The REAL. BIG. Blog

A little over 20 years ago a true Blockbuster event happened. Herschel Walker was traded from the Dallas Cowboys to the Minnesota Vikings. This deal was certainly groudbreaking… for the Cowboys. For those unfamiliar to what Minnesota gave up for the  All-Pro Running Back, heres the deal:

Minnesota Received:

Herschel Walker, Dallas’s 3rd (’90) round pick, San Diego’s 5th round pick (’90), Dallas’s 10th round pick(’90) and Dallas’s 3rd round pick in the ‘91 draft.

Cowboys Received:

LB Jesse Solomon, LB David Howard, CB Issiac Holt, RB Darrin Nelson (who was traded to San Diego), DE Alex Stewart, Minnesota’s 1st, 2nd, 6th round picks in the 1990 Draft, their 1st and 2nd round picks in the 1991 Draft, their 2nd and 3rd in the 1992 Draft and their 1st round pick in the 1993 Draft.

Yes, draft picks are only draft picks and there are countless big name busts, but to put this into perspective a little bit, with the first round pick in the ‘90 draft, the Cowboys picked Emmitt Smith, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher. In the ‘92 draft, they picked Darren Woodson, NFL Hall-Of-Famer and one of the best safety’s to ever play the game. Those two players alone would have made the deal worth while.

Now why do I bring this up you ask?

There are rumors floating about that the Detroit Tigers are putting Curtis Granderson on the trading block. Granderson is young player in his prime, with gold-glove fielding capabilities and the potential to be a 30-30 man every year. Many teams have reported interest, including the Yankees, Red Sox and Cubs, and the asking price is not cheap.

What will come of Curtis Granderson this offseason?

Congratulations to the New York Yankees on winning their 27th World Series title. The exhausting MLB season has finally come to a close, along with the best time of the year for sports…

October and November are some of the most exciting months for sports fans. It is the only time of the year that all 4 major sports are on at the same time.

The MLB Playoffs are nearing the end, where every pitch, every catch and every move matters. This year in the playoff you had two of the more storied franchises in all of sports with the Yankees and Dodgers. Let’s not forget the Red Sox and Cardinals who have both won a World Series title in the past 3 years. And then there are the two most consistent teams in baseball: the Twins and Angels. Year after year, those two teams always seem to be near, or at the top of their respected divisions. After starting 19-28 and firing their head coach, the Rockies came back and made another impressive run to the postseason.

The NFL is in full swing with intriguing story lines, bone-crushing hits and highlight reel plays. There are always surprises with the NFL. Who would have thought that at age 40, Brett Favre would be playing as well as he is… who would have thought that in week 9 we would still have two undefeated teams (Indianapolis and New Orleans both 7-0)… Who would have thought that the Wildcat would make defensive coordinators cringe… From the Ram’s, Lion’s and Buccaneers to the Saints, Colts and Vikings, Sunday’s are days where you can always find excitement with any team.

The NBA season tips off. A clean slate for every team. The Clippers look to spring forward with Blake Griffin, Stephen Curry looks to show off his sweet shot at the professional level, and the rest of the NBA Rookies look to make their mark on the league. This is a league full of superstars. From LeBron and Kobe to Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade, each player brings a different dynamic to the court that can only be classified as incredible.

And finally, the puck drops in the NHL. After a come from behind win against the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Penguins are looking for the first repeat since the Red Wings went back to back in ‘97 and ‘98. With all the free agent moves and offseason trades, the tides may be turning for some teams in the NHL.

Of course, I cannot forget College football. Every sports fan has a favorite NCAA team. With tailgaiting, face painting, BCS discussions, conference title hopes, stadiums with 100,000+ people, and bowl games… College football definitely demonstrates the true passion of fans and athletes.

Ah yes, it really is a great time of year!

Fathead is delighted to share the latest editions  to the NFL and Fathead bloggers: Mr. James Laurinaitis, Mr. Jeremy Maclin, and Mr. Darrius Heyward-Bey! Fathead will be having weekly posts from the recently Fathead-ed NFL Rookies and giving fans their first hand experiences in the Pros.  Sports Fanatics, Friends and Family can all put themselves in a day in the life of each of these talented athletes. Stop by their blog pages and make your comments, let them know what you think of their new Fathead, encouragement for the next big  game, ask them the questions you are most interested in hearing and welcome them to the team.

Check their blogs and images out at:

http://blog.fathead.com/fathead-insider-darrius-heyward-bey/

http://www.fathead.com/nfl/oakland-raiders/darrius-heyward-bey/

http://blog.fathead.com/fathead-insider-james-laurinaitis/

http://www.fathead.com/nfl/st.-louis-rams/james-laurinaitis/

http://blog.fathead.com/fathead-insider-jeremy-maclin/

http://www.fathead.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/jeremy-maclin/

Jay Cutler from the Denver Broncos is stuck in the lurch between his team wanting him to stay and staying open for trade deals. At Fathead, we like to know where players will be ASAP so that we can make sure that we are the first product out in a new uniform. We hate the lurch. If you were Cutler, what would you want to do? Would you want to stay in Denver or look for a Super Bowl somewhere else?

By Ignacio Salazar

Houston Player of the Year: Andre Johnson

This year the choice was easy. Andre Johnson of the Texans was, without a doubt, one of the best players in the NFL this year. Not to mention the best among all the athletes currently playing for Houston pro teams.

Johnson led all NFL receivers with 115 receptions and 1,575 yards and he was voted to his third Pro Bowl, his second as a starter. He had eight games with 100 or more receiving yards and he is the only player in NFL history have 10 or more catches in seven games in a season.

Entering week 16, the AFC East remains locked in a three-way tie.  The New York Jets, New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins, all with 9-5 records, are battling for the title of division leader with just two remaining games in the regular season.

Each of these teams has there own little Cinderella story upon arriving to this point.  The New York Jets finished last season with a woeful 4-12 record.  But BIG off-season acquisitions (perhaps the biggest being the arrival of Brett Favre to be posted behind a revamped o-line) have helped them snap back from last season’s demise.  The Miami Dolphins almost succeeded in achieving the dreaded winless season last year, but instead finished with a 1-15 record. 

By Apryl DeLancey

Aah…the start of the NBA season.  Depending on who you listen to, the Los Angeles Lakers are going to take the title or the Boston Celtics will repeat.  I’m personally pulling for the first scenario.  Of course, I’m an extremely biased Los Angeles native.  I’m still not over the Lakers playing like absolute dirt against the aforementioned Celtics in the finals last year.  I mean seriously, it seemed like Kobe Bryant only played on half a tank of fuel at times.  Eh, que sera sera…I just can’t get too worked up by the games so far.  Yes, the Lakers are atop the West and the Celtics are atop the East.  There are still MANY months of basketball to be played so I will reserve judgment on who will be the champs until I see more.  Heck, who knows… maybe the Clippers could pull something out.  Then again, maybe the St. Louis Rams will miraculously make the NFL playoffs this year and the Los Angeles Kings will be NHL champs.  Yeah, I know…fairy tales.

Speaking of the Clippers, they have this very nice facility just down the street from me here in the LAX/Marina Del Rey area.  What is interesting is that this is not too far from the Lakers complex in El Segundo.  For those of you not privy to the Los Angeles layout, both of these are close to LAX and pretty far from the Staples Center downtown where they play.  So my question is this – did the Clippers move closer to the coast and airport to be closer to the Lakers and therefore maybe getting some of their good mojo to rub off on them?  Or do they just want to be closer to the wonderful breezes of the Pacific Ocean?  Regardless, the new practice facility for the Clippers is modern and has a ticker on the outside so that you can catch up on team news.  Maybe I’ll start seeing them around lunchtime like I do certain Lakers members.  Yeah, I really do see Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant, and Luke Walton every now and then at the local lunch or coffee spot.  In fact, Luke and his brother have a little restaurant nearby.  I know – I’ve got a rough life.

Speaking of interesting NBA possibilities, it appears that everyone’s favorite Maverick, owner that is, is facing a heavy accusation of insider trading.  As we know from the whole Martha Stewart incident, this is not something that the powers that be tolerate with much empathy.  This story is at its preliminary stages so there isn’t a reason to jump to conclusions yet.  Even Mark Cuban deserves a fair shake.  How sad would it be to just have this turn out to be a witch hunt of sorts.  It is no secret that he has rubbed some the wrong way but this is not a reason to assume his guilt so early.  Let’s be civil, folks.

Who are you watching this NBA season?

By Apryl DeLancey

As the country is knee deep in the very interesting NFL season I thought I’d take a moment to talk about baseball:

I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that the Tampa Bay Rays are for real.  Yeah, I know, they choked in the World Series.  But really – they were at the very bottom last season.  I mean the BOTTOM.  That whole worst to first thing was going on.  To even make it to the playoffs was a major feat and the first in their franchise history.  They knocked off the precious Boston Red Sox on the way and totally owned the New York Yankees all season.  In spite of what you may think – the Tampa Bay Rays are a real baseball team now.   They are on the map and deserve fans and recognition!

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria was recently named the American League Rookie of the Year.  Ha!  A player from the Tampa Bay Rays!  Seriously!  Talk about validation.  Longoria is only one of the many young stars that keep the franchise afloat.  The lineup is chock full of the young and talented like Matt Garza and Dioner Navarro.  On the other side of the diamond, first baseman Carlos Pena got a Golden Glove nod for himself.  More validation.  Hopefully the team stays mostly intact through this offseason so they can come back strong next year.  The team can only get better.  I’ll bet if they make it back to the World Series they’ll actually put up a big fight and perhaps even win the whole thing.

On the other hand, the Los Angeles Dodgers continue to let the Manny Ramirez clock run.  Let’s see where he ends up.  We all want him to stay here in Los Angeles.  With the Dodgers.  The New York Yankees already have their wallet open if he doesn’t stay.  In other news, the Dodgers decided to let Brad Penny become a free agent.  Who will be next?

Speaking of the National League and the Dodgers, the playoff sweep of the Chicago Cubs didn’t stop catcher Geovany Soto from getting the NL Rookie of the Year nod.  Congratulations to him.

The landscape of the MLB map is undergoing a change.  I like to think it is for the better since teams that are not exclusively from the northeast corner of the country are making headlines.  A similar migration of power happened in the NFL when the Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, and San Francisco 49ers lost their stranglehold on NFL titles.  It’s now happening in baseball.  Fans tire of the same teams winning all the time.  At least this one does.  Let’s mix it up!

By Apryl DeLancey

Can you believe that the Tennessee Titans are 8-0?  I was fortunate to pick up their amazing defense in my Fantasy Football draft at the start of the season.  I say fortunate since it was my very last pick and sort of an afterthought.  Bwahaha!  At any rate, let me just write that again – the Tennessee Titans are 8-0.  I find that remarkable since the team is buried deep in NCAA Football territory.  Most of the sports fans in the area are die-hard Tennessee Volunteers fans that aren’t big followers of pro football.  I’m guessing that’s changing.

Besides, the Titans are living up to their name while the New England Patriots continue to bewilder some and amuse others.   The Pats loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 9 puts their record at 5-3.  One bewildering fact is that they’ve managed to play an entire game earlier this season completely penalty-free.  Fans are also holding on to the hope that former USC Trojan Matt Cassel can continue to perform in Tom Brady’s absence.  So far he’s done a great job of stepping up.

Lastly, what the heck happened to the Dallas Cowboys?  First, Tony Romo suffers a minor injury that keeps him from playing.  Then, Terrell Owens can’t seem to buy a catch.  (In fact, I had to bench him from my Fantasy team this week.)  The Cowboys were lucky to make it past the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 8, but were utterly embarrassed in Week 9 by the New York Giants.  Brad Johnson threw many interceptions, but one of the Cowboys’ touchdowns came from an Eli Manning interception that was run back.  Luckily, the ‘boys have a bye week ahead of them and can pause to regroup.  Everyone predicted they would have a really great year…

Not surprisingly, the Atlanta Falcons went on the road and completely demolished the Oakland Raiders. I really would like to see the Raiders get it together…soon.

It has been a wild NFL season so far and I can’t wait to see how it all turns out!

By Ignacio Salazar

Tennessee Titans Helmet - Fathead Wall Graphic

New York Jets Helmet - Fathead Wall Graphic

I’m giving you a fair warning Houston. At least a year in advance. Don’t pinch yourself next year when you’re tuning into some NFL football and you notice the Houston Oilers playing the New York Titans in Nashville. Why you ask? It’s the 50th anniversary of the AFL and the NFL will honor the original AFL teams next year.

Tennessee Titans owner, K.S. “Bud” Adams Jr., said he will honor the Oilers teams when they play the New York Jets, originally the Titans, by breaking out the old Columbia blue uniforms.

The Oilers uniforms will make a second appearance when Adams’ team squares off against the team formerly known as the Dallas Texans, now the Kansas City Chiefs. Talk about weird: the two original Texas teams playing a game in Missouri.

What do you think Houston? Will you be happy to see that oil derrick on the side of the helmet again?

Notes:: The original AFL teams are the Houston Oilers (Tennessee Titans), Dallas Texans (K.C. Chiefs), L.A./San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Boston Patriots, New York Titans (Jets), Cincinnati Bengals and the Denver Broncos.