Author Archives: Bobby Roberts

Why Manti Te’o Signed With Notre Dame

Manti Te’o, who is considered to be the best defensive recruiting prospect, decided that he will attened the University of Notre Dame. This is a huge shock to many experts who had him going to either USC or UCLA. There are many reasons why Te’o should have signed with either of those Pac-10 schools, but I will explain one main reason why Manti Te’o signed on to wear a golden helmet during his college career.

There are so many reasons why a top defensive recruit wouldn’t choose Notre Dame, especially a guy like Manti Te’o. For starters, he is a devoted Mormon and Notre Dame is one of the large Catholic universities in the U.S. He is so devoted that he wants to go mission work when he turns 19, which could delay his arrival to Notre Dame. Also, Notre Dame hasn’t had a decent defense since Chris Zorich and Bobby Taylor were in college. And lastly, Notre Dame seemed to be inches away from firing Charlie Weis and he could be playing for a different coach by the time he is finished with his college career. Those are all huge reasons why Te’o shouldn’t have signed with the Irish, but yet he did.

Going into last season, the Irish expected to make some sort of bowl game by the end of the year. I’m not sure if they were thinking that they would end up playing Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl, but it could have been a blessing. Manti Te’o is from Hawaii and I’m 100% sure that he watched the Hawaii Bowl very closely. The Irish looked very polished and made easy work of the Rainbow Warriors, it could be considered that it was their best overall team goal. If the Irish didn’t up in the Hawaii Bowl or any bowl game period, they wouldn’t have had a shot at Te’o.

USC should have snatched Te’o up very easily. They have a long lineage of Pacific-Rim descendants have very good careers as a Trojan. Troy Polamalu, Junior Seau, and most recently, Rey Maualuga, to name a few, played in huge games and made the USC program what it is today. One negative about playing at USC is that they are extremely stacked at every position. Te’o probably wouldn’t have had any trouble breaking into the starting line-up, but at Notre Dame he could start as a freshman.

Congratulations to Notre Dame for landing a top defensive recruit. This speaks a lot about the recruiting skills of Charlie Weis and proves that the Golden Dome can still attract top-flight athletes. If Te’o ends up on campus next season, it could catapult the Irish into a top-25 ranking at some point next season. They were a very young team last year and most of their starters will be back next year. Expect big things in South Bend in 2009, even if they do have two Golic boys.

By: TwitterButtons.com
Feel free to “Like” my blog on Facebook or click the Facebook box located within the sidebar.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

J.J.Redick To Pacers?

J.J. Redick seems to be a little lost in the backcourt of the Orlando Magic. He has started five games this season, but when he came into the NBA he didn’t expect to be averaging roughly 5 points a game in his best season. It makes sense for both teams for the Orlando Magic to trade J.J. Redick to the Indiana Pacers for Jamaal Tinsley. Neither of these players are being used by their team properly and since Jameer Nelson may be lost for the season, it makes sense for the Magic.

I thought about this post before the Magic pulled a trigger on a trade that sent Keith Bogans to Milwaukee for Tyronn Lue. I believe my trade makes much more sense for Orlando and could possibly still happen. Lue had his lone moment of glory as a member of the Lakers when he basically shutdown Allen Iverson in the NBA Finals all by himself. Lue signed a huge free agent contact that following season and has never been the same. Orlando will still need to fill the void that Nelson left and could still possibly make a trade to acquire a much better point guard.

A trade for Jamaal Tinsley makes sense for Orlando, since the Pacers have given him the “Starbury” treatment since the end of last season. He hasn’t even been allowed to be with the Pacers all season and they ever went as far as removing his name off of his locker. In order to trade Tinsley to the Magic, the Pacers would need to offset the contracts. If the Magic would put Redick in the package, the Pacers would probably have to take the bad contract of Brian Cook and might possibly have to send Roy Hibbert. Another possibility would be that the Pacers would pay a large amount of Tinsley’s contract and send him to the Magic for either Redick alone or maybe just a 2nd round draft pick.

As it stands right now, the Pacers are needing to rid themselves of Tinsley. He has had off-court troubles since the beginning of his career. At this point, the Pacers will take anything they can get for him and the Magic and the rest of the league probably knows that. The J.J. Redick trade may not happen for that reason, but I believe it makes sense for both sides. The Magic need a true point guard with scoring ability and the Pacers need a Jason Kapono-type of shooter to help free up Granger and Dunleavy, plus it would help fill out their team with yet another “white boy.”

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Obama makes a limit on executive pay. Rich people sad.

Uh oh. Obama’s done it now. I can feel society just crumble to dust now that the executive’s jobs don’t  pay what they used to. I mean how the hell are they going to be able to afford their dick wagging contest stuff now? Crap where is all that extra money going to now? Hmmmm. Thinking about it. Wait I got it! If they have extra money maybe they can start paying the lower classes their share now. Since we do all the work. I mean I haven’t seen this guy as a greeter in my store.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Springsteen Delivers His Finisher

I do believe many a lady have felt The Boss’s finishing move.

I love the random commentary on this short video clip.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Causal market kills video games? Not yet.

A lot of numbers are in and it looks like another year of Nintendo domination. Along with that comes the chorus of forum bodies and comment-posters apathetically singing or debating the death or marginalizing of the core market. Yet a closer look at the numbers and you might be able to read something most people won’t see when they take a look at just what titles they were. 
 

 

Looking at just these 5 games in these 3 markets 3 of the 5 games are Nintendo with Mario Kart at the top spot. With GTA 4 and COD: World at War on the 3 and 5 spot respectfully. Mario Kart at number one was 24% of sales and Wii Fit was right behind that at 23%.  Neither of them  were at those 2 same spots in all 3 markets (USA, JAP, UK). Wii fits lowest ranking came in USA at 3 (20% 4.55 mil). The number 1 game here in the states is our own GTA 4 at 5.18 mil (22%). How did GTA do everywhere else? It did great in UK ( 2nd spot with 1.85 mil) but, not so good in Japan ( 256K for 4th out these 5). COD: WOW did pretty well here at 4.46 mill (19% which garnered them  4th).  In the UK they broke a mill and were 20% of the sales but the game wasn’t even released in Japan (for obvious reasons). But if it were and say that it got about the same as GTA 4 then you got Smash making a run for its money.
        
Also what are the positions in the Market? The USA is the biggest with a whopping 63% of total sales with UK at 20% and Japan at 17%. So we already know that USA has the biggest pull in the industry. GTA 4 US sales alone beat out Mario Kart in the other markets. 
     
So what is that telling me? That casual games  may not be taking over anytime soon. Sure you could say that not all these titles represent the top Japanese sales but their hardware sales have been slowing down.  In addition what is the real casual games here? Wii Fit is made for that market no doubt but some could argue that Mario Kart isn’t. Smash barely has any of the “dem Wii bowling is fun” motion controls and more complicated than what I would call casual. If the US and UK markets are growing then you’ll should start seeing that core games definitely are a viable market and may stave off that popular and sensational mentality of the death of it.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Columbus Finally Has A Hockey Team!

I’ve lived in Columbus, Ohio for over two years and never went to a Blue Jackets game. There are a few reasons for this, but mostly it is because I didn’t want to pay to watch the home team get trounced on a nightly basis. I’m a casual hockey fan and have been a free agent, but no team has really caught my eye. I’m originally from northern Indiana and there are no teams in the state and the Blackhawks have been bad for most of my life. I think I have finally found my team, the Columbus Blue Jackets.

I finally went to an NHL game last night, the Blue Jackets played the Dallas Stars. I had great tickets and saw the game from the 5th row. I never realized how tall most of the players are and the speed of the game. I have watched hundreds of games on television and I have found myself watching more the last few years, but my attention usually strays away after one period. I found myself in-tune to every play and didn’t want to leave my seat. Dallas ended up winning the game in a blowout, 7-3, but really the Blue Jackets played a horrible first period and pulled the rookie goalie, Steve Mason, in the middle of the first period. They ended up putting even more of a rookie in the game to see what he can do, it wasn’t too pretty.

The Blue Jackets are setting themselves up for a possible playoff spot. As of today, they are sitting in the 8th and final spot, but there are a few needs they need to address. They need a veteran goalie to backup Mason and to also provide a mentor for the young stud. Pascal Leclaire might be out for a long time and they need someone other than “Dubie,” the young, young goalie, for backup purposes.

Another need would be a defenseman that has been in the playoffs before and can handle top-tier forwards. They never really filled the void that Adam Foote’s depature left in the defense. Russell, a promising player, isn’t much of a defenseman, he can skate like a forward and should probably be a “4th line” forward, not a 1st or 2nd line defenseman.

Lastly, they need to trade for Doug Weight. There have been rumors that they have been inching close to a deal for about a month, but no new news lately. Adding a few veterans at each position may be needed for them to even make the playoffs and not get swept.

The Blue Jackets are a fun, young team and could be peaking over the next few years. The state of Ohio have never had a winning team and I believe if they start winning, the crowds will come out and support the team. The game that I went to last night was a sellout, if not really close to one. Columbus has one of the best stadiums in the NHL and the city needs to see a winner before this town can become as nuts about the Jackets as it is about Buckeye football. If the Jackets miss the playoffs this year, I’m positive that next year they will improve even more and could possibly contend for a spot near the top. Filatov, Voracek, Mason, and Brassard will all have a year under the belt and will improve enough to help Rick Nash and the Blue Jackets to become a contender in the NHL. It’s a bold statement, but if the Tampa Bay Rays can become a winner, why can’t the Blue Jackets?

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Fox Sports Radio Is Evil!

I usually don’t write posts where I completely bash people, but I have to stand up for a guy who kept me company on many late nights. I don’t mean in any homo-erotic way at all. I have the weirdest sleeping schedule of anyone I know. I spend many late nights awake trying to sleep with little or no success. I found an FM talk radio station here in Columbus, OH, 103.9FM. About 6 months ago, I started listening to programming there on a very regular basis. I found that they had the Dan Patrick Show and also Fox Sports Radio programming. I mostly listened to late nights with JT The Brick on air from post-primetime to 2am and Ben Maller and the Third Shift crew from 2am-6am. I ended up listening to Ben Maller’s Third Shift program the most and I really enjoyed it.

I read today that Ben Maller and the rest of the Third Shift crew (Karen Kay, Vlad, and Bergie) were all fired on January 20th of this year. Maller is still employed by Fox, he is in charge of the rumors section at Foxsports.com/rumors. I was stunned, he was very brazen, but loyal to his return callers. I know the economy is bad and advertising is hard to come by, but Maller and the rest of the Third Shift crew made my sleepless nights tolerable.

I have called the show 3-4 times, using the nicknames of “Pacer Bob” and “Bobby The Temp.” He put me on the air every time I called, ’cause I have a “hot sports opinion.” I would tease him about Manny Ramirez and say that the Dodgers owner would build new youth parks instead of signing him.

Some of Maller’s antics included letting the audience vote on an NFL team that he root for in the upcoming season, letting the listener’s call in unscreened at times to give advice to a sports figure who was in trouble, and even sabotaging Bergie’s wikipedia page with false information once he realized that Bergie had a page. He would call listeners a “jackass” on a constant basis, but it was because many of the callers would be drunk or buzzed when they called in. It was truly a must-listen if you are up from 2am-6am EST.

I wish Ben Maller, Karen Kay, Vlad, and the loverboy, Bergie all the luck in the world and would like to thank them for many hours of entertainment. I hope to hear them “in the air, everywhere,” very soon.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

America’s White Boy Diversifies

I’ve been quite busy lately, not sure if “busy” is the right word. I guess you can say that I’ve been “uninspired” here of late. My friend Carlos and I had a discussion today and I believe he will be another voice of opinion here on America’s White Boy. He will be covering politics, tech, gaming, and random hilarious information. He will help diversify America’s White Boy by adding a Mexican-American voice.

The talks with Carlos is still in the early negotiations, we may have to include a signing bonus. A rumor is floating around that he hired Scott Boras, Drew Rosenhaus, and Jerry Maguire to lead the contract talks. I need some advice from Rod Tidwell, maybe he knows how to handle it better than me.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

2009 Off-Season – AFC Team Needs

2008 was a great season for the NFL. The entire season was filled with drama and stayed competitive until the final week of the season. Some teams came from obscurity (Dolphins) and and some teams took a step back (Patriots). Here are the needs of all 16 AFC teams for the 2009 Off-Season. Let’s hope it’s very active and teams get what they need in the draft and free agency.

Pittsburgh Steelers – Offensive Line – “The Steel Curtain” was back on the defensive side of the ball, but the offensive line looked like tin foil. Big Ben needs to stay upright to stay healthy and lead this team.

Cleveland Browns – Defensive End – The Browns couldn’t get any pressure on the quarterback this season. They were decent on short yardage situations, but they gave up too many 3rd and long first downs.

Cincinnati Bengals – Cornerback – Teams lit up the Bengals secondary in 2008. Injuries plagued the team, but Ndukwe can’t be your best defender. They need to upgrade with more than one new face covering wideouts.

Baltimore Ravens – Wide Receiver – Baltimore took a step in the right direction last season by drafting Joe Flacco. He has a huge arm and can spread the field with long passes. They don’t have any deep threats on the team currently and it would even help their running game by signing an #1 receiver.

Indianapolis Colts – Defensive Tackle – This has been a need for the Colts for a few years. They have been taking their early draft picks on offense and taking fliers in the late rounds with DTs that don’t work out. They need to lighten the run-stopping load from Bob Sanders and get a large body to plug up running lanes.

Tennessee Titans – Wide Receiver – Whomever the quaterback is in Nashville next season, they need someone better than Justin Gage catching footballs. Bo Scaife is their best receiver and he’s a top-15 TE, at best.

Houston Texans – Defensive End – Mario Williams is a great pass rusher and they are very fortunate to take him over Reggie Bush and Vince Young. He is often double-teamed and they would could be a playoff team if they had a book-end pass rusher on the other side to help him out.

Jacksonville Jaguars – Defensive Tackle – In 2007, the Jaguars had one of the best defenses in the NFL. Marcus Stroud, left via free agency, and they Jaguars couldn’t stop the run. If Jacksonville is going to compete, they need a good defense. Their offense isn’t built to consistently score 30 points a game.

Miami Dolphins – Wide Receiver – Chad Pennington had a good season for the Dolphins. He deserves all the credit for their success. If you step back and realize Greg Camarillo was his #1 receiver for most of the year, it’s even more amazing.

Buffalo Bills – Quarterback – I’m not sold on Trent Edwards. I think he will be a decent quarterback eventually, but he needs more grooming. Dick Jauron has one more season in Buffalo and he needs to win or he’s out of there.

New England Patriots – Linebacker – Jerod Mayo will be a great linebacker for many years. Unfortunately for the Patriots, the rest of the linebacking corps has an average age of 38. If they sign a few linebackers and stay healthy, the Patriots will be back on top of the AFC East, if not the entire conference.

New York Jets – Quarterback – Brett Favre has a 10% chance he’ll be back and the Jets have to ask themselves if they even want him. Kellen Clemens is their next best option, but Matt Cassel could be a free agent and he could be a nice addition to open the new stadium.

Oakland Raiders – Offensive Line – After drafting many offensive linemen and none of them working out, Oakland has to get better fast. They spent a lot of money on JaMarcus Russell and he can’t live up to his potential if he is running for his life.

Kansas City Chiefs – Linebacker – I would have mentioned quarterback for Kansas City, but Tyler Thigpen started looking like Len Dawson the last half of the season. The Chiefs have to get better at linebacker to help their young defensive line out.

San Diego Chargers – Fullback – After letter Lorenzo Neal leave last off-season, the Chargers realized his worth during the 2008 season. L.T. didn’t look himself and needs a fullback to clear a path. If they sign a fullback, L.T. should go back to his normal numbers and scoring nearly 20 touchdowns a season.

Denver Broncos – Cornerback – Dre Bly and Champ Bailey looked good on paper, but when they are together on the field, it’s quite scary. The Bly/Bailey duo looked old when they faced better-than-average wideouts. If they get younger and faster at this position, it should help them out, but they clearly need much more help in a variety of areas.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

2009 Off-Season – NFC Team Needs

In 2008, we didn’t have the one dominant team like we had last season. We did have a lot of good teams (Giants, Panthers, Eagles), but they still all had more than three losses each. Every team in the NFC has needs and this off-season will be full of free agent signings, trades, and drafting young talent. Here are all 16 NFC teams and their main need going into next season. I could write and entire post about the Lions needs, but I’ll spare everyone’s eyes and just list one.

Detroit Lions – Defensive End – I could go quarterback or every other position here, but they need to get to put pressure on the quarterback.

Chicago Bears – Wide Receiver – Devin Hester and Brandon Lloyd aren’t #1 or #2 WRs in the NFL.

Green Bay Packers – Cornerback – Their secondary is getting older and they need some youth to keep up with the speed of the WRs.

Minnesota Vikings – Cornerback – Their defensive line is one of the best in the NFL, unfortunately teams can pass all over them.

New York Giants – Wide Receiver – Plaxico Burress will not be back in 2009 and this team will not go far with Domenik Hixon as your #1 option.

Philadelphia Eagles – Wide Receiver – If Donovan McNabb comes back in 2009, remember how he played with T.O.? The Eagles need a legit #1 receiver to catch passes, not Reggie Brown or Kevin Curtis.

Dallas Cowboys – Offensive Line – Tony Romo was on his back after every snap the last four games of the season. If you protect Romo and give him time, he can help get this team to the playoffs.

Washington Redskins – Offensive Line – With Jim Zorn as the head coach, the Redskins will be a run-first offense. Clinton Portis will have a monster season if you give him some holes.

Carolina Panthers – Tight End – Jake Delhomme is stacked with every offensive tool but Tight End. If they work on a short passing game, the long ball will be there for Steve Smith.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Linebacker – Derrick Brooks is getting older and I’m not completely sold on Cato June. If they want to keep the Tampa 2 intact once Monte Kiffin leaves, they need to get better at Linebacker.

Atlanta Falcons – Cornerback – The Falcons have a nice defensive line and linebacker personnel, but lack an elite corner. They have to fill the void that DeAngelo Hall left, back when he was good.

New Orleans Saints – Safety – The Saints were passed on in every game this season. They need a good safety to help cover when their corners get beat.

Arizona Cardinals – Running Back – If Arizona had a decent running back, they wouldn’t have staggered into the playoffs. Tim Hightower and his sub-3.0 yards per attempt isn’t going to cut it in the desert.

San Francisco 49ers – Defensive End – With Mike Singletary as their coach, the 49ers need to take on the personality of the ’85 Bears. They don’t have anyone to put pressure on the quarterback. I hear Julius Peppers is a free agent, he would look good next to Patrick Willis.

Seattle Seahawks – Running Back – Matt Hasselbeck may only have a few more seasons left in him and he’ll do in this re-building period. A running back tandem of Maurice Morris and Julius Jones deserves an upgrade.

St. Louis Rams – Left Tackle – The Rams have to replace the spot Orlando Pace stood for many years. If there isn’t any left tackles in free agency, Alabama has a couple nice tackles that could be available with the St. Louis pick.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.