Monthly Archives: February 2012

Tragic A and M

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Just days after he was offered the head coaching job at Texas A&M, former Murray State coach Billy Kennedy had been diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s disease.  Often starting with something as little as a twitching hand, Parkinson’s is no joke.  His wife had been poking fun of the way his arm moved because she thought it was due to a shoulder injury.  However, a neurologist discovered that it was something more. Parkinson’s is an incurable disease. Kennedy explained:

“I just threw it to the side and kept going. I tried to hide it. I thought I could keep going without anyone ever knowing a thing.”  

A&M decided to put this off as an “undisclosed medical condition”, in order to protect Coach Kennedy’s privacy.  Although the Aggies were picked in the pre-season to win the Big 12 conference, the three weeks that Kennedy had to take off seemed to be disastrous.  That coupled with a few key injuries.  He has since turned things around but they are nowhere near where they were projected to be, at only 12-8 overall.

There have been other famous people who have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s as well.  Michael J. fox, and Muhammad Ali to name a few.  Coach Bill Kennedy vows to get back to each and every individual who sent him letters and prayers throughout his struggle.

Patriots vs. Giants: Wide Receivers

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Only four more days… damn the anticipation is killing me. Today we will take a lot at the Wide Receivers for both the Giants and the Patriots.

The Giants wide receivers have come alive this year in a way not to many expected. Victor Cruz, a Umass Amherst Alumni was one of the top receivers in the league this year and his stats certainly illustrate that. Having him next to Hakeem Nicks, and Mario Manningham is quite the trio. Some receivers in the NFL only produce when paired up with a top-tier quarterback. This isn’t the case with these Giants receivers. These guys possess pure talent. Cruz is a deep touchdown waiting to happen and Hakeem Nicks is a matchup nightmare with his size and speed combination. Eli is a great quarterback, but it doesn’t hurt when you have the options he has. It is going to be quite the assignment for the Patriots secondary to even slow down this receiver core.

Overall Grade: A20120202-111508.jpg–

The Patriots receivers are certainly above average, but I feel as though they fall into the category noted above: Top tier quarterbacks can craft an average receiver to fall into the elite category. Wes Welker is obviously a stud in this offense, but is he as valuable talent wise in another offense? We all saw what Deion Branch did without Brady. As far as Ochocinco goes… well I have nothing to say about that. Yes the Patriots have an elite passing attack and that is undeniable, but a lot of their offense goes through their dominant tight ends and not as much through the receivers like most teams. The Patriots receivers get the job done, but talent wise they do not match up with the Giants.

Overall Grade: B

Edge: Giants

 

KG for THREE! Wait, What?

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You know it’s a good night for the Celtics when KG’s dropping dimes from the arc. The guys in green flat out embarrassed the Raptors last night, posting a 100-64 victory at the Garden. I mean beating the Raptors should leave no sense of accomplishment, but for the fans that paid only $7 for a ticket to the game, they sure got more than what they paid for. The Celts needed this kind of boost. Although all signs have pointed to this season being a bust, winning in this fashion helps separate us from the lower half of the league, proving that the old men can still ball. Showing the Celtics’ true colors. Not to mention, this game gave the younger guys an opportunity to gain some experience on the floor, with all five starters sitting out the entire fourth quarter. An added bonus, much needed rest for the elders in this compact schedule. The C’s finally broke .500, sitting at 11-10 on the season. It could be a stretch, but I still have faith in this team. Still a lot of ball left to be played. On a side note, Rondo could be back in the lineup tomorrow. Things are looking up.

Sorry Ray, KG’s got range!

 

National Signing Day

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Just as expected, Texas and Alabama were awarded the best recruiting class after National Signing Day on Wednesday.  Ohio State, Michigan, and Florida rounded out the other 3 spots in the top 5.  However, the big story of the day is how Missouri ended up signing the nation’s top recruit, Dorial Green-Beckham, who had been recruited since he was a freshman.

He is an extremely athletic wide receiver who is already being compared to Calvin Johnson, AKA Megatron.  He currently holds the nation’s highest receiving yard career record, with 6,353 yards.  He is 6’6, 220 lbs and is going to need all of that when Mizzou moves to the SEC next season.

Deadly Riot at Soccer Game in Egypt

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Over seventy fans were pronounced dead and hundreds of other fans were injured Wednesday at a soccer game in Egypt. Apparently one of the top clubs in their league was upset and chaos ensued. Riot police failed miserably to intervene and the mess got worse and now at least 74 paid their life due to this. This is horrible and shocking news.

I know soccer games are known to get wild over in Europe and Africa, but this is ridiculous. Fans threw rocks, sticks, and chairs while storming onto the field. It was the deadliest incident at a soccer match since 1996 and definitely sets back soccer in Africa. I really don’t understand how some people think and can be that violent over a simple game.

Thoughts and prayers go out to those wounded in this tragic incident.

Brad Marchand Event Today!

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Just wanted to send out a final reminder for you guys who want to come join us with I Love Boston Sports and Bruins star Brad Marchand in Boston today. We’ll be at the Upper Crust on BU Campus at 88 Comm Ave, right across from the Agganis Arena. Try to get there early, should be chaotic. On a side note, the Celts held on to win last night in Cleveland 93-90. I’ll have more on that game after the event today. Come join us!

Bruins Battle for a Win

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The Bruins did not bring their best effort to the first two periods at the TD Garden last night but came alive in the third period fueled by some hard-nosed effort by Marchand who put the puck in the back of the net while being mauled on the powerplay and by Seidenberg’s miracle center ice goal. I have never seen anything like that and probably won’t again. It reminded me of a fluke NHL 11 or 12 goal that you would score at one in the morning against your roommate, and not something a pro goalie would allow. I’m sure Craig Anderson is going to get ribbed by his teammates for the next week.

After I posted my favorite hockey hit of the year by Marchand on Salo yesterday, it reminded me of a similar hit from a great scene in the movie Remember the Titans. Take a look (Fast forward to 1:10)

 

Gambler’s Anonymous

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For those of you who love to bet, you’re not alone.  Although I am skeptic to bet on the actual outcome of the Super Bowl (due to superstition and my incredibly bad track record with betting), I thought it would be fun to check out some of the other wagers that are out there.  Here are a select few that your average bookie probably wouldn’t take:

  • How long will it take Kelly Clarkson to sing the National Anthem? (o/u 1:34)
  • Will Kelly Clarkson forget or omit at least one word of the National Anthem? ($10 wins $25)
  • What color will Madonna’s hair be? (anything other than blonde is $10 for $25)
  • Will Madonna be wearing fish net stockings at any time during the half-time show?
  • How many times will Giselle be shown during the game? (o/u .5)
  • How many times will Tyree’s catch be shown during the game? (o/u 1… this is probably the easiest bet ever)

So would you take any of these? Some of them feel like locks.  I’m sure there will be even more absurd ones to come in the next few days.

NY Media Attacks Brady

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This is from a few days ago, but I wanted to make sure we got this out there. As I’m sure most know, the Pats had a send off “pep rally” at Gillette the other day before the team left for Indy. At the rally, Tom Brady stated this:

“We have the greatest fans in America. You guys have proved that year in and year out with your support. I wish I could take all you guys to Indy with us. We’re going down there, and we’re going down there for one reason. We’re going to give it our best and hopefully we have a lot more people at our party next weekend.”

Yup, certainly a low blow by one of the best quarterbacks, arguable of all-time. Is anyone surprised that the NY Media tried to spin this on Brady and blow it out of proportion? Not only that, but Gary Myers, writer for New York Daily News tried putting Brady on blast even more so, saying he provided the Giants with bulletin material and comparing his statement to Jerry Jones well planned act of giving his players NFC Championship tickets before the Divisional game a few years back. I think it’s safe to say the Giants are scared. No, petrified. They just have no motivation to win this game, and the New York media knows it. In a pathetic attempt to stir up spirits in New York, the media just gave the Patriots all more of a reason to stomp all over the Giants. Brady’s been there before, he knows the routine. He’s never been one to stir up controversy in the media prior to a big game. Never. New York on the other hand? Jeeze, where do I begin?

New Draft Record

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There have been a record number of underclassmen who have declared for the NFL Draft this year.  65 to be exact.  This is well over the record of 56 that declared for last years. One of the main reasons seems like it has to do with the new labor agreement (remember that lockout thing?).  Well rookie contracts are now almost half of what they had been in previous years.  This encourages these players to get into the league early, get through their rookie contracts sooner, and move on to the larger stipends that come along with their second contracts.

This basically gets rid of any incentive to remain in college to better their draft status for the following years.  Hopefully they can figure this out so it does not turn into a nightmare like college basketball.