The Roar
The Roar

The Roar

John Gregg

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Joined March 2015

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John Gregg is an award winning sports journalist. He has won 4 television Emmys for his writing and reporting while covering boxing, horse racing, baseball, the NFL & NBA. John is based in San Francisco, California.

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It would appear as if the NFL has Tom Brady by the balls…..

The top ten worst cheaters in American Sports

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US Sports
 
2015

Following he game it was reported that 11 of the 12 balls used by the New England offense were 2 pounds per square inch below the league’s requirement.

The big stink is the ‘integrity of the game of football’ issue. The NFL doesn’t want the perception that one of their biggest star players is above the law. I think Tom Brady is going to pay the price and from what I hear he might be looking at a 1 to 4 game suspension. That decision by the NFL should come as early as next week.

This has more to do about politics than science. It should be pointed out that Aaron Rodgers the Green Bay Packers QB likes his footballs to be over inflated.

I think the whole thing is sort of crazy…

The top ten worst cheaters in American Sports

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US Sports
 
2015

Kentucky Derby notes for Friday May 1st.

El Kabeir the 30-1 longshot, has been scratched from Saturday’s running of the Kentucky Derby.

2015 Kentucky Derby picks and preview

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Racing
 
2015

Kentucky Derby notes for Thursday April 30th.

Stanford is a scratch for Saturday’s running of the Kentucky Derby. The colt who drew post number 11 starting gate will not race for trainer Todd Pletcher and his owners. He may run in the Preakness. That means everyone from the #12 hole to # 20 moves over one slot.

Frammento now moves into the race and he will start in the #20 post but will wear saddle cloth #21 for trainer Nick Zito.

2015 Kentucky Derby picks and preview

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Racing
 
2015

Kentucky Derby notes for Wednesday April 29:

Here is how they line up from the starting gate following today’s draw for the 141st running of the Kentucky Derby

Here are the starting positions for each horse:

Gate 1: Ocho Ocho Ocho 50-1

Gate 2: Carpe Diem 8-1

Gate 3: Materiality 12-1

Gate 4: Tencendur 30-1

Gate 5: Danzig Moon 30-1

Gate 6: Mubtaahij 20-1

Gate 7: El Kabeir 30-1

Gate 8: Dortmund 3-1

Gate 9: Bolo 30-1

Gate 10: Firing Line 12-1

Gate 11: Stanford 30-1

Gate 12: International Star 20-1

Gate 13: Itsaknockout 30-1

Gate 14: Keen Ice 50-1

Gate 15: Frosted 15-1

Gate 16: War Story 50-1

Gate 17: Mr. Z 50-1

Gate 18: American Pharoah 5/2

Gate 19: Upstart 15-1

Gate 20: Far Right 30-1

Note: Carpe Diem has struggled in the gate in the past and that’s a long time to wait while all the other horses are being loaded. Also Materialty is a speed horse and that isn’t a good position with all the traffic breaking to the inside. The race favorite is way outside in the number 18 hole but trainer Bob Baffert didn’t seem too disappointed at least to the press about the odds on favorite. If one horse caught a little break it is Dortmund, the other Baffert entry in the number 8 post. The big, muscular colt and second race favorite at 3-1, is in excellent position for the Running of the Roses.

2015 Kentucky Derby picks and preview

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Racing
 
2015

Kentucky Derby notes for Sunday April 26: American Pharoah, the odds on favorite for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby looked very impressive in his lone workout at Churchill Downs. With his race day jockey Martin Garcia aboard, American Pharoah
went five furlongs in :58 2/5. The Arkansas Derby winner was the fastest of 32 horses at the distance.

“It went well, the track was in great shape this morning,” Baffert explained. “He was pretty anxious (to run) today; it was the first time he worked since he ran. Martin Garcia was on him and he just let him leave the five and a half and he was just clipping along. He was doing it in hand, but that’s the way he works.

2015 Kentucky Derby picks and preview

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Racing
 
2015

Hugo…perhaps it is the romantic in me
but I would love to see a classic battle between American Pharoah and Dortmund. The strange part is that that both horses are trained by the same guy…Bob Baffert.

2015 Kentucky Derby picks and preview

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Racing
 
2015

Kentucky Derby notes for Saturday April 25: It has been reported that the Derby favorite American Pharoah has been racing and training with a plate covering part of the sole of his left front foot. Trainer Bob Baffert said that he will continue to protect the colt’s front hoof and that the horse with wear the plate for the Kentucky Derby. Training at Keeneland Race Track in Lexington, Kentucky, Carpe Diem, the prohibitive third or fourth wagering choice for the Derby, completed his final major work in the darkness at 5:30 AM. Carpe Diem breezied four furlongs in 48.60 seconds.

2015 Kentucky Derby picks and preview

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Racing
 
2015

Well, the Clippers looked very strong in their opening round win in Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs. Blake Griffin hammered down a monster duck and LA is feeling it. However, don’t be surprised if this series doesn’t go the distance.

NBA playoffs: Uneasy is the head that wears the crown

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Basketball
 
2015

Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was found guilty of first-degree murder on Wednesday. The ex-NFL star was convicted in the killing of Odin Lloyd. The first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. The 25-year-old Hernandez faces further chargers in the the alleged murder of two other men, who were killed in a drive-by shooting in 2012.

The jury verdict brought against former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez in the June 2013 shooting death of Odin Lloyd:

Charges Verdict
First-degree murder Guilty
Carrying firearm
without license Guilty
Carrying large-capacity
firearm (2 counts) Guilty
Possession of ammunition
without FID card Guilty
Possession of firearm
without FID card Guilty
* Mandatory sentence of life in prison with no parole

Ten worst villains in American sports

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NFL
 
2015

The story I wrote several days ago just got stranger. Former University of Nebraska running back Lawrence Phillips, who has been serving a 31 year sentence for attacking his girlfriend and also using his car as a deadly weapon while trying to rundown three teenagers is in more trouble. Phillips is being investigated for allegedly murdering his cellmate at the Kern Valley State Prison. Phillips is suspected of murdering Damion Soward. The body of the 37-year-old Soward was found on Saturday morning. He was serving 82 years to life for first degree murder.

Ten worst villains in American sports

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NFL
 
2015

Gobbler…You Rule…John

Russell Westbrook's stats place him in that most rarefied of air - Air Jordan

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Basketball
 
2015

Well, it looks like the bean counters got it wrong. It seems as if the only thing that can slow down Oklahoma City Thunder’s star guard Russell Westbrook are the folks that sit court side and keep the stats. The NBA ruled on Monday that Westbrook was one rebound shy of another triple-double in Sunday’s victory over the Miami Heat.

The NBA announced that Westbrook was incorrectly credited with a rebound in their 93-75 win over the Heat. The correction means the Thunder point guard finished with 12 points, 17 assists and nine rebounds. Westbrook now has nine triple-doubles on the season for an Oklahoma City team

Russell Westbrook's stats place him in that most rarefied of air - Air Jordan

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Basketball
 
2015

Andrew, I watched Reggie Bush play for USC in college a great deal and he was an electric back. Pure excitement. However, the 49ers are Reggie’s fourth team in the NFL and he is entering his 10th year in the League. He just turned 30 and you have to wonder just how much he has left in the tank. He has had surgery twice on his left knee when he was with the Saints.

I don’t think we have ever really seen the same Reggie Bush that we saw when he was in college–just flashes. The Saints won the Super Bowl in 2009 but in 2010, Bush broke a bone in his right leg and by 2011 he was traded to Miami. He played well for the Dolphins at times and in fact ran for 1,086 yards and scored 6 TD’s but after another year in Miami he ended up playing for Detroit.

He gained over 1,000 yards again for Detroit in 2013 but last season playing in eleven games he ran for less than 300 yards. So now Reggis is playing for San Francisco and I would imagine they view him as a change of pace back up to Carlos Hyde. You can never tell who the 49ers might draft at the end of April and that might change everything in terms of running backs.

It would be nice to see Bush have another nice season but his health and his legs are the biggest question marks. I think the Reggie Bush legacy will always be, “what might have been…”

Size, speed and a coach who likes him: Jarryd Hayne will make it

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NFL
 
2015

I have been writing about sports for a long time. Some times we become jaded about athletes. However, Jarryd Hayne is such a unique story and good guy you can’t help but pull for him. I really hope he makes it. I watched as much tape of him playing rugby as possible and he flat out he is a very impressive and gifted athlete.

Size, speed and a coach who likes him: Jarryd Hayne will make it

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NFL
 
2015

I really believe that the Seahawks made the smartest move so far in the current NFL landscape, when they acquired tight end James Graham in the trade with the Saints. As talented and as tough as DeMarco Murray is, when Eagles traded away LeSean McCoy it was more of a lateral move. Murray isn’t really that much of an upgrade over McCoy. What Chip Kelly likes best about Murray is that is a north south runner and doesn’t dance in the hole.

Graham, however, presents all types of different problems in the NFC West. He really is a hybrid receiver. At 6’7″ and 265 pounds, he has the ability to go up and take the ball away from much smaller defensive backs. He creates all kinds of match up problems with NFL secondaries. He isn’t a great, or even good blocking tight end but he can get the job when called upon.

In the last two seasons, Graham has gone for 2,104 yards on 171 receptions and scored 26 touchdowns. That’s a lot of everything from one guy. He just made Russell Wilson a better QB overnight. As a 49er fan my heart just sank a little. The distance between Seattle and San Francisco just increased by a huge margin.

Draft Day Afternoon: Chaos in the NFL

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NFL
 
2015

I would really like to see this guy make it. He would put some of the FUN back in football. So many backs in the NFL try and act so tough and dour; Hayne would be like a breath of fresh air. The NFL has been trying to go International for decades and with Jarryd’s physical gifts combined with his Australian personality if he can make the crossover–the impact would be huge.

Hayne's 49ers deal gives him a chance, but he's got a lot to learn

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US Sports
 
2015
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