Pay me or Trade me
Unhappy with the Jaguars organization about restructuring his contract, the 27 year old running back is open to the trade market if Jacksonville is willing to part ways with Jones-Drew. MJD rushed for a career high of 1,600+ yrds last season and is a vital piece to the Jaguars offense. With 2 years remaining on his contract Jones-Drew is scheduled to earn nearly 9 million dollars total. Obviously this isn't the contract a premiere running back wants but note that the contract was signed before he started to break out. Is MJD worth the money? or should the Jags fill his commands and trade him away? If the Jags do decide to trade Jones-Drew they will lose a big chunk of their offense. With Jones-Drew on the field the Jags offense average nearly 3 yards more per play than when he is on the sideline. Also, the Jags have more leverage to work with on the field when MJD is in the huddle. The Jags account for successful scoring drives while he is on the field serving as a beneficiary in the backfield as a RB who can catch the ball and move for yards. He is a great back and is number 1 in the NFL for total yrds for RB's with Rushing yrds and receiving yards combined. Talk about valuable asset. But lets assume that the Jags do trade him, what would be the the potential landing spots for Maurice Jones-Drew?
The New England Patriots recently lost BenJarvus Green-Ellis could MJD be a fill in? Danny Woodhead does not have the explosiveness as Jones-Drew, nor does Shane Vereeen. This would be a complementary piece to Tom Brady and the Patriots offense.
The Washington Redskins are in dyer need of a RB. Just last season they rotated a core of RB's for the starting line up. Most successful out of the bunch...... Roy Helu. With the Redskins drafting Robert Griffin III the Redskins are looking in a whole new direction. With the wide variety of WR's and no full-time starter at RB would Maurice Jones-Drew make Washington thee premiere team in the NFC East? Maybe
The Detroit Lions were ranked nearly dead last in the NFL in rushing. Jahvid Best has dealt with serious post-concussion symptoms, Jerome Harrison was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and Mikell Leshoure missed his rookie season with a ruptured achilles; that was triple trouble for the Lions offense last season. With the emergence of Matt Stafford the Lions need some assurance at the RB position and Jones-Drew would be shoe-in for the Lions offense. Detroit would the best landing spot for MJD because 1. He doesn't have to get over-worked like he is in Jacksonville and 2. The Lions have a better offensive line and 3. He would work in a all-around offense that doesn't require him to account for over 75% of the teams yards.
The Jags won't trade him he may hold out until week 2 and sign a deal. He's not going anywhere. Just a story to entertain football fans for the upcoming season.
PED's in Baseball
Just last week San Francisco Giants OF Melky Cabrera was suspended for 50 games for testing positive for PEDs. Today Oakland Athletics P Bartolo Colon became latest victim. Here's my stance on PED's in baseball, yes, its wrong but I find the game more interesting when the MLB was in the "Steroid Era" then the game today. From the early 90's to 2006 the game of baseball was a powerhouse. There were numerous players knocking 40+ homers a year and there were home run races just about every year. The Sosa and McGwire friendly rival has been tainted by their allegations of steroid abuse. The all-time HR king Barry Bonds has been forgotten because of his federal issues in regards to lying to the grand jury about steroid abuse. But look at the picture here. Since the Mitchell Report was released in 2007 the number of HR's decline greatly and the homer game became a pitchers game since. We have seen numerous no-hitters thrown and less guys going for power. But, does the crackdown on steroids and PED's harmed the game of baseball? I would think so, I still watch and love the game but it is not as exciting as it used to be. Now with the awareness of steroids and other supplements rumors can began to swirl about guys hitting 35 HR's plus. Take Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays. I never heard of this man and he came out the blue and hit for 54 home runs in 2010. I started to say "Is he on roids" ? The last person to hit 50+ was Alex Rodriguez and he too tested positive for PED's in the early 2000's. There isn't any clear evidence that Bautista is on something, but that can raise a few eyebrows. I like the home run game but the sport has been forever tainted. There can't be any accomplishments without subject to question with hitters today. Like millions of baseball fans I wouldn't be surprised if big name players such as Pujols, Cano, Granderson, Reynolds and Kemp test positive for PED's. I just look at it as a player who tries to become an elite. Former Phillies 3B Mike Schmidt once said "If many players in the league were using steroids in my era no doubt I would do the same" I would argue the same too. I know I would have used some type of substance to enhance my ability, but at the end of the day I'm wrong for cheating. You have to give the fans what they came here for. A home run derby beats a traditional game of baseball in my view any day. Its sad the game is like this now, but the steroid era was one of the best periods in Baseball history. Long live the Sosa's, Bonds and the McGwire's :(
NBA
The NBA season tips little more than 2 months from now and I cannot wait. If the basketball gods permit, it would be a great match up between the leagues two best players in LeBron James and Kobe Bryant . The series would be the tale of 2 star lit cities Miami and Los Angeles and can be any greater. I would like to see Kobe get that 6th ring to tie MJ but my gut feeling is that LeBron and company. They will repeat and be the 2013 NBA champs once again and Kobe will fall just short. Maybe in 2014 Kobe can get that ring, as of now with the Heat acquiring Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis it makes their odds favorable to repeat. We are in for a entertaining season. Get those League Passes ready.
Interesting story.
If you haven't been on ESPN.com in the last 2 days check out the story of Greg Halman, a promising prospect for the Seattle Mariners who was stabbed to death by his brother this past winter. It was a touching story and must read even if you are not a fan of baseball. I feel for the Halman family who had been torn apart by mental illness and jealous. Sad story but worth reading. Check it out.
Top 10.
What is your favorite sports rivalry? As a sports fan growing up in metro Detroit I was always fascinated with the U of M vs O-State football rivalry. Im a Wolverines fan and its a joy to see my collegiate squad take down our bitter rivals. Its out of good nature so I picked my top 10 rivalry in all sports that some of you might agree with.
10. Dallas Cowboys vs Washington Redskins.
Since 1960, the battle of the prestigious franchises has been a lifelong bitter rivalry. The epic battles of the 80's and 90's where both franchises were winning was an elite match up. Since then both franchises went down hill and had moderate seasons but their match up are still entertaining enough for a Monday Night Football slot.
9. 1990's Bulls and Knicks
Constantly embarrassed by MJ at the Garden the NBA's hard knock rivalry of the Bulls and Knicks were very intense. Marred by a few on-court brawls and MJ and Starks bitter encounters the Knicks and Bulls playoff series were always unpredictable. My favorite moment of the rivalry would be MJ constantly dunking on Ewing. The 94 playoff brawl between JoJo English and Derek Harper was a headliner that made the rivalry more intense until the mid 90's. I wish NBA basketball goes back to those hard fought days.
8. Pittsburg Steelers vs Cleveland Browns
One of the bitterest rivals of all of NFL history dates back to the late 60's. The Turnpike series many call it has produced some good single game football action all of these years and I always look forward to their two games each year. Although I don't like none of them.
7. Nebraska vs Oklahoma
Lord knows I'm gonna miss this rivalry. Since 1912 the two colleges had a tough rivalry that gave NCAA football fans memories of great games. The last game played was one for the ages with Nebraska beating Oklahoma 23-20. With Nebraska leaving for the Big Ten it ended the epic rivalry, hopefully the rivalry can be renewed as a non-conference scheduled game in the future.
6. Auburn vs Alabama
The Iron Bowl is one of college best rivalries. Going strong since the late 1800's the yearly rivalry can be entertaining at times but then again blowouts. I don't know the full scoop of the rivalry being that I'm not from Alabama but from the look of things its close to to U of M and O-State rivalry.
5. NY Knicks vs Heat
From 1995-1997, the Knicks and Heat was a very intense rivalry. There were close games, critical playoff series and a brawl every time the two took the court. If you liked the tough style of basketball watch these two play on youtube and NBATV they have what you are looking for. The most known incident of this rivalty is Jeff Van Gundy clinching on Alonzo Mourning's leg after his scuffle with Larry Johnson.... Good ole memories of the two.
4. Lakers vs Celtics
Dating back to the late 50's the Celtics and Lakers have met in the NBA finals 12 times with the Celtics winning 9 of those 12 battles. The friendly rivalry of Bird and Magic was one of sports greatest rivalries giving you a show in the NBA finals in the mid 80's just about every year. The rivalry rekindled in the late 2000's meeting in the finals in 08 and 10 and both series were great. The rivalry continues to this day and they are one of the most watched games of the NBA season when these two meet.
3. Bulls and Pistons
This rivalry started in 87, where Michael Jordan torched my beloved Pistons for 59 points. This made our coach Chuck Daly hot and he vowed MJ would never embarrass the Pistons like that again. From that point on the promise stuck with Piston players flagrant fouling MJ every time he drove the lane. It worked from 87- 90 where the Pistons eliminated Chicago from the playoffs every year. Until 1991, Jordan was more skilled and had a better cast was able to knock off Detroit and face LAL to win their first title. Great rivalry
2. Red Sox and Yankees.
Bitter rivalry between 2 teams who strongly don't like each other. This rivalry goes back to the early 1900's and continue to be one of sports best rivalries to this day. Bench clearing brawls, the walk off homer of 2003 and the epic comeback of the Red Sox being down 0-3 and winning the series have put a stamp on the rivalry. 2nd best ever
1. U of M vs Ohio State
No Need to explain myself. Watch the last November game each year and you will get a clue.
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