Monthly Archives: May 2017

Roger Goodell: Expect fewer commercial breaks, faster NFL games in 2017

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Expect some big changes soon in the way NFL games are broadcast.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced the league will present a plan for how to restructure the commercial breaks within broadcasts, as well as the in-game timing of replay reviews that normally disrupts the flow of games.

There will be fewer, but longer commercial breaks, which means there will be fewer instances of a commercial, a kickoff, then another commercial.

“It drives me crazy,” Goodell told USA Today Sports on Wednesday. “We call those ‘double-ups.’ They actually occurred 27 percent of the time (on kickoffs last season). And that’s still too high for us.”

Centerfield may just be his spot.

“I’d like to play centerfield because my legs feel good, my arm feels good and everything feels good to try to compete,” Infante said, via the Detroit Free Press. “I know there’s a lot of guys in here but I have to compete with them and see what happens.”

Infante has a solid .271/.308/.387 career slash line, but he struggled the last three seasons with the Royals. Still, Tigers fans remember the diminutive infielder hitting .318 with 10 home runs and 51 RBIs in just 118 games back in 2013.

The Tigers seem open to just about anyone starting at centerfield this season, so long as they make a few plays and bat reasonably well to keep the potent lineup moving.

“I’m going to try to do that because I want to play,” Infante said. “When you play infield, you handle a lot of situations. In the outfield, you just read the ball, that’s it.”

While the competition plays out during spring training, Infante is soaking up the moment being back in Detroit.

“It feels great,” he said. “I’m really happy to be back with the Tigers. Happy to be with the organization that gave me an opportunity to be here. Try to make Cheap NBA Jerseys the team and we’ll see.”

Pablo Sandoval feels like he has to ‘prove everything’ this season

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Pablo Sandoval understands he’s in the same boat as everyone else fighting for the starting job as the Red Sox’ third baseman.

After playing in just three games last year because of a Cheap Throwback Basketball Jerseys shoulder injury that ultimately required surgery, Sandoval realized he will have nothing handed to him.

“I have to prove everything,” Sandoval said Thursday, via the Boston Herald. “Especially when you’re coming from an off year after the injuries and you come back and you have to prove a lot of things to the fans, to the team, to your teammates, to the sport. You have to prove a lot of things out there on the field.”

Sandoval has checked into Red Sox camp about 40 pounds lighter than last year. His renewed dedication should give Boston fans some optimism, though he has not given them a reason to smile, yet.

After the game, Gausman said he felt there was a double standard.

“(Sale) threw 98 behind a guy, on purpose and everybody knew it, and they’re going to throw me out for hitting a guy on a curveball?” he said, via the Baltimore Sun.

The ejection was “complete bush league,” he added.

Orioles center fielder Adam Jones then got the gate in the top of the fifth for arguing with Holbrook over balls and strikes.

Earlier Wednesday, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and chief baseball officer Joe Torre held a conference call with the managers and general managers of both clubs calling for NBA Basketball Jerseys the retaliation pitches to stop, hence the short leash regardless of pitch type.

“Sitting in an impartial seat, you look at it and realize enough is enough,” Torrie said, via Fox Sports. “I know if you wear a uniform, you’re always feeling that you’re on the short end of it. I understand that feeling. But the commissioner made his point, without going into specifics, just about getting down to baseball. If this stuff continues, there will be some discipline.”

MLB reportedly plans to limit replay time, meet with players about other proposals

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Major League Baseball will move to limit replay reviews to two minutes during the 2017 season, according to a report from USA Today.

The move would be another attempt to speed up the pace of play, following the elimination of the four-pitch intentional walk that goes into effect this season. Commissioner Rob Manfred and others see the pace issue as key to helping the sport attract new fans and keeping existing fans entertained.

A stumbling block to the proposed sale, according to Forbes’ sources, is that the person who made the offer is a real-estate developer based in New York City who lacks the liquidity to come up with the cash (vs. borrowed money) that MLB typically requires of a potential buyer.

The report says that much of the developer’s wealth is tied up in New York-area real estate.

Unlike Guggenheim Partners’ highly leveraged purchase of the Dodgers for $2 billion from Frank McCourt, Forbes notes, Guggenheim had “hundreds of millions of dollars in hedge fund and insurance company money and a $6 billion bounty from a new [regional] cable television deal.”

Despite their relative small regional TV income, the Marlins are an attractive Make Cheap Jerseys purchase target for a couple of reasons: the team’s relatively new ballpark (Marlins Park opened in 2012) and baseball’s recently agreed-upon collective bargaining agreement that guarantees labor peace through the 2021 season.

On the downside, the Marlins enter the 2017 season having finished under .500 for seven consecutive seasons and drew 21,405 per game in 2016, last in the NL. Worse, their minor-league talent is rated among the worst in MLB by multiple sources.

The Marlins last reached the postseason in 2003, when they won the World Series, but their history has been one of binge-spending followed by selloffs and long playoff droughts. In fact, their playoff drought currently is the second-longest in Major League Baseball, behind only the Mariners (2001).

It’s too early to think the Brewers can make a play for the National League Central

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Royals batters struck out 14 times as Paulo Orlando and Raul Mondesi K’d three times apiece. Orlando went 0 for 5 while Mondesi was 0 for 4 with a walk. Of Kansas City’s nine starters on Cheap Throwback Jerseys Thursday, five are hitting below .200.

The Blue Jays are now 3-12 and had two batters get the dubious “Golden Sombrero” on Thursday as José Bautista and Jarrod Saltalamacchia each struck out four times.

His home run Thursday was a two-run blast in the fifth inning that gave the Brewers a 5-4 lead they would not relinquish. The Brewers blew leads in each of their last two games as the bullpen faltered. Those two losses to the Cubs also coincided with Thames snapping his five-game home run streak.

The Brewers are not expected to contend for a playoff berth, but nobody expected the 30-year-old Thames to have eight homers and 14 RBIs with a slash line of .415/.500/.981 after being out of MLB for five years.

It’s too early to think the Brewers can make a play for the National League Central, especially because of their unreliable pitching staff, but they could be fun to watch if they continue to hit homers.

While the Brewers were launching long balls, nobody could score in Thursday’s game between the Royals and Rangers in Arlington. The game was scoreless until the 13th inning when the Rangers finally ended it with Delino DeShields’ walkoff single to left to score Joey Gallo, who got things going with a one-out double to right.

Chargers may have tampered in negotiations with Russell Okung, report says

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Just more than an hour after free agency opened Thursday, ESPN reported that the Chargers and left tackle Russell Okung had agreed to a 4-year, $53 million deal.

That’s a quick deal, especially considering that Okung is representing himself, and as a potential free agent was not supposed to have any direct contact with interested teams until after the free agency period officially opened at 4 p.m. ET. A team that has direct contact with a player before that deadline is considered to be tampering.

Mike Klis of KUSA 9 News in Denver reported Thursday evening that, “Industry sources believe Chargers may have tampered with Russell Okung, who was not supposed to negotiate till 2 p.m. Thursday.”

Redskins coach Jay Gruden said Monday that he’s just thinking about this season, when he knows he will have Cousins under center.

“My approach, really: I’m not gonna be concerned about it,” Gruden said regarding Cousins’ long-term future with the team, via the Washington Post. “I know he’s gonna be here this season, and that’s all I care about.”

Cousins, who will turn 29 before the start of the regular season, will make roughly $24 million this season under the franchise tag.

If the Redskins are unable to tie him up this offseason, then Cousins could be a person of interest next year if he can continue to build on two solid seasons.

Cousins threw for 4,166 yards, 29 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2015, then followed it up with 4,917 yards, 25 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last season.

“Whatever happens, happens with him and his agent and our Cheap Zach Parise Wild Jerseys organization,” Gruden said of Cousins. “He has got two good years under his belt in our system, and I think it’s gonna be very good for him. You’re gonna see major growth from him again.”

Pedro Martinez says racist fan who taunted Adam Jones is ‘not a true Bostonian’

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Since Orioles outfielder Adam Jones said a fan at Fenway Park hurled racial slurs and tossed a bag of peanuts at him last week, Red Sox brass, the Boston mayor and the commissioner of baseball have spoken out against the racist fan’s actions.

Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez, who spent seven of his 18 MLB seasons with the Red Sox, said Monday the so-called fan is not representative of Boston.

“There are people who are reckless about some of the things that they do everywhere in the world, but it surprises me a whole deal to see it here in Boston,” Martinez, who won two of his three Cy Young awards while with the Red Sox, told Sports Illustrated while in Boston for a charity event. “Ever since I got here, I’ve never seen a community more supportive of people like me, and Adam Jones, and other communities than the people I saw at the field. I’m not taking anything from Adam Jones, but it really shocked me.

“I don’t think that is someone who belongs at Fenway, at my field. He is not a true Bostonian,” the eight-time All-Star and Dominican native added. “The true Bostonians support their people, regardless of who they are, and they are great people and I’m proud of my Bostonians. I’m extremely shocked that someone used Fenway Park to offend the feelings of all of Custom Cheap Jerseys us, including Adam Jones.”

The man who taunted Jones has not been identified, but the Red Sox did issue a lifetime ban at Fenway Park to a fan who used a racial slur the next night after a woman of Kenyan descent sang the national anthem.

Boston mayor Marty Walsh said the racial slurs are not reflective of Boston as a city. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in his statement last week that, “the behavior of these few ignorant individuals does not reflect the millions of great baseball fans who attend our games.”

Mets’ Noah Syndergaard exits game vs. Nationals with apparent injury

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Mets starter Noah Syndergaard exited Sunday’s game vs. the Nationals with a lat injury.

The injury comes after New York decided to skip his start Thursday due to a tired arm. Mets brass called the injury a case of biceps tendinitis, and Syndergaard compounded the issue by deciding to forgo an MRI late in the week.

He has thrown a lot of innings during his prime years (a major league-high 698 2/3 over the past three seasons, including 230 in 2016), and showed slight signs of decline in his first season with the Red Sox. By his own admission, his fastball command was off. Perhaps that’s one reason he threw his fastball a career-low 48.8 percent of the time. He filled the void with his cutter and changeup.

In addition, Fangraphs’ stats say his average fastball velocity was 92.9 mph, down from 94.2 mph in 2015 (but not far below his 93.2 mph average in 2014).

Those issues with the fastball contributed to him allowing a career-high 30 home runs last year. He needed a strong second half to get his ERA down to 3.99 (3.60 FIP).

As the risk of breakdown grows with each pitch, there’s a reasonable chance Price’s performance will further erode over the next two seasons. That will make it much easier for him to ride out a contract that guarantees him $31 million a year on average.

That’s not foremost in his mind, naturally; as he Cheap Long Sleeve Soccer Jerseys told The Globe, being part of a perennial contender is. But if everything turns out right and Price is still an ace heading into the 2018 offseason, he shouldn’t hesitate to become a better negotiator and use his leverage.

DeMarcus Ware announces retirement: ‘I’ve decided to accept the unknown’

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After 12 seasons in the NFL, DeMarcus Ware has decided to hang up his cleats.

The 34-year-old pass rusher took to Twitter Monday to announce his decision, saying he has “decided to accept the unknown.”

A nine-time Pro Bowler, Ware is eighth on the NFL’s all-time sacks list with 138.5 and led the league in 2008 and 2010.

Ware’s 2016 season was the roughest of his career. He was limited to 10 games and recorded just 15 tackles and four sacks behind Von Miller and Shane Ray.

Last year, Howie Roseman, back in the GM role, quickly erased the fired Kelly’s two defensive personnel mistakes, by shipping out both Kiko Alonso and Byron Maxwell in a trade with the Dolphins. Then Cheap Jerseys USA Soccer
they went out and got aggressive in the draft Wentz, a more Reid-like QB for Doug Pederson. By the end of the offseason, the Vikings’ misfortune with Teddy Bridgewater allowed the Eagles to also flip the Bradford flop.

This year, signing two legitimate outside starting wide receivers, Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, was a slap in the face of the Kelly’s Maclin-Jackson dissing, finally replacing their respective roles as all-around No. 1 and speedy deep threat.

Now Foles is back in the fold as the ideal backup, with a good grasp of the Reid-Pederson offense and willingness to fully accept the role. He’s back in the role he really should have been, pre-Kelly.

When the Eagles went away from Kelly, they did a lot a turn back the clock, ruing the fact they went away with Reid in the first place. They’ve officially gone forward enough to (almost) forget the Kelly era ever happened.

Giants coach struck in face by foul ball undergoes surgery

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San Francisco Giants coach Jose Alguacil suffered a broken nose, fractures in his eye socket and a deep laceration after being struck in the face by a foul ball on Saturday.

After being hit by a foul ball off the bat of Kansas City’s Hunter Dozier in a game at Surprise Stadium, Alguacil fell to the ground. According to ESPN, he left the field on a golf cart, but was then airlifted to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix where he underwent surgery later Saturday.

Alguacil, who managed the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento last year, joined the big-league club as first base coach this season. He was sitting beside manager Bruce Bochy in a folding chair outside the dugout when the incident occured.

It was so quick, I barely saw it, Bochy said, via ESPN. He said he felt fine, got up and got in the golf cart.

He doesn’t even know what he is yet, he doesn’t know what he can do and what he can’t do. Those are all part of the things he has to learn, and hopefully I can help him with that. But the stuff’s all there. It’s just maturing as a man and learning what you can and can’t do, then learning about the situations in the game.

That the Pirates still think they can win with Andrew McCutchen is both Cheap Embroidered NFL Jerseys admirable and maybe a bit … out there. The Pirates aren’t fielding a terrible team, but with a stacked National League, and the fact that they’re probably the third best team in the division at the moment, then maybe not moving McCutchen could come back to bite them. But there’s always the trade deadline. Re-signing Nova is a pretty big deal, as he’s not great, but he’s found a home in Pittsburgh after a rough few years with the Yankees. Still need bullpen help, however.

The Greek Freak has had a season the league has never seen before

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The Raptors signed Carroll in 2015 for one reason: to have a real chance at defending LeBron James. He may have a tougher challenge in trying to stop Antetokounmpo.

The Greek Freak has had a season the league has never seen before, becoming the first player in NBA history to rank in the top 20 in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. He’s a 7’0 LeBron James, before the muscle, and he’s only getting better.

That gives Carroll a warm-up before getting to The Design Cheap Jerseys King in the second round. If he can shut down Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee will reduce to ash. P.J. Tucker is another physical defender who’ll give the Bucks’ All-Star similar issues defensively.

But the Raptors haven’t had an answer for him this season. In four games against Toronto, Antetokounmpo is averaging 24.8 points on 59 percent shooting, along with just under eight rebounds and eight assists per game. He’ll need to do more, however, if he wants those numbers to translate over to the win column.

However, Gobert is working on a game-to-game basis, and the Clippers may not have enough in them to scrape out two more wins without Griffin being available. If it happens, it’s going to take an incredible effort from Chris Paul, who had 34 points and 10 assists on Friday.

Even if Los Angeles can sneak past Utah, though, the Clippers have no chance of pulling off a magical upset against the Warriors. It was already something that was unlikely to happen, but losing one of their top two stars should end any ideas of that for good.