One Ankle Champ

Athletes everywhere get injuries and most, if the pain is bearable, keep playing and get examined after. Most after getting the injury that keep playing start fatiguing or start feeling the pain more and more and start to hustle less. This story however is different than most, this athlete got injured playing his/her sport, kept playing, and only allowed the opponent to score once… ONCE! Her name is Serena Williams.

Serena Williams was playing in the first round of the Australian Open against Edina Gallovits-Hall. Leading already 4-0, Serena fell awkwardly and started to clutch her right ankle. She was helped to the side and was getting looked by her trainer. Fans started to fear that she was out the match or she will start fatiguing if she kept playing. Her trainer taped her ankle heavily and Serena came back to play. Rather than playing bad, Serena started to play even better. Edina was only able to score one point the whole game and Serena cruised winning 6-0, 6-0. This match shows the heart and determination it takes if you want to be a champion. Touche Serena.

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Wait, Wait, Wait…. YOU CALLED A TIMEOUT!?

A day after watching one of the greatest games in NFL history between the Broncos and Ravens, no one would have thought any Sunday game would be as good, the Falcons and Seahawks did not disappoint. For the second straight game the Seahawks started slow and were trailing at halftime by the score of 20-0. Had a great friend of mine saying the game was over, but everyone knows the game isn’t done until the final whistle blows. That was the case for this game.

With 31 seconds left in the game, the Seahawks got the first lead of the game with a Marshawn Lynch two yard touchdown run making the game 28-27. This is when the Seahawks luck started to run out. Instead of kicking the ball deep, they squib kick the kickoff and the Falcons started off with great field position. Matt Ryan found Harry Douglas on that drive for 29 yards and they used their final timeout to get their kicker Matt Bryant on the field, this is when the bad turned worst.

Right when they are going to kick the ball, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll calls a timeout to freeze the kicker, BIG MISTAKE! Matt Bryant missed the kick but since the Seahawks called timeout, he had a second oppurtunity. He did not disapoint making the 49 yard field goal giving the Falcons the lead 30-28 with eight seconds to go. The Seahawks could not do anything on offense and are left packing thinking “what if?” The Falcons meanwhile kick the monkey off their back with their first playoff win since 2004 and will not meet the 49ers in Atlanta.

The New Chief

The Kansas City Chiefs were the worst team in football in 2012, earning them the first overall pick of the 2013 NFL draft. They fired their head coach Romeo Crennel after only one season and had embarrassing losses to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Cleveland Browns. The Chiefs have good players in place, including a few Pro Bowlers like S Eric Berry, RB Jamal Charles, and LB Tamba Hali. So why has this team under achieved after being 10-6 in 2010? 2011 they saw Eric Berry and Jamal Charles get injured and lose their services for the season so that can be an excuse, this year though, was just atrocious if you are a Kansas City Chief fan.

Not to worry Chiefs fans, their is a new chief as head coach and his name might sound familiar if you follow the NFL, Andy Reid. Andy was the head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles for 14 years, head coaches now a days have an average life span of four to six years. He took over a team that finished 3-13 and took the Eagles to three NFC Championship games, including a trip to the Super Bowl (which they lost). After being fired from the Eagles for going 4-12, Andy was not unemployed for long as the Chiefs jumped on hiring him as they picture him making the chiefs more competitive sooner rather than later. With Reid having the first overall pick and no true QB on the team, most mock drafts have them taking QB Geno Smith from West Virginia. This might sound like dejavu as Reid picked in his first draft Donovan McNabb to be his QB, he came out being pretty good. If any coach is going to help this team win, it is Andy Reid. With a star RB in Jamal charles and a stud WR in Dwayne Bowe, Geno Smith might have a RG3 or Cam Newton kind of season with the team the chiefs currently have. The defense have playmakers everywhere  they just need the offense to step up. Enter Andy Reid.

Outsized

The Miami Heat are the defending NBA champions. They won the title with the same exact team they have assembled right now. A second title should be no problem, right? WRONG! The Heat lost again against the Pacers and it was not because they were the better team, but because they could not handle their size and again got out rebounded. The heat had 29 defensive rebounds compared to 33 defensive rebounds for the Pacers which is not bad, but the Heat only had seven offensive rebounds compared to the Pacers 22! That is a 3-1 ratio which makes it harder for the Heat to win any game when this happens. This is not the first time this happens (the Denver Nuggets had 33 offensive rebounds in one game!). If the Miami Heat are going to repeat, they need to sign/ or trade for a Center. Everyone knows who Chris Bosh is and how hot Dwayne Wade can get, and of course the MVP of the league Lebron James, but even these three superstars have off days and that is when the rebounds really matter. Hope you get to read this Pat Riley.

Tyrann Mathieu

He was the most dominant player in college football, and he didn’t even play Quarterback. He was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2011 (award for best player). No team wanted to play Louisiana State University (LSU) because of Tyrann Mathieu’s skills. Everything was going great for him and his team… Until he violated the LSU substance abuse policy… Again. After so many chances and the opportunity to be the best player and lead your team to a championship, he wasted it all just for using drugs.

Before the 2012 season started, LSU dismissed Tyrann Mathieu from the team for all the repeated violations he made. He was not kicked out of the university and the coach was going to let him back on the team the following season. All he had to do was control his substance abuse problem and he could have the life that many people dream of everyday. He enrolled in the fall semester and was seeking drug treatment so he could be back on the team the following year.

Fast forward to October 25, 2012. Tyrann Mathieu and three former LSU players were arrested for simple possession of marijuana. This little mistake of his might have sealed his fate with the team and will cost him millions of dollars he could have had in the NFL.

 

References:

Low, Chris. “ESPN College Football.” ESPN College Football. (2012): n. page. Print. <http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8255988/lsu-tyrann-mathieu-kicked-team-violating-rules&gt;.

“Tyrann Mathieu has ‘legitimate chance’ of LSU return, Les Miles implies.” SBNATION. N.p., 02 2012. Web. Web. 26 Oct. 2012. <http://www.sbnation.com/2012/8/10/3233606/tyrann-mathieu-suspended-lsu-football-2012&gt;.

Aschoff, Edward. “Tyrann Mathieu arrested .” SEC Blog. ESPN, 25 2012. Web. Web. 26 Oct. 2012. <http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/54028/tyrann-mathieu-arrested&gt;.

Colombia National Soccer Team

The last time Colombia qualified for the World Cup was 1998, 14 years ago! With the team receiving so much hype and never living up to it, fans have came grown accustomed of them losing. But that was then… this is now

With just a year and a few months away from the world cup, the South American team everyone is talking about is not named Argentina or Brazil, it is Colombia. Tied for second in the standings to qualify for the World Cup (one point behind Argentina), Colombia is making their fans go from a loser mentality to a winner’s mentality. With star players such as Radamel Falcao (starting forward) and captain Mario Yepes (defensive backfield), Colombia is not only beating other teams, they are annihilating them. With wins against Uruguay 4-0 and Chile 3-1, this team is reminding everyone that Colombia can be a force to be dealt with.

References:

WWW.ESPN.COM

NFL’s surprise team

Every year in the NFL there is a team that surprises everyone and does a lot greater than expected. Last year it was the San Francisco 49ers, this year it will be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished their 2011 season 4-12 (four wins, 12 losses). They started 4-2 and lost 10 straight. They fired their head coach Raheem Morris and hired Rutgers coach Greg Schiano. They had the most salary cap money to use on free agents and they did not disappoint when they signed wide receiver (WR) Vincent Jackson, offensive guard (OG) Carl Nicks, and cornerback (CB) Eric Wright. They did not finish improving their team there because with the NFL Draft they selected seven players, two of which were first round picks, safety Mark Barron and running back Doug Martin.

With the talent added through free agency and the NFL Draft and still having Josh Freeman as their Quarterback, the season looks promising for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

 

References:

Damilatis, Peter. “Pro Football Focus.” Pro Football Focus. (2012): n. page. Print. <https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/08/29/tampa-bay-buccaneers-2012-preview/&gt;.

Philipse, Sander. “BucsNation.” BucsNation. (2012): n. page. Print. <http://www.bucsnation.com/2012/4/28/2985108/2012-nfl-draft-results-tampa-bay-buccaneers-draft-picks&gt;.