Archive for February, 2013

WATERCOOLER CHAT: VICK 12 MILLION, KOBE STANDS UP FOR GAYS, WARRIORS HAVE SLEEVES

FOOTBALL

In the NFL, after a lot of speculation, the Eagles have finally made a decision on their quarterback for the 2013 season.  They have decided to give Michael Vick a one-year deal for $12 million.  Many thought they might move on at the quarterback position, but they did some assessing and realized that Vick was likely better than anybody they could get on the free agent market.  Plus, it’s not the strongest draft class, there is no RG3 or Russell Wilson to run new head coach Chip Kelly’s fast-paced system.  Some thought that Eagels would stick with rookie quarterback Nick Foles, but they’re going with Vick, hoping that Kelly can turn things around with Vick.

BASKETBALL

 

Finally, in the NBA, Kobe Bryant doesn’t usually talk directly to his fans on Twitter, but yesterday he had to interfere with a serious situation.  On Kobe’s twitter feed, one of Kobe’s fans said to another “You’re gay” in an effort to put him down.  Kobe jumped into the discussion, admonishing his fan that saying “You’re gay” in the context of trying to put him down is “Not OK”.  Kobe came under fire 2 years ago when he was caught on camera shouting the ‘F’ word after a controversial call.  He came under fire from Gay Rights organizations, and since then has been an advocate for Gay Rights and not allowing people to use the word “gay” in a negative context.  It was a stand-up move by Kobe.
Elsewhere in the NBA, the Golden State Warriors are set to make uniform history in a week.  There have been new crazy and interesting jerseys all the time in the NBA, but the Warriors have done something different.  They will have new jerseys… with sleeves.  Yep, they have some very short sleeves and look very sleek, plus they are made of a special material that supposedly help them absorb sweat better.  No team in NBA history has ever had jerseys with sleeves, so this could open the door to some very interesting jerseys in years to come.

Share
No comments

WATERCOOLER CHAT: KING FELIX CLOSE TO $175 MILL, LAKESHOW COULDN’T BEAT MIAMI, STAFFING CHANGES IN NFL

BASEBALL

The Seattle Mariners are in negotiations to re-ink Felix Hernandez, their ace and Cy Young award pitcher, to a 7-year deal that would pay “King Felix” $175 million dollars.  It’s one of the most lucrative contracts for a pitcher in baseball history.  However, sources close to the team have said that there may be an issue with Hernandez’s pitching elbow.  When you are set to pay someone that much money, they basically become a product, subject to many rigorous physical tests to ensure that they’re not “damaged”.  There may be a problem with Felix’s elbow and that has put the deal on hold.  Can you imagine being so close to $175 million, but one medical test could void it.  Just a crazy situation.

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, the Lakers are doing their best to try and get into the playoffs.  They are 4 games behind the 8-spot and have been on a very long, 7-game road trip on account of the Grammys being set up in Los Angeles.  The trip didn’t go so badly, as they picked up some much needed wins, but they hoped to cap it off with a win against Miami.  It’s not exactly the easiest thing to come into LeBron’s house and grab a win.  The Lakers were up for a while, but LeBron and Wade were just too much, launching a monster comeback in the 4th quarter to take a huge lead.  With the loss, it’s just getting harder and harder for the Lakeshow to grab the playoff spot.  Miami 107, LA Lakers 97.

FOOTBALL

Finally, in the NFL, some more staffing changes, as one of the famous faces on the Cowboys sideline, Rob Ryan (brother of Jets head coach Rex Ryan) is going to be strolling the sidelines in New Orleans as Saints defensive coordinator.  The Saints defense certainly left a lot to be desired last season, but if they can have a good draft, and get a threatening defense, they would be hard to stop given their super powered offense.  Elsewhere in the NFL, former (disgraced) Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who was behind the Saints bounty program of hurting players for money, also got a job.  He sat out a year on suspension, but the Titans, who are looking to turn things around next season, decided to give him another shot as defensive coordinator.  He may not be the most ethical guy, but he does know defense, and sometimes that’s all the guys controlling the money care about.

Share
No comments

WATERCOOLER CHAT: NATIONAL SIGNING DAY, MOM HIDES ACCEPTANCE LETTER, RELEASE OF SEVERAL GIANTS

FOOTBALL

In college football, it was national signing day, and all eyes were on the #1 recruit Robert Nkemdiche.  He’s been in the headlines the last 6 months it seems with everyone speculating where he was going to play.  And, in the end, he has opted for Ole Miss.  Ole Miss has been at the bottom of the SEC the past few seasons, but they had a fantastic recruiting class this season, headlined by Nkemdiche.  It’s hard to believe they will be dominant like an Alabama or LSU, but they will certainly be much more competitive and possibly pull off an upset now.  Watch out for the Rebels this fall!

In another weird story out of recruiting, highly touted running back Alex Collins had verbally committed to Arkansas, but apparently, Collins’ mom may have confiscated his letter of intent so that he could change his mind at the last minute and go to the University of Miami.  The reason:  His mother doesn’t want Alex to leave home.  Nothing wrong with a mom wanting her son to stay close to home, but confiscating an acceptance letter is just Wrong!
And in the NFL, the New York Giants were looking to cut payroll right away this off-season, and unfortunately that meant the release of several beloved Giants.  Among them, running back Ahmad Bradshaw and defensive tackle Chris Canty.  The Giants are looking to go younger and to the future.  Their rookie running back David Wilson came on strong at the end of last season, and they got good productivity from Bradshaw’s back-up Andre Brown.  However, Tom Coughlin likes to have three running-backs, so they will likely grab one in the draft or via free agency.

Share
No comments

WATERCOOLER CHAT: SUPER BOWL THIRD MOST WATCHED IN HISTORY, FLACCO AT DISNEYLAND, FOSTER SHIFTS TO AUBURN

FOOTBALL

In more Super Bowl news, even though the Ravens won, there is still competition in Super Bowl TV ratings.  That’s right — the game itself is competing against past Super Bowls for viewership.  Unfortunately, the Ravens/49ers match-up is just the third most watched Super Bowl ever.  The reigning champ is still last year’s battle between the Patriots and the Giants.  And in second place, the year prior between the Packers and the Steelers.  The Ravens/49ers game was still watched by 108 million people, but the ultimate gift of the ‘most viewed’ Super Bowl likely fell short when the Ravens were blowing out the 49ers 28-6 and the power went out.  People probably got bored and turned off their TV’s, and never returned.  Still, it’s the third most-watched television event in history, so that’s pretty good (and good for the expensive TV ads airing).

Ravens’ Quarterback Joe Flacco, celebrated his Super Bowl MVP award as all MVPs do… by going to Disney World.  Flacco uttered the “I’m going to Disney World” at the game Sunday night, and Monday stayed true to his promise.  He was the guest of honor in a huge parade thrown at Disney World.  Even though Flacco doesn’t show much emotion, he managed to grin ear to ear on his float.  And, who wouldn’t be smiling in the “Happiest Place on Earth” (according to Disney)  and, oh, yeah, he also just won the biggest football game of his life and was voted MVP.

With the Super Bowl over, and the country still craving more football, the addiction has now shifted to college football recruiting.  That’s right, signing day has become a televised event, when the top recruits in the nation pick which school they will play for.  And in the first major news, it looks like prize linebacker recruit Reuben Foster has selected Alabama… for now that is.  What does that mean?  Well, Foster had committed to Alabama last year, but then shifted over to Auburn for a few months, but now that Auburn has fired coach Gene Chizik, Foster has shifted back over to Alabama.  These recruits carry a lot of power, and even though they don’t get paid, they will certainly ensure that the school makes millions in television revenue.

Share
No comments

WATERCOOLER CHAT: LIGHTS WENT OUT ON SUPER BOWL SUNDAY FOR NAILBITER FINISH

FOOTBALL

The day we’ve all been waiting for was finally here:  Super Bowl Sunday.  It was the much anticipated match-up between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers.  Going into the game, the 49ers were a 4-point favorite, and everybody thought they were going to run away with the game.  However, the Ravens have been huge underdogs in their past two games against the Broncos and the Patriots.  In those match-ups, not only did they cover the spread… they won the game (obviously).  So why did they still get no respect?  Well, it’s basically the fervor that’s behind the Niners.  They’re the cool, young team with swagger, and most people were going for them.

But, as soon as the game started, it was all Ravens.  The Ravens got a touchdown almost immediately, and then found themselves up 14-3 mid way through the second quarter.  If that wasn’t enough, close to the end of the half, Flacco hit Jacoby Jones for a long bomb, who did a fancy spin to get into the end zone.  And what was supposed to be a close game, turned into a 21-6 blowout.

Then, Beyonce came out and did her thing, and we were treated to a brief, greatest hits reunion show with her old group Destiny’s Child.  And they sounded pretty good.  Just a fantastic half time show.  The Ravens got the ball to start the 2nd half, and the Niners needed to do something to stop them and shift the momentum.  They wouldn’t get that, as Jacoby Jones ran back an impressive kickoff to put the Ravens up 28-6.  This thing was a slaughter and everything was going the Ravens way, until… half the lights in the stadium went down.

There was a 40 minute delay in the game, that not only made most Super Bowl parties lethargic, but also the players lethargic — some were seen yawning on the sidelines.  Ravens coach John Harbaugh was furious about this because it was killing all the Ravens momentum.  And boy was he right, because when the lights came back on, it was all 49ers.  They caused fumbles, and got within 5 points in the 3rd quarter alone, setting up a very exciting 4th quarter.

The Niners found themselves with a chance to win — all they needed was about 7 yards in 4 downs, but the sturdy Ravens defense held them from getting into the end zone.  It was a remarkable goal line stand.  And with that, the Ravens were able to hang on and capture the Vince Lombardi Trophy.  At the end of the game, John Harbaugh (Ravens) met his brother Jim Harbaugh (Niners) midfield and said he loved him.  Jim said congratulations, and that was the end of the Harbaugh Bowl.  Ray Lewis played his last game as a Raven, and went out a Super Bowl Champion.

Share
No comments

WATERCOOLER CHAT: SUPER BOWL SUNDAY PREVIEW, EXTREME SPORTS TRAGEDY, GRIZZLIES ROUGH DAY, VAN EXEL TRAGEDY

SUPER BOWL XLVII, SUNDAY PREVIEW:

– Baltimore Raves vs San Francisco 49ers playing on Sunday, February 3rd with kickoff at 6:30 pm.

– Alicia Keys will sing the National Anthem and Beyonce will sing (live not lip synched) during halftime

– New Orleans (and Miami) have hosted the Super Bowl 10 times each–more times than any other city

– Each player on the winning team gets a bonus of $88,000 dollars (losers get $44,000). The 49ers have been in the Super Bowl 5 times before and won each time. The Ravens are 1-0.

– Big story of the game is that the head coaches of both teams are brothers. Jim Harbaugh is the head coach of the Niners and John Harbaugh is the head coach of the Ravens.

 

EXTREME SPORTS

In some sad news out of the extreme sports world, Caleb Moore, an extreme snowmobile rider/jumper/diver/etc has died due to causes from an injury he sustained during a jump. A few days ago, Moore jumped with his snowmobile and tried to do a flip, but lost control and the snowmobile landed on him.  Unfortunately, the injury was too severe and he failed to recover.  This of course is tragic news, but many are saying he died doing what he loved to do best — live on the edge and carefree.  This also begs the question of ‘safety’.  Football may certainly be dangerous, but showing guys on TV flipping with snowmobiles is definitely more dangerous.  The X-GAMES are reviewing their sport and how they want to move forward.

BASKETBALL

And in the NBA, it their debut game without Rudy Gay, the Memphis Grizzlies would have to take on the best team in the league:  The Oklahoma City Thunder.  If they wanted a true test right away of how they would fare without Gay, this was definitely that test.  The Grizzlies have actually had some success against the Thunder, but last night they got absolutely crushed.  Granted, the Grizz didn’t have new additions Tayshaun Prince and Austin Daye, but would it have really mattered?  The Grizzlies may be in for a rough half of the season.  OKC 106, Memphis 89.

Finally, in some more tragic news out of the basketball world, former NBA point-guard Nick Van Exel who played with the Lakers, as well as many other teams has been dealing with some heavy baggage.  His 22-year-old son, Nickey, killed his best friend last year.  They were messing with a shotgun at Van Exel’s home when it accidentally went off and killed his friend.  Nickey Van Exel said he didn’t know the gun was loaded.  To make things worse, Nickey panicked and dumped the body in a river.  It’s just a tragic story all around for the Van Exel family, and many of Van Exel’s ex-teammates have reached out to him to provide support.

Share
No comments

« Previous Page