Is Derek Jeter a Cheater?

There has been an outcry over the Derek Jeter incident from the Yankees/Rays game Wednesday night; I wanted to give my point of view on the incident.  Jeter was apparently hit on the wrist by a pitch and awarded first base by the umpire.  Video replay showed that the ball hit the knob of the bat.  Jeter was attended to by the trainer and seems to sell the injury all the way to first base. Tampa Bay Manger Joe Madden came to argue the call and was thrown out of the game.  What Jeter did I am all for and I see absolutely nothing wrong with what he did.  If you do not like my stance Tampa Bay Manager Joe Madden said he would expect the same thing from his players.  Jeter said it best after the game it is his job to get on base, end of story.  You’re in a pennant race against your closest competition the Rays you need to win and win now.  My question is if this was some nobody player for the Pittsburgh Pirates would anyone care or is it because it’s Jeter?  My guess is because it’s Jeter.  Players in every sport will do whatever it takes to get a competitive advantage over their opponent.  We can keep the examples to baseball even going to the high school level.  When a player slaps a tag on an opponent we were always told to come up and show the ball to the umpire rather we touched him or not.  Is that not deceiving the umpire to get an advantage, Yes it is.  When a catcher catches a ball on the outside of the plate but he moves it back to try to get a strike is that not deception, Yes it is. For crying out loud hundreds of players took steroids and HGH in the game of baseball during the 90s to get an advantage.  And we want to yell at Jeter for selling being hit by a pitch.  What did you want him to do turn around to the umpire and say no, I did not get hit by the ball I want to stay right here? Nobody would do that at any level if the umpire misses the call that’s on him not the player to correct the mistake.  Jeter was in the right and he did what any other player would have done to get a competitive advantage over an opponent.

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Personal Seating License (PSLs)

I want to talk about the one thing going on in sports that is truly giving me an aneurism every time I hear these three little words, Personal Seating License.  The way I understand this is that as a fan not only do I have to pay for the season tickets to watch my favorite team I have to pay for the seat I am sitting in.  Unless my name is put in gold and placard on this plastic seat which the majority of us do not truly fit in anyways I refuse to pay the bill.  Personal Seating Licenses are absolutely out of control.  As we all know the Giants and Jets built a brand new billion dollar stadium in New Jersey this past off season.  From the articles I have read there are some seats that the Personal Seating Licenses (PSLs) are almost $20,000 in that stadium.  Let me get this straight these two teams work as separate entities but share the same home.  So, if I am a Jets fan I pay $20,000 for section 208 row 8 seat 1 and if I am a Giants fan I pay $20,000 for section 208 row 8 seat 1.  Wow I put a down payment on a seat that technically I share with an arch rival fan!  How does this make any sense to you fans?  These billion dollar owners are asking business men, teachers, electricians and others to put this kind of money down in order to pay for the players and to see their favorite teams live.  Has Woody Johnson the owner of the Jets as well as Johnson and Johnson not sold enough baby powder and toothpaste to sign Darrelle Revis that he needs his devoted fans to help financially with acquisitions.  Well, congratulations fans you have always wanted to be a part of your favorite team and now your hard earned money is doing exactly that.  At what point do we as fans stand up and say these prices are outrageous and stop these billion dollar owners from using our hard earned money in difficult times to supply their own franchises.  Why should I pay thousands and thousands of dollars towards a franchise in my hometown of Columbus, OH, the Columbus Blue Jackets who in 11 years of existence have only made the playoffs one time? Do not get me wrong I love the Blue Jackets but there is no way I would pay for a PSL in Nationwide Arena with the effort put forth by this team on a consistent basis over the past ten seasons.  But it is up to me to put my money down or I hear threats of leaving town or not having the money to support the franchise. The fans should not have to do this; we should only have to pay for the tickets that get us in the turn stiles not for the seat that we sit in. YOU the owners need to support the franchises you have bought and stop charging the fans for PSLs.  These are the fans that come to your stadiums during the rain, the cold and the losing seasons to support your product.  The owners need to stop raiding our pockets to merely stuff their own!

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Out of Left Field

From time to time I plan on giving my views on something that may be an outside the box theory to do with sports or may not have to do with sport’s at all.  The beautiful thing about your own blog is “ITS YOURS” so I am able to talk about anything.  These entries will be called “Out of Left Field”.  This is my first one I hope you enjoy!

This goes out to all the guys out there that are currently reading this post.  Fellas as you get older and you have another person living in your home albeit a girlfriend or wife or whatever the case may be it can be difficult to spend an entire Saturday afternoon watching football.  You hear it constantly that there are chores to do, errands to run or start acting your age and get off the couch.  So you must prioritize your Saturdays during College Football season.  Now we all can get away with Week 1 and most of the time Week 2, but it is after that you start to hear the voice from the kitchen.  For most of us we are not in college anymore and a weekend on the couch is a lot tougher to get away with.  As a fellow guy I am telling you to use this weekend as a weekend to let your significant other have their way.  Watch your favorite team of course but after that do whatever they want you to and use it for leverage in about 2 weeks.  This weekend on the slate is only one top 25 matchup and that is #9 Iowa @ # 24 Arizona  which does not even start till 10:30 Eastern Time.  Take her out to her favorite restaurant get her a martini or margarita and she will be asleep by that time anyway. Trust me guys this will earn you at least one additional week of nothing but College Football on a Saturday.  The weekend of Oct. 2 there are multiple big time games with Florida @ Alabama, the annual Red River Shootout Oklahoma vs. Texas and Penn State @ Iowa.  This, my friends is an all day football extravaganza!  If you get nothing else out of this site at least take in these words of advice.  Prioritizing is not only the key to your own College Football sanity but the sanity of your significant other. We all know fellas if she is happy you are happy!

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Good Luck Boys!

NFL Week 1 Quick Hits

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Atlanta @ Pittsburgh:

Even without Big Ben the Steelers still have an aggressive playmaking defense which led to a 15-9 win over the Falcons in OT. This is the third consecutive time these two teams have gone into overtime. As I stated in my NFL Preview the Steelers need Troy Polamalu to be healthy in order for this defense to get back to its stingy roots. This was the case today as the game was based around field position, punts and six combined field goals. Dennis Dixon gets his first win with a decent effort going 18/26 for 236 yards and 1 INT.


Lions @ Bears:


The Bears defeated the Lions 19-14 in Chicago. The game came down to a controversial call late in the game as the referees decided that Lions WR Calvin Johnson failed to finish a catch in the end zone that would have given the Lions the lead. Johnson made the TD catch but on his way up he released the ball and the replay booth confirmed the catch was not completed. The Lions may be without QB Mathew Stafford who suffered a shoulder injury in the second quarter.


Colts @ Texans:


The Texans got their second win all time versus their divisional rival the Indianapolis Colts 34-24. The Texans dominated the Colts defense on the ground as Arian Foster rushed 33 times for 231 yards with 3 TDs. Peyton Manning put up a valiant effort going 40/57 for 433 yards with 3 TDs. This day belongs to Houston who hopes today’s win makes a statement that they are ready to contend for the AFC South Title.

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Dolphins @ Bills:


The Dolphins got an ugly win over the Bills 15-10. Neither team was particularly good on offense, but the Dolphins were able to muster up enough of a running attack. The combination of Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown combined for 31 carries for 137 yards. The Bills offense was anemic all day only producing 166 total yards.


Raiders @ Titans:


RB Chris Johnson is out to prove he can go back to back years with 2,000 yards rushing and he got off to an excellent start Sunday. Johnson rushed 27 times for 142 yards with 2 TDs. Johnson led the Titans to an easy 38-13 victory over the Raiders. The running back coming off an off season that included a new contract was simply explosive! The Titans used 24 unanswered points to take a commanding lead of the Raiders.


Bengals @ Patriots:


The Patriots defeated the Bengals 38-24 behind WR Wes Welker. Welker in his first game since having knee surgery was back in a huge way for QB Tom Brady as the combination hooked up twice on Sunday. Brady was brilliant with all his weapons healthy as he completed 25 of 35 passes for 258 yards with 3 TDs. The Bengals were down from the very beginning and at one point trailed 31-3.

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Panthers @ Giants:


The combination of Eli Manning to Hakeem Nicks connected three times and the Giants cruised to a 31-18 victory. The game was overshadowed by 9 combined turnovers between the two teams. The Panthers had the lead at half time but was only able to produce 2 points the entire second half.


Browns @ Buccaneers:


The Browns were in control up 14-3 with 45 seconds on the clock before the half and the ball on the Bucs 39 yard line. But QB Jake Delhomme committed a turnover that has become accustom to the fiery signal caller. The interception led to a Buccaneers TD right before half time. That’s all the Buccaneers needed to gain momentum in the game. QB Josh Freeman helped the Bucs overcome and 11 point deficit to defeat the Browns 17-14. The Browns had 3 costly turnovers including two in Tampa’s end of the field.


Broncos @ Jaguars:


The story before the game was the homecoming of Tim Tebow but it was Jaguars QB David Garrard that stole the spotlight. Garrard completed 16/21 for 170 yards and 3 TDs. Tim Tebow only saw the field twice for 2 yards.


49ers @ Seahawks:


In was an impressive debut for Pete Carroll in his first game with the Seattle Seahawks since leaving USC this past off season. The Seahawks defeated a trendy pick in San Francisco 31-6. The story of the day was the defense for Seattle. They completely harassed Alex Smith all day long causing two turnovers and 263 total yards of offense. Seattle shut out the 49ers in the second half of the game. Matt Hasselbeck was very solid as he threw for two TDs and ran for another.

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Packers @ Eagles:


The Packers came into Philly on opening day and left with a 27-20 victory. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers came in with the hopes of being an explosive offense but it will have to wait for another day. Rodgers was 19/31 for 188 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INT not his most impressive outing. But the Packers did build a 27-3 lead and held on late as Michael Vick lead a late charge by the Eagles. Kevin Kolb’s first game since the exit of Donovan McNabb only lasted one half after he was knocked out with a concussion in the second quarter.


Cardinals @ Rams:


It was the first career start for Rookie QB Sam Bradford who had an up and down game completing 32/55 for 253 yards with 1 TD and 3 INT. The game was not a thing of beauty as the two teams combined for eight turnovers. QB Derrick Anderson was effective throwing for 297 yards with 1 TD. WR Steve Breaston was Anderson’s top target catching the ball 7 times for 132 yards. Bradford tried to lead the Rams for a final score at the end of the game but the pass was intercepted in the end zone.


Cowboys @ Redskins:


This was your typical NFC East slugfest between two long time rivals. The Redskins defeated Dallas 13-7. It was the home opener for new QB Donovan McNabb and one I am sure he would want to have back. The Redskins produced less than 300 yards offense as a unit. McNabb however, did win his first career start for the Redskins and ended the game 15/32 for 171 yards. Most of the contest was contested between the 20s with numerous penalties. The turning point was Tashard Choices’ fumble as time expired in the first half only to be picked up by DeAngelo Hall and returned for a TD. Why the Cowboys would not take a knee is beyond me. QB Tony Romo could not get a sputtering Cowboys offense clicking at all on Sunday night. The highlight for the Cowboys was receiver Miles Austin who finished with 10 catches for 146 yards and 1 TD.

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Week 2 College Football Analysis

Florida State @ Oklahoma


This game was built as the rematch from the 2001 BCS Title Game which Oklahoma won 13-2. Saturday’s result also favored the Sooners 47-17. Florida States QB Christian Ponder was supposed to have a coming out party towards a Heisman type season but the spotlight was stolen by Oklahoma QB Landry Jones. Jones was dynamic completing 30/40 for 380 yards and 4 TDs. Sooners WR Ryan Broyles caught 12 catches for 124 yards 1 TD and RB DeMarco Murray chipped in with 2 rushing TDs. Oklahoma Head Coach Bob Stoops’ offense stayed one step ahead of younger brother and Florida State Defensive Coordinator Mark Stoops. The Sooners scored touchdowns on their first four possessions of the game. Obviously the Sooners wanted to make a statement not only to their fans but the country by proving last week’s struggle with Utah State was a mere aberration. Ponder struggled all day only completing 11 of 28 for 113 yard with 2 INTs. This was no Samford the Noles faced. This victory helped Stoops improve to 14-0 since 1999 against ranked opponents at home. Sooner fans I told you last week to take a deep breath and give this team a chance. As I already stated last week was merely an aberration of the true Sooners.

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Penn State @ Alabama

Roll Tide Roll! I never understood why Gameday chose Tuscaloosa nor did I understand the hype surrounding this game. If you saw my predictions on Thursday I felt that Bama would cruise to an easy victory over an overrated Penn State team. That is exactly what happened as the Tide rolled 24-3. I also stated that Alabama would not miss Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson proved me right. All you die-hards in Alabama know Richardson is an amazing back you do not need to hear it from me. Richardson bullied, plowed and manhandled the Penn State defense all night. He had over 100 yards in the first half and finished the game with 22 carries for 144 yards and 1 TD. Greg McElroy was extremely efficient going 16 for 24 with 229 yards and 2 TDs. On the other side of the ball we knew that this would be a tough road test for Freshman Penn State QB Robert Bolden in front of 108,000 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. And it was, the Tide defense harassed Bolden all night as he completed just 13 of 29 for 144 yards and 2 INTs. What’s amazing is this is a Bama defense that returns just two starters from last season. As expected the Tide rolled and the SEC gave another woodshed beating to the Big Ten.

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Michigan @ Notre Dame

If the Downtown Athletic Club presented the Heisman Trophy tomorrow the award would surely head north to Ann Arbor and Michigan QB Denard Robinson. In two games the dual threat QB nicknamed Shoelace has produced over 800 yards in total offense. And in the second consecutive week Robinson breaks the Michigan single game QB rushing record. Saturday at Notre Dame Robinson had a day for the ages completing 24/40 passes for 244 yards and 1 TD and also rushed 28 times for 258 yards and 2 TDs. Not to mention he led a 12 play 72 yard winning drive in the final 3 minutes of the game to beat Notre Dame 28-24. Robinson nearly accounted for all of the Wolverines 532 total yards on offense. Notre Dame battled and were led by a gutsy effort by their QB Dayne Crist. Crist was knocked out of the game in the second quarter after experiencing dizziness. Crist finished the game completing 13/25 passes for 277 yards with 1 TD and 2 INts. The Irish briefly took the lead in the fourth quarter after Crist connected with TE Kyle Rudolph for 95 yards. Rudolph finished the game with 8 receptions for 164 yards and 1 TD. Even with a valiant effort by the Irish this day belonged to Denard Robinson and the Wolverines who will surely crack the Top 25 come Monday afternoon.

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Miami (FL) @ Ohio State

All I heard leading up to the clash at the Shoe was that even though Jacory Harris committed 17 INTs last year a vast majority of them were after he suffered a thumb injury. Well the Buckeyes Silver Bullet defense exploited the interception happy Harris four times on Saturday. The Buckeyes beat the Hurricanes 36-24 in front 105,000 in Columbus. This was not a game of beauty with several penalties, turnovers and missed tackles. But, the Buckeyes were led by Terrelle Pryor who completed 12 of 27 passes for 233 yards and 1 TD and also rushed 20 times for 113 yards and 1 TD. It was not Pryor’s most impressive outing but he had timely drives and several big passing plays throughout the game. The Buckeyes also had a record tying day by PK Devin Barclay who made 5 field goals on the day. Miami (FL) kept the game close in the first half by returning a kickoff 88 yards and a punt return 79 both for TDs. This is becoming a bad theme for Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel , who always expects to excel in the special teams department. Last week the Buckeyes had a blocked field goal by Marshall that led to seven points. Ohio State’s defense was the definition of a rubber band defense. Several times the Hurricanes worked the ball down the field on the Buckeyes until Jacory Harris threw it away. Miami (FL) had no answer for Pryor when he ran. The 6’6 240 pound QB was able to elude the pocket and pick up several first downs in the fourth quarter to help the Buckeyes keep their eyes on a National Championship. GO BUCKS!

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Top Performances:

1. Denard Robinson (Michigan): Compiled 502 total yards of offense with 3 TDs vs. Notre Dame

2. Dante Warren (South Dakota): Completed 21/30 for 352 yards 3 TDs and rushed 10 times for 81 yards with 2 TDs vs. Minnesota

3. Landry Jones (Oklahoma): Completed 30/40 for 380 yards 4 TDs vs. Florida State

4. Duke and Wake Forest: Combined for 102 points. 957 total yards of offense with 46 first downs. 14 total touchdowns.

5. Nebraska Defense: The Black shirts produced 5 interceptions 1 fumble recovery and 7 sacks. They only allowed 60 yards rushing vs. Idaho

What was that Performance!?

1. Virginia Tech: After letting the country down by losing to Boise State you turn around and lose to FCS James Madison 21-16 at home in Blacksburg. Congratulations Hokies way to prove that your always overrated in the early season polls.

2. ACC Conference: You want respect across the country but you have a brutal Saturday. Georgia Tech, Florida State, Miami (FL), Virginia Tech all lose. At least Clemson beat Presbyterian.

3. Ohio State Special Teams: Tressel Ball is based around being perfect on Special Teams. On Saturday you give up a kickoff for a TD, a punt return for a TD, a kickoff out of bounds and a missed field goal. I doubt the sweater vest is very happy .

4. Minnesota: This goes to the University! You fire former Head Coach Glenn Mason who won 8 or 9 games every year and got a below average program to a Bowl Game consistently. Then you hire crazy Tim Brewster who suffered his second defeat to an FCS school in three years are you kidding me? I would head to the Big Ten Studios and beg Coach Mason to come back to walk the sidelines again for your dreadful football program.

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College Football Preview

I wanted to give my thoughts on the big games this week in College Football:


Florida State @ Oklahoma: The last time these two powers met was in 2001 for the BCS Championship. Oklahoma won that game 13-2. Both teams enter the games coming off vastly different week ones. The Seminoles destroyed Samford 59-0 while Oklahoma struggled with Utah State. Christian Ponder will try to exploit the OU secondary that gave up 341 yards passing to Utah State. FSU has an experienced line and will try to dominate the line of scrimmage. Oklahoma will hope that Landry Jones bounces back this week against the Seminoles. Expect the Sooners to once again lean heavy on RB DeMarco Murray who rushed for over 200 yards last week. A huge key to the game could be PR Willie Reid for FSU whose one of the best returners in College Football. My prediction is that Oklahoma takes care of business at 34-21.

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Penn State @ Alabama: These two storied programs have not met since 1990, but this game is full of tradition. Alabama enters the game #1 but will be without their Heisman trophy winner Mark Ingram. This should not slow the Tide down to much with RB Trent Richardson and WR Julio Jones on the outside. The Tide held San Jose State under 200 yards last week. Penn State brings in Freshman QB Rob Bolden to make his first career road start in Tuscaloosa. Bolden was impressive in Week 1 but that was against the mighty Penguins of Youngstown State. RB Evan Royster needs to have a better week if the Nittany Lions expect to compete. Will Penn State have enough defensive speed to keep up with the Tide? Interesting stat Bama is 0-5 when Gameday is live from Tuscaloosa. That changes this week 34-17 Roll Tide Roll.

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Michigan @ Notre Dame: This rivalry series got even more interesting with both teams winning in Week 1. Michigan coming off an impressive win over UCONN will rely heavily once again this week on QB Denard Robinson. Shoelace produced over 350 yards of total offense last week. The Wolverines will need to establish some type of running game from someone other than Robinson in order for him to stay injury free. The Irish hope that QB Dayne Crist can have a better week against a struggling but timely Michigan defense. The best player on the field will be WR Michael Floyd for the Irish. Crist must find a way to get him involved. Neither team plays great defense but I think the Wolverines can slow down the Irish enough to steal the game on the road. Expect another huge game from Robinson, Michigan 21-17.

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Miami (FL) @ Ohio State: Miami (FL) needs to have a great game by QB Jacory Harris in order to compete at the SHOE. Harris was a victim of 17 interceptions last season and will need to be more efficient than that without top RB Graig Cooper. The Hurricanes have struggled in true road games over the past three seasons. Ohio State enters the game with the best player on the field in QB Terrelle Pryor. The Buckeyes do not need Pryor to be outstanding with the running attack of Boom Herron and Brandon Saine. If the Ohio State line can keep Pryor on his feet this could be a breakout game for the Heisman candidate. There is a crazy stat going around the Miami is 138-0 when they score more than 34 points. That will not happen on the road against the Silver Bullet defense of the Buckeyes. GO BUCKS 28-20.

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