I have always professed that football with playoff reason and purpose is so much more an advantage that the goal of playing out the season in an effort to win but stay healthy too. How can you explain the Philadelphia Eagles battling for an NFC East title and losing to Minnesota when Minnesota does not have either of its starting running backs? How can Dallas, who can only get into the playoffs but end up being dominated in the second half by Green Bay. Cincinnati, who had the opportunity to be the second seed in the AFC playoffs but lose to Pittsburgh 30-20 in a game that was not even close. And New Orleans simply has to beat the Rams and Bucs, not even the Panthers and they win the NFC South yet lose in St. Louis meaning next week in Carolina means everything. Week 15 of NFL football made no sense. Turning it Around In Miami, as an organization the Dolphins took a big step forward in present and future success. The win over New England changed perception of a team that as little as two months ago was considered the derelicts of NFL football. Because it was two months ago that whole Richie Incognito / Jonathan Martin story was everywhere and transitioned into much more: a topic of football conversation became a social and ethical opinion-based topic. Truth is that now with the Dolphins so close to a playoff experience depending on their play and that of Baltimore, the discussion of bringing both players back to the organization has gone from should we to why should we? The more success Miami has, the less likely either player will be a Dolphin again. Falling Apart In Dallas the drama continues. Defensively they just dont have the people to play. Offensively the play in terms of run versus pass is highly criticized and should be. In a game where Dallas had a dominant lead in the second half they ran seven run plays when they had 30 opportunities. And you have a running back of the quality of DeMarco Murray. It really makes no sense. Sure, it will be Tony Romo that takes the heat and part of it is his fault, but only part of it. But when you have a dominant lead your best asset is time, using time to your advantage as if it was another player. The same run the ball or not run the ball problem was evident in the Monday night Chicago Bears game. Remember how well Murray performed early and often? Then Dallas got behind on points by 14 and there was no more DeMarco Murray. The execution of well designed and thought out plays is always the number one priority. But the type of play, run, pass, draw, screen, deep ball, check down and on and on and on have almost equal value. Players win and players lose but the last two weeks the Cowboys offensive decision making has been in a panic and not using patience. Road Production In Washington the numbers were impressive, 29 of 45 for 381 yards is what Kirk Cousins produced on the road in Atlanta. The pessimistic side is relevant. The Falcons do not have a top defence and are eliminated from the playoffs. But the optimistic side is also worth acknowledgment. The game of NFL football is not too big for Kirk Cousins to handle or assimilate. Almost 400 yards is exceptional and 29 completions outstanding. Maybe a bit of a dramatic statement but RG3 has some competition for the job of starting quarterback of the Washington Redskins. Trouble By the Bay In Oakland it is starting to get humiliating. 56 points allowed against a game-managing quarterback of Alex Smiths skills. Screen pass after screen pass for touchdown after touchdown? The Raiders had some moments this year but not enough, still the good news is this. As of next year they should be out of salary cap extreme limitations. $60 million new dollars could and should be available for free agents and present personnel. Truthful concern is that free agency does not guarantee success at all. The Raiders will have a lot of money to work with but will they make the right decisions on the money they invest? Proving His Worth Monday night football, Ravens 18, Lions 16. The one player that really caught my eye was Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith. A first-round draft pick in 2011, I thought he played well against the best receiver in football Calvin Johnson. Yes "Calvin the Great" did not have a great day with two clear drops but in the one-on-one competition between Johnson and Smith, Jimmy Smith held his own. Your best evaluation of how good are you comes when you play the very best. It wont get much tougher than what Smith experienced Monday night. Praise for the Coach Finally I thought Jon Gruden brought up a unique possibility of having a challenge call possible on judgment calls such as pass interference. Now I am not in favour of more delays in the flow of NFL football, quite the opposite as the game needs to speed up. But looking at the pass interference penalty that was not called and took away a could-be touchdown pass, maybe its not a bad idea. Only if the challenges remain at two per half and NO more. Please. Football is an advertisers dream but as a fan, its often a viewers nightmare. Keep the games integrity and viability but not at the expense of flow and action. Bennie Logan Titans Jersey . It all would have been for naught, however, had it not been for some clutch shooting in the fourth quarter by Kobe Bryant and a couple of equally critical hustle plays by Derek Fisher and Pau Gasol in the final minutes. Malcolm Butler Titans Jersey . "Im excited just for a new start, just to see where things are going, to bring some kind of tradition back to the team and guys being excited about something new," the defensive back said during a conference call Monday after agreeing to stay with the Bombers rather than go to free agency next month. http://www.titansauthenticofficialonline...dry-jersey.html. Better still, its in the same team and there are 13 races left for it to develop. Blaine Gabbert Jersey . "Youre next." Hardly. Iguodala tormented his former team with a game better than any he ever played in eight seasons with the 76ers. Tennessee Titans Jerseys .Y. - Joe Johnson hit six 3-pointers in his 27 points, Mason Plumlee added 18 points, and the Brooklyn Nets won their 11th straight at home, beating the Boston Celtics 114-98 Friday night.NEW YORK -- Baseball players and management hope to reach a new drug agreement this week that would increase initial penalties for muscle-building steroids and allow a decrease of suspensions for some positive tests caused by unintentional use, people familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. For future suspensions, the deal also would eliminate the loophole allowing Alex Rodriguez to earn almost $3 million during his season-long ban, the people said. They spoke on condition of anonymity in recent days because talks are ongoing. The sides hope to reach an agreement by Sunday, when the Los Angeles Dodgers open the U.S. portion of the major league schedule at the San Diego Padres. While the lengths have not been finalized, a person involved with the talks said Wednesday the most likely penalties would be about 80 games for an initial testing violation and a season-long ban for a second. "It will be a significant deterrent because players will know theyre not going to just easily walk back into a lineup," Travis Tygart, chief executive officer of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, said in a telephone interview. "It probably is the best policy in professional sports." For use of a limited group of substances, the sides were discussing giving the arbitration panel that hears appeals grievances the authority to reduce suspensions by as much as 50 per cent if the player proves the positive test was caused by unintentional use, the person said. "What were all here for it to rid sports of the intentional cheats, those who are intending to defraud both the fans and their fellow teammates, the integrity of competition," Tygart said. "You want to have provisions in place that allow for whether theres an inadvertent or a truly non-intentional situation which may arise." Since the 2006 season, the Major League Baseballs drug agreement has called for a 50-game suspension for a first positive steroids test, a 100-game ban for a second and a lifetime penalty for a third. Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig called for tougher penalties last March, and then-union head Michael Weiner said players would consider them for 2014. Weiner died in November and was succeeded by former All-Star Tony Clark, who has led the negotiations. Major League Baseballs investigation of the Biogenesis of Amerrica anti-aging clinic led to 14 suspensions last summer, including a 65-game penalty for former NL MVP Ryan Braun of Milwaukee and a 211-game ban for Rodriguez, which was reduced to 162 games in January by an arbitrator.dddddddddddd The section covering violations not related to positive tests, which was used by Selig in the Biogenesis case, will be clarified but still will allow discipline for "just cause." Many players have advocated stiffer penalties as a deterrent. Arizona pitcher Brad Ziegler spoke out after Jhonny Peralta, who served a 50-game suspension, agreed in November to a $53 million, four-year contract with St. Louis. "We thought 50 games would be a deterrent. Obviously its not. So we are working on it again," he tweeted then. "It pays to cheat... Thanks, owners, for encouraging PED use." Some players said suspensions should lead to larger monetary losses. San Diego Padres outfielder Will Venable maintained last summer "somehow having to forfeit or void your contract that youre under is something that needs to be the main focus of the penalties." But for the majority of players, that would go too far. "Id venture to guess that even though there are concerns on a number of levels, that we will never end up in a world where player contracts are voided as a result," Clark told the AP during a January interview. Addressing positives caused by inadvertent use was a factor in the talks. Philadelphia infielder Freddy Galvis was suspended for 50 games in June 2012 for a Clostebol Metabolite, which he later claimed was contained in a foot cream he used. Reliever Guillermo Mota, then with San Francisco, was suspended for 100 games in May 2012 after taking a cough syrup with Clenbuterol. The new deal also will state that a player receives none of his salary during a season-long suspension. The current deal said a player loses as many days pay as games he is suspended. Since players are paid over a 183-day season this year, arbitrator Fredric Horowitz ruled Rodriguez was entitled to 21-183rds of his $25 million salary, or $2,868,852. "Thats fantastic," Tygart said. "You hit them in the pocketbook, and thats really where the cheaters are most deterred from attempting to steal money from the other players." Wholesale USA Soccer Jerseysdiscount uswnt jerseyWholesale AC Milan JerseysWholesale Arsenal JerseysWholesale A.S. Roma JerseysWholesale Atletico Madrid JerseysWholesale Chelsea JerseysCheap Barcelona JerseysBayern Munich Jerseys For SaleCheap Borussia Dortmund JerseysCheap Inter Milan JerseysJuventus Jerseys From ChinaLeicester City Jerseys For SaleDiscount Liverpool JerseysWholesale Manchester City JerseysManchester United Jerseys For SaleWholesale Paris Saint-Germain JerseysReal Madrid Jerseys From ChinaCheap Sevilla JerseysAuthentic Tottenham Hotspur Jerseys ' ' '