The
■orts
Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2007
Clackamas Print
7
\bundance of football injuries hurts teams
Melanie Fisher
Hie Clackamas Print
I pm starting to wonder
¡here will even be a Super
twl this year, considering
it no team can seem to beat
5 plague of team injuries
it surrounds the NFL this
ison.
We are only into week 6,
1 quite a few teams already
/e between 7 and 11 play-
s mured.
lEven the poor Seattle
lafflwks can’t beat the
.gut. Shaun A lexander has
urea his wrist and is listed
orobab le to play. With their
uerstar injured, will the
ankle, knee, toe, hamstring or
groin injuries.
St Louis is going to strug
gle, considering that former
Oregon State University star
Steven Jackson is out with a
groin injury.
Baltimore has even more
problems, with their starting
Quarterback Steve McNair
out with a back injury.
The New York Giants are
going to have to trust the
young Eli Manning with their
fate this season, since Chad
Pennington is out with an
ankle injury.
It seems as though all we
may be watching on Super
Bowl Sunday this year is the
half-time performer.
team be able to stand up to
Super Bowl contenders?
„
Seattle isn’t the only
team that is bruised. Every
single team has at least one
player down with an injury.
These injuries are going
to hurt many teams’ chances
of contending for a Super
Bowl ring. Coaches are hav
ing to revamp their offense or
defense and, in some cases,
are even throwing in the new
guy. Teams are being forced
to come up with a new plan
in order to beat some of their
opponents.
It seems like most of the
injuries this season are to the
lower part of players’ bodies.
Many players are out with
Courtesy of the Seattle Seahawks 2007
Shaun Alexander injured his wrist
but is listed as probable to play.
■BA Preseason 2007
lale Balbi
Houston Rockets
jhejÇlackamas Print
The NBA season is upon us,
ngBg exciting, young talent
d savvy veterans.
Some of those players have
w teams or are entering
) league for their inaugural
npaign. Other players have
igned with teams that are a
sat fit for their abilities.
The preseason gives us a
ak peak at the teams thriving
vand championship stardom,
lilel. other teams are looking
■ that competitive edge. With
it said, here are teams to watch
, as well as players who could
ike an impact this season.
Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks have a lot of
ung talent.
1 Rookie Al Horford, the
twks’ first-round pick out of
)rida, could make an impact
w. He was the first guy drafted
•m tiie Florida Gators National
lampionship team, so he has a
' of promise.
¡ However, the Hawks have so
^iny forwards that their roster
^K>les a shaken-up soda bot-
. waiting to explode - though,
^Bd could see playing time
center due to his fine pre-
■play.
The Rockets are expected to
make the playoffs with not only
their young talent, but with their
two all-stars Tracy McGrady and
Yao Ming.
However, they are in a similar
situation as the Hawks. Instead
of an overload of forwards, the
Rockets have a surplus of guards
- not to mention they failed to
add a pure athlete to their ros
ter, and as a result are on the
decline.
Seattle Supersonics
The Sonics have high hopes
and expectations for rookie phe
nomenon Kevin Durant because
he’s the only player on the roster
who is a lock to be in the starting
lineup.
After losing Ray Allen
(Boston) and Rashard Lewis
(Orlando) to free agency, the
Sonics look to be in rebuilding
mode. Sure, Durant will put up
big numbers, but the rest of the
players’ roles are in doubt.
Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies battled through
injuries to their valuable players,
such as Pau Gasol and Damon
Stoudamire.
Now they have young, skilled
point guardMikeConley. Conley,
the number-four pick in the NBA
Portland
■RAllßLAZERS
Utah
JAZZ
1 Denver
mu J ggets
>s Angeles
LAKERS
Dallas
IAVERICKS
’Phoenix
ISUNS
'Memphis
¿RliZZLIES
East Playoffs
My upset pick is lhe New
Jersey Nets over the Miami Heat
because the Nets have secured
their top scorer, Vince Carter,
who is a beast when it comes to
in-game tenacity - not to men
tion this lineup has Jason Kidd
and fellow teammate Richard
Jefferson.
hi the end, there will be a
Celtics versus Pistons east final,
and believe it or not, the Boston
Celtics will win the series. The
Celtics look really poised so far,
and they now have three go
to guys in Kevin Garnett, Ray
Allen and Paul Pierce.
West Playoffs
Orlando Magic
The Magic have at least three
shooters in Hedo Turkoglu, JJ
Redick and Rashard Lewis, tiie
latter of whom signed with tiie
Magic in the off-season.
According to Yahoo Sports,
Redick tore tissue in his foot
last year while playing a pick-up
game of basketball. During this
preseason, Redick has been on
fire, netting at least two three-
pointers a game. Back in his
college day at Duke, this was
the norm.
In the west finals, there will be
a meeting with the San Antonio
Spurs and the Phoenix Suns. Call
me crazy, but this will be the year
the Phoenix Suns beat the San
Antonio Spurs. We know that
San Antonio has tiie recipe for a
championship, but the Phoenix
Suns had the Spurs on the ropes
last year in the playoffs.
As the Suns meet the Celtics
in tiie finals, they have finally
found their niche in 2008. The
sun won’t set this time as the
Suns will finally rise, and for the
rest of us, it’s time to wake up.
Preseason Predictions
( "S
in Antonio
IsPURS
With all of those shooters and
a dominant big man in Dwight
Howard, this is a sleeper team
that could make the playofis.
Draft, has the prototype to be one
of the purest point guards in the
game. As a result, he could start
and make an impact now.
This team can make the
playofis over the Golden State
Warriors, and here’s why:
As posted on the Warriors’
Web site, the Warriors face a two-
dollar-steak type of tough sched
ule. They play the San Antonio
Spurs, then the next night against
the Dallas Mavericks, Memphis
Grizzlies and the New Orleans
Hornets. All of those games are
on the road - and just before
tiie final month, they have the
Denver Nuggets in Denver and
Dallas at home.
However, on their Web site, the
Grizzlies have two match-ups on
their schedule with a rebuilding
Minnesota limberwolves squad
that’s without Kevin Garnett on
their roster. The Grizzlies could
surprise this season.
San Antonio
SPURS
Boston
CELTICS
San Antonio
SPURS
Boston
CELTICS
Denver
NUGGETS
■ Western Conference
Cleveland
BULLS
Boston
CELTICS
Miami
Dallas
MAVERICKS
eS
Washington
WIZARDS
Cleveland CAVALIERS
CAVALIERS Chicago
Phoenix
SUNS
Phoenix
SUNS
Boston
CELTICS
New Jersey
HEAT
NETS
New Jersey
Detroit
PISTONS
Phoenix
SUNS
•
rnoenix
SUNS
NETS
Detroit
PISTONS
Detroit
PISTONS
Orlando
MAGIC
Eastern Conference
NFL is supposed to stand for
National Football League, not the No
Fun League.
In 2006, the NFL cracked down on
touchdown celebrations by amending
rules to include an automatic 15-yard
penalty for any dance in which a play
er leaves his feet or uses a prop.
Terrell Owens is probably the most
notorious for these distasteful touch
down dances.
In 2002, when playing against the
Seahawks, Owens removed a sharp
ie from his sock and proceeded to
sign the ball before handing it to his
financial adviser sitting near the end
zone. In 2004, when playing against
the Ravens, he mocked the dance
of linebacker Ray Lewis, a five-time
Pro-Bowl participant and respected
player.
More recently, in light of the
Patriots’ videotaping scandal, Owens
held the. ball like an old-fashioned
wind-up video camera and “taped” the
Dolphins sidelines.
Owens needs to learn the difference
between being creative and just plain
offensive.
Another player who decided to step
over the line of what is acceptable
celebration is Falcons wide receiver
Joe Hom. After a touchdown in 2003
against the New York Giants, Hom
pulled a cell phone from the padding
of the goalpost where he had hidden it
earlier and called his family. He was
immediately given a 15-yard penalty
and a $30,000 fine.
Chad Johnson, on the other hand, is
a true revolutionary when it comes to
touchdown dances. The Bengals wide
receiver started the creative dances in
2005 when he did an interpretation of
river dancing after scoring a touch
down.
In maybe the best touchdown cel
ebration I have ever heard of, Johnson
pretended to propose to a Bengals
cheerleader after scoring a touchdown,
and she accepted the mock proposal.
After being fined by the NFL sever
al weeks in a row, Johnson celebrated
his next touchdown by holding up a
sign that read “Dear NFL, please don’t
fine me again!!!”
Ironically, he was fined again.
He has also performed CPR on the
ball, the chicken dance and an imita
tion of Tiger Woods that ended up
costing him $5,000 in fines.
I understand that football players’
egos are getting out of control and that
the rule was made so that “unsports
manlike” conduct wasn’t promoted
- but what about the fans?
Most fans enjoy seeing creative
touchdown celebrations. The few play
ers who cross the line - like Owens
- shouldn’t min it for everyone.
These dances are a tradition start
ed by greats such as Elbert “Ickey”
Woods, who started the classic Ickey
Shuffle, and O.J. Santiago, who sup
posedly created the “Dirty Bird” dance
■ed by the Atlanta Falcons. These
nces were done because the player
had made an amazing score and was
expressing his joy in a creative way
for the fans’ enjoyment.
The bottom line is that the NFL has
to draw the line somewhere, and some
touchdown dances will end up on the
wrong side. But as long as players are
willing to continue paying the fine,
the tradition should triumph over the
No Fun League - oops, I mean the
National Football League.
Sportsed@clackamas.edu