Report: Browns LB Fujita’s career in jeopardy – Scott Fujita | CLE
2012
Fitz surpasses 10,000 career yds mark in loss – Larry Fitzgerald | ARZ
2012
Tour Report: With this victory … (PGA Tour)
2012
The Shutdown Corner Interview: Drew Brees, Part 2
2012
Drew Brees has been through a lot in his NFL career, but nothing could have prepared him for a 2012 season in which he would lose his head coach, general manager and two defensive teammates to an NFL suspension process that many people still question. It's been a greater challenge than coming back from the severe shoulder injury that effectively ended his career in San Diego, or helping to bring the New Orleans Saints organization (and the city it calls home) up from its knees in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. At 1-4, the Saints have overcome a great deal and are trying to stay on the path.
We recently talked with Brees about several subjects, including his part in the XBox "60 Million Minutes" campaign, which promotes fitness for kids, but we dove into the NFL stuff right away.
You can read Part 1 of our interview here. In Part 2, Brees talks about the holes he sees in the bounty process, Roger Goodell's "success rate" as commissioner and what he would define as the ultimate barometer of success for the 2012 New Orleans Saints.
Shutdown Corner: I've found the bounty investigation and suspension process to be specious at best from the NFL's point of view. When Commissioner Goodell released the letters to the players, explaining his reasoning for re-installing the suspensions of your current and former teammates, it appeared to me as if he moved the goalposts. "You were suspended for this … now, we're re-suspending you for that. We didn't have this evidence, and now it magically appears. We didn't have a signed affidavit from Gregg Williams, and now we do." Now that these new letters and suspensions have come down, do you have a thorough understanding of why these guys have been suspended? Do they?
Drew Brees: I don't. I read Scott Fujita's suspension letter and Jonathan Vilma's suspension letter. And, you're right. In Scott Fujita's suspension letter, he was first being suspended for "contributing significant amounts of money to a pay-to-injure program." In this letter, it says that, well, "we weren't able to find those things, but we believe that you contributed money to a pay-for-performance program, in which you were incentivizing teammates for things like forced fumbles and sacks. So, we're going to suspend you, because that's considered conduct detrimental." Well actually, no, that's a salary cap issue.
So, yeah, I'm reading these letters, and you're right. They've moved the goalposts, and they're playing by a completely different set of rules. And those rules change, however they see fit. I don't believe this process has been executed fairly from the beginning. I feel that there have been biased opinions this entire time, and I think there's an agenda at play here, I feel that there's ego and arrogance involved as well. I feel that there are some personal issues, beyond the facts. I don't believe many of these decisions were based on facts -- certainly not credible information. This is based on speculation, rhetoric and the testimony of two pretty unreliable sources.
[More NFL: Washington Redskins in trouble for how they handled Robert Griffin III's concussion?]
So, that part really disappoints me, and I'll say this in all honesty, as a guy who's been in the league for 12 years, I have seen a lot. From an experienced player's perspective, the NFL seems a little out of control right now, in the way it's being conducted and run from the top on down. When you look at the way this replacement-referee situation was handled through the first four games ... it wasn't until a game was actually lost [by the wrong team, in Seattle's 14-12 "win" over the Green Bay Packers]. And the amazing thing was, the NFL actually came out and backed the call made by the referee, when everybody in America -- fans and players, except for maybe Seattle fans and Seattle players -- would sit there and tell you that was an interception. "I don't care when the rule says" … Maybe you'd better change the rule, then. Because if every player in the NFL, and every fan in the NFL, knows that it was an interception, and you're backing the call that says it wasn't, maybe we need to change the rule. Or, it's just a lack of accountability.
I've found that throughout this [bounty] process, as well -- there's been a real lack of leadership and a lack of accountability, from the top down.
SC: Getting back to your team and your season -- it seems that the thing that might most negatively affect you about Sean Payton not being with the team this year is that it's such a physical and mental drain to play quarterback in the NFL -- there is so much asked of you. How much are you affected by the fact that you don't have him as a sounding board in games? Someone who really knows you, and really knows the offense, to see things through your eyes, but also with an objective view, to tell you how to right the ship when that needs to happen?
DB: It's been an adjustment, certainly. Throughout the games, there's a lot of dialogue. I hear his voice in my helmet, and we talk about situations during time-outs, or before critical third downs, or red zone plays. There's a lot of that going on. During the week, too -- there's so much of that during the week, I want to know what's going to come out of his mouth before it does. It's ESP. I want to know what's going to be called in certain situations. I feel that I function so much better that way. Now, Pete Carmichael and I do all the same things that Sean and I used to do. Maybe even more so, because the two of us, we've only had part of last season and this season together in that capacity, where he's the play-caller and I'm the quarterback.
So, we've tried to pick up where we left off with Sean, and I think Pete Carmichael has done an incredible job, but it's a tough situation, no matter how you look at it. Now, we're not going to give ourselves any excuses -- we're professionals, we've been in this system for a long time, and we know it. We feel like we should be successful in this system, no matter what, but there has been a little bit of an adjustment, and I find that we're getting better and better with that each week. Unfortunately, that wasn't good enough to get us a win those first four weeks, but it was this last week. I hope now that we've broken the seal, and this motivates us to get further on -- to get a little bit better each week and start piling on the wins.
[Also: Buccaneers' Aqib Talib suspended four games for Adderall use]
SC: How will you define a successful season for the 2012 New Orleans Saints? With all that's gone on, where do you have to finish for you to look back and believe you all did it to the best of your efforts?
DB: Well, you can't sit here and say, "We have to win this many games," but listen, if we don't go to the playoffs, that's disappointing. That is not meeting our expectations or our goals. Honestly, it doesn't matter how we get in, we just want to get in. Because we know we're one of those teams that believes that if we get in, we've got a shot.
SC: Let's say you run the table, and you're the home team in the Super Bowl, and Commissioner Goodell walks up to you. What do you say to him?
DB: Well, is he handing me the Lombardi Trophy or what?
SC: Sure. We're in the realm of the hypothetical here, so we can go all the way for interview purposes. He hands you the trophy, what do you say?
DB: I say, "Thank you, commissioner," and I go celebrate with my teammates. Because I'll tell you what: If we get to that point, we will have fought our tails off, and those are the guys who deserve to be celebrated with.
UFC 153 highlights on Yahoo! Sports:
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Derek Jeter fractures left ankle in 12th inning, will miss rest of postseason
2012
Derek Jeter will miss the rest of the postseason after fracturing his left ankle in the 12th inning of the New York Yankees' 6-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of the ALCS on Saturday night at Yankee Stadium.
"His ankle fractured, he's out ... he's out," Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters after the game. "They talked about a three-month recovery period. It won't jeopardize his career, but he will not be playing any more for us this year."
Jeter suffered the injury after ranging to his left for an infield grounder hit by Jhonny Peralta. He stumbled and fell to the ground while screaming out in pain. He needed assistance off the field as a stunned Yankee Stadium crowd looked on in silence.
"If he's not getting up, something's wrong," Girardi said. "Because when we've seen what he's played through the last month and a half and the pain that he's been in ... "
[Slideshow: Derek Jeter breaks ankle in Yankees' loss to Tigers]
Girardi said that Jeter will be replaced on the ALCS roster by Eduardo Nunez and shook off a reporter's question asking if Alex Rodriguez might slide over from third and play short.
"It's been too long," Girardi said of A-Rod, whose last start at short came in 2003 with the Texas Rangers. "I wouldn't do that to him."
It goes without saying, but this is a huge loss for the Yankees and their chances. Jeter went 1 for 5 with two strikeouts on Saturday night, but he's been one of the few reliable options on the Yankees roster this postseason, hitting .364 against the Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS.
Make sure all your bases are covered this postseason ...
Follow @bigleaguestew, @KevinKaduk and the BLS Facebook page!
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2012
Tony Gonzalez one TD catch from 100 – Tony Gonzalez | ATL
2012
Smush Parker fires back after Kobe Bryant’s ‘worst’ slam: ‘What I don’t like about him is the man that he is’
2012
On Thursday, BDL Editor Kelly Dwyer brought you the story of Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant — now part of perhaps the best starting five in the NBA this season — speaking, shall we say, unkindly about the somewhat lesser teammates with whom he once shared the Staples Center's stage. While several players caught freewheeling insults, the Black Mamba reserved his most poisonous venom for former starting L.A. point guard Smush Parker, whom Bryant said was "the worst," "shouldn't have been in the NBA" and was allowed to "walk on" to the Lakers because "we were too cheap to pay for a point guard."
Basically, Kobe — from his comfortable perch at/near the top of the NBA — took great glee in throwing rocks down at the head of Parker, who hasn't played in the NBA since the 2007-08 season and to whom scarcely any NBA fans have given more than a "Hey, remember that guy?" thought over the past four or so years, all of which, of course, seems completely necessary and not at all ridiculously petulant.
[Fantasy Basketball '12: Play the official game of NBA.com]
After Bryant's remarks became a topic of much sports-talk discussion on Thursday, Parker had an opportunity to respond, joining the Blog Talk Radio program Hard2Guard Radio to discuss not only the direct insults of his ability, but also his general perceptions of Kobe from the two seasons Smush spent playing alongside him. Parker has spoken out of both sides of his mouth on this issue in the past, calling him "a great guy" and "a great teammate" back in 2007, but describing playing with Bryant as "overrated" two years later.
Now 31, having played overseas since 2009, Parker showed respect for Bryant's game and accomplishments in the 35-minute interview, but made it clear that he's not too big a fan of Kobe as a person. Larry Brown Sports transcribed portions of the interview:
"You can't knock the man's legacy, you can't knock what he's done in basketball. His work ethic is tremendous. There's not an ounce of hate in my blood whatsoever. The guy can play basketball — you've seen that throughout his career.
"What I don't like about him is the man that he is. His personality. How he treats people. I don't like that side of Kobe Bryant."
That side, according to Parker, prevents anybody without a certain established level of accomplishment and bona fides from even speaking to Bryant:
"Midway through the first season, I tried to at least have a conversation with Kobe Bryant — he is my teammate, he is a co-worker of mine, I see his face every day I go in to work — and I tried to talk with him about football. He tells me I can't talk to him. He tells me I need more accolades under my belt before I come talk to him. He was dead serious. [...]
"We're teammates, we talk basketball on the court. [Our talks were] about getting him the ball pretty much."
Well, now, that just sounds ... um, well, that sounds about right, actually. That kind of passes the Black Mamba smell test. If I was not some kind of legendary talent or someone absolutely instrumental in ensuring Kobe Bryant's success, I could totally see him not having much use for me in conversation, and I could certainly see whatever conversations we might have specifically relating to whatever use he might have for me in ensuring success. Then again, a lot of my conversations tend to involve stuff like that pretty good 2005 Babyshambles record and whether it'd be better for robot voices to have a variety of tones and timbres, like fleshies, or if they should all sound like Auto-Tune, so we know them upon first hearing. So maybe I'd deserve it.
And, to some degree, maybe Smush deserved it, too. After all, Parker's a man who, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times puts it, was "known to have a surly attitude [during his playing career] and his professionalism often came into question, including the time he missed a team plane because he overslept." For someone like Kobe, for whom winning is ostensibly the only thing worth waking up to do, having to rely on a player on whom you didn't really know you could rely (let alone a couple of them) was probably maddening. Then again, working day in and day out with someone who basically views you as little more than a detestable pile of carbon probably isn't the most fun thing in the world, either, which makes Smush seem somewhat sympathetic here.
Other chunks of the interview involve Parker that he wasn't actually a surly dude, but was rather "misunderstood" during his career, which, I don't know — some folks, like Metta World Peace, who shares a home borough with Parker, co-sign him, and others, like ex-NBA beat man Ross Siler, who covered the Kobe-and-Smush Lakers for the Los Angeles Daily News, don't. Parker answers Bryant's "didn't belong in the league" criticism by noting that he was "top three in all the categories" on the Lakers' stat sheets during his two seasons with the team, which would be a great point if Kobe's initial argument was something besides, "The rest of my teammates then were terrible." Smush might've checkmated himself with that one.
A relatively reasonable perspective on all of these seems to be to acknowledge that Kobe is right that Smush was significantly less than a perfect backcourt partner on those mid-Aughts Laker teams, that Kobe probably isn't the easiest guy to get along with, that Smush probably didn't make it that easy for a hyper-competitive guy to get along with him, and that Kobe doesn't need to be spending too much time before the start of what should be a title-contending season talking about a roughly replacement-level player he played with five years ago. Does that seem fair to everybody? That about sum it up?
Wait, one more thing, courtesy of friend of the program Nate Jones:
Man, Kobe is good, huh?
Hat-tips to fellow friends of the program Kurt Helin at ProBasketballTalk and Tom Ziller at SB Nation.
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Is John Davidson on track to take over Blue Jackets?
2012
Maybe it's because we're unabashed fans of his broadcasting career and results with the St. Louis Blues, but John Davidson could have a transformative effect on the Columbus Blue Jackets' franchise.
They don't need another Rick Nash — they need a hockey man at the top of the food chain that can take a team in a near-constant state of rebuilding and set it on course for sustained success.
Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch reported on Friday morning that the long-awaited talks between Davidson, who recently stepped down as president of the Blues, and Columbus brass will begin this weekend.
From the Dispatch:
It's unclear how Davidson would fit within the Blue Jackets' hockey operations department, but it's widely assumed around the NHL that he would need the promise of complete autonomy, just as he had with the Blues since joining them as president in 2006.
In that scenario, Davidson would likely assume the title of president of hockey operations, giving him authority of general manager Scott Howson and all hockey decisions. Priest could switch strictly to the business side of the organization, while retaining his rights to serve on the NHL board of governors.
Priest's bio is pretty indicative of a guy that'd rather just run the numbers side of things.
So the wheels are turning on John Davidson to the Blue Jackets. Which is a good thing. Here's Matt Wagner of The Cannon with some cautious optimism:
Based on his experience, resume, and tenure, it's not unreasonable to expect Davidson to command a salary in the high six figures, perhaps even seven. That doesn't seem so bad compared to, say, $5.5 million dollars for James Wisniewski's paycheck, but the lockout complicates things.
As it stands, the Blue Jackets are cutting the work weeks for their front office staff to save money while the team effectively has no access to their primary source of income. To add that financial demand, even if the team "saved" by perhaps reassigning Mike Priest back to Worthington Industries and using the money earmarked for his salary to pay J.D., is a risky move, especially if the lockout eventually threatens the entire season.
True, but few in hockey would say he's not worth the money.
Mostly NBA Notes: A look around the league
2012
Kyrie Irving was the 38th most valuable player last year during his rookie season, and he was just 19 years old and only Nicolas Batum finished higher (by one spot) with fewer mpg (by 0.1). Irving did this having played a total of 11 games at the collegiate level. Of course, that also means he missed a bunch of time at Duke due to injuries, had to sit out 15 more games last year in the NBA and also broke his hand during the offseason. But as Mr. Kruger would say, I'm not too worried about it. He's already participating in scrimmages and should be 100 percent by the start of the season and is clearly immensely talented — he shot 39.9 percent from behind the arc last year and 87.2 percent from the line, and there's a real chance his assists should improve not just because of growth, but he had to deal with possibly the worst group of teammates in the league last year. Irving looks like a potential monster worth a top-15 pick. Be sure you aren't someone who overlooks "Uncle Drew."
Maybe Dirk Nowitzki is just being overly worried about an issue he was able to push through last season, but the recent news about him possibly requiring knee surgery at some point means he needs to be dropped down at least a bit on cheat sheets. He was an interesting case to begin with, as his ppg, rpg and mpg have decreased each of the past three seasons. Still, even as something of a boring option at this point, Nowitzki quietly remained the 10th most valuable fantasy player last year, making the single biggest impact in FT%. But he's 34 years old, has played in 1,183 career games (including playoffs) and is clearly in the decline phase (even if not noticeable from a physical standpoint, he's being treated as such if you look at his usage trends). I still had Nowitzki as a top-10 option despite all that, but with this latest injury news, I'll probably drop him. If he were to undergo knee surgery, it would be a big boost to Elton Brand, who quietly produced as much fantasy value as Carmelo Anthony last season. It's obviously a situation worth monitoring closely.
Here's a classic prank phone call.
Deron Williams got a whopping 12.8 apg after getting traded to the Nets in 2010/11, albeit in a small sample (12 games). He also shot just 34.9 percent from the field for New Jersey after hitting 45.8 percent of his shots with Utah previously that year. Last season, his assists actually dropped below his career level (8.7) while his shooting continued to slump (40.7 FG%). Part of the latter problem was a result in him attempting a career-high 6.2 treys per game (although that did result in a career high 2.1 3pt), and that also came with a career-high 4.0 tpg. Williams' Assist Rate went from 64.42% after joining the Nets in 2010/11 to 36.58 last season. The former was the highest rate of his career while the latter was his lowest, so expect something in between in 2012/13. Williams was "just" the 39th most valuable player last year, and he's become something of an injury risk lately, but his potential and history of production suggests he deserves to be taken far earlier than that. The improved teammates surrounding Williams in Brooklyn should help as well.
This waterfall swing is surprisingly intoxicating.
Serge Ibaka's offensive game last year was almost identical to his prior season, showing little growth in that area. In fact, his tpg and FT shooting actually got worse, and he saw the same amount of playing time despite committing fewer fouls. He averaged 9.1 ppg and 0.4 apg while shooting 66.1 percent from the line, yet somehow was the 11th most valuable fantasy player. This, of course, was thanks to a league-leading 3.7 bpg. In fact, the next highest swatted 2.2, so you can see how big of an impact Ibaka had in a scarce category. He actually averaged a ridiculous 4.1 bpg after the All-Star break and just recently turned only 23 years old, so the potential here is highly enticing. Still, he's going to be costly at draft tables (his current ADP is 22), and I'm not sure it means anything, but it's at least worth noting how little Ibaka played for Spain during the Olympics (it likely had mostly to do with the differences in the international game and having the Gasol brothers as teammates, but it was surprising nevertheless). The smartest bet here is that he likely doesn't keep up last year's ridiculous shot-blocking pace but sees an increase in minutes and improves his game in other areas, resulting in a plenty valuable asset.
Meet the soft-shelled turtle that urinates from its mouth.
Here are Tyreke Evans' finishing values in fantasy ranks over his first three years in the league: 71, 118, 89. He might be the rare player who's overrated both in real life and in fantasy, and this is coming from someone who actually likes the Kings. His lack of threes and excessive turnovers are the obvious culprits in fantasy terms, and his weak jump shot is the biggest problem for Sacramento fans. Still, Evans might be the best guard in the NBA at getting to the rim - his 7.0 attempts there easily led the NBA among all guards last year, tying with Dwight Howard at 4th in the league, and his success rate (64.6) was above league average (62.7) and even better than Kevin Love (59.8). For what it's worth, which could mean nothing, he's entering a contract year and supposedly worked hard on his outside shooting during the offseason (an area that often takes time to develop in the pros for purely athletic guards like Evans, so this would hardly be unprecedented), and it doesn't hurt playing for a Kings team that ranked No. 1 in PACE last season. Assuming the preseason puff pieces don't move the needle, after some truly disappointing campaigns, Evans could go from overrated to underrated during his fourth year in the league, although the Kings quietly actually have more than enough mouths to feed.
Virginia woman wins $1 million lottery twice in the same day.
I'm the fool who gets suckered into Andrew Bogut every year. Not only has he missed an average of 32.5 games over the past four seasons, he also has a 57.4 career FT percentage. But the former No. 1 overall pick is an excellent rebounder, has developed into one of the league's best shot blockers over the past three years and is one the better passing big men in the NBA. Just to put this in perspective, Bogut's value in 9-cat leagues last year was equal to Dwight Howard's on a per-game basis. Coming off a fractured left ankle though, his health once again needs to be taken into account, as he's no guarantee to be ready for opening night. Before last year's injury riddled campaign that was cut short after just a dozen games, Bogut had averaged 14.0 ppg, 10.6 rpg and 2.6 bpg over his prior two seasons. According to Mock Draft Central, he's currently being drafted on average after DeAndre Jordan and just ahead of Danny Green and Mario Chalmers. The Warriors have zero alternative options in the middle, so Bogut is going to get all the run he can handle. He can be worth a pick in that range even while missing 20 or so games.
Man does one-handed pushups while solving a Rubik's cube in less than 30 seconds.
Over the final month of last season, J.R. Smith averaged 16.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.2 apg, 2.0 spg and 2.7 3pt. He also hit 88.2 percent of his shots from the charity stripe and committed just 1.3 tpg all in just 32:47 mpg, revealing quite a bit of upside. However, even with Iman Shumpert's injury, it appears coach Mike Woodson still prefers to bring Smith off the bench. Of course, that doesn't mean he won't see an uptick in minutes even as a sixth man, and it's worth noting Smith put up those numbers in April last year also while coming off New York's bench. It's not an ideal situation having to contend with Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire for shots, but the Knicks tied for fourth in PACE last year, as they remain one of the more uptempo teams in the league (even with Mike D'Antoni gone, because of New York's poor defense, they really can't help but be anything but a squad that produces a bunch of possessions night in and night out). There were only four players who averaged at least 1.9 3pt and 1.5 spg last season, and Smith was one of them (the other three were Stephen Curry, Wesley Matthews and Brandon Jennings), and he did this getting a modest 27:36 mpg after joining a new team in the middle of the season. His low shooting percentages are countered by a typically low TO%. Smith is an intriguing option this year.
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