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Rickie Weeks Sets Deadline in Extension Negotiations With Brewers

January 31, 2011   Knox Bardeen   No comments

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Rickie WeeksMilwaukee Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks is more than willing to talk about a long-term contract extension with the team, but he will only talk for a limited time. Once spring training begins, Weeks only wants to think about one thing.

“Once I get to spring training, I want to focus on baseball,” said Weeks.

The upcoming season is the last in which Weeks is arbitration-eligible. Weeks asked for a $7.2 million salary for the 2011 season while the team countered with an offer of $4.85 million. Even though the two sides are far apart in the negotiations, no matter what, Weeks will be in a Brewers uniform in 2011. Whether or not he’ll have the opportunity to test the free-agent market is still unknown.

Weeks let the Brewers know earlier that he’d be willing to talk about a long-term deal, but after a breakout 2010 season, he’s shooting for the moon. Weeks hit .269 with 29 home runs last year, but more significantly he avoided injury and played in 159 games – something he has failed to do since he arrived on the scene in 2003.

 

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Falcons Won’t Settle for Anything Less Than Super Bowl Win

January 02, 2011   Knox Bardeen   No comments

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Mike Smith

ATLANTA — When the Atlanta Falcons rolled over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday by a score of 31-10, they didn’t just punch their ticket into the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the National Football Conference — they set themselves up to become one of the best Falcons‘ teams in the history of the franchise.

Before that can happen, though, Atlanta still needs to win three more football games.

A Super Bowl win is the only thing left for these Falcons to achieve. It’s great that Atlanta shored up home-field advantage and secured the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. But that’s been done before in Atlanta — the 1980-81 Falcons were the conference’s top seed, but were bounced without winning a playoff game.

And you’ll remember that in 1998, the Falcons arrived at Pro Player Stadium in Miami for the Super Bowl and were sent home with a 15-point drubbing to show for their visit by the Denver Broncos.

No longer are consecutive winning seasons streak enough in Atlanta. No longer will a division championship do.

Falcons 31, Panthers 10: Quick Hits | Box Score

 

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Roddy White Sets Falcons’ Single-Season Receptions Record

January 02, 2011   Knox Bardeen   No comments

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Roddy WhiteOn a third-down play from the Panthers 30-yard line Sunday, Roddy White crossed over the middle and caught a Matt Ryan pass for a gain of 4 yards. The reception was White’s 112th of the season, which a new Atlanta franchise record for catches in a single season.

White finished with six catches in the Falcons’ win over Carolina to bring his record total to 115. He entered the game with 109 catches on the season.

White broke a 16-year old record set by Terance Mathis in 1994 — Mathis caught 111 passes for 1,342 yards and 11 touchdowns and was a member of the NFC Pro Bowl team that season.

Since talk of breaking the longstanding record surfaced over the last weeks, White has been extremely soft spoken about setting a new mark. White, a Pro Bowl receiver himself this season, would rather talk about helping the Falcons by catching passes and providing support on their impending playoff run.

 

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NFL Power Rankings, Week 17: Your Turn to Vote

December 28, 2010   Knox Bardeen   No comments

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There is no longer any question as to who is the No. 1 team in the NFL. The New England Patriots have won seven straight and remain on top of the NFL power rankings for Week 17, just like they’ve been for so long now.

The real question is who is No. 2. Or even better, which NFC team is the best now that the Atlanta Falcons have lost.

The Philadelphia Eagles look good, but they still have a Week 16 game to win because snow postponed their game until Tuesday. The New Orleans Saints could lay claim to the NFC’s top spot, they did just beat the “unbeatable at home” Falcons in Atlanta. Plus, they still are the reigning Super Bowl champions.

So it’s your turn to weigh in. Vote for who you think the best team in the league is, and we’ll compare the readers’ top five with our own and other NFL experts across the Internet on Wednesday.

 

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NFL Power Rankings, Week 17: Falcons Fall After Monday Loss

December 28, 2010   Knox Bardeen   No comments

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Week 17 NFL Power RankingsNote: These power rankings were originally published before Eagles vs. Vikings on Tuesday night.

Saturday Night Football?

Tuesday Night Football?

With snow causing football games to be postponed and the Detroit Lions winning their third game in a row, has the NFL world been turned onto its ear? Is the world coming to an end?

No, but the season is. There is but one week left in the regular season and only a few questions remain that need to be answered.

We know that New England is the best team in the league, and there’s a huge drop-off to the next best — whoever that is. We know that five teams have tickets punched in the AFC, four in the NFC. There are still meaningful Week 17 games to be played.

What we’re still looking for is an answer to the NFC West question. Which team will rise from mediocrity to “earn” a playoff spot? Can Indianapolis win and limp into the playoffs? Now that New Orleans has won in Atlanta, who is the best NFC team and can any team not from the NFC West represent the conference in the Super Bowl?

 

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Falcons Not Fretting Monday Night Loss

December 27, 2010   Knox Bardeen   No comments

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Matt RyanATLANTA — To an Atlanta Falcons team that hasn’t lost at home all year, Monday’s 17-14 loss to the visiting New Orleans Saints should sting just a bit.

To a team that had been 19-1 at home with Matt Ryan under center since 2008, that loss should be monumental. For the Falcons, who failed to clinch a division title and home-field advantage in the playoffs on Monday, that loss should be earth-shattering.

But it wasn’t.

With the calm of a team that had just finished seven-on-seven drills with no pads, the Falcons blew off their Week 16 defeat to division rival New Orleans. There wasn’t a lot of swearing in the Atlanta locker room, nor were there any tears.

But don’t take their lack of emotion as complacency. This is a smart, well-led football team that knows where it’s headed — and it knows what it has to do to win the NFC South and earn home-field advantage.

The Falcons just have to beat the 2-13 Carolina Panthers in the final week of the regular season. Call it the “Carolina cushion.”

,

 

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Carl Crawford Caters Lunch for Rays Employees at Tropicana Field

December 22, 2010   Knox Bardeen   No comments

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Carl Crawford put some of the new scratch from his seven-year, $142 million contract with the Boston Red Sox to good use on Wednesday when he bought lunch for 150 Tampa Bay Rays employees.

Crawford was drafted in 1999 by the Rays and spent nine seasons in Tampa Bay, hitting .296 with 104 home runs, 592 RBI and swiping 409 bases.

The thank-you lunch was a barbecue special at Tropicana Field for members of the front office. The kicker here is that Crawford wasn’t in attendance. I suppose if the former Tampa Bay outfielder was footing the bill, that’s the important issue. Who cares if Crawford was there to enjoy some pulled pork with beans and slaw? I suppose, too, Crawford could have been showing respect for his new teammates by not breaking bread with the team that will now be an arch-rival 18 times per season.

The sentiment shows, like Adrian Gonzalez before him who took out a full-page advertisement in a San Diego newspaper to thank the city, that Crawford is a stand-up guy that is more than capable of showing appreciation in situations that call for something special.

It also shows that the Red Sox picked up two high-character ballplayers who, more importantly, can mash a baseball.

 

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Zack Greinke Trade Spurs Brewers’ Sales

December 22, 2010   Knox Bardeen   No comments

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It’s easy to put a price tag on the recent Milwaukee Brewers‘ acquisition of starting pitcher Zack Greinke. To obtain Greinke and Yuniesky Betancourt, the Brewers had to part with Alcides Escobar and three good prospects in Jake Odorizzi, Jeremy Jeffress and Lorenzo Cain.

What’s not quite so easy to determine is worth, or value. How much does this trade mean to the Brewers?

If season ticket sales are an indicator — and trust me, they are – the Brewers did well by obtaining Greinke. Brewers officials have announced a large spike in season ticket sales, seeing more than 1,500 new season ticket purchases since the trade occurred Sunday.

“The response from fans has surpassed even our most optimistic expectations,” said Brewers executive vice president Rick Schlesinger. “The excitement level has peaked in all areas of our business operations, from ticket sales to sponsors to retail sales.”

 

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NFL Power Rankings, Week 16: Your Turn to Vote

December 21, 2010   Knox Bardeen   No comments

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The Atlanta Falcons were a failed, late-game Green Bay Packers drive away from claiming the No. 1 spot in the newest NFL Power Rankings for Week 16. Had the Packers completed their comeback over New England, the Falcons would be sitting pretty. A massive win over Seattle just isn’t enough to leapfrog New England without the Pats losing.

Only one team dropped from the top 10 — those Packers, while the New York Jets took their place after upsetting the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Watch the surging Indianapolis Colts as they make a strong run at a playoff spot, but don’t expect too much more upward movement from the Cincinnati Bengals or the Carolina Panthers. Both bottom feeders won in Week 15, pushing them up a few spots. But don’t equate their wins for team turn-arounds. These are both very bad teams.

So it’s your turn to weigh in. Vote for who you think the best team in the league is, and we’ll compare the readers’ top five with our own and other NFL experts across the Internet on Wednesday.

 

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NFL Power Rankings, Week 16: NFC Might Be Atlanta’s to Lose

December 21, 2010   Knox Bardeen   No comments

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NFL Power Rankings Week 16

The NFL now has four teams that have clinched playoff berths. One — the Chicago Bears — has even won its division outright. Atlanta, Pittsburgh and New England are all in, but still need to handle a few other items before they can claim their respective divisions.

The Patriots and Falcons still sit on top of the power rankings, both winners in Week 15. Chicago also took care of business, moving up to No. 6. But Pittsburgh fell to the New York Jets and dropped to No. 7. The Green Bay Packers also dropped, falling out of the top 10 after a loss to New England.

The Jets moved back into the top 10 with their win, and Indianapolis is also on the rise as it makes a charge towards the playoffs.

More news comes from the bottom, as Cincinnati and Carolina both got wins and have risen from the cellar, kind of, at No. 29 and 30, respectively. Denver is the new Carolina.

 

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