The Sport Stir

Cowboys Take the Ball from Romo and Beat the Titans

By Rick Appelt on The Sport Stir
September 14, 2014

The Dallas Cowboys took the football away from Tony Romo Sunday and gave it to DeMarco Murray to beat the Tennessee 26-10 on Sunday. After an apparently rusty opening game against the 49ers last week, Romo handed the ball to Murray 29 times. Murray rushed for a whopping 167 yards against the Titans defense.

Romo, coming off a horrific game where he threw 3 interceptions against the 49ers, only threw 29 passes this week, none of which were intercepted. Romo put the Cowboys in a hole so deep last Sunday against the 49ers with 3 interceptions that the game was over by the end of the first quarter. DeMarco Murray also fumbled his first carry against the 49ers giving the 49ers a 7-0 lead. Murray also lost another fumble this Sunday on his third carry of the game. After that Murray seemed to be a motivated madman, rushing for his 167 yards against the Titans. The Cowboys, who have been declaring for two years that they want to run the football, actually called offensive plays for the running backs and put a lot less pressure on Romo.

The Cowboys had a much more balanced attack of running and passing this Sunday. It still amazes me that Tony Romo goes down like a sack of potatoes without being touched when pressured by defenses. I sit and watch defensive linemen simply touch him to record a tackle or sack because he is already on the ground before he gets hit. After another offseason back surgery, Romo does not have the agility and escape prowess he used to possess that made him an elusive scrambler. This week against the Titans he looked slow and still a bit rusty but he eliminated the very poor decisions he made in week one against the 49ers. The Cowboys need to learn from this week’s game plan and not allow Romo to go rogue and put the team in an unrecoverable hole each week. If the Cowboys get back to running the football with DeMarco Murray and lessen the load on Romo, they can create the ingredients for success once again.

Richard Sherman Disappears During and After Seahawks Game with Chargers

By Michael Brocker on The Sport Stir
September 15, 2014

The incredibly outspoken cornerback of the Seattle Seahawks, Richard Sherman, disappeared after the upset loss Sunday to the San Diego Chargers. After a 30-21 loss on the road to Philip Rivers and the Chargers, the usually boisterous Sherman avoided all postgame interviews.

Known for his trash talking on the football field and his lengthy and somewhat obnoxious post-game interviews, Sherman showed a side we do not get to see often after a rare Seahawk loss. The Chargers exposed a weakness of Sherman’s that the Green Bay Packers refused to even try in a week one loss to the Seahawks. Sherman showed Sunday he was unable to cover a smaller and much faster receiver split out wide on the right side of the offense.

Although Keenan Davis did not have a field day against Sherman, catching three passes in his direction, Sherman was nowhere to be found on those plays. Philip Rivers exposed the entire Seahawks defense throwing 3 touchdown passes to tight end Antonio Gates. While the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers refused to throw one pass at Sherman in the opening game, the Chargers did not shy away from the self-proclaimed best cornerback in the league.

One thing we all have learned in sports and life, if you’re going to dish it out, you damn well better be able to take it. Well Sherman showed his poor side Sunday running away from the media after the upset loss. We surely got used to seeing and hearing Sherman boast on himself after big games in the past couple years. Just ask wide receiver Michael Crabtree of the San Francisco 49ers during and after the 49ers loss to Seattle in the NFC Championship game last season. It was disappointing to see him hide and not mutter a word to the press on Sunday. You owe us one Richard Sherman after giving you the microphone all of last year. Maybe next time you have a great game with an interception or two, you go away after the game and hide from the media that day too.

Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks….. You’ve been FLAGGED by The Sport Stir!

Michael Sam Not a Ram;
Look for Him to Wear the Star

By Rick Appelt on The Sport Stir
August 30, 2014

Today Michael Sam was released by the St. Louis Rams putting an end to one of the two biggest offseason stories in the NFL. After a pretty decent preseason showing for the Rams, including 3 quarterbacks, Sam was cut from the 53-man roster leaving his future in the NFL in doubt.

Unfortunately Michael Sam was drafted by one of the NFL teams that was the deepest in defensive linemen. The seventh round draft pick was released on Saturday by Jeff Fisher stating that it was a football decision. Sam could pass through waivers on Sunday and still make the Ram’s practice squad.

The second biggest offseason story was that of Johnny Manziel and the Cleveland Browns. After Manziel was passed on by the Dallas Cowboys with 16th pick in the first round, it stunned followers of the Jerry Jones Big Circus Show in Arlington. Manziel was passed up early in the draft and fell right into Jerry’s lap at number 16. The Cowboys passed and the Cleveland Browns picked up Manziel with the 22nd pick moving that media circus to Cleveland.

Make no mistake about, Jones will not be outdone. I will guarantee everyone today that Michael Sam will trade in the blue and gold of the St. Louis Rams for the blue and silver of the Dallas Cowboys. You read it first right here, right now. Michael Sam will clear waivers and Jerry Jones will sign him this coming week to the Cowboys’ practice squad. Sporting the third worst defense in NFL history in 2013, the Cowboys need all the defensive help they can find. Why not add a defensive lineman, and not just any defensive lineman, one with a story and a following. I am one hopeful for a career in the NFL for Michael Sam. I think he is a very good defensive lineman and deserving to make some team’s roster. I don’t, however, want Sam’s future clouded by the media hound that is Jerry Jones.

Goodell Admits Dropping the Ball, NFL Gets Tough on Domestic Violence

By Michael Brocker on The Sport Stir
August 29, 2014

After a rash of public criticism, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has admitted in a letter to NFL owners that he made a mistake in the Ray Rice domestic violence case. Rice who was seen dragging his unconscious girlfriend, now his wife, out of an elevator in Atlantic City in February. Goodell suspended Rice for the first two games of the upcoming football season.

Goodell admitted he was wrong in the leniency of the Ray Rice suspension and stated that the league is implementing harsher penalties for cases of domestic violence. A first offense will result in a 6-game suspension without pay, which is exactly what Ray Rice should have received. A second offense will result in a complete banishment from the league. This new policy covers all NFL employees, not just players.

Goodell and the National Football League was scrutinized for not taking the matter of domestic violence serious enough with the Ray Rice decision. It was very upstanding to see Goodell admit he was wrong and that the league will take stronger actions in the future in the cases of domestic violence. Kudos to Goodell and the NFL for going back and reviewing what was wrong and making it right.

AL Central Painted Royal Blue

By Rick Appelt on The Sport Stir
August 27, 2014

Is the longest tenured team without a playoff game about to put that streak to bed finally? Maybe. The Kansas City Royals have not been in an MLB postseason playoff game since 1985. That’s the longest current drought of any team in baseball.

Here it is August 27th and the Kansas City Royals are in first place in the American League Central. They have a 2.5 game lead over the perennial favorite Detroit Tigers. Yes, the Royals have a better record than the almighty Tigers. The season is far from over with all of September to play, but the Royals are playing inspired baseball. The Royals and Tigers still play two more series against each other this season, but even if the Tigers should pass the Royals, it looks as if that postseason drought will finally end this year. With the advent of an additional wild card team in each league, the Royals could at least position themselves to reach that one-game playoff as a wild card.

If you are looking for this year’s Cinderella, look no further. We may have new blood in the postseason, and it’s a pretty Royal blue. I am personally predicting this team to make the playoffs and to do very well in the post season tournament.

Redskins’ Meriweather Gets 2-Game Suspension. Is It Enough?

By Michael Brocker on The Sport Stir
August 26, 2014

Safety Brandon Meriweather of the Washington Redskins is literally back on the attack again. After another vicious blow to Baltimore Ravens receiver Torrey Smith in Saturday night’s preseason game, Meriweather has been suspended for the first two games of the 2014 NFL season.

On a pass route across the middle of the field, Meriweather put his head down, lead with his helmet and launched his body as a human missile at Torrey Smith, inflicting yet another helmet-to-helmet collision on a defenseless player. Meriweather has 5 previous fines including a 2-game suspension last season for the same offense in a game against the Chicago Bears. He appealed the decision and his suspension was lessened to only one game.

The league suspended Meriweather on Monday for 2 games but is it enough? Meriweather has been fined 6 times for violations to the league’s safety policy for vicious hits on receivers. What does it take to learn how to tackle properly and play the game within the rules? Apparently Meriweather just does not get it and has no desire to change. What will the league do when the next time he lowers his helmet and launches himself at a receiver and breaks the guy’s neck? Then it’s too late. It’s like a drunk driver that has 4 DUI’s and still drinks and drives. The driver will end up killing someone at some point. Why is he still on the road? It’s no different with Brandon Meriweather. Apparently 6 times is not enough. Maybe a year suspension with no pay while attending proper tackling practice for 12 months will help.

Brandon Meriweather….. You’ve Been FLAGGED by The Sport Stir!

Yu Darvish Shut Down for 2014

By Rick Appelt on The Sport Stir
August 25, 2014

The Texas Rangers have shut down starting pitcher Yu Darvish for the remainder of 2014 baseball season. After being diagnosed with elbow inflammation in his throwing arm, the Rangers have decided to rest Darvish for the balance of schedule to not cause any further damage to the All-Star.

The writing was on the locker room wall for this one. After being placed on the 15-day disabled list on August 13th, retroactive to August 10th, Darvish has not participated in any baseball activities. Manager Ron Washington insisted that Darvish would get treatment and be back with the ball team after his stint on the DL. Washington even made mention that Darvish would not “quit on his teammates” and has since retracted that statement, citing it was not his intention to think Darvish would ever quit on his team.

After making the 2014 All-Star team, Darvish was the only bright spot in a rag tag pitching rotation decimated by injury and a lack of help from GM Jon Daniels in the offseason. Daniels announced today on KRLD radio in Dallas that it makes no sense to pitch Darvish again when clearly an MRI showed a problem with the elbow. You can count on his next start on the mound to be in spring training in Surprise, AZ.

Now comes the concern that there could be more wrong with the elbow mirroring all the season-ending elbow injuries in MLB this year leading to Tommy John surgery. It will be interesting to see if Darvish will be able to pitch the entire 2015 season. While in Japan Darvish was used to pitching once a week. Maybe the strain of pitching every 5th day has finally caught up to that right elbow. Will the Rangers be the first team to implement a 6-man rotation in 2015? That would be interesting, but do not count it. Since Nolan Ryan left for the Houston Astros, Daniels has done little to bolster this pitching staff.

Bradford and Rams Done for 2014

By Kenny Easton on The Sport Stir
August 25, 2014

The Rams are already playing against a stacked deck in the NFW West with the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers, and the up and coming Arizona Cardinals. After the loss of starting quarterback Sam Bradford, the Rams have been dealt another losing hand. It became official when the Rams announced yesterday that Bradford will miss the entire 2014 NFL season.

After tearing his ACL in the seventh game of the 2013 season and missing the last nine games, Bradford reinjured the same left knee Saturday night. In a preseason game against the Cleveland Browns, Bradford was tackled in the first quarter, falling awkwardly to the turf, and once again injuring the ACL in the left knee.

After posting a respectable 7-9 season in 2013 with the league’s youngest roster, the team was posed to compete for a possible playoff berth in 2014. Building one of the league’s toughest and stingiest defenses, the Rams were counting on Bradford to lead the offense after passing on Johnny Manziel in the 2014 draft.

Backup quarterback Shaun Hill will move into the starting role for the Rams after playing the same role for the Detroit Lions the past 4 years. The Rams currently have no interest in trading for an established quarterback and will look to start Hill in the season opener at home in two weeks against the Minnesota Vikings.

South Koreans Too Much for Jackie Robinson West Little League

By Michael Brocker on The Sport Stir
August 24, 2014

As projected the Asia-Pacific Little League team from South Korea proved too much for the dream team from Chicago, Illinois. The youngsters from Jackie Robinson West Little League gave a valiant effort but fell short losing 8-4 Sunday afternoon in the World Championship game of the Little League World Series.

Despite a last inning rally by the team from Chicago, the South Koreans held on to win the World Championship going undefeated in Williamsport. The team from Seoul was a power-hitting and power-pitching machine. It was their third World Championship and their first since 1985.

The youngsters from Chicago have absolutely no reason to hang their heads. They made a city proud and a brought a community together while endearing the hearts of many baseball fans around the country. The dream run is over, the season ended with a U.S Championship, and the boys from Jackie Robinson West now turn their summer focus back to good old school time. Thanks again boys for an entertaining week in Williamsport.

Michael Sam Gets in on Manziel Act

By Kenny Easton on The Sport Stir
August 23, 2014

With the exception of number one overall pick, Jadeveon Clowney, the two of the most talked about draft picks in this year’s NFL were Johnny “Football” Manziel and Michael Sam. Well the two met in the third preseason game of the year and it was memorable.

The two met alright - in the backfield of the Browns offense. On a third down and 21 to go, Michael Sam blew past Browns offensive tackle Martin Wallace on a speed rush and sacked Johnny Manziel. That was the first half of the memorable play. The second half came when Sam got up and showed off his version of Manziel’s “money” finger gesture. It was a thing of beauty and then he finished it off with his patented “punch” move.

There were two things that became very evident tonight after Sam’s sack of Manziel. The first is that Manziel actually learned to control his emotions and save himself another $12,000 in fines by not flipping the bird to Michael Sam. The second is that it continues to show that many NFL defenders want their chance at hitting that huge target Manziel has put on his own back. Humility may come in the form of injury. Humility is a good thing.

Chicago Team Ends Dream Run at Little League World Series with U.S. Title

By Michael Brocker on The Sport Stir
August 23, 2014

A crowd favorite in Williamsport, PA, the Jackie Robinson West Little League team from Chicago, Illinois comes back in thrilling fashion to win the United States championship of the Little League World Series. With a come-from-behind 7-5 victory over the Mountain Ridge Little League team from Las Vegas, Nevada, the Chicago team made history Saturday afternoon in Williamsport.

After losing to the Nevada team earlier in the week 12-3, the Chicago team avenged that loss in the championship game to advance to the World Championship game on Sunday. They will compete against South Korea on Sunday who won their championship game against Japan on Saturday. Win or lose to South Korea in the World Championship, the team from Chicago should be very proud and we are all proud of them.

The Jackie Robinson West team was the first all-African-American team to make it to the Little League World Series in over 30 years and the first to win the U.S. Championship. It is a great story for a league aided by the MLB Urban Initiative to help bring baseball back to inner-city kids. I hope to see some of these young sluggers at the major league level one day. It’s fun to talk about baseball at any level in the city of Chicago again.

MLB Should Revisit Hiccups to Instant Replay

By Rick Appelt on The Sport Stir
August 21, 2014

It’s always been said, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Major League Baseball did finally catch up with the times this year by implementing the new replay system. As the technology has increased in television viewing with high-definition, incredible slow motion action and playback, and number of cameras and camera angles in sports, MLB felt a need to get the calls on the field called more accurately. Welcome to the 21st century, finally.

With this new technology, however, comes all the bugs and glitches that will need to be ironed out for next season. One of the greatest issues that continuously confronts baseball is the need to speed up the game. The new replay system, which is great for the game, has created another category of unnecessary game delays which is actually not the replay itself. Instead, it has to do with the delay of challenging the call on the field while the manager collects his “notice to proceed” or “notice to back off” from the internal team reviewer inside his small replay booth tucked inside the ballpark.

As it stands, if a play on the field is close enough to warrant a review, the team manager automatically walks out onto the field. Of course this is a very slow and methodical walk in the direction of the umpire that made the call. The manager then engages in pleasant communications with the umpire about the health of his mother and sister while looking back to the dugout awaiting that notice from the dugout from another coach that is in contact with the team replay analyst. The manager then gets his thumbs up or thumbs down as whether or not to actually initiate a challenge on the play.

The two baseball teams are limited to the amount of challenges they can perform during a game. Unfortunately, there is no rule to number of times the manager can walk out onto the field and stop play to discuss dinner plans with the umpire while awaiting that notice from the dugout. This needs to stop. Maybe the answer is actually enforcing a challenge once the manager has entered the field of play to congratulate the umpire on the high school graduation of his oldest son. I am not sure if this is the best way to solve this issue, but it definitely is one of the first hiccups MLB needs to address before the 2015 baseball season.