Sports Page Network - The Fan's Sports Blog Network

Phillies hang on for fifth-straight, sweep Cubs

Fri, 18 May 2012 05:50:51 GMT

They scored early and often. Then they piled on. Thank goodness for that. The Phillies, who never cease to make things interesting, found a way to do just that in a game that looked over. The result never changed, and finally Roy Halladay was a winner again. Sure, it took a lot of extra, unneeded [...]

NBA Playoffs: Day 20 Recap

Fri, 18 May 2012 04:25:24 GMT

Indiana Pacers 94 vs Miami Heat 75, (IND leads series 2-1)- The Pacers throttled the Heat at home and took control of this series. Tensions were flaring as Lebron James and Danny Granger yet again got into a face-to-face arguement that opened up the floodgates for the Indiana Pacers. The Bosh-less Heat were overmatched by center Roy Hibbert who had ...

Will the Orioles Success Continue?

Fri, 18 May 2012 04:12:05 GMT

Who would have thought that the Baltimore Orioles would be tied for the second best record in all of baseball 38 games into the season? Buck Showalter’s club has an American League East leading (25-14) record, and they show no signs of slowing down anytime soon. The man who deserves the most praise for the Orioles great start, is their ...

What Every First Round Loser Needs In the Offseason to Advance Further Next Season

Fri, 18 May 2012 04:09:58 GMT

With the first round over teams will now be wachjng from home on their couches. To a avoid this next season here is what these guys need to do so they can be playing still this time next year. New York Knicks Missing: Pure Distributor. Free Agent who could fix it: Steve Nash Why: Yeah, yeah. It’s the popular pick. This pick ...

NFL: Rolando McClain Found Guilty, Gets Jail Time

Fri, 18 May 2012 04:07:05 GMT

Oakland Raiders’ linebacker Rolando McClain was found guilty on charges of third-degree assault, menacing, discharging a handgun in city limits, and reckless endangerment, according to CSN. He was fined $2000 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, starting June 1. McClain was arrested following a Nov. 30 incident in his hometown of Decatur, Alabama. The Decatur Police Department alleged that McClain assaulted ...

NBA Draft: Who Is Tony Wroten?

Fri, 18 May 2012 04:03:38 GMT

Tony Wroten is a polarizing player in the 2012 draft. Is he a point guard or isn’t he? Is he a bad shooter or does he have bad shot selection? Is he coachable? Will he end up being a steal in the twenties or a bust? I think, of all the point guards in the draft, and I do believe ...

Red Cards: The Elephant In the Room

Fri, 18 May 2012 12:21:56 GMT

In past interviews, Commissioner Garber stated that he is pressing for referees to make more consistent calls on fouls.

His position seems to be that hard-line refereeing is needed in order for the offense to open up and for more goals to be scored.

"The league and U.S. Soccer are working closely together to try to do everything we can to raise the quality of refereeing in our league," Garber said. "Nobody wants to see persistent fouls and persistent infringement and attacking players constantly being pulled, clutched and thrown to the ground. That's just not good soccer. We need to be sure we're not just protecting a specific individual player, but we're protecting the concept of supporting entertaining, quality play," he added.

The biggest point towards what he is trying to say is that the sport lacks offense. If each individual game is not called by the refs to the letter of the rule, it impinges on the potential for creativity and more scoring.

It is the one issue that has been consistently avoided by the commissioner and others representing pro Soccer in the U.S. From a public relations standpoint, no one seems to want to directly address that there is not enough scoring in Soccer for American fans.

It appears that the Commish uses his words on the matter of improving refereeing to cover up a bigger issue.

Simply put, referees can not call the game the way it should be called because there is only one caution and then the player is tossed with a Red Card.

In other words, there are really only two fouls as compared to other sports, like pro basketball, where there are 6 fouls before a player is asked to leave.

But, the big difference between an NBA player leaving after 6 fouls is that he gets replaced by another player. The game does not become 5 versus 4 players. Or, like in pro hockey, players are given time penalties to sit out of the game, but not expelled.

Referees are not stupid people.

They know that too many red cards will detract from what is expected when fans watch a match and that no one wants to see an unfair advantage.

A red card produces unfair advantages by giving teams 11 against 10 players on the first one issued. Officials, therefore, try their hardest to give red cards only in the worst circumstances.

Garber is unrealistic in his hopes for more offense and less physical play. There's a sense of dishonesty to what he says as he talks around the issue.

American fans are always going to plead for more scoring from Soccer. Without more scoring, there will always be doubt as to how far pro Soccer (MLS) can go versus the other bigtime leagues. If being #5 after the NHL, MLB, NBA and NFL is satisfactory, then, no improvements are necessary. If rising to the top of all the leagues is the goal, then, scoring will have to improve.

Soccer's Red Card rule needs to be adjusted to allow for another player to enter the game for the suspended player. Readers can see much more on this suggested rule change and how to enforce it by reading Americanizing Soccer for the U.S. Sports Fan pt. 3.

Currently, there is not any real plan in action. It's impossible for there to be a plan because MLS does not control how the game is played. MLS does not have the ability that the other major sports have in this country to come together as a rules committee at the end of the season and make subtle adjustments for the pleasure of the sports fans and the sound judgment of the game.

MLS always has a back story for why things happen. There is no common sense answer for how to improve things because this is a league not running on its own merit, rather, its running according to how its told to run.

In order to improve scoring or improve refereeing, MLS will have to be bold enough to break away and learn to lead, like a baby bird growing up, eventually flying from its Mother's nest to go and build its own nest.

Ask A Blogger Series: BloggerSoDear Talks Wake Forest Spring Football

Thu, 17 May 2012 10:25:20 GMT

We keep going with @HokieGuru’s series and today we are looking at Wake Forest. The Deacs are that team you can’t ever underestimate. Good evening from @HokieGuru. I’m here today to discuss the ACC spring football practice with each bloggers from each of the 12 Atlantic Coast Conference teams. What follows is our interview with …

2004 CNBC interview with Mark Zuckerberg (video)

Thu, 17 May 2012 09:06:23 GMT

As if Facebook isn’t in the news enough, they are even more talked about this week than usual. Yep, they have that little IPO thing happening and apparently some people care. You think founder Mark Zuckerberg is awkward now? Well, in this 2004 CNBC clip where he describes his new company, he’s even more awkward. [...]

Red Bulls Trade Juan Agudelo to Chivas USA

Thu, 17 May 2012 07:18:04 GMT

After winning their fourth straight game and vaulting into first place in the East, the Red Bulls have made a puzzling move. With only one healthy striker available, Juan Agudelo has been sent to Chivas USA for Defender Heath Pearce. A trade that allows Heath Pearce to come to the Red Bulls seems somewhat suspect, with [...]

New York Giants Receive Their Rings, Finally!

Thu, 17 May 2012 05:57:32 GMT

It is about time the New York Giants received their Super Bowl XLVI Championship rings! Being mid May, the Super Bowl where the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 21-17 happened more than two months ago. The team captains Eli Manning, Justin Tuck and Zak DeOssie along with team president John Mara, [...]

Co-defendant to testify against McClain

Thu, 17 May 2012 05:43:46 GMT

From good news to worse news for Oakland Raiders LB Rolando McClain. Yesterday, video surfaced of the incident that has him facing charges of third-degree assault, menacing, reckless endangerment and discharging a firearm. That’s bad enough, but now, his co-defendant has agreed to testify against him. Jaradious Williams has agreed to plead guilty to third-degree [...]

LPGA Brings Their Show to the Tri-State Area

Thu, 17 May 2012 04:56:10 GMT

After a strong start to the 2012 season, the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) comes to the east coast for three events in four weeks. The first two events take place in New Jersey: The Sybase Match Play Championship, taking place this week in Gladstone, N.J. and the ShopRite LPGA Classic, in Galloway, N.J. [...]

LeBron Will Find A Way To Fail

Thu, 17 May 2012 03:04:20 GMT

LeBron James, the now three-time NBA MVP, as he was just crowned as such for 2012, is coming off of the best individual NBA regular season of all time. King James averaged 27.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists in the condensed 66 games regular season of 2012. He is so much fun to watch [...]

Keeping up with your Oriole News–Late rally brings extra innings and a win for the Birds

Thu, 17 May 2012 02:59:26 GMT

Keeping up with your Oriole News The Orioles went into Wednesday nights game still tied for first place in the American League east. The Orioles looked like they would fall on Wednesday night, but a late rally brought them a victory. The scoring did not get started until the bottom of the 5th inning, when

With passion, Papelbon gives Phillies dominant closer again

Thu, 17 May 2012 02:30:28 GMT

He’s quirky, he’s emotional, he’s passionate. Those three words could easily describe the Phillies new closer, Jonathan Papelbon. In the Phillies first 38 games, Papelbon has 10 saves in 10 save opportunities, one of three closers in baseball without a blown save this season. Six of those saves have come in perfect innings for the [...]

NBA Playoffs: Day 19 Recap

Thu, 17 May 2012 02:26:48 GMT

Boston Celtics 107 vs Philadelphia Sixers 91, (BOS leads series 2-1)- You figured that the Sixers would come fired up being at home and just stealing a game in Boston. But that was the case for the first quarter and then the Celtics woke up and started to put it to the Sixers. The C’s had three double-double’s from there Big ...

The Struggles of Udonis Haslem

Thu, 17 May 2012 02:25:13 GMT

With Chris Bosh possibly out for the rest of the playoffs, the Miami Heat need someone to step up. Udonis Haslem, the heart and soul of the Heat, is the only other big-man they have that can score. He has a nice mid-range shot, along with a strong inside game. Yet since head coach Erik Spoelstra moved Chris Bosh to ...

Good Guys, Slow Play, and Out-of-Control Fans

Thu, 17 May 2012 02:00:07 GMT

If you watched The Player’s Championship this weekend you saw to where the PGA Tour has evolved. It reminded me of the classic western, “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.” THE GOOD guys were all those who sported pink in support for the Breast Care Awareness Initiative, and what better a day to do it than Mother’s Day !!! ...

Is Tiger “Toast” ???

Thu, 17 May 2012 01:57:07 GMT

Anyone that knows me understands that there was a time when I admired Tiger Woods, not for his well-honed golf skills, but because he was capable of “thinking” his way around the golf course. It seemed that every time we saw Tiger ”go low” in a round, it was because he had hit the ball to the smart part of ...

Fear Not, The Future of Golf is in Good Hands

Thu, 17 May 2012 01:19:41 GMT

Each year, one of the sure-fire rights of spring is The Masters. Every golfer tuning in cannot help but marvel at all of Augusta’s colourful flora and fauna. This year, however, the strange warm winter caused much of the plant life to bloom prematurely, but that didn’t stop what I like to call “Golf’s Future” from blooming all over the ...

Are The Knicks Making A Mistake Not Making an Offer to Phil Jackson

Thu, 17 May 2012 11:52:10 GMT

It looks as if the New York Knicks are close to making an official offer to bring back interim head coach Mike Woodson. Is that a foolish move with the Zen master available? Should the Knicks make a full court press in trying to get Phil Jackson to coach the team, or has Mike Woodson proven that he is [...]

Clubbing the Cubs: Ruiz belts winner, Luna slams dagger in Phils rout

Thu, 17 May 2012 03:59:43 GMT

One day after having to overcome an error in the ninth to win in the tenth, the Phillies had to overcome another. Only this time, they had five innings to do it. The Phillies, who in previous games may have let runs like that kill them, rallied back to tie the game almost immediately, then [...]

Ask A Blogger Series: CUBOSCO Talks Clemson University Spring Football

Thu, 17 May 2012 02:39:49 GMT

Clemson is up next in @HokieGuru’s Ask a Blogger series. Can they defend the ACC title? Good evening from @HokieGuru. I’m here today to discuss the ACC spring football practice with each bloggers from each of the 12 Atlantic Coast Conference teams. What follows is our interview with @CUBOSCO on Clemson University football. @CUBOSCO, James Bostic, …

Teams That Won’t Be Returning To the Playoffs — And Who Will Replace Them

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:55:15 GMT

Every year, roughly half of the NFL Playoff teams are teams who were not there the previous year. I will give a prediction as to who may find themselves on the couch during playoff season, and who could replace them in the chase for the Lombardi Trophy. First, lets take a look back to last year’s playoff seeds from each ...

Gridiron Gala: Namath Talks Tebow/Sanchez, Nicks Says Eli is “Elite”

Thu, 17 May 2012 02:38:57 GMT

The New York Jets and Giants are two franchises who spent a majority of the 2011 season on a very even keel. Both had similar records and both spent the final weeks of the season fighting tooth and nail for a playoff berth. That was however, until the Giants defeated the Jets on Christmas day [...]

More good news for the Phillies, Worley to the DL

Thu, 17 May 2012 02:41:45 GMT

The 2012 season has not been too good to the Philadelphia Phillies. They’ve been in last place most of the season and just got their first three-game winning streak of the season on Tuesday. Not good for a team with a huge payroll and World Series aspirations. Now, the team gets some more good news. [...]

Phillies in Wrigley for quick series with Cubs

Wed, 16 May 2012 03:00:00 GMT

It’s uncharted territory for the Phillies as they head to Chicago. The Phillies are on their first real winning streak of the season. After beating the Astros in dramatic fashion yesterday afternoon, they carry their winning ways into Chicago, where they could be on the plus side of things by the end of the series. [...]

Why Chris Bosh is a legitimate Center in the NBA

Wed, 16 May 2012 02:56:12 GMT

For the past two NBA seasons, the Miami Heat has been harshly criticized for their roster moves. They did not sign a legitimate centre in the first season of the Big Three, and instead to chase one in free agency this year, signed perimeter players instead. Fans, the media and just about anyone can tell you that having an adequate ...

NBA Playoffs: Day 18 Recap

Wed, 16 May 2012 02:55:27 GMT

Indiana Pacers 78 vs Miami Heat 75, (series tied 1-1)- Things started to get chippy towards the end, which points to all indications that this is going to be a great series to watch in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers hung around long enough to take advantage of the non-post prescense of the Miami Heat. Captain David West put in 16 ...