Monthly Archives: May 2017

Minnesota Vikings

Brock Osweiler disaster a lesson for all NFL teams, not just Texans

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Bruce Irvin Womens Jersey A year ago, Brock Osweiler was in high demand during NFL free agency despite only seven career starts. The quarterback rejected a starting position with the Super Bowl-champion Broncos to sign a four-year, $72 million contract ($37 million guaranteed) with the Texans.

What a difference a year makes for the NFL’s Underachiever of the Year.
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A total of 119 players have been elected by the BBWAA and the other 195 Hall of Famers were elected through various veterans-type committees. Of those 195, 35 are executives, 23 are managers and 10 are umpires, which means 127 players have been elected through secondary means. Lots of smart baseball people will try and convince you that matters.

I wanted to know what the Hall of Fame thought about all this, so I emailed Jon Shestakofsky, the Vice President of Communications and Education at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. This is what I asked him: Does the Hall of Fame acknowledge any difference between players elected by the BBWAA and players elected through any of the other various committees? If so, how is that acknowledged? And, if not, why isn’t it acknowledged?

Shestakofsky’s response: Each of the 314 plaques in Cooperstown represent members of the same elite fraternity — the National Baseball Hall of Fame. From Induction Ceremonies to how the plaques read and are displayed, those elected via the BBWAA ballot or any other committees receive the same treatment once they are selected. In short, all Hall of Famers are created equal.

Minnesota Vikings

NFL free agency: Jaguars make big moves to bolster defense

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The Jaguars had over $73 million in available salary cap space and they’re not letting it go to waste.

Limited Mens Will Fuller Jersey Jacksonville was one of the more aggressive teams as NFL free agency began, landing two of the biggest defensive prizes.

The Jaguars signed defensive lineman Calais Campbell from the Cardinals with a four-year contract worth $60 million and former Texans cornerback A.J. Bouye to a five-year, $67.5 million contract with $26 million guaranteed. They also inked safety Barry Church to a four-year deal worth $26 million.

Adding Campbell gives the Jaguars an impressive defensive front, on paper. He joined a group that already includes Abry Jones, Dante Fowler Jr., and Malik Jackson, who was the big free-agent acquisition last year when the Jaguars signed him away from the Broncos. The Jaguars also expect big things from defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, who had eight sacks last year after getting selected in the third round of last year’s draft.

Jacksonville could also re-sign defensive lineman Tyson Alualu, the team’s first-round pick in 2010, for added depth after releasing defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks.

McCown actually deserves congratulations and praise for continuing to find work. He’s not signing himself, after all. The Jets did this willingly. The other quarterbacks they considered (and apparently not considered) are no secret.
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Their track record on this happens to be epically bad. Remember, it was a year ago that they knew the final piece of their playoff puzzle was Fitzpatrick, and they waited him out the entire offseason and ended up handing him $12 million, then watched him become the exact Ryan Fitzpatrick the rest of the league knew he would become.

Seattle Seahawks

Lions’ do-it-all Hall of Famer Yale Lary dies at 86

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Few players in NFL history were as effectively versatile as Yale Lary, the Pro Football Hall of Famer and Detroit Lions legend who died Friday at age 86.

Over the course of an 11-season career, Lary helped the Lions win three of their four all-time NFL championships while serving as a defensive back, punter and return man. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1979.

Lary recorded 50 interceptions in his career, picking off at least two passes every year from 1952-64 — except for the 1954 and 1955 seasons, which he missed while serving in the U.S. Army.

He took two of those picks back for touchdowns and also scored three career touchdowns on punt returns, serving as the Lions’ primary returner for six seasons.

When he wasn’t bringing back punts, he was delivering them, averaging 44.3 yards over his career and three times leading the NFL in yards per punt.

Team owner Jerry Jones was quick to shoot down the trade rumors on Friday, saying the report did not come from anyone inside the organization and that Scandrick is a big part of the team’s plans.

Jerry Jones on Orlando Scandrick: “He did not hear that from anybody associated with the Cowboys. We have no intention at all.”

Dallas took Michigan defensive end Taco Charlton in the first round, then picked up a pair of corners in Colorado’s Chidobe Awuzie and Michigan’s Jourdan Lewis on Friday.

Scandrick, 30, is by far the most experienced corner on the team, as Awuzie, Lewis and 2016 sixth-rounder Anthony Brown have a year of experience or less. It wouldn’t seem wise to trade Scandrick now but rather wait before the final year of his contract when the team can get out of the deal for just $1.6 million in dead money while creating $4 million in cap space, according to CBS Sports.nike_chargers_221

Minnesota Vikings

it feels like we’ve been waiting forever for this slugger

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DeMoss’ page on Baseball-Reference.com doesn’t make him out to be among the greatest second basemen in Negro League history, with him showing for just a .227/.301/.278 slash line. The thing to remember about Negro League statistics — they’re spotty at best, with some teams refusing to keep stats because of the cost. A 1952 Pittsburgh Courier poll listed DeMoss as the second-best Negro League second baseman behind Jackie Robinson.
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Limited Youth Melvin Gordon Jersey Like many Negro Leaguers, Lundy had an epic career spanning 22 years from 1916 through 1937. It was a superb one, too, with legendary New York Giants manager John McGraw labeling Lundy the best shortstop in baseball aside from Honus Wagner, according to Lundy’s candidate profile in 2006.

Yes, it feels like we’ve been waiting forever for this slugger — he has two seasons of at least 40 homers in the minors — to make his mark in the big leagues, and this just might be his sink-or-swim season. He’ll get an opportunity to earn at-bats in the majors in 2017, at either first base or designated hitter, but he has to show a better ability to make contact. In 25 at-bats with the Rangers last year, he struck out 19 times.

No single batter will replace Ortiz in the lineup but the Nos. 5-7 spots in the lineup could prove to be the difference-makers.

We know what the top four batters are capable of, but Moreland, Pablo Sandoval and Andrew Benintendi need to take a step forward for the Red Sox to win the pennant. Sandoval has actually lost weight and says he is motivated to win the third-base job while Benintendi has to improve against left-handed pitchers in order to earn the everyday left-field spot.

Minnesota Vikings

Orioles’ Adam Jones: Boston has long history of racial incidents

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Major League Baseball, the city of Boston, and the Red Sox organization have each addressed Monday’s incident at Fenway Park where fans in attendance taunted Orioles outfielder Adam Jones with racial epithets.

Tuesday it was Jones’ turn to react to the fallout from the event, which he said was nothing new for the city of Boston.

I’m not going to say all Boston fans are like this. That would be very stupid for me to even mention something like that, Jones said in a media scrum at Fenway Park before Tuesday’s game.

One day Meau stepped into the left batter’s box at Bluefield’s Bowen Field and took a robust swing. He connected and sent a ball soaring to deep right field. Fans pointed as the ball approached the hanging tire. Meau’s teammates erupted with excitement when the ball sailed through the middle of the tire.
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He got a hundred dollars for doing it, said Al’s son Ed, who heard the story countless times from his dad. He used the money to pay for his rent down in Bluefield and sent some of the money back home to my mother to help pay their bills.

Meau became a fan favorite in Bluefield. The local businessmen in Bluefield treated him like gold. In the local diner, breakfast, lunch or dinner, they were always trying to pick up his tab. They loved him, Ed Meau said.

Picturesque Bowen Field is still in use, hosting the Rookie-level Bluefield Blue Jays.

Meau passed away in 2001 but his rubber round tripper lives on. It was the only homer of his career.

Tim Hagerty is the broadcaster for the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas, and is on Twitter at @MinorsTeamNames. He is also the author of Root for the Home Team: Minor League Baseball’s Most Off-the-Wall Team Names.

Minnesota Vikings

NFL Draft 2017: Tarik Cohen, aka ‘The Human Joystick,’ can thank technology for stock rise

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Cohen readily admits as much as next week’s NFL draft approaches.

I say the same all thing all the time – I really contribute my popularity to technology, Cohen told cohost Gil Brandt and me recently on SiriusXM NFL Radio.

Victor Cruz Jersey Online video packages for college and NFL hopefuls are nothing new. Cohen himself had a presentation made while in high school hoping to attract the attention of a major college program.

The question raised then was: When the time came for Elliott’s second contract, would the Cowboys be willing to pay big to keep him? They had not been for DeMarco Murray after his career year, at age 27.

Bell is 25, can hardly do more than he already has to prove his worth to the Steelers … and is on the franchise tag this year while they figure out how much to pay him.

If they do, that is.

Elsewhere this offseason, Peterson, Lynch (who, to be fair, is coming off a year off), Charles, Lacy and Latavious Murray all have settled for contracts in the $3 million range.

Peterson is the graybeard of the group at 32. Lacy, however, is 26. Charles is 30. Factor in injuries, of course; they can never be discounted. But when the NFL decides running backs are borderline useless, virtually interchangeable and a cheap market grab, no number of MVPs, AllPro selections or thrilling highlights can change that.

Minnesota Vikings

The Bears inhaled it.

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The 49ers threw around similar speculation in the final week and a half before the draft. John Lynch is one of the few general managers in the NFL on the job for less time than Pace has been — Pace is entering his third season with the Bears, Lynch his first with the 49ers after a brief post-player broadcasting career.

Game Youth Jim Brown Jersey Lynch dangled it out there that, hey, we might take a quarterback. He hoped someone would bite.

The Bears inhaled it.

The 49ers might go find a quarterback in this draft, or they might do as everybody has suspected ever since Kyle Shanahan became the head coach: wait out Kirk Cousins’ franchise-tag year in Washington, then grab him for 2018. But they’re not reaching in 2017. They took the potential monster defensive end who plays up the street, Solomon Thomas. At third, he was not a reach. At second, he would not have been a reach, either.

No, Bortles has not played particularly well through his first three seasons since he was drafted third overall in 2014 — 11-34 record as starter, 69-51 TD-INT ratio, average QB rating of 79.6. But the Jaguars are holding out hope that 2017, with additional help via free agency and last week’s NFL Draft, could substantiate Bortles’ high selection and status as their hopeful franchise QB.

Jacksonville does not necessarily commit to Bortles beyond 2017 when it picks up his option for ’18. His salary is only guaranteed in the event of a serious injury and otherwise remains declinable after the 2017 season.

Elite Mens Todd Gurley Jersey Jaguars QB Blake Bortles’ 2018 option number: $19.053 million. It’s guaranteed for injury only now, becomes fully guaranteed in March 2018.

Minnesota Vikings

Watch: Mother’s Day rolls in early for Leonard Fournette’s mom

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Alberto Riveron is assuming the NFL’s second-hardest job behind that of commissioner Roger Goodell.

So says the man who once held Riveron’s position — former officiating czar Mike Pereira.

Speaking with co-host Mark Dominik and me on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Pereira detailed the responsibilities Riveron will inherit in replacing the departed Dean Blandino as the league’s senior vice president of officiating.

Pereira, who is now a FOX Sports rules analyst, also addressed the NFL naming two other officiating executives in Wayne Mackie (vice president of officiating evaluation/development) and Russell Yark (instant replay/administration), as well as the league moving toward full-time officials and the on-field changes that will come in handling end-zone celebration penalties.

What is Alberto Riveron going to bring to the table in his new role?

Mother’s Day is still more than a week away, but Jaguars draftee Leonard Fournette couldn’t resist dropping some of his first-round money on his mom.

The former LSU running back got his mom a Mercedes-Benz after being picked No. 4 overall by Jacksonville.

He posted video and a picture of the surprise, writing “Anything for my moms” and “From the trenches to this love you momma.” Revis’ return to the Jets was not the honeymoon everyone expected, as his play fell off a cliff the last two seasons. He can still play football; just not anywhere close to the level he played at in the past.

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Minnesota Vikings

Warriors vs. Trail Blazers, 2017 NBA playoffs: Schedule, predictions, and news

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Damian Lillard said Trail Blazers in six (though not seriously). That’s a long shot, but the star point guard will attempt to gun his team into the second round in an improbable effort against a star-studded Golden State Warriors team — a team expected to three-peat as Western Conference champions.

Theoren Fleury Elite Jersey Portland was rolling after a midseason deal landed Jusuf Nurkic from the Denver Nuggets. He was the Trail Blazers’ difference-maker on both ends until a March 30 fibular fracture in his leg sidelined him for the rest of the regular season. Lillard and C.J. McCollum were able to hold down the fort and retain the No. 8 seed, but it’s unclear if Jurkic will be cleared to return (or if it’s wise for him to rush back).
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That’s bad news for a Trail Blazers team taking on a Golden State squad that welcomed Kevin Durant back from an MCL sprain with three games remaining in the regular season. Durant returned to the Warriors after they had rattled off 13 straight wins to cement themselves as the West’s top seed.

Trading up to grab Watson was divisive, as analysts wavered between C and A grades for the Texans. Houston gave up a ransom to jettison Brock Osweiler and then select Watson — the eventual cost was two first-round picks and a second-round pick. Watson was the most accomplished passer in the 2017 draft, and even a mediocre year could provide better returns than what Osweiler gave last season.

The rest of their draft netted a combination of accomplished college standouts and developmental picks. Cunningham was a game-changing linebacker for Vanderbilt, while D’Onta Foreman ran for more yards than all but one other FBS tailback last fall. Both should contribute this fall.

Minnesota Vikings

NFL draft grades 2017: Bills’ haul of prospects makes it the best in AFC East

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Adrian Peterson Limited Jersey The 2017 NFL draft has come and gone, and with more than four months to go before the regular season starts, there’s little to do but make snap judgments.

All 32 teams added to their rosters the last three days, picking the NCAA’s elite players and less-heralded projects over 253 selections. While it’s too early to designate the All-Pros and washouts, you can still weigh pre-draft rankings against actual results to see who deviated the most from the norm.

Geno Smith Elite Jersey The draft is particularly important in the AFC East. The Patriots have used the event to trade down and add the low-cost talent that powers their dynasty. The rest of the division needs to find their own foundational pieces. The Dolphins may have gotten one five years ago when they added Ryan Tannehill in the first round of the 2012 draft. The Bills and Jets are still looking.

Did they make any progress in 2017? Here’s how pundits across the league rated the AFC East’s drafts this spring.

I’m an all-around receiver. I’m not afraid to do the dirty work. I’m not afraid to block. I take a lot of pride in blocking, in being at the right place at the right time, making contested catches and things that I’ve proven that I can do in my college career.

While Godwin will mostly be used downfield, his willingness to block — and to work at excelling at it — is something not all receivers offer. As a guy who wants to contribute in all facets of the offense, he could see a gradual increase in his snap count throughout the season.

During his training in Pensacola, Godwin had his agent reach out to NFL legend Calvin Johnson in hopes of learning from someone who has had so much success at the next level.