The Dugout - February 12
Leading The Dugout this week, it’s what you all wanna see. We know it, you know it. Here it is:
(Probably) Drunk Patriots Celebrating Their Super Bowl
It's mostly Gronk, to be honest. No surprise.
Meanwhile in Seattle…
The biggest fallout is surely gonna be the fate of Marshawn Lynch. Can he bring himself to return to the franchise and the coaching staff that ripped his chance for glory away from him? He’s a free agent, and as early as a few weeks into the season the stories were running that he was set to be let free. But then he went Beast Mode once more and next thing they’re in the Super Bowl.
Seattle staff say they’re hoping to keep him, it all depends on the man himself. And who really knows what he’s thinking? He could return, he could try his hand somewhere else or, and don’t entirely rule it out - Lynch is a man who belies traditional lines of thinking, he may just retire instead.
Also of immense note, the Seahawks have replaced defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, off to brave some darkened horizons as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, with Kris Richard. Richard was the defensive backs coach so this is a well-deserved promotion. He’s one of the most popular guys in the Seattle coaching system and there’s no reason to think that – so long as they don’t lose any players – they’ll drop a beat on defence.
One thing’s for sure, Russell Wilson is about to get PAID. Talks are underway for an extension with Wilson entering the last year of his rookie contract. And you can’t say, after back to back NFC titles, that he doesn’t deserve it. The man has been criminally underpaid so far.
Here are some quarterbacks slated to earn more than Russell Wilson in 2015:
- Sam Bradford
- Jay Cutler
- Carson Palmer
- Kyle Orton
- Robert Griffin III
- Matt Schaub
- Matt Cassel
- Johnny Manziel
- Charlie Whitehurst
- Drew Stanton
- Ryan Fitzpatrick
- Derek Anderson
- Brock Osweiler
- Geno Smith
- Chase Daniel
Seriously. His base salary is 35th in the league amongst currently contracted quarterbacks.
Dollars & Shields
James Shields, pitching ace and former All Star, has finalised a 4 year $75m deal with the San Diego Padres – the biggest free agent contract the team has ever offered. Shields was a long time gun for the Tampa Bay Rays and spent the last year and a half with Kansas City, helping them to an unlikely World Series berth last season.
It’s been a busy offseason for the Padres, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2006. They made big and risky deals for Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Will Myers, Derek Norris and Will Middlebrooks. That either makes them legit contenders or a horrendous mess (given Kemp’s injury history and the strikeout rates of some of those lads).
Bryce Harper Can Swing a Baseball Bat, Can He Swing A Golf Club?
Yes. Yes he emphatically can.
LeBron James Is In The New Amy Schumer/Bill Hader/Judd Apatow Movie!
The film’s called ‘Trainwreck’. Schumer, who wrote it, plays the title character, while Hader is a ‘Sports Doctor’ that she profiles for a magazine. Bron’s got some acting chops!
Stuff That Happened in the NBA
Gregg Popovich reached 1000 wins as an NBA coach – each and every one of them with the San Antonio Spurs. He’s the ninth man in history to reach this mark and the third fastest.
Meanwhile Denver Nuggets coach Brian Shaw has found himself taking desperate measures to try and salvage anything from this season. He’s reading up on books on how to manage and relate to the young generation. Seriously.
On the court, Russell Westbrook has been on an absolute tear.
But nothing compares to what Steph Curry did to the Mavericks last weekend. He’s just impossible to guard sometimes.
Dwyane Wade has predictably pulled out of the All Star game, which means that Kyle Korver gets called in as a replacement. 4 All Stars for the Hawks. Much deserved. The same entirely goes to Damian Lillard for his call-up too.
Those Hawks showed how legit they are too in beating the Golden State Warriors, though they fell to Memphis next up. Man, the title race is gonna be amazing this year.
Blake Griffin is hurt, and the Clippers are struggling. But they still eased past a Mavericks side even more beat up. No Rondo, and Monta Ellis and Tyson Chander both got hurt early. DeAndre Jordan had 27 rebounds.
The Thunder have had a few injuries too, with KD a consistent physio subject and now Steven Adams down for three weeks after hand surgery. Not before he did this, though.
But it doesn’t matter, Mitch McLarryBird… I mean, Mitch McGarry… is here.
Pau Gasol’s been racking up double doubles. 13 in a row.
Anthony Davis is also under an injury cloud, not too bad of one thankfully. Also, he did this.
George Karl is imminently to become the Sacramento Kings head coach – their third of the season.
And LeBron sassed Kevin Love in twitter in disguise. But then Love went and scored 32 so no worries there.
Ahh, Boogie. Just when your indefensible lack of defensive effort, high turnovers and generally abysmal body language threatened to ruin your fan favourite image, you go and tdo something like this…
… and TOTALLY REDEEM YOURSELF!
Quote of the Week:
Super Bowl champion Brandon Browner has opinions. Watch yo back, Kanye!
Good Week:
Rob Gronkowski (New England Patriots) – The victory lap has been every bit as fun as we’d all hoped.
Memphis Grizzlies – The gauntlet has been thrown. People still underestimating them badly.
Bad Week:
LA Lakers – Things are just ugly. 5 losses in a row (and counting, most likely) and now Magic Johnson is taking shots at Jim Buss for his recruiting. Reckons Kobe oughta retire if he can’t add a superstar teammate. Oofh. Meanwhile Karl Malone seems to wanna fight Kobe, so that too.
NBA All Star Game – Three big names have already pulled out (Wade, Griffin & Bryant) with Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Davis, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Durant and probably a few others all carrying injuries of various severity.
Player of the Week:
Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder) – For the month of February e’s averaging 32.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 8.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He tied a career high of 45 point against New Orleans, then beat that with 48 two days later. Oh, and he just signed a new endorsement deal with Mountain Dew for what that’s worth.