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      Couch Potato Alert: 4/17

      April 17, 2009 /

      John Madden was, um, colorful in the color analyst role on a NFL telecast. His catch phrases were the sound effects from the old Batman television series. After every play, you were guaranteed a “boom” or a “bam” from Madden in his description. He brought fun to the no fun league (NFL), and his name is synonymous in the gaming community for playing video football. And Madden was a maverick in another way; he left on top in two professions. He will be missed.

      The NBA and NHL postseasons start this weekend, and there are a few good baseball games on the tube as well.

      All times ET…

      NBA Playoffs
      Sat, 12:30 PM: Chicago Bulls @ Boston Celtics (ESPN)
      Sat, 3 PM: Detroit Pistons @ Cleveland Cavaliers (ABC)
      Sat, 8 PM: Dallas Mavericks @ San Antonio Spurs (ESPN)
      Sat, 10:30 PM: Houston Rockets @ Portland Trail Blazers (ESPN)
      Sun, 3 PM: Utah Jazz @ Los Angeles Lakers (ABC)
      Sun, 5:30 PM: Philadelphia 76ers @ Orlando Magic (TNT)
      Sun, 8 PM: Miami Heat @ Atlanta Hawks (TNT)
      Sun, 10:30 PM: New Orleans Hornets @ Denver Nuggets (TNT)

      NHL Playoffs
      Fri, 7 PM: Philadelphia Flyers @ Pittsburgh Penguins (Versus)
      Fri, 10 PM: St. Louis Blues @ Vancouver Canucks (Versus)
      Sat, 1 PM: New York Rangers @ Washington Capitals (NBC)
      Sat, 8 PM: Montreal Canadiens @ Boston Bruins (Versus)
      Sun, 3 PM: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Philadelphia Flyers (NBC)
      Sun, 7 PM: Vancouver Canucks @ St. Louis Blues (Versus)
      Sun, 10 PM: Anaheim Ducks @ San Jose Sharks (Versus)

      MLB
      Sat, 3:40 PM: St. Louis Cardinals @ Chicago Cubs (Fox)
      Sun., 1 PM: Cleveland Indians @ New York Yankees (TBS)
      Sun., 8 PM: St. Louis Cardinals @ Chicago Cubs (ESPN)

      Couch Potato Alert, MLB, NBA, NHL, Television

      Ravens interested in Anquan Boldin

      April 17, 2009 /

      mill

      Throw the Ravens into the mix of teams interested in acquiring wideout Anquan Boldin from the Cardinals.

      In a move that could drastically change this year’s NFL draft, the Ravens have expressed interest in acquiring wide receiver Anquan Boldin from the Arizona Cardinals, a league source confirmed Thursday.

      It would likely take a first- and a third-round draft pick to acquire Boldin, who had 89 catches for 1,038 yards and 11 touchdowns last season.

      This is the third time in five years the Ravens have considered trading for a wide receiver. Their trade for Terrell Owens in 2004 was rescinded, and the team failed to complete a deal for Randy Moss in 2005.

      Asked whether the Ravens have contacted the Cardinals about Boldin, general manager Ozzie Newsome said Thursday: “With the draft coming up, I’ve had a chance to talk to eight different teams over the past 48 hours.”

      Boldin, 28, would be attractive to the Ravens because they couldn’t draft a proven receiver like him with the 26th overall pick.

      As the article points out, if the Ravens are determined to take a receiver at No. 26, then giving up a first and a third for Boldin would be wise. Any receiver they take in the first round would need two to three years to develop and even then, they might not be half the player Boldin is right now.

      Giving Joe Flacco a highly productive wide receiver like Boldin would be an outstanding move. But is it more important than filling their defensive (their identity) holes? Remember, Baltimore lost Bart Scott to the Jets in free agency and released cornerbacks Samari Rolle and Chris McAlister. They did sign free agent Domonique Foxworth, but that still leaves a hole at the other cornerback position. Then again, the Ravens would have one of the better offenses in the NFL if they brought in Boldin, so it’ll be interesting to see if they put together a trade package.

      NFL, NFL Draft

      Collinsworth to replace Madden on NBC

      April 17, 2009 /

      Cris Collinsworth will take over for the now retired John Madden in the broadcast booth for Sunday Night Football games.

      Cris CollinsworthCollinsworth had the role before but never got to perform.

      The former Cincinnati Bengals receiver, who got his TV break working NFL games not deemed worthy of airing in much of the USA, had worked his way up to lead analyst on Fox until NBC lured him back to work games on TV’s most-watched night. NBC’s Sunday night games would supplant Monday Night Football as the NFL’s marquee prime-time package.

      Collinsworth sat out the 2005 season to wait for NBC’s 2006 kickoff. When Madden became available, a prospect no network has been known to resist, NBC suggested Collinsworth could still work the games — but doing play-by-play.

      NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol said Thursday that he didn’t want to talk about the analyst who would replace the only announcer to call Super Bowls on all four networks: “I just want to declare this ‘Celebrate John Madden Week.’ ” But then, Collinsworth is used to waiting.

      Collinsworth is pretty solid as an analyst, but he can be hit and miss calling games. He has the tendency to be an obvious-stator, but as he gains more confidence and experience I’m sure he’ll be fine.

      Hey, at least it’s not Bryant Gumbel.

      NFL

      Tribe spoil Yankees’ stadium opener

      April 16, 2009 /

      The New York Yankees built one of the most expensive and state-of-the-art stadiums in Major League Baseball and to celebrate its opening, the Cleveland Indians took a dump all over it.

      Reliever Damaso Marte apparently thought he was pitching a batting practice session, because he was lit up like Jon Daly on a Saturday night. The Tribe tagged Marte for six runs on six hits as Grady Sizemore blasted a grand slam in the seventh inning to break the game wide open. By the time the damage was complete, the Indians had scored nine runs in the inning and eventually cruised to a 10-2 victory.

      The good news is that CC Sabathia didn’t look too bad against his former team, yielding just one run on five hits and striking out four. The bad news is that he walked five batters and Cliff Lee, who had done his best Marte impersonation in his previous two outings, essentially shut down the Yankees’ offense for six innings. (Jorge Posada did hit a solo shot off Lee in the fifth to tie the game at 1-1, but that was all the Bombers could muster until Robinson Cano signed home Melky Cabrera for a meaningless run in the ninth.)

      What was supposed to be a proud day in Yankee history turned out to be a complete disaster. Yankee haters everywhere will enjoy the fact that for at least one day, all the money they spent in the offseason went for nothing but a 10-2 shellacking, compliments of a Cleveland team that has looked brutal so far at the start the season.

      MLB

      Curry to invite 12-year-old leukemia survivor to draft

      April 16, 2009 /

      This is one of the coolest stories I have read in some time:

      Aaron CurryCurry wound up at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., on Monday. In a prearranged meeting set up by his agent and hospital officials, Curry told wide-eyed, 12-year-old Bryson Merriweather that he wanted a tour of the place. The boy had spent the better part of two years there undergoing five rounds of chemotherapy for leukemia, which is now in remission.

      “We were acting like he was just taking me on a regular tour around the hospital,” Curry said. “Toward the end, we ended up outside tossing each other a football, and I just started talking about the draft.

      “He said he had seen it, and I was telling him that I had been invited and if he would join me in this experience. So I said, ‘So come to New York with me and get drafted into the NFL.'”
      So joining Curry’s mother, fiancee and siblings at his draft table on April 25 will be Bryson, the Madison, Ala., boy who is determined to play football again — and get more people to be bone marrow donors.

      “I was showing him around and then he asked me,” Bryson said of Curry’s surprise offer. “And I’ve never been to New York before.”

      While Curry has been fortunate not to have a friend or family member affected by cancer, he was drawn to Bryson’s story when he was directed to the St. Jude hospital through his agent, Andy Ross.

      The article goes on to talk about young Bryson’s battle with cancer, so do yourself a favor and check it out.

      There are plenty of athletes who do good things for their community and it gets overlooked. I think what Aaron Curry is doing for this young man is special and I’ll be rooting for him on Sundays, no matter what team drafts him.

      NFL, NFL Draft

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