough to do.  Doing it on the road against a good San Jose team is a whole nother story.  Sobotka is on fire, he has six goals in the last six games and is picking up the slack with Steen, McDonald, and Tarasenko out.  Let’s just hope he keeps it up.

Patrik Berglund - Bergy continued his best season of his career this week adding 4 more goals giving him 13 on the season.  That ties him for 8th in the league in scoring.

Chris Stewart - Stewart is playing like a man on a mission this season.  He knows he’s playing for a contract and it really has shown.  This week he had 2 goals and 5 assists this week for 7 points.  Not too shabby for a guy that had just 30 points in 79 games last year, he’s only 9 points away from that mark this year in just 25 games.

Long Live the Note.

Written by The Sports Feast Blues Insider Jeremy Green

Photo Courtesy of Stephen Dunn/Getty Images North America

The deal will be contingent upon Harvin agreeing to a new deal with Seattle. When they offer him a new contract, he will have 48 hours to sign the new deal and the trade will be made official on Tuesday at 4 p.m./ET when new NFL year begins.

Assuming that Harvin signs the new tender and the deal goes through, this trade is looking like a win-win for both teams.

Seattle trades away a few draft picks which they didn’t necessarily need. After the trade goes through, the team would have six draft picks left (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and the second 7th round pick they got from Buffalo). Even though six draft picks is plenty, it’s not like there is a cornucopia of talent in this years draft, so if the Seahawks really want to improve their roster, they’ll have to do so in the bountiful free agent pool.

On the plus-side, it’s not like Seattle is in desperate need to fill any holes on their roster, especially on offense. Adding Harvin to a Seattle offense that already includes Russell Wilson, Sidney Rice and Marshawn Lynch will only make the Seahawks a greater force in an increasingly tough NFC West.

The only down-side to this trade for Seattle is that Harvin’s contract will not come cheap.

Harvin’s current contract has one year left and would pay him $2.75 million. The deal that Harvin was rumored to have been asking for in February wasnsomewhere in the neighborhood of $16 million-a-year, according to Jason Cole of Yahoo!Sports. But Yardbarker.com said that Harvin’s asking price had been knocked down to apparently $10 million-a-year.

If Harvin signs for around $10 million-a-year, that would leave around $6-7 million in cap space for the Seahawks. With their free agent grocery list pretty slim, a few one-year or two-year rentals will all the team will be able to afford.

In Minnesota’s case, this deal is a definite plus for a team that needs a huge overhaul this offseason if they are to become major playoff contenders this season. After the trade is finalized, the Vikings will have 11, yes 11, draft picks in the 2013 NFL draft. If the team can use their time wisely and make smart decisions in the war room, then they can snag a talented wide receiver and defensive tackle and save on having to spend the big bucks in free agency on those two positions.

Minnesota’s general manager Rick Spielman also looks like a financial genius after today. Before the trade, the cap space for the team was at $20 million, which would still be enough wiggle room for the team to spend some money on talented players in free agency. Dumping Harvin would free up some more money and help the Vikings snag top-tier talent for long-term deals and make Minnesota a playoff contender for years to come.

Photo Courtesy of MCT

The Ravens traded Boldin away for basically nothing in return. All the defending Super Bowl Champions got is a 6^th round pick. The move comes not long after Boldin told the Ravens that he would not take a pay-cut in the upcoming season. He was due to receive $7.531 million this season in the final year of his four-year contract, which would have caused the Ravens to take a cap hit, especially after Joe Flacco’s new multi-year, multi-million dollar contract.

The deal comes as not much of a surprise because at the end of last week, according to a CBSSports.com article, Boldin said that he would rather retire than take a pay cut in the upcoming season. Instead of taking a pay cut, he will most likely end up going into the exact same role that he has played the past three seasons in Baltimore.

Boldin, who is now 32 and going into his 11^th season in the NFL, is going to a team whose average age at the wide out position is 25 years old (and that’s without Randy Moss who is 36). If Boldin was afraid of receiving a pay cut, he should be more afraid of receiving a workload cut.

36 year-old Randy Moss came into San Francisco to try and both resurrect his career as well as end it on a high note. He was targeted only 50 times for 28 receptions. Boldin more than doubled both of those stats with Joe Flacco in the backfield, and now with soon to be 2^nd year starter Colin Kaepernick throwing the ball, that will easily go down.

Boldin is going from what became a throw first team, to a triple-option, maybe throw it type team. Kaepernick has the arm to compete with the best QBs in the league right now, but had the advantage of never being seen prior to this season in the NFL. Teams will adjust to what the 49ers were able to do this year.

It’s obvious that Boldin didn’t have a choice in the matter of where he may end up, but the Ravens seem to be putting Boldin out of his misery by sending him to the bay.

Ever since entering the league, you could tell that Boldin wanted to be the primary system on whatever team he played for. With the Cardinals, he had to play second fiddle to the unstoppable Larry Fitzgerald. In Baltimore, Derrick Mason was a fan and Flacco favorite and then when he left, Torrey Smith came out of the woodworks to take over in the past two seasons.

Boldin just can’t seem to catch a break. He’s not helping himself either by assuring a team that he would rather quit playing football, than make less money than he believes that he is worth.

For a guy who is as good and as reliable as Boldin is, he needs to find a way, and find it quickly, as to how good of friends he wants to be with Colin Kaepernick. If he doesn’t, his flame could go out, even if he does play at Candlestick Park now.

One positive, it won’t take long to get used to saying “OK Coach Harbaugh…”

UPDATE: This morning, ESPN released a story saying that Anquan Boldin was “shocked” by the trade to the 49ers. Boldin, who is currently traveling in Africa, was initially shocked by the trade, but believes that it is also a good thing. He doesn’t have much to worry about. After having a postseason like the one he had this past year, he shouldn’t be too worried about where the ball might be going when the 49ers get closer to the goal line.

In last years post season, Boldin’s redzone numbers looked like this: 7 targets/6 receptions/4 touchdowns. So, worry warts everywhere, Boldin will be okay.

Written by Colin Ball

Photo Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Last night was one of those moments where things got “dicey”. In pure Indiana Hoosier form, their head coach let his emotions get the best of him. The weird thing though, was that the No. 2 Hoosiers had just beaten the No. 7 Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor. Before last night, the Wolverines were a perfect 17-0 up in Ann Arbor. So yes, emotions definitely could have run high on both sides, but they shouldn’t run over.

Following both the game and post game handshakes, Indiana head coach Tom Crean was caught on tape going up to Michigan assistant coach and former Indiana assistant coach, Jeff Meyer, and letting him know how he really feels.

For a little recap on what a former Kelvin Sampson coach could ever mean to someone who now works at Indiana goes like this. Kelvin Sampson was forced into resigning for being found out to have been making illegal phone calls to prospective recruits, incurring numerous recruiting violations as well as basically sending that program back to 2001.

When Tom Crean came to Indiana for the 2008 season to take over for Dan Dakich, he came into a desolate and confused team. His first three seasons saw a total of 28 wins overall, and only eight wins inside of the Big 10. He was literally trying to fix a broken team. Give a hand to Indiana for sticking with the coach that put his faith in the players that were not only there, but the ones he was trying to bring in.

Back to last night. Following the game, Crean briskly walks up to Meyer as he is talking to another coach. Crean says something that is inaudible to begin with and then, when the camera finally makes it way to the three men, we get this:

After giving his two cents, he walks away with this childish smirk as though he just won some shouting match that he was apparently having with himself. The saddest part about this is that in winning the game, Indiana had won its first outright Big 10 regular season title in 20 years. Crean seemed to diminish the historic event for the second time in under a week.

Back on Tuesday night, Ohio State came into Assembly Hall and took away IU’s first chance at winning the regular season title. Instead of holding a simple senior night ceremony like every other university, Crean took it to the next level by bringing out the ladders and cutting down the nets in celebration of what was then just a share of the trophy. It was awkward, and a little weird.

So, after actually WINNING the title, Crean goes and yells at another coach. So what. Worse things have happened. But to have it come after an already weird and awkward situation that Crean had put his program into following Tuesday night, things are just a little off.

Crean came out this morning and said that he has issued an apology to Meyer, but what he did could have put him into the ranks of Sampson. Doing that on national television makes Crean and his Hoosiers seem weak. It shows that IU only has one thing on their mind: getting back at anyone who was with Sampson back in 2006 through 2008. It makes it seem that it has never been about winning for Crean it seems.

It’s been about vengeance and no longer wanting to live with someone else’s humiliation.

Written By Colin Ball

Photo Courtesy of Indiana Public Media via Flickr.com

The atmosphere inside the Scottrade Center was electric to start the game, but both teams struggled to find the basket, as the first field goal was not made until the 14:47 mark of the first half, when Jahenns Manigat scored to give Creighton a 4-1 lead. Up until that point, the teams combined for 0-16 shooting.

Creighton went on an 8-0 run to take a 19-7 lead, fueled by two Ethan Wragge three pointers and a Gregory Echenique dunk.

Malcolm Armstead then scored 10 straight points for the Shockers, propelling them to a run of their own (12-2) to get back in the game. Grant Gibbs ended the run with a 3 pointer, giving the Jays a 24-19 lead with just over 5 minutes to play in the first half.

Doug McDermott scored just 2 first half points after being limited to 13 minutes due to 2 fouls. Wragge picked up the slack with 12 points in the half, going 4-6 from 3 point range.

McDermott’s two fouls were huge for WSU after giving up 41 points to him on March 2nd, when the Jays clinched the regular season Valley title. McDermott also scored 25 points in the first matchup of the season for these two teams, giving him 66 points in two regular season games against the Shockers.

Armstead led WSU with 18 first half points, but Creighton took a 2 point lead (30-28) into the break.

The Bluejays pulled ahead in the second half and looked to be in control until the final few minutes. McDermott stepped up in the second half, finishing with 14 points and Manigat had 16, including a basket with 12 seconds to go, putting Creighton up by 3.

The Shockers mounted a run that got them back in the game with a 12-2 run that brought them within 1 point before the basket by Manigat. They would have one last chance to tie the game, but a last second 3 point attempt by Armstead fell short, giving the Bluejays a 68-65 victory.

Malcolm Armstead finished with 28 for Wichita State, but it was not enough as WSU shot just 34% in the game. Neither team had a good day from the free thrown line, with Creighton going 13-20 and WSU shooting 12-18.

Creighton won their second straight Arch Madness Championship and McDermott repeated as the tournaments MOP.

He was joined on the all-tournament team by Gregory Echenique, Carl Hall (WSU), Malcolm Armstead (WSU), and Jackie Carmichael (Illinois State).

Photo Courtesy of “The Sports Beast” James Range

Highlighted by a 23-2 run, Creighton led 41-18 at halftime, with Doug McDermott scoring just as many points as the entire Sycamore team (18).

Indiana State’s 25% first half shooting percentage, including 0-7 from 3 point range, put them in a hole that they could not get out of.  Odum and Arop had 5 first half points, and no other Sycamore scored more than 2 in the first 20 minutes.

The second half was a formality as Indiana State failed to make any sort of run whatsoever and Creighton won by a final score of  64-43.

After the game Gregg McDermott said, “We were hooked up to start that game.  Defensively our guys were extremely focused and locked in.”  When asked if the first half of the game was the best half the Jays have had, he responded, “Maybe the first half of St. Joes was similar…given the situation I’d say that was our best half of basketball.”

Doug McDermott (25 points in 27 minutes) said about his teams fast start, “We came out and threw the first punch and it was ours the rest of the game.”

As Doug was interviewed on the court after the game, chants of “One More Year” filled the Scottrade center.  Doug had this to say about the fans support and his future, “It’s pretty special.  First of all to have 6,000 fans here is really cool.  I’m not worried about that right now, I’m worried about Illinois State and Wichita.”

The Bluejays did themselves a huge favor by winning in the fashion that they did and limiting the amount of minutes needed by the starters.  Only one player, Jahenns Manigat, reached 30 minutes.

Creighton should be ready to go on Sunday as they take on the winner of Illinois State and Wichita State at 1:05.

Photos Courtesy of “The Sports Beast” James Range

Game Recap

The Bears started the game with a lead-off three-pointer from Marshall. After Keith Pickens rolled a layup off the finger-tips and a field goal shot by sophomore big man, Christina Kirk, the Bears had the 7-2 lead over the Shockers after four minutes of play. The Shockers offense was slow to start, committing turnovers and missing jump-shots, allowing the Bears to extend their lead 14-10 with ten minutes left to play in the first half.

After the second TV timeout, the Shockers came out swinging and traded shots with Missouri State to slowly climb to 15-15 tie after  Shockers forward, Cleanthony Early, sunk the free throw. An Anthony Downing foul would give the Shockers the opportunity to give them the lead, which Shockers forward, Carl Hall, took advantage of and made the free throw.

18-17 Shockers, six minutes to play.

The Shockers were barely holding on to a 21-19 lead when Bears freshman, Gavin Thurman made the jumper to tie the game. Marshall drew the foul and made two free throws, to give the Bears a 23-21 lead, only to have the Shockers answer back with a Nick Wiggins jumper.

Missouri State tried to tie up the game before the halftime buzzer sounded, but shot themselves in the foot with a missed jumper and a turnover, which the Shockers used to increase their lead by six.

29-23 Shockers, halftime.

The Bears came out of the locker room after halftime and delivered a couple jabs in the form of two Pickens layups and three free throw shots made by Pickens and Marshall, tying the game at 31-all three quick minutes in the second half. But the Shockers would deliver an answer in the form of a Rob Baker three-pointer, giving them the 34-31 lead.

After a missed jumper by Bears guard Nathan Scheer, the Shockers took the ball down the court to make the layup, but the ball bounced off and was up for grabs. Unfortunately, the only players to grab the ball were Shockers forwards, Early and Carl Hall; the Bears couldn’t box anyone out and were out-jumped around the rim and they watched as Hall took the ball and finally shot it in the for hard-fought two points.

36-31 Shockers, 16 minutes left in the game.

After Scheer turned the ball over, and it would be Shocker ball after the TV timeout. Then the TV timeout ended and Shockers took the ball into their offensive zone and spread the ball around the court like butter on toast; covering every corner. As the seconds on the shot-clock disappeared, Baker launched an ark from downtown and made the three-pointer, giving the Shockers a 39-31 lead. 

Minutes later, the game was 44-39 and the Bears had the ball and Pickens on the free throw line. After the big man sunk the ball, the Shockers Hall made the layup, only to have Pickens feed the ball to fellow big man, Christian Kirk, who made the layup. Then Marshall drew the foul and was awarded two at the line, which he made before the Bears called for a timeout.

46-43 Shockers, nine minutes left.

After the timeout, the Shockers outscored the Bears 9-3 in four minutes before a very angry Paul Lusk called a timeout.

58-49 Shockers, 4:42 to play.

The Bears couldn’t make, let alone shoot (Scheer was the only Bear to attempt a shot, a three-pointer miss), anything from their offensive zone. Missouri State could only score via free throws thanks to Downing, who was able to draw three fouls and make six free throw shots. A Marshall three-pointer before the Missouri State timeout would get the Bears within six of the Shockers.

64-58 Shockers, 1:36 to play.

It was do-or-die now for the Bears; they needed to make every shot if they wanted to have a chance at beating Wichita State. Unfortunately, the Bears were 0-2 in FG shots, 0-1 in three-point shots and 1-2 from the line in the final minutes of the game. The Shockers made a FG and sunk three points from the line to seal the game and advance them into the Final Four of the tournament.

69-59 Shockers, end of game.

End of season.

Game Totals

Three Stars of the Game

1.) Marcus Marshall: 25 points, 13-16 from the line and three rebounds in 39 minutes.

2.) Anthony Downing: 12 points, 6-6 from the line and five total rebounds in 33 minutes

3.) Keith Pickens: 11 points, 2 steals and six total rebounds in 40 minutes.

Notable Quotes

“No, not at all.” 

          – Anthony Downing, on whether or not fatigue from the previous game was a factor against the Shockers.

“It really doesn’t mean much.” 

          – Marcus Marshall, expressing how much tying the record for most points scored by a freshman in the MVC tournament meant to him

Notable Tweets

Proud of @keith_pickens @ad_zro and the rest of the #MSUBears they went down SWINGIN! Bright future for the program! #BearNation

— Kyle Weems (@Kjw3434) March 9, 2013

 

Nathan Scheer is killing his own team tonight: airballs, turnovers, running into his own guy, getting killed on D.

— Double Jay (@DoubleJayAlum) March 9, 2013

Photo Courtesy of “The Sports Beast” James Range

For the second consecutive year the ‘Birds defeated UNI in their first game of the Valley Tournament. And for the second consecutive year they will take on Wichita State in the semifinals.

ISU broke out to a 10-0 lead early in the game and it eventually grew to a 15 point lead.  Tyler Brown led the way scoring putting up 17 points after the first nine minutes of the game.  Despite setting the tone offensively Illinois State trailed by a point at halftime 35-34.

The second half the Panthers continued their streak as both teams exchanged leads back and forth.  It wasn’t until the Redbirds began to utilize the post play of Jackie Carmichael.  The leading senior finally connected with a two-handed slam to bring the momentum back to ISU.  Illinois State’s play was highlighted by Carmichael authority down low and Brown finally catching fire.  The Redbirds went back to a 10 point lead and were less than a minute away from a ticket to the MVC semi-finals.  The final 60 seconds will be most remembered by Carmichael’s consecutive blocked shots on UNI’s Anthony James.  Illinois State went on to win and will now play Wichita State for a chance to play in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Championship.  

The Shockers will be going in with a chip on their shoulder as ISU denied Wichita State a chance in the tournament last year.  Tip-off at the Scottrade Center is scheduled for 4:05 pm.

Written by theSPORTSfeast Redbird Insider Joe Brand (@BrandFlakes7), WZND

Photo Courtesy of The Sports Feast Photographer Jim “The Beast” Range

With the overly exaggerated and intelligent Smith on one side of the table, he is opposed by one of the worst and seemingly one of the most unintelligent sports commentator I have ever wasted time watching, the unbearable Skip Bayless.

Now, why I am writing this story is not based on the fact that this show is terrible, because we all already know that. The reason I am writing this is because of what happened yesterday afternoon between Skip and First Take’s guest, Seahawks “All-Pro” cornerback, Richard Sherman. What went down on yesterday’s show was something of an art.

It was and is the main reason as to why the show First Take should no longer be on the air. It was embarrassing to the network, embarrassing to the NFL, and embarrassing to both Skip Bayless and Richard Sherman alike.

From the beginning of the “interview”, you could tell that Sherman came onto the show for one reason and one reason only. To let Skip Bayless know how worthless and unimportant he finds him.

Everywhere on the Internet, you will find people saying “Sherman rips Bayless a new one” or “Sherman Finally Shows Skip”. These headlines shouldn’t read such nice epithets, they should read, “ESPN finally flops” or “First Take Should Get a Second”. Even the most popular and most active ESPN member on social media, NBA analyst Bill Simmons, was disgusted and disheartened by what happened.

Two consecutive tweets from last night read as follows:

@BillSimmons: I am not defending this segment – youtu.be/j6x-O3kb1sI  - I thought it was awful and embarrassing to everyone involved. Seriously.

@BillSimmons: But what bothers me about the reaction to that segment is people saying Richard Sherman “won”. Nobody won. Everyone lost. Including ESPN.

I’m sorry, when the guy with over two million followers tweets something like that out, saying something against his BOSS OF A NETWORK, something is inherently wrong.

The entire exchange between Sherman and Bayless added nothing to the sports conversation. It made people who actually watch the show for “content” believe that something could be gained by watching the stupidity.

As an avid, and I mean avid, ESPN watcher and reader (says it on my twitter, too), I was appalled by what happened yesterday. I have never, and will continue to never, enjoy the debacle that is known as First Take. I have zero respect for the content they try to push. Zero patience for the crap they argue over, and zero brainwaves worth dedicated to caring. Heck, this is the longest I have ever spoken about the show aside from the occasional “Stephen A. is going off today” tweet.

If you want to watch REAL sports commentators talk about REAL sports, watch PTI. I would say Around the Horn, but sometimes, there is only so much Woody Paige and Bill Plaschke that I can take.

So today, instead of wasting your life away watching that disgusting and terrible show, go watch the Creighton Bluejays play at noon today. It may end before First Take goes on the air, but you’ll at least be spending your time wisely.

Some of Sherman’s quotes from yesterday: (as per USA Today article)

• “Whenever you refer to me, whenever you speak to me, whenever you address me, address me as All-Pro Stanford graduate beacuse those are some accomplishments you will aspire to but never accomplish. You have never accomplished anything.”

• “In my 24 years of life, I’m better at life than you.”

• “I’m intelligent enough and capable enough to understand that you are ignorant, pompous, egotistical, cretin. I’m going to crush you on here because I’m tired of hearing about it.”

• “I’m tired of your ignorant pollution.”

Written By The Sports Feast Creighton University Intern Colin Ball

[Photo via Presswire]

Creighton has bigger fish to fry right now though, aside from not eating meat during Lent. Doug McDermott, this years Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year, has set yet another Creighton record this season by becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer. He passed Rodney Buford with his 11^th point to get to 2,117 career points. As of this moment, he now has 2,122 career points putting him into 10^th place in MVC history.

Back to the matter at hand though, ESPN’s story, which you can find through the link at the bottom, says that Creighton is only a “likely” addition. These words do little to settle a Creighton’s fans nerves though. IF Creighton were to leave after this season, they would be taking history with them. That would only be IF they were to win this tournament though.

The Jays would leave behind a long, long legacy that would only be worth it if the revenue stream increased exponentially and over the next 10 years. Otherwise, Creighton would dig themselves a grave that they would never be able to find their way out of.

Will do my best to keep this updated as ANYTHING develops. I don’t expect much though. As long as the Jays are still playing, no one will say a word. Also, I feel as though I opened a Pandora’s box by sending that tweet saying the talk was growing after nothing for a few months.

Everyone, let’s remember that this is pure speculation as of right now. Even ESPN didn’t get crazy and stick with their current actions as of the last few days, they made sure to let everyone know that this is just “likely”. Butler and Xavier look like a for sure, but still not the Jays.

Let’s not even look for Creighton AD Bruce Rasmussen or President Fr. Lannon, S.J. to say anything about it soon either.

Let’s just sit back, watch the Jays play out the rest of this tournament, and hope that they win another title on their way to more Madness.

Link:

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/9031167/catholic-7-leaving-big-east-june-30

Written by The Sports Feast Creighton University Intern Colin Ball

Photo Courtesy of The Sports Feast photographer Jim “The Beast” Range

Things started off positive for Missouri State as they controlled the tip and jumped out to an 8-2 lead and led 15-10 with 10 minutes remaining in the first half.

From that point forward, the Shockers crashed the boards and wore MSU down with their agressiveness and physical play.  When it was all said and done, WSU had outrebounded the Bears 43-24.

Bears coach Paul Lusk agreed that rebounding was a huge difference in this game, saying, “Our guys really competed, give credit to Wichita, they’re strong, they’re physical…the difference was on the glass.”

Coach Gregg Marshall knew this game would be a battle.  “It’s never easy and they really battled.  We were able to overcome Marcus Marshall with 25 points.”

Marcus Marshall, Freshman of the year, broke the Missouri State record for most points by a freshman, an honor previoulsy held by Blake Ahearn.  When asked about the record, Marshall stated, “Right now it doesn’t really mean much.”  According to Coach Lusk, Marshall was focused on this being the final game for two close friends on the team.  “Him and Downing became real close this year.  He’s more concerned about them (Pickens, Downing) going out than the record.”

Wichita State got contributions from 10 different players tonight, led by Carl Hall with 18 and sparked by the return of Ron Baker (coming off of an injury after missing 21 games) and his 3 three pointers and 15 points.

The Shockers are a VERY deep team, which Gregg Marshall acknowledged by saying, “We’re going to play 9, 10, 11 guys tomorrow.”

The way they Shockers played tonight, their depth, and their size could cause big problems for the winner UNI/Illinois State.

WSU will tip off Saturday at 4:05PM in the semi-finals.

Photo Courtesy of “The Sports Beast” James Range

Sycamores star Jake Odum was also shut down in the game, scoring only 5 points, all of which came in the second half. Luckily for the Sycs redshirt freshman Devonte Brown stepped up scoring 11 points in the first half after averaging only 3.6 points during the regular season.

With under 30 seconds left in the game and the score tied 50-50 EU Senior Troy Taylor stepped to the line and missed two free throws that cost the Aces the game. Immediately following, the Sycs took the ball down the court and Gant was fouled. He missed the first shot and for a brief second everyone thought we may be headed into OT, but Gant kept his cool, made the FT and won the game for his team. When asked about Taylor, Jake Odum shared: “Troy is one of the best defenders in the league, along with rebounder for his size.”

“Some people think he’s not talented, but he makes all of the hustle plays. He had a good career at Evansville”

When asked about the game Coach Lansing shared: “It’s no secret we limped in here a little bit. Today we got back to defending the way we did earlier in the year when we were winning games.”  Speaking of earlier in the year, Indiana State handed the Creighton Blue Jays the biggest loss they had the entire season, drubbing the Bluejays 76-57. When asked about playing Creighton Coach Lansing shared, “That’s one of the top teams in the country with one of the best players in the country…This is what the postseason is all about, you’ve got to beat 3 teams to go to the NCAA tournament.”

Written by The Sports Feast Insider Brandon Bardenheier

Photo Courtesy of The Sports Feast Photographer Jim “The Beast” Range

The Jays started Austin Chapman, Grant Gibbs, Jahenns Manigat, MVC POY Doug McDermott, and Gregory Echinique against Drake’s opening lineup of Richard Carter, Chris Hines, Jordan Clarke, Ben Simons, and Seth VanDeest.

Despite the energy brought by the Jays and their fans, Drake held tough to start the game, keeping up with Creighton, tied 12-12 with under 14 minutes to play.  Creighton went on to have a 10-1 run to take a 22-13 lead.

Drake clawed their way back into the game, using a 5-0 run to get within 1, 24-23.  The Bulldogs did not score over the last 2 minutes of the half, trailing 33-26 headed into the locker room.

Doug McDermott led all scorers in the first half with 13, becoming Creighton’s all time leading scorer as a Junior.  Will Artino added 7 for the Jays and Vandeest led the Bulldogs with 7 in the half.

Reflecting on the accomplishment of becoming CU’s all time leading scorer, Doug had this to say, “Its really cool, give a lot of credit to teammates and coaches, I wouldn’t be here without them, they are very unselfish.”

Coach McDermott commented on his son’s accomplishment when he said, “It hasn’t probably hit me yet, it’s unbelieveable to do it in 3 years.”

Drake was not able to keep up for long in the second half, and fatigue may have been a factor contributing to a 14-2 Creighton run that began with just under 9 minutes to play in the game.  Prior to that run, the Bulldogs had pulled within 4 points.

Creighton outrebounded Drake 44-26 with the help of 11 boards from Echenique, who had a double double with 11 points.  McDermott led all scorers with 23 and Will Artino finished with 14.  Echenique also made his presence felt on the defensive end with 6 blocks.

Creighton left with a win by the score of 65-53 and will get as much rest as they can before tipping off again Saturday afternoon in the semi-finals.

After the game, Coach Greg McDermott has this to say about his team playing against Drake, “Watching last night we had to run the three point shooters off the 3 point line, and we did. When we played them last they out-rebounded us and we made sure we won that battle today.”

Doug McDermott commented on the lift that Will Artino gave the Jays off the bench, saying, “He’s so easy to play with because he can see over the defense, and he crashes the boards every time.”

The top ranked Bluejays will take on the winner of Evansville and Indiana State tomorrow at 1:35PM.

Photo Courtesy of “The Sports Beast” James Range

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The Bears, led by freshman of the year Marcus Marshall (18 pts) sent the Salukis packing with a 62-53 victory at Scottrade center in St. Louis.  Christian Kirk played an oustanding game with 10 points and 8 boards while Anthony Downing had 16 points.  SIU was lead by Desmar Jacson and Anthony Beane, Jr, both with 12 points.   SIU led in bench points 20-4, mostly due to the fact that the Bears did not sub in the second half until the game was all but decided.  Missouri State got to the free throw line 22 times, compared to the Salukis 6.  This was a sore subject among Saluki fans, as every call seemed to go against Hinson and Southern Illinois.

After the game, Marshall was asked about playing on this big stage for the first time and how he performed so well and responded, “I just go out there and play my game, coach has confidence in me, my teammates have confidence in me.  I just go out there and do what I can to help my team win.”

Anthony Downing added, when asked about possibly playing in his last game, “I didn’t want my season to end tonight, and I’m proud of our guys for coming out and giving a big effort.”

This game was a game of runs for Missouri State, as they had runs of 11-0 and 11-2, creating a gap that the Salukis could not close.

Next up for MSU will be an evening matchup against Wichita State on Friday.  When asked about the Shockers, Downing said, “It’s going to be a big one.  We know they are real good, one of the best teams in our league and one of the best teams in the country… Our guards have to help out our bigs.  We have to stay on the boards to help us win and not turn the ball over and be the first to the 50/50 balls.”

Coach Lusk talked about defense against the Shockers, saying, “We tried zone on Wichita last time and they beat us by 10,000…We will have to use every trick in our bag to play Wichita State.”

Fatigue may be a factor for the Bears Friday, especially for Keith Pickens, but hopefully the team has the same mindset as Downing does, as he said, “I’m not tired.  I could play basketball all day every day.”

Tipoff will be at 6:05PM on Friday.

Photo Courtesy of “The Sports Beast” James Range

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Junior Guard Gary Ricks Jr led the way for the Bulldogs on this front scoring 14 points and adding 5 rebounds after only averaging 2.9 ppg this regular season. Joey King and Chris Hines also added 15 & 16 points to the offensive effort respectively.

When Joey King was asked about what it’s like playing on this stage for the first time he replied “It felt really good, it’s been a great experience so far, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow and all of the games going forward.” When asked their focus going forward he added “We’re playing with alot of confidence right now, and nothing can change that.”

Though the Bulldogs did dominate the majority of the game, Bradley had a few bright spots including senior Jake Eastman draining back to back three-pointers with just 16:00 left in the game, which sparked the Braves to go on a run that cut the lead to as little as three.

Jake Eastman commented about the loss saying “It was a tough loss, we played great at some points and got close to turning the corner in the second half but we just couldn’t get over the hump.” Eastman may have been right about that but it wasn’t for lack of effort on his part, with Lemon Jr keyed up by the Bulldogs Eastman was able to post a respectable 15 points and 8 rebounds after averaging only 6.4 ppg this season.

The show must go on, and fortunately for Drake it does go on to a chapter they are more than familiar with and look to re-write after losing this same second round game to the same Creighton team just a year ago. When asked what would be different this year Drake Head Coach Mark Phelps said “We have alot more depth this year, last season we could play 5 guys for the most part and this season we have a strong talented 9 that can play the entire game.”  This was completely evident by the amount of points scored from this Bulldogs bench tonight.

Written By Sports Feast Insider Brandon Bardenheier

Photo Courtesy of Sports Feast Photographer Jim “The Beast” Range

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Kansas City gave receiver Dwayne Bowe and punter Dustin Colquitt new contracts, restructured defensive end Tyson Jackson’s monster deal and placed the franchise tag on left tackle Branden Albert. The moves leave few holes left to fill on draft day, so Kansas City will be free to take chances on potential diamonds in the rough and add some much needed depth.

The key move was signing Bowe. Bowe had been called a distraction by the coaching staff last season, and many expected him to skip town as soon as possible. Instead, new general manager John Dorsey convinced him to stick around to the tune of a 5-year, $56 million deal. The contract is the third highest for a receiver in the NFL, behind Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald. While this may seem a bit high, Bowe’s play has earned the big bucks. In six seasons, all with the Chiefs, Bowe has been the team’s go-to receiver snatching just over 69 passes per season and accumulating 39 touchdowns in the span. While these numbers seem a bit pedestrian on paper, they would have been much better had the Chiefs had a legit arm under center. Throughout Bowe’s career he has played with a slew of underwhelming QB’s including Brodie Croyle, Damon Huard, Matt Cassel, Brady Quinn and Tyler Palko. Only Fitzgerald can boast about doing more with less, and he already makes more money. Keeping Bowe in Kansas City cements his place as the star of the passing game, and gives Smith a legit target downfield, as well as over the middle.

Punter Dustin Colquitt may not be a household name, but that might be attributed more toward his position than his ability. Colquitt is a team captain and locker room leader that Dorsey and head coach Andy Reid wanted to hold on to. Colquitt’s 5-year, $18.75 million deal makes him the highest-paid punter in the NFL, a deserving figure according to Dorsey, who called him “an elite punter in this league.”

Tyson Jackson, the 3rd overall pick of the 2009 draft, has left many fans with a bad taste in their mouth after four sub-par seasons in Kansas City. Jackson was likely forced to restructure his contract or face being cut. The LSU product was set to make around $14 million this season, but with the new contract he will only make around $5 million, giving the Chiefs a little breathing room under the salary cap.

With Texas A&M left tackle Luke Joeckel sitting atop most draft boards, many experts expected the Chiefs to let Branden Albert go. Instead, Kansas City used their franchise tag, keeping Albert around for at least one more year. Under the franchise tag, Albert will make around $10 million this season, and will become a free agent in 2014.

Each of these moves will help a 2-14 team climb its way out of the NFL’s cellar, but the Chiefs are not done. With teams allowed to sign free agents March 15, expect Kansas City to be a major player in seeking out contracts with available players. Two names that have been tossed around are Miami Dolphins cornerback Sean Smith and Chris Cante, who was recently released by the New York Giants. Cante has already made a visit to Kansas City, and continues making his rounds to several team’s around the NFL including the Green Bay Packers, who he took a physical with Wednesday.

Both Smith and Cante would fill the biggest remaining holes in the Chiefs starting lineup.

If those holes are not filled through the free agent market, expect them to be addressed through the draft. Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner and Utah defensive tackle Star Lotulei are solid prospects at #1. Otherwise, don’t be surprised if the Chiefs end up with Joeckel. Kansas City has historically tried to allow offensive linemen to sit and learn on the sidelines for a season before throwing them into the mix. If Joeckel is Kansas City’s guy, expect him to play limited minutes this season while studying up on Albert’s position before he takes over in 2014.

When a team finishes the season in dead last, there is nowhere to go but up. Kansas City is certainly doing its best to escape the NFL’s basement.

Written By The Sports Feast Intern Ben Conrady

Photo Courtesy of Charles Gant

The Heat’s month of dominance may have snuck up on the casual sports fan.

With baseball’s spring training starting up, college basketball in full-swing and the release of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, a whole mess of wins has gone largely unnoticed by many non-diehards.

It might be the media to blame, for a struggling Lakers team has dominated much of sports talk and Michael Jordan was given an entire week of Sportscenter coverage for his 50th birthday February 17.

–Don’t worry, I’m not using this as a segue to talk about how LeBron James is better than “His Airness.” That title will never be taken from the GOAT.–

There are many reasons for the Heat’s historic winning streak to have been swept under the rug, but one factor stands true.

It’s expected.

2 1/2 years removed from James’ infamous “Decision,” Miami has become the class of the NBA. While James assumed the role of villain in the drama-filled NBA for most of two seasons with the Heat, last year’s championship turned the tides for the game’s best current player and his team.

While the haters still exist, most live in Cleveland or another Eastern Conference city that see the Heat dominate their own squad on a regular basis. For any other basketball fan, the Heat and coach Erik Spoelstra are a prime example of how to win in the NBA.

Miami can adjust to any tempo. Want to speed the game up? Have at it. But don’t be surprised when James takes off down court in the middle of a shot attempt and Dwayne Wade throws him a spot-on alley-oop after snatching the rebound. Slow the game down and James will sit his 260 lb. frame on the low block and wait for the entry pass. Now you are faced with another decision. If you double-team James he’ll probably find an open shooter. His 7.2 assists per game are a testament to his passing ability. Leave him alone and the averaged-sized small forward guarding him will be destroyed by a drop-step or fade-away jumper.

Miami has a player to fit every role. Want to know which teams are the best in the NBA without glancing at the standings? Look to the teams with rosters full of seasoned veterans willing to play less minutes to help their team to a championship ring.

Miami is chocked full of them.

Mike Miller, James Jones, Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen step on the floor just itching for a chance to chuck a wide open three-ball after James or Wade draws in the defense. Udonis Haslem, Juwan Howard and Chris Andersen seek out rebounds and run the floor like a high school sophomore getting his first minutes at the varsity level. Shane Battier plays the same lockdown defense that he did when he was seeking out final four appearances as a Duke Blue Devil.

In a league loaded with selfish stars Miami is filled with team players.

But it’s hard to credit the Heat for a month of success without turning your focus to  James. The reigning MVP is averaging 27 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per game to go with those 7.2 assists. James is playing at an elite level that even his biggest skeptics (I’m looking at you, Skip Bayless) have struggled to undermine.

While Miami’s 15-straight wins are a major accomplishment, league-history is still pretty hard off. In 1971, the Jerry West/Wilt Chamberlain-led Los Angeles Lakers won 33-straight en route to an NBA championship. The Heat have 24 games remaining, so if history is to be made, the team can’t afford to lose for another 18 contests. What are the chances of that happening? Slim to none. With the playoffs approaching, there is no reason for Spoelstra to wear his team out striving for a meaningless winning streak. But you can expect Miami to win a second straight championship, a streak that is much more important.

The Heat are turning into the dynasty that James, Wade and Chris Bosh said they would become 2 1/2 years ago. They might not win 4, 5 or 6 championships, but they are certainly the team to beat now and in the future.

It’d be smart to pay attention, you are witnessing history.

Written by Sport Feast Intern Ben Conrady

Photo Courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

This season was different though. Coming into the 2012-2013 season, Creighton was ranked 17^th in the nation, under the microscope and under scrutiny from fans before Creighton had even taken the floor for their first game. No player in the country seemed to be under more pressure than Doug to repeat what he did a season before as a sophomore, when he became the first sophomore to ever be named the MVC Player of the Year while also putting himself into the conversation as a potential Wooden Award Winner.

Doug knew better than anyone what was at stake for this team and over the course of 31 games, he once again proved why there is no one better in the MVC. On the season McDermott, who also seems to be in position to be named to a second straight first team All-American squad, has averaged 23.4 points per game, 7.6 rebounds per game and 1.8 assists per game (overall). He also shot 56% from the field and an incredible 48% from beyond the arc.

Doug’s 48% from three was also 5% better than Sixth Man of the Year award winner and fellow teammate, Ethan Wragge who shot 43% from deep while hitting 68 3-pointers on the season after starting out hot from deep to start the year.

Doug changed the way Creighton played basketball though. Opposing teams have thrown double and triple teams at the junior forward and he has still managed to score 30 or more points in six games and 20 or more points in 15 games. No matter what the MVC did, Doug just found a way.

Doug found a way to score 28 points in the second half against Missouri State back in January, outscoring the Bears as a whole, by 3 points. Doug found a way to put Creighton on his back and made sure that no one other than the Bluejays would walk away with the MVC regular season title this past Saturday against the rival Wichita State Shockers, where Doug scored 41 points on 15-18 overall and 5-8 from three point in a 91-79 win.

It seems that when something, or someone, stands in Doug’s way, he finds a way to get around it.

Once again for the second straight season, McDermott has also put himself into the Wooden Award conversations. Up to this point, he is second in the nation in points per game, trailing only Erick Green of Virginia Tech by 1.6 points. He has also been a big part in making the Jays an offensive power, helping them to be the 22^nd best scoring offense in the country.

If there were any question as to who should be the Larry Bird Trophy recipient this season, than those asking the question hadn’t been paying attention.

Doug and the rest of the Bluejays head to St. Louis this weekend to defend their MVC Tournament Title. They will play on Friday at noon against the winner of the Bradley/Drake game on Thursday night. The Jays should have a little bit of a chip on their shoulder after being brushed off by many over the past few weeks. March Madness is upon us, so I think it’s time that the Bluejays got a little angry.

MVC Honors:

Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year: Doug McDermott, Creighton

Newcomer of the Year: Cleanthony Early, Wichita State

Freshman of the Year: Marcus Marshall, Missouri State

Defensive MVP: Dyricus Simms-Edwards, Bradley

Sixth-Man of the Year: Ethan Wragge, Creighton

Army National Guard Defensive Team of the Year: Wichita State

First Team
Jackie Carmichael, Illinois State
Cleanthony Early, Wichita State
Doug McDermott, Creighton
Jake Odum, Indiana State
Colt Ryan, Evansville

Second Team
Tyler Brown, Illinois State
Carl Hall, Wichita State
Anthony James, UNI
Walt Lemon, Jr., Bradley
Ben Simons, Drake

Honorable-Mention Selections
Malcolm Armstead, Wichita State
Anthony Downing, Missouri State
Gregory Echenique, Creighton
Grant Gibbs, Creighton
Desmar Jackson, Southern Illinois

All-Newcomer Team
Malcolm Armstead, Wichita State
Cleanthony Early, Wichita State
Desmar Jackson, Southern Illinois
Marcus Marshall, Missouri State
Tyshon Pickett, Bradley

All-Freshman Team
D.J. Balentine, Evansville
Anthony Beane, Southern Illinois
Joey King, Drake
Marcus Marshall, Missouri State
Egidijus Mockevicius, Evansville

All-Defensive Team
Jackie Carmichael, Illinois State
Gregory Echenique, Creighton
Walt Lemon, Jr., Bradley
Troy Taylor, Evansville
Dyricus Simms-Edwards, Bradley

Written By The Sports Feast Creighton University Intern Colin Ball

Photo Courtesy of www.MVC-Sports.com

None other than senior guard Anthony James would come through with the lead grabbing strike. An NBA range 3-pointer from James gave the Panthers a 28-26 lead  they wouldn’t give back. James and Sonnen would combine for three more made 3’s before the end of the half and the Panthers went into halftime with a 39-32 lead over the Redbirds.

Anthony James put the finishing touches on an outstanding career inside the McLeod Center. Early this season James eclipsed the 1,000 career points mark and has been counted on as a premier scorer for the Panthers all season. After suffering a thigh bruise in the Denver bracketbusters game and sitting out for the loss against Southern Illinois James wasn’t going to watch his teammates and he came through in all the clutch moments Panther fans have become accustomed to. After the game Anthony spoke about his health status and the team’s approach to their shooting.

“That’s the thing we don’t really pay attention to stats during the game. I didn’t know we were 0-for-8,” when guys are open, we shoot the shots. And each time we shoot, we think it’s going in.” James on his health, “I wouldn’t say I was 100 percent, but I was the best possible for this game, I sat out the entire week and got some great treatment from our trainers. I was able to get my motion back a little bit and I was able to jog early in the week. I felt pretty good going into the game where I was at least able to give 100 percent.”

The Panthers would push their lead to 12 points in the second half. All four Panther senior’s scored against the Redbirds. Anthony James led Panthers scorers with 19 points, fellow senior’s Jake Koch and Marc Sonnen tallied 18 points apiece and senior reserve bigman Austin Pehl was able to score and grab four rebounds in his 12 minutes.

Koch dazzled the crowd with two loud 1-handed dunks, Sonnen continued his amazing three-point shooting season by breaking the single season UNI record for made three’s, and Anthony James once more proved how important he is to the Panther offense scoring the game high 19 despite his lingering thigh bruise. Austin Pehl was even able to leave the McLeod faithful with one last trademark hook shot. It was indeed a happy ending inside the McLeod Center on Saturday night. The bigger question now lingers, can the Panthers plow their way through a daunting conference tournament and score the coveted at large bid to the big dance.

With the win the Panthers sealed a 3 seed for the Missouri Valley Conference tournament next weekend in St. Louis. They will be in a rematch against the Illinois State Redbirds.

Game Notes:

• UNI enjoyed a 42-26 advantage in rebounding (including a season-high 19 offensive rebounds).
• Illinois State’s Tyler Brown scored a game-high 28 points.
• UNI has won 18 or more games in 10 straight seasons
• Sonnen set the UNI single-season 3-pointers made record (82)
• Attendance: 6,621
• BOX SCORE

Written by theSPORTSfeast Panther Insider Cole Bair

Insider Bio:

• Northern Iowa Panthers MBB insider Cole Bair is an E-Media/Journalism student at UNI.
• Besides writing for theSPORTSfeast Cole hosts a radio show, W/F @ 1-1:50, link at: www.uni.edu/kult/
• Find Cole on Twitter (@theBAIRSDENuni) or YouTube for #UNIHoops men’s basketball updates, radio show info, and commentary

Photo Courtesy of UNI Athletics Communications

In the second half Wichita started out with a 9-0 run to make the score 42-40 in favor of Evansville. However, once again the Aces shooting went cold on the road. This is something that has happened in most of the Aces road games this season and it looked as if in this game the trend would not continue. Jordan Nelson stopped an eight minute scoring drought for Evansville and put the Aces up 45-42. Colt Ryan made a lay up to give Evansville the lead at 54-53. With four minutes remaining in the game Colt Ryan gave the aces a 59-54 advantage over the Shockers. The Shockers missed a three at the buzzer and the Aces escaped with a 59-56 victory on the road, sweeping the Shockers. The Aces were able to overcome a poor shooting performance in the second half to find a way to pull out the win. This is a positive sign heading into the conference tournament because this is something Evansville struggled with throughout the season.

Aces Coach Marty Simmons knows the importance of a victory at Wichita State for his program because this is something that has not happened since 2001. “We told the players in the locker room that they just experienced something here tonight that they’ll remember for a lifetime. Coming into this arena and beating a team with their kind of accomplishments is really special.” Colt Ryan scored 29 points in the game for the Aces, but he gave credit to reserve Jordan Nelson who made two key baskets when the score was tied to preserve the win for Evansville. “He did a great job tonight – stepped up and made some big shots for us. It was tied at 42, we were stagnant, and they were running on us. He just came in and was able to knock in a 3 for us and get us jump started again.” Marty Simmons believes his teams rhythm allowed it to jump out to a sizeable lead in the first half. “We just had good rhythm in the first half. A lot of guys were making shots, and we got out to a good start. We knew they were going to bring the pressure in the second half, and they did. That’s been a weakness of ours, and we’ve got to get better.”

For the final game of the regular season Evansville played Indiana State on Senior Day at the Ford Center. The Aces started the game off strong with an early four nothing lead. Evansville sprinted out to a 21-12 lead over Indiana State later in the first half. Indiana State battled back to shave Evansville’s lead to 1 at the half by the score of 37-36. The question remained in the head of the Evansville players as to whether this game would be like games of old such as against Murray State, when the Aces had a double digit lead and lost.

The Aces had a key 16-0 run early in the second half to take a 57-43 lead. Indiana State cut the lead to 6 points at 62-56, but Evansville did not crumble as the Aces went on another scoring burst with a 7-0 run to make the lead 13 once again. The Aces beat Indiana State by the final margin of 81-68. Evansville made 31 baskets and on 26 of these baskets Evansville registered assists. Evansville shot 54.4% for the game and Colt Ryan lead all players by scoring 31 points in the game. Jordan Nelson scored a career high 11 points. It is encouraging to see Nelson playing well for Evansville, as the Aces will have to play three games in three days to win a conference championship in S. Louis. Evansville will need scoring from all the players it can, so if other players can contribute defenses cannot concentrate on Colt Ryan. In the past two games Evansville has given up double digit leads and has rallied to come back to the victory. This means the Aces are improving with the team’s confidence as the team is on a four game winning streak to end the season strong heading into the conference tournament.

Marty Simmons knows the importance of senior day both for his players along with himself. “These seniors have done so much for our program and for the community. It’s just a unique relationship that Evansville players have with our community – our fans. At the end of the day, you kind of get lost in, ‘They’re basketball players.’ And when you see them get up in front of 7,000 people and start pouring their heart and soul out in appreciation of what everyone’s done for them, you see maybe another side. I know as their coach, I’m very thankful I had the opportunity to coach them for four years.” Simmons understands how important this time of the season is for Colt Ryan. “He’s obviously been super productive, but I think it’s the urgency of seeing it all coming to an end. You tell them when they’re freshmen it’s all going to go by so fast, and when you get down to the last few games, it’s like, ‘Wow.’ He’s a driven young man, as all the seniors are, and they seem to be as locked in right now as they have been.” The part Ned Cox enjoyed most about his time at Evansville was being able to watch players grow up both on and off the court. “Just seeing how guys grow just from the freshmen coming in and how much they’ve developed and seeing how much the team overall has gelled and meshed. Overall, we’ve had our growing pains, but just to see us overcome that and be playing the kind of basketball we’re playing now is satisfying.”

Written by theSPORTSfeast Aces Insider Bryce Weiler

Photo Courtesy of “The Sports Beast” James Range

According to all the newspapers and online articles, there is an elephant in the room. Every talking head, news anchor and journalist in the business ushers in the homosexuality-in-sports debate as though they are handling a highly explosive pipe bomb and once the debate gets going, the pipe bomb explodes. People shout and point the finger at one another from across the table, accusing the other of being narrow-minded or disrespectful and the debate doesn’t stop in the media; it gets carried out to the public masses where the debating style is copied and echoed through the streets. Then people break off from the conversation, red-faced and furious, and go online to make some status, that they believe to be “enlightened” and “just common sense” that reflects their view on the elephant in the room

The debating style goes like this; both sides try to talk over one another like they are trying to prove who can be the loudest jackass in the room. They talk over one another, while simultaneously telling their adversary to stop talking over them, until their throats become hoarse and their faces are painted bright red and the dead horse is beaten to a pulp; they shake hands and thank each other for the “compelling debate” and go on some tangent about how heckling one another in the name of free speech illustrates what America is all about.

Nothing gets done and everyone involved in or witnessing the debate are just as ignorant and stubborn as they were before the whole name-calling fest even began. The problem is that people are so committed to their beliefs, so loyal and allegiant, that they would rather head-butt a rusty nail than respectfully listen or agree with the other side of the argument.

What I believe

When Nick Kasa, a former Colorado tight end and NFL prospect, went on the radio and said that he was asked, “do you like girls”,  by NFL scouts, I thought, ‘Wow, this is going to be blown way out of proportion’.

I must be a prophet because, shockingly, the question was blown way out of proportion.

USA Today writer Christine Brennan wrote that Kasa’s claim “opens a window into a league that looks to be outdated, close-minded and intolerant-just as the nation is becoming less so by the day,” and Fox Sports writer, Jason Whitlock, wrote that “Goodell…should free the gays” and that he couldn’t think of a more hostile work environment than an NFL locker room.

Pot calling the kettle black.

An NFL scout asks one question, “do you like girls”, and all of a sudden, the entire league is made out to be a close-minded, hostile, straight-men’s club. The media sees one bad apple out of an entire orchard and assumes all of the apples are the same way.

The media and those crying out the NFL are doing nothing more than stereotyping.

Take the Chris Culliver quote; the 49ers player said that a gay player would not be welcome in the locker room. As soon as he said that, everyone assumed that since he said that and he is an NFL player, then everyone in the NFL must be a gay-basher and have a personal vendetta against homosexuals.

Those in the media just assumed that there is rampant homophobia in NFL locker room.  Really? Show me the proof.

There are plenty of examples of NFL players being accepting of the possibility of having a gay teammate.

Guys like Minnesota punter Chris Kluwe, who is a passionate advocate for gay marriage, and Baltimore linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo, who has does everything he can to spread his positive message of acceptance of people who are homosexuals. Even Kluwe said that homophobia is not as strong as people are making it out to be; he appeared on the Dan Patrick Show (great show, listen to the podcasts) and had this to say:

“(Homophobia) is there casually, in some respects; I don’t know if I have ever seen any outright hatred of gay people in the locker room. I think a lot of that has to do with how guys are brought up…from their backgrounds and their childhoods. For a lot of guys, once they’re actually educated and get a chance to talk about the issue they see how, not wrong, but just how dumb (their assumptions are).” – Chris Kluwe, March 1, 2012

Contrary to what all the Chicken Little’s say, if a player is openly gay, the NFL locker room is not going to be a war zone, it’ll just be an uncomfortable setting…at first. Whether you’re gay or straight, the locker room is not a very comfortable place to be in because it takes a while to get used to seeing everyone in their birthday suit.

God forbid that anyone feel uncomfortable, right?

The NFL has a responsibility of supplying a clean and safe work environment. The league has a duty to protect its players from the dangers of playing the game and the dangers of violence (such as violence against each other); but that is as far as the responsibility goes. The NFL is not responsible for making the locker room less awkward or forcing everyone to accept one another; that responsibility falls squarely on the players, which isn’t a tough task to accomplish.

The Question of Sexuality

[Ok, let’s pretend for the sake of this argument that an employer asking about a potential employee’s sexuality was not against the law]

I don’t see a problem with an employer asking about someone’s sexuality. Why not? It’s their business, it’s their franchise, why shouldn’t they be allowed to ask a question like that? The way I see it, NFL teams are investing a lot of money in the players they hire, so why shouldn’t they be allowed to inspect their investment?

Because it’s insulting and offensive.

How so? It’s a question. Asking someone if they are gay or not is as offensive as asking someone if they are straight or not.

I don’t want to tell them my sexuality because they might refuse to hire me if I tell them I am gay.

Then why would you want to play on that team? If they discriminate against homosexuals (which there is no evidence that proves any NFL teams have done), then why would you play for them as a homosexual yourself?

We live in the greatest country in the world because we have the freedom of expression. People are allowed to march, rally and throw parades to express their sexuality freely to thousands of strangers. Yet, if a few potential employers ask about your sexual preference, all of a sudden, that’s wrong?

It’s downright stupid how people just assume that the NFL teams won’t hire an openly gay player and how they assume NFL scouts asked, “do you like girls”, so they could prevent themselves from hiring a gay man. The fact of the matter is, they have no idea why they asked that question. It could have been to get a player’s reaction because they would just like to know; no one knows.

So let’s stop trying to hold the hand of the homosexual community. Let’s stop demonizing anyone with a differing opinion and let’s stop treating spilt milk like a flash flood.

Photo Courtesy of John Loomis

As reported last night, Joe Flacco became the highest paid Quarterback in league history, beating out Drew Brees of the Saints who is currently making ONLY $20 million per season. Flacco and the Ravens agreed to a contract for $120.6 million over the next six seasons. If he wants to keep his name in the elite conversation, then these next six years will need to see at least six more playoff appearances, and at least one more Super Bowl.

Elite status is not gained by the amount of money you get. Instead, the amount of money is gained by having that title affixed to your name. Joe Flacco has proved to be one of the most consistent and enduring quarterbacks since he came into the league five years ago.

He has brought the Ravens to five straight playoff appearances, becoming the only player in NFL history to go to the playoffs and win at least one game in each of his first five seasons. Only once before has he been able to make it past the divisional round, and that was in his rookie season. He also has the most road playoff wins as a quarterback with six. Eli Manning is right behind him with five.

If this years playoffs wasn’t evidence enough as to whether or not Flacco was “elite”, then I don’t know what would be. He was 73-126 passing (57.9%). Threw for 1,140 yards while averaging 9.0 yards per pass. He had a 117.2 passer rating through four games while throwing 11 touchdowns (3 in the Super Bowl) against zero, ZERO, interceptions.

That is unreal. Even the so-called best quarterback’s in the league haven’t had numbers like that. Eli Manning has thrown at least one interception in all but one playoff appearance in his career and thrown over 1,000 yards once (1,219 in 2011). Tom Brady has never thrown more than 878 yards in any playoff appearance while throwing no more than eight touchdowns in any playoff appearance either while throwing zero interceptions only once, also, and that came in 2004 when the Patriots beat the Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX.

So, Joe, you’ve done it. You have proved everyone wrong finally and gotten yourself into the conversation. You have become an elite quarterback by winning the BIG game after five years of waiting. For $120.6 million, I hope that you keep winning. I hope that you don’t let critics be the ones to decide whether or not you’re good enough for the rest of your career.

Written By Colin Ball

Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports