Archive for the ‘football’ Category

How was your Week?

Posted: March 7, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, basketball, football, sports
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The NFL off-season is running at full speed as teams make moves to try to get themselves under the salary cap and sign free agents. Peyton Manning restructured his deal with the Denver Broncos to give them some salary cap space. Manning knocked $4 million off his 2015 salary, but don’t worry they added a couple of bonus clauses; so he can get that money back. He’ll earn $2 million if the Broncos go to the AFC title game and then another $2 million if Denver wins the Super Bowl. Brandon Marshall was traded for the 3rd time in his career as the Chicago Bears sent him to the New York Jets for a 5th round draft pick. On a side note; Marshall is the 4th player to be traded three times in his career since 1995. The others are Randy Moss, Glyn Milburn and Sage Rosenfels. The Jets would have an interesting trio of wide receivers if they hang on to them with Marshall, Eric Decker and Percy Harvin. Harvin is due a roster bonus soon and reports are the Jets may release him. When the Marshall rumors started I was wondering what his value might be. When the Bears traded for Marshall they the Miami Dolphins two draft picks; a 3rd round pick in 2012 and a 3rd round pick in 2013. Now we have to see who the Jets decide will be throwing the football to these receivers. Marshawn Lynch is staying with the Seattle Seahawks as he signed a two year deal worth a reported $24 million. There have been rumors of holdouts and retirements involving Lynch, but with this deal those rumors should disappear. There was one retirement announced as Maurice Jones-Drew (MJD) is ending his NFL career after 9 seasons; eight with the Jacksonville Jaquars and one injury plagued 2014 season with the Oakland Raiders. Jones-Drew rushed for a career 8167 yards and led the NFL in rushing with 1606 yards in 2011. The Jaquars drafted M.J.D. in the 2nd round of the 2006 draft. He was a three time Pro Bowl selection and was 1st team All-Pro one time. It is also being reported that the Pittsburgh Steelers will release Safety Troy Polamalu if he doesn’t choose to retire. Polamula has spent his entire 12 year career with Pittsburgh. Two other long time veteran players will be looking for new teams after in 2015 as their teams announced they’ll be moving on this week. After 14 seasons and more games played than any other Indianapolis Colts player it was announced that the team won’t try to re-sign wide receiver Reggie Wayne. The New England Patriots declined the contract option on defensive lineman Vince Wilfork after 11 seasons with the team. This may be the first set of moves by NFL teams as they get ready for the draft as well as being able to sign free agents starting March 10th.

Did the Atlanta Hawks make a statement last night? They beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-97 last night in what may have been an Eastern conference finals preview. Atlanta got out to a 17 point lead in the 1st quarter, but they had just a 2 point lead at 81-79 going into the 4th quarter. Atlanta outscored Cleveland 25-18 in the final quarter to seal the victory. Al Horford led Atlanta in scoring with 19 points and rebounds with 9. Mike Scott came off the Hawks bench and hit seven of nine shots scoring 14 points while Dennis Schroder added 15 points off the bench as well as leading the team in assists with 8 . Jeff Teague and Paul Milsap each scored 16 points.  DeMarre Carroll drew the defensive assignment of guarding LeBron James and James struggled. James played a little over 40 minutes going 5-13 from the field including 1-4 from behind the 3-point line. James scored 18 points grabbed 6 rebounds and handed out 8 assists, but committed 9 turnovers in the game. The best part of James game was his free throw shooting was much better as he went 7-8 from the foul line. With James Struggling Kyrie Irving led the Cavaliers in scoring with 20 points while Kevin Love had 14 points.  The hawks improved to 49-12 for the season and have actually won 42 of their last 48 games. Cleveland’s record falls to 39-25. Maybe Atlanta drew some extra inspiration from Dominique Wilkins. The Hawks unveiled a statue of Wilkins outside Philips Arena, wore throwback jerseys from the Dominique era, and honored No. 21 at halftime with a painting and a framed jersey autographed by all the current Hawks players. Up next; the Cavaliers: return home to face the Phoenix Suns on Saturday to complete a stretch of four games in five nights. While the Hawks travel to Philadelphia on Saturday to take on the 76ers.

Spring training is up and running and the defending champion San Francisco Giants lost one of their best players Hunter Pence for 6 to 8 weeks with a broken arm. While it’s very early in spring training; so Pence should be back in the line up by late April or early May. I guess if you must have an injury you’d like to have them early and get it out-of-the-way. Pence has played in every game for the Giants the last two seasons and isn’t going to be easy to replace. While the Giants aren’t a home run hitting team Pence was one of only two Giants with 20 or more home runs. Pence hit 20 home runs on the nose while Buster Posey led the team with 22 home runs. Pence was also 2nd on the team in RBI’s with 74. Posey was the team leader in this category as well with 89. Pence was also tied for the team lead in triples with Brandon Crawford; each had 10. Pence was 2nd on the team in doubles with 29. Michael Morse led the team with 32 doubles. Bruce Bochy may be the best manager in baseball at juggling his line up when needed. Look for the Giants to fill Pence’s spot with players like Gregor Blanco, Juan Perez or maybe  Travis Ishikawa. Nori Aoki may move over from left field to fill in for Pence in right field on the defensive side. The Giants also have non-roster invitee Justin Maxwell in camp; so this may be his shot to make the team and fill this role until Pence comes back from injury. This is Maxwell’s 4th team after stops in Washington, Houston and 20 games last season with the Kansas City Royals. Let’s see who Bochy chooses to fill Pence’s spot to start the season.

We covered the National League West on the podcast last night as we had four team previews. No one from the Colorado Rockies wanted to come on and talk to us. Maybe that says something about how their season might go. Tony Fischer started the podcast off talking Arizona Diamondbacks with me. You can find Tony’s Diamondbacks coverage at HeatWaved.com We talked Los Angeles Dodgers next as Scott Andres from LasordsLair.com came on the podcast with me. I wrapped up the night with two of my favorite guest. First Mark O’Neill from www.AroundtheFoghorn.com join me to talk San Francisco Giants baseball and I wrapped up the podcast talking to Billy Brost about the San Diego Padres. While Billy has left the Site FriarsonBase.com that covers the Padres he is staying involved with writing about baseball. Look for Billy’s new venture BaseballMagazine.net starting soon. You can listen to any or all of these interviews in the Sports Time Radio podcast archives. Click on Sports Time Radio and you can pick and choose the podcast you’d like to listen to.

So how was your week?

You can follow me on Twitter @Burketime you can follow the show as well @SportsTimeRadio

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: March 4, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, basketball, football, sports
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There are very few blockbuster player for player trades in the NFL; so when the Philadelphia Eagles traded LeShon McCoy one of the top running backs in the NFL to the Buffalo Bills for linebacker Kiko Alonso it caught me a bit by surprise. McCoy rushed for 1319 yards and 5 touchdowns last season on 312 carries. He also caught 28 passes for 155 yards. Alonso missed the entire 2014 season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), but is expected to be ready to go for the 2015 season. 2013 was Alonso rookie season where he had 87 tackles, assisted on 72 other while picking for 4 passes, recovering 2 fumbles and forcing 1 fumble. He also had 2 quarterback sacks. Looking at this trade it may be one of those that turns out to benefit both teams. Philadelphia gets some salary cap room and if they cut linebacker DeMeco Ryans as it’s being reported they will it will open up a little over $14 million dollars in salary cap room for the Eagles. Buffalo has a new head coach in Rex Ryan and with Fred Jackson getting up there in age and C.J. Spiller never really becoming the running back the Bills had hoped he’d be when drafted McCoy gives them the go to running back that Ryan likes to have. I did see some reports out there that say this is the first move in the Eagles going out and getting Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota in the upcoming draft. Mariota won’t be on the board when the Eagles 1st round pick comes up at #20; so if he’s their guy they’re going to have to find a way to move up to get him. There’s a chance the New York Jets might take him with the 6th pick. The St. Louis Rams pick 10th and they might be looking for a quarterback and then there’s always the chance that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take Mariota with the #1 pick in the draft. You’d have to guess it will cost the Eagles Nick Foles that #20 pick and more to move up high enough to get Mariota. Then the question becomes is he worth that? Even though he’s familiar with coach Chip Kelly’s offense. Is he a franchise type of quarterback? The Eagles also seem to have quite a few needs on defense and while they’ll have that extra salary cap money some of it will go to re-signing wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. It looked like the Eagles would address their defenses issues in the draft, but if they make a deal for Mariota how many of those draft picks would be included in that deal. Don’t forget that the Bills may not be sold on E.J. Manuel as their quarterback, but remember the Bills dealt their 1st round pick to the Cleveland Browns; so they could move up and select wide receiver Sammy Watkins in 2014. Free agents can start signing with teams on March 10th; so the NFL off-season is getting ready to roll.

So who are you picking for NBA MVP for this season? I’ve heard a lot of talk about this the last week or so and it seems to have been narrowed down to four players. Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, James Harden of the Houston Rockets, Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder and of course LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Curry is averaging 23.9 points per game (PPG) is handing out 7.8 assists per game (APG) and leads the NBA. averaging 2.1 steals per game. Curry also leads the N.B.A. in 3-pointers attempted with 454 and 3-pointers made with 187. Don’t forget the Warriors also have the best record in the NBA at 46-12. James Harden is leading the NBA in scoring averaging 27.1 PPG he’s handing out 6.9 APG He leads the NBA in free throws made (492) and free throws attempted (568) and has taken the most shots in the league this season with 1062. The Rockets are in 2nd place at 41-19 a 1 1/2 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies in the Southwest division of the Western conference. Westbrook is averaging 26.5 PPG and handing out 8.1 APG The draw back with Westbrook maybe the fact that he’s missed 15 games so far this season and right now is recovering from surgery to repair facial fractures; so that missed game total may go up. The Thunder are 33-27 and hanging on to the 8th spot in the Western conference. You’d have to think if they don’t make the playoffs Westbrook may drop out of the MVP race. James may be in the same area as Westbrook is as he’s missed 11 games so far this season and you wonder if that total will go up as he takes games off getting ready for the playoff run. James does average 26.2 PPG he is also handing out 7.2 APG he does lead the NBA in field goals made with 479. The Cavaliers are in 2nd place at 38-24 and just a 1/2 behind the Chicago Bulls in the Central division of the Eastern conference. The votes are supposed to be turned in before the playoffs start; so that shouldn’t impact the voting. If I’m picking right now I’ll take Curry as the MVP with Harden 2nd, James 3rd with Westbrook 4th. How do you got?

We’ve been previewing the upcoming baseball season on Sports Time Radio by talking to different bloggers who cover the teams. Yesterday we had Brian Helberg from HaloHangout.com on with us to discuss the Los Angeles Angels 2015 season. On Friday we have a loaded line up of guests to talk baseball. Tony Fischer from HeatWaved.com will joins us at the start of the podcast (9:00 p.m.) to talk about the Arizona Diamondbacks 2015 season. At 9:30 p.m. Scott Andres from LasordsLair.com comes back on the podcast to talk about the Los Angeles Dodgers 2015 season. Mark O’Neill from AroundtheFoghorn.com joins us again (10:00 p.m.) to preview the San Francisco Giants 2015 season. Will wrap up the night with Billy Brost from FriarsOnBase.com talking San Diego Padres baseball starting at 10:30 p.m. It will be a full night of baseball on the podcast; so the season must be getting close to starting.

You can follow me on Twitter @Burketime

Listen to Sports Time Radio on BlogTalkRadio.com

How was your Week?

Posted: February 21, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, football, sports
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On Thursday at work Greg from our fantasy football challenge asked me who my Top 10 all-time Seattle Seahawks where. It took me a couple of days to compile a list, but here are my Top 10 all-time Seahawks.

#1 Steve Largent, He is the Seahawks leader in career receptions with 819, yards with 13,089 and receiving touchdowns with 100. He played 200 games in a Seahawks uniform over 14 seasons was a 7 time Pro Bowler and was voted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995.

#2 Walter Jones, He was Seattle’s 1st round draft pick in 1997; 6th overall. He played He played in 180 games over 12 seasons starting all of them. Jones was a 9 time Pro Bowl selection and made the All-Pro team on 4 occasions. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014.

#3 Cortez Kennedy, in 11 seasons with the Seahawks, Kennedy was selected to the Pro Bowl 8 times and made 3 All-Pro teams. In 2012 he was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He made 568 tackles, assisted on 100 tackles with 58 sacks and added 3 interceptions.

#4 Jim Zorn, I have to admit that Zorn is my favorite Seattle player and I may have higher on this list than most people would, but it’s my list. In 9 years with Seattle Zorn made 100 starts, playing in 126 games total for Seattle. He’s 3rd all time in passing yards with 20,122 yards, 3rd in passing touchdowns with 107 and 3rd in completions with 1593. He also had 1491 career rushing yards with 17 touchdowns.

#5 Dave Brown, he played defensive back for 11 seasons with Seattle and is the career leader in interceptions with 50 scoring 5 touchdowns. He played in and started 159 games for Seattle. He was voted into the Pro Bowl just 1 time; in 1984 when he had 8 interceptions and returned 2 of them for touchdowns.

#6 Shaun Alexander, he’s the all time leading rusher in Seahawks history with 9429 yards. He scored 100 rushing touchdowns and added 12 receiving touchdowns. He was a 3 time Pro-Bowl selection and made the All-Pro team 1 time. In 2005 he led the National Football League in rushing with 1880 yards and 27 touchdowns. He spent 8 season with Seattle playing in 119 games starting 96 of them. He was Seattle’s 1st round pick in 2000; #19 overall.

#7 Dave Krieg, he’s the all time leader in passing touchdowns with 195. He played 12 seasons with Seattle getting into 129 games making 119 starts. He threw for 26,132 career yards with Seattle. He made the Pro-Bowl 3 times and also rushed for 1090 yards and 10 touchdowns.

#8 Kenny Easley, he was Seattle’s 1st round draft pick in 1981 and 4th overall. He made the Pro Bowl 5 times and 3 All-Pro teams in his 7 year career. Shortened by injury he played 89 career games making 87 starts. He has 32 career interceptions returning 3 for touchdowns and led the league with 10 interceptions in 1984.

#9 Matt Hasselback, he’s the career leader in passing yards with 29,434, completions with 2559 and is 2nd in passing touchdowns with 174. He spent 10 seasons with the Seahawks appearing in 138 games, starting 131. He added 1129 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns with Seattle. On a side note he was still active in 2014 as the Indianapolis Colts back up.

#10 Curt Warner, I know when people hear that name they think of the quarterback, but this Warner is the 3rd leading rusher in Seahawks history with 6705 yards. Chris Warren has 1 more rushing yard than Warner. He made 3 Pro-Bowl teams and put up 4, 1000 yards rushing seasons in 7 years with Seattle. His 55 rushing touchdowns puts him 2nd all time; right now as Marshawn Lynch has 54 rushing touchdowns coming into 2015.

Well there it is and I know there are some current players left out. Lynch was very close to making my list. Players like Russell Wilson and Richard Sherman should have quite a few years left to play and should make this list when they’re done playing. I did leave off the all time leading scorer in Seahawks history; Norm Johnson. Do you think he should be on this list and is there anyone you think I might’ve missed.

So May 2nd 2015 is the date that it will finally happen. Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will finally meet in the ring. It’s being reported that the fight may make upwards of $400 million and will cost fans $90 to watch on pay per view. Now if they could’ve agreed on this fight two or three years ago I’d be a lot more excited about it. I’m convinced that Mayweather only agreed to the fight because he’s now convinced that he’ll win. Mayweather is 47-0 and staying undefeated is important to him; he’ll also turn 38 in 3 days while Pacquiao will be 36 when the fight happens. Pacquiao is 57-5-2 coming into this fight. In November of 2014 Pacquiao beat  Chris Algieri by unanimous decision. Mayweather’s last fight was also a unanimous decision victory over  Marcos Maidana in September of 2014. I’m sure this fight will make a ton of money for everyone involved, but I have a feeling it’s going to be a disappointment when we finally get to see these two in the ring together.

So the NBA trade deadline was Thursday and 11 teams dealt 37 players between them. Did your favorite team make a move to improve themselves for the playoffs or are the headed into the draft lottery. I thought that the Miami Heat had made a good move getting what was considered the top player who would be traded in Goran Dragic. it was actually a three team deal with the New Orleans Pelicans involved; here’s what it officially was. Miami got Goran Dragic and Zoran Dragic from Phoenix for Justin Hamilton, Danny Granger and first-round draft picks in 2017 and 2021. Traded Norris Cole, Shawne Williams and Justin Hamilton to New Orleans for John Salmons. Now that it’s being reported that Chris Bosh may miss the rest of the season because of a medical issue you wonder if the Heat would’ve made this trade had they known. The Suns also dealt one of their other point guards as Isaiah Thomas went to the Boston Celtics for a 2016 1st round pick and Marcus Thornton. I’ve heard a lot of experts say that they like what the Oklahoma City Thunder did at the deadline. The Thunder added D.J. Augustin, Enes Kanter, Kyle Singler and Steve Novak. I was a little surprised to see Kevin Garnett being dealt back to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Thaddeus Young. Garnett does bring veteran leadership and an expiring contract, but he doesn’t seem to have a whole lot left on the basketball court. I thought that maybe this was his farewell tour, but it’s being reported that Garnett would like to continue to play next season. Now we have to wait and see how these players affect their new teams and if they’ll be able to contribute in the playoffs.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @Burketime and remember you can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast at BlogTalkRadio.com

So how was your week?

The Sports Time Radio NFL mock draft Round #1

Posted: February 14, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in football, sports
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#1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jameis Winston, Quarterback, Florida State.

With the release of Josh McNown this week; Mike Glennon is the other quarterback on the roster with NFL experience. Head coach Lovie Smith needs a guy he can call his own. Winston has all the tools to be an NFL quarterback, but his off the field issues make this a very risky pick for Tampa Bay.

#2 Tennessee Titans: Leonard Williams,  Defensive Lineman, USC.

Tennessee needs quite a bit of help and Williams looks like the best defensive lineman in the draft. It’s a good a place as any for them to start building. With all the needs the Titans have a trade for extra picks wouldn’t be the worst move either.

#3 Jacksonville Jaquars: Brandon Scheff, Offensive Lineman, Iowa.

The Jaquars appear to have their franchise quarterback in Blake Bortles; so you need to protect him. Scheff is the best offensive lineman in the draft; so this should be an easy choice for the Jaquars to make.

#4 Oakland Raiders: Amari Cooper, Wide Receiver, Alabama.

The Raiders are another team that looks like it has its quarterback in Derek Carr. Here’s a chance for Oakland to give him a weapon and with the impact rookie wide outs made last season this could be the best pick of the 1st round.

#5 Washington Redskins: Shane Ray, Linebacker, Missouri.

Ray may be the best pass rusher in the draft as a 3-4 down lineman and with Brian Orakpo an unrestricted free agent the Redskins may need a replacement for him.

#6 New York Jets: Marcus Mariota, Quarterback, Oregon.

The Jets hired a new General Manager Mike Maccagnan and a new head coach Todd Bowles. This group didn’t draft Geno Smith and Smith has done nothing to prove he’s an NFL starting quarterback. There are some questions about Mariota’s ability to take snaps under center, but they can tailor the offense to his skills.

#7 Chicago Bears: Dante Fowler Jr. Linebacker, Florida.

The Bears are a team that should have an easy time making their pick. The defense was so bad last season all they have to do is look at their draft board and take the top defensive player on it. Another team with a new GM in Ryan Pace and a new head coach in John Fox.

#8 Atlanta Falcons, Landon Collins, Safety, Alabama.

The Falcons hired Dan Quinn the former Seattle Seahawks defensive Coordinator as their head coach. The Falcons defense can use some help. Collins may be the best player on the board at this point.

#9 New York Giants: Cedric Ogbuehi, Offensive Lineman, Texas A&M.

With quarterback Eli Manning getting older it’s always nice to have big bodies in front of him to protect him. Ogbuehi may not be a left tackle in the NFL, but he should be a solid choice for the Giants here.

#10 St. Louis Rams: Marcus Peters, Cornerback, Washington.

Peters was kicked off the Washington team, but he may be the best corner in the draft. The Rams may have been interested in one of the two quarterbacks, but with them off the board Peters helps the defense out.

#11 Minnesota Vikings: La’el Collins, Offensive Lineman, LSU.

The Vikings are another team that thinks they found their quarterback last season in Teddy Bridgewater; so now they need to protect him. Collins could become a long-term answer at left tackle for Bridgewater and the Vikings.

#12 Cleveland Browns: Bendrick McKinney, Linebacker, Mississippi State.

There are a few different ways the Browns could go with this pick, but the best choice would be to help out a defense that under performed last season. There is a rumor out there that the Browns may try to move up in the draft, but to take who?

#13 New Orleans Saints: Trae Waynes, Cornerback, Michigan State.

In 2013 the Saints took Kenny Vaccaro in the 1st round and he hasn’t help the defensive backs like they had hoped. I believe Vaccaro was even inactive for some games in 2014. Waynes would be a good addition to a defensive backfield that needs some help.

#14 Miami Dolphins: Vic Beasley, Linebacker, Clemson.

The Dolphins where close to a playoff spot last season and their biggest need appears to be at linebacker. Beasley should be the best linebacker on the board when they pick; so this makes sense for Miami.

#15: San Francisco 49ers: Arik Armstead, Defensive Lineman, Oregon.

Jim Tomsula takes over as 49ers head coach and his defense needs help up front. There are a couple of different defensive lineman the 49ers could select here, but I’m going with Armstead as their pick.

#16 Houston Texans: A.J. McCann, Offensive Lineman, South Carolina.

There is a chance that the Texans look for a wide receiver with this pick, but I think their best bet is to get some offensive line help. McCann played guard at South Carolina, but may have the versatility to play center as well.

#17 San Diego Chargers: Randy Gregory, Defensive Lineman, Nebraska.

The Chargers have a few needs and I think they would like to go running back, but #17 is too early for that. I wouldn’t be surprise if they try to trade down, but since I’m not guessing on trades Gregory is a good pick here to rebuild the defensive line.

#18 Kansas City Chiefs: DeVante Parker, Wide Receiver, Louisville.

The Chiefs wide receivers caught ZERO touchdown passes last season. Parker should be the best wide receiver on the board when the Chiefs draft. They should run the pick up to the podium and how he can help the worst receiving core in the NFL.

#19 Buffalo Bills: Shaq Thompson, Linebacker, Washington.

Rex Ryan is the Bills new head coach. It was a little bit of a surprise for the Bills to hire a defensive coach and I think the Bills will be pleasantly surprised to find Thompson still available when they draft. Even a good defense needs some help and Thompson adds youth to that side of the football.

#20 Philadelphia Eagles: Andrus Peat, Offensive Lineman, Stanford.

If the Eagles can’t resign Jeremy Maclin this pick may quickly turn to wide receiver. Nick Foles is a solid NFL quarterback, but not the most mobile. Peat can add some help up front for Foles and this quick pace offense.

#21 Cincinnati Bengals: Gerod Holliman, Safety, Louisville.

The Bengals can use some help in the defensive backfield and Holliman should be the best defensive back on the board; so you’d think this would be the pick. The Bengals could also go Linebacker or Defensive Line with this pick.

#22 Pittsburgh Steelers: Derron Smith, safety, Fresno State.

Smith and Holliman may come off the board the other way, but defensive back should be where the Steelers go. Dick LeBeau has moved on and Troy Polamalu is 33 years old. It’s time for the Steelers to get younger in the defensive backfield.

#23 Detroit Lions: Kevin Johnson, Cornerback, Wake Forest.

Cornerback is the Lions need right now, but if Ndamukong Suh, Nick Fairly, C.J. Mosley and Andre Fluellen leave in free agency the need quickly becomes defensive line. The Lions are saying all the right things when it comes to resigning Suh. If they can cornerback should be the pick.

#24 Arizona Cardinals: Denzel Perryman, Linebacker, Miami (Florida)

A playoff team in 2014 with a strong defense and the addition of Perryman at the spot that needs it the most should keep them in the playoffs next season. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the cardinals take the first running back at this spot, but linebacker would be the best choice.

#25 Carolina Panthers: Reese Dismukes, Offensive Lineman, Auburn.

Under .500, but in the playoffs last season a ton of injuries along the offensive line hurt the Panthers. Dismukes add some depth that they badly need. Keeping Cam newton upright and untouched should be the #1 priority.

#26 Baltimore Ravens: Todd Gurley, Running Back, Georgia.

Justin Forsett had a great season for Baltimore, but he’s a free agent. Plus Gary Kubiak and his system has moved on and former Bears head coach Marc Trestman will try to run the Ravens offense. They’re saying they’ll keep some of the system, but a big young running back can help any system.

#27 Dallas Cowboys: Danny Shelton, Defensive Lineman, Washington.

If Dallas can resign Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray they’ll have to make some tough choices on the defensive side of the football. They’ll need to have players ready to set in for any salary cap causalities they might have. Shelton can help fill those openings.

#28 Denver Broncos: Devin Funchess, Tight End, Michigan.

The Broncos may have to choose between Julius Thomas and Demaryius Thomas because of salary cap reasons. With Funchess available the Broncos will have a player to take Julius Thomas’ spot if needed. Funchess also has the tools to play some wide receiver; so his game is a lot like Julius Thomas’

#29 Indianapolis Colts: T.J. Cummings, Offensive Lineman, Pittsburgh.

The best thing for the Colts is to protect Andrew Luck. The best way to do that is to build a offensive line around him. Cummings can be one of those pieces that protects Luck for a long time. There is the off chance the Colts look at a running back, but Luck is their man and he needs offensive line help; so Cummings is the pick.

#30 Green Bay Packers: Eric Kendricks, Linebacker, UCLA.

Kendricks can help shore up the Packers linebacking core and allow Clay Matthews to move inside or out where he seemed to play better towards the end of the season. If it looks like the Packers won’t be able to resign wide receiver Randall Cobb they might look for someone to fill his spot, but right now linebacker is the best choice.

#31 Seattle Seahawks: Nate Orchard, Defensive Lineman, Utah.

A quick, fast defense needs quick, fast players and Orchard fits in to the mold of the Seahawks defense. With speed to get to the quarterback he fits a Seahawks need. Of course if Marshawn Lynch decides to retire look for Melvin Gordon of Wisconsin to be the Seahawks pick.

#32 The Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots: Dorial Green-Beckham, Wide Receiver, Oklahoma.

I fully expect New England to trade this pick for more picks and I’m guessing a team that’s looking for a quarterback moves up to take UCLA’s Brett Hundley here. Even if the Patriots keep the pick who really knows what they’ll do with it. Why not give Tom Brady a weapon; so Green-Beckham is the pick.

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: February 4, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, football, sports
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2-4-15

What other question did you think we’d be starting with today. Why didn’t they run the football? The New England Patriots came back from 10 points down to beat the Seattle Seahawks 28-24. It looked like Seattle was on it’s way to a game winning touchdown with 2nd down and the ball on the one yard line, but for whatever reason the Seahawks decided to throw the football instead of hand it off to Marshawn Lynch and New England intercepted it to seal the victory. Lynch had scored earlier in the game on a three  yard run as part of his 24 carry, 102 yard rushing game. Now I’ve heard the argument that Lynch only scored once from the one yard line during the season on five carries. Lynch had 280 carries on the season; so those five carries are a very, very small sample size to use that as the reason. The Seahawks talked about clock management and wanting to get three plays while they where at the one yard line instead of two  rushing plays. Those are two of the stupidest reasons to not give the ball to one of the top running backs in the NFL with two chances from the one yard line to win the Super Bowl. If you’re into conspiracies there is the reason that the Seahawks and the NFL didn’t want Lynch to be the one to score because he’d be a top choice for MVP and they didn’t want him to win that award. I know that’s quite a reach for a reason, but I’ve heard that mentioned by more than a few people. Give Malcolm Butler credit; he took a big chance and it paid off for him. You also have to give quite a bit of credit to the Patriots offense as they where able to come back and take the lead against a defense that most people think is the best in the NFL. New England may have dinked and dunked it’s way to a win, but it was a Super Bowl win. I’m going to go on record right now and say that this loss affect the Seahawks through next season and I wouldn’t be surprised if they miss the playoffs next season or just sneak in as a wild card team, but I would be very surprised to see them in the Super Bowl after in 2016.

On the Sunday edition of Sports Time Radio I had Mr. Fantasy tell us where he would put his money if he was wagering on some of the Super Bowl prop bets. Here’s how he ended up doing. On Tom Brady’s prop bets where 262 1/2 passing yards; Mr. Fantasy took the under Brady had 328 passing yards, LOSS. Pass attempts over/under 35 1/2, Mr. Fantasy took the under Brady attempted 50 passes, LOSS. Passes completed over/under 24 1/2 Mr. Fantasy took the under, Brady completed 37 passes, LOSS. Rush yards over/under 5 1/2 Mr. Fantasy took the under Brady ran for -3 yards, WIN. Let’s look at his Rob Gronkowski prop bets. Receiving yards was set at over/under 74 1/2 yards, Mr. Fantasy took the over. Gronkowski went for 68 yards, LOSS. Catches was over/under 6 1/2, Mr. Fantasy took the over. Gronkowski caught 6 (six) passes in the game, LOSS. Longest catch was over/under 24 1/2 yards, Mr. Fantasy took the under. Gronkowski’s longest catch was for 22 yards, WIN. It’s a good thing Mr. Fantasy isn’t a betting man.

I caught just the end of a crawler report on television that said free agent pitcher James Shields would sign with a team by the end of the week, but I didn’t see which teams it is and looking for more information no team name has surfaced. Shields has said that he’d prefer to play on the West coast, but the San Francisco Giants passed on him earlier to bring back Jake Peavey. The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed Brett Anderson and Brandon McCarthy this off-season. I know Anderson has been injury prone; so would the Dodgers sign Shields and use Anderson as insurance or a 6th starter. While the Arizona Dianmondbacks could use Shields I have a feeling they’re not going to make that move. They seem to be in more rebuilding mode than signing a top free agent type of mode. Maybe it’s the San Diego Padres who land Shields. The Padres have made big moves this off-season and adding a pitcher like Shields would be another big step towards contending in 2015. The Padres have a solid starting rotation, but would have no problem at all finding a spot for Shields in that rotation. It’s never been said if Shields preferred the American League or the National League; so maybe the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are the place Shields lands. While the Angels starting rotation looks solid it has three young pitchers in it; so a veteran like Shields might be a good fit their. It would be a big, big surprise if the Oakland A’s end up being the team that Shields signs with. The A’s have made quite a few moves this off-season and this would be an off the radar type of signing for them. Are the Seattle Mariners considered on the West coast? If they are this is also a good landing spot for Shields. Seattle is another team that is hoping for two young guys to come through in their rotation; so adding a Shields would push back some of the expectations on the younger guys.

I was a little surprised to see Kyle Kendrick end up signing with the Colorado Rockies. I thought Kendrick might be a good fit for a contender as a 4th or 5th starter, but he didn’t draw a lot of interest on the free agent market. Kendrick is just 30 years old and has proved to be an innings eater type of starting pitcher for today’s game. Kendrick has only been on the disabled list once in his eight year career. He’s won 10 or more games the last three  seasons for some bad Philadelphia Phillies teams. The Rockies got Kendrick for one year at $5.5 million dollars.

Tonight (Wednesday) on Sports Time Radio will be talking with Brian K. Patterson from House of Houston then on Friday night will talk with Dylan Smith from Chowder and Champions and also on Friday will have Billy Brost from Yanks go Yard and Friars on Base To listen to these shows and any other archived editions click here Sports Time Radio.

Follow me on Twitter @Burketime Listen to Sports Time Radio on Blog Talk Radio

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Posted: January 31, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, basketball, football, sports
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1/31/15

All the talk is just about over and tomorrow (Sunday) the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks will meet in the Super Bowl. It looks like neither team will lose any players to injury for the start of the game, but there are some key players listed on the teams injury reports. For New England the biggest injury listed is to center Brian Stork who’s been dealing with a knee injury and has been limited in practice. The Seahawks have three of their four starting defensive backs on the injury report. Safety Earl Thomas is playing with a shoulder injury. Everyone saw Richard Sherman play the end of the NFC championship game with one arm. Sherman injured his elbow against the Green Bay Packers, but the bigger question with Sherman is what will he do if his girlfriend goes into labor before the game. The breaking injury news that came out yesterday was on Seattle safety Kam Chancellor. It’s being reported that  the last play of practice yesterday (Friday) Chancellor injured his knee and left the field with a wrapped left knee. Will the Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady be able to take advantage of a banged up Seattle secondary which is considered the best in the league? Finally it won’t be long until we find out on the field instead of just talking about it.

Besides just my predictions on the game I went out and had everyone from Sports Time Radio send me their final score and who they think will win the MVP award. Here’s what we’ve picked for the Super Bowl.

Schaumburg Stu has it New England 30 Seattle 17 with Tom Brady winning the MVP.
Dan the Man has it New England 42 Seattle 34 with Brady as his MVP as well.
Mr. Fantasy has it New England 27 Seattle 17 and he went with Brady as his MVP also.
I have Seattle 27 New England 21 with Kam Chancellor as the MVP.
Greg from our fantasy challenge has it New England 31 Seattle 20 and get also likes Brady as MVP.
I also asked Phil Watson from http://www.DairylandExpress.com for a prediction and he went with Seattle 24 New England 23 with Marshawn Lynch as his MVP.
If you’d like to hear who Dylan Smith from Chowder and Champions James Silberman from Emerald City Swagger and Tony Fischer from Detroit Jock City picked to win and who they liked as MVP. Go into Blog Talk Radio and listen to the Friday edition of Sports Time Radio. Mr. Fantasy and I had them all make picks at the end of their interviews last night.

The Chicago Bulls are 30-19 and a 1 1/2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers for 1st place in the Central division of the Eastern conference, but with the Bulls up and down play this season there are people wondering what’s wrong with this team. As with any team that has reported issues the first person everyone looks at is the head coach. In the Bulls case that’s Tom Thibodeau that the spotlight is on right now. there are reports out of Chicago that the relationship between Thibodeau and the Bulls front office; General Manager Gar Foreman and team President John Paxson is “beyond repair”. It seems to be Thibodeau’s intense style of coaching that is causing the issues between him and the front office. This may actually go back to November of 2013 when a report surfaced that the Bulls team executives where telling Thibodeau how to dispense minutes to the players. With Thibodeau’s coaching style the Bulls top players log major minutes, but this season the starting unit of Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Mike Dunleavy, Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah have played together in 15 of Chicago’s 49 games this season. This of course doesn’t count the last two seasons that Rose lost to injuries. ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy, for whom Thibodeau was an assistant when Van Gundy was head coach of the Knicks and Rockets, blasted Chicago’s front office (and the journalists that cover the Bulls) during last Friday’s Chicago Bulls-Dallas Mavericks game. The Bulls are 4-6 in their last 10 games and dropped their 2nd game in a row last night 99-93 to the Phoenix Suns. The Suns loss follows a tough double overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers 123-118 on Thursday. These two  losses come after a big victory in Golden State against the Warriors 113-111. This is the kind of up and down play that has people questioning if Thibodeau had lost the Bulls locker room and if his style was too much for a long-term coach. Thibodeau has two years remaining on his contract and you’d hope before Foreman and Paxson would make a coaching change they’s ask themselves if they could find someone better. To make a change for changes sake would be stupid on the front offices part, but if the relationship between the head coach and the front office is that bad there may be a change coning. The Bulls have six more games before the NBA All-Star break and with all of these reports it looks like the break will be much appreciated.

With the big signing of Max Scherzer the Washington nationals look to have the best starting rotation in the MLB but after they dealt Tyler Clippard to the Oakland A’s I had some questions about their bullpen. The Nationals made a move to address the bullpen by signing free-agent reliever Casey Janssen, to a one year with mutual option, $5 million guaranteed including option buyout. Janssen appeared in 50 games for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2014 saving 25 games. His ERA was 3.94 which was up from 2013 when it was 2.56 and from 2012 when it was 2.54. While the Nationals aren’t looking for Janssen to close; they have Drew Storen set to take that role, but if needed Janssen could fill in as closer if needed. The bullpen will get a boost from Tanner Roark who should move into the bullpen after the Scherzer signing. Will Janssen, Roark, Craig Stammen, Jerry Blevins and Matt Thornton be the bullpen combination that leads the Nationals to the season they’re predicted to have in 2015.

MLB Network built a show around the top prospects in baseball; here are the top 5 prospects. Byron Buxton outfielder Minnesota Twins, Kris Bryant 3rd baseman Chicago Cubs, Carlos Correa shortstop Houston Astros, Francisco Lindor shortstop Cleveland Indians and Addison Russell shortstop Chicago Cubs. Will we see any or all of these player in the major leagues this season who knows. This is the second year in a row that Buxton has been the #1 prospect in MLB so you have to wonder how much longer it will be before the Twins need to bring him up and take a look at him. If you’ve listened to the podcast at ll you know how I feel about Bryant. He should’ve been with the Cubs last season and there;s no reason he shouldn’t be on the major league team at the start of the 2015 season, but the Cubs are trying to hold on to him as long as they can and I’m betting he starts the season in the minor leagues. It’s a huge joke on the Cubs part, but they have control of Bryant and can do that. Most of the reports I’ve read have said that Correa is a season or so away from being the Astros everyday shortstop; so I’d be surprised to see him in the majors this season. Lindor is the next Indians shortstop, but they want to make sure that he’ll play that position everyday when he’s brought up to the majors. Russell is another player who is probably a year away from the big leagues, but if he’s going to be there with the Cubs he might have to switch positions. Russell played some 2nd base in the Arizona Fall League for a short period of time and barring a trade of Starling Castro 2nd base may be Russell’s position at the big league level.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @Burketime and remember you can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast at BlogTalkRadio.com

So how was your week?

How was your Week?

Posted: January 24, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, basketball, football, sports
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1/24/15

Sad news last night for Chicago Cubs fans as “Mr. Cub” Ernie Banks passed away at the age of 83. Banks’ catch phrase “Let’s play two” suggesting a doubleheader was always better than just a single game in one day; showed his love for the game of baseball. Banks started his career in the Negro League playing with the Kansas City Monarchs before being signed by the Cubs as a free agent in 1953. Banks got into 10 games for the Cubs in that 1953 season and after that spent the next 18 seasons in a Cubs uniform. Banks won the National League MVP award in back to back season, 1958 and 1959. He also finished in the Top 10 of M.V.P. voting in three other seasons. Banks was also an 11 time All-Star and won the Gold Glove at shortstop for the 1960 season. Banks is a member of the 500 home run club; with 512 home runs for his career. He led the N.L. in home runs with 47 in 1958 and then again with 41 in 1960. Banks had a career batting average of .274 with an on base percentage of .330 and a .500 slugging percentage. Banks totaled 2583 hits in his career with 407 doubles, 90 triples and added 50 stolen bases all with the Cubs. Banks ended his 19 year Cubs career on September 26th 1971 going 1 for 3 against the Philadelphia Phillies in a 5-1 Cubs loss. In 1977 Banks received 83.8% of the votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America and was enshrined in the baseball Hall of Fame. In 1982, Banks had his No. 14 jersey retired, the first Cubs player to receive such an honor. In 2008, the Cubs unveiled a statue outside Wrigley Field that honored him. Then in November 2013, Banks was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, joining the likes of Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Jackie Robinson, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Stan Musial in gaining this honor. With his out going personality and the obvious love for baseball that Banks had he became an ambassador for the Cubs fans and the game of baseball itself after his playing career ended. While it may be January in Chicagoland, but “Let’s play two”.

While I’m looking forward to the Super Bowl featuring the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots I’m already tired of the side stories coming into the game. It’s to the point here I don’t care if New England deflated the football in their game against the Indianapolis Colts. Would a fully inflated football have changed the outcome of the game; I seriously doubt it. Even if the Patriots are guilty of this do you think Tom Brady or Bill Belichick where the guys taking the air out of the football. On the Seattle side is there any chance the mainstream media will leave Marshawn Lynch alone this week. Everyone knows that Lynch isn’t a big fan of talking to the media which will put a huge target on his back for every moron who’ll want to be the one that thinks they can get a quote from Lynch. Believe it or not there are players that don’t want to be media superstars; I know that’s hard to believe, but Lynch seems to be one of these guys. While I fully agree with Lynch being fined for his crotch grab end zone celebration I don’t think he should be forced to speak to the media. I’m not a big fan if what the NFL calls media week and the game can’t get here soon enough for me.

I really hope you’ve been listening to the Sports Time Radio podcast. Just last night (Friday) alone we had three interviews. Now these aren’t the type of interviews you’ll hear on your radio where the person is on for five minutes and they answer two or three questions. We keep guys up to 30 minutes; so they can answer all of the questions that need to be answered. Starting off the Friday night show we had Ian St. Clair from PredominatlyOrange.com to talk Denver Broncos football. After that it was Nick Hjeltness from GoldenGateSports.com joining us to discuss the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders. We ended the podcast by having Mike Marteny from FantasyCPR.com to talk about early fantasy baseball rankings along with who to look out for this upcoming season. Next week is shaping up as another big interview week for Sports Time Radio as will have guest on every show and even three more interviews on Friday the 30th show. Starting off with the January 26th show (Monday) we’ll have Eric Huysman from ClimbingTalsHill.com to talk about what the Houston Astros will look like in the 2015 baseball season.

Jeff Gordon’s 23rd season in NASCAR will be his last full-time season. Gordon is 3rd all time with 92 wins, has made 689 consecutive starts and is a four-time champion, but at 43 he’ll step away from his full-time ride #24 with Hendrick Motorsports. Gordon won’t use the word retire as he plans to stay involved with NASCAR and may even get behind the wheel at selected races; just not full-time. Hendrick Motorsports hasn’t made any announcements on who might take over Gordon’s ride for the 2016 NASCAR season, but it appears that Chase Elliot will be their choice.

You could say Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors had a night with 52 points in 126-101 victory over the Sacramento Kings, but to be more specific he had a quarter. In the 3rd quarter alone Thompson went 13 for 13 from the floor including a NBA record nine 3-point shots in the quarter. The 37 points Thompson ut up in the quarter was an NBA record as well. Thompson surpassed the 33-point mark set by George Gervin in 1978 and matched by Carmelo Anthony in 2008 for the most points in a quarter. Michael Redd and Joe Johnson shared the previous mark for most 3-point shots made in a quarter with eight. Thompson scored 19 consecutive points during one stretch, which ended with him making a left-handed pass to Draymond Green for a lay up. Thompson helped make sure the Warriors equaled the franchise’s highest win total before the All-Star game. The defending champion 1975-76 Warriors went 35-13 before the break and finished with a team-best record of 59-23.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @Burketime and remember you can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast at BlogTalkRadio.com

So how was your week?

How was your Week?

Posted: January 17, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, football, hockey, sports
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1/17/14

With the way the off-season started if you where a fan of the Oakland A’s where you concerned what your team would look like? I’m not even a fan of the A’s, but I couldn’t figure out what Billy Beane was trying to do with the team. There’s still about six weeks before spring training starts and who knows if the A’s are done making moves, but the team looks a lot different from last season. I think most if not all A’s fan realized that Jon Lester wouldn’t be back with the team in 2015. There was a lot of talk that if the A’s couldn’t sign Jeff Samardzija they would trade him, but I think most expert thought it would happen around the trade deadline not at the owners meetings. Even though the Samardzija deal happened a little earlier than people thought it would him and Lester being gone was kind of expected. Then Josh Donaldson and Brandon Moss are traded in separate deals. Two of the three catchers from last season; Derek Norris and John Jaso where dealt. They didn’t make an attempt to resign shortstop Jed Lowrie and utility man Nick Punto was let go. Luke Gregerson was also allowed to leave as a free agent. Even though they brought Billy Butler in to be the Designated Hitter and Ike Davis to play 1st base I wasn’t all that sold on the A’s competing in the American League West, but slowly the team has come together. With the two latest deals getting Ben Zobrist and Yunel Escobar from the Tampa Bay Rays and then turning around and sending Escobar to the Washington Nationals for Tyler Clippard I wouldn’t be surprised to see the A;s contending again. Mr. Fantasy and I discussed the A’s line up last night (Friday) on the Sports Time Radio podcast. I believe he’s actually more sold on them than I am. I think they needed one more power hitting threat in the batting order, but he thinks they’ll get by. Stephen Vogt will get to catch full-time, Brett Lawrie takes over at 3rd base, Zobrist will play 2nd base with Davis at 1st and as long as you’re sold on Marcus Semien as your everyday shortstop the infield is set. The outfield looks like Josh Reddick in right field, Coco Crisp in centerfield and Sam Fuld in left field with Craig Gentry as the 4th outfielder and then Butler in the DH role. The rotation has Sonny Gray, Scott Kazmir, Jesse Chavez, Drew Pomeranz and Jesse Hahn possibly set to open the season. Don’t forget they also have A.J. Griffin and Jarrod Parker; both of whom are recovering from Tommy John surgery, but will be back some time during the 2015 season. Clippard should drop right into the set up role in front of closer Sean Doolittle. Ryan Cook will also fit into a set up role in the bullpen. If the A’s are done do you think they can contend with this team? or do they need to make another move or two?

Staying in the Bay area the San Francisco Giants signed outfielder Norichika Aoki to a one year deal worth $4.7 million dollars. The deal includes a club option for 2016, and can max out at $12.5 million over two seasons based on the option and performance bonuses. It appears that Aoki will take over in left field for the Giants and may hit towards the top of the batting order. With the Aoki signing and Casey McGehee being brought in to play 3rd base are the Giants done this off-season? There where some rumors this week that the Giants might have some interest in starting pitcher Dillon Gee of the New York Mets. The Giants did talk to Jon Lester and there might have been some interest in James Shields, but they brought opted to bring Jake Peavey back. With Matt Cain coming off of ankle surgery and some other rotation questions are the Giants looking for another starting pitcher? On the podcast last night (Friday) Mr. Fantasy and I talked everything Giants with Mark O’Neill from www.aroundthefoghorn.com you can hear what Mark thinks the Giants might do with the rest of the off-season at Sports Time Radio.

Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand has been suspended for two games, without pay, for slew-footing New York Rangers forward Derick Brassard during their game in Boston on Thursday night. I’m wondering if you had the same question I did; what is slew footing? Here is the NHL definition of slew footing. A dangerous play where a player comes from behind an opposing skater and trips the player unexpectedly by dragging the skate so the victim falls to the ice and quite often hits his head or lands hard due to the sneaky nature of the crime. I’ve seen it done before on the ice, but didn’t know what it was called. It is however considered one of the dirtiest cheap shots a hockey player can do, particularly due to the unexpected sneaky nature of the infraction. Match penalties can be assessed by the referee when a player deliberately takes these kinds of penalties. However, sometimes players can commit the foul by accident when skating up behind a player and attempting to body check them. Even the best players in the game get accused of slew footing; Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby for example in 2009 and 2010 in separate incidents. Although it is considered a severe penalty, there is often debate when slew footing penalties are examined for further suspension. Besides numerous small suspensions, a severe injury or long suspension is rarely seen.

Tomorrow we find out who’s going to the Super Bowl. I had the Seattle Seahawks facing the Indianapolis Colts at the beginning of the season; so I guess you know who I’m picking to win tomorrow’s games. I’ve been trying to get Mr. Fantasy and Dan the Man to join me on the Colts bandwagon, but it looks like I don’t have any takers. I have Dan the Man’s picks and he likes New England while Mr. Fantasy hasn’t officially made his picks I believe he’ll go with the Patriots to win as well. I’m still waiting for Schaumburg Stu’s picks for Sunday; so maybe he’ll be the one to join me on that Colts bandwagon.

You can find Sports Time Radio on BlogTalk Radio and you can find me on Twitter @Burketime.

So how was your week?

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: January 14, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, basketball, football, sports
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1/14/15

The Cleveland Cavaliers are one  game under .500 at 19-20 and they’ve been without LeBron James for a few weeks. Even with James returning and scoring 33 points it wasn’t enough to stop the Cavaliers losing streak; which is now at six games. Cleveland lost to the Phoenix Suns 107-100. Cleveland is also 1-9 in their last ten games. There’s still a little over half of the season for the Cavaliers to get the ship righted and make a playoff run. Now if you’re a Cavaliers fan are you worried about this being LeBron’s only season in his Cleveland return. I actually though LeBron’s opt out was after next season, but it’s being reported that it’s after this current season. I always thought it was just a money play James. The new NBA television contract will kick in and it’s expected that the salary cap will jump and then James could cash in big. Then there was the Christmas game against the Miami Heat and the conversation that took place between James and Dwayne Wade after that game. James big everything he could so people couldn’t see what he was saying, but it was picked up by a microphone on the floor. This is what James was quoted as saying to Wade. “Like I said, if we aren’t better this year, we’re gonna re-unite again and do some bigger and better things, alright” James excuse was that it was about doing something off court and says it had nothing to do with leaving Cleveland. I guess we’ll find out in about half of a season what will happen with LeBron. Can Cleveland and the Cavaliers fans take another round of free agency for James?

The Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics are swapping veteran point guards in a trade that sends Jameer Nelson to Denver and Nate Robinson to Boston. After spending 10 seasons with one club, the Orlando Magic, Nelson will be on his third team of 2014-15, after joining the Dallas Mavericks as a free agent and playing 23 games for Dallas, then being dealt to the Celtics as part of the return package for Rajon Rondo, and now the Nuggets. In all, Nelson is averaging 6.8 points and 4.4 assists in 24.3 minutes that includes starting for the Mavericks and primarily coming off the bench in Boston. Robinson, who would be in his second stint with the Celtics after previously playing there for parts of two seasons, is contributing 5.8 points and 2.3 assists in 14.1 minutes in Denver. The Celtics are expected to negotiate a buyout, with Robinson, saving money while allowing Robinson to become a free agent who would draw interest from playoff teams. The Clippers, who have been linked to another Boston guard, Austin Rivers, would apparently likewise look at Robinson in hopes of upgrading the bench that has been a major problem area the first half of the season.

We don’t spend a lot of time talking about college sports on the Sports Time Radio podcast, but there was a National Championship game Monday night. College sports has kind of lost it’s luster to me and I’m not sure I’ll ever be that interested in it again. It always drives me crazy when I hear an interview with a guy and even though he’s spent a few years in college it seems like the player has no grasp of the English language. It’s to the point now that I feel like these guys aren’t going to any classes and are getting money on the side to play college sports. Now I’m sure this doesn’t happen everywhere, but I think everyone understands that it happens at certain schools. With all my misgivings aside Ohio State won the first college football playoff beating Oregon 42-20. Ohio State was the fourth team to make the college football play system and if this was the old BCS system college football used to use these two teams wouldn’t have played for the championship. Did the system work perfectly; no, but it was better than the BCS system. TCU and Baylor probably had claims to that fourth spot that Ohio State got, but by winning the championship that has to put some of that talk to rest now. They’re reporting all time high ratings for the title game Monday night. If I had to guess I’d say this will end up as an eight team playoff down the road, but for the first timeout of the box this was a good start.

The Arizona Diamondbacks added their second Cuban born player this off-season by signing 21-year-old right-handed pitcher Yoan Lopez. The deal technically isn’t done pending a physical and while terms of the contract haven’t been released yet it does contain a record-setting $8.27 million dollar bonus according to reports. The Los Angeles Dodgers, Sa Diego Padres, New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds were among the teams to express interest in signing the 6-foot-4, 190-pound Lopez. One source said the hurler turned down a $9 million offer from another club because he believed Arizona was the best fit. Lopez was said to be impressed with general manager Dave Stewart and chief baseball officer Tony La Russa, and he believes the quickest path to the Major Leagues runs through Arizona. Lopez is expected to be invited to big league Spring Training camp. The scouting report on Lopez says he throws a cut fastball, a changeup, a curveball and a slider, but he is best known for a fastball that travels in the 93-95 mph range. He played three seasons in Cuba for Isla de la Juventud in Serie Nacional, the island’s top league. Lopez sported a 3.12 ERA with 28 strikeouts and 11 walks in 49 innings in his final season before defecting. Earlier this off-season the Diamondbacks signed Cuban born outfielder/3rd baseman Yasmany Tomas to a six-year, $68.5 million deal.

It’s down to four in the National Football League playoffs. The first game Sunday is scheduled to start at 2:05 p.m. and it’s the Green Bay Packers vs. the Seattle Seahawks. The second game is schedule to start at 5:40 p.m. and has the Indianapolis Colts vs. the New England Patriots. We’ll make our picks later in the week; so you’ll have to tune in to Sports Time Radio to see who we’re going with. Last week I went 4-0 on the weekend while Schaumburg Stu, Mr. Fantasy and Dan the Man where all 3-1. Through the first two weeks of the playoffs Mr. Fantasy and I are 6-2 while Schaumburg Stu and Dan the Man are 5-3. Oh; by the way both times I listed are Central Standard Time.

You can find <a href=”http://www.blogtalkradio.com/sportstime-radio”>Sports Time Radio</a><a> on BlogTalk Radio and you can find me on Twitter </a><a href=”http://www.twitter.com/burketime”>@Burketime</a><a&gt;.</a>

How was your Week?

Posted: January 10, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, basketball, football, hockey, sports
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1/10/15

On Wednesday I mentioned the Cleveland Cavaliers looking for a big man and talking with the Denver Nuggets about Timofey Mozgov. Well the two teams finally came to an agreement on a deal. Cleveland sent 2 protected 2015 1st round draft picks to Denver for Mozgov. That sounds like it was a lot to give up for a player who’s averaged 8.6 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game, but the Cavaliers needed some size and at 7 feet 1 inch tall and listed at 250 pounds Mozgov has that. With Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving and of course LeBron James the Cavaliers weren’t looking for scoring, but someone to try to replace the void created by Anderson Varejao’s season ending Achilles injury.

Is it full rebuild mode for the Boston Celtics? After sending who many considered their best player Rajon Rondo to the Dallas Mavericks the Celtics announced one deal and have been rumored to be making another deal. Brandan Wright who Boston got in the Rondo deal was sent to the Phoenix Suns for a conditional first round draft pick and created a $5 million trade exception in the process. The other deal being reported, but I haven’t heard if it’s official yet has the Memphis Grizziles trading veteran Tayshaun Prince’s expiring $7.7 million contract and future first round draft pick to Boston for forward Jeff Green. After Rondo was dealt many experts looked at Green as the Celtics best player and now it looks like he’s on his way out of Boston. The Celtics lost 107-103 last night (Friday) in overtime to the Indiana Pacers. Green was pulled from the Celtics starting line up because of the trade rumors and Wright was already on his way to join his new team. Avery Bradley led Boston in scoring with 23 points while Brandon Bass added 17 points. If you’re a Celtics fan who are you looking to step up and lead this team; is Marcus Smart that guy?

Jimmy Butler bet on himself in the off-season and it looks like the Chicago Bulls guard made the right choice. The Bulls tried to sign Butler to a contract extension in the off-season, but Butler turned them down choosing to enter free agency after this season. Butler is off to a career year averaging 21.4 points per game, 6.2 rebounds per game, 3.2 assists per game and 1.7 steals per game. Butler has always been a good defender, but with his offensive skills coming around this season the Bulls are ready to offer him a “Max deal” this off-season. That would mean a max salary just under $16 million next season and the Bulls would be able to pay him more than $91 million over five years, compared to $67 million over four years by any other team. You’d have to say that Butler made the right choice.

The NHL is at or in some teams cases just a little past the halfway point of the season. Who had the Tampa Bay Lighting or the Nashville Predators leading their divisions with 58 points, The Anaheim Ducks also lead their division with 58 points, but going into the season they looked like contenders. Tampa Bay is led by Tyler Johnson (Center) with 46 points. Steven Stamkos (Center) leads the Lighting in goals with 22 while Johnson’s 28 assists lead in that category. In goal Ben Bishop is 21-6 in 31 starts with two overtime losses and one shutout. In Nashville Filip Forsberg (Center) is leading the Predators in points with 38; he also leads the team in goals with 14. Mike Ribero (Center) leads the team in assists with 27. Pekka Rinne has made 35 starts in-goal going 27-6 with two overtime losses and a 2.00 goals against average and Rinne also has three shutouts this season. Rinne has started in-goal 35 of the Predators 40 games this season. Neither team is running away with their division by any means. Tampa Bay has a four point lead over the Montréal Canadiens in the Atlantic division of the Eastern conference while Nashville’s lead is even smaller. The Predators have a two point lead over the Chicago Blackhawks in the Central division of the Western conference. Will we see a Tampa Bay vs. Nashville Stanley Cup finals; probably not. The NHL playoff road is always has it’s share of upsets; so will these teams be the ones being upset or doing the upsetting.

It’s the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs with two of the game being played (Saturday) today. In the first game it’s the Baltimore Ravens vs. the New England Patriots. The second game has the Carolina Panthers vs. the Seattle Seahawks. We went into quite a bit of detail on these games during last nights podcast, and you can get our thoughts on these games. For the record Mr. Fantasy, Schaumburg Stu, Dan the Man and I picked the same winners in these games, We all have New England winning the first game and Seattle winning the second game. You can also listen to from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. as we preview Sunday’s playoff games and review what happen in Saturday’s games.

It’s being reported that the Pittsburgh Pirates are reportedly close to officially signing Korean shortstop Jung-ho Kang to a four year deal. Terms of any deal haven’t been reported yet, but it’s being said that Kang was looking for $5 million a season. While Kang played shortstop for Nexen Heroes in the Korean Baseball Organization it is unclear what position he’d play for the Pirates. He could back up Josh Harrison at third base, Jordy Mercer at shortstop and Neil Walker at second, and he could be a part of the mix at first base. The 27-year-old Kang hit 40 homers and drove in 117 runs in 117 games while batting .356 with a 1.198 OPS last season while playing shortstop.

You can find Sports Time Radio on BlogTalk Radio and you can find me on Twitter @Burketime.

So how was your week?

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