Jock Jerseys’ Flash

As NFL training camps get ready to open up (some already have), prognosticators are plentiful, but no one will really know with absolute certainty who this year’s Super Bowl champion will be.  There are many possibilities, including 3-4 “pencil them in” candidates, as well as 3-4 other teams who could pull off a stunning playoff run (e.g. 2000’s St. Louis Rams).  Last year provided some intense moments, record breaking performances and an unlikely NFL champion in the New York Giants.  With several teams fielding almost identical rosters from last year, it will be interesting to see how this year’s NFL season develops.

NFC Contenders

New York Giants
You can’t write a list of contenders without including last year’s Super Bowl champs.  They lost Michael Strahan to retirement, but Eli Manning’s confidence should be through the roof and the offense is virtually the same as last year.  If the running backs can stay healthy and the defense can survive (mentally) without Strahan, the Giants will be in the mix late in the season. [New York Giants jersey]

Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys have beefed up their payroll (and problem child’s) this year, but there’s hope in Big D.  Tony Romo has another year of experience and is primed for a better season.  Terrell Owens is a monster receiver, but could be  the cause of more headaches that he’s worth.  The recent signing of Adam “Pacman” Jones is risky as well, considering he’s not been reinstated to play this season, but if he is allowed to play, the defense should be outstanding.  There are only 2 threats for the Cowboys: the Giants and themselves. [Dallas Cowboys jersey]

Philadelphia Eagles
Another NFC East team - another contender.  The Eagles have a strong offense and defense; much like the Giants.  When healthy, they can compete with anyone.  If Donovan McNabb can stay on the field all season, Philadelphia will make the playoffs and be in good position for the playoffs. [Philadelphia Eagles jersey]

Nobody
Yes, these above are the only 3 serious contenders in the NFC from my perspective.  Carolina, New Orleans, Washington, Minnesota and Green Bay round out the “maybe’s”, but they all have issues that could keep them from winning a title.

AFC Contenders

New England Patriots
After finishing the regular season undefeated and reaching the Super Bowl, only to lose to New York, the Patriots will be out for blood in 08-09.  Randy Moss is on board, Tom Brady is still there and they still have their asshole coach, so you know they will perform well all season.  Less focus will be paid this year on finishing with a “perfect record”, but they may still have one when all things are said and done. [New England Patriots jersey]

Indianapolis Colts
Another extremely strong & well-coached team, the Colts are serious contenders for the NFL championship as well.  With Peyton Manning at the helm and Tony Dungy on the sidelines, this team can beat anybody and could also challenge the Patriots for a perfect regular season record.  They will have to figure out how to beat the Patriots (again), and face extremely competitive challenges from the Jaguars, Chargers and/or Steelers if they want to try for their 2nd championship in the last 3 years. [Indianapolis Colts jersey]

San Diego Chargers
LaDainian Tomlinson… One player who could almost single-handedly put his team in the playoffs.  Add Phillip Rivers, w/ another year of experience, a decent wide receiving core and a solid defense, and you have a contender.  I’m not sure this crew has enough to get past the Colts or Patriots, but they’ll certainly give it their best shot. [San Diego Chargers jersey]

Pittsburgh Steelers
Big Ben and Co. will be seeking their 2nd championship this decade, featuring a lineup of Willie Parker, Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu.  This team is explosive on offense, controls the clock well and punishes the opposition on defense.  To be a serious contender, the Steelers will need to average at least 20-22 points per game - their defense will handle the rest. [Pittsburgh Steelers jersey]

Others
The Jagaurs have a good shot, as do the Broncos, Browns and Bengals of making the playoffs.  They will struggle against the elite teams, but will put together strong games and be competitive until they are eliminated.

Super Bowl Preview
I see the Patriots vs. the Cowboys in the championship game, w/ the Cowboys taking it. 

I’d love to get some other predictions… leave your comments.

The man in orange, “smoke”, Tony… whatever you like to call him, Mr. Stewart is on his way out of Joe Gibbs Racing after 10 years together in NASCAR. Reports surfaced yesterday and confirmed today that Tony Stewart, NASCAR’s current “meany”, will be leaving the JGR team to start his own team w/ Haas CNC Racing. The new name will be Stewart/Haas reportedly.

Stewart is my favorite driver, so I am quite upset that all my lovely orange merchandise will have to be thrown out… ok, it’s UGLY orange, so thank god he’s switching to another color. I wish he was keeping the #20 car, but that’s not likely.

Tony will be an owner/driver for the new organization, so there’s a lot riding on the deal. A familiar sponsor for Stewart, Home Depot, will remain w/ Gibbs racing and the #20 car will likely be filled by Joey Logano, a rising Nationwide driver and potential racing superstar.

JGR is definitely headed in a different direction than w/ Stewart, as evidenced by their switch to Toyota this year (Stewart is a Chevy guy) and the success of both Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin this season. Their success has almost pushed Tony Stewart into the “3rd guy” role. Unfortunately, Tony is a “me first” guy, so that philosophy at JGR wasn’t vibing w/ him in my opinion.

Other drivers have moved to the driver/owner role in the past, including Michael Waltrip (unsuccessfully). Tony will certainly have his work ahead of him as he tries to field a competitive team w/ a lower-profile racing team. While the new team is a partner w/ Hendrick Motorsports, they will still be at a disadvantage w/ equipment and come race time. Stewart hasn’t really struggled to qualify in the past, but Gibbs racing is probably at least partially responsible for Tony’s driving success. No matter how good the driver, and Tony is good, you can’t win w/ a crappy car.

Other News…
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Nationwide team has lost NAVY as it’s sponsor. Not a good sign for JR Motorsports.

Shop below for Tony Stewart apparel & merchandise:

View all Tony Stewart merchandise

Former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, in lieu of the recent lawsuits and collections against him for numerous outstanding debts. Vick is in arrears to the tune of over $10 million, according to reports from Fox Sports.

Can you read the words that are comin’ out of my mouth?

If you’re like me, you’re asking yourself - what the hell is a Chapter 11? For answers, I turn to God… Sorry, I mean “Wikipedia”.

A chapter 11 filing is usually an attempt to stay in business while a bankruptcy court supervises the “reorganization” of the company’s contractual and debt obligations. The court can grant complete or partial relief from most of the company’s debts and its contracts, so that the company can make a fresh start.

I hate legal jargon, but I guess that this means the debt collectors will get some (if not all) of the money they are seeking. The bankruptcy filing just ensures that there is a process to determine who gets what money, how much, and precedence over another collector.

Michael Vick’s lawyer also had some great info to share w/ the public as well, stating that Vick is looking forward to starting a new life when his prison sentence ends:

The suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback hopes he “can, after the conclusion of the bankruptcy case, rebuild his life on a personal and spiritual level, resurrect his image as a public figure, and resolve matters with the NFL such that he can resume his career,” according to the filings.

Great to see Vick has his priorities in order… LOL. With as much money as he “should have”, I would be surprised if there aren’t millions of dollars hidden in offshore accounts, trusts or other entities. A man with that much money should not be facing bankruptcy IMHO.

Surely, if you know more about this legal crap than I do, by all means… enlighten us.

The game was a total blowout - Celtics win 131-92 over the Lakers in Game 6. Boston wins it’s 17th NBA Championship and Paul Pierce is named the 2008 NBA Finals MVP.

We’ve got a full recap over on our sister-site, at http://nbaweblog.com/. Go check it out!

Of course, you can find a full selection of 2008 NBA Championship gear at the NBA Store:

You can also shop for Celtics jerseys and apparel below (thru Amazon):

Updated 7/22/08

Brian Urlacher is the latest NFL player to “re-work” an existing deal before the first one is up. This new deal adds to the existing 9-yr deal he was still under (until 2011), to the tune of $18 million - $6 million signing bonus. Urlacher is now signed w/ the Chicago Bears until 2012… wow, a whole year? Thanks for the commitment.

These incidents are ridiculous - Brian cannot argue that he’s “underpaid” when he already has a $57 million contract that he’s supposed to be honoring. The timing is also key, considering the Bears reported to training camp today.

Original Story 6/17/08

Recent developments involving two Pro-Bowl receivers and their “contract disputes” have me questioning how much power athletes have been given. In today’s sporting world, it seems like a player who’s unhappy w/ his current pay, can basically force his team into renegotiating his salary and signing bonus.

The two players who have been mentioned most recently, but are certainly not the only players griping, are the New York Giants’ Plaxico Burress and the Arizona Cardinals’ Anquan Boldin. Both players are certainly worthy of their current contracts in my opinion and possibly more, but if they wanted more, they should have negotiated that amount from the get-go.

Each of these players has 3 years remaining on their current contracts - THREE YEARS - and they’re already throwing fits about how little they’re being paid. Btw… both the Cardinals and Giants are near the bottom in terms of total team salaries (for 2007); the Giants had the lowest payroll in the NFL. (Source: USAToday 2007 Team Salaries)

Here is a breakdown of how these two players stand up, in terms of base salary & signing bonuses, on their own team, as well as for their positions:

Plaxico Burress

• $3.2 mil annual (3rd on team, 9th in NFL for WR)
• $5 mil bonus (3rd on team)

Anquan Boldin

• $2 mil annual (tied 10th on team, 24th in NFL for WR)
• $5 mil bonus (tied 4th on team)

Ok, so Plaxico is paid like a Top 10 wide receiver while Boldin is certainly underpaid. Among the less quality receivers making more money than Boldin are: Chris Chambers (#1 paid receiver - are you kidding me?), Roy Williams, Deion Branch, Marty Booker, Nate Burleson, David Givens, Amani Toomer and Justin McCareins. I’m not listing all of these wide receivers to dog on them for getting a good paycheck, but give me a break… how many people would pick one of these players ahead of Anquan in a fantasy football draft?

Where I think the rub is from these players, is when they look at the NFL Draft and see how well the 1st round picks are being paid, and then compare that with their own salaries, they’re getting chump change. The NFL rookies have no experience, no accolades to speak of, etc., but they continue to receive 8-figure signing bonuses and guaranteed money. Look no further than the Atlanta Falcons recent signing of quarterback Matt Ryan - 6 yrs for $72 million - $34.75 of it guaranteed. Not only did they sign him for a huge guaranteed amount, but they also paid him more than the picks before him and more than the previous year. Most players won’t make $34.75 million in their entire career, let alone get that guaranteed without even taking a snap on the field.

Ultimately, the over-spending owners are causing these problems and forcing unnecessary grief on themselves. If I was a year-to-year Pro-Bowl caliber player and a rookie came in and made 10x what I was making, I would probably ask for a new contract as well. At the same time, an NFL contract is a contract, one that should be upheld between both parties involved.

If you have something to say, please leave a comment. We’d love to hear your opinions.

Ongoing coverage of the 2008 NBA Finals, Game 5:

Final result: Lakers force Game 6 after a tough showing on their homecourt. After nearly blowing a huge lead again, they held on in the end and delivered in a must-win game.

1st half…

Lakers take huge lead again, reminiscent of Game 4. As in that game, LA has already given up most of the lead and were fightining for their life late in the 2nd quarter. The entered the half w/ the lead, but just barely.

Kobe Bryant was on fire in the 1st quarter, but didn’t score in the 2nd. For Paul Pierce, it was just about the opposite… he scored very little in the 1st and took over in the 2nd. Lamar Odom has gotten a few layups from high pick ‘n rolls w/ Kobe and Pau Gasol, but other than that, he’s been playing about the same. The Lakers looked super-aggressive in the 1st quarter, led by Kobe, but went more than 5 minutes in the 2nd quarter without scoring.

The Celtics defense improved greatly in the 2nd quarter - one big reason the Lakers couldn’t score. Kevin Garnett was playing well early (8 pts), but got in foul trouble and played minimal minutes - only 13 seconds in 2nd quarter. He as 3 fouls (should be 2), so it will be interesting to see how LA attacks him and tries to get him out of the game. What’s really interesting, however, is that Kobe and the Lakers gave up the lead w/ Garnett on the bench.

Halftime show featured a story on Bill Walton and son Luke Walton. Seriously, they could have just done a story on Luke and I would’ve been happy. Is Bill Walton semi-mental? Granted it’s Father’s Day, but what a sappy ass monologue to his son. Btw… did you see the look on Luke’s face, like “do I really have to be here”?

2nd half just starting…

8:00 remaining in 3rd quarter; Celtics tie the game at 62.

(more…)

I thought I’d seen at all, until this morning while reading a story on FoxSports…

Viagra is being used as a performance enhancing drug in sports.  Apparently, the little blue pill has been showing up in locker rooms for years, but it’s never really been thought of as “performance enhancing” for sports.  Former BALCO owner, Victor Conte, stated that “All my athletes took it”.  The biggest name involved in this story, which should really be no surprise at this point, is Roger Clemens. 

Two stated benefits of using Viagra (besides the obvious one to treat erectile dysfunction):

• Building endurance, especially for athletes who compete at high altitudes, by delivering oxygen, nutrients and performance-enhancing drugs to muscles more efficiently.
• Offsetting impotence, which can be a side-effect of testosterone injections.

One question that comes to mind for me….  Wouldn’t you have to worry about…? Wouldn’t you….?  Is it appropriate to even ask?  Ok, here goes - wouldn’t you have to worry about a certain extremity making it’s presence more apparent? Wow, not a situation I’d like to be in, having Mr. Happy rise to greet me during the game.

Conte also claims that Viagra is “the biggest product in nutritional supplements”, “bigger than creatine”. So for all you athletes out there not using Viagra to increase your performance… beware!  Those big, bad, horny guys that are using it are all around you

In the circles of users, Viagra has a few other common names: “Vitamin V“, “Sildenafil Nitrate” (it’s official name) and “L-Via” (liquid Viagra).

It seems that everywhere you look, athletes are using everything at their disposal to increase their performance.  It’s a shame that they feel the need to, but perhaps it is perpetuated by the owners who are willing to look the other way, allthewhile signing huge signing bonuses and contracts. 

Perhaps the next illegal substance to be tested for should be milk, because Calcium is good for your bones, or carrots, because they’re good for sight (at night).

The Boston Celtics served notice on Thursday that they intend to defend their regular season record and compete for another NBA Championship.

Facing the L.A. Lakers in an epic Game 1, things looked bad for the Celtics in the 3rd quarter when Paul Pierce had to be helped off the court by teammates.  As the Lakers took the lead and appeared to be taking advantage of Pierce’s absence, the G/F re-emerged from the locker room to a standing ovation and helped lead his team back into the lead late in the 3rd quarter.

Boston’s defense was superb in the 2nd half, limiting the Lakers and stifling Kobe Bryant.  Kobe finished the game w/ 26 pts, but was 9-26 from the field, largely in part to the defense of Pierce and a few other Celtics role players.

The benches played a huge difference in Game 1; unfortunately for the Lakers, their contribution was virtually nill.  On the other hand, the Celtics got great contributions from Sam Cassell and PJ Brown, two veterans obtained late in the season to help Boston get to this point.

Kevin Garnett struggled w/ his shot late in the game, but came up w/ a monstrous comeback dunk late in the 4th quarter.

Photos from the 2008 NBA Finals - Game 1:

Paul Pierce returns from knee injury in Game 1 to lead Celtics

Paul Pierce injures knee & is carried off by teammates in Game 1

Kevin Garnett puts down a missed a shot late in Game 1

Kevin Garnett dunks in Game 1

Kobe Bryant struggles from the field in Game 1 thanks to tough Celtics' defense

Kobe Bryant shoots over Paul Pierce

The Boston Red Sox helped usher in a new 500 Home Run club member this weekend, as outfielder Manny Ramirez clubbed his 500th and 501st home runs against the Baltimore Orioles.

Manny Ramirez trots around bases after 500th home run

The historic 500th home run came against the Orioles Chad Bradford, who up until Saturday night, had given up very few home runs in the past 2 years. Manny had been swinging early in the count for several days, trying to be aggressive and to reach the milestone, but it was against Bradford, when Ramirez finally came through.

“I’m happy, you know, about everything I accomplished in life,” Ramirez said afterward. “Not everybody has the chance to go and get to 500. I’m just proud to do it.”

Manny Ramirez becomes only the 24th player in MLB history to reach the 500 home run mark. Ramirez had been trying to reach the milestone for several weeks - he was at 496 on April 19th and took approximately 34 games to 500.

With the feat, Manny also joined another illustrious group:

The 500-home run club has only two dozen members, but Ramirez also joined an even smaller fraternity. He is only the seventh player in baseball history with 500 homers, 1,500 RBIs, 1,000 walks, 475 doubles and a .300 batting average. The others are Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Mel Ott, Babe Ruth, Frank Thomas and Ted Williams.

Once the monkey was off his back, Ramirez quickly notched home run number 501 on Sunday, leading the Red Sox to a sweep over the rival Orioles.

Fellow Red Sox players were ecstatic for Manny Ramirez after he reached the 500 home run mark. He received greetings & handshakes, as well as high praise from current and former teammates. Despite the game being played in Camden Yards (Baltimore), Ramirez also received quite a bit of support from the fans as well.

While many detractors have labeled Manny as lazy and/or an uncaring superstar, it’s clear that they just don’t know the real guy, as evidenced by recent statements and reactions from his teammates and coaches. We’re witnessing one of the greatest hitters in baseball history - we just need to pay more attention…

Kasey Kahne is on a bit of a roll these days. After needing a fan vote to get him into last week’s All-Star race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Kasey took full advantage enroute to a victory and $1 million dollar payday.

Kahne followed up his All-Star win Sunday night w/ a late victory to win the Coca-Cola 600 (also at Lowe’s). Today’s race was the longest of the racing season - a true test of driving skills, mechanical expertise and a bit of luck. The Coca-Cola 600 spans 3 different parts of the day (mid-day, transition to night & night itself) and requires a lot of adapting and patience.

Had the Home Depot car, #20 Tony Stewart, not flattened a tire in the waning laps, Kasey Kahne would still have been looking at a #2 finish - not bad for a driver who’s been struggling for the past 2 years, following a great year in 2006 (6 total victories). With only a few laps left, Stewart hit the wall and surrendered the lead to Kahne, who cruised to the victory once conceded by the #20 car.

Kahne is definitely on the rise again - he’s been my Mom’s favorite driver for several years, as well as a driver that I have tried to follow closely. He is young and the ladies like him - if he keeps up his recent hot streak (he’s only 6 points out of the Chase), then you’ll want to be sure to pick up some Kasey Kahne apparel & merchandise.

With the victory, Kahne moves into 12th place for this year’s chase, only 406 points out of 1st place. Other drivers who made moves this week are Kevin Harvick (up 2 spots to #7), Matt Kenseth (up 4 spots to #16) and Jimmie Johnson (down 3 to #9). Fan favorite (besides Kahne of course), Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 5th in the 600 and sits in the 3rd position for the Chase, down just 139 points.