It was the sort of sloppy NFL preseason game that made the coaches more interested in escaping with as few injuries as possible than with winning or evaluating talent. In a driving rainstorm at Arrowhead Stadium the Houston Texans outlasted the Kansas City Chiefs to take a 16-10 NFL exhibition victory. It was the first game of the NFL preseason for both teams, and they were more or less happy to emerge unscathed from the deluge though Houston did suffer a potentially significant injury to their backup QB.
Texans coach Gary Kubiak summed up the teams attitude toward playing in such awful weather conditions:
“It was a very sloppy night weather-wise and whoever plays the best defense and whoever doesn’t put it on the ground usually finds a way to win in this league. I was glad we did, but we paid a price. We have some guys banged up and that usually happens when you get out there in a mess like that.”
The biggest name to suffer an injury was Houston backup QB Rex Grossman. Kubiak gave an early assessment of his prognosis after the game:
“It looks like he has a pretty good hamstring. The first play when he went in he booted and said he felt his hamstring pull or pop, or whatever. So we’ll have to wait and see.”
Texans running back Ryan Moats had 52 yards on 10 carries, and was happy just to be playing in an actual game:
“It felt good to finally hit somebody else for a change and not worry about hurting anybody else.”
Texans QB Matt Schaub was generally pleased with his performance under the circumstances:
“We ran the ball effectively down in the red zone and we were able to finish that drive 95 yards for a touchdown. That’s the way you want to finish off your day.”
Kansas Citys head coach Todd Haley made his NFL coaching debut, and was nonplussed about it being a loss:
“It’s your first game as head coach and I know it’s just preseason, but it was an exciting, exciting moment for me. If you tell me the first real one’s a win, I’ll take this loss any day of the week. It’s a special feeling when it’s your team and a lot of responsibility comes with that and I didn’t live up to my end of that. That’s the part that’s got to change.”
Houston will start the NFL regular season at home against the New York Jets on Sunday, September 13th while Kansas City will play the Ravens at Baltimore.
Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.
Posted on 8 March '10, under Random. No Comments.
The NBA All Star game was played without a couple of high profile participants this year as the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant and Philadelphia 76ers’ Allen Iverson would not play due to injury. Kobe and ‘AI’ were the latest in a string of injuries to All Star players that also claimed Portland’s Brandon Roy and New Orleans’ Chris Paul. The NBA has been much more strict about missing the All Star game after many players would come up with illusory ‘injuries’ right before the game that miraculously healed before play resumed after the break.
Kobe Bryant has been plagued with minor injuries all year, but missed the Lakers’ last three games prior to the All Star contest due to an ankle sprain. Los Angeles is hopeful that by not playing in the game that Kobe will be able to return to action immediately after play resumes following the All Star break. Bryant did travel to Dallas to participate in All Star game festivities. Kobe is always the center of attention wherever he goes and presided over the annual slam dunk contest as well as a benefit appearance for retired racing wombats.
Iverson has missed Philadelphia’s past five games due to an illness suffered by one of his young children. Unlike Kobe, Iverson wasn’t expected to be in Dallas this weekend due to the nature of his situation. It’s debatable that Iverson deserved an All Star game nod in the first place. He quickly wore out his welcome in Memphis to start the year, and eventually landed back in Philadelphia where he’s averaged 14.4 points per game since his return. He was voted in to the starting lineup by NBA fans, and this renewed calls from the media to revise the procedure for selecting All Star game participants.
Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks was chosen to replace Bryant in the Western Conference lineup, while New York’s David Lee was the East’s fill in for Iverson. The West already had two ‘fill ins’ named to their roster as Denver’s Chauncy Billups and the LA Clippers’ Chris Kaman took the place of Chris Paul and Brandon Roy respectively.
NBA betting enthusiasts had several options on the menu beginning with the annual ‘rookies vs. sophomores’ game on Saturday. The Sophomores were a -12 point favorite with the total set at 245′ but were crushed by the rookie team.
Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.
Posted on 8 March '10, under Random. No Comments.
The Houston Texans produced a 17 point outburst in the second quarter and went on to beat the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-20 in the NFL preseason finale for both teams. Rex Grossman carried the bulk of the workload for Houston, finishing with 197 yards and two touchdowns in an effort that likely secured him the #3 quarterback position on the Texans roster behind Matt Schaub and Dan Orlovsky. While Grossman didn’t throw any interceptions, it was a sloppy game overall with the two teams combining for seven turnovers.
Houston rewarded their NFL betting backers by winning outright as a +3 road underdog. The 47 combined points went well OVER the posted total of 33. In fact, with 27 points scored in the first half the two teams came very close to topping that total in the opening two quarters alone.
After the game, Grossman took a philosophical outlook on getting a roster spot:
“I don’t control any of that. All I wanted to do was go out and have a good game for either this team or somebody else. That’s not up to me. I thought I did that, and we’ll see what happens. I feel decent about my audition. If they cut me, then hopefully somebody else will pick me up.”
Texans coach Gary Kubiak gave a very positive assessment of Grossmans performance in the NFL preseason:
“I was very impressed. You could see signs of that during camp, whenever he was working that first seven or eight days. Obviously he knows what this league’s about. He knows how to make plays. He was ready to play.”
When asked specifically about Grossmans chances of making the team, Kubiak was very noncommittal about cutting the roster down to 53 players:
“I don’t know. … We’ve got to look at a lot of things. It’s a tough process, that 53 situation, so we’ll see. He sure as heck helped himself.”
On the other side of the field, the game was the NFL debut of Greg Olson as the Bucs’ offensive coordinator. Olson was promoted Thursday when Jeff Jagodzinski was sacked as the teams offensive mastermind after a sluggish output in the preseason.
After the game, Bucs head coach Raheem Morris was pleased with the performance of #1 draft pick Josh Freeman, wholl likely end up as the teams third string QB. Freeman struggled at time but also dished out a touchdown pass and earned his coachs praise:
“He came out a little shaky. He had to make a couple of great scrambles there, make a couple of good third-down conversions to end that thing with a two-minute drive to get us in the end zone It’s what you want to see. You want to see these guys play better every time you go out there.”
The Texans will kick off the NFL regular season at home, hosting the New York Jets on Sunday. Tampa will host the Dallas Cowboys in week one before heading to upstate New York the following Sunday for a game against the Buffalo Bills.
Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.
Posted on 8 March '10, under Random. No Comments.
The Dallas Cowboys received a solid effort from QB Tony Romo in his first action of the NFL preseason, but ultimately went down in defeat to the host Oakland Raiders by a 31-10 final score. Romo went three and out in his first series, but orchestrated a nice drive on his second go-round culminating in an eight yard touchdown pass to Jason Witten. Oakland’s first team struggled, but their reserves badly outplayed their Dallas counterparts in securing the win.
Romo did receive some criticism for hooking up with his longtime favorite target Witten rather than involve the rest of the offense. There’s been a lot of concern about the need to develop more long yardage passing threats after the departure of Terrell Owens. After the game, he brushed aside this talk:
“I don’t think it means anything. If one guy caught six straight balls and then we scored, that’s fine, too. It’s just about whatever the defense allows us on that specific play.”
Receiver Roy Williams caught one pass on the evening, and after the game sounded his vote of confidence with the Cowboys offense:
“If we execute like that, any team is going to have trouble. But we’re going to have our adversity and have our hard times where we can’t get open or the quarterback gets sacked or a bad throw. But tonight it all fell into place.”
Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell didnt produce quite as well as Romo in only two series of action, but Oakland coach Bruce Cable still gave him props for a good effort:
“I thought he was very aggressive with the ball, made good decisions. That’s what I’m talking about with him. When he plays the game at a fast enough speed, it allows him to be on time and he showed that tonight.”
Cowboys coach Wade Phillips chalked the loss up to a learning experience:
“Our second group and our young guys, they made a lot of mistakes. You could see them out there. Those things shouldn’t happen but they did. Our guys will learn from those things.”
The Cowboys will continue their NFL preseason play hosting the Tennessee Titans on Friday night. Oakland, meanwhile travel across the bay to play their local rivals the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday.
Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.
Posted on 8 March '10, under Random. No Comments.
While NFL players may not always be happy with a trade to a new team, more often than not they willingly accept their new assignment and try to make the best of it. That’s apparently not the case with the Oakland Raiders newly acquired defensive end Richard Seymour. Seymour was acquired by the Raiders on Sunday and as of yet has not reported to his new team.
The trade surprised NFL observers, with the Patriots sending Seymour to Oakland for a 2011 first round draft pick. There is some speculation that hes doing a de facto hold out in hopes of getting the Raiders to re-work his contract but this hasn’t been confirmed by anyone involved.
For the time being, Raiders coach Tom Cable is being vague about the situation. He informed the media that hed spoken to Seymour earlier in the week and that he affirmed his desire to play for the Raiders but then added:
I really have nothing to report on that. Nothing has changed at this point.”
He also declined to comment on questions about a potential new contract, which makes it more likely that is the sticking point with Seymour joining the team:
“I don’t want to comment about anything of that until we have something that’s done and concrete.
Seymours former coach in New England, Bill Belichick also gave his version of a no comment:
“Because we don’t have rights to Richard, there really isn’t anything I can say about him or his situation. So I’ll have to pass on those questions at this time. There’s a lot of things that Richard did well but that’s the way it is and we’re moving forward and our team’s moving forward.”
Pats defensive coordinator Dean Pees also gave a ‘no comment’:
“This is not going to be an interview about Richard. It’s really about Buffalo and whoever we have here to face the Bills.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello had nothing to add either:
“Any comment at this time would have to come from the teams.
Most NFL observers think that the Patriots made the move in order to free up money to negotiate with defensive lineman Vince Wilfork. That may be the case, but there is also concern that New Englands defense has quickly become very young and more problematically without a strong leader on that side of the ball. Belichick isnt concerned:
“We have a lot of good leaders on our team and especially on the defensive side of the ball. No doubt about it, it’s different, but I think it’s good.”
The Patriots open their 2009 NFL regular season on Monday night at home against the Buffalo Bills. The Raiders will also kick off their campaign on Monday night as they host their hated rivals the San Diego Chargers. Seymour is very unlikely to play in Oakland’s NFL opener.
Ross Everett is a respected freelance writer who covers travel, poker and NFL football handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, fencing and deep sea diving. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pet coyote.
Posted on 8 March '10, under Random. No Comments.
One of England’s most beloved sporting figures, Sir Bobby Robson, yielded to his courageous fight with cancer recently at the age of 75. British soccer fans mourned his passing after a lifetime in the game, first as a player and then a team manager and elder statesman. Even the often snippy British press had nothing bad to say about the universally respected Robson, headlining their obituaries with adjectives like The Bravest Knight or simply The Legend.
Robson enjoyed a productive career as a player that spanned 20 years and was spent primarily in the English Premier League with Fulham and West Bromwich Albion. He also earned twenty ‘caps’ in International play for England, scoring four goals.
After his retirement in’68 as an active player, he found more fame as a team manager. His guiding hand transformed Ipswich Town from a laughing stock to an EPL powerhouse and he would lead the club for well over a decade. He would also serve as the England National Team manager for 8 years, before ending his career in British football with a stint as manager of Newcastle United that ended in 2004.
Robson earned even more respect and admiration due to his public battle with cancer. Although a brain tumor left him partially paralyzed in 2006, he never wavered in his commitment to English football or to raising money and awareness for cancer treatment. After being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in 2007, he dedicated the rest of his life to helping others with the same diagnosis.
Such was the respect for Robson that two other soccer icons not known for seeing eye to eye were quick to pay their respects. Former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho gave this tribute:
“I wanted to and I will keep with me always the Bobby Robson of every day, a person who had extraordinary passion for life and for football, with an extraordinary enthusiasm. Bobby Robson is one of those people who never die, not so much for what he did in his career, for one victory more or less, but for what he knew to give to those who had, like me, the good fortune to know him and walk by his side. My thoughts and embraces go to all his loved ones.”
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson shared his own touching comments:
“In my 23 years working in England there is not a person I would put an inch above him. I was never too big or proud to ask him for advice, which he gave freely and unconditionally. And I’m sure I am speaking for a lot of people when I say that. I mourn the passing of a great friend, a wonderful individual, a tremendous football man and somebody with passion and knowledge of the game that was unsurpassed.”
“His character was hewn out of the coalface; developed by the County Durham mining background that he came from. His parents instilled in him the discipline and standards which forged the character of a colossal human being. He added his own qualities to that which he passed on to his sons. The strength and courage he showed over the past couple of years when battling against his fifth bout of cancer was indescribable. Always a smile, always a friendly word with never a mention of his own problems.”
“The world, not just the football world, will miss him. Let’s hope it won’t be long before another like him turns up because we could never get enough of them.”
Many EPL clubs will honor Robson in some form or another during the upcoming season with a number of more lasting tributes planned. Several statues and other permanent forms of remembrance are reportedly under consideration.
Ross Everett is a staff handicapper for Oddsbay sportsbook directory. He has written extensively on World Cup soccer betting, travel, fencing, aerial racing and falconry. He lives in Southern Nevada with two dogs and a a pair of retired racing wombats.
Posted on 8 March '10, under Random. No Comments.
The good news for the Kansas City Chiefs as they prepare for the start of the NFL regular season is that their starting quarterback is back at practice. The bad news is that they still don’t know when hell be able to play. Matt Cassel returned to the Chiefs practice field on Monday for the first time since he injured his left knee in a NFL preseason game on August 29th. Still, there’s been no confirmation from either he or the team as to when hell return to action. The Chiefs don’t want to take any chances with Cassel due to the inexperience of their backup QB corps.
Cassel, who saw his stock shoot up precipitously as an NFL QB following his solid play in New England after starter Tom Brady went down to a season ending injury, signed a longterm deal with Kansas City in the off season. Although Cassel was in full uniform at Mondays practice, head coach Todd Haley was noncommittal about whether he or Brodie Croyle would start Sundays NFL regular season opener on the road against the Baltimore Ravens:
“I think that as the week goes on, we’ll know a little bit more. We’ll know a little bit more with Matt for sure. But it was good that he was out there. He was able to get through some things. As the week goes on a little further, we’ll know a little more as far as where he’s at.”
“It’s good this is a long week. That will help with anybody who’s nicked up. I would say generally you would need to have a full practice to have a chance to play. Generally, you need to have a full Friday practice to have a chance.”
With or without Cassel, the Chiefs offense sputtered in the preseason scoring only two touchdowns. The lack of productivity cost offensive coordinator Chan Gailey his job and Kansas City stumbled to a 0-4 record in their NFL exhibition contests. Haley has taken over the offensive play calling for the time being, though it made no difference in the Chiefs final preseason game. Neither Croyle nor third stringer Tyler Thigpen was particularly sharp in preseason play, though Croyle got the most work and should get the nod on Sunday if Cassell is unable to play. Better to bring Cassel back slowly even if it means losing a game or two rather than rush him back and potentially have him re-injure his knee.
No matter who ends up under center for Kansas City as they start their NFL regular season, theyll face a tough assignment against the defensive tenacity of the Baltimore Ravens. The Chiefs will host the Oakland Raiders in week 2 of the NFL season before traveling to Philadelphia on September 27 for a game against the Eagles.
Ross Everett is a well known freelance writer experienced in travel, casino gambling and NFL football handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, fencing and deep sea diving. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pet coyote.
Posted on 8 March '10, under Random. No Comments.
Undrafted Brian Hover played the entire game for the Patriots and may have earned himself a position as Tom Brady’s backup with a solid all around performance as New England topped the New York Giants 38-27 in the NFL preseason finale for both clubs. Hover passed for 242 yards and no interceptions on 18 of 25 passing. The Patriots finished their NFL preseason slate at 3-1, while the Giants slumped to a 1-3 mark in exhibition play.
NFL football betting enthusiasts who took New England as +3 road underdogs cashed their tickets with the outright win. The 65 points put on the scoreboard well exceeded the posted total of 36.
Third string running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis rushed for three touchdowns and after the game praised Hovers play:
“Brian did a good job of controlling our offense. We mixed it up.”
Green-Ellis had an impressive game himself, with 125 yards on 29 carries to go with the three rushing touchdowns. Afterwards, Patriots coach Bill Belichick had clipped but positive comments about his play:
“Ben does a lot of things for us going back to last year.
As well as the performance of QB Hover:
“Not bad. He handled the ball fairly well, threw it accurately.”
The Giants biggest personnel decision at the moment is their third string QB, where Andre Woodson has the inside track despite a less than stellar performance. Woodson went 6 for 19 for 98 yards with one interception. Afterwards, he gave his take on the game:
“It took me a while to get into my rhythm and it was the worst possible game to have that happen. Last year I knew I was going to be cut. … This year is different. It’s going to be tense.”
Starting QB Eli Manning played one series and after the game summed up his teams mindset:
“I think everyone is ready for the season to get going and start playing for real.
The Giants will start playing for real next Sunday as they host the Washington Redskins in a NFC East battle. Theyll head to Dallas in week two for another divisional tilt against the Cowboys. The Patriots will start their regular season next Monday night as they host the Buffalo Bills.
Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer who covers travel, casino gambling and sports handicapping. He is a staff handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, fencing and deep sea diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.
Posted on 8 March '10, under Random. No Comments.
It is no secret that the 2009 season was a disaster for the Cleveland Indians, but this is a new season and an entirely different attitude. Management knew that changes had to be made and boy did they make them. There are going to be some new faces and a lot more enthusiasm from this team.
The Indians have spent all kinds of effort in stockpiling young talent to go into spring training this year. They are going to have plenty of players vying for jobs, and that is a good thing for this ballclub. No player should feels safe after last season. The good news is that fans can expect a huge effort from the younger players that are going to want to make an impression and remain in the show.
A casual glance at the roster would have people thinking that this team is more like the movie “Major League” than they would care to believe. However, if you really look at some of these players, there are some up and coming stars in this lineup that are going to be a pure joy to watch. A lot of these kids can flat out play the game.
Shin-Soo Choo is a young Korean player that is going to be expected to be one of the leaders of the team. Getting his start in 2005 with the Seattle Mariners, it looked like he was going to be heading back over the pond. However, they moved him to Cleveland where he held a part-time role until 2008.
Finally, in 2008 he absolutely lit it up. He played about 60% of the season, but put up some stats that managers would take from everyday players. Because of that, he found himself in a starting role in 2009 and continued to improve. It would not be a surprise to see him hit well over .300 and launch close to 30 home runs this season.
The starting pitching is something to be concerned about, but it should pan out. Veterans are going to be pushed by these young kids and if they aren’t producing, someone will take their place. If they don’t want that big fat MLB check, one of these kids will be more than happy to take it out of their hands.
April is a tight month at home so if you want to see them play, it would be best to get your tickets right away. This team has a really good shot at getting out of the gate quick and cheering fans will get the team just as excited to be on the field and the fans are to be at the game. If it all comes together, this team is going to be a lot of fun to watch.
Written by Heather Maxwell, article sponsored by Stub.com. Stub.com sells Cleveland Indians Tickets, MLB Tickets, Sports Tickets and more to just about any event in your area.
Posted on 5 March '10, under Random. No Comments.
In one of the stranger front office shakeups in recent NBA history, the Los Angeles Clippers have ‘relieved’ Mike Dunleavy of his head coaching duties effective immediately. He’ll remain on board as the Clippers’ general manager, and both he and the team cited the demands of the forthcoming trade deadline and free agent market as a catalyst for the change.
Not surprisingly, there is much speculation as to the back story behind the move. Some with knowledge of the situation suggest that Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling wanted to fire Dunleavy altogether, but relented due to the $5 million the team will owe him in the final year of his contract next year. More recently, a bizarre rumor has been circulating that Sterling has approached Isiah Thomas about taking over Dunleavy’s coaching position and becoming team president. These rumors have had enough traction that Thomas issued a denial this weekend, stressing that his focus is still on his current assignment as Florida International University head coach.
Despite the backroom drama, all of the relevant parties are keeping up appearances in public. Dunleavy issued this statement, playing along with the team’s insistence that the decision to give up coaching was ‘mutual’:
“I’ve come to the conclusion that this is the ideal time for me to direct my efforts toward the many personnel opportunities that lie before us, such as the trade market, the draft and the free-agent process. We fully expect to be active and productive on all those fronts.”
Team President Andy Roeser sounded a similar tone:
“We fully agree with Mike that this is the right time to make this change. It just seems clear that the team needs a fresh voice and we hope that our players will respond in a positive way.As we approach the trade deadline, the NBA draft and the upcoming free-agent period, our team is very well positioned from a salary-cap standpoint. Mike’s experienced input will be vitally important as we continue to develop our young talented nucleus and shape our team’s future.”
Dunleavy’s agent Warren LeGarie continued the same theme:
“This is something we’ve been contemplating for some time. There’s a shelf life to coaching sometimes. So you constantly have to keep measuring whether [the team's inconsistency] is because of injuries, because of you, or something else. And at some point you have to make a judgment call about what’s best for the team, and that’s what Mike did.”
The Clippers have lost 7 of their last 10 games to fall to 21-29 on the year. They’re 17 games behind the Western Conference leading Los Angeles Lakers and 8 games out of the final playoff spot. The schedule won’t get any easier for the Clippers over the next week, as they host the red hot Utah Jazz on Tuesday and head into the All Star Break with a game on the road against the Golden State Warriors. They’ll resume play after the break as they head to Portland’s Rose Garden Arena to take on the Blazers.
Ross Everett is a highly respected figure skating coach and a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports. He provides Internet and broadcast media outlets with daily free sports picks when not working with Olympic bound ice skaters. He is a widely published writer specializing in sports handicapping, falconry, horse racing and wombat breeding. He lives in Las Vegas with his houseboy, three dogs and a wombat.
Posted on 3 March '10, under Education. No Comments.