Monthly Archives: April 2017

Roger Goodell brought brownies to the NFL draft for Annie Apple

Limited Youth Sylvester Williams Jersey Roger Goodell is the ultimate host. WAIT! Before you close the window and immediately hate me, hear me out. Every year he hosts an event where almost everyone boos him, he gives young football players jerseys and bakes brownies for their moms. Well, maybe just one mom.

Now we really cant end the story here because writing something entirely wholesome about Roger Goodell just feels … icky. So here are a couple of zingers, just so I feel better about myself.

Tune in live on Youtube, Facebook or this page to watch it.

The hosts and a collection of special guests will be on the spot to grade picks, assess futures, and … look, the draft is long — were gonna play games. Theyll be broadcasting at 8 p.m. ET, right at the start of the first round, to give up real-time analysis and eat snacks.

Limited Youth Patrick Murray Jersey This years draft promises to be an exciting one, with no real consensus on top picks beside Myles Garrett at No. 1. Will the Texans prove theyve learned nothing from Brock Osweiler by trading up in the draft to overpay for a passer in a weak class of quarterbacks? How many Oreos can you eat in a minute? And is it possible to run a 40 blindfolded while being chased by attack dogs?

When you start in a stance thats efficient for you, you can play with balance and power, and be efficient with your movement. Because offensive linemen are often athletically inferior to defensive linemen, wasted movement is a no-no. When you have wasted movement, your feet will either be too narrow, or too wide. When you make contact, you will be leaning on guys with your hips behind you, which means ZERO power.

Ohio State CB Marshon Lattimore and S Malik Hooker are the Big Ten’s no-doubters

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Basically, right when the American public gets to know one of the biggest stars in college basketball ¡ª who he plays for, what he looks like, the pros and cons of his game ¡ª he¡¯s only got three or four games left to be a college basketball player. That¡¯s an issue for a sport which, like all others, survives in part because people tune in or buy tickets to see its biggest names do what they do.

As is the case more years than not nowadays, zero 2017 first-team All-Americans will be returning to college for another season. Only one member of the second team (Gonzaga¡¯s Nigel Williams-Goss) is still on the fence about his decision, and only one member of the third team (Notre Dame¡¯s Bonzie Colson) has stated definitively that he¡¯s coming back to school.

Ohio State CB Marshon Lattimore and S Malik Hooker are the Big Ten’s no-doubters. Wisconsin OT Ryan Ramcyzk is looking fine, too. Ohio State CB Gareon Conley, Michigan State DT Malik McDowell and Wisconsin OLB T.J. Watt have been late risers. That’s before considering the Michigan duo of DE Taco Charlton and S Jabrill Peppers. Put it all together, and we have confidence in the Big Ten.

Can you believe it’s the 10th birthday of the famous pizza throwing incident? Well it is, and Grant Brisbee gave it the celebration it deserves.
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The Braves played their first game at SunTrust Park on Friday night, and Ender Inciarte pretty much did it all.

This is the most touching story you’ll read all day: Rod Carew’s transplanted heart came from a former Baltimore Ravens player who died too young of a brain aneurysm.

The Knicks are keeping Phil Jackson for some reason

Welcome to the calm before the storm. The 2017 NBA Playoffs begin Saturday at 3 p.m. ET as the defending champ Cavaliers host the Pacers, followed by three more games in rapid succession. We’ll get four more on Easter. But for now, we preview, we predict, we wait.

The Tigers have won four conference titles in 101 football seasons, but 10 years after a 1992 Division II playoff bid, they jumped to I-AA/FCS. They’ve averaged 1.5 wins in the years since. It’s perpetually the country’s most daunting rebuild. (Other SSU sports have had some more highlights, such as the baseball program and the greatly improved men’s basketball program.)

Most historically black colleges have faced resource disadvantages for decades, and though movements like the Celebration Bowl and Grambling State’s renewal are restoring hope on the field, Division I is a high bar for plenty of smaller schools of all kinds.

The Aztecs romped to 9-1 and beat conference foes SJSU, Utah State, Hawaii, and Nevada by a combined 183-32. They fell asleep a bit, with a division title in hand, and lost via last-minute pass at Wyoming, then got creamed by a smoking hot Colorado State.

To their credit, though, they rallied. They went back to Laramie and beat Wyoming in the MWC title game, then dismantled Houston in the Las Vegas Bowl, a mid-major showcase. Houston gained 74 yards in a 10-play scoring drive in the first quarter; beyond that, they gained 180 in 60 plays, and SDSU scored the last 34 as Pumphrey broke (sort of) the all-time FBS rushing record. It was a valedictory moment for the seniors who’d broken SDSU into the Group of Five’s upper echelon. Now we see if it can stay there.
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Markieff Morris banged an alley-oop dunk right over Paul Millsap

Every list should start with Russell Westbrook, so lets begin by analyzing how the Thunder use him.

Kawann Short Youth Jersey A majority of the Thunders offense ends with a Westbrook high pick and roll. Thats what happens when you have Russ and not much else.

To add some variety into the mix, the Thunder tinker with the screening angles on those high screens. Theyre one of the main practitioners of the Spain pick and roll, a staggered double screen that asks the second man to pick off the help defender or pop into open space. But they dont always run those double screens with the same two people. Sometimes, they have both big men do the deed.

John Wall is putting on a show against the Atlanta Hawks, and Markieff Morris is helping provide him the tools to do it. For example, this alley-oop lobbed right over the defense with the shot clock ticking down, that Morris spiked right on Paul Millsaps head.

On the previous possession, the two connected for a bucket, as well. Its also what makes the Wizards dangerous. Washington is the leagues third-most-prolific transition scoring team, behind only the Warriors (duh) and the Jazz (who rarely push the ball). They make nearly 53 percent of their two-pointers and about 44 percent of their three-pointers after a defensive rebound, according to NBAWowy. Their game is to grab the rebound, get it to Wall, and let him go. The threats of him attacking and kicking out to three-point shooters create a devastating pick-your-poison situation.
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(This is why the Wizards defensive decline since the All-Star Break is a concern. It ultimately affects their transition game, too).

Well, at least we think its Markieff — unless the Wizards snuck Marcus into the game.

Harsin had to replace both coordinators last year

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“I mean, I think he’s a decent free throw shooter,” Lue said of James before the Cavs hosted the Indiana Pacers on Monday in Game 2 of their first-round series. “I just think, don’t change. You’re the best player in the world, do what you do, have confidence doing it — that’s it. But he’s either going to miss or make them, but don’t keep changing. So what?”

After shooting a career-low 67.4 percent from the line in the regular season — a significant dip from his 73.1 percent in 2015-16 — James consulted with Korver leading up to the Cavs’ postseason opener.

“Myself and Kyle, we kind have been brainstorming about it, how to get it to be more efficient,” James said Saturday after Game 1. “I mean, honestly, Kyle is probably one of the most efficient guys we have from the free throw line on our team. So I’m a basketball mind, I’m open-minded about trying to figure out ways that can help my efficiency, so it’s a good start.”

Harsin had to replace both coordinators last year, and while his offensive coordinator hire worked out beautifully, his promotion of Andy Avalos to defensive coordinator held the fort. BSU fell three spots in Def. S&P+ but maintained a top-40 level.

Avalos鈥?first defense was a little too much of a bend-don鈥檛-break unit on standard downs, but the Broncos prevented big plays, and when opponents were leveraged into passing downs (which occasionally took too long), the drive ended. BSU ranked ninth in Passing Downs S&P+ despite what was only a decent pass rush.
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Moving hockey to the Summer Olympics wouldn’t be a short-term solution.

Some call the jump to summer “unreasonable,” and that moving a sport played on ice to a season without much of it makes no sense. But, let’s give sports fans credit here. I think they could wrap their minds around it without too much mental gymnastics, especially if it puts professional hockey players back in the Olympics. It’s not that unreasonable to at least try to think out of the box.

Kids Dave Bolland Jersey Moving hockey to the Summer Olympics wouldn’t be a short-term solution. It’d have ramifications for future Olympiads, much like baseball and softball’s removal a few years back then subsequent addition for the 2020 games.

Also, it is by no means a fool-proof solution. Five new sports were approved for the 2020 games in Tokyo, but none would require the overhaul hockey would need. Plus, women’s hockey would likely have to join when their situation couldn’t be better without the NHL in the Winter Olympics.

Saric is in front of his locker after the 76ers’ 106-101 win against the Brooklyn Nets. Two days before, he posts one of his worst games of the season, scoring just nine points on 3-of-15 shooting in Phladelphia’s 13-point loss to the Indiana Pacers.

Kids Brian Boyle Jersey “I had a disappointing game in Indiana for me,” he tells reporters. “ [Here in Brooklyn] I tried to stay more focused on this game. I stayed in my room and I was focused all the time, trying to prepare myself for this game.”

The solitude works. The Croatian forward bounces back for 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting and guides his team to a road win in front of a Brooklyn crowd that boos him every trip to the foul line.

Center Chris Myers can still execute run-game reach blocks like a champ

Sean McVay’s first offseason as a head coach has introduced him to TMZ (which published a story about the house he bought) and made sure to avoid one of his predecessor’s most avoidable mistakes by linking up with one of the franchise’s living legends.

The Geno Smith era could be the next step after Eli Manning decides to call it quits.

“[Smith] has a compact throwing motion, you like his profile, he has a quick release, gets it out of his hand, a ton of arm strength, he’s mobile so it will be interesting,” Giants coach Ben McAdoo said.

Despite what we’ve been conditioned to think, an ACL is still a ridiculously serious injury with career-threatening implications. Despite all the money and production value that’s pumped into public perception about the modern NFL player being a mutant who can self-heal like a superhero by sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber and trusting the steady hand of a celebrity surgeon, an ACL tear still usually requires a two-year total recovery.

The fact that the Redskins have a capable, aw-shucks backup in Kirk Cousins is great in the event of an injury for one game, but having a somewhat capable backup QB has actually created more controversy than it has solved. That’s how stupid this whole mess is: you’d almost rather have Grossman and Beck backing RGIII up for nothing else than just to avoid hearing the opinions of idiots.

Center Chris Myers can still execute run-game reach blocks like a champ, but the rest of the line is struggling to meet the standards of seasons past with right tackle Derek Newton and left guard Wade Smith having significant issues in the run game.
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2017 NFL mock draft: Tampa Bay Buccaneers snag David Njoku

There were times last season when it looked like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were taking the next step as a franchise. They beat the Atlanta Falcons to open the season. They knocked off the Seattle Seahawks in the middle of a five-game winning streak. But the team was held back by two sets of back-to-back losses and a three-game losing streak.

Geneo Grissom Authentic Jersey As close as the Buccaneers are from taking that next big step, they’re still a couple of players away. In the SB Nation NFL writers’ mock draft, Sander Philipse of Bucs Nation finds one of those pieces that could push Tampa Bay.

Eli Harold Authentic Jersey Jones took his sweet time with a decision on the veteran quarterback, and he said at the owners’ meetings last week that the Cowboys would take action on Romo sometime before training camp. If Romo still wanted to play, that flexible timetable would have put him at a distinct disadvantage for settling into a new system and a new team.

Even though the Broncos and Texans need a quarterback, neither team was interested in trading for Romo. His cap hits of $24.7 million this season, $25.2 million next year, and $23.7 million in 2019 are prohibitive. Denver or Houston might have been willing to snatch Romo up if the Cowboys waived him, but that option would leave the Cowboys with $19.6 million in dead money.

Romo is 36 years old, and his recent injury history is a concern. He’s spent the bulk of the last two seasons sidelined by injuries. He broke his collarbone twice in 2015, and last season had a fracture in his back. Those injuries were a factor in his decision to swap the field for a television career.

The booth is much safer, obviously, and that’s where Romo will be next season, whether people believe it or not. Probably.

Saints keep pace with Seahawks atop NFC, Dolphins improve wild card standings

The NFL playoff picture is increasingly coming into focus as the league moves towards the home stretch, and several key winners and losers in Sunday’s Week 11 afternoon slate reshuffled the postseason landscape in both conferences.

Kids Oliver Kylington Jersey Seattle blasted the Vikings for an easy 41-20 win, a victory that gained even more significance when Garrett Hartley booted a game-winning kick to help the Saints keep pace for the NFC lead. New Orleans remains within one game-and-a-half of the Seahawks for a the top seed, and also keeps their lead over the hard-charging Panthers in the NFC South.

UCLA and Washington played twice this season, but Fultz sat out of the second game. In the first one, the Bruins trounced the Huskies in a 107-66 win. Of course, UCLA had a very talented roster this year, while Washington finished with a losing record and failed to make the tournament.

In that game, though, Fultz at least held his own. He scored 25 points on 9-of-19 shooting, with six rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Ball dropped 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting with six rebounds, five assists, and four steals.

Kids Clyde Drexler Jersey The two also faced each other on different teams during the 2017 All-American game. Ball鈥檚 team won out 114-107, with Ball going scoreless but recording 13 assists with only one turnover. Fultz came off the bench for the East team, scoring 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting with six assists and three steals.

We can鈥檛 wait until the first time these two face off against each other as rookies.