Running Blog: Free Agency Day 2

Still Written by Tom DeRiggi

Yesterday was a ridiculous day of free agent signings and trades, so ridiculous that over night there were 4 or 5 more moves that I didn't post about. So this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to keep this entry for the rest of the weekend and update it when I can with all of the moves going on. Sound good? Alright let's do thissssss....






5:45 - Cowboys sign LB Keith Brooking, YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS...some talent and depth....ok jerry lets go baby....I'm liking this day for the Cowboys so far.

5:05 - New York Giants sign LB Michael Boley. Great , solid sign. Giants adding depth and talent to their defense. Great just what the NFC east needs.

5:00 - Wow, I get back from a high school wrestling match and the NFL world is upside down. My Cowboys just traded for QB Jon Kitna, giving up CB Anthony Henry. Goodbye Henry, you couldn't cover me right now and I run a 4.9 FLAT. Dawkins is officially a Bronco. And the Texans signed Cardinals DE Antonio Smith to go opposite of Mario Williams.

(As a Cowboy fan I have to put this out there, absolutely love the move for Jon Kitna and here's why. Tony Romo needs competition, and Kitna doesn't care if hes brought in to be the water boy, he is going to compete for the starting spot, or at least push Tony. Also Kitna and R.E. Williams' relationship in Detroit was a good one, he can help him through the offense and also gives him a familiar face in the locker room. Finally Jerry, you did something I can agree with. Quick side Note: Does this open the door to sign Shawn Springs?? His family has ties with the Cowboys for decades and it was only a matter of time before he comes here...we shall see)

1:30 - The Cassel trade is now just preliminary because there is another team in the wings...things are really getting interesting. And now another rumor is out of Kurt Warner possibly going to the 49ers. WHAAAATTTT...I gotta run but ill be back on later with all the updates. Showtime is somewhere smiling right now.

1:00 - WOWWWWWWW....Matt Cassel traded to the Cheifs. Love the move. Pioli brings his boy over to the cheifs to play QB. I'm interested to see the pick that the Pats got. Smart move for the Pats also. Things are getting crazier and crazier..

10:15 - Redskins still spending, sign G Derrick Dockery. Really though, where is the FBI when we need them. These guys are STILL under the cap. They were over
it like 3 days ago!! Im heated. In other news, Bills sign QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, WR Jabar Gaffney, and S Reynaldo Hill

10:08 - The Brian Dawkins thing is almost a done deal...Really can't believe he's leaving Philly. Also another safety probably on the move Jim Leonhard looks like he'll be joining the Jets. Jets are real active much like they were last year. But everything is on the defensive side of the ball. Need to make a move for a receiver, a la...Tory Holt when he gets released today (Oops!)

10:05 - LB Jonathan Vilma resigns with the Saints, and rumor has it Derrick Ward is meeting with the Bengals today. Interesting. Very Interesting.

10:00 - Again starting with the stuff last night. RB Maurice Morris signs a deal with the Detroit Lions. Why? Why would you go there? Had to be money. If they get Stafford though and a solid defensive player or O-Linemen with Dallas' 1st round pick (way to go Jerry) then they're going in the right direction towards rebuilding.

Running Blog: NFL Free Agency

Written by Tom DeRiggi

Free Agency Day 1

Been a week since I posted an article on here, wayyyy too much school work going on. 3 papers, presentations, tests, the whole 9. So today I'm going to try something new, I've seen it done on popular blogs before and since were not popular in no shape whatsoever, I'm going to try and do what the popular dudes do....Going to give a shot at a running blog today on the NFL Free Agency, and trades being that the first day to make moves is today. And it's already bonkers. Lemme get right into it. (I'll be updating this all day so check back frequently if you wanna see who's going where.)








7:45 - Dinner break. Let me live......Rumor/basically official Jets trade 4th round pick for CB Lito Sheppard. Jets makin moves today. Too bad they have no quarterback. Rex Ryan is praying for Sanchez.

5:15 - So we have an update on a previous deal considered done, Bart Scott's AGENT was the one who said he agreed to a contract deal, but reports are coming out now that if he can't get a deal done with Baltimore, then he would go to the Jets. Weird. Also the Titans resigned QB Kerry Collins to a 2 year deal. Sorry Vince.

4:30 - It's official. LB Mike Vrabel traded to the Chiefs for undisclosed draft pick. Typical Pioli move. Bring in leadership on the defensive side of the ball. I don't think the move will have a great impact, but Vrabel is a solid player and a solid pro.

4:00 - 3 Hour break...because nothing happened...there are some rumors going around though. Brian Dawkins is meeting in Denver today, Vrabel is in Kansas City seeking a trade to the chiefs. And now Christ Canty is meeting with the Giants. We'll see what happens.

1:00 - MANNY RAMIREZ TO THE YANKEES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - .....................just kidding. Seeing how many people's hearts stopped. Oh comon lighten up.

12:45 - Ravens sign CB Dominique Foxworth to a four-year, $28 million deal that includes $16.5 million guaranteed. Seems like a lot of money for a nickel CB. Ravens getting desperate? We shall see....

12:30 - Took a lunch break to find out the biggest news of the day. TE Kellen Winslow just traded to the Buccaneers for undisclosed picks. Wow. First monster of the day, I reallllllllllly like this for the Bucs. Finally have a middle target who's incredibly better then Alex Smith along with Antonio Bryant. They just have to decide who is going to be throwing the ball.

12:05 - LB Bart Scott signs with the New York Jets. Reallly like this for the Jets, if they can get Vernon Gholston along they could have the best linebacking group in the NFL. I have a feeling Scott won't be the last Raven to come over and play defense for the Jets. (Rex please don't take Ray, give the Cowboys some hope this off season and let him be. K. Thanx)

12:00 - Day is really picking up, RB Fred Taylor signs with the New England Patriots. Losing confidence in Laurence Maroney? I really like this because Belichek is going to use him in productive ways. Here is my early pick for comeback player of the year.

11:50 - Denver making a semi-splash, agreeing to terms with Correll Buckhalter AND JJ Arrington, this actually happened last night but this is the first time I'm hearing of it. I really like both guys, and they should split the load well. Josh McDaniels looks like he knows what hes doing.

11:48 - Staying right with the Redskins, resigned CB Deangelo Hall to 6 yr $55 million deal, I guess I can't be mad at this, he is a good corner, but I think we need an internal investigation as to how in the world the Redskins are still under the cap.

11:45 - DT Albert Haynesworth signs a $100 million deal with $41 million guaranteed with the Washington Redskins. I am very leery of Big Albert because of his history in non contract years, remember him stepping on Andre Gurode's head? He has played his best ball in contract years and I think Washington (once again, because they spend money like those Insurance Company CEO's on vacation) doesn't get the most out of Haynesworth in the upcoming years. You can't blame Al though, if someones giving me 100 mill, I'm outtie 5000. (Rumor: Word on the street is Cowboys DE Chris Canty is close to signing with them too, stay tuned)

11:30 - Lemme start with the ones that have already happened last night. S Gibril Wilson and S Jeremiah Bell signed to the Miami Dolphins. Parcells getting character guys, and depth to make another run at the NFC East Next year. I like the Gibril signing, don't know enough about Bell. Also the Sage Rosenfels to Vikings is a done deal now. Happy Viking fans? I wouldn't be.

How I'm going to save NBA All-Star Weekend

Written By TDERIGG2

The week before NBA All-Star Weekend every year is one of my favorite weeks of the year in sports. Ever since I was a young child I've watched every All-Star weekend. Something about it just gets your blood going if your a die hard basketball fan. However, this year's All-Star festivities didn't have me going like they usually do. There was no buzz. No excitement. No anticipation. And I don't understand why. You have the chance for a 3-peat at the 3-point competition, a brand new competition in H-O-R-S-E (I'll get to this later), and of course Superman himself returning in the dunk contest. Not to mention the game which is always ridiculous.

So as the festivities started on Saturday night, I can safely say the thing I was looking forward to the most was the H-O-R-S-E competition. Kevin Durant, OJ Mayo, and Joe Johnson competed and for the most part it was rather successful. However, major changes need to be made. I think that keeping 3 people is the way to go. However, you need creative and witty players to shoot in the competition. Most of all, you need players (like MJ was) who DO NOT WANT TO LOSE. You need super-competitive guys and that in turn makes the competition even better. I think Steve Nash is an ABSOLUTE must have in this competition. He is a fun, charismatic guy, and he can shoot the lights out from any location. Durant HAS to return next year to defend his title because he has an uncanny ability to just hit jump shots. The last player we need for next year is Kobe....now I know it's tough to get someone like him but I think he would be down with it. These three guys are all crazy shot makers, and the most important thing are super-competitive. You need guys who HATE to lose to compete because it bodes better for a more fun event. Besides who wouldn't want to win that extremely valuable trophy that TNT so willingly gave them. (Plastic Horse from Toy's R Us or where ever they got it from)

I don't think many changes need to be made to the 3-point contest, except getting guys who are actually SHOOTERS for the 3-point SHOOTOUT. Roger Mason Jr.? Comon man, I have better form then at least 3 of the guys shooting in that competition, and I only get to play 2-3 nights a week because god-forbid we get less then 50 people trying to play at LA fitness at night, in turn making us wait 5 games until we get on. I digress. But seriously, the committee who selects the shooters really has to look to see if they're actually selecting Shooters and not just guys who have made a lot of threes. Rashard Lewis might have the worst form for a guy who's made like 150 threes, it doesn't make him a great shooter...he just shoots them a lot. You want a memorable competition in 2010 give me (in no sequential order): Durant, Nash, Kapono, Dirk, Ray Allen, and then throw in someone controversial...like Kobe...(can you sense where I'm going with this Kobe thing? You will)

And finally the Dunk Contest, the mecca of All-Star Weekend. The most anticipated and hyped event of the weekend. I don't care what the circumstances are , the NBA has to maintain this event and make sure that people still want to watch it every year. For example this year had all the hype because you had Superman coming back, Nate Robinson coming back (two former champions), JR Smith (whom we played against in a summer league scrimmage, he dropped like 40 on us...no big deal) who can jump out the gym and got screwed over in the last dunk contest he was in, and a flyer like Rudy Fernandez who turned out to maybe have the best dunk of the night. But the overall dunk contest didn't turn out to be a memorable one like we want to see each year, so this is what we have to do David. Even though we're in a recession and the economy is tight, you have to up the ante a little bit for these guys to want and come participate, so throw them an extra couple thousand and see who it attracts. Then you make a pitch to the 4 best dunkers in the game, or the 4 who you think will give the best show. And if you can't name the top 3 off your head then you might have to never watch basketball again. Seriously don't. I'm not playing. It's obvious the first three you need are Lebron, Dwight Howard, and Kobe Bryant. The 4th is a revolving door of, D-Wade, Amare Stoudemire, T-Mac (when healthy), and if you can't get any of those guys you go and bring back Vince Carter. Now someone argue with me that that isn't the best dunk contest ever. Lebron has already said he wants to go to Dallas in 2010 in the new arena of my beloved Cowboys, so you know Dwight will be back...I think that's enough leverage to bring back Kobe to the dunk contest and those three big names you have to be able to get one of the others i mentioned. Can I just book my ticket to Dallas now? Seriously Fitz I'm not playing, I'm scouring Expedia as we speak.

If you want a memorable All-Star Saturday Mr. Stern, please...I beg you...you need to read this. We're only getting about 10 hits a day but that's just a number in my opinion. Stats are for losers. Alrighty, I'm out .........like A-Rod's Hall of Fame chances.....

Ohhhhhhhhh Mr. Rodriguez

Written by TDERIGG2

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Mr. Rodriguez.

A-Rod, A-Fraud, A-Roid.....A-Idiot (should be an - idiot, roll with me on this one English Majors)

As I'm sure most of you who are going to read this already know, Mr. Alex Rodriguez admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs. Great, just what we need Selena Roberts (reporter at SI.com who broke the story)...way to ruin our only white knight left in the sport of baseball. The thing that ticks me off the most about all of these steroid reports is that the media is just looking to make a buck and they could careless about what it is ultimately going to do to the game ...THAT THEY cover for a living.

Now granted that A-Rod has come out and apologized during the interview with Peter Gammons, it isn't going to change the perception of him now. Nearly half the beat writers and media members are so quick to pull the trigger on these conflicted athletes and there status in the hall of fame and how they should be looked at. (See: Bonds, Barry; Clemens, Roger; Rose, Pete) I think it's absolutely ridiculous. To get into the Hall of Fame, you need to have made 'a significant contribution to the game of baseball.' Oh OK...so let me get this straight... 4,000 hits for Pete Rose isn't enough. 750-whatever Bonds has HRs, that isn't enough. A-Rod, soon to be holder of every record imaginable, (HRs, RBIs, 3000 Hit club) is going to be questioned and second guessed on his Hall of Fame bid? I really feel like these media members need to step back and not write an article because they can, but ask yourself if you SHOULD write the article, or make the report.

Also, the media and the people in charge of declaring banned and unbanned substances should really do they're homework on 'performance-enhancing drugs.' There are drugs, pills, etc. out there that are just as effective as banned substances. Why aren't they banned and the banned substances are? ...Wow do I digress when I get heated.

Back to A-Rod. I commend Alex for coming out and apologizing and spending 35 minutes talking about what he did from 2001-2003. I think that his interview is going to be questioned because he has always been seen as a robot, someone who says what he has to say because it is the politically correct thing to do, or because it's going to save his ass. But watching that interview, (you can catch the whole thing on ESPN.com) I felt that A-Rod was completely honest with everything he said. You can choose to see it however you'd like, but I think those were his only years that he did it. I could be naive to think that, but I'm going to take Alex on his word for this one, and if it turns out that hes been doing it all along then shame on me.

(By the way, thanks to A-Rod, everyone in America now knows what the word naive means and how to use it. Seriously A-Rod, you should have picked up Webster's Thesaurus and at least picked out a few more adjectives to describe how you were.)

I believe that Jay Mariotti, from Around the Horn, said it best yesterday as I was watching him on the show. He said that all of this news is beginning to become annoying and pointless. When I decided to start writing this blog, I made a promise to myself that I would never write about steroids in sports, because quite honestly, who the hell cares? Do you want to sit here and listen to me go on about steroids in baseball and blah blah blah? I wouldn't, because America is over it. When it first happened, we were interested. Now (just as Jose Canseco, maybe the only real credible writer on steroids in the past 5 years, stated in his book) it is basically the norm, and it sucks that it is but it's the truth.

(So Consider this my one and only steroid article)

I had this conversation with Showtime today, and my boy Ski yesterday, just to get two different views on this whole thing. (And they know what they're talking about when it comes to this.) By no surprise, we all felt the same way about A-Rod and steroids in general. In A-Rod's case look at his numbers from 1996-2007. So what he averaged 53 homers for 3 years in Texas, what are the steroids going to do? Make his production so astronomical that hes unreachable? No. He would have probably averaged 49-50 HRs. Big Deal. Guess what? His three years on the juice, Texas was the worst team in baseball. You can't tell me that steroids has that much of an effect on your ability to hit a baseball. It doesn't improve your hand-eye coordination. A-Rod said it best yesterday, look at his production. It's been steadily ridiculous for 12 years. And his best year in 2007, he had better numbers than all of his steroid years. Add to that his weight. He came up at 200 pounds. He weighs 225 now. a little over 2 pounds per year. That seem like hes lying when he says its only been those 3 years?

I just hope this is the end of the steroid saga (I'm not even calling it era anymore). But given the history of this time, it can't possibly be over. But please dear lord, I'm begging every media member, coach, player, former player, owner, investigator.....do not come out and tell us that Derek Jeter has done steroids. It will ruin the sport as we know it. If this happens, I'll go on record right now and say it...I'd be officially done with baseball...

61, and the Triple Double that Wasn't

Written By TDERIGG2

Talk about an encore week to the Super Bowl. Usually when the football season is over, there's a major down time in sports. Sure we have the NBA, NHL, and College Basketball going as the majors, but nothing really exciting happens from February 2nd until March Madness. Well we can put that notion to rest in 2009 because only a week later, the sporting world has some ridiculous events happening.

Let's start with my man Kobe and the Lakers in MSG. The Lake Show have a game against the Knicks in MSG the DAY AFTER the Super Bowl, so we're really not expecting anything, because the Knicks play defense like the Detroit Lions, and Andrew Bynum was just diagnosed with a torn M?A?P?L? CL tear, and hes missing 8-12 weeks. Fun. So what a dandy of a game this is going to be. Well it turns out that Kobe decided to become Superman, like he often does. (And Kobe usually starts to do this every season, right before the All-Star Break he realizes he can drop 50 a night on ANYONE in the league) Kobe decides that hes going to hang 61 on the Knickerbockers, driving ESPN into a frenzy because you know how they get when anyone does something epic. So all we're getting for two days is how Kobe is the best player in the NBA, Yada Yada Yada. February 4th rolls along and it's time for King James to roll into the Garden. And we all know the controversy there. Lebron, potentially a Knick in 2010 (where he seriously could average 40 a game under Mike D'Antoni, you don't believe me, watch it happen in 2010-2011) decides that he has to put on a somewhat of a decent effort (30-10,-5?) to at least try and match Kobe's effort.

So what does he do, he scores 52 points. Dishes out 11 Assists. And then grabs his 10th rebound with 39.4 seconds to go in the game. Hows that for an encore performance at the Garden? Triple Double for Lebron. (D'Antoni shaking his head.)

Now for some reason, the NBA came out today and said that Lebron's 10th rebound wasn't a rebound because he didn't have possession for more than a second or whatever that stupid rule is. So they wound up taking his Triple Double away, but still, his performance at the Garden was insane, much like Kobe's. So the debate has been, who's performance was more impressive. Well I'm going to say Lebron's performance was more impressive, and it's not to take anything away from Kobe, but seriously Kobe, you didn't have 1 rebound and your team blew out the Knicks. The Knicks were actually IN the Cavs game until Lebron decided he was going to get to the rim every time and your either going to have to foul me (which they did) or let me dunk on your face. Lebron had to make more critical plays down the stretch and that's why he gets it over Kobe, but hey....I wouldn't be complaining if I didn't get a rebound and dropped 61 on someone.

Coming Tomorrow: The Alex Rodriguez scandal.....OHHHHHHHH BOY HERE WE GOO...

Super Weekend Part 2

Written by TDERIGG2

The other day I promised a part 2 to this amazing article, well here it is folks!!

I want to talk about the greatest rivalry in the current sports being played in season today.

Im sure most of you are wondering whether it is Red Sox - Yankees, or Duke - UNC, or even Eagles, Cowboys.

But no, I'm talking about the sport of tennis, and the ridiculous rivalry going on between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Now I wasn't a big tennis fan until I graduated high school. So I didn't really get to see the beginning of Roger's dominance. But when I graduated high school I became addicted to the sport. It really might be the most underrated sport in our landscape today. Every championship played is insanely exciting and definitely worth watching.

So when I woke up at 3:30 AM Saturday morning (or was it Sunday? Who knows when you get up in the middle of the night) I was extremely excited to watch this match between Roger and Rafa. So i got up, threw some cold water on my face, went and grabbed my Snuggie blanket from the other room...

(Random Note: Do not sleep on the Snuggie blanket, it really is the most comfortable blanket I've ever used. If you don't believe me try it, go ahead I dare you....Moore...try it...you wont. For those of you that don't know what the Snuggie is go to YouTube and type in "Snuggie." It might change your life)

I then got comfortable in my bed and began watching this historic match. For most of you who do not follow Tennis, here's the run down between Federer - Nadal. Federer was the best player in the world for years, and maybe ever. He has 13 Grand Slam titles and was unbeatable for years. Along came this young 19 year old Spaniard in the French Open 3 years ago. He takes the French open and everyone thinks "ehhh probably lucky." Rafa doesn't win another major until next years French, (Roger was busy taking all the other ones) and he wins the French again, beating Federer. The following year again he wins the French beating Federer again. Then on to Wimbledon this summer in which many people considered to be the best match ever played on grass, if not on any surface. Nadal wound up beating Federer in a 5 set ridiculous match. Then the following US Open,Federer took that championship.

So here we are back to the Australian Open. 5 setter. Of course. (Basically every Fed-Rafa match is now a days) And something happened in the fifth set, that leads me to believe that we could be seeing the downside of Federer's career start to happen. The 5th set got zero emotion out of Roger and no sense of urgency. Nadal basically cake-walked to the Australian Open Championship, and it occurred to me that maybe Federer is aging quickly. (27-28 in Tennis is like 34-35 in football) Nadal's quickness and resilience definitely got to Roger and as a result Nadal beat Federer on his bread and butter (Hard Court).

I don't know what's going to happen in the future, but I have a slight hunch Roger might be on a slippery slope.

Super-Weekend

Written By TDERIGG2

Ohhhhhhhhh what a weekend it was in the world of sports.

Because their were to unreal sporting events this weekend, we'll make this a 2 parter for all yalls. Ya Digg??

Part 1.

Let's start with the obvious. They played a football game on Sunday. I believe they call it the Super Bowl.....and that was probably the perfect term for it. Who knew that we would see a better game than the previous year's Giants-Patriots, ever, let alone in the next season. Yesterday's game is easily in the top 3 and may even be the best Superbowl ever. And the funniest part is......It was one of the most boring games of the entire season for the first 3 quarters (much like last years SB). I mean seriously, I found myself walking around my aunt's house aimlessly trying to find something to do, opening the frig, then reopening again and again. As if by some devine miracle in between the last visit, 2 minutes ago, God found a way to place a .99 cent can of Arizona Green Tea in there (1.06 with tax in Jersey) that I could enjoy because the first three quarters were abysmal.

(Quick Side Note: Can you find a better deal in the world for a drink, than that .99 cent Arizona Green Tea, I mean really.....Consider this the first official Chit-Chat Sports public challenge. I'm challenging anyone to post a better deal then that on a non-alcoholic beverage, that actually tastes amazing and is amazing for you.)

Then something caught my eye with 11 minutes to go. Up to that point Larry Fitzgerald had 1 catch. (WHAT?) So then he wound up catching a 10 yard comeback, nothing fancy. But what followed is what caught the Steelers off guard. Warner then signaled them to the hurry-up offense. It was then that the Cardinals were really catching the Steelers off guard. Here's my question to you Todd Haley. Why Now? Why not in the first half? (Ok so two questions) They waited to long to use this offense, and look what happens when they do use it, they score 16 points in 9 minutes. Complete misfire by the Cardinal offense in the first half. At least sprinkle it in a little bit here and there. If you want my comical analysis then consider this. Most NFL referees today group up in the 70s, when the Steelers were dominating the league. There is something a little fishy with these refs and the Steelers when they play in the Super Bowl (See: Super Bowl XL vs Seahawks) Now I'm not implying that the refs are biased to the Steelers, but basically.....the refs are biased to the Steelers. Now if you want the true analysis then consider this. Arizona just got caught with bad timing. They made a game winning drive....but it happened 2 minutes too early and their defense couldn't hold Big Ben and Santonio Holmes on the final drive. One other thing, Arizona...seroiusly...11 penalties?? You can't be a Super Bowl team and commit 11 penalties in the biggest game of your careers.

So once again the Steelers get a rather lucky win, and claim the title as "best franchise" in NFL history with 6 Super Bowls. You know what really erks me though....Ben Roethiht0894eutoigeroigerlisberger has two Super Bowl rings and guys like Dan Marino and Archie Manning don't have any.

But I guess that's football. Goodbye 08 season. Cant wait for 09.

P.S. Cowboys are 8-1 favorites to win the next Superbowl....higher odds then any other team. Sip on that for a while.