Business Articles Team-Blog.BrandHandBag.biz

The Cincinnati Bengals were able to withstand a last minute Green Bay Packers comeback bid, and held on to win their first game of the NFL regular season 31-24. The Packers last drive stalled on the Bengals ten yard line, the victim of a false start penalty in the waning seconds. Both Cincinnati and Denver evened their 2009 record at 1-1. Wide receiver Chad Ochocinco scored the eventual game winning points on a 13 yard pass from Carson Palmer, after which he did his own version of the fabled Lambeau Leap into a sea of less than hospitable fans.

NFL football betting devotees who took the Bengals as +9 road underdogs easily cashed their ticket with the outright victory. Both teams are now 1-1 against the spread on the 2009 NFL season. The 55 combined points scored easily went OVER the posted total of 41.

After the game, Ochocinco talked about his Lambeau Leap:

“It was fun. I had a little indecision on where to jump at first. I didn’t want to disrespect their tradition, so I was asking as I went along the line. I saw some Bengals fans that said it was OK.”

While the Packers late game penalty sealed the victory, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis insisted that his team deserved it due to their performance:

“We didn’t do enough to win the game last week and you get what you deserve. Today, we were able to make one or two more plays and win the football game and that’s what counts. I think our football team understands that.”

Cedric Benson rushed for 141 yards and suggested that the Packers might have been a bit overconfident:

“Maybe a little, but you can’t blame them. They beat a very stout Bears team last week at home and I think they were feeling pretty good. But we’re men on this side of the football as well.”

Bengals QB Palmer gave the defense credit for the victory due to their performance on the last drive of the game:

“I kind of felt like it couldn’t happen again. It wasn’t a feeling of ‘here we go again’ at all. I know our defense is too good. They have too much pride and weren’t going to let that happen again.”

The Packers take to the road for their next two games, beginning this Sunday in St. Louis against the Rams. Theyll face the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night the following week, and then enjoy a bye week. The Bengals now face a rough scheduling stretch, beginning with the Pittsburgh Steelers at home on Sunday. Theyll then head across state to face the Cleveland Browns in their traditional rivalry the following week before heading to Baltimore for a game against the Ravens on October 11th.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on NFL football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

New York Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez has been a crucial factor in the teams 2-0 start, showing a poise and head for the game very rare for NFL newcomers. Still, there wasn’t much worry at the revelation that hes suffering from tendinitis in his right knee. The Jets announced Sanchez’s injury on Thursday, and hes listed as probable on the official NFL injury report.

Sanchez practiced on Thursday, and though he was seen stopping to stretch and rub his right knee on a few occasions didn’t seem to suffer any impairment in his mobility. He participated in the entire practice, and there didnt appear to be any sort of effort to prepare Kellen Clemens to assume the starting role. Clemens took his usual snaps with the team, though not any additional work that would indicate a concern that Sanchez wouldn’t be able to start.

In his comments to the media, Jets head coach Rex Ryan confirmed the injury while downplaying its significance:

“It’s not that big a deal. He has something. I don’t know how to describe it than just to say its a little tendinitis. But, he’s fine. I mean, he fully participated and moved around great, I thought.”

Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer was even more emphatic in his statement:

“Mark’s totally fine.”

Ryan then added a sarcastic note that brought laughs from the assembled media: “Make sure he’s on that list. I don’t mean anything by that.”

Ryan was referring to the Jets receiving a fine from the NFL for not properly disclosing injuries to then-QB Brett Favre late last season. Favre was suffering from a torn biceps tendon, though the team didnt list him on the official NFL injury report. The team was fined $75,000 while GM Mike Tannenbaum and former coach Eric Mangini were each fined $25,000 each.

The Jets are less optimistic about the condition of cornerback Donald Strickland, who is suffering from a sprained right ankle. Ryan didnt offer much basis for hope that hed be able to see action on Sunday:

“I don’t think he’s going to be able to play this week. I’m not declaring him out right now, but I don’t think there’s any way he’s playing this week.”

The Jets host the Tennessee Titans at the Meadowlands this Sunday afternoon. New York has been installed as a -1 home favorite, with the total set at 37. The Jets have won five of the last nine meetings between the teams straight up, though Tennessee holds a narrow 5-4 advantage against the spread. After that, the Jets will take to the road for their next two games. Theyll play the New Orleans Saints on October 4th before heading to south Florida to take on the Miami Dolphins the following Monday night.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on soccer betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

categories: NFL football,National Football League,NFL,pro football,football,pro sports,sports,recreation,entertainment

In a victory for the highlight reels, Brett Favre completed a 32 yard touchdown pass to Greg Lewis with 2 seconds remaining in the game to lift the Minnesota Vikings to a dramatic 27-24 come from behind victory over the San Francisco 49ers. It was the 43rd time in his career that The Gunslinger had pulled out a victory when his team is tied or trailing in the fourth quarter.

While the Vikings may have won the game on the scoreboard, the Niners took the decision where it really matters. San Francisco rewarded NFL betting devotees with their third pointspread cover in three games this season, cashing tickets as +6 road underdogs. It was the Vikings first setback to the spread against two victories this season. The 51 combined points scored went OVER the posted total of 39.

Favre commented on the victory after the game:

“It’s hard to even recall all of ‘em. This one was pretty special.

The game winning touchdown pass was upheld by video review. Niners cornerback Nate Clemens said this was a hard setback to take:

“I’ve had some hard losses. This is just another one for the list. We just have to keep chopping away.”

Greg Lewis, who caught the game winning touchdown, said that the entire offense was fired up on the final drive:

“The offensive line was fired up. Adrian was fired up, and the receivers were fired up. And Brett fell right in. He was fired up, too, like: ‘We’re going to get this done And that’s the attitude that we took out there on the field.”

In his postgame comments, Vikings coach Greg Childress commended the poise of his veteran quarterback:

“He’s been in many, many, many, many situations like that so it never hurts you to have a veteran like him going down the field.”

In the Niners locker room, coach Mike Singletary could be heard giving his team a tough love pep talk:

“You have nothing to be looking at the floor for! You didn’t steal anything! You didn’t do anything wrong! OK? We’re going to get better! We’re going to get there! We will see them again in the playoffs, all right? You hold your head up!”

The 49ers will return home to host the St. Louis Rams next Sunday. That game is currently off the board due to the questionable status of Niners running back Frank Gore who left the game with an ankle injury. Minnesota will host the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football next week. The Vikings are a -3 home favorite in that contest. Theyll play at St. Louis the following weekend before returning home to host the Baltimore Ravens on 10/18.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on soccer betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

categories: NFL football,pro football,football,pro sports,sports,recreation

Though it enjoyed solid fan support and was popular among sports betting enthusiasts, arena football fell off the map with the demise of the Arena Football League. The AFL suspended play under the weight of a poor business model in 2009 and later pulled the plug altogether. Since then, a new league has announced plans to take its place. Arena Football One (AF1 for short) will begin play in April and on Thursday secured a TV contract to broadcast games on the NFL Network in the United States. The TV deal should help the new arena football entrant to get off to a successful start as they attempt to revive the sport.

Superficially, there are many similarities between the defunct Arena Football League and the upstart AF1 circuit. Several former AFL franchises have joined the new league, with several others having previously played in the AFL’s developmental ‘minor league’ known as Arena Football 2. The new league’s organizers are hoping that the similarities remain superficial, and have taken great pains to avoid many of the high salaries and dimwitted business decisions that doomed their predecessors. They’ve also learned from a crucial error of the AFL and will coordinate promotion and publicity of all teams as well as the league as a whole at the corporate level.

The original Arena Football League also made the mistake that many growing companies make in trying to grow too big too fast. Though the league prospered for years by keeping a tight rein on player salaries and team budgets, in the past few years there had been a drastic upward spiral in the cost of player contracts. A division between old line owners dedicated to fiscal responsibility and deep pocketed newcomers (including 80’s rock idol Jon Bon Jovi) anxious to spend as much as they wanted further exacerbated a business model that became more and more unsustainable. They also lost touch with what their fan base wanted and started looking for an audience that simply wasn’t there.

The AF1 deal with the NFL Network is for one year, with a network option for a second year. The NFL Network will air a ‘game of the week’ every Friday night beginning in April. In addition to providing a good broadcast outlet for the fledgling league it also provides some much needed off season programming to the NFL’s 24/7 cable network.

Though Arena Football 1 is the largest and best known arena football league, there are actually two other leagues that will begin playing in the coming months. While most are focusing on smaller markets than AF1, the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA) and the Indoor Football League ( IFL) are also in the mix. Eventually, the AF1 will prevail as the top level arena football league with the other two circuits serving as minor league developmental partners.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on NFL football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and online sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

categories: Arena Football,pro football,sports,recreation,marketing,media,business,hobbies

Judy Garland famously said in her role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz that theres no place like home. The Toronto Argonauts would likely take issue with that sentiment. On Friday night, the Argos lost a close one to the Calgary Stampeders at the Rogers Centre by a final score of 23-20.

Calgary hasnt done well in Toronto in recent years, having lost eight of their last ten heading into this contest. For that reason, Henry Burris was happy with the victory despite the Argos recent struggles on their own field:

“Rogers Centre has never been a fun place for us to play. We’ve had some tough games here against some hard-hitting Argos teams. This team has been through a lot and with the belief we have in one another, we were able to fight back and respond when it really counted.”

Argos coach Bart Andrus kept the offense on the field for a last ditch effort to score a touchdown rather than go for the tie with a long field goal.

Placekicker Justin Medlock had missed a 57 yard kick earlier this season”his only miss of the year. Andrus is already hearing some criticism of this decision, and he addressed it after the game:

“I’ll take the heat on the call to not kick the field goal. The distance bothered me. That was my worry. The 57-yarder against Winnipeg came with the roof open. I just wasn’t comfortable with it.”

Medlock all but second guessed his coach as he expressed his wish for a shot at the game tying field goal:

“I definitely thought I could’ve made it but never got the chance. Maybe I should’ve run on to the field. I hit the crossbar in practice from 60 yards out.”

Calgary has won both games against Toronto this season, beating the Argos 44-9 at McMahon Stadium earlier this season. After the contest, Stamps coach/GM John Hufnagel indicated his pleasure with his teams effort:

“If it was going to be a close game I wanted our defence on the field at the end to protect the lead and that’s what happened. I think it’s really a big step for this football team. I’m very pleased with the defence, I’m very pleased with the offence in the second half when they had to answer points . . . we got the momentum back each and every time.”

Next up for the Stampeders is a home and home series with their provincial rivals, the Edmonton Eskimos. Toronto and Hamilton will also play a pair of games against each other, with the first game of the set at Hamilton and the rematch back at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

The New York Giants have made a huge financial commitment to quarterback Eli Manning by offering him a six year, $97.5 million contract extension. Manning will earn just over $15 million a year, and $35 million of the contract is guaranteed. Should Manning play through the end of his contract hell be a Giant until 2015, meaning there’s a decent chance hell play his entire career with the team.

Manning will earn roughly $200,000 per season more than Oakland Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha who agreed to a 3 year, $45 million contract earlier this summer. Hes also got the upper hand on his older brother, Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning who earns just over $14 million per season.

While Manning has been tight lipped in the media about the deal, Giants GM Jerry Reese spoke in glowing terms of his teams $97.5 million investment:

“He is a franchise quarterback. He has done everything we asked him to do. He has come in, taken a lot of flak from you guys in the media and he just keeps going. He does what we ask him on the field and he does what we ask him to do off the field. He is a good football player.”

Reese also dismissed concern that the huge contract commitment would result in additional pressure on Manning to perform:

“He is used to that. He won’t get more pressure than he already has in this market. He knows how to handle pressure and he has done it before. I don’t expect to see any difference in his attitude and his work ethic. He works hard. He expects a lot from himself. He knows what his role here is with us and we expect him to continue it for a long time.”

Manning definitely has a number of qualities that justify this level of investment. Hes produced on the field, leading the Giants to a Superbowl championship and four straight postseason appearances. He also became the first Giant QB in history to throw for 3,000 yards and 20+ touchdowns in four consecutive seasons. Hes also shown a great deal of durability, starting 71 consecutive games”the third longest streak in the NFL. Hes got solid leadership skills and is well liked and respect by not only his teammates but also by the notoriously tough New York media.

The new deal will kick in with the 2009-2010 season. Manning will earn just over $9 million this season, the final year of his rookie contract.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.