By JOSH HELLER
Staff Writer
1. Shuffling Around NFL as Free Agency Begins
As the NFL offseason and free agency period officially began, we saw a lot of players change uniforms, including big news involving two high-profile quarterbacks.
The biggest news came out of Denver, as Peyton Manning officially hung up the cleats. After 17 seasons in the league, 13 years in Indianapolis and four years in Denver, The Sheriff leaves the keys in Denver to young Brock Osweiler. Or that was the case, until Osweiler signed a four-year, $72 million deal to start for the Houston Texans.
To fill this new quarterback void, the Broncos traded a 2017 draft pick to the Eagles for Mark Sanchez. Whether Sanchez will be the starter or Denver looks for another quarterback remains to be seen. Philadelphia made another change (this one a lot bigger), sending DeMarco Murray and a fourth-round pick to Tennessee for a fourth-round pick, with Murray just moving Philadelphia up in the draft order.
After many months of reports, the Browns finally made the news official, releasing troublesome quarterback Johnny Manziel. Manziel has had his fair share of off-the-field issues, and any team taking on Manziel would have to deal with these. Many teams are reported to be interested in the 23-year-old, as well as other available quarterbacks, such as Colin Kaepernick and recently-released Robert Griffin III.
The Giants made the biggest splash as free agency began, making some really big signings. They started things off signing former Rams cornerback Janoris Jenkins to a monster deal at five years for $62.5 million.
After that, the Giants signed defensive end Olivier Vernon for a whopping five years at $85 million, and they also signed defensive tackle Damon Harrison for five years at just over $46 million. To further bolster their defense, the Giants also re-signed defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul for one year at $10 million.
The Giants’ defense really struggled last year, and moves like these were ones that many insiders did not see coming. While this may not make the Giants contenders, it definitely puts them in discussion for top of an otherwise weak NFC East.
2. NBA Injuries and Waiver Wire Action
As we move past the NBA trade deadline, teams are becoming very active on the waiver wire, especially with some big injuries around the league.
After being bought out by the Houston Rockets, the Indiana Pacers signed Ty Lawson, as they try to bolster their team for the playoff hunt. Lawson had some off-the-court issues, which led to his departure from Denver to Houston. Indiana now takes on the struggling Lawson, hoping to get his game back on track. Another guy bought out was Kevin Martin (by the Timberwolves). The San Antonio Spurs strengthened their already-deep team by adding Martin to their roster. The Wizards also added former Rocket Marcus Thornton.
In terms of injury, three big names are out for the rest of the year. First, the Bulls take a big hit, with center Joacim Noah out for the rest of the year with a shoulder injury. The Bulls now lose yet another player to injury.
The Bucks also got hit hard by the injury bug, losing both Michael-Carter Williams and O.J. Mayo for the rest of the year with injury.
Over in Memphis, along with losing Mario Chalmers with an injury, the team also waived Chalmers. And in New Orleans, the team’s playoff hopes take another big hit, as shooting guard Eric Gordon will miss the rest of the season. Lastly, rookie Jahlil Okafor will miss the rest of the season- not that this much affects the 76ers’ playoff hopes, as they’ve already been eliminated.
As the NBA season comes down the final stretch, injuries are going to make or break teams. While the big moves are done (happened at the deadline), we are sure to see a lot of micro-managing between the waiver wire and the D-League the rest of the way.
3. Utley’s Suspension Rescinded
After being suspended after taking out Ruben Tejada on a dirty slide in last year’s postseason, the MLB has rescinded Utley’s suspension.
In last year’s NLCS, Utley took out Tejada on a late slide, as he didn’t start sliding until he basically reached the base. This broke Tejada’s leg, and affected the lineup immensely, as Tejada was the starting shortstop for the Mets at the time.
The MLB handed down a weak suspension, just two games, and that has since been cancelled, meaning Utley can play on Opening Day. Many fans have called out the league on the decision, especially considering that the league banned slides like Utley’s, trying to keep players healthy over the course of a 162-game season.
4. Wideman’s Suspension Cut in Half
Another suspension was controversially lifted, this time in the NHL for Calgary Flames defenseman Dennis Wideman.
Wideman was given a 20-game suspension by the league for harming an official back on Jan. 27. Wideman appealed the league’s decision, but this was upheld by commissioner Gary Bettman on Feb. 17.
Since the upholding of his suspension, Wideman has missed 19 of the Flames’ games. On March 11, a neutral arbitrator halved Wideman’s suspension, making it 10 games, nine more than he already missed. So, on the day of the arbitrator’s decision, Wideman later played that night against the Coyotes.
Fans around the league have called out Bettman and the league on the process with the suspension, but the commissioner said publicly that he sees no problem with the process. In terms of Wideman, his return will help a Flames team trying to make the playoffs without Kris Russell, a staple in their top-four, after his trade to the Dallas Stars.
5. McGregor, Holm Falter on Big Stage
In an entertaining UFC 196, both favorites fell to the underdogs as the spotlights were all on them.
First, heavy favorite Conor McGregor fell to competitor Nate Diaz in the second round of their bout, as McGregor tapped out. McGregor is known for his colorful personality and confidence, and he got plenty of backlash for his performance in the fight, while more fans were turned on to the talent that Diaz brings to the cage.
McGregor losing wasn’t the only shocking thing, as Holly Holm, the woman who took down the undefeated Ronda Rousey, lost to competitor Miesha Tate. Holm was knocked unconscious in the fifth round of their bout, even though she looked solid through the first four rounds. Tate may have been the bigger surprise than Diaz, but both were entertaining bouts to watch.
With Tate’s victory, she will face Rousey for the third time in their careers, and Rousey is, as of now, the heavy favorite to win the match, and regain her title. The two previously faced off in 2012 and 2013, and Rousey forced submissions in both of those bouts. In a very successful and heavily-watched UFC 196, David beat Goliath, and now the once unbeaten is going to get her shot at getting back in the spotlight.
