The most obvious change is to the theme. I upgraded to a new theme (Black Sakura) and need to thank their people who did a great job in assisting me in installing and activating the theme.

The theme is very customizable (most of that will come later) and it comes with the WooThemes Tumblog plugin that creates Tumblr-like post types. Now I can easily post pictures, videos, quotes, links with minimal effort. I have started to post a few of these and from here on out that is how the majority of the posting will be. There will still be an occasional longer type post, but not as much as you have come to expect.

The site will be more about curating content than creating content. In today’s world we’re all busy. We’re all in a rush. Not many of us have the time to site down and read a couple thousand word long article. We want our content quick and easy. That’s where I come in. At Cippin on Sports, I will search through all of the content out there and bring you the best of the best. You will see the best videos, pictures, quotes, and links from the web with an occasional original article.

I feel that this setup will be both beneficial to you and me and I hope you enjoy the new site. If you have any questions feel free to email me at chrismcipriano@gmail.com and keep coming back because there is still more to come.

Thursday night finally brought us some football. It’s time for dynasty owners across the globe to rejoice as you finally get to see more game action to evaluate your rosters. Stevan Ridley of the New England Patriots was the star of the night, but there were many other storylines as well.  We’ll take it game by game and highlight the performances that stood out the most from night one of NFL action.

Patriots 47, Jaguars 12

Leave it to the Pats to be the first team to run up a score in preseason action as they whipped up on the Jacksonville Jaguars. A few performances like this and Jacksonville fans will be happy to see them go to Los Angeles.

For the Patriots, Stevan Ridley showed his practice hype was no joke as he finished with 64 yards on 16 carries and another 47 yards on seven receptions. Oh, and he also scored THREE times. In fact, he could have had four touchdowns if he wasn’t stopped at the two yard line after a sixteen yard gain and was replaced for the next play.  Ridley showed surprising elusiveness and proved he’s more than just a power back.  This was a great start, but remember, there were very few starters in the game.

Ridley wasn’t the only star for the Pats, though. Taylor Price had five catches for 105 yards and a score. Both backup quarterbacks looked sharp. Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett combined for 335 passing yards, two touchdowns and zero interception.

For the Jaguars, all the talk is going to revolve around Blaine Gabbert. He finished 9-for-16 for 85 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He didn’t look comfortable, but didn’t look overwhelmed, either. His grade for the night was likely a “B,” but you can see he does have the ability to command an offense.

Eagles 13, Ravens 6

For the Philadelphia Eagles, Michael Vick completed 4-of-6 passes for 74 yards and a touchdown. He’s still pretty good. Ronnie Brown did most of the heavy lifting at running back and finished with 22 yards on 9 carries.

As far as the Baltimore Ravens go, the one thing that was very evident is the tight end battle to replace Todd Heap is far from over. Dennis Pitta finished with four catches for 47 yards while playing with the first team offense.

Seahawks 24, Chargers 17

The big news from the San Diego Chargers side has everything to do with Mike Tolbert and Ryan Mathews. They both suited up and played, but it’s obvious to anyone who watched this game that this is going to be a time share situation. In fact, Tolbert looks like running back 1A right now. Yikes.

As far as the Seattle Seahawks go, Tarvaris Jackson looked awful. He only played a short while, but did nothing to make Seattle fans forget that Andrew Luck will be available in the draft. Charlie Whitehurst completed 14-of-20 passes for 115 yards and actually looked like the much better quarterback. To make matters worse, it looks like Russell Okung has a high ankle sprain again.

Oh boy.

Cowboys 24, Broncos 23

For the Dallas Cowboys, the star of the night was sixth round rookie Dwayne Harris who had five catches for 127 yards and two scores. He’s worth keeping an eye on in subsequent weeks.  Stephen McGee also threw three touchdown passes.

For the Denver Broncos, they have to feel good about their running attack as Knowshon Moreno and Willis McGahee combined for 40 yards rushing on the first series. Both looked rejuvenated after disappointing seasons.

Tim Tebow actually played fairly well and finished with 91 passing yards on 8-for-9 passing. He also had an impressive rushing touchdown called back by a penalty. Keep in mind there was an interception called back because of a penalty as well. While Tebow did nothing to close the gap to Kyle Orton, he still showed his trademark athletic ability and seemingly played much better in the game than in any practice thus far.

Cardinals 24, Raiders 18

Kevin Kolb made his debut as a member of the Arizona Cardinals and finished 4-for-7 for 68 yards. One thing is certain – he’s going to force feed the ball to Larry Fitzgerald. Beanie Wells finished with 22 yards on six carries, but got stuffed on the straight goal line chances. Andre Roberts didn’t exactly sew up the second receiver job as he caught just one pass for nine yards, then fumbled it away. Ryan Williams made his debut and had a nice night with a combined 44 yards on five touches.

Two of our suggested players to watch played in this game as well. Denarius Moore led the Oakland Raiders with three catches for 37 yards in limited action. DeMarco Sampson of the Cardinals had 47 yards on two catches.

Before we put a cap on night one, there are a few wide receiver news and notes items to get out of the way.

• Jerricho Cotchery has signed on with Pittsburgh.  While it may seem significant, it really isn’t. The only thing Cotchery may do in Pittsburgh is stunt the growth of Antonio Brown. He’s no threat to Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders or even Hines Ward.
• Lee Evans is rumored to be on the move. It looks like he could be sent away in the next 48 hours. Teams like the Ravens, Cardinals, Titans and Browns are said to be interested. So, that means he should be traded to Philly by around noon tomorrow.
• David Gettis has torn his ACL and is out for the season. Tough break for a kid who likely could have nailed down a starting gig. That’s going to open the door for either Legedu Naanee or Brandon LaFell to start for a team who may never actually throw them the ball. Gettis can be dropped in pretty much every league.

For more great articles, check out Dynasty League Football.

Detroit Lions promising rookie running back, Mikel Leshoure, was carted off the field during Monday’s practice and has been diagnosed with a torn Achilles’ tendon, officially ending his season.

Mikel Leshoure, RB

The Lions selected Leshoure with their 57th pick in the 2011 NFL draft, adding him as a “thunder” complement to 2010 rookie, Jahvid Best.  Given Best’s less than ideal injury history, Leshoure has been a frequent mid first round draft selection in most all rookie drafts and could eventually garner the lion’s share of carries if Detroit’s power running game can gain traction, something that hasn’t been present in over a decade.  Whether or not that can occur now will have to wait for at least another season in all likelihood.  As a power back, this injury is particularly disappointing and is certain to drop Leshoure’s value in all formats.  Obviously, in redraft leagues, he can be dropped.

At 227 lbs. and as a power runner, Achilles’ tendons can be tricky to return from but Leshoure has youth on his side and a full year of recovery will be given.  Leshoure could be a great buy low candidate at this point but we suggest caution.

Jahvid Best, RB

Best’s value gets a significant boost as the Lions will undoubtedly increase his touches accordingly.  He hasn’t shown the ability to stay healthy as a pro but is said to be 100% entering 2011.  With Leshoure functioning as the thunder to Best’s lightning, it was anyone’s guess as to whether Best’s productivity could have actually increased to do higher quality touches.  In either case, Best’s touches will increase, thus increasing his fantasy relevance as well.  Look for the Lions to add another back into the rotation soon to compete for carries.

Maurice Morris, RB

With the 2011 release of Kevin Smith, Morris was running third on the depth chart behind Leshoure.  Morris, a capable but underwhelming option, will be upgraded on the depth chart, at least until another back can be added.  While Morris does receive an upgrade, it’s not so much as to significantly raise his fantasy draft stock.  He’s an insurance add only in deeper leagues.

Aaron Brown, RB

Brown has graced rosters in the recent past as he has shown flashes of potential.  Brown’s style resembles that of Best far more than Leshoure and all probability suggests that Brown will remain a special team’s role player with occasional carries as Best needs a breather.

Ian Johnson, RB

Johnson has almost no fantasy value but should the coaching staff feel that he can be a between the tackles runner, he may get a chance to show.  The likelihood of that occurring is extremely low and no action need be taken by fantasy coaches at this juncture.

Kevin Smith, RB Free Agent

Smith was surprisingly released with the addition of Leshoure and all reason suggests that the Lions will pick up the phone immediately  to get Smith back into camp.  That said, the release of Smith clearly identifies the level of confidence the Lions have in him and it would be no guarantee that, even if added, that he would eventually overtake Morris on the depth chart. Should the Lions add Smith, he’s worth a free roster spot.  If you have Jahvid Best, Smith is worth a free spot as insurance,  but only if Detroit adds him.

Free Agents

Other notable free agents are available for immediate signing. Tiki Barber immediately comes to mind and many other backs will be available via trade.  Watch the situation closely as Leshoure’s replacement will have immediate fantasy implications.

For more great articles, check out Dynasty League Football.

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick addressed the media this morning to discuss the recent additions of WR Chad Ochocinco and DL Albert Haynesworth. He also talked about the veteran cuts they had to make. There was some snarkiness by Belichick when asked about how the two additions will fit into how he does things.

Many are questioning how the colorful personalities will mesh with the Draconian program that Belichick runs.

Ochocinco also spoke with reporters this morning and said he’s willing to change to fit in in Foxboro.

“I’ll always be me. But there’s a certain way the Patriots do it, and I’ve always been a chameleon, and I’m going to do it the Patriot way, which is win,” he said.

He also knows Belichick doesn’t want him to be quite as outspoken and attention-seeking as he was with the Cincinnati Bengals.

“Bill, we had our talk and without him having to say anything, I’ll say, there’s no need for some of the things that have been before,” Ochocinco said.

On the additions of Haynesworth and Ochocinco:

Both of them came down pretty quickly. With the rules, obviously, we couldn’t enter into any conversations about those. But Mike Shanahan and I had some conversations there late one night and it all kind of came together pretty quickly. And so we had to get a few things worked out and so we did that and consummated the trade with Washington. And I spoke with Marvin [Lewis] and Mike Brown and eventually we got things worked out with Cincinnati as they were reporting to camp, before Chad reported there, so he was able to come here and we were able to get that finished. Those players are here, they obviously have a lot of catching up to do. We’re excited to have them.

Q: On Chad, he’s got a personality that interacts with the public, interacts with the media and he’s been very out there.

Bill Belichick: Any other news breaking stories?

Q: I’m on top of that. I’m wondering since it generally isn’t a way your players have acted.

Bill Belichick: I think every player on this team, every person on this team, has their own individual personality. None us are the same, so that’s probably a good thing.

Q: Have you asked him at all to relax with the Twitter and etcetera? We haven’t had a lot of tweets from him the past couple days.

Bill Belichick: That’s not something I follow, as you know. I don’t Twitter, I don’t MyFace, I don’t do any of those things, so I’d probably be the last to know.

Q: In your discussions with Albert Haynesworth, have you gotten a sense of whether football is important to him? Do you think it’s important to him?

Bill Belichick: Of course, otherwise I don’t think he would be playing football. But those are questions you can ask him. I don’t want to speak for him.

Q: How do you reconcile that the guy obviously has a long rap sheet off the field, with his ability to perform on the field, the way he played in ’07 and ’08? How do you reconcile those two things?

Bill Belichick: We did what we felt was best for the team.

Here’s Belichick’s complete transcript.

Jay Cutler could soon be getting some much-needed help in the form of a receiver.

Citing a league source, Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that free agent wideout Roy Williams is “expected” to sign with the Chicago Bears. No time frame was given as to when this potential pact would take place.

Williams was dumped by the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday.

Assuming this happens — which would be no surprise at all — it’s a smart one by the Bears, and a fit that is almost too logical.

To say Williams has familiarity with Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz would be an understatement. The tandem enjoyed quite a bit of success with the Detroit Lions in 2006, when Williams was catching passes from Jon Kitna and Martz was calling the plays from the Lions sideline.

In that year, the veteran wideout had the best season of career, posting 82 receptions for 1,310 yards and seven touchdowns.

Chicago immediately starting pursuing Williams once his release made official, and especially after they traded away tight end Greg Olsen, a receiving threat wasted in Martz’s system. They also lost receiver Devin Aromashodu to the Vikings earlier in the week.

So, at the very least, the Bears filled a position of need. Though, for the sakes of those involved, they better hope that Williams can recapture some of that ’06 mojo, and not bring the dismal play he exhibited in Big D along with him.

Be sure to check out other great articles at Helmet2Helmet.net.

UPDATE: Good call, Mr. Judge. Vince Young and the Philadelphia Eagles have reached an agreement on a one-year contract, NFL Network’s Albert Breer reports. He will sign on the dotted line on Friday.

Mere hours after Philly shipped one quarterback off to the desert, they appear to be on the verge of adding another.

According to Clark Judge of CBSSports.com, the Eagles are “expected” to bring aboard Vince Young as the backup to Michael Vick. Although not official, Judge calls it “a virtual certainty” that Young will become the team’s No. 2 signal-caller.

If the deal does come to fruition, Young wouldn’t have been out of a job for long — he was formally released by the Titans earlier in the day.

While Young has his detractors — like any other player in the NFL — this would be one of the more ideal landing spots for someone who’s trying to rebuild his image and career.

VY was also rumored to be interested in signing with the Dolphins, but they’ve apparently put him on the backburner while they attempt to acquire the Broncos’ Kyle Orton.

The former two-time Pro Bowler will sit behind Vick, ready to be called upon should the situation arise. With Vick’s penchant for injury, there’s a decent chance he may have to indeed step in and lead the Eagles’ offense. There’s just no telling how Young, who seems mentally fragile, responds to a more hostile environment, despite being surrounded with more talent.

Be sure to check out other great articles at Helmet2Helmet.net.

Reception has been split amongst Vikings in the aftermath of Sidney Rice’s departure from Minnesota to join Tarvaris Jackson with the Seattle Seahawks.

The five-year deal worth over 40 million dollars–18 million of that guaranteed– was too much for the Vikings to match.

One person who is furious with the Sidney Rice departure is his now former teammate, superstar runningback Adrian Peterson.

Via his Twitter account, Peterson voiced his displeasure with the Vikings letting Rice slip out West to Seattle.

I CAN’T Believe the Vikings let my boy Sidney Rice get away! I didn’t think we wouldn’t be playing together this year! WOW!

Seeing teammates that also grow to be great friends leave town is part of the business. But Peterson seems more than just “business” related upset.

The capitalization and exclamation marks show a substantial level of hostility towards the Vikings franchise.

The loss of Rice will definitely hurt the Vikings. Names like Malcom Floyd, Braylon Edwards, and James Jones are all being tossed around to replace the void left by Rice. But will they be enough?

As it stands Percy Harvin–who excels as a slot receiver– is now atop the Vikings depth chart at Wide Receiver. And while the acquisition of one of the above names would help, it’s definitely not the ideal receiving core that new Vikings quarterback Donovan McNabb or rookie Christian Ponder would dream of.

Much more will be known about the Vikings receiving core over the next 24 hours. But right now it appears that Peterson seems very upset with the Vikings front office. Placing a potential hurdle in front of future contract negotiations with the superstar running back.

Brett Cloutier is a contributor to The Sports Bank by covering all things Minnesota sports, but mainly the Minnesota Timberwolves. You can follow him on Twitter @brettcloutier.

After 132 excruciating days, the NFL Lockout is over. Today, the NFLPA agreed to a the CBA that was voted on by the owners last week, effectively ending the NFL Lockout.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith held a joint press conference in Washington earlier today, announcing the new 10-year agreement. “It’s been a long time coming,” Goodell said. “Football is back and that’s the good news.”

I have to apologize for the lack of activity over the past few months, but I didn’t want to write posts about the lawsuits, the 8th Circuit Courts, mediators, and DeMaurice Smith’s hats. I could go on about the absurdness of the NFL Lockout, but I’ll save that for another time.

The NFL Is back and it’s time to celebrate. I assembled a bunch of links to get you educated on the new NFL CBA and what is going to happen in the coming days, plus celebrate the return of the NFL. (Come back everyday for new and fresh material. I’ll keep you up to date on the frenzy that is about to take place starting tomorrow.)

This is a good article that sums up the new NFL CBA in a nutshell.

This is a handy calendar outlining the key dates and events for the abridged NFL offseason.

The Evolution of the Touchdown Dance:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Find out when your favorite team kicks off training camp.

Great gesture by Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday, individually thanking New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In case you wanted to relive the NFL Lockout, a timeline of how we got here.

Don’t forget that Madden NFL 12 is coming out soon:

Click here to view the embedded video.

And finally … ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL??????????

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Green Bay Packers received their Super Bowl Rings. Those are pretty fresh. And Mark Cuban is thinking about not getting the Dallas Mavericks rings?