Like Father, Like Son! Family Competition in AZ vs. NAU Saturday

Arizona Defensive Coordinator Jeff Casteel. Photo: Tucson.com

The Arizona Wildcats had a season defining win last year against the Oregon Ducks. Not to mention they did so in Autzen Stadium. They went on to win the PAC-12 South and faced the Ducks once again. This time getting their a$$es kicked.

Photo: Scooby Wright Instagram

Well, it’s a new season and there’s new faces on the field, but the goal is still the same. Can they end up on top of the PAC-12 once again?

Being ranked #22, they kicked off the PAC-12 season  against the Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners. The Wildcats finished with a win, but they sure left fans with concern. The defense couldn’t seem to mesh and remember Scooby Wright III? The guy making all the tackles and sacking the quarterback? Well, he went down and is expected to miss three to four weeks.

During the second half, the offense sparked. QB Anu Solomon threw for four TD’S, no interceptions and completed over 60% of his passes. Okay, hope.

Then in Week 2 they really got the fans going in their 44-20 win over Nevada. Nick Wilson crushed it, picking up 106 yards and two touchdowns on just eleven carries in the first half.

Arizona totaled out with 301 yards on the ground against Nevada, accomplishing something they have only done one other time (300+ rushing yards in one game in 2014 (Pac-12 Championship Game – 301).)

Arizona will now take on Northern Arizona, also undefeated thus far. But let’s be real. The stats for the Wildcats heading into this game are real solid against NAU.

Arizona has won 11 straight contests vs. NAU going back to 1932. 

Jake (middle) and teammates pictured in H.S. Salpointe uniforms. Photo: Kevin Hamlett Twitter.

Damn.

There is a sort of family rivalry going into this game this year however… Arizona’s Defensive Coordinator Jeff Casteel will be taking on a NAU team with a Casteel on the roster- his son.

Lumberjacks redshirt freshman Jake Casteel has been playing mostly on special teams this season, but should see more time at backup linebacker in the future.

Jake Casteel has been a part of Wildcat’s head coach Rich Rodriguez life for quite some time… Like, try 15 years.

“I’ve known him since he was wee little,” Rodriguez said to Tucson.com.

Jake (left) pictured with father and Arizona Defensive Coordinator, Jeff Casteel (right). Photo: Jake Casteel Twitter.

Fifteen years of attending practices and games and hanging around the office, for a then little Jake.

Jake says this will be an experience of a lifetime and both him and his father are excited for the turnout.

Let the rivalry begin! Nothing like some good family competition!

Game kicks off Saturday September 19th at 8 PM in Tucson, AZ. Keep an eye out for Casteel running out of the tunnel… Out of both tunnels that is…

Until Next Time…

Let the DeflateHate Come in Full Force Because Tom Brady is FREE… For Now

Photo: Patriots Twitter

Let the DeflateHate come in full force because Tom Brady is headed back to the football field. Oh yeah.

Thursday morning it was announced that the judge (who we now all know his name- Richard Berman) has nullified the judging of Tom Brady’s four game suspension to start the 2015 season. Naturally this stirred up everyone and had the internet going on a rampage of hate or happiness.

ESPN Insider, Adam Schefter, said this was an embarrassment to the NFL…

"That's an embarrassment for the NFL." – @AdamSchefter #LIVEonSC

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 3, 2015

Cough, cough- They should.

SportsCenter anchor, Steve Levy said he even heard an announcement over the loud speaker in a Boston hospital that “Tom Brady is free.”

HAHA.

Upon hearing the news the Patriots, who were fined $1 million and docked two draft picks as part of the league’s initial punishment, tweeted…

https://twitter.com/Patriots/status/639445470230614018/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

And of course Gronk tweeted about it…

https://twitter.com/RobGronkowski/status/639447047129694208/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

And Trump…

Congratulations to Tom Brady on yet another great victory- Tom is my friend and a total winner!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2015

And Barry Bonds.. Wait- Uh, awkward? Wonder what they have in common…

Congratulations to #TomBrady on today's decision. Best of luck this season, Tom. 🏈

— Barry L Bonds (@BarryBonds) September 3, 2015

Not to mention Dunkin’ Donuts all along the East Coast rejoice…

https://twitter.com/pachecostacey/status/639487034856468480/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

But, were we too quick to jump to the conclusion that Brady’s suspension would actually pull through? I mean, there is the fact that there really was no hard evidence against Brady that was brought forth in court… Even though we all know he def deflated some balls. What? Who said that?

But don’t worry the drama continues- NFL Commish Roger Goodell announced later Thursday that they will be appealing the judge’s decision.

OMG. How many times is this going to happen? For real though.

Goodell said in a statement Thursday:

“We are grateful to Judge Berman for hearing this matter, but respectfully disagree with today’s decision,” Goodell said in a statement. “We will appeal today’s ruling in order to uphold the collectively bargained responsibility to protect the integrity of the game. The commissioner’s responsibility to secure the competitive fairness of our game is a paramount principle, and the league and our 32 clubs will continue to pursue a path to that end.”

Despite the appeal, Brady will see the field for his Thursday debut against the Steelers only because the league didn’t seek an emergency stay, freeing Brady to play while an appeals court considers the case, which likely will take months.

Photo: ESPN

If I were a Steelers fan man would I be pissssssed…

Or how about if you already drafted for fantasy? Brady moved from 24^th among quarterbacks to 6^th. Thank the heavens our TCD draft is tonight. MUAHAHA

So after seven months of declarations and appeals, is this it? Is Deflategate over? Not quite.

Hell, at this point I wouldn’t be surprised if Obama felt the need to hold a press conference on this matter even though eight police officers have been killed in the past nine days and nobody seems to care about that…

Our world is pretty messed up man.

 

Stay posted and we will fill you in as details continue to come to us on all this Tom Brady drama…

-Courtney

Will Smith Takes the NFL Head On in New Movie “Concussion”

Photo: Youtube Screenshot

Looks like Will Smith may be taking the NFL head on, literally.

The trailer for the new movie Concussion has been released, and Will Smith is playing the main role. If you read the GQ article “Game Brain” (by Jeanne Marie Laskas) back in 2009, this story will sound familiar to you.

Photo: Chocolate City

Directed by Peter Landesman, the film is based on the true story of the Nigerian-born forensic neuropathologist, Dr. Bennet Omalu (played by Will Smith).

Dr. Bennet Omalu? WHOOO-DEE-WHOOOO?

Oh ya know, just the first Doctor to discover and prove that repeated head trauma can cause a neuro-degenerative disease, called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which can lead to death.  

Yes, Dr. Omalu made his discovery after performing an autopsy on Mike Webster, the former Pittsburgh Steeler. Furthermore, he backed his discovery case after examining the brains of other NFL stars, including Terry Long, Andre Waters and Dave Duerson.

As if making the discovery wasn’t enough, Dr. Omalu had to fight to tell this new truth and make it known. And, well, the NFL wasn’t going to surrender to that fight easily.

As seen in the trailer, while Dr. Omalu is fighting for the truth, he is told, “You’re going to war with a corporation that owns a day of the week.” In fact, the NFL would continue to deny the connection, try to discredit him, accuse him of “fraud,” and even try to silence him.

This had all gone the exact opposite way that Dr. Omalu had predicted. Dr. Omalu said initially…

 “So I was excited. I thought the football industry would be happy with our new discovery. I thought naively that discovery of new information, unraveling new information, redefining concepts, I thought the football industry would embrace it — again, about my business experience — utilize it, turn it into some type of utility, some type of utility function to enhance the game. […] That was what I thought in my naive state of mind. But unfortunately I was proven wrong, that it wasn’t meant to be that way.”

Think about that for a second…

On top of all this, there is email proof that Sony altered the film to make sure it did not displease the NFL or cause protest. Seriously?! TELL THE TRUTH!

The movie will be hitting theaters on December 25, Christmas and, oh wait, smack dab before the NFL playoffs.

DROP THE MIC.

-Hailey

Why Johnny Manziel Should Be Cleveland’s Starting QB

Let me start out this article by saying that I am a diehard Cleveland Browns fan and I will be for life.

Just to give you an idea of this fandom I have for my team, here’s a quick story about the photo above. I went out and bought that jersey in Times Square in NYC on my first payday Friday at my first job post grad. I changed in the bathroom and wore it around work all day because it was “casual Friday.”

I grew up cheering for the Brownies and even “attended” many games in the DAWG POUND via my mother’s womb. So you can say we go back pretty FARR 😉

As a team, we have gone through 23 quarterbacks in my 23 years of life.

The most recent? Johnny, Johnny, Johnny.

Here’s my case for why Manziel deserves to be the starter, after just two preseason games:

1. Josh McCowan is downright awful. Sorry, but someone has to say it. Literally terrible. Old. He threw two interceptions in his dismal preseason performance.

2. Johnny Manziel has matured. He has learned from his lessons, and is continually learning.

3. He brings a competitive fire, an ability to scramble and excitement to the fans and the front office.

4. Cleveland had a solid run game last season and adds upon it this season with Isaiah Crowell, Duke Johnson (*great under the radar fantasy RB pick up*) and Terrance West. Johnny is a running QB, and one of the best of ’em.

5. Throughout the preseason, Manziel has gone 17 for 20 for 160 passing yards and a touchdown.

6. Most importantly, the game has appeared to slow down for him. He’s making better decisions on and off the field. He looks more poised in the pocket. And he wants to win.

The issue may be that his temporary long term elbow soreness may be caused from his throwing motion and could result in longer term issues.

“He does change his arm angle a lot, and quarterbacks that tend to drop their elbow on some throws will have a tendency for this to happen,” Pettine said earlier Monday during an interview with ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike.

The team believes that rest and maintenance can take care of the issue and the Browns expect Johnny Manziel to play on Saturday in the third preseason game in Tampa.

Now it’s time for the Browns to make the right decision and start their first round draft pick, now and for the rest of the season. It’s what the people want.

And that’s not just me saying it! 😉

-Morgan

Why Is Everyone Freaking Out About Steve Sarkisian Wanting to F*&%ing Fight On

Here at TCD we’re about three things: Babes 💋 Booze 🍺 and Ball Games 🏈. Steve Sarkisian covers two of the three in the past week (sorry for passive aggressively implying that you’re not a babe, Sark #GoCougs!)

ANYWAYS…

On Saturday, August 22nd Sarkisian allegedly mixed prescription medication and alcohol and yelled a long string of profanities before he was pulled off stages, resulting in him embarrassing himself in the public eye.

Here’s a video of the best clip of the speech…

I don’t know about everyone else, but I’ve seen a dude (or five) embarrass themselves at many a frat party back in my day. The only difference between that and Sarkisian, is that he is in the public eye (being the HEAD COACH at USC) and frat stars simply aren’t. Being in the public eye at almost all times requires you to really keep your sh!t together.

But here’s what gets me: SO F*&%ING WHAT! If anyone else was to go out and get plastered and string together choice words, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t hear people making a big deal about it (unless someone dare say anything politically incorrect… But I digress). Yes he’s in the spotlight, yes he’s a role model for younger men (and women), yes he has an example to set, yes I’m sure he has university guidelines he has to follow, but at the end of the day, he’s only human!

While I do believe it was the wrong place and wrong time to say these things, what are you going to do? We can debate, and debate, and debate; we can argue about how he has a problem, how he needs to go to rehab; we can go as far as saying he needs to be fired. Apparently it has come to light that Sarkisian is also going through a divorce and man, we know that’s tough. It may not be an excuse but it should be enough for people to give the poor guy some slack.

At the end of the day, Steve Sarkisian is just like you and me. A dude who loves to get his booze on and fight on. Just like Miley Cyrus (LOL) says, “everybody makes mistakes, everybody has those days.”

WE NEED TO GET OVER IT. Even though let’s face it, this may or may not have occurred because he’s a former UW Husky… What? Who said that?

Sarkisian issued an apology Tuesday, and also stated that he will not being consuming ANY alcohol during the 2015 season. We’ll see how long that lasts… Either way, good luck with that, Sark. We all know the Cougs wouldn’t be so concerned with this BS because let’s be real #WinOrLoseCougsStillBooze.

– Alexa

I See You Baby! UH HUH! Shaking That Thing!

The Arizona Rattlers, a team in the Arena Football League, had a surprise for their fans this halftime performance… A far from bite sized football player breaking it DOWN. Literally died. This is just, YES.

Thanks for giving us a good laugh! I wish I could drop into the splits like MJ… #impressed

Shout Out to All the Lefties!

IT’S LEFT-HANDER’S DAY! August 13th that is…

Cheers to a happy, happy day to these pro sports lefties! You da real M.V.P.

Manu Ginobili 🏀

James Harden 🏀

Clayton Kershaw ⚾️

Phil Mickelson ⛳️

Rafael Nadal 🎾

Shaquille O’Neal 🏀

Chris Sale ⚾️

Tim Tebow 🏈

Michael Vick 🏈

Bubba Watson ⛳️

Stay weird my friends.

XOXO,

Here’s a Jawbreaker- Geno Smith is OUT

Photo: Geno Smith Instagarm

Geno Smith is OUT. And the reason why is a jawbreaker… Literally.

IK Enemkpali “sucker punched” Smith in a locker room altercation over something described to be something you might see in “sixth grade” leaving Smith with a broken jaw (two fractures) and a seat on the bench for 6-10 weeks.

According to coach Todd Bowles,

“It was nothing to do with football. … It was very childish,” coach Todd Bowles said. “He got cold-cocked … sucker punched, whatever you want to call it, in the jaw. He’s got a broken jaw, a fractured jaw.”

Let’s go over that again.

I’m sorry, but if you are Enemkpali, you are described as a MARGINAL player and you’re going to SUCKER PUNCH the to be STARTING QB. In what world did that seem like a good idea? Needless to say, Enemkpali was released immediately after the altercation.

“It was something very childish, something sixth-graders could’ve talked about,” Bowles said. “It had no reason to happen.”

For REAL.

But don’t worry NY Jets fans. Your precious pony boy is in high spirits. Smith channelled his inner Arnold Schwarznegger posting this selfie saying “ILL BE BACK!”

So now the question we’re all wondering about… Who’s stepping up to the QB plate now?

The Jets have Ryan Fitzpatrick and Bryce Petty to work with now, but really were not planning on using them this soon. Just months ago we had coach Bowles over and over reassuring Jets fans Geno Smith would indeed be there starter. But hey, this is sports- In other words, be prepared for anything. Like a marginal player sucker punching your season’s future in the face. Fabulous.

Just before the altercation occurred coaches were telling media how pleased they were with Smith’s performance in practice heading into the season. Until Monday, Smith hadn’t even thrown an interception. That’s not to say the back up QB’s are not prepared or qualified to take over. After all, let’s not go over Smith’s past season records…

Veteran back up QB Fitzpatrick will take over for the Jets, but Bowles did indicate they may be adding another QB into the mix. Cue Bryce Petty. Although Petty hasn’t been giving the best performance we’ve seen during camp, the kid is still talented.

But back to Fitzpatrick.

This is NOT a bad deal for the Jets at all. Yeah, I said it. Numbers never lie folks… Last season with Houston, Fitzpatrick killed it for the Texans and frankly, shamed Smith’s numbers.

Last season Fitzpatrick accumulated a career-high 56.7 Total Quarterback Rating on the strength of a 63.1 completion percentage and a touchdown-completion ratio (2.12) that ranked No. 13 in the NFL. Compare that to Smith, whose 1.0 touchdown-interceptions ratio ranked No. 30 in the league. Smith’s QBR of 44.3 ranked at a low No. 26.

See what I’m saying here? Not a bad deal at all.

Smith is one of the most inconsistent QB’s in the league. Yes, the Jets franchise is trying to prove a point as to making a decision in whether Geno is their go to guy moving forward, but it’s not too far off to say the Jets just got blessed by an angel with this jawbreaking news…

– Courtney