Ray Jr. on Sports

urbanmediatoday

October 6, 2017

1074

Antonio Brown Apologizes for tantrum-And he should’ve. The Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro WR expressed his frustration after QB Ben Roethlisberger overlooked him on a play in their 26-9 win vs. the Baltimore Ravens. Brown yanked away from offensive coordinator Todd Haley and threw a Gatorade Cooler. I’m glad he apologized because it was uncalled for.
Brown’s Apology-Here’s what he said, “I let my emotions and genuine excitement get the best of me, and I wanted to share that moment with our fans,” Brown said in a statement posted on his Twitter account. “It was wrong of me to do, against the team and NFL policy, and I have apologized to Coach Tomlin and my teammates for my actions…” Good job Antonio.
Mike Tomlin’s view on Brown’s Tantrum-The Steelers head coach had this to say about his WR “B. is a competitor, we all know that. It aids him, it aids us. He must control his emotions. If not, it can work against him, it can work against us. Those are lessons you learn along the way.” And my favorite quote “I’m not going to waste a lot of time talking to Antonio about not throwing water coolers and so forth,” Tomlin said. “Be a professional.”
Is Brown Selfish? I don’t think he is. But he is We all make mistakes, and he’s entitled to his. For me, it was just surprising to see him erupting like he did. But let’s be real: He’s not the first well-known player to do so. New England Patriots QB Tom Brady cursed out an assistant coach, HOF QB Steve Young did the same, and Peyton Manning chewed out a player…all on the sideline with the cameras rolling.
Ryan Clark Called Brown Selfish-Apparently one of Brown’s former teammates thinks he is. Former Steelers safety Ryan Clark is part of the media with ESPN where he expressed how he felt about Brown’s antics “If you listen to people talk about him. If you listen to the media, a lot of time the fans, they have an adoration for him that is not necessarily a depiction of who he is. He’s like most receivers. He’s selfish.” Ouch.
Steelers vs. Jaguars-Oh yeah, the Steelers next game. Yes, they take on the 2-2 Jacksonville Jaguars this Sunday at Heinz Field. The Jags are tied for first place (with Houston and Tennessee) and haven’t looked like the struggling team that they’ve been the past few seasons. In fact, they’re one win away from their 2016 total.
How can the Steelers beat the Jaguars? The same way they beat the Ravens, by imposing their will on them with the running game and defense. Sure, Big Ben and Co. need to do their part, but the Jags have a decent secondary who will probably be looking for Brown and Martavis Bryant. This was also a team that destroyed the Ravens in London a few weeks ago and should’ve to beat the Jets last week. But I think the Steelers can beat this team if they stick to their principles.
DE Cam Heyward Receives Honor-The Steelers defensive captain earned AFC Defensive Player of the week honors after registering 2 sacks and a forced fumble Sunday. So far, he has 3 sacks on the season. Not bad for a 3-4 lineman.
Steelers Injury Report-To be honest, only T Marcus Gilbert (Hamstring) didn’t participate. The rest of the team is basically healthy, which is a good thing. You don’t want to use injuries as excuses, but who wouldn’t want a healthy team on gameday? T Chris Hubbard will likely start in Gilbert’s place if he doesn’t return Sunday.
KC Chiefs are 4-0?? That they are and of course folks still point out that they also destroyed the Patriots in Week 1. They honestly look well balanced on offense and defense. But we’ve seen KC have strong starts before, with disappointing finishes. Therefore, they haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1969. But I like how this team looks right now. We shall see.
Chuck Noll Foundation Announces Special Grant-This Foundation for Brain Injury Research was announced in December 2016 by President of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Arthur J. Rooney, II. In so doing, the Steelers pledged $1 million to the foundation, established in honor of Noll, recently announced the launch of its inaugural grant cycle and a generous community-based contribution, which was given to board member and former Steeler Merrill Hoge and honored neurosurgeon Dr. Joe Maroon July 25^th for his outstanding leadership in brain injury research.
Pitt vs. Syracuse-Fresh off their 42-10 win vs. Rice, the Pitt Panthers (2-3, 0-1, ACC) will now travel to Syracuse to face the Orange (2-3, 0-1), a team that they’ve beaten 4 consecutive seasons, but they’ve had to earn those wins in Syracuse in which the margin of victory were 3-points or less.
Remember last year’s Pitt/Syracuse Game? Of course, you do. Pitt beat Syracuse 76-61 in what was the most points scored ever in a college football game. As impressive as the offenses were was also as horrible as the defenses were. I’m sure Pitt doesn’t want to give up 61 points, especially after giving up 59 vs. Oklahoma State a few weeks ago.
Max Browne-Well, he surely gave us a good game Saturday, and he’s earned a few awards because of it. After passing for 410 yards and 4 TDs Saturday, he was named ACC Offensive Back of the Week and was also recognized as one of the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award’s”Great 8″ performers from this past weekend. Additionally, the Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, named Browne one of its eight “Stars of the Week.”
Can Browne Beat Syracuse? It all depends on which Max Browne we will see Saturday: The one who played in Pitt’s first 4 games, or the one who played vs. Rice. I think the win vs. Rice gave him some confidence and showed him what a playmaker WR Jester Weah if. Just give the young man the ball and Weah will make plays. As much as I wanted Ben DiNucci to start, I hope Browne keeps it going.
Saquon Barkley- I’m liking what this Penn State RB is doing and it’s no surprise that he leads the Heisman Trophy list so far. Barkley has 574 yards rushing and 6 total TDs. He also had a 98-yard kickoff return and threw a TD pass in the win vs. Indiana. The kid can do it all.
AP Top 5- Alabama 2. Clemson 3. Oklahoma 4. Penn State 5. Georgia. It’ll be cool to see Clemson and Penn State duke it out come playoff time, but it’s still too early to discuss that, especially with Georgia knocking on the door. Only a loss will knock Alabama out of the #1 spot. Too bad they don’t play Clemson.
NBA Changes All-Star format-I must shake my head. The NBA have decided to forego the East vs West Conference All-Star format and have teams named by captains. What does that remind you of? The NFL when they did so before returning to Conference teams. Not a clever idea NBA, but you’ll find out, just like the NFL did.
OKC Pays Westbrook-He won the NBA MVP and now OKC Thunder’s Russell Westbrook was shown the money as he agreed to a 5-year $205 million contract extension. He now joins Golden State’s Steph Curry, Houston’s James Harden as the NBA’s $200 million men.
WNBA has new champion-Congrats to the Minnesota Lynx, who beat the LA Sparks in their Finals on Wednesday. It’s the Lynx’s 4^th title in 7 years. Sylvia Fowles won the Finals MVP after scoring 17 points and an amazing 20 rebounds.