Month: June 2017

Roethlisberger will play through his latest lower-body injury

Baalke’s strained relationship with former coach Jim Harbaugh led to Harbaugh’s departure following the 2014 season. Harbaugh took the Niners to the playoffs in his first three seasons, but the 49ers went 8-8 in his final year.

The 49ers’ search for Harbaugh’s replacement wasn’t exactly aggressive as the team promoted defensive line coach Jim Tomsula to the head coaching position. Tomsula was fired after going 5-11 in his only season as the team turned to Kelly.

The 49ers hired the former Eagles and Oregon coach, passing on current Dolphins coach Adam Gase, who has his team in the playoffs in his first year at the helm.

But San Francisco’s roster is a mess through poor draft choices and an passive approach with free agency.

As everyone expects, Roethlisberger will play through his latest lower-body injury, which will have an adverse affect on the great mobility he has for his size. Dropping back often on a bad foot and trying to fit balls into tight windows downfield isn’t the best away to attack the Chiefs, anyway.

Roethlisberger always has been a little off when he makes his expedited return from injury. It has happened in multiple playoff games, and the latest case in point was the rough performance he had in Baltimore in Week 8, after his injured left knee kept him out vs. New England in Week 7.

That was a small sampling of Roethlisberger’s road woes throughout the 2016 season.

In his eight combined games away from Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger rated only 78.4 and completed only 59.4 percent of his passes. He averaged 238 yards passing per game and only 6.7 per attempt. He had 9 TDs to go with 8 INTs.
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The two teams that were among the biggest proponents of rest this year are

This remains the best-case scenario for Ball, and has been since the Lakers managed to hold on to their pick in last month’s lottery. The Lakers have interest and have met with Ball’s team multiple times. But LA has not locked into Ball just yet, keeping its options open for a player like Josh Jackson, De’Aaron Fox or Jayson Tatum.

GM: I understand that they don’t want to commit to anything, but I think it winds up being Ball. I would expect them to look at point guards because of all the Paul George stuff. They’re still a long way from being a contender. If they can come out of this week with Ball and George, you would have to put them within a couple of years of contending.

Nice segue, because one thing that Wall’s Wizards, Riley’s Heat and Harden’s Rockets have in common is this: They’re all done. None made it past the second round of the postseason. Miami didn’t even reach the playoffs. Wall was 8 of 23 from the field and 1 of 8 from the 3-point line in Washington’s Game 7 finale in Boston. Harden was, famously and bizarrely, 2 of 11 from the field for a measly 10 points in his finale on his home floor against the Spurs.

Authentic Kids Dalvin Cook Jersey Maybe they could have used some in-season rest, after all.
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The two teams that were among the biggest proponents of rest this year are, it turns out, the only ones left playing. The Cavaliers and Warriors took heat from all sides, not just players and executives — media, crotchety former players and even, to an extent, commissioner Adam Silver. But June is nigh and the slings and arrows of outrageous criticism were easily endured, now that it is the Cavs and Warriors back in the NBA Finals.

Over the past five drafts, there have been 25 players from international clubs drafted in the first round. Of the 19 who played the subsequent season in the NBA, only two averaged double-figure scoring as rookies. And one of them, Emmanuel Mudiay, was a product of the American high school/AAU system who spent a single season playing professionally in China.

Stephen Curry’s new shoes don’t suck (no, really, they don’t)

It’s hard to find an area where Stephen Curry isn’t winning.

Elite Kids Jeremiah Attaochu Jersey Professionally, the Warriors superstar is a lottery pick, a two-time MVP, an NBA champion (we’ll act like he’s not about to add another ring to his collection just for the sake of being politically correct) and the greatest shooter the game has ever seen. A book about the 29-year-old’s rise to stardom has already been published and is topping the Amazon charts.

We have decided to award NBA All-Star 2019 to Charlotte based on this deep connection and the belief that we can honor our shared values of equality and inclusion, and we are excited to bring the All-Star Game back to Charlotte for the first time in 28 years.

While we understand the concerns of those who say the repeal of HB2 did not go far enough, we believe the recent legislation eliminates the most egregious aspects of the prior law. Additionally, it allows us to work with the leadership of the Hornets organization to apply a set of equality principles to ensure that every All-Star event will proceed with open access and anti-discrimination policies. All venues, hotels and businesses we work with during All-Star will adhere to these policies as well.

Elite Kids Nico Siragusa Jersey Sports have a long history of helping to change attitudes around important social issues. We believe holding our All-Star activities in Charlotte will be a powerful way for the NBA to continue this tradition.

The announcement comes after North Carolina repealed and replaced its controversial House Bill 2, which was widely considered an anti-LGBT law that led to the state to forfeiting millions in revenue.

The NCAA had also pulled championships from the state in August 2016, though the state is back in consideration to host NCAA championships following the repeal.

Tom Brady, Bill Belichick each have more career postseason wins than 25 NFL franchises

The headline says it all. Tom Brady is 24-9 in his postseason career. His 24 wins are most all time, of course. He has more victories than 25 other NFL franchises. There are 31 NFL franchises other than the New England Patriots.

With a win at Super Bowl LI, Brady would earn his fifth Lombardi Trophy and tie the Oakland Raiders franchise with 25 postseason victories. He is currently tied with the New York Giants in wins (24-25).

Rodgers realized he needed to reel in his rifle and tone it down on the deep shots because of changing weapons around him. He leaned on outside speedster Jordy Nelson more as a slot ace, and cultivated chemistry with Davante Adams as the ideal outside possession receiver in the red zone. He found new players to trust on intermediate routes, including tight end Jared Cook and fill-in No. 3 wideout Geronimo Allison.

There were more developing versatile dimensions in the Packers’ offense that made it harder to defend as the season progressed. But it was Rodgers who brought them all together and found the right matchups to exploit in every game.

Rodgers has been always mentally sharp and tough, but there was a more physical edge to him. The hamstring and calf issues he had in the second half would have thrown off many other quarterbacks’ rhythms or made them more reluctant to take off and run. Neither was the case for Rodgers.jays_1212_da71064b7df9471d-180x180

Joey Porter is already rejoining Steelers with assault charge dropped

The Steelers have reinstated assistant coach Joey Porter, the team announced Friday.

Porter was placed on leave Tuesday, and was only away from the team for a few short days before being brought back. The Allegheny County District Attorney’s office dropped on Thursday an assault charge stemming from an incident in which Porter still faces disorderly conduct and summary public drunkenness charges.
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Patriots safety Devin McCourty, when asked Wednesday about the limited playoff experience of teammates Martellus Bennett and Chris Long, recalled Belichick’s message years ago on the value of experience in the postseason.

I always remember my rookie year when Bill came in there and he always harped on around this time everyone talks about experience and having guys with playoff experience, McCourty said, via Pro Football Talk. He came in there and said, I dont give a damn about playoff experience.

Limited Kids Coty Sensabaugh Jersey Its all about who executes and plays their best football this time of year. Whether youre a guy whos played in 12 playoff games or whether youre a rookie, hes said hes seen examples of both who have come out and played great and those who have come out and played terrible.

He said, Does it help Maybe.He said it doesnt matter if you dont come out and play. Just zero in and playing your best football right now is whats important and I think (Bennett and Long) understand that more than anybody because this is what theyve waited for and this is what theyve wanted. So you just let those guys go out there and play.

Ryan Shazier honors Steelers greats with cleats vs. Patriots

Ryan Shazier shared a special tribute before Sunday’s showdown.
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The Pittsburgh Steelers linebackerrevealed a custompair of cleats that honorthe franchise’s icons ahead of the team’s AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots.

Alexander Mogilny Game Jersey The cleats feature Steelers legends of the past, including Troy Polamalu, Hines Ward, Jerome Bettis, Rod Woodson, Jack Ham, Franco Harris, Mel Blount, Joe Greene,Lynn Swann,Ike Taylor, Santonio Holmes,Heath Miller and Brett Keisel.

Artist Corey Pane, who designed the kicks, also customizes cleats for Steelers wide receiverAntonio Brown.

At this point, Wright going with the top pick seems to be the consensus for most of the draft evaluators out there 鈥?Baseball America’s John Manuel, MLB.com (both Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo) and ESPN’s Keith Law all have him there in their most recent mocks. Wright’s a tall right-hander starring at a powerhouse college program with a mid-90s fastball and hard curveball; that’s about as sure of a thing as the MLB Draft ever offers.

McKay could easily go No. 1, which means this is probably too good to be true for Rays fans. He’s a two-way superstar in college, and he could be a big-league star either as a hitter (first base or right field would be his only options in the field) or as a pitcher. Check out his numbers heading into the NCAA Tournament Super Regionals: At the plate, he’s batting.356 with 17 homers and a 1.159 OPS and on the mound, he’s fashioned a 2.31 ERA with 131 strikeouts in 97 1/3 innings. Thing is, too, he’s left-handed, and teams love college left-handers who work in the low 90 mph range with polish and control.

Jameson Taillon to make first start for Pirates since testicular cancer surgery

Just a month removed from surgery for testicular cancer, Jameson Taillon will return to the Pirates rotation Monday, according to Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Nellie Fox Kids Jersey The 37-year-old Angels slugger connected on the 600th home run of his career to become just the ninth player in MLB history to achieve the feat. He joins Sammy Sosa (609), Jim Thome (612), Ken Griffey Jr. (630), Willie Mays (660), Alex Rodriguez (696), Babe Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755) and Barry Bonds (762).

Christine Michael Sr Kids Jersey Pujols hit career Nos. 598 and 599 on Monday and Tuesday against the Braves as baseball turned its collective eyes on the future Hall of Famer. No. 600 came courtesy of Ervin Santana with a 1-2 slider in the fourth inning to give the Angels a 7-1 lead.

Pujols, who hit 445 long balls over 11 seasons with the Cardinals, still has four years and $130 million remaining on his contract with the Angels. Up next for the 10-time All-Star: 3,000 hits and 610 home runs, which would give him one more than fellow Dominican Sammy Sosa for the most by a Latin American-born player.

Two years later, he was a fourth-round pick out of the University of Arkansas, and he signed with the Expos. He never pitched in the bigs for that franchise, of course, because in 2002, he was part of that blockbuster deal that sent Bartolo Colon from Cleveland to Montreal and sent Lee, Brandon Phillips, Grady Sizemore and Lee Stevens to Ohio. Yep. Long journey.

NFL Draft rumors: Chad Kelly’s off-field issues keep him out of Combine

Former Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly was a notable absence from Wednesday’s list of NFL Combine invitees, and Bleacher Report says the snub has to do with his off-field issues.

Produced by the Rhode Island-based World War II Foundation & Tim Gray Media, the one-hour documentary will mix drone and helicopter footage of the battle sites, archival footage, animations and interviews of surviving participants to tell the story of the battle that turned the tide in World War II in 1944.

World War II Foundation chairman and film producer Tim Gray said Belichick has been a longtime supporter of his organization’s mission.

“This is a very exciting day for the San Francisco 49ers and our fans,” 49ers CEO Jed York said in a statement. “Throughout this process, we learned many things about Kyle that convinced us he is the perfect coach to lead this team. Over the years, he has proven to be one of the brightest minds in the game of football and his recent success speaks for itself. Kyle’s leadership has brought the best out of his players at every phase of his career and we look forward to watching him build a talented staff to accomplish the same with our players.”

A 34-28 loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl 51 will travel with Shanahan to the Bay Area. His play-calling in the fourth quarter came into question as the Falcons blew a 25-point lead to the eventual champion Patriots.

Shanahan, who interviewed twice with the Niners during the playoffs, will be the 19th head coach in the 49ers’ 71-year history and, at 37, the second-youngest head coach in the NFL behind the Rams’ Sean McVay, 30.

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Vick considers that relationship one of the biggest misconceptions about him

NFL personnel men have been watching lots of tape. They have seen several players up close and in action during the various practices leading up to the key college all-star games. But this is the first chance they get to put them in a pressurized environment they control. They get to feel out whether this is the kind of personality they would want as part of their organization.

They get to judge handshakes, make eye contact and watch critical body language. It’s not unlike any other job interview, except the athletes better show their knowledge of what they can do with a pro playbook. Coming off poorly in an interview can destroy would-be picks, and acing it can put those with previous question marks strongly on the draft radar. It’s a shame that all the strange questions asked aren’t televised, because that would be much better reality programming.
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“It wasn’t just inside the Georgia Dome,” Vick wrote. “It was also outside of it — throughout the entire city. It was a moment that was everywhere, and for everyone to share in. Everywhere you turned, everywhere you looked: Falcons fitteds, Falcons jerseys … man, it was Falcons everything.

“And it meant a lot to me to be able to give the black kids of Atlanta their very own black quarterback — someone who they could see on the field, and watch play, and think, ‘you know, My QB looks kind of like me. And I could play that position someday, too.’ It just felt very real. It felt like we had made football cool again. Or maybe football wasn’t even ever cool to begin with — maybe we made it cool for the very first time. But whatever it was that was happening, it was happening in a big way.”

Mike Smith Youth Jersey — Although he admits he was “hurt” and “envious” when the Falcons drafted Ryan, Vick and the current Atlanta quarterback have what the former calls “a great relationship.” Vick considers that relationship one of the biggest misconceptions about him.

LeSean McCoy scares Bills fans with ‘Buffalo was so special’ tweet

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LeSean McCoy probably gave Bills fans anxiety attacks Sunday morning.

The All-Pro running back tweeted out an Instagram link with the message Buffalo was so special … thanks for everything.

While it appears this instance was just a misleading tweet, ProFootballTalk speculates McCoy could still face an eventual release by the Bills.

Until then, Shady is still in Buffalo, and this situation can be filed under social media is bad.

There are the horror stories of Combine workout warriors such as Mike Mamula, a defensive end who was a very good college player. He tested off the charts at the Combine in 1995, as he was one of first players to train extensively for every drill.

The Eagles traded away three high draft picks to move up to seventh overall and select Mamula. He became a decent NFL player over his six-year career, but he never made the Pro Bowl, was often injured and never played up to the hype.
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At least Mamula had big production during his college career at Boston College 鈥?29 sacks over his last two seasons. That wasn’t the case with wide receiver Stephen Hill, who caught just 49 passes during his Georgia Tech career but ran 4.3 at the 2012 Combine. The Jets traded three picks to move up in the second round and select Hill, who caught 45 passes before being released after two seasons.