Bears ink draft class early; Are they considering a veteran receiver? posted by Joe Anello

I can’t remember a busier or more significant Chicago Bears offseason. After the miraculous acquisition of Jay Cutler (which I still can’t believe happened), and then the signing of Orlando Pace, Jerry Angelo could have sat out the rest of free agency and skipped the draft and Bears fans would have been content. Not one to rest on his new QB’s laurels, Angelo refuses to let up.

Foremost among the newest faces is recently signed linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa, formerly of the St. Louis Rams. Pisa brings a wealth of experience and talent to the strong side, where he should beat out Nick Roach and Hunter Hillenmeyer for the starting job. Roach filled in when Hunter was injured last season, but neither player asserted themselves in the role. Tinoisamoa is coming off a regular season where he led the Rams with 104 tackles (88 solo) and added three sacks and two forced fumbles. Paired with Pro-Bowler Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher, Tinoisamoa makes Chicago’s linebacking unit one of the best in the NFL.

Also, in typical Bear fashion, Angelo has signed each of his nine draft choices. Jerry is known for locking up his draftees with quick market value deals. Teams and agents are barely negotiating during this period, so this is one area where I have to give Angelo and his front office a ton of credit. They get their draft choices in camp. Receivers Juaquin Igelesias and Johnny Knox look to get plenty of field time this offseason as the Bears search more depth on the outside.

Speaking of receivers, there’s been a load of ballyhoo regarding a few names that are supposedly available. Given Chicago’s lack of experience at the position, fans are clamoring for a big name to pair with their young QB. (Greedy much?) I’ll run down the Bears’ options for you and why they’re available.

posted by Paul Davidson

The state of Maine has produced 71 men who have gone on to play major league baseball. One of the most interesting and colorful was none other than a farm boy from Heartland, George Gore. Mr.. Gore played 1,310 major league games between 1879 and 1892. For all of the men with at least 4,000 at bats,Gore is one of only 3  in the history of professional baseball to score more runs than games played (1327).

Mr. Gore grew up around the farmlands of central Maine playing baseball and working at the local paper mill. He was easily the most talented ball player of his time as he recreated with the mill nine. He eventually caught the eye of several scouts and signed his first professional contract with Fall River of the New England League in 1877. Nicknamed “Piano Legs” for the enormity of his calf muscles, Gore batted .324 the following year and helped propel the New Bedford Whalers to the New England championship. The word was out about the farm boy from Maine as scouts from several major league teams were now courting his attention. Gore was signed by Chicago's Cap Anson.

At the tender age of 23, and with just 2 years of professional experience, Gore had the audacity to defy A.G. Spalding and the Chicago White Stockings by refusing a contract that would have paid him $1,200 for the 1879 campaign. Gore demanded $2,500 and settled for $1900. He played in 63 games that season with 266 plate appearances and a .263 batting average. Mr Spalding expected more from his young outfielder in return for his investment, and the 1880 season validated his worth. He hit .360 that second season, won the batting championship, and had a slugging percentage of .463.

The Celtics Lose Game 7 and Boston Officially Loses it's TrophyTown Title posted by Hank Hill

This is just not the Celtics' year. Last night's game 7 looked like a game 4 in a 3-0 series. The Celtics came out without their energy, all out of sync. Clearly, they missed KG. Ray Allen, who we needed to step up, finally did, but he was the only one who showed up to play. Meanwhile, Orlando 21-13 from three point land, was just too much to handle and every shot they took led to me biting my nails off and praying for a comeback that never came. This game was a tough one for Boston to handle; we were losing all game and never made the run that they usually can.

And they just kept adding the pressure and smoking us making MIT, The Professor, Jr, G, Rach, Ro, Dato, KC, Jon, me, and even Murray, wanting to change the channel. But we didn't. We knew that we needed a miracle that just wasn't in the cards. The final score of 101-82 adds to the devastating losses in all of Boston sports. The Pats lost to the NYG in the superbowl; Sox lost to Tampa Bay in game 7; Bruins had an awesome season but just lost game seven last week in the same building as the Celts.

Back to the Celts, they had a good year but losing Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe pretty much ended the Cs season even though we still had a good run.  I believe we should have/could have won last night, as everyone says, but that's the pain of being a sports' fan. But we learned a lot this year--now we have some free agents the Cs need to sign: Big Baby Davis was impressive as was House, Powe, and even Marbury. So this year may be over, but next year you don't want to have the Celtics on your schedule. Off to the Sox.

Giants release Plaxico, Redskins talking to Leftwich posted by Todd F. Dixon

New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg 4 months ago, apparently in more ways than one.  With charges pending, the possibility of spending 3 years in jail was a little too much for the Giants.  Its hard to let your superbowl hero and number one receiver go, but the Giants just had enough.

 "I am an optimist, and I believe most situations can be worked out," Giants general manager Jerry Reese said in announcing the decision. "We hung in there as long as we could in hopes that there could be a resolution to this situation other than the decision we made today to release Plaxico.

"It wasn't to be, so now we have to move on. Like everybody else here, we want nothing but the best for Plaxico, and we are appreciative of the contributions he made to this franchise."

Apparently Plaxico's attorney thinks it was a huge mistake.  Isn't your agent supposed to say things like that?  Not your lawyer?  If you have your attorney speaking on your behalf and not you agent, you are doing something wrong.

Should the Redskins go and get Plaxico?  Hell no, we have enough headcases in the house with Alberto Haynesworth, President Clinton Portis, and Money Train Hall.  No no no

Vin Dieseldorf spoke with Campbell on another note, and said basically that the Skins went after Cutler, it didn't work out, and you are our man.  Also, The Danny sat down and explained to Campbell that it was mostly him who wanted Cutler, uh......DUH!  The only difference here between us and the Broncos is, we sat down and talked everything out and its all good now.  No wining, no avoiding, no little head-games.

The Patriots Strike Back! Belichick and Pioli end their silence on SpyGate posted by Mike Dussault

Well I think this is something all us New England Patriots fans have been waiting for... Bill Belichick to finally address all madness that has been going on about Spygate ever since two days before the Super Bowl against the New York Giants. It's no coincidence that Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe got the story. The Boston Herald, home of Judas Tomase, the paper that has an "unnamed source" that claims the Pats taped the Super Bowl runthru, last updated their Pats page with an Alge Crumpler story. 
There's some juicy stuff about why the Assistant Golf Pro was fired, how the hoodied one misinterpreted the rule, if he's ever taped a walkthru, and how much use were the tapes that they were using. Anyway here's the link, good to see the Pats aren't taking this lying down any more....
http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2008/
Also I'd like the record to show that when the Patriots were at their darkest moment this week with SpyGate it was the Pittsburgh Steelers who stood up for them. I will remember that Steeler fans.Continue reading "The Patriots Strike Back! Belichick ..."

SpyGate 2: Can We See Some Evidence or Actual Proof? posted by Mike Dussault

So today NFL Commisioner Roger Goodell and Senator Arlen Specter met to discuss the New England Patriots "Spygate" episode and if Goodell handled the controversy properly. The headlines tonight uniformly read "Goodell has no regrets over destroying tapes." So where does that leave this whole stupid, dragged-out episode that ruined the Super Bowl before it even started for Patriots fans? Pretty much exactly where we were in September after Goodell levied the fines on Bill Belichick and the Patriots and took away their first-round pick. That was in September, yes nearly six months ago and we're still talking about it.

John Tomase (or Judas Tomase as he's known to Pats fans these days) of the Boston Herald broke a story the day before the Super Bowl against the New York Giants that an anonymous source said the Pats taped the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough before Super Bowl 36. Many assumed that this anonymous source was in fact former Pats video guy Matt Walsh, who had been telling reporters for months that he had much greater scoop on other Pats shenanigans. Reportedly Walsh would not come forward for fear of the Pats suing him into oblivion. He hinted he may or may not have video proof and that's about the last we heard from him.

So now Roger Goodell has offered to cover any legal fees Walsh may incur by coming forward but we still haven't heard a peep from him in two weeks. The time is now for this anonymous source to come forward (if it is Matt Walsh or someone else entirely). As far as Goodell is concerned the book is closed on Spygate unless new evidence is revealed. But that's doing nothing to repair all the slander that has come against the Pats from anonymous accusers who have since fallen silent. Walsh no longer has to fear the kind of lawsuits that would bury an assistant golf pro like him. So where is he?

We we learned from Superbowl XLII posted by Anthony Strait

What have we learned ten days after the New York Giants stunned the unbeaten Patriots in Superbowl XLII? Perhaps the same thing we learned when the Jets upset the Colts in Superbowl III. The lesson we should have learned in watching the Colorado Rockies go almost a month without losing in their run to the World Series. Hell, I’ll even go as far back to the 1980 US hockey team that pulled a miracle on a frozen pond in Lake Placid one Friday afternoon. We learned that in an era where stories of dog fighting, steroids, HGH and alleged cheating dominate the limelight; there is still room for an underdog story to come along and remind us of the beauty and appreciation that draws us to sports in general.
Now in no way am I possibly comparing the Giants win to the Miracle in Lake Placid. The US hockey team’s win over the Soviets on their way to the gold medal lifted a nation whom up to that point had taken hits to the gut thanks to global conflict and a staggering economy. Nor is it bigger than the Jets win that shaped the way the NFL is today. But New York’s victory should not be belittled by any means. Honestly, did anyone actually think that the team led by a beleaguered coach and a heavily scrutinized quarterback had a chance against a team that went five months without losing a single game?
Yet, there was Tom Brady being hammered time and time again by the Giants pass rush. Brady smugly brushed off Plaxico Burress’ 23-17 prediction days earlier. As it turned out, Burress gave the Patriots offense too much credit. There was Tom Coughlin out coaching the proclaimed genius Bill Belichick; Coughlin was basically fired one year ago after a second half meltdown that saw the Giants fall to 8-8 and a wild card exit. And there was Peyton’s little brother Eli leading his team to a game winning touchdown drive just moments after Brady led his team down field to take the lead. Everyone from fans and media to even his former teammate Tiki Barber had bashed Eli Manning’s ability to lead and his performances throughout his four year career. But as the time hit triple zeros, it was the team that was far from –perfect that had written their own perfect ending while preventing perfection. A historic game it did become, just not the history that the world had anticipated.
Continue reading "We we learned from Superbowl XLII"

Great Article on How the Giants Beat the Pats and other musings... posted by Mike Dussault

As much as it pains me to post anything that rehashes the New England Patriots - New York Giants Super Bowl (which I'm almost over) this article was a really interesting read and actually made me feel better for some reason. I never really thought either of Brady's two attempted bombs to end the game were even close but apparently one of them was. I think I was already fighting the urge to vomit seeing the season come to such an amazingly disappointing end. But as I've said before all the credit in the world goes to the Giants. They truly proved on any given Sunday any team can win.

http://www.eagletribune.com/pusports/local_story_044005441.html?keyword=topstory

Today Roger Goodell and Arlen "Comcast is my daddy" Specter are meeting to rehash Spygate for the millionth time. News is also coming out today that say Bill Belichick came clean that he had been taping defensive signals since he started coaching with the Pats. Supposedly this came out in October? This is news to me and rarely does any significant Pats news escape me. So why is this coming out now? I guess we'll find out why after today's meeting of the minds. But seriously, I am so happy that by next year all this Spygate crapola will (hopefully) be behind us. And by behind us I don't mean for a second that every fan of every other team will hold it against us. That's fine by me, I just don't need any more "new information" popping up again regarding the whole situation.

Finally a quick Boston Red Sox note since Roger Clemens is on Capitol Hill this morning. Are there any Roger Clemens fans out there? Is there anyone who's really rooting for this guy? There sure aren't any Red Sox fans rooting for him. I don't think New York Yankee fans are either. Maybe Houston Astro fans? I really don't know. He's just so unlikeable and if it proves that he's been lying about this whole HGH/Steroid mess he's going to look like the biggest d-bag in sports history.

Reverse The Curse? posted by Ian Levenstein

           Boston and New York have been fighting a sports war on multiple fronts for more than a century.  Baseball, football, hockey, basketball: you name the championship, our teams have battled over it.  Up until a few years ago, New York seemed to have the edge.  Even though the Patriots were winning, their other teams seemed incapable of making the all-important final round of the playoffs.  The Knicks were hot throughout the 90’s, while the Celtics were not.  The Yankees were World Series Champions, leaving The Red Sox in the Wild Card.  I disqualify hockey because both the Bruins and the Rangers stunk for a few years there, but you get the basic gist.  New York had the lead.  “The curse” kept Boston beneath us in the sports world.  Then, everything changed.

           When the Red Sox won their World Series in 2004, New York wrote it off as a fluke.  “There was no curse.  They just sucked for 86 years!”  No big deal, right?  I mean sure, The Patriots won the Super Bowl the same year, but stranger things have happened.  Sure, the Patriots had won two other Super Bowls in the five years prior to 2004, but it still didn’t matter.  See, us New Yorkers have a rough hide.  It doesn’t crack with one loss!

   When the Red Sox won their World Series in 2007, things started getting a bit more serious.  Two wins in four years sounds a lot like what our Yankees did a few times.  To follow up with that, the Celtics are a better team again and are in first place in the Eastern Conference.  The Patriots had an undefeated record going for them, and once more made it to the Super Bowl.  Things seem to be changing.  The mojo is shifting.  Will New York be second best?  Ha!

The Big 3 Questions of the New England Patriots Off-Season posted by Mike Dussault

A week later I emerge from the darkness. I think I've made peace with the New England Patriots fate in 2007. It was a great season that came just short of being the greatest of all time. I can live with that. The Pats gave us more great wins than anyone else this season, just not the greatest. So it's time to reload. Here's the biggest questions for the off-season.
1. Linebackers and Secondary - The biggest weakness is shoring up the defense. This is the second year in a row that the Pats D has fallen apart at the worst possible moment.
- Kiss Asante Samuel goodbye. I think it's a long shot the team is willing to give him what he wants.- Will Bruschi, Seau, Harrison decide to hang them up? Seau is the strongest possibility. Regardless the Pats could use some youth at the position. Eric Alexander had a solid year on special teams but gave no indication that the Pats think he's a future starter.- Will Randall Gay resign? He was the nickel-back for the Pats for his first healthy season since his rookie year. He was picked on by Eli Manning, but he's still a starter with multiple years experience with the Pats. The New York Jets (who else?) could take a shot at him.
2. Figure out the Wide Receiver Situation - here's what the Pats did last off-season: Tom Brady wasn't happy with his receivers so they went out and got a bunch of athletic guys and signed them to basically one-year deals with multi-year options (Wes Welker the only one getting a long term deal). They threw Moss, Washington, Gaffney, Reche Caldwell, and Stallworth into the mix and would resign whoever Brady clicked with. Now it's time to make the decisions on that.
Continue reading "The Big 3 Questions of the New England ..."

NFL coaches visit troops in Iraq (AP)

The soldiers expressed their gratitude over and over to the NFL coaches who made the trip to Iraq. "They kept thanking us," said the Tennessee Titans' Jeff Fisher. "We kept thanking them." Fisher, the New York Giants' Tom Coughlin, the Baltimore Ravens' John Harbaugh, former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden are... [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

New Giants LB Boley has hip surgery (AP)

Linebacker Michael Boley, who signed a five-year, $25 million contract with the New York Giants as a free agent, had hip surgery Wednesday and almost certainly will miss the start of training camp. Boley had arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn labrum in an operation performed by Dr. Bryan Kelly at the Hospital for Special Surgery. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Burress negotiating with several teams (AP)

[read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Burress gun case adjourned until September

Former New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress is scheduled to make a court appearance Monday. But he'll have to wait a few months until he knows the legal consequences of shooting himself with an unlicensed pistol.Defense lawyer Benjamin Brafman said the proceeding is expected to be quick. The case is being adjourned until September.The 31-year-old Burress accidentally shot himself in the thigh on Nov. 29 while in a Manhattan nightclub. [read full article]

From FOXSports.com News for NFL

Burress gun case delayed until September (AP)

The weapons possession case against former New York Giants player Plaxico Burress has been adjourned until September, and his attorney said he didn't see any reason the wide receiver couldn't play this fall. Burress made a brief appearance in court Monday, accompanied by his wife and attorney Benjamin Brafman. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports