Burfict Sign 4yr Extension.

Vontaze Burfict is about to make the move to a higher tax bracket. After only pulling in $390,000 in his rookie year, Burfict will make $7.6 million in 2014 thanks to a four-year extension he agreed to with the Bengals on Wednesday. 

According to ESPN.com, the extension will pay Burfict $20 million over the next four seasons, including the aforementioned $7.6 million in 2014. 

Burfict originally signed with the Bengals as an undrafted free agent out of Arizona State in 2012. The linebacker signed a three-year, $1.441 million rookie deal after character concerns kept him from getting drafted. 

The 23-year-old has been a bargain for the Bengals, starting in 30 of the team's 32 games over the past two seasons while making a base salary of less than $500,000 in each season. 

Besides the money in his new deal, Burfict has at least two other big paychecks coming his way. Thanks to the NFL's performance based pay bonus, Burfict will get a $299,465 check for his 14 starts in 2012 and $315,847 for his 16 starts in 2013. Burfict will receive those checkson April 1, 2015 and April 1, 2016.  

The performance-based pay program works to compensate players whose level of playing time was much higher than what their salary would have paid.

Why I Support The Dalton Deal, And Why Any Supporter Shouldn't Be Surprise By The Bash'n.

S

 

 

You saw the contract numbers for Andy Dalton's extension Monday and you laughed. It was probably a loud one, too.

 

What the hell are the Cincinnati Bengals doing giving Dalton a six-year extension for $115 million, right?

 

What they are doing is being smart, especially if the contract is structured the right way. Dalton has flaws and has come up small in the playoffs, but he's also has taken the Bengals to the playoffs each of his first three seasons, which is special. He's also thrown 80 touchdown passes in those three seasons, 33 last season, which is why extending him for six seasons makes sense.

Yet ripping Dalton is a blood sport. He's likeCarson Palmer. He's like Tony Romo. They've all had regular-season success, but have not got it done in the playoffs.

So they stink. They're chokers.

 

Yet players like Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick are considered rising stars because, playing on good teams, they've won in the postseason.

Wilson and Kaepernick have talent, but I've had a handful of NFL people tell me the Seahawks would have won the Super Bowl last season with Dalton playing quarterback.

"He could have managed it just like Wilson did," one general manager said. "Wilson is more athletic, and gets outside the pocket to create plays, but Dalton would have found a way with that defense and running game."

 

The love for the mobile quarterback and the read-option plays actually has made players like Wilson and Kaepernick overrated, which isn't fair since they shouldn't be rated as high as they are anyway.

At some point, they will have to learn to play in the pocket. As one NFL quarterback said to me, "Two years. That stuff where they run around has two years left. It will be figured out. Then what? Two years."

 

I am not saying Dalton is among the NFL's elite, but he is more than capable of winning a Super Bowl with a good team, much like Wilson did.

Dalton's 33 touchdown passes was the third-highest total last season behind Peyton Manning and Drew Brees. He was seventh in passing yards, 12th in yards per attempt. He did throw 20 picks, which is way too many, but he was also eighth in attempts, also way too high. He has 60 touchdown passes the past two seasons, also third behind Manning and Brees. Yes, he has had issues when the protection breaks down, but who doesn't. One of the flaws in the Bengals' offense is the line is taught to go back in pass protection instead of punching forward. That leads to passes being batted down and bad lanes for vision. With a shorter quarterback, this makes no sense and leads to problems in the passing game.

 

Dalton was better than Wilson and Kaepernick in the fourth quarter, which throws a little water on the supposed "choke" factor.

At the league meetings in March, coach Marvin Lewis was almost defiant when reporters challenged him about Dalton being a good enough quarterback. I sat and watched Lewis seethe as questions came his way about Dalton's inability to win in the playoffs, including a loss last year at home to San Diego.

 

"It's easy to point at one guy, but baloney, the football team didn't play as well as we needed to win," Lewis said.

There are four elite quarterbacks: Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees. Then there's another group right behind them that I think includes Phillip Rivers,Andrew Luck, Ben Roethlisberger and Matt Ryan. After that, you can scramble 9-18 any way you want, and Dalton is in that mix.

 

That's why the Bengals were smart to extend Dalton. I would imagine the deal would be similar to the one Kaepernick recently signed, which is a show-me type of deal that has guarantees each year -- not a huge up-front guarantee.

I am OK with that type of deal for both. Yes, Kaepernick and Wilson have had had more postseason success than Dalton, but consider this: Trent Dilfer won a Super Bowl and Dan Marino never did.

Like Lewis and every coach preaches to his players and the media: It's a team game. The quarterbacks is a huge part of it, now more than ever, but there are only a handful who can carry a team year in and year out.

 

The other teams have to hope everything goes well and the quarterback is good enough.

Seattle won a title that way last season. San Francisco has come close.

Cincinnati has been to the playoffs three consecutive seasons with that model after winning four games the year before Dalton took over. So this deal isn't as bad as you think.

Neither is Dalton.

 

By: Pete Prisco

Reds Ownership Blames Media Coverage for Lack of Season Ticket Sales

After winning 90 games and qualifying for the postseason last year, the Reds had a very quiet offseason. They lost Shin-Soo Choo and Bronson Arroyo to free agency, signed Skip Schumaker and Brayan Pena, traded Ryan Hanigan for a pitching prospect, and that's about it. They did sign Homer Bailey to a long-term extension, but he's not a new addition.

Team owner Bob Castellini told John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer that the team has to watch itself financially -- "We’re not going to blow this franchise up by overextending ourselves ... It’s never going to happen." -- and he is not happy with the way the media covered their offseason. He went so far as to say season ticket sales did not increase as much as expected because of the media coverage.

“That season-ticket number is the most important number we can generate,” Castellini said. “Sponsorships are very important. Advertising is important. But the biggest thing we concentrate on is season tickets.

“So when you guys start writing right during the caravan about money, the fact that we didn’t add any guys ... well, we had all these guys hurt. We knew we wanted to sign Homer. We knew we were going to make some other commitments. It’s not that we didn’t look. It gets written in such a way – ‘Well, the Reds aren’t doing anything’ – that really does affect people buying season tickets.

“Personally, I get a little ticked off. That’s life. But it’s the franchise. (Chief operating officer) Phil (Castellini) and his guys are out there trying to sell 20-game packages. It hurts when (the media is obsessed with money). It came at the wrong time with the wrong emphasis. That hurts us. If you’re going to write that we didn’t sign anybody, at least write that we had (Johnny) Cueto, (Ryan) Ludwick and all these other guys hurt.”

Fay says season ticket sales are up compared to last year but are still short of the team's goal of 13,000 to 14,000. Attendance has increased every season since 2007, topping out at just under 2.5 million fans in 2013. The team has won 90-plus games and gone to the postseason in three of the last four years.

The Reds' local television contract is up in 2017 and the club should see a big boost in revenue when they work out a new deal. Fay says they currently receive about $30 million annually from their current deal, which isn't much compared to what teams are getting through recent agreements.

More than saying the media is the blame for the slower than expected season ticket sales, Castellini is wrong to imply that Reds' fans can't form opinions of their own. The media could have spent the winter saying letting Choo walk was a great move, but the fans can see for themselves that losing him will be a huge downgrade. This isn't rocket science.

Nothing affects ticket sales as much as winning and roster moves, and the Reds didn't do much of the latter these last five months. Not at all.

Why Are Men Vilified At The End Of Relationships?

I was asked earlier the same question earlier and it was ironically, something I can relate to at that current moment. I didn't have an answer though, and after thinking about it I don't. As sad as it is to say, I guess it just come with being the man of a relationship. What I do know is relationships don't just end, a lot of events and mistakes take place before a relationship ends and believe it or not both parties usually play a role in the mistakes. Although both parties play a role, as a man, you will be judge, stereotyped, you will be demeaned, dishonored, disrespected, talked about, vilified by you guys mutual friends and sometimes even your own kin once that relationship ends. Truth be told Men, 9 times out of 10, becomes the villain once a relationship ends and I wonder why? There's always two sides to every story, differences, and different equations that leads up to the best, but unfortunate solutions. In relationships, you can only do what you know, you can only do your best, you can be the best person you know how and put your best effort forward. Successful relationships require that all parties, view getting their core needs met as being legitimate. Relationships that last, and blossom are the ones where your best is good enough to your significant other. They take it, work with it, add to it, and help grow your best to even better. Unfortunately often times that don't happen and when people inquire on what went wrong, and why things didn't work, as they will, its usually he or she did this, or didn't do this that's how the story often times end. I'm sure there's many people who can relate, and maybe you all have a logical answer, or one that make sense, cause I don't. After all that I still can't help but wonder Why Man is always vilified at the end of relationship? Man, Woman let me know???

Reds and Bailey Far Apart In Contract Negotiation

Even after letting Bronson Arroyo leave as a free agent, the Reds have a strong rotation led by Johnny Cueto, Mat Latos and Homer Bailey. Bailey is due to become a free agent next winter and the two sides are talking about a long-term contract extension, but right now they are nowhere close to a deal.

There's an enormous gap between the #reds last offer and what Homer Bailey wants in a long-term deal, source says.

— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) February 8, 2014
It's going to take some major compromise for Bailey to sign and avoid hitting the market as a free agent in November. #reds

— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) February 8, 2014
Bailey, 27, filed for $11.6 million in salary arbitration last month while the Reds countered with $8.7 million. He earned $5.35 million last summer and will surely be looking for Zack Greinke (seven years, $147 million) and Masahiro Tanaka (seven years, $155 million) money next winter with a strong 2014 season, if not more.

In 32 starts last year, Bailey set several career bests, including innings pitched (209), ERA (3.49), WHIP (1.12), strikeout rate (8.6 K/9), strikeout-to-walk rate (3.69) and WAR (3.2). He also tied his career bests in walk rate (2.3 BB/9) and home run rate (0.9 HR/9). Bailey has also thrown two no-hitters in his last 34 starts. Needless to say, his career is on the upswing.

According to Cot's, the Reds will open the year with a payroll right around $100 million, similar to last year. They currently have $68.7 million committed for 2015 but will have to deal with several pricey arbitration cases next offseason, including Cueto, Latos, Mike Leake and Aroldis Chapman, among others.

It seems unlikely Cincinnati will be able to keep the core of their rotation intact beyond next season without significantly raising payroll. Trading Bailey at the deadline for younger (and cheaper) players could be an option, but it may not happen if the Reds are in contention. This will be a situation worth monitoring all year for sure

Phillips Staying A Red for Now.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/24337890/reds-gm-told-brandon-phillips-no-trade-talks-right-now via http://cbssportsapp.com

LAX Shooting: What's the real problem here.

I just really looked into the LAX shooting, and attack on TSA airport employee. Not by any means I'm I justifying this guys actions, never is it okay to be the taker of anybody's life. What America lacks though is seeing the BIG picture, or the wider spectrum of these nation rocking moments. So an additions to trying to put this guy away for longest time possible, or pursuing death penalty, (which I'm not a fan of) in addition to that, American officials need to look at the act of these TSA employees. I have been through airports enough, even recently, and the way some of these employees treat people IS NOT okay. The disrespect, the aggressive approach, the attitude, the tone in language and order is inappropriate. people who come thru airports everyday are HUMAN BEINGS, they should be treated as such, not like a threat to be the next terrorist or idiot that's trying to do something to harm the next person. Military, Public Servants, World figures, people from all stretches of life come thru airports, not just criminals or potential criminals so why must we all be treated in such way. That's part of America though, when you think about it. America enjoy focusing the blame on a certain group, or group of people, that they categorized, and take the blame of the real problem, there molded and trained "federal employees" and unfortunately you get events happening like this one. So sad, but so is this place we call America.