Concussions Keep Players Sidelined

One thing I’ve noticed happening a lot lately is players that keep getting concussions. Every game, it seems as though at least one player is carted off the field with a head injury, and out for the rest of the season. The NFL is creating new guidelines with regards to concussions, including taking players off the field that receive head injuries.

If a player is unconscious at any point in the game, they are forced to be removed and are not allowed to return. However, the new guidelines state that if a player shows any signs of head trauma, memory loss, dizzinesss, etc., they are to be removed from the game as well. There are other guidelines to be included, but they have not been voted on yet so they are not official.

Recent players who have received concussions and are prohibited from playing include Brian Westbrook, Clinton Portis, Kurt Warner and Ben Roethlisberger.

Redskins Fall to the Eagles

It was like Christmas morning waking up and turning on the Redskins game. It was about 1:07pm, and the Skins were up 7-3 against the Eagles in Philly. They scored on the opening drive, and it seemed too good to be true. Obviously, it was.

The Redskins’ performance was particularly impressive due to the fact that Albert Haynesworth, DeAngelo Hall, Clinton Portis and Chris Cooley were out with injuries.

The Skins led the Eagles 24-16 in the third quarter, successfully converting 8 out of 13 third downs. But for some reason, they also seem to fall apart in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles were then able to score 11 points, including a touchdown, then a two point conversion. They won the game with a field goal, beating the Skins 27-24.

The Skins will play the undefeated Saints next week at 1 pm.

NFL Lets One Slip

One of the problems with sports today is that it’s live, which leaves very little room for error. No editing, no redos, no anything. Fans tend to get a little excited and shout things that can be heard on camera. For example, during an O’s game, Luke Scott was up at bat and a fan yelled “Luuuuke, I am your father!” I got a good chuckle out of it, but it clearly isn’t something that was meant to be aired.

On Thanksgiving, the Broncos played the Giants, and Broncos coach Josh McDaniels was heard shouting something explicit and it was broadcasted. McDaniels issued an apology, but I can’t say I blame him. I know this wasn’t on purpose, and it was not his intention to have this broadcast, and the network did not notice it in time to bleep it out.

Hopefully he can keep his cool in the future to avoid this from happening again. The Broncos won 26-6.

Tiger Woods Hits a Tree (How Ironic)

By now most people have heard of Tiger Woods’ late night excursion at 2:30am, resulting in a car accident with not only a fire hydrant, but a tree as well. Lucky for Woods, this all took place outside his house. His wife, who also managed to be awake as this ungodly hour frantically ran out of the house and smash his window with, of course, a golf club.

Officials say there was no alcohol involved, so what the heck actually happened? My only guess could be that he and his wife got into an argument, he fled the house, and forgot that the hydrant was hanging out on the sidewalk.

Instead of just make up a lie, like he wanted to go Black Friday shopping, or that he was going on a beer run, Woods decided to draw even more attention to himself by telling everyone that it was all his fault and he’s only human. Oh Tiger, I completely agree, so please don’t disappoint us.

D.C. Mourns the Loss of Abe Pollin

Abe Pollin, owner of the Wizards and previously the Washington Capitals (whom he sold to Ted Leonsis), died on November 24th from a neurological disease. Pollin is attributed with transforming sports in the D.C. area to what we know it today. He spent over $220 million to create what is now known as the Verizon Center, and brought professional hockey and basketball players to the area.

Not only did he accomplish all this, he also built housing developments and was extremely charitable throughout his lifetime. Pollin’s death truly is a loss not only to the D.C. area, but to sports teams nation wide.

Albert Pujols NL MVP

Albert Pujols received his third MVP award, and his second consecutive. He won unanimously, by all 32 voters. Pujols plays first base for the St. Louis Cardinals, and had a batting average of .334. He also led the NL with the most home runs, 47.

He was also the leader in runs scored (124), slugging percentage (.658), intentional walks (44) and had an on base percentage was .443. Pujols had surgery in October to remove a bone spur and bone chips from his right elbow. There was a chance he would require ligament replacement surgey, which would’ve kept him out for half of the season, but it no longer looks necessary.

Along with winning this award, he will receive a $200,000 bonus, $16 million for next season, and a possibility for 2011.

Dan Snyder (Still) Sucks

With every expressing their dislike and disappointment for Redskins own Dan Snyder for the past couple of months, you’d think he would’ve gotten the hint by now. But no, of course not. The only changes he’s made recently were to remove head coach Jim Zorn’s play calling responsibility. Which seems pretty silly if you ask me; all Zorn does now is stand on the sideline and call timeouts.

However, now Snyder is making remarks regarding the Redskins, about how disappointed he is, but he has yet to make any changes. And chances are we won’t see any anytime soon. The Redskins will continue to lose, and fans will continue to be disappointed.

Northeastern Calls It Quits With Football

After playing 74 years of football, Northeastern decided they’re going to cancel their football program, which would require millions of dollars to bring it up to where it needs to be. The decision appears to be mainly financial; the football team lost six straight seasons and has low attendance, so there’s no point in wasting money on a sport with no profit.

There are 87 players on the team, along with 10 coaches. The problem now lies with the players, who decided to go to college based on football. The school has said that those with scholarships will be able to keep them, and those wishing to transfer and play college football somewhere else will be given as much help as necessary.

Redskins Go Down Fighting Against Cowboys

Anyone who’s anyone knows that the Redskins and the Cowboys have one of the biggest rivalries of all time. Today’s game was unusually intense, and as usual, ended in disappointment. However, the Redskins didn’t go down easy, and made it a challenge for the Cowboys.
One of the main problems during the game was kicker Shaun Suisham’s consistency. Suisham, who hadn’t missed a field goal yet this season, missed two out of four attempts. If Suisham had been able to score at least one more field goal, the Redskins would’ve won the game.

A mere three points can separate the winners from the losers. Suisham should start practicing now, seeing as the Ravens just fired their kicker, Steven Hauschka. The Redskins will take on the Eagles next Sunday at 1pm.

Supreme Court Refuses “Redskins” Case

A group of Native Americans challenging the team name of the Washington Redskins, which they feel perpetuates offensive stereotypes, have brought their case to the Supreme Court. This group had brought the case to court previously, and has been trying to get the name changed for over 40 years.

The Supreme Court has decided not to hear the case, because they waited too long to challenge the name. The Redskins were first introduced in 1967, but the Native Americans did not file a lawsuit until 1992. If the Redskins would be require to change their name, they would lose millions of dollars in advertising and promotions.

Redskins Allow Signs Back In

As you all know, Dan Snyder temporarily banned signs from FedEx Field. Anyone caught with a sign was force to discard it or be removed from the stadium, and chances of their season tickets being revoked. No other team had a rule such as this, so it’s likely that Snyder was doing this to prevent “Dan Snyder Sucks” signs from being brought it. Attendance declined and boycotts were imposed, and Snyder recently reversed the ban.
Snyder issued a statement, saying fans were allowed to bring signs as long as they were tasteful and did not block anyone’s view. Bring on the creativity.

Maurice Jones-Drew Takes a Knee

Maurice Jones Drew of the Jacksonville Jaguars had a tough decision to make during Sunday’s game against the New York Jets. There were less than two minutes left on the clock and Jones-Drew could’ve easily scored a touchdown with no problem. However, he decided to take a knee on the 1-yard line in order to run time off the clock. If he hadn’t, the Jets would’ve gotten the ball back with plenty of time to score a touchdown and tie the game.

Unfortunately for Fantasy Football fans who had JD on their team, they missed out on the points they would’ve received if he scored a touchdown. But no one could blame him… he did what’s best for the team.

Michael Phelps Can't Get It Together

Michael Phelps competed in the World Cup meets in Berlin this past weekend and had seriously trouble. The 8-time Olympic gold medalist wasn’t used to his bathing suit because his favored swim trunks will soon be banned from competition. The suit Phelps previously wore, known as a “high-performance” suit, will be banned on January 1st.

Phelps left the two-day competition without any records or wins. But Phelps isn’t too worried; while he’d prefer a win, he feels that swimming in the old suit will give him an advantage once the rest of the swimmers return to it. It’ll take more than a swimsuit to get him back on the fast track.

REDSKINS WIN!

The Redskins had arguably the best game of the season on Sunday. It was the first game the Redskins have won with over 20 points.

They played without Chris Cooley (broken ankle), Chris Samuel (neck injury) or Clinton Portis (concussion). Ladell Betts started for the first time since 2006, in place of Portis. Surprisingly, the Redskins did just fine without them.

The Broncos started off their season winning their first 6 games. Their last 3 games, against the Ravens, the Steelers and the Redskins, have all resulted in a loss coming off of their bye week. The Redskins lost their last 4 games, against the Falcons, Eagles, Chiefs and Panthers. Their record coming into this game was 2-6.

Unfortunately, being a Redskins fan in Ravens’ Town is pretty difficult at times. I missed all of the excitement because it’s nearly impossible to watch a game unless you head out to a restaurant or bar and sit there for hours. I had to watch the game simulation online. SO LAME.

Luckily, the two most exciting plays have been replayed frequently on Sports Center. After a fake field goal attempt, punter Hunter Smith completed his first touchdown pass, 35-yards to Mike Sellers. Later, Betts scored a 1-yard touchdown in the 4th quarter with little time left on the clock. The Redskins won 27-17.

Next up the Skins will take on the Cowgirls...I mean, Cowboys. Go Skins!

When Will Ochocinco Learn?

I’m not really sure how it’s possible, but Chad Ochocinco always seems to be involved in some sort of controversy. To be honest, I’m not sure I even knew who he was before his name change last year (sorry guys, I’m pretty lame).
However, once again Ochocinco is in trouble with the NFL. During the Bengals-Ravens game, Ochocinco borrowed a $1 bill from the CBS crew, and attempted to “bribe” the officials during a replay challenge.

Ochocinco’s $1 bill cost him $20,000. I’m not really sure where these numbers come from, but apparently that’s the charge when you attempt to “bribe” the referees. I mean, really, if he was seriously trying to bribe someone, don’t you think he’d use something a tad bit bigger? Like maybe in the thousands?

Everyone knows Ochocinco is a clown, the NFL should just charge him $50,000 a year and let him do whatever he wants… since he’s going to anyways.

As always, you can watch it here.

Adam Jones Wins Golden Glove Award

Adam Jones, center fielder for the Baltimore Orioles, is the first outfield Oriole to receive the Golden Glove Award since 1975. The last time the O’s won a Golden Glove was 10 years ago, in 1999, received by pitcher Mike Mussina, and in 1998, received by Roberto Alomar and Rafael Palmeiro.

Although Jones had been hoping to win the award for several years, he was still surprised that he won, comparing himself to teammates such as Nick Markakis. Jones, who is only 24 years old, has only played two full seasons as an Oriole. Unfortunately, Jones had to end his season earlier this past year due to a sprained ankle, and was out for the season starting September 1st.

Among the 2009 Golden Glove recipients are: Mark Buehrle, Joe Mauer, Mark Teixeira, Placido Polanco, Evan Longoria, Derek Jeter, Adam Jones, Ichiro Suzuki and Torii Hunter.

Other Oriole recipients include: Roberto Alomar, Luis Aparicio, Mark Belanger, Paul Blair, Bobby Grich, Davey Johnson, Eddie Murray, Mike Mussina, Rafael Palmeiro, Jim Palmer, Cal Ripken Jr., and Brooks Robinson, who received the award 16 consecutive years.

Larry Johnson Can Rest a Little Easier

Larry Johnson, aka the guy who bad-mouthed his team and coach and didn’t think anything would happen, has been released from the Kansas City Chiefs. The running back’s father played for the Redskins, who were considering signing him.

However, Johnson won’t be making his way to the Nation’s Capital anytime soon. Although Dan Snyder likes to blow tons of money on overrated football players, and Clinton Portis recently received a concussion, there is not a chance that Johnson will play for the Skins.

Johnson was released from the Chiefs on Monday, and is still homeless as of yet.

"If anybody likes losing, they shouldn't be playing this game," Johnson said to Sports Illustrated. "It left a bad taste in my mouth every game we were losing... You just felt like you were useless. ... If I was frustrated and upset, it was mainly for myself."

Oh my goodness. Why on Earth would anyone in their right mind think that Johnson had a place on the Skins?! The Chiefs have only a slightly worse record (1-7) than the Skins (2-6).

If for some reason there’s a change of heart, I hope for Johnson’s sake he deletes his Twitter and stays away from the “Dan Snyder Sucks” t-shirts, because who knows what he’s capable of.

Michael Vick Keeps His Cash

Michael Vick, of the Philadelphia Eagles, is probably more well known for his dog fighting incidents than his football. After being convicted of the charges, he was sentenced to 18 months in jail. Vick, who was with the Atlanta Falcons at the time, was offered a large bonus prior to his conviction, and the NFL was questioning whether or not Vick should be allowed to keep it.

After going to court, a judge ruled in Vick’s favor, and felt that he should be allowed to keep the bonuses because they were received before he was convicted of the dog fighting charges. The NFL did not agree with the ruling, and would like to get a different judge look at this case. However, the NFL is incorrect in this matter, and the ruling still stands, regardless of what the NFL thinks.

Former Falcon Fight During Skins Game

DeAngelo Hall, current Redskins cornerback, played for the Atlanta Falcons for his first four seasons. Hall left the Falcons on bad terms, due to issues with head coach Mike Smith and GM Thomas Dimitroff. The Redskins played the Falcons in Atlanta earlier today. Not surprising, a scuffle broke out during the game on the sideline and Hall was in the middle of it.

It all started when Falcons QB Matt Ryan was hit out of bounds. Chaos ensued, and Hall claims that coaching staff threw a few punches as well. The Redskins were charged with a 15-yard penalty for the incident. It’s a matter of he-said-he-said so it all depends on who the NFL will decide is responsible.

Yankees Win World Series

Watching the last inning of the Yankees-Phillies was terribly painful. For one, it was an hour or two before my birthday and I had more important things on my mind. Secondly, I couldn’t care less about either team competing. It’s either the O’s or nothing (and I think it will always be nothing, sadly). The Yankees have their $1.5 million ballpark and the Phillies won last year.

But even the reigning champions couldn’t pull it together to prevent the Yankees from the 27th title. With each Phillies’ out, I felt like I was closer and closer to the end of the world, it was just a matter of time. Time moved so slowly. Strike, ball, foul ball, ball, strike, foul ball, foul ball… You get the idea. The game finally ended with the Yankees winning 7-3 at home.