Tag: football

The Weekender

On By kassienetteIn 49ers, Baseball, Basketball, College football, Controversy, Football, NASCAR, NFL, Sports, WolfpackLeave a comment

Aw man, the weekend is over. Five days until the next one!! And your weekend rekap is as follows….

 

The Cincinnati Reds clinched the NL central title. Hip Hop Hooray!

Taylor Heinicke, QB for Old Dominion University,  passed for 730 yards in a 64-61 win against New Hampshire. So this season we have had a QB pass for 736 yards(all-time divisions record) and another pass for 730 yards(Division-I record).  That is crazy and deserving of more than three sentences.

Gio Gonzalez is the first pitcher to reach the 20 win mark this year. #Natitude

Arkansas lost to Rutgers. It is amazing what a motorcycle ride will do to your program.

The Saints are 0-3 and the Cardinals are 3-0. No, that is not a typo.

Chris Paul revealed that his preference was the Clippers over the Lakers. Oh and he is still upset about Pau Gasol “sonning” him.

According to my mother, the cowgirlies won(I refuse to call them by their government name until they win 10 games) and the 9ers lost. Unfortunately, she is right.

22 year vet, Jim Thome, doubled in the go-ahead run in the Baltimore  Orioles win against the Boston Rex Sox. The Orioles remain one game behind the New York Yankees in the AL East.

Jamaal Charles rushed for 233 yards and had 55 receiving yards. So glad he is on my fantasy team. *fist pump*

Oregon leaped over LSU to take the number two spot in the AP Poll. They remain number one in the gameday apparel poll.

After predicting a victory, Denny Hamlin made good on his promise winning in New Hampshire. Jimmie Johnson is now The Chase leader.

The NFLPA sent an open letter to the NFL owners asking them to reach an agreement with the locked out officials. Both sides met this weekend and the owners are still locked into their position.

The Texas Rangers defeated the Mariners 3-2. They maintained their four game lead over the A’s in the AL West.

Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 43 yard field goal as time expired to lift the Raiders to a 34-31 victory over the Steelers. No one lifted the 6’1, 258lb kicker during the post game celebration.

St. John’s men’s basketball coach Steve Lavin is eager to get back on the hardwood after missing most of last season recuperating from prostate cancer. Cheers to a great season Coach!

FSU defeated Clemson 49-37 on the backs for strong performances by EJ Manuel and Chris Thompson. Speaking of backs, Thompson broke his last year….

Stephon Marbury voiced his opinion saying he does not think Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire are a good fit for the Knicks. When was the last time Marbury’s opinion was relevant?

Bill Gillespie resigned as men’s basketball coach at Texas Tech, citing health issues. Sooooo, that NCAA investigation had nothing to do with it????

The Wolfpack won!! Whoop!

So much to say about the Ravens-Patriots game. The courage and perseverance that Torrey Smith displayed despite learning of the death of his youngesr brother was truly inspiring. He had six catches for 127 yards and two TDs. The game ended with the Ravens Justin Tucker kicking a 27 yard FG that came as close to the upright as I have ever seen. Bill Belichick thought the field goal was no good, chased down a ref, grabbed him then sucked his teeth throughout his press conference. Too funny.

 

Until next time…TOODELLS.

Ladies, klass is in session….Football 101, Lesson 3

On By kassienetteIn 49ers, College football, NFL, Sports1 Comment

Alright ladies, how are you feeling?? Feeling more confident about this football thing? Are you loving it yet? Or are you still lost? No need to fear, Kassie is herrrrre!! Today I am going to talk about different plays and coverages that you will see from the offense and the defense. Remember, this applies to both college and pro football.

Offensive terms

Play action-A pass play that is designed to look like a running play. The purpose of this play is to fool the defense into thinking it is a run so the QB has a chance to find an open receiver.

Shotgun-This is a passing play where the QB typically lines up about five yards behind the line of scrimmage. This formation allows the QB to see what the defense is doing and make any necessary changes before the ball is snapped.

Throwing it away-When the QB deliberately throws the ball out of bounds or over the head of one of his receivers. A QB will throw the ball away sometimes if he can not find an open receiver or if he is in danger of losing yardage because of pressure from the defense.

Intentional grounding-This is called sometimes as a result of the QB throwing it away. A referee can determine that either there was no receiver within the vicinity of where the ball was thrown or that the receiver had no realistic chance to catch the ball. The penalty results in a loss of 10 yard and the team will also lose a down.

Pump fake-When the QB fakes like he is throwing the ball in hopes of throwing off the defenders which will give his receivers more time to run their routes

Defensive terms

Man to man-A defense designed where a defender is assigned to cover a specific receiver

Blitz-My favorite defensive play! Remember there are five offensive linemen and there are typically three or four defensive linemen. During a blitz, the defense will rush the offensive linemen using additional defensive players in hopes of sacking the QB, tackling the runner behind the line of scrimmage or rushing the QB’s throw. I have dreams of one day blitzing a QB, preferably Tom Brady and his short helmet :-}.

Zone coverage-A defensive set up where defenders are assigned to cover certain areas of the field and the receivers that venture into those areas

Double coverage-Two defenders are assigned to cover one receiver. If you see two defenders for one receiver, then this automatically tells you that this receiver has the potential to change the game at any moment and the defense knows that.

Bump and run-A defender can bump the receiver within the first five yards past the line of scrimmage. By bumping, the defender hopes to disrupt the route the receiver is trying to run. However, if the defender is not successful at disrupting then the defender will have to match the receiver stride for stride in an effort to keep the receiver from catching the ball.

Bonus term

Audible-When the QB changes the play at the line of scrimmage….it is that simple.

NFL Tidbits

There are 32 team in the NFL. Learn at least half before the end of the year.

The NFL is divided into two conferences: The National Football Conference and the American Football Conference. Each conference has 16 teams, divided into four divisions.

The New York Giants are the reigning Super Bowl Champions.

SuperBowl XLVII(47) will be held in New Orleans on February 3, 2013. Yes ladies, your man and some of your girlfriends will be M.I.A. for another 4.25 months. Sorry!!

The Pittsburgh Steelers have won the most SuperBowls. They have six rings. The San Francsico 49ers(the only teams to win EVERY SuperBowl they have played in) and the Dallas Cowboys have won five.

Until next time…TOODELLS!!

The Weekender

On By kassienetteIn 49ers, Baseball, Basketball, College football, Controversy, Football, Hockey, NASCAR, Panthers, Sports, Tennis, Wolfpack3 Comments

 

Twitterverse was buzzing about my 49ers last night. Note to all of you who were not fans before hand….we DO NOT do bandwagoners!!

My Panthers handed the Saints there second loss. It is amazing what removing bounties will do to a team.

The NHL is officially in a lockout. The game is ‘on ice’ for the forseeable future.

The Jets ran into A LOT of turbulence in Pittsburgh. Back to life, back to reality.

Rookie QB Russell Wilson picked up his first win on Sunday against the cowboys. *insert huge grin*

The Baltimore Orioles beat the Oakland A’s thus ensuring their first winning season since 1997. The average price for a gallon of gas was $1.22 that year.

Boston Red Sox manager, Bobby Valentine, stuck his foot in his mouth. Again.

Brad Keslowski won the Geico 400 in Chicago. His win puts him in first place in The Chase standings.

Standford proved they do not need ‘Luck’ when they play USC. The Cardinals beat the Trojans for the fourth straight time.

Dwight Howard expressed himself during the ESPN Sunday Conversation and said he does not want anyone to hate him. Hmmm, is that why he took out that ad??

Sam Bradford had a solid performance on Sunday. So did RGIII, who was on the losing end.

My beloved Wolfpack landed one of the top point guards in the nation, Anthony Barber. Welcome to the Pack young fella!

With his win on Saturday night, Ryan Blaney became the youngest person to ever win a NASCAR Truck Series Race. He is 18 years and 8 months old :-}.

Former boxing champs Oscar De La Hoya and Julio Cesar Chavez admitted to drug and alcohol abuse in the latter stages of their careers. Thankfully, both have been sober for years.

Eli Manning passed for 510 yards against the Bucs. Even though it is the Bucs, it is still impressive.

The Chicago White Sox won and the Detroit Tigers lost. Chicago is now two games ahead of Detroit in the AL Central division.

Sergio Martinez defeated Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. by unanimous decision Saturday night. If only Chavez Jr.’s rally would have begun in the 11th round, we probably would have had a different outcome.

Giants coach Tom Coughlin was not too pleased with what he deemed “a cheap shot” by Greg Schiano’s Tampa Bay Bucs near the end of regulation. I did not think it was possible for Tom Coughlin to get any redder but booooooooooy was I wrong.

 

Until next time….TOODELLS.

Oh so random…

On By kassienetteIn Baseball, Basketball, Controversy, Football, Hockey, Marathons, Music, NASCAR, Running, Sports, Tennis2 Comments

They say there is a first time for everything. Welp, I am experiencing another first….blogger’s block. Ugh. I have a few topics that I want to write about but for some reason I just can not seem to get them going. Instead of trying to force it,  I have decided to take another route with this post. So here it is…a plethora of thoughts from Kassie….

1. Ken Griffey, Jr. had the prettiest swing. EVER.

2. As big a sports fan as I am, I have never seen Hoosiers, Bull Durham or Caddyshack. I have seen Blue Chips though.

3. I went to my first North Carolina State football game at the age of 2. I have a reoccurring flashback of me sitting with the family in the upper deck.

4. I was at The Cheesecake Factory in DC about 10 years ago with some friends when all of a sudden a very tall man arose from a table near us. It was Dikembe Mutombo. Before I could even catch myself I yelled out, MUTOMBOOOOOOO! If looks could kill. For that reason alone, he deserves more than two sentences.

5. Earvin “Magic” Johnson does not get the respect he deserves. Dude was a ballerrrrrrr, you hear me?!

6. When I was in middle school, my granddaddy would make me cheese toast for breakfast. I would eat it while watching Scooby Doo then I would turn and watch SportsCenter.

7. Ya’ll know the ‘This is SportsCenter’ commercial with Jay Harris and Larry Fitzgerald, where Larry catches all the stuff that falls in the office? I was with Jay on the day they emailed the script for the commercial to him. I have always thought Larry was a kutie and I told Jay that. About a week later I got a text from a friend that was sent by Jay that said, “Kassaundra, Larry told me to tell you hey.” Yep! That deserved extra sentences.

8. My all time favorite football player is Jerry Rice. Greatest of all time.

9. Quite often during football season, I lose my voice. It is a good thing that I do not have to talk to blog.

10. If you have never been to a Virginia Tech football game, GO!! That ‘Enter Sandman’ intro almost made me tackle someone in the stands.

11. Leave Lance Armstrong alone! He has raised over 500 million for cancer research. That will have a greater impact than anything he has done on a bike.

12. <—–My favorite number so I have got to make this good….44 days until the marathon!!! Have you made your donation :-}??

13. Some of my favorite athlete names…..Milton Bradley, Picabo(pronounced Peekaboo) Street, Tim Biakabutuka, Doug Flutie, Anfernee Hardaway and Alan Kulwicki.

14. I want to go to Soldier Field to see a Chicago Bears home game so I can sing “Bear Down” as loud as I can after the Bears score a touchdown. I love to randomly sing that song, just ask my mama :-}.

15. I keep up with the NBA but I do not like it. Do. Not. Get. Me. Started.

16. Everyone should experience a hockey game. LIVE.

17. I have been trying to learn how to play poker. The only thing I still understand how to flush a toilet.

 18. This year’s baseball playoffs are going to be something special. You heard it here first…..Go Rangers!!

19. I am still giggling at the fact that they kept playing “Lean Back” by Fat Joe at the Broncos game Sunday night. Whoever was in charge of the music needs to not be in charge of the music anymore.

20. Until next time….TOODELLS.

Much more than just left turns….

On By kassienetteIn NASCAR3 Comments

The wheels on the car go round and round, round and round, round and round…

In case you have not figured it out, I like NASCAR too. This may be shocking to some but if you have been following my blog then it should not be. What is there not to like about NASCAR? There is suspense, intensity, unpredictability and competitiveness.  All the things you would want in a sport, right?

The National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing(I know you have always wanted to know what NASCAR stands for) was founded on February 21, 1948 by Bill France, Sr. I will save you the history lesson and just give you a quick overview. Currently NASCAR is made up of three divisions: the Sprint Cup Series, the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series. The Sprint Cup Series is the most popular and is NASCAR’s highest level of professional competition. The races you see on Sundays are typically part of the Sprint Cup Series. Those are the big boy races.

So how did I get started watching NASCAR? As usual, it has family ties. I started watching NASCAR when I was young. My granddaddy used to work for an oil company called Sunoco. Sunoco used to sponsor a car and their drivers name was Sterling Marlin. Marlin rarely won but seven year old me could care less. He drove for the company my granddaddy worked for so it was only right that I cheered for him. I would tune in Sunday after Sunday to cheer Marlin on whenever I could. I was young at the time so I was not glued to the tv to see him race but I always made sure I knew how he did that day. As I grew older, my love for football as well as other sports grew and my love for NASCAR diminished but it was only a matter of time before we would be reunited…

About two years ago, I rekindled my flame with NASCAR. I was watching SportsCenter and they were doing a story on Dale Earnhardt, Jr. At the time , it has been over two years since he had last won a race. Can you imagine being the son of racing royalty(his dad was Dale Earnhardt, Sr….if you do not know who he is, Google him!), going through a two year drought? I felt so bad for him. Sitting there all teary eyed like I had grown up playing dodgeball with Junior. So I started watching races again, just hoping and praying Junior would win. I saw him almost win. I saw him not even come close to winning. I stayed up late to see if he would win. I even saw him come within a quarter of a mile of winning last year. Notice the word within. There was no one within 50 feet of him. He had just rounded the last turn, was headed towards the checkered flag and then the unthinkable happened. HE RAN OUT OF GAS!! WHAAAAAAAAAAAT!! I was hot. How does that happen?! I wanted to know who was responsible. Who miscalculated how many more miles he could get out of that gallon? I was for real upset. Like I had money on the race upset. You drive for a living. How. Do. You. Run. Out. Of. Gas?! It would take another two years but Junior finally got into the Winner’s Circle again this year by winning the Quicken Loans 400. And guess what? I missed that race. Rats.

You may not believe it but NASCAR is exciting! When I talk to my friends about it, they give me that “get outta here” look. I understand why they find it difficult to watch. Some of them only view NASCAR as a bunch of men and a woman making continuous left turns. Technically, they are right but it takes a lot of skill to make continuous left turns going 200 miles per hour. I will admit that some races are difficult to watch such as those 600 mile races. They can take foreverrrrrrrrrrrrr especially if there are crashes, which can be cool and exciting as long as no one gets hurt. I admire the courage of the drivers. I admire the tenacity of the drivers. I admire the patience of the drivers. I admire the skill of the drivers. I know how hard it is to weave in and out of traffic going 70 mph on I-40. I am not trying to see what it is like at 200 mph. No way Kassay.

On Sunday,  the Chase for the Championship starts. The 12 highest ranked drivers plus two wild card drivers will begin to compete in a 10 race series to determine the Sprint Cup Champion.  You should really tune in. The next 10 weeks are going to be EXCITING!! I can not wait!! Cheers! Boogity, boogity, boogity, lets go chasing!!!
Until next time….TOODELLS.

 

P.S. NASCAR tidbit….if a caution flag comes out with two laps remaining then the race goes into Green-White-Checkered. Drivers may not compete while the caution flag it out. They drive under the caution flag until the track has been deemed safe again. Even if the race has exceeded the number of laps, NASCAR officials will attempt to end the race under a a green flag, racing condition. Here’s how it works. Green signals they are able to race again with two laps to go. White signals the final lap. Whoever completes that final lap first wins and receives the checkered flag. Got it?! Great!

The Weekender

On By kassienetteIn 49ers, Baseball, Basketball, College football, Football, Hockey, NASCAR, Sports, Tennis, Wolfpack8 Comments

Hi all!! I hope everyone had a great weekend! I know I did. High school football on Friday night. College football on Saturday. NFL Football alllllllllll day Sunday. Ready to do it all over again next weekend :-}. Now, onto the what happened this weekend in the sporting world…

My 9ers leaped into Lambeau and came out with a 30-22 win. There are rumors of the cheese melting as a result.

The most asked question going into this NFL season was how is Peyton Manning going to look. I think Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin answered this question best, “He’s Peyton.”

Robert Griffin the 3rd bka RGIII, passed for 320 yards, rushed for 42 yards and threw no interceptions in his debut as he led the tataskinz to a 40-32 win over the Saints. Tataskin Nation had no idea real QB’s still existed.

Serena Williams won her fourth US Open title. She collected a 1.9 million dollar check too.

After not scoring any TD’s in the preseason, the Jets put up 48 on the Bills. That would be very impressive if they were not playing the Bills.

The New York Yankess regained the lead in the AL East with a win over the Orioles. With 22 games left, this division is up for grabs.

My Wolfpack beat UConn 10-7. I know a win is a win but sheesh.

Dr. Shaquille O’Neal is in talks to play in a Mexican Basketball League.  Can he speak Spanish as well as he speaks English :-}??

The Eagles almost got their wings clipped by the BROWNS. Yes, you can laugh.

The University of Louisiana-Monroe pulled off the shocking upset of #8 Arkansas winning 34-31 in OT. The Associated Press rewarded Arkansas with a drop kick right out of the top 25.

Twins Mike and Bob Bryan won the US Open Men’s Double championship. They now have 12 Grand Slam championships, most in the open era.

Washington Nationals pulled the plug on Stephen Strasburg for the year. See you next year kid.

Reggie Miller, Don Barksdale, Jamaal Wilkes, Mel Daniels, Coach Don Nelson, Ralph Sampson, Phil Knight, the All-American Redheads, Chet Walker, Katrina McClain, Lidia Alexeera and Hank Nichols were all inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.  Congrats and two snaps!!

Seahawks rookie QB, Russell Wilson, almost threw a game winning TD in his debut but the pass was dropped in the endzone by Braylon Edwards. New year, same Braylon.

Oscar Pistorius won gold in the Paralympics 400m final. Glad to see him bounce back after the “controversy.”

No update on the potential NHL lockout. Both sides are still frozen in their position.

My assessment of the replacement refs? They need to be replaced.

Clint Bowyer won the race at Richmond. Due to rain, the race literally took all night to finish.

Until next time…TOODELLS

Ladies, klass is in session…Football 101, Lesson 2

On By kassienetteIn 49ers, College football, Football, Panthers, Sports6 Comments

Alright ladies, Sunday is a BIG DAY!!! The first Sunday of the NFL Season. Do you understand what that means? Men everywhere will be missing in action. Some women will be too, liiiiiiike me :-}. I know some of you will be making a serious attempt to sit down and watch a game or two and see what all the hype is about. Get your pens and paper ready. You have notes to take. Oh, college football is on Saturday as well sooooo….

 

Uno) The offense is typically made up of the quarterback, running back(RB), fullback(FB), five offensive linemen, tight end and two wide receivers(WR). Just so you know the offensive line up can vary at times.

     Uno A) The offensive line is responsible for blocking the defensive players from getting to the QB, thus giving the QB enough time to throw the ball. If it is a running play, the offensive linemen are expected to push opposing players backward, sideways, to the ground in an effort to open up holes for the RB to run through.

     Uno B) The guy who snaps the ball is the center. He will always be lined up in, yeah you guessed it, the center of the field. The guys on both side of the center are the guards. The guys to the outside of the guards are the tackles. Got it? Great!

Dos) The defense typically consists of four linemen, three linebackers, two cornerbacks and two safeties Lets just stick with that for now.

 

Tres) The yellow line that you see on tv indicates how far a team needs to advance the ball in order to get a first down. This line ONLY exists on tv. ONLY.

 

Cuatro) The line of scrimmage is the imaginary line that stretches the width of the field. Since the line is imaginary, I will make it simple. Wherever the ball is placed before the snap, that is the line of scrimmage.

 

Cinco) The short lines on the middle of the field that the ball is placed on are the hashtags. They were around long before Twitter. If you do not use Twitter, you will not understand. Carry on.

 

Seis) Alright, lets talk false starts and offsides. Once an offensive player is in their set position, they can not move. If they do, it is a false start, the team is penalized five yards and the down is repeated. Here is an example. It is 2nd and 5 for Team Uh Huh. #81 for Team Uh Huh crosses the line of scrimmage resulting in a false start. The team now has to go an extra five yards to get a first down. The down remains the same and it is now 2nd and 10 for Team Uh Huh. Got it?! Great!

 

Seis A) Offsides is when a defensive player is on the wrong side of the line of scrimmage when the ball is snapped. This is typically deemed a “free play.” The coach of the non-offending team can decide to accept or decline the penalty. If the non-offending team, gains a significant amount of yardage, the non-offending team will typically decline the penalty. If the non-offending team’s play works against them (results in a dropped pass, interception, fumble), the non-offending team’s coach will typically accept the penalty because this negates anything that happened on the last play. Got it?! Great!

 

Siete) Many newcomers get offsides and encroachment confused. Encroachment happens when a defensive player crosses the line of scrimmage and makes contact with an offensive player before the ball is snapped. This results in a five yard penalty against the defensive team. Got it?! Great!

 

Ocho) A safety is worth two points and occurs when an offensive player who has possession of the ball is tackled in the endzone. My guess is the player with the ball feels anything but safe at the time.

 

Nueve) I had a request from one of my faithful followers to explain pass interference. Yes, the job of the defensive back(DB) is the prevent the WR from catching the ball. However, a DB can not trip, push, pull or body slam a WR in order to prevent them from catching the ball. The DB is suppose to go after the ball and not the WR. If you see a DB push a guy to the ground before the ball has even arrived, expect a yellow flag to come flying out. I like to throw them at home too.

 

Whew! I think that is enough for today. You should be well equipped for the weekend. Do not be discouraged if you find yourself still struggling to understand. It is going to take some time to fully understand the game. You all are well on your way though. So go grab some wings, pizza, chips, cookies(snacks are essential when watching football), sit back and relax and enjoy what it sure to be a wonderful weekend!! And remember, NO QUESTIONS DURING THE GAME. You have been warned. Twice.

 

Until next time…TOODELLS.