This NFL season has been a very odd one, from the start of the season being in jeopardy to some very surprising teams (Bills, Bengals, Lions). This postseason could get even crazier. I'm not solely talking about the playoffs being potentially shaken up this year, but more so the arguably most anticipated draft pick in years, Andrew Luck.
Everybody in sports is wrapping Luck up as the number one overall pick this spring. The only problem is, the team that is steadily on pace to secure that number one pick, already has a franchise quarterback. The Indianapolis Colts are 0-8 at the halfway point of the season due to franchise man Peyton Manning out for the year due to neck surgery this past offseason. Indianapolis is a decent quarterback away from being 5-3, as five of their losses this year have been by ten points or less, with Kerry Collins and Curtis Painter taking the snaps.
Now if the Colts win the Suck for Luck campaign and lock up the number one pick, what do they do? Do they draft Luck and have him marinate in the wake of Manning for three to five years? Do they do the unthinkable and draft somebody else? Do they trade the number one pick for more picks later in the draft? Or do they trade/release Manning, counting on Luck for the future?
I believe they should draft Luck, although it may seem like a wasted pick, UNTIL 2014, when Manning will be 38, beaten from years of sacks and added seasons from postseason games. Manning doesn't necessarily need to mentor Luck, but just have Luck watch Manning, take some snaps in practice. Aaron Rodgers did that in Green Bay under Brett Favre, he didn't turn out so bad now did he? No, he's in the ranks of the best in the game.
Whatever the Colts do, they cannot afford to write the ship on Manning, if he is cleared to play, because they're big-eyed for Luck. Luck has not thrown a pass in the NFL. Manning has won 4 MVPs and has 11 Pro Bowl appearances. You don't write that off for an unsure thing.
Suck for Luck, but be smart about it.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Posey's Play at the Plate
Two nights ago, the 2010 NL Rookie of the Year, Buster Posey, suffered a broken leg and a torn ligament due to a collision at the plate with Florida Marlins outfielder Scott Cousins. Since this collision and injury, it has been brought up by several people that the MLB should make a rule change that would not allow catchers to block home plate. My thoughts are, that if any rule is to be made, it should disallow the thrusting of a runner's body into that of the catcher. This would help prevent concussions, broken bones, torn ligaments, and potential ended seasons.
The way that people look at the play, the play at the plate, affects all of the plays. Of course in hindsight it seems ridiculous that a star player will risk his season to save one run in a non-divisional game in May, but on the other hand, if he were to step away from the play and take his body away from the risk he would be considered a coward and a player that lacks heart.
People look at that play and say that catchers shouldn't block the plate, but in this case with Posey, there would be much less injury caused if Posey was in a proper position to block home plate. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike Posey, he is actually one of my favorite players in the game, but he did a horrible job of positioning himself. Posey should have lined himself in front of the plate, on both feet in an athletic stance. Instead, Posey was off to the side, diving over the plate on his knees. This faulty set-up allowed Posey's leg to be bent and broken.
It is a bad send off for a great player, but hopefully he will return this season. The San Fransisco Giants will miss his presence in the order, but hopefully for them they won't slip too far in the standings. The Giants are currently first-place in the NL West, a game and a half above the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The way that people look at the play, the play at the plate, affects all of the plays. Of course in hindsight it seems ridiculous that a star player will risk his season to save one run in a non-divisional game in May, but on the other hand, if he were to step away from the play and take his body away from the risk he would be considered a coward and a player that lacks heart.
People look at that play and say that catchers shouldn't block the plate, but in this case with Posey, there would be much less injury caused if Posey was in a proper position to block home plate. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike Posey, he is actually one of my favorite players in the game, but he did a horrible job of positioning himself. Posey should have lined himself in front of the plate, on both feet in an athletic stance. Instead, Posey was off to the side, diving over the plate on his knees. This faulty set-up allowed Posey's leg to be bent and broken.
It is a bad send off for a great player, but hopefully he will return this season. The San Fransisco Giants will miss his presence in the order, but hopefully for them they won't slip too far in the standings. The Giants are currently first-place in the NL West, a game and a half above the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Recap
So much for my march madness bracket. I had one team correctly in the Final Four, UCONN. I had VCU losing to USC in the play-in game. I had St. John's in the Elite Eight. Let's just say that I was a bit off on my picks.
Butler made another Cinderella run, falling short however, like many of their shots did in Monday's excuse for a national championship game. But kudos to UCONN, as they go undefeated in postseason and out-of-conference play. Contests to Butler too for getting there.
VCU shocked the world and brought more credibility to the CAA with another team in the Final Four. (George Mason '06). Coach Shaka Smart just signed a 8-year extension, which will nearly quadruple his pay. A little bit too much I think, but good for him.
Hopefully next season will be a little better, maybe a few standout power teams, and hopefully another CAA Cinderella. But until then, congrats UCONN. You didn't play the greatest in the last game, but you excelled throughout the postseason. Good luck replacing NBA-bound Kemba Walker too.
Butler made another Cinderella run, falling short however, like many of their shots did in Monday's excuse for a national championship game. But kudos to UCONN, as they go undefeated in postseason and out-of-conference play. Contests to Butler too for getting there.
VCU shocked the world and brought more credibility to the CAA with another team in the Final Four. (George Mason '06). Coach Shaka Smart just signed a 8-year extension, which will nearly quadruple his pay. A little bit too much I think, but good for him.
Hopefully next season will be a little better, maybe a few standout power teams, and hopefully another CAA Cinderella. But until then, congrats UCONN. You didn't play the greatest in the last game, but you excelled throughout the postseason. Good luck replacing NBA-bound Kemba Walker too.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
March Madness
This whole season has been madness in men's college basketball. Plenty of ranked teams have fallen to the wayside and have fallen to unexpected foes this season. Some teams have also made surprising pushes (St. John's for instance).
There has been no overwhelming favorite to win a title this year or to stay as number one, which can actually hurt the sport as much as help it. I am a fan of the underdog myself, but every now and then I do like seeinga team make a push for the perfect season. It always is interesting to witness what could be a perfect season. This season without a dominant team has made room for some new teams to jump high in the polls and competition. On the flipside, the sport is in a little bit of trouble when your biggest story of the year is a 6'2" shooting guard out of a mid-major BYU in Provo, Utah, whose name is Jimmer.
But it is interesting to see BYU in the top 5, fighting for a number one seed in the tournament, and to have San Diego State following closely behind, in the same conference, the Mountain West Conference.
The Big East is ridiculously good this year, and they are looking at 11 out of the 16 teams in their conference punching tickets to the Big Dance this year, with West Virginia, Cincinnati, and Marquette rounding out the bottom three. Watch out for Big East shocker St. John's to make a push in the NCAA Tournament perhaps even the Elite 8.
Two teams that have greatly increased their chances off hopping off the bubble and into the bid column are Kansas State and Virginia Tech. The Wildcats may have clinched a spot on Selection Sunday with a victory over a recently struggling Texas Longhorns team. The perennial bubble Hokies should have solidified a spot with a victory over then #1 Duke.
A team to look out for in the tournament that most people haven't heard of, the Murray State Racers, of the Ohio Valley Conference. This is a team that shocked Vanderbilt last season in the tourney as a #12 seed that also had much of their core returning.
Without a powerhouse this season, look forward to an upset filled and very entertaining March and April in the tournament.
There has been no overwhelming favorite to win a title this year or to stay as number one, which can actually hurt the sport as much as help it. I am a fan of the underdog myself, but every now and then I do like seeinga team make a push for the perfect season. It always is interesting to witness what could be a perfect season. This season without a dominant team has made room for some new teams to jump high in the polls and competition. On the flipside, the sport is in a little bit of trouble when your biggest story of the year is a 6'2" shooting guard out of a mid-major BYU in Provo, Utah, whose name is Jimmer.
But it is interesting to see BYU in the top 5, fighting for a number one seed in the tournament, and to have San Diego State following closely behind, in the same conference, the Mountain West Conference.
The Big East is ridiculously good this year, and they are looking at 11 out of the 16 teams in their conference punching tickets to the Big Dance this year, with West Virginia, Cincinnati, and Marquette rounding out the bottom three. Watch out for Big East shocker St. John's to make a push in the NCAA Tournament perhaps even the Elite 8.
Two teams that have greatly increased their chances off hopping off the bubble and into the bid column are Kansas State and Virginia Tech. The Wildcats may have clinched a spot on Selection Sunday with a victory over a recently struggling Texas Longhorns team. The perennial bubble Hokies should have solidified a spot with a victory over then #1 Duke.
A team to look out for in the tournament that most people haven't heard of, the Murray State Racers, of the Ohio Valley Conference. This is a team that shocked Vanderbilt last season in the tourney as a #12 seed that also had much of their core returning.
Without a powerhouse this season, look forward to an upset filled and very entertaining March and April in the tournament.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
To The Detroit Pistons
Detroit, what is going on?
Four notable players miss shootaround, two arrive just at the end of it. You go out and beat the last playoff team in your conference, by six, with only six players. Good for you.
But I want to point my finger at the players who missed the shootaround. You are a professional athlete, you do not miss mandatory team activites with a headache. I can understand an occasional stomach bug, but a headache? That's how I got out of middle school baseball practice. I had a headache. I'm not buying the malarkey of the headache and the missing the team bus. I played high school sports, if a rag-tag bunch of coaches can gather up 20 uncaring, unpaid, high school kids, then I expect that a professional group of coaches, can round-up 12 professional basketball players, making at the least, hundreds of thousands of dollars for a mandatory shootaround.
And the players that missed the shootaround, if it is because of a protest. Grow up. John Kuester is your coach. Whether or not you agree with him, it is your job to follow him. He is your leader. As I mentioned before, I've played organized sports before. (I know High School Baseball isn't the same as the NBA, but I'm using it as a parallel.) There were PLENTY of times that I did not agree with the Head Coach, yet he was still my coach and despite my many qualms with how things were ran, I still listened and did as he said. Grow up, and act like the grown men that you are.
To top it all off, these players are getting paid millions of dollars to play basketball. Is it too hard to grow up and do your job? I can think of countless people who would drop anything on a dime and do as their boss said if it was their dream job. Grow up, you are the players of a 21-38 team. Maybe it's not all the coaches fault? It may be hard to believe, but YOU might be the reason for the .356 win percentage. After all, John Kuester can't go out on the floor and hit shots, and as the record shows, not many of you can.
Grow up.
Four notable players miss shootaround, two arrive just at the end of it. You go out and beat the last playoff team in your conference, by six, with only six players. Good for you.
But I want to point my finger at the players who missed the shootaround. You are a professional athlete, you do not miss mandatory team activites with a headache. I can understand an occasional stomach bug, but a headache? That's how I got out of middle school baseball practice. I had a headache. I'm not buying the malarkey of the headache and the missing the team bus. I played high school sports, if a rag-tag bunch of coaches can gather up 20 uncaring, unpaid, high school kids, then I expect that a professional group of coaches, can round-up 12 professional basketball players, making at the least, hundreds of thousands of dollars for a mandatory shootaround.
And the players that missed the shootaround, if it is because of a protest. Grow up. John Kuester is your coach. Whether or not you agree with him, it is your job to follow him. He is your leader. As I mentioned before, I've played organized sports before. (I know High School Baseball isn't the same as the NBA, but I'm using it as a parallel.) There were PLENTY of times that I did not agree with the Head Coach, yet he was still my coach and despite my many qualms with how things were ran, I still listened and did as he said. Grow up, and act like the grown men that you are.
To top it all off, these players are getting paid millions of dollars to play basketball. Is it too hard to grow up and do your job? I can think of countless people who would drop anything on a dime and do as their boss said if it was their dream job. Grow up, you are the players of a 21-38 team. Maybe it's not all the coaches fault? It may be hard to believe, but YOU might be the reason for the .356 win percentage. After all, John Kuester can't go out on the floor and hit shots, and as the record shows, not many of you can.
Grow up.
No Worries Knicks Fans
Attention New York Knicks fans, you have no need to worry about last night's shocking loss to the pitiful Cavaliers. The team will need a few days, maybe games, to get the chemistry down and to get the flow going together. Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, Chauncey Billups, and Landry Fields will all mesh together and play like a playoff team. It may not be in time to take on the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic on Sunday and Tuesday respectively. The Knicks will get another shot to take on the mighty Cavs on Friday night in the Garden.
The month of March is about on an even field as far as competition goes for the Knickerbockers. The Knicks will face NBA powers such as Boston (41-15), Dallas (41-16), Atlanta (35-23), New Orleans (35-25), and Orlando three times (37-22). They also play decent teams such as Indiana, two times (Indiana is only considered a decent team because they are on pace to make the playoffs despite a 26-31 record) Utah (32-27) and Memphis (32-27). Luckily, they also play a few teams currently in the NBA's cellar, Charlotte (26-32), Cleveland(11-47), and Milwaukee (22-35) twice.
This schedule will give the Knicks enough balance of good competiton and "pushover" games to have a good prep for the NBA playoffs. The Knicks are currently sixth in the Eastern Conference, just one game ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers. However, I believe that there is a large gap between the quality between the Knicks and the Sixers.
Look forward to a very entertaining month in the Big Apple, a lot of progression for the Knicks, and possible rise up the standings in the Eastern Conference.
The month of March is about on an even field as far as competition goes for the Knickerbockers. The Knicks will face NBA powers such as Boston (41-15), Dallas (41-16), Atlanta (35-23), New Orleans (35-25), and Orlando three times (37-22). They also play decent teams such as Indiana, two times (Indiana is only considered a decent team because they are on pace to make the playoffs despite a 26-31 record) Utah (32-27) and Memphis (32-27). Luckily, they also play a few teams currently in the NBA's cellar, Charlotte (26-32), Cleveland(11-47), and Milwaukee (22-35) twice.
This schedule will give the Knicks enough balance of good competiton and "pushover" games to have a good prep for the NBA playoffs. The Knicks are currently sixth in the Eastern Conference, just one game ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers. However, I believe that there is a large gap between the quality between the Knicks and the Sixers.
Look forward to a very entertaining month in the Big Apple, a lot of progression for the Knicks, and possible rise up the standings in the Eastern Conference.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Pujols in the Capital?
Picture it, Opening Day, 2012. The announcer's voice at Nationals Park booms the name Albert Pujols over the PA system, and the crowd cheers.
Now I know that the Nationals don't have the kind of money that that team up in the Bronx does, but their wallet is by no means thin. Just look at Jayson Werth's 7 year/$126 million contract. And to add on, who can pass up on Albert Pujols?
The Nationals have already made strong efforts in building a contending team in the future, with perhaps some of the most looked-forward-to prospects the game has seen in some time (Strasburg and Harper). What else would fit better than one of the game's greatest players? Long shot, yes, but I think that they will make a strong push for Pujols, and could potentially wrap him up for several years. The move would propel the Nats to the top tier of the National League, propel fans into the park in southeast DC, and propel Pujols to his desired contract.
The Nationals are already a young team, loaded with potential ready to burst and pour onto the field. Branding the superstar with the 'Curly W' would do wonders for the future stars of that team.
Now I know that the Nationals don't have the kind of money that that team up in the Bronx does, but their wallet is by no means thin. Just look at Jayson Werth's 7 year/$126 million contract. And to add on, who can pass up on Albert Pujols?
The Nationals have already made strong efforts in building a contending team in the future, with perhaps some of the most looked-forward-to prospects the game has seen in some time (Strasburg and Harper). What else would fit better than one of the game's greatest players? Long shot, yes, but I think that they will make a strong push for Pujols, and could potentially wrap him up for several years. The move would propel the Nats to the top tier of the National League, propel fans into the park in southeast DC, and propel Pujols to his desired contract.
The Nationals are already a young team, loaded with potential ready to burst and pour onto the field. Branding the superstar with the 'Curly W' would do wonders for the future stars of that team.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
