Page 694 of 2957

      Mikey’s MLB power rankings

      September 25, 2010 /

      Things have shifted a lot in MLB since I took a hiatus last weekend. Wow, have they ever shifted. The Rockies have now lost 5 in a row and are fading out of the race. The Phillies have won 11 in a row to take over the top spot. The Rays are ahead of the Yankees now in the AL East and the Twins are as hot as the Phils. The Braves are whopping 7 games back of the Phillies now. Damn, this is getting fun.

      1. Philadelphia Phillies (93-61)—Peaking but maybe too soon. Still, when you have Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels, it’s not really fair. And everyone else is getting healthy now.

      2. Tampa Bay Rays (92-61)—They finally overtake the Yanks, but have company up here. Still, they’ve been consistent all year and they have David Price at the top of their rotation.

      3. Minnesota Twins (92-61)—Even without Justin Morneau, this is a very dangerous team. But are they peaking too soon as well?

      4. New York Yankees (92-62)—When I heard the New York sports talk guys being all gloom and doom after a split with the Rays this past week, I didn’t understand it. But when you look at the remaining schedules of both teams, you get it. A loss to Boston last night probably didn’t do much for Yankees fans’ confidence.

      5. San Francisco Giants (87-67)—Making for one of the most compelling pennant races, because the winner will move on while the loser may not even take the wild card.

      6. San Diego Padres (86-67)—Looking back, that long losing streak came at the right time, and the wrong time, at the same time.

      7. Cincinnati Reds (86-68)—The magic number is 3. I wonder if Brandon Phillips will get a Christmas card from the Cardinals’ organization this year.

      8. Atlanta Braves (86-68)—Now trailing in the wild card race by a half-game. This is another compelling race that shouldn’t have been so compelling, but seriously, how do you hold off the Phils and that pitching staff?

      9. Texas Rangers (85-68)—Magic number is 2, will they be the second team to clinch?

      10. Boston Red Sox (85-68)—I don’t think they’ve officially been eliminated yet, but it’s getting very, very late. And what a shame for a team that really is as talented as most of the teams on this Top 10 list.

      External Sports, MLB

      Dwight Freeney thinks Peter King should do more research

      September 24, 2010 /
      MIAMI GARDENS, FL - FEBRUARY 07: Dwight Freeney #93 of the Indianapolis Colts warms up on the field prior to the start of Super Bowl XLIV between the against the New Orleans Saints on February 7, 2010 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

      Dwight Freeney is a little hacked off at SI.com’s Peter King, who released a “five most fearsome pass rushers for 2010 and beyond” and left Freeney’s name off the list.

      From the Indianapolis Star:

      “When you put Brian Orakpo — and nothing against the guy, he is 24 — but mention him over me, that hurts your credibility as an analyst,” Freeney said. “I know who Peter King is. But to mention (Orakpo) over me? For him not to mention me in the top five, that is an insult.”

      The list included the context, “They’ll chase and drop quarterbacks for the next half decade.” DeMarcus Ware of Dallas was No. 1, Minnesota’s Jared Allen second and Houston’s Mario Williams third.

      Perhaps Freeney got edged out because he’s 30. But it still didn’t sit well with him.

      “So I guess it’s over?” he said, shaking his head.

      Freeney is curious to know who NFL foes would prefer to face, him or Orakpo? “Would you rather see him or would you rather see me?”

      “What he needs to do is ask the people around the league in a poll, all of the offensive coordinators and all of the offensive tackles. Ask them: ‘Give me the top five pass rushers.’ If I’m not mentioned in the top five by almost all of those guys, then I’m wrong.”

      “Tell (King) to do more research and ask around before he publishes that,” Freeney said. “He should be better than that.”

      Ah, is there anything more clichéd then telling a sports writer to do more research? If I had a nickel…

      In fairness to King, most defensive ends suffer a decline by the time they reach 31 and older. So if King’s piece was centered on the next wave of pass-rushers, he has reason to omit Freeney based on trends and history when it comes to the defensive end position.

      That said, if offensive linemen (and quarterbacks for that matter) do think Freeney is in the top 5, then the Colts’ DE has every right to complain about King “not doing his research.” After all, the opinions of offensive linemen and quarterbacks should be the only ones that matter here unless King was doing an opinion piece entitled, “the next generation of pass rushers.”

      In this case, the devil is in the details (of a sports title).

      External Sports

      Who does Joakim Noah think he is?

      September 24, 2010 /

      Alex Kennedy of HOOPSWORLD says that the Bulls offered Noah more than $11 million per year, and he isn’t happy with the offer.

      The contract extension the Chicago Bulls offered Joakim Noah several weeks ago was actually a five-year, $57 million deal. Noah isn’t happy.

      Wow, I think that’s more than fair for a offensively-challenged center who averaged 10.7 points and 11.0 rebounds per game last season. Sure, he’s great defensively and brings a lot of energy, but that’s why the Bulls’ offer is fair. When you start getting into the $12-$14 M per season range, you have to be a complete player. And as good as Noah is, he isn’t a guy that the Bulls can feed in the post and expect him to score.

      Two summers ago, Andrew Bogut signed a five-year deal worth $60 million coming off of a season where he averaged 14/10. This season, he was named to the All-NBA 3rd Team after turning into one of the league’s best defensive centers and one of its few go-to post players. Would you rather have Bogut at $12 million per season or Noah at $11.4 million? Bulls fans might say Noah, but after the season Bogut just turned in, I think most people around the NBA would rather have Bogut (16/10, 2.5 blocks in 2009-10.)

      With a new collective bargaining agreement looming, Noah should lock in his extension now. There’s just too much risk involved with all the uncertainty of next summer.

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Beanie Wells’ injury more serious than Cardinals let on

      September 24, 2010 /
      EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 25: Beanie Wells #26 of the Arizona Cardinals fends off Terrell Thomas #24 of the New York Giants on October 25, 2009 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

      If Ken Whisenhunt were a doctor, I wouldn’t want anything to do with him giving me injury updates on a family member.

      “Good news Mr. Stalter, your mother is going to be just fine. It’s just a bruise.”

      “Oh, thank God Dr. Whisenhunt – that is good news.”

      “Yep, and in about two weeks I’ll inform you that I had to do surgery on her.”

      “Wait, what?”

      “All right, you take care now.”

      According to a report by the Arizona Republic, running back Beanie Wells underwent surgery earlier this month to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee – the same right knee injury that Whisenhunt called a “bruise” three weeks ago. Wells is expected to make his season debut against the Raiders on Sunday, but clearly the knee injury that he suffered in the final preseason game was more serious than originally thought.

      Of course, it’s nothing new for a head coach to mislead the media about a player’s injury status. I’m not sure why Whisenhunt wouldn’t just come out and say that Wells would need minor surgery and that he’d be back in two weeks, but I’m sure he had his reasons.

      That said, it’ll be interesting to see how many carries Wells receives on Sunday and this news certainly changes things for the Cardinals. If he had suffered a bruise like Whisenhunt had earlier claimed, then one could expect Wells would get a fair amount of touches in the offense. But seeing as how he’s only a couple of weeks removed from surgery, chances are Beanie could be limited against the Raiders.

      I’m sure Beanie Wells fantasy owners are feeling real good about now.

      “All right, you take care now.”

      External Sports, NFL

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑