Happy Wednesday everyone!
Hopefully you are having a better day than I am. Woke up ill this morning, but after many hours of rest, I am feeling on the upside.
Here at The Sporting Booth, we have great news. After some consideration and research, we have decided to make WordPress our home. Within a few weeks, we will upgrading the site with (1) our own domain name, (2) custom design and layout, (3) more space, and we are looking to (4) go ad-free, but that is still up for discussion. We are very excited to see where this takes us for the future.
NFL
Tonight marks the opening night for the 2012 NFL season with division rivals Dallas and New York. Usually this game is on Thursday nights, but due to the Democratic National Convention, the game was moved up a day. Which works out because (1) I get to watch college football without flipping back and forth and (2) I was assigned to watch the DNC for class. Every season in the NFL brings new players, schemes, and moments that make us ask What were they thinking or Did that really just happen throughout the season. Let’s begin with my preseason questions:
- Jamaal Charles, Eric Berry, Adrian Peterson, James Carpenter, etc – How do players coming off ACL, MCL, and other knee injuries bounce back in 2012?
- Wes Welker and Jordy Nelson – can they repeat the same success they had last season? (180 receptions, 1280 receiving yards, 24 touch down combined)
- How many quarterbacks will reach 5000 passing yards? Will any pass for more than 6000? – Brees, Brady, Stafford, and Manning threw for a combined 20,000+ yards. Brees also was 524 yards short of 6000 yards.
- Do the Cowboys, Eagles, or Jets make the playoffs/Super Bowl this year? – Easily the most talked about teams during the offseason who each have struggled to make the playoffs and Super Bowl in recent years.
- Maurice Jones-Drew – Does this holdout follow the footsteps of Chris Johnson’s slump? CJ2k ran for 1300+ yards with eight games of 100 or more yards in 2010 and 11 touchdowns, but after his contract holdout, ran for a little over 1000 yards with only four games and four touch downs. Is MJD next?
- Can Calvin “Megatron” Johnson break the Madden “Curse”? – Every Madden cover athlete has been struck by the curse. Is this the year it breaks?
TENNIS
At this time we would like to recognize the career of American tennis player Andy Roddick, who lost to Juan Martin del Potro during the U.S. Open. Roddick announced that the U.S. Open would be his last event and he would retire. Roddick walks away with one Grand Slam victory in the 2003 U.S. Open, career winnings of over $20 million, a duration at #1 in the in the world, and a record of 607 wins and 209 losses. He helped the United States bring home the Davis Cup in 2007.
BASEBALL
Who doesn’t love the underdogs, the comeback kids, the dark horses? This year, it would be the Baltimore Orioles and they contend for the AL East title. Four months ago, the O’s sat a half game behind Tampa Bay for the division lead. On June 5th, they shared a lead with the Rays at 31-24. After a surge by the Yankees, the Orioles trailed New York by five and a half, days before the All Star Break, and would eventually trail by 10 games later in July. The O’s have crawled back into serious contention as they sit tied for first in the division with only 28 days left to go during the regular season. It’s beginning to smell similar to the Red Sox and Braves collapses of 2011.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The first weekend of college football is in the books. Alabama showed that they are still running at championship speed in they’re domination over Michigan. Oregon showed that they are faster than ever and can score in a variety of ways. Maryland, Pittsburgh, and Stanford showed that bigger programs can be contested by smaller teams. I reviewed my predictions and tallied how many games I picked correctly and incorrectly. In the 117 teams who played over the weekend, I was correct on 97 picks, leaving me at 20 incorrect picks – starting off the season at 82%.
Also, check out the Davey O’Brien Quarterback Award page and select which quarterback you think deserved the award each week. My pick for week one: Geno Smith, West Virginia (32-36, 323 yards, 4 TDS)
Grab your popcorn, a chilled beverage, and enjoy the game tonight!
Thank you all for reading, and God bless!
Moose
The Sporting Booth 