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Talk about being born into fandom. Ohio State's official Instagram posted photos of the first babies cloaked in the festive blankets. According to the Washington Post, the school did this previously in November, donning newborn babies with "Beat Michigan" blankets. The Buckeyes did. Read More »
Not only does Jim Harbaugh bring exceptional, next-level experience and a huge name to Michigan, but he also offers the school a major marketing opportunity: homegrown kid returns for one of the most lucrative contracts in NCAA history. There will be pressure on the new coach, but Michigan got its guy and now it's looking to profit from it. Of course, Harbaugh won't wear a jersey on the sideline. But you can wear his old one for a price. Read More »
Ndamukong Suh was initially suspended for stepping on the leg of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in a move that appeared intentional, but now Suh will be fined instead, at a hefty $70,000 clip. The Cowboys would have probably paid that much to keep Suh off the field. Probably more. Suh has collected 36 sacks in his five-year career, and is a main component in the Lions excellent run defense. The Cowboys rely on their run game to give quarterback Tony Romo a break. According to ESPN, Suh has been flagged for 38 penalties since 2010 and fined over $200,000 in his career, over which he's earned the reputation as one of the NFL's dirtiest players. Rodgers was peeved after the incident, saying he believed Suh stepped on him on purpose. Read More »
Cabrera signed a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Rays today, according to ESPN, in a move that will make Met fans initially scratch their heads. Cabrera is a cheap veteran who would serve as a serviceable stopgap at the position, where Ruben Tejada has stunk up for too long and Wilmer Flores may need more time to learn defensively. Cabrera was an All-Star as recently as 2012 and received MVP votes as recently as 2011, although his production has declined. But he's still just 28 and would provide decent plate production while excelling in the field. He looked like a perfect fit. Now it looks like the Mets missed out. Or did they? Read More »
Gore has spent all of his 10 seasons as a member of the 49ers, so he knows a lot of the media members well. The five-time Pro Bowler was twice named team MVP and was a AP Second Team All-Pro in 2006. While rumors have been circulated that Gore will retire, the Los Angeles Times reported Gore said "I'll be back," at the pizza party, indicating that maybe he won't. But even if this is Gore' last hurrah, what a better way to thank the media that's been along with him on the ride. Read More »
Wait, wait. Hold on a second. Manziel is right. He deserves a break. After all, he did play in TWO games this season for the Browns, attempting a total of 35 passes. Whew! He must be absolutely spent. Read More »
Black Monday came and the Buffalo Bills lost a major piece of their puzzle, but it might not have been the kind of loss you're thinking of. Instead of a coaching change, which has yet to come and still in the rumor phase, according to the "Buffalo News," the Bills lost their starting quarterback. Kyle Orton announced his retirement. So no coaching or front office changes ... yet. The Bills were 7-5 in Orton's 12 starts this season, and he retires after a 10-year career playing for five different teams, according to syracuse.com's Matt Fairburn. The Bills finished 9-7 overall and missed the playoffs despite a second-place finish in the AFC East. "I just have been going at it for 10 years and it's just a family decision and I've decided to get home and be a dad and call it a day," Orton said in a news release, according to syracuse.com. The news detracted from what was supposed to be a bloodbath in Orchard Park, if rumors are to be believed, according to the "Buffalo News." The "News" reported that whispers of a front office shakeup overshadowed the Bills's 17-9 victory over the New England Patriots Sunday, Dec. 28, at Gillette Stadium. This from the "News": "It began Saturday, [Dec. 27,] when Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk speculated that former Bills General Manager Bill Polian was on the verge of returning to the team that went to three consecutive Super Bowls on his watch. Florio went so far as to say Polian could be on the job, in an unspecified capacity, by Monday. Afterward, Polian told The Buffalo News the story wasn't true." The Bills's new owners want coach Doug Marrone to return, reports ESPN. The second-year coach has an escape clause in his contract that gives him three days to terminate his contract now that the season is over, according to ESPN. We're almost through one day, the biggest, baddest Monday in the NFL cycle, and Marrone is still the coach of the Bills. Read More »
In about a week the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame voting will be revealed, and we will see who makes up the Cooperstown class of 2015. After no candidates were selected in 2013, the 2014 class inducted pitchers Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and first baseman Frank Thomas. This year's ballot is stacked, with sure-things like Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez, good candidates with chart history like Mike Piazza and Craig Biggio, and disgraced superstars like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. But one name that consistently gets overlooked is Gary Sheffield's. Gary Sheffield has Hall of Fame numbers. But he is linked to the BALCO scandal that played a role in bringing Bonds down, and his ties to performance-enhancing drug use has made him an afterthought, according to Bleacher Report. He won't receive the required 75 percent of the vote to become a first-ballot elect, but will he even hang around on the ballot? If not, he would be the second player with 500 career home runs to prematurely lose eligibility. Rafael Palmeiro has basically been blackballed because of his proven drug use, his 3,000 hits and 500 home runs be damned. But for various reasons, Sheffield's accomplishments are even less public knowledge. Let's take a look at them: Read More »
Fister extended to his followers more generosity than he did opposing hitters in 2014. For the first time in his career, Fister placed in the Cy Young voting. He posted a 2.41 ERA and 16-6 record in 164 innings pitched to place eighth in the NL voting, according to Baseball Reference. His ERA and win totals were all career highs. Read More »
With the NFL regular season over, the playoff picture is taking shape. Same goes for the NFL Draft order. Which teams succeeded in their tanking endevaors? Which didn't lose enough and didn't put themselves in a position to win anytime soon? Here's the top 20 picks in order, according to NBC Sports: 1. Tampa Bay (2-14) 2. Tennessee (2-14) 3. Jacksonville (3-13) 4. Oakland (3-13) 5. Washington (4-12) 6. New York Jets (4-12) 7. Chicago (5-11) 8. Atlanta (6-10) 9. New York Giants (6-10) 10. St. Louis (6-10) 11. Minnesota (7-9) 12. Cleveland (7-9) 13. New Orleans (7-9) 14. Miami (8-8) 15. San Francisco (8-8) 16. Houston (9-7) 17 Kansas City (9-7) 18. San Diego (9-7) 19. Cleveland (from Buffalo 9-7) 20. Philadelphia (10-6) Read More »
It seems like we go through this every year: The New York Giants underachieve and almost every local talking head with a mouthpiece goes to bat for coach Tom Coughlin, citing his competitive spirit, ability to rally the troops and ever-distant playoff success. And Coughlin is always spared. According to ESPN, it's déjà vu in 2014 as Coughlin was told he'll remain with the club for another season. The Giants finished 6-10 this season, their second losing campaign in a row. They missed the playoffs for the third straight season and at one point lost seven games in a row. Coughlin, 68, is one of only 13 coaches to win at least two Super Bowls. He led the Giants over the undefeated New England Patriots in 2007 and then the Giants again in 2011, when they defeated the Patriots again. And yet after every championship season, the Giants start the whole thing over from scratch. They haven't made the playoffs since the last win, but that's enough capitol for Coughlin to keep his gig. Read More »
Mike Smith went 66-46 in the regular season through seven years with the Atlanta Falcons, but a 10-22 mark over the last two campaigns led the Falcons to fire Smith in a Black Monday move. Smith wasn't the best game manager despite being the winningest coach in Falcons history, according to "Sports Illustrated." But he dealt with a depleted roster the past two years, as the team didn't surround quarterback Matt Ryan with adequate talent. Who could replace Smith in Atlanta? The Falcons haven't had to make such a search in quite some time. "Sports Illustrated" reports the team has hired a search firm for help. Some candidates they could be after include New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles and Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Case. Of course, one should also keep an eye on the other coaches fired Monday — Rex Ryan and Marc Trestman — as well as former coaches turned executives or analysts, such as Mike Singeltary, John Gruden and Bill Cowher. Read More »
Thus ends Trestman's first stint as an NFL head coach. He previously worked as an offensive coordinator with the Oakland Raiders, assistant head coach with the Miami Dolphins and head coach in the Canadian Football League, according to SB Nation. The Bears rarely hire coaches with NFL head coaching experience. The Bears also fired general manager Phil Emery and offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer according to ESPN. Emery is responsible for hiring Trestman to replace former coach Lovie Smith and for inking Cutler to an elaborate and expensive extension. Cutler's deal is worth $126 million, with $54 million guaranteed. He threw 18 interceptions this season. Read More »
