That's Just Dumb!
I don’t like, but understand the whole “Hey! Look at me!” culture in pro sports. Having said that, if you’re going to make everyone watch you please get it right!!! yourself.
Last night in the C-F-L wide receiver Arland Bruce celebrated a TD by taking off his helmet… His jersey…. His pads… Then laid down on the field like a….. Corpse!!!! Why? Oh, that was his tribute to Michael Jackson. Really? Really?!!!! That’s the best he could come up with? Where I’m from pretending to be dead is not a celebration! Hey here’s a thought, how about 1 glove? How about the moonwalk? How about getting the o-line together for a little “Thriller” dance party?
This was one of the most talented entertainers of the last 50 years, whether you were a fan or not that can not be denied. It really can’t be that hard to honor him can it?
He was penalized twice for the “celebration” and then fined today by the league. Good, but I say take it a step further, get rid of him! Do the Toronto Argonauts really need a player lacking that much creativity and judgement?
Sully's Back!
Congrats to the Nashville Predators and Steve Sullivan on getting a new deal down on the 1st day of free agency. Sully gets a 2-year deal worth $7.5-million.
The Predators also signed Joel Ward to a 2-year deal worth $3-million. I know what you’re saying, “Cory, that’s $10.5-million!”. You’re right, but they’re a the 2 free agents this team had to bring back.
In the process the Preds have also lost Vernon Fiddler and Greg Zanon. They’ll be missed, but don’t leave the Predators with the glaring hole a Sullivan departure would have.
Now, what do they do for an encore? This team still needs to add 1 more top 6 forward!
Are They Kidding?
I know there’s a love affair right now between U-T fans and new coach Lane Kiffin, but this latest move is RIDICULOUS. The Vols have added the first piece to their recruiting puzzle….. In 2013!!!
13-year old Evan Berry has been offered a scholarship and verbally committed to Tennessee. Sure, he’s Eric’s younger brother, but he’s 13! He still hasn’t set foot on a high school campus. So much can happen over the next 5 years… Injury, change of heart, change of coaches, puberty…
Look, if it’s meant to be they’ll both be there for eachother when he’s a junior in high school. Let’s stop combing the junior highs for players and focus on reality.
U.S. Soccer Blows It
For the first time ever….I led my sportscast Sunday with soccer…yes, U.S. soccer. I never thought it would happen! But I figured with what this team has done in the last month, they demanded that lead!
After their “miracle on grass” win over Spain, (which Cory deemed the “it’s about time” on grass win) it seems like our whole country all of a sudden wanted to watch this team and this sport. We all watched on Sunday as this amazing team took the early 2-zip lead over powerhouse Brazil in the FIFA Confederations Cup Finale. Could they really pull this thing off?
Nope….they gave away a 2 goal lead…which is like giving away a 30 point lead in football. A good friend pointed out, that it would be like a no-name golfer losing a four shot lead on the back nine to Tiger Woods. Almost expected. I get it, and I agree. BUT….This was a big chance for the U.S. to gain some more support for their sport here in the states….and they blew it.
Which of course leads me to my next question….why do you think soccer is just not that big here in the US? Almost all of us played this sport growing up…everyone I know was a soccer player as a kid, and I played for 7 years growing up (although I was really never that great at it.)
I’ve had this conversation with numerous people sicne the emergence of this special U.S.A. team…and this is my conclusion…
Americans like watching things that we, as a country, are dominant at…That has not been the case in soccer. In order for the U.S. to become better in soccer, we’re going to have to keep all of the good players here, and not lose them to overseas (more prestigous) teams and leagues. And in order to do that….you have to pay them.
But here’s the catch with that….in order to pay them big bucks, soccer would need to get the big TV contracts (like the NFL.) With that being said, will soccer really ever become a dominant sport here in the states?
I know I personally would much rather watch a hard hitting football game instead…
Wait & See
There seem to be a lot of unhappy Predator fans over this weekends draft. There are 2 things we know about this team, they have depth on defense and they desperately need scoring. Having said that, they went defense in the 1st round with Ryan Ellis.
OK, so that doesn’t make a ton of sense, but I have to agree with G-M David Poile on this one. He pointed out they need scoring NOW and Ellis likely won’t be a part of this team for at least 3 years. What the pick does do is give them even more room to unload one of their young defensemen for a forward. If they don’t make any kind of move to add scoring I’ll be right in line with the fans wondering how they heck this team plans on scoring any goals or winning any games.
Free agency starts July 1st, the real answers about the 2009 Predators should start coming then.
Fun Final Day of OTA'S for the Titans!
The Tennessee Titans wrapped up their final day of Organized Team Activiities on Friday with a flair.
Instead of a normal practice full of drills, Head Coach Jeff Fisher surprised his players with a day full of games.
One of the big hits on the day was “powerball”. The offense took on the defense, and the point of the game is to get the football into a trash can at the end of the field. It’s almost a mix of basketball and football. The defense won out over the offense in that game, and some of the guys really showed how athletic they are….namely Michael Griffin.
The titans also played tug-of-war, where the rookie offensive linemen took the crown over the defense in less than 10 seconds.
Bo Scaife said after practice that he believes this offense just dominates the locker room. I couldn’t tell if he meant just on the day or in general during these OTA’s…but for the sake of not having Keith Bulluck put Scaife in his place, I’ll say that he meant just on the day.
Linebacker Keith Bulluck responded to those comments with this:
“It’s about time (they win something). I guess they’re good at YMCA games. Hopefully when we come back in August they’ll dominate some real practices and all of our opponents, I’m sure they will.”
Bulluck also said that while the Titans offense won out in today’s “game day”, the defense has been the impressive unit during these OTA’s. Even without big Albert Haynesworth.
“This defense has an identity with Albert in the lineup and without Albert in the lineup. There are a lot of things that are still consistent with this defense and you take away one person and it doesn’t matter…it is not the end of all ends. Don’t worry about the Titans defense because we’re definitely showing up this year.”
Bulluck and Vanden Bosch are the anchors and leaders of this defense, and I believe them. I don’t think they will miss a beat this year without Albert. They might not be quite as dominating, but they will still be one heck of a defense to play.
I wasn’t in town last year fro OTA’s-my first day here at WKRN was actually the first day of training camp in July, but from everything I saw, I was very impressed with how they went. And from the way everyone around here talks, this year’s OTA’s seem to be more impressive than last year’s.
This could be an exciting year for this team! Bring on Training Camp!!!
1 To Go!
It’s almost over! Just 1 O-T-A (organized team activity) left for the Tennessee Titans, then they and we get about a month off. I love the NFL. I love covering the NFL. I am ready for a breather though.
It should be an extremely exciting season in Music City if everyone can stay healthy. This team is as talented as any they’ve had and the defense hasn’t lost a bit of its swagger despite the departure of Albert Haynesworth.
So, take the next month and rest up because it could be a long ride this season!
A New Era?
I’ll be the first to admit it, I am not the biggest soccer fan in the world. Not enough scoring chances and then there’s that “extra” time the referees can arbitrarily add at the end of the game. I digress. Congratulations to the United States Soccer team for their biggest win since electricity!
The U.S. beat top ranked Spain today 2-0 in the Confederation Cup Semi-Finals. It is not World Cup play, but they were still playing Spain and that’s not too bad. I’ve been listening to soccer fans for years and I keep telling them to get back to me when we finally win something, anything. Today that day came and I say enjoy it! Hopefully, there will be more to come.
Open & Shut
Well we watched for 3 days not believing Ricky Barnes could hold on and win the U.S. Open championship and sadly, we were proved correct.
After charging to 11-under par in round 3 Barnes faded and faded and then faded some more as the rope got tighter and tighter. Barnes did finish tied for second at 2-under and will take home over $500,000 so let’s not call it a complete loss, but it was just another example of why players usually don’t come out of nowhere to major championships.
Congratulations to Lucas Glover for withstanding the spotlight and taking the prize. He may not be a household name, but he’s not the mystery man Barnes is.
Poor Phil Mickelson. 2nd at the Open for a record 5th time! At this point he’s not playing for money, he’s playing for his place in history and more and more that place is second.
My favorite story David Duval! I was flat out stunned to see him in contention and thought it was fantastic see him stay there to until the very end. This guy shot a 59 a few years ago and was the number one ranked golfer in the world. If he can get his head and game back together it would be nice to see if he could be another one of those guys who could actually challenge Tiger Woods on a consistent basis.
Fisher is good on his word...
Yep…Jeff Fisher’s softball team took the 10-8 win over Special Teams Coach Alan Lowry’s guys on Saturday night at Greer. Although our sources tell us that Coach Fisher’s team got a TON of breaks….and the win was a bit tainted.
But hey, the coach guaranteed the win, and he got it!
