Monthly Archives: August 2017

Minnesota Vikings

Broncos’ Paxton Lynch out ‘a couple games’ with sprained shoulder

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After losing the starting quarterback job, there was concern Paxton Lynch could also miss out on his role as backup.

Broncos coach Vance Joseph was assured his second string signal-caller has only suffered a minor shoulder injury after his X-rays came back negative.

“He’s got a bruised shoulder, nothing serious,” Joseph said Saturday, via NFL.com. “We’ve got two weeks to get everyone healthy. It’s going to be a long two weeks, so we have time. Not too concerned.”

Roethlisberger is expected to be joined by wide receiver Antonio Brown, who also sat out the team’s first two preseason games. One player who definitely won’t be on the field, however, is Le’Veon Bell.

The star running back tweeted Tuesday night that he intends to report to the team Sept. 1 after Pittsburgh’s final exhibition game Aug. 31 against the Panthers. Despite Bell’s absence in recent weeks due to a contract holdout with the organization, Roethlisberger isn’t bitter about the late arrival.

“There’s no hard feelings,” Roethlisberger said, via EPSN. “We will be ready for (Bell) whenever he gets here. We always want our guys here. But he didn’t have to be here. So, we want him here because he’s an amazing football player and he helps this team. So, when he gets here, hopefully it won’t take him long to get into football shape.”

The Steelers are slated to open the regular season Sept. 10 against the rival Browns and anticipate having their “Killer B” trio back together.
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Minnesota Vikings

Knicks pause Carmelo Anthony trade talks with Rockets, Cavaliers, per report

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The New York Knicks are stopping trade talks for Carmelo Anthony with the Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers for now, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne. Instead, the Knicks may be interested in bringing Anthony back next season despite trade rumors circulating all summer.

Crawford was traded to the Atlanta Hawks this summer in the deal that sent Danilo Gallinari to the Clippers and Paul Millsap to the Denver Nuggets. He was subsequently bought out and expected to join a team competing for a championship.

The 36-year-old Crawford is yet another addition to the formidable roster head coach and president Tom Thibodeau has amassed in Minnesota. The Timberwolves began the summer by trading Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the No. 7 pick for All-Star starter Jimmy Butler. They then signed Jeff Teague to a three-year, $57 million deal to lead a young core of Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Crawford projects to come off the bench as a spark plug and late-game perimeter scorer for Minnesota, who many expect to make the jump into the Western Conference playoff picture next season.
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If Ainge had a failing in this process it was hanging on to those players for a split second too long. Somebody had to go and in waiting until the very last minute with no good options left, Ainge will have to dump somebody for a fraction of the return. You can argue it wasn’t entirely his fault, or you could say that he screwed up royally, but that’s the cost of doing business in the deep end of the NBA’s talent pool. There’s always a price to be paid.

Minnesota Vikings

Adidas can push a general basketball sneaker like a Crazy Explosive with Wiggins’ logo on it.

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At the time, the brand had hoped that Timberwolves rising phenom Andrew Wiggins could fill that role, but internally there has been strong hesitation about whether Wiggins could carry his own signature shoe.
Wiggins is only 22 years old and already has a ton of player-exclusive shoes with Adidas, including within its Crazy Explosive line.
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Ramon Foster Authentic Jersey But a signature shoe is a much bigger deal than a logo and a team colorway. Player exclusive deals are lucrative and come with player-centric branding opportunities. But a signature shoe comes with a commitment to push an actual product into the marketplace with a player’s actual name and endorsement fully behind it.

Adidas can push a general basketball sneaker like a Crazy Explosive with Wiggins’ logo on it. But it’s another ball game when Wiggins has to push the Wiggins 1 and generate most of the revenue behind the shoe on his own. The public has to buy into that, and it takes a bigger financial commitment from a brand to accomplish that. Whether Wiggins can do that is a question Adidas needs to answer before handing him his own shoe.

For an investment group to start a new franchise, however, it would need to pay an expansion fee. It’s a flat, one-time payment that gives an investment group permission to create a new franchise. The last team to join the league, the Charlotte Bobcats, were given a $300 million expansion fee. In today’s NBA, that number might top $1 billion.

The current collective bargaining agreement makes it clear that said money is split between the teams, not the players, since it’s not basketball-related income. The players association might object, but it’s not clear what exactly it can do about it.

Minnesota Vikings

Darrell Arthur thinks the Nuggets can compete ‘right up there with Golden State’ this season

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The Nuggets have definitely improved this offseason. They made a big splash signing Paul Millsap, who could work as the perfect complement to a budding star in Nikola Jokic. They’ve also been growing a stash of guards in Gary Harris and Jamal Murray, and the young core of this team should have the Nuggets on the path to becoming a real powerhouse. They should be pretty good this season!

Perimeter players have won each of the last 10 MVP trophies, with Dirk Nowitzki — an inside-outside scorer — winning in 2007. In fact, only Shaq and Tim Duncan represent as true big men to win the award this century.

Game Mens Kyle Connor Jersey Instead, Russell Westbrook won last year’s MVP award by way of the most impressive regular season since Oscar Robertson. Stephen Curry scoffed at the three-point line to the tune of back-to-back MVPs, including the first-ever unanimous nod. Kevin Durant won in 2014, and LeBron held an oligopoly on the league’s award from 2009-2013, with Derrick Rose winning in 2011.

Dwight Howard was the only big man to receive first-place MVP votes this decade — three in 2011, three in 2010.

Jordan was asked for his take on LaVar Ball and his kids, which he opened by being complimentary. He said that every parent is proud of their kids, and that it’s clear Ball is proud of his sons — and that they’re great basketball players, but it wasn’t long before Jordan had some choice words about the pressure on Lonzo Ball.

I would say if I had to sit down and talk to him right now, if he was here, I’d tell him to shut up, and let the kid play

Game Mens Jameis Winston Jersey This drew huge cheers and clapping from the crowd in attendance. Jordan didn’t stop there, addressing LaVar Ball’s claims that he could beat him one-on-one.

Minnesota Vikings

Why I like Sammy Watkins’ impact on Rams depth chart, passing game

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What an insane day for the Los Angeles Rams and the Buffalo Bills. The Rams agreed to send a 2018 NFL Draft second-round pick and CB E.J. Gaines for WR Sammy Watkins and a sixth-round pick next year in return. Let’s take a look at what this means for the Rams offense.

Obviously, the Rams moved a ton for Watkins, and by virtue, that means he automatically becomes the #1 WR on the team. Not just for that reason, but he was also a top-10 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, and one of the game’s most premier wideouts.

In his three NFL years, Sammy only managed to play 16 games as a rookie, 13 as second-year player, and eight last season. With over 2,500 yards receiving and 17 NFL TDs, he is by far the Rams most accomplished and productive receiver in a three-year stretch.

What does this mean for the Rams? Well, for an offense starved for production, Watkins becomes WR1, his former Bills teammate Robert Woods slides to WR2, Cooper Kupp remains at WR3, and the biggest tumble is Tavon Austin out of the starting mix.

When you look at an outside perspective, the Rams didn’t move much for one of the best WR’s in football, specifically a 24-year old. The issue remains that Watkins is a free agent after this season, giving Les Snead another potential player to negotiate with.

Even with that being said, I am in MAJOR FAVOR of this trade. The Rams were starved for offensive production, and bringing in one of the games most complete and premier WR’s can only help this offense. Lastly, for a QB thought of as a franchise guy, Goff finally has “the” weapon he can learn and grow with, and hopefully turn his career around with.
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Minnesota Vikings

Ellington’s breakout preseason performance could be the start of a bounceback year.

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Arya Stark: When Rodgers was dating Olivia Munn, he joined her to train in sword fighting while she was prepping for her role in X-Men: Apocalypse:

Sure he might not be doing much back there, but he’s got some moxie and he wants the other fighter to make a mistake first. That sounds like the fighting style of Arya, a ninja assassin who made Brienne of Tarth miss a whole lot in their epic duel Sunday.

Ellington’s breakout preseason performance could be the start of a bounceback year. The former fourth-round pick missed all of 2016 thanks to a hamstring injury and wound up being cut by the 49ers on Aug. 3. His trip to the unemployment line didn’t last long — the Jets claimed him later that afternoon.
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His tenure with New York, a franchise whose receiving depth chart is just a pile of ventriloquist dummies, lasted one day. After reports he needed extra attention from trainers throughout practice, the club waived him with a failed physical designation.

That led him to Houston, where he spent his first exhibition game with his new team getting the better of one of the league’s top wideouts. However, Ellington’s athleticism has never been in question.

Chris Carson, playing special teams, forced a Vikings fumble on the opening kickoff, giving the ball right back to the Seahawks.

Trevone Boykin took over for Wilson and had a rough first drive, taking two sacks and throwing an incompletion. Blair Walsh extended the lead with his second field goal of the night.

Minnesota Vikings

Terry Francona got a Pop-A-Shot and DJ for the Indians clubhouse because he wants their Sweet Sixteen to feel special

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For Cleveland’s weekend series against Kansas City, Terry Francona got some special surprises for the team. According to MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian, Francona had it organized so the team would have a DJ and a Pop-A-Shot in their clubhouse throughout the series.

Hilariously, there is one higher-up in Miami-Dade County who agrees with Jeter and new ownership: the mayor himself.

The mayor’s communications chief revealed, “Mayor Gimenez appreciates art in public places. That particular structure, not so much.”

Good thing for sculpture fans the mayor isn’t the only one who gets to decide!

The organization expressed outrage about a team representative going to the media with allegedly false claims and said “It seems inconsistent with ‘The Cardinals Way’ to make such false statements.” Meow!

The SLFCO’s statement also adds some additional Marcus Williams Jerseys
perspective from the shelter’s side of things, with details about its volunteer-only staff and lack of resources. Though this could easily be a tactic to engender sympathy for the shelter, depending on how this miscommunication really went down, it’s also effective as they slammed the team’s ‘perceived bullying tactics’ and said that no meeting between the two sides had even taken place.

Both sides are standing their ground as to whose cat this is, and if this escalates any further it could start backfiring on one or either side if they seem to be caring Jordan Richards Jerseys
about their bottom line more than a homeless animal. Or the many homeless animals in the shelter, for that matter.

Minnesota Vikings

Everything you need to know about Adrian Beltre

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There have also been times when tossing his glove has stemmed not from joy and goofiness but from annoyance — at a ball or at a team member. There was the time that Andrus touched his head (again) during a meeting at the mound, and Beltre promptly turned around and hucked his glove right at him as Andrus hustled out of there.

Or the time when a ground ball passed him at third and rather than diving for a play that would have been impossible to make even if he could reach the ball, he just threw his glove at it and watched it bounce right by. Who among us?

Who wants a bobblehead or branded mini-bat from a funeral home anyway? They might as well be giving away the product that they know best.

What really makes it is the complete lack of somberness in the marketing for the giveaway, complete with the promise of fireworks after the game.
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While the MLB All-Star Game has been a historically evenly matched affair with the National League holding the slight all-time edge at 43-42-2, the last few decades have been tilted heavily in the American League’s favor. The AL has gone 22-6-1 in its last 29 games against the NL, shaking off a three-game winning streak by the NL from 2010 to 2012 with four straight wins.

The AL-leading Houston Astros will be represented by three of the top five bats in the starting lineup with Jose Altuve batting leadoff, George Springer batting clean-up, and Carlos Correa batting fifth. Home Run Derby winner Aaron Judge is batting third.
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Minnesota Vikings

Science teacher says his students believe the Earth is flat thanks to Kyrie Irving

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Charles Barkley famously said in a Nike commercial, “I am not a role model. I am not paid to be a role model. I am paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court. Parents should be role models. Just because I dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids.”

He’s right. Just because he’s a basketball player doesn’t mean he should be looked up to. Kids don’t need to replicated his actions or his beliefs just because he’s good at grabbing rebounds. But that’s not always the case.

“With cocaine especially, there’s a high, and then an emotional low. So it’s like a roller coaster. You go high, and then you go low. High, low, high, low. After you do it, you feel shame. You think about all the reasons why you shouldn’t have done it. Then the cycle starts again.

“That’s the thing people don’t understand. Anybody who’s lived a complicated, drug-infused life like I’ve lived knows the cycle — with women, cheating on my wife, shit like that. Nights when I should have been asleep. Nights when I stayed up sniffing coke. Lot of those nights. When your heart is beating fast. When you should know better. When you’re just riding that roller coaster, man.”

“My daughter, Destiny, is 18. She’s beautiful and smart. And she doesn’t take any shit. When I was able to talk again, she told me straight up, ‘Dad, you need to get yourself help or I’m not going to talk to you again.'”

“I’m sober now. But it’s an everyday struggle. I have an addiction. I’ll always have an addiction. It never goes away. I mean, I want to get high right now. But I know that I can’t if I want to be here for my children.”dolphins_012

Minnesota Vikings

Davis says the back to the basics approach is paying dividends.

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The expectation level (on the outside) is not as high as it was coming off a Super Bowl year, he said. That’s probably the reason why you see a more relaxed team. We’re just going to go out and play.
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Attitude isn’t the only thing different about the Panthers.
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One of the biggest priorities was putting Newton in position to better his play and improve a dismal 52.9 completion percentage. Newton’s blindside protection was addressed with the signing of ex-Vikings left tackle Matt Kalil (brother of Panthers center Ryan Kalil) as a free agent.

McDermott’s first-hand knowledge of the NFC South could come in handy during this stretch beginning with the defending NFC champion Falcons, who welcome the Bills to the brand new Mercedes-Benz Stadium. A bye week splits toss-up showdowns with a pair of playoff wild-cards in the Bengals and Buccaneers. Derek Carr and the Raiders put on an aerial display against the Bills in Oakland last season, so expect more of the same from one of the AFC’s top teams.

The Bills and Jets do battle in the NFL’s Color Rush gimmick for a third straight season, but that’s about as interesting as things will get to start Week 9. New York may well be gunning for the No. 1 overall draft pick by this point. Drew Brees is far less intimidating outdoors on the road than at home, another plus for the Bills. Then it’s off to the snug confines of StubHub Center in Los Angeles before a tough road test against the defending AFC West champs. Buffalo would do well to take two games during this stretch.