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Topic Started: Apr 22 2014, 11:39 AM (7 Views)
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BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Orioles have placed designated hitter Nick Johnson on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right wrist. The move was announced Thursday, one day after Johnson was removed from Baltimores game against the Los Angeles Angels after one at-bat. Playing in his first season with the Orioles, Johnson is batting .207 with four homers and 11 RBIs. He missed time with the New York Yankees last year with an inflamed tendon in his right wrist, but he says that injury and his current one are not related. To replace Johnson on the roster, the Orioles recalled outfielder Xavier Avery from Triple-A Norfolk. Avery hit .217 in 15 games with Baltimore earlier this season. cheap nfl jerseys china . Among the topics discussed were the futures of Tim Thomas, Roberto Luongo and Tomas Vokoun, the hiring of Bob Hartley as coach in Calgary as well as the ongoing search for a head coach in Montreal and Washington and Jordan Staals future in Pittsburgh. jerseys from china . -- Quarterback Tom Brady looks fine. http://www.comcheapjerseys.com/ . -- Canadas Graham DeLaet is quietly becoming the Cinderella of these FedEx Cup playoffs. wholesale nfl jerseys .J. -- It appears Tim Tebow will be watching from the sideline again. cheap jerseys from china . PETERSBURG, Fla.DENVER -- The eight teams left in the NFL playoffs can thank their special teams for a good part of their success. Thats one reason players are still upset Commissioner Roger Goodell has floated the idea of abolishing kickoffs altogether. Baltimore Ravens return specialist Jacoby Jones, who returned two kickoffs for touchdowns this season, said if the league gets rid of the electrifying plays, "Im going to retire. I will go (ballistic). ... If they take out kickoffs, theyre going to hate me in this league." The idea is only a suggestion, one Goodell says the league will consider in the off-season for safety reasons, but players are vehemently opposed to such a radical change they contend would shake the foundation of Americas most popular sport. "I havent found anybody that likes the idea, because, first of all, the sport is called football, so you cant keep taking the foot part of it out," Denver Broncos punter Britton Colquitt said. "It would also be really confusing if they were like, Stay tuned for kickoff, and there was no kickoff, you know? What are they going to say, Stay tuned for the start of the game? "Boooring!" Abolishing kickoffs would also eliminate the onside kick as an option -- like the one the New Orleans Saints used to turn the tide against the Indianapolis Colts coming out of halftime in the Super Bowl three years ago -- and it would prune some pizazz from the game, like Desmond Howards kickoff return for a touchdown that gave Brett Favre his only championship ring in the mid-1990s. Of the 13 kickoff-return TDs this season, seven came from teams that reached the playoffs as the Ravens, Colts, Patriots, Broncos, Seahawks and Vikings all sported resumes that boasted at least one of the backbreakers. Players say rules changes like banning the blocking wedge, moving the kickoff up five yards and limiting the number of players who can line up on one side of the ball for an onside kick have already lessened the number of violent collisions in games and they wonder if messing with the kickoffs is simply going too far. "If youve got to do something about it, if you still feel like its injuries, then move it up to the 40 and then its like 99 per cent of the time its going to be a touchback," Colquitt suggested. That way, the onside kick would still be an option. "But you even see the returners, theyre returning the ball from deeper in the end zone than they used to because they want to return it," Colquitt said. "Theyre not out there in fear for their life, theyre not saying, I dont want to do this." Indeed, there were eight 100-yard kickoff-return touchdowns in 2012, the most of any season in NFL history. "Bringing one out, how is that unsafe? Its football," Jones said. "Everybody doesnt take them out from 8 yards deep, but I take my chances because I have fun. And I have guys in front of me that do a heck of a job blocking. We take care of each other and roll with the punches." The NFL has made safety a top priority in recent years as it faces lawsuits by thousands of former players who say the league withheld information on the harmful effects of concussions. According to an AP review of 175 lawsuits, 3,818 players have filed suit. At least 26 Hall of Famers are among the players who have done so. Two years ago, the league moved the kickoff from the 30 to the 35-yard line to cut down on violent collisions, and that has resulted in far more touchbacks and, the league says, a lot feweer head injuries.dddddddddddd The average number of kickoff returns since the rule change has fallen to 1,385 a season from about 2,100 per year before the change, according to STATS LLC. "We continue to look for other ways to take the head out of the game," Goodell said in a recent speech at Harvard. "Two years ago we moved the kickoff line five yards forward to the 35. That reform yielded real benefits -- a 40 per cent reduction in concussions last year on kickoffs. College football then adopted our rule. Some think that the kickoff, the play with the highest injury rate, should be eliminated from the game or modified even further." Tampa Bay first-year coach Greg Schiano suggested to Goodell that instead of kickoffs, teams would have the option of punting from the 30-yard line or going for a first down in a fourth-and-15 situation. Schiano witnessed one of his players at Rutgers, Eric LeGrand, get paralyzed on a kickoff in 2010. Goodell has called Schianos idea "interesting." Browns kicker Phil Dawson believes its illogical. "Im all for player safety," Dawson said recently. "I do think the NFL has done a good job in the past, like with the wedge rule. This suggestion doesnt add up. It doesnt address what they say the dangers are because punts are just as violent. There arent going to be any touchbacks. How many times have you seen a punt returner waiting for the ball to come down and the gunner just kills him? It doesnt make sense to me." Without the kickoff, teams trailing in the waning minutes would have to convert fourth-and-long following a score instead of attempting an onside kick. Interestingly, since 2005, the onside kick conversion rate has been 19.7 per cent, while the rate for fourth-and-15 has been 19.2 per cent, according to STATS. Eliminating kickoffs would also get rid of the onside kick as a strategic surprise, the kind the Saints used to win the Super Bowl. Then, theres the whole issue of job security for special teams. "Thats how some people make it in the NFL," Jones said. "If it wasnt for kickoff and punt returns, I probably would have had a shot at making it, but thats my best asset. What about Devin Hester?" The idea of abolishing one of the games most exciting aspects certainly irritates Trindon Holliday, who has returned both a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns for Denver this season. "I dont like it. Hes messing with some of the players livelihoods," said Holliday, who pointed to teammate Omar Bolden, a rookie cornerback who had nine special teams tackles and a 19.3-yard kickoff return average, as an example of a young player making his mark on special teams while biding his time behind veteran players on defence. Teams will always need a fourth receiver or a third running back, so their jobs wont necessarily go away. But their opportunities to contribute, make an impression in games and earn more playing time from scrimmage certainly will, suggested Broncos receiver Matthew Willis, who earns his activation on game days primarily for his contributions on all of Denvers special teams units. Opportunities. Onside kicks. Electrifying returns. Its just too much to take from the game, Colquitt said. "Sometimes theres too many things that people try to change when if it aint broke, dont fix it," he said. "I know its all because of injuries, but I think theres a lot more guys getting hurt on offence and defence than in the kicking game." ' ' '
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