The Capital Sports Report

By Anthony Caruso III
The Capital Sports Report
Owner/Managing Editor/Sr. Writer

The Philadelphia Phillies know that they are getting old.

Nick Hundley (Getty Images)

Yet, while the team continues to get older, they are not getting any younger with the majority of the team made up of older players. But with the struggles that the team has been facing, they should re-consider getting younger.

Nearly all of their aging stars have been mentioned in trade rumors. It is not clear whether Ruben Amaro, Jr., the Phillies general manager, will made a trade to send one of their stars packing.

Roy Halladay and Carlos Ruiz have already broken down this season. Halladay had surgery recently and could potentially return towards the end of this season, while Ruiz is out for the next month, as he deals with a hamstring injury.

Ruiz also missed 25 games to start this season after a substance abuse suspension. With Ruiz out, the Phillies have had to rely on Eric Kratz so much these days.

But Kratz has never been known as an everyday catcher. He has been known to be the backup for the regular catcher, and get one or two starts a week, but starting almost every game, as he has been doing as of late.

With the Phillies having two career backups, as their catchers right now, the Phillies should consider improving their catcher position. And that improvement should not involve keeping Kratz or Humberto Quintero, as their catchers.

With Ruiz out right now, the Phillies should consider making a phone call to the San Diego Padres. The Padres have 29-year-old catcher Nick Hundley available on the trade market.

Hundley is available, as Padres top catcher prospect Yasmani Grandal is close to a return to the team. Grandal is expected to be the everyday catcher of the future.

Hundley has been with the Padres since the 2008 season. The only bad thing about acquiring Hundley is that he’s never played more than 85 games in a season.

He played in 85 games in 2010, then 82 games in 2011, before playing in 58 games last season. Right now, he’s played in 34 games with a .235 batting average with 3 home runs and 12 RBI’s.

Huntley has never been known as a power catcher. He had 9 home runs in a season in 2011, which was his career-best.

He would be a stop gap catcher for the Phillies until Ruiz returns. This would be until the Phillies made the call up for highly-touted prospect Tommy Joseph, who is presently at the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

Joseph is expected to be the Phillies catcher of the future, as long as Amaro Jr. doesn’t use him as a trade chip for another player.

© 2007-2013 The Capital Sports Report. All rights reserved. All the articles and photos contained on the website are protected by the US Copyright law and may not be re-produced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcasted without the prior written permission. The Capital Sports Report and its logo are official trademarks of Anthony Caruso III and Anthony Caruso Enterprises.

By Anthony Caruso III
The Capital Sports Report
Owner/Managing Editor/Sr. Writer

Clint Dolezel would like to be in Jay Gruden’s shoes one day.

Clint Dolezel (photo by Christopher Matthews)

Dolezel, who is currently the Philadelphia Soul head coach, said that he would like to coach in the NFL one day. Yet, moving from the Arena Football League to the National Football League, as a coach, is one that not many have made.

In fact, Jay Gruden is the only lucky one to have made that move. He is currently the Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator.

When Dolezel was on Jim Rome’s radio show, talking about Tim Tebow and other topics, Rome asked him if Dolezel would like to coach in the NFL. He said that he would like for that to happen in the future, but not, right now.

“It’s back there (in his mind) but its way back there honestly,” said Dolezel. “It is – for my family – I would love to get the NFL and be financially able to take care of them better than I am now. But it is not always about the money.”

Dolezel is in his first season as the Soul head coach with the team currently 4-4. The Soul lead the American Conference-East Division with the .500 record.

The Pittsburgh Power and the Cleveland Gladiators are also in the East Division with the Soul, but they are 2-6 overall. Yet, both teams have beat the Soul this season at home.

Yet, the Soul have the third best record in the American Conference. The Soul trail the Tampa Bay Storm and the Jacksonville Sharks, who are both 6-3 overall.

While Dolezel is in his second season as a head coach in the Arena Football League, Gruden was a head coach in the league for nearly a decade.

Dolezel is 15-11 overall as an AFL head coach with the Soul and the Dallas Vigilantes in the 2011 season. On the other hand, Gruden served two stints as the Orlando Predators head coach.

Gruden was 35 and 21 in his first four years as the Predators head coach from 1998 through 2001. Then after a three year hiatus, he returned in 2004, where he coaches for five more years through the 2008 season. In that stint, he was 47 and 33.

That’s where the similarities end, as Gruden also had NFL coaching experience. Dolezel has never coached in the NFL.

Gruden was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive assistant from 2002 through 2008. He even held the Orlando Predators job while serving as the offensive assistant for his brother Jon when he was the Bucs head coach.

After that, he was hired by the Florida Tuskers in 2009, as their offensive coordinator. He was then promoted to head coach and general manager in 2010.

He then was hired by the Cincinnati Bengals in February 2011. Gruden helped guide the Bengals to back-to-back playoff appearances.

For now, Dolezel has to stay in the Arena Football League, as a head coach, and build up his experience, before potentially moving on. After his resume is adequate, he could get new opportunities that could potentially lead to a job in the NFL and more money.

“I’m very happy at what I do,” said Dolezel. “I’m fortunate to work for a great organization with Ron Jaworski and the rest of the owners here. I can’t complain, as there is nothing better than this.”

© 2007-2013 The Capital Sports Report. All rights reserved. All the articles and photos contained on the website are protected by the US Copyright law and may not be re-produced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcasted without the prior written permission. The Capital Sports Report and its logo are official trademarks of Anthony Caruso III and Anthony Caruso Enterprises.

By Anthony Caruso III
The Capital Sports Report
Owner/Managing Editor/Sr. Writer

Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice had his house broken into over the weekend.

Ray Rice (Getty Images)

On Friday night, when Rice was not home, his house in Baltimore was broken into. The individual, or individuals, broke in through a rear window, according to police.

There have not been any arrested made in the case.

While the individual, or individuals were in Rice’s house, they stole a handgun, a rifle, and $2,000 in case. A friend was reportedly staying at the house when it was broken it.

It is not clear if it was in the house when the individuals broke into the house.

Apparently, the individual or individuals, who broke into his house in Reisterstow, were caught on video. Now the police have to put the pieces together in find the individuals, who broke into his house.

The incident happened between 8:30 pm on Friday night and 12:30 am on Saturday morning.

© 2007-2013 The Capital Sports Report. All rights reserved. All the articles and photos contained on the website are protected by the US Copyright law and may not be re-produced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcasted without the prior written permission. The Capital Sports Report and its logo are official trademarks of Anthony Caruso III and Anthony Caruso Enterprises.

By Anthony Caruso III
The Capital Sports Report
Owner/Managing Editor/Sr. Writer

Clay Harbor is a member of the Philadelphia Eagles for now.

Clay Harbor (Getty Images)

But, according to Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com Philadelphia Eagles insider, Harbor will not be a part of the Eagles this upcoming season. Harbor recently made the switch from tight end to outside linebacker.

Harbor moved to fourth on the depth chart in a hurry before the switch was recently made. The Eagles already have Brent Celek, James Casey, and Zach Ertz at tight end.

Casey signed with the Eagles as a free agent. Ertz was a second round selection in this year’s draft.

“I’m going to go out there and play as hard as I can and hopefully I’ll be able to help this team win,” Harbor said. “That’s really as far as I look into it. Obviously there’s a good chance that I could be somewhere else but right now I’m just focused on being the best player I can and helping this team win if it’s special teams, if it’s switching positions or playing a couple of different positions.

“I’m trying a little outside linebacker, actually, to be more versatile. So we’ll see how it works out.”

He has never played on defense in his college or professional career. He was previously a wide receiver before going to tight end.

“It’s a new position,” Harbor said. “I’m just basically going through the beginning stages of it. Learning some coverages and learning just the defense — when I’m blitzing, when I’m covering, when I’m dropping into zone. Any way I can help the team is where my mindset is right now.”

Harbor was drafted with the 125th overall pick in the fourth round by the Eagles in the 2010 NFL draft. He then signed a four-year contract, worth $2.243 million.

He had 47 receptions for 421 yards and 4 touchdowns in the past three seasons with the Birds.

© 2007-2013 The Capital Sports Report. All rights reserved. All the articles and photos contained on the website are protected by the US Copyright law and may not be re-produced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcasted without the prior written permission. The Capital Sports Report and its logo are official trademarks of Anthony Caruso III and Anthony Caruso Enterprises.

By Anthony Caruso III
The Capital Sports Report
Owner/Managing Editor/Sr. Writer

The New York Jets have shown little tolerance with players, who have been arrested lately. And Mike Goodson, who is a running back, now has to watch out.

Mike Goodson (Getty Images)

He is now in hot water with the Jets after his early morning arrest. He was arrested, with a friend Garant Evans, this morning at around 3 am in Denville, New Jersey.

The Jets have released two other players, who have been arrested since April. These two other players, were also arrested and charged with possession of marijuana, but they were lesser known players.

Those players were defensive end Claude Davis and cornerback Cliff Harris were arrested and charged with marijuana in April. Both Davis and Harris have never played in an NFL game, while Goodson has bounced around.

But Goodson’s situation is very similar to the one that Davis and Harris were caught in. Davis and Harris were arrested in late April by Morristown Police Department.

The players were in a 2013 Chevy Tahoe SUV. The players were also joined in the SUV by Daniel Godfrey, who was reportedly a friend of the two.

This is where things get similar to Goodson’s arrest this morning. Godfrey had a loaded handgun in the vehicle when he was arrested with Davis and Harris.

Nearly 20 minutes away and nearly a month later, in Denville, Goodson and his friend Garant Evans were arrested for marijuana and weapon charges. Goodson had a small amount of marijuana on him, before police were able to locate additional marijuana and .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun in the vehicle, which was loaded.

He was officially charged with possession of marijuana under 50 grams, possession of paraphernalia, unlawful possession of a loaded handgun and possession of hollow-point bullets. He is presently in the Morris County Correctional Facility with a $50,000 bail.

Evans, who a known felon, has the same charges against him as Goodson. Except, he has additional charges, including DWI, traffic summonses, and possession of a weapon with a prior felony conviction.

He has a $150,000 bail.

A Jets team spokesperson said: “We are aware of the report and are gathering information.”

Goodson, who signed a three-year, $6.9 million dollar deal, has played in 40 career games with the Carolina Panthers and the Oakland Raiders.

© 2007-2013 The Capital Sports Report. All rights reserved. All the articles and photos contained on the website are protected by the US Copyright law and may not be re-produced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcasted without the prior written permission. The Capital Sports Report and its logo are official trademarks of Anthony Caruso III and Anthony Caruso Enterprises.

By Anthony Caruso III
The Capital Sports Report
Owner/Managing Editor/Sr. Writer

At one time, Kurt Warner was a star in the Arena Football League.

Tim Tebow (Getty Images)

Warner would learn how to be a quarterback in the fast-paced indoor game. That was before he got his shot with the St. Louis Rams, and led the Rams to the Super Bowl.

The rest is history, as Warner is now a Hall of Fame candidate. Now, a former NFL quarterback has two offers from teams within the AFL.

Neither team has heard back from Tim Tebow, who has receiving offers left-and-right – it seems – from all different leagues. He has also received offers from the Legends Football League, formerly the Lingerie Football League, and the Canadian Football League.

The Philadelphia Soul offered Tebow a contract on Wednesday. The Orlando Predators also offered Tebow a contract.

Clint Dolezel, who is in his first year as the Soul head coach, has seen his team struggle early on this season. With the team struggling, the quarterback Dan Raudabaugh has said multiple times that the team’s struggles are on him.

Yet, Dolezel doesn’t believe that if Tebow accepted the Soul’s offer that he could start in the league right now. But he believes that Tebow could learn from the game.

“It is adapt or die in our game,” said Dolezel. “It helps you learn quick reads. I think he can figure it out.”

One of the problems that Tebow has had to deal with since he was at Florida was his mechanics. People thought he could not make it in the NFL with these mechanics.

Yet, he was a first-round draft pick by the Denver Broncos in 2010. Then, he spent the 2010 and 2011 season with the Broncos, before being traded to the Jets in 2012.

It was a disaster with the Jets, where they tried to ruin his career. And they finally released him the Monday after the NFL draft when they knew teams already had their quarterbacks.

He has 2,422 passing yards in the NFL right now with 17 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He also has 989 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns.

In 2011, when the Broncos were struggling, the Broncos made the switch to Tebow, where he led the team to the playoffs after getting off to a 1-4 start. And they even won a first-round matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers, before getting beat by the New England Patriots.

“His release does need to quicken up,” said Dolezel. “We can help him with that in our game. I can use him in the red zone. He could learn from this.”

© 2007-2013 The Capital Sports Report. All rights reserved. All the articles and photos contained on the website are protected by the US Copyright law and may not be re-produced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcasted without the prior written permission. The Capital Sports Report and its logo are official trademarks of Anthony Caruso III and Anthony Caruso Enterprises.

By Anthony Caruso III
The Capital Sports Report
Owner/Managing Editor/Sr. Writer

Dennis Schröder has been shut down by a team.

Dennis Schroder

It is not clear, who is the team that shut down Schröder at the NBA Combine on Thursday. A source has indicated that he has a promise deal in place with the unknown team.

The promise deal in place is reported with a team towards the end of the lottery. But many mock drafts have Schröder going from 18th through the 23rd pick, before today’s promise deal.

There was speculation that Schröder may be linked to the Oklahoma City Thunder; however, nobody is saying who it is. But, even with Russell Westbrook injured, it is not clear if they would be willing to use their projected 12th overall pick on Schröder.

If it is the Thunder, he would give the Thunder another talented player on their young roster. Besides Westbrook, the Thunder have Derek Fisher and Reggie Jackson as backup point guards.

Fisher, who is expected to retire from basketball this summer, was signed to a one-year deal. Jackson will be back with the Thunder, as long as he is not traded by the team. Schröder would give the Thunder a 19-year-old, who is ready to come to the United States this season.

Schröder was a breakout start at the Portland Hoop Summit. There, he impressed general managers and scouts in attendance with his play.

While at the Hoop Summit, Schröder out played Kasey Hill and Demetrius Jackson. In a game, featuring all three players, he scored 18 points, while having 6 assists and 3 turnovers.

His game is more tailored to the NBA style than the European style. He has great speed, which he has used to break down opponents.

While playing in Germany, he was named the Most Improved Player in the BBL. The BBL, which is the Basketball Bundesliga League, which is the highest league in Germany.

He averaged 11.9 points in 31 games with NY Phantoms. He also averaged 2.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists.

© 2007-2013 The Capital Sports Report. All rights reserved. All the articles and photos contained on the website are protected by the US Copyright law and may not be re-produced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcasted without the prior written permission. The Capital Sports Report and its logo are official trademarks of Anthony Caruso III and Anthony Caruso Enterprises.

By Anthony Caruso III
The Capital Sports Report
Owner/Managing Editor/Sr. Writer

Ike Davis is a young first baseman for the New York Mets.

Ike Davis (Getty Images)

But it is not clear how long he’ll be with the team in Flushing, New York. Why? The Mets are interested in trading their struggling first baseman.

Davis’ name has been swirling in trade rumors involving other teams since after the 2011 season. But at that time, the Mets could not get a good deal for Davis.

Davis is off to his worst start in his 4-year Mets career. He has a measly .157 batting average through 37 games.

Yet, while he is struggling this season, he did have a career season last season with 32 home runs and 90 RBI’s. And he only has 4 home runs so far this season.

Mets manager Terry Collins put Davis in the cleanup spot numerous times since the beginning of the season. However, Davis has been a failure, as the Mets cleanup batter.

“I was slotted in the four-hole in the beginning of the year for a reason,” he said. “It’s the type of player I can be. I just haven’t done it this year.”

If the Mets can find a taker for Davis, they may not get much in return. They would like to get a starting pitcher in return for Davis.

Right now, the Mets do not have the best 3-5 pitchers, as Matt Harvey and Jon Niese lead the rotation. Behind Harvey and Niese is Shaun Marcum, Dillion Gee, and Jeremy Hefner, who are 2-13 overall.

Gee is 2-5, while both Marcum and Hefner are 0-4 on the season.

But they may have to settle for prospects in return for Davis when a trade does take place. When Davis is moved, he would be replaced by Justin Turner.

© 2007-2013 The Capital Sports Report. All rights reserved. All the articles and photos contained on the website are protected by the US Copyright law and may not be re-produced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcasted without the prior written permission. The Capital Sports Report and its logo are official trademarks of Anthony Caruso III and Anthony Caruso Enterprises.

By Anthony Caruso III
The Capital Sports Report
Owner/Managing Editor/Sr. Writer

Larry Drew you are on the outside, looking in.

Larry Drew (Getty Images)

Drew, you may be listed as the Atlanta Hawks head coach for the next month, but management is already telling you that you won’t be back. They haven’t told you in words, but they have told you with their actions.

According to Yahoo Sports, the Hawks management have interviewed Nate McMillan for head coaching position that Drew previously holds. Drew is technically the Hawks head coach through June 30th until his contract expires.

He has not been let go by the team, and the Hawks management has shown him that he likely won’t be back. Drew has been with the Hawks since the 2004 season, and has been the head coach since the 2010-11 season.

Drew is 128-102 in 230 career games as the Hawks head coach, with a .557 win percentage. He is also 10-14 in three playoff appearances.

The Hawks have lost in the first round the past two seasons, getting beat 4-2 in each series. And they lost in the Conference Semifinals in 2011.

Hawks general manager Danny Ferry has also expressed an interest in hiring head coach Stan Van Gundy. He was previously the Orlando Magic head coach, and was fired a year ago after getting into numerous run-ins with Dwight Howard.

Drew could return to the Hawks, which would result in Ferry doing an about face, if McMillan and Van Gundy say no to the team. According to the story, Ferry would like to keep Drew as an option in case a better coach is not interested in coaching the team.

It doesn’t appear like Van Gundy will coach this upcoming season. The Milwaukee Bucks and the Detroit Pistons are interested in McMillan, as well.

McMillan has reportedly also interviewed with the Bucks and Pistons.

McMillan has been out of coaching since getting fired by the Portland TrailBlazers mid-way through the 2011-12 season. He was hired by the TrailBlazers in the summer of 2005.

He has a 478-452 career coaching record with the TrailBlazers and the Seattle SuperSonics, with a .514 win percentage.

He lost in the first round of the playoffs in his last three full seasons and missed the playoffs in his first three seasons with the team.

With the SuperSonics, he made the playoffs in two of the five seasons. In 2004-05, the Sonics made the Conference Semifinals, which is the furthest that McMillan’s teams have advanced in the playoffs.

© 2007-2013 The Capital Sports Report. All rights reserved. All the articles and photos contained on the website are protected by the US Copyright law and may not be re-produced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcasted without the prior written permission. The Capital Sports Report and its logo are official trademarks of Anthony Caruso III and Anthony Caruso Enterprises.

By Anthony Caruso III
The Capital Sports Report
Owner/Managing Editor/Sr. Writer
Photos by Christopher Matthews coming soon

Philadelphia, PA – The Philadelphia Soul had the game right where they wanted it.

Philadelphia Soul

They had the lead after halftime in front of the home crowd. Then, things started to take a turn for the worse.

The Soul (3-4) could not recover when the momentum went into the Pittsburgh Power’s direction. And, as the final minutes came off the scoreboard, the Soul’s chances of coming back drastically decreased.

The Soul lost another home game in this young season when the scoreboard hit 0:00. The Power were able to electrify the Soul, 53-48, at the Wells Fargo Center last night.

The Soul are now 0-3 at home this season. And they look to get their first win of the season at home next week, which they are going to have added pressure to win.

See, former Soul head coach Doug Plank is going to lead his Orlando Predators into town. Plank, who left shortly after the ArenaBowl loss to the Arizona Rattlers, decided to take the Predators job, and has the Preds at 1-5.

The Power (2-5) had one win coming into the game last night, and the Soul gave the game away.

The Soul had an opportunity late in the game. That’s when Dan Raudabaugh, who went 23-of-41 for 288 yards and four touchdowns, guided the Soul down the field in the final 31 seconds. Then, as the Soul got within 15 yards, Raudabaugh threw the ball into the end zone, which Power defensive back Sergio Gilliam picked off.

“I wanted to win this game,” said Soul head coach Clint Dolezel. “I’m kind of disappointed. We executed well the whole game, and then we fell apart at the end. I want to improve on everything. It’s a lot of simple things that we need to work on. Things don’t always go your way in these games, but it doesn’t matter, sometimes we need to win, and that’s all.”

The Power scored 14 points in the fourth quarter. This included a 3-yard run by Mike Washington and an 8-yard touchdown reception from Steven Sheffield to James Robinson. Sheffield went 19-of-35 for 272 yards and six touchdowns.

Also, the Power defense came up home with less than 3 minutes remaining, as Raudabaugh was stopped on a 4th and 1 play with goal to go.

The Soul were able to stop the Power from marching down the field, resulting in the Power turning the ball over on downs. But as mentioned before, the Soul squandered an opportunity to win the game, as Raudabaugh was picked off in the end zone with 12 seconds left.

Each team scored twice in the third quarter. For the Power, Robinson caught a 15-yard touchdown from Sheffield. On the following kick off, the Power gave up a 55-yard kickoff for a touchdown by James Romain.

Also, in the third quarter, the Power’s second touchdown came from a 38-yard touchdown from Sheffield to Washington. The Soul scored again as Raudabaugh connected with Ryan McDaniel for an 8-yard touchdown.

The Soul led 35-27 at halftime.

The Soul could only score twice in the second quarter. Raudabaugh threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Tiger Jones, who had eight receptions and 124 yards along with the touchdown. His touchdown was followed up by a 5-yard rushing touchdown by Derrick Ross.

In the second quarter, much like the fourth quarter, the Power outscored the Soul. The Power outscored the Soul 20-14 in this quarter.

The Power used two Sheffield touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown to outscore the Soul in this quarter, as Sheffield connected with Robinson twice. Robinson caught a 7-yard touchdown and a 14-yard touchdown from Sheffield in this quarter, while Washington rushed into the end zone for 5-yards.

The game was 7-7 when the Soul took a two touchdown lead. Raudabaugh threw two touchdowns to McDaniel, who added five receptions for 49 yards and two touchdowns, and Larry Brackins, who contributed two receptions for 21 yards and a touchdown.

With Brackins’ touchdown, he became second all-time with 2,977 yards, and has had a touchdown in 25 of the last 27 Soul games.

The Power scored their lone first quarter touchdown when Sheffield connected with Mike Washington. As the time was expiring, Ross added a 9-yard rushing touchdown to increase the Soul lead.

Ross had just 21 rushing yards in the game.

© 2007-2013 The Capital Sports Report. All rights reserved. All the articles and photos contained on the website are protected by the US Copyright law and may not be re-produced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcasted without the prior written permission. The Capital Sports Report and its logo are official trademarks of Anthony Caruso III and Anthony Caruso Enterprises.