Ravens Interested in Vick??

By Jesse Jones

Sorry guys but here’s another Mike Vick post.  While I was watching ESPN First Take today, they said that Baltimore was rumored to be interested in Vick.  I really want to see Vick get a second chance in the NFL, but I do not really see where he would fit in with the Ravens.  It has become well-known that the team has invested in Flacco as their starting QB, and Troy Smith is being used as the Wildcat QB.  Ofcourse Vick is an upgrade from Troy Smith, but Cam Cameron, offensive corrdinator, has already made a section in the playbook for Troy Smith called the Suggs Package (Suggs criticized the team for not using Troy Smith enough).

Even though I really want to see Vick play again in the NFL and prove all the doubters wrong, I just do not think that Baltimore is the right fit.

Thank You Brett!

By Jesse Jones

Yesterday the world was informed that Brett Favre has decided to remain retired.  Nobody can be sure if this is permanent, but as of right now, all the Favre talks are done with!  No more flipping the channels to hear about Brett Favre and the Vikings.  What a relief!

I think that this was a good decision by Favre.  If Favre came back to play in the NFL with the Vikings, a rival of the Packers, many Packer fans would start to hate him.  I think that staying away from the Vikings was a good decision, and he can now return to Green Bay when they retire his number without all the taunts and hate.

This would have also been the second consecutive year that he has retired and then came back to join a team for the next season.  Last year didn’t work out, as the Jets missed the playoffs.  Favre is 40 and said that his body will not physically allow him to play 16 games at his best, so why even bother trying?  He already holds many records, has a Super Bowl ring, and has proven he’s Hall of Fame worthy, so coming out of retirement again, this time to a rival team, would only make things worse for him.  This was all a good call by Favre to stay retired.  Thanks man!

Not A Wise Decision

Domination

By Ben Linton

It’s already embarassing that the United States’ Men’s Soccer team lost to Mexico in the Gold Cup final yesterday. But it’s the way that they lost that should truly be embarrasing. Mexico gave the U.S. a devastating beatdown by score of 5-0 in East Rutherford.

They did this by scoring four goals in 23 minutes to start the second half. Normally the United States dominates Mexico, because this was the first time this decade that Mexico beat the U.S. on American soil. Another factor that played into this shameful defeat was that the United States did not play any players from the Confederations Cup Final that lost to Brazil.

This just does not make sense. This is only giving Team Mexico more confidence that they can beat the U.S. heading into the World Cup. I understand that you’re trying to give experience to other players that may not play as much, but not playing anyone from the ConFed Cup team seems pretty rediculous. It is still a championship game, so treat it like one. This only hurts American Soccer’s image after it was just starting to get recoginition for beating Spain. So Sad.

Thanks For Wasting Our Time, Drew!

By Jesse Jones

Now I could make this a What Grinds My Gears video, but since Ben and I are at the beach for the week, we are without webcams.  So let me just blog it to you instead of vlogging it.

It has just been recently announced that the newly signed Baltimore Ravens WR Drew Bennett has retired.  The news comes only days after signing with the team for one year, filling the possible hole left by Derrick Mason if he does not come back.  Bennett said that once he returned home after signing with the Ravens, his knee started to give him problems again, and he knew he would not be able to play the whole season.

My question is…how does this happen?  If a player has been rehabing your body in order to come back for another season, a player should know if his/her body is physically ready to return to the NFL.  Maybe I’m just being single-minded at the moment, but I am not quite sure how an injury that you have been rehabing and working out all spring/summer would just give you problems right after you decide to sign with a team.

Let me know how you feel.

Drew Bennett Now A Raven

By Jesse Jones

Drew Bennett has now become Derrick Mason’s replacement, if Mason decides to stay retired.  The Ravens signed Bennett today to a one year deal.  Bennett was injured last season, but from ’04-’06 he averaged Pro Bowl type numbers with the Titans..

• 907 yards per season
• 61 catches per season
• Grabbed 11 TD’s in 2004

Bennett is a tall WR that the Ravens have been lacking, 6 foot 5 and 196 pounds, and can help stretch the field for the offense and Joe Flacco.  Bennett will most likely become either the one or the two receiver on the team.  However, if Derrick Mason does decide to come back, look for a WR group that has depth and can help be more effective in the team’s search to where they were last year, and maybe even further.

Who cares?

By Ben Linton

So apparently at SEC Media Day there was all this fuss about which SEC coach didn’t vote for Tim Tebow as a unanimous preseason all-SEC. If you haven’t heard about this story already, its pretty rediculous. They have tried all week to find out the culprit of this auspicious crime. Each SEC Coach, one by one, even Lane Kiffin, stated they voted for Tebow.

Then today it was discovered that Steve Spurrier voted for Jevon Snead from Ole Miss instead. Tebow wasn’t phased really, of course the golden boy has bigger things to think about. Spurrier then went on by apologizing and praising Tebow as the best quarterback he’s ever seen and tried to sugar coat the situation. But the honest question is “Who really cares?” It’s the preseason. Nothing is won in the preseason. No real awards are given out. This is just all hype. We should just wait until the players earn these honors on the field before they are given out. I don’t even know why ESPN is covering this story, unless they are trying to turn Tim Tebow into the next Brett Favre. It’s really just not that big of a deal.

Wiz Fill They’re Big Man Need

Oberto Brings Veteran Presence

By Jesse Jones

As of today, the Washington Wizards have signed the big man they want to back-up Brendan Haywood and JaVale McGee: Fabricio Oberto.  Oberto is 34 years old and weighs 245 pounds, and has played the past few seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, and even started the ’07 season when they won the NBA Championship.  However, last year his role was much more limited.  In about the same range of minutes Oberto is expected to play for the Wizards this year, around 10 minutes per game, Oberto averaged 3 points, and 3 rebounds per game.

As of now, the Wizards roster consists of 14 players:

1. Gilbert Arenas
2. Mike Miller
3. Caron Butler
4. Antawn Jamison
5. Brendan Haywood
6. Nick Young
7. Randy Foye
8. DeShawn Stevenson
9. JaVale McGee
10. Andray Blatche
11. Dominic McGuire
12. Javaris Crittenton
13. Mike James
14. Fabricio Oberto

**This is the roster that is expected to enter training camp**

With the addition of Oberto, the Wizards will no longer see this:

Oberto Guards McGee In The Paint

What’s Good ESPN??

By Jesse Jones

Some of you may know already the troubles associated with Ben Roethlisberger, but for those who do not, let me fill you in. Andrea McNulty, a 31 year-old woman, has filed a civil lawsuit against him for rape last summer in a hotel penthouse. To no surprise, Roethlisberger has denied the charge.

But I’m not here to talk about all the details. I could make this into a video of What Grinds My Gears, but I felt that it would be more appropriate to blog about instead of vlog, because of the seriousness of the case. These charges were made last weekend, but ESPN has not made any news of it until late. Why is that? I could guarantee that if this story was with Kobe, which we already know all the publicity that occurred when he had his trials, or with Terrell Owens, ESPN would talk about it nonstop.

So why not Ben Roethlisberger?? I do not really know the answer. That’s just something I wanted you, the viewers/readers, to think about. I’m not saying that ESPN is racist or favors some athletes over others, I just have no idea why ESPN is keeping this story on the down low for so long. Let me know what you think.

The United States of Los Angeles

By Ben Linton

I don’t think that the USA Olympic Basketball team should be composed of the twelve best players in the NBA. Now before you exit this site and call me an idiot, hear me out. It gets really complicated when they have try outs for Team USA, and the selections are so political, so i say “Why not just send the Lakers?” Why assemble a team of all-stars that might not get along, and when you could just send the starting five from the best team in the NBA? That way, the team would have so much more chemistry and would have a higher chance of winning.

We all know that the United States has the most talented basketball players in the world, its just the chemistry that could be our downfall. So lets just get rid of that small possibility of failure by sending an actual team to the games. I would trust the Los Angeles Lakers to take home the gold in the Olympic Games in 2010 in Vancouver and 2012 in London.

Here is how I would do it and answer the questions in most of your heads:

1. Are you out of your mind!?! Pau Gasol can’t play for Team USA, he plays for Spain! – Then just plug in Dwight Howard, the best center in the game. He and Bynum can carry the load.

2. The Lakers don’t have a true point guard– Give them Chris Paul. Derek Fisher will still be on the team, but also give them Chauncey Billups for reassurance.

3. Coach K needs some ex-Dukies!– Carlos Boozer and Shane Battier. This will be a good fit because the Lakers would need size with the absence of Gasol, and these players already know Coach K’s system from college.

4. What about the King? He’s gotta be there!- The only problem I would have with LeBron going is that he and Kobe would be on the same team. Knowing how much these guys shoot and want to have the ball, I don’t know if it would work. For now, LeBron is on the bench.

Coach K can finally coach the Lakers! sort of

Starting Five:

PG Chris Paul

SG Kobe Bryant

SF Trevor Ariza

PF Lamar Odom

C Dwight Howard

Bench:

PG Chauncey Billups

PG/SG Derek Fisher

SG Dwayne Wade

SF LeBron James

SF Shane Battier

PF Carlos Boozer

C Andrew Bynum

The King Gets Overthrown

By Ben Linton

After much anticipation, the infamous dunk by Xavier player Jordan Crawford on King James has been released on the internet. The King surely will have more to cry about then just foul calls now. Ouch!