NFL Week 17 Final Injury Report

These Injury reports are for the three games that matter to the New England Patriots and there playoff chances…

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS at BALTIMORE RAVENS

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

Status Report

PROBABLE RB Maurice Jones-Drew (knee)

BALTIMORE RAVENS Status Report

OUT LB Antwan Barnes (chest), WR Marcus Maxwell (hip)

QUESTIONABLE T Willie Anderson (foot), LB Jarret Johnson (calf), WR Derrick Mason (shoulder), S Ed Reed (thigh), RB Ray Rice (calf), CB Samari Rolle (ankle), T Adam Terry (knee), CB Fabian Washington (toe)

PROBABLE WR Yamon Figurs (head), DE Trevor Pryce (illness)

MIAMI DOLPHINS at NEW YORK JETS

MIAMI DOLPHINS

Status Report

QUESTIONABLE

CB Will Allen (groin), LB Channing Crowder (knee)

NEW YORK JETS

Status Report

QUESTIONABLE

WR Laveranues Coles (thigh), T Wayne Hunter (shoulder), LB Bryan Thomas (shoulder)

PROBABLE

LB Eric Barton (knee), WR Jerricho Cotchery (shoulder), LB David Harris (groin), DE Kris Jenkins (hip)

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS at BUFFALO BILLS

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

Status Report

OUT

LB Tedy Bruschi (knee), S Raymond Ventrone (jaw), G Billy Yates (hand)

QUESTIONABLE

LB Gary Guyton (ankle), T Mark LeVoir (ankle), CB Deltha O’Neal (ankle), LB Vince Redd (ankle), S James Sanders (abdomen), CB Lewis Sanders (shoulder), DE Richard Seymour (back), DE Ty Warren (groin)

PROBABLE

CB Ellis Hobbs (shoulder), T Matt Light (shoulder), DT Vince Wilfork (shoulder)

BUFFALO BILLS

Status Report

OUT

CB Jabari Greer (knee), WR James Hardy (knee)

DOUBTFUL

LB Teddy Lehman (groin), WR Roscoe Parrish (knee), T Jason Peters (knee)

QUESTIONABLE

RB Marshawn Lynch (shoulder), LB Kawika Mitchell (knee)

Mark Teixeira Recap

Just wanted to do a final recap of our information regarding our Mark Teixeira story. Here are the links

1st Tex Story

2nd Tex Story

In a nutshell, we had it from the start, December 10th, that the Washington nationals had the highest bid and barring a swooping in, he would have been a Washington National. Have fun reading.

Maine Black Bears Catcher Earns Pre-Season All American

University of Maine junior catcher Myckie Lugbauer (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) was recognized as a third-team Louisville Slugger Pre-Season All-American as announced by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper on Tuesday, December 23. Lugbauer was one of six catchers from around Division I named to one of the three pre-season teams, and one of three on the third-team.

The 6-4 Black Bear captain led the team with 43 runs batted in and 19 doubles during the 2008 season and finished second in batting average (.343), slugging percentage (.552) and on-base percentage (.412) only to teammate and America East Player of the Year Curt Smith. On the defensive side of the ball, Lugbauer posted a .989 fielding percentage with only three errors in 280 chances. He threw out 65% of runners attempting a stolen base against him, catching seven of 13 runners.

Lugbauer was the America East Rookie of the Year and a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American in 2007. Last season, the Black Bear was the America East First-Team catcher.

Courtesy University of Maine

Saturday Morning Quick Hitters

The Lewiston MAINEiacs traded assistant captain Lucas LaBelle for a 17 yr old prospect.

The MAINEiacs play this afternoon against Victoriaville. Please go to LewistonHockey.com to stream the game!

The Maine Black Bears Men’s Hockey team goes to Florida for the Florida College Classic in Estero, Florida. The other 3 teams competing in the Classic this year are Colgate, Cornell and St. Cloud. Maine takes on Colgate at 4:05PM today. Go to GoBlackBears.com for your streaming options.

Can the Yankees sign Manny???

After committing nearly $424 million in future salaries, many believe the Yankees’ free agent spending spree will continue. Derek Lowe and Ben Sheets have been rumored, but the name that everyone is wondering will be the next to flash across tickers announcing their signing with the Yankees is Manny Ramirez. While it would make interesting press when the Yanks and Sox squared off 19 times in 2009, the question has to be asked; can the Yankees even sign Manny? No, it’s not a question of money or Manny’s willingness to play in New York, it’s a question of league rules when it comes to signing Type A free agents.

Quota

(a) Clubs shall be limited in the number of Type A and B Players, as defined below, they may subsequently sign to contracts. The number of signings permitted shall be related to the number of Players electing free agency under this Section B. If there are 14 or less such Players, no Club may sign more than one Type A or B Player. If there are from 15 to 38 such Players, no Club may sign more than two Type A or B Players. If there are from 39 to 62 such Players, no Club may sign more than three Type A or B Players. If there are more than 62 such Players, the Club quotas shall be increased accordingly. There shall be no restrictions on the number of unranked Players that a Club may sign to contracts.

(b) Irrespective of the provisions of subparagraph (a) above, a Club shall be eligible to sign at least as many Type A and B Players as it may have lost through Players having become free agents under this Section at the close of the season just concluded.

According to MLBtraderumors.com, there were 43 Type A/B players who filed for free agency, meaning that teams could only sign 3 Type A/B free agents or a number equal to the number of Type A/B free agents they lose. In the case of the Yankees, they will more than likely see Pudge, Abreu and possibly Pettitte sign elsewhere. The Yankees resigned another A/B free agent, reliever Damaso Marte. However, according to MLB rules, he will not not count towards the Yankees as an A/B free agent signed.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the free agent and his former
Club may engage in negotiations and enter into a contract during
said period. Should they enter into a contract during said period,
the Club shall be deemed not to have signed a free agent for purposes
of paragraph (5) of this Section B.

This would also mean the Yankees could bring Pettitte back without him counting as an A/B free agent signed by the club.

So, it would appear that the Yankees have already met their qouta. But hold on, there is the question about Mike Mussina who was designated a Type A Free Agent. Though he retired and did not sign with another club, MLB rules are a bit nebulous as to this question:

a Club shall be eligible to sign at least as many Type A and B Players
as it may have lost through Players having become free agents under
this Section at the close of the season just concluded.

What exactly does “lost through players having become free agents….” constitute? Mussina filed for free agency a week prior to announcing his retirement, but does a player have to sign with another club in order for that player be considered a player lost by having become a free agent? One would assume that Mussina would not be considered as a Type A/B Free Agent lost by the Yankees, but MLB has not always done the most obvious thing–like its previous steroid policies.

CMSB in the Media

Here is Jeff on the Morning Jab helping to fill in for Shoe, with Joe and Kyle.

PART 1 PART 2 PART 3

You can download these files from our Archives on Talkshoe and Youcastr

NFL Injury Report-

This is the NFL ‘s injury report from Wednesday in regards to the games that the Pats and their fans care about. Will update today hopefully.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS at BUFFALO BILLS

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

Practice Report

DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN PRACTICE

Wednesday

LB Tedy Bruschi (knee), DE Richard Seymour (back), S Raymond Ventrone (jaw), G Billy Yates (hand)

LIMITED PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE

Wednesday

LB Gary Guyton (ankle), CB Ellis Hobbs (shoulder), T Mark LeVoir (ankle), T Matt Light (shoulder), LB Vince Redd (ankle), S James Sanders (abdomen), CB Lewis Sanders (shoulder), DE Ty Warren (groin)

FULL PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE

Wednesday

DT Vince Wilfork (shoulder)

BUFFALO BILLS

Practice Report

DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN PRACTICE

Wednesday

WR James Hardy (knee), LB Teddy Lehman (groin), RB Marshawn Lynch (shoulder), LB Kawika Mitchell (knee), WR Roscoe Parrish (knee), T Jason Peters (knee)

LIMITED PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE

Wednesday

CB Jabari Greer (knee)

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS at BALTIMORE RAVENS

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

Practice Report

DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN PRACTICE

Wednesday

RB Maurice Jones-Drew (knee)

BALTIMORE RAVENS

Practice Report

OUT (DEFINITELY WILL NOT PLAY)

Wednesday

LB Antwan Barnes (chest), WR Marcus Maxwell (hip)

DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN PRACTICE

Wednesday

T Willie Anderson (foot), LB Jarret Johnson (calf), WR Derrick Mason (neck, shoulder), DE Trevor Pryce (illness), S Ed Reed (thigh), CB Samari Rolle (ankle), T Adam Terry (knee), CB Fabian Washington (toe)

LIMITED PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE

Wednesday

WR Yamon Figurs (head), RB Ray Rice (calf)

MIAMI DOLPHINS at NEW YORK JETS

MIAMI DOLPHINS

Practice Report

DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN PRACTICE

Wednesday

CB Will Allen (groin), LB Channing Crowder (knee)

NEW YORK JETS

Practice Report

LIMITED PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE

Wednesday

WR Laveranues Coles (thigh), T Wayne Hunter (shoulder), LB Bryan Thomas (shoulder)

FULL PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE

Wednesday

LB Eric Barton (knee), WR Jerricho Cotchery (shoulder), LB David Harris (groin), DE Kris Jenkins (hip)

Army Has a New Head Football Coach

Army announced today that former head coach of Cal Poly Rich Ellerson is going to be Army’s 36th head football coach. The press release can be found here. More news as we get it.

Update: There will be a teleconference on December 30th with Ellerson and AD Kevin Anderson. The CMSB will bring you audio of the teleconference once it has completed.

Big Game Brett? We Hope.

New England needs a Superhero………ugh

So the New England Patriots’ season comes down to this; win and hope for some help. While the Pats are taking on a Bills team they handled in Week 10 20-10, they need either the Jacksonville Jaguars to beat a very good Ravens team that has something to play for, OR the New York Jets to beat the surprising Dolphins. Neither prospect is very promising.

The Jags have won just 2 of their last 9 games (one against the hapless Lions), while the Ravens need to win to assure themselves a playoff spot, and with their second ranked defense the Ravens should have little trouble punching their ticket for the playoffs. That leaves the Pats needing Brett Favre and the New York Jets to beat the Fins–oh boy. The Fins have won 8 for their last 9 games–though just one win against a team with a winning record–while the Jets have looked as bad as those throwback jerseys they for whatever reason decide to pull out from time to time. The biggest reason for this tail spin? The man who was suppose to save the Jets–Brett Favre.

After winning 7 of 8 games from Week 4 through their stomping of the Titans in Week 12, the Jets have looked terrible in dropping 3 or their last 4. Over that stretch Favre has been one of the worst QBs in the league, completing fewer than 60% of his passes, averaging under 200 yards a game while throwing 6 picks to just 1 TD pass. The Jets are still in a position to win the AFC East only because of their Week 15 win over the Bills in which the defense scored 10 points in the fourth quarter while Favre and the offense mustered zero first downs. While Favre’s play has been the primary cause for the Jets’ recent struggles, the coaching staff also deserves to shoulder some of the blame.

That’s because another trend that has coincided with the Jets recent and season struggles–Thomas Jones’ carries. While most in New York have called for the ball to be in Favre’s hands more often, the Jets need is to get the ball into Jones’ hands–New York is 5-1 when he gets 20 or more rushing attempts, 4-5 when he is a pedestrian. Part of the reason for this correlation between the Jets’ commitment to a running game and their winning football games is because of the problems the offense faces when it gets in 3rd and longs (6 yards plus). Favre’s numbers in those situations are decent except that he often turns the ball over; 44/71, 478 yards, 6.73 YPA, 2/7 TD/INT. For whatever reason the coaching staff in New York decides at times to go away from the running game and Jones–as they did in Seattle where they rushed a total of 25 times during the game, with just 9 in the second half (3 more than they had on their first drive of the game, their longest of the game).

So, here is what we Pats fans need. First, show up and beat Buffalo. Though the Pats should win this game, the Bills will be looking to be the spoiler and keep the team that posted 56 on them the last time they met in Buffalo out of the playoffs. Next, we need Mr. Magini and company to commit to a running game that is third in the league in yards per carry at 4.8 and keep the offense (Favre) out of third and longs against the Fins. Otherwise we will probably see Favre hand the Fins the division, and the hatred for Favre will only increase in the northeast.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas From All of Us At The CMSB!

Thanks to EVERYONE who helped make this year a very special year at The Central Maine Sports Blog. May 2009 shine even brighter at The CMSB!

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!
Please have a safe and Happy Holiday Season!

LISTEN TO MATTY ON THE PM JAB WITH CHRIS SEDENKA ON CHRISTMAS EVE

THEN

LISTEN TO JEFF ON WITH JOE AND KYLE ON THE MORNING JAB
THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS FROM 6 – 9