Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 321 of 1503)

      Despite lack of experience, Mattingly to replace Torre as Dodgers’ skipper

      September 17, 2010 /
      Aug. 02, 2010 - Los Angeles, California, United States of America - 2 August 2010: Dodgers hitting coach Don Mattingly (R) talks to Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman James Loney.

      The Los Angeles Times is reporting that Don Mattingly will replace Joe Torre as the Dodgers’ manager for the 2011 MLB season.

      An official announcement will be made Friday before the Dodgers’ game against the Colorado Rockies.

      Mattingly has been the Dodgers hitting coach since the middle of the 2008 season, which was Torre’s first with the team. Before that, they were together with the New York Yankees.

      The Dodgers announced earlier this season that Mattingly, who has never been a manager, would guide a team in the Arizona fall league, fueling speculation he was being prepared to take over the major league club.

      The article reports that Torre may stay with the Dodgers organization in some capacity, although nobody knows at this point what role he would have with the club.

      It’s been long believed that Mattingly would take over for Torre some day, but there has been recent speculation that the Dodgers were considering Tim Wallace for the position. L.A. hasn’t exactly been an offensive juggernaut under Mattingly’s instruction this year and considering he doesn’t have any managerial experience on any level, this could prove to be a bad move in the long run.

      Although hey, he has been learning under Torre for the past couple of years, so maybe “Donny Baseball” will surprise.

      External Sports, MLB

      2010 College Football Week 3 Picks & Predictions

      September 17, 2010 /
      HOUSTON - SEPTEMBER 04: Head coach Mack Brown of the Texas Longhorns looks over the team during warm ups before playing the Rice Owls at Reliant Stadium on September 4, 2010 in Houston, Texas. Texas beat Rice 34-17. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

      I have yet to make any college football predictions for the new year, so what better time to start than now? Here are a couple of picks to fade come Saturday. (It’s not that I’m not confident. I’m just confident that I don’t have a clue what I’m doing – big difference.)

      Ohio at No. 2 Ohio State, 12:00PM ET
      The Buckeyes appear to be a pony that you can back all season. They have a top 5 defense, Terrelle Pryor isn’t turning the ball over like Jake Delhomme on a NFL Sunday and any one of their top three runners (Pryor, Dan Herron, Brandon Saine) could take one to the house at any time. Ohio, meanwhile, beat Wofford and then lost to Toledo 20-13 at home last week. They lack offensive firepower and while their defense can compete against MAC opponents, OSU shouldn’t have any problems lighting up the scoreboard on Saturday. I always fear the backdoor cover in a game like this, but hopefully the Buckeyes score about 80 and it won’t matter.
      THE PICK: OHIO STATE –29.5

      No. 1 Alabama at Duke, 3:30PM ET
      Same thing here as the game above – I fear the backdoor cover (especially with ‘Bama playing on the road), but I’m willing to lay the points in what should be a rout. Duke gave up 27 to Elon (who?) in Week 1 and 54 to Wake Forest last week. Considering Mark Ingram is coming back this Saturday and the Tide will be at full strength offensively, anything less than 50 out of Alabama will be a disappointment. On the other side of the ball, ‘Bama has only allowed six points this season. Penn State needed three and a half quarters just to get on the scoreboard with a field goal last week and by that point, the game was already in the books.
      THE PICK: ALABAMA –23.5

      Arizona State +12.5 at. Wisconsin, 3:30PM ET
      Wisconsin has won 25 straight home games against unranked opponents, but they’re 0-2 against the spread this year, which includes a lackluster 27-14 win over a brutal San Jose State team last weekend. Michigan transfer Steven Threet is now the Sun Devils’ starter and he holds a 1-0 record against the Badgers in his short collegiate career. I don’t see ASU winning this game outright (especially considering they’ve lost six straight to FBS schools), but I’ll take the 12.5 points with thunderstorms expected to hit in Madison by game time.
      THE PICK: ARIZONA STATE +12.5

      No. 6 Texas at Texas Tech +3, 8:00PM ET
      There’s something about Lubbock that doesn’t sit well with Mack Brown. The Longhorns are only 3-3 under Brown at Texas Tech and the last time these two teams met here, Michael Crabtree shocked a then-ranked No. 1 Texas team with a last-second touchdown. The Longhorns didn’t look particularly sharp in their first two games of the season, although both were victories. Tech, meanwhile, staved off a late comeback by SMU in Week 1 and then waxed New Mexico 52-17 last Saturday. There’s just something about Lubbock that gives the Raiders a significant edge in this matchup, which is why I like Tech to win outright (but go ahead and give me the points anyway…you know, so they don’t go to waste).
      THE PICK: TEXAS TECH +3

      College Football, External Sports

      Don’t bank on Vick replacing Kolb as Eagles’ full-time starter

      September 17, 2010 /
      PHILADELPHIA - SEPTEMBER 12: Michael Vick of the Philadelphia Eagles warms up before a game against the Green Bay Packers during the NFL season opener at Lincoln Financial Field on September 12, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

      I’m getting a big kick out of listening to all the chatter going on this week surrounding the Eagles’ starting quarterback job.

      Michael Vick plays like the 2002 version of himself for three quarters and now all of a sudden some are ready to anoint him mayor of Philadelphia.

      Relax.

      First and foremost, keep in mind that part of the reason Vick looked so good last week against the Packers is because Green Bay had game planned for Kolb. While they may have had a plan to defense Vick for the three or four times they should have seen him, they weren’t prepared to stop a mobile quarterback for three-fourths of the game. There’s no question that Vick looked good, but let’s see how he does when a defense has an entire week to game plan for him…

      …what? The Eagles play the Lions this Sunday? (Damn it…should have looked at the schedule before making that point.)

      Back to Kolb: not only did Andy Reid use a second round pick on the former Houston product in 2007, but he also signed off on the trade that sent his quarterback of the last decade (Donovan McNabb) to Washington in order to make way for Kolb to start. So it’s going to take a little more than one quarter of poor play (with a concussion, no less) for Kolb to lose his starting job.

      Even if Vick dazzles again on Sunday, don’t expect Kolb to ride the pine in Week 3 and beyond. When he’s healthy enough to play again, he’ll start. If he looks shaky again, then maybe the fine folks in Philly can start thinking about getting that mayor chair warmed up for Vick.

      External Sports, NFL

      Floyd Mayweather now facing eight charges, with four being felonies

      September 17, 2010 /

      Things continue to get worse for boxer Floyd “Money” Mayweather.

      From ESPN.com:

      Clark County District Attorney David Roger significantly raised the ante in the case alleging that Mayweather hit and threatened the life of his ex-girlfriend, Josie Harris, and threatened to beat two of their children during a pre-dawn argument at the woman’s home a week ago.

      Authorities alleged he took cell phones belonging to Harris and two of their children following the altercation. That felony charge carries a possible sentence of five years.

      The new criminal complaint filed Thursday added two felony coercion and one felony robbery charge along with one misdemeanor domestic battery and three misdemeanor harassment charges.

      Convictions on all eight charges would increase the possible penalty Mayweather could face if convicted of all charges to 34 years.

      Police initially labeled the scuffle with Harris a domestic battery case after she told police Mayweather was angry about her relationship with another man when he confronted her at the Las Vegas home where Harris and the children live.

      Mayweather wanted to evict her from the house, which he owns, Harris said.

      The new charges name the couple’s 10-year-old and 9-year-old sons as victims of coercion, for alleged threats to beat them if they called 911 or left the apartment during the scuffle.

      Under Nevada law, coercion is when a person compels or forces someone to do something they have a legal right to do.

      I obviously wasn’t there, but it sounds like Mayweather said something to the kids in the heat of battle that he didn’t mean. Such as, “If you guys don’t keep quiet I’m going to pull this car off the side of the road and leave all of you on the highway. Then your mother and I will go to Disney World alone.”

      Still though, threatening to actually beat the kids is wrong in any context – especially when daddy is a boxer.

      Forget Manny Pacquiao – Floyd will be lucky to fight a street hobo in the future.

      Boxing, External Sports

      Why is Marshawn Lynch still a Bill?

      September 16, 2010 /
      Aug. 06, 2010 - Pittsford, New York, United States of America - August 6, 2010: Buffalo Bills running back MARSHAWN LYNCH.

      Does anyone else find it interesting that the Bills have three starting running backs on their roster and no starting quarterbacks?

      I get C.J. Spiller’s role – he was the team’s No. 1 draft pick in April that the Bills have high hopes for.

      I get Fred Jackson’s role – he rushed for 1,062 yards last year while averaging 4.5 yards per carry behind an inexperienced offensive line.

      I get Marshawn Lynch’s role – he…

      Actually, I don’t get what Lynch’s role is in Buffalo. Why is he still on the Bills’ roster? Furthermore, why wasn’t he traded a millisecond after Spiller’s name was called in April?

      I’m a little confused as to what Buddy Nix and Chan Gailey’s game plan is here. Having two running backs is the norm now in the NFL. But the No. 3 back on the depth chart is usually a change-of-pace option or a developmental project for down the road. He’s not a former No. 1 pick that has embarrassed the franchise on several occasions by running into trouble with the law and whose trade value is dwindling by the day.

      I could see if Gailey was going to use all three backs in some hybrid triple-option attack. But he called only 17 running plays in the team’s 15-10 loss to the Dolphins last Sunday and I highly doubt we’re going to see much variation off that in the upcoming weeks.

      Why pay Lynch first round money to only carry the ball three times when Jackson has earned the right for more carries (he only received four carries last week) and Spiller is the future? It makes zero sense.

      The Packers just lost Ryan Grant for the season. Nix should pick up the phone and get Ted Thompson on the line immediately. If Thompson is willing to part with a fifth or sixth round pick for Lynch, then the former Cal product should be on a one-way trip to Green Bay tonight.

      If the Packers aren’t interested, then Nix needs to find a team that is. It makes you scratch your head when the Patriots were able to ship Laurence Maroney (another former first round running back) to Denver in exchange for a fourth round pick, while Lynch continues to rot in Buffalo for no reason.

      External Sports, NFL

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