2022 NFL Season – NFC East Preview

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NFC East

Continuing my series on previewing the 2022 NFL season, tonight I predict the NFC East.  This division includes The Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, NY Giants, and the Washington (uggh) Commanders.  It has a lot of NFL History with a total of 13 Super Bowl Wins in its history.  Dallas with 5, NY Giants with 4, Washington with 3, and the Philadelphia Eagles with 1.   Below is my  preview of this division for 2022.

Dallas Cowboys –  Dallas has been the brunt of the “can’t win the big one” Memes you’ve seen on the internet.  Dallas hasn’t won a championship since 1995, and have not won many playoff games since that last championship, despite having high-level talent.  Dak Prescott will lead this team in his seventh season out of Mississippi State.  Dak has shown a lot of promise since he was drafted, but he just can’t seem to get them over the hump and go deep in the playoffs.  Despite all this, hopes are once again high in Dallas, with their all-star QB, power running game and vaunted defense.   Owner jerry jones is hoping he can get the “Jimmy Johnson” monkey off his back, but alas, I don’t believe it.  This division is going to come down to two teams…  Dallas and Philadelphia.  despite my reservations I give the Cowboys the edge in the division and will come out on top just BARELY over the Eagles.

Philadelphia Eagles – The Eagles got some weapons in the offseason, including wide receiver AJ Brown in a surprise trade with the Tennessee Titans this past offseason.  Brown promises to be WR#1 and the primary target of QB Jalen Hurts, in his third season out of Alabama and his second season at the helm of the Eagles offense.  The Eagles may be leaning on the run game more this year with Miles Sanders and newly acquired (Today) Trey Sermon from waivers after he was released by the San Francisco 49ers.  This season wil be a make or break year for Jalen Hurts and will be his proving ground for whether or not he can be the franchise QB for the Eagles, something they have been looking for since Donovan McNabb retired.  I think the Eagles will battle it out with the Cowboys for the division but just fall short, settling for a Wild Card Playoff spot in the NFC.

New York Giants – The Giants have a new head coach in Brian Daboll, recently with the Buffalo Bills.  Daboll will insert a shot of renewed hope with the Giants and there are signs that they will rebuild and be a better team than they were compared to last years team.  They are still going to ride with Daniel Jones as their QB and in this fans opinion, this will e the make or break year for Jones.  Saquon Barkley is healthy, they added WR Kenny Golladay last year and he promises top be their key receiver this season, along with Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton, Kadarius Toney, and David Sills.  The giants were 4-13 last season, but this season I feel they will be better under Daboll.  Not much, but better.

Washington Commanders – New name… same owner…  that’s al I really have to say.  Daniel Snyder is the worst owner in the NFL and he doesn’t care about winning, only about how much money he can make each season.  The “Commanders” acquired Carson Wentz in the offseason, the poster child for unrealized expectations at QB.  Ron Rivera is a great head coach, but he is at the mercy of an ineffective front office and an owner that just doesn’t care.  They will already start the season without All-Pro DE Chase Young for the first 4 games due to still rehabbing his torn ACL & MCL in November last year.  Questions remain to see if RB Antonio Gibson can return to form and if Terry McLaurin can carry the WR corps along with Curtis Samuel and others.  The biggest question mark is Wentz…  will we see good Wentz or bad Wentz…  My prediction is that this will be Wentz’s last stand, and the Commanders will finish last in the division, possibly costing Rivera his job.

Thanks for reading and I don’t expect many to agree with what I predicted, but after all, no one can accurately predict what will happen in any given division in August/September before the season starts.  It’s a crap shoot, and everyone is 0-0.  Stay tuned tomorrow night as I preview the NFC West.  I am sure Eliot will have a LOT to say after that post… lol.

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NFL 2022 season preview–AFC East

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I’m gonna do something that entails a little risk…  I am going to spend the next 8 days previewing and predicting the outcome of the 8 divisions in the NFL.  The catch…  I wont do any research on the usual suspect sites, I wont quote them, I wont use their words, I will do this off the cuff, as nature intended.  Some of you wont like what I have to say, some will call me nuts and I have no idea what I am talking about, and other will call me “Captain Obvious”, but I’m going to do it just the same.  I am going to first focus on the four divisions that impact our Sunday Night Panel, beginning with the AFC East, which houses the Buffalo Bills, the favorite team of @jongolson, as well as The New England Patriots, NY Jets, and the Miami Dolphins.

So…  Let’s get this party started…

Buffalo Bills –  the odds-on favorite to not only win this division, but the favorite to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl this year.  The Bills have shorn up their defense and they have quite possibly the best safety in the NFL in Micah Hyde, the undisputed leader of the defense.  Add to that one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, a fully stocked wide receiver corps and of course, the best QB in the NFL in my opinion and the Bills are the class of the division, no other discussion is needed.

Miami Dolphins –   The Dolphins added Tyreek Hill to their roster to give Tua a world-class WR to throw to.  That’s all fine well and good, but Tua isn’t proven and he is still rough around the edges.  His ability to throw the long ball is in question as is his accuracy.  The Dolphins are the up and coming team in the division, they have a lot of talent and I expect them to finish second in the division.  the Tua to Hill combo may just be the difference between finishing ahead of the Patriots or just behind them.

New England Patriots –  The Patriots continue to try and find the magic they had when Brady was the king of all of the NFL and Belichick was lauded as the second coming of Vince Lombardi.  I got new for you NFL fans, it wasn’t Belichick that was responsible for the Patriots success, it was all Brady.  The truth will come out this season when the Pats finish third in the division and Mac Jones is revealed as the fraud that he is.  The Pats will finish 9-8 or 8-9 and will miss the Playoffs for the second time in three years.  The last time that happened, was when they missed the playoffs 3 out of four years from 1999-2002.  The dynasty is over, and the departure of Tom Brady is the reason for that.

New York Jets –   the Jets are the Jets and 2022 will be no different.  the jets will finish last in the division as they have six out of the last eight years.  The Jets haven’t made the playoffs since 2010, and this year will be no different.  Second year quarterback Zach Wilson was injured during the preseason and it appears that backup Joe Flacco will start for the Jets against his old team the Baltimore Ravens, where he led them to Super Bowl 47 victory against the 49ers in 2012.  The Jets are still a work in progress, and this season will be no different…  they’ll finish last in the division.

Ok so that’s the first of eight divisions…  tune in tomorrow when I cover the NFC East, and my outlook for Ken’s Dallas Cowboys…

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The Filter is coming off…

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Sports Nerd here…

Those that know me understand my fandom for everything Cleveland sports (except the Cavs…  I do not like or appreciate today’s NBA) to include the Browns, Guardians (Indians), and yes…  Ohio State Football (Yeah I know they’re in Columbus).  I am not blind to reality, nor am I blind to public opinion, and with that comes the elephant in the room, Deshaun Watson and his 11-game suspension that was handed down by the NFL today after a long and tedious compromise between both sides.  As a result, Watson will be eligible to return to the field in week 12, which just so happens to be the week the Browns face the Texans, how convenient.  I’ve made no secret my feelings on Watson, I have been against the trade from the beginning.  I don’t want him as the quarterback for Cleveland, I have been critical of ownership (Jimmy Haslam) the front office (Andrew Berry) and of course the coaching staff (Kevin Stefanski) from the start.  After today’s events, even with closure of the whole issue, my thoughts and feelings have not changed.

Watson got LESS than what he deserved.  I wanted no less than a one-year suspension for Watson and a hefty fine.  To be honest, I want him to be suspended for a year, a hefty fine, and the requirement that he apply for reinstatement to the NFL after the suspension with no guarantee that he would ever step on an NFL field for the rest of his life.  Let me be clear… I hope Watson never takes the field for The Browns, and although I know this won’t be the case, it does not change the fact that he is a cancer on the league and does not deserve to be a QB in the NFL.  It is distasteful to me that the franchise I have rooted for most of my life is willing to compromise their morality in search of a championship and that there are also fans of The Browns looking the other way, willing to put blinders on and root for this guy, to support him, to believe he did nothing wrong, when in fact the evidence is clearly right in front of their face.

I am loyal to the team, to the Browns, I do not root for individual players but for the franchise to do well.  It leaves a distasteful flavor in my mouth to know that despite all that has happened, all that has come to light during this whole ordeal, I will still put on my Jim Brown Jersey and my Miles Garrett jersey and root for this team.  With that being said, I will not be afraid to criticize this franchise or call them out for their distasteful rhetoric.  The press conference today by the owner was nothing less than an exercise in justifying bringing in a serial compulsive sexual predator in order to win the Lombardi.  Watson doesn’t deserve to be on the same field as that trophy, or the champions that have held that trophy in  triumph.  Lombardi, Landry, Shula, Noll, Walsh, Parcells, Johnson, Cowher, and yes, Belichick.  From Starr to Staubach, Dawson to Griese, Bradshaw to Montana, Simms to Aikman, and of course, Brady, Watson needs to be in the depths of NFL oblivion, never to be seen on an NFL field again.

I’ll end with this…  I wish Jacoby Brissett the best, that for the first 2/3 of the season that he is successful and leads The Browns to a winning record.  When Watson does return, I will be sad, but I will still root for the team, because that’s what I have done for over 50 years and will continue to do for the remainder of my days.  My loyalty will never waiver, despite the fact that I dislike one of the players, because it is what my father did, and it is what my grandfather did.  Go Browns!!!

Join me and my cohosts @jongolson, @scubatexan, and Eliot “Big E” Lomba each and every Sunday night at 7:30 PM Eastern time for The Sports Nerds!  90 minutes of sports talk, trash talk, and laughs as we discuss the week in sports.

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Another Rant… NFL vs Stephen Ross

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So…

I have yet another rant tonight, on the heels of my Deshaun Watson rant from last night, tonight I want to cover the news that broke today about Stephen Ross being found guilty of tampering with Sean Payton and tom Brady from 2019 through 2022, while Brady was still a member of the New England Patriots.  This all stems from the lawsuit brought about by former Dolphins Head Coach Brian Flores and his accusations of racist hiring practices in the NFL and that Ross encouraged him to “tank” to include a $100,000.00 incentive for each game the Dolphins lost.  While the NFL did not find any evidence of the tanking accusations, they did find Ross guilty of the tampering charges.

From the Athletic:

  • The Dolphins had impermissible communications with Brady in 2019-20, while he was under contract to the Patriots. Those communications began as early as Aug. 2019 and continued throughout the 2019 season and postseason. These numerous and detailed discussions were conducted by Beal, who in turn kept Ross and other Dolphins executives informed of his discussions with Brady.
  • The Dolphins again had impermissible communications with both Brady and his agent during and after the 2021 season, while he was under contract to the Buccaneers. Those discussions began no later than early Dec. 2021 and focused on Brady becoming a limited partner in the Dolphins and possibly serving as a football executive, although at times they also included the possibility of his playing for the Dolphins. Both Ross and Beal were active participants in these discussions.
  • In Jan. 2022, the Dolphins had impermissible communications with Don Yee, the agent for Payton, about having Payton serve as Miami’s head coach. Miami did not seek consent from New Orleans to have these discussions, which occurred before Payton announced his decision to retire as head coach of the Saints. Following that announcement, Miami requested permission to speak to Payton for the first time, which New Orleans declined to grant.

https://theathletic.com/3470950/2022/08/02/dolphins-lose-draft-picks-fined-tampering-investigation-brady-payton/

This will cost the Dolphins a 1st round draft pick in 2023 and a third round pick in 2024.  the penalty will also include a fine to Ross of $1.5 million and a suspension this season through October 17, which just so happens to be the day after Deshaun Watson comes off his 6 game suspension handed down by Judge Sue Robinson for his sexual misconduct charges.  Ross can not attend any  team function, be at the teams facility or represent the team in any capacity.  In addition he can not attend any owners meetings until the annual meeting in 2023.  Also caught up in the carnage is Dolphins vice chairman and limited partner Bruce Beal.  Beal was fined $500,000.00 and also cant attend any owners meeting s for the remainder of the 2022 season.

Commissioner Roger Goodell called the violations “unprecedented in scope and severity”.

These violations triggered a statement by Flores as quoted by ESPN:

“I am thankful that the NFL’s investigator found my factual allegations against Stephen Ross are true. At the same time, I am disappointed to learn that the investigator minimized Mr. Ross’s offers and pressure to tank games especially when I wrote and submitted a letter at the time to Dolphins executives documenting my serious concerns regarding this subject at the time which the investigator has in her possession,” he said. “While the investigator found that the Dolphins had engaged in impermissible tampering of ‘unprecedented scope and severity,’ Mr. Ross will avoid any meaningful consequence. There is nothing more important when it comes to the game of football itself than the integrity of the game. When the integrity of the game is called into question, fans suffer, and football suffers.”

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/34334514/nfl-strips-miami-dolphins-2023-first-round-pick-fines-stephen-ross-15m-tampering-tom-brady-sean-payton

“The integrity of the game”… Give me a Fucking break…

So what Watson did doesn’t impact the integrity of the game?  One of the most high-profile players in the NFL is indicated in over 25 incidents of sexual misconduct and assault, yet he gets a suspension that lasts one day LESS than an owner that went after arguably the best QB to ever play the game while still under contract, as well as going after one of the best head coaches in the game while HE was still under contract with the Saints.  (the tampering occurred prior to Payton retiring) Flores also accused Ross of incentivizing him to tank games at $100,000.00 a game and at the end of the season got mad about the on-field success of the Dolphins and told Flores that winning was compromising the teams draft position.

The Double standard is amazing to me…

Despite all of this, I have seen media articles that state this punishment is a prequal of Roger Goodell appealing the sentence of Watson so that he can hand down a more severe sentence on him.  the “unprecedented” portion of this issue is what he will use as a reason to go after Watson harshly, quite possibly a one-year suspension and a hefty fine.

From Touchdown Wire:

The NFL may get a lot of things wrong, but it rarely does things without a point. In this case, it could be that punishing Ross in this specific manner, and making note of the “unprecedented scope” of the tampering, sets the league up to go after a longer suspension of Watson on appeal, due to the unprecedented number of Watson’s alleged violations against the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy. In her ruling, Judge Robinson spoke quite a bit to precedent, and more specifically, to “standards of fairness and consistency of treatment among players similarly situated.”

Thus, the six-game suspension, when the sheer number of Watson’s alleged violations would seem to engender a much more severe punishment. We know that the NFL wanted Watson suspended for at least the entire 2022 season, with conditions to his reinstatement in 2023. In settlement talks with the NFLPA, the league was willing to go as low as 12 games.

In the end, Watson’s representatives chose to bet on the ruling of an independent arbiter, and at first glance, they bet right. But the Ross suspension could well lead to the NFL’s right and ability to step into legal definitions of “unprecedented” that could lead to a much longer Watson suspension.

https://touchdownwire.usatoday.com/2022/08/02/stephen-ross-deshaun-watson-suspension/

Stay tuned, this is only getting started…

Have a great night Nerds…

Join me and my cohosts @jongolson, @scubatexan, and Eliot “Big E” Lomba each and every Sunday night at 7:30 PM Eastern time for The Sports Nerds! 90 minutes of sports talk, trash talk, and laughs as we discuss the week in sports.

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Watson suspended 6 games…

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*sigh*

I wish I was more eloquent with my ability to express my thoughts.  I am pretty plain spoken, make is simple and for the most part unable to go deep into my thoughts because they are mostly scrambled a lot of the time.  Today was a big day in the world of Cleveland sports as Deshaun Watson’s punishment finally came down from former Federal Judge Sue Robinson today and I have to say, I am disappointed, yet oddly enough I am not surprised by the decision.  I expected this, because the NFL has a history of not caring about women, a history of coddling and enabling domestic violators in the past, and that history is what determined the light sentence that Robinson handed down today.  She went by the guidelines of what has been done in the past regarding these situations and in doing so, did nothing to prevent it from happening in the future.  Players see that they can get away with sexual harassment or assault and only risk losing about a third of the season as punishment.

She said in her report that the NFL successfully proved every single accusation that they put against Watson.  The offenses were egregious and disgusting.  He is the textbook definition of a sexual predator, he is a danger to the public and he is not deserving of wearing the Orange and Brown.  Besides Watson himself, I blame the Houston Texans for arranging and enabling his behavior, his agent for looking the other way, the Texas legal system for being inept in not charging him, Jimmy Haslam for going after and signing him, Andrew Berry, GM of the browns for going along with the trade, and lastly, Kevin Stefanski, Head Coach of The Browns, for not being more vocal on the whole situation.  I mean… all three of these guys have daughters…  how would they feel if this happened to one of their children?

Here are some quotes from Robinson in the report:

Robinson wrote that the NFL “carried its burden to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that Mr. Watson engaged in sexual assault (as defined by the NFL) against the four therapists identified in the Report.” (The Athletic)

“Although this is the most significant punishment ever imposed on an NFL player for allegations of non-violent sexual conduct, Mr. Watson’s pattern of conduct is more egregious than any before reviewed by the NFL,” (The Athletic)

Robinson also recommended a mandate that Watson limit his massage therapy to “Club-directed sessions and Club-approved massage therapists” the rest of his career “as a condition to his reinstatement” and that the quarterback has “no adverse involvement with law enforcement, and must not commit any additional violations of the Policy.” (The Athletic)

https://theathletic.com/3466760/2022/08/01/cleveland-browns-qb-deshaun-watson-suspension/

In Robinson’s ruling, she noted that one of the aggravating factors in determining Watson’s discipline was his “lack of expressed remorse.” She noted that among the mitigating factors were him being a first-time offender and his “excellent reputation in his community prior to these events.” (ESPN)

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/34327325/source-cleveland-browns-qb-deshaun-watson-suspended-6-games-violating-nfl-personal-conduct-policy

All this and yet he still only got six games.

I am disgusted, I am sick, and I at this very minute I am ashamed to call myself a Browns Fan because of how the franchise has treated this entire situation.  I had hoped ownership and the new front office/coaching staff had gotten past all the drama after the Hue Jackson/Gregg Williams/Freddie Kitchens fiasco and that the new regime would turn the franchise around from it’s past stigma as an embarrassment to the NFL.  No Championships since rejoining the league in 1999, two playoff wins, a revolving door of starting QB’s, consistent losing seasons year after year, and to top it off, treating the Best QB this franchise has had since probably Bernie Kosar as an afterthought, instead deciding to go after a serial sexual predator, and then trading Baker to Carolina.

As much as I am disgusted with all of this, the sad fact remains I am a die-hard Cleveland Browns fan.  Call me two faced, a hypocrite, or whatever nasty word you can come up with.  My heart will always be with the Browns, and I can’t quit them.  I will root for the Orange and Brown until the day I die, no matter if they go 17-0 or 0-17, I am here to stay.  I have bled Orange and Brown since I can remember seeing my first game on TV, and 50 years later I am still here, and always will be.  It will leave a bad taste in my mouth but I have to stick with my heart.  This will disappoint a lot of my friends (I see you Katie) and will bring a lot of backlash on the show, but thank goodness I have thick skin and have earned my stripes with all of the Browns-bashing I have faced in the past.  I’m used to it, so it is just par for the course.  I will not desert the franchise I have rooted for all of my life (minus 95-98) over this issue.  I told my boss today, a Die-Hard Florida Gator fan (and graduate, I think) that I could no more quit rooting for the Browns because of Watson than he could stop rooting for the Florida Gators because of Aaron Hernandez, and I stand by that.

Good times, bad times, I’m with them til the end…

 

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So many sports topics going on in my head

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The thoughts I have on this Monday night are varied…  NHL Finals…  NBA Finals…  MLB season…  and yes of course, the NFL.

I am excited for The Stanley Cup Finals as The Tampa Bay Lightning go for the three-peat against The Colorado Avalanche starting on Wednesday night in Denver.  I look at this series and am filled with caution.  The Avalanche are probably the most formidable opponent the Lightning have faced of both of the last two Stanley Cup Finals in which they won.  As a fan, I am excited for the challenge and despite my previous habit of not watching the Lightning play on TV (long story) I will be watching the Finals religiously and rooting the Bolts on to victory for a three-peat and the establishment of an NHL dynasty.  GoBolts

Short and sweet…  The Boston Celtics have no chance of winning the NBA Finals.  The Warriors are back and they will win the NBA Championship.  don’t @ me…  this will be shown as the truth after game 6.

MLB…  The AL East is loaded and has the best 4 teams in MLB, LA Dodgers not withstanding.  The 4th place team in the division (Boston – shout out to @scubatexan) would be the second place team in any other AL division in MLB.  The Cleveland Guardians, the team I root for, are in second place in the Central Division, possibly the worst division in baseball, have a way outside chance of a wildcard, and as we discussed on last night’s show (link here) most, if not all, of the teams that will make the Wild Card will probably come from the AL East, the strongest division in the AL.  As for the NL… Well… The NL West is loaded, but the NL East may have a say in that when it is all said and done with the Mets leading the NL in wins and the Brave surging…  it will be a tight race as we approach the All Star break.

Now my favorite…  NFL…  So much going on in an offseason of drama.  Deshaun Watson, Kyler Murray, Tua, Baker Mayfield, Lamar Jackson, I have a lot of thoughts going on in my head with what is happening in the NFL right now.  the old saying is true, there is really no offseason in the NFL.  Shit happens on a daily basis and I love it.  The drama that is building in the offseason is heating up, and while the NFL goes quiet in July, the drama will continue until training camps open in late July and go in full force in August.  Will Deshaun get suspended (please God yes)?  Will Tom go out on top?  Can the Rams repeat?  Who will win the AFC West?  Russell Wilson and his impact on the Broncos.  Will Seattle or Carolina trade for Baker Mayfield?  Can the Rams repeat with Aaron Donald coming back?  Are the Packers for real and can Aaron Rodgers lead them to the promised land?  So many questions, no answers to come soon.  So much drama…

Join me and my cohosts @jongolson, @scubatexan, and Eliot “Big E” Lomba each and every Sunday night at 7:30 PM Eastern time for The Sports Nerds!  90 minutes of sports talk, trash talk, and laughs as we discuss the week in sports.

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What is a (former?) Browns fan to do?

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More disturbing information coming out of the Civil lawsuits on Deshaun Watson.  Accusations of Watson seeing 66 women over the course of two years for massages, the Houston Texans organization contracting a massage therapy company to facilitate the conduct of the Browns QB, they provided the opportunity for Watson’s conduct and being well aware of what Watson was doing.  As more details come out about this case, the more disturbed I become and the more I want to distance myself from fandom of The Cleveland Browns.  I have a proverbial horrible taste in my mouth from all of this and it has caused me to re-think my decision to root for them and eat the shit burger that could be a potential Super Bowl Championship for the Browns.

I know I am going to get roasted on the show this week…  I’m gonna be the brunt of every insult, take, and hilarity that will ensue after I announce my decision regarding my loyalty to a franchise I have been in love with my whole life.  I’ve come to the decision that for as long as this sexual predator is the QB of the Browns, I will not root for them.  as more details and accusations come out, the more disgusted I am that ownership, front office (Andrew Berry), and coaching staff (Kevin Stefanski) allowed this to happen.  I am making a stand (Hush @jongolson) on principle, and I will not waiver on this.  As long as this degenerate is behind center I refuse to root for the Browns.  I’m done…  for now.

The other side to this is, and I know the guys will want to know so they can trash talk to their hearts desire, I will not root for a specific team during this hiatus.  I love the NFL and it is my favorite sport to watch but despite my history as a Bucs fan, I am going to be a neutral fan for the foreseeable future.  I will watch the games with enthusiasm and I will enjoy every play, quarter, half, game and exciting plays that will happen.  But my interest will be neutral, like the true Sports Nerd I am.  I will play no favorites, I will have no rooting interest and for the first time in yeas, I will not have to stress over the Browns failing miserably week after week.  If they win a championship, I wont swallow the pill and I will treat it the same as I treated the Cavs winning in 2016…  meh…

The Browns need to VOID his contract and walk away.  Unfortunately the Browns have burned their bridge with Baker, so he isn’t an option.  If they do in fact void his contract they are once again starting from scratch, which I am ok with so long as they separate themselves from this cancer of a human being…  stay tuned…  the drama has only just begun.

Join me and my cohosts @jongolson, @scubatexan, and Eliot “Big E” Lomba each and every Sunday night at 7:30 PM Eastern time for The Sports Nerds!  90 minutes of sports talk, trash talk, and laughs as we discuss the week in sports.

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NHL, NFL, and PGA

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Tampa-Bay-Lightning-Players-Slide-e836a71d5a

The Tampa Bay Lightning experienced something last night that they had not experienced since 2019.  They lost their second consecutive playoff loss coming at the hands of the NY Rangers.  After losing Wednesday night 6-2 in game one, they lose last night 3-2 and fall behind 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals.  I must be honest, I expected this…  I have been saying since the playoffs began that the Lightning are not the same team they were the last two years.  They are not as good as the last two Stanley Cup Championship teams, plus I have been arguing that this team is tired because of the amount of games they have played in the last three seasons.  there comes a time when that all catches up with you, and it appears that it is finally catching up with the Lighting.  I still have hope that they will pull this off and win three in a row, but it all depends on how they respond to this and play tomorrow in game three at “The Ice Palace” or as it is currently known as Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa.  I will not stop rooting for them in this series, I know they can do it, and until it is over, I will continue to cheer them on.

Cleveland-Browns-Stadium-668x300

Now on to the Cleveland Browns…  Another civil suit has been brought against Browns QB Deshaun Watson, bringing the number of lawsuits to 23 in total.  His lawyer Rusty Hardin made a statement this week saying that “”happy endings” to massages are not necessarily illegal.” ok because of this I am off the “Watson Bandwagon”  this guy is a predator, he is a sexual deviant and he put these women in a position they should never have been.  I will root for the Browns, but another side of me is wishing that Watson gets hurt so he is not the starting QB for this team.  Harsh, I know but it doesn’t change his behavior that is coming to light.  I really don’t want this guy as QB1 for a franchise that I have loved since I was a kid.  Get this guy out of here…

Augusta National

In the world of the PGA there is great controversy regarding the LIV tour…  Kevin Na resigned from the PGA tour today over his involvement with the LIV Golf league, which is sponsored by the financial arm of the Saudi Arabia government, which has been accused of numerous human-rights violations.  I respect Kevin Na, he is a great golfer and has provided plenty of memorable moments on the PGA Tour, but his loyalties in this situation is suspect.  He is chasing the money, nothing more, and because of this, I have lost some respect for him in that regard.  Saudi Arabia is a US ally, despite being one of the greatest violators of human rights in the world.  They are in the  middle of a genocide of the Yemeni people.  Mr. Na needs to re-think his loyalties and decide if the money is worth playing on a tour that supports the atrocities that the Saudi government supports.  This issue surpasses monetary gain, and instead, feeds to the morality of all that support this new tour.  I for one will not watch any of the tournaments and will not support any player that competes on this tour, to include not just Kevin Na, but Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, and others.

It is time for the carnage to STOP

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Time after time I have posted on this blog about political issues.  I have gone so far as to say “I don’t normally do this”  but those of you that read my posts know better.  I wear my political affiliation on my sleeve, I don’t hide it, and I don’t pretend to gloss over it with funny metaphors or innuendo.  I am a liberal, I am a progressive, and I lean toward voting for the Democratic Party platform.  I am not ashamed nor am I shy about bellowing it from the rafters of the proverbial rooftop.  The majority of my immediate family, to include my mother, my step-father, step-sister, all three of my half sisters, uncle, cousins, and close friends both in my work family and friendship circle are ALL conservatives…  I am on an island, a lone wolf if you will.  But I will not move away from what I believe, no matter the consequences because I am a person that cares deeply about fairness, logic, common sense, and yes, compassion.

This country has a problem, and it is the unfettered access to weapons of mass destruction.  No, not nukes, but assault weapons.  The fact that an 18-year old kid can buy an AR-15 style weapon without any checks and balances in the form of background checks is appalling to me.  Why do we allow KIDS to have access to weapons that can fire 40-100 rounds per minute is beyond me.  I don’t understand the need for the general public to have access to these weapons because they feel that the Second Amendment to the US Constitution grants them the right to have them.  The Amendment states word for word the following:

  • “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Gun nuts like to focus their attention to the last part of that amendment that says the right of the people to keep and bear arms etc… etc… but as a Progressive “communist Nazi Socialist” as the Conservatives like to call me prefer to focus on the “We regulated Militia” portion of the Amendment, because I feel that is the most important statement of the meaning behind the amendment itself.  Well regulated, at least in my mind allows the federal government to regulate the TYPE of “Arms” can be held and owned by the public.  the AR-Type weapon, to include AR-15 and AK-47 type of weapons should be regulated by the federal government tot he extent of denying the general public access to these type of weapons.  BAN ASSAULT WEAPONS.  There is NO rational explanation anyone can give me or anyone else as to why private citizens should have the right to own these weapons.

You want o own a handgun, shotgun, or a single-shot rifle, that’s fine…  but the only reason to own a weapon that can fire 40-100 rounds a minute, to include large capacity magazines that have 30 –50 round capacity is to shoot humans.  They aren’t hunting rifles, they aren’t for “defense” , they are simply what they were designed for, to kill people, and that is not acceptable in my eyes, or any other progressive, Liberal, “Commie” “Socialist” yada yada yada, whatever label you want to plant on me.

the US needs to ban these weapons access to the general public.  Too many kids have been killed by these weapons in the last 30 years.  Too many malls, churches, offices, and public spaces have been shot up by these weapons.  it needs to stop.  It isn’t mental health, it isn’t broken families, it isn’t upbringing, and it most definitely NOT the lack of GOD in our hearts…  it’s the weapons, and ONLY the weapons and the free access to them that are at fault.  No argument will change my mind on that, and nothing anyone can say will change how I feel.   Well regulated means just that… well regulated.  The Federal Government has the right to regulate these weapons and they need to exercise that right and BAN these assau8lt weapons in the US.

When people believe that the right to own these weapons OUTWEIGH the right of children’s lives, there is a problem, and I for one refuse to accept that.

Get rid of the access to the general public of these weapons of war…

Thanks for coming to MY Ted Talk…

The sports world continues to rotate…

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Sports

 

Despite my previous post I know that the sun rose today and it will set tonight, meanwhile the NHL playoffs, NBA playoffs, MLB season and NFL offseason continue to move forward despite all of the ugliness that has occurred in the last 36 hours.

In addition to those sports, there is a little tournament going on in Paris, France where Rafael Nadal just won his 300th career Grand Slam match.  I have watched this guy for over a decade and he reminds me of the dominance that Ivan Lendl had back in the day.  I compare the two because they are both left handed and are/were so much fun to watch.

My following observations are on the sports I am following (Least favorite to favorite)

In the NBA, game five of the Eastern Conference Finals are tonight pitting the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat.  The series is tied 2-2 and if patterns ring true, it will probably go 7 games.  They have traded wins back to back and if the pattern ring true, the heat should win tonight sending game 6 back to Boston, where the Celtics blew out the Heat Monday night.  This is the more competitive series when comparing the East and West Finals, and the more intriguing matchup.  The Western Conference finals are less competitive, despite the fact Dallas won game four last night in convincing fashion, it appears to only be a matter of time before Golden State finishes them off.

In MLB, the Yankees still have the best record in baseball (puke) and lead the AL East by 4.5 games over the Rays.  The Cleveland Guardians (still hard to call them that) are wallowing in mediocrity in the AL Central, 6.5 games behind the division leading Twins.  Meanwhile in the NL, the Dodgers are the hottest team in baseball, winning nine of their last 10 games and lead the west by 1.5 games over the Padres (the Padres??)  while the METS!! are dominating the NL East with a 7.5 game lead in that division.  It’s still early in the season so I am not getting too excited yet, but I have seen a lot of great plays and highlights (wont watch full games this early) and its been fun to watch.

NHL Playoffs…  GO BOLTS!!!  The Tampa Bay Lightning sweep the President’s Trophy winner The Florida Panthers in four games, getting a much needed rest before taking on the winner of the Rangers-Hurricanes series.  That series is all tied up at 2-2 after the Rangers won game four last night 4-1 as the series now goes back to Carolina for game 5.  As a Lightning fan for over a decade, I really don’t care which team the Bolts face in the finals, just that they are getting some rest before the next series.  in the West, we have the battle of Alberta with the Calgary Flames now down 3-1 to the Edmonton Oilers.  The Oilers have impressed me with their play, specifically Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and especially Evander Kane, who had a hat trick in game 3.  The Oilers are running on all cylinders and I really don’t think the Flames (Or as @jongolson calls them – “FRAUDS) have what it takes to come back from a 3-1 deficit.  The other west matchup is Colorado and St Louis, with the Avalanche leading 3-1.  the Avs and Oilers seemed destined to meet in the Eastern Conference Finals when it is all said and done.

Now we move on to the NFL…

  • The Las Vegas Raiders will be hosting Colin Kaepernick for a workout
  • A Federal Judge has denied the NFL’s motion to dismiss Jon Gruden’s lawsuit against the NFL
  • Kyler Murray, Deebo Samuel skip “voluntary” OTA’s with respective clubs.
  • Deshaun Watson saga takes a new turn with NFL meetings and victim accusations
  • Steelers Omar Khan promoted to GM
  • Is the Punt the most dangerous play in the NFL?

These are but a few headlines dominating the NFL Offseason, which in my opinion, doesn’t really have an offseason.  I love the NFL!!!

I love sports…