A wild start to free agency this week has a number of players in the National Football League relocating to new parts of the country.
Among the surprising moves was one made by Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray, who opted for more money by joining the rival Philadelphia Eagles.
On Saturday we discussed the decision by Murray and broke down the moves being made this week by the local NFL teams in the state of Florida.
I found myself caught up in a couple of crazy circumstances a week ago and decided to share those stories on the show this past Saturday.
For starters, my carelessness while running late to a Super Bowl party resulted in banging up the car of Mike Bianchi, columnist at the Orlando Sentinel and host of AM 740 The Game’s “Open Mike,” while in the parking lot at Ker’s WingHouse. We capped the opening segment by also talking about a new football league forming in 2016 that’s looking to bring yet another minor league team to Orlando next spring.
Then on Friday, while on assignment to cover a prep soccer game at West Orange High School in Winter Garden, I was nearly attacked by an angry Warriors dad in the press box. We finished the show talking about that wild encounter while giving props to the local high school state tournament teams and touching on the disturbing hype that surrounds National Signing Day on a yearly basis.
Enjoy.
The Orlando Magic beat a team with a winning record for just the fifth time this season when they knocked off Dwight Howard and the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. On Saturday’s show we talked about where the Magic currently stand while also touching on the recent L.A. reunion of Doc and Austin Rivers, who won two state basketball titles at Winter Park High School. Speaking of reunions, former Magic player Jameer Nelson has been making the rounds as of late in a bit of an unusual way as he’s now with his third team this season.
( – Click here to listen to more on Orlando Magic, Doc & Austin and Jameer Nelson – )
The Orlando City Soccer Club made it’s first-ever MLS SuperDraft selection Thursday when the Lions selected Connecticut forward Cyle Larin while UCF forward Romario Williams was taken third overall by the Montreal Impact. We opened the final segment of the show Saturday talking about Major League Soccer before touching on the decision of quarterback Cardale Jones to return to Ohio State. We also shared some thoughts on boxers Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao finally meeting in the ring.
( – Click here for more about MLS SuperDraft, Cardale Jones & Mayweather-Pacquiao – )
Were you surprised to hear of Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston deciding to enter the NFL Draft later this spring? After winning a Heisman Trophy and national championship with the Seminoles it seems Winston is ready to leave his off-the-field troubles behind in Tallahassee to embark on an NFL career as a likely top pick in this year’s upcoming draft.
( – Click here to listen to J.C. and Chris discuss Jameis Winston leaving for NFL – )
Also during the segment was discussion about college football transfers, the Orlando City Soccer Club’s schedule for their first season in MLS, and a good laugh about the starting the lineups of the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks.
Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio each were named to the Baseball Hall of Fame this week despite the arrogance of the very people that have covered the sport over the years. The Pro Football Hall of Fame also announced the 15 finalists for its Class of 2015, which will be finalized on Jan. 31.
( – Click to listen to J.C. and Chris talk about baseball & football halls of fame – )
The UCF Knights football team capped its regular season with a miracle in the closing seconds on the road against East Carolina, when Justin Holman connected with Breshad Perriman on the game’s final play to help wrap up a share of the American Athletic Conference title for the second year in a row.
UCFSports.com publisher Brandon Helwig was there to see it all play out firsthand and he’ll be in St. Petersburg on Friday when the Knights take on North Carolina State of the Atlantic Coast Conference in the Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl.
On Saturday Helwig joined the show to talk about UCF’s big win at ECU, to preview the upcoming bowl game, and touch on how much longer he thinks head coach George O’Leary might continue coaching and whether the Knights have a realistic chance at improving its conference affiliation in the near future.
( – Click here for J.C.’s interview with Brandon Helwig of UCFSports.com – )
It’s Johnny Football time in Cleveland.
The slim postseason chances the Cleveland Browns still have now rest solely on the shoulders of rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel, who will get his first NFL start Sunday in place of Brian Hoyer against the Cincinnati Bengals. Manziel will become the 21st different starting quarterback for the Browns since the franchise returned to the league in 1999.
I talked to Waiting For Next Year co-founder Scott Sargent on Saturday about the impact Manziel may have on the franchise over the final three weeks of the season and beyond. We also attempted to pinpoint which of the previous 20 starters at quarterback are most beloved by Browns fans. The only problem: there’s just not too many good ones to choose from.
( – Click here to listen to J.C. and Scott talk Johnny Manziel and the Cleveland Browns – )
I took a road trip to the Fort Worth-Dallas area this past week. A few days before starting the journey I decided to buy an engagement ring and plan a proper way to propose to my girlfriend of many, many years.
That proposal took place in an end zone at Cowboys Stadium on the final day of our trip as our 2-year old son ran wild on the field. Our final day in the area proved much more rewarding than my first night in east Texas, which resulted in a hefty speeding ticket.
A friend from back home succumbed to a long illness earlier this week and I felt it was only right to dedicate this week’s edition of Carnahan Chronicles radio to his memory. See you when we get there, Jason Vann.
This week the show got underway with talk about the opening round of the high school football playoffs in Florida and the lone remaining girls volleyball team from the area still playing for a state title. I also gave mention to the UCF women’s soccer team hosting a match this weekend in the first round of the NCAA postseason and interviewed Valencia Voice editor-in-chief Danny Morales about UCF football’s win Friday over Tulsa.
( – Click here to listen to J.C. dedicate show, talk local sports, and interview Danny Morales – )
Producer Chris Vazquez joined me to talk about the biggest college and pro football games of the weekend, but the conversation took a bit of a turn each segment as we zeroed in on a couple topics that’ve created debate in our respective circles.
The first was whether the Florida State-Miami game is an even bigger rivalry for fans of the Seminoles than Florida State-Florida. The other was whether the Cleveland Browns should invest in Brian Hoyer or Johnny Manziel as the franchise’s quarterback of the future. Not sure we came to a clear conclusion, but talking it out is a good step in the right direction.
( – Click here to listen to J.C. and Chris talk FSU-Miami and college football this week – )
( – Click here to listen to J.C. and Chris talk Cleveland Browns QBs & NFL games this week – )
On Saturday Chris Vazquez and I talked about Major League Baseball’s postseason as well as upcoming college football and National Football League games. Vazquez also provided his weekly picks for fantasy football players and Baltimore Orioles fan Ryan McCall joined us to talk about his visit to Camden Yards on Friday.
( – Click here for MLB playoff talk and to hear from O’s fan Ryan McCall – )
( – Click here to listen to J.C. and Chris talk upcoming college football matchups – )
( – Click here to listen to J.C. and Chris talk fantasy football and NFL matchups – )
On Saturday we relived the exciting Thursday night effort turned in by Derek Jeter in his final home game at Yankee Stadium. We also touched on the Kansas City Royals making the postseason for the first time since 1985 and updated the final playoff push for MLB teams as the regular season winds down this weekend.
( – Click here to listen to J.C. and Chris Vazquez talk Major League Baseball – )
On Saturday I was joined by producer Chris Vazquez to talk about Florida State vs. North Carolina State and Ohio State vs. Cincinnati before debating the Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings.
( – Click here to listen to J.C. and Chris talk college football on Saturday – )
Chris also broke down his top fantasy football options for this week.
We closed the show by talking about the Orlando Magic and upcoming NBA season and recognizing Orlando City Soccer Club’s Kevin Molino for being named most valuable player in USL Pro this season.
( – Click here to listen to J.C. and Chris talk fantasy football, Orlando Magic & Orlando City – )
The Carnahan Chronicles weekly radio show on AM 740 The Game got back up and running this week with a number of topics from the world of football, soccer and baseball.
Producer Chris Vazquez joined in on the conversation about the Jameis Winston suspension and college football weekend, along with recent injuries in the National Football League. We also talked about the injury to Giancarlo Stanton and the postseason races in Major League Baseball after answering a call from Austin about the Orlando City Soccer Club interview with Dennis Chin.
( – Click here to listen to J.C. and Chris talk Jameis Winston and college football – )
( – Click here to listen to J.C. and Chris talk injuries in NFL and upcoming schedule – )
( – Click here to listen to J.C. and Chris talk MLB postseason and take call about OCSC – )
On Saturday we touched on a few touchy topics in the National Football League including Michael Sam joining the Dallas Cowboys, Tim Tebow and his religious views, and the league’s drug policy when dealing with players and marijuana.
( – Click here to listen to J.C. and Chris talk about Sam, Tebow and Marijuana in the NFL – )
We continued the marijuana and NFL drug policy discussion in the next segment. We also previewed Sunday’s games involving the Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers while discussing fantasy football options this week and the love/hate relationship between pro football fans and Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
( – Click here to listen to J.C. and Chris preview Sunday’s games and talk about drugs in NFL – )
On Saturday we opened the show on AM 740 The Game talking about the final regular season game in USL PRO for the Orlando City Soccer Club before going on to talk about current standings in Major League Baseball, the start of the WNBA Finals, the lack of interest in the FIBA World Cup and the final race of the NASCAR regular season.
( – Click here to listen to J.C. and Chris open the show with topics from around world of sports – )