This Week in Sports
Monday of this week was the deadline for NFL teams to sign franchise-tagged players to contract extensions. Some players were able to come to agreements with their teams, while there were also some big named players who were unable to come to contract extensions.
Running back Ray Rice and the Baltimore Ravens agreed to a five year deal that will pay Rice roughly $40 million. The Ravens and their standout running back went right up to the 4 P.M. ET deadline hammering out details of the contract. Had an agreement not been reached, Rice would have had to play the 2012 season out on a $7.7 million one year tender; instead he will make $17 million this season and $8 million in 2013.
Running back Matt Forte and the Chicago Bears were also able to hammer out a contract extension. Forte and the Bears agreed to a four year $32 million contract that will give Forte more than $18 million guaranteed. This contract raises Forte’s money for this season a little bit from the $7.7 million tender that he would have had to play under if not for the contract extension.
Running back Ray Rice and the Baltimore Ravens agreed to a five year deal that will pay Rice roughly $40 million. The Ravens and their standout running back went right up to the 4 P.M. ET deadline hammering out details of the contract. Had an agreement not been reached, Rice would have had to play the 2012 season out on a $7.7 million one year tender; instead he will make $17 million this season and $8 million in 2013.
Running back Matt Forte and the Chicago Bears were also able to hammer out a contract extension. Forte and the Bears agreed to a four year $32 million contract that will give Forte more than $18 million guaranteed. This contract raises Forte’s money for this season a little bit from the $7.7 million tender that he would have had to play under if not for the contract extension.
Some big named players to not get extensions were wide receivers Wes Welker of the New England Patriots and Dwayne Bowe of the Kansas City Chiefs. Welker will play the season out on a $9.515 million tender that he signed earlier in the off-season in March. Bowe will play for a tender for about the same amount of money as Welker, but has of now he has not signed his tender and his showing up to training camp is still up in the air. |  Bowe needs to step his game up this year in order for the Chiefs to have a chance in the AFC West |
The NBA has seen some more movement in free agency and player news. The big news this week was about the New York Knicks and Jeremy Lin. Linsanity is officially over in New York as Lin will be moving onto Houston to play for the Rockets after signing their back-loaded three year $25.1 million offer sheet. For more in-depth analysis on Lin and the Knicks, follow this link.
The Los Angeles teams also had some news this week, some good some bad. The good news for the Los Angeles teams is for the Lakers, who were able to sign Antawn Jamison to strengthen their already strong team. Jamison and the Lakers agreed to a one year deal for the veterans’ minimum. It is a steal for the Lakers who lacked off the bench last season at the forward position with the trading away of Lamar Odom. Jamison should fill that bench role extremely well and makes the Lakers even stronger contenders for the NBA Championship.
The bad news for the Los Angeles basketball scene of course falls upon the Clippers. The Clippers star forward Blake Griffin suffered a knee injury early in the week while playing with Team USA . He was taken back to Los Angeles where it was revealed that Griffin had a torn meniscus in his left knee and would require surgery. This is a big blow to the Clippers, as they just agreed to a max contract extension worth five years and $98 million with Griffin .
MLB also had their share of injuries this week, as two All-Stars suffered injuries that will require DL stints. First baseman Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds was placed on the DL with a torn meniscus and will be out 3-4 weeks. Votto injured the knee June 29th sliding into third base and has been playing through it, evident in the steep drop of his production.
Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista suffered an injured left wrist while swinging and was also placed on the 15-day DL. Bautista’s injury is being called inflammation in the left wrist, and his time table for returning is up in the air.
The Los Angeles teams also had some news this week, some good some bad. The good news for the Los Angeles teams is for the Lakers, who were able to sign Antawn Jamison to strengthen their already strong team. Jamison and the Lakers agreed to a one year deal for the veterans’ minimum. It is a steal for the Lakers who lacked off the bench last season at the forward position with the trading away of Lamar Odom. Jamison should fill that bench role extremely well and makes the Lakers even stronger contenders for the NBA Championship.
The bad news for the Los Angeles basketball scene of course falls upon the Clippers. The Clippers star forward Blake Griffin suffered a knee injury early in the week while playing with Team USA . He was taken back to Los Angeles where it was revealed that Griffin had a torn meniscus in his left knee and would require surgery. This is a big blow to the Clippers, as they just agreed to a max contract extension worth five years and $98 million with Griffin .
MLB also had their share of injuries this week, as two All-Stars suffered injuries that will require DL stints. First baseman Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds was placed on the DL with a torn meniscus and will be out 3-4 weeks. Votto injured the knee June 29th sliding into third base and has been playing through it, evident in the steep drop of his production.
Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista suffered an injured left wrist while swinging and was also placed on the 15-day DL. Bautista’s injury is being called inflammation in the left wrist, and his time table for returning is up in the air.
Other baseball news to keep an eye on is the Oakland Athletics and their hot streak. They are playing out of their minds currently, playing to a record of 14-2 in July, putting them right in the thick of the wild card race in the American League. A big reason for this surge is the play of rookie outfielder Yoenis Cespedes. With Cespedes in the lineup, the A’s are 38-24 and without him are only 12-20. His impact on the whole team is something an Oakland baseball team hasn’t had since the days of shortstop Miguel Tejada. |  Yoenis Cespedes has 13 home runs in 63 games this year. |
Today was also the last day for the PGA Tour's British Open at Lytham and it did not disappoint. The final round had plenty of theatrics, even though such a thing looked like a long shot with only four holes left to play.
Adam Scott was the leader going into the final day, shooting -11 and dominating the tournament. He went into the last four holes of the tournament with a four stroke lead and had his first major win within reach. What happened in those last four holes was unprecedented and unheard of.
Adam Scott was the leader going into the final day, shooting -11 and dominating the tournament. He went into the last four holes of the tournament with a four stroke lead and had his first major win within reach. What happened in those last four holes was unprecedented and unheard of.
Scott bogeyed the last four holes of the tournament, opening the door for another golfer to take over and that is exactly what happened. Ernie Els took advantage of Scott’s blunder and came back to win the tournament with a score of -7. This is only the second time since 1960 that a player holding a 4+ stroke lead heading into the final round of an Open Championship didn’t win. The other occurrence was 1999 by Jean Van de Velde. |  Adam Scott after his collapse, "that's golf" |
This win was Els fourth major championship and his second British Open. The other British Open win was in 2002; his other championships were U.S. Opens in 1994 and 1997.
Kenneth Teape
July 15th - July 22nd, 2012
Kenneth's Archives
Kenneth Teape
July 15th - July 22nd, 2012
Kenneth's Archives
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