Since coming back, he has been hanging on for dear life and getting jobs on his past reputation.

Posted on March 30, 2018 by admin

In the final installment of this series, we look at the two teams with the best regular season records in baseball last year. Both teams are loaded with talent, so it takes special talent to be a breakout candidate.

In Los Angeles, Alex Verdugo might just squeeze his way into a crowded outfield, and in Cleveland, Francisco Mejia is going to catch some attention, even if he has to learn a new position to do it.

OL Andre Smith, Cardinals Grade: D It has been approximately five years or so since Smith looked like a starting offensive lineman in the NFL.

He was excellent on the right side for the Bengals in 2013, but struggled in 2014 before hitting injured reserve with a triceps injury.

Smith committed nine penalties in 14 starts for the Bengals in 2015 and was brutal during four games with the Vikings before going down with another torn triceps.

The Brewers definitely had a productive offseason, signing Cain, trading for outfielder Christian Yelich and signing reliever Matt Albers. But how this revamped club stacks up in the N.L. Central is still dependant on moves the Cubs and Cardinals have yet to make, with starting pitchers Jake Arrieta almost certainly not returning to Chicago after the signing of Yu Darvish and Lance Lynn still unsigned.

Much to the chagrin of numerous high-profile agents, some teams are trying to duck the luxury tax and going into rebuilding or tanking mode, or what baseball players union director Tony Clark called “a race to the bottom.”

It seems like a safe assumption that the Marlins, Pirates and Reds in the N.L. and Rays, White Sox, Tigers and Athletics are likely done making impact offseason moves that will help them win in 2018. With starting pitcher Alex Cobb and first baseman Logan Morrison still unsigned and rotation teammate Chris Archer involved in trade rumors, the Rays may be in for a long 20th anniversary campaign.

Tyrod Taylor had only 16 interceptions in three seasons with the Bills.? Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images Wade Phillips must be excited to reunite with his former star pupil.

Browns trade Jason McCourty to Pats instead of releasing him

Posted on March 27, 2018 by admin

When the Browns announced they were releasing cornerback Jason McCourty on Thursday, plenty of people wondered if he might wind up in New England to play alongside his twin brother Devin in the Patriots secondary.

He will become the foundation of their offensive line, but the Giants were a perfect match in the part of Solder’s life that is way more important than football: His two-year old son Hudson was diagnosed in October of 2015 with bilateral Wilms tumors, a type of kidney cancer found in young children, when the little guy was just three months old.

That means McCourty will join his twin brother, safety Devin, who is a staple in the Patriot secondary.

This will be the first time the brothers will play on the same team since their college days at Rutgers. Jason presumably will help fill the void left by the departure of cornerback Malcolm Butler, who agreed to terms with the Tennessee Titans earlier this week as a free agent.

When news about Jason’s potential release emerged earlier Thursday, Devin posted a message to their shared Twitter account, beginning his campaign to bring his brother on with the Patriots.

The former Dallas Cowboys should help inject some youth into Kansas City’s defense after Tamba Hali was released. 7) Green Bay Packers Losing Jordy Nelson isn’t exactly great for Green Bay, but they did a good job trying to make fans forget about that. They signed Jimmy Graham to a three-year deal.

Players have switched teams, and many franchises have already improved greatly this offseason, and that’s before they have another shot to beef up in the draft. Here is a look at the NFL teams that have improved the most so far this offseason. Keep in mind that merely being active this offseason doesn’t get you on this list if we don’t like what you did (ahem, Cardinals, Jets, Redskins).

The Cleveland Browns have released wide receiver Sammie Coates, Garafolo reported.

Posted on March 25, 2018 by admin

The New Orleans Saints are expected to sign former Dolphins offensive lineman Jermon Bushrod, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported. The 11-year veteran spent his fist six seasons in New Orleans.

The Cleveland Browns have released wide receiver Sammie Coates, Garafolo reported.

Former Eagles tight end Brent Celek is visiting the Detroit Lions on Thursday, NFL Network’s Michael Silver reported.

Recently released tight end Eric Ebron is visiting the Carolina Panthers, Rapoport reported.

It’s a little less than the $8.9 million per year that Dont’a Hightower, a younger player with a better track record, got to stay with the Patriots last year.

I don’t doubt that there was genuine interest in Bradham, who took over at middle linebacker after Jordan Hicks went down without skipping a beat.

More so than most deals, this contract will be about the specific terms and whether the Eagles are really paying $8 million per year for any length of time.

It seems likely that the Eagles were deciding between Bradham and Mychal Kendricks to play alongside Hicks in their sub packages, and the move to re-sign Bradham suggests that they might be able to find a trade partner for Kendricks.

Even though Lane’s blood alcohol level was not about the legal limit, Lane had admitted to smoking marijuana and failed multiple field sobriety tests. The “suspected and admitted marijuana usage in conjunction with alcohol consumption” is what prompted the arrest, according to the police report.

Lane was released by the Seahawks last week after playing the first six seasons of his career in Seattle. He had one year remaining on his current deal with the team but the Seahawks had tried to trade him to Houston in November as part of a deal to acquire Duane Brown. Lane was pulled from the deal after he failed a physical with the Texans.

Last season, Graham was strictly a red zone weapon, as he averaged just 9.1 yards per catch but scored 10 touchdowns.

All 10 came in the red zone, which was the most of any tight end in the league.

Darvish’s otherwise sterling career should quiet worries over his World Series performance.

Posted on March 22, 2018 by admin

He set a career high in 2016 with four interceptions, but his play wasn’t enough for New England to lock Butler, then a restricted free agent, into a long-term contract. Instead, he signed for a below-market one-year, $3.9 million tender that would allow him full-fledged free agency this spring. He failed to keep his momentum moving forward in 2017; while he made 15 starts, his play declined as a revamped Patriots secondary allowed more passing yards than all but one other team in the NFL.

It was a strange year for Butler in 2017, but even in his worst season as a full-time starter, he was still a league-average corner who showed flashes of being the kind of shut-down defender he’d been in 2015 and 2016. He struggled to adjust alongside new addition Stephon Gilmore and even wound up benched in Super Bowl 52, where his only appearance came on special teams.

Anyone who only watched Yu Darvish pitch in the World Series would certainly not guess him to be the premier free agent signing of the offseason probably second only to Shohei Ohtani so far and the one who will likely set the market and potentially release the floodgates for the many remaining unsigned players.

But anyone who has watched Darvish otherwise particularly in NLCS Game 3 against the Cubs, when he struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings while giving up only one run on a solo shot to Kyle Schwarber, or in the decisive third game of the division series against the Diamondbacks, when he went into the sixth inning with seven strikeouts and again only one run scored on a solo homer knows better.

And with just days left before pitchers and catchers report for spring training, he made a decision that shifts the landscape of the National League significantly, and one that puts Darvish in a place to earn some Fall Classic redemption with his new team, the Chicago Cubs.

The six-year, $126 million deal that comes with an extra $24 million in incentives grants Darvish a second year player opt-out, but in the first year of his new contract Darvish makes the Cubs again the top dogs in baseball’s senior circuit.

NFL free agency 2018: Rumors, reported signings and deals, updates by position

Posted on March 20, 2018 by admin

NFL free agency, which officially kicks off the 2018 league year, begins Wednesday, March 14, at 4 p.m. ET. Before then, however, we are into the league’s legal tampering period, when the top unrestricted free agents can negotiate with any team on the open market.

Here is a position-by-position roundup of rumors regarding the most notable potential signings and deals, including the many trades that already are set to become official.

Solder showed signs of slowing down as Tom Brady’s athletic blindside pass protector this past season, and there were some thoughts that he might retire. If he plays, he can still be a solid starter at a tough position to find a worthy veteran.

With Brees and Garoppolo going nowhere, Bradford should be right behind Cousins and ahead of his replacement starting teammate, Case Keenum, as a desired veteran QB solution. Health is always the concern; otherwise, Bradford has proved he can be productive in different systems.

Chicago finished dead last in passing yards. The team’s leading receiver was Kendall Wright, the only player on the team to top 400 receiving yards by finishing with 614.

By supplying their second-year quarterback with a new group of receiving threats, the Bears are following the same exact plan that helped the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles make tremendous progress between 2016 and 2017.

When Philadelphia won Super Bowl 52 in February, Wentz watched from the sideline after suffering a season-ending knee injury in 2017. Had he not torn his ACL in December, Wentz stood a strong chance at being the NFL’s MVP.

Grade for Eagles: B+ The Eagles are one of the most aggressive trading teams in the league and built their Super Bowl success around a deep, dominant defensive line, so it’s no surprise that they acquired Michael Bennett from the Seahawks today.

Bennett will slot in as a replacement for Vinny Curry, and with three years and $22.1 million left on his deal, Bennett won’t break the bank as part of one of the league’s best defensive lines.

Agreeing on a deal brought to an end a whirlwind couple of days for Sherman.

Posted on March 17, 2018 by admin

“It was chaos,” Sherman said in a conference call Monday.

According to Sherman, almost immediately after the Seahawks released him on Friday, the 49ers got in touch with him and invited him to visit with the team. Sherman and his fiancée, Ashley, flew to San Jose and had dinner with Niners coach Kyle Shanahan and his wife, Mandy, at a restaurant in nearby Los Gatos. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who already knew Sherman from his time as a defensive assistant in Seattle, joined them.

Damarious Randall, a 2015 first-round pick, had an inconsistent three seasons in Green Bay. Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire
As for the Packers, Kizer offers them a backup for Aaron Rodgers with more upside than Brett Hundley, who failed his audition last season when Rodgers went down injured. Hundley’s contract is up after the year, while Kizer is under contract for three more seasons and should have time to develop behind the 34-year-old Rodgers. Kizer won’t be the long-term replacement for Rodgers barring some serious injury, but he could represent a cheap backup option with more upside in a West Coast scheme than Hundley.

Sherman doesn’t believe there will be much adjustment in joining the Niners or moving to the Bay Area considering his previous time in college at nearby Stanford. The biggest change? Wearing a different team’s colors for the first time in his NFL career.

“I’ve spent a lot of time wearing a red jersey in the Bay, so I’m sure I’ll be able to figure it out,” Sherman said.

At the same time, it would be foolish to stick Taylor in a traditional offense, drop him back from under center on most plays and hope that he turns into Troy Aikman. Coach Hue Jackson needs to keep Taylor in the shotgun and build his offense around the threat of Taylor as a runner, which Rick Dennison didn’t do in Buffalo last season. That should be just fine if the Browns draft Barkley; the Penn State star took 598 of his 671 carries out of the shotgun and averaged 5.8 yards per carry on those attempts. The potential first overall pick averaged 5.3 yards per carry on his 73 attempts from under center.

MLB spring training 2018: Three things on the Diamondbacks’ to-do list

Posted on March 15, 2018 by admin

After losing to the Dodgers in the postseason last year, the Diamondbacks learned exactly what they need to do to make a true playoff run.

With MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt back in the fold and a young rotation developing into something special, Arizona isn’t far from becoming a real threat for the World Series.

J.D. Martinez is gone to the Red Sox and with him the 29 home runs in just 62 games with the Diamondbacks last season (after coming over from Detroit in July).

But the Diamondbacks hardly missed a beat, announcing Monday that they had agreed to a two-year, $7.5 million deal with Jarrod Dyson shortly after the Red Sox announced a five-year, $110 million contract with Martinez, clearly out of Arizona’s price range, then reportedly acquiring Steven Souza from the Rays on Tuesday in a three-team deal.

Dyson, 33, led the Mariners with 28 stolen bases last season despite going out in September following core-muscle surgery. Not only does he have the speed to play all three outfield positions, but he also provides a strong, positive clubhouse presence — and he has a World Series ring from his days with the Royals.

After finishing fourth in the American League in runs scored and OPS and third in on-base percentage, Minnesota not only retained its young starting lineup that just reached the postseason as the second wild card, but vastly improved its pitching staff with shrewd signings and trades for established veterans to complement the core. With Detroit and Kansas City entering rebuilding phases and Chicago’s well underway, Minnesota is in position to benefit from a power vacuum in the AL Central and improve on its 85-77 record from 2017.

Left fielder Eddie Rosario, 26, hit .290 with a career-high 27 homers while slugging .507. Shortstop Jorge Polanco, just 24, came out of nowhere to drive in 74 runs, and 29-year-old Eduardo Escobar cracked 21 homers while filling in along the infield.

If Joe Mauer continues to hit over .300 with a .385 on base percentage and Minnesota sees progress from outfielders Byron Buxton, 24, and Max Kepler, 25, the Twins could even exceed their offensive success from last season.

Still, with the new regular season fast approaching, a number of high-profile names remain on the open market. While most teams have a pretty clear plan at this stage, a few last-minute additions could push a couple teams into postseason contention.

Former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman visited the San Francisco 49ers .

Posted on March 12, 2018 by admin

Traded to New York in 2015, Wing had a strong 2016 season, finishing the season ranked 10th in league net average (40.9 yards). He was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week twice (Week 14, 15) and made 28 punts that season inside the 20.

4.The four-time All-Pro, who is continuing to rehab from a torn Achilles tendon he suffered last season, took a physical and met with team doctors, Rapoport reported.

And part of that is asking Acu?a to wear his hat “the right way,” rather than slightly askew. Baseball has rightly earned a reputation as being stiff and stodgy in regard to individual expression on the field, and the Braves might be the worst offenders (remember Brian McCann’s run-in with Carlos Gomez, and their run-in with the late Jose Fernandez?). This seems to be another one of those silly things.

I get that teams have uniform standards they want all players to follow (that’s why it’s called a uniform, after all), but baseball gets too hung up on this stuff. (I wrote a column about it last year when the Yankees gave Clint Frazier grief about his hair.) If Acu?a is as good as expected, Braves fans won’t care how he wears his hat. And as I tweeted the other day, it would be a shame if kids saw Acu?a’s elite talent and youthful attitude and fell in love with baseball.

Perhaps his most famous play of his career came in the NFC Championship Game (coincidentally against San Francisco) when Sherman tipped a pass intended for Michael Crabtree in the end zone, resulting in a game-sealing interception and ensuring Seattle’s trip to Super Bowl XLVIII, where the Seahawks dominated the Denver Broncos to win the title.

Odorizzi will ultimately slot into the third spot in Minnesota’s rotation behind Jose Berrios, who won 14 games with a 3.89 ERA in his Age 23 season, and Ervin Santana, who had a spectacular 2017 — with 16 wins and a 3.22 ERA — but is expected to be out until at least May after finger surgery. In addition to Kyle Gibson, 24-year-old lefty Adalberto Mejia and Phil Hughes — who’s still recovering from thoracic outlet surgery that he underwent in August — Minnesota signed veterans Anibal Sanchez and Michael Pineda (expected to miss the season after Tommy John surgery in July) to round out its starting pitching depth.

Cavaliers players reportedly frustrated with Isaiah Thomas

Posted on March 8, 2018 by admin

Players liked Thomas after he came over in the trade as he was “more social” than Kyrie Irving and he showed a willingness to work teammates appreciated. However, this work ethic they liked so much is starting to wear thin.

“We play good defense and rebound, anybody can push, you got shooters everywhere and I just try to make the right decision,” Durant told TNT after the game.

As amazing as the Warriors’ passing was Thursday, their shooting was even better. Golden State finished the day 21 of 37 from 3-point range (56.8 percent) and at one point they were shooting 72 percent from beyond the arc.

No wonder the Warriors have four all-stars in Durant, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson.

Russell Westbrook thought LeBron James had taken him last in the All-Star voting. It turns out his name was last on the list because it was alphabetical, but that didn’t stop the reigning NBA MVP from going out and showing why he should have been taken first. Westbrook scored a season-high 46 points while adding six assists and six rebounds in the Thunder’s 121-112 win over the Wizards.

That is until he got a little more information.

“It’s cool man, that’s good man, finally got the team figured out,” he said.

“Tell them how you really feel, f—,” Carmelo Anthony chimed in from off-camera. “Tell them.”

“But I see I was the last pick on the list so I’m just trying to figure that out,” he said.

Players had no idea where they had been picked by James and the Western Conference captain Stephen Curry, so this was the first idea any player got of where they had been taken.

Westbrook was not thrilled to be taken last. That is until he found out he was last on the list for a reason.

“Alphabetical order,” one reporter said.

“Alphabetical,” another concurred.

Recapping Eric Karabell’s LABR NL draft

Posted on March 7, 2018 by admin

A modest stars-and-bargains strategy can be a dangerous one to employ in a single-league auction, but sometimes in the frenzied course of live action that ends up being the obvious direction of a team and you simply have to go with it. Such was the ultimate theme of my League of Alternative Baseball Reality (LABR) team selected Sunday night in Arizona. The format is standard 5×5, 12-team and NL-only and I ended up with a squad I might not necessarily recommend, but I do like the stars secured and the dollar buys as well.

Jackson returned on Aug. 26 and homered in his first at-bat.

“I did it over a six-week period, but I got it,” he said.

Jackson had shoulder replacement surgery last year, the delayed result from diving for Sanders’ hit.

“That finally caught up with me,” Jackson said. “I kind of felt something bugging me about 2? years ago. Within 2 1/2 years, it went from just a little bug to I couldn’t lift my arm to put on deodorant.”

His ranking has been in decline since moving to Cleveland, and as he reaches his mid-30s, it is safe to say that his best is probably behind him. Currently, his ADP is down to No. 55. Projections from a variety of sources range from about 30 home runs, 90 RBIs and a .260 average on the low end to about 35-115-.265 on the high end.

There is another player on the draft board whose projections substantially overlap with Encarnacion’s. Forecasts put him around 29-33 home runs, 80-90 RBIs and a batting average between .255 and .265.

Yelich will see most of the time in left field, with Cain the everyday starter in center field and Santana, barring a last-minute trade, handling most of the work in right field after hitting 30 homers in a breakout 2017 season.

Should Braun feel comfortable at first base, he could split time there with the left-handed Eric Thames, while also sharing time in left field with Yelich.

The move helps ease congestion in the outfield but crowds first base. Jesus Aguilar hit .265 with 16 homers last season as a pinch-hitter while splitting time with Thames at first.

МГКСС – Городской клуб служебного собаководства г. Москвы

Month: March 2018

Since coming back, he has been hanging on for dear life and getting jobs on his past reputation.

Browns trade Jason McCourty to Pats instead of releasing him

The Cleveland Browns have released wide receiver Sammie Coates, Garafolo reported.

Darvish’s otherwise sterling career should quiet worries over his World Series performance.

NFL free agency 2018: Rumors, reported signings and deals, updates by position

Agreeing on a deal brought to an end a whirlwind couple of days for Sherman.

MLB spring training 2018: Three things on the Diamondbacks’ to-do list

Former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman visited the San Francisco 49ers .

Cavaliers players reportedly frustrated with Isaiah Thomas

Recapping Eric Karabell’s LABR NL draft