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New England Patriots

Reality Check for the World Champs?

It all seemed to be going so well for them.  First it was New Orleans, then Houston, and then on to Jacksonville.  Then all of a sudden it was as though the bottom had fallen out on the defending Super Bowl champions.  Everyone knows that the New England Patriots are all about playing as a team, something so many teams seem to fail at doing in the world of sports.  But now some of the key ingredients that helped New England be adorned by so many are now gone to pursue other avenues.  Those gone are mainly the geniuses behind the schemes the Patriots put together to win three Super Bowls in four years.  However, there is an upside to all of this recent chaos.  The genius himself is still ahead of the organization, that being Bill Belichick.  To add to the drastic coaching changes, there have also been key players lost to free agency that helped keep the, “Team First” persona about the team.  With the all of a sudden new-look Patriots in tact, could the honeymoon be officially over in New England, or is it still the Patriots of old so many have waited to see go?

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College Football

The "Red River" Shootout for the Heisman

Last year it could have been anyone’s trophy, well except for one.  And ironically the one player who had no shot of winning it was that of this year’s no. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, or otherwise known as Alex Smith.  As for the others the race could have come to a coin toss it was thought to have been so close.  To start off, the winner of the previous Heisman Trophy was back in contention along with his young superstar teammate.  And on the other side were also two teammates in the running for the most coveted award in all of college football as far as player recognition goes.  The two teams represented by the four players, respectively, were Oklahoma and Southern California.  Oh yeah, and the University of Utah was also there too.  But in the end USC’s quarterback Matt Leinart was the player left standing.  And for the naysayers who believed that there should have been another winner Leinart proved them all wrong by having the “game of his life” in the 2005 Orange Bowl which gave his team, USC Trojans, the national championship.

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MLB General

The All-Star Game Slowly Losing Its Luster

Baseball has seemed so desperate over the past few years in the attempt of trying to have fans watch their all-star game.  It doesn’t make much sense that the sport, which is America’s Pastime, would try so hard at attempting to attract viewers.  Well, Major League Baseball has made so many adjustments over the years to the “Midsummer Classic” that it isn’t even funny, and now many of these changes have not fared too well for the game of baseball.  The one thing Major League Baseball wants its fans to remember from now on when they watch the gathering of the league’s all-stars is that “This Time It Counts”.

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NHL General

Crankiness: The First Effect of a Lockout

So the NHL is back in the news, but for all the wrong reasons.  Just as the league was about to escape the minds of everyone for good, one of the NHL’s more prominent stars came out in the news on a tirade of remarks.  The Philadelphia Flyers’ Jeremy Roenick voiced his frustrations recently with both the players and the owners of the league saying how it’s critical that “they” get back on the ice as soon as possible.  Roenick ripped everyone imaginable who had any sort of relation with the current hockey mess.  However, Roenick didn’t know that he would soon be ripping members of the media.  For some reason Roenick felt as though his comments about the art of fans kissing his backside were taken way out of context.  Roenick’s comments weren’t necessarily taken out of context, but one thing for sure was- the importance of the NHL to America.

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Atlanta Braves

The Young and the Restless

Throughout the current baseball season, the Atlanta Braves have seen their world be turned upside down.  A team that was so consistent over thirteen rigorous seasons now finds itself with what seems like new players everyday.  And this has happened to team that isn’t used to changing its lineup card every single day.  Consistency has been the name of the game for the Braves throughout their streak of divisional championships.  Those who helped the Braves stay consistent and atop the National League East, now have mostly gone their separate ways.  Nowadays, only a few remain from the same teams from way back, when at the time, all the Braves had to worry about was drafting and developing talent for the future.  The only different aspect know, is that the Braves are now being forced to develop talent, and also play them, all within a yearlong baseball season.

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NBA General

This Seventh Game Better Be Good-the Fans Have Waited

For the first time in eleven years, the NBA Finals is coming down to a seventh and deciding game to determine the champions of the NBA.  Yes, it has been quite a while since such drama ensued during the Finals, and hopefully drama is in store for this year’s seventh game.  Coming into the Finals, nobody wanted to see the Pistons and Spurs face off when there was a possibility of the Suns and Heat facing each other in the NBA’s final playoff series, two teams that were very explosive.  That is, unless you consider yourself an NBA purist.  However, with everyone believing this series was destined to be all defense, it was anything but.  

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NBA General

NBA in Dire Need of Some Fans

In the sudden new era of basketball, the NBA as a league finds itself with a huge problem.  They have no more fans.  They seemed to have all left when Michael Jordan left.  With the NBA finding itself with no fans compared to the NFL, the league also finds itself with another problem.  Nothing is there for the league to use to help appeal to those not interested in the league as a whole.  What, do you actually expect the NBA to get high school players, or foreign players whose names are impossible to pronounce to help draw fans in?  Those the NBA is appealing to are those who are in the sixth-grade hoping someday to skip college, and go straight to the league because they think they have got the `ankle-breaking’ moves, or the `hops’ to get there.

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All Other Sports

Beware of Flying Baseballs

Every summer when the middle of June is approaching, there are many reports of large pieces of hail falling from the skies of Omaha, Nebraska.  Many who report the accounts describe the pieces of hail as being the size of a baseball.  This is when insurance companies are sent into overdrive.  Hundreds of homes are damaged each summer, for it is the only thing that can protect them.  They have become quite accustomed to this occurrence every June.  They know the one warning sign to listen out for.  As one person might listen for a clap of thunder in a thunderstorm, the people who are affected most by this storm listen for the fatal sound of… ping.

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Washington Nationals

A Change of Scenery

So maybe a change of scenery did help after all.  This is what has happened to the current Washington Nationals, who escaped from torture just months ago.  The city being referred to as one that brings about torture is none other than that of Montreal.  Let it be known that Montreal is not a bad city by any means.  It is just not the best place to have its own Major League Baseball team.  It falls into the same category as having a hockey team in the city of say Phoenix or Tampa Bay.  Oops, didn’t Tampa Bay win the Stanley Cup the last time hockey wasn’t in a lockout?

Categories
General Sports

The Rich- the Fast- and the Furious

We would all love to have the life of an athlete (we all have wanted to at some point in our lives).  They are envied for the way they live.  People want to be able to rake in money the same way athletes do.  They want to have their cars, and the clothes they wear.  Non-athletes want to be able to go home everyday to the same size houses as athletes do.  Yet, some athletes still have no clue of how good they’ve got it.  It’s hard to believe the reports that people still here about the dumb decisions athletes are still making.  Trends of dumb decisions among athletes have all dealt with one of the things athletes are envied for, cars.  For some reason athletes feel as though they are obligated to go as fast as they can in their fancy rides.  With the rates of speeds from athletes these days, many are prone to accidents.  Those whom are unfortunately involved in accidents sometimes have their career taken from them, and sometimes have their lives taken also.