by Nick Brower | Mar 9, 2018 | SPORTS
The Los Angeles Rams continued their defensive overhaul yesterday by agreeing to terms with the Denver Broncos to trade for Pro Bowl cornerback Aqib Talib. Talib will join former Chiefs corner Marcus Peters in a brand new secondary for the Rams. The Rams also signed Sam Shields yesterday morning who will add depth to the secondary. These moves all but guarantee that Trumaine Johnson will finally hit the free agent market after playing the last two seasons under the franchise tag. These new additions come along with two big departures. Robert Quinn was sent to Kansas City in the Peters trade and Alec Olgetree was sent to the Giants. Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips must be excited. Adding big time talent like this to his secondary will allow his defensive schemes to blossom. Phillips has always loved bringing the heat on opposing quarterbacks with the blitz and now he’ll have the man coverage corners he needs to send the house. The Rams can now focus on filling holes at inside linebacker and offensive line in the draft. The secondary has been an issue for the Rams for a long time but now they are slotted to have one of the best in the league.
The biggest side effect of these moves has to be the addition of big time attitudes to this defense. Both Peters and Talib are known for their big time personalities. Both players have served multiple suspensions in their careers and are not shy about getting in opposing players’ faces. If they can keep it in relative check then I think it could be a great addition to the team. A healthy amount of attitude is a major part of any successful defense and these two bring more than enough of that to the table. Look for a lot of interceptions, a lot of huge hits, and a lot of trash talking and shoving out of the Rams secondary this season.
by Nick Brower | Mar 8, 2018 | SPORTS
With their overtime win over Detroit last night Toronto became the first team to clinch a playoff berth this season. Toronto has quietly put together a great season but they still aren’t getting much love. I wouldn’t read too much into this birth. I still don’t see them beating either Boston or Cleveland to get out of the East. The main reason? Lack of clutch. Kyle Lowery has been suspect in the playoffs the last couple of years and they don’t have enough fire power past him and DeRozan to survive a few off nights. Both Cleveland and Boston have players that are proven postseason stars. Everyone knows that LeBron knows how to get the job done. And lets not forget that it was Kyrie who hit the game winning shot in Game 7, not LeBron. I’m not saying Toronto doesn’t have a shot. This team is legit. I just need to see some better results in the postseason before I put them above the other top teams in the East. Home court advantage will prove to be much more important for Toronto so this is a good sign for them. LeBron and the Cavs couldn’t care less about what seed they get. Boston has some question marks as well, but defense always travels well and Kyrie is one of the best clutch players in the league. Toronto might be the first team to clinch but they still have their work cut out for them.
by Nick Brower | Mar 8, 2018 | SPORTS
Yankees fans rejoice, Aaron Judge will not be participating in this year’s Home Run Derby. Judge told reporters this morning that he is “leaning” towards not competing. While he didn’t give a clear reason, we all know why. Many hitters have suffered post-derby slumps and Judge was no different. The Derby is incredibly taxing on the players. Even if they are taking batting practice style swings, there is no time during the spring or the regular season when any player takes that volume of swings in one day. It takes a toll on hitters and can really mess with their timing. Judge struggled significantly following the Derby with both his power numbers and his average suffering. He also declined to talk about whether or not the Derby had anything to do with the shoulder issue he had addressed over the offseason. Many people believe that Judge owes it to the fans to compete in the derby because he is one of the biggest superstars the league has. Screw that. LeBron has NEVER done the dunk competition. The Home Run Derby is always a huge event and a lot of fun, but it is nothing compared to playoff baseball and if Judge wants to sit out and rest up for a postseason run I’m all for it. I want Judge hitting bombs in October, I couldn’t care less about July.
by Nick Brower | Mar 8, 2018 | SPORTS
Just when you thought Derrick Rose might be done the Timberwolves give him a deal for the rest of the season. I really don’t know why D-Rose is still playing. His fall from grace has been one of the sadder stories since he came into the league. Once one of the most explosive players in the game, knee injuries significantly slowed Rose down and started him on a downward path. Most recently he missed time from the Cavaliers with “personal issues”. Now we might never really know what exactly that meant, it did mean he had more important things to handle then playing basketball. Now the Wolves bring him in and expand on the Chicago reunion. Coach Thibodeau now has three players from his tenure with the Bulls as Rose joins Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson. Unfortunately I don’t think the friendly faces are going to make much of a difference for Rose. He was dominate because of his freakish athletic ability and that just isn’t there anymore. He hasn’t been a major contributor for any team for quite some time now and honestly I think this move hurts the Wolves more than it helps. This team is trending up with a lot of great young talent. Why bring in a washed up point guard who has a below average jump shot and can’t get to the rack anymore? He’s not even a great locker room veteran to have around to help develop these youngsters. We will always have fond memories of Rose’s MVP season back in 2011, but he’s not even a shadow of that player anymore and I just don’t see him contributing much to this T-Wolves team. This move is a head-scratcher for sure.
by Nick Brower | Mar 8, 2018 | SPORTS
Have we seen the last of Trae Young’s college career? Oklahoma might have played itself right out of the NCAA tournament. Their loss to Oklahoma State last night makes it 11 losses in their last 15 games and 8 in their last 10. Oklahoma and Young once looked like a lock for a one seed but now they’ll need some help from other bubble teams to even have a chance of dancing this year. Oklahoma seemed to just run out of fire power. They just didn’t have enough offense past Trae Young to keep it going. Teams started to focus on the freshman phenom and his teammates couldn’t pick up the slack. This late season skid is really a bummer as I was looking forward to seeing Young play in the tournament. There hasn’t been an announcement yet but all signs point to Trae entering the draft this year. What else do he have to prove? He led the nation in both points and assists per game. If anything, returning to Oklahoma and continuing to be an great player on an average team could hurt his draft stock. Young should cash in on the hype surrounding his game and head to the league. There is still an outside chance Oklahoma makes it into the tournament but more than likely their season is done. What becomes of Trae Young is yet to be seen.
by Nick Brower | Mar 8, 2018 | SPORTS
The NFL Combine has always been about more than the on-the-field drills. Teams use this time to interview players and find out more about their off-field lives. This year has been no exception, but former LSU running back Derrius Guice said a few questions crossed the line. In an interview with SiriusXM NFL, Guice said one team asked him if he “liked men” and another team asked, “Hey, I heard your mom sells herself. How do you feel about that?”. Now yes, teams do need to do their due diligence when considering who to select in the draft but this is absurd. The first question is blatantly discrimination. Who gives a damn about a player’s sexual orientation? Michael Sam recently became the first openly gay man to play in the NFL and has proven to be a worthy NFL player. And even if he didn’t end up playing well it would have had nothing to do with him being gay. There is no place for this kind of discrimination in the league and I’m appalled. The second question about his mother is also way out of bounds. I might have jumped over the table if a team exec asked me that. Neither of these questions should have any weight in evaluating a player pre-draft. Should teams find out if a player handles himself professionally off the field? Definitely. But neither of these questions have anything to do with that. They were just trying to get under his skin and that’s flat out wrong. And this isn’t even the first time things like this have happened. Giants’ cornerback Eli Apple was asked if he was gay at the 2016 Combine, three other players were asked similar questions in 2013, and Dez Bryant was asked a similar question about his mother in 2010. The league has reprimanded teams for questions like these in the past but clearly not enough. They need to sort this out and do it fast. I just hope that this story does not affect Guice’s draft stock. His collegiate career proved he has a place in the league and many experts have him going in the first round. The kid can play and he deserves a chance, regardless of his answers to these ridiculous questions.
