Sports In 2011 – A New Year With New Possibilities

2010 was a big year in sports.

It was a year in which many teams and athletes had the greatest moments in their lifetime or history. The fans of the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco Giants finally got to celebrate a title after decades of disappointing seasons and sad endings. Michael Vick had one of the best comeback seasons ever for an athlete after spending nearly two years in jail.

Yet, 2010 also marked a time of others who would drop into the doldrums of obscurity. There was Gilbert Arenas and his playful, gun-slinger antics that got him suspended for most of the 2009-10 NBA season. Ben Roethlisberger dealing with another sexual assault investigation that got him suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season.

Although both players hit the lowest points in their careers, neither one of them fell further from the cliff than Tiger Woods. 2010 was a year of saving and reshaping his image, dodging questions of his personal life and his wife divorcing him. What makes matters worse is that he couldn’t even manage a win in an event during the season.

Despite the down points for those athletes, they can luckily look forward to making 2011 a year of moving forward and descending back to greatness. Arenas gets a new start on one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference with the Orlando Magic. Roethlisberger will be leading his Pittsburg Steelers into the post season once again. Now that his personal life appears stable, Woods appears on par for a Vick-like bounce back year.

Aside from those intriguing 2011 storylines, this year looks to be a step up from 2010 due to its brimming potential. With so many possibilities already developing and new legends to be made at anytime, the public will have to remain on its toes for what the year has in store.

Here are some stories that have promise to shine brightly in 2011:

1) Can Tiger Woods Really Turn Things Around?

As discussed before, Woods had one of the biggest falls ever in the history of sports. Known for his ability to harness pressure and attention into a ball of fire that he unleashes on the courses for eagles and birdies, the legendary golfer finally illustrated one characteristic that we never seen before: he’s human.

The former number one ranked golfer can be optimistic about one thought though; while he did drop tremendously during the 2010 season, he really has no where to go but up in 2011. One win at an event will stamp 2011 as a more successful year than the previous one. Yet, in order to return back to having that invincible aura that he once carried around for years, he’ll have to win numerous events and majors this season.

With his personal life calming down, if he can regain his focus and ability on his game, Woods should be able to get back on course to make a run at Nicklaus’s major record.

2) Can The 2011 Atlanta Falcons Be The 2010 New Orleans Saints?

When “Who Dat” nation celebrated their Super Bowl title in 2010, it allowed a ray of hope for other franchises that have never been able to hoist the championship trophy.

This year could mark the birth of another first time winner.

If there was any team that could pull of a 2010 New Orleans Saints-type run in 2011, it would be the Atlanta Falcons. A team that has never won a Super Bowl since joining the NFL in 1966, this year’s team will have the number one seed in the NFC and have a team prime to end their Super Bowl-less drought.

Of course, to get there, they will need to get through the usual suspects who have reached the promise land lately. Recent champions, such as the New England Patriots, Pittsburg Steelers, Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints, are all back to make another go of it. Not to mention the usual playoff attendees, like the Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers and New York Jets, are all hoping to reclaim riches that were synonymous with their franchise’s past.

Potential is in the corner for the Falcons; the only question will be if they can take the punches, and still be the last man standing.

3) Will We See A Miami Heat vs Los Angeles Lakers Final?

If there was a Christmas wish list of what each person in the world wanted, everyo e will most likely list seeing a match up between the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers for the NBA finals.

There is absolutely no doubt that this would be the hottest ticket in years to acquire, even hotter than any of the recent finals with the Lakers and Celtics. According to an article by Sports Illustrated, the Christmas day matchup between both franchises got the highest rated NBA regular season game since 2004.

What does this mean? The public wants more of this rivalry.

Not only would the public want it, but the NBA is holding their breath until their face turns blue in hopes of getting such a fairy tale matchup. A Lebron James vs Kobe Bryant matchup for the title would have the greatest storyline in the league’s history. Can James finally reach historical significance that he so desperately needs with an NBA championship on his resume? Or, will Bryant stop him to reach his second three peat to even himself with the god of basketball Michael Jordan?

4) Does Four Dominant Starting Pitchers Equal A World Series Title?

Already sporting a formidable trio with Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels, the Philadelphia Phillies felt this was the year they would bounce back from a 2009 World Series loss to win the title in 2010.

Too bad the San Francisco Giants had to go and play the spoiler role in the 2010 NLCS.

Despite the loss, the Phillies appeared to be early contenders for the 2011 season after the loss because of their powerful lineup and the trio kept intact. So it came with an even bigger shock when the Phillies snuck up behind the Yankees and Rangers to snag one of the most coveted free agent pitchers this off-season: Cliff Lee.

Now with the big lefty atop the rotation next to Halladay, Oswalt, and Hamels, Philadelphia looks stronger than ever and have a rotation that’s quietly gaining the reputation as one of the greatest starting pitching rotations in history. They will have challenges before them with the likes of the improved Boston Red Sox, the always pricey roster of the New York Yankees, and the San Francisco Giants going for a repeat.

Even with all those teams ready to take them on, the Phillies new addition could be the final part of the equation that equals a title.

It’s hard to say what exactly will be the biggest story of 2011. It could be any one of the four possibilities in the discussion, or even the proverbial story-out-of-nowhere that always erupts in sports each year. With so many options and opportunities for major headlines, the only way to be aware of what’s to come is to watch and observe the new year.

No matter what, 2011 will undoubtedly follow 2010 in one distinct fashion; it will be a year in which anything can happen in sports.

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The Eagle Has Landed: Michael Vick Has Returned Vic-“Torious”

Standby folks, this Eagles’ flight has finally steadied after going through some rough turbulence.

After taking off with the Atlanta Falcons as the number one pick in the 2001 NFL Draft, the Michael Vick flight was on a smooth ride for six great seasons.

Three Pro Bowl Seasons.


A big playoff win over Brett Favre’s Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field.


The richest contract for an NFL player at the end of 2004.

Despite the great take off and cruising at a nice altitude, the seat belt sign flashes on as a heavy amount of turbulence was ahead for him.

Then came the onslaught:

Shocking revelations of irreprehensible treatment to dogs.

Illegal activity with the money earned from that “richest player in the NFL” contract.

Federal investigations and trials.

To say that the former Virginia Tech quarterback was in a swirling mass of controversy is an understatement. The superstar completely fell off the face of the earth as he went from being one of the most loved athletes to being one of the most loathed criminals.

Everyone believed that the former Falcons quarterback would be done from football with no ability to stay in gridiron shape with a 23-month prison sentence slapped upon him. With such negative press, mental anguish and bankruptcy issues weighing heavily upon him, there was no way Vick would make it back to the NFL, let alone become a starting quarterback again.

Three years later, Vick has come full circle and emerged as the starting quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles in his second year with the team.

First off, the down-on-his-luck quarterback should be praised and commended for working hard to get back to where he has gotten to. No matter what the future may hold for this guy, he has successfully gotten his flight pattern back on track.

To go through what Vick has since everything came out and end up back on top is unprecedented. Most human beings would have crashed and burned immediately once the storm started brewing, including most athletes.

Flight number seven has kept his wings up high and continued to push through all the turbulence since rejoining the NFL.

He humbly accepted being the third string quarterback on a team with one of the greatest quarterbacks even in Donovan McNabb and a young apprentice in Kevin Kolb anxiously awaiting his turn at the Eagles helm.

His play early on was some of the worst quarterbacking the public has ever seen from Vick. He appeared no longer to be the nearly invincible running machine he once was loaded with one of the strongest arms at his disposal.

Despite the dreadful performances, Vick vehemently worked hard to improve as a quarterback. He patiently studied his playbook as much as possible and honed his ability to become a better quarterback, especially in his passing accuracy.

He also worked to reduce the off-the-field problems that were a part of his life before his jail time. Although there was a nightclub shooting incident he was supposedly involved in (but later relieved from the investigation), his life outside of football appears to have matured.

In one crazy flight that has spanned three years, Vick has gone through a variety of conditions to now the possibility of becoming better than ever. Only time will tell if he can remain the starter in Philadelphia or if his career will continue to ascend higher than its current position.

No matter what though, Michael Vick can say he has landed victoriously after a turbulent trip.

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Atlanta Falcons "Rise Up" Commercial with Samuel L Jackson

In our current society that we live in, there is only man that make anything instantly more entertaining and that man is actor Samuel L Jackson.

Recently the Atlanta Falcons tabbed him for an advertisement in which he leads a chorus of Falcons faithful to, "Rise Up".



I was just waiting for him to say, "It'll get ya drunk!"

(Courtesy of With Leather)

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Falcons-Redskins Sideline Brawl

During the Atlanta Falcons/Washington Redskins game over the weekend, both teams got into a little tussle near the bench and Falcons head coach Mike Smith decided to take a swing near the direction of former Falcon DeAngelo Hall.

Late in the second quarter, Matt Ryan attempted to run for a first down and was pushed out of bounds late by Laron Landry.

This sparked the brawl where Mike Smith needed to be restrained by some of his players. Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall after the game accused two of the Falcons coaches of misconduct during the fight.

Mike Smith is a fiery one, ain't he?

(Courtesy of You Been Blinded)

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The Luck of the Draw

We've got a new staff writer joining us. His name is Aseem, and I think he's going to write some good stuff. He'll officially introduce himself a little later when he has time, but for now here's the first post he submitted to Outside the Boxscore. Enjoy.

"It's not how you play, it's who you play..."

Excuse the lame parody on an old cliche, but I felt it appropriate in describing the quirks of the NFL season schedule. It really is all about who you play. Take my beloved Cleveland Browns, for example: two seasons ago, the Browns went 10-6 on the ostensible strength of Derek Anderson's cannon of a right arm, but truly they were carried on the weak shoulders of their opponents. Their opposing team's winning percentage in that season was a paltry .430. The next season? A wicked .543 constituted one of the toughest schedules in the league.

So which teams are up for a major fall from Cinderella grace this season? Look to the NFC South for some huge drop-offs. That division (by some miracle handed down by GOoDell) sent two teams to the playoffs last year, Carolina and Atlanta. We can attribute some of Atlanta's success to the emergence of AP Offensive Rookie of the Year and quarterback wunderkind Matt Ryan (not so much in the case of Mr. 5-Interception in the Biggest Game of the Season Jake Delhomme...), but a lot of their wins were delivered on a silver platter by the league's bottom-dwellers. This year, they have the fourth-hardest strength of schedule, while Carolina checks in with a scary #2 ranking in that category. In fact, the NFC East has an interesting history of first-to-worst and worst-to-first transitions, much of which is due to the influences of their schedules.

Will we see the same turnaround this year, when all four teams in the NFC South rank in the top ten in strength of schedule? You can bet that a 9-7 record will probably take the division title and echo the Cardinals path to the Super Bowl last year.

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Atlanta Falcons to trade the rights to Michael Vick?

It makes sense to try to rid your team of old baggage, but in the case of Michael Vick, is it even really possible?

Apparently Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff would like to try. From an interview posted on NFL.com, Dimitroff has said that " We feel a trade is in the best interest of the Falcons, and it's also in the best interest for Michael." That's true, and it's a good idea to move on.

But two major (obvious) problems stand in Dimitroff's way. One is Vick's contract, which actually isn't as bad as it seemed originally considering Vick signed a 10 year - 130 million dollar contract in 2004, which would only be half over. But in actuality it sounds like most of the contract can be voided since Vick's situation was "detrimental to the team." The Falcons would still probably have to figure out Vick's $37 million in signing bonuses, but that's petty cash compared to the $70-80 million they could have been paying. Still a decent chunk of change though.

The bigger problem is interest. Given his past, you have to think that only the Cowboys and Bengals could be truly interested, as it seems they'll take on the seediest of guys as reclamation projects. But the market right now is starving for QBs, and given that there's a chance Vick would be ready for the upcoming season, you have to wonder if a team like the Bears or Jets or Chiefs would take a flier on Vick. Granted he's probably rusty, and he never completed passes at a decent clip anyways (his lifetime completion percentage is 53.8). But the guy was always a game changer, and maybe he could inject some life into an offense or two. There was originally even talk he could to WR or something, but I don't see him being much more than a poor man's Josh Cribbs if he made that switch.

My guess? He's done. He's too much of a potential headache and too much of a question mark as to what he could still bring. Best to let him saunter off into the sunset as a former NFL player than to kick up old dirt and start some controversy. But then again, as long as Jerry Jones is around in Dallas, anything can happen.

Oh and for the record, Vick is no Seneca Wallace at running.

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