Tag: ravens

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NFL General

The first in a soon-to-be long string of "shocking" NFL predictions

Say hello to your newest
1,000-yard rusher

The NBA season is officially over, signifying the official starting of the countdown to the NFL kickoff. We’re still trying to figure out who our keeper is going to be for this year’s fantasy team, but, luckily, we still have time. And between now and then, we’ll probably flip flop between players over a hundred times thanks to crazy, outlandish predictions like these from FBKid’s Sports Minute.

Fbkid’s top ten shocking predictions for the NFL season

10. Matt Forte will run for 1,000 yards as a rookie

9. Drew Stanton will be the starting quarterback for the Lions by the end of the year

8. Keith Rivers will win defensive rookie of the year

7. The Oakland Raiders will be a playoff spoiler come December

6. The Carolina Panthers will make the playoffs

5. Jonathan Stewart will win offensive rookie of the year

4. The Buffalo Bills will make the playoffs

3. The Pittsburgh Steelers won’t make the playoffs

2. The Cowboys won’t be representing the NFC in the Super Bowl

1. Troy Smith will be the starting quarterback for the Ravens week one

We’ll go out on a limb and say the Cowboys won’t be representing the NFC and TO will once again go home with snot coming out his nose and tears streaming behind his Kool Moe Dee shades. Either way, you need to get your popcorn ready because you’re going to want a snack while you wait for the season kickoff to roll around on September 4. Skins in New York to face the Super Bowl champs, in case you were wondering.

Links:

[FBKid’s Sports Minute]: top ten shocking predictions for the NFL season

Categories
Baltimore Ravens

There’s no "I" in "team," but there is in "fight"


The Baltimore Ravens minicamp is a scary place to be these days. Not because Ray Lewis is there or because they’ve slipped from Super Bowl champs to the oblivion of 5-11 in 2007 or because Brian Billick is absent after spending the last nine years coaching the squad. The reason Baltimore Ravens minicamp is scary is because it appears to be more WWE Royal Rumble meets COPS than the gelling of a cohesive unit.

The Baltimore Ravens are doing more than merely fighting for jobs at their first mandatory minicamp under new coach John Harbaugh.

They’re fighting each other, too.

Nearly all 85 players in camp were involved in a squabble Saturday that began when offensive tackle Oniel Cousins and defensive tackle Amon Gordon threw punches after running back Allen Patrick was taken down hard on a burst up the middle. All the players surged toward the middle of the field, and it was nearly two minutes before peace was restored.

“Guys are competing, so tempers flare a little bit,” Harbaugh said.

Later during practice, which was held indoors because of rain, defensive backs Corey Ivy and Frank Walker came to blows during a blocking drill.

“Don’t grab me, man!” Ivy yelled.

After the players were separated, veteran cornerbacks Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle spoke with Walker, who signed as a free agent during the offseason after playing with Green Bay in 2007.

“Chill out, man,” Rolle said. “There’s too much at stake.”

Fights are bound to happen when guys are literally on the field, playing for their jobs. It’s no biggie really, but it would be fun to watch. We can only hope the Dallas Cowboys show this level of dysfunction during their preseason drills.

Links:

[Yahoo!]: Harbaugh’s Ravens brawl at minicamp
[BaltimoreSun.com]: Team showing fight under Harbaugh

Categories
General Sports

Snoop Dogg and Tony Romo are exactly alike. What? You don’t see it?

We thought ESPN had totally lost its marbles when they started trying to compare the current Celtics with the 72-win, Michael Jordan led Bulls of 1995-96. Well, Shady Acres is prepared to admit the entire Bristol bunch after Countdown aired a piece on how Tony Romo and Snoop Dogg are cut from the same cloth. We’d like to think this was a joke, but the evaluation is earnest (for the most part). No Kenny Mayne in sight.

Tune in next week to see the crew’s piece on the unbelievable parallels between the lives of Ray Lewis and Weird Al Yankovic.

And since we brought up “weird” and “Ray Lewis”, here’s video of Phil Dawson’s 51-yard field goal attempt giving the Baltimore uprights a pole dance.

That ending was almost as confusing as Emmitt Smith’s player analysis.

Links:

[Awful Announcing]: Ask Him, Ask Them, They All Know About Silky Slim
[Awful Announcing]: Cleveland’s Kicker Phil Dawson Is A Magician

Categories
Baltimore Ravens

We hope the men get different uniforms


We’ve never been to a game in Baltimore but apparently they have male cheerleaders on their stunt team. The Ravens recently held tryouts for the squad.


Many of the men participating in Sunday’s tryout had good experience, said Dan W., a new participant. Most of them were cheerleaders in college and grew up playing sports. A big part of their job description includes lobbing their female counterparts high into the air and catching them. Dan W., 24, cheered for three years at University of Notre Dame and played lacrosse in high school

This is exactly what’s wrong with male cheerleading. (“There are 10 things men should never do and cheerleading is 9 of them.”) Most decent high school athletes who can’t make the leap to the next level just accept their lack of athletic ability and go on with their lives and once in a while think back on glory days. However, a small percentage decide that this isn’t good enough and feel the need to be in the spotlight — but as a cheerleader.

The defense for male cheerleaders are “well, they are always looking up the cheerleader’s skirts”. Listen, who cares. They are after the athletes. You are like a eunuch who claps his hands real loud. And besides, it’s just not worth it. The mascot is cooler than you. Have you ever seen a male cheerleader and thought, “yeah that guy is cool, I want to hang out with him”?

Links:
[Examiner]: Ravens cheerleader tryouts attract men, women

Categories
Cleveland Browns

Oct 27 in Sports History: Art Modell steals away in the night



Suckers!

In 1995: It is well known how miserable of a sporting existence Cleveland fans have suffered, but this might have been the lowest point, the cruelest blow, the coup de grace gut punch. Browns’ owner Art Modell signed a secret agreement with the city of Baltimore to move his franchise – which probably had the most loyal fans in the NFL – there for the 1996 season. Modell cried poor and blamed Cleveland officials for refusing to build him a new stadium. He took a sweetheart deal from Baltimore (who was desperate for a franchise after losing the Colts in similar fashion in 1984), the Browns became the Ravens and changed their logo and uniforms, and the Mistake by the Lake was soon a memory (it caught fire during demolition just to remind Cleveland what it really was). Cleveland kept the rights to the Browns nickname and colors and was granted an expansion franchise for the 1999 season. The Ravens won the Super Bowl in 2000 while the Browns have gone 37-81 to this day.

In 2002: Emmitt Smith of the Cowboys took a handoff from Chad Hutchinson and ran off left tackle for 11 yards. They were last of 16,727 yards he needed to break the late Walter Payton’s career rushing total. The game was stopped for five minutes to honor Smith, and a post-game celebration was also held despite the Cowboys losing 17-14 to the Seattle Seahawks. Smith is the NFL’s all-time career rushing leader in yards, attempts and touchdowns.

In 1986 and 1991: A pair of memorable World Series Game 7’s took place: In 1986, the Mets completed their stunning comeback by finishing off the Boston Red Sox 8-5 and continuing the Curse of the Bambino for the 68th consecutive year. In 1991, Jack Morris of the Twins turned in a legendary complete game, 10-inning shutout of the Atlanta Braves and a Gene Larkin bases-loaded single clinched the second World Series in four years for Minnesota.

And no Boston, we didn’t forget that the Red Sox clinched their first championship since 1918 with a four game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals on this day in 2004.

Categories
Indiana Pacers

Odds and Ends: more on the Stephen Jackson shooting


Stephen Jackson will get off relatively scott free for his strip club shooting incident because his actions “appear to be on safe legal ground” but today it was announced that he will get another year of probation on the charges he faced for the brawl in Detroit. However, the extra year of probation has nothing to do with the shooting as no charges were filed in the incident. Meanwhile, an Indianapolis man was arrested in connection with the incident and Reggie Miller is ripping Pacers players for standing by Jackson.


You shouldn’t stand behind a player that is someone slapping you guys in the face during the middle of training camp being out at a strip club at 3 o’clock in the morning shooting it up like it’s the Wild, Wild West.

In other news…

[SFGate.com]: Art Shell says Walter will remain the starter until Aaron Brooks comes back

[Baltimore Sun]: Ravens team plane makes emergency landing. Ivy in stable condition with kidney tear

[Craig Sager’s Suit]: This explains Sager’s taste in clothes

[The Offside]: Materazzi writing a joke book on Zidane headbutt

[There’s Your Karma, Ripe as Peaches]: The Missing Link Retains WBA Heavyweight Title

Categories
Baltimore Ravens

Sep 14 in Sports History: Jamal Lewis predicts record


In 2003: Jamal Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens broke the single-game NFL rushing record with 295 yards in a 33-13 win against the Cleveland Browns. Lewis carried 30 times for a ridiculous average of 9.8 yards per carry and scored on touchdown runs of 82 (on the second play from scrimmage) and 63 yards. Another 60-yard TD run was nullified by a holding penalty. Lewis went on to rush for 2,066 yards in the 2003 season, second most all-time behind Eric Dickerson. Lewis’s performance in Baltimore surpassed Corey Dillon’s 278 yard effort in 2000. Most impressive though was that Jamal Lewis predicted his record setting day during the week leading up to the game.

In 1994: Although it was a foregone conclusion to many, baseball owners voted 26-2 in favor of officially cancelling the remainder of the season as a result of the then month-old players strike. It was the first time since 1903 that there would be no World Series. The strike did not end until the following April. (baseballlibrary.com)

In 1930: The Detroit Lions franchise played their first NFL game (as the Portsmouth Spartans). They defeated the Newark Tornados 13-6. Although they started 3-0-1, they would finish their first season 5-6-3. They officially became the Lions in 1934, when they also began the tradition of playing on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit. The Lions have an all-time record of 485-542-32 (with a 21-60 record under the Matt Millen regime). (Courtesy of the ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia)