Antonio Pierce Placed on Injured Reserve

The Giants have placed middle linebacker Antonio Pierce on Injured Reserve with a bulging disc in his neck.  The move effectively ends his season and allows Chase Blackburn to be the replacement for the rest of the year in the middle of what has been a very disappointing Giants defense.  No pass rush, slow linebackers, and a lack of depth in the secondary have all proven to be costly for the G-Men and have been a significant reason as to why they are 6-5 and currently on the outside looking in for a playoff birth. 

 

Here's the quote from Rotoworld: Giants placed MLB Antonio Pierce on injured reserve with a bulging disc in his neck, ending his season. A neck specialist informed Pierce last week that he wouldn't need surgery, but the Giants apparently couldn't hold his roster spot any longer. Chase Blackburn will finish the year starting in the middle. Beat reporter Mike Garafolo suggests that Pierce's Giants career may be over. The 31-year-old has declined over the past two seasons, and is due $4.75 million in 2010.

Although Pierce was the quarterback of that defense for a while, it is understandable why his time might be up.  It's time to sign a Free Agent on the open market.  DeMeco Ryans or Kirk Morrison are names that certainly come to mind.  

-Matt Soldano

The Starburst Tradition

Every Lady Pioneers basketball game, us broadcasters provide the CW Post players with some candy. After extensive market research, we've come to the conclusion that Starburst is the most practical and popular candy. Now, we're deciding on whether to put the Starburst in a decorative (yet delicious) pyramid display, or to house them in a shallow bowl.

We're field testing the pyramid at today's game:



Matt Soldano didn't have enough for the usual two packs of Starburst. Jordan Lauterbach wouldn't spring for the second. I would, but I'm in the studio:



Funnily enough, the person who takes the most Starburst is Assistant Coach Scott Lagas. Put him down for at least 6 a game. If he wasn't being polite, he would jack all of our candy.


He's a man that loves his sweets. He told me earlier this week that when he was watching the Yankees World Series run (the greatest of all time), he cornered himself with a box of Cameo cookies.


--Max Caster

Terez Owens Interview

In a bit of a throwback, I interviewed Terez Owens about the latest in sports media.




--Max Caster

Rhodes Will Bounce Back

From the NY Post:

After coach Rex Ryan told Kerry Rhodes that he was demoting him from the starting safety spot he has held with the Jets since 2005, Rhodes did some serious soul searching Tuesday night.

"When I [was told] my mind was going into, 'Well, maybe I should go do some other stuff,'" Rhodes said yesterday. "You just think about a lot of stuff. If your coach doesn't think you're doing enough for your team then you start to question yourself as a player."


That quote from Kerry Rhodes tells me all I need to know. Benched by Rex Ryan for a lack of impact, it's apparent that Rhodes has changed on the field. Many want to point to his off-field tendencies as the reasons for the drop off in his play -- the modelling, dating beautiful women and his other business ventures.

But it's unfair to tell a guy -- whether he's an all-world athlete, or he's a 9-to-5er -- to stop everything you're doing away from your primary job. Obviously, Rhodes is a busy person:



And he's well on his way to being an actor/model (Maybe a Quarterback):



But Rhodes gets it. He knows what this benching means. He knows that Rex Ryan has lost faith in him. He knows the media is talking about him. He knows that he has to improve. And he'll do that in practice and in games, not out at a club with Halle Berry and a bottle of Grey Goose. He'll get it done on the field.

But to tell someone to stop having fun and using an alternative outlet is unfair. As long as Kerry Rhodes is making every practice, meeting and game, who cares what he does off the field? He's been like this for years, and no one wants to bring it up until he's played poorly.

And he did play poorly and deserves to be benched. Getting obliterated by Wes Welker is enough grounds for anyone to get benched, let alone having no picks, no sacks and no forced fumbles.

No one can pinpoint the reason why Kerry Rhodes is having an awful year, but we love to speculate. Players have down years, maybe this is one of them. But I expect this event to make Rhodes hungry to redeem himself and to reclaim his spot. Hopefully, we'll see how hungry Eric Smith is filling in for Rhodes. But I'm convinced that Kerry Rhodes will bounce back.


--Max Caster

Brandon Marshall Hosting Sports Soup

Maybe broadcasting isn't Marshall's next career move, but his delivery is better than the guy who normally hosts the show.


--Max Caster

CDR has H1N1

From a Press Release:

Nets forward Chris Douglas-Roberts, who has been sidelined with flu-like symptoms, has tested positive for the H1N1 virus, according to Nets President Rod Thorn.

Douglas-Roberts has been treated accordingly for the illness and the Nets have followed all precautionary measures as mandated by NBA guidelines.


Wow. Don't expect the Nets to win a game anytime soon. Devin Harris is out for a month -- maybe more. Yi Jianlian is gone until December -- maybe longer. And Courtney Lee will be bothered by a groin injury. That's four of your five original starters out with various ailments.

Brook Lopez has to be pissed. He's playing with Eduardo Najera.

By the way, are the Nets the basketball version of the New York Mets? I think so.

--Max Caster

Manu Ginobili Catches a Bat

What the hell...?




Maybe this is the guy the Knicks should sign next year.


--Max Caster