NFL History: Original 14 Teams

 Here is a riveting image of the first 14 teams in the NFL. Jim Thorpe was elected as the league's first president in 1920 after the American Professional Football Association was founded during a meeting at a car dealership. Classic. Enjoy the history. Zooming may be necessary.

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Most Epic Pre-Race Prayer by Pastor

I'm speechless, mainly because he stole all the thunder. This pastor reminds me of Ricky Bobby when he thanks god for his "smoking hot wife." This stuff can't be made up. Classic.


Pastor Gives Best Pre-Race Prayer Ever - Watch more Sports

Devine Intervention: Noel Devine High School Highlights

While he may be in the UFL now after leaving the Eagles and getting cut, former West Virginia running back Noel Devine was quite the phenom in high school. At 5'8" and 180 pounds, few expected this kid to dominate the way he did. Until now.

JZ Sports Live Interview and Weekly Show

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Comedian of the Day: Russell Peters

Always nice to take a break from sports, in favor of comedy. In case you've never seen the Indian sensation, tune in here. With our comedian of the day, Canadian Russell Peters discusses why parents need to beat their kids. Enjoy.

Georgetown, China Wild Brawl

When the Georgetown basketball team traveled to China, they probably didn't expect to be stomped out by a plethora of hungry Chinamen. Watch the casual man on the sideline, wearing khaki shorts, quickly run out and immediately begin tossing kicks. Assistant or hired bodyguard? We'll never know.

Unique NFL Pregame Ritual

The former defensive tackle for the Jacksonville Jaguars, now with the Raiders, has quite the pregame ritual. At 6'7" and 335 pounds, it's remarkable how he gets anyone to slap him, particularly the diminutive 5'10" assistants who seem to be up for the job. Most would pay to see him fight a silverback gorilla.

Flash Mob in Belgium

Belgium just gained our respect. Quite the flash mob at Antwerp Central station. It doesn't get any better than this. Subtly followed by an explosion. Enjoy.

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The NFL's 10 Biggest Upsets of 2011

My projections for the 10 biggest upsets of the 2011 NFL season. Check em out. Let me know if you love em or hate em!

It includes some that might freak you out, but hey, that is the nature of sportswriting!
Enjoy!

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/793470-nfl-schedule-2011-projecting-the-10-biggest-upsets-of-the-2011-season

Free Agent Update

Sorry about the delay folks, lets get down to it. This was one busy weekend in the NFL, several key players signed (and didn't sign). The most important acquisition of course was the Philadelphia Eagles showing up as the dark horse in the Nnamdi Asomugha sweepstakes, and winning him from all of the other suitors. Philly is clearly making a run at the Super Bowl now, and Giants fans are lamenting. Lets have a look at this weekend's notable signings. (And Monday)

- The Atlanta Falcons inked Minnesota Vikings' defensive end Ray Edwards to a deal, FINALLY shoring up their defense as everyone was expecting them to do in the draft. Looks like they knew what they were doing after all. The Falcons are looking very solid on both sides of the ball now. Tony Gonzalez has even tweeted that Julio Jones is the best rookie wideout he's ever played with.

-Antonio Cromartie signed his "You're the Plan B" deal from the New York Jets. It is still a 4-year deal for a cool $32 million. This is good because Cromartie has a whole lot of illegitimate kids to pay child support on. He says he has no hard feelings but has a chip on his shoulder. Oooook Antonio. Still, his signing keeps the Jets' secondary intact, and the Cromartie-Revis tandem remains as dangerous as ever.

-The Arizona Cardinals signed the Baltimore Ravens' salary cap casualty Todd Heap. The 10-year veteran tight end brings some much needed receiving help to the Kevin Kolb arsenal. Heap combined with Jerhemy Urban should not only provide good targets outside of Larry Fitzgerald, but add some significant blocking for running back Beanie Wells.

-The Denver Broncos signed another Baltimore Raven castoff, running back Willis McGahee. Thankfully for Denver, this brings them a solid runner who has plenty left in the tank. His arrival should motivate the lazy and underachieving Knowshon Moreno. A good deal for both McGahee and the Broncos.

-The New York Jets made another acquisition by inking Plaxico Burress, keeping him away from their roommates, the New York Giants. This is actually a fantastic signing for both teams. The Giants did not need Plaxico, and the Jets do. They have a big body for Mark Sanchez opposite Santonio Holmes, who was once Plaxico's teammate in Pittsburgh. Whether he has enough left in the tank to perform remains to be seen. His 1 year deal is worth $3 million.

-Speaking of the Giants and Jets, the New York Giants stole away Jets punter Steve Weatherford. That pretty much means the end of Matt Dodge, thank god. We don't need to go over why that is a good thing.

-The New York Giants also re-signed their most important free agent, running back Ahmad Bradshaw. Thankfully, his market imploded, allowing the Giants to keep their running game from doing the same. He has signed a 4-year deal for a price that was far closer to what the team wanted than what he wanted. Good for fans everywhere.

-The Detroit Lions roared as their defense continues to become one of the most formidable in the NFL. They have signed stud linebacker Stephen Tulloch and his 160 tackles away from the Tennessee Titans. Pure bliss for Lions fans. Detroit is thinking playoffs, and they are thinking it now.

-To compensate for the loss of Stephen Tulloch, the Tennessee Titans have taken Barrett Ruud off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' hands. They keep their defense intact with this move, but have still no doubt experienced a downgrade at middle linebacker.

-The Cincinnati Bengals have signed cornerback Nate Clements, formerly of the San Fransisco 49ers. They needed this signing to compensate for the loss of Johnathan Joseph, though it is a paltry consolation prize. Clements has lost a step, and even in his prime was not even close to Johnathan Joseph.

-The Carolina Panthers found an upgrade for their terrible offense by signing two solid tight ends. New Orleans Saints castoff Jeremy Shockey agreed to a 1 year deal worth up to $4 million. They also traded a 2012 third-round pick to the Chicago Bears for tight end Greg Olsen, meaning they now have a very formidable tight end tandem. This is fantastic for rookie Cam Newton, who now has viable passing targets and additional protection for what is sure to be a roller coaster rookie year.

-The biggest news of all, of course, is the Philadelphia Eagles. They came out of nowhere in the Nnamdi Asomugha sweepstakes to pull him right out from under the Jets, promising him a ring and giving him a 5-year contract worth $60 million. The addition of Nnamdi Asomugha makes the Eagles secondary the most fearsome in the NFL by far, with three ball-hawking pro-bowlers covering enemy receivers. They also made a splash by signing Green Bay Packers DT Cullen Jenkins, making them by far the most well rounded team in the NFL, and surpassing the Packers as this year's super bowl favorites. They have an incredible team put together, and are already being called the Miami Heat of the 2011 NFL season. We'll have to see, but there is no denying that these birds of prey will be flying high in 2011.

Player Buffet: Get em While They're Hot!

The one-week offseason rages on today, as several more prominent players have been signed, traded, and released.
We already talked about the power play by the New England Patriots to bring in both Chad Ochocinco and Fat Albert Haynesworth, but what else has happened around the league today?

-The Reggie Bush era finally ended in New Orleans today, as the Saints traded him away to Miami for undisclosed draft picks and safety Jonathon Amaya. The undersized, overpaid running back finally is taking the pay cut he should have gotten a long time ago, and the Dolphins add a flashy runner to their flashy offense. If they re-sign just one of their current free agent halbacks (Ronnie Brown or Ricky Williams), they'll have a decent running game and an excellent punt returner in Bush. All they would need after that to make the status of mediocre would be a quarterback.

-Steve Breaston is reportedly leaving the Arizona Cardinals for the Kansas City Chiefs. This is great for Kansas City and bad for Arizona, who now have one less target for new acquisition Kevin Kolb to throw to. The Chiefs add a legitimate No. 2 receiver alongside all-pro Larry Fitzgerald, and we can expect to see that already formidable Chief offense ramp it up a notch in 2011.

-The long-awaited Kevin Kolb trade has finally gone down. The Philadelphia Eagles receive cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a second round draft pick, while the Cardinals get a franchise signal caller...or at least they hope so. They sure paid him like one. (5 years, $63 Million. Not bad for a guy with only 7 starts)

-Vince Young was released by the Tennessee Titans and is now looking for work. Whoo-freakin-who.

-For all you fellow Giants fans out there, Matthias Kiwanuka has been re-signed by the New York Giants. This bodes great for the defense, and bad for the offense. Kiwanuka is a phenomenal defensive asset, but I'm not sure where the cap space is coming from to re-sign Steve Smith, Ahmad Bradshaw, and Kevin Boss. Or any of them for that matter. Uh-oh. Still, it gives New York versatility at end and linebacker and lessens the chance that Osi walking will kill the defense.

-The Giants officially cut Rich Seubert, Shawn Andrews, Shaun O'Hara, and Madison Hedgecock, freeing up extra cap space to sign their top free agents.

-Jets Wildcat QB, kick returner and WR Brad Smith agreed to a deal with the Buffalo Bills today, for 4 years worth $15 million. This is definitely a possible overpayment, especially given that the Bills had almost no need of Brad Smith. Offense is not their problem. He probably gets a little satisfaction going to the Bills, as the Jets have spurned everybody but Santonio Holmes in their pursuit of Nnamdi Asomugha.

-The Saints have reached an agreement with Darren Sproles to replace Reggie Bush. Well done fools...you just replaced one speedy undersized back with another. I guess they saved a little money at least.

-Jason Babin has reached an agreement with the Philadelphia Eagles, ending any Cullen Jenkins/Ray Edwards speculation, and shoring up their already formidable pass rush.

-The agreement of the day was between the Houston Texans and Johnathan Joseph. The Texans had the league's worst pass defense in 2010, and were desperately searching for a way to fix that. In signing Joseph, the Texans might have my vote for the signing of the offseason. This is perfect for them in every imaginable way. Joseph is younger than Nnamdi Asomugha by 3 years, he has more interceptions over the last few seasons (14 vs 11), and he comes at maybe two-thirds Nnamdi's price (5 years for $43 million). The Texans made a beautiful play and will be rewarded.

Their defense now features a top-5 cornerback in Joseph, plus Mario Williams, Brian Cushing, Demeco Ryans, and rookies J.J Watt and Brooks Reed. Combine that defensive squad with their explosive offense, and the Texans are suddenly a Wild Card contender at the very least, and maybe even the favorite in the AFC South. Great job by the Houston front office.

Thats all we have for this free agency update at JZSports, stay tuned tomorrow for what is sure to be another crazy day!

Star Spangled Storm

The Patriots are starting to look very dangerous for the 2011 season. The team with the NFL's best overall record in 2010 is only getting better, as today they added what could be formidable offensive and defensive pieces.

Fat loser Albert Haynesworthless is getting his best possible chance at redemption by signing with the New England Patriots. Though Haynesworth is a lazy loudmouth, that kind of behavior does not fly on a squad coached by Bill Belichick. Haynesworth will either shut up and play the game, or he will sit, and all he's costing the Patriots is a couple of surplus draft picks. Most importantly, he gets to play alongside one of the most dangerous nose tackles in the NFL in Vince Wilfork. A chance at redemption has been handed to him on a silver platter.

The Patriots also sent a couple of picks to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for wide receiver Chad Ochocinco. Not only does this provide the opinionated and loud Ochocinco with a coach that will set him straight, but it gives Tom Brady his first legitimate No. 1 receiver since Randy Moss was good in 2009.

Watch out for the Patriots this season. They are going to be a tough nut to crack.