Archive for the ‘football’ Category

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: May 25, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, football, hockey, sports, Uncategorized
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The Pittsburgh Penguins evened up there Eastern Conference finals series with the Tampa Bay Lighting at 3 game apiece with a 5-2 win in Game 6 last night. It looked as tough Pittsburgh was headed for an easy victory. Phil Kessel scored the only goal of the 1st period to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. Then in the 2nd period a goal by Kris Letang and then another by Sidney Crosby gave the Penguins a 3-0 lead and it seems as the game was pretty much settled. Then in the 3rd period Brian Boyle scored unassisted for Tampa bay t make it 3-1. Then a second goal by Boyle cut the Penguins lead to just one goal at 3-2. That was as close as the Lighting would get as Bryan Rust and Nick Bonino added 3rd period goals for the Penguins to make the final score 5-3 and send the series to a Game 7 Thursday night in Pittsburgh. The Penguins went back to Matt Murray on goal and he stopped 28 of the 30 shots he faced in Game 6. You have to figure he’ll get the call in net for Game 7. Andrei Vasilevskiy has been solid in goal for the Lighting, but you have to wonder if we’ll see Ben Bishop in Game 7 if he’s close to being ready to go.

Over in the Western Conference the San Jose Sharks took a 3 games to 2 lead in there series against the St. Louis Blues with a 6-3 win in St. Louis. San Jose will have a chance to close out the series tonight as they host the Blues in Game 6. With there season on the line tonight the Blues announced that Brian Elliott will be the starting goalie for Game 6 in San Jose. Jake Allen started the previous two games against San Jose. Elliott is undefeated this postseason in elimination games, winning a pair of Game 7’s against the Blackhawks and Stars. Overall, Elliott is 9-8 with a .925 save percentage this postseason. San Jose will stick with Martin Jones in goal. Jones is 11-6 with a goals against average of 2.13 and a save percentage of .918.  Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture are leading San Jose in points this post season with 21 apiece while the Blues are led by Robby Fabbri who has 15 points. If St. Louis wins tonight and forces a Game 7 it will be played back at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on Friday night.

Are the Golden State Warriors in trouble? Last night the Oklahoma City Thunder took a 3 games to 1 lead in the Western Conference finals over the Warriors with an easy 118-94 victory. This is the second game in a row that Oklahoma City has won the game by 20 plus points. While it was a 24 point margin of victory last night in Game 4 in Game 3 they won by 28 points 133-105. Oklahoma City got out to a double digit lead early, but by the end of the 1st quarter Golden State had cut the lead to just 4 at 30-26. The 2nd quarter is where the game really swung Oklahoma City’s way as they outscored Golden State 42-27 in the quarter and took a 72-53 lead into the locker room at halftime. Golden State did manage to knock 7 points off the lead by outscoring Oklahoma City 29-22 in the 3rd quarter, but it was already to little too late. With a 94-82 going int the 4th quarter Oklahoma City actually added to there lead outscoring Golden State 24-12 in the final quarter.

All five of the Thunder’s starters scored in double figures led by Russell Westbrook’s 36 points. Those 36 points where part of Westbrook’s triple-double as he added a team high 11 assists and 11 rebounds. Kevin Durant had 26 points and also grabbed 11 rebounds. Serge Ibaka and Andre Roberson each scored 17 points while Roberson grabbed a team high 12 rebounds. Steve Adams chipped in 11 points for Oklahoma City while Dion Waiters scored 10 points off the Thunder bench.

Golden State was led by Klay Thompson with 26 points. Stephen Curry scored 19 points, but was just 2 of 10 from behind the 3-point line. Curry did hand out a team high 5 assists. Harrison Barnes was the only other Golden State player to reach double figures had 11 points. Draymond Green who let’s face it shouldn’t even of been playing in this game led the Warriors in rebounds with 11. Golden State shot 9 of 30 (30.0%) from behind the 3-point line in the game. Golden State does head home for Game 5 facing elimination, but as we know they’re very good at home.

In the Eastern Conference finals; who had the Toronto Raptors winning both of there games at home and evening the series at 2 games apiece. There where people who thought that the Raptors wouldn’t win a game in this series and now they’ve won two. Are they a real threat to win this series? Game 5 is tonight in Cleveland and it’s going to be tough for the Raptors to win there as the Cavaliers get a large disparity in fouls called. I did get a chuckle out of the huge flop LeBron James took when he git hit in the face in I think Game 3. The referees being incredibly stupid called a technical foul on one of the three Toronto players standing there when as it turned out it was LeBron’s own teammate Tristan Thompson who hit him in the face. Does the NBA still fine players for flopping? and would there dare try and fine LeBron for his terrible flop?

The NFL handed out the Super Bowl for the 2019, 2020 and the 2021 seasons. For 2017 the game will be held in Houston’s NRG Stadium. The other Super Bowl that was already on the books was 2018 and that will be played in the Minnesota Vikings new U.S. Bank stadium. For 2019 the Super Bowl goes to Atlanta and will be played at the Mercedes-Benz stadium. The 2020 game will be at the New Miami stadium, Miami Gardens home of the Dolphins. I’m not sure why, but for some reason the NFL listed this game as being played in South Florida with no details of which city it would be in. Then finally the 2021 Super Bowl will be played at the home of the Los Angeles Rams in Inglewood, California as long as the stadium is ready; which hopefully it will be by 2021.

 

 

You can listen to The Podcast by clicking the link and you can follow me on Twitter @Burketime

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: May 4, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in Auto Racing, baseball, football, NASCAR, sports
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NASCAR

Last weekend the NASCAR series was at the Talladega Superspeedway for the Geico 500. Now there are plenty of people out there who watch NASCAR just for the accidents.If you happen to be one of those people this race did not disappoint you. Only 21 out of the 40 cars that started finished on the lead lap. Some of the top drivers got themselves caught up in accidents and in the cases of Kasey Kahne and Dale Earnhardt Jr. they got caught up in two accidents. If you haven’t seen the video yet you should look for the one where Earnhardt Jr, is involved in his second accident of the race. As he’s driving his steering wheel comes off in his hands and he has to grab the connecting rod to try and steer the car. This second accident took Earhardt Jr. out of the race and he ended up finishing 40th. Now Talladega races can get wild as they are restrictor plate races and the cars run together in big group at or around 200 miles per hour.So that normally means when one car starts to crash they take quite a few cars with them. It can also work out to your advantage if you’re in the right place at the right time when these accidents take place. Brad Keslowski ended up in the best plat at Talladega as he led 46 laps and won the race. Kyle Busch cane home 2nd with Austin Dillon in 3rd, Jamie McMurray in 4th and  Chase Elliott who started the race on the pole came home 5th. Tony Stewart was credited with a 6th place finish, but got out of the car at the first caution and Ty Dillon spent most of the race in the car. According to NASCAR rules the driver that starts the race gets credit for where it finishes. Stewart just returned from a back injury and his doctor advise him to get out of the car and allow Dillon to substitute. Dillon did qualify the car and it was set up for him. Stewart ended up running about 50 laps before giving way to Dillon. Matt Kenseth’s run of bad luck continued. He led 39 laps and look to have a car that could contend, but he got caught up in an accident with Danica Patrick and had to settle for a 23rd place finish. On the Sunday Sports Time Radio podcast Chris Olmstead gave us his 3 drivers to look for in victory lane. He did take Earnhardt Jr, but being that it was a restrictor plate race just about everyone would’ve pick him. He did netter with his other two drivers as Kyle Busch came home 2nd for him and his other choice was Chase Elliott who finished 5th. The Sprint Cup series heads to Kansas Speedway for the Go Bowling 400 on Saturday night.

NFL

I thought this was a bit of an odd story. The National Football Leagu has warned it’s players that if they’re traveling to China or Mexico they have to be careful about any meat they might eat. Any meat produced in China or Mexico may potentially contains Clenbuterol, which is banned under the league’s performance enhancing substance policy.  The independent administrator of the NFL’s drug testing program sent out a memo to players warning them of this possibility. Clenbuterol is a muscle-building and weight-loss stimulant. Oddly the NFL has scheduled a Monday Night Football game in Mexico City on November 21st. The Oakland raiders will take on the Houston Texans in that game. The Raiders also hosted a fan fest as part of the NFL draft this past Saturday in Mexico City. Last season Houston’s left tackle Duane Brown tested positive for Clenbuterol after he took a trip to Mexico on the Texans bye week and ate Mexican beef. After a month long process, Brown was finally cleared in April, sources said, allowing him to avoid what would have been a 10 game suspension. Hopefully NFL players take notice and don;t have t go though the same situation as Brown did. Now this just isn’t an issue that the NFL is dealing with. In 2011, five players on Mexico’s national soccer team tested positive for Clenbuterol, and the country’s federation ruled the positive tests were caused by contaminated meat. Then again at the 2011 Under-17 World Cup held in Mexico, FIFA found a majority of all players tested had traces of Clenbuterol in their system. Mexican cattle ranchers are banned from using Clenbuterol as a growth enhancer, but reports suggest that it is still used widely.

MLB

What if anything will the New York Yankees do. General Manager Brian Cashman mentioned yesterday in the New York papers that things had to change with this team, but what. After last nights 4-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles the Yankees are 8-16 and in last place in the American League East. Now it is still very early in the season, but the Yankees find themselves 6 1/2 games out of 1st place. Now of course you can always make a change at manager, but is this really Joe Girardi’s fault. I’m sure you’ve heard the term; you can’t fire the players; so Girardi may end up being the fall guy for the Yankees. Maybe the Yankees record has more to do with the fact that only Masahiro Tanaka has an ERA under 3.00 at 2.87 in the starting rotation. The other starters C.C. Sabathia (5.06), Nathan Eovaldi (5.46), Luis Severino (6.31) and Michael Pineda (6.33) round out the Yankees rotation. Also no Yankees starting pitcher has more than 1 win. While the bullpen will get some help soon as Aroldis Chapman will be returning from suspension. Of course the back end of the Yankees bullpen has been good. Delin Betances has appeared in 12 games covering 11 2/3rd innings. He has 5 holds, 24 strikeouts, a WHIP of 0.94 and an ERA of 3.09. Andrew Miller has been handling closer duties while Chapman is out. Miller has appeared in 10 games pitching 10 innings. He has 5 saves, 16 strikeouts, a WHIP of 0.40 and an ERA of 0.00; so he hasn’t given up an earned run. Stat wise the hitting looks to be pretty solid. Chase Headley does appear to be struggling hitting just .147. Alex Rodriquez (A-Rod) isn’t hitting for a high average (.194), but does lead the team in home runs with 5 and is tied for the team lead in RBI’s with Starlin Castro at 12. Of course A-Rod strained a hamstring last night running out a ground ball and looks like he’ll end up on the disabled list. Now the Yankees are an older team with a lot of high salary guys coming to the end of their contracts. Can you fix this team? or do you just hope they come around as the weather warms up.

Listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast on BlogTalkRadio.com you can also find me on Twitter @Burketime

STR 2016 NFL 1st round mock draft

Posted: April 26, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in football, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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#1 Los Angeles Rams Jared Goff, Quarterback (California). The Rams gave up quite a bit to get the 1st pick in the draft. Goff can be the face of the franchise with their move back to Los Angeles.

#2 Philadelphia Eagles Carson Wentz, Quarterback (North Dakota State). The Eagles also gave up quite a bit to move up and they’re looking for a future starting quarterback. I said future; so someone tell Sam Bradford to shut up.

#3 San Diego Chargers Jalen Ramsey, Cornerback (Florida State). I doubt the Chargers thought they’d be this position. Ramsey may be the the best player in this draft and while he listed as a Cornerback he has the skills to replace Eric Weddle at Safety.

#4 Dallas Cowboys Joey Bosa, Defensive End (Ohio State). The Cowboys let Greg Hardy go and they have a need for an edge rusher. While Bosa’s combine numbers weren’t what people thought they’d be he can get to the quarterback.

#5 Jacksonville Jaquars Laremy Tunsil, Offensive Tackle (Mississippi). There is lot of talk that the Jaquars would like to deal this pick, but I’m not going to try and factor in trades. If they keep this pick why not protect Blake Bortles.

#6 Baltimore Ravens Myles Jack, Linebacker (UCLA). There are a couple of ways the Ravens could go with this pick, but they know defense; so they might as well pick the best defensive player on the board.

#7 San Francisco 49ers Laquon Treadwell, Wide Receiver (Mississippi). Quick; name a 49ers wide receiver. Chip Kelly needs a weapon for his up tempo offense and receiver is a huge need in San Francisco.

#8 Cleveland Browns DeForest Buckner, Defensive Tackle (Oregon). This is another spot in the draft that might be dealt as there where some reports that Cleveland would be willing to make another deal. If they hang on to the pick Buckner is a good player to build a defensive line around.

#9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Vernon Hargreaves, Cornerback (Florida). This is a position of need for Tampa Bay; so it makes sense for them to take Hargreaves; he’s the best defensive back on the board.

#10 New York Giants Ronnie Stanley, Offensive Tackle Notre Dame. Eli Manning isn’t getting any younger and the Giants need to keep him upright and healthy. Stanley has slipped down the board and he’s a good value for the Giants here.

#11 Chicago Bears Reggie Ragland, Linebacker (Alabama). The Bears wasted their 1st round pick last season; so let’s hope they’re smart enough to not do that again. Ragland is a classic Bears type of linebacker.

#12 New Orleans Saints Shaq Lawson, Linebacker (Clemson). Lawson can be the good pass rusher for the Saints and it seems as though ever season New Orleans needs defensive help. One of these years they’ll help the defense.

#13 Miami Dolphins Ezekiel Elliott, Running Back (Ohio State). Lamar Miler is gone and they weren’t able to sign the running back they wanted in free agency; so Elliott can fill that void. He’s a 3-down back and those are rare in today’s NFL.

#14 Oakland Raiders Mackensie Alexander, Cornerback (Clemson). It wouldn’t be a surprise if they Raiders try to move this pick, but if they stay here at #14 it’s a solid choice to strengthen the defensive backfield. Alexander will be the best Cornerback on the board.

#15 Tennessee Titans Noah Spence, Defensive End (Eastern Kentucky). The Titans can use another pass rusher and while Spence might not be a 3-down guy he’ll be good in pass rushing situations.

#16 Detroit Lions Corey Coleman, Wide Receiver (Baylor) Calvin Johnson retired and there’s a big hole to be filled  there. While Coleman probably isn’t the next Johnson he’ll be able to help out filling those shoes.

#17 Atlanta Falcons Josh Doctson, Wide Receiver  (TCU). It’s back to back at the wide receiver spot as the Falcons add one to help out Julio Jones. With Jones there it’s a good landing spot for a rookie to step right in and help out.

#18 Indianapolis Colts Leonard Floyd, Linebacker (Georgia). Floyd was a little light when he weighed in at the Combine, but he can still get to the quarterback. Floyd might not be a big help against the run, but pass rushers are important.

#19 Buffalo Bills Robert Nkemdiche, Defensive Tackle (Mississippi). This pick has Rex Ryan written all over it. Nkemdiche has fallen down the draft board after his incident at Mississippi’s bowl game, but before that he was in the Top 10 of a lot of mock drafts.

#20 New York Jets A’Shawn Robinson, Defensive Tackle (Alabama). There are some issues with Muhammed Wilkerson’s contract and if he ends up getting dealt the Robinson will be able to help fill that spot.

#21 Washington Redskins Jack Conklin, Offensive Tackle (Michigan State). Conklin’s stock has been on the rise as of late and the Redskins could always use another line man to help protect quarterback Kirk Cousins.

#22 Houston Texans Will Fuller, Wide Receiver (Notre Dame). Fuller had the fastest 40-yard dash at the combine. Fuller can help the Texans stretch the field for DeAndre Hopkins to get his catches.

#23 Minnesota Vikings Braxton Miller, Wide Receiver (Ohio State) Miller only played 1 season at wide receiver for Ohio State, but as a former quarterback he’ll be able to make the adjustments quickly at the NFL level.

#24 Cincinnati Bengals Darron Lee, Linebacker (Ohio State). Cincinnati has a need at wide receiver, but with 2 of them coming off the board right before their pick I think they’d try to shore up the defense by adding a linebacker here. Lee looks like the best one left.

#25 Pittsburgh Steelers Eli Apple, Cornerback (Ohio State). This is pretty much a need pick for the Steelers. They need to get younger in the defensive backfield and Apple will be the best players on the board here.

#26 Seattle Seahawks Kevin Dodd, Defensive End (Clemson). There may be another need here for the Seahawks, but they like to take pass rushers early in the draft; so that’s where I have them going with this pick. Offensive line wouldn’t surprise me here.

#27 Green Bay Packers Willie Beavers, Offensive Tackle (Western Michigan). Green Bay’s offensive lineman went down right and left lat season; so they need people at almost any spot there. Beavers should be on the radar at this pick.

#28 Kansas City Chiefs Michael Thomas, Wide Receiver (Ohio State). Kansas City seems t be in a good spot here and wide receiver has always been an issue. Thomas has started to move up some draft boards; so there’s a chance he’s not here when the Chiefs pick.

The actual 29th pick was suppose to belong t the New England Patriots, but it was taken away from them as part of the Deflategate penalty

#29 Arizona Cardinals Hunter Henry, Tight End (Arkansas). Henry would plug right in as the best tight end on the Cardinals and will add to the passing game right away. Henry is the only tight end with a 1st round grade and he’d be an upgrade for the Cardinals.

#30 Carolina Panthers Cyrus Jones, Cornerback (Alabama). Josh Norman was allowed to leave as a free agent; so there’s a need for a defensive back. While Norman is going to be tough to replace Jones can help Carolina do that.

#31 Denver Broncos Paxton Lynch, Quarterback (Memphis). There’s is just Mark Sanchez and Trevor Siemian on the Broncos roster at the quarterback position. Lynch could be the future quarterback of this team. If the defense is still good Lynch could end up being the starter.

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You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

 

 

 

The NFL Draft in 2011

Posted: April 24, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in football, sports, Uncategorized
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The draft is a way to build your franchise; so we like to look back 5 years and see who your favorite team selected in the 1st round and how that player turned out for your favorite team.

With the 1st pick in the draft the Carolina Panthers selected quarterback Cam Newton (Auburn). The Panthers where looking for a franchise quarterback and they found one in Newton. Newton has started 78 out of a possible 80 games since 2011. He had his best season on 2015 throwing for 35 touchdowns with just 10 interceptions. Carolina went 15-1 and made it to the Super Bowl last season.

The Denver Broncos had the 2nd pick and took defensive lineman Von Miller (Texas A&M). Miller has turned into a premier pass rusher for the Broncos. He has 60 career sacks with his high being 18 1/2 in 2012. Miller was the 2015 Super Bowl M.V.P. as his Broncos defeated Newton’s Panthers.

The Buffalo Bills had the 3rd pick and selected Marcel Dareus (Alabama). Dareus has been an anchor for the Bills interior defensive line. As a defensive tackle Dareus has recorded 30 1/2 career sacks with 10 of those sacks coming in 2015. Dareus has made the Pro Bowl twice.

The Cincinnati Bengals had the #4 pick and they selected wide receiver A.J. Green (Georgia). Green stepped right in and has been a top receiver in the NFL since being drafted. He has totaled 1000+ receiving yards every season with a high of 1426 yards in 2013. Green also has 415 career receptions, 6171 career yards and has scored 45 touchdowns in his 5 seasons.

The Arizona Cardinals had the 5th pick and they took defensive back Patrick Peterson (LSU). Peterson is one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL and has started every game (80) since being drafted. Peterson has 17 career interceptions wit a high 7 in 2012. Peterson is also a dangerous punt returner. As a rookie he returned 4 punt for touchdowns.

The Atlanta Falcons gave up 2 1st round picks, a 2nd round pick and 2 4th round picks to move up to the 6th spot in the draft and take wide receiver Julio Jones (Alabama). Was it worth it? Jones has 414 career receptions, but 136 of those came last season. He has scored 34 career touchdowns and has 6201 career yards. Last season Jones led the NFL with 1871 receiving yards and tied for the league lead in receptions.

With the 7th pick in the draft the San Francisco 49ers selected linebacker Aldon Smith (Missouri). Smith’s first two seasons with San Francisco where great. He notched 14 sacks as a rookie and followed that up with 19 1/2 his 2nd season and even though he only appeared in 11 games his 3rd season he still recorded 8 sacks. After some injuries and suspension issues Smith is now a member of the Oakland Raiders.

The Tennessee Titans had the 6th pick in the draft and they selected quarterback Jake Locker (Washington). Tennessee was looking for a franchise quarterback, but sadly Locker wasn’t it. He appeared in 30 career games starting 23 of them. His record as a starter was 9-14. He threw for 4967 yards with 27 touchdowns and 22 interceptions in his career. Locker retired after the 2014 season.

With the 9th pick in the draft the Dallas Cowboys selected offensive lineman Tyron Smith (USC). Since being drafted Smith has playing in and started 79 out of a possible 80 games for the Cowboys. Smith has made 3 Pro Bowls and the Cowboys have had one of the top rushing attacks in the NFL since he was drafted.

The Jacksonville Jaquars had the 10th pick and they took quarterback Blaine Gabbert (Missouri). Gabbert spent 3 seasons with the Jaquars; starting 27 games for them. As a starter he had a 5-22 record. He threw for 4357 yards with 22 touchdowns and 24 interceptions. Gabbert has been with the San Francisco 49ers the last 3 seasons.

The Houston Texans had the 11th pick in the draft and they selected defensive lineman J.J. Watt (Wisconsin). Watt has turned into the best defensive lineman in the NFL. Watt has started every game (80) since being drafted and has led the NFL in sacks twice; 2012 and 2015. He has 74 1/2 career sacks. Watt has 1 career interceptions, but returned it 80 yards for a touchdown. He has also found his way to the offensive side of the football where he has 4 career receptions with 3 of them going for touchdowns.

The Minnesota Vikings had the 12th pick and they selected quarterback Christian Ponder (Florida St.) I remember this being a bit of a surprise pick. Ponder had success in his 2nd year as he led the Vikings to a 10-6 record. In his career Ponder played in 38 games starting 36 of them and had a career record of 14-21-1 as a starter. He threw for 6658 career yards with 38 touchdowns and 36 interceptions. Ponder did score 7 rushing touchdowns in his career.

Lucky pick number 13 belong to the Detroit Lions and they used it on defensive lineman Nick Fairley (Auburn). Fairley spent 4 seasons in Detroit playing in 46 games and starting 31 of them. He totaled 14 sacks with Detroit. His season high was 6 in 2013. Fairley spend the 2015 season with the St. Louis Rams. He was signed by the New Orleans Saints this off season.

With the 14th pick the St. Louis rams selected defensive lineman Robert Quinn (North Carolina) Quinn is a two-time Pro Bowler who has 50 career sacks. He had a career high 19 sacks in 2013. He’s played in 71 games for St. Louis starting 54 of them. Quinn was limited to just 8 games last season.He did have 5 sacks in those 8 games.

At #15 the Miami Dolphins selected offensive lineman Mike Pouncey (Florida). Pouncey has played in and started 72 out of a possible 80 games. He has started 60 at center and 12 at right guard for the Dolphins. Pouncey has been a Pro Bowl selection the last 3 seasons.

With the 16th pick the Washington Redskins selected defensive lineman Ryan Kerrigan (Purdue). Kerrigan has started every game (80) since being draft by the Redskins. He has 47 1/2 career sacks with his career high of 13 1/2 coming in 2014. Kerrigan has forced 17 fumbles in his career has 2 fumble recoveries as well as 2 career interceptions.

With the 17th pick the New England Patriots selected offensive lineman Nate Solder (Colorado). Solder has played in 67 games starting 64 of them since being drafted. He battled injuries last season as he played in just 4 games. New England acquired this pick by trading defensive lineman Richard Seymour to the Oakland Raiders.

The San Diego Chargers had the 18th pick and they used it to select defensive lineman Corey Liuget (Illinois). Liuget has played in 74 games since being drafted starting 71 of them. He had an injury last season that caused him to miss 5 games. Liuget has 21 career sacks with his career high of 7 coming in 2012.

With the 19th pick the New York Giants selected defensive back Prince Amukamara (Nebraska). Amukamara has only played in all 16 games 1 season (2013) because of injuries. He’s appeared in 55 out of a possible 80 games. Amukamara has 7 career interceptions with a career high of 3 coming in 2014.

At #20 the Tampa bay Buccaneers selected defensive lineman Adrian Clayborn (Iowa). Clayborn spent 4 seasons with Tampa Bay. He started all 16 games as a rookie and posted his single season high for sacks with 7 1/2. Clayborn had 13 sacks while with the Buccaneers. He played in just 36 games in his 4 seasons with Tampa Bay. He spent the 2015 season with the Atlanta Falcons.

With the 21st pick the Cleveland Browns selected defensive lineman Phil Taylor (Baylor). Taylor started off by playing and starting all 16 games for the Browns as a rookie. He record 4 sacks (his career high) to go along with 37 tackles and 22 assists. Since his rookie year Taylor has played in 28 games totaling 3 sacks, 32 tackles and 18 assists.

With the 22nd pick the Indianapolis Colts selected offensive lineman Anthony Castonzo (Boston College). Castonzo has played in and started 73 out of a possible 80 games since being drafted. He’s the Colts left tackle and has the job of protecting Andrew Luck’s blind side. Castonzo does have 1 career touchdown catch.

The Philadelphia Eagles had the 23rd and they used it to select offensive lineman Danny Watkins (Baylor). Watkins played just 2 seasons in Philadelphia and spent just 3 season total in the NFL. He played in 23 games for Philadelphia starting 18 of them. He played in 1 game for the Miami Dolphins in 2013.

At #24 the New Orleans Saints selected defensive lineman Cameron Jordan. Jordan has played in every game (80) since being drafted and has started all but 1 one them. He has 39 career sacks and his career high of 12 1/2 came in the 2013 season. Jordan is a two-time Pro Bowl selection (2013 & 2015) and has 1 career interception.

With the 25th pick in the draft the Seattle Seahawks selected offensive lineman James Carpenter (Alabama). Carpenter spent 4 season with the Seahawks. He played in 45 games and started 39 of them. Last season Carpenter stated all 16 games for the New York Giants.

With the 26th pick in the draft the Kansas City Chiefs selected wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin (Pittsburgh). Baldwin played just 2 season wit the Chiefs. He appeared in 26 games and started 10 of them. he had 41 catches for 579 and 2 touchdowns while in Kansas City. The Chiefs traded Baldwin to the San Francisco 49ers for wide receiver A.J. Jenkins before the 2013 season.

The Baltimore Ravens had the 27th pick and they used it to selected defensive back Jimmy Smith (Colorado). Smith has had some injury issues in his career. He has played in 63 games for the Ravens starting 45 of them. He has 8 career interceptions and has returned 1 for a touchdown. He did post his career high in interceptions (3) last season while playing in every game.

At #28 the New Orleans Saints selected running back Mark Ingram (Alabama). Ingram has 3195 yards and 26 touchdowns in 62 career games for New Orleans. His 964 yards and 9 touchdowns in 2014 are career highs. Ingram made his only Pro Bowl after the 2014 season. He also has 103 career receptions for 693 yards.

With the 29th pick the Chicago Bears selected offensive Lineman Gabe Carimi (Wisconsin). Carimi wasn’t the anchor to the offensive line that the Bears had hoped for. He lasted 2 season with Chicago. He played in 18 games; starting 16. He played in 14 games (starting 3) for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2013 and in 2014 he appeared in 16 games (starting 7) for the Atlanta Falcons.

With the 30th pick the New York Jets selected defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson (Temple). Wilkerson was quite the find for the Jets at the end of the 1st round. He has played in 77 out of a possible 80 games and has started 75 of them. Wilkerson has 36 1/2 career sacks with his high of 12 coming just last season. After his 2015 season Wilkerson was elected to his 1st Pro Bowl.

At #31 the Pittsburgh Steelers selected defensive lineman Cameron Heyward (Ohio St.) Heyward has appeared in all 80 games for Pittsburgh since he was drafted. He started 45 of those games. He has 22 career sacks, 132 tackles and 68 assists. Heyward had a career high 7 sacks last season for the Steelers.

The Green Bay Packers had the 32nd and final pick of the 1st round and they used it to take offensive lineman Derek Sherrod (Mississippi St.). Sherrod spent 4 seasons with the Packers. He appeared in 20 games for Green bay, but only made 1 career start.

There’s the 2011 1st round. How did your team do? Did they get a franchise player? a solid role player? or did they end up with a draft bust?

@burketime

How was your week

Posted: April 23, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, fantasy, football, hockey, sports, Uncategorized
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MLB

With the MLB coming up on the 20 game mark of the season it’s difficult to make decisions on how the season is going to go. One thing appears to be certain and that the National League isn’t going to be happy about it. Through 4 starts this season Jake Arrieta looks better on the mound than he did last season. Arrieta is 4-0 in his 4 starts for the Chicago Cubs. He’s thrown 31 innings giving up 15 hits, 3 earned runs and 2 home runs while walking 6 and striking out 26. That translates to an ERA of 0.87 and a WHIP of 0.68 for Arrueta.  On Thursday Arrieta threw his first shutout of the season which just so happened to be a complete game no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds. It looked as though Arrieta didn’t have his best stuff when he no-hit Cincinnati. Arrieta issued 4 walks in this start against the Reds while striking out 6 and throwing 119 pitches over 9 innings of no-hit baseball. This is Arrieta’s second no-hitter as a member of the Cubs.  On August 30th of last season Arrieta no-hit the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0 in Dodger Stadium. That no-hitter against the Dodgers was part of a Cy Young award winning season for Arrieta. In 2015 Arrieta went 22-6 with an ERA of 1.77. He made 33 starts covering 229 innings with 4 complete games; 3 of those being shutouts. Arrieta also struck out 236 batters last season while walking just 48 and his WHIP was 0.87. Arrieta picked up 17 of a possible 30 1st place votes as he edged out former Dodgers teammates Zack Greinke (2nd) and Clayton Kershaw (3rd) for the N.L. Cy Young award. While we can’t forget that it’s only April, but with the way his season has started off could Arrieta be a back to back Cy young award winner after this season.

On Thursday, Yu Darvish of the Texas Rangers threw a 47 pitch bullpen session and things looked like they where on track for him to make his first rehab start on April 26th as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery. After the bullpen session Darvish himself was dissatisfied with the fact that not all his pitches where he wanted them to be, especially his curveball and his change-up. After the bullpen session and the dissatisfaction that Darvish showed the Rangers have decided to push his first rehab start back to May 1st. The Rangers will still have Darvish pitch on Thursday, but it will be a longer bullpen session. The Rangers are hoping that Darvish can throw a 60 pitch bullpen session or close to 4 innings total. Even with his first rehab start being pushed back this hasn’t thrown off the timetable for his return to the Rangers if things go well. If Darvish looks ready to go he could return to the Rangers rotation as early as May 16th. If Darvish isn’t ready to go after those 3 rehab starts the Rangers could  expand his rehab assignment to a full 30 days and six starts. Texas is off to a 10-7 start and they are tied with the Oakland A’s for 1st place right now. Adding Darvish to a starting rotation that already features a 3-0 Cole Hamels could be the key to another post season appearance for Texas.

Now I was unable to do this in any of my fantasy leagues, but a lot of owners tried to grab Darvish late in their fantasy drafts. They would either have to hide him on their bench until he returns or put him on the disabled list if your league offers that feature. If Darvish returns in May this could turn into a move that might make or break your fantasy season. Depending on where you had to draft Darvish it might be hurting your team right now, but once he returns it’s tough to find an ace through trades or waiver pick ups. In this case you just have to wait for your ace to get healthy.

NFL

The NFL is gearing up for the draft which starts with the 1st round on Thursday. While the draft has taken center stage as far as NFL news goes there was a big move made by the Carolina Panthers.On Wednesday the Panthers removed the franchise tag from cornerback Josh Norman making him and unrestricted free agent. After becoming a free agent it only took Norman 2 days to become the highest paid cornerback in the NFL. On Friday the Washington Redskins announced that they had signed Norman to a 5 year $75 million dollar deal. It’s being reported that $51.1 million dollars in the deal is guaranteed. With an average salary of $15 million dollars a season Norman supplants Patrick Peterson of the Arizona Cardinals; who makes $14.01 million dollars a season; as the highest paid cornerback in the NFL.

Norman makes his regular season debut on ESPN’s Monday Night Football September 12th against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Norman and his new Redskins teammates will appear on Monday Night Football again on December 19th; this time against his former Panthers team. On course signing with the Redskins out Norman in the NFC East where he’ll get to match up with New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. twice a year. The Giants host the Redskins on September 25th and then the two teams meet again on New Year’s Day with Washington being the home team.

Norman had a career-high four interceptions with 16 passes defensed and 56 tackles last season for the Panthers last season, but was looking for a long term deal with Carolina. The Panthers had placed the franchise tag on Norman last month, guaranteeing him $13.952 million in 2016. Norman never signed it and was planning to skip at least the first part of off-season workouts, which begin Monday. There are reports that the Panthers made Norman a contract offer of $11 million dollars, but Norman wanted to be paid in the range of $15 to $16 million dollars a season. Carolina never moved off their offer and on Thursday Panthers General Manager Dave Gettleman said the Panthers chose to rescind Norman’s franchise tag because of the flexibility the team would have without him counting toward its salary-cap number. With the draft starting Thursday does Carolina have an eye on someone to fill Norman’s role with there defense.

NHL

The San Jose Sharks and the Tampa Bay Lighting have advanced to the 2nd round of the NHL playoffs. The Sharks knocked the Los Angeles Kings out of the playoffs winning that series 4 games to 1. The Lighting also won there series 4 games to 1 as they knocked out the Detroit Red Wings. We could see two more series end today. If the Pittsburgh Penguins or the St. Louis Blues pick up victories in their games today they will both win there series and advance to the 2nd round. Then on Sunday we could have three series come to an end. If the Washington Capitals, Dallas Stars and New York Islanders all win on Sunday their series will be over and they’ll all move into the 2nd round. Sadly the Kings where my pre-season pick to win the Stanley Cup. Is your pick or team still alive?

Listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast on BlogTalkRadio.com and you can find me on Twitter @Burketime

 

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: April 20, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, football, hockey, sports, Uncategorized
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NFL

Last week the Tennessee Titans sent the #1 overall pick in next weeks NFL draft to the Los Angeles Rams for multiple draft choices. It appears as tough Los Angeles will use that pick on a quarterback either Jared Goff or Carson Wentz. Now there are reports that multiple teams have contacted the Cleveland Browns in hopes that they would be interested in dealing the #2 pick in the draft. Is there a team out there that wants t move up and make sure they get the quarterback that Los Angeles doesn’t take? It appears as they may be more than one team. Now this is exactly what Cleveland needs. They signed Robert Griffin III (RG III) this off season to be their quarterback; so taking another quarterback with that #2 pick might not be the smartest move. Looking at Cleveland no matter who they would end up taking with that #2 pick is going to turn this team into a contender; they are a few years away from that. What Cleveland needs is players; so if they can deal the #2 pick in the draft for more draft picks it may be the best thing to happen to Cleveland. While multiple draft picks still won;t make Cleveland a contender this season it gives them a chance to rebuild a team that hasn’t made a playoff appearance since 2002 and haven’t won a playoff game since 1994. The difficult part in all of this is it’s Cleveland we’re talking about here and it seems as though they don’t do what’s best for the  organization; so will see how they handle that 2nd pick. It’s doubtful Cleveland would get as much for that #2 pick as Tennessee did for the #1 pick, but even if they moved down in the 1st round and where able to add the extra draft picks; it would seem like the right move for Cleveland. Tennessee received 6 draft picks for the #1 pick; so if Cleveland could get 4 or 5 draft picks to deal the #2 pick; should they take that?

Teams that are still in the market for a quarterback had a new name added to the market as the Houston Texans cut Brian Hoyer yesterday. Hoyer started 9 regular season games for Houston last season and appeared in 11 games total. Hoyer threw for 2606 yards last season with 19 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. I’m sure what most people remember about Hoyer’s 2015 season was the terrible playoff game he had against the Kansas City Chiefs. Kansas City won that game 30-0. Hoyer was 15 for 34 for 136 yards and he threw 4 interceptions. The playoff game aside Hoyer has made 26 career starts and has a winning record at 15-11. With the late addition of Hoyer to the off season quarterback market you have to wonder how this will affect the contract demands of Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick was the top quarterback left on the market and it appeared as though his contract demands reflected that. Hoyer and Fitzpatrick are very comparable quarterbacks; so will see if the teams that Fitzpatrick turned down or couldn’t come to a contract agreement with contact Hoyer. It didn’t take Fitzpatrick’s former team long to meet with Hoyer as the New York Jets had him in for a visit on Tuesday. It seemed as though Hoyer’s time in Houston was over when they signed quarterback Brock Osweiler to a 4-year $72 million dollar free agent deal this off season. Houston was Hoyer’s fourth career stop. He spent 3 seasons with the New England Patriots, a year with the Arizona Cardinals, 2 seasons with the Cleveland Browns and last season with the Texans. We’ll see where Hoyer’s next stop is and if he’s brought in there as a starter or if he ends up being a back up. On a side note the Texans also cut Hoyer’s back up on Tuesday as they released quarterback B.J. Daniels.

NHL

The St. Louis Blues beat the Chicago Blackhawks last night 4-3 to take a 3 games to 1 lead in the opening round playoff series. The Blackhawks are the defending Stanley Cup champions; so you have to think that if a team could comeback from a 3 games to 1 hole it would be the Blackhawks. If the Blackhawks are going to comeback in this series they might have to do it without Andrew Shaw. Shaw was sent off for interference at 17:56 of the third period. While sitting in the penalty box; Shaw pounded on the glass with his stick and then yelled what looked like a slur toward someone on the ice.  Shaw scored a goal in the second period and had two assists in the game, but when he was asked about the incident Shaw said he “didn’t remember”. The NHL said they are investigating the incident. The NHL has a working relationship with the You Can Play Project. The Project aims to ensure equality, respect and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation. The You Can Play Project immediately reached out to the NHL. Coincidently the Blackhawks highlighted its partnership with the You Can Play Project. Defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson and goaltender Scott Darling participated in a video supporting the group’s mission. The nest game in this series is on the schedule for Thursday night in St. Louis; so you’d expect the NHL to rule quickly on the Shaw incident. If there’s a suspension involved with this and the Blackhawks just one loss away from elimination Shaw may have played his last game for the 2015-16 season.

NBA

Do the Golden State Warriors need Stephen Curry to win their 1st round series against the Houston Rockets? The Warriors did win Game 2 of the series as Curry sat out with an injured ankle. Curry had an MRI on Tuesday and the test didn’t show anything of concern. Curry is listed as questionable for Thursday nights Game 3, but should he play is the question. Golden State is up 2 games to none on the Rockets; so there is a bit of a cushion right now for Golden State to rest Curry. Even without Curry I don’t think Golden State would lose a 1st round series to the Rockets, but they’re going to need him down the road in the playoffs. It seems to make sense to rest him and not bring him back until he’s 100%, but that will be Golden State’s head coach Steve Kerr’s decision. Curry did try to warm up before Game 2; so you think he might try the same thing before Game 3 and then Kerr will make his decision on Curry’s game status.

Listen to Sports Time Radio on BlogTalkRadio.com and you can find me on Twitter @Burketime

How was your week

Posted: April 16, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in Auto Racing, basketball, football, NASCAR, sports
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NFL

The 1st round of the NFL draft is 12 days away. This week the Tennessee Titans traded the #1 overall pick in the draft to the Los Angeles Rams. What did the Titans get for that pick? Tennessee got the Rams 1st round pick this season which is the 15th pick. Tennessee also got two 2nd round picks; the 43rd and 45th pick of this draft as well as a 3rd round pick; 76th pick in this draft. Wait there’s more as Tennessee will also receive the Rams 1st round draft pick in the 2017 draft along with a 2nd rd round pick in next years draft. Besides the #1 overall pick the Rams will also receive the Titans 4th round pick; at 113th and Tennessee’s 6th round pick which is 177th pick in this years draft. So Tennessee gave up 3 draft picks and moved back 14 spots in the 1st round while Los Angeles gave up 6 draft picks to move up to the top spot in the draft. Was it too much for Los Angeles to give up?

It appears as though the Rams made the trade so they could select their franchise quarterback be it Jared Goff or Carson Wentz. There was even a report saying the Rams wanted to make this deal as early as they did so they would have the time to decide between the two quarterbacks. It’s doubtful that the Rams could’ve stayed at pick #15 and been able to draft one of these two quarterbacks; so if they wanted one they had to move up. Did they have to move up to #1 is the question. Now all off season long the experts have been saying there not sure if there’s a franchise quarterback in this draft. Do the Rams see something in Goff or Wentz that makes them think that they’ll be that franchise guy or was Tennessee the only team they could work out a trade with pre-draft?

Just a few seasons ago in 2012 the Rams where on the opposite end of a deal similar to this. In 2012 the Rams sent the #2 pick in the draft to the Washington Redskins in return for 4 draft picks. The Rams received Washington’s 1st round pick in 2012 which was 6th overall as well as a 2012 2nd round pick which was the 39th pick. The Rams also received the Redskins 1st round picks in 2013 and 2014. Washington traded up to select a quarterback as well. They took Robert  Griffin III with that 2nd pick. The Rams drafted Morris Claireborne at #6 and Janoris Jenkins at #39 in 2012. The 2013 1st round pick they aqcuired ended up in another trade as it was sent with a 2015 7th round pick to the Atlanta Falcons for 3 draft picks. The Rams picked up the Falcons 2013 1st round pick which was #30 and they selected Alec Ogletree. The other 2 draft picks the Rams got where a 3rd rounder (#92) and a 6th (#198) in the 2013 draft.The other 1st round draft pick the Rams got from the Redskins ended up being the #2 pick in the 2014 draft and the Rams used it to select offensive lineman Greg Robinson. Now that the Rams are the team giving up multiple draft picks it will be interesting to see who Tennessee ends up drafting with them.

The NFL also released it’s schedule for the upcoming 2016 season. As they like to do the opening Thursday night game is a Super Bowl rematch as the Denver Broncos host the Carolina Panthers. If you’re interested in looking at the NFL schedule here’s a link for you to check it out. 

NBS

The first round of the NBA playoffs start today (Saturday) with 4 games. There are two Eastern Conference match ups and two Western Conference match ups on the schedule. The 7th seeded Indiana Pacers  at the 2nd seeded Toronto Raptors  tip-off their Game 1 at 11:30 a.m. Central Standard Time (cst) that’s followed by the 8th seeded Houston Rockets  at the #1 seeded Golden State Warriors are at 2:30 c.s.t. The third game of the day has the 5th seeded Boston Celtics at the 4th seeded Atlanta Hawks and the night wraps up with the 6th seeded Dallas Mavericks at the 3rd seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.  On Sunday the NBA action tips off at 2:00 p.m. cst with the 8th seeded Detroit Pistons taking on the #1 seeded Cleveland Cavaliers. Game two has the 6th seeded Charlotte Hornets facing off against the 3rd seeded Miami Heat. Game 3 has the 7th seeded Memphis Grizzlies at the #2 seeded San Antonio Spurs and the night cap has the 5th seeded Portland Trail Blazers at the 4th seeded Los Angeles Clippers.

On yesterday’s Sports Time Radio podcast Dan the Man made his picks for the series winners in the NBA. Starting in the Eastern Conference he has the #1 Cleveland Cavaliers over the #8 Detroit Pistons. Dan likes the #7 Indiana Paces over the #2 Toronto Raptors. He went with the #3 Miami heat over the Charlotte Hornets and Dan also likes the #5 Boston Celtics over the #4 Atlanta Hawks. Over in the Western Conference Dan has the #1 Golden State Warriors over the #8 Houston Rockets. Dan also mentioned that he thins this series will be a sweep for the Warriors. Dan likes #2 San Antonio Spurs over the #7 Memphis Grizzlies. He also likes #3 Oklahoma City Thunder over the #6 Dallas Mavericks and he also has the #5 Portland Trail Blazers over the #4 Los Angeles Clippers. Feel free to leave your picks here in the comments or reach out to Dan on Twitter @SportsTimeRadio or @DanZeeeMan and let him know what you think about his picks.

NASCAR

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is at Bristol Motor Speedway this week for the Food City 500 and Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) started off the weekend about as good as you can. Not only did JGR driver Carl Edwards win the pole with a speed of 127.997 mph but 4 of the Top 5 starting spots in the race went to JGR drivers. Edwards teammate Matt Kenseth will start next to Edwards in 2nd while JGR’s Denny Hamlin starts 4th and final JGR driver in the race Kyle Busch goes off 5th. The only non-JGR driver in the Top is Joey Logano from Penske Motorsports. Will qualifying success lead to victory lane you never know, but it’s better to start up front at Bristol than in the rear. Just a side note Dan the Man’s favorite driver Clint Bowyer will start 36th for Sunday’s race.

You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast on BlogTalkRadio.com and you can find me on Twitter @Burketime

 

Lets call it Wednesday

Posted: March 23, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, basketball, football, sports, Uncategorized
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We’re just about 10 days away from opening day and the last thing a team wants is to lose a player late in spring training to an injury. Unfortunately the Los Angeles Dodgers suffered a big loss as outfielder Andre Either was diagnosed with a fracture of the right tibia and will be out 10 to 14 weeks. Either fouled a ball off his shin in Friday’s exhibition game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The original X-rays that day revealed no broken bones, but the Dodgers said Tuesday that a follow-up CT scan showed the fracture. The only good news for Either is the fact that he wont need surgery to repair his injury. Either was being projected as the Dodgers starting left fielder for this coming season. With Either out the Dodgers will go with Carl Crawford, Scott Van Slyke or possible Trayce Thompson in left field. Ethier batted .294 with 14 homers and 53 RBIs in 395 at-bats last season. He also had seven triples and a .366 on-base percentage. Ethier ranked second on the Dodgers in OPS (.852) in 2015, nine points shy of Justin Turner for best on the team among those with at least 200 plate appearances. He ranked 18th in the National League in on-base percentage, 20th in slugging percentage (.486) and 17th in OPS among players with at least 300 plate appearances. The Dodgers have been bit hard by the injury bug this spring. Don’t forget they already lost left-hander Brett Anderson for an extended period of time, as his back injury will keep him on the shelf for three to five weeks. Besides Either and Anderson there is quite a list of Dodgers who are either working back from some type of an injury or recovering from an off season procedure. That list includes Alex Wood, Brandon Beachy, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Yasmani Grandal, Adrian Gonzalez, Howie Kendrick, Enrique Hernandez, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Scott Van Slyke and Julio Urias. Seager should be back from his sprained knee by Opening Day, Gonzalez and Kendrick are at full strength from their nagging injuries and Turner is rounding into form quickly, so at least some areas are headed in the right direction for the Dodgers. The health issue is a concern for all teams, but the Dodgers will have to keep a particularly close eye on things.

It was announced this morning that Sean Payton and the New Orleans Saints have agreed to a 5-year which will keep him with the team until the 2020 season. It is being reported that the deal will pay Payton in excess of $45 million. Payton, who has coached the Saints for 10 years, was already one of the NFL’s highest paid coaches at $8.5 million in his previous deal, which ran through 2017. There was a lot of speculation last season that Payto might leave the Saints for another NFL team if a compensation package could’ve been worked out. Nothing ever materialized and Payton has a new contract to stay with the Saints. In addition, the Saints are continuing negotiations with quarterback Drew Brees on a proposed 4-year contract extension, which would also keep him with the team through the 2020 season. Negotiations with Brees, who has one year remaining on his own contract, has picked up recently as the Saints have incentive to lower his NFL-high salary cap figure of $30 million for 2016.

With the NBA season winding down the Cleveland Cavaliers are still the only team in the Eastern Conference to lock in a playoff spot. Looking at the standings it does appear that the Top 6 teams in the Eastern Conference will eventually lock in a playoff spot. The question becomes; who ends up with the 7th and 8th seeds? The Indiana Pacers are holding down the 7th seed right now at 37-33. The Chicago Bulls are holding onto the 8th seed, but they are just a 1/2 game behind the Pacers at 36-33. On the outside looking in right now are the Detroit Pistons who are 37-34 and just 0.001 percentage points behind the Bulls for that final playoff spot. Then there’s the Washington Wizards who are back to .500 at 35-35 and have the longest current winning streak in the Eastern Conference at 5 games. If you’re the Cavaliers is there a team you prefer to see end up in the 8th spot? While I don’t think the Cavaliers would have any problems winning a playoff series against any of the teams listed there are some teams that might give them more trouble than others. What may be interesting is if a team can get into the 7th spot because the Toronto Raptors have had issues against some of the teams competing for a playoff spot. Is it possible we could see a #2 seed like the Raptors go out in the first round of the playoffs?

Now the Western Conference is looking a little clearer. It looks like the Top 5 teams are set and then it’s just the order of the final 3 teams that will have to play out. There is an outside chance that the Utah Jazz could take away a playoff spot from either the Houston Rockets or the Dallas Mavericks. The Jazz currently trail the Rockets by 1/2 for the 8th spot and the Jazz are just 1 game behind the Mavericks. Is it time to start wondering if getting into the playoffs as the 7th or 8th seed in the Western Conference really a plus for your season. The 7th seed will get to face the San Antonio Spurs in the 1st round and the 8th seed matches up with the Golden State Warriors in Round 1. Would the Rockets, Mavericks or Jazz even win a game in a 1st round playoff series against the Spurs or the Warriors; probably not. We probably shouldn’t lock the Portland Trail Blazers into the playoffs just yet. The Trail Blazers are just 1 1/2 ahead of the Jazz; so a bad streak here in the final 10 games could have them out of the playoffs. You just know any team would like to get themselves into that 6th seed; so they could face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 1st round.

Barring any major upsets you’d have to think will see the Warriors vs. the Spurs for the Western Conference title and then the winner of that series would move on the play the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. The outcome has looked like this for a while now and I have to wonder if this will affect the ratings of the opening round playoff games or maybe people will watch rooting for the upset?

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You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: March 16, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in Auto Racing, College Basketball, football, NASCAR, sports, Uncategorized
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Last Sunday the NASCAR series was at the Phoenix International Speedway for the Good Sam 500. On Sunday morning Chris Olmstead from Beyond the Flag joined the Sports Time Radio podcast to preview the race. As Chris is wrapping up his preview we have him select three drivers that he thinks have the best chance to end up in victory lane. For the Phoenix race he went with Jimmie Johnson who finished 11th as one of his choices. His other two choices where Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick who ended up finishing 1st and 2nd. Harvick edged out Edwards by 9/100th of a second. Edwards had actually found his way past Harvick on the last lap, but Harvick was able to pull up side by side with Edwards and after some contact it was Harvick who was able to narrowly pull out the victory. The win of course puts Harvick in the Chase along with Denny Hamlin, Johnson and Brad Keslowski. The Sprint Cup series continues the west coast swing as they go to Fontana California for the Auto Club 400 at the Auto Club Speedway. Chris will join us on the podcast a little after 10:00 a.m. to preview the race and make his picks. Tune in to hear if Chris can pick back to back winners.

Now I don’t watch much if any college basketball, but you know that I filled out a tournament bracket. Pretty much all I know about the college basketball season is the highlights I’ve seen on the various sportscasts I watch. Anyway here’s what I managed to come up with for my Final Four. I have Villanova coming out of the South bracket; facing Texas A&M out of the West bracket. Villanova wins this match up and goes to the championship game. I have North Carolina coming out of the East bracket to face Michigan State who wins the Midwest bracket. I have Michigan state winning this game and advancing to the Championship game. So my finals match up has Villanova vs. Michigan State and I have Michigan State winning the NCAA championship. So my Final Four is actually Villanova, Texas A&M, North Carolina and Michigan State. I guess will have to see how this goes for me.

I was a little surprised when the report came out that the Denver Broncos matched the contract offer made to running back C.J. Anderson by the Miami Dolphins. The contract has a  a guaranteed $5.25 million signing bonus, and his base salary of $675,000 is also guaranteed. In addition, $1.7 million of his $2.9 million base salary in 2017 is guaranteed. Anderson’s base salary of $4.5 million in 2018 and 2019 are not guaranteed. He will have to be on the Broncos’ roster to earn his base salary in those years. Anderson was tendered at a one-year, $1.671 million deal, with the Broncos holding right of first refusal on the restricted free agent. That meant the Broncos could match any offer, but it also meant they would not have received any compensation from the Dolphins if Anderson had signed there.With Anderson back in the fold it will give the Broncos one less thing to worry about as they try to figure out their quarterback position. Denver did acquire Mark Sanchez from the Philadelphia Eagles, but they’ve said all along he won;t be the only quarterback in camp. Denver has shown some interest in Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers as well as free agent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.

The New England Patriots made a couple of moves yesterday. First they sent defensive end Chandler Jones to the Arizona Cardinals for guard Jonathan Cooper and a 2nd round draft choice. Jones is entering the last year of his contract, but is coming off a career high 12 1/2 sacks last season. In 4 years with the Patriots Jones had 36 sacks. Cooper was the 7th overall pick in the 2013 draft. He played in 14 games last season starting 9 for Arizona, but has had some injury issues. The 2nd round pick is a plus for New England. Remember they lost their 1st round draft pick as a penalty for deflate gate. Even without Jones New England was still deep along the defensive line, but that didn’t stop them from adding one more as they signed free agent Chris Long to a one year deal. Long formerly of the St. Louis now Los Angeles Rams is coming off a couple of injury plagued seasons. He played in just 6 games in 2014, but came back to play 12 games last season recording 3 sacks. Long was the 2nd overall pick of the 2008 draft and had 54 1/2 sacks in 8 seasons with the Rams.

The Oakland Raiders have made quite a splash in free agency this off season. They brought in pass rusher Bruce Irvin as well as signing the best offensive lineman on the market in Kelechi Osemele. Not it’s being reported that the Raiders will offensive tackle Donald Penn. Bringing Penn back means that Osemele will play guard for sure. It also means that quarterback Derek Carr will have a very large offensive line in front of him. Penn goes 6’5 and 305 pounds, Osemele goes 6’5 and 333 pounds along with the other starters Rodney Hudson at 6’2 and 291 pounds, Gabe Jackson 6’3 and 336 pounds and Austin Howard 6’7 333 pounds. If it’s not the biggest offensive line on the National Football League it has to be right at the top.

Another signing took place yesterday as Mike Wallace agreed to a deal with the Baltimore Ravens. Wallace spent last season with the Minnesota Vikings and on his way out the door took some shots at his now former quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. After being released by the Minnesota Vikings in a salary cap move there was some talk Wallace would resign with Minnesota, but Wallace didn’t feel this way saying “When this process started, I knew I wasn’t going back to Minnesota. I was like, ‘I need a good quarterback,'” Wallace said. “I need a quarterback who is proven and can get things done. [Ravens Quarterback Joe] Flacco has always been that guy.” In his one season with the Vikings Wallace caught 39 passes for 473 yards and 2 touchdowns. The 39 catches tied for Wallace’s career low. He also had 39 catches as a rookie with the Pittsburgh Steelers. In Baltimore Wallace will team with the returning Steve Smith and hopefully Breshad Perriman. Perriman lost his rookie season last year to injury, but if he can contribute the Ravens could have a solid receiving core.

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You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: February 10, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, football, hockey, sports, Uncategorized
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The Denver Broncos won Super Bowl 50 over the Carolina Panthers 24-10 on Sunday. Denver used the best defense in the NFL to shutdown the Cam Newton led Panthers offense. Newton was sacked 6 times threw an interception and was hit 13 other times on top of the sacks. It was the first time all season that the Carolina offense was shutdown like it was in the Super Bowl. The Broncos defense actually had 7 sacks on the night, but one of them was on Ted Ginn Jr. on a trick play that the Panthers where trying to run. Newton ended the game 18 of 41 for 265 yards. Newton also ended the game as the Panthers leading rusher. Newton had 45 yards on 6 rushing attempts. The Carolina offense also fumbled the football 4 times losing 3 of them. Carolina’s receivers where producing, but they just couldn’t string any plays together because of the pressure Newton was under all game. Corey (Philly) Brown, Greg Olson and Ginn all had 4 receptions in the game. Brown went for 80 yards and looked like he was in position to be the key to Carolina’s offense, but had to leave the game with concussion symptoms. Carolina’s defense played a good game as well and actually kept them in it. Peyton Manning was 13 for 23 for just a 141 yards with 1 interception. Manning was also sacked 5 times. Even Denver’s running game couldn’t really get going. C.J. Anderson did carry the football 23 times for 90 yards and 1 touchdown; he only averaged 3.9 yards per carry. To be fair Anderson’s rushing touchdown was a gift from the Broncos defense and if T.J. Ward would’ve been able to stand up he would’ve scored that touchdown. Emmanuel Sanders was Manning’s main target as he had 6 receptions for 83 yards. Anderson did add 4 catches as well, but went for just 10 yards on those catches. With the game playing out the way it did you knew that someone from the Broncos defense would be the MVP The award went to Von Miller who had  tackles, 2 1/2 sacks and a forced fumble. Miller set the tone for the game as he just took the football away from Newton down on the goal line and Malik Jackson recovered it in the end zone for the 1st score of the game. Miller was far and away the best player on the Broncos and deserved the award. I believe that if the Panthers would’ve found a way t comeback and win the game Kony Early would’ve been the MVP. Early had 3 sacks and 1 interception for the Panthers defense. Of course I was happy to see Miller get the MVP as he was my pick in the Saturday blog.

Our Super Bowl predictions where decent this season. Mr. Fantasy and I had Denver winning and I mentioned that I some how got the MVP right. Sadly Dan the Man and Schaumburg Stu had Carolina winning. No one got the final score right, but Mr. Fantasy did have Denver’s point total correct. Overall for our playoff predictions Mr. Fantasy and I went 8-4, but since he got Denver’s point total right he would win the tiebreaker. Dan the Man went 7-5 for the playoffs and Schaumburg Stu finished at 6-6 overall.

With the game being a defensive battle there where a lot of people complaining that they didn’t like it. I’m sure everyone and even the NFL expected more of an offensive battle, but both defenses controlled the action. Neither team had an answer for the others pass rush and turnovers made the difference in the game. I don’t have the energy to go through the post game stuff that went on wit Cam Newton, but what I want to know is did you enjoy the game?

The Ottawa Senators made a deal yesterday with the Toronto Maple Leafs to try to get themselves into the playoffs. It was a 9-player deal between the 2 teams with the center piece being Dion Phaneuf going from Toronto to Ottawa. Along with Phanuef the Senators received forward Matt Frattin, forward Casey Bailey, forward Ryan Rupert and defense prospect Cody Donaghey from the Maple Leafs. In return the Maple Leafs got defenseman Jared Cowen, forwards Colin Greening, Milan Michalek and Tobias Lindberg, and Ottawa’s second-round pick in the 2017 NHL draft. What may have been the biggest key to the deal for the Maple Leafs is that Ottawa was willing to pick up the remainder of Phanuef’s contract which has 5 years still on it and is a salary cap hit of $7 million. As it appears Toronto will rebuild with the extra salary cap room will the Maple Leafs go after free agent to be Steven Stamkos now of the Tampa Bay Lighting. Phaneuf spent the first four-plus years of his career in Calgary before being traded to Toronto in January 2010. The three-time All-Star has 45 goals, 151 assists and is a minus-30 in his career. This may be the first of a few deals the Maple Leafs are involved in if they’re going to try and clear some salary cap room.

The Senators are currently 25-23-6 on the season for 56 points. That puts them 5 points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins and 6 points behind the Boston Bruins for a Eastern Conference wild card spot. Ottawa has won it’s last 2 games putting up 11 goals total in those games. The Senators will play 3 games in 4 days starting tonight against the Detroit Red Wings in Detroit. They head home for Thursday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche and then Ottawa has a day off before going back on the road to play the Columbus Blue Jackets. That’s a tough set of games; so we’ll have to see if the Senators can make up some ground in the wild card race over these next 4 days.

Is anyone else confused by the Sacramento Kings. At the start of the season there was talk that they where going to fire head coach George Karl. That move seemed to stem from Karl’s suggestion of trading Sacramento’s best player DeMarcus Cousins. The team got off to a good start and the firing talk went away. Well as soon as the team hit a bad stretch the talk of removing Karl as coach came right back. There where quite a few reports that Karl would be removed over the All-Star break which is this weekend. Then there was a report yesterday that Karl met with the Kings owner and he would remain coach for the rest of the season. I guess at this point in time; why would Karl want to coach this team? Sacramento is 21-31 and is 5 games out of the 8th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Here you go; say the Kings rebound and get themselves into that #8 seed and make the playoffs. How do you think they would do against the Golden State Warriors in the 1st round of the playoffs?

You can listen to Sports Time Radio on BlogTalkRadio.com and today (Wednesday) Schaumburg Stu is filling in for Dan the Man.

You can follow me on Twitter @Burketime

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