Pryor's Progress

     One of the most publicized and followed stories in the past months is the one of former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor. After being caught accepting bribes and payments for play as well as trying to sell bowl rings for money for tattoos, Pryor was put on a suspension from the Ohio State football team. For a while, it was unclear whether Pryor would carry out his suspension or continue on to the NFL.
     After choosing to go into the draft for the NFL, Pryor joined the Oakland Raiders' roster, but not as the starting quarterback. Terrelle was unable to make most of the training camp and is still very unfamiliar with the playbook and playing styles of his teammates, so Carson Palmer will step into the starting quarterback slot for the Radiers. But this does not mean that Pryor can not still be an asset for the team.
    The Raiders realize Pryor's special abilities such as being able to run well while still seeing the field and also being able to catch. To utilize these gifts, the Raiders have created special plays which include Pryor throwing, running, and sometimes even catching the ball. Although Pryor will not see much playing time or handle many snaps, it will be interesting to see the role this young athlete fills for the Oakland Raiders.

Red Sox Downward Spiral

      It would be thought that going 7-20 in the entire month of September would be the low point of the Red Sox Season. Although they finished with a winning season of 90-72, the ultimate low would be the

      But to top both of those low points, in a televised report on Tuesday, John Lackey, Jon Lester, and Josh Beckett were accused of drinking beer in the dugout during games. While this might help to explain the losses that occurred for the Red Sox, drinking during a game is serious allegation that had to be looked into. The news station that reported this allegation is said to have two anonymous Red Sox employees that witnessed these three players fill up their cups with beer in the clubhouse and then return to the field for play. Another rumor was that these three players would have a small feast of fried chicken, beer, and video games during the game instead of being in the dugout.
     The president of the Red Sox is trying to contain the damage by stating that the public can not believe an anonymous rumor and must instead look past this situation to the next upcoming season. Whether the rumors are true or not, there is obvious damage done by the situation already.

Jets End Losing Streak

     The game last night between the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins was of greater importance than just a W or L in the game statistics column. Going into the game, the Jets were on a three game losing streak that threatened to send the team into a downward spiral for the remainder of the season. A loss to a team also struggling like the Dolphins could have destroyed the team moral even more than the damage that three straight losses did.

     It wasn't pretty, but the Jets managed to pull out 24 to 6 win over the Dolphins. Darrelle Revis can be credited with helping to turn the tide in the Jets favor late in the first quarter. Revis managed to return an interception 100 yards for a touchdown, turning the momentum in the favor of the Jets. But Revis wasn't done for the night. He also snatched another interception later in the game. Mark Sanchez contributed to the win by throwing a touchdown to Holmes and running another one in.
   With this win, it will be interesting to see if the Jets can hold this momentum for the rest of their games. Was this a fluke or a serious season changer?

Patriots Promote Within

    With recent injuries and shuffling of players, the 53rd spot on the Patriots roster was still up for grabs. Cornerback Sterling Moore was promoted from the practice squad to a permanent position when Marcus Harrison was dropped from the roster after only being signed days before. Phillips Adam had been let go when Harrison was added, who had been signed a day previous when defensive tackle Mike Wright was put on the injured list.
    With all the switching of players and rosters, it is debatable whether the Patriots will be ready for their game against the Cowboys on Sunday. Hopefully by then they will be able to figure out which players exactly are needed to complete an already dominant team in the NFL.

                                                      Sterling Moore

Father Daughter QB Team

     Everyone has seen how the skills are passed down from father to son in the professional quarterback position, most notably in the Manning family. But what about skills being passed from father to daughter? The tag team displaying this new view is former NFL Super Bowl MVP Mark Rypien and his daugher.
Mark Rypien's daughter is the starting quarterback in the new female football league where the girls play in less than covering clothes. But the clothes don't make the game.

Verlander Pulls Out a Win

With the recent NBA and NFL lockouts, the only sport that seems to be on the right track is Major League Baseball. The MLB post season start has been a topic of heated conversation recently, and the first games have been nothing short of outstanding.
      One of the most memorable stories so far is Justin Verlander and his amazing pitching skills. On Monday, October 3, 2011, the Yankees played the Tigers for game one of the post season after attempting to play this game on Friday but cancelling because of weather conditions.Verlander lead the Tigers to a 5-4 win over the Yankees.
      What was impressive though was the way in which he lead his team to that win. After giving up two runs in the first inning, Verlander did not give up another run until the seventh inning. In between that stretch, four Yankees players got to first base, but none ever made it to second. This is an even bigger accomplishment when it is noted who Verlander was pitching against such as Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, and C.C. Sabathia.

Romo's Broken Weakness

     Last night, Tony Romo led the Dallas Cowboys to a victory over the Washington Redskins. Even though the score was 18-16, Dallas failed to score one touchdown the entire game. But the Dallas offense does have an excuse.
     Romo played in last nights game with a broken rib. Everyone watching the game winced and wondered how bad getting hit by three hundred pound linemen all night had to hurt. Apparently, it hurt Romo so badly that he had to receive two injections of pain killers just to make it through the game.
     But honestly, how healthy can that be? The body had a healing process for a reason, and a broken rib is not going to heal when a quarterback keeps getting three hundred pounds of pressure on top of him. Not to mention the way that Romo not playing his best affected the team. Once the defense got in some crushing blows on Romo, and Romo became frustrated, the center's snaps started getting higher and more out of control as well as receivers not performing the way they should.

     So, the question is, is it really worth it to play injured? Playing injured has too many detrimental drawbacks to make it worth injuring yourself even more.

NBA Lockout Spurring Loans

         Everyone has heard about the NBA lockout and the fact that it is over money, but what people might not think about is how the players are affected during this lockout. Even though the popular belief is that all of these athletes are very overpaid and live the life of lavish, there are a lot of players that live paycheck to paycheck trying to keep up with the lifestyle of being in the NBA. So how is this lockout affecting these players? Many are struggling to keep their head above water and keep all of their bills paid.
       So where do NBA players turn to when they need a loan? They turn to their teammates and other NBA players, specifically Kobe Bryant. Bryant has been interviewed and recorded of having talked to other players about creating a pool of money in order to help out players that are struggling. Other higher paid players are also willing to lend a helping hand to those struggling during this long lockout.
       What amazes me about this story is the fact that these men make more money in one year than most do in a century. How can someone that makes close to a million dollars or more need to borrow money from someone else just to pay bills? If these athletes were responsible with their money and used it wisely, I don't believe any of them would be sweating this lockout. Excuse me if my sympathy is not placed upon people that get to live life without a budget. Maybe instead of donating extra cash to other players, NBA players should consider donating that money to a community organization to actually do some good.

Peyton Sitting Out?

    For the first time in a long time, Colts star quarterback, Peyton Manning, will not be starting in the home opener against the Houston Texans. A serious neck injury is preventing Manning from getting cleared from the doctors to play, but even Manning knows that he is not ready to suit up. Nowadays, I think that athletes are pushing too quickly to come back. Manning is making a smart decision to take his time recovering instead of playing too quickly and making his injury worse.
   Peyton not starting does end his long streak of having started every single game of his NFL career. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of Manning, I still hate to see such a longstanding streak be broken and especially because of an injury. Peyton believes that his team will do fine without him, but I have my doubts about that. Manning does a great job of running his offense and providing leadership through his experience, and his presence on the field will be missed.

    No one is quite sure when Peyton Manning is scheduled to return, and only Manning can really know how his injury is feeling. Some doctors are suggesting that he sit out a couple games or even for an entire season. The only way to determine when Manning will return is to just give it time.

Introduction!

Hi everyone!

     My name is Marissa, and I'm a junior at Slippery Rock University. My major is sports management with a minor in coaching. The job I wish to obtain in the future is an athletic director and a basketball coach for a high school or college.
     I am originally from Washington, Pennsylvania and attended Trinity Area High School. I also attended Belle Vernon High School in Belle Vernon, PA my junior year of high school. I've played basketball my entire life including all throughout high school. My plans to accept my Division I full ride for basketball were crushed when I ripped muscles in my right shoulder my junior year and had to get surgery after my senior year.
        I live off campus up at school in a house with my 23 year old brother, Joe, and my two year old black and tan coonhound, Scout.

    If you need to know anything else about me, feel free to comment!