The U being, well, The U

I went with a WSJ link this morning to give this blog a more 'serious' tone to it. With that out of the way, what the hell is going on in Miami? Nevin Shapiro, some ponzi schemer that is (was?) a Miami booster, is blowing the whistle on Miami and it's looking kinda bad for the Canes. In interviews with Yahoo! Sports, Shapiro claims some of the benefits he provided to players "included but were not limited to cash, prostitutes, entertainment in his multimillion-dollar homes and yacht, paid trips to high-end restaurants and nightclubs, jewelry, bounties for on-field play (including bounties for injuring opposing players), travel and, on one occasion, an abortion".

The depth of Shapiro's alleged illegal activity with the Hurricanes has people talking about the Death Penalty; something we have only seen once in NCAA football - SMU got sanctioned with it in 1987. In fact, this sanction has only been doled out by the NCAA five times in history across all sports. The Death Penalty prevents a school from competing in a sport for a year. End of discussion. It is the steepest penalty that the NCAA can hand out and you have to be in some deep shit for them to play the card.

That said, I can see where The U is worried about receiving the Death Penalty. SMU had a slush fund set up and was literally paying players while they were playing football. Not to mention that players were being given money to sign with SMU to begin with. When you look at some of Miami's alleged violations, they look pretty similar. Funny thing is, this is only a big deal because the people involved are scholarship athletes. You know what you call cash, prostitutes, and entertainment in mutimillion dollar homes/yachts otherwise in Miami? A typical weekend.

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Today was pretty solid, IMO

I woke up this morning a little after 6:40 am to help Lizette go through the emotional event of dropping off AJ for his first day of daycare. I played it off like I wasn't overly bothered by it, but it saddened me a lot more than I led on. I'd like to think that the bond that I have with the boys are pretty strong but they will never be as strong as the bond they share with their Mom. And rightfully so, may I add. Our moms do one of the most selfless things on the face of this earth - give birth to all of us.

Lizette hurried off to work and I headed back home so I could get ready for work myself. I was feeling under the weather but it wasn't anything a little ibuprofen wouldn't cure. I took a pair of advil along with the rest of my morning meds, finished my morning routine, and headed to work hoping the meds would kick in sooner than later.

I walked into the office still feel crappy but with the usual game face on. I may be having a shitty morning but hey, I'm walking into a job that I love to make a decent wage to help support a family that loves me. Around 8:45 or so it felt like the heater was turned on and I knew that salvation was soon at hand - my feverish symptoms would soon give way.

Fast forward through the day. I took a late lunch because I was swamped at work and it was 4 pm before I knew it. I started to feel a little icky again and I should have heeded the warning signs. I didn't take my second dose of ibuprofen for some stupid reason and soon it was too late. I felt chills coming on and my hands felt like freaking ice cubes. I took some more ibuprofen and kept plugging away.

I may clock out around ~5 pm during the work week but my day doesn't stop there. I like to spend time with the family when I get home, especially now that I have a day job after working graveyard shift for 5 years. I headed home to pick up Julian because he wanted to come with me to pick up his little brother. Poor Julez is as emotional as anyone through this transition. In fact, when we picked up AJ, Julian bolted over to him, picked him up, and gave him a huge hug. I couldn't help but smile.

When we got home and settled, I made an executive decision. I bought this sweet book for Jim knowing that it'd be right up his alley. It was on how to survive out in the wilderness. The original plan was to keep it under wraps until Christmas. We're going camping in two weeks, though, and what better time to give him the present? I hope it made his day as much as it made mine.

So here I am at 6:30 waiting for my fever to break. I still feel crummy but it's going to be time to get dinner ready soon. My beef stew is being requested by both Lizette and Julez so I can't let them down! Maybe I'll take a quick power nap until 7:30 so I have ample time to do the prep work. I want to have dinner ready by the time Lizette gets off her 12 hour hospital shift.

tl;dr version - see the title.

Dirt Bag Dan (Uggla)

Tevez Watch - 8.4.11

We're about 3 weeks removed from the last big transfer news surrounding Carlos Tevez. When we last left off... Captain Carlos was going to spurn big boy football and return to his roots via transfer to Corinthians. A 40m transfer fee was agreed upon and Tevez looked like he wouldn't have to travel back to Manchester after the conclusion of the Copa America. Then at the last minute, those talks stalled because Corinthians allegedly couldn't get sufficient bank guarantees to Man City officials. I guess the old "trust me, I'm good for it" routine didn't work.

All the while, City was in the process of luring Sergio Aguero to Eastlands. To hell with Tevez, right? City turned around and reopened bidding for Tevez to other European teams at a rumored price of 50m. Inter looks to be the most interested, with a partial swap involving Samuel Eto'o coming to Eastlands being talked about again. And now, we get word that Tevez is due to report back to Man City today. He is, after all, still under contract to City; a contract that is reported to be well into the 200k p/w range.

It looks like the prospect of Tevez staying looks more reasonable than ever. And as long as City get off to a good start on the season, who's to say that he doesn't have a true change of heart and decide to stay a little longer? City will be legit contenders in all of their major competitions - the Premier League, the Carling Cup, the FA Cup, and the Champions League. A win over United in the Community Shield to start the season could be the start that both City and Tevez need. Could you honestly imagine any player wanting to leave a team that wins two major trophies in any given season? Not only that, but a team that has all the financial backing in the world? I certainly hope not.

Two first round picks, two cuts

The Falcons released Jamaal Anderson and Michael Jenkins today. Forget implications this has on the salary cap and roster makeup. The first thing I thought was - these were some of the last guys drafted by Rich McKay. In fact, these guys kind of bookend McKays draft history with the Falcons, whom he GM'd from 2003 to 2008.

Michael Jenkins was drafted in the first round in 2004; McKay's second draft after assuming GM duties in 2003. Jenkins was the second of two first round draft picks for the Falcons in 2004. Deangelo Hall was drafted with the 8th overall pick and then Jenkins was drafted 29th. Jenkins never amounted to much during his seven seasons in Atlanta. He had 267 receptions for 3512 yards and 20 TDs. At best I think you could argue that Jenkins could be a below averge #2 receiver.

Jamaal Anderson was also drafted in the first round; this time in 2007 which was McKay's last draft. Anderson was handed the starting RE position and every Falcons fan had their dreams crushed when his potential was never realized. 4 seasons, 105 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles. 1 big draft bust. Anderson was eventually moved to a pass-rushing DT role before he was moved to the cut list.

KUN KUN KUN KUN KUN

Skysports article.



Looks like Sergio Aguero is well on his way to donning a City shirt for the immediate future. He's in Manchester today taking a medical and hashing out personal contract details. Normally I would be cautiously optimistic, but Aguero himself confirmed how close things are on Twitter - "Just arrived in Manchester to finalise the details of signing with City". I think that's a pretty strong hint.

Assuming (lol) that Aguero signs for City, that leaves them with a wealth of options at striker. Look at Roberto Mancini's strikeforce - Mario Balotelli, Edin Dzeko, Diego Maradona's son-in-law, and wantaway Carlos Tevez. Wouldn't it be ridiculous if Tevez decides that having another fellow countryman in Aguero on the team is enough for him and his family to feel at home in Manchester? Now that would be a problem that most any football team would love to deal with.

Tevez Watch - 7.15.11

Today Corinthians did what they swore they wouldn't do - improve upon their opening bid of £35m for Captain Carlos. How quickly things can change when another team shows interest! Juventus was rumored to have offered £45m for Tevez (which was later denied by Man City officials) and all of a sudden Corinthians found a little more money in between the couch cushions. So today Corinthians have lodged a second bid for Tevez, this time for £40m. That's enough to activate the release clause in Kun Aguero's contract. Just saying...

If I were Sheikh Mansour, I would've taken the original £35m offer from Corinthians for the karma and for the opportunity to move onward with what's being built at City. Let's assume that Tevez is telling the truth and that he just wants to be home with his family. Corinthians allows that to happen, and City gets to bid farewell to a headache. I guess maybe City is holding out for more money in an attempt to work within the FFP guidelines? As mentioned, Kun Aguero has a £40m release clause and selling Tevez for that amount would let City break even. It's not like Sheikh Mansour has any personal financial constraints that are driving him to hold out for a higher transfer fee. Back in 2009 when Sheikh Mansour bought Man City, Forbes estimated his personal net worth at $4.9 billion.

Back to Tevez, I'm as anxious to see his situation get resolved as I am to see the NFL get their labor situation resolved. Hopefully the weekend will bring a little more clarity to both pictures.

Richard Samuel changes positions. Again.

For the third time, Richard Samuel has switched positions on the football field in the best interests of the Bulldogs. It certainly hasn't helped his draft stock having moved back and forth so frequently because I couldn't imagine it letting him develop one set of skills in particular. And we aren't talking about moving from TE to WR, learning to play Tackle instead of Guard. Even Hines Ward would be proud of Samuel.

When Richard Samuel was recruited out of high school in 2008, Rivals had him rated as their #2 athlete. Scout rated him the 4th best RB. I remember the talk surrounding Samuel and how he had the potential to be an impact player on either side of the ball; whether it be carrying the ball out of the backfield or tracking down ballcarriers from a LB position.

Samuel played RB his first two years. He was part of a loaded backfield that featured Knowshon Moreno and Caleb King (former 5 star recruit before injury) his FR year and he only carried the ball 26 times for 133 net yards. Moreno would go on to be a first round draft pick at the end of the year, but the depth at the position didn't drop off terribly.

Going into his SO year, Samuel was joined in the backfield by another highly regarded in-state RB, Washaun Ealey. Ealey and King got the bulk of the carries in 2009-2010 and Samuel ended with the 3rd most carries (88). It made sense that Samuel move to his secondary position of LB after the year was over and Samuel took a RS to begin learning the LB position at the college level.

Going into this season, Samuel looked to join a LB unit that was long on potential but short on experience. Then Washaun Ealey transferred. I saw this as addition by subtraction and a roster shakeup that would help get yet another heralded RB recruit (Isaiah Crowell) some carries. Then earlier this month the other shoe dropped - Caleb King was deemed academically ineligible for the season. He would later declare for the supplemental draft.

All of a sudden the Bulldogs were looking real thin at a position that looked like it was overflowing with talent. So now comes the news that Samuel will be returning to his original position and playing RB for the Dawgs. Samuel's move gives the Bulldogs four scholarship players at the position - Samuel, FR Crowell, rFR Boo Malcome, and JR Carlton Thomas.

As it stands, Thomas looks to be the shifty, elusive back. Malcome is the battering ram. Crowell looks to be a mix of Thomas and Malcome. Then there's Samuel, the unknown. Like Crowell, he's high on potential but has yet to prove much over the course of a season. The few times I've seen Samuel get meaningful work, he's looked better than average. Here's to hoping that Samuel gets a chance to finally hit the playing field for significant stretches this season. I can't help but think a little bit of Hines Ward when he played every position of need for the Dawgs.

Time to say goodbye to Tevez?

Skysports article

To say that Carlos Tevez has had a rollercoaster run with City is an understatement. I remember being a huge fan of the signing, if not for anything else, because it was a direct shot taken at rivals Man United. The "Welcome to Manchester" banner was a fantastic way to throw stones at United. I even thought about making my first ever MCFC website purchase - a Tevez t-shirt.

Tevez lived up to the hype, imo. In his inaugural season he bagged 23 goals in 32 league appearances, good for the fourth most goals scored in 2009-2010. The City resurgence was gaining momentum and it was clear to see that Tevez and his frenetic style of play was at the forefront. City suffered a painful final day loss to Tottenham that left them out of Champions League football, but you could see the potential at the club.

This City fan, much like many others, was then sideswiped with the news that Tevez handed in a written transfer request. How could the Captain, the literal face of the City uprising, want to leave? After one season? Then like a late Christmas present, Tevez retracted his request and everything was well again. Water under the bridge. Tevez went on to score 20 goals to tie with Dimitar Berbatov for the most goals scored in league play. He literally powered City into the Champions League.

Not only did City finish 3rd to qualify for the Champions League, but they also won some silverware; defeating Stoke 1-0 to bring home the FA Cup. Another positive season surely was in the works. After bringing in some fairly big names over the past season and a half by selling a dream, City could now sell a reality - football at the highest level.

Then the nightmare began again. Tevez wants to go back home. So instead of bolstering a striker rotation to gun for several trophies, it looks like City will be looking for a replacement for their captain. Rumors will lead you to believe that Tevez is close to securing a move that he's been struggling with for quite some time - a return trip back home to Argentina to be with his family.

I can't say I blame him. A foreign-born player can only feel comfortable to a certain point, no matter how much money he may make. Although, if I made the rumored wages that Tevez makes at City, I'd certainly have my family moved. :) That said, I wish the best for Tevez and I hope he finds his way back home via Corinthians. A reported bid of £35 million is in the works, much of which will hopefully be turned right around and sent to Atletico Madrid for Kun Aguero. How fitting would it be that City replace their outgoing Argentinian striker with another Argentinian striker?

Contrary to Tevez, however, Aguero is said to be a much more grounded person. So much that he has actually been criticized for being too loyal to AT Madrid; suggesting that he should have moved on to a bigger club years ago. Here's to hoping that Aguero makes his way to City and becomes an improved version of his compatriot - Captain Carlos.