Why this Year's NBA Draft isn't "Weak"

I know it's only mid-season in the NBA, Conference play isn't even over yet in the NCAA, but analysts have already come out and said that this year's NBA Draft class will be "WEAK." I beg to differ, I think this class as a whole will be better than last year's draft because of the depth. As of the last 5 years or so, the NBA draft has been stocked with young unproven talent. This year's draft class IS or could be depending on how many 1 and done cases DO come out because of the pending "NBA Lock Out." For example just look at the National Player of the Year race right now, 2 players that few expected outside of their own fan bases are leading the nation. Jimmer Fredette and Kemba Walker are arguably the 2 best players in the country and neither of them are freshman or sophmores. Jimmer is a Senior and Kemba is a Junior, this might be a throw back draft where some of these older players do get taken higher than the younger guys with "upside." You also have Brad Wanamaker and Gilbert Brown from Pitt who are big time players who should be able to step on an NBA team and join the rotation right away. Even some of this year's freshmen look ready to contribute RIGHT NOW, Jared Sullinger and Kyrie Irving(before the injury) have shown us that their games are ready for the next level. Chris Singleton, Nolan Smith, and Kyle Singler are just a few other guys who have been in school at least 3 years and will be able to compete for a spot in a rotation immediately. Then you have the guys people don't really know about that have NBA ready games, Alec Burcs(Colorado) & Kawhi Leanord(SDSU) are names NOBODY heard of prior to the start of the season. All of this has happened and going into the year we had the best players in the country being Brandon Knight, Terrance Jones, Perry Jones!! By no means is this an indictment on these young players, it just means WE (the world) didn't expect much out of the rest of the country in this year's College Basketball Season. This year's draft WILL be extremely deep, just remember where you heard it!!

NFC Championship Preview

The Bears host the Green Bay Packers in tomorrow's NFC Championship game, the Bears bullied the Seahawks last week and the Packers punished the Falcons. What makes this match-up so great is that it's a DIVISION GAME, that means there won't be any surprises because both teams truly KNOW each other. The interesting match-up between these 2 teams will be the chess match played by Bears Offensive Coordinator Mike Martz and Packers Defensive Coordinator Dom Capers. These two men are extremely creative when it comes to formations, it will definitely be something worth watching. Then there's the QB match-up between Jay Cutler and Aaron Rodgers. Cutler needs to play perfect and not turn the ball over to that opportunistic Packers defense, Rodgers needs to be just as perfect, he's going to deal with a fierce pass rush by the Bears front 4. I'm curious as to how the Packers are going to block that defensive line of the Bears, will they be able to contain Julius Peppers and Tommie Harris? On the otherside, will the Bears line be able to open running lanes against BJ Raji and crew? I think this could be a really close game as long as both teams don't turn the ball over, if there's turnovers than one team might be able to run away with this game. As for X-factors, for the Bears I'm having a hard time choosing between Matt Forte/Chester Taylor and Devin Hester. The Bears WILL need to be balanced against the Packers, Hester needs to be big in both the return game and as a WR. The Packers X-factor will James Starks and the Special Teams, Starks needs to continue to run the ball to keep GB balanced. Obviously the Special Teams coverage unit needs to come up big, they will NEED to contain Mr. Hester!! This WILL be an exciting game, who do you think will come out on top??

AFC Championship Preview

The Steelers host the Jets in tomorrow's AFC Championship game, it looks to be another hard hitting matchup. Last week the Steelers rallied back to beat the Ravens in an all out battle, Big Ben continued his trend of coming up big in the playoffs. On the other side the Jets beat the Patriots in a chess match last week. Rex Ryan had a great game-plan for the Patriots, he's going to need an even better one for the Steelers. I don't know if the Jets have anyone they can blitz thats big enough to take down Big Ben by themselves. The Steelers need to make sure they stop the Jets running game and force Mark Sanchez to beat them, he's yet been relied on to beat a team. One thing to keep your eye on is who the Jets put on Mike Wallace and who the Steelers put on Santonio Holmes. If Ike Taylor is on Holmes, is the Steelers other corner going to be able to keep Braylon Edwards from having a big game? Will the Jets put Revis or Cromartie on Mike Wallace, because I don't think Revis is fast enough to keep Wallace from getting deep. In terms of X-factors, I think for the Steelers it's Antonio Brown because of his speed. Brown was the guy who burned the Ravens secondary on 3rd and 19 last week late in the game. For the Jets, I think the X-factor will be Dustin Keller. Keller is going to need to be able to command Troy Polomalu's attention, not Ryan Clark's but Troy's. The reason being that with Troy tied to him, Sanchez will be able to focus on plays downfield more. I can't wait to see what happens tomorrow, who do you think will win??

"Melo-Drama"

So the New Jersey Nets decided it was time to pull the plug on the acquiring of a Mr. Carmelo Anthony, this can play out many different ways. The Nets have looked rather desperate the longer this courtship has gone on, I truly don't believe that the Nets have a backup option. The other thing that led to these negotiations falling apart was the Denver Nuggets, I think they are very scared of loosing Melo for nothing or not getting enough for him. The problem is that Melo hasn't signed that extension, so whoever he's traded to isn't guaranteed his services for more than the remainder of this season. I believe I was on Dime's website the other day and they had proposed a pretty good solution to this problem. They proposed the Nuggets sent Melo to the 76ers for Andre Igudala and Thaddeus Young, the reason being that is as bout as good it will get in terms of sure fire talent. It's true, most teams can only offer guys in the last years of their deals and high draft picks. When it comes down to it, the Nuggets are loosing a 4-time NBA All Star!! There isn't really going to be a fair exchange, unless everyone of those draft picks pan out to be All Star caliber players. The way I see it, the Nuggets are either going to get hustled or loose him to Free Agency. Thanks to the extension not being signed and the current state of the CBA, Melo has ALL of the power in this situation. Some one's going to get the short end of the deal, no matter what happens it wont be Melo as long as that extension isn't signed.What do you guys think will happen to Melo??

ACC Bias in Polls?

Every year that goes by in College Basketball the ACC as a whole gets weaker and weaker, can someone please explain to me how such a conference gets so much love in the polls. Duke was the number 1 team in the country last week when they lost to an UNRANKED Florida State team, for most teams a loss of that magnitude would be crushing. For Duke, it only meant sliding down 4 spots to 5th in the nation. Does anyone remember how at the start of the season North Carolina was ranked in the top 10? It's not their fault, but they were ranked their none the less. UNC lost 3 times before they dropped out of the top 10!! How does that work, Uconn lost to Pitt a couple weeks back and fell from 5th to 10th, Pitt was already a top 10 team in the country!! Just this weekend Pitt beat Syracuse, Pitt and Syracuse were both in the top 5. I can't wait until Monday when the new polls come up to see just how FAR Syracuse dropped for loosing to a TOP 5 team in the country! I respect Duke and UNC, just don't tell me that conference they play in is as tough top to bottom as the Big 10, Big 12, and don't even get me started as to where the ACC stands in comparison to the Big East!! I don't want to say it's a biased system, but can you explain to me how else this happens?? Every year the ACC hardly plays outside it's conference, so that has to hurt their strength of schedule yet they are always getting great seeding in the NCAA tournament. I thought that the strength of schedule was a variable when it came down to seeding, yet for some teams it means nothing. I don't have anything against the ACC, I just have something against the people who place ACC teams in the polls where they don't belong. A loss is a loss and I get that, but how is loosing against FSU better than loosing against Pitt?? If any of you have a logical explination for this, I'm all ears...

BCS Title Game Preview

2010 NFL Playoffs

Weekly NFL Recap

Sorry everyone I was out of town for the final week or the NFL regular season, I will have a Playoff Preview up on Friday. Once again i apologize, I hope you all enjoy the Playoff Preview!!

Would YOU Trade Steve Nash??

I think I said this to my good friend Rob Riley around the time that Orlando made all those trades to reshape it's roster, if you curious as to what I told him just keep reading. Rob and I were discussing the moves and how they affected each team involved. I told Rob I thought the Suns did a great job dumping salaries and that all that was left was to get rid of Mr. Nash. Rob then asked if I really thought that was an option for the Suns and how confident I was in my logic. I went on to tell Rob as I am telling you all now that their is NO GOOD REASON to retain Steve Nash. As the Suns, you're no longer a competitive ball club in terms of competing for a championship. This is one of the WORST Phoenix rosters in a while, there's nothing left but to flip Steve Nash for a 1st Round pick and a young player. It has to be done, Nash doesn't deserve to be part of a rebuilding process at this point in his career. Nor do the Suns NEED to keep him around, they have Gordon Dragic and yes I'm saying this....BUILD around him. In Gortat and Robin Lopez they have 2 servicable big men, keep Dudley and get a 2 and a 4. Think about what you could get for Nash, I'd try to offer him to NY or OKC. You could maybe get Serge Ilbalka or Anthony Randolph in return as well as a draft pick or 2. That's just a couple of the many scenarios for the Suns, they have a Hall of Fame PG. Do you really think teams won't try to acquire Steve Nash?? For some teams, they might see Nash as THE missing piece to compete for a title. The only reason I''m bringing this up is because when the Orlando trades happend the Suns said they would never think of trading Steve Nash. Well as we get closer to the trade deadline, we're going to see if they really mean what they say. When it happens just remember you heard it HERE first!! Do you think the Suns WOULD trade Steve Nash before this year's Trade Deadline?? Or am I off my rocker??

Is Chris Bosh All-Star Worthy??

I was on ESPN's website the other day, I forgot who wrote the article but they had said that Chris Bosh deserves to be an All Star. I was already thinking that, but after reading the article I don't know if all of the readers truly understood what he was trying to get across. The only reason I said that was because the writer said something to the effect that Bosh's numbers were down, but his nightly contributions are what don't show up on the stat sheet. I whole-heartedly agree, I just want to take it a step further and get into what those "contributions" are. When this whole Miami thing went down and it was announced that LeBron and Bosh would be joining Wade down in Miami, I only saw it one way. It reminded me of Mike, Scottie, and Horace for the Bulls when they got together and won championships TOGETHER. Well I had a couple people tell me I was wrong for thinking of it like that, well now that some time has went by, am I?? LeBron's game reminds me so much of Scottie because of how versatile they are. They could do ANYTHING on a basketball court, they could guard multiple positions, and were walking matchup NIGHTMARES. Bosh, well he is an offensively gifted version of Grant. He does the dirty work, but he is capable of going off for 30 or 40 if it is needed. Grant was never going to do that for you, but Bosh being the 3rd fiddle in this group is really an advantage. He doesn't garner many blocks but he defends the paint quite well, he doesn't turn the ball over like a lot of big men, he has a great face up game and he passes out of the post very well. He is also one of the best roll men on Pick & Roll plays in the league, like Grant his presence is felt in the things that don't end up on stat sheets. Timely double teams, getting his hand in the passing lane(not getting the steal, but the deflection), staying out of foul trouble. I believe Bosh is averaging 18 & 8 this year, it's just that his game isn't as "sexy" as an Amare Stoudamire or Blake Griffin, Bosh like Grant has a BORING game. I urge you to watch a Heat game and just watch what Bosh does for the 1st half or so, it's perfect baskeball. He is rarely in the wrong place, it's just those kind of players get overlooked for the more flashy ones. Keep in mind, he shut down Amare and Pau Gasol. Those are 2 of the "popular" power forwards in the league, you don't do that by being lucky. Do you think he deserves to be an All Star??

2010 Slam Dunk Contest

The 2010 NBA All Star Dunk Contest participants has been leaked, it is going to be officially announced tomorrow. Since we already know who's in it, thanks to the leak and the participants twitter accounts lets discuss the possible outcome. We have "Air Congo" aka Serge Ilbaka, Brandon Jennings, JaVale McGee, and Blake Griifin. We don't have a definitive nickname that everyone agrees on for Mr. Griffin, but the most popular as of now is the "Poster Child." I don't think that's good enough, maybe "Mr. Top 10", but either way by the end of the competition we should have a name for that guy. What's interesting about this year's field is the size of the contestants, Brandon Jennings is the only one sub-6'10!! Jennings at 6 foot exactly does have bounce, we haven't had a chance to see him sky in the NBA but trust the kid can get up. Ilbaka and Griffin are both 6'10, while McGee stands at 7 feet tall. Even with the overall size of the field, these guys do have bounce. Ilbaka gets up, he's the guy on the Thunder who looks like a human pogo stick. McGee is beyond athletic, he is fast enough to run the court WITH John Wall, that's crazy when you think about it! Griffin, well we've all got the chance to see what kind of damage this kid can cause. I'm going to take Griffin coming in first, with Jennings finishing second, follwed by Mcgee and Ilbalka. The only reason I think it's going to be in this order is because as we've seen in the past, dunk contest dunkers are different from game dunkers( my example being Shannon Brown as of late). What do you think of this year's Slam Dunk field, and who do you think is going to win?

Defining Mediocrity

I have long had an issue with this player, it may not really be with him and with those who defend him. Or maybe it's with those who refuse to point out his flaws, or still claim that he has "upside." I am speaking of a Mr. Carson Palmer, I believe that he is given a free pass EVERY year. We all feel bad for what happened when that Pittsburgh player hit you in your knee a few years ago, I just don't believer you are or ever will be an ELITE QB. There is nothing wrong with having an 86.9 QB rating, it's actually fairly decent. It just irks my soul(yes my soul), when I hear people say he's an elite QB!! Palmer is average, maybe slightly above average and nothing better. Of his 7 seasons, he's had 2 with QB ratings above a 90!! For example, this year Palmer threw 26 TDs and 20 INTs. 20 INTs??? This year in terms of QB Rating, that leaves him 19th slightly above Kerry Collins and Alex Smith. When I say slightly I'm saying 2 to 3 TENTHS of a point better than those 2, just TENTHS!! Tom Brady has a career avg QB rating of 95.2(111.0 this year), Peyton Manning career avg of 94.9( 91.9 this year), Ben Rothlisberger career avg is 92.5(this year 97.0), and Drew Brees career avg is 91.7(this year 90.9). I can go further, but I will stop there and I'm not saying he's far off. I'm simply saying he's not there and will not GET there. Palmer is what he is, a fairly decent QB. Just don't try to tell me he's an ELITE QB, fair? What do you think of Carson Palmer in terms of him being Elite?? Please share your thoughts!!

THE Suspended 5

THE Ohio State Buckeyes won the Sugar Bowl last night in a close game against the Ryan Mallet led Razorbacks. Ohio State won because of their "suspended" players. Terrelle Pryor played maybe the best game of his collegiate career and the other 4 players all made TIMELY BIG PLAYS. I am still in shock that they were allowed to play by the NCAA considering how strict they have been recently AND if the players will really honor the deal to come back to school next year. It sounds great and everything, but what's the point of coming back when you're missing 5 games??? The season could already be over!! They played a great game last night, but what do you all think about the fact that they weren't suspended THIS season?? Do you think they will return to school next year??

Is the Window Closing??

Kobe Bryant is arguably the best player in the NBA, Kobe is a 5 time NBA Champion, Kobe is ....well Kobe!! I hate to be the one to bring this up, but I honestly think this may be the beginning of the end for Mr. Bryant. Kobe is still getting his numbers, it's how he gets them and to what extent does it affect his team. Kobe is taking more shots to get those 25 points now, there has been numerous times this season that Kobe has been in his "lone wolf" stage. It happens to the best, it's just WHEN it happens. I don't believe the Lakers will be able to defend their title if Kobe doesn't become more of a facilatator, he isn't able to carry the load on a nightly basis as he once was. Kobe may have finally reached the stage where he NEEDS his teammates, it's up to him to use them or not. Whenever Kobe is busy jacking up shots, it means the BIGS aren't touching the ball and that's what people want. What made the Lakers so tough the last two seasons was HOW well Kobe used his teammates, he was able to defer to them until it was time to close games. He has to rely on them more because time isn't going to reverse itself, as of late it doesn't seem as if Kobe has his legs down the stretch. That only comes from expending too much energy early in the game, he HAS to realize this and go back to CLOSING games. Let your team be aggressive quarters 1-3, in the 4th TAKEOVER!! It speaks much to his ability that in this "down" year Kobe is hitting his career averages. I'm looking past the numbers, the Lakers have to go back to what they did to win those 2 championships and Kobe has to remember what that was....Deferring and Facillitating!! Am I just off my rocker or do you think the window is closing for Kobe?? Is it closed, or is that kind of talk far off??