Red Sox farm system tops in baseball according to some

Masslive.com article link

According to ESPN's Keith Law, the Boston Red Sox have not only A top ranked farm system, they have THE top ranked farm system.  At the halfway point of what has turned into a miserable baseball season the Red Sox have at least one thing going for them, strong minor league players....5 in of the top 50. They are Rafael Devers at #8, Juan Moncada at #11, Manuel Margot #14, Henry Owens #37, and Javier Guerra #48. 

It's pretty remarkable that the Sox have 3 of the best 15 minor league players in baseball considering just how poor their major league team has been. Fortunately, some players that have made a great transition and seem to be the future are, Xander Boegarts, Mookie Betts, and pitching phenom Eduardo Rodriguez. 

On the other side of the coin, pitcher Matt Barnes has looked pretty uncomfortable in his role as a reliever and in his first start last night gave up 6 runs in 5 innings. Another pitcher with no so great showings has been Henry Owens, in his last start he gave up a career high 10 hits in limited innings. 

Hopefully, this wave of the future gets promoted and succeeds sooner rather then later because its looking like the Sox are going to finish in last place in the division for the 3rd time in the last 4 years. 

Jets coaches talking Geno AGAIN!!!

ESPN.com article link

Jets head coach Todd Bowles was forced to once again talk Geno Smith to reporters as he reprimanded him for throwing during his recovery from a locker room fight that left him with a broken jaw. He's excluded from team activities and will reportedly be out from 6-10 weeks. 

The situation really could be a blessing in disguise as many think Smith isn't even the best quarterback on the roster to begin with. The Jets have built a top 5 defense and have acquired weapons on offense but are still going to best be suited to win low scoring ball control games. 

This is just another fateful chapter in the Geno Smith melodrama, he has been a turnover machine his first two years in the league and many have questioned his dedication to his craft and work ethic. Last year there were several incidents that irked the team, he showed up late to at least a few team meetings and was caught on camera cursing at a fan. Just more examples of the immaturity on the Jets former first round pick.

Veteran journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick and his Harvard education have taken over the starting QB duties and its yet to be seen if Geno will ever get another shot in New York. 

Should players lose their starting jobs over injuries??? Years ago, Alex Smith was playing the best ball of his career in San Fran and Jim Harbaugh still continued to go with first time starter Colin Kaepernick.

Has the most dominant women of this era just been defeated by a swiss teenager

Serena Williams ESPN article link

It's a strange feeling watching someone show sheer dominance for months at a time, match after match, to the point that it seems she toys with opponents at times and kicks it into gear once the match starts to go against her. All the time knowing her skills are so superior to nearly all those who come against her that when she's really on her game, it can end in rapid succession, quicker then it takes to sit down for dinner.

This was supposed to be the year of SERENA. She has completed the "Serena Slam" before but was still searching to complete the official title by winning all 4 majors in a single season. This year she won the first three and was the overwhelming favorite to win the Rogers Cup but it just wasn't meant to be. 

Losing in the semi-finals isn't a total disaster for the worlds #1 ranked female player but being upset by an 18 year old new comer from Sweden was the most shocking of the news.

Is Serena still the most dominant women in sports or does that title go to Rhonda Rousey competing in Mixed Martial Arts and ending matches faster then Mike Tyson did in his heyday....

One bad bad MAN to some bad bad little MEN....you got to earn your keep!!! Sends a strong message to kids

ESPN.com Article Link

We can all agree that any man that can leg press the equivalent to a car basically can fairly be called a bad bad man. And when that bad man has kids, often he's going to be teaching them how to get swolllll when the time comes. For now, he's teaching more life lessons it seems with this story.

When James Harrison found out his two boys received trophies for participation in the league he was quick to offer praise and say he's ALWAYS proud of his kids and will always continue to be, however, he firmly believes in everything in life is better if you earn it. 

Something along the lines of if you work for your allowance you'll be that much more careful about spending it, if it's just handed to you, then you really won't grow up with any concept of hard work or how to go about earning money.


HERE IS THE EXACT QUOTE MADE BY THE STEELERS LINEBACKER

I came home to find out that my boys received two trophies for nothing, participation trophies! While I am very proud of my boys for everything they do and will encourage them till the day I die, these trophies will be given back until they EARN a real trophy. I'm sorry I'm not sorry for believing that everything in life should be earned and I'm not about to raise two boys to be men by making them believe that they are entitled to something just because they tried their best...cause sometimes your best is not enough, and that should drive you to want to do better...not cry and whine until somebody gives you something to shut u up and keep you happy. #harrisonfamilyvalues

A photo posted by James Harrison (@jhharrison92) on Aug 15, 2015 at 10:09am PDT

Carolina may not recruit the top ranked class every year but they often play like a top ranked team EVERY YEAR

ESPN.GO North Carolina Tar Heels Roster Link

While Roy Williams and the North Carolina Tar Heels may not be recruiting yearly at the historic level John Calipari is over at Kentucky, they seem to hang on to their talent for 2-3 years as opposed to one and done's.  This year the Tar Heels bring back all three top 50 ranked freshmen from last years class. 

Justin Jackson has greatly improved his range and his confidence continues to grow with every game and the competitive summer league action at the UNC courts from pros will only help him blossom.  Theo Pinson has worked hard on his strength and conditioning and will be a force to be reckoned with as he slashes to the basket absorbing fouls and making free throws. Nate Britt's ball handling has only gotten better and better throughout last season and this summer. His handle has become just another high level weapon he possesses at his disposal.

The two incoming freshmen Kenny Williams and Luke Maye will have to crack a deep lineup to see the court but particularly Williams seems ready to make the jump to the next level with the pedigree of his NBA father and instruction from Roy and his staff,


Who's your pick to with the ACC???? Will Duke shine again with another top recruiting class or will Roy have the upper hand  because of his teams experience???

Stan Wawrinka talking tough after Nick Kyrgios takes it below the belt

ESPN.com tennis article

During his tennis match against fourth ranked Stan Wawrinka Australian Nick Kyrgios was heard on a court microphone saying his friend and fellow Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis who played mixed doubles with Stan's girlfriend 19 yo Donna Vekic, had slept with her. Tennis is one of those sports that prides itself of sportsmanship, somewhat similar to golf. The fines seem minuscule compared to what we are used to hearing for numbers in football and basketball but Kyrgios was fined both a $10,000 for "verbal abuse" and another $2500 for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Alright, while the comment was crude, I have to admit, this whole hubub over an insult is kinda irritating to me....Think about all of the horrible atrocities going on in the world today, Genocide and rape going on across parts of Africa, the alarming treatment of Muslim women in some cultures, children forced to work by the time they can walk basically across Asia....COME ON PPL GET A DAMN GRIP!!!!!


Stan, I get it, you have to stand up for your girlfriend, otherwise you ain't gonna be hittin that for a whileeeeee. Now, the story does't get into when the kid actually slept with his girlfriend supposedly. I assume they are inferring that she cheated on him, but that's not anywhere in the reporting as far as I can see.

So ppl, what's the deal? What do you think should happen to Krygios? Is Stan right to be demanding such severe punishment for words he couldn't even hear if not or those court-side mics???

Good ol Johnny Football is a man of his word...at least this time he is

ESPN.com article link

Mr. Manziel has had many past digressions. Digressions of all kinds. Some bothering opposing fans like his trademark "money sign" after scoring a TD which he crafted at Texas A+M throughout a stellar college career. Unfortunately he decided to bring it with him to Cleveland and that's where quarterbacks go to die....and fittingly, so did the money sign.

Manziel played sparingly but did drive the team 36 yards on his second possession after a Redskins fumble on a punt return. After scampering for the 12 yard score, Johnny Football made possibly the first wise choice of his career....he turned around and embarrassed his teammates. One step in the right direction as far as I can see.

What do you think of Mr. Football now? Has your opinion changed since last years disastrous outcome???

UCLA wants to ride 18 year old freshmen Josh Rosen to the promised land....and a bowl

Grantland.com college football preview link

If your going to be called "the chosen one" a la Lebron James back in the Mount St. Mary's days, you better take each step on and off the field like it's all part of your master plan. Incoming true freshmen Bruin, Josh Rosen, has all the right high school credentials but the next step means taking over the starting QB role while competing against two minimally recruited Juniors after the departure of last years hit or miss slasher Brett Hundley. While Hundley did make it to the NFL, it's likely he's going to be relegated to a lifetime backup. He lacks accuracy, and the "it" factor when a play breaks down. More Vick then Manning he's going to get hurt if he doesn't protect his body at the next level.

Back to Mr, Rosen. The recipe for success in football often times means relying on the other men on the roster to do their job and that allows you to shine. Obviously the quarterback position is the focus in football but without a line to keep him upright, a running back to keep the linebackers honest and receivers who can anticipate the throws, that quarterback isn't going to look quite a shiny as he did on the first day of practice. 

Well, that all bodes well for QB1 because the Bruins are returning 6 starters on the offensive line, the top rusher in the Pac 12 named Paul Perkins and the leading contender for top draft pick in the division in linebacker Myles Jack. This all doesn't mean the division is going to be handed to them but it's a great start to a promising college career for Josh Rosen.

IOC RULES OUT VIRAL TESTING IN RIO FOR OLYMPICS

Yahoo news article link

Ok, let me get this straight. Years ago when the Olympic voting committee was deciding where to have the 2016 Olympic games the decision was made to go with Rio de Janeiro, Brazil....with the caveat that the disgusting, vile, repulsive, dirty(literally I mean DIRTY) disease infested water would be cleaned up prior to the worlds BEST ATHLETES participating in events, in the very water this is filled with all kinds of "shit" .... both literally and figuratively. 

As of yesterday August 12, 2015, the international Olympic committee has decided against viral testing after realizing that it is going to be impossible for Brazil to clean up the water to pass the original tests prior to the games....

This is all after an associated press story investigated and found out that ALL OLYMPIC VENUES WERE INFESTED WITH DISEASE CAUSING VIRUSES. DID YOU HEAR THAT???? ALL VENUES. EVERY SINGLE FUCKING ONE. THAT MEANS THE ABSOLUTE BEST, FASTEST, GREATEST, MOST ACCOMPLISHED ATHLETES IN THE ENTIRE WORLD, WILL BE SWIMMING LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY IN HUMAN FECES, COMPETING FOR GOLD METALS.

In order to call the water "passable" the director says they instead will be sticking with only bacterial testing. Let's just hope that the majority of the athletes we send to Brazil make it back to U.S. soil without being infected.

Ok, so this is supposed to be like the GREATEST, MOST ACCOMPLISHED, INCREDIBLE, AMAZING, ATHLETES IN THE ENTIRE WORLD RIGHT???? AND NOT ONLY ARE THEY GOING TO BE LITERALLY SWIMMING  IN HUMAN EXCREMENT, BUT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO JUST ACCEPT IT AND PRETEND "IT'S ALL GOOD"

Could someone please, tell me what incentive athletes have to attend, besides that shiny gold metal???

Red Sox look to blow another game

http://espn.go.com/mlb/gamecast

With a 2 run home run in the top of the 7th giving him 2 long balls for the game David Ortiz made this laughable performance by the entire team just a little less painful to watch. After overcoming a 4-1 deficit after two innings pitcher Edward Rodriguez did something the majoring of the Sox starters routinely fail to do....shut down the opposing offense when your team finally puts some runs on the board for you. Unfortunately for Boston the positive feelings were short living as the meager Miami Marlins offense managed to bash out TEN HITS throughout the bottom of the sixth to chase the Sox young ace.

Another worrisome performance is that of Cook out of the bullpen again shatting himself while giving up 4 hits, 4 runs all earned while recording a miserable single out! His ERA now stands at a whopping 14.29 as of this writing.

Please Boston, let's get Jackie Bradley Jr back on track so we have a great group of defenders in the outfield making more then reasonable money with Mookie Betts and Castillo. Between the pair of young catchers coming back along with Travis Shaw showing some capability to compliment standout Xander Bogaerts we can finally really look towards the future without needed to acquire that many position players for exorbitant sums of money....get out there and find a #1 starter and then start building around him. I don't want to hear the name Porcello ever again, I dont care if you have to eat every god damn dollar of that stupid moronic $80,000,000 contract before his worthless ass ever recorded a stinking out in a Red Sox uniform.

AND PLEASE PLEASE BRING SOMEONE ANYONE IN WHO CAN FIX OUR FLAME THROWING 6TH OR 7TH MAN JOE KELLEY.

Juice or No Juice....I'm going to confidentially say NO JUICE but I reserve the right to change my opinion if this "growth continues at this pace"

ESPN.com article by Eamonn Brennan

Ok, I'm not exactly sure why i'm not jumping all over this obvious transformation like it was A-Roid and the Rangers. But it feels more like pre-A-Roid, like maybe A-Rod when he was in Seattle.... Just an incredibly athletic teenager beyond his years and finally having a professional explain diet, exercise, maybe a protein shake here and there between the bench press and the situps....

Who really knows these days? Right now Alex Rodriguez looks like he's having a hell of a breakout season....again.....after sitting out nearly two years from professional baseball. He's mashing home runs like he never left to begin with. AND HE'S AT THE RIPE AGE OF 40 RIGHT NOW!!!! The cheaters are always going to be ahead of the game. 10 years ago anabolic steroids stayed in your system for weeks and the testing was extremely minimal, then came stuff like the cream which was undetectable within days, and now some stuff is gone in hours....

Like I said, i'm going to give this kid and the Cal trainer the benefit of the doubt. This very well could be the first time Rabb has been on a workout schedule, along with a better diet, and nutrients. I hope we never have to deal with steroids in college sports like we have had to in the professional ranks. Although we never really had a problem publicly in the NBA and therefor maybe we won't in the NCAA.

Ivan Rabb looks like one great prospect and the best thing to go to California for basketball in a long time. Let's hope these new found muscles don't interfere with that deadly shot. It sure looks like its going to be a huge help slashing to the rim with that new look!!!


WHO ARE THE BEST FROSH THIS YEAR??????

In the NOT so shocking news world Geno Smith is out 6-10 weeks

ProFootballTalk article

Now, this is the Jets being the JETS.... It's not a total surprise that Geno Smith won't be taking first team reps for the next few months. It's not a total surprise that he won't be taking the back up reps either. What shocking is that it's not his performance that took him out of the lineup. It was damage done by an angry teammate. Jets linebacker linebacker IK Enemkpali seemingly out of nowhere walked up to his starting quarterback in the locker room and cold cocked him. It's been reported that the Jets immediately released the obviously unintelligent linebacker. 

We've seen fights daily on sportscenters coverage of NFL training camps. Id venture to guess that there have been literally a few on every team in the NFL. That what happens when you mix massive athletic rich young men in the heat of competition. So fights are not what one would call rare however, this is the first time in the 20 plus years i've been watching football that I have EVER HEARD OF A PLAYER, LET ALONE A TEAMMATE PUNCH HIS OWN STARTING QB IN THE FACE...NOT DURING THE HEAT OF A PLAY OR PASSION OF THE MOMENT BUT IN THE LOCKER ROOM.

Once again this is just another story line in the bad news jets awful existence this decade. This was the year Geno was supposed to show what he had now that he's been given weapons to go with his top 10 defense....and the addition of Revis Island. I just hope this doesn't completely derail there entire season. You'd think they could find someone to at least match Geno's very mediocre output but that's always easier said then done against NFL defenses.

49ers promising d-end continues to endanger the lives of others and STILL can't accept that he is in the wrong!!!!!

ESPN.com story on defensive linemen Aldon Smith

Wow. Seriously, WTF, Wow. Ok, so your a stud NFL player and you've made some bad choices over the early part of your professional career and throughout your college years. To be honest, you've made A LOT of bad choices. The fact of the matter is god only knows how much trouble you've actually caused because I can guarantee that he didn't get his first DWI the first time he EVER drank and drove, and I feel more then comfortable saying his second DWI, along with vandalism and leaving the scene of the accident were not the second time in his life he drank and drove. Hell, he left the scene because he knew damn well he shouldn't have been driving. 

YOUR AN NFL PLAYER. YOUR NOT LIKE A PRACTICE SQUAD GUY WHO MAKES 40K A YEAR LETTING YOU RUN HIM OVER. You make great money. You would be making even greater money if you had just had the decency to call a cab. If that's too "embarrassing" to big bad you, THEN CALL A DAMN LIMO. But don't get on the roads and put innocent lives in danger because your an idiot. Really though, thank goodness he didn't hurt anyone seriously....

I've got good news and then i've got some rather frightening bad news...

I think we as football fans, and any other players from our local sports teams, try and find an excuse when there is one to justify our hero's poor judgment. Players from Incognito, Greg Hardy, Adrian Peterson have all managed to have at least one suitor that is more then willing to pay for their services.

Each transgression should be taken and investigated individually. Obviously the players and their union want someone, anyone other the Roger "I didn't see the Rice video".

I really feel like the "heads up" initiative for tackling at the lower levels all the way up through high school is a step in the right direction. With all the facts about degenerative brain disease coupled with the very public suicides of some popular players, there are more reasons then even to walk away once your financially set in order to give you the best chance of keeping your faculties.

So, who do you not want your team to EVER even contemplate signing....

Ray Rice
Adrian Peterson
Greg Hardy
Aaron Hernandez...I know he's cooked but before the serial killer in him came out

Take a position and let it flow!!! ANGELS players union rep vs. Ownership of said Angels vs Josh Hamilton vs Mrs. Josh Hamilton

Would it be harder to come back from another relapse of booze and blow to compete at the major league level or to deal with a divorse from the women who stood by his side while gently guiding him in the right direction for both him professionally and personally for their family.  Anyone who has either directly or even indirectly knows it can get bad...very bad. It's one of those times where the saying, "its gonna get a lot worse before it gets better".

ESPN.com story

While im certainly not qualified with respect to his bank account to know how much that either helps or hinders divorce proceedings. Personally, looking in from the outside I can't see how someone can say having hundreds of millions of dollars is a negative. And I've def heard plenty of ppl complain about not being able to afford gas, or Christmas gifts or a car ect ect but I still think its pretty shady that the owner of the team has been on record saying that the team should be released from his obligation to pay the player for the amount he signed for. A for effort Artie but your going to have to dig into your ridiculously over stuffed wallet and lock up Mr. Trout with your own money, not from screwing Josh Hamilton out of what you agreed to pay him. I know how all you owners, or at least the great majority of them, somehow spin the story to downplay exactly what you are making after ticket sales, concession stands and TV deals which continue to grow rapidly. Now that's the owner vs player part.

Divorce is a sad thing. It can be sad for both parties involved, but more often then not it seems like by the time the D word is out there, Mr. and the Mrs. both are more angry then sad and that's too bad...my grandparents were together for nearly 60 years. Couldn't find one without the other from middle school until the day my grandfather suffered a heart attack and passed. People don't take their vows as seriously as they should in my humble opinion. If your fighting over stupid little things remember how amazing you felt that night you first met, or the night you said I Do. Try counseling. Do whatever you can think of and either agree to disagree or simply compromise, its what adults do!

I don't know how I would deal with drug abuse when I would have so much to lose but I know from personal experience that once some drugs get ahold of you, they won't let go until you put in the necessary work. You can't half ass it. I've been clean since May 5th, 2013....that's my redemption and I'll be fighting to keep it that way the rest of my life....


What's your opinion?  Love to know what everyone thinks???

North Carolina coaching legend Dean Smith passes away

ESPN.com article link

Former all time leader in men's division 1 college basketball, Dean Smith, died peacefully on Saturday Feb 8, 2015 at his home with family and friends close by his side. Smith retired the all time leader in wins, 2nd in total final fours with 11 and won 2 national titles along with coaching some of the greatest if not THE greatest player in basketball history in Michael Jordan. The Tar Heels to this day play in the "Dean Dome" as a tribute to their all time great coach who still resided in Chapel Hill.