The Fire Pit » Sports

DGB chooses Mizzou!

T.F.P. — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:56:31 +0000

Wow, one of the top football recruits in the nation has committed to Mizzou! Dorial Green-Beckham, a 6-6 WR widely regarded as the nation’s best, will stay in his home state of Missouri and play for coach Gary Pinkel’s Tigers next season. This gives the Tigers a legitimate inside and outside threat, and should significantly improve their offense.

Will DGB’s commitment be enough to help Mizzou do well in its inaugural season in the SEC? Probably not; but at least the Tiger offense should be A LOT more fun to watch than they were last season.

M-I-Z!

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Tweeting allowed during Pro Bowl

T.F.P. — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:47:31 +0000

NFL players will be allowed to tweet during this year’s Pro Bowl game if they want. The NFL will set up computers on each sideline to encourage players to tweet to the fans or each other during the game. Normally the NFL prohibits the use of all social media for a period of time before, during, and after games, but I guess they can change the rules when it suits their interests. In this case, players will be required to use the #ProBowl hashtag, which essentially promotes the event on Twitter.

I usually think the NFL is too strict with their rules, but I don’t mind the social media prohibition. The fact that tweeting is allowed during the Pro Bowl just goes to show that this doesn’t resemble real NFL football in any way, shape, or form. I have never in my life watched a complete Pro Bowl from beginning to end, and I definitely won’t be starting this weekend!

NFL Championship Weekend

T.F.P. — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:41:14 +0000

Okay, there are two great NFL games on the schedule today: New England vs. Baltimore and SF vs. NYG. I hate the Patriots, so even though I have no real rooting interest in Baltimore, I want them to win today. And how can I not be behind the 49ers and everything Jim Harbaugh has done to pull the team together and turn around their fortunes?

Yes, a Baltimore-San Francisco Super Bowl would likely be a boring defensive struggle (“boring” to those that like big offenses) and, like the NCAA championship game, a repeat of an in-season matchup, I don’t want any of the other options either!

So…. Go Ravens and Go Niners!

RIP, Sarah Burke

T.F.P. — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:45:32 +0000

Freestyle skier Sarah Burke died yesterday after suffering massive internal injuries in a practice crash on January 10 in Utah. Burke, a multi-time X-Games champion, had also lobbied successfully to get superpipe accepted into the Olympics (where it will debut in Russia in two years). She leaves behind a husband, Rory Bushfield (also a freestyler), and countless mourning fans across the globe.

This young woman was just 29 years old, which makes her death even tougher to swallow. We often tend to view sports heroes as superhuman, but incidents like these are stark reminders of just how vulnerable they really are. RIP, Sarah.

Viktor Stalberg hat trick vs. CBJ

T.F.P. — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:12:42 +0000

With as many snipers as the Hawks have on their team, I’m surprised they don’t get a lot more hat tricks in any given season. Toews has two in his career, Kane has one. I’m not sure how many Sharpie has in his career, but I don’t think he’s racked one up in the last three seasons. And Hossa hasn’t done it as a Hawk either.

Anyway, here are Stalberg’s three goals against the Blue Jackets from last night. I love how at the very beginning of the clip you can clearly hear Kane calling for a pass from Toews. He yells, “Tazer! Here!” Toews delivers, then Kane dishes and Stalberg scores. Beautiful!

Jimmy Hayes first NHL goal

T.F.P. — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 23:52:51 +0000

One of the very FEW bright spots for the Hawks in the first week of 2011 has been the play of callups such as Jimmy Hayes. The team has dropped 3 in a row to start the new year, but at least the youngsters look like they have something to offer.

Angelo, Martz Out

T.F.P. — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:44:09 +0000

Well, I guess that meaningless win against the Vikings a couple days ago didn’t do much good after all. Not for GM Jerry Angelo and OC Mike Martz, anyway. Both of those men have been relieved of their duties as of today. Angelo leaves after 11 years at the helm, while Martz’s term covered just two seasons.

I am glad to see Angelo go because he didn’t seem to be able to evaluate talent very well. Looking at all the bust draft picks over the years makes me cringe. I know every team has their misses, but with the Bears, it seemed a regular occurrence that a high pick wouldn’t stick with the squad — or even the NFL — very long.

I have mixed feelings about Martz leaving. On the one hand, I can’t believe he refused to revise his playbook even after everyone else knew that the offense didn’t have the talent to run what he was calling. Jay Cutler’s ability and Matt Forte’s running covered up a LOT of holes, but most of the time I just had to shake my head at that offense.

But on the other hand, continuity is the key to success in the NFL. 2012 will now be the team’s 3rd offense in four seasons. Everyone will have to learn an entirely new playbook (presumably), and there will likely be some rough spots at the beginning as things get worked out. Who knows how long that will take?

Anyway, this offseason is shaping up to be an interesting one. I wonder if they’ll have a new GM and OC in place before the draft in April. They pretty much have to, don’t they?