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Archive for April, 2009
Saints Sweeten Their Own Deal
The Saints are set to remain in New Orleans Louisiana through 2025 with the conclusion of a long-term agreement to play in a newly renovated stadium.
State surplus money would contribute an total of around $85 million in renovations to the Saints Superdome but is still contingent upon legislature approval.
“It’s a 15-year agreement with a five-year option,” Saints senior vice president and chief financial officer Dennis Lauscha including “widening plaza level concourses, adding concession stands, reconfiguring lower bowl seating to add 3,100 seats, and adding 300-level luxury boxes, a new retail store, a club lounge and upgraded restaurants.”
The NFL, Comcast Stand Off
With Comcast profits up the NFL network may be out of the equation for sports fans.
The dispute has been going on for some years now, simply with the placement of the NFL Network being an additional cost to the basic cable package. It appears that this issue having not been resolved may affect comcast subscribers as early as tonight.
In order to seek a resolution the Federal Communications Commission may have to step in.
Both sides have their reasons for not resolving this dispute thus far. The NFL wanting the widest distribution level for fans and its advertising interests, while Comcast would ultimately look to increase subscribers to a higher level of service or be compensated.
It would be in the best interest of both parties to reach an agreement as Comcast continues to grow its dominating force in the television, phone and internet service market. However both the NFL and Comcast are bent on putting their foot down until the litigation the NFL filed in 2007 against Comcast and its tier priced programming that hosts the NFL Network.
New York Jets Draft Mark Sanchez
In a move that was almost expected when Sanchez fell to the Cleveland Browns who had the #5 pick in the 2009 Draft, the Jets traded up with the Browns to nab QB Mark Sanchez. With Brett Favre now in retirement and not coming back, Sanchez looks to take over the Jets franchise as their new star QB. The question on everyone’s mind is… can he do it? Sanchez was drafted as a Junior, and has but one season of experience as the starting QB at USC. While no one doubts the talent of Sanchez under the tutelage of Pete Carroll, some are worried that he’s not ready for the pressure of being an NFL QB. But despite his inexperience, most NFL fans predict he will have a better career than QB Matt Stafford, who was the first pick of the 2009 Draft to the Detroit Lions. Sanchez has a certain edge and a love of football that gives him wide appeal with football fans.
The New York Jets went 9-7 last season, and while their record wasn’t terrible, it was much less than what Jets fans hoped from Brett Favre. Jets jerseys featuring Mark Sanchez’s name have already gone into production, an early indication of how much will be expected of this young QB and the pressure he faces.
Bill Belicheck and Patriots Dominate 2009 Draft
The Patriots and Bill Belicheck are notorious for their drafting abilities. While other teams struggled to move to the top to find their ideal picks for the 2009 draft, the Patriots were content to avoid the first round and draft in the second, picking up several players that had some other teams scratching their heads and scrambling for their scouting reports. The Patriots have a knack for choosing sleeper players that have a lot of potential but not a lot of publicity. While doing this can yield dozens of players with significant NFL potential, it also keeps the Patriots under the salary cap, which ensures that the team has the ability to recruit and maintain high end talent when necessary. While no team wants to admit that their drafting abilities are insignificant compared to the Patriots, most agree that Bill Belicheck has an edge over the rest.
There will be several new players wearing Patriots jerseys this season, and if the past is any indication, the Patriots won’t be left out of the playoffs. With Tom Brady healthy again after suffering an injury that left him out of the 2008 season, most analysts agree the Patriots have a chip on their shoulder and will be dangerous in 2009. Some even believe we’ll see a repeat of the Patriots 2007 performance which saw them undefeated in the regular season.
Denver Broncos Make Surprising Pick in 2009 Draft
With their #12 pick in the 2009 NFL draft, the Denver Broncos elect to draft Knowshon Moreno, regarded as the top RB in the nation. It was a stunning move because most critics expected Denver to address their needs on defense. In addition, because of the Jay Cutler trade, the Broncos still remain without a solid QB to run their offense. It’s hard to know why the Broncos elected to draft Moreno, though in terms of skill at RB, Moreno was second to none in the draft. Some speculate that Denver went after Moreno to prevent another team from drafting him, which is a more than odd justification. Others speculate that the Broncos drafted Moreno first because without a starting QB, a solid RB will be able to make progress down the field even if the QB can’t throw the ball. It’s unclear what Denver had in mind, but fans will watch their 2009 season with great interest.
Despite selecting Moreno first, Denver made some solid picks later in the first round and in the second round of the draft. The Broncos nabbed Robert Ayers, Alphonso Smith, and Darcel McBath who will make some solid additions to the Broncos defense. But most fans seem to be more excited about seeing Moreno on Broncos jerseys in the coming months.
The NFL Draft is All Thumbs
With so much news coverage being placed into the most over-analyzed aspect of pro football. But what really becomes of all the prospecting, debating and ultimately the outcome of the NFL draft?
Each team has its specific needs, placement within the draft, availability of players and the order of importance in which each prospective team has to accomplish the drafting of said players. Realistically it is all a crap shoot of sorts. With each bad decision there comes a plethora of considerations.
ESPN even managed to spoil Roger Goodell’s announcement of the players draft by covering their selection phone call ahead of the draft announcements.
Even after the conclusion of the draft I feel bombarded with who did what and and what NFL team made all the right, or wrong decisions. The overall draft grades reportedly point to the NFC East coming out big, stacking the dominant NFL division even further but now that the speculation, what is, what was and what could have been will slowly sink into the back of analysts minds – it is time to concentrate on what is important. Put up or shut up, it’s execution time.
Suit Up for the Big Game
There’s nothing that quite compares to the excitement and energy offered by a live sporting event. Being able to see beloved sports stars perform their athletic feats in person adds an entirely new dimension to the game. Whether you’re interested in basketball, baseball, football, or soccer, you can always gain a new appreciation for how talented the players truly are by watching them live. And with so much time and energy dedicated to these teams, it is little surprise that people develop a fanatical connection and interest in these teams.
If you are one of these dedicated and loyal fans, what better way to express that interest than with your team’s merchandise? For many people, the best piece of sports merchandise is the team jersey. And with custom jerseys, you can adorn your jersey with your own name or custom saying. This way, you can truly feel like one of the team, and it also makes the perfect outfit every time you attend a live sporting event. And as an added benefit, having your name on the jersey means you don’t have to worry about the player being traded and making your jersey out of date!
Being Taken and the Ballpark
With a lack luster opening week Bud Selig looks to reaffirm that things still look good for the MLB. After an attendance slump of nearly 7 percent he must be selling someone a dream. With all due respect, even the two brand new – New York stadiums resulted in disappointing sales despite what MLB commissioner Selig is trying to feed the media.
With all that smoke being blown, it really is just a slice on a huge overall pie to be rung in. With the Dow nearly cut in half there is much opportunity for stadiums to real in extra attendance with some special promotions which certain stadiums have already begun with discounted prices. But there still may be those looking for that all too special drink special., ya know?
Can Seattle Win With Hasselbeck?
While the Seattle Seahawks did just sign T.J. Houshmandzadeh who said he was eager to play for a team with a quarterback who had Super Bowl potential, from all indications, Hasselbeck isn’t that quarterback. While injured for a significant portion of the year, in 2008 when Hasselbeck was available, he had a terrible passer rating, and overall didn’t look much better than fledgling quarterback Seneca Wallace. In 2005, Hasselbeck had a career year, but overall he’s an above average quarterback that can’t compete with the likes of the newer generation. Hasselbeck doesn’t have the speed or the ability to perform under pressure that is necessary for the modern quarterback. Hasselbeck’s claim to fame seems to be that he studied under Brett Favre, but the problem is, even in the twilight of his career, Favre was a better quarterback than Hasselbeck was in his prime.
The 2009 Draft is coming in just a few weeks, and while the Seattle Seahawks seems poised to choose a needed addition to their offensive line, with Matt Stafford and Mark Sanchez on the market, it might be a better idea to invest in a new quarterback. Hasselbeck doesn’t have a lot of years left in him, and whether he has a good year left is even more in question. Perhaps the new head coach in Seattle won’t have the same obsession with Hasselbeck that Holmgren had (one of the veteran coach’s few faults).
Impressive Season Ahead for Kansas City Chiefs
Coming off one of their worst seasons in recent memory, the Kansas City Chiefs are set up to have an impressive 2009. In 2008, the Chiefs lacked an identity, but with the addition of QB Matt Cassel, this season is looking up. In addition to now having a QB to build a team around, Kansas City has the third overall pick in the 2009 draft and solid draft positioning. With their third overall pick, most NFL critics predict Kansas City will select LB Aaron Curry, but the Chiefs are also still listening to offers to trade for their third overall pick. While it’s not quite clear what Kansas City will do, their starting lineup on both offense and defense has several holes, and their draft pick might just surprise a lot of fans.
Despite having holes in the lineup, the core of the Chiefs is quite impressive, and behind Matt Cassel who proved himself as a true NFL QB last season, it seems unlikely the Chiefs will have a repeat performance of 2008 in 2009. Fans, grab your Chiefs jerseys and be ready for a spectacular season ahead!
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