Page 944 of 2956

      The difference between MLB and NFL players when it comes to steroids

      May 19, 2010 /

      When it comes to speaking his mind about the differences between how MLB and NFL players are treated when it comes to steroids, Astros’ first baseman Lance Berkman hits the nail on the head.

      From the Houston Chronicle:

      “I will say that what will be interesting will be the reaction, because generally when that happens to a football player, it’s kind of ho-hum,” Berkman said. “They’ll write a story and he’ll serve his four games and nobody will ever say anything else about it.

      “If that happens to a baseball player, they’d want to strike him from the record book. It’s just a totally, totally different reaction, and I don’t know why that is.”

      Here’s my theory: Football is just more popular than baseball is, so people have a tendency to give NFL players more leniency.

      Fantasy baseball isn’t as popular as fantasy football and the NFL has a clear advantage over MLB when it comes to gambling.

      There are only 16 games in football, so fans live and die on every play. There are 162 games in baseball, so fans could essentially miss an entire week of action and it still might not even matter in the grand scheme of things.

      People love football. They crave it. They want to see their favorite players in uniform and if one of them screws up, all they usually care about is how many games he’ll miss before he’s back on the field. When a baseball player screws up, the games he misses won’t necessarily have a barring on how the team does (look at Manny Ramirez’s suspension last year), so fans are more likely to get their moral handbooks out when passing judgment.

      It’s not fair, but that’s just the way it is.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB, NFL

      Is Alex Smith on the verge of his long awaited breakout season?

      May 19, 2010 /

      In 43 career games, 49ers quarterback Alex Smith has completed just 56.1 percent of his passes for 7,029 yards with 37 touchdowns and 43 inceptions.

      Those numbers aren’t good for any quarterback, nevertheless one that was taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft. But considering this will be the first time in his career that he’ll have the opportunity to work with the same offensive coordinator two years in a row, good things might be on the horizon for the former Utah product.

      Offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye is giving Smith more responsibility this year, including setting alignments and reading defenses out of the shotgun on third downs. That was something that Raye admits Smith wasn’t ready for last season.

      Asked if Smith was prepared to handle that last year, the always honest Raye said, “Not really. He had some idea. Some of it was, ‘I hope I’m right, if not, run to the right.'”

      Bill Walsh used to hate the shotgun because it required the quarterback to take his eyes off the defense for a split second when he got the snap. But if it works for Smith, then it works for Raye and the 49ers. It’s time for the team to trust that the 26-year-old signal caller is ready to take the next step and get San Fran back into the playoffs.

      One of Smith’s teammates, tight end Vernon Davis, also recently applauded the quarterback’s improved leadership skills.

      “He’s talking. He’s vocal. He’s taking control and being that guy you want on your team — a guy who’s going to step up and take charge and handle his responsibilities,” Davis said.

      Outside of shaky performances against the Cardinals (Week 14) and Eagles (Week 15) in back to back weeks late in the year, Smith played very well last season after taking over for Shaun Hill in a Week 7 game against the Texans. It’s early, but things look to be aligning for the sixth-year quarterback.

      I like Smith this year as part of a two-man or three-man committee. In 11 starts, he averaged 214 yards and 1.6 pass TD against 1.1 interceptions per game. He wasn’t brilliant, but he was for the most part solid, and with an offseason to work with Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree, Smith should perform well in good matchups. I’d expect him to finish somewhere in the QB10 to QB17 range, which makes him a prime target for a QBBC.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      2010 NBA Consensus Mock Draft (5/19)

      May 19, 2010 /

      It’s early, but what the hell? The lottery is behind us, so let’s take a stab at our first consensus mock draft. I’ve pulled in the latest mocks from ESPN, DraftExpress, NBADraft.net and SI.com to come up with a consensus of the first 14 picks.

      If a player is picked by two or more sites, they’re the consensus, unless there’s a tie. In that case, I’ll make the pick. The same goes for when there are four different players listed.


      The first three picks seem settled already, though much can change in the next month. Wall-Turner-Favors makes a lot of sense, especially for the teams in question. John Wall seems to be a no-brainer for the Wizards. If they hold onto Arenas, he can play the two. I think they’ll eventually move Agent Zero and build around Wall.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Draft

      It’s wake up time for Hanley Ramirez

      May 19, 2010 /

      I have a new respect for Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez in wake of his decision to bench All-Star Hanley Ramirez. Because Gonzalez has sent a message that most fans wish athletes would receive.

      I didn’t think Ramirez could make himself look any worse than he did after he loafed after a ball that he booted into right field against the D-Back on Monday night. Then he spoke on Tuesday.

      Did you lose respect for Gonzalez?
      Ramirez: A little bit. We got 24 more guys out there, hopefully they can do the same things I do. That are wearing the Marlins uniform. There’s nothing I can say.

      Are you going to apologize to your team for dogging it?
      Ramirez: For what? Do what? We have a lot of people dogging it after ground balls. They never pull guys.

      Profound. You have to appreciate it when a guy doesn’t take responsibility for his own actions and instead shifts the blame to those around him. I guess if some his teammates all decided to rob a bank, Ramirez wouldn’t have a problem following suit. After all, they did it first, right?

      This is what Gonzalez had to say following Ramirez’s interview session with the media yesterday:

      “I think he’s got to take care of some problems,” Gonzalez said when asked when his star might play again. “When he handles that the right way, he’ll be fine. It could be good. I think whatever feelings he has with me or not . . . it’s fine and dandy. We don’t need to get along. But I think he needs to get along with the 24 other guys on his team, and when that happens, we’ll run him back in there. I think if he sets his ego aside, this could be good.”

      Spoken by a man who gets it. There are plenty of professional athletes that need to be reminded that their team comes first and Ramirez is one of them. This isn’t a Gonzalez vs. Ramirez thing – it’s a Ramirez thing. He didn’t only let his manager down – he let his entire team down. And while it’s only one game in the middle of May, every game counts. What if the Marlins finish one game out of the Wild Card race in September? Teams come up a few games short every year of making the playoffs and maybe Ramirez just cost his team one of those opportunities.

      If this were the first time that Ramirez acted up, then maybe everyone would be willing to move on quickly. But even the Red Sox had to discipline him for behavior problems and last year Marlins’ second baseman Dan Uggla called him out for his poor attitude. He’s not 19 anymore – this kind of thing shouldn’t be happening.

      Either way, he’s crossed the wrong person in Gonzalez, because the Marlins’ skipper is all about the team. Ramirez can either get on board with the philosophy or ride the pine. It’s his call.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      ECF Game 2: Celtics take 2-0 lead

      May 19, 2010 /

      Celtics 95, Magic 92

      Well, we can pretty much stick a fork in the Magic. When a team loses the first two games of the series at home, they aren’t coming back. They’re just not. It doesn’t happen. Well, maybe it’s happened once or twice, I don’t know. (Update: Teams that win the first two games on the road have won the series 22 of 25 times, per John Hollinger.) It would take a miracle…or maybe an injury.

      So barring that, the Magic have to be left wondering what happened. They cruised through the first two rounds of the playoffs, winning eight straight games, and ran into a brick wall in the form of the Boston Celtics. The difference in this series is that the C’s are simply a lot better than the Bobcats and Hawks. In fact, I think you could combine the rosters for the Bobcats and Hawks and Boston would still beat them in a seven-game series. That’s how good the Celtics are playing now.

      Ray Allen lit it up in Game 1, but was quiet in Game 2. Paul Pierce picked up the slack, posting 28-5-5. Kevin Garnett (10-9) struggled shooting the ball once again, but there was Rajon Rondo with a timely 25-5-8. Quick — name five point guards that are better than Rondo right now. I bet you can’t.

      Dwight Howard (30-8) played a lot better in Game 2, and even hit his free throws (12-of-17), but the rest of the Magic shot just 19-of-58 (33%) from the field for 62 points. Jameer Nelson (4-of-12), Vince Carter (5-of-15) and Rashard Lewis (2-of-6), who combined to make $42 million this season, shot a collective 11-of-33 from the field. At home.

      I’ll wait until the Magic actually lose the series before I write their offseason piece, but at this point the entire region of Central Florida has to be regretting that Vince Carter move. In the final period, Carter went 2-of-5, turned the ball over once, and missed back-to-back free throws with 0:32 to play that would have cut Boston’s lead to one. Luckily for Otis Smith, Hedo Turkoglu’s play fell off a cliff in Toronto, so it’s not like Smith’s detractors can point to Turk as a no-brainer re-signing.

      As for Boston, what has spearheaded this rejuvenation? To me, it’s a combination of several factors: 1) Rondo is now a Top 5 point guard, so it’s the Big 4 instead of the Big 3, and at least two are showing up every night, 2) Garnett’s knee looks a lot better, 3) they’re playing arguably the best defense in the league, and 4) someone on the bench — Tony Allen, Rasheed Wallace or Glen Davis — seems to show up every game with an unexpected 8-15 points.

      The Celtics are also made up of consummate professionals, so even though they have their ring, they’re going out every night and laying it on the line.

      With the way both teams are playing, there’s a good chance we’re going to see a matchup of the last two Finals winners (Lakers, Celtics) and a rematch of the 2008 Finals.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑