American Sports Thread

[David McKeown]

I understand there's a more important issue in the arrest but it fairly screws up the Pats offence for next year. With Welker and Hernandez gone and Gronk a major injury doubt, New England will likely have to revamp that side of the ball again

Can see them leaning on the RB's Ridley and Vereen a bit more than they expected to. Apart from Amendola all their other receivers are either veterans they picked up in free agency or inexperienced rookies. If Gronk stays healthy I think they'll be fine but they are really dependent on him now.

Yeah so could I but Brady didn't get to be one of the best QB's of all time by handing the ball off. Still Bellicheck always seems to have a plan. Dolphins will really fancy their chances now

[J70]

A brief outline of the alleged timeline and evidence against Hernandez here: http://www.boston.com/news/2013/06/27/texts-video-cited-charges-against-hernandez/o6Mxq7BkYu5wvwSuRsnkyJ/singlepage.html

If what is reported there is true, this guy is as thick as two planks! Arrogant in very dumb way as well.

[Puckoon]

Just crazy from Hernandez - I listened in on a discussion last night among some football fans where it was asserted that this is the 3rd time he has been in the midst of a murder investigation (not sure how reliable this info was).

Read a comment this morning that he is going to go in as a tight end and come out as a wide receiver.

[GalwayBayBoy]

God knows how he thought he was going to get away with it. He left a trail of evidence behind him that Inspector Clouseau could follow. Guess a lot of these lads are not the brightest away from the football field. What an utterly dumb way to end someone else's life and completely ruin your own.

[the Deel Rover]

Something to look forward to next year lads . How would these teams rate in College Football ?


American football game to be held in Croke Park

The University of Central Florida (UCF) will face Penn State in the Croke Park Classic on August 30 next year.
It will be the first time the teams have played outside the United States.
Paraic Duffy, GAA director general, said the 2014 season opener will be a hugely significant event for Croke Park and Ireland.
"Irish people are renowned for their love of sport as evidenced by the thousands who attend our games throughout the year," he said.
"I have no doubt that this game will be every bit as attractive."
UCF coach George O'Leary and Penn State director of athletics Dave Joyner announced the fixture at the Leinster senior football championship final between Dublin and Meath.
The last American football game hosted in Croke Park was in 1996 when Notre Dame defeated Navy.
And almost 50,000 fans were back in Dublin last year when both teams played at the Aviva.

Organisers believe the fixture added some 100 million euro to the Irish economy as well as contributing to the nearly 15% growth in American visitors.
Tourism and Sport Minister Leo Varadkar said next year's match will be a fantastic event for Croke Park and for Ireland.
"It's great news for sports fans, for the GAA and the wider economy," he added.

[Syferus]

Something to look forward to next year lads . How would these teams rate in College Football ?


American football game to be held in Croke Park

The University of Central Florida (UCF) will face Penn State in the Croke Park Classic on August 30 next year.
It will be the first time the teams have played outside the United States.
Paraic Duffy, GAA director general, said the 2014 season opener will be a hugely significant event for Croke Park and Ireland.
"Irish people are renowned for their love of sport as evidenced by the thousands who attend our games throughout the year," he said.
"I have no doubt that this game will be every bit as attractive."
UCF coach George O'Leary and Penn State director of athletics Dave Joyner announced the fixture at the Leinster senior football championship final between Dublin and Meath.
The last American football game hosted in Croke Park was in 1996 when Notre Dame defeated Navy.
And almost 50,000 fans were back in Dublin last year when both teams played at the Aviva.

Organisers believe the fixture added some 100 million euro to the Irish economy as well as contributing to the nearly 15% growth in American visitors.
Tourism and Sport Minister Leo Varadkar said next year's match will be a fantastic event for Croke Park and for Ireland.
"It's great news for sports fans, for the GAA and the wider economy," he added.

Penn State were/are top three in terms of revenue and eyeballs in college football. Before the Sandusky scandal Joe Pa was an un-reproachable figure in college football. They've got hamstrung slightly with sanctions as a result of the scandal but are still competitive. UCF are just a mid-tier college taking a knee and giving up a home game, far too much money is at stake for Penn State to give one up, same went for Notre Dame last year.

It'll be interesting to see how we promote this locally because tickets will be in plentiful supply this time with it in Croke Park. A success here and we'll have made it as a destination for college ball.

[AZOffaly]

It seems strange to me. Unless Penn State come in big numbers, I can't see how Croker would fill. The Aviva would have made more sense again. UCF would be a pretty minor college in the scheme of things, but Penn State would be one of the great old names of the Big 10 and college football. The Sandusky scandal has damaged them a lot, but I suppose this trip will give their fans a reason to travel to a party type game, as they are banned from bowl games for a few years.

[Syferus]

It seems strange to me. Unless Penn State come in big numbers, I can't see how Croker would fill. The Aviva would have made more sense again. UCF would be a pretty minor college in the scheme of things, but Penn State would be one of the great old names of the Big 10 and college football. The Sandusky scandal has damaged them a lot, but I suppose this trip will give their fans a reason to travel to a party type game, as they are banned from bowl games for a few years.

I wonder what their projections are. That'll be what defines whether it's a success or a failure rather than the size of the ground. You could always close off the top tier if you don't think you'll pass 50k. It might be that Croke Park under-cut the Aviva's rental price to secure the game, and that would be a shrewd piece of business by the GAA because this could end up being an event with a very long tail.

Tickets sold out for the game last year very fast because so many where taken by Notre Dame fans and other Irish-Americans. I doubt you'll get as many Penn State fans over given they don't have as strong a link with Ireland as ND do but Dublin is hugely appealing to Americans and is one of the big party cities in the world so it still should draw a sizeable influx of fans.

It shouldn't be hard to get tickets for this one so a big push to get a decent local turn-out seems to be in order.

[Puckoon]

Was just talking to a fooball mad co-worker here. I asked him why they picked Penn State to travel to Dublin. His answer was "Lots of Rich Alumni, lots of past and present NFL player alumni".

Maybe that factors into the decision, who knows?

[Syferus]

Was just talking to a fooball mad co-worker here. I asked him why they picked Penn State to travel to Dublin. His answer was "Lots of Rich Alumni, lots of past and present NFL player alumni".

Maybe that factors into the decision, who knows?

Who's 'they'? It's UCF and Penn State that picked themselves and decided to vet locations in Dublin, likely on the back of the huge success of the ND-Navy game last year.

[Puckoon]

Well there you go then!

[magpie seanie]

Isn't the "Irish" link with Notre Dame is quite tenuos, nickname apart?

Penn State is a big name and with no bowl games as AZ mentioned, this make more and more sense. Hard to see them getting 80k but 50k+ should be very attainable.

[gallsman]

Isn't the "Irish" link with Notre Dame is quite tenuos, nickname apart?

Penn State is a big name and with no bowl games as AZ mentioned, this make more and more sense. Hard to see them getting 80k but 50k+ should be very attainable.

The historical legacy is, unsurprisingly, French. However, over time I think the Irish link has been kind of self-fulfilling.

[AZOffaly]

True. It's catholic, and catholic means a lot of Irish in the states. Which has become self fulfilling in that way. I think I heard that the name the 'Fighting Irish' came from an incident where a lad was giving out to a bunch of players for not trying hard, saying that they should be fighting more, and with your Irish surnames ye should be well able to fight.

Whatever the origins, they've certainly taken it to heart.

I'd say probably Boston College is the most Irish college in the states in reality.

[Gabriel_Hurl]

There's lots of stories about the name - the most prevelant one that the-then president of the university was a chaplain of the Irish Brigade in the Union Army at the Battle of Gettysburg in the 1860's