Important Day in NFL Labor Talks

May 2, 2011 By

Monday, May 2nd could be an important date as far as the 2011 NFL regular season goes. The league is fresh off of their recent Draft in New York City but now all eyes will be cast on the city of St. Louis as a federal judge will rule whether the current work stoppage that the league and the owners have from last week. Another judge ruled that the players could go back to work last Friday but when they showed up to their team facilities, some players were let in but then in the afternoon a ruling came that brought back on the lockout.

This new ruling that will be handed down on Monday will debate to whether the lockout should stay on or if the players will be allowed to resume regular football activities.

What this means is that the lockout is only temporary. The federal judge and court in St. Louis will decide on whether to make the work stoppage permanent. What sources and critics are saying is that if the players are allowed back to work, it will happen quick and immediate and this will also open up the door for the recently drafted players to have official meetings with their respective teams.

Judge Susan Nelson was the federal judge that ruled that the players had the right to return to work because they were losing their livelihood. One sentiment that is being shared throughout the league is that the longer that lockout goes on, the worse it is going to be for the rookie players. If they wait until minicamps open to be able to start learning the playbooks, it would certainly spell disaster. There are some teams though that are being proactive and are looking forward to the season.

One of those coaches is the Dallas Cowboys' Jason Garrett in which he says he is instilling in his players that the lockout will not have an effect and that the season will go just as planned. There has not been a lockout since 1987 and if it carries on it will mean that replacement players will be used and that is not an avenue that the NFL and its fans want to happen.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With:

Cam Newton Is the Top Pick in the 2011 NFL Draft

May 1, 2011 By

The 2011 NFL Draft got underway on Thursday night in New York City and after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was welcomed with a cascade of boos, the Carolina Panthers were the team who got the first overall pick and they went the way that most critics thought and selected quarterback and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton with the first pick.

The Panthers were in dire need of a quarterback and just could not get anything accomplished with former Notre Dame signal caller Jimmy Clausen last year. Newton certainly has a huge upswing and potential and the Panthers are hoping that potential will pay off huge dividends in the future.

The rest of the top ten picks in the 2011 Draft were linebacker Von Miller from Texas A&M going second to the Denver Broncos, Alabama defensvie tackle Marcell Dareus third to the Buffalo Bills, WR AJ Green from Georgia fourth to the Cincinatti Bengals, LSU's Patrick Peterson fifth to the Arizona Cardinals, the Atlanta Falcons trading up to the sixth spot to take Alabama's Julio Jones, San Francisco's took DE Aldon Smith from Missiouri at number seven, the eighth pick was Washington QB Jake Locker to the Tennesee Titans, Tyron Smith from USC going ninth to the Dallas Cowboys, and the Jacksonville Jaguars moving up to tenth to select Missiouri QB Blaine Gabbert.

There were some good news though for the league as they announced that full football actitivites will resume in the league on Friday. This means that all teams will allow for players and coaches to meet and also allow for players to train and go over playbooks at team facilities. While there is no collective bargaining agreement in place and a sure fire court battle to happen between the league and the players, the indication is that any kind of court battle will not happen until the end of the 2011 season.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,

Judge Puts End to NFL Lockout for Now

April 30, 2011 By

It seems that there could be an end to NFL lockout after all...or is it. The good thing for the players is that United States District Judge Susan Richard ruled in their favor and the the league and their owners have to file an appeal in which they are currently trying to do. It was said that a few players showed up at team headquarters all throughout the league on Tuesday only to be told respectfully by the teams that they could not enter.

The official response from the NFL and league commissioner Roger Goodell is that they have to have a couple days to figure everything out that has come from this latest ruling before regular football activities can resume.

According to the NFL Players Association, the longer that the owners hold back and not let football activiites resume, the worse that the collective bargaining situation is going to get. Roger Goodell went on the Wall Street Journal website and wrote on Monday evening that this latest ruling could effect how the players would be able to unionize in the future.

The players had decertified their union when the 45 day lockout began and Goodell fears that any kind of problems that may arise during the season would be torture for the players because as of current they do not have an official union.

Most sources believe that the NFL will take the following action. They believe that Goodell and the NFL owners will appeal this latest action by Judge Richard but will ask the court to postpone and continue the case until after the 2011 regular season is over. What this will do is still allow the 2011 regular season to commence but once the Super Bowl is played, the two sides would go to court and try to settle the collective bargaining agreement once and for all. The NFL has said that they plan on filing an appeal to Judge Richard's ruling within the next day or two.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With:

Top Seeded Spurs on the Brink of Elimination

April 28, 2011 By

When the San Antonio Spurs came into the 2011 NBA Playoffs, they certainly had hopes of possibly hooking up with the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals and possibly looking for a fifth NBA title for Tim Duncan. They certainly did not think that their opening round playoff game with the eighth seeded Memphis Grizzlies would be something that they had to worried about. From the way things look, the Grizzlies could be headed to the Finals and the Spurs could be sitting home and scratching their heads.

The San Antonio Spurs are going into their Wednesday night matchup against the Grizzlies looking down a 3-1 hole. This would certainly be a momentus occasion for the Grizzlies if they are lucky enough to pull off the upset. The Grizzlies have never even won a playoff game heading into the 2011 playoffs. The Spurs were certainly the better team during the season having won 65 games as compared to the 46 that the Grizzlies won this year. If the Grizzlies are able to pull off the series win it would certainly be one of the biggest upsets in sports in a long time.

The Spurs are certainly in panic mode. Manu Ginobli and Tony Allen have all said that if they are to get beat by the Grizzlies that they have no one else to blame but themselves. 'We have been the better team all year. It is obvious that we have more talent than they do. The bottom line is that we have been out played throughout the first four games of this series and the time is now for us to come back and redeem ourselves' stated Allen.

As far as the other playoff series goes, The Miami Heat have eliminated the Philadelphia 76ers to have a meeting with the Boston Celtics in the second round. Chicago has eliminated the Indiana Pacers and wait to take on the winner of the Atlanta and Orlando series in which the Hawks are up 3-2. Oklahoma City is up 3-1 on Denver, the Dallas Mavericks are up 3-2 on the Portland Trail Blazers and the LA Lakers are up 3-2 on the New Orleans Hornets.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,

Boston Celtics First Team to Advance in NBA Playoffs

April 25, 2011 By

The Boston Celtics were the first team to punch their ticket to the next round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs on the heels of their 101-89 victory of the New York Knicks on Sunday. The win completed the sweep of the Knicks and now the Celtics will wait for the winner of the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers series to play in the Eastern Conference semi-finals. The 76ers were on the verge of elimination and being swept as well on Sunday but staved off elimination by defeating the Heat 86-82.

In other playoff action, the Chicago Bulls almost pulled out the sweeping broom on the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night but the Pacers were able to dig down deep and pull out the 89-84 win. In this game, the Bulls' Derrick Rose went down with an ankle injury and was ineffective for the rest of the game. The eighth seeded Memphis Grizzlies have been a big surprise as they hold a 2-1 series lead over the Western Conference top seeded San Antonio Spurs.

The Dallas Mavericks and the Portland Trailblazers are nodded up at two games a piece. The two other games that set to be played on Sunday night are the Atlanta Hawks and the Orlando Magic in which the Hawks are up 2-1 and the LA Lakers and the New Orleans Hornets which see the defending champion Lakers up 2-1 as well.

The other playoff series is the Oklahoma City Thunder who play on Monday night and they will look for the sweep over the Denver Nuggetts. The play so far has certainly been a testament to the quality of the playoff teams in the NBA this year. One thing that is for certain is that the road for a third consecutive world championship for the LA Lakers is one that is going to be tough and if they are able to pull it off would be one well worth deserving.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With:

2011 NFL Draft Is Next Weekend

April 24, 2011 By

While there is still some doubt being casted as to whether the 2011 National Football League season will played or not, next weekend in New York City will be the annual NFL Draft which will take place at Radio City Music Hall. There will be that cloud of uncertainty as to whether any games will be played but for certain the Draft will go down and while these players will be locked out just like the existing players, next weekend will give football fans something to cheer for as teams look to pick their next superstar.

The first pick in the 2011 NFL Draft belongs to the Carolina Panthers and all indication is that the team will look for a quarterback and the consensus seems to be that the reigning Heisman Trophy winner in Cam Newton from Auburn will be the top pick.

Newton brings all the tools and size need to succeed in the NFL and fans are eager to see him play. This year's QB class is solid with some people predicting that University of Missouri's Blaine Gabbert going in the top 5 as well.

Some of the other big name players that are looking to hear their names called in the first round of this year's NFL Draft are Marcell Dareus from Alabama, Julio Jones from Alabama, AJ Green from Georgia, Patrick Peterson from LSU, Nick Fairley from Auburn, and DeQuan Bowers from Clemson. This is just a handful of the prospects as there are plenty more young college athletes who are hoping and praying to hear their names called.

The NFL just released their 2011 regular season schedule and now with the Draft coming around, NFL fans from all over the world are hoping and praying that deal gets done in the collective bargaining agreement so that they can get their football fill this fall.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With:

What Would a Work Stoppage in the NFL Mean?

April 23, 2011 By

The NFL just released its 2011 regular season schedule with the big bang being on the opening weekend as the first Sunday of regular season games fall on the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy that took place in New York City, Washington, DC, and Western Pennsylvania. The talk though is without a doubt about the current stall in negotations between the league owners and the players. The two sides have been at a standstill for the past several weeks and each and every passing day leads to the reality that the 2011 NFL season could be locked out.

This leads to the question to what would a work stoppage mean to the NFL if it were to happen in 2011. The National Football League has not been in this kind of situation since 1987 when the first couple weeks of the season were locked out to the contracted players and replacement players were used. This is one question answered.

If the work stoppage is still lingering by September, replacement players would be used. The fans would still flock to their favorite teams stadiums but the good bet is that they will not be sold out. There will still be football but the top name players would not be playing.

The big thing that would come from a lockout in the NFL this year would be that the image of the league would be tattered. The fans are the ones who pay the salaries of the players, the league, and everyone involved. If it was not for the fans paying for the tickets to the games, buying the television packages to watch games and buying souveniers and merchandise, well there would be no NFL.

If there was a work stoppage this year in the NFL it would mean that the players would have to go somewhere else to find employment and the upstart UFL would certainly like to have them. In the end it would be the fans who would be hurt the most from a work stoppage and it is them that make the professional football world go around.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,

The NBA Playoffs Are Up and Running

April 22, 2011 By

 

 

The first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs are underway and the series have been ones that have seen some team jump out with huge leads and some having some close games. All in all, it is all leading to the Eastern and Western Conference Championship series and ultimately the 2011 NBA Finals in which the Los Angeles Lakers are attempting to win the World Championship for a third consecutive season.

A win for the Lakers would be the sixth for Kobe Bryant and an unprecedented 12th for head coach Phil Jackson. Going into Thursday night's round of playoff action, the top seed in the Eastern Conference is the Chicago Bulls and they have a 2-0 series lead over the Inidana Pacers. The Miami Heat also play on Thursday and they too have a 2-0 lead over the Philadelphia 76ers. The Dallas Mavericks also play and again they have a 2-0 series lead over the Portland Mavericks.

Some of the other playoff series that are going on in the first round are the Lakers and they are tied at one game a piece with the New Orleans Hornets. The Memphis Grizzlies and the San Antonio Spurs are also nodded at one game a piece. The Oklahoma City Thunder have a 2-0 series lead on the Denver Nuggetts. The other series that are taking place in this year's NBA playoffs are the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks which sees the Celts up 2-0 and then the Orlando Magic and the Atlanta Hawks which are tied 1-1.

If the Lakers are able to pull off the three peat it will certainly be a very hard task. The playoffs this year are very well balanced, the most that it has been in several years. There is really no clear cut favorite to win it all and a low seed could actually play well enough to go all the way. Eyes though will certainly be on Kobe and the Lakers as they attempt to write their names in the record book and Kobe becoming one of the best players of all time. A sixth win would put Kobe past Magic Johnson for championships with the Lakers.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With:

The NFL Releases Their 2011 Schedule

April 21, 2011 By

The National Football League has released their 2011 regular season schedule just one week before the 2011 NFL Draft and during a time in which there is a lockout. The schedule that was released is one that will not see any preseason games and that came as the result of the current work stoppage. The new schedule is out and praying that an agreement can come between the players and the owners in the collective bargaining agreement, it looks to be a good one.

The very first game of the 2011 regular season will take place on Thursday Sept. 8th and will have the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers playing host to the New Orleans Saints. The opening Sunday of games will fall on the tenth anniversary of the worse disaster to ever hit American soil. Sept. 11th is sure to be one of the most memorable days in the history of the NFL and the league has certainly gone out of their way to pay homage to those lives lost in New York. The New York Jets will have the honor of playing in front of the home crowd as they host the Dallas Cowboys. The Giants will travel to FedEx Field to take on the Washington Redskins.

Some of the other key matchups from that opening weekend will be Indianapolis at Houston and Atlanta at Chicago and Soldier Field. Opening weekend though will be all about honoring 9/11 and how the New York teams will be doing. The Giants and Skins will play at 4:15 that day and the Jets and Cowboys game will be in primetime as it will be shown on NBC and Sunday Night Football.

Pittsburgh was another area that was affected heavily from 9/11 and they will be traveling to take on the Balimore Ravens on that opening Sunday. All in all, the schedule has shaped to have some intriguing matchups down the road. The most important thing is making sure that a regular season will happen at all and that hinges on the status of the ongoing negotiations.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With:

Jimmie Johnson Wins NASCAR Race at Talladega

April 18, 2011 By

When you think of NASCAR racing at the big tracks of Tallagdega and Daytona the first thing that racing fans think of is the possibility of a big wreck. Sunday's race at the Talladega Raceway was wild but did not have the big wreck that was expected. In the end, it was a handful of drivers who had a chance to win on the last lap and in the end it was the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson who took the checkered flag at the Aaron's 499 in Alabama.

Johnson's Rick Hendrick teammate joined him on the front row as Jeff Gordon gained his 70th career pole. Hendrick driver's Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. were also in the top four and when the checkered flag dropped they too were in the run for the win.

Sunday's race was one that seen up to eight cars coming around the last turn that had a chance to win. Johnson had the help of his teammate of Earnhardt, Jr. to push him to the finish line and when it was over tied the record for the closest race win in the history of NASCAR as Johnson nipped Clint Bowyer for the win.

Rick Hendrick claimed four of the top ten spots and it was a race that seen a smaller restrictor plate to reduce the high speeds and in the end seen one of the most spectacular superspeedway races in a very long time in NASCAR.

The win pushes Jimmie Johnson into second place in the overall standings for the NASCAR overall season title. Carl Edwards is still the top driver in the season standings. Edwards finished 6th overall at Talladega.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series takes a week off and then resumes to action on Saturday, April, 30th at Richmond, VA and the Richmond International Raceway for the Crown Royal Presents the Matthew and Daniel Henson 400.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »