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April 30, 2007

ADHD Power Hour: Randy Moss Edition

Hello. The third edition of the ADHD Power Hour starts ...now!

18. Arctic Monkeys. Favourite Worst Nightmare. Rocks.

17. Root canals suck.

16. To all those who doubt the Patriots picking up Randy Moss (and it's about 50-50) — two names to keep in mind: Corey Dillon and John Bowie.

Dillon had an even worse reputation than Moss when he came to the Pats for a second-round pick in the 2004 draft. He had quit on the Cincinnati Bengals, going so far as to throw his shoulder pads into the stands after his last game. When he got to Foxborough, it was months before he got to answer a question about something other than his reputation. But when Dillon finally got with a winning program, he was solid gold. Sure, he could still get prickly with the media, but who wouldn't? It's Boston. They're dicks.

And that's the thing with guys like Dillon and Moss: their "character" issues are mostly a direct result of continuous losing as part of flailing franchises. Don't underestimate how badly these guys want a ring. At 30-years-old, Moss will do anything to win. Anything. And considering he's still a freak of nature athletically (4.3 40 sound okay?), that's a good thing. Also a good thing: upgrading from Aaron Brooks to Tom Brady and from Art Shell to Bill Belichick.

As for Mr. Bowie, the University of Cincinnati cornerback chosen with the 110th selection in the draft has the distention of having already been traded for one of the most talented receivers in NFL history. (I said talented, not best. Get off my back.) So this question to those who have issues with the move: would you not trade John Bowie for Randy Moss?

15. Speaking of controversy, Ted Ginn, Jr. instead of Brady Quinn certainly provoked its share of negative reaction in Miami. I'm really kind of torn. On the one hand, Ginn is a potential game-breaker every time he touches the ball. I'm not nearly as down on the selection as a lot of people. On the other hand, this foot problem is going to dog him his entire rookie season (see Moss, Sinorice), and they passed up a potential franchise quarterback in Brady Quinn. This John Beck from BYU better be way more Steve Young than Ty Detmer.

14. Best five drafts other than the Pats: Buffalo (thought they reached for Marshawn Lynch, but Paul Posluszny in the second and Trent Edwards in the third were great picks), Arizona (nailed all five of their selections, getting steals with Alan Branch in the second and Delaware TE Ben Patrick in the seventh), Carolina (Jon Beason, Dwayne Jarrett, and Ryan Kalil may be best 1-2-3 picks of any team in the league), Cleveland (aside from Joe Thomas and Quinn, Eric Wright may turn out to be a steal and seventh-rounder Syndric Steptoe has potential as a return specialist), and Oakland (franchise QB, not to mention very good TE in Zach Miller, DE in Quentin Moses, and RB in Michael Bush).

13. Worst draft: Kansas City. It's not that I don't like Dwayne Bowe, but they blew a golden opportunity to build their offensive line with blue chip talent. Also, don't underestimate the damage done with the Larry Johnson trade talk. He's an emotional guy, and hearing the Chiefs were talking about unloading him is going to cause trouble. He's next year's Lance Briggs.

12. Five "priority" rookie free agents: Jared Zabransky (QB, Boise State), Tyler Palko (QB, Pittsburgh), Ramonce Taylor (RB, Texas), Rhema McKnight (WR, Notre Dame), Kody Bliss (P, Auburn).

11. Three worst records in baseball: Washington Nationals (8-17), Kansas City Royals (8-17), New York Yankees (9-14).

10. The Legend of Barry Baseball is nearing its climax.

9. Which do you think happens first, Barry Bonds breaking the record or Alberto Gonzales resigning?

8. How 'bout those Warriors! Baron Davis is playing possessed right now.

7. I never realized just how good a defensive player Kirk Heinrich is.

6. I'd love to see a Bulls/Cavs final in the East.

5. RIP, Josh Hancock.

4. For those Ultimate Fighter fans, good news with a quality match set for the UFC 72 card (June 16): Scott Smith vs. Ed Herman. The headliner on that card is Rich Franklin vs. Martin Kampmann. Jason McDonald will fight Rory Singer.

3. Bad news for Ultimate Fighter fans: next season's coaches are going to be Matt Serra and Matt Hughes. They'll fight for Serra's belt at the finale. I'm eager for the fight (Hughes is going to womp him, that's right — womp), but that's going to be a lot of listening to Matt Serra talk.

2. Oscar De la Hoya is going down.

1. Click clack.

Seth Doria is a freelance writer and blogger in St. Louis. For more, please visit The Left Calf.

Posted by Joshua Duffy at 9:33 PM | Comments (2)

2007 NFL Draft Recap

Five Quick Hits

* It was interesting to listen to Keyshawn Johnson on ESPN's draft coverage. I especially liked when he said that after Jake Delhomme's injury last season, "We were left with nothing." Somewhere, Chris Weinke is crying.

* It's starting to seem like character problems run in the Vick family. Everyone knows that Marcus Vick is poison, but Michael has the Ron Mexico incident, the marijuana water bottle problem at the airport, flipping off his own fans last year, and now, apparent involvement in the cruel and disgusting practice of dog fighting.

* What is up with everyone mortgaging next year's draft? It seems like half the league traded away their 2008 first-round picks.

* Steve Young really, really, really likes Brady Quinn.

* Right now, let's end the heinous tradition of booing anyone actually present at the draft. I know Brady Quinn got an ovation when he was finally picked, but we shouldn't be booing kids just for showing up, and seeing Donovan McNabb's smile falter when he was showered with boos on draft day is one of the saddest things I've ever seen in football.

***

With the first day of the NFL's annual college draft in the books by this writing, winners and losers have already emerged. The first three rounds are where teams make their most significant draft picks, and every year, some teams do better than others.

First-Day Winners

* Detroit Lions — I'm a sucker for the Lions. I'm not a Detroit fan, and the Matt Millen Era has been an unqualified disaster, but almost every year they make my list of draft-day winners.

This season, they worked four trades on the first day of the draft, bringing in four impact players. First, they selected Calvin Johnson with the second overall pick. Johnson was the consensus top talent in the draft, and while wide receiver wasn't a need for Detroit, Johnson can help any team. Some people will mock the Lions for taking a first-round receiver for the fourth time in five years, but that doesn't change Johnson's value.

After Johnson, Detroit parlayed its second- and third-round picks into three second-rounders, selecting Drew Stanton, Ikaika Alama-Francis, and Gerald Alexander. The Lions started by trading down nine spots, getting Stanton and adding Buffalo's third-round choice. The additions of Johnson and Stanton made wide receiver Mike Williams expendable, and gave the team depth at quarterback, so Detroit traded Williams and backup QB Luke McCown to the Raiders for an early fourth-round pick.

Late in the second round, the Lions traded their own third-rounder and a fifth-round selection to New Orleans, moving up to take Alama-Francis, a pass-rusher from Hawaii. Finally, Detroit packaged the 74th pick overall (obtained in the trade with Buffalo) and a fourth-round choice and traded them to Baltimore for another second-rounder, which it used to add Alexander, a Boise State DB who can help fill the hole created by Dre' Bly's offseason departure.

On Saturday, the Lions grabbed a once-in-a-generation talent at wideout, drafted their QB of the future, added a pass-rusher who should compete for playing time right away, and replaced their most significant offseason loss. It doesn't get much better than that.

* Atlanta Falcons — In this year's draft, Atlanta started to reap the benefits of the Matt Schaub trade. The trade sent Atlanta's promising backup QB to the Texans, bringing a two-spot rise in the first round, Houston's second-rounder, and the Texans' second-round pick in 2008.

The Falcons started with DE Jamaal Anderson, whom most analysts rated as the second-best pass rusher in this year's draft. In the second round, they got Justin Blalock, who will probably start at left guard right away, and Chris Houston, a talented cornerback who dropped further than expected. Pairing Houston with DeAngelo Hall will give Atlanta a pair of good, young corners for years to come. Finally, the Falcons added Laurent Robinson to help address their long-standing wide receiver problem.

* Louisiana State University — The Tigers had more first-round picks (4) than anyone else, and were the only school with multiple top-10 selections. JaMarcus Russell went first overall, LaRon Landry went sixth, and wide receivers Dwayne Bowe and Craig Davis were taken later in the first round.

* Buffalo Bills — I'm not crazy about their first-round choice, Marshawn Lynch, but they needed someone to replace Willis McGahee. What I really liked were Buffalo's second- and third-round choices. The Bills traded up to get Penn State LB Paul Posluszny, then got Stanford QB Trent Edwards, whom many projected at the top of the second round, in the middle of the third. Posluszny will fill London Fletcher's place in the lineup, and Edwards gives the Bills insurance in case J.P. Losman regresses or gets hurt.

* Green Bay Packers — I don't think they did quite as well as Detroit or Atlanta, but the Packers addressed all their most urgent needs on the draft's first day. They got the draft's second DT (Justin Harrell) and added safety Aaron Rouse in the third round, filling key holes on a defense that tied for 25th last season in points allowed. On offense, the Packers picked up RB Brandon Marshall to replace another Nebraska running back, Ahman Green. They also added a wide receiver to bolster a receiving corps that, after Donald Driver, is decidedly mediocre. Green Bay may have reached on several of its first-day selections, but there are no obvious errors here, and the team filled a lot of holes. That makes the Packers a draft-day winner in my book.

* Adrian Peterson — If any of the players invited to New York for the draft fell out of the top 10, I expected it to be Peterson, not Brady Quinn. The Vikings obviously felt that Peterson's potential outweighed the injury risk, but Peterson was not a slam-dunk, and I think he has to be pleased at seventh overall.

* New England Patriots — They only made one addition on the draft's first day, picking up Miami safety Brandon Meriweather to fortify their oft-injured secondary. But they also got an early fourth-round selection and San Francisco's 2008 first-round pick, plus Wes Welker, who was obtained in a trade with Miami last month.

* Carolina Panthers — The first team to trade down on draft day, the Panthers still picked up their guy, linebacker Jon Beason, who should immediately step into a starting spot to replace Chris Draft. Carolina used its second pick on USC receiver Dwayne Jarrett, who will likely be the third receiver this season, behind Steve Smith and Keyshawn Johnson, before moving into the starting lineup next year to replace Keyshawn. The Panthers also stole Ryan Kalil, another former Trojan, near the bottom of the second round, with the pick obtained in their trade with the Jets. Many analysts expected to Kalil to go in the early second round, or maybe even the bottom of the first.

First-Day Losers

* Washington — They would have loved to get Gaines Adams, but I have no problem with LaRon Landry. The reason Washington is here is because they had no other draft picks. This team needs a general manager.

* Brady Quinn — When the draft began, he was a strong possibility for third overall, and it wouldn't have been shocking if he'd gone first or second. Ninth, to Miami, seemed like the farthest he might fall. Instead, Quinn dropped to 22nd. That will lower his signing bonus by millions of dollars, but what really hurt was the wait Quinn endured in Radio City Music Hall.

* Miami Dolphins — I actually think it was kind of inspired to pass on Quinn and take John Beck in the second round. Beck won't have to deal with the same kind of pressure Quinn would have, and the Dan Marino successor stuff. But Ted Ginn, Jr., was a mighty reach at ninth overall, and the Dolphins should have traded down if that's who they wanted.

* Chicago Bears — I don't understand their draft. They start with a tight end, Greg Olsen, who was a good value at 31st overall, but doesn't really fit on a team that already has Desmond Clark. They used their second pick on a pass rusher, Dan Bazuin. This team already has Alex Brown, Adewale Ogunleye, and Mark Anderson. How are they going to get Bazuin on the field?

* Philadelphia Eagles — I kind of like their second and fourth choices, but I really don't like what Philadelphia did with its first pick. The Eagles traded out of the first round, which isn't a sin on its own, but they used the picks they got in return on QB Kevin Kolb and LB Stewart Bradley. I'm skeptical that Bradley will be an impact player at the pro level, but Kolb is the real head-scratcher here.

When you take a player 36th overall, you expect him to be a starter by his second season, if not sooner. The Eagles already have a starting quarterback, Donovan McNabb, who is among the league's best and is still fairly young. McNabb has struggled with injuries, but Philadelphia already had veteran backups behind him, and the Kolb selection seems to indicate a real lack of faith in McNabb's ability to stay healthy. It seems premature to give up on McNabb, and it's the wrong message to send to your franchise player.

Tweeners

* Cleveland Browns — This year's Cleveland draft is the tweener to end all other tweeners. The Browns got both Joe Thomas and Brady Quinn, which was a coup. Winners. But they gave up a ton — probably too much — to get Quinn: the 36th pick overall, plus next year's first-rounder. Losers. In the second round, the Browns picked up Eric Wright, a first-round talent at cornerback who dropped because of character issuses. If he's a solid citizen, that's a win. If he's Pac-Man Jones, the Browns wasted a pick.

* Denver Broncos — I really like that the Broncos addressed needs — offensive and defensive line — on the first day of the draft, but they really didn't need to move up to take Jarvis Moss.

* San Diego Chargers — Another team that took the right players, but may have given up too much to get them. San Diego used its first pick on a wide receiver, which was clearly a need position, but Craig Davis probably could've been chosen in the second round, and wasn't a great value in the first. Safety Eric Weddle was a great choice, but the Chargers gave up a ton to get him. Even early in the second round, you're sacrificing a lot by giving up your own second -round choice, plus third- and fifth-round selections, and next year's third-rounder. I know the Chargers already have some depth and don't need a ton of picks, but Weddle has to become a star to justify what San Diego gave up to select him.

Posted by Brad Oremland at 2:41 PM | Comments (0)

April 28, 2007

The Great Mysteries of Sports

Ed. Note: From time to time, columnist Greg Wyshynski is honored to hand over his weekly writing duties to a designated expert in a given field or a celebrity of famous, or infamous, reputation. Please welcome this week's guest columnist, Baltimore Orioles broadcaster Gary Thorne.)

Hello, everyone, this is Gary Thorne. You may know me from my work as a baseball, football, and hockey play-by-play television broadcaster on networks such as ESPN, considered by many to be the Worldwide Leader in Sports.

You may remember me because I will, on occasion, mangle a statistic, twist a fact, or botch the pronunciation of more names than a processing officer at Ellis Island in 1912. But I will always find work in the industry because I am well-spoken and have A BOOMING ANNOUNCER'S VOICE.

This week, I made some news when I mentioned during a Boston Red Sox/Baltimore Orioles baseball contest that catcher Doug Mirabelli had told me that the red blotch on pitcher Curt Schilling's sock, during Game 6 of the 2004 American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees, wasn't blood from his injured ankle, but rather red paint. Something called a "blogger" heard my comments, typed them up, sent them to the Boston media; soon, myself and the Red Sox were being pestered by reporters about my claims.

It was then that I realized that I had made two critical mistakes: one, I spoke about the Boston Red Sox in a disparaging way, thus jeopardizing any future employment with ESPN; and two, I attempted to tarnish a season that for many Boston fans is the most important moment in human history since Jesus Christ walked the Earth. It was not my intention to be the Da Vinci Code of Major League Baseball.

It appears I simply misunderstood Mirabelli, taking what was clubhouse sarcasm, and some vague language on his part, and making the logical assumption that Curt Schilling was more interested in perpetrating a large-scale hoax than trying to help facilitate one of the most legendary comebacks in baseball history. It was a misunderstanding.

And, looking back on my storied career as a professional sports broadcaster with A BOOMING ANNOUNCER'S VOICE, I may have also had a few more misunderstandings. Just to clarify:

Goalie Clint Malarchuk Actually Did Get His Throat Sliced Open During a Game — On March 22, 1989, St. Louis Blues player Steve Tuttle's skate caught Malarchuk on the neck; before you knew it, Malarchuk was on the ice in pools of what appeared to be his own blood and allegedly came within minutes of dying from the injury.

Some years later, I spoke with one of Malarchuk's teammates on the Buffalo Sabres about the incident. He told me he had never seen anyone in so much pain. I, however, was completely convinced he said "so much paint" and ... well, you can see where this is going. Turns out Malarchuk actually did have his external carotid artery sliced open. It was a misunderstanding.

Joe Namath Actually Did Guarantee a Victory In Super Bowl III — Legend has it that three days before Jets quarterback Joe Namath led his team is an enormous upset victory in Super Bowl III over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts, he responded to a heckler by saying, "We'll win. I guarantee it."

Some years later, I was near the Jets locker room when I distinctly heard Namath tell the other party in a telephone conversation, "No, it wasn't guaranteed." Logically, I believed he was speaking about Super Bowl III; turns out he was referring to the maintenance plan for the Cadillac he had just purchased. It was a misunderstanding.

Kirk Gibson Actually Was Injured During the 1988 World Series — In Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, Dodgers pinch-hitter Kirk Gibson hit a 3-2 slider from Oakland A's closer Dennis Eckersley over the wall for a home run, winning the game in the bottom of the ninth with two outs. Television cameras caught Gibson limping around the bases, allegedly in pain after severely injuring his leg in the National League Championship Series.

Some years later, I asked Gibson whether his injury was a hoax. "Are flippin' serious?" he said, only he didn't say flippin'. "My flippin' leg was more flippin' damaged than your flippin' face will be if you ever flippin' ask me that flippin' question again, you stupid flip."

Logically, I assumed that Gibson's tirade was clubhouse humor, acknowledging the fact that he had faked his injury and used that silly pimp-limp to boost his own celebrity. It was a misunderstanding.

Cyclist Lance Armstrong Actually Did Have Cancer — In 1996, Lance Armstrong allegedly underwent chemotherapy for testicular cancer that metastasized to both his lungs, abdomen, and his brain. One doctor gave him a less than 3 percent chance of survival, and he lost one of his testicles during the treatment. He, of course, went on to win seven consecutive Tour de France championships.

Some years later, I was at a charity event and heard Lance Armstrong say, "I never had it." Logically, I believed he was speaking about stage three nonseminomatous testicular cancer; turns out he was talking about Ethiopian food. It was a misunderstanding.

So there it is. Not a mea culpa; just like I told the media after The Painted Sox story this week, "I don't feel bad about doing what I thought was right and what I believed."

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go interview a gentleman who recently threw a clock out of his bedroom window. I understand he had a strong desire to see time fly.


SportsFan MagazineGreg Wyshynski is the Features Editor for SportsFan Magazine in Washington, DC, and the Senior Sports Editor for The Connection Newspapers of Northern Virginia. His book is "Glow Pucks and 10-Cent Beer: The 101 Worst Ideas in Sports History." His columns appear every Saturday on Sports Central. You can e-mail Greg at [email protected].

Posted by Greg Wyshynski at 2:46 PM | Comments (0)

April 27, 2007

Nine Weeks of Basketball at its Best

With all apologizes to March Madness, basketball season has finally arrived. Sure, the college game can get exciting because some underdog will make for a good story, and the one loss and you're out factor make each game a little more tense than an NBA playoff game. Any real basketball fan, however, will tell you that the real madness takes place over the course of nine weeks in the NBA playoffs.

Already we've seen things get crazy, and not all series have even shifted locations yet.

The Kobe Show

Kobe Bryant has been, surprise, at the center of some of the most amazing occurrences in the first week, though not always for the same reason. When he dropped for 28 in the first half of game one, I went immediately to my computer to see what the playoff record is, because after all Kobe is involved, and you never know. After finding out that it is 55 (by Allen Iverson, who certainly wouldn't have been my first guess), I convinced myself that he was getting there. He was in the zone.

Then he goes 1-for-10 in the fourth quarter and they lose badly.

So in Game 2 you've got to assume he's not going to repeat because he never has two bad fourth quarters in a row, right? They lost by 30. Or so I hear. It got so unbearable that I couldn't watch the fourth.

The first round had betrayed me. You know that San Antonio, Dallas, and Detroit are just practicing for the second round, so the first round is a chance for individuals to steal the show. Yet my favorite individual was nowhere to be found while perennial losers Baron Davis and Tracy McGrady turned into second-half scoring machines.

Then I read the quote that restored all hope in the Laker series Thursday before Game 3, when Phil Jackson said that they need to play "Kobeball" to have any chance to win. I perked up like Jack Nicholson did when he received a birthday cake from two smoking hot Laker Girls. It's not over yet.

Well, sort of. The series is still practically over. Phoenix is too much. But the idea of "Kobeball" is too intriguing to miss. So I once again got my hopes up unreasonably high, only to see him come through with one of the most efficient and dominant games Bryant has had all year. He was back, if only for one night.

Does this mean that they are going to take the series? Of course not. Kobe got a lot of help from a lot of people who rarely contribute (mostly you, Kwame Brown). But you better believe I'll be tuned in Sunday when "Kobeball" takes the national spotlight dressed in his Sunday Best (the home whites) looking to tie the series.

After all, Kobe is involved, and you never know.

Second Guess of the Week

Why on earth did Avery Johnson change his starting lineup for Game 1? I realize that he was trying to give his team favorable matchups, but come on. Why not just say, "We won 67 games, here's our best five, try and stop us"? Instead, he basically told Golden State that he thinks they can beat him, and the Warriors ran with it. Luckily, Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson acted like Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson in Game 2, and order was restored.

A more important note about the Mavs/Warriors game one was the "NBA Cares" segment where Dallas hosted a charity game. Old players and local celebrities played and wore replica Mavericks jerseys with their name and a number on the back. However, Mark Cuban's jersey had a dollar sign instead of a number. That's right, he played a charity game as number $. That is either completely arrogant or completely awesome. I'll go with the latter.

Paging Doctor Andrews

Listening to the radio broadcast of the Pistons/Magic game three, I heard the epitome of "I wish I was watching right now" radio play-by-play lines when the announcer gave this description, "Grant Hill drives the lane, Blocked by McDyess! And McDyess comes down in a heap on top of Hill."

Before both men got up I had a brief second where I thought that both of these players may have just ended their careers, and I missed it. Both guys were fine, but it's probably not the strongest testament to durability when two players collide and the fact that they'll both still be able to walk again afterwards needs to be noted.

You're Not Going to Wear That Harness

As if I couldn't despise Dwyane Wade any more, he broke quite possibly my biggest pet peeve of basketball players by wearing sleeves under his jersey. I'm guessing he got special permission from the league because of his near fatal shoulder injury. I hate when college players wear a t-shirt under their jersey. You just don't look like a ball player. Corey Brewer looks like he's got the potential to be a very solid pro, but nothing screams "college player" like wearing a t-shirt under your jersey. If he wants to be a good pro, he'd better start dressing the part.

While I'm Still Worked Up About Accessories...

Did someone create Vince Carter on "NBA Live?" If I counted correctly in Game 1, he had on seven different pieces of flare: a headband, a wristband on his right elbow, a sleeve on his left arm, high socks, two knee pads, and the NBA logo compression shorts. Now, I could care less about what a player looks like, but he was as geared up as Billy Joe Cuthbert in the "Mamba vs. Mongoose" commercials, only Cuthbert is a joke.

The playoffs are finally in full swing, and it couldn't be more entertaining. So Cinderella may not get any invitations to the dance in June, but she had her fun in March. The time has finally arrived for the big boys to host their party.

Posted by Scott Shepherd at 7:27 PM | Comments (2)

April 26, 2007

The Sports Guy's Enforcers

Ever read Deadspin? I imagine most people reading this have at least heard of it. It's pretty great, sort of the gold standard of irreverent sports commentary. Far from being a guy-in-Mom's-attic operation, Deadspin is a part of a media conglomerate (Gawker Media) and they do professional work at a high volume.

Deadspin isn't a daily stop for me, but it is regular stop. I particularly like their daily "Blogdome" feature, in which they round up a half dozen or so amusing or interesting columns or posts from elsewhere on the web. If their one-sentence write-up is intriguing enough, I follow the link.

I followed one such link back in February, where a blogger picked apart a Bill Simmons basketball column.

The post created a firestorm of 66 comments (you have to click on the comments link to see them), a great number of which took the blogger to task, accusing him of jealousy and suggesting he get a life in the harshest terms possible.

Huh, I thought, Deadspin traffic sure brings in some riff-raff, and then I forget about it.

Then, about a month later, Deadspin linked to yet another blog with a post up about Simmons. It had to do with Simmons' wife using the same metaphor about using a Scrabble piece upside-down so it appears to be a blank that Simmons used in another column. It could scarcely even be called a criticism — a mild jab is more like it; a facetious accusation of Simmons ghosting for his wife.

And yet, once again, comments like these from Simmons supporters:

"Holy s**t dude, get a life.
Just... wow.

And I ain't no Simmons defender, either. Go outside and get some fresh air, homey. Look at the clouds for a minute."

Now, please, I beseech you, go read the column in question and ask yourself if the tone of that comment, or others like it, are anywhere near merited by the column in question.

Reading that made me remember the first column l linked to above, because now I am wondering if there's anything to this phenomena.

After all, when they rip on Simmons on Deadspin itself, people don't jump to his defense, they just good-naturedly try to out one-line each other just like they do on every Deadspin post.

But posts about Simmons on other sites linked by Deadspin get reamed. Why?

It hit me like a ton of bricks. You know how Simmons makes frequent mention of his gigantic entourage of friends — J-Poo, Bip Bip, K-K eith, and Jerky, or whomever.

I asked you at the top of the column if you knew of Deadspin, but ... really, I have to think you do, mon. They are BIG. If you are big into sports and irreverent humor, and surf the web, you know it's the preeminent entity on the Internet except perhaps for Simmons himself.

Simmons and his crew almost certainly read Deadspin. I'd bet my house on it. And if someone picked on your friend, wouldn't you want to defend him? Especially if you were a muscle-headed hanger-on with a frat boy's sense of humor and loyalty?

Most of the vitriolic comments come from bravely anonymous commenters, or profiles obviously thrown together so they could comment on other people's blogs. On Deadspin, you have to be invited in order to comment, and they don't give out invitations on demand.

Sure enough, I looked up more Deadspin links to columns about the Sports Guy (here, here, and here) and the Simmons defenders come out of the woodwork without fail (you often have to scroll to the bottom of the comments to find them; it takes awhile for the muscleheads to figure out the compooter). The telltale signs:

You could make a drinking game out of it, it's so reliable. I only hope that Deadspin discovers this column and links to it. That way, either Simmons' buddies will start angrily defending him in the comments below, proving my point, or they will realize the jig is up and stop. Win/win.

But how can I get linked by Deadspin? How do they find their blogdome features? Perhaps they put some key words into Google and see what it brings back. What key words can I throw in that will appeal to Deadspin editors? Hmmmm. Let's try:

John Amaechi Leather Carl Monday Billy Packer I'm the chick who got Harold Reynolds fired Barbaro.

But even if Deadspin does hook me up, will the Sports Guy entourage even possibly respond if I don't bag on their boy? Their overrated, one-note has-been of a boy? Their plagiarizing, joke-recycling, stale act, irreverent-turned-irrelevant boy? Did I mention that shortly after the Scrabble piece above, an item appeared in The Sports Guy mailbag asking (nicely) the same question about it? Simmons answered, starting with, "I'm glad you asked that question." Of course you are. What a coincidence! What a fraud!

Posted by Kevin Beane at 8:52 PM | Comments (39)

NASCAR Top 10 Power Rankings: Week 8

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jeff Gordon — Gordon took the victory in Phoenix, his first win since July of last year, and more importantly, the 76th Cup win of his career. That tied him with Dale Earnhardt for sixth on the all-time NASCAR victories list. Gordon then flew the No. 3 flag from his window as he celebrated with a victory lap. The win also secured his position as the favorite to win this year's Nextel Cup championship, a tenuous position that changes 30 to 36 times a year, or as often as Tony Stewart's mood.

"Regardless of what Dale Earnhardt's fans think," explains Gordon, "I was just trying to show the man respect by waving his flag. I find it fascinating that Earnhardt fans dislike me enough to throw half-full beer cans at me, but the don't dislike me enough to throw full cans at me. I think I'm beginning to win them over."

2. Jeff Burton — Burton finished 13th is the Subway Fresh Fit 500, only his second result outside of the top 10 this year. In eight starts this year, he's finished in the top 15 each time, and is one of only three drivers to have completed every lap this year.

"I guess you could call me 'Mr. Consistency," says Burton, "but I'd rather you not. That's just a polite way of saying 'This guy's never won a Cup title.' I compare 'Mr. Consistency' to the title of 'Miss Congeniality' in a beauty pageant. If I were in a beauty pageant, which I'm not, I wouldn't want to be the one they called 'Miss Congeniality.' And, if I were in a beauty pageant, which I'm not, Jamie McMurray would surely win."

3. Jimmie Johnson — Johnson finished fourth in Phoenix, one of three Hendrick cars in the top seven, but persistent electrical problems kept him from challenging for the win. He held on to fourth in the Cup point standings, where he is 211 behind pal Jeff Gordon.

"When life gives you lemons, or a faulty battery," says Johnson, "then you make lemonade. And when you empty that cup or bottle of lemonade, then you should toss that container at whomever dares fly the No. 3 flag of Dale Earnhardt. At least, that's what you should do if you share the short-sightedness and lack of simple graces of Earnhardt fans who choose to commit such an act. By the way, they throw like girls, except for the girls, who throw like men and also look like men."

4. Matt Kenseth — Kenseth finished fifth, the only Ford in the top seven in a race dominated by Chevrolets. In fact, Kenseth and three of his Roush teammates accounted for the only Fords in the top 23.

"Under normal circumstances," says Kenseth, "NASCAR would rectify this situation by evening the playing field with some crazy solution that puts the Chevys at a disadvantage. Like by sapping some horsepower from them, or forcing Michael Waltrip to drive them. However, since the Car of Tomorrow was supposed to do just that, level the playing field, I guess I'll just have to continue making the most of this Ford Fusion, or as I call it, the 2007 LTD."

5. Tony Stewart — Stewart led 132 laps in Phoenix, but was passed on lap 300 by Jeff Gordon, who held on for the win. Earlier, on lap 299, Stewart, running second, sliced between Gordon and the lapped car of Martin Truex, Jr. for the lead, then briefly contemplated retirement before finishing second. Then, Stewart showed his best speed of the day by leaving the track before talking to reporters.

"Hey, at least I waited until the race was over to leave," says Stewart. "It's frustrating to run such a good race and not come away with a win. And it's even more frustrating to have to answer silly questions about a silly, off-the-cuff remark I made last week about my so-called retirement. I'm sick of those questions, and I'm sick of hearing that New York Yankees announcer say 'an A-Bomb from A-Rod' every time Alex Rodriguez hits a home run."

6. Denny Hamlin — Hamlin led 70 laps and was charging to the front when a pit lane speeding penalty dashed his hopes for the win. He still finished third, and held on to fifth in the point standings, 242 behind Jeff Gordon.

"I can't say I necessarily agree with NASCAR's pit road speed monitors," says Hamlin, who can't drive 55, and often wonders where have all the good times gone. "Anyway, I thought radar guns were illegal. Well, at least they are in my home state of Virginia. But who are these NASCAR officials monitoring this high tech equipment? Are they trained to understand this equipment, or are they the same guys that umpire church softball on Friday nights?"

7. Kyle Busch — Busch scored his fifth top-10 of the year with a seventh in the Subway Fresh Fit 500. More impressively, he remained at the track for the entire race, although he briefly considered checking out for an ice cream sandwich during his first pit stop. Strangely though, Busch was uncharacteristically silent about the COT's first foray onto a mile-length track.

"Look, some things are more important than my feelings about the COT," says Busch. "How can I worry about the COT when my hero Sanjaya has been voted off of American Idol? I'm heartbroken. Can we get this kid to do a national anthem, maybe before qualifying at Talladega when no one is listening? Anyway, compared to how Alec Baldwin talks to his daughter on the cell phone, I treat the COT like a queen."

8. Mark Martin — Martin finished 12th at Phoenix International Raceway, his only finish outside of the top 10 in six starts this year. He moves up one spot to 10th in the points, 405 behind Jeff Gordon, but is third in average points per start with 153.5, behind only Gordon's 165.7 and Jeff Burton's 156.5.

"That's great," says Martin. "Somebody give me a pat on the back. I'm third in 'APPS.' Who gives an 'RA?' Anyway, I never was too good at math. I said I was retiring three years ago, and look at me now. Has it been three years? My wife's not too impressed with my math skills either, although I'm still her favorite rapper."

9. Kevin Harvick — Harvick's reign in Phoenix came to an end, as last year's two-time winner at PIR finished 10th after leading 54 early laps. He jumps three places in the points to 11th, 424 behind Jeff Gordon.

"Rain in Phoenix?" asks Harvick. "Man, it never rains there. Anyway, there was quite a bit of bumping and banging out there, and I was right in the middle of it. There were even a couple of instances of cars running four-wide, which has come to be known as proof that Juan Pablo Montoya is still in the race."

10. Kyle Petty — Are you surprised to see Petty in the rankings? Yeah, so is he. But let's give him credit. He did lead lap 39 in Phoenix for five bonus points, then shot down a monetary offer from Michael Waltrip for those five points. That alone gets him in the rankings. Plus, Petty hawks a mean Fathead life-size wall sticker. And, trust me, the Kyle Petty inventory is plentiful.

"Hey, I'll gladly take tenth in the power rankings," says Petty. "Just like I'll gladly accept my ranking of No. 2 in the 'most well-known son of a seven-time Cup champion.' I'll catch Dale, Jr. one of these days. And, congratulations to Jeff Gordon for tying Dale Earnhardt. Only 124 more wins and he catches King Richard. Until then, he's just the queen."

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 8:11 PM | Comments (0)

April 25, 2007

NFL Draft: Looking For California Love

NOTE: The great thing about the NFL draft is that no matter how much analysis or research we've done, there are always unexpected stories that develop. Different characters are brought into the limelight, either by being selected much earlier or much later than the national consensus predicted. This column isn't so much a "draft preview" as it is an attempt to look ahead to one of those possible stories.

So I was working on my NFL mock draft, and everything was going great. A few chalk picks (JaMarcus Russell to the Raiders), a few surprises (Levi Brown to Arizona at #5, assuming Joe Thomas is off the board to Detroit at 2) and more than a few semi-guesses.

But one player nagged me throughout - Cal RB Marshawn Lynch. Pretty much every board has him second at RB behind Adrian Peterson, which seems entirely reasonable. In 2006, Lynch was the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year with 1,421 yards rushing, 328 yards receiving and 15 touchdowns. He can return kicks and runs a 4.46 40.

But assuming Peterson goes in the top 10 (anywhere from Cleveland at 3 to Houston at 10) and Lynch doesn’t (a fairly universal assumption), you have to wonder who is going to bite on Lynch from 11 down.

The candidates:

At 11, San Francisco has Frank Gore. At 12, Buffalo needs an RB, but needs a CB or LB more. At 13, the Rams have Steven Jackson. At 14, the Panthers have DeAngelo Williams and DeShaun Foster. At 15, Pittsburgh has Willie Parker and Najeh Davenport. At 16, the Packers need an RB (and this is where most every mock has Lynch going). At 17, Jacksonville has Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. At 18, the Bengals have Rudi Johnson and Chris Perry. At 19, the Titans are said to need an RB but have 2006 second-rounder LenDale White.

At 20, the Giants have Brandon Jacobs and Reuben Droughns. At 21, Denver has Travis Henry and Mike Bell. At 22, Dallas has Julius Jones (for now) and Marion Barber III. At 23, KC has LJ and Michael Bennett. At 24 (and 28), the Pats have Laurence Maroney. At 25, the Jets have Thomas Jones and Leon Washington. At 26, the Eagles have Brian Westbrook. At 27, the Saints have Reggie and Deuce. At 29, the Ravens have Willis McGahee. At 30, the Chargers have LT and Michael Turner (for now). At 31, the Bears have Cedric Benson. And at 32, the Colts have Joseph Addai.

(Deep breath ...)

So, assuming one of the other teams doesn’t use a first-round pick on a back-up running back, it’s up to Buffalo, Tennessee and Green Bay to make Lynch a first-rounder. And I don’t think there’s any way Buffalo jumps on Lynch at 12 with guys like Michigan CB Leon Hall, Mississippi LB Patrick Willis or even Miami TE Greg Olsen (Robert Royal anybody?) on the board.

And so the Bills pass. And the Rams pass. And the Panthers. And the Steelers.

Packers on the clock.

Green Bay’s RB depth chart right now is Vernand Morency and Noah Herron. They need a back, no doubt. Question is: Do they take one at 16?

It’s impossible to tell exactly who will be available by the time the Packers pick, but chances are that of the following players, at least half will still be on the board: Pittsburgh CB Darrelle Revis, Nebraska DE Adam Carriker, Florida S Reggie Nelson, Miami TE Greg Olsen, Penn State LB Paul Posluszny, Arkansas DE Jamal Anderson, LSU WR Dwayne Bowe and Ohio State WR Ted Ginn Jr.

Also consider the second tier of RBs (Auburn’s Kenny Irons, Ohio State’s Antonio Pittman, Nebraska’s Brandon Jackson, Louisville’s Michael Bush) should still be relatively intact when the Packers pick at No. 47.

And one more question: Can he be a lead back in Green Bay? He’s a California kid. What’s he know about frozen tundra?

And one more question: The Jeff Tedford Factor. His college stars haven't exactly set the NFL on fire. A few high draft picks who grew up under Tedford, either as a head coach or coordinator: Aaron Rodgers, Trent Dilfer, David Carr, Akili Smith, Joey Harrington, Kyle Boller, J.J. Arrington. Of course that list says absolutely nothing about Lynch as an individual football player, but NFL people are weird about stuff like that.

Packers, pass. Jaguars, pass. Bengals, pass. Titans on the clock.

As I mentioned, Tennessee already has LenDale White, so running back can’t be the top priority, especially when they just lost their top corner and punt returner to a year-long suspension. Plus, Lynch was accused of sexual assault just five months ago. Charges were never filed and it seems entirely plausible (probable, even) this was a false accusation with the intent to extort payment. But this is the NFL draft. In other words, reality is nice, but perception is the real name of the game. And when owner Bud Adams, burned so badly by overlooking the billowing red flags with Pacman, sees a guy with that kind of accusation, plus the braids and the mouth grille, he’s going to blink. It’s not fair to Lynch (dude’s got “Mama’s Boy” tattooed on his back, for Christ’s sake), but it is most definitely the NFL in 2007.

Titans, pass. And the free fall begins.

Nobody else needs a first-round running back. There are a glut of receivers who could all go between 20 and 30 (Ginn, Bowe, Tennessee’s Robert Meachum, USC’s Dwayne Jarrett, perhaps even South Carolina’s Sidney Rice, Ohio State’s Anthony Gonzalez or USC’s Steve Smith, though those last three all seem ticketed for the second round). There’s Florida DE Jarvis Moss. There’s the Texas DB tandem of Aaron Ross and Michael Griffin. There’s Jon Beason and Joe Staley and Lawrence Timmons.

Giants, pass. Broncos, pass. Cowboys, pass.

Chiefs, Patriots, Jets, Eagles, Saints.

Patriots again, Ravens, Chargers, Bears.

That’s three hours of heartache right there, three hours of frustration and tears, the foundation for a life-long grudge against 31 teams. People are going to pay for this.

One last shot at the first round: The Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts. Peyton Manning. Tony Dungy. Marvin Harrison. Rings.

The Colts have lost both their starting CBs (assuming they don't match the Saints' offer to Jason David), not to mention Cato June, Montae Reagor and Mike Doss. Their defense was pretty bad to begin with, but now? Eeeesh.

They can take UNLV CB Eric Wright (never mind the ecstasy). They can take Miami S Brandon Meriweather (never mind the head stomp). They can even take Utah S Eric Weddle (so what if he “below-average bulk” and only “adequate” speed?). But they have to go defense. They just have to.

And of course you know by now how I’m going to end this story.

With the 32nd and last pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, the Indianapolis Colts select ...

... Mama's Boy.

Seth Doria is a freelance writer and blogger in St. Louis. For more news and notes on sports and politics, plus the second annual Mock NFL Mock Draft Competition (on Thursday), please visit The Left Calf.

Posted by Joshua Duffy at 9:21 PM | Comments (0)

April 24, 2007

2007 NFL Mock Draft, Final Release

As we approach zero hour for NFL draftnik maniacs everywhere (present company included), the draft picture for the league's yearly selection extravaganza is becoming increasingly and predictably cloudy. Misinformation is leaked through just about every media channel known to man and it requires a disciplined look at the facts and trends to make any sort of semi-educated guess as to what any one team may do on April 28th. Or you can just save yourself the trouble of sorting through the details on your own and you can take some "expert's" word.

That is where I come in. As one of these aforementioned "draftnik maniacs," I have spent a nauseating amount of time pouring over articles, team statements, depth charts, and eligible prospects in attempting to determine, for no apparent reason, just how the draft may play out. While the pay-off may be frustratingly intangible, it has come time to collect, and that collection comes in the form of my final mock draft.

As a self-proclaimed "expert" — and I use this term about as loosely as it can be used — I would like to qualify myself by stating that I've been a draft aficionado for the better part of 10 years. I've watched every minute of draft day coverage since the turn of the century, taking copious notes on draft-day tendencies, team preferences, and what I like to call the "Belichik Factor" (which, for future reference, can be best described as any team's tendency to say one thing and mean something completely different).

In addition, I've spent an alarming amount of time reviewing publications, videos, and combine/personal workout results in an attempt to quantify the actual value of hundreds of this year's prospective draftees. My "hit rate" over the past several years is solid enough to separate myself from some of my peers, even when I faced ridicule (for example, I called the Mario Williams pick in mid-March last year) and doubt (I theorized that Ben Roethlisberger would slide to the Steelers on draft day, but would be the most successful QB in his draft class over the short term).

This is not to say my picks are infallible (I insisted that Maryland DT Randy Starks was a top-20 pick and he fell to round three in the '04 draft, for instance), but on the whole, my record qualifies me as more than just someone that throws darts at a wall full of names.

So, submitted for your perusal and approval, I present to you the final three round version of my 2007 NFL draft projection, complete with potential trades, reaches, and steals. I ask you to judge for yourselves...

ROUND ONE

1. Oakland Raiders: QB Jamarcus Russell, LSU — Big arm. Durable body. Hot commodity. The three most attractive things about the former Tiger QB are high on Al Davis' list of favorite things, not to mention that he happens to play a high-profile position of need. While WR Calvin Johnson is certainly on the radar, Oakland's recent flirtations with the standout Georgia Tech receiver are little more than a last-ditch effort to get the Bucs to sell the farm for this pick. Russell makes much more sense and is big Al's kind of guy.

2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (via Detroit): WR Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech — Jon Gruden has made no secret of his lust (professionally speaking) for the Yellow Jacket receiver many have rated as the best-in-class regardless of position. Detroit has made no secret of their desire to trade down. This looks like a clear match on both fronts, and Gruden would jump at the chance to get the dynamic receiver he's craved.

TRADE DETAILS: Tampa Bay receives No. 2 overall pick; gives No. 4 overall, No. 35 (rd. 2), and No. 68 (rd. 3).

3. Cleveland Browns: RB Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma — While both Notre Dame's Brady Quinn and Wisconsin's Joe Thomas are options here, Peterson is the higher value pick, especially considering the mileage on new RB Jamal Lewis's sizeable frame. GM Phil Savage would love for Russell to slide to this spot, and if he does, that will be his pick, but smart money says he won't be around and smarter money has Savage grabbing the promising Sooner runner and looking for a developmental QB in round two.

4. Detroit Lions (via Tampa Bay): DE Gaines Adams, Georgia — I don't feel great about this pick simply because it makes so much sense that Matt Millen just may go a different route to spite the world. However, the need for a pass-rushing end is great in the Motor City and Adams is the class of that breed of potential draftees. The draw of Brady Quinn may wind up winning out here because of his name recognition, but that would be a terrible mistake considering the Lions' other needs and the potential immediate impact a player like Adams can make. Lions fans, hold your breath.

TRADE DETAILS: Detroit gives No. 2 overall pick; receives No. 4 overall, No. 35 (rd. 2), and No. 68 (rd. 3).

5. Arizona Cardinals: OT Joe Thomas, Wisconsin — This remains the easiest call on the board. Oliver Ross is not a name that breeds confidence in the minds of Edgerrin James and franchise QB Matt Leinart, and this is the man who would be slotted to start the season as the team's left tackle. Enter Mr. Thomas, who besides having a great last name is a mountain of a man with a dancer's footwork and a proven grasp of what it takes to dominate a defense's attack at the line of scrimmage.

6. Miami Dolphins (via Washington): QB Brady Quinn, Notre Dame — Miami has openly hoped for Quinn to fall into their laps, and the likelihood is such a thing would never happen with Minnesota picking in the No. 7 slot. Thus, Miami will deal one of their two extra second round selections to move up for the well-known QB from South Bend and, in doing so, will force Chief GM Carl Peterson into accepting the mid-round pick Miami is offering for QB Trent Green as he'll realize the 'Fins will now have a backup plan.

TRADE DETAILS: Miami receives No. 6 overall; gives No. 9 overall, and No. 60 (rd. 2).

7. Minnesota Vikings: S LaRon Landry, LSU — While the Vikings will be startled with Miami's move to take Quinn out of their plans, they will quickly realize that they are every bit as happy to be able to grab the sturdy safety from LSU. Landry is the type of player that can jump into the starting lineup immediately and help anchor a secondary needing a hard-hitting enforcer who is not a liability in coverage.

8. Atlanta Falcons (via Houston): OT Levi Brown, Penn State — Ironically, the Falcons will be using the pick acquired from Houston to take the promising tackle that the Texans have had their eyes on since early spring since their preferred choice, Landry, will be off the board. While a receiving option is also a possibility here, reaching for LSU's Dwayne Bowe or USC's Dwayne Jarrett just doesn't make sense when the team had such a tough time protecting Michael Vick last season.

9. St. Louis Rams (via Washington thru Miami): DT Amobi Okoye, Louisville — The Rams will take advantage of Washington's hope of accumulating day one picks to jump ahead of their division rival 49ers, who would love to have Okoye fall to them at No. 11. St. Louis has a need for players like Okoye, who has scouts drooling over his size/speed ratio and on-film tenacity. A great pick, as the 19-year-old Louisville standout could be one of the top defensive players to come out of this draft.

TRADE DETAILS: St. Louis receives Miami's original No. 9 overall; gives No. 13 overall and No. 83 (rd. 3).

10. Houston Texans (via Atlanta): CB Leon Hall, Michigan — The way this draft board is playing out, the Texans wind up losing the most in terms of potential available players versus actual draftees still around when they round out the top 10 with this selection. While Hall is a solid option at a position of need for Houston, the team would have much rather landed Levi Brown, LaRon Landry, or Okoye and probably thought one of the three would still be around when they made the deal for Matt Schaub. Hall may be a bit of a reach this early, but he has top-15 talent and may wind up being a better pick than the others as he will give the team a cover corner they desperately need.

11. San Francisco 49ers: DT Alan Branch, Michigan — Obviously, the Niners would have much rather landed Louisville's Okoye, as he is the better prospect. However, the team is looking for a big nose-tackle type and Branch is the ideal at that position. While there are motivational concerns for Branch, he produced in college and is a big, strong, gap-filling tackle prospect that would bolster San Francisco's defensive front nicely.

12. Buffalo Bills: LB Patrick Willis, Ole Miss — Bills fans everywhere may well be praying for the selection of a running back to fill a very clear need at that position, but reaching for Cal's Marshawn Lynch when a player of Willis's caliber at a position of equal need is available would not be a good business move for Buffalo. Assuming the Bills don't pull the trigger on a draft-day trade with the Charges for RB Michael Turner, Willis is their guy.

13. Washington Redskins (via St Louis): WR Dwayne Bowe, LSU — Consider this a draft-day plan run to perfection if it does in fact play out like this. Bowe is the guy the team covets in round one (besides the unattainable Calvin Johnson) and they will have managed to land him and pick up a second and third round pick in the process. Score one for Daniel Snyder ... finally.

TRADE DETAILS: Washington gives Miami's original No. 9 overall; receives No. 13 overall and No. 83 (rd. 3).

14. Denver Broncos (via Carolina): DE Jamaal Anderson, Arkansas — The Broncos will move up to grab the best remaining pass rushing end in the class as Carolina will comfortably slide back a bit in the draft with the goal of landing Miami TE Greg Olsen in a more economically favorable spot.

TRADE DETAILS: Denver receives Carolina's No. 14 overall; gives No. 21 overall and No. 56 (rd. 2).

15. Pittsburgh Steelers: OLB Lawrence Timmons, Florida State — The Steelers will need to fill their sizeable hole at outside linebacker and Timmons has all the tools to be an immediate impact player. While they had hoped to have CB Hall fall to them, they'll certainly settle for Timmons as they prepare for life without Joey Porter.

16. Green Bay Packers: RB Marshawn Lynch, California — Assuming Lynch is still around, this is the second easiest call on the draft board. Marshawn is a capable pass catcher and should step into the lineup immediately behind Brett Favre, who will be happy to have a running option to take some of the pressure off of him and allow him to breathe a bit in the pocket.

17. Jacksonville Jaguars: DE Jarvis Moss, Florida — Wide receiver is also a possibility for the Jags, but Moss helped his stock immensely with his workouts and his big-game performances at Florida. An added plus is the relative lack of consistent pounding that Moss has to his credit with the Gators' defensive line-by-committee approach.

18. Cincinnati Bengals: CB Darrelle Revis, Pittsburgh — In all honesty, Cincy's only real objective in this year's draft is to grab some players that don't end up in court by September. Revis is a capable cover guy, has played and excelled in zone coverage and tackles well and, more importantly to the Bengals, has consistently demonstrated a work-ethic that shows a maturity many on their current roster lack.

19. Tennessee Titans: WR Ted Ginn, Jr., Ohio State — Tennessee has needs at running back and everywhere along their defense, especially considering the unanticipated loss of Pacman Jones. But a player of Ginn's potential is far too enticing to pass up, especially when factoring in the Titans' need for a receiver and now, a play-making return man.

20. New York Giants: OT Joe Staley, Central Michigan — I actually have Staley rated as a top-15 prospect, so the Giants would be foolish to pass on him if he's still available at No. 20. They need some offensive line help and, based on the makeup of this year's running back class, they can wait on grabbing a potential secondary option to RB Brandon Jacobs as decent value should be available in the later rounds of the first day.

21. Carolina Panthers (via Denver): TE Greg Olsen, Miami — The Panthers front office will breathe a sigh of relief if Olsen does fall, but if he does happen to be selected earlier, they'll grab a safety instead. Olsen is a good TE option and will give Jake Delhomme and company another threat to take some pressure off of Steve Smith.

TRADE DETAILS: Carolina gives No. 14 overall; receives No. 21 overall and No. 56 (rd. 2).

22. Dallas Cowboys: WR Dwayne Jarrett, USC — Personally, I have a lot of trouble with this pick. I think USC's C Ryan Kalil would be a better pick, as would Florida's Reggie Nelson at DB. But all the signs point to Jarrett being on Jerry Jones's wish list, and who am I to argue with the facts?

23. Kansas City Chiefs: WR Robert Meacham, Tennessee — If Staley slips past the Giants at No. 20, KC would not hesitate to grab the tackle instead of the underrated Meacham. The team clearly needs to land a receiver somewhere on day one of the draft, and Meacham is a big, fast, sure-handed target and is projected as an opening day starter, a good fit for a team needing some help on the outside.

24. New England Patriots (via Seattle): DE Adam Carriker, Nebraska — 100% value pick, in typical Bill Belichik fashion. Carriker is ideal as an end in a 3-4 scheme and can slide to a rush tackle spot in a nickel package, providing the versatility that the Pats have hanged their collective hats on for a decade. Carriker is a luxury New England likely didn't anticipate having available to them this deep in round one, so I doubt highly they'd pass up the opportunity to grab him.

25. New York Jets: C Ryan Kalil, USC — It is always tough to find a home for centers in the first round of any draft, and this is no exception. Kalil has all the tools to compete for a starting spot from the very beginning of his professional tenure and New York, while having just drafted at this position a year ago, certainly wouldn't mind further solidifying their offensive line, especially since drafting for true need here at cornerback would likely result in reaching for a player they may have access to in round two.

26. Atlanta Falcons (via Philadelphia): S Reggie Nelson, Florida — Philly is no stranger to wheeling and dealing on draft day, and Atlanta is a sensible partner with their additional pick early in round two. Having already filled their need along the offensive line, picking up the versatile ex-Gator here would further solidify a young, dynamic, play-making secondary already containing pro-bowler DeAngelo Hall and the young Jimmy Williams. They'll have to move up to get their guy, though, as New England would certainly grab Nelson at No. 28 should he slip.

TRADE DETAILS: Atlanta receives Philadelphia's No. 26 overall; gives No. 44 (rd. 2), No. 75 (rd. 3), and No. 118 (rd. 4).

27. New Orleans Saints: LB Paul Posluszny, Penn State — While most players are not deserving of draft-day slides, Posluszny is even more undeserving than most, as his workouts have been more than adequate and his body of work speaks for itself. However, there just doesn't seem to be a whole lot of need for the type of skills the Penn State linebacker brings to the table. Enter New Orleans, who may have been a consistent linebacker short of making it to the Super Bowl one year ago.

28. New England Patriots: CB Aaron Ross, Texas — Ross is a fine second option to Reggie Nelson, who New England would have preferred to get in this spot. Ross can return kicks and is versatile enough to play any of the five primary secondary positions the Patriots fill in their base defenses. All in all, a very good value selection at a position of need.

29. Baltimore Ravens: OT Tony Ugoh, Arkansas — While many have soured on Ugoh of late (me being one of those many), he is still a road-grader on film. With Baltimore looking to deepen their talent pool at tackle, the big Razorback makes sense.

30. San Diego Chargers: S Michael Griffin, Texas — San Diego doesn't need a whole lot of help anywhere, but their secondary is their one relative weak spot and Griffin is a great value pick as he can slide into either safety slot or as a coverage guy in the nickel package. In another case of the rich getting richer, Griffin's availability is a pleasant bonus for the Chargers.

31. Chicago Bears: DT Justin Harrell, Tennessee — If the Super Bowl showed anything to the Bears, it showed them that they were nowhere near as deep along their defensive front seven as they would need to be to truly contend year in and year out. Harrell is a big, solid defensive lineman that will give the team some depth and a long-term contributor to work into their rotation.

32. Indianapolis Colts: LB Brandon Siler, Florida — Potentially, Indy could look to grab a receiver here to fortify that position further. Another possibility would be to try to grab a backup runner to replace the freshly-departed Dominic Rhodes. That being said, Siler is every bit as valuable a guy, as he combines his talent and work ethic with a winning history that goes a long way on a team like the Colts, who have a similar winning tradition to build on.

ROUND TWO

33. New York Jets (via Oak) — DE Anthony Spencer, Purdue
34. Detroit Lions — QB Drew Stanton, Michigan State
35. Detroit Lions (via TB) — OG Ben Grubbs, Auburn
36. Cleveland Browns — CB Marcus McCauley, Fresno State
37. Chicago Bears (via Was thru NYJ) — LB Jon Beason, Miami
38. Arizona Cardinals — S Brandon Merriweather, Miami
39. Atlanta Falcons (via Hou) — WR Sidney Rice, South Carolina
40. Miami Dolphins — CB Daymeion Hughes, California
41. Minnesota Vikings — QB Trent Edwards, Stanford
42. San Francisco 49ers — OG Justin Blalock, Texas
43. Buffalo Bills — RB Michael Bush, Louisville
44. Philadelphia Eagles (via Atl) — WR Steve Smith, USC
45. Carolina Panthers — CB Eric Wright, UNLV
46. Pittsburgh Steelers — DE LaMarr Woodley, Michigan
47. Green Bay Packers — OG Arron Sears, Tennessee
48. Jacksonville Jaguars — WR Anthony Gonzalez, Ohio State
49. Cincinnati Bengals — DT Tank Tyler, NC State
50. Tennessee Titans — DE Charles Johnson, Georgia
51. New York Giants — RB Antonio Pittman, Ohio State
52. St. Louis Rams — LB David Harris, Michigan
53. Dallas Cowboys — CB Chris Houston, Arkansas
54. Kansas City Chiefs — OT James Marten, Boston College
55. Seattle Seahawks — DE Victor Abiamiri, Notre Dame
56. Carolina Panthers (via Den) — DE Ray McDonald, Florida
57. Philadelphia Eagles — LB Steward Bradley, Nebraska
58. Tennessee Titans (via NO) — RB Brian Leonard, Rutgers
59. Oakland Raiders (via NYJ) — TE Zach Miller, Arizona State
60. Washington Redskins (via Mia thru NE) — DE Quentin Moses, Georgia
61. Baltimore Ravens — S Eric Weddle, Utah
62. San Diego Chargers — WR Jason Hill, Washington State
63. Oakland Raiders (via NYJ thru Chi) — CB Jonathon Wade, Tennessee
64. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (via Ind) — DE Tim Crowder, Texas

ROUND THREE

65. Oakland Raiders — DE Ilaika Alama-Francis, Hawaii
66. Detroit Lions — RB Tony Hunt, Penn State
67. Cleveland Browns — DT Brandon Mebane, California
68. Detroit Lions (via TB) — DT Quinn Pitcock, Ohio State
69. Arizona Cardinals — S Josh Gattis, Wake Forest
70. San Francisco 49ers (via Den) — WR Craig Davis, LSU
71. Miami Dolphins — OT Doug Free, Northern Illinois
72. Minnesota Vikings — RB Kenny Irons, Auburn
73. Houston Texans — OG Manny Ramirez, Texas Tech
74. Denver Broncos (via Buf) — LB Rufus Alexander, Oklahoma
75. Philadelphia Eagles (via Atl) — LB H.B. Blades, Pittsburgh
76. Buffalo (via Den thru SF) — CB Josh Wilson, Maryland
77. Pittsburgh Steelers — OG Marshall Yanda, Iowa
78. Green Bay Packers — WR Aundrae Allison, East Carolina
79. Jacksonville Jaguars — QB Troy Smith, Ohio State
80. Cincinnati Bengals — NO PICK – FORFEITED
81. New Orleans Saints (via Ten) — WR Courtney Taylor, Texas A&M
82. New York Giants — CB David Irons, Auburn
83. Washington Redskins (via StL) — DT Antonio Johnson, Mississippi State
84. Carolina Panthers — DT Ryan McBean, Oklahoma State
85. Kansas City Chiefs — QB Kevin Kolb, Houston
86. Seattle Seahawks — CB A.J. Davis, NC State
87. Denver Broncos — OT Ryan Harris, Notre Dame
88. Detroit Lions (via Dal) — DE Dan Bazuin, Central Michigan
89. New Orleans Saints — TE Ben Patrick, Delaware
90. New York Jets — CB Ryan Smith, Florida
91. Philadelphia Eagles — LB Anthony Waters, Clemson
92. New England Patriots — RB DeShawn Wynn, Florida
93. Buffalo Bills (via Bal) — OG Andy Alleman, Akron
94. San Diego Chargers — DE Baraka Atkins, Miami
95. Chicago Bears — RB Lorenzo Booker, Florida State
96. Indianapolis Colts — WR David Clowney, Virginia Tech
97. (compensatory) San Diego Chargers — DB Tarell Brown, Texas
98. (compensatory) San Francisco 49ers — OT Adam Koets, Oregon State
99. (compensatory) Indianapolis Colts — CB Kenny Scott, Georgia Tech
100. (compensatory) Oakland Raiders — WR Paul Williams, Fresno State

Posted by Matt Thomas at 9:56 PM | Comments (11)

A Non-NBA Playoff Preview

Sure, the NBA playoffs are exciting (maybe for the first month of them), but why watch Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, and Steve Nash when you could just as easily be thinking what spot your team will get in the NBA lottery?

The future is bright for some teams, grim for others, and unknown for most. The teams here are listed from worst to 14th-worst record wise, the projected order of this year's NBA draft in June. The NBA draft lottery will be held on May 22, so the order of this is subject to change on that day.

Memphis Grizzlies (22-60)

Though they barely edged out the Celtics in the "Who can tank in the least obvious way?" sweepstakes, the Grizzlies aren't really as bad as you think. Honestly. The team battled injuries to all-star center Pau Gasol (missed first 22 games), and first-round pick Kyle Lowry (played in only first 10 games), and also fought uncertainty with now former GM Jerry West. Most of their core is young with first-rounders Rudy Gay (2006) and Hakim Warrick (2005) playing significant minutes inside.

The real problem for Memphis is that they are very weak defensively. Drafting Greg Oden with the No. 1 pick (presumably) would give them a much-needed shot-blocking presence, and the team has enough around him to allow his offensive game to develop without much pressure. (Honestly, though, does anyone actually want to see a prospect like Oden play in Memphis? Is there still time for David Stern to bump that age minimum rule up a year?) With a little luck and improvement from their young players, Memphis could battle for a lower playoff seed next year.

Boston Celtics (24-58)

The Celtics show shades of the New York Knicks from two seasons ago. The only difference being they didn't have Isiah Thomas to brilliantly trade away the No. 2 pick in the draft to Chicago. They have an extremely young core built around all-star Paul Pierce, who turns 30 next season. Al Jefferson was one of the most improved players in the league this year, but he is not the inside defensive presence they need. Wally Szczerbiak and Pierce were hurt almost the entire second half of the season, so the team relied solely on young players to carry the load.

While Kevin Durant is a great talent and will be a star, the Celtics would much rather have Oden for defensive purposes. Combining Oden with Jefferson would give them a great offense-defense combo inside. They are talented, but young at the one, two, and three (though they could have had Brandon Roy instead of trading for bust Sebastian Telfair ... maybe Ainge isn't so different from Thomas after all) with players like Rajon Rondo, Allan Ray, Gerald Green, and Delonte West all playing significant minutes. The improvement of the young players, especially Jefferson, added to a healthy (maybe) Paul Pierce and Wally Szczerbiak and a top-three draft pick could get this team to the middle of the Eastern Conference by next year.

Milwaukee Bucks (28-54)

Quick. Name three players on the Milwaukee Bucks. Michael Redd, obviously ... um ... Andrew Bogut ... and ... uh ...Charlie Villanueva. Wow, tough. How this team finished with a better record than the Celtics or Grizzlies baffles me. Redd is an all-star and Bogut and Villanueva are young and improved, but the two other starters for the Bucks are Bobby Simmons and Maurice Williams (who?). This team could use Oden or Durant (who couldn't?), but luck of the draw may prevent that. Al Horford, Joakim Noah, or Brandan Wright would bring the Bucks another superstar to match with the three aforementioned players, but don't bet on the Bucks anytime soon.

Atlanta Hawks (30-52)

The Hawks are loaded with top-five-pick potential (that's your prize for sucking the last five years), but no player (Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, Shelden Williams, Salim Stoudamire ... you get the point) can consistently be counted on. Like the Cleveland Browns at quarterback or the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at every position, the Atlanta Hawks have needed a point guard for years and just can't find the answer (passing on Chris Paul in '05 didn't help). Joe Johnson played well this year, but drafting Mike Conley, Jr. would go a long way in helping the team's young players develop.

The Hawks will be watching very closely come lottery day. If their pick lands outside the top three, it goes to Phoenix, but they get the Pacers' pick if it is outside the top 10. Either way, Atlanta likely will be able to land Conley at one of those spots, but the Hawks could end up with two lottery picks or zero depending on the draw.

Seattle Supersonics (31-51)

The team of "project" centers. The Sonics picked Robert Swift, Johan Petro, and Mouhamed Sene in three straight drafts, and none of them are currently playing significant minutes (Swift missed the whole season to injury). Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis can fill it up, but their contracts are huge and Lewis will probably opt out and sign elsewhere. The team has plenty of holes to fill in the draft and could trade down for more talent or picks. Corey Brewer would be a reach at their projected spot, but would add depth behind Allen, and they should avoid taking Brandan Wright, Julian Wright, or Joakim Noah as their front line is already stuffed with young players. Look for the Sonics in the low lottery again next year.

Portland Trail Blazers (32-50)

The Blazers are on the brink of rebuilding, and Brandon Roy has become a huge part of that. The probable Rookie of the Year is a great fit for Portland as he can do everything well at both ends of the floor (plus, the trade for him rid them of Sebastian Telfair). Top pick LaMarcus Aldridge played much better down the stretch and showed promise inside with Zach Randolph. Portland has role players Freddy Jones and Jarret Jack to fill in the gaps, but they are thin after the starters. Adding Brandan Wright or Julian Wright in their spot gives them depth inside and could push them into a higher spot in the Western Conference next year with the improvement of Aldridge and Roy.

Minnesota Timberwolves (32-50)

The Timberwolves are in the surprising situation of having a bad team with many veterans. Most teams on the list so far are comprised of young, undeveloped talent (the T-Wolves have some of that in Craig Smith and Rashad McCants), but the Wolves tried to win with mid-level veterans around K.G. and it didn't work. The future around Kevin Garnett is very cloudy (as we find out every trade deadline) and where the team goes will be determined by him.

If he leaves, Minnesota will have to suffer three or four top-five lottery years before another chance to compete (see: post-Jordan Bulls). If he stays, they may be in worse shape as they have limited financial flexibility and many aging players. Adding the Wright forward that isn't taken by Portland would give K.G. another potential star to work with, but don't put Minnesota near the playoffs anytime soon.

Charlotte Bobcats (33-49)

The Bobcats are building the right way by getting high-pedigree college stars (Sean May, Emeka Okafor, Adam Morrison, Raymond Felton), and are showing some slow improvement. Adding Corey Brewer to an already talented team would fill a need for the Bobcats and also add another national championship winner to their roster. Morrison was a semi-bust in his first season, but still has some potential. The Bobcats will be entering their fourth year in the league, and the future looks promising.

New York Knicks (33-49)

The Chicago Bulls get the Knicks' lottery pick ... again. And Isiah Thomas got a contract extension. Enough said. (The Bulls will probably take either Roy Hibbert or Spencer Hawes to give them an offensive inside presence.)

Sacramento Kings (33-49)

The Kings have an uncertain future in Ron Artest, but a solid group of core players. They, much like the Timberwolves, have limited financial flexibility and a lot of veterans. Players like Brad Miller, Mike Bibby, and Shareef Abdur-Rahim represent much of their payroll, but all are on the decline. 24-year-old Kevin Martin had a breakout year and could win Most Improved Player, but he seems to be the lone bright spot. The Kings made eight straight playoffs beginning in 1998-99, but the team is on the decline now. Adding a young big man to team with Brad Miller is the likely pick, probably the one that Chicago doesn't take.

Indiana Pacers (35-47)

The deadline deal that brought Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy, and Ike Diogu to the Pacers was the right move for Indiana. Although they were 20-18 at the time and played their way under .500 after that, they simply need time to fit the pieces together (plus, they rid themselves of troublemaker Stephen Jackson). The healthy return of Marquis Daniels and the improved chemistry between all the new players will help this team fight for an seven- or eight-seed in a weak East next year. They don't, however, get their lottery pick if it is outside the top 10 (it goes to Atlanta as previously mentioned), so that will prevent them from adding a major piece.

Philadelphia 76ers (35-47)

The Allen Iverson trade was, essentially, the only big deal of the year, and it worked for both sides. The Nuggets just beat the Spurs in Game 1 on 30 points from A.I., and Philadelphia showed promise by the end of the year without him. High-flying Andre Iguodala blossomed after Iverson left and seemed close to a triple-double nightly. Kyle Korver can shoot the lights out and the addition of veteran point guard Andre Miller from Denver took some pressure off the young players. They are weak inside with aging Samuel Dalembert playing the most significant minutes, but this team could be in the playoffs as early as next year with the addition of a young guard like Texas A&M's Acie Law.

New Orleans Hornets (39-43)

The fact that this team finished this close to .500 while in the same division as Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston is incredible. They suffered a lot from the injury to Peja Stojakovic, who played the first 13 games (the Hornets were 8-5), then went down for the season with a back problem. Chris Paul is a top point guard and the trade for Tyson Chandler was brilliant as he finished second in the NBA rebounding behind Kevin Garnett.

This team has a lot of potential, and the growth of Paul, Chandler (who is still only 24), and David West leaves this team with a promising future. They need help at shooting guard and the three spot, so look for them to take Georgetown forward Jeff Green. Green is a lockdown defender and is very versatile offensively, and he would be aided greatly by a point guard like Paul feeding him.

Los Angeles Clippers (40-42)

The Clippers had high hopes for 2006-07. They came within one win of knocking off the Suns and advancing to the Western Conference finals last year, and they spent a lot of money to keep Chris Kaman, Sam Cassell, and they added Tim Thomas. They started hot, but struggled to find rhythm as the season progressed. The team has the talent to win now with proven players Elton Brand, Corey Magette, and Cuttino Mobley, and youngsters Shaun Livingston, Daniel Ewing, and Paul Davis.

Adding high-flyer Chase Budinger from Arizona or the aforementioned Green would add another talented piece to the Clippers, but Sam Cassell is already 37 and there are questions surrounding Shaun Livingston's return from a horrific knee injury. The team's status next year will depend on getting all their talent on the same page and working together. Look for them in the bottom half of the Western playoffs next season.

Posted by Nick Feely at 5:23 PM | Comments (0)

April 23, 2007

Flashback to 756

I guess you could call this progress in race relations.

About 35 years ago — and has it really been that long? — when Henry Aaron was stalking baseball's career home run record, he was peppered with death threats from knuckle-dragging racists who couldn't stand to see Babe Ruth's name erased from the record book.

Today, baseball fans almost unanimously accept that Barry Bonds will push his career home run total past 756, but at the same time have embraced Hammerin' Hank as the people's home run champ.

The king has announced he won't be around to crown the pretender.

Aaron, now in his 70s — and doesn't that make you baby boomers feel ancient? — pulled out his best Danny Glover "Lethal Weapon" impersonation and said he is too old for "this excrement" that would go along with chasing Bonds around the country waiting for No. 756.

In other circumstances, and with other men, that might be dismissed as childish bitterness. But this is Henry Aaron and Barry Bonds.

More than three decades after the last time this title changed hands, Aaron is a revered figure both within and outside of baseball. On the other side, the pursuer, Bonds, is a reviled figure.

Of course, there are exceptions to those popular opinions.

One of those with a differing viewpoint is Detroit News columnist Rob Parker, who called Aaron a coward for saying he wouldn't be there when Bonds eclipsed his mark, but not admitting that he's staying home because of steroid allegations against the Giants' standout.

That's not fair to Aaron. Deciding whether Bonds' 756th home run will be cause for celebration or sadness is a complicated matter for everyone, and even more so for the guy who finished with 755.

Steroids might not have been a banned substance when Bonds is believed to have started taking them, but it certainly doesn't fall under the category of fair play. Even so, being clean in the sport's Monsanto era — motto: "Better baseball through chemistry" — is a little like showing up with a knife at a gunfight.

Even before Bonds' head swelled up like something you'd normally see tethered to handlers walking down Broadway during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, he had won enough National League MVPs to be considered among baseball's all-time greats.

And it's not as if Bonds' home run records are the only ones being brought into question. Just about every accomplishment in the past 20 years is tainted, and not just by steroids. It's generally accepted by baseball players that pep pills, known as "greenies," were far more prevalent than steroids.

"Greenies" weren't around in Lou Gehrig's day, so someone ought to ask Cal Ripken, Jr. if he needed some Ballplayer's Little Helper to get up for some of those Sunday day games after Saturday night games.

At best, Bonds is heading toward a milestone just about everyone east of the San Andreas Fault is ambivalent about reaching.

If Aaron wants to give the whole thing a miss, he doesn't owe anybody an explanation. As he comes near the end of a life that's as spotless as a man can have, Hammerin' Hank gets an excused absence.

He's earned that right through the courage with which he handled those who unleashed hate on him as he inched toward Ruth's 714, and the dignity with which he ignored a baseball community that wanted to slap an asterisk on his accomplishment because Aaron needed a few thousand more at-bats than Ruth did.

And Bonds' detractors are now looking for a place to put his asterisk, because he is believed to have used steroids.

So, as the all-time home run race enters its homestretch, we have a respected home run king about to be overtaken, and there are a lot of people who wish it wouldn't happen.

Just like the last time.

The big difference now is that we are seeing a small slice of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" vision come to fruition.

This time, the principals in this home run chase are being judged not for the color of their skin, but the content of their character.

Or, in Bonds' case, the content of his blood.

Posted by Eric Poole at 5:14 PM | Comments (0)

NBA Part Two: The Second Season

The second half of the NBA season was a joke. Half the teams were tanking for the Greg Oden/Kevin Durant sweepstakes, while the other half were fighting for playoff position. We had players like Memphis' Tarence Kinsey lighting it up down the homestretch, while the likes of Paul Pierce sat out with questionable injuries. Now, the true season starts up, but before I get to my infallible predictions, let's hand out some postseason awards.

MVP: Dirk Nowitzki

About a month ago, I wrote in this space what I thought was conclusive evidence on why Nowitzki should win it. What happened? All the feedback I received opposed my viewpoint. Look, both Nowitzki and Nash had highs compared to the year before, both teams won more games than last year, and if I'm starting a team today, I take Nash over Nowitzki. But if we're talking about who is the most valuable, however, Nash has Leandro Barbosa, and although Barbosa may not be the playmaker that Nash is, he is certainly capable of filling it up and the Phoenix offense allows others to distribute; case in point, Boris Diaw.

Who fills it up once Nowitzki comes out of the game? Jason Terry? Josh Howard? Neither one can create their own shot, and neither one demands the attention that Nowitzki earns. Nash is never double-teamed; in fact, the philosophy is let him get his points and you have a chance.

This is not to downplay the year Nash has had. I've seen him a couple of times in person and he makes so many things happen that don't show up on the stat sheet. The point I am making, however, is Dallas is the best team, record-wise, in the NBA, Nowitzki is the best player on that team, and on most nights, he is unstoppable; put a small guy on him, he posts them up, put a big guy on him, he takes them to the bucket. He is the MVP.

Coach of the Year: Sam Mitchell

Can you name the last time a team went from the first pick in the NBA draft to a top-three seed in the NBA playoffs? Don't worry, I'll wait. Got it ... since the advent of the lottery ... never! Since Patrick Ewing was picked up by the Knicks in 1985, only four teams made the playoffs that year. Orlando had the highest seed before this year with a four seed in the 1993-94 season. If that year sounds familiar, it's when the Magic produced some and got the top pick back to back years, forming a duo that was pretty impressive until Shaquille O'Neal left Penny Hardaway and headed to the West Coast.

What does all this prove? Sam Mitchell has done a hell of a job with Toronto. Behind the tour de force that is Chris Bosh, many experts feel as though the Raptors could do some damage in their first year back in the playoffs since Vince Carter's exodus. Regardless, Mitchell has done an unbelievable job as a lame duck coach installing a new offense and watching it flourish.

Defensive Player of the Year: Marcus Camby

It's an absolute marvel when Camby plays for the majority of the year. When he does, you see why Toronto picked him second in the 1996 draft. Playing in 70 games this year, Camby redirected almost every shot that came in the paint with a league-leading 3.3 blocks per game. The UMass Alum also hauled down 11.7 rebounds per game only, less than a board off the league high. What do these numbers add up to? Defensive player of the year honors.

Most Improved Player: Kevin Martin

When a player goes from 10 points per game to 20 points per game and only averages nine more minutes, I'd say that's a pretty darn good improvement. Martin also averaged highs in every statistical category the NBA jots down — not too shabby.

Sixth Man: Leandro Barbosa

As I said in my MVP debate, Barbosa allows the aging Steve Nash to get much-needed rest and lose hardly anything on the offensive or defensive end. I know it's not saying much, but Barbosa is a better defender than the two-time MVP, and they averaged right around the same points per game, Barbosa at 18.1 and Nash at 18.6. In no shape or form am I trying to say Barbosa can hold a candle to Nash — that's ridiculous — but Barbosa could start on half the teams in the NBA.

Rookie of the Year: Brandon Roy

Had Andrea Bargnani not gotten injured, this could have been a hotly-contested race, but he did, and Brandon Roy was amazing.

On to the predictions...

Western Conference

No. 1 Dallas vs. No. 8 Golden State

Everybody's talking about how this one is all about Don Nelson vs. his old team, and how Nellie owned the Mavericks in the regular season, posting an undefeated record against Dallas. The difference is this is the playoffs and the Mavs have the MVP. Golden State can go small and take out Dallas' defenders down low, but it won't matter; Howard, Terry, and Nowitzki will lead the Mavericks into the second round, easily.

Dallas wins, 4-1.

No. 2 Phoenix vs. No. 7 L.A. Lakers

Ah, the pride of last year's opening round. Everyone remembers the seven-game epic from last year. The 3-1 Laker lead, Tim Thomas' three to send it to a Game 6, and the choke job the Lakers pulled in Game 7. There are some similarities between last year and this year. Phil Jackson is still the coach of the Lakers and is the best in the biz at getting the most out of his players in the playoffs. Kobe Bryant is the best player in the game.

The problems, however, outweigh the positives. The Lakers have beaten one team with a winning record in the last six weeks. Phoenix has an inside presence in Amare Stoudemire and Kurt Thomas, two players who were not available last season. All this leads to the Suns blazing a trail to the second round.

Phoenix wins, 4-2.

No. 3 San Antonio vs. No. 6 Denver

Before the Allen Iverson trade, I stated whoever got A.I. would make it to the conference finals. But just my luck, they drew the Spurs in the first round. San Antonio is and will always be dangerous as long as they have a healthy Tim Duncan and a sane Greg Popovich. The Spurs have an uncanny ability to flex some major muscle every time the playoffs come around. This year's no different, but they are, however, one year older.

Denver boasts two low post all-around threats in Nené and Marcus Camby, three role players, J.R. Smith, Steve Blake, and Linas Kleiza, and two all-worlds, Iverson and Carmelo Anthony. Talk about dangerous. You can put Bruce Bowen on one, but not both, and Nené and Camby clean up better than the maid service at the local Hilton. I'm putting a little rattle snake in the cage on this one. Denver steals one in San Antonio.

Denver wins, 4-2.

No. 4 Utah vs. No. 5 Houston

Utah has no answer for a healthy Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. Not to mention Shane Battier, Juwan Howard, Dikembe Mutombo, Chuck Hayes, Rafer Alston, and Luther Head. This team has all the pieces to be dangerous. The problem is they face Jerry Sloan, one of the best coaches in the game. The issue for Utah lies in the backcourt where Deron Williams faces his first playoff action. Alston will annoy Williams to submission and help the Rockets walk away in a dog fight.

Houston wins, 4-3.

Eastern Conference

No. 1 Detroit vs. No. 8 Orlando

The Central Division owns the East. Detroit owns the Central Division. Experience wins in the playoffs. Detroit has experience, Orlando has none. I wasn't a whiz in math, but I'd say that equates to an easy Detroit first-round victory.

Detroit wins, 4-0.

2) Cleveland vs. 7) Washington

See above. Add Washington, sans Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler. Get it? Good.

Cleveland wins, 4-0.

No. 3 Toronto vs. No. 6 New Jersey

Just like the Dallas/Golden State series, this one is full of sub-plots. Canada vs. America. Vince Carter vs. His Old Team. Young vs. Old.

Toronto loves to run and the Raptors are built for speed. The only problem, besides Steve Nash, is there is only one other point guard in the league who can run and gun with the best of them, and his name is Jason Kidd. Throw in Vince Carter and a Richard Jefferson, who is getting his groove back, and you have a three-headed monster that can cause trouble to a Toronto team making its first visit to the postseason in a long time.

Both are hot going into the playoffs. New Jersey went 8-2. Toronto went 7-3. So what do you do when it can go either way? You go with the vets.

New Jersey wins, 4-2.

No. 4 Miami vs. No. 5 Chicago

The defending champs are in a state of flux. Without Dwyane Wade, the Heat slowed things down and went down low to Shaq, which was very effective. Now Wade is back and getting stronger, so what do they do: go with what got you the title, or go with what's working now? That's why Pat Riley gets paid the big bucks. Unlike last year's series with the Bulls, Chicago is a year wiser and a year stronger. Which is why I think last year's experience will prove to be the difference. Add to that an 80% Heat team and the defending champs go down in the first round.

Chicago wins, 4-3.

The second round looks like this:

No. 1 Dallas vs. No. 5 Houston, No. 2 Phoenix vs. No. 6 Denver
No. 1 Detroit vs. No. 5 Chicago, No. 2 Cleveland vs. No. 6 New Jersey

Enjoy, and I'll see you in October after the first round ends.

Posted by Wailele Sallas at 5:05 PM | Comments (2)

April 22, 2007

Hokie Pride

I realize this is a difficult thing to rationalize, considering the amount of blood spilled and dreams ended and lives forever altered this week.

But Virginia Tech should consider itself quite lucky.

Having lived in the D.C. area for well over a decade, there isn't a more vibrant, dedicated, or prideful collegiate community than that of Virginia Tech University. They crowd Hokie-friendly bars on football Sundays, mingling with old friends as they watch their team battle geographic rivals. They have more bumper stickers in circulation than the Obama campaign. On more than one home here in Northern Virginia — roughly a four-hour drive to the Blacksburg campus — I've witnessed displays of flags and logos that go beyond admiration and into absolute devotion; hell, I've even seen an entire barn wall painted with the maroon-and-orange "VT" logo.

Virginia Tech is lucky to have this support system in place at its darkest hour. Had a massacre like this happened on the campus of my alma mater, the University of Maryland, that alumni community would have come together quickly in a show of Terrapin pride. But the Hokies didn't have to come together — they already had these bonds established.

Other schools have alumni; Va. Tech has, with no exaggeration, an extended family.

Leslie Sherman was a member of that family. Sherman was a sophomore at Virginia Tech who lost her life when Cho Seung-Hui turned his twisted attention to her classroom inside Norris Hall.

She had turned 20 this week, two years removed from the halls of West Springfield High School in Springfield, VA. Sherman ran cross-country at West Springfield when I was a sports reporter covering the high-school beat. I wish I could say I recalled watching her run or speaking to her after a race, but the focus was always on the more successful male Spartan runners. Having covered that track program, I know it shares many of the attributes of the Virginia Tech community — tight-knit, supportive, and generational. That many of her teammates are now compassionately commenting on her tragic death is no surprise.

I also wouldn't be surprised to see coverage of Leslie Sherman's life in the pages of local sports sections, because that's how I would have handled it, too. Her life as an athlete is part of her life, which makes it a sports story.

I mention this example because, since Monday, I've been treated to yet another week of the sports media desperately trying to shoehorn coverage of a national tragedy into what amounts to entertainment news. It reminds me of the time when, in the hours after the attacks of 9/11, ESPN managed to get the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies on a cell phone and was able to confirm that, indeed, the Phillies were safe on their team bus while New York crumbled.

Or like now, in the hours after the massacre at Virginia Tech (cue the slow piano music all those pathetic cable news networks pipe in when those words are mentioned), when a local sports anchor here in D.C. asked two Georgetown Hoya players that are headed to the NBA Draft what they thought of the tragedy. Why? Because they attend a city college that looks nothing like Virginia Tech? Because a friend-of-a-friend went there? Or because the sports media is so desperate to transcend its diversionary place in our culture that it will play any angle it can as it seeks validation from the other side of the newsroom?

There's a right way and a wrong way to bring sports into the conversation in the moments following a national tragedy. Both 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina had immediate and immense implications for its local sports franchises and for the national sports organizations of which they were members. There will always be human-interest angles to play, like remembering the fallen through discussions with old teammates and coaches.

The Virginia Tech shooting has some immediate sports news (the cancellation of events) and long-range angles (how the tragedy could affect recruiting, how the Hokies sports community will undoubtedly contribute to the school's healing process). But some of the coverage rang artificial. Talking to Hokies football coach Frank Beamer about the safety of his athletes on Monday afternoon is one thing; talking to him as the de facto spokesman of the university hours after the killings was ill-conceived, considering the breaking nature of the story. ESPN did both on Monday.

Sometimes sports coverage of a tragedy can seem a little forced — you don't see the weatherman on the local news suddenly begin giving the dew point for wherever the latest catastrophe occurred — but it has its place, especially in the Virginia Tech tragedy. That Beamer is the public face for a university that has produced so much more than a few NFL-quality players troubles me, but the fact is that the Hokies faithful wouldn't have it any other way.

Their athletic programs don't define them, but they do bind them; in those bars filled with orange and maroon during fall weekends, in those bleachers filled with old friends at home games. The value of sports for this amazing community was never more evident than inside Cassell Coliseum on Tuesday afternoon, at the end of a heart-breaking yet inspiring campus convocation. Three words rang through the rafters, shouted by students and faculty and alumni and honored guests. Three words, used to inspire countless athletes in countless games, now chanted in order to encourage the most formidable rally in the school's history.

Three words: "Let's Go Hokies."


SportsFan MagazineGreg Wyshynski is the Features Editor for SportsFan Magazine in Washington, DC, and the Senior Sports Editor for The Connection Newspapers of Northern Virginia. His book is "Glow Pucks and 10-Cent Beer: The 101 Worst Ideas in Sports History." His columns appear every Saturday on Sports Central. You can e-mail Greg at [email protected].

Posted by Greg Wyshynski at 4:09 PM | Comments (0)

April 20, 2007

Sports Q&A: Raiders Draft; $50 Bail?

Chico from Los Angeles, CA writes, "Minnesota Vikings cornerback Cedric Griffin was arrested Sunday for refusing to pull up his pants in a Minneapolis nightclub. Where does such an offense fall in NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's conduct policy?"

Since when is "saggin'" a crime? I bet Goodell was celebrating, content that his recent harsh punishments served to Pacman Jones and Chris Henry had something to do with Griffin's pathetic attempt at a crime. The actual charge was "misdemeanor disorderly conduct," and as a member of the Vikings, Griffin should be ashamed of his criminal activity in light of 2004's Lake Minnetonka "sex boat" scandal. In that instance, several of the Vikings were caught with their pants down, but had a much better reason not to pull them up.

Come on, Griffin. $50 for bail? Pacman could have bailed you out 200 times over with just the cash on him. In your defense, you did scuffle with bouncers and police before they cuffed you. But since bail remained at $50, I'm guessing you got your ass handed to you, and the cops felt a little sympathetic. Did you even identify yourself as an NFL player? In other words, did you whip out your pistol? No? Smart move. Left in in the glove box, I bet. Great hiding place.

Did you even identify yourself as 'Cedric Griffin?' You did? And it didn't work? And you were even wearing your Vikings jersey? If only you would have known your bail was only $50; you would have realized that you had plenty of room left for a bribe. But there's always the next time, and the next time.

Griffin's indiscretion doesn't qualify for any type of "three strikes and you're out" policy, but it should qualify for the league's proposed "four balls and you take a walk" policy. Under these guidelines, should a player commit four crimes in which the total bail does not exceed $1,000, then he's suspended for four games. Under this policy, players would be discouraged from committing meaningless misdemeanors that serve only to clog the court systems and news outlets, when more heinous crimes deserve our attention. Some things are not worth reporting, like, for example, Chris Henry jaywalking, or Fred Smoot letting his registration expire, or Pacman smoking in a non-designated smoking area.

Darth from Arkabutla, MS asks "Who will the Oakland Raiders take with the first pick in the NFL draft on April 28th?"

Your guess is a good as Al Davis', and probably better. Obviously, the Raiders need a quarterback, but since when do the Raiders make personnel decisions based on need? The obvious choice is LSU's JaMarcus Russell. But, word is Davis has a soft sport for the draft's No. 1-rated prospect, Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who has the speed and size to be a superstar, or a monumental bust.

The Raiders seem to be leaning towards Russell, a 6'5," 256-pound monster with an arm so strong that it reminds fans of that of a young Kenny Stabler, plus 50 yards. The Oakland front office is salivating at the prospect of Russell throwing downfield to a streaking Randy Moss. No, not a "streaking" Moss as in a "naked" Moss, but a Moss actually running full speed to make a catch. Has anyone ever witnessed that? Moss running full speed? It's rare. Almost as rare as seeing Jerry Porter happy with his playing time.

Russell's massive size also appeals to the Raiders, since they know he's sure to be taking a lot of hits behind their offensive line. Between Russell and Johnson, Russell seems to be the most logical pick and, coupled with the Raiders' receivers, gives the team a solid foundation for the future, and an immediate potential for the spectacular.

Of course, the Raiders could pull a fast one and take Brady Quinn. That would be a huge surprise to everyone, including Oakland's fans. Go ahead, Raider fans. Ask yourselves a question. Can you really see your team quarterbacked by a guy named Brady Quinn? Sure, you had a punter named Ray Guy once, but Guy eventually made his name synonymous with the Oakland Raiders. Brady Quinn is a great name for a homecoming king, or your investment broker, or a used car salesman, or the second-leading money winner on the Nationwide Tour, or the quarterback of NFL Europe’s Cologne Centurions. But quarterback for the Raiders? It can't happen. You can't go from playing college football in a place known for "Touchdown Jesus" to a place known as "The Black Hole."

If the Raiders take the best player in the draft, they'll choose Johnson, who would likely make an immediate impact. And Raider fans would be thrilled at the prospect of dressing up like refrigerators and calling themselves "Calvinators." What's keeping the Raiders from taking Johnson? Well, they need a quarterback much more than a wide receiver. Could Johnson even come close to reaching his potential under Oakland's current quarterback situation? Not a chance. So, they wouldn't get their money's worth. And do the Raiders want to introduce a young, impressionable rookie into a wide receiver corps that includes Moss and Porter? Their idea of rookie initiation is having Johnson skip practice. But it could be worse for Johnson — he could get drafted by the Lions.

Barring some kind of deal for a quarterback who's worth a damn, the Raiders have to take Russell. When they do, they'll name him starter minutes later. Johnson will breathe a sigh of relief, and the Raiders will be well on their way to a 3-13 year. But al least they have their quarterback of the future.

Don from Cleveland, OH writes, "NBA referee Joey Crawford called two technical fouls on Tim Duncan, then challenged the Spurs center to a fight during a game in Dallas. Who would win this fight?"

Let me get one thing straight. Tim Duncan had a call go against him? He had two? That's amazing! Actually, I think Crawford T'ed up Duncan for having the nappiest head in the NBA.

I'd have to go with Crawford in a fight. He's tough, and doesn't take any junk from anyone, not even his boss, David Stern. Crawford's a rogue referee. He'll T anyone up, and he's not afraid to skim a little extra money in a tax scheme involving unclaimed income from downgraded airline tickets. Anyone who'll go that far for a little extra cash is dangerous. He's a loose cannon. He's psycho, and he's bald. That’s a deadly combination.

Crawford’s been an NBA referee for 31 years, so he’s seen it all during his tenure. He survived the Bulls/Pistons matchups of the late-'80s-early-'90s, back when assault was an acceptable part of the game. He made it through Kurt Rambis’ reign of terror in the league. Heck, he even refereed games on CBS. I bet he even remembers the theme song ("You’ll see the best in basketball, when you watch the NBA. When you watch NBA on CBS"). This guy’s resilient.

Duncan, on the other hand, is a 6’10" candy boy who nearly always gets his way. He’s probably the least liked athlete to come out of Wake Forest since Billy Packer. Duncan hasn’t made a single spectacular move on the court, is a boring dunker, and actually uses the glass on some of his jumpers. What a loser. And he’s got no personality. Duncan may have other NBA refs in his back pocket, but not Crawford, by golly.

If it came down to fisticuffs, I predict a second period "T"KO for Crawford.

Get Your Questions Answered!

Do you have a question or a comment? Are you down with the sickness? Are you raging against the machine? Is Alex Rodriguez your favorite baseball player, for now? The send your question with your name and hometown to [email protected]. You may get the answer you're looking for in the next column on Friday, May 4th.

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 9:59 PM | Comments (0)

NBA Playoffs: The Coin Flipping Preview

The NBA playoffs begin on Saturday with several marquee matchups: Don Nelson and his Warriors are squaring off with his old squad, the Mavericks; Vince Carter is going up against the team he practically built, the Toronto Raptors; and the Lakers enter into a rematch of last year's thrilling series against Suns.

While the NBA playoffs are, indeed, considered much more predictable than the NHL; I have decided to measure my well-researched and somewhat opinionated predictions against those of a mindless 2001 Canadian quarter. I do, agreeably, take risks with a few of my picks, but I'm hoping that I can still come up on top against the heads or tails approach.

Note:the higher seed was always "heads" and the lower seed was always "tails." The coin was flipped until one side achieved a total of four wins — each win counting as one symbolic and predictive win for the team it represented.

Eastern Conference

(1) Detroit vs. (8) Orlando

This is a David and Goliath battle that David won't win. The Pistons are simply too good and too experienced to not dominate the Orlando Magic.

A minor subplot might be the fact that Grant Hill is going up against his former team; you know, the one that he could actually put up 20 ppg for while also playing more than 70 games a season. However, this plot and story will end rather quickly as Orlando's inexperience will shine through.

The Pistons were able to sweep the season series 4-0; and should do so in this series in an even more convincing manner. The Pistons are quite simply favored in nearly every position on the court, with the possible exception of youngster Dwight Howard. Howard will do his best He-man impersonation, but will be thoroughly harassed by Rasheed Wallace all series long. He'll probably even be able to put up good numbers against Detroit, but it still doesn't matter. They still won't come close in this series.

Chad says: Detroit in 4.
Coin says: Detroit in 5.

(2) Cleveland vs. (7) Washington

In last year's first round matchup, the Cavaliers were able to beat the Wizards in six games. That was with Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler.

This year, the Wizards are literally limping their way into the playoffs and will be literally limping out almost as fast. Antawn Jamison has to absolutely dominate if his team wants a chance at taking the series to the length it went last year.

LeBron James will be looking to build on his resume and the Cavaliers will be looking to do a bit more damage this year than they did in the 2006 playoffs, where they came up 18 points short in Game 7 of the Conference Semifinals against the Detroit Pistons.

This year, the Cavaliers will have lots of time to prepare for that second round and the Wizards will have lots of time to heal.

Chad says: Cleveland in 5.
Coin says: Cleveland in 6.

(3) Toronto vs. (6) New Jersey

The last time the Raptors made the playoffs, Vince Carter had knee pains that kept him out of their first round loss to the Pistons. This time, his knees are just fine, but he's on the opposing bench looking to keep the Raptors out of the second round again.

Christ Bosh and the reconstructed Raptors have put together a remarkable season, putting together the most improved record and winning their division title under the guidance of Bryan Colangelo. The Raptors, however, received late-season scares with a season-ending injury to Jorge Garbajosa and appendix surgery for Andrea Bargnani. Bargnani, however, returned in the final game of the season, putting up 17 points in 27 minutes and declaring himself ready for the playoffs. The Raptors will be relying on the rookie to keep the pressure off of Bosh. They'll need multiple scoring options if they are going to dismantle the Nets.

The Nets are led in scoring by Carter, but have Richard Jefferson and Jason Kidd providing experienced scoring options to help balance their attack. Carter, though, will be looking to be the main man most of the way as he makes it his personal mission to beat his former team. If Carter hogs the ball, the Nets will fall. If they spread the ball around, however, they have a good chance of taking the series. At least that's what the coin thinks.

Chad says: Toronto in 6.
Coin says: New Jersey in 7.

(4) Miami vs. (5) Chicago

Miami might be the higher seed, but the Bulls have the home-court advantage.

Chicago will be looking for revenge after falling to the eventual champs in six games last year. This year, however, the Bulls find themselves much more ready for the task. The offseason signing of Ben Wallace was meant to help the Bulls beat Shaq and the Heat; and beat them they have. The Bulls have taken three of four games during the season, but one must remember that the playoffs is a completely different beast. Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng, and Ben Gordon will have to provide much of the scoring punch for these Bulls; and they'll have to figure out a way to stop Dwyane Wade, a threat that caused many problems in the series last year.

Wade, however, doesn't seem ready to pose as many problems for the Bulls this time around. Coming off a serious shoulder injury, Wade has only been able to put up 14.6 ppg in the five games since his return. It's hard, however, to measure the will of a champion; and these Heat are the reigning champions of the NBA. Don't expect them to go down without a fight, but expect them to go down nonetheless.

Chad says: Chicago in 7.
Coin says: Chicago in 6.

Western Conference

(1) Dallas vs. (8) Golden State

The Mavericks have put up one of the greatest regular-season records in NBA history, winning 65 of their 82 games. They could have had 68, however, if they knew how to beat the Golden State Warriors.

The Mavericks are led by MVP candidate Dirk Nowitzki and his experienced sidekicks: Josh Howard, Jason Terry, and Jerry Stackhouse. These (almost) same Mavericks have proven that they can dominate in the playoffs by sweeping Memphis, knocking down the Spurs in seven, and pushing through the Suns in six last year. They came up short against the Heat, however, when it mattered most. This year Cuban will be expecting even more, and more he will get.

More competition, that is.

If the Mavericks are the Superman of the Western Conference, then the Golden State Warriors can be labeled as Kryptonite.

The Warriors have won all three games against the Mavericks this season: a three-point victory in Dallas and two blowout wins at home (one coming while the Mavericks rested their starters). They also took three of four last against the Mavs last season, without the genius of Don Nelson behind the bench. If anybody knows how to solve Dallas, it is Nelson, the man who practically invented the Mavericks success. Baron Davis and Jason Richardson will be relied on heavily. Stephen Jackson, Monta Ellis, and Al Harrington will also need to step up, however, if the Warriors want a chance to pull off the first-round shocker. I think they will.

Chad says: Golden State in 6.
Coin says: Golden State in 6.

(2) Phoenix vs. (7) L.A. Lakers

Last year, the Lakers gave the Suns quite a scare, going up 3-1 in the first round series before eventually folding to Steve Nash and company in seven. This year, they'll also have to deal with Amare Stoudemire, as well.

The Lakers were led, as always, by the all-around efforts of Kobe Bryant. Bryant accomplished one of the most amazing feats in NBA history by scoring at least 50 points in four straight games (225 combined). He does have a decent supporting cast of Lamar Odom, Luke Walton, and the promising Andrew Bynum. However, everybody knows that Kobe is the only factor that matters for the Lakers' success.

The strange thing, however, is that the Lakers' only win against the Suns this season came with Bryant nursing a knee injury.

The Suns have dominated the season series with Kobe in the lineup, winning all three games by an average of seven points per contest. They, of course, are led by two-time MVP Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, and the ever difficult defense of Raja Bell. Leandro Barbosa also stepped up his game this season, chipping in 18.1 ppg.

The Lakers will fight, much like they did last year, but the Suns will prevail.

Chad says: Phoenix in 6
Coin says: Phoenix in 4

(3) San Antonio vs. (6) Denver

When the Nuggets traded for Allen Iverson, they were thinking about success. The Spurs, however, didn't need to make any changes to an already proven core.

Last year, Carmelo was unable to lead the Nuggets through the first round matchup against the L.A. Clippers. This year, he faces a much more difficult task, the San Antonio Spurs, but he has the help of Allen Iverson. Since becoming a Nugget, Iverson has had to adapt his game to suit the Nuggets needs. Many see a potential alpha-dog struggle between 'Melo and Iverson as unavoidable, I see it as acceptable. When the game is on the line, who do you guard? Carmelo is one of the most proven clutch scorers in the game while Allen Iverson is one of the most dominant scorers, period. The only difficulty for the Nuggets, however, will be getting the "game on the line" against these Spurs.

The Spurs won the season series 2-1, with the only loss coming in a meaningless battle of the reserves on the final day of the NBA season. In their previous meeting, they were able to hold A.I. to 9 points and 'Melo a mere 15 and in the game before that they held off the valiant 33-point effort by Iverson to still win 92-83 (though Anthony was not in the lineup). The Spurs, to say the least, are playoff proven.

San Antonio has won the NBA championship three times since 1999 (1999, 2003, 2005) and since then, only one series was lost to a non-eventual Western Conference champ (2000). Because of their experience, they will be able to overcome the Nuggets, albeit in a very difficult series.

Chad says: San Antonio in 6.
Coin says: Denver in 5.

(4) Utah vs. (5) Houston

The last time the Utah Jazz had such a high seed for the playoffs, they were led by John Stockton and the Mailman, Karl Malone (2001). This time, however, they'll be looking for the combo of Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer to deliver.

The Utah Jazz are coming off their best season in recent years and have plenty of hope for the playoffs. Boozer emerged as a dominant force in the Western Conference, while Mehmet Okur has been able to hold his own down low, as well (17.6 ppg, 7.2 rpg). The Jazz won 51 games without much contribution from marquee player, Andrei Kirilenko. They'll need Kirilenko to step up, however, if they are going to be able to stop T-Mac and the Rockets.

Utah has the higher seed and won the season series 3-1, but the Houston Rockets were able to pull off home-court advantage.

With 52 wins, the Houston Rockets were able to put together their best season since drafting Yao Ming in 2002. Either Yao Ming or Tracy McGrady could have emerged as MVP candidates if it weren't for injuries. Yao averaged 25 ppg, 9. 4rpg, and 2 blocks over 48 games. Tracy McGrady, however, was the bigger contributor to the Rockets season, averaging 24.6 ppg, 6.5 apg, and 5.3 rpg, while carrying the Rockets on his back (which is susceptible to injury) with Yao out of the lineup.

With both Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming healthy, the Utah Jazz have their work cut out for them. They will fight hard, but come up short in the closest series of the first round.

Chad says: Houston in 7.
Coin says: Houston in 7.

Posted by Chad Kettner at 9:39 PM | Comments (0)

April 19, 2007

2007 NBA Playoffs Preview

Sixteen teams. One common goal. And four that actually have a realistic shot to hoist up the trophy. But after 82 essentially meaningless games, it's time to get down to business.

So without further adieu, here is a quick breakdown of the NBA's second season...

Western Conference

(1) Dallas Mavericks vs. (8) Golden State Warriors — The Boys from the Bay swept the season series with the Mavs this year (3-0), using Don Nelson's patented small-ball to pull Dallas' bigs away from the hoop. And hey, who knows Dirk Nowitzki better than his old coach? The Warriors are no doubt still coming off the high of clinching their first playoff berth since the '93-'94 season. And they're hot, having won nine of their last 10 games. All the makings of a potential eight-seed shocker, right? Yeah, not so much.

There is a big difference between regular season games and playoff games and Dallas is about to make Golden State wish they let the Clippers sneak into the playoffs. Nellie can take away Dirk all he wants. Look for Jason Terry, Josh Howard, and Devin Harris to be the difference makers on the offensive end. Although I do think Baron Davis and Jason Richardson have their way with the smaller Mav defenders. It still won't be enough.

Prediction: Mavs in five.

2) Phoenix Suns vs. (7) Los Angeles Lakers — Everybody loves a rematch. Well, except for Lakers fans who will experience a sudden sense of déjà vu when the Suns end their season for a second season in a row.

Last year, Phoenix had to rally from a 3-1 deficit to make it past the Lake Show to the second round. Don't look for the same drama this year. The Lakers always seem to play the Suns tough, but these were two teams heading in different directions heading down the stretch. Yes, Kobe was on fire the last few weeks. But look how close they came to falling out of the playoffs even with his plethora of 50-point performances.

Kobe's supporting cast is as weak as it's ever been, while the Suns' depth is dangerous. The Lakers don't have anyone who can slow, let alone stop, Steve Nash from doing what he wants to do. A Kobe offensive explosion (think another 50 +) will earn the Lakers a cheap win. That's about it.

Prediction: Suns in five.

(3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (6) Denver Nuggets — In the art of full disclosure, let it be known I'm a die -hard Spurs fan. And while overly-athletic teams (which the Nuggets certainly are) tend to give the Spurs some trouble, the nice thing about a seven-game series is the best team always wins.

A.I. and 'Melo have failed to produce as the feared tandem they were hyped to be and Denver's big men should find themselves in foul trouble early and often against Duncan.

It also helps that Denver doesn't play a lick of defense, so Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili should have a field day getting to the rack.

But I do like George Karl, so I'll give them one game just on his prowess. The athleticism of the Nugs earns them another.

Prediction: Spurs in six.

(4) Utah Jazz vs. (5) Houston Rockets — Congratulations, Tracy McGrady! You're about to make it out of the first round for the first time in your career (previously 0-5). And it's got nothing to do with a fashionable five-seed vs. four-seed upset. Houston is the better team. Hands down. Yes, the Jazz took three of four from the Rockets in the regular season. I'm shocked. I have no clue how this happened and won't pretend to. But with an ailing Andrei Kirilenko, the Jazz have no one who can stop T-Mac. Look for Yao to give the Jazz more fits than his counterpart Mehmet Okur will to the Rockets.

Prediction: Rockets in six.

Eastern Conference

(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (8) Orlando Magic — Ladies and gentleman, I present your obligatory first-round sweep. The Pistons manhandled the Magic in the regular season, winning all four games. No reason to stop there. Chalk up a quick four more wins for the Motor City Bad Boys. Only way the Magic steal a game is if the Pistons let Isaiah Thomas come back to coach his old team for a game. Ouch. Yeah, I said it.

Prediction: Pistons in four.

(2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Washington Wizards — The only thing keeping this from a second first-round sweep is the Cavs' amazing ability to completely go in the tank at random times. I'm guessing it'll happen once this series, handing the Wizards a gift home win. But without Gilbert Arenas or Caron Butler, the Wizards' chances are slim and none, and slim just legally changed his name to No Way In Hell.

Prediction: Cavs in five.

(3) Toronto Raptors vs. (6) New Jersey Nets — Wake up! Sorry about that, but if you're like me, just looking at this matchup is enough to make you doze off. But I digress. The Raptors like to run. That's how they win. Problem: Jason Kidd and company can run with the best of them.

I think T.J. Ford is a bona fide all-star in the making at the point. But he's about to get a hard lesson in postseason ball from one of the best in the biz in Jason Kidd. Chris Bosh is already a superstar. The Nets won't stop him. Sadly, the same can be said on the other side for Vince Carter and my fellow Wildcat alum, Richard Jefferson. Toronto has no one who can D these guys up and it'll show.

Throw out the seeds, Nets are too tough a matchup for the boys from America's neighbor to the North.

Prediction: Nets in five.

(4) Miami Heat vs. (5) Chicago Bulls — Maybe it's something with the number five that sucks me in, but I think both four seeds will be watching the second round from the couch.

Hard to pick against the defending champs, especially with their boy D-Wade back, but I love this Bulls team. I have all year. They're young. They're fun. And they are just the kind of team to put a little extra oomph into those screens for Wade and his bum shoulder to try and run through.

Remember, the Heat played the Bulls tough last year, and that was without someone like Big Ben to match up against Shaq. This will be the most entertaining and competitive first-round series. Look for it to go the distance.

Prediction: Bulls in seven.

So that's it for the first round, if you're headed to Vegas, feel free to print this out and take it sheet with you. I won't hold it against you. Hey, I'm here to spread the love.

And since I'm in a good mood today, a little bonus action...

Spurs beat the Mavs in the West.
Pistons trounce the Nets in the East.

In a rematch of the 2004-05 Finals, the Spurs will battle the Pistons for NBA supremacy. In the end, it's another ring for the boys from the Alamo city. Spurs in seven.

Hey, I told you I'm a fan. Go Spurs Go!

Posted by Eric Anderson at 9:59 PM | Comments (0)

Don't Overlook the Sabres vs. Islanders

It wasn't a "must-win game" in the "you're-about-to-be-eliminated" sense, but it was big. The New York Islanders were trailing in their series against the President's Trophy winning Buffalo Sabres before Game 4. As it stands, that same sentence would be accurate by simply changing it to Game 5.

The game had a feverish pace from the start, each team playing as though it was the series clincher. A first-period skirmish in front of Buffalo's goalie, Ryan Miller, turned into a scrappy goal for Islander winger Jason Blake. Shortly after, a face-off win by Sabre Derek Roy lead to a Thomas Vanek goal through the traffic obstructing Isle net-minder Rick DiPietro.

The playoffs — in any sport — are remarkable at rejuvenating a player's best game. The fourth game between Buffalo and New York was a bout of hustlers. New York played to even the series at two, Buffalo to come one game closer to the second round for the sixth time in 10 postseasons. Perhaps both teams were trying to channel the energy of legends Brian Trottier and former Islander and Sabre Pat LaFontaine, both of whom were in the stands for Game 4.[1] Both of whom have substantial experience in postseason theatrics.

A bulk of the first period was played around the nets. The second Buffalo goal developed from a tight battle behind the net where Dainius Zubrus flexed his puck control skills and slid some backhand sauce to Chris Drury. [2]

It was the kind of sloppy goal pretty players have to score to win playoff games. The otherwise graceful, finesse players are forced to apply some elbow grease and expected to take a few beatings to earn a goal. The key word: earn. Then again, Chris Drury knows a few things about gritty playoff goals.

"This series has been a sleeping giant," said one former NHLer/current color commentator whose name is of little importance.

It truly has; only it shouldn't be. Last season, that sleeping giant in Edmonton known as the Oilers sailed all the way to the seventh game of the Stanley Cup Finals, leaving behind a nimiety of upsets floating in its wake. Why would underestimating an Islander team that didn't learn of its playoff birth until the last day of the season, after winning some huge games down the stretch, make any sense? Was there any doubt their vigor would weaken once a playoff spot was clinched?

Many teams thrive under the pressure of being an underdog. At times, being the favorite brings more pressure because there is more to lose. That's why low seeds can be labeled "sleepers," because their drive to leave that label behind is often overlooked. But Wednesday was not a night for awakening giants. Buffalo, although leading by only a goal with under two minutes left, capitalized on its superiority by turning an errant pass and a costly turnover into a solidifying goal before New York could even pull its goalie.

Buffalo: 4. Broken DiPietro stick: 1.

This Eastern Conference quarterfinal is top-heavy with Buffalo dominance, but to say it's been that way on the ice would be a disservice to the effort and heart of both teams. Buffalo's three wins did not come easy, nor will the next one it needs to advance to the semifinals.

The Islanders are now prepping for their actual "must-win game." They must find a way to turn their diligence into goals. Defensive zone turnovers and needless penalties will not delay the final blow the Sabres will certainly be aiming for on Friday night at HSBC Arena. It's now time for Rick DiPietro to earn that 15-year, $65 million contract he inked nine months ago.

Time is tight. The Isle defense has a tough encounter ahead, and forwards like Ryan Smyth, Alexei Yashin, and Richard Zednik need to score more goals and back-check faster. And if recent history is any indicator, they will. The only problem is that Buffalo's Daniel Briere, Jason Pominville, Maxim Afinogenov, and company might have something to say about it.

***

[1]: Trottier is Executive Director of Player Personnel for the NYI.
[2]: It begs the question: how happy is Dainius Zubrus to be out of Washington? He has truly taken advantage of his trade from the third worst team to the very best.

Posted by Jeff DiNunzio at 9:54 PM | Comments (1)

NASCAR Top 10 Power Rankings: Week 7

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jeff Burton — Continuing NASCAR's recent run of stirring last-lap battles, Burton passed Matt Kenseth on the final lap in Texas to win the Samsung 500. Burton, driving the No. 31 Prilosec Chevrolet, collected the winner's check of $526,766, as well as a 10-gallon cowboy had and a pair of six-shooters. Burton was also earlier honored with the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame Sportsmanship Award.

"What an honor," says Burton. "And what a great prize — a pair of leather chaps. But if anyone thinks I'm going to wear them, they're absolutely right. I hear Juan Pablo Montoya throws some wild parties. As far as the race goes, I'd like to thank my main sponsor, Prilosec, for keeping me heartburn-free. And good luck to Prilosec on their next sponsorship deal, the contract negotiations between Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and DEI."

2. Jeff Gordon — Gordon started from the pole after qualifying's rainout and led 173 laps before scraping the wall with about 25 laps remaining. His lead quickly evaporated, but he held on for a fourth-place finish, and barely maintained his points lead, now only eight over Jeff Burton.

"That wall had no give," says Gordon. "I have to question its tactics there. I will say this, though. The wall raced me cleaner than Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville. And that's the easiest pole I've ever won. Come rain or come shine, Jeff Gordon is on the pole, and Michael Waltrip doesn't qualify. But, in Michael's defense, this time it wasn't lack of skill that resulted in his failure to qualify. It was rain."

3. Matt Kenseth — Kenseth took the lead soon after Jeff Gordon smacked the wall with about 25 laps to go and battled Jeff Burton to the finish. Kenseth, however, was unable to deny Burton, who passed the No. 17 Fusion on the last lap. Kenseth settled for second, once again the victim of a last-lap pass.

"Am I disappointed?" asks Kenseth. "You bet. But not as disappointed as the fans of Michael Waltrip. I hear there was quite a contingent of Waltrip female fans, known as the 'NAPA-headed Ho's,' who didn't even get to see him race."

4. Jimmie Johnson — Johnson was an unfortunate victim of the Tony Stewart/Juan Pablo Montoya dust-up on lap 234. Johnson, blinded by the smoke from Stewart's spinning car, rammed the No. 20, and sat in the garage for over 20 laps for repairs. He eventually finished 38th and fell one spot to fourth in the points.

"I guess Montoya and Stewart won't be chit-chatting about romance novels," says Johnson. "Although that's some quality entertainment I would pay good money to see, much like Courtney Love walking a straight line. It was just a matter of time before the Stewart/Montoya feud started. This is what it's like when world's collide. Stewart and Montoya mix like oil and water, or Pop Rocks and Coke, or Don Imus and sensitivity, or the words 'nappy-headed' and 'ho's.'”

5. Denny Hamlin — Hamlin held down the fort for Joe Gibbs Racing, finishing ninth while teammates Tony Stewart and J.J. Yeley each endured a forgettable day at Texas Motor Speedway. Yeley was wiped out by David Ragan on lap one, while Stewart was spun by Juan Pablo Montoya on lap 234. Hamlin moves up one spot to fifth in the points, 222 behind Jeff Gordon.

"I've got a feeling the Montoya/Stewart feud will get a little more media coverage than the Yeley/Ragan feud," says Hamlin, gearing up for the NFL Draft, in which Gibbs has given him full control of the 'Skins' first pick. "Yeley versus Ragan. If that were a boxing match, it wouldn't even be on pay-per-view. In other words, it wouldn't be seen at all. Stewart versus Montoya has all the makings of a heavyweight title match, just without the punches, tattooed faces, missing ears, a wife-beating HBO boxing announcer, and a wild-haired, crazed self-promoter. No, I'm not talking about Al Sharpton.”

6. Carl Edwards — Edwards finished 12th in the Samsung 500 after finishing third in Saturday's O'Reilly 300. He leads in the Busch Series point standings, and is eighth in the Nextel Cup standings, 299 out of first.

"And, for the 56th straight week," says Edwards, "I'm first in teeth. Look at these babies. Aren't they perfect? Kids, let this mouth be your lesson in dental hygiene. Don't eat too many sweets, and always brush after every chew, dip, or smoke.”

7. Clint Bowyer — Despite ongoing handling issues that caused him to finish a lap down, Bowyer moved up to fifth in the points with a 16th in Texas, the middleman in an up-and-down day for Richard Childress Racing. Teammate Jeff Burton won the race, while Kevin Harvick struggled to a 29th-place finish.

“I'd like to congratulate Jeff on a huge win,” says Bowyer, “and for his role as a presenter at the 2007 CMT Music Awards Show, although I have to admit I'm a little jealous. As the driver of the Jack Daniel's car, I feel it's my duty to remind the new breed of bottled water-sipping country stars about the good ole days, when country stars not only sang about drinking liquor, they actually drank it. Hank, Waylon, and crew drank water for one reason only: to chase their liquor.”

8. Mark Martin — Picking up right where he left off before sitting out the last two races, Martin finished third in Texas for his fifth top-10 in five races. He is the only driver with top-10 in each race started. Martin is now 11th in the points, 342 out of first.

"Now that my missionary work is done," says Martin, "I can devote my full attention to racing. Or, at least until I have to leave for my next hiatus, a two-week mission on the space shuttle Atlantis this summer, where I'll record my new rap album Happy Dreaded Joe's, which, as the title would suggest, is a concept album that chronicles the adventures of a fun-loving group of Jamaicans, all named Joe. Oh snap. I said 'chronic.' Time to roll. I gotta go.”

9. Tony Stewart — Stewart's rough day began when he was spun by Juan Pablo Montoya, and was exacerbated when he lost control and spun on lap 252, which resulted in Kyle Busch ramming Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Afterwards, while speaking to reporters about the Montoya incident, Stewart forgave Montoya, calling it a rookie mistake, then warned the Colombian that he wouldn't get any kind of help from Stewart in the future.

“And, I've sworn off Colombian coffee,” adds Stewart, “and I've destroyed my Shakira record collection, all two CDs. I'm done with all things Colombian. Juan Chico must have some Chip on his shoulder. He clearly wrecked me, but he's claiming I made him loose. That's bull. But who am I to complain? JPM is just a Colombian version of me, just with two fewer Cup titles (none) and two fewer friends (none). I think we'll be spending quite a bit of time together in the NASCAR port-a-office in the upcoming weeks.”

10. Kyle Busch — After slamming Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who had braked to avoid the spinning Tony Stewart, Busch left the track thinking his car was irreparable. However, his crew repaired his car, but Busch was nowhere to be seen, having left the track.

“Okay, maybe I'm guilty of leaving the scene of an accident,” says Busch, “but at least I kept my shoes on. I do apologize for leaving, but I didn't go AWOL for no reason. Once I left the track, I held a press conference denouncing the Car of Tomorrow, although we didn't even run it in Texas. I just felt like bad-mouthing something. We Busch brothers are known not only for our lanky geekiness and elephant ears, but also for never having kind words to say about anything.”

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 9:43 PM | Comments (0)

April 18, 2007

The Heavyweights of College Football

No one can accurately peg the top 25 football teams in the country right now. Too many things can break too many ways. But one thing is clear — there is a first-tier of teams head, shoulders, and maybe knees above the rest, and will enter the season more loaded than Courtney Love.

Some teams just stockpile the talent and discard pieces that don't work out without fretting over where to find a replacement; others catch lightning in a bottle. The former are generally a lot easier tot identify.

Just take a look at last year's preseason top 25. No one in either poll started in the top five (seven different teams) and finished lower than 10, except chronically overrated Notre Dame.

Forecasting the rest of the pack? Like nailing Jell-O to a wall. Florida State, Miami, Iowa, and Clemson all were slotted between 10 and 20. None even finished in the also-receiving-votes shuffle. And raise your hands if you saw Arkansas, Rutgers, Wake Forest, and BYU replacing them. I thought not. Now put your top 25 away before you embarrass yourself. Top five? Now maybe you will get lucky.

So in no particular order, here are the five teams that, if not BCS title game bound, should have very strong seasons. Also presented are the biggest stumbling blocks en route to New Orleans.

And if you think you have the five teams pegged, guess again. There is a team you probably didn't think of...

USC Trojans

By "in no particular order," I meant after USC. Show me an expert that considers any team more loaded than USC. Seriously, I need a job, and would gladly take his. Last year's stingy defense loses linebacker Dallas Sartz and ... well, that's it. The offense shouldn't need to score a lot of points for USC. But it will.

Last year, John David Booty put up comparable stats to Matt Leinart's first year as a starter, and should only improve. A stable of running backs will be competing for carries. I can't begin to name them all; four have starting experience, and three others were among the top five recruits in the country the last two years. And the crew waiting to replace departed receivers Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett is also deep and talented. Three offensive line starters return, and, you guessed it, many able-bodied individuals are waiting in the wings.

The Trojans, now a veteran squad, experienced two unexpected Pac-10 losses last year: to an underrated Oregon State team that won 10 games, and to UCLA. That should provide plenty of motivation. USC will have a tougher road schedule this year. Lincoln, South Bend, Berkley, and Eugene aren't anyone's favorite destinations. But if the Trojans get their legs under them for the hostile environment in Nebraska and survive new quarterback/ASU transfer Sam Keller, then Notre Dame, Cal, and Oregon should be very beatable teams. At least for the most talented team in the country.

Texas Longhorns

Colt McCoy quietly broke the Longhorn record for touchdown passes in a season. There is a tiny bit of a historical dead spot between Chris Simms and Bobby Layne in terms of quality Texas quarterbacks, but we are still talking about a lot of history. The kid really found himself in the second half, and if not for an early injury in a 45-42 upset by Kansas State, followed by a 12-7 loss to rival Texas A&M, they could have argued for a slot in the title game.

Now McCoy returns a year wiser and with an arsenal of weapons, including running back Jamaal Charles and receivers Limas Sweed and Billy Pittman. That said, this team does lose a lot of offensive line and defensive talent to the draft. But Texas is as plentiful in talent as Florida and California, and UT is still the big dog on the block.

And let's not forget the conference they play in. There are no road challenges except for the visit to A&M in College Station. The Red River Shootout should be competitive, and Nebraska does visit, but other than that, no one should scare the Longhorns on paper.

Florida Gators

Urban Meyer has wiped the floor with SEC recruiting and only USC can be considered to be in the same league over the last few years. Normally, losing a quarterback and nine defenders would cripple a team. But this crew can reload, and with phenom Tim Tebow at the helm and electric Percy Harvin receiving an expanded role, the offense should be as dangerous as any in the conference. The defense loses a slew of starters, and the secondary especially is depleted, but that is the easiest position to hide in the run-happy SEC.

The schedule is certainly not a major issue this year. Tennessee, Auburn, and Florida State all travel to Gainesville, while the only true road test will be a visit to Baton Rouge to play LSU (although being hosted by the Ol' Ball Coach in South Carolina should make for a fun trip). If the defensive replacements can stack up as comparable to the rest of the SEC, the defending national champs have as good a shot as anyone to reach the Superdome. But a defensive letdown in a game where Tebow's inexperience shows up could, and likely will, be the Gators' undoing in the national title hunt.

LSU Tigers

Here we go again with a team bringing in a new quarterback. But Matt Flynn and Ryan Perrilloux are both capable of filling in for JaMarcus Russell. Flynn is expected to take the job, but Perrilloux was, if not No. 1, then No. 1A along with USC's Mark Sanchez as the top recruit in the country two years ago. Both leading rushers return, and while Dwayne Bowe and Craig Davis depart at wideout, bullets remain in the chamber, and fast ones. Early Ducet is the most experienced, having hauled in 59 passes for 772 yards in 2006. Defensively LaRon Landry will be impossible to truly replace at safety, but enough talent returns that the Tiger defense will be feeling like it's usual, frisky self.

And while most teams in the SEC do not play much of a road schedule, LSU's is particularly gentle; few coaches fear visits to Mississippi State, Tulane, Kentucky, Alabama, or Ole Miss nowadays. An intriguing matchup with Virginia Tech will be one of the early season games to watch, but tilts with Auburn and Florida will make or break the season.

Wisconsin Badgers

What, you expected a Michigan team that lost its entire defense? The Badgers return a big part of a team that went 12-1 without so much as a whisper last year. Yes, the Big Ten was the softest it's ever been, and the Badgers' schedule sidestepped Ohio State. But they did beat a tough Arkansas team in the Citrus Bowl. P.J. Hill returns after a 1,500-yard season.

John Stucco is gone at quarterback; that sound you heard was a big yawn out of Madison. Not a bad player, but no one is crying over his departure. The team's three leading receivers are also back, so his heir will have experienced weapons. He will also have continuity at offensive coordinator, with Paul Chryst turning down a job with the Dallas Cowboys to stay in Madison. Oh, and by the way, a good share of a defense that allowed less than 12 points a game last season returns as well.

The Badgers not only get Ohio State back on the slate, but they get to visit Columbus. That's never fun, even when the Buckeyes are rebuilding a defense (which, under Jim Tressel, generally takes a nanosecond) and replacing a Heisman quarterback and two star receivers. Wisconsin also visits Penn State in Happy Valley and hosts Michigan at Camp Randall. The difficulty of the rest of their road will be determined by how fast the rest of the league grows up. Hell, with Indiana reaching up into the middle-regions of the standings in 2006, you know there has been a slide. Still, Wisconsin is a legitimately elite team, and could be a sleeper to end up in New Orleans.

Everyone Else

No other team lacks a major concern that could easily prevent it from being a top 10 team. Ohio State and Michigan lost too much to the draft, West Virginia still can't defend its little sister, much less an end zone, Arkansas isn't any more proven than Darren McFadden's durability, Auburn just feels to be a playmaker or three away, and Okahoma just ain't what it used to be. Any of these teams could crash the top five. They could also end up ranked 20-something. And the next tier depends on many things. Health. Emergence of young players. Avoidance of lapses in motivation. Luck. So many things can jumble that middle of the pack.

And that's what makes it all worth watching.

Posted by Kyle Jahner at 5:48 PM | Comments (0)

College Hoops Random Thoughts

This is honestly my fourth try at writing this article. And to be fair to, well, myself and to give myself excuses for a fourth try at writing something as simple as an at-large college basketball article, all my other ideas were about as stale as the three Peeps from Easter that have still gone uneaten.

Some other ideas bounced around in my not-working-hard-enough brain included:

So, I'm just going to talk about everything on my mind as it relates to college basketball. Think of this as like a blog post on HGH (or maybe just Muscle Milk).

The most fascinating thing in any newspaper or website during March Madness was the much-discussed feature about O.J. Mayo in the New York Times. I love the fact that the kid is talking about setting a new trend and creating a basketball legacy at USC. Except for the fact that everyone, including his coach, knows he is just there for the one year.

But the best part was the "no, I'll call you" quotes. Those had me practically rolling on the floor for about half an hour due to pure incredulousness. On the main (see: highest-rated, most relevant) local sports radio station in Dallas, The Ticket, whose hosts almost never talk college basketball, they mentioned the horrible karma of a star athlete going to USC with the name O.J.

And given what we know about Mayo, I wouldn't put it past him to be involved in a low-speed chase with Taj Gibson or Gabe Pruitt in the driver's seat in the year 2035.

I didn't like Bob Huggins before two weeks ago, and I sure don't now. Yes, everyone has a dream job, but you committed yourself to Kansas State just a year ago and probably told some of the best high school players in the country something like, "At Kansas State, we are building a great program and we'll be in the Final Four in no time."

While Kansas State still could have a great season next year with Frank Martin at the helm, and a great recruiting class that says they are still all committed to K-State, it just seems like the same guy that shot life back into a mediocre program sucked it all out and showed a disgusting lack of loyalty along the way.

Meanwhile, I don't feel that way at all about Billy Gillespie's move from Texas A&M to Kentucky. Why? Kansas State to West Virginia is not a step up in program stature. No one, except the most myopic A&M fans would consider A&M to Kentucky a lateral movement in job prominence.

I failed to read or hear the correlation anywhere between the last time the Sweet 16 had no double-digit seeds in the Sweet 16. It was 1995, and all of the best high school players from the Class of 1994 were playing in college in 1995. Who was drafted in June 1995 to break that trend and was the only one that year? None other than Kevin Garnett.

Speaking of correlations, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Mississippi State, Oklahoma, and Syracuse will all return to the NCAA tournament in 2008. All three have solid recruiting classes joining solid returning parts. Plus, all had measurably bad luck. According to college hoops uber-guru Ken Pomeroy, the Orange, Bulldogs and Sooners were among some of the unluckiest teams in the nation.

The number measuring something once thought to be unquantifiable is taken by using a Pythagorean winning percentage calculation and the team's actual winning percentage (there's some kind of schedule adjustment in there, too) and subtracting one from the other. In all, Syracuse missed out two wins they should have had, and Mississippi State and Oklahoma were unlucky to the tune of four should-of-had-'em wins.

Posted by Ross Lancaster at 5:24 PM | Comments (0)

April 17, 2007

What We Learned From the NBA Season

With March Madness in our rearview mirrors, it's time to shift focus from the basketball games college players actually played in to those that they wish they were playing in (thanks, David Stern). That's right; if you see wing players actually shuffling their Nikes on defense and big men turning sure-fire highlight-reel dunks into second-degree felonious assault (uh, not literally, Ron Artest), you know the playoffs are coming.

But at this point, what do we make of the 82-game glorified preseason we've been subjected to? Let's sift through the regular season trash bin littered with Bucks/Celtics Tuesday nights and find something that actually means something as we look toward the postseason. Thirty teams played 82 games (okay, I'm cheating, there are still a few to play), and I boiled every minute down to these five written-in-stone truths:

1. Short of injuries to multiple key players, any game not involving Dallas, Phoenix, or San Antonio is irrelevant.

TNT and ESPN will try to convince you there are 13 other teams in the playoffs that could win the title. Don't be fooled. Between the sheer excellence of the Suns and the Mavs and San Antonio's experience, nobody else matters. These three teams have been in enough postseason wars with each other to know that, contrary to popular belief, not only can they hit the switch to start playing at full intensity at will, but it's a necessity to survive a grueling NBA season. Which leads us to truth number two...

2. The Mavs and Suns haven't been fighting for home court against each other; they've been fighting to avoid the Spurs.

In all honesty, this has been about the simplest regular season we've seen since 1996, when the Bulls established alpha dog status by Christmas and everyone else knew they were playing for second place. With their dueling streaks of dominance, Dallas and Phoenix both figured out early on that they were far better than everyone else in the league.

Once they had put enough space in the standings between themselves and the rest of the West, both teams turned down the intensity a bit, as evidenced by both sprinkling in curious losses in the second half. In a funny way, both of their regular seasons ended once they jumped out to those great starts. Throw in both teams scoring key victories on the other's home floor in the last two years — a point Jack McCallum brings up in ":07 Seconds or Less" — and the distinction between the one- and two-seeds in the West has little importance. It really didn't matter to them who hosted a potential Game 7.

However, both coaching staffs know that San Antonio could derail their destined matchup in the conference finals. And, aside from the most pressing threat from San Antonio — the Spurs actually beating them — the West's two-seed Phoenix faces the possibility of winning a pyrrhic victory over the Spurs, only to find themselves depleted for the showdown with Dallas. The Suns will have to run a grueling four-week gauntlet to get to the NBA Finals.

3. LeBron James better be damn good in these playoffs.

In all fairness, the pressure on James isn't entirely his or his team's fault. For a player who entered the league to a Sports Illustrated cover reading, "The Importance of Being LeBron," James has consistently outperformed expectation. But 2006-07 hasn't been as kind to Akron's wunderkind. James' effort visibly lagged this year, most obviously in the season's first half.

Yes, I can read my own sentence three paragraphs above that says NBA players have to pace themselves for the season's grind. While that may work for the Phoenixes and Dallases of the league, it only flies when teams backup those doldrums with late spring success. I can accept James' January lethargy if it leads to him performing at a level above everyone's heads in April, May, and, most importantly, June. But the LeBacklash against James will be fierce if the Cavs fail to replicate, if not improve on, last season's playoff run.

4. Kobe will get off at least one game where you will call your friends to tell them to watch.

The Lakers are a runaway fright train with a riot going on in the engine room. A player named "Smush" is openly sniping at Phil Jackson. The team managed to pull off a subtraction-by-lack-of-addition move at the trade deadline, dampening their players' and fans' excitement by failing to land Jason Kidd after doing everything but hang a purple-and-gold No. 5 jersey from the rafters at Staples.

Even the league is dragging down the Lakers, painting Kobe as Dr. Richard Kimball in its campaign to track down fugitive errant elbows. Can't you just see David Stern pointing a gun at Kobe in that giant drainpipe as Kobe insists he didn't elbow Manu Ginobili on purpose, followed by Kobe jumping into the water below? We're all thinking this, right?

(And while we're on the topic, allow me to dislodge a couple of Kobe-flavored gripes stuck in my craw. First, the analysis of Kobe's second elbow-incident on Marco Jaric was hysterical. Pretty much every member of the national media said, "Well, the NBA set the precedent for the suspension with the first one on Ginobili, so they had so suspend him for this one." Are you kidding me? What kind of logic is that? Our country had the precedent of slavery for the better part of a century. Does that mean we shouldn't have reconsidered the policy when the issue came up again?

Look, I'm certainly in favor of a set of rules that applies to everyone at all times (you hear that, Dick Bavetta and Bennett Salvatore?). But to suggest that the NBA had no choice but to suspend Kobe for the second elbow based on the punishment for the first is silly. How about this? The second elbow was very similar to the first, meaning it deserved very similar punishment, if not somewhat more severe, simply because it reflected a pattern. But blind punishment in the name of precedent is absurd.

Secondly, to the producers of the NBA on ABC: when you shot your hoochie montage that bumps in and out from commercials, did nobody realize that Kobe changed his jersey from No. 8 to No. 24? Because the only other alternative is that this was shot before Kobe made the change during the summer and ABC couldn't muster the $20 bucks for each girl to dance around while the song played. And don't ask how I know how much it costs for those girls to dance for one song. Please.)

5. The NBA superstars have an attitude problem ... and I'm talking about the referees.

You thought I meant the players. As I put the finishing touches on this Sunday afternoon, I saw Joey Crawford eject Tim Duncan from Sunday's Mavs/Spurs game for laughing. Now, I understand both sides of the refereeing debate. Every year in the playoffs, the debate over the quality of officiating gets its 15 minutes. On one hand, there certainly have been plenty of dubious calls (see the 2006 Finals for the introduction). But at the same time, most teams have some sort of superstar who could seem to "get calls," and in all fairness, we aren't exactly giving credit when it's due to officials when they get it right. Being an NBA ref has to be very, very hard.

But watch this postseason and see if there isn't a trend to the controversy. Isn't it a little odd that Dick Bavetta and Joey Crawford, most notably, almost always seem to be in the middle of it? To gauge just how highly these guys think of themselves, look no further than Bavetta's race against Charles Barkley at the All-Star Game. Was it hilarious? Of course. Was it the highlight of a very watered-down weekend? You bet.

But could you see Ed Hochuli taking on an NFLer in a bench-press contest or John Hirschbeck taking batting practice before the Home Run Derby? Of course not, because in all of the other sports, the refs and umps try to stay out of the spotlight. We always hear the ruling that the ref or ump is "part of the field" when a ball or player collides with him (or Violet Palmer). I think there's a more symbolic meaning to that rule that some of these guys could look into.

And this brings us back to Crawford giving Duncan a second technical Sunday for laughing while on the bench. Would he have done the same in the Western Conference Finals? Most likely not. But read the following quote after the game Sunday and tell me Crawford doesn't have an inflated sense of his own importance: "And then he went over to the bench and he was over there doing the same stuff behind our back," Crawford said. "I hit him with one (technical) and he kept going over there, and I look over there and he's still complaining. So I threw him out."

Doing stuff behind his back? If Crawford has enough attention to monitor 10 players on the floor, plus two head coaches in perpetual motion and play teacher, sending Duncan to the principal's office for throwing spit-balls, then this man needs a job with the CIA. Just keep an eye on Bavetta and Crawford during these playoffs. And don't look now, but we're looking at LeBron vs. Shaq/D-Wade in the first round, not to mention the rematch between Kobe's elbows and Raja Bell's flying clothesline maneuver. When you're watching and reading analysis of the referees that supersedes the actual games, well, don't say I didn't warn you.

Posted by Corrie Trouw at 5:29 PM | Comments (0)

April 16, 2007

ADHD Power Hour: RIP Kurt Vonnegut

Hello. No time for introductions. Me Seth. You reader. Go.

15. Now that the Duke kids are innocent, Jackie Robinson has been honored, and Don Imus fired, can we go back to pretending race doesn't matter in American sports?

14. The Evil Empire is crumbling.

13. Manny is still being Manny, except now he's Manny Alexander. (Hitting .194 with no power.)

12. Through five percent of the season, Alex Rodriguez is the front-runner for the AL MVP and Felix Hernandez has passed Johan Santana as favorite for the AL Cy Young.

(Don't tell me early stats don't mean anything. No matter how early in a developing situation, initial results are always the prelude to the rest of the story. If you look hard enough, you can gain meaningful knowledge about the future to come. Early stats certainly aren't the whole story, but they are definitely the first paragraphs, going on the first chapter.)

11. RIP, Kurt Vonnegut. Every writer hopes his work is good enough to remain alive past his own days on this planet. Vonnegut accomplished that. That's as big a compliment as I can give (even though he would probably tell me to shove it up my ass).

10. Farewell, Drew Bledsoe. You've been the consummate pro your whole career. You can go on with the rest of your life knowing you did it the right way while it was yours to do. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm glad the Pats took you instead of Rick Mirer.

9. Bad news for Dolphins fans: all four of Miami's road games in November and December are in cold-weather climates: Philly on Nov. 18, Pittsburgh on Nov. 26, Buffalo on Dec. 9, New England on Dec. 23.

8. Speaking of the Dolphins, am I the only one who thinks the return of Ricky Williams is getting short shrift? This was a top headline for the past two years, and now it's barely on radar. Even as a Pats fan, I'm excited about it. He's my pick for Comeback Player of the Year next season.

7. The Jets have the toughest schedule of them all next year.

6. Funny seeing Pacman Jones interviewed at a "Friday Night Fights" event featuring Zab Judah. It was Judah's first fight after a one-year suspension for his involvement in the riot during the Floyd Mayweather fight last year. Dude, what part of "don't put yourself in places where bad things can happen" do you not understand? Hanging out with Judah's entourage — Jones was there to support Judah, so you know they were hanging out — does not qualify as "being more careful." Jumping Jesus on a Pogo Stick!

5. I still haven't watched a playoff hockey game, and I think I know what's to blame — TiVo. See, TiVo has allowed me to get more involved in far more shows than a few years ago. My wife can watch "American Idol," but I can just record "NCIS" or "The Unit" and watch them later. I can still watch the best of Spike TV ("The Shield," UFC stuff), but don't have to miss network programming to do it. Add in the fact that I watch baseball live most nights, then fit in the rest of my shows when I can, and where is the time for hockey or the NBA?

4. Speaking of the UFC, there's a big treat for fans this Saturday night. UFC 70 will be available free in the U.S. on Spike (though still on PPV abroad). It should be a good set of fights, featuring Mirko Cro Cop vs. Gabriel Gonzaga, plus Andrei Arlovski and Michael Bisping, so if you've been waiting for a chance to get into MMA and haven't wanted to fork down the $40 for a PPV card, this is your chance. If you like to watch people beat each other up, you absolutely, positively havento get into the UFC.

3. It seems everybody is going to make a big deal about Barack Obama leading the fundraising race. Let me put it this way: Obama right now is the underdog team in the NCAA tournament, nailing threes from all over the place, getting every lucky bounce and generally playing out of their asses. Except they only have a two- or three-point lead going into half-time. And you know there's virtually no way they can keep up the pace. Nobody shoots 65% from three the whole game. Eventually, the ball will bounce the other way, and, when it does, the two-seed is going to put on a 15-2 run before you can say "remember Whitewater?"

Then again, upsets do happen. Perhaps Obama has some Harold Arceneaux in him.

2. Ted Ginn, Jr. to the 49ers at No. 11. You heard it here first.

1. Don't snort Ritalin.

Seth Doria is a blogger and freelance writer in St. Louis. For more news and notes on sports, politics, and Rick Ankiel, please visit The Left Calf.

Posted by Joshua Duffy at 5:33 PM | Comments (0)

U.S. Women's Tennis: Venus or Serena?

Thanks to Don Imus, women's sports has finally consumed several days of news coverage on all the major networks and cable outlets. Unfortunately, it wasn't for the performance of the women, but for his insensitive and ill-timed comment about how the girls basketball team from my alma mater, Rutgers University, looked.

Women athletes are finally making their names known. Everyone has pretty much heard of Michelle Wie, Annika Sorenstam, Natalie Gulbis, and the entire new generation on the LPGA golf tour. A tour, quite thankfully, that includes a majority of American women at or near the top.

Now try this. Jelena Jankovic, Katarina Srebotnik, Dinara Safina, Tatiana Golovin, Vera Zvonareva, Michaella Krajicek, Venus Williams, and Anabel Medina Garrigues. Can you pick out the name that doesn't seem to fit? Yes, you got it right, Venus Williams.

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour has had some very exciting and interesting tennis so far in 2007, and all due to a stable of young, fresh faces. The draw above is for the quarterfinals of the Family Circle Cup Tier I tournament in Charleston, South Carolina here in the U.S. It is clear that the former Soviet Bloc countries have begun to dominate women's tennis like never before.

What is interesting in this mix is not only that Venus Williams seems to be out of place with all the Euro-babes, but that there are two well-known tennis names in the bunch. Michaella Krajicek (yes, sister to that Krajicek) and Dinara Safina (yes, her brother has been a source of my personal pain). Krajicek has returned to full form after several injury-plagued seasons, and Safina is starting to consistently live up to her name and prowess, unlike her more famous sibling, Marat.

Rounding out the bunch are Golovin, who has performed at a high level thus far this year, and Jelena Jankovic. Jelena has been consistent since last fall and continues to be a driving force for the tour at number five in the points race. Zveronareva continues to be a workhorse in the WTA, and keeps the young girls honest.

For the first time in a while, the draw included both Venus and Serena Williams. The first clay court stop for Serena, who is number one in the 2007 point race and has both the Australian Open and the Sony Ericsson titles in her pocket, found her pulling out early due to an injury. Fortunately, sister Venus was there to keep the Williams' and U.S.' chances alive for a clay court tournament victory on home soil.

Venus and Serena seem to be the U.S.' only hope on the women's tour for consistent U.S. appearances in tournament finals. That, to me, is a shame. Venus and Serena are future Hall of Fame candidates, and Serena, especially with her racquet change, seems ready to possibly take all four majors and the single-season grand slam. Their inconsistency, and their susceptibility to injury, however, mean that a U.S. presence deep in any draw on the women's tour will be missing for a majority of tournaments. This is unlike the ATP tour, where Americans hover near the top 10 and players like Mardy Fish, James Blake, and Andy Roddick are consistently in the final four at every tournament they play in.

Serena actually said it best not that long ago. Somewhere out there is a young, hungry, female child star who is coming up the ranks and will scare even Serena herself. Serena is also right that it will not be an American. The drought in U.S. women's tennis is on and I know droughts. I'm writing this column right now from somewhere in the desert near Iraq.

On a more personal note, I received my copy of the new Tennis Week magazine just before my flight to the desert. Tennis Week has a totally new format, and included in it was a makeover of Ashley Harkleroad. Yep, the "American Anna." Ashley is sitting at No. 84 in the rankings right now. The article notes that she has returned to the tour from a two-year hiatus and that she is working her way back to the top of the game quickly. Well, I'm not so sure about that, but it is nice to see Ashley back and playing without injury. Oh, and her fashion makeover spread was pretty good, too.

Good luck with the new format, Tennis Week. Only time will tell; like in the women's game, where I'm not sure if I have enough time on this planet left to see the U.S. women dominate the game like it has in the past.

Posted by Tom Kosinski at 5:20 PM | Comments (2)

April 14, 2007

What Imus Really Said

I'm watching MSNBC on Friday morning. The menu on my screen still reads "Imus in the Morning," but obviously that's going to have to change.

Bye man, I-man.

I'm watching MSNBC on Friday morning and listening to news personality David Gregory lead a "new debate," as the graphic called it, about racism in America. He's speaking with Tom Brokaw, who is saying all of the sage-like things that need to be said for a network that's now in a 72-hour cycle of contrition.

When these racial firecrackers explode, the reactions from the parties involved and their corporate masters go one of two ways, but MSNBC and Imus have done a little bit of both. They might go with the "if you could only see into my heart" routine, in which they claim to be a good person who made a bad mistake and begin trotting out every single minority friend or co-worker they've ever known to defend them publicly. (Michael Richards must have been seriously ticked off that "Seinfeld" was so lilywhite; that show made "Friends" look like "Sanford and Son.")

Or their corporate masters will pull the "if we had only seen the signs earlier" card, which is what Brokaw was doing on Friday morning. If only we had understood what it was that Don Imus was saying and doing and mocking; if only Imus had understood it, as well.

Of course, Imus never understood it. Unlike rival Howard Stern — whose radio show this week was a non-stop, frequently brilliant critique of the whole affair — Imus never really differentiated between parody and cruelty. Stern was the vile clown; Imus was the nasty curmudgeon, and he played that role well. But curmudgeons, by their nature, are loathsome individuals (both in what they say and, frequently, who they are). Imus, or his radio show proxies, had attacked individuals and groups with comedic malice for years — I know, because I used to listen growing up in Jersey, before his radio show became as creaky as a 100-year-old house.

This time, one of those targets decided to fire back.

I'm watching MSNBC on Friday morning, and the female anchorwoman is presenting a story about "what's okay to say," wondering if these racial comments would have been ignored "had they come from someone other than Don Imus."

Well, of course they would have. This firestorm is a perfect storm: Imus worked for the most prominent and influential sports radio station in New York, WFAN; Rutgers's women's basketball team, the target of his slur, plays well within the scope of that influence and range of its signal. Combine those two ingredients, add a post-Kramer-tirade culture of punished speech and endless apology, and you've got one unemployed fake cowboy.

Had these comments not come from a nationally known but New York-based radio personality, who had crafted himself into some sort of quasi-Tim Russert by virtue of his political guests, they would have passed into memory like 10,000 Don Rickles one-liners that were 10,000 times worse than what Imus said.

Then again, it's not what he said, but who he said it about: A predominantly black women's basketball team — and a Cinderella one at that — comprised of mostly college underclassmen. Had Imus called the New York Knicks "nappy-headed," he'd still be croaking his way through interviews with John McCain.

Michael Richards, Jimmy The Greek ... those guys were the racists; Imus is a bully who picked on a bunch of girls who didn't deserve his indignation.

That's why Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton commenting on this affair are laughable on so many fronts, because this really isn't their fight. They hear "nappy-headed" and sound the racial alarm; I hear "ho's" and believe this to be one of the most despicable things ever uttered about a group of female athletes by a mainstream media personality.

Imus, to me, was more misogynistic than racist.

To Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer's credit, I think her focus has been in the right place. "What woman reads this and cannot be personally touched?" she asked Oprah Winfrey in an interview this week. One of her players claimed on the same show that Imus stole their moment from them, and she's right: women's team sports have not grown to the point where finishing second in the NCAA national championship tournament can trump one old codger's unfunny quip.

I've turned off MSNBC, and I'm watching ESPN on Friday morning. Stephen A. Smith is on "SportsCenter," talking about the Imus firing by CBS. His advice is that we need to love one another, and understand that "racially insensitive" comments have no place in our society.

I only listened for a few moments, but didn't hear anything about Imus having attacked women who are black rather than "black women." Didn't hear anything about how the NCAA, for all of its progress, can still have the accomplishments of an entire team of female athletes overshadowed by a bad joke by a man who looks like the Crypt Keeper. Didn't hear how the media needs to be more aware, understanding and sensitive to the rights of outstanding young women not to be labeled as promiscuous and sullied in a public forum. Didn't hear what this means for female athletes of other colors who suffer similar smears about their appearance or sexuality.

Maybe it just never came up.


SportsFan MagazineGreg Wyshynski is the Features Editor for SportsFan Magazine in Washington, DC, and the Senior Sports Editor for The Connection Newspapers of Northern Virginia. His book is "Glow Pucks and 10-Cent Beer: The 101 Worst Ideas in Sports History." His columns appear every Saturday on Sports Central. You can e-mail Greg at [email protected].

Posted by Greg Wyshynski at 8:52 PM | Comments (2)

April 13, 2007

Slammin' Sammy's Comeback

I've heard a lot of talk about Sammy Sosa's "feel good" comeback story with the Texas Rangers.

Two words for all the mushy hearts out there buying into this crap: FEEL THIS!

As a lifelong and diehard Cubs fan whose passion and love for the game reached its pinnacle during Sammy's Windy City hey-day, allow me to shed some light on a player I once worshiped, only to have my baseball heart and soul ripped from my chest over the course of one fateful season.

Are people forgetting this is the same Sammy who suddenly forgot how to speak English during the steroids hearing?

Are people forgetting this is the same Sammy whose bat exploded on a sunny day in Wrigley leaving pieces of cork scattered over the infield?

Or maybe people are forgetting this is the same Sammy who quit on his team during the final game of the 2004 season. Travel back in time with me for a moment, if you will...

Cubs have lost seven of their last eight, eliminating themselves from the playoffs in the last weeks of the season. When Sammy was told he wouldn't be starting the final game, he not only showed up late to the game, he then bailed 15 minutes after first pitch.

Warms your heart, doesn't it?

Whatever black-eye given to the game by Sammy you want to point to, it's hard to label Sosa as anything but a "disgrace" — let alone a "feel good" story.

Thankfully after an early .267 average, Sammy's plate prowess has plummeted to a .143 clip, with 1 HR and 3 RBI in seven games for the Rangers. While Texas hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo (the man who Sammy broke into the bigs with) was credited for Sammy's one-week resurrection, thankfully it appears Rudy's advice is now falling on corked ears.

So while many are rooting for Slammin' Sammy to make a remarkable comeback, for this Cubs fan, here are two final words for the man who once ruled Wrigley:

Good riddance.

Posted by Eric Anderson at 7:37 PM | Comments (10)

April 12, 2007

Anderson Varejao, We Salute You

This actually happened almost a month ago — this isn't the most timely article I've ever written — but although it only gained a smidgen of national attention, it did stir up a long debate between a friend and I.

On March 12th, with the Cavs leading the Pacers 99-88, Cavs forward Anderson Varejao hoisted up a three-pointer at the buzzer (he missed). At best, you might call such a shot "meaningless," but it wasn't meaningless; he was trying to earn the fans in attendance a free Taco Bell chalupa. The Cavs needed to score 100 points for the prize to take effect.

Criticism of Varejao was swift. The Pacers complained about it, and so, somewhat surprisingly, did the Cavs themselves.

"We're up and we already know we're going to win, In a situation like that ... we don't need to shoot that basketball. We apologize for it if that makes them feel better. We'll live and learn and we'll move on," Cavs coach Mike Brown said.

LeBron James added, "We're not that type of team. He knows not to do that again; it is as simple as that. You never want to show off, and he definitely made a mistake and he learned from it."

Such comments leave me flummoxed. There's so many good reasons to shoot that three, and one tenuous one not to.

We'll start with LeBron's comments. "You never want to show off," he said, but Varejao wasn't showing off. He was trying to win the fans something. That's why he did it. Not to show off. Not to run up the score. If the Cavs were sitting 95 points, or 102 points, he wouldn't have done it. Varejao's reason for shooting the shot was very specific, and had nothing to do with gamesmanship. It's one thing if you think winning a chalupa for the fans isn't a good enough reason to take that shot, but James and Brown act as though he did it for no reason at all.

Here's four reasons why Varejao did the right thing:

1. Have you ever been to a game with such a giveaway dependent on a team target? They announce it over the PA every minute. The Pacers knew why he shot that ball.

2. If knowing that Varejao had no gamesmanship or personal reason for taking that shot, there's no reason for the Pacers to feel offended. But if they choose to be offended over a 14-point loss rather than an 11 point loss, they can console themselves by crying in a big bag of money. (It's depressing how many debates exist these days, in sports or otherwise, where you can feasibly argue, "go cry into a big bag of money.")

3. For a guy trying to support a family of four on $15,000, who gets perks like basketball tickets from their employer in lieu of actual benefits, a free chalupa can actually be somewhat meaningful.

4. Even if a chalupa is meaningless to most of the fans, it's still a gesture, a token of appreciation, to the fans. Was he dissing the Pacers, or honoring the fans? Obviously, the latter was all he was thinking about. So who is it more important to show respect and honor to (and, again, there's no reason the Pacers need to feel disrespected — see first two points), your opponents, or your fans?

I can't believe it's even up for debate, let alone that guys like LeBron and half the universe are going against me on this. But, here goes.

When graceful gestures to the fans vs. graceful gestures to your opponents are at loggerheads, and you have to choose one, which should prevail?

Your opponents are your de facto enemies. Your fans are your de facto friends.

Some of your fans might make only a few games a season, or in their lives. Maybe just one. For your opponents, this is one of 82 games, less counting playoffs, much less counting the scope of their careers. A blip.

Your opponents, like you, are millionaires. You are millionaires because there is a fan base strong enough to allow players to be paid millions. More succinctly, your opponents are millionaires, and your fans make them, and you, millionaires. My friend, who sides with LeBron, notes that he has been on the receiving end of running up the score in his playing days. "Yes," I joked, "but never with chalupas on the line." More to the point, however, my friend wasn't a millionaire when he got the score run up on him (at least, I hope he's not holding out on me). He didn't have a big bag of money to cry into.

The concept of sportsmanship is not a rigid, inflexible doctrine that must be slavishly adhered to with no regard to the particulars of the situation. Like with everything else, context and dynamics matter. I hope Varejao still realizes this, no matter how much wrongheaded teammates and coaches admonish him for doing the right thing.

Posted by Kevin Beane at 2:17 PM | Comments (5)

April 10, 2007

Raising the Roof, or Sliding it Into Place?

Wow. What a wacky first week of the Major League Baseball season. First, there are the usually successful teams that are starting out with losing records: Yankees, White Sox, Phillies,and Cardinals. I know it's still early, but these teams normally don't post sub-500 records at any time during the year. The Giants, with all the hype about Barry Bonds chasing Hank Aaron's home run record, have won only one game so far.

Next, there are the players who aren't normally at the top of the stats list getting off to a fast start. Matt Kemp of the Dodgers hit just .253 last season in 52 games; he's starting out a whopping .462 clip. Mike Jacobs of Florida is beginning the season with a .435 average after last year's .262. That's just to mention a couple.

But the one thing that has made the start to this season so strange has been the weather, especially the snow. The series in Cleveland between the Indians and Mariners is the first one I can remember to be completely snowed out. Sure, there have been series that were either entirely rained out or postponed due to other weather conditions like hurricanes.

Not only has the weather been so bad in Cleveland that it wiped out the series with Seattle, but it also has forced the upcoming series with the Angels to relocate to Milwaukee. I can remember a couple instances when games had to be moved due to problems with a stadium, like when the roof in the old Kingdome lost a couple tiles in 1994. That forced the M's to play 20-straight road games. Montreal had the same type situation a couple years earlier when a beam fell at old Olympic Stadium, forcing the Expos on the road for 26 games.

Obviously, a spring snow storm isn't going to keep the Indians, or any other team for that matter, on the road for three or four weeks. But it does make me wonder how many so-called cold weather teams will start pushing for retractable-roof stadiums in the near future. Seattle has one, Milwaukee has one, Toronto has one, and other cities, like Minneapolis, are beginning to look into the idea.

But do retractable-roof stadiums make sense everywhere? Evidently so, with the design being incorporated into ballparks in Houston and Phoenix, not typically known for having cold weather. With the opposite being true, the roofs are included mainly to be used in the event of inclement weather (thunderstorms are prevalent in those areas) and to provide containment for air conditioning on those days of intense heat.

Another question that comes to mind, especially with the renewed focus on global warming and the disrupt in weather patterns it's allegedly causing, is the retractable-roof stadium the wave of the future and are any cities going to be without them in the next 20 or 30 years? My guess is probably. It would be really strange to see Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park or Dodger Stadium with a roof, but in order to avoid rain cancellations, shifting series because of unplayable fields, and other situations that cause baseball games to be postponed, Major League Baseball might be better off if it came just short of mandating retractable-roof stadiums.

Of course, there is no guarantee that every game will be able to be played, since other conditions could postpone or cancel games — the aforementioned hurricane, tornadoes, and structural failure are probably the most likely. But, as much as I hate sports created for the great outdoors being played indoors, these seem a much better alternative to the antiquated and static domed stadiums. As long as they keep the roof open more than closed, I guess I'm okay with that, although baseball in the snow is quite entertaining.

One final note: is anyone in Milwaukee going to show up for the Indians/Angels series?

Posted by Adam Russell at 5:26 PM | Comments (0)

2007 NHL Playoffs Preview

The Carolina Hurricane have joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in the "champ to chump" category, winning the Stanley Cup last season while failing to even make the playoffs this year. Because of this, and the fact that the NHL playoffs are arguably the least predictable playoff in professional sports, the race to the cup will be a wide-open battle between 16 teams who refuse to go gently into the good summer.

As recent years have shown us, the NHL playoffs really are "anybody's game." The seventh-seeded Calgary Flames made a run to the finals two seasons ago and last year the eighth-seeded Edmonton Oilers pushed the Hurricane to the brink.

While my predictions are just that, "predictions," they do take into account the head-to-head success rates of the teams during the regular season, team playoff experience, goalie readiness, and numerous other factors that will contribute to the success of any given club. While all these are important factors in determining a winner, nothing guarantees success in the grueling NHL playoffs.

After a long season filled with ups and downs, we can finally buckle up for the most exciting time of the year, the Stanley Cup playoffs. Get ready, hockey fans, because we're in for a wild ride...

Eastern Conference

Buffalo (1) vs. New York Islanders (8)

In one of the wildest games of the year, because of what was at stake and who they were playing against, the Toronto Maple Leafs pulled off a 6-5 victory by knocking off their biggest rivals, the Montreal Canadiens. If the Habs had won, then both the Maple Leafs and the New York Islanders would have been eliminated, but they never.

The Habs loss provided a sense of hope for the surprise contenders from New York. All they needed was a win in New Jersey and they'd be guaranteed the eight seed. The Devils, however, had won the six previous games between these division rivals, though they never provided Toronto with any favors by resting Martin Brodeur in the make-or-break game for the Islanders.

Led by Wade Dubielewicz, the young AHL call-up goaltender who has been filling in valiantly for starter Rick DiPietro, the Islanders pulled off a 3-2 shootout victory against the Devils after allowing the Devils to tie the game with one second remaining in the third. If the Islanders didn't win they would have been sent home, but Dubielewicz stepped up big with a poke-check on Sergei Brylin, New Jersey's final shooter, to save the game and the season.

Dubielewicz won four of the five games he started and posted an incredible .929 SV% along that stretch while consistently coming up big when it mattered the most. Although he almost gave the season away with the late goal to the Devils, he more than redeemed himself in the shootout. The uncertainty remains for the Islanders heading into the playoffs, however, on whether DiPietro will be back in time or whether "Dubie" will continue to lead the team as he did in the final week of the season.

Whoever is in net, however, won't have an easy time against the Buffalo Sabres.

The Sabres won the season series against the Islanders 3-1 and will be backstopped by Ryan Miller who led the team to the Eastern Conference finals last year.

Buffalo was the only team all season to score more than 300 goals and have been able to produce regardless of the many injuries that have plagued the team all season. The team is healthy, however, entering into the first round series with the Islanders and will be an overwhelming squad for the Islanders to try and defend. All-Star Game MVP Daniel Brier leads the way with plenty of support from others. Maxim Afinogenov, Christ Drury, Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville, and Derek Roy will all continue to provide difficulties for their opponents as they have done all season long.

Brian Campbell and the rest of the Sabres defense will have their hands full with Alexei Yashin, Ryan Smyth, and Miroslav Satan. However, they'll be able to contain them more effectively than the Islanders will be able to contain the season's top squad.

The Sabres will prove to be too much for the Islanders: Buffalo wins in five.

New Jersey (2) vs. Tampa Bay (7)

The Tampa Bay Lightning have had the Devils' number all year and now they get the chance to play them in the playoffs, which isn't necessarily a good thing.

While the Lightning took the season series three games to one, they must also realize that Martin Brodeur is a goalie that was built for the playoffs. Brodeur has been put in numerous pressure situations and it seems as though he has always been able to live up to expectations. He has won three Stanley Cups and dominated playoff competition in his career, while also posting a successful win-loss record against the Lightning in overall competition (24 wins, 13 losses, 5 ties, and 2 OT losses).

The Lightning will need its goaltending (Holmqvist/Denis) to be consistent if they want a chance at an upset. Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, and Ruslan Fedotenko will be pressured to carry the load for Tampa Bay and if they are unable to do so it will lead to a quick first round exit for the Bolts.

This series is a classic matchup of a premier offensive team going up against a premier defensive team and because of the fact that defense tends to overcome in the playoffs, I'm giving the edge to the Devils.

Brodeur shuts down Tampa's offense and New Jersey wins in 6.

Atlanta (3) vs. New York Rangers (6)

The New York Rangers couldn't be happier.

What could have been a first-round matchup against the New Jersey Devils turned out being a series with the Atlanta Thrashers. No offense to Atlanta, but they simply aren't as intimidating as the Devils come playoff time.

The Thrashers offense, led by Marian Hossa and Ilya Kovalchuk, carried them to the South East division throne and into the playoffs for the first time since Atlanta was awarded a franchise in 1997. Kari Lehtonen has had a solid season and helped Atlanta take the season series with the Rangers 3-1.

The Rangers, however, have peaked at just the right time. They are 13-3-4 over their last 20 games and Lundqvist is 8-1-1 in the last 10 games that he has started. Jaromir Jagr, meanwhile, has tallied 9 points over the final five games of the season and the Rangers, unlike last year, seem to be healthy and ready to do some damage.

While this series could easily go either way...

... I'm going with the red-hot Rangers: New York in 6.

Ottawa (4) vs. Pittsburgh (5)

The Penguins were able to win the season series 3-1, with two shootout victories. The question is not on how well they performed in the season, however, but whether or not their lack of playoff experience will be costly.

Sidney Crosby and his Pittsburgh teammates hope to follow the example set by a young Edmonton team in the 1980's. Crosby has been compared to Wayne Gretzky his whole career and he, after his second NHL season, finally has the chance to show what he's worth in the playoffs.

And he'll have lots of help. With Crosby leading the way many tend to forget the rest of the young talent on this Penguins roster. Evgeni Malkin is having a fantastic rookie year and is often said to be the Pens player that is most reminiscent of Mario Lemieux. Jordan Staal and Ryan Malone have also chipped in nicely offensively while the defense is led by young Ryan Whitney and veteran Sergei Gonchar. 22-year-old Marc-Andre Fleury will be between the pipes for his inaugural playoff series and will be looking to do his best against the Ottawa Senators.

The Senators, though tied at 105 points with the Penguins, earn home-ice advantage because of the fact that they won one more game than their first-round opponent.

Many boast of the fact that the Penguins have the third best offensive team in the NHL, however, the Senators have a potent offense of their own — second in the league — with 11 goals more than the Pens over the duration of the season.

The pressure is on the experienced and favored Senators, who are entering their 10th straight playoff appearance. Ray Emery is 5-5 in the NHL playoffs and will be counted on to stop the mighty Pens attack. In an offensive matchup, everything will come down to goaltending.

And I believe Marc-Andre Fleury will prove the difference: Pittsburgh in 7.

Western Conference

Detroit (1) vs. Calgary (8)

The Western Conference champions have been here many times before. This year however, they are geared up for it better than before.

The Wings brought in power forward Todd Bertuzzi to help an already dominating club. Henrik Zetterberg should be healthy for the playoffs and Pavel Datsyuk has been ever so consistent this season. Nicklas Lidstrom will be given the difficult task of shutting down Jarome Iginla, while Dominik Hasek will have to play up to his résumé. The last time Hasek was in the playoffs, 2002, he helped the Red Wings walk away with the Cup.

Last year, the Red Wings lost out to a hot goalie in Dwyane Roloson and this year they are going to face an even more difficult task: getting the puck past Miikka Kiprusoff. Kipper has willed the Flames into the playoffs for the third consecutive season after posting 40 wins with one game remaining.

If the Flames want a chance, they'll need a physical edge on the Wings. Dion Phaneuf will be counted on to make a major impact. Jarome Iginla and Alex Tanguay will need help from Tony Amonte and the second line if they are going to have any offensive pressure at all.

Even if they do, however, I simply don't think it will be enough. The Flames are the worst road team in the 2007 playoffs and they'll have to face a sold out Hockeytown.

The Flames fizzle much like they have in the last week: Detroit in 5.

Anaheim (2) vs. Minnesota (7)

The Minnesota Wild won their final three games of the season and are hoping to carry this momentum into Anaheim as they begin their playoff series.

These two teams haven't squared off in 2007, but now they will have all their focus on each other in this battle for who will enter into the second round and who will watch the rest of the playoff race from home.

The Anaheim Ducks are led by their dynamic defensive duo of Scott Neidermayer and Chris Pronger. JS Giguere has had a very solid season between the pipes, despite only playing 56 games, and will look to have another dominating playoff performance like the one he had in 2003. Teemu Selanne will be leading the Ducks' offensive attack, helped in large by Andy McDonald and youngster Ryan Getzlaf.

The Wild may be the hotter team of late, but they remain the underdogs in this series. The thought across the league is that Niklas Backstrom will have to play like a brick wall in order for Minnesota to stand a chance.

Marian Gaborik has been playing extremely well over the last month and will look to Brian Rolston and Pavol Demitra for support. If the Wild offense can get going, they may make this a very interesting series. However, it hurts Minnesota to know that there are no shootouts in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Ducks overwhelm the surging Wild: Anaheim in 6.

Vancouver (3) vs. Dallas (6)

Roberto Luongo has been waiting six years and finally he will get his chance.

The Canucks goalie and candidate for the Vezina Trophy has always been known as the best goalie to never make the playoffs. Now he'll be given an opportunity to make a name for himself where it matters most.

Marty Turco, on the other hand, has been given plenty of playoff chances, only to dash them away along with the hopes of Stars fans three years in a row. Turco's playoff record stands at 8 wins and 14 losses with his only playoff series win coming against the Edmonton Oilers in 2003.

The Canucks will be led by Daniel and Henrik Sedin, the Swedish twins who have greatly improved their game over the last few years. Markus Naslund, playing most of the time on the second line, will have to step up in order for the Canucks to have a deeper arsenal in order to take the pressure off of the twins.

Two of the top three offensive producers on the Dallas roster are defensemen, and this could cause difficulties for the Stars come playoff time. Sergei Zubov and Philippe Boucher will be counted on for both defensive pressure and offensive attacks, an overwhelming role for two players to burden.

During the regular season these teams split the season series two games each, with the home team prevailing 2-1 in all four events. Both teams will continue to struggle with scoring, but Vancouver has home-ice advantage...

... and Luongo will step up in a big way: Vancouver in 6.

Nashville (4) vs. San Jose (5)

Last year, San Jose disposed easily of the Nashville Predators in the first round, winning the series in five games. This year, however, the Predators are looking for revenge.

Nashville has put together their best season ever, since entering the league in the 1998-99 season. However, they have struggled with injuries and mediocre play of late, going 2-3 over the last five and 5-7 over their final twelve.

San Jose, on the other hand, has won five of their final six games with their only loss coming in Saturday night's overtime battle with the Canucks.

Joe Thornton has put together another dominant season, tallying 114 points, while Patrick Marleau, Jonathan Cheechoo, and Milan Michalek add to the offensive powers for the Sharks.

Evgeni Nabakov will be square off in goal against Tomas Vokoun with both teams having solid backup options if anything is to happen to their starters. Vesa Toskala and Chris Mason have each combine for only two less wins over the duration of the season than the starters in this series.

Both teams are extremely fast and very skilled. Peter Forsberg, a late season acquisition for the Predators, will be looking to be the difference maker.

However, the Sharks size will overcome: San Jose in 7.

Posted by Chad Kettner at 5:16 PM | Comments (12)

April 9, 2007

ADHD Power Hour: Upsets Edition

So I flunked out of college after my freshman year. Something about a 0.5 GPA violating academic probation.

Anyway, I got back in after it turned out I had ADHD. Once I got back and enrolled at the University of Arizona's Strategic Alternative Learning Techniques program and started taking my Ritalin like a good boy, everything turned out great. (Going to class helped, too.)

So why am I telling you this, and what in the h-e-double hockey sticks does it have to do with sports? Well, I'm introducing the ADHD Power Hour, where I put my meager attention span to good work and cover as many topics as possible in one column. (Think I can get Novartis, the company that produces Ritalin, to sponsor me? That would be sweet.)

So here we go, the first ever Novartis* ADHD Power Hour. I'm your host, Seth Doria.

16. I'm adding "Sunday at the Masters" to my top 10 of best sports days of the year. The key is picking somebody to win before the tournament. I picked Rory Sabbatini (UA alum), and he almost came through for me. I got more excited about his awesome put on the eighth hole (which briefly put him on top) than any golf shot ever. Rory didn't win, but he finished top five, so I'm talking half-credit on the pick.

15. NFL draft trade I'd like to see: Tampa's No. 4 and Chris Simms to Detroit for the Lions' No. 2 and one of their four fifth-rounders. At No. 2, Tampa takes Calvin Johnson. At No. 4, Detroit takes Joe Thomas (if he falls past Cleveland) or trades back even farther to a team in love with Adrian Peterson. I just don't think Tampa can take the chance that Cleveland trades out of No. 3 to a team looking to jump up for Johnson. I also don't think the Raiders will bite on Johnson. All signs still point to them going JaMarcus Russell.

14. Ever notice how much new Steelers coach Mike Tomlin looks like Omar Epps?

13. Don't know how many of you caught UFC 69 this Saturday, but the Matt Serra knockout of Georges St. Pierre was the UFC equivalent of Buster Douglas knocking out Mike Tyson. It's just an astonishing shocker.

I'm not sure if this was good for the UFC or not. Serra isn't exactly Mr. Q Rating on par with St. Pierre or Matt Hughes. My guess is the UFC brain trust lines Serra up against Hughes as quickly as possible in the hopes that Hughes takes his belt back, setting up a Hughes/St. Pierre rematch with St. Pierre trying to take the title way from Hughes for the second time. Other names to keep an eye on in the division: Josh Koscheck (whose win over Diego Sanchez was by far the worst fight of the night, but nonetheless puts him in title contention), Karo Parisyan, Sanchez (though he has some work to do after choking against Koscheck), and B.J. Penn (though he's fighting Jens Pulver at 155 at The Ultimate Fighter finale).

Anyway, this just shows why there are no undefeated MMA fighters. It's just too hard.

12. Loved Don Imus' apology: "I'm not a bad person. I'm a good person, but I said a bad thing." Dude, you called a group of black women "nappy-headed ho's." You make your living off being a cantankerous jerk. If you're not a "bad person," you're an effing idiot. Anyway, I'm sure he'll go to rehab and everything will be fine.

11. Michael Young is hitting .154, Mark Teixeira .211, Andruw Jones .130, Albert Pujols .136, and Alfonso Soriano .214.

10. Through week one of a very long season, the Mets and Angels are the two best teams in baseball.

9. RIP Darryl Stingley.

8. Got to love the pressure of being an NFL prospect. Ted Ginn, Jr. is either going to make or lose millions of dollars in the 4+ seconds he runs his 40 on Wednesday. A 4.2 or 4.3, he's in the top half of the first round. A 4.5 or worse and he risks a free fall, possibly all the way to the second. Crazy.

7. Anybody shocked by the fact that Bob Huggins ditched Kansas State after only one year hasn't been paying attention. The Wildcats were the rebound chick from the beginning. At least Michael Beasley is keeping his commitment. He and Bill Walker should make for an exciting tandem.

6. Back to the Masters: sometimes Michael Jordan missed the game winner. Sometimes Derek Jeter strikes out with runners in scoring position and two outs. Sometimes Tom Brady throws an interception to kill a game-winning drive in the playoffs. And I guess sometimes Tiger Woods falls apart with a green jacket on the line. It was weird to watch.

5. Battle of future stars tonight in the NL East with Cole Hamels and Philadelphia up against John Maine and the Mets. Should be a terrific game.

4. As of this writing, Chris Carpenter's MRI is not yet back. I'm worried as hell.

3. The NHL playoffs start on Wednesday. Only two months 'till we have a champion!

2. Speaking of drawn out, how's that whole liberation of Iraq going?

1. Don't snort Ritalin.

(*Novartis has absolutely nothing to do with this column, me, or anything else related to Sports Central. Use of their name is meant strictly to entertain the one percent of the population who thinks I'm funny. Please don't sue me.)

Seth Doria is a communications specialist and freelance blogger in St. Louis. For more, visit The Left Calf.

Posted by Joshua Duffy at 4:52 PM | Comments (1)

Noah's Ark

He came. He played. He left.

Joakim Noah played a large part in helping the Florida Gators repeat as 2007 National Champions. His hard work ethic and championship play comes straight from his family — his father is former professional tennis player and 1983 French Open Champion Yannick Noah. But early on in life the younger Noah, who is of Cameroonian, French, and Swedish descent, dumped the tennis racket for the basketball and his decision has paid off.

He began his career in New York City at the United Nations International School and then transferred to Brooklyn's Poly Prep. But, through determination for his love of basketball, he then transferred to Princeton's Lawrenceville School. It was there that his championship career began. He led his team to the New Jersey Prep A state title where he averaged 24 points and 12 rebounds per game. His first year (2004-2005) on the Florida team wasn't too kind for Noah. He didn't play much (10.3 minutes per game) and averaged 3.9 points and 2.7 rebounds in each game. He only appeared in three minutes of the Gators' two 2005 NCAA tournament games.

Knowing what champions are made of, Noah made improvements to his game and took his hard work ethic, which he learned from his father, to the next level on the basketball court. Once the 2005-2006 basketball season arrived, the 6'11" sophomore known to be also 7' 0" depending on who you talk to, lead the Gators with 14.2 points and 2.4 blocks per game and second in rebounds with 7.1. That not only pushed Noah's draft stock up, but helped the Gators to the Final Four. After being named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament's Minneapolis Regional, nothing could stop the hard-charging Noah.

Like his father who would grace the tennis court with his hard serves and volleys, the younger Noah was tearing up the basketball court during March Madness like a "mad man" with his long curly hair bouncing around in a ponytail. Leading the Gators to their first championship over UCLA 73-57, he recorded 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 block shots, which is a championship game record and was named the Most Valuable Player of the Final Four. Many basketball scouts said that, "Noah would be the first pick," but he decided along with his teammates to return to guide the Gators back to glory.

Repeating as National Champions beating Ohio State 84-75, Noah has made it known that he will enter the draft this year. Many said by returning to Florida this past season, he hurt his chances of being drafted first overall. According to HoopsVibe.com's mock draft, they predict Noah being drafted sixth overall. Besides being the all-time Gators block leader in tournament play with 41, he plays a good defense and passes well. Though he's touted as a big defensive player, his offense still needs work. In time, he will develop to be a force in the NBA. He has a never-say-never attitude and constantly works hard to improve his game.

Now, as many have said, this is where his 7'0" frame comes in to help him. Though he personally said he don't want his height listed as 7'0" because he "does not want to look like a freak," it may help him. Even at press conferences, coach Billy Donovan said more than once that Noah does stand at 7'0". It was even mentioned on ESPN by sportswriter Woody Paige on the show "Around the Horn" that he's 7'0". All this can do is help Noah's chances come draft day.

I personally think he'll be drafted within the top five because he's just that good and a hot commodity now. He was named to the 2006 Associated Press All-SEC First Team, Honorable Mention All-American, and, because he's so popular, a local radio station in Gainesville campaigned to rename the major roadway that goes through the University of Florida to "Joakim Noah Road."

Once the draft comes, Noah will have a hefty contract, a chance to break records in the NBA, and, of course, to bring his next team to glory because everyone knows he's a champion.

Just ask his Dad.

Posted by Joe Boesch at 4:41 PM | Comments (1)

April 7, 2007

When You're Too Old to Be a Fan

Sometimes, sports make me cry.

(Go watch a Lifetime movie and a Massengill commercial with a pint of Ben and Jerry's, you twinkle-toes-skirt-wearing-metrosexual-romantic-comedy-watching-she-male.)

C'mon, that's not fair. Sports make me angry, too. Throwing things across the room and scaring the pets kind of angry. Pounding the couch with my fists like I was a Klitschko on a speed bag kind of angry. Swearing with the verbal dexterity and volume of a 24-hour Chris Rock concert marathon kind of angry.

I've gotten plenty pissed watching sports during the last 30 years (emotionally and intoxicationally), but the last time a game made me sob like a sullen toddler was back in 1994, when the New Jersey Devils lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in overtime to the hated New York Rangers. It was a combination of the Devils having already blown Game 6 at home, the Devils having teased me with a game-tying goal late in the third period of Game 7, and the fact that I knew my suburban New Jersey high school would be crawling with Rangers fans eager to taunt, trash, and torment me in my darkest hour the next time I walked the halls.

But the slings and arrows I faced from "enemies" growing up — Yankees fans, Giants fans, Rangers fans, and Knicks fans, primarily — only intensified my fanaticism for the Mets, Jets, Devils, and Nets. When you're a kid, and car payments and vacation requests and tax returns are just things your parents grumble under their breath about, sports take on epic qualities. Every game, be it a hockey night in April or a baseball game in June, takes on a life-or-death importance. Gradually, at least in my case, the intensity of those emotions subsides; you're still agitated after a loss the next day, but those real rushes of frustration and fury are reserved for a defeat against a hated rival or the definitive fate-sealing loss of the season, whenever that arrives.

The point is that people who matured emotionally while sports were a vital part of their lives — either rooting for or playing on a team — generally continue to be emotionally invested in them when they're older.

Even as priorities change into adulthood, the psychological (as well as monetary) commitment to the teams we choose to follow remains ingrained and, in many cases, seemingly genetic.

With that in mind, I was eager to read Washington Post Magazine deputy editor Sydney Trent's article titled "The Experiment," published last weekend. In it, she chronicles her attempted transition from being a middle-aged woman who "knows nothing about baseball and could not care less" to becoming a Washington Nationals fan. What immediately struck me was that Trent's upbringing was in such stark contrast to mine: I grew up in a Central Jersey house where there were as many pieces of sports memorabilia on the walls as there were family photos, while Trent was from the South and a home where "sports was not on the conversational table."

The next 330,000 words (or so it felt) were dedicated to what amounted to a superficial stunt. She was taught the basics of baseball through her husband, attending games, and reading the morning paper's box scores. She found an entry point to sports through the most cliché of means for a female fan: admiration of the players' looks or personas or the poetry in their motions. She found "something endearing about" pitcher Livan Hernandez's "pudgy waistline." Rent-a-star Alfonso Soriano "has the charisma that makes Denzel Washington stand out on the big screen," and she reveled in his "wide stance at the plate" and the way he "juts out his slender hips as he restlessly twirls the bat."

Yikes ... does someone need some alone-time?

But at no point did you get the sense that Trent was all-in. I never recalled her heading to the local sporting goods store, loading up on gear, and then flaunting her fanaticism like it was a badge of honor. (I live in D.C.; it's not like there aren't 25 variations of Nationals hats and car magnets for sale in every retail outlet.) I never read about her spending hours on Internet message boards arguing with complete strangers about where Nick Johnson should hit in the batting order. Her emotional investment in the team seemed focused on the players instead of on the uniform. At the end of the piece, she admits that she doesn't know if she'll ever "collapse in despair if the Nationals lose a close game."

As pathetic as it might be in the grand scheme of life, isn't that what a true sports fan does? At least once in a while?

Like any rookie, I'm not going to judge Trent based on a single season. But her article made me wonder: can someone in his or her 30s or 40s become a fan with the kind of emotional devotion that someone who's been on the bandwagon "all their life" has developed?

Throughout the years, friends recruit friends and husbands recruit wives (and vice versa) into their respective sports obsessions. But in those situations, there's always going to be an imbalance: one's dedication had been previously established, and the other's devotion partially feeds off of that. As with any fan culture — sports, bands, movies, video games — those ahead of the curve are always going to feel more plugged-in than the newbies, and the newbies are always going to feel a twinge of inferiority as soon as the conversation turns to nostalgia that predates their allegiance.

But beyond that, I truly believe that growing up with sports instills an inherent loyalty and kinship between an individual and his or her team of choice. The tribulations of losing and the emotional highs of winning are part of one's emotional maturation, just like your first kiss or passing your driver's test or spelling ammeba ... $#@%#$ ... "a-m-e-e-b-a" ... grrrrr ... "a-m-o-e-b-a" incorrectly to lose the school spelling bee. (Not that it ever happened to this writter ... $#@%#$ ... "w-r-i-t-e-r.")

Honestly, Sydney Trent, or anyone else who jumps on the bandwagon later in life, should consider themselves lucky. Because they're not going to cry after losing a Game 7. They're not going to get on their hands and knees searching for the AAA batteries that flew out of the remote when it was hurled across the room in frustration. Their children aren't going to learn their first curse words because daddy's quarterback threw an interception against the Dolphins. They're going to save an incredible amount of money on playoff tickets, they're going to gain an incredible amount of sleep that would otherwise be wasted on overtime losses, and they're going to conserve an incredible amount of hair that would otherwise be pulled out when their closer walks the bases loaded on a muggy August evening.

They'll be fans.

The rest of us, for better or for worse, will continue to be fanatics.


SportsFan MagazineGreg Wyshynski is the Features Editor for SportsFan Magazine in Washington, DC, and the Senior Sports Editor for The Connection Newspapers of Northern Virginia. His book is "Glow Pucks and 10-Cent Beer: The 101 Worst Ideas in Sports History." His columns appear every Saturday on Sports Central. You can e-mail Greg at [email protected].

Posted by Greg Wyshynski at 3:23 PM | Comments (0)

April 6, 2007

Barry Bonds and 756

Regardless of your opinion of Barry Bonds, if you are a baseball fan, you'll be paying attention this season — perhaps reluctantly — as Bonds pursues Henry Aaron's 33-year-old MLB record for home runs in a career.

Until last year, I was more-or-less a Bonds fan. The man's talents were undeniable, and I didn't especially care if he was rude to sportswriters and Jeff Kent didn't like him. He was the best player of the 1990s — I strenuously disagree with anyone who says otherwise — and when he belted 73 home runs in 2001 and starting setting records for walks and on-base percentage, he put himself in the echelon of Babe Ruth and Ted Williams and Hank Aaron. As recently as 2004, I dreamed of Bonds sacrificing a little power and batting .400.

I'm no longer a Bonds fan. By the time 73 was in the record books, everyone had heard the steroid rumors. But rumors are rumors, and they seemed to swirl around everyone who hit for power. I was still in awe of what Bonds was doing. In 2003 — two years after Bonds broke Mark McGwire's single-season home run record — two San Francisco Chronicle writers, Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, uncovered what has become known as the BALCO Scandal. Bonds' name was quickly mentioned in association with the investigation, and for many fans, it was all the evidence necessary to prove that Bonds was juicing. It looked bad, but I wasn't convinced yet.

The case against Bonds became even stronger when his grand jury testimony was leaked to the press shortly thereafter. There was still some small case for reasonable doubt, though. For the last year, however, it has been apparent that people who still believe Bond never took steroids are fooling themselves. Game of Shadows (written by Fainaru-Wada and Williams) and Love Me, Hate Me (by Jeff Pearlman) were published less than a month apart, and their function was to verify the rumors as fact: Barry Bonds took performance-enhancing drugs.

I don't know how much of Bonds' incredible performance the last few years should be attributed to performance-enhancing drugs. I'm sure that Bonds isn't the only one taking them, and his accomplishments are spectacular regardless of what he's taking. But I know he's been trying to cheat, and that's why I can't support him any more. I stayed in Barry's corner until it became impossible to remain there.

This year, with 734 career home runs, Bonds will continue his pursuit of arguably the most famous record in all of sports: Aaron's mark of 755 home runs. It's reasonable to expect that, barring major injury, Bonds will hit the 22 homers he needs for the record. Other than 2005, when injuries limited him to just 14 games, Bonds has hit at least 25 home runs for 16 consecutive seasons. Health problems and intentional walks have slowed Bonds in his pursuit of baseball's most revered record: not since 2002 has Barry gotten 400 at-bats. Nothing else, however, is likely to stop him. Since 2001, Bonds has fewer than nine at-bats per home run, meaning that he probably has a good shot at Aaron's record even with only 200 at-bats.

As the 2007 season kicks into gear, I'll be among those rooting against Bonds, hoping that Aaron's record somehow holds up. I know that if Bonds doesn't get 756 this season, he'll probably do it next year, but I'll take what I can get. Barry Bonds evokes strong emotions from most sports fans, so no matter how you feel about him, you'll probably be paying attention this season as Bonds chases Henry Aaron and 755.

Posted by Brad Oremland at 9:59 PM | Comments (2)

Raider Nation Waiting in Anticipation

The Oakland Raiders will likely take JaMarcus Russell or Brady Quinn with the first overall draft pick in this year's 2007 NFL draft. Seven of the past 10 NFL drafts have had the top selection used on a quarterback.

Raiders owner Al Davis isn't one to follow conventional wisdom. Davis's history as a maverick will keep everyone guessing what he will do this time around.

The Raiders were a mess last year, finishing an abysmal 2-14. Aaron Brooks and Andrew Walter shared quarterbacking duties and neither was impressive.

Georgia Tech wideout, Calvin Johnson, may well be the most talented athlete in the draft field this year. But Brooks and Walter couldn't get the ball to the ultra-talented (albeit moody and inconsistent) Randy Moss. Will adding quality at that position really help their situation?

There is no mistaking the Raiders need for a change at quarterback. Davis might address that need via trade or take his chances on picking up a later round signal caller. After all, Tom Brady was a sixth-round pick.

The Brady argument is tossed around ad nauseam. One of the league's best quarterbacks was selected in the sixth round, true enough. Never discussed though are all of the quarterbacks selected in the sixth round that haven't made it in the NFL, however.

The 10 NFL drafts from 1995 to 2004 were analyzed to shed a little light on the success of quarterbacks drafted in rounds one through six. The 2005 and 2006 drafts are left out of the discussion since those quarterbacks have not had time to really prove themselves.

What of the sixth round? Of the 22 quarterbacks selected during that round, three are present NFL starters. Brady, Marc Bulger, and Matt Hasselbeck were absolute bargains in the sixth round.

Wouldn't any team rather have Brady, Bulger, and Hasselbeck than the nine other quarterbacks selected ahead of them in rounds one through five of the 1998 and 2000 drafts? Of course, but that question doesn't fully consider the possibilities of drafting a dud.

86% of the quarterbacks drafted in the sixth round are not starting in the NFL. That's almost a nine in 10 chance of missing the target with a sixth-round quarterback selection. Most of those 86% are not even on current NFL rosters.

As would be expected, the odds improve significantly when analyzing the first round selections. Only 48% of those quarterbacks drafted in the first round are not their team's current starter. And, contrary to sixth-round selections, many of those first round non-starters are still contributing as backups on current NFL rosters.

The percentage of non-starters drafted by round is as follows:

48% First Round
89% Second Round
92% Third Round
94% Fourth Round
100% Fifth Round
86% Sixth Round

Maybe more should be written about the fifth round curse: 11 draftees, zero starters, but I'll move on.

The first and sixth rounds are where most of the quarterbacks are taken in the first six rounds — almost 50%. Those selections are split almost evenly between the first and sixth round, but the first round has produced 12 current starters compared to three produced by the sixth.

All but one of the 10 years analyzed had at least one quarterback taken in the sixth round. However, only two of those years produced current NFL starters. Every year, teams are willing to take a chance on a diamond in the rough. Most years, those teams come up empty handed in the end.

As shown above, drafting a first round quarterback is no guarantee. Fear of wasting a top-round pick on the next Ryan Leaf has to be nearly crippling to those making the critical decisions. First-round quarterback selections are about a 50/50 proposition — not bad given what is at stake.

Davis has to be doing a slow burn over the recent decline of his team. "Just win, baby" only came to fruition twice all of last season. The bottom line is that most championship teams have a talented quarterback at the helm. The Oakland Raiders do not currently have that critical cog.

Will Davis find an upgrade at quarterback through this year's draft? If he does, will he fly in the face of conventional wisdom and try to find the next Tom Brady or will he take the 50/50 with a first-round selection? Your guess is as good as mine, but I'm thinking Davis will use a little common sense and take JaMarcus Russell or Brady Quinn.

Todd Beckstead is founder of MonsterDraft.com, a tool to help you with your fantasy football drafts.

Posted by Todd Beckstead at 9:57 PM | Comments (10)

April 5, 2007

Baseball's Back, and Not a Second Too Late

There is a wise saying, and possibly an old country song (I'm not an expert on either subject), that says "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone." Until Sunday, I never gave the phrase a second thought. On opening day, however, I realized that saying to be completely false.

The reason: I love baseball.

I got so caught up in the excitement of the NBA regular season (thank You, Kobe), the NCAA tourney (the first time I've followed college basketball closely in at least a decade), and the NHL stretch run (just kidding, no one watches hockey), that I forgot how much I love baseball.

Then the season started on Sunday and suddenly I realized how much I miss the little things about baseball. As I watched about 8-10 games in the first few days, I couldn't help but notice some of the things that make baseball great.

Here are a select few:

I like hearing ESPN's Jon Miller pronounce Spanish names and putting the emphasis on the second syllable, no matter what. Carlos Bel-TRAN. Adrian Bel-TRE. It kills me every time. He could just be better than everyone at his job and he is actually pronouncing all of these names right and everyone else is wrong. Frankly, I don't want to know.

In case you didn't know, the Giants have an 82-year-old ball boy down the left field line. Seriously. The highlight of opening week for me may have been after someone fouled a ball off down the third base line and it ricocheted off the wall and into shallow left field, about 15 feet in front of Bonds and a good 15 yards away from the old man. Bonds then turned around and faced the left field stands pretending to be oblivious to the ball while the old man made a horrific dash for the ball. It was creepy, classless, and comedic all at the same time.

Speaking of Bonds, I watched the Giants/Padres game on Wednesday night on the MLB package, and it was the FSN Bay Area feed. It was refreshing to watch the local announcers broadcast the game without mentioning steroids, BALCO, Victor Conte, or his hat size. Don't get me wrong, I despise Bonds and loathe the fact the he is going to hold the most prestigious record in sports in a few short months, but it was nice to hear the announcers analyze his impact on the game that night, instead of analyzing his impact on how America views the game.

Another thing I like about watching out-of-market games is watching how the fans react to certain situations in the various ballparks. In Kansas City, for example, the fans impressed me this week. In the season opener against Boston, prospect du jour Alex Gordon made his big league debut for the Royals. His first at bat was with the bases loaded, nobody out, and Curt Schilling on the mound. The crowd gave him a standing ovation on his way to the plate and remained standing the entire at bat. They all wanted so badly for this kid to make a huge first impression that they were trying to will him into a grand slam. So what happens? He struck out on a nasty splitter, the likes of which he surely didn't see in double-A last year.

The point is, this guy is the future there, and the fans showed they are behind him from day one.

The Seattle fans need to take note. In Wednesday night's blow-out against Oakland, Richie Sexson came up in the fourth inning with his team trailing 5-0 and two men on. Rich Harden was perfect through the first three, but had allowed three hits already in the inning (one erased by a double play). Sexson homered in each of the first two games, so the crowd must have been pretty pumped up, right? I mean, they are one swing from being right back in the game.

Nope. No one stood up. No one cheered. No one was trying to will a rally upon the team. It was just business as usual. Either the city hates Sexson, hates baseball, or hates showing any emotion at all. Either way, he popped out to end the inning, and I say through no fault of his own.

You know how sometimes at the stadium after a player does something good, the scoreboard will flash a cheesy pun using the player's name, or play a movie sound bite that happens to contain the player's name? Well, Pedro Feliz singled in the tying run against San Diego and I was upset with the Giants for not playing the clip of manager Lou Brown from "Major League" saying, "Big knock, Pedro, big knock!" Sure, maybe their ball boy wouldn't have gotten the reference, but it still would have both been funny and fitting.

To me, these are the things that baseball is all about. It is a game of so many nuances that if you only watch highlights you can't get the right feel for the game. You miss the ball boys, the announcers, the scoreboards, the trivia questions.

You miss all the good stuff.

So maybe I was too sidetracked by other great storylines going on in sports to miss baseball, but one thing is for sure: I'm glad it's back. Here's to another 160 games worth of entertainment.

Posted by Scott Shepherd at 9:50 PM | Comments (1)

NASCAR Top 10 Power Rankings: Week 6

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jeff Gordon — Gordon stalked his teammate Jimmie Johnson in the closing laps at Martinsville, but couldn't quite make the kill, losing by a mere .065 seconds. Gordon tried everyting, looking inside, looking outside, bumping Johnson out of the way, and passing on the median. He even tried a Cops favorite, the pit maneuver, but Johnson countered each attempt with the kind of defensive driving they don't teach in drivers ed.

"Look, that's my car Jimmie was driving," says Gordon. "I couldn't wreck him. Sure, it's another disgusting display of sportsmanship, just like Jeff Burton's friendly second-place finish to Kyle Busch last week at Bristol. What's happening to this sport? The two tracks where you'd most expect a controversial wreck at the end, Bristol and Martinsville, you don't get it. I think it's time NASCAR cued up the Cale Yarborough/Donnie and Bobbie Allsion fight at Daytona in 1979."

2. Jimmie Johnson — Johnson held off Jeff Gordon with a masterful display of blocking to win for the second consecutive time at Martinsville. It was Johnson's third win of the year, and afterwards, he couldn't hide the excitement of beating his hero and car owner Gordon at a track that Gordon has dominated over the years.

"I can't tell you how much it means to me to finish ahead of my car owner," says Johnson. "Now I know how Michael Waltrip Racing drivers feel every week. And what's all this talk that the 'bump-and-run' move doesn't work with the Car of Tomorrow? It seemed to work just fine for Juan Pablo Montoya on Tony Raines. Of course, Montoya's got years of experience with that move. He was using that back in his Formula 1 days, unsuccessfully I might add. I guess he didn't realize that those F1 cars are as fragile as Teresa Earnhardt's ego."

3. Jeff Burton — Burton has no finish worse that 15th this year, and his sixth in Martinsville firmed his grip on the second spot in the points. He trails Jeff Gordon by 28 points, and leads third-place Jimmie Johnson by 32.

"Luckily, I wasn't sandwiched between those two in their final 50-lap duel in Martinsville," says Burton. "That was a heated battle, much like the battle for position on Highway 220 North just hours before the race last Sunday. I could feel the friction building between Johnson and Gordon, and I'm not talking about that between their two cars. I've never seen more carefully chosen words in those two interviews in my life. It smelled like team spirit, but it wasn't. Come on, guys, just admit it. You hate each other. I see a big confrontation coming soon."

4. Kyle Busch — NASCAR's No. 1 COT-hater Busch, despite not being 100% in love with his No. 5 Chevy, still managed a fourth-place finish to back up his win in Bristol two weeks ago. He moves up one spot to fifth in the points, 162 behind Gordon.

"I've still got no kind words to say about that COT-ton picking car," says Busch. "But I will say this: it looks like Hendrick Motorsports has the COT's number. And speaking of numbers, did you hear that Michael Waltrip is switching his Toyota from No. 55 to the number 'minus 27.' And I hear Waltrip is set to begin hosting Speed Channel's Nextel Cup Live full-time while previous host Dave Despain will attempt to qualify the car."

5. Matt Kenseth — Kenseth struggled early, falling a lap down, but recovered to post a tenth, his fourth top-10 of the year, and is fourth in the points, 130 behind Jeff Gordon. It was a fairly uneventful day for Kenseth, with no excessive carbon monoxide intake, no burning protective foam, and no sight of Dale Jarrett.

"Hey, I'm one to let bygones be bygones," says Kenseth, "which is what I say to Jarrett when I pass him the first time during a race — 'bye,' I'm 'gone.' Congratulations to D.J. as the highest finishing Toyota, in 28th. I guess for Toyota, the 'tomorrow' in 'Car of Tomorrow' refers to when a Toyota finishes the race."

6. Denny Hamlin — Hamlin started on the pole, edging Jamie McMurray for the honor, and led 125 laps before finishing third behind the Jimmie Johnson-Jeff Gordon duel in the front. Hamlin lost his tachometer needle early in the race, but improvised an interesting method of monitoring his pit lane speed.

"Yeah, I just visualized Michael Waltrip qualifying here," explains Hamlin, "and then went five miles per hour faster. There's no way I'd be speeding."

7. Tony Stewart — Stewart finished a more-than-respectable seventh in the Goody's Cool Orange 500, but didn't have the car to challenge the leaders when push came to shove. Stewart moved up four places to eighth in the points, 240 out of first.

"Our day could have been better," adds Stewart, "but it was still nice to know that they named this race after me and my orange No. 20. What's that? The race was named after a new Goody's headache pain reliever? And it's not the kind you snort? Okay, so I'm not 'Cool Orange.' I can live with that, especially since you can find my face on cans of Van Camp's Pork and Beans on specially marked cans called 'Tony Stewart and Beans.'"

8. Clint Bowyer — Bowyer was one of two Richard Childress Racing cars among the top-eleven finishers, and was also one of two RCR cars not on fire at some point during the race. Bowyer and teammate Jeff Burton didn't suffer the fate of Kevin Harvick, who was smoked out of his car.

"I think Kevin plans to add a new member to his crew," explains Bowyer. "A chimney sweep. And NASCAR's planning to add smoke detectors in all race cars. Don't let the name fool you; these smoke detectors won't beep when Tony Stewart gets too close. Also, NASCAR has reached an agreement with Rolling Stone's guitarist and drug aficionado Keith Richards, who will be responsible for the cleanup of all materials burned is such incidents. Richards will mix the ashes with his cocaine and snort it. It's a fabulous disposable method, like killing two birds with one Stone. Although I don't think we'll have enough ashen wreckage to keep up with Richards' habit."

9. Dale Earnhardt, Jr — Earnhardt finished a solid fifth at Martinsville, leading a race-high 137 laps, but his day could have been better. A rain delay interrupted a good run for the No. 8 Chevrolet, and while in his car waiting for racing to resume, a jet blower drying the track forced some debris in his eye, causing much discomfort.

"No we're not the jet set," sings Earnhardt, "we're the old Chevrolet-set. Oh, I'm not getting paid to say that right now? Then why bother? Anyway, they whole eye deal was unfortunate, at least until the people at Visine called, offering me six figures to speak on behalf of their product."

10. Kevin Harvick — After falling 42 laps down due to repairs necessitated by a broken fuel pump on lap 290, Harvick's bad luck continued when dark smoke filled the No. 29 Shell Chevrolet. Harvick steered clear of traffic, then exited his car, followed by a choked-up Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong and several circus clowns. Not really, but it was a scary situation.

"It could have been worse," says Harvick. "I could have had my head shaved by Donald Trump. Maybe The Donald has some idea how to install this safety foam, because my team doesn't, at least according to NASCAR. Thankfully, NASCAR's reviewing the safety foam installation procedures at Richmond this weekend. And, they're also introducing their new 'safety' fuel, which supposedly isn't flammable."

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 9:37 PM | Comments (1)

April 4, 2007

Can Anyone Take Down the Pistons?

As we near the playoffs, it's obvious that the NBA is a top-heavy league with teams like the San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, Houston Rockets, and Detroit Pistons looking like the best the league has to offer.

Notice anything about that list? Well, in addition to being a top-heavy league, it's also unbalanced, as much of the talent is found in the Western Conference. The question is, besides Detroit, who are the other challengers in the East? Are the Miami Heat even without D-Wade? Is it Chicago? LeBron James and the Cavs? The Wizards? Let's take a look at what each contender can bring to the table.

Chicago Bulls

The Bulls have a pretty complete team, and they've proven recently that they can beat the Pistons (even though they did so when the Pistons were playing without Chauncey Billups and Chris Webber). Ben Gordan is a bona-fide baller. He's averaging 21.3 points per game and he's known for his clutch fourth-quarter performances, something that is extremely valuable down playoff stretches. Add in Luol Deng (18.9 ppg, 7.0 rpg), Kirk Hinrich (16.4 ppg 6.1 apg), and Andres Nocioni (14.8 ppg) as consistent performers and the defense of Ben Wallace (10.8 rpg, 2.07 blocks per game), and you have a team built for a playoff run. And I love Tyrus Thomas.

But what can drag them down? Well, they're just not consistent enough, especially away from home, where they're six games under .500. And if the season ends right now, they'd face a tough Miami Heat team in the 4-5 matchup. But honestly, I look at Chicago as the biggest threat to Detroit for the Eastern Conference throne.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Plain and simple, any time you have a team with a star as good as LeBron James, you have a team that is going to challenge you in a playoff series. LeBron's win over Gilbert Arenas' Wizards last year shows you he has what it takes to perform in the playoffs, and with experience under his wings, you have to be scared of what he can do. They're sitting pretty with the two seed, only 2.5 games back of Detroit and while I don't think the Cavs will come on top of a 1-2 matchup with Detroit in the Eastern Conference finals, I don't think it'd be an easy series for the Pistons, either.

The Cavs have lost four of their last seven and need to pick it up going into the postseason. They'll also need strong production out of Larry Hughes, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Drew Gooden. I don't think LeBron and Co. have what it takes — this year. But the Cavs may be just one signing away from a championship team.

Miami Heat

It's D-Wade's team and without D-Wade running it, you can't love the Heat's chances of defending their title. He's that much of a difference-maker. Shaq has tried to step up in Wade's absence (16.9, 7.1) and the team has really stepped it up defensively; they've only given up 100 points once in the 18 games since the dislocated shoulder, according to the Associated Press.

But can you really say a team without it's leader is really going to challenge the Pistons in a seven-game series? I don't see it happening. Then again, if Shaq played like old Shaq for a while and you got increased production from Jason Williams, Antoine Walker, and Udonis Haslem ... no, no, I can't convince myself all the stars will align.

Washington Wizards

You've gotta love Agent Zero and all his antics. And he's shown he can hit the big shots. But are the Wiz really a contender? I think they are. Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, and Antawn Jamison are one of the highest scoring trios in the league and if all three are healthy, they make up the most dangerous and dynamic offense in the East. Though they've struggled in the past with Miami, they beat Chicago in a playoff series and probably should've taken the Cavs down last year.

The problem: the inside game. I just don't think they're strong enough down low or strong enough defensively to make it all the way to the NBA Finals. And they have really struggled to show any consistency at all throughout the year. They'll grab a huge win and then follow it with an atrocious loss to a bad team. But do I think they're good enough to put a legit scare into any team they face? Yes, for sure.

Others

Toronto will be the three-seed right now and they've won seven of their last 10. Andrea Bargnani, Chris Bosh, and T.J. Ford have produced all year and they could create some matchup problems in the playoffs. Maybe it's because I haven't seen them play enough this year that I don't like them as a true contender in the East, but they are a good team with a solid resume and they could create problems.

New Jersey and Orlando are the other two teams that would round out the Eastern Conference playoffs if the season ended today. But I just don't see them being able to take down Detroit or Cleveland in the first round matchups.

So if the season ended today, who would I take to win the East? Well, I'd have Detroit over Orlando, Cleveland over New Jersey, Washington over Toronto, and Chicago over Miami in the first round. Then I'd say Detroit over Chicago in one hell of a series and Cleveland over Washington in a repeat of a last year. But in the end, it's Detroit over Cleveland in the East. Pretty chalk, eh? Well, things might end up differently if Washington finishes as the four-seed. But, regardless, in the East, you really have to believe no team can safely say they'll be headed to the Finals.

Posted by Paul Tenorio at 4:46 PM | Comments (1)

April 3, 2007

Observations From the Final Four

Florida is pretty darn good at basketball. Greg Oden is a man. Corey Brewer is the man.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure those things out. It probably doesn’t even take watching the Final 4 too closely to figure those things out. But after sitting through two exciting days of basketball—though the games themselves left a little bit to be desired—here are some of my other observations from the Georgia Dome, this year’s site for college basketball’s grandest stage:

1. How did Florida lose at Vanderbilt? How did Florida lose at Tennessee by 10? And how did Florida lose by double digits to a Glen Davis-less LSU team?

2. No player emerged out of the shadows — specifically Greg Oden's long shadow — quite like Mike Conley, Jr. did on Saturday night. This kid is the real deal. Conley scored 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting, grabbed 5 rebounds, and dished out 6 assists. Eleven of his points came in the first half, when the Buckeyes needed them most with Oden on the bench. Perhaps most importantly, Conley turned the ball over just once in 39 minutes of play. While Oden dominated the second half, Conley was hands down Ohio State's MVP against Georgetown.

3. Corey Brewer is the man. He is 6'8'' and plays much taller due to his giant wingspan. I'll refrain from gushing over just how good this guy could be at the next level and instead focus on how good he was Saturday night.

I'm sure it's hard to imagine just how a game that was such a blowout (and that's what the Florida/UCLA game was, despite the final score being just 76-66) could have been decided by one player. UCLA would not necessarily have won the game playing against a Brewer-less Gator squad, but Brewer won the game for Florida. Throughout the first seven minutes the game, UCLA's vaunted defense positively dominated the Gators offense. Florida managed few good looks at the basket, and the ones they did get were Lee Humphrey three-point attempts that resulted in uncharacteristic bricks.

With Humphrey ice-cold and UCLA doubling down Al Horford and Joakim Noah every time the ball entered the paint, Brewer became Florida's primary offensive option. He responded to the challenge. Brewer poured in 15 of Florida's 29 first-half points and dialed up three trey-balls in the opening 20 minutes of play. How's this for efficiency: Brewer finished with 19 points on just seven field goal attempts?

Brewer, one of the most revered defenders in the nation, also hounded Arron Afflalo on the other side of the floor during the brief moments in which the foul-riddled Afflalo saw playing time. Finally, Brewer put Afflalo on the bench midway through the first half by drawing a foul on a strong drive to the basket.

Most of Florida's stars do one or two things outstandingly. Corey Brewer does it all.

4. The Georgia Dome is the worst basketball venue of the handful of sites in the Final Four rotation. In fact, it's one of the worst basketball venues, period. Now obviously, it's not the Georgia Dome's fault or anyone's fault. To use a time-honored cliché in sports, it is what it is. The Georgia Dome is a football stadium. To say it is not conducive to watching basketball games would be an understatement.

I honestly think there were several hundred occupied seats from which no more than half of the basketball court was visible. Even at times when play was visible from those stratospheric seats, from so far away I doubt the occupants could distinguish Greg Oden from Lee Humphrey.

It's too hard to explain the exact setup of the Dome to someone who was not there, so I suggest doing a quick Georgia Dome Final Four Google search, or perhaps a simple seating chart will suffice. There were plenty of fans stuck all the way up in sections 306 and 311. Now as you can imagine, that's already abysmal to begin with. But that's not all. Keep in mind those fans line of sight was hindered by the makeshift mass of stands on the floor of the Georgia Dome extending across the sideline opposite the benches.

I initially wanted to trek all the way up to 306 or 311 and see for myself the ratio of basketball court to black wall that those people were experiencing, but I decided such a voyage would exhausted me to the point of being unable to enjoy the basketball games.

Even the "good" seats are not immune to some issues. Each seat, of course, is angled such that it would be facing the center of the Georgia Dome floor, what would normally be a Falcons logo on the 50-yard line. In basketball mode, that space is a huge media area. Personally, I'd rather be looking at the basketball court instead. What it boils down to is that in two of the would-be "corners" of a basketball arena, fans are sitting in seats facing straight ahead, if not even partially away from the court.

Now obviously, this not a life-or-death issue and there are much more important basketball matters to get to. But still, if you're going to just throw people senselessly into the Georgia Dome, you might as well go ahead and sell tickets for the entire place and set a Final Four attendance record that would instantly become the most unbreakable record in sports.

5. Refs, not surprisingly, played a decisive role in the course of the National Semifinals. The Roy Hibbert/Greg Oden clash was one the most highly-touted NCAA big-men matchups in a long, long time. What did we get? Hibbert and Oden were only on the court at the same time for eight of the game's first 33 minutes. Both of them picked up some dumb, cheap fouls, but there's no doubt that the officials were way too whistle happy.

Oden had two fouls before the first media timeout, and none were productive. His fist came on an illegal screen during Ohio State's first trip down the court, and the big man lowered his shoulder while driving to the basket for a charge just moments later. That was the end of Oden's first half. With Oden out of the game, Hibbert quickly began to exert himself, but I'm pretty sure NBA scouts — not to mention fans — would have preferred to see Georgetown's giant do so at Oden's expense rather than against Buckeye backups Othello Hunter and Matt Terwilliger.

Oden returned at the start of the second have and showcased his incredible talent throughout the final 20 minutes with seemingly relative ease. He finished with 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting and 9 rebounds. But again, just as Hibbert did his damage when Oden was not on the floor, Oden found the going a lot easier when Hibbert, plagued with foul trouble of his own, sat on the bench.

Whistles also dominated Saturday night's second contest, but this time the foul trouble was a one-sided affair. UCLA star Arron Afflalo was called for two fouls before the first two minutes had elapsed. Coach Ben Howland dared to put him back in later in the half, and that proved to be nothing short of disastrous. Before the 12-minute media timeout, Afflalo was out of there with his third foul. He ended up playing just 22 minutes in the game and although he finished with 17 points, zero of them came before the outcome was decided.

Forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute did not fare much better. The sophomore scored four points in only 17 minutes of play, and he fouled out with nine minutes left in the contest. Center Lorenzo Mata joined Afflalo and Mbah a Moute to make it a trio of Bruins who were disqualified from the semi-final loss.

There's probably not much UCLA could have done, however, even with their full arsenal of players for the entire night. When Brewer and Humphrey are connecting from long range, the Gators are close to invincible. Brewer was on fire in the first half, and Humphrey's second-half hot streak slammed the door emphatically on the Bruins. Still, UCLA most likely would have made things interesting had it not been for foul trouble. Instead, the nation was deprived of what would have been an exciting 40-minute clash of styles.

6. Walking around the Georgia Dome people-watching was probably more exciting than the Florida/UCLA game. Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, and Dean Smith, all of whom were honored for their contributions to college basketball. were in attendance. Ralph Sampson was there, and very easy for all to see from a mile away. Falcons running back Warrick Dunn was there, and very difficult for anyone to see from a foot away. Comedian and former "Monday Night Football" commentator Dennis Miller made an appearance.

Coaches were all over the place. It seemed like every ACC basketball coach — all noticeably absent from the Final Four proceedings this year — was on the grounds. Former Georgia Tech coach Bobby Cremins and Jim Larranaga, of last year's George Mason fame, made the trip. Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel was on hand, and it must have taken him hours to greet all of the Buckeye faithful who lined up to talk to him while hanging out in the concourse.

Patrick Ewing and John Thompson, of course, were there on Saturday. Ewing was obviously not there on Monday. Thompson stuck around simply because of TV duties.

7. What goes on in the stands after the semifinal games is what the Final Four is all about. The joy of victory and the agony of defeat are as clear as day. As a neutral bystander, watching Ohio State hawks pester demoralized Georgetown fans for Monday tickets never got old. Then again, it must have been even worse for UCLA supporters. They were probably getting hounded for tickets with 10 minutes still to go in their loss to Florida.

8. Give me tickets to the Championship game and you can keep yours for the National Semi-finals. I initially thought Saturday would be the day to go if you had a choice, but now I’m convinced otherwise. Sure there’s a chance I would think differently had Florida-UCLA turned out to be a classic rather than a snoozer, but I doubt it.

There’s just nothing like the atmosphere of the final game. The slogan touted all over the city of Atlanta was “the road ends here.” It ends on Monday night, not on Saturday. Well, maybe it did end for Georgetown and UCLA on Saturday, but not for the rest of us.

Saturday just doesn’t have that same kind of mano-a-mano intensity. Georgetown and Ohio State treated us to a rather entertaining game, but that half of the stadium spent the entire nightcap bagging z’s, as the Gators drubbed UCLA.

On Monday, the once-formidable Hoya and Bruin fans had been whittled down to a few die-hards, the rest giving way to rapid Buckeyes and Gators. The result? A much more polarized Georgia Dome. At the National Championship, you’re either for one team or the other team. Not for this team and that team or that team and this team. You were either Florida, or you were Ohio State. Either you won, or you lost. You couldn’t be satisfied with one outcome and disgruntled over the next.

Semi-final Saturdays don’t produce Lorenzo Charles’s, Michael Jordans, or Keith Smarts, and they don’t produce Chris Webbers. Saturdays don’t create dynasties. Championship Mondays, however, do all of that.

Don’t get me wrong, the National Semi-finals are nothing short of awesome. But they just aren’t quite the same. I’ll take Monday any day of the week.

9. Just how did this Florida team ever lose a basketball game, period?

Posted by Ricky Dimon at 6:22 PM | Comments (0)

One Down, Nine to Go

It looked simple enough for Chris Carpenter facing his first five hitters, all things considered. And, by the time it all ended in a 6-1 Mets win Sunday night, you could have thought the wrong names were on the wrong pitchers' backs. It would be Tom Glavine pitching like a master carpenter shaping and remaking fine mahogany for most of his outing, and it would be Carpenter being chiseled, planed, and sanded after he managed to get the first five men he faced out.

By the time it all ended, you'd think the wrong names were on the wrong pitchers' backs. It would be Glavine pitching like a master carpenter shaping fine mahogany and Carpenter — who dodged in the second after Moises Alou's first official at-bat as a Met turned into a clean two-out single up the pipe, and Shawn Green cued one just beyond David Eckstein's leap with old man Alou grinding like a greenhorn to third, before Jose Valentin lined out right to Pujols — being chiseled, planed, and sawed in the third and fourth innings.

And it would be Glavine standing one down, nine to go en route his 300th major league win after his night was ended. He did it by looking for the most part as though he could have been blindfolded and still beaten the Cardinals on instruments. He threw most of his outing as though everything leaving his hand was programmed for the corners with little deviation, only occasional shudders, and even a little mischief making of his own on the hitting side.

Glavine opened the New York third with a shuttlecock single the other way to left. Oh, he'd be forced on Paul Lo Duca's grounder after Jose Reyes got swished on a nasty climber that looked more as though Carpenter caught Reyes thinking badly than Carpenter making a properly teasing pitch, but Carpenter was now vulnerable enough, as his unusual plunk off Beltran's right knee — Beltran had just lined one barely to the foul side of the right field pole, and Carpenter normally throws inside tight without making much contact — made obvious enough.

The Mets had to know this was the time to strike before the smart right-hander rehorsed himself. Carlos Delgado certainly did. He banged one the other way, just beyond left fielder So Taguchi and off the top of the left field bullpen fence, room enough for Lo Duca and Beltran to come home with the 2-0 lead.

Glavine's lone moment of early uncertainty came in the Cardinal third after Adam Kennedy — whose keystone reunion with Eckstein in the field looked like 2002 in red all over save the change in insignia (Angel fans won't forget the three pennant-winning bombs he hit in Minnesota anytime soon) — rammed a triple to deep center, helping himself with some grinding baserunning. But Carpenter on the squeeze, with Kennedy almost halfway down the line, dropped a dead fish in front of the plate. Lo Duca pounced up in front of the plate, ran Kennedy back up the line, and threw to Wright, and Kennedy was a dead bird before Eckstein flied out for the side.

Alou opened the fourth with a rising liner that rose enough to let center fielder Jim Edmonds glide left to spear it. But Green and Valentin singled their way to first and third and Carpenter didn't look much like his customary self anymore. After Glavine sacrificed Valentin to second, Carpenter couldn't lure Reyes into offering at three off-zone curve balls before walking him on a 3-1 changeup to load the pads for Lo Duca. And he couldn't get ahead of Lo Duca, falling behind 2-0, then coming even 2-2 (a called strike fastball and a foul off the plate), then throwing a balky changeup low and away to load the count.

Lo Duca loaded one right up the pipe and under Kennedy's dive behind second for a two-run single and Reyes the rabbit on third and all of a sudden the Mets had a 4-0 advantage, all four runs scoring in two-out pairs. Then Beltran lined one up the pipe to send home Reyes for the fifth run before Carpenter escaped further destruction by getting Delgado to ground out to Eckstein.

Glavine continued his clinic of brain pitching. He swished Wilson, lured a ground out to third out of Pujols, and shuddered only briefly before Alou hauled down Scott Rolen's deep fly in the fourth. He answered Yadier Molina's fifth-inning leadoff rap with a double play ball he threw as if he'd written the order on the meat of the ball in such language as Edmonds had no choice to obey, before throwing out Taguchi himself in the fifth.

He didn't buckle until the sixth, when pinch-hitter Skip Shumaker (for Carpenter) singled with one out and Eckstein doubled into the left field corner to cash him in, but even a master craftsman needs a little help from his apprentices once in awhile, and Glavine got it in the next Cardinal at-bat, when Wilson punched a single up the pipe and Beltran, on a slightly ridiculous throw, nailed Eckstein at the plate. Glavine shook off a walk to Pujols and an unusual plunk on Rolen to lad the bases, and just when you thought the Cardinals might tighten the game back up, Molina popped one out to Reyes to strand the pads loaded.

Eckstein's night was that kind of night. The Cardinals' resident pest had opened their side of the proceedings with a clean single up the pipe, and had all of about five minutes to enjoy picking up where he'd left off in the World Series before Preston Wilson slashed into a double play, ripping one up the third base line on a couple of hops, and right into David Wright's glove.

Alou won't be called the old man too easily after robbing Kennedy to start the St. Louis sixth with a catch on a dive that could have launched him toward a swimming record if it had been into a pool.

The Mets' remade/remodeled bullpen performed a few of their usual acrobatics to finish what Glavine started, Pedro Feliciano mostly breezing until he needed Aaron Heilman to bail him out of a major jam with an inning-ending double play pitch in the eighth, and Billy Wagner walked his usual high wire in the ninth, working with first and second and one out when he got an infield pop and a right field fly to end it.

Somewhere in there, the Mets managed to pad their lead in the ninth (inning-opening back-to-back singles, a rare enough instance of Reyes caught stealing, and Lo Duca driving one home with a single to left). But somewhere in there an old man whose lingering resemblance to Beaver Cleaver keeps him from looking his age, anyway, spoke of his evening's work in the style that has marked him for two decades and 291 wins.

"When I had to make some pitches," Glavine told reporters after the game, "I did. I was able to get some ground balls and some double plays when I needed them."

Look at it from Glavine's vantage point. Virtuoso rhetoric doesn't set you up to within nine wins of becoming baseball's fifth left-handed 300-game winner. Silver tongues don't necessarily keep you such company as Spahn, Carlton, Plank, and Grove, even if they're attached to brains at least the equal of those ferocious gentlemen.

"I guarantee," Glavine spent about two-thirds of his spring training saying, "nobody looked at me in 1988 and thought, 'That guy's going to have a chance to win 300 games some day.'" They just weren't looking at the right part of him. The part between his ears that gives the deceptive left arm its orders.

Preston Wilson was. "He's a pitcher," the Cardinals' right fielder was quoted as saying after Sunday night's fall. "In every sense of the word." The emphasis seemed to be on sense.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 5:35 PM | Comments (0)

April 2, 2007

NCAA Men's Basketball Review

With just hours until the completion of the 2006-2007 NCAA men's college basketball season, now seems like a good time to issue some awards and make a few predictions for next year.

Biggest leap from obscurity to national prominence: Washington State

For those who aren't fans of the Pac-10 conference, perhaps you might overlook the magnitude of what happened in Pullman this year. To put it in perspective, in the five years preceding this season's 26-8 record (13-5 in conference), the Cougars had combined to go 49-90 overall and 21-69 in the Pac-10 (finishing seventh twice and 10th/last three times).

And despite being picked last again in this year's pre-season coaches poll, they made the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1994 and got their first tournament win since 1983. And almost all of that can be traced to the coaching of Pac-10 and AP Coach of the Year Tony Bennett, who combined his dad Dick's defensive mindset, but added a more modern offensive approach that took them to the next level.

What's better for Bennett is that everybody except Ivory Clark is coming back next year. The best may be yet to come.

Biggest fall from grace: LSU

It's a tough call between LSU and Washington. Give the nod to the Tigers based off their higher preseason ranking (seventh in the ESPN/USA Today, Huskies were 16th), plus the fact they made the Final Four the previous season. Perhaps the preseason expectations were a bit high (always a contributing factor in "disappointing" seasons), but nobody thought this was a 5-11 team in the mediocre SEC West.

Glen Davis is going pro, but that doesn't necessarily mean another mediocre season is in store for next season. Dallas forward Anthony Randolph (five stars from Rivals) joins next year's squad along with returning juniors-to-be Tasmin Mitchell, Terry Martin, Garrett Temple, and Magnum Rolle. John Brady is taking major heat from Tigers fans, but he showed last year what he's capable of doing (that team overachieved as much as this one underachieved). I'd put money on a return to prominence next season.

Most over-hyped story line: The "mid-major" factor

At the risk of sparking another deluge of in-box negativity, the "mid-major" surge from 2005-06 fell flat this season. The best of the non-BCS conferences still produced their share of top-flight squads (Southern Illinois, Butler, Memphis) and produced several tournament upsets (UNLV over Wisconsin, Winthrop over Notre Dame, VCU over Duke), but only four of the Sweet 16 teams came from non-BCS conferences (SIU, Butler, UNLV, and Memphis).

The Elite Eight was made up of one team each from Conference USA, Big Ten, ACC, SEC, Big East, and SEC, and two from the Pac-10. The Final Four was Big Ten, Big East, SEC, Pac-10. The final is Big Ten/SEC. Hell, even the NIT Elite Eight featured seven teams from BCS schools.

So while giving all due respect to "mid-major" talent and quality of play (I still say some of the best games I watched all year were between the top teams in the Colonial), the BCS conferences showed the "major" vs. "mid-major" debate is not just a fabrication of evil-minded biased media. There's a real difference on the court, as well.

Biggest impact by a freshman: Tie: Kevin Durant and Greg Oden

No big surprise here, and the only reason I mention it is because you can't write a column on this season without mentioning Durant and Oden. There have been plenty of freshmen to have a major impact on the national stage, but that number had been greatly reduced by the trend of the best high school players turning pro. With the new NBA age limit and the arrival of Durant and Oden at Texas and Ohio State, respectively, we got to see what it would have been like if Kobe Bryant or Kevin Garnett had stepped foot on campus.

And we can look forward to hopefully similar impacts next year from guys who almost surely would have turned pro this summer: OJ Mayo (USC), Michael Beasley (Kansas State), Eric Gordon (Indiana), Kevin Love (UCLA), and Derrick Rose (Memphis).

Best decision made by an AD: Southern Illinois extending Chris Lowery

SIU AD Mario Moccia extended head coach Chris Lowery for seven years at $750,000 per year, tripling his salary and ensuring the Missouri Valley Coach of the Year doesn't bolt for a BCS school (Arkansas, Iowa) with deeper pockets. The signing continues the Valley's move toward "major" territory by investing in top coaches who cannot only build programs, but stick around to lead them. (Though news today that Creighton's Dana Altman is jumping to Arkansas obviously hurts that trend.) Regardless, Lowery is one of the best coaches in the country and SIU's move to sign him long term is a sign the program can be expected to continue its success, perhaps even breaking the Elite Eight/Final Four barrier.

Now a few things to look out for 2007-08

Team most likely to rebound back into a national power: Connecticut

Top freshman nobody's talking about: Jerryd Bayless, PG, Arizona

Next non-BCS coach to make the jump: Bruiser Flint, Drexel

Team most likely to go from mediocre to Sweet 16 (or further): Oklahoma

Next Kentucky coach: Travis Ford (Massachusetts) (at least that's who I think they should hire)

Who wins tonight: Florida

Seth Doria is a freelance columnist and blogger in St. Louis. For more, visit The Left Calf.

Posted by Joshua Duffy at 5:08 PM | Comments (0)

Goodell Should Be Pacman's Ghost

America's model professional sports league is on the runway once again, displaying its stunning features and knack for innovation.

For years, the NFL has been an exhibit of excellence and modernization. In the wake of a recent rash of off-field misdemeanors, North America's most popular league is making the correct steps to try to erase the "bad boy" behavior from the league.

With Tennessee Titans CB Adam "Pacman" Jones, amongst other notable players, again flirting with the law, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he planned to have a tougher conduct policy in place before this year's draft. This is another great decision made by the country's most lucrative league.

For the NFL to continue to flourish, harsher penalties for off-field actions must be implemented. Goodell hasn't said any specifics about what punishment will look like, but if the league continues to "get it," the crackdown will be strong. In a league that channels controlled violence onto a grass field for 60 minutes once a week, there is no need to tolerate extracurricular misconducts.

The only way to curb the influx of poor off-field antics, is to immediately suspend and fine anyone who is proven guilty. Players and coaches love this children's game they get paid to play, so heavy punishment will make players think before they commit a crime.

This kind of action from the league should especially be forced upon repeat offenders. Any player who has been in trouble with the law on several occasions should have the whole rule book, hardcover edition, thrown right back at them. The league doesn't need these players in the league and they should only be allowed to return if they can sufficiently prove their rehabilitation.

Although punishment and rehabilitation are crucial to prevent future actions and condemn previous ones, the most productive plan would also include a program for all players to complete upon entering the league. Lucky for fans of the NFL, Goodell already has an idea of this nature in his plans.

The NFL is preparing a punishment and prevention system that will be promoted in the very near future. Despite this excellent move by the commissioner, it's unlikely the plan will be nearly strong enough. They will try their best, but when the dust settles the league must still maintain a relationship with the players association, which will keep penalties softer.

With this in mind, consider what the NFL should really do to help preserve its position as the best professional sports league in North America.

The plan would be rather simple and wouldn't take a college degree to understand.

First, players will take a mandatory seminar regarding local laws. Players would not be able to play until they have completed the seminar. Apparently, according to Goodell and also evidenced by some actions this year, players do not quite understand what is outside the law. This should clear up any confusion for athletes new to the city.

Inappropriate and acceptable behavior would also be discussed in the mandatory seminar. Educated players generally make much better decisions and ultimately the goal is to prevent actions rather than punish players.

After educating the players, a much stronger push should be made league-wide to promote player attended community events. The more the players who are in the community and interacting with the citizens, the less likely they will commit crimes in their time away from the team. Participation cannot be forced because that would be useless and possibly detrimental, but it would rather be strongly encouraged.

While prevention is a good start, cracking down on players who have already committed an offense is a strong way to make others reconsider poor choices before doing the action.

Each scenario is different depending on the severity of the action, but once a player has been convicted of a crime, the NFL should immediately suspend him for four games without pay to give time for evaluation of a further suspension.

Depending on the crime, the league should have no qualms about suspending a player for a year or two. A lengthy suspension that takes the player out for at least a season is imperative for rehabilitation. Once a player returns, it is much less likely he will re-offend.

If a player has committed an offense twice, suspend him immediately for at least eight games. If it happens a third time, give the player a two-year suspension.

Because of the competitive nature of the sport, coming back from a two-year absence would be difficult for the best of athletes. Such a punishment would really deter players who hope to have a long, successful career in the top professional football league.

Someone like "Pacman" Jones doesn't need to be associated with the NFL. Because of his many offenses, he should receive a heavy suspension that would take him off the Titans roster for two years. If he ever made it back into the league, he would definitely think twice about his actions.

One of the keys to this strong punishment is to completely forget about the players stature in the league when considering the penalty. Any player, be it a starting quarterback or a back-up punter, should be given the exact same punishment.

The NFL should cut loose any "bad boys," even if they are star players. The league will be better for it.

Roger Goodell has done a great job since taking over the commissioner role last September, but his decision about conduct policy will be one of his most important yet. If he gets it right, like the NFL's commissioners have so many times in the past, some heavy suspensions will be handed out and Goodell will become a vaunted ghost in Pacman's off-field games.

Posted by Mark Janzen at 5:00 PM | Comments (0)