Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 82 of 1503)

Report: Players to receive 48% of all revenue in new CBA

June 21, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

ESPN.com is reporting that the players will receive 48% of all revenue under the framework of the labor deal currently being discussed at the owners’ meeting in Rosemont, IL.

Here are the proposed details for the new Collective Bargaining Agreement:

• Players get 48 percent of “all revenue,” without extra $1-billion-plus off top that previously had been requested by owners.
• Players’ share will never dip below 46.5 percent, under new formula being negotiated.
• Teams required to spend minimum 90-93 percent of the salary cap.
• Rookie wage scale part of deal but still being “tweaked.”
• 18-game regular season designated only as negotiable item and at no point is mandated in deal.
• New 16-game Thursday night TV package beginning in 2012.
• Owners still will get some expense credits that will allow funding for new stadiums.
• Retirees to benefit from improved health care, pension benefits as revenue projected to double to $18 million by 2016.

I obviously have not been involved in these discussions and I’m not a lawyer. But in this simpleton’s opinion, this looks like a good deal for both sides (based on the information provided above, that is).

Considering the players will lose some of the revenue pie I think it’s safe to say they lost quite a bit of leverage over the past couple of months. But one of the big things that they were fighting for was improved health care and pension benefits for retired players, which is what that last bullet point highlights. And when you take into account that teams will be required to spend a minimum of 90-93% of the salary cap, the players should make out just fine under this new CBA.

Another big thing that the players are definitely against is the 18-game schedule. While that still appears to be an option for down the road, at least it’s not going to hold up the current discussions. It’s one less item that the two sides have to argue over right this second.

It’s nice to see that the framework for the new CBA is in place and the two sides continue to work together to reach common ground. It’s still a fluid situation so let’s not assume anything right now. But hopefully they won’t hit any more snags and the lockout will lift in the upcoming weeks.

External Sports, NFL

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The top 5 Heisman candidates for the 2011 college football season

June 20, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

The 2011 college football season is still a couple of months away but seeing as how we’ve reached the dead days of the sports calendar, I figured it would be okay if we took a look at this year’s Heisman candidates. Below are five players I believe have the best shot at claiming this year’s Heisman hardware.

1. Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
What to Like: Barring injury or a Jake Locker-type senior campaign, Luck could run away with this year’s Heisman. He was runner-up for the award in 2010 and was named the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year. Most pundits believe he’ll be the top signal caller in college football this year and he’s the main reason why Stanford will be rated high in the preseason polls.
What Not to Like: He lost his top two receivers (Doug Baldwin and Ryan Whalen), his head coach (Jim Harbaugh), and his offensive line (which allowed only five sacks last season) is undergoing a reloading phase. Can Luck overcome all that change in one offseason?

2. Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma
What to Like: Jones led the nation in completions last season and put up monstrous numbers in Oklahoma’s pass-happy offense. He completed 65% of his passes while racking up 4,700-plus yards and 38 touchdowns. With WR Ryan Broyles and nearly all five starters on his offensive line returning, Jones shouldn’t miss a beat.
What Not to Like: Losing all-purpose back DeMarco Murray hurts, but the biggest worry with Jones is whether or not he can handle the expectations of Oklahoma being the top-ranked team at the start of the season. All eyes will be on the Sooners every week and just one slip up could cost OU a national title berth and Jones a shot at the Heisman.

3. Marcus Lattimore, RB, South Carolina
What to Like: After rushing for 1,197 yards and 17 touchdowns as a freshman, South Carolina fans can’t wait to see what Lattimore will do for an encore. His performance last year placed him among the nine SEC players who have rushed for at least 1,000 yards as a freshman, which is a list that also includes Georgia’s Herschel Walker and Florida’s Emmitt Smith. With Lattimore set to again be the workhorse in Steve Spurrier’s offense, you can expect big things out of this sophomore in 2011.
What Not to Like: Quarterback Stephen Garcia is one jaywalking charge away from being kicked off the team for good. If Garcia flubs up again or can’t beat out sophomore Connor Shaw for the starting job this summer, then Lattimore might have too much pressure on his shoulders this season. If SC becomes too one-dimensional, Lattimore’s production will likely suffer.

College Football, External Sports

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Chris Johnson to holdout once lockout lifts?

June 19, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

Jim Wyatt of the Nashville Tennessean does not expect Titans running back Chris Johnson to report to training camp without a new contract once the lockout is lifted.

Last year Johnson received what amounted to a $1.5 million raise. The Titans moved money he’d earned in escalators from 2012 to 2010, and added some incentives. When he finally reported for training camp, Johnson – who had $30 million guaranteed in mind — said it wouldn’t happen again. And I believe him.
Indications are Johnson’s not going to budge this time. I’ve heard it from too many sources to think otherwise. And after three straight Pro Bowl seasons and the most yardage of any back in the NFL during that time, it’s not hard to understand why.
Right now, the Titans can’t do anything about his deal. When the lockout is lifted, it’s going to be interesting to see if the Titans will budge this time around, because I don’t get the sense Johnson will.

If Wyatt’s projections turn out to be correct, then the Titans might as well break out a huge pros vs. cons list and make a decision about this situation once and for all. Because they can’t keep doing this dance with Johnson every offseason.

If there were one player to break the bank on, Johnson would be it. He’s far and away the Titans best player and the team will need him when they usher in the Jake Locker era either this season or next. Thirty million is a lot but it’s not like Johnson is in the twilight of his career. He’s 25 and barring injury, he has plenty of productive seasons ahead of him.

On the flip side, no team wants to set a precedent for allowing players to holdout in order to receive a new contract – even if it’s their best player. Plus, what happens the next time Johnson thinks he has outperformed his deal? Will he force the Titans’ hand again? If the team gives in now, what’s stopping Johnson from holding out again down the road if he wants even more? Besides, Johnson still has two years left on his current deal and he just received a $1.5 million raise last season. The Titans aren’t financially obligated to give him anything more than what he previously signed for.

Again, the Titans will eventually have to choose the lesser of two evils and make a decision once and for all. Either give into Johnson, forego the huge distraction that a holdout would cause and reap the benefits of having a happy CJ on the field, or stand firm, don’t award players for holding out and risk not having their best performer on the field come September. No matter how you slice it, Johnson is putting the Titans in a tough spot and I’m glad I’m not the one who has to make any decisions on this issue. But Tennessee will have to settle on something at some point.

As Wyatt points out in his report, this situation could get messy when training camp begins.

External Sports, NFL

Anthony Stalter Chris Johnson Chris Johnson contract Chris Johnson holdout Chris Johnson rumors Tennessee Titans

ESPN releases “Ultimate Team Rankings” – Packers rank first, Bengals dead last

June 17, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

ESPN just released their “Ultimate Team Rankings,” where they rank the 122 professional sports franchises using eight categories: Bang For The Buck, Fan Relations, Ownership, Affordability, Stadium Experience, Players, Coaching and Title Track. (Click on the link above for more details on what these categories mean.)

The Top 10:

1. Green Bay Packers
2. Tampa Bay Lightning
3. New Orleans Saints
4. Los Angeles Angels
5. San Antonio Spurs
6. Oklahoma City Thunder
7. Pittsburgh Steelers
8. Colorado Rockies
9. Memphis Grizzlies
10. Pittsburgh Penguins

The Bottom Five:

118. Minnesota Timberwolves
119. Sacramento Kings
120. Toronto Maple Leafs
121. Washington Redskins
122. Cincinnati Bengals

Check out the full rankings.

I’m not going to dive too deep into these rankings because I think they’re kind of silly. Are they fun to look at? Yeah, but so are pinwheels and I don’t want to break them down either. If you spend enough time, you can find a gripe about any team outside of the Packers. (It’s kind of hard to argue that they’re not the best franchise in sports right now across those eight categories, although somebody probably will – if they haven’t already, that is.)

Take the Bengals for example. You look at the Bengals and there’s a reason why they’re ranked so low. Their ownership sucks, they haven’t won a playoff game in two decades and their quarterback just quit on them. But in the “Affordability” category, they dropped from 80th last year to 114th this year, yet their ticket prices didn’t change. Their coaches dropped from 60th to 114th, which seems excessive even given Brad Bratkowski’s failures as offensive coordinator last year. And their players (which is a category based on effort on the field and liability off it) are 122 out of 122? Once again I’m splitting hairs because they’re ranked No. 121, but how are the Pistons not 122 after they quit on their head coach last year?

You get my point. These rankings are fun and they’re meant to be argued and debated, but I wouldn’t get too invested into the final numbers. I know there’s a lot of number-crunching that goes into some of the categories, but on a whole there’s a lot to be left up to interpretation.

That said, I’ll bite: What teams do you think should be ranked higher or lower? No surprise, I think my SF Giants deserve to be higher. No. 32 seems a tad low for a World Series champion with a beautiful stadium and players that are extremely well liked by fans. San Francisco is an expensive city so the Giants lose a little ground in “Bang For The Buck” and “Affordability,” but I was surprised to see them ranked in the 30s. (Especially considering the Rockies are ranked eighth – eighth!)

External Sports, MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL

Osi Umenyiora: Giants lied to me about contract

June 16, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

It wouldn’t be a NFL offseason if defensive end Osi Umenyiora weren’t upset at the New York Giants.

In a sworn affidavit, Umenyiora plans to tell a federal court in Minnesota that the Giants reneged on a promise to renegotiate his contract. The affidavit will be used in the players’ antitrust suit against the owners.

In this sworn affidavit, Umenyiora says (via ESPN.com): “(GM Jerry) Reese told me that two years from the start of the 2008 league year, if I was currently playing at a high level, we’d either renegotiate my current contract so that it would be equal to that of the top five defensive ends playing or I would be traded to a team that would do that.”

Umenyiora goes on:

“After about an hour of discussing my current contract, as well as the contracts of other defensive ends currently playing in the National Football League, Mr. Reese told me that two years from the start of the 2008 league year, if I was currently playing at a high level, we’d either renegotiate my current contract so that it would be equal to that of the top five defensive ends playing or I would be traded to a team that would do that.
“Before leaving the meeting, I asked Mr. Reese twice if he was absolutely sure that would be the case. He then told me that he was an honest and church-going man and that he would not lie, which I believed to be the case. Under the penalty of perjury these statements are true and accurate.”

It wouldn’t be right for me to comment on whether or not Reese and the Giants screwed Umenyiora out of a new contract because after all – how would I know? I wasn’t in the room, hiding behind the big fake plant in the corner taping the entire conversation. If Umenyiora says Reese is an honest church-going man who lied to him about his contract situation then so be it. Let the courts figure the mess out.

But what I do know is that this isn’t good for the Giants. The last thing they want is for one of their players to question the credibility of the general manager. Umenyiora is essentially calling the general manager a liar, which doesn’t exactly bode well for a team that will try to recruit free agents when the lockout lifts. And considering Umenyiora has an inflated sense of his worth, it’s going to be hard for the Giants to find trade suitors this offseason if they wind up deciding to trade him.

Furthermore, it’s not like Umenyiora has much leverage here. He’s 29, he still has two years remaining on his contract and he just had hip surgery. With 2010 first round pick Jason Pierre-Paul ready to assume a starting position in the next year or two, the Giants aren’t going to oblige and give Umenyiora a new contract – especially not now given all this sworn affidavit hoopla. Umenyiora’s pass rushing ability speaks for itself but he’s a one-dimensional player and one-dimensional players don’t command top-5 money at their positions.

It’s clear that Umenyiora wants a new contract or wants out and quite frankly, he may want both. With that in mind, it may be time for the Giants and Umenyiora to officially part ways.

External Sports, NFL

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Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 82 of 1503)

Report: Players to receive 48% of all revenue in new CBA

The top 5 Heisman candidates for the 2011 college football season

Chris Johnson to holdout once lockout lifts?

ESPN releases “Ultimate Team Rankings” – Packers rank first, Bengals dead last

Osi Umenyiora: Giants lied to me about contract

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