Sporting Fools

How to Save College Football...Again

2009-11-25T15:57:00.001-05:00

First we have to understand that Division 1-A college football is a different entity, different than basketball or baseball and needs a simpler model to survive.

We currently have 66 BCS conference teams (including Notre Dame) and two independent service academies we have to consider.

There are 55, 56...programs that are "non-BCS".

We have to reduce the overall number of teams, not significantly, but enough for us to get eight conferences at 12-teams per. That leaves us 96 teams. A fair number.

Here's where it gets fun.

Some of the conference names might change on adjust. The SEC, Big XII, Big East and ACC should be fine. The Pac-10 might become the Pac-12, the Big 10+1 might become the Big 10+2, The Mountain West and Conference USA should be the other two conference names adopted since those are the ones I like the most.

Now we're doing full-scale realignments. First with the 66 teams + Army and Navy. Everyone can now figure out where they want to be.

Remember because we've distinguished college football as a different entity, schools can leave their CFB conference and not ruin their positioning with that conference in other sports (i.e. Temple is in the MAC conference in football but the Atlantic 10 in basketball, etc.) some programs might move conferences in football to go from being a 6-6 team to a 10-2 team. Like Kentucky, who could probably win 9-10 games in the ACC or Big East, might want to leave SEC football but they wouldn't ruin their SEC certification in basketball, baseball or another any other sport. They just want to get a competitive advantage in football.

Does Colorado leave the Big XII for the Pac-12 or the new-look Mountain West? Does Boston College go back to the Big East. Does Penn State go to the Big East where they can play Pitt again? Where does Notre Dame go? Does Arkansas leave the SEC to replace Colorado in the Big XII and renew their old SWC rivalries with the Texas schools. How many conferences want to leave a few slots open for...

The Draft.

After the BCS teams realign themselves the old conferences may need to fill a few slots and the new ones will need to draft some programs to fill out their 12 slots.

Basically I believe the old BCS conferences could look like such pre draft

Big East

Syracuse
Boston College
West Virginia
Pittsburgh
Penn State (wanting to renew annual rivalries with Pitt, Rutgers and Boston College)
Army
Navy
Rutgers
Notre Dame (using their clout as a Big East school in other sports)
Connecticut
2 open slots

ACC

Virginia Tech
Maryland
North Carolina
Wake Forest
N.C. State
Duke
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Clemson
Virginia
South Carolina (citing competitive advantage and natural rivalry with North Carolina)
1 open slot (hmm no Miami?)

SEC

Florida
Georgia
Tennessee
Alabama
Kentucky
Auburn
LSU
Ole Miss
Mississippi State
Miami (After Miami all but begs to join conference when Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Arkansas defect. The SEC went after Georgia Tech but the Yellow Jackets declined)
2 open slots

Big XII

Oklahoma
Nebraska
Texas
Texas A&M
Texas Tech
Kansas
Kansas State
Nebraska
Oklahoma State
Arkansas (citing SWC rivalry history and desire to be aligned with Texas recruiting base).
2 open slots

Big 10+2

Iowa
Iowa State (cites natural rivalry with Iowa and desire to be aligned with midwestern recruiting base)
Ohio State
Michigan
Michigan State
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Northwestern
Indiana
Purdue
Illinois
1 open slot (Cincinnati declines offer to be powerhouse in new Conference USA)

Pac-12

USC
UCLA
Cal
Stanford
Arizona
Arizona State
Washington
Washington State
Oregon
Oregon State
Colorado (cites location and California recruiting base)
1 open slot (common thinking here is Utah or Colorado State or...Hawaii if they want a vacation)

That leaves five BCS schools unaccounted for: Vanderbilt, South Florida, Baylor, Louisville, Cincinnati. Baylor opts for the new Mountain West and the other four open the new Conference USA.

Now the draft begins. The old BCS conferences fill their slots first.

The Big East sticks with geographic regional sense and takes MAC schools Buffalo and Temple to basically control most Division 1-A in New England and the mid-Atlantic State. For Temple it's full circle as they were kicked out of the Big East a decade ago.

The ACC quickly snatches up East Carolina to fill their group.

The SEC is in sort of a quandary as every school is playing politics to keep other state schools from being involved. In the end Florida successfully keeps UCF out of the conference and they choose C-USA schools Southern Mississippi and Memphis (as a shot at Vandy, who was banking on an annual game with Memphis)

The Big XII takes TCU to really piss off the Mountain West people and adds Houston to keep the SWC love going.

The Big 10+2's Michigan and Ohio schools successfully freezes out the other schools in their state and eventually force the conference to reluctantly take on Northern Illinois.

The Pac 12 tries for Utah, but with the MWC losing TCU they push hard for Utah as a spotlight program leaving Boise in the wake. Hawaii, in effect, will be most likely frozen out of Division 1-A football now.

So now here's what we have.

Big East

Syracuse
Boston College
West Virginia
Pittsburgh
Penn State
Army
Navy
Rutgers
Notre Dame
Connecticut
Buffalo
Temple

ACC

Virginia Tech
Maryland
North Carolina
Wake Forest
N.C. State
Duke
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Clemson
Virginia
South Carolina
East Carolina

SEC

Florida
Georgia
Tennessee
Alabama
Kentucky
Auburn
LSU
Ole Miss
Mississippi State
Miami
Memphis
Southern Mississippi

Big XII

Oklahoma
Nebraska
Texas
Texas A&M
Texas Tech
Kansas
Kansas State
Nebraska
Oklahoma State
Arkansas
TCU
Houston

Big 10+2

Iowa
Iowa State
Ohio State
Michigan
Michigan State
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Northwestern
Indiana
Purdue
Illinois
Northern Illinois

Pac-12

USC
UCLA
Cal
Stanford
Arizona
Arizona State
Washington
Washington State
Oregon
Oregon State
Colorado
Boise State

MVC

Utah
Baylor

Conference USA

Cincinnati
Louisville
Vanderbilt
South Florida

Now the draft begins.

The MVC snaps up Fresno State and Nevada from the defunct WAC and grabs BYU, Air Force, New Mexico, UNLV and Wyoming from the original MWC and SMU, UTEP and Tulsa from C-USA

C-USA goes after UCF and Marshall from the old conference and cleans out the MAC with Central and Western Michigan along with Toledo and Ohio to have a Kentucky-Michigan-Ohio group to offset a distinctly Southern half of the conference. Add in FIU and FAU to dominate the secondary Florida market and we have 12. It's a very budget friendly conference.

New MVC

Utah
Baylor
Fresno State
Nevada
BYU
Air Force
Tulsa
New Mexico
UTEP
SMU
UNLV
Wyoming

New C-USA

Louisville
South Florida
Cincinnati
Vanderbilt
UCF
Marshall
Central Michigan
Western Michigan
Ohio
Toledo
Florida Atlantic
Florida International

Now we've got 96 teams. The remaining 27 or so are off to the FCS where they should do fine and be near the top of the Division. Sorry things didn't work out but it happens.

With eight conference we just need the four "BCS" Bowls. Each conference has a conference title game and the winner of the conference gets to the big bowls. It's that simple. Win the conference and you're in the big-money bowls. You want an eight-team playoff instead? Same thing. Win the conference, you're in the playoff.

We'll scale the other bowls down to 22 or so and increase the payouts from the money taken away from the fifth BCS bowl game.

So 96 teams and 52 are available for some sort of postseason play. That's fair.

As for scheduling if we go with an eight-team playoff lets scale the schedule back two games. So a ten-game regular season with eight conference games and a potential conference championship. Two bye weeks.

Oh yeah, no more scheduling of Division 1-AA teams. PERIOD.

WHAT?!?!?!

Yep, no more Chattanooga, Wofford or Charleston Southern for you SEC'ers to munch on. No more Delaware or Appy State either. Do the Indianapolis Colts get to schedule the Hamilton Tiger-Cats? I didn't think so.

So we have 96 teams, eight conferences, 12 teams per, eight "BCS" Bowl or playoff slots for the eight conference champions. Everyone's on an equal playing field in terms of championship opportunities.

NBA Playoffs, Mets, Yankees

2009-04-19T10:27:00.002-04:00

Have to make this short because I'm headed to the Rays-White Sox game and I have to hit the gym before I do that.

NBA 3-Man Weave

I'm actually going to skip LeBron because...well he's LeBron and nothing short of 40-12-9 will get him on the weave this early in the playoffs. I will say that Cleveland's victory over Detroit was very 1992 Bulls-esque. It was too easy and it could have been a 40-point victory if they wanted it to be one. So onto the weave.

Derrick Rose: This goes without saying. Only second played in league history to go 35 points, 10 assists in playoff debut and equalled the highest point total in an opening playoff game by a rookie. Just an amazing performance with with the only downfall is that he fouled out. Special mention to Joakim Noah's 11 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks. He was a presence and someone's the Celtics really never got a grasp on.

Brandon Bass: The only way to beat a team like the Spurs in the playoffs is with strong bench performances (or Kobe Bryant) and the Mavericks had several but none stood out more than Bass' 14 points and four rebounds in 18 minutes. The Spurs look all but dead without Ginobili's energy to carry them through the second half.

Yao Ming: YAO-SERS! I could have easily given this to Aaron Brooks for 27 points and seven dimes, but Houston's in-out game is focused around Yao hitting shots and that's what he did. 24 points, nine boards in 24 minutes and going 9-for-9 from the floor. This should be a competitive series but Saturday night's game was a laugher. Hey Portland, time to put Greg Oden in the starting lineup (those 15 points, five boards didn't go unnoticed by me).

Mets: I love Johan Santana, that's all I need to say.

Yankees: Remember what I saw about the new stadium and how difficult it is to win games initially? Well Cleveland has won 2-of-3 and scored 37 runs going into Sunday's finale. Here's the deal: During those first month's worth of games in the new stadium it's like an experiment for the home team and they are trying to figure out different things because the key for them is long-term success, not one series. So they have questions:

"Will the ball carry to the opposite field better than the old stadium?"

"Does the Bronx wind affect balls in straight center?"

"Will Chien-Ming Wang make it to the third inning this season?"

Anyway for the road team it's just another game in another stadium although I'm sure Eric Wedge is going to be talking to his bosses about adding some of those New Yankee Stadium dimensions at the Jake.

Masters & Mets...

2009-04-14T20:02:00.003-04:00

...I gotta blog more, especially since my radio days have all but run out.

The Masters: Sorry to say for the golf purists who read this blog or any all-sports fan blog but the Masters began and ended when Tiger and Phil butchered the final two holes. I felt like if one or both guys posted an -11, the field would come back to them. I like Angel Cabrera, nice guy...don't care to watch him and once Phil did his "Phil favorites" at 15 and 17 and Tiger hit a tree, I turned to the Cavaliers beatdown of the Celtics.

On the good side it made for great television. I'm not a Phil Mickelson fan, at all. I think he's a smiley fake, the guy who'll smile at you during dinner while feeling up your wife's leg. But he makes great television, even more so than Tiger. And watching Phil on the front and back nine was mesmerizing along with watching Tiger keep pace but keep his distance until they were both at -10.

And thank you Augusta for giving the drama of The Masters back to us after sitting through Trevor Immelman's boring victory march last year. Now that Hootie is done pulling the strings I hope we won't have to worry about "Tiger proofing" anymore.

The Mets: Not surprised my beloved Mets lost the opener of Citi Field, it's hard to win those things. I remember a while back when the ChiSox opened New Comiskey with a 16-0 loss to Detroit. These things happen and especially when the enigmatic Mike Pelfrey on the mound. I didn't think Pelfrey was going to be effective but I didn't think he'd let Jody Gerut take him deep either.

But 3-4, I'm not worried. It's a 162 games and the Mets will win more than they lose as long as Daniel Murphy can catch those sun balls in left field. BTW, I was never a fan of dumping Duaner Sanchez but anyone who thinks the Mets made a mistake by dumping Heath Bell needs to be slapped with a frozen grouper. I don't care how he pitched last night, I don't care if he pitches well tomorrow and Thursday, he's terrible.

The irony of the night was that I read an ESPN Insider report on how the new Citi Field would lower David Wright's HR totals only to watch him hit a game-tying three-run shot last night.

MLB 2009 Predictions

2009-04-06T14:14:00.001-04:00

MLB Predictions

DH League

AL East

1) Red Sox
2) Rays *
3) Yankees
4) Blue Jays
5) Orioles

I like the Red Sox rotation. It's deep and if Jon Lester is as good as he can be and John Smoltz gives them something in the second half of the season. I like the Rays more than the Yankees because the Yankees are notorious slow starters and they will deal with blocks of significant injuries. The Blue Jays might get to 75+ wins behind a monster year from Roy Halladay

AL Central

1) Indians
2) Chi White Sox
3) Royals
4) Twins
5) Tigers

Cleveland is going to have the most, but don't be surprised if Kansas City finishes above .500 and gets the tag as the next up-and-coming team.

1) Angels
2) Athletics
3) Rangers
4) Mariners

Hard to fathom anyone but L.Anaheim winning. That being said the battle for the wild card between Oakland Tampa Bay along with the AL Central squads could be exciting.

AL MVP: Grady Sizemore
AL Cy Young: Roy Halladay

Division Series: Red Sox over Angels; Rays over Indians
ALCS: Red Sox over Rays in 6

Old School League

NL East

1) Mets
2) Phillies *
3) Marlins
4) Braves
5) Nationals

The Mets have effectively made their lives much easier with the revamped bullpen. I expect the Phillies to rally in September and get the Wild Card but Cole Hamels' status is worth watching. The Marlins should be very tough in the second half of the season as the Braves tail off.

NL Central

1) Cubs
2) Reds
3) Cardinals
4) Brewers
5) Pirates
6) Astros

Tough sledding here. I like the Cubs but after that it's a pretty good logjam. The Reds can rise up to be the next best...if Aaron Harang shows the 2006 and 2007 form. Everyone else in this division is treading water.

NL West

1) Dodgers
2) Giants
3) Diamondbacks
4) Rockies
5) Padres

My guess is the Phillies will slightly edge out the Giants for the wild card slot but the Dodgers should win the west comfortably. The Padres' most interesting situation will be where they unload Jake Peavy.

NL MVP: Manny Ramirez
NL Cy Young: Johan Santana

Division Series: Mets over Dodgers; Cubs over Phillies
NLCS: Mets over Cubs in 7.

Crazy Day for NYC Sporting Transactions...

2009-04-03T15:30:00.001-04:00

...Gary Sheffield signs with the Mets, thus putting their clubhouse on alert for his eventual blowups.

...According to Mike Francesa the Giants released Plaxico Burress.

Nice Stadium Ass Clowns

2009-02-16T17:32:00.000-05:00

HAHAHAHA

http://sportsbybrooks.com/new-yankee-stad-same-awful-obstructed-view-22313

One Thing Missing From This Super Bowl...

2009-02-05T07:41:00.002-05:00

....The game was great, I wish I would have had a post-game analysis post but I didn't. Oh well it was a damn good game, not the best ever, but not "boring with a great fourth quarter" either. Somewhere in the middle -- with a great fourth quarter.

One thing that's missing from my post Super Bowl readings is the writings of the great SI personality Paul Zimmerman.

Now Dr. Z isn't for everyone, but for a football lover he put the intricacies of the game into written form better than most.

His book, "The Thinking Man's Guide to Pro Football" is probably the best ever written on the subject. [Amazon.com]

He picked the Giants to win last season...and more importantly than that he had a wide assortment of breakdowns to explain why he thought the Giants were going to pull a 24-20 upset (here, here and here)

And of course there was my annual favorite column that ripped the current NFL announcers to shreds (or complimented them if they deserved it).

And there's more -- his early prediction that Tony Romo's romantic escapades would sabotage the Cowboys among others. Dr. Z wasn't just a fan of the game, he played the game in college and at the semi-pro level and he played up front -- where the smartest football players exist.

According to his Wikipedia page the stroke that Dr. Z suffered in November has left him in real bad shape and I'm resigned to the fact that he may never write or communicate with anyone about football again. Surely SI will try to find someone that can step into his shoes but they will never be him and probably won't be allowed to do some of the daring things he's done in his life, including give every reader a look into the NFL's Hall of Fame vetting process.

So as great as Super Bowl XLIII was it has also lost a lot of luster because it missed out on the one man that could put the game in words.

I'm Saying It...

2009-01-18T11:45:00.002-05:00

....it's an All-Pennsylvania Super Bowl.

At least that's what I think. I would really like to say that I believe Arizona has a great opportunity to win this game and possibly face the Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII which would set up the great "former employee gets revenge on employer" storyline we all want to follow (at least all of us who track such things), but I'm not ever going to be on the "Arizona in a Super Bowl" train until it leaves the station.

Meanwhile my choice for Pittsburgh is much easier. I think Baltimore is still very much worn down from last week's and once the emotional high wears off you're going to see a very game, but very tired defense having trouble stopping Willie Parker on the second half of the 30 carries he's sure to receive.

We'll see if I'm right.

NFL Coaches: Who's In, Who's Out

2008-12-29T10:42:00.000-05:00

Safer Than Safe

Tom Coughlin. N.Y. Giants
Brad Childress, Minnesota
Mike Smith, Atlanta
John Fox, Carolina
Ken Wisenhunt, Arizona
Mike Singletary, San Francisco (He would be in the next category but he's making staff changes without pressure)
Jim Mora Jr., Seattle (taking over for the departing Mike Holmgren)
Tony Sparano, Miami
Bill Belichick, New England
Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh
John Harbaugh, Baltimore
Tony Dungy, Indianapolis
Jeff Fisher, Tennessee

Should be Safe, But Might Have to Make staff and/or major personnel changes

Jim Zorn, Washington
Andy Reid, Philadelphia (in Reid's case the change could be removing his front office title)
Lovie Smith, Chicago
Mike McCarthy, Green Bay
Sean Payton, New Orleans
Gary Kubiak, Houston

That's 19 of 32 coaches. Not really a bad retention number for the NFL. I predict 26 of 32 will stick around. Here's who's left and their status.

Already Fired This Morning

Romeo Crennel, Cleveland -- Gone, will go back to being a solid defensive coordinator.

Rob Marinelli, Detroit -- Gone, will go back to being a solid defensive coach.

Eric Mangini, N.Y. Jets -- Gone, needs to refine his coaching skills. Probably will get another job right away and is bound to fail at that one too. Frankly he isn't ready and doesn't have any clue of how to organize his sideline.

Shouldn't Be Safe

Dick Jauron, Buffalo -- Anyone remember when Buffalo went 5-0? Well they finished 2-9 with one inexplicable loss to the Jets (a.k.a dead team walking) based on one of the worse coaching decisions of the year that was made by Dick Jauron. He has "led" the Bills to their third consecutive 7-9 season and has a career coaching record of 56-72. In other words, he's not very good. Never has been.

Wade Phillips, Dallas -- This goes without saying and the only reason I can think of a meglomaniac like Jerry Jones would keep Phillips around is because he's not sold on Jason Garrett but doesn't want anyone else to hire him. This was a terrible hire and yesterday it officially blew up in his face.

Mike Shanahan, Denver -- Here's a situation where a good coach has been in the same place for too long and it's time for a new direction. I expect Shanahan is safe and will be safe until he retires but mark my words when I say that Denver will not be a contender again until he's gone.

Norv Turner, San Diego -- Yes the Chargers won the AFC West...with an 8-8 record after a second consecutive slow start. When the Colts pound this time next Saturday it's going be an 8-9 season. This guy will bleed all the talent on this team to subpar seasons.

Might Be Safer Than You Think

Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati -- He's got the crutch of injuries and disgruntled players that he didn't want on his team to begin with to lean on. He's also got a cheap ownership that doesn't want to pay his contract without getting services rendered.

Jon Gruden, Tampa Bay -- I think Gruden hangs around for one more year because the Bucs are headed into a major rebuilding plan. The defensive stalwarts have past their prime (Ronde Barber should retire while people still think he has an outside shot at the Hall of Fame) and he can take next season's 5-11 record on the chin before getting the axe.

In or Out

Tom Cable, Oakland -- Wow, talk about an interesting situation. Here's a guy, dead in the water when given this interim tag and he's not only shown himself to be a fighter, but he's a RAIDER and is loyal to that franchise. He's also got that locker room believing. A victory over Al Davis nemesis Jon Gruden, kicking the Bucs out of the playoffs, is another positive on his resume. I think he's IN.

Herman Edwards, Kansas City -- The Chiefs weren't good, they weren't expected to be good. They did fight and lost many games by close margins. Unfortunately many of those games they should have won, especially a game against the Bucs earlier this year when they had a 17-point lead. With a new GM coming through the door I just don't see Herm sticking around and I'd be surprised if he gets another job right away. I say OUT

Jim Haslett, St. Louis -- The players are petitioning and the Rams were a tougher team with Haslett at the helm and he quickly improved player-coach relations, but he isn't the right man for this job. That being said, the Rams job isn't a desirable one and with a lot of money spent on defensive upgrades, the NFC West is there for the taking. I say Haslett is IN and gets a full year to show his stuff.

Jack Del Rio, Jacksonville -- Del Rio is going to be safe but a 50-46 record includes two double-digit loss seasons and this one comes after going 11-5 last season and supposedly making upgrades during the off season. So Del Rio is IN for another year but he'll have to make staff changes and quite possibly a couple he doesn't like.

And It's...Gone!

2008-04-19T09:33:00.002-04:00

Not a big Wojo fan, but he hits this Barkley-Jordan comparison out of the park.

Of course he is implying that Jordan is less of a person because he doesn't care about politics and that is silly, but this is less about Jordan than it is about the potential of Barkley.

Championship Sunday Redeux

2008-01-21T09:49:00.001-05:00

As always, what you expect to happen tends to happen when you least expect it. Norv Turner, after weeks of showing guile and determination through his play calling, went back to being a passive-aggressive pussy and Brett Favre reverted back to his old erratic ways and played his worse when his team needed him the most.

* Norv's Downfall: 3rd and 1 at the Patriots 3-yard-line trailing 14-9. Norv decided to run the ball with Michael Turner, which was smart, but he called an outside run instead of trying to pound between the tackles (which is Turner's strong suit). He lost four yards and instead of a 1st and goal at the 2 or a 4th and inches, it was 4th and 4 and a useless field goal.

Besides Norv's pathetic play call this play told me much more:

1) Michael Turner isn't the potentially-dominant No. 1 running back that a dozen teams will pay him to be.

2) Norv didn't trust Philip Rivers with play action in that situation.

3) San Diego just didn't want to win bad enough from the head coach down to the long snapper.

On the other end of the spectrum:

* Bad Brett Reappears: Yeah we can pin this entire loss on Brett Favre and a gameplan that went away from Ryan Grant. Long before his game-sealing interception in overtime he was being extremely careless with the football and I was wondering aloud if the Packers should take the ball out of Favre's hands even if the running game was ineffective.

So will he or won't he retire. Well of course he isn't retiring because he hates Aaron Rodgers and he likes being a drama queen.

That being said if you pair this with the equally horrible decision making in the 2004 playoff game against Philadelphia then you've got a guy who can no longer deliver in the clutch and hasn't delivered in the clutch in years. Don't get me wrong, I thought the OT victory over Denver was cool, but that was the regular season against a non-playoff team.

NFL Championship Bets

2008-01-20T14:47:00.000-05:00

San Diego (+14) vs. New England: Lost in the hoopla of the greatest team ever at anything is the fact that they haven't covered a spread since...November (??). 14 points isn't a lot for New England and I'm guessing most people would gladly throw their money down on that given the Chargers had their top three offensive players and their run-stopper defensive tackle all on crutches. But again, this team hasn't covered in about 8 weeks.

N.Y. Giants (+7.5) vs. Green Bay: Sounds crazy taking two road teams on Championship Sunday but when the elements are bad I go for low scores and generally low scores mean close games. I like the way the Giants are playing football and they are 9-1 on the road so I don't think Lambeau Field will do much to affect them

2007 Division 1-A Playoff Manifesto...

2007-12-26T00:29:00.000-05:00

...After trying to pull this off on several occasions, I think I got it right with the proper scheduling to give the teams rest on the holidays and make travel easier on fans.

Here we go:

-- 12 teams with four teams getting first-round byes. We're doing this NFL style because their playoff system is pretty solid and hasn't been adjusted in around 25 years.

-- Only conference champions are eligible for the top four spots (sorry Georgia)

-- With 11 matches in the playoffs, we'll work with 10 bowls and keep the final game separate much like they do with the BCS now. It also allows the other crappy 22 bowls to stick around and make deals with the 44 schools that are bowl eligible and not in the playoffs. This cuts the total number of bowl teams from 64 to 56, but I'm sure new bowls will be created and since we have a playoff system, who cares about new bowls being created so that 8th place SEC and 7th place Big 10 team will have a place to land?

-- The 10 Bowls we are dealing with are as follows: Rose, Orange, Sugar, Fiesta, Cotton, Outback, Citrus (Capital One), Peach (Chick Fil-A), Holiday and Music City bowls. We chose Music City over the Gator Bowl because the stadium in Nashville is newer and it's a better destination than Jacksonville. Actually I considered the Emerald Bowl before the Gator Bowl because San Francisco is a nicer destination, but Nashville is stuck in a better location for college fans.

So the cities represented are: L.A. (Pasadena), Miami, New Orleans, Phoenix (Tempe), Dallas, Tampa, Orlando, Atlanta, San Diego and Nashville. And the good things about these 10 Bowls is that they all have major tie-ins so the C-USA champion isn't cheated out of their trip to Memphis and the Sun Belt champion can still play in front of 30K in New Orleans. And the 11th, championship game rotates between those 10 cities equally. Yes Nashville gets a title game once every ten years.

And the site for the championship game is a site for a wild-card game earlier in the playoffs. So doing New Orleans' turn on the rotation, they get one of the wild-card games, this avoids teams from making back-to-back trips to the same place.

-- Selecting teams is the key. We're going to keep the BCS formula and change the name to the PSS formula (Playoff Selection Series). It's three letters, thus keeping the with the spirit of the short-attention span fans of college football.

And we have some rules

* Conference-affliated teams have to win at least 75% of their games in a season, which is 9 games under the current 12-game schedule. If they go back down to 11 games than we'll say a maximum of three losses. Three losses because I don't want to dissuade a team from playing at least one tough non-conference game a year.

* Independent teams (a.k.a. Notre Dame) have to do one better, 10 wins or a maximum of two losses because there's nothing stopping a team like ND from loading their schedule with gimmes (when they get good enough to where they can have gimmes again)

* 8 of the 11 conferences HAVE to be represented. So we take the six power conference champions and the top two "mid-majors" in the PSS Top 25 (or beyond if necessary). If three mid-majors are in the PSS Top 25 than three mid-majors go to the playoffs. You play the games, you get the breaks, it's that simple.

* Only two teams from a conference can be represented. And they have to be on the same side of the bracket.

* The wild cards are the remaining Top 25 based on those parameters. So yes, if the WAC has a power year where Hawaii and Boise State are in or around the Top 12, they could have two representatives. Heck the Missouri Valley Conference had like four reps in the NCAA basketball tournament not too long ago, so it's rare but it's fair.

* We will re-seed after each round to an extent, but again same-conference teams cannot meet in the championship game.

So what does that give us if we're using the current PSS (BCS) Top 25?

Top Four Seeds: 1) Ohio State, 2) LSU, 3) Virginia Tech, 4) Oklahoma
Other Conference Champions: 5) USC, 6) West Virginia, 7) Hawaii, 8) Brigham Young (!!)
Wild Cards: 9) Georgia, 10) Missouri, 11) Arizona State, 12) Illinois

So we've got our 12 teams, here's the schedule:

Wild Card Weekend (Dec. 14-15)

Holiday Bowl: Illinois vs. Southern Cal
Music City Bowl: Arizona State vs. West Virginia
Cotton Bowl: Hawaii vs. Missouri
Citrus Bowl: Georgia vs. BYU

For arguments sake, let's say that USC, Arizona State, Hawaii and Georgia won.

Elite Eight Weekend (Jan. 1-2)

Fiesta Bowl: USC vs. Oklahoma
Peach Bowl: Hawaii vs. LSU
Outback Bowl: Georgia vs. Virginia Tech
Orange Bowl: Arizona State vs. Ohio State

For arguments sake lets give the nod to USC, LSU, Georgia and Ohio State

Championship Weekend (Jan 11-12)

Sugar Bowl: LSU vs. Georgia
Rose Bowl: USC vs. Ohio State

The PSS Bowl in Dallas (Jan 26)

Sugar Bowl winner vs. Rose Bowl winner.

See it works!

Marbury's Dad Dies at Knicks Game...

2007-12-03T18:08:00.000-05:00

...very sad story and I'm sure it will set off a ton of jokes about how the quality of that basketball team could drive a man to his death, but maybe they will stay classy for a change.

Interesting that Marbury's family apparently told the Knicks not to inform Stephon about his father collapsing until after the game.

The Onion Brings the A-Rod Goodness...

2007-11-01T09:54:00.001-04:00

...Thankfully the Lightning Rod saved us in October.

That being said, I still wonder if the Mets will go after him.

Quick Lean...

2007-10-20T12:15:00.000-04:00

Hmmm, not easy pickings today at all.

Vanderbilt at South Carolina (-13): South Carolina is always iffy as a double-digit favorite but Vandy has proven to be a better home dog than a road dog so I expect the Gamecocks to win by at least three scores.

More later if something jumps out.

Bounce Right to Left...

2007-10-13T11:38:00.000-04:00

...and let your shoulder lean....

Hmmm...this isn't a week with a lot of gimmes so we have to manufacture a winner.

UCF at USF (-10): I'm always concerned about rivalry games but the funny thing about this game is that according to USF coach Jim Leavitt, it isn't a rivalry. Oh yeah and UCF gave up 52 points to East Carolina. They aren't as good as Texas made them look...especially since Texas isn't good either.

Alabama at Ole Miss (+6.5): Do I see Satan!

I see an Alabama team very overvauled against an Ole Miss squad that should be tough at the grove. Enjoy this SEC battle and reminisce about the days before Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin.

What are you lookin' at fool?

2007-10-12T23:25:00.000-04:00

Ice is softer than church music so far this year. Batting .500 won't put you in the poor house but it certainly doesn't represent the skills to pay the bills. That ends now.

Can you feel the intensity of an Ohio Ice stare down?

Ohio Ice "Ice Pick" of the week
Ice in all his mediocrity has been knocking the bottom out of the Big 10 matchups. After all, its Ohio Ice....he grew up in Big 10 country. That means two things...he knows football and rugged women. There isn't a less attractive group of ladies than the Iowa Hawkeye faithful. They're good people though...and they know something you don't, two things actually: 1) skinny legged women ain't got no soul and 2) Iowa is getting 3 points at home tomorrow night. Iowa only does one thing right on the field; "Stop the Run". Illinois only does one thing: "run the ball". Everyone loves the Illini right now but all their wins have been at home. Iowa +3

Meat Locker
If you were smart you wouldn't look here because Ice has been downright pathetic in the meatlocker. But you're not smart. Thats why you come here in the first place. So here goes:

Georgia -7 @ Vandy: You think you're smart. You think you're an insider now. Guess what genius...Vandy at home seems like a smart pick till you realize that UGA is one of the NCAA bullies (see also: Wisconsin and Boston College). They beat the teams they are supposed to beat. They always take care of business against the in conference bottom feeders. If Mark Richt could win a few big games he might not be looking for a new job next year.
Louisville +10 @ Cincinnati: Louisville sucks. They can't even beat Syracuse at home. They are over rated. Last time I checked they have a heisman caliber QB and an offense that can put up points at will. Granted their defense looks like an old pair of Ohio Ice tighty whiteys, but for the first time in a long time the 'Ville doesn't have to beat the number.

The game you haven't looked at:
Along with Big 10 matchups, if you're looking for Ohio Ice values, this has been the place to be. Ice is going to stop looking down south or out west and focus on the good old Buckeye state. Bowling Green +1 @ Miami (of Ohio Ice). Trust the Ice Man he knows more about Ohio football and internet porn than you. BG has a solid Offense and Miami's defense is the 2nd worst D in Cincinnati after the Bengals. That's all you need to know.

Gut Check Saturday Leans

2007-10-06T13:35:00.000-04:00

I'm not avoiding any of the big games today, as a matter of fact, I'm taking them on straight up because I don't give a damn.

Texas (+13) vs. Oklahoma: This is all about the hunch. I think the Sooners will win but I think it will be close because, in the words of the fine caucasian poet Everlast, Texas isn't going to go out like some punk bitch. Maybe not a "Hook 'Em" but a "Hang Close Wit' Em'.

Florida at LSU (-7): I'm scared of LSU. I mean seriously, I'm scared of those big mofos on that team. If I saw Glenn Dorsey coming my way I'm going to shit my pants, seriously. I'm deathly afraid of these cats. Tim Tebow seems like a good kid, I hope he's insured, because if he isn't, it's bad news. I mean real bad news.

Cincinnati at Rutgers (-3.5): One thing that helps a team coming off of a disappointing loss is facing a team that will get them focused quickly. The best way for the Scarlet Knights to move back up the top 25 is to punk out these upstarts from the Queen city.

Ice Your Balls Fellas

2007-10-05T22:18:00.000-04:00

Another week of Ohio Ice greatness, lots of good CLASSIC matchups this week. Florida vs. LSU, Oklahoma vs. Texas, Ohio Ice's Liver vs. 16 brewski's on Saturday....Mrs. Ice better be ready with the paddy wagon.

So without further ado...Here goes

ICE PICK lock of the week (1-1 ATS)
Penn State -8.5 at home vs. Iowa. Ice likes alot of favorites this week. Lots of upsets this year have given us alot of values. An unimpressive, listless, Drew Tateless, Iowa goes into Happy Valley where the wheels appear to be falling off the happy wagon. Every time Joe Pa looks like he is down he strikes back. At home Penn State is still dangerous animal.

The MEAT LOCKER (1-3 ATS) put these tender nuggets in the old ice chest.
UCF -3 @ E. Carolina. The ECU Pirates are a solid program that hung tough on national TV vs. Va Tech a few weeks ago. If you haven't seen UCF and their top 10 draft pick running back Kevin Smith...you've already missed the boat on some easy wins.

Wake Forest -7.5 @ Duke. Ice likes another road favorite. Duke isnt terrible this year but they dont have what it takes to stay with Wake and keep it under the number. Take the well disciplined slightly banged up Deacons and make yourself a little scratch to pay for that tattoo you always wanted.

The game you haven't looked at yet (2-0 ATS)
This one is becoming a phenomena. While all your asshole buddies are out getting worked in the big match ups this week. You'll be snuggling up to the 12" TV in the back corner of the sports bar watching this Sun Belt tilt. Troy -19 @ Florida International. The men of Troy take on an FIU squad which hasn't done anything of note since they picked a fight with UMiami and got their asses handed to them Troy is going to run wild on the winless Clowns of FIU. This one will be over early and you can get back to trying to hit on that fat ex-stripper working at your corner sports bar. You know the one with the beer gut, saggy tattoos and the fresh pack of smokes.

My Early (Shoulder) Lean

2007-09-29T12:03:00.000-04:00

Not sure where the Iceman is this week. I think he's preparing for the Bengals' big game against the Patriots.

But you know I've got a couple of early leans to keep you company.

Air Force at Navy (-2.5): Navy has become the class of the military schools over the last few years and is looking to follow up on a wonderful comeback victory over Duke.

FAU (+24) at Kentucky: Kentucky has won and survived two tough, emotional contests. I expect them to beat the Owls today but it's going to be closer than people think.

Ohio Ice at Room Temperature

2007-09-29T10:36:00.000-04:00

Ice went 2-2 last Saturday. Nothing to be proud of. This week brings another week of boring matchups and non rivalry games. Good thing ICE laid off the W.Virginia game last night or he would be downright thawed out this morning.

" The Ice Pick" Pick of the week (0-1 ATS):
Illinois +3 at home vs. Penn St. Zook's making a run at it in Champaign, he hopes to make Gator nation take back all the bad things they said about him. Juice Williams and Co. are going to be a thorn in the overrated Nittany Lions sides all day long. Illinois 19 Penn St. 16

More goods for your meat locker (1-1 ATS):
Purdue -21.5 at home vs. Notre Dame. Purdue will score in bunches. Notre Dame wont be able to answer. Purdue by plenty.

Florida -17.5 at home vs. Auburn. Harvin is hurt, Caldwell is hurt, Ice hates the Gators more than any team other than Michigan and Notre Dame. Doesn't matter, Florida rolls and rednecks all over Florida that don't even know how to find Gainesville on a map (unless they used to do some fishin and huntin in the area) rejoice by drinking cheap beer and abusing their wives. Go wash your pickup trucks with a garden hose Gator fans.

The game you haven't looked at yet (1-0 ATS):
BYU -4 @ New Mexico - BYU can move the ball any which way they want...through the air or on the ground. New Mexico's got a good defense but Ice says it ain't that good.

4th Down (College Edition)

2007-09-24T12:49:00.000-04:00

There were a lot of interesting trends, breaks and storylines from this week’s NFL and College action.

Syracuse 38, Louisville 35

You think the Cardinals miss Bobby Petrino? Steve Kragthorpe has turned Louisville from rising national power to run-of-the-miss C-USA team in three weeks. Now the good side is that the Cardinals will be money on Over/Under below 72 points for the rest of the year and they are just one impressive victory (say…a home game against Rutgers??) from being grossly overrated again and giving more points than they deserve.

Who would want to play for a guy name Kragthorpe anyway? Kragthorpe sounds like a high school math teacher.

“Hey who do you have in third period?”

“I got Kragthorpe”

“Oh man, that guy is a douche.”

Introducing Louisville’s newest football coach, Frances Pucharelli!

UCLA 44, Washington 31

Interesting trend here is UCLA in second-half over/under. The second half of the Bruins loss to Utah, the two teams combined for 43 points in the second half. The second half of the Bruins victory over Washington the two teams combined for 55 points.

Keep a close eye on UCLA over/under in the second half.

UNLV 27, Utah 0

Excellent call Ohio Ice, excellent call.

Florida 30, Ole Miss 24

Lost in the Tim Tebow hoopla is the fact that the Gators defense is young enough to have lapses on the road. Now if those lapses come against Ole Miss they survive, if they come against LSU…survival isn’t likely.

South Florida 37, North Carolina 10

The score is not indicative of the game as South Florida could have and should have scored over 50 points. North Carolina is not to be relied upon for much of anything this year. But the Bulls are interesting and this line against West Virginia needs to be monitored closely.

My Early Day Leans...

2007-09-22T09:28:00.000-04:00

...you gotta start the weekend off right.

Syracuse @ Louisville (Over. 62.5): When you don't feel comfortable with Louisville's defense to cover a 36.5 point spread, feel comfortable knowing they will drop a 60 spot on Syracuse and take the freebie.

North Carolina @ South Florida (-13): With the Tar Heels starting a redshirt frosh at QB and the Bulls heathly and refocused after a week off, there's no reason USF shouldn't cruise to a three-score victory.

As MC Lyte says Stop, Look and Listen....

The ICE PICK and some more goods to put in the Meat Locker

2007-09-21T17:02:00.001-04:00

Ohio Ice took it on the chin on his first game back in the spotlight. A&M got backdoored by Miami on the first drive of the game. Ice got robbed. The game was closer than it looked...not really. Ice just flat out picked the wrong team.

ICE PICK of the week
Arkansas -7
(Sorry to my man Kentucky)
Coming off the big win over Louisville the UK Wildcats will have to reload fast. There isnt going to be a person in the stadium tomorrow that can stop McFadden and the Arkansas offense. Kentucky will put up the points but they wont be able to slow down that Arkansas offense. 42-31 is the Ice's prediction....Ohio Ice only makes score predictions for the ICE PICK...because he doesnt want to look bad.

Meat Locker
(Stuff some of these in your meat locker where you keep all your winners
Purdue -13.5 @ Minny
Minny is worse than most 1-AA teams which means they still have a chance to beat Michigan
Notre Dame +11 at home vs. Michigan St.
It takes balls to take the team that hasnt scored a touchdown yet. This is Michigan St. on the road, in a big game. No way you give them this many points.

And finally my game you probably havent looked at special
UNLV +7.5 at home vs. Utah
Admit it, this is the game you always lose....late night, Utah just crushed UCLA, you dont know anything about both teams, your chasing a late win, you always pick the obvious team. Ohio Ice cant let you do that.

Ohio Ice Early and Often

2007-09-20T10:27:00.001-04:00

Right off the bat...Ohio Ice wastes no time dropping his first picks and referring to himself in third person.

Tonight - A&M ball control offense on the road diminishes Miami's already diminished home field advantage. Take the 2.5 points in this close matchup.

***side bet...Ohio Ice likes the under here at 46.5 as well. Ohio Ice hasn't decided if he will grab it or not because watching a game when you have the under is miserable. If Mrs. Ice steals the High Def TV to watch reality television then Ice likes the Under.

Ladies and Gentemen

2007-09-20T09:02:00.000-04:00

Ohio Ice is officially back in action!

Thanks to my fan club and all of my loyal followers who have grown accustomed to my greatness, for coaxing Ohio Ice out of retirement. As I get my bearings you can expect the weekly Ohio Ice "Ice Pick" of the week. I will also add some additional picks to the Ohio Ice meat locker. For those who dont know me, I am an undocumented, unsubstantiated pigskin handicapping extraordinaire.

My Weekend Leans...

2007-09-14T18:08:00.001-04:00

...now that we are in Week 3 of the college football season I have a better feeling about what's happening and where everyone is going.

I decided to stay away from Michigan (-8) against Notre Dame even though the Wolverines should win this battle of true freshman quarterbacks by at least two scores. Sorry Domers, Jimmy Clausen's swing passes, as beautiful as they may be, are still swing passes to slow running backs.

I also took a pass on Alabama (-3) over Arkansas because I don't know how good 'Bama's rush defense is. That being said Arkansas' passing game is non-existent because their best quarterback is sitting on a bench with his USC teammates.

So for the three games I took.

Virginia at North Carolina (-3): Both of these middle-run ACC squads are pretty bad but Virginia is almost as bad of a road team as Duke. I like Butch Davis coming off of a road loss much more than I like Virginia going on the road anywhere. I expect the Tar Heels to win by at least a touchdown.

Mississippi State at Auburn (-12.5): Anytime you're getting MSU on the road as less than a 15-point 'dog you have to go with it. Nothing Auburn does stands out to me but they should physically dominate the Bulldogs.

Tennessee at Florida (Over 55): I see this game being a major shootout. Tennessee doesn't have the speed on defense to stop Percy Harvin, Chris Rainey or Bubba Caldwell on those bubble screens they will run. Florida's does have the speed on defense, but it's young and going in the wrong direction so Ainge should pick them apart. Expect both teams to score in the 30s if the weather is nice.

Good luck

Chicks Dig The Black & Gold...

2007-09-13T16:02:00.000-04:00

...especially in the NFL.

Pittsburgh and Green Bay, two cities not known for....well we'll put it this way, no one mistakes Green Bay for Austin, Texas when it comes to the female population.

But in NFL circles, where a Steelers or Packers jersey and you are a chick magnet!

NFL Predictions for the Season...

2007-09-06T18:45:00.000-04:00

...with less than 90 minutes before kickoff!

AFC East: Patriots (2)
AFC North: Ravens (1)
AFC South: Colts (4)
AFC West: Chargers (3)
Wild Cards: Steelers (5), Jets (6)
Just Missed It: Titans, Bills

NFC East: Eagles (1)
NFC North: Bears (3)
NFC South: Saints (2)
NFC West: 49ers (4)
Wild Card: Cardinals (5), Cowboys (6)
Just Missed It: Seahawks, Lions

AFC Wild Card Weekend: Colts edge Steelers, 28-24; Jets Shock Chargers, 20-17
NFC Wild Card Weekend: Cowboys Knock Off Bears, 24-17; 49ers Blast Cardinals, 35-14

AFC Divisional Playoffs: Colts Beat Patriots, 35-28; Ravens Smother Jets, 24-3
NFC Divisional Playoffs: Saints Outlast Cowboys, 38-28; 49ers Upset Eagles, 24-13

AFC Championship: Colts Surprise Ravens, 24-20
NFC Championship: Saints End 49ers' Dream, 35-24

Super Bowl: Colts Go Back-to-Back, 38-24

So the season will end where it begins!

Eli Bitchslaps Tiki...

2007-08-21T17:14:00.000-04:00

In the category of "Things I thought I'd Never See", Eli Manning showing passion and fire and aiming barbs at his former teammate?

"It's just one of those deals. I'm not going to lose any sleep about what Tiki has to say," Manning said at the Giants training camp at the University at Albany. "I guess I could have questioned his leadership skills last year with calling out the coach and having articles about him retiring in the middle of the season, and he's lost the heart (to play).

"As a quarterback you're reading that your running back has lost the heart to play the game and it's about the 10th week," Manning said. "I can see that a little bit at times. But I'm not going to get concerned. I'm going to go out there and play ball."

Damn, I bet that wipes that shit-eating grin off of Tiki's face.

Bad Boy Jimmy...

2007-08-20T01:09:00.000-04:00

...Notre Dame's savior of the future, Jimmy Clausen, is nothing more than a common criminal.

BTW, my friend Dema and I decided we are really rooting against Brady Quinn to the point of where he will become the gloss for when overhyped people fuck up in life (i.e. "Damn that person is pulling a Quinn").

The Seeds Have Spread...

2007-08-16T14:11:00.000-04:00

Jason Whitlock, the latest in a long line of overweight African-Americans who claim some role in African-American leadership, has a new home at FoxSports.

Whitlock's unbiased, agenda-less rumblings included:

-- a continued verbal assault on Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer, who to her credit has outgrown their little flap.

-- calling Ball State athletic director Tom Collins, "unqualified" for his job and goes further by saying the people within his department neither like nor respect him.

-- calling Mike Wilbon's recent Washington Post column on Ronny Thompson, "irresponsible, filled with blatant inaccuracies told to him by Thompson and an embarrassment to The Post."

If nothing else, Whitlock's non-agendas are vastly entertaining.

Meanwhile Dan Patrick has a new website and he's even putting together a little blog on there. It's probably worth reading.

And Jason Giambi will get no punishment for his admittance to using steroids because he's been such a cooperative boy.

756!

2007-08-08T10:13:00.000-04:00

Congrats Barry

It was your night and your moment. Indictments and doubts be damned, no one can take last night away from you.

Short Route...

2007-08-03T21:09:00.000-04:00

...Been a busy day, but it's good to know that Manchester United gets 'em while they're young.

And thanks to X Gamer Jake Brown for my "What the Fuck" moment of the week.

Amazing he survived the crash with just a banged up liver and a pretty moderate concussion. I'm sure the WWL will send him flowers for the unintentional extra publicity.

The Run Down: NFL Camp Edition

2007-08-02T11:53:00.000-04:00

Michael Strahan Wants to Cry: The gap-toothed sack machine says he's considering "retirement", although in this case retirement means "give me more money". The Giants aren't budging and are fining Strahan $14K/day. Strahan, who claims his retirement talk is serious, feels betrayed that the organization won't give him the time and ~~raise~~ space to make this decision. Meanwhile Osi Umenyiora is seething through camp because he's not going to play nice while the Big Blue meets with the recently-released Simeon Rice. Oh, anything to take the focus off of the much more peaceful Jets camp.

Vince Young Is Ready to Slap a Bitch: The Titans quarterback will stick up for his teammates...and fight them as well. Young took offense to a hit by safety Donnie Nickey on one of his receivers and then proceeded to hit him in the helmet wit his throwing hand. Not smart. Nickey later joked about the incident and gave Young some advice, "Jab with your left and then wait for the cavalry.'' [The Tennesean]

Gore Talks Fantasy Owners Off of Bridge: Gore's broken hand all but assures fantasy ownes that the defending NFC rushing champion will not get injure in a meaningless exhibition, since he's probably going to miss all of the games. [Mercury News]

Finally Bad News For Boston: Randy Moss misses practice with apparent leg injury. Red Sox swoon to follow. [Boston Herald]

Raiders Ready to Corner Market on Large, Black QBs: With the signing of Daunte Culpepper, the Raiders hope JaMarcus Russell will be eager to get to camp to bond and explore Oakland's finest restaurants with the cuddly veteran QB. Al Davis even crawled out of his grave to give the Raiders' newest addition some fine compliments, "The only thing I can say about Culpepper right now is he takes me back several years." With Al Davis, several years could mean up to 250. [SF Chronicle]

The Run Down

2007-07-30T16:58:00.000-04:00

Needed a short vacation.

Down in the Minor-Leagues: A solid ~~Page 2~~ story today gave a nice overview of Mike Coolbaugh, the minor-league baseball coach who died after being struck by a ball in the neck. Coolbaugh had just taken the job in Tulsa three weeks earlier and already had a great effect on the club through his personality and excitement. A sad story to say the least. [ESPN.com]

Good Luck NAACP: The organization actually wants the public to restrain from convicting Mike Vick until his actual trial date. Fat chance considering the NFL has already removed his gear and his former homeboy is ready to sing like a canary. All the while Vick is thanking his remaining fans on the radio as that number falls faster than Niagara. [AP]

~~Celtics Could Become Relevant:~~ ~~Apparent those "Garnett to Boston" trade talks are back on after Garnett has softened on his stance to never play in Boston.~~

Garnett to Celtics DONE: So says the Associated Press.

To QB or Not QB: ESPN's Pat Forde delves into how tough he job of quarterback is and why those who dare to do it deserve the blame and/or praise. [ESPN.com]

RIP Bill Walsh: A sad way to end this post as the man who is at least partially responsible for the way we watch and enjoy football today has died at 75 after a battle with a leukemia. [LA Times]

A-Rod: The Best Ever?

2007-07-26T14:58:00.001-04:00

George Brett thinks so. And who am I to argue?

“How old is he? Thirty-two?” Brett said. “He’ll blow by them. They won’t even be on the radar screen in five or six years. He’ll do it by the time he’s 38. That’s 40 a year, and he can hit 30 a year in his sleep. You tell him he can’t bat right-handed, and he’ll hit 30 left-handed.”

Rodriguez, who hit his 499th home run last night will be the youngest player to reach 500 homers by an entire year! He's on pace for 55 HRs and 158 RBI this season!

At his current pace I believe A-Rod will challenge for 900 home runs. He not just going to shatter the current record, but he's going to set a record that will last my lifetime.

The Run Down

2007-07-25T18:41:00.000-04:00

Anything happened today?

Leinart's Baby-Momma Drama: Remember yesterday's story about absentee father Matt Leinart. Well it's possible his baby's momma, Brynn Cameron, was doing a little posturing because you see the $6,000/month and new car that Leinart bought her wasn't enough. No, she wants the real cash, like $30 G a month. Meanwhile Leinart says he's all about the fatherhood thing and will go to court to prove it! [TMZ]

Bud Off the Fence, In the Stands: MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, enjoying a nice run of good vibes after scandals have rocked his golfing buddies, David Stern and Roger Goddell, has decided to attend Barry Bonds' record-breaking home run games if his schedule allows. Way to stick your neck out there Bud. Meanwhile NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will also be in attendance, not because it's a record but because Bonds is on his fantasy team. [Newsday]

We Don't Suck as Much as WMU: The few, the proud, the mediocre teams in college football. [ESPN]

What's The Point?: Another day, another prominent rider in the Tour de France has been booted. Really what's the point? The great cycling boom is over. All the Lance Armstrong wanna-bes are looking and dressing like Roger Federer now. [AP]

Say Cheese!: Mugshots of fucked up people wearing their favorite team jerseys. God I love The Smoking Gun [TSG]

Matt Leinart: Lying Bastard...

2007-07-24T19:27:00.000-04:00

...so says his baby's momma Brynn Cameron.

"It's kind of hard for me as the mom — I'm with Cole probably 99.9 percent of the time — to open a magazine or read a newspaper article with Matt saying, Oh, I love being a dad. I love changing diapers. I love doing this. I'm like, Wait, what?' " said Cameron, who added, "I don't know how to word how he is about this, but it's been hard when I'm doing all the work, but he gets all the credit for it."

So goes on to say that the former Heisman winner "comes and goes whenever he wants" but she doesn't continue the assault, instead opting to say that their nine-month-old son, Cole Cameron Leinart, is being raised by two unique individuals.

Way to step up there, Matt!

The Run Down....

2007-07-24T14:32:00.000-04:00

....Trying to hit a little more each day as I get back into my blogging ways.

Miami Goes Nameless: Either Randy Shannon is trying to emphasize a team-first attitude or he's doesn't want any document evidence of his anticipated .500 season. Shannon's original plan of stripping off the numbers to the jerseys was not accepted. The day wasn't a total lost for Shannon, however, as his "no firearms" policy was approved by a 3-2 board vote. [Miami Herald]

Scoop & Stern Agree: Stern says that referee Tim Donaghy committed an isolated, rogue act and Scoop Jackson says that Donaghy's addiction should be the focus because there's NO WAY the mob ties or points shaving can be tied to sports. NEVER. [Page Deux]

When 100 Is Not a Good Number: If your team is on this list, you hate college football season. [The Bottom 20 19]

AJC Writer Tells Vick to "Sit": Terence Moore of the Journal-Constitution says there's no way Michael Vick can return to Atlanta -- the city has enough image problems without him. [AJC Blogs]

Ha Ha, Screw Boston...

2007-05-23T10:28:00.000-04:00

...Gotta love Chowd fans. They have the best team in baseball and probably the best team in football but today it's the last thing on their minds because they tanked the NBA season only to find themselves in the best position to draft Spencer Hawes.

I was poking at Bill Simmons' column yesterday (yeah, I know) and I came across a paragraph even more self-serving than his normal junk.

"Name me a team that suffered more trauma since the mid-'80s: Lenny Bias and Reggie Lewis, the demolition of the Boston Garden, the M.L. Carr era, the Duncan lottery, the Pitino era, the Paul Pierce stabbing, the Vin Baker trade, Red Auerbach's death, Doc Rivers' second life. ... After 16 titles in 30 years, it's been a preposterously brutal stretch of bad luck."

You've got to be kidding me. They won a title in 1986, went to the finals in 1987 and made the playoffs for the next several years after that.

And 16 titles in 30 years. There's no stretch of bad luck that can erase that. Red Auerbach was 90 when he died, which happens to people at 90. Paul Pierce recovered from the stabbing. Rick Pitino and M.L. Carr are gone. You don't see Knick fans bitching about the recent years because they know they had it good in the 90s and would've won 2-3 titles if not for some guy named Jordan.

So what happened last year was karma. Boston tanked their season in hopes of a get-good-quick scheme and instead they will get the modern-day Brad Miller. Good. That's what happens to fanbases who feel they are entitled to be good and have the nerve to make the general fanbase feel as if they should do everything in their power to make sure the Celtics are good.

The difference between Celtic fans and Laker fans is so minimal it's hard to notice.

NFL Mock Draft (Completion of Second Round)

2007-04-26T14:42:00.000-04:00

50) Tennessee, Jonathan Wade, CB, Tennessee -- Staying with the RM Top philosophy, the Titans get a CB who can start right away. Dem' Tennessee folks are lovin' their draft.

51) N.Y. Giants, RB, Lorenzo Booker, Florida State -- Boy oh boy was Big Blue praying for this reincarnation of Dave Meggett. They got their man. But now, what does this make of Sinorice Moss? Although they are different positions, they both can play similar roles in the screen pass dept. Ought to be interesting.

52) St. Louis, Tanard Jackson, CB, Syracuse -- In the NFC West it's always a good idea to have depth at the secondary position if you can afford it. Jackson can step in and be a quality nickel back.

53) Dallas, Aaron Sears, OT, Tennessee -- Another nice value pick with a player like Sears who can get a year or two of seasoning before possibly being relied upon as a starter.

54) Kansas City, Jason Hill, WR, Washington State -- The Chiefs needs some quality receivers to compliment Tony Gonzalez and Hill will have every opportunity to be one of those guys.

55) Seattle, Sabby Piscitelli, S, Oregon St -- Boulware has disappointed. Seattle gets a decent value for their first pick of the draft.

56) Denver, Marcus McCauley, CB, Fresno St -- Alongside the wizardry of Bailey and the addition of Dre Bly, the Broncos add some needed depth.

57) Philadelphia, David Harris, LB, Michigan -- This FO has been top in the 5 consistently for the past decade when it comes to the draft. A pick like this just solidifies that statement. Potential late 1 st Rd talent here.

58) New Orleans, Daymeion Hughes, CB, California -- The Saints need to address a shaky pass defense and Hughes is the best cornerback available at the position.

59) N.Y. Jets, Eric Weddle, S, Utah -- This is a great pick for the Jets management as he has everything that coach Mangini wants -- high character, intensity and a love of the game.

60) Miami, Paul Soliai, DT, Utah -- Big guy and a natural interior run stuffer for the Dolphins.

61) Baltimore, Brandon Jackson, RB, Nebraska --See ya Musa Smith. Could be a nice surprise in relieving McGahee as the season progresses.

62) San Diego, Anthony Gonzalez, WR, Ohio State -- Could start right away with the average receiving corp the Chargers currently have.

63) N.Y. Jets, David Clowney, WR, Virginia Tech -- Another high-character guy who will step in with a strong work ethic.

64) Tampa Bay, Brandon Siler, LB, Florida -- As the Bucs look at life without Shelton Quarles and eventually Derrick Brooks, they will try to find younger solutions.

NFL Mock Draft (Second Round, Picks 33-49)

2007-04-26T14:37:00.000-04:00

33) Oakland, Steve Smith, WR, USC -- If the Raiders take Calvin Johnson in the first round then they will look at quarterback Trent Edwards here. This is another step in fixing the league's worst offense.

34) Detroit, Chris Houston, CB, Arkansas -- The Lions are definitely looking to rebuild their secondary and will also consider Edwards with this pick as their quarterback of the future.

35) Tampa Bay, Tank Tyler, DT, N.C. State -- With Smith off the board the Bucs decide to use the pick on defense and get some new bodies on the line to replace the aging or departed ones.

36) Cleveland, Antonio Pittman, RB, Ohio St -- This is what Cleveland wanted, with Droughns gone to the Big Apple and the veteran Lewis in as the starter from B-More, the Browns go for the hometown boy who can add a tasty flavor to the rush attack.

37) Chicago, Tony Hunt, RB, Penn St -- Exit Thomas Jones, enter ball control, north/south runner Tony Hunt.

38) Arizona, Justin Blaylock, OT, Texas -- It's time to turn over a new leaf. Arizona's OL for over a decade has been as good as Tampa Bay Devil Rays during the "TB Hit Show" days. Not a stretch by any means.

39) Atlanta, Charles Johnson, DE, Georgia -- How many Charles Johnsons has there been in the league? There's at least three others I can think of. Atlanta needs to bolster its defensive line and will do so with this pick.

40) Miami, Trent Edwards, QB, Stanford -- Miami wasn't able to land Brady Quinn in the first round so they go with their second option and hope he can develop under Cam Cameron.

41) Minnesota, Justin Harrell, DT, Tennessee -- Harrell has recovered from injury and could be a second-round steal to the team that takes him.

42) San Francisco, Sydney Rice, WR, South Carolina -- Another "Rice" adorns the 49er colors. This could be a psychological deterrent or a motivator for the young stud. Red and Gold needs a run stopper who can engage at the point of attack – Ray McDonald is not that kind of DT. So, you go with your next best need.

43) Buffalo, Buster Davis, LB, Florida St -- The Buffalo fans are going wild over this pick. Here's a new motor who can be a legitimate heir to Takeo Spikes.

44) Atlanta, Kenny Irons, RB, Auburn -- You know the folks in Dacula, GA are happy that their hometown hero is playing in the ATL. This pick is called the "Warrick Dunn Insurance Policy."

45) Carolina, Zach Miller, TE, Arizona St. -- With Olsen off the board, Miller is the only other tight end with 1st day potential. This is a pick that fills a major void.

46) Pittsburgh, LaMarr Woodley, OLB, Michigan -- Another pick that fills a major void as the Steelers have to address their outside linebacker position in the first day.

47) Green Bay, Brian Leonard, FB/RB, Rutgers -- The Packers continue to retool their offense and grab a perfect combination big back that will fit in to the West coast system. Leonard can run, catch and block with the best of them.

48) Jacksonville, Ray McDonald, DT, Florida -- Sweet satisfaction. The Jags FO has silently wanted this man all along to add a dimension of speed and athleticism to the interior D-Line.

49) Cincinnati, James Marten, OT, Boston College -- BC always churns out solid O-Linemen. This one is no exception, all 6'8" of him.

NFL Mock Draft (Completion of First Round)

2007-04-26T14:34:00.000-04:00

21) Denver, Adam Carriker, DE, Nebraska -- Great value pick for the Broncos and a perfect choice for the 3-4 alignment they are trying as he is a 300-pounder who can provide a strong presence against the pass or the run from the defensive end position. Denver is very happy this guy slipped into their hands.

22) Dallas, Aaron Ross, CB, Texas -- The Cowboys hit the jackpot as they are in a position to take the best player available, but they get the best cornerback, return specialist and a hometown product all in one. They could go with an offensive tackle or a wide receiver, but Ross gives them greater flexibility in the end.

23) Chiefs, Ben Grubbs, OG, Auburn -- Boring pick that could pay relatively quick dividends to the interior running game. LJ needs more holes. More holes, more running. More running, more time of possession. KC is a running team (take a look at their receiving corp).

24) New England, Jon Beason, LB, Miami -- Scott Pioli always drafts smart. No matter where NE is on the draft board, they get a solid pick. Drafted mainly to bring youth and athleticism to an aging LB corp (Bruschi/Vrabel), this one could be one of a handful of steals.

25) New York Jets, Jarvis Moss, DE/OLB, Florida -- Perfect player for the 3-4 look and is athletic enough to also find a position when the Jets go into their four-man front. The Jets could go with the suddenly slipping Dwayne Bowe or Greg Olsen here because they have options, but they also have needs and Moss is the highest-rated player on their board.

26) Philadelphia Eagles, Dwayne Bowe, WR, LSU -- Much like the Cowboys, the Eagles can go one of several different directions because they are building depth. Bringing in Bowe gives them an immediate replacement for Donte Stallworth and over time Bowe should develop into a No. 1 or strong No. 2 pass catcher.

27) New Orleans, Greg Olsen, TE, Miami -- This was a tough choice considering Michael Griffin is still on board. But damn, getting this guy in the offensive attack alongside Bush and Co. can only appreciate this offensive attack. 49ers, Bucs, and Falcons better draft more defense.

28) New England, Michael Griffin, S, Texas -- Enter New England, gutting the innards of any team in desperate need of this players magnitude. Getting Beason and Griffin is one helluva defensive combo in less than an hour.

29) Baltimore, Anthony Spencer, DE/OLB, Purdue -- Much like a few other lucky teams, Baltimore is drafting for depth over needs and they will draft the highest guy on their board, which in this case is the skyrocketing Spencer out of Purdue.

30) San Diego, Brandon Meriweather, S, Miami -- Love this pick for the Chargers as they fill a need with a three-year starter from Miami who can step in an quickly contribute. The Chargers were the best team in football last year and need someone that can come in with a winning attitude.

31) Chicago, Leon Hall, CB, Michigan -- At this juncture, the Bears take the best available player on the board. Offers immediate depth to an already sound secondary, and can possibly be molded into a safety.

32) Indianapolis, Joe Staley, OT, Central Michigan -- The name of the game is protecting the All-Universe Peyton Manning. This big guy falls right into their laps. OG is of more need, but he is a much higher rated Olineman than any other left on the board.

NFL Mock Draft (Picks 11-20)

2007-04-24T14:29:00.000-04:00

11) San Francisco, Gaines Adams, DE, Clemson -- Bryant Young is 56 yrs old. Coach Nolan is not going to let this young and voracious cat out of his hands. The 49ers have a capable offense. The 49ers have an incapable defense. You do the math.

12) Buffalo, Marshawn Lynch, RB, California -- Nate Clements hit the open market and was out quickly to another side. So, this is where is replacement comes in right? Wrong. When Anthony Thomas is your starting RB (after the departure of McGahee), than it's time to think about the immediate future. Good value for Buffalo here.

13) St. Louis, Jamaal Anderson, DE, Arkansas -- Gotta love this pick here as the Rams finally get a strong pass rusher they were not able to fight when Grant Wistrom signed with Seattle a couple of years ago. Anderson can quickly come in and be a situational pass rusher while developing into a starter on the blind side.

14) Carolina Panthers, Patrick Willis, LB, Ole Miss -- Panthers need a linebacker and the best prospect in the board slips into their paws at the 14th slot. Good value pick that addresses a serious need on their aging defense.

15) Pittsburgh, Darrelle Revis, CB, Pittsburgh -- The red carpet is layed down from the Pitt campus to the Pittsburgh Steelers. A desperate concern has been filled for the new ball coach, Mike Tomlin.

16) Green Bay, Ted Ginn Jr, WR, Ohio State -- If Favre stays, Favre needs more weapons. Ginn Jr is raw, but has world class speed that can immediately help the Packers vertical game.

17) Jacksonville, Reggie Nelson, S, Florida -- Probably a few slots too high but the Jaguars know that Reggie Nelson will sell additional tickets and after seeing how Bob Sanders changed the face of the Indianapolis defense, they will gladly draft a taller version of Sanders. Nelson is the total package as a safety, a run stopper, strong in coverage and a monster hitter.

18) Cincinnati, Lawrence Timmons, OLB, Florida State -- The Bengals will take defense but their top choice (Revis) dropped off the board. This is a good alternative as Timmons provides some much needed speed and ability at the linebacking corps and he comes into the league with a clean rap sheet. Another possible pick would be the Nebraska DE, Adam Carriker.

19) Tennesse, Robert Meachem, WR, Tennessee -- Just like Pittsburgh got their man, Tennessee's gets theirs. A tough choice between Meachem and Bowe, but the Rocky Mountain Top Orange figures to be a better business choice.

20) New York Giants, Paul Posluszny, LB, PSU -- This draft spot can be a unique one for the Giants and new GM Jerry Reese. There can be no replacement for Barber in the 1 st round, as B Jacobs and R Droughns are better than most on the boards. Let's face it, the LB dept has not lit a match to the late 80's resources. This is basically what the Giants need: an instinctive LB who is like a younger and faster Carlos Emmons.

NFL Mock Draft (Picks 1-10)

2007-04-24T10:09:00.000-04:00

1) Raiders, Jamarcus Russell, QB, LSU -- With their entire draft board still available, the Raiders somehow manage to get the guy they wanted at this position. Russell has a big arm and strong upside. Think Byron Leftwich with more mobility and less tears . (less tears…lol)

2) Detroit, Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia Tech -- Common logic says the Lions need defense and will trade down from this pick. However the product on the field says the Lions' No. 2 receiver is Mike Furrey. Forget the past, take Johnson, he's very very good. (Mike Furrey…lol)

3) Cleveland, Joe Thomas, OT, Wisconsin – This is where Cleveland usually blows it with some high profile offensive juggernaut (a-la Winslow Jr and Braylon Edwards), ey? This is where they need to draft a high profile QB such as Brady Quinn, right? Wrong. It's a boring 3 rd overall, but the Browns need to go back to the Dawg Pound status and reel in a bookend that can solidify the trenches.

4) Tampa Bay , Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame – Ok, let's face it, Chris Simms is a multi-talented QB who had his fair share of downs. Wanna know why? Sure. It's because he sucks. Getting Jeff Garcia as a backup was a great off-season acquisition. Now Jeff can play at TB until he is 40 and then Brady can take over. Gradkowski got some valuable experience by luck, now it's time to hold the clipboard at the 3 rd slot unless he can be traded. Shocking pick, but TB is tired of low profile QB's. This is no longer the house that Dungy built.

5) Arizona Cardinals, Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma -- If there was ever time for a trade this is it, not only does Arizona hold a lot of chips at this crucial position, they also are a much-improved team that should not have a laundry list of needs (like they do every other draft). However, if the Cardinals stick at five (and let me be clear, they shouldn't), taking Peterson fills one of the Cardinals' biggest needs -- finding someone to replace Edgerrin James' worn down ass. Even though Peterson has already got a little tread on that body he'll be coming into an offense that he won't have to give the lion's share of carries so it should be a good situation.

6) Washington Redskins, Laron Landry, S, LSU -- The Redskins will strongly consider Louisville defensive tackle prodigy Amobi Okoye here but he recent revelation that he took weed forces them to go with a safer and equally effective pick in Landry. With this pick the Redskins could possibly have the best safety tandem in the league by 2009 as long as Sean Taylor doesn't go bankrupt due to ll the fines he receives in a normal season for cheap shots.

7) Minnesota, Dwayne Jarrett, WR, USC -- Minnesota could trade up with TB here to get their QB, but, they are going to stick with a position of which has, quite frankly, tanked in production in 2006. Jarrett can be a fine complement to the other enigma, Williamson. Tarvaris Jackson is going to have to provide some efficient gunnery in order to prove this picks worth.

8) Atlanta, Levi Brown, OT, PSU -- Michael Vick is staying in Atlanta. With so many talented offensive ball handlers on the board, the truth is: One must protect one's investment.

9) Miami Dolphins, Alan Branch, DT, Michigan -- The slide of Louisville's prodigy Okoye continues as Branch becomes the first DT taken off the board. Obviously the Dolphins, who were burned by the drug problems of Ricky Williams aren't willing to take a similar chance with a high draft choice and go the safe route.

10) Houston Texans, Amobi Okoye, DT, Louisville -- Second year in a row the Texans spend a first-round pick on the defensive line but this guy is great value after a small, unexpected drop due to his admission of smoking marijuana. Okoye, a prodigy at the age of 19, should pair with "Speed Racer" Mario Williams to make an imposing front four.

Mock Draft Time...

2007-04-24T10:01:00.000-04:00

...It's baseball season, NBA Playoffs season and NFL Draft Time so I make my annual mid-April return to sports blogging. Maybe I'll stick around this time.

This year Cesar is back in the mix as we are alternating every two picks in the first round and every three picks in the second round. The goal is to complete the second round by the end of Thursday.

Wish us luck and Go Mets!

Tim Hardaway Never Trusts A Gay...

2007-02-16T04:05:00.000-05:00

...As Kanye West said, "someone stills speaks from the heart". But in Tim Hardaway's case, he failed to use his brain when on the Dan LeBatard show a couple of days ago.

"You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known. I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States.''

And now the former All-Star point guard will have plenty of time to hate gays, transsexuals and anyone else he chooses because the NBA has asked him to stop representing them at functions. Yup that means no trip to Vegas.

Even though Hardaway will no longer be part of NBA events, he might have an outstanding offer to join The Iron Sheik on signing tours.

XLI: The Day After

2007-02-05T18:09:00.000-05:00

It was a fun game. Mighty sloppy but still entertaining. I'm very happy for Coach Dungy and Peyton Manning. A well-earned Super Bowl trophy.

THE GOOD

-- My prop bets: I think I was around 16-5 on prop bets and cashed in nicely. The betting day started well for me when I hit a 3-to-1 bet on Hester scoring a touchdown. It only got better from there.

-- The Colts offensive line: Led by Jeff Saturday, the Colts offensive line walked the Bears "vaunted" front four like a dog and left them begging for food.

-- Joseph Addai/Dominick Rhodes: A ringing endorsement for the two-back system that fantasy football owners are disgusted by.

-- Bob Sanders: Some talking head described him as "the best pound-for-pound player in the NFL". Not sure why Sanders' ability is such a surprise. The kid was a baller at Iowa and even had a upper 90s rating on NCAA 2005, the second highest safety in the game behind ~~Sean Taylor~~ Miami S #26.

-- Katie Couric: I didn't watch much of pre-game, but my favorite evening news reporter looked good. She even had Shannon Sharpe gasping for something to say. Yeah I know she's 50. So what?

-- Prince: The halftime performance (along with the Florida A&M marching band) was terrific.

-- Tony Dungy: The perfect example of perseverence. The guy never complained when he was forced out of Tampa. He never asked anyone to cry for him. He handled numerous playoff defeats with a stoic class (as compared to jackass Bill Belichick) and his victory is one for the good people of the game who walk the talk.

THE BAD

-- Peyton Manning's Emotion: C'mon bro you just one the first champion of your underachieving football career, be happy. Or at least fake it for the media types like myself.

-- Billy Joel: Perfectly solid rendition of the national anthem but homeboy has aged about 95 years since 2000. He looks like he's been through a few wars.

-- The Bears "vaunted" defense: The Colts were roughly 24-of-25 on third-and-short situations and eventually the Colts' offensive line was abusing the Bears so bad that two of them were arrested for assualt following the game.

-- Chris Harris: Yeah, you might want to guard that Reggie Wayne guy...nevermind.

THE UGLY

-- Rex Grossman's second-half: He was perfectly fine for the first half and his numbers aren't too bad (20-of-28, 165, TD, 2 interceptions). The first interception was completely inexcusable as Grossman decided he was going to throw that pass regardless of coverage. It's a careless mistake you make in preseason, not the Super Bowl. The endless slipping, sliding and fumbled snaps are more of the 'Evil Rex' that the Bears have to control in the offseason.

-- Bears fans: Get off of Grossman. He took you to the Super Bowl which, in turn, is the only way Brian Griese will get there himself. He's a young quarterback and he's going to make young QB mistakes. Thankfully the Bears management crew isn't as impulsive.

-- The Weather: Doesn't rain in Miami all week, wouldn't stop raining on GameDay. I love outdoor Super Bowls but that sucks.

Now the season is over. But the draft is right around the corner and next week nothing will bring me more joy than watching Bill Belichick coach in the Pro Bowl. A concept I'm sure he hates.

My XLI Prop Bets

2007-02-04T15:07:00.000-05:00

Grossman Completions Under 17.5
Grossman Interceptions Over 1.5
Brad Maynard Punt Over 53.5
Longest Reception to Berrian Over 22.5
Longest Reception to Muhammad Over 20.5
Rush & Rec. Yards by Jones Over 83.5
Rushing Yards by Benson Under 52.5
Solo Tackles by Urlacher Over 5
Rushing Yards by Grossman Under 1
Will Hester Score TD? Yes

Vinatieri Over 40-yard FG? Yes
Manning Completions Over 22.5
Longest Reception by Clark Over 19.5
Manning Passing Yards Over 269.5
Receiving Yards by Harrison Over 76.5
Receiving Yards by Wayne Under 75.5
Rush & Rec. Yards by Addai Over 80.5
Will Manning Throw Int? Yes
Addai's First Reception Over 6.5

1st Play From Scrimmage? Pass Play or Sack
Total Penalties? Under 11.5

The Super Bowl

2007-02-04T14:12:00.000-05:00

It seems like just 13 days ago we were talking about this game and it's finally upon us. Bears or Colts, Bears or Colts, black coach or black coach, Volunteer or Gator, Brian Urlacher vs. Peyton Manning, Bob Sanders vs. Thomas Jones.

ESPN's uniform man breaks down the classic unis of both teams. Not surprisingly the Bears have a slight advantage because they have one of the best uniforms in all of sports. The Colts' uniforms are a beautiful mixture of modern and retro.

I want to go into a bit of the history of both teams.

The Bears are probably more of 'America's Team' than the Cowboys. The Bears better represent the majority of working class Americans. The harden navy blue uniforms, the salute to the past (The GSH permanent patch) and the hard-nosed history of greats like Gale Sayers, Walter Payton and of course Dick Butkus.

The franchise's high point had to come in 1985 when they shuffled their way to Super Bowl greatness, pounding the Patriots like the pathetic wild-card opponent they were and bitchslapping Tony Eason to the point of where he QUIT in the middle of the game. Way to hang in there Tony?

The Colts are also one of NFL's great franchises. Originating from Baltimore its safe to say that the 1958 Colts led by Johnny Unitas, Raymond Berry and Art Donovan is probably one of the top five pre-merger teams in history while the 1968 Colts were probably the most dominating Super Bowl runners-up ever.

The Baltimore/Indianapolis franchise has always been a bit underappreciated in my opinion. They were the signature franchise of possibly the greatest quarterback in NFL history and were probably the 3rd or 4th best team in the AFC in the 70s behind the Steelers, Dolphins and Raiders. The double overtime game against Oakland in the late 70s is still a classic. The Colts were also where coaching greats Don Shula and Weeb Eubank got their starts.

So who's my pick. That's easy. The Colts will win 30-20 and it'll be a very close game, probably coming down to no more than five plays. Will I be upset if the Bears win? Of course not. That's the beauty of this game, regardless of who wins, it will be a good thing.

Durant = Carmelo??

2007-02-01T11:09:00.000-05:00

Finally I got a chance to see Kevin Durant play last night. 37 points and 23 boards later I was left with my mouth open and wanting more.

Is this guy good enough to carry the Longhorns through the tournament like Carmelo Anthony did with Syracuse a few years ago? Durant doesn't have the great supporting cast that Anthony had (Hakim Warrick, Gerry McNamara, etc.), but he's a LOT better than Anthony was in college too.

If you see Kevin Durant on your TV screen, watch him. This kid replaces Jameer Nelson as the next good reason to watch college basketball.

Super Bowl Media Day Baby!

2007-01-30T10:40:00.000-05:00

Things to Look For at this year's Media Day:

-- Tank Johnson crying like a little bitch when the media grills him about having enough weaponry to arm Burma.

-- Peyton Manning giving repeatedly annoyed answers to the 1,482 questions about his chance to win the "big one".

-- Peyton Manning laughing when someone (probably from Comedy Central) refers to his forehead as the "big one".

-- Rex Grossman seething as the media reminds him how much he sucks.

-- Lovie Smith commenting on being the first black coach to make the Super Bowl.

-- Tony Dungy commenting on being the first black coach to make the Super Bowl after the last black coach (Lovie Smith) made the Super Bowl.

-- Adam Vinatieri and Robbie Gould comparing their calves.

Barbaro Bites The Dust...

2007-01-29T13:32:00.000-05:00

...Sad ending to what should've been a great Triple Crown run for a very special thoroughbred

About that Mid-Week All-Star Game...

2007-01-29T10:40:00.000-05:00

...NHL drew a POWERFUL 0.7 rating, 76 % lower than the last All-Star game, which was held in 2004. So much for that influx of young talent that will crossover into the mainstream sports.

As good as Sidney Crosby is you know your sport is in trouble when three times as many people want to see whether Brad or Wes will win the Road Rules Challenge or whether Mr. Boston will make the cut on "I Love New York".

I would say the NHL could just disappear to Canada and no one would notice, but by signing a long-term TV deal with the Versus network, they've accomplished that.

ESPN.com Knocks It Out of the Park...

2007-01-25T15:49:00.000-05:00

...by telling the story of Genarlow Wilson. It's just as disturbing now as it was several months ago when I saw it on Real Sports.

R-Fed vs. Roddick...

2007-01-24T19:31:00.000-05:00

...at 3:30 a.m., who's with me?

-- BTW Sharapova and Serena Williams' ass are still in the women's draw.

-- In case you needed proof that the NHL is back, there's nothing that says revival more than a mid-week All-Star Game on the "Versus" network.

-- ESPN ranks the 80 Super Bowl teams and gives the nod to the 1989 San Francisco 49ers over the 1985 Chicago Bears. I have to agree based on the Bears' 14-point beatdown in the Orange Bowl that season. Had the Patriots not shocked upset the Dolphins at home I wonder how the rematch in New Orleans would have turned out. The also rank the 2003 Rams over 30 spots above the 2003 Patriots team that beat them, once again I agree.

-- Peyton Manning sounds off.

Coming to Miami? Bring a Vest....

2007-01-23T12:12:00.000-05:00

....because Tank Johnson will be on the loose.

Cook County Judge John Moran, citing his desire to continue to live a pain-free life, gave the loveable ammo smuggler the green light.

The Daily Bread

2007-01-23T10:20:00.000-05:00

-- Ninth Bengals player arrested in 2006-07 season. I have nothing funny to add to this.

-- Bill Parcells retires for the final time (we think) and T.O. ceremoniously kicks him on the way out.

-- Floyd Mayweather Sr. says that even though he and his son, world boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., don't see eye-to-eye he will not help train Oscar de la Hoya to beat him...unless he gets two million dollars.

-- The NBA's new dynamic duo rolls in their first game together after Nuggets are granted special request to use two balls on offense.

-- Meanwhile the Knicks allow the Miami Heat to go on a 27-0 first-quarter run despite playing without D-Wade and Shaq.

-- Maria Sharapova is still in the Australian Open. Yippee!!

Grossman...

2007-01-22T17:41:00.000-05:00

...worst ever QB to be in a Super Bowl?

I'm just wondering. I mean Trent Dilfer's been there (and won). Tony Eason was terrible to begin with and gloriously awful in the big game when Richard Dent probably could've gotten arrested for abuse.

That being said as bad as Grossman can be (and ask Bears fans how can he can be) he was nearly perfect on the drive that, in essence, closed out the game yesterday.

Needless to say, if you were a Bears fan and you could swap out Grossman for any quarterback in the league other than Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, would you do it and who would you swap him out for?

This Is How a Football Coach Should Look...

2006-11-20T11:40:00.000-05:00

Applause to you Mike Nolan of the San Francisco 49ers. There's no secret why the 49ers have improved so much. Thank you for bringing class and professionalism back to the sidelines for at least one weekend. Hopefully this will make some coaches that choose to look like hobos (i.e. Bill Belichick) reconsider their appearance. And hopefully the NFL will get their heads out of thier asses and not punish coaches like Nolan who choose to look like professionals.

Game 7 Bloggin'

2006-10-19T20:42:00.000-04:00

I'm scared shitless....but I believe.

So far Perez rolled through the first with only an error from Delgado. Right now Beltran is on second with a two-out double.

8:36: Facing a full count, Delgado takes a walk to bring up David Wright. Andre 3000 asked what's cooler than bein' cold? The answer has been -- David Wright.

8:38: Wright flares one into right field for an RBI single and the Mets jump out on top in the first. Good hitting with two outs, that's old-school Mets.

8:39: Green rips a shot right to Rolen...DAMN, that had RBI written all over it.

8:44: Perez gives up a leadoff hit to Edmonds, that's never a good sign.

8:47: Perez isn't giving me the same feeling in the second inning, his pitches are fine, but he isn't the same pitcher, Molina loops one into left for another single. See. Belliard has an RBI sacrifice bunt on a 1-1 count. That was a very good play, game tied.

8:49: He limits the damage, however, by punching out Suppan on four pitches.

8:59: Mets went in order, quite easily...Good news is the top of the order will lead off the third.

9:01: Eckstein, that little shit, gets a leadoff double and the Cardinals have hit every ball hard since the first inning. I expect the bullpen to start throwing in the next 3-5 minutes.

9:06: Double goes to waste as Perez fans Wilson and gets Encarcion to ground into the 5-4-3. Good lord, I'm going to have a heart attack by the 5th.

9:12: Mets went up and down so fast I didn't even remember the at-bats. Why is Jeff Suppan summonsing the demon seed of Mike Scott?

9:22: Perez goes through another strong inning, he's loaded up on the pitch count but most of them are strikes.

9:35: Two Mets reach base without the aid of hits (although Valentin definitely took one for the team), but Endy Chavez pops up to end the inning. Since when did the Mets became so inept with runners in scoring position? Have they been talking to A-Rod or something?

9:45: The tryouts for the Mets 2007 rotation continues as Perez gives up a leadoff single, plunks Eckstein (haha), but fans Wilson and gets Pujols to fly out. C'mon boys, give me 1....2.....10 runs the next inning.

9:53: No such luck as the Mets go quickly with Reyes #&^@&@ popping up again and the rest of the order following suit. Wille also chose to let Perez bat which means we're in for another fun inning. Meanwhile Suppan couldn't be pitching better if he tried.

10:02: Crucial point of the game -- Perez yields a walk to Perez and Willie checks on him, but...

10:04: I FUCKING LOVE ENDY CHAVEZ!!!!

10:15: Rolen's error puts runners at second and third with one out. Something tells me Shawn Green is going to get a free pass.

10:20: The move works as Valentin looks silly on two curve balls and Chavez pops out on the first pitch. Good grief.

Postseason Bloggin' Game 5

2006-10-17T20:22:00.000-04:00

Three Things I must see out of the Mets tonight:

1) Tommy Gun has to go six strong, seven would be super but I'm not greedy.

2) Reyes must get on base and score early to give Tommy a nice cushion.

3) Force Cardinals to go to the bullpen quickly, they are real low after Sunday's drubbing and might have lost all their confidence.

8:31: Mets threaten early because the home plate ump isn't giving up anything on the outside so far, but Weaver tightens up and strikes out Wright with runners on the corners. Not sure what the hell is wrong with David Wright.

8:40: Tommy Gun gives up a leadoff single to David Eckstein (guess the shoulder is ok) and retires the rest of the side in order.

8:49: Mets strand their third baserunner after Glavine grounds out with Chavez on second. It was a big hit for Chavez because it allows Reyes to lead off the third inning.

8:57: Nothing gets me more pumped up then a strike 'em out, throw 'em out combo. It's better than getting that 78-hit special on Killer Instinct.

9:04: Mets go in order mainly because Reyes got impatient. On a 3-1 count he's got to either take the second strike or hope to drive a ball lower in the zone. Instead he chased a high strike and popped up. He's got to force Weaver to make one more pitch. The last thing Weaver wants is to put Reyes on base, so 3-2 becomes a count where he is going to potentially groove one or at least allow Reyes to foul off several. Gotta make Weaver throw the extra pitch.

9:11: Tommy Gun has a easy 3rd inning and so far it looks like another pitcher's duel.

9:15: Ha, seems like the first base is not set in the post and Jeff Weaver's biological clock ticks as the grounds crew make repairs. Not sure why Pujols decided to mess with it because it only serves to ice his pitcher.

9:26: And a little ice goes a long way as Weaver ran up the count to Wright before retiring him (UGHH), walked Delgado and gave up back-to-back doubles to Green and Valentin, scratching across two runs. And Reyes will led off the fifth inning. So far things are working as planned on the offensive side.

9:33: Tommy Gun should gotten the call on Pujols with his 1-2 pitch, but one pitch later and the game is 2-1. First run charged to Glavine in the postseason.

9:45: Needless to say a walk to Rolen and consecutive seeing-eye singles have tied the game up. I believe Glavine threw 37 pitches that inning which means his next one could be his last. All because an ump was afraid to punch out Pujols.

9:56: Another impatient inning for the top of the order. The Duke has the only good at bat and should've had a double if not for a bad bounced of the side wall.

10:00 p.m. Cards take the lead after a Wilson double followed an Eckstein single. Glavine needs to go as the Mets have to quickly stop the bleeding before this game gets away. No more blogging for me.

Postseason Bloggin'!

2006-10-04T16:50:00.000-04:00

Oh yeah baby, it's time to TESTIFY!!! New York Mets in the 2006...NL East Champions what?!?!

...oh shit 'Duque is hurt...I like Johnny Maine, but I'm not sure if I like Johnny Maine as Game 1 starter...

Damn work made me miss most of the first inning, but I heard on XM that Maine looked solid...Mr. MVP botches his first chance for postseason magic by grounding out with runners on the corners.

4:28: I love Grady Little's base coaches....love 'em.

4:37: Not happy with Maine's second inning. The double was a legit hit, but a slow roller and a weak double down the line? Ughh.

4:43: Ok bats, what the hell?

4:50: Much nicer inning for Maine.

4:55: Reyes has flied out twice, that's not good, he needs to hit the ball on the ground. Lowe is starting to feel comfortable and I don't like it one bit.

4:56: Lowe has retired seven in a row...Good grief.

5:09: CARLOS~~~~!! *doing the cabbage patch* Tied up! It's a celebration bitches!

5:14: Who betta than Cliff Floyd??

5:40: I love the Mets' bullpen, I really do, but I'd love for a pitcher to give us a good seven innings because these guys will have to do a LOT of work down the stretch.

5:55: There you go Mr. MVP!! That's what I want to see for the rest of the postseason! I want the Dodgers dead! Dead I say! I want them to give up by the time it gets back to Los Angeles, they can't stop us! They can't stop the 2006 NL East Champions!

6:19: This inning must stop right now :(

Week 6 Blogpoll

2006-10-04T10:12:00.000-04:00

Nice to see the Yankees are struggling with that "tough" American League.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Ohio State	1
2	Southern Cal	1
3	Louisville	--
4	Florida	1
5	Auburn	1
6	Michigan	--
7	Louisiana State	--
8	Oregon	6
9	Texas	1
10	West Virginia	1
11	Rutgers	2
12	Clemson	4
13	Cal	4
14	Georgia	2
15	Georgia Tech	10
16	Notre Dame	3
17	Tennessee	3
18	Wake Forest	--
19	Florida State	2
20	Iowa	12
21	Oklahoma	2
22	Virginia Tech	11
23	Boise State	1
24	Pittsburgh	2
25	Missouri	1

Dropped Out: TCU (#15), Houston (#22).

Week 5 Blogpoll

2006-09-27T11:00:00.000-04:00

T.O. trying to commit suicide? Nah, ain't buying it.

Oh yeah, my blogpoll. Delta is fixed, it was my fault.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Southern Cal	--
2	Ohio State	--
3	Louisville	--
4	Auburn	--
5	Florida	--
6	Michigan	--
7	Louisiana State	3
8	Iowa	--
9	West Virginia	2
10	Texas	2
11	Virginia Tech	--
12	Georgia	3
13	Rutgers	--
14	Oregon	--
15	TCU	--
16	Clemson	1
17	Cal	1
18	Wake Forest	8
19	Notre Dame	3
20	Tennessee	1
21	Florida State	2
22	Houston	4
23	Oklahoma	1
24	Boise State	1
25	Georgia Tech	1

Dropped Out: UCLA (#16), Boston College (#19), South Florida (#20).

My Week 4 Blogpoll

2006-09-20T10:06:00.000-04:00

Relax I'm going to rant about some stuff here, NFL related, in the next day or so. I hate treating this beautiful bog like a second-class citizen.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Southern Cal	--
2	Ohio State	--
3	Louisville	2
4	Auburn	--
5	Florida	2
6	Michigan	6
7	West Virginia	1
8	Iowa	1
9	Georgia	2
10	Louisiana State	7
11	Virginia Tech	1
12	Texas	1
13	Rutgers	2
14	Oregon	12
15	TCU	4
16	UCLA	--
17	Clemson	7
18	Cal	5
19	Boston College	2
20	South Florida	5
21	Tennessee	4
22	Notre Dame	16
23	Florida State	9
24	Oklahoma	6
25	Boise State	1

Dropped Out: Nebraska (#20), Miami (Florida) (#22).

My Week 3 Blogpoll

2006-09-12T10:46:00.000-04:00

Seems like Pittsburgh missed the cut for no apparent reason.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Southern Cal	--
2	Ohio State	3
3	Louisiana State	1
4	Auburn	1
5	Louisville	1
6	Notre Dame	2
7	Florida	2
8	West Virginia	2
9	Iowa	3
10	Virginia Tech	6
11	Georgia	3
12	Michigan	3
13	Texas	7
14	Florida State	7
15	Rutgers	3
16	UCLA	1
17	Tennessee	6
18	Oklahoma	4
19	TCU	--
20	Nebraska	1
21	Boston College	5
22	Miami (Florida)	1
23	Cal	3
24	Clemson	11
25	South Florida	1

Dropped Out: Penn State (#20), Pittsburgh (#24), Central Florida (#25).

My Week 2 Blogpoll

2006-09-05T10:24:00.000-04:00

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Southern Cal	--
2	Louisiana State	--
3	Auburn	16
4	Louisville	1
5	Ohio State	--
6	Texas	--
7	Florida State	6
8	Notre Dame	2
9	Florida	5
10	West Virginia	--
11	Tennessee	3
12	Iowa	--
13	Clemson	2
14	Georgia	3
15	Michigan	11
16	Virginia Tech	7
17	UCLA	2
18	Rutgers	5
19	TCU	11
20	Penn State	--
21	Nebraska	3
22	Oklahoma	15
23	Miami (Florida)	13
24	Pittsburgh	2
25	Central Florida	--

Dropped Out: Cal (#14), Utah (#16), Boston College (#17), Arizona State (#24).

Mets Fans to Mel Gibson: F--- Off!

2006-08-24T20:33:00.000-04:00

Because my beloved Mets have a Jewish outfielder baby!! Welcome to the club Shawn Green. Mazel Tov!!

I Need Get Out More...

2006-08-24T17:56:00.000-04:00

I can't believe the WNBA Playoffs have started? Are they on TV? Radio? Webcast?

Oh well...Go Mercury!!! (??)

My Official Blogpoll

2006-08-16T09:44:00.000-04:00

Explanations are up at Tomahawk Nation.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Louisiana State	25
2	Southern Cal	24
3	Louisville	23
4	Ohio State	22
5	Auburn	21
6	Notre Dame	20
7	Texas	19
8	TCU	18
9	Florida State	17
10	West Virginia	16
11	Florida	15
12	Georgia	14
13	Iowa	13
14	Cal	12
15	Clemson	11
16	Utah	10
17	Boston College	9
18	Miami (Florida)	8
19	UCLA	7
20	Penn State	6
21	Michigan	5
22	Virginia Tech	4
23	Rutgers	3
24	Arizona State	2
25	Central Florida	1

Dropped Out:

Shocker!

2006-07-27T15:26:00.000-04:00

A cyclist testing positive for dope? Say it ain't so, especially since cycling is the standard for clean athletics.

Next thing you know they will tell me pro wrestling is fake.

I'm Back...

2006-07-25T12:14:00.000-04:00

Go Mets!!! Although I hate losing the opening game of a series.

Anyone who wants to read FSU stuff, I took the plunge and decided to join the SBN group (sorry AOL) and I present to you Tomahawk Nation. This blog is officially FSU free from this point forward.

Want a job with Mark Cuban...me neither, but if you have a good idea he wants you to be part of his network.

Want to gamble? I'm opening TUT Juice again soon...until Cesar runs out of money.

Predicted All-Star Boxscore

2006-07-11T20:22:00.000-04:00

I will not be watching the game as I'm stuck in my windowless office trying to get this magazine out. What magazine you say? Why I thought you'd never ask. Why don't you just carry yourself to this site and plunk down the $13 to read it for yourself.

As for tonight's game. The AL has basically been using this game as an exhibition of their greatness and given the fact that record in interleague play is something 1,110-14 this season, this should be an easy win for the junior league. Sadly to say.

So here's the boxscore before it happens:

American 220 300 010 8 -- 13 -- 0
National 101 030 010 6 -- 9 -- 0

WP: Rogers; LP: Penny, S: Rivera.
2B: Jeter, I. Rodriguez, A. Rodriguez (AL), Wright, Pujols (NL)
3B: Ichiro (AL)
HR: Guerrero (AL), Beltran, Howard (NL)
MVP: Ichiro 3-for-3, 3B, three runs scored.

Still Go National League!!!

NBA Draft Night!

2006-06-28T17:34:00.000-04:00

*will be updated*

The NBA Draft is one of the 10 best sports nights of the year. Hell I love the draft more than I love the product sometimes. And since I wasn't invited to the Orlando Magic's draft party this year (which makes sense...since I'm out of the daily newspaper business and all), I will have to make my snide comments straight from my Pinellas palace when the show kicks off at 7 p.m.

Sadly the Mets and Sox will also be playing at the same time for Petey's homecoming so I will be stuck flipping back and forth. But otherwise I'm pysched about this draft!

First trade. Celtics give up the number 7 pick for Sebastian Telfair, great move. Only Portland would rush to have two of the first seven picks in a draft with no superstars. Interesting. They should, however, be able to get two players that they can build something (anything) around.

As for Telfair, he averaged 12 ppg and shot around 45% before getting hurt. The Celtics will give him the 35-40 minutes a night he leads and I expect that scoring average to climb to the 16-17 ppg range.

Pre-Game: Two things to know about ESPN's coverage. a) Jay Bilas hates high schoolers and foreigners, b) Jay Bilas has no clue of what makes a good NBA players.

Right away Bilas says he's not "drinking the kool-aid" on Andrea Bargnani, the possible first pick of the Toronto Raptors. No surprise there since Bargnani is Italian and didn't go to Duke. I'll assume that Dukie V will badmouth him as well.

Ok, ok, ok, ok we get it Bargnani could be the next Tskitishvili (pronounced Skits-a-villi by Vitale). However ol Andrea looks like a slight breeze could knock him into another city.

Charlotte appears to be hot on Morrison, which means Jordan will have a guy he can whip in post-practice shootaround contests.

Second part of Portland's trade. They take Raef LaFrentz for Theo Ratliff. Wow this officially became one of the best trades in Celtic history.

Stu Interview: Adam Morrison shows the charisma that has made him everyone's choice to invite to their next bar mitzvah.

First Pick: David Stern gives the greeting and says "This is a very rowdy crowd" which is Stern-speak for "Embarass me and I will have all of you killed. DEAD!"

Raptors choose Bargnani, not a shock. Bilas is already hating on him ("Not a great athlete." "Doesn't rebound." "Doesn't post up"). Stephen A. disagrees but says that a weight room trip wouldn't kill him.

My first thoughts...he looks like a 7'1 Screech.

Andy Katz reports that the Bulls will select LaMarcus Aldridge for the Blazers and the Blazers will select Ty Thomas. The Bulls also receiver a player to be named Viktor.

Morrison Lovefest: Immediately as the Bobcats pick Morrison the love-in begins Jay Bilas even says "he can't play defense but so what"...Huh? All I have to say about Morrison is that he takes insulin shots DURING the game. That's concerning.

But yeah, he's a great shooter.

Rachel Nichols mentions "Sean May" as part of Charlotte's young nucleus, well that's news to Sean May.

Stephen A. on Portland: "They look like they don't know what they are doing."

Stu Interview #2: He asks Tyrus Thomas what advice did WNBA #1 pick Simone Augustus (also from LSU) give him about preparing for this night. Yeah, like she'd know. I think the WNBA draft was held at Starbucks this year.

Memphis Gets Gay: Andy Katz reports that Houston will choose Gay at #8 (they did) and trade him to Memphis for Shane Battier. Wow, Battier's value has only dropped two spots in five years? I'm not buying that one. Meanwhile I'm liking the potential of a Gasol/Gay frontcourt.

Slipperage: Meet Ronnie Brewer.

Magic Snag Redick: And his bad back. Understatement of the night by Dan Patrick: "Dick Vitale has taken in several Duke games this year."

No shock, Bilas loves him too, not as much of Vitale, not possible. Bilas also brings up the name of Trajan Langdon....interesting.

My thoughts...The Magic will regret not selecting Brewer. They already have a great shooter in Hedo Turkoglu, this isn't a pick of need.

Utah Stops the Bleeding: Takes Brewer at 14 thus giving Deron Williams someone to listen to "Three 6 Mafia" with in the locker room.

Portland is at it Again: Swaps picks with Minnesota, gives up Randy Foye and takes Brandon Roy. Portland just wants to hold the rights to every player in the first round before the night is over.

Stern Strikes Back: Calls Dan Patrick's comments "pithy" and wonders when he's going to say something nice about the picks. Patrick says he likes Commissioner Tagliabue more. Oooo. I don't know if you want to be trading barbs with Stern. He's not bad with the sharp tongue.

More Slippage: Connecticut's Marcus Williams...and the Knicks BETTER PICK HIM!

Huh: Who the FUCK is Renaldo Balkman?

I'm just waiting for: Someone to pick my man Alexander Johnson. Meanwhile Russ Granik looked legitimately touched by that ovation.

Thank you Indiana: A.J. goes at 45, about twenty spots lower than he needed to go but he'll be fine. Make that money A.J. !

Cowardly Columnist

2006-06-26T16:11:00.000-04:00

I wonder how a pussy like Jay Mariotti can survive in a tough-as-nails town like Chicago.

This latest piece is just embarassing to the rest of the journalists in the world who walk through unfriendly confines daily because the only thing worse than writing a column denouncing the home team is being too much of a chickenshit not to show up the next day.

Saturday Stew

2006-06-24T14:33:00.000-04:00

All the things I've missed.

U.S. World Cup Team: Sucked. Claudio Reyna is retiring, he won't be missed. Bruce Arena should join him. Meanwhile the U.S. 2010 team coach has just led Germany to the quarters. The quickest solution would be to send Donovan to Europe, send Adu to Europe and let him know he's still loved (there's no way in hell he's playing for Ghana) and let the Europeans develop them into playmakers. The MLS is no way to prepare for a World Cup.

David Wright's MVP Watch: Currently the best baseball player to ever live is batting .337 with 18 home runs and 63 RBIs. Last night he was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer. In his last seven Wright is batting .370 (10-for-27) with 3 home runs and 10 RBIs. He ranks in the top 10 in most offensive categorys.

Florida State: As summer practices begin the Seminoles have booted wide receiver Kenny O'Neal from the squad and allowed cornerback Trevor Ford to transfer to a location not yet determined. Well at least one state-sponsored school knows what to do with problem children while our friends in Gainesville are steadily waffling given their dearth of quality cornerbacks. Actually to Atkins' credit he wants to leave but super tough-guy Urban Meyer won't let him.

"I've talked to him, talked to his family," Meyer said. "We feel like it's in
his best interest to try to fight through this and not be scared of the issues."

Translation: Our other cornerbacks suck, we'll need him by October.

Meanwhile I couldn't tell you why O'Neal was kicked off but he left the track team midway through the semester so something tells me that a bit of weed was involved. As for Ford, that sucks, I honestly thought he was the best cornerback in the program and would finally breakthrough this year.

Well I have a party to attend so while I hate to be rude, I must be going.

World Cup Sweet 16

2006-06-24T12:28:00.000-04:00

Yeah the U.S. team sucks and frankly Bruce Arena needed to go long before this tournament began. Too many people mistook 2002 for this great run when really it was a lot of luck, a hot goalkeeper and a team with several holes in it.

I'll get into that another day, until then my predictions for the Sweet 16

Saturday

Footbalschnitzels 2-0 ABBAMeatballs (I cheated)
¿La cocaína? ¿Qué Cocaína? 2-1 Los Del Verdes Ratos

Sunday

Jolly Ole Chokers 2-2 De Montana Hombres (England Wins 4-2 on PKs)
Equipe oscilante de Futebol 1-2 Cannabis Is Ons

Monday

We Are Serie B! 2-1 Socceroos (Italians Win with a Golden Goal)
Le chocolat A Incorporé 0-1 Slava Sheva Slokos

Tuesday
Samba Swooshronadinhos 23-0 Black Knights
Cuatro Y Fuera 1-2 Oui Oui Poo Poo

Good luck to all

You'll Find No Argument From Me...

2006-06-15T16:39:00.000-04:00

Overheard on SJ.com:

Remember all the talk about A-Rod as the best player in baseball these past few years? Well now that he's batting FIFTH in a banged up Yankees lineup and leading all AL 3rd basemen in errors - you don't seem to be hearing that talk all that much anymore.

Prior to the season I would have said the best player was Pujols but the HGH/steroids allegations have me spooked on him. Tejada same deal.

Could David Wright be the best all-around (clean) player in baseball today? Andruw Jones? Lance Berkman?

David Wright, the best in baseball. Hard to argue with that after a sweet 9-1 road swing by the Metropolitans. Game on gents, I'm getting my postseason tickets NOW.

LiveBlogging: French Style

2006-06-11T09:57:00.000-04:00

I've been waiting for a Federer-Nadal Grand Slam final and although it was widely predicted, the French Open is the only place where such an event could happen since Nadal is so inefficient on the other Grand Slam surfaces.

The French, however, is played on the same red slippery clay that Nadal grew up playing on in Spain. While Federer in his own right is a terrific clay courter, he hasn't been as good as Nadal and a matter of fact he is 0-4 against the Spaniard on clay.

Either way this is a crucial matchup for the tennis landscape. If Federer wins here he will have won the last four slams in a row and be on a great pace to win the yearly Grand Slam with his two best events, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, to come. If Federer enters the U.S. Open with a chance at the Grand Slam it will be a bigger madhouse in New York than it normally is.

So it's the best player in the world, possibly ever against the best clay-court specialist in the world. 1 vs. 2.

9:58 a.m. We pick up the action early in the second set, R-Fed won the first set 6-1 and looked brilliant. Nadal, on the other hand, was a bit overwhelmed but also made some uncharacteristic unforced errors. Nadal opens the second set with a service victory.

10:03 a.m. Nadal fights Federer's first service point of the second set from a 40-0 to a break point thanks to an awesome rally at 40-30. If Nadal would just commit to improving his grass and hard court games this could be the beginning of something special.

10:05 a.m. Nadal rips a backhand winner for the break and a 2-0 lead in the second set. Good stuff already.

10:43 a.m. Sorry had a phone call, Nadal easily won the second set as I spotted Vaughaniston in the...end zone seats? Well Brangelina they ain't, that's for sure.

10:46 a.m. Action has really picked up in the third set as every point is being heavily contested as Federer misses a forehand winner that would've given him a break.

10:50 a.m. Federer catches a solid forehand to give himself a second break in the point but Nadal counters with an ace and a mishit gives Nadal the point. He rallied back from 0-40.

10:58 a.m. Nadal fights for another break and goes up 3-2 in the third. I have a question on calling fault, who gets the seniority? I usually hear two voices but what if one calls it in? Do they have a duel?

11:06 a.m. Federer can't win a serve without a fight. It's amazing how tough Nadal is on this surface. Nadal is fight from 0-30, 0-40, 15-40 to deuce every time.

12:10 p.m. Sorry I've been distracted by worried family members. Yes there is a storm headed, no I don't think it will be a big deal. Meanwhile Nadal won the third set 6-4 and held a break in the fourth at 3-2, but R-Fed has fought but and is up 2-1 in the fourth-set tiebreak.

12:11 p.m. Nadal has all the mental edges on Federer being this his his surface where he is 4-0 against Federer. Oddly enough he also holds a 4-3 tiebreak edge. Nadal wins both points on Federer's serve to take a 3-2 tiebreak advantage.

12:13 p.m. Nadal is up 5-2 in the tiebreak thanks to a series of unforced errors on Federer. What's an "unforced error"? I mean the opposition forces you to take bad shots right?

12:16 p.m. Federer wins both points on his serve and even pulls out his terrific serve volley game to move the deficit to 5-4.

12:17 p.m. Nadal hits a service winner and has a double-championship point.

12:18 p.m. Nadal with a forehand smash and a victory! Solid match, I love the fact that Federer pushed the fourth to a tiebreaker, but Nadal is too tough on clay. He is now 6-1 against Federer.

Early Weekend Stew

2006-06-09T17:24:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow's Schedule:

9 a.m. Watch England in World Cup
Noon: More World Cup
2 p.m. Watch Argentina in World Cup
8 p.m. Watch Stanley Cup Game 3
10 p.m. Watch Tarver-Hopkins fight.

Yes tomorrow is the best non Big-3 day in sports history. I am calling it right now!

Mets: Finally the Metropolians have traded Kaz Matsui. It doesn't matter who they traded him for or where they traded him to so read the story if you really care. I'd like to say nice things about Kaz Matsui but he made $20 million for being a poor man's Wally Backman so fuck him.

The Mets are talking with the Devil Rays about Julio Lugo in hopes of a longer-term replacement at second base. I'm hoping they can get Jose Vidro instead but if the Nats keep winning they might add on instead of subtract.

So far the 10-game road swing has been a success winning the first three of four and a 7-1 victory last night over the Jason Grimsley-less Arizona Diamondbacks. El Duque pulled some magic out of his "36" year-old ass when he pitched a complete game three-hitter.

Meanwhile David Wright, while still being Mr. MVP and the god of Queens, has some long term competition from "the next next big thing" Lastings Milledge. Milledge, who was part of many trade rumors, none of which will happen now, is hitting over .300 and provides a super outfield arm as he's already racked up three assists, two more than the entire Kansas City Royals outfield.

NBA Finals: The Heat shot 7-for-19 from the free throw line. That's worst than I am on NCAA 2k6 (and I suck at those free throws). Now many people are going to harp on Shaq's awful 1-for-9 performance from the charity stripe but I'm more alarmed at Wade's 6-for-10. He's a great shooter and an elite guard. All elite guards should shoot at least 85% from the free throw line, end of story.

This was just a terrible night for the Heat as they had Howard and Dirk struggling from the floor yet allowed J-Terry to light them up for 32. Bottom line is this: Dallas will get major contributions from someone each night and if two of those three have a big game, it's over. With Dirk scoring just 16, Miami HAD to win that game last night.

Right now the Mavs could sweep this, of course Miami has been tough at home so 5-6 games is more likely.

Meanwhile what's the upside for this Mavs team. You've got an owner willing to pay out of his ass for a winner and if this team wins a title they could have a 3-4 year window of dominance. San Antonio isn't getting any better, The Lakers and Timberwolves are in rebuilding mode. The Suns are good, but will Amare ever be the same and if he is what happens to Diaw? If the Clippers stay together, and that's not likely given their history, than MAYBE they can stop this Mavericks express over time.

Emanski to the Rescue...

2006-06-07T23:56:00.000-04:00

...and for the Royals it's back to the basics. I love The Onion.

And for the Grim news I'll say this. The program is bigger than Barry, it was always bigger than Barry and the feds found a snitch who's been in a lot of different clubhouses.

Real Men of Genius

2006-05-31T15:32:00.000-04:00

Former Florida State players Fred Rouse (booted) and A.J. Nicholson (drafted by Bengals) arrested for robbing current FSU player Lorenzo Booker.

It's summertime in Tallahassee.

Hopefully they won't get any Fulmer Cup points since the player is the victim here. Unless they find out it was part of a grand insurance claims scheme or something.

And who has $1,700 worth of electronic equipment in college?

Who's #1?

2006-05-30T15:32:00.000-04:00

Yes it's college football but it's not what you think.

The recruiting season officially begins as Rivals.com announces its 5-star players for the 2006-2007 season. Many of you who go to college football games during the fall will see some of these kids, please say hi and move on. Don't stare and don't stalk.

Rivals has it's hits and misses but over the last few years they have been on point with their top player in the country.

2002: Vince Young

2003: Ernie Sims

2004: Adrian Peterson

2005: Derrick Williams

and 2006 UF committ Percy Harvin

Good luck gents!

Tuesday's Sports Stew

2006-05-23T17:41:00.000-04:00

Here's a few thoughts on what's happened over the weekend.

Mets: Well two of three against the Yankees wasn't so bad, but it's very annoying because the Mets were the better team and had the sweep in their hands to prove it. Nonetheless another great series for David Wright, who is really starting to shine in the media spotlight events like these. Speaking of shining, Carlos Delgado needed about 30 seconds to adjust to New York City, which was 10 seconds less than Pedro needed. Both guys are adored by the Mets fans as if they've been there for years.

Finally the Mets dumped Jose Lima, but he still thinks he'll be back...Unfortunately Lima Time has run out, however it had a longer life than Hammer Time. He will be replaced by Alay Soler, a Cuban defector with some great numbers in Double-A. As for Jeremi Gonzalez, he's still with the team, but he'll be put to pasture real soon. Big series against the Phillies starts tonight and if the Mets take two of three it will set up well for the weekend set with the Marlins.

NBA Playoffs: Down to the final four. And I want to say that the Mavericks-Spurs series was one of the best NBA series in league history. It's rare that teams so evenly matched play such an evenly matched, high-quality seven games. The Clippers-Suns were ALMOST there but the Suns were on fire last night and the Clippers couldn't keep up defensively.

That being said I'm happy the Mavericks advanced. I really do think this team is ready for a championship this year. Dirk has finally emerged as a team leader without the asshole traits he displayed last year. Jason Terry is clutch as the "new" Finley on the team. They are even getting big minutes from Diop and Dampier. I'm also in the crowd that wants David Stern to actually present the title to Mark Cuban with a giddy Cuban snatching it from him and pulling the crying/celebration routine that Jordan did in 1996.

As for the Suns, how much longer can they keep playing with house money? No more three-day rests, it's going to be high impact for the rest of the way. Dallas has the perimeter game to actually go big and see if their two-headed monster at center can provide more points and control the boards.

As for the East. I expect Miami to win tonight. They've been resting for a week, they will come out fresh and the Pistons have to be mentally exhausted after rallying from a 3-2 deficit with an emotional win at Cleveland and a physically demanding defensive effort in Game 7.

Mets-Yankees...LIVE!!!

2006-05-20T13:27:00.000-04:00

This is great....except for McCarver.

Mets have Pedro on the mound while the miserable clowns from the Bronx have Mike Mussina.

Clowns lineup like this:

Damon
Je-Tah
Roid Rage
A-Fraud
Cano
Cairo
Cabrera
Stinnent
Mussina

The bottom half of that lineup is better suited for the Kansas City Royals.

Top 1st: Pedro is a little perturbed at the umpire for not getting this game going. Damon quickly grounds out to first, but Je-Tah singles to left. The ball gets past Floyd and Je-Tah advances to second. That's Floyd's first error this season thus ruining his Gold Glove campaign. Roid Rage shows his warning track power and flies out to center. Pedro and A-Fraud is a classic matchup as Pedro loves to throw inside on Fraudy...1-2 and SIT DOWN BIATCH!!! Nice opening inning for Petey!

Meanwhile the Mets line up like this:

My man Jose
Oh-Shit It's Kaz Matsui
Strong Carlos
Really Strong Carlos
Mr. MVP
Floyd Needs to Get His Ass in Gear
X-Man
Castro
Petey

Bottom 1st: The two-headed monster describes Mussina as a crafty righty which is TV speak for "junk-baller". Slow chopper and my man Jose beats out A-Fraud's bad throw. Error for Fraudy, that's number 8. Buck says Matsui has "won his job back" and unless his job is "shitty clutch hitter" I'm not sure what Buck is talking about. I will say Kaz came through last night so I don't completely depise him. Reyes steals second and takes third when Stinnent's throw heads towards center field. Now all Kaz has to do is put a bat on the ball and of course it doesn't happen. Dear Japan, give us Nintendo take Kaz Matsui. Beltran is up fresh off of officially becoming Strong Carlos again and continues his hot streak with an RBI double! Yeah, baby! Really Strong Carlos jumps in front of an offspeed pitch and grounds to first. Mr. MVP gets a huge ovation as he steps up to the plate and delivers with another double over Damon's head and Beltran scores! So far, so good. Floyd continues struggling though as he ends the inning with a ground out to short.

Top 2nd: This should be fun. Cano hits a flare that Strong Carlos tracks down and scoops. Petey takes care of Cairo (sit down) and Cabrera (shut up!) for a quick half inning.

Bottom 2nd: X-Man flies out. Castro does something and Petey strikes out. Moving on.

Top 3rd: Petey gets Stinnent and Mussina easily but walks Damon on a full count and Damon steals second and takes third on the error. Je-Tah works a 3-0 count but eventually Petey puts him to sleep.

Meanwhile in Chicago...does ANYONE like A.J. Piersynski? Michael Barrett gets a clean haymaker on him after a play at the plate and a serious melee has begun. Barrett's punch was pretty damn good.

Bottom 3rd: Mets go in order, I was too busy rewinding Barrett punching A.J. over and over again. Apparently Beltran gave one a ride to the warning track and the talking heads babbled about Glavine going back to Atlanta to win #300..ain't gonna happen.

Top 4th: I can't get enough of that Barrett-Piersynski highlight. Petey sits down Roid but A-Fraud reaches first. McCarver babbles about how Robinson Cano got jobbed out of the AL rookie award. Yeah, Tim it's that Yankee bias at work again. Meanwhile Cano flies out and Cairo grounds to end the inning.

Bottom 4th: Really strong Carlos gives a tiny swing and the ball says "OW!" and travels well over the 396 foot marker! Otherwise the Mets go quietly as Mussina has settled down. Still the damage is done and the Mets hold a 3-0 advantage.

Top 5th: Pedro gets some nifty fielding assistance from Cliff Floyd to run through the Yankees lineup again. Floyd made an exceptionally nice play to end the inning.

Bottom 5th: Mussina rings up Castro on four pitches and Petey hits a fairly sharp grounder to first. McCarver says you don't want Jose Reyes to hit a home run. Well *I* do, I mean I love to see him leg out triples, but hell with that just give me a good at-bat. Reyes hits a grounder to Giambi who predictably fucks up the flip and leaves the ball there for Reyes to take second. Giambi apparently lost his savvy and his muscle when he stopped using roids. Doesn't matter because Kaz Matsui is to clutch what Mike Mussina is to velocity.

Top 6th: Petey goes through the top of the Yankees lineup in the time it takes me to type this sentence.

Bottom 6th: Who knows, I was busy. No runs scored.

Top 7th: Petey gets through the first two batters easily, but a lazy fielding error puts Cairo on and a bad pitch puts runners at the corners. Never fear at Petey sits down Stinnent and ends the inning. Petey is at 103 pitches and should be finished.

Bottom 7th: Floyd turns on a fatty and SENDS IT HOME! I can't bring myself to get down on Floyd, I like him way too much! That's a nice insurance run to have. X flies out. Ken Rosenthal is trying to bring the image of a sideline reporter to Fox's coverage but he's not very good at it and he's not good looking either so it's double whammy. Julio Franco hits a double but Reyes harmless flies out to end the inning.

Top 8th: Dirty Sanchez gives up a hit to Kevin Reese, the first hit of Reese's career. Damon grounds into a 4-6-3 and Jeter grounds out to third to end the inning

Bottom 8th: Matsui leads off the inning with the a walk and reaches second on the Yankees' fourth error. The talking heads discuss how the free-spending Yankees have depleted their farm system. They also discuss how great a talent Lastings Milledge is and how the Mets could get anyone for him. Meanwhile Beltran hits one to the warning track, Delgado strikes out and Floyd lines out to end the inning.

Top 9th: Enter Sandman. Giambi gets on with an 0-2 count and Fraud draws a walk on a 3-2 count. Ugh. Cano rips a hit to center and Giambi scores. Good lord Wagner. Please don't ruin Petey's outing. Cairo flies out to center. If Wagner throws this many pitches he won't be available tomorrow. Cabrera is working a good at bat. Full count and a walk loads the bases for Stinnent. Wagner walks Stinnent on four pitches and hits Caribbean Bernie for a 4-3 game. Oh my goodness. Randolph finally yanks Wagner when he should have stuck with Sanchez and now Pedro Feliciano has to get a ground ball. Damon is up and a hit will lose this game for the Mets, a fly out will tie. Damon grounds and the relay doesn't get him. DAMMIT! Game tied and now Bradford will have to get Jeter out. Bradford does his job and this sucker will go to extras.

Bottom 9th: Man I don't even want to type anymore. X-Man and Castro strike out and Jose Valentin will come in to pinch hit, he flies out and we're going to extra innings.

Top 10th: Julio is pitching, yikes...This is an A-Fraud moment, I feel it. Giambi walks and A-Fraud has that look...ugh...the look...of a double play. Whew. Still I'm not happy. Cano flies out and ends the inning.

Bottom 10th: Reyes needs to get on base here, but he'll have to do it against Rivera. Reyes grounds out to first, he's struggled big time today. Matsui ropes a base hit and he needs to be in motion now. Matsui steals second as Beltran strikes out. Wait a second, Matsui didn't run...what the fuck? This game is shot.

Top 11th: Julio walks Cairo to start the inning. I expect a bunt with Cabrera. He has a terrible at bat but his strike out gets Cairo to second. Stinnent strikes out on five pitches and Andy Phillips is up. Cairo steals third and Phillips sends him home with a base hit. Amazing.

Bottom 11th: This is depressing. Wright strikes out on a inside cutter. Floyd walks a full count but strikes out. X strikes out on five pitches to end the game. I'm going to shoot someone's cat, perferably Billy Wagner's.

O' Ricky

2006-05-19T16:52:00.000-04:00

We're one day closer to Ricky Williams of the Toronto Argonauts. Apparently the only thing the Argos have to promise is that they will release Williams when the season is over. Meanwhile the ESPN story says that Williams has only made $270K since December of 2003? Damn.

A little Trickery....

2006-05-19T10:51:00.000-04:00

Interested to see who Athlon has ~~cursed~~ selected to be its preseason number one?

Go to their website. Stops at #7 doesn't it. Hmm. Now change the date on your computer from the 19th to the 26th and reload the website. Personally I don't agree with their choice.

Forgot One Thing...

2006-05-16T19:33:00.000-04:00

Sorry Rasheed, but you brought on yourself. Forget best leader...LeBron James is the best player in the NBA, bar none!.

Sports Soup Part 2

2006-05-16T17:45:00.000-04:00

*Note: I typed much of this yesterday but the Blooger monster ate it up*

Corey on Bonds: Still stuck on 713 and he's going to continue to be stuck there until he stops trying to hit home runs and begins to hit line drives again. Regardless of what you think of him personally he is a great line drive hitter and he's not trying to hit the baseball right now, he's trying to overpower it.

Ruth in 2k6: An interesting subject talks about how the Babe would fair in 2006. Let me take a whirl. I'd say he'd be the Yankees' version of David Ortiz. A wildly popular DH who could mash 40-45 homers a year. However, Ruth was also a great pitcher, which means Joe Torre would make him a left-handed set up man three times a week.

Better yet Ruth should be traded to the Royals where he can be the team's ace AND clean up hitter at the same time. How many guys hit 40+ homers and have a 17-11 record on the mound. Besides the Royals need help and Babe Ruth, 60 years after his death would easily be the best player on the team.

Sorry to the Seminole Faithful: I threw a fat one out to my "mortal" enemies over at EDSBS and as usual they knocked it out of the park...However it's damn funny and the Chris Rix level of douchebaggery grows each day.

Larry Leaves MSG: This is funny about how many people are taking up Brown's side in this alleged buyout as if he doesn't want this. Let's be honest, Brown is as stable as the government when it comes to his devotion to an organization. Apparently one of the Golden State execs is his neighbor and that's where he could be headed.

Meanwhile he (not Isiah) was the one who asked for the trade for Steve Francis and Jalen Rose. Now granted Isiah was STUPID enough to trade for two shoot-first point guards to go along with his current shoot-first point guard, but don't leave Larry out of the blame game.

Vick Sticks With the Fish: Oh I've run across some great Dolphin fans today who are just outraged that the Phins signed Marcus Vick when the money could've been used to sign a "stretch-the-field receiver"...

Well at last check Vick will make $60K this season on the Dolphins practice squad and $200K if he makes the roster of 53 (slim chance). What receiver could the Dolphins get for $60K? Hell Ohio State pays more than that for their receivers.

As for Vick, I hope he turns his life around. He's already taken the first step by parlaying an invite to mini-camp (he didn't get an undrafted free agent contract!) into a contract with the team. What's done in his life is done and I can only judge him on his future.

Sports Soup Part 1

2006-05-15T10:35:00.000-04:00

I'm just going to hit on the things that have been bugging me in recent weeks.

NBA Playoffs: Cleveland really showed me a lot of character by getting one on the Pistons this weekend. They were so happy with themselves and that should tell you how hard Detroit makes you work to defeat them. LeBron is quickly passing Kobe as the best player in the league. He wants to make his teammates better, he wants to pass the ball and he wants to be a leader on defense. Maybe it's not so much a better player but LeBron is already a much better leader.

Dallas won a classic over San Antonio on Saturday and I expect them to really turn up the heat tonight to keep that home court. A 3-1 deficit still wouldn't kill the Spurs, but it would give the Mavericks the confidence needed to close it out in six. For those who criticized the Mavericks for drafting Devin Harris a few years ago, now they can see why. As Jason Terry prepares to cash in on a big deal, Harris can move into the starting PG spot.

The Nets tanked, no nice way around it. They had the Heat on the ropes going into Game 3 and just blew it. Not sure how much longer the Vince-Jefferson-Kidd team will last.

The Clippers-Suns are setting things up for a climatic Game Seven and I expect the Clippers to put up a much bigger fight than the Lakers did once they get there. Two very evenly matched teams.

Mets: Lost 4 out of six and are only one game up on the Phillies. It seems like every time there is a crucial at bat Kaz Matsui is taking it. Beltran seems to be getting more comfortable and swinging the bat a little better, but now the bullpen (most notably Duaner Sanchez) is coming back down to earth. The series against the Cardinals and the Empire will tell me a lot. The team is in need of a nice 8 out of 10 run and a little cooling off from the Phillies.

Right now the Braves are almost an afterthought for me. They seem to be doing just enough to remain a .500 squad, but I don't see the hunger there anymore. Adam LaRoche's lack of hustle on Sunday was just embarassing.

NFL Draft: Two weeks later I still don't know how the Texans have the top pick and can choose either: a) The Heisman Trophy winner or b) the Rose Bowl MVP who happens to be a hometown boy and miss out on both of them. Why they had a lame duck GM making the selection too raises plenty of questions.

Once again I'm not knocking Mario Williams. He's got great potential, but he isn't going to send shockwaves through the base like Reggie Bush would have.

Part 2 will come later this evening!

Inside the NBA

2006-05-10T19:26:00.000-04:00

....Hitting the second round...

"Flash" in the pan?: Dwyane Wade looks OLD and he's really had an odd run of lower body injuries that a guy his age and condition shouldn't have. He needs a younger team around him. The problem with the Heat's veteran squad is that they practice like veterans in order to preserve their energy. For a younger player like Wade this isn't good. He needs to consistently push his energy and stamina level up so his body doesn't break down.

The Champ Is Hurt: I think most expected Dallas to split their first two games in San Antonio, but a victory by 22? I do believe this series will go seven games and I believe the Mavericks have a great chance of winning this as long as Jason Terry and Josh Howard play big. As much as I like Parker and Ginobili, I think Dirk has a better supporting cast when you add in the bench contributions of Jerry Stackhouse.

And if the Mavericks win Mark Cuban can say he made good on his most recent investment to the league.

Take You Hand: make your index finger and thumb meet to form a 'zero'...That's how many games the Cavaliers will win against Detroit.

This is what the NBA Needs...

2006-05-04T16:49:00.000-04:00

Raja on Kobe:

"I have no respect for him. I think he's a pompous and arrogant individual."
"There don’t seem to be any boundaries or limitations to what he can do to me."
"When I get hit in the face multiple times you crossed the line with me. That’s not basketball. It's a personal thing."

Kobe on Raja

"I don’t know this guy. I might have said one word to this guy. I don’t know this kid. I think he overreacts to stuff. We go out there, we play the game and leave it at that. Maybe he wasn’t hugged enough as a kid. I look at him a little bit, he gets a little insecure about something. I don’t know."

Finally a little hatred returns to the Association. I remember the days of Laimbeer slugging Larry Bird and Robert Parish returning the favor in the most famous no-call in history. I remember Cedric Maxwell throwing out the choke sign to James Worthy as he clanked a free throw.

To hell with sportsmanship. Let's increase the hate....it's FAN-TAS-TIC!

Interesting Trend

2006-04-30T22:32:00.000-04:00

Buffalo knows what it likes

1995: Marlon Kremer (76th overall) DB, Ohio State
1999: Antoine Winfield (23th overall) DB, Ohio State
2001: Nate Clements (21st overall) DB, Ohio State
2006: Donte Whitner (8th overall) DB, Ohio State, Ashton Youboty (70th overall), DB, Ohio State.

Just Taking A Look

2006-04-29T14:04:00.000-04:00

The two-deep quarterback situation for the teams that passed up on Matt Leinart:

4) N.Y. Jets -- Chad Pennington (fresh off of back-to-back shoulder surgery) & Patrick Ramsey/Brooks Bollinger

5) Green Bay -- Brett Favre (Over 40) & Aaron Rodgers

6) San Francisco -- Alex Smith & Cody Pickett/Ken Dorsey

7) Oakland -- Aaron Brooks & Marques Tuiasosopo

8) Buffalo -- J.P. Losman & Kelly Holcomb

9) Detroit -- Jon Kitna & Dan Orlovsky

I'm just saying....

Huh?

2006-04-28T22:36:00.000-04:00

Ok, thanks to the Texans we've identified this year's Sam Bowie.

Now who's going to take Michael Jordan? And who grabs Hakeem Olajuwon?

Mock Draft: Day Five

2006-04-26T15:02:00.000-04:00

Okay I will finish this and I will blitz through rounds 2 and 3 before the festivities kickoff on Saturday. I promise!

So far we'll had a couple of predicted trades and now a legitimate trade (Denver trading pick #22 to San Francisco for pick #37 & 68) puts a new wrinkle into things.

21) New England -- Antonio Cromartie, CB, Florida State

Strengths: Probably the best pure cornerback in the draft based on size and skill set; extremely long arms will eventually make him almost impossible to beat down the field; Was named first-team All-ACC in sophomore season despite playing as a backup.

Weaknesses: Missed of all 2005 season with torn ACL; Never experienced life as a starter; Still has raw skills that must be developed.

Why This Pick: Outside of Asante Samuel the Patriots secondary was awful last year. Cromartie is underdeveloped, but his potential will be too much to overcome.

22) San Francisco (via trade from Denver) -- LenDale White, RB, USC

Strengths: A total power back who bulls over tacklers and has a nose for the end zone, much in the style of Ricky Williams when he was stoned.

Weaknesses: Mind is totally fucked up as he dropped from a sure top-10 into the late first round due to a poor combine season; hamstring injury could be worse than originally thought.

Why This Pick: The 49ers need weapons on offense but there isn't a quality receiver out there. White and Frank Gore will allow the Niners to become a running team and Alex Smith can be brought along like Ben Roethlisberger was.

23) Tampa Bay -- Richard Marshall, CB, Fresno State

Strengths: Aggressive player who looks to make things happen in the backfield; Excellent in run support; hard hitter.

Weaknesses: A shade over 5'11 and 185 pounds, he could get a little bigger and stronger; still very raw in terms of skill.

Why This Pick: The Bucs will think about trading down because they want to go with offense, but Marshall is the type of player that defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin loves. A go-getter with tons of upside.

24) Cincinnati -- Bobby Carpenter, OLB, Ohio State

Strengths: Ideal outside linebacker in terms of size, rush ability and sideline-to-sideline coverage; Very coachable and an ideal football mind; Tough-minded mentality and physically

Weaknesses: Not good at shedding additional blockers; not a very good tackler; A.J. Hawk took a lot of pressure off of him.

Why This Pick: Marvin Lewis wants to build the defense and the best way to do that is to take the best guy on the board and not worry about needs.

25) Dallas (via faux trade from N.Y. Giants) -- Manny Lawson, OLB/DE, N.C. State

Strengths: Amazing athletic ability for a down lineman; So explosive and quick that he could drop in coverage and hang with any tight end; Did long jumping and hurdles for N.C. State track team.

Weaknesses: Only 240 pounds means he will need to add at least 25 pounds to his frame; Probably relies on speed a little too much.

Why This Pick: Jackpot! The Cowboys traded down and still got their man. Lawson is a bit of a project, but he's so athletic he could be major playmaker on special teams as Parcells and Co. work on his ability to be an NFL DE.

26) Chicago -- Leonard Pope, TE, Georgia

Strengths: He's 6'8 for starters which means he's a huge target in the red zone, the dead zone, zone coverage, really any zone you could think of; Also a great leaper to catch all of Kyle Orton's ducks.

Weaknesses: Not a great blocker; Speed is not in the category of the elite tight ends; Could be more physical and tough.

Why This Pick: Tremendous value, this is a Top 5 quality receiver in this draft. Much like Heath Miller was the red zone star for the Steelers, Pope will be that for the Bears.

27) Carolina -- Demeco Ryans, OLB, Alabama

Strengths: Real smart player has the ability to become a leader on the defense in due time; Does everything by the book, tackling, gap assignments, etc.

Weaknesses: He's a little undersized and a little underwhelming; Not a naturally great athlete and will not be a good coverage 'backer

Why This Pick: Will Witherspoon left for free agency wishes and although Ryans is mostly an outside backer, he will be shuffled around as needed.

28) Jacksonville -- Sinorice Moss, WR, Miami

Strengths: Like his brother, Santana, Moss is a burner with world-class speed; Though he's short (5'8) he has a real solid frame; Home-run hitter.

Weaknesses: Might be limited to a slot receiver or a return specialist in the NFL; Hasn't always been healthy.

Why This Pick: The Jaguars needs more weapons for Byron Leftwich, Moss gives them the big-play potential they don't have otherwise.

29) N.Y. Jets -- Eric Winston, OT, Miami

Strengths: Excellent size and footwork from days at tight end; Should still be able to add 10-15 pounds and maintain high potential; Very competitive, smart player.

Weaknesses: Still not 100% after suffering broken leg in 2004 and struggled in 2005 with speedy pass rushers (see Wimbley, Kamerion) ; Still learning the nuisances of the position.

Why This Pick: Whether it be Chad Pennington, Matt Leinart, Jay Cutler, Patrick Ramsey or Brooks Bollinger the Jets quarterback will be lacking in mobility and need the protection.

30) Indianapolis -- Laurence Maroney, RB, Minnesota

Strengths: Well-schooled running back searches out his holes and bursts through them; Extremely productive in college and also spent time as a kick returner.

Weaknesses: Not the ideal size for a feature back; Does not like to feel contact and will shy away from the hit and lose out on extra yardage;

Why This Pick: Running back is a need and Maroney is a good fit. Maroney understands how to run on turf and behind a big offensive line, two things Indianapolis has.

31) Seattle -- Ashton Youboty, CB, Ohio State

Strengths: Solid athlete comes from a program rich in tradition of rpoducing top-notch cornerbacks; Great footwork, fluid movements keep him step-by-step.

Weaknesses: A little overaggressive means he will give up the big play; Not good against receivers who like to stretch the field.

Why This Pick: Seattle already has a franchise cornerback in Marcus Trufant, Youboty will be an excellent pick to play the boundary, he's a great cover guy against short-route runners.

32) Pittsburgh -- Tamba Hali, DE, Penn State

Strengths: Hard-working kid that gives full effort on every play; Very quick off the ball and aggressive in his rush; Can play defensive tackle in some sets or even drop in coverage.

Weaknesses: Physically he will not get much bigger; Only timed in at a 4.85 in combines; Will not give much help on the running game.

Why This Pick: These are the type of players the Steelers thrive with -- team-oriented guys who will work hard and respect the game.

Mock Draft: Day Four

2006-04-18T23:28:00.000-04:00

You miss the first three days? Just scroll down...lazy ass.

Second half of the first round and it's been a a round filled with a few surprises like Baltimore trading up to take Cutler at 8. Three quarterbacks went in the top 8, defensive tackles were taken back-to-back. Overall 8 offensive players and 7 defensive ones have gone.

16) Miami - Chad Jackson, WR, Florida

Strengths: Natural receiver size (6'1, 213 pounds) with 4.35 speed; Is a threat in the middle of the field as well as vertical; Stepped up to catch almost 90 passes as a junior.

Weaknesses: Pretty much a selfish prick who was gladly shown the down by Meyer; Not a real physical presence.

Why This Pick: Nick Saban made it no secret that he wanted a top-flight receiver and few are more top flight than Jackson.

17) Minnesota - Santonio Holmes, WR, Ohio State

Strengths: A natural receiver, great route runner, does the little things well; Physical and strong but big-time home run hitter; Part of the great history of athletes from Glades Central High School.

Weaknesses: Has two kids (!!); Cousin of Fred Taylor; Not the fastest timed speed out there; A little smaller than most first-round receivers.

Why This Pick: The Vikings have needs and cap room. They could got a number of ways, but they decide to take the best on their board and let the chips fall.

Trade.

Dallas trades their first round pick (18th overall) to the N.Y. Giants. Details of trade will follow.

18) N.Y. Giants - Ernie Sims III, LB, Florida State

Strengths: A tackling machine, a playmaker who will go sideline to sideline and has the recovery speed to cover the tight end; Non-stop motor will shed blockers on every down.

Weaknesses: Lacking in size; Tends to freelance from time to time.

Why This Pick: The Giants take a huge gamble by moving up to select Sims to be the centerpiece of a rebuilt linebacking corps.

Details of the trade are as follows: The Giants acquire Dallas' first-round selection (#18) and fifth-round pick (#150) for the 25th overall selection in the draft, the Giants' third-round choice (#87) and the Giants' fifth-round pick (#158)

19) San Diego - Jimmy Williams, CB, Virginia Tech

Strengths: Probably the best defensive back in the draft; Long arms, great size for the position; Can play safety if needed

Weaknesses: Still learning the nuiances of being a cornerback; Tends to freelance and will give up the big play at times.

Why This Pick: Williams is great value at this spot. Even if he doesn't work out at corner he's a great addition to this team's secondary.

20) Kansas City: Tye Hill, CB, Clemson

Strengths: NCAA track champion clocked at a 4.30 in the combines; Stocky kid who plays the ball extremely well; Experienced player has continued to improve each year.

Weaknesses: Likes to be physical but probably doesn't have the size (5'9, 185) to do so in the pros; Often out of position in zone coverage.

Why This Pick: These last two selections should begin a run on cornerbacks for the rest of the first round. At this point its who has who rated higher.