Manziel Is Out

Well it looks like Johnny Manziel has drunk himself out of a job. The Cleveland Browns have said that they plan to release Manziel in March when the season restarts and caps are reset. Johnny “football” became the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns in 2015 and started most of their games. This is Manziel’s 2nd year in the league and he had been plagued with controversy almost his entire time here. Manziel, in this football season alone, has been pulled over by a police officer for getting into a fight with his girlfriend in his car, had multiple videos surface of himself drinking at parties, and purposely missed his meeting with the team medic after getting a concussion. Prior to these problems, Manziel had other numerous incidents including getting kicked out of the Manning Passing Academy for oversleeping and being suspended by Texas A&M for and inadvertent violation of NCAA rules after much suspicion of Manziel accepting money for autographs. In 2012, Manziel was selected as the Texas A&M starting quarterback and before his first start he was arrested, charged for disorderly conduct, failure to identify, and possession of a fictitious driver's license. Following this incident Manziel was reportedly walking down the street with a friend who yelled a racial slur at another man, a fight ensued and police arrived shortly after. Manziel was taken into custody after he gave the officer a fake license saying he was twenty-one when he was only nineteen.

With all this being said, I don’t blame Cleveland for saying they are going to release Manziel. Though he was a Heisman trophy winner in college he drunk himself out of a football career. I give him credit to the fact that he is a talented player who can run and throw very well, but he is not mature enough to play in this league and he lacks good on and off the field decision making. I mean he already checked himself into a rehabilitation clinic earlier in 2015, but he left that before he even finished. For those of you who don’t know I am a Cowboys fan and the fact that there are rumors going around that Dallas wants to sign him makes me want to throw up. After we have seen 4 years of numerous arrests and controversy, I don’t know who in their right mind would hire him, I mean he would be lucky to get a normal every day job with his criminal history so why are we allowing him to play a professional sport and allowing him to be a potentially idol for kids. Bottom line Manziel doesn’t deserve a spot in this league until he can clean his act up and even then I personally don’t think he should have a spot.

Written by Kenny Quinn

MLB Off-Season Winners

With the conclusion of the 2015 MLB season, we have now come to one of the most interesting parts of the MLB: The off-season. This is a time where fans wait in anticipation to see whether their teams make good deals, sign free agents and make final cuts. So far we have seen a very entertaining off-season with numerous acquisitions and total spending budget of $1.6 billion, which tops even the new Star Wars box office number at $1.2 billion. So, with that being said, let’s take a look at which teams have had the best off-season this year.

1. Chicago Cubs

The Cubbies have made the best moves possible this off-season. They acquired the top outfielder available in Jason Heyward, who they stole away from their arch rival the St. Louis Cardinals. Heyward is very valuable on the defensive side of the ball ranking in the top 5 for best defensive fielding percentage in the game over the last 3 seasons. They also picked up the jack of all trades in Ben Zobrist. Zobrist can play almost anywhere on the field and he can do it well at each place. They also acquired 3 quality pitchers in John Lackey, Trevor Cahill and Adam Warren to help reinforce an already deadly rotation.

2. Atlanta Braves

The Braves had a terrible 2015, finishing second to last in their division pulling ahead of only the Phillies. Just a few years ago they were a favorite to win the division, but they traded away so many players to help boost this farm system. Many think that the winners are the teams who go out and get that top of the line free agent, but I beg to differ, sometimes it’s the team that sells. The Braves did this perfectly. Trading away Shelby Miller and getting a group of minor leaguers including the 2015 first pick in shortstop Dansby Swanson. The Braves now have the number 1 rated farm system in the game and are prepared for their future.

3. Detroit Tigers

The Tigers had a streak of seasons where they were on top of the AL Central, but were dethroned by the Kansas City Royals. The Tigers however; have had a decent off season. They have made 2 key additions that can help them win in 2016. Jordan Zimmerman is a former National who was an anchor in their rotation for the last 5 years, in 1 year he was even a top 5 in Cy Young voting. Another is the addition of Justin Upton who is one of the best young power hitters in the game.

With all of that being said, I think that each of these teams will have a successful 2016.

Written by Kenny Quinn

LeBron or Steph?

The NBA is the pinnacle of basketball. Anyone who claims to be great at basketball should try their luck with the league because chances are; you aren’t as good as you think you are. But, to be sitting atop the NBA and be called “the best in the world” is an honor that so few people will ever understand. Looking at the NBA right now, there has been a huge debate as to who is the real best player in the league. For years, there has been little doubt that former Miami Heat small forward and current Cavaliers forward LeBron James has been the best players in the league. However, there’s a new kid on campus who is trying to take that spot from LeBron; his name is Stephen Curry. Steph Curry plays point guard for the Golden State Warriors and is easily the best point guard in the league. The debate has come down to who is better: LeBron James or Steph Curry? Curry is a magician with a basketball. Every night it seems like he has broken some poor guy’s ankles or he made a 3 pointer that a normal person would think to be impossible. He is the reigning MVP and NBA Champion after beating LeBron’s Cleveland Cavaliers last year. LeBron is a 6’8”, 250 pound beast on the court. There is literally nothing that LeBron cannot do. He can shoot, he can drive in the paint, he’s a good ball handler, he can rebound and he’s a pretty good passer as well. LeBron is a 2 time champion with both rings coming as a member of the Heat. So who is better? Let’s go to the stats.

NBA Championships: Stephen Curry 1 LeBron James 2

All-Star Games: Stephen Curry 2 LeBron James 11

Season MVP: Stephen Curry 1 LeBron James 4

Finals MVP: Stephen Curry 0 LeBron James 2

All-NBA First Team: Stephen Curry 1 LeBron James 9

All-Defensive 1st Team: Stephen Curry 0 LeBron James 5

Career

Points per Game: Stephen Curry 21.7 LeBron James 27.3  

Rebounds per Game: Stephen Curry 4.2  LeBron James 7.1  

Assists per Game: Stephen Curry 6.9  LeBron James 6.9  

Steals Per Game: Stephen Curry 1.8  LeBron James 1.7  

Blocks per Game: Stephen Curry 0.2  LeBron James 0.8  

Playoffs:

Points per game: Stephen Curry 25.9  LeBron James 28.2  

Rebounds per Game: Stephen Curry 4.4  LeBron James 8.8  

Assists per Game: Stephen Curry 7.3  LeBron James 6.7  

Steals per Game:   Stephen Curry 1.8  LeBron James 1.7  

Blocks per Game: Stephen Curry 0.2  LeBron James 0.9  

After looking at the statistics, I would take LeBron James. While Steph could get there someday, today I’m taking LeBron.What do you think? Comment who your pick is below!

Written by Kenny Quinn

Like this post? Share it or follow us on social media!

Who Will Be in the Super Bowl???

Championship weekend is upon us and we have 2 great matchups that we are going to see between the Patriots and the Broncos and the Cardinals and the Panthers. Let’s take a look at the first matchup.

Broncos vs. Patriots- What is the headline here? Oh it’s nothing, just another matchup between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. The Brady-Manning rivalry is one of the most historic and competitive rivalries in pro football. These two quarterbacks are easily in the top 10 for best quarterbacks of all time and have led some of the greatest teams of all time. Here’s the crazy fact: 9 out of the last 15 Super Bowls have featured one of these two gunslingers. Just think about it.  There are 16 teams in the AFC, these are just two quarterbacks in the whole conference. The only other quarterbacks to go to the Super Bowl in the AFC in the last 15 years are Ben Rothlisburger (3), Joe Flacco and Rich Gannon. So needless to say there is a heated battle here. To add to the heat, Broncos defensive lineman Antonio Smith told reporters this week that he believes Tom Brady is the biggest crybaby he has ever seen in the NFL due to the fact that Brady always looks at the refs after getting hit. He would finish by saying that though Brady does this, he does get right back up and he keeps on playing. HAHA! I’m sorry but, I feel bad that Denver has to play New England this weekend. Tom Brady is already one of the most dangerous players in the NFL in regular and in postseason history. Why on Earth would you want to make him mad? Don’t be surprised if psycho Tom Brady shows up in Denver this coming weekend.

Cardinals vs. Panthers- A battle of youth and experience is what I call this. While neither team has much experience in the Super Bowl (both have only been to one and they both lost), the Cardinals have an older cast of players to Panthers younger group. The Panthers snuck by the Seahawks last week after almost losing a 31 point lead in the 4th quarter. The dethroned Seahawks were shocked; I mean how else do you react after winning consecutive NFC crowns? The Cardinals played a magical game against the Packers on Saturday in what could be the game of the year. The red birds were winning by 7 with 5 seconds to go and reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers makes the greatest throw I have ever seen (50 yards in air while on the run, under pressure and having to throw across his body) to Jeff Janis for a touchdown to send the game into overtime. The Cardinals would escape after a 5 yard rushing touchdown by Larry Fitzgerald. So after both of these teams escaped last week, one will not be so lucky in this performance.

So who wins? The Patriots and Broncos I believed was going to be a great game, but after Antonio Smith opened his mouth, this could turn into a dominant performance by the Patriots. Just saying Tom Brady doesn’t like it very much when people criticize him. Just ask all the scouts that said he would never amount anything in this league back in 2000. The Cardinals and Panthers should be a fun to watch, hard hitting, high flying and action filled game. Both teams are still have the taste of victory in their mouths and are ready to get some more. But if my money is going anywhere on this game it is going to the Panthers.

Written by Kenny Quinn

Like this post? Share it! Or follow us on social media!

Divisional Playoff Weekend

This weekend, we saw a plethora of great football matchups. We started off with a great matchup between the Patriots and the Chiefs. Most people were expecting a great matchup between a really good Chiefs defense and a really talented Patriots offense. The game went exactly as I was envisioning it would. The Patriots played the typical clutch postseason football that they have played for the last 15 years. Tom Brady went off having his 9th career playoff game with 300 passing yards. The Patriots also had Gronk, Julian Edleman and Danny Amendola in the same game for the first time since early in the season. In the end, the Patriots won 27-20 and moved on to the Championship game.

In my opinion, the Cardinals and Packers game was the best game of the year. The Cardinals killed the Packers during the regular season with a 36-6 thrashing of Green Bay. So what changed? The Packers finally had all the pieces back together on the offensive line. Aaron Rodgers was finally protected and played very well throughout the game. Of course the part everyone is talking about is the final drive where Rodgers threw not 1 but 2 hail mary passes and scored a touchdown as time expired to send the game into overtime. In overtime however, it took the Cardinals only 3 plays to get into the end zone. A 69 yard catch and run from Larry Fitzgerald and then a 5 yard touchdown run by Fitzgerald won the game for the Cardinals and we will see them next week in the Championship game.

The Panthers and Seahawks game looked like it was over from the first whistle. The Panthers scored on their first drive and then had a pick 6 off of Russel Wilson. The Panthers would then get the ball back and score again on another drive and then picked Russel Wilson off again and they would kick a field goal to make the score 24-0. A final touchdown would give the Panthers a 31-0 lead going into halftime. If there is one thing we have learned however, it is that the Seahawks have a flare for the dramatic. Last year the Hawks came back from a 2 score deficit in the last 2 minutes to send the game into overtime and would eventually win the game. It almost appeared as if it would happen again on Sunday because the Seahawks would score 24 unanswered points but it was too late. The Panthers won 31-24 and have dethroned the Seahawks reign atop the NFC.

The final game this weekend was between the Steelers and the Broncos. The game was the most unentertaining game this weekend. The Broncos won, but I believe it would have gone a completely different way if the Steelers had all the necessary pieces like Antonio Brown and Leveon Bell. Peyton Manning struggled and he played one of the worst playoff games of his career, his streak of consecutive playoff games with a touchdown was snapped and he threw an interception. He was saved by the fact that the Broncos had a great running game going and a fantastic defensive performance. We will see another playoff matchup between Brady and Manning for the 3rd time. Comment your predictions below!

Written by Kenny Quinn

Relocation

It looks like the city of St. Louis is out of a football team. The St. Louis Rams have now packed up and moved to the American media capital, Los Angeles. It has been 21 years since the city of Los Angeles has a pro football team. The Rams actually used to reside in Los Angeles before 1995 along with the Raiders, and the following season the Rams moved to St. Louis and the Raiders moved to Oakland. Since the moves the Raiders have done next to nothing with their best season coming in 2003 when they went to the AFC championship game against the New England Patriots in the infamous “tuck rule game.” The Rams had a great run in the late 90’s early 2000’s, a stretch where they won the Super Bowl in 1999 against the Titans and they went back to the Dance against the Patriots in 2001 where they lost to Tom Brady in his first Super Bowl game. Since that time the Rams and Raiders have both struggled and maybe a change of scenery can help. Prior to their move the Rams won the NFL Championship in 1951 and lost to the Steelers in the Super Bowl in 1979. The Raiders won 4 Championship in 1983, 1980, 1976 and 1967. So the Rams have never really had a sustained period of success, the Raiders had a great run in the 80’s, but it was watered down by the successes of the Joe Montana and Jerry Rice and that great 49ers dynasty. I think this will be a good move for the NFL as they are moving to a media giant in Los Angeles so I do think the NFL will prosper.

Written by Kenny Quinn

Like this post? Share it or follow us on social media!

National Title Game

On January 11, 2016, we will see the National Championship between number 1 Clemson and number 2 Alabama. Who is going to win between the 2 college powerhouses? Honestly I feel like this matchup is not between the 2 best teams in the country. I feel that the best 2 teams in the country are Alabama and Oklahoma. Of course people will call me crazy because Clemson beat Oklahoma, but in my defense that game was won during the halftime speech. At halftime of that game Oklahoma was leading by 1, but after that there was one thing that kept Oklahoma out of the game, Samaje Perine. Samaje Perine is Oklahoma’s star running back and he holds the record for the most rushing yards in a game in history with 427 yards in one game. Perine was named All-American second team running back and was an extremely valuable part to Oklahoma’s offense which scored 17 points in the first half with Perine and then left just before halftime with an ankle injury. So I do believe a healthy Perine would have helped Oklahoma’s offense which only rushed for 67 yards total. But regardless Oklahoma isn’t playing in the title game, so now I will focus on Clemson vs. Alabama.

Clemson and Alabama will play each other for the first time since 2008 when ‘Bama won 34-10. Alabama has won 12 straight games against Clemson dating back to, get this, 1909! Alabama has not lost to Clemson since 1905 when they lost 25-0. It’s safe to say this is a bit of a lopsided history in favor of Alabama. The last time Clemson won the title is the only time they won it, in 1981. On the other hand Alabama is trying to win their 3rd in the last 5 years. Clemson has won 1 national and Alabama has won 11 which is the most of any team ever. Needless to say Clemson has a lot to deal with as does Alabama.

Clemson remains undefeated as of right now. They are pretty much perfect and no one has been able to hold a candle to them at least to this point. Clemson definitely deserves to be where they are. They played a stingy defense and a high scoring fast paced offense this year. It has often become referred to as “Clemsoning” when a team has great year but they for whatever reason can’t seem to close out the year and make it to the big dance. However, they finally did it. Alabama is a team that is always here. They are expected to win and when they don’t it’s a shocker. They lost one game to Ole Miss earlier this season, but everyone else has been easy work to them. They’ve beaten 7 ranked teams this year including #20Wisconsin, #8Georgia, #9Texas A&M, #2LSU, #17Mississippi State, #18Florida, and #3Michigan State. It’s scary that they have been able to consistently beat the best in the nation and not even bat an eye. The most shocking win was in the Semi-finals against Michigan State in what I predicted to be the game of the year, but Alabama obliterated the Spartans 39-0.

How will the Championship game play out? Alabama will win and here’s why. The one team ‘Bama lost to this year was Ole Miss and the funny thing is Ole Miss and Clemson run an almost identical offense. Both teams run spread offense which is smart to play against Alabama. The reason the spread works so well is because Alabama is by far the best tackling team in the nation and they specialize in gang tackling so by spreading out the defenders it takes out gang tackling from ‘Bama’s system. However, I believe as we speak Alabama is watching some Ole Miss Highlight tape and they are modifying their system. The deciding factor to me is experience. Alabama head coach Nick Saban is the Bill Belichek of college football meaning he gets the job done and he does it in convincing fashion. So with all that said I believe this will go down as an Alabama victory and a 12th title to their storied history.

Written by Kenny Quinn

Like this post? Share it or follow us on social media!

Sports Stars and Racial Tension

Racial tension in sports has gone on for decades. Tensions are getting even higher after Mayweather compared himself talking trash to Connor McGregor talking to opponents. Now Mayweather does have a valid point. He is always being targeted by the media as a fluke, but has notable wins under his belt. On the other hand, McGregor has caught fire this year, and has taken the UFC by storm. He has also been redoing a lot of talking to his opponents before and after bouts. Do I think he is wrong? No, not at all. Confidence is key, but why, when Mayweather says he's the best, is there a big fuss and he is often scrutinized. The media portrays him as an arrogant egotistical person with no care in the world for others, but McGregor does the same and is viewed as a hero. Correct me if I'm wrong but they are both dominating their sports. However, one is portrayed as a villain and the other is portrayed as a hero.

There are many more cases such as Cam Newton seen as being arrogant for dancing when he scores,but why isn't this seen as passion. A mother even wrote a letter about Cam, and said that he wasn't a good role model for her child. So you are telling me that a man puts in work on his craft, and is dedicated to getting is wrong for doing celebrations that have been done for centuries? That is the worst excuse not to like someone. If you don't like someone you should just say it and not say he is a bad role model for doing celebratory dances. I can definitely understand why some think that Jon Jones is bad for the sport due to his out of the ring issues. He was battling drugs and bad life decisions, but to say Cam Newton is a bad influence is just reaching for something to dislike. I honestly just hope the media will treat all races equally in coverage.

Written by Josh Lewis

Raking the 5 Best Playoff Teams

As the 2015-2016 regular season comes to an end, the NFL playoffs are upon us. We are going to see some great matchups this year and maybe even some blowouts. So with out further ado, let’s take a look at who the top 5 teams are.

1. Carolina Panthers- The Panthers shocked the world this year when they had a 14 game winning streak to start off the regular season. The Panthers finished 15-1 with their only loss coming to the Falcons in week 16. The Panthers have the best all around team in the NFL this year. They have MVP favorite Cam Newton running the offense with extreme precision, a pair of Pro-Bowlers in running back Jonathan Stewart and tight-end Greg Olsen and one of the best offensive lines in the league. With that, they have one of the best defenses in the NFL with 4 Pro-Bowlers including defensive tackle, Kawann Short, outside linebacker, Thomas Davis, interior linebacker, Luke Kuekly and cornerback, Josh Norman. Altogether this is a very dangerous Panthers team entering the playoffs. They have the taste of victory after finishing their season on a high note with a dominant performance over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I would not want to play this team right now.
2. Seattle Seahawks- The Seahawks are an interesting bunch to watch. It seems as though for the past few years they start off their season slow, but come December they get red hot and just win every game. Seattle made a statement in week 17 when they completely dominated the #2 seeded Arizona Cardinals 36-6. Seattle is led by quarterback, Russell Wilson, who has been the best quarterback in the NFL over the past few weeks. They have played well-disciplined, hard tackling defense to go along with their offense. In all honesty, Carolina is the best TEAM going into the playoffs but the Seahawks are the best prepared because they have been here before. The hawks are the two time reigning NFC Champs so they are very experienced in the playoffs and on top of that they are the hottest team in football. So while Carolina is the best team, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Seattle takes another NFC crown and gets a trip to the dance.
3. New England Patriots- I know it sounds old now, The Patriots win 10+ games and Tom Brady and Bill Belichek head into the playoffs trying to win the Super Bowl, but it’s happening again. The Patriots have won 10 games or more for a 13th straight season and have gone to the playoffs in 12 of those 13. It’s absolutely ridiculous how long the Patriots have sustained their success and this season was no different from that success. Even though the Pats lost their last 2 games, the reason I have them this high is because of Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichek. This duo has a history of doing well in the playoffs going to 6 Super Bowls winning 4 of them. I don’t really care how bad the team around them is, it just always seems like they just know how to win.

4. Denver Broncos- The Broncos are team that either shows up or they don’t, there isn’t really any in between. The team will have to decide on whether to start Brock Osweiler or Peyton Manning at quarterback. Everyone wants Peyton, but the problem is that Peyton is hurt so do you a hurt Manning or a young Osweiler? Regardless as to who is quarterback, the Broncos are going to need to that defense to step up and shut down the Patriots, Bengals and Steelers who all have high powered offenses. The Broncos are going to have to establish a run game to succeed

5. Pittsburgh Steelers- I might be going out on a limb here, but it’s my opinion so I like the Steelers. The Steelers are a team that will fight until the very last snap of the game even if they don’t have a chance to win. Last week the Steelers had to win and they did, while they did play the Browns, I saw a team that was determined to make the playoffs. Hopefully they can bring that intense mindset into the post season. A big reason why the Steelers are this high is quarterback Ben Rothlisberger. Big Ben has won 2 Super Bowl title and doesn’t seem to flinch in the postseason very often. The Steelers have a very good offense including the best receiver in the game, Antonio Brown and a very talented offensive line. The defense of the Steelers is good, nothing spectacular, but I’m banking on a team underestimating Pittsburgh and making a run in the playoffs.

There ya go...a ranking of the best playoff teams, hopefully we have a fantastic playoffs this season and maybe just maybe a team not on this list will win the dance, who knows?

Written by Kenny Quinn

Like this post? Share it or follow us on social media!