Thursday, September 17, 2009

Reaching into the Grab Brag

There is plenty of great stuff happening this time of year, so let’s look at some quick hits today and see what’s going on:

The Game’s Quick Hits

Preview: #14 Georgia Tech (2-0) vs. #20 Miami, FL (1-0) – For the second consecutive week, Georgia Tech gets featured in the Thursday night primetime game. They are taking a trip down to visit Miami, who are coming off a bye week after their impressive opening week win over Florida State. In that game, QB Jacory Harris seemed to grow up and turn into a star right before everyone’s eyes. He looked extremely poised and much better than at any point last season. The Hurricanes are slowly rebuilding and looking more like the dominant teams from the ‘90s. The whole team is built on speed and they look like a dangerous threat. Georgia Tech did not look as good last week as they blew a 24-0 lead against Clemson, but did find a way to pull out a 30-27 victory. The key for Tech is establishing the running game and consistently moving the ball with it all game. When Clemson forced Georgia Tech to pass last week, the Yellow Jackets were miserable. QB Josh Nesbitt was horrible as he only could complete 3 of 14 passes. I am thinking that Miami’s defense is good enough and fast enough to hold Georgia Tech’s running game in check. They also looked explosive on offense against Florida State and I would expect Harris and the rest of the offensive unit to exploit the holes that Clemson found in Georgia Tech’s defense. This is a huge game in the ACC Coastal Division and the winner will get a leg up in the division. The division features 4 ranked teams, so this game is a critical one. I expect Miami to rise to the occasion at home and pull off a win. I think they have slightly better talent than Georgia Tech and they also have had longer to prepare for this game. From what I have seen on the field so far this year, the Hurricanes just look like a better team.

- On Tuesday it was reported that TNA wrestling’s Kurt Angle was found not guilty of violating an ex-girlfriend's order of protection, and charges of possessing human growth hormone and driving with a suspended license were dropped. He still faces an assault charge, however. Angle’s attorney was able to prove in court that he had a legal prescription for the drug Hygetropin and apparently his claim that he was driving around looking for a hotel as opposed to stalking his ex-girlfriend was believed by the judge. Well I am glad to see Angle beat these charges if he did indeed not do anything wrong. We have all read the stories about Angle potentially being addicted to pain pills and how he works himself to the bone and has put himself in danger because of the physical demands of professional wrestling. Some of these stories could be overblown and I would like to think that Angle is taking care of himself and not heading down a dangerous path. Way too many wrestlers have passed away at a young age and many have speculated that Kurt Angle could eventually fall into that category. I sincerely hope that will not be the case. TNA caught a huge break here as it would not look very good on them if their World Champion was found guilty of these charges. I will hold out judgment on the assault charges, but I could find that as being believable. Angle is an extremely intense individual from most accounts, so I think he might be capable of losing his cool out of the ring. But he will have his day in court on those charges and we’ll just have to see what happens.

- The NFL handed down a fairly hefty fine to the New York Jets, general manager Mike Tannenbaum, and former head coach Eric Mangini for failing to report QB Brett Favre’s biceps injury last season. The league hit the Jets organization with a $75,000 fine and Tannenbaum and Mangini with a $25,000 fine each. By doing this, the NFL is sending a clear message that failing to report injuries will not be tolerated. It seems to me that Mangini’s “secrets” are not paying off too well. I have to agree with these fines because you need to keep the competitive balance of the league in order and it is a requirement of every team to report injuries, pure and simple. Favre is walking away unscathed in all this, but I have to say that if he had any hand in trying to tell the Jets not to report his injury, then I think he should reimburse Mangini and Tannenbaum for the fine. That seems like the fair thing to do if he had any part of all this.

- Reports indicate that the rising star linebacker of the New England Patriots, Jerod Mayo, will be out about 6-8 weeks after spraining the MCL in his right knee. There was fear that Mayo’s injury was season ending, but that does not appear to be the case. This is another big injury blow to be added to the list after the 1st week of season. New England’s defense was already struggling to improve and the injury to Mayo does not help. After the departures of Mike Vrabel and Tedy Bruschi, Mayo has been calling more defensive signals and his significance to the defense has only increased. His injury will hurt the team and now it might be that much easier for opponents to put points on the board against the Patriots. New England faces a stiff test this week as they travel to New York to play the Jets. They might catch a break facing a rookie quarterback in Mark Sanchez, but the Patriots could be ripe for an upset if they do not play better than they did against Buffalo.

- In other injury news, Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid said that QB Donovan McNabb is making progress in regards to his injured ribs, but his status for this Sunday against the Saints is still “iffy”. McNabb did not practice yesterday and QB Kevin Kolb worked with the first team. Reid made it clear that Kolb will start and newly acquired QB Jeff Garcia will back him up. If McNabb starts, Kolb will be the backup and Garcia will be the emergency #3 QB. I am not sure how much “progress” McNabb is making, but if he is able to play, the Eagles might need him to win a shootout with the Saints…It was also reported that Kansas City Chiefs QB Matt Cassel was looking better in practice and running more briskly. There is still hope that he will play on Sunday against the Raiders, but there has been no official word from the team…

- This just in: Bears QB Jay Cutler was disappointed with his performance against the Packers on Sunday and he vows to do better this week against the Steelers. Wow, really? Well gee Jay, you couldn’t do much worse. Even without Troy Polamalu in the lineup, things will not be any easier for Cutler when the Steelers come to town. Good luck…

- Ohio State coach Jim Tressel is catching flack from all sides for his conservative play calling in the wake of the Buckeyes’ 18-15 loss to USC. It was another failure for Tressel and Ohio State in a high profile game and fans are starting to get irritated and are suggesting that Tressel give up on calling the plays. Tressel’s philosophy is basically built on playing for field position, avoiding turnovers at all cost and relying on defense and special teams to win the game. This was evident in the USC game as he elected to kick a field goal on 4th and goal from the USC 1-yard line early in the 2nd quarter, punted on a 4th and 1 from the USC 45 in the 3rd quarter, and punted again in the 4th quarter instead of trying a long field goal attempt. Immediately, I am having images of Herman Edwards in my head and he’s yelling “HELLO! You play to win the game!” I think that the criticism is warranted because Ohio State definitely was too conservation against USC. Tressel has a dynamic quarterback in Terrell Pryor, yet he doesn’t let Pryor run around as much as he should to try and create plays. Pryor is not a pure pocket passer and he is better when he’s able to scramble and create. Just trying to run, run, run and then punt to protect a slim lead is not that great of a strategy. Without question, Tressel has a long track record of success and should not be in danger of being fired or anything. But at some point, he is going to have to find a way to win these big games because the fans, media, and the school itself will only be able to put up with the disappointments for so long.

- Floyd “Money” Mayweather made some waves yesterday by claiming his race is a factor in how he is viewed. He lashed out at his perceived unfair treatment from the public and the media by saying, "If you're rich, you're a rich n-----. If you're poor, you're a poor n----. If you're smart, you're a smart n-----. At the end of the day, they still look at me as a n-----." Mayweather also went on to say that if he was white, he would be the biggest athlete in America. Sorry Floyd, but you got this one wrong. It is not your race that is holding you back, it is your attitude and the way you carry yourself. I will simply offer up Tiger Woods as an example. Tiger is one of the biggest sports figures in America and the world and he is black. So does everyone view Tiger Woods as a n-----? No, they don’t. And that is because Tiger Woods carries himself with dignity and respect and he’s not out acting like a fool. Now I know a part of boxing is being a showman to try and sell fights and Pay Per Views. But Mayweather goes beyond that with an arrogance and cockiness that turns people off. He claims that anything negative a guy like Oscar De La Hoya does gets swept under the rug and no one criticizes him. Well maybe that is because De La Hoya is respectful, gracious and doesn’t run his mouth all the time. And maybe that is because people like De La Hoya and Woods don’t have police investigating a shooting outside a skating rink and seizing handguns, ammunition and bulletproof vests from their home and cars, unlike Mr. Mayweather. People perceive you as a “n-----“ Floyd because you tend to act that way. You are free to live your life how you please and have whatever lifestyle you want. But everyone else is also entitled to their opinions about you and they don’t like what they see. If you want respect, you earn respect from your actions and how you carry yourself, it’s that simple.

- As of right now, the long time manager of the Atlanta Braves, Bobby Cox, is not committing to return to the team in 2010 for his 25th season. Cox was supposed to retire at the end of the 2008 season, but that did not happen. The criticism of Cox has increased in recent years as Atlanta stares at not making the playoffs for the 4th consecutive season. This is a far cry from the glory years of the team which included 14 straight National League East titles, five pennants and a World Series title. He says that he still loves the game and the competition and that it would be tough to walk away. Cox is currently 4th on the all-time wins list for managers with 2,403 entering Wednesday’s games. I have to say that at this point, Bobby Cox has earned the right to walk away from the game whenever he chooses. He is one of the greatest managers of all-time and will most likely get into the Hall of Fame. I used to love watching the Atlanta Braves teams of the 1990’s. They were an exciting group to watch and their standard of excellence was only matched by the Yankees during that period. Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz were just beasts on their pitching staff and they had stars in Dave Justice and the “Crime Dog” Fred McGriff who could put runs up on the board. It is amazing they did not win more World Series titles with those teams, but I am glad they got the one. Without that title, history would most likely paint those teams as a failure and the players as choke artists. It is a cruel fate that the early 1990’s Buffalo Bills could not escape. If Atlanta did not win a World Series, the Bills would have company as the greatest “losers” of all-time. I wish Cox well on whatever he decides. He is one of the greatest managers in MLB history and he will have a lasting legacy when he finally calls it quits.

- And finally, Linda McMahon has stepped down as the CEO of the WWE and has announced that she will be running for a U.S. Senate seat. Really? Does anyone really think she has a snowball’s chance in hell of winning? I am sure that Linda is a smart woman and a highly capable person, but as we all know, politics and political campaigning is all about mudslinging and tearing the other person down. What is going to happen when her opponents try to dig into Vince McMahon’s closet and paint Linda as just part of some sideshow with wrestlers? Fair or not, I don’t see he standing much of a chance in all this and I don’t think it is a smart move.

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