The 2011 NFL CBA Problems Is Settled

The NFL is back. Yes, after the 132 day lockout it ended yesterday when the 32 players reps voted 32-0 to accept the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.It started back on March 12th when the owners locked out the players. The owners and players meet through June and July. The owners voted 31-0 on Thursday to accept the CBA the Raiders didn't vote and the Player Reps accepted it yesterday. The only game missed by this is the Hall of Fame Game. The season will start on September 8th like planned. The deal is for the next 10 years and will expire after the 2020 season. The NFL will make between 12 to 16 billion dollars over the next 10 years. The salary cap will be $120,375,000, but the teams must spend at least 99 percent in cash meaning not in deferred payments this season. Also the teams will have to spend 89% of the cap (107.1 million). Teams also will be allowed to go over the cap by about $3.5 million this season, and they can borrow $3 million in cap room from a future year. The are 7 teams over the cap. The Raiders (14.9 million over), Cowboys (13.9 million over), Steelers (10.3 million over), Giants (6.1 million over), Vikings (4.3 million over), Colts (1.8 million over) and Ravens (1.8 million over). Today players can start signing players, Thursday the can start cutting and on Friday free agency will start. With the new CBA Rookies will be payed a lot less. Cam Newton who was the #1 overall pick will get 22.03 million dollar contract, a lot then Sam Bradford who get 50 million last year. Minimum is going up 10-12% based on how long you've been in the League. The Franchise Tag will stay the same, teams will be able to Franchise Tag a players as many times as they wish. Training Camp will open tomorrow with the Ravens, Jaguars, Broncos, Raiders, Chargers, Cowboys, Eagles, Cardinals and Seahwks. Thursday the Dolphins, Patriots, Bengals, Steelers, Chiefs, Redskins, Lions, Falcons, Buccaneers and 49ers. Friday the Bills, Browns, Colts, Titans, Giants, Bears, Packers, Vikings, Panthers and Rams. No one on Saturday and the Jets and Texans on Sunday. The first game are set to play on August 11th. No one will have to worry about a lock-out in the NFL until 2020.

Recap of the 2011 MLB All-Star Game

The 2011 MLB All-Star Game was played on Tuesday. The National League beat the American League 5 to1. This is the first time since 1996 that the NL as beat the AL twice in a row. The AL won every from 1997 to 2009 expect for 2002 where they tied. This game is important because who ever wins the NL win have home field in the World Series. The team with home field in the World Series the last 25 times as won the World Series 20 times. One odd thing that happened was they were a lot of replacements players. Normally there is 66 All-Stars between both Leagues but this year there was 84 which means there was 18 replacement players. I thought the AL was probably going to win and the game was going to be really close. The NL started Roy Halladay and he pitched 2 innings without allowing a hit. Then Cliff Lee came in a had 1 and 2/3 of hitless ball by then Gonzalez and the AL was up 1-0. The AL almost went up 2-0 but Bautista was thrown out at home. In the bottom of the fourth after Beltran and Kemp were singled, Fielder came up and homered to make it 3 to 1 NL. In the 5th Ethier singled to scored Weeks to make it 4 to 1. In the 7th the NL got a run when Sandoval grounded into a double play and Pence scored. The NL had 9 hits to the AL who had 6. C.J. Wilson got the lose for the AL, he gave up the Fielder homerun. One fun thing Clippard got the win only pitching 1/3 of an inning and Brian Wilson got the save pitching 2/3 of an inning. Normally pitcher have to pitch 5+ innings to get the win.

Derek Jeter's 3000th Hit

Derek Jeter finally got his 3000th hit of his career on Saturday. In the game Jeter when 5 for 5, which was the most hits he had in a game all year long. He entered the game at 2998 hits needing 2 hits to become the first Yankee ever to get 3000 hits as a Yankee. He lead off the game and got the hit to get to 2999. Then in the 3rd inning it happened. Jeter hit a homerun to deep left field and that was his 3000th hit. The guy who caught Jeter's baseball that he hit wanted to give it to the Yankee to give to Jeter. Even though he didn't have anything in return the team gave him memorabilia and tickets. That Jeter's 3rd homerun of the season. He helped the Yankees beat the Rays 5-4. He increased his batting average from 72 for 280 which is .257 to 77 for 285 which is .270 which is a crazy 13 point increase. I think will will retire after his contract end after the 2014 season if he pick up the extension. He would be 40 after the 2014 season.  He will probably after this year not play Shortstop anymore and move to DH or into the outfield. I think Jeter will end with about 3500 hits. Which would put him around the 5th most hits all-time, his life time batting average is .3126 which is 83rd all-time. Derek will easily be a Hall Famer when he retires. He is a 5-time World Series Champ, a 12-time All-Star, he has 5 gold gloves and 4 silver sluggers. He is also a Rookie of the year in 1996 and World Series and All-Star Game MVP in 2000. Also most hits in a Yankee uniform and the Yankee's captain since 2003.

Recap of the 2010-11 NHL Awards

The NHL awards for the 2010-11 season was announced on Thursday. Some were smart choices and some were not as much.

Hart Memorial Trophy (MVP in regular season): Corey Perry from the Anaheim Ducks won this which was a surprise to me. I thought Henrik or Daniel Sedin should have won it because they both help lead to the Canucks to the Stanley Cup Finals and the best record in the league. I thought Daniel Sedin should have won. Perry was 3rd in points in the NHL with 98, 1st in goals in the NHL with 50 and tied for 14th in assists in the NHL with 48. Good pick for this, but I disagree.

Ted Lindsay Award (MVP voted by NHL PA): This is voted on by the players. Daniel Sedin won it which I agree with. He lead the Canucks to the best record in the NHL and the Stanley Cup Finals. Sedin was 1st in points in the NHL with 104, Tied for 4th in goals in the NHL with 41 and 3rd in assists in the NHL with 63. I agree with this award.

Vezina Trophy (best goaltender): This award was easy to pick. They chose Tim Thomas from Boston. He help the Bruins win the Stanley Cup. He also won the playoffs MVP. He was 1st in the NHL in GAA at 2.00, 1st in the NHL in SV% at 93.8%, tied for 9th in the NHL in wins with 36 and 2nd in the NHL in Shutouts with 9. 

James Norris Memorial Trophy (best defensive player): Nicklas Lidstrom won this for the 7th time which is crazy. He is tied now for 2nd most all-time behind Bobby Orr. He didn't have great stats but I agree with the selection. He had 49 hits and 92 blocked shots.

Frank J. Selke Trophy (best defensive forward): This was won by Ryan Kesler from Vancouver. He was a good pick and I agree with the picks. He had 124 hits which was that high compared to other forwards, he was 4th in forwards with 80 blocked shots and tied for 10th in +/- among forwards with a +24. 

Calder Memorial Trophy (best rookie): Jeff Skinner won this award. He plays for Carolina and is 19. He was 38th in the NHL in points with 63 points, tied for 21st in the NHL in points with 31 goals and he had 32 assists in the season. He was the #7 overall pick in the 2010 NHL draft.

2011 NBA Draft 1st Round Predictions

1. Cleveland Cavaliers (from Los Angeles Clippers)

Kyrie Irving 

Point Guard

Duke University

2. Minnesota Timberwolves

Derrick Williams

Power Forward

University of Arizona, Tucson

3. Utah Jazz (from New Jersey Nets)

Brandon Knight

Point Guard

University of Kentucky

4. Cleveland Cavaliers

Enes Kanter

Center

Turkey

5. Toronto Raptors

Jones Valanciunas

Center

Lithuania

6. Washington Wizards

Kawhi Leonard

Small Forward

San Diego State University

7. Charlotte Bobcats (from Sacramento Kings)

Tristan Thomas

Power Forward

University of Texas at Austin

8. Detroit Pistons

Kemba Walker

Point Guard

University of Connecticut

9. Charlotte Bobcats

Klay Thompson

Shooting Guard

Washington State University

10. Sacramento Kings (from Milwaukee Bucks)

Alec Burks

Shooting Guard

University of Colorado Boulder

11. Golden State Warriors

Jan Vesely

Small Forward

Czech Republic

12. Utah Jazz

Jimmer Fredette

Point Guard

Brigham Young University

13. Phoenix Suns

Chris Singleton

Small Forward

Florida State University

14. Houston Rockets

Bismack Biyombo

Power Forward

Spain

15. Indiana Pacers

Tobias Harris

Power Forward

University of Tennessee

16. Philadelphia 76ers

Nikola Vucevic

Center

University of Southern California

17. New York Knicks

Marshon Brooks

Shooting Guard

Providence College

18. Washington Wizards (from Atlanta Hawks)

Jordan Hamilton

Small Forward

University of Texas at Austin

19. Milwaukee Bucks (from Charlotte Bobcats via Portland via New Orleans)

Kenneth Faired

Power Forward

Morehead State University

20. Minnesota Timberwolves (from Utah Jazz via Memphis Grizzlies)

Nikola Mirotic

Small Forward

Serbia

21. Portland Trail Blazers

Marcus Morris

Power Forward

University of Kansas

22. Denver Nuggets

Markieff Morris

Power Forward

University of Kansas

23. Houston Rockets (from Phoenix Suns via Orlando Magic)

Norris Cole

Point Guard

Cleveland State University

24. Oklahoma City Thunder

Donatas Motiejunas

Power Forward

Lithuania

25. Boston Celtics

Justin Harper

Power Forward

University of Richmond

26. Dallas Mavericks

Iman Shumpert

Ponit Guard

Georgia Institute of Technology

27. New Jersey Nets (from Los Angles Lakers)

Tyler Honeycutt

Small Forward

University of California, Los Angeles

 

28. Chicago Bulls (from Toronto Raptors via Miami Heat)

Jimmy Butler

Small Forward

Marquette University

 
29. San Antonio Spurs

Davis Bertans

Small Forward

Latvia

30. Chicago Bulls

Reggie Jackson

Point Guard

Boston College