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9th November, 2009 - 11:44 pm
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| Current Features |
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PLAYER RANKINGS: NBA Rookie Review – Version 2.0
After a strong run by Brandon Jennings in the first month of the season, Tyreke Evans and Stephen Curry as the clear leaders to take home the hardware.
TEAM RANKINGS: NBA Team Rankings For Early March
While the Cavaliers are an immovable force at the top of our rankings, the Jazz are now ranked second ahead of the Celtics, Magic and Lakers.
STANDING 10: The Best 90 NBA Jam Nominees
In what will be (and already is) a hotly-debated topic on basketball and video game sites and forums, let's go through each of the NBA's 30 teams and "suggest" who should be featured in what will be one of the most anticipated games of the year.
MOCK DRAFT: 2009 NBA Mock Draft, Version 11.0 (Draft Day Edition)
How will the 2009 NBA Draft shake out? We're only hours away from finding out.
LOCKER TALK: Nash, Cleveland, & Orlando
Steve Nash could draw trade interest this summer and Cleveland isn’t overlooking Orlando…
CLASSICS: Hakeem Vs. Ewing: Who Was The Better Center?
Born within six months of each other in opposite corners of the world, two seven footers who are finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame this fall are two of the best ever to play the center position.
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By Jeff Risdon
--According to an article at Pro Football Weekly, the Cleveland Browns are likely to sever ties with embattled first-year coach Eric Mangini following the season. Mangini’s hyper-secretive style and dismal results, paired with growing player apathy and recalcitrance, has alienated the fans and created an environment that many say is worse than the first year following expansion. One team source called him a “dead man walking”, a sentiment echoed to me during a text exchange with a Browns insider. Money talks, and as of Monday afternoon nearly 10,000 tickets remain unsold for this Monday’s game against the hated Ravens. That sort of fan enmity and loss of revenue all but seals Mangini’s fate.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Sunday that owner Randy Lerner is interested in former Seahawks coach and GM Mike Holmgren, though the PFW piece indicates current Dolphins President Bill Parcells or perhaps former Steelers coach (and Browns player) Bill Cowher is also under consideration. Recent reports from Cleveland indicated that Browns legend Bernie Kosar will serve in some managerial capacity, and having an experienced hand to hold should help ease the learning curve.
--The leading contenders to land recently released RB Larry Johnson appear to be the Washington Redskins and Chicago Bears. During his weekly press conference, Redskins coach Jim Zorn stated the team has had “internal discussions” about signing the enigmatic rusher. They have a need, with starter Clinton Portis out with a concussion. Several reports on 670AM WSCR and ESPN Radio Chicago indicated the Bears have a “strong interest” in signing Johnson. The Bears have been searching for RB help since projected backup Kevin Jones went on IR before the season started, and with Garrett Wolfe out with a lacerated kidney (thanks to Brad Biggs at the Chicago Sun-Times), the need becomes more urgent.
As for Johnson’s departure from KC, which I initially reported almost two weeks ago, he is not missed. I spoke to the same team source who advised me that Johnson’s KC career was over, and he told me “not one teammate said goodbye to him” and that Johnson was “easily the most disliked teammate I’ve seen in over 20 years of pro football”.
--A broken arm will cause Bengals WR Chris Henry to miss the rest of the season. The club placed Henry on injured reserve. Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the #4 WR spot is up for grabs, with Maurice Purify and Jerome Simpson battling with return specialist Quan Cosby to fill the role. Henry had just 12 receptions, but netted 236 yards and two touchdowns. Moreover, the West Virginia product had finally shed his bad boy ways and was “a model citizen and great teammate”, according to a Bengals player I exchanged texts with on Monday. Tough break for Henry and the first-place Cincinnati Bengals.
--Trouble brewing in Detroit between the top two offensive weapons? Not so, says MLive.com’s Tom Kowalski, who reported the rift between Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson was nothing more than being “frustrated with the loss”, as Johnson put it. In another MLive.com piece, Kowalski reported that Lions coach Jim Schwartz didn’t use kid gloves when describing Stafford’s poor play in the loss to Seattle. The first overall pick in the draft threw five interceptions, and the rookie coach used it as a teaching point. "Why aren't you checking the ball down? Why aren't you making a safer play?'', were among Schwartz’s quotes, though the coach also correctly pointed out that Stafford got little help from his receivers.
--The animosity between Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin and the team continues to fester. According to the Arizona Republic, the decision to keep Boldin inactive for Sunday’s win over Chicago did not sit well with the Pro Bowl receiver. He intimated that the coaching staff refused to tell him he was going to be inactive and that he felt “the best I have in three weeks” since suffering a high ankle sprain. Coach Ken Whisenhunt disputed Boldin’s account, and witnesses backed the coach’s side of the story. Boldin has expressed repeated frustration with his contract situation in Arizona, and this perceived slight certainly won’t help matters.
--Other injuries, from NFL.com and the AP wires
Panthers LB Thomas Davis, out for the season with a torn ACL. Big loss of their most versatile linebacker.
Packers OL Jason Spitz, placed on IR with a lower back injury.
Colts S Bob Sanders and CB Marlin Jackson were both placed on IR, ending the season for two key defensive starters. That will mean Sanders has missed more games than he’s played over the last 4 seasons.
Bills QB Trent Edwards is expected to return from a concussion that has kept him out since Oct. 16.
-- Jeff Risdon is RealGM's senior football writer. He may be reached at Jeff.Risdon@RealGM.com. |
