Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 111 of 1503)

      In regards to expanded playoff, Lincecum doesn’t know where Selig’s “head is at”

      April 25, 2011 /
      San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Tim Lincecum smiles during a news conference before practice for the NLCS MLB baseball series in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 15, 2010. REUTERS/Tim Shaffer (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

      Not everyone is on board with baseball commissioner Bud Selig’s idea of expanding the current playoff format.

      “It doesn’t seem very fair, and personally, I don’t know where his head is at,” said Giants’ ace Tim Lincecum in an interview last week. “Players like it the way it is. It’s dog-eat-dog. People know they need to win 11 games to win the World Series.”

      I for one like the idea of an expanding the current playoff pool, although not if it’s going to be a one-game format like some have suggested. Anything can happen in one game and as Lincecum points out, it’s not fair that a team goes through a 162-game jaunt to make the playoffs, only to be knocked out in one game because its pitcher had an off day. That’s not right.

      But I can’t be alone in the thinking that adding two more teams (one from each league) to the current playoff pool is a bad thing. It’s good for the game for several reasons, none bigger in that it’ll keep fans interested (and stadiums packed) through August because they know their team has a shot at making the postseason. (This is assuming of course that their team isn’t 15 games out of first place.)

      Lincecum isn’t alone in criticizing Selig’s idea, as Yankees’ first baseman Mark Teixeira has sounded off about the news as well.

      From the New York Daily News:

      “For a team like us, I don’t like it,” Mark Teixeira said. “We battle all year long in a very tough division; if you win the division and have to have five or six days off before the start of the playoffs, or you win the wild card and still have to play another one- or three-game series just to get into the playoffs, it doesn’t make much sense.”

      Hey, I get why this would upset the players. They don’t want to have to win more games in order to reach/win the World Series and they don’t want extra days off. They like the current format and want to see it left alone, which I get.

      But from a fan’s perspective, if Selig figures out a way to add two more teams and a new five-game series (not just a one-game series), then I’m all for it. Maybe I’m in the minority though.

      External Sports, MLB

      Panthers’ GM: “This is a quarterback league.”

      April 25, 2011 /
      Auburn Tigers Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Cam Newton warms up for the Tigers game against the Oregon Ducks at the BCS Championship game at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ, January 10,2011. UPI/Art Foxall

      While appearing on FOX Sports Radio with the Charlotte Observer’s Darin Gantt, Panthers’ general manager Marty Hurney suggested that Carolina will take a quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick on Thursday.

      “This is a quarterback league,” Hurney said. “Look at the order of the draft. The ones who have them are picking low, and the ones who don’t are pick high.”

      Hurney went onto say that “this has nothing to do with Jimmy Clausen.” It’s noteworthy that Gantt is convinced that the Panthers will take Cam Newton with the top pick, although that conflicts with Tony Softli’s prediction over the weekend that Carolina will take Alabama DT Marcell Dareus. Softli is a former high-ranking executive with the Panthers, so take his Dareus prediction for what it’s worth.

      Hurney could be setting up a smokescreen with his comments about quarterbacks, although the only benefit there would be if some team were interested in trading up for Newton. If no team is, then there’s really no reason for Hurney to be coy about the Panthers’ draft plans at this point. It’s not like someone is going to sneak up ahead of them seeing as how they hold the first overall pick.

      My gut says Newton and when I release my final mock draft on Thursday, I don’t imagine that you’ll see anyone else’s name written into that top spot.

      External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

      Will the Titans use their first round pick on a quarterback?

      April 25, 2011 /
      Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young throws the football under pressure from Indianapolis Colts defensive ends Dwight Freeney (L) and Robert Mathis (R) during their NFL game in Indianapolis December 6, 2009. REUTERS/Brent Smith (UNITED STATES SPORT FOOTBALL)

      Of all the teams that are currently slated to draft in the top 10 on Thursday, the Tennessee Titans might be the biggest enigma of them all.

      Spend some time scouring the internet for mock drafts and you’ll find that the majority of them have the Titans taking a defensive lineman with the eighth overall pick. There are a handful of draft observers that have the Titans taking Auburn’s Nick Fairley, who remind some of former Tennessee defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth.

      But when you consider the Titans’ list of needs, defensive tackle isn’t among them. Guard is a potential need, as is inside linebacker and cornerback. Outside linebacker is also a bigger need than defensive tackle, and one could make the argument that safety is as well.

      Oh, and the Titans may want to think about doing something at quarterback, which is easily the team’s biggest hole heading into Thursday night.

      Vince Young’s name may still be on the Titans’ roster, but at this point it’s just a formality. Young’s days in Tennessee are numbered, as confirmed by new head coach Mike Munchak over the weekend. Seeing as how Kerry Collins is set to become a free agent once the labor issue is resolved, there’s a ton of uncertainty for the Titans surrounding the most important position on the field.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

      NCAA: Jim Tressel lied to hide violations

      April 25, 2011 /
      Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel pauses while speaking during a news conference in Columbus, Ohio March 8, 2011. REUTERS/Jay LaPrete (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      The NCAA has sent Ohio State a “notice of allegations,” which accuses head coach Jim Tressel of lying to hide violations committed by the players who were suspended in December of 2010 for trading memorabilia for cash and tattoos.

      In the notice, the NCAA says that Tressel “falsely attested” that he reported all knowledge of NCAA violations to the school. Ohio State is now set to go before the NCAA’s committee on infractions on August 12, which could lead to a stiffer punishment for Tressel down the road.

      On March 8 of this year, Ohio State suspended Tressel for the first two games of the 2011 season and fined him $250,000 for failing to notify the school of the NCAA violations. But he requested that OSU AD Gene Smith extend his two-game suspension to five games, so that it coincided with the punishment levied to his players.

      When you get right down to it, there really isn’t anything new here. Tressel already admitted that he lied, which is why the school suspended him. But the NCAA obviously has to conduct its own investigation, so the real story is whether or not Tressel will face further punishment. OSU has already made it clear that it’s standing by its head coach, so I wouldn’t expect Tressel to be fired regardless of the NCAA’s findings. But whether or not he could miss even more than five games next season is up for debate.

      College Football, External Sports

      Dolphins “worried” about Marshall’s future, but won’t break ties with WR

      April 25, 2011 /
      Miami Dolphins’ Brandon Marshall (R) lets the ball slip from his hand for an incomplete pass as Tennessee Titans’ Cortland Finnegan defends during the third quarter of their NFL football game in Miami, Florida November 14, 2010. REUTERS/Hans Deryk (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      According to a report by the Miami Herald, the Dolphins are wary of Brandon Marshall’s ongoing off-field issues and are “worried about his future,” but not to the point of releasing him.

      The Dolphins have to weigh Marshall’s long-term viability with the team because his history suggests trouble is coming again even if that trouble casts Marshall as a victim or a major player in the drama, as he was in the shooting death of former Denver teammate Darrent Williams.

      The Dolphins, at this time, have no intention to break ties with Marshall, a source said Saturday. Miami reportedly has the option to break away from Marshall by not paying a $3 million option bonus that guarantees the player’s salary through 2012.

      Not paying that bonus would let Marshall walk after only one season in Miami.

      But the Dolphins today, right now, have no intention of releasing Marshall in that fashion. They will continue to gather facts about the latest incident and make plans based on those facts with the idea of keeping Marshall.

      Yes, the team’s direction on the matter can change. But right now, the plan, written in sand rather than concrete, is to keep Marshall.

      I wouldn’t expect that the Dolphins would release him after something like this. They knew what they were getting when they forked over two second round picks to acquire him from Denver, and then a $47.5 million contract. They knew of his past transgressions, including the fact that he had seven reported domestic violence incidents with his ex-girlfriend, and the fact that they weren’t acquiring a model citizen.

      Marshall is trying to create a better image for himself, but this latest incident certainly won’t help. The elephant in the room is whether or not he provoked his wife to stab him. She claims she acted in self-defense, which isn’t shocking considering he has a history of allegedly putting his hands on women. (He claims he never laid a hand on his ex, but the police reports that she’s filed suggest otherwise.)

      If Marshall’s wife did stab him because she was concerned for her life, then he and the Dolphins have a big problem here. I doubt he’ll be released either way, but now Miami feels the burden that Denver once did.

      External Sports, NFL

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