It’s been a while since I could write a
new post. Lots have happened in the
world of sports since then. Aaron
Hernandez has been arrested and indicted for murder leaving the Patriots with
an even bigger hole at the Tight End position than the Gronkowski injuries have
made. Fortunately for the Patriots, it doesn’t
look like they will be hurting too much.
Though the offense consists primarily of rookie skilled position
players, it seems to be in synch. With
the departure of Wes Welker during free agency The Patriots signed Danny
Amendola to fill the vacated slot receiving position. Amendola has often been compared to Welker
aside from durability. Amendola is 4
years younger than Welker and just so happened to go to the same college as him
and break the receiving records that Welker set for Texas Tech University. Both Welker and Amendola were undrated and
had to struggle before making it in the NFL.
Assuming Amendola stays healthy, the loss of Welker should not be as bad
as its expectation. Amendola will lead
the receiving corps that has 3 rookies including one whose undrated. Ironically Kenbrell Thompkins (undrafted) is
expected to be the best of the rookies this season. The two other rookies wideouts are Aaron
Dobson out of Marshall and Josh Boyce from TCU.
Both of which are looking good in training camp. So Welker’s void is should be filled but what
about Gronkowski and Hernandez’s TE spots?
Undrafted rookie Tight End Zack Sudfeld out of Nevada looks to be a
legit redzone target like Gronkowski is when he is healthy. Jake Ballard who was out all of last season
with a torn ACL should provide blocking and occasional catches once he is completely
healthy. Gronkowski who many believe
will open the season on the physically unable to perform list will be back to
being a redzone monster and every defensive back’s worst nightmare when he gets
back on the gridiron. Throw in a
promising young defense with returning veterans like Vince Wilfork, Jerod Mayo,
Chandler Jones, and Aqib Talib; the Pats should be on the top of everyone’s
list to represent the AFC in the SuperBowl.
The Patriots are not the only Boston team to
have an eventful offseason. The Celtics
made headlines when they traded the Captain Paul Pierce and big man Kevin
Garnett to the New Jersey Nets. It looks
like the Celtics are going to rebuild and try to get lottery picks in the
upcoming drafts. Personally I think they
should have done this instead of creating the big three. They had one of the worst records in the NBA
the season before the big three which gave them the 5th overall pick in that
year’s draft. Jeff Green was drafted but
shipped to Seattle for Ray Allen, who was used as incentive for KG to come to
Boston. That was successful and they won the NBA Finals that year... Big Deal
they mortgaged their future for one title.
So they have the one title but now they have to start all over and
rebuild without the luxury of having the worst record in the league and getting
lottery picks. Now at the middle of the
draft they have to tank if they want any hope of getting in the top five picks
of the draft. Not only that Former head
coach jumped ship and is now coaching the Clippers because I guess it’s too
hard for him to coach a young team. You
know what I have to say the that? Big
deal, deal with it! You signed a contract, either retire or coach for the
Celtics until its up. Theres a reason why
the NBA is thought of as too much of a diva league but I didn’t think the
coaches were included… Guess I was wrong.
The Celtics hired former Butler coach Brad Stevens to replace Rivers. Given his NCAA coaching background and the
fact he lead a small school to the NCAA tournament final two years straight
making Butler a powerhouse in college basketball, he should be able to
transition into the NBA well since it is a very young team with a few
veterans.
The
Boston Bruins went to their second Stanley cup finals in 2 years but lost a
heart breaker in game 6. The decided to
trade former 2nd overall pick to Dallas for winger Loui
Ericksson. The Bruins were sick of
Seguin’s immaturity and recklessness and decided to cut their losses and oh
yeah get a legit young player in return.
They also veteran Winger Jarome Iginla who they tried acquiring at the
trade deadline but were unsuccessful. Add
them to returning players like Chara, Marchand, Bergeron, and newly extended goal
keeper Tuukka Rask and they should be a favorite in the playoffs. Unfortunately Defenseman Andrew Ference was
not resigned and had parted ways with the team landing in Edmonton. Ference was a fan favorite in Boston and will
be missed!.
The
Red Sox continue their miraculous season and are currently a game up on the
Rays for first place in the American League East. The Sox traded their defensive stud shortstop
Jose Iglesias to the Tigers and received Former White Sox pitcher Jake Peavy in
return. I didn’t like the trade at
all. Peavy is a pitcher who’s past his
prime and injury prone. Jose Iglesias
is a game changer with the glove who could prove great value in the playoffs. I
guess we’ll have to wait and see in the playoffs. Sox pitcher Ryan Dempster made headlines when
unsuccessfully throwing at Alex Rodriguez with the first pitch of the At bat
Sunday night, but when you don’t succeed try try again. That’s exactly what Dempster did. He continued to throw inside and on the
fourth pitch of the at bat he drilled A-Rod between the numbers. This occurrence has since sparked controversy
and debate. Some may argue that the beaning woke up the
Yankees which allowed them to win the game.
I’d have to agree with them. I’m
not against the act of throwing at A-Rod, I’m against the situation it was
in. As many of you know A-Rod is the
face of this decades’ steroid era in baseball.
He’s currently appealing a 211 game suspension for his involvement in
Biogenesis scandal. Who wouldn’t want to
drill A-Rod? It’s part of the sport and
it is how players police each other.
Dempster did not target the head he only threw at his leg and back. So in my opinion the act is called for. However he did it in the 2nd
inning with his team up 2-0. By the
middle of the inning the Yankees had tied it up at 2. A-Rod went on to hit a bomb into the center field bleachers and the Yankees
stole a game they had no business winning.
With the division being so close, no game should be put in jeopardy and that
is exactly what Dempster did. Come September
we’ll see how big of an affect it will have.
That’s all I have for now folks,
thanks for reading!
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