CHRIS HENRY:

In the world of sports we sometimes get so caught up with the athletes and their abilities and stature that we forget that like all of us they are still human and can have their life cut short at any time. The death of Chris Henry this past week was tragic. It had appeared that Chris was getting his life back in order and it was only an injury that was keeping him off the field but just when he may have thought he turned the corner on his life, tragedy struck. Maybe a lesson for all other athletes to make sure they appreciate what they have and remember that they too are human.

TITANS BEAT DOLPHINS:

It was about 10 weeks ago that the Tennessee Titans were 0-6, ready to fire Jeff Fisher and wondering what to do with Vince Young. Well Fisher is going nowhere and Mr. Young has gone 7-1 and looks better than he did at any time in his career. Yesterday he threw for 3 TD’s and helped the Titans stay alive for the playoffs. Yes they are going to need some help but when you start 0 – 6 what do you expect. It’s going to make for interesting football in the final 2 weeks in Nashville

PEYTON STANDS ALONE:

After Saturday nights Dallas win over the Saints it is clear that Peyton Manning and his undefeated Colts stand alone as the top team in the NFL. Its true Manning has won only 1 Super Bowl but its hard not to say he is the best QB to ever have played the game. He basically does what he wants on the field and continues to win despite having a new coach, injured players and their B squad surrounding him last week when the game against the Jaguars meant nothing for the Colts. To top it all off, he does great commercials.

Welcome to our inaugural sports uniform blog.

It will be a weekly update on changes, observations and some cool links from the world of sports uniforms.

We call it UNI-VERSITY!

Your comments are welcomed.

So what’s news?

With the BCS Bowl season upon us, it will be interesting to see what new design the Oregon Ducks will be sporting.

Have you ever seen more changes to a uni in 1 year?  12 Different ones so far this year!

The school must have a ‘Uniform Design’ class that submits their weekly assignments to the sewing dept!

Have a look: DuckTracker 2009 Uniforms ‘Ninja Duck’ is the best!

What is with the new Florida Panthers 3^rd jersey? Have a look

Logo is OK – But why the colour change? (True – they’re regular ones are about the ugliest in the league) Did they hire the designer from the Penguins?

When they played each other last week it looked like a Pittsburgh dark/light practice game.

Did you know how strict the NFL is on their UNI requirements? You hear every week of guys getting fined – here is why:

$5000 fines
- High/Low whites on socks
- Pants not covering knees (no skin should show below the waist)
- Bandana
- Wrong nasal strip
- Hand towel alterations – towel must be 7 to 8 inches and have no tape on it
- Tape not the same color of the shoe.
- Jersey untucked (usually there is a warning for this one)
- Jersey cut too short
- Sleeves coming out of jersey – only QB can have this and only a certain amount can come out
- Chinstrap undone ($7500)

$10,000 fines
- Personal messages
- Any second offense fine
- Wrong attire 90 minutes previous and after a game – clothes must be Reebok apparel
- Tinted visor – must have a doctors note for a tinted visor

There is also a special fine schedule for the post season. The minimum fine in playoff games will be between 10 and 20 thousand dollars. The minimum in the NFC Championship is between 50 and 75 thousand and for the Super Bowl the minimum is 100 grand. It’s been made very obvious the NFL and it’s sponsors want the players to dress accordingly.

And finally: We would like to hear your thoughts weekly on The BEST & WORST UNI’s from around the world of sports

THIS WEEK: BEST NHL UNI  -

I’ll Start us off : BlackHawks white!

See you next week.

….and remember if you don’t look good – you ain’t gonna play good.

Heading into our final weeks, every spot on your roster is crucial and has to be scrutinized so here are some suggestions for the all important week ahead !

 Quaterbacks

Tony Romo

At this stage in the game, you have to pick the players that are not your usual suspects, so far Mr. November has extended his hours of service to include December as well.

Matt Schaub

So much for that theory, Schaub is on form again and St Louis is going to be in for a long day.

Kurt Warner

No team has rebounded better from a loss than the Cardinals, look who’s next, the Detroit paper Lions.

Carson Palmer

This is a make or break pick for your team, remember the game Brett Favre had after his dad died, maybe we’ll get the same results from the Bengals after the tragic death of Chris Henry this week.

Jason Campbell

The Giants defense is in shambles right now, if you need a pick that may produce time like he did 2 weeks ago against New Orleans , Campbell is your guy.

Running backs

Josh Cribbs No doubt the best player no ones ever heard of until last thursday. What took Cleveland 13 weeks to give him the ball ? Mangenious ? I dont think so.

Chris Johnson

The Titans are really trying to get him the ball to reach the yardage record, always good to know when playing fantasy football.

Frank Gore

The Eagles defense showed they are sieve like last week, the 49ers can play very physical when they want too.

Cedric Benson Bengals saw a chink in the Chargers D last week in stopping te run, look for Benson to run wild.

Quinton Ganther

Here’s a make or break player for your roster, one good thing about Ganther, he runs hard and the Giants defense stinks, a beautiful combination !

Wide Receivers

Andre Johnson A regular in this column, what else can be said about his immense talents.

Randall Moss He laid an egg last week, after everyone taking a bullet for him this week, he better produce !!

Brandon Marshall Superman was simply……..Superman last week, look for more of the same as the broncos must win to stay ahead in the playoff hunt.

Desean Jackson Just an explosive playmaker, one more 50 plus yard td and he will have the record.

Tight Ends

Fred Davis Emerging as a rising young star for the Redskins, they know what Witten did to the Cowgirls 2 weeks ago, look for Davis to have a big game.

Vernon Davis Simply the tight end with the most talent in the league….and he’s actually starting to use it !

Jason Witten Mr. November will be under a lot of pressure on saturday night, he will look to his release valve quite often.

Antonio Gates The same can be said for Phillip Rivers, he will feel the heat of the Bengal Defense and he will look for Gates to bail him out as he always does.

There you go, now take care of business !!

When Tony Dungy left the sidelines I was very skeptical about any involvement he would have in the media. I assumed he would be bland and vanilla, because a guy known to be that classy wouldn’t be frank enough to be interesting.  I assumed wrong, one thing is already apparent, class and bland are not synonymous.  While Dungy seems to be even classier as a broadcaster than he was as a coach, he is not afraid to offer his candid opinion. While most feel that they need to be controversial or bombastic to be heard Dungy goes for substance. Finally, while many of these ex-coaches are angling for their next job from the booth, Dungy gives off none of that vibe.  Dungy is hands down my nominee for rookie of the year in broadcasting.

It was last month when Mike Shanahan spent 7 quality hours with the Bills alleged brain-trust.  It was said that the meeting went well and that the 2 sides would keep in touch over the coming weeks.  Immediately thereafter, pretty much everyone and their uncle grenaded the thought that Shanny could ever end up in Buffalo.  Impossible, ludicrous & ridiculous, were just some of the adjectives bandied about by the ‘experts’ to describe the Bills chances.  It got me thinking, how could they be so sure?  What I came up with is this – the only thing more ridiculous than Shanahan going to Buffalo, is that he shouldn’t even consider it.

Insiders allege that Shanny is after 3 things - 1. complete football control  2. a guaranteed 50 million in salary & 3. a stake in the team.  Let’s for a moment assume this is accurate.
Let’s look at some of the potential openings and see who might meet Mike’s criteria.

Oakland - No argument required, the chances of Shanny returning there are worse than me getting or even wanting that gig.

Washington - If Shanahan is serious about his criteria, this would be a pretty quick conversation.  Snider is about as likely to give up complete football control as I am likely to give up the double quarter pounder.

Dallas - the only thing less likely than Dan Snider giving up complete control of his team, is Captain Plastic giving up control of his.  Even if Jerry tells him he will have control, all Mike would have to do is call the Tuna or Jimmy Johnson and ask him if he means it.

Seattle - With the resignation last week of the GM, speculation began to percolate.  Ownership made it clear though that the replacement would have to be willing to play by their rules, in other words likely keep Jim Mora Jr. as coach.  Does that sound like complete control?

Jacksonville - While it is likely they miss the play-offs with their schedule, it’s unlikely they will make a change. There has been a dramatic improvement in the Jags over last year, and since its only year one with Gene Smith making the personnel decisions, it’s unlikely a change is imminent. Besides, even if the job opened up who would take this job over Buffalo?  The attendance in Jacksonville is worse than a WNBA game.

Carolina - What a huge mistake it would be to fire John Fox. That being said, if they did fire Fox,  it would probably be to hire Bill Cowher.  At least that’s what everyone seems to think.  Personally, I don’t think the Panthers will make a change at all and if Cowher gets the feeling that it won’t be anytime soon,  he may be more interested in throwing his hat in the ring for other jobs (maybe I’m just hopeful because he is so terrible on TV).

Tennesse – Fisher isn’t going anywhere.

Now things get a little interesting,

Chicago - With the obvious connection between Shanahan & Cutler it makes sense. Too, its Mike’s home state. Realistically though what are the chance that both Lovie Smith and Jerry Angelo get fired?  I say not good, they are only a couple years removed from the Super Bowl and it seems unlikely after one bad year that they both would get punted.

Cleveland – Owner Randy Lerner seems desperate for a winner and seems willing to give everything that Shanahan would want but for now Lerner has been said to be flirting mostly with Mike Holmgren.  Too, just think about it, if Buffalo is a crappy job what would make the Cleveland job so much more attractive? Ok, maybe the load of draft picks they have stockpiled.

Tampa -With the ownership here, who the heck knows what they will do.  They may still be in love with Raheem Morris or they may think he is already over the hill.  One thing is for sure, if they follow the same hiring pattern and keeping hiring younger coaches they may hire one of the Jonas brothers instead of Shanahan.

Houston – Now this one is interesting.  Kubiak is said to be on the hot seat after another mediocre year.  Every year they are on the verge and every year they come up short.  It’s also interesting because when Kubiak got the job in Houston they employed the Bronco/Shanahan GM philosophy, which is basically that the coach has the control over personnel.  So if Kubiak was let go, the Owner Mcnair is already familiar with the organizational structure that Shanahan is comfortable with.  Whether that is a plus or a negative remains to be seen.  Finally, what impact will it have that Mike’s son is on the staff in Houston and that Kubiak was his protégé?  Again time will tell.

Have you learned anything from this exercise?  Well I firmly believe that there is a decent chance of the Bills landing Shanahan. While it is certainly to soon to tell, the Bills have made it clear that they are agreeable to meeting his demands. Let’s see if anyone else will.

NR

Two-Faced Marauders

Our previous article illustrated the notion of how some fantasy hockey statistics can be misleading if they are simply taken at face value. This week we’ll examine the same principle for goalie statistics, and specifically, in home and away numbers. It’s no secret that most teams play their best hockey in their home arena, and goalies are certainly no exception to this. Although truly elite goaltenders have the ability to maintain a consistent performance both in their home rink, as well as on the road, most goaltenders’ statistics are significantly better at home. Fantasy managers can use this to their advantage in deciding which goaltender to play or bench on any given night, and also in potential trade transactions. Here are some examples:

Carey Price, 2008-2009 Canadiens – After capturing the hearts of the Blue-Blanc-Rouge fans in his rookie year, the Montreal Canadiens had high hopes for Carey Price in the 2008-2009 season. All sorts of comparisons to former-Canadien Ken Dryden were being thrown Price’s way during the offseason, only to end in disappointment as the second year goalie failed to live up to expectations that year, posting a sub-par 2.83 GAA, .905 SV% and 1 shutout over 52 appearances. For most fantasy managers, that type of line didn’t sit well considering that many had spent their 3rd round draft pick on the promising goaltender. A closer look at those numbers however, revealed a small diamond in the rough – Price’s home numbers were in fact excellent: 13-4-7, 2.40 GAA and a .918 SV%. Compare those numbers to his road stats (10-12-3, 3.21, .895) and it’s clear that Price’s value was purely in his home performance. To that end, managers who played Price exclusively at home surely benefited from his performance, especially in rotisserie leagues. Even more interesting however is the opportunity that existed to trade for Carey Price – since his road numbers significantly diluted his excellent home performance, astute mangers could have likely traded for Price at a significant discount, yet receive excellent value in return by playing him in his home rink.

Jon Quick, Kings – Building off an impressive rookie campaign last year, Quick has emerged as a strong candidate to be the Kings’ goalie of the future. Thus far, Quick is challenging for the league lead in wins with 19, only one behind the leader, Martin Brodeur. His overall stat line however is not as impressive: 2.61 GAA, .903 SV%, zero shutouts. A home/away breakdown however reveals a different picture – Home: 2.14 GAA, .913 SV%. Road: 2.81 GAA, .893 SV%. Quick allows an average of close to 0.7 goals more on the road than at home, with a concomitant decrease in his save percentage. Although we’re not diminishing his abilities, understanding this performance difference will perhaps help you to decide whether or not to play Quick in the closing Sunday game of a weekly H2H matchup, or in the middle of a tight race in the rotisserie standings for GAA and SV%. In the case of a H2H matchup, you may decide to take the hit on a potential win, but save yourself in the other two categories of GAA and SV%.

Semyon Varlamov, Capitals – Although Varlamov provides strong goaltending both on the road and at home, his home numbers are simply staggering: 7-0-0, 1.49 GAA, .944 GAA and one shutout. What does this mean? That no matter what, Varlamov is a must-play in home games. His performance at home thus far (or at least prior to injury) trumps the performance of nearly any other goaltender in the league. So if you’re stuck in a situation with three goalies playing on the same night, Varlamov would be a no brainer in any game at the Verizon Center.

Tim Thomas, Boston – Although few would have the guts to bench the reigning Vezina trophy winner, Thomas’ home/away numbers this year do merit some attention: Home: 5-4-2, 2.05 GAA, .930 SV%, 2 SO. Road: 2-4-2, 3.11 GAA, .889 SV%, 1 SO. Understanding this reality could be critical in deciding whether or not to play Thomas in certain key situations. For example, the Bruins travel to Chicago on Friday to take on the Blackhawks, who not only have one of the most balanced offensive attacks in the league, but also a stellar 13-3-1 record at home. Despite Thomas’ reputation as a stand-out goaltender, the numbers and the matchup suggest that the best strategy would be to sit the former Vezina winner.

This strategy can be applied as equally to position players. Many players show significant variance in their home/away performances, and being aware of these differences can help you in deciding who to play when you have a full roster. Granted, this method is not foolproof – Tim Thomas could very well shut the Hawks out on Friday’s game, but generally speaking, the numbers do not lie, and being aware of them should help you play your team according to its strengths.

If there was a ‘Be careful what you wish for…’ category at your local Barnes & Noble, you would no doubt find among other interesting reads – The Jay Cutler story.  No one is asserting that it would make the N.Y. Times bestsellers list, but at the very least it would be a compelling read for the football fan.  Read the full story

Sports Illustrated just put out a list of top broadcasters and other media types. Interestingly, Dan Shulman was rated as the best play-by-play man in the business, edging out the likes of Al Michaels and the highly over-rated Joe Buck. Its about time that this true pro gets the recognition he deserves. His ability to do baseball and basketball equally well and work seamlessly with whomever he is paired with makes him a stand out.