Sports

[MaggieMack]

Johnny Manziel's dad says his son is suicidal, agent and marketing firm both drop Johnny. More here:

Johnny M

[gardenman]

Roger Goodell's not happy with the Pro Bowl again. With good reason I might point out. I think the best solution is to combine the Pro Bowl and the Senior Bowl into one game. You have the best pros taking on the best kids from college. Maybe even mix the teams up with up with half pros and half kids. That's always made sense to me. Let them mix together and let the kids be evaluated right alongside of the pros they'll be playing with/against n a few more months. It takes a lot of the guesswork out of evaluating the kids.

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

Roger Goodell's not happy with the Pro Bowl again. With good reason I might point out. I think the best solution is to combine the Pro Bowl and the Senior Bowl into one game. You have the best pros taking on the best kids from college. Maybe even mix the teams up with up with half pros and half kids. That's always made sense to me. Let them mix together and let the kids be evaluated right alongside of the pros they'll be playing with/against n a few more months. It takes a lot of the guesswork out of evaluating the kids.

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@gardenman  Personally, I would prefer some type of skill challenges like they did years ago---QBs trying to hit moving targets....perhaps an obstacle course for the DBs and WRs (nothing too induce injury---much like they do with the NBA All Star Game)......and maybe some weight lifting competition between the D and O linemen......Maybe a 3 on 3 basketball game! The NFL definitely needs to SPICE it up!!!...that Pro-Bowl game was downright boring....the only thing interesting was when they put players in different positions, Odell playing safety etc....I bet the  NFL turns it into some type of award ceremony which can be equally boring--

[Spurt]

Well the Redskins have signed a Hood--

The Redskins got a jump start on free agency by signing the former Steelers first-round pick during the week. They were able to sign him because he was not on a team’s roster at the end of the season. His contract has no guaranteed money and he will have to compete for a roster spot. It could come down to Hood and Cory Crawford, who spent 2015 on the practice squad, for the last roster spot.

Because of salary cap issues these were listed as 5 free agents the Redskins will NOT sign although they really meet the Redskins needs---

C Alex Mack, Browns---due to make 8 mill

WR Alshon Jefferey, Bears—He’s what the Redskins are looking for, a 6-4 wide receiver who can go up and get the ball in traffic. But the Bears will more than likely franchise him...

S Eric Weddle, Chargers--8 mill salary average and he's on the downside of his career at 31....

RB Chris Ivory, Jets--RBs are a dime or dozen these days and plethora of them in the draft too no way they want to pay him $4 mill

NT B. J. Raji, Packers—He could be a viable alternative to Terrance Knighton if the Redskins decide to let Pot Roast walk.  Packers are known to be cheap, but always seem to  have the cap space to sign their own...

Because of restrictions on trade dates and RGIII's contract it looks like the Redskins will cut him instead of trying to do a deal and at least get a conditional draft pick for him because no team will bite on his $16 mill guranteed contract .... who the heck did that deal?????

Only 218 days until the first NFL game & 19 days until the Combine starts!

[Spurt]

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@sunshine45 wrote:

Baltimore Ravens

Don't mess with the nest.

Our stadium experience has been rated second in the league.

(congratulations to the indianapolis colts on being in the number one position with lucas oil stadium.)

six categories: atmosphere, fans, access, extras, neighborhood,  and return on investment.

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/article-1/MT-Bank-Stadium-Experience-Ranked-No-2/c78517a4-554f-4...

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@sunshine45......Before I even looked I knew the Redskin Stadium, Fed Ex, probably rate near bottom in stadium experience---and they were last--LOL!!! CONGRATS to the Ravens and the Colts on their rankings!  BUT I HAVE TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO MY NBA SPURS!!! GO SPURS GO!!!

SAN ANTONIO SPURS TOP ESPN THE MAGAZINE’S ULTIMATE STANDINGS FOR SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR

SAN ANTONIO (Oct. 13, 2015) –

Here's the FULL LIST of ALL the major sports teams and how they are ranked!

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/13875380/espn-magazine-2015-ultimate-standings

http://www.nba.com/spurs/san-antonio-spurs-top-espn-magazines-ultimate-standings-second-straight-yea...

 The San Antonio Spurs earned the No. 1 spot for a second consecutive year in ESPN The Magazine’s 13th Annual Ultimate Standings, which rank in order all 122 teams from the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB. This is the fourth time San Antonio has finished first and the Spurs are the only franchise to rank in the Top 10 every year since ESPN introduced its annual list in 2003. The Silver and Black also placed first in the 2004, 2006, and 2014 rankings.

The Spurs ranked first overall in four categories that were part of the judging process to determine the best overall sports franchise: ownership (honesty and loyalty to core players and to the community), coaching (strength of on-field leadership), players (effort on the field, likability off it) and fan relations (courtesy of players, coaches and front offices toward fans and how well a team uses technology to reach them). San Antonio led in the same four categories in the 2014 standings.

ESPN The Magazine’s Ultimate Standings rate all 122 teams from the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB in order, based on a weighted average of scores in eight areas:  fan relations (25%), title track (4.6%), players (14.6%), affordability (11.3%), ownership (13.1%), stadium experience (9.8%), “bang for the buck” (18.3%) and coaching (3.2%).  The Spurs ranked in the top 10 in seven of the eight categories.

[gardenman]

Adam Schefter confirmed yesterday two things that I've thought for some time now. The Eagles will likely let sam Bradford test free agency and will try to get back Nick Foles. I suspect the Rams will be only too happy to let Foles come back to Philly. They owe him something like $8 million this year and $12 million year next if I recall his contract terms corrrectly. That's a lot of money for a guy who's likely to be your second or third string QB.

The  Eagles are deep at inside linebacker (DeMeco Ryans, Mychal Kendricks, Kiko Alonzo, and the kid (Jordan Hicks) we drafted last year who outplayed the lot of them. Only two can be on the field at once, so expect to see one of those guys (Mychal Kendricks in my opinion) heading to LA and Foles coming back. We may also try to get back that second round pick we sent the Rams last year to get Bradford.

Why bring Foles back? He was drafted by Howie Roseman who's back in charge of personnel. Doug Pederson was Nick's QB coach in Andy's last year, then the Chiefs tried to trade for Foles when Andy landed in KC only to have the Eagles reject the deal. Clearly Pederson thinks Nick is a good fit for what he wants to do. He knows him, he's coached him, and sees Nick's potential. Nick Foles did take the Eagles to the playoffs in Chip Kelly's first year and his potential appeared limitless at that time.

We'll have to see what happens, but I'm thinking Nick Foles will be back, Mark Sanchez will be gone, we'll draft a kid to groom for the future, and maybe take a chance on a cheap backup guy. We'll find out by the draft. I don't think the Rams want to keep Foles and there's not a huge market for him given his play the last couple of years. If I was betting, I'd say an inside linebacker would be going to LA in exchange for Foles and maybe that second round pick we gave up last year. Getting back that pick might be challenging, but we'll see.

[gardenman]

LeSean McCoy continues to show the world why Chip Kelly got rid of him. In a dispute over ownership of a bottle of champagne at a Philly nightclub, LeSean and three of his NFL friends (no current Eagles I'm happy to report) beat/kicked/stomped two 40 year old off duty Philadelphia police officers and ended up putting them in the hospital. Charges are expected to be filed in the near future. Expect lots of money to change hands to try and prevent charges being filed. McCoy and his friends will likely find their wallets seriously lightened if they want this to all go away. That's going to end up being one very, very expensive bottle of champagne for LeSean McCoy.

[sunshine45]

wow @gardenman

all of that over a bottle of champagne? that is ridiculous.....

[gardenman]

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@sunshine45 wrote:

wow @gardenman

all of that over a bottle of champagne? that is ridiculous.....

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A bottle of champagne in some clubs can easily cost a thousand dollars or more (in some cases much more) and is typically bought for show as much as drinking purposes, so ownership of it can be the source of trouble. I'm not familiar with that club, but drinks in many clubs come at insanely inflated prices and the 'hostesses' in many of these clubs will encourage customers to buy the most expensive drink options available in exchange for attention and 'favors.'

I don't know what happened in this case, but my best guess is McCoy and his guys bought a bottle of champagne to impress a 'hostess' or 'hostesses' then left it at their table while they went off to dance (likely more) with the hostess/hostesses and while they were away they lost their table to the off-duty cops who decided that possession was nine tenths of the law. I suspect ego/testosterone then took over and McCoy and his guys didn't want the 'hostesses' to see them back down, so things escalated to where the big dummies are now likely to have to pay out a fortune to get out of this mess.

The CBS reality show Big Brother has had several club 'hostesses' on the show in past years and it's been very educational. One told of convincing a 'client' to buy a ten thousand dollar bottle of champagne and then waking up naked in his room the next morning covered in hundred dollar bills. Another told of trips her better clients would take on her on to Hawaii, Fiji and other places. It's an interesting lifestyle they lead.

[teganslaw]

It looks like Denver is going to use the franchise tag on Von Miller;the team wants to keep him as a player.

SPURT: is it true that Washington might franchise Kirk Cousins? They need to keep him as their quarterback.

The Colts aren't putting the franchise tag on any players for 2016. Some of them are going to be free agents, ( for example, Hasselback and Vinatieri), but it looks like both will be re-signed this year. Hasselbeck has mentioned that he wants to play at least one more year.

Andre Johnson and Trent Cole will most likely be released. Neither of them performed as expected. The Colts might go to the draft to replace them.