Photo of the Day: Braylon Busted

27 year old Jets wide receiver, Braylon Edwards, was arrested yesterday morning at 5:15am for having illegally tinted windows. Once the police had pulled him over they smelled alcohol and Edwards failed the Breathalyzer blowing .16 Edwards was at a charity event Monday night hosted by his teammate Jerrico Cotchery.

Reports came out this morning that Edwards, expected the cops to give him a break and let him off. "We were coming from a party. How about I just leave the car and take a cab and go home?" Edwards told officers during the stop. He would go on to question the validity of the stop, "Why was I stopped for having tints if my driving didn't lead you to believe I was drunk?"

The Jets last night said Edwards will not be suspended. However, he will not be allowed to start Sunday night's game in Miami and will be fined $50,000 by the NFL.

Battered and Bruised: Recapping Notable Pre-Season Injuries

We have been counting down the days till the start of this football season since the Saints marched the Vince Lombardi trophy back to New Orleans after Superbowl XLIV. In anticipation for the day that we get to see our favorite teams face off against each other on the line of scrimmage, many of us take to watching overly glorified scrimmages preseason games.

I have mixed feelings about the pre-season and how much it really tells me about my team and how they will do in the long haul. On one hand, we have the ability to size teams up, see how much depth on their roster and see how some of our newly acquired players fit with our team. But preseason injuries are inevitable in the NFL. And within the span of four weeks, several teams are faced with the threat of losing one of their key players for a significant part of the regular season. And this year was no different as we kept a watch on the injury report to see if some late greats and young hopefuls could keep themselves together long enough to take the first snap of the regular season.

As we count down the final hours before the start of the season, lets take a look back on the notable injuries of this season that have been keeping us up at night.

Dez Bryant

The Bad News: The Cowboys were the first team to suffer a potentially serious injury to one of their key players. During training camp, Bryant went down with a high ankle sprain and missed all but the first week of practice. The anticipation around Bryant and the potential impact he can have on the Cowboys is what makes this injury concerning to fans. With the Cowboys trading up in the draft to pick up Bryant, scouting reports about his speed and agility, and the infamous rookie shoulder pads training camp drama, there has been quite a bit of hype around a player that has played in a full game since September 19, 2009 before the NCAA suspended him.
The Good News: Bryant thinks his ankle is 100% and we should finally see some of his potential unleashed this Sunday against the Redskins

Byron Leftwich
The Bad News: With Ben Roethlisberger out for the start of the season, it was essential that the Steelers have a solid QB roster to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Steelers had brought in Leftwich at the end of last season to be their starting quarterback while Roethlisberger was out. Now, Dennis Dixon is the guy who will be running the show with career backup Charlie Batch waiting in the wings. The Steelers began the season with a solid line up of 4 quarterbacks and now they are down to just two with Leftwich on the sidelines for most of the first month with a strained left knee ligament.
The Good News: Big Ben’s suspension has been reduced to 4 weeks and he will be retaking the reigns on this team October 17th when Pittsburgh meets Cleveland.

Gibril Wilson
The Bad News: The Bengals safety Wilson is out with a torn ACL and MCL and will miss the entire season after suffering the injury in the 2nd pre-season game. He signed this spring as a free-agent and the Bengals hoped that he would add experience and depth to the position.
The Good News: Although this leaves Cincinnati pretty thin at the safety position Coach Marvin Lewis is expecting to see the young guys on the team step-up to the plate since they will be filling the No. 4 position internally.

Donnie Avery

The Bad News: The Rams #1 Wide Receiver is out for the year after suffering a torn ligament in his right knee during the preseason game against the Patriots. This is a pretty big blow to the Rams offense since Avery is the arguably one of their few threats on offense. While the Rams scrabbled to find a replacement it started to look like the much celebrated Bradford had no one of quality Laurent Robinson to throw the ball too.

The Good News: The Rams were able to find a replacement to add some much needed experience and to the Wide Receivers roster in Mark Clayton who they picked up from the Baltimore Ravens. Clayton is a product of the Boomer Sooner machine like QB Bradford and they even have had the experience of working together in the past. The experience and familiarity may be enough to hold the Rams together through this season.


Sidney Rice

The Bad News: The Vikings have been plagued with injuries all off-season. Wide Receiver Rice will miss the first 6 weeks of the regular sesason. Although this doesn’t completly cripple their offense, it is disappointing to see, particularly because the Vikings success last year was in large part due to Rice’s 1,312 yards and 8 touchdowns. Even more concerning is that it looks like this situation could have been prevented. Rice initially injured his hip in the NFC Championship game against the Saints, but doctors continually told him in the offseason that it would heal with rest and he would need surgery before the start of this season. But apparently the doctor was wrong and the situation worsened forcing Rice to opt into surgey.
The Good News: Rice isn't out for the entire season and a healthy Rice is better than no Rice. As he reports on his blog, he should be back later this season to "help the Vikings make a push for the Super Bowl."

Now there are some key players that are "healthy" but their previous injuries are still in the back of our minds. Just to mention a few:

Donovan McNabb, Redskins- foot injury

Troy Polamalu, Steelers- knee injury

Brett Favre, Vikings- ankle injury

Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals- sprained MCL

Wes Welker, Patriots- knee injury

Michael Bush, Raiders- thumb

Clinton Portis, Redskins- sprained ankle

What major players did I forget? And what impact will their absence have on their teams this season?

NFL Preview: Superbowl Picks

Finally we are coming to the end of our NFL preview and we are finishing up with the biggest event in the entire football season: the Super Bowl. We asked our writers for their picks for the winners of the Vince Lombardi trophy and no one could agree...

Super Bowl Picks

John: 

Packers vs. Pats with my New England Patriots taking the Super Bowl title.

Johnny C: 

Dallas, Romo and company finally get over the hump when Dez Bryant gets healthy.

Kevin: 

Houston Texans are going to win it all regardless of who they play.

Michelle: 

Colts vs. Cowboys, and as much as it pains me to pick against Dallas, the Colts will win it all. 

Sport4Prophet: 

Packers vs. Colts, the Packers in an F-U Favre season from Aaron Rodgers provides Peyton Manning with his second straight loss in a Super Bowl

NFL Preview: MVP

The MVP award is given to the player that contributed the most during the regular season to the success of his team. Peyton Manning led his Colts to 14-0 last year and won his fourth award overall as well as his second straight. Will Manning make it a three-peat or will he be dethroned? Let's check out EDIASD writers' thoughts on the issue.

Most Valuable Player

John: Drew Brees
Brees is coming off a Super Bowl winning season as well as being the highest rated QB and cover boy of this year's Madden video game. He;s still one of the shorter quarterbacks at his position but he plays much taller than his stature. He was the leader of the Saints on both a performance and spiritual level last year for their Super Bowl run and they are eying a repeat. Let's hope Brees can avoid the Madden curse and have another successful season in 2010.

Drew Brees threw for almost 4,400 yards last season with a passer completion percentage of 70.6% (the best of his career) on his way to the Super Bowl. He also finished with 34 touchdowns and a passer rating of 109.6.

Johnny C: Tom Brady
Kevin: Tom Brady
Brady used last year to bounce back from a season ending knee injury he suffered in Week 1 of 2008. With injury worries fully behind him coming into the 2010 season, we will see what new tight end targets, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, bring to the table. Those two should put Brady a little more at ease since the Pats are in slight disarray with the contract issues of both Brady and guard Logan Mankins and the discontent of receiver Randy Moss. Not to mention the fact that Wes Welker is on the mend from a surgery of his own.

Brady completed 66% of his passes for a total of 4,398 yards and threw 28 touchdowns for a passer rating of 96.2.

Michelle: Peyton Manning
Peyton Manning is the reigning four time MVP and he doesn't look to be slowing down. He has started every single game for the Colts ever since he landed in Indianapolis and many believe that he is the best quarterback in the game today. The Colts came close to beating the Saints last year in the Super Bowl and Manning looks poised to challenge for that title again this year.

Peyton Manning threw for exactly 4,500 yards last season and 33 touchdowns with a completion percentage of 69% and a 99.9 passer rating.

Sport4Prophet: Aaron Rodgers
It seems like it will be the year of the quarterback again but I think I'm going with a QB that isn't often mentioned. Aaron Rodgers has finally emerged from the shadow of Brett Favre in Green Bay. Last season he was about to shine and lead the Packers into the playoffs even with a very porous offensive line in front of him. I think this season could be a breakout season for him and it should all depend on whether the Packers can have a strong showing this year.

Last season Rodgers completed 65% of his passes for nearly 4,500 yards and 30 touchdowns for a passer rating of 103.2. He also rushed for 5 touchdowns on the ground.


Tomorrow we'll wrap up the NFL Preview with the writers' picks for which teams will make it to the Super Bowl as well as who we think will win it this season.

NFL Preview: Rookie of the Year

Next in our NFL preview series we’ll take a look at our thoughts on the NFL Rookie of the Year. Who has the talent to be the gem of the 2010 draft?


Rookie of the Year

John: Sam Bradford
In 2008 Sam Bradford was on top of the college football world. He was the Heisman trophy winner as well as the Associated Press College Football Player of the Year. His Oklahoma Sooners also made it to the National Championship game that year where they lost to Tim Tebow's Florida Gators. Unfortunately for Bradford, injury problems limited him in his junior year and resulted in him having season-ending shoulder surgery. He finished his career with over 8,000 yards and 88 touchdowns.

That didn't stop the St. Louis Rams from selecting Bradford as their franchise quarterback as the first pick of the draft. In the Rams preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings, Bradford went 6-of-13 for 57 yards and was sacked 3 times. In the Rams second game against the Browns, Bradford was equally unimpressive. It wasn't until the third game when Bradford started in place of the injured Feeley that he was able to show his true worth to Rams fans. Bradford threw two first half touchdowns and helped lead the Rams to a 36–35 victory over the New England Patriots.

Johnny C: Aaron Hernandez
As a junior in 2009, Aaron Hernandez won the John Mackey Award, which is given every year to the nation's best tight end, after leading the Gators in receptions with 68 for 850 yards and five touchdowns. He also was recognized as a first-team All-SEC selection and an Associated Press first-team All-American. Hernandez finished his college career with 111 receptions for 1,382 yards and 12 touchdowns.

The Patriots drafted Hernandez in the fourth round of the draft and he has performed well for them in the preseason. He caught 7 passes for 72 yards and a touchdown in two preseason games and was a favorite target for quarterback Tom Brady. He had to sit out the last two preseason games and will probably start the season as the third string tight end behind Alge Crumpler and Ron Gronkowski.

Kevin: Dez Bryant
Michelle: Dez Bryant
During his sophomore year, Dez Bryant registered 87 receptions for 1,480 yards and 19 touchdowns, including 2 punt returns for touchdowns for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. He was ruled ineligible for his junior year because of his failure to fully disclose interactions with former NFL cornerback and Bryant's mentor, Deion Sanders.

The Dallas Cowboys traded up in the 2010 draft to take Bryant 24th, two picks after the Broncos selected Demaryius Thomas. Besides some preseason controversy surrounding Bryant's reluctance toward rookie traditions there isn't much for Cowboys fans to go on as a result of a high ankle sprain that sidelined Bryant for all four games. The Cowboys will probably want to ease Bryant onto the field as the slot receiver in their offense but eventually he will probably supplant Roy Williams for a starting position.

Sport4Prophet: Ndomukong Suh
I figured I would shake things up and pick a defender as the Rookie of the Year though with Suh it's not that big of a leap. He is one of the most decorated defensive players in college football history. In 2009 he won the Associated Press College Football Player of the Year Award, the Bronko Nagurski &Chuck Bednarik Award for best defensive player, Lombardi Award for best lineman, Outland Trophy for best interior lineman, and AP Player of the Year (the first defensive player ever to accomplish this). ESPN's expert draft analyst, Mel Kiper Jr. highlighted Suh as "maybe the most dominating defensive tackle I've seen in 32 years".

While Suh's preseason numbers were not that spectacular with only 3 tackles, his presence caused havok to ensue amongst the opposing line. Plus did you see the hit he put on Jake Delhomme in that preseason game? Every QB in the league should be on high alert. (He was fined $7500 for the hit though.)

Tomorrow we'll look at the writers' picks for NFL MVP this season.

The Morning Rundown - September 3, 2010

Here’s what happened while you were sleeping:

Opening Day for College Football

The college football season started to moderate fanfare as it was a series of mostly blowouts with the exception of one nail biter: Utah at home against No.15 Pitt. While the game itself was not the model of perfection, there was certainly a lot of excitement in its final moments. With Pitt trailing by 3, 24-21, the ball inside the 25, and 3 seconds left on the clock the Pitt kicker sets up for the tying field goal and buries it. Only it seems that Utah coach Kyle Whittingham called the timeout before the kick went up and the Utah kicker has to try the kick again. Unfortunately the second time around the kick goes wide left and it looks like the Utes are going home with the W. But wait, it seems that coach Whittingham has outsmarted himself and called a second timeout to freeze the kicker so Pitt kicker Dan Hutchins had one final chance which he shaved inside the left upright tying the game at 24. With such a thrilling ending to regulation the game probably deserved a better overtime but one poorly-thrown Pitt pass later and Utah took a chip shot field goal within the 10 to seal the game, upsetting a ranked opponent and keeping their 18 game home streak alive: 27-24.

Steelers down another Quarterback

Pittsburgh is just not having a good night as they lose quarterback Byron Leftwich to a left knee sprain. Leftwich will have an MRI done to check of the severity of the strain but early reports don’t look good. Hopefully Big Ben can have Commissioner Goodell reduces his suspension because the Steelers are down to only two active quarterbacks left: the unproven Dennis Dixon and 35 year old Charlie Batch. Roethlisberger will meet today with Goodell to learn if his suspension for off-field behavior will be reduced to four games, as expected, or remain at six games.

Phillies rally past the Rockies to stay in the wildcard hunt

As we know, no lead in baseball is truly safe. The Phillies beat the Rockies on last night, 12-11, wrapping up a 6-1 road trip that reduces the Braves lead in the NL East to only two games. Philadelphia drove in a nine-run seventh inning that erased a four-run deficit, and then endured a four-run Rockies rally that ended with the tying run being forced out at third base to end the game.  Chase Utley drove in six runs and hit a grand slam in the seventh to lead the Phillies comeback.

NFL Preview: Top Defense

Since we are about to embark on the final week of preseason football, it is time for those usually-oh-so-wrong NFL preseason picks. Here at Every Day is a Sports Day, we will take a look at our collective crystal balls and try to divine the future of the league by  using both last season's results, the preseason, darts being thrown blindly at a wall. Some of the writers got together to discuss our picks for Best Defense, Rookie of the Year, MVP, and our Super Bowl picks and champions. We'll get the festivities started today with our thoughts on who the best defense in the league will be and follow up with the other categories throughout the week.

Best Defense

John: Cincinnati Bengals.
The Bengals were the surprise defense of the league last year. The only thing that seemed to slow down their front seven was a big hit from the injury bug. They come back this season with another year of experience for the young defensive squad that should definitely improve on last year's numbers. The Bengals ranked 6th in points allowed last season with 18.2 per game and fourth in yards allowed (301.4). Expect Antawn Odom, Domata Peko, Rey Maualuga, Keith Rivers, and Leon Hall to become household names this season.

Johnny C: Green Bay Packers.
Michelle: Green Bay Packers.
Even though the Packers are currently trying to get past some tough injuries to cornerback Al Harris and safety Atari Bigby, they should still be a force to be reckoned with once they hit their stride. They were second in defense last year and the best in the NFC. They also lead the NFL in both defense against the run and forcing turnovers. Second year defensive coach Dom Capers should have another good year with this defense with the Packers tauted as legitimate Super Bowl contenders.


Kevin: Oakland Raiders.
There is a good amount of discord in terms of the Raiders potential for the 2010 season. One thing that should see a great improvement is the front seven of the Oakland defense as they introduced some new components in the offseason. First and second round selections middle linebacker Rolondo McClain and defensive lineman Lamarr Houston will be probably plugged into the defense from day one. The Raiders hope that the learning curve is not too steep for these two as expectations regarding their contributions to the team are riding high. With the addition of John Henderson and Kamerion Wimbley in the offseason as well as last season's trade for Richard Seymour, the Raiders appear to have a formidable core. Not to mention one of the best NFL corners in Nnamdi Asomugha.

Sport4Prophet: New York Jets.
Even with the absence of leading pace rusher Calvin Pace and Darrelle Revis's holdout the Jets still have the tool to be one of the best defenses in football. First of all, there are many rumors that indicate Revis's holdout will end soon. In the meantime Antonio Cromartie (nickname AlCROtraz) and Kyle Wilson (one of the top corners in this year's draft class) will try and fill in on Revis Island. Plus you still have a guy named Rex Ryan whose coaching helped this team to have the NFL's best defense last year. People say the NFL is a passing league? Well the Jets were the best against the pass last season only allowing 154 yards per game through the air last year. They also were number one in scoring defense last year so if you turn the ball over against these guys, expect them to take it to the house.

The Morning Rundown - September 1, 2010

Here’s some of the sports news stories you might have missed while you were sleeping:

Leinart on the move?
-ESPN reports that the Arizona Cardinals are in talks with multiple teams looking for a possible trade destination for their disgruntled quarterback Matt Leinart. Leinart was in line to be the heir apparent after Kurt Warner’s retirement but so far has not shown the poise of a leader in the locker room. For the final two preseason games Coach Ken Whisenhunt has decided to bench Leinart in favor of former Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson. In protest of his demotion Leinart has taken his grievances to the press. More on that story at ESPN.com

BYU  declares independence
-In the latest college sports exodus, Brigham Young University has decided to leave the Mountain West Conference and go independent in college football for the 2011-2012 season. BYU is working on an agreement with ESPN to televise its games, according to sources. Though BYU is still figuring out whom they will play in the 2011 season they already have scheduled non-conference games with Oregon State and Texas for the coming years and a series set up with Boise State, which is joining the MWC after this season in the WAC. BYU will join the West Coast Conference in all other sports. The school had originally been slated to go to the Western Athletic Conference before the MWC blocked the move by inviting WAC members Fresno State and Nevada to join the conference about two weeks ago. Here is the link to that story at ESPN.com.

Spain upset at FIBA World Championships
-Lithuania went into the second half down by 18 to a tournament favorite but ended up a winner in Turkey as they beat in Spain 76-73 on Tuesday. Lithuania went in a 23-5 run to even the score at 66 with 5:25 left in the game. Linas Kleiza scored four points in the last 35 seconds to clinch the win. He finished with 17 points, while teammates Martynus Pocius and Jonas Maciulis added 13 each. After Kleiza made two free throws with four seconds left, Raul Lopez of Spain tried to give Spain a last look on the other end from behind the arc, but Pocius deflected his pass out of bounds as time expired. Marc Gasol and Juan Carlos Navarro led Spain with 18 points each. Both Spain and Lithuania were considered favorites in group D. For more game recap from ESPN on the World Championships, click here.

Polamalu’s Hair Is More Valuable Than Everything You Own

Troy Polamalu, safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers, has million dollar hair. At least that’s what Head and Shoulders believes. ESPN.com reported that Head & Shoulders has insured the three feet long black hair of Polamalu through Lloyd’s of London for one million dollars. Polamalu has endorsed the shampoo and acts as an official spokesperson for the hair care brand. The Steelers safety hasn’t had a haircut in eight years.

It takes Polamalu 45 minutes to do his hair. "It's correlated to what a warrior in the past would do to prepare for war," the Samoan player tells People Magazine of his lengthy hair routine. "You have the Mongolians, the Japanese Samurai, the Spartans -- all of these warriors with long hair... and in that way you can almost get into the mind-way, preparing for some type of battle when you are doing your hair." All I know is that if I was robbing Troy Polamalu, I wouldn’t go for his money, I would just cut off his hair…

Are You Ready For Some Football Part 2...

OK let's finish what we started. Here's how I think the divisions will shake out in the AFC as well as the major storyline for each division:

AFC East
1. New York Jets 2. New England Patriots 3. Miami Dolphins 4. Buffalo Bills

Major Storyline: Top Heavy. Now while it might have been easy to focus on the difficult contract situations in this division, I don't think that topic will be an issue when the real football starts up. this big story in this division is the level of talent. For the first time in years I believe that the AFC East has surpassed the AFC North and NFC East as the power conference of the league. The Patriots, Jets and the Dolphins all have the rosters to not only get into the playoffs but even represent the conference in the Superbowl. The Patriots appear to have the only "proven" QB in the division but Chad Henne and Mark Sanchez seem capable as signal-callers and will be put to the test this season.

AFC North
1. Cincinnati Bengals 2. Baltimore Ravens  3. Pittsburgh Steelers 4. Cleveland Browns

Major Storyline: Uncertainty. With all the injuries to the Ravens defense and the suspension of Big Ben of the Steelers, this division may be a bit unpredictable. Before all of the injuries the Ravens were the popular pick for the Superbowl this year because of last year's performance. The Steelers had a down year last year, but many pundits considered it a simple bump in the road. Unfortunately with Roethlisberger out to start the season, they might see a repeat at third in the division. On the other hand, the Bengals seem to be going in the right direction. The acquisition of T.O. makes an already potent offense even better, and the defense, if it can stay healthy, is almost just as skilled. I think that while the Ravens and Steelers might stutter out of the gates, the Bengals may take an early division lead and hold on to it going into the playoffs. Oh and the Browns are still bad...

AFC West
1. San Diego Chargers 2. Denver Broncos 3. Kansas City Chiefs 4. Oakland Raiders

Major Storyline: The Chargers and the Rest. This division seems pretty easy to predict. When the biggest new story for your team is the play of your third string QB who is by all accounts years away from seeing the field as a viable starter you know you're going in the wrong direction. *cough*Broncos*cough*. The Chiefs are bad, the Raiders are worse. At least Kansas City seems to be in rebuilding mode, Oakland isn't even in a place to start and I don't think Jason Campbell is the first step. Even with Vincent Jackson possibly holding out I think that the Chargers will make short work out of the division.

AFC South 
1. Indianapolis Colts 2. Houston Texans 3. Tennessee Titans 4. Jacksonville Jaguars

Major Storyline: Business as Usual. The Colts should win this division handly as usual so there probably won't be too many headlines made in terms of the division race. The race for second, however, may be a little interesting. The Titans season ended on a high note with the team going 8-2 in it's last 10 games. Unfortunately for Tennessee I think that their current squad is more indicative of their 0-6 start than their finish. On the flip side, the Texans are still striving to live up to their potential. They have a core of elite players in Matt Schaub, Andre Johnson, Owen Daniels, Mario Williams, Brian Cushing, and DeMeco Ryans but beyond that the skills of the rest of the squad may be a bit suspect. Arian Foster may be a pleasant surprise this season though.  The Jaguars should just try and keep their team in town.

Every Day is a Sports Day's Playoff and Superbowl predictions will be up after the avalanche of injury attrition leaves us with the final picture leading up to the first regular season game.

Are You Ready For Some Football!

Well it's almost that time again. Once we get past the practice scrimmage that is the NFL preseason, we'll have America's favorite sport back in full effect.  Today we'll take a look at the biggest story lines in each division in the NFC and try and predict where each team will end up at the end of the year.


NFC East
1. Dallas Cowboys 2a. New York Giants 2b. Philadelphia Eagles 4. Washington Redskins

Major Storyline: Youth. OK full disclosure: I am a die hard Eagles fan. But that does not change the fact that the infusion of new talent as well as the growth of the younger players in this division will probably spell its fate. Three of the four teams in this division will probably see big returns from their young talent this season and it shouldn't be surprising when the Redskins, being the odd one out, are at the bottom of the division. Trent Williams still needs time to develop and while Shanahan will make this team better, I don't think the big turnaround will happen this season (unless they get Haynesworth far away from the locker room). The Cowboys have a real gem in rookie receiver Dez Bryant and many sports writers seem to be excited about what Felix Jones will give to this team this season possibly supplanting Marion Barber as the top running back in that three-headed system. The Eagles are all-in with their youth movement, shipping Donovan McNabb off within the division and getting rid of injury-prone Brian Westbrook. But honestly, besides the quarterback position, I don't think there is an appreciable drop-off in this team's talent and one could make a case for Kevin Kolb as the perfect QB for Andy Reid's West Coast offense. With one of the top trio of wide receivers in the league (Jackson, Maclin, and Avant) and Shady McCoy in the backfield, this team might be able to overcome their tough schedule. The Giants added another piece to their already stacked line in Jason Pierre-Paul and should see a big year out of Hakeem Nicks and Steve Smith. New York really underperformed last year and I think we will see them play to their potential in 2010.


NFC North
1. Green Bay Packers 2. Minnesota Vikings 3. Chicago Bears  4. Detroit Lions 

Major Storyline: Quarterbacks. This division will be dictated by the play of the men under center. I think Aaron Rodgers is finally poised to surpass his predecessor especially with the growth of the Packers on defense. I think if Rodgers can replicate his success from last season we will see this team form into a true Superbowl contender. Even though the Vikings were one throw away from the Superbowl last season, you have to wonder if Brett Favre will be able to replicate the best year of his career with a banged up receiving core. Percy Harvin and his migraines are an even more serious problem than last year and Sidney Rice is banged up. We also can't forget about Favre's surgically repaired ankle. The Bears hope that Cutler has exorcised the interception demons that he seemed to have last year because without him this offense will fall flat. If preseason can be any indicator of things to come (which is doubtful) the introduction of Mike Martz's system will help Cutler greatly this season but the Bears still have a long way to go. The Lions will e the bottom feeders of this division. Matthew Stafford will make some steps forward this season but the team still isn't that good. Anything is better than 0 and 16 though.

NFC West
1. San Francisco 49ers 2. Seattle Seahawks 3. Arizona Cardinals 4. St. Louis Rams

Major Storyline: The Next Step. I feel like this division is just the muck of the NFL. Whatever team that comes out is probably destined for an early exit in the wild card round. The 49ers seem to me the most complete team in this division. Their receiving core seems poised to make steps forward and the defense under Mike Singletary should be better than last year. Quarterback is still a concern but they should have enough to win the division. The Cardinals lost a lot of key pieces in the off-season. With the retirement of Kurt Warner and the departure of Karlos Dansby and Antrel Rolle this team seems destined for a big drop off. Hopefully Matt Leinart is ready to step up, but I have my doubts. The Seahawks look like a sleeper team that could take advantage of this shake-up under new head coach Pete Carroll. They won't make the playoffs but they should surprise a few people and take a step toward being relevant once again. The Rams are still bad but their next step involves trying to manufacture a way to protect their franchise quarterback.

NFC South
1. New Orleans Saints 2. Atlanta Falcons 3. Carolina Panthers 4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

Major Storyline: Question Marks. For the past few years this division has had a different winner every season. Since the NFL divisional realignment in 2002, the team that finished in last place in the NFC South the previous year went on to make a postseason appearance the following season, with the last place team winning the division in 6 of the past 7 seasons I think this will be the first time that trend does not come to fruition but I still have some pressing questions about each team in this division. The Saints should be division leaders again though even with increased pressure from the Falcons as they shake off the injury problems from last year to be a very formidable foe. But will the Saints be able to repeat as Superbowl Champions? The Falcons defense inspires a yawn, so are Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, Roddy White, and veteran Tony Gonzales ready to carry this team? The Panthers are a very skilled team but with questions at quarterback and the loss of Julius Peppers are they going to be left behind in a league that stresses the pass over the run and emphasizes the need for elite pass rushers?  And finally is Josh Freeman able to reward the vote of confidence from the Buccaneers' brass with a successful season? Because any success that Tampa Bay can hope for starts solely with him.


Tomorrow, we'll follow up with the AFC breakdown.

Cowboys get Sicko

Cowboys picked up the free-agent TE, Scott Sicko, yesterday after saying that he would pass on the NFL in order to pursue graduate school. Sicko was cause a bit of an internet stir over the weekend when he announced Saturday that he would not play in the NFL after not being drafted. Some critics thought of it as his ego coming into to play, while others applauded his focus on his academics.

Sicko received calls from 5 teams on Saturday including the Patriots who had a private workout with him, offering contracts for the 2010-2011 season. At that point he said that he had decided in the 7th round that since he hadn't been drafted he would pursue his studies to fulfill his dream of becoming a History teacher.

Sicko has said that if he makes the Cowboys, he will begin taking online classes in either Political Science or History to begin his graduate school studies and if he doesn't' end up with a spot on the roster that he will enroll in one of his graduate schools in the fall.

"What can I say? I changed my mind. I got very comfortable with the Cowboys over the last couple of days. And I made a compromise with myself," Sicko told reporters at the UNH campus Tuesday. After all the talk of if Myron Rollie was really committed to football over his other academic pursuits, a couple of eyebrows are being raised to this changed mind of Sicko and how long it will be before he changes his mind again.

Photo of the Day: Tim Tebow, First Rounder?

Tim Tebow apparently knows exactly where and who he will be drafted by. Does that mean we will hear his name called tonight in the first round? Mel Kiper has him being taken by the Minnesota Vikings with the 30th pick in the draft. Check out ESPN for more.

Mock, yea, The, yea, Draft, yea....

OK so since the NFL has decided to only do the first round tomorrow that is what we'll be tackling in this article. I'm going to run down both the needs and the likely first picks of every team in the draft:

Jimmy Clausen: NFL Flop-To-Be

The NFL Draft will be upon us in just four days. Depending on how you look at it, there are about five top-flight prospects at the position of quarterback: Sam Bradford, Jimmy Clausen, Colt McCoy, Tony Pike, and Tim Tebow (I had to throw Pike in there now that I live in Cincinnati). ESPN recently aired a special in which Chucky interviewed Bradford, Clausen, McCoy and Tebow about the upcoming draft. Watching these interviews convinced me that Clausen has the dimmest NFL prospects of all the interviewees.

Don't Believe the Hype

Ever since the Donovan McNabb trade occurred sending him to the Washington Redskins, every sports analyst seems to have started drinking the kool-aid in believing that now the Eagles are the bottom feeders of the NFC East. There has even been talk that the Redskins Superbowl odds were better than the Eagles....Really? OK, let's snap back to reality now and realize that one player does not turn around a dismal franchise even if he is a franchise quarterback. In the same light, trading away that one player does not doom a good team, that was literally 4 quarters from having the bye in the playoffs, to the pits of the NFL. Just to give a little perspective, lets look at each set of positions for both the Redskins and the Eagles:

Rumor Write Up: Tiger Now Tiki

After the Tiger Woods' scandal of the year, no celebrity or athlete golden boy seems as innocent as they used to be. Tiki Barber is the latest "good guy" athlete caught cheating on his wife. As the story has unfolded this week, it has become clear that Tiki was seeing his mistress Tracy Lynn Johnson before during and after his wife Ginny Barber was pregnant with their twins.

Tracy even posted a picture of her "boyfriend's whip" (Tiki's blue Maserati) on her Facebook page in September. Barber bought the car in 2003. At the time Maserati wrote "Tiki is considered a model athlete, not only for his athletics, but for his clean living lifestyle."

Now, I'll avoid a rant on athletes cheating and the morality behind it all. Fact is that it happens even to the athletes whom we assume are living "clean" lives. But there are some lessons that we have learned from Tiger and Tiki.

1. Don't leave voicemails EVER
2. You probably shouldn't let your mistress post pictures of your car on her Facebook. It is one thing when you drive a Honda Civic but a whole different story when you drive a blue Maserati that was profiled on the Maserati website.

What McNabb Can Look Forward To

Now while I am completely repulsed/saddened/astonished at this whole Donovan McNabb trade to the Redskins I guess I just hope he can be happy with the kind of management that doesn’t even have the decency to let their other ”franchise” quarterback that he’s being demoted and probably won’t be needed anymore. News has now come out that Jason Campbell found out about the Donovan McNabb trade from a reporter instead of from his own team. For more: (USA Today)

Photo of the Day: Fully Loaded

(AP Photo/Jason Miller)

Shaun Rogers is pictured above leaveing the Cleveland Police Headquarters where Rogers was charged with a felony count of carrying a concealed weapon at Cleveland Hopkings International airport on Thursday, April 1st. Rogers pleaded not guilty.

Today in Sports: March 31st

On this day in 1906 The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States was founded to set rules in amateur collegiate level sports. The IAA would go on to become the esteemed National Collegeiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 1910 which is now comprised of 1,281 institutions.

In 1931 one of the era's biggest sports celebrities, Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne, died in a fatal plane crash. In his 13 seasons of coaching, Rockne only lost 12 games and led the Fighting Irish to back-to-back undefeated championship seasons. Known affectionally as the Gipper, Rockne was portrayed on the silver screen by future president Ronald Reagan, coining one of the most famous sport's movie lines, "Win one for the Gipper."

In 1973 the world watched him float like a butterfly and sting like a bee, when Muhammed Ali wore a $10,000 robe with "The People's Champion" inscribed on it. Although he was dressed for success, Ali lost the fight to

Ken Norton.

2004 marked the end of an NFL dynasty. NFL owners adopted a 15 yard penalty for excessive celebrations. The penalty was added to the fines previously in place for choreographed and multiplayer celebrations. This included all gyrating, thrusting, tootsie rollin, moonwalking, backflippin, hand gun shootin, tail spinning and bootie bumping that had given the game extra pizzaz throughout the 90s.