Tag: NFL

NFL News, New Champion, Legend Retires, Hall of Famer Announced, NBA Playoffs, Stanley Cup, and more.

NFL NEWS.

Quarterback Derek Carr has decided to retire, after 11 seasons in the NFL. The former Raiders and Saints QB attended Fresno State and was the 36th pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. He finishes his career throwing for 41,245 yards, with 257 TDs and 112 INTs.

Rookie mini camps were held over the weekend. Jaguars #2 pick WR/CB Travis Hunter took snaps on the offensive side of the ball. HC Liam Coen said that Hunter will get defensive reps next week. Browns #5 pick DT Mason Graham made headlines after he was caught vomiting on the field. HC Kevin Stefanski blew it off saying that he simply ate too much.

MMA NEWS.

Jack Della Maddalena (18-2) defeated Belal Muhammad (24-4) to become the new UFC Welterweight Champion, in an absolute slugfest. The judges gave Jack the UD win with scores of 48-47 (x2) and 49-46. Jack has now won 18 straight fights. His last lost coming way back in 2016.

Some things just seem to stay the same. Valentina Shevchenko (25-4-1) defended her Women’s Flyweight Championship for a record 10th time, defeating Manon Fiorot (12-2) by UD. 48-47 (x3).

Featherweight legend Jose Aldo (32-10), retired in the octagon after losing to Aiemann Zahabi (13-2).

Former Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor Belfort will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame later this year.

Belfort (26-14) burst onto the scene when he won the UFC Heavyweight Tournament back in 1997, at only 19 years of age.

In 2013, his legal use of testosterone-replacement therapy (TRT) became a worldwide sports controversy. The Nevada State Athletic Commission later banned TRT, from competition without medical proof of necessity.

He holds career wins against legends Randy Couture, Wanderlei Silva, Rich Franklin, Luke Rockhold, Michael Bisping, and Dan Henderson.

NBA Playoffs.

The #4 seeded Indiana Pacers defeated the #1 seeded Cleveland Cavaliers 129-109, to take a 3-1 series lead.

PF Pascal Siakam led the team with 21 points. C Myles Turner had 7 rebounds, and PG T.J. McConnell had 8 assists.

Game 6 is Tuesday night, in Cleveland at 7:00 PM (EST) on TNT, truTV, and Max.

The #1 seeded Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the #4 seeded Denver Nuggets 92-87, to tie the series at 2-2.

PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led with 25 points and 6 assists. C Isaiah Hartenstein had 14 rebounds to lead the team.

Game 5 is also on Tuesday night, in Oklahoma City, at 9:30 PM (EST) on TNT, truTV, and Max.

NHL STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS.

The A3 and defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers, defeated the A1 Toronto Maple Leafs 2-0, to tie the series at 2-2.

Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky got his 5th career playoff shutout, stopping all 23 shots attempted.

Tempers flared at the end of the game, when Maple Leafs C Max Domi (Pussycat Max, as I call him), landed his latest in a long career of cheap shots, this time on Panthers C Aleksander Barkov.

Game 5 is Wednesday night, in Toronto, at 7:00 PM (EST) on ESPN.

The C2 Dallas Stars defeated the C1 Winnepeg Jets 5-2, to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

Stars RW Mikko Rantanen continues his incredible playoff run with another 3 points (1G/2A). Full game highlights below.

Game 4 is Tuesday night, in Dallas, at 8:00 PM (EST) on ESPN.

MLB NEWS.

Phillies beat the Guardians 3-0.

In a battle of division leaders, the Mets beat the Cubs 6-2.

League leading Dodgers beat the Diamondbacks 8-1.

Surprising Tigers lose to the Rangers 6-1.

The Rockies actually win a game!!! Beating the Padres 9-3.

OTHER NEWS.

Congratulations to my Aunt Chris’ as her Toledo Walleye defeated my Fort Wayne Komets 4 games to 2 and advance to the Western Conference Finals in the ECHL Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Question of the day – Did your favorite team make the playoffs?

– by Sean McKenzie

Stats and information courtesy of…..ESPN, NFL, NHL, MLB, ECHL, NBA, bleacherreport, UFC.

Pictures and video courtesy of…..wallpapercave, UFC, ECHL, bleacherreport, and YouTube.

May 12, 2025
The Cleveland Browns 2025 NFL Draft Review.

After a 3-year absence from picking the in the 1st round, thanks to the Deshaun Watson fiasco, the Cleveland Browns made their return in a big way.

They made their first trade before the draft even started. Then decided to keep it going, making multiple trades during the draft.

They started with the #2 pick, but decided to trade it to the Jacksonville Jaguars for the #5 pick, in addition to the Jaguars 1st round pick in next year’s draft.

With that pick, they took Mason Graham, DT, Michigan. He was my one of my top two players. Graham is a hardhat, blue collar type of player. He plays through the snap; he sheds blockers and can rush the passer from the interior. Something the Browns have been sorely missing for over a decade now. Lining him up next to Myles Garrett, will cause problems for opposing offensive lines.

With the 33rd pick, the first in the 2nd round, the Browns took Carson Schwesinger, LB, UCLA. Carson is a do everything player. His 115 tackles, 4 sacks, and 2 interceptions, proved his ability to play sideline to sideline. He can drop back into zone coverage and cover tight ends and running backs. He hits the hole hard on the blitz, and does a nice job against the run.

I reported months ago, that the neck injury to Browns starting linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, was much more serious than the team let on. There’s a chance the he never plays again, so taking Schwesinger here was a good pick.

Three picks later, with the 36th pick, the Browns selected Quinshon Judkins, HB, Ohio State. Judkins is a hard-nosed, between the tackles, power back. He doesn’t have the speed to take it 90 yards on any play; he has the speed to pick up the chunk plays needed to keep the offense on the field. He showed that he has the capability to catch the ball out of the backfield and showed improvement when picking up blitzers. He’s a faster Kareem Hunt for Browns fan.

With the 67th pick, the Browns selected Harold Fannin Jr, TE, Bowling Green. I love this pick! Fannin is a catching machine. He play on the line of scrimmage, in the slot, and the Falcons even played him out wide at the X sometimes. While he does need to improve his blocking technique, his playmaking ability is undeniable, and he played his best football during Bowling Green’s biggest game. The vaulted defenses at Penn State and Texas A&M had no answers for him at all. Fannin along with Browns Pro-Bowl TE David Njoku, gives the Browns a hellava combination for 12 personnel formations.

With the 94th pick, the Browns selected Dillon Gabriel, QB, Oregon. Gabriel had 63 career starts in college, with 3 different teams (UCF, Oklahoma, and Oregon). He makes quick decisions, and his 155-32 touchdown-to-interception ratio shows that he doesn’t put the ball in danger that often. Yes, he’s short at 5’10”, but his ability to scramble and move within the pocket, keeps hit “batted balls” stat low.

With the 126th pick, the Browns took another running in Dylan Sampson, HB, Tennessee. Sampson is a short, fast, and sneakily powerful running back. He has a nose for the endzone scoring 22 rushing touchdowns last season. He was the SEC Offensive Player of the Year last season with 1,485 yards rushing as well. He can take it to the house at any time, from anywhere on the field. He needs to improve his blitz pickup and blocking ability. He only had 19 catches last season. To be fair, he wasn’t asked to that a lot at Tennessee though.

With their final pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, selected Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado. See my previous article.

FINAL GRADE.

When you add everything together, the Cleveland Browns get an A+.

They came away with 6 players who will start on Day 1 or be meaningful contributors to the team.

Along with securing a 2nd first round draft pick in the 2026 class, it’s impossible to deny that the Cleveland Browns got better not just for this upcoming season, but for the next 3 to 4 seasons to come.

– by Sean McKenzie

Stats and information courtesy of…..ESPN, NFL, NCAA, Cleveland Browns.

Photos courtesy of…..wallpapercave, brownsnation, brownswire, USA Today, Cleveland Browns, duckswire,

April 27, 2025
Shedeur Sanders NFL Draft Nightmare.

The NFL Draft is a culmination of many factors for players. The years of blood, sweat and tears on the field. The dog days of summer conditioning in August, where you can barely drag your feet as coach calls it to an end. The excitement and bonding on the bus rides. The sacrifices made by their moms and/or dads, to make every practice and game.

For most the journey starts at the peewee level, then middle school, junior varsity, varsity, then onto college. Dreams of hearing their names called out by the commissioner, after getting that phone call from the teams’ head coach.

Shedeur Sanders got privileged start. As everyone knows, his father is Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. He grew up around the game his whole life. His father coached him his formative years. From high school, to Jackson State, to Colorado.

Coming into the 2025 NFL Draft, almost all the media “experts” and pundits had him rated as the #2 ranked quarterback in the class, only behind Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward.

Sanders finished his four years of college football completing 70.7% of his passes, for 14,347 yards, with 134 touchdowns, and 27 interceptions. He had an additional 17 rushing touchdowns.

Those are great numbers, in a very down quarterback draft class. So why wouldn’t he be rated has high as he was? Why wouldn’t he or anyone expect him to go high or at least in the 1st round?

The world watched as he not only fell out of the 1st round, but he also didn’t even go in the 2nd round. He didn’t go in the 3rd round. He didn’t go in the 4th round. It wasn’t until the 144th pick in the 5th round, for him to get that phone call and hear his name called.

The Cleveland Browns took him. The team with the worst quarterback history in the league, traded up to get him.

Why did he fall so far?

On Day 3 of the draft, word started leaking out about Sanders showing up to interviews unprepared and trying to dictate the teams. New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll “called him out about it, and Sanders didn’t like that” according to NFL insider Todd McShay.

ESPN insider Adam Schefter even stated that “he might not be one of the first quarterbacks taken on day two.”

As the picks and rounds went on, it was apparent to everyone that has common sense, that not only did the NFL scouts and coaches did not view Sanders as a Day 1 starting quarterback, but this was a product of media hype run amuck.

Us fans had to sit back and listen to the insufferable whining of Mel Kiper Jr, Rich Eisen, and others, completely drown out and not report on the other players, whose dreams came true. Letting their personal relationships with his father Deion, get in the way of what truly makes the NFL Draft so special.

There simply were not very many “quarterback needy teams” this draft cycle. Add into the fact that this was an extremely deep class at running back, wide receiver, defensive line, offensive line, and cornerback.

In my own personal rankings, I had Shedeur as my #2 ranked quarterback. Certainly, ahead of Dillion Gabriel, who the Browns drafted in the 3rd round with the 94th pick.

Yes, he does hold onto the football too long at times. Yes, he does take some incredibly dumb sacks. Yes, he does try to do too much. Yes, the “media circus” around him is annoying.

What he is though, was the most accurate passer in college football last season, completing 74% of his passes. What he does do, is stay in the pocket and take a hit to deliver the football.

What Shedeur and all the other “experts” and fans need to remember, is that the greatest quarterback of all-time is Tom Brady, and he was taken with the 199th pick.

Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, did not even get drafted.

As a lifelong Browns fan myself, I hope he goes out there and lights it up.

I hope he goes out there and shows that he is a franchise quarterback.

WELCOME TO THE DAWG POUND SHEDEUR!!!

– by Sean McKenzie

Stats and information courtesy of…..NCAA and ESPN.

Photos courtesy of…..totalprosports and YouTube.

April 27, 2025