My First Fantasy Trade of the Season.

So last night I get home around 10:30 from getting a haircut and driving uber and I receive a text from my friend in Colorado with this trade offer, "Odell Beckham Jr. for C.J. Anderson straight up."

Now I have OBJ so my first reaction is why on Earth would I trade my number 2 fantasy draft pick after week 1 for a running back that also had a terrible week 1 for a team that has looked on the decline since the end of last season. My initial reaction was to decline the trade and go about the rest of my night without a second thought. Then I deviled deeper into my own fantasy lineup and discovered that their might be some value if I could get another player from my friends team. At that point I targeted Stevie Johnson, wide receiver number 2 from the Chargers. Why did I target Stevie you ask? Well plan and simple he was a better option in my opinion than say Eddie Royal from Chicago or Breshad Perriman from the Ravens.  Now looking at that trade OBJ for Anderson and Johnson looked like to me a slam dunk in terms of equal value and slightly over what OBJ is going to produce over the final 15 games of this season.

Anderson should pick up in Kubiack's offense after the Broncos get things figured out up front and if Peyton can show he has the arm strength and touch to throw the ball accurately down field so teams can't stack the box against the run. However, Kubiack learned from Mike Shannahan and we all now that Shannahan could throw any running back out there and get him to 1,000 yards. So it is a risk pulling the trigger but I did it.

Stevie Johnson was a 1,000 yard receiver in Buffalo and I expect him to get close to that number this year in San Diego even with Kennan Allen getting the majority of the targets. Allen though had the kind of breakout game every expected in week one with 17 targets and 15 catches for a career high in yardage, but that means teams are going to start keying in on Allen and thus in theory it should open the field from Johnson to get more than the six targets he got week 1.

So let me know what you think about the trade and if I got robbed or if I got a good deal or option number three maybe it is a wash and I shouldn't done the trade in the first place.

Side note: my other receivers are Cooks from New Orleans, Evans from Tampa and Allen Robinson from the Jags. While My RBs are Crowell from the Browns, Martin from Tampa, Sankey from the Titans and Latavious Murray from Oakland. Just for some perspective on my team.
 

Allow me to reintroduce myself.

So just to give a little history of this blog I started it back in 2013 for a class during my senior year of college and I kind of let it die after that because I didn't take the time to continue. Now someone is gonna ask why didn't you keep going well let me give you my back story:

Shortly after graduation I moved to Salt Lake City to pursue a career in the journalism field and eventually found my way to the Tooele Transcript Bulletin in Tooele, Utah, about 45 minutes from SLC. While there I worked as a staff writer covering the city government and other local events around Tooele, however what looked like a promising start to a career turned into a world wind two years in my life. How you ask? Well it started when my dad got diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer and I made the difficult decision to leave my career and move back to my home town of Las Vegas, Nevada. Once in Las Vegas I bounced around from working at KTNV channel 13 to the Tipple A Las Vegas 51's to teaching at my old high school.

After my dad passed away in March of 2014 I made the decision to become a teacher to try and give back to those who had supported me during a difficult time and that lead me to Mountain View Christian Schools Leadership Institute. During my year of teaching I had the pleasure of rediscovering my passion for sports and sports journalism. I found this with the opportunity to announce, do play-by-play, and coach football and baseball.

So what does all this mean for this blog? Well I will be writing hopefully two or three blog posts a day about college and professional sports. Some of the topics covered will be sports betting, now by no means do I consider myself the best at picking sports games but all I do is watch sports, listen to sports and read twitter to get the best updates I can possibly get my hands on. I'm also a huge Pittsburgh sports fan so a lot of what you'll read will probably have to do with those teams.

In addition to the blog I will also be shooting a few youtube videos a week to go along with the blog.

So I hope you all enjoy the return of the Sports-aholic!

Sorensen makes SUU history!

On his grandmother’s 80th birthday, quarterback Brad Sorensen made SUU history by being the first T-Bird selected in the NFL draft when the San Diego Chargers picked him in the seventh round.

“I feel honored and privileged to be the first (SUU) player drafted,” Sorensen said. “There were a ton of great players before me and hopefully, I’ll be the first of many (SUU players to be drafted). Coach Lamb has built a great program and I hope to represent it well.”

The selection came at the perfect time for the T-Birds as they had just kicked off their annual Red/White Spring football game when the pick was announced.

“He was going to get a shot whether he got drafted or not,” SUU head coach Ed Lamb said. “I kind of hoped it would happen at the Spring game with the nice crowd. It worked out really nice.”

Sorensen was drafted ahead of several FBS quarterbacks, including Miami (Oh)’s Zac Dysert, Tennessee's Tyler Bray, Duke’s Sean Renfree and Arizona's Matt Scott. Scott and Bray ended up going undrafted and had to sign with teams as free agents.

Sorensen will join his high school teammate Shareece Wright, who plays cornerback for the Chargers, when he reports for rookie mini-camp in a few weeks.

“I’m looking forward to (the mini-camp),” Sorensen said. “Normally, you get Spring ball right now, so it has been awhile since I put on pads. I’ve actually been going a little stir crazy, so I can’t wait to get back onto the football field.”

Sorensen is projected to compete with veteran Charlie Whitehurst to back up incumbent starter Philip Rivers. Both Rivers and Whitehurst come into the 2013 season on the wrong side of 30 and Rivers has dealt with several major injuries, and his statistics have declined over the last few seasons.

“We were really looking to get a young quarterback in here,” Chargers general manager Tom Telesco said during a post-draft press conference. “It is great to have. As there is a shortage in this league of good quarterbacks, it is good to bring in a young guy that you can develop and see how he fits into your system.”

Telesco added that he thinks Sorensen has a lot of good qualities, including arm strength and leadership. He also said they like how Brad fits the system they want to run next season.

The Chargers open the 2013 preseason Aug. 8 against the Seattle Seahawks in what is anticipated to be Sorensen’s first professional game.

T-Bird fans will get their first chance to see Sorensen on national television the following week when the Chargers travel to the home of the Chicago Bears for a Thursday night contest on ESPN.

“I haven’t thought that far ahead, to be honest,” Sorensen said. “I’ll probably not even think about it till it gets closer, but it will be great for the people in Cedar City that have supported me for the last few years to see me play on national television.”

Top Ten Athletes for Southern Utah in 2013

This is a guest blog By Carter Williams: Follow him @cwilliamsSUU on twitter.

For the fifth and reluctantly final time, I’m writing this list of the top athletes of the school year, a list I usually dub the University Journal Sports Desk Awards. It’s time I kick the proverbial collegiate bucket. Buy the T-Bird farm. Whatever the cliche is, my time at the University Journal and SUU has reached an end, and graduation has set in.

I’ve enjoyed my run, but I guess it’s true all good things have to come to an end.

The University Journal Sports Desk Awards aren’t prestigious. There’s no actual plaque or trophy — heck, not even a ribbon. However, it’s a tribute to the athletic success during the year and recognizing those who excelled in their field of play. Coincidentally, most excelled in their field of study, too.

They’re ambassadors to the university and have the power to make or break a school’s image.  

These athletes set records, made their name and broke history. They left a dent in the Big Sky in the first year of play in a new conference, or in the last year of Western Athletic Conference in gymnastics.

So without further adieu, here are the University Journal Athlete of the Year winners:

Male Athlete of the Year: Brad Sorensen, Senior, Football

For the third consecutive year, Sorensen threw for more than 3,000 yards — a feat he did all three years of his T-Bird career, and something no other quarterback has even done. He also left his SUU career with 9.445 total yards passing and 61 touchdown passes, which are both school records.

It’s safe to say his No. 4 is destined for retirement at SUU.

This season he was instrumental in a couple of big wins: 33-for-43, 392 yards, 1 TD in a 30-27 upset of then No. 1 FCS Eastern Washington, a 30-for-53, 294-yard, 2 TD performance at a rowdy Montana stadium and two overtime touchdown throws and overtime touchdown down run in then FCS Northern Arizona.

He also threw for 292 yards and four touchdowns at Cal. This is on top of a 2010 sophomore season where he piloted the T-Birds to a Great West championship and was the Great West’s final Player of the Year in 2011.

Then, on Saturday, April 27, he became the first T-Bird ever drafted in the NFL, going to the San Diego Chargers in the seventh round. This is on top of being the first T-Bird selected to an college all-star game and invited to the NFL Combine.

Anyway, it’s not just what he did on the field that impressed me. He helped organize over-the-summer football practices before the 2012 season, and worked on the SUU Grounds Crew during that time. He was never a vocal leader, but did all the little things a leader should be to be successful on and off the field.

Chargers fans probably don’t realize they got a real winner in the seventh round.

Female Athlete of the Year: Shaye Maurer-Springall, Senior, Track and Field

Maurer-Springall jumped up this list quickly during the outdoor season. Currently ranked No. 46 in the 100-meter hurdles and No. 26 in Heptathlon at a school-record 5,341 points. Those, of course, are national rankings. Maurer-Springall has been a dominant athlete since arriving at SUU, but has jumped into the national scene as time has passed.

Maurer-Springall most recent success was at the Mt. SAC Relay, where she shattered her own mark in both of the previously-mentioned national marks.

Top 10 SUU Athletes of 2012-2013:

1. Brad Sorensen, Quarterback, Football

2. Shaye Maurer-Springall, Women’s Track and Field

3. Jackson Stevenett, Forward, Men’s Basketball

4. Nate Jewkes, Men’s Track and Field

5. Michaela Chernoch, Gymnastics

6. Kayla Kovar, Thrower, Women’s Track and Field

7. Damon Heuir, Guard, Men’s Basketball

8. Analaine Mailoto, Outside Hitter, Volleyball

9. Zak Browning, Linebacker, Football

10. Stacey Brinkman, Forward, Soccer

Jackson Stevenett, who entered SUU as a walk on, led the T-Bird men’s basketball team in scoring for the third consecutive year, and finished a fraction shy of leading the Big Sky in scoring this season. His partner in crime, Damon Heuir, who landed No. 7 on my list came just short of the Big Sky lead too. Both Stevenett and Heuir landed on Big Sky’s second-team list in SUU’s first season in its new conference.

Nate Jewkes currently ranks No. 13 in the country in the 10,000-meter — a category T-Bird fans are quite familiar with from Cam Levins last year. Jewkes’ 29:08.04 in the event puts him in range to help SUU defend that title. Kayla Kovar ranks No. 45 in the women’s hammer throw.

Michaela Chernoch turned into one of the best gymnasts in the country this season, finishing in the top 50. Despite a severe ankle injury to start the season, she mastered the art of a 9.875 on the floor exercise and probably got cheated out of a 9.900+ on floor this season at least once this season.

Analaine Mailoto led the T-Birds in kills once again and is the greatest SUU volleyball player so far. Enough said.

Zak Browning led the T-Bird football team in tackles with 115 and four forced fumbles. He also won Big Sky Freshman of the Year for his efforts in the defense.

Finally there’s Stacey Brinkman, who probably had the most incredible ending to a career I’ve ever witnessed. In her final game, in double overtime, she’s lined up for a penalty kick and hit a rocket into the back of the net to win the game — oh and set the new school record in most career goals. She also led the T-Bird soccer team with five goals scored this season.

Honorable Mention: Hailey Mandelko, Women’s Basketball; Sadie Palmer, Women’s Golf; Cody Larsen, Football; James Cowser, Football; Jamie Armijo, Gymnastics; Rochelle Bernier, Gymnastics; James Cowser, Football; Ariel Zimmerman, Softball; Brittney Jensen, Gymnastics, Jayson Cheesman, Men’s Basketball; Sofia Hepworth, Women’s Basketball; Aleksandra Ivanova; Women’s Tennis

Top ten moments in Southern Utah athletics: 2013

With the school year coming to a close, it's time to take a look back at the top ten sports moments of the year. There were a lot of really fantastic moments that occurred this year so I had to narrow the list down, but I tried to make it the most memorable events of the year.   

10. Softball rallies from an 11-4 deficit to shock Northern Colorado and secure their first ever Big Sky tournament bid.

The T-Birds came into the series against the Bears with a chance to host the inaugural Big Sky tournament if they could sweep UNC, and have Portland State and Idaho State lose a game, but that isn’t how it turned out. UNC won game one of the series 7-6 and sent the T-Birds into a must-win contest in game two. Game two of the series couldn’t have gone any worse for the T-Birds as they went down 11-4 after the top half of the fifth inning.

The T-Birds’ bats proceeded to come alive after that as they scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth to turn the deficit into an 11-10 game after a two-out bases clearing double by Kadi Henderson.

After the scoring barrage in the fifth, the T-Birds turned to sophomore Ashley Ostler down two with the bottom of the Bears’ order coming to the plate.

Ostler sat the Bears down in order on seven pitches to send the T-Birds into the bottom of the sixth only down two.

The bottom of the sixth started off strong for the T-Birds as they put runners on first and second with one out, but then saw Kellie Hales ground into a near game-ending double play for the second out. That is when the T-Birds got the luckiest break of the day when Kylee Wolf appeared to fly out to right to end the threat, but the Bears’ right fielder lost the ball in the sun, which allowed a run to score and keep the inning going.

Following a four pitch walk to Mikkel Griffin, designated player Kelsey Bryant sent the first pitch she saw into center field for a two-RBI single to take the lead.

The best moment of the game happened in the top of the seventh when T-Bird starting pitcher Danielle Axe came back into the game to record the save. A few hours after, the team honored her family after her father passed away from cancer earlier in April.          

9. Springall breaks the school heptathlon record in back-to-back meets.

Shaye Maurer-Springal came into the year already holding the T-Bird record for the heptathlon with a 5111, but the senior proceed to shatter that score at the prestigious Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif. on April 20, with a score of 5201. She wasted little time in re-breaking that record a week later at the BYU Invitational when she broke into the top 25 in the country for the event with a 5341.

Breaking your own school record is cool enough, but to do it twice in back-to-back weekends and then, with the second race, rank nationally out of 2000 Division 1 athletes is incredible.

8. Women’s basketball wins in 2 OT against North Dakota

This is the first of two women’s basketball moments from this year on the list, and this one had all the drama that the final game of a season could hope for. With the T-Birds battling for a postseason berth, they jumped out to an early 21 point advantage and held that lead throughout much of the game, only to see that lead slip away in the final moments off the game as UND tied it at 74 on a three point play and the T-Birds failed to get a shot off in the final 10 seconds of regulation.

The first overtime was just as entertaining as regulation as both teams battled before UND took a one point lead with 25 second to play forcing the T-Birds to play catch up for the first time all night.

The team did not disappoint as Carli Moreland got the ball on the block and was followed to set up a potential game winning pair of free throws.

Moreland only came up with one of two to tie the game, and UND failed on its attempt at a game winner to send it into double overtime.

The second overtime continued the same trend as Moreland went to the line and put the T-Birds up by one only to see UND knock in a pair of free throws of their own to give them a 93-92 lead with barely any time left on the clock.

SUU had one last opportunity to pull out the victory and handed the ball to guard Sofia Hepworth. Hepworth drove the ball to the baseline before pulling up for a shot that clanged around the rim before finally settling home and giving the T-Birds the victory.   

7. A.J. Hess steals the inbounds against Northern Colorado to win the game.

This is a game not many people saw because it was in the middle of Christmas break, but it introduced the fans to freshman A.J. Hess.

With the T-Birds trailing by one and the ball being taking out underneath their own basket, the freshman stole the UNC inbound’s pass and found a streaking Wade Collie, who laid it up and in for the game winning layup with 14 seconds to play.

6. Women’s basketball scores 10 points in the final 60 seconds to defeat Portland State in O.T.

This is a also a game many T-Bird fans didn’t get a chance to see as it was a road contest, but it was one of the best performances I have ever seen from a team.

The T-Birds struggled much of the night against the Vikings, but managed to tie the game on a Kimi Hawkins free throw as time expired in regulation.

The overtime period couldn’t have been much worse for the T-Birds, as over the first four minutes PSU built an eight point lead and left the T-Birds with almost no time to mount a comeback.

The T-Birds then ramped up their defense and forced 5 turnovers over the last minute and scored 10 unanswered points capped by an Andrea Jones layup with four second to play to secure the win and take the improbable victory.

5. T-Birds end Northern Arizona’s perfect Big Sky season in triple overtime.

At this point in the football season, the T-Birds were already well aware that the post season was out of reach for a team that came into the year with high hopes. For Northern Arizona, a win meant a Big Sky Championship and a trip to the postseason were all but assured.

The game was a back and forth contest as each team attempted to throw the knockout punch, but neither team would give in as kicker Colton Cook tied the game at 19 for the T-Birds as time expired.

Both teams excelled in the first two overtime periods as Brad Sorensen scored on a quarterback draw and found Fatu Maola for a touchdown only to have NAU answer with a pair of touchdown passes of their own.

The third overtime was all T-Birds, however, as Sorensen found Easton Pedersen for a 22-yard touchdown and Cody Larsen came up with a sack on fourth down to secure the win for SUU.   

4. Volleyball rallies from 2-0 deficit for first time in school history to beat North Dakota on Senior night.

The final home game of Cashaana Renfro and Analaine Mailoto stellar T-Bird careers couldn’t have started off any worse as the T-Birds dropped the first set of the match in quick order. SUU rallied in the second set but still fell 29-27 to drop them in an 0-2 hole, something the team had never come back from in school history.

The T-Birds didn’t panic and took the next two sets in relative safe convincing order to even the match at two sets apiece.

The fifth and final looked as if the T-Birds’ comeback would fall short as North Dakota took a 10-7 lead midway through the set, but SUU came back on a 5-1 run to retake the lead. The game and the improbable comeback were finished off by a Renfro block and the T-Birds made history.

3. Stacey Brinkman hits season-ending, game-winning, record-setting goal against Cal State Bakersfield.  

The T-Bird soccer team’s first season in the Big Sky Conference didn’t go as most on the team had hoped, but the final game of the year gave the T-Birds something to shoot for.

Fifth year senior Stacey Brinkman came into the game in a tie for the career lead in goals scored with 18 and needed to find the back of the net to end the season on a high note.

Senior day started off well for the T-Birds as fellow seniors Missy Lazcano and Amanda Humphreys each notched a goal for the T-Birds but the teams ended up tied through regulation and the first overtime period.

That is when Brinkman got her shot as freshman Madison Wood was fouled just outside the 18-yard box to set up a free kick.

She wasted little time to set up the shot and fired a perfect volley into the back of the net to send the seniors off in style and take the game for the T-Birds.

2. T-Bird football defeats #1 Eastern Washington on last second field goal

The T-Birds found themselves in one of the toughest test of the season when the No. 1 ranked team in the FCS Eastern Washington traveled to Cedar City.

The Eagles came into the game with a five-game winning streak on the line and the T-Birds had just lost to in-state rival Weber State the week before.

Neither team played its best game of the season, but it was entertaining as the teams played neck and neck the entire game.

The T-Birds ended up with the ball last and drove the clock down to under ten seconds when kicker Colton Cook step up to take a last second field goal. The junior boomed a 36-yarder through the uprights to give the T-Birds the victory and send Eastern Washington home packing.

The game also marked the final home game of the season for SUU and the first time the school had defeated the No. 1 team in the country.

1. Brad Sorensen gets drafted in the seventh round of the NFL Draft to the San Diego Chargers.

Zero, the number of T-Birds that had been drafted into the NFL prior to 2013, but in the seventh round of the draft the San Diego Chargers and Brad Sorensen made history as the record setting quarterback was selected with the 221 overall selection.

Sorensen set numerous career records for the T-Birds during his three years as the T-Birds’ starter, but records are made to be broken and someone will come along to break Sorensen’s record. However, the first person to be drafted by an NFL team is something that will never go away and will stay with him forever.

The T-Birds’ football team will continue to play, and thanks to this year’s draft may see an influx of talented players because of the exposure that Sorensen provided.

tory 5: Soccer set to face Salt Lake United

The SUU soccer team will play its only home match of the spring season this Saturday against Salt Lake United of the Women’s Premier Soccer League.

The WPSL is an amateur league that harbors several top women’s soccer players from around the country and has several teams throughout the United States as well as several in Utah.

SL United finished 6-0-2 during their 2012 season, advancing all the to the WPSL Final Four.

As a team, SL United had a 42-8 advantage in goals scored and posted four shutouts.

The team consists of players from Clemson University, BYU, BYU-Hawaii, Gonzaga, University of Utah, Weber State, Washington, Salt Lake Community College, Westminster, Utah State and Notre Dame de Namur University, with multiple former collegiate All-Americans shaping the roster.

Head coach Becky Hogan said this weekend’s match will be a good test for her team.

“This weekend is going to be interesting because the caliber of player we’ll be playing against is like nobody we’ve ever seen before,” she said. “You have former collegiate players who have played four years and then beyond, they’re all professionals, and some went professional internationally, so the way that they play will be so sophisticated, so fast, so clean. That will be the real challenge for us, so it will be good to see how we adapt and play.”

Midfielder Nancy Brich said that to compete with this team, they need to just keep working.

“I think we need to keep working hard,” she said. “Keep working hard in practice and show our dedication and I think it will come out on the field.”

Coach Hogan said she expects her team to match up well against a much better opponent.

“I think we’re a group of people that rise to the occasion,” she said. “Our hope is that in this game we can match the level of play. The true measure will be how fast we can recognize and adapt to their changes.”

The T-Birds are coming off a weekend where they tied with Dixie State 1-1, with Birch putting up the goal for SUU, and fell to Utah Valley 1-0. Defender Megan Mower said the team was happy with their performance.

“I think we’ve improved a lot as a team since the beginning of spring,” she said. “I think in the Dixie (State) game we did a good job of not backing down, and in the past we’ve had a tendency to do that.”

Mower, who just recently became a defender, said she has been working on building a defensive mindset and becoming more aggressive.

Coach Hogan said she was satisfied with her team’s last couple of performances.

“I think that we’ve implemented the ideas that we’ve been working on really well,” she said. “All of the tactics we’ve been trying to stress came out in the game. As a coach that’s always nice to see, and it’s a good testament to the players and how focused they are and how much they’ve brought in.”

Brich said she thought the team played really well after a long break and played really well as a team.

The T-Birds will take on Salt Lake United-WPSL on Saturday in the Multi-Purpose gymnasium. Start time is set for 6 p.m.

Story 4: Softball vs Utah State

Kelsey Bryant blasted a two-run home run in the first inning and Ariel Zimmerman pitched five inning of three hit ball as SUU defeated Utah State 5-4 Wednesday night.

The Aggies answered the Bryant first inning home run with three runs in the second inning to chase T-Bird starter Danielle Axe.

SUU retook the lead in the top of the third inning scoring two runs with out the aid of a hit as Aggies' starter Mandy Harmon walked Mikell Griffin and Kylee Wolf with the bases loaded.

USU tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning also without the aid of a hit as Griffin over threw the cutoff man allowing a run to score all the way from second.

The game remained tied until the the top of the sixth inning when Bryant lead off the inning with a double and scored on an error by Aggies left fielder Jolene Koons.

The win improves the T-Birds record to 12-26 overall on the year; while the loss drops the Aggies to 8-36 on the year.

The T-Birds will remain up north as they are set to face in-state rival Weber State for the first time as Big Sky Conference opponents beginning with a doubleheader on Friday.

First pitch Friday against the Wildcats is scheduled for 2 p.m. with the second game immediately following.

Live stats of both games are anticipated to be at weberstatesports.com.