The NFL season kicks off!

The NFL season kicks off with an exciting AFC matchup on Thursday September 10th 2009, when the Tennessee Titans visit Heinz Field to face the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. The Titans bring their high powered offense to Pittsburgh with the NFL’s eighth leading rusher Chris Johnson. Pittsburgh’s number one defense plans to minimize the Titans tandem of Smash and Dash (Chris Johnson and LenDale White). Other exciting games include Green Bay and Chicago, Buffalo and New England, Washington and New York Giants. The New England Patriots are expected to do great things this year with their franchise Quarterback Tom Brady healthy after last season’s season ending knee injury, but Buffalo is ready to kick start their offense with newly acquired Terrell Owens. Green Bay and Chicago look to do battle at Lambeau Field; Chicago’s new Quarterback Jay Cutler is hoping to lead the Bears to an NFC north title. Eli Manning and the New York Giants look to beat NFC east rival Washington Redskins. The Jacksonville Jaguars take on Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts on week 1. The Colts kick off their season with new head coach Jim Caldwell, they look to have the same success as past years with former coach Tony Dungy. The Miami Dolphins take on the NFL Rookie of the Year Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons. The AFC North looks to bring their explosive defense back into play for 2009. The Steelers added to their defensive firepower by drafting Defensive End Ziggy Hood with the 32nd overall draft pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.

2008 Team Stats

Total Defense
1. Pittsburgh Steelers
2. Baltimore Ravens
3. Philadelphia Eagles
4. Washington Redskins
5. New York Giants

Total Offense
1. New Orleans Saints
2. Denver Broncos
3. Houston Texans

Source: NFL.com

This year could be a great season with lots of competition in the NFL even with the economic problems that affects all of the NFL General Managers and team owners.


Same Face, New Place

Old Team Player New Team

Denver Broncos Jay Cutler Chicago Bears

New York Jets Brett Favre Minnesota Vikings

Dallas Cowboys Terrell Owens Buffalo Bills

New England Patriots Richard Seymour Oakland Raiders

Atlanta Falcons Michael Vick Philadelphia Eagles

Oakland Raiders Derrick Burgess New England Patriots

Chicago Bears Brandon McGowan New England Patriots

Washington Redskins Shawn Springs New England Patriots

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Joey Galloway New England Patriots



First overall draft pick in the 2009 NFL Draft Matthew Stafford is going to lead the once winless team in 2008 to possibly victory this season. A lot are criticizing the quarterback choice by Head Coach Jim Schwartz. Stafford is under a lot of pressure by the fans in Detroit. Some say Stafford is not ready to start because of his inexperience in the NFL.
A lot of offensive coordinators have been fired over the past few weeks including Jeff Jagodzinski from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Turk Schonert Buffalo Bills, and Chan Gailey Kansas City Chiefs. Most of the fired offensive coordinators were fired for their performance.

Photo Source:http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/si_online/covers/images/2009/0209_large.jpg

World Cup Coming Soon: U.S. High Hopes

Due to the young United States International team’s progress in the Confederation’s Cup, they are finally ranked in the top fifteen best international teams, and also a team to watch. The world cup is showing up sooner than you’d think, and the United States is looking good. The United States is currently ranked 11th out of every country attempting to qualify for the World Cup! They’ll easily qualify into the World Cup as they’re playing terrifically in the North/Central America Qualifying Pool, since the United States’ is tied with Honduras for first place in the pool.
The United State’s team is led by their captain Carlos Bocanegra, and other grizzled veterans such as Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, and Tim Howard. Carlos Bocanegra is a staple in the heart of the American defense. He plays center defender, and plays it very well. Landon Donovan plays forward and sometimes midfield, Donovan is the leading scorer for the United States having scored currently 41 international goals. Clint Dempsey is a good counterpart for Landon Donovan on the U.S. team; he is a rising star who is gaining popularity up at the striker position. Tim Howard is arguably one of the best international goal keepers. Howard won the Golden Glove Award for best keeper in the Confederation’s Cup making 8 saves in a shut-out win in the semi-final against the number one team in the Confederation’s Cup, Spain, and on top of that, he made many other saves against other opponents. There is a bright future ahead for U.S. soccer in that we have one of the best young players in the world. Jozy Altidore is an amazing 19 year old forward, and we also have the young 20 year old Freddy Adu also playing forward. Other talented young players include defenders, Jonathan Spector and Jonathan Bornstein, and midfielders Benny Feilhaber, and DaMarcus Beasley.


U.S. Soccer Roster (Game day 18 man roster)

No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club
1 GK
Tim Howard
March 6, 1979 (age 30) 46 0 Everton

2 DF
Jonathan Spector
March 1, 1986 (age 23) 20 0 West Ham United

3 DF
Carlos Bocanegra
May 25, 1979 (age 30) 72 11 Rennes

4 MF
Michael Bradley
July 31, 1987 (age 22) 36 6 Borussia Mönchengladbach

5 DF
Oguchi Onyewu
May 13, 1982 (age 27) 49 5 Milan

6 DF
Steve Cherundolo
February 19, 1979 (age 30) 54 2 Hannover 96

7 MF
Stuart Holden
August 1, 1985 (age 24) 8 2 Houston Dynamo

8 MF
Clint Dempsey
March 9, 1983 (age 26) 59 17 Fulham

9 FW
Charlie Davies
June 25, 1986 (age 23) 16 4 Sochaux

10 FW
Landon Donovan
March 4, 1982 (age 27) 118 41 Los Angeles Galaxy

11 FW
Brian Ching
May 24, 1978 (age 31) 43 10 Houston Dynamo

12 DF
Jonathan Bornstein
November 7, 1984 (age 24) 22 1 Chivas USA

13 MF
Ricardo Clark
February 10, 1983 (age 26) 25 2 Houston Dynamo

14 MF
José Francisco Torres
October 29, 1987 (age 21) 6 0 Pachuca

15 DF
Chad Marshall
August 22, 1984 (age 25) 10 1 Columbus Crew

16 MF
Benny Feilhaber
January 19, 1985 (age 24) 26 2 AGF

17 FW
Jozy Altidore
November 6, 1989 (age 19) 19 8 Hull City[25]

18 GK
Brad Guzan
September 9, 1984 (age 25) 13 0 Aston Villa


U.S. Soccer Roster (Recent call-ups and reserves)
Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club Most Recent Call-Up
Goalkeepers
Marcus Hahnemann
June 15, 1972 (age 37) 6 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
v. El Salvador; March 28, 2009
Luis Robles
May 11, 1984 (age 25) 1 0 Kaiserslautern
v. Honduras; July 23, 2009
Jon Busch
August 18, 1976 (age 33) 1 0 Chicago Fire
v. Mexico; July 26, 2009
Troy Perkins
July 20, 1981 (age 28) 6 0 Vålerenga
v. Mexico; July 26, 2009

Defenders
Frankie Hejduk
August 5, 1974 (age 35) 84 7 Columbus Crew
v. Trinidad and Tobago; April 1, 2009
Danny Califf
March 17, 1980 (age 29) 23 1 Midtjylland
v. Brazil; June 28, 2009
Marvell Wynne
May 8, 1986 (age 23) 3 0 Toronto FC
v. Brazil; June 28, 2009
Jimmy Conrad
February 12, 1977 (age 32) 26 1 Kansas City Wizards
v. Panama; July 18, 2009
Clarence Goodson
May 17, 1982 (age 27) 6 1 Start
v. Mexico; July 26, 2009
Jay Heaps
August 2, 1976 (age 33) 4 0 New England Revolution
v. Mexico; July 26, 2009
Michael Parkhurst
January 24, 1984 (age 25) 8 0 Nordsjælland
v. Mexico; July 26, 2009
Heath Pearce
August 13, 1984 (age 25) 28 0 Unattached v. Mexico; July 26, 2009
Jay DeMerit
December 4, 1979 (age 29) 16 0 Watford
v. Mexico; August 12, 2009

Midfielders
Maurice Edu
April 18, 1986 (age 23) 11 0 Rangers
v. Trinidad and Tobago; April 1, 2009
Pablo Mastroeni
December 26, 1976 (age 32) 65 0 Colorado Rapids
v. Honduras; June 6, 2009
DaMarcus Beasley
May 24, 1982 (age 27) 89 17 Rangers
v. Brazil; June 28, 2009
Sacha Kljestan
September 9, 1985 (age 24) 20 3 Chivas USA
v. Brazil; June 28, 2009
Freddy Adu
June 2, 1989 (age 20) 15 2 Belenenses[26]
v. Honduras; July 8, 2009
Colin Clark
April 11, 1984 (age 25) 1 0 Colorado Rapids
v. Mexico; July 26, 2009
Sam Cronin
December 12, 1986 (age 22) 2 0 Toronto FC
v. Mexico; July 26, 2009
Brad Evans
April 20, 1985 (age 24) 3 0 Seattle Sounders FC
v. Mexico; July 26, 2009
Logan Pause
August 22, 1981 (age 28) 5 0 Chicago Fire
v. Mexico; July 26, 2009
Kyle Beckerman
April 23, 1982 (age 27) 10 1 Real Salt Lake
v. El Salvador; September 5, 2009
Robbie Rogers
May 12, 1987 (age 22) 6 1 Columbus Crew
v. El Salvador; September 5, 2009

Forwards
Eddie Johnson
March 31, 1984 (age 25) 37 12 Fulham
v. Trinidad and Tobago; April 1, 2009
Conor Casey
July 25, 1981 (age 28) 14 0 Colorado Rapids
v. Brazil; June 28, 2009
Davy Arnaud
June 22, 1980 (age 29) 7 1 Kansas City Wizards
v. Mexico; July 26, 2009
Kenny Cooper
October 21, 1984 (age 24) 9 4 1860 Munich
v. Mexico; July 26, 2009
Santino Quaranta
October 14, 1984 (age 24) 15 1 D.C. United
v. Mexico; July 26, 2009

Source: www.ussoccer.com

Nl East Breakdown

Nl East Breakdown

The N.L east is cracking up to be one of the many run-a-way divisions in the MLB.


Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a very talented team and could go very far in October. The Phil’s have a 6.0 game lead over the wildcard hopeful Florida Marlins. The World Series champs will, in essence, bring the same lineup to the plate this season. The Phillies have proven they can hit the long ball with lefties Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez and Chase Utley both hitting over 30 home runs and righty, Jason Werth is also named among them with 30 plus homeruns also. The World Series MVP Cole Hamels has a new contract this season, and will have the help of newly acquired Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez. However the addition of Lee sent Jamie Moyer, a 250 plus game winner to the bull pen to assist a struggling Brad Lidge. Now, the Phillies are looking big for a 2009 playoff berth and a possible World Series Repeat.



Florida Marlins
The Florida Marlins who have been less than impressive since there days as World Series Champions in 2003 are starting to rebuild there franchise into a young, impressive team. The Marlins have found production with short stop Hanley Ramirez who can play small ball, long ball and get the job done in the field. Dan Uggla who could be the most under rated second baseman in the National League. The Marlins are also aided on the mound by righty’s Josh Johnson and Ricky Nalasco. The Marlins may only be a second or third place finisher but watch out in the future.

Atlanta Braves
After a slow start the long shot wild card Braves are fighting for there lives in a touch N.l East. If they plan to make a decent playoff run they better start getting to work as they are aging fast with hall of fame hopeful Chipper Jones. Although Jones isn’t his old self, the Braves Catcher Brian McCann has stepped up to lead the team in both Home runs and RBI’s. The Braves also have a fair share of winning pitchers with, Derek Lowe leading with wins, Jair Jurrjens leading in ERA, and Javier Vazquez leading strikeouts. In General the Atlanta Braves are a very good team but also an aging one.

New York Mets
The New York Mets are probably the most unlucky team in the M.L.B. this season. The Mets could have been in World Series Contention if they weren’t plagued by numerous injuries both at the mound and at the plate. During the season the Mets injured pitchers JJ Putz, Oliver Perez, John Maine, and Johan Santana. At the plate they struggled without help of Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes, and for some of the year David Wright. In order to intimidate teams in 2010 the Mets will have to clean up there injuries.

Washington Nationals
The Washing Nationals are the newest of M.L.B. teams but that is no excuse for being 30 games back. They do have a few good excuses for being as bad as they are as they are also on of the youngest teams. They are also trying to get better as recent addition Adam Dunn will attempt to lead the team in batting as 1st pick in the 09 draft Steven Strasburg will add his 104 mph fastball into there rotation. The Nationals may be a mediocre team now but in a couple of years they could be a playoff contending team.

N.L East Star Players

Pitchers:
1. Johan Santana
2. Cliff Lee
3. Derek Lowe
4. Cole Hamels
5. Jair Jurrjens

1st Base
1. Ryan Howard
2. Adam Dunn
3. Adam Laroche
4. Jorge Cantu
5. David Murphy

2nd Base
1. Chase Utley
2. Dan Uggla
3. Luis Castillo
4. Willie Harris
5. Mike Prado

Short Stop
1. Hanley Ramirez
2. Jimmy Rollins
3. Christian Guzman
4. Yunel Escobar
5. Anderson Hernandez

3rd Base
1. David Wright
2. Ryan Zimmerman
3. Chipper Jones
4. Pedro Feliz
5. Jorge Cantu

Left Field
1. Raul Ibanez
2. Gary Sheffield
3. Garret Anderson
4. Chris Coglhan
5. Josh Willingham

Center Field
1. Nate McLouth
2. Shane Victerino
3. Cody Ross
4. Willie Harris
5. Angel Pagan

Right Field
1. Jason Werth
2. Elijah Dukes
3. Jeremy Hermida
4. Jeff Francoeur
5. Matt Diaz

Note: This was based on opinion.

Sources: http://thebocker.com/2008/03/
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/roster?team=phi

Preseason NCAA Football Report: Here Come The Nittany Lions!

The Nittany Lions are ranked #8 in the Associated Press Poll but don’t count them out of a National Championship this year. With Daryll Clark leading the offense at quarterback and Evan Royster at running back, Penn State has a great offense. However, Penn State has lost all their great senior receivers they had last year including Derek Williams and Deion Butler. PSU’s defense isn’t bad either with Sean Lee and Navorro Bowman as the linebackers, the other Big Ten teams will have trouble moving the ball against Penn State’s “Linebacker U.” Also Beaver Stadium is another elusive part of the Nittany Lions. The Nittany Lions home field has a capacity of 107,282 people and roars when the Nittany Lions’ players come into its confines. The biggest weakness of PSU is their schedule. They open up against Akron and play a good many other mediocre teams including Temple, Syracuse, Eastern Illinois, and Indiana which is not a great schedule. Nevertheless, Penn State’s Big Ten conference holds some teams to be reckoned with. With such powerhouse teams as Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, and Iowa, the Nittany Lions could have a tough time this year. Although the Nittany lions will have tough teams to go up against this year, Penn State should prosper this year and look for them to possibly be the dark horse to win it all. With Penn State’s driving offense, powerful defense, and a crowd to shake any opposing quarterback; it could be a good year for the Nittany Lions in 2009.

Penn State 2009 Football Schedule

Sept. 5 AKRON
Sept. 12 SYRACUSE
Sept. 19 TEMPLE
Sept. 26 IOWA
Oct. 3 at Illinois
Oct. 10 EASTERN ILLINOIS
Oct. 17 MINNESOTA
Oct. 24 at Michigan
Oct. 31 at Northwestern
Nov. 7 OHIO STATE
Nov. 14 INDIANA
Nov. 21 at Michigan State
Source: gopsusports.com

Penn State Football 2009 Depth Chart (Number, Name, Class)

Quarterback:
1. 17 Daryll Clark, Sr.
2. 12 Kevin Newsome, Fr.

Running back:
1. 22 Evan Royster, Jr.
2. 21 Stefphon Green, rSo.

Receiver:
1. 5 Graham Zug, rJr. 6 Derek Moye, rSo. 83 Brett Brackett, Jr.
2. 84 Patrick Mauti, rSr. 14 AJ Price, rFr. 2 Chaz Powell, rSo. 8 James McDonald, rSr.

Tight end:
1. 10 Andrew Quarless, Sr.
2. 82 Mickey Shuler, Sr.

Tackle:
1. 50 DeOn’Tae Pannel, So.
2. 72 Nerraw McCormack, Sr.

Guard:
1. 54 Matt Stankiewitch, rSr
2. 74 Johnnie Troutman, So.

Center:
1. 61 Stefen Wisniewski, Jr.
2. 68 Doug Klopacz, Jr.

Guard:
1. 77 Lou Eliades, Jr.
2. 65 JB Walton, So.

Tackle:
1. 73 Dennis Landolt, Sr.
2. 79 Ako Poti, Sr.

Kicker:
1. 36 Collin Wagner, Jr.
2. 29 Anthony Fera, Fr.

Defensive End:
1. 81 Jack Crawford, So.
2. 56 Eric Latimore, So.

Defensive End:
1. 5 Jerome Hayes, rSr.
2. 44 Kevion Latham, So.

Defensive Tackle:
1. 91 Jared Odrick, Sr.
2. 71 Devon Still, So.

Defensive Tackle:
1. 85 Ollie Ogbu, Jr.
2. 99 Brandon Ware, rFr.

Outside Linebacker:
1. 42 Mike Mauti, So.
2. 34 Nate Stupar, So.

Middle Linebacker:
1. 45 Sean Lee, Sr.
2. 43 Josh Hull, Sr.

Outside Linebacker:
1. 11 Navarro Bowman, Jr.
2. 15 Bani Gbadyu, Jr.

Cornerback:
1. 1 AJ Wallace, Sr.
2. 20 Devin Fentress, Sr.

Safety:
1. 20 Drew Astorino, rSo.
2. 10 Nick Sukay, So.

Safety:
1. 13 Andrew Dailey, rSo.
2. 6 Gerald Hodges, Fr.

Cornerback:
1. 4 Knowledge Simmons, Sr.
2. 8 D’Anton Lynn, So.

Punter:
1. 41 Jeremy Boone, Sr.
2. 49 Ryan Breen, rSo.

Kick Returner:
1. 2 Chaz Powell, rSo.
2. 6 Gerald Hodges, Fr.

Punt Returner:
1. 2 Chaz Powell, rSo.
2. NA