Why the Philadelphia Eagles Need to Keep Asante Samuel

On the heels of the Philadelphia Eagles blockbuster signing of Nnamdi Asomugha, the team must do what's in the best interest of winning: keeping all three Pro Bowl cornerbacks on the team.

There has been speculation among the national sports media and the fans that Asante Samuel might be moved to another team because of this move. This has no basis other than pure speculation from what might happen.

The Eagles would be a better team to have all three guys playing in the backfield than letting one go away because another one has taken his spot.

By nature, Samuel is a gambler and is best when he does this. This is how he made his name as one of the best cornerbacks in the business.

Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie are better known as coverage cornerbacks because they do not get the high interception numbers. They are excellent at containing their man, limiting them to shorter yards per catch.

To have all three guys play in the same backfield would give nightmares to opposing quarterbacks on a weekly basis.

Do what's right, Eagles front office and keep all three stud cornerbacks on the team.

Source: http://m.bleacherreport.com/articles/785115-why-the-philadelphia-eagles-need-to-keep-asante-samuel

Javier Lopez Alex Hinshaw Ramon Ramirez Sergio Romo Ron Artest Shannon Brown

Shattered backboard was really no joke

Oregon State guard Roberto Nelson shattering a backboard while dunking in Macedonia last month was a legendary moment that happened to be captured on video. We eventually got to watch the glass rain down on Nelson and see the bloody mess on YouTube. It was must-see stuff.

For Oregon State coach Craig Robinson, it was difficult to believe. In fact, he told The Oregonian's Paul Buker and Lindsay Schnell on KPAM 860 AM that he initially thought Nelson was pulling his leg.

"As soon as it happened, I get a Skype from Roberto, and he's got these bandages on," Robinson said. "I mean, he looked like the old Lon Chaney mummy back from the old movies. And I didn't believe him because Roberto is a prankster, and I was like, 'Get out of here. Nothing's wrong with you.'

"He had these bandages on his face, and he had them on his arm, and he was like, 'Coach, I broke a rim and shattered the glass that's in my face and I got 21 stitches.' I was like, 'Get out here. I don't believe you. You're the boy who cried wolf.' And then [teammates Joe Burton and Kevin McShane] got on and they were like, 'Seriously, this really happened.'"

From the Daily Barometer:

"He thought we'd just bandaged Roberto up; he thought it was all a joke," Burton said with a laugh. "He even thought we used makeup."

Whoops. Nelson was fine after getting stitches, but the incident shook him up. Robinson was also thankful that one of his top players didn't get hurt worse and came away instead with a story to tell and some scars.

"He was very lucky because they still have the old glass backboards over there, so those were shards of glass that were falling as opposed to the tempered glass they have over here that just shatters, but it doesn't break," Robinson told the station. "He said there was a piece of glass that just missed his foot that probably would have really done some damage had that hit his foot."

And that would have been no laughing matter.

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/33394/shattered-backboard-was-really-no-joke

Jerry Stackhouse J.R Smith Kenyon Martin Chauncey Billups Carmelo Anthony Tayshon Prince

Strikeforce Video: Watch CompleteWeigh-Ins with Fedor and Henderson

Strikeforce returns to Showtime tomorrow night and they are bringing a stacked card full of quality matchups.

It all goes down at the Sears Centre Arena in Illinois where the weigh-ins took place earlier today.

Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Dan Henderson will be competing at heavyweight against MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko.

Henderson weighed in at 207 pounds while "The Last Emperor" weighed in at 223. Currently on a two-fight losing streak, Emelianenko needs this victory to still stay relevant and a powerful force behind the Strikeforce promotion. With the recent announcement that Overeem has been cut from the roster, he is now their top guy.

The other fights on the card include a women's title bout between champion Marloes Coenen and challenger Miesha Tate as well as intriguing matchups featuring power-punchers Robbie Lawler, Paul Daley and Scott Smith.

Lawler will be taking on Tim Kennedy. Daley will be facing undefeated prospect Tyron Woodley. Smith will be facing Tarec Saffiedine.

Here are the complete weigh-in results:

Main Card

Fedor Emelianenko (223) vs. Dan Henderson (207)
Marloes Coenen (135) vs. Miesha Tate (135)
Robbie Lawler (185) vs. Tim Kennedy (185)
Paul Daley (171) vs. Tyron Woodley (170)
Scott Smith (171) vs. Tarec Saffiedine (170)

Preliminary card

Gesias Cavalcante (155) vs. Bobby Green (155)
Eduardo Pamplona (170) vs. Tyler Stinson (171)
Alexis Davis (135) vs. Julie Kedzie (136)
Derek Brunson (186) vs. Lumumba Sayers (184)
Bryan Humes (266) vs. Gabriel Salinas-Jones (260)

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/785139-watch-complete-strikeforce-weigh-in-video-with-fedor-and-henderson

Jonathan Albaladejo Andrew Brackman A.J. Burnett Steve Garrison Phil Hughes Damaso Marte

Players and Owners To Resume Talks On Monday

Source: http://www.celticsblog.com/2011/7/28/2299829/players-and-owners-to-resume-talks-on-monday

Ramon Ramirez Sergio Romo Ron Artest Shannon Brown Kobe Braynt Andrew Bynum

Colts issue injury updates on Peyton Manning, Dallas Clark, Austin Collie

This article is from Helmet2Helmet, with authorization from feedcrossing. Although they?ve been quiet in free agency thus far ? as per usual ? the Colts have shed some light on the status of their team. In a ?pre-camp injury report? obtained by ESPN?s Paul Kuharsky, Indianapolis issued an update as to how several key players [...]

Source: http://www.thesportsbank.net/nfl/colts-issue-injury-updates-on-manning-clark-collie/

Curtis Granderson Nick Johnson Javier Lopez Alex Hinshaw Ramon Ramirez Sergio Romo

Saint Mary's has high expectations

Saint Mary's faltered down the stretch last season, and for that was snubbed by the selection committee despite capturing 25 wins and a share of the West Coast Conference regular-season title.

This coming season, the Gaels won't have WCC player of the year Mickey McConnell to lead the way.

But forward Rob Jones, Saint Mary's leading returning scorer, believes that the team will make it back to the NCAA tournament.

"We have high expectations," Jones told the team's website. "We know what we could have accomplished last year, but we kind of underachieved a little bit I think. But I think this coming year ... definitely tournament-bound, hopefully win a couple of games. I can't give you too many details because I don't want to act like I'm talking mess, but we have high expectations for the postseason."

Jones has emerged as more of a scorer since transferring from San Diego to Saint Mary's, and he'll have plenty of experience around him in the frontcourt.

But what do the Gaels do without McConnell, who helped carry them two years ago to the Sweet 16 and served as their unquestioned leader since then? While Saint Mary's can expect a big year from Matthew Dellavedova, coach Randy Bennett will have to sort out the point guard position between Stephen Holt and SMU transfer Paul McCoy.

"Every year I feel like Saint Mary's, they lose this great player, and they think that we're not going to be as good a team, but we always seem to rise to the occasion," Jones said. "After the Sweet 16 they lost Omar [Samhan], and we had Mickey step up. So this year is just an another opportunity for another player to step up."

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/33406/saint-marys-has-high-expectations

Nick Johnson Javier Lopez Alex Hinshaw Ramon Ramirez Sergio Romo Ron Artest

How Will Carlos Beltran Do at AT&T Park?

Carlos Beltran has never homered in 96 career at-bats at AT&T Park.

But that stat by itself doesn't tell the whole story.

Beltran is a lifetime .310 hitter at the park on the shores of San Francisco Bay, and in the last three seasons he's hit .375 there in 40 at-bats with a .600 slugging percentage and a 1.032 OPS. His batting average at AT&T Park is the highest out of any ballpark in which Beltran has 25 or more career at-bats.

This accomplishment by Beltran is quite a feat considering it came against the likes of two-time Cy Young Award-winner Tim Lincecum and company.

While Beltran hasn't homered at the home of the Giants yet, he has hit seven doubles and a triple there since 2008. Those extra base hits account for over half of his hits (15) at AT&T.

The sight of Carlos Beltran in a Giants uniform is one more reason the Giants are happy to play at the corner of 3rd and King Streets in San Francisco.

The defending champions have played in front of 50 straight sell-out crowds, have a 32-18 home record, and now have a No. 3 hitter that loves to hit in his new home park.

With Beltran's speed, the spacious right-center field at AT&T could create a real dilemma for opposing managers.

If Beltran hits a ball into "Triples Alley", as it is known to the locals, he'll easily be standing at third with Pablo Sandoval coming up behind him.

If opposing defenses set up to take away the gap in right-center, Beltran will have the right field line open, and is a good enough hitter to exploit such a defensive shift.

Beltran also likes hitting during the stretch run, having posted a .326 batting average during the month of September dating back to 2008.

Add to all of those numbers the incentive of playing for a team with a legitimate chance to reach the World Series, something that Beltran hasn't tasted since 2006, and Beltran could be a real game-changer for San Francisco's offense as the Giants push forward toward the postseason.

When the Giants return to AT&T Park on August 1, they will return with a new third place hitter, and we can expect an ovation from a packed house for San Francisco's new No. 15.

And based on the numbers, No. 15 won't disappoint his new hometown fans.

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/784484-san-francisco-giants-what-can-we-expect-from-carlos-beltran-at-att-park

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