By: KnowledgeXL
It’s been a quiet week in the sports arena, no major drama or controversy to speak of. The last major story to shake up the sports world was the Oakland Raider’s acquisition of the recently retired Carson Palmer. If you don’t know the story by now, Palmer retired this past off-season when it became increasingly apparent neither he nor the Cincinnati Bengals’ management could come to a reasonable agreement on how to sever ties and go their separate ways.
To recap, Palmer, who has been on the decline since suffering several reoccurring injuries the past few years, declared himself retired when Bengals owner Mike Brown refused to be manipulated by what has become the star player’s typical request these days to be traded with or without consequence. Brown never relented to Palmer’s demands and all but guaranteed he would by no means trade Palmer....until the post Al Davis Oakland Raiders lost starting quarterback Jason Campbell to season-ending injury.
Once Brown picked up the phone and heard the person on the other end of the line offer a coveted first round pick and then some for the much maligned Palmer, Brown’s recent proclamation of never trading Palmer quickly went out the door. And how did Palmer repay the Raiders in his first start since unretiring? He threw three interceptions in a blowout loss to the previously sub .500 Kansas City Chiefs (Nice, in my Fab voice).
No doubt Palmer still has some of that off-season rust to work off, and the Raiders should continue to contend in what has been a surprisingly successful season thus far for a team known to be the laughingstock of the league for the past decade.
In other NFL news, the NY Jets led a spirited come from behind victory to defeat a very tough San Diego Chargers team, uncuffing an offense that has played in restraints similar to the ones slipped around the wrists of their recently unjailed wideout, Plaxico Burress. Plaxico, who many were thinking was done after pretty much being non-existent the first quarter of the season, had 3 touchdown grabs, one of which sealed the victory and gave embattled starting QB Mark Sanchez at least one week of glory and a temporary restraining order of his own from the constant bashing he’s been receiving from the local press.
The Detroit Lions suffered their 2nd loss in a row, facing what has already turned into a must win game next week vs. the Denver Broncos who seem to be revitalized with the presence of homecoming king Tim Tebow finally lined up behind center. Tebow’s increasing popularity combined with the struggles of the Broncos finally ushered in a new era many thought was still at least a year away from being unleashed to the public.
The Green Bay Packers maintained their status as the last remaining unbeaten team having survived a close one against another team who recently had a changing of the guard at the helm. Rookie QB Christian Ponder supplanted veteran stalwart Donavan Mcnabb as the starter and had a fine debut throwing
for 219 yds and two touchdowns, albeit with two interceptions. The “Dream Team”, NY Giants, 49er’s, Patriots, Bills, and Bengals all had the week off.
In baseball news, the St Louis Cardinals lead the Texas Rangers 2-1 in the World Series with arguably the best player in the game today, Albert Pujols, enjoying a night few men not named Reggie Jackson or Babe Ruth have experienced on their way to baseball folklore. Pujols smacked 3 homers in Game 3 as the Cardinals outlasted the Rangers in a high scoring battle, managing to escape with the 16-7 victory.
The Rangers send Derek Holland to the mound tonight to essentially save the season, as going down 3-1 in this series would all but seal Texas’ fate. At press-time, Texas leads Game four 1-0 in the 2nd inning with the more seasoned pitcher and Cardinal’s starter, Edwin Jackson struggling with his command early. Should Texas manage to steal Game 4 to tie the series, expect the finale to be a hair-raising experience for most diehard baseball fans.
Finally in NBA news, there still is no NBA news. Both sides of this lockout continue to maintain a strong stance with neither side showing any clear signs of weakness. This game of chicken has turned into a game of pigs, the greed displayed by both parties becoming harder and harder to stomach with each passing day.
Some NBA superstars are now actually planning world basketball tours while their union and NBA owners continue to be at a stalemate in these constant mediations and negotiations. Inevitably the players will entertain these overseas overtures coming their way from international billionaires looking to thrive on the NBA’s demise. Although there is still time to save the season, the window of opportunity is rapidly closing, potentially leaving NBA commissioner David Stern with egg all over his face just in time for Halloween.
Unless Dwight Howard can transform himself into the real man of steel the league truly needs right now, losses of more regular season games could persist to threaten an NBA brand that is hanging on to it’s popularity by a very thin piece of thread. Let’s see where this train wreck leads us this week. Until next week, be easy!
To recap, Palmer, who has been on the decline since suffering several reoccurring injuries the past few years, declared himself retired when Bengals owner Mike Brown refused to be manipulated by what has become the star player’s typical request these days to be traded with or without consequence. Brown never relented to Palmer’s demands and all but guaranteed he would by no means trade Palmer....until the post Al Davis Oakland Raiders lost starting quarterback Jason Campbell to season-ending injury.
Once Brown picked up the phone and heard the person on the other end of the line offer a coveted first round pick and then some for the much maligned Palmer, Brown’s recent proclamation of never trading Palmer quickly went out the door. And how did Palmer repay the Raiders in his first start since unretiring? He threw three interceptions in a blowout loss to the previously sub .500 Kansas City Chiefs (Nice, in my Fab voice).
No doubt Palmer still has some of that off-season rust to work off, and the Raiders should continue to contend in what has been a surprisingly successful season thus far for a team known to be the laughingstock of the league for the past decade.
In other NFL news, the NY Jets led a spirited come from behind victory to defeat a very tough San Diego Chargers team, uncuffing an offense that has played in restraints similar to the ones slipped around the wrists of their recently unjailed wideout, Plaxico Burress. Plaxico, who many were thinking was done after pretty much being non-existent the first quarter of the season, had 3 touchdown grabs, one of which sealed the victory and gave embattled starting QB Mark Sanchez at least one week of glory and a temporary restraining order of his own from the constant bashing he’s been receiving from the local press.
The Detroit Lions suffered their 2nd loss in a row, facing what has already turned into a must win game next week vs. the Denver Broncos who seem to be revitalized with the presence of homecoming king Tim Tebow finally lined up behind center. Tebow’s increasing popularity combined with the struggles of the Broncos finally ushered in a new era many thought was still at least a year away from being unleashed to the public.
The Green Bay Packers maintained their status as the last remaining unbeaten team having survived a close one against another team who recently had a changing of the guard at the helm. Rookie QB Christian Ponder supplanted veteran stalwart Donavan Mcnabb as the starter and had a fine debut throwing
for 219 yds and two touchdowns, albeit with two interceptions. The “Dream Team”, NY Giants, 49er’s, Patriots, Bills, and Bengals all had the week off.
In baseball news, the St Louis Cardinals lead the Texas Rangers 2-1 in the World Series with arguably the best player in the game today, Albert Pujols, enjoying a night few men not named Reggie Jackson or Babe Ruth have experienced on their way to baseball folklore. Pujols smacked 3 homers in Game 3 as the Cardinals outlasted the Rangers in a high scoring battle, managing to escape with the 16-7 victory.The Rangers send Derek Holland to the mound tonight to essentially save the season, as going down 3-1 in this series would all but seal Texas’ fate. At press-time, Texas leads Game four 1-0 in the 2nd inning with the more seasoned pitcher and Cardinal’s starter, Edwin Jackson struggling with his command early. Should Texas manage to steal Game 4 to tie the series, expect the finale to be a hair-raising experience for most diehard baseball fans.
Finally in NBA news, there still is no NBA news. Both sides of this lockout continue to maintain a strong stance with neither side showing any clear signs of weakness. This game of chicken has turned into a game of pigs, the greed displayed by both parties becoming harder and harder to stomach with each passing day.
Unless Dwight Howard can transform himself into the real man of steel the league truly needs right now, losses of more regular season games could persist to threaten an NBA brand that is hanging on to it’s popularity by a very thin piece of thread. Let’s see where this train wreck leads us this week. Until next week, be easy!
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