TEEEEEEBOOOOOW!

He’s back. As teased a few weeks back, the Philadelphia Eagles offered an NFL lifeline to everybody’s favourite terrible quarterback. It’s a one year, minimum salary contract, and probably a final chance for the guy last seen getting cut by the Patriots a year ago.

The Eagles had wanted to trade QB Matt Barkley to clear room for Tebow, but without getting value in return they chose to keep ‘em both around in a crowded quarterback quartet that also includes Sam Bradford and Mark Sanchez, plus the rumours of Marcus Mariota in the draft.

Nobody expects the notoriously awful passer Tebow to threaten for a starting spot, nor to reinvent himself as a tailback or anything. What we’ll most likely see is Tebow used (supposing he does enough to make the roster of course) as a sort of hybrid option. We know Chip Kelly likes his QBs to be mobile and if there’s one thing Tebow is it’s that.

Bringing The Heat

Everyone loves a good baseball ruckus. Well, this week sprouted a great one. The Oakland Athletics against the Kansas City Royals, it all started when Brett Lawrie took a heavy slide into second base. Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar was looking for a double play, Lawrie went in hard to stop it. Real hard. Hard enough that Escobar had to be helped off the field with an injured knee and his teammates did not take kindly to that.

Escobar wasn’t seriously hurt or anything, and Lawrie reckons he texted an apology that night to a number he got from Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer… only Escobar denied receiving any text. So the next game Lawrie got fully drilled by a 99mph fastball from Yordana Ventura, who was promptly ejected. Then in game three, Lorenzo Cain of the Royals cops one on the foot in the first innings, which sparked some fiery words from both dugouts, with Kansas’ pitching coach and manager both getting tossed. Later that game Lawrie came up to face Kelvin Herrera and suddenly there was a ball flying 100mph just behind him and tempers flared once more. Three more ejections came, with Herrera adding spice on his way out by pointing at his head in warning to Lawrie for what was to come next. Lawrie unleashed a tirade in response. Benches clear. Herrera said he had a “bad grip” was all, and that the gesture meant “think about it”. Lawrie wasn’t buying it.

“You don't throw behind someone and then walk away, when you throw 100 miles per hour, and say, 'The next time I face you, I'm gonna hit you in the head.' That's shit… That's some bullshit and he needs to pay for that. That ain't O.K. This is a game. This isn't going up there and trying to hurt people. This guy doesn't throw 85 mph. He throws 100.”

For the record, there was punishment, Herrera getting five games on the sidelines for being a bit of a jerk.

Save The Date

The 2015 NFL season will kick off on September 11 (NZT) with the defending champion New England Patriots face the Pittsburgh Steelers. Brady vs Big Ben. Lovely. The first Sunday Night Football clash? The NY Giants hosting the Dallas Cowboys, meanwhile Monday Night Football gives us our first glimpse of Chip Kelly’s drastically altered Eagles team as they open at Atlanta, followed by the Vikings at the 49ers (will there be a Jarryd Hayne sighting?). Also of note, Green Bay is getting a Thanksgiving game (against the ol’ rival Bears) which’ll be the first time Lambeau’s hosted a Turkey Day bout since 1923. They reckon Brett Favre’s getting his jersey retired that day too.

MLB Power Rankings:

1. Detroit Tigers
2. Kansas City Royals
3. LA Dodgers
4. New York Mets
5. San Diego Padres
6. Boston Red Sox
7. St Louis Cardinals
8. Chicago Cubs
9. Atlanta Braves
10. Washington Nationals

Animated Plays of the Season, So Very, Very Cool

Three Cheers

WHO WANTS POPCORN!!!​

Not Stauskas, That’s For Sure

Star Pats, By Julian Edelman​

Catch of The Week (/Year?)

Inventive Put Out of the Week (/Year?)

Weekly Pondering

Russell Westbrook probably thinks he should win the MVP award. But Russell Westbrook also seems like a player who is at his best when he thinks he’s being hard done by. He’s the only logical heir to Kobe Bryant’s ‘No Respect’ ideal. Like, even when Kobe was winning titles, he’ll tell you he should have had more MVPs. He’s a guy who needs an edge to reach his top gear, and that edge is usually proving someone wrong. Rusty’s the same, and you can bet he’ll have an edge next season after he gets dropped to the bottom of the voter’s ballots.

Quote of the Week:

Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price goes a little bit mental at the journos. It’s one for the ages, folks.

Good Week:

Nelson Cruz (Seattle Mariners) – Eight home runs in his team’s first 12 games, the only players with more through 12 games in history are Mike Schmidt with 11 (1976), Larry Walker with 9 (1997) and Luis Gonzalez with 9 (2001). Not too shabby.

New York Mets – Hey, hey, hey… nine in a row. This is their best start to a season since 1986… when they went on to win the World Series. Not at all shabby, who saw this coming?

Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers) – What a start to his playoff career, 56 points, 8 boards and 8 assists through two games, he’s shooting at 47% from 3pt. Don’t waste your time doubting the Cavs.

Bad Week:

The Morris Twins (Phoenix Suns) – Kind of a serious thing, they’ve been charged with felony aggravated assault for an incident in late January where the pair were allegedly among five men who beat up a 36 year old man after attending a local basketball tournament. The man had known the Morrises since they were in high school, and rumour has it the incident was sparked over text messages sent to their mother. No-one’s really saying much since it’s a legal issue, hopefully it’s all cleared up soon.

Toronto Raptors – You lose your first two games at home in a seven game series, you’re in plenty of trouble. Only three times in history (out of 21) has a team overcome that deficit.

Rajon Rondo (Dallas Mavericks) – Despite flashes in game one of the mythical beast that is #PlayoffRondo, it’s pretty clear that we’re watching the end of the Rondo gamble in Dallas. He played just 36 seconds in the second half of game two, has the worst +/- of any player through two games in the series and has been constantly dominated on defence – where it was hoped he had the most to offer. Like, Ray Felton was playing ahead of him. Ouch.

Player of the Week:

Jimmy Butler (Chicago Bulls) – Ooh, he’s been good. 25p/2r/6a in game one against the Bucks, followed by 31p/9r/2a in game two. Shooting 54.5% from the field, Jimmy Butler is taking this series by storm hitting some wicked clutch shots in the process. Plus he’s the favourite for the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award.