How about a Detroit Lions - Cleveland Browns Super Bowl?

We’re ten weeks into the NFL season and some teams already are looking toward next year. Still, parity in the NFL has resulted in most teams reaching the Super Bowl at least one time. The Jacksonville Jaguars, in existence since 1995, have yet to make it. Nor have the Houston Texans, but they’ve been around for only 10 years.

On the other hand, two established franchises still have never been to a Super Bowl. The Detroit Lions formed in 1930 and the Cleveland Browns in 1946. Neither have been to a Super Bowl. The last NFL championship for the Browns was in 1964, just before the first Super Bowl. The Lions? A NFL title in in 1957. Since the Super Bowl began? Merely one appearance in the NFC championship game, in 1991. Whew.

Management of these two clubs need to put some extra effort into making their teams competitive. Manage your salary cap better, sign some quality free agents, don’t get cute in the college draft. Some teams may not have won a Super Bowl yet, but at least they’re contenders during most seasons. It must be tough to be a fan of a non-competitive team, sticking with them year after year. I give you all a lot of credit.

As of this writing both the Lions and Browns are in first place in their respective divisions, so here’s hoping they both find success for the rest of 2013 and are able to make the playoffs. They are certainly capable of putting a winning team on the field come January. Their fans deserve no less.

Jets quarterback Michael Vick a pussy, can't take a hit

Jets quarterback Michael Vick is a pussy, complaining about a couple of hits he took from the Pittsburgh Steelers defence during Sunday's game.

Here's a guy who tortured and killed innocent dogs with his bare hands, and never expressed any remorse for it, and now he's complaining about a couple of hard licks during a football game? What a wuss. This guy is a total loser. Not to mention a crappy quarterback. Hey Vick, stop being such a pussy. You're an animal yourself for what you did to the dogs, so how can you be crying about getting hit in a pro football game...

NFL protecting its Golden Boy Griffin

Based on the calls made by the refs during Sunday's game, the NFL is doing its best to protect its Golden Boy, Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin. A few questionable roughing calls against the Minnesota Vikings' defense means the NFL badly wants Griffin to succeed, as a successful black quarterback is important to marketing the game. Let's be honest though, what's the point if he can't be successful on his own?  He's certainly way better than Michael Vick ever was, or is. I'm not sure why the league would want or need to protect him. Guys get injured in football even when they don't get hit, so why worry about it? Just let him, and the defense, play the game.

Who was the New York Yankees Most Valuable Player in 2014?

The New York  Yankees struggled through a long 2014 season, finishing with a middling 84-78 won-loss record and missing the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

 

Still, every team has players that contribute to its success during the course of the year. Here is a look at who were the Most Valuable Players of the 2014 Yankees.

 

5) Brian McCann, catcher: McCann started slowly at the plate but still finished with 23 home runs and 75 RBI’s, both of which led the team. He also handled the pitching staff well, and threw out 37% of runners attempting to steal, above the league average of 27%.

 

4) Hiroki Kuroda, starting pitcher: Kuroda was steady, providing 32 starts and 199 innings for a starting staff that was decimated by injuries. He finished with an 11-9 record and 3.71 ERA.

 

3) Masahiro Tanaka, starting pitcher:  Tanaka was the closest thing to a sure win in games during the first half, before a partially torn ligament in his elbow shelved him for the second half of the season.  The Yankees would have finished under .500 without him. He posted a 13-5 record and 2.77 ERA in 20 games and 136 innings.

 

2) Jacoby Ellsbury, centerfielder:  Leading all position players with 149 games played, 156 hits, 27 doubles, and 39 stolen bases, Ellsbury batted .271 with 16 home runs and 70 RBI’s. He also was steady defensively.

 

1) Dellin Betances, relief pitcher:  His first year in the bullpen proved to be a huge success. Betances shut down opposing hitters when the Yankees had a close lead in late innings of games.  He finished with a 5-0 record, 22 holds, an unbelievable 1.40 ERA, and set a team record for strikeouts by a relief pitcher, with 135 in 90 innings. He gave up only 46 hits, and batters managed a measly .149 average against him. Dellin Betances is the Yankees’ Most Valuable Player for the 2014 season.

Jets are desperate, to be playing Michael Vick at quarterback

The New York Jets put Michael Vick in as quarterback for the first time this season on Sunday. The results were predictably pathetic.

Vick has always been over-rated as a quarterback. He was a pretty good runner but never did much to stand out as an all-around quarterback. When he played in Atlanta supposedly the Falcons had to cut the playbook in half since he couldn't learn some of the plays. 

The Jets need to hope that Vick doesn't remain the turnover machine that he was in 2012, when he fumbled the football 8 times in 5 games, to go along with 6 interceptions in those 5 games. Or that he remains injury-prone like in 2013. In six games started he fumbled the ball four times and threw three interceptions.

The Jets also need to hope Vicky doesn't stir up any new controversy with his dog, like several years ago when he posted a photo on Twitter titled "we workin" with a picture of his daughter doing homework - but sharp eyes noticed a Milk Bone box in the background, which led to Vick later admitting that he now owns a dog. He stated that he wanted his "children to develop a healthy relationship with animals."

Hmm. Well, it might be more believable if it sounded like it was something he would actually say. Sometimes having your publicist write your statements isn't the best way to build credibility.

When his kids get older they'll probably ask Dad what he was thinking back in the day when he electrocuted, hanged, and abused dogs. Animal rights groups ought to try to get that family meeting on tape, and sell it as a fundraiser.

We don't know the breed of Michael's dog; although we can be hopeful that it is being treated well, since the last thing Vick needs is for the dog to get worms. That wouldn't help his image.

Maybe he ought to ask his dog to teach him how to hang on to the football. But I don't think you can carry a football in your mouth in the NFL.

MLB Catchers -- highest career "caught stealing" percentage

Throwing out would-be base stealers is one of a catcher's most important jobs. In a previous blog post I ranked the 21 best catchers in MLB history, based on games caught, offensive statistics, and defensive statistics.  Below is how those 21 catchers rank according to their career "caught stealing" percentage. A quick release, strong arm, and the ability to make accurate throws are important for a catcher. Of course, having pitchers who can keep baserunners close helps. The era in which a catcher played can also be a factor, since base stealing was not as prominent in the 1940's as it was it the 1970's.

Career caught stealing percentage:

1)      57% - Roy Campanella

2)      56% - Gabby Hartnett

3)      49% - Yogi Berra

4)      47% - Bill Dickey, Ernie Lombardi

5)      46% - Ivan Rodriguez

6)      44% - Thurman Munson, Elston Howard, Ray Schalk

7)      43% - Johnny Bench

8)      41% - Jim Sundberg

9)      40% - Bob Boone, Rick Dempsey

10)  39% - Mickey Cochrane, Lance Parrish

11)  35% - Gary Carter, Brad Ausmus

12)  34% - Carlton Fisk, Ted Simmons

13)  28% - Jorge Posada

14)  23% - Mike Piazza


source for statistics: http://www.baseball-reference.com/

New York Jets are desperate, to be considering Michael Vick as quarterback

It's been reported that the New York Jets are considering signing Michael Vick as quarterback for the 2014 season.

Vick has always been over-rated as a quarterback. He was a pretty good runner but never did much to stand out as an all-around quarterback. When he played in Atlanta supposedly the Falcons had to cut the playbook in half since he couldn't learn some of the plays.

The Jets need to hope that Vick doesn't remain the turnover machine that he was in 2012, when he fumbled the football 8 times in 5 games, to go along with 6 interceptions in those 5 games. Or that he remains injury-prone like in 2013. In six games started he fumbled the ball four times and threw three interceptions.

The Jets also need to hope Vicky doesn't stir up any new controversy with his dog, like last year when he posted a photo on Twitter titled "we workin" with a picture of his daughter doing homework - but sharp eyes noticed a Milk Bone box in the background, which led to Vick later admitting that he now owns a dog. He stated that he wanted his "children to develop a healthy relationship with animals."

Hmm. Well, it might be more believable if it sounded like it was something he would actually say. Sometimes having your publicist write your statements isn't the best way to build credibility.

When his kids get older they'll probably ask Dad what he was thinking back in the day when he electrocuted, hanged, and abused dogs. Animal rights groups ought to try to get that family meeting on tape, and sell it as a fundraiser.

We don't know the breed of Michael's dog; although we can be hopeful that it is being treated well, since the last thing Vick needs is for the dog to get worms. That wouldn't help his image.

Maybe he ought to ask his dog to teach him how to hang on to the football. But I don't think you can carry a football in your mouth in the NFL.

Philadelphia Eagles must be desperate, to be relying on Michael Vick as quarterback

It's been reported that the Philadelphia Eagles will be starting Michael Vick at quarterback in this weekend's exhibition season opener, although the coaches have not ruled out Nick Foles as being the eventual starter at QB by the time the regular season begins.

Vick has always been over-rated as a quarterback. He was a pretty good runner but never did much to stand out as an all-around quarterback. When he played in Atlanta supposedly the Falcons had to cut the playbook in half since he couldn't learn some of the plays.

The Eagles need to hope that Vick doesn't remain the turnover machine that he was last fall, when he fumbled the football 8 times in 5 games, to go along with 6 interceptions in those 5 games.

The Eagles also need to hope Vicky doesn't stir up any new controversy with his dog, like last year when he posted a photo on Twitter titled "we workin" with a picture of his daughter doing homework - but sharp eyes noticed a Milk Bone box in the background, which led to Vick later admitting that he now owns a dog. He stated that he wanted his "children to develop a healthy relationship with animals."

Hmm. Well, it might be more believable if it sounded like it was something he would actually say. Sometimes having your publicist write your statements isn't the best way to build credibility.

When his kids get older they'll probably ask Dad what he was thinking back in the day when he electrocuted, hanged, and abused dogs. Animal rights groups ought to try to get that family meeting on tape, and sell it as a fundraiser.

We don't know the breed of Michael's dog; although we can be hopeful that it is being treated well, since the last thing Vick needs is for the dog to get worms. That wouldn't help his image.

Maybe he ought to ask his dog to teach him how to hang on to the football. But I don't think you can carry a football in your mouth in the NFL.