An inside look at the world of sports with Joe Ceraulo
New York Giants legendary radio announcer, Bob Papa, and former offensive lineman, 2x Super Bowl champ, David Diehl, join me to talk about a bus ride that changed the ’07 season, why losing to New England in week 17 that year scared the Pats more than the Giants and the team’s current QB situation.
Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Tom Seaver. Just three of the now 230 Major League Baseball players who have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Those three, along with many others, had careers so incredible that it’d be hard pressed to find a writer who wouldn’t include them on his or her ballot. Still, some left them off.
That all changed yesterday as New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera became the first player ever to receive 100 percent of the necessary votes to be enshrined in Cooperstown. 425 out of 425. Incredible.
Continue reading “Bienvenido Mariano: Cooperstown’s First Unanimous Inductee”
Monday night, on the final episode of the Directors’ Cut this semester, Isaiah and I broke down a dozen of the upcoming bowl games. We also spoke to former NFL quarterback, and current ESPN color analyst, Dan Orlovsky, about the three games he’ll be on call for (the Gasparilla, Pinstripe and Liberty bowls). Here’s what he had to say, along with our picks and analysis for every bowl game this year.
The picks:
Saturday, December 15
Autonation Cure Bowl – Orlando, FL
Tulane (6-6) vs Louisiana-Lafayette (7-6) – CBS Sports 1:30 PM
Joe: Both teams rank in the bottom third of the country in terms of total defense, but both squads boast top-30 running games. Advantage to the Cajuns and RB Trey Ragas. Louisiana-Lafayette.
Isaiah: The Rajun-Cajuns win because of their offensive balanced attack. Louisiana-Lafayette.
New Mexico Bowl – Albuquerque, NM
Utah State (10-2) vs North Texas (9-3) – ESPN 2 PM
Joe: Expect a shootout as Mason Fine (UNT) threw for the eighth most yards in the country. Ultimately, the Aggies have a more versatile offense, and defend the pass slightly better. Utah State.
Isaiah: Utah State’s only losses are on the road against quality opponents, and they’ve been impressive on both sides of the ball. The Aggies will be too much for North Texas. Utah State.
Las Vegas Bowl – Las Vegas, NV
Arizona State (7-5) vs #21 Fresno State (11-2) – ABC 3:30 PM
Joe: The Sun Devils will be without star wideout N’Keal Harry as he will likely be a first-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft. KeeSean Johnson had the eighth most receiving yards in the country and will play for the Bulldogs. Give me Fresno and their top-three scoring D. Fresno State.
Isaiah: Without N’Keal Harry, Arizona State is going to struggle to move the ball on offense. Fresno State picks up the victory. Fresno State.
Camellia Bowl – Montgomery, AL
Georgia Southern (9-3) vs Eastern Michigan (7-5) – ESPN 5:30 PM
Joe: Georgia Southern has one of the best ground games in the country, and MAC teams don’t win bowl games. Georgia Southern.
Isaiah: Eastern Michigan won’t be able to stop Georgia Southern’s ground attack. Georgia Southern.
New Orleans Bowl – New Orleans, LA
Middle Tennessee State (8-5) vs Appalachian State (10-2) – ESPN 9 PM
Joe: The Blue Raiders always turn in a dynamic air attack, but the Mountaineers defense might be too stout. Most would be concerned with the fact that App State’s coach left for Louisville, but I say they use it as fuel. Appalachian State.
Isaiah: Appalachian State has been impressive on both sides of the ball, which should carry them to victory over the Blue Raiders. Appalachian State.
Continue reading “Bowl Season Picks: Directors’ Cut Edition”
Nothing has been more irritating than the constant criticism of Eli Manning for the struggles of the New York Giants in recent years.
This is a franchise with high expectations. This year will likely mark the sixth of the last seven season in which the Giants have failed to make the playoffs since winning Super Bowl XLVI. Change is needed, but it’s needed in areas that don’t include moving on from Manning just yet.
Manning is currently tied with Dallas Cowboys quarterback, Dak Prescott, for the league lead having been sacked 38 times. That’s not by any means a category you want to lead the league in, but it also isn’t a category to blame any quarterback for.
Those 38 sacks put Manning on pace to be dropped behind the line of scrimmage 55 times this season. That’s 16 more than his current career high of 39, set in 2013. The last time someone was sacked more than 55 times was also 2013, when Ryan Tannehill was dropped 58 times.
If you don’t like throwing the blame on the offensive line, let’s take a look at Manning’s numbers…
A lot of debate has taken place over the past few months regarding how much of a factor wins are in determining the best pitcher in baseball.
People who stand by the statistic’s significance have been criticized for their old-world views, while some of baseball’s younger minds say the win is dead and shows no accurate representation of how good a pitcher is. So, what does Jacob deGrom winning the National League Cy Young Award yesterday tell us?
Wednesday night, St. Bonaventure dropped its season opener against the Bucknell Bison, 88-85, in overtime.
With the team now 0-1, a lot of people are already in panic mode. Keep in mind last year, when the Bonnies set the school record for wins in a season, they started 0-1 as well. That was way more concerning at the time considering last year’s team was much better than this younger, inexperienced squad, and the team they lost to, Niagara, was nowhere near as good as Bucknell.
If that wasn’t enough to convince you not to panic, here are four takeaways from last night’s game that should do the trick.
With the Sandy Alderson era officially over, the New York Mets introduced former CAA Sports agent, Brodie Van Wagenen, as the 13th general manager in team history yesterday.
Van Wagenen’s hiring is certainly outside the box, as he comes with no experience in an MLB front office. However, he has ample experience dealing with front offices from the other side, and should provide the Mets with a fresh, modern perspective that the team has been without.
Alderson’s time had come. Earlier this year, he announced his cancer had recurred and had stepped down from his position mid-season. His team’s performance had also declined considerably the last two seasons after appearing in the 2015 World Series and making the postseason again the following year. Although the time was right for the Mets to hire a new GM, Alderson should be remembered for his incredibly successful tenure in Flushing.
