Miami(0-12) plays at Buffalo this afternoon. The questions or areas of concern this weekend are.
Miami hasn’t scored an offensive touchdown in over 12 quarters.
Two running backs(Chatman and Booker) may be out today. That only increases the burden on rookie QB John Beck.
Zach Thomas was placed on IR.
Another safety(Worrell) has gone down for the year.
There are other stories, but those are the highlights. Why don’t I just come out and say Miami will go 0-16 instead of going through the pretense of weekly predictions(BTW I’m 11-1 this year in my progostications)? The reason is I haven’t given up on Miami winning a game this year.
It just won’t happen this week. Prediction- Buffalo 20, Miami 10.
- the Yanks made an offer to Baltimore for southpaw Erik Bedard, who’s coming off a career year: 182 ip, 3.16 era, 1.09 whip, 221 Ks. No mention is made of what the offer is, but after all the hullabaloo (first time I’ve ever used that word) of nearly trading Phil Hughes, he’s unlikely part of this deal (for a lesser pitcher than Santana). Since Bedard has never surpassed 200 innings, they should be very careful pursuing him, especially since Baltimore is a division rival and any players they get in return can hurt us 19 times a year. If I had to guess, the offer is something akin to Kennedy, Melky and a mid-level prospect like Jeff Marquez.
- two Latin players were signed recently and the initial scouting reports on them are very promising. From NYYFans.com’s Minor League forum:
“1B, Raymond Nunez – (Just turned) 17-year old first baseman, bats and throws right-handed. 6-foot-2, 210 pounds. Apparently he’s a big kid, reportedly has more power than Kelvin De Leon and a smidge less than Montero – somewhere around 75 power on the 20-80 scout’s scale from what I’m told.
Reportedly he’s a great defensive first baseman and has a really good eye at the plate. He apparently played in a handful of Dominican Instructs games (after I left obviously) and hit a home run, four doubles, and never struck out. The Yankees signed him for “six figures”. I couldn’t get an exact figure.
RHP, Harold Garce – 22 years old, from the Dominican Republic, 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds. I know, 22, right? Get this though, apparently he was hitting 98-99 MPH during his tryout!!!
He was a low dollar sign but he’s quite projectable. He’s never been coached, he’s very crude mechanically, but he shows a pretty good curveball already, and he was sitting 95 MPH in the couple of Dominican Instructs games he pitched towards the end.
Imagine how good he could be once Nardi gets a hold of him.”
They’re one third of the way through the 2007-08 Hockey season. May as well talk about how they’re doing. This week they had a short week, only two games. How did the Cats fare against the NY Islanders last night?
SUNRISE – Before Friday’s game against the Islanders, Panthers coach Jacques Martin said he had told his forwards to quit trying to be so fancy and just put the puck on the net and his defenders to make a stand at the blue line.
The Panthers then went out and showed they had listened, controlling the action the entire game while out-shooting the Islanders 41-25 on the way to a 3-0 win.
The victory ended a three game Panthers’ losing streak, all at the BankAtlantic Center, and came via power-play goals by Stephen Weiss and Nathan Horton and an empty-net goal by Olli Jokinen with 12 seconds left in the game.
This was Vokoun’s second shutout of the season. Both coming against NY area teams, the first when he outdueled Martin Brodeur in an October game.
The win snapped a three-game Panther losing streak. Before that, Florida had won four in a row. The team having a winning record in November for the first time in five or more years. That’s the good news.
The Panthers had won four straight coming into the five-game homestand that began Nov. 29 with a 4-3 loss to Boston and was followed by a 2-1 loss to Washington and the loss to Ottawa before Friday’s win over the Islanders
Three straight losses at home doesn’t bode well for a team that struggles on the road. The Washington loss was particularly ugly, as the team looked listless against the franchise with the worst record in the NHL so far this year.
In addition to their home woes, Florida has been stacking up injured defensemen like crazy all year. Last night Brian Allen went head first into the boards and was a while before getting up. Before that.
Last summer the Panthers had too many defensemen. They decided not to make a qualifying offer to Alexei Semenov, who became a free agent and signed with San Jose.
Now, after losing their fourth defenseman to injury in the first 27 games, they may not have enough.
Jassen Cullimore became the latest casualty Saturday night, suffering what likely will be one or more torn ligaments after a knee-on-knee hit with Washington’s Matt Bradley in Florida’s 2-1 loss at the BankAtlantic Center.
Cullimore’s status will be updated today after the team was given off Sunday.
Cullimore joins Noah Welch (shoulder), Cory Murphy (shoulder) and Mike Van Ryn (wrist) on the injured list.
Florida has traditionally lived by its goaltending and defense. The 07-08 cats are no different. Florida can’t afford too many more injured defensemen.
Offensively, Olli Jokinen(15 goals or 15 g in 29 games)
has been great. Richard Zednik, Nathan Horton, and David Booth all ok(Each with 8 g a piece) though I think the twenty-three-year-old Booth could be a comprable player to Jokinen very soon. The rest of the team there hasn’t more than four goals. I do think there is some talent among the group, Rostilev Olesz(4 goals but in only 15 games played), Stephen Weiss, and Richard Campbell. Weiss and Campbell have underacheived but shown flashes of talent.
How does Florida stand so far for the season? Record wise they’re 13-15-1. That places them 14th in the conference. Seemingly not destined for the playoffs, like I predicted earlier this year but I’m not giving up. I think the Cats can legitimately stay on the ice with most everyone in the conference. Ottawa is the only team I think has the Panthers overwhelmed. As for the the southeast division, Florida is 6 pts out of first but only 2 out of 2nd. If Florida can stop their tendency towards listless play, they can make the playoffs anywhere from 5th to 8th in the conference. Yes I said fifth. Only Carolina and Ottawa scare me in this conference. Florida can beat the rest, if they want to.
His first game as head coach, in place of the recently departed Paul Johnson, will be against Utah in the Poinsettia Bowl. From AP-
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Navy wasted little time finding a new football coach, promoting assistant Ken Niumatalolo on Saturday to replace Paul Johnson, who left Friday to take over at Georgia Tech.
The 42-year-old Niumatalolo is believed to be the NCAA’s first Polynesian head coach.
*****
Niumatalolo had two coaching stints at the Naval Academy for a total of 10 seasons, including the last six, when he was assistant head coach and offensive line coach.
The Midshipmen went 45-29 in six seasons under Johnson, including 43-19 over the last five years, and became the first Navy team to record six straight wins over Army.
Niumatalolo played a major role in installing the triple option attack that enabled Navy to set the school’s single-season scoring record this year. He will coach the Midshipmen against Utah in the Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 20.
“It’s an honor and a privilege to be named head football coach at the Naval Academy,” Niumatalolo said. “I am in the process of putting together a coaching staff that will give us every opportunity to continue the winning tradition at the Naval Academy.”
Niumatalolo’s work with the offense helped the Midshipmen lead the nation in rushing in four of the last five years, including each of the past three seasons, a first in NCAA history. Navy is averaging a school-record 351.5 yards rushing per game this year.
A 1989 graduate of Hawaii, he lettered three years as a quarterback and led the Rainbow Warriors to their first postseason bowl appearance in 1989. He was hired as a full-time assistant by his alma mater in 1992 and spent three seasons as an offensive assistant coach.
For Navy and Niumatalolo, I hope this isn’t George Welsh II. Welsh took over a Navy team in 1973 that had fallen on hard times and then led them to three bowl games in his last four years before departing for ACC school Virginia. Welsh was Navy’s only winning coach between 1965 and 2007 other than Johnson.
Johnson like Welsh left for a ACC school, in his case Georgia Tech. Will history repeat itself all over again at the Navy Academy? Coaching at service schools has to be some of college sports toughest assignments.
Note- I watched college football even more in the last years of Welsh’s time at Navy(78-81) than I do today. That and my serving in the Navy beginning in 1979 makes me recall Navy football from that era very well.
Korean-American golf star Michelle Wie took the 4th spot on Forbes magazine’s 20 Under 25 list of Top-Earning Young Superstars, which includes both athletes and entertainers.
Despite her poor showing this year, the 18-year-old golfer banked US$19 million thanks to activities and endorsements last year, beating out all three “Harry Potter” stars — Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint — and other famous Hollywood actresses such as Scarlett Johansson and Lindsay Lohan, who ranked 12th and 18th with $5 million and $3.5 million, respectively.
At the top of the list was basketball star LeBron James, 23, a forward with the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. James earned $27 million from June 2006 to June 2007. The NFL’s New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush, 22, came in second with $24 million. Maria Sharapova, 20, the world’s reigning queen of tennis, grabbed third place with $23 million.
I honestly hope Michelle finds her pre-2007 golf game. The money won’t keep rolling in forever without results on the golf course.
The Irish jockey was just cleared of race fixing charges also. From AFP-
Six-time British champion jockey Kieren Fallon has failed a drugs test, his lawyer said on Saturday, a day after he was cleared of race-fixing charges when a two-month trial collapsed.
The 42-year-old Irishman tested positive for a banned substance after a race in Deauville, France, in August, said Fallon’s solicitor Christopher Stewart-Moore, although a B-sample second test result is still awaited.
“I can confirm that the story is true but it is a matter we are dealing with together with (French racing authority) France Galop and it is something we are not able to comment on.
“I am not in receipt of the actual B-sample results,” he added, saying the positive test came after he rode “Myboycharlie” in the Prix Morny at Deauville on August 19.
French racing authorities imposed a six-month suspension on Fallon from December last year, after he tested positive for a prohibited substance in June 2006.
The news comes a day after Fallon voiced relief but also anger following the collapse of a high-profile race-fixing trial against him and five co-defendants at the Old Bailey in London.
The six were accused of conspiracy to defraud online betting customers by trying to cheat in 27 races to make horses lose, but the judge ruled there was no case to answer.
The drug test and the race fixing allegations are probably unrelated. Few people understand the measures jockeys have to take to keep riding. They eat and purge to keep their weight dozens of pounds below normal for their heights. It often causes both major physical ailments and sometimes mental health issues.
Moore’s neck was broken a result of hit placed on him by then Canuck player Todd Bertuzzi. From AP-
TORONTO – Todd Bertuzzi’s on-ice attack on Steve Moore might have been ordered by former Vancouver Canucks coach Marc Crawford, according to a report aired on CBC’s “The National” Wednesday night.
Bertuzzi grabbed Moore from behind during a 2004 game, punched him on the side of his head and then landed on top of Moore, driving his head into the ice. The bloodied Colorado player was removed on a stretcher.
Moore sustained a broken neck and a concussion. He filed a lawsuit against Bertuzzi, the Canucks and their parent company in Ontario in February 2006.
A statement of claim filed in court by Moore’s lawyer and obtained by CBC alleges that Crawford pointed to Moore’s name and number on a board in the Canucks’ locker room during the second intermission of that game and said “… (Moore) must pay the price.”
In an accompanying document, Moore’s lawyer claims Crawford’s statement was disclosed by Bertuzzi while under oath, and by Canucks general manager Dave Nonis.
A month earlier, during a Feb. 16 game in Denver, Moore checked Canucks forward Markus Naslund and that led to talk of retribution against him, culminating with the Bertuzzi hit a month later.
Crawford, now Los Angeles’ coach, didn’t want to talk about the report after the Kings’ 4-1 loss to Phoenix on Wednesday night.
Here’s the video of the infamous incident.
I felt at the time Bertuzzi(who now is with the Anaheim Ducks but spent the 06-07 season with the Florida Panthers and Detroit Red Wings) should have been kicked out of the NHL. The NHL, as seen by Commissioner Gary Bettman’s attempts to prod an out of court settlement, would rather make this ugly attack go away. Why do I get the feeling a reason why is that players in the NHL engage in retaliation all the time? Click here and here for other possible proof. The League would rather have the truth kept unknown. Breaking people’s necks doesn’t put the NHL in a good light.
Nababov has started every Shark game so far this season. From AP-
GLENDALE, Ariz. – Evgeni Nabokov shut out Phoenix for the third straight time as the San Jose Sharks beat the Coyotes 1-0 Friday night for their fourth straight victory.
Milan Michalek’s goal with 15 seconds left in the second period was the difference in the Sharks’ fifth consecutive road victory.
San Jose improved to 4-0 against Phoenix this season. The Coyotes scored the first goal of the series, then the Sharks scored the next 16. Nabokov has shut out Phoenix 5-0, 6-0 and now 1-0. The Coyotes have gone just under 231 minutes against the Sharks’ goalie without scoring.
Nabokov has four shutouts this season and 38 for his career, moving him into a tie for fourth with Buffalo’s Jocelyn Thibault among active goalies.
Michelek, who scored his ninth goal of the season, slipped a wrist shot past goalie Ilya Bryzgalov from about 10 yards in front of the net, with an assist from Joe Thornton. Jeremy Roenick got the second assist.
Nabokov, who had 26 saves, is the only goalie in the NHL to start all of his team’s games this season.
San Jose better be careful. While Nabokov has been playing in the NHL only 7 years, he’s been playing professional hockey for twice as long. Some goalies can take a heavy workload, Martin Brodeur for example. Nabokov on the other hand hasn’t played more than 59 games in goal during an NHL regular season since 01-02. The Sharks may want to avoid burning out the Russian.
I always wondered why no one picked up former Florida Panther goalie Eddie Belfour after the 06-07. He’s playing in Sweden now. The Eagle showed he could still play last year. He’d be a more than good #2 goalie for some NHL team.
I would say it’s by far the best season a quarterback has had. I understand those who would argue against that – well, the season’s not over. Well, I think already, if you’re just looking at a season for a quarterback, it’s without question the best year.
If you put my best two years together, I don’t think you’d come up with the numbers that he’s going to have at the end of the season.
Unless Roger’s got a beef with it, I certainly don’t.
That’s a generous thing to say. I disagree, though.
Statistically, he’s certainly right. Romo has shattered all manner of Cowboys single season records with only three quarters of the games in the bag, as Albert Breer notes.
Romo’s 2007 numbers project to rank in the top three in club history in seven major statistical categories – passer rating, attempts, completions, completion percentage, yards, yards per attempt and touchdown passes.
Danny White’s 1983 season ranks in the top three in four of those categories.
The only other seasons that are top three in even two of those categories are Troy Aikman’s 1993 campaign and Roger Staubach’s 1971 season.
But it’s a different league than Aikman, Roger Staubach, Don Meredith and others played in. The rules are set up for passing in a way that simply wasn’t the case even then years ago.
Further, Aikman’s numbers were hampered by Emmitt Smith’s dominance in the red zone. Emmitt scored more TDs than any other running back in NFL history and, because he was so reliable, it made sense to hand off to him rather than risk interceptions.
It’s true, as Aikman admits, that Romo is more mobile and athletic. Of course, Aikman had a great arm and was as accurate a passer as you’ll ever see.
On the other hand, this is Romo’s fifth year in the league and he’s only been starting a season and a half. By this point in Aikman’s career, he’d started virtually every game he’s been on the team and was on his way to his second straight Super Bowl.
What Romo has accomplished so far this season has been quite remarkable. But let’s view it when it’s over before proclaiming it the greatest ever.
Staubach led the Cowboys to a 12-2 mark and a Super Bowl in 1977. Aikman led them to a 13-3 mark and a Super Bowl in 1992.
If Romo can go 14-2 or 15-1 and win a Super Bowl in 2007 to go along with shattering the franchise record for TDs and 300 yard games, he’ll have a good claim on the title.
Paul Johnson, who turned Georgia Southern and then Navy into respectable football teams, has been hired to restore Georgia Tech to prominence.
Navy coach Paul Johnson, who turned one of the country’s worst teams into an annual bowl participant, has agreed to become Georgia Tech’s next football coach, Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk confirmed Friday morning. Johnson, who had a 45-39 record in six seasons at Navy, replaces Chan Gailey, who was fired as Georgia Tech’s coach Nov. 26.
After turning Navy into a regular bowl contender, Paul Johnson is leaving for ACC country.
“Paul is fixated on what Paul wants to do and that’s the next step and new challenges at Georgia Tech,” Gladchuck said. “We appreciate what Paul has done and we’ll always remember him as one of the great coaches in Navy history. But we’re very respectful of his wishes for new challenges at Georgia Tech.”
Johnson informed the team at an 11:45 a.m. meeting at the Navy’s Ricketts Hall, where the football offices are located, said Scott Strasemeier, Navy’s associate athletic director for sports information.
Georgia Tech has scheduled a 5:30 p.m. ET news conference to announce the hiring of Johnson.
Johnson, who is perhaps best known for his potent triple-option spread offense, led the Midshipmen to unprecedented success during his tenure at the academy. Under his watch, Navy was 11-1 against Army and Air Force and won the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy five consecutive seasons. Navy went 8-4 this season and beat Notre Dame 46-44 in triple overtime, ending an NCAA-record 43-game losing streak to the Fighting Irish.
Navy plays Utah in the Dec. 20 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. Gladchuk said Johnson will not coach in the bowl game.
Johnson previously worked at Division I-AA Georgia Southern, where he led the Eagles to a 62-10 record and two consecutive I-AA national championships.
Johnson was also considered a candidate for vacancies at Duke and SMU but informed both of those schools Friday morning that he wasn’t taking either job.
Georgia Tech also considered former Washington coach Rick Neuheisel, former Auburn coach Terry Bowden, Georgia Southern coach Chris Hatcher and Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong. Connecticut coach Randy Edsall also interviewed for the job but quickly removed himself from consideration.
A great hire by Tech. I’m surprised Johnson lasted as long as he did at Navy, honestly. Indeed, he was reportedly on Alabama’s short list last year before they ultimately lured Nick Saban away from the Miami Dolphins.
