NFL Roster Cuts 2011: Kansas City Chiefs Announce First Wave Of Cuts

The number of players cut today will be exorbitant for each team in the NFL today, as 864 players will go from officially being on a team’s roster to searching for another place to fulfill their NFL dreams. With lots of decisions to be made, the Kansas City Chiefs will likely make a few announcements between now and this evening when they officially create their 53-man roster for the season.

Thus far, three Chiefs have been released three players:
1. Rashard Langford – The safety was a hit on special teams last year in 6 games, but apparently was beat out for one of the final roster spots by a new players — perhaps Sabby Piscitelli, a player that Todd Haley calls “Jersey Shore.”

2. Micah Johnson – The linebacker was a long shot to make the roster this season, even with the loss of Brandon Siler at linebacker. Simply put, Johnson never made his mark in any public way that we ever heard about.

3. Zeke Markshausen – Again, Markshausen was a long shot to make the roster as well given the glut of options at wide receiver. Others like Keary Colbert were clearly making waves as a newcomer, while holdovers were warranting nice looks like Verran Tucker. This seems an obvious cut.

There will be many more announcements to come today as the Chiefs get down to the final 53.

NHL Network presents: Game 4 2011 ECF: Bruins vs. Lightning

After the first period of Game 4 in Tampa Bay, it appeared the Bruins had taken complete control of the Eastern Conference Finals. After a 2-0 win in Game 3 gave them the edge in the series, they stormed out to a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes of play in Game 4, seemingly well on their way back to Boston with a dominant 3-1 series advantage. But if the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs proved anything, it's that no lead is safe.

The Lightning answered Boston’s three-goal first period with a three-spot of their own in the second. In a span of just 3:58 and on a total of only five shots, the Bolts tied the game at 3-3 as Teddy Purcell scored twice and Sean Bergenheim followed with his League-leading ninth goal of the postseason at 10:53 of the period. The game remained tied until 6:54 of the third, when a familiar Bruins foe struck again. Simon Gagne took a deflected pass from Ryan Malone in front of the net and slipped the puck under Tim Thomas for the eventual game-winner. This was the second year in a row that Gagne scored a clutch goal against the B’s, having notched the game-winner that completed Philadelphia's historic comeback from three games down and three goals down in Game 7 of the second round against Boston in 2010.

After Gagne gave Tampa Bay its first lead of the game at 4-3, backup netminder Mike Smith held the fort in goal and Martin St. Louis scored an empty-netter to seal a 5-3 victory for the Lightning, evening the series at two games apiece. Smith earned his first career playoff victory as he relieved Dwayne Roloson and stopped all 21 shots he faced. Roloson, who yielded three goals on nine shots, was pulled for the second time in three games after Patrice Bergeron made it 3-0 with a short-handed goal late in the first, his second tally of the period.

That goal by Bergeron was Boston’s last of the night, as Tampa Bay took over from there and once again showed that to win a Stanley Cup Playoff game, a full 60-minute effort is needed. The Lightning became the third team in the 2011 playoffs to come back from a deficit of three or more goals to win -- the San Jose Sharks and Washington Capitals each accomplished the feat in the first round.

10 fantasy tips to follow

The NFL season kicks off in nine days. Just as East Coasters frantically prepared for the arrival of Hurricane Irene, hardcore football fans are taking every precaution to ensure a successful start to the season. Sunday Ticket ordered? Check. Satisfied with TV size and HD quality? Check. Pulling my infant out of his Sunday playgroup until February? Check.

This countdown to kickoff also means we're in the heart of fantasy draft season. While some early-bird drafts have already occurred, most are happening this week. Whether you've been playing fantasy since it was entirely uncool to do so or this is your first foray into the fantasy waters, here are 10 tips to set you on the path to a fantasy Super Bowl.

Pre-draft

1. Get out the paper shredder: Suppose you're in a long grocery store line and you spot several fantasy football preview magazines. They look like they'd be helpful, especially with all that gloss. But step away. These publications are obsolete; they have been for at least a decade. The reasons should be obvious. Quarterback battles (Seahawks, Redskins), surprising transactions (Lee Evans to Baltimore), emerging players (Tim Hightower) and injury updates (on Peyton Manning and Arian Foster, among many others) are not reflected in these glossies. Stick to the Internet.

2. Learn the rules: Don't assume your league uses a standard format. Study the rules well before draft night. Things to check: Are quarterback touchdowns worth four points or six? Does your league offer bonuses for 100 yards receiving or rushing and 300 yard passing? Do individual players get points for yards and touchdowns made on special teams? Little quirks in your league's rules can dramatically alter your draft strategy.

3. Play the name game: Selecting a good team name can give you an instant confidence boost. There are many directions you can take: something that invokes your name (Melissa's Marauders), a play on words (Orton Hears a Boo) or something newsy (Terrelle Pryor's Tattoo Parlor). We'd love to hear your best names.

4. Mock it up: Most fantasy services don't allow you to enter your draft room until 30 minutes prior to the draft's start time. However, most offer the option to join a mock draft. This is a fantastic opportunity to become familiar with your draft room's mechanics, as well as to test out a variety of strategies on some randoms.

Draft night

5. Show up on time: Nobody likes an owner who's late to the draft. It annoys the other owners and puts the commissioner in the uncomfortable position of having to decide whether to delay the proceeding or put the tardy owner on dreaded auto draft. If you are late, don't bother with excuses unless it's a true emergency.

6. Pick with your head: I can't tell you how many women (yes, women) I know who refused to place a waiver bid on Mike Vick last year. Unless your league deducts points for arrests or you truly don't care about winning, a player's character shouldn't be considered. You may argue that watching someone you consider shady wouldn't be pleasurable. But trust me, when your player is the leading scorer that week, you're not going to care what he did to dogs, his girlfriend or the elderly. For those who insist on drafting with their conscience, select Tim Tebow in the first round and make your fellow owners very happy.

7. Consider byes: You shouldn't obsess over bye weeks when drafting your starters. But you should take a gander once you're in the later rounds to make sure you have some reserve players with different bye weeks than your starters. Be especially careful of Weeks 5-8, when six teams are on a bye each week.

8. Throw some darts: If you are new to fantasy, you may be tempted to select your team on auto draft, or worse, always draft the highest-ranked player available. Don't be. By throwing some darts and taking chances on players, you'll be more invested in your team. Every year there are numerous guys buried deep in the rankings who emerge as fantasy superstars. (ESPN had Arian Foster as the 48th-best running back headed into last season!)

By freeing your hands from the computer's grasp, you'll spend more time contemplating lineups, playing the waiver wire, enjoying the intrigue of NFL action and ultimately putting yourself in a better position to win. And if you happen to pick up this year's Arian Foster, you can spend the next four months bragging about it.

9. Survey the fandom: Every fantasy owner is likely a fan of a particular NFL team. Some are savvy drafters who don't intentionally mix their drafting with their fandom. But there are always exceptions. For years, I've played in a league with an owner who drafts the Bears defense/special teams at least three rounds too early (even when Devin Hester has been the main kickoff man), and always selects Bears kicker Robbie Gould. Spot the homers and use their clouded judgment to your advantage.

10. Review the rosters: It's important to keep track of the rosters for all fantasy teams in your league. This is the best guide to your draft selections. Example: It's the fifth round. You have the 10th slot in a 12-team league and still need a quarterback. Do you take him with that fifth-round pick or wait four slots before the draft snakes back around for your sixth-round pick? Checking the needs of the teams in the 11th and 12th slots can help greatly with your decision.

Hope these tips have you ready to dominate draft night. If you'd like to add some of your own winner strategies, including your catchy team name, please do so in the comments section. We'd love to hear from you. Happy drafting!

Jamie Samuelsen's blog: Lions have best fans in NFL and, thus, a long leash

Some people rip Lions fans for being blindly loyal. Some rip them for ginning up false hope every fall, only to have their hearts ripped out by October. Some people actually criticize them for enabling the Lions to be bad all these years by buying tickets and supporting a team that hasn’t earned support.

But I think Lions fans are the best. No other fan base has been punished the way they have been, yet they still come back every fall with hope. Sometimes the hope is justified. Sometimes it's based on a house of cards (in 2008, some predicted the Lions would make the playoffs; they finished 0-16). Only time will tell whether this year’s hope is legit.

This week's news that the Lions sold out their Monday night game in 45 minutes was further validation of two things: 1.) The fans really, really support this team. 2.) The fans really, really believe that this is the year.

The onus now is on the Lions to justify the faith and optimism. Team president Tom Lewand admitted as much this week. Each fan will have an idea about what defines a successful 2011. One caller on the radio said Thursday that the Lions will go 12-4. A tad more realistic might be 8-8 or 9-7. I think, as long as the team is contending for a playoff berth on Thanksgiving, this season will deliver on what’s expected.

But what if it doesn’t? If injuries rattle the offense or the secondary gets exposed (which is my biggest fear), and the Lions struggle to get to .500, will they somehow face the brunt of a disenfranchised fan base? The Lions have created unreal hype going into this season. What if they don’t live up to it?

The answer: nothing.

The reason: same as we said before. Lions fans are the best in the NFL.

Sure, there will be plenty of people claiming, “I swore that they wouldn’t do it to me again. But they sucked me in. Never again. NEVER again.” There will be fans who utter the infamous “same old Lions” phrase. And yes, there will be those brave (lying) souls who claim they’re divorcing themselves from the team for good. But you’ll be back. You’ll all be back. You always do. It’s the nature of being a Lions fan.

So, yes, there is pressure on these Lions to perform. They have created expectations, which is a credit to how they finished last season and their off-season moves. If the Lions take a step back this year, it would be a blow to a franchise we assumed was moving forward. But to imply that it’s any sort of do-or-die season is just wrong. There is still a very strong, very young nucleus to this team, and there are stars at key positions. Other than a significant injury to Matthew Stafford, there’s really nothing to change that belief. A disappointing season won’t change the career arcs of Ndamukong Suh, Calvin Johnson nor Louis Delmas.

And it won’t change the fans. I suppose some might read this as a critique of Lions fans, like they’re sheep who keep come back for the slaughter. But it’s meant to be praise. No fan base deserves a winner more than the Lions'.

Taylor Mays' NFL stock has plunged, but he hopes to rally

Start with a picture on the cover of the 2009 USC media guide. It shows Taylor Mays charging down the field, shoulders at a forward tilt, as if poised to lower the boom on an unsuspecting receiver.

That fall, Mays was a two-time All-American safety who had passed up a choice spot in the NFL draft to return for his senior season. His future appeared limitless.

Now fast-forward to this week, to a young man who arrived at the Cincinnati Bengals' training camp fighting for his NFL life.

"This might be, hopefully, a better situation for me," he told reporters. "We'll see how it works out."

His new boss was quick to stick up for him.

"I don't know if this guy is recycled," Bengals Coach Marvin Lewis said. "It's been one year."

But in one year, Mays has fallen from college star to second-round selection to afterthought, the San Francisco 49ers trading him away for a reported late-round draft pick.

His father, Stafford, a former NFL player, said: "It's been hard on him, definitely … he's been a lightning rod for criticism."

The NFL draft is anything but an exact science. Some high draft picks simply don't have what it takes to play professionally, while others end up in a system or scheme that does not suit their talents.

The Buffalo Bills gave up on Aaron Maybin, a 2009 first-rounder out of Penn State who was supposed to boost their pass rush but failed to record a sack.

Call him a draft-day bust, a category into which Mays now falls too. It is a radical change from his days with the Trojans, when Pete Carroll called him "one of the most gifted safeties ever to play at USC," putting Mays in the company of his boyhood idol, Ronnie Lott.

His physical attributes were impressive — 6 feet 3, 230 pounds, a blistering time in the 40-yard dash. But then he intercepted only one pass as a senior, giving him five in three seasons.

People questioned his skills as a playmaker, whispers that grew louder when Carroll jumped to the Seattle Seahawks and skipped Mays in the draft, choosing Earl Thomas of Texas, who had eight interceptions as a senior.

"Yeah, I love Taylor Mays and everything he stands for," Carroll said at the time. "Unfortunately, it didn't work out."

An angry Mays lashed back about "some things that he told me I needed to do as a football player, versus the actions that he took and who he took as safety. I understand it's a business, but with it being a business, you just need to be honest, and that's all I was asking for."

Slipping to the 49th spot in the draft, the rookie reported to San Francisco hungry to prove himself. Coach Mike Singletary praised his work ethic and desire to learn.

For a while, his extra effort paid off.

Mays cracked the starting lineup in the fourth week of the 2010 season and led the team with 11 tackles at Atlanta. He followed up with solid numbers against Carolina and Denver.

But questions about his skills lingered.

"He isn't a natural football player," said an NFL scout who spoke on condition of anonymity because his team does not authorize him to make public comments. "He lacks ability in man coverage, and his instincts and awareness are average."

San Francisco demoted him after six starts, things going quickly downhill. Mays played sparingly in the second half of the season, recording two tackles.

"It was tough at first," he said. "I didn't let it affect my confidence. I like to say I feel pretty confident."

The 49ers fired Singletary last December and Mays' situation grew more tenuous amid reports that General Manager Trent Baalke was not a fan. Enter a new coach, Jim Harbaugh, who knew about Mays from his previous job at Stanford.

The incoming regime made its intentions clear as training camp opened, sending an email across the league, announcing that Mays was available for trade.

"The old coach probably pushed for [Mays] and Harbaugh didn't want him," said another NFL scout, also speaking anonymously. "Harbaugh schemed against him in college and hates USC, and it might be that more than his skill set."

San Francisco's defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio, confirmed Mays' status as persona non grata during a training camp news conference.

"We feel like we've got five safeties that can play in the NFL," he said, rattling off five names, none of them Mays.

Stafford Mays recalled that it was "an awful time, because I know Taylor's work ethic and I know who he is. Of course there were sleepless nights."

The Chicago Bears showed interest, with the suggestion they might shift Mays to linebacker. His size and speed also made him a candidate for special teams.

But the deal fell through and other suitors seemed hesitant, knowing they might get Mays for free if San Francisco released him. The Bengals — who had bid for free agent Donte Whitner but lost him to the 49ers — made a move.

"He's somebody that, coming out of the draft, we had done extensive work on and with," Lewis said of Mays. "We really felt he was a good prospect."

Mays has landed among friends. Former USC linebackers Rey Maualuga and Keith Rivers play for the Bengals, as do former 49ers Nate Clements and Manny Lawson.

"I'm walking into the locker room and they welcomed me with open arms," Mays said. "It makes the social part easier and then the football part comes with that."

Just as important, Mays has joined a team on which defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and secondary coach Kevin Coyle are known for reviving careers. Stafford Mays hopes they will be patient and put his son in situations that suit his strengths.

Speaking to reporters, Lewis seemed to agree.

"That's the thing," the coach said. "You either change the peg or you'd better get a peg that fits the hole."

If nothing else, rough times seem to have taught Mays a thing or two about life as a pro. No angry words marked his departure from San Francisco.

The former USC star spoke only of getting down to work and earning a place on his new team.

"It's the NFL and sometimes different situations work out for the better," he said. "It's nothing personal."

Kobe, LeBron as large as the highest paid player in the NBA

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport

almost a dominating performance impressively against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night, it seems that no one beat the Miami Heat, LeBron James on the floor.

When it comes to who the money back from the field, but King James is still king.
Forbes.com on an assessment of the top 50 athletes in the world, Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant and controls on the James paid. Forbes said Bryant has won $ 53,000,000 in the last 12 months, 5 million more than James $ 48,000,000.

Bryant and James are the only two NBA players among the top 10 Golfer Tiger Woods, No. 1 in 75 million.
Bryant leads to 15 basketball players in the list, more than any other sport. Bryant has Turkish Airlines and Mercedes-Benz Smart Car, its portfolio of passage this year. Its U.S. $ 24,800,000 salary with the Lakers in Los Angeles is 4 million more than any other player in the NBA. No. 3 on the list is Miami Heat, LeBron James, who won $ 48,000,000 last year.
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As James seems ready to win his first NBA title this month, could surpass Bryant - and perhaps even Woods - here in the future. A recent report indicated that the heat of a championship would mean a profit of $ U.S. billion in China and Nike James Bryant was also able to move in on the popularity scale in this critical market.
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The next best player in the NBA in the Forbes list of the Houston Rockets, Yao Ming decent, ranked 18, to 27.7 million euros. Orlando Magic, Dwight Howard is ranked No. 19 in 27.6 million euros. Dwyane Wade, Heat-mate James and the New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony are the other NBA players who appear in the top 25.

Pat Riley in shadows, but there for LeBron, Wade

The role is different this time for Pat Riley.

Unlike during the Heat's championship run through the 2006 NBA Finals, Riley now serves solely as team president instead of coach and president.

That, guard Dwyane Wade said Tuesday, changes the tenor of the conversation.

"You could be laying down in the training room and doing something somewhere and he just shows up and you start talking about basketball, and he gives you his take, what he's seen," Wade said as he prepared for Game 1 of the NBA Finals. "As players, we like that better than when you get called upstairs."

Riley's office is one level above the main court at AmericanAirlines Arena, the same office he utilized as coach. The difference now is he is more measured mentor that maniacal motivator.

"When he comes around, you don't know when he's coming, he just shows up," Wade said. "And he says certain things at different times. I've had discussions with him, and it's not anything that's planned."

While Riley has shied from the media this season, he remains ubiquitous to his players.

"Coach Riley is very inspirational," Wade said. "He's the kind of guy, he's in the background, but he's around often. He talks, you listen, because of his knowledge of the game and also he's a leader.

"He's a leader, of this organization, as well. And we respect him. I think he's done a great job of putting together a pretty good team and coming in at the right times. When he feels the need to express himself to us, he has done it."

While some of the messages can grow redundant, especially for a player such as Wade, who also endured the lean years under Riley's coaching in the wake of that 2006 championship, for LeBron James, this is all new, and refreshing.

"Knowing the players that he's coached and just to hear some of the stories about Magic, Kareem and those guys that he had in L.A., and get an opportunity to talk about their leadership, as well, on the court, it's great," James said of Riley's reflections on his coaching tenure of the championship Showtime Lakers.

"It's great to hear those stories instead of just watching the playback on TV, to actually hear the day-to-day stories of those great Hall of Famers."

Like Wade, James said he views Riley as a resource.

"Having him around is amazing, to be able to go and talk to someone, if need be," James said. "And it's not always just about basketball, it's about anything. So we're blessed to have him around, this organization is blessed to have him, period."

Split priorities for Miller

Reserve swingman Mike Miller found himself on the move Tuesday, first attending shootaround, then a doctor's visit for his newborn daughter, then back to the arena for Game 1. Miller's daughter was born two weeks ago with a heart defect. "Part of life, part of business," he said of his day. He offered thanks to well-wishers, adding, "Anybody's who's had a newborn knows you don't have rest." . . .

Wade, on his earliest memory of 38-year-old Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd, "I think I was watching him in black and white. It seems so long ago." . . .

Bosh, on whether he ever practices awkward shots like those from Mavericks counterpart Dirk Nowitzki, "No. While I'm still athletic, I'm going to ride the wheels until they fall off and then maybe when I'm 30-something, I'll probably change my game. But for now, I just have a little bit more athleticism left and I'll use it while I can." . . .

Coach Erik Spoelstra, on his sleeping habits, and the nocturnal habits of most coaches this time of year, "I think everyone has a pad and paper next to their bed. There might be something wrong with us in the coaching profession."