Is there another sports league that gets more negative publicity than the National Football League (NFL)? It seems like almost daily there’s another NFL player arrested for something or failing a drug test. There’s the ongoing storyline with Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice and his now wife. ESPN’s Steven A. Smith was suspended over the comments he made about the situation. There’s the suspension of Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon. Gordon not only failed a drug test, but then got arrested for DUI. Just a month ago Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman John Abraham was arrested for DUI. Just in the month of July besides Gordon; Jimmy Smith of the Baltimore Ravens, Keelan Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles, Jo-Lonn Dunbar of the St. Louis Rams and Jacksonville jaguars wide receiver Justin Blackmon have all been arrested for different offenses. There was also Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay’s arrest for DUI and I didn’t even mention that former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez is still in jail awaiting trial for murder. I also left out former Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe. I thought Kluwe was trying to do something good when all of this first started with him, but more and more it’s starting to seem like he’s just out for himself.
Even through all of this the NFL remains the most popular sport in the United States. If you’re reading this I’m guessing you have at least one (1) if not more NFL fantasy drafts coming up. I myself actually have 3 (three) fantasy drafts coming up. I have a money league team that I share with Mr. Fantasy. Then there are the 2 (two) Yahoo fantasy football leagues we have. There’s the Sports Time Radio league which is an auction style draft and then there’s the league we’ve had for years titled Next Year is Here; which is a more traditional snake style draft. If you’re interested in joining either of our leagues they are free and run through Yahoo sports; email me at Sportstimeradio@hotmail.com
The Major League Baseball (MLB) trading deadline is tomorrow or at least the first trading deadline is tomorrow. Is your favorite team a buyer or a seller this season? David Price looked like he was going to be the big pitching prize on the market this season, but then his team the Tampa Bay Rays began to play better. Now the talk has turned to Boston Red Sox left-hander Jon Lester. Lester is a free agent after this season and the Red Sox look to be out of it in the American League (A.L.) East. Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington has said he’d need to be blown away by an offer to move Lester as the Red Sox hope to resign him in the off-season. It looks like the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers and Seattle Mariners are the primary suitors for Lester heading into Wednesday. The Miami Marlins aren’t entirely out of the Lester sweepstakes. However, the Marlins won’t part with top prospect Andrew Heaney in a Lester deal or a deal for any rental player. Last night, Lester was scratched from his scheduled start tonight. A clear indicator that the Red Sox are looking to deal there ace. Lester may not be the only Red Sox starting pitcher headed out of Boston at the trade deadline. John Lackey’s name has come up in trade rumors with the Kansas City Royals and the Los Angeles Dodgers showing the most interest right now. Lackey’s five-year, $82.5MM contract with the Red Sox contained a clause that gave Boston a 2015 club option at the league minimum in the event that he missed significant time with an elbow injury. A torn ulnar collateral ligament that required Tommy John surgery triggered that clause, making Lackey a highly appealing trade chip even to teams with the most modest of payrolls. It seems as if the Dodgers are in on even big name pitcher or just pitcher whose name comes up on the trade market. They’ve been linked to Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres closer Joaquin Benoit. Benoit got the Padres closer job when Huston Street was trade to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. It seems like teams are looking for pitching, pitching and more pitching. Will have to wait and see if any of these big names pitchers changes teams and how much a team will have to give up to get one. If your favorite team could land a Lester, Price or Hamels in a deal it could lock up a playoff spot for that team and maybe get them into the World Series.
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