Author: Dave Ettinger

Dave is a Trending News Sports Writer for Athlon Sports, covering breaking and trending news across major sports, including NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, college football and basketball. With over 10 years of experience in sports media, Dave’s versatility extends to television, radio, and journalism. In addition to his role at Athlon Sports, Dave works in TV Production at ESPN, where he manages the production, editing, and processing of shows and events that re-air across ESPN's network of channels. Prior to joining ESPN, Dave served as an Executive Producer at WFAN and CBS Sports Radio, further solidifying his expertise in sports media. Dave earned his bachelor’s degree in Media Communications from SUNY College at Old Westbury, bringing both his education and extensive industry experience to his roles across various platforms.

Melo Scores So Much It’s Offensive

~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

New York is home to the best show on TV, The Carmelo Show. Carmelo Anthony has been on fire as of late and he stayed lit Sunday afternoon. Carmelo Anthony scored 36 efficient points in Oklahoma City against the Thunder. Thanks to Melo’s offensive onslaught (and a little help from his friends) the Knicks pulled out a 125-120 victory. This win brings the first 50 win season to New York in 13 seasons. This also brings Carmelo’s astonishing scoring average to a blistering 41.75 points per game over his last 4 games. There is only word that can truly explain Carmelo Anthony right now; unconscious. He is now the leading scorer in the NBA, but more importantly the Knicks have now won 12 games in a row. As I’ve stated before, the Knicks are a streaky team who rely on the three ball. Right now they are shooting the ball well, and everything seems to be going in no matter where they shoot it from. The positive to be taken away is the types of threes that are being taken. When the Knicks were playing poorly they were jacking up a lot of contested three-pointers (ahem, JR). Now that they are winning again they are taking good open shots. These open shots aren’t created on their own, they are created from good ball movement and penetration. All of these things can be attributed to Carmelo Anthony, JR Smith, and Raymond Felton’s ability to drive into the lane and kick the ball out to the open man. At the same time, when they decide not to pass the ball it’s because they have an open driving lane to the basket. This is a recipe for success for now and the future.

With the Knicks latest success, all the “experts” who wrote them off are all slowly making their way back on the bandwagon. As I see each of these flip-floppers try to sneak their way on to my wagon, I sound an alarm that has their seat eject them back to wherever they came from. I understand that this is New York and the media attention that teams receive here is unbelievable, but we need to avoid the knee-jerk reaction. Everyone should have realized that the Knicks were decimated by injury and had a ridiculously tough schedule in the beginning of March (which included that tough 5 game road trip). This coupled with the lack of chemistry between Amar’e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, and Tyson Chandler contributed to the teams struggles. Also, I shouldn’t forget to mention that Iman Shumpert wasn’t 100% healthy until just recently, and Jason Kidd and Steve Novak went ice cold at precisely the same time. So, I’m glad I’m the only one out there that didn’t serve them with the death penalty. Anyway, the Knicks are playing great basketball, and we can only hope that this style of play and intensity continues throughout the playoffs. The Knicks still shouldn’t overlook anyone they face in the playoffs, but it looks like they can give the Heat a run for the money if it should come to that. Tune in to MSG network Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. to watch the Knicks take on the Washington Wizards at home. They will look to keep the good times rolling and attempt to extend their winning streak to 13 games.

If you enjoy my writing, follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well. Also you can follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like me on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!

Yanks Get On The Board

~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

No, you didn’t travel back in time, that was Andy Pettite handing the ball to Mariano Rivera. Andy Pettite showed signs of his former self and pitched a phenomenal game against the rival Boston Red Sox. Pettite pitched 8 solid innings in just 94 pitches, earning the Yankees their first win of the season. He gave up just one run, and then handed the ball to Big Mo, who earned his first save of the season. This was Mariano Rivera’s first appearance in almost a year, and while he did give up a run, he still got the job done. I guess all you “experts” can stop hitting the panic button after TWO GAMES!! This is baseball. Baseball is a marathon and a half. If you are someone who thinks the first month of the baseball season means anything, you are sadly mistaken. Yes, the Yankees obviously have some major injuries that aren’t going to go away over night, but they still have a solid team. People also need to remember that Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson will be returning in the near future. Are the Yankees going to hit a million home runs like they’ve grown accustom to over the past couple of years? Nope, but that doesn’t mean they can’t win baseball games. This will depend on the biggest wild card of the season that no one is talking about, and that is the manager. Everyone wants to focus on the injuries and the lack of power in the line-up, but who is it that needs to overcome those issues? That’s right, it’s the manager, Joe Girardi. I think we are all going to learn a lot about Joe Girardi this season. Personally, I have always thought Girardi was a sub par manager, and I believe his ineptitude as a big league manager will be on display this year. It is difficult to deal with major injuries from your star players, but in baseball every team deals with significant injuries all the time. It is the job of the manager to adapt to the situation and get the most out the players he does have. I just don’t see Girardi utilize the combination of his farm system and his veteran players properly. I also think Girardi’s in game situational moves are usually questionable, especially his pitching changes. You would think as a former catcher, he would understand pitchers a little bit better (silly me). Anyway, it was nice to see Andy Pettite pitch as well as he did, and that is something the Yankees will need consistently if they want to play baseball in October.

As I’ve been saying since before spring training got under way, the Yankees will survive this season. They will fight through all the injuries and adversity and they will find new ways to win. I believe that the Yankees will finish third in the division and will be fighting for the final American League playoff spot all year. If their pitching rotation holds up they will make the playoffs, however, if Andy Pettite and Hiroki Kuroda pitch like old men then they’re going to be watching the playoffs from the couch like the rest of us. They also have to deal with the giant question marks that are Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova, and David Phelps. Phelps has been solid, Nova has tremendous upside (but we better see it this season), and Hughes, well who the hell knows what he’s going to be. All in all this season is no slam dunk, but everyone needs to hop off the panic button. Let’s take a step back from reacting to everything in 3.5 seconds and see where they are when their roster is healthy. If the Yankees get Jeter and Granderson back (and everyone else stays healthy), and they are 10 games out of a playoff spot, then I give everyone permission to Panic with a capital P. Until that day comes, let’s just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.

If you enjoy my writing, follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well. Also you can follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like me on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!

Petition To Fire Mike Rice

~ Dave Ettinger ~ 4 Comments

If you haven’t seen the videotape of Rutgers “head coach” Mike Rice’s abusive behavior, then here it is: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rbaYqcMMZ6A

I am so enraged that I don’t exactly know where to start, but let me say it is ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE that Mike Rice hasn’t been fired yet. What Mike Rice did to his players was abuse. It was borderline assault. It was some of the most disgusting behavior I’ve seen from an “authority” figure in my life. This person (because he is certainly not a man) felt that it was acceptable to put his hands on players, shout homophobic slurs at players, and hurl basketballs at players heads. This person clearly has issues that go way beyond what you saw on the videotape. I’m not here to figure out or analyze those issues because I honestly don’t care one bit about Mike Rice. I care, as everyone should, about the young men at Rutgers that were subjected to such treatment. I don’t want to hear about the old days and how this used to be acceptable. I don’t want to hear about how these words are thrown around locker rooms all the time. And I certainly don’t want to hear that this behavior was in some way a motivational technique to prepare players for disrespectful opponents. Believe it or not, these are some of the positions that people are taking in actually defending this animal. I understand that every story has two sides, but this story DOES NOT!! This is cut and dry. Mike Rice should have been fired back in November when this footage was viewed by the Athletic Director at Rutgers, Tim Pernetti. Instead, Rice was suspended 3 games without pay and fined $50,000. That’s it?!?! That is the punishment that is supposed to fit this crime?!?! What should happen today, Wednesday, April 3rd is Mike Rice and Tim Pernetti should both be fired. If they’re not, the entire state of New Jersey and all bordering states should go down to Rutgers and protest right on campus. We as parents, peers, and concerned citizens should do whatever it takes so that this thing is relieved of it’s duties. And don’t forget to drag Tim Pernetti right out the door with him. How Pernetti can defend his own actions of not firing Rice on the spot is beyond me. If Pernetti lives in a world where Rice’s behavior is NOT a fireable offense, then Pernetti needs balls thrown at his head too; and then be fired as well.

College coaches should be role models that help mold young men into adults. Yes, some players are being groomed for the NBA (even though this treatment won’t help anyone at any point in their life), but the players at Rutgers University aren’t there to be abused.

BREAKING NEWS: Mike Rice was just fired as the head coach of the Rutgers men’s basketball team. Thank you whoever made that decision. Now all you have to do is fire the Athletic Director who put up with Rice’s behavior in the first place. Then we’ll be all set.

Let me wrap this up before I throw something across the room, because I am disgusted with people. College sports has become Wall Street. Apparently it’s okay to screw people over as long as you end up with some personal gains. This is college!!! This is not supposed to be a “shiesty” mechanic. This is supposed to be continuing education (the key word in that sentence is education). We as parents, teachers, and coaches are supposed to be educating our youth to become model citizens, not berating them to make yourself feel better. I’ve had enough of this topic. I’m out.

If you enjoy my writing, follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well. Also you can follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like me on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!

Opening Day Should Be A National Holiday

~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

You’ve waited and waited and it finally arrived. No I’m not talking about your clothes that you ordered online, I’m talking about Major League Baseball’s Opening Day. Monday, April 1st marked the start to another marathon that is the baseball season. Some will say, but what about the first game on Sunday night doesn’t that count? Umm no, no it does not. This years Opening Day brought about a couple of firsts and also brought you more of what you’re used to. For the first time in the history of New York’s baseball franchises, the Yankees and the Mets opened their season at home at the same time. I feel bad for the people stuck in that post game traffic. Now you might need to read this next part twice, but the Yankees lost and the Mets won. The Mets looked good with Jonathon Niese on the hill, and a grand slam by Collin Cowgill didn’t hurt either. They won their game 11-2 over the San Diego Padres. The Yankees on the other hand did not look as good. We interrupt this regularly scheduled program to bring you an important message: Do Not, I repeat Do Not overreact to the first game of the year!! This game meant absolutely nothing as to how the baseball season is going to pan out. MLB’s regular season is 162 games that span from April through 2027. If you are one of those people that thinks you can predict the future based on the first game of the year, than you my friend are crazy. Anyway, the Yankees still looked pretty awful out there yesterday. CC was his usual April self (for those of who don’t know, CC Sabathia notoriously pitches poorly in the month of April). The bats still think it’s March because they only scored two runs, and by the 9th inning it was difficult to find fans in the seats (the Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox 8-2). However, let me repeat it is only game 1 of 162. Now, if the Yankees are 10 games out of the wild card when their entire roster is back healthy in August, then we can all panic and run around pulling random fire alarms.

All around the rest of the league (where there were 12 total games played Monday), we saw more dominance by the pitchers we’ve gotten to know over the past couple of years. Justin Verlander and Felix Hernandez were their usual lights out selves. While at the same time we saw, who I believe are the two best pitchers in baseball; Stephen Strasburg and Clayton Kershaw dominate. Stephen Strasburg pitched 7 brilliant innings in just 80 pitches. He also at one point retired 19 straight batters. That is uh how do you say it; INSANE. At the same time, no one had a better Opening Day than Clayton Kershaw. He picked up right where he left off last season by throwing a complete game shutout against his rival San Francisco Giants. And as if that wasn’t enough, Kershaw hit his first career home run. It wasn’t a bad day to be Clayton Kershaw. The regular season action continues today where there are 7 teams in play. Enjoy the games everybody!!

If you enjoy my writing, follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well. Also you can follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like me on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!

Well That Was Exciting…… Not!!

~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

Tuesday night’s soccer match of the United States vs. Mexico was a harsh reminder as to why I don’t watch soccer. Even avid soccer fans can’t honestly tell me they enjoyed watching that match. For those of you who missed it, the United States and Mexico played to a 0-0 tie last night. No that’s not a typo, this game showcased 0 goals. This match was the third of 10 total World Cup qualifying matches these teams will play. With the tie, The United States fell to 3rd in the CONCACAF standings (1-1-1), while Mexico remains in 5th in the same standings (0-0-3). The top 3 teams will qualify for the World Cup. Mexico is highly regarded as the best team in this group, and barring a major injury or meltdown they will represent their country in the 2014 World Cup. The United States will most likely find themselves in the 2014 World Cup as well, but it won’t be because they break any goal scoring records. And that brings me to my thoughts on last nights game.

I continue to hear all the commentators say, well this was a solid performance by the United States, and their fans should feel great about what transpired on Tuesday night. To that I say, are you kidding me? Mexico dominated every aspect of this soccer match except for the final score. Yes, it is a fact that Mexico did not score a goal in this match. However, that doesn’t mean that United States played really well. Their defense was very good, but it was not without some luck and some questionable non-calls. Let me throw out some statistics to support my position before I continue on my rant. Mexico outshot the United States 19 to 1. 1?!?!?! 1 stinking shot is all you could muster up in a 90 minute match? If you didn’t watch this match, let me be the first to tell you that that shot wasn’t even a real shot. It was from about 8 miles away from the goal, and it didn’t even end up on net! Mexico literally could have played without a goalie and this match would have ended with the same final score. Mexico possessed the ball for 58% of the match, and found themselves with a clear advantage in corner kicks as well (15-2). Now, everyone can keep telling me that the U.S.’s defense was spectacular, and that’s all well and good, but that style of play is not going to cut it against good teams. You are also not going to allow 19 shots and 15 corners and expect to come away with a shutout on a consistent basis. Now, I must give The United States credit for the final result of last nights match. Azteca is one of the most difficult venues to play in, but the U.S. hung tough. Regardless of what it looked like they still came away with a point IN Mexico. That is a rare feat, as it is only the 2nd time in the history of World Cup qualifiers that they didn’t leave Mexico empty handed. Now just like any close match, it wasn’t free of controversy. Mexico’s players did their fair share of complaining during and after the match. Early on in the game, “Chicharito” was positioning himself inside the box to await a pass. As he entered the box he flew forward away from a U.S. defender (Michael Bradley) as if he were shot out of a canon. There was no whistle blown, no penalty shot awarded, and to that I applaud the referee. In a sport filled with “talented” flop artists it is difficult to differentiate a penalty from an acting job. It is the hardest sport to officiate, and the referee got that call right. Now, a play that was far more controversial came in the 76th minute. Javier Aquino of Mexico was feet away from the goal and was gearing up for a shot on net. Freddy Edu of the U.S. snuck up behind Aquino and disrupted the shot attempt. It appeared that Edu caught Aquino’s foot and that he tripped him up. Play continued without a call and the United States pulled out their violins to give the Mexican squad some background music for their crying and complaining. In sports there are missed calls everyday. Unfortunately it is part of the game. Personally I thought it was a penalty, and Mexico should have been awarded a penalty shot. Fortunately for the United States the referee was checking out a cute girl in the stands instead of doing his job, and the call was blown.

All in all the end result of the match was great for the United States, but my standards it was pretty ugly. Next time, I think I’ll go to sleep at 10 instead of 1230 in the morning. At least I know I won’t miss anything important.

If you enjoy my writing, follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well. Also you can follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like me on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!

I’m comin for that #1 spot!

~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

So I decided to hop in my airplane and airlift a tiger to the jungle. I dropped the tiger right into a lion’s den, and guess what happened? Let’s just say the Lion isn’t the king of the jungle anymore. Still haven’t figured out what I’m talking about? That’s okay, I’ll tell you. Tiger Woods is the most dominant golfer the sport has ever seen. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again (sorry old timers). Everyone else who doesn’t understand his greatness can now join me in amazement. What I’m saying (and have been saying for two years now) is that Tiger Woods is and has always been the same Tiger Woods we grew to know years ago. He hasn’t changed, we just think we got to know him a little better. He is still the intimidating force that we have all been scared of. Don’t you have nightmares about red shirts? No? Just me? Hmmm, weird. Anyway, for those of you who don’t know, Tiger woods won the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Monday (yes on Monday). With this win, Tiger leapfrogged his way back to the #1 golf ranking in the world, and let me just say that this victory didn’t come without any obstacles. On Sunday, Tiger rolled in a putt on the 2nd hole right before the skies opened up and dumped torrential downpour on the course and brought about 60 mph winds. Play had to be suspended until Monday. After all that, he showed good poise and won the tournament by two strokes as he shot a final round 70. Tiger is starting to get used to playing on Monday (he might have to find a new color for his Monday shirts soon). As for his 2013 season he is on a tear and has now won 3 of his first 5 tournaments and two tournaments in a row. And guess where Tiger’s going to be on April 11th. That’s right, The Masters!! Tiger kind of knows a little bit about winning at Augusta, and as I wrote weeks ago, that is exactly what he is going to do. He is going to win a third straight tournament (which is RIDICULOUS by human standards), and his 5th green jacket. He will take one step closer to Jack’s unbelievable record of 18 majors, and one step closer to the indisputable rank of best golfer in the history of the world (I think he’s there already, but I’ll leave that up for debate). Is Tiger the best golfer that has ever lived? Tiger Woods at the top of the golf food chain is great for him, it’s great for fans, and it’s especially great for golf. People only watch golf to watch Tiger Woods play. They don’t tune in to watch Bubba Watson and Luke Donald duke it out. And they certainly don’t want to watch Tiger come in 11th place. They want to watch him crush his opponents on a Sunday afternoon. And that’s what he is going to continue to do. I’d say welcome back, but I never thought you left. Tune in to the best tournament of the year (bar none), The Masters, on April 11th on either CBS or ESPN. It truly is “A Tradition Unlike Any Other”.

If you enjoy my writing, follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well. Also you can follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like me on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!

What’s On TV??

~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

It’s Friday night and you had a long week. You don’t feel like dragging your butt out of the house into the cold when you’re tired; so don’t. I’ve got just what you need to keep you company. So sit back, relax, and enjoy these basketball games on the collegiate and pro levels. Today, as most of you know is the 2nd day of the NCAA basketball tournament. Tonight you’ll have some good games starting at 7:20 p.m. EST. The action will start on TNT where North Carolina(8) will take on Villanova(9). North Carolina is the favorite in this one having played well leading up to the tournament. Look for UNC to win this one by 5 points. After that game you can switch over to either TBS or CBS for two interesting 7 vs. 10 match-ups. At 9:20 p.m. you’ll find San Diego State(7) taking on Oklahoma(10), and at 9:45 p.m. you can see Notre Dame(7) take on Iowa State(10). Both should be close games, but I like the lucky number 7 in both of these games. And lastly, in the final game of the 1st round you’ll have UCLA(6) taking on Minnesota(11). You can find that game on TruTv at 9:57 p.m. I see a nice upset in this game, with Minnesota showing the world why the Big Ten is the best conference in college basketball this year. I think they will pull out the victory by 7 points.

If you are the 4 people in the world that are not into college basketball, then let me highlight the best NBA games on TV tonight. Starting with my favorite team, the New York Knicks, they will be in Toronto this evening to take on the Raptors. You can find that game on MSG Network at 7:00 p.m. I foresee the Knicks winning a close game by 6 points. Lord knows they need to keep winning basketball games. If you want to watch the Miami Heat attempt to extend their winning streak to 25 games, then turn on NBATV at 7:30 p.m. They will be taking on the Detroit Pistons at home (I think it’s safe to say they’ll extend their streak). Whatever you tonight, enjoy yourself. Thanks for reading!

If you enjoy my writing, follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well. Also you can follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like me on Facebook athttp://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!

March Madness Is Finally Here!!

~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

It is official. March madness has finally arrived. Today marks the beginning of the best sports tournament in the world. Today at 12:00 EST, the first set of games will tip-off. Today there are 64 teams. Come April 8th, in Atlanta Georgia, there will be only one team left standing. Who will it be? We can all play with our brackets and do our best fortune teller impressions, but no one knows what will happen. Upsets happen everyday in this tournament, and there is always that upset that happens that absolutely no one saw coming. While I wish there wasn’t so much parody and 1 and done players in men’s college basketball, I still love this tournament. So, I want to wish everyone good luck with their brackets (unless you’re in my pool then I hope your brackets stink).

Final four: Louisville, Ohio State, Michigan, and Miami

Finals: Louisville over Miami (81-75)

Enjoy the games everybody!!

If you enjoy my writing, follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well. Also you can follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like me on Facebook athttp://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!

Keep Your Fingers Crossed

~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

Wednesday night Carmelo Anthony came back to the court and the offense followed. The Knicks beat a young Orlando Magic team by a score of 106-94. The game should have never really been that close, but the Knicks like to take their foot off the gas once they feel they have a comfortable lead. They did this twice last night. They found themselves up 15 in the 1st quarter which quickly shrunk to a 4-point lead, and they were also up by 20 points in the 4th quarter and only won by 12 points. There were some concerns as to how Carmelo Anthony would look after missing 3 straight games with a sore knee. He looked fine throughout the entire game and played a really good all around game. It was amazing, he actually looked to pass the ball a few times. Granted, they were playing the horrid Orlando Magic, but they reminded me of the team we saw 4 months ago. They played pretty solid help defense and offensively they hit their three’s (open threes). The Knicks success goes as Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler go, so it is imperative that Melo stays healthy and Chandler can return without any bumps in the road. The reports are now saying Chandler will be able to return in a week. Man I hope that is true because the Knicks won’t be able to defend consistently against playoff teams without him. After a night off Thursday, the Knicks will play back to back games against he Toronto Raptors Friday and Saturday night. You can catch Friday’s game at 7:00 p.m. in Toronto.

If you enjoy my writing, follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well. Also you can follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like me on Facebook athttp://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!

In Case You missed It

~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

While everyone has been gearing up for the most exciting tournament of the year, there have been some other sporting events that you may have missed. I missed them as well, for good reason, but let me fill you in just in case you haven’t heard about them. Let me start with the most insignificant of them all. Did you guys really just storm the court for an NIT victory? I get it, Robert Morris probably isn’t supposed to beat anybody so beating Kentucky is a big deal, but it is the NIT. Who wants to watch the leftover scraps play basketball? This tournament isn’t meaningful, and I don’t know why we even have it. Most teams, like Kentucky, are so disappointed that they didn’t make it into the real tournament that they mail in an effort in the NIT. Congratulations Robert Morris, you beat a team that didn’t even want to be there.

Something else you definitely missed was the finals of the World Baseball Classic. Man is this tournament a bad idea. ALL PLAYERS should be with their respective REAL teams in March. You know, since they are holding this little thing called spring training right now. If you wanted to watch baseball’s watered down version of the ‘World Cup’, then I guess you were 1 of the 14 people who watched the World Baseball Classic. The Dominican Republic dominated the World Baseball Classic going 8-0 in the tournament. They capped off their run though the Classic with a 3-0 victory over Puerto Rico.

Also, over the past week we have seen a handful of free agent signings in the NFL. Steven Jackson signed with the Atlanta Falcons, bringing the size and strength their running game has been missing. Sure you can say, well what about Michael Turner wasn’t he a good strong back? No, no he wasn’t. The guy looked like he was running in quicksand. Jackson entering his 10th NFL season will be a better fit for the Falcons then Turner ever was. Greg Jennings has signed with the enemy; the Minnesota Vikings. There used to be a day when people would cringe when players signed with their rival, but the game has changed. In today’s NFL, there is no such thing is loyalty. It’s all about the Benjamin’s baby! Jennings should be a nice addition for the Vikings who traded Percy Harvin to the Seattle Seahawks prior to free agency. The New York Jets are still holding Darrelle Revis in limbo with his playing career. The Jets obviously aren’t pleased with the offers they are getting for Revis, or else he’d be gone by now. This begs the question, will Darrelle Revis be traded before this season or will the Jets get stuck with him? Ed Reed is a big name that has yet to sign on a dotted line, however Baltimore is showing interest in re-signing him and the Houston Texans have shown some interest as well. Lastly, you had one of the weirdest situations in the history of the NFL happen last week. Elvis Dumervil, the outstanding defender for the Denver Broncos, had until 4 p.m. on March 15th to decide whether he would restructure his contract or be released by the Broncos. He had decided to restructure, however his decision which was sent via fax was received by the Broncos just minutes after the deadline. This snafu could cost either Dumervil millions of dollars or the Broncos one of their best players. Either way it is definitely one of the most interesting situations in NFL history.

In basketball news, the Miami Heat still haven’t lost a basketball game in a little over 23 years. Oh my bad, I meant 23 games, they’ve extended their streak to 23 straight wins and they haven’t lost since January. Also flying under the radar are the Denver Nuggets. They beat the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday night to extend their winning streak to 13 games. In other mega-important news Tiger Woods is dating….ah who cares, just win golf tournaments buddy. And that about raps this past week in sports. It has been mostly irrelevant, but it was enough to hold us over until the main course; the NCAA tournament.

If you enjoy my writing, follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well. Also you can follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like me on Facebook athttp://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!