Month: August 2017

We’re Talking About Patriots Practice

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stephongilmore-julianedelman

ESPN – It didn’t take long for one of the newest members of the New England Patriots to make some noise in training camp.

Defensive back Stephon Gilmore, who signed a five-year, $65 million deal with the team in March, tangled with wide receiver and fan favorite Julian Edelman, resulting in the ejection of both players from Tuesday morning’s practice session…

Patriots coach Bill Belichick has a non-negotiable practice rule: No fights. If you do fight, you are ejected.

I like it. Would a team with a Super Bowl hangover get this fired up in practice less than a week into training camp? I don’t think so.

In one corner you’ve got Julian Edelman, the scrappy 7th round draft pick who played his college ball as a QB in the MAC. Two Super Bowl rings haven’t tamed his drive. The 232nd overall pick didn’t make the team, and stay on the team for eight years, without some serious dedication and drive.

In the other corner you’ve got Stephon Gilmore, the new guy who signed a $65 million deal with the Patriots in March. The former first-round pick made his first Pro Bowl last year and is known for his physical play.

According to Mike Reiss’s story:

[T]he fiery wide receiver took exception to Gilmore’s physical play and wrestled him to the ground before coaches and teammates separated the two.

Both players’ helmets were off by the end of the scuffle.

It’s understandable that two guys like this would get into a training-camp scuffle. The scrappy vet versus the physical new guy. I don’t think it’s an issue. I think it’s great to see that Edelman, 31, isn’t slowing down or backing down, and that Gilmore isn’t taking crap from anyone. He might take some 15 yard penalties in the fall, but that’s okay every once in a while.

The Patriots have been so good for so long, it seems like training camp often comes and goes without anything notable happening. I’m hopeful that this is a good sign that this team is still hungry, and will be ready to roll on September 7.

Tyron Woodley Threatens To “Leak Some Shit” If He Doesn’t Get A Personal Apology From Dana White

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So after UFC 214 Dana White slammed Tyron Woodley’s performance for being boring. I saw it as more of an excuse to re-greenlight the GSP-Bisping fight but it was still some harsh criticism of a guy who just stuffed 21 takedowns. While White is not totally wrong, thus is the nature of a multi-disciplined combat sport. Weary of the one thing Maia could beat him with, putting him on his back and either submitting him or grinding him too a pulp, Woodley fought intelligently, defending takedowns and working the body and sometimes head as necessary. Watching from 300s HQ, I understood why people were pissed, but also understood Woodley’s game. That’s why the strap is still around his waist, after all.

As for his threats, they are interesting to say the least. First off this is NOT how you come to an understanding with Dana White. He has much too much pride and unbridled bravado to bow down to a fighter he is unhappy with, let alone one he believes may have cost him future dollars. Secondly, it is fun to wonder what this information”The Chosen One” has is. Allow me to take a few guesses….

1.)The McGregor Knockout Footage

I did a quick skim of a couple keyboard warrior message boards and this came up a few times – that maybe Tyron Woodley would leak video of Conor McGregor getting knocked out. I’m not sold on this though as it seems a stretch as to how Woodley would have come into possession of it.

2.)Some Shady USADA Shit

Given some interesting anomalies with how CyRoid and Brock Lesnar were treated recently, I wouldn’t be shocked if Woodley had some sensitive info pertaining to a few folks who popped positive for something but were given a pass. You see folks, a lot of people assume that since USADA has “United States” in the title that is either/or an official Government or another kind of organization of the utmost repute. Well surprise! It’s not. It’s a completely private company that has done sketchy shit in the past, including the infamous Floyd Mayweather IV scandal. Hmm, come to think of it, isn’t Floyd fighting a friend of Dana White’s soon?

Quick note on Lesnar – I could even see Brock, before UFC 200, straight up telling the UFC he was on a cycle and them kind of shrugging, putting Mark Hunt at risk.

3.)Gym Deals Or Otherwise Sketchy Promotional Tactics

I’ve said in the past the simplest answer is usually the right one, and this could be the case here. If fighter X from gym/management company Y fights on this date against this opponent, The UFC will do 1,2, and 3 for another fighter from that gym/management company. Something like that.

5.)Ignoring Concussions/Injuries

Another simple answer. Dana White and/or other members of UFC Management knew certain fighters were hurt and either…

-Made them/pressured them to fight
-Allowed them to fight when they shouldn’t have
-kept the knowledge secret longer then they should have in terms of the fighters opponent and the event, maybe for monetary purposes. Dillashaw vs. Garbrandt comes to mind.

4.)In-Fight Rigging

More and more recently certain fights, in and outside the UFC, have been accused of being works. Sonnen vs. Ortiz, for example. I want to go on the record as saying I don’t believe it but if Woodley could prove this, it would be explosive. Game-changing even. However, this would hurt Woodley as well as it would negatively effect the entity, and sport, that cuts his checks. That said, it’d be mighty interesting to find out that Correia Vs. Rousey wasn’t all it was cracked up to be or there was a reason CyRoid didn’t jump on Evinger when she first knocked her down on Saturday (WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT THAT?!).

All in all it is going to be a VERY interesting to see how this all plays out. After a long period of frustration with how he is treated, Tyron Woodley seems to finally have snapped. With that said he is waging a war against a man with a ton of experience fighting his battles publicly, which is never an edge you want to give.

A Mets Fan’s Perspective on Addison Reed

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Editors note: Had to get Papa Giorgi’s perspective on Addison Reed because as a Mets fan he’s seen Reed a lot over the past couple of years. So on the off chance as a Sox fan you haven’t seen many Mets games recently, here’s a look at what to expect from Reed.

Hey Sox fans, your resident Mets fan here to give you the scoop on your newly acquired deadline acquisition, Addison Reed.

For those of you unsure of who Reed is, he’s been the Mets closer for the better part of this season after Jeurys Familia went to the DL. He was also our setup man for the miracle 2015 run to the World Series that eventually led to me consuming thrice the legal limit. So far this season he’s posted a 2.57 ERA in over 49 innings pitched.

I’m pretty bummed we lost him to be honest as he’s been our best reliever this year and he’s always pretty consistent. I get the move as his contract is set to expire at season’s end and the Sox could use the bullpen help. The return for him was pretty light, but it’s hard to get much back in a rental situation. The Mets have clearly set their focus to 2018 and I’ve come to terms with it. Stud shortstop Amed Rosario is set to debut for us tonight so the sting of losing an all around professional in Reed hurts just a little less. Enjoy him Red Sox fans, he’s a reliable player and I think you’ll find yourselves at ease when he comes in to get the job done.

Dave Dombrowski is Playing Fast and Loose With the English Language to Cover His Ass if Red Sox Falter

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So the MLB trade deadline was yesterday and the Red Sox added a legitimate reliever in Addison Russell, whom they acquired from the Mets. However, the Yankees did more than just add a nice piece, they loaded the fuck up. They added Sonny Gray, the A’s ace thats currently sporting a 3.43 ERA and 8.7 Ks per 9 IP. Not to mention their slew of other moves, without having given up too much of value…

So now we’ve got Dave Dombrowski in full on Cover Your Ass mode it would seem. The Sox added Nunez, who’s been playing really well and then just picked up Reed, but this is a team with glaring holes that has been struggling badly, and now the hottest team in the division just got a LOT better.

Now after the Yankees were wheeling and dealing all week loading up and basically making the Bombers the favorite to win the AL East, Dombrowski starts off by jokingly calling them the Golden State Warriors.

Just really playing up how great the Yankees are and how the Red Sox are really just underdogs for the rest of the season, except leaving out the fact that the Sox were the heavy pre-season FAVORITE to win the AL East. This is the definition of hedging your bets.

Now, I’m sure Dombrowski had some limitations put on him by ownership to avoid going over the luxury tax, but he still built this team. He signed Price and traded for Sale, and Kimbrel, and Pomeranz. Not to mention the trades for guys who have been injury plagued disasters in Tyler Thornburg and Carson Smith. If this team fails its on him. But, by pointing out how stacked the Yankees are and how the Sox are just some plucky underdogs  (with a $190M payroll) scrapping to compete, he’s already hedging so that if the Sox falter and don’t win the division or even straight up miss the playoffs, its not on him. Bullshit. Dave’s conveniently forgetting the fact that the expectations for this team were to compete for a World Series, not sneak into a Wild Card one-game playoff.

Dombrowski has been doing this a lot recently too, its not just his reaction to the trade deadline yesterday. After the Sox put David Price on the DL the same day he was supposed to start and potentially take a verbal beating from the fans, people were rightfully suspicious. Dombrowski scoffed at the suggestion they DL’d price just to skip a start. Dave went on a rant about how you can’t just put a guy on the DL without a serious medical issue that gets clearance from MLB. Uhhh did we already forget about Pablo Sandoval’s ear infection that knocked him out for like 2 weeks?? Thats a vicious ear infection. Did the Sox send a full ear X-ray to the commissioners office to get approval? Get the fuck outta here.

Dombrowski is preemptively chilling his seat before it gets too hot if the Sox do get bounced early, but I’m on to you Dave.