Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Leadoff with Lee 9.3.14

By @cleeverizon

-Despite a 2 a two run homerun by Carlos Santana, despite the Tigers being shutout from innings 3-8 and despite the Tribe heading into the top of the 9th with a 2-1 lead, J.D. Martinez hit a 3 run homerun to give the Detroit Tigers a 4-2 win at Progressive Field over the Indians. Carlos Carassco pitched 5.1 innings giving up 10 hits, 1 earned run and recording 10 strikeouts. The Indians pitching staff as a whole had 14 strikeouts for the game. Cody Allen have up the 3 run bomb in the top off the 9th to earn his 2nd blown save within a month and recording his 4th loss of the season. Tonight, Danny Salazar (5-6, 4.23 era) will face Detroit's Justin Verlander (12-11, 4.68 era). The Indians are 3 games behind Seattle for the last wild card spot. FYI: Indians tickets for the last 2 games of the Detroit series are going for as little as $10 on StubHub.

-Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert wants the NBA all-star game to return to Cleveland. The last time Cleveland hosted the mid season spectacular was in 1997. This is also when the NBA honored the 50 Greatest Players. If Cleveland can host the 2017 game, that will be officially 20 years since Cleveland had the festivities. And wouldn't it be nice to have all eyes on Cleveland with LeBron James having a all-star game in his own backyard? LBJ, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving would all be in their 2nd year of max deals. Downtown Cleveland and the surrounding areas have a lot to offer and is growing with massive improvements and renovations. Casinos, new hotels being built, the soon revival of the East Banks of The Flats, the vast array of dining and culture throughout and the Republican National Convention coming to town. Things are looking good for the 'Land. New York and Toronto have the All Star festivities in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

-Weeks ago, Under Armour offered Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant a 10-year $265-$285 million dollar endorsement deal. Nike told Durant and his represenitives at Jay-Z's Roc Nation Sports that they would match the Under Armour offer. Durant should make $41.2 million dollars more than what he is being paid by the Thunder over the next 2 years.

-Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay was suspended by the NFL for the first 6 games of the season and also fined $500,000 dollars after pleading guilty to one count of misdemeanor OVI charges. Irsay was pulled over for eratic driving. Toxicology reports showed he had Xanax in his system. But he was also found with pill bottles containing large amounts of oxycodone and hydrocodone. Also having over $30,000 cash on hand. People may say "Well Josh Gordon got suspended a full season and only failed a drug test". I agree, but owners are not subject to the same collective bargaining agreement as players. Now the "average Joe" like me or you, if we would have been caught with as much weight as Irsay did, we would be doing time under the jail. Prime example of "Money will make your problems go away".

-Wes Welker has been suspended for the first 4 games of this NFL season for testing positive for amphetamines. Welker appealed the suspension 2 weeks ago but was denied by the league. Amphetamines is the parent compound of the drug ecstasy or as the kids call it "Molly". I guess Welker was on his "TURN DOWN FOR WHAT" ish.

-Star defensive end J.J. Watt and the Houston Texans have agreed on a 6-year contract extension that could net him a total of $100 million. The deal that kicks in on the final two years of his current contract will keep Watt in a Texans uniform through 2021. He is guaranteed $51.8 million, the highest amount for a defensive player in NFL history. The $16.6 million annual value is also the most for a defensive player ever.

-The Kansas City Chiefs signed quarterback Alex Smith to a 4-year, $68 million dollar contract extension, which includes a $18 million dollar signing bonus. His salary for 2014 is $1 million dollars,but spikes up to $11.9 in 2015,$14.1 in 2016,down to $10.2 in '17 and back up to $14.5 in '18. $2 million in roster bonuses in '17 and '18.

-Michael Sam was cut by the St. Louis Rams on Saturday, but is on his way to Dallas for a physical with the Cowboys. The NFL's first openly gay player is expected to be signed to the Cowboys practice squad pending his physical results. In related news, the WWE has invited Sam to the September 8th episode of Raw. I expect Sam to decline this offer especially if the Cowboys sign him to the practice squad.

-The NFL and the NFLPA have begun talks to raise the marijuana test levels for the next CBA. It's very clear both sides see the need for the change considering it is the lowest out of all competitive sports. If this was the NBA, MLB, Olympics or the United States Army, we wouldn't even have this issue.

-Browns, Directv, Raycom. Ok I have been corrected on my previous tweets by saying Directv NFL Sunday ticket subscribers will be able to watch the game this weekend despite the contract dispute between Raycom and DirecTV. After further research, I found out the since it is a AFC game and the visiting team is responsible for the national feed the game WILL NOT be available. Unlike baseball to where you can select the local or visiting feed for announcers on different channels. NFL guidelines state it is the visitors who are responsible. But don't feel bad Cleveland fans. There are other markets that are owned by Raycom and broadcast NFL football games that are going through the same thing. Raycom had this same issue with Dish Network last year around the same time and a resolution was found. Too much advertising money will be lost by Raycom if they don't strike a deal. Companies pay millions of dollars to have their commercials shown during football games. Fellow DirecTV customers just need to remain calm.

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