Monday, December 2, 2013

Death After Kansas City Chiefs Game

 

Follwing the Kansas City Chiefs game this Sunday against the Denver Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium a man died and three people were taken in for questioning after an altercation in the parking lot. The story is that the man who died was found dead inside someone else's vehile. When emergency crews arrived the man was found laying on the pavement unconscious and he later died after being transported to a hospital. The police and emergency crews are unsure of the death, whether it was from a freak accident, a heart attack or who knows what. Until then the case seems to be a little suspicious. Could an angry Chiefs fan have taken his anger out on someone or did the man who died get a little too rowdy during the game? No body knows any answers as of right now. They will eventually come into the clear though.

Cam Newton's New Cleats

Cam Newton, is the Carolina Panthers star quarterback and one of the up-and-coming new players in the NFL. He recently was sighted this past Sunday during the Carolina home game wearing "batman" cleats. As most of us know, Cam has been known for his crazy and original styles of football cleats that he wears. He is sponsored by UnderArmour so possibly he is making these new ideas and sending them to the company requesting a pair to promote them on Sundays. Fans love it, teammates love it, everyone seems to. This coming week he will be put to the test however, with his Panthers going up against the New Orlean Saints this coming Sunday night (December 8th, 2013). So he better wear the right cleats that help him perform the proper way rather than making a fashion statement.
 

Monday, November 25, 2013

Kidd has Owners Support

The Brooklyn Nets' slide has reached five straight losses, but rookie coach Jason Kidd continues to have the support of the team's Russian ownership, according to league sources. Playing without the injured Deron Williams, Brook Lopez, Andrei Kirilenko and Jason Terry, Brooklyn faded in the second half Sunday night and came away with a 109-97 home loss to the Detroit Pistons
to fall to a stunning 3-10. Kidd continues to have the backing of his bosses with Brooklyn dealing with several injuries and other mitigating factors which have contributed to the poor start. The Nets are in 14th place in the East through Sunday, despite the NBA-record payroll sanctioned by Russian billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov, who is on course to spend around $190 million this season on salaries and luxury taxes. Among the Nets' initial concerns early in the season, sources confirmed, were some "philosophical differences" between Kidd and lead assistant Lawrence Frank. How do you think their season will end up? Will they be able to turn things around or will they remain the way they are?

Rose Out Again

Derrick Rose, who sat out all last season came back this year just to sit out yet again. Last time it was his ACL in his left knee, now it is his MCL in his right knee. Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose will have surgery to repair a medial meniscus tear in his right knee on Monday in Chicago, according to Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau.The surgery will be performed by Dr. Brian Cole, the same man who performed the ACL surgery on Rose in May of 2012.

There are two options as to the direction Rose and his doctors will decide to fix the knee. They could either remove the meniscus, or a portion of it, and Rose could be back on the floor in a matter of weeks. What seems more likely, is that Rose and the Bulls will decide to have the meniscus re-attached, which would put him out for upwards of four to six months.While the first procedure would put him back on the court sooner, many players who have had that procedure, including Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade, say that it causes more problems later in a player's career. Given Rose's age (25) and the fact the Bulls have millions of dollars still wrapped up in his future, the likely scenario is that Rose and the organization will choose to take the longer approach with the hope that he can return to being the same player before his first knee injury.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Rondo for Shumpert

The new buzz going on in the NBA trade headlines is that the New York Knicks guard Iman Shumpert may be getting traded to the Boston Celtics for injured point guard Rajon Rondo. Their have been multiple reports of this trade. News also broke again that Shumpert underwent a previously unrevealed left knee surgery last summer. He had an operation on the same knee in the spring of 2012 which made him miss the beginning of the 2012-13 season. Shumpert is averaging this season, 8.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 30.7 minutes in the first nine games.
Rondo's career averages are 11.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 8.3 assists per game. In this trade the Knicks are also offering power forward Amar'e Stoudemire and point guard Raymond Felton. Besides trying to deal with the Celtics, the Knicks have had discussions with the Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings for Shumpert. In my eyes Shumpert is a good role player that is very athletic and some nights may put up big numbers, but for now he is an average player that a teams offense doesn't necessarily revolve around.

Ref Insulted Player?



According to Washington Redskins offensive lineman, Trent Williams, an official at this past Sunday's game on November 17th, 2013 insulted him. The Redskins ended up losing to the Philadelphia Eagles 24-16 in a thrilling comeback. If Williams' claims are true, at least one of the officials will be getting repremanded. Williams claimed an NFL official called him "fat a** garbage" during the game. Following the game the offensive lineman was heated in the locker room due to frustration. He told reporters "refs were getting in their heads..They were unprofessional. Garbage a** disrespectful mother f***... I'm at a lost for words". Apparently Williams said you can read the refs lips on the game tape and that some of the interior linemen were wearing microphones so the team can get sound of the refs if they did. This in my mind is completely wrong if this referee did indeed call Williams with use of inappropriate language.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Enough is Enough




The whole scandal of Incognito has started to become repetitive and is overtaking the sports world and on ESPN. We all get the point of what's going on, but it's becoming redundant. New information is getting spread each day as they further investigate. I'd agree with one of Incognito's comments, when he said "lies spread faster than the truth can come out and pull up his pants". He was trying to make light of the situation and add humor as he expressed, but the comment is true. Rumors and lies do get spread before people can intervene and let the truth be known. I forsee in the next few weeks more information to come and Incognito will not be the only player getting fined or suspended.

Getting Close


In the most recent AP poll ratings, Alabama remains at #1 in the nation and Florida State comes in at #2. This is starting to become one of the most anticipated championship games if both teams can remain undefeated. The match-up would include two of the top possible NFL Draft Quarterbacks in A.J. McCarron and Jameis Winston. "Famous Jameis" Florida State University's freshman quarterback has put on a show this year and both Winston and McCarron are still in the top for Heisman candidates as well. The numbers both guys have put up this year have been outstanding. What is your predictions for Heisman hopefuls and the BCS Championship game?

Monday, November 4, 2013

Foles Gold


Nick Foles on Sunday November 3rd, 2013 tied an NFL single-game record. He threw for the record tying seven touchdown passes against the Oakland Raiders. Overall in the game he threw for 406 yards and completed 22 pass attempts out of 28. He only missed his target six times then and threw no interceptions. This may be a surprise to some NFL fans as Nick Foles of the Philadelphia Eagles was the back-up quarterback at the start of the season, behind Michael Vick. Vick has been sidelined the last few games due to an injury which he's recovering from. With the potent offense Nick Foles is giving the Eagles it will be tough to say if Vick will come back as the starting quarterback or not at this moment. Currently Foles has to have an edge with his most recent games he has been putting together. They've been putting together nice wins the past couple of weeks and if this keeps up they will be looking at a playoff spot.

New Apps Set for Gamers

OverDog is a new app for users to connect with athletes and other video gamers. Essentially this app is used to challenge or start a match-up against someone in the newest sporting games. The most popular on the app are; Madden 25, FIFA 14, 2k14, NHL 13, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. This is a new way for sports fans to be able to connect with their favorite athletes. Basically if you want to challenge anyone in a certain video game, you create a challenge video. This consists of making a video of yourself while stating the game you are playing and calling out anybody to beat you. You also leave your gamer tag or identification name in the video for people to connect to your console. This is one of the newest forms of connecting with athletes and just goes to show the shift of technology.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Megatron


This week the Lions defeated the Cowboys in surprising fashion 31-30. Calvin Johnson, "Megatron", wide receiver for the Detroit Lions finished the game with 329 yards receiving on 14 receptions and one touchdown. The 329 yards almost broke the NFL record for most yards in a single game. Flippery Anderson had 336 yards for the Los Angeles Rams against New Orleans on Nov. 26, 1989 when that game went into overtime. Calvin Johnson has been a huge factor over the last few seasons and arguably the best Wide Receiver in the league. The Lions would be nowhere near effective as they are without him on the team. Even though their record isn't what they would like it to be, every team they play each week has one thing on their mind. That is to stop "Megatron" from having a huge game.

BCS Oregon over Florida State For #2?



This week Oregon passed Florida State to take over the number 2 spot in the BCS standings. Florida State was #2 this past week and won comfortably on Saturday, yet somehow find themselves dropping back to #3. Oregon beat UCLA this weekend 42-14 while Florida State beat NC state 49-17. Even though Oregon played the #12 team in the standings at the time, UCLA, I still feel as if Florida State should still be at the #2 spot. My prediction for the BCS championship game is Oregon vs. Florida State. Sometime in the next few weeks Alabama is going to lose in a close game to a team who just rides the momentum and comes up big. Perhaps this week when they play LSU or their last game on Nov. 30th against Auburn. Ohio State is also knocking on the door and are currently in the #4 slot, but are looking to make an impact as they remain undefeated for the year.

Monday, October 21, 2013

Sam Bradford Down for the Count




On Sunday Sam Bradford suffered a torn ACL in their loss to the Carolina Panthers, moving their record to 3-4 of the year. This effected more than just their record. Reports on Monday say that he is out for the season and who knows if he will come back as a St. Louis Ram or not. His numbers through seven games were very good: 1,687 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, and only four interceptions. This was looking like a positive season for the Rams after each season they had struggled with Bradford since they drafted him.
Now the Rams have a tough decision to make and will probably be made by the end of today, that is, who are they going to pick up for their Quarterback. They could go out and get Matt Leinart, Vince Young, David Carr, Tyler Thigpen or John Skelton who are all in camp or on rosters most recently.

Tigers Manager Announces Retirement

Jim Leyland, recent manager of the Detroit Tigers has declared he is retiring in a press conference on Monday October 21st, 2013. He announces this after the Tigers lost to the Boston Red Sox in the Game 6 American League Championship Series. As Tigers head coach he was there for seven years which he helped them get three American League Central Division titles and two World Series appearances. They went to the American League Championship Series three years straight.

Overall Leyland's record was 700-597(.541) and won at least 90 games three times with the Detroit Tigers. His career record as a manager was 1,769-1,728 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Florida Marlins, Colorado Rockies, and Detroit Tigers. He is a two-time NL Manager of the Year (1990, 1992) and was AL Manager of the Year in 2006.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Relentless Kobe

Kobe Bryant who sustained a torn Achilles tendon last season has been rehabillitating and plans to come back to the game he loves very soon. He claims, "if today was a playoff or NBA Finals game, could I play? Probably." Lately he has been moving around more and participating more. He has been testing it out and seeing where he stands and how long before he will be able to make a return from his injury. Kobe says he would need about three weeks to regain his conditioning level to where he would like it to be for the regular season to start. With the regular season a little over two weeks away he says it's time to "rev it up a little bit." As he has been doing more running on a treadmill and trying to get the range of motion back to go full speed.

Worker at 49ers Stadium Dies

At the new $1.2 billion San Francisco 49ers stadium a truck driver's death was considered a workplace accident and not a crime by police. This was the second worker death at the construction site. Apparently the story was that a delivery truck driver was crushed early Monday October 14th, 2013 by a bundle of rebar being unloaded from his truck. The new stadium called Levi Stadium is replacing Candlestick Park and plans to be done by this July. Officials say they are working hard to get the stadium finished on time and to avoid delays. The open stadium is supposed to have the largest lower bowl in the league, ensuring the 68,500 fans are close to the action. The construction costs are being paid by $800 million in seat and luxury box sales, along with a 20-year, $220 million naming rights agreement with Levi Strauss and Co. announced in May.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Aldon Smith Pressed With Charges (Again)

Yet again San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith has been charged with another crime. This one is for three felony counts of illegal possession of an assault weapon, from a party at his home in June 2012. He already is off of the team while undergoing treatment for substance abuse at an in-patient facility following a DUI arrest on September 20th. Last month Smith and a former teammate Delanie Walker were named in a lawsuit in Santa Clara County Superior Court by a Northern California man who said he was shot at a party at Smith's house on June 29, 2012. The players apparently charged $10 admission fee and $5 per drink at this party. Smith and Walker allegedly were intoxicated when they fired gunshots into the air off a balcony while trying to end the party according to the lawsuit. Smith was previously arrested on a suspicion of DUI in January 2012 in Miami just after the 49ers lost in the NFC title game.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

The Return of D-Rose

Derrick Rose Shows No Fear in Return to Action
Is Derrick Rose going to play this year? Point guard for the Chicago Bulls says he is fully prepared for the upcoming season and cannot wait to get on the court. Rose, now healthy, missed all of last season and half of the season before due to an ACL reconstructive surgery and recovery. Just recently in a pre-season matchup between the Bulls and rival Indiana Pacers Derrick Rose showed everyone that he is back to his old tricks. He led his team to an 82-76 victory. Sources say "The Return" was well worth the wait and he looks better than ever. Many people criticized him for missing all of last season because technically he was medically cleared. Rose just wanted to come back to basketball at the top of his game and didn't want to be 80% or 90% healthy.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Rondo to Lead Celtics



Rajon Rondo, point guard for the Boston Celtics is ready to get back in action after he tore his ACL last season. He could still be out until December while he is still recovering from the reconstructive surgery. When confronted with the media about losing some key players on his team Rondo played it cool and acted like it did not phase him. Most Boston fans were shocked when they heard the two veterans, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were leaving to go play with the Brooklyn Nets and coach Doc Rivers will be going to the Los Angeles Clippers. Rondo spent nearly his whole career playing with those guys (2007-2012) and now he shrugs his shoulders at the thought of playing without them. Rajon Rondo is a tough-minded player in the NBA, but losing two of the best to play in Boston is really going to make it hard on the team to compete with the big teams in the league such as the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers.

Monday, September 30, 2013

Big Ben: Bold Statement

In the latest NFL news after Week 4 of the regular season, Pittsburgh Steeler's quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger announces they have the worst team in the league. This is after the Steelers lost to the Vikings in London, dropping their record to 0-4.
The lost came against a winless Minnesota Vikings team who put it to Pittsburgh in the 34-27 matchup. With this loss, it could potentially mean the Steelers are already out of playoff contention. The Steelers, are however still battling it out with the New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Jacksonville Jaguars for the "worst team" in the National Football League.

Friday, September 27, 2013

*Buctober*

As most MLB and Pittsburgh Pirate fans already know Buctober is in full swing. The Pirates secured their playoff berth in their win over the Chicago Cubs on Monday September 23rd, 2013. This is the first time the Pirates have been in the playoff picture since 1992. They're looking to play the Cincinnati Reds for the National League Wild Card "Play-In" Game. This weekend they have their last regular season series, which happens to be against the Reds. This series could potentially determine which team gets to play on their home field on Tuesday October 1st, 2013 for the "Play-In" game. Overall, the Pirates really have a good chance to play late in October, they just have to capitalize on their opportunities.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Introduction

My name is Austin McElrath, a junior Sport Management major at Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, PA. My career interest areas include: marketing, management, and coaching. My overall goal is to become an athletic director either at the high school or collegiate level. My favorite sporting events to attend would be baseball, basketball, football, and hockey games. I am a huge Pittsburgh sports fan including the Pirates, Pens, and Steelers. Let's Go Bucs!