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Braylon Edwards won’t be suspended

According to ESPN New York, Jets’ receiver Braylon Edwards isn’t likely to be suspended in wake of an incident that occurred outside a Cleveland nightclub in which he punched a friend of LeBron James.

It had been widely speculated that Edwards would receive at least a one-game ban for punching a man, an acquaintance of NBA star LeBron James, last October when Edwards was a member of the Cleveland Browns. Instead of a suspension, it’s believed that Edwards will be fined an undisclosed amount by the league.

This is important news for the Jets, who had been bracing for the possibility of being without two receivers for the season opener against the Baltimore Ravens. They already know they won’t have Santonio Holmes, who faces a four-game suspension for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. The Jets were aware of the pending suspension when they acquired Holmes from the Pittsburgh Steelers.

As he showed in regular season games against the Dolphins and Falcons last year, as well as in the AFC Conference Championship against the Colts, Edwards does have the ability to give Mark Sanchez and the Jets a big target in the passing game. But as usual, his hands and concentration continue to be question marks.

The pair of Edwards and Holmes gives the Jets more than enough weapons in their vertical game. But it remains to be seen whether or not they’ll mesh with Sanchez, who must build on his solid performances against the Bengals and Colts in last year’s playoffs if the Jets are going to make a deep run in the postseason again this season.


Photo from fOTOGLIF

No ‘free agency tour’ for LeBron

Per ESPN…

All the elaborate recruiting plans for LeBron James will have to change. James will not go on a recruiting tour, his longtime business manager Maverick Carter told ESPN.com Friday.

Instead, the Cleveland Cavaliers superstar will visit with individual clubs in Northeastern Ohio once the free-agency period begins July 1.

Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com’s Marc Stein that the latest plan calls for the New Jersey Nets — led by new owner Mikhail Prokhorov and minority owner/longtime James pal Jay-Z — to be the first team to meet James face to face. No one from James’ camp, though, would confirm the meeting.

Well, that’s a relief. Anything that can keep this courtship from becoming more of a spectacle is fine by me.

Holding all the talks in Ohio should also speed this process up. Hopefully, LeBron’s camp knocks these meetings out quickly so he doesn’t hold free agency hostage while he makes up his mind.

Really, he should already have his list narrowed to 2-3 teams, but it seems as if he is seriously considering six franchises: the Cavs, Bulls, Knicks, Heat, Nets and Clippers.

Though with the news that the Clippers are down to Vinny Del Negro and Dwyane Casey in their coaching search, I don’t see LeBron coming out West.

Ghana defeats the U.S., 2-1, in extra time

The U.S. once again conceded a goal early, as Kevin-Prince Boateng took advantage of a sluggish American defense in the 5th minute. Slowly but surely, the play of the U.S. improved and after half, the Americans evened the game on Landon Donovan’s penalty kick in the 62nd minute.

With the game tied, 1-1, at the end of regulation, extra time was necessary, and Ghana scored in the 93rd minute when Asamoah Gyan turned a fairly harmless kick forward into the go-ahead goal. The U.S. had several good opportunities over the next 27 minutes of extra time, but were unable to capitalize. The Americans’ World Cup dream is over.

Thierry Henry empathizes with Nicolas Anelka

Thierry Henry, the France striker whose handball against the Republic of Ireland landed his team in the World Cup, says he understands Nicolas Anelka’s situation. Anelka was booted off the French squad after reportedly cursing at coach Raymond Domenech.

From The Irish Times:

“I can tell you, from the experience with my handball, I was all alone and I know what it feels like,” the former France captain said in an interview on French television.

“I would have really liked him to be supported a bit.”

Henry knows what it’s like to receive the cold shoulder. As a result of the handball, Henry noticed the disrespectful way the other players acted toward him.

Having been relegated to the bench for the tournament, the 32-year-old said he had “no credibility” and was made to feel like an isolated and unimportant figure.

“I could have been the big brother (to the younger player) but I no longer am,” France’s all-time record scorer explained.

“I felt cast aside. People no longer spoke to me in the same way as before.

“They used to talk to me more. I was at the centre. When you no longer have any credibility in the squad, it gets to the point when it becomes difficult.”

Soccer is a different beast in other countries. When a player commits something wrong on the field, they can be nationally disgraced. In the U.S., we’d just cover the incident for a day or two and make sure its mentioned on his Wikipedia.

Will the World Cup lead to a baby boom in Germany?

Well, the nation hopes so…

From Yahoo.com:

Kristina Schroeder told Saturday’s Rheinische Post newspaper the 2006 World Cup, when Germany reached the semifinals, boosted the national birthrate and “that is why I as the family minister would be especially happy if Germany wins the championship.”

Germany will face England in its second-round match on Sunday.

The government has long worried about Germany’s declining number of births. In 2009 it fell by 3.6 percent to 651,000—the lowest since World War II.

I have no idea how soccer victories increase fertility rates and libido in a nation, but leave it to Germany to find a correlation.

Also, I have the team going to the finals. If I’m right, talk about reaching a fever pitch, ya know what I’m sayin’? That’s a little soccer humor, on the house.


Photo from fOTOGLIF

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