Week 3 - Vick or Kolb?

The endless debate of Vick or Kolb has caused even the coach of the Eagles to change his mind in just a span of 24 hours. Granted, I think either decision is defensible. It's an interesting decision because on one hand, you have a former all-pro (Vick), but on the other hand, you are paying $12 million (Kolb) for someone that you wanted to do more than hold a clipboard. I think it will be interesting to see what happens with the Eagles every week from here on out.

On to the games!

Manwich Matchup of the Week
Jets @ Dolphins - Honestly, who made the NFL schedule for the Jets??? They've already faced the Ravens and the Patriots and now get the Dolphins. This is a game that is a complete tossup. I think I'm going to give the Dolphins the edge, only because the Dolphins I think can physically take advantage of the Jets... and Revis is dinged up... and Jets' WR Braylon Edwards committed a DUI. I will take this brief moment to discuss how Braylon's DUI disgusts me more than the normal DUI... because Braylon was with Donte Stallworth drinking all night... and Donte ended up accidentally killing someone at the end of that night. How could Braylon go drinking and driving after that awful experience hitting so close to home?
Pick: Dolphins

Upset of the Week
ATL @ New Orleans - This is a very important divisional matchup for both teams... The Falcons are 4-point underdogs... and I think they can do this! Especially because the Saints have looked rather normal through their first two games... as they've been unable to put up that many points.
Pick: ATL

Opening Round Playoff Game #3
Teams that have been eliminated: Cleveland, St. Louis
Oakland @ Arizona - Oakland survived last week's elimination game versus St. Louis by benching Jason Campbell and going with... Bruce Gradkowski! Wow. Just for the record, Gradkowski has 16 career starts... and a lousy career rating of 66.0! Meanwhile, Arizona's suddenly realizing that gunslinging Derek Anderson can be quite inconsistent... but their alternative is a rookie QB named Max Hall, who sounds like some kind of action hero from a Saturday morning cartoon. I have no idea who he is, so I looked it up, and it turns out he's from BYU, and put up solid numbers there for whatever it's worth. Eesh. Something tells me I should go with the home team here.
Pick: Arizona

Fantasy Football Game of Interest
Dallas @ Houston - This game is of interest not just for fantasy purposes (Romo, Dallas RBs???, Austin, Schaub, Foster, Andre Johnson, K. Walter) but for determining the best team in Texas. And for seeing if Houston can get another amazing win... and if the Cowboys can really start out at 0-3! I will be very curious to see how this plays out...
Pick: Houston

Other Games
Tenn @ Giants- Pick: Giants (sidenote - the Brandon Jacobs story of throwing his helmet into the stands by accident is one of my favorite stories of this young season! Sadly this has led to him not playing as Coach Tom Coughlin does not put up with that kind of nonsense. On a sidenote, I cut him from my fantasy team this week.)
Buff @ Pats- Pick: Pats
Cleve @ Baltimore - Pick: Ravens by 17
Pitt @ Tampa - Pick: Pitt ( I would be really, really surprised if Tampa starts 3-0)
Cincy @ CAR - Pick: Cincy
San Fran @ KC - Pick: San Fran (I would be really, really surprised if KC starts 3-0. Note that Tampa and KC are both undefeated because they take advantage of playing the Cleveland Browns)
Detroit @ Minny- Pick: Detroit (does anyone else realize how incredibly close Detroit is to being 2-0?!?!? I would love it if Detroit beats Minnesota to make the Vikings 0-3!)
Wash @ St. Louis- Pick: Washington
Philly @ Jacksonville- Pick: Philly
Indy @ Denver - Pick: Indy
SD @ Seattle- Pick: SD
GB @ Chicago- Pick: Green Bay (early showdown of two 2-0 teams... but Bears didn't deserve victory in week 1 against Detroit)

Last Week: 9-7 (not so hot, again)
Season: 18-14
Manwich: 2-0 (The Colts took some of their aggression over week 1's loss on the Giants)
Upset of the Week: 1-1 (The Dolphins did it! They took advantage of enough Favre mistakes to spring the upset)

The Oldest Trick In the Book

Apparently Brandon Hanning pulled off one of the oldest tricks in the book. The old year long become a mascot so you can attack another mascot trick. I can't believe anyone fell for that one. Ok maybe. In any event enjoy the video/inside story of the intricate plot to try to take down Brutus the Buckeye..

MMBSD: Transitive Property

It's Monday so let's do some back seat driving....

NFL
Transitive Property I think we all know that the transitive property doesn't hold in football but it's rare that key teams in back to back weeks show it so aptly. The Ravens beat the Jets who beat the Patriots who beat Cinci who beat the Ravens. Huh? So what does it all mean? Unknown but probably the AFC favorite won't emerge until late into the season.

Panic Time? Only 10% of the NFL teams that start 0-2 make the playoffs. So of course the overhyped, overcovered Cowboys are getting the red alert treatment. My biases aside their offensive coordinator has called horrible games and the o-line has been less than spectacular. Without a solid line and poor play calling all the skill position talent in the world can't bring you playoff wins.

Almost Convinced.... Go to the Dolphins and Bears...both have strong starts but both have huge inter-divisional matchups (Dolphins v. Jets, Bears v. Packers) that I will good markers as to how improved and how for real the teams are.

Prayer Time...Could this really be the year Favre falls apart and nobody will feel his skills are worth his ego issues? Could it be? Much like his various "retirements" I'll hope but will have to wait before I believe it is real....

College Football
Locker Hype Mercifully Euthanized - It's been awhile since I've done some good old fashioned back seat driving...questioning stupid decisions. Whatever scouts (I'm looking at you Todd McShay) had Jake Locker as the #1 overall pick can now officially stop it and report to the pillories. At home against Nebraska Locker was 4-20 for 70 yards and 2 Ints (that's a microscopic 45.9 QB rating). Locker sucks. He sucks in college. He will suck in the Pros. Deal with it.

Opening At Georgia - In the unforgivable SEC, Mark Richt has made the mistake of succeeding early in his career and regressing. The loss to South Carolina makes UGA 0-2 for the first time with several tough games remaining. Last year Richt was forced to hire his assistants, this year signs are pointing to Richt getting the axe.

Get Well Soon - Sparty's Coach D'Antonio made a ballicious call for a fake FG to defeat Notre Dame. Soon thereafter D'Antonio suffered a heart attack. He seems to be resting comfortably but best wishes on a speedy recovery......

I Love You Peyton But You're Wrong

There’s nothing wrong with a little brotherly love and, if nothing else, it’s heartening to see how much Archie and Olivia Manning’s sons genuinely care about and support eachother. I’m an only child so I can’t imagine how great it must to know that someone other than your parents always has your back.

But there’s a fine line between public support and outright bullshitting and I think this quote from Peyton about younger brother Eli falls into the latter category:

“I think Eli is at the top,” said the Colts quarterback. “I’ve never said that I know it better than anybody else, and sometimes people assume things or give me credit for things that may not necessarily be true. Eli is an experienced NFL quarterback that plays probably in the toughest division in football. He sees tremendously complicated defenses every single week, but always twice a year from Philadelphia, the Redskins and the Cowboys. He’s seen three different [defensive] coordinators on his team the past three years, which every day in practice, he is seeing different looks. He hasn’t missed a start. It’d be hard to find a guy who knows more about defense and is experienced like Eli.”

Does Eli play in a tough division? Sure. Do the Eagles, Redskins and Cowboys usually have good defenses from year to year? I’d say so. Has he had to go against three different defensive coordinators in practice? It’s four, actually (Tim Lewis, Steve Spagnuolo, Bill Sheridan and, now, Perry Fewell), but the general point is made. Does Eli make his starts? Yes, he does. Only Brett Favre (286) and big brother Peyton (193) have made more consecutive starts at the QB position than Eli (88) since the youngest Manning joined the league in 2004.

But does all of this amount to anything? For all of Eli Manning’s supposed toughness, experience and exposure to seemingly trying conditions, what does it all add up to? Statistically, he’s still a below-average QB, with a career 57.1% completion percentage, a meager 1.4/1 TD-to-INT ratio and an abysmal QB Rating of 79.3.

So, while it’s nice to hear Peyton lavish his little brother with praise, I’m afraid I’ll simply have to call bullshit on the final implication of all this lovely prose from Peyton. Eli isn’t a good QB, no matter how much Peyton says he is.

College Football Trend Watching : Week 2

Well Week 2 has passed moving on to Week 3. Here at CFTW (sounds catchy, no?) we're introducing a new format for those that don't follow college football with tons of intensity. So here we go

What You Know (A Summary of the Previous Week)
OU got back on track, Shoelaces Robinson is putting up Heismanesque numbers, the ACC sucks, Oregon has scored 120 points in 120 minutes of football, James Madison crushed Boise' BCS Championship Hopes (oddly)

What You Might Have Missed (Under the Radar Stories)

• T-Magic, T-Mobile, T-Something. Nebraska's multi-named freshman QB is putting on a Denard Robinson-lite show for the Huskers and finally giving them offense to go with their amazing defense.
• South Carolina's freshman RB (Lattimore) roughed up Georgia's D for 32 rushes and 187 yards. With the Gamecocks stiffling d, decent Qbing, the freshman gives South Carolina (for the first time) a gamechanger. That's short hand for South Carolina is probably the only SEC school that can challenge Florida for #2 in the conference
• Iowa has a running game . 2 different runners (Hamption and Robinson) have rushed for over 125 yards in each of Iowa's 2 games.

Looking Ahead (Games of the Week)
This week in big games can be summarized as the Pac 10 versus the Once and Future Big 10. 4 games between the Pac 10 and teams that will be in the Big 10 next year. The key is Iowa @ Arizona as both have Conference Title aspirations

Nebraska @ Washington
Wisconsin @ Arizona State
Minnesota @ USC
Iowa @ Arizona


Prediction Time 9/16

BCS Championship: Alabama v. Oklahoma
Orange Bowl : Miami v. Iowa
Sugar Bowl: Florida v. TCU
Fiesta: West Virginia v. Nebraska
Rose Bowl: Oregon v. Ohio State

Week 2 - The Return of Vick as a Starter?

I think one of the strangest turn of events from last week is the fact that new Eagles QB, Kevin Kolb, suffered a concussion... resulting in Vick becoming an NFL starter (at least temporarily). It should be an interesting experiment to say the least.

I feel as though the injuries from Week 1 may have been even more significant than most of the outcomes. The Packers lost RB Ryan Grant for the season, the Lions lost QB Matt Stafford for a month, the Jets lost DT Kris Jenkins, the Eagles also lost their center... and those are just the injuries off the top of my head! Sheesh... on to the games:

Manwich Matchup of the Week
Giants @ Indy- This game became even more intriguing because the Colts lost their first game... and could suddenly be in an 0-2 hole. Granted, it's very early, but it definitely puts more pressure on this game.
Pick: Indy

Upset of the Week
Miami @ Minnesota - I think Favre is going to take some time to get the rust out... plus it was really hard to find an upset this week.
Pick: Miami

Opening Round Playoff Game #2
Teams that have been eliminated: Cleveland
St. Louis @ Oakland - Well... I've been touting the potential of the Raiders during the summer, but they looked like garbage against the Titans last week. It's time to put up or shut up I think!
Pick: Oakland

Fantasy Football Game of Interest
Seattle @ Denver - If only because I have no idea who the starting RBs or WRs are on either team!
Pick: Seattle

Other Games
KC @ Cleveland- Pick: Cleveland
Buff @ GB - Pick: Green Bay
Balt @ Cincy - Pick: Baltimore
Pitt @ Tennessee- Pick: Tennessee
Philly @ Detroit- Pick: Philly
Chicago @ Dallas - Pick: Dallas
TB @ CAR - Pick: CAR
Ariz @ ATL- Pick: ATL
Houston @ Washington - Pick: Houston
Jacksonville @ San Diego - Pick: San Diego
NE @ Jets- Pick: New England (the Jets could be 0-2 very quickly!)
New Orleans @ SF - Pick: New Orleans

Last Week: 9-7 (not so hot)
Season: 9-7
Manwich: 1-0 (The Ravens defensively dominated the Jets)
Upset of the Week: 0-1 (The Raiders didn't play well at all against the Titans)

MMBSD: Football Is Back

NFL

• There's an old adage is you don't win Super Bowls in September but you do lose them. I'm sure there's some statistical probability behind it that I'm too lazy check up on but I think it's safe to once again eliminate the Browns by the end of Week 1. Still QB problems, still no playmakers (on offense) and still no offensive coordinator.
  
• Hmm. What to make of the Texans first ever win versus the Colts? On one hand it's the culmination of a slow building process. On the other, how long have we been hearing this is the Texans year? At minimum the win does I think say to me to keep a closer eye as maybe just maybe...this year is different.
• It seemed fitting that no matter who the QB is for the Eagles they still can't convert on short yardage plays. Bad play calling from Andy Reid doomed the Iggles against the Packers. With Kolb out with a concussion and a defense not really dominant I'm willing to eliminate the Eagles from the Super Bowl conversation as well.
  

College Football

• The ACC Sucks - I hate making generalizations about an entire conference but the ACC was simply horrid this past week. Miami and FSU lost definitively, G-Tech choked against Kansas, and V-Tech lost to James Fucking Madison. Let me repeat that James Madison. The ACC's futility can only harm Boise State's (or James Madison's) march to the national championship.
• Changing with the wind - That's me with Oklahoma. Initially I had them in the championship game, then after an awful week 1 I jumped ship, now after demolishing FSU..umm...not sure. Perhaps week 1 was a fluke or maybe week 2 was...they are I think headed for a collision with Nebraska to win the Big 12 and that I'll stick with...until next week...
  
• Western Speed - Outside of 'Bama, has any team down South looked that good? Maybe South Carolina, possibly Florida but everyone else has looked mediocre at best. The team that has stood out to me (at least in terms of speed) so far this year has been Oregon. Their offensive output the past two weeks could put them into a darkhorse role for the BCS Championship game.

Other

• Kevin Durant was the key figure in USA gold medal at the FIBA Championship. I wonder with a number of NBA stars throwing their popularity down the toilet if Durant will become immensely more popular this year
• Rumor has it that the Bulls are considering trading for Carmelo Anthony (in exchange for Noah/Deng/insert name). I hate concern trolling but I don't think this move will work out in the Bulls favor
• If your into that whole baseball thing I recommend following the NL West chase. 3 teams, .5 game (as of writing this), and I believe the losers are fed to the Rancor.
  

Week 1 of the 2010 Football Season!

Well, unbelievably, summer is almost gone, Labor Day has passed, and now... it's time for some football!

Manwich Matchup of the Week
Baltimore @ Jets- Both of these teams have gathered serious Super Bowl hype. I'm not sure what to expect from this opening game... but I tend to believe the more likely scenario is the Ravens embarrassing QB Mark Sanchez on national TV.
Pick: Baltimore

Upset of the Week
Oakland @ Tennessee - As I said in my NFL Preview, I really believe that having a somewhat competent QB (Jason Campbell) will do wonders for improving the team in comparison to the performance with the incompetent QB of last year (JaMarcus Russell).
Pick: Oakland

Opening Round Playoff Game #1
Cleveland @ Tampa - Odds of either of these teams making the playoffs: slim to none! At least one of these two bottom-feeders gets to start the season 1-0 and dream of greener pastures.
Pick: Cleveland

Fantasy Football Game of Interest
Green Bay @ Philly - Kevin Kolb's first start is quite a doozy. It seems like all of the position-players on both these teams were drafted highly, so this game will probably be determining a lot of fantasy matchups this weekend.
Pick: Green Bay

Minnesota @ New Orleans - Of course, this game also has some studs, like Adrian Peterson and Drew Brees. There also is a pathetic past-his-prime loser involved, named Brett Favre.
Pick: New Orleans

Other Games
CAR @ Giants - This game intrigues me... it seems like a lot of people don't trust CAR's QB Matt Moore because he's an undrafted QB in 2007 who suddenly is the starter, and the Panthers also drafted Jimmy Clausen as a QB of the future. However, it needs to be pointed out... Matt Moore actually posted 8 TDs, 2 INTs last year and a 98.5 rating in 7 appearances, which includes going 4-1 as a starter! We should find out soon if this will continue...
Pick: Giants

Miami @ Buff - Pick: Miami
ATL @ Pitt - Pick: ATL
Detroit @ Chicago - Pick: Chicago
Cincy @ New England - Pick: New England
Denver @ Jacksonville - Pick: Jacksonville
Indy @ Houston - Pick: Houston (I really think they are going to win at home vs the Colts this year)
SF @ Seattle - Pick: SF
Arizona @ STL - Pick: Arizona
Dallas @ Washington - Pick: Dallas
SD @ KC - Pick: SD

Past Years - I'm good in the odd years, just like the San Antonio Spurs

2004 – 150-106
Manwich Matchup: 7-11
Upset Special: 7-9

2005 – 160-96
Manwich Matchup: 10-7
Upset Special: 3-14 (That’s not a misprint)

2006: 148-108
Manwich Matchup: 12-7
Upset Special: 5-12

2007 - 166-90
Manwich Matchup: 13-4
Upset Special: 8-9

2008 - 149-106-1
Manwich Matchup: 11-8
Upset Special: 1-16 (that's also not a misprint)

2009 - 165-91
Manwich Matchup: 10-7
Upset of the Week: 8-9

FIBA World Championships: Previewing the Quarterfinals and Beyond

For some reason, no one seems to be paying attention to the FIBA World Championships. Granted other than the US games, a lot of the games are on NBATV which certainly didn't help for creating any media buzz. However, some games will be on ESPN and on ESPN2 as they advance in the tournament. Nonetheless, with the tournament ready to have quarterfinals on Wednesday-Thursday, semis on Saturday, and the finals on Sunday, things are about to get crazy.

Someone with much more time on their hands did an extensive, professional preview of the FIBA World Championships. Just to show how exciting this tournament is and how unpredictable it is, only 6 of his top 8 made the quarterfinals... and Turkey was ranked only #7 but has been far and away the best story of the tournament (outside of the US dominating and only being tested by Brazil). However, after the group stage games, the same website declared USA, Spain, Serbia, and Turkey as the top-4 teams in the tournament (and other than the US, the other three are in the same part of the single-elimination bracket)

For a brief reason why Turkey has been so dominant, it's mainly because they have two 6-9 forwards capable of running the floor and hitting 3s (Turkoglu and the Milwaukee Bucks' breakout star of Ersan Ilyasova). In addition, they have two 7-foot centers who are playing in the NBA this fall for the first time. Even the preview by the other website above said that they did not have much info on these two centers (Omer Asik of the Bulls ; and Semih Erden of the Celtics). Well, Asik is averaging 10.2 pts and 7.7 rebs on 63.4% FG% in only 20 minutes/game and Erden is averaging 9.7 pts and 5.2 rebs on 61.8% FG% in under 20 minutes/game. Furthermore, the Turks are playing a crazy 2-1-2 zone supposedly and no one has had much success attacking it.

Turkey is on the opposite side of the bracket as the US, and I suppose that means they should meet in the finals. We shall see.

Here are the games for the rest of the tournament:

Quarterfinals
Wed 9/8 -
Spain vs. Serbia - 11AM EST - I still can't believe how Serbia's Nenad Kristic has been playing so well, since returning from his chair-throwing suspension last week from a fight during an exhibition against Greece (the Serbs and Greeks got in a bit of an argument you might say). Anyway, Kristic looked old, past his prime, and almost immobile during the NBA season on Ok City... but he looks mobile and fresh now! Serbia is actually led by a lot of youngsters. Nonetheless, I have to assume Spain wins.
Slovenia vs. Turkey - 2PM EST - Turkey can't be stopped at this point. They also have the homecourt advantage, in case I didn't mention that earlier. Slovenia does have Goran Dragic, but that won't be nearly enough against all of the big-men of Turkey.

Thursday 9/9
Russia vs. United States - 11AM EST - This will give most people a chance to see the Knicks newest center, Timo Mozgov. He started out slowly, but outside of his 1-point game against Turkey when he got in foul trouble. The Russians actually have an interesting coaching situation, which is something I talked about previously, as his name is David Blatt and he always has his team playing better than its talent level (i.e. they won a European championship unexpectedly once under Blatt). Nonetheless, the US should win, with few problems. If the US loses, the NY media will probably have Mozgov slated as an NBA All-star for this upcoming season.

Lithuania vs. Argentina - 2 PM EST - Linas Kleiza of Lithuania has been playing out of his mind! He's averaging 19.5 ppg, 7.2 rebs, and shooting 61.9% from the field. However, I think Lithuania's surprise amazing run will come to an end because Argentina has been sensational led by the one-two punch of Carlos Delfino (17.8 ppg, 5 rpg) and Luis Scola (30.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 61.7% FG%).

Semifinals
Saturday 9/11 - ? - 11AM EST-
Saturday 9/11 - ? - 2PM EST -
Spain vs. Turkey - Should be a colossal matchup.

United States vs. Argentina - Should be another great matchup.

Finals
Sunday 9/12 - 2:30PM EST -
The US took down Spain in the Olympics, albeit with Wade, LeBron, and company doing the damage. I'm not sure what will happen if the US were to make the finals and play against Spain or Turkey. The US is not a big team, so I'd imagine that playing Turkey would result in a loss. Spain also has Marc Gasol which would be superior to anything the US could throw at him. I'm forecasting the relatively easy draw thus far for the US (only being tested by Brazil) to result in a loss in the final game or in the semi-finals... and then all sorts of ESPN commentators hypothesizing on the reasons for the loss, how to prevent it, etc., etc., etc.

Granted, I think FIBA should have scheduled this tourney a week earlier than the start of the NFL season. Are they even trying to get viewers in the US???

College Football Trend Watching : Week 1

Welcome Back to College Football Trend Watching...the best Tuesday blog post before a Jewish New Year or your money back....so What what are the trends...err data points after week 1

UP

• Deja Vu....As Stewart Mandel correctly points out...it was deja vu all over again in terms of themes in week 1. It seemed like Michigan found a QB, Florida's offense struggled, and Notre Dame was back. However most prognosticators said the exact same thing last year...only to be found out totally wrong. So will this time be any different?
• Boise State.... Whether you want to call it a choke by V-Tech (fourth straight opening game loss) or a brilliant come back or some combination Boise State is sitting pretty at the moment. They get Oregon State at home and well next to nothing. Will the V-Tech win be enough? Looking like we will finally get an answer as to how much respect an undefeated Boise will get in the BCS Championship race.
• Freshmen QBs - Two old powerhouses (Nebraska and Penn State) were powered to victories by freshmen. Both Nebraska and Penn State are expected to have pivotal rolls in the BCS this year so look to how these freshmen do

Down

• Oklahoma - I admit I bought into the OU bounce back hype and sure it's only 1 week and yes OU won it's game but they looked awful. Simply awful. Jones shows no progress, they are one dimensional on offense, and the defense doesn't look up to snuff
• Ole Miss - House McNutt's squad lost to a subdivision girl's volleyball team. Still waiting on those SEC chants guys.
• Oregon State - The other other OSU. I feel like they're regular fodder at this point for Non-BCS teams looking to score a cheap win. When's the last time Oregon State actually beat anyone semi-decent?

Games of the Week
Michigan at Notre Dame 3:30
Miami at OSU 3:30
FSU at Oklahoma 3:30
Penn State at Alabama 8:00

Prediction Time 9/7

BCS Championship: Alabama v. Boise State
Orange Bowl : Virginia Tech v. Wisconsin
Sugar Bowl: Florida v. TCU
Fiesta: West Virginia v. Nebraska
Rose Bowl: Oregon v. Ohio State

NFL Preview 2010: The Year Before the Lockout?

I'm excited to write yet another NFL Preview. As a warning, my previous picks are not great, by any means. In 2009, I picked San Diego over Green Bay, but both lost in the divisional playoffs; in 2008, I picked Dallas over New England, and neither made the playoffs; in 2007, I picked New England over New Orleans - the Pats at least went undefeated, interestingly, New Orleans did win a couple of years later finally; in 2006, I had Indy over Giants - I actually hit the Colts, and the Giants ended up winning in 2007; in 2005, I had Carolina over Indy, but Indy lost in that crazy game to Pittsburgh, and CAR stumbled in the conference championship; and 2004 is not archived anywhere but I'm sure it was poor.

This year, I feel as though as I have less of an idea of who to pick. I know that Peter King for Sports Illustrated has picked the Steelers to win, so I'm immediately saying that won't happen. I will work my way through the divisions, and see who I'm left with...

AFC East (plays AFC and NFC North)
4-NY Jets - The Jets are absolutely loaded. They added WR Santonio Holmes (available in Week 5) and CB Antonio Cromartie to an already talented team. I still think the biggest question mark is the QB, Mark Sanchez. He played better down the stretch in the playoffs but the expectations are sky-high and I'm not sure if he's up to the challenge.
5-New England - The Pats should be right in the playoffs again. They don't appear dominant defensively or frightening in the running game, but should still be good enough to make the playoffs.
Miami - I really like this team and think they should be fighting for a playoff spot up until the last week. In 2008 they were 11-5 and I think that this team could re-find some of that magic.
Buffalo - They are awful. A complete mess.

AFC North (plays AFC East and NFC South)
1-Baltimore - sadly, this team looks really good. I hate them, but I can't deny the fact that adding WRs Boldin, Donte Stallworth (injured until week 8?), and Houshmandzadeh makes things interesting. I'm not sure why they've added all old and injury-prone WRs but this was a solid team last year... and QB Flacco keeps looking better and better.
Cincy - I don't believe Carson Palmer can continue to stay healthy.
Pittsburgh - It's a messed up season... and plus, the Steelers may take a step back as they reload the talent defensively.
Cleveland - I'm only expecting 4 wins for the season for my Brownies, but 2 of them could come in the first two weeks! (KC, Tampa)

AFC South (plays AFC West and NFC East)
2-Indy - Super Bowl losers tend to be star-crossed the next season... but it's really hard to pick against this juggernaut.
6-Houston - I think this is the year the Texans break into the playoffs! Boy, I'm sick of saying that.
Jacksonville - This is a good team, which could be a darkhorse for the playoffs if things break right.
Tennessee - I've never believed in Vince Young. A lot of changes on defense in two short years make this team nothing like the force they were in 2008.

AFC West (plays AFC South and NFC West)
3-San Diego - they get the division by default! They still are pretty talented.
Oakland - I'm expecting a big improvement from Oakland only because I'm expecting competent QB play from Jason Campbell (in comparison to the performance of former starter QB JaMarcus Russell). Little known fact: Campbell posted a 84.3 and a 86.4 QB rating the last 2 years. In comparison, Russell had a 77.1 and a 50.0 rating the last 2 years. The Raiders supposedly have an above-average defense and if that's true, they should post an amazing improvement from last year's 5-win campaign.
KC - If Cassel plays well, this is another team that could surprise some and get some extra wins in the perceived weak division.
Denver - I hate their coach, they have no idea who their WRs are, the RBs are already injured, and the best defensive player (Dumervil) is out for the season. Plus... they used a 1st-round pick on Tebow, who's not really an NFL QB! It's going to be a long year.

NFC East (plays AFC South and NFC North)
1-Dallas - This team is very talented, as always.
6-Philly - I like Philly. I'm irrationally expecting Kolb to step in and have no problems, even though he's only played 2 games.
Giants - I still think the Giants will be in the playoff race until the end of the season.
Washington - I don't believe that plugging in McNabb will do much for this team.

NFC North (plays AFC East and NFC East - that's brutal!)
3-Green Bay - Great team, brutal schedule.
5-Minnesota - I hate Favre, but the defense is excellent, and should carry them, even with some injures at the WR position.
Chicago - I just don't have faith in Mike Martz succeeding as an offensive coordinator anymore.
Detroit - Detroit should be a lot better, but no better than the other teams in their division. As a Browns fan, this also works for the Lions: it's not about the win total, but whether you are competitive in the games!

NFC South (plays AFC North and NFC West)
2-ATL - RB Michael Turner should be fresh this year after recovering from an ankle injury. In addition, I still like QB Matt Ryan to further develop.
New Orleans - Drew Brees is on the cover of Madden. The curse is inescapable, so I will irrationally not place them in the playoffs.
CAR - Great team, tough division. Plus, it's hard to pick them with the QB position up in the air (Matt Moore is the starter for now, but they may try rookie Jimmy Clausen).
Tampa - No way.

NFC West (plays AFC West and NFC South)
4-San Fran - best of a bad bunch
Arizona - lost too many players from Super Bowl team... and are now starting QB Derek Anderson. Granted, in DA's one successful season on the Browns, he was very effective because Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow allowed DA to throw the ball off-target. If Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston are talented enough, they may allow DA to look decent.
Seattle - Too many changes.... looking forward to the QB Charlie Whitehurst era
Rams - No way.

Wild-Card Weekend
4-Jets over 5-Pats
3-San Diego over 6-Houston
5-Minnesota over 4-San Fran
3-Green Bay over 6-Philly

Divisional Playoffs
1-Baltimore over 4-Jets
3-San Diego over 2-Indy
1-Dallas over 5-Minnesota
2-ATL over 3- Green Bay

Champ Weekend
1-Baltimore over 3-San Diego
2-ATL over 1-Dallas (gotta pick an upset)

Super Bowl: Baltimore over ATL (this will make me sad if this happens, but I have to pick someone).

Better Know College Football 2010: Predictions

Once again we reached the start of the College Football season . Once again I again venture into the land of crappy predictions (see last year) I figure any idiot can randomly throw out stuff and at least today ...I'm that idiot. So without further ado.....


1) A Race
As opposed to last year, I think this year will be highly competitive race for the BCS Championship Game. I'm expecting all of the Big favorites (tOSU, Bama, Florida, OU, Texas, V-Tech, Boise) to lose at least one game. However at the end of the day history and perception will run the day as the Big 12 and SEC will match up again in a championship game. I've picked Oklahoma and Alabama to win their respective conferences so we'll be treated to another SEC Championship.

2) The Hammer
The NCAA emerged from it's dormant sleep and swung the hammer on USC. I'm predicting that they will do so again...this time on UNC. The list of players involved in agents, with academic scandals, with anteater issues, are too long to list. Suffice to safe the dreaded "loss institutional control" will be thrown at UNC .

3) Kelly
The perpetual issue of will Notre Dame rise from mediocrity is upon continues. This time in the Kelly era. They have a brutal schedule but I'm predicting Kelly wins more games then Weis did in his last year.

4) Non-BCS Buster
At this point I think it's safe to say there will be a BCS Buster . Hell I'm not even sure if buster if the correct term anymore. Boise State is loaded and a win at V-Tech I think would mean an undefeated season and a trip to the BCS Championship Game. But I'm expecting V-Tech to win which means the Non-BCS flag bearer will be TCU this year. In fact, don't be surprised if TCU makes it to the BCS Championship game.

My Predictions

Stacey is demonstrating how best to use a compound bow..see it's a metaphor for boobs umm accuracy

BCS Championship: Alabama v. Oklahoma
Orange Bowl : Virginia Tech v. Wisconsin
Sugar Bowl: Florida v. TCU
Fiesta: West Virginia v. Nebraska
Rose Bowl: Oregon v. Ohio State


What are your predictions/story lines for the 2010 year?

Better Know a Conference: The Big 10

Burning Question: Is this really the last year of the great Big 10 traditional hate games? I'm sorry I just can't get over the Big 10 is being this stupid about moving OSU v. Michigan and putting them in separate divisions. Compounding my disbelief it's been confirmed Iowa/Wisconsin are being put into separate divisions (for those unaware Iowa v. Wisconsin has been played every year for 88 years and is THE rivalry for Iowa). What are they smoking in the Big 10 offices?

Biggest Non-Conference Games: Alabama v. PSU, tOSU v. Miami, Iowa@ Arizona, Michigan v. UConn, Anyone v. Notre Dame

Mighty's Predictions

1. Ohio State - The expectation is that with a fully armed and operational Terrel Pryor tOSU will win the Big 10 for a record tying 6th straight time. However it's more than Pryor at Buckeyeville this year, it's the best o-line, best d-line, best linebackers, and deepest RBs tOSU has had in awhile. It is a tough schedule and if the Buckeyes have an achilles heal it's the secondary. Nonetheless it'll a surprise (and disappointment) if the Scarlett and Grey don't win the last real Big 10 Title.

2. Wisconsin - If there is one team that can challenge the Buckeyes for the Big 10 title, I'm predicting it is the Badgers. Bucky Badger returns the leagues most efficient QB, a pounding running game, and 10 returning starters on offense. However in the biggest games, the Badgers offense pulled in duds and gaping holes at DT I think will ultimately hold back the Badgers from winning the title.

3. Iowa - I'm going on record (and out on a limb) and saying Iowa will disappoint. There's two ways to look at Iowa's comeback cardiac wins last year. Either Rick Stanzi is a cold blooded 4rth Quarter ace and Iowa is a turnover creating machine or.....they were really lucky last year. Statistics tell us ON AVERAGE turnovers tend to regress to the mean next year, losing experienced o-linemen is tough, and counting on continually winning close games is a fools' game. I think the law of averages catches up to Iowa.

3. Penn State - Penn State I think could struggle. Yes, they will have a great defense (like they always do). Yes 8th year starter Evan Royster can run. But all signs point to swirling uncertainty at QB. Opening week of college football is one week away and it's still a 3 way race between a once heralded recruit that isn't performing, a walk on that knows the offense, and a true freshman. None of those possibilities should give Penn State tons of confidence.

5. Michigan State - The pass has come to define Michigan State. Nobody can stop their passing attack led by Kirk Cousins and they can't stop the pass. Will this year be any different? I doubt it. I'm expecting crazy high scoring games for Sparty. That said, they avoid tOSU and have an easy non-conference so a bowl game is probable.

6. Michigan - This is make or break time for RichRod. Another horrific season to match the previous two and even the normally patient Michigan AD will have to throw the axe. My prediction is that Denard Robinson (He of No Shoelaces) will become the starting QB and he will power the Michigan offense to 30 points a game. However it's the Michigan D that has been and will continue to be problematic. The rush D was awful (second to last in Big 10) and should suffer without Brandon Graham. The pass D stunk ( last) and lost 4 potential starters between recruiting mishaps, early trips to the NFL, and freak injuries. They will be better than last year but I'm not sure if they hit 6 wins.

7. Purdue - Their starting RB has one of the most awesome names ever....Al-Terek McBurse. Is he Arab? Irish? Is McBurse just the name he uses when running around LBs? In any event no PSU, No Iowa, and a bounce back from lots of close losses. I think Purdue is Bowl bound and could be the Big 10s Big Surprise on Upside.

8. Northwestern - Little known fact Northwestern has been the 6th best Big 10 over the past 7 years. They're solidly entrenched in the Big 10 mid-tier. However losing QB Kafka will prevent me from making Metamorphosis jokes so I say they'll perform below average this year.

9. Minnesota

10. Illinois

11. Indiana

Rumors of OSU v. Michigan, Not Cool People

Scouring the interwebs, there has been a sharp uptick in rumors about on the shape of things to come for the Big 10s bellweather hate fest known as OSU v. Michigan. As being reported in the Plain Dealer, MGoBlog (the #1 Michigan sports blog), and others there is a growing consensus that the Big 10 will not only place Michigan and OSU is separate divisions but that the Game will be moved to October. Now playing a game early in the season (i.e., it removes the build up to the spoiler, elimination, winner take all format that's existed for the past 75 odd years) is by design with the hopes that somehow OSU and Michigan will play each other in the Big 10 championship game. In other words it's hurting the sure thing, for the promise of some super payoff of a Michigan v. OSU Big 1o Championship game.

Frankly, I think that is stupid. If the divisions had been the way they are expected to be OSU and Michigan would have played for the conference championship 4 times in the past 16 years. The changing demographics of the Midwest and College Football should only exacerbate things. The Big 10 has the chance to keep the OSU-Michigan rivalry like Auburn-Alabama , hell even Oklahoma-Texas by either keeping the game at the end of the year or keeping the teams in the same division. Instead it's sounding more and more likely that the dumbest of potential outcomes is coming to pass. Perhaps hate can survive this lamer version, perhaps OSU and Michigan will re-enact the 1970s and dominate everyone else, but it's not something that I'd bet on....

Better Know a Conference: The Pac 10

Nearing the end of the journey...the Mighty Mike preview express hits the Pac 10

Burning Question: The King is Dead, long live the king? USC, the tyrant of the Pac 10, met a grisly end last year as several Pac 10 teams humiliated the former Goliath. Couple that with USC's bowl ban/scholarship restriction and its unclear what's next for the Pac 10. The pattern elsewhere across the college landscape is for one or two alpha dogs to control a conference. Will someone replace USC then as sole owner of the Pac 10? Will the conference become a free for all as it did last year? Will Lane Kiffin start crying on the sidelines?

Biggest Non-Conference Games Oregon State @ Boise State, UCLA @ Texas, Oregon @ Tennessee, Nebraska @ Washington


Mighty's Predictions
1. Oregon - I can't particularly remember a time when the #4 team in the country has no QB which I suppose says something about Oregon and probably something about preseason polls. Oregon's offense has been unstoppable under Chip Kelly. While Masoli is gone, people forget he was like 4rth on the depth charts. So assuming one of Oregon's QBs is serviceable Oregon should well roll on....

1. USC - This is really the only ranking USC might get as its banned from the Coach's poll this year. Matt Barkley should be improved and the D should be up to snuff. But I'm not sold on Kiffin as a coach (as opposed to a recruiter). USC should still do well but I'm doubting their dominance.

3. Oregon State - They have the best running back in the conference (Rodgers) and the best d-line against the run. They are breaking in a new QB tho and their pass rush was non-existent. So as long as the forward pass is made illegal Oregon State should be in great shape.

4. California - Shane Vareen (RB) is a future star in the Pac 10 and will get a chance to shine . Oddly Cal had one of the best recruiting classes of 2010 so look for lots of young stars to play. Of course young stars are inconsistent. So Cal could be anywhere between 2nd and last in the Pac. I'm compromising and picking 4rth.

5. Washington - Put up or Shut Up time for UberHyped Future First Round Pick Jake Locker.

5. Stanford - I'm expecting some growing pains but at the end of the year I'm predicting Andrew Luck (seen above) will be the best QB in the Pac 10.

7. Arizona

8. UCLA

9. Arizona State

10. Washington State

2010 NBA Off-Season Champion

Now that the most anticipated Off-season in NBA history is practically over, it’s time for me to hand out some awards. Please note, that while in 2007 and 2009 I gave out Offseason Championships, this year, that award obviously goes to the Miami Heat. The focus of this article is on the other teams in the league, since most teams went through dramatic makeovers as a result of everyone trying to cash-in on the bonanza of all the 2010 free agents.

Runner-up 2010 Offseason Champion

Chicago

Gained: Boozer, Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer, Kurt Thomas

Lost: Kirk Hinrich, Hakim Warrick, Brad Miller

Adding 3 players from Utah (Brewer was on Utah for the 1^st half of last season) was a major coup for the Bulls. Brewer is more athletic than Hinrich at this point, and Boozer should be more effective than Warrick or Miller was, plus Korver provides a 3-point weapon that was desperately needed on last year’s team. This should be one of the tougher teams next year, so long as Derrick Rose plays unselfishly.

Sneaky transactions to help playoff powers

Dallas

Gained: Tyson Chandler for the corpse of Erick Dampier!

Plus, they re-signed Brendan Haywood! That’s the best defensive center duo in the league, no doubt! If they can make it to the conference Finals to play the Lakers, they actually have the size to play them fairly even.

Lakers

Gained: Matt Barnes, Steve Blake, Theo Ratliff

Lost: Jordan Farmar, Josh Powell

Basically… the Lakers upgraded at PG (Blake over Farmar), upgraded their wing defender (Barnes over Shannon Brown, who still re-signed w/ the Lakers), and they upgraded their center depth (Ratliff over Powell). Fantastic off-season, and they didn’t overspend on anyone.

Milwaukee

Gained: C. Maggette, Drew Gooden, Salmons (re-signed), J. Brockman

Lost: L. Ridnour, K. Thomas, C. Bell

I really like this off-season for the Bucks. Adding Maggette, another scorer, is a great addition for their young PG, Brandon Jennings. Plus, they were able to get Salmons to re-sign. I can’t actually endorse the long-term deal of Drew Gooden, but big-men were in high demand this offseason so sadly, they paid what was 2010 market value (5 years, $30 million).

I have no idea how this will turn out, but I do know someone got swindled

Golden State

Gained: PF David Lee, PG Jannero Pargo, Undrafted Jeremy Lin from Harvard, and Charlie Bell and Gadzuric from Milwaukee

Lost: Maggette, Azubuike, A. Morrow, A. Randolph, R. Turiaf, CJ Watson

The sign-and-trade of David Lee for Anthony Randolph, Azubuike, AND Ronny Turiaf is just ridiculous. I haven’t seen someone give up so much in a sign-and-trade since the Suns swindled the Hawks for three 1^st round draft picks and Boris Diaw in exchange for Joe Johnson. Anthony Randolph was injured most of last year, but is still considered a possible future superstar… but I don’t understand why Golden State had to also throw-in Azubuike and Turiaf. I don’t know how this will play out or if the Warriors were just desperate to put David Lee in there along with Monta Ellis and Curry, or what the goals are for this team, or whether Don Nelson is still just trying to get fired… but we will soon find out I guess. On the bright side, the team has new owners, so I’d imagine by this time next year they will have a new GM, a new coach, and an actual gameplan.

Big spender, questionable results?

New Jersey

Gained: PF T. Murphy, SF T. Outlaw, SG A. Morrow, PG J. Farmar, C J. Petro, C/PF Sean May

Lost: C/PF Tony Battie, SG C. Lee

I guess their starting lineup is:

PG D. Harris

SG A. Morrow

C B. Lopez

SF T. Outlaw

PF T. Murphy / D. Favors (#3 pick)

I actually really like this lineup, assuming Devin Harris is healthy this year and back in All-Star form. That’s a huge “if.” Harris can’t shoot 3s, but Morrow, Outlaw, and Murphy provide proper spacing and 3-point shooting for this team. They will be horrible defensively though, but this should be a decent team, assuming Brook Lopez can recover from his mono this fall (he was unable to go to Europe for the World Championships this August).

Big spender, questionable results, Part Deux

New York

Gained: Consultant Isiah Thomas, PF/C Amare Stoudemire, PG Felton, PF A. Randolph, SG K. Azubuike, SG R. Mason, PF R. Turiaf

Lost: Consultant Isiah Thomas, PF, D. Lee, PG Duhon, SF A. Harrington, SG E. House, PG S. Rodriguez

I guess their starting lineup is:

PG R. Felton

SG K. Azubuike

C ? / Turiaf?

SF D. Gallinari

PF A. Stoudemire

or maybe… Stoudemire at Center with Anthony Randolph at PF? I’m not sure. I’m irrationally still more in love with the Nets lineup because of the strength of their PG and traditional center (Brook Lopez). The Knicks are still coached by D’Antoni, so this team certainly is bred to run up and down the floor, but I think the lack of a true center (and of any players who enjoy rebounding), will doom this team. Shawn Marion was a very important cog to those Suns teams because he was able to gobble up tons of rebounds if need be. I don’t think any of these players can do that. A mid-season trade would do wonders for them and would change my outlook for this team, as would a trade for Carmelo of course, depending on what they give up.

Biggest losers (This is a “loser by choice” category… whereas Cleveland and Toronto didn’t choose to lose their superstars)

Charlotte

Gained: Shaun Livingston (the post-injury one), and Erick Dampier (who they plan on waiving and/or not playing)

Retained: Tyrus Thomas (re-signed)

Lost: PG Felton, C Tyson Chandler

After finally making the playoffs, they already are in cost-cutting mode. Very nice, I’m sure the fans appreciate it. I also don’t have much faith in DJ Augustin as the starting PG.

Minnesota

Gained: Darko, Luke Ridnour, M. Beasley, S. Telfair (again!)

Lost: Al Jefferson, R. Sessions, R. Hollins

Seriously? Al Jefferson in a salary dump? He still has value, I know he’s not as good as he was before the ACL injury, but he still is a center getting 17 ppg and 10 rebs. You could have at least tried to get something else.

Most interesting off-season

Phoenix

Gained: Turkoglu, J. Childress, H. Warrick

Retained: Channing Frye (re-signed)

Lost: Amare, Barbosa

Everyone is up-in-arms about the loss of Amare. I don’t think Amare is that important to this team. Just to provide one fact in favor of that argument, is that according to the data file you can download from http://basketballvalue.com/index.php, Amare Stoudemire actually was the 289^th-best player last year based on adjusted plus-minus, below the “average” rating of the 140^th-best player, and was outperformed on his own team by Steve Nash, Dragic, Frye, Dudley, Richardson, and even Barbosa. This team is still all about Steve Nash being a facilitator and having 3-point shooters and big-men that can run. That’s still in place. I think this team is still a solid playoff team, and Turkoglu will fit in well in this insane offensive team.

Best Trade that Could Help Catapult a Team from 25 wins to the Playoffs

Sacramento Kings

I still can’t believe they were able to acquire Dalembert, one of the best defensive centers in the league, for the LONG-TERM contract of Nocioni (2 more years at $6.5) and Spencer Hawes (a throw-in below-average big-man).

The Kings should be serious playoff contenders this fall with the continued maturation of Tyreke Evans and his young, athletic supporting cast (O. Casspi, Jason Thompson, Carl Landry, Donte Greene, and rookie Demarcus Cousins).

Best Trade that Could Help Catapult a Team from 32 wins to the Playoffs

Indiana Pacers

Getting rid of the expiring contract of Troy Murphy in exchange for a young, fast, starting PG in Darren Collison was a magnificent trade. I have no idea who’s playing PF now (Tyler Hansbrough? Solomon Jones?), but it should be a more traditional player with better defensive skills. If Collison improves at PG and Hibbert improves at Center, this team could indeed make the playoffs.

Bobby Thomson, 1923-2010

Many casual fans have never heard of Bobby Thomson. In his time, he was a good-but-not-great outfielder for 15 seasons between 1946 and 1960, with 264 career home runs and three All-Star appearances.

But Bobby Thomson is an unmistakable and unforgettable part of baseball history. It was his three-run home run in the bottom of the 9th, in the final of a best-of-3 playoff series in 1951 - "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" - that gave the New York Giants the pennant over the Brooklyn Dodgers.

There have been many dramatic homers in baseball history, but what sets Thomson's bash apart is the famous radio call by Russ Hodges. Hodges' account of this great moment still gives me goosebumps, every single time I hear it. It is arguably the greatest piece of sports broadcasting in history; and if not the greatest, it is certainly among the first and most important sports broadcasting moments.

Here's the call, overlaying the television feed. Enjoy it - and Bobby, rest in peace, and thanks for giving us a sliver of history that we'll always cherish.

Cheers and Jeers: Old Crusty Edition

• 1 oz Bacardi 151 proof rum
• 1 oz Wild Turkey Whiskey

It's been awhile but it's time to get back to some old fashion cheers and jeers. There's just some traditional values and mores (like being married by a giant fish) that should never change. Cheering and Jeering is one of them. So without further ado.....

Jeers: To Chris Bosh. In the contest between stupidity and malice I think Bosh consistently picks stupidity. In various interviews over the past month Bosh has admitted that the talent express to South Beach had been in the works for months. Last week Bosh admitted that he put out mix messages intentionally (read lies) to fans for "entertainment". Maybe I'm old fashioned but I'm unclear how admitting that you lie to people and turn ingthe NBA into professional wrestling improves well anything?

Jeers: To Ben Rothlisberger. Rothlisberger got some deserved heat from his hometown for his recent behavior. In response Rothlisberger removed the name of his hometown (Findley, Ohio) from his Pittsburgh bio and put a fictitious one in it's place. Theoretically it's the name of his school but he ended up misspelling it. There's two actions I can not cheer: spite and poor spelling.

Jeers: To the PGA for ruling out Dustin Johnson. There are rules and then there are guidelines. My long standing mantra in all sports is don't let the refs decide a game and the PGA assuredly failed that test.

Cheers: To 17 days until football starts up again. Hooray.

And our C&J gal of the week.....random Oktoberfest Girl

Better Know a Conference: Mid-Majors

Continuing on Mighty's preseason tour of the college football realm...we end up with the mid-majors or pseudo mid-majors. Yes, there's still the great dividing line on automatic bids, revenues, and recruiting abilities. But I'd argue the bias against mid-majors is at an all-time low. Boise State and TCU are both ranked in the top 10 of the preseason poll with Utah also in the top 25. Not to say that bias has vanished, but the mid-majors have as good of chance as ever to get a spot in the national championship this year. So who are the Big Buster Contenders?

Boise State: 122 wins in the past 11 years...not too shabby. But the hype for Boise surrounds their #4 finish in the polls last year and returning 21 of 22 starters this year. They have a great o-line (they only gave up 5 sacks last year) and a QB that doesn't make mistakes (39 TDs v. 3 INTs). Boise State has the challenge of winning on the field against V-Tech (in DC) and home against Oregon State. It also has the challenge of living up to the hype. Last time (2005) Boise was thought so highly it pooped the bed v Georgia (48-13).

TCU Seems to have at least hype wise moved pretty high up the list. They earned an at large BCS bid and are ranked top 10 despite losing 6 all conference starters. However this team is different from last year's . Last year defense was the driver. This year TCU is hyping their QB (Andy Dalton) for a Heisman trophy. The big road blocks for TCU are against Oregon State (in Dallas) and at Utah.

Utah - If there is team to trip up TCU it will probably be Utah. Jordan Wynn started as freshman last year and is on the cusp of being a star this year. However the defense loses 3 linebackers, 2 safeties, and 1 corner. Typically this far more attrition than a mid-major can handle but as I've tried to argue...that line is blurring. That line is especially blurring at Utah leaves for the soon to be Pac-12 next year. 2 tough non-conference from them are at Pittsburgh and at Notre Dame (Mormons v. Catholics.oh)

Others

Houston - Runs the air-raid attack first employed at Texas-Tech. While C-USA has lost its luster Houston is by far the cream of the crop. Coach Kevin Sumlin is probably the hottest coaching prospect out there so look for his name to emerge at the end of the year .

Middle Tennessee - Surprisingly good offense. Check. Easy conference schedule. check. Big name BCS team to bust . Georgia Tech..Double Check. I won't hold my breathe on the expected Sun Belt Champion but if you want a school to really be dark horse BCS Buster..it's Middle Tennessee.

Temple - Yep Temple has a Division I football team. I'm shocked too. That said the unanamous favorite to win the MAC might surprise a few people and go undefeated

BYU - They're in the toughest mid-major conference so a few upset wins (TCU and Utah) and everyone will be aboard the caffeine free express.

The Trade Value of Darren Collison and Hypothetical Trade Scenarios

So I ended up having an interesting discussion with Mighty Mike about the insane four-team NBA trade earlier today. The main point of the discussion is this:
were there really any other suitors out there willing to part with a SG/SF AND needing Darren Collision? If so, what could the Hornets have gotten instead?

I decided to first poke around the Internet to see if anyone else had tried to assess Collison's trade value before today. I found that on June 12 (before the draft), Hornets247 .com identified the Pacers as a likely target and proposed two trades but both involved lottery picks and all sorts of extra players, making it unrealistic in my opinion.

Another website, bleacherreport.com, goes through a Grizzlies analysis. I'm not reprinting it, because it is completely flawed in my opinion in that it assumes that the Grizzlies would move Marc Gasol to open up a spot for Thabeet. Thabeet is nowhere near ready, while Marc Gasol is already one of the best big men in my opinion. Their 2nd trade scenario is even more preposterous... a straight up trade of Collison and Okafor for Granger. That makes no sense whatsoever from a position standpoint, let alone the lack of value the Pacers are getting for Granger, an All-Star.

The best analysis I found was on atthehive.com, where it used win-shares to keep things very analytical, and came to perhaps the best conclusion I'd seen:

"Unless Danny Granger is involved, it doesn't make much sense for New Orleans to move Collison to Indiana. And it doesn't make much sense for Indiana to move Granger anywhere really, considering that Granger is essentially their (much better) version of Collison."

With the analysis of these other websites in mind, listed below are the six deals I came up with, to assess what other realistic options could have been available for Collison. It's subjective, but I went through all the teams while looking for wing-help for the Hornets, and looking for teams that would be willing to play a PG like Collison heavy minutes. Of course, Posey would be added to most of these deals for salary cap purposes.

1) Andre Igoudala (and 4 more years and $60 mill) for Collison - This assumes the Sixers give up on Louis Williams. Probably unlikely.
Verdict: Better Trade for the Hornets, but Unrealistic

2) Caron Butler for Collison -
This assumes Dallas would bench Kidd. Not sure who plays SF then. Plus, Dallas has Beaubois waiting. Very Unlikely.
Verdict: Better Trade for the Hornets, but Unrealistic

3) Rudy Fernandez and/or Batum for Collison -
I think getting Batum actually makes more sense and is less of a financial burden. He missed half of last season, but has been a great defender and above-average player, even by using the Win-Share per minute. Batum is not a household name though, whereas Ariza is, but I think this is the player I'd rather have if I were the Hornets, because he does not financially constrain you. It's possible the Blazers would throw in Rudy Fernandez either way also. I think this is the only trade out of the six that I envision that is more likely to be realistic AND seems to help the Hornets win.
Verdict: This is the trade the Hornets should have pursued! The Blazers would have been ecstatic too to have a core of Collison, Brandon Roy, Aldridge, and Greg Oden (if healthy).

4) Boris Diaw for Collison -
Diaw's an average player, but combining him with Paul would remind some of when Diaw was a great passer alongside Steve Nash.
Verdict: Ariza trade is probably better.

5) J. Thompson OR Donte Greene and F. Garcia for Collison -
This allows Tyreke Evans to play SG. Thompson/Greene are two young 6'11" skinny guys with a lot of potential. Not sure if this is even desirable for the Hornets since they are convincing Chris Paul they can win NOW.
Verdict: Ariza trade is clearly better

6) Tayshaun Prince for Collison.
Prince is older and missed a lot of games last year and already is 29.
Verdict: Ariza trade is clearly better.

Final conclusion:
Clearly, as Mighty Mike pointed out, the Hornets are at a disadvantage at the bargaining table because everyone knows they desperately are trying to keep Chris Paul happy. I have tried my best to gauge what else is out there, and sadly, without engineering insane-multi-player and multi-team trades, the best transaction I can come up with is acquiring Nicolas Batum. This probably won't sell any tickets.

However, it may win games! If you go to Basketball reference.com, you will see that Ariza posted only a 0.058 Win-share per 48 minutes last year, whereas Batum posted an above average 0.181 win-share per 48 minutes. Moreover, I even looked up adjusted plus/minus... and sadly Ariza, according to basketballvalue.com, only had a -.70 rating, whereas Batum had a 2.54 rating (to keep things in perspective, only 142 players had positive ratings, with the top 15 players having ratings between 7.0 and 18.0).

NBA Absurd Four-Way Trade: Instantaneous Analysis

ESPN is reporting an absurd 4-Team trade. The Trade is not yet finalized, but I attempted wrapping my head around the trade over email, and it ended up being so long, I decided it would be best if I just publish my initial thoughts.

I can't believe a trade like this is happening, as it's not a bunch of minor players, and it does not involve the shifting of a bunch of old players (like this insane Patrick Ewing, Glen Rice, Horace Grant, Luc Longley trade in the year 2000).

Here is what I believe is going on as of 3:30PM EST on 8/11/2010:

1) Rockets saves money - they dump out Ariza for C. Lee
This is good, because Kevin Martin needs to be taking more shots than whoever plays the other SF/SG position. Plus, I still really like C. Lee because he's a great defender, as witnessed during his run with Orlando his rookie year. It doesn't get much better than this, especially when I don't think it's a secret that the Rockets were looking to dump Trevor Ariza.
Grade: A

2) Hornets - giving up Collison and Posey for Ariza.
This is dumb. Outrageously dumb. Collison's value is much greater than this and I'm frankly shocked and chagrined that they couldn't do better (or avoid settling for Ariza). The ESPN article hints that Ariza "shows Chris Paul that the Hornets are committed to winning." Um... Ariza's a horribly inefficient player with a long contract. I think it shows a willingness to panic. Yes, Collison is a backup to Paul and acquiring a SG/SF is what the Hornets should do, but not for Ariza.
Grade: D+

3) Pacers - give up Troy Murphy for Collison and Posey.
Amazing. They not only got rid of $11 million in Murphy's expiring, but only took on 2 years of Posey at $7, and got a STARTING PG, and end up saving almost $4 million in payroll?!? Looks like the Pacers did a fantastic job.
Grade: A+

4) Nets - give up Courtney Lee for PF Troy Murphy.
This is actually a situation where the Nets had a plethora of SG/SF (C. Lee, A. Morrow, T. Williams, SF T. Outlaw, and rookie Damion James) but no PF (rookie D. Favors is not ready... K. Humphries?). So, not only does Murphy fill a need, it prevents them from playing Favors too much, plus it adds another 3-point shooter. Suddenly, the Nets have three (3-pt) shooters to surround D. Harris and B. Lopez with in their starting lineup:
PG Devin Harris
SG A. Morrow
C B. Lopez
SF T. Outlaw
PF T. Murphy

The Nets may not play defense (i.e. Morrow, Murphy), but they sure will score a lot this year! They should be very competitive and fun to watch in most games. As also pointed out on ESPN.com, the Nets could also benefit by turning-around and trading Murphy's expiring contract in February.
Grade: A-

Amazingly, I have three teams as doing very well in this trade, and only one team losing. I hope for New Orleans' sake that Trevor Ariza plays better than I expect him to...

Indy It Is and Other Stories

A little late on the weekend wrapup....my apologies. Anyway a few random stories

Indy Gets the Big 10 Championship....At least for 2011, Indianapolis will host the the first ever Big 10 Championship. My hope is that in the future the Big 10 championship will rotate between Chicago, Detroit, Indy, and Cleveland so as to ensure some cold weather gets to play a role in the ball game...at least until global warming really kicks into high gear.

UCF Locker Room is Where the Fun is...at least if you are the camera. University of Central Florida football team's locker room(which isn't in central florida..discuss) hosted a playmate photoshoot recently. I really have nothing to add other than how did that happen? And why wasn't I invited?

Steriod symptoms Caused by Overtraining... Or something to that effect. Houston's Brian Cushing's defense to testing positive to steriods was...overtraining. Points for creativity....but not much behind that.

HBO Executives...must be doing backflips over Darrel Revis' ongoing holdout. The drama. The clashes. The ratings. Personally I think the story if overblown. Both sides will come to agreement before the season starts and I doubt Revis will be lost out there without a training camp so frankly its much ado about nothing in my eyes.

Did I miss anything?

Isiah Thomas Gains Position with Knicks

I am just flabbergasted. Isiah Thomas is back with the Knicks, as a consultant to help make "decisions on draft picks, trades, and personnel."

I'm not a Knicks fan, but I'm still scared. I wanted to look back at his transactions, and hoopshype now keeps track of all of the transactions for GMs. Take a look at Isiah's transactions. Obviously, the most infamous transaction while on the Knicks was acquiring Eddy Curry in exchange for Tim Thomas, two 1st round picks, and two 2nd round picks.

Anyways, for those who can't remember, I did a fictional Q&A with Isiah Thomas back in 2005 when he was starting to shape the Knicks into a complete disaster, where I chronicled Isiah's resume since he stopped being a player. I also wrote an article upon his unbelievable hiring as a college coach in 2009. For those who can't remember he has held the following positions:
1) GM of the Raptors - and failed miserably
2) President and Owner of the CBA - and the league folded within 18 months
3) Coach of the Pacers - and fired by Larry Bird
4) Coach and GM of the Knicks - and failed miserably.
5) Coach of FIU since 2009 - TBD in terms of failure

In Isiah's defense, as a talent evaluator, he has been able to select some gems later in the draft (e.g. David Lee, 30th pick; Trevor Ariza , 43rd pick). However, he has also underperformed in terms of selecting (Channing Frye, 8th pick; Renaldo Balkman, 20th pick; Mardy Collins, 29th pick).

One can only hope that the Knicks have brought in Isiah because whatever he chooses to do... the Knicks should do the opposite!