July 26th, 2012
It was in 2010 when Lance Armstrong’s good friend and former teammate, Floyd Landis, went public with the testimony that he, along with other members of the U.S. Postal Service cycling team, took performance-enhancing drugs during competition. Landis already had his own history with the United State Anti-Doping Agency (USADA,) after suing them in 2006 for accusing him of using testosterone during the Tour de France. Now he’s under his own grand jury investigation, and his friend Lance Armstrong is too.
The evidence against Lance Armstrong came out two years ago, and was based not only on Landis’ story, but those of 10 other cyclists as well and 38 different samples Armstrong submitted during the years of 2008 – 2012. This testimony pointed not only to Armstrong, but to the core of the International Cycling Union, who have been accused with all but giving the athletes drugs before looking the other way and hiring teams of lawyers to cover up their tracks. So says the USADA.
But Armstrong has called the case a “witch hunt” put on by Travis Tygart, chief executive officer at the USADA. According to the seven-time Tour de France winner, Tygart has a “vendetta” against him and is simply trying to destroy the Armstrong name. But that may be far-fetched, seeing as how Tygart has recently taken on other doping cases and levied sanctions against other athletes that have nothing to do with the Armstrong case.
Those include Joshua Gilbert, 19, an Olympic weightlifter that was charged with doping charges; and Patrick Mendes, 21, who has received a ban of two years, also for weightlifting. Were these witch hunts, too? Or just part of Tygart’s job as CEO? What’s to happen should Armstrong and the International Cycling Union should they be found guilty? Or maybe more importantly, what will happen if they’re cleared of all charges?
July 16th, 2012
The two finalists that finished the day at the John Deere Classic on Sunday were the two that looked like the least likely to do much when the day began. At the start of the tournament, it was Zach Johnson who shot his ball far into the fairway bunker on his very first drive; and Troy Matteson put his in the trees. A rough start indeed, but after shaking out a few of the kinks, both golfers straightened up their clubs and really began to play like champions.
Both made a very slow go of it though. After sputtering and stuttering on the first hole, Matteson then gave a little too much ‘oomph’ in his swing and sadly, his ball skittered into the water; only to have Johnson follow up right behind him. Things didn’t look good, for either golfer but it all turned around for them on the 18th hole. Although Johnson still put it up on the bunker, he made up for it with his second shot on the same hole, putting it just in front of the pin. All he had to do was shoot in an easy putt, and he was golden. Everyone held their breath, wondering if this last hole — and with Matteson coming up just behind — was the one to do Johnson in. It wasn’t.
With a beautiful putt that was not too hard, not too soft but just right, Matteson birdied the hole for the win. Finishing the day at two-under par, and a total of two-under 69 on his scorecard, Matteson emerged the victor with Johnson finishing just behind with an impressive 20-under par 264 that included not one bogey in the bunch.
But Matteson and Johnson weren’t the only Americans that showed what they could do on the course on Sunday. Scott Piercy also finished in third with a fairly impressive 18-under 266.
And American Steve Stricker, who finished fifth, looked like he was going to win the tournament. It wouldn’t be that surprising; he has after all, won it the past three years. Sadly though, it was not to be as Stricker bogeyed out on both the 14 and 15 holes. It looked like he might revive himself again on the 16th hole when he birdied, but after his bogey on the 17th, it was clear that this was not his year.
Zach Johnson may not have played his best day on Sunday in Silvis, Illinois; but he was the golfer that emerged as the winner. It was his ninth career win, and his second PGA Tour title of the year. Immediately after the game, Johnson boarded a charter jet so that he could fly to the United Kingdom for the British Open that’s being held next week. There he will be accompanied by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Luke Donald, Bubba Watson, and Keegan Bradley.
July 15th, 2012
Linsanity may be over. At least in New York. When Jeremy Lin received a deal last week from the Houston Rockets that included $25 million for three years, it was widely expected that the Knicks would match it — something that they would have every right to do. When it first came out that the contract was on the table, everyone sang Lin’s praises, including those in New York. But now, a new deal has changed all that; and the deal is not Jeremy Lin’s.
That deal was Raymond Felton’s, who has now received a three-year $10 million deal, and that’s the one that’s going to be the real kicker for Lin. Add to that the fact that the New York Knicks also have two other point guards currently on their roster — Jason Kidd, who’s also just signed a three-year deal for $9 million; and Pablo Prigioni. Add to that the fact that the Knicks are also still in debt to Carmelo Anthony for $24 million; they’re going to be paying Amer’e Stoudemire $23 million; and Tyson Chandler will be taking $14.5 million out of the Knicks’ collective pocket. If they were going to add Jeremy Lin to that, they’d be paying out an additional $15 million due to the huge luxury tax they’d have to pay.
The story between Lin and the Houston Rockets is an interesting one. They were the team that cut Lin just a day before the 2011-2012 season began, only to later regret when Jeremy and Linsanity exploded in New York after filling in for many of the injured major players. Now, they want him back, and they want him bad. But will they get him?
He has spent the last two weeks training hard with the Knicks’ assistant coach, Kenny Atkinson; and according to Peter Diepenbrock, Jeremy Lin’s high school coach, Lin doesn’t want to leave. “He loves the New York fans. To have the experience that he had for the two months and for that to be over with, that’s quite a shock to the system. I think he really believed the Knicks would match whatever offer he got.”
The Rockets are also trying to sign Dwight Howard, who just can’t decide where he wants to call home. In order to sign him though, they’ll need to do some other major shuffling, trying to find space to fit him in under the cap. Lin might have been part of the deal, had he been able to be traded before January 15, which he couldn’t. But, should Lin join the Rockets, it would give the team a boost they haven’t had since Yao Ming left last year.
Lin and other sources have said that they have no idea how the deal will go, or if the New York Knicks are going to match the offer. They have until 11:59 pm tomorrow night to do so.
July 9th, 2012
Four players waited with baited breath for Roger Goodell’s decision on their NFL bounty suspension appeals on Tuesday. And when it finally came, they let out a sigh of disgust rather than one of relief. While Goodell ultimately decided not to grant appeals to any of the four players, he has invited them to come to him privately to plead their case; and that he’s willing to listen and reduce suspensions should any new evidence come into play. Instead, many of the players are now taking action in court.
Jonathan Vilma, who was suspended for the whole of the 2012 season, has already filed two lawsuits with the New Orleans federal court system — one against Goodell himself for defamation; and one against the league, asking for a temporary injunction so that Vilma could play while the other legal matters were settled. The NFLPA, of which Fujita is a member of, has also said that it “will continue to pursue all options,” indicating that more legal recourse may be on its way.
Those “options” apparently don’t include meeting with Goodell, or anyone else having to do with the actual bounty programs and punishments, as they’ve refused to meet with Goodell. Citing reasons that the fact that Goodell spoke about the cases publicly goes against the spirit of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the NFLPA has also said that Goodell has proven that he cannot be a considered an objective arbitrator.
However, Goodell says that it’s the lack of communication on the part of the players that has really hurt their case. When handing down his ruling on Tuesday he stated, “Although you claimed to have been ‘wrongfully accused with insufficient evidence,’ your lawyers elected not to ask a single question of the principal investigators, both of whom were present at the hearing. You elected not to testify or to make any substantive statement, written or oral, in support of your appeal; you elected not to call a single witness to support your appeal; and you elected not to introduce a single exhibit addressing the merits of your appeal. Instead, your lawyers raised a series of jurisdictional and procedural objections that generally ignore the collective bargaining agreement.”
July 9th, 2012
There is a possible deal for Dwight Howard finally in the works, after the prima donna spent most of last year trying to decide where he wants to play. And, just like most of Howard’s mindset throughout the last season, the proposed deal is currently a state of confusion. It involves over ten players and three teams; and in order for it to happen, a whole lot of “ifs” need to come to fruition.
The deal would involve Dwight Howard, Jason Richardson and Earl Clark all going over to the Brooklyn Nets; while Brook Lopez, Damion James, and Sheldon Williams will go to Orlando. Quentin Richardson, also currently a member of the Magic, would go to Cleveland, in exchange for Luke Walton and three first round picks. Sundiata Gaines, Kris Humphries, a first round pick, and $3 million from the Nets would also go to Cleveland.
But there are a couple of places where this deal could still get tripped up, if it were to be followed through any longer. The first is that Kris Humphries, who currently plays for the Nets, isn’t interest in only a one-year contract, as he’s currently looking for a contract that locks him up for four years.
The Magic, who are at the center of it all and are the ones currently looking to trade Howard, want Andrew Bynum to also come over from the Los Angeles Lakers. However, unlike Humphries, Bynum most likely won’t want to sign a long-term contract with the Magic, as he becomes an unrestricted free agent next year. Orlando on the other hand, doesn’t want to trade for him on a one-year basis, only to have him leave during free agency next year. In addition, the Lakes don’t have much left to trade with Orlando, as they’ve already traded away first round draft picks in order to get Steve Nash; and league rules prohibit them from doing so over consecutive years.
The Orlando haven’t been too eager in getting rid of Howard, even though they reportedly don’t want him on their team, either. But they do know that Howard is an elite player, or at least making his way up to those stats; and because of such they want to make sure that any deal for him works out in their favor.
Dwight Howard on the other hand, better have a banner year no matter where he ends up. His drama has tied up the NBA for the better part of the year, and has had GMs and coaches discussing possible trades that have always ended up to be a bunch of nothing. Howard himself has said that wherever he goes, he will take them to a title; and there’s no doubt that whatever jersey’s on his back, people are going to be just waiting for him to fail.
But, should Howard join the Nets over the summer, next year’s lineup would look something like this: Howard, Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace, and Deron Williams. That’s a pretty hard combination to beat, and one that could just make Howard’s predictions of a banner hanging in Brooklyn come true.
June 28th, 2012
If the Summer Olympics had been anywhere but London, England this year, perhaps David Beckham wouldn’t have seemed like such a sure thing to play for Great Britain’s team. But they are, and so he was. Now that the final group of players for the team has been announced, the world — and mostly David Beckham — are shocked that he’s not.
The list of final players for Team Great Britain was released today and even with a shaky start to the season, everyone was sure Great Britain team manager, Stuart Pearce, would have included the soccer star’s name. The London Olympic Committee and Games officials were even assuming that Beckham would play, and thought that he would be an essential part of the Games. While Beckham will still have an active role in the Opening Ceremonies, he will not be walking out with Team Great Britain.
The rules for Olympic soccer stipulate that only three players on each team can be over the age of 23, which Beckham is. It’s thought that it’s not really his poor performance with the L.A. Galaxy that kept him from being one of the three, but rather the fact that Pearce prefers Micah Richards, who Pearce had coached previously.
After the final list of athletes for Great Britain was announced, Beckham issued the following statement: “Everyone knows how much playing for my country has always meant to me. So I would have been honored to be part of this unique Team GB squad. Naturally I am very disappointed, but there will be no bigger supporter of the team than me. And like everyone, I will be hoping they can win the gold.”
June 25th, 2012
Alright Colorado fans! So Colorado Avalanche missed last year’s play-offs by just two points. Don’t forget the team beat the Los Angeles Kings twice in the later part of the season: and that particular team took the Stanley Cup. How many of you are sitting out there sighing, “that could have been us?” You bet it could!
The Colorado Avalanche is sitting on a gold mine of top team players. Gabriel Landeskog is the hot topic in this edge of your seat game, as the hands-down Rookie of the Yeah, sweeping the Calder Trophy with 382 votes over his leading contender. He is the fourth player in the 32 year history of Avalanche/Nordiques franchise to capture rookie of the year honors, joining Peter Stastny (1980-81), Peter Forsberg (1994-95) and Drury. Since the Quebec Nordiques entered the league in 1979-80, no other NHL franchise has had four Calder Trophy winners. Now, that’s exciting.
Matt Duchene, 21, signed on to a seven million dollar contract on June 23. He was the Avalanche’s first round pick, with a total of 65 goals and 85 assists in 219 games in three seasons. A finalist for the Calder Trophy in 2010, Duchene was limited to 58 games because of injuries last season, polishing up with fourteen goals and 14 assists.
Head Coach, Joe Sacco, now has two assistants, David Quinn and Tim Army. Quinn spent the last three seasons as head coach of the Lake Erie Monsters in the American Hockey League. He replaces Sylvain Lefebvre, who said his goodbyes to Avalanche and left for the head coaching position with the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs.
A new season is just around the bend, and the lightning fast team is determined to be next year’s champions. In the words of David Jones, Avalanche right wing, on the prospects of making the 2012-2013 play-offs by just falling short of the winning ticket two seasons in a row, “I think we have a lot of positives that we are going to build on. But with that being said, we need to make the playoffs. We need to make a run at it. We can’t be satisfied with moving up a couple of spots. I think everyone really feels like we have the personnel. We have the team to do it. It’s time to do it now.”
What you can be sure of is some tight, fast action. Colorado Avalanche is a team to contend with, making every game an edge of your seat experience. You’re not going to want to miss a single moment as they gear into a new season as the hottest, ice-cracking team battle it out on the playing field.
June 25th, 2012
The 2012 NHL Draft is over, and the biggest headlines of the day — which were of trades — are still ongoing. So what happened in the draft; and which teams made out best?
Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina is undoubtedly the team that came out with the biggest smile on Friday, and it had little to do with what happened in the draft. After trading center Brandon Sutter, defense prospect Brian Dumoulin, and eighth overall pick in the draft for Jordan Staal, the Hurricanes are going to be a tough team to beat. With either Jordan or Eric Staal being on the ice for two-thirds of all of Carolina’s games, they’ve now got the depth to reenergize this team and maybe even make them look once again like the 2006 Hurricanes that won the Cup. At that time, Eric Staal led his team in points during the entire playoffs.
Pittsburgh Penguins
It wasn’t only Carolina that made out nicely in the Staal deal; Pittsburgh did pretty well themselves. Not only did they get Brandon Sutter, who had more defensive skill than Staal, but they also recruited Derrick Pouliot with their 8th pick in the draft. Pouliot can move the puck with incredible speed and although he’s admitted that he needs to be more physical on the ice, but that draft pick also makes room for Zach Parise or Ryan Suter — two players the Penguins have expressed interest in once free agency begins on July 1.
Edmonton Oilers
The first team on the list who’s actually improved their team on draft day, through an actual draft! The Oilers ignored the “Russian Factor,” and the fact that they need more defense than they do offense when they drafted Nail Yakupov number-one overall. There’s still so much Edmonton has to celebrate though. This player will be ready to don a jersey and play with his fellow teammates as early as this coming season, as he is exceptionally quick and had stats better than those of Tavares and Stamkos when they played in the same OHL that Yakupov is coming from. This is an all-around elite player, and one people will be talking about for years to come.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Leafs needed help, and they needed it desperately. It arrived on Draft Day in the form of Morgan Rielly. Rielly could easily have been a number-one pick with his keen sense of how to play the game aggressively while skating with tremendous speed. Coming from the Moose Jaw Warriors, it was that WHL team that had Rielly leading their power play when he was just a rookie at 16-years-old. The only reason he didn’t go number one overall was due to an ACL injury that kept him out most of the season last year; a factor that doesn’t seem to scare the Leafs.
New York Islanders
Griffin Reinhart, who the Islanders took on draft day, comes from a long line of hockey players. His father is Paul Reinhart who played defense in the NHL; and his brother, Sam Reinhart, is already being eyed at the number one pick in the 2014 draft. That talent runs through Griffin’s veins and it shows when he’s on the ice, especially when he’s on the power play or killing one off. Griffin’s biggest challenge was his skating, but after picking up a great amount of speed, he’s ready to go pro.
June 7th, 2012
What is happening in the West? That’s undoubtedly the question the San Antonio Spurs are asking themselves today, after being ousted of the NBA Playoffs by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Was it Kevin Durant that made the difference for the Thunder? Or was it the fact that the Spurs seemed to completely fall apart? Call it a little bit of both; the Thunder are calling it victory; and the biggest one yet.
Kevin Durant became the team hero when he ran out in front of Manu Ginobili during the fourth quarter that stopped the Spur short and allowed the Thunder to take, and hold, the lead. Durant later said that it was strategy on his part. “Manu’s an unbelievable player at twisting his body and making crazy shots, so I just wanted to time it right,” Durant said. “I just wanted to go out there and sacrifice my body for my team. I knew that would give us a little spark.” A little spark indeed, and one that will light the way all the way to the Finals.
Sadly, San Antonio can’t say the same. The team that was heavily favored to be in the Finals received foul after foul last night, with six on defense and three on offense — all in just the first seven minutes of the game. So what happened? A complete breakdown. After winning 20 games in a row, and two of those being the first two they played against the Thunder, they then collapsed and lost four in a row — at the very worst time. But, the team can do nothing but try and shake it off now.
“There’s not much to complain about,” Ginobili said after the game. “We had a great run. We just couldn’t beat these guys.”
The Thunder will now wait to see who wins the Eastern Conference Final — the Boston Celtics or the Miami Heat, to see who they’ll face in the NBA Finals.
May 31st, 2012
As expected, the San Antonio Spurs won their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night; but they didn’t make it look as easy as they have in games past. Coming out strong to gain a 22-point lead, it looked like a classic case of the better team dominating. But as the Thunder continued to take that lead away from them, it left fans in San Antonio wondering what had happened to their team.
It was the Thunder’s biggest names that kept the team alive with Kevin Durant putting up 31 points, James Harden scoring 30 of his own, and Russell Westbrook getting his own 27 points. It was Durant who scored six points during the third quarter, narrowing the Spurs’ lead to only 80-66. The rest of the quarter saw the most exciting moments of the game, with the Spurs having no more than a 14-point lead the entire time. Westbrook stepped up his own game in the last quarter with just over five minutes left; after making two foul shots, the Spurs only led by six.
But it was with only seconds left, the Spurs came out and proved why they were the best in the West this year. With just over one minute of play, Manu Ginobili scored a three-pointer to give the Spurs a 115-105 lead; those three points contributed to the 20 Ginboli had overall. The Spurs ended the game with a victory of 120-111.
The win also gave the Spurs a 2-0 lead in their series against the Thunder, with the winner going on to see either the Boston Celtics or the Miami Heat. That series is also at 2-0 for Miami, after they took the 115-111 win over Boston last night.
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