Category: External Sports (Page 290 of 821)

      How will Driver’s quad injury affect the Steelers’ coverage units?

      February 4, 2011 /
      Green Bay Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings (L) and wide receiver Donald Driver play with a video camera prior to Media Day for Super Bowl XLV in Arlington, Texas on February 1, 2011. The Pittsburgh Steelers will take on the Green Bay Packers on February 6, 2011. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg

      Donald Driver was added to the Packers’ injury report on Thursday due to a problem with his quad, but Mike McCarthy says he would be shocked if his starting receiver doesn’t play in the Super Bowl.

      I’d also be shocked if Driver doesn’t play, as the injury doesn’t sound serious enough to hold him out. That said, how effective will he be? If he’s being held out of practice (even for precautionary measures), then it stands to reason that he’s not at full strength. Will his injury have an effect on the Packers’ passing game?

      It’ll be interesting to see what coverages Dick LeBeau uses on Sunday. The Steelers run mostly a cover-2 like the Bears, although LeBeau knows that his corners will also have to man-up in certain situations, which may be a problem seeing as how Bryant McFadden is dealing with an abdominal injury.

      With Driver hurt, will LeBeau use Ike Taylor on Greg Jennings and take his chances with McFadden on Driver? Or will he want Taylor to take away Driver and have McFadden cover Jennings with safety help over the top?

      I wouldn’t be surprised to see Pittsburgh go to their nickel or even dime package plenty of times throughout the night. But LeBeau wants to avoid the dime as much as possible because that means Lawrence Timmons, a good cover linebacker, comes off the field in favor of Anthony Madison. That’s an advantage for the Packers, just as it was when the Patriots crushed Pittsburgh 39-26 back in November when the Steelers used a lot of dime.

      Assuming Driver’s injury isn’t a major concern, the Packers must get the Steelers out of their base defense as much as possible. Again, it’s a major advantage to them to face Pittsburgh’s nickel and dime units because it limits what LeBeau can do with his front seven.

      External Sports, NFL

      Yankees have considered adding Kazmir and other lefties, but what about Zito?

      February 4, 2011 /
      San Francisco Giants Barry Zito pitches in the first inning against the San Diego Padres at AT&T Park in San Francisco on October 2, 2010. Zito walked in two runs in the first and took the loss in the 4-2 game. UPI/Terry Schmitt……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

      Ken Rosenthal writes via Twitter that the Yankees have “kicked around” the idea of making trade offers for Scott Kazmir (Angels) and other lefties, such as Joe Saunders (Angels), Gio Gonzalez (A’s), Wade LeBlanc (Padres) and Clayton Richard (Padres).

      One name absent from that list is former AL Cy Young winner Barry Zito. I would have to imagine with the amount of pitching depth that the Giants have that Zito would be available for the right price. (Or any price for that matter.)

      The problem of course is that Zito has three years and $64.5 million left on his contract. The Yankees have that kind of money hanging on toilet paper rollers in their front office bathrooms, but it’s not like Zito is worth that much coin – even to a team like New York, which could use a starter.

      But what if the Giants were willing to pay a portion of Zito’s salary and take very little in return? Would the Yankees be willing to take a risk on him then? It’s telling that the Giants left Zito off of their World Series roster after he choked in the second-to-last regular season game against the Padres (a game in which San Fran needed Zito to pitch well and instead he lasted just three innings), but the Yankees have concerns now that Andy Pettitte has decided to retire. If A.J. Burnett doesn’t round back into form, then the Bombers will have a serious issue on their hands in terms of starting pitching. Zito isn’t Cliff Lee but he’s not Bartolo Colon either.

      Then again, maybe this is a deal that works out way better for the Giants and I’m forcing the issue from the Yankees perspective. San Fran signed Jeff Suppan to a minor league deal and while Zito is arguably better than the former Cardinal, Suppan would be fine as a fifth starter (which is all the Giants would require him to be). If they could free themselves of at least a portion of Zito’s contract, then it doesn’t matter what they get back in a trade. It would be a win for them no matter what.

      The Yankees, on the other hand, would have to pick up some of the tab for a pitcher that has had major confidence issues since arriving in San Francisco. They already have A.J. Burnett on their roster – they don’t need another one.

      But a Zito/Yankees marriage is intriguing nonetheless.

      External Sports, MLB

      Albert Haynesworth has road rage

      February 4, 2011 /

      The Washington Post is reporting that Albert Haynesworth has been charged with simple assault for an incident involving road rage in Virginia on Wednesday morning. He hasn’t be arrested but is planning to turn himself in next week according to the report.

      The episode occurred Wednesday morning, and involved a 38-year-old man driving a 1994 Honda Civic and another driver, allegedly Haynesworth, both driving south on the Fairfax County Parkway, Broderick said. The driver of the Civic reportedly felt that a pickup truck following behind him was tailgating, and issued a “non-verbal hand gesture” to the pickup driver, Broderick said.

      About 9:16 a.m., at the intersection with New Dominion Parkway, near the entrance to Reston Hospital Center, the two vehicles came to a stoplight. Broderick said the driver of the pickup truck emerged from his vehicle, had a brief exchange of words, and then struck the Civic driver.

      She declined to be more specific about the circumstances of the assault.

      The pickup driver then returned to his truck and drove away. Broderick said the Civic driver told police he thought his assailant might be the troubled Redskins player, who was suspended by the team for the final four games of the season for insubordination. Police investigated.

      Come on Haynesworth – get it together man! You’re losing it.

      It’s not like he killed anyone, but this dude is a mess. I believe it was the late, great Christopher George Latore Wallace who once said: Mo money, mo problems. Ever since Haynesworth signed that huge contract with the Redskins two years ago, he’s missed 12 games due to injury or suspension, has feuded publicly with the team and head coach Mike Shanahan, and has now been charged with road rage.

      Given all that has happened to him, the road rage incident is almost laughable. He couldn’t get out of the D.C. area fast enough.

      External Sports, NFL

      Four questions surrounding Super Bowl XLV

      February 4, 2011 /

      This series is brought to you by T.G.I. Fridays®, encouraging you to Rush in and Tackle their new Game Time Menu!

      In our final sponsored post for T.G.I. Friday’s, here are five questions surrounding the Packers and Steelers as they prepare for Super Bowl XLV.

      1. Can the Steelers’ O-line hold up?
      While the team hasn’t officially ruled him out, it appears as though center Maurkice Pouncey won’t play on Sunday. That means Doug Legursky will once again take his place, just as he did in the AFC title game when Pouncey first suffered the high ankle sprain. Legursky could probably start for many teams around the league, but he’s not the same player Pouncey is. He’s not as strong at the point of attack and he isn’t the mauler Pouncey is in the running game. There’s no doubt Legursky will have his hands full against Packers’ NT B.J. Raji, who has had quite the postseason so far. Of course, Legursky might not be the Steelers’ biggest problem along their offensive line. People forget that they’re starting two backup offensive tackles in Flozell Adams and Jonathan Scott, and the latter could have a ton of problems with Clay Matthews. Granted, the Steelers have averaged nearly four touchdowns thus far in the postseason, so clearly they’ve been able to mask their weaknesses. That said, whether or not their O-line can hold up against the Packers’ stout pass-rush is arguably the biggest question surrounding their chances of winning.

      2. Will the Packers be able to slow Mendenhall?
      When Rashard Mendenhall rushed for over 80 yards this season (including in the playoffs), the Steelers were 6-1. The Packers had trouble this year with power rushing attacks. When teams were patient with the running game and kept pounding the edges of Green Bay’s defense, they had a fair amount of success. The Packers yielded 4.5 yards per carry this season, which was among the worst in the NFL in that category. If the Steelers can get Mendenhall going early, they’ll accomplish a couple of things in the process. For starters, they’ll leave Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay’s high-powered passing game on the sidelines. The Steelers will also be able to control the tempo of the game and if Green Bay’s safeties have to come up and play run support, then Pittsburgh could open up the play action pass. The Packers must stop Mendenhall.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, NFL, Super Bowl

      Was McDyess’s tip-in goaltending?

      February 4, 2011 /

      Check out Antonio McDyess’s tip-in at the buzzer to beat the Lakers last night at Staples Center.

      Was it goaltending? Lakers fans think so, but a quick read of the NBA’s goaltending rules leads me to believe that it wasn’t:

      Section I-A Player Shall Not:
      a. Touch the ball or the basket ring when the ball is using the basket ring as its lower base.
      EXCEPTION: If a player near his own basket has his hand legally in contact with the ball, it is not a violation if his contact with the ball continues after the ball enters the cylinder, or if, in such action, he touches the basket.
      b. Touch the ball when it is above the basket ring and within the imaginary cylinder.
      c. For goaltending to occur, the ball, in the judgment of the official, must have a chance to score.

      The view from the side shows that the ball was coming off, but I think it was still in the imaginary cylinder when McDyess’s hand touched it. However, as part “c.” states, if the official did not think it had a chance to score (which it didn’t), then it cannot be goaltending. This appears to supersede the fact that the ball may have been in the cylinder.

      Spurs win.

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Video

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