McNabb to Oakland?

Perhaps what will end up being the biggest story for the entire offseason just got a head of steam with the possibility of Donovan McNabb going to the Raiders.

This could end up being a lose-lose situation for both McNabb and the Eagles if they decide to part ways.

As for McNabb, his time is quickly running out on winning a Super Bowl ring and Oakland is nowhere close to the kind of team that will get him that illusive first ring. In fact, they're not a even a wild card team with the services of McNabb.

McNabb is kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. He can either go to one of the worst NFL teams of the past five seasons or he can stay with an organization that doesn't give him nearly the respect he deserves after all he's done for them.

Oakland is a bad team no matter who is running the quarterback position. Their offensive line is horrible, their running game is average at best, and their defense has also declined over the past couple of seasons.

Having McNabb at quarterback just makes them slightly less crappy. Clearly the Raiders are ready to part ways with Jamarcus Russell, which I can't blame them for.

I guess Bruce Gradkowski just wasn't impressive enough in his relief efforts of Russell last season, but he'll find a backup role somewhere else.

At the same time, the Eagles are taking a huge risk by settling for Kevin Kolb at quarterback. Kolb only has two starts under his belt so who knows how he will hold up for an entire season.

This shouldn't be too much of a shocker, however. These kinds of things eventually happen to almost every quarterback. Joe Montana and Brett Favre didn't end with the teams that made them superstars either.

You can't blame McNabb for wanting out of Philadelphia. He's been greatly under appreciated for much of his career there. The fact is McNabb is one of the better quarterbacks of the last decade. He's always stayed out of trouble off the field and put up very respectable numbers on the field. He knows Andy Ried's offense like the back of his hand.

Most of these fans won't realize what they're losing until halfway through next season when their team is sitting in the NFC East cellar behind even the Redskins.

The Raiders will realize what they have halfway through next season, but they have so many problems that even the second coming of Dan Marino or Steve Young wouldn't fix this team's abundance of problems.

Nets Owner Out of Line In Altercation With Fan

The most recent episode in the Nets' disastrous 2009-2010 season featured a verbal altercation between Nets CEO Brett Yormark and a disgusted Nets fan who illustrated that disgust by wearing a paper bag to the game.

Supposedly Yormark started the altercation by asking the fan why he was wearing a paper bag on his head. If you're fan of sarcasm then you'll love the response the fan gave the CEO...."because the Nets are so good". This is all according to the New York Daily News.

First of all, Yormark probably needs to attend a few customer relations seminars after this incident. I understand it's upsetting for people to bash your team, but these people paid to see your horrible product. You can't let your anger get the best you.

Even the most simple management positions teach the old cliche of "the customer is always right". In this scenario, how could you argue that this fan wasn't right?

A McDonald's manager can't lose their cool on a customer because the customer complains that their cheeseburger tastes like crap. This situation is obviously on a much larger scale, but it's no different.

The Nets are knocking on death's door by current being another lengthy losing streak away from holding the record for most losses in an NBA season.

Since the altercation Yormark has responded with a promotion that will reward fans with a Nets prize pack if they wear a paper bag to the game. Oh how contradicting of you Mr. Yormark.

Maybe this lit a fire under the you know whats of the Nets players because they snagged their eight win of the season last night over the Kings in front of a measly 10,000 fans.

Wear your paper bags in confidence Nets fans because I wouldn't want to be seen at a Nets game these days either.

Attention Predators: Don't Go Into the Shark Infested Water!

Once again the Predators are flirting with a first-round playoff matchup with the San Jose Sharks, which spells nothing but bad news.

The Sharks have put the Predators out of the playoffs two times and have always seemed to have their number. No matter how hot the Predators may be playing right now, a matchup with the Sharks would just be disastrous from a confidence standpoint.

As odd as this sounds, the Predators would be better off falling back to the seventh or eighth spot and playing the Blackhawks, a team they know very well, in the first round.

Making the playoffs would be nothing new to this organization. They've made the playoffs four of the last five seasons, but have never advanced past the first round.

Currently the Predators sit sixth in the standings and would play the Canucks if the playoffs started today. As we all know they don't start today unfortunately.

Disappointing injuries to Jason Arnott and Joel Ward have hindered the Predators a little bit lately, but the goaltending of Pekka Rinne has been stellar.

There's only eight games remaining on the schedule for the Predators and it's still possible that they could play their way out of contention. They've got a red hot Coyotes team up next with the Red Wings waiting for them on Saturday night in Nashville.

I'll take anyone but those pesky Sharks, even if that means losing their last game of the season to avoid them.

Preds Playoff History

• 2004: Lost in 6 to Red Wings
• 2006: Lost in 5 to Sharks
• 2007: Lost in 5 to Sharks
• 2008: Lost in 6 to Red Wings
  

Mauer Is Now a Rich, Rich Man

Only Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, both products of the Yankees throwing their millions of dollars around, can say that they're making the kind money than Twins catcher Joe Mauer is going to make.

The Twins agreed to pay Mauer $184 million over the next eight years. For all you mathematically challenged individuals like myself, that means he's going to make $23 million a year.

Highest Paid Players in Baseball (Yearly Salaries)

1. Alex Rodriguez-$33 million/year
   
2. Manny Ramirez-$23.8 million/year
3. Joe Mauer-$23 million/year
4. Derek Jeter-$21.6 million/year
5. Mark Teixeira-$20.6 million/year
   

As sick as it makes me to my stomach to see someone who plays baseball for a living make this kind of money, I still think it's great for baseball. It's about time we saw a team other than the Yankees or Red Sox able to retain one of their stars of the league.

The most interesting part of this story is the possibility that Mauer likely could've made somewhere in the range of $250 million if he had become a free agent. However, Mauer had expressed his interest in remaining in Minnesota where he grew up.

In my opinion he's one of the best all-around players in the game and if anyone deserves that kind of money, it's Joe Mauer. He's never been in trouble (knock on wood) and he's always played consistently good baseball.

These kinds of contracts always make me wonder how much pressure is put on these players. Could you imagine having to live up to that kind of money that an organization is willing to pay you? Then again, that's why these guys are professionals.

Believe it or not the start of the regular season is just weeks away with spring training already well underway.

The 2010 MLB Preview is coming up soon so keep an eye out for that!

Are There Enough Cinderella Slippers To Go Around?

I was happily reminded once again today why it's called March Madness.

Three more upsets occurred on the opening day of the 2nd round action, with Northern Iowa (9-seed) taking down the #1 overall seed in Kansas being the obvious major upset.

The other two upsets were St. Mary's (10-seed) defeating Villanova and, to a lesser degree, Washington (11-seed) beating New Mexico.

With all of that laid out, this tournament is now completely wide open in the Midwest and South Regions.

It's important to point out that there's still one more potential Cinderella team in action on Sunday and that's Cornell.

The Big Red take on Wisconsin and they've got a good chance at pulling off yet another upset. They play a similar style to Northern Iowa where they rely heavily on their perimeter offense. If those three's are falling then the Badgers really have no chance.

The Badgers looked extremely sluggish against Wofford in the opening round.

There was one highly favored team who played like they were expected to and that's Kentucky. John Calipari has those freshman playing like they've been there many times before and I'm really impressed with the job he's done.

Not to look over Cornell or Wisconsin, but West Virginia is the only team left in the way of Kentucky from getting to the Final Four. The Mountaineers matchup up really well with the Wildcats and that's a game I would definitely pay a pretty price to see in person if it ends up happening.

My original National Championship pick is still alive for now. That team is Duke and they play a pesky California team in an afternoon game tommorow.

There's really no telling how this tournament is going to end up. With all of these mid-majors playing like they're the best team in the country, something is going to eventually have to give. After all, there's really only one pair of Cinderella slippers to go around.

My Elite Eight Picks Remaining: Kentucky, W. Virginia, Duke, Kansas St., and Syracuse
My Final Four Picks Remaining: W. Virginia, Duke, and Syracuse

Commodores Prove They Never Should've Been Dancing in the First Place

My oh my, Vanderbilt for the second time in three years can't live up to their respective 4-seed that the committee awarded them.

This time it was to a Murray State team that simply out-hustled them on almost every play. Vandy must have snuck through the backdoor of the dance hall to get into this field of 65.

The entire game the Vanderbilt players acted like they were entitled to something and that the school from the much smaller Ohio Valley Conference would just lay down for them.

Sorry kids, but this is the NCAA Tournament and every team comes to play, hence the name March Madness.

As sick as I am right now as a Vandy fan, I'm sure coach Kevin Stallings is in cardiac arrest right now at a hospital somewhere in San Jose. He wins SEC Coach of the Year only to watch his team put up one of the biggest duds I've ever seen by a favored team.

Murray State deserves all of the credit in the world for putting up a huge effort that ended up rewarding them in the end. You see it so many times in these game when the underdog plays harder than the favored team only to come up short.

Even though it came against my team, I'm happy to see the underdog get rewarded for their hard work.

Earlier in the day we almost saw an even bigger upset as 15-seeded Robert Morris came up just short of defeating 2-seeded Villanova. They led almost the entire game before Villanova sent it into overtime.

The Madness has just begun. We are barely to the halfway point of Day 1 and we've already seen two games go to overtime and a huge upset. This is why there's not a better time of the year in the world of sports!

Tebow Ups His Stock At Pro Day

It sounds extremely odd to be even having this discussion about one of the most accomplished players in college football history in the first place.

Tim Tebow has been under the spotlight lately about the need to improve his draft stock.

Some of the critics may have been silenced, at least for now, after Tebow's pro day that was held at the Swamp to some 3,000 fans.

Tebow has received a ton of criticism on his lack of being a traditional quarterback. He hardly ever lined up under center in college, which is a necessity in the NFL.

And then there's that pesky throwing motion of his. Well Tebow has ditched that throwing motion and unveiled a new one at his pro day. The scouts were reportedly impressed. So impressed that he received an invitation to the NFL draft which he obviously accepted.

These invitations aren't just handed out to anyone. They're usually handed out to projected first-round picks, but that's not always a for sure thing.

No matter where Tebow goes in the draft he'll get his opportunity to show what he can do in the NFL. He obviously has a strong passion for the game to be willing to change his entire throwing motion to prepare to start a new chapter in his football career.

Agassi's Jokes Shouldn't Be Taken Seriously

Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, two of tennis's all-time greats, recently participated in a charity tennis match to support victims of the Haiti earthquakes.

Now these two tennis icons have had their historic battles over the years so it should have been to no one's surprise that some friendly jokes were exchanged between the two.

In the midst of the friendly fire Agassi got a little personal with some of the bantering and Sampras didn't find it funny.

His jokes included making fun of the way Sampras walks around on the court like a pigeon and then commenting on his reputation of being stingy.

In return Sampras let Agassi know he didn't find it at all appealing by directing one of his infamous serves right at him. It drew plenty of laughs and rightfully so.

Here's a link to the entire 4-minute episode.

It's somewhat understandable that Sampras got a little offended by what Agassi said, but you have to let that roll off your shoulder and realize it's for charity.

This particular charity was a huge success as it brought in over $1 million to aid earthquake victims. With that said let's focus on the important things this charity did instead of a few jokes that went too far.

Agassi was quick to apologize much like most athletes do when they get into the media for something negative. Here's a piece of Agassi's apology that was released on Monday:

"It was out of line. It was innappropriate. The night was on fire. We were all all having fun. I was trying to be comedic. I only had a split second to make a decision. I went for it and it fell flat."

Agassi went on to say that he has since texted Sampras asking to apologize in person to him.

Let's be sure not to demonize Agassi for this mistake. We've all told a joke that went too far that we fell bad about at a later time. We're only human.

It's also important not to forget that comedians tell personal jokes that are ten times worse everyday and we praise them for it. Agassi attempted to be humorous like many of us do and it didn't work out. Simple as that.

The least we can do is praise Agassi for participating in a charity event that ended up raising so much money for so many devasted lives.

I want to know how you feel about this situation so feel free to e-mail me at cmm5g@mtsu.edu

Examining Vandy's Road to the Final Four

Despite limping into Selection Sunday, Vanderbilt drew one of the 4-seeds for the NCAA Tournament. They will play Thursday against Murray State (30-4) of the OVC.

Some experts are calling an upset alert on this game a lot of that can be thanks to two very disappointing losses to South Carolina and Mississippi State to end the season. I don't see that happening here.

Murray State may stick with Vandy up until halftime, but eventually Vandy's talent will be way too much for Murray State.

The second round game would come against either Butler or UTEP. These two games will be much tougher than Murray State, but they're still very winnable games for Vandy.

If Vandy does manage to make it to their third Sweet Sixteen in the past decade then they will most likely have to play No.1 seeded Syracuse. This is where I got to draw the line and say Vandy would have little to no chance.

There are also a few other teams that are way better than Vandy that are in the West region. In my opinion those teams are Gonzaga, Pittsburgh, and Kansas State.

Just for the sake of dreaming, if Vandy did pull of an upset for the ages against Syracuse then Kansas State would be waiting for them in the Elite Eight.

If the Commodores make it this far then anything will be possible against Kansas State.

After reading all of this you should realize why the NCAA Tournament is the best playoff system in all of sports. No other sport requires a team to do so much work before they can be crowned champions.

Even the top-seeded teams have no cake walk to the Final Four, not even Kansas.

My Final Four selections: Kansas, Syracuse, Duke, and West Virginia
Championship Game: Duke over Kansas

The Committee Has Spoken!

Another pool of 65 teams have been entered to compete for the college basketball national championship.

The four #1 seeds are: Kentucky, Duke, Syracuse, and Kansas.

This might be another year where all four #1 seeds make the Final Four. However, Kentucky continues to barely squeak out wins against sub-par SEC teams and won't work against some of the better teams in their bracket like West Virginia or even Wisconsin. They do have an easier road to the Final Four then any of the other #1 seeds.

Not to keep coming down on Kentucky because they are a very talented team, but their youth will come back to haunt them in the Elite Eight against West Virginia.

As boring as this sounds, I like the other #1 seeds to hold serve and make the Final Four.

In the end I think we're set up for a great NCAA Tournament because there is so much parody in this year's field.

You've got plenty of possible Cinderella teams, with 13-seeded Cornell being the most likely to make a big run.

When it's all said and done I like Duke to shock Kansas for the national title. This team's basketball IQ is through the roof and they play so well together.

On paper Kansas looks like the best team in the country but their loss to Tennessee makes me think that they're going to slip up against the Blue Devils.

Shield Your Eyes, Some Bubbles Are About to Burst

It's that time of year where things get a little emotional in college basketball. Some teams' hard work is going to pay off and send them to the field of 65 while others are going to settle for something less.

There's no way to avoid it. Every year there are at least a few really good teams who don't make the tournament. It's still the best playoff system in all of sports. Virtually every deserving team gets a fair shot at the national championship. Even your George Mason's of the world.

One bubble is going to burst in a big way tonight between Connecticut and Notre Dame. Both teams have impressive wins coupled with disappointing losses.

Another bubble team to keep your eye on at this point is Florida. This team has been up and down all season long but has mainly been going down since entering the conference schedule.

Their conference record doesn't look that bad at first glance, but then you have to remember how mediocre the SEC is this year.

The Gators have some work to do but if they have an impressive showing in the SEC tournament then you have to put them somewhere around a 10-seed.

Another game with implications on the bubble watch is Oklahoma St. and Texas A&M. They're both in at the moment but they can easily play their way out. They've got a little bit more slack thanks to the Big 12 being a pretty solid conference overall.

Finally you got your mid-majors who are fighting for either an automatic bid through their conference championship or an at-large bid.

As of right now here's your at-large bids to keep an eye on: St. Mary's, San Diego State, and Richmond. All of these mid-majors are capable of making some noise in the tournament if they get in.

This is the best time of the year if you're a die-hard college basketball fan like myself. There's so much to keep up with that it's almost like studying for a class to get all of the information.

Selection Sunday is just ten days away so get your goggles ready because there's still plenty of bubbles to be burst.

Teams Currently on the Bubble

• Notre Dame (19-10)
• Connecticut (17-12)
• Ole Miss (19-9)
• Oklahoma St. (20-8)
• Illinois (18-12)
• St. Mary's (24-5)
• Louisville (19-11)
• San Diego St. (20-8)
• Florida (20-10)
• Florida St. (20-8)
• Georgia Tech (19-10)
  

( I'm sure I left out a few, but this should give you an idea of how many bubbles are about to burst!!!!!)

After Sweeping the Gators, Vandy Eyes a No.3 Seed

It was a week of ending winless droughts as Vanderbilt defeated Arkansas on the road for the first time in the Kevin Stallings era and also defeated the Gators for the first time in Gainesville since 2001.

Many had doubts that Vandy would be able to keep up its winning ways on Tuesday night.

Those thoughts quickly changed just shortly after the ball was tipped off tonight.

The Commodores jumped out to a 9-0 lead within the opening minutes to get the crowd out of it early. Even at that point I expected the Gators to make a run, and that they did.

The Gators actually had a three-point lead midway through the second half with all the momentum on their side, but apparently the Commodores took some that Memorial magic on the road with them tonight.

Vandy is just a couple wins away from possibly securing a No.3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, something that probably hasn't been done in a long time, if ever.

Once again Vanderbilt proved that they can beat you from so many different angles. Jeffrey Taylor was virtually a non-factor and Jermaine Beal was just average. But in came freshman John Jenkins who hit six three-pointers to propel Vandy to it's 23rd win of the season.

Jenkins may be the x-factor as to how far this squad can go in the tournament. If he shoots like that, then don't be surprised to see the Commodores in the Sweet Sixteen for the third time in the past decade. He averaged over 40 points a game in high school, so he's definitely capable of taking over basketball games.

Almost every player on this team is contributing to its success right now and that's the key factor to going deep into the NCAA tournament.

Another thing that tells me this team can go deep into the tournament is its impressive conference road record, which is 6-2. It's one thing to be a good team in the comfort of your own home, but when you're going on the road and winning tough conference games then that shows me that you're dangerous on a neutral court as well.

With the 64-60 win in Gainesville, Vanderbilt locked up a first-round bye in the SEC tournament and still has a shot at their first SEC regular season championship since 1992.

Kentucky would have to lose their final two games for that to happen, but anything is possible.

Even though an SEC regular season championship would be very nice, their shouldn't be too much stock put into it. Either way Vandy has already done the work to get themselves into a good spot in the field of 65.

Where's the T.O. Show Stopping Next?

The soap opera that is Terrell Owens's career is far from coming to an end. Multiple teams are speculated to be interested in T.O.

The rumors are now swirling as to where Terrell Owens will be playing next season. We do know for sure it won't be a second season with the Buffalo Bills.

The two primary teams that are in speculation for looking at T.O. are the Ravens and the Bengals. Ochocinco has already publicly expressed his desire and confidence that T.O. will be a Bengal next season.

That's an interesting thought. I actually think it would be a good fit for T.O. All of his critics want to continue to dwell on the past and think that he will go back to his old troubling days.

I think T.O. has changed his ways for good. He showed that last season. The media likes to back T.O. into a corner sometimes to get him to go into one of his infamous rants and last season he didn't take the bait.

The next destination for T.O. is most likely Baltimore, which is also a great fit. I don't think it's better than the Bengals situation because with the Ravens T.O. would have to be the primary target and I'm not so sure he's good enough to play that role anymore.

With the Bengals he could be the second option behind Ochocinco but would still get plenty of touches thanks to a pretty average group of receivers.

However, the quarterback situation is much better in Baltimore than in Cincinnati. Carson Palmer has lost a step or two in the past couple of seasons and Joe Flacco is clearly on the rise.

Both teams offer great opportunities for T.O. to end his career in a respectful fashion, so let's see if the T.O. show has a happy ending.