Better chance Bills keep Tyrod Taylor than release him

February 24, 2017

The Buffalo Bills’ decision on Tyrod Taylor’s future sits less than three weeks away. The Bills brass will have to choose whether to pick up the $27 million option bonus by March 11 or cut ties with the quarterback.

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday that it appears there is a better chance the Bills keep the quarterback than release him.

He added: “I love Cincinnati and I want to be there. I’m pretty positive that things will work out in a way that I’ll be there again, but I want to take advantage of the opportunity of being free and listen to what other people have to say. I think that’s the right way to do it.”

The notoriously thrifty Bengals could already be losing Kevin Zeitler in free agency, so it would be in their best interest to lock up the 35-year-old to a career-ending deal. Whitworth has been one of the league’s premier tackles for some time, but has been getting the fair amount of praise only recently. His three Pro Bowls were in 2012, 2015 and 2016.

While Whitworth mentioned staying put, there’s a chance he would entertain a contender. His team’s former defensive coordinator, Mike Zimmer, is a few good offensive linemen away from winning the NFC North with the Vikings.

Back in 2015, the club drafted offensive tackles in the first and second round and took a guard in 2016. Only one of them, Cedric Ogbuehi, has been a major contributor so far. If the plan was drafting Ogbuehi and Jake Fisher with the intention of one day replacing Whitworth, then Cincinnati might feel differently than the fans who don’t want to see a stellar offensive lineman leave the building.

Von Miller to the Atlanta Falcons for two first-round picks and a second-round pick

February 22, 2017

While Major League Baseball is concerned with the pace of its games, MLBA head Tony Clark is looking to limit new rules for 2017.
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MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday that the league is reviewing its stance on gambling and Las Vegas could be a viable destination for a baseball team in the future.

Manfred said while he prefers an agreement, “I’m also not willing to walk away.” Clark met with Cactus League teams last week, five at a time over Thursday, Friday and Saturday, before departing Monday for Florida to visit each Grapefruit League club — and proposed rules changes were a topic.
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“I have great respect for the labor relations process, and I have a pretty good track record for getting things done with the MLBPA,” Manfred said. “I have to admit, however, that I am disappointed that we could not even get the MLBPA to agree to modest rule changes like limits on trips to the mound that have little effect on the competitive character of the game.”

The Denver Broncos learned this season that their defense wouldn’t be able to carry the team by itself as it did when they won the Super Bowl two seasons ago. The Falcons had just about everything they needed to win Super Bowl LI, but ultimately came up short in blowing a 25-point lead. The defense of the Falcons improved immensely as the season progressed, to be fair.

Adding Miller as another pass rusher would make the Falcons nearly a superteam in the NFL. Their offensive arsenal is already loaded with Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Devonta Freeman, and Tevin Coleman.

Defensively, Vic Beasley surprised everyone by leading the NFL in sacks, and Grady Jarrett put on a dang show in the Super Bowl. The young defensive backs like Robert Alford and Keanu Neal have showed promise.

Add Miller to that equation, and that’s as complete as a team gets.

2016 NFL Combine: Wide receiver bench press results

February 19, 2017

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The NFL Scouting Combine got underway properly Friday, with the first position group of players, containing offensive linemen and tight ends, hitting the field in Indianapolis for workouts and skill drills. While that happened, a second group of players, consisting of quarterbacks, wide receivers and running backs, hit the weight room for the bench press.

I know because it’s exactly what I would say. And I, nor them, are probably going to be wrong.

Hell, what I see on film is pretty damn good, now. The Amari Cooper I see on film doesn’t have many, if any, holes in his game.

Cooper can run all the routes well. He has pretty good hands, too. I only counted three for sure drops in five games, with erratic quarterback play. He is evidently a student of the game, as you can see him recognize zone coverage (Florida 4:16) and work to get open. The guy never looks surprised by a blitz and, as I said earlier, he is physical as hell, which will probably take most receivers further than they have any right to go considering other deficiencies in their game, outside of having excellent hands.

General manager Dell Demps is on the hot seat with the team in danger of missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons since Anthony Davis signed a contract extension. He prioritized getting a center so Davis could play more at power forward. The Pelicans were close on trading for Jahlil Okafor and were willing to trade a first-round pick for him, but they couldn’t come to terms with Philadelphia.

Authentic Antwon Blake Jersey Cousins represents a gamble for sure, but the Pelicans were able to buy low, especially since they were able to not have to trade point guard Jrue Holiday in the deal. Holiday is a free agent after the season, but New Orleans has now assembled a star core that has potential to be part of a strong team.

The Yordano Ventura you never knew

February 17, 2017

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Yordano Ventura’s brashness gave rise to a public perception that could be less than flattering. From brushes with Major League Baseball justice to stare-downs and combative exchanges with Manny Machado, Mike Trout and others, Ventura played the game with an edge that was too robust to fit in his 6-foot, 195-pound package.

That combustible Ventura was a world removed from the playful side on display within the confines of the Kansas City Royals’ clubhouse — or the tender, nurturing side that Ventura showed while dispensing acts of kindness in a children’s cancer ward.

People who came to know Ventura during his eight seasons with the Royals’ organization recall that he loved spending time with kids at local hospitals, and he had a gift for relating to them. His outreach efforts stemmed in part from losing his friend, former minor league teammate and fellow Dominican Republic native Carlos Fortuna, to cancer at age 22 in 2013.

One particular interaction with an ailing child continues to resonate today, three weeks after Ventura’s death in a car accident in the Dominican Republic.

The odd man out is Scooter Gennett, who in 414 games as a major leaguer has played 413 at second base.

Counsell said he plans to get Gennett, a fourth-year Brewer and the team’s second-longest-tenured position player behind only Ryan Braun, playing time at third base and in left field this spring.

“We can’t throw everything at him right away. This is new for him. He’s had a great attitude about it, and he’s coming into it with the right frame of mind,” Counsell said. “He’s not an old player. We’re in a scenario where it feels like Scooter is the player that’s been around, but he’s 26 years old.”

Elite Kids Gabriel Landeskog Jersey Gennett, a career .279 hitter from the left side of the plate, is taking the change in stride.

Real Sociedad v FC Barcelona – Copa Del Rey Quarter-final: First LegReal Sociedad v FC Barcelona

February 15, 2017

Iniesta was weird because this was his type of game. This is where he usually is at his best. In these games where Barcelona need someone to be the release valve from the opponent’s pressure. To beat two defenders with a feint and a turn, to relax the midfield and run circles around his counterparts — the juniors who wish to be him eventually. They needed Iniesta to be the building block for their attack and the lifeboat for their defenders, and he just wasn’t there.

Well, he was there, but not Iniesta as we’ve known him for a very long time. This was the half-fit version and old version. The one ravaged by injuries. The one that is painfully making his way to the fringes. This was a very declined Iniesta.

At his best, Iniesta is a great representation of what Barcelona does. The game flows through him. He exists in an almost supernatural dimension where he can hypnotize opponents with one- and two-touch passing, beat defenders by using their own momentum against them, and see the entire field. Even behind him. In those moments, he’s omnipresent.

And not only dogs, but the best dogs, dogs that dog eugenics have deemed the most pure. The best comparison I can make is that it’s like that first really cold beer on a Friday afternoon at 4:30 after a long week. Or that bubbly happiness you get when you haven’t had a crush for a while and then go to a party and unexpectedly hit it off with someone. It is at once relief, comfort, and pure delight.

As for the portrait of me, his pièce de résistance, Rubenstein said, “Well, my work yesterday was geared at drumming up something abstract, as a sort of combination of Picasso, with some elements of Monet sprinkled in there, in an effort to provide you with your greatest V-Day in the history of your life. I don’t provide my art for just any occasion, only for the moments that truly call for it.”

The Ravens hope Breshad Perriman can become their No. 1 receiver.

February 13, 2017

He has been with the Seahawks for six years but is set to be an unrestricted free agent, and the team signed Blair Walsh on Thursday. Hauschka has missed 10 extra point attempts the past two seasons, and coach Pete Carroll often pointed out that his low kicks were part of the problem. Hauschka still has a strong leg (he hit nine of 11 field goals from 40 yards or longer in 2016) and was good on kickoffs. But he will likely want to get paid as a top-10 kicker. The Seahawks should let another team pay that, allow Walsh to compete with a rookie and use the financial savings elsewhere on the roster.

Elite Mens Melvin Ingram Jersey “I sure hope that Breshad Perriman becomes a true No. 1,” coach John Harbaugh said at the end of the season. “To me, there are signs that is possible. But he has a ways to go; he has a lot of work to do to get it done. You see the radius and you see the speed, and I think you see that here is a guy who has a chance.”

In order for Perriman to become the No. 1 receiver, he has to become more than a two-dimensional one. A majority of his 33 receptions this past season came on fly or drag routes. Perriman proved he can run past cornerbacks deep downfield and he can zip past defenders after catching short passes in stride. The rest of his game remains a question mark.

Moses, a standout pass rusher at the University of Georgia, was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the third round of the 2007 NFL draft, but the Raiders cut him before the season began. Moses was claimed off of waivers by the Arizona Cardinals and released a few weeks later. The Dolphins claimed Moses, and he spent the remainder of his NFL career in Miami.
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Quentin Moses, a former defensive end/outside linebacker with the Miami Dolphins, was pronounced dead Sunday morning following a house fire in Monroe, Georgia.

Andria Godard, 31, and her 10-year-old daughter, Jasmine, were also found dead inside the home.

I think to turn on the Olympics next year and watch hockey teams or the players representing their countries

February 11, 2017

The Canucks lost once again, this time a 6-3 defeat at the hands of the Wild, but Horvat notched his 15th goal in the loss. The 21-year-old is now one goal shy of tying his career high, and seven points away from tying his career-best 40-point season from last year.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia just walked out of the locker room into a crater. By the third period in Raleigh, N.C., the Flyers had fallen behind 5-1 while amassing just eight shots on goal. It was such a pitiful performance that coach Dave Hakstol put his fourth line out on the power play in the waning minutes.

After the NHL All-Star Game, Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews told reporters that, in his opinion, you “can’t really compare” the scale and prestige of the Olympics to the World Cup of Hockey.
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“Quite frankly, I think to turn on the Olympics next year and watch hockey teams or the players representing their countries, if it’s not the best in the world, I don’t know,” said Toews. “I don’t know. I just feel like we’re misrepresenting our sport on a pretty huge scale and a pretty huge level. A lot of the talk has been it’s the players pushing for it, and it’s the players that are interested and want to go.

Saturday’s game will be an emotional one not only for Kevin Durant as he returns to Oklahoma City for the first time since leaving the Thunder to sign with the Warriors, but for Golden State as well as the team’s last trip here was its epic Game 6 comeback last season.

Golden State, the -150 favorite on the odds to win the NBA championship, is 12-2 SU and 9-3-1 ATS over its last 14 games.

Elite Mens Michael Johnson Jersey Saturday night’s total is set at 226 points. The UNDER is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings between the Warriors and Thunder.

Durant has bested Westbrook twice this season as Golden State has two blowout wins at home over Oklahoma City. On Saturday, Westbrook and the Thunder will have a chance at revenge on their home floor.

That doesn’t sound like an endorsement of Jones and Mettenberger as primary backup options.

February 5, 2017

The New England Patriots meet the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI on Sunday, Feb. 5 in Houston. Here is the current betting line from the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.

Although I¡¯m from Western Massachusetts, the roots of this passionate Boston sports fan run deep. Almost every year during my college experience (2013 to 2017) at University of Massachusetts-Amherst, the Red Sox or the Patriots have been in championship contention.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has said, ¡°If you know someone, it doesn¡¯t mean you agree with everything they say or do,¡± and has questioned why his relationship with Trump is such a big deal. During a Super Bowl opening night news conference, Brady asked rhetorically, ¡°What¡¯s going on in the world? I haven¡¯t paid much attention. I¡¯m just a positive person.¡±

That doesn’t sound like an endorsement of Jones and Mettenberger as primary backup options.
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The Steelers are in a difficult spot because Roethlisberger could play one more season, or five, and not many would be surprised either way. The roster still has a few holes in other areas, namely pass-rusher and an additional playmaker on offense.
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But investing in a passer on Day 2 of the draft would be a sensible play here, assuming the Steelers see long-term starter’s potential.

The team’s last quarterback selected in the first three rounds? Roethlisberger, in 2004.

This is where the Manny test case will play out

January 21, 2017

These days, he’s going through counseling and considers himself a recovering addict. On a recent afternoon, he logged on to his PC and called up his Steam account. It showed that he had made a total of $8,365 in purchases since joining in 2012. He looked at the balance that is left: 4 cents.

“It’s almost like a whole different person did that,” he said, staring at the screen. “Looking at that, it’s not me.” He paused. “At least, that’s not who I wanted to be.”

Assael is one of the original staff members at ESPN The Magazine, and a member of the network’s Enterprise & Investigations Group. He is a contributor to Outside the Lines and the author of four books. His most recent is The Murder of Sonny Liston: Las Vegas, Heroin and Heavyweights, a Boston Globe best sports book of 2016.

After Sports Illustrated broke the story before the 2009 season, he said he had started using them only after he signed the then-largest contract in American sports history, a 10-year, $252 million deal with the Texas Rangers.

When he led the Yankees’ offense in the playoffs later that year, he talked about how a burden had been lifted off his shoulders, allowing him to perform up to his capabilities.

A-Rod, though, couldn’t help himself and was back on the PED train soon after. Really, there is no telling when he was off it.

This is where the Manny test case will play out. Will the majority of voters one day decide they don’t care at all about PEDs? With Selig in and Clemens and Bonds suddenly well-positioned, that is maybe where this will end up.

If that is the case, the question A-Rod really wanted to discuss in all those locker-room conversations will have an answer. He will be a Hall of Famer, and his accomplishments on the field will be validated.

The NFL may be getting a spring league in 2016, whatever that means

January 19, 2017

Former New York Giants head coach Jim Fassel may have revealed a curious development in the NFL on Tuesday. Speaking with SiriusXM NFL radio, Fassel said there could be “a very good spring league opening next year in the NFL.”

What this would entail is difficult to say. Would spring league teams be associated with current NFL teams? Would players essentially be additional members to the teams’ currently mandated 90-man offseason rosters? How would it comply with the NFL’s current rules about limited contact during offseason practices? Would this mean that some football players could play a couple dozen, or more, games in a calendar year?
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Players currently employed by the NFL wouldn’t be able to participate without violating the collective bargaining agreement, so presumably the league would be an opportunity for veteran free agents and undrafted rookies to show off for teams in a makeshift farm league. Pretty good idea, right? More football, the better? Except for the fact that one-off football leagues, even the NFL-backed NFL Europe, have a pretty poor track record of success.

SAD NEWS: Former Browns receiver JuJuan Dawson was found dead in a Texas lake on Monday.

Earnest Byner Limited Jersey SPRING LEAGUE: Is the NFL on the verge of implementing a spring league? That’s what Jim Fassel thinks. We have some questions about how an NFL spring league would work.

KROMER ON LEAVE: The Bills put Aaron Kromer on paid leave, per NFL personal conduct policy, while police investigate his alleged brawl with some minors in Florida.