A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
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Update: The Tennessean reports that the NFL will not suspend Tennessee Titans starting QB Vince Young. Young was involved in an altercation at a Dallas strip club on June 13th.
Fantasy Impact: After a horrendous 0-6 start with Kerry Collins starting at QB, Young was plugged into the starting lineup and the Titans finished their last 10 games with an 8-2 record. If the Titans hope to compete in the tough AFC South, Young will have to show more of the same he did last season.
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Update: The Tennessean reports that the NFL will not suspend Tennessee Titans starting QB Vince Young. Young was involved in an altercation at a Dallas strip club on June 13th.
Fantasy Impact: After a horrendous 0-6 start with Kerry Collins starting at QB, Young was plugged into the starting lineup and the Titans finished their last 10 games with an 8-2 record. If the Titans hope to compete in the tough AFC South, Young will have to show more of the same he did last season.
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[Editor's note: This has been a week of new writers and today I'm pleased to introduce yet another new contributor to the site: Griffin Gotta, formerly the editor of the student newspaper at Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Griffin will be covering the Packers and Bucks and get his MSF archive started with a peek inside the football-obsessed mind of a Packers fan.]
Despite what it may begin to feel like on your neighborhood ESPN Family of Everything, training camp is not the start of the NFL season in the football world.
Training camp, in my hometown of Green Bay at least, is millionaire grown men, spectacular athletes – if we forget Tyrone Davis from a few years back – stuffing themselves into dorm rooms like the ones I used to occupy (though they’re probably not attempting to sneak beer in via duffle bags), hunkering down, and getting re-acquainted with hitting one another, which one believes doesn’t take all that long.
There just isn’t much to say about it other than that. Sure, there are the position battles, the question marks, the rookies and the holdouts, but we don’t see too much of that. We see and read the daily results and ultimately what the coaches decide, then we get ready for the real stuff.
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DJ Steve Porter, he of the infamous “Press Hop” video that made Allen Iverson’s “Practice” speech less of a bitchy grips and more of a sing-a-long, is back.
And while “Press Hop 2″ is nowhere near as good as the original, it still does not disappoint, especially if you’re like me and enjoy seeing old clips of Bob Knight imploring his critics to kiss his ass.
Without further rambles from yours truly, here is the video:
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It seems like every time you put on ESPN or browse any sports site, you at least hear or see something about Alex Rodriguez and his pursuit of his 600th home run.
I understand hitting 600 home runs is a huge milestone, but it would have a lot more credibility if the man who was pursuing it wasn’t already a confessed steroid user, and therefore a cheater in my book.
A-Rod confessed to using a banned substance from 2001-2003. During those years he hit a combined 156 home runs. To me, those home runs can be taken away since they were not earned fairly.
If you take away 156 form 599 you get 443, still a great achievement, but a much more modest number.
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Thanks to a keen-eyed Redditor, I just stumbled upon this most devlish of sports coincidences.
You’ll never guess who NHL player #666 is on Yahoo Sports. (Hint: It ain’t God Shammgod…and no, I’m not talking about Sidney Crosby either.)
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I love watching TV, especially sports on TV, but nothing is worse than terrible commercials.
I am talking about commercials that are so bad you want the company to go out of business just so they will stop airing them.
Lately, commercials have seemed to get worse and worse. Someone needs to put these misguided companies in their place.
That’s where I come in.
I am going to look at some of the worst commercials that are on TV now, to highlight the worst of the worst and do my part to shame these companies into not spending millions to air this annoying drivel.
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Defensive Back Jack Tatum passed away on Tuesday in an Oakland hospital. He died of a massive heart attack; he was 61 years old.
Tatum was given the nickname “The Assassin because of the excruciating hits he would deliver on his opponents. Jack once paralyzed New England wide receiver Darryl Stingley and, notoriously, never apologize for that tackle.
It is safe to say that Jack played football with such intensity which is rarely seen now a days.
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Update: Gregg Rosenthal of ProFootballTalk.com reports that the Minnesota Vikings and rookie DE Everson Griffen have agreed on a contract. While many draft experts projected Griffen to be a 2nd round pick, he fell to the 4th where the Vikings snatched him up.
Fantasy Impact: Although Griffen will not start ahead of Jared Allen and Ray Edwards, he will likely see playing time at some point this season. The Vikings finished last season with the most sacks at 48, and adding another pass rusher never hurts.
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Update: According to ESPN blogger Tim Graham, Buffalo Bills DE Aaron Schobel is reconsidering retirement. Although Schobel skipped all off-season workouts and hinted at retirement, he is now leaning towards coming back. He is expected to make a decision within the next 10 days.
Fantasy Impact: Schobel has spent his whole career as a 4-3 DE, however the Bills have implemented the 3-4 defense this season, which puts Schobel at a disadvantage if he decides to come back. Nevertheless, the Bills could use all the help they can get on defense, and Schobel had a productive 10 sacks last season.
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Update: ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that safety Atari Bigby has finally signed his restricted free-agent tender with the Green Bay Packers. Bigby decided to not holdout and will make $1.704 million next year.
Fantasy Update: The Packers ranked 2nd in the NFL in total defense last season, and would have a hard time replacing Bigby if he chose to sit out. Bigby and Nick Collins together form one of the league's best and most underrated tandems at the safety position.
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Update: The Philadelphia Eagles and rookie safety Nate Allen have agreed to terms on a 4-year contract, Dave Spadaro, an Eagles insider, reports. Allen was a second round pick out of South Florida and will be expected to contribute in some capacity.
Fantasy Impact: The current starters at safety for the Eagles are Quintin Mikell and Macho Harris. Harris did not have a standout rookie season last year, so if Allen impresses, he could potentially earn a starting role at some point this season.
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Update: Terrell Owens has agreed on a one-year, $2 million deal with the Cincinnati Bengals, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter on Tuesday. According to the source, the deal also includes another $2 million in incentives.
Fantasy Impact: Let the games begin in Cincy with Owens and Ochocino. It should be an interesting season to say the least.
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Update: According to the Associated Press, had Dallas Cowboys rookie WR Dez Bryant known his refusal to carry Roy Williams' shoulder pads would have become such a big issue, he would have carried more than just Williams' pads. Bryant said, "I would have took his shoulder pads, his pants, his helmet, his socks, his shoes. I would have took everything." Bryant added that him, Williams, and the rest of the Dallas Cowboys are getting along just fine and that the media blew the incident out of proportion. Bryant refused to carry Williams' shoulder pads on Sunday, a common form of hazing done by veterans to the rookies.
Fantasy Impact: With Miles Austin as the number 1 receiver in Dallas, the number 2 spot is up for grabs. Bryant and Williams will compete for the position opposite of Austin, and many expect Bryant to beat out Williams, who has underachieved ever since joining the Cowboys. After being traded by the Detroit Lions, Williams has played 25 games with the Cowboys, and has just 57 receptions for 694 yards and 8 touchdowns. Those numbers are too low for a receiver who was expected to come in and be Tony Romo's first option. If the young and talented Bryant lives up to expectations early on, Williams' measly play will likely land him on the bench.
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Update: ESPNNewYork.com's Ohm Youngmisuk is reporting that New York Giants' defensive end Osi Umenyiora will not need hip surgery. After suffering a torn hip flexor in 2006, lingering issues have bothered Umenyiora ever since. He saw a hip specialist and was told that the pain can be managed without surgery and there are no risks of further damaging the hip.
Fantasy Impact: After missing the 2008 season due to torn cartilage in his left knee suffered in the preseason, Umenyiora came back and had a poor 2009 season, recording just 7 sacks, and lost his starting position at one point to DE Mathias Kiwanuka. Coming into training camp, Umenyiora will not only have to deal with the hip issue, but will also have to fend off Kiwanuka for one of the starting DE positions. If he wants to start, he will have to regain his '08 form.
