Category: External Sports (Page 537 of 821)

Don’t worry Georgia fans, Aaron Murray is going to be a star

COLUMBIA - SEPTEMBER 11: Quarterback Aaron Murray  of the Georgia Bulldogs calls out a play during the game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium on September 11, 2010 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)

Georgia may have suffered a home loss today, and fallen to 0-2 in the SEC, but it looks to me like the Bulldogs are in good hands going forward.

Aaron Murray didn’t light up the scoreboard in the Bulldogs 31-24 loss to Arkansas, but he was solid in leading Georgia back from a 24-10 deficit in the fourth quarter of a big game. He threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Tavarres King midway through the fourth, and led a game-tying drive with about 4 minutes to play.

In the end, Murray was out-dueled by Ryan Mallett, but a lot of older, more experienced quarterbacks are going to suffer the same fate this year. Mallett is, in my mind, the best pro quarterback prospect in college football, so losing to him is nothing to hang your head about.

Georgia fans have to be excited about the fight Murray showed while not just standing in the pocket and making big throws down the field — without arguably the nation’s top receiver, mind you, in A.J. Green — but for also making some tough runs for big first downs, and even a touchdown in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs may go through some growing pains this season, especially while Green continues to serve his suspension. But the future looks bright in Athens, as long as Murray as at the helm.

It wouldn’t be Notre Dame/Michigan State game day without the Valenti rant

Those of you who aren’t from Michigan might not be familiar with Mike Valenti, the, um, energetic co-host of an afternoon sports talk radio show in Detroit.

Valenti is a Michigan State graduate, and after the Spartans blew a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter against Notre Dame in 2006, he went off. A handful of national blogs picked the rant up and posted it. He became semi-famous for it, and it’s still one of the first things people in Michigan think of when they hear Valenti’s name.

He’s actually very good at what he does, and has a ton of knowledge when it comes to college sports and the NBA. But with the Irish and Spartans meeting at night for the first time since the Spartan collapse/Valenti meltdown, I felt it was high time to bring this back. If you haven’t heard it, it’s a masterpiece. If you have, take about 15 minutes and enjoy it all over again.

Part two of the rant is below.

Joe Namath isn’t a big fan of Braylon Edwards’ work

Former New York Jets Hall of Game quarterback Joe Namath shares a laugh prior to the New York Jets vs. Houston Texans football game at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas on September 13, 2009. UPI/Aaron M. Sprecher Photo via Newscom

Based on recent comments he made on 1050 ESPN radio in New York, it sounds like if former Jets legend Joe Namath were starting a football team tomorrow, he’d rather have a steel pipe sticking up out of the ground at receiver than Braylon Edwards.

From Rant Sports:

Then Namath ripped into Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards. “I don’t feel that we have the deep threat, the speed out there at this point, that defensive backs really respect. I really believe that Edwards is a fine receiver…But meantime, I don’t think they’re worried about him running by any defensive backs.” Ouch.

He then went on to say that he didn’t have very good hands. “I’d like to see him catch the ball more consistently”. Well, what is Edwards response going to be for that? He did lead the league in dropped passes in 2008 with 16. So basically Namath is saying that Edwards doesn’t really have elite speed and he can’t consistently catch the ball. Other than that, he’s a fine receiver.

That low rumble you hear in the distance is every fan in Cleveland laughing his or her ass off.

Joe Willie also said during the interview that he felt as though “Hard Knocks” was a distraction to the Jets and maybe he’s right. Or maybe they just need a quarterback who doesn’t think the checkdown is an actual offensive play? Yeah? No? All right…

That said, I love how this team loses to the Ravens on Monday Night Football and now all of a sudden people are trying not to fracture their femur while jumping off the bandwagon. I consider myself an objective fan, but I almost hope the Jets beat the Patriots this weekend so I can watch everyone break their necks trying to get back on the bandwagon.

Stoops, Arizona look for big-time program win

Under the direction of Mike Stoops, Arizona has won some very big games. The Wildcats knocked off a top 10 team three years in a row from 2005-07, with UCLA, California and Oregon all being their victims. This past year, Arizona even knocked off the Pac 10’s Goliath in USC.

But those wins all came late in the season, when Arizona had already piled up a handful of losses. One thing the Wildcats — who seem to perennially be thought of as a sleeper team — have not done, is capitalize on any preseason hype with a big-time early-season win.

They have the chance to do that tonight, though, when they play host to No. 9 Iowa. A win moves the Wildcats to 3-0 and gives them some serious national respect. It would also be a huge victory for the Pac 10, which is trying to assert itself as a top conference, even with a lethargic, and penalized, USC.

Can Stoops and Arizona pull it off? Click through for that prediction, and more from today’s games. Continue reading »

Bucs partly to blame for Aqib Talib’s latest mistake

ATLANTA - DECEMBER 14: Cornerback Aqib Talib #25 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers watches play against the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome on December 14, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia.  (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

If Buccaneers’ cornerback Aqib Talib faces further punishment for attending Tampa Bay’s game against the Browns last Sunday, then the team needs to hold itself partly accountable.

Talib was suspended for violating the league’s personal conduct policy and apparently, the suspension prohibited him from participating in any team activities, which included attending Sunday’s game.

So imagine the NFL’s surprise when it found out that Talib watched the game not from the comforts of his own home, but from his personal suite at Raymond James Stadium. He now faces more punishment, although it’s unclear at this point what that’ll be.

Granted, Talib probably should have known that he couldn’t be at the stadium while he was suspended. But the Bucs are well aware that this kid isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, so I’m wondering why someone with the team didn’t tell him to quietly sneak out the back door when they saw him sitting there watching the game. There surely had to have been someone affiliated with the team that saw Talib and said, “Hey, what a minute…”

Again, Talib doesn’t escape criticism for what can only be described as another dumb decision among multiple dumb decisions that he’s made since arriving to the NFL. But this one is on the Bucs.

« Older posts Newer posts »