Well 3 weeks into the football season I have to say one of the biggest stories is the successful return again of Brett Favre. Now I have to admit that I was one of the people that was tired of tuning into ESPN everyday and seeing the drama just from this year, I mean I think we all seen it day in and day out from him saying he was retired for good to him negotiating with the Vikings and him actually coming back. Now don’t get me wrong I’ve always been a huge fan of his, to be honest he’s one of my favorite football players of all time and a definite hall of famer whenever he hangs it up whether it’s next year or 3 years from now. I mean let’s talk about his performances through the first 3 games and I’m not going to get into his statistics but the things he’s always done on the field that make him one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the game, I mean you see him running around having fun and throwing blocks, he just seems like he’s having so much fun out on the field. I mean I have to admit he still don’t look right in a Minnesota Vikings uniform seeing he played with the Green Bay Packers for 17 years but with that said I see the Vikings being one of the favorites in the NFC because they have a good defense and arguably the best running back in the league in Adrian Peterson so they have a good chance of making a Super Bowl run and this hinder on Favre’s health seeing he had arm troubles towards the end of the season with the New York Jets. I’ll have more on Brett Favre as the season continues but for now we have to say so far his return for he Vikings have been a success, so I think the NFL have to look out for the Vikings because if Peterson and Favre remain healthy they can make a long run into the playoffs.
NFL Talk
Well we’re 3 weeks into this season and I have to say that the season is off to a crazy start, I mean who knew the defending champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers are 1-2 going into a huge matchup Sunday night against the San Diego Chargers, who have a record of 2-1. Sticking with the AFC side of things with a couple of surprise teams in the New York Jets who are 3-0 with a win over the New England Patriots going into a week 4 showdown with the New Orleans Saints. Another surprise team is the Cincinnati Bengals who go into week 4 have a record of 2-1 after upsetting the Pittsburgh Steelers this past Sunday who also have a victory at the Green Bay Packers. Also in the AFC we have arguably the best team in the AFC the Baltimore Ravens whose offense looks great under 2nd year quarterback Joe Flacco, who have the 3rd ranked offense and the 7th ranked defense have a record of 3-0 who’ll have there biggest test this week when they travel to the 2-1 New England Patriots, as Tom Brady try to get back his rhythm from missing last year with a knee injury. The we have the other undefeated team representing the AFC in the Denver Broncos, which comes as a surprise with all the off-season drama after hiring Josh McDaniel to become the coach and it was rumored that McDaniel tried to trade for Matt Cassel whom he helped coach in New England which angered franchise quarterback Jay Cutler, who get a real test after beating the Bengals, Browns and Raiders when they face the Cowboys Sunday. In the AFC there are 3 winless teams in the Kansas City Chiefs, Cleveland Browns and the Miami Dolphins and the Tennessee Titans, who were division winners last year and they have to deal with losing there quarterback Chad Pennington who hurt his shoulder and is out for the year. Also in the AFC one of the favorites are the undefeated Indianapolis Colts who have the 5th ranked offense and Peyton Manning who so far is in MVP form has passed for 983 yards, 7 touchdowns and a passer rating of 117.7. Then we have in the AFC the Buffalo Bills who are 1-2, who signed Terrell Owens this offseason was held without a reception for the first time in 185 games, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans are also at 1-2. Now onto the NFC where there are 3 undefeated teams one being the New York Giants who boast the 7th ranked offense and 2nd ranked defense going into there game in Kansas City. Next we have the Minnesota Vikings who is still undefeated after the miraculous pass by Brett Favre heading into a Monday night showdown against the team he called his for 17 years in the 2-1 Green Bay Packers, which should be an exciting game and sure to be a talked about game during the week. The we have the last undefeated team in the New Orleans Saints who possess the best offense in the league and the next to the last defense in the league are scoring an average of 40 points a game are headed into a showdown of undefeated teams with the New York Jets. The there are 6 teams in the NFC that have a record of 2-1, one being the San Francisco 49ers who lead the NFC West who hold victories over division rivals Seattle and Arizona, there only loss came Sunday in the last moment against the Vikings, but they may have problems because there leading rusher Frank Gore will miss 3 weeks because of a bad ankle. The Atlanta Falcons who’s coming off a loss to the New England Patriots will have a bye this week then travel to San Francisco on October 11th are led by Matt Ryan who boasts a QB rating of 100.4 and should continue to have a great year after the Falcons acquired future hall of famer tight end Tony Gonzalez from the Kansas City Chiefs. Now in the NFC North we have the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears with a record of 2-1, the Bears who started the year off with a loss to the Green Bay Packers when newly acquired pro bowl quarterback threw 4 interceptions have rebounded to have to good games against the Seahawks and the Steelers. Now in the NFC East the Dallas Cowboys and my favorite team the Philadelphia Eagles have a record of 2-1. The Cowboys who go into week 4 with the 4th ranked offense coming off a huge win on Monday night against the Carolina Panthers, then we have the Philadelphia Eagles, who I don’t know if I mentioned are my favorite team are coming off a win against the Chiefs led by Kevin Kolb, who I must admit is looking good for the future for the Eagles, who have alot of good quarterbacks on the roster including Donovan McNabb who is currently nursing a cracked rib since week 1 against the Panthers, they also have Micheal Vick and Jeff Garcia, the Eagles boast the 8th ranked offense and the 5th ranked defense. There are 4 teams that have a 1-2 record starting with the Washington Redskins who was the team who lost to the Detroit Lions, who happen to go winless last year are also 1-2 this year so far. Then in the NFC West we have 2 teams that are 1-2, one of the teams are the Seattle Seahawks who opened the season with a 28-0 victory over division rival St. Louis Rams then followed by losses to the 49ers and Bears, who they lost quarterback Matt Hasselback to broke ribs against the 49ers. The defending NFC champion Arizona Cardinals are also 1-2 when they opened the season with a lost to the 49ers followed by a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and this week a lost to the Indiananpolis Colts as they go into a bye week before facing the Houston Texans as they try to get back on track and try to make a run like last year. The final 1-2 team in the NFC are the Detroit Lions, yes I said it right the Detroit Lions who won Sunday who actually look good who first 2 losses came against 2 undefeated teams in the Vikings and Saints, who seem to have a bright future with Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson along with Kevin Smith at running back. Well also there are 3 winless teams in the NFC one being the St. Louis Rams whose only bright spot is running back Stephen Jackson, they also have to deal with Marc Bulger who’s injured again looking like another long season and high draft pick for the Rams. The other 2 winless teams come from the NFC South as one of the teams are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as they travel to Washington and Philadelphia the next 2 weeks so they could be 0-5 after the next couple of weeks. Then we have the Carolina Panthers who last year was a favorite to go to the Super Bowl and was expected to be a good team this year are going into the bye week thinking how they can right the ship before Washington visit them on the 11th of October, I think personally they need a quarterback change because Delhomme hasn’t been the same this year after last years playoff game were he threw 5 interceptions. Well that’s it after 3 weeks of football which is sure to be an exciting season so until next time take care.
Opening weekend of College Football
Well this weekend kicked off college weekend which I think I’ve said it before but football is my favorite sport. Well this weekend started out with a few big matches to start the season which the first was the Georgia Bulldogs who came in ranked 13th visiting a team with alot of potential in the Oklahoma State Cowboys, who have one of the best receivers in the country in Dez White, also came in ranked at number 9. Georgia came into the game without Matthew Stafford and Knowshown Moreno who both were high picks in the past NFL draft. Georgia showed promise on the first drive which they drove down the field on the first possession to score a touchdown but they only managed to score only a FG the rest of the game as they were beaten 24-10 where Bryant only had 3 catches but 2 of them were for TDs. The other big game saw 5th ranked Alabama Crimson Tide take on the 7th ranked Virginia Tech Hokies in a great game in the Georgia Dome, which to me it felt like a bowl game between 2 teams with great defenses but Alabama overcame a 98-yard kickoff return, costly turnovers and silly penalties to beat the Hokies 34-24, which the game shouldn’t have been this close seeing the Tide had 498 total yards compared to the Hokies 155 yards, with Saban at the helm I see the Tide correcting those mistakes and could be poised to make another run at the title this year. The only other games that put 2 top 25 teams against each other were 20th ranked BYU Cougars going against the 3rd ranked Oklahoma Sooners who were led by Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford who was knocked out of the game with a briused shoulder which hurt the Sooners who lost the game 14-13 which could see there title hopes gone along with Bradford who’s rumored to be out of action 2 to 4 weeks. Other teams that won was #1 ranked Gators who beat Charleston Southern 62-3. Also there is a big game Monday night between the Florida State Seminoles who’s ranked #18 taking on visiting rival Miami Hurricanes. Here’s some scores from games played on Saturday involved ranked teams.
#2 Texas 59 La. Monroe 20
#4 USC 56 San Jose St. 3
#6 Ohio St. 31 Navy 27
#9 Penn St. 31 Akron 7
#11 LSU 31 Washington 23
#12 California 52 Maryland 13
#14 Boise St. 19 #16 Oregon 8(from Thursday)
#15 Ga. Tech 37 Jacksonville St. 17
#19 Utah 35 Utah St 17
#21 UNC 40 Citadel 6
#22 Iowa 17 Northern Iowa 16
#23 Notre Dame 35 Nevada 0
#24 Nebraska 49 Florida Atlantic 3
#25 Kansas 49 Northern Colorado 3
My thoughts on Ken Griffey Jr.
Well before I begin, let me start by saying that Ken Griffey Jr. is my favorite baseball player of all time, I’ve always thought highly of him and always will. Since baseball is still feeling the effects of the “steroid era” all the attention is focused on everyone who seems to be doing it and it’s some of the biggest names in baseball in the last few years I mean look at the names like Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, I mean I think everyone remembers how they brought so much attention to the game back in 1998. Then we can talk about other names like Roger Clemens, Andy Pettite, Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez, I can name alot more but there is no need. I mean you read the sport magazines, sports section of the newspaper and sports programming that all you here……….well maybe sprinkle in Michael Vick and some guy name Brett Favre who’s making his 10th return to the NFL, but I’ll talk about that later in another post, but back to the subject which is Ken Griffey Jr. who currently has 623 home runs, which ranks him 5th all time behind Bonds, Aaron, Ruth and Mays but since making his debut in 1989 he became a instant fan favorite playing along side his father Ken Griffey Sr. His first 11 seasons with the Mariners were a hall of fame career before leaving for Cincinnati in 2000 because his time in Seattle he hit 398 home runs, had over 1750 hits, selected t0 10 all star games and if that’s not enough he was the best defensive center fielder we’ve seen in a long time collecting 10 gold glove awards. Then we had the years in Cincinnati where his tenure there he was plagued by injuries during most of the time he spent there from 2000 to 2008, but before the trade deadline in 2008 he was traded to the White Sox where it didn’t make much impact because he was aging and on the decline. This season he signed with the Mariners where his career has come full circle in which could be his final year, something he hasn’t decided yet but if he does let me be one the people to say thank you for everything and all the memories because he always had fun playing the game and he was always respected by not his peers but the fans and tome he’s one of the best ever, something he’ll never say because he’s always paying homage to the older generation. Now let’s talk about what could of been because basically he lost about a total of 3 seasons while being injured in Cincinnati, also he’s probably the only player in this era that I would be willing to bet anything that he’s stayed clean and the past few years as he got older his body slowed down also like it used to be before the steroids made its way to the game. But my rant through all of this is that no one ever gives him his props for not only being a good ambassador of the game and role model to kids growing up and let’s add all the charitable work he’s done over the years and continue to do but shows that there are still honest athletes in the world because during his 20 years in professional baseball you never heard of him doing crazy stuff that would not only embarass himself, but his family, team and sports in general, I think as a society we tend to harp on the negative aspects of everything and never focus on what positive things that go on because I’m a follower of Sports Center and pretty much anything on ESPN and they always talk about the negative but they need to have a special or something on him because I know they’ll wait to he retire before giving him his due respect but he needs it now while he’s playing. To close this out I wish I could be one of the people who could attend the final game in Seattle because I know that would be one of those moments that you’ll never forget, so to Ken Griffey Jr, my favorite player of all time I say thank you for all the years of entertainment you provided and can’t wait until you’re elected to the hall of fame.
Excitement about Football Season
College Football
I must admit that out of all the sports I talk about or watch nothing excites me more than football, whether it’s college or the NFL, but if I had to pick one it’s probably the NFL. The start of camp and then the preseason gets me so excited it’s something I can’t describe or really put into words but I know alot of people feel the same about football season. We’ll start in college where Tim Tebow tries to lead the defending champion Florida Gators to another national championship this year and he’s also trying to become the second 2-time winner of the Heisman trophy but he’s has alot of competition not only for the Heisman but for the national championship. Teams like Texas, Oklahoma and USC are strong candidates to compete for a national championship, in Texas you have a great team led by a Heisman finalist from last year in quarterback Colt McCoy from the Big 12 conference, but also you have the returning Heisman winner from the conference in Sam Bradford from the Oklahoma Sooners, who lost to the Florida Gators in the national championship game. Then out west you have the USC Trojans who are a tough team every year even though they’ll have to replace several players who moved on to the NFL including quarterback Mark Sanchez but they also lost 3 of there top players on defense in Clay Matthews Jr, Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga but once again coach Pete Carroll always have had great recruits and still expect them to be in the mix at the end of the year.
NFL
Once again it’s time for football season and this year the Pittsburgh Steelers will have to defend there championship which they won by beating the Arizona Cardinals, no this isn’t a typo I did say the Arizona Cardinals in a great game but we’ll start with the champions conference the AFC, the Pittsburgh Steelers will have there hands full because with the return of Tom Brady the New England Patriots are poised to take back the AFC after going undefeated in the regular season the year before last, there hopes were gone when during week 1 he went down to a season ending knee injury. Another team this year who’s hungry are the Baltimore Ravens whom the Steelers beat in the conference championship, alot of there success will be determined on the play of second year quarterback Joe Flacco because with the Ravens resigning all world linebacker Ray Lewis there defense will be fine like the previous 10 seasons. Another team that could be a contender is the Tennessee Titans but could be hurt on defense with Albert Haynesworth leaving the team to sign with the Washington Redskins for a 100 million dollars………………..once again this isn’t a typo he signed for a 100 million. Another playoff team from last year is the San Diego Chargers who will get a boost with the return of pro bowl Shawne Merriman who was out all last season with an injured knee but the teams success will depend on how effective the future hall of famer running back LaDainian Tomlinson who’s been battling injuries for the last few seasons. Other contenders from the AFC include the Indianapolis Colts who anytime they have Peyton Manning at the helm is a dangerous team but there are alot of questions this team must answer which include a change in the coaching staff and the loss of Marvin Harrison at wide receiver. The other playoff team from the previous year is the Miami Dolphins so the AFC is packed with about 8 teams who are competing for 6 playoff spots. Now onto the NFC, where the champions, Arizona Cardinals yes the Cardinals are hoping for a repeat of the teams most successful season in franchise history are still led by quarterback Kurt Warner and the all pro receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, who is still trying to get the team to give him a contract like the one they gave Fitzgerald. The runner up of the NFC were the Philadelphia Eagles, who not only are my favorites to reach the Super Bowl but they’re my favorite team added a couple of good players through the draft running LeSean McCoy and receiver Jeremy Maclin, the only questions the Eagles have are on defense with the tragic loss of defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, who took a leave and then died from cancer and we loss long time safety Brian Dawkins. Then we have the Carolina Panthers who return basically there entire roster and the only question they face is can Jake Delhomme eliminate all the mistake he’s been known to make because if he can with the running game and Steve Smith at receiver this is a serious contender also. Another team that could be a contender is the New York Giants but with Plaxico Burress not in the picture the offense could struggle even though they resigned running back Brandon Jacobs but we’ll have to wait and see. Another team on the rise is the Atlanta Falcons who added a future Hall of Famer tight end Tony Gonzalez to a great offense which include rookie of the year quarterback Matt Ryan, all pro running back Micheal Turner and pro bowler Roddy White, who is demanding a contract extension, this is the sleeper team from the NFC, but it all depends on if Ryan can continue to play at the level he played at last year. The other playoff team were the Minnesota Vikings who have issues at the quarterback position but as long as running back Adrian Peterson is healthy they always will be a dangerous team but the team need a quarterback desperately since they were unable to lure Brett Favre away from retirement. Other team in the NFC that are sleepers who didn’t make the playoffs last year are the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints and maybe the Chicago Bears.
NBA Offseason News
There are alot of things going on in the NBA even though the season doesn’t start for almost 3 more months the offseason has it’s action which makes your anticipation for the season pretty high, because there are favorites who added pieces to there team to increase there chances at a championship and with that we’ll start with the Cleveland Cavaliers who added one of the best centers in history by trading for Shaquille O’Neal from the Phoenix Suns, who at 37 years old is still producing good numbers but will it be enough to get LeBron the championship he’s looking for, also in the Eastern Conference Orlando Magic, the defending champions from the East added all star forward Vince Carter to bolster there line up which reached the Finals. The Boston Celtics who won the title the previous year who was without one of there leaders in Kevin Garnett for the stretch run and the playoffs because of a knee injury added all star forward Rasheed Wallace and signed Marquis Daniels to try and make another run at the title and the fourth seeded Atlanta Hawks from last year added more scoring by acquiring Jamal Crawford from the Golden State Warriors and in the process resigning Mike Bibby and Zaza Pachulia but as far as the East is concerned my sleeper team is probably the between the Wizards and Raptors, not saying they’ll win the East but they’ll both be dangerous teams. The are other teams that could be dangerous this year which include Miami and Chicago. Now to the Western Conference which is still a very deep conference which is lead by the defending World Champion Los Angeles Lakers who’s led by Kobe Bryant, who I believe are probably the front runners to win the title again by not only resigning versatile power forward Lamar Odom but adding toughness by signing Ron Artest, so I see them hoisting up the trophy again, the Western Conference runner-up, Denver Nuggets should be a better because they’ll have Chauncey Billups for the entire season from training camp so they’ll benefit from that time, the only person they’ve lost was Dahntay Jones who signed with the Pacers, they’ll miss his defensive presence but they resigned Chris “Birdman” Andersen who became one of the most popular players in the league because of his play in the playoffs. The San Antonio Spurs who have won 4 titles since the great Tim Duncan was drafted will most likely be the biggest threat to the Lakers title hopes if they can have a healthy Manu Ginobili who’s had issues with his ankle, also if Duncan and Parker can maintain there performances from previous seasons, but the Spurs added versatile forward in Richard Jefferson and veteran power forward Antonio McDyess. The New Orleans Hornets who always a threat as long as they have Chris Paul running the point but they’ve finally traded Tyson Chandler who they’ve tried to trade last season to the Charlotte Bobcats for Emeka Okafur. In the West there are other good teams that could do damage this year which include Portland, Dallas, and Utah
Baseball’s Trade Deadline and Steroid News
Today’s big news in baseball today is the trade deadline where contenders can add players to improve to make a run for a championship and teams whose not can trade good players in exchange for prospects so they can build for the future or save money in these economic times as we saw Boston add a top player in Victor Martinez from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for 3 players that included pitcher Justin Masterson, the Sox also traded Adam LaRouche to the Atlanta Braves for Casey Kotchman, LaRouche is returning to the Braves for a second time. Also at the deadline the Padres sent all star and former Cy Young winner Jake Peavy, who is currently injured to the Chicago White Sox and the Padres received 4 young pitching prospects. The Detroit Tigers added Jared Washburn from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for 2 pitching prospects, also Toronto sent third basemen Scott Rolen back to the National League to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for 3 players. In other trade news the Nationals sent first basemen Nick Johnson to the Marlins, Minnesota added Orlando Cabrera from the A’s and the Yankees added infielder Jerry Hairston from the Reds. Also in baseball news which is something I think all baseball fans are tired of is that David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez names leaked from the infamous 2003 failed drug test list, which bothers me because Boston is my favorite team and Ortiz and Ramirez are 2 of my favorite players in baseball
