SB Nation Tampa Bay: All Posts by Steven Muma

• Titus Young's mugshot is Hall of Fame-worthy | #Lookit

Colts NT Josh Chapman ready to play after missing rookie season

2013-05-17T19:06:23Z

Colts defensive lineman Josh Chapman is getting ready for his second year as a pro, but he has yet to play a down for Indianapolis. That's because of a serious knee injury he suffered in October of 2011 while still in college. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Colts despite that setback, and while it looked for a brief time that he might be able to join the active roster last season, the team ultimately decided to keep him sidelined.

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Now he's healthy, participating in OTAs and ready to contribute to the Colts' 3-4 defense.

"It has been a long time coming. I haven't been away from the game this long ever in my life," Chapman told Colts.com recently. "It's an anxious kind of feeling. Just being able to put the pads on again and feel that extra thump is good."

Chapman actually played through the knee injury -- a torn ACL and meniscus -- for a significant portion of his senior season, helping the Alabama Crimson Tide win a national championship but also pushing back his recovery. It was determined at the time that he could do no further damage to the knee by playing with the injury.

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Visit Titans blog Music City Miracles for more on Tennessee's offseason

Titans WR Kendall Wright loses 14 pounds to improve play

2013-05-17T18:13:49Z

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Kendall Wright is utilizing the offseason to get himself in better playing shape. The second-year pro weighs 187 pounds now, which is 14 pounds lighter than what he weighed when he first arrived at Tennessee. Some of the loss has to do with his workout regimen, but Wright said in a recent interview with the Titans' official website that changing his diet was also a crucial factor.

"I just started taking care of my body and eating right," Wright said. "I wasn't eating right at all. I was eating a lot of junk food because that's what I like and that's what I'd buy, but I cut down on that and just started eating right."

Following his rookie season, Wright returned to Baylor, his alma mater, where he worked out five days a week under the supervision of assistant athletic director for athletic performance Kaz Kazadi. The workout plan included a lot of running.

Despite the extra weight Wright carried around last season, he was still productive; he finished his rookie year with 64 receptions for 626 yards and four touchdowns.

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NASCAR Sprint Showdown 2013 qualifying: Danica Patrick, Brian Keselowski try to earn spots in All-Star field

2013-05-17T17:51:38Z

NASCAR's annual All-Star Race is set to take place this weekend in Charlotte, and it begins with the Sprint Showdown, which is for the drivers who have not yet qualified for the All-Star event. Many of the Sprint Cup Series' top drivers already have earned their way into the All-Star Race, but the rest will need to finish first or second in the Sprint Showdown in order to get in.

More: Visit SB Nation's NASCAR All-Star Race hub for additional coverage.

Qualifying for the 2013 Sprint Showdown begins at approximately 5:15 p.m. ET on Friday, and the Speed Channel will air the proceedings live. Danica Patrick, Brian Keselowski and Aric Almirola are just a few of of the competitors who will be in the Showdown field and qualifying on Friday.

The Sprint Showdown is a 40-lap race split into two 20-lap segments that will run before the All-Star Race on Saturday. Last year Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Showdown, and A.J. Allmendinger finished in second place.

The weekend's races have no impact on the Sprint Cup point standings.

Chip Kelly will look at Jeremy Maclin as a punt returner

2013-05-17T17:34:57Z

New Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly is considering using wide receiver Jeremy Maclin as the team's punt returner this season, according to CSN Philly. Maclin was an outstanding kick-returner during his college career at Missouri, but he hasn't returned a punt in the NFL since the 2011 season.

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"When you've only got a 46-man [game] roster, someone has got to go back there, and hopefully it's someone that's fielded punts before," Kelly told the media. "[Maclin] has got some experience at it, but we'll take a look at him. But does that mean he's going to be our starting punt returner? I have absolutely no idea right now."

Maclin finished his Missouri career with 577 punt return yards and a trio of touchdowns, as well as 2,049 kickoff return yards, which is a school record. He scored at least one punt return touchdown and one kickoff return touchdown in each of his two years with the Tigers.

Maclin didn't find that kind of success at the pro level, back when he was still fielding punts and kickoffs. In four years with the Eagles, he has a total of 76 punt return yards.

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