Archive for November, 2009
Chiefs release Larry Johnson
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
People from Kansas City saw this one coming a mile away.
To say that the Kansas City Chiefs are having a campaign to forget this 2009 NFL football season could be an understatement. After earning their first win of the season when they beat the Washington Redskins two weeks ago, they are once again losing games. These guys are currently on a two-game losing skid and I don’t see anything that could change the Chiefs’ fortunes for the immediate future.
Of course, that won’t stop the Kansas City Chiefs from making some moves. And they may have made the biggest one yet. You see, the Chiefs have finally let franchise running back Larry Johnson go and for the first time in the Pro Bowler’s career, he’s no longer welcome in Kansas.
After seven years playing in Kansas City, Larry Johnson was finally released by the Chiefs on the same day that he was due back from his second suspension in the past 12 months. Is this just a matter of the Chiefs getting rid of excess baggage or is Kansas City letting go of a solid running back who still has a few good years left in him?
The rest of the NFL thinks the latter.
Teams like the Chicago Bears and the Houston Texans have already expressed their desire of signing a player of Johnson’s caliber as soon as they learned that the Chiefs have finally released him. Will we see a deal done soon?
”Any player that’s available, we look at,” Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith said. ”That’s been our standard policy throughout. That’ll be the case with Larry.”
”When a name like that comes on the free agent market like today, we’ll obviously go back and take a look at him just like any other player,” Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak said. ”Obviously, he’s been a good player in this league and I’m sure he’ll get a lot of interest from a lot of people.”
But will the Bears and the Texans risk…
Grizzlies let Iverson go, retirement next?
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
Looks like being benched in Memphis is really getting to Iverson now.
A.I. was really hoping for better things coming to the 2009 NBA basketball season. People following him on Twitter know that. But after an auspicious start to the season and realizing that he will still be relegated as a bench player in Memphis like he was in Detroit last year, Iverson ain’t happy with the Grizzlies no more and now, rumors claim that he’s already contemplating on retirement because of it.
Yes, Allen Iverson, the former league MVP and multi-time scoring champion, is on the brink of walking away from his career. Things haven’t been working out as Iverson had hoped in Memphis and since his new head coach Lionel Hollins ain’t budging, rumors claim that Iverson could take the easy way out, retire.
Still, Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley has shot down the idea that Iverson is already considering retirement. For all ya’ll who didn’t know, Iverson took a leave of absence from the Grizzlies for ”personal reasons,” and as far as Heisley is concerned, retirement is not one of ‘em.
”I expect him to come back,” Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley said. ”If he does retire, I’ll be tremendously disappointed. I feel bad because I don’t think that’s the way he should go out.”
He’s right. Iverson is only averaging 12.3 points and 3.7 assists in 22.3 minutes per game this season and by Iverson’s standards, those are unacceptable numbers. But hey, at least he can go out a lot better than Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis did right?
One thing Iverson had in common with those guys however, is that all of ‘em just had trouble with the idea of coming off the bench.
”It’s something that I never did in my life, so obviously it’s a big adjustment,” Iverson said last week. ”I’m so tired of discussing that, talking about that, every single day. It’s just not something that I want to discuss.”
”When I hear anything about the…”
More Problems for Cleveland Monday?
Monday, November 16th, 2009
And since the Ravens are in dire need of a kickboard to get their season going again, facing the struggling Browns couldn’t have come at a better time.
Week 10 of the 2009 NFL football season concludes at the Dawg Pound in Cleveland Browns Stadium where the Ravens will look to improve on what has been a disappointing 4-4 mark. Thankfully, at 1-7, the Browns don’t have anything going for them and the Ravens should be able to take care of this one and get back in the race in the AFC North.
To say that the Baltimore Ravens are struggling could be an understatement. In their last game against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Ravens were anemic, especially on what was usually a solid offense led by second-year quarterback Joe Flacco.
Against Cincinnati, Joe Flacco struggled. He gave up two interceptions in 18 for 32 passing for just 195 yards. Wide receiver Derrick Mason was also a disappointment, catching only three passes of the 13 balls Flacco threw at his direction.
Will these guys struggle again against the Cleveland Browns defense? Luckily, the Ravens absolutely hate the Browns and for some reason, these guys always come up with their A-game when facing their AFC North rivals from the Dawg Pound.
In their September 27 meeting, Joe Flacco threw for 342 yards, the second most in his NFL career, while Derrick Mason has already recorded two straight 100-yard receiving performances against Cleveland.
The reason behind this is the fact that the Browns have one of the worst secondary in the league. With lackluster cornerbacks and an average pass rush, the Browns are ranked 22nd in pass defense, setting up quarterback Flacco to have the game of his life on Monday night.
And did I mention the Ravens are still…
Can Pittsburgh’s D stop the Bengals?
Sunday, November 15th, 2009
Are the Bengals for real?
That’s the question the Bengals will try to answer as Week 10 of the 2009 NFL football season continues. They have the defending champions Pittsburgh Steelers this week. Can the Bengals surprise this team like they did the Ravens last week?
This matchup between the defending Super Bowl champions Pittsburgh Steelers and the red hot Cincinnati Bengals should be an awesome AFC North face-off. The Steelers are on a five – game winning streak, looking to ride on their momentum heading to their matchup with Cincinnati.
They just brought down one Cinderella team in the NFL last Monday night, beating the Denver Broncos 28-10. Hines Ward caught two touchdown passes from Ben Roethisberger in Denver as the Steelers dominated the Broncos 28-10, despite playing without three of their starters on defense.
The Steelers hope they can bring another Cinderella team down this week when they go up against the Cincinnati Bengals. And as far as the Steelers’ three starters on defense who missed last Monday night’s game are concerned; safety Ryan Clark, linebacker Lawrence Timmons and defensive end Travis Kirschke could all start against Cincinnati this Sunday.
That’s a good thing too since the Super Bowl champions are in the middle of a three-game stretch against teams with some of the best records in the league. They gave the Vikings their first loss, the Broncos their second and now have a chance to send Chad Ochocinco and the rest of the Bengals to their third. The Steelers also have the opportunity to break the tie atop the same division they have dominated the last couple of years.
Pittsburgh is really looking good coming to this matchup. And since Cincinnati always had its problems with the Steel Curtain, I don’t like their chances come gameday.
For all ya’ll uninformed, Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati in the opening round of the playoffs before winning Super Bowl XL. The Bengals would have made the playoffs again in 2006 except for a season-ending defeat in overtime to, guess who…
Miguel Cotto wants to beat Pacquiao
Saturday, November 14th, 2009
He’s determined, let’s just put it that way.
The Manny Pacquiao – Miguel Cotto fight is on this Saturday and as far as the reigning WBO welterweight champion is concerned, he’s ready to knock the living daylights out of Pacquiao.
How focused is he to beat Manny Pacquiao? He already got to Las Vegas earlier than usual to ”familiarize himself with the atmosphere” there. I mean, how crazy is that? Now I don’t know how familiarizing yourself with the atmosphere can help him inside the ring come Saturday but I am rooting for this dude.
”If he thinks he is going to win seven titles in seven weight divisions now, he has picked the wrong moment, the wrong fighter and the wrong opponent,” Miguel Cotto said. ”If he thinks he is going to win the seventh title against Miguel Cotto, he is very wrong.”
Yep, Cotto will be out to shock the world and finally put an end to Pacquiao’s reign of terror. Freddie Roach says he has money on Pacquiao knocking Cotto out in the first round but as far as Cotto is concerned, he is simply isn’t concerned about what Roach says at this point.
”Forget about Freddie Roach,” Cotto said. ”The only thing Freddie can do is train Manny. He can’t go over the ropes and into the ring to fight against Miguel Cotto. He can only train Manny the best he can.”
”He may say and think Manny will knock me out but at the end of the day, it is just Manny and Miguel Cotto in the ring.”
”No matter what kind of things Freddie Roach says before the fight, I have a very strong mind. The psyche game? I’m not going to follow that game.”
”What they say and what they do does not…”
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