Monthly Archives: August 2017

Eagles trade long snapper/magician Jon Dorenbos to Saints

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The Jon Dorenbos era in Philadelphia has come to an end.

The Eagles on Monday announced they have traded the veteran long snapper to the Saints for a seventh-round pick in 2019.

Dorenbos, who made a name for himself as a magician after making it to the finals of “America’s Got Talent,” went undrafted in the 2003 NFL Draft but was picked up by the Bills. After a one-year stint with the Titans, he joined the Eagles in 2006.

In New Orleans, Dorenbos will compete with Justin Drescher after the Saints signed the fellow long snapper earlier this month.

Dorenbos, 37, has appeared in 201 games over his 14-year career and appeared in a franchise-record 162 consecutive regular-season games for Philadelphia to tie former Eagles wide receiver Harold Carmichael. The two-time Pro Bowler has missed just three games over the last 10 seasons.

“I want to be clear. I’m a football fan. I played it most of my life, growing up and there’s rarely a Sunday that I’ve missed in my adult years,” said Deblaire Snell, senior pastor of First Seventh Day Adventist Church. “But there comes a point in time where I’ve got to prioritize my convictions more than my entertainment value.”

Instead, these men will devote themselves to community service, dedicating one to two hours on Sundays for the next 17 weeks to “pouring into” African-American boys and girls, something they’ll do even if Kaepernick gets picked up, and prayer for their community and government officials.

“This protest is not anti-flag because people of color love the stars and stripes,” Pollard said. “It is not anti-American because of people of color have loved this country even when this country has not loved us back. And this country is not anti-veteran because we support those who have made sacrifices so that our liberties have been secured. This protest is to ensure the rights of all Americans regardless of color or creed to be heard.” seahawks_162

DeMar DeRozan got so angry with a Drew League ref, he chucked a ball at him

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DeMar DeRozan is normally one of the more relaxed players in the NBA, which made his outburst during a Drew League game this weekend even more bizarre. Immediately after receiving an inbounds pass, DeRozan hurtled the ball at a referee:

The above video not only shows the incident, but what led up to it. Apparently DeRozan was angry with this ref all game, which culminated in what he felt was a no-call when he was driving to the basket.

I know people want 30 and 10 and whatever, or 25 (points), but with their experience, it’s gonna take some time. But I’m very confident in both of them.
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How tough was it to pull the trigger on the Brook Lopez trade? What were the emotions like?
Very hard. Very hard. Very hard. I thought Brook bought in 100 percent. That’s hard with a guy who’s had I don’t know how many different coaches. He embraced our culture. He was a pleasure to be around every day. That was probably the hardest decision that I’ve made being a head coach. And that’s part of being a head coach. It’s not just coaching these darn games. It’s making decisions like that with Sean. And that was the hardest because he’s a heck of a player.
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But again, our timeline’s a little different. There were a lot of different reasons why we did it. But that was extremely difficult.

As a result of that trade, you get back a guy in D’Angelo Russell. He’s kind of the lottery pick you guys didn’t get this year. How does landing him jumpstart your rebuild?

Lonzo Ball made his NBA Summer League debut with an alley-oop to Brandon Ingram

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Lonzo Ball made his long-awaited NBA debut the way only way that seemed best: with a pinpoint lob pass to Brandon Ingram, who finished the play with a two-handed stuff.

The Lakers drafted Ball No. 2 overall mostly because of his all-world passing ability. That court vision is on full display already in the Summer League.

That’s the problem with having so many lottery picks on your roster. Eventually, they all need to be paid and those deals will eat into cap space. It wasn’t a now-or-never scenario as much as now was a pretty good time to strike.

Authentic Mens Ronde Barber Jersey Adding Butler was a no-brainer, while locking down Jeff Teague and Taj Gibson means the Wolves really are Tom Thibodeau’s creation now. They will be big, they will be tough, and they will be talented. How far they go still depends on Towns’ and Wiggins’ development. That’s their margin to be special and their window is just now opening. In the interim, they figure to be really good and a playoff team at long last.

In Oklahoma City, GM Sam Presti now has a clear vision to convince Westbrook to stick around. PG and Russ should work extremely well together and they give the Thunder a viable chance to remain competitive in the West. If it clicks and both players sign on for the long haul, then Presti will have preserved Westbrook’s career in Oklahoma.
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Has any non free agent had a better summer than Klay Thompson? While the Warriors were putting the band back together again, Klay scored an $80 million deal from his sneaker company and lived his best life on a promotional tour of China. Now that everyone else is in place, Thompson becomes the next important piece of the Warrior roster when his deal expires in two seasons. That will be watched intently when the time comes. Until then, this has been the Summer of Klay.

Watch LaVar Ball get parodied perfectly on ‘Saturday Night Live’

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Any attention is good attention in LaVar Ball’s world, so he’s probably thrilled that he elevated to the status of being made fun of on Saturday Night Live. Kenan Thompson appeared on Weekend Update: Summer Edition to play the Ball family patriarch and did a pretty good job nailing his persona:

Dave Schultz Mens Jersey LaVar went a step further with his comments he could beat Michael Jordan with one arm tied behind his back by saying he would also wear a beekeeper suit and Hamburger Helper gloves, which is ridiculous — and also something LaVar Ball would absolutely say.

Elite Kids Jaelen Strong Jersey He then gives host Colin Jost a pair of ZO2s as a gift, then immediately asks for payment in full. The whole sequence is very good and shows just how far LaVar has gone to turning himself into a household name.

Now we wait for the inevitable I’m funnier than Bill Murray.

Time hasn’t made Rah-Rah Barber forget what happened in Texas. There’s a soft shake in his voice whenever he brings it up. He has a hard time finding the right words for the pain he and his boys felt after their protest.

The coach remembered when one of his players asked if the Beaumont Bulls could copy Kaepernick. It’s impossible a youth team understands this, he thought. But the team’s parents agreed. The board of the league approved. Barber talked to his team. And that September weekend they all kneeled.

Vikings vs. Seahawks 2017: Time, TV channel, and how to watch online

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The Vikings started 2016 as one of the league’s hottest teams. They ended the season as one of its coldest.

Following a 4-0 preseason, Minnesota roared out to a 5-0 run to the regular season behind new acquisition Sam Bradford (and an assist from Shaun Hill). Then came the bye week. That week off was a terrible harbinger; the Vikings dropped eight of their final 11 games to fall to third place in the NFC North while watching the Packers and Lions advance to the playoffs.

And so, we just said, ‘Well obviously, this is the best time to do it,’ while still honoring our country, because I love this country more than anything. We’re free to live here and play this game, but we’re also free to show each other that we love one another, and I think that that’s the message, and that’s the only message we were trying to get out, is any kid, any family, any adult that follows us and looks up to us, we knew their eyes would be on us, and we wanted to show them that it’s OK for a white kid and a black kid that come from two different neighborhoods to grow up and love one another and be best friends.”

Mack: “Different races can get along, you know what I’m saying? White, black, whatever you are … we can get along and be friends and do all those different things, and just show unity. Show togetherness.”

Carr and Mack touching on that sentiment is much appreciated, especially with everything that’s happened in the last week, and everything that will follow, in the wake of Charlottesville.

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NHL trade deadline: Wild meet Coyotes’ steep price for Martin Hanzal

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For the Wild, fulfilling their longstanding Stanley Cup goal is priceless.

Minnesota sent that message to the rest of the NHL, along with as many as three high draft picks to Arizona, by acquiring coveted center Martin Hanzal and depth forward Ryan White in a bold trade Sunday with the Coyotes, the teams announced.
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The deal, first reported by TSN, cost the Wild a 2017 first-round draft pick, their second-rounder in 2018 and minor leaguer Grayson Downing.

Minnesota also surrendered a 2019 fourth-round draft pick conditional to its postseason success this year.
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From the game day security crew to the volunteers that I was fortunate enough to meet throughout the years, I thank you as well.

I certainly cannot sign off without thanking the people that made this time here so rewarding- the Boston Bruins fans. Your devotion, unmistakable passion, energy and support is what makes Boston the best sports city in the entire world!

In leaving this organization, what I’m most happy about and most proud of is being part of the team that brought the Stanley Cup back to Boston for the first time in 39 years. Sharing that journey and the Stanley Cup celebrations with our players, families, staff and our fans produced so many incredible memories that I will never forget. To all that were part of it and helped along the way, I want to express a heartfelt ‘thank you.’

Julien, who was replaced by assistant Bruce Cassidy on an interim basis, leaves as the Bruins’ all-time leader in wins with 419 over 10 seasons that included a Stanley Cup victory in 2011. At the time of his firing, he was the NHL’s longest-tenured coach.

Because Jordan played two levels above Tebow

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Game Matt Prater Jersey The Cubs are young. Their rotation got better. They nabbed one of the lowest-cost rotation toppers on the market. This is a trade that helps them in 2018, even if they continue screwing up this year.
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Begin with Jimenez, who is 20 years old and absolutely compelling. There are prospects who pique your interest, and there are prospects who take the yoke of your imagination and fly it directly into the sun. Jimenez is one of the latter.

And while it’s true that he didn’t really have a place to play with the Cubs’ Schwarber/Happ/Heyward permutation … I mean, one of those outfielders is Jason Heyward … you don’t ditch your best prospects because you’re not sure how they’ll fit in with a defense-first outfielder. That’s not to mention that the other corner is filled with someone who was hitting so poorly that he had to take a detour to Triple-A for a bit.

Neither of these slash lines is good. Jordan, at 31, was already past the typical prime age for a hitter when he entered the sport. Tebow, at 29, was right around the end of it, as most research pegs a hitter’s peak between his age-26 and 29 seasons. Both were seven or eight years older than the average competition at their levels, but because of baseball aging curves, it’s not clear that either had a huge advantage in that regard.

Because Jordan played two levels above Tebow — not to mention in a different era and run-scoring environment — a definitive comparison of their abilities is impossible. But that doesn’t mean we can’t take a stab at one.

He’s not the same pitcher you’re thinking of. His walk rate is up. His ERA is over 4.00, and his FIP suggests that’s where it should be. He’s 34 and owed $28 million per season for the next two years.

MLB Futures Game 2017 livestream: Time, TV schedule, rosters, and how to watch online

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Many of baseball’s top prospects will be on display Sunday in Miami for the 2017 MLB Futures Game, the unofficial start of All-Star week at Marlins Park.

Kids Peter Budaj Jersey Paul DeJong truly set it off with a ground-rule double that brought two more runs in, a single from Randal Grichuk brought to bring Jedd Gyorko home, recent call-up Carson Kelly double to add two more to the tally, and the Cubs were officially bleeding without being able to staunch it in any way.

Things ended with a two singles from Matt Carpenter and Tommy Pham respectively, which netted two more runs, before the trauma ended with a line-out, a fly-out, a walk, and a strikeout to finally get the Cubs out of the inning.

Judge’s elegant use of all fields is something new to Derby lore, and I’m not sure how to process it. But I urge you to play around with this fun, now-essential tool.

The Diamondbacks played it cool, for the most part, and I actually dislike the Murphy trade an awful lot. Moya looks like a pitcher who can contribute in a major league bullpen right away; Murphy was hitting poorly for a Triple-A catcher, much less someone who belongs on a major league roster.

Kids Mike Miller Jersey At the same time, the Diamondbacks got J.D. Martinez. They struggled against lefties, and they picked up one of the best lefty-mashers in the business. I’m not learned enough to accurately grade a lot of the prospects going back and forth*, but I know that exactly one exciting position player changed hands this deadline, and the Diamondbacks got him for what most prospect mavens felt was an underwhelming return.

The Diamondbacks didn’t have a great farm system. They still walked away with a player who fit their needs perfectly. That’s a winner.

Bucs GM on Roberto Aguayo: ‘I’m owning up to it by releasing him’

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Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht acknowledges that Roberto Aguayo was probably doomed in Tampa Bay from the outset.

Licht, who gave up two picks in the 2016 NFL Draft to acquire Aguayo in the second round, said he shouldn’t have ‘anointed’ Aguayo with such a high pick — and that he should have brought someone on to challenge him as the Bucs’ starting kicker.

“I’m owning up to it by releasing him,” Licht said (via TheMMQB). “It was a bold move and it didn’t work out. I don’t know what else to say. I know I have the support of my coach and my ownership.

Foster, a key member of Alabama’s defense for the last three years, was scooped up by San Francisco with the 31st pick in the draft. He was considered by many to be too small to be a linebacker and had several off-field issues before he was drafted. However, Foster seemed to have proven himself to Shanahan in practice.

Foster, along with fellow first-round pick Solomon Thomas, will be key to Shanahan’s new career as a head coach and to the new career of John Lynch as the team’s general manager.

“The cameras don’t make it harder. It’s hard because you’re dealing with a person’s career and a person’s life and whether it’s Roberto Aguayo or anyone else that we have to let go — I mean, I see what these guys go through. It’s one thing in any job if you were letting go of a guy that didn’t care or wasn’t trying to give you his best or wasn’t doing things the way you asked him, but that’s hardly ever the case. When these guys are out there and they are trying to do it the way we ask them and they’re giving it their all and it isn’t good enough sometimes, that’s difficult. I just always try to frame it with those guys when I talk to them is this doesn’t affect your manhood and I’ve been fired and you get over it and you learn from it and apply it to your next opportunity.”dolphins_079

Here’s hoping it eventually helps inspire more must-read Hall of Fame books.

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This isn’t a perfect book. Names occasionally get spelled incorrectly, something that seems easily correctable in future editions. The biographical capsules also got cumbersome at times for me to read straight through. The book might work best for some readers like the 1,008-page New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract does for me — as a reference book, to be read out of order, as needed. These are small quibbles, though.

Overall, Jaffe has produced a superb, fun Hall of Fame book, worth the wait for the past few years since Jaffe announced his book deal on Twitter. This is the book Hall of Fame enthusiasts might have had in their heads for years. The Politics of Glory has long needed an update. Jaffe’s done it.
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Jaffe, who has written about Cooperstown for Sports Illustrated and Baseball Prospectus for more than a decade and contributed in the past to multi-author books, has a good crowd of statistically-inclined readers who awaited his book as eagerly as I did. It will be curious to see whether The Cooperstown Casebook breaks through to a broader audience that will be willing to consider what Jaffe has to say and not just dismiss it out of hand for his sometimes unorthodox conclusions, such as Sandy Koufax rating as the 87th-best pitcher all-time.

Here’s hoping the book breaks through. Here’s hoping it eventually helps inspire more must-read Hall of Fame books.

Limited Youth Casey Hayward Jersey The Yankees (57-47), who lead the Red Sox (58-49) by a half-game in the American League East, and the Dodgers (74-31), who have the best record in baseball, unquestionably got better at the trade deadline.

The Nationals, who saw Gio Gonzalez take a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Marlins, also addressed an area of weakness by adding relievers Brandon Kintzler, Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle to boost their bullpen. Doolittle pitched a scoreless ninth inning on Monday to preserve a 1-0 victory.