Celtic vs Barcelona Preview

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When Scottish Champions Celtic advanced past the group stage and into the knockout stage of the Champions League last season, everyone associated with the club pointed to their thrilling 2-1 victory over Barcelona at Parkhead. That victory, combined with a poor showing from Benfica ensured Celtic’s place in the knockout round. On Tuesday, Celtic and Barcelona will renew acquaintances at Celtic Park with the Hoops in need of a result.

Celtic lost their opening fixture in Europe to AC Milan, despite holding off the Italian’s side attacks for the majority of the match. Barcelona opened their European account with an easy win over Ajax Amsterdam. However, Barcelona won’t have superstar striker Lionel Messi in the lineup, as a thigh injury will keep the Argentine sidelined for the next two weeks.

Messi’s absence could give Celtic a boost as they won’t have to focus their defending around him, which in turn…

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Dolphins at Saints Preview

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When the NFL decided to make Sunday Night there glamour night of football, Monday nights were somewhat pushed aside for secondary games. Since 2006, when the league went this direction, the Sunday night games have generally outshone the Monday night tilts. This week is an exception. The 3-0 Miami Dolphins travel to the Bayou State to face the 3-0 New Orleans Saints this Monday night, in the best matchup of Week 4.

Both teams are a bit of a surprise early on. The Dolphins have scored victories over Cleveland, Indianapolis and Atlanta while the Saints have knocked off Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Arizona. Both teams have used a strong defense, combined with an opportunistic offense to find early success.

When Miami Has The Ball:

Ryan Tannehill is becoming a star in this league. The Dolphins quarterback engineered the game-winning drive against Atlanta last week, going 75 yards on 13 plays…

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Preview of…umm, the preview.

Hockey is, in my opinion, the greatest game ever invented.

It requires a type of athleticism that most other sports simply do not: Balance, power, speed, agility, endurance and hand-eye coordination. All sports require some of these, but not too many require all of them. Football and basketball have similar athleticism requirements, but neither of those sports is played on ice skates. Continue Reading

LSU at Georgia Preview

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There is no doubt what the game of the week is in college football. The sixth ranked LSU Tigers make the trek to Athens, Georgia to face the ninth ranked Georgia Bulldogs, in a game filled not with just SEC title implications, but also National Championship implications.

The Bayou Bengals have ignored their critics, who thought they were too young and would take a step back this season, by sporting a perfect 4-0 record, including a solid 35-21 victory over Auburn last week.

Georgia has recovered after an opening week setback to Clemson, with two straight victories, including an impressive victory over 12th ranked South Carolina. However, with one loss already, Georgia will need to win this game if they have any hope of winning their first National Championship since 1980.

When LSU Has The Ball:

If there was an award for most improved player in college football, LSU quarterback…

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The Five Greatest Acheivements By Back-Up Quarterbacks

Dubsism

Back-up quarterbacks lead a strange existence.  At the same time, they can be popular and anonymous.  Fans may know nothing about them, but if the starter sucks bad enough, every fan will want the back-up to take the field.  If the starter gets hurt, thousands of people will ponder “who is this fucking guy” as the back-up trots onto  the field.  In any event, there’s no denying that back-up quarterbacks have played major roles in the history of the NFL, and it’s time to show some love for some of those destined to hold the clipboard.

5) Leading an Unlikely Playoff Run – Doug Flutie, Buffalo Bills

A Heisman Trophy winner at Boston College, Flutie wasn’t highly regarded by the NFL.  He was viewed as little more than a circus attraction in stints with the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots.  Because he was only an alleged 5′ 10″ and 180-pounds…

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IN DEFENSE OF NATE BURLESON

by Ryan Meehan

On Monday I posted an article crying foul on the whole “Nothing Good ever happens after midnight” cliché.  True to form, that very night we had another NFL related incident that involved equally bizarre circumstances.  Around 2:25AM on Tuesday morning, Lions wide receiver Nate Burleson was involved in a one car accident where he crashed into a median wall.  He was not intoxicated and no field sobriety test was given.  What’s odd about this incident is that Burleson was trying to pick up two pizza boxes in the back seat of the vehicle which had fallen onto the floorboard, and that’s what caused the crash. 

Bears vs Lions. History Of A Rivalry

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The NFL has its share of great rivalries throughout the league. Cowboys vs. Redskins. Bears vs. Packers. Browns vs. Steelers. Even recent feuds such as Ravens vs. Steelers and 49ers vs. Seahawks are starting to write their own chapters, in rivalry lore.

Perhaps the most overlooked rivalry in the NFL is one of the oldest rivalries in the history of the league. The Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions have been battling each other since 1930, yet very few talk about the great rivalry it really is. Granted, it is somewhat one-sided, as the Bears hold a decided 96-65-5 advantage over the Lions. In recent times, the Bears have increased their dominance over Detroit, winning 9 out of the last 10 contests.

The two cities are no strangers to sports rivalries. The Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls had one of the most heated rivalries in NBA history during the late 1980s…

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SBM Exclusive Feature: Sports Doppelgangers, Volume 44 – The “Know Your Foreheads” Edition

Fans of the Dan Patrick Show know a popular segment is “Know Your Romo,” in which Dan is forced to guess whether a Tony Romo sound clip is from a presser following a win or a loss; they are virtually indistinguishable. On that note, here’s another set of DP Show related look-alikes. One of these foreheads belongs to a Danette, and one belongs to a future NFL Hall-of-Famer. Can you identify them?

CALLING BS ON IT: “NOTHING GOOD HAPPENS AFTER MIDNIGHT”‏

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver and part-time reality show dancing contestant Jacoby Jones got rained on this weekend

by Ryan Meehan

In this country, we seem to have a tendency to make rules to live by.  We very rarely place blame where it should go, and use silly little sayings to try and layout the blueprint for ethical success.

On Monday, a story came out that Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Jacoby Jones who is rehabbing from a knee injury, was involved in a brawl on a party bus early Monday morning and was hurt when he was hit over the head by a stripper wielding a champagne bottle.  Within minutes, every single sports media twitwhistle that had a lapel mic was spewing one of the oldest sports clichés in the book when it comes to off the field behavior:

“Nothing good ever happens after midnight”

Personally, I think that statement is a crock of shit.  It’s completely false, and sets unreasonable expectations.  I’ll give you proof right now that this statement is garbage.  

NFL Week 3 Winners & Losers

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Three weeks of the 2013 NFL season have come and gone and we’re getting some answers to the directions of certain teams. Fellow SBM contributors Dubsism and Ryan Meehan did a wonderful writeup on their take of Week 3 and you can read it here.

But for the sake of overkill and hyperbole, (after all that’s what makes ESPN so…umm, successful?) here is my take on the winners and losers through three weeks of NFL action.

Winners:

Kansas City Chiefs:

First and foremost, the Chiefs surpassed last year’s win total in just the third week of the season. Take that New England. OK , the Chiefs only won twice last year, so it wasn’t a difficult achievement. But still, how many people out there thought the Chiefs would go 3-0 to start the year? Be honest now. No one? I thought so. (Put your hand down Marty Schottenheimer.) Yes…

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