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Blaine Gabbert Thinks He Can Throw A Football Over Mountains

2012-05-16T22:33:40Z

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert has been in the news quite a bit lately, but most of that has been about his play at the quarterback position and a potential challenge from Chad Henne. Gabbert met the media on Tuesday after another day of OTA practices, and decided to let loose a little bit.

Gabbert was asked what he thought about media questioning his ability to throw a football, to which he quipped "I'd like to challenge them to a quarterback competition. Like Uncle Rico." He was then asked if he thought he could throw a football over mountains, once again referencing a character from Napolean Dynamite. Uncle Rico was the main character's uncle, who couldn't get past his glory years of playing high school quarterback, often saying, "I bet I could throw a football over them mountains."

"I could come close I think," Gabbert responded. "Maybe not though, who knows. The air would have to be really thin in Colorado or somewhere."

Preakness 2012 Post Positions: I'll Have Another Draws Post No. 9

2012-05-16T22:17:44Z

As the 2012 Preakness approaches, the post positions have been announced. Kentucky Derby winner I'll Have Another is chasing the second race of the coveted Triple Crown and hopes to win again at the Preakness. I'll Have Another drew the No 9. post position, putting the colt right near the outside of the rest of the field.

Here are the rest of the post position draws and the opening betting line:

1. Tiger Walk - 30/1
2. Teeth Of The Dog - 15/1
3. Pretension - 30/1
4. Zatterholm - 20/1
5. Went The Day Well - 6/1
6. Creative Cause - 6/1
7. Bodemeister - 8/5 (Morning Line favorite)
8. Daddy Knows Best - 12/1
9. I'll Have Another - 5/2
10. Optimizer - 30/1
11. Cazzetti - 30/1

For more on the Preakness Stakes and the race for the Triple Crown, stay with this StoryStream and check out SB Nation's horse racing blog And Down The Stretch They Come. There, you'll also find a A Beginner's Guide To Following Horse Racing and a glossary of horse racing terms.

Rays Vs. Red Sox: Jeremy Hellickson Goes To The Hill Against Boston

2012-05-16T19:58:53Z

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Jeremy Hellickson is currently undefeated in the 2012 season. He puts that record on the line on Wednesday night as the Rays open up a two game series with the Boston Red Sox. Hellickson goes up against the only team to score more than three runs against him this season. His start against the Red Sox on April 14 lasted five innings with five runs allowed on seven hits with three home runs allowed.

Other than that, Hellickson has been a terrific starter for the Rays this season. He is 3-0 with a 2.95 ERA with 29 strikeouts in seven starts. However, Hellickson has not factored into the decision in his last three starts, the Rays losing the last two including his last start against the Baltimore Orioles on May 11. In that start, Hellickson went six and two-thirds innings with three runs allowed on five hits while striking out six.

The Red Sox on the other hand send Clay Buchholz to the hill on Wednesday. Buchholz is currently 4-1, but has an ERA very unbecoming for a starter at 8.31. His last start, a win over the Cleveland Indians on May 11, was his best of the season, but he still allowed four runs, three of them earned with eight hits and three walks over six and two-thirds innings. Buchholz certainly doesn't hope for a repeat of his last start against the Rays on April 14, where despite getting credit for the win, Buchholz allowed five runs on six hits in seven innings with three walks.

Regardless of the pitcher, the Rays will have to compensate for the injury bug, which has claimed such players as Desmond Jennings and Evan Longoria.

The game is scheduled for a 7:10 first pitch with a national telecast on ESPN. Local television coverage will be provided by Sunshine Sports and radio coverage will be provided by WDAE 620 AM and WGES 680 AM.

For more news and updates from around the league, be sure to drop by Baseball Nation or the Rays blog DRaysBay. For more on the Red Sox visit SB Nation's Red Sox blog Over The Monster. And for a peak at the analysis behind the numbers, head over to Beyond the Box Score.

Dwyane Wade Will Not Be Punished Further For Flagrant Foul

2012-05-16T17:23:46Z

According to a tweet by ESPN NBA writer Brian Windhorst, Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade will not be punished further for the flagrant foul call from Game 2 of Miami's playoff series against the Indiana Pacers.

The NBA will not upgrade or further punish Dwyane Wade for his flagrant foul on Darren Collison last night.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) May 16, 2012

If Wade had been suspended, it would have left the Heat without both him and forward Chris Bosh entering Game 3. The Heat are going to need to rebound on Thursday night as they play on the road in what promises to be a very emotional atmosphere at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

For more news, analysis, and discussion on the Heat, visit Peninsula Is Mightier and SB Nation Tampa Bay. For the opponent's perspective throughout the series, check out Indy Cornrows and SB Nation Indiana. And for all your news and notes on the playoffs matchups, visit SB Nation's dedicated NBA hub.

LeBron James And Dwyane Wade React To Indiana's Victory Celebration

2012-05-16T16:58:12Z

After Monday night's 78-75 loss to the Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade both reacted to the on-court celebration of Pacer players such as Danny Granger and Paul George jumping up and down in celebration on the American Airlines Arena floor. Wade took a little offense at what happened on the floor when he was interviewed.

I saw [Indiana's] little celebration at the end of that game. I don't know if they didn't expect to win. But every night we go out on the court, we expect to win. They stated their identity. They said they wanted to be like Dallas. So, they celebrated like Dallas, I guess.

James suggested in his interview with reporters, that the Pacers reacted in a way that the victory equals to more than one win in the playoff series. The Heat have some thinking to do ahead of Game 3 in Indianapolis. The Heat have to stay focused so that they can recapture the home court advantage or possibly close out the series there.

Conference Realignment: Derrick Brooks Says The Big 12 Contacted Florida State First

2012-05-16T15:57:35Z

Speculation linking the Florida State Seminoles to the Big 12 will not go away quietly, much to chagrin of FSU president Eric Barron. The latest conference jumping nugget was offered up by former Seminole and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Derrick Brooks. He told Tim Brando that the Big 12 actually made the first move, by contacting FSU about joining that conference.

Prior to this revelation, both Florida State officials and the Big 12 have denied that any conversations between the two entities have taken place. Brooks, a former FSU trustee, is the first higher up with any authority to claim otherwise on the record.

FSU athletic direction Randy Spetman denies Brooks' statement.

FSU AD Randy Spetman on Brooks' comments bout Big 12 contacting FSU: "I don't know where Derrick got that"
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyCBS) May 16, 2012

The news could present legal problems as issues with tampering and contract infringement surface. The ACC could sue to keep one of its most valuable programs from taking flight.

Florida State officials have made public intimations about the need to look elsewhere, even as other school officials say they are happy with membership in the ACC. The Seminoles stand to get a bigger piece of television revenue pie in the Big 12.

For more on Florida State football, visit the Seminoles blog blog Tomahawk Nation. For all your NCAA football news and notes, be sure to check out SB Nation's college football hub.

Blaine Gabbert Has To Be The Jaguars Starter

2012-05-16T14:18:49Z

While there are some who think Chad Henne will win the Jaguars starting job, second-year quarterback Blaine Gabbert has to be the Jaguars starting quarterback to begin the 2012 NFL season.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert had a rough rookie season, to say the least. He finished the year leading the worst passing offense in the NFL and showing slight improvement overall through the season. Gabbert was clearly in over his head and not quite ready to start in the NFL. He was one of those rookies that needed the NFL offseason, which was robbed from him with the NFL lockout.

Heading into the 2012 season, the Jaguars have hired an entire new coaching staff. The heavy lifting of the hiring was done by the man who drafted Blaine Gabbert with the 10th overall pick, Jaguars general manager Gene Smith, fresh off a three-year contract extension. A big focus of the Jaguars coaching search was going after a head coach who would be willing to work with Gabbert, as he's the quarterback of the future the Jaguars drafted. In Mularkey's introductory press conference, he backed Blaine Gabbert and said he had seen enough from him on film to believe he will be a franchise quarterback.

Fast forward to March, and suddenly there is a quarterback controversy. The Jaguars signed free agent quarterback Chad Henne to a two-year deal, to be the team's back up quarterback. There are some folks however who believe that Henne will win the Jaguars starting job by Week 3 of the 2012 NFL Preseason.

Mike Mularkey insists there is no quarterback controversy and Gabbert is the team's starting quarterback. "No, it's not (a competition). Blaine's our starting quarterback," Mularkey told NFL Networks Albert Breer over the phone. "We feel good about him."

Those words generally ring hollow however, especially in Jacksonville.

Jaguars fans have seen this act play out before, under former head coach Jack Del Rio. Back in February of 2007, Del Rio pronounced that Byron Leftwich was the team's starting quarterback and then he was released in favor of David Garrard a week before the regular season started. Last season, Del Rio proclaimed Garrard the Jaguars starting quarterback all through training camp, but Garrard was also released a week before the regular season started.

The situation with Gabbert and Chad Henne this season however is different.

Simply put: Blaine Gabbert has to be the Jaguars starting quarterback.

"We've got a huge amount invested in Blaine," Jaguars owner Shahid Khan said in January. "Our fate is tied to him. We can't win without him."

The Jaguars invested a Top 10 draft pick to Blaine Gabbert, trading up to get him in the first-round of the 2011 NFL Draft. The Jaguars invested 14 regular season games to Gabbert's development last season and made it a focal point of their head coaching search after Jack Del Rio was fired. The Jaguars invested in free agent wide receiver Laurent Robinson and first-round draft pick Justin Blackmon this offseason to provide Gabbert with some weapons.

Jaguars general manager Gene Smith is tied to Gabbert, as general managers generally are with their quarterback picks. Smith goes how Gabbert goes, both good and bad. It would be relatively nonsensical for the general manager who's job is tied to the quarterback to bring someone in to beat him out the very next season. If Chad Henne winds up being the Jaguars starting quarterback to open the regular season and Blaine Gabbert is not injured, then Gene Smith should be out of a job because that means he completely missed on his quarterback.

For Chad Henne to truly "beat out" Blaine Gabbert before the season actually starts, he would have to play some of the best football of his NFL career while Blaine Gabbert simultaneously shows absolutely no improvement from last season whatsoever. In this situation, if the quarterbacks play is close it will and should default to the 22-year old first-round draft pick, not the 26-year old veteran quarterback who's struggled to be an average starter. Not only has Henne struggled to be even an average NFL starter, what are you going to accomplish with Henne starting? Is Chad Henne going to get you to the NFL playoffs?

The Jaguars owe it to themselves to continue with Blaine Gabbert to start the 2012 season to make sure he's not what they think, or to see a glimpse that he is what they think. The only way to find out what he is for sure is to play him.

Blaine Gabbert has to be the Jaguars starting quarterback when the 2012 season begins. What happens after that however, is entirely up to Blaine Gabbert.

For more on the Jacksonville Jaguars, visit SB Nation's Jaguars blog Big Cat Country.

Da'Quan Bowers Injury: Buccaneers Have No Plans To Seek Outside Help, For Now

2012-05-16T14:18:16Z

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered a costly offseason loss last week when defensive end Da'Quan Bowers tore his Achilles tendon, a potential season-ending injury. In the wake of the loss, Bucs general manager Mark Dominik told the Tampa Bay Times that the team has no current intention of looking for a replacement.

OTAs are just getting started. Training camp is three months away, giving the Bucs time to see if any of the other defensive ends on the roster can fill the void. Here's what Dominik told the press on Tuesday:

"Right now I think we're just trying to evaluate these men that we have here for a little bit before we feel like we need to do something," Dominik said. "But if it gets to the point where we feel like we have to do something, it's an important position."

Bowers was being counted on as key cog in the team's defense. Pass rushers are particularly important in the NFC South against division opponents that feature Drew Brees, Cam Newton and Matt Ryan.

There is an outside chance that Bowers returns before the end of the season. Last year's 2nd-round pick expressed confidence that he would see the field this year. Mark Dominik refused to rule out that possibility in his comments to the press.

Finding a replacement on the same level as Bowers will be difficult, with the upper and middle tier free agents long since signed. A few rebound candidates may shake loose as teams shuffle their depth charts. For now, Tampa Bay will hope they can find their own diamond in the rough.

For more Buccaneers coverage and discussion, check out Bucs Nation. SB Nation Tampa Bay will have updates on Bowers' status in this StoryStream.