According to this SI Article, Gus Johnson will be leaving CBS to Join FOX's broadcast team. This is terrible news because Gus will no longer be going crazy during March Madness.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Rooting for the Red Wings?
First let me just say that I am a Blackhawks fan and hate the Red Wings, however I find myself cheering for them to advance. There is a good reason for it so hear me out. The only reason I am cheering for Detroit is because I believe that they have a better chance to beat the Canucks in the Western Conference Finals and I despise the Vancouver Canucks. If you haven't heard the Red Wings have fought their way back from being down 3-0 against the Sharks to tie the series 3-3. This is part of the reason why I don't think the Sharks could beat Vancouver.
The Sharks have shown us from past seasons that they are a great regular season team and a terrible playoff team. They are Washington Capitals of the Western Conference pretty much. As Noffke stated in our intense Business Lunch, if the Sharks advance to the Western Conference Finals it will be a match of which team freaks out first (Lets face it the Cancuks faced a Nashville team that has no offensive weapons so they had nothing to fear in that one). On that note I have to give credit where credit is due, the Canucks are a very good hockey team. A hockey team that freaks out just as easily as the Sharks but can beat them as well.
The Red Wings have solid veterans on the team that have the playoff experience that will benefit them is this Game 7 and possibly beyond. The majority of the roster is over the age of 30 but they are still solid players that could match up well against the Canucks. So is it wrong for me to cheer for the Red Wings because I think they have a better chance to beat the Canucks? Don't get me wrong if they make it to the Stanley Cup Finals I hope they get swept but I want them to beat the Canucks in the process. Thoughts?
The Sharks have shown us from past seasons that they are a great regular season team and a terrible playoff team. They are Washington Capitals of the Western Conference pretty much. As Noffke stated in our intense Business Lunch, if the Sharks advance to the Western Conference Finals it will be a match of which team freaks out first (Lets face it the Cancuks faced a Nashville team that has no offensive weapons so they had nothing to fear in that one). On that note I have to give credit where credit is due, the Canucks are a very good hockey team. A hockey team that freaks out just as easily as the Sharks but can beat them as well.
The Red Wings have solid veterans on the team that have the playoff experience that will benefit them is this Game 7 and possibly beyond. The majority of the roster is over the age of 30 but they are still solid players that could match up well against the Canucks. So is it wrong for me to cheer for the Red Wings because I think they have a better chance to beat the Canucks? Don't get me wrong if they make it to the Stanley Cup Finals I hope they get swept but I want them to beat the Canucks in the process. Thoughts?
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Noah and Mutombo
Nice article on espn.com/chicago by Jon Greenberg, who has been doing great features on the Bulls all year.
Joakim Noah a unique player, person
And of course, any mention of Dikembe Mutombo means we have got to watch some hilarious Mutombo clips.Thursday, May 5, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Bears Draft Pick Highlights
Hooray, it's Lineman Highlights? From chicagobears.com... I hope these load paused and don't start automatically. (Post note: Woo hoo! Apparently I do know a little HTML!)
Stephen Paea (DT, Oregon State, Defensive MVP of the Pac-12 last year)
Gabe Carimi (The Jewish Hammer, Wisconsin OL, Outland Trophy winner last year) - combine video.
Stephen Paea (DT, Oregon State, Defensive MVP of the Pac-12 last year)
Gabe Carimi (The Jewish Hammer, Wisconsin OL, Outland Trophy winner last year) - combine video.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Minnesota Vikings: The Place QBs go to Die?
Last night the Minnesota Vikings made one of the more surprising picks of the Draft when they selected QB Chris Ponder #12 overall. Unless the Donavon McNabb rumors come true, this shows they are ready to move in a new direction for QB, and not just this season, but from the past 25 years.
The past 25 years, the primary way Minnesota has found it’s starting quarterback is by finding a player who is past their prime and hope he can resurrect his career. As much as division rival Chicago is mocked for its inability to find a quarterback, the Vikings have had just as many problems finding some to replace Fran Tarkenton (3 Supersbowls, 9 Pro Bowls, 1975 MVP, Primary starting QB from 1961-1978 with a 4 year hitatus play for the Giants).
Here’s a look back at the primary starting quarterbacks who have been used for Minnesota the past 25 years starting with the most recent.
2009-2010: Bret Favre
Age 40 when he started playing for the Vikings and had already been in football for 18 seasons. Won a Super Bowl in Green Bay and played in another one. Was able to lead team to 2009 NFC Championship game before getting hurt his second year.
2008: Gus Frerotte
Age 38 when he started playing for the Vikings, had been in the NFL for 14 seasons and had primarily been a back up for the past 8 seasons for Denver, Cincinnati, Miami, St Louis and Minnesota. Went to a Pro Bowl as a member of the Washington Redskins. He Led Vikings to 8-3 record before getting hurt.
2007: Tavaris Jackson
Tavaris was drafted by the Vikings with the last pick of the 2nd round the previous year. He drafted to be the Quaterback of the future, but never panned out.
2005-2006: Brad Johnson
Age 37 when he started playing for the Vikings again and had been in the NFL for 13 seasons. Won a Super Bowl in Tampa and went to 2 Pro Bowls with Tampa and Washington. Went 7-2 in 2005 missing the playoffs by 1 game. Midway through the 2006 season, he had already set an NFL record for passes completed short of a first down on third down in a season.
2001-2005: Daunte Culpepper
Culpepper is the one success story for the Vikings. They drafted him 11th in 1999 and by 2001 he was starting. He was a 3 time pro-bolwer and graced the cover of Madden 2002. His stint with the Vikings didn’t end well with the boat cruise dilemma
1999: Jeff George
Age 32 when he started playing for the Vikings and this was already his 4th team in 9 Season. He was the 1st overall pick in 1990 and had medicore success with each of his first three stops Indy, Atlanta and Oakland. In 10 games as a starter went 8-2 and put up excellent numbers (23 touchdowns, 8.6 yards per attempt, a 94.2 rating) in leading Minnesota to the playoffs and a round 1 victory of the Giants. After the season, Minnesota did not resign him
1997-1999: Randall Cunningham
Age 35 when he started play for the Vikings and coming off 1 full season of retirement. Was a three time pro-bowler with Philadelphia. In 1997 he came in to replace Brad Johnson and led the Vikings to the 2nd round of the playoffs. In 1998 he guided the Vikings to a 15–1 regular season record with 34 touchdown passes and only 10 interceptions and took them to the NFC title game where the heavily favored Vikings were upset in Overtime by the Atlanta Falcons. After playing 6 games in 1999 he was benched due to poor performance
1996-1998: Brad Johnson
Johnson was taken in the 9th round in the 1992 draft and was primarily used as a back-up. He started only limited time in 1996 and had injury shortened 1997 and 1998 seasons.
1994-1996: Warren Moon
Age 38 when he started playing for the Vikings and had already been in football for 15 seasons. He was a 5 time Grey Cup Champions (CFL Title) 6 time pro bowl QB for Houston. Moon passed for 4,200+ yard in his first two seasons, but was injured and not resigned in 1996.
1993: Jim McMahon
Age 32 when he started playing for the Vikings and had already been in football for 11 seasons. He had won a Super Bowl with Chicago and went to one pro-bowl. He then bounced around 2 more teams before landing on the Vikings in 1993 and led them to the playoffs before being replaced by Warren Moon
1990-1992: Rich Gannon
1986-1989: Wade Wilson
Both of these two quarterbacks were late round draft picks that didn’t have much potential. They both had some success but were unable to sustain it for the Vikings
So that’s the past 25 years of quarterbacks for the Vikings. Four draft picks that didn’t pan out (3 of which were taken past the 4th round (4, 8 and 9) and were never expected to be good) 7 quarterbacks who were past their prime but were able to have one last good season for the Vikings and Daunte Culpepper.
So now we can ask the question, what does this all mean? Well as you can see, the Vikings did have some success with their old QBs, but none of them could sustain it for more than 3 seasons. They have been competitive using the model so why not look to sign Donvan McNabb for a year or two? It’s worked before and it can work again.
The only time they used a high overall pick on a QB (Culpepper), they had him sit on the bench for two years behind past their prime quarterbacks. After the two Years Culpepper thrived in the system and gave the Vikings their longest run of consistent quarterback play in a decade. The other quarterbacks they drafted were late round picks and never had much hope that they’d become the franchise quarterback even though they did spend time behind past their prime quarterbacks.
So is Minnesota the place QBs go to die? If they sign McNabb I think we can agree it is, but if you can get 1 more run out of them, that might not be a bad thing.
The past 25 years, the primary way Minnesota has found it’s starting quarterback is by finding a player who is past their prime and hope he can resurrect his career. As much as division rival Chicago is mocked for its inability to find a quarterback, the Vikings have had just as many problems finding some to replace Fran Tarkenton (3 Supersbowls, 9 Pro Bowls, 1975 MVP, Primary starting QB from 1961-1978 with a 4 year hitatus play for the Giants).
Here’s a look back at the primary starting quarterbacks who have been used for Minnesota the past 25 years starting with the most recent.
2009-2010: Bret Favre
Age 40 when he started playing for the Vikings and had already been in football for 18 seasons. Won a Super Bowl in Green Bay and played in another one. Was able to lead team to 2009 NFC Championship game before getting hurt his second year.
2008: Gus Frerotte
Age 38 when he started playing for the Vikings, had been in the NFL for 14 seasons and had primarily been a back up for the past 8 seasons for Denver, Cincinnati, Miami, St Louis and Minnesota. Went to a Pro Bowl as a member of the Washington Redskins. He Led Vikings to 8-3 record before getting hurt.
2007: Tavaris Jackson
Tavaris was drafted by the Vikings with the last pick of the 2nd round the previous year. He drafted to be the Quaterback of the future, but never panned out.
2005-2006: Brad Johnson
Age 37 when he started playing for the Vikings again and had been in the NFL for 13 seasons. Won a Super Bowl in Tampa and went to 2 Pro Bowls with Tampa and Washington. Went 7-2 in 2005 missing the playoffs by 1 game. Midway through the 2006 season, he had already set an NFL record for passes completed short of a first down on third down in a season.
2001-2005: Daunte Culpepper
Culpepper is the one success story for the Vikings. They drafted him 11th in 1999 and by 2001 he was starting. He was a 3 time pro-bolwer and graced the cover of Madden 2002. His stint with the Vikings didn’t end well with the boat cruise dilemma
1999: Jeff George
Age 32 when he started playing for the Vikings and this was already his 4th team in 9 Season. He was the 1st overall pick in 1990 and had medicore success with each of his first three stops Indy, Atlanta and Oakland. In 10 games as a starter went 8-2 and put up excellent numbers (23 touchdowns, 8.6 yards per attempt, a 94.2 rating) in leading Minnesota to the playoffs and a round 1 victory of the Giants. After the season, Minnesota did not resign him
1997-1999: Randall Cunningham
Age 35 when he started play for the Vikings and coming off 1 full season of retirement. Was a three time pro-bowler with Philadelphia. In 1997 he came in to replace Brad Johnson and led the Vikings to the 2nd round of the playoffs. In 1998 he guided the Vikings to a 15–1 regular season record with 34 touchdown passes and only 10 interceptions and took them to the NFC title game where the heavily favored Vikings were upset in Overtime by the Atlanta Falcons. After playing 6 games in 1999 he was benched due to poor performance
1996-1998: Brad Johnson
Johnson was taken in the 9th round in the 1992 draft and was primarily used as a back-up. He started only limited time in 1996 and had injury shortened 1997 and 1998 seasons.
1994-1996: Warren Moon
Age 38 when he started playing for the Vikings and had already been in football for 15 seasons. He was a 5 time Grey Cup Champions (CFL Title) 6 time pro bowl QB for Houston. Moon passed for 4,200+ yard in his first two seasons, but was injured and not resigned in 1996.
1993: Jim McMahon
Age 32 when he started playing for the Vikings and had already been in football for 11 seasons. He had won a Super Bowl with Chicago and went to one pro-bowl. He then bounced around 2 more teams before landing on the Vikings in 1993 and led them to the playoffs before being replaced by Warren Moon
1990-1992: Rich Gannon
1986-1989: Wade Wilson
Both of these two quarterbacks were late round draft picks that didn’t have much potential. They both had some success but were unable to sustain it for the Vikings
So that’s the past 25 years of quarterbacks for the Vikings. Four draft picks that didn’t pan out (3 of which were taken past the 4th round (4, 8 and 9) and were never expected to be good) 7 quarterbacks who were past their prime but were able to have one last good season for the Vikings and Daunte Culpepper.
So now we can ask the question, what does this all mean? Well as you can see, the Vikings did have some success with their old QBs, but none of them could sustain it for more than 3 seasons. They have been competitive using the model so why not look to sign Donvan McNabb for a year or two? It’s worked before and it can work again.
The only time they used a high overall pick on a QB (Culpepper), they had him sit on the bench for two years behind past their prime quarterbacks. After the two Years Culpepper thrived in the system and gave the Vikings their longest run of consistent quarterback play in a decade. The other quarterbacks they drafted were late round picks and never had much hope that they’d become the franchise quarterback even though they did spend time behind past their prime quarterbacks.
So is Minnesota the place QBs go to die? If they sign McNabb I think we can agree it is, but if you can get 1 more run out of them, that might not be a bad thing.
Peter King Explains Bears and Ravens Non-Trade
Peter King led off his article today discussing the Bears and Ravens trade that didn't happen.
Chicago, picking 29th, and Baltimore, at 26, finalized a trade that would have had them switch slots, with the Ravens getting the Bears' fourth-round pick in return. Chicago would take Wisconsin tackle Gabe Carimi, and the Ravens, if Colorado cornerback Jimmy Smith was still on the board, would take Smith at 29. With two minutes left in the Ravens' period, the deal was done.
Under NFL rules, each team has to report the trade to NFL draft headquarters at Radio City Music Hall. The Ravens called it in. They assumed Chicago called it in, but due to a miscommunication in the Bears' draft room, no one from Chicago ever called the league. As the clock ticked down to zero, and with Chicago on the phone with Carimi to tell him he was going to be their pick, Baltimore noticed no one at the league had announced the trade and Chicago's pick of Carimi. Meanwhile, Kansas City, with the 27th pick, rushed its card to the desk at Radio City, taking Pittsburgh wideout Jonathan Baldwin.
Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome, on an open line to New York, demanded to know why the trade hadn't gone through. Chicago never called to confirm it, Newsome was told. Baltimore was infuriated. The league didn't allow the trade. The Ravens picked Smith at 27 (not 26; Kansas City was awarded the 26th pick and took Baldwin, because the Chiefs got the pick in before the Ravens did), and the Bears got lucky, getting Carimi at 29.
"Whatever you hear, Baltimore did everything the right way," Bears GM Jerry Angelo told Chicago media. "There were a lot of things happening in the draft room. We were getting a lot of calls, we just ... dropped the ball. I dropped the ball. I can't say anything more than that."
All's well that ends well, you say? Not so fast. Angelo called Baltimore owner Steve Bisciotti to apologize, but Bisciotti wanted the fourth-round pick anyway, claiming it was part of the deal they'd agreed to. In fact, I'm told Bisciotti today will push to get the fourth-round pick, or to make the situation right in some way.
The league is under no obligation to do so, because the trade was never official. And maybe all's fair in love and draft-night trades, but as far as Baltimore's concerned, I don't think this one's over. I think the Ravens will ask the league to award them some compensation from Chicago before the draft resumes at 6 p.m. Eastern today. Stay tuned.
Chicago, picking 29th, and Baltimore, at 26, finalized a trade that would have had them switch slots, with the Ravens getting the Bears' fourth-round pick in return. Chicago would take Wisconsin tackle Gabe Carimi, and the Ravens, if Colorado cornerback Jimmy Smith was still on the board, would take Smith at 29. With two minutes left in the Ravens' period, the deal was done.
Under NFL rules, each team has to report the trade to NFL draft headquarters at Radio City Music Hall. The Ravens called it in. They assumed Chicago called it in, but due to a miscommunication in the Bears' draft room, no one from Chicago ever called the league. As the clock ticked down to zero, and with Chicago on the phone with Carimi to tell him he was going to be their pick, Baltimore noticed no one at the league had announced the trade and Chicago's pick of Carimi. Meanwhile, Kansas City, with the 27th pick, rushed its card to the desk at Radio City, taking Pittsburgh wideout Jonathan Baldwin.
Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome, on an open line to New York, demanded to know why the trade hadn't gone through. Chicago never called to confirm it, Newsome was told. Baltimore was infuriated. The league didn't allow the trade. The Ravens picked Smith at 27 (not 26; Kansas City was awarded the 26th pick and took Baldwin, because the Chiefs got the pick in before the Ravens did), and the Bears got lucky, getting Carimi at 29.
"Whatever you hear, Baltimore did everything the right way," Bears GM Jerry Angelo told Chicago media. "There were a lot of things happening in the draft room. We were getting a lot of calls, we just ... dropped the ball. I dropped the ball. I can't say anything more than that."
All's well that ends well, you say? Not so fast. Angelo called Baltimore owner Steve Bisciotti to apologize, but Bisciotti wanted the fourth-round pick anyway, claiming it was part of the deal they'd agreed to. In fact, I'm told Bisciotti today will push to get the fourth-round pick, or to make the situation right in some way.
The league is under no obligation to do so, because the trade was never official. And maybe all's fair in love and draft-night trades, but as far as Baltimore's concerned, I don't think this one's over. I think the Ravens will ask the league to award them some compensation from Chicago before the draft resumes at 6 p.m. Eastern today. Stay tuned.
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