Sports Then and Now

Unless a settlement happens in the next two weeks, the NFL could start the 2012 with inexperienced officials.

The new NFL regular season looks set to get under-way with replacement officials, following a controversial decision by league executives.

It is a move that is likely to cause great disputation amongst both players and coaches, with the replacements having already attracted criticism.

Amongst the main reasons for the difference in opinion amongst NFL Betting Picks experts is the fact that many of the replacement officials will go into the season without the same level of collegiate experience that the senior officials have.

Quite why there is a need for replacements remains a mystery, although it has been mooted around that economics will be a major factor. Read the rest of this entry →

After signing with the Seattle Seahawks, Terrell Owens will be back in the NFL for the first time since playing for the Bengals in 2010.

The Seattle Seahawks have made the somewhat surprising decision to sign 38-year-old veteran, Terrell Owens, on a one-year deal, handing the wide receiver a return to the NFL after a two year absence.

The six-time Pro Bowl star has been away from the NFL since 2010, when a serious knee injury ended Owens short spell at the Cincinnati Bengals, an incident that made the football news headlines on Bet365.

A season spent playing for the Allen Wranglers in the Indoor Football League saw Owens produce some decent form, making 35 catches for 420 yards and 10 touchdowns in his eight appearances.

Despite his time at the Wranglers coming to a premature end due to behind-the-scenes troubles, the word on the grapevine was that the former San Francisco 49ers star was still a very capable player.

Owens clearly did enough to impress the Seahawks management during his short trial, earning himself a one-year deal with the team after just one training session. Read the rest of this entry →

In the future Jake Ballard could be making catches for, instead of against, the Patriots.

You can generally rely on the New England Patriots and Head Coach Bill Belichick to spring a surprise and create talking points for the football betting community to discuss, and that’s just what they did recently when he claimed New York Giants tight-end Jake Ballard ‘off waivers’, which prevented the Giants from slipping him onto the reserve list.

Some may say that this is a form of revenge for the Patriots who were shocked by the Giants in last season’s Super Bowl. The Patriots may waive him with the ‘failed physical’ designation, exposing him to waivers and likely setting the stage for the Giants (or someone else) to claim his contract.

Otherwise, the Pats will have to carry Ballard, who won’t play in 2012 after tearing an ACL in the Super Bowl, on the 90-man roster until the first wave of cuts in late August. Read the rest of this entry →

The addition of Brandon Jacobs gives the San Francisco 49ers multiple options at running back.

Every day in the NFL players are playing for their careers and almost interviewing for their jobs, they don’t only have to worry about the opposition as much as competition from within their own team.

All the various positions have battles over them each year and they tend to pop up across the league during every off-season; some with little furor, and others which make back page headlines on a daily basis. These fights for the starting or backup jobs lend some intrigue to an otherwise dull part of the NFL calendar year.

With that thought in mind where do we think that some of these internal clashes will be happening this year? The first to come under the microscope is in San Francisco who staged one of the more remarkable turnarounds last year, much of their success due to their defense.

However, they have managed to keep all of their offensive starters from last year and have through free-agency been able to boost their offense, prompting a flurry of online bets and interest.

But with the boost comes conflict and the 49ers added to that attrition by using their second round draft pick to select Oregon running back LaMichael James adding to a very crowded backfield that already contains Brandon Jacobs, Kendall Hunter, Anthony Dixon and the incumbent Frank Gore.

It should go without saying that the starting job belongs to Gore, but that leaves four running backs to battle for what essentially amounts to two spots and that could well create some sparks over the summer in San Francisco.

There are likely to be plenty of QB head-to-head battles over the summer.

Unless you have an elite QB you need to have plenty of depth but that can cause its own problems and we can see some fun-and-games coming in Arizona where the Cardinals have spent a lot of money on Kevin Kolb.

Kolb then got injured and his replacement John Skelton, who played well down the stretch.

Kolb’s contract is expensive, and his first season was marred by injuries and the NFL lockout. He probably deserves another chance but this could be a close run thing.

In Chicago the Bears are collecting wide receivers like stamps and they will have an interesting summer deciding what to do with them all.

It goes without saying that Brandon Marshall owns the number one spot, and with Earl Bennett having been given a long contract extension it probably leaves one spot to be decided, with Devin Hester, free agent Eric Weems and rookie Alshon Jeffrey all in the running.

That gives the Bears an embarrassment of riches at wide receiver but at least one man will be happy, and that’s Chicago QB Jay Cutler, who must be excited by having that much ammunition.

Many more of these situations of attrition will occur throughout the off-season and should give us plenty to write and talk about – and will undoubtedly lead to many NFL bets being placed – before we start the real action later in the year.

It seems hard to believe that Peyton Manning has played his final game in an Indianapolis Colts uniform.

During 13 stellar seasons as the quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts Peyton Manning was often characterized as being one of the all-time great players in NFL history. With his official release from the Colts, Manning will now join other former NFL greats including Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas, O.J. Simpson, Franco Harris, Joe Namath and Jerry Rice by completing his career with a different team than the one for which he became a star.

Given the financial ramifications and having one of the best quarterback prospects since Peyton Manning waiting in the wings, there really was no other choice for Jim Irsay and the Colts organization.

It also is clear that moving on is ultimately in the best interest for Manning, despite his desire to be forever remembered as a Colt.

Had he remained in Indianapolis, the team would have been salary strapped with a huge portion of their salary cap going to pay two quarterbacks when only one can be on the field at a time. With Manning still on the squad the Colts ran the risk of either stunting the development of Andrew Luck or damaging their relationship with Manning.

Reports are that Manning might have been able to stay in Indianapolis to mentor Luck, but would have had to agree to allow the young quarterback a certain amount of practice snaps with the first team. Given that without Manning the Colts won two games in 2011 and will be losing several veteran stars due to free agency, even with Manning under center it is not likely that Indianapolis would be automatically back as a contender in 2012.

Now, the Colts can go through a retooling process with a new quarterback, a new coach and a new general manager and look to build another consistent winner like the team that Manning led to 11 playoff appearances in 13 seasons.

For Manning, assuming that he is physically capable of playing, leaving Indianapolis has probably prolonged his career by a couple years. There is no way that with Andrew Luck waiting in the wings the Colts would have allowed Manning to be the starter for four or five more seasons. Read the rest of this entry →

Happy Birthday to two all-time greats: Michael Jordan and Jim Brown.

It isn’t everyday that you can say that two athletes who arguably were the best ever to compete in their sport are celebrating birthdays. But you can say that about February 17th as that happens to be the birthday of Hall of Fame football star Jim Brown (born in 1936) and Hall of Fame basketball star Michael Jordan (born in 1963).

Though it has been 47 years since he last played in the NFL, just about anyone who was alive to watch him play still will insist that Brown is the best player ever to put on shoulder pads. His combination of power and speed were unlike anything that had previously been seen in the NFL and his domination of the league during his nine year career with the Cleveland Browns has never truly been matched. He won eight rushing titles in nine years and averaged 104 yards rushing per game for his entire career.  His 12, 312 career rushing yards was a record that stood for 19 years and still ranks 9th in NFL history.

What is perhaps most extraordinary for Brown is that some have claimed that in addition to being the greatest football player of all-time, he may also have been one of the best lacrosse players ever. He was an All-American lacrosse player at Syracuse, scoring 43 goals in 10 games as a senior. He also was the leading scorer on the Syracuse basketball team as a sophomore and lettered in track.

Michael Jordan emerged on the scene as a basketball star at the University of North Carolina. He hit the shot that propelled UNC to the NCAA Championship during his freshman season and two years later helped lead what was likely the finest collection of amateur basketball players in history to a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics.

In the NBA, Jordan eventually evolved into the best player of his generation and ultimately is considered by many as the best to ever play the game. He averaged more than 30 points per game for his entire 15 year career and won the scoring title 10 times.

Much like Brown, Jordan towered over the others in his era. Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles and it is likely they might have won more had he not missed nearly two years pursuing a career in major league baseball.

Unlike Brown, Jordan will never be considered as the best-ever in a sport other than basketball, but even today there is a general perception that Jordan was the greatest to ever play in the NBA.

In celebration of the birthdays of these two sports legends, I have assembled some youtube clips that highlight their greatness.

Happy Birthday to two all-time greats.

Read the rest of this entry →