Front Row.com Blog

 This is starting to become an interesting offseason for those of is with NFL tickets. The movement of players is starting to happen and there’s been some big ones today.

 The Denver Broncos have made another move at quarterback, trading with the Cleveland Browns to get Brady Quinn. Once hailed as a hometown hero Quinn became expendable when the Browns signed ex-Panther jake Delholme. Kind of an odd move to me considering Jake’s recent woes under center. Why trade a young guy with promise for a guy nearing the end of his career who shows all the signs of losing it?

 Meanwhile the New York Jets continued their action by signing Ladanian Tomlinson, former San Dioego Chargers running back. Does L.T. have anything left in the tank or is this just a publicity move? Time will tell.

Tags: Uncategorized // Add Comment »

 Lovei Smith has his back to the wall. Since appearing in the Super Bowl the Chicago Bears have been backsliding. Bringing in Jay Cutler didn’t really help and injuries on the defensive side have put the famed Bears defense on it’s heels. That means Lovie Smith needs to win and win  now. There’s no more breathing room.

 What does an NFL head coach do when he needs to see results right away. He takes a page from the Washington Redskins playbook and starts signing big name free agents. The Chicago Bears did just that by signing defensive beast Julius Peppers and running back Chester Taylor. Peppers could conceivably cost Chicago $90 million over the next six years. Taylor comes in with the hopes of beefing up a running game that fell off in 2009. What does it all mean. Either the Chicago Bears make at least the NFC Championship next season or Smith and his coaching staff hit the door.

Tags: Uncategorized // Add Comment »

 The great experiment is on. The NFL collective bargaining agreement doesn’t show any signs of being settled and a new era of free agency is upon us. Most teams will act to keep their free agents by using a tender offer, giving them draft picks should a player decide to move on.

 Others will allow their stars to move on. The San Diego Chargers parted ways with LaDanian Tomlinson. The Carolina Panthers say goodbye to Julius Peppers, a player who’s probably seen his better days.  For the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints, safety Darren Sharper is the biggest name. Tendered but not signed, the Saints will have to make a decision whether keeping Sharper is in the best long term interests of the team.

 Whatever the glory or the nostalgia surrounding a team and player, the reality of the NFL is now going to hit home. Football is a business and as such, tough money decisions have to be made. As always, some good decisions will be made. Other teams will face tough losses due to financial constraints. Whoever does the best juggling act will be looking ath playoffs and a Super Bowl next season.

Tags: Uncategorized // Add Comment »

 You can pick your heroes in the golf world. Many went the Tiger Woods route and for a long time it was a good one. Tiger set himself up as the best of the best, not only as a golfer but as a person with no faults. Unfortunately for golf fans that world came crashing down. Tiger is now in seclusion, reportedly prepping himself for a comeback, but with an image that’s been tarnished.

 John Daly on the other hand, has at least been honest. A virtual tornado of madness, Daly has ripped apart the gold world with unconventional and seemingly unforgivable behavior. But at least he’s been honest. Nowhere will you find John Daly setting himself up as an role model. The guy has logged over 400 pages in his PGA behavior file. But at least he’s been honest.

 To me, John Daly appears human. Tiger Woods elevated himself above the average guy, fell victim to his own humanity, and now is paying the price. Daly I can relate to. Perfection I can’t. But maybe we’ll see Tiger Woods and John Daly at the Arnold Palmer Invitational come March 25th. But mayne not.

Tags: Uncategorized // Add Comment »

 This time of year is distracting to me. The sudden collapse of the NFL season leaves me hanging and i can’t get into Combine stuff at all. So I’ll just cast my eye around and report some sports news.

 Looks like Shaq is gonna sit for awhile. Surgery on his thumb has sidelined the Cleveland Cavaliers big man and he probably won’t play till the post season.

The Canadians won the gold medal. Bummer for us. But hockey has now come to the forefront of sports minds and the NHL is sure to get a boost from the interest.

 In the NFL the most interesting offseason in years will hinge ona labor agreement. Free Agents are already hitting the market. Looks like Julius Peppers, Ladanian Tomlinson, anfd several others will be looking for new teams in 2010. Get ready for an unusual trade atmosphere.

 The Kansas Jayhawks and Syracuse Orangemen are my sentimental favorites for March Madness.

Tags: Uncategorized // Add Comment »

 The nomadic NFL life of T.O. continues for the 2010 NFL season. the Buffalo Bills have decided to part ways with the mercurial receiver, allowing him to move on to the next NFL team willing to take a chance. Right now that looks like it could be the Baltimore Ravens. It may not be a bad move as Baltimore has been looking for a big play pass catcher for the last few seasons. The question is whether that pass catcher is T.O.

 On the plus side, Owens enjoyed a somewhat productive year in an anemic Buffalo Bills offense. My belief is that while he can no longer be a superstar producer, Owens may have enough left to keep a defense aware of him and take some pressure off of the parts of the offense. Pro Bowl years are probably behind him, but T.O. can still garner some attention.

Tags: Uncategorized // Add Comment »

Here’s a rule change by the NFL that I think I could agree with. It’s being reported that the NFL is considering a change to the overtime format that would allow each time at least one possession. I think that’s a good thing. Too many NFL games are being decided by a coin toss in the current overtime format. Although my New Orleans Saints were the beneficiary of this at some point last season, I just believe a win is too hard to get in the NFL just on a lucky guess.

 With each NFL team being given one offensive possession, that problem is solved. It also brings up an array of challenges for the coaching staff. Go all out for the touchdown or just gamble on the field goal? Coaches with their back to the wall will have to be better than the guy on the other side. I hope this new NFL overtime rule goes through.

Tags: Uncategorized // Add Comment »

 As the spectre of March Madness and the Final Four begin to move into our minds, crowding out the Super Bowl and the yet unfinished NBA season, I’m beginning to think the Syracuse Orangemen have a good shot to end up in the last quarter.

 Their recent win over then #8 Villanova displayed a deep and talented team running at peak efficiency. The win over the Villanova Wildcats, coupled with losses by Kansas and Kentucky, puts Syracuse in excellent position to move up in the polls. Syracuse is a basketball team that wasn’t really expected to be this good. That makes for very good press, exciting story lines, and lots of press attention as the Orangemen move into contention for the Final Four. can the dream season happen? Stay tuned.

Tags: Uncategorized // Add Comment »

 It went over well at my house, anyway. the news that Aerosmith tickets would soon hit the market I mean. my wife has been looking for Aerosmith to tour in our area for some time but she insisted that it had to be with Steven Tyler. No substitutes allowed. I nknow that some bands have made the transition to a new singer with some success but to me the voice of a band is unique. Instrument players can be replaced in most cases but the qualities in a voice can’t really be duplicated. That’s why, to me Journey isn’t Journey with Steve Perry. With Tyler joining Aerosmith again, all is well in the Aerosmith world.

Tags: Uncategorized // Add Comment »

 Almost everyone remembers the famous play “Waiting for Godot” from high school. I personally thought it was stupid but that’s just me. The NFl version of “Waiting for Godot” is now being played out once again bt the Minnesota Vikin gs and it’s once again all about Brett Favre. For the last decade it seems we’ve all been subjected to the “Will Brett Favre retire ?” fiasco and apparently 2010 will be no different.

 The Minnesota Vikings got their moneys worth out of Brett Favre last season, as the aging QB took them all the way to the NFC Championship before falling to the New Orleans Saints on an interception thrown by ……Brett Favre. The problem is that the Saints really beat hell out of Favre in that game and I believe his family didn’t like it one bit. The guy could retire this time. But you won’t find out about it tll half the training camp is over and Brett deems it the right time to announce his royal decision.

Tags: Uncategorized // Add Comment »