Sports Agenda for Monday (2/4/12)
Big Story:
The Ravens are your super bowl champions and laid out just what is wrong with the Dolphins, I'll explain. Joe Flacco turned into this year's version of "PAY THE MAN!" and the Heat won on the road and the Panthers won Sunday too, wait…what? And my super bowl entertainment thoughts.
Quote of the Day:
"Democracy don't rule the world, you'd better get that in your head; This world is ruled by violence, but I guess that's better left unsaid." – Bob Dylan
Super Bowl XLVII:
Congrats to the Ravens, and my failed pick of the 49ers…better luck next year.
Baltimore opened up a can on San Fran and then held on to win after the great blackout of 2013.
To paraphrase what Jason Parker said on Facebook…Really NFL, you threaten S. Florida with no super bowl over rain and New Orleans is fine?
The Ravens beat the 49ers with a superior offense and an opportunistic defense.
Oh, and the Ravens had some pretty dadgum good receivers out there too in Anquan Boldin and others.
Do you think the Dolphins get sick every time Boldin catches another touchdown? They should after skipping over him in the NFL Draft.
Now, on offense, the Ravens were led by Joe Flacco, who if he had been playing the lottery last night, couldn't have hit a bigger jackpot.
So how much did Flacco make last night?
His contract is up with the Ravens so technically he's a free agent.
However, the Ravens will not let him get away, but they are going to have to make some tough decisions to keep him.
Here's why…
The Ravens can hit him with the exclusive franchise tag and he can't negotiate with anyone else, but that carries a price tag of around $20 million for one season.
The other two options are give him a long-term deal or use the non-exclusive franchise tag.
If you use the non-exclusive franchise tag, another team can sign Flacco and they'd give up two first round picks.
So, the Ravens either have to give him a long-term deal or have $20 million in cap space tied up in one player, because there's a ton of teams who would gladly give up two first round picks for a Super Bowl MVP quarterback in the middle of his prime…including the Dolphins if they had a brain.
So, with the Ravens starting to get snug around the salary cap with a $20 million price tag for Flacco, other players like linebacker Paul Kruger, Dannell Ellerbe and others may get cut to make cap space.
I think the Ravens are somewhere in the neighborhood of $12.3 million under the salary cap.
Flacco's contract will take up more than all of that.
So they've got to make some cuts and even losing Ray Lewis' salary, cuts are still going to have to be made.
They can also re-negotiate some of the current contracts with Terrell Suggs and Haloti Ngata which are worth a combined $24 million.
Oh yeah, let's not forget, safety Ed Reed is also an unrestricted free agent this year. Don't get your hopes up Dolphins, he'll go to a contender.
As for the 49ers, they're going to trade Alex Smith and let Justin Smith rehab and then address holes, which there aren't a lot of, through the draft.
49ers built a great offensive line, have great receivers, and a good quarterback plus the best linebacking corps in football. So yeah, pencil them in as a favorite right now for next year.
Now, for the Dolphins, here's what you need to learn and I think it's already sunk in with Jeff Ireland.
You've got to have some gamebreakers and just solid receivers outside.
The Ravens had Boldin, Jacoby Jones, Torrey Smith, plus their tight ends Dennis Pitta and the other one who's name slips my mind right now.
The 49ers have Vernon Davis, Randy Moss, Michael Crabtree, Frank Gore, etc.
Look at the Ravens…Boldin catches everything near him, Jones is a gamebreaker with speed, Smith, nothing but speed.
Think about the Dolphins…Davone Bess, solid but not great. Brian Hartline, no speed. Past that, nothing.
Offense wins in the NFL and the Dolphins better open up the piggy bank in the offseason, which starts today, to get the weapons Tannehill desperately needs.
The Super Bowl entertainment was, well, she was nice to look at.
Beyonce' is beautiful don't get me wrong and she has a good voice.
I thought Alicia Keys was much better though when it comes to musical ability and singing.
Let's face it, Beyonce' has the right assets the typical NFL fan (i.e. men) are looking forward to seeing at a game. Hence the cheerleader shots.
She put on a good show, better than the last few that South Florida has had during recent Super Bowls down here.
Was it one of the best, no. But it was good, and pretty darn nice to look at.
But I bet you money, all the "parents" groups are going to complain her outfit was too revealing…to which I say…AND?
Miami Heat: (vs. Charlotte Bobcats, 7:30 p.m., Sun Sports)
The Heat welcome in the worst team in the league tonight.
So, we'll just say, congratulations to Erik Spoelstra for being the NBA Eastern Conference All-Star head coach.
He won the job with Miami's victory in Toronto, which gave the Heat the best record in the Eastern Conference in the first half of the season.
Really, there's not much else that needs to be said for a game against the Bobcats.
Florida Panthers: (off Monday)
Just when you think you've figured it out…the Panthers go and win two games in as many days.
If the Cats win in Winnipeg on Tuesady, they've got a bona fide winning streak.
And this is how crazy hockey is right now…
The Cats, with the two wins, are now out of last place in the Southeast Division and the NHL.
Way to go guys.
A couple of more victories and they can move into second place just behind the Lightning.
Next up is Winnipeg who is one point ahead of the Cats in the Southeast.
The Cats doubled-up Winnipeg last week, 6-3, but that was here in Sunrise.
Now it's going to be in Winnipeg…where lets face it, there's nothing to do but play hockey.
Just kidding Canada.
That's it for today, the NFL offseason is about to officially begin, which means we get to look forward to….FREE AGENCY!