Let the Peyton Manning sweepstakes begin

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Peyton Manning (pictured above) will not be playing football for the Indianapolis Colts in 2012. The question is who will be the lucky winner and nab Manning's services for 2012?

By Josh Kramer

April 18, 1998 and March 7, 2012. Both are dates that will forever be remembered in Indianapolis.  The city of Indianapolis and the whole state of Indiana was once-upon-a-time only known for basketball.  Now they are known for both football and basketball (and yes I put football first).  An era has ended in the Hoosier State though.  With the departure of Peyton Manning, not only does Indiana lose a great football player, but they lose their savior.

I by no means have ever been the biggest fan of Peyton Manning.  But I have always respected the guy.  Not only is the four-time MVP Award winner and future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer obviously a great player, but he seems to be a good all-around person.  And Manning is by no means the type of in your face “Great Guy” like Tim Tebow, but more of a subtle good guy.  Peyton has always in essence been a player/coach.  A leader in the locker room.  Someone who keeps his nose clean on and off the field.  And a leader in the community.  Not to mention his commercials have always been hysterical and vastly entertaining.

In five years, when Jim Irsay revisits the vaunted March 7^th, 2012 day that he let Peyton go, he may not look back on it so fondly.  Now this day is just a blimp on the radar in comparison to the real “Decision” that took place on July 8, 2010.  But it is still a very big deal.

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NFL Wild-Card Weekend

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Much of the talk regarding the Bengals/Texans matchup on Saturday has been centered on the rookie quarterbacks. The return of Andre Johnson (pictured above) may have a heavy impact on the outcome as well.

By Josh Kramer

It is finally the time that we have all been waiting for.  And no I am not referring to “Tebow Time,” though there is a possibility of some “Tebowing.”  America’s most popular sport is now down to the final 12.  By Sunday night, the field will be narrowed down to eight, as teams desperately try to book a trip to Indianapolis for the Super Bowl on February 5th.  What team will be hoisting the Lombardi Trophy around 10:30PM on February 5th?

I know you have all been anxiously awaiting the final “TheSportsKraze Pick’em Challenge” results.  The final standings were as follows:

TSK:  172

CV3:  163

CB:  161

DC: 158

(TSK is the champion for a second consecutive year)

Let’s take a deeper look at the upcoming weekend.

Wild-Card Weekend:

Cincinnati Bengals at Houston Texans

The Word:  A game of firsts.  Houston is in the playoffs for the first time in franchise history and Cincinnati has not won a postseason game since January 6th, of 1991.

First Half of 2011: The ball is over

Photo courtesy of The Epoch Times. 2011 started off with a fantastic BCS National Championship Game. Things have really gone sour with the NBA lockout beginning last night at midnight.

By Josh Kramer

We are at the half way marker of the year 2011. It is definitely hard to believe.  But 2011 has been an absolutely phenomenal year in the sporting world thus far.  Yet for every up, there has been a down sadly.  Here is a further look:

BCS National Championship Game (January 10th)

“Weekly Nickel”

Duke star Nolan Smith (pictured above) will play a major part in the Duke/UNC matchup on Wednesday. Will he be the X-Factor?

Good Monday to you all.  Want to know one of the best things about sports especially in the United States?  They never stop.  We just celebrated the biggest sporting holiday of the year with an outstanding Super Bowl 45.  And guess what, we have another stellar jam-packed week ahead.

Lets jump right into it.

“It All Comes Down to This: Super Bowl XLV Preview”

Our very own Wesley Kaminsky has provided his Super Bowl analysis. One of the key matchups is that at the Quarterback position. Roethlisberger (left) versus Rodgers (right).

 Wesley is a sports expert and journalist out of Philadelphia that writes for Bleacher Report.  You can check out all of his work at  http://bleacherreport.com/users/88810-wesley-kaminsky or follow his twitter @Wesley_Kaminsky

In a season in which we’ve seen everything from Michael Vick’s rebirth to Sal Alosi tripping Nolan Carroll, the NFL season is finally coming to a close. The Packers and Steelers, two of the most storied franchises in NFL history, will battle for the Lombardi Trophy, You could not ask for a better match-up for Super Bowl 45. Which ever team wins, it will be an amazing story for either Ben Roethlisberger, or Aaron Rodgers.

“Leinart vs Young Part?”

Vince Young shocked the world in January of 2006 when he defeated Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, and the mighty USC Trojans. Last night, he once again showed why he owns Matt Leinart.

Last evening, America got to witness a familiar sight.  A blast from the past.  Matt Leinart and Vince Young were once again competing on the football field.  Different times with much different personnel, but a very similar result.  Now I realize it was just a preseason game, and it is hard to judge much from these “pretend” games as many like to call them. But Young once again demonstrated why he has, and will most likely continue to be, the better pro quarterback than Leinart.

I will admit, I, along with most of the rest of the America (outside of Texas), was all about the Matt Leinart and the USC bandwagon 5 years ago.  I figured there was no way that Vince Young, and a very strong Longhorns team could beat the seemingly “professional” (little did we know) looking team out of USC.  The Trojans were invincible.  Outside of a minor hiccup against Notre Dame (USC still won the game), there never appeared to even be a chink in the Trojan armor.  I was very surprised when Young finished 2nd in the Heisman Voting that year ahead of Matt Leinart.  But who really cared?  Leinart was projected to be the better pro QB by the Mel Kiper’s of the world and was on his way to a second consecutive National Title.  Or so we thought…

Welcome to the 2005 BCS National Championship.  Seemingly a home affair for the heavily favored Trojans in Pasadena.  USC was leading late in the game and Matt Leinart was putting up another strong performance.  But the real story of the game was the amazing play of Vince Young.  The guy accounted for 467 total yards of offense, which is a mark that has never been touched by another player in a BCS National Championship game.  Not to mention he led his team to 41 points against a very tough USC defense.  How didn’t this guy win the Heisman Trophy, I, and many other people wondered?  Either way, late in the 4th, Young scampered into the end zone past a diving Frostee Rucker to secure the stunning upset victory for Texas.  It was the end of a Trojan dynasty.  And little did we know, not only was this the beginning of the end for the program, but it was also the end of Matt Leinart as we knew it. 

In 3 years as the Trojan starter, Leinart threw for over 30 TDs and less than 10 INTs each year.  He also completed over 63% of his passes, won a National Title, and won a Heisman Trophy.  Vince Young also was a starter at Texas for 3 seasons.  In his first 2 years as the starter, he threw for 18 TDs and 18 INTs.  Very modest numbers to say the least.  But he was still finding ways to lead the Longhorns to victories.  Do realize that he rushed for a combined 2,074 yards in these first 2 years as the starter as well.  He was not your prototypical NFL pocket assassin.  As a senior though, his game began to gel on all cylinders.  He threw for 26 TDs and only 10 INTs.  He also rushed for 1,050 yards and 12 TDs.  The man was doing it all.  Looking reminiscent of Michael Vick at Virginia Tech.  Well the BCS National Championship Game marked the end of an era for Leinart.  And apparently the beginning of a new era for Vince Young. 

Come April 29th, 2006, NFL Draft Day. Mel Kiper had been stressing for months what a great class that was coming out.  Guys like Reggie Bush, Mario Williams, AJ Hawk,  and how there were 2 can’t miss QB prospects.  The draft started out with a major debate as the Texans took defensive end Mario Williams rather than “Heisman Trophy” winner Reggie Bush (appears to have been the right decision now).  Following this, Vince Young was the 3rd overall selection, while Matt Leinart fell to 10th overall.  I was in disbelief.  Leinart had the look of a big time NFL quarterback and had all the tools.  He was 6 foot 5, had a strong-arm, a pocket presence, and had that Tom Brady like moxy, or so it seemed.  Vince Young reminded me of Michael Vick.  And  guys like Michael Vick could get teams victories in the League, but guys like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning were the pocket guys that could bring teams Super Bowls.  Sure Vince Young would be fun to watch I thought, but Leinart would be the one hoisting up the Lombardi Trophy in a February within the next few years.  Boy was I wrong.

Now I will admit that neither of these guys have panned out to be superstars.  But it appears Young just needed some time to adjust to the pro game and is slowly but surely becoming a solid NFL quarterback.  Leinart on the other hand, not so much.  For Leinart’s career, he has played in 29 total games over a 4 year stretch, throwing 14 TDs and 20 INTs.  His passer rating has been a very subpar 70.8.  Young on the other hand has played in 45 games, throwing for 32 TDs and 39 INTs.  His passer rating has been an also subpar 72.3.  But he is a guy on the rise.  A guy who brought Tennessee back from the dead last season.  Leinart on the other hand has not shown any signs of improvement.

Will Young continue to soar into a star in this League while Leinart’s career continues to fizzle out and end in the near future? Or will these guys continue to compete for many more years to come in the NFL? 

Stay tuned for the next edition of TheSportsKraze.

TheSportsKraze

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