Week 1 NFL Picks ATS

The Sports Narrative Radio Show crew will each week be giving you all of our NFL picks against the spread. The person with the worst record at the end of the year OR if they finish behind both The Mick and Katie will be subjected to wearing a chosen costume at a January roadshow TBD. The costumes are as follows:

Jeff Bowers: dress as Ron Burgundy (with moustache!)
Dustin Copening: dress as a 70's basketball player (with nut-hugger shorts and red afro)
Jeff Feltman: dress in drag with blonde wig (not really a punishment?)
The Mick: dress in a full suit and pink tie
Katie: dress as Wonder Woman
Darren Boyd: Winner's pick (very, very risky)

Here's this week's picks. Good Luck!

Week 1	Jeff	Dustin	Darren	Feltman	The Mick	Katie
Baltimore at Denver (-7.5)	Balt	Balt	Den	Den	Balt	Den
Tennessee at Pittsburgh (-7)	Tenn	Pitt	Pitt	Pitt	Pitt	Pitt
New England (-9) at Buffalo	NE	NE	NE	Buff	NE	NE
Atlanta at New Orleans (-3)	Atl	Atl	Atl	NO	NO	NO
Tampa Bay (-3) at NY Jets	Jets	TB	TB	TB	TB	TB
Kansas City (-4) at Jacksonville	KC	KC	KC	KC	KC	Jax
Seattle (-3.5) at Carolina	Sea	Sea	Sea	Sea	Car	Sea
Miami at Cleveland (Pick)	Cle	Cle	Mia	Cle	Cle	Cle
Minnesota at Detroit (-5)	Det	Min	Min	Min	Min	Det
Oakland at Indianapolis (-10)	Indy	Ind	Indy	Indy	Indy	Indy
Cincinnati at Chicago (-3)	Cincy	Cin	Cincy	Chi	Chi	Chi
Arizona at St Louis (-4.5)	Stl	Stl	Ariz	Ariz	Stl	Stl
Green Bay at San Francisco (-4.5)	SF	GB	SF	GB	SF	GB
NY Giants at Dallas (-3)	NYG	Dal	NYG	NYG	NYG	NYG
Philadelphia at Washington (-3.5)	Wash	Was	Wash	Phil	Phil	Phil
Houston (-3.5) at San Diego	Hou	Hou	Hou	Hou	Hou	SD

Dallas Cowboys Pre-Game Show: Week 1

Dustin Copening and Jeff Bowers break down the Sunday Night Football matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Football Giants.

They take a look back at Cowboys training camp and the pre season to identify where things are going right and going wrong.

In the Coaches Slant, Bowers breaks out the Chalkboard to analyze the X's and O's, and the guys decode Coach Speak.

Next, they go Inside the Numbers to determine where the Boys have the adantage and where they could lose the game.

Then, Dustin and Bowers put it on the line with their picks on who will come out on top when the final whistle blows.

Finally, the guys talk about which other matchups they will be watching this week.

Tune in and send your feedback to @dfwfanconnect and @sportsnarrative.

Click Here to Listen!

A Tribute to Tommy Morrison

by Darren Boyd

My favorite fighter of all time passed away the other day. Tommy "The Duke" Morrison was only 44. In the early 1990's, I was mesmerized by his left hook as were most boxing fans. His gunslinger, "you better get me before I get you" mentality made for can't miss television. Sadly, some 20 years after his peak no American heavyweight has come along to captivate the boxing public like Morrison.

 

I may have old timers disease as I'm 39 now but Tommy was part of the last golden age era of heavyweight boxing. Lennox Lewis, Riddick Bowe, Evander Holyfield, Ray Mercer, Michael Moore, and even the old men Larry Holmes and "Big" George Foreman made for a compelling division.  I was lucky enough to be able to travel around the country and attend some of Morrison fights over the years. Instead of writing a compelling history of "The Duke" like most media sites will do, I'll share some Tommy stories and fights that I watched over the years.

 

I first caught wind of Tommy in 1989. He fought an astonishing 19 times that year. Today's heavyweights fight 3 or 4 times in a good year. Tommy did not fight quality guys but he destroyed them with highlight reel knockouts, similar to what Mike Tyson did. Tommy was on NBC, (yes kids boxing used to be on network TV), USA and ESPN it seemed like every few weeks. He disappeared in 1990 for 6 months and I found out he was going to be in Rocky 5. News travelled by pony express back then because there was no Internet. Tommy returned to the ring in June of 1990, and had 3 easy KO wins that year. On Nov 16, 1990 Rocky 5 was released. I made my girlfriend at the time attended this movie and she fell asleep. I on the other hand, loved every second of it even though it is an awful movie.

 

Tommy started off 1991 with a bang, destroying former champs James "Quick" Tillis and Pinklon Thomas in the 1st round one month apart on USA network. The Morrison vs. Mercer bout was scheduled for August but injuries to both fighters moved it to Oct 18. I was over at my buddie's house, and we tried to watch it on scrambled TV. You could hear the sound but could barley see a picture and we were too broke to pay the $20 bucks for Pay Per View as we were in high school at the time. I was flying solo cause my previous girlfriend dumped me and I think it was because I made her watch Rocky 5. Morrison dominated for 3 rounds according to the audio then got demolished in round 5. I was crushed!!! Of course it turned out to be one of the most brutal heavyweight knockouts since Gerry Cooney Vs. Ken Norton.

 

 

June 27, 1992: Morrison Vs. Hipp Tommy started the comeback trail in February of 1992. He fought once a month on his comeback trail. I had watching parties most of the fights because they were on ESPN. He won them all with explosive early round knockouts. I graduated High School that summer and for my 18th birthday, my dad took me to Reno, NV to watch the Morrison Vs. Hipp fight as a present. Morrison was a 30-1 favorite. I, I mean my dad since I was not 21 at the time, bet 300 bucks on the fight. The fight was telecast on ABC Wide World of Sports. Tommy started off as usual self but in the 2nd round Hipp hit him and broke "The Duke's" jaw. In the middle rounds, Tommy broke his right hand. My hope of Tommy winning was fading fast. Tommy knocked Hipp down in the 5th round but Hipp was dominating Tommy through the late rounds. Suddenly, Tommy landed a massive shot to drop and finish Hipp in the 9th round. I won 30 bucks for the drama which paid for my fight t-shirt. Morrison became the first heavyweight to win a fight with a broken jaw. In August I was able to meet "The Duke". We were on vacation in Arkansas. Tommy was at an event called "Gravette Days". It was the town he was born in Arkansas. My sister and I were able to get a picture with him. He still had his jaw wired shut from the Hipp fight.

 

 

1993: Tommy started off the year in January fighting Carl "The Truth" Williams on HBO as the undercard to a George Foreman fight. If Tommy wins the fight he gets to have a big money fight against George Foreman that summer. He was an 8-1 favorite but Williams was a live underdog. As usual Tommy started off fast and knocked Williams down in the first round and 3rd Round but did not finish him. Morrison, not known for his stamina, ran out of gas in the middle rounds. Williams knocked him down twice in the 5th and almost ended Morrison big payday shot against Foreman. Tommy survived the round somehow and went on to hurt and stop Williams in the 8th. Tommy took a tune-up fight against a bum in March then it was on for June 7 against George Foreman. The majority of fans expected this fight to be a brief slug fest between 2 of the hardest punchers in the sport. Tommy stunned everyone by having a great game plan and out boxed Foreman. He cruised to a easy 12 round decision.  Unfortunately for Morrison this turned out to be the high water mark of his career. 

 

 

He was weighing multi million dollars offers to fight either champ Riddick Bowe or Lennox Lewis. Tommy decided on a 7.5 million dollar offer to fight Lennox Lewis in the fall. The 2 camps could never get a location settled so HBO pushed the fight back to March of 1994 on a mega PPV event. Tommy liked to stay busy as a fighter and did not want to wait around till next March to fight. He lined up a couple of what he thought were going to be easy paydays and fights for Aug and Oct. Also Tommy had quiet the reputation of partying hard and not making the most of his downtime. The first fight took place 8-30-1993 in Kansas City. Tommy was scheduled to fight Mike Williams on ESPN. Williams the night of the fight just walked out of the arena prior to warming up and got in a cab and went home. The popular story was that they picked a guy out of the stands to face Morrison. Tim Tomashek was brought in by the Morrison camp in case Williams pulled out of the fight. Williams had missed a press conference earlier in the promotion and rumors were he had "cold feet" about the fight. Tomashek was 35-10 but a pudgy journeyman with a good chin and zero power. Tomashek ran and clowned for 4 rounds before Morrison stopped him.  This did earn Tomashek a spot on the David Letterman afterwards. The whole event upset his fan base in Kansas City although Tomashek went longer then Mike Williams would have. Tommy was upset after this fiasco and booked another fight in Oct on HBO.

    

 

 

Oct 29, 1993  Morrison Vs. Bentt  The fight was in Tulsa, Ok. Michael Bentt was a highly accomplished amateur fighter but only 10-1 as a pro. He was knocked out in the first round in his first professional fight. Tommy says he watched 30 seconds of Bentt on tape and could not believe he was going to make 1.5 million for this fight. I was able to attend this fight. My dad and I made a 7 hour road trip from just outside of Austin, Tx to Tulsa.  It was even snowing that night of the fight. The arena was rocking, packed with over 9000 rabid Morrison fans. James Toney was the first main fight and the crowed booed the lack of action from Round 2 on. They wanted blood and knockouts. In talking with some of the fans before the main event some of them were saying Tommy had been out drinking the other night. He was not in shape and trained for only a few weeks. As Morrison made is rock star entrance to "Bad to the Bone" complete with fireworks, my Dad turned to me and said " Would it be funny if Tommy gets knocked out in the 1st?" I never knew my dad was a psychic? Morrison attacked Bentt right when the bell rang, hurt Bentt and backed him into the ropes. Tommy was looking for the quick ending and throwing wild wide punches. Bentt tried a straight right hand that misses, Morrison keeps throwing wild wide shots. Bentt throws another straight right hand and this time "SPLAT"!! Morrison goes down! You could hear a pin drop in the arena. Tommy beats the count but is quickly dropped 2 more times and just like that his 7.5 million dollar payday is gone in a little over 90 seconds. I can still recall the utter disbelief of what occurred.  It was the longest 7 hour road trip back to Austin the next day. My college roommates felt sorry for me. They put the picture I had of my sister , Tommy and myself on my bed with a 6 pack of Shiner Bock beer so I could drown my sorrows.  I was able to communicate with Michael Bentt a few years ago. I told him the story about the epic road trip and he reminded me that the fight was not important but spending that time with your Father was. He is a wise man as I still remember his advice as I have a 7 year old daughter.

 

 

Now, we come to 1994.  Tommy had a few run ins with the law after the Bentt fight but he returned to ring in Feb against a tomato can which he knocked out in 3 rounds. He knocked out Brian Scott in 2 rounds the next month. On May 24 he fought Sherman Griffin in Tulsa at the Brady Theater. My buddy Mr. Buser and I made the 7 hour road trip to watch this fight.  Of course I was nervous returning to the scene of the crime. Morrison put Griffin down in round 1 but seemed lethargic all night. He won a easy 10 round decision though. The best part of the fight was after round 8 both fighters though the fight was over and went to shake hands. The highlight of the night was getting to talk to Tommy's manager the great Bill Cayton. Cayton helped orchestrate Mike Tyson meteoric rise to super stardom before Don King got in the way.  Morrison next fought 7-18 against 8-8 Ross Puritty. Ross was supposed to be a walk in the park for Tommy. Ross handled Tommy's early attack very well. Morrison had Purrity hurt in Round 3 but did not knock him down. Puritty started to counter punch very well and dropped Tommy in Round 6. A very hurt Morrison managed to get through the round. Tommy started to box and was going to win the fight but he got dropped again in round 10. The fight was declared a draw. It was an awful showing for Morrison as it was a showcase for a fall title fight against Herbie Hide. Puritty's claim to fame later on his career was knocking out an undefeated Wladimir Klitschko. Tommy still was scheduled to fight Herbie Hide in Hong Kong in October. The fighters made it to Hong Kong but just hours before the fight was to start it was cancelled. It turned out that the local promoter did not have the money to pay the fighters. Tommy took the rest of the year off and sued his promoter Bob Arum.

 

    1995: unbeknown to all this year turned out to be the last meaningful year of "The Dukes" career. He started off the year with a couple of "Soft Touches", boxing term, and had easy early knock out wins. By late spring there was talk of a big matchup against Razor Ruddock in June. Tommy fought Terry Anderson on May 1st as a showcase tune up bout for the Ruddock fight. Morrison started off fast and knocked down Anderson early but did not finish him. Anderson started counter punching like Purrity did in the mid rounds and had Morrison in trouble. Morrison was about to watch another chance at a big payday go down the drain. Morrison was able to land a vicious left hook to the body of Anderson in the 7th round and save the day by knockout, this set up June 10 against Razor Ruddock in KC.

 

6-10-1995: Morrison Vs Ruddock  This was a true crossroads fight. Ruddock the aging contender, who had wars with Mike Tyson while losing both, trying to vault himself back in the title mix.  Tommy Morrison was the 26 year old contender, who most felt was on his final run to attempt to regain a title. I was lucky enough to fly to KC and sit ringside for this fight. The people who know me can look on YouTube of this fight and see me in all of my 20 year old glory. I was sitting in front of "Charles In Charge" star Willie Aames . The Municipal Auditorium was packed with thousands of Morrison fans. The KC fan base wanted redemption after the Mike Williams-Tim Tomashek debacle the year before. The ring entrance was unique because both fighters came out at the same time with lots of smoke and fireworks. After Michael Buffer did his thing it was time to go to war. Morrison was dropped by a right uppercut early in round 1. Morrison bounced up right away and was not hurt like he was against Bentt. The crowd calmed down but was worried though.   Round 2 Tommy landed his patented left hook and hurt Ruddock. Razor grabbed the ropes and was giving a standing 8 count. Tommy hurt Razor again in Round 3 but did not finish him. The Tommy stamina bug begin in round 4 and Razor went to work. Round 5 and 6 the crowd was have feeling of doom and gloom for Morrison. Razor was coming forward and Tommy was getting busted up. Razor hit Tommy with a left hook mid way thru Round 6 that sent Tommy reeling against the ropes. The crowd and myself thought this was then end of Morrison's career. As Razor went in to close the show he missed with a right hand. Tommy counterpunched and landed the best left hook I've ever seen in person.  Ruddock went down like a stack of cards and the rest was history. The crowd celebrated like we all had won the lottery! Strangers hugging and giving high fives. Hell I gave Willie Aames a high five. The crowd stayed and cheered tommy for a good 30 minutes after the fight. I've been to many, many, many sporting events in my day but this ranks up there with the best of them.

 

 

    Oct 7, 1995  Lewis Vs. Morrison  Tommy and Lennox Lewis finally met in Atlantic City. Lewis was coming off a shocking 2nd round KO to Oliver McCall in 1994. Morrison was relevant again after the Ruddock knockout. The fight was another crossroads battle with the winner poised for major paydays and the loser starts at the bottom again. Morrison actually had a deal with champ Riddick Bowe for this date but the fight was cancelled right before the press conference to announce it. Bowe went on to fight Holyfield in the trilogy instead in November.  The fight was important to me as well. I asked the lady I was dating at the time to watch it with me on HBO, she said yes so I knew I had to marry her! We did marry in Oct 1997 by the way. The build up to the fight was pretty weak. Tommy seemed very quiet and not his normal brash self. The night of the fight I had a feeling of doom. Morrison entered the ring a 2.5-1 underdog. He fought even worse. My future wife commented that he looked scared during the ring walk. She was right as Tommy was not competitive at all and was destroyed in Round 6 after 4 knockdowns. I don't think he landed a meaningful punch the whole night. I was able to discuss the fight with his former trainer Tom Virgets many years later. He said the game plan was to attack Lewis like he did Mercer and he was stunned when that never happened. Lewis is a heavyweight legend but it disturbs most Morrison fans that Tommy made such little effort in the fight.

 

 Feb 10, 1996  Morrison Vs. Weathers  Another February comeback was planned for Tommy. He had just signed an alleged 3 fight 38 million dollar deal with Don King. He was to have 2 tune up fights then a fall clash with Mike Tyson. I say alleged because he was only going to receive 50 grand for the Weathers fight. I picked my future wife up and we were ready to watch the fight on Showtime. My second favorite fighter of all-time, Felix Trinidad, was the main event. I was ready for a fun night of boxing. The broadcast started as normal then as soon as they went to the announcers live, they mentioned Tommy would not be fighting tonight as he was suspended. My little brain said "Oh Steroids" but before I could get the words out of my mouth, My future wife said "I bet he has HIV!!"  Of course I did not believe her but when they interviewed the head of the Nevada State Athletic Commission and he said "World Wide Suspension" the cold hard truth started to slowly enter my mind. It has to be something serious and I was in a fog for days. I could not believe my boxing idol could have such a thing. I listened to the Magic Johnson press conference a few years back but that never hit home. A few days passed then Tommy went on TV to confirm the news. I watched in silence as he made his statement. I learned a valuable lesson. My future wife was and is always right. We have been married almost 16 years now.

 

    Tommy Morrison fought 1 more time in 1996 in Japan and recorded a first round knockout on a George Foreman undercard fight. I did order the PPV card just to watch him. He had many well documented outside of the ring struggles after that. I was able to talk to Tommy many years later in the early 2000's as he had a message board and website. I lost track of him in 2006 but he resurfaced in 2007 with a fight in West Virginia. The fight was shown on Versus TV but only still photos were used and an interview with him afterwards. He fought again in 2008 in Mexico on a PPV card. He was pulled from the TV portion at the last minute. The fight made it to YouTube a few years later. Tommy won by early KO but was a shell of his former self. He also fought in some MMA contests which he won but they were awful to watch. In 2010 and 2011 he had a few comeback fights planned but none came to fruition.

 

    In the fall of 2012 I received word that Tommy was near death. The fact he made it thru till Sept 1, 2013 shows what kind of warrior he was. Boxing fans might discount him because he lost 2 out of the 3 huge fights he had. My friend said "he had a million dollar left hook and a 10 cent brain" It was amazing to watch him take 1 step forward and 4 steps during his career. I think that was his appeal though, like watching a train wreck. He still brought something into the ring in the heavyweight division that has not been seen since. 

TGIF Thank God It's Football

 

With August in the rear view mirror, The Sports Narrative Radio Show is kicking it into high gear to bring you all the sports you want when you want it! On this week's show:

- A recap of the opening week of college football, what we learned and what's ahead

- A look ahead to week one of the NFL season including picks against the spread by our experts (and our amateurs)

- All the latest in the pennant races in MLB and a heated debate over the merits of Yu Darvish as an "Ace" right now

- Fun and frivolity as we stop off and Mick's Pub

- And more news and notes from all over the world of sports

Add to that some brand new music, lots of laughs and plenty of nut-kicking and you've got 2 hours of can't-miss sports talk! Wednesday Sept 4th from 8-10PM CDT
Reminder: Due to popular demand, next week starts our new schedule of Mondays AND Thursday nights 7:30-9PM CDT That's 3 big hours a week now!

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2013 NFL Previews: NFC East

by Darren Boyd

NFC East

The Washington Redskins emerged from the ultra competitive NFC East with a 10-6 record. RG3 lived up to his billing and was cant miss TV till he blew out his knee. The Redskins did little in the offseason but the health of RG3 will determine their 2013 The Dallas Cowboys had a chance to win the East and go to the playoffs but lost the last game of the year and finished 8-8 again. The Cowboys rewarded QB Tony Romo's failures with a massive contract extension. The New York Giants finished 9-7 again but failed to defend their Super Bowl title. The Giants purged some veterans this offseason and rewarded WR Victor Cruz. The Philadelphia Eagles were dreadful! They finished 4-12 and looked liked they quit on Andy Reid which got him relived of his duties.  Oregon Coach Chip Kelly takes over with his high flying offense.

Washington Redskins 

The Redskins paid a high price to get RG3 and he was worth every draft pick they gave up. RG3 helped turn around a morbid Redskins franchise.  What impressed me the most was  his 3200 yards 20 TD passes and only 5 INTs.  It's impressive because the Redskins wide receivers are average at best. RG3 wont duplicate his ground game this year. Last years 120 carries 815 yards and 7 TDs was great but we saw the end result with the knee injury. Washington does have a capable backup in Kirk Cousins. I think they will flip him next offseason for a high draft pick to a team desperate at QB. As great as RG3 was the biggest surprise was rookie running back Alfred Morris. He ran for 1613 yards and 13 TDs with a very impressive 4.8 yards a carry. Mike Shanahan uncovers another running back gem! The Redskins are counting on WR Pierre Garcon to get healthy and rebound after a disappointing first year with them. Fred Davis seems to be always injured and the Redskins have little behind him at the Tight End Spot. Washington's O-Line was masterful in the zone blocking scheme last year. The O-Line will continue is continuity as all 5 starters return.    

    The Redskins were 28th in total defense. They were 5th against the run and a lousy 30th against the pass. On the defensive line Adam Carriker looks to miss the season as he needed another knee surgery this summer. The rest of the line is no descript but gets the job done on the run.  The Linebacker unit is anxiously awaiting the return of OLB Brian Orakpo from another torn pectoral muscle that sidelined him almost all of last year. OLB Ryan Kerrigan lead the team in sacks with 8.5 but without Orakpo the team only had 32, this was 23rd in the league. Future hall of famer London Fletcher is still productive at age 38 and he had 5 INTs. The Redskins secondary was tied for 3rd in the NFL with 21 INTs despite giving up a whopping average of 281 yards in passing a game. CB DeAngelo Hall had 4 picks last year to lead their secondary. Their 2nd corner Josh Wilson is coming off injury. Washington invested early draft picks in CB David Amerson and Safety Phillip Thomas to help out their secondary.

    I hated their draft outside of the David Amerson pick. They were missing their first rounder for the RG3 trade though. Vegas is leery of RG3's knee and has them at 8 wins for the over/under and 30-1 odds at reaching the Super Bowl.  Outside of the obvious RG3 and Alfred Morris picks in fantasy football, I would hope Pierre Garcon slips to the mid rounds and take a shot on him.

New York Giants 

The Giants seem to follow the every other year theory. In 2011 they win the Super Bowl, last year missed the playoffs. So bank on big things this year for the G-Men. They let vets RB Ahmad Bradshaw and DE Osi Umenyiora go. Eli Manning had an off year, so bank on a rebound this year.  They traded up in the 4th round to grab QB Ryan Nassib. If he is their heir apparent to Eli Manning, the Giants will be in trouble.  RB David Wilson gets the rock now full time to replace Bradshaw. This season to me depends on a healthy WR Hakeem Nicks. If he is back at full strength combined with Victor Cruz this is a playoff team. I think WR Rueben Randle, yes an LSU Receiver, will get a lot of action this year with or without Nicks. I love the addition of TE Brandon Myers from the Raiders. It's not saying much but he lead the Raiders in receptions and yards. I think he will be a FFL steal at the tight end position with a real QB throwing to him.  The offensive line stays the same except they added 1st round pick Justin Pugh to play right tackle and are battling some injuries.

    The Giants defense was just dreadful last year. It ranked 31st in total defense. They could not stop the run or the pass. All they could do was get interceptions, 21 which was tied for 3rd in NFL. They were only able to muster 33 sacks last season. They did add Johnathan Hankins at DT and Damontre Moore at D End in their draft class with early picks. The Giants 4-3 scheme was not able to generate much of a pass rush from the d-line last year. The linebacker corps released some veteran's, Michael Boley and let Chase Blackburn walk, Cowboy Fans will love that they signed Dan Conner as a starting middle linebacker. Their secondary was lead by S Stevie Brown, he was a safety with 8 picks last season. Unfortunately Stevie Brown is lost for the year with an ACL tear in a meaningless preseason game.  The D coordinator loves to use 3 safeties on passing downs. CB Corey Webster had 4 picks last year but was slaughtered in the media for his sub par play must bounce back this year. Prince "lil red Corvette" Amukamara only had 1 pick last year. The former 1st round pick has a lot of pressure on him this season.

    I though they had a pretty good draft except for wasting a pick on Ryan Nassib. I support taking Brandon Myers in the mid rounds and shocking your friends in FFL. Vegas feels the Giants will win the NFC East with 9 wins over/under but 18-1 odds to reach the Super Bowl.

Dallas Cowboys 

The Cowboys found themselves again with a chance to win the NFC East and get to the playoffs against the Redskins in the last game of the season. Tony Romo failed AGAIN against the Redskins, so what do the Cowboys do, they reward him with a 6 year $108 million contract extension like he won the Super Bowl. The seat might not be hot for Coach Jason Garrett but its pretty warm, back to back 8-8 seasons and zero playoff appearance's will do that here in Texas. GM Jerry took away Jason Garratt's play calling duties in order to help him become a well rounded head coach.  Tony Romo threw for over 4900 yards last year with 28 TD passes and an alarming 19 INTs. Kyle Orton is a solid backup QB. The Cowboys have no one waiting in the wings because they refuse to invest a draft pick into a developmental QB. The Cowboys running game was non existent last season. It ranked 31st in the NFL. RB DeMarco Murray missed 6 games due to injury. The Cowboy offensive line was dreadful and if the running game was not clicking early, Jason Garratt seemed to abandon it all together. WR Dez Bryant seems poised for a monster year. He had 92 catches 1382 yards and 12 TDs last year. He seemed to figure out how dominate he can be during the 2nd half of the season. He runs complete routes now and if he continues this for a full season, he will establish himself as a top 3 receiver in the NFL. The Cowboys drafted WR Terrance Williams from Baylor to be the 3rd receiver and be ready to step in for the oft injured Miles Austin. The Cowboys Offensive line might be the worst in the NFL. The entire right side of the line is pathetic. Doug Free took a massive pay cut to stay and has even been moved to right guard at times this preseason. Left Guard Ronald Leary has bad knees and just under went knee surgery a few weeks ago. His return for week 1 is in question. The positives are Tyron Smith is huge but continues to improve at Left Tackle. The team used its 1st rounder on a center in Travis Frederick. The Cowboys have tried to talk veterans Brian Waters and Brandon Moore to come in and start but neither accepted. It's never a good way to start the season when 3-5 spots on the O-Line are unsettled.

    The Cowboys are switching from a 3-4 to a Tampa 2 defense this year.  Gone is the overrated Rob Ryan, who somehow manages to get more TV time then the head coach every where he goes. In is the grandpa Monte Kiffin. Their defensive line is a major question mark in switching to a 4-3. Jay Ratliff injured his hamstring in training camp and ended up on the PUP list. Anthony Spencer might miss week 1 also, he had 11 sacks last year. The team did not address the d-line in the draft passing on DT Shariff Floyd for a trade down. Demarcus Ware will move to defensive end which is good news since he wont have to drop into coverage. He had 11.5 sacks last year but he was hurt. I expect a bounce back this year since he can just focus on getting after the QB. In theory the strength of this defense will be with their outstanding linebackers Sean Lee and Bruce Carter. The two players both have injury concerns but when healthy both are stars. The Cowboys just rewarded Sean Lee with a salary cap friendly 6 year $42 million deal last week. The secondary was not a ball hawking unit last year. The unit produced a grand total of 7 INTs which was 31st in the league. The Tampa 2 should produce many more turnovers this season.  The safeties are a question mark as Veteran Will Allen is the free safety and Barry Church is the strong safety. Church is coming off a torn Achilles from week 3 last season. Gm Jerry rewarded him with a 4 year extension a few weeks later. The Cowboys did use some early draft picks for the secondary in JJ Wilcox, safety Georgia Southern, and B.W Webb, CB William & Mary, both are extremely raw and will see little playing time this year.

    As for the Cowboys draft, I question the trade down but not the player in Fredrick. The head scratcher was Tight End Gavin Escobar in the 2nd round. He was a 4-5 round prospect as he can catch well but cant block his way out of a wet paper sack. The rest of the players are projects. Vegas thinks the Cowboys might have a winning season with the over under at 8.5 but 30-1 shot at getting to the Super Bowl.

 

 

Philadelphia Eagles 

 

The 14 year run of Andy Reid came to an end after a awful 4-12 season. The former Oregon Coach and offensive innovator Chip Kelly is taking over. Chip Kelly wants to run 80-100 plays a game with would be revolutionary in the NFL. This season will be fun to watch to see if this offense takes off or will it be a gimmick that the league will figure out after a few weeks. Michael Vick won the starting job for now. It will be a matter of time before he is injured again due to the fact he will be asked to run a lot more. The Eagles have a dangerous duo of running backs in LeSean McCoy the lighting fast Bryce Brown. I expect WR DeSean Jackson to have a bounce back year with the Chip Kelly up-tempo offense. The Eagles suffered a huge loss when WR Jermey Maclin blew out his knee in camp and is done for the year. The Eagles will use a lot of 2 tight end sets with Brent Celick and 2nd round draft pick Zach Ertz out of Stanford. The Eagles O-line is very suspect. A lot depends on the health of left tackle Jason Peters. He missed last season with Achillies issues. They spent the 4th overall pick on Lane Johnson who will start at Right Tackle. The center and guard positions are weak.

    On defense, the Eagles will switch to a 3-4 now. The D-Line will depend on Fletcher Cox who had 5.5 sacks last year which tied for the team lead. I like their inside linebackers with DeMeco Ryans and Michael Kendricks. The Eagles signed former Texan Conner Barwin to play on the outside. The biggest question is how will Trent Cole adjust to a 3-4 scheme. The Eagles secondary is awful on paper. They are starting 2 new cornerbacks and a safety which is usually not a recipe for success. The Eagles only had 8 INTs last year so maybe the new blood will make a major improvement though.

    I thought the Eagles had an outstanding draft except for the wasted pick of Matt Barkley. Although it will take several more drafts like this to get this team back into contention. Vegas does not expect a big year with a 6.5 over/under in wins and 60-1 odds to make it to the Super Bowl.

One of the Greatest Rivalries of All Time

by Jeff Bowers

 



Yankees vs Red Sox, Cowboys vs Redskins, Lakers vs Celtics. When two great and storied franchises meet and play for championships, the natural rivalry that grows between the cities and their fan bases is the stuff of legend. But perhaps one of the greatest rivalries in the world is one you may know nothing about at all.

 

 

 

Yesterday was the 188th meeting of two of the most dominate teams in their sport: Liverpool FC and Manchester United of the English Premier League in soccer.

 

 

The rivalry traces its roots way back to its very first meeting in 1894. You see, in those days the cities of Manchester and Liverpool were thriving centers of commerce during the Industrial Revolution. Manchester was known for its manufacturing and Liverpool for its port and shipping empire, an expensive and frustrating annoyance to the business people of Manchester. However, in the year 1894, the Manchester Shipping Canal was built, the largest man-made canal in the world at the time. This allowed ships to bypass Liverpool and their merchant dues and go directly to the factories in Manchester. The loss of dues in Liverpool led to a loss of jobs and from the great discontent in the people of Liverpool and Manchester brought forth a heated and delicious rivalry. In fact, the original crest of Manchester United's football club includes a ship in homage to the birth of this rivalry.

 

As the years progressed, the rivalry grew, not only due to the proximity of the two cities (separated by only 27 miles) but also because both teams were good. Really good. The two teams combined have won over 121 trophies (59 for Liverpool, 62 for Man U) and Manchester United finally surpassed Liverpool's 18 League titles in the past 2 years, capturing their 19th and 20th championships. Both teams claim the title as "Greatest English Football Club."

Liverpool's dominance came in the 1970's and 80's, winning 11 league titles and 4 European cups in that time, but they have struggled over the past few years due to some bad ownership issues (mainly that of former Rangers owner Tom Hicks). Meanwhile, Manchester United has dominated the 90's and into the 2000's, with 12 league titles and 3 European Cups.

 

And with winning comes passionate fans! These two clubs are among the biggest earning and most widely supported teams in the world. The infamous "hooligan" seems to have sprung forth from this rivalry as well. Incidents including the hurling of eggs, pennies and human excrement at players and coaches are not uncommon in this series, and even one incident where the Liverpool fans attacked an ambulance holding a United player who had broken his leg in 2006. In fact, the reason that the games are held only at noon now (7:30AM CDT) is in order to deter heavy drinking by the fans prior to the match.

Yesterday's unlikely 1-0 win over Manchester United has the boys of Anfield thinking of a return to glory days for Liverpool, but don't expect the Red Devils to go away so easily. The next clash of these two titans occurs on March 15th at historic Old Trafford. So do yourself a favor, set a reminder on your phone to set the DVR, grab yourself a nice big cup of coffee and allow yourself to get swept up in the pageantry, history and passion of one of the truly great rivalries in all of sports.

 

 

 

 



What We Think, What We See and What We Can Prove

by Dustin Copening

Some people think that Yu Darvish is an ace. Some people see that he isn’t. Everyone has been trying to prove themselves right or wrong.

I’ve watched a lot of baseball during my 31 years on earth. Specifically, a lot of Texas Rangers baseball.

I began my odyssey as a Texas Rangers fan on Baseball Glove Night at Arlington Stadium in the late 80’s. That cheap plastic glove was my prized possession for however long it took for it to fall apart under the strain of countless backyard games of tape baseball.

In my mind that plastic glove was as durable and sturdy as any leather version that could be purchased from the local sporting goods store, and it was free! My eyes told me it might not stand up to the pounding I was planning to put it through, but I hoped my mind would be correct.

It took about a month to prove my eyes the victor.

 

Last Saturday, a Yu Darvish blown lead and an impassioned sound off from Eric Nadel sent the media, commentators, bloggers, and fans on a frenzied investigation into defining what an ace is and if Darvish fits that definition.

In that time the staff at SDI; particularly Eddie Middlebrooks, Peter Ellwood, and guest contributor Levi Weaver, took their best shots at addressing Nadel’s (and others) concerns, with varying results.

Nadel went onto the airwaves of the Ticket yesterday as a guest on the Norm Hitzges Show and clarified his stance, alluding to an article on Lone Star Ball that would prove him correct. Then today, Adam J. Morris countered that piece from his staff (and Nadel’s response) with his take on Yu’s “struggles” in close games and the relatively small sample size being used to judge him with.

Everyone of these pieces are wonderfully researched, well written, and leaves the readers with a little more information both for or against whatever side of this argument they’ve found themselves on, but my conclusion is that this is an answer that can’t be determined in a week's time (something Morris highlighted in his post).

In two seasons as a big league pitcher, Darvish has produced a few conflicting results.

He has had fewer successes in shutdown innings in 2013, converting 68% of the time instead of the 73.3% of times he converted in 2012 (courtesy of Brad from Lonestarball.com).  Yet he’s having far more success in high leverage situations (situations that have the greatest effect a game’s outcome according to baseball-reference.com), allowing a run in every 5.9 chances this year as opposed to every 3.7 chances in 2012.

When Darvish leaves the mound tonight he will do so having furthered this conversation one way or the other. Twitter will be filled with supporters from both sides, with one party claiming a victory of some sort depending on the outcome. Until the next time that eyes tell their mind something different.

Though, for me there is one thing I know for certain right now.

I’ll think back over 20 plus years of watching Rangers pitching, and I will see a starter with more talent in his arm than anyone else I can remember, and someone who will be around a heck of alot longer than that flimsy glove I cherished so much a few decades ago.

I can confidently wait a little longer on the proof.