Cleaning out the inbox- Sports version

It's been a busy time here at TRS when I'm able to post that is and the result is an inbox that's straining to keep itself in order with items from sports, non-sports, and passings.

We'll start with a Terry Pluto note on an upcoming appearance in Cleveland for Rocky Colavito.
The 85-year-old "Rock" will appear Thursday with a few former teammates at an All-Star fan week event as well as promote an upcoming book about the former Indian slugger.
Colavito, who I place firmly in the "Hall of Very Good" hit 374 homers in his fourteen-year career with 190 of them in his eight years and two stints with the Indians has been struggling with health issues in recent years that cost him his right leg (below the knee) from circulatory issues and diabetes in 2015.

The Athletics Tom Reed writes a tremendous article on former Browns tight end Gary Barnidge and Barnidge's life after football, which is a template for players today on how to prepare for their post-career.
Barnidge, who put up the best two seasons of his NFL career with the Browns, was then released in 2016 and would never play again in the league, will turn 34 before this season and could very easily still be playing football.
The article looks at Barnidge's various interests including studying the Bible and Koran as an agnostic, living in a home twenty minutes from almost anything in any direction and his friendship with wrestling legend Jerry "the King" Lawler among several interesting items on the former Cleveland tight end.

ESPN is working on a recurring series during the college basketball season titled "Chasing Ghosts" that looks at programs that possess plenty of tradition, yet for various reasons have struggled and slid from once-exalted status.
The edition that caught my eye was the N.C. State version ( I also had interest in the UNLV article as a fan of the Runnin' Rebels of the Jerry Tarkanian years) that looks at the peak of the program, coaches that contributed to the decline and the chances of the program returning to prominence.
I have written before of my fondness for the Wolfpack, who ranked behind only Maryland in my college basketball fandom under the late Jim Valvano and even today (since the sad defection of the Terrapins to the Big 10) battles with Wake Forest as my favorite school in the ACC and I do not completely agree with the article where they don't believe the Pack can ever return to past status.
Where there is a commitment to winning, there are possibilities of glory, it simply comes down to making the correct hire for your program and as the article notes, N.C.State hasn't been able to land that coach since Valvano's departure.

The Athletic makes the inbox again with an article on just what the San Francisco Giants would be losing when the likely trade of Madison Bumgarner at the trade deadline goes through.
Bumgarner's the type of old school pitcher that guys like me love and would have fit right in with the past eras of baseball.
He's grouchy, cantankerous and everything that modern baseball is not, which is exactly why the Giants and their fans will miss him so much.

Deadspin discusses a new pro wrestling promotion that has jumped the first hurdle that infant wrestling promotions have placed in the path to success- gaining a major television outlet.
The new All-Elite promotion that is funded by Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan has agreed to a deal that begins in the fall with TNT.
Wrestling was a major portion of the success of the "Turner" networks from the early days with Georgia Championship Wrestling to their time with Jim Crockett Promotions and then World Championship Wrestling after the network bought the promotion from the Crockett family before selling the library and assets to the WWE and folding everything else.
This is an excellent article that covers the history of Ted Turner and his network's involvement with pro wrestling and even offers a piece of information that I never knew.
In 1970, Turner's then WTCG did not televise the local Georgia promotion which was on another network but wanted to televise wrestling.
What program did WTCG broadcast for a year before GCW moved over to them?
Capitol Wrestling- the WWF show promoted by Vincent McMahon Sr.
The WWF didn't run shows there, but this shows how long the Turner networks and their current descendants not owner by Turner have owned a relationship with wrestling.

We wrap up with the oldest item in the inbox from May as SI.com takes a deep look over two articles (found here and here) at the short life of the Alliance of American Football.
As some of you remember we covered the leagues and (mainly) the Arizona Hotshots and the league not surviving was a disappointment to me.
However, when you read these articles (and two podcasts that I'll mention soon in a podcast post), it is easy to see how the mistakes of the league sealed its doom.

I'll be around later with another inbox version with either recent passings of note or cleaning the non-sports version of the inbox.

Browns sign Morgan Burnett,Garrett Gilbert

The Cleveland Browns continued to rebuild the backside of their defense and added the veteran safety that the team had been looking for as the team signed Morgan Burnett, most recently released by the Pittsburgh Steelers, but importantly a former Green Bay Packer, to a two-year contract worth nine million dollars.

Front office residents Eliot Wolf and Alonzo Highsmith are very familiar with Burnett's play from their days in Green Bay and should Burnett return to that level of performance in Cleveland, the team should be very pleased, but there are questions.
The first is- can Burnett return to his days as a Packer?
Burnett was thought to be a top signing last year when the Steelers inked him to a contract, but Burnett was beaten out at safety by Pittsburgh's top draftee Terrell Edmunds and spent most of his season miscast at inside linebacker.
Burnett's desire to return to safety led to a demand to be released and after the Steelers were unable to trade Burnett after attempts to do so failed, the Steelers knuckled under and did so.
Burnett is an excellent tackler against the run and is among the best in the league among safeties, so if Burnett can do that at 30 years of age, the Browns have likely upgraded over the traded Jabrill Peppers in tackling, if not in athletic ability.

The other issue with Burnett is durability.
Burnett has not played a complete 16 game season in six years and even though Burnett only missed a few games each year, he still misses time, which makes the recent trade for Eric Murray with the Chiefs make a little more sense as if you assume that part of the package of having Burnett means that you need to prepare to be without him for a few games, so a solid backup is more than a luxury.
The signing of Morgan Burnett comes with a mild risk that his year in Pittsburgh was a sign that he may not be the player that he once was, but I think it could be a motivator for Burnett and a motivated Burnett is an All-Pro level safety.
I would have normally added a Burnett highlight video here, but the few that I found comes with music that just drives me nuts.
So many of these talented people do such great work putting together these highlight videos with perfect cuts and jumps, only to ruin it with music that distracts rather than adds to the presentation,

The Browns also signed an AAF alumnus in quarterback Garrett Gilbert.
The 27 year old son of former NFL journeyman Gale Gilbert, who played his college football at both Texas and SMU before being a sixth-round draftee by the Rams in 2014, spent time in camps and on rosters for various teams before throwing his first three NFL passes last year for Carolina in their last game of the season after the Panthers starter in that game- third-stringer Kyle Allen was injured.
Gilbert was likely to win the AAF's MVP or offensive player of the year as the signal caller for the Orlando Apollos, who won seven of their eight games with their only loss to "your" Arizona Hotshots 22-17 before the league was folded earlier this week.
Under the tutelage of Steve Spurrier, Gilbert threw for over two thousand yards in those eight games with 13 touchdowns against only three interceptions in the developmental league and along with Arizona's John Wolford (Wolford threw more touchdown passes 14, but more interceptions with 7) were head and shoulders above any other passer in the league.
Spurrier's offenses were always dominant as a college coach and in the rival leagues (Spurrier also was the head coach for all three seasons of the USFL's Tampa Bay Bandits and the well-remembered Bandit Ball), but his quarterbacks never fared well at the NFL level ( his best NFL product was likely Rex Grossman
) from his college coaching career and his USFL quarterbacks would only receive NFL chances in the 1987 strike games so Gilbert may have learned plenty from Spurrier, but that doesn't always convert to success in the NFL.
However, I think that Gilbert has a chance to make this team and here's why- Gilbert attended the same high school (Austin Lake Travis) as Baker Mayfield, preceding Mayfield by a few years and they have a friendship dating from Mayfield's childhood when Gilbert was the top-rated quarterback recruit in the nation at Lake Travis.
There is an opening with Tyrod Taylor electing to pursue free agency and it would make a lot of sense to put Gilbert, who Mayfield respects on a personal level, with Drew Stanton as the veteran mentor that has played in the league in the quarterback room to help Mayfield along in his development.
It is very possible that the Browns are likely to draft a quarterback in the later rounds as a developmental project so that potential player will likely be the player that Gilbert will battle to make the Browns.

Good while it lasted- AAF suspends operations.

It was good while it lasted.

The game that I wrote about a few days ago with the Hotshots defeating San Antonio has turned out to be the final game in AAF history as it appears the man that the league brought into the AAF to shore things up a bit after two weeks has decided six weeks later to shut the league and more than likely end its existence.

Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon was trying to work out a deal with the NFLPA to bring a few lower-level players from each NFL team to help shore up the league's rosters and threatened to shut the league's doors without an agreement.

Why this couldn't have waited until the final two weeks of the season had been concluded is one of the biggest questions that I have about all of this.
If the AAF needed this agreement with the NFLPA so badly, why immediately?
I may have understood if there were six or eight games to go, but only two?

And if the league's financial situation was so dire, signing an NFL agreement wasn't going to change things for this season, so why eliminate these games?

My biggest question of all is this- If the league wanted to continue as claimed, couldn't the league have canceled the final two weeks, held the Eastern and Western finals as Orlando and Birmingham had clinched spots in the East and Arizona and San Antonio were two games ahead of San Diego and Salt Lake with those two weeks to go, so it wouldn't have been unreasonable to match the Hotshots and Commanders for their title out West.
Wouldn't a league that wanted to survive have been better suited to claim the season a success with growing pains to play the two divisional finals and title game, even if it meant canceling the ninth and tenth weeks of the season?

Plus, CBS had picked up the championship game for prime time viewing, and look at the exposure that would have given the league.

The most plausible answer to all of this that I have seen is that Dundon had no interest in the AAF, but he was more interested in the league's app, which had gambling software that could be quite a money maker with gambling and fantasy football built into it.
If that's the case, I can understand Dundon wanting that software for its eventual value, but what doesn't make sense is why an owner of an NHL team would willingly muddy his name so quickly in sports?
Dundon's behavior in this has been reprehensible, and he deserves to be the largest villain.

The league didn't draw live crowds in big numbers, although San Antonio did the best job in supporting their Commanders and in my opinion, should be considered as the first XFL expansion team, or even immediately, if one team that is currently in their plans drops out.

The television ratings were decent enough, and the league may have made a mistake giving the networks the product for free to prove themselves.
The idea sounded good, but whatever the networks would have paid would have helped somewhat in staggering to the end.

Reports are beginning to roll in about unpaid bills, players and coaches on their own to return to their homes, and other problems, so things were bleaker than presented, which more often than not is the case with new leagues, but the league did some positive things.

I loved the Sky Judge to overrule the awful call that none of the on-field officials saw, and since the NFL has made the onside kick so difficult to recover, their one play "4th and 12" to keep the ball seems interesting to consider.

I thought the play was better than most expected, although the long-term was going to depend on how many young quarterbacks would play in the league to lift the quarterback talent, because there just wasn't enough talent in the eight-team AAF at quarterback right now, let alone considering adding the XFL teams next year.
I'm not sure that the league will produce any future All-Pros, but I'm sure there will be some alumni sprinkled around the NFL next year.

I'll miss the league and the Arizona Hotshots.
It's always fun following these leagues and teams, even if they are destined to break your heart when they don't work out.
I suppose it's now time to carve that Arizona Hotshots gravestone and set it into the cemetery of TRS defunct teams that meant so much as they join the likes of the Southern California Sun, Chicago Blitz, Arizona Wranglers, Memphis Showboats, San Francisco Demons, Kentucky Colonels, and Cleveland Crusaders in a place where only memories reside.

Now, it's a matter of deciding what XFL team I'll be covering in ten short months. 

Hotshots pound Commanders 23-6,

On a weekend, when rumors were flying about the survival of the AAF, the Arizona Hotshots managed to place those rumors aside and play one of their best games of the season.

The Hotshots used a fast start in scoring the first fifteen points of the game and never looked back as Arizona won their third game in a row with a 23-6 win over San Antonio and their Commanders at the Alamodome.

The win allowed the Hotshots to move into a first-place tie with the Commanders in the Western Division and likely locked up a rematch between the two clubs for the Western championship in the playoffs.

John Wolford threw for 216 yards, which included a 58-yard touchdown strike to Rashard Ross that started the scoring, and Tim Cook scored the other Hotshots touchdowns on the ground.
Arizona improves to 5-3 with the win, and they will play their final home game of the season this Sunday night against Birmingham.

Hot off the Grill

1) The Hotshots started fast and never looked back when John Wolford tossed the 58-yard score to Rashard Ross.
Ross will be at least a second-team all-star when such things are announced, and he clearly had a step plus on the corner, and the safety didn't offer much help, but give Wolford credit too; that pass was on the money.
All the receivers in the world can break open, but it is meaningless if the ball isn't there.

2) And the Hotshot defense is living up to the preseason ratings that thought it was the league's best, as San Antonio managed just two field goals, and with the Commanders in Arizona territory and only down nine, the defense forced a strip of the quarterback and a turnover.

3) The Commanders outrushed Arizona 173-91, but I couldn't figure out why they ran so much down between nine and fifteen points most of the game.
San Antonio uses a stable of backs, so no one stood out, but the amount of yardage was mildly concerning.

4) The Hotshots also grabbed an early interception that led to the removal of the Commanders' starting quarterback, Logan Woodside.
That decision led to backup Marquise Williams entering the game, and Williams is far more of a multi-threat quarterback than a pure passer.
The Hotshots were protecting a lead, and the skills of Williams weren't enough to turn things around.

5) Give credit to the San Antonio fans with a crowd of over 23,000 and even though the Hotshots took the fans out of the game early, San Antonio has been the best market for the AAF and should the worst case scenario occur with the league, Vince McMahon's XFL might want to reconsider one of his markets for 2020 and make sure that the fans of San Antonio still have a team to root for.

6) The words of the newest (and largest) AAF investor, Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon, about the future of the league are worrisome.
Dundon, among others, is attempting to put together an agreement with the NFL to have the league send some players, which mainly would be practice-squad and special-teams type, to the AAF to not only improve the AAF product but give the NFL a way to develop players that ordinarily would not have that opportunity.

The AAF argument is, how can we help you develop players if you won't give us any?
The union is afraid of injury, which I can understand, but the AAF has offered to pay for insurance for any players under an NFL contract.
Dundon could be pushing for leverage, but I'd hate to see this league go under period, but especially this close to the season's end.
Dundon announced minutes ago that there will be an announcement on the league's future tomorrow, fingers crossed for good news.

Back later with a Browns trade and some more releases of players drafted by Sashi Brown.

Hotshots sink the Fleet-Grab sole control of 2nd place

John Wolford completed 15 of 19 for 212 yards with two touchdowns and the Arizona ground game ripped off 189 yards as a team with two more scores (both scored by quarterbacks Wolford and backup Trevor Knight) as the Hotshots defeated San Diego 32-15 in Tempe.
The win moves Arizona above .500 at 4-3, but more importantly, breaks a tie with the Fleet and gives them sole possession of second place, one game behind division-leading San Antonio.
Arizona will visit those same San Antonio Commanders in a game that would place them in a tie for the division with a win or virtually clinch the division title for San Antonio, should the Commanders earn the victory.

Hot off the Grill

1) The play of this game was a third-quarter defensive stand that slammed the door on a long drive by the Fleet and held them without a point when San Diego QB Mike Bercovici's flip to tight end Ben Johnson barely fell incomplete.
San Diego would miss a field goal in the fourth quarter but never returned to the Arizona red zone again.

2) The other play that AAF fans are still talking came very late in the first half as San Diego tight end Marcus Baugh caught a long pass and after two Hotshot defenders mistimed their leap, Baugh strolled into the end zone but it looked like before the ball crossed the goal line, Baugh flipped the ball forward and the score should not have counted.
The referee that can overrule any missed call looked at the play and decided there was nothing he could do as the Fleet recovered it and the ball wound up out of play.
Still, Baugh, a former Buckeye, caused the entire issue by trying to look cool.

3) John Wolford threw for two touchdowns and ran for another score to lead the offense.
The offense was outgained by the Fleet 411-391, but Wolford managed to make the plays when needed.
Wolford may not be an NFL starter, but he'll have a good chance to make a team.

4) Steve Johnson will either be the defensive player of the year or runner-up to San Diego' Damontre Moore.
Johnson finished with seven more solo tackles and a key interception in the fourth quarter that ended the San Diego chances of a comeback.
Johnson spent six years in the NFL as a journeyman linebacker, but in this league, he has been a difference maker.

5) Rashard Ross was injured and I don't have word on his status after his three catches for 53 yards.
Ross has been the most consistent receiver on the team and the main threat downfield, so a loss of Ross (rim shot) would be a severe hindrance to an offense that is just starting to hit its stride.

6) Huge win in this one.
Next week in San Antonio, a win can make things very interesting, but a loss to San Antonio after a loss in this one could have been a huge playoff setback.
The Hotshots have three games to go with two against divisional opponents on the road (San Antonio and San Diego) with a home game against Birmingham in the middle.
2-1 makes the playoffs, I think. Any less and who knows.

And then there were none-Hotshots take the O out of Apollos

In a game that wasn't decided until the final whistle, the Arizona Hotshots and the Orlando Apollos battled in what might have been the best all-around game in the first season of the AAF, and in the end, it was the Hotshots holding off the desperate rally of Orlando for a 22-17 win and the first loss of the season for Steve Spurrier's Apollos.

The Hotshots were led by Jhurell Pressley's two touchdowns (one rushing and one receiving) with John Wolford throwing for a touchdown and running for a two-point conversion in the win.

The badly needed win moved the Hotshots to 3-3 and are tied there with San Diego, one game behind San Antonio for first place.

The Hotshots will host the San Diego Fleet next Sunday in a game that will open the logjam in the division a bit.

Hot off the Grill

1) Steven Johnson had missed some time at linebacker and his presence was huge in this game as he finished with eight tackles, a key interception, and several hits on Orlando quarterback Garrett Gilbert.

The interception was one that showed a great deal of athletic ability

From what I've seen this season, Johnson will be in some teams camp come July in the NFL.

2) The Hotshot defense did what no other team had pulled off against Orlando-Shut them down within reason.

The Orlando 17 point output was a season-low.

3) The game ended just in time for the Hotshots though as Orlando was deep in Arizona territory what would have been the game-winning touchdown.

However, the clock rolling and six seconds remaining, the Apollos scrambled for a time stopping spike, but they did not have all of their linemen set into position and were called for a false start.

Since Orlando had no timeouts remaining and there was a ten-second runoff for the penalty and with under ten seconds remaining- ended the game.

4) Nick Novak showed that his leg is still big enough to play in the NFL as he drilled first-half field goals of 55 and 53 yards.

Novak would not be a surprise if he was kicking for someone next season.

5) The key was the Hotshot defense, which didn't give Garrett Gilbert a ton of time to throw and intercepted Gilbert for the first time this season.

Arizona sacked Gilbert twice but the pass rush was consistently in the backfield harassing Gilbert and making him throw the back before he really wanted to.

6) Give Rashad Ross credit for toughing things out through an injured wrist and finishing with five catches for fifty-one yards.

You could visibly see Ross wincing with each play and yet he played through the pain-  Gotta love the heart of Ross.

7) Turnovers-Arizona didn't turn the ball over and forced two, both coming at huge points in the game.

The Hotshot defense was thought to be the leagues best entering the season and they haven't always shown that in every contest.

They did live up to their potential Saturday night.

8) Former Buckeye Jalin Marshall led all receivers with 98 yards and a score and Marshall and teammate Charles Johnson (former Brown) of Orlando are the best tandem in the league so far.

I always thought Marshall did himself a disservice coming out a year (he would be undrafted before making the Jets) early and I think he still can play in the NFL.

9) John Wolford threw for less than 200 yards and one touchdown, but Wolford played exactly the game that was needed to defeat the better offensive team- he didn't turn the ball over, made the throws when needed, and didn't become stressed in the pocket.

10) The Hotshots lost to Atlanta at home for the Legends only win and then hit the road to give the Apollos their only loss on the road.

They are 3-3, which is less than hoped for, but about what you would expect from an inconsistent.

Tied for second with four games to go, their next game and their last game are against San Diego with games at San Antonio (4-2) and home against Birmingham (4-2) in between, so their remaining schedule isn't the easiest, but they hold their fate in their hands. 

Busy Busy

Monday and Tuesday can be busy days for me and sometimes working around real life (Especially on Tuesday) and the everyday errands that we all have hit my time here hard.

However, enjoy this note about the upcoming week to come:

The Browns hit free agency as I write this, Cleveland has an agreement for a major defensive contributor in case.
That's an agreement because teams cannot sign anyone officially until tomorrow, but it is extremely rare to renege on these agreements.

No Hotshots review this week.
Why? Well, I was exhausted after a long Sunday of work and family events and was watching something else when the game began.
I finished that and was going to go to bed when Fred Landucci called me and said the game against San Antonio was 26-0 Commanders near the half.
Judging that, I went to bed- the Hotshots rallied strongly in the second half but lost 29-25.
Arizona falls to 2-3 on the year and visits what appears to be the league's top team next week in the undefeated Orlando Apollos.

I'll be appearing on a podcast (remember when I did one of those before controversy and dollars came into play?) on Wednesday, so once I can post and give the host show some pub, I'll link to it so anyone out there can give it a listen.
Please make sure you give the guys at Rouge White and Blue some comments or even ratings on your podcasting tool of choice.
I'm sure they'll appreciate it and mentioning me wouldn't hurt getting my name out there as I (Shh) tenderly begin the process of "other projects".

Since I'm picking at the bottom of my fantasy draft in each round, it has taken longer to make my picks so the posts on those players will be worked on.
I've picked three more "Rubber Ducks", one of them just a few minutes ago and there will be two more before I'm finished.
I'm fairly pleased so far considering where I'm picking, but I gambled twice in the draft on players I really liked and once it paid off well and the other it didn't so I'll have those stories as well.

I also have the boxing challenge starting early this week with a Friday night card on DAZN
More passings to note and an inbox that needs dumping along with a possible feature as well

Hang in there until tonight/slash tomorrow morning as Jim Ross used to scream- Business is about to pick up!

Hotshots breakdowns cost in Legends loss

The Arizona Hotshots made mistakes on special teams and a very poor decision on offense and at the end of the night, found themselves defeated by the only team in the AAF that had yet to win when Younghoe Koo's 33 yard field goal with 1;03 remaining gave the Atlanta Legends a 14-11 win in Tempe.

Jhurell Pressley ran for 110 yards for the Hotshots on the ground with Rashan Ross catching four passes including the only Arizona touchdown.
With the defeat, Arizona fell to 2-2 on the season and is now tied for first in the AAF West with San Antonio.
It is the Commanders from San Antonio that Arizona will host Sunday in Tempe in a battle that will decide who will lead the division at the halfway point of the league's first season.

Hot off the Grill

1) John Wolford clearly wasn't healthy and it showed with the way he threw the football.
A lot of Wolford's passes fluttered a bit and until the fourth quarter, didn't feel comfortable in the pocket.
Still, considering Trevor Knight's struggles in week three relieving Wolford against Salt Lake, I can understand why Rick Neuheisel played Wolford.

2) Still, in the fourth quarter, Wolford stepped up with two drives that should have, in hindsight, been enough to at least force overtime.
Wolford took the Hotshots down the field and even though the drive leveled out, Arizona was still in field goal range for a field goal that would have cut the lead to 11-6.
Nick Folk missed from 40 yards and the score remained 11-3.

3) Wolford wasn't finished and threw his best ball of the night with a lofting pass to Rashad Ross for a twenty-yard touchdown pass.
Wolford then threw a bullet for the game-tying two-point conversion to Marquis Bundy to tie the game at eleven.

4) The game wasn't all good for Rashad Ross, who basically gave Atlanta their first two points for the first safety in AAF history when he took a swing pass at the four and then tried to make something out of nothing as he reversed field and gave ground, but was tackled in the end zone by former Browns safety Ed Reynolds.
Reynolds was a player that I always thought would have been an excellent special teamer in the NFL and maybe even a good tackling safety if surrounded by talent that had more athletic talent than Reynolds (I.E,-He needs to have faster players around him).

5) The Hotshots miss Steven Johnson, who was such a factor on defense in their first two games, but they have gotten nice games from Nyles Morgan (seven tackles) and Carl Bradford (six tackles and the only Arizona sack) and the linebackers will be the best unit in the league when Johnson returns/

6) Arizona's defense also allowed them to stay in this game with first half holds that saw Atlanta miss a field goal, a goal-line stop, and stopping a fake field goal.
All of those points on the board and this game isn't even close/

7) Arizona has apparently broken up the backfield by committee and has committed to Jhurell Pressley.
Pressley carried 14 times for 110 yards, while the other two backs (Justin Stockton and Tim Cook) carried for just six times between them.

8) Former Oregon Duck and Saskatchewan Roughrider Erick Dargan finished with eleven tackles on the game from his safety position and watching Dargan play does make me wonder the impact on the CFL that the AAF and maybe the XFL will have on the Canadian game?
Dargan didn't play in Canada in 2018, but he played very well in this game, will players of his type stick around?

9) Nick Folk is one of the few players in this league with a few years of NFL experience and you expect him to be a solid kicker.
Folk's 40-yard miss did not cost the Hotshots the game, only a chance for overtime, but in a league that is struggling with the quarterback play, the kickers are going to become a large factor in wins and losses- Folk needs to come through.

10) Finally, the Hotshots are 2-2, 1-1 at home and on the road.
San Antonio is the other 2-2 team and they have struggled to score points other than a loss at Orlando.
The Commanders have scored 11 and 12 points in their two road games, so if the Hotshots can get a lead, they are likely to hold it.
This is a big one as the Hotshots will rematch the Commanders in San Antonio just two weeks following this encounter with a road game at undefeated Orlando in between, so this game is almost a must win.
Let's see who comes out to play in Tempe on Sunday.

Bits and Pieces-Hotshots lose first game

Catching up on a few bits of news over the last few days with some opinions and thoughts as we head into another week.

I didn't have a chance to watch the Arizona Hotshots first loss as it was on something called "Bleacher Report Live", which is a streaming service that I have, but life calls and I just missed it.
The 23-15 loss in Salt Lake to the Stallions is the only game of the Hotshots ten game schedule that will not be shown on a network, so even if I miss a game live from here on out, I will be able to watch on DVR.
The biggest loss wasn't just the game defeat, but the loss of quarterback John Wolford to a back injury.
Backup Trevor Knight is reported to have struggled after replacing Wolford so Wolford's health will be paramount going into next weeks game at home vs 0-3 Atlanta.
That game can be seen at eight PM EST on NFL Network.

The other sports news of note (on the field, as you'll see shortly) is the Indians signing Hanley Ramirez to a minor league contract worth one million and incentives.
The 35-year-old righthanded hitter struggled last year with the Red Sox in hitting .254 with six homers before a June release, but he did hit 23 homers in 2017 for Boston and on a non-guaranteed contract for a team almost begging for power from right side of the plate, Ramirez will be given every opportunity to make the club.
Ramirez would likely see time at first base and as the designated hitter, should he make the ballclub.

The Athletic writes of a quiet signing that could play benefits for the rebuilding Giants, who signed the well-traveled and talented, yet somewhat disappointing over his career Cameron Maybin.
Maybin, who is one of those players that you think should be 38, yet turns only 32 in April, has played for seven teams before the Giants and has always been a player that looks like he has the tools to be a star, but the parts always seem to be more than the sum.
Maybin appears to have changed his swing a bit and maybe it is what he needs to finally play close to his potential, but it could also be just another spring training prayer from a player trying to hang on and a team playing several bingo cards.

The Browns continue to move away from the Sashi Brown era as vice president of player personnel Andrew Berry took a promotion to vice president of football operations with the Eagles.
Berry was hired by the Browns in 2016 and mainly concentrated on pro personnel during his three years in Cleveland.

I've tried to avoid too much about the Robert Kraft affair in Florida, mainly because of the heinous crimes of sex trafficking and that not enough information is available to really tag Kraft as of this writing, of the lightweight soliciting charge or the more serious charges of somehow being involved with the sex trafficking ring, which could cost him his football franchise.
I've tried to avoid it because of my dislike for the Patriots/Belichick/Brady etc, but today I'm forced to address, but not because of Robert Kraft.

Longtime readers know of my "sports crush" on LPGA golfer Jessica Korda and Korda was the"face of the PPM" one football season.
They also might remember Michael "call me Miguelito Loveless" Landucci getting Jessica to sign an 8 x 10 (pictured) as a gift for me at a tournament that I still kick myself for not going to, so what's the connection?
Apparently, Korda's long-time fiance' Johnny Del Prete was arrested for soliciting in this bust and his name was released today, which makes me wonder about Del Prete's skill in talent evaluation and his intellect.
You have Jessica Korda and you go to a grungy massage parlor with the ladies being in such reported conditions ???
Folks, we have a leader in the clueless division for 2019's tool of the year title and hit the Dave Johnson (famous horse racing announcer) voice now!'
"And down the stretch, we come!! It's Johnny Del Prete way out in front, no one is catching him this year, Del Prete's lead is Secretariat-like, It's ALL JOHNNY DEL PRETE TO THE WIRE"!!!
What a tool.

Back later with any trade news from the NHL.

Hotshots rally past Memphis 20-18

Photo Courtesy: Memphis Commercial-Appeal

For almost three full quarters, it appeared the young AAF was about to see the biggest upset in its infancy as the heavily favored Arizona Hotshots, who scored the most points in week one with 38, were held scoreless by the Memphis Express, who were held without a point in the league's opening week.

Then the grinding began as the defense forced a Christian Hackenberg offense to a dead stop, while John Wolford began to move the Arizona offense as he hit Rashad Ross for a 16 yard touchdown pass for the Hotshots first points with barely a minute left in the third quarter.
Memphis responded with their only real scoring drive of the day when Zac Stacy ran 49 yards to move the ball downfield for a drive that would end in a Christian Hackenberg scramble for a four-yard rushing touchdown and an 18-6 Memphis lead.
Looking at a 12 point deficit, Arizona ripped off eight points as Justin Stockton rushed for a 45 yard touchdown that was paired with John Wolford keeping the ball on a quarterback option for a two-point conversion to trim the lead to 18-14.
After forcing a punt, Wolford then hit Josh Huff for a 64 yard gain to the Memphis eight before firing the game winning touchdown to Tim Cook out of the backfield for a 20-18 lead that held up after stopping one drive on a failed fourth down sneak by Christian Hackenberg and then forcing Memphis out on downs on their final drive with seconds to go to clinch the victory.
John Wolford finished with two touchdowns to go with those two early interceptions while Tim Cook's 73 yards rushing led a Hotshots ground game that finished with over 200 yards spread around four backs.

The now 2-0 Hotshots will travel to Salt Lake next Saturday afternoon for a rematch against the Stallions on "Bleacher Report" which is the only Hotshots games all season that will be online viewing only...

Hot off the Grill

1) The victory over Memphis was the first ever victory for a road team in the AAF.
After all four home teams won in week one, Birmingham rallied for a comeback home win over Salt Lake earlier in the afternoon to improve home teams record to 5-0 before the Arizona win.

2) In a ten game season, every game carries importance and it appears that the AAF is going to be a league that home field advantage is going to give a substantial amount of assistance.
The Hotshots didn't play well for 44 minutes of a 60 minute game against what appears to be the league's worst team and was forced to make a late rally to pull out a win.
If home field is going to be that important, every victory that can be pulled out of the five road games will pay even more dividends than usual. Winning trumps looking good.

3) John Wolford's two early interceptions led to ten of the eighteen points that Memphis scored to put the Hotshots into such a hole.
Wolford didn't cross 100 yards passing until the second half, but the fourth quarter passing was what you would hope for, especially on the pass to Josh Huff for the huge gain that would set up the game winning touchdown.
Wolford showed plenty of poise in rallying his team and that was in contrast with the opposing quarterback.

4) And that leads us to Christian Hackenberg, formerly of Penn State and a second-round choice of the Jets a few years back.
Hackenberg threw for just 102 yards, looked rattled against the Hotshot rush in being sacked four times and other than his late run for a touchdown looked more interested in arguing with his coaches.
I always thought Hackenberg was far overrated in his Penn State years and he hasn't developed a lick since Bill O'Brien left Happy Valley.

5) Former Ram running back Zac Stacy finished with over 100 yards against the Hotshots and might be the most impressive back that I've seen thus far.
Stacy's the type of second chance player that the AAF will hopefully be able to build on as the spring league that players will want to play in, going into next season when the AAF will be attempting to recruit players against the XFL.

6) Another big game for linebacker Steven Johnson, who finished with six solo tackles, four of those for loss.
Johnson did make a really dumb play in blasting Christian Hackenberg after he was a yard inside the end zone on his fourth-quarter touchdown run, but that's a play of aggression which while similar plays cannot be allowed to continue, can be excused.

7) Josh Huff finished with two catches for 84 yards and even though, on the first catch, Huff fumbled after a gain. Huff is the deep threat on this team with Rashad Ross as the possession receiver in adding another touchdown to his stats after an excellent opening week.

8) The Hotshots ran for over 200 yards against Memphis with three backs rotating to earn carries.
Tim Cook had the most carries and yards (13 for 73), but when your three backs (Cook, Jhurell Pressley and Justin Stockton) each have long gains for the day of  28, 36 and 45 yards, you are able to rip off huge chunks of ground.

9) Da'Sean Dorsey finished with two of the four sacks against Christian Hackenberg and the Arizona pass rush in a league that seems to be a league plagued by less than strong offensive line play has harassed passers in both games.
Dorsey was among the last players cut by Baltimore and is the type of player that as mentioned above that the AAF will have to show they can develop and put into the NFL if they want to thrive.

10) Next week against Salt Lake might be a game that places the Hotshots in an excellent position after only three games.
Salt Lake is already at 0-2 and would be three games out with seven to go and should San Diego lose today to Atlanta and start 0-2, a 3-0 Hotshot start with two of the wins on the road would bode very well for a playoff berth- even this early!

Hotshots Outrace Stallions in AAF Debut

The debut game for the Arizona Hotshots in Tempe went about as well as the franchise could have expected.

Photo Credit; Az Republic

The crowd was very into the game, the game was exciting and the Hotshots didn't only win over the Salt Lake Stallions, they did so in an entertaining fashion as Rick Neuheisel's gang of green and gold left their new home with a 38-22 victory.

Hotshots quarterback John Wolford threw for 275 yards and four touchdowns with two of them to Rashad Ross, who finished with over one hundred yards receiving on the evening.

The now 1-0 Hotshots will travel to the Liberty Bowl in Memphis next Saturday to play the Express, who were shutout in their opener in Birmingham.

Hot Off The Grill

1) Watching three of the four games opening weekend, the biggest issue in quality of play looks to be these two- quarterbacking and protecting the quarterback.

The Hotshots and Stallions did a decent enough job protecting their passers, but the Birmingham-Memphis games and the half that I saw of the San Antonio-San Diego contest, saw some really poor pass protection and some bad quarterbacking, other than from Birmingham's Luis Perez in their win.

2) The one game that I didn't see was the Orlando home blowout of Atlanta.

Steve Spurrier's offense looked to be a good fit for wide-open new leagues and Atlanta losing their head coach Brad Childress in training camp didn't seem to be a competitive matchup.

Orlando was rated with Arizona as being the best team in the league and from the results of the opener, that looks accurate.

3) The Hotshots selected Trevor Knight as their expected quarterback in the AAF Quarterback Draft, but even though reports said Knight is going to see action and didn't play badly in training camp, the starter and camp standout proved to be John Wolford, who proved the decision to be a smart one for the first week with four touchdown passes and some nice touch on his passes.

I remember seeing Wolford at Wake Forest and liking his arm but wondered about his size as an NFL prospect.

Wolford was cut out of the Jets camp, but at his age (24) Wolford should be just the type that can profit from the plays and snaps of a league such as the AAF.

4) Rashad Ross finished with five catches for 103 yards with two of those catches for touchdowns with another non-scoring catch for 41 yards.

Ross might be the best receiver in this league, but here is the red flag on Ross, he's 29 (older than almost all the players defending him), he hasn't played in an NFL regular season game since 2016 and his career stats consist of nine catches and one score.

Ross will be the type of player that can play very well in the AAF and won't make teams at a higher level but will give a young QB a veteran receiver to lean on this league.

5) The Hotshots also have two more veteran types that aren't likely to make the NFL but are again as with Rashad Ross, perfect for a young quarterback to throw to with some experience in the big leagues.

Former third-rounder Josh Huff caught 44 passes over three years with the Eagles and Buccaneers and Gerald Christian was "Mr.Irrelevant" in 2015 with one career catch with Buffalo.

Both are the type of steady veterans that are going to help Arizona thrive in the passing game.

6) The run game is going to be solid, I believe with a committee that combined for 149 yards against Salt Lake with Jhurell Pressley of New Mexico leading with 64 yards on 18 carries.
Justin Stockton averaged 6.6 yards on his seven carries and the former Texas Tech Red Raider could be the top back by the end of the season.

7) Arizona's defense was noted as a leading reason that the Hotshots were ranked as at least the best in the Western Division, if not the best in the league.

The Hotshots knocked down eight Stallion passes in the victory and the secondary defending seven of those.

NFL veteran Rahim Moore lends stability and made four tackles, but it was Robert Nelson with an interception and a pass defended that led the secondary in this victory.

Arizona allowed the most points of a victorious team in week one, but I bet by the end of the season, it's the Hotshots at or near the top of the defensive statistics.

8) Arizona also received excellent games from two members of the front seven.

Linebacker Steven Johnson of Kansas was the standout with seven solo tackles, a batted ball, and an interception, but Rutgers linebacker Steve Beauharnais finished with four solo tackles, four assists with one of those solos a tackle for a five-yard loss and even when Beauharnais did not wrap up the man, he seemed to be near the football on almost every play.

9) The player with the most NFL experience on the team is former Jets kicker Nick Folk, who hit two of three field goals with the miss bouncing off the upright from 46 yards.

Folk connected from 53 yards with one of his attempts and even at his age shows he still has plenty of leg.

I wouldn't be against John Dorsey and the Browns signing Folk to a deal to bring him to Browns camp right now, which is allowed by AAF rules and he could still kick for the Hotshots.

Considering the Cleveland kicking problems over the last season and Folk's experience in cold weather with the Jets could be helpful as a Brown.

10) Salt Lake is going to win some games and these two teams rematch in two weeks in Salt Lake City.

The Stallions have a very interesting running game with speedy former Charger Brandon Oliver (8 attempts for 40 yards) and former Viking Matt Asiata ( 4 carries, 4 yards, and a score) adding a power aspect, so if they have the lead, they could be very difficult to catch.

Both the Stallion passers (Starter Josh Woodrum and backup Matt Linehan) threw a touchdown, but each was intercepted as well and their combined passing yards were a less than fabulous 159 yards.

11) The two dominant players that weren't in the game I watched closest, each had connections to TRS.

Orlando wide receiver Jalin Marshall is a former Buckeye who caught a touchdown and was the leading receiver for the Apollos and San Diego defensive end Damontre Moore, who finished with a sack with six quarterback hits against San Antonio was a player that I really liked in 2013 when he was a third-round pick by the New York Giants.

Moore spent time with five different NFL teams because of his still immense talent and he was a dominant player at Texas A&M before Myles Garrett became Myles Garrett.

Marshall spent 2016 with the Jets after a poor decision to leave Ohio State early and hasn't been in the league since.

12) I thought the league had a good first weekend.

Most of the talk has been positive or at least not negative and they need to build on that.

Only two of the four games were reasonably close and only of those two was high scoring.

The level of play will have to continue to improve and I would say it was around the level of an NFL exhibition game when the stars are on the sidelines, which isn't bad for a start.

I'll be interested to see how the ratings and reception are for the second week of the season.

The AAF

The AAF kicked off on Saturday, but since our chosen team plays in the final of the four games of the league's opening weekend, I could take my time doing the preview for the Arizona Hotshots and wait for some sort of depth chart to become available. (Of this writing, it hasn't)

Why the Hotshots? Well, when a new league begins and you go through the process of picking a team, there are usually three factors-Location, Coach/Players and Color/Logo/Uniforms.
The location in the AAF was not going to be a factor as the closest team to me is Atlanta, so that was not going to matter (It could possibly be a factor with next year's XFL arrival with a team in Washington) and without a team in Ohio, the AAF territorial draft was not going to place a bunch of Buckeyes (and Bowling Green Falcons) on one team, although San Antonio had a mild edge with the assignment of Houston with Arizona being assigned Texas Tech since Lubbock is of similar distance to Phoenix as San Antonio.
With those considerations off the table, that left the coach and the "accessories" to decide from.

Of the coaches, two especially stood out- Chicago Bear Hall of Famer and former San Francisco 49er head coach Mike Singletary and former college head coach (UCLA, Washington, and Colorado) and football analyst Rick Neuheisel had the edge on the field.
In color scheme, I liked the Gold/Green of Arizona and the Metallic Blue/Silver of Salt Lake and I liked both teams helmets and Arizona's touch with a logo on one side and the player's number on the other.
In the end, Arizona stood out as being the one franchise that managed to check all of the boxes and they won out.

The funny thing about new leagues is that sometimes the team that you pick isn't always the team you end with.
Watching games can change things and by the end of the season, who knows?
In the USFL, I stayed with the Blitz/Wranglers, but as the season played out, I was also rooting for the Breakers, Showboats, and Gunslingers in their games as well.
We'll see how the season plays out.

It'll be interesting to see what I think of the rule experiments that would differ from the rules of the NFL.

Two Point Conversion- Each team always goes for two, no extra points-
I'm fine with this

No Onside Kicks- If a team is losing by 17 or more, they may go for possession by converting a one play-4th down and 12.
I'm fine with this

No Kickoffs- Ball placed at the 25.
Kickoff returns are exciting, but most kickoffs are downed in the end zone anyway,
I'm fine with this

Play Clock at 35 seconds rather than 40
I'm fine with this

Overtime- One possession for each team from the ten, must go for the two-point conversion.
if game still tied- Game ends in a tie.
Not sure I like this, but with teams forced to try for two, This shouldn't come into play often

Eye in the sky- An official with a camera view that shows all 22 men on the field can throw a flag at any time. No Review, No Huddle. Penalty called, Game Moves On.
I'm more than fine with this.

Only Five Rushers to rush the passer.
I'm not sure about this one, if you line up on the line, you are considered one of the five eligible rushers.
You can be called for a fifteen yard penalty for Illegal Defense, if more than five on the line.

Ten things I think

 

Ten things I think and ten that I opine on.

1) If I'm the Cleveland Browns and Mike Munchak hasn't received a head coaching job, if he's available (not sure on his contract situation in Pittsburgh), I'm on the phone to offer him a blank check to come to Cleveland.
Munchak is the best offensive line coach in the game and his addition to the staff would improve the team before any new players are added.

2) I know many on the right are snickering, laughing and even saying Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez should be disqualified from Congress for a dance video that appeared from her high school years.
Keep in mind, this isn't alcohol or drug-related behavior, it's a teenager dancing and being silly.
I bet almost all of us that were teenagers in the '80s with the first camcorders to the present day phones with video capability have something like this.
I even hear a certain author might have some 30-year-old tapes of wrestling on mattresses in their parents' backyard from their teenage days.

3) I like the West Virginia hiring of Neal Brown of Troy as their new head coach,
Considering the late date and the coaches available, the Mountaineers could have done far worse.
Brown was the second Sun Belt coach to be hired away this year with Appalachian State losing Scott Satterfield to Louisville.
The next one to go next year could be Blake Anderson of Arkansas State and maybe Georgia Southern's Chad Lunsford.

4) An uninspiring slate of NFL playoff games this weekend.
Only the Chargers in Baltimore against the Ravens has more than average interest.
The other three games are all pretty dull on the surface.

5) My friend "Lefty" Koch followed up with me from a Cleaning out the inbox and added that he too has disdain for turkey.
The Koch family has a seafood Christmas, which has some intrigue for a season down the road for me.
If I could still have a turkey breast too, that is.

6) I'm not sure what Ohio State lost as Alex Grinch left Columbus as co-defensive coordinator for Oklahoma for the same position.
I thought the Buckeye defense took a step back last season and it could have been too many cooks with Grinch and Greg Schiano.
Ironically, neither could be a part of the 19 Buckeyes.

7) Am I the only person more excited for the Alliance League of American Football than the Super Bowl?
Other than the Saints with Drew Brees and 20 former Buckeyes, I don't have a ton of interest.

8) I think it'll be really fun to watch the league develop and what happens.
So many leagues come and go, so I'll enjoy it while I have it,
Still trying to decide which team I'll be pulling for between Salt Lake City's Stallions and Arizona's Hotshots.

9) It may be time for my local tv station (WDVM) to die their death.
Since losing their NBC affiliation a few years back, it's been nothing but a mix of the worst of local news and a simulcast of something called the Heroes and Villains network
Sometimes it is best to just fade away.

10) Doesn't everyone have a few foods that they say they like, but if they eat more than once or twice a year, not so much?
One of mine is Spam, which once or maybe twice a year, I really love (fried, yellow mustard, cheese whiz, and onion), but more than that and I get tired of it.
My other Spam issue?
I have to have Spam, not the house brand or the lesser brand Treet or god forbid Dak!
Just Spam, which likely tells you how good Spam is for me!

Opinions, Opinions, Opinions

Nothing special to write about, but at this time of the year, it is easy to fall into a rut.
Football and boxing take up the majority of the time here and other than a passings post or cleaning of the inbox, it's hard to find time to write anything else.

That will change in a few weeks when the Browns season ends and the Buckeyes finish the Urban Meyer era in Pasadena, then suddenly in a season without a winter team to follow every day, TRS will have lots of different things to write about and hopefully, you'll find them interesting.
If anyone out there actually reads this, feel free to send me questions.
I really enjoyed the Q and A, I did a while back, so feel free to ask sports, non-sports or even questions about me.
I'm surprised sometimes after all these years of writing, how much people know about me and how much they don't know, so ask if interested- I can always decide not to answer!
I also might have another list post in the future this winter as well.

If I didn't know any better, I'd say the Dodgers trade with the Reds was a salary dump.
I do know better though and I'd say they are scraping paint to find money for a chance to sign Bryce Harper along with rumors that have the NL Yankees seriously targeting Corey Kluber.
If I'm the Indians, I don't see what the rush to trade Kluber or Trevor Bauer as rumored.
The team is still the favorite to win the AL Central and Kluber is very affordable and under team control for three more seasons (2019 and two team options), so if I'm moving Kluber, I want at least three prospects and perhaps a 4th, if I toss another player into the deal.

As for the Giants, signing veteran vagabond reliever Pat Venditte isn't exactly a big bang, but this team needs to take a step back and look for bargains more than high ticket items that will turn the franchise around.
It'll be interesting to see just how the Giants under new management attempt to move in the off-season.
Are they in full rebuild yet? Or do they attempt to move a few players in order to try to compete on a certain level?

I've always enjoyed watching college bowl games and I still watch as many as I can, but the trend of top players not playing in them is a troubling one.
I understand the financial ramifications with an injury and I would likely recommend that my son skip too if I was in that spot, but it's not good for the game and I'm not sure how it can be fixed.

I watched a lot of boxing yesterday and I'm not finished watching everything yet, but as I watched the ESPN+ card, I also was watching the Armed Forces Bowl to watch Houston play Army.
I picked Army to win since Ed Oliver was sitting out (see above) and record-setting quarterback D'Eric King was injured as well, I thought the triple option of Army would carry the day in a close game that could be entertaining for the different style of offenses.
What I didn't expect was a 70-14 beating.
Offensive coordinator Kendall Briles left before the game for the same job at Florida State (leaving days after signing the largest contract for an assistant coach in the country to stay at Houston) and with the various issues late in the season in Coog Land with head coach Major Applewhite's screaming match with Ed Oliver in front of a national audience, a defense that plays like a Big 12 defense, the departure of Briles and a bowl loss that set several records for a defeat and to Army for goodness sakes- Could Houston decide to let Applewhite go now or at minimum, he'll go into next season on the hottest of coaching hot seats?
It's an interesting time for a program that seemed to be on the verge of a potential move up in status to one that seems to have driven off the road.

Finally, I find I'm really looking forward to the AAF, which is the new spring league that will start the week after the Super Bowl.
I've always been a fan of the new leagues and I'm trying to decide which team will be my favorite team and will have their games followed here.
Without an Ohio team, which would have been a slam dunk choice since the league assigns players to teams territorially, I have a few contenders to decide from.

The Arizona Hotshots have bright green and gold uniforms, I always liked their coach in Rick Neuheisel from his USFL playing days and for some reason, Texas Tech was assigned to the Hotshots as a territorial school and they are the early favorite.
The San Antonio Commanders have the Houston Cougars as a territorial school and have interesting helmets with a logo on one side and the player's number on the other.
The Salt Lake Stallions have cool blue and silver uniforms as the ice to the Hotshots heat.
The more I see them, the more I can see them as a contender.
The Memphis Express has the best name (I keep hearing Jim Cornette introduce the Midnight Express), coach Mike Singletary and I did root for the Memphis USFL entry.
I think it'll be one of those four.

Coming soon- Browns vs Bengals and the weekend in boxing including a shocker in Brooklyn!