Sports Central | Articles and Columns

« June 2007 | Main | August 2007 »

July 31, 2007

NFL Preseason '07 Notes

Now that everybody has reported and hit the practice fields, we're going to take a week off from our position-by-position breakdown and go with a few notes from around the league.

As of 8 AM Tuesday morning, seven first-round draft picks remain unsigned. My pick as the last guy to sign, Levi Brown, the offensive tackle from Penn State selected fifth by Arizona, is one of them. You could certainly see it going to either of the quarterbacks, JaMarcus Russell with the Raiders or Brady Quinn with the Browns, but I'm going with the cheapskate ownership group in the desert. When you're betting on a business deal being more complicated than it has to be, bet on the Bidwells.

The one holdout that's the most surprising is Jon Beason, the Miami linebacker selected at 25 by Carolina. Panthers GM Marty Hurney said this weekend the two sides were "miles apart," which is odd considering the players taken immediately before and after Beason have already signed. According to the AP, the hold-up is the Panthers' refusal to include an option bonus in the deal.

I used to think Michael Vick was only going to get four games, then go on with his life. Now I think he might be in Don Imus "no one will even employ me again" territory. Dude has fallen hard, and it's getting worse by the day. The latest: a co-defendant has flipped. (Then again, there are rumors Don Imus will return to WFAN in September, so maybe Vick stands a shot. Anybody have Mark Cuban's number?)

What is it with athletes taking guns into strip clubs? First it was Detroit Lions DT Shaun Rogers (according to the former Loose Ends Players Den dancer who plans to sue him in civil court). Now it's Carolina Panthers DT Jeremy Bridges, charged with assault by pointing a gun at a dancer in the parking lot of Club Onyx in South Charlotte. What is it about "don't put yourself in a bad situation" do these guys not get? Is there any more of a "bad situation" than having a firearm in a strip club?

Quality move by the Rams giving Marc Bulger the big extension he wanted (six-year, $62.5 million, $26.5 guaranteed). Really, they had no choice. He had all the leverage going into his walk year. Best to get it done before it became a distraction.

I'm not sure what to make of Roger Goodell's decision to extend Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Odell Thurman's suspension into two years. Thurman, a starter as a rookie who ran afoul of the league's substance abuse policy (several times), was eligible for re-instatement after sitting out all of last season, and was widely expected to be back with the team this year. Not only does Goodell's decision have a tangible negative impact on the Bengals' hopes for an improved defense (ranked 17th last year in points per game allowed, 30th in total yards allowed), it deviates from the established crime-to-punishment scale. Unless there are mitigating circumstances that haven't been published, this ruling puts us in some murky water.

Larry Johnson is holding out. Priest Holmes is back. There's a quarterback controversy between Brodie Croyle and Damon Huard. Kyle Turley is signed for another go-round. I'm telling you — Hard Knocks is going to be fantastic. The first episode premieres August 8 on HBO.

I'm not worried about Frank Gore breaking his hand and missing the preseason. I am worried about Frank Gore without Norv Turner's play calling.

As much as it's tempting to jump on the Steelers under new tough guy Mike Tomlin, there are too many holes. The offensive line is in flux, and so is the secondary. They better take advantage of their early schedule (at Cleveland, Buffalo, San Francisco, at Arizona, Seattle), because they have as tough a post-bye slate as anybody (including at New England, Jacksonville, at St. Louis, at Baltimore over the last four weeks).

Farewell, Curtis Martin. Whether with the Pats or Jets, you were the consummate pro. I look forward to your Hall of Fame enshrinement speech.

RIP, Bill Walsh. Every single football fan owes you a debt of gratitude. Thank you.

Tim Couch to the Jags has to rank as the most surprising transaction report of the weekend. Good move by the Jags, though. Couch is a super-cheap flyer (not even a signing bonus in his two-year, $1 million-plus deal). Incumbent third-stringer Quinn Gray better get himself off the PUP list right quick.

Darwin Walker to the Bears makes a lot of sense for Chicago. A conditional fifth-rounder (according to ESPN) is hardly a steep price for a guy with 26.5 sacks over the past four years.

On the other hand, the Bears moving Devin Hester to wide receiver is just greedy. First, you expose him to far more contact and the possibility of injury with him on offense. Second, while speed kills in the return game, it's only a fraction of the pie for a wide receiver. He's not like Dante Hall, who was always a receiver. He's a corner being converted to offense. (He freelanced at WR at Miami, but ended up with 10 total receptions in three years.) Can he run routes? Can he block in the running game? If they're only going to use him for screens and going deep, will the defense be able to key off his substitution package? Will he hold on to the ball when he gets blasted?

The Bears have one of the best returners in the game, possibly an all-timer, somebody who can instantly change the entire momentum of the game. By moving him to offense, they're taking a huge gamble. The potential gain isn't even close to worth the risk.

Sneak peak into next week's tight-end rankings: San Diego is ranked highly. Buffalo is not.

Five days to Saints/Steelers.

Seth Doria is a freelance writer, editor, and designer. Some of the notes above have been previously published on The Left Calf. Some have not.

Posted by Joshua Duffy at 11:54 AM | Comments (0)

Bill Robinson, RIP: The Fire Down Below

He became a New York Yankee outfielder in the 1966 swap that made an Atlanta Brave out of virtuoso fielding third baseman Clete Boyer, who died in June. He bounced from there to the Chicago White Sox, the Philadelphia Phillies (a three-season tour), the Pittsburgh Pirates (seven seasons and a World Series ring in 1979, when he hit 24 home runs and slugged .504 on the regular season), then a split season between the Pirates and the Phillies before finishing off with the Phillies after a year and a half.

Then Bill Robinson became a coach, and a respected one, particularly as the batting instructor and manning the coaching lines at first for the New York Mets as they rose to mid-1980s enfants terrible, perennial contenders, and 1986 World Series winners. In due course, he became the batting instructor for another World Series winner (the 2003 Florida Marlins), and he was visiting Las Vegas during a second season in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization when he died in his hotel room at age 64 Sunday.

A respectable baseball career, even if he never quite lived up to an early expectation as a Yankee. ("I was supposed to be a black Mickey Mantle. I made the mistake of hitting a home run in my second game.") A respected man. ("[H]e was a devoted family man, a consummate professional and one of the classiest men in our sport," said Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon upon learning of Robinson's death; Dodger owner Ned Colletti issued a warm statement of his own: "Bill was a wonderful family man and a great baseball player, coach, manager, and friend to everyone he met. Even though he never played for the Dodgers, it was an honor that he chose to be a part of the organization. Everyone he came into contact with was better for having known him.")

And it will probably fall second place to the memory that burns brightest involving Robinson. The guarantor of that memory is now the pitching coach of the Atlanta Braves, but was then a youthful co-closer out of the Mets' bullpen. In 1986, especially, Roger McDowell and Bill Robinson intersected hotly enough, during a May game in Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium.

In the bottom of the second inning in a scoreless contest, Bill Robinson ... was sitting by himself at the end of the Mets' bench, slowly making his way through a bag of sunflower seeds. With the blessing of his teammates (but without [manager] Davey Johnson's knowledge, McDowell climbed under the bench and on elbows and knees crawled the 20 feet to Robinson's dangling cleats. In one fist, McDowell held a single Marlboro cigarette and a roll of gaffer's tape. In the other, he had a fully loaded book of matches. Exercising the dexterity of Spider-Man, McDowell, lying at Robinson's feet, removed the staple from the matchbook, wrapped the book around the cigarette, and taped the two together. Then softly and gently he stuck the device on Robinson's left cleat. As soon as the inning ended, McDowell lit the cigarette and crawled back to the other end of the dugout.

"There are a lot of complications," McDowell says. "You have to time the cigarette, and you also have to make sure there's enough air between the match and the cigarette so it doesn't die out. It's pretty intense."

Usually, when a hotfoot ignites, it takes anywhere from 20 to 30 seconds, and the result is a burning sensation and a small, manageable flame. This was no ordinary hotfoot. Robinson left the bench, took his post next to first base, watched the pitcher warm up, traded a few words with a fan, and clapped and yelled encouragement to Darryl Strawberry. As Gary Carter, the next hitter, stepped into the box, Reds manager Pete Rose noticed the smoke oozing from Robinson's foot. Unable to contain his laughter, he called his entire bench to join him at the end of the dugout. On the Mets' side, McDowell told Bill Welch, the director of WWOR's televised broadcast, to keep a camera on first base. The count was one ball, one strike on Carter. Suddenly, whoooooosh! An inferno exploded and flames shot up Robinson's leg as if he were the guest of honour at a Hawaiian pig roast. Robinson began jumping up and down, screaming in pain. For McDowell, it was perfection.

"It was like NASA just launched something," he says. "The greatest hotfoot ever. And Bill, to his credit, never got mad. He just said, 'You won't get me anymore. I'm done with that.' To me that was like when you're a kid and someone says, 'Don't call me that!' What are you supposed to do?"

The answer was obvious. McDowell, along with partner and technical adviser Howard Johnson, lit Robinson's shoe no fewer than 15 more times that season, including seven or eight in August and September alone. At season's end Jay Horwitz, the Mets PR whiz, incorporated a section on hotfoots into the team highlight video, including McDowell and HoJo demonstrating their step-by-step approach.

Before a game against the [St. Louis] Cardinals August 17, Robinson was sleeping on a couch in the Shea Stadium clubhouse when he felt yet another burning sensation. This time Johnson and McDowell were especially ambitious—both of Robinson's shoes were ablaze. "I grabbed the shoes to get 'em off me," says Robinson, "and the plastic from the laces burned the shit out of my hand." Robinson took his ashen right shoe and flung it at McDowell's head, missing by a couple of inches.

— Jeff Pearlman, in "Hot Stuff," from The Bad Guys Won. (New York: HarperCollins, 2004.)

Robinson could take it in a prank, but he wasn't exactly a man to stand still when it was dirty pool on the field, either. Mets fans still remember the June 6, 1986 brawl he triggered in Pittsburgh's old and unlamented Three Rivers Stadium, when he hollered to Carter in the batter's box to get the home plate umpire, Billy Williams, to check the balls thrown by Pittsburgh right-hander Rick Rhoden, a man known not to be shy about putting whatever he had (or could think of) on whatever he threw. (Robinson was in position to know: he and Rhoden had been teammates for four seasons.)

Williams checked a ball and tossed it out of play. Rhoden, according to Pearlman, "shoved a small object into the back pocket of his uniform pants." That brought Williams to the mound for a quick frisk; the ump returned to his post and the game went on.

Between innings, however, Robinson made sure to cross his path to Rhoden's as the clubs switched sides. "Rick," Robinson is said to have told his old mate, "you're too good a pitcher to cheat." Rhoden was not amused. "Bill, f**k you!" he hollered. "You guys are a bunch of f**kin' whiners!" Which was pretty brazen for a pitcher whose team was on the way to losing 98 games on the season, even if he and they were en route to beating the Mets, 7-1, on the afternoon.

Rhoden's outburst earned him a shove in the chest from Robinson and the scrum was on. It took four teammates to hold Strawberry back after he decked Pirate outfielder Lee Mazzilli. (Irony: Mazzilli, once a Met idol, would return to the Mets soon enough and play a big enough role as a pinch hitter and late replacement.) Sid Bream, then the Pirates' first baseman and an eventual, unlikely National League Championship Series hero with Atlanta (he scored the winning run on Francisco Cabrera's bases-loaded single, despite his crippled knees — "I'd had five operations on my right knee and I was wearing a big brace and I ran like molasses" — beating a throw from Barry Bonds playing a little too deep in left field, to nail the 1992 pennant) at the Pirates' expense, jumped Robinson himself ... and came away with a broken pinkie for his trouble.

Then Sammy Khalifa, the Pirates's shortstop, made two dreadful mistakes. He went after Robinson blindside, and Kevin Mitchell — the ghetto-smart Met rookie — saw him. Mitchell turned out to have a special affection for Robinson, who'd taken a particular interest in him and provoked the kind of loyalty that made Mitchell especially protective of the coach he, especially, called Uncle Bill.

Mitchell considered it his duty to look out for the first base coach. Thus, Mitchell blindsided Khalifa with a clothesline to the head, dropping the Pirate to the ground with an awesome thud. Mitchell proceeded to wrap his arm around Khalifa's throat and drag him facedown across the stadium's Astroturf surface. "White meat," says Mitchell, smiling. For the next 10 seconds, Mitchell held Khalifa in a headlock. As his face went from white to a purplish blue, Khalifa gasped for air, his arms waving wildly. "I can't breathe! I can't breathe!" Finally, at the urging of several Mets, Mitchell let go. Khalifa crumpled.

"I would have killed him," says Mitchell. "It's the lion's den, and I was pissed because he was going at Uncle Bill from behind. If you're gonna do something like that, be a man and come from the front.

— Pearlman, in "The Kid and the Black Hats," The Bad Guys Won.

The Pirates won the game; the Mets won everything else in sight, practically (they finished 108-54 and 10 ahead of the second-place Phillies; the Pirates finished dead last and 23.5 out), including a thriller of a League Championship Series (against the Houston Astros) and, of course, that surreal World Series (against the Boston Red Sox).

Two months after the rumble in the Pittsburgh jungle? "Rick Rhoden and I played golf," Robinson remembered to Pearlman. "No hard feelings. We were able to laugh about it."

Not half as loudly, it says here, as were a packed Cincinnati ballpark, both dugouts therein, and at least two television audiences in New York (and elsewhere, since WWOR had gone superstation at the time) and Cincinnati, at the fire down below.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 11:06 AM | Comments (4)

For NHL, August a Month to Forget

Suffocating humidity and thunderous storms make it difficult to think of hockey at the end of July. But it's a good thing. When you follow a sport that lasts as long as the NHL season, the summer can be a welcome refuge from fantasy teams, playoff races, and endless sports columns droning on, unoriginally, about the demise of the NHL's popularity. The playoffs don't end until June, the free agent market opens in July, so August is the best month of all — a buffer month that allows fans to forget about hockey just enough to welcome it back in September.

But this summer seems to be busier than most. Player movement has sparked nods of approval, fierce scrutiny, and, in one instance, bred a sparring match between competing GMs in the Western conference. And a pair of brothers from the most talented gene pool since the Sutters were arrested for drunkenness and disorderly conduct. Beer slugging Canadians? Shocking.

In a soap opera-like spat, Anaheim Ducks' general manager Brian Burke ripped Edmonton Oilers GM Kevin Lowe for his team's absurd offer sheet to free agent Dustin Penner. The Oilers offered Penner, whose 2006-2007 salary was a paltry $450,000, a five-year, $21.25 million deal. Burke, who learned of the offer while awaiting induction to the British Columbia Hockey Hall of Fame, called the move "gutless."

"I have no problem with offer sheets," Burke said. "My fear is that it's the second time this year, in my opinion, Edmonton has offered a grossly inflated salary for a player. It impacts on all 30 teams," quotes the Toronto Globe and Mail. Burke's hostility stems from Lowe's timing and lack of notification that an offer sheet was pending.

Many teams avoided salary arbitration by reaching agreements. Most notably, standout goaltender Ray Emery inked a new contract with the Ottawa Senators that will pay him an average of $3.2 million each of the next three years ($2.75 million next season, $3.25M in 2008-09, and $3.5M in 2009-10). That makes Emery the 18th highest paid goalie in the NHL — not bad for a guy who took his team to the fifth game of the Stanley Cup Finals on $925,000 wage. Both parties avoided arbitration by agreeing to the deal, a move that may have saved Ottawa from shelling out roughly $4 million a year.

And in true youthful fashion, Jordan, 18, and Eric, 22, of the Staal brothers' clan were arrested in Minneapolis, MN for disorderly conduct and obstructing justice during Eric's bachelor party. Jordan was also cited for underage drinking. It's worth noting that he was also breaking Canadian law, where the drinking age is 19. It appears the Staals were merely partaking in what some consider that most authentic offseason activity: drinking.

There were a variety of other free agent signings and contract renewals absurd offers, but now that August is approaching, let's forget about that until we see all those new faces in their new sweaters when camps open in September, or in front of a county magistrate on charges of throwing beer cans at passing cars at your older brother's bachelor party. Relax, you'll need it, those 82 games plus playoffs are sure to keep you busy in the months that follow.

Posted by Jeff DiNunzio at 10:59 AM | Comments (0)

July 30, 2007

Christmas Comes Early For NFL Fans

It's that time of year again, my favorite time of year ... "Christmas come early," as Jeremy Grey might say. Training camps are opening and NFL news takes over the sports pages in a dominating fashion, further establishing itself as the new American pastime.

Growing up as a Redskins fan, this was always one of the more exciting parts of the year for me. I guess that would be because it was a time when all of the new free agent signees the Redskins had picked up during the offseason would first be seen wearing the burgundy and gold. Of course, things would all go downhill from there (see: Jeff George, Deion Sanders, Adam Archuleta, Brandon Lloyd).

But now, things have changed for me — and seemingly for the Redskins, who showed restraint this offseason. While I wont pretend that I'm not excited to see LaRon Landry and London Fletcher out at Redskins Park, I am just as excited to see what other story lines will play out during this NFL season.

But first let me explain why the start of training camps and all the "things to watch" are even more important than usual this summer. For the last two weeks or so, I'd have to say that as an avid sports fan and aspiring sports journalist I have been let down by the world of American sports. It seems that everywhere I turn there is a scandal — whether it be Barry Bonds' ruthless and steroid-tainted assault on Hank Aaron's all-time home run record or Tim Donaghy's shameless gambling on basketball games that he refereed — the sports world seems more negatively-charged than ever.

And the negativity did not avoid the NFL. The story that hit closest to home for me was Michael Vick's alleged dog fighting charges. As a native of Virginia and the brother of a Virginia Tech Class of 2005 graduate, I had watched Vick energize the Hokie Nation as a quarterback in 2000 and 2001 as my sister prepared to head off to school. And in the wake of the tragedies in Blacksburg, VA, I felt that the shadow cast by Vick's alleged involvement was just plain disappointing.

It's difficult to hear the alleged monstrosities that occurred on Vick's land and regardless of how often Vick was present (and according to Lester Munson on ESPN.com, and a former professor of mine, things don't look good for the Falcons QB), the mere indictment of the NFL star simply piles on to what has to be considered one of the worst summers in sports history.

At a time now where Vick's case has been covered and covered (as it should be), the question of what the Falcons should do has been established as one of the top stories to watch this year. It is also the reason why things as trivial as whether Tom Brady gets along with Randy Moss or what impact Trent Green will have on the Dolphins or how Vince Young will look in his sophomore campaign will have the utmost importance. It gives us a break from the current depressed state of sports.

For me, the opportunity for some solace will be embraced. And some of the stories I'll be keeping my eye on are:

NY Giants Minus Tiki Barber = Uh oh?

Eli Manning surely hasn't developed as fast as many scouts predicted he might and as the New York media and fans demand. And it isn't going to get any easier on him now with the absence of RB Tiki Barber. Of course, by absence, I mean on-field. I have a feeling Barber's presence will be felt in the Giants locker room every time he opens his mouth at his new gig at NBC. Regardless, Giants fans will have to keep an eye on whether RB Brandon Jacobs is ready to take the reigns as a feature back. I, for one, believe he is. He has shown the ability to make plays and is obviously a true scoring threat anytime the Giants are in the red zone. Still, Manning's play this year will be one topic that is truly worth watching.

San Fran Back in the Picture?

It's been a while since the days of Steve Young and Jerry Rice, but I have a feeling that the 49ers might be a major player in the NFC West. I love the work they've done building this team and the results started to show last year. Now with the addition of Nate Clements and Michael Lewis in their secondary and the continued development of RB Frank Gore and QB Alex Smith, I think the Niners will be one of the teams to watch this year.

Can Arizona Finally Break Through?

They have all the weapons offensively, Matt Leinart will be in his second season after picking up valuable experience, and they've been the upset special pick for the last few years. What could put them over the edge this year? When I was at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis in February, I had a chance to speak with coach Ken Whisenhunt and there is a definite manner about him that makes you feel like he is a winner. He is one of the top offensive minds in the league and with all the talent around him in Phoenix, I can't help but think that he will help the Cardinals pick up a few more wins this year.

Will Detroit's Offense Lead Them to the Playoffs?

You have to love Detroit's weapons and ability to go four wide and make opposing defenses shudder with the talent at WR. You've got Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson split out with Mike Furrey in the slot and Shaun McDonald across from him. So basically, either Williams or Johnson will get single coverage. Gotta love that if you're Jon Kitna, right? And who better to lead such a dynamic offense then Mike Martz, the innovator of the "Greatest Show on Turf" in St. Louis. I like Detroit this year to surprise people.

Sexy Rexy and Hester on Offense

Another NFC North team to watch is the defending NFC champion Chicago Bears. Rex Grossman's ability to play more consistently will be key for the Bears this year if they want to take the next step to elite team and really challenge for a Super Bowl title. But for me, one of the most fun things to watch will be Devin Hester's adjustment to the offensive side of the ball. The dynamic kick returner, who wowed fans last year with his ability to turn nothing into something whenever he had his hands on the ball, will get a chance to do so even more this year. The Bears expect to use Hester in the mold of a Reggie Bush, giving the playmaker a chance to do just that: make plays. I definitely don't think it'd be a bad fantasy pickup at the very least.

So there you go: five things to distract you from dog fighting and tainted refs and juiced home run kings. Of course, those are just five small examples out of many story lines. There's oh so much to watch. From Matt Schaub in Houston to L.T.'s continued dominance in San Diego to Thomas Jones impact in New York to the return of Donovan McNabb. And that's what there is to love about sports. With all the bad that can seem at times to drown out the beauty of games, there's plenty of good to keep an eye on, too.

Merry football season to all.

Posted by Paul Tenorio at 11:35 AM | Comments (2)

2007 NFL Preview: Cincinnati Bengals

Looking At 2006 In the Rear View Mirror

After winning the AFC North in 2005, the Cincinnati Bengals were on track to become a Super Bowl contender in 2006. But in the offseason, the Bengals had more arrests than a full season of "The Wire" and stepped backward instead of forwards. After winning 11 games in '05, they topped out at eight last year.

Entailing the league's fourth-best scoring offense, the Bengals' main focus in the offseason was supposed to be the defense.

Management did address a few issues — signing veteran tackle Sam Adams, safety Dexter Jackson, and drafting cornerback Johnathan Joseph — but improvements were scant.

In '05, the defense allowed 338.7 yards-per-game and that average jumped to 355.1 in '06.

Part of the problem was right in the heart of the defense, where the Bengals were counting on the growth of two young linebackers: David Pollack and Odell Thurman.

Thurman was suspended for the year after a drunken driving charged was tacked onto a long laundry list, while Pollack was also gone for the season with a neck injury (suffered in Week 1).

The Bengals were seemingly left thin but versatile backup Landon Johnson, along with former CFL player Rashad Jeanty and supplemental draft pick Ahmad Brooks; they had solid seasons at linebacker.

The back end of the defense turned from strength to weakness in 2006, mostly because of substandard seasons from cornerbacks Deltha O'Neal and Tory James.

O'Neal, who went to the Pro Bowl in 2005, lost his confidence.

The result was that the Bengals' defense, which used a league-leading 44 takeaways and 31 interceptions in 2005 to mask deficiencies, didn't manufacture nearly as many drive-stopping plays in 2006. In both of the last two seasons, the Bengals have given up a ton of yardage, but takeaways ended drives in 2005; those stops turned into points in 2006.

On offense, Palmer was not rusty at all and wasn't hampered mentally by his major knee injury. The Bengals came flying out of the gate with three wins, but quickly lost the wind in their sails when they followed that up with a 1-5 stretch.

Reflecting back on their schedule, the Bengals were a very similar outfit to the 2005 unit. For the most part, they beat the teams they should have, such as Cleveland, Oakland, and Carolina, and lost to more formidable opponents, such as New England, Indianapolis, San Diego, and Denver.

Cincy's offense was clearly limited by a couple of key injuries. On the offensive line, the Bengals had no rhythm as Richie Braham and Willie Anderson struggled to stay healthy. Another key loss was in the backfield, where the Bengals were without third-down back Chris Perry. He is an underrated weapon, but has only played in 22 games in three seasons.

Heading forward, the Bengals offense is Super Bowl-ready. Now it's just a matter of whether defensive guru Marvin Lewis can get the defense to a similar level.

Using Letters to Break Down Numbers: Rush Defense

After observing the talent on the Bengals' defense, one might ask themselves the question: why has this unit ranked among the five worst defenses in the NFL during the past two seasons?

Tory James and Deltha O'Neal are decent, Madieu Williams and Dexter Jackson are a good tandem at safety, the linebacking corps is loading with young up-and-coming prospects, and the Bengals have two quality ends in Robert Geathers and Justin Smith.

And you would be right with that observation.

But where the Bengals have been weak is right in the middle of their defensive line.

On the surface, the rushing defense might not look so bad. It finished ranked 15th overall. But as you look at the yards-per-carry average (4.2, ranked 20th), rushing first downs (109, ranked 22nd), and rushing touchdowns allowed (15, ranked 24th), the defense starts to creep into the lower half.

The signing of Sam Adams, a big road block tackle, was supposed to plug some of these holes, but he was not the solution.

The more you examine the statistics from the rushing defense, the more it is evident that the performance of the rushing defense was critical in determining wins or losses.

In the Bengals' eight wins, they allowed only two teams to top 100 yards rushing. In those wins, they permitted 84.5 yards on the ground per game.

In the Bengals' eight losses, all eight opponents surpassed 100 net yards rushing and the Bengals allowed 148 yards rushing per game — a difference of nearly 64 yards per game from their wins.

The side effects of being gashed by an opponent's ground game is that the all-important time of possession will be lost.

The Bengals' defense is in the same category as the Titans, Lions, Raiders, Bills, and Buccaneers when it comes to spending time on the field. No defense spends more time than those six squads.

At times last year, the Bengals' offense was frustrated on the sidelines watching their opponent bludgeon the defense. And when the offense stepped on the field, they were out of rhythm.

For the Bengals to be a Super Bowl contender, the time of possession scales need to be tipped in the opposite direction.

Addressing the Defensive Tackles

One of the Bengals priorities in the offseason was upgrading the position that I was just talking about: the defensive tackles.

The first order of business was parting ways with Adams, who was over-the-hill to begin with, but never met expectations.

The Bengals have a contingency plan in second-year prospect, Domata Peko, who earned playing time ahead of Adams last year. The coaches are high on him, which should indicate an upgrade at the starting level.

The Bengals also added Kenderick Allen, a noted run-stuffer, and Michael Myers for depth. As the Bengals were getting worn down last year, depth was not a luxury at this position. The Bengals still don't have anyone to push the pocket at this position, but they should be stronger against the run.

The Rest of the Defense

It has been five years since the Bengals have finished with more than 37 sacks as a defense and it will undoubtedly be one of the bigger concerns heading into 2007.

They finished with 35 last year, but half of them came from two defensive ends, Justin Smith and Robert Geathers, while only one other player finished with more than three.

There is a lot of talent around, but it can quickly go to waste if they have to defend for prolonged periods of time.

At cornerback, another first-round pick was spent to secure the passing defense. It should also help motivate O'Neal, who struggled last season. At the back end of the secondary, with Madieu Williams fresh off a bounce-back season (88 TKL, 3 INT, 2 FF), there is confidence in the safety tandem, although they might miss the versatility of Kevin Kaesviharn, who left as a free agent.

At linebacker, the Bengals will once again be without David Pollack for the season, but they should have the depth to deal with that loss this time. More importantly than anything, there isn't a ton of juggling at this position and the three or four players who will be battling for starter's roles know who they are and what their potential roles will be. Last season, the Bengals had to shift players around because of unexpected circumstances (Pollack injury, Thurman suspension). The return of Thurman should provide a big boost; he led the team in tackles two years ago.

How Good is the Bengals' Offense?

In 2005, just before Carson Palmer's knee injury, the Bengals' offense was clicking and looked as lethal as the Colts' unit.

Fast forward a season rife with suspension and injuries and we're left wondering if the Bengals can regain their 2005 form and continue to climb higher.

The answer to that question is the same answer that Lindsay Lohan gives to cocaine (allegedly): yes.

The Bengals' offensive line was a top-five unit prior to last season and is still a premier front five, even though they lost guard Eric Steinbach. There is a lot of continuity and chemistry here.

Palmer has spent an offseason working with his receivers, instead of rehabbing, and, like most of the weapons on this offense, is just entering his prime.

Behind him is the steady Rudi Johnson, who has topped 1,300 yards rushing for three seasons in a row, but gets little acclaim on this offense. He has the luxury of following a Pro Bowl fullback in Jeremi Johnson.

The Bengals could really use Chris Perry's versatility, but he will likely start the season battling ankle and shin injuries. His speed, outside running, and receiving skills compliment Rudi Johnson very well.

But considering the Bengals spent a second-round pick on Auburn running back Kenny Irons, they may not be so confident in his return.

The wide receivers will be without Chris Henry (suspension) for the first eight games of the season, but they should be more prepared to replace him this year. Antonio Chatman and Tab Perry have been working to plug the No. 3 hole at wide receiver.

At the top of the food chain, receivers Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmanzadeh still haven't maxed out and will continue to get better. Johnson can — and has — done better than last year's totals (1,369 receiving, 7 TD), while Houshmanzadeh has worked on his route-running and should narrow the yards disparity between him and Johnson.

The real difference-maker, though, is Chris Henry. As immature as he is off the field, he makes this passing game virtually impossible to defend. Without a threatening receiving tight end, Henry is the team's best red zone option. He has 15 touchdowns In 27 career games and seven of his nine touchdowns last season came in the red zone.

Regular Season Win Total: O/U 9

As mentioned before, the Bengals don't have much trouble stomping the have nots of the NFL and struggle versus quality opponents. But after struggling through an extremely difficult schedule in 2006, the Bengals have a much easier path to the playoffs this year.

The Bengals face only four teams that finished with winning records: @Seattle, New England, NY Jets, and Baltimore.

The Bengals will be favored in home contests versus Arizona, Tennessee, St. Louis, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh, which should be considered wins. Throw in a split with Baltimore and a split in the two NE/NYJ home games, which leaves the Bengals three games short of the Over.

On the road, the Bengals go to Cleveland, Seattle, Kansas City (after a bye), Buffalo, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Miami.

At worst, this should be a push, but the over looks good.

Biggest Weakness: Experience — This is a team with huge expectations, but does not have a lot of playoff experience. On defense, the Bengals are going young almost everywhere, which could provide inconsistency.

Offensive X-Factor: Chris Henry — Without a decent pass-catching tight end, and without Chris Perry, the Bengals don't have a third option in the passing game. Henry is that guy and he's pretty good — when he is not suspended.

Defensive X-Factor: Odell Thurman — He's a gifted playmaker from sideline-to-sideline. The Bengals need him to make more game-altering plays on defense.

Fantasy Market: Buy Low

While Chad Johnson will be among the first wideouts taken in your fantasy draft, don't sweat it so much if you are like that guy in the NFL Network commercials, trying to pronounce T.J. Houshmanzadeh's name several rounds later. He is slighted that he doesn't get nearly as much credit as Johnson does and has put in a lot of time to polish up his game in the offseason. Look for his numbers to be much closer to Johnson's this year.

"Vegas" Dave Golokhov hosts "THE Fantasy Show" on Hardcore Sports Radio, channel 186 on Sirius Satellite Radio, beginning September. Send media requests, thoughts, love letters, or hate mail to [email protected].

Posted by Dave Golokhov at 11:03 AM | Comments (0)

July 28, 2007

NBA Refs Crooked? You Bet!

Tim Donaghy has made many an enemy over the last several days. I imagine two of them are named Justin Wolfers and Joseph Price.

Those names may not jog any memories, but their work will: they are the authors of a study, from a sample of NBA box scores taken between 1991 and 2004, which claimed white referees called fouls against black players more than they did against white players.

Fire up the paper-shredder, because that debate is over: NBA referees aren't racist ... they're just point-shaving crooks.

Donaghy resigned after 13 years as an NBA official after being targeted by the FBI for allegedly betting on games; both ones he officiated and ones in which he did not work. It's the nightmare scenario for any professional sports organization: that moment in which the ticket-buying public realizes there is a very good chance that the outcomes of the games they are attending have been predetermined.

As soon as I heard about the Donaghy scandal, my first reaction turned out to be exactly what the NBA decided to plead: "isolated case." (You can take the boy out of PR, but you can't take the PR out of the boy I suppose.) David Stern referred to his former employee as a "rogue, isolated criminal," which made me wonder if he (or his speechwriter) has been watching too many episodes of "24" on DVD lately.

I watched half of Stern's press conference, and listened to the rest on the radio. The entire time I felt like I was watching my high-school principal — those authoritative models of morality — talking to TV reporters about the kid who got picked up by the cops for bringing a gun to class. There was this weary, "how the **** did I get here?" quality to his performance that spoke volumes about the damage Donaghy has done to the NBA and to the commissioner personally.

Aside from what this all means for Stern's legacy, the most prominent question being asked at this point is what the Donaghy deception means for fans. Can we still trust the officials? Can we still trust the league?

You mean we were supposed to trust them in the first place?

Isn't it assumed, at least by cynical bastards like me, that the refs are biased, the players are competing for their own motivations and that the games are made-for-TV infomercials for sneakers and mesh shorts?

I have to laugh when I hear pundits openly wonder about the fate of the Association if more than just one referee was shaving points, adding points, called phantom fouls, or other chicanery; as if the notion of a referee calling his own game is somehow a deal-breaker between the league and the paying public.

Seriously, take gambling out of the equation with Donaghy, and what are you left with? A referee calling the game based on what he wants to see happen.

STOP THE PRESSES!

You mean there are officials in the NBA that will call a foul because he felt he missed one before? There are referees that might try and lend a helping hand to a team on the ropes with a friendly call? There are guardians of the rule of law that maybe — just maybe — would call a personal or technical foul on a player just because they don't like the guy?

I'm not trying to make light of the blatant criminality of Donaghy's transgressions, or their injurious affect on the league. But stripped of their scandalous distinctiveness, this is a referee doing what most fans believe officials in their respective sports do anyway: following their own internal script for what should happen. Donaghy's script allegedly called for two teams to combine for a certain number of points or for one team to win by a certain margin. Another official's script might call for two hated rivals to go to overtime in a tight game, or for a superstar to play on despite earning his fifth foul at the end of the third quarter. Different motivations, same result: the natural progression of the game is derailed by subjective human emotion or illogic.

If David Stern and the NBA learn anything from this, it's that the media and fans really do enjoy the notion that every call from every ref is available for review by the league. And that we won't be heartbroken if the NBA comes out and claims some of its most stalwart employees are actually quite biased when it comes to patterns of officiating — especially if that means some of them receive their walking papers. It doesn't mean they're on the take or they have money on the game; it simply means they aren't rising to the level of impartiality and consistency their job, and the NBA's paying customers, demand. It starts with basketball — hockey, football, and baseball fans could only be so lucky to see it continue in their respective leagues.

After reading the racial bias study for NBA referees, Mark Cuban told the NY Times, "We're all human. We all have our own prejudice."

Tim Donaghy might be an "isolated criminal," but his desire to call the game according to how he'd like to see it play out is far from an isolated behavior in the NBA or any other professional league.

Greg 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 10:04 AM | Comments (0)

July 27, 2007

Con-Vick-ted? The Courtroom Spectacle

Michael Vick's felony dogfighting trial promises to be the most watched courtroom drama of the summer, and it is inevitable that it will become a media circus. The clowns are on their way. Expect extensive coverage from all the major media outlets, as well as live coverage from Court TV. And expect the most compelling commentary by correspondents working on behalf of the news source that makes any news a media circus, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. The trial will definitely be dramatic, but here are some things that could happen that would send the Vick trial into the stratosphere of courtroom spectacles, on par with the O.J. Simpson murder trial.

— Vick appears in court dressed in his Falcons jersey, except instead of the No. 7, the jersey displays the number "K-9."

— The judge bans cameras from the courtroom, and demands installation of the Invisible Fence, and orders all media personnel to wear shock collars.

— After a particularly intense cross-examination by the prosecution, Vick bolts from the courtroom, eluding several security guards with his signature elusiveness, including a spin move that causes two guards to collide, and leads police on a low-speed chase in a white Ford Bronco driven by teammate and fellow animal abuser Jonathan Babineaux.

— Australian rockers AC/DC give an impromptu concert outside the federal building, following their 1979 hit "Highway to Hell" with their version of the Baha Men's "Who Let the Dogs Out?"

— The defense calls Pacman Jones as a character witness.

— NFL commissioner Roger Goodell takes a front row seat for the proceedings, sporting a stern countenance and an oversized gavel.

— Las Vegas oddsmakers list Vick as a 3-1 "underdog" to win his case.

— The prosecution raises reasonable doubt about Vick's skills as a pocket passer.

— The defense uses the fact that Vick has a poster of dogs playing poker in his entertainment room as a testament to his love of canines.

— To ensure that they remain in the jury room for deliberations, jurors are chained to car axles.

— The defense asks for the words "dog," "fighting," and "Ron Mexico" not to be uttered during the trial. The judge grants their wish, but only after receiving a signed football from Vick.

— The financial records of Bad Newz Kennels are subpoenaed by the prosecution, and they arrive almost immediately via the "Shred-It" truck, the industry leader in document destruction.

— Vick testifies that he was stunned to be indicted, adding that he took the Surry County, Virginia Tourist Bureau's motto, "What happens in Surry County, Virginia stays in Surry County, Virginia" just a bit too literally.

— Vick is greeted outside of court by protesters wielding giant, foam middle fingers.

— Vick has a two-gallon water bottle confiscated in court; the bottle is later found to have a secret compartment containing a can of Alpo, eight D-cell batteries, and a prison shank.

— Vick is found to be guilty, and the headline in USA Today reads "Guilty as 'Charged': Michael is a Con-Vicked." Had Vick been found innocent, editors at the newspaper had the headline "Electric Slide: Vick Gets Off" ready to go.

— Vick loses his case, and electrocutes his entire defense team.

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 11:40 AM | Comments (1)

2007 NFL Preview: Chicago Bears

Looking At 2006 In The Rear View

As the Chicago Bears took the NFC by storm in 2006, Kyle Orton, the fill-in at quarterback during the 2005 season, was forgotten like one of Jared's Subway sandwiches.

That was a good thing, though, as Rex Grossman started and finished the season healthy and provided some much needed balance to a team that was carried by their defense.

In 2005, the defense established itself as the best in the business when they carried an unsupportive offense to 11 wins and a playoff berth.

The defense had really grown up in 2005, but many of the prospects finally entered their prime in 2006.

Brian Urlacher had his first monster season since 2002, leading the team with 141 tackles. Lance Briggs was right there with him, notching 130 tackles, while adding 4 forced fumbles and 2 interceptions. Defensive tackle, Tommie Harris, was on-pace for an MVP-like season until a hamstring injury cut his season short.

While their big dogs led the way, the Bears' younger pups also stepped onto the scene with authority. Rookies Danieal Manning and Mark Anderson were vital contributors, while Devin Hester was quite simply a game-breaker.

What is interesting is that it is difficult to gage whether this defense has topped out, or whether they can play even better. The cornerbacks are steady, the defensive line is solid, but one can't help but wonder how much better they could have been with a full season from Harris and a healthy Mike Brown, who was limited to six games.

On offense, the Bears finally earned their harvest from Rex Grossman, who had yet to start more than three games in any of his three NFL seasons.

Overall, Grossman's numbers looks just above average, but the hidden story in his statistics was the disparity of how well he played during wins, and how poorly he performed in their losses.

While many of the Bears did some growing in 2006, one high draft pick, running back Cedric Benson, didn't do so much. He still couldn't pry the starting job away from Thomas Jones and as the playoffs rolled around, the coaching staff stuck with their trusted veteran.

Once the Bears locked up their playoff standing, and the games were less meaningful, Benson started to see the bulk of the carries (over the last four), which is where he accumulated more than half of the 647 rushing yards he finished with.

The offensive line was a stout unit and didn't give Grossman too much to worry about. The receiving corps, on the other hand, can't say the same.

Muhsin Muhammad looked like he had been drinking from whatever is the opposite of the Fountain of Youth. During his final season in Carolina, Muhammad caught 93 receptions, 1,405 yards, and 14 touchdowns. During his first two seasons in Chicago, he has 1,613 yards and 9 touchdowns. Muhammad is now nothing more than a possession receiver.

At the very least, though, he was consistent while the No. 2 role opposite him was not. Bernard Berrian was a legit deep threat, but not much more. Mark Bradley, who looked to be the more complete receiver, torn his ACL after seven games. Lost in the shuffle was tight end Desmond Clark's career season. He was a useful safety valve, with 35 of his 45 receptions being first down grabs.

Using Letters To Break Down Numbers: Rex Grossman

Since Brett Favre took over in Green Bay, the Bears have had more starting quarterbacks than Paris Hilton has had sex partners, but when one finally takes them to a 13-3 and a Super Bowl appearance, they want to run him out of town.

You'd think their standards would be lower, considering their history of quarterbacks, but I guess not.

Nonetheless, they are right in demanding more consistency out of Rex Grossman.

Grossman, on his own, accounted for 25 giveaways last year (20 INTs, 5 lost fumbles).

Coughing the ball up so much is dangerous, particularly as your team heads into the playoffs. So many coaches would tell you that they would prefer a guy who makes less plays and less mistakes, than a quarterback who is higher risk and higher reward.

That's what Grossman was last year. Here's how his stats breakdown in wins versus losses:

13 Wins:
57.9% completion percentage, 22 TD, 11 INT, 86.8 QB rating

3 Losses:
39.8% completion percentage, 1 TD, 9 INT, 19.3 QB rating

When you talk about inconsistency, Grossman's face should be next to the definition in the dictionary.

Five times in the first seven games, Grossman posted a QB rating higher than 100. But four other times last year, he finished with a QB rating lower than 36.8, including a 10.2 (at Arizona) and a 1.3 (vs. Minnesota).

The disturbing note about Grossman's performance was how he finished the season. In September and October, Grossman had a positive TD/INT ratio with ratings of 100.9 and 81.0. The last two months of the season, Grossman had negative TD/INT ratios with ratings of 57.1 and 64.4.

Granted, the Bears weren't playing for much by that point, but Grossman's confidence — as well as his teammates' confidence in him — was shaken. In the playoffs, Grossman was used mostly as a caretaker to avoid mistakes.

In fairness, this was Grossman's first full season as a starter, which means you can expect growing pains and you can expect more growth going further. That's what everyone in Chicago is counting on.

Will The Bears Be Better Or Worse In 2007?

Forget wins and losses, because success or failure will depend on whether they win the Super Bowl.

Defense

Considering the Bears lost Tank Johnson and are anticipating a 10-game holdout from Lance Briggs, the defense looks like it is going to take a hit. Briggs is really an underrated player still and rarely gets merit as one of the best outside linebackers in the game.

The Carolina Panthers were stung when they allowed their prime outside linebacker Will Witherspoon walk in free agency and the Bears will definitely feel a drop-off in production without Briggs.

When Briggs returns, which might be sooner than 10 games, you have to wonder how much he'll want to contribute to this team. Another situation to monitor the defensive end spot, where the Bears unsuccessfully tried to trade Alex Brown, and now demoted him.

The defense looked like it had a lot of chemistry last year and they don't want that to go sour.

But it is not all bad news for the defense; they will get back a healthy Mike Brown and acquired safety Adam Archuleta, who had his best seasons under Lovie Smith in St. Louis. The safety spots have been kind of weak the past few seasons, but now it should be a strength with plenty of depth around.

Danieal Manning is in his second season, which means he'll have a growing role, while the cornerback rotation of Charles Tillman, Ricky Manning, Jr., and Nathan Vasher is very good.

On the line is where the main concern should be. The Bears lost Tank Johnson, Ian Scott, and Alfonso Boone, which could regress the stout rush defense.

The Bears are counting on Dusty Dvoracek, a third-round pick from last season who spent the season injured, and newcomer Anthony Adams to fill their void. Johnson was an underrated asset last season and will be missed. The good news is that Tommie Harris is still around and he is just reaching his prime now but the Bears had such a deep rotation last year, which definitely won't be so strong this year.

On paper, the Bears look weaker up the middle and could be more susceptible to the run. But they should be stronger at safety, which will help offset the changes.

Offense

Donovan McNabb was not acquired, but the Bears offense should be much improved in 2007. At the very least, there are more weapons present.

Expect a more consistent season from Grossman, who has only had one real NFL season under his belt. Everyone is hoping that his injury-plagued past is in fact in his past, and will stay out of his present.

The Bears are counting on an old offensive line to hold up for one more season, which is getting close to pushing it. The youngest player on the offensive line, Robert Garza, is 28, while the other four starters are over 30. Ruben Brown is 35 and Fred Miller is 34, and both are subject to breakdown.

Keep an eye on this offensive line. It isn't a red flag — more orange right about now — but will derail all of the Bears Super Bowl hopes if they breakdown.

Grossman has new group of weapons, which should improve his performance.

First off, he'll be helped by the growth of Bradley and Berrian, both of whom are the future at wide receiver. With Muhammad, these three should give the Bears a reasonable trio. The passing game will also include Devin Hester, who has worked with the offense this offseason. He'll be used as a gadget option, likely sparingly, but in an effort to get him more touches.

At tight end, the Bears could have a formidable duo that will alleviate a lot of Grossman's burdens. We already know that Desmond Clark can find open spaces and has good hands, and first-round pick Greg Olsen can provide the explosive play. He also boasts top-notch speed, which will help after the catch.

Next to the quarterback position, the backfield is the second-most talked about position on this roster.

It's now the Cedric Benson show and it is finally time for him to take over. He is the prototypical pound-the-ball Bears running back and even though there is a lot of speculation, he'll be fine.

Adrian Peterson will be his No. 2, and could provide much of what Thomas Jones brought to the offense, in a limited role. Another x-factor on the offense will be Garrett Wolfe, who is an excellent receiver out of the backfield. Yes, he is undersized, but so is Maurice Jones-Drew. Wolfe can be a game-breaker and provides yet another safety valve for Grossman.

With Bradley back, along with the additions of Olsen, Wolfe, and Hester, this offense will have much more big-play capability. There is a lot more speed to go around and there is much more help for Grossman.

Prognosis

Simply put, if Lance Briggs returns and isn't too much of a distraction, the Bears are a better team this year. They probably won't win as many games but they won't care about the regular season accomplishments since they will only be focused on returning to the Super Bowl.

Biggest Weakness: Quarterback — It's Super Bowl or bust, which means Grossman has to provide more consistency.

Offensive X-Factor: Offensive line — The Bears' front five is old, but should be able to hold on for another year. If not, you can forget about any prolonged postseason plans.

Defensive X-Factor: Safeties — If Mike Brown stays healthy and Adam Archuleta regains his St. Louis Rams form, an improved secondary may make up for the loss of Tank Johnson and Briggs.

Fantasy Market: Buy Low

Not many people are showing confidence in Cedric Benson, mostly because he's been injury-prone at the pro level. Injuries are more of a luck thing, and considering Benson was rarely hurt in college, I would put too much stock into it. Benson is a power back and will have the bulk of the carries all to himself. More importantly, he won't be pulled for a different option in the red zone. After 1,500 yards and 10 touchdowns this season, he'll easily be a guy we talk about drafting in the first round come 2008.

"Vegas" Dave Golokhov hosts "THE Fantasy Show" on Hardcore Sports Radio, channel 186 on Sirius Satellite Radio, beginning September. Send media requests, thoughts, love letters, or hate mail to [email protected].

Posted by Dave Golokhov at 10:55 AM | Comments (2)

Will Cardinals Fold or Call? A Response

So here I am, minding my own business, grieving over the St. Louis Cardinals, getting ready for football season. And here comes fellow Sports Central writer Mike Round. He wants to break down what's gone wrong for the Cards and how things might play out between now and next season.

It's a reasonable subject for discussion. The Cards are the defending champs. And when the defending champs stink, it's a story. That's just the way it is.

But that doesn't mean I like it. Reading Round's column reminded me of the first time I visited the dentist after a five-year absence. Decay here. Root canal there. Pull those wisdom teeth.

I don't want to hear it. Leave me alone.

But you can only ignore poor dental hygiene for so long. Eventually, the slight discomfort becomes so painful and obvious you have to face facts. You've done what you've done, and now you have what you have.

It's the same with bad sports teams. You can pull for them all you want. You can turn your hat inside out, point to a silver lining and play the "what if" game. But the ending is the same.

Pain.

As it relates to the Cardinals, there are choices to be made. There's no more debate on buy or sell. It's selling time. The choice now is who.

And the questions go past next week's trade deadline. I know Albert Pujols will be at first base. I know Chris Carpenter has a long way back. Everywhere else, from Walt Jocketty to Tony La Russa to the last guy on the bench, there's uncertainty.

Not that anybody asked, but here's what I'd do:

Make sure Jocketty stays. The GM is the most important position in the organization. The Cards have a great one. Don't screw it up. Pay the man. Pay him big.

Trade Juan Encarnacion, call up Rick Ankiel, and hand him the full-time right field job. (This should happen as soon as possible.) Pencil Jim Edmonds in as the starting CF and hope like hell he stays healthy. Sign a better backup CF than So Taguchi, then get rid of So Taguchi. (Sorry, So. You've been a big part of the team. Thanks for everything.) It's not worth spending big on the position because Colby Rasmus, currently in Double A Springfield, should be ready to make the club in 2009. Chris Duncan stays in left. Ryan Ludwick stays on the team in a bench role. Skip Shumaker has to fight it out.

Scott Rolen stays. (The key is to shut him down now. Take the decision away. That's it. See you next spring.) You have to let David Eckstein walk. Nostalgic value aside, the back problems are only going to get worse. Make a hard play for Jack Wilson from Pittsburgh. If you don't get him, push Jarrett Hoffpauir (Triple A Memphis) early and suffer through the growing pains. Brendan Ryan stays. Adam Kennedy gets another shot. (They never should have let Mark Grudzielanek walk.) Albert Pujols isn't going anywhere ever, and Mike Round should take care never to mention the possibility again.

As for the rotation, they have to spend. Chris Carpenter's injury was the single worst thing to happen to any team this season. He's the guts of the staff. And since he's not coming back for a while, they need new guts.

Mark Mulder is supposed to come back in Oakland form, but I need to see it before I get my hopes up. I have full faith in Adam Wainwright. I still think Anthony Reyes can be good, though I'm not sure it'll be under Dave Duncan (sometimes he just doesn't mesh with guys). Kip Wells has been demonstrably better in his last two starts, for whatever that's worth.

Going into next season, the front of the rotation should be Mulder (there aren't going to be any true number ones on the market), big free agent signing (there should be some solid number twos), Wainwright. The four and five spots are between Wells, Reyes, Braden Looper (1.91 ERA over five April starts before falling apart), and whomever else they sign in free agency. You bring back Carp late in '08, really just to get him ready to hit the ground running in '09.

I'll say it again: they have to spend.

Jason Isringhausen stays. He's been fantastic this year. There's no way Jocketty gets enough back to make the loss of Izzy worthwhile. The rest of the 'pen will be solid again, especially with the healthy return of Josh Kinney and Tyler Johnson.

I honestly hope La Russa comes back. I've disagreed with him more times than I can count, but, for all the stuff that's happened to this team, they haven't packed it in. There's some frustration that bubbles to the surface now and then (especially with the media), but that's completely normal for a team suffering through this kind of cursed season. In true St. Louis fashion, they still play hard. They still care. Credit La Russa. (Also, I know he can win. That counts for a lot.)

I'm no longer praying for the impossible. The past two nights against the Cubs have proved what most other people already knew: the Cardinals just aren't a good enough baseball team. There's no miracle run, no "everybody gave up on us but us" rally. When the playoffs start, the Cardinals will not be participants. These are the facts we must face.

Next year, though. Next year we've got a chance.

Seth Doria is a freelance writer in St. Louis. For daily news and notes on sports and entertainment, check out The Left Calf.

Posted by Joshua Duffy at 10:21 AM | Comments (5)

July 26, 2007

Why No One Will Win Super Bowl XLII

Five Quick Hits

* The more information becomes available concerning Michael Vick and dog-fighting, the more likely it seems that Vick is guilty of some truly atrocious behavior. The whole thing is incredibly inhumane, of course, but the allegations against Vick describe cruelty that is just plain inhuman.

* The Commissioner's Office is right to withhold a regular-season suspension until Vick is found guilty. But if he is, the league needs to act quickly with a multi-game suspension.

* I think the NFL will ultimately be glad to have a policy in place for punishing players who make negative headlines off the field, but it's a shame that the biggest NFL stories this offseason have involved such incidents.

* Only months after Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning led the Colts to a feel-good Super Bowl win, the only story bigger than the year-long suspension of Pacman Jones is the dog-fighting indictment of Vick.

* Speaking of multi-game suspensions: Dear Tank Johnson, Way to end your career. Sincerely, Brad.

***

The first regular-season game of the 2007 NFL season is about a month and a half away now, and predictions about the season are starting to roll in. I'll make mine at the end of preseason, but I already know this: no team is good enough to win Super Bowl XLII. The game will be held next February 3, in Glendale, Arizona. Many teams are hopeful, and given the lack of top-level competition, that's appropriate, but no one is dominant enough to actually win the big game. I'll grant that there might be a few teams good enough to make it to the conference championship games, but that's it.

Now, I realize most people probably consider it unlikely that no one will win this year's Super Bowl. But I can prove, team by team, that there's not a contender out there. Let's start with last year's champs.

Indianapolis Colts — The Colts have some legitimate reasons for believing they can compete in 2007. They've kept last year's coaching staff intact. They still have the league's best quarterback, Peyton Manning. And if they have Bob Sanders and Booger McFarland in uniform all season, the defense should look a lot more like it did in last year's postseason than in last year's regular season.

But Indianapolis has lost a ton of talent in the last few months. Monte Reagor, Cato June, and Nick Harper all left the team in free agency. Reagor's departure cancels out the addition of McFarland, and in June and Harper, the Colts lost their best linebacker and best cornerback, respectively. On offense, Tarik Glenn might retire and Dominic Rhodes is gone. Joseph Addai seems like a very capable running back, but Rhodes was a nice change of pace — a power runner who could give Addai a breather and wear down defenders. If Glenn quits, expect a lot more sacks and interceptions in Indianapolis. Marvin Harrison is still around, but he's a year older, and receivers not named Jerry Rice tend to slow down after they've been in the league for a decade.

On top of all this, the rest of the AFC South has caught up to the Colts. Last year, Indianapolis lost every road game in its division, including the team's first-ever loss to the Houston Texans. Even the wins, other than a Week 2 romp over Houston, were nail-biters. Without a strong division record to help get homefield in the playoffs, the Colts may be in trouble. You can't make a miracle run two seasons in a row.

Chicago Bears — What a mess. The offense lost its most explosive player, Thomas Jones, this offseason. Rex Grossman is still the starting quarterback. Ian Scott signed with the Eagles, all-pro LB Lance Briggs still has beefs with management, and Tank Johnson is definitely gone. Take a disappointing Super Bowl team, subtract a few of its best players, and add no major impact signings. If the NFC North shows any signs of life this year, Chicago might not even make the playoffs.

New England Patriots — This is the one everybody has fallen in love with. New England was a good team last year, and this offseason, they've added a ton of talent, including Adalius Thomas, Wes Welker, Donte Stallworth, and Randy Moss. Will Tom Brady ever get to throw to the same receivers for two years in a row? How can the Patriots expect their passing game to click if they're relying on a huge question mark (Moss), a smaller question mark (Stallworth), and a gritty but unspectacular third receiver whose biggest value comes on special teams (Welker)? Reche Caldwell is still around, but I have a feeling that if Moss and Stallworth don't pan out — by which I mean Moss has to play the way he did four long years ago, and Stallworth needs to play the way he did last season — Brady is going to throw a lot of passes to his tight ends.

I won't fault the Pats for rolling the dice on those receivers, though it would have been nice to preserve a little more familiarity for Brady. But when a team adds as many key players — guys who figure to start — as New England has, it normally takes a season for everything to gel. I know I faulted the Colts and Bears for losing too much key talent, and now I'm criticizing New England for adding too many good players, but can't any contender just hold on to what it has and maybe bring in one or two key additions? For all the teams that talk about being "one player away", it would be nice to see someone go get that "one player" and leave everything else alone.

Anyway, point is, the Patriots have made too many changes to expect immediate success this season. And I'll be shocked if Moss is effective as more than a role-player and a decoy.

New Orleans Saints — In 2005, the Saints went 3-13, finishing last in the NFC South and earning the second pick in the NFL Draft. Last year, the Saints were 10-6, and won their division. I mention this because in 2006, only five teams had an easier strength of schedule than New Orleans. That won't be the case this year, and teams with miracle seasons tend to regress at least a little bit the next year. I think the Saints will be good, and I don't know who else could win the NFC South, but it's unrealistic to expect a Super Bowl.

San Diego Chargers — Last season they were great, but last year's head coach is gone. So are the offensive and defensive coordinators. Next.

Baltimore Ravens — Finally, a good team that pretty much left things alone. The Ravens were 13-3 last year, and the 2007 starting lineup should be pretty similar to the '06 version. The most notable differences will be the absence of Adalius Thomas — which really hurts — and the replacement of Jamal Lewis with Willis McGahee, which shouldn't make much difference either way.

Here's the problem: Baltimore is the one elite team that really needed to make some changes. Last season, I thought the Ravens were too old to be competitive. Four of the team's projected offensive starters will be at least 33 years old when the season starts. More than half of the projected defensive starters are over 30. The leaders on both sides of the ball —Steve McNair and Ray Lewis — are a combined 66 years old, and both are injury-prone. Too old, too many question marks. And too tough a division in the nasty AFC North.

Seattle Seahawks — Is anyone even picking them to win their division this year? Besides probably me next month, I mean. This is a team that has made some moves, and has some good, young players, especially on defense. It's hard to find major upgrades, but Seattle replaced Grant Wistrom with Patrick Kerney, and filled the welcome departure of Jerramy Stevens with the less explosive, but more solid Marcus Pollard.

The team also lost its best receiver, Darrell Jackson, to a division rival. Shaun Alexander is broken and will probably never be an elite runner again. Don't draft him in your fantasy league. And there's still no left guard to replace Steve Hutchinson. Are the Seahawks a contender in the weak NFC? Sure. Can they win the Super Bowl? Uh, no.

New York Jets — They made the playoffs last year. Remember that? And they'll bring pretty much the same team in 2007 that they did last season, except that this time they'll have a running back. Finally, a team that brought in one big impact player to put them over the top. Glendale, here we come! The problem: the Jets weren't "one player away" last season. This might be a team to watch, but even if Chad Pennington stays healthy — which has never happened two years in a row — New York still looks more like a spoiler than a contender.

Philadelphia Eagles — This is a genuinely intriguing team. At its best last season, Philadelphia looked like it could play with anyone in the league. So it's a shame that the Eagles have little reason to believe they'll be as good as last season. Donovan McNabb is a top-five NFL QB when he's healthy, which is only a little more often than Pennington. Last season, the Eagles had Jeff Garcia ready to take over when McNabb got hurt, and Philly actually played its best football with Garcia under center. This season, the backups are A.J. Feeley and rookie Kevin Kolb. If McNabb isn't 100%, you can rule out the Eagles on quarterback play alone. If McNabb is healthy, he can throw the ball to ... pretty much just Brian Westbrook, because Stallworth left for New England and the Eagles still don't have any wide receivers. Oh, and check this out: Correll Buckhalter is supposed to be the short-yardage back.

Kansas City Chiefs — They made the playoffs last year, so I'm listing them, but if you think this team has any realistic chance of contending for Super Bowl XLII, then you bleed whatever colors the Chiefs wear. Silver and black, isn't it?

Dallas Cowboys — Tony Romo was awful at the end of last season, the offensive line is suspect, both starting receivers are 33, and new head coach Wade Phillips cannot handle the ticking time bomb that is Terrell Owens.

New York Giants — Tiki Barber retired, Eli Manning is still the quarterback, and everyone on the team hates head coach Tom Coughlin.

Cincinnati Bengals — It's tempting to think of the Bengals as a serious sleeper, until you look at their offseason and current roster. The interior offensive line is a mess. The defensive line is Justin Smith and a bunch of guys who should be warming a bench somewhere. If Odell Thurman doesn't play, the linebacking corps figures to be among the worst in the league. And with the absences of Chris Henry (eight-game suspension) and Kelley Washington (another new Patriot), Cincinnati — which loves to go three- and four-wide at the receiver position — has limited options in the passing game.

Pittsburgh Steelers — The champs of Super Bowl XL had a down season last year, but if Ben Roethlisberger can recapture his old form, there's every reason to believe the Steelers can compete at the highest level. The main concerns are offensive line — where standout center Jeff Hartings retired, and all-pro left guard Alan Faneca is unhappy — and coaching staff. Longtime head coach Bill Cowher has at least temporarily retired. Highly-regarded offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt is the new coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Assistant head coach Russ Grimm followed Whisenhunt to Arizona. New head coach Mike Tomlin is only 34 years old, and last year served as defensive coordinator for the Vikings, who had the league's best run defense and worst pass defense. Too many ifs.

Tennessee Titans — The offense is Vince Young and a bunch of mediocre or unproven players. Young needs to improve his accuracy as a passer. They're a year or two away.

Jacksonville Jaguars — They're consistent quarterback play away. The defense is a mix of legit stars and no-name question marks. Not enough consistency.

Denver Broncos — They've made some nice pickups, but they've also lost some key players. The right side of the offensive line is a huge question mark. The defensive line has been overhauled and lacks depth, especially in the middle. Al Wilson's absence leaves a huge hole at middle linebacker. Unless Jay Cutler turns into John Elway, the Broncos won't have nearly enough firepower to compete with the AFC's best.

***

That eliminates over half the league (17 teams), including every NFC team that made the playoffs last season, and every AFC team that finished without a losing record. The Colts, Patriots, Chargers, and Jets probably have the least reason for pessimism, but it seems clear that no one in the NFL is good enough to win it all this season.

Thus, my prediction today is that Super Bowl XLII will be won by the Boise State Broncos.

Posted by Brad Oremland at 11:50 AM | Comments (3)

The Beauty of Basking in Barry

I apologize in advance for this column. It will not be particularly original, and I'm sure this will be one of many, many articles celebrating the glory surrounding Major League Baseball today. But I just can't help myself. So be it if I am one of many identical staccato drumbeats. I am moved like I have never been moved before as a sports fan, and comment on it I must.

Baseball has been America's game for more than a century, but those of us who occupy this particular space and time are very lucky indeed. For the baseball fan, whatever sorrows infiltrate his life, no matter the despair and the horror that may beset him, at least he gets to experience, firsthand, Barry Bonds' remarkable run to the home run record. The nation — the world — chants in unison: go, Barry, go!

Is there a better player, a better dignitary, a better man to accept the torch from Hank Aaron? No one immediately comes to mind. From his humble beginnings in San Mateo, California to his rise to superstardom, Barry has smiled, and the world has smiled with him.

There are so many uplifting messages from the Barry Bonds story, that it's hard to single out one for importance. But if I had to, it would be, "It's never too late to be great."

According to research done by noted historian Bill James, baseball players peak at around 27. When he was 27, Barry was already a star. At 37, however, he proved to the world that it doesn't take a young buck to do extraordinary things. All it takes is drive, dedication, and passion. It is with these tools that Barry redefined what it means to be a baseball player in his late 30s, shattering the single-season home run record and besting his previous-and-since best by 27 homers. Now that's determination!

I think a lot players achieving such an unthinkable feat at such an advanced age would get a big head about it. But not Barry. Humility is his watchword, and while his self-effacing style is enough to melt the most jaundiced and cynical among us, even more praiseworthy is his candor. Sure, he is always unfailingly graceful and polite and ready with a smile, but has he ever turned down an interview? It can't be easy being Barry. Every night, he carries the dreams of millions of young kids the world over on his shoulders, kids who would like nothing more than to be just like him — something, I imagine, their parents would be pretty fine with, too.

And it's with those children in mind that I solemnly pray that Barry breaks the record on a Saturday during the day. No kid, no matter how early his bedtime, should miss this. It's something they will be telling their grandkids about in 60 years. And they will say, "It wasn't the home run record that was so special. It was the man."

Barry, you have inspired us and elevated us for what seems like forever. It goes without saying that the nation hopes you never retire (and who says he doesn't have many more productive years left? Did you doubt him at 37?). When the day finally comes when you do hang it up, please don't take yourself away from us. You've already given us the miracles of a hundred heroes, and to ask for more would be selfish. Still, I must humbly suggest a career in politics would benefit both you and the nation. We are not done loving you, Barry, and will not be for a very long age.

But that's tomorrow, and this is today. Just keep smiling and break that home run record. It's all a battered nation, weary from war, can ask for.

One more thing, Mr. Bonds: thank you.

Posted by Kevin Beane at 11:23 AM | Comments (0)

July 25, 2007

2007 NFL Preview: Carolina Panthers

Looking At 2006 In The Rear View Mirror

The Carolina Panthers were supposed to be one of the NFC's top outfits last season, but once they stepped onto they field, they were a bigger disappointment than the Amanda Beard Playboy spread.

The Panthers, who looked fairly sexy at all the skill positions, just didn't have the muscle upfront to compete in the trenches.

Starting left tackle Travelle Wharton tore his ACL in Week 1 and free agent center Justin Hartwig also was lost for the season in the opener.

With the front five in flux, the Panthers were immediately reeling right off the bat.

They had two tough, early losses — at home to Atlanta in Week 1 and on the road in Week 2 in Minnesota — that stung. The Panthers have always recovered in the face of adversity and they did again, winning their next four games.

But as the Panthers battled through a see-saw season, it became evident that they weren't going to compete for any trophies.

With shaky protection up front, Jake Delhomme's numbers dipped a little bit. He starting making uncharacteristically poor decisions and really hurt the team several fourth quarters (versus Cincinnati and Philadelphia).

In fairness, he didn't receive much help in the running game or passing game.

The Panthers spent a first-round pick on DeAngelo Williams in 2006, in hopes that he would team with DeShaun Foster to add a consistent ground attack.

Neither was exactly lethal as the Panthers averaged 103.7 rushing yards per game, amassing only 7 rushing touchdowns (only Tampa Bay and Oakland had less).

On defense, the theme of injury continued as the Eric Lindros of the NFL, linebacker Dan Morgan, suffered yet another concussion, missing 15 games in 2006. There is no question that Morgan is a gifted playmaker when he is on the field, but he can't shake a harrowing concussion history.

The Panthers found it tough to replace Morgan in the middle, though a better contingency plan should have been in place.

On the line, the Panthers opened their wallet for free agent tackle Ma'ake Kemoeatu, who underwhelmed in his first year. Factor in a season-long injury to Jordan Carstens and a late-season injury to Mike Rucker, and the Panthers were as beaten up on the front lines as anybody.

To put in plainly, the Carolina Panthers were one hell of an overrated squad heading into last season.

That fact, combined with injuries, kept the Panthers from the playoffs, but this coming year will pose them with the proverbial two roads diverging from the woods: are they a team that is on the ascent or on the decline?

2007's Worst Case Scenario

Expectations are still high in Carolina, considering that the Panthers have visited the NFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl twice of the last four years, but they have a ton of questions to answer if they plan to meet those lofty goals.

Dan Morgan...? The Panthers' stud middle linebacker has missed 40 of 96 games as a pro. Though he's been cleared to play, the Panthers cannot rely on this player long-term, especially since he has yet to play all 16 games in any of his six seasons. Also, one can't help but wonder if his concussion history is now in the back of his mind and how much it will effect him if he does play.

Who Will Be the Secondary Target on the Passing Game? Cutting Keyshawn Johnson was a foolish decision. Granted, he was mostly a disappointment last season, but how can you release a player who fills a vital need when there is no better options behind him?

The Panthers have been waiting on Drew Carter three years. If they believed in him, or if he had reasonable talent, he would have emerged by now. Here are the facts: he's caught 33 passes in the past two years and has shown little promise. At best, Carter can be a decent third option.

But in this scenario, since the Panthers cut Johnson, Carter is left as the default starter who will battle with rookie, Dwayne Jarrett. Here is breaking news: rookie receivers take longer to develop than almost any other position.

And in a situation where a pass-catching tight end would be an invaluable asset, given the lack of any sort of a receiving threat outside of Steve Smith, there is nobody present.

How Good is the Panthers' Defensive Line? On paper, the Panthers appear to have one of the top-five units in the league. That's on paper.

Julius Peppers is a given and you can expect a monster season from him considering the Indianapolis Colts just gave a lesser end in Dwight Freeney quarterback money.

At the other end position is Mike Rucker, who is 32 and is still feeling the effects of tearing his ACL last December. In the middle of the line, tackle Kris Jenkins is holding out for a new deal. He'll probably report, but there is a rift between himself and the organization. The Panthers tried to trade him in the offseason, but failed and when he looks over to his starting mate, Kemoeatu, and sees the type of money he makes, he can't help but want more money since he's the better player. Speaking of Kemoeatu, he needs play commensurate to his contract his year.

How Thin Are the Panthers at Safety? During training camp last season, the Panthers weren't impressed with rookie safety Nate Salley and cut him. As the season wore on, the Panthers brought him back out of desperation handed him some playing time.

He heads into this season as the starter, along side veteran Mike Minter, who will retire after this season. Minter is a shadow of what he used to be, which might give the Panthers the worst starting safety tandem in the league.

Deke Cooper and seventh-round pick C.J. Wilson are considered to be the "depth" at the position. Not only is the short-term future dark, so are the long-term prospects.

Are Thomas Davis, Ken Lucas, and Chris Gamble Going to Become Reliable? From safety and back to linebacker, the Panthers have raved about Davis' physical gifts, but he needs to improve if he wants to be a reliable starter.

Ken Lucas' teammates questioned his toughness last year and I might start to question his ability to play cornerback if he doesn't reassert himself. Chris Gamble, who starts opposite of Lucas, gave up his share of big plays, as well.

2007's Best Case Scenario

Dan Morgan...? While it's true that Morgan is constantly hampered by concussions, his talent on the field is undeniable. He's averaged 6.5 tackles per game over his NFL career and flies from sideline-to-sideline making plays. He's been cleared to play and has had nearly a full year to recover from his last concussion.

It is a leap of faith, but assuming he does play, the Panthers' defense becomes significantly better. He will take a significant amount of pressure of younger cohorts, Thomas Davis and rookie Jon Beason.

Who Will Be the Secondary Target on the Passing Game? The Panthers evidently had some in-house issues with Keyshawn Johnson and felt they were better off without him. They know their personnel better than anyone, so give them the benefit of the doubt.

Carter has been slow in his development, but one thing that can't be questioned about his game is his speed. Carter is a burner and should — by now — be an effective third wide receiver. That alone will take some pressure off of Smith.

Jarrett is a rookie, but Marques Colston was a rookie, too. Judging which rookies are more NFL ready than others is an inexact science, and considering the Panthers cut Johnson, maybe they feel he can replace Johnson's production already.

Jarrett is a similar receiver and should give the Panthers a solid red zone target. He caught 41 touchdown passes at USC in college.

How Good is the Panther's Defensive Line? Kris Jenkins may be a bit sour right now, but when he realizes that he's been limited to 21 of the last 51 games, he'll get back in the lineup and be effective.

With him back in tow, and a better second season from Kemoeatu, which can be expected since most athletes have a dip in production in the first year of a brand new contract, nobody will be able to run against the Panthers.

With Peppers on the end, while on the hunt for a new contract, the Panthers will find a way to generate sacks.

How Thin Are the Panthers at Safety? The Panthers regret that they originally let go of Deon Grant, then let Marlon McRee go two years ago, and let Shaun Williams walk this year, but they must have enough confidence in Nate Salley to do so.

Salley was a fourth-round pick last season and maybe the Panthers admitted to a mistake when they signed him back after cutting him prior to the season opener. Even at 33, Minter is still a steady veteran and if Gamble and Lucas play to their potential, they won't need so much help.

Are Thomas Davis, Ken Lucas, and Chris Gamble Going to Become Reliable? Davis has dipped from free safety to linebacker and back in both college and the Pros and has finally settled at linebacker. The upside is still tremendous and given his versatility, he is a good football player. With a full season under his belt and another full offseason, Davis can be considered as potential breakout candidate.

Gamble has been up and down, but the Panthers' defense as a whole was down last year. He is extremely talented and has already shown what he can do. As the defense improves this season, he will regain his 2005 form.

As for Lucas, he dealt with a couple of nagging injuries last year that really hampered his performance. Yes, he might be a little soft, but he is still a very good cornerback. He will be extra motivated to prove that last season was an aberration and not a trend.

The Panthers' Turning Point

As mentioned previously, this is a turning point for the franchise to determine whether they are building towards a Super Bowl or whether they are heading in the opposite direction.

Dan Morgan, Ken Lucas, Chris Gamble, Thomas Davis, Drew Carter, DeShaun Foster, and Justin Hartwig are supposed to be the foundation of the franchise's success, but all have hit a hurdle.

If the mentioned players can display that they have grown from last season's learning pains, the Panthers will be back in the playoffs. If not, it's time for them to take a good look in the mirror and find out who is part of the solution and who is part of the problem.

Biggest Weakness: Depth — The Panthers are Nicole Richie thin at LB, DE, FS, SS, and pray that Steve Smith stays in good health — they are thin there, too.

Offensive X-Factor: Steve Smith — He will be one of the few wide receivers vying for league MVP if everything goes right in Carolina.

Defensive X-Factor: Dan Morgan — A 13-16 game season for Morgan is just what the doctor ordered. The Panthers will have a one of the better front sevens with him in the lineup.

Fantasy Market: Buy Low

DeAngelo Williams is easily the cat with the most untapped fantasy potential. With the Panthers switching to a zone-blocking, power running game, Williams is the better fit. Also, he is a good receiver out of the backfield, which will prove quite valuable for Jake Delhomme since the Panthers are short on receiving weapons. Foster has had his crack at the starting gig for four years and has yet to produce a 1,000-yard season.

"Vegas" Dave Golokhov hosts "THE Fantasy Show" on Hardcore Sports Radio, channel 186 on Sirius Satellite Radio, beginning September. Send media requests, thoughts, love letters, or hate mail to [email protected].

Posted by Dave Golokhov at 11:50 AM | Comments (3)

Will the Cardinals Fold or Call?

Let me preface this piece (and specifically address fellow columnist and loyal Redbird, Seth Doria) by saying the Cards are one of the great baseball franchises with a rich tradition, a staggeringly loyal and knowledgeable fan base, and a solid recent record of achievement. Last season ended in the best possible manner for the Cardinals, but even the most rabid fan could have spotted the holes in the team as the offseason progressed.

The most glaring was in the rotation and the patchwork solution Walt Jocketty came up with (Mark Mulder, who projected to be playing after the All-Star Break at best, Kip Wells, and moving Braden Looper and Adam Wainwright from the bullpen) was always a seat-of-the-pants-solution to backup Chris Carpenter.

Carpenters' surgery was unpredictable, but losing Jeff Weaver (who almost resembled the Weaver of Detroit under Dave Duncan) and Jeff Suppan has hurt. Neither are Cy Young material, but can be serviceable third or fourth starters and came with relatively reasonable price tags.

Kip Wells has been an enigma wrapped in a riddle for years, but it's easy to see why Jocketty was seduced by his (unfulfilled) potential, with his array of top quality pitches, including a high-90s fastball and unhittable curve that can make a batter look foolish. But he's never harnessed his talent over even half a season and the gamble hasn't paid off so far. Likewise with ex-Detroit lefty Mike Maroth, who was expected to produce better numbers in the NL, though his stuff is nowhere near what Wells can throw. Both Wells and Maroth, along with moving Looper and Wainwright from the 'pen, were reasonable moves given the payroll restrictions.

The other big question marks was where's the power to protect Albert Pujols? Chris Duncan, despite defensive shortcomings and Tony LaRussa sitting him against most lefties, has been stellar. After that, things go downhill rapidly. Juan Encarnacion has produced mediocre numbers, but they are in line with his career stats. Scott Rolen is playing through pain and is hearing it for his poor numbers — strangely as J.D. Drew heard it for not playing through pain. David Eckstein and Jim Edmonds have been on the DL and Adam Kennedy has stunk it up.

Jocketty is rumored to be considering his position for 2008 and if he walks, TLR might walk too. The payroll — at around $90 million — isn't exactly Tampa Bay, but it doesn't give a GM too much wiggle-room to cope with injuries or to get involved with big free agency signings, so it's understandable that Jocketty might be thinking about pastures new.

If he is in St. Louis next year, assuming the alleged rift with chairman Bill DeWitt over the rise in the organization of Jeff Luhnow at the expense of Jocketty loyalists can be fixed, does Jocketty deal away (and who) or deal for?

The first question is relatively simple to answer. With Carpenter done for the foreseeable future and the team having a mountain to climb to even claim a wildcard spot, 2007 is pretty much a done deal. The team doesn't need gutting as much as a fine-tune for a run at the playoffs next season. Within a relatively weak NL Central, it's fairly simple to contend with a payroll approaching $100 million.

He has some chips to deal, but hardly anything in the thin farm system, so building for 2008 is an easier task than trying to reclaim what's left of 2007. A look at the options available doesn't make pretty reading if the purpose is to bring in some major league ready (or close) prospects.

Scott Rolen carries a huge salary and a bum shoulder. He's also acquired the reputation of being surly in the clubhouse, without yet attaining full "clubhouse cancer" status. He could be dealt to a desperate contender (Dodgers?), but the odds of acquiring anything other than salary relief is minimal. Rolens' contract is a disaster — running through 2010 with $12 million a year due. Best-case scenario is that he's dealt, but the team will still be on the hook for a large portion of the money owed.

Chris Duncan has been mentioned as a possibility to be moved to a team short on power, but Duncan has been the best hitter bar Pujols on the team. Plus, he's cheap and the team have long-term control of him. Moving him for pitching is a shocking idea that can only have originated in Steve Phillips's head.

Jason Isringhausen would be highly prized on the market as he's (relatively) cheap for a premium closer at $8 million and he has a club option on his contract for 2008, after which he'll likely retire. He's been impeccable this year and nicely looked after by TLR and Duncan to avoid a stretch on the DL. He's got a trade veto and would likely use it, but trading him is a poor idea as he will be more than useful if the team are planning to contend in 2008.

Young pitcher Anthony Reyes was one of last season's highlights, but his 2007 has been nothing short of disastrous, going 0-10 with an ERA of 6.40. Reyes has rebounded somewhat since at AAA Memphis, but whether he has a long-term future in St. Louis is open to debate. If Dave Duncan (assuming he stays) thinks he can rebuild his confidence, there's little point in trading him as his value is low and he's cheap to take a chance on.

Juan Encarnacion is never going to set the world on fire and there are plenty of mediocre outfielders available to needy GMs. His contract ($5 million a year through 2008) might be worth moving, so the team can take a look at ex-pitcher turned slugging outfielder Rick Ankiel, who has showed some power in the minors though his swing is all-or-nothing.

Fan and media favorite David Eckstein has battled injuries and declining production the last two seasons. His contract is up at the end of the season and he's likely to ask for a multi-year deal in the region of $4 million per, which is the last thing Jocketty should agree to. Eckstein has a high profile for such an average player and a contender in need of a middle infielder might part with a prospect and pickup his salary. If anybody is desperate enough to make an offer, Jocketty should instantly pull the trigger as Brendan Ryan can fill in for the rest of '07, which will give the team time to see if he can hit at major league level.

Jim Edmonds is essentially Scott Rolen in the outfield. Even Edmonds couldn't believe the team gave him two years at $19 million. He has no-trade protection and is due $8 million next year. If the team can move him for partial salary relief, Walt Jocketty would throw a party. If he retired, he'd dance on the pitching mound butt naked.

Adam Kennedy is signed through 2009 with $7.5 million remaining after this season. He's had nightmare time in St. Louis, but might have some small value to a contender looking for infield depth.

So the pool of available and attractive vets that Jocketty can move for value is extremely thin. The only other option is to pull a "Herschel Walker" and move Albert Pujols (if you could get him to waive his no-trade clause), which would provoke a frenzied bidding war between the likes of the Angels, Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers and would instantly re-stock the farm system. It might be an option apart from the fact that Pujols is signed through 2011 at the (relatively) cheap price of $16 million per. Jocketty would be lynched for even considering it.

Without moving restrictive veteran contracts before April (unlikely, but not impossible), the '08 opening day line-up looks like this:

C – Yadier Molina
1B – Albert Pujols
2B – Adam Kennedy
3B – Scott Rolen
SS – Brendan Ryan
OF – Chris Duncan
OF – So Taguchi (club option for '08)/Jim Edmonds
OF – Rick Ankiel/Juan Encarnacion
SP – Mark Mulder
SP – Adam Wainwright
SP – Anthony Reyes
SP – Braden Looper
SP – Kip Wells/Mike Maroth/Todd Wellmeyer (all FAs, but cheap re-signs)
Pen – Ryan Franklin
Pen – Randy Flores
C – Jason Isringhausen

Milwaukee and Chicago will hardly be shaking in their boots at the prospect of facing that lineup in the NL Central, though patently the team will bolster certain positions during the coming months. But to what degree DeWitt allows the payroll to grow (it's currently 11th in MLB at present, despite being a cash-rich franchise) is the crucial question. The fans and managements loyalty, already tested, could be stretched to breaking point before the new season begins.

Posted by Mike Round at 11:29 AM | Comments (1)

July 24, 2007

Why Bobby Bowden Has Been a Blessing

The last time Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden had a losing season, Gerald Ford was running the country and Peyton Manning was being born.

Oh, yeah. And Microsoft was applying to be a company. Applying.

In his 41 years as a head coach in Division-I football, Bobby Bowden has compiled 366 wins. In his 31 years at Florida State, he has earned the program two national championships and 12 conference championships with only one losing season.

And to top it all off, only three of his 31 seasons at Florida State have not ended in a bowl game appearance.

Bowden's remarkable career is even more impressive when you consider the fact that he took over an FSU program in 1976 that had won four total games over the previous three seasons.

But his wins and losses, his bowl appearances and national championships pale in comparison to what he has done for the game of college football and the men who have graced his practice fields.

Bowden has always believed that parents should stick to parenting and coaches should stick to coaching. But it's unrealistic to think that every player under a coach's wing has grown up with a father or father-like figure and Bowden knows that. He has always been able to make that personal connection to a player that helps them succeed in not just athletics, but in manhood, especially if that player has never had a strong male influence in their lives. He is as honest as he is encouraging and his warm and engaging personality helps him walk that fine line between motivator and mentor.

From his first coaching gig at Southern Georgia College where his players were quoted as calling him "a father figure" to years later at Florida State where players commented on his blue-collar, father-like work ethic.

His first quarterback at FSU, Wally Woodham, said it was easy to play for Coach Bowden because he reminded the players of themselves and their families: "He's the type of guy they (the players) can relate to. A guy who's willing to go out and work."

But Bowden almost didn't even have a chance to make such an impression on Wally Woodham. After his freshman year in '75, the year previous to Bowden coming in as the new head coach, Woodham had doubts about his ability to play at FSU and was losing his desire.

"I went in and talked to Coach Bowden, and he just sat there and listened to me," Woodham said. "Then he talked me into just hanging in there and not doing something at that moment."

Quarterback Wally Woodham was an inductee into the Florida State Football Hall of Fame in 1985.

LeRoy Butler, the creator of the Lambeau Leap and an all-pro safety for the Green Bay Packers, credits Bobby Bowden for rescuing him from a life of insecurity and dead-ends.

"I was a Proposition 48 (at Florida State), and no one really wanted me," recalls Butler. "And the day I was ineligible, Bobby Bowden came to the projects and told my mom, 'I don't care about football; I want him to get an education and get out of this place.' If he doesn't do that, I don't know how else I would have made it. He made it clear it wasn't about football, it was about life."

Bobby Bowden's Alabama-drawl and permanent smile tells the world more than where he was born. It speaks volumes about who he is and what he's about. To the man who has been a decent and kind man for his thousands of players over the decades, there is no better representation as to what a coach should be. I see no better coach to have at the top of the NCAA mountain. He has been more and done more for college football than arguably any coach in the history of the game. And the fact that his wins are the least of his testimony to that fact speaks even more about the man known in Tallahassee as "The Riverboat Gambler."

... And that's saying a lot when it comes from an author who bleeds Orange and Blue.

Posted by Ryan Day at 12:08 PM | Comments (1)

2007 NFL Preview: Wide Receivers

First off, let's give a round of applause to time. It's taken awhile, but training camps are finally upon us. No more "next month." No more "just a few more weeks." It's on to nightly updates on ESPN and the NFL Network and the morning tour of the local beat writers' notebooks.

Good times.

With that said, we've got work to do. The players and coaches hit the field. We hit the stat tables and depth charts. We've broken down quarterbacks and running backs. Now comes the most enigmatic of all positions on offense: wide receiver.

There's so much that goes into being a successful wide receiver. First, you've got the traditional measurables, combine-style. How fast can you run the 40? How high can you jump? Can you cut at max speed?

Then there are the intangibles. Will you go over the middle? Can you get off the jam? On 3rd-and-8 late in the fourth, will you go out of bounds after seven yards?

Then there's the "rookies suck" rule. Last year, there were 43 wide receivers who broke the 50-catch mark. One, New Orleans' Marques Colston, pick 252 from Hofstra, was a rookie. In 2005, it was zero out of 44.

It's not impossible for a rookie to go off. Anquan Boldin had 101 catches and 8 TDs as a rookie in 2003. So there are exceptions. But can Calvin Johnson do the same in Detroit? Probably not. Not enough balls to go around with Roy Williams and Mike Furrey coming off a combined 180-catch season. Plus, he's going into the notoriously complex Mike Martz offense.

Then again, maybe we should look at the back of the draft. How about Derek Stanley, pick 249 to the Rams out of Wisconsin-Whitewater? He seems as likely a candidate as Colston was this time last year.

Anyway, as with our previews of quarterbacks and running backs, we're not making a fantasy cheat sheet. This is about which team is strongest at the position, the greatness at the top and the depth below. For wide receivers, we're using receptions, yards, scoring, and potential for big plays as the judgment criteria.

AERIAL BLITZ

Cincinnati (Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Chris Henry, Reggie McNeal)
Detroit (Roy Williams, Mike Furrey, Shaun McDonald, Calvin Johnson)
New England (Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker, Kelley Washington)
St. Louis (Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce, Drew Bennett, Dane Looker)

Notes: Only one team in 2006 averaged more than 200 yards per game from their wide receivers — the Cincinnati Bengals. They led the league in WR TDs (26) and put up 47 plays over 20 yards and 14 over 40 yards. Carson Palmer is another year removed from knee surgery and the eight-game suspension of Chris Henry is only a mild blow.

Detroit would have to be ranked this high just based on last year's 225 combined catches for Lions' wide receivers. Now add in the fact they add Johnson, the anointed "can't-miss prospect of the decade," plus they're going into the second year of the Martz offense. Jon Kitna says they could score 10,000 points this year. Just ask him.

Of any position grouping on any team, the Pats' WR corps has undergone the most transformation. There's always the chance an influx of top talent won't mesh, but Tom Brady is the one pulling the trigger. That counts for a whole hell of a lot, especially with this ridiculous amount of talent.

Bruce is going into his 14th year and will be 35 this season, but the addition of Drew Bennett ensures a top-line passing attack for several years ahead. Even though Steven Jackson had a huge scoring year (16 TDs), the WRs still accounted for the sixth-most TDs in the league (18, tie with Philly).

THEY'RE GOING TO GET YOU

New Orleans (Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Terrence Copper, Robert Meachem)
New York Jets (Laveranues Coles, Jerricho Cotchery, Justin McCareins, Tim Dwight)
Indianapolis (Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Anthony Gonzalez, John Standeford)
Arizona (Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald, Bryant Johnson, Sean Morey)

Notes: New Orleans ranked only 15th in total receptions by wide receivers (168), but were fifth in touchdowns (21, one per every eight receptions) and led the league in both plays over 20 yards (51) and plays over 40 yards (17).

On the other side, the Jets were in the middle of the pack in TDs (13) and plays of more than 20 (31), but were third last season in number of total receptions by wide receivers (221). They are also going into the second year in offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer's scheme and will have a more reliable running game with Thomas Jones to keep the safeties honest.

The Colts have perhaps the best WR duo in Harrison and Wayne, but the injuries to Brandon Stokley (109 catches in '04 and '05 combined, 8 last year) have forced the Colts into a more balanced offense featuring the tight ends (95 catches between Ben Utecht, Dallas Clark, and Bryan Fletcher) and using backs as receivers (40 for Joseph Addai, 36 for Dominic Rhodes). Adding Gonzalez, the Ohio State rookie, may help push some of the action to the WRs, as might the departure of Rhodes.

Arizona's receiving and yardage stats were on par with Cincinnati's, with those two the only to break the 3,000 combined receiving yardage last year. But Arizona scored far fewer touchdowns (16 to 26), and there's a chance the numbers drop with former Steelers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt taking over as head coach. Still, Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald are a hell of a pair.

SOLID, BUT NOT SPECTACULAR

Dallas (Terrell Owens, Terry Glenn, Patrick Crayton, Sam Hurd)
Washington (Santana Moss, Brandon Lloyd, Antwaan Randle El, James Thrash)
Carolina (Steve Smith, Dwayne Jarrett, Drew Carter, Keary Colbert)
Seattle (Deion Branch, Nate Burleson, D.J. Hackett, Bobby Engram)
Denver (Javon Walker, Rod Smith, Brandon Stokley, Brandon Marshall)
Baltimore (Mark Clayton, Derrick Mason, Clarence Moore, Demetrius Williams)
Philadelphia (Reggie Brown, Kevin Curtis, Greg Lewis, Hank Baskett)
Buffalo (Lee Evans, Peerless Price, Roscoe Parrish, Josh Reed)
Pittsburgh (Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, Cedrick Wilson, Nate Washington)
San Diego (Eric Parker, Vincent Jackson, Kassim Osgood, Craig Davis)

Notes: In Dallas, there's a downgrade because T.O. is turning 34 and Terry Glenn is turning 33, plus the addition of defensive-minded head coach Wade Phillips and first-time offensive coordinator Jason Garrett; in Washington, because of Jason Campbell; in Carolina, because their second-best receiver is a rookie; in Seattle, because they don't have a proven second threat; in Denver, because Rod Smith is old; in Baltimore, because Steve McNair gets hurt and Kyle Boller is his backup; in Philly, because Reggie Brown is new to being a number 1 and Kevin Curtis is new to being a number 2; in Buffalo, because the maturation of J.P. Losman is not complete; in Pittsburgh, because Mike Tomlin scares me with the whole "I'm not here to make friends" line as a new head coach with a veteran team; and in San Diego, because LaDainian Tomlinson is not a wide receiver.

WE'LL DO WHAT WE CAN

Miami (Chris Chambers, Marty Booker, Derek Hagan, Ted Ginn, Jr.)
Oakland (Jerry Porter, Ronald Curry, Mike Williams, Doug Gabriel)
Chicago (Muhsin Muhammad, Bernard Berrian, Mark Bradley, Rashied Davis)
Green Bay (Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, Robert Ferguson, Ruvell Martin)
New York Giants (Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer, Sinorice Moss, Steve Smith)
San Francisco (Darrell Jackson, Arnaz Battle, Ashley Lelie, Bryan Gilmore)
Jacksonville (Reggie Williams, Matt Jones, Dennis Northcutt, Ernest Wilford)
Tampa Bay (Joey Galloway, Michael Clayton, Ike Hilliard, Maurice Stovall)
Atlanta (Joe Horn, Michael Jenkins, Roddy White, Adam Jennings)
Houston (Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter, David Anderson, Charlie Adams)

Once you get past the top half of the league, you run into a stack of groups that don't figure to drive the success of their teams. In other words, if these teams' running games aren't working, the passing game, particularly the wide receivers, aren't going to save them.

With that said, Trent Green-to-Chambers could be interesting.

Jerry Porter is a super sleeper coming off the Art Shell debacle. He has to have a big year to re-establish himself.

Jeff Garcia-to-Joey Galloway has the potential to create some decent fantasy scores, if not real-life wins.

Matt Schaub-to-Andre Johnson. Definitely worth keeping an eye on.

So is Joey Harrington-to-Joe Horn, but for a completely different reason.

If Byron Leftwich plays a full season, Matt Jones is on track for his breakout year.

MEAT

Cleveland (Braylon Edwards, Joe Jurevicius, Joshua Cribbs, Tim Carter)
Kansas City (Eddie Kennison, Samie Parker, Rod Gardner, Dwayne Bowe)
Minnesota (Bobby Wade, Troy Williamson, Billy McMullen, Sidney Rice)
Tennessee (David Givens, Brandon Jones, Roydell Williams, Justin Cage)

Notes: I don't mean to demean these guys, but, of the 16 guys listed in this category, can you pick one you really wish was on your team?

Also, screw Bobby Wade. I hate saying that because he's one of the few Arizona alums to make the NFL (Chris McAlister being the best), but his cheap shot against Rodney Harrison in the season finale robbed the Pats of an opportunity to beat the Bears in the Super Bowl. They lost by four points to the Colts in the AFC Championship Game. You're telling me Rodney Harrison wouldn't have been worth four points in that second half? No freaking way.

(It's great to be back, isn't it?)

Also see: NFL '07 Preview: Quarterbacks | Running Backs

Seth Doria is a freelance writer in St. Louis. For daily news and notes on sports, entertainment, and politics, check out The Left Calf.

Posted by Joshua Duffy at 11:15 AM | Comments (2)

2007 NFL Preview: Buffalo Bills

Looking At 2006 In The Rear View Mirror

While the Giants and Jets are the Beyonce Knowles and Kelly Rowland for New Yorkers, the Buffalo Bills are that other, less relevant, third member of Destiny's Child to the Empire State.

With the emergence of the Jets as an unforeseen playoff team and the Giants continuous soap opera involving Eli Manning's growth and Tiki Barber's final season, the Bills two-game improvement in the win column went largely unnoticed.

In fact, after an offseason where their owner was derided during labor meetings and their general manager was mocked for passing on Matt Leinart in the draft and signing Peerless Price, the Bills were more than an afterthought; they were considered a joke.

But the Bills finished 5-4 in their final nine games and demonstrated significant progress during the first year of the Marv Levy/Dick Jauron regime.

As is par for the course in the NFL, when J.P. Losman struggled to acclimate himself to the NFL game during his first two seasons, everybody ripped him. But as he finally turned the corner last season, the audience was not around to applaud. On draft day in 2004, we were told that Losman, a Tulane product, was raw, but few critics wanted to give him time before making long-term assessments.

Losman enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2006, improving in virtually every category, including his much maligned completion percentage (grew from 49.6% in 2005 to 62.5% in 2006).

Losman wasn't the only one that did some developing as last season was for rebuilding and the Bills threw may of their youngsters into the fire.

Donte Whitner and Ko Simpson pushed aside veterans like Troy Vincent early on, while linebackers like Angelo Crowell and Keith Ellison earned valuable time, particularly when Takeo Spikes exited the lineup with injuries.

On the front lines, the Bills defensive lines went from pesky to near dominant in 2006 led by one of the best kept secrets in defensive end, Aaron Schobel. But Schobel finally had some protection from the other end position as Ryan Denney and Chris Kelsay set personal highs with 6 and 5.5 sacks, respectively. With the mid-season acquisition of Anthony Hargrove, the Bills quietly boasted one of the most effective defensive end rotations.

The Bills made defensive tackle a priority last offseason by signing Larry Tripplett and drafting John McCargo and Kyle Williams. Larry Tripplett was a steady tackle while Williams proved be a solid role player. McCargo's season was lost because of a foot injury.

Looking back at the 2006 draft, the Bills may have pulled one of their best classes to date. Whitner (first round) and Simpson (fourth round) started as rookies and so did Ellison (sixth round) by the end of the season. Williams (fifth round) is a cog in the defensive line rotation, while cornerback Ashton Youboty (third round) is batting for a starting spot this season. All have contributed and appear to have reasonable upside.

Switching back to the offense, while Losman emerged as a legit starter, he didn't receive a lot of help around him, save Lee Evans, who is on the fast track to becoming a Pro Bowler.

The offensive line was in-and-out, but mostly out. They had very little push in the running game, which eventually set up too many third-and-distance situations. The lone bright spots were Jason Peters, who is also on pace for many trips to Hawaii, and Melvin Fowler, who secured the center position.

Using Letters To Break Down Numbers: J.P. Losman

After the 2005 season, Losman had the confidence of an Atlantic City hooker and was beaten down by fans like a flimsy piñata.

In all honesty, though, finishing with a completion percentage under 50% after eight starts is a ticket to that kind of criticism.

In fairness, though, Losman was dicked around quite a bit in his second season and was forced to share time Kelly Holcomb.

Last year, Losman took the reigns and never gave them up and as the team invested confidence in his talents, he produced a strong ROI.

His completion percentage jumped up 12.9% to 62.5%, which was the sixth-best among AFC quarterbacks.

In 2005, Losman had a 1:1 touchdown to interception ratio (8 TD, 8 INT), but improved his ratio with 19 touchdowns and only 14 interceptions. Only Tom Brady, Carson Palmer, Philip Rivers, and Peyton Manning had more touchdowns than him in the AFC.

It's a positive sign that Losman is continuing to get better. He tossed 13 touchdowns versus eight interceptions in November and December (6/6 in the first two months of the season).

The best news is that he did his growing behind one of the worst offensive lines in the business. He was sacked 47 times last year, which was the most in the NFL (more than David Carr (41) and Andrew Walter (46).

Nowadays, when a quarterback fails to develop, fingers are usually pointed at the offensive line first and then the supporting cast. That's what makes Losman big leap so impressive. He was protected by one of the faultiest lines and was supported Lee Evans and nobody else.

Losman is a well-rounded quarterback with a powerful arm and good mobility. Now he's added poise and accuracy to the equation and is ready to turn around an offense that 30th in yards gained.

The Greatest Show On Turf Lite

Offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild is a leaf from the Mike Martz tree and is trying to branch out an offense similar The Greatest Show On Turf.

By all accounts, the Bills have nothing close to the Rams' Kurt Warner days, but there is plenty of evidence that this offense should be exciting, and more importantly, better than their 30th ranking last season.

The first order of business in the offseason has been beefing up the offensive line, hence the richest contract in Bills history for guard Derrick Dockery. The Bills left side of Peters and Dockery will easily be their go-to side and could be a top-five tandem by season's end.

In the middle, the Bills are content with Fowler, but added former second-round pick Langston Walker and Jason Whittle to his right. Walker will start at tackle, while Whittle will battle for starting duties at right guard.

In the backfield, the Bills swapped out McGahee for first-round selection Marshawn Lynch.

Going back to the St. Louis Rams theme, Lynch is expected to play the Marshall Faulk-type role and will be a much more versatile weapon than McGahee ever was. Lynch has excellent hands and will be able to contribute in the passing game right away. He also boasts superior speed, vision, and outside running. He'll still split some carries with Anthony Thomas, who proved to be an effective runner between the tackles.

Next in line, following the theme of mimicking the Rams, is a deep wide receiving group. The Bills have that, although they only have one star right now. Evans is Pro Bowl ready and leads this group. Peerless Price is still effective and should post a stronger season now that he is acclimated to the offense and has regained his confidence.

That's a speedy duo but the real burner is Roscoe Parrish, who is finally on the cusp of emerging into a real dynamic weapon for this offense. He will start in the slot and is undoubtedly a difficult matchup from there.

With a group of small, fast wide receivers that player bigger than their size, this receiving corps does strike a resemblance to the Rams.

Throw in Losman, who has already shown he has the arm strength and accuracy, and the Bills are on their way to constructing a fun offense to watch.

It starts with the offensive line. If they block better, the tight ends will have to block less and will factor more as receivers. Next, the running game will improve and needless to say, the passing game will also spike in production if all of the latter assumptions go as planned.

Veteran Garage Sale

It's fairly evident that the Bills are going through a rebuilding process and are swapping out players from the old regime with Levy's and Jauron's preferred personnel. Even so, the Bills did not get equal value in their two main trades.

Running backs are a cheap commodity in the NFL, but the Bills could have received more for McGahee.

It's like when you are selling a house: a fresh paint job and some beautiful landscaping go a long way.

But instead, the Bills made it known that McGahee was a distraction and put him up for sale. Their return is essentially two early fourth-round picks, since Baltimore will be drafting late in the third round again next season, and a seventh-round pick. And the Bills also had to spend a first round pick to replace him.

On defense, the Bills seemingly found good value for Takeo Spikes when they acquired defensive tackle Darwin Walker from the Philadelphia Eagles. Walker fits the scheme perfectly and would be a vital asset to such a young defense, but the Bills forgot one thing: to secure a long-term contract.

It's no secret that Walker demanded a new contract. The Bills were well aware of his stipulations before and after they made the trade. But why not agree to terms beforehand and then complete the trade.

That would make more sense all the way around. Instead, the Bills have a messy holdout on their hands and might end up with just a sixth-round pick in return for Takeo Spikes and Kelly Holcomb.

The Bills had assets and got ripped-off twice. Acquiring commensurate value in return would have sped up their rebuilding process.

Biggest Weakness: Defensive back seven — The Bills' defensive line is fairly strong — with or without Walker — but the linebacking corps will start at least four first or second year players. The Bills will need to score more points this year to keep up.

Offensive X-Factor: J.P. Losman — Finished with the 11th-best QB rating and is the key to making this Bills offense a dangerous unit.

Defensive X-Factor: Safeties — With Nate Clements gone, cornerback Terrence McGee has to prove that he can handle No. 1 duties. This will be one of the youngest secondaries in the NFL and there will be a big burden on safeties Simpson and Whitner to protect them down the field.

Fantasy Market: Buy Low

There is lots to love on this offense. For starters, Lee Evans will be a top-10 fantasy wideout. He hasn't had less than 7 touchdowns in a season and should have more than the 1,292 yards he caught last year. Losman could be a real sleeper, especially since all the offensive parts around him are better, and Lynch — barring any sort of a holdout — will be the starter. Keep in mind that the Bills have a young defense and will have to score a lot of points to bail out a young, inexperienced unit.

"Vegas" Dave Golokhov hosts "THE Fantasy Show" on Hardcore Sports Radio, channel 186 on Sirius Satellite Radio, beginning September. Send media requests, thoughts, love letters, or hate mail to [email protected].

Posted by Dave Golokhov at 10:19 AM | Comments (13)

July 23, 2007

2007 NFL Preview: Baltimore Ravens

Looking At 2006 In The Rear View Mirror

In a league where you are only as good as your last move, the Baltimore Ravens were feeling continuous heat since drafting Kyle Boller turned out to be a worse decision than the time that Elisha Cuthbert walked in to oncoming traffic on a busy road. Don't worry, her physical appearance is fine.

Misfiring on a quarterback has cost many head coaches their position and nearly sent Brian Billick to a similar fate. Luckily for him, Steve McNair arrived just in time and helped shoulder the burden that the defense had been carrying for years.

The problem was that by the time they finally found a capable quarterback, their once-stellar offensive line and premier rushing attack look like the picture of Dorian Gray.

Running back Jamal Lewis, who once surpassed 2,000 yards rushing in a season, was worn down so much that he needed to take 10 steps to move five yards.

The Ravens were counting on Lewis, especially since they allowed the next best running back on their roster, Chester Taylor, to walk as a free agent and instead opted to sign Mike Anderson.

Compounding the problems was the disappointing performance of the front five, including stalwart left tackle, Jonathan Ogden, who output one his worst seasons as a pro and ski-masked his way to the Pro Bowl.

The Ravens inked right guard Keydrick Vincent in the offseason, prying him away from division rival Pittsburgh, believing that one man's trash would be another man's treasure. It turns out that he's their trash, too. The Ravens allowed 17 sacks last season, which is a diminutive number, but much of the credit should go to McNair, who gets rid of the ball quickly.

Given the poor protection and poor run blocking, the Ravens were forced to adapt to a quick-passing system.

The quick-hitters were effective and indirectly served as a running game, but without a home run threat at running back and without proper protection, the Ravens were forced into being a very intermediate, docile offense. They had only six plays of 40 yards or longer.

On defense, the Ravens were mocked after signing 31-year-old Trevor Pryce and allowing a younger, better prospect, Anthony Weaver, to walk in free agency, but it was the Ravens that had the last laugh.

There was also gossip about Ray Lewis and Chris McAlister being past their primes, but those claims were well off the mark.

In fact, to many people's surprise, it was the other starting cornerback, Samari Rolle, who proved to be the veteran to stumble. His confidence was shaken early in the season after Steve Smith used him as a pylon and he never regained his form.

In Baltimore, under the Rex Ryan's watchful eye, it has become customary to simply assume the defense will be a top-five unit. That will be the case again this season.

What will determine whether the Ravens are once again a one-and-done in the playoffs or a serious Super Bowl threat will be the play of the offense.

Using Letters To Breakdown Numbers: Ravens Rushing Game

In 2003, the Ravens had the top-ranked rushing offense. In 2004, they had the ninth-best rushing attack. In 2005, the Ravens' running game ranked 21st. In 2006, the Ravens ground game finished 26th.

Hopefully, I don't have to draw a graph to illustrate my point here.

Since owning the league's top rushing outfit and using the Cleveland Browns' defense as a treadmill to demonstrate how effective it is, the Ravens' run game has been in decline.

Most of that can be pinned on No. 31, who never looked the same since spending time in cell block "D" and ankle surgery in 2004.

Just how far has he fallen? Since averaging no less than 4.3 yards-per-carry during his first four playing seasons, Lewis hasn't topped 3.6 in the last two years.

Lewis had 26 100-yard rushing games and 39 rushes of 20 yards or longer from 2000-2004, but has only four 100-yard games and six runs of more than 20 yards in 2005 and 2006.

Lewis' statistics tell us that his best years are behind him, which makes the move to acquire Willis McGahee, a player who is on the opposite side of the hill from Lewis, is a shrewd move (especially since they didn't pay a lot to acquire him since Buffalo was holding a veteran garage sale this offseason).

With McGahee in tow, the Ravens will lose out on power, as Lewis is much more of bowling ball, but McGahee is more explosive, can run without a fullback, and is a better receiver.

From First Round To Super Bowl

The Ravens got to first base last year, but their veteran roster is looking for much more than foreplay.

They are among a number of second-tier Super Bowl contenders that can challenge for the Lombardi Trophy if everything falls in place.

The Ravens return all but one starter from the league's top-ranked defense as Adalius Thomas went paper chasing to New England.

Thomas is an excellent player and his versatility will be missed. But the Ravens know how to run a defense and there are still plenty of playmakers around.

Bart Scott enjoyed a breakout season last year and if he builds on it, the blow of Thomas' departure won't be as bad.

A bigger issue for the Ravens will be the performance of the secondary. Samari Rolle must bounce-back from a sub par season and has put in the extra time to do so. If Ed Reed built up some more discipline, that would also ameliorate the pass defense. Another year of growth for youngsters Ronnie Prude and David Pittman should also help.

Under this regime, the Ravens' defense has replaced Pro Bowlers before, so I'm not overly worried about this side of the ball.

On offense, the Ravens number one concern is the rebuilding of their offensive line.

The ideal situation is for Ogden to produce one more solid season, for second-year guard Chris Chester to push center Mike Flynn to the bench, and for first-round round pick Ben Grubbs to start at right guard. Adam Terry will take over for the unspectacular Tony Pashos at right tackle.

This unit is the Ravens' best five starters and has the most upside, but they need to show it on the field.

If that's the case, the ripple effect throughout the whole team will be enormous.

For starters, the running game should receive an immediate boost.

Incorporating McGahee into the offense should not be an arduous task for an offensive guru like Brian Billick. McGahee's hands out of the backfield will be an additional weapon in the passing game, which figures to be next in line to improve.

The air attack was just okay last year and really did most of its damage in the 10-20 yard range. That could change significantly this season.

McGahee doesn't run behind a fullback nearly as much as Lewis does, which means the Ravens will be able to set up in three receiver sets more often.

While most people have noticed Mark Clayton's growth as a wide receiver — he led the Ravens in receiving yards last season and overtook Derrick Mason for the No. 1 role — many people overlooked Demetrius Williams strong rookie campaign. He finished December with 193 yards and two touchdowns without being a starter.

Clayton and Williams are both explosive while Mason has now morphed into more of the possession/reliable target.

The Ravens also added Yamon Figurs, a third round pick, who has the best speed on the team. While his hands aren't great, he's a natural playmaker and figures to give the Ravens a gimmick/reverse/return threat.

Add Todd Heap to the equation, who led the Ravens in receptions and touchdowns — and you know McNair loves his tight ends — and the Ravens have complemented one of the league's best defenses with what should be a top-10 offense.

With the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns rebuilding and the Cincinnati Bengals proving to be the wildcard, the Ravens should once again finish atop the AFC North.

One last note: Baltimore has quietly become one of the toughest stadiums to come out victorious. The Ravens have only lost six games at home in their last four years.

Biggest Weakness: Offensive line — Heading into the season, there is more unrest in this area than any other spot on the team.

Offensive X-Factor: Willis McGahee — The Ravens won 13 games last season with the league's 26th-ranked rushing offense. How many can they win if McGahee thrives?

Defensive X-Factor: Ed Reed — Reed is a playmaker, but he needs to better protect Rolle, as well as any other leaks.

Fantasy Market: Buy Low

Considering he's a No. 1 receiver, Mark Clayton is going to offer some good value on draft day. Last year, he transitioned from being the second option to being the primary wide receiver and finished with 939 yards and five touchdowns. Last season, the Ravens had only six passing plays of 40 yards or longer and he produced five of them. Now that he has spent an offseason as the top dog, expect him to grow into a solid No. 2 fantasy wideout.

"Vegas" Dave Golokhov hosts "THE Fantasy Show" on Hardcore Sports Radio, channel 186 on Sirius Satellite Radio, beginning September. Send media requests, thoughts, love letters, or hate mail to [email protected].

Posted by Dave Golokhov at 12:04 PM | Comments (0)

The Michael Vick Dilemma

The recent statement by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell related to Michael Vick's indictment on dog-fighting charges has many wondering about the commissioner's motives for not following his recently established precedent for suspending troubled NFL players.

Following reports of the indictment, a statement released by the NFL stated in part, "The activities alleged are cruel, degrading, and illegal. Michael Vick's guilt has not yet been proven, and we believe that all concerned should allow the legal process to determine the facts."

Odds are long against Vick coming through this untarnished. Conviction and plea agreements for federal cases are reportedly in the upper 90 percentile.

Innocent until proven guilty is a foundational right of all Americans. Waiting until the legal system has run its course before deciding on league action seems appropriate. It's what each of us would want, our day in court.

Why wasn't Adam "Pacman" Jones afforded similar treatment? In May of this year, he was suspended for the 2007 season for violations of the NFL's personal conduct policy.

In a statement at the time, Goodell said, "The highest standards of conduct must be met by everyone in the NFL because it is a privilege to represent the NFL, not a right. These players, and all members of our league, have to make the right choices and decisions in their conduct on a consistent basis."

Like Vick, Jones has yet to be convicted for any of the charges brought against him.

Obvious distinctions can be drawn between the two men and their patterns of conduct. Authorities had contacted Jones on 10 separate occasions for questioning. His conduct seemed to indicate that he didn't care what the league or anyone else thought about his actions.

However, Vick hasn't exactly been a model citizen. Frustrated by the fans, Vick's departing obscene gesture as he left the field on November 26th of last year after losing to the New Orleans Saints leaves one wondering whether Vick's conduct meets the "highest standard" referred to in Goodell's suspension of Jones.

Further, his scrape with airport authorities over a bottle with a secret compartment that security officers said smelled of marijuana doesn't reflect well on Vick or the league.

Goodell's one-year suspension of Jones served to send a message to the NFL's players. At the same time, the suspension established precedent for disciplining players without waiting for their day in court.

This puts the commissioner in the unenviable position of deciding Vick's fate. The slippery slope that Goodell has started down is difficult to climb back up. Should he be consistent with the discipline meted out to Jones and similarly suspend Vick? Should he wait until the legal system runs its course?

One thing seems certain. Public sentiment seemed to favor Goodell's action toward Jones. In the Vick situation, public sentiment is divided. Many favor a wait and see approach, while many others are calling for Vick's suspension. The commissioner is in a no win situation.

The NFL and the Atlanta Falcons have a much larger stake in Vick than in Jones.

To state that Michael Vick is a huge star is an understatement. He is the face of the Atlanta Falcons. His appearance on game day is an almost unequaled fan draw. His suspension would cost the league and the Falcons millions.

We will never know whether that stake is influencing the NFL's stance in this case, but the seeming lack of consistency in the treatment of these two high profile cases will have many questioning the motives and actions of the NFL and its commissioner.

Todd Beckstead is the founder of MonsterDraft.com, a fantasy football draft tool.

Posted by Todd Beckstead at 11:46 AM | Comments (13)

July 22, 2007

Jordan vs. Beckham, Continued

I'm not quite sure what the more surreal television moment on Thursday night was: ESPN's live countdown clock, ticking away to the debut of David Beckham with the L.A. Galaxy; or Beckham's wife, Victoria, attempting to charm American viewers with her own "celeb-reality" special on NBC.

Two mega-personalities thrust into our living room idiot boxes with the velocity of international superstardom. Their celebrity is well-established elsewhere, but don't they have to earn their hype in the U.S.? I have to imagine that for most of mainstream America, this was like a case of "mommy's new boyfriend" syndrome — "You don't know him yet, honey, but trust me when I tell you he's a great, great guy and you're going to love him like I do."

"You mean like the other ones, mom?"

The countdown to Beckham's debut is understandable, as MLS is an ESPN property and thus is given gravitas and respect that other sports that have the nerve to be under another network's umbrella — like, say, the National Hockey League — are not. Beckham's exhibition debut (should it even happen) is both sports news and an ESPN promotional vehicle, which unfortunately seems to be the case with 99% of sports news these days. (Remember when a hot dog eating contest was just a hot dog eating contest?)

(Hell, remember when a hot dog eating contest wasn't even considered a sport?)

Meanwhile, Posh Spice was mugging like a tarted-up Jim Carrey on her reality special. I have no idea why this couldn't have been a serious look at her and her husband's lives in L.A., rather than Victoria Beckham doing physical comedy in an earthquake simulator. Why do I get the feeling she may have seen a few episodes of "The Osbournes" and decided "If that foul-mouthed cow can do it, so can I!"...

As far as Posh's comedic talents go: unfortunately, "Spice World" remains the career highlight.

Last week's Jester's Quart compared David Beckham with Michael Jordan. Before Alexi Lalas began making the comparisons himself, a poster named "Candy" made one, and that acted as a catalyst for the column. My guess that "Candy" was actually Frank Deford appears to have been incorrect: Candy claims to be a female sports fan, and took issue with my calling her statement that "Beckham's bigger than Jordan" asinine in the piece. "I am not going to debate you because we all have our opinions," she wrote, "but to call my statements asinine, then I presume yours are as well. I challenge you to perform this worldwide in all different languages!!!"

David Beckham no es más grande que Michael Jordania.

What do I win?

If you've read this column over the last 10 years, you know I rarely print the correspondence I receive. First of all, I prefer an e-mail conversation with readers rather than attempting to have the last word in the JQ. But more importantly, I feel whatever I have to say takes precedence because it will undoubtedly be wittier, better-written, and more insightful than what most of my readers send me.

Yes, I am that big a douche bag.

I buck the trend this week because I received two responses to the Jordan vs. Beckham column that really struck me as exceptional. The first is from Aditya lohia, writing from Nepal in Southeast Asia, which itself speaks to how huge both of these stars are:

"After reading your article I thought or rather guessed that you are from America (I don't mean it in an offensive way as I like Americans too).

I am a HUGE SPORTS fanatic and I mean SPORTS fanatic. Michael Jordan made me watch basketball of which people didn't give a rat's ass before Jordan made it popular out here in Southeast Asia. David Beckham made me watch soccer of which people didn't give a rat's ass before David Beckham. Now the point I am trying to make here is that these two legends, as I would call them, cannot be compared on any platform but I would say just be appreciated for what they have achieved and done. Michael Jordan I personally believe might've made more money than David Beckham but then I would say that is because he was in America and David Beckham was not. Whereas David Beckham has been popular everywhere other than the United States. I'm not saying Beckham is bigger than Jordan, but I think that Jordan has marketed a product in basketball to the world and those who liked it watched it and David Beckham has marketed a product in football or soccer and those who liked it watched it. Again the point here is that both have reached out to the whole world and after that they have left it to the people to choose what they like and it so happens that Jordan's impact was felt more in the USA and Canada whereas Beckham's impact was felt more in the other parts of the world.

I would say that the EPL (English premier league) and FIFA should thank David Beckham for what they earn and NBA should do the same to Michael Jordan as both have done the same thing to different sports which in turn has revolutionized both the sports in the world. I am not sure whether Michael Jordan was the best player ever in basketball history and I am sure that David Beckham isn't the best player that ever was…but what I am sure about is that both were excellent players of their games and both have reached out to a huge mass its just that the impact have been felt in different places at different levels."

Nepal ... can you believe there are guys in Nepal sitting around, drinking whatever it is they drink in Nepal, debating Jordan vs. Beckham!?

The second letter comes from reader Alex Chowdhury, who really makes some fantastic points in rebuttal to my original piece:

"In all actuality Beckham probably is much more of a worldwide phenomenon than Michael Jordan (or Tiger Woods for that matter). As it happens, basketball in Europe, South America, Asia and Australia is the equivalent of soccer in the states (except for some fleeting interest in Russia and China, who probably still value soccer more highly). By that I mean it is much less popular than soccer outside of the USA. In most countries it is hardly ever shown, and if it is it is more likely to be the national league of the respective country, not US basketball (as in Spain, for example). By contrast soccer is shown in great frequency all over the world with matches from all the major soccer-playing leagues and international matches. Many more people across the world would watch a world cup final than an Olympic basketball final. Soccer is definitely the true global sport (despite US lack of interest).

Your opening tale of the boy wearing a Michael Jordan shirt is one that would have been mirrored again and again with David Beckham's name. His worldwide fame surpasses that of world leaders, musicians and movie stars. There is one story that I particularly like of a Japanese woman licking every toilet seat in a famous Japanese hotel as she didn't know which one Beckham had used."

I'd like to cut in here and mention that I did the same thing, only it was Scarlett Johansson and several dozen Chipotle restaurants in New York City.

Please continue:

"A fair percentage of men in Australia or Japan for example, may recognize a picture of Michael Jordan, but many fewer still would be able to name what team he played for. By contrast, a much, much larger percentage of both men and women would not only recognize David Beckham, but would be able to name the teams he has played for. Due to one man, the LA Galaxy soccer team will be much more well known across the globe than Chicago Bulls.

In summation, although more of the 250 million citizens of the USA will be familiar with Michael Jordan than David Beckham; many more of the 6+ billion people in the world will know of David Beckham than Mike Jordan."

There are many other issues in this debate I think deserve attention — race being the most prominent — and hopefully when Beckham begins to make his impact in the U.S., we can revisit the topic. Until that time, I will reiterate that Beckham is as enormous a sports celebrity as we have in the world ... but in the end, he's an athlete built by the tabloids and, from a marketing aspect, playing by Jordan's Rules. Michael sold a sport, created something out of nothing; Beckham is the best-looking chap in the world's most popular sport and married to a pop starlet. Not exactly heavy-lifting there...

We're lucky to have him on American soil ... even if it means having to deal with that Spice Girls reunion.

At least Scary can be something other than Axel Foley's baby momma for a while.

Greg 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 10:21 AM | Comments (1)

July 20, 2007

2007 NFL Preview: Atlanta Falcons

2006 In The Rearview Mirror

Like in 2004 and 2005, the Falcons shot out of a canon at the start of the 2006 season with a 5-2 start. After wins in Carolina and Cincinnati, combined with home wins to Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay, the Falcons looked like they — once again — had turned the corner.

The rushing offense was once again fluid, even though the third head of the three-headed monster was swapped out. A smaller, quicker Jerious Norwood replaced the power supplied by T.J. Duckett, which proved to be a shrewd decision.

But as the Falcons' rushing game reigned supreme once again, just as it typically did during the Jim Mora/Alex Gibbs era, the rest of the was average or below average at every other facet.

On offense, quarterback Michael Vick still looked like a running back playing quarterback. His passing accuracy was so feebly inconsistent that by the end of the season, the coaching staff was experimenting with him at running back.

While a large share of the passing failures can be pinned on the guy who allegedly houses dog fights, there is enough blame to go around.

For starters, the wide receivers, Roddy White and Michael Jenkins, have been a bigger letdown than "Oceans 12" and "Oceans 13". White frequently drops passes while Jenkins is simply inconsistent.

Not helping the issues was the fact that the offensive line was far more capable of run blocking than pass protecting.

Both lines of scrimmage proved to be weakness for the Falcons.

On defense, the addition of Abraham was supposed to improve on the 37 sacks that Atlanta notched in 2005. But Abraham only played eight games.

On the opposite side, Patrick Kerney, a key pillar for the Falcons defense for many years, was limited to nine games also due to injury.

The Falcons' sack total did not improve in 2006 and with these playmaking defensive ends spending lots of time on the sidelines, the Falcons' defense — inherently — didn't make enough plays.

The secondary proved to be a weak link as the acquisition of free safety Chris Crocker proved to a mistake, while the signing of strong safety Lawyer Milloy didn't result as planned since he clearly lacked range in coverage.

At cornerback, the Falcons were banking on the development of rookie Jimmy Williams, which never progressed, and to finally at the cherry on top, "Pro Bowl" cornerback DeAngelo Hall was painfully burned up and down the field on numerous occasions.

In the past four seasons, the Falcons' pass defense has averaged a ranking of 24th, mostly because management has failed to find the right help.

The Falcons have spent first-day picks on Jimmy Williams and Bryan Scott, second-day picks on Etric Pruitt and Waine Bacon, and burned free agent money on Jason Webster. Throw in the acquisition of Crocker, who cost the Falcons a fourth-round pick, and it is plain to see the horrible track record in this secondary.

Only Williams and Crocker are still with the team and Williams, a cornerback by nature, has been shifted to free safety to replace Crocker. Even the signing of Milloy has been scrutinized.

The free agency mess goes a bit further. Inking Edgerton Hartwell has provided an injury-prone player who talks the talk, but rarely walks the walk. If Abraham is plagued by injuries yet again, soon I'll be adding him to this list.

While the secondary struggled, the front seven did have some bright spots. Keith Brooking always shines, but now has some company from rising star Michael Boley. The defensive tackle tandem of Rod Coleman and Grady Jackson are the football equivalent of Earthquake and Tugboat, and are quietly underrated.

Using Letters To Breakdown Numbers: Michael Vick

Let's deal with the burning question that now burns more than the herpes that Ron Mexico has allegedly passed around: has Michael Vick improved as a passer?

No.

Vick's passing yardage, interceptions, and quarterback rating haven't significantly changed in the past three seasons. In fact, aside from tossing a couple more touchdown passes last year, Vick's statistics are beginning to show some consistency.

2004:
15 GP, 181-321, 56.4%, 2313 YDS, 14 TD, 12 INT, 78.1 QB rating

2005:
15 GP, 214-387, 55.3%, 2412 YDS, 15 TD, 13 INT, 73.1 QB rating

2006:
16 GP, 204-388, 52.6%, 2474 YDS, 20 TD, 13 INT, 75.7 QB rating

Vick now has seven seasons in the league and has not progressed in the last three seasons. It's time to realize that this is who he is.

In seven seasons, Vick's personal benchmark for completion percentage is 56.4%. His new backup, Joey Harrington, has a higher career completion percentage and he's been chased out of two cities.

There's no question that Vick's game is different the Joey Blue Skies and obviously he brings other utensils to the table, but as a pure passer, Vick isn't accurate enough.

Take a look at his QB rating per week as his pass attempts increase:

2005:

Attempts 1-10: 89.1
Attempts 11-20: 66.7
Attempts 21-30: 55.1

2006:

Attempts 1-10: 79.4
Attempts 11-20: 75.5
Attempts 21-30: 70.2

Hiring Bobby Petrino buys Vick one more year of time to prove that he is still on the way up but should his plateau continue, the Falcons might start thinking about life after Vick.

If It's Broke, Fix It

The Falcons have led the NFL in rushing during the past three seasons, but their aerial attack finished dead last in 2006. Hence the hiring of one of the brightest passing minds among the college ranks: Bobby Petrino.

The main changes for the offense are as follows:

• The passing game will include a complex audible system, which will allow the QB to read the defense and switch off to several other plays at the line of scrimmage
• Beef up the offensive line to ameliorate the pass protection
• Switching to a power running game, opposed to the previous finesse style

The latter two changes are based on the offensive line, which shouldn't have a problem beefing up. In fact, a number of the linemen complained last season because the Alex Gibbs' scheme required them to stay light on their feet and keep their weight in check.

The additional weight will facilitate the Falcons desire to employ a mauling running style.

Taking a glance at the running backs on staff, it makes sense that this be the year that Warrick Dunn finally passes the torch. He has produced extremely well in three consecutive, but he doesn't bring power to the table. Jerious Norwood, who is a bit bigger and possesses similar shiftiness and speed, will handle a bigger load this season. Also, the Falcons heavily invested in fullback Ovie Mughelli, who will clear some paths and help with short yardage.

As mentioned before, the Falcons have ridded themselves of the zone blocking scheme, which helped them to the top of the rushing ranks. Needless to say, expect a drop-off in rushing production, even if it is not a great one.

As far as Michael Vick adapting to the new read-and-react offense, forgive me if I'm skeptical.

The Falcons' offense has been as basic as it gets the past few seasons and in that environment, Vick didn't flourish as a passer. Now the offensive playbook is on the opposite end of the spectrum and Vick is expected to handle a bigger responsibility?

Vick's qualifications look like this:

Strong arm; excellent at improvising; great at eluding pressure and escaping with his feet.

Reading defenses, judging blitzes, and finding the right receiver are the opposite of strengths.

Reading defenses has been one of Vick's biggest flaws and now that skill is going to be emphasized further. Third-string quarterback Chris Redman, who played under Bobby Petrino at Louisville, said that this offense is even more complex, which doesn't bode well for Vick, who hasn't proven to be a heady quarterback on or off the field (see fingering fans or smuggling at the airport).

On defense, the Falcons front four is one of the better units in the league. Abraham and Coleman are Pro Bowl caliber, Grady Jackson is a solid roadblock, and expectations are high for the Falcons' first-round pick, Jamaal Anderson.

But that's all on paper.

In reality, Coleman, who injured his quadriceps in a watercraft accident, could miss the first month of the regular season. Jackson, at age 34, could start to break down, Anderson could perform like a rookie, and Abraham, who has missed 21 games over the last four seasons, is injury-prone.

The Falcons need their front four to be healthy and potent because the secondary is under construction.

Hall has one corner locked down but the other spot is up for grabs. Like last season, the Falcons will bank on a second round pick to win the job and establish himself. Rookie Chris Houston will battle Lewis Sanders for the gig.

Crocker and Williams will battle for the free safety spot, but this isn't exactly Ali vs. Foreman. The best case scenario is that Williams, a transformed cornerback, wins the job and develops into a starter.

The secondary that allowed the fourth-worst yards-per-reception average (12.2) and permitted the third-most receptions of 40 yards or longer (14) isn't significantly improved, so they will need help from the defensive line to mask their deficiencies.

The Falcons' linebacking corps is a strong suit with Brooking, Boley, and Demorrio Williams, who is undersized, but high on effort. They also play well in pass coverage, which should prove to be useful.

Biggest Weakness: Safety — Milloy is past his prime, Crocker stunk as a starter last season, and Williams is a project.

Offensive X-Factor: Vick — If he becomes an efficient passer, the offense will have balance and the Falcons will be tough to beat. If not, Vick's days as a Falcon could be coming to an end.

Defensive X-Factor: John Abraham — Although he set a career low for sacks last season (4), he still had four fumbles forced in eight games. He is dominant when healthy and has worked on his strength in the offseason.

Fantasy Market: Buy Low

Dunn will be likely be drafted ahead of Norwood in most drafts, but Norwood is bigger than Dunn and is better suited for the new style of running. Look for the carries to be shared closer to 50-50, which makes Norwood the better investment if you draft him several rounds later. Dunn had only two more rushing touchdowns than Norwood last year.

"Vegas" Dave Golokhov hosts "THE Fantasy Show" on Hardcore Sports Radio, channel 186 on Sirius Satellite Radio, beginning September. Send media requests, thoughts, love letters, or hate mail to [email protected].

Posted by Dave Golokhov at 12:30 PM | Comments (3)

When Reality and Fiction Collide

The images seem like they're fresh in my brain, but I still can't help but watch them over again whenever they pop up on a TV screen. It was a moment in time that showed everyone how pressure can be immense, instant, and overwhelming. The best way I can describe it is a mix of pain and shock. It also let us know that no matter how on top of your profession you are, moments of greatness can get to you, just like everyone else.

The year was 1999. The location: the site where this weekend's Open Championship will take place — the famed Scottish links of Carnoustie. At the time, I had just finished my freshman year at Iowa State and was back home for the summer.

When I was a wee lad, summer was the best of times (to sound Dickens-esque). I used to get up early and watch all the major sporting events that occurred across the Atlantic Ocean. The British was no exception. I remember being glued to the tube when Nick Price won at Turnberry in 1994. And I watched the next year, as well, when John Daly survived a three-way playoff at St. Andrews. When Tom Lehman, Ernie Els, and Mark O'Meara held the Claret Jug, I was there, watching through most of the tournament coverage.

'99 was different, though. I had started my transition from morning person to night owl that year. And getting up to watch the tournament became more of a chore than a pleasure. I was working and going to class during the week. I can't recall watching any of the coverage on Saturday. On Sunday, I rolled out of bed around 11:30ish (gimme some leeway, it's been eight years) and thought, "Oh yeah, wonder how the British is shaping up."

Even without watching every shot, I had heard about the rough conditions and the struggle for anyone to stay near par. By the end of the third round, only one man stood at even, while the closest competitors were three shots behind. That man, of course, was Frenchman Jean Van de Velde. A player without much distinction on the European Tour. He had won once in his 10 years on the tour (the 1993 Roma Masters).

However, he stood on the cusp of greatness, looking to be the first person of French descent to win the Open Championship since 1907. So, turning on the coverage, it was no surprise that I saw him coming to the 72nd hole of the tournament still holding that three-shot lead. That's when something phenomenal happened. Van de Velde started playing like me.

The rest is history. The first shot sliced right to another fairway. The second shot into, the rejected from, the grandstands. The third shot fluffed into the Barry Burn. The bizarre sequence of him possibly hitting the ball from that spot. The (dropped) fifth shot plunked in the bunker. And the up-and-down to save triple bogey.

It was the train wreck some might have seen coming. But at that point, with one hole to play and a three-shot cushion, even those skeptics couldn't have foretold something so fantastic. It couldn't quite register in my brain. A somewhat Tin Cup moment placed into reality.

Sure, there have been gaffs before. Doug Sanders missed a three-foot putt to win the 1970 British. Roberto DeVicenzo famously signed his partner's scorecard, which had been scored incorrectly, to disqualify himself from the 1968 Masters. Phil Mickelson tried to imitate the meltdown with his error-filled 18th hole at the 2006 U.S. Open.

But could you imagine any of these guys doing what Van de Velde ended up accomplishing at Carnoustie? The perfect storm had come together. One last hole, a comfortable lead, a journeyman golfer, and a sport based on singular (not team) performance looked expectation right in the face and got summarily plowed over.

For me, the golf world changed that day. I now knew that while any lead was a lead, it also presented the question, "What lead is a safe one?" And I know I'm not the only casual golfer that was affected by that sequence of events. Out there, somewhere, are people who changed how they approach the game due to one man who went for it and came up dramatically short.

***

The Lack of Future Credibility Files

Now that I'm thinking of 1999, I might as well invoke some of my collegiate ways of life into my more (*cough*) mature writing. My senior year at ISU, I wrote a weekly column for the school paper. At the end of almost every one, I would include a section called "Absurd Predictions." Now, being older and wiser, I figured I would revamp the idea with a more verbose sounding title.

The summer season is basically half over, but there's still much to be done. Several golf majors will play out, along with the 2007 baseball marathon and the (pretty much) season-ending tennis grand slam in Flushing Meadow. Here's some of my takes on what will happen through the end of summer and beginning of fall.

Barry Bonds will break Major League Baseball's home run record on August 8th.

It's tough to tell with Bonds' sitting schedule and walk-to-at bat ratio, but I believe he'll hit dinger number 756 against the Nationals in the loving arms of his San Francisco faithful. I think he'll get one more on this road trip (Chicago and Milwaukee), then two more at home (versus Atlanta and Florida), before tying the record in L.A. around the 1st.

Tiger Woods will win the PGA Championship.

This isn't so much of an absurdity as much as it is hedging my bets. I've been saying this ever since he finished runner-up at Oakmont last month. That, combined with the second-place finish at Augusta in April, makes him prime for a major. However, I just don't see him winning at Carnoustie.

Southern Hills, minus the heat and the tricked up rough of the 2001 U.S. Open, should do him well in August. I'm looking at a final tally of seven under for the championship.

Roger Federer will not win the U.S. Open.

The Swiss maestro's five-set thriller against Rafael Nadal was classic, but I believe more surprises are around the corner when Federer cruises through New York City. I expect Andy Roddick to do well in his second season under Jimmy Connors. Also watch out for that Australian pistol known as Lleyton Hewitt. And while Nadal will make a nice run, he won't be holding the trophy on Arthur Ashe court, either.

Two sleepers to watch out for. One is Fernando Gonzalez. The Chilean is still rising, and his improved play during last year's hardcourt season (three semifinals and one quarter) is worth watching. Then, there's one of three men to defeat Federer the entire year. The only difference is, Guillermo Canas has done it twice on the hard surface, where Nadal and Filippo Volandri didn't. Just sayin' I wouldn't want him in my draw if I was Rog.

The Cubs and Mariners will make the playoffs.

I'm saying it right here. As off-the-wall as it may be, the Cubs (with more consistent starting pitching than before) will be the NL Wildcard, while the M's (with plucky play from some unheralded veterans) will win the AL West.

I understand that the Angels are still loaded, and the Cubs are still the Cubs (period). But Seattle does have a potent lineup, as well, with tablesetter Ichiro Suzuki and five players over 45 RBIs. And Chicago is miles ahead of where people thought they'd be with no Mark Prior or Kerry Wood, plus Derek Lee with only 8 home runs and 48 RBIs. I expect these surprising starts to continue, but it is just wishful thinking (as are all of my absurdities ... you'll get used to it).

Since I've covered some of the biggies for the rest of the summer, I'll save my next batch of files for the NFL season. The crystal ball and tarot cards should be warmed up by then.

Posted by Jonathan Lowe at 11:27 AM | Comments (0)

July 19, 2007

NASCAR Top 10 Power Rankings: Week 19

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jeff Gordon — Gordon was never a threat to win, but consistently ran in the top 15 and finished ninth, his 17th top-10 finish on the year. He increased his lead over second place in the points from 271 to 303. After winning 10 of the first 15 races this year, Hendrick Motorsports is 0-5 in the last five. Is the field catching up to Hendrick?

"Not so fast, my friend," says Gordon. "Casey Mears won the pole, and Jimmie Johnson was certainly capable of winning until his tire blew. Me? I've got tons of other things on my mind besides racing. Like, when will Kyle Busch announce his signing with DEI, so I can give him the thumbs up and he can claim I gave him the 'brush off.' And how the heck am I going to pay for my daughter's college education in 18 years? Winning the Brickyard 400 might cover one year."

2. Matt Kenseth — Kenseth officially led one lap, 231, but that lead was short-lived, as Tony Stewart reclaimed the lead almost immediately and held off Kenseth for the final 36 laps. Kenseth also claimed runner-up status in Saturday's Busch Series USG Durock 300.

"Am I disappointed?" asks Kenseth. "Sure, I am. That's two losses. But on the bright side, that's 9,999 fewer than the Philadelphia Phillies."

3. Denny Hamlin — Although he only finished 17th, Hamlin was content that the tension between he and teammate Tony Stewart was resolved with the help of owner Joe Gibbs, who spoke with the two during Saturday's practice session. Hamlin and Stewart had been at odds since wrecking at Daytona two weeks ago.

"Breaking up is hard to do," says Hamlin, "but it always leads to the best thing in a relationship: the make-up meeting. And having Joe there made it even more special, albeit somewhat perverted. Joe's got a knack for saying the right thing, which is what you'd expect from someone who works for Redskins owner Daniel Snyder and still has a job. I'm glad Tony finally got a win, so he can feel like he's the leader of this team again."

4. Tony Stewart — Stewart won for the first time in 20 races, dominating the second half of the race at Chicagoland and performing his victory fence-climb for the first time in a while. Some onlookers even reported seeing Stewart smile, although these accounts have been unconfirmed as of press time. Stewart started 19th and quickly charged to the front, and took his first lead on lap 110.

"Just more proof that qualifying means nothing in NASCAR," says Stewart, "unless you don't qualify. And that's proof that Dale Jarrett is still driving. And now that I've cleared the air with Denny Hamlin, I can go back to being the Tony that everyone loves. I've got Joe Gibbs to thank for that. Joe just told me to relax, be myself, and limit my personalities to single digits."

5. Carl Edwards — Edwards followed up his fourth at Daytona with a third in the USG Sheetrock 400, chasing teammate Matt Kenseth across the line. Edwards improved one position to fifth in the points, 438 behind Jeff Gordon.

"As one of the younger guys on the circuit," says Edwards, "I feel it's my duty to compliment the band Hanson on a job well done singing the national anthem. I fondly recall, as an 18-year-old, just as my racing career was taking off, sitting on the hood of my car and eating my lunch out of my Hanson lunch box. If those brilliant marketing wizards that have Kelly Clarkson singing at NASCAR events, then 'Mmmbop' might be the next official song of NASCAR."

6. Jimmie Johnson — On lap 223, while in second and in hot pursuit of race leader Tony Stewart, Johnson's left rear tire blew, sending him hard into the wall. Johnson had previously led 82 laps, and what was sure to be a top-five result ended with a 37th, and he dropped three places in the points to seventh, 488 behind Jeff Gordon.

"What did the fish say when he hit the wall?" asks Johnson. "'Dam.' That's rated G compared to what I said when I blew that tire doing 180 miles per hour. I'm not sure I could have passed Tony, but I definitely could have got right on his tail, wrecked him, and blamed him for the accident."

7. Jeff Burton — Burton snagged his tenth top-10 of the year with a solid seventh in the USG Sheetrock 400, joining Richard Childress teammates Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer in the top 10.

"Luckily, NASCAR broadcasts will be moving to ESPN starting with the Brickyard 400 in two weeks," says Burton. "I think NBC and TNT were more committed to the almighty dollar than the actual sport. I'm sure ESPN will bring the same commitment to excellence and broadcast flair that they displayed in televising eating competitions and rock, paper, scissors tournaments."

8. Kevin Harvick — Harvick led 48 of the first 109 laps at Chicagoland, but was unable to get in position late to challenge for the win. Still, his fourth-place finish capped a successful weekend, as Harvick won the USG Durock 300 for his third Busch Series victory of the year.

"Chicago's always been good to me," says Harvick. "That's why it was great to see Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith give the 'Gentlemen, start your engines' command, although I was a little surprised he chose that moment to reiterate that Rex Grossman is his starting quarterback."

9. Clint Bowyer — It was a great weekend for Richard Childress Racing. In Saturday's Busch Series USG Durock 300, Kevin Harvick won while teammates Jeff Burton and Bowyer finished third and fourth, respectively. On Sunday, Harvick, Burton, and Bowyer crossed the line in the fourth, seventh, and 10th spots. Bowyer moves up a spot to 10h in the points, a safe 160 ahead of Ryan Newman in 13th.

"I'd say I'm a lock for the postseason," says Bowyer. "Or so says my alter-ego, Chase Worthy. This RCR team is solid. We're not feuding, and we definitely aren't cheaters. I know everyone thinks NASCAR is extremely strict when it comes to violations, but they've got nothing on the International Association of Athletics Federation. The IAAF actually said that prosthetic legs create less wind resistance than a real leg, so, in essence, they believe that runners with prosthetic legs have an advantage. That's what I call stretching the rule book."

10. Kyle Busch — After his heartbreaking loss in Daytona, Busch finished a healthy 13th at Chicagoland, and now stands ninth in the points, 597 out of first. As of now, Busch is still officially a member of Hendrick Motorsports and unofficially a member of DEI.

"If I see Gordon, Johnson, or Mears on the side of the road with a broke-down car," says Busch, "I'd do what any stranger would do — stop and ask for for an autograph. I'll be damned if I'd help them, though."

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 11:50 AM | Comments (1)

Losing Your Youth

Tadd Fujikawa plans to turn pro in approximately two and a half weeks at the PGA Tour's Reno-Tahoe Open. He had received a sponsor's exemption into the event becoming the youngest player in over 50 years to make a cut in PGA Tour event when he accomplished the feat at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January.

After consideration of the matter and significant success in amateur and minor profession events, Fujikawa determined that there really was no reason for him to remain as an amateur. In a statement released from his Houston-based representation group, Fujikawa said, "I will work hard to achieve my dreams as a professional golfer and to be a good representative for Hawaii."

Most people who have been critical of this decision have probably cited that Fujikawa is just 16 years of age and likely does not possess the talent level to sustain success on the PGA Tour in the long-term. They likely point to Michelle Wie, Ty Tryon, Casey Wittenberg, and some others in recent memory that have struggled to be victorious and maintain their status at the highest levels of professional golf.

My argument, though, has very little to do with the talent that Fujikawa possesses. Tadd made a cut this year in his only PGA Tour start. That's a 100% cuts made clip. And while I am concerned about his ability to sustain himself long-term, it is not because of his talent level.

Rather, I am worried about Fujikawa because he is 16-years-old and about to become a professional golfer. Being a professional golfer changes your life — especially for someone so young. Tadd will no longer by playing for future opportunities when he turns pro. Those opportunities will present themselves now, and he will have to perform well in order to capitalize upon them.

Fujikawa and his representation will have to find a way to form sponsorship deals. After those deals are secured, Tadd will then have to play at least moderately well in order to maintain those sponsorships after the initial buzz fades. He may very well struggle to secure deals nearly as lucrative as fellow Hawaiian Michelle Wie because Fujikawa lacks the ability to transcend the game and draw in people from the general sports culture. Although he is a good kid with a great story, he does have a dynamic, natural draw.

Therefore, Fujikawa is going to have to make a living on his golf game. Sponsorship deals will not bail him out in the way that Wie's deals have bailed her out financially from her recent abysmal performance on the course. Regardless of how good of a golfer Tadd proves to be, there is an incredible amount of pressure to be a professional golfer because one only earns money by making cuts. He will face pressure to do so week after week. What used to be playing for broke and for fun will quickly become for paychecks. The game — or any favorite activity — can lose its luster if the purpose for doing it suddenly changes.

Tadd may very well be able to handle all of these things and do so with modest success. My question of contention to Fujikawa and you as reader is: why would you do it? When I was 16-years-old, I was enjoying high school love, making lots of friends, learning how to drive, and not working. Basically, I was enjoying being my own age. Even with a talent for golf as extraordinary as Fujikawa's, I could never even fathom giving up the high school dream life to become a professional golfer.

I would rather wait until I at least had finished high school and some of college and been able to fully enjoy my adolescence. After all, the money from professional golf is not guaranteed. Thus, the old NBA argument that one needs to cash in while they can is simply not valid. In golf, there is very little up-front money — only sponsorships — and therefore cashing in only happens when you play well enough to make cuts and earn the money. The money is hypothetically there, but only if you can take it. For me, I'd much rather wait until I had enough living the sweet life and then try to make bank.

The 5'1", 16-year-old Fujikawa said that he still intends to finish out high school and move onto college for his higher education — the Michelle Wie plan. As a graduate student, I worked a part-time job in addition to my studies. At the minimum, it was annoying. At its worst, it was frustrating, limiting, and not desirable at all. Assuming Fujikawa would place at least some significance on his education, the balance of schooling and a full-time job as a professional golfer would be extremely difficult. It would be something I'd rather avoid at all cost.

Socially, professional golf can be brutal. Stop Cristie Kerr the next time you see her and ask her how much fun it was to be the youngest player on the LPGA Tour for the first three years of her playing career. She will openly admit that she struggled because she was so young. It made it difficult to form friendships, find common bonds, and develop a comfort level with the talented professional surrounding her every week. It took her years to become comfortable in her own shoes and competition. Fujikawa would likely face a similar situation on the PGA Tour if he were able to earn his Tour card.

I'm not writing all of this to dissuade Tadd Fujikawa from becoming a professional golfer. I wish him all of the best and hope he succeeds. I doubt that I could do it, even with his talent.

Rather, I write because this debate is so often based upon the topic of pure talent. In reality, it is often that pure talent has very little to do with the youth in question. They have it. Instead, the issue is what the child may be giving up in order to fulfill their desires now versus waiting until a later stage of maturity. Remember that these golf prodigies are children. They should be encouraged to live their childhood to the max. If they do not and later go on to fail because of any host of reasons, they will live to regret it. In the end, being forced to grow up too soon can be one of the greatest tragedies in a child's life.

It is my hope that Fujikawa, his family, and support network all recognize this and will do everything in their power to make sure that the beaming smile which graced the Sony Open in Hawaii will still be there even if the road gets bumpy.

Posted by Ryan Ballengee at 11:21 AM | Comments (0)

July 18, 2007

Bracing For the Calvin Johnson Blastoff

He's 6'5", 235 pounds. He runs a 4.35 forty. His hands are magnets. His character flawless. He is Calvin Johnson.

Football fans, brace yourselves for his arrival.

"Why?" you might ask. That's a fair question, because anyone who's not a Georgia Tech supporter or Detroit Lions lover probably has not yet received a sufficient dose of the talented wide receiver. The hype surrounding Johnson as he nears the onset of his rookie season is just not what it should be.

There are several reasons for this. First, Johnson was only second in the 2007 NFL Draft. It would be hard to win an argument by saying Johnson is not the most talented player in this year's rookie class, but at the same time you can't — at least not at this point in time — fault the Raiders for taking QB JaMarcus Russell No. 1 overall. If Johnson has the most potential of anyone in the 2007 class, Russell is certainly number two in that respect and number three isn't even close.

As much as Al Davis liked Johnson, he couldn't pass up a potential franchise quarterback in Russell. And if Johnson had been the pick, who would have been able to get him the ball in Oakland? Well, that's not a difficult answer. Nobody. Without Russell on board, the Raiders would be fielding a training camp quarterback competition consisting of Josh McCown, Josh Booty, and Andrew Walter. That's like a kid walking into elementary school lunch, seeing "pot luck" on the menu, and being confronted with choices of fried okra, asparagus, and collared greens. None are acceptable. All are vomit-inducing.

It's not Johnson's fault that he was not the top pick, it was simply that the Raiders had no choice but to bring in a quarterback.

The second reason for a lack of appropriate hype is Johnson's position. Football aficionados find it a lot harder to get excited about a wide receiver than they do about a running back or a quarterback. Receivers need someone else to put the ball in their hands. Quarterbacks touch it on every single play, running backs get chances whenever the coach calls their number, but plenty of things have to happen before a wideout gets his name in the box score.

Putting it into numbers: Brett Favre led all quarterbacks with 613 pass attempts during the 2006 regular season, Larry Johnson was the NFL's workhorse in the backfield with 416 carries, and Andre Johnson topped all other receivers with just 103 catches. So even if Johnson exceeds the wildest of expectations in his rookie campaign, the bottom line is he will have much less face time than, say, JaMarcus Russell or second-year RB Reggie Bush.

Speaking of needing someone else to put the ball in your hands, that brings me to reason number three. Johnson's college quarterback for each of his three seasons at Georgia Tech was Reggie Ball. Ball made the occasional spectacular play for the Yellow Jackets, but calling him "erratic" and nothing else would be doing him a favor. Numbers aside, this is all you need to know about Reggie Ball: Georgia Tech fans reveled in his graduation while Georgia fans still bemoan the fact that their Bulldogs will never again play against him.

Despite having Ball behind center, Johnson put up numbers over his three year career at Tech that were not at all disappointing. He caught 48 passes for 837 yards and 7 TDs as a freshman, had 54 receptions for 888 yards and 6 scores the following season, and he exploded last year to the tune of 76 catches for 1,202 yards and 15 touchdowns. Just think of the kind of stats we'd be talking about right now had it not been for the following three performances, for which 50 percent of the blame can be placed on Ball, 49 percent on the Georgia Tech coaching staff, and one percent on Johnson:

• 0 catches for 0 yards at Clemson on October 21
• 3 catches for 13 yards at North Carolina on November 11
• 2 catches for 13 yards at Georgia on November 25

What we'd be talking about, potentially, is a Heisman Trophy, but Johnson had no realistic shot at the award after the trip to Death Valley.

Johnson is by no means flying under the radar as the 2007 NFL season approaches, but a player of his stature cannot be accompanied by too much pomp and circumstance. After all, the league probably has never seen anyone quite like Calvin Johnson.

At the NFL Combine in February, Johnson measured in at 6'5" and 239 pounds. A man of that size should not be the fleetest of foot, but Johnson went out and ran a 4.35 in the forty at the combine. Legend has it that he did it in borrowed shoes, but Johnson later dispelled that myth. He had lent his own cleats to East Carolina QB James Pinkney, and when he went to retrieve them just before running, onlookers thought he was borrowing Pinkney's cleats.

Borrowed shoes or not, Johnson's blend of size and speed is unrivaled by any player in the NFL right now. He will be a terrifying matchup for every cornerback in the league. I'm not saying he is going to dominate the Champ Baileys of the world right from the start, but guys in the secondary will not have a lot of fun trying to contain him. Mere mortal receivers in the NFL are either not tall enough to abuse smaller cornerbacks, not fast enough to get open deep, or not strong enough to overcome getting jammed inside the five-yard area. Johnson has none of those flaws, and let's not forget that his hands are A+ material. He made catches at Georgia Tech that would make even Chris Chambers jealous.

Johnson has all the physical tools of Randy Moss and then some, but carries none of Moss's excess baggage. In fact, the character differences between the two could not be any more pronounced, and the Detroit Lions know it. When introducing Johnson shortly after the draft, team President and CEO Matt Millen opened by saying, "We were excited to draft not only what we believed to be the best player in this year's draft, but also probably the top character, which was important to us on a lot of different levels. He handles his business well, on and off the field."

Head coach Rod Marinelli agrees. "(He has) tremendous talent, but it's the other things that I'm really excited about," Marinelli said. "You bring a guy in to your organization that just loves this game and wants to work and is special."

Johnson never takes a play off, and when he finds the end zone he simply acts like he's been there before (because he has), calmly handing the ball over to the referee. Off the field, he is soft-spoken and trouble-free. In the summer of 2006, Johnson began a school project building solar latrines to improve sanitation in Bolivia. He traveled there this January to carry out his vision of helping the less fortunate.

A minor question mark popped up less than two weeks before the NFL draft when Johnson (along with fellow rookies Gaines Adams and Amobi Akoye) admitted to having used marijuana. That shouldn't affect how they are viewed and as one NFL general manager predicted, it had no effect on their draft positions. "The fact that they would come in and admit it and say they may have experimented with it shows they are honest," the GM said anonymously. "If a team has done its research and there are no red flags with the school, I would think that would be enough. A lot of players wouldn't say anything or would deny it. That kind of honesty probably relieves anxiety about a player's character than increases it." Agreed.

Iron-fisted commissioner Roger Goodell has to be breathing a sigh of relief that one of the next big stars in the league will not be taking up his time by getting involved in off-the-field shenanigans that necessitate suspensions. In an age of Pacman Jones making it rain, Michael Vick fighting pit bulls, and Cincinnati Bengals players getting arrested every other week, Johnson will be a welcomed sight for the NFL.

He'll be quite a sight to see on the field as well for the Detroit Lions, and he's already proving to be just that. At OTAs last month, Johnson was consistently one of the first players to arrive and one of the last to leave. In between, he wasn't too shabby, either, at least not according to QB Jon Kitna. "The kid is as good as everybody said he was, or better," Kitna raved. "I haven't played with anyone like that big, who runs, snatches everything. This guy is like the perfect mold for receivers, and he has the desire to be great. He went above what I thought he could be. He has a different way about him. He doesn't take any plays off. He gets mad at himself. That's a good thing."

Johnson is probably the main reason why Kitna guaranteed the Lions will win at least 10 games this season. Detroit fans should not be quite as optimistic. They also cannot be foolish enough to assume that Johnson will instantly become the best receiver in the NFL, but there's every reason to think that Johnson will be one of the game's elite sooner rather than later.

Calvin Johnson is coming, and you wouldn't even know it. But hey, that's exactly how he wants it to be. Starting September 9, Johnson will let his game do all the talking.

Posted by Ricky Dimon at 1:22 PM | Comments (4)

Sheff For Hire

Gary Sheffield was drafted when I was 5-year-old, and for close to 20 seasons, he's been quietly (quite loudly) compiling gaudy numbers in more jerseys than Lance Armstrong.

Following his latest tirade; this time aimed at Joe Torre and the allegedly racist folks that govern the so-called Evil Empire; Sheff finds himself firmly back in the limelight, even after he swore this would be the year he finally shut his mouth and played ball.

Promises, promises.

Look, Sheffield is a lot of unlikable things. Besides having a head that at least metaphorically dwarfs even that of Barry Bonds, a selfish streak that most closely resembles the late stages of full-blown narcissism and a glove big enough to catch his own gargantuan ego, he's quite arguably a future Hall of Famer and perhaps the greatest mercenary baseball has ever seen.

Yes, baseball is a team game and clubs that play that way tend to win that way (I'm thinking the 2004 Boston Red Sox), but compared with the likes of basketball, football, and hockey, it remains a sport where teams that don't always make nice can still make history (I'm looking at the last decade or so of New York Yankees clubs).

That being said, few players have made the rounds better and gotten along worse than Dwight Gooden's nephew.

From Milwaukee to San Diego to Florida to Los Angeles to Atlanta to New York to Detroit, Sheffield's had more jerseys than a World Cup competitor (did I do that one already?), and managed to produce big swings and one ring along the way, with the latter coming as part of the, ahem, legendary 1997 Florida Marlins, a team with Jose Mesa's face emblazoned on their individual hand hardware.

The point is this: Gary Sheffield is a run-producing, controversy-spouting machine with one of the most fearsome swings in all of baseball ever, but he's a player without an identity, without a diamond to call his own (even though he probably has several hundred thousand dollars worth of ones he calls his own).

He's had no problem putting up the numbers: the man's driven in more than 100 RBI a year in six of the last eight seasons, and that includes 2006 in which he played in less than 30 games due to injury. At the age of 38, he's 37th all-time in RBI, and could be in the top 30 with a strong second half this year.

But questions linger. If (and when?) Gary is inducted into Cooperstown, what hat will he wear? Who will he thank, other than himself and God, and probably in that order? And will anyone other than his family cheer, or will the crowds sit silent in a way Gary himself never could?

Of course, Gary Sheffield is hardly an anomaly as a selfish, me-first pro ball player, but he may have created a new mould for a whole new generation. And in a different sense he's extraordinarily unique, for there may never have been another player with so much talent and so little substance or apparent appreciation for the game. So effective, yet unproductive.

But hey, that's just Gary being Gary. He's a complicated man, and no one understands.

He's Sheff.

For more from Aaron Miller, visit Grandstand Admissions.

Posted by Aaron Miller at 12:21 PM | Comments (2)

2007 NFL Preview: Arizona Cardinals

2006 In The Rearview Mirror

As Denny Green would say: "If you want to crown them, then crown them."

Many people might crown the Arizona Cardinals as one of the worst NFL franchises over the last two decades and none of that changed in 2006.

Even with that "gift from heaven" — or however Green described Matt Leinart slipping to the Cardinals during the 2006 NFL Draft — and the signing of prized free agent running back, Edgerrin James, the Cardinals were exactly who we though they were.

The Cardinals extended their streak of losing seasons to eight years and now only have one winning season in the last 22 years.

After being touted as a sleeper outfit in the regular season, the Cardinals once again proved to have the confidence of Nicole Richie at a hot dog eating competition.

The Cardinals won their home opener in their beautiful brand new stadium and didn't win another game for 10 weeks.

Green's club was once again psychologically frail to the point where they consistently made mental and physical failures. The perfect example being their Week 6 loss to the Chicago Bears, where the Bears had trailed 23-3 as the third quarter neared a close.

The theme of the season started with optimistic thoughts of budding potential, but quickly turned into a Denny Green pink slip countdown.

As per usual, the Cardinals have to regroup in the offseason and take forward the positives.

The biggest plus figures to be the seamless transition of quarterbacks for Arizona. Kurt Warner flopped on his face badly last year, but served as an excellent tutor for Matt Leinart. Leinart set a franchise record for passing yards by a rookie and although he still needs to grow, it appears that the Cardinals have finally found their franchise quarterback.

Leinart had no support from his running game or offensive line, but still managed to look respectable during his rookie season.

Going forward, the Cardinals' offense can hang their hat on a talented trio of wide receivers and Leinart.

The signing of Edgerrin James didn't work out as planned for neither James — who clearly left Indianapolis a season early — nor the Cardinals. The Cards' rushing attack finished with the worst yards-per-carry average for a second consecutive season.

On defense, the Cardinals don't really have much to hang their hat on. They finished with the fourth-worst unit in the league (both yards and scoring).

The problem is threefold.

The first issue being the lack of development of prospects. Linebacker Karlos Dansby was hampered by toe, thumb, and groin injuries while former first-round pick, Antrel Rolle, has yet to prove he is a legitimate starter. The same can be said for Calvin Pace, one the team's 2003 first-rounders.

The second issue was getting off the field. The Cardinals were adequate in the turnover category, but they allowed many prolonged drives. Opponents average 20.7 first downs per game against Arizona (only Cincinnati permitted more).

Lastly, the lack of a consistent running game factored greatly in the freshness of the defense. The offense wasn't able to control the ball and therefore, pace of the game, which translated into forcing the defense onto the field for prolonged periods of time.

Using Letters To Breakdown Numbers: Rushing Offense

After entailing the league's worst rushing offense in 2005, the Arizona Cardinals tried to employ a Houston Texans-like approach to fix their ground woes: they signed a top-flight running back, but completely ignored their permeable offensive line.

Switching from scrubs like Marcel Shipp and J.J. Arrington to James was an impressive move on paper, but without an upgrade to their offensive line, the rushing results looking dauntingly similar.

The Cardinals had the lowest yards-per-carry average in 2005 and that repeated in 2006.

The 3.2 yards-per-carry average that the Cardinals posted during the last two seasons was a reflection of just how bad the offensive line was. James has lost a step, but not even LaDainian Tomlinson can find room behind these five turnstiles.

James has never been known as a home run threat, but in his previous seven seasons, he averaged just under six runs of 20 yards or longer. For Arizona last season, his longest rush of the season was 18 yards.

He has averaged roughly 75 rushing first downs per year, but last season had only 59.

James — quite literally — grinded out 1,159 yards on 337 carries and for the second time in his eight-year career, finished with a per-carry average of less than 4.1.

To make matters worse, not only did James not receive any help from his lineman, there were no other running backs to spell him in the backfield. Matt Leinart was second on the team in rushing yards (49) and attempts (22).

Gotta Have A Montage

Just like the movie "Team America," when Gary turns from being a soft actor to a stout asset for Team America, the Cardinals need to have a montage.

Ken Whisenhunt is the chosen man to direct Arizona's montage and his plan is to add some much needed toughness to the softest team in the league.

Whisenhunt has demanded more intensity in practice and is instilling ferociousness, which ideally would make the Cardinals look similar to his former team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

So far, practices have been more concentrated, but shorter in general, which should help with wear and tear later in the season. The goal: fewer mental mistakes, more physicality, and more hard-hitting, although the latter two are redundant.

The Cardinals have all the skill pieces in place on the outskirts of their offense — wide receiver, running back, and quarterback — but to make all of that work, they need to find continuity and consistency along the offensive line.

The Cardinals have a few interesting pieces and will be coached up to overachieve. Tackle Oliver Ross, who has been a free agent bust in Arizona, has worked under offensive line coach Russ Grimm in Pittsburgh before, which should help resurrect his career. The Cardinals also invested heavily into rookie tackle Levi Brown with the fifth pick in the 2007 draft, which should pair a decent rotation with Ross, Brown, and Mike Gandy. In the center of the line, the Cardinals will have free agent center Al Johnson, an undersized center whom two of Whisenhunt's assistants vouched for, and Reggie Wells and Deuce Lutui, both of whom performed adequately last season.

The offense's success is contingent on the Cardinals finding the five right guys.

On defense, the Cardinals are switching to a 3-4. The good news is that they might have a nose tackle on their roster.

For a second consecutive season, the Cardinals have drafted a defensive tackle from Michigan who is deemed to have a lot of potential, but is tabbed as someone who frequently takes plays off.

Here's a little secret about the Michigan Wolverines: they don't rotate their defensive line very well/frequently, which means that big 300-pound tackles who are left out for too many plays will get fatigued and take plays off.

Regardless of whether Gabe Watson and Alan Branch are in fact lazy or simply looked lazy because of Michigan's system, the Cards should have one nose tackle between the two of them. Outside of that, this figures to be a transitional year for the rest of the defense.

Defensive ends Chike Okeafor and Bert Berry, who were a fairly effective 1-2 punch at the ends, are now moving to the outside linebacker spots. Gerald Hayes and Karlos Dansby will fit in the middle, but both will have to take on more blockers than they are accustomed to.

Darnell Dockett, who was kind of an end/tackle in-betweener in the 4-3 scheme, could be fine at end in the 3-4, while Chris Cooper/Antonio Smith will man the other side.

Not many of the members of the front seven have experience in the 3-4 and there are a ton of experiments going on here, which definitely doesn't bode well.

The secondary figures to be better if Eric Green and Antrel Rolle continue to develop. The Cards also picked up former Eagles' nickel back, Rod Hood, who will battle Green for starting duties.

At the back end, the Cardinals have had a gaping hole at free safety for a while and they feel that Terrence Holt is the plug. That's debatable, but at least he'll get to look good playing beside Adrian Wilson, who finally received Pro Bowl recognition last year and is among the best strong safeties in the NFL. Holt and Wilson were teammates in college.

Identity Crisis?

Maybe I'm looking too far ahead, but is the Cardinals' offense in line for some strategic friction? Whisenhunt plans to emphasize a tough, rugged running game, which doesn't exactly fit James' style. He also plans to include much more work for the fullback than Dennis Green ever used.

Furthermore, if the plan is to recreate the Steelers' offense, the Cardinals prolific wide receivers might be put in the back seat to the running game, just as the passing game was Plan B in Pittsburgh. The Cardinals do need to patch up the offensive line and Whisenhunt and Grimm are the right coaches to do that, but they also have to focus on keeping Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald, and Bryant Johnson the main outlets for the offense.

Biggest Weakness: Depth — They simply don't have enough of it in case of injury or underperformance.

Offensive X-Factor: Offensive line — With a cohesive unit, the offense can stop being a sleeper and wake up.

Defensive X-Factor: DT Alan Branch — If they have their anchor at nose tackle for their 3-4, the defense's transition will be much smoother.

Fantasy Market: Buy Low

The hidden fantasy value on this offense has to be James, whose value is low off a subpar season. Last year, the expectations were huge, but neither the coaching staff nor the right personnel was present on the offensive line. However, James still finished with the seventh-most rushing yards in the NFC last season. With better parts around him, those numbers figure to go up. Here's two important points to remember: while most teams have evolved to a two-back system, James is the only serviceable option for the Cardinals and head coach Ken Whisenhunt desperately wants to restore the running game.

"Vegas" Dave Golokhov hosts "THE Fantasy Show" on Hardcore Sports Radio, channel 186 on Sirius Satellite Radio, beginning September. Send media requests, thoughts, love letters, or hate mail to [email protected].

Posted by Dave Golokhov at 11:09 AM | Comments (0)

July 17, 2007

Debunking Tennis' Biggest Myths

Once in a while, I will get into discussions with friends, tennis fans, and even on a few message boards about some of the specious points of views lingering around tennis circles and clubhouse dialogues regarding men's tennis. It never ceases to amaze me to find out that people have developed opinions based on spurious facts, or simply based on something that they have heard so many times that they now believe it to be genuine and sound.

In the process, facts become distorted, certain players undeservingly become failures, and what starts out as a harmless exaggeration turns into a "well-known fact." Unless anyone takes the time to do a little research and find records or facts, these claims turn into "common knowledge" in the blink of an eye. Some of these may sound obvious to people who follow tennis closely. My advice to them is to bring these up with their friends and see if it's that obvious to them also. I doubt it.

Let's start with one that I hear more often than any other, and yet it is perhaps the easiest to find out with a few clicks on the Internet. It's the misguided notion that Rod Laver won all his titles during the amateur era, hence should not be considered when debating who should be the greatest player in the history of the game.

Just to set the record straight, Laver won the Grand Slam twice, the second one being in 1969, more importantly, during the open era! To exclude Laver from the open era discussion would be no better than excluding Rubik's cube from an '80s games discussion or excluding Bob Marley from a history of reggae discussion.

Another misguided fact about Laver is that he was lucky because three of the four slams were played on grass. Roger Federer and Pete Sampras fans love mentioning this, in hopes of eliminating Laver from the greatest of all-time discussion, in favor of their idols. Unfortunately for them, it does not change the fact that Laver won French Open twice, which their idols have yet to do once, and won many important tournaments on various surfaces, including the Italian Open on clay, U.S. Pro hard courts in Boston, and Philadelphia Indoors, to name a few. If this does not sound convincing enough, just to name a few, put your idol against Tony Roche, Arthur Ashe, John Newcombe, and Stan Smith on grass back in those days and see if he can win all three grass court slams in the same year.

Simply put, the man was a winner on every surface, indoors and outdoors. Out of major players since the start of the open era, Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, and Bjorn Borg are the only ones who have proven to be winners on every surface (sorry, John McEnroe, Sampras, Mats Wilander, and Ivan Lendl fans).

Speaking of Federer, that brings up the next fallacy. Who in the world started the rumor that Federer is a weak clay court player? Superficial followers of tennis who only see the red dirt occasionally during Roland Garros pickup the newspaper on Monday following the tournament, see that Federer did not win it, and label him as a clay court failure. Not only Federer is an excellent clay court player, he is probably the best clay court player for the last three years outside of Rafael Nadal, who himself happens to be the best clay court player in the history of the game (okay, I am willing to entertain the Bjorn Borg vs. Nadal clay court discussion, but only because it's Borg). If it takes Nadal to dethrone Federer from being the best on clay, I will argue with anyone and everyone that Federer is one of the best clay court players in the open era.

Here is another good one: Borg never won the U.S. Open nor the Australian, therefore he should not be included in the discussion with Federer, Laver, and Sampras. Please! During the late-'70s, none of the top players bothered to go to Australia to play. Borg declared many times, he would have gladly gone to Australia if there was a chance to complete the Grand Slam for him (back in those days, Australian Open was the last Slam to take place). He did not because he lost four times in the finals of the U.S. Open, twice to Jimmy Connors and twice to John McEnroe.

The U.S. Open for Borg was not the same case as Sampras at the French Open or Lendl at Wimbledon. Borg could win on all surfaces and reached the finals of U.S. Open twice on hard courts, losing to the best talent tennis has seen in those days by the name of John McEnroe. Even when he passed up on the French to prepare for Wimbledon, the best that Lendl could do was to reach the final. Sampras was quite miserable in Paris outside of one semifinal appearance. This is not the case with Borg and the U.S. Open. And just for good measure, think of how many players won Roland Garros on slow clay and came back few weeks later to win Wimbledon on slippery and fast grass, just once. Well, Borg did that three times in a row.

I will finish with the latest invalid belief. It's the one claiming that Rafael Nadal is strictly a clay court player and has not proven himself on any other surface. It's a matter of time before Nadal wins a Slam other than Roland Garros. In fact, if not for Federer, Nadal may have won on grass courts of Wimbledon already. He has already won several big hard court tournaments, including a title in Dubai's hard courts with a win over Federer in the finals. At this point in time, I am willing to go even a step further and claim that he would be the best player on all surfaces if Federer was not around. Nadal and Federer are both getting these undeserving reputations because they happen to be playing during the same period.

At the end of the day, I love discussing the game and the players. Setting the record straight happens to be a necessary evil that comes occasionally with those pleasant debates.

Posted by Mert Ertunga at 11:15 AM | Comments (14)

Cleveland Rocks: Tribe Resurgence?

Through 91 games in 2006, the Cleveland Indians found themselves with a 41-50 record and sitting well behind the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers. 2007 is a different story, however, as the Tribe are 54-37, tied for the second best record in the majors, and only a half-game behind Detroit.

Offense

A quick look at the Indians' offensive statistics offers most of the reason for Cleveland's success this season. As a team, they are third in the AL in runs scored, only 2 behind the second place New York Yankees. In addition, they lead the AL in HRs with 112, and have six players in double figures. Even with sub-par first halves from slugger Travis Hafner and touted rookie Josh Barfield, the Indians must be viewed as a top two or three offense in the American League.

Individually, the Indians have been led by catcher Victor Martinez. Martinez has bounced back after a down year last year, and is in the AL top 10 in batting average (.321) and RBI (71).

They have also been helped by 24-year-old centerfielder Grady Sizemore, who is quickly developing into one of the best five-tool players in the game today. Sizemore has a near .400 OBP leading off for Cleveland, and is deadly when he gets on with 25 steals, good for third in the league.

Flying under the radar is first baseman Ryan Garko, a second-year player hitting .304 with an .869 OPS and 34 runs driven in in only 250 AB. Garko has been key to the Indians, picking up some of the power void left by Hafner.

Pitching

The Indians' big duo of C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona has not gotten much help from the rest of the pitching staff, but they haven't needed it so far.

Sabathia (12-4, 3.78 ERA) and Carmona (11-4, 3.77) are tied for first and second in the AL in wins, respectively, though their ERA and WHIP numbers have some room for improvement.

The season has been a disappointment for touted lefty Jeremy Sowers after a fairly strong showing in the second half of 2006. Sowers was 1-6 with a 6.93 ERA before being taken out of the rotation in early June.

The bullpen has covered up some of the struggles at the back-end of Cleveland's rotation. Setup man Rafael Betancourt had a spectacular first half posting a .174 BAA and .67 WHIP in 42 innings. Lefties Aaron Fultz and Rafael Perez have also done their part, both having and ERA around 2.00. Closer Joe Borowski is tied with J.J. Putz of Seattle for the AL lead with 26 saves, but his 5.30 ERA and .305 BAA do not leave Indians fans confident.

A staff ERA of 4.46 places the Indians below average in the AL, but their offense has been able to cover it up to this point.

The Indians are playing very well at Jacobs Field so far in 2007, as they hold the majors' best home record at 33-13. They are also winning close, tying for the AL lead in one-run wins with 17, a tribute to their bullpen. Their Pythagorean Record, a statistic that calculates a team's hypothetical record based simply on runs scored and allowed, is 51-40, which means they have gotten a bit lucky thus far.

Cleveland is benefiting greatly from the demise of the Yankees to this point, because that makes them the current frontrunner for the AL wildcard. Their main contenders are Seattle (who I think has been a fluke to this point and will fall off) and Minnesota. If the Twins and Johan Santana stay hot, they could easily catch the Indians and make it a tight race.

There is no doubt that their offense can keep them in it, but I find it difficult to trust the starters beyond C.C. and Carmona. Cleveland's stellar record in close games is bound to even out with a below-average staff, even though their bullpen is able to close out tight games.

Final Prediction

88-74, two games behind Minnesota for AL wildcard.

Though Cleveland will miss the playoffs this season, they have plenty of young talent on offense (Sizemore, Garko, Barfield), while Sabathia is just entering the true prime of his career. Manager Eric Wedge (one of the most underrated in baseball) just had his contract extended for three years, so they do have stability at the top. Look for Cleveland to be competitive for a few years, but don't expect a championship run if pieces are not added.

Posted by Nick Feely at 10:34 AM | Comments (1)

July 16, 2007

2007 NFL Preview: Running Backs

Fantasy football is about running backs. While knowing this won't automatically take you the title, not knowing this will eliminate you from contention and cause you to be ridiculed mercilessly by your fellow owners and/or random children who will point at you and laugh.

Oddly enough, though, the same doesn't translate to the real-life standings.

Of the top 10 rushing teams in 2006 (measured by yards per game), only three made the playoffs (San Diego, Kansas City, and Philadelphia). Combined, they had a record of 93-83 (7-9 Atlanta was number one by a mile, 5-11 Washington was number five). Granted, that's better than the 62-98 combined record of the bottom 10 rushing teams (with one playoff team, Baltimore), but it's still not the make-or-break harbinger of success you might think. Keep that in mind as you browse the rankings of team running backs.

As we mentioned in our quarterback rankings last week, we're not making a fantasy cheat sheet. This is about which team is strongest at the position, taking into account the likelihood of holdout, injury, or performance replacement of the starter, and the quality of backups on the depth chart. For running backs, we're using rushing, receiving, and scoring as the primary judgment criteria.

1 AND 1A

San Diego (LaDainian Tomlinson, Michael Turner, Darren Sproles)
New Orleans (Deuce McAllister, Reggie Bush, Aaron Stecker)

Notes: Tomlinson isn't just a force, he's a Bo Jackson-in-Tecmo Bowl force. 1,800 yards rushing with 50 catches and 32 scores? That's insane. Add in the fact that Michael Turner is averaging 6 yards per carry for his career and Norv Turner loves to run the ball, and you've got another 2,500 combined-yard year from the Chargers' backfield. No one else can touch it.

Except for the Saints, which is why they're ranked so high even though, as individuals, neither McAllister nor Bush are top-five backs. Combined, though: 1,600 yards and 16 TDs rushing, 118 receptions for nearly another 1,000 yards, a ton of big plays. In terms of offensive schemes that rely on two backs to each play a full-time role, the Saints are at the top.

WORKHORSE PLUS

St. Louis (Stephen Jackson, Stephen Davis, Brian Leonard)
Kansas City (Larry Johnson, Michael Bennett, Derrick Ross)
Seattle (Shaun Alexander, Maurice Morris, Marquis Weeks)
Denver (Travis Henry, Mike Bell)

Notes: The addition of Leonard, the rookie from Rutgers, should give the Rams' backfield an extra dimension with Jackson the still-rising centerpiece workhorse behind a slightly-improved offensive line.

The Chiefs get downgraded because of L.J.'s possible holdout, plus the chance Herm Edwards will kill him with 75 rushes per game against defenses stacked nine in the box because Brodie Croyle doesn't scare them.

Shaun Alexander had a broken foot. For a running back who is about to turn 30 (next month), that's a significant question mark.

From a running back perspective, Travis Henry might be the most important acquisition of the offseason (with nods to Willis McGahee and Thomas Jones).

GREAT WITH AN ASTERISK

Philadelphia (Brian Westbrook, Correll Buckhalter, Ryan Moats)
Jacksonville (Fred Taylor, Maurice Jones Drew, Alvin Pearman)
Dallas (Julius Jones, Marion Barber III, Tyson Thompson)

Notes: When you're talking about the Philly backfield, you have to go three or four deep because there's an excellent chance numbers 1 and 2 are going to get hurt. Otherwise, Westbrook's receptions has them a tad up on the glut of the league.

Jacksonville had one of the best running games in the league in 06, and there's no reason to expect a drop. Starting left tackle Khaliff Barnes might get a league-mandated vacation after pleading no contest on a drunk driving charge, during which he called the arresting officer a "KKK devil who hates all colored people." I mention this only because I think it's funny.

Barber was the man in the red zone under Bill Parcells, but there's no guarantee he stays the man under new head coach Wade Philips. From a fantasy perspective, that makes either back a risky pick. From a total value perspective, it doesn't really matter. Both are really good.

RUNNING WITH THE PACK

Atlanta (Warrick Dunn, Jerious Norwood)
Cincinnati (Rudi Johnson, Kenny Watson, Chris Perry, Kenny Irons)
Minnesota (Chester Taylor, Adrian Peterson, Mewelde Moore)
Chicago (Cedric Benson, Adrian Peterson, Garrett Wolfe)
Indianapolis (Joseph Addai, DeDe Dorsey, Kenton Keith)
New England (Lawrence Maroney, Kevin Faulk, Sammy Morris)
Pittsburgh (Willie Parker, Najeh Davenport, Kevan Barlow)
Detroit (Tatum Bell, Kevin Jones, Brian Calhoun, T.J. Duckett)
Baltimore (Willis McGahee, Mike Anderson, Musa Smith)
Carolina (DeShaun Foster, DeAngelo Williams, Nick Goings, Eric Shelton)
New York Jets (Thomas Jones, Leon Washington, Derrick Blaylock, Cedric Houston)
San Francisco (Frank Gore, Maurice Hicks, Michael Robinson)

Notes: The Falcons come in much lower than their stats because Vick accounts for a lot (35 percent of the yards) and the running backs don't score a lot of touchdowns. Also, they have a rookie head coach. You never know what to expect.

I have a bad feeling about the Cincinnati offensive line.

I like the Chester Taylor/Adrian Peterson duo for Minnesota, but worry defenses will stack the line with Tarvaris Jackson starting at QB.

Are Benson, Addai, and Maroney ready for 300-350 carries? There's a big drop off behind them.

Maybe I should trust Pittsburgh more. I don't know. Another first-time head coach, and a defensive-minded one at that.

The Lions' combo is a sleeper. Mike Martz loves to throw to the backs, and Tatum Bell has the breakaway speed in the open field. I don't want to go all Jon Kitna, but I expect big things.

McGahee could turn in a break-out season, but I'm not sure I'm sold on the offensive line. They've lost some talent there and Jonathan Ogden is getting old.

As much as I like Foster and Williams, the Panthers haven't averaged more than 4.0 yards per rush since 2003. That's hard to ignore.

Love Jones with the Jets, and I really like their offensive line (except Pete Kendall, who they should just cut already). There's just a little bit of an unknown with the coaching staff after they averaged 3.5 per carry last year, third worst in the league. Was it the lack of talent or the scheme? We don't know. But until you've done it, you haven't done it.

Based on last year, Gore deserves better. But Norv Turner isn't around any more, replaced by first-time coordinator Jim Hostler. Play calling is everything for a running back, and we don't know what Gore is going to get.

QUESTIONS WITH UNKNOWN ANSWERS

Washington (Clinton Portis, Ladell Betts, Rock Cartwright)
Houston (Ahman Green, Ron Dayne, Samkon Gado, Wali Lundy)
Tennessee (Chris Brown, LenDale White, Chris Henry)
New York Giants (Brandon Jacobs, Rueben Droughns, Derrick Ward)
Arizona (Edgerrin James, Marcel Shipp, JJ Arrington)
Buffalo (Marshawn Lynch, Anthony Thomas, Shaud Williams, Josh Scobey)

Notes: Will Portis or Green last? Will Brown or Jacobs step up? Will Edge have room? Will Marshawn grow up really, really fast? Will LenDale diet? Find out next offseason, on "Teams That Won't Make the Playoffs."

OVERRIDING CIRCUMSTANCES

Miami (Ronnie Brown, Lorenzo Booker, Patrick Cobbs)
Cleveland (Jamal Lewis, Jerome Harrison, Jason Wright, Chris Barclay)
Oakland (LaMont Jordan, Dominick Rhodes, Justin Fargas, Michael Bush)
Green Bay (Vernand Morency, Brandon Jackson, Noah Herron)
Tampa Bay (Cadillac Williams, Michael Pittman, Earnest Graham, Kenneth Darby)

Notes: This could be a catastrophe year for the Dolphins. Even before the Chris Chambers DUI arrest, this team had an "everything is about to go terribly, terribly wrong" vibe to it.

I could be severely underestimating Cleveland. They've invested a ton in their offensive line. If LeCharles Bentley does somehow miraculously does come back this year, they could pave the way for a 1,500-yard season from Jamal Lewis. If only their quarterback situation was more solid, I would like them more.

Michael Bush was one of the steals in the daft for the Raiders (first pick on day two) and will lead this team in rushing in the next three years. This year, however, there are too many backs , an unsteady quarterback situation and a first-time head coach straight from a college coordinator job.

There's so much uncertainty around Tampa, from the staring quarterback to the health of Jon Gruden's job security, that you can't rate anything about them above average.

Also see: NFL '07 Preview: Quarterbacks

Seth Doria is a freelance writer in St. Louis. For daily news and notes on sports, entertainment and politics, please visit The Left Calf.

Posted by Joshua Duffy at 3:35 PM | Comments (2)

July 14, 2007

Jordan vs. Beckham

It was called Placencia, a town on the coast of Belize. The diving nuts would stay there as a base camp before sailing off to wherever the real underwater vistas were located. Otherwise, it was a coastal city with some resorts (Coppola had one there), many ex-pats soaking up sun, and a single road through whatever parts of town weren't knocked over by the occasional hurricane that roared over them.

The road was dotted with local markets, clothing shops, municipal buildings, and a school. What it didn't have were many traces of American commercialization. Sure, there were Coca-Cola signs everywhere, but the nearest McDonald's was probably back at the airport. Unlike other tourist destinations, walking through Placencia didn't feel like walking through an international suburb of New York or Los Angeles. There was something charmingly pristine about it.

And then I saw the basketball court.

Located near the school, it was a long rectangle of dirt with two makeshift backboards and hoops on either end — the sort of D.I.Y. court that flashes by quickly when the NBA does one of its "the whole world loves this game!" self-wanking television ad campaigns. On this day, it was populated with a few local boys, doing their best to dribble on the bumpy terrain. Some wore jeans and a t-shirt, their friend did not.

He was wearing black mesh shorts with a NIKE swoosh, and a red Chicago Bulls road jersey with "Jordan 23" on the back.

No Exxon station, Mountain Dew, Coors Light, FedEx, Ford dealerships, Applebees, Ruby Tuesdays, TGI Fridays, Subways, or The Gap. But there, right in front of me, a Michael Jordan fan.

Sure, it could have been an artifact collected from an American Goodwill pile, delivered to the impoverished region.

Or maybe this kid caught a glimpse of a Bulls game on the satellite dish, or a dunk on a VHS tape that finally found its way to the local video store (a shack that had about 60 movies, all of them dubbed from original copies). Maybe, despite having been about as far removed from NBA action as Jonathan Bender, this kid found a way to fall under Air Jordan's spell.

I relay this tale, dear patient readers, as a prelude to the larger point of this column, which centers around the completely asinine comments of someone named Candy on the SportsFanMagazine.com comment boards. Candy could be a random female sports fan or it could be Frank Deford (I vote for the latter), but identity wouldn't change the utter absurdity of the following comment she/he left on an article about David Beckham:

"Beckham is already bigger worldwide than Woods and M.J., I meant I would not be surprised if he surpasses them here in the U.S.."

The "Woods" is Tiger, and I don't doubt that; soccer is still able to penetrate parts of the world that professional golf does not. My point of contention is, of course, with the notion that David Beckham was, is, or will be bigger than Michael Jordan here or abroad.

Candy's not alone, as I found a few hundred Google hits for Beckham and "bigger than Michael Jordan." This isn't meant to demean soccer or its fans, or to say Beckham isn't a star of a rare magnitude; but claiming he eclipses Jordan's fame is bat-crap, get-the-straightjacket-ready crazy.

English soccer, as well as international soccer, wasn't exactly hurting when Beckham entered the fray. Contrast that with Jordan, whose fame carried the NBA to levels of success previously thought to be unattainable, transforming a popular league into an international juggernaut. Michael sold the networks, broadcast and cable, in a way Magic and Bird did not. The selling of Jordan as a player/product remains one of the singular advancements in sports marketing history; those endorsement deals waiting for Beckham in Los Angeles are there because Michael showed the world that athletes belonged someplace other than beer commercials on your television screen.

Wayne Gretzky — a guy who knows a thing or two about coming to California to sell a marginal American sport — told the L.A. Times recently that Beckham's "got as much charisma as Tiger Woods." I'll take Wayne's word on that, but would love to ask him whether Becks has as much charisma as Jordan did.

Let's not confuse sex appeal with charm; otherwise, Scarlett Johansson would be the new Meg Ryan. Beckham has a body by Zeus and is an appealing, gentlemanly sort. That doesn't mean he could pull off the cinematic classic that is "Space Jam." Or that he'd have the humility that Jordan showed on "Saturday Night Live," cracking himself up in a mirror during a Stuart Smalley sketch. Beckham's English fans will likely claim he has Jordan-esque charisma ... but they're the same people who claim Robbie Williams had charisma, too, and he's about as charming as a stab wound.

Jordan's fame never needed the tabloid crutch that Beckham's has. Every story about his arrival in America is about Posh and Becks. While I'll give him credit for bagging the only Spice Girl I ever considered diddling (the one who could sing was too much of a tomboy, and I think I saw the really sexy one topless before "Wannabe" even charted), this super-couple act means a constant shared spotlight. Jordan never had that problem — not even with Scottie Pippen.

Beckham's first official MLS game is July 31 in Dallas against FC Dallas. It will be met by national media attention, fanaticism by the soccer faithful, and intense curiosity from casual fans. FC Dallas general manager Michael Hitchcock even made the Jordan comparison to the Associated Press recently: "This is the first time, as a league and as a team, we've had the equivalent of a Michael Jordan coming to play."

Why do I get the feeling Michael Jordan has never been called "the equivalent of a David Beckham?"

And right there's your subtle difference between an icon and a legend.

Greg 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 11:26 AM | Comments (4)

July 13, 2007

Sports Q&A: Why Bud Needs Earnhardt

Earl from Yakima, WA asks, "Would it be a foolish marketing decision if Budweiser decides to end its sponsorship of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr.?"

Officials at Budweiser should be doing naked keg stands to ensure that the beer remains on Earnhardt's car when he debuts for Hendrick Motorsports next year in the No. 5. That's apparently not the case, since reports are emerging that Budweiser is courting Kasey Kahne for Budweiser's sponsorship.

Earnhardt has become almost as synonymous with Budweiser as the Clydesdales, and there is no better combination to sell merchandise than the union of Budweiser and Earnhardt. Why on earth Budweiser would want to end this marketing marriage made in heaven is beyond me. I can only surmise that age is contributing a factor, and Budweiser wants to appeal to a younger demographic, and they believe fans of Kahne fit into this demographic.

They're right — Kahne's fan base does offer a younger demographic. Unfortunately, the consumers within that demographic are too young to drink, and probably not the gender for which Bud is looking. In fact, there is probably not another driver in NASCAR who possesses all of the desirable qualities of Earnhardt that maximize marketability. These qualities include a legendary legacy, a blue collar ideal, and a persona that seems approachable to fans of all ages.

Can you picture Kahne adorning a 24-ounce can of Budweiser? That's sacrilege. You know what Earnhardt fans would do with that? They'd drink it. That's not fireplace mantle or curio material right there. When Budweiser puts Earnhardt's image on a can, fans buy twice as much beer — half to drink and half to collect. And Earnhardt's name or face on apparel, flags, banners, toilet seats, etc. is an even more lucrative business.

Don't get me wrong. Budweiser drinkers will continue to drink their brand regardless of who Budweiser sponsors, but I can't see merchandise sales even approaching the numbers and dollars reached under the Earnhardt-Budweiser partnership. Dale, Jr. appeals to the working class and the upper class; attach his name to any Budweiser product, and it will sell. When I think of Kahne, I don't think of beer; I think of a strawberry daquiri or some fruit-flavored alcoholic beverage. I don't believe that's the drinker Bud wants to invest in.

Earnhardt has already secured endorsement deals will two huge and well-known corporations, Sony and adidas. Maybe Budweiser doesn't want to share Earnhardt with those two giants. I see Sony and adidas as brands geared toward a younger demographic. Wouldn't it make sense for Budweiser to continue sponsoring Earnhardt and automatically benefit from the younger consumers attracted to the Sony and adidas brands? How many people do you know with PlayStations wear adidas and drink Budweiser? Even if you don't know any, you probably would if Earnhardt retained the Budweiser sponsorship.

If Bud doesn't pony up and resign Earnhardt, then they would be making as big a mistake as Teresa Earnhardt for letting Dale, Jr. leave DEI. I'm sure Hendrick Motorsports hoped Bud was staying with Earnhardt when they quickly snatched him up. And with Sony and adidas hurriedly affixing their names with Earnhardt, it's obvious he still holds a powerful marketing stance. The King of Beers should remain with the King of Merchandising.

Get Your Questions Answered!

Do you have a question or comment, or a confession? Are you doped up on a bicycle in France? Is an NFL star with a marijuana problem your "roll" model? Then send your question/comment/dilemna/situation/cry for help along with your name and hometown to [email protected]. You may get the answer you're looking for in the next column on Friday, July 27th.

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 12:36 PM | Comments (1)

Big Men Playing the Way We Like It

When James Naismith invented basketball, the most important maneuver on the court was not the shot or the dribble.

It was the pass.

The game was not designed for guards to pound the ball onto the court; it was not made for big men to use their sheer strength to back their way into the basket; or for anyone to take 30 shots a game — half of them contested.

Naismith was smarter than that. In fact, basketball was supposed to be much more like what soccer is today. Misdirection, sneaky passing, quick cuts to the basket, creativity — all things that have been lost in the NBA.

Nowadays, the only players who can really pass — or ever really learn the rhythm and timing of the pass — are point guards. But to differentiate those who can and can't give up the rock, scouts coined the term "true point guard."

But what about the other four guys on the court? In theory, every player is in a unique position to create scoring opportunities for their team by passing the ball correctly, and moving without the ball accordingly. It's an understanding of the game that every soccer player has mastered, yet somehow, the majority of NBA players just don't understand. We have been enamored by height, quickness, size, potential — all these trite words — that we forgot that a basketball player, not any athletic large man, plays basketball.

But this year's NBA draft was special. It gives us a glimmer of hope.

This year's draft featured four lottery big-men — Jeff Green, Joakim Noah, Spencer Hawes, and Julian Wright — who are praised for their excellent passing ability.

They aren't quite at the level of Magic, Bird, or even LeBron — those guys have a sixth sense for the game — but they have the potential to make this game more fun to watch.

Remember Vlade Divac? Just look him up on YouTube if you don't remember.

Other great passers include Jack Sikma, Bill Walton, Karl Malone, and Brad Daugherty. Never mind what they did for their team — they made the game more fun to watch for us fans.

We've got a few big men nowadays who can dish the rock and pick up their share of dimes in post: Chris Webber, Tim Duncan, and Boris Diaw. But others around the league would rather force a left-handed hook shot than dump it off to the cutting guard for two easy points.

I'd like to say the return of the passing big man is a trend. But it isn't.

Looking into the near future, there aren't any more big men coming who can dish the rock. There aren't many big men who you can run your offense through. Sure, you'll have the uber-athletic Kevin Durants and Michael Beasleys, but there are plenty of scorers. Passers — not so much.

Green, Noah, Hawes, and Wright are special. After you take Hawes out of this group — he compares too much to the likes of Brad Miller for my taste — the other three guys are real basketball players. They play the game the way it's supposed to be played.

Granted, these guys haven't exactly been dominating in the assist category in the summer league, but that's not the point here. A few years ago, there weren't too many players we could call "too unselfish." These guys are unselfish to a fault.

In addition, they rebound well, they see the court, they understand how an offense works, they play tough defense, and they pass the ball the way it was supposed to be passed. They got to this level by doing the little things it takes for their team to win, not chucking up 20 shots a game.

They play the way James Naismith would have liked.

But more importantly, the way we, the fans, like it.

Posted by Alvin Chang at 11:28 AM | Comments (2)

July 12, 2007

The Secret Tourney of Global Hoops

It's interesting, if self-indulgent of me, to look over my body of work at Sports Central and see how my column has evolved. I used to write quite a bit on golf and occasionally on the NFL. College football is, and always will be, a mainstay ... at least in-season. But other than that, I've drifted towards writing about sports journalism (read: taking easy shots at national columnists) and sports and events that don't get a lot of stateside press and are not ameri-centric.

There's reasons for this. One, I like to feel that I'm writing something informative even if you fail to find it interesting. I like bringing something unique to the table. Every columnist wants to stand out, but most do so by concentrating their efforts on calculating outrageous, contrived opinions that they don't even believe on the standard sports fare.

The second reason is that the Internet is a wonderful thing. You can use the internet to not just follow the coverage of a lot of sporting events, but actually watch them.

At any rate, these columns seem to generally attract more comments than my mainstream columns, and it's usually positive and along the lines of "thanks for covering my niche, I thought no one cared!" This only motivates me to do more such columns.

This last week, I had the privilege of watching an absolute doozy of an event that fits this formula perfectly.

It's called the William Jones Cup, a basketball tournament in Taiwan, and as near as I can tell it only had one English language website actively reporting on it.

It's a straightforward enough concept — it's simply an annual basketball tournament of invited national teams, mostly Asian, to play a round robin format to determine a champion (although they've held playoffs in previous iterations). The United States participated, as well. How could the U.S. National team play somewhere and get zero coverage, not even a paragraph buried on ESPN.com?

Well, for starters, as you may have guessed, it's not the national team representing the U.S. More on that later.

The William Jones Cup first came to my attention when I came across it doing some Internet channel surfing. The tournament was already a couple days old, and I came in during the first half of Lebanon vs. The Philippines. This is perfect, I thought. I bet I'm practically the only one in the U.S. watching this (more self-indulgence)! I took a six pack out of the fridge and watched as intently as if I cared who won.

I ended up watching much of the tournament over the week. There were no traditional global powers represented in this tournament, except the U.S., sort of. China didn't participate because they consider Taiwan a renegade province. Countries you didn't even know had basketball programs — Jordan, Kazakhstan, Qatar — took part. This was a very evenly-matched tournament. The 10 participants each played the other nine once apiece, and every team one at least two and lost at least two.

Strange observation #1: They play the same sort of hype arena music there as they do here ... but it continues during the course of play. I kind of liked it. The DJ did a nice job of picking songs that matched the situation and the flow of the game.

Strange observation #2: A lot of the teams had a player or two with suspiciously American sounding names. I looked deeper into it, and for the most part, the player in question was indeed American, but had some sort of connection — usually a relative who is a native or some such. Gabe Norwood, he of the magical George Mason run of 2006, is the most notable of these cases, plying his trade for the Philippines. But there was one particular unusual case.

The Jordanian team, among a roster of Arabic-sounding names, contained one Rashiem Wright. Investigating it, I discovered this article that strongly implies that Wright, who played college ball at the University of the District of Columbia, had zero connection at all with Jordan. The article states that each national team can have one naturalized player per squad, but evidently, that can be anyone. The article speaks of Jordan's "negotiations" with Wright in making him a citizen of the country. Wright says he new nothing about Jordan before this went down, and he also said of the move, "[N]ever in a million years would I have ever dreamed that I would be playing ball internationally, let alone have the opportunity to be on another country's national team." (Emphasis mine.)

Good move, I guess, on Wright's part and on Jordan's part. Jordan won the tournament and Wright was the star. I guess it's okay to just recruit an American who wants to play international ball, but isn't good enough to play for the U.S. I don't think I could do it, though. Even if it meant I couldn't play international basketball. I'd have to have some sort of connection, however remote. I'm mostly Irish. I'd play for them. If my grandfather told me that his great uncle was born in Western Samoa, fair enough. There's a connection, I'll play there. But there'd have to be something.

So if Rashiem Wright isn't good enough to play for the United States, who was? That would be Athletes in Action. You've probably heard of AIA if you've ever studied your college's basketball schedule, and it included preseason games.

AIA is a "sport ministry." From their website: "Athletes in Action has sought to be a global pioneer, innovator, and servant leader in sport ministry. As a branch of Campus Crusade for Christ, AIA exists to bring Jesus Christ and His message of victory into the hearts, homes, and communities of millions around the world."

So, okay. According to their Wikipedia page, they make a presentation at half-time of the games they play.

Who plays for AIA? Well, you have to be a Christian, of course, since they expect you to witness on others (I think). Beyond that, their roster is made up of players fresh out of college who were not immediately able to latch on to a pro team. They're deep enough that they can play several exhibition games against colleges warming up for the season on one night.

This is the offseason, though, so AIA is free to recruit and play players still in college, and that's what they do.

Which players? No one you've likely heard of. Although the bulk of the roster is made up of players from big schools, it's not those team's stars. I sort of had heard of Alex Ruoff, from West Virginia. Their was another Mountaineer on the squad, plus a player from Michigan and another one from Clemson. The team featured a couple guys from lesser conferences who were all-conference caliber for that level. The star seemed to be Reed Rawlings, one of the few on the squad not in school (Samford grad of 2000). The most recognizable name on the squad is actually the coach. Remember Mike Jarvis? Now you know what he's doing this days when not on ESPN.

So, if you make up a team of minor stars of mid-majors, and average contributors of major squads, how good are they?

The answer is: about that of a middling Asian nation, as their 5-4 record shows (they were defending champs, though ... some of the more interesting winners in the tournament's history have been Canada, Sweden, the University of Hawaii, and the New Zealand "Tall Blacks.")

I'm a little bit curious, however, about AIA's mission and how it fits into these tournaments. Now, I'm not a Christian, so these questions may be ignorant, but I have relatives who were missionaries in Brazil for decades and I know it takes a long time to get a foothold in a culture and start really saving souls.

AIA is in Taiwan for a week and a half, and they are kind of busy with basketball in that time. I don't know if they did their half-time sermon or not, but how many fans speak English? Or did AIA find a Chinese speaker to do the presentation?

A lot of teams participating come from Muslim nations, including Iran. How do they feel about that? Are they trepidatious (I'm going to go out on a limb and say there's not too many Evangelical Christians who are big fans of Iran right now), or do they see it as an opportunity to make the really tough saves? Or do they not even care, they're just really there to play basketball? Inquiring minds want to know.

It was a good tournament. In the World Rankings, Jordan was ranked below all their competitors except the Philippines (who finished 5-4 themselves), but as I mentioned, their 7-2 mark took home the trophy.

Next year, let's pay closer attention to it. Where are my weirdos who relish obscurity? We'll drink beer, watch the games, and run the first-ever William Jones Cup fantasy league. Who's with me?

And can someone tell me where I can submit this column for an award in the "Best Basketball Column Largely About 'Jordan,' But Not About Michael or Anyone Surnamed Jordan, Like That Guy Who Coaches the Wizards?" category?

Posted by Kevin Beane at 12:50 PM | Comments (1)

Four Bases the Hard Way

You might say I called it.

The moment Ichiro Suzuki, the eventual MVP of the 2007 All-Star Game, struck the Chris Young pitch towards right field, I instantly knew it was a home run. After all, the ball came off his bat in screaming line-drive fashion, something the NL's right fielder and former Seattle star, Ken Griffey, Jr., might have swung on and belted, as Seattle's local radio announcer Dave Niehaus loves to say.

However, AT&T Park in San Francisco is far from generous in regards to home runs, especially to cavernous right field, where the territory is deep and the wall is 20 feet high just for good measure. What may have been easily into the fifth row in Camden Yards was well short of a goner here by the Bay.

In a freak occurrence, though, the pageantry of the Midsummer Classic played a crucial role in the game's outcome and perhaps ownership of homefield in the 2007 World Series. Flimsy, floppy white decorative banners featuring generic ballplayers in action adorned the lower part of the right field wall. Instead of taking a true bounce off the wall back towards right center field, where Griffey had anticipated, it took a lazy, unnatural right turn after glancing off the banner, much like a bounce off the Metrodome's "big hefty bag" wall in right would have. For anyone else in baseball, this meant a triple. But this was Ichiro, quite possibly the fastest baserunner the game has ever seen.

How many inside-the-park home runs have you ever seen where the runner comfortably pulled up and cruised into home plate without a relay throw on his heels? Griffey's miscue in right was far from egregious, and his throwing arm far from mediocre. And yet, Ichiro could have easily rounded home and been safe at first if the game allowed. Either way, the Japanese prodigy fittingly seized back the home run the ballpark had taken away from him. More importantly, the home run scored Brian Roberts as well and gave the American League their first lead at 2-1 in the fifth inning.

What else did this play do? Well, for starters, it showed Alex Rodriguez how to run the bases like a real ballplayer, as the Yankees slugger had been caught awkwardly scuttling into catcher Russell Martin's tag in the previous inning while trying to score from second base. Not exactly Pete Rose running into Ray Fosse. Rodriguez looked surprisingly slow rounding third and made no attempt at a slide to avoid the tag when the throw from Griffey Jr. beat A-Rod home. The throw beat the normally-speedy third baseman (in his defense, he was cramped by a questionable hamstring injury, however he had just stolen second base on the play prior) to the plate by several strides. Ichiro still would have beaten it, though.

The inside-the-park job also capped a 3-for-3 night for the Mariners star, as he had reached on a ground single up the middle and an opposite field poke on a tough low and away pitch that fell neatly into shallow left. While Suzuki was not accountable for the game-winner, that honor went to Victor Martinez, whose two run homer in the eighth inning appeared to be simply an insurance blast at the time, it did allow the AL to seize the game's momentum along with their first lead. Oh, and it was the first of its kind in All-Star Game history.

What? This is a game that has been played annually since 1933, sometimes twice a year, through hitters and pitchers eras alike, through unruly, cavernous ballparks of the distant past like the Polo Grounds, and speedy five-tool players not always dependent on the longball. Long before games like Home Run Derby were created to entertain infatuated fans, the inside-the-park home run was a regular part of the game. And yet, no all-star was ever worthy of such a feat, for whatever reason. Not until 2007, were we able to see a running four-bagger in an All-Star Game, and even then, it had to be imported express from Japan.

Ichiro's feat, however extraordinary, was nearly reduced to footnote status in the bizarre and suspenseful (well, as suspenseful as an All-Star Game can get, anyway) bottom of the ninth. After Orioles' second baseman Brian Roberts muffed a routine ground ball, allowing Dmitri Young to reach base with two outs and no one on, Alfonso Soriano launched an opposite field shot to suddenly cut a safe three-run AL lead to one and cause a state of panic. Mariner closer J.J. Putz sure felt it, as he walked his initials counterpart, J.J. Hardy. Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez felt it, as he walked Derrek Lee and then Orlando Hudson to load the bases for Aaron Rowand and a dramatic final confrontation.

The National League lost this game perhaps because NL manager Tony LaRussa inexplicably, mind-numbingly, refused to play his best player, his own player, Albert Pujols, throughout the game, and even in the ninth. Instead, he allowed the likes of J.J. Hardy, Derrek Lee, Orlando Hudson, and Aaron Rowand to bat in clutch spots while No. 5 in red remained seated. It is thanks to LaRussa, a manager well-known for outsmarting himself with unconventional and obsessive strategy, that K-Rod was able to collect himself and induce Rowand's easy fly out to Alex Rios in right field. Thus, Ichiro's Sonic-the-Hedgehog-style home run, and not Pujols' homer or even line single in dramatic circumstances, is what stands out in the 2007 Midsummer Classic.

And I knew it ... I mean he, was gone as soon as he hit it.

Posted by Bill Hazell at 12:43 PM | Comments (1)

NASCAR Top 10 Power Rankings: Week 18

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jeff Gordon — Gordon started on the pole as rain washed out qualifying, and led on a restart with seven laps remaining. But, as is the nature of restrictor plate racing, he lost the lead in the shuffling and scrambling, but still finished fifth, ahead of teammate Jimmie Johnson in 10th, and well ahead of Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin. Gordon increased his points lead, and now leads Johnson by 277 points.

"So much for the 100 points I was docked for those supposed rules infractions at Sonoma," says Gordon. "My lead is right back where it was before the penalty. I hear NASCAR is supposedly going to get tougher with their penalties after Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s crew chief, Tony Eury, Jr. flaunted his presence by parking his motor home on a hill outside the track at Loudon. And, if you know Tony, you know he's visible from a distance. I say if crew chiefs get suspended, they should really be "suspended" — high above the track in a cage."

2. Denny Hamlin — Hamlin and Joe Gibbs teammate Tony Stewart, runinng 1-2 on lap 14, made contact, with Hamlin sliding low after a bump from Stewart. Hamlin came up the track and was slammed by Stewart. Hamlin went to the garage and he finished 43rd, 61 laps down, while Stewart's chances of a third consecutive Pepsi 400 win ended. Stewart finished 38th.

"I was surprised by Tony's comments," says Hamlin, "and even more surprised that TNT didn't break for a commercial in between. And even more surprised that Tony held back on his French, in which he's normally very fluent. But I was the better man and I took blame for the incident, in a statement that was oozing with the sincerity of a Kobe Bryant apology. But Tony's my veteran teammate, so I have to defer to him. It will be intersting to see what happens when I'm on Tony's tail doing 180 mph. Let's just hope it's on a racetrack."

3. Jimmie Johnson — Johnson was in the mix at the end, but never quite got the push he needed to challenge for the win. He crossed the line 10th, joining Hendrick teammates Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch in the top 10. Johnson moved up one spot in the points to second.

"I don't know how Busch lost that," says Johnson. "Maybe it's because his Hendrick teammates basically blacklisted him and refused to help him. But maybe, just maybe, if we wouldn't have been so stubborn, one of us could have won the race. Anyway, the Hendrick engines at Daytona are nearly unstoppable, much like Roger Federer on grass. I guess drug testing in tennis is pretty lax."

4. Tony Stewart — After lap 14's incident with teammate Denny Hamlin, Stewart had much time on his hands while his damaged No. 20 Home Depot Chevy sat in the garage under repair. So Stewart did what he does second-best, talk. An angry Stewart, on his team radio, accused Hamlin of checking up, then, live on TNT, sarcastically accused Hamlin of trying to wreck him in Thursday's practice, and questioned Hamlin's role as a teammate.

"Obviously, Denny won't be standing under my um-ba-rella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh," says Stewart. "As you know, I don't hand out pardons as easily as the President of the United States. But I'm pretty darn liberal handing out blame, though. Denny's got to understand one thing: the line between friends and enemies of Tony Stewart is about as thin as the line between compliance and a penalty in any part of the car that NASCAR can measure."

5. Carl Edwards — Edwards tucked in behind teammate Jamie McMurray in the frantic final laps at Daytona, helping push McMurray to a wild finish in winning the Pepsi 400. Edwards finished fourth, his best finish ever at Daytona, and climbed one spot to sixth in the points, 465 out of first.

"Imagine that," says Edwards. "Teammates helping each other. What a concept. Usually, when you combine the Office Depot with Crown Royal, the result is a staple or two in a finger, or a Xerox'd copy of a middle finger. The Roush team has always been a harmonious bunch; that was true even when Kurt Busch was here."

6. Matt Kenseth — Ho hum. Kenseth logged another top-10 finish, his 12th of the year, with an eighth in the Pepsi 400. This time, however, Kenseth wasn't the first Roush Fenway member across the line; he was the fourth, behind teammates Jamie McMurray, who won, Carl Edwards (4th), and Greg Biffle (6th).

"Hey, there's no resentment or tension at Roush Fenway," says Kenseth, "unlike in other teams. I won't name names, but I'm not averse to giving clues. Here's one: the teams are owned by Rick Hendrick and Joe Gibbs. But enough about this silly disagreements between teammates. They just take away from the stories that we really should be talking about, like that involving my favorite American Idol Clay Aiken's scuffle with a woman on an airline flight. I hope she went easy on him. The only scuffle Clay's been in before is with his manhood. He lost that one, too."

7. Kevin Harvick — Harvick was another of the big names to be taken out in early wrecks at Daytona. He had led three laps early and was cruising inside the top 10 when Juan Pablo Montoya pressed him into the wall, causing severe right-side damage. Harvick's ended up 34th, 13 laps down, and later criticized Montoya's driving.

"No one's doubting Montoya's talent," says Harvick. "He's an expert on road courses, but someone needs to tell him the run-off areas on super speedways aren't sand. They're called walls, and are not as forgiving as sand. Luckily, JPM's not my teammate. Otherwise, I'd give him a real piece of my mind."

8. Kyle Busch — Busch made a run to the front, with no help from his Hendrick teammates, but fell short of winning his second race of the day when Jamie McMurray miraculously nudged him at the line. Busch had earlier in the day won the Busch Series Winn-Dixie 250. His second in the Pepsi 400 boosted his points standing from 10th to eight, where he trails leader Jeff Gordon by 583.

"I don't get it," says a flustered Busch. "First, I can't get a push from any of my two-faced teammates, then Gordon gives me the brush off after I try to congratulate him after the race. What did I do wrong? I started looking for a new team after it was announced that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. would join Hendrick in 2008, not the other way around. It's ridiculous. If they want to play hardball, nobody plays hardball like a Busch brother. Gordon can forget about me babysitting, Jimmie Johnson can forget about any ESPY votes from me, and Casey Mears, well, he can go about his usual business. Of course, I could be wrong about all this. Maybe I just need to take a lokk in the mirror."

9. Jeff Burton — Burton fought handling issues all day, and avoiding the numerous incidents that wiped out several contenders. Making up several positions in the race's last quarter, Burton ended up 16th, and remained fifth in the points.

"Maybe it's the heat," says Burton, "but there seemed to be an inordinate amount of spats between drivers this weekend, and I'm not talking just about NASCAR. I'm talking about the scrum between Indy Car drivers Tony Kanaan and Sam Hornish, Jr. that took place after the finish at Watkins Glen. Hornish's father, Sam, Sr. even got involved, and ended up on the pavement. If only race car drivers knew how silly they looked outside of their cars, with those huge helmet-heads, they wouldn't engage in such tomfoolery."

10. (tie) Clint Bowyer/Jamie McMurray — The number seven was wild for Bowyer, who finished seventh on 7/7/07 in his No. 07 Chevy at Daytona. Bowyer then relaxed with a 7 & 7 while watching the movie Seven, then later scratched a seven-year itch. Then, sadly, he was struck by lightning. Not really, but an electrical problem that hit while leading ruined his chances at the win.

"I guess my luck, like my battery, temporarily ran out," laments Bowyer. "And speaking of luck, doesn't Dale Earnhardt, Jr. have it working for him when it comes to endorsement deals. First Sony, now adidas. Those are two coveted deals, but not the pinnacle of desirability. That would have to be Git-R-Done, the new fragrance, I mean beer, from Larry The Cable Guy. Coming soon, and leaving soon thereafter, to a grocery store near you."

McMurray overcame a penalty for passing below the yellow line, ironically, to pass Kyle Busch, whom he would later edge at the stripe, to win for the first time since 2002. The win bumped him up to 13th in the points, only 49 behind Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who sits 13th.

"I feel kind of bad for Kyle," says McMurray. "He's like the red-headed stepchild of Hendrick Motorsports right now, getting dissed by his own teammates. It's bad enough he gets booed by the fans during driver introductions. I don't think Kyle was made to play the bad guy like his brother Kurt. That's why I'm appealing to all fans who don't have a favorite driver to make Kyle Busch your man. He's got just the right amount of talent and attitude to be a superstar. He just needs a sponsor that reflects that talent and attitude. It sure ain't Kellogg's Corn Flakes."

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 11:28 AM | Comments (1)

July 11, 2007

2007 NFL Preview: Quarterbacks

In his Hashmarks blog on ESPN, Matt Mosley posed a question: who are the most indispensable players in the NFL? Jeffri Chadiha was writing a column, wanted to know what the people thought.

I put in my own two cents: Bob Sanders and Jeff Saturday. L.J. If he goes down, the Chiefs would be completely wrecked. Ed Reed, Vince Wilfork (or any other top-flight nose tackle in a 3-4 like Jamal Williams), Nick Hardwick, Torry Holt, Vince Young.

My focus was obviously on non-quarterbacks. Sure, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are indispensable. They're the two most important players in the league, both first-ballot Hall of Famers. I was more interested in everybody else.

Of course, Chadiha went with the obvious. He really didn't have a choice. If the premise had been "who are the most indispensable non-quarterbacks," he'd have a great debate. But he didn't, so the list was the NFL glamour package: Larry Johnson at one, because the Chiefs really would be wrecked without him, followed by Brady, Manning, Brian Urlacher, Antonio Gates, Julius Peppers, Michael Vick, Walter Jones, Champ Bailey, and Carson Palmer.

In other words, he picked as many quarterbacks as could get away with (trying to avoid the "only focus on the pretty boys" backlash), then added the top running back, top middle linebacker, top tight end, top defensive end, top tackle, top cornerback, and Michael Vick, because apparently Joey Harrington is the worst player in the league.

Again, you can't really blame him. Under that premise, I actually would have gone more quarterback heavy. The Rams' offense would be devastated by the loss of Marc Bulger. Tennessee wouldn't win four games with Kerry Collins. A.J. Feeley in Philadelphia? Cleo Lemon in Miami? Jamie Martin in New Orleans?

If you define indispensable as meaning "they're completely screwed without him," quarterbacks are far and away the leaders of the pack. Just ask Seattle fans about the Seneca Wallace era.

And it's with this in mind we begin our 2007 NFL Season Preview Series with a ranking of each team's quarterback situations. This isn't an individual ranking. There are no fantasy points here. This is about which team is strongest at the position, taking into account the likelihood of injury or performance replacement of the starter, and the quality of backups on the depth chart.

Hall of Fame

Indianapolis (Peyton Manning, Jim Sorgi, John Navarre/Josh Betts)
New England (Tom Brady, Matt Cassel)

Notes: Cassel and Sorgi may suck. They may be awesome. We'll never know because Brady and Manning never come off the field. They are two Hall of Famers behind excellent offensive lines with excellent skill position players around them and coaches who know how to call a game. There's not a coach or GM in the league who wouldn't pick Brady and Manning one-two if they were building a team from scratch. That alone gets them atop any QB listing.

All-Pro

St. Louis (Marc Bulger, Gus Frerotte, Ryan Fitzpatrick)
New Orleans (Drew Brees, Jamie Martin, Jason Fife)
Cincinnati (Carson Palmer, Doug Johnson, Jeff Rowe)
Carolina (Jake Delhomme, David Carr, Brett Basanez)
Seattle (Matt Hasselbeck, Seneca Wallace, David Green)

Notes: Bulger, Brees, and Palmer are Pro Bowl-caliber. Delhommer isn't done by any means, and Carr makes for an excellent insurance policy. Wallace actually came on late in his stint last year, and Hasselbeck is due for a bounce-back from the injuries.

Future Rising

San Diego (Philip Rivers, Billy Volek, Charlie Whitehurst)
Arizona (Matt Leinart, Kurt Warner, Shane Boyd)
Denver (Jay Cutler, Patrick Ramsey, Preston Parsons)
Dallas (Tony Romo, Brad Johnson, Matt Baker)

Notes: All young stars in the making with veteran back-ups who've started in the past. The Johnson signing was huge for the Cowboys.

Greatness On a Short Leash

Baltimore (Steve McNair, Kyle Boller, Troy Smith)
Philadelphia (Donovan McNabb, A.J. Feeley/Kelly Holcomb, Kevin Kolb)
New York Jets (Chad Pennington, Kellen Clemens, Marques Tuiasosopo)
Detroit (Jon Kitna, Dan Orlovsky, Drew Stanton)

Notes: The four starters have seen glory, but there are questions. The reserves make you grimace just a little bit. Tuiasosopo is the best third stringer in the league.

Maybe, Maybe Not

Buffalo (J.P. Losman, Craig Nall, Trent Edwards)
Pittsburgh (Ben Roethlisberger, Charlie Batch, Brian St. Pierre/Bryan Randall)
Houston (Matt Schaub, Sage Rosenfels, Bradlee Van Pelt)
Tennessee (Vince Young, Kerry Collins, Tim Rattay)
New York Giants (Eli Manning, Anthony Wright, Jared Lorenzen)
Atlanta (Michael Vick, Joey Harrington, Chris Redman/D.J. Shockley)
Tampa Bay (Jeff Garcia, Bruce Gradkowski/Chris Simms)
San Francisco (Alex Smith, Trent Dilfer, Shaun Hill)
Jacksonville (Byron Leftwich, David Garrard, Quinn Gray)

Notes: Losman needs to stop making mistakes. Roethlisberger needs to stop making excuses. Schaub is a complete unknown as a starter and has a bad offensive line. Young needs to lead a solid passing game to move up. Eli would have been much better off in San Diego. Vick can be awesome or completely suck. Garcia is old and doesn't have Brian Westbrook carrying the load for him. Smith could be good or he could be Dilfer in the making. Leftwich and Garrard deserve a better ranking, but Jack Del Rio is managing them into the ground.

As for the second-stringers, Rosenfels and Wright are starter material. Harrington isn't nearly as bad as people say. Dilfer is solid. Nall and Collins would be complete disasters if they were pushed to start.

Oy Vei

Miami (Trent Green, Cleo Lemon, John Beck)
Cleveland (Jeff Frye, Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn)
Kansas City (Damon Huard, Brodie Croyle, Preston Parsons)
Oakland (Josh McCown, JaMarcus Russell, Andrew Walter/Josh Booty)
Washington (Jason Campbell, Mark Brunell, Todd Collins/Jordan Palmer)
Chicago (Rex Grossman, Brian Griese, Kyle Orton)
Green Bay (Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, Ingle Martin)
Minnesota (Tarvaris Jackson, Brooks Bollinger, Drew Henson/Tyler Thigpen)

Notes: Can Green stay healthy behind a mediocre-at-best offensive line? Frye or Anderson or Quinn? All three will probably start this year. Didn't Grossman prove he sucked last year? Brodie Croyle? Welcome to the fire, JaMarcus. Campbell hasn't done anything to even remotely deserve a hand-given starting spot. This is the end of Favre and there is a nightmare brewing for the Vikings.

Seth Doria is a freelance writer in St. Louis. For daily news and notes on sports, entertainment and politics, please visit The Left Calf.

Posted by Joshua Duffy at 2:48 PM | Comments (7)

Saving Pujols For What?!

There is a short list of absolutes in this world. But a precious few decisions have enough historical precedent as to render them so insanely idiotic that they should get a man reprimanded/fired/drawn-and-quartered. For example:

• Invading Russia (see Napoleon or Germany)
• Betting on the Bills in a Super Bowl
• Allowing your kids to play at Michael Jackson's house
• Buying any movie starring Rob Schneider
• Leaving Albert Pujols on the bench of a one-run game in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs and the bases loaded

I should not have to explain to even the most hare-brained baseball fan about the last one. But Tony LaRussa, with a chance to finally end a 10-game winless streak against the American League, for some reason left on the bench the best hitter in the NL, maybe in the majors, over the last six-plus years.

Let's even totally bypass that he should have hit for Orlando Hudson, if not earlier. Orlando Hudson was a marginal all-star anyway, and with two on, two out, and Francisco Rodriguez on the mound, his odds of getting a hit were crappy at best.

But the baseball gods smiled on LaRussa. The O-Dog walked. Even better. Nowhere for the AL to put Pujols. You get him out, or you blow it, either losing or facing extra innings.

Every fan in America at this point has to wonder why Aaron Rowand was even on the on-deck circle with Hudson up. Every American League fan then began to rejoice: he actually walked up to the plate!They can't believe it. Neither can Senior Circuit fans, who are waking the neighbors with screams and throwing things at the television, pleading with LaRussa to regain consciousness.

Before this rant goes catatonic, let's try to be reasonable. This guy just won the World Series. He is the leading active manager in wins. He had to have a reason. Maybe:

Pujols is hurt. Didn't look hurt launching several 450-foot bombs in the Home Run Derby 24 hours ago.

Aaron Rowand needed an AB, fear of favoring his guy. Rowand had already struck out. And not one writer or fan from St. Louis to Philadelphia to Siberia would have criticized the move.

(Now Pujols is rightfully irritated that LaRussa didn't play him. So the two of them get to bring that baggage back to St. Louis, which is nice.)

Saving him for "later." The reason claimed by LaRussa. What "later" is he talking about? What more important future scenario requiring Pujols could he possibly envision? Derek Lee runs well, and would likely have scored the winning run on a mere base hit. A walk was virtually the only game-preserving outcome, and even then, against two of the most dominant closers in the game, IT'S A SPECTACULAR OUTCOME FOR THE NL.

Pujols is slumping. I would take Pujols with an advanced case of polio over Rowand on steroids any day. This season Albert is still statistically better with his worst half ever paired against Rowand's best. Comparing them historically in this space is insulting to Pujols and cruel to Rowand.

Gut instinct. With his track record, almost an argument. But a gut without a brain is just a wild guess.

No explanation that comes close. Pujols should have hit. There is no excuse. LaRussa has seen Pujols in person hit ninth-inning, game-winning homers off closers like John Smoltz and Brad Lidge. How could any other scenario been more appealing?

Aaron Rowand is a nice player. But he can't hold Pujols' metaphorical jock strap. And you know the feeling in K-Rod's gut would have been a little different if Pujols, in his intimidating stance, was glaring coldly back at him from home plate. By comparison, Rowand couldn't be scarier if he had a chain-saw and a Jason mask.

Everyone wanted to see it, too. Rowand himself probably contemplated telling LaRussa to pull him. So did the rest of the NL bench.

Imagine, one of the greatest moments in All-Star Game history. The NL's best hitter up against one of the most dominant closers of the last few years. Power vs. Power. Nowhere to put Pujols. The All-Star Game, homefield advantage for the World Series, and a ton of NL pride all on the line.

Here's the pitch ... and Aaron Rowand flies out to right.

We were robbed.

Posted by Kyle Jahner at 12:34 PM | Comments (4)

July 10, 2007

Five Players to Watch in '07

If you're a follower of college football, you are undoubtedly aware of Heisman Trophy contenders like Arkansas' Darren McFadden, USC's John David Booty, Hawaii's Colt Brennan, and Louisville's Brian Brohm. Many of you many also be familiar with top defensive players like Notre Dame's Tom Zbikowski, Ohio State's James Laurinaitis, and LSU's Glenn Dorsey. Below that level of All-American and multiple national award contenders lies a group of potential college football superstars whom could start to dominate national headlines as the season progresses.

At the very least, all of the following players, barring injury, will make significant impact on their teams and conferences respectively.

Jarett Dillard, WR, Rice

The most remarkable part of Rice's turnaround from 1-10 in 2005 to 7-6 in 2006 was not only the fact that it was traditionally putrid Rice, but that it happened in a spread offense with a team that had wishbone personnel from a previous coaching staff.

This year, the coach who masterminded the turnaround in Todd Graham is gone, but the spread offense stays and so does wideout Jarett Dillard. Dillard caught a whopping 21 touchdowns last year with 91 receptions and 1,247 yards to boot.

The Owls' top quarterback, Chase Clement returns, which could see all three of Dillard's superb receiving totals improve.

Brian Cushing, OLB, USC

Perhaps the only quote-unquote "big" name known by college football fans on USC's defense is defensive end Lawrence Jackson.

But the true reason why USC are the preseason favorites for the national championship is not because of Booty and the offense, but is due to their absolutely loaded defense. Ten starters return to a unit that allowed less than 300 yards per game a year ago.

While Cushing is not "under the radar" by any means, he is moving to a more natural strong-side linebacker position after starting every game a year ago at defensive end. The 6'4", 245 lb. player recorded 13.5 tackles for loss last year and has a great chance to improve with all the talent around him.

Gosder Cherilus, LT, Boston College

If one were to scan over every single NFL roster, one of the most stunning things you would find would be the sheer volume of offensive linemen who played for BC. Cherilus, a senior, will be the next BC o-line product to make it to the pros.

The Haitian-born 23-year-old beast has started every single game for the Eagles since redshirting in 2003. The 6'7", 320 lb. beast of a tackle will block first team All-ACC quarterback Matt Ryan's blind side and will pave holes for the talented running back duo of L.V. Whitworth and Andre Callender.

Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas

Usually, if I'm talking about a 6'2", 180 lb. athlete at Kansas, chances are that he is a point guard for the Jayhawks, and not one of the nation's best all-around corners.

Talib's size and prowess led to the corner leading the nation in pass break-ups a year ago, with over one a game more than the next best. The junior also has a knack to punish quarterbacks for mistakes, intercepting six passes as a sophomore. Big 12 teams will likely try to shy away from throwing to Talib's side at all in 2007, but could have a rude awakening when they find a top-50 national recruit form 2005 in Anthony Webb on the other side.

If Talib and Webb can shut down top Big 12 passing games, it could not only lead to a bowl appearance for the Jayhawks, but to perhaps a first team All-America spot for Talib.

Dorien Bryant, WR, Purdue

Quick — who led the Big Ten in receiving yards last year? It wasn't Ted Ginn, Anthony Gonzalez, Steve Breaston, Mario Manningham, or anyone on Penn State or Wisconsin.

It was the Boilermakers' Bryant, a 5'10" speed demon who was once clocked at 4.24 in the 40. Even with all the receiving talent and hysteria surrounding Ohio State and Michigan, Bryant was still voted as a first team All-Big Ten selection.

Besides Bryant, Joe Tiller's team returns 17 more starters and only loses one key piece in first-round NFL draft pick Anthony Spencer.

Posted by Ross Lancaster at 3:24 PM | Comments (0)

Wimbledon '07: More Than Meets the Eye

Saturday morning, I was eating my traditional championship breakfast: strawberries, whipped cream, and champagne. While not perfectly like it is served at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, it is still part of the tradition, and a tradition I have been celebrating for 31 years. I was doubly blessed this year, as not only did I get an uninterrupted ladies' championship Saturday, but the strawberries were especially large and perfectly ripe. Doesn't get much better then that.

I was watching Venus Williams win her fourth Wimbledon title with a convincing two set win over French up-and-comer Marion Bartoli and was clicking online through the match statistics when I caught something on the screen that interested me. Jelena Jankovic and her partner were set to play for the mixed doubles championship. Jankovic, part of the rising crew of Serbian players, has had an incredible year so far, and it was not unusual to see her competing for a title. Her compatriot, Ana Ivanovic, having just made the final of the French Open, was also not such a surprise to have made it to the semis at Wimbledon. It even didn't feel weird to see Novak Djokovic in the semifinals against Rafael Nadal.

Serbia has made incredible strides in professional tennis, and they have come to have a very large presence in the top ranks of the game. It is very important to note that just a little over a decade ago we were talking about war-torn Yugoslavia, with its ethnic Serbs and Croats. Genocide on a large scale was prevalent. In less then a generation, what became Serbia has managed to create some of tennis' more alluring stories.

On Sunday, the gentlemen's championship had been decided and the bottle of champagne was empty. Roger Federer made history by tying Bjorn Borg's five consecutive championship titles with the legendary Borg in attendance. And Jankovic and her partner won the mixed doubles title. Unless my fact-checking is wrong, that is the first major tennis title for Serbia. A huge accomplishment. An accomplishment maybe more newsworthy then Roger's fifth title. Glad I could cover it.

While I am sure the only papers that really covered the other piece of history are all on that tiny island nation on the other side of the pond, I think it is just as noteworthy. Jelena Jankovic's championship partner was Britain's own Mr. Murray. No, not Andy Murray, England's next best hope for dominance in men's tennis, but his brother, Jamie Murray.

After all the hype, all the press, after being anointed as the next coming of Fred Perry and the heir to Tim Henman's thrown at the AELTC, it was not Andy Murray, but little-known Jamie Murray who winds up the newest British champion. For the first time in 20 years, a local comes home with a title. It may not seem like much, but with the millions of pounds the Lawn Tennis Association has been throwing at growing the game and returning to prominence in tennis, it is at least a small consolation. With an investment that has only spanned about two years, England has an English champion (okay, technically he's a Scot, but it's all the UK, isn't it?)

The LTA has made large commitments to tennis, including hiring Brad Gilbert as a premier coach and Bill Mountford as head of their tennis development. Most of you know Brad as the former U.S. top-10 player and the coach of Andre Agassi and for a short time, Andy Roddick. Bill Mountford is much more unknown, and was the director of tennis at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, NY, home of the U.S. Open. With investments of this magnitude, you would hope that the UK will bring a singles champion home soon. While it doesn't look very likely in the near future, the win by Jamie Murray does provide a glimmer of hope.

The tennis at the Big W was amazing this year. Lots of history, too. It was good to see Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, and Jimmy Connors walk onto Centre Court together one more time. It was great to see a five set men's final. It was great to see the Serbs and the Brits get a trophy. I'm not sure, but maybe that is why the champagne was especially bubbly and my strawberries tasted especially good.

Posted by Tom Kosinski at 1:46 PM | Comments (2)

July 9, 2007

Feeling Lucky? Pats Betting on Maroney

After years of having anything but a good ground attack, the Patriots have enjoyed a good amount of success in the last few years. Antowain Smith turned out to be a pleasant surprise in his short tenure with the Pats, and Corey Dillon had a career year in 2004 before injuries and a lightened workload cut into his production. Now, after being heralded as the preseason Super Bowl favorites by many experts, the Patriots will turn to Laurence Maroney to carry the running attack by himself in 2007.

This will be Maroney's second year in the league, and already, he has shown signs of brilliance and potential to become a star in this league. It's no surprise that Maroney was able to make an impact on the team, but the extent of his impact in just his rookie year sent shock waves around New England. With one stiff arm in Cincinnati, Laurence Maroney was no longer looked at as just another rookie, but as the future of the franchise.

When the Pats took Maroney in the first round of the '06 draft, it clearly sent a message to the team and the fans that Corey Dillon was not going to be the long-term solution at running back for this team. With defensive studs still on the board, including Manny Lawson and DeMeco Ryans, who would have helped an aging linebacking core, they instead decided to draft a runner, which made a good amount of sense considering the Pats ranked 24th in overall rushing, and 30th in yards per carry.

With the combination of Dillon and Maroney in the backfield, the Pats were able to make an instant improvement in their running attack. New England gained 1,969 yards, 457 more yards than their amount in 2005, which was good enough for 12th in the league. In addition, their yards per carry went from 3.45 to almost 4 yards, which was the fifth best improvement from the two years (Atlanta, San Francisco, Jacksonville, Tennessee).

However, this year, a member of the two-headed backfield giant has been let go, and now, the pressure falls squarely on Maroney to try and duplicate what he and Dillon accomplished last year. Of course it would be asking too much of him to do anything close to what Dillon did in 2004, so what kind of expectations should Patriot fans have for Maroney in 2007?

First, Maroney's health issues will have to clear up to really be able to even project any kind of number for him. However, knowing the way Bill Belichick hides the severity of injuries, Maroney's health for the season opener at Giants Stadium will likely be unknown. Belichick has stated that he expects Maroney to be ready for training camp, he hasn't been exposed to contact since his off-season shoulder surgery, so his effectiveness is unknown. Maroney was able to play through a nagging back injury last year, so he's used to playing in pain. This will be a different scenario, however, as Maroney will likely get 250-300 carries this season, which is a big jump from the 175 attempts he had last year.

The good news for Maroney is that, unlike San Francisco, Kansas City, and other run-heavy teams, Maroney will not be the focal point of the offense. With the additions to the passing game, and one of the better quarterbacks of this generation at the helm, Maroney will not be under nearly as much pressure as a guy like Frank Gore, who plays with a relative newcomer to the league in Alex Smith, and a below-average receiving core, meaning Gore has to be "Mr. Everything" for the Niners.

The bad news about Dillon leaving is that, for the first time, Maroney will not have someone of equal talent to split carries with him. While Maroney was playing at Minnesota, he played with Marion Barber III, who had over 200 carries in both years he played with Maroney, and Gary Russell his junior year, who rushed for over 1,000 yards.

The depth at running back for the Pats is anything but solid. New England went out and signed Sammy Morris to back up Maroney, but he's only had 100 attempts once in seven seasons, so Morris will only get about five or six carries a game. Kevin Faulk is third on the chart, but outside of third down plays, you will rarely see Faulk line up in the backfield, as he is used much more in the passing game. Speaking of which, look for the Pats to use Maroney more as a receiving threat, as he averaged 8.8 yards a catch on 22 receptions.

While health issues and a lack of experience being the number one guy could alter how effective he will be, the fact remains that from his college days and the small sample of time he's spent in the NFL, Laurence Maroney has the potential to be a featured back in this league. If he is able to overcome those obstacles, you're looking at a guy with 1,500-yard potential. While he may not get the amount of carries to hit that mark, Maroney can be thankful to be in a system where he does not have to worry about carrying the offense, and can be eased into the role of featured back with the improvements made to the passing game, and an experienced signal-caller lined up behind center.

Posted by Rich Lyons at 11:27 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Why the Spurs Are Not a Dynasty

You remember, don't you? The soap opera that was the talk of a nation? The hallmark of American primetime soap operas in the 1980s? The epitome of an era of glamour and decadence? If you figured "Dynasty," then surely you remember the primetime, Denver-based, soap opera on ABC that lasted from 1981 to 1989.

In San Antonio, they are trying to recreate their own version of the ever-popular soap opera. Except there are a few things missing, like a soap opera, national discussion, glamour, decadence, and primetime coverage. Oh, but at least they are airing this re-creation on ABC, so that counts for something, right? And what about Eva Longoria? Doesn't she count as "soap opera" or "decadence" or "glamour" or "primetime coverage?"

Well, even including Eva Longoria does not seem to be helping San Antonio, who rightfully called their version of "Dynasty" ... the Spurs.

Since 1999, the Spurs have won four NBA championships, 445 regular season games, 88 playoff games, 16 Finals games, and six division titles. No other team in the same time period could make a similar claim. During this stretch, the Spurs averaged about 55 wins per season.

The Spurs have drafted well — including David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Sean Elliot, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobli. They have a classy, well-respected coach in Gregg Popovich. Three key players (Duncan, Parker, Ginobli) are under contract through 2011, meaning they will probably have another run at the title. Fan attendance and support is solid. Overall, the Spurs have all the makings of a dynasty. In fact, only three other franchises own more titles than the Spurs — the Celtics (16), Lakers (14), and Bulls (6), with each team considered a dynasty in their own respects.

Yet, are they really in the same class as these other dynasties?

Well, let's first compare the other franchises. During the Bulls' run in the 1990s, they won 490 regular season games, 101 playoff games, 24 Finals games, and six division titles. Included in the regular season totals are two of the greatest seasons in NBA history, in terms of wins — 72 in 1995-96 (most all-time), and 69 in 1996-97 (tied for second all-time). The Bulls averaged approximately 61 wins per season.

The Lakers' closest dynastic run (in Los Angeles) was from 1979 to 1989, where they won five championships. During that stretch, the Lakers won 591 regular season games, 111 playoff games, 20 Finals games, and nine division titles. In that same stretch, the Lakers failed to make it out of the first round only once and also advanced to the Finals eight times in 10 years. The Lakers averaged about 59 wins per season.

The Celtics' most memorable run was during the heyday of the NBA, from 1956 to 1969, where the Celtics won 11 championships, 674 regular season games, 106 playoff games, 46 Finals games, and nine division titles. The Celtics averaged about 52 wins per season (and played fewer games per season and in the playoffs).

Just comparing these stats, the Spurs would rank last in each category. Keep in mind, the Spurs' run has lasted for eight years, the Bulls' also eight years, the Lakers' 10 years, and the Celtics' 13 years.

While the Spurs did win four of the last nine championships, the years they did not win does not really support the Spurs cause. In their first chance to defend the 1999 championship, the Spurs won only one playoff game in 2000, losing to Phoenix in the first round. The following season (2001), the Spurs only mustered seven playoff wins, including being swept by the Lakers in the conference Finals. In 2002, the Spurs only won four playoffs games, losing in the second round to the Lakers, four games to one.

After winning the title in 2003, the Spurs failed to advance past the second round again, winning only six playoff games this time, before losing the Lakers in six games. The Spurs would win their third title in 2005, but failed to defend again in 2006 with yet another second round exit at the hand of the Dallas Mavericks, with a total of seven playoff wins. Of course, the Spurs would win in this year.

Looking at the history above, the Spurs are the only team to win at least four championships without repeating. The Celtics won as much as eight in a row, the Lakers won back-to-back at the end of their run, and the Bulls have consecutive three-peats. The Spurs can never seem to get past the second round as defending champions.

Yet even a closer look at each of the four championships raises questions, as well. The Spurs' first title in 1999 was a shortened season of 50 games. In addition to playing in an abridged season, they beat a very weak Eastern Conference team in the New York Knicks, who barely made the playoffs that season (the first season without Michael Jordan or Scottie Pippen playing for the Bulls).

To the Spurs' credit, they did have a stingy defense in 1999, allowing only 84.7 points per game in the playoffs, and 79.8 points allowed per game against the Knicks. The Spurs only allowed 90 or more points twice during the 1999 playoffs. Yet, even with this strong defense, playing only a 50-game season, and an NBA Finals against a team that barely qualified for the playoffs does not give much meaning to the championship.

The Eastern Conference was even more wide open in 2002, where the New Jersey Nets were the class of the watered-down conference. Beating the Nets in the Finals in 2002 does not say much, as the Nets probably would have been a lower seed out West. Keep in mind, since the Bulls' era of dominance ended in 1998, four teams out of the Eastern Conference made the Finals for the first time in franchise history, with another two (New York and Philadelphia) teams trying to reclaim a past glory. With the exception of the Detroit Pistons, no team out of the Eastern Conference ever had a reasonable chance of winning the Finals, regardless of the Western Conference opponent, which was either the Lakers or Spurs in each year except 2006 (Mavericks).

With such weak competition, the Spurs' first two titles do not appear to say much about the team itself, as much as they just played teams that just could not compete. In 2005, the Spurs may have met their match in the Detroit Pistons, who actually was good enough to beat anytime out of the West, and stretched the Finals to seven games. Many argue that had the Pistons had home-court advantage, the Pistons would've won that year, but Tim Duncan played some of his best basketball in that seventh game, scoring 25 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, blocking 2 shots, and dishing out 3 assists.

This may have been the best Finals performance of any of the Spurs — and the only year they had any true competition. The 2007 Finals was a laugher, with the Spurs sweeping an overmatched Cleveland Cavaliers.

Considering all of this, are the Spurs worthy of being in discussion to be a dynasty? Not even comparing the greatness of the players or level of competition within the Western Conference (the Lakers, Suns, Mavericks), it almost appears that the Spurs were at the right place, at the right time.

In three of the four years they won, it can easily be argued that they won the championship in a year where no other team really wanted it — almost as if the Spurs were winners by convenience. They beat an overwhelmed Knicks team in five games, a talented but average Nets team in six games, and swept a Cavs team that didn't know what hit them. That is a combined 12-3 record in three championship seasons — and the 12-3 record is more an attest to the weakness of the competition, not the greatness of the Spurs. In the one year they faced stiff competition from the East, they went seven games, and barely squeaked out of the final game in San Antonio.

With all this said, the Spurs really are not a dynasty. Not only do the numbers not compare to that of the other dynasties, but even the times they did win, it is hard to really consider the victory one of greatness. No one ever brags about the varsity team beating the junior varsity team.

Many Spurs will claim that if they played in another city, then they would clearly be considered a dynasty. However, each dynasty won consecutive championships, and each dynasty consistently made it past the second round in years they did not win the championship during the dynasty. Not to mention, the Spurs really look ugly when they are dethroned. Not to mention, there is certainly more roster stability — Tim Duncan is the only player to play on all four championship teams. Hardly a dynasty when only one player has been there through the whole process, even if he is one of the greatest players in the game. After all, at least the other dynasties had several superstars or role players that played from beginning to end, such as Bill Russell and Bob Cousy; Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Michael Cooper, Byron Scott; and Jordan, Pippen, and Phil Jackson.

That being said, what will it take for the Spurs to be a dynasty? Well, for starters, successfully defending their title will help, meaning they have to win in 2008, despite a deeper Western Conference. If they do, then at least they can take care of the roster stability, as well, as Parker and Ginobli would've been around for most of the championships. Additionally, the Spurs would probably have to win another title before 2011 — totaling six championships — in order for them to get over the hump and be called a dynasty. Two more championships with the same core of stars — not impossible, especially considering that their leader, Tim Duncan , is barely in his 30s — and then the Spurs can join the Celtics, Lakers, and Bulls.

Yet, until then, the Spurs are just that team who won at the right time, when nobody else wanted to win.

Related: Also see Brad Oremland's take on the Spurs as a dynasty.

Posted by Parimal Rohit at 10:09 AM | Comments (6)

July 5, 2007

Where, Oh Where, Are the Devil Dogs?

It's already July. We're looking at the All-Star Break in a week. Interleague play is history, as are the first 81 games of the season. Nine separate intra-divisional rivals have faced each other a dozen times, including the Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees. Yet, the Red Sox won't play their first games against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays until this coming week.

If you're a Boston fan, you're not complaining. The Devil Rays are the least compelling gate on The Hub sports scene. That's pretty bad considering competition like the Milwaukee Bucks, who tried to outmaneuver the Celtics for the NBA's second-worst record on their last trip to T.D. Banknorth Garden in April. At least the Bucks come to town only twice a year, and the few extra ping-pong balls always at stake are better theatre than watching Boston batters hypnotized by Casey Fossum's fastballs. Not to mention, the ping-pong balls move a lot faster.

As puzzling as Boston's wait for this reunion of old AL East friends may seem, you can imagine how it is to a former schedule maker.

"It's not unprecedented to have a first [divisional] series show up in June sometime," acknowledges Henry Stephenson, who, along with wife Holly, drew up Major League Baseball's schedules from their Martha's Vineyard home for 24 seasons before losing their jobs in 2005. "So it will be July. That's a little late."

With the Red Sox and Yankees playing 18 and 14 games, respectively, against Tampa Bay from here out, Stephenson's successors have given the last-place Rays a magnified prominence in the American League East race on par with New Hampshire's role in deciding the Democratic nomination.

"As far as we were concerned," the displaced Stephenson recalls, "the objective was to keep it as smoothly distributed across the board as possible because you can never really anticipate what matchup is going to make a difference. When they don't come out smoothly, people notice."

Of course, Major League Baseball must cater to a variety of external considerations that make such a smooth distribution impossible.

"There are special requests that teams make, so we'll start pushing series around a bit," explains Katy Feeney, MLB's Senior Vice President of Scheduling. "It may not even be a Boston or a Tampa Bay request. It could be another team's request that has a domino effect throughout the schedule.

"The ideal is that, within your division, you play an early, mid, and late series [home and away] but you sometimes bump into stadium unavailability, you bump into the interleague play period. Some things just get squeezed. It's not a Boston/Tampa Bay issue. It impacts everybody."

Most teams would probably salivate at the thought of 18 dates with the Devil Dogs. At 33-47, they are baseball's traveling apothecary, dispensing an elixir of life from the back of their horse-drawn cart in cities across the American League. A three-game series against this pitching staff that ranks last in the Majors with a 5.54 ERA will cure a slumping lineup faster than a bottle of Dr. Kilmer's Swamp Root. And in the Boston Red Sox, they have the perfect patient. After batting .281 and scoring 5.5 runs a game through June 3, they've hit .253 and have scored but 3.7 runs since, going 12-13 over that span.

Well, Tito Francona & Company, you better check the expiration date on your bottle because these are not the Yankees' Devil Rays.

Last year, the Red Sox eked out a 10-9 series edge over the last-place Rays while the Bombers took 13 of 18. For Boston, every win was a struggle. In one Tim Wakefield start last May, left fielder Willie Harris cut down the potential tying run at the plate for the game's final out, preserving what had been a 5-0 lead to start the ninth. At the conclusion of interleague play in July, the then 50-29 Red Sox dropped three straight in Tampa Bay that started a 36-47 closeout of the 2006 dream.

Devil Ray starters Scott Kazmir, Casey Fossum, and Tim Corcoran combined for a 7-1 record and a 1.70 ERA in 10 starts against the Red Sox in 2006. The trio posted a 14-22 mark and 4.81 ERA against all other clubs, including 1-4 with a 6.67 ERA against the Yankees.

Kazmir will open this week's series in Boston on Tuesday night, but Corcoran is on the 15-day disabled list and the threshold of designation for assignment. As for Fossum, he's been relegated to the bullpen for — here's a surprise — ineffectiveness. He has paid a starter's ultimate price as a result of this drought in games against his former team.

For the ranks of Red Sox Nation who are accustomed to watching their team play down to the level of their competition and lie in perpetual wait for the other shoe to drop, the scheduling anomaly that will keep the Sox and Rays commuting between Boston and Tampa for the remainder of the summer is an apple in the Garden of Eden — beautiful to the unaware beholder but deadly to the touch. For even the optimistic Bostonian, the diminished competition can dampen enthusiasm while potential autumn competitors are honing their skills against more compelling opponents.

"You really do want to make sure that you get the divisional matchups at the end of the season when the race is on," says Stephenson.

"Keep in mind that it is not a one-team or a one-week schedule," argues MLB's Feeney. "It is a 26-week, 30-team schedule. By the end of the season, by the end of 162 games, they will have had played the same number of times as the Yankees and Boston play."

Of course, timing can be everything in baseball as it is in comedy. Maybe a good laugh or two can help Boston through 18 dates with these Devil Dogs.

Posted by Bob Ekstrom at 11:02 AM | Comments (0)

NASCAR Top 10 Power Rankings: Week 17

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jeff Gordon — After a spirited battle with Martin Truex, Jr. for second place, Gordon was unable to overtake leader Denny Hamlin in Sunday's final laps at Dover. It was Gordon's first race without crew chief Steve Letarte, who was suspended six races for rules infractions at Sonoma.

"This couldn't have happened at a better time," says Gordon. "The timing was perfect. I need a babysitter, and Steve needs a job. For the next month, he need not worry about changing tires, only changing diapers. And Steve is under strict orders not to alter the baby stroller in any way."

2. Denny Hamlin — The No. 11 team's decision to take only two tires instead of four during the race's final caution was the catalyst for Hamlin's first win of the year. The time saved in the pits moved Hamlin from fourth to the lead, and he fought off the advances of Jeff Gordon to take the victory in what has been a season top-heavy with near-misses.

"Look, the logic was simple behind the decision to take only two tires," says Hamlin, who gave Joe Gibbs Racing its first win of the year. "By taking only two tires, we cut in half the possibility of my crew screwing up another pit stop. These clowns finally learned how to correctly handle lug nuts. It's just sad it took a cattle prodder to get the desired results."

3. Jimmie Johnson — Johnson, like teammate Gordon, seemingly suffered no ill effects from the absence of his crew chief, Chad Knaus, on NASCAR-imposed lockdown for six races for his role in illegal alterations to the No. 48 car two weeks ago in Sonoma. Johnson was fastest in Saturday's final practice, and went on to finish fifth, his 10th top-10 and first since Charlotte in late May.

"I think I proved last year that crew chiefs are like batteries ... replaceable," says Johnson. "As far as I'm concerned, they could put a mannequin in the crew chief's seat and I'd be happy, as long as the Lowe's logo and those of our many sponsors are displayed prominently. But we'll welcome Chad back with open arms and a subject-to-interpretation rule book in five weeks. His detractors may think he's holed up in a dungeon devising new ways to skirt the rule book. That's entirely not the case. He already knows how to cheat. He's holed up in his dungeon devising ways not to get caught."

4. Matt Kenseth — Kenseth was the only Ford in the top 10, finishing ninth and rebounding from two previous weeks of terrible results; he finished 42nd and 34th, at Michigan and Sonoma, respectively. He now sits third in the points, 365 points behind Jeff Gordon.

"They've got a name for the cars that finish in the 34th through 42nd slots," says Kenseth. "It's called a 'nine-team Michael Waltrip Racing operation.' But seriously, let's give Toyota credit. Dave Blaney did put his Toyota on the pole, which is impressive. Before that, the phrase 'putting a Toyota on the pole' had something to do with raising a Toyota flag."

5. Tony Stewart — Stewart's 12th in New Hampshire could have been better, but a slow pit stop during the race's final caution dropped him back. Stewart had trouble locating his pit stall and overshot it, forcing him to park at an awkward angle. He lost nine places during the stop, but fought back to regain seven positions in the final 45 laps.

"I take full responsibility for that error," says Stewart. "I blame no one but myself, but in my defense, my parking skill made it very difficult for Kurt Busch to pull up beside me. Anyway, at least Joe Gibbs Racing got its first win this year. I know we probably won't be able to match Hendrick's win total, but if we can get to four, I think we'll have more wins than the Redskins this year."

6. Carl Edwards — Edwards No. 99 Ford sported the logo of the Boston Red Sox to promote the Roush Fenway Racing partnership, but a huge error in the pits cost him any chance of a win in the Lenox Industrial Tools 300. On a lap 195 visit to the pits, the jack was dropped, resulting in a 47-second stop. Edwards battled back to finish 13th, and held on to seventh in the points, 465 out of first.

"It was a great weekend with the Red Sox family," says Edwards. "I got to toss out the first pitch at a Sox game, I took announcer Jerry Remy for a spin in my car, and I had an animated conversation with the frozen head of the 'Splendid Splinter,' Ted Williams. He's a man of few words, with the steely-eyed, determined glare of a man who's hit .400 before. Now, as far as Sunday's race goes, I've got only two words for the crewman who dropped the jack, and those two words can be found on my car next week, when it will feature a paint scheme modeled after the shirt worn by the classy wife of the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez."

7. Martin Truex, Jr. — Truex led 46 laps at Loudon, but lost the lead in the pits when Denny Hamlin gambled by taking only two tires. Truex then fought off Jeff Gordon, finally surrendering second place with about three laps remaining. Truex's third place was his fourth top-five finish in the last five races, and propelled him up one spot to tenth in the points.

"I guess you can attribute DEI's recent success to the merging of the engine programs of DEI and Richard Childress Racing," says Truex. "It was a decision that made a ton of sense in our business and competition arenas. Apparently, that's why Teresa Earnhardt knew nothing about it."

8. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. — Earnhardt, Jr. joined teammate Martin Truex, Jr. in the top five in New Hampshire with a fourth, Little E's sixth top-10 finish in the last six races, a feat equaled by Truex. Earnhardt holds on to the all-important 12th place in the points, with a comfortable 127 point lead over Ryan Newman in 13th.

"Isn't it nice to see me making news on the track instead of off?" says Earnhardt. "With that said, did you notice I also joined two future teammates in the top five, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson? And there's rumors that my Hendrick car may be sponsored by Monster Energy drink instead of Budweiser. I hear the folks at Anheuser-Busch think I'm getting too old to appeal to the target audience for Bud. That's ridiculous, but even if it's true, it's still not a wise move on their part. Having Bud on my car moves their product. Here's the kicker: you don't have to be 21 to wear Dale Earnhardt, Jr.-Budweiser apparel. Babies can't and shouldn't drink beer, but they can wear my gear. I've seen them. I just don't see fans getting behind Monster like they do Budweiser. And I don't get the popularity of these new energy drinks in their fancy cans, anyway. When I was a kid, we had our own energy drink. It was called Kool-Aid. Get me the Kool-Aid man on my car, pronto. Oh yeah!"

9. Jeff Burton — Burton posted a solid seventh in the Lenox Industrial Tools 300, but admitted that his No. 31 Richard Childress Chevy's COT package is slightly behind that of the top teams. He is fifth in the points, but right now, he doesn't seem like a driver that can compete with current championship favorites Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Denny Hamlin.

"The Car of Tommorrow is one tough concept to understand," says Burton, "much like the Rubik's Cube or Paris Hilton's fame. All this talk of front splitters and rear spoilers makes my head spin, like when I have a conversation with my brother, Wadd Button. Anyway, it's not quite time for drastic measures, but when it is, I have the perfect plan: to have my crew chief suspended for cheating."

10. Kevin Harvick — Harvick followed teammate Jeff Burton across the finish, as the two Richard Childress machines finished 7-8, the last of a parade of eight Chevrolets that shut Ford, Dodge, and Toyota out of the top eight. Harvick is eighth in the points, 248 ahead of Ryan Newman in 13th.

"Somebody get me the janitor," says Harvick, "'cause there's gonna be some sweeping this weekend at Daytona, just like I did in February."

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 10:00 AM | Comments (0)

July 3, 2007

The Value of the No. 1 Pick

Take out or delivery? Soup or salad? Blondes or brunettes? Shaken or stirred?

And now the latest of the great global debates...

Greg Oden or Kevin Durant?

But just how important is that No. 1 pick?

Is it the ultimate make-or-break it's said to be?

A quick look at the top five picks in each of the last 10 drafts suggests those sure-fire-can't-miss picks aren't always what they're cracked up to be.

2006

1. Toronto Raptors - Andrea Bargnani, F, Italy
2. Chicago Bulls - LaMarcus Aldridge, F, Texas (traded to Portland)
3. Charlotte Bobcats - Adam Morrison, F, Gonzaga
4. Portland Trail Blazers - Tyrus Thomas, F, LSU (traded to Chicago)
5. Atlanta Hawks - Shelden Williams, F, Duke

Entirely too early to pass judgment on the Class of '06. Each have shown flashes and are essentially entirely interchangeable. Bargnani showed good promise down the stretch for the playoff-bound Raptors, but taking Shelden Williams first overall instead would have eliminated Toronto's postseason chances. We'll call it a wash for now, with a hunch that at least one of the rest of the guys in the top five turns out to be more valuable than Bargnani.

If they could do it over again — Minnesota wins best pick o' the first round with Brandon Roy at No. 6 — even though they promptly shipped him to Portland. When it's all said and done, Roy may prove to be the only game-changer from last year's first round.

2005

1. Milwaukee Bucks - Andrew Bogut, C, Utah
2. Atlanta Hawks - Marvin Williams, F, North Carolina
3. Utah Jazz - Deron Williams, G, Illinois
4. New Orleans Hornets - Chris Paul, G, Wake Forest
5. Charlotte Bobcats - Raymond Felton, G, North Carolina

Think Milwaukee would like a do-over on the can't-miss Bogut for any of the guards that went No. 3-5? Yeah, me, too. Going into the draft, there was never any doubt the top pick would be the big Aussie from Utah. Yet, D-Will and C.P. are already top-tier players at their position after just their second year in the league, and even Felton has shown flashes of franchise potential.

As far as that coveted no-brainer top pick, some would argue David Lee (picked 30th by the Knicks) is, and will be, a better pro than Bogut. Ouch.

If they could do it over again — Before the playoffs started, Paul would've been the easy nominee for the man most deserving of being the top pick. Now given my choice, I'd have to flip a coin over the guys who went three and four. Take me to task and I'll go with Paul over the long haul.

2004

1. Orlando Magic - Dwight Howard, F, SW Atlanta Christian Academy
2. Charlotte Bobcats - Emeka Okafor, F/C, Connecticut
3. Chicago Bulls - Ben Gordon, G, Connecticut
4. L.A. Clippers - Shaun Livingston, G, Peoria Central HS (IL)
5. Washington Wizards - Devin Harris, G, Wisconsin (traded to DAL)

Can't argue against myself just to try and prove a point here. Hands down, Howard has proven to be the cream of the 2004 crop. Points and FG percentage have increased every year for the lean leaper, while averaging 11-plus boards a game in his three-year career. And forget Gerald Green. D-How was robbed in the dunk contest this year. After all, isn't that the true way to measure our superstars these days?

If they could do it over again — The slam dunking, sticker-on-the-glass-posting Mr. Howard. No doubt about it. Although the 16 teams who passed on the versatile Josh Smith have to be kicking themselves. But still, in this case study, Howard is our first undeniable example thus far of a legit and deserved top overall selection.

2003

1. Cleveland Cavaliers - LeBron James, F, St. Vincent-St. Mary's HS
2. Detroit Pistons - Darko Milicic, F/C, Serbia and Montenegro
3. Denver Nuggets - Carmelo Anthony, F, Syracuse
4. Toronto Raptors - Chris Bosh, F, Georgia Tech
5. Miami Heat - Dwyane Wade, G, Marquette

We didn't know it at the time, but the 2003 draft could prove to be the stuff legends are made of (a la the NFL QB class of '83). You would be hard-pressed to find a top five equal to the level of talent we see here, perhaps in any sport at any time. The disappointing Darko aside (and because the kid can't get any playing time no matter where he goes, we still have no clue if he's really any good), four of the top five from '03 have already proven to be franchise players. Every single one of them.

But as far as that top pick goes, arguments still linger whether D-Wade was a better bargain at five than Bron Bron was at number one. Truthfully if not for injuries, I'm not so sure Wade isn't the easy pick here as Best in Show. The whole "LeBron is King," "I Am a Witness" thing is all good for selling shoes. But I'll take the guy who can score, rebound, pass, and play an all-star caliber level of defense night in and night out — and that's Wade.

For those of you who have already forgotten, Wade was the reason Miami won the title in 2006 — not Shaq. He led his team and made those around him better. LeBron needs to figure out how to do the latter before you can sell me he's the pick. Of course, I don't question Cleveland's pick for a second. Coming in, my grandmother's labradoodle knew James was the only choice at the top of the draft. I'm just saying, look at where we are now.

If they could do it over again — LBJ was the right pick, although at this point, I'll gladly take Wade four picks later. Other than his inability beyond the arc (something LeBron ain't so great at it, either) I challenge you to find me a flaw in Flash's game. Look all you want, it's not there.

2002

1. Houston Rockets - Yao Ming, C, Shanghai Sharks
2 Chicago Bulls - Jay Williams, G, Duke
3 Golden State Warriors - Mike Dunleavy, G/F, Duke
4 Memphis Grizzlies - Drew Gooden, F, Kansas
5 Denver Nuggets - Nikoloz Tskitishvili, F, Italy

And at the complete opposite end of the talent spectrum from 2003, we proudly present the collective stink bomb known as the 2002 draft. Although to be fair, the athletic ineptitude extends far beyond the top five. A quick glance at the draft board reveals that only about 15 of the 58 players selected still hold NBA jobs. That's a worse success rate than Paris Hilton vs. the breathalyzer. Go Paris! But I digress. For the point of this argument, the top pick was well spent on Yao, in what was another year with little or no debate as to who would be the first player taken. And looking at the competition, it's hard to argue. I'll credit Houston with making the right pick by default.

If they could do it over again — Hopefully the eight GMs who passed on Amare Stoudemire had a career backup plan because their calling was clearly not in evaluating potential NBA talent. Hold the draft now and Amare walks up to meet David Stern holding that No. 1 jersey.

2001

1. Washington Wizards - Kwame Brown, F, Glynn Academy
2. L.A. Clippers - Tyson Chandler, F, Dominguez HS (traded to Chicago)
3. Atlanta - Pau Gasol, F, Barcelona (traded to Memphis)
4. Chicago - Eddy Curry, F/C, Thornwood (Ill.) H.S.
5. Golden State - Jason Richardson, G/F, Michigan State

Stop me if you've heard this one. A priest, a rabbi, and a pizza delivery man are on a boat. The priest turns to the rabbi and...

Oh, sorry, I drifted off there for a second. Um, what can I say about the top five in 2001 other than any of the four that went after the perennially cantankerous Kwame turned out to be much better picks. No matter how you slice it, the No. 1 pick was a waste in '01, yet at the time, Kwame was the consensus choice.

If they could do it over again — How about a 6'2" guard out of France named William Anthony Parker — also known as the reigning NBA Finals MVP and three-time champion Tony Parker — coming off the board with the very last pick in the first round? Not only was he the 28th player taken, but seven other guards went before him in Round 1 including juggernauts Raul Lopez, Jeryl Sasser, and Joe Forte.

2000

1. New Jersey Nets - Kenyon Martin, C, Cincinnati
2. Vancouver Grizzlies - Stromile Swift, F, Louisiana State
3. L.A. Clippers - Darius Miles, F, East Saint Louis HS (IL)
4. Chicago Bulls - Marcus Fizer, F, Iowa State
5. Magic - Mike Miller, F, Florida

If not for injuries, this might have actually been one of the drafts to illustrate what happens with a smart choice at number one. Sadly, that's not the case as injuries have absolutely decimated K-Mart's career. Meanwhile, Mike Miller has improved year after year and just turned in a stellar 2006 campaign, averaging 18.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest.

On the flip side, Martin played just two games last year and his points and rebounds had declined in each of the three previous seasons prior to that. Put both guys up on the block and tell 10 GMs to pick one and you'll have 10 votes for the shaggy shooting Gator. Consider another top pick down the drain.

If they could do it over again — Surprisingly, it's Miller. Too bad it's not a Worst Dancer Contest or Mark Madsen is a runaway winner with the last pick of the first round.

1999

1. Chicago Bulls - Elton Brand, F, Duke
2. Vancouver Grizzlies - Steve Francis, G, Maryland
3. Charlotte Hornets - Baron Davis, G, UCLA
4 L.A. Clippers - Lamar Odom, F, Rhode Island
5. Toronto Raptors - Jonathan Bender, F, Picayune HS

Gotta love what the Baron of Westwood did with the Warriors in the postseason, but let's not get caught up in the moment here, people. Elton Brand has averaged 20.3 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game over this eight-year career. Some guys go their whole careers without averaging a double-double for a season, let alone a career.

Coming out of college, Francis, Davis, and Odom were definitely the sexier picks. Kudos to the Bulls for seeing past it and taking E.B. — even if they dumped him two years later. Still, Brand was the right pick then and he's the right pick now.

If they could do it over again — A lot of capable candidates here — Rip Hamilton at 7; Shawn Marion at 9; and of course, who can forget the New York Knicks astute scouting of French seven-footer and soon-to-be Vince Carter poster boy Frederic Weis at 15? Oh yeah, a guy named Ron Artest went one pick later. Nevertheless, the aforementioned Mr. Brand takes the cake as the right pick.

1998

1. L.A. Clippers - Michael Olowokandi, C, Pacific
2. Vancouver Grizzlies - Mike Bibby, PG, Arizona
3. Denver Nuggets - Raef LaFrentz, F, Kansas
4. Toronto Raptors - Antawn Jamison, F, North Carolina (traded to Golden State)
5. Golden State - Vince Carter, G, North Carolina (traded to Toronto)

If Portland takes a good look at the Class of '98, shear fright alone might ensure Kevin Durant gets the call at No. 1. The big difference is the Candy Man made his mark at the collegiate level against the likes of St. Mary's, Chico State, and UC Irvine, unlike Oden, who made his mettle against some of basketball's biggest powers — and much of it with a bum hand that is now healed.

Opponents aside, Olowokandi clearly proved himself to be anything but worthy of a top pick right from the start. Bibby, Jamison, and Carter are perennial all-stars and all went after the big man from Pacific was gone. You get the feeling the teams that lucked out are thankful they weren't in a position to make the same mistake at No. 1 — yet another wasted pick.

If they could do it over again — Ironically, this year's best pick goes hand-in-hand in what could go down as one of the worst trades in NBA history. We're talking Jeff Bagwell for Larry Andersen quality here. When Milwaukee handed their pick to the commish at No. 9, they had pegged a scrawny seven-foot European import as their pick. Unfortunately, they decided to deal him to Dallas in exchange for Robert "Tractor" Traylor. You might have heard of the Euro — he's current NBA MVP Dirk Nowitzki.

1997

1. San Antonio - Tim Duncan, C, Wake Forest
2. Philadelphia - Keith Van Horn, F, Utah
3. Boston - Chauncey Billups, G, Colorado
4. Vancouver - Antonio Daniels, G, Bowling Green
5. Denver - Tony Battie, C, Texas Tech

Now this is how you spend a No. 1 pick. Talk about a heck of a time for the Spurs to go in the tank for a season — who knew when David Robinson went down with a back injury after only six games in 1996, it would position San Antonio as an NBA dynasty in the making? And I don't care how boring they are, when you win four titles in nine years, yes, you are a dynasty. End of discussion. But let's get back on track. Is there really anything more I need to say here — in '97, the top pick was absolutely vital to the future of a franchise. No ifs, ands, or buts.

If they could do it over again — Let's see. Four championship rings. Two NBA MVP awards. Three Finals MVP trophies. Nine All-NBA First Team. The list goes on and on. Duncan. Duncan. Duncan.

***

Okay, so if you've stuck with me this long, first off, thank you for your diligence. And since you're still here, let's do a quick recap of what all this fun shows us before we go.

The key stat: only four times in the last 10 years did the player who went No. 1 prove to be the right choice. For all you math majors out there, that's six times the player taken first turned out to be worse that a guy taken after him.

So, while a pick other than Oden would be an absolute mistake for Portland, perhaps Al Horford, Joakim Noah, or Mike Conley might prove to be this year's Chris Paul, Antawn Jamison, or Dwyane Wade in the making.

But if you ask me, Greg Oden is much more Elton Brand than he is Kwame Brown and he's gotta be the pick. While Kevin Durant (who in case you hadn't heard, failed to bench 185 pounds even once at pre-draft workouts) could very well be Marvin Williams, Part Deux.

As for the next Tim Duncan? Hey, let's not get carried away here. There's only one.

Eric Anderson is a freelance sports writer based in Los Angeles. For more admittedly biased musings from the world of sports, poker, and entertainment, visit That's What HE Said.

Posted by Eric Anderson at 3:30 PM | Comments (3)

2007 MLB All-Star Snubs

Major League Baseball with host its 78th All-Star Game on July 10th at beautiful AT&T Park in San Francisco. With the fans doing a decent job of picking the starters for the first time in recent memory, that left it up to the players and coaches to fill out the remaining roster spots with worthy participants. Unfortunately, they dropped the ball. Here is a list of this year's all-star snubs:

Gary Sheffield, DH, Detroit Tigers

Sure, Sheff got off to a slow start in April, but he's been hitting the cover off the ball ever since, hitting .328 with 16 home runs since May 1st. More importantly, a trip to such a free-spirited city like San Francisco would be the perfect opportunity for Sheffield to give us his insightful views on everything from his severed relationship with Barry Bonds to the extra "friendly" population in the Bay Area.

Sammy Sosa, DH, Texas Rangers

Slammin' Sammy slugged his way out of baseball after his lackluster performance with the Orioles in 2005. Not even this photo photo could save his reputation as a ferocious power hitter. Fast forward to 2007 and Mr. Sosa "worked really hard" to shed a bunch of weight and is on pace to drive in 120 runs while being the lone bright spot for the otherwise struggling Texas Rangers. It almost makes you forget his corked bat; or the time he forgot how to speak English on his way to meet with Congress; or when he left his last game as a Cub early in some form of protest and later lied about it despite the fact that security cameras verified he left early. Almost.

Mike Hargrove, Manager, Seattle Mariners

The "human rain-delay" raised more than a few eyebrows on Sunday when he resigned as manager of the Mariners despite the fact that his team had won seven in a row and pulled to within one game of the AL wildcard. Hargrove cited the fact that he had lost his passion for the game as his reason for leaving the team. Personally, I blame Jim Leyland. Had he invited Hargrove to be a coach for the AL squad, he could have watched such notorious 110% guys like David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez patrol the AT&T grounds for his team and it surely would have renewed his zeal for the game.

Barry Bonds, LF, San Francisco Giants

I know, I know. Bonds did make the team via the fan vote. I know, his OBP is over .500 and he is actually performing well despite the fact that he is old. And I know that the game is in the only place in the country that Bonds isn't despised, so it's best that he get to make the tip-of-the-cap start in his own backyard. However, Major League Baseball's marketing department must be fuming at the fact that Bonds made the team. Not because of the giant steroid cloud/media circus that surrounds him, but because of the fact that since he is playing they don't get the free publicity for the next week on talk shows across the country arguing whether or not baseball was sending him a message by not putting him on the team. As it turns out, this non-snub could be the biggest snub of all for Major League Baseball. Let's just move on.

Jon Miller, Announcer, ESPN

Since the game will be broadcast on FOX again this year, we are stuck with the overall smugness of Joe Buck instead of having the honor of Jon Miller saying the names of the seven Latin-born players that will be starting in this year's game. But at least Tim McCarver will be there to add nothing at all. The FOX Baseball announcing crew is one of the worst crews in recent memory.

Daisuke Matsuzaka, P, Boston Red Sox

It's too bad for Dice-K that that fans can't vote for pitchers, too. If that was the case he would have been a lock to take a trip to San Fran. After all, March was only a few short months ago when the anointing oils came out after he reported to Sox camp and threw a few no-hit innings in spring training. Everyone who predicted dominance would have been forced to instead vote him in based on over-averageness, saving them from admitting that they bought into the hype machine that surrounded his arrival.

Craig Biggio/Frank Thomas, 3,000 Hit Club/500 Home Run Club

Not that Bud Selig would have any reason to want to embarrass Bonds, but if he did, this is probably a good way to freeze out his nemesis. He could make these two milestone-reachers honorary all-stars for their respective leagues and have a special moment before the game courtesy of Major League Baseball to recognize their achievements. Then Selig could provide little to no fanfare when Bonds passes Aaron later this year and infuriate Bonds. If Big Mac and Sosa allegedly set him off the first time, imagine what he'd tell Griffey this week knowing that these two guys were going to steal his thunder. If Selig can get him to snap now, he still has time to kick him out of baseball before he breaks Aaron's record, thus completing his life's work.

Anthony Reyes, P, St. Louis Cardinals

You may remember Reyes last season going 2-0 in the playoffs with a 3.00 ERA after going 5-8 with a 5.06 ERA in the regular season, capped off by an 8-inning, 4-hit outing in Game 1 of the World Series in Detroit. Unfortunately for Reyes, he has lost his last 12 consecutive starts for the Cardinals, tying a record that had stood for 110 years. Instead of sending his troubled young pitcher down to triple-A, LaRussa should have used his manager's pick to make his starter an all-star. He is clearly a big game pitcher he could use late in the game to get out one of the four Tigers hitters he might face. He had no trouble last October getting them out. LaRussa needs to remember: this time, it counts!

Posted by Scott Shepherd at 11:24 AM | Comments (3)

July 2, 2007

NFL 2007: Just a Few More Weeks

All right, enough of this NBA and NHL noise. It's July now. Full on summer. Baseball All-Star Game, followed by three weeks on the hot stove leading up to the July 31 trading deadline.

Fireworks and cousins and beer and what the hell is the matter with the Cardinals' pitching staff?

And Bruce Willis and Transformers and iPhones and Hillary and "Bush presidents take Putin for boat ride."

And the 2007-2008 National Football League season has begun.

Technically, that last statement is completely inaccurate. According to the league calendar, the 2007 fiscal year began on April 1. According to the players, it begins when training camps open. According to coaches and execs, it began the first day after their last game.

But, for me, it was yesterday. Yesterday was the first time I could officially change the countdown to training camps from "next month" to "just a few more weeks." I love that change. I love it. I want to divorce my wife and marry it. It's awesome.

Just a few more weeks until it's Randy Moss at two-a-days and the Tom Coughlin death watch and Hard Knocks and the Lance Briggs/L.J./Asante Samuel/various rookie holdouts.

Just a few more weeks and it's Latrobe and Bethlehem and Flagstaff and River Falls.

And you want to know what else?

Atlanta and Oakland and Pittsburgh and Arizona and Miami have first-time NFL head coaches.

Matt Schaub is in Houston, David Carr in Carolina, Trent Green in Miami, and Daunte Culpepper in arbitration.

Willis McGahee is in Baltimore, Jamal Lewis in Cleveland, Reuben Droughns in New York, and Tiki Barber in a TV studio.

Dre Bly, Daniel Graham, Sam Adams, Brandon Stokley, and Patrick Ramsey are Denver Broncos.

Jason David, Nick Harper, and Dominic Rhodes are no longer Colts.

Tarvaris Jackson is a starting NFL quarterback. Brooks Bollinger and Drew Henson are his backups.

Jack Del Rio doesn't trust Byron Leftwich or David Garrard, and they don't trust him.

Tampa Bay has five QBs on its roster who have started at least four NFL games. One of them is Jake Plummer.

Joey Porter is in Miami.

Dante Hall, Drew Bennett, and Randy McMichael are in St. Louis.

Randy Moss, Donte' Stallworth, Wes Welker, and Adalius Thomas are in New England.

J-E-T-S. Thomas Jones! Thomas Jones! Thomas Jones!

Joey Harrington and Joe Horn are Falcons.

Kevin Curtis and Takeo Spikes are Eagles.

Nate Clements and Darrell Jackson are 49ers.

Brad Johnson is a Cowboy and Tony Romo is no longer a holder.

And Canton and Madden and fantasy and fight songs and Chris Collinsworth and Mort and rumblin', bumblin', stumblin', and it's up and...

I'm telling you, people. It's time to get excited.

Everybody is 0-0 and we're taking it one day at a time.

Just a few more weeks.

Just a few more weeks and the long, long wait is over.

Seth Doria is a freelance writer in St. Louis. For daily updates on the world of sports, entertainment and politics, please visit The Left Calf.

Posted by Joshua Duffy at 12:10 PM | Comments (0)

Time For Cashman to Go

It's a dream, really — college kid gets a job interning at the Yankees, and winds up becoming general manager. Except this is no dream, this is reality in the Bronx. And the nightmare of having Brian Cashman as general manager must end.

Cashman, gifted with the Yankees general manager job in 1998 after his tutor Bob Watson retired, could not have had a sweeter gig. All he did was sit back and try not to mess it up.

And how could he, really? He already had an established, well-oiled machine to go along with the biggest piggybank in all of baseball, and he did well in his first three seasons, with the Yankees winning three World Series trophies. But one small chink in the armor was dealt with unsuccessfully and the spiral downward has not stopped from there.

Jeff Nelson decided to leave the Yankees after their 2000 World Series win. Cashman didn't go for a big free agent, instead opting for a midseason trade in the form of Jay Witasick. Witasick didn't pan out, but not everyone gets everything right all the time — this was thought to be just a blip on the radar for the man who brought Roger Clemens to the Bronx for David Wells.

But then Mariano Rivera blew a one-run lead in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, and everyone decided the team needed to be overhauled. More bats, and more arms in the pen. Jason Giambi and Rondell White were brought in. As was Steve Karsay, the reliever with a history of arm trouble. Cashman wasn't worried, though, and gave him a four-year, $20 million contract.

Cashman compounded this by giving Sterling Hitchcock $12 million over two years. Not that anyone can fault Hitchock — I mean if someone is stupid enough to pay him that much, what's he going to do? Turn it down?

Hitchcock almost made it through two years in the Bronx — after a season and a half of an ERA in the mid-5s, he was sent packing. Karsay fared only slightly better. And after a terrible 2002 postseason, he would make a total of 13 more appearances for the Yankees over the next three seasons.

The 2002 offseason was less active, signing the one-season wonder Chris Hammond of the Atland Braves to a two-year deal. Hammond lasted a year before the Yankees dumped him. A host of other relievers were also brought in at various points — Antonio Osuna, Juan Acevedo, Armando Benitez (who was also traded away in the same season) Jesse Orosco, Felix Heredia, Dan Miceli, Gabe White, and others. Jeff Nelson was even brought back, but even he was just as mediocre as the rest.

Somehow, the Yankees squeezed past the Red Sox, only to lose to the Marlins in the World Series. Cashman responded like any confident GM — by going into full panic mode. Roger Clemens was on his first retirement, and the Yankees decided reciprocate all of Andy Pettitte's efforts by waiting until the last minute to tender him an offer.

Cashman had a plan, though. He could have signed Bartolo Colon, who had a successful history in the American League, as a free agent, or he could trade for Javier Vazquez, who had only ever pitched in Montreal. The option for Cashman was obvious — if Vazquez can flourish in front of 4,000 screaming French hockey fans, the South Bronx will no doubt be a perfect fit.

Furthermore, he pulled the trigger for another successful National League pitcher, but this one was almost 15 years older than Vazquez. Kevin Brown was coming in to replace the departing Pettitte, and going were Jeff Weaver and a flame-throwing kid by the name of Yhency Brazoban, who obviously wasn't qualified for a chance to prove his worth in the Yankees outstanding bullpen.

In addition, Paul Quantrill and Tom Gordon were brought in to form the seventh and eighth bridge that led to Mariano Rivera in the ninth — Yankees announcer Michael Kay even had a name for the three-headed monster — QUAN-GOR-MO. And it worked for the most part in the regular season. But once the postseason came around, Quantrill was MIA, and Mariano was often relied upon to clean up the mess Gordon left every night against the Red Sox.

The true goats that postseason though were the combined Game 7 effort of Kevin Brown and Javier Vazquez, two pitchers that Cashman engineered trades for that would never wear Yankees pinstripes again. But there was one silver lining to come from the 2004 season.

In what was a very shrewd business decision back in 2003, Cashman had signed Jon Lieber to a small two-year deal, fully knowing that Lieber would miss the entire first of the two seasons with arm surgery. And in 2004, Lieber blossomed into becoming one of the Yankees' most dependable postseason starters.

But Cashman decided to eschew the man who proved he can pitch competently with the most on the line, and opted for Jaret Wright, who used to be good seven years ago. It was then, in 1997, that Cashman watched him dominate the Yankees, and he figured why not go with him over Lieber?

True, Wright did pitch now exclusively in the National League, where the lineups have about one-third of the potency of an American League one. And it's also true that he pitched in pitching-friendly Turner Field, with the pitching staff-friendly Atlanta Braves. And true, he was coming off an abysmal postseason where he looked worn down, and he also did have that nagging history of arm trouble.

But I think Cashman was genius in this respect — knowing what a colossal failure Jaret Wright would prove to be, it would displace some of the anger fans directed at him for bringing Kevin Brown to replace Pettitte. It was also that 2004 offseason where he signed Carl Pavano to a four-year, $40 million deal (Pavano has made 17 starts in three years and is once again out for the year).

The next season ended even earlier, with the Yankees bowing out to the Angels in the ALDS. Cashman, having learned his lesson from bringing in National League relievers, decided to reward Atanta Braves pitcher Klye Farnsworth's disastrous 2005 postseason with a three-year, $18 million contract. Guess how that is currently playing out?

And after losing to the Tigers in four games last postseason, Cashman played his final card and bid $26 million for Kei Igawa, a Japanese pitcher who because he was so ineffective, needed to have his delivery restructured in the minors. Oh, Igawa signed a 4-year, $20 million deal this spring.

And because every other deal of his has been so disastrous, Cashman was forced to bring back Roger Clemens for a pro-rated, one-year contract at $28 million.

What's incredible is there are still a bunch of other signings that have been plain terrible that I have completely omitted (does anyone remember the Kenny Lofton and Tony Womack multi-year deals?)

Cashman has no feel for what it takes to put out a championship team. He was devastated last season after the Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs, but has learned nothing from it. Their pitching will be largely the same this time around if they even make it to October (Mike Mussina and Roger Clemens have six innings and four runs all over them come playoff time) and they have largely the same lineup.

Pitching is what wins, not hitting, no matter how many bats you acquire. The Yankees used to consistently beat the overrated, big-bat squads in the late-'90s, and now they have become one of them. They replace weak-armed, old outfielders (Bernie Williams) with weak-armed, old outfielders (Johnny Damon).

Cashman got lucky two years ago when he was forced to bring up Robinson Cano and Chien-Ming Wang to the majors because Tony Womack and Jaret Wright were so disastrous that he had no choice. And if Jason Giambi hadn't been injured, we'd still be seeing Johnny Damon in center not covering ground and essentially kicking balls into the infield.

The madness has to stop. The Yankees need a leader, who understands how to form a team, not just play fantasy baseball with the largest wallet. Brian Cashman needs to get back to reality, and realize he is not a general manager, just an extremely fortunate person who got to live every fan's dream.

Posted by Piet Van Leer at 11:59 AM | Comments (2)