NBA is Back

Here's a few videos to hold you over until Beauty, Heels and Sports returns in January.  NBA is BACK.

Amazing play by the Heatles. Bosh blocks the shot, Lebron saves the ball as its going out of bounds that leads to an amazing pass to Wade he's down court ready to finish.

After a miss shot by Joe Johnson, John Wall rebounds the ball and races down court only to be chased down and met with a big block from Josh Smith.

D.Wade drives pass the defenders to hit the game winning layup against the Charlotte Bobcats.  With Cam Newton, Carolina's star quarterback on the sidelines, Wade turned to Newton and did Cam's signature Superman touchdown pose after making the shot.

Who said Kobe still didn't have it? Even with the torn ligament in shooting wrist Kobe has been putting up 20+ points in every game.  Kobe crossed Raja Bell and went in for the slam in the Lakers game against the Jazz.

With Vince Carter left wide open hitting a 3 as time ran down putting the Mavericks up 102-101 it was sure that the Mavericks would be getting there first win of the season.  Problem is he left 1.4 seconds left on the clock and they were playing against Kevin Durant.  As the the Thunder inbounded the ball at half court to KD, Durant caught the ball turned and shot the ball from well behind the 3 point line with the ball going through the net just as the clock sounded.   Talking about a way to get a victory.

Want some more highlights from the first week of the NBA season. Check the NBA youtube page for these videos and more.

Happy Holidays

Hope everyone is enjoying their holidays.  Beauty, Heels, and Sports have been taking a break to spend time with family for the holidays.  Look for us come January back in full force and with bigger and better things with all the latest sports news and hottest heels.  Hope you all have a Happy New Year and be safe these holidays.

Smooches,
Beauty, Heels and Sports

Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Filing for Divorce?

Things were looking up for Kobe Bryant at the beginning of this month.  The lockout ended, the Lakers were looking to add Howard and Paul to their team which would have probably a sure fire road to another championship.  But then things just started going down hill.  The Chris Paul trade to the Lakers was overturned by David Stern, then Lamar Odom was traded to the Dallas Mavericks (we're all still trying to figure out for what), and now just 9 days before the Christmas and the Lakers' season opener it has been brought to the public's attention that Vanessa Bryant, Kobe's wife, has filed for divorce.  Vanessa and Kobe has been married for for 10 years and have 2 lovely daughters together.  Besides the rape chargers Kobe was facing years ago, the Bryants seemed like the perfect couple. Vanessa was at every home game cheering Kobe on, the girls always came on the floor to kiss and hug Kobe after every win, and in every photo opt they had they were always hugged up and seemed happy.  Well everything that glitters is obviously not gold.  Vanessa filed for divorce on December 1st and on December 7th Kobe signed the divorce papers.  Vanessa was not required to sign a prenup before the two got married so in the state of California Vanessa is entitled to half of EVERYTHING and is reported that Kobe is worth approximately $200 million.

"The Bryants have resolved all issues incident to their divorce privately with the assistance of counsel and a Judgement dissolving their marital status will be entered in 2012. We ask that in the interest of our young children and in light of the upcoming holiday season the public respect our privacy during this most difficult time." - The Bryants' Publicist

Don't know what happened between the two but I wish them both the best hope things get handled in a civilized manner for the sake of their children.  Stay tuned for information on what comes of the divorce.

Tebowing Gone Wrong

In case you've been hiding under a rock lately then you are fully aware of the "Tebow Mania" that is going on lately.  The word Tebowing has now been named a verb and is defined as to get down on one knee and start praying, even if everyone around you is doing something completely different.  Some examples of tebowing:

(tebowing.com)

(tebowing.com)

Well although some are enjoying the Tebow Mania some students from a New York High School is learning the hard way to be careful where you tebow.  

Barry Bonds Sentenced

Barry Bonds was sentenced yesterday on his conviction of obstruction of justice from 8 years ago.  When Bonds was first approached in 2003 about use of steroids, Bonds lying to the grand jury stating that he never was never injected by anyone other than his doctor.  Earlier this year when Bonds was on trial, along with others from the MLB for use of steroids, Bonds gave detailed accounts of his use of steroids over the years.  Barry Bonds was convicted of obstruction of justice off of this testimony during his perjury trial back in April of this year and his sentencing came yesterday from Judge Susan Illston.  The prosecutors asked for Bonds to do 15 months in prison but Judge Illson was a lot easier on Bonds.  Judge Illston was sentenced to 3o days house arrest, 2 years probation, 250 hours of community service with youth groups and a $4,000 fine.  Bonds plans to appeal his sentence and Judge Illston agreed to stay his sentence through the appeal.

Do you think that the sentence for Bonds was fair?

Hello Los Angeles

The NBA finally game LA Clippers and the New Orleans the thumbs up to
send CP3 to LA.

After many speculations that Chris Paul would end up with the Lakers before the season begins, CP3 is officially headed to LA, as a Clipper.  Trade talks for Paul originally began with CP3 heading to the Lakers last week but the trade was vetoed by the NBA.  All trades must be approved by the NBA and the trade for Paul to the Lakers was halted due to "basketball reasons". Whatever that means.  But after that trade fail the NBA opened trade talks for CP3 back up and although everyone assumed that the Lakers would eventually be graced with Paul's presence it was the Clippers, the JV of LA as they are called, who rose on top this time in Los Angeles.  After the Clippers first trade discussion for the star PG came to an end feeling that the asking price for Paul was too high, talks were reopened on Monday after the Clippers acquired veteran Chauncey Billups after he was waived by the New York Knicks under the new amnesity clause in the CBA.  After speculation all day the NBA finally approved the trade between the Clippers and the Hornets sending Paul to Los Angeles to join Blake Griffin and new addition Billups and the Hornets received Guard Eric Gordon, Center Chris Kaman, Forward Al-Faruoq Aminu and the 2012 first round pick from Minnesota.  Along with Paul the Clippers will also receive two future second round draft picks.  The trade for Paul had turned into a 'circus' as some called it, with it seeming like no deal was being approved by the league to send Paul away from the NBA owned Hornets.  It was stated that among the Clippers and the Lakers, the Celtics, the Warriors as well as the Knicks, in which CP3 best friend Carmelo Anthony currently plays, were all attempting to make a bid to bring Paul to their town.  In the end Paul ended up in his original destination just with a different team where with the big lights of Hollywood I'm sure Paul and Griffin will shine.  It would have been interesting though to see what happened to the Hornets if the trade did not go through though because before the trade the Hornets only had seven players and eight players are required to suit up in order for the team to play.  I for one am happy that the drama around Who is going to get Chris Paul has come to an end, although it seems that the drama is just getting started with Dwight Howard.  Wonder if he will remain a Magic.  Stay tuned to see what else is happening with trades and players.

Another One Bites the Dust

With the end of the regular season rapping up in the next few weeks a couple of teams are feeling the heat and with the Jaguars firing their head coach at the end of last month the Dolphins and Chiefs have now followed in there footsteps.

Todd Haley, head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, became the second coach of the NFL to be fired during this season.  Chiefs dropped to 5-8 after Sunday's loss against the Jets and the front office felt that it was time for a change in the head coaching position on Monday morning.  Romeo Crennel was name the interim head coach in place of Haley to finish the rest of the season.  Chiefs were plagued by injury throughout the entire season including quarterback Cassel who suffered a broken hand against the Broncos a couple of weeks ago.  Haley's record with the Chiefs was 19-27 up until he was let go on Monday.

"This was a difficult decision but one that we feel is best for the future of the Chiefs." - Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt

Coming shortly after the Chiefs announced their firing of Haley, the Dolphins announced that they would be firing their Head Coach Tony Sparano. The Dolphins got off to a very rough start going 0-7 but have a short turn around to follow.  After dropping to 4-9 after losing Sunday to Eagles the Dolphins front office decided it was best to part ways with Sparano who was 29-32 in his career as Dolphins head coach.  Todd Bowles, assistant head coach, was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season.  This season is the 3rd consecutive losing season for the Dolphins and the team has not won a playoff game since 2000.

"Sad and disappointing news on Coach Sparano's termination.  He's a great coach and an even better man.  He will be greatly missed." -Reggie Bush, Miami Dolphin Running Back

NFL Week 14 Recap

With 4 weeks left in the regular season teams are fighting to the end to make it into the playoffs.  Some teams have clinched their division title after this week and others have sunk to the bottom.  These last few weeks of the regular season is going to get very interesting.  One thing I'm looking forward to see is if the Packers will eventually lose a game or will they end up winning back to back championships going undefeated.

Week 14 Recap

• Houston clinched the AFC South title sending the Texans to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.  Rookie quarterback Yates had 26 of 44 completions for 300 passing yards 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.
• Saints were held to only scoring field goals throughout the first 3 quarters but still was able to fight back in the end and win.
• Eagles scored 24 points in the 2nd quarter alone.  Vick returned this week after being out due to broken ribs.  Vick had 208 passing yards 1 touchdown and 1 interception in his return.

Congratulations RG III

Tonight was a very memorable night for Robert Griffin III.  RGIII, as he is called, became the first player from Baylor to win the Heisman Trophy.  With Andrew Luck returning to Stanford for his senior year everyone believed that he would be the sure winner of the Heisman after coming in 2nd to Cam Newton last year.  Coming into the last week of the regular season it was up in the air on who believed would win the trophy between the 5 candidates, but RGIII made a run to the end proving why he should take the trophy at the end of tonight's ceremony.  Griffin ended this year at Baylor with the most passing yards and highest completion rate throughout his college career.  Griffin played 12 games as a true freshman, 3 games as a sophomore due to a tear to his ACL, and starting all the games during his 3rd and 4th year.  Griffin this season with 72.6% passing completion rate, 267/369 completed/attempted passes for 3,998 passing yards, 36 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions, he also rushed for 644 rushing yards and 9 rushing touchdowns.  RGIII first 3 years his quarterback rating ranged between 142 to 144 and jumped to 192.3 this year.  Along with the Heisman Trophy Robert Griffin III also won the Davey O'Brien award this year as well.  Once again Congrats to RGIII and I'm sure this won't be the last we see of him.

UPDATE: On the Move

Now that the NBA is official on its way with training camps beginning today, some players are finding themselves in new homes.  Below are some of the major trades and free agency deals that have taken place thus far.

• Tyson Chandler has decided to move up north with the New York Knicks after winning a championship with the Dallas Mavericks last season.  Chandler and the Knicks reached a deal this morning just in time for the first day of training camp.
• Celtics have traded Glen "Big Baby" Davis to the Magic in exchange for Bass.  It was reported at the end of last week that the Celtics were willing to trade Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green for Chris Paul.
• Shane Battier has decided to take his talents to South Beach.  The former Rocket made a deal with
  Heat this morning along with Mario Chalmers who decided to remain with Miami.
• Caron Butler agreed to a deal with the Clippers after coming off of an injury he suffered during last season with the Dallas Mavericks.
• Atlanta Hawks agreed to a 1 year veteran minimum deal with Tracy McGrady who was a member of the Detroit Pistons last season.
• Vince Carter and Gilbert Arenas both are now searching for teams as Carter was waived by the Suns today and Arenas was waived by the Magic today as well.
• Shannon Brown signed a deal with the Phoenix Suns after deciding to leave the LA Lakers.
• J.J. Barea followed in Tyson Chandler's footsteps and decided not to return to the Mavericks and signing with the Timberwolves.
• Mike Bibby did not resign with the Miami Heats and took his talents to the Big Apple signing with the New York Knicks.
• The Clippers are making big moves signing Chauncey Billups, right before the trade went through for Chris Paul, after being waived by the Knicks.
• Vince Carter went to the 2011 NBA Champs, Dallas Mavericks, after being waived by the Suns.
• After breathing life back into the Atlanta Hawks, Jamal Crawford has decided to sign with the TrailBlazers.
• Richard "Rip" Hamilton has left the Pistons after all these years and has signed with the Chicago Bulls.
• Lamar Odom was traded to the Dallas Mavericks for a draft pick after the original trade sending Chris Paul to the Lakers, Odom to the Hornets and Gasol to the Rockers fell through.

Stay tuned for all of the moves that are yet to come.

Everyone Wants CP3

It seems like just earlier this year we were dealing with the same drama with Carmelo Anthony, but the drama around one of Melo's best friends Chris Paul, has taken trade drama to an entirely new level.  While Lakers fans were ecstatic because yesterday evening a trade has taken place involving the LA Lakers that would change their team in a major way.  On the other hand while the fans were super excited and preparing to welcome the superstar to LA, the owners had another say on the trade.  With the New Orleans Hornets being owned by the NBA all 29 owners have a say in what goes on with the team.  Almost a year ago Phil Jackson stated once the league acquired the Hornets when its time to trade Chris Paul is going to be a major problem. Well boy was Jackson right.  After the buzz of Paul going to LA begin to spread the owners who did not agree, which was pretty much all the owners except for those involved in the trade, emailing Commissioner David Stern asking him to put a stop to the trade.  Most owners stated that trading Paul to the Lakers went against the competitive balance that had been preached the entire lockout.  Shortly after 10 pm, only 3 hours after it had been announced that Paul would be going to the Lakers, it was announced that Stern had put a kill to the CP3 trade to LA.  If the trade would have been upheld Chris Paul would have been sent to the Lakers, Pau Gasol to the Houston Rockets, and Lamar Odom, along with 3 players from the Rockets, would have been sent to the Hornets.  Before the trade had taken place it was stated that the New York Knicks were also pursuing CP3, which is really where he wanted to be in order to play with best friend Carmelo Anthony. Only issue with that trade is that Melo is the reason CP3 could join the Knicks, due to the fact that the Knicks had traded its players that would be appealing to other teams in order to get Carmelo Anthony before the trade deadline last season.  It was also reported earlier this week that the Boston Celtics were willing to trade Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green for Paul.  Paul showed up for training camp with the Hornets but it will be interesting to see how things will turn out.  The 3 teams involved in the trade plans on appealing the decision by the league, Paul was planning on suing the league, and it has now been reported that the league has now reopened trade talks for all trades involving Paul.  It will be interesting to see if Paul do end up in LA, or if the Knicks will find away to bring him to NY or if the Boston Celtics will revisit the idea of trading Rondo and Green for Paul.  It was also reported that if Paul was not traded by Monday he would pursue a lawsuit against the league through the players association.  If Paul remains with the Hornets this year he will be a free agent at the end of this season so he can go to whichever team he feels is the best fit for him that offers him a deal.  Stay tuned to see how this turns out.

Heisman Trophy Finalist

The Heisman Trophy finalist were announced on Monday after ballots of the 926 voters, mostly media members and former winners, were due on Monday evening.  The Heisman Trophy winner will be announced at the Heisman Trophy ceremony on Saturday December 10th at 8 pm.

Robert Griffin III, Baylor Quarterback
(ICON)

Andrew Luck, Stanford Quarterback

Trent Richardson, Alabama Running Back

Tyrann Mathieu, LSU Defensive Back
(AP)

Montee Ball, Wisconsin Running Back
(AP)

Who do you think is the front runner for the Heisman Trophy?

NFL Week 13 Recap

AP

It's getting down to the wire as teams put in their all of these last few weeks fighting their way into the playoffs.  Some teams that started out on top, such as the Detroit Lions, have fallen off, while other teams, such as the Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins, that started off on the bottom are now coming out on top.  But one thing that has been consistent up through this week is the winning nature of the Green Bay Packers and the losing nature of the Indianapolis Colts.

Week 13 Recap

• Cam Newton set yet another record this season during week 13 for the NFL most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in a single-season with 13 rushing touchdowns thus far.  Newton had 204 passing yards and 1 touchdown along with 54 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns in Carolina's victory this past Sunday.
• News got out that Giants OT Andrews was hospitalized due to embolisms in both lungs.
• Washington Redskins' Fred Davis and Trent Williams have been suspended for 4 games, starting next week, due to positive testing of marijuana.  Both were able to play this Sunday because they had not yet received their written notification of suspension.  This was the 3rd offense for both players.
• Young has yet another game with 4 interceptions for the Eagles.  But the Eagles will get a change of pace next week when Michael Vick returns to the lineup.

LSU Runs Over UGA

LSU headed to the Georgia Dome this past weekend for the SEC Championship game against the Georgia
Bulldogs.  A lot of fans were hoping that UGA would upset LSU who were the favorites to win this game.  Georgia got off to great start scoring 10 points in the first quarter.  Only thing is that was the only points that the Bulldogs scored.  LSU played a really sloppy 1st half and if UGA could have held on to the momentum in the 1st half they might have been able to upset the Tigers.  LSU went 3 downs and out for all 7 possessions in the 1st half and the only points scored for the Tigers came from a 62 yard punt return by Mathieu in the 2nd quarter.  The Dawgs went into halftime up 10-7 but they were unable to hold on to the lead in the 2nd half as LSU ran away with the game.  Georgia's Murray had 16 of 40 pass completions for 163 passing yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.  LSU's Jefferson on the other hand had only 5 of 13 completions for 30 passing yards and 1 touchdown.  With the 42-10 victory of the Bulldogs the Tigers sealed their bid to the BCS title game.

Kentucky Quiets UNC fans

Joe Robbins - Getty Images

Kentucky handed UNC their 2nd loss of the season on Saturday coming the same week that UNC rival Duke was handed their first loss.  Everything was looking hopefully for UNC's victory when the Tarheels went into halftime up 43-38 over the Wildcats.  Kentucky came back after the half holding UNC to only 29 points and bouncing back to beat the Tarheels 73-72.  Bullock made a 3-pointer with 48 seconds left in the game to bring the Tarheels within 1.  The game ended with Tarheels Henson's shot being block by Wildcats Davis and grabbing the rebound as the time ran out, securing the game for Kentucky.  Zeller and Barnes both led the Heels in scoring with 14 points, in which Barnes was 4-5 from 3-point range.  Kidd-Gilchrist led the Wildcats in both scoring and rebounds with 17 points and 11 rebounds.  After their loss to UNLV the Tarheels dropped from #1 to #5 as Kentucky took their place in the #1 spot.

Around the World of Sports

• After holding a conference call with Art Shell, who was appointed by the NFL and player's association to hear cases such as Ndamukong Suh, Suh's appeal was denied on Thursday and therefore will miss Detroit's next two games after being suspended for stomping a Green Bay player during the game on Thanksgiving.
• Adrian Peterson, after missing last Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons, will miss the Viking's game Sunday against the Denver Broncons.
• Two more games have been added to the NBA Christmas season opener with the OKC Thunder hosting the Orlando Magic and the LA Clippers traveling to the Golden State Warriors.
• Mike Miller of the Miami Heat, who missed the beginning of last season, is expected to miss 8 weeks to recover from recent surgery.
• This week has been the NHL, Randy Calyle, Bruce Boudreau and Paul Maurice were all let go from their respective teams.
• Legendary Canadian Football League Joe Kapp and archenemy Angelo Mosca got into a fist fight earlier this week at a CFL banquet.  Joe Kapp, 73-years of age former quarterback, and Angelo Mosca, 74-year old former defensive lineman and professional wrestler, got into a scuffle after being introduced at the banquets.  Canes and microphones were among some of the things that were swung besides fists. 

Eagles Are Done For

(Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

After being called the Dream Team before the season began, the Philadelphia Eagles have been more than a disappointment and it is clear that their season is over with no hopes of the playoffs.  Vick, Eagles' $100 million dollar star, missed his third straight game yesterday with broken ribs as the Eagles fell to the Seahawks 31-14.  The Eagles struggled offensively throughout the game only scoring 2 touchdowns, 1 in the 2nd quarter and 1 in the 4th quarter.  Vince Young, who is playing in place of Michael Vick, threw 4 interceptions and only 1 touchdown in the loss.  McCoy scored both touchdowns, 1 rushing and 1 passing, for the Eagles and ended the game with 84 rushing yards and 49 receiving yards.  DeSean Jackson, after making the headlines the last for weeks for "sitting out" due to wanting more money, had a very quiet game with only 4 carries for 34 yards and with Maclin, who has had a pretty good season for the Eagles, was absent from Thursday's game due to a hamstring and shoulder injury.  Seahawks' Lynch gave the Eagles' defense a hard time with 22 carries for 148 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns.  Jackson ended the game with 13 of 16 completions for 190 yards and 1 touchdown.  With the Eagles now falling to 4-8 and last place in the NFC East it is safe to say that the Eagles just need to prepare for next season.  The Eagles will end this season playing the Dolphins 12/11, Jets 12/18, Cowboys 12/24, and the Redskins 1/1/2012.  It will be interesting to see how the Eagles will bounce back from this tough seasons, especially once Vick is completely healthy.  This season was obviously hard on them with the continuous pressure of being a great team that was placed on the team as well as the continuous injuries that star quarterback Vick suffered almost every week.  Maybe next year with a completely healthy Vick the Eagles will look like last season's Eagles or better, the Eagles team that most thought that Vick may or should have led to the Super Bowl.  It will also be interesting to see if DeSean Jackson will be with the Eagles next year.  Jackson has had a horrible season, in my eyes, thus far and has showed a horrible attitude towards his fans or the franchise of Philadelphia acting out trying to receive more money.  In due time I guess we will find out if Jackson will re-sign with the Eagles and if he will receive the money he is looking for.  But as of now all you can say is stick a fork in them, the eagles are done.

Just a Little Fun

AP Photo

Before heading back to work friends Lebron James and Kevin Durant decided to put basketball on hold for a little while and hold a flag football game in Akron, Ohio.  Team Lebron took on Team KD after KD tweeted earlier this month about participating in a flag football game after a college fan asked him to play for their team.  After KD agreed James later tweeted KD stating that the flag football game sounded like fun and few weeks later the two hosted a flag football game against one another.  Lebron, who played football in high school, seem to be the star of the game on both offense and defense scoring over and over again for Team Lebron, including a few touchdowns after picking off Tony Durant, KD's brother who played quarterback for Team KD, a couple times.  Team Lebron ended up winning the game by one touchdown 70-63 after Lebron picked off Tony again with 2 seconds left in the game.  All fans of Lebron and KD had the ability to tune in and watch the game if they liked as the team was streamed live on Ustream.  Sounds like a lot of fun but now its time to get back to work as the teams opened up their facilities to the players to today and training camps will begin next Friday December 9th.

Blue Devils Get Buckeyed

After rival UNC went down by 10 against UNLV last week, Duke fans were extremely happy about the Tar Heels loss until they met Ohio State on Tuesday.  In a 22 point defeat I'm sure it was pretty had for any Duke fan to watch Tuesday's game.  Throughout the entire game Duke continued to struggle defensively and was unable to stop the many runs that Ohio State went on in both halves.  The Buckeyes got an early 11-0 lead on the Blue Devils as it was obvious that Ohio State was there to play and within the first 2 minutes of the game the Buckeyes played with intense motivation and you could tell it would be a long up hill battle for the Blue Devils.  Duke fought back after going down by 11-0  and were only down by 1 point with 9:50 left in the first half.  After the Blue Devils run to come with one they continued to struggle throughout the first half and was outscored by 19 points going into halftime down 28-47.  Duke did come back from halftime ready to fight and played a lot better than they did during the 1st half but defensively they were still unable to stop the Buckeyes and was unable to close the 20 point gap.  Boston Celtics' head coach Doc Rivers' son Austin River led the Blue Devils in scoring with 22 points and were giving the Buckeye's defense a difficult time but he was unable to win the game for Duke by himself. Last night was a learning experience for the young Blue Devils and I'm sure that Coach K they will definitely bounce back after the Buckeyes handed them their first loss of the season.  Lebron James and teammate Dwyane Wade was in attendance for Tuesday's game in his home state of Ohio although the state of Ohio did not show him much love as they boo'd him and Wade as they walked into the game.

NBA Timeline

With fans excited that the lockout has finally come to an end.  The tentative timeline have come out of how the league schedule will go this season.  Teams will only play 66 regular season games, 48 being in their respective conferences and 18 non-conference games.  Below is the respective schedule for this season:

Today 11/30/11: Teams were able to begin talking to restricted and unrestricted free agents.

Thursday 12/1/11: Teams may begin to open arenas to players to begin coming in for individual workouts

Friday 12/9/11: Training Camps as well as free agency (official day to begin offering deals for free agents) will begin

Sunday 12/25/11: The season will tip off with some key match-ups including Lakers/Bulls, Celtics/Knicks, and a Finals rematch between the Heat and Mavericks.

12/25/11-4/26/12:  The regular season will run a few weeks longer than usual due to the delay in start of the season and the last regular season game is expected to be played April 26, 2012.  Throughout the season each team is expected to play at least one, but no more than three, back-to-back-to-back games in order to squeeze the 66 regular season games in the short time frame.

With the regular season ending a couple of weeks later than usual the playoffs are scheduled to end no later than June 26, 2012 which also a couple of weeks later than usual.  During the 2nd round of the playoffs teams may have to also play in the back-to-back format due to the crunch on time.

Syracuse Fires Assistant Basketball Coach

(Kevin Rivoli, AP)

In the wake of child molestation allegations Syracuse University fired Bernie Fine on Sunday night after a third man has come forward accusing Fine of molesting him for nine years.  Bernie Fine had been with Syracuse basketball coaching staff since 1976 when he was brought on as the assistant coach by the current head coach Jim Boeheim.  Boeheim stated that he supported the decision of the university, this coming a week after he publicly stated that the accusers were lying and the accusations were an attempt to receive money.

"I am personally very shocked because I have never witnessed any of the activities that have been alleged." -Jim Boeheim

Allegations against Fine were first reported on November 17th by two former Syracuse ball boys, stepbrothers Bobby Davis and Mike Lang.  Davis, now 39, said that Fine began molesting him in 1984 and Lang, now 45, stated that Fine began molesting him when he was in the 5th or 6th grade.  The 3rd accuser Tomaselli stated that the allegations against Penn State's former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky prompted him to come forward about Fine.

As allegations continue to come out individuals are trying to compare the Penn State Scandal to the Syracuse Scandal but they are 1 and the same as well as completely different. The allegations against Fine and Sandusky are the same but the situations are completely different.  In the Syracuse scandal there are no eye witnesses and no signs of a cover up by the university like the situation at Penn State where it has been alleged that several people at Penn State knew of the allegations against Sandusky including head coach Joe Paterno, whom was later fired due to the scandal.

Stay tuned to see how things turn out.  I pray for all victims involved in both the Penn State and Syracuse scandal.  They're both horrible situations all away around.

Jaguars Fire Head Coach

(Getty Images)

After 9th season with the Jacksonville Jaguars, after Sunday's loss to the Houston Texans Jack Del Rio is now looking for a new job after today.  After a 4th straight non-winning season for the Jaguars, owner Wayne Weaver decided Tuesday morning to fire Del Rio.  Weaver was going to make his final decision on Del Rios' future with the Jaguars at the end of the season but Weaver made his decision 5 weeks before the end of the regular season.  Del Rio is the only coach in NFL history to coach a team 9 seasons and not win a division title and was 69-73 with the Jaguars which includes one playoff win in 2007.  Jacksonville has decided to move forward without Jack and maybe it will be for the better or the worse, only time will tell.  The firing of Del Rio came before it was reported that Shahid Khan agreed that he would acquire the Jaguars from Weaver for $760 million.  Khan has been looking to getting his foot in a NFL franchise ownership and was also eyeing the St. Louis Rams.  Khan assured Weaver that the team will remain in Jacksonville.

NFL Week 12 Recap

Week 12 was filled very close games, blow outs, a sibling rivalry and dirty players being fined.  We're heading into the stretch and games are starting to get a little more intense with teams fighting for their bid into the playoffs.  Some teams are currently sure wins into the playoffs while other divisions are a lot closer and teams are fighting to the very end to get their spot.

Week 12 Recap

• Detroit Lions' Ndamukong Suh has been suspended 2 games after stomping a Packer's player that was laying on the ground after a play.  Suh plans to appeal the 2 game suspension.
• The Packers held the Lions to a scoreless first 3 quarters as Aaron Rodges once again connected with 9 different receivers for 307 passing yards in the Thanksgiving match-up.

In Case You Missed It

There was a very action filled Thanksgiving week in the world of Sports. The NFL gave us a very Happy Thanksgiving with three back to back action filled games, starting with the undefeated Green Bay Packers taking on the Detroit Lions, followed by the Miami Dolphins giving the Dallas Cowboys a run for their money, and ending with a sibling rivalry between John and Jim Harbaugh, head coaches of the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens.

Not only did we get action in the NFL, college football was also a thriller with rivalry week with games like Georgia versus Georgia Tech, Auburn versus Alabama, Clemson versus South Carolina and Florida versus Florida State just to name a few.  The game of games in college football this week had to be the Texas Tech versus Baylor game whose score when it came to the end looked the score of a college basketball game with Baylor beating Texas Tech 66-42. Baylor's Ganaway rushed for 257 yards and 3 touchdowns in the game and between the 2 teams there were 3 receivers to have more than 100 receiving yards.  And with the on going legal issues and scandal surrounding Penn State they continue to struggle as they lost yesterday to Wisconsin 45-7.

Football wasn't the only thing getting all the action basketball was right there with them college and NBA.  And I know there were no NBA games BUT the players and owners have reached a tentative agreement ending the lockout yesterday November 26th after 146 days.    In college basketball Duke won it's 5th straight Maui Invitational title. The Blue Devils have attended the Maui Invitational 5 times and are 15-0 in the tournament, winning again on Wednesday against Kansas.  The game came down to the end and Tyler Thornton hit a late 3 pointer that sealed the victory for the Blue Devils.  Also in action last night UNLV upset the top ranked UNC in the Las Vegas Invitational championship game.  The game was head to head but UNLV eventually  began to pull away and left the Tarheels in shock beating them by 10 points.  Also another one of college basketball teams were in action last night as well, UCONN topped Florida State in overtime in the Battle 4 Atlantis consolation game in the Bahamas.

For more on the action this past week visit ESPN to see how your teams played against their opponent. 

Merry Early Christmas from the NBA

After a complete breakdown in negotiations 12 days ago, on Day 149 of the lockout the owners and players have reached a tentative agreement after secretly meeting all week.  The details of the deal has not been released as both sides will have to vote on the deal, needing a majority vote (15 out of 29 votes) from the owners and a majority vote from the 430 players in which the union represents.  Before the players are able to vote on the deal they must first drop the anti-trust lawsuit they filed against the NBA in Minnesota and reform the union.  In hopes that the majority wins and the deal is implicated, training camps and free agency will begin on December 9th with the NBA bringing everyone a happy Christmas with games beginning on that day.  The season will jump off with the Boston Celtics taking on the New York Knicks, followed by the Miami Heat taking on the Dallas Mavericks in a NBA Finals rematch, and ending with the LA Lakers taking on last years league MVP Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls.  With the delay in start the players will only play a 66 games season instead of the usual 82 games season.  I don't know about you all but I am one happy individual this morning with the NBA coming back on Christmas Day.  Stay tuned for the details of the deal which will be soon to come.

NFL Week 10 Recap

I missed last week but I'm back for the Week 10 Recap in the NFL.  There were some pretty rivals going on this week with the Falcons taking on the Saints, the Patriots taking on the Jets, and the Raiders taking on the Chargers.  Besides the really good games we had some interesting things going on in the games.  Below are the recaps from this week.

Week 10 Recap:

• In What Were You Thinking News: Bills' David Nelson ran completely to the opposite end of the field after scoring a touchdown to give his girlfriend the football.  Oh did I mention that his girlfriend was currently cheering during the game for the Dallas Cowboys, yes the opposing team.
• Carson Palmer bounced back after struggling the last few weeks with Raiders with 14/20 completions for 299 passing yards and 2 touchdowns.
• After going 0-7 the Dolphins have now won 2 games in a row leaving the Colts to be the only team still winless going into Week 11 of the season.
• Tony Romo had a great game this week with 23/26 completions/attempts for 270 passing yards and 3 touchdowns.  The Cowboy's Murray had a good game with 20 carries for 135 rushing yards and 1 touchdown.
• Tebow only threw 4 passes completing 0 of them in the 1st half and ended the game with 2 completions out of 8 passes for 69 passing yards and 1 touchdown.  Tebow also rushed for 43 yards and 1 touchdown and Denver rushed the ball 55 times in the Broncos' victory.
• Vick, who played with 2 broken ribs, had a horrible game with 16 completions out of 34 pass attempts for 128 passing yards and 2 interceptions.  DeSean Jackson was not allowed to play in Sunday's game after missing a special's team meeting on Saturday.
• Falcons' Harry Douglas had 8 receptions for 133 receiving yards after entering the game Sunday in place of Julio Jones who left the game due to aggravating his hamstring injury.
• Tom Brady looked like his old self again after the Patriots had struggled the past few weeks with 26 completions of 39 pass attempts for 329 passing yards and 3 touchdowns.
• Aaron Rodgers had 23 completions of 30 pass attempts for 250 passing yards and 4 touchdowns; Rodgers also completed passes for 10 different receivers.
• Stafford threw 4 interceptions in the Lions' loss to the Bears.

Week 10 Scores:

Oakland Raiders 24 (5-4)

San Diego Chargers 17 (4-5)

Jacksonville Jaguars 17 (3-6)

Indianapolis Colts 3 (0-10)

New Orleans Saints 26 (7-3)
Atlanta Falcons 23 (5-4)

Houston Texans 37 (7-3)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9 (5-4)

Pittsburgh Steelers 24 (7-3)

Cincinnati Bengals 17 (6-3)

Tennessee Titans 30 (5-4)

Carolina Panthers 3 (2-7)

Arizona Cardinals 21 (3-6)

Philadelphia Eagles 17 (3-6)

New England Patriots 37 (6-3)

New York Jets 16 (5-4)

Denver Broncos 17 (4-5)

Kansas City Chiefs 10 (4-5)

Buffalo Bills 7 (5-4)

Dallas Cowboys 44 (5-4)

St. Louis Rams 13 (2-7)

Cleveland Browns 12 (3-6)

Washington Redskins 9 (3-6)

Miami Dolphins 20 (2-7)

Baltimore Ravens 17 (6-3)

Seattle Seahawks 22 (3-6)

Detroit Lions 13 (6-3)

Chicago Bears 37 (6-3)

New York Giants 20 (6-3)

San Francisco 27 (8-1)

Minnesota Vikings 7 (2-7)

Green Bay Packers 45 (9-0)

NFL Halftime Report

We're halfway through the regular season and some teams/players are dominating the game while others are falling short.  With the season being halfway done some teams will definitely be in the playoffs while other teams are going to have to bust their butts in this second half to maybe make the playoffs.

NFL Week 8 Recap

Week 8 in the NFL was not as shocking as the past weeks have been.  The teams that have been dominating the first 7 weeks of the season continued to dominate while other teams continued to struggle.  There were some key matches this past week that you could say were "playoff previews".  But the shock of the week came from the St. Louis Rams who beat the New Orleans Saints to gain their first win of the season.

Week 8 Recap

• After going down 14-3 early in the game, the Giants fought back holding the Dolphins to a scoreless 4th quarter coming back to win 20-17.  Reggie Bush had 15 carries for 103 rushing yards and Giants' Eli Manning had 349 passing yards for 2 touchdowns.
• Battle of the rookie quarterbacks occurred this past week between Cam Newton and Christian Ponder.  Newton ended the game with 290 passing yards and 3 touchdowns while Ponder had 236 passing yards and 1 touchdown.
• The St. Louis Rams FINALLY won a game for the first time this season.  The Rams took in the momentum of their fellow St. Louis team (Cardinals) who are the 2011 World Series Champion beating the New Orleans Saints.

Goodbye November

It was being reported the beginning of last week by the New York Daily News that according to a source close to the lockout action that Commissioner David Stern had plans to cancel two more weeks of the regular season.  Well after no deal was reached after the players and owners met on Friday Stern has decided to cancel games through November 30th.

After meeting for 30 hours over a span of 3 days the week ending October 21st, labor talks broke down on Thursday October 20th after players and owners were still having difficulties agreeing on the revenue split and salary cap system.  After those meetings were unsuccessful Stern held off on cancelling the rest of November games waiting to see if there would be any meetings held between the two sides last week.  

Sides met back up beginning Wednesday October 26th, meeting for a bout 10 hours.  Stern was scared going into Wednesday's meeting that if a deal wasn't met within that week that games may be cancelled through Christmas.  After getting nowhere in the BRI split talks the players reduced their proposed 53-47% split down to 52.5%, which based off of last year's revenue the players would gain about $100 million more than the owners.

After meeting again on Friday October 28th and no deal was reached Stern made the difficult decision to cancel the rest of November games. The split of league revenue is the only thing currently holding back the two sides from an agreement. It is being reported that the deal is 95% done but the BRI is the only thing that the two sides can not seem to agree on.  Stern went over a "tentative agreement" on most of the system issues in the meeting of Friday which included midlevel exception starting at $5 million a year and contract lengths would be 5 years for players returning to their teams and 4 years for players leaving their team for another.  Once the BRI was brought up talks broke down once again with owners refusing to go over 50% for the players and players refusing to accept anything less that 52%.

No more meetings have been scheduled thus far and it is estimated that the players will lose approximately $350 million dollars with games being cancelled during the month of November. 

"We held out that joint hope together, but in light of the breakdown of talks there will not be a full NBA season under any circumstances.  It's not practical, possible or prudent to have a full season now." 

-David Stern

Congratulations Cardinals

In an unusual twist to the World Series the Cardinals are the 2011 World Series Champions.  When it seemed like the the title was out of their reach during Game 6 being down 7-4 in the bottom of the 7th, the Cardinals fought back winning the game 10-9 in which they tied series 3-3.    The St. Louis Cardinals went into game 7 with the momentum from the end of game 6 and went on to win game 7 and the World Series 6-2 over the Texas Rangers

Congratulations St. Louis Cardinals

NFL Week 7 Recap

(Photo: Duane Burleson/Associated Press)

Week 7 was a week for the books, a couple of records wore broken and some greats stepped up to the plate.  This week was also the week of "new" quarterbacks with 4 different teams starting different quarterbacks than they started in the prior week.  A lot of football fans tuned in to see if Tebow would prove doubters wrong, if the Detroit Lions would jump back on track, if the Green Bay Packers would finally win a game or if the Dolpins, Colts or Rams would finally win a game.  The NFL also traveled across sees this week with the Buccaneers playing the Bears in London.

Week 7 Highlights:

• Carolina finally got their 2nd win of the season against the Washington Redskin with Cam Newton throwing 18/23 for 256 passing yards, 1 touchdown, 59 rushing yards and 1 rushing touchdown.  The Redskins' Beck had 279 passing yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception in his first time starting for the Redskins during regular season.
• The Atlanta Falcons broke an on again off again pattern by winning 2 games in a row after holding off the Lions and keeping them to only 2 field goals in the first half.  Matt Ryan, who gave the Falcons a scare going down in the 3rd quarter but returned after being examined by the doctors, ended the game with 218 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 rushing touchdown.  Michael Turner kept it going from last week ending the game with 122 rushing yards.

ESPN.com & TrueHoops NBA Player Rankings

In case you've missed ESPN.com and TrueHoop put out a power ranking of all of 500 players in the National Basketball Association.  91 experts were asked to rank each player on a scale of 0-to-10 based on the players "current quality of the player".  A lot of people have taken to twitter, including former players in the NBA such as Jalen Rose and Rick Fox, to way in on how the feel about the rankings, mainly the top 10.  Below is the top 10 players along with some other big name players and their ranks:

 (Getty Images)

1.  Lebron James

2.  Dwight Howard

3.  Dwyane Wade

4.  Chris Paul

5.  Dirk Nowitzki

6.  Kevin Durant

7.  Kobe Bryant

8.  Derrick Rose

9.  Deron Williams

10.  Blake Griffin

Now I don't know about you, but as much as I'm not a fan of Kobe he would definitely be in my top and I can't believe they have Dwight Howard ranked 2nd and Griffin in the top 10 at all.  Carmelo Anthony (who's ranked #12 and his teammate Amare Stoudemire trailing at #13) is not even in the top 10.  The big name Celtics are not on the list as well with Rajon Rondo being ranked the highest from the team at 17th, Paul Pierce ranked 21st, Kevin Garnett ranked 22nd, and Ray Allen ranked 35th.  Although 2/3 of the Miami Trio was ranked 1st and 3rd, the 3rd player of the trio Chris Bosh is ranked 24th among the list.  The highest paid player in the league Joe Johnson didn't even make the top 20 ranked 32nd and was placed lower on the list than his teammate Al Johnson who was ranked 25th.

What do you think?  Do you agree or disagree with the player rankings?

For the complete list check out the NBA section of ESPN.com

NFL Week 6 Recap

Week 6 ummm yeah what can I say.  The talk of week 6 was definitely the near brawl between 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and Lions coach Jim Schwartz.  Battle of the Jims almost occurred after a handshake went wrong between the 2 of them and Harbaugh shoved Schwartz in the back while celebrating his teams win over the Lions.  If you have watched anything sports related since Sunday they have showed it over and over again.  But besides the battle of the Jims overshadowing some of the playing in the NFL for week 6 there were still some exciting things that happened around the league and with the 49ers handing the Lions their first lost of the season the Green Bay Packers is the only team in the league that is still undefeated.

Week 6 Recap

• Eagles ended their losing streak against the Washington Redskin.  Vick had 237 passing yards 1 touchdown and 54 rushing yards and although the Eagles won Vince Young was the talk whom entered the game for one pass that was an interception SMH.
• Before the Battle of the Jims broke out at the end of the game the story from this game was that the 49ers handed the Lions their first lost of the year even though the Lions held the 49ers to a scoreless first quarter compared to their (Lions) 10 points.  49ers Gore led both teams in rushing with 15 carries for 141 rushing yards. Lions Stafford led both teams in passing with 293 passing yards for 2 touchdowns.

Newton Returns Home

AP Photo
"Atlanta I'm home.. As they say I'm Backkk." -Cam Newton

Cam Newton returned home to Atlanta this pass weekend as he Carolina Panthers took on the Atlanta Falcons.  Fans packed the Georgia Dome ready to see the hometown phenomenon in  person, some fans with Cam's panthers jersey on, some with Cam's Auburn jersey and the rest in the Falcons red and black.  The game started out going toe for toe between the Falcons and Panthers but Cam and the Panthers were unable to hold on falling to the hometown Falcons 31-17.

Falcons returned to the running game with top draft pick Julio Jones being out this game due to a hamstring injury that was suffered in week 5 against the Packers, a running game that was very successful last season when the Falcons went 13-3.  Michael Turner had a big game, which some expected would occur, and already had 62 rushing yards before halftime when the week before he only had 56 rushing yards for the entire game.  

During halftime the Falcons had a tribute for Deion Sanders as owner Arthur Blanks presented the Pro Football Hall of Famer his bronze bust.  During the 3rd quarter Newton gave Sanders a tribute of his own as Newton did the famous "Sanders 2-step" after rushing into the endzone for a touchdown, a touchdown which put the Panthers on top of the Falcons. Soon after the table would soon turn for the Cam Newton and his Panthers during the 4th quarter.  Falcons' Peters intercepted Cam Newton's pass with 6:06 left in the game giving the Falcons the ball back on the Panthers' 39 yard line.  Michael Turner later sealed the deal for the Atlanta Falcons scoring a touchdown with 1:56 left in the game putting the Falcons up 31-17.  Cam Newton ended the game at home by being picked off by Falcons' DeCoud in the endzone.

Turnovers played a big key in the game with the Panthers having 3 turnovers compared to the Falcons having zero.  Newton had 237 passing yards and 50 rushing yards, 14 yards rushing for the touchdown during the 3rd quarter.  For the Falcons Matt Ryan ended the game with 163 passing yards and 1 touchdown, and Michael Turner had 27 carries for 139 yards and 2 touchdowns.  It will be interesting to see if the Falcons will continue with the running game which was successful for them this week or continue to try the passing game once Julio Jones will return.   I do know that with Cam Newton once the Panthers get these figured out in Carolina they will be a key team in the NFL.

Lattimore Out For Season

After dismissing quarterback Stephen Garcia earlier last week, the South Carolina Gamecocks have now lost tailback Marcus Lattimore but not at their hands.  Lattimore will miss the remainder of the season after leaving the game during the 4th quarter versus Mississippi State on Saturday with a knee injury.  After further examinations by doctors Coach Steve Spurrier announced that the injury to Lattimore was more severe that had been expected and that Marcus would not return for the season.

AP Photo
"Our worst fear were realized," -Coach Steve Spurrier on finding out Lattimore
will miss remainder of season.

Lattimore suffered a torn ligament and cartilage damage in the left knee.  Marcus will be required to wear a brace and keep the knee stabilized before undergoing surgery in several weeks.

Before leaving the game Saturday Lattimore had already rushed for 818 yards and 10 touchdowns for the season and was well on the way to having an outstanding season for the Gamecocks.  Marcus' injury was suffered during the 4th quarter when a Mississippi State defender rolled under his left leg.  Freshman Brandon Wilds will likely be the tailback filling in for Lattimore beginning on October 29th when South Carolina take on Tennessee.

Hail Southern

Photo Credit: Randy Thompson/Savannah Morning News

Being an alumna of Georgia Southern University I can say first hand that football is a BIG, BIG deal not only at the college level but also the high school level in Statesboro, Georgia.  We take football serious and winning is what we are known for, GSU and Statesboro High School.  And before you ask, YES it is that big of a deal.

Saturday October 15th Southern took on rival Furman at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia, and Furman was just another team to fall victim to the Georgia Southern Eagles.  Southern continued their undefeated streak  now 6-0 (5-0 in the Southern Conference) beating Furman 50-20.

Southern began the game aggressive scoring 16 points in the first quarter and sending a message blocking Furman's extra point attempt with 6:58 left in the 1st quarter.  Georgia Southern kept the ball rolling going into halftime up 26-13.  Furman remained scoreless from the time they scored their 2nd touchdown with 10:59 left in the 2nd quarter up until their last touchdown with 4:19 left in the game.  During Furman's scoreless streak the Eagles continued to pound on the points scoring 10 points in the 2nd and 3rd quarter and then scoring 14 points in the 4th ending the game with a total of 50 points.

Southern's Shaw had 171 passing yards and the team rushed for a total of 361 yards in 60 carries led by Bryant with a total of 10 carries for 95 yards.  Furman's Forcier had 217 passing yards 1 touchdown and 1 interception in the defeat as Furman is now 3-3 (2-2 in Southern Conference).  Georgia Southern remains number one in FCS (Division I-AA) Southern Conference.

GEORGIA....     SOUTHERN

UGA Defeats Vanderbilt

Scoring on six consecutive possessions in the game, Georgia held off to defeat Vanderbilt 33-28.  UGA needed to victory last night to remain in 2nd place in the SEC East behind the South Carolina Gamecocks.  The victory made UGA 4-1 in the SEC East Conference and 5-2 overall.

The game went down to the wire and came down to a penalty with 7 seconds left in the game.  With 1:12 left in the game Vanderbilt's Rodgers pass was intercepted by Georgia's Rambo which sealed the victory for the Bulldogs.  Vanderbilt continued to fight blocking Georgia's punt getting the ball on Georgia's 19 yard line.  During the punt Vanderbilt received a 5 yard penalty pushing the ball back to the 24 yard line and within 7 seconds the Bulldogs had officially gotten the victory over Vanderbilt.

Georgia's Aaron Murray had a career high in passing yards with 326 yards for 3 touchdowns and 1 interception.  UGA's Brown also had a great game with 4 receptions for 121 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns.

Gamecocks Escape Bulldogs

Alshon Jeffrey catches a 4-yard touchdown pass from
Connor Shaw with 3:50 left in the game 

Earlier this week South Carolina's quarterback Stephen Garcia was dismissed from the team which resulted from Garcia testing positive for marijuana and alcohol.  Garcia's positive testing for alcohol was a violation of agreement between with Garcia that stipulated he would not drink alcohol.  South Carolina was unable to play pass the controversy and get the 14-12 victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Shaw which has started the last 2 games in place of Garcia was 20 for 38 in passing with 155 passing yards 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. The Bulldogs' Russell had similar numbers with 165 passing yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.  

The 'cocks trailed the 'dogs 10-7 with 4 minutes left in the game when a touchdown pass from Connor Shaw to Alshon Jeffrey with 3:50 left in the game put the Gamecocks on top of the Bulldogs by 4 points.  With less than 3 minutes left in the game the Bulldogs were unable to capitalize during their possession and Russell threw an interception with 1:45 left in the game, sealing the victory for South Carolina as they proceeded to run out the clock.  Both teams great defense was the key to factor in this low scoring game and also led to a Bulldogs safety on the final play of the game.  

South Carolina's Matt Lattimore left the game early during the 4th quarter with a leg injury. Lattimore ended the game with 39 rushing yards and 1 touchdown before being escorted to the locker room.

Does Tebow Deserve Starting QB Position?

With 1 second left in the game Tebow dodges the defenders, byes time, throws the ball into the end zone for hoping for a touchdown that would have won the game....

The debate of whether Tebow or Orton should be the starting quarterback in Denver has been on the lips of analyst, coaches, and NFL fans since before the season started.  Even after the fans chanted Tebow name throughout the entire 4th quarter of the 1st Broncos' home game Orton was still named the started for Denver throughout the first 5 weeks of the season.  But after Sunday's game the Denver Broncos have had a change of heart and will be starting Tim Tebow instead of Orton after their bye week this week against the Miami Dolphins on October 23rd.  The decision came after Tebow entered the game during the 2nd half of Sunday's game against the Chargers for Orton.  Orton left the game with only 34 passing yards and 1 interception.

Once Tebow entered the game it was like a breath of fresh air for the struggling Broncos team.  Tebow ended the game with 79 passing yards and 1 touchdown, rallying the Broncos to within 2 points of the Chargers team.  The Broncos scored 14 points during the final quarter and would have tied the game if the attempted 2-point conversion attempted by Tebow was a success. The Chargers did go on to win the game 29-24.  In the 1st 3 drives of the game, with Orton, in Sunday's game the Broncos only had 1, yes I repeat 1 1st down conversion and failed to score in the 1st quarter.  In the last 3 drives of the game, with Tebow, the Broncos had 7 1st down conversions.

Tebow made a play in which he scrambled, bought time, and threw the ball into the end zone for a waiting receiver, if the receiver would have caught the ball the Broncos would have had a tally in the win column Sunday evening instead of the lost column.  Tebow has in the past made plays for the Broncos and was 1-2 last year in the games in which he started for Denver.  That last play had me thinking maybe Denver should spice things up a little and have Tebow starting or have him switching out with Orton because obviously there is something broken that needs to be fixed among this team.

Maybe Tebow is what the Broncos needed to improve, to try something different, but the question is if Tebow has been performing like this then why haven't the front office and the coaches given Tebow a chance?  Other players from different teams have stated that Tebow during warm-ups before the game is a joke, that he just can't play.  Maybe it's one of those things where you perform better under pressure but who knows.  Going back to training camp, analyst that attended the practices and even the coaches said that Tebow wasn't ready to play he needed more practice.  So is he goofing off in practice or does Tebow feel that he's gifted and doesn't need to practice?  How do you reward somebody with a position when they haven't shown you that they deserve it at practice?  "Practice makes perfect" right?  But all the plays that Tebow has made for the Broncos in the past from the outside looking in has looked like it was all pure luck, that's including the touchdown he scored last season in which he forgot the play they were running and ran the ball in for a touchdown.  But with this new change I guess we will soon see if Tebow really has skills and will improve at the National Football League level or will his "luck" eventually run out.

"I do believe he'll be successful, and he'll play well, for a small window of time," former NFL quarterback, current ESPN analyst Trent Dilver