Tebow and Ramblings from the Sports Think Tank

Denver is in a mess over this Tebow deal. John Fox, the head coach, and John Elway, Broncos President, didn’t waste a first round draft pick on him, but the fans are restless because of superman reputation off the field. Reports from camp tell us the players are 100% behind Kyle Orton starting at QB.

What do you think?

If small market teams like New Orleans, GB and Indy can compete and win championships – why are we so surprised when Boise, TCU, Va Tech and Mizzou win. Or Texas Tech for that matter?

What team is the NO Saints of college football?

What about Indy? And GB?

 Bo Bounds is the host of The Out of Bounds show on ESPN 105.9 The  Zone & creator of the http://yalllifestyle.com. Twitter: @bobounds & @yalllifestyle.

***I’m not and don’t claim to be a journalist. If that bothers you….get over it.

Two weeks ago, the data showed the Steelers’ market share of all NFL licensed merchandise sales at 7.4 percent, far below the 28.4 percent share claimed by the New York Jets.

The Steelers’ market share had surged to 13.4 percent a week later, Powell reported Wednesday when the latest numbers came in.

Under the current system the revenues are split evenly among NFL teams, so that doesn’t mean a windfall for the Steelers. It does help the league overall, though, and the league could use some help.

Although total sales of NFL licensed merchandise for the fiscal year ended Feb. 1 hit $2.1 billion, Powell’s data showed that was down more than 10 percent from a year ago when sales had dropped 25 percent from the previous year.

Read more of “Steelers gear sales defy odds” on Post-Gazette.com
2.3.11

The Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver has been called all kinds of things during his career, and most of them aren’t too nice.

He’s dirty, some say. Sneaky. A blind-side hitter. A cheap-shot artist.

“Everybody (says), ‘Well, he hits guys when they’re not looking,’” Ward said Tuesday during media day at the Super Bowl. “Well, should I tap on your shoulder and say, ‘Here I come, hit me?’ At the end of the day, I just play football the way it should be played.”

Well, that depends on who you talk to.

Read more of “Dirty? Steelers’ Ward plays ‘the way it should be’” on AJC.com
2.3.11

Alabama: #1

Alabama’s class is led by a pair of five-star prospects, one on each side of the ball, in safety Hasean Clinton-Dix and all-purpose back Demetrius Hart. Nick Saban has shown in his time in Tuscaloosa that the Crimson Tide will close strong and they are aiming to do that one again in 2011. The top target likely to announce for Alabama between now and Signing Day is offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandjio.
Top remaining targets: OT Cyrus Kouandjio, DE Jadeveon Clowney, RB Isaiah Crowell

Read the full list on Rivals.com

Why First Down Means Everything

Sunday’s NFL Conference Championship games could be among the most-watched football games in the history of the galaxy. Some of the most defining and important plays of the game, though, will come at points in the telecast when many of us will be fetching a fresh beer: first and 10 at the beginning of a new drive.

You won’t see many of these plays in the highlights. More often than not it’s a handoff that, on average, goes for just over four yards. But according to an exhaustive study of NFL play data conducted by Yale professor Cade Massey, what happens on first and 10 in an NFL game is a powerful indicator of who will win.

wsj.com
1/21/11

Mike Wallace, the Steelers speedy wide receiver, makes Pittsburgh forget about Santonio Holmes

PITTSBURGH – One afternoon when Mike Wallace, the Steelers receiver, was in elementary school, he received a report card with two failing grades for the marking period. His mother, Sonjia, was already at work, managing the night shift at the Metropolitan Developmental Center, a mental health facility in New Orleans, so his sister Quanna, a stickler 10 years his elder, answered the phone when he called with his grades.

nydailynews.com
1/22/11