NBA Trade Deadline: Moves Made

The trade deadline was pretty uneventful. Twenty-one players changed teams, and none were named Dwight Howard or Josh Smith. As a matter of fact, no full-time starters were dealt as teams have become more conservative with there moolah while adjusting to a highly restrictive new labor deal.

The biggest deal of 2013 came three weeks before the trade deadline when Toronto received Rudy Gay from Memphis. But the season’s biggest deal came back in October, when Houston got James Harden from the Thunder.

As dry as the trade day was...as an FYI, here are a list of some moves made.

Super Bowl 2013: Why Jacoby Jones Deserved MVP

Quarterbacks have earned the title of “Super Bowl MVP” 25 times out of 46 games. Over the last 10 Super Bowls games played  the QB has won it 7 times ( Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning (twice), Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, and Joe Flacco), WR has won it 3 times (Deion Branch, Hines Ward,  and Santonio Holmes).

The award almost always goes to the QB position. It’s not as if there aren’t other deserving players on that field. The thought is “ok so he caught 400 yards BUT the QB threw him the ball”.

While it’s fair to argue no position is more important to a team’s success than Quarterback, it’s also fair to argue that voters have shown a bias and in some cases have blatantly disregarded other worthy candidates. 

I’m not saying that Flacco didn’t play well, but he didn’t do anything extraordinary for the QB position. He didn’t do anything that we hadn’t seen in the Super Bowl before. He was regular and reliable.

Wide receiver Jacoby Jones on the other hand…had a record night.

Flacco finishes with 287 yards passing.  The guy who perhaps should have won the award finished with three more.

Jacoby Jones had a Super Bowl-record 290 combined yards, via 56 receiving yards and 234 return yards, including the longest play and longest kickoff return in Super Bowl history (108 yards).

The two best plays of the game by either team were the Jones “oops you didn’t touch me” TD and the 108 yard kick return.

Both players had great games. There is a separating factor tho…Jacoby Jones is in the Super Bowl record books now..Flacco's not. I’m just saying.

As a matter of fact, I could even make a small case for Anquan Boldin, but I have to face is it... in a Super Bowl, the tie goes to the QB. That is just a fact.

Super Bowl MVP's By Position

Quarterback	26
Running Back	7
Wide Receiver	6
Defensive End	2
Linebacker	2
Safety	2
Cornerback	1
Defensive Tackle	1
Kick Returner/Punt Returner	1

Follow me : @beautyofsports

Super Bowl Party 101: What NOT To Wear (Ladies)

Repost:

If you're anything like me, you are trying to figure out what to wear to that Super Bowl party without looking desperate for attention. You tell yourself "I don't want to be too jazzy, but I don't want to be too comfortable. To most women  a big party means a fabulous dress and killer heel. Welp...sorry….this aint' that kind of party beauty!

Manti Te'o: The Story Gets Better....

FYI: You would have to read my blog blog post preceding this one to know all the characters mentioned below!

Further complicating the still-unfolding story is a report that an NFL player is insisting Teo's girlfriend is real. Reagan Mauia, an Arizona Cardinals fullback, said he believes Kekua exist because he met her in person when he and other Polynesian teammates and Pittsburgh Steelers star Troy Polamalu did charity work in June 2011.

"This was before her and Manti," Mauia said Wednesday evening. "I don't think Manti was even in the picture, but she and I became good friends. We would talk off and on, just checking up on each other kind of thing. I am close to her family. When she was going through the loss of her father, I was -- I offered a comforting shoulder and just someone to bounce her emotions off. That was just from meeting her in Samoa."

Mauia said Tuiasosopo (I mention who Tuiasosopo is here) -- whom Mauia believes is Kekua's cousin -- introduced the two. After the initial meeting, Mauia said he met her at an "after-party" for all of the athletes involved in the camp. "She was tall," he said. "Volleyball-type of physique. She was athletic, tall, beautiful. Long hair. Polynesian. She looked like a model ... " When reached by ESPN.com on Wednesday night, former University of Washington and NFL quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo acknowledged that he is a cousin of Ronaiah Tuiasosopo but said he never had met or heard of Kekua.

Mauia said it is his understanding that Kekua's mother is operating her Twitter account. He said he'd never met her mother. When told by a reporter that she apparently might not have existed, Mauia said: "No, she is real."

Wow!

Credit: NY Post

Manti Te'o: Victim or Perpetrator In "Dead" Girlfriend Hoax?

If you're trying to make sense of the news that Notre Dame football star Manti Te'o now says he was the victim of a hoax and that the woman he thought was his "girlfriend" never existed and never died….good luck!

Notre Dame athletic director, Jack Swarbrick, put his neck on the line for football star Te’o in last night’s press conference and I hope he has prepared himself for the real truth that is bound to come out of this. Maybe he knows something we don’t know. But based on my research, Te’o is not a victim….he’s a liar. Wait…I take that back. He was misleading…that sounds better.

Notre Dame says a story about Manti Te'o's girlfriend dying, which he said inspired him to play better as he helped his team get to the BCS National Championship, turned out to be a hoax apparently perpetrated against the star linebacker. The school went as far as to hire an investigator (who paid for that?)!

There are so many inconsistencies and questions that Te’o must answer and my gut feeling tells me that when it comes down to that….Notre Dame will not like what they hear.

Beauties Picks: NFL Playoffs, Divisional Round

Baltimore at Denver, Sat., 4:30 p.m. ET, CBS

I’m sure you watched the games last week. Guess how many yards of offense Indy was able to put up against the Ravens….419. So you have to ask yourself…if Luck did that..what damage will his predecessor’s team do? The Broncos are a top-five offense and top-five defense playing at home. Flacco didn’t impress me last week so the Ravens hopes lay on the shoulders of their defense (as always)…limit Peyton's possessions = best chance to win for Baltimore.

Pick: Denver

Confidence: 4

Beauties Picks: NFL Playoffs, Wild Card Round

What’s better than NFL Playoff Football? For the avid football fan…NOTHING! (You don’t have to  answer….that was a rhetorical question for you because you could probably think of a lot of things).

The wild card round of the NFL playoffs will kick-off tomorrow and I have my picks ready for your review. I included confidence levels on a scale from 1 to 5 with 1 being not sure at all and 5 being about 99.9% sure I’m right. I did that because some of the games will be too close to call in the future rounds of the playoffs…. none but one in this round.

Below are my picks ... with an upset right off the bat. Any issues, hit me up. @beautyofsports

Happy New Year

Just wanted to say Happy New Year to all my readers. I am still recovering from the Dallas Cowboys loss to the Redskins so it will be another day or two before I can bring myself to discuss anything sports related. But you better believe...it's coming!

Check back later this week!

Disgruntled fan,

BOS

NFL Player Dead After Murder-Suicide

 

Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher fatally shot his girlfriend Saturday, then drove to Arrowhead Stadium and committed suicide in front of his coach and general manager.

Authorities did not release a possible motive for the murder-suicide, though police said that Belcher and his girlfriend, 22-year-old Kasandra M. Perkins, had been arguing recently. The two of them have an infant child.

Belcher thanked general manager Scott Pioli and coach Romeo Crennel before shooting himself in the parking lot of the team's practice facility, police spokesman Darin Snapp said. Police had locked it down by midmorning and reporters were confined to the street just outside the gates.

Belcher was a 25-year-old native of West Babylon, N.Y., on Long Island, who played college ball at Maine. He signed with the Chiefs an undrafted free agent, made the team and stayed with it for four years, moving into the starting lineup. He'd played in all 11 games this season.

WNBA: Chamique Holdsclaw Arrested For Shooting At Ex-Girlfriend

AP

Former WNBA and University of Tennessee star Chamique Holdsclaw is in custody after being accused of shooting into a an ex-girlfriend’s car after using a bat to break its windows.

Atlanta police said Thursday the incident happened Tuesday after Holdsclaw followed 29-year-old Jennifer Lacy to her car. No one was injured. Lacy identified the 35-year-old Holdsclaw as an ex-girlfriend. They were teammates with the Atlanta Dream in 2009. Lacy now plays for the Tulsa Shock.

Jennifer Lacy claimed that Holdsclaw approached her in a parking lot Tuesday and asked to put some things in her car. Lacy smelled gasoline in her Range Rover as she drove off and saw that Holdsclaw was following her. Lacy said she drove to a friend’s house, where Holdsclaw got out of her car and began smashing the windows of Lacy’s SUV with a baseball bat. According to reports, she pulled a handgun and fired inside the Range Rover, then left. Police said they recovered a 9mm shell casing at the scene and local news reports that police said she may have been trying to ignite gasoline in the car by firing the gun.

Holdsclaw was in custody Thursday night in Fulton County Jail. Her bond was set at $10,000 on one charge each of aggravated assault, second-degree criminal damage and reckless conduct.

Lacy issued a statement via twitter:

"I want to thank my family, friends, fans and Shock family for their concern during this difficult time," Lacy said. "I have never felt more love from my fans in supporting me."

Holdsclaw has been battling clinical depression, which included a suicide attempt during her pro career.

Holdsclaw attempted suicide in 2006 as a member of the Los Angeles Sparks by overdosing on the medication she was taking for clinical depression. She also wouldn't leave her Washington home for a few days in 2004, two years after the death of the grandmother who raised her.

Wozzers. Keep everyone involved in your prayers.