Bleacher Report - Articles by Daniel Young

Welcome To Atlanta! Where The Players DONT Get Paid

Daniel Young — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:26:33 -0400

Hi! My name is Daniel Young. I'm a sports fan from Birmingham, AL.

In Birmingham, we don't have any professional sports teams, so for the most past, we stand by the Atlanta franchises, because they are the closest to our town.

Lately, it seems the city of Atlanta cares more about new uniforms than it does winning games and spending money on worthy players.

I'm gonna start off with the Hawks. Aside from picking up talented kids in the draft, the only moves they've made we're keeping Joe Johnson and acquiring Mike Bibby from the Kings.

These were key moves in my opinion—but the guy they needed to worry about was Josh Smith.

A player of his caliber should've already had a contract extension. Instead, he's looking around in free agency. It's not easy to find a small forward who defends and brings it to the rim like him.

Obviously, the organization has other problems as well—such as Josh Childress, who was a complimentary player that got his fair share of minutes, then decided to bolt and head overseas to a team that will actually pay its players.

The Braves have always been my favorite baseball team. This is an organization who keeps young talent. Their farm system is top-notch.

But along with young talent, a team has to have veteran leadership to steer those guys to the right path. Chipper Jones is having a great year so far, but he can only lead so many.

Last year, Smoltz was healthy, Chipper and Andruw Jones were tutoring Jeff Francoeur and Brian McCann, and the last minute trade of Mark Teixiera looked like it had some potential.

Okay, you can't blame management for the poor play of Francoeur, and it's looking like a good move to let Andruw go out west. but every year I wait for the Braves to make a big move in free agency. I'm still waiting. Still waiting on the team to spend some cash to bring seasoned talent to the roster. Maybe next year we'll get 'em.

And let's not forget about the Falcons. I've never really been a Falcons fan, but I do follow the team. They just don't know how to spend their money. All that money to Mike Vick flushed down the toilet. The little time Bobby Petrino spent in Atlanta was the biggest waste of time I've ever seen on both parts. In the last two seasons, the team's draft classes haven't been up to par. I guess they'll have to wait until Vick gets out before they'll win again.

Ten Things I Hate About You: NFL Edition

Daniel Young — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 07:39:33 -0500

I'm a huge college football fan. There is nothing like a Saturday morning watching Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit talk smack about who's gonna win today—and just sitting around all day drinking beer and watching football.

The NFL experience is a little different to me. Yeah, I like to watch a couple of games, but there are a few things I can't stand about this league. These are the things that make me want to turn off the TV when it comes down to the NFL:

1. NFL Draft: The NFL Draft used to be a big-time event for me. Man, I used to love waking up half-drunk from the night before at 10 a.m. before the draft—What potential trades can be made? Who will be the number 1 overall pick? And who does Mel Kiper say is going to be a first day pick?

Mr. Goodell has now ruined that for me. Now the draft doesn't start until 3 p.m. I'll probably be completely sober by then, and I won't feel as good calling my friends talking noise about who we got and they didn't. I do like the fact he cut down on the minutes between picks, but that's the only good thing. Worst of all, he changed the first day from three rounds to two. Now, I'll have to wait another day before I can analyze my team.

2. Horse-Collar Rule: In 2005, the owners had a vote on this rule—labeled the "Roy Williams Rule"—which says you can't bring a guy down by the back of his shoulder pads. In the 2004 season Williams injured four players that year, including Terrell Owens. I say that's a part of the game. In 2006, the rule was expanded to say one can't grab the back of a player's jersey. Now, you mean to tell me if a player is running by me, I can't grab them? I have to just let him run away? That ain't football—at least not how we play in the backyard.

3. Celebrations: The No Fun League goes way too far on guys like T.O. and Chad Johnson for having fun doing what they are paid to do. Mr. Goodell fined T.O. $10,000 for flashing a towel with his name on it.

4. Overtime: The first one to score wins. I'm not too big on this. I think each team should have a chance to score. If the team wins the coin toss and returns the kickoff, they win. I don't find it to be fair to other team. Sure they should have stopped them from scoring—but when both teams were tied at regulation, at least give the other team a chance.

5. College Coaches: The NFL continues to dip into the college football pool in search of a coach. This usually turns out in disaster. Bobby Petrino was a very good college coach and a great offensive mind—until he joined the Falcons. I couldn't even watch a Falcons game because they were so horrible. If Steve Spurrier can't do it, no one can—so leave the college coaches in college. Guys who built their careers in college shouldn't be able to jump unless they have NFL coaching experience first.

6. No More NFL Europe: I used to love this. I know there weren't too many people developed out of this league in recent years, but it was football when nobody else was playing. Arena football and the CFL just suck.

7. Holdouts: Stop being big babies and be happy you are blessed enough to get paid for doing something you love. I hate seeing these guys holdout because they got labeled with the franchise tag. Just go play ball and try to make a good impression for somebody else next year.

8. Pro Bowl: This "All-Star" game is the worst thing about the NFL to me. No one plays hard. I went into detail about this in one of my other articles.

9. NFL Network: I hate the fact Roger, I mean Mr. Goodell, is pushing this network so much now. They ticked me off when they put more games exclusively on NFL Network this season. Less than 30% of homes in America have the NFL Network, and they put some top-notch games on here. That just ain't fair.

10. Madden Curse: Poor Vince Young—he just couldn't get right this year. I didn't really believe in this jinx until this year. His organization didn't help him this year by getting any offensive help.

Tebow Can't Do it Alone

Daniel Young — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 16:57:02 -0500

Lloyd Carr will clean out his office in Ann Arbor with a smile on his face. His Michigan Wolverines just beat the Florida Gators 41-36 in the Capital One Bowl.

Carr can say his team neutralized the Heisman Trophy winner and got a chance to show Rich Rodriguez what his team will look like in the spread. Chad Henne and the Wolverine receivers lit the Gator D up for 373 yards and three touchdowns through the air. The secondary looked sad at times. Even though the front seven didn't put much pressure on Henne, they still managed two fumbles out of Mike Hart.

Well, Tim Tebow continued his streak of 14 games with a rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown. The offense relied on Percy Harvin as he accounted for 242 total yards, rushing 13 times for 165 yards and a touchdown, and hauling in nine passes for 77 yards and another score.

Football is not a two-man game. Dropped passes, missed blocks, and some bad play-calling led to some of Tebow's frustration. This is still a VERY young Gator team coming back and with everything coming in next year this should be the most explosive offense in the nation.