Archive for the ‘football’ Category

How was your Week?

Posted: May 2, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, basketball, Boxing, football, hockey, sports
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The 1st round of the NBA playoffs will wrap up tonight when the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Clippers play Game 7 of their series tonight in Los Angeles. This has been the only interesting series of the first round. Even though the Milwaukee Bucks and the Brooklyn Nets found ways to win a couple games against their higher seeded opponents there was never any real doubt who would win those series. Even though the Washington Wizards where the #5 seed in their series against the Toronto Raptors; Washington was playing better basketball coming into the playoffs and it showed when they swept the series. The majority of these series were boring and uninteresting with the exception of the Spurs/Clippers series. As the NBA playoffs start the 2nd round let’s hope the games get better and more interesting.

Now the NHL has started the 2nd round of their playoffs and 3 out of the 4 games were great to start these series off. The Anaheim Ducks did have an easy time in Game 1 against the Calgary Flames winning 6-2. The Washington Capitals won Game 1 of their series against the New York rangers by scoring a goal in the final seconds of the 3rd period to steal a 2-1 victory. It took double overtime to settle Game 1 of the Montreal Canadiens/Tampa Bay Lighting series.. Nikita Kucherov scored in the 2nd overtime to win the game for Tampa Bay 2-1. The Chicago Blackhawks jumped out to a 3 goal lead in Game 1 of their series against the Minnesota Wild and looked like they would cruise to a victory. Minnesota turned around and scored the next 3 goals to even the game, but the Blackhawks managed to out 1 more puck in the net and take Game 1, 4-3. The 2nd round of the NHL playoffs got off to a great start and hopefully they’ll carry it on through these series.

I’ve always enjoyed watching the NFL draft, but this may be the last season I take the time to do that. I’ve tried watching the coverage on ESPN and the NFL Network and they both stink. They’ve spent way too much time just doing nothing. The picks get backed up 3 or 4 teams and it’s like neither network has never covered a draft before. Now I have no issue when things slow down to salute the military or have someone from a charity the NFL works with come out. It’s nice to see a former player like Jim Kelly or Rick Upchurch get the applause from the crowd for the battles they’re fighting. It’s even funny to see Ickey Woods announce a Cincinnati Bengals draft pick and “Shuffle” for the fans, but the NFL and the networks need to find a way to speed up the announcement of the picks. Rounds 4-7 start in about 4 hours and they are outside today, but luckily they’re going to get some good weather in Chicago for it. They also mentioned that the picks will be announced from the teams war rooms; so I’m interested to see how this works out and if it might speed things up a little.

On the Sports Time Radio podcast yesterday (Friday) we had Zach Alapi from http://www.TheLivingDaylights.co on with us to talk about the Floyd Mayweather/Manny Pacquiao boxing match that takes place tonight. Zach has Mayweather winning this fight by decision, but his staff was split on who would win. 3 of the writers on his website had Mayweather winning, but there where 2 writers who picked Pacquiao to win. On the podcast Dan the Man, Mr. Fantasy and I all have Mayweather winning tonight and just like Zach we see the fight going to distance. On one of the sports networks I get they were actually announcing which celebrities were sitting ringside and all I could fins myself asking was; who cares. This is a fight boxing fans have been waiting for and why does it matter at all who’s sitting ringside. With the price of tickets who else did they think would be in those seats.

The other big event happening today is the Kentucky Derby. It’s the first race in the Triple Crown from Churchhill Downs. I made my pick on Wednesday and I’m sticking with Mubtaahji. Mr. Fantasy likes Danzig Moon and Dan the Man has Firing Line to win. I will caution people not to take our advise on horse racing as we know little to nothing about the sport and I’m pretty sure we all just took a name we liked. I actually do watch the derby, but I’m just interested in the actual race and I can do without all of the pre-race stuff. There are some experts who will tell you that horse racing and boxing are dying sports. Isn’t it interesting that they both ended up having huge events on the same day.

Last night in Fenway Park Alex Rodriguez tied Willie Mays on the all-time home run list with hitting his 660th home run. While this should be a celebrated event for baseball I could care less about it. There’s a pretty good chance that Rodriguez has been using some type of performance enhancing drug his entire baseball career and there were even some reports about him using P.E.D.’s in high school. The high school rumors were never proven, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all. 660 home runs is a great accomplishment for a player who didn’t cheat the game. Is there anyone out there who even cares about this that’s not a New York Yankees fan. It was no real surprise that the Boston Red Sox fans booed Rodriguez when he was announced as a pinch hitter. Mike Shuster is the Red Sox fan who was sitting on top of the Green monster and caught Rodriguez’s 660th home run. Shuster has told the New York Post that he won’t be giving the baseball to Rodriguez. It is being reported to “stay tuned” to this story as Shuster might have a price. A Hall of Fame spokesman said they would accept Rodriquez’s 660th home run ball or “milestone” as the spokesman put it. Maybe they could put a side note on the ball explaining how Rodriguez got to this number, but I doubt they actually would.

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S.T.R. 1st round grades.

Posted: May 1, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in football, sports
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#1 Jameis Winston, Quarterback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Is Winston a franchise quarterback? and will he be under center for the Buccaneers for the next 10-15 seasons? Off field issues are there as well; a lot of questions with this pick. C-

#2 Marcus Mariota, Quarterback, Tennessee Titans. A bit of a surprise here especially after seeing what they where offered to trade out of this spot. Hasn’t taken a snap from under center in quite a few years. He’ll need some time to adjust to the pro game. C

#3 Dante Fowler Jr. Defensive Line, Jacksonville Jaquars. They needed help rushing the quarterback and Fowler should help in that area. He’s a high motor guy who’ll have to be better against the run at the pro level. B

#4 Amari Cooper, Wide Receiver, Oakland Raiders. Derek Carr needs weapons and Cooper was the best receiver in the draft. He can be the #1 receiver the Raiders don’t currently have on their roster. B+

#5 Brandon Scherff, Offensive Line, Washington Redskins. They needed to protect their quarterback; so they drafted the best offensive lineman. A pick like this might help keep Robert Griffin III healthy and that’s a key for this team. B

#6 Leonard Williams, Defensive Line, New York Jets. I doubt the Jets would’ve believed that the best defensive player would be their for them with this pick. While it wasn’t the biggest need they had’ he was to good to pass up. Maybe they’ll deal one of their veteran defensive lineman. B

#7 Kevin White, Wide Receiver, Chicago Bears. A team with one of the worst defenses in the NFL took a receiver; interesting. White was a big hit at the scouting combine, but that doesn’t always translate to the pro level. D

#8 Vic Beasley, Defensive Line, Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta did just what they needed to do. They looked at their draft board and took the best defensive player they had on it. They’ll have to decide if Beasley will be a linebacker or a pass rush end in the pros. B-

#9 Ereck Flowers, Offensive Line, New York Giants. The Giants have weapons on offense; so it was a good move on their part to try and find a guy to help protect Eli Manning. Some experts had Flowers as the top offensive lineman in this draft. B

#10 Todd Gurley, Running Back, St. Louis Rams. This was the first real surprise for me. I thought Tre Mason had proved himself last season, but the Rams felt different. Gurley was injury prone in college and will have to hope that trend doesn’t follow him into the NFL. C-

#11 Tre Waynes, Defensive Back, Minnesota Vikings. This was the only cornerback compared to Darrelle Revis and Richard Sherman. He was left in man to man situations in college against the other teams best receiver. To good of a player to pass up on here. A

#12 Danny Shelton, Defensive Line, Cleveland Browns. Cleveland hung on to their two 1st round picks and used this one to address their defensive line. Shelton is a big, big man and should fit well as a nose tackle in a 3-4 system. B-

#13 Andrus Peat, Offensive Line. New Orleans Saints. Drew Brees is getting older and it’s never a bad pick to get him more protection. Peat could develop into a left tackle for the Saints for many, many years. B

#14 DeVante Parker, Wide Receiver, Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins have revamped their receiving core this off season and Parker is the next piece to that. Parker did miss some time last season with a knee injury, but was a good choice here for Miami. B

#15 Melvin Gordon, Running Back, San Diego Chargers. San Diego gave up the #17 pick along with the #117th pick (4th round) along with a 2016 5th round pick to move up 2 spots to draft Gordon. With Gurley gone San Diego felt the need to move up and get their guy, but they gave up quite a bit to do that. C

#16 Kevin Johnson, Cornerback, Houston Texans. Johnson is a taller defensive back and that’s a trend NFL teams look for. A solid cover guy with good speed and it fit the Texans need with some rumor that they may be looking to deal one of their veteran defensive backs. C+

#17 Arik Armstead, Defensive Line, San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers moved back two spots and still got the defensive lineman they wanted. It was a good deal for the 49ers and this pick should add to their defense that was weakened by retirements. B+

#18 Marcus Peters, Defensive Back, Kansas City Chiefs. Was this pick some insurance if Eric Berry isn;t ready to go at the start of the season. I think everyone had the Chiefs taking a wide receiver here, but instead the shore up the defensive backfield. C

#19 Cameron Erving, Offensive Line, Cleveland Browns. It was the defensive line help with the first #1 now the Browns add to the offensive line here. Erving is the utility man of offensive lineman as he can play any position along the line. B-

#20 Nelson Agholor, Wide Receiver, Philadelphia Eagles. Since the Eagles couldn’t trade up to get Mariota they selected a replacement for the wide receiver they lost in free agency. They could’ve went defense here, but this pick fits a need for them. C

#21 Cedric Ogbuehi, Offensive Line, Cincinnati Bengals. Another team that was thought to be going wide receiver, but instead decided to help protect their quarterback. Ogbuehi had a knee injury last season and as long as he’s over that he has a chance to be  in the NFL a long time. C+

#22 Bud Dupree, Linebacker, Pittsburgh Steelers. Some experts had Dupree as the best pass rushing linebacker in this draft and I bet the Steelers where thrilled when he was there when their pick came up. They need defensive help and they found it. A

#23 Shane Ray, Linebacker, Denver Broncos. Denver traded the 28th pick, the 143rd pick (5th round) in this draft. A 5th round pick in 2016 and veteran offensive lineman Manny Ramirez to move up 5 spots to draft Ray. I’ve heard Ray being compared to Von Miller, but remember he couldn’t get on the field in college as a junior because of Michael Sam. C

#24 D.J. Humphries, Offensive Line, Arizona Cardinals. Arizona’s downward spiral stared when Carson Palmer got hurt. They added a player to help protect him, but there is some question if they took the best offensive lineman on the board. D+

#25 Shaq Thompson, Linebacker, Carolina Panthers. This may have been the first reach in the 1st round. Thompson has shown to be a great athlete, but could Carolina have gotten him in the 2nd round. He does however fit their defensive system. C-

#26 Breshad Perriman, Wide Receiver, Baltimore Ravens. With Torrey Smith gone in free agency this was the pick a lot of experts expected Baltimore to make. Perriman did have some issues with dropped balls last season, but he’ll get to work with Steve Smith as he develops. C

#27 Byron Jones, Defensive Back, Dallas Cowboys. You have to think the Cowboys were hoping that one of the running backs would fall to this pick, but they did a smart thing and filled a need here. The Cowboys defense was better than expected last season and Jones will have to help them continue that this season. C+

#28 Laken Tomlinson, Offensive Line, Detroit Lions. The Lions may have been another team looking for a running back to fall and it was a bit of a surprise they took a offensive lineman after they got one in the deal to move back to this pick. There was a lot of talk they would take a defensive lineman here, but they didn’t. B

#29 Phillip Dorsett, Wide Receiver, Indianapolis Colts. I’m guessing no one had this pick right. Dorsett will factor into the return game right away and if he struggles as a receiver the Colts can give him time to learn. He is a true speed, stretch the field receiver. C-

#30 Damarious Randall, Defensive Back, Green Bay Packers. You could almost call Randall a cover safety. He was left to play quite a bit of man to man in college and that will be a big plus at the pro level. The Packers lost a lot in the defensive backfield this off season; so this was a logical pick. B

#31 Stephone Anthony, Linebacker, New Orleans Saints. This was the first inside linebacker to come off the board. This was also the Saints second 1st round pick. This is the pick they acquired in the Jimmy Graham trade. Anthony is a faster then most players at his position and should help the Saints defense right out of the gate. B

#32 Malcom Brown, Defensive Line, New England Patriots. I’m always surprised when the Patriots keep a 1st round pick; especially when it’s the last one of the round. They have to find a way to replace Vince Wolfork and Brown has the size New England likes to play that spot. B+

Let’s call it Wednesday.

Posted: April 29, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, football, sports
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Max Scherzer signed a gigantic free agent contract this off season with the Washington Nationals and then must’ve forgotten that they where in the National League. Scherzer thinks the fans would like to see the DH in the National League instead of a pitcher swing a “wet newspaper” and that “both leagues need to be on the same set of rules.”. Then after San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner took Scherzer to task for his comments Scherzer took to his Twitter account and said that his comments were “In jest” and “taken out of context” in order to fit “a story with a specific agenda.”. I’m not sure I’m buying Scherzer’s defense here especially since these comments came out after he had to miss a start because he injured a thumb while batting. While Scherzer may have been the only player who mentioned he’d like to see the DH through out baseball there where quite a few experts and analyst who’d like to see this happen as well. All the DH talk really got rolling after St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright got injured in the batter’s box in his last start. St. Louis announced yesterday that Adam Wainwright would miss the rest of the season due to a torn Achilles in his left foot. Wainwright will have surgery this week, and is expected to miss between 9-12 months. I’ve seen the highlight of the at bat Wainwright got injured in and my question was did he get hurt hitting or did he get hurt as he was trying to run out of the batters box? For obvious reasons this hasn’t been mentioned by anyone who wants to see the DH adopted by the National League, but if Wainwright had a weak Achilles as it was would this injury had happened the next inning when he took the mound? While the injury occurred while he was hitting it’s easy to point fingers and say that’s why it happened and maybe it did, but there’s also a chance he injured it pushing off trying to run to 1st base. Of course if there was a DH in the National League the only way this injury would’ve happened to Wainwright was if it did happen while he was pitching because he wouldn’t of been near the batters box.

For me baseball was the first sports I ever played. There where no youth football leagues or basketball leagues when I was growing up; now there were a few hockey leagues, but they were very expensive not only to join the league, but to buy the equipment for as well. Of course there was Little League; which I only needed my baseball glove and a bat if my parents would buy one for me. Little League supplied the teams with bats, helmets and of course baseballs along with uniforms. Which I wore to my teams first practice game even though we weren’t suppose to. Now as I got older and learned more and more about the other sports what I liked about baseball was each league didn’t play each other and had a one different rule. Now in the NFL the AFC and NFC play by the same set of rules. In the NBA and the NHL the have an Eastern and Western conference, but they use the same set of rules. Then there was baseball were in the American League the pitcher didn’t hit, but in the National League just like my Little League team the pitcher batted. Now if you’re a little older than I am you will remember the pitchers hitting all the time; since the DH wasn’t adopted by the American League until 1973. Oddly though while playing Little League and moving through that system and into high school and college baseball the pitcher was always one of if not the best hitter on the team. I’m guessing since the DH is used through almost every minor league system a pitcher doesn’t work on his hitting at all while working his way top the big leagues. I’m sure there are some leagues that don’t use the DH, but the only other league I can think of that people might know that doesn’t use a DH is the .Nippon Professional Baseball’s Central League in Japan.

I understand that baseball wants a younger demographic and they believe that offense will bring in a younger group; so I fully expect to see the DH used in both leagues very soon, but I hope they don’t do it. Baseball already took some of the luster off of the World Series for me by doing inter-league play. I didn’t mind inter-league play at first, but now with an inter-league series every week it ruined it for me very quickly. I’m really hoping that baseball sees that having a DH in just one league makes them interesting and different from any other professional sport, but sadly I think I’m on the losing end of that argument.

Are you ready for the NFL draft to start tomorrow? The draft is now a 3 days event as just the 1st round will tale place on Thursday..Rounds 2 and 3 take place Friday night and then rounds 4 through 7 are done on Saturday afternoon. Now there are a ton of smoke and mirrors going on with teams right now as they try to hide their interest in certain players. That’s why I was a little surprised when Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman came out and said the Vikings were more than interested in trading the 11th pick in the 1st round. Of course trades happen all the time during the draft with teams looking to move up or down to get their guy, but nomally a general manager doesn’t advertise it like Speilman did. Then I’m sure not to be out done Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones came out and said he expects the Cowboys to trade their 1st round pick. I’m sure no one is surprised at all that Jones found a way to get some press.

We have quite a interesting sports weekend coming up. There’s the NFL draft and baseball as I wrote about above, but there is also the NBA and the NHL playoffs going on; which may be in the 2nd round. There has been some talk about this Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather boxing match, but don’t forget the Kentucky Derby is also this Saturday. I’ll be the first to tell you I know nothing about horse racing, but if I was betting on the race I’d be putting my money on  Mubtaahij to win the Derby. .

NFL Draft 2010!

Posted: April 27, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in football, sports
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The NFL draft is Thursday and we always take a look back 5 years to see who teams selected then. You’ll hear coaches and front office people say it takes 5 years to know if a draft was good; so let’s look and see who’s good and who’s not.

The St. Louis Rams had the 1st pick and they took Sam Bradford, Quarterback, Oklahoma. I think it’s safe to say this pick was a bust for the Rams. In 5 seasons with the Rams Bradford only played in 49 games because of injuries. He went 18-30-1 in those games and the Rams dealt him this off season to the Philadelphia Eagles.

With the 2nd pick the Detroit Lions took Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska. Suh has made 4 Pro Bowls and 3 first team All-Pro selections in his 5 seasons. He has 36 career sacks and 181 tackles. While those aren’t huge numbers remember that he’s a defensive tackle not a push rushing end. Suh is the best defensive tackle in the NFL and the Miami Dolphins pais him like that this off season. Suh signed for 6 years and $114,375,000 million dollars with almost $60 million dollars guaranteed.

At #3 the Tampa bay Buccaneers selected Gerald McCoy, DT, Oklahoma. McCoy has been voted to 3 Pro Bowls and 1 All-Pro team so far. He has missed a few games with injury issues, but still has 27 career sacks and 117 tackles. McCoy has been a good pick for Tampa Bay and he needs to stay healthy for them.

With the 4th pick the Washington Redskins picked Trent Williams, OT, Oklahoma. Williams was the 3rd Oklahoma player taken in the first 4 picks. Williams has been voted to the Pro Bowl the last 3 seasons. Williams has made 70 out of a possible 80 starts since being drafted. Left tackles always go high in drafts and Williams has been solid for Washington.

The Kansas City Chiefs had the 5th pick and took Eric Berry, Safety, Tennessee. Even though Berry has missed quite a bit of time with injuries and last season dealing with Hodgkin lymphoma he has still contributed when he’s on the field. Berry has played in 54 games and is a 3 time Pro Bowler and has made 1 All-Pro team. Berry has 8 career interceptions and has returned 3 for touchdowns. He has 5 1/2 career sacks and 250 tackles.

At #6 the Seattle Seahawks selected Russell Okung, OT, Oklahoma State. Due to injuries Okung has never played a full season for Seattle. He’s played in and started 59 out of a possible 80 games over 5 seasons. Okung has been voted to 1 Pro Bowl. Another building block left tackle who needs to stay healthy for his team.

With the 7th pick the Cleveland Browns took Joe Haden, Cornerback, Florida. Haden has made back to back Pro Bowl teams in 2013 and 14. He has 16 career interceptions and has returned 1 for a touchdown plus 2 sacks and 244 tackles. Haden has played in 72 career games and has started 63 of them. Haden is considered a shutdown corner for the Browns.

The Oakland Raiders had the 8th pick and selected Rolando McClain, Linebacker, Alabama. This pick didn’t work out for the Raiders and McClain actually missed the entire 2013 season because he was retired. He did return in 2014 with the Dallas Cowboys. McClain has 7 1/2 career sacks and 242 tackles along with 3 career interceptions. McClain was resigned by the Cowboys; so we’ll see how he does in 2015.

At #9 the Buffalo Bills took the first running back by selecting C.J. Spiller from Clemson. Spiller did make a Pro Bowl for the Bills, but never did turn into the elite type of running back Buffalo had hoped for. Spiller played in 70 games, but only started 36 of them. He did average 5.0 yards per carry and caught 204 passes for Buffalo. Spiller has 20 career touchdowns, 12 rushing, 6 receiving and 2 on kickoff returns. Spiller signed with the New Orleans Saints this off season.

With the 10th pick the Jacksonville Jaquars selected Tyson Alualu, DT, California. Since being drafted Alualu has played in all 80 games for Jacksonville and until last season had started everyone. He has 13 career sacks and 131 tackles and has played both defensive end spots and inside at defensive tackle for the Jaquars.

The San Francisco 49ers had the 11th pick and used it to take Anthony Davis, OT, Rutgers. Since being drafted Davis has been San Francisco’s right tackle. Until he was injured last season Davis had started every game since being drafted. Davis missed 9 games last season due to injury, but has started the other 71 games for San Francisco.

At #12 the San Diego Chargers selected Ryan Matthews, Running Back, Fresno State. Matthews has pretty much been the poster boy for injury prone in his career. Matthews has played in 63 games out of a possible 80 and has started 53 of them. Matthews had two 1000 yards seasons and made 1 Pro Bowl. He has 4061 career rushing yards and 23 touchdowns along with 146 receptions, 1110 yards and 1 touchdown. Matthews signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent this off season.

With the 13th pick the Philadelphia Eagles took Brandon Graham, DE, Michigan. Graham’s career started off with some injuries, but he has played in every game the last 3 seasons. Graham is considered a pass rush specialist and has 17 career sacks to go along with 99 tackles. As a stand up outside linebacker last season he tied his career high in sacks with 5 1/2.

The Seattle Seahawks had the 14th pick; their 2nd of this round and took Earl Thomas, Safety, Texas. Thomas is a 4 time Pro Bowler and 3 time All-Pro pick so far. He is considered one of the top Safeties in the game. Thomas has played in and started all 80 games since being drafted. Thomas has 16 career interceptions and has returned 1 for a touchdown. Thomas also has 341 career tackles.

At #15 the New York Giants selected Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida. Pierre-Paul has played in 75 out of a possible 80 games since being drafted and has started 49 games. He has 42 career sacks with a career high of 16 1/2 coming in 2011. Pierre-Paul also has 2 interceptions and they’ve both been returned for touchdowns. He is a 2 time Pro Bowl and has made 1 All-Pro team.

With the 16th pick the Tennessee Titans took Derrick Morgan, DE, Georgia Tech. The Titans where hoping for a double digit sack guy when they drafted Morgan and while he’s never had that many sacks in a season he did tie his carrer high last season getting 6 1/2 sacks. He has 23 career sacks and 132 career tackles. Morgan has played in 66 games for Tennessee starting 56 of them.

 The San Francisco 49ers had the 17th pick and selected Mike Iupati, OG, Idaho. This was the 49ers second 1st round pick and also their second offensive lineman drafted. Iupati has been to 3 Pro Bowls and has made 1 All-Pro team. Iupati has played in and started 75 out of a possible 80 games for San Francisco since being drafted. 

At #18 the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Maurkice Pouncey, C, Florida. Pouncey has made 4 Pro Bowls and has been voted to 2 All-Pro teams. His only non Pro Bowl season was 2013 when he only played in 1 game due to injury. Pouncey has played in and started 62 games since being drafted by Pittsburgh.

With the 19th pick the Atlanta falcons picked Sean Weatherspoon, Linebacker, Missouri. Weatherspoon has played in just 47 games since being drafted due to injuries. He did start 41 of those games, but he didn’t play all last season because he was injured. Weatherspoon has 8 career sacks and 216 tackles; he also has 2 career interceptions and returned 1 for a touchdown.

The Houston Texans had the 20th pick and they took Kareem Jackson, Conerback, Alabama. Jackson has played in 74 games for Houston starting 71 of them. He has 10 career interceptions with 1 being returned for a touchdown. Jackson also has 241 career tackles. 

At #21 the Cincinnati Bengals selected Jermaine Gresham, Tight End, Oklahoma. Gresham has made 2 Pro Bowls, but I’m not sure he’s turned into the type of game breaking tight end the Bengals thought he would. Gresham has played in 74 games; starting 67 of them. He has 280 career receptions and has caught 24 touchdown passes. 

With the 22nd pick the Denver Broncos took Demaryius Thomas, Wide Receiver, Georgia Tech. Thomas has made the last 3 Pro Bowls and has turned into one of the top receiving threats in the NFL. He had his first 100 catch season last season grabbing 111 passes. He has also caught double digit touchdown passes the last 3 seasons along with going over 1000 yards receiving. Thomas has 351 career receptions, 5317 career yards and 41 career touchdowns.

The Green Bay Packers had the 23rd pick and they selected  Bryan Bulaga, OT, Iowa. Bulaga has battled injuries his entire career and hasn’t played a full season since his rookie year. He missed all of the 2013 season due to injury. Bulaga has played in just 52 out of a possible 80 games since being drafted and has started 48 of those games.

At #24 the Dallas Cowboys picked Dez Bryant, Wide Receiver, Oklahoma State. There where some issues with Bryant coming out of college; so he fell in this draft and the Cowboys where the team that benefited from that. Bryant has been a very good pro making the Pro Bowl and last 2 seasons and the All-Pro team last season. Bryant led the NFL in receiving touchdowns last season with 16. Bryant has 381 career receptions, 5424 career yards and 56 career touchdowns. Bryant also returned 2 kickoffs for touchdowns as a rookie.

With the 25th pick the Denver Broncos selected Tim Tebow, Quarterback, Florida. What can you say about Tebow. He started 16 games in his NFL career; so far. Remember he was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles this off season to a 1 year deal. He threw 17 touchdown passes and 9 interceptions in his career. Tebow did rush for 12 touchdowns during his career and even took the Broncos to the playoffs in 2011.

The Arizona Cardinals used the 26th pick on Dan Williams, DT, Tennessee. Williams didn’t turn into the run stopper the Cardinals had hoped he would, but he does have 113 career tackles and 2 sacks. Williams has missed some time due to injuries as he’s played in 70 of a possible 80 games and has started 40 of those games.

At #27 the New England Patriots selected Devin McCourty, Conerback, Rutgers. McCourty made the Pro Bowl as a rookie and even though he hasn’t been back he’s still a important member of the Super Bowl champions defense. McCourty has played in and started 77 out of 80 games since New England drafted him. He has 17 career interceptions, 303 career tackles and 1 career sack.

With the 28th pick the Miami Dolphins picked  Jared Odrick, DT, Penn State. Odrick has played in 65 games for the Dolphins starting 41 of them. He was their starter for all 16 games last season. He has a career 16 1/2 sacks and 104 tackles and even has 1 interception. Odrick has played 3 different spots for the Dolphins. He’s been inside at Defensive tackle, on the outside as an end and even played some linebacker for Miami.

The New York Jets had the 29th pick and they used it to take Kyle Wilson, Conerback, Boise State. Wilson has played in all 80 games since being drafted, but he’s started just 28 of those games. Wilson has been used mostly in nickel and dime coverage. He has 3 career interceptions to go along with 139 tackles and even recorded his 1st career sack last season.

At #30 the Detroit Lions selected Jahvid Best, Running Back, California. Best only played in 22 games because of concussion issues. He had 945 career rushing yards with 6 touchdowns as well as 85 career receptions for 774 yards and 3 receiving touchdowns. 

With the 31st pick the Indianapolis Colts selected Jerry Hughes, DE, TCU. Hughes spent just 3 seasons with the Colts before moving to the Buffalo Bills. Hughes has had back to back seasons of 10 sacks and has 25 for his career. Sadly for Indianapolis those numbers cane with the Bills. Hughes has played in 72 games; starting 24 of them and again sadly for the Colts 16 of those starts came with Buffalo last season.

The New Orleans Saints had the 32nd and last pick of the 1st round. New Orleans used that pick to take Patrick Robinson, Conerback, Florida State. Robinson has played in 58 of 80 games in his career; starting 33 of those games. He has 9 career interceptions with 1 being returned for a touchdown. Robinson has made 150 career tackles and has 1 sack in his career.

Here are some other names you might know from this draft. In the 6th round with pick #195 the Steelers took Antonio Brown. Also in the 6th round the Carolina Panthers used pick #175 on Greg Hardy. In the 5th round with pick #133 the Seahawks took  Kam Chancellor. Also in the 5th round the Bengals found Geno Atkins with the 120th pick.

How did your team ed up doing in the 2010 draft?

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Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: April 22, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, basketball, Boxing, football, hockey, NASCAR, sports
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Last Sunday at Bristol motor speedway NASCAR held the Food City 500 in support of Steve Byrnes and Stand up to Cancer. On Sunday morning Chris Olmstead from www.BeyondtheFlag.com was on the Sports Time Radio podcast to preview the race. I always make Chris select 3 drivers who might end up in victory lane at the end of the race. Chris mentioned pay close attention to the drivers from Joe Gibbs racing (JGR) ans sure enough Matt Kenseth in the #20 car who started on the pole won the race. By the way Kenseth drives for JGR. Chris will be back on the podcast Friday with Dan the Man and I to preview the Toyota Owners 400 at the Richmond International Raceway this Saturday. Chris has been on a role picking winners on the podcast; so who will he go with for Saturday’s race.

Sadly for NASCAR Steve Byrnes passed away on Tuesday at the age of 56, but at least they were able to put his name on a race and pay tribute to the announcer. Due to his Illness Byrnes was unable to attend the race, but it was reported that he watched on television and even tweeted during the race.  During Sunday’s race, crewmen from every team stood on the pit wall with signs from the Stand Up To Cancer organization that read “I stand up for Steve.” Byrnes took a leave of absence from Fox Sports October of 2014 to focus on his treatment.  From 2001 until 2014, he was a pit reporter for NASCAR on Fox. Byrnes served as a fill-in studio host and lap-by-lap announcer for NASCAR on Fox whenever Chris Myers or Mike Joy, respectively, were not available. As of 2014, Byrnes was the co-host of Fox Sports 1‘s NASCAR Race Hub, and was expected to be the lead announcer for the Camping World Truck Series in 2015.

We’re about a week and a half away from the boxing match that everyone has been waiting for. Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather get in the ring to box on May 2nd and yesterday it was announced that Kenny Bayless would referee the fight. The 64-year-old Nevada native, who has refereed five of Mayweather’s bouts and seven of Pacquiao’s and has officiated 100 title fights. The  Nevada State Athletic Commission also announced the 3 judges for the fight. Dave Moretti and Burt Clements of Nevada and Glenn Feldman of Connecticut had been appointed for the fight. Mayweather and Pacquiao have been considered the best pound-for-pound boxers of their generation but a host of issues — including differences over drug testing protocols as well as revenue splits and broadcaster conflicts — have stopped the two meeting in the ring. Both are coming to the end of their careers and have established interests elsewhere. According to Forbes, Mayweather, 38, is the highest paid athlete in world sport. While Pacquiao, who is 36, has run for political office in his native Philippines. Who do you have winning this fight?

While it’s still very, very early in the baseball season did you have the Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals and New York Mets getting out of the gate at 11-3. Maybe you had the Milwaukee Brewers going 2-12 at this point, but did you have the Miami Marlins just 1 game ahead of them at 3-11. Of course it’s way, way too early to panic it is fun to say that the Houston Astros are in 1st place in the American League West. Remember when the Seattle Mariners signed Nelson Cruz and the experts said his home run total would go down. Well he has 8 home runs through 14 games. Joey Votto looks a lot like the Joey Vottto of old as he has 6 home runs. Cruz and Adam Jones each have 16 RBI’s to lead major league baseball. Jones and Adrian Gonzalez are both hitting .442 while Billy Hamilton has 8 stolen bases and Dee Gordon is just 1 steal behind him with 7. Just like the standings it’s just too early to go nuts over these stats, but they’re always fun to look at and if you’re a fantasy baseball player they’re relevant to you. Looking back I realized that I forgot to name a fantasy player and pitcher of the week in Saturday’s blog. I believe I would’ve went with Adam Jones of the Baltimore Orioles as my fantasy player of the week and I’m going to go with Hector Santiago of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim as the pitcher of the week.

Yesterday was the official release of the NFL schedule and I don’t understand why it’s such a huge deal. There where two specials on the schedule. Now we’ve known who was going to play who we just didn’t know the dates of these games and now we do. The New England Patriots open the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers. I did find it kind of funny that the Tennessee Titans are actually playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1. In Week 2 the Seattle Seahawks play the Green Bay Packers in a playoff rematch. In Week 12 we’ll get what might be our last Peyton Manning/ Tom Brady match up when Brady’s Patriots go to Denver to play Manning’s Broncos. There are 4 teams the Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaquars all have 3 game road trips scheduled. To be fait though Atlanta’s 3 game road trip has them facing  the Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers and the Jaquars. A lot of people are point out that none of the three teams that could potentially relocate to Los Angeles in 2016 will play at home on the final Sunday of the regular season. These same people also think that this is no accident that the San Diego Chargers, Si. Louis Rams and Oakland Raiders will be spared the possibility of awkward goodbyes as lame-duck teams.. What kind of schedule draw did your favorite team get?

The NHL and NBA playoffs are just getting into the 1st round games; so we’ll look at those a little more in Saturday’s blog. There is a chance we might have a series over with by then. Well I should say an NHL series might be over as with the way the NBA playoff schedule is there’s a 0% chance a series will be done.

You can follow me on Twitter @Burketime

Listen to Sports Time Radio on http://www.BlogTalkRadio.com

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: April 15, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, football, hockey, sports
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The NFL draft is just 15 days away. Remember it starts on Thursday now and runs through Sunday. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the #1 pick and they should take a quarterback. It still appears that they’re leaning towards Jameis Winston the former Florida State quarterback. There has been a couple of reports that Tampa Bay may go with the Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota over Winston, but I think they’ll take Winston #1. While there is no question at all that Tampa Bay is keeping and using there pick the same can’t be said about the #2 pick in the draft. That #2 pick belongs to the Tennessee Titans and the  rumors are beginning to fly on who wants that pick and what they might give up to get it. Let’s just work our way down the draft order and try to cover who might move up to #2. The New York Jets have the #6 pick and I heard a report that the Jets would deal that pick along with a 2nd rounder and a couple of their defensive players to move up to the 2nd pick. The Chicago Bears have the #7 pick and there have been reports that the Bears would trade that pick along with quarterback Jay Cutler and a 3rd round draft pick to move up to the 2nd pick. The St. Louis Rams have been mentioned, but I haven’t seen any reports on what the Rams might have to give up to move up to #2 in the draft. The Rams own the #10 pick in the 1st round, but did acquire Nick Foles from the Philadelphia Eagles this off season; so I don’t know why they’d be interested in moving up to #2. The Cleveland Browns have two 1st round picks; the 12th and the 19th pick. I heard a report that the Browns might be willing to deal those two 1st round picks plus a 2nd round pick in 2016 too move up to #2. The San Diego Chargers have the 17th pick in the 1st round and I heard yesterday that Phillip Rivers may be on the trading block. You’d guess the Chargers would have to send Rivers, the 17th pick and maybe another draft pick to Tennessee if they wanted to move up to #2. Then we get to the Eagles who have the 20th pick in the 1st round, but I heard a report that Chip Kelly may be willing to give up 3 1st round draft picks to move up to #2. That’s quite a few rumors and if Tennessee is interested in trading the #2 pick it doesn’t look like they’ll have any trouble finding a trade partner. I guess the question would then become are Winston or Mariota worth that price tag and would they turn into the franchise quarterback that a team would be moving up to get. There is good reason not to be sold on either of these guys; so I’m not at all sure why a team would give up that abundance of picks to move up to get one of these guys. Instead of dealing away a boat load of draft picks to move up teams might be better off sitting tight and see if a quarterback like Brett Hundley from UCLA, Bryce Petty from Baylor, or Garrett Grayson from Colorado State is your draft board come the 2nd or 3rd round. I’ve even heard some draft experts say that Sean Mannion out of Oregon State may turn into a good pro quarterback and he should be on the most teams draft boards in the 4th or 5th round. I guess if your advanced scouting has Winston and Mariota as franchise type quarterbacks then it would make sense to give up the draft picks you’d have to give up to move up in the draft and get your guy. I actually think the team that doesn’t make that deal might be just as well off drafting a quarterback in one of the later rounds. Whatever happens come April 30th the big winner here is Tennessee.

There are 14 games on the NBA schedule tonight and it’s also the last day of the regular season. Now 14 of the 16 playoff spots are locked up, but there are 4 teams in contention for those last 2 playoff spots. In the Eastern conference the Indiana Pacers are 38-43 and hold a 1 game lead over the Brooklyn Nets who are 37-44. Indiana won 99-95 over the Washington Wizards last night in double overtime and now they have to turn around and play Memphis Grizzlies. The Nets have an earlier game against the Orlando Magic; so the Pacers will know that outcome before they take the court tonight. Of course the team that ends up with the 8th seed draws the Atlanta hawks in the 1st round of the playoffs. Over in the Western conference it’s the New Orleans Pelicans who are holding onto the 8th spot right now. New Orleans and the Oklahoma City Thunder have the same record of 44-37, but New Orleans owns the tiebreaker and would take the 8th seed if both teams end the season with the same record. Oklahoma City is playing the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight. The Timberwolves have the worst record in the NBA at 16-66; so it’s a game Oklahoma City should win. New Orleans on the other hand is matched up against the defending champion San Antonio Spurs tonight. San Antonio is currently in the 3rd spot in the Western conference and you have to wonder if it is important to them to even move up to the 2nd spot. There is a chance that San Antonio will rest it’s starters and just get ready for the playoffs. The Oklahoma City and New Orleans games tip off at the same time; so neither team will know the outcome of the others game until they’re done. Should make for an interesting night of basketball for some NBA teams.

The NHL playoffs get started tonight (Wednesday) with 4 games on the ice. Here’s the match ups for tonight it’s the  Montreal Canadiens vs. the Ottawa Senators. The New York Islanders vs. the Washington Capitals. The Chicago Blackhawks vs. the Nashville Predators and the Calgary Flames vs. the Vancouver Canucks. The rest of the series get started tomorrow (Thursday with the Pittsburgh Penguins vs. the New York Rangers. The Detroit Red Wings vs. the Tampa Bay Lighting. The Winnipeg Jets vs. the Anaheim Ducks and the Minnesota Wild vs. the St. Louis Blues. The NHL always seems to have some upsets in the 1st round; so which top seeds may fall? While my predictions haven’t been all that great as of late I’m going to give it another shot here. I’ll take the Tampa Bay Lighting in the Eastern conference and even though it’s a huge homer pick I’ll take the Chicago Blackhawks out of the Western conference. Who’s going to hoist Lord Stanley’s cup at the end of the playoffs well I have to go with the Blackhawks to bring the cup bacl to Chicago.

I’m the Big Jack and you can follow me on Twitter @burketime

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How was your Week?

Posted: March 21, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, football, sports
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We’ve spent some time here looking at the NBA top teams and how the playoff match ups might go. Let’s turn our attention to the other end of the standings and teams that will be in the draft lottery. I started thinking about this after I heard some experts on television debating if the Boston Celtics should “tank” the rest of the season to get back into the draft lottery. The Celtics currently hold the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern conference. So your team gets into the draft lottery and by chance they win the #1 overall selection; great right. Not so fast; do you know the last #1 overall pick to win a NBA championship was LeBron (more…)

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: March 18, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, basketball, football, sports
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How many more injuries can the Oklahoma City Thunder take this season. Kevin Durant missed games early in the season recovering from his foot surgery and now he’s out because they had to go in and adjust the screws in the plate they put in that foot.  Russell Westbrook suffered facial fractures had surgery to repair them and didn’t miss too many games, but is playing with a protective mask on. Now Serge Ibaka injured his knee and is out four to six weeks. Ibaka had  successful arthroscopic surgery yesterday and would be back for the playoffs if the Thunder makes the playoffs. Westbrook has been keeping the Thunder in the playoff hunt while making a case for himself as the MVP, but with the New Orleans Pelicans victory last night Oklahoma City finds themselves 1/2 a game out of the 8th and final playoff spot in the Western conference. Oklahoma City has 15 games left starting tonight (Wednesday) against the Boston Celtics to get past the Pelicans and into the NBA playoffs. If the Thunder can find a way to pass the Pelicans and grab that 8th seed they’d  get a 1st round match up with the Golden State Warriors. You’d think the Thunder would have to go into that opening round match up without Ibaka, but Golden State doesn’t really feature their big men. If Oklahoma City can get a healthy Durant back playing with the MVP candidate Westbrook against Golden State’s “Splash Brothers” Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry in just the 1st round of the playoffs. Would a Durant return be enough for Oklahoma City to shock a team like Golden State?

The NCAA tournament goes into full swing tomorrow as the official 1st round starts. We don’t cover much college basketball on the podcast, but I always fill out a tournament bracket just for the fun of it. While I’m not going to go game by game through my picks, but here’s my Final Four teams. Out of the Midwest region I have who else, but Kentucky. I have the Wisconsin Badgers coming out of the West region and they’ll play Kentucky in the Final Four. In the South region I have the Gonzaga Bulldogs going to the Final Four to play the winner of the East region which I have as Northern Iowa; with Gonzaga going to the championship game. So my finals match up is Gonzaga vs. Kentucky and I have Kentucky winning it all with a 70 – 61 victory in the tournament final.

At just 24 years of age and with just one season of professional football under his belt San Francisco 49ers linebacker Chris Borland retired because he is concerned about head injuries. Now I have no issues with Borland deciding to walk away from the NFL but the mainstream media has handled this story very, very poorly. I’ve heard Borland called everything from a hero to a quitter and I don’t believe he’s either. To me he’s just a guy who no longer wanted to play football. When you’re an athlete you have this fire or love inside you for the sport you play; it’s what keeps you going when you think you can’t go on. I’m guessing that Borland didn’t have a love for football or the NFL and just decided to move on with his life. Of course the media jumped all over this story and started predicting the end of the NFL Just because Chris Borland didn’t want to play football anymore doesn’t mean there aren’t players lining up to find their way into the NFL Is it possible that you’ll receive an injury that might affect your long-term healthy; yes. Are you paid very, very well to take that chance and play professional football; yes. Let’s not turn Borland into the poster boy for leaving the NFL because of head trauma. I don’t believe he has or received a serious head injury; he may have had a concussion last season, but I don’t think he missed any games because of it. Borland is a guy who accessed the risk of playing in the NFL to what he’d like to do with the rest of his life and decided to leave the sport. Don’t expect the mass exodus that the media is predicting now that one player has done it. I’m interested to see if any other players go this route.

While the NASCAR season is only four weeks old with the way it’s started can anyone stop defending champion Kevin Harvick? Harvick started his season by finishing 2nd to Joey Logano at the Daytona 500. The next week at Atlanta Motor Speedway Harvick finished 2nd again; this time to Jimmie Johnson at the Folds of Honor Quiktrip 500. Week 3 in Las Vegas Harvick led 142 on his way to his 1st victory of the season at the Kolbalt 400. Then last week at the Phoenix International Raceway Harvick led 224 of the 312 laps and easily won the CampingWorld.com 500. So in four weeks of racing Harvick has two 2nd place finishes and two victories. This week NASCAR moves to Fontana California for the Auto Club 400 at the Auto Club Speedway. Will Harvick get his 3rd win in a row or can another driver find his or her way to victory lane. I guess the question if someone else does win the race will Harvick finish 2nd?

I’ll be the first person to say that I can’t stand the way Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer and the Chicago Cubs are handling the Kris Bryant situation. To tell you the truth though I’m not really that upset with the way they’re handling his situation this spring training. The Cubs front office is making a business decision not a baseball decision to send Bryant to Triple A Iowa to start the 2015 season. In case you don’t know if Bryant goes to Triple A and spends 12 days there the Cubs gain and extra year of salary control with him. I can deal with him just going to Triple A for 12 days. The issue I actually have is this shouldn’t even be an issue as Bryant should’ve been in the major leagues last season and we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. Imagine if Bryant had a years worth of big league experience under his belt going into this season and wouldn’t have to learn on the fly at the major league level. Major league pitching is tough and it’s a lot more difficult to adjust to than Triple A pitching is. That would all be out-of-the-way had the Cubs just looked ahead and brought Bryant up last season. This is just part of the reasons why the Cubs don’t win. Poor front office decisions lead to poor on field results and the Chicago Cubs are living proof of that. Now the Cubs look better than they have in a long time and might have an outside shot at making the playoffs. How much more help would a Kris Bryant with one year of major league at bats be compared to a Kris Bryant who’s a rookie and learning major league pitchers be?

You can follow me on Twitter @Burketime

You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast at BlogTalkRadio.com

How was your Week?

Posted: March 14, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, football, hockey, sports
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The NHL awards the Hart Trophy to its MVP and I thought we’d take a look at some of the contenders to win the award are. Pretty much any MVP conversation can start with Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Crosby is 3rd in the NHL with 70 points; 23 goals and 47 assists. The Penguins are 39-18-10 and have 88 points and they are currently 3rd in the Metropolitan division. Crosby is still the best player in the NHL and barring injury he should always be included in any M.V.P. talk. Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks is close to having the best year of his NHL career. Getzlaf has 63 points on the season; 22 goals and 41 assists through 67 games. The Ducks have the most points in the NHL with 93 and a record of 43-20-7. There are some people who think Getzlaf doesn’t belong in the M.V.P. conversation, but the best player on the best team is always a contender to win the award. You’d have to think that New York Islanders Center John Tavares would be in the MVP talk. Tavares leads the NHL in points with 72; 33 goals and 39 assists. The Islanders have 90 points with a record of 43-23-4 and are in 2nd place in the Metropolitan division, but are just one point out of 1st.  Being the leagues leading point getter will get you votes and your team going to the playoffs doesn’t hurt either; so look for Tavares to get some MVP votes. How about Washington Capitals Left Wing  Alex Ovechkin for MVP Ovechkin leads the NHL in goals with 45 and has added 26 assists for a season total of 71 points just one behind Tavares for the league lead. While Ovechkin may not have the name value that Crosby does, but he’s a name people will recognize. Ovechkin has had a couple of down seasons; well down for him and has bounced back this season. Washington is holding on to one of the Eastern conference wild card spots and you have to wonder if the Capitals don’t make the playoffs if voters would consider Ovechkin for MVP Let’s look at one more MVP candidate and it’s a Goalie. There are people who think goalies shouldn’t win this award, but I have to tell you if I had a vote it would go to Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators. Rinne did miss a little time with an injury, but he’s 36-14-3 in the net with a Goals Against Average (GAA) of 2.09 a Save Percentage of .927 and has three shutouts. The Predators are 42-20-7 and tied for 1st place in the Central division of the Western conference with 91 points. I think Rinne should get some votes because I’m not sure the Predators are a playoff team with him. Here’s five more players that should be in the MVP conversation and might pick up some votes for the award. 1) Rick Nash, New York Rangers. 2) Max Pacioretty, Montreal Canadiens. 3) Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals. 4) Jakub Voracek, Philadelphia Flyers. 5) let’s throw out another goaltender; Carey Price, Montréal Canadiens. As the N.H.L. regular season comes to an end will one of these players set up and win this award or will someone who’s not even mentioned here surprise voters and find a way to become MVP

Now I understand when you’re running a NFL organization you have a salary cap to deal with, but if you’re a fan of the New Orleans Saints are you wondering what their team is doing. Your off-season starts off by bringing Mark Ingram back; you’d think that’s a good start. They add a defensive lineman in Tyrunn Walker; solid move the defense needs help. Linebacker Curtis Lofton is released. I think they said failed physical, but there were salary cap reasons involved. They also terminated the contract of running back Pierre Thomas. While they released a couple of players that had some service time with them not anything earth shattering. Then they send Jimmy Graham and a 4th round pick to the Seattle Seahawks for Max Unger and Seattle’s #1 pick which is 31st in the upcoming draft. While they got a quality player back in Unger; he did have some injury issues and picking at #31 doesn’t guarantee you’ll land a star player. You gave up one of the top tight ends in the NFL It’s clear that Graham and Rob Gronkowski have separated themselves from the other tight ends in the NFL Did they get enough in return for Graham besides moving his salary. The next move saw the Saints send two time Pro Bowl guard Ben Grubbs to the Kansas City Chief for a 2015 5th round draft pick. Grubbs did have a down year in 2014 and the Saints wanted him to take a pay cut, but when they couldn’t agree he was dealt. In another deal the Saints sent wide receiver Kenny Stills to the Miami Dolphins for linebacker Dannell Ellerbe and a 2015 third-round pick. Then the Saints added a free agent as they signed running back C.J. Spiller to a four year $18 million dollar deal. Spiller is a former 1st round draft pick by the Buffalo Bills who at times showed flashes of brilliance, but never turned into the every down back the Bills had hoped he would. He’s battled some injuries throughout his career, but the Saints offense looks like it should be a good fit for him. So it looks like the Saints are going to rely on the running game  Ingram, Spiller and Khiry Robinson working in the backfield together, but who is Drew Brees throwing the football to. Marques Colston and Brandin Cooks look to be the top receivers on the roster. Will Nick Toon get a look as the 3rd wideout or is there a free agent out their the Saints might try to sign. Josh Hill and Benjamin Watson are the tight ends on the roster, but they are down grades from Graham. Brees is 35 years old and you have to wonder how many more seasons he’ll have as an elite quarterback. The Saints added some draft picks and may have saved some money or made some salary cap room, but did they improve is the question.

Most experts have already picked the Washington Nationals as the best team in Major League Baseball even though we’re only a week plus into spring training. With their returning roster and the addition of big time pitching free agent Max Schrezer the Nationals look great on paper, but remember they don’t play the games on paper. What;s the one thing that can derail a teams World Series dreams very quickly? Injuries and the Nationals are piling them up. Here’s what the nationals are dealing with right now; Anthony Rendon’s sprained left medial collateral ligament and Drew Storen’s hamate bone joined Yunel Escobar’s strained oblique, Jayson Werth’s surgically repaired right shoulder and Denard Span’s recently repaired core. Is this just a fluke or they way the Nationals season will go.

So how was your week?

You can follow me on Twitter @Burketime

You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast at BlogTalkRadio.com

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: March 11, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, football, hockey, sports
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The NFL 2015 officially opened yesterday with a flurry of free agent signings some trades and even a couple of retirements. Now some of these moves had already been announced, but they couldn’t become official until March 10th. I think the transactions that surprised me the most were the trades that were made. The Detroit Lions acquired Haloti Ngata and a 7th round draft pick for a 4th and 5th round draft picks. Since Ndamukong Suh has agreed to terms with the Miami Dolphins the Lions need someone to fill his spot and they got Ngata to do that and it didn’t cost them a ton to do that. Most experts will tell you that the Seattle Seahawks need a threat in the receiving game. I think most experts thought it would be a wide receiver, but would they settle for one of the top tight ends in the NFL Seattle sent center Max Unger and their 2015 1st round draft choice to the New Orleans Saints for Graham  I’m not quite sure what the Philadelphia Eagles were thinking when they sent Nick Foles plus a 4th round pick in the 2015 draft and a 2nd round pick in 2016 for Sam Bradford and a 2015 5th round pick. Are the Eagles under the impression that Bradford will stay healthy with them. It had been reported that San Francisco 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis was going to announce his retirement, but it was a bit of a surprise when Tennessee Titans quarterback Jake Locker and Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Jason Worilds also announced their retirements yesterday. There where a bunch of free agent signings announced and I’m not going to go through and list them all for you. There will be a lot more to come as things move forward. It’s just interesting to me that with spring training moving along in baseball and both the NBA and NHL teams making playoff pushes the NFL found a way to rule the day in their off-season. Is the NFL the #1 sports league in America?

Would you believe that the hottest team in the NBA Eastern conference are the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers are on a six game winning streak and have moved into the #7 playoff seed. The Pacers put their winning streak on the line tomorrow (Thursday) when they take on the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks are currently in the #6 playoff seed and are four games ahead of the Pacers in the standings. I’m not sure if anyone had the Pacers making the playoffs this season when Paul George suffered that horrific injury playing for Team USA and there are rumors that George may return before the season ends. While I’m not sure if a return would be in George’s or the teams best interest, but it would be an emotionally lift for this team. Right now the Charlotte Hornets are holding on to the #8 seed in the Eastern conference and are one game behind the Pacers. The Miami Heat are the team on the outside looking in at the moment, but are just a half of a game behind Charlotte and a game and a half behind the Pacers. With a little over a month left in the NBA season these final two playoff spots look to be up for grabs between these three teams.

In the Western conference the team rolling along on a six game winning streak are the San Antonio Spurs. Are you surprised that at this time of the season the Spurs seem to be playing better? The Spurs also out their winning streak on the line Thursday night as they take on the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Spurs currently hold the #7 playoff seed in the Western conference, but they are just one game behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the #6 seed. San Antonio has a five game lead on the Oklahoma City Thunder who hold that 8th and final playoff spot. The Spurs are also just three games behind the Houston Rockets and if they catch them they could move up to a 4th or 5th playoff seed. The Spurs have had a very San Antonio type of season. They’ve had their share of injuries and of course Gregg Popovich has rested his veteran players when he thought they’ve needed it. Would you be surprised if San Antonio ends up in the Western conference finals or even the NBA finals when it’s all said and done.

Over in the NHL it looks like the Eastern conference might have it’s eight playoff team set. The top three in the Atlantic division Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lighting and Detroit Red Wings are in. The top three in the  Metropolitan division the New York Islanders, New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins are in. The two wild card spots look like they’ll go to the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins unless the Florida Panthers who are currently six points behind the Bruins or the Ottawa Senators who are seven points behind the Bruins can get on a roll the Eastern conference is all set.

Over in the Western conference there are still playoff spots up for grabs. While it looks like the Nashville Predators and the St. Louis Blues will get into the playoff out of the Central division, but the final division spot and the wild card position have three teams looking to fill those two spots. The Chicago Blackhawks hold the 3rd division spot right now with the Minnesota Wild as the wild card team. It’s the Winnipeg Jets who are 3 points behind the Wild and six points behind the Blackhawks are hanging onto the 2nd wild card spot, but just by one point over the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings are actually tied with the Calgary Flames for the 3rd playoff spot in the Pacific division, but the Flames own the tiebreaker. The San Jose Sharks are still hanging around looking for a wild card spot. The Sharks are three points behind the Kings and Flames, 4 four points behind the Jets and seven points behind the Wild. The Vancouver Canucks hold the 2nd spot in the Pacific division, but they only have a three point lead over the Flames and Kings. It looks like the only team safe in the Pacific division are the Anaheim Ducks who have an 11 point lead over the Canucks. We should be headed for quite a finish. With all these teams having about 15 games left any opportunity to pick up two points will be huge.

We’re doing are baseball previews on Sports Time Radio and today (Wednesday) at 5:00 pm Tim Kelly from Section215.com will join the podcast to preview the 2015 Philadelphia Phillies. The at 5:30 pm Matt Gajtka from CityofChampionsSports.com will come on the podcast to preview the Pittsburgh Pirates 2015 season.

You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast cast at BlogTalkRadio.com

You can follow me on Twitter @BurkeTime

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