Derek Culver Committed to WVU

Derek Culver, Power Forward out of small town of Warren OH, has made a hard commitment to West Virginia University. This could come as a shock to most, especially with the list of school on his list. 

This Power Forward standing at 6-foot-8 205 pounds brought a lot of eyes on himself, not only with his size, but with his play as well. A lot of big name schools showed great interest in him and his play.

Some of the notable names are: Ohio State, Kansas, Clemson, and Indiana just to name a few. With WVU landing his big name recruit is shocking to most since home state school OSU was one of the programs looking to sign the Power Forward.

Culver's size isn't all that brought the attention to these big names school, but it's what he does with his size. He is great under the hoop, but can score from 19 feet away. He is an excellent jump shooter as well.

Culver is a very impressive athlete for his size, and has quick feet for a big man. However, he is the type of big that won't get exposed on ball screens.

With all this being said, there are some downsides to his game. He tends to take stupid fouls, and needs to work on playing smarter not harder. If he can keep his motor running, not take silly fouls, and play smart, Culver can really thrive at WVU.

With no real big man in Morgantown, this is the school he would really be able to thrive at. There hasn't been a lot of notable big man, since the loss of Pittsnogle to WVU in 2006, other than Williams who is now in the NBA.

To make Culver more impressive, he is a lefty and that's hard to come by in basketball period. I look for him to come in, fix his short comings under Bob Huggins, and be a big name in Morgantown

Back To Footabll

Hey All,

I know, I know, it's been too long since my last post. Well, I'm back and getting ready for a brand new NFL season.

As I'm sure all of you are excited about the new season, as am I. There are a few things that I want to talk about for the coming season. Obviously I'm not going to talk about Brady getting suspended. Quite frankly, I'm over it. We all know where that one is going to go.

The few things I will be going over are the rookie starting QB's, how the Sophomore QB's will fair, and how I think the season will go for a select few teams.

First thing I'm going to talk about is rookie QB's. There's two that are big right now, Jamies Winston and Marcus Maroita. They were both named to be there teams week 1 starter. This is not a huge surprise to some, but for others it's a bit of a shock. The one that surprises most is Winston. With all of his off the field issues that he had in college, nobody really expected him to be named the starter this early. Winston was asked about this Saturday and he said he's "matured" since his days at Florida State. "I've matured since I was an 18-year-old kid, just getting into mischievous things," said Winston, 21. "But now I love this opportunity that I've been given. It's a blessing. The best thing about it is my dream always was to be a professional quarterback, and I've achieved that dream."

I'm very interested in how this season will go for Tampa Bay. As a fan, I really am expecting them to do better then the 2-14 record they had last year. I don't know, however, that Winston is the complete answer, but he might be a good start. The one interesting thing is that they are also starting 2 other rookies, who just so happen to be on the left side of the line. I know he is a mobile quarterback and all, but I think this will test just how mobile he will be with the speed of the NFL players. There is a upside for Winston, and that is he has two 6'5" wide receivers. Evans and Jackson are 2 of the best. Jackson being the seasoned vet, and Evans being the stud younger receiver who came on last year with a less talented QB. It's going to be interesting and I can't wait to see what happens with the Bucs.

 The next big named rookie who was named to be the starter of his team is Marcus Maroita. This one is a little more interesting to me. Like the Bucs, the Titans were 2-14 and have a upside. Though it's not as big as the Bucs, but it's still a upside. The Titans are a very young team and have a lot of growing to do as a team.

Maroita, in my opinion, will have a better career with the team he's on now. The only reason that I say this, is that the coaches told Maroita that he needed work on his placement after taking a snap from under center. He kept running into the running backs and stumbling over each other. This happened during summer workouts. After he was told this and got back for training camp, the coaches say it's like he has been doing this for years, with his placement. He learned what he was doing wrong, made the adjustments, and now looks like he's been doing this for years. This is a mark of a great QB, or player in general.

Maroita, though on a young team, will have a better career. If he can learn something that should have taken him months to master, in a few weeks of working and studying by himself, he will be able to take what the coaches give him and run with it.

As for the Sophomores, I think there's more upsides then down. The only real downside would be Johnny Manziel. Johnny has to win back the locker room, which is going to be the hardest thing for him to do. I think now that he got his life in check and cleaned up some personal issues he's had, he'll be in a lot better of a situation. The coaches are even on record saying that "the team hasn't given up on Johnny Manziel." The only problem is that the coaches can't be the ones to have him win back the locker room.

Blake Bortles and Derek Carr I like way more than I like Johnny.  Though Jacksonville and Oakland aren't the sexiest of teams, they are rebuilding and the quarterback position is one of the main pieces to the puzzle. They both finally have that piece. Bortles has great receivers and they made some moves in the draft to hopefully keep him protected. That'll be the biggest thing for the Jags. If they can keep Bortles clean and off of his back, then they will have a fighting chance.

As for Carr, I've always like him as a QB. He has the right name, for those who care about that, he has great arm strength, and the QB IQ that you want to see out of your starter. Especially one as young as Carr.

After the long off season, the Coaches say that "Carr is eager to lead the way". He is a natural born leader, and wants to show to everyone that he is the right man for the job. Which I believe that he is the right man for Oakland. They need some positive vibes coming their way, and Carr can be the good vibes that the team needs to get back on the right track. The nice thing about Carr, is that he's really digging his new role with the team. “It’s kind of nice knowing that, because now I can really be myself, whereas when it was Schaub’s team, there are certain things,” Carr said. “You can’t step on his toes. You don’t want to get in the way. You want to let him do his thing.”

I think with less pressure on "Stepping on the toes of the starter" Carr will be way more relaxed in the pocket, on the practice field, and in the locker room. He can be himself and lead this team in the right direction.

The teams I think will have a better season then they did last year are; Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, Oakland, and Tennessee. As for the ones I think will struggle a bit that would be; New England, St. Louis, and Cleveland.

I already explained why I think the teams that are going to have a better season in my above statements. As for the ones that will struggle, I have some thoughts. New England for obvious reasons with all the distractions that they are going through now with the whole Brady situation. And no I'm still not talking about that. I just think this is going to weigh on the team for the first 4 games. Even if he's there because of court rulings, he's still not going to win in court. He will miss 4 games this year, as for when, that's really his call at this point in time.

St. Louis is a weird one for me. I like the talent they have with their WR's and RB's, however the QB situation there is out of control. I have no idea why they thought getting rid of Bradford was the best option. I really don't think they have a plan for that positions on their club. He was a good starter, even though he is injury prone, he was still a guy you could have in there until you find a better option. I think with this going on they will struggle until they find their guy.

Cleveland had a okay season, for their standards, last year but there is one big distractions in their club house. His name is Johnny. Yes he has his "life in check" but he still needs to win back the locker room. I don't think he'll be able to do this in training camps. It's going to take a few weeks for this to happen. I think Johnny will come around and be a good QB for this team, but he has some growing to do with his team, and within himself. Once this happens the Browns will be in better shape then they are currently.

Until next time,
You keep doing what you do, and I'll keep you up to date with everything sports.  

Deflategate

Hey all,

This will be my only post on this, because I simply don't care. Yes, it's about Tom Brady and deflategate.

I feel that he got what was coming to him. He broke the rule, he hid that he did so, and got a aproate punishment. Everyone in New England can piss and moan, and whine and complain, but facts are facts. Had he just went along with everything and told the truth, he'd would have been fine. Yet he did not do that.

Here are some others takes on this matter from our friends at CBS.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/25183504/elway-supports-goodell-100-percent-favre-aikman-bradshaw-weigh-in 

Pens Fight For Playoff Birth

Hey All,

Today the Pittsburgh Penguins took on the Philadelphia Flyers in Philly, and boy was this a game for the ages. These two teams don't like one another, and that's no secret to anyone who's ever watched a hockey game. As we are use to seeing with these two it was a very physical game, and very entertaining from the first drop of the puck. 

It seemed to be going the Pens way from the get go, as they controlled most of the first period. They were stretching the puck, and stretching the defense of the Flyers. The Pens seemed to have the game plan to finally beat the Flyer, as they have lost the last 7 meetings between the two clubs. Not wanting to make it 8-0 in the last 8 meetings, the Pens had high energy and were flying around on the ice. The Pens were able to take the lead 1-0 at the 16:21 mark with the assist from Perron and Cole. It looked good for the Pens at this point, but the Flyers weren't going down without a fight. They were able to answer back with a goal of their own by Voracek at the 19:18 mark. The assist were by Streit and Schenn. It would be a power play goal, as the Pengins took a dumb retaliatory penalty. 

It would be all Philly from here on out. The second period there was only one goal scored by the Flyers. It was a lucky goal as it bounces over the head of Thomas Greiss, and trickled into the goal. This was also on the power play, scored by Schenn with the assist by Voracek and Streit at the 12:20 mark. I think this took the Pens out of their game from here on out. As they seemed deflated. Skating flat, no speed and urgency. 

The 3rd period wasn't any better for Pittsburgh as they gave up 2 more goals and had a ton of penatlies. Goals were scored by Whtie and Del Zotto at the15:05 and 19:50 marks. With assists from Couturier, Raffl, Schenn, and Giroux. This is not to say that the Penguins didn't have their chances to score. The Pens were firing everything at goaltender Mason, he just had their number today. The Pens took over 40 shots, and were only able to get 1 past the net minder. 

This keeps the Pens in the wild card spot, but by a very slim margin. They have 95 points and only have a 3 point lead for a wild card spot. There's only one week left in the season and the Pens are in a need of a win. They are going to need a win and fast to stay in the hunt, and have a chance for a run at Lord Stanley's Cup. 

As always comments are welcome and be sure to follow me for all your sports needs.

Dez is Loyal?

Hey All,

Became known to me that Dez Bryant said he would retire a Cowboy, but don't test his loyalty. This can become very confusing to not only his team, but all the other teams in the league. He's in his final year of his rookie contract and wanted an extention before the season started, but the two sides couldn't come close to a deal.

Now I think Dez is a great receiver, but has a bit of an attitude problem. That will hurt his value just a bit. I think the Cowboys would be very stupid if they ever got rid of him. He is definitely their #1 WR, and Romo's favorite target. You can't get rid of him, it just doesn't make sense. Plus it would hurt your team no matter who you get for him.

To read more, check out the link below

Dez Bryant: 'Don't test my loyalty' http://espn.go.com/dallas/nfl/story/_/id/11865934/dez-bryant-says-wants-respected-contract-talks-dallas-cowboys-warns-test-my-loyalty

Pens Star Out 4 Weeks

Hey All,

Penguins Defenseman Matta will be expected to miss 4 Weeks after undergoing surgery to remove a tumor off of his thyroid gland. Doctors say that there is a 85% chance that it is cancerous and I know me and Pens fans will be hope for the other 15% to be true.

To read more check out the link below.

NHL Power Rankings: B/R Experts' Week 4 Poll | Bleacher Report (via http://ble.ac/teamstream-) http://teamstre.am/10fjuEC

Week 2 in The NFL

Hey All,

This week in the NFL was crazy to say the least. We had major upsets, games go down to the wire, and more on the issues with players and not knowing how to act in the NFL this week. The week started out on a tough note with another player being charged with a crime. Adrian Peterson was charged with beating his 4 year old son. So yet another case of abuse with a player in the NFL. Now I have some mix feelings on this one, like I did with Ray Rice.

Peterson says he was not trying to harm his son in that way, rather discipline him. Now this is where I have mixed feelings. I'm all for disciplining your children, however its a gray area here. Yes kids need discipline, yes it's okay to do so, but no it's not okay to leave the marks that he did on his son. Now I get his point and I get the NFL's point in deactivating him for this weeks game. AP may have took it too far, but does that mean he shouldn't be charged? I think I'll let the NFL handle this one and see where the investigation goes.

Now to get to some football. This weeks games started off on Thursday with the Divisional rivals taken on one another. The Pittsburgh Steelers went to Baltimore to take on the Ravens. Now this game should have been a lot closer then it was. The Ravens beat the Steelers 26-6 and the Steelers didn't even look like they knew there was a game going on. Now I am a Steelers fan, as they are my home town team, but I can admit that we no longer have a defense that is worth talking about. I get that they are younger now, but that doesn't mean that they should look this bad. It was bad enough that they let Cleveland come back and take them down to the wire, after going up 24-0 is outrageous to me. They got lit up and now need to get ready for next week and hope they can pull off a win.

Well that got the ball rolling for an exciting week of football. Now not all the games were as bad as the Thursday nighter in Baltimore, as there were some games that went down to the wire. Take the Bucs and Rams for example, a game that shouldn't have been as close as it was, because Tampa's D is revamped and the Rams are down their starting QB for the year. This game ended on a questionable note for the Bucs, as Rookie Wide Receiver Mike Evans got hurt after catching a pass that put the Bucs in field goal rang to win the game. But since he was hurt, and the training staff came onto the field, and they didn't have any time outs left, by rule a 10 second run off of the clock had to happen. This ended the game and the Rams went on to win 19-17.

The Sunday Night game was a flag fest to say the least. San Francisco had 11 team penalties in the first half, by themselves. It made the game very hard to watch. It seemed like there was a flag every other play, and it slowed the game down way too much. Now I feel if there is a penalty, call it, but when it's getting as bad as the 49ers-Bears game got, it's too much. I hate this new enforcement of the rule that you cannot touch a WR after 5 yards. They've always been lacks on this rule, and I get it you need to enforce the rule, but com'on man this is ridiculous. Let them play and let them do their jobs. This rule, so that everybody knows, was put in place because of Seahawk's defense. They basically cheated their way to the Super Bowl. They did so by grabbing receivers down the field, past 5 yards, so they couldn't get open. So the league took a look at this and now we get to deal with all the flags that are being thrown by the refs.

The week would conclude with an exciting match up, on paper, on Monday Night between the Colts and Eagles. Now this game was suppose to be more Eagles and less Colts because the Colts D is beat up. To top it off not a lot of teams can keep up with the up tempo offense of Philly. They run a play every 21 seconds. Very hard to prepare for and you can't make the proper substitutions. Plus it forces you to run 1 or 2 defenses, which QB's in the NFL live for. Any of them can eat up a D doing that. That wasn't the case in this game. Indy came out and was ready to play and yes they gave up some big pass plays to the Eagles, but they stopped them when it mattered. They didn't allow them to score a single touchdown in the first half. Stuffing them in the red zone. They were able to manage 2 field goals to put some points on the board.

They went into the half down 17-6 because Indy's offense, and Andrew Luck, was just too much to handle. They went old school on Philly. Straight pounded the ball down their throats, by running both backs equally. Trent Richardson and Ahmad Bradshaw, two very powerful backs who can also make you miss. They continued to do so in the second half, but the Philly D was ready for it this time. Stopping them a few more times then they did in the first half, but it wasn't good enough. 

The Colts came out and were worse then how they looked in the first half. They didn't make any half time adjustments. They were flat, tried to run the same plays as in the first half, and didn't look ready for the adjustments that the Eagles made. 

The Eagles on the other hand came out and was ready for the Colts D. They looked like a team they were on paper. They were flying around and were very hard to tackle. They came back from 14 points down in the 3rd quarter to beat the Colts 30-27 on a late field goal and some questionable calls by the refs. 

And that's how the game would end. Just how we all thought, though maybe not that close, with the Eagles winning. Even thought this is the first time Andrew Luck hasn't lost 2 games in a row in the NFL. 

That's how week 2 ended, and with all the injuries this week, I can't wait to see how next week.goes. 

Until next time,

You keep doing what you do, and I'll keep you up-to-date with everything sports