2. 2017
  3. August

Bills’ Tyrod Taylor leaves game with concussion

Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor left Saturday’s preseason game against the Ravens with a concussion after getting sacked in the first quarter.

The team announced Taylor would not return to the game.

Chip Kelly announced Tuesday that Colin Kaepernick will take over as the 49ers’ starting quarterback this week against the Bills.

“We need to improve on the offensive side of the ball and this is the decision we’ve made,” Kelly said.

The move is not a shocker given constant media pressure accompanying Gabbert’s struggles. He has failed to reach 200 passing yards in all but one game this season, and his play has contributed to a 1-4 start for San Francisco.

Kaepernick and the 49ers reportedly were restructuring the QB’s contract so his full injury guarantee would go away. Essentially, it allows San Francisco to play the quarterback and not be on the hook for his $14.9 million base salary next spring if he suffers a serious injury to trigger the guarantee.

“It’s a football decision,” Kelly said when asked about the contract. “I don’t even know where his contract status is.”

Far too often teams pay for a name, and that’s what the Lions are doing with Ngata, whose sack totals have dropped for the last four years; and he only had 11 tackles last season. Ngata last appeared in 16 games in 2011. The Lions should be able to get equivalent play at a much lower cost.seahawks_161

This roast of a Lakers fan proves the Blazers are the kings of NBA Twitter

The Blazers might not have a championship since 1977, but they’re the current and reigning kings of NBA Twitter. On Wednesday night, a Lakers fan decided, unprovoked, to troll the team.

It took eight minutes. Just eight minutes for the account to locate and obliterate the tweet with its laser vision. It didn’t matter that it was late at night, Blazers Twitter is always there. It never forgives. It never forgets.

Yeah because I do think age plays a part in this. You want a certain group that are gonna build together. I don’t think you want all your players in different age groups (while rebuilding). So it’s good that we have a young core we can build with.

And it’s a great second opportunity for D’Angelo. When i talked to him immediately after the trade, I felt like he was so enthusiastic. Luke [Walton] is a helluva coach, but I thought he was just looking for a fresh start. So we’re like a fresh program, fresh start, and I really hope that can jumpstart him.

How do you see Jeremy and D’Angelo playing with each other seeing as though they are both so effective on the floor with the ball in their hands?
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I think Brad Stevens said this the other day: We don’t even look at the roster like 1-2-3-4-5. We have our smalls, our perimeters that can handle the ball. Then we have our wings, then you have your shooting bigs and your rolling bigs. It’s like, I don’t anticipate any problems.

Only the Jazz really know if they have a real chance to keep Gordon Hayward, but the last 24 hours have to encourage them. First, they snagged a nice bridge point guard in Ricky Rubio for basically nothing. (Prior reports that keeping incumbent George Hill was a prerequisite to retaining Hayward have been disputed). Then, they watched the Celtics’ dreams of a Hayward-George pairing disintegrate.
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Hayward could very well go to the Celtics anyway, and the Heat loom as an increasing threat to sweet talk Hayward to South Beach. Nevertheless, the Jazz’s chances of keeping their star are better now than they were a day ago. That’s all they can ask.

This was basically a best-player-available pick

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Oh look, another shooter. A career 53% eFG% is exactly why we got him. His defense is suspect, but he can get buckets and is also near automatic at the free throw line.

This was basically a best-player-available pick. We needed a backup two-guard and we decided to go with Lamb over the Jazz’s Alec Burks. Lamb can hold his own well enough and defense and can usually give you close to ten points per game. That’s a solid contribution from your bench.

He also won NBA Rookie of the Year and had a solid career with the Bobcats before back troubles and Charlotte’s futility wore him down and out. The fact that Charlotte wasn’t supposed to be able to land such a good prospect in their inaugural draft gets lost in the memory.
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When you have an expansion draft in the NBA, hijinks happen. The Cavaliers — then with LeBron James coming off his rookie year — found out that the Bobcats were going to take their sharpshooter Jason Kapono in the expansion draft. This left a hole. But there was a player eligible in the expansion draft that Cleveland coveted: Sasha Pavlovic, then coming off of his rookie season in Utah.

There’s no indication that Charlotte was actually interested in Pavlovic, though he did fit their mold as a young player with upside. But the Cavs wanted him badly to replace Kapono. So Cleveland told Charlotte it would trade a future first-round pick to the Bobcats if they took Pavlovic in the expansion draft and rerouted him to the Cavaliers, who had a trade exception under which to absorb him. Charlotte agreed. Poor Utah.

Dion Waiters on Kyrie Irving rumors: ‘There’s an alpha male’ in Miami already

Where will Kyrie Irving end up? It’s the question that has been dominating the second half of the NBA offseason, ever since it was reported that Irving had requested a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers. The latest team name to appear in the ‘rumorsphere’ is the Miami Heat, who ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne mentioned on a recent Bleacher Report podcast.
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Dion Waiters, who is coming off the best season of his career and re-signed with the Heat on a four-year, $52 million deal, was asked about the possibility of Irving coming to the Heat. He said it would help, but then he followed up with this incredible quote.

With the koi pleading the fifth, Detective Whiteside looked for blood splatter on the walls. He couldn’t find anything, ruling out a head-on collision. The victim also didn’t have any wounds, meaning it wasn’t attacked by another animal.

Whiteside then interviewed Rosco (a dog statue that is in no way an alive creature), but he also chose to plead the fifth (by default I guess).

Elite Youth Leonte Carroo Jersey A second visit to the snitchless group of koi brought a runner this time, a key suspect in the case! Whiteside intends to bring him in for questioning.

Look. It’s the NBA Finals, it’s clearly Game 7, it’s a close game and there’s Famed Short Dunk Contest Guy and general NBA annoyance Nate Robinson on the court. He played the majority of the last minute in the deciding game of the NBA season as the Celtics tried to space the floor with shooters down with limited time remaining.

Indeed, Robinson was a member of the 2010 Celtics that won the Eastern Conference. He had the best shooting season of his career, hitting 41.4 percent from three and providing energy as Rajon Rondo’s backup. He even had 12 points in Game 4 of the Finals! But alas, the team traded him for — you guessed it! — Jeff Green the next year.

Derek Carr says he placed his hand on Khalil Mack during the national anthem to ‘unify people’

Before the Raiders’ preseason game against the Rams, quarterback Derek Carr was seen placing his hand on defensive end Khalil Mack during the national anthem. It’s the third instance of a white player standing in solidarity with a black teammate, with Chris Long and Justin Britt being the other two, although Carr and Mack weren’t protesting.

Marshawn Lynch continued to sit during the anthem, Rams linebacker Robert Quinn reportedly stood with a raised fist as a continuation of his protest, and Raiders safety Shalom Luani was seen kneeling during the anthem, but told reporters he was praying, not protesting.

Mahomes appeared to answer that pressure well on Saturday evening, and we’ll learn more about him as the preseason progresses.

Goodell went on to say, though, that there’s a time and a place for these protests.

“And that’s what we all have to sort of understand,” Goodell said. “The responsibility of doing it at the right time and in the right way.”

Colin Kaepernick was the first to protest during the national anthem last preseason, first by remaining seated, and later by taking a knee. Kaepernick did so to raise awareness about oppression and police brutality against people of color.

Since Kaepernick’s protest began, he has also worked tirelessly in the community, from providing suits to parolees for job interviews to helping secure a plane to take food, water, and aid to Somalians. Kaepernick also pledged $1 million in support to various charities and community efforts, and is making good on that promise.redskins_107_7c3df753c9f79b80-180x180

NHL teams make fun of NBA Twitter guidelines, hilarity ensues

The NBA’s new Twitter guidelines now say teams cannot mock or ridicule other teams via a franchise’s account.
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In response to these new rules, the Sacramento Kings’ and the Atlanta Hawks’ accounts had a ridiculously cheesy and sarcastic Twitter exchange during their game over the weekend.

Two NHL teams, the Dallas Stars and the Nashville Predators, took to Twitter on Sunday to make fun of the NBA’s new rules (and the Kings and Hawks) ahead of their matchup.

Since there is nothing in the NBA’s memo that says a team can’t mock organizations outside the NBA, it’s really a nice offer by the Stars. But wait, the Kings had to get another sport involved.

I’m a Leafs fan just living in Canada. It’s in my face and stuff, he said. I had to pick a team going to schools and stuff here. Yeah I’m a big fan. I watch games. I’ve never played; I’ve played ball hockey and stuff. I more watched.

Limited Kurt Warner Jersey And like many other Leafs fans, Siboko said he got completely caught up in the team’s resurgence last season.

They’re back, making more noise, and definitely bringing more people out to the games, he said. It’s dope to see the city supporting, and to see the vibe 鈥?they’re bringing the same vibe as the Raptors.

In previous Olympic years, USA Hockey might not have sought out a teacher. With NHL players having made up Olympic rosters since 1998, the talent pool and the participants were top-tier pros with top-level experience.

You’d been a fan of them since you were a kid, just growing up?

Oh yeah, I thought they were years ahead of their time and just loved watching them. So I thought I guess that’s kind of nice to have a mural of The Three Stooges in my house. So this is a game room and the guy painted it, and he painted it right onto the wall!

Authentic Womens Lou Gehrig Jersey Since it was in the game room did people comment on it when they were over at the house whether it was teammates or friends just hanging out?

Yeah they did, and I’m a drummer, too, so I had my drums in that room and that’s the room I would go up to and you know I had a big screen TV there and had my drums. It was a fun place to go and it was kind of a talking point. People would go in there and they’d see the mural and they’d go Oh, what’s that? so I’d tell them I love the Three Stooges, and that was about it.

Sometimes you don’t need a better reason than that! Especially if it’s just a fun room with people hanging out.

The All-Star Game doesn’t matter. But this year it mattered even less than it has in the past, because it no longer determines home-field advantage for the World Series. Which, according to several players I talked to in the locker rooms before the game, is a great thing.

Dustin Hopkins Elite Jersey I honestly think it’s better that there’s not something riding on it, said Rockies center fielder Charlie Blackmon. I don’t think we need to reward a player by making him play an extra game, and get mad at him when he doesn’t win in a situation where he’s not comfortable playing with coaches he’s never met. When he’s not comfortable out in the field? It just didn’t make sense.

MLB Trade Rumors: Brewers interested in Sonny Gray, Jose Quintana

No matter what happens this weekend in New York, the Milwaukee Brewers will head into the All-Star break in first place. After years of dealing away everything that wasn’t bolted down at the trade deadline, it looks like the Brewers will be in a much different position this year.

We’ve been wondering how GM David Stearns would handle this year’s success. If the reports are to be believed, it looks like he’ll be willing to use his stockpile of prospects to improve the big league club, but it likely won’t be for rentals — both Sonny Gray and Jose Quintana have multiple years of club control remaining.
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Judge then was in total control in the finals, where Miguel Sano seemed to struggle to get to 10, while Judge notched dinger number 11 with 1:53 left in the round 鈥?and 2:23 if you want to count the 30 seconds of bonus time he left on the table. Let’s not forget, too, that Judge also hit the ball the farthest: he had multiple blasts over 500 feet, including a dizzying 513 footer that still doesn’t sound real.
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That’s 47 homers in three rounds en route to the 2017 Derby title, which, given Judge is just 25 years old, might not be his only one. Of course, there’s always some other young slugger ready to dethrone the king 鈥?Judge, at 25, was actually the oldest player left by the time the semis rolled around. Bellinger, Sano, and others will have other chances in the future, too.

Dolphins sign Ken Griffey Jr.’s son, WR Trey

Trey Griffey has a second chance to earn an NFL roster spot.

The rookie wide receiver and son of Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. has signed with the Dolphins, the team announced Tuesday.

Griffey signed with the Colts as an undrafted free agent in May but was wavied by Indianapolis last month after a stint on the team’s injured reserve.

Griffey, 23, recorded 79 catches for 1,241 yards and six touchdowns in four seasons during his college career at Arizona. He capped his senior season with 382 yards and two scores before earning an honorable mention spot on the All-Pac-12 team.

Three home games is the good news, but late-season trips to Minnesota and Baltimore aren’t exactly easy. The second prime-time game against the Steelers will be heated as usual, but this AFC North and NFC North tour is something Cincinnati could negotiate if they are still in the hunt. Keep in mind Lewis is 10-2 against the NFC North. That’s a good sign with the late-season games against the Bears, Vikings and Lions.

That’s a conservative approach, because we think with this schedule the Bengals can put up a winning record if they can take care of business against the Ravens. If Cincinnati can emerge from the first two months with an above .500 record, then a return to the playoffs is a possibility. Of course, the Bengals must address the free agency losses on the offensive line and show that last year’s record was the exception to what has been a steady run of success.

Right before Bob Griese and perfection (and well before Dan Marino and more all-time greatness), there were four miserable seasons with Norton (1966-’69), a bust of a No. 2 overall pick out of Kentucky. As you can imagine, his terrible 30.0 passer rating had an awful win-loss record (1-10) and atrocious TD-INT ratio (7-30) to match. The honeymoon with this Norton never existed.dolphins_082

Yankees rookie Aaron Judge hit his MLB-leading 34th home run of the season to lead the way.

Game Curtis Samuel Jersey Granted, the theme Jaffe went with offers the primary thing fans want when they think of the Hall of Fame. The average fan cares not for the institutional history of Cooperstown or for a book-length look at a small piece of Hall history. People’s Hall of Fame interests are fairly binary. They want to know whether a particular player is deserving of induction. Who this player is varies from fan to fan, so it’s smart to analyze a whole lot of potential candidates. Jaffe does this masterfully well.

Among contemporary baseball writers, Jaffe’s been in a class by himself for Hall of Fame statistical analysis for years. This is on display throughout his book, whether Jaffe’s showing how Tim Raines was a comparable Hall of Fame candidate to Tony Gwynn or how Scott Rolen may well become the position’s Bobby Grich among third basemen or how relievers might be best-differentiated by WPA.
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Of the book’s 400-plus pages, the biographical capsules cover the final 300 pages. The first 100 pages are also quite good, a series of chapter-length essays with names such as How Voters Put Third Base in a Corner and The Hall of Cronyism. For a Hall of Fame geek me, these chapters hit all the right notes, broke some new research ground and zipped along.

Yankees rookie Aaron Judge hit his MLB-leading 34th home run of the season to lead the way.

While the Yankees got Gray, Monday’s biggest surprise of the day was the Dodgers making a last-second deal to acquire right-handed starter Yu Darvish from the Rangers. The Dodgers, who begin a three-game series in Atlanta on Tuesday, will insert Darvish into the rotation while ace Clayton Kershaw remains out with a back injury.

The Dodgers also picked up some bullpen help by trading for Pirates reliever Tony Watson, who was an All-Star in 2014, and Tony Cingrani from the Reds.