Sunday Thoughts: Readying for the Draft

Well it's been awhile since I've wrote anything but I shall endeavor to get back to the routine. damn you working world.....So without further ado....

NFL Draft
I don't remember a draft as uncertain as this one. Is anyone really certain about who anyone is taking? Partially this a function that nearly all of the players have serious question marks. I couldn't say if this is a deep draft but it certainly seems to be one lacking bonafide clear cut stars at the top. This isn't to say some boom/bust picks will turn out to be booms, but a priori.... very unclear..


MLB
Speaking of unprecedented.....um what the hell is going on with the Dodgers? I'm hoping that MLB is filming a faux documentary and just needed extra tension because otherwise it seems like a debacle of the highest order in one of baseball's more precious markets. How does this turn out? No seriously, I'm asking.....no clue

Big 10 Football
I'm still trying to avoid mocking the leaders and legends nomenclature and it's going to be especially hard given the Big 10 having so many questions at QB. Despite Spring games coming and going all of the major programs in the Big 10 have uncertainty at football's most important spot. This does not portend well for the Big 10 this season.....

Would A Favorite Please Stand Up?

With only about 2 weeks remaining of regular season basketball, the top spots are in flux. Nobody seems immune to being upset these days. Kansas, tOSU, Pitt, Muburak....all going down when previously they seemed fairly unbeatable. Where does this leave us? Well, in a position in which conference tourney outcomes will probably dictate a good deal of the final outcome. One team hanging on the outside is San Diego State. At the moment there's a number of poll prognasticators putting them in at a 2 seed. Could they move even farther up?

NBA Ratings

While I , and well most of the BSD, have generally tuned out basketball, it appears the rest of the country is tuning in. The NBA tv ratings (most recently the all-star game) have been doing gang busters. Partially, sports ratings in general are up (I'm guessing more people are staying at home due to the economy) but the message that Stern gets is that despite the complaints super teams and douchebag superstars get ratings.

NFL Talks

Continue to meander about, I assume closer to the deadlines things will heat up, although I'm expecting racalcitrant owners to drag this into the summer. And obviously I have no data or facts to back that up.

Spring Time

With the weather heating up (well at least here) Spring is starting to feel nearby. Hooray. I won't debate the greatest words in the English language (I maintain it's free chicken finger day) there's no denying that spring makes everyone a little happier....especially for us college basketball...tournament lovers. As hard as it's to believe March Madness is around the corner.


Tournament Tweaks.
CBS/Turner have going to be spacing out the NCAA tournament games. On the one hand no more back to back to back buzzer beaters. On the other hand less regional coverage so that mean's I won't have to suffer through horrible Georgetown basketball while exciting mid-major upset alerts are elsewhere. So all in all I'll give it a tentative thumbs up.

Who's #1?
With tOSU losing at Bucky Badger...the quest for #1 seems to be falling to Kansas. Of course I ask to this who cares? The real question is seeding as is who is in the top 4. Right now Kansas, tOSU, Pittsburgh, Texas and Duke are all in the conversation. Duke probably has the easiest road given the ACC quality but given the recent over-weighting to conference tournament plays I assume nothing will be settled until the end.

Bracket Busters!
One of my favorite weekends of College Basketball is Bracket Buster Weekend (well technically it's 3 days). Basically the best mid-major teams get matched up against one another to try to give a little extra boost to getting into the brackets (possibly as at-larges). My eyes will be on Cleveland State v. Old Dominion but I'd also recommend checking #21 Utah State at St.Mary's.


Other Random
UFC, the premier mixed martial arts league, will garner it's first $10 million gate for its' Toronto event. It's popularity growth is pretty amazing. Vancouver currently is in first place in the NHL. True story. NFL Labor Talks and Francisco Franco....still dead

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..

Midsummer Classic

I wish I could have some deep thought about the baseball all-star game and the extent to which the AL dominance is random versus systematic but instead I decided to post a picture of Nick Swisher getting ready for College Football season with a near perfect O-H-I-O (h/t MOSG)