Paul George's Return

Paul George scored 13 in 15 minutes in his return to the court on Sunday.  Flashing his new number in his return and scoring that same number 13 is pretty coincidental huh? This is a great turnaround for George who has been out the last eight months with a broken leg sustained in a scrimmage for Team USA.  There are only six games left on the season and George still has a chance to push his Pacers into the postseason as they are only a game behind the eighth seed Celtics.  It will be interesting to see if George can perform to the same level as before the injury by the end of the season.

A Crazy Off-season Beginning for the Eagles

Chip Kelly is making huge headlines this off-season.  It started out with a couple predictable moves, letting go of aging veterans and longest tenured Eagles Todd Herremans and Trent Cole.  Then, a huge move shocking the entire fanbase, the LeSean McCoy trade.  This move blindsided everyone and was only the beginning of what was and is to come.  In the trade the Eagles received back rising middle linebacker Kiko Alonso.  Alonso has an incredible 2013 rookie season with the Bills, but tore an ACL and missed all of the 2014 season.  This is what left some fans skeptical of the move, however Alonso has great upside when healthy.  That was followed by Jeremy Maclin leaving Philadelphia to reunite with former head coach Andy Reid in Kansas city.  At this point Philadelphia thought Kelly was a mad man, but there was still more.  He swapped quarterback Nick Foles for St. Louis's Sam Bradford, a move that would also intrigue free agent halfback DeMarco Murray.  Murray would sign with Philadelphia only a few days later.  This reunited him with his former college quarterback Sam Bradford.  Murray also contacted Chip Kelly before he arrived in Philadelphia telling Chip Kelly how interested he was in playing in his scheme.  These moves are just the beginning of a complete restructuring of the roster.  We can only imagine what the Eagles head coach has in store for the rest of the off-season.

Adrian Peterson's Suspension is Lifted

U.S. District Judge David S. Doty has ruled in favor of Adrian Peterson, which has allowed for his suspension to be lifted by the NFL.  Peterson was suspended after he was accused of hitting one of his children with a switch(a stick/twig slimmer than ones own thumb).  This used to be a common form of punishment similar to spanking, but is now looked down upon and can be ruled as child abuse.  One can assume that this was a form of punishment Peterson himself may have received as a child.  If that is the case then it is also easy to see why he may have chose to punish his child in the same manner.  

This news came to shock the world as it came nearly a year after one of his sons had been beaten to death by his ex-girlfriends new boyfriend.  Peterson was obviously troubled by this off the field last year.  In press conferences after the incident you could see the pain and anguish in his face.  Knowing this I could never believe he would be intentionally hurting his children.  As I said earlier he may have not known any better.  To him this may have been something that he thought put himself in line as a child.  He may have just been trying to be a good parent by keeping his child in line.  However, whatever the intentions were we as a society know that this now is an unacceptable form of punishment.  

The ruling by the NFL to suspend Peterson indefinitely may have been the best at the time because they did not know what the outcomes of his ruling would be.  This newest ruling does not free him of any wrong doing but it does allow for the overturn of his suspension.  It is in my hopes that the NFL community can now go back to viewing Peterson as the man pictured above.  A loving father and a passionate football player.  

The MLB is considering shrinking the strike zone down for the 2016 season.  In recent seasons the domination of the pitcher has been very prevalent.  The late 90's provided one of the most exciting times in MLB history as hitters where taking the spotlight.  Now we are in a time when pitching is dominating.  Less runs means less excitement to some fans and others are wondering when the next Ken Griffey Jr. or Derek Jeter is going to come around.  With the crackdown on PED's we may never see another hitting era like that again.  However shrinking the strike zone might bring a little more excitement back into the game, and a smaller strike zone means more pitches right down the heart of the plate.  I love this idea and it would sure would be an interesting change up for the game.  Since it is only a proposal only time will tell if this will be implemented into the game and potentially create a more exciting game.

Peyton's Return

Peyton Manning has informed the Denver Broncos that he plans on playing in 2015.  The NFL record holder for Touchdown passes will return for an 18th season.  Some wonder whether Manning will be returning to the Broncos however because of their recent shake up of the coaching staff.  New Head Coach Gary Kubiak's offense is not like one Manning has ever been in before and it is uncertain whether it is one he would be a good fit for.  However Manning will have the opportunity to break some more NFL records if he does play next season.  Although the goal of any NFL player is to win it all, Manning may just have to settle for boosting his career numbers at this point.  The Broncos seem to be a team in decline at this point as many players are coming and going and Manning's postseason performance in the past two years hasn't been ideal. If he is forced to seek employment elsewhere it will be hard for him to find a contender who only needs a quarterback at this point.  Manning will continue to build upon his legendary numbers but it is uncertain whether or not he will ever hoist the Lombardy again.

Sherman's Sportsmanship 2/3/2015

This past Sunday I liked Richard Sherman's sportsmanship.  Sherman's Seahawks lost to Tom Brady's Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX on a heartbreaking goal line interception thrown by Russell Wilson.  Sherman was seen after the game sincerely congratulating Tom Brady on his teams performance.  This was a very mature move by him, especially after previously shouting "You mad bro?" at Brady in a regular season win for the Seahawks over the Patriots back in 2012.  Within the sixty minutes that the game is played Richard Sherman will use a barrage of cruel and taunting language to get inside his opponents heads.  This tactic has received both positive and negative support from the NFL fan base.  Some fans find his act entertaining while others find immature and harmful to the youth of the game.  Outside of football Sherman is a complete gentleman and a great role model for the youth NFL fan base.  That Richard Sherman showed up after the football game congratulating Tom Brady on his win.  Brady broke or tied numerous Super Bowl records in the game including: most completions in a game, most completions in a half, most Super Bowl starts, and most career Super Bowl touchdown passes.  Brady also tied Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana for most Super Bowl wins by a starting quarterback.  Some now consider Tom Brady the greatest quarterback of all-time as he also has six AFC championships to Bradshaw and Montana's four.  Sherman's act of respect came after a fight had broken out between the teams as the Patriots were running out the clock.  He didn't let the heat of the moment and the bad blood get to his head.  He reacted to the loss with complete professionalism and is deserving of recognition for his behavior.