Terrell Sinkfield runs 4.19 Forty
At Monday’s University of Minnesota pro day the NFL might have a new fastest man, Northern Iowa wide receiver Terrell Sinkfield was manually clocked a 4.19 40-yard-dash on his second try at the sprint.
According to Fox Sports North, Sinkfield was asked to run a third time (he had already run 4.27 on his first try) and finished with a 4.41 despite a stumble.
Big Ten Conference may change division names
End The National Nightmare
The Big Ten Conference has been catching grief for its choice of division names since they were first introduced in 2010. Now, it appears something may be done about it.
ESPN.com is reporting that the league could ditch the names Leaders and Legends for different names. With Maryland and Rutgers scheduled to join the conference in 2014, the league must also decide which division the schools must be placed.
A decision could be made by June, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney said.
“We weren’t going to go with ‘Bo or Woody,’ ‘Black or Blue,’ or ‘Plains or Lakes,’ ” Delaney said. “Obviously we got some acceptance (with Legends and Leaders), but not as much as we would have liked.”
The Leaders Division has Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Illinois and Indiana. The Legends Division has Michigan, Nebraska, Northwestern, Michigan State, Iowa and Minnesota.
Peyton Manning Takes In Colorado Rockies Game
Hey Batter, Batter, Batter
Peyton Manning took in his first Colorado Rockies game as Denver’s newest resident and to see his friend and old college football teammate first baseman Todd Helton. Manning dropped by Coors Field on Sunday morning to visit his pal before the Rockies played the New York Mets.
Manning and Helton were quarterbacks at the University of Tennessee in the mid-1990s.
When Manning was going through his rehabilitation from neck surgery during the NFL lockout, Helton helped arrange for him to use the Rockies facilities to work out. Manning thanked Helton and the Rockies for their hospitality and generosity.
“He’s a great friend. What he did for me last year, allowing me to use this facility, use the trainers to work out as part of my rehab process,” Manning said. “I’ve come a long way in a year. They were a big part of it. The whole Rockies organization, I can’t thank them enough for opening their doors to me last year when I certainly was an outsider. I’ll always be indebted to them.”
Manning said he even had a locker now occupied by Rockies right fielder Michael Cuddyer.
“I needed a place to work out during the lockout. I was here a couple of different times, and I was here continuously. I didn’t travel with them,” he joked. “Cuddyer’s using my locker. He didn’t ask my permission.”
Hours after the visit, Helton hit a game-tying pinch-grand slam in the eighth inning. The Rockies, however, eventually lost the game, 6-5 in 11 innings.
“Eight, nine years ago the third base coach was hitting ground balls to me, by myself, and he was like, ‘Why am I hitting ground balls to Manning?’ I love everything about baseball. It’s such a different mentality than football, so many more games, a different atmosphere, I’ve always been a fan of it. Having a connection through Todd has made it very special for me,” he said.
Along with seeing Helton on Sunday, Manning also watched and filmed new Broncos teammate Eric Decker take some batting practice. Decker was a center fielder at the University of Minnesota and was drafted in 2008 (Milwaukee Brewers, 30th round) and 2009 (Minnesota Twins, 27th round).
Primetime College Football: Gophers vs Blue Raiders
Somewhat TALENT
This game goes down on ESPNU network and features the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, who will be facing off for their first ever meeting at Floyd Stadium in Tennessee.
Minnesota is the more recognizable school since they play in the Big Ten but are coming off yet another disappointing season in which they finished 6-7, 3-5 within conference, and lost to the Iowa State Cyclones in the Insight Bowl.
The Golden Gophers return senior quarterback Adam Weber, 2,582 yards 13 touchdowns 15 INTS, and will look at his leadership to carry the majority of the offensive side since their running game only averaged 99 yards a game last year. That’s not very good, especially in a conference that relies heavily on the run in the winter months of the season. Minnesota used a running back by committee that saw no single running back produced more than 400 yards rushing.
Minnesota wasn’t just 6-7 because of the offense they struggled in many areas of the game on the defensive side as well. The Golden Gophers couldn’t much run the ball and they definitely couldn’t stop it in 2009. Opposing running backs were able to rush for over 150 yards per game on the ground and 19 touchdowns.
Middle Tennessee is coming off of one of the best seasons in program history after recording a 10-3 record and 7-1 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Blue Raiders went on to defeat Conference USA Southern Miss in the New Orleans Bowl.
Middle Tennessee uses a high power offensive attack that averaged 32 points per game, and showed skill in both the passing and ground attacks. The Blue Raiders running backs were able to get into the end zone 22 times while averaging 186 yards per game. The air game of Middle Tennessee was just as productive as they found the end zone 25 times at just a little over 235 yards per game.
The biggest blow to Middle Tennessee was finding out on August 27 that quarterback Dwight Dasher, 2,789 23 touchdowns, has been ruled ineligible.
PICK: Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
University Of Minnesota Golden Gophers Get Into The Act Of Hazing
Haircut hazing has officially reached epidemic status. The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers football team was inspired by the Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Oakland Raiders haircut hazing that they felt their fellow teammates should be humiliated as well.
Great to see a little team bonding but will that improve on a defense that ranked 113th out of 120 in sacks allowed and last in rushing in the Big Ten?
Primetime College Football: Insight Bowl
TALENT
The 21st annual Insight Bowl will see for the third time in four seasons the Minnesota Golden Gophers as they take on the Iowa State Cyclones in Arizona at Sun Devil Stadium.
The Gophers fell to Kansas last season, 42-21 in this bowl, and were also defeated by Texas Tech 44-41 in overtime back in 2006. Overall Minnesota is just 5-8 in bowl games and has dropped its last three postseason contests. The last time Minnesota captured a victory in a bowl game was in 2004 when the Gophers slipped past Alabama, 20-16, in the Music City Bowl. 2009 was an inconsistent season for Minnesota, which finished with a mere 6-6 overall and 3-5 in the Big Ten.
The Golden Gophers did very little offensively all season long and tallied just 295.8 total ypg on the season, and that lead to a mediocre 21 ppg. The ground game struggled and the team averaged a meager 97.6 ypg on 2.9 yards per carry, ranking 112th in the country. Daune Bennett scored 6 rushing touchdowns on the season, but the tailback rushed for just 376 yards, while Kevin Whaley added 325 yards and 2 scores on 4.2 yards per attempt. The passing attack was not much better for the Gophers, as the team threw for just 198.2 ypg during the regular season. Adam Weber was inconsistent completing just 51.6 percent of his throws. Weber totaled just 2,321 yards in the air and tossed just 12 touchdowns against 14 interceptions. The only reliable target for Weber has been Eric Decker, who led the team with 50 receptions, 758 yards and 5 touchdowns but he is listed as questionable due to a sprain foot.
Tim Brewster’s Gophers come into this matchup allowing 24 ppg, but struggles against the pass and the run. Opponents have thrown for 217.4 ypg against the Gophers, and stopping the run has been an even bigger problem for Minnesota, as the team is being gashed for 146.7 ypg on the ground and has also allowed 18 rushing touchdowns. Lee Campbell has racked up 112 tackles and 9.5 for a loss. Nate Triplett has 96 tackles.
The Cyclones also finished with a mere 6-6 overall record and 3-5 in the Big 12. This is the 10th bowl appearance for Iowa State, and the first for the team since 2005. The Cyclones have dropped seven of their nine bowl matchups, but one of their two victories came in the 2000 Insight Bowl, as Iowa State defeated Pittsburgh, 37-29.
Paul Rhoads Cyclones have been mediocre at best offensively, finishing the regular season averaging a mere 21 ppg. The rushing attack has been successful turning out 177.3 ypg. Alexander Robinson has rumbled for 1,058 yards and 6 touchdowns on the season, while quarterback Austen Arnaud has contributed with 485 yards and 7 rushing scores on the ground but only throwing for 1,799 yards, tossing 13 touchdowns against 11 interceptions. The Cyclones at times use San Antonio’s Robert E. Lee High Schools Jerome Tiller to pass the ball. Marquis Hamilton has been the most reliable wideout hauling in 46 receptions for 574 yards and 4 touchdowns while Jake Williams has scored 4 times on 320 yards.
Iowa State has held the opposition to just 22 ppg on the season while surrendering a whopping 414.3 total ypg. Iowa State was gashed for 169.3 ypg on the ground, and against the pass the team was even worse, allowing 245.0 ypg through the air including 22 touchdowns. On the season the Cyclones have collected 14 interceptions and have also recovered 16 fumbles. Jesse Smith has racked up a team-high 128 tackles and Christopher Lyle has 11 tackles for loss and 4 sacks.
The Golden Gophers hold a commanding 22-2-1 edge over Iowa State in the all- time series, but over the past 85 years these two schools have only collided three times. All three matchups went in favor of Minnesota, including the last meeting in 1997 when the Golden Gophers pounded Iowa State, 53-29.
PICK: Iowa State University Cyclones
Is Bob Griese A Closet Racist?
Google Jack Dundee
During Saturday’s Ohio State/Minnesota game ESPN/ABC college football analyst Bob Griese got into some hot water when he made a comment about about NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya when a graphic displaying the Top 5 Sprint Cup standings did not include Montoya.
Griese’s colleague Chris Speilman asked where he was and in response, Griese joked, “He’s out having taco.”
Griese apologized at the end of the game, and made a second apology later in the day. At the end of the game, Griese said, “Juan Pablo Montoya, he’s one of the best drivers in NASCAR. … Just want to apologize for the comment I made earlier in the ballgame.”
ESPN has decided to dole out punishment by suspending him one game.
Montoya said he did not know who Griese was, and that he “doesn’t really care to tell you the truth.”
So is Griese a closet racist and makes these kind of comments all the time in the company of friends and family or is his sense humor just wack?
