An Injustice of Severe Magnitudes...

       After a 2 month layoff from the blog world, we are back... Now as you probably know, the NFL and its greedy, selfish, and villainous owners have locked the players out from the game. This is catastrophic, as the NFL is probably the greatest thing since sliced bread. What does this mean for the fans, players, and the game itself? Well, I have one simple answer to that... KEEP READING!

NFL Commissioner/Hypocrite of the Year Award recipient
Roger Goodell

        If you're unfamiliar with the story, which I hope you are not, here's how it is. Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner and main representative of the NFL and its owners, is now possibly known as the biggest hypocrite in sports(see Jose Canseco for dispute). Not only has Goodell enforced a no-tolerance policy on head-hunting, or hits to the head; but Goodell wants to mandate an 18 game schedule to increase annual revenue by approximately $1 billion. Now if you don't realize what's wrong with this right off the bat, you obviously don't know a thing about football. Goodell says he wants to prevent further injuries to the head, mainly concussions; however, wouldn't adding 2 games to the season schedule promote the chance of injury to players, especially to those who belong to teams not making the playoffs. It not only ruins the schedule system that is in place currently(which is perfectly fine), but will also shorten the duration of the average NFL career, standing at 3.3 seasons per player. The REAL reason behind Goodell's continued enforcement of a non-toleration for hits to the head is to prevent the acts of lawsuits by former players whom have sustained concussions throughout there career, and thus further sustained permanent brain injuries and have had their lives altered by head injuries. That is the reason why GOODELL wants to lock out the players.

         The main reason why the NFL owners want to lock out the players, and have successfully done so, is simply for more cash in their pockets at the expense of the players, the fans, and the great game of football itself. The financial juggernaut known as the National Football League accumulates apporximately $9 billion annually through ticket sales and commercialization, which is then split among the players and owners. Under the collective bargaining agreement that had been in place previous to yesterday(agreed to in 2006), the owners would take $1 billion right away, and would further divide the rest of the revenue. The original sum of money the players would earn collectively would come out to a total of $4.8 billion. However, the owners would now like to take $2 billion off the top and further divide the rest, which would then lower the pot of player money to $4.2 billion. Based on the revenue of the average NFL team, the salary cap of each team is approximately $128 million. That translates to a loss of almost 5 teams worth of salary, something the players definitely would NOT stand for. Even though there was no salary cap in place last year due to the possible expiration of the collective bargaining agreement, there must be one in place in order to prevent the possible act of a bigger, more profitable team such as the Green Bay Packers or Chicago Bears buying their way to a Super Bowl win, whereas a smaller team such as the Carolina Panthers may not be able to do so.

        The final problem between the owners and players association is the institution of a rookie wage scale. Now, if you actually have paid attention to football at all, you might be wondering, "hmmm, but don't both sides agree upon those terms?" Why yes, yes they do, saddened football fan, but the problem awaits both during and after the draft. Now both sides would like to prevent paying unnecessary sums of money to top 5 draft picks such as Rams QB Sam Bradford(6 years, $78 million, $50 million guaranteed), or Falcons QB Matt Ryan(6 years, $78 million, $34.75 million guaranteed) or to even prevent what happened with Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell(6 years, $68 million, $31.45 million guaranteed), one of the biggest NFL draft busts/failures of all-time. Well... what makes the draft so fun is that a lot of picks get moved around for players, or more picks. Now the problem with this is that with no collective bargaining agreement in place, no players can be signed or traded... WAIT A MINUTE! That also means that... YES! Draft picks cannot be signed either, which leaves them in a state of limbo after being drafted, which makes some wonder why a draft is even in place this April. This is a very serious situation, and due to previously trading of draft picks between teams for this draft, a "SuperDraft", consisting of players of this year's draft class and next year's as well, will definitely NOT happen. Now I don't know if the owners(by the way, most of them look as if they lived through World War I{see Raiders owner Al Davis}) realize what they are doing, but in a sense, they could be losing several future NFL stars who can't find a job this year, because they are ineligible to return to their respective colleges.

NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith

Although the NFL owners have now locked out the players at the moment, the NFL player's association, led by executive director DeMaurice Smith, has officially decertified their union, meaning the players can now seek an injunction in court and file a lawsuit so that not only the players get their paychecks, but football can further resume for a full season this year. These lawsuits will consist of a series of long and heated court battles. However, the players seem to have the edge considering federal judge David Doty is considered to be "pro-player's union". For now, the NFL may be in limbo and may seem to never re-establish, but have no fear, Tom Brady and Drew Brees are here, as they will be the main representatives of the NFL player's union in court. Let's only pray that there may be football this year.

Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl

  Now I probably know what your thinking, what a funny name for a bowl game. Well it might be but this game should be pretty interesting. Its the Louisville Cardinals and the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles. Southern Mississippi did good in the last month of the season going 3-1. The Golden Eagles are 8-5, being 5-3 in the Conference USA conference. Louisville on the other struggled down the stretch losing 2 of there last 3 games. The Cardinals are 6-6 overall, going 3-4 in the Big East. Louisville has lost 5 of there 6 games by 8 or less points. The only game they lost big in was @ Pittsburgh 20-3 on October 30th. Southern Mississippi has also lost there games close. Two of there loses were by one point and the other was by six. There only big loss was against South Carolina 41-13 the first week of the season. This should be a close game all the way and now I will show the stats leaders of the Year:
 Southern Mississippi:
 Passing: Austin Davis- 2898 passing yards, 18 TD'S, 6 INT'S 134.10 QB rating.
 Rushing: Kendrick Hardy- 855 rushing yards, 7 TD'S 6.7 Yards per Carry, no fumbles
 Receiving: Kevin Bolden- 667 receiving yards, 6 TD'S, 16.3 Yards per Catch
Southern Mississippi has one of the most explosive offenses averaging 37.6 points per game, but have been giving up 29.4 points per game.

                                            Southern Mississippi QB Austin Davis

 Louisville:
 Passing: Adam Froman- 1633 passing yards, 11 TD'S 4 INT'S 136.46 QB rating.
 Rushing: Bilal Powell- 1330 rushing yards, 10 TD'S 9.3 Yards per Carry, no fumbles.
 Receiving: Cameron Graham- 439 receiving yards, 4 TD'S 11.9 Yards per Catch.

                                          Louisville RB Bilal Powell

 Louisville's offense is decent averaging 26 points per game while giving up only 18.7 points per game.
 In my mind it will be a close game. These two teams a different in many ways. One is better at passing and the other is rushing. One has a good offense, the other has a better defense. I think this game will come down to Bilal Powell and how Louisville controls the Time of Possession. i think Louisville wins 24-20.

Bowl Season Begins

 The best time of the year in College Football is about to start, Bowl Season is beginning tomorrow 12/18/10 official begins the Bowl Season with three games: BYU vs. UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl, Northern Illinois vs Fresno State in the Humanitarian Bowl and Ohio vs Troy in the R & L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
 BYU vs UTEP: this should be a decent game. Both finished the season 6-6 overall. The BYU Cougars are led by junior running back JJ Di Luigi. He led the team in both receiving and in rushing this year. He is an all-purpose back who did pretty good this year. Their quarterback Jake Heaps, who has had 2,052 passing yards and 11 TD'S, has been a big drop off from last year's quarterback Max Hall. UTEP, who has a great receiver in the senior Kris Adams who has 917 yards and 11 TD'S. There senior quarterback, Trevor Vittatoe, has had his worst season passing-wise in the four years he was there. I think the game will be decided by Adams or Di Luigi and I think UTEP will win 31-24.

                                            BYU Running Back JJ DI luigi

Northern Illinois vs Fresno State: This will be the best game of the day. Northern Illinois is 10-3 and undefeated in the MAC. Fresno State is 8-4 and 5-3 in the WAC. Northern Illinois is led by senior Chad Spann who has 1,293 yards and 20 TD'S. this proves they are a running team since there leading receiver has 514 receiving yards, which is junior Willie Clark. Fresno State, who is coming off of a big win against Illinois, is led by Sophomore running back Robbie Rouse, who will be likely playing in the game with a cast. He has  1,097 rushing yards and 8 TD'S. their quarterback Ryan Colburn has 2,529 passing yards 21 TD'S and 9 INT'S. I think Northern Illinios will win this 34-24.

                                           Northern Illinois Running Back Chad Spann
 The last game of the day will be Ohio vs Troy. Ohio is 8-4 overall and 6-2 in the MAC. Troy is 7-5 overall and 6- in the Sun Belt conference. Ohio doesn't really have a great offense but they have a running back by committee. They have Vince Davidson who has 509 rushing yards and 6 TD'S and QB Phil Bates has 508 rushing yards and 3 TD'S. They haves Senior Wide Receiver Terrence McCrae who has 481 yards and  8 TD'S. Troy is led by freshman Corey Robinson who has 3,339 passing yards and 24 TD'S. Troy has one of the best passing offenses in the game, being 12th overall in the nation. Due to this, I think Troy will win because they are the only real passing team of the day. This will be an exciting offense to watch and Troy will win 35-23.

                                          Troy Quarterback Corey Robinson

Three Idiots

 Now this is a new article that I will try to make at least once a week. In this article, I will write about the three people we either laughed at because it was so bad, or shook our heads at in dissapointment. I will start in reversus or with three and go down to one.

  3. Santonio Holmes- the reason why I put Santonio on this list is because he lost the Jets the game versus the Dolphins. In the second quarter on a third and ten from the Dolphins 17 yard line QB Mark Sanchez threw a pass to a wide open Santonio Holmes. There was only one problem, Holmes never made the catch. If he made the catch the Jets would of trailed 10-7, instead they went in at halftime trailing 10-3. This was important because the Jets lost 10-6, if Holmes makes this catch it would of been tied 10-10. Knowing the Jets luck this year, they would of won the game in overtime and would of remained only a game behing the New England Patriots in the AFC East. Instead, the Jets are 9-4 and are looking at the 6th seed in the Playoffs. With the Jets remaining schedule:@ Pittsburgh Steelers, @ Chicago bears and at home against the Buffalo Bills. The next two teams records are a combined 19-5. The Jets needed this win knowing the tough strecth they are now looking at. If the Jets don't change things, they will be going into the final week 9-6 and wondering if they will make the playoffs. If the playoffs started, the Jets would be playing @ Kansas City, which I think would be a hard game to win. Do I think they will have the same drive them launched them into the playoffs last year. I'm not sure about that but it is the Jets were talking about.

  2. Nate Robinson- As all of us were probably watching the New York Knicks- Boston Celtics game, You might of saw Paul Pierce hit the game-winning shot. But after that, Celtics guard Nate Robinson decides to jump on top of Pierce and he falls flat on his face. Robinson, a former Knick who was traded during the season last year, made two attempts on jumping on Pierce's back. The first time he landed on his feet so he decided to do it again and it was disgraceful. I guess Robinson didn't realize that jumping in the air to get on someone's back doesn't work if the person is moving foward. Robinson, who finished the game with nine points, will probably be remembered for falling on his face than any of the points he scored that night. He is just lucky he didn't end up hurting himself because that would of been a big blow to the Celtics second-team group.

And now for the #1 idiot of this week you probably know who it is since I already wrote a blog about him this week:

  1.Sal Alosi- Since I wrote the article about him, it has been proven that Alosi did tell a couple of inactive players to line-up on the sideline in that position. Zach Taylor was right and he gets the credit he deserves for being right. I'm still mad about the whole topic so if you want to know why Alosi is the idiot of the week you can read my first blog about him at:

usasportsblogger.blogspot.com/2010/12/idiot-on-sideline.html.

So these are your Idiots for the week of December 12th, hopefully we will not see as bad of people being idiots and not harming others.

Knicks on the Rise

It's holiday season, and Santa Claus has brought the New York Knicks, along with its fans, a nice early holiday gift. That gift being a 16-9 record, had astounded and marveled all NBA fans, along with Knick fans. They have already exceeded expectations for the season, and have surpassed the win total of last year's New Jersey Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves. They are rolling right now, and are in 2nd place in the Atlantic Division behind the Boston Celtics(19-4). After recording a 6 game losing streak to drop their record to 3-8, the Knicks have been on a roll ever since, posting a 13-1 record within the past 30 days.An even bigger surprise, they're tied for 4th in the Eastern Conference with the Orlando Magic. That's right, Dwight Howard and his team. But why is New York so good now after being mediocre the past decade?





There are many reasons to support the Knicks 16-9 record, the largest being the signing of C Amar'e Stoudemire, considerably the leagues MVP presently. Stoudemire has put on a show both offensively and defensively. Ever since he has re-joined coach Mike D'Antoni in New York, has put up 26.1 points per game(3rd in the NBA) and 9.1 rebounds, as well as 2 blocks per game. He has been an absolute force, and continues to dominate, with the emergence of his jumpshot. Not only that, but Stoudemire has been able to pass the ball out to his teammates, since he almost always draws a double team. He hasn't just gotten better himself, but his teammates as well. His best game came against the Detroit Pistons on November 28th at the Palace of Auburn Hills in a 126-116 win. Stoudemire put up very impressive numbers, scoring 37 points, recording 15 rebounds(5 offensive rebounds) and recording a season high 7 assists. The Knicks' success almost certainly depends on the health and and success of Stoudemire, and has been proven so thus far.

The other big player this season for the Knicks has been a quite smaller name in the NBA, PG Raymond Felton, whom the Knicks signed in free agency as well, but for 7 million dollars, rather than Stoudemire's 17 million dollars. Felton has become one of the biggest surprises of the year thus far, after a decent 4-year stint with the Charlotte Bobcats. He entered the fall as the likely candidate to be the point guard for Amar'e Stoudemire. The last point guard Stoudemire played with happened only to be 2-time MVP Steve Nash in Phoenix. Well... Felton has played great, scoring 18.4 points per game, grabbing 4 rebounds per game, and recording 8.4 assists per game, along with an even 2 steals per game. He is in line to be an All-Star, and is becoming a fan-favorite among New York. He makes Stoudemire look even better, and vice-versa. Felton has a great sense for the game, as well as ball-skills, along with a beautiful shot. He, along with Stoudemire, can be the new Batman and Robin duo in the NBA if they continue their recent success. Felton's best game came during a 125-119 win against the Golden State Warriors on November 19th. Felton posted 35 points on 13-17 shooting, while grabbing 5 rebounds, and posting 11 assists and 4 steals.

Along with the duo of Stoudemire and Felton have come many other breakout stars, those being forwards Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, both averaging above 15 points and 5 rebounds per game. A big surprise has been possible contender for rookie of the year, 2nd round draft pick SG/SF Landry Fields. Fields. Fields has averaged 10.6 points per game, but has been a rebounding machine, grabbing at least 5 rebounds in 20 of 25 games, including 17 against the Denver Nuggets in a 120-118 loss on November 16th.

All in all, look for the Knicks to become a breakout team within a few seasons. Now they won't win the NBA title right away, but with the right pieces, they will become not only a playoff contender, but a championship contender. Oh yeah, guess who is sure to be a Knick next year, after expressing great interest in becoming a Knick? Don't know? It's only superstar SF Carmelo Anthony, who has twice rejected a trade to the Nets, only to say he wants to be a part of the Knicks organization.

Baseball's LeBron "takes his talents to Philadelphia"...

This is definitely one of the more sad days of the year, by far. SP Cliff Lee shocked the baseball world last night by signing with his former team, the Philadelphia Phillies. This was an outrage to both the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers, as they were both bidding for Lee's services. The deal offered by Philadelphia is a 5-year deal worth 120 million dollars, with a 6th year player option worth as much as 27.5 million dollars based on performance incentives. The people even more upset were the fans of the Yankees and Rangers, as they lost the opportunity to watch one of the best pitchers in the game pitch for their respective team 30+ times per season.

Now it definitely comes to a surprise to all baseball fans that Lee signed with Philadelphia, but how much does it matter? Well, if you wondered why... IT DEFINITELY MATTERS! The Phillies are now led by a starting rotation of Roy Halladay(perennial All-Star), Cliff Lee(perennial All-Star), Roy Oswalt(perennial All-Star on the right team), and Cole Hamels(would be a #2 starter on any other team). Between the 4, they share a total salary of 70 million dollars alone. Then the Phillies have to pay for the other 26 players on their roster. The Phillies are now one of the top 3 teams among team salary per season. The other 2 being the Yankees and Mets.

Living in New York and being Yankee fans ourselves, both I(The Foz) and Ocho Cinco have been hearing it from all the Met fans out there, laughing at how the Yankees couldn't come up with Lee. There's a problem with their taunting... THE PHILLIES ARE IN THE METS' DIVISION, THE NL EAST. If anything, that's worse for all the NL teams out there, rather than the AL teams. Only a handful of AL teams will have the "luxury" of facing Lee and the star-studded Phillies. The siging of Lee affects the Mets and all the other NL East teams more, for they each play the Phillies 15-18 games per season.

Cliff Lee with Texas

Many have questioned the importance and severity of the Cliff Lee Sweepstakes, since it was heralded more than the CC Sabathia Sweepstakes, or even the Roy Halladay Sweepstakes. Well, a large reason of his importance is due to his postseason career. Lee, who has only pitched in the postseason the past 2 years of his career, and through 10 games, has pitched his way to 7 wins, a 2.13 ERA, a 0.82 WHIP, and 80 strikeouts in 76 innings, including 3 complete games pitched. He has dominated teams the past 2 years in the postseason, receiving consideration, along with former SP Curt Schilling, as the greatest postseason pitcher of all time. Lee has shown complete dominance, and leading up to the World Series in October(he pitched for the Rangers at the time), he was 7-0. The San Francisco Giants out a "giant" blemish on Lee's postseason numbers, as they clobbered him for 10 runs over 2 starts(both being losses). Previous to Lee's 2 starts vs the Giants, he posted a 1.23 ERA in 8 starts. His ERA inflated by almost a whole point. However, Lee hasn't just been dominant after September. Lee's success officially began in 2008, his breakthrough Cy Young award winning campaign. Lee went an astonishing 22-3 that year, and threw for 170 strikeouts and a 2.54 ERA. In 2009, he had a sub-par half-a-season, as he ended his stint with the Cleveland Indians and was traded to the Phillies. He then led the Phillies to the World Series but lost to the Yankees. This past season, Lee, even though he missed the first month and a half of the season, recorded 12 wins and 185 strikeouts, and led the MLB in WHIP(walks and hits per inning). Lee's biggest feat was his ratio of strikeouts-to-walks. Lee threw for 185 K, but only threw an astounding 18 walks, a 10.3 to 1 ratio.

Since people are puzzled on exactly how Lee signed with the Phillies, I'll tell you...
    Well, yesterday afternoon, Lee told agent Derek Braunecker to inform the Texas Rangers and GM Jon Daniels that Lee would be signing with the Rangers. Braunecker and team president Nolan Ryan later on phone called the New York Yankees and Yankees GM Brian Cashman that Lee had made a verbal agreement to sign with the Rangers. The deal was a 6-year deal worth up to 140 million dollars. Then, last night came along, and in the black of the night, a phone call was made to Ryan by Phillies GM Ruben Amaro that THEY had signed Lee to a 5-year, 120 million dollar deal. The Rangers were outraged, and confronted Braunecker. Braunecker confessed to back-stabbing Lee and so-fort, Lee verbally committed to an agreement to become a Philly.

Here are some possible motifs to why Cliff Lee signed with Philadelphia:
1. Salary per season- The Phillies offered the most salary per season, but only by a million dollars or so. This seems unlikely, because they didn't offer as many years as the Yankees or Rangers did.

2. He simply hated the Yankees, and loved his time with Philadelphia more than he did with Texas. He did reach the post-season with both clubs, but seemed to enjoy the atmosphere of Philadelphia a bit more.

3. The Phillies have a better team, as well as a better pitching staff than the Rangers. The Phillies are loaded with talent, more than the Rangers.

4. Mrs. Lee... If you don't quite remember, Lee's wife was spit on and booed during the ALCS between the Yankees and Rangers in Yankee Stadium. She may have played a role on Cliff's decision

5. Last, but not least, and probably the REAL deciding factor... competition. If Lee were to sign with either the Yankees or Rangers, his team would have to deal with the other team, as well as the Red Sox, Rays, White Sox, Twins, and Angels, all teams being considered contenders. Lee formed a monopoly in the NL with the Phillies, just like LeBron pulled one with the Miami Heat. Lee is now surrounded by 3 other All-Star calibur pitchers, as well as one of the best infields, if not the best infield, in all of baseball. There seems to be no true team able to match Philadelphia's power. The NL looks weak this season. The only true team able to contest against the Phillies will be the Atlanta Braves, whom reside within the same division as the Phillies. Even with the Braves' powerful line-up thanks to the acquisition of 2B Dan Uggla, the Braves don't nearly have enough pitching to out-perform that of the Phillies' rotation.

All in all, in conclusion, or whatever you want to fill in the blank with, this is not a good day for baseball, just like July 9th was a terrible day for basketball. A monopily has formed in the NL, and it seems that no one will be able to stop Lee and the Phillies, that is, until they possibly reach the World Series.

Idiot on the Sideline.

 During the Miami Dolphins-New York Jets, which most of us watched on Saturday, during the third quarter I witnessed one of the dirtiest moves I have ever seen during a game but it was on the sideline.

 As you may know, during a punt returner, Dolphins Cornerback Nolan Carroll was the gunner and he was running down the sidelines out of bounds. Well when he was running down, he got tripped by the Jets Strength and Conditioning Coach Sal Alosi. This is a pretty big deal because when Carroll fell to the floor, he was down for a little while. In my mind this one one of the worst things I have ever seen in my life. Not only did Alosi trip Carroll but if you look at it, he did it intentionally. He stuck out his knee while Carroll was running down and Carroll hit it and flipped. Now Alosi did apologize after the game when he called Dolphins Coach Tony Sparano, Owner Woody Johnson GM Mike Tannenbaum, and the Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan. Alosi said he "wasn't thinking" and "if he could go back again, he would of taken a step back." Alosi is fined 25,000 and suspended the remained of the regular season without pay.

    Now if I was the GM of the Jets, I would be looking for a new Strength and Conditioning Coach. What Alosi did is inexcusable and no coach in the game should ever think about doing this. What would of happened if Carroll, who has had knee problems in College at Maryland,  blew out his knee. Would Alosi still be the Coach, if he would be the Jets front office should be ashamed of themselves. If it was up to me, Alosi would of been fired at eight o'clock that night. They went to light on him. After a while, everyone will forget about this and no one will remember who Sal Alosi is. If he got fired, everyone will remember he was the idiot who got fired for tripping a player. Also the league has agreed that the Jets gave Alosi enough punishment, they didn't. I would suspend Alosi at least a year without pay and in his press conference to me, it wasn't sincere enough. I think Alosi just wanted people to believe he is remorseful, but if he did regret it he would of never of done it at all.

Zach Taylor, a former Dolphins Linebacker, accused the Jets of forming a human wall on their sidelines. Also, inactive D-lineman Marcus Dixon leaned his shoulder out, preparing for impact. Also, the punt before when Reshad Jones went out of bounds, they were lined up the same way. Did they know that Carroll was going to go out on the sideline, probably not but even though they did this intentionally or unintentionally, it was the worst thing I have ever seen in an NFL Game in my life. I think it reflects the whole Jets organization that a ut on their coaching staff would actually do this. It disgusts me to no end and I hope I will never have to hear the name Sal Alosi for the rest of my life.