Month: October 2010 (Page 8 of 62)

      Winning should be at the forefront for Vikings, not Favre’s streak

      October 27, 2010 /
      MINNEAPOLIS - OCTOBER 17: Quarterback Brett Favre of the Minnesota Vikings looks on during the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Mall of America Field on October 17, 2010 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings defeated the Cowboys 24-21. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

      Brett Favre isn’t ruling himself out for this Sunday’s game against the Patriots, but then again it isn’t his call to make, is it?

      It has gotten to the point that it’s not “if” Lord Favre will play this Sunday and beyond, but “should” he play.

      Brad Childress and the Vikings are in a delicate spot right now. At 2-4, they haven’t started off the season on a positive note but it’s not like they’re out of playoff contention. Far from it, in fact.

      The Packers and Bears are currently atop the division at 4-3 but Green Bay is incredibly beat up and Chicago has too many issues to list. (Okay, I’ll list a few: Bad in-game management by their coaching staff, Jay Cutler’s love affair with the interception, red zone issues offensively and the O-line’s inability to pass protect.)

      But as things currently stand, Minnesota isn’t going anywhere with the way Favre has played to date. He’s completing just 58.1% of his passes and his current touchdown-to-interception ratio is 7:10. He’s been bad when he’s healthy, but he’s been even worse since elbow and now ankle injuries have taken their toll.

      He has two fractures in his left ankle. If it weren’t for his consecutive starts streak, nobody would be talking about whether or not he should play on Sunday. It would be obvious that Tarvaris Jackson would need to start and Brad Childress would be spending his time getting him prepared and not answering questions about Favre.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, NFL

      Nuns to auction off Honus Wagner baseball card

      October 27, 2010 /

      Two Roman Catholic nuns will auction off a Honus Wagner baseball card that could be worth up to $200,000. The brother of a nun who died in 1999 left all of his possessions to the order, which included the Wagner baseball card.

      From SI.com:

      NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 23: A 1909-1911 Honus Wagner baseball card valued at $375,000- $500,000 is seen at a Sotheby's preview of a baseball memorabilia sale titled 'The Babe Comes Home' November 23, 2004 in New York City. The sale will feature important historical baseball relics with items including the bat which Babe Ruth used to hit the first home run in Yankee Stadium. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

      The card is part of the T206 series, produced between 1909 and 1911. About 60 Wagner cards are known to exist.

      A near-mint-condition T206 Wagner card sold in 2007 for $2.8 million, the highest price ever for a baseball card. Muller remains aghast that the 1 1/4-inch-by-2 1/2-inch piece of cardboard could sell for even a fraction of that.

      “It just boggles your mind,” Muller told The Associated Press. “I can’t remember a time when we have received anything like this.”

      The brother of a nun who died in 1999 left all his possessions to the order when he died earlier this year. The man’s lawyer told Muller he had a Honus Wagner card in a safe-deposit box.

      When they opened the box, they found the card, with a typewritten note: “Although damaged, the value of this baseball card should increase exponentially throughout the 21st century!”

      The card was unknown to the sports-memorabilia marketplace because the nuns’ benefactor had owned it since 1936.

      I grew up in a time when baseball cards still held value. My dad used to buy me a Topps baseball set every year for Christmas and now they’re all in storage because nobody buys/trades the damn things anymore.

      It’s good to hear that there are still collectors out there and good for these nuns. This is why you say your prayers at night. (I kid, I kid…)

      External Sports, MLB

      Why not Troy Smith?

      October 27, 2010 /
      HERTFORD, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 27: Troy Smith (L) and David Carr of San Francisco 49ers in a training session at The Grove Hotel on October 27, 2010 in Hertford, England. The San Francisco 49ers will meet the Denver Broncos in the NFL International Series regular-season match at Wembley Stadium on October 31. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

      Mike Singletary has come to the same conclusion that coaches in Houston, Carolina and New York came to before him: that he’s seen enough of David Carr to know that he can’t be counted on as a starter.

      Alex Smith is expected to miss 2-3 weeks with a shoulder injury and while some 49er fans want to see Carr take the snaps this Sunday in London, Singletary has already named Troy Smith the starter.

      Hey, why not?

      Look, Carr is nothing more than a backup and will be nothing more than a backup. The same could be said about Smith, but the former Heisman Trophy winner has one thing Carr doesn’t: upside.

      Smith’s height is a major issue, but his athletic ability makes him intriguing and he has a strong enough arm to make all the throws at this level. Seeing as how he’s been running the scout team offense in practice, it would be wise if offensive coordinator Mike Johnson built his game plan around Frank Gore this week and limited Smith’s throws to screens, roll outs and three-step drops. That said, once Smith gets more comfortable with the offense, there’s no reason to think Johnson can’t expand the playbook.

      There’s an argument to be made that Singletary didn’t give Carr a fair look, but what more does he need to see? What more does anyone need to see out of Carr to know that he can’t run an offense? When the Texans finally released him, everyone thought that with a good offensive line he would turn his career around. But he had a decent O-line in Carolina and he struggled. The Giants, who have had been searching for a backup for Eli Manning before trading for Sage Rosenfels, also didn’t see the need to keep Carr around.

      He is what he is, which is why Smith is worth the risk for the 49ers. Will it ultimately be the right decision by Singletary? Who knows – time will only tell. But at least Smith’s ceiling hasn’t been met, unlike Carr’s.

      External Sports, NFL

      Defensive Team By Waiver Wire (DTBWW): Week 8

      October 27, 2010 /
      ST. LOUIS - OCTOBER 17: Ryan Mathews of the San Diego Chargers is tackled by James Laurinaitis of the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome on October 17, 2010 in St. Louis, Missouri. The Rams beat the Chargers 20-17. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

      The strategy behind DTBWW is that each week you pick up a defense that is playing against a bad offense (preferably at home). And each week you get pretty good numbers out of your DT position.

      Last season, my top pick averaged 9.8 fantasy points per game. My second pick averaged 9.1 and my third pick averaged 7.3. On the whole, DTBWW averaged 9.3 fantasy points per game, which equate to DT5 numbers — all for the price of a few waiver wire pickups. In 2008, my top two picks averaged DT6-type numbers. (Note: To calculate fantasy points, I use this scoring system.)

      Unlike Defensive Team By Committee (DTBC), which is for those owners who prefer low maintenance teams, DTBWW strategy allows fantasy owners to virtually ignore DTs on draft day and focus on picking up an extra RB/WR flier instead.

      To be eligible, defenses have to be available on the waiver wire in at least 40% of ESPN fantasy leagues.

      Let’s see how my Week 7 picks fared:

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

      2010 World Series Prediction Thread: Rangers vs. Giants

      October 27, 2010 /
      The Rawlings Sporting Goods Company has released the official baseball in St. Louis on October 25, 2010 that will be used for the 2010 World Series between the Texas Rangers and the San Francisco Giants when that series begins on October 27, 2010 in San Francisco. UPI/Bill Greenblatt Photo via Newscom

      Full disclosure: I’m a massive San Francisco Giants fan. The first time I sat down to watch a baseball game from start to finish was in 1989 when the Giants played my hometown Cubs in the NLCS. Will “The Thrill” Clark put on a clinic in that series and I was hooked ever since.

      Of course, the A’s went on to sweep the Giants in the Fall Classic that year and I was introduced to the torture that is San Francisco baseball. From “The last pure pennant race” in ‘93, to Edgar Renteria’s base hit in ‘97, to Mark Gardner’s dud in a one-game playoff against the Cubs in ’98, to Bobby Jones’ one-hitter in ’00, to…well, to 2002. I don’t like to mention 2002 outside of how I wish Scott Spiezio grew up playing ping-pong instead of baseball.

      It goes without saying that it’s been a while since the Giants were this good and it’s been even longer since they won a title. People like to talk about the Cubs’ championship drought, but the Indians and Giants are right behind them.

      With that in mind, I won’t play coy: I’m rooting for the Giants. I won’t be objective and damn it, I don’t have to be either. Giants in 7. No, wait – Giants in 4.

      Actually, I see the Rangers taking Game 1 because, well, Cliff Lee doesn’t lose in the postseason. Ever. I see the Giants taking Game 2 with Matt Cain (the most underrated pitcher in baseball) on the hill and then the rest of the series could go either way. If the NLDS/NLCS Game 2 Jonathan Sanchez takes the hill in Game 3, then San Fran could steal the first game in Texas on Saturday night. But if NLCS Game 6 Jonathan Sanchez rears his ugly head, then the Rangers could easily win, 27-1. (That lone run coming on a Cody Ross home run, of course.)

      The Rangers are favored for a reason. They have the better lineup from top to bottom, their pitching staff isn’t as good as the Giants’ but they can certainly hold their own and Lee is unbeatable. They also have that “destiny” thing about covered with this being the first time they’ve ever reached the World Series.

      But the Giants, my Giants, are somewhat playing with house money. Nobody expected them to win the NL West this year and even fewer people thought they’d beat the Phillies in the NLCS. Yet here they are, plugging along without a care in the world and no idea that they’re not supposed to win. Their pitching staff is great, players like Ross are having unprecedented success this postseason and their bullpen (thanks to Brian Wilson, Javier Lopez and Jeremy Affedlt) is nearly unhittable in the later innings. If they can continue to get timely hitting from Buster Posey, Aubrey Huff and Juan Uribe, they’ll have a shot.

      They can win this thing.

      Giants in 7.

      Who are you taking?

      External Sports, MLB

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