It’s the battle of the best looking … err … I mean most deserving in the Madden 13 cover vote. Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson and Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton will face off in the final round for a chance to grace the cover of the EA Sports video game.
Voting starts today and the winner will be announced April 25. » Continue reading “Calvin Johnson Advances to Finals in Madden 13 Cover Vote”
It’s that time of year again. The time of year that video game enthusiasts love and the rest of football nation dreads. It’s time to vote for the Madden 13 cover.
In case you don’t know, being on the front of Madden is both an honor and a curse — literally. It’s widely believed that players who appear on the cover will subsequently suffer a decline in performance the following season — a lot of the time resulting in an injury.
Last season, Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis appeared on the cover and then missed five games due to a hamstring injury and saw a decrease in performance as a result. You can see the full list of Madden curses here.
Well, much to the dismay of Detroit Lions fans, both Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson are in the pool to be voted as this year’s cover.
For this year’s Madden cover vote, ESPN is putting 64 players up against each other. There are two players from each team that will go head to head before the round of 32 is determined.
You can go here to vote. But I’m going to discourage everyone not to do so. Because I can definitely see Johnson winning something like this, and I’d rather not have the 2012 season hindered by a Johnson decline in performance — or God forbid an injury.
You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MelissaHeyboer and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/barrysandersmemorialblog.
As I previously mentioned, Detroit Lions QB Matthew Stafford made the trip to Bristol last week to film an upcoming “This is SportsCenter” commercial with University of Georgia mascot, Hairy Dawg.
During his time there, Stafford was spotted throwing footballs off the roof of the ESPN cafeteria. It’s pretty awesome.
» Continue reading “Matthew Stafford Has a Little Fun During Recent ESPN Visit”
Looks like Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford can add another bullet point to his resume: commercial star. That’s right, the newly 24-year-old QB is in Bristol, Conn. to film a couple “This is SportsCenter” commercials for ESPN.
And according to one very reliable source on Twitter, Stafford will be accompanied by University of Georgia mascot, Hairy Dawg.
I am way more excited about this than I probably should be. Then again, ESPN commercials are legitimately hilarious, so I think it’s safe to say that. » Continue reading “Matthew Stafford to Appear on ‘This is SportsCenter’ Commercial”
Three things I learned last night:
Now that we’ve established that, here are my other thoughts on last night’s 24-13 win over the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football: That. Was. Awesome.
The win was the first MNF win for the Lions since 1998 and it’s the first time Detroit has been 5-0 since 1956. My mom hadn’t even been born yet. You know, just to put things into perspective.
Despite the victory, however, the first half of the football game was one of the slowest I’ve ever seen. The Bears had six false starts in the first half alone (nine by the end of the game), both teams challenged a call, and Chicago had wasted all of its timeouts before the second-quarter ever started.
“We were going against a loud crowd, but that isn’t an excuse,” Chicago coach Lovie Smith said. “Pre-snap penalties kill you.”
Thankfully, a huge play from Detroit’s defense and a touchdown on its first possession of the second quarter lit a fire under the Lions ass and put a little spark into the game. » Continue reading “Lions Improve to 5-0, Get First MNF Win in 12 Years”
No? Me either. Not even a little bit actually. Which is good, since he’s kind of turned into a media whore. But don’t worry. He keeps it classy. In other words, if there’s a good kind of media whore, Suh is it.
For the second time in just over a week, Ndamukong Suh appeared on ESPN. This time he made a visit to the SportsCenter studio for an interview with Mike Hill. He then appeared on Pardon the Interruption this evening.
Suh talked about everything from Matthew Stafford’s health to his time during the Gumball 3000. Check out the video of his interview on SportsCenter below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZisebCDZl2Q&feature=player_embedded
You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MelissaHeyboer and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/barrysandersmemorialblog.
It is quite possible that before the start of the football season (God willing), I will have to rename my blog “This is Ndamukong Suh’s World and I’m Just Visiting.” To say he takes up 90 percent of my posts, would be a gross understatement. But I don’t mind.
Suh appeared on ESPN’s SportsCenter on Saturday to discuss the lockout (of course), Nick Fairley (maybe some commercial advice?), and the nickname “Silver Crush” (oh, that’s still happening? Great).
Check out the video below:
I tried to watch the video, but I couldn’t get past the “For a franchise that has won exactly one postseason game since 1957 …” Ouch, dude. Thanks for the pep talk.
I actually really enjoyed the interview. Aside from the part where he says the “Silver Crush” nickname is “unique.” I beg to differ. I think “lame” is the word you’re looking for there, but that’s fine.
Last thing. If I haven’t said it before, I’ll say it again. I love this guy. Like for reals.
You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MelissaHeyboer and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/barrysandersmemorialblog.
ESPN’s eight NFL divisional bloggers recently ranked the top defensive players in the NFL, and the Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh narrowly missed the top 10 — finishing 11th behind Ed Reed. Though Suh received more overall votes than Reed, Tim Graham had Reed finishing No. 2.
The final results looked like this:
I’d say No. 11 is pretty good for a guy coming off his first year in the league. Suh made a big impression last year, but he’s still got a lot to prove if he wants to remain in the company of the athletes on this list. Do you think Suh deserved to be rated this high? Or do you think he has more to prove in the NFL?
You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MelissaHeyboer and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/barrysandersmemorialblog.
By Marianne O'Leary via Wikimedia Commons
Well at least according to ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. But, hey, I’ll take it. There’s isn’t much more to say about the Lions draft picks that hasn’t already been said. At this point, you either like it or you don’t. And as the days have passed since the draft ended, I’m honestly loving it. Sure, I still have some questions/concerns. But Kiper makes some excellent points.
“I didn’t see anybody special there that you could argue†they should have drafted in the second round, Kiper said. “And let’s face it, they need a third receiver. Titus Young is a key element. They needed a back like (Mikel) Leshoure. They didn’t have anybody like that.
“Jahvid Best? You’re going to count on Jahvid Best to stay healthy for 16 games as the kind of runner he is and a back that’s had some durability issues already, even going back to Cal? You need a guy like Leshoure: solid, dependable, power guy.â€
He’s right about the second round. For the most part. I would argue that CB Ras-I Dowling and Aaron Williams would have been worth it in the second round, both were selected before the Lions 44th pick. So, beyond that, Kiper is probably right. At that point, the Lions would be better off with an above average receiver in Titus Young than a sub-par cornerback.
And as far as his comments about Best. I’ve agreed with that stance since day one, which is why I had the Lions taking him in my mock draft. You absolutely need someone behind Best. Someone with speed and agility — but also size — which is what Best lacks. I said it yesterday, and I’ll say it again, LeShoure is the pick I’m most excited to see next season. Great potential growth wise and great potential to make an impact on the team quickly.
The biggest question for most Lions fans was why Fairley over Amukamara? I know that was my question, but Kiper says having two guys like Suh and Fairley on the interior is “a quarterback’s worst nightmare.” For me, I’m still not 100 percent sold on this decision. I think it’s one of those draft picks that you’ll figure out early on next season whether it was the right one. Considering the Lions woes in the secondary, Fairley is going to have to make a fairley (hahahahaha) big impact to make me believe.
“Fairley was the reason they didn’t get a corner, so at the end of the day, would you rather have Amukamara or Fairley?†Kiper said. “That’s what you’ve got to ask yourself: Would you rather have the corner or Fairley? That’s what they had to consider, and they had to go by their grade.”
Kiper gave the Lions the highest grade of the draft — an A-minus, which was tied with the Cincinnati Bengals.
“You can’t fill everything in one draft,†Kiper said. “You can’t have every hole filler come in via one draft. … I think they can be a playoff-caliber team next year.â€
I think that’s the other thing that’s sometimes easy to forget. You simply can’t fill every hole. My problem is, the Lions didn’t try to fill any holes. They drafted for talent and depth. I’m not saying those things aren’t important, I’m just wondering if it’s better to have three great receivers and a mediocre cornerback or whether it’s better to have two great receivers and great cornerback. Unfortunately, that’s one of those things that can’t be answered until September.
You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Aerys_Lions or www.twitter.com/thecornerblog and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/barrysandersmemorialblog.
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