Category: Oakland Raiders

by Tony Renteria

Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez’ defense attorneys were relieved when Alexander Bradley a witness who testified that Hernandez had shot him in his left eye had the jury removed. In a testimony that would have influenced the jury if left to hear it they would certainly vote guilty regarding Hernandez’ murder case.

The Judge E Susan Garsh in the case said that the jury would be prejudiced if they heard Bradley’s testimony and so they were asked to be removed from the court since the focus of the case is the murder of Oldin Lloyd who was shot and Hernandez was accused of murder in the case. Like in the famous O.J. Simpson case there were a lot of things that happened there that a lot of people didn’t understand.

The laws in Massachusetts and the laws in California are so different on so many things. You have to realize that our system says your innocent until proven guilty so it’s totally understandable that you don’t want to prejudice a jury. Especially when your this far into the case you don’t want a mistrial. The state of Massachusetts does not want to have to try Hernandez again.

It’s not known how many millions of dollars it’s cost the state to try Hernandez. Garsh didn’t want to take any chances on having a prejudiced jury based on Bradley testifying that it was Hernandez who shot him while the trial is about Lloyd. It’s kind of sad kind of system where the first question that were talking about (on the podcast) in the NFL is a legal one.

Hernandez had admitted smoking marijuana everyday during his whole pro career and never tested positive. I don’t know how that’s possible but there’s ways to beat the system and it just goes to show you if you can play a professional sports and make money people will forgive a lot of things. Obviously they don’t forgive murder.

To hear more about the Hernandez case and also Oakland Raiders draft discussions listen to Tony’s podcast below right here on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

by Tony Renteria

SANTA CLARA–Former New England Patriot wide receiver Aaron Hernandez’ fiancée testified on Friday that she found a gun in the kitchen drawer in Hernandez’ house just days before the June 17, 2013 murder of Hernandez associate Lloyd Oldin. Hernandez fiancee Shayanna Jenkins who has been to court at various but made her first appearance in court on Friday since March 6th said she made the discovery when going through the kitchen drawers looking for utensils.

You have to be in really bad trouble when your wife or your fiancée testifies against you in exchange for immunity. There has to be something that’s there. That has to be the smoking gun (no pun) and it’s such a waste of a talented football player to end yuur career to go to jail for murder. Hernandez could not separate his past from being a professional athlete. The court reconvenes on Monday.

Adrian Peterson starts to shop for new team: Peterson said that he and his agent are shopping around for another team other than the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said that he expects Peterson to return. This is coming off of last season’s suspension of Peterson for spanking his son with a switch, Peterson was arrested and investigated for child abuse last season.

Peterson said this is the way he was raised and disciplining his child and this is the way he wants to raise his child. He could ask the Vikings “who are you as my employer to ask how I handle my family?” Sometimes when your in the limelight of the NFL your private life gets involved in your public life. At one point Peterson was ordered by the courts to stay away from his son. Peterson says he’s ready to get back to football after such a turmoil year.

49ers fans raising money to get Yorks out: So far San Francisco 49ers fans have raised some two thousand dollars in a bid to get a fund going to get 49ers owner Jed York and his family out from under the 49ers the money eventually will be used to try and buy the team from the Yorks. The fans want what the Green Bay Packers have and that is a fan owned organization. The fans have expressed their fed up with the Yorks over the handling of former head coach Jim Harbaugh’s leaving and the rest of the key players jumping ship.

If I was a 49ers fan after going through everything to get the new stadium, having to pay crazy ticket prices, having to endure the long lines outside the stadium before the games you want to see them take a step forward from where they were. It’s tough to deal with such a high at one point with playoffs and a Super Bowl and keep that going but the 49ers are going so far down and so fast it’s like an elevator going from the top floor to the bottom floor and I don’t see how they will easily recover this season from this bad off season and I don’t really blame the fans for raising these funds.

How will former 49er Ray McDonald work out in Chicago: McDonald who faced domestic violence allegations and sexual assault allegations and signed with the Bears last week. McDonald’s situation is something that carried through with everything that was going on with the NFL last season. It was such a bad season when it came to domestic violence and sexual abuse.

Its tough to say if the 49ers did the right thing letting McDonald go and the 49ers need to start distancing themselves from that type of character on their squad. This is something that your hearing about all the time in the NFL especially during the 2014-15 season. Did the Bears do the right thing? Players always seems to find a place to play in the NFL by what kind of character you are.

Tony Renteria does NFL Commentary each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to Tony’s podcast below

by David Zizmor

The Seattle Seahawks Richard Sherman is scheduled to be at the Super Bowl in Glendale, it’s pretty tough to skip a Super Bowl and it’s obviously tough to skip the birth or your child and you can’t skip the birth of your child but you do know exactly when the Super Bowl is going to happen. Sherman is schedule to be at the Super Bowl on Sunday crossing his fingers that his wife will wait and the baby will wait.

Other than that there’s not a whole lot that Sherman can do and it’s not really up to him when that baby comes and it’s due any day now and it could very well be on Super Bowl Sunday there’s not a whole lot he can do. When it’s the Super Bowl you go to the Super Bowl until you know otherwise. We’ll see what happens there’s not a whole lot that can be done and it’s just the way it is.

Without Sherman in the Seahawks line up if that were to happen your talking about a legitimate shut down corner whose the best in the game if not the best. The only other guy who might be in that category is cornerback Darrelle Revis from the New England Patriots. You take a guy away like Sherman your definitely handicapping the Seattle defense.

The Hawks certainly have a deep defense so they might have some guys on the bench that can come in and play adequately but it’s never easy to replace a Pro Bowler and expect similar results. You can get lucky but the thing with Sherman is that he eliminates one side of the field with the defense. You can trust he’s going to cover his guy on his side meaning that it’s much more likely the ball is going to go the opposite way to focus your defense to really take advantage of that.

Aaron Hernandez jurors are allowed to watch Super Bowl but must walk out of room if name is mentioned on TV: Former Patriot Aaron Hernandez is on trial for the June 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd who was dating Hernandez’ finacee’s sister. The jury in the murder case was told by Bristol County Superior Court Judge Susan Garsh that jurors could watch the Super Bowl but must walk out of the room and distance themselves from any TV conversation regarding Aaron Hernandez if the subject comes up.

It’s very unlikely that it will come up but you never know a lot of weird controversies surrounding the league this year have happened with former Baltimore Raven Ray Rice (domestic violence), Minnesota Viking Adrian Peterson (child abuse), San Francisco 49er Aldon Smith (DUI and TSA issues), former 49er Ray McDonald (domestic violence and sexual abuse allegations), and Deflategate.

There’s so many different things going on Hernandez going in for a murder trial is one of the bigger things that has happened related to the NFL that’s happened in the last several years. It wouldn’t be shocking if that did come up in the telecast as the Patriots are his former team and are playing in the Super Bowl. How the jurors in this case can just excuse themselves for the moment when the announcers say “Aaron Hernandez” during the broadcast is anybody’s guess.

Maybe the jurors should watch the game with the sound off that seems like the obvious solution but then again I’m not the judge. Hernandez is a troubled guy, he’s been this way since college and he was a known risk when the Patriots signed him. He obviously has a lot of talent but he also has a lot of problems and a lot of teams when they pick guys like that they can fix them but Hernandez is clearly beyond fixing.

David Zizmor is covering Super Bowl XLIX for http://www.sportsradioservice.com hear the rest of David’s commentary in the podcast below

by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

All the projections point to the largest audience in the history of American television this Sunday in Phoenix, Arizona, when the reigning NFL champion Seattle Seahawks(14-4) face the New England Patriots(14-4). Drama all over the place surrounds the biggest sporting event in the United States, this Sunday, as the Seattle team tries to become the first team in 10 years to win back-to-back Superbowls. And who was the last team to accomplish that? How about the New England Patriots, they won it in 2004 and 2005.

Superbowl XLVII Seattle won going away over Denver 43-8 and 112.2 million people watched it on television. Previously i9n XLVII Baltimore beat San Francisco in a thriller by a 34-31 score. Super Bowl XLVIII breaks the record set by the 2012 Super Bowl. That game averaged 111.3 million viewers, narrowly topping 2010’s 111 million. So what would it be this Sunday,115 million?

My fearless prediction for this Sunday, Patriots 37 Seahawks 30

SUPERBOWL TIDBITS

-152 million people in the US will watch at least part of the game

-For the first time something will make more money in 2015 than the movie “American Sniper”

-Las Vegas Odds are in favor of Seattle’s Richard Sherman playing the game, even as girlfriend might be giving birth to their first baby

-Thirty seconds commercial sold for $4.5 million. First Superbowl, (1967) a thirty second commercial sold for $40,000 (Household income in 1967 in USA was $7,200)

-Budweiser commercials always deliver and this time save dogs. Wait for the “sexy” Carl’s Jr commercial, is worth it

-The country of Ecuador for the first time, will have a commercial in the Superbowl. Hola Ecuador!

-On Monday, next day after the game, a group of politicians will introduce a bill in Washington, to make Superbowl Day a Holiday in the US. Isn’t it already? Well that’s D.C.

-Katy Perry will perform at half time, and she will not have a wardrobe malfunction. Phoenix native and country star Dirks Bentley will perform before the game.

-New England Quarterback Tom Brady (Bay Area guy) will win the MVP, with normal inflated balls

-After this Superbowl ends, and one day after Major League Baseball Spring Training ends in late March, only “Motel 6” will have rooms available in the Phoenix area.

-Will be televised to 198 countries in 25 languages.

-Over 4,000 credentials issued to members of the US and world media. Not all are sportscasters, since the event transcends sports.

-Hooters in downtown Phoenix, will make more money this week than in the previous 4 months.

-For the first time flags in Spanish will be sold in Phoenix: El Supertazón XLIX !

-It will not snow in Boston while the game is played in Phoenix

-The median age of The Super Bowl viewer in 2014 was 43.7, a slight increase from the previous year 43.5. (Nielsen)

-35 million more women than men, will watch and remember the commercials

-2,500 less people will die in the roads in the US during the game

-Radio stations carrying the Superbowl, will have twice as much of an audience, during the game, than at anytime during any of their most listened shows.

-328 million gallons of beer will be consumed in the US during the game

-1 billions chicken wings will be consumed in the US during the game

-28 million pounds of potato chips will be consumed in the US during the game

-8 million employees will not show up Monday to work

-Countries where Football doesn’t mean Soccer= 1 The United States of America

-Best thing about the Superbowl?

Enjoy the game, I am going to the movies, there will be nobody there. I will wait to see the two million highlights during the week

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary weekly for http://www.sportsradioservice catch his podcast from Scotts Seafood in San Jose on March 23rd

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by David Zizmor

Ed Sherman a journalist with world wide readership is calling for the boycott of major Seattle Seahawks Marshawn Lynch sponsor Skittles who as Sherman says sponsors Lynch and his media hating ways. Sherman is asking for a worldwide boycott on Skittles because of the way that Lynch has treated the media during media day on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Super Bowl in Phoenix. Sherman over estimates how much people care about what Lynch has to say.

I have a hunch that people like Skittles a lot more than they like that journalist, come now seriously here’s the thing whether or not that Lynch says anything he’s getting the most media attention for saying nothing that anybody has ever got. He’s saying nothing and the world is hanging on every word and nothing comes out of his mouth.

It’s absolutely absurd meanwhile every other player for the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots that participated in media day and they said nothing. They didn’t say a damn thing that’s worthwhile listening to all they were doing was yapping away for an hour and a half in front of the media. The only difference was they were attempting to say something and they said nothing.

That’s what I said on Tuesday that media day was kind of a joke, it’s a relic from years past when the Super Bowl needed hype which was about four years ago.The league doesn’t get rid ofit because every media person wants to go to the Super Bowl so this is their excuse. You look at any other guys on any of these teams. Like a Doug Baldwin of the Seahawks a perfectly good guy who went to Stanford and he had interesting things to say.

You put these guys in front of a microphone during media day at the Super Bowl they’re not saying anything interesting because the media doesn’t ask them any interesting questions and the questions that the media are asking aren’t even interesting. It’s dumb stuff like what ice cream cone flavor you like the best. When they ask them about the game all you get are canned answers that are nothing but clichés about “oh we have to play the game one play at a time” or “the field was 100 yards long, we have to score as many touchdowns as we can” nobody cares what these guys have to say because we know the answers already.

Lynch is getting all this attention because at least it’s interesting, it’s different and if he’s not saying anything to the media for whatever reason and I still don’t entirely don’t understand the reason behind his comments whether he’s uncomfortable or he’s just mad and angry at the media. The fact of the matter is if he said anything it wouldn’t be worth anything worth listening to because none of these guys say anything worth listening to.

David Zizmor is covering Super Bowl XLIX for http://www.sportsradioservice listen to the podcast below

by David Zizmor

“I’m here so I won’t be fined” was his answer to every question Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch told reporters at media on Tuesday, Lynch was fined $100,000 last year during Super Bowl media day for not appearing and not doing interviews. Marshawn is Marshawn it’s really hard to tell if he’s doing this because he doesn’t like the media.

The other reasons that Lynch is treating the media this way it might some condition and makes him kind of shy in public speaking or some clinical diagnosis is the best way to put it. There might be some reason that he hates the media, when Lynch played for the Buffalo Bills five years ago one of the reasons he left was he felt like the team was not using him properly.

He didn’t just leave he forced the trade and he felt like the team wasn’t treating him properly he also didn’t feel like the local media was treating him properly. It’s still a mystery why he would still be upset at the media because the Seattle media hasn’t been bad to him. If anything they’ve embraced Lynch, they’ve embraced the Skittle, the Beast Mode, he’s certainly a cult hero in the Northwest.

So it’s not known why Lynch would have any predisposition disliking the Seattle media that being said this is the first time he’s been kind of short with the media and it won’t be the last. Will the NFL fine him? Who knows he’s saying something to the media in a way to get around the fine that he got last season for not showing up to media day.

The league might see through this type of interview and say “hey you just can’t say that and expect to get away with that at least be slightly cooperative and say something not necessarily meaningful but at least say something that at least answers the question. We’ll see what happens on that. Lynch he’s a character this is his way of dealing with the media.

Assuming it’s not clinical, hopefully Lynch will come around and speak his mind at some point with someone he likes than the crazy people at media day. Let’s be fair media day is kind of a circus act, your at the Super Bowl and your at media day there will be 20 percent real football reporters and 80 percent complete clowns. People who are from local media are there more for the spectacle of it than the actual football angle of it.

David Zizmor is covering Super Bowl XLIX for http://www.sportsradioservice.com catch his podcast below on soundcloud

by Daniel Dullum

GLENDALE AZ–Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll also has had his share of tricks up his sleeve as head coach at USC and in Seattle. Carroll in June 2010 saw the NCAA put a two year ban on USC and they eliminated the college’s 30 draft picks for allowing USC running back Reggie Bush to receive gifts, Bush also got free housing for his parents, and reportedly tons of money under Carroll’s watch.

Carroll and the Seahawks were fined for $300,000 for holding contact practices during training camps in August of 2014 the NFL has banned any contact mini camp practices for the 2015 season for the Seahawks and players will be paid for the missed practices.

For New England head coach Bill Belichick, he and the Patriots were fined $500,000 in 2007 by the NFL and had their first round draft pick taken away for taping the New York Jets assistant coaches and stealing their signals from the sidelines. The video recordings of the stolen signs were confiscated by the NFL and the Spygate scandal was almost in the rearview mirror until this month when Belichick and the Patriots were accused of deflating up to 11 footballs during the AFC Championship game in which they demolished the Indianapolis Colts.

Belichick said that no rules have been broken, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady insists that he knew nothing about any wrong doing. You got to believe somebody had to know what was going on because quarterbacks have a preference for how they want the ball. Brady had to be doing this but he insists that he hadn’t and Belichick had chose to throw his quarterback under the bus which is kind of cool.

The whole thing looks to be orchestrated by Belichick to take the pressure off everybody else and go about the business of preparing for the Super Bowl. What this does is plays in the heads of everyone involved and he’s giggling all the way to the war room and it’s like a red herring I’ll throw this out there to give everybody something to chew on while were actually working on our game plan.

During media day this week there are going to be extra questions about Deflategate there’s going to be at least half a dozen questions on all of that and it deflects away from the business at hand and therefore their not talking about it as much. Their able actually to focus on the game itself. Carroll and the USC Trojans were penalized for allowing Bush to house his family and he received cash. All that stuff that Bush received was a huge no no and besides the fine to USC also Bush was forced to return his Heisman Trophy.

Daniel Dullum is covering Super Bowl XLIX for http://www.sportsradioservice.com