Anything and Everything Sports

Extending the Olive Branch to LeBron James

2011-06-15T12:51:00.003-05:00

No other star athlete has ever been publicly disliked more than LeBron James.

It could've been said that Barry Bonds held that title, or maybe Alex Rodriguez, but now that title is firmly in LeBron's hands.

Despite the way LeBron buried himself even deeper by mocking Dirk Nowitzki's sickness, making excuses for his poor play in the fourth quarter, and seemingly saying he was superior to the rest of us, I'm going to extend the olive branch to him.

I've never been a fan of James. Not because I think he's a bad player, but because of his attitude. He showed it again in the 2011 NBA Finals.

However, James finally came out and said the right thing. Whether it was scripted or not, he came out and said "I'm not superior to anyone".

He also went on to basically say that his comments may have been misunderstood about saying that at the end of the day fans have to go back to their everyday lives.

Hands down, if James plays the game he's capable of playing, then the Miami Heat win in five or six games.

Instead, the Mavericks win in six claiming their first ever NBA championship.

I'm willing to wipe the slate clean with James and see how he carries himself next season.

His Miami Heat, or I should say Dwyane Wade's Miami Heat, will be back next year to make another run for the title.

The Eastern Conference is very watered down and the Heat's only real obstacles will be the Bulls and maybe the Knicks.

Although James will never be on Michael Jordan's level in my book, he can at least turn his public image around if he quits burying himself with egotistic remarks and lame excuses.

He has way too much talent to not eventually win an NBA championship, so let's wipe the slate clean and see how he acts next season.

Bracketology With A Tennessee Flavor

2011-01-31T13:02:00.008-06:00

The college basketball season is already past the midway point, and March Madness is creeping up on us.

Teams are battling it out in the midst of their respective conferences, and the smaller conferences are bidding for that automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

It's been somewhat of a down year for school from Tennessee, but there are some mid-majors that people should be keeping an eye on.

Here's a look at the current standing of the schools fighting for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Tennessee (14-7, 4-2 SEC): Meet your jekyll and hyde of the college basketball season. The same team that knocked out Villanova and Pittsburgh also has losses to the likes of Charlotte, Oakland, and College of Charleston. Take out those mysterious losses and you've got yourself a top ten ranking right now. Bruce Pearl is almost through his suspension and it looks like the Vols will make the NCAA Tournament with a respectable seed.
Big Wins: Villanova, Pitt. Big Losses: Charlotte, Charleston, Oakland

Projected Seed: 7

Vanderbilt (15-5, 3-3 SEC): The Achilles heel for the Commodores has been protecting leads, blowing late leads to the likes of South Carolina and Tennessee. What really helps Vandy right now is the fact that they really don't have an ugly loss outside of Arkansas this past weekend. They also are 3-1 against the AP Top 25 this season. Vandy really needs to get Andre Walker back to finish this season out strong, but they should be in the mix come March.
Big Wins: Marquette, St. Mary's. Big Losses: Arkansas, South Carolina

Projected Seed: 6

Memphis (16-5, 5-2 CUSA): The Tigers might have been the biggest frauds to start the season ranked. Their overall record might look solid, but they lack a quality win on their schedule. They've also struggled to beat the likes of Tennessee State, Austin Peay, and Arkansas State. This team is flirting with the possibility of missing the tournament all together if they don't start winning games in an impressive fashion. A big date with Gonzaga looms in the near future.
Big Wins: UAB. Big Losses: SMU, Marshall

Projected Seed: 12

Belmont (20-4, 12-1 A-Sun): If there's going to be a 2010 Butler team in this year's tournament, Belmont has to at least be mentioned in the conversation. To put it into perspective, Belmost beat Arkansas State by 33 points, the same Arkansas State team that had single-digit losses to Ole Miss and Memphis. There's no reason that Belmont couldn't run the table the rest of the way. They're four losses are to Tennessee twice, Vanderbilt, and arch-rival Lipscomb in a tough environment on the road. This team is dangerous.
Big Wins: None. Big Losses: Lipscomb

Projected seed: 14

Middle Tennessee (10-12, 5-4 Sun Belt): The Blue Raiders have to pretty much win their conference tournament to have any chance. Their overall record is abysmal, and they have too many bad losses to count on one hand. This team has potential, but they're still a few steps away from making the NCAA Tournament for the first team in 22 years.
Big Wins: North Texas. Big Losses: Evansville, Campbell, South Alabama

Projected Seed: None

Austin Peay (14-9, 8-3 OVC): Winning the OVC tournament is the only way the Governors will make the NCAA Tourney, but the probability of that happening is very high. The Governors don't really have any quality wins, but they took Memphis and Oakland to overtime. Remember, Oakland took down Tennessee in the early part of the season. I see the Governors winning their conference tournament only to get the honor of playing a team like Ohio State or Pittsburgh in the first round.
Big Wins: None. Big Losses: Tenn. State, Tenn. Tech

Projected Seed: 16

Take a minute to digest my take on the state of the Tennessee schools. There's still a lot of basketball to be played, and all of this could obviously change.

Out of all of these schools I see Vanderbilt having the potential to go the farthest. The reason I say this is because they've played everyone tough, and only have one ugly loss all season. I'm not counting out Tennessee from making some noise. They're pesky and have the ability to beat anyone in the country, but at the same time lose to almost anyone in the country.

The Titans Should Make Ryan Mallett QB of the Future

2011-01-19T15:51:00.002-06:00

It was a rough season all the way around for the Tennessee Titans.

Jeff Fisher barely hung onto his job, Vince Young was shown the door, and the team finished an nasty 6-10.

Now it's time to look ahead three months to the NFL Draft, where it looks like the Titans will take a quarterback at some point.

Some people may be thinking, "wait, I thought we drafted Rusty Smith". Well, unfortunately Smith proved that he still has a great amount of work to do before he'll ever be ready to even be a No.2 quarterback, much less a starter.

There's a lot of potentially great NFL quarterbacks in this upcoming draft class, but Ryan Mallett seems to fit the Titans system the best. Here's some reasons why:

He's got the great physical makeup of an NFL quarterback (6-foot-6, 238 lbs.)
Great pocket passer, which is what the Titans have needed
Prepped to play against tough defense after playing in the SEC
Rarely makes mistakes: Nearly a career 4 to 1 TD-Interception ratio

Think about all of the issues the Titans have had at the quarterback position over the years. Turning the ball over was a recurring problems, and Vince Young always seemed to struggle with staying in the pocket.

Mallett will almost certainly be around when the Titans get the first pick at 8th overall.

They should take Mallett and let Kerry Collins start at least on more year. Collins has expressed his interest in helping young quarterbacks, and he's done that for both Young and Smith. He could do the same for Mallett.

They're both similar in their styles of play and Mallett could learn a lot about the NFL game from Collins.

Titans fans might have to come to grips with reality and accept that it might take a season or two before the Titans will be relevant again in the AFC.

Ryan Mallett's Collegiate Stats

69 passing touchdowns
8,388 passing yards
24 Interceptions
140.62 QB rating
18-8 record at Arkansas

Music City Bowl Looks To Be A Toss Up

2010-12-28T18:20:00.005-06:00

The Music City Bowl, which annually pits the ACC against the SEC, looks to be one of the toughest games to figure out in this bowl season.

I'm excited to say I will be attending this game on Thursday evening and I expect to see a game that could come down to the final possession.

With the game being played at LP Field, it should be predominantly loaded with Tennessee fans.

Here's arguments for both teams on why they will win:

Tennessee's argument

Tennessee could have very easily finished the season 7-5 if not for getting hosed by the refs in the LSU game.

This team has finally hit its stride, winning four in row to end the season. Tyler Bray has also given the Vols some stability at quarterback.

The game may be technically on neutral field, but let's get real here. This will basically be like a home game for the Vols.

North Carolina's argument

One thing that leans heavily in North Carolina's favor is the inexperience in their opponent. A lot of these Freshman and Sophomore on Tennessee may come out skidish to start the game.

The Tar Heels will need to jump on them early, much like they did against Florida State back on November 6th.

The biggest weapon for the Tar Heels is easily T.J. Yates at quarterback. You take out his four-interception game against Virginia Tech, and Yates would be considered a quarterback who rarely turns the ball over.

All season long this team has been playing with a chip on their shoulder after dealing with the multiple suspensions. This season probably should've ended in a better bowl game than the Music City Bowl, but it's still impressive that they even got this far with all they had to deal with as a team.

Final Verdict

In the end I see the inexperience of the Vols ( over 50 Freshmen) will hurt them in this game.

The pro-UT crowd will give the Vols a lift that will keep the game interesting all the way to the end. However, North Carolina will find a way to get the win late in the game.

Look for Yates to carry the Tar Heels to a slim victory over Derek Dooley and the Vols.

Final Score: North Carolina 27, Tennessee 24

NFC Takes Over the NFL Power Rankings

2010-12-16T22:28:00.002-06:00

Heading into this season the AFC looked like the dominant conference, but the NFC has narrowed the gap with the emergence of the Falcons and the Eagles.

The Patriots (11-2) still hands down have the number-one spot in the rankings. They've made it look easy over the past few weeks.

In fact, the Patriots haven't scored less than 31 points during their current five-game winning streak.

Coming in a distant second is the Steelers (10-3). These guys will be tough to beat in the playoffs whether they win the AFC North or not.

That defense makes this team a contender for the Super Bowl no matter how they look doing it. If the NFL counted for style points then the Steelers wouldn't be as high, but it doesn't.

In third sits the Eagles (9-4). Now I know what you're thinking. How can you put the Eagles ahead of the Falcons, who are 11-2? For the simple fact that the Falcons don't have Michael Vick. This guy single handily makes the Eagles a playoff team. That defense isn't so bad either.

They also lost to Philly head-to-head in Week 6.

As for the Falcons, who come in fourth on the list, they're a product of their schedule in my opinion. I need more from them.

Six wins over the likes of Carolina, San Francisco, Arizona, Cincy, and Cleveland just doesn't make me a believer of them being any higher that No. 4.

With that said, they will be tough to beat at home.

Rounding out the top five list is the Saints (10-3). They've quietly won six in a row after looking like another ordinary NFC team early in the season.

I don't think a 10-3 defending Super Bowl champion has ever received this little of attention, but they're not getting talked about as much.

A huge showdown with the Falcons in Atlanta comes next week. That game is sandwiched between Baltimore and Tampa Bay, which will be no picnic.

Will found out real quick through these final three games if New Orleans is capable of defending their Super Bowl title.

With the dominating win for the Chargers over the Niners tonight, they are as close as you can get to getting in the Top 5.

I still have trouble putting a team in the top five who needs help from other teams to get in the playoffs. If not for their horrible special teams play, they might be No.1 on this list.

The Ravens join them in knocking on the door of the Top 5 after losing a tough game to Steelers the previous week. They'll most likely finish with one of the AFC wildcards.

Bottom Five

28. Detroit (3-10): This team has played tough football all year and they're so much better than the record. They could easily be 5-8 if not for a questionable call in Week 1, and Ndamukong Suh being forced to kick an extra point. Godspeed Detroit.

29. Arizona (4-9): Decimated by injuries, but they have a manageable remaining schedule to try to save face.

30. Denver (3-10): A later coaching change means this team is going nowhere fast. The Broncos have one win since starting 2-2. Enough said.

31. Cincy (2-11): Really wanted to put this team dead last because they have zero heart at this point. However, I couldn't because they defeated Carolina head-to-head and managed to hang with the Steelers this past week. Still a horrible team, and T.O. needs his bottle now.

32. Carolina (1-12): We all seen this coming heading into the season. No experienced quarterbacks and no help for Steve Smith. This week against Arizona will probably be their last real opportunity to avoid a one-loss season. The other two come against Pittsburgh and Atlanta.

LeBron Makes His Epic Return to Cleveland Tonight

2010-12-02T17:27:00.004-06:00

Possibly the most anticipated regular season game in NBA history occurs tonight in Cleveland at Quicken Loan Arena.

Cavaliers guard Mo Williams compared it to an ex-girlfriend coming to your wedding. In this case the ex-girlfriend ditched you for a super model that ended up not being so attractive. At least not so far.

Going into the season many expected the Heat to be better than their record (11-8), and for the Cavaliers to be worse than their record (7-10).

It's hard to imagine how the passionate Cavaliers fans feel heading into this game, and for a lot of them this will be the equivalent of the Cavs winning a championship if the they pull off the win.

Don't be surprise if that happens tonight. We've already seen a few ordinary teams rise up above their normal selves and get the win. The Grizzlies are the only team with a record below .500 to take down the Heat, which was just less than two weeks ago.

The Heat have gotten every team's best shot this season, and the Cavs are going to multiple that by a 100 to try to bring this win home to the Cleveland fans.

Security will be extremely high compared to a normal game and rightfully so.

I'm hoping to see LeBron fail miserably tonight for making a deal with the devil and doing it in the most classless way possible.

With that said, I hope no one does anything overboard tonight, like threatening LeBron's physical health. We all have to step back and remember this is just a game.

Cleveland fans need to focus all that rage into harming LeBron mentally, but certainly not physically in any way. I'm sure some bonehead will go overboard and I hope that person gets the punishment they will deserve by being an idiot.

Moss Won't Talk Super Bowl, But Seems Ready To Go

2010-11-13T20:49:00.003-06:00

Well I officially feel like a six-year-old kid on Christmas Eve as we lead up to Randy Moss's debut in a Tennessee Titans uniform.

We won't know for sure how this acquisition will turn out for the Titans, but we'll get a decent idea after tomorrow's game against the Dolphins.

It may be a week longer before we get the opportunity to see how Vince Young does working with Moss, but Kerry Collins is still very much capable of running the offense effectively. We've already seen that once this season against the Jaguars on Monday Night Football.

Moss made his first official interview as a Titan a few days ago and kept it short and sweet. He really didn't have too much interest in talking Super Bowl. Instead he gave the cliche answer of "taking it one game at a time".

There's absolutely nothing wrong with that answer. I think it's important that Moss stays away from negative publicity during his time in Tennessee. No matter what his stats are, if the Titans are successful then he'll be successful as a future player in the NFL.

Moss isn't a young man anymore and the reality is only one team claimed him. Just one and he's a future Hall of Famer. That blows my mind, but clearly teams were afraid of him starting trouble inside the locker room.

They face the Dolphins tomorrow, a team that can't be taken lightly. Much like the Titans themselves, the Dolphins have suffered some tough losses that should've been wins.

With that said, I see no reason why the Titans don't win this game. They're facing a quarterback in Chad Pennington who hasn't taken a snap since early last season.

Hopefully the simple presence of Moss will open things up more for Chris Johnson. On the defensive side of the ball I just don't see the Titans giving up much to the Dolphins.

Expect another close game but in the end I see a modest stat line for Moss in his debut, but a win by the Titans.

It's Official: Randy Moss is a Titan

2010-11-03T17:27:00.004-05:00

You read the title correctly. No need to adjust your computer monitor.

Despite 21 other teams having a shot at Randy Moss on the waiver wire before the Titans, Moss is still the newest addition to the Tennessee Titans.

Saying that I'm completely shocked right now would be an understatement. I never saw this coming.

According to multiple sources, the Titans were the only team to put in a waiver claim for Moss. That's shocking in itself.

So now the question is how Moss fits into this offense that is historically, run first and pass short. With Moss on the roster, we're obviously going to see the Titans go deep more often than we're accustomed to.

Even though Moss has major character issues, it's hard to argue with the move. It's instantly going to free up running room for Chris Johnson, who has struggled finding lanes all season.

It also will allow for my space to work in the middle of the field for guys like Bo Scaife and Damian Williams.

With it still unknown how long Kenny Britt will be out for his hamstring injury, this move makes even more sense.

Hopefully the trash of the Patriots and the Vikings will prove to be the Titans' treasure.

The key to this move being a success will depend on whether or not Jeff Fisher can appease Moss, which is something that Brad Childress failed to do with the Vikings.

The Titans still have five division games remaining, including two games each against the Texans and the Colts. Both the Colts and the Texans have high-powered offenses and questionable defenses.

Career Stats for Randy Moss

194 games
948 receptions (9th all-time)
14,778 rec. yards (5th all-time)
153 rec. TD's (2nd all-time)
76 yards per game (5th all-time)

The LeBron Era Starts Off Slow in South Beach

2010-10-27T18:31:00.006-05:00

The Celtics have been coined as one of the best defensive teams in the NBA ever since they assembled their own Big Three just a few seasons ago.

They proved that last night by holding the Miami Heat to just nine first quarter points, something that LeBron and company struggled to fight their way out of the rest of the game.

There was way too much one-on-one action going on at the beginning of the game. In fact, LeBron did the best job at trying to get his teammates involved. His unselfishness led to a lot of unforced turnovers, which he pointed out after the game.

Despite not being a big LeBron fan to say the least, I though LeBron played great last night. It almost looked like he was playing for Cleveland all over again, just with different players around him.

In the second half LeBron began to play more of his game and take on the form of the LeBron we all came to know in Cleveland. He began slashing to the basket and putting points on the board while everyone else on the floor were spectators.

He finished with 31 points even after the slow start. His rebound and assist production was down though as he finished with four rebounds and three assists.

Dwyane Wade was almost a non-factor the entire game, and understandably so. He was rusty due to sitting out all but three minutes of the preseason.

Chris Bosh didn't look all that great either if you judge him based on his offensive performance. He still showed how good he is in the rebound department.

It's obviously going to take a few games for LeBron, Wade, and Bosh to learn to play together effectively. They can't all be the players they use to be.

The Celtics proved that they're still the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. They played smarter from start to finish. This was most likely a preview of a matchup that will most likely happen in this season's Eastern Conference Finals.

It will be interesting to see if LeBron takes on the same approach that he took at the start of last night's game, or will he take on the style of play that he had in Cleveland when he had little help.

What To Expect In Big Ben's Return

2010-10-16T17:24:00.003-05:00

Somehow the Steelers managed to not only survive without Ben Roethlisberger, but actually flourish.

They're currently 3-1, with their only loss coming to my preseason Super Bowl favorite, the Baltimore Ravens. The crazy part is the fact that they did most of this with third-string quarterback Charlie Batch.

Now coming off of a bye week they get their franchise quarterback returns to the field after a four-game suspension.

This offense is a lot more dangerous then people give them credit for and Roethlisberger is going to obviously add to that firepower.

Rashard Mendenhall is quickly becoming one of the top running backs in the league, and the wide receivers aren't that bad either with Mike Wallace and Hines Ward.

The Steelers and the Ravens are going to go right down to the wire and the second place team will most likely snatch up one of the wildcards.

As for this weekend Roethlisberger gets a bit of a tune-up game with the Browns coming to town. They have their own questions at quarterback with Colt McCoy getting his first NFL start.

Roethlisberger just has to remember that this team was already a top team without him, so he can't come in and try to do too much. How disastrous would it be if Roethlisberger returns to action and throws a couple picks in a loss?

That's probably not going to happens, but we all know that anything can happen. Just ask the Saints after their loss to Max Hall and the Cardinals last week.

Big Ben's Career Stats

127 Passing TD's
81 Interceptions
91.7 QB Rating
19,302 Pass Yards
17 Comeback Wins

The Doc Is In, And Throws A No-No!

2010-10-06T18:57:00.002-05:00

What a way to make your postseason debut! Roy Halladay just became the second pitcher in MLB history to throw a no-hitter in the postseason.

He was one walk away from pitching his second perfect game of the year to add to that.

Halladay painted the corners the entire game and lead with a first-pitch strike most of the game.

The mind blowing statistics go on and on in this one. Halladay threw just 24 balls out of the 104 total pitches he threw. He also took the count to three balls just three times.

Want more? He also added an RBI to his credit in the second inning.

If Halladay continues to pitch like this then there's no way the Phillies go down to anyone out of the National League or the American League. He pitched that good today.

The Phillies will have the luxury of sending him out on short rest if things get sticky in any of their series as well.

Don't forget how good this pitching staff is either. They have Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt still to pitch in the next two games before Halladay takes the mound again on Friday presumably.

It's also important to know that the Reds numbers-wise are the best hitting team in the NL so Halladay didn't do this to just anybody.

As we all expected, the Phillies look to be in good shape at making their third straight trip to the World Series.

Padres, Giants, and Braves: Only Room For Two

2010-09-29T18:23:00.004-05:00

Almost every season there is one or two good teams who don't make the playoffs.

It's going to happen this year in the National League for sure.

Padres

Currently the Padres are imploding by losing to teams like the Cubs and the Dodgers. They need to pretty much win out if they want to win the NL West.

They have a little bit more room for error in the wild card race with the Braves, but it's important to remember that the Braves end their season with a series against the Phillies.

That means bad news for the Padres because the Phillies will most likely rest the strong part of their lineup considering they've already clinched the division.

The Padres need to win out against the Cubs and win at least two of three if they want all that hard work they did over the regular season pay off.

Giants

The Giants sit in the best position to make the playoffs out of these three teams. They've done a great job at taking care of teams they're suppose to beat, like the Diamondbacks. The Giants are in the middle of a three-game series with the D'backs right now.

If the Giants sweep the D'backs then that will put a ton of pressure on the Padres going into their season ending series with the Giants.

Even if somehow the Giants do find a way to lose the division, they still have the wild card to most likely fall back on. They have Lincecum going tonight on short rest to make sure that doesn't happen.

Braves

This team gradually began to fall apart after losing Chipper Jones and now Martin Prado is also out for the season. That's a lot to overcome.

They got a huge win against the Marlins earlier today which puts them two games ahead in the NL wild card standings.

The Braves have to be hoping that the Giants sweep the Padres. If that happens then the Braves are in the playoffs regardless of what they do against the Phillies.

To top it all off the Phillies will most likely rest a good chunk of their star power in their finall series of the regular season.

NL West

Giants 89-68
Padres 87-70 (2 GB)

NL Wild Card

Braves 90-69
Padres 87-70 (2 GB)

Vick Named Full-Time Starter...At Least For Now

2010-09-22T17:29:00.004-05:00

Andy Reid couldn't deny it any longer that Michael Vick gives the Eagles a better chance at winning than Kevin Kolb.

The concussion that Kolb suffered in the opener against the Packers may have been just what Vick needed to finally become a full-time starter in the NFL once again.

However, some people are jumping on the Vick bandwagon just a little too soon.

In all reality Vick has played only six quarters and already some people are crowning him as a player that has completely revived his career. Slow down there sweethearts.

His only full-time game came against the Lions, a team that isn't necessarily the cream of the crop when it comes to NFL defenses.

No disrespect to Vick because he did put up great numbers, throwing for nearly 300 yards and two touchdown passes. Maybe the most important statistic is the fact that he has yet to throw an interception.

Next up for the Eagles is the Jaguars, another team that is in the bottom half of the NFL much like the Lions. Don't be surprised if Vick puts up solid numbers against the Jags, which will have the media salivating over him even more about how he is better than ever.

When it comes to Reid's decision to make Vick the starter after just six quarters makes me believe that he never really had that much faith in Kolb to begin with.

Some of the things that Reid has said this week I put way up on the BS meter:

"This isn't about Kevin Kolb's play."
"You're talking about Michael Vick as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL right now."
About Kolb, "He's going to be a championship-caliber quarterback."

The last quote may be the biggest BS of them all. Not to say that Kolb won't one day be that kind of a quarterback, but for Reid to say that just doesn't make any sense.

If you believed that then you wouldn't be benching him for a guy that only has one start since 2006, and that was against the Lions.

Also to say that Vick is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL right now. That means he's elevating Vick to be one of the best in the league based on six quarters of action.

Something really strange is going on in Philly and as of right now I'm not sure where this mystery might end up.

Reggie Bush Forfeits Heisman, Still Deserves Respect

2010-09-14T17:39:00.005-05:00

Something that hasn't happened in the 75-year history of the Heisman Trophy happened today when Reggie Bush announced that he is forfeiting his Heisman Trophy he won in 2005.

Many expected Bush to have his trophy taken away by the Heisman committee, but very few expected him to voluntarily give his Heisman away.

Bush may have did things in his past to merit this situation, but he deserves at least some respect for giving up the most hallowed trophy in all of college sports.

Here is a part of his statement regarding his forfeiting of the trophy:

"I would like to begin in this effort by turning a negative situation into a positive one by working with the Trustees to establish an educational program which will assist student-athletes and their families avoid some of the mistakes that I made. I am determined to view this event as an opportunity to help others and to advance the values and mission of the Heisman Trophy Trust."

Obviously Bush realizes that he made mistakes and that he needs to put this nightmare behind him and that the best way to do that is to own up to his mistakes.

Even though he is physically giving up the Heisman Trophy, you can't erase the memories of college football fans. He'll always be remembered as the winner that year.

It's like when the NCAA takes wins away from a program that is punished for certain violations. You may be able to erase those victories from the record books, but you can't erase the memories of thousands of fans.

Now the speculation will move to whether or not Vince Young will receive the vacated award. He came in a distant second to Bush in the voting that year.

There's no doubt about it that Young put up Heisman-like numbers that year. However, the award should remain vacant because Young didn't win the award the year that he was eligible.

If Young does win the award thanks to Bush's wrong doings then it could end up opening up a can of worms.

Big Week of College Football Up and Coming

2010-09-07T13:17:00.003-05:00

The opening week of college football ended in great fashion with Boise State's thrilling victory over Virginia Tech last night against an enormous crowd that was pro-Virginia Tech.

Looking ahead to the upcoming weekend, all I can say is that it's great to be talking about college football again.

This weekend is loaded with heavyweight matchups with major implications on the rest of the season.

(12) Miami @ (2) Ohio State
(17) Florida State @ (10) Oklahoma
(22) Georgia @ (24) South Carolina
(18) Penn State @ (1) Alabama
Michigan @ Notre Dame
(7) Oregon @ Tennessee

Where do I begin here?

There are four games this week between two ranked opponents, with the biggest one being Miami and Ohio State.

These two teams haven't played each other since the controversial 2002 National Championship game when pass interference was called on the Hurricanes and leading to the loss.

I'm sure Boise State will be temporarily Hurricanes fans on Saturday in hopes that they can leap frog Ohio State in the rankings.

It's going to be tough for the Hurricanes to win in Columbus despite all of their talent.

Then of course you have another heavyweight matchup between Florida State and Oklahoma.

The Sooners looked horrible in their win over Utah State in the opening weekend. If they play that way against a much more talented Florida State team then they won't only loss, they'll get embarrassed.

In somewhat of an upset I see Florida State winning this game and exposing Oklahoma as a middle of the road team.

Penn State really has their hands full as they travel to Tuscaloosa this weekend. If Penn State wins then the rankings will be all shook up with TCU and Boise State looming at numbers three and four in the rankings.

There are a few other less meaningful, but still important games this weekend as listed above.

One thing I can say about the Oregon-Tennessee matchup is that the Vols have to figure out a way to not get blown out here. Losing is one thing, but getting embarrassed right on Rocky Top would be devastating for the entire team.

In case you forgot, Oregon is coming off a 72-0 blowout over New Mexico this past weekend. The Ducks probably would've hung 100 on New Mexico if not for the Oregon coaches subing in all the backups after the 59-point lead at halftime.

If the Vols manage to make this an interesting game then it will at least give them confidence going forward.

It should be a great weekend of college football action.

Preview For Minnesota-MTSU Season Opener

2010-09-01T16:02:00.002-05:00

The Blue Raiders welcome just the fourth ever team from a BCS conference into Floyd Stadium when Minnesota comes tomorrow night.

The Golden Gophers may be bigger, in fact a lot bigger, at offensive line but they're greatly inexperienced compared to the Blue Raiders.

I would go as far as to make the Blue Raiders the favorite in this game if it wasn't for the unfortunate suspension of Dwight Dasher.

Here's are some things that could hinder Minnesota's chances against MTSU:

Inexperienced, especially on defense
On the road, not use to the humid conditions
Third offensive coordinator in four years

Those three factors are huge for the chances at the mild upset for the Blue Raiders.

What's really going to be the true test for the Blue Raiders is stopping the run. The offensive line is way bigger than the defensive front of the Blue Riaders and Minnesota has a senior quarterback.

Even though the quarterback is experienced, he's dealing with his third offensive coordinator in his collegiate career.

It's tough to win on the road in college football no matter where you're at, but the heat and the noise will test this young Minnesota team.

The three previous times the Blue Raiders have welcomed in a BCS-conference school they have played competitive football, and they should be 2-1 in those games if not for a fourth quarter meltdown against Virginia in 2007.

This game will be similar in style to the Mississippi State game from last season. The Blue Raiders lost that game in somewhat convincing fashion because the Mississippi State players eventually just overpowered them with their size and strength.

Minnesota is in the bottom half of the Big Ten so the Blue Raiders aren't getting the cream of the crop here.

They're going to commit to the run game. Here's a stat for you: Minnesota is 11-2 in the last two seasons when they rush for at least 100 yards in a game, and 2-11 when they don't.

If the offense can put points on the board consistently and force this Minnesota offense to pass the ball rather than run it up the gut, then the Blue Raiders will have a great chance to win this game.

Coach Caldwell Giving Resurgence To Vandy Football

2010-08-31T14:00:00.002-05:00

It was tough and shocking to see Bobby Johnson retire in mid-July. It left a football program that already has so much ground to make up on the rest of the SEC to make up even more ground.

In came Robbie Caldwell, who was the offensive line coach. Many people compare his charm and personality to Bobby Bowden.

The Vandy players have instantly fallen in love with Caldwell as their coach, and the media likes him as well.

Something as simple as his personality may seem like it doesn't mean anything, but it actually means a lot to recruiting. Those results are already starting to show as Vanderbilt has recently received verbal commitments from a few promising prospects at the quarterback position and fittingly at offensive line.

It's always been tough for Vanderbilt coaches to recruit in SEC country with their strict academic standards and their history of being the doormat of the SEC. A guy with Caldwell's southern charm can go a long way for a program that struggles to keep pace in recruiting in the SEC.

Just to give you a taste of Caldwell's track record in recruiting, he recruited both Torry Holt and Earl Bennett, among other talented players.

As much as Bobby Johnson will be missed by Vandy players and fans alike, Caldwell's hire could be a blessing in disguise.

UFC 118: Boxing vs. MMA

2010-08-28T18:23:00.005-05:00

It's been a debate ever since the sport of MMA has become relevant in mainstream society. Is the better fighting sport boxing or mixed martial arts?

We'll finally get to see at least a partial answer tonight at UFC 118 in Boston.

It will be a battle of two men who definitely aren't the prime of their careers, with James"Lights Out" Toney crossing over to MMA for the first time to take on seasoned UFC veteran Randy Couture.

Toney has not been shy of talking smack leading up to this fight, but I'm not so sure he realizes what he's got himself into.

Sure, if he connects with one of his signature punches then it could instantly be lights out for Couture, no pun intended.

I can't see Couture being that clumsy. He's going to be smart and try to put the inexperienced Toney on the mat and keep it as far away from a boxing match as possible.

In other words, make Toney beat you from where he's least comfortable. I find it hard to believe that Toney will be anywhere close to effective on the mat or in any area of MMA other than boxing.

Couture is a better wrestler than Toney, better at muay thai, and better at jiu jitzu.

For me personally it's going to be very satisfying if Toney is put on the mat and tapped out, and I can easily see that happening.

This match is somewhat unpredictable thanks to both men being in their 40's, with Couture at age 47 and Toney at age 42.

If Toney manages to win then it will be a tough blow to MMA as a sport, but it won't be a death sentence. People are still going to continue to choose watching MMA events over the more traditional boxing match.

What it's all going to come down to is the amount of experience, or lack thereof, that each fighter possesses. Couture has trained in MMA for somewhere around 13 years whereas Toney took up the sport over the last few months.

Couture wins by submission.

Tale of the Tape

James Toney (USA)

72-6-3 (boxing career) 0-0-0 (MMA career)
Age 42
5'10''
237 lbs.
72'' reach

Randy Couture (USA)

18-10 (MMA career)
Age 47
6'1''
220 lbs.
75'' reach

NFL Eyeing An 18-Game Season

2010-08-26T11:44:00.003-05:00

An 18-game NFL season has been in the works for a while now and it finally looks like it's going to happen in 2012.

This is obviously great for the fan. Two more games of regular season football and the possibility of more rivalry games being scheduled with the two extra games to work with.

There is a downside to this and Carson Palmer said it best by saying that each games loses a little bit of significance by adding two more regular season games.

If the NFL moves to an 18-game schedule then they should cut the preseason down to two games. It's already too long as it is in my mind.

Obviously the players aren't all on board with this and they're going to want more money if this thing pushes through. This could possibly lead to a strike if the NFL is unwilling to meet the players halfway with this new proposition.

A lot needs to be worked out with this idea of an 18-game schedule, but it's definitely fascinating to think about two more football games to watch every season.

Ranking the NFL Quarterbacks in 2010: Numbers 10-1

2010-08-22T17:42:00.005-05:00

Now we're down to the nitty gritty. These guys are elite quarterbacks that instantly make their respective teams Super Bowl contenders.

10. Mark Sanchez (Jets)

Sanchez has struggled a little bit so far this preseason, but I'm confident he'll get the kinks worked out by the start of the regular season. He almost has to if the Jets want to make a legitimate push for the Super Bowl.

If Sanchez can fix his accuracy then he'll be just fine. This could very well end up being his breakout year that puts him among the NFL's best. I'm going out on a limb and saying he's ready to make that jump after last season's solid rookie performance.

9. Matt Ryan (Falcons)

Even with 22 touchdown passes and only 14 interceptions, last season was considered a little bit of a drop-off for Matt Ryan. With all of that aside he's still one of the smarter quarterbacks in the NFL.

You can't forget that he's only be in the NFL for a couple years so it's likely that he's only going to improve from here on out. A turf toe injury and the injury to Michael Turner also contributed to Ryan's disappointing season. He'll have the Falcons competing for a wild card spot thanks greatly to his play at quarterback.

8. Tony Romo (Cowboys)

If Tony Romo wasn't such an erratic quarterback then he would easily be top five on this list, but in all reality he isn't. He seems to always sprinkle in those two or three plays per game that has you scratching your head. Sometimes those bonehead plays can lead your team to a devestating loss.

More often than not this guy does produce solid and sometimes great numbers that makes the Cowboys seem unstoppable. He now has a new weapon in rookie Dez Bryant. Romo is kind of like a young Brett Favre that constantly goes for it all, and most of the time he succeeds.

7. Brett Favre (Vikings)

Speaking of Brett Favre, he cracks this list at No.7 now that we have found out he's returning yet again despite telling us he was hanging them up.

Favre's age is the only thing holding him back and most of the time he pushes through that and puts up the numbers of a 24-year-old superstar. He instantly makes the Vikings the favorite in the NFC. He'll go down as one of the best quarterbacks of all-time, and for being at the ripe age of 40 it's not bad being rated the seventh best quarterback on this list.

6. Joe Flacco (Ravens)

Joe Flacco took that leap forward as an elite NFL quarterback in 2009 when he almost took the Ravens to the AFC championship game. He threw for 21 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions in 2009, and that was without the services of Anquan Boldin, along with Derrick Mason and Dante Stallworth.

His numbers are going to increase this season and he'll be among the leaders in all major categories barring any kind of serious injuries.

5. Phillip Rivers (Chargers)

I can't stand the attitued of Phillip Rivers, but I can't deny his skills on the field. He just finds ways to convert first downs and make the Chargers a threat against any team in the league.

He had a breakout year stats-wise in 2009 with 28 touchdowns and a QB rating of 104, good for third in the NFL. If the running game flourishes with rookie Ryan Matthews and Darren Sproles then Rivers will push for MVP honors.

4. Tom Brady (Patriots)

Tom Brady hasn't been the same since coming back from his season-ending injury in 2008, but he's still pretty dang good.

There's no reason to think that he won't be better than he was last season. Brady was a little timid coming out of the gate since he was still dealing with the psychological impact of a knee injury.

The second half of the season we saw more of what we're use to from Brady. He's no longer the best quarterback in the NFL, but most NFL teams would still love to have him as their starter.

3. Drew Brees (Saints)

It was tough putting Brees back at No.3 with all of the magic he created for the city of New Orleans in 2009, but my gut just tells me that his production will drop down a bit in 2010.

He'll still be among the leaders in passing yards and touchdowns. It was tough putting him even this far back.

2. Aaron Rodgers (Packers)

Aaron Rodgers gets one spot higher than Brees due to the simple fact that he thew four less intereptions and had a less talented offense to work with. Rodgers very rarely throws an interception. In fact, in 2009 he had 12 games where he threw zero interceptions. That is almost unheard of in the NFL these days.

Now if only he could get that elusive first postseason win, but it'll come soon enough. This guy isn't going anywhere and the Packers have a solid team for 2010.

1. Peyton Manning (Colts)

He's done it for years and years now. Peyton Manning just shows no signs of slowing down unlike most quarterbacks who have a few good years before gradually descending into mediocrity.

Not Manning. Well, at least not yet. Manning hasn't thrown less than 27 touchdowns in a season since 2001, and his QB rating consistently pushes 100. He makes running the Colts offense seem like child's play. Whenever the Colts need a quick score, Manning makes three or four passes and next thing you know the Colts are sniffing the goal line. It's simply unbelievable how great Manning continues to be.

There's no reason to think he won't do that yet again in 2010.

Dasher Could Be Out For MTSU

2010-08-21T21:54:00.006-05:00

The Blue Raiders could be on the verge of taking a devastating blow to its hopes for the 2010 season if star quarterback Dwight Dasher is suspended by the NCAA for his possible involvement in unpaid loans.

News of this broke out yesterday when someone came out and said Dasher hasn't paid back a loan that exceeds $1,000.

Shortly after that a teammate of Dasher came out and said he is missing money as well and is not sure what could have happened to the money.

This is all under current investigation by multiple organizations including police authorities and the NCAA.

It's important to note that nothing has been proven yet so there should be no judgment placed on Dasher until something is proven.

If Dasher is indeed found guilty and suspended by the NCAA then the Blue Raiders can pretty much kiss their chances goodbye of winning another bowl game this season.

The man that would replace Dasher if he was suspended from playing would be Sophomore Logan Kilgore. He was rated a three-star recruit by Rivals.com so the Blue Raiders do have talent to fall back on.

As good as Kilgore may be, I'm not sure he would even do half of what Dasher is capable of doing.

There's little time for all of this to be cleared up as the season opener is just 11 days away against Minnesota.

With the the Blue Raiders being at home, if Dasher is able to play then I give them a decent chance at pulling off a major upset over the Big Ten opponent.

However, if Dasher is forced to miss the game then the Blue Raider almost have no chance at winning with an inexperienced quarterback.

If Kilgore becomes the regular starter then I could see the Blue Raiders saving face in the Sun Belt schedule with the exception of those pesky Trojans from Troy.

Ranking the NFL Quarterbacks in 2010: Numbers 21-11

2010-08-19T20:29:00.005-05:00

Alright, we got the bottom of the barrel out of the way in terms of quarterbacks. The middle part of the list features several quarterbacks that can still put up great numbers and win games for their respective teams.

However, each one of these quarterbacks have little quirks that keep them from being one of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL.

21. Sam Bradford ( Rams)

Yes, I'm putting Sam Bradford this high. I just have a gut feeling that he's going to be one of those rookie quarterbacks that plays like he is a veteran.

Don't get me wrong. He'll have some rough games and he'll also have to get use to losing more often than winning. In the end I see Bradford having an impressive rookies season and falling somewhere in the middle of the all the major statistical categories among quarterbacks.

20. Kyle Orton (Broncos)

Kyle Orton is the definition of a conservative quarterback. He had a high completion percentage in 2009 and kept his interception somewhat low at 12. He also managed 21 touchdown passes.

Orton usually struggles greatly against good defenses. He threw three interceptions against Pittsburgh last season and barely eclipsed 150 passing yards against Baltimore. With all of that said, there's plenty of NFL teams that would gladly take Orton as their starting quarterback.

19. Matthew Stafford (Lions)

Matthew Stafford showed me something last season in that game against the Browns and that was that he's got that certain toughness that is required of a successful NFL quarterback. Forget about the fact that it came against the Browns. It still took a lot of toughness to do what he did.

Look for Stafford to take a dramatic leap forward in his sophomore season and give the fans in Detroit a five or six win season thanks largely to Stafford and his toughness.

18. Chad Henne (Dolphins)

We got the chance to see what Chad Henne was all about last season when Chad Pennington went down. Thanks to his smooth transition to the starting role it's now Henne's team going into the season.

Not only that, but now he has Brandon Marshall to throw the ball to. That means good things for his passing stats. Henne has an excellent arm that sometimes gets him into trouble. His interception output will go down in 2010 and his touchdown passes will go up.

17. Matt Cassel (Chiefs)

Matt Cassel is one of the few bright spots in Kansas City. He's a real smart quarterback and we saw that first hand when he took over for Tom Brady two seasons ago.

His numbers went down as the Chiefs starter, but can you blame him? He was surrounded by a bad team and did what he could. Lucky for Cassel he now has coordinator Charlie Weiss making the offensive calls and Weiss has a good history with this, most notably Tom Brady.

Cassel's numbers will benifit from Weiss making the calls.

16. Donovan McNabb (Redskins)

If Donovan McNabb was still with the Eagles then he would be higher on the list, but since he's moving into a new system you have to expect McNabb to take some time adjusting before he returns to his old self.

He's also not getting any younger. Despite his age he's still got one of the better arms in the NFL. Thanks to that arm and his veteran leadership he comes close to cracking the top half of the NFL.

15. Carson Palmer ( Bengals)

There's no denying the fact that Carson Palmer is going to hear an ear-full if he doesn't make Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens happy.

I like the Bengals at making a run at the division title with the Ravens. If Terrell Owens plays like he did just three seasons ago in Dallas then this team will be hard to beat, and Palmer's numbers will be among the best in the NFL. Owens may not be what he use to, but oppossing defenses will still have to respect him and that will free up Ochocinco.

Palmer could very easily end up with 25-plus touchdown passes in 2010. He had 21 last season without Owens.

14. Jay Cutler ( Bears)

If Jay Cutler had a superstar wide receiver to throw the ball to then he would easily be in the top ten on this list, but the is reality he doesn't.

He's still one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL talent-wise. The question is can he turn the talent into throwing less interceptions. Offensive genious Mike Martz has prasied his awareness this offseason so we might be in store for Cutler's breakout year in 2010.

13. Eli Manning (Giants)

The monster of a hit that Eli Manning took the other night in the Giants' preseason matchup with the Jets probably didn't help his confidence at all.

Manning is a good quarterback, but he's not a great quarterback. He makes great plays at times, but not enough to make him an elite quarterback. There's still plenty of time for him to make that leap in his career, but he hasn't reach it yet. He has some great receivers to throw to so all that's left is for Manning to execute.

12. Matt Schaub (Texans)

If you were to take Andre Johnson out of the mix then Matt Schaub would be at least ten spots further back on this list. Johnson provides such a huge target for Schaub to throw to that makes him naturally a better quarterback. That's no knock on Schaub. He does great with what he has to work with.

Any quarterback who throws 29 touchdowns, only 15 interceptions, and manages a 98.6 quarterback rating deserves all the credit in the world.

11. Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers)

Even though Big Ben will miss the first four to six games of the regular season, we're still going to consider him the starter. With that said, Roethlisberger has a lot of pressure on him to perform and not let all of this stuff going on off the field get to him.

What Roethlisberger does on the field isn't always pretty, but it's effective. Much like the late Steve McNair was, Roethlisberger just has this uncanny ability to win no matter what. He may have three interceptions in a game and he'll still find ways to keep his team in the game.

Ranking the NFL Quarterbacks in 2010: Numbers 32-22

2010-08-17T21:33:00.008-05:00

Most fantasy football drafts are just a week or two away as the NFL season approaches.

That means that people are starting to make their own personal rankings list for each position. We're going to rank every starting quarterback (or projected starting quarterback) of every NFL team to prepare you for your fantasy draft.

Here are number 32 through 22:

32. Matt Moore (Panthers)

Matt Moore is the projected starter for the Panther as of now. He had good numbers over the last five games of last season but he's still greatly inexperienced as an NFL starter. Jimmy Clausen could very well take over the starting roll if Moore struggles in preseason.

31. Josh Freeman (Buccaneers)

Josh Freeman has the athletic ability to be a great quarterback in this league, but his youth may still hamper him in 2010. Not to mention he doesn't exactly have the best group of receivers to throw to. He did look good in the preseason opener this past week. Freeman is still a couple seasons away from becoming an elite quarterback in the NFL.

30. Trent Edwards (Bills)

Most likely the more experience Trent Edwards will begin the season as the starter for the Bills over Ryan Fitzpatrick. However, that doesn't mean that Edwards is going to have a good year. He's coming off of a year that was plagued by a concussion and an ankle injury. Every now and then he'll show glimpses of being good NFL quarterback, but he's really inconsistent.

29. Vince Young (Titans)

It's so hard to put Vince Young this far back on the list, but he's done hardly anything in his NFL career to put him any higher. He threw another ill-advised interception in the preseason opener. His throwing mechanics have always been one of his greatest weaknesses and it looks like he still hasn't completely fixed that up.

28. Matt Leinart (Cardinals)

The Cardinals are looking at a huge setback from last season's division championship if Matt Leinart doesn't prove that he's finally ready for the NFL. Much like Vince Young, Leinart has never really lived up to his potential. At least he has Larry Fitzgerald to throw the ball to. That will definitely help his numbers a little this season.

27. Jason Campbell (Raiders)

The Raiders haven't had this good of a quarterback in a while, and that's not saying too much. Campbell had a rough time while he was in Washington and now he has to figure out a way to flourish in Oakland. Not an easy task. He's going to have very little to throw to in terms of receivers so expect Campbell to struggle this season on a bad team.

26. Kevin Kolb (Eagles)

Considering Kevin Kolb has only started a few games in his NFL career, it was hard to put him any higher on the list. Obviously Andy Reid sees something in Kolb that allowed him to let go of Donovan McNabb. I expect Kolb to put up average numbers and progressively get better as the season goes along. It doesn't hurt to have an explosive playmaker like Desean Jackson at your disposal.

25. Matt Hasselbeck (Seahawks)

At one time in his career Matt Hasselbeck was a top ten quarterback in the NFL. Those times have long passed. He's reached the back nine of his career and the only thing he really has to offer anymore is his veteran leadership. He'll have some solid games but he'll also have plenty of shaky performances in 2010.

24. Alex Smith (49ers)

Alex Smith showed last season what he's capable of doing when he's surrounded by a good team. It was really the first time in his career that he was on a good team and he also has a great coach in Mike Singletary. Smith has a talented group of receivers to work with and he ended last season with 18 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions. He's still very mistake prone which leaves him pretty far down this list.

23. David Garrard (Jaguars)

David Garrard is one of those quarterbacks that won't dazzle you with 300 yards game and 30 touchdown passes, but he's very effective at managing games. Whenever the Jaguars are forced to throw the football is when Garrard usually struggles. We saw that in 2009 when he threw two interceptions in a game on three different occasions.

22. Jake Delhomme (Browns)

Jake Delhomme seems really excited to be in Cleveland which leads me to believe that he's had a productive offseason. He won't put up Pro Bowl numbers but he will provide the Browns with an intelligent quarterback. His production has dropped as he's gotten older but don't count him out from having a bounce-back year since he's got some new surroundings to work with.

Numbers 21-11 will be posted next!!

NL West Race Heats Up This Weekend

2010-08-13T13:35:00.006-05:00

The NL West over the past few seasons has been one of the most watered down divisions in baseball, but that hasn't been the case this season.

Every team in this division, with the exception of the Diamondbacks, could make a last second push for the playoffs.

Even though the Rockies and the Dodgers are within shouting distance, it will most likely come down to the Giants and the Padres.

Oh how fitting. The Giants and Padres have a three-game series this weekend in San Francisco.

If this series wasn't already heated up enough, Giants starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez guaranteed a three-game sweep of the division leading Padres. He also said that once the Giants get into first place there's no looking back.

I'm all for confidence, but I'm not so sure it's smart to get fired up the team with the best record in the NL.

If the Giants do indeed sweep this series then they'll be in first place for the first time since May 5.

There's no way the Giants will sweep this series. They don't even have the heart of their staff pitching this weekend, and Saturday's starter for the Padres is the nearly unstoppable Mat Latos.

Considering how close the wild card race is in the NL, whoever finishes second in this division has a good chance at going home early. That would obviously be crushing for the Padres. They've been in first place pretty much this entire season.

Usually it's the AL East that is getting everyone's attention, but the NL West is getting in on the act this season.

Phillips, Reds Brawl Their Way Out Of First Place

2010-08-11T23:01:00.009-05:00

Cardinals centerfielder Colby Rasmus said it best after the three-game sweep of the Reds: "They might have woken up a sleeping giant".

Uh, you think?

I've been waiting on the Cardinals to wake up all season. The key here is they've always stayed within arm's reach of the Reds in the standing, and now they're in sole possession of first place.

I don't see the Cardinals turning back from here. Their next five series are against the Cubs, Brewers, Giants, Pirates, and Nationals. Not exactly would I would call a scary part of the schedule.

Brandon Phillips started yesterday's bench clearing brawl by talking trash like it was the WWE. Then he walked out like he was a future Hall of Famer and tapped Yadier Molina's feet while stepping into the batter's box to open the game.

This eventually led to the ejections of both Dusty Baker and Tony La Russa, which won't be going out for a beer anytime soon.

After that spanking that the Cardinals just handed to his team, Phillips has to be feeling a little foolish.

It's the middle of August and this is when teams either take the shape of a playoff team or fade away into a team struggling for a wild card spot.

All is not lost here for the Reds obviously. I wouldn't mind seeing these two teams meet later on in the playoffs. That would be good television.

NL Central Race

Cardinals 64-49
Reds 64-51 (1 GB)

NL Wild Card Race

Giants 64-50
Phillies 63-50 (1/2 GB)
Reds 64-51 ( 1/2 GB)

Coaches' Preseason Poll Released

2010-08-06T13:42:00.011-05:00

Usually the preseason college football poll comes nowhere close to the final poll released after the season is concluded, but this year's poll still raises plenty of questions.

The top 5 of Alabama, Ohio State, Florida, Texas, and Boise State you can't really argue with. Alabama has a ton of starters returning and many expect Terrell Pryor to be the best he's ever been under center for the Buckeyes.

Putting Florida all the way up to No.3 seems a little generous considering we're not sure exactly how great Tim Tebow's replacement is going to be. I would've put them a few spots back.

Here's an eyebrow raiser for me. Putting Oklahoma, a team that finished last season unranked, all the way up at No.8. Seems to me that the Sooners are getting the benefit of the doubt just because of their prestige.

All in all the top 25 seems to be in check with no major surprises. However, Arkansas starting the year off at No.19 also surprised me a bit. Their non-conference schedule is pretty much a joke so they'll get a chance to stay in the top 25 until mid-September when they play at Georgia and then get Alabama at home.

If the Razorbacks get through Georgia they'll most likely be in the top 10 for their battle with the Crimson Tide, which would be a very intriguing matchup.

There were also some teams that didn't make the poll that I was somewhat surprised about. Oklahoma State has been a regular in the top 25 for the past few seasons, but it won't start off that way in 2010. They only managed to get 11 votes in the poll.

Notre Dame will start off on the outside looking in, but starting the season off with a couple wins against Purdue and Michigan would most likely sneak them in.

The two BCS-busters we've all come to know (Boise St. and TCU) got love from the coaches as they will respectively start off in the top ten.

Seeing this poll just makes me even more amped up for college football to get underway. We're getting ready to enter the best time of the sports year!

Can A-Rod Chase Down 762?

2010-08-04T22:36:00.007-05:00

OK, so Alex Rodriguez finally reached career home run No.600 today after 46 at-bats since hitting No. 599.

It would be a nice accomplishment if not for his admittance of using performance enhancing drugs.

Now the real question is whether or not he can chase down the current record, which is also tainted by alleged PED use.

As of right now Rodriguez needs 162 homers to reach Barry Bonds. At age 35, Rodriguez probably has four or five years left in the tank of good baseball. After that it's anyone's guess as to how long he might play.

After 101 games Rodriguez has only managed 17 home runs, which is way behind the pace he would need to be at to reach 762 within the next four years.

Rodriguez needs to average about 35 to 40 home runs a season over the next four seasons to have any real chance of breaking that record. Now obviously the longer he plays the lower that average is going to be.

However, I just don't see Rodriguez being anything more than an average hitter after the next four years. His home run production has declined greatly this season, and he's only projected to finish with 26 home runs at his current pace.

He's obviously not getting any younger. Common logic would say that his home run production will gradually decline as he gets older. Therefore it is my belief that Rodriguez will come up a little short of whichever record you want to count.

In the end I see Rodriguez fizzling out somewhere around 700. I'm hoping that I'm right on my prediction because there's no way I want to see someone as egotistical as Alex Rodriguez be crowned the home run king.

If he does get the record, then there will be two asterisks at the top of the home run list in most people's minds.

Career Home Run Leaders

Barry Bonds- 762
Hank Aaron- 755
Babe Ruth-714
Willie Mays- 660
Ken Griffey Jr.- 630
Sammy Sosa- 606
Alex Rodriguez- 600
Frank Robinson- 586
Mark McGwire- 583
Jim Thome- 577

OK Favre, This Better Be It

2010-08-03T21:02:00.005-05:00

Once again Brett Favre has announced his retirement, and once again I'm having a hard time believing it.

When the Vikings take the field for the first game of the regular season and Favre still isn't on the roster, then I'll believe it.

Everyone should keep in mind that he can very easily change his mind at any time during the next month and still be the Vikings starter in Week 1.

The main reason why he's decided to potentially call it quits is due to his ankle that may not be responding to the surgery as well as he would've hoped.

If Favre's retirement ends up being final then there's no reason to push the panic button if you're a Vikings fan. They still have a top five defense and solid offense.

Many of you may be forgetting that Tarvaris Jackson was gradually improving before Favre came into the picture. Not to mention you have Adrian Peterson, Percy Harvin, and Sidney Rice in your arsenal on offense.

With Favre the Vikings are right there with the Saints for Super Bowl favorites, whereas without him you move them back behind the Cowboys but still a viable contender.

Just like I said after his second retirement from the Jets, I will not be the least bit surprised if Favre is playing football next season.

Bulluck Shows He's Nothing But A Class Act

2010-08-02T01:49:00.003-05:00

It's a lot easier to see a player go when they're continuously in trouble with the law, not performing on the field, or just down right a jerk.

Well it's safe to say that Keith Bulluck is neither of those, and he proved that by taking out a full color ad in the Tennessean that personally thanked the fans for his time as a Titan.

He didn't have to do that for me to wish him the best, but now that he did I can't help but slightly be a New York Giants fan next year. Well, I wouldn't go that far.

However, I do want to see Bulluck be successful. Yes, his production was beginning to decline, but you still can't take away the leadership that he supplied to the Titans for ten years.

He was hands down one of the most passionate players I've seen in a Titans uniform outside of the late Steve McNair.

To address the Titans linebacker situation, there's no reason to panic just yet. We still have veteran David Thornton, and Steven Tulloch has already proven that he can be a solid replacement.

Rookie Rennie Curran out of South Carolina is also someone who may end up getting some valuable playing time.

Keith Bulluck's Career with Titans

Started 127 straight games
1,057 tackles ( 769 solo tackles)
15 forced fumbles
19 interceptions
Led team in tackles in 2008, 2002-2006

Hanynesworth Isn't Cutting It In D.C.

2010-08-01T17:59:00.005-05:00

It turns out that the Titans getting rid of Albert Haynesworth last season was a smart decision, and now he's the causing the Redskins problems not just off the field, but on the field as well.

Just a month ago Haynesworth was demanding a trade because he refused to play in the 3-4 defense that the Redskins used. He claimed that he was told by the front office that they would run a 4-3 defense which is what he is use to.

That storm may have temporarily subsided, but now there's a new issue for coach Mike Shanahan. Haynesworth can't even pass the conditioning test.

Last week Haynesworth was given a series of conditioning tests and was unable to complete the second part of it. Since then he has not taken part in any physical activity.

It's one thing if you want to be a drama queen about things and back it up with your play on the field, but when you're grossly out of shape like Haynesworth apparently is then that means you play the way the coaching staff tells you to play.

The Titans are extremely lucky to not have this headache to deal with right now. Most of the fans in D.C. have already turned against Haynesworth and I can't blame them the slightest bit.

This team has the potential to make a wildcard run with the recent addition of Donovan McNabb. Even without Haynesworth the Redskins defense is still top 10 in the NFL.

Meanwhile, the Titans have seemed to have done a great job at filtering out the bad apples.

Time to Sniff Out the MLB's Current Frauds

2010-07-25T22:08:00.008-05:00

There's plenty unusual suspects that are sitting at the top, or near the top of the standing right now. Most of the time these surprise teams get exposed for the frauds they are early in the playoffs, if not during August.

Here's a few surprise teams and whether they are frauds or legit.

Padres (58-39, 1st in NL West): The Padres have been playing good baseball all year long, but it's really hard to figure out why. They rank outside of the top 20 in all the major hitting categories, including 25th in batting average. But then again, their pitching has been spectacular as they lead the MLB in ERA at 3.27. Pitching is so important come playoff time and that will make them very dangerous in the wide open National League. Verdict: Legit
Reds (55-45, Tied for 1st in NL Central): It was just recently that the Reds lost 1st place to the Cardinals. This team has a lot of talent in the batter's box anchored by Joey Votto. However, this team has been streaky as of late losing to teams like the Astros and the Nationals. They're somewhat thin at the starting pitching rotation with Johnny Cueto being the most viable option. Verdict: Fraud
White Sox (53-44, 1st in AL Central): It's been a while since the White Sox have been relevant in the AL Central. The AL Central will go right down to the last day of the season just like last season with the Tigers and the Twins still in the picture behind the White Sox. One of the selling points of the White Sox is the fact that they're not horrible at anything, but then again they're not reall all that great at anything either. They rank somewhere in the middle in most of the major statisitical categories. In the end I see the Twins winning this division and the White Sox being nowhere near the top of the AL wildcard standing. Sorry sox fans, it was fun while it lasted. Verdict: Fraud
Giants (56-43, 2nd in NL West): Here's another team that at one time was relevant every year in the playoff race, but of recent time has been pretty much a cellar dwellar. The Giants finally have some hitting to back up that solid pitching rotation. Buster Posey has proven to be one of the best hitters on this team (he's hitting .479 in July and .371 overall). Aubrey Huff and Juan Uribe have also been dependable this season. No team will want to play them in the playoffs with their pitching rotation. With that said, they'll sneak in as the NL wildcard team. Verdict: Legit

Magic Johnson Joins In On Criticism of LeBron

2010-07-22T16:54:00.004-05:00

The bandwagon of criticizing LeBron's recent decision to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh just added the biggest member yet; Magic Johnson.

Magic said in a story done by the Bloomberg News that he would have never joined Larry Bird back in his day. He went on to basically say he wanted to beat Bird, much like LeBron should be figuring out a way to beat the other NBA superstars like Wade.

This is a tricky subject here. On one hand Magic looks a little bias to his Lakers and the fact that he chose to enter the draft to get the chance to play with Kareem Abdul-Jabar. However, that situation doesn't compare to LeBron's situation because Magic was a rookie at the time with no NBA experience.

Of course any rookie is going to jump at the opportunity to play with an NBA superstar. It's completely different from playing in the league for seven years and realizing you can't win on your own, so you decide to take the "easy" way out.

You can't fault LeBron too much because the cornerstone of being considered the greatest has become based on winning championships rather than personal achievements.

With the giant ego that LeBron has it would be dumb to think that LeBron is doing this for anything other than one day being known as the best ever to play the game.

I do believe that LeBron made the wrong decision by choosing Miami over Chicago. The Bulls are a more complete team and it would be considered LeBron's team from day one.

It's Dwyane Wade's team in Miami no matter how great LeBron thinks he is. LeBron and Bosh are the two sidekicks and Wade is the king.

Titans, CJ Finally Reach Agreement

2010-07-21T22:03:00.004-05:00

This was a long time coming. The Titans and Chris Johnson finally agreed on a deal that will make sure Johnson reports to training camp, which let's be honest is all we really care about as Titans fans.

The two sides have left people wondering all summer long but finally we can breathe a sigh of relief and get ready for the upcoming season.

Johnson increased his pay by about $2 million for next season. He was only due to get $550,000 before the holdout got underway. In that sense Johnson should look at this as a victory and now it's time to focus on football and not the dollar sign.

The Titans offense looks promising next season if Johnson can even play half of the way he did last season. The receivers will be more experienced and hopefully Vince Young can finally get his act together.

Ever since Steve McNair departed from the team it has seemed that the quarterback position has plagued this team from going anywhere far.

People should just be careful as to where they put their expectations for Johnson next season. I'm guessing he'll put up anywhere in the ballpark of 1,200 to 1,500 yards, but anyone who thinks he'll get more may be putting the bar a little too high.

Defenses always figure out ways to adjust to running styles. Don't get me wrong. Johnson will be his explosive self and he'll win a few games for the Titans, but other Titans players will need to step up as well if this team is going to reach the postseason.

Is Any Player Worth a 17-year Deal?

2010-07-20T00:47:00.005-05:00

One of the longest deals I've ever seen was done in the NHL tonight as Ilya Kovalchuk and the New Jersey Devils agreed to a 17-year, $102 million deal.

Signing any player for that long is just mind boggling to me. So much can happen over the next 17 years.

This works from both sides. Why would Kovalchuk want to tie himself up to that team for so long. It's not like we're dealing with the Red Wings here. The Devils are usually an alright team, but there's no way I would want to be stuck with a 17-year contract if I was talented as Kovalchuk is.

These lengthy deals happen more often then you think in the NHL, but they usually don't go past 11 or 12 years. The idea behind this is the team pays the majority of their money to the player in the early part of the contract and it shrinks during the last part of the contract. For example, Kovalchuk will only be getting $550,000 a season in the last five years of the contract.

Kovalchuk played for a Thrashers team that is obviously going nowhere anytime soon, and he rejected almost the same amount of money but for five years left. Obviously he would rather spends an extra five years in New Jersey than being stuck in Atlanta.

Once again this deal just seems extremely risky for both sides. It's just crazy to think that if Kovalchuk finished out this contract it will be in the 2026-2027 season!

Bobby Johnson Steps Down After Eight Tough Seasons

2010-07-17T01:07:00.004-05:00

At first I wasn't sure how to feel when I heard that Bobby Johnson was stepping down from coaching less than two months before the season starts against Northwestern.

It's a tough position that Vandy now finds itself in, if it wasn't already hard enough.

The timing is horrible, but the reason is not. According to Johnson himself, he decided to call it quits because "football isn't life, it's a way of life". Amen to that. He has his priorities straight. I just wish he would've done this a lot sooner.

However, you can't condemn the man too much. It's tough thing to do leaving what he calls his way of life. He probably second guessed himself a few times before finally coming to grips with what he had to do.

He also went on to say that he would basically feel terrible if he was asked if he was doing the best he can just to leave in December.

At first glance Johnson's coaching slate at Vanderbilt looks terrible and people who don't follow Vanderbilt probably don't understand why people may be upset about this.

Let me just say this. Coaching at Vanderbilt is an uphill battle from day one because you're coaching at a school where athletics is a distant second to academics. In fact, Vanderbilt doesn't even have an athletics department technically.

Despite Johnson had Vanderbilt competing week in and week out. You can't expect a coach to just walk into Vanderbilt and make them an SEC champion. It's almost impossible.

Johnson did the best he could with the talent he had and did so much with so little. You put Johnson as the coach at a bigger program and I guarantee you he has success.

The team has been handed down to interim coach Robbie Caldwell will take over and get a chance to win the job.

But there are rumors swirling around the Phillip Fulmer and even Tommy Bowden will hear talks from Vanderbilt for the job. If a big named coach gets the job at Vanderbilt then recruiting could get a lot better for a school that has little to draw the top football prospects.

Those possible coaching replacements leave a shred of hope left for Vandy fans.

Cleveland Fights Back Against LeBron

2010-07-16T15:15:00.004-05:00

Fans in Cleveland will be fuming over the LeBron James ditching them for Miami for years and years to come.

It didn't help that LeBron poured salt on the wound by going on national television to make this announcement that he was leaving.

LeBron had every right to leave if he felt that he coudn't be successful in Cleveland, but natives of Cleveland has every right of being disgusted over LeBron using an hour of primetime television to make sure everyone knew about it.

Videos of fans burning LeBron jerseys must have bruised LeBron's enlarged ego a bit. Eventually that huge banner on the high rise building was also taken down.

Needless to say we were all witnesses to LeBron's obsession with everything being about him. Even more so than Terrell Owens.

We've already seen Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert go off on LeBron. Here's a few quotes from that statement that was released shortly after the announcement:

" You (Cleveland) simply don't deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal"
" I personally guarantee that the Cleveland Cavaliers will win an NBA championship before the self-titled former 'king' wins one"
The self-declared 'king' will be taking the curse with him down south"

There was plenty more to this drawn out statement to Cleveland fans and here's the link if you want to check it out in its entirity.

Fans and players alike have to be happy to see their owner stepping up to the plate in this situation. Yes he is a little crazy for thinking that the Cavaliers will win an NBA championship before LeBron James will win one but at least he's passionate about his team. A majority of owners just care about the boat loads of cash they pull in.

He felt betrayed and no one else has more of a right to feel this way then Dan Gilbert. All this nonsense about Gilbert's comments being racist is just absolutely ridiculous. Jesse Jackson needs to just do us all a favor and stop acting like it's still the late 1800's.

As for LeBron and the Miami Heat, people couldn't have jumped on the bandwagon any faster. Unless the NBA starts allowing more than one ball on the court at the same time, then this thing isn't a done deal. The Lakers are still a more complete team and the favorites in my book.

I've been saying this for a while now. Don't sleep on the Chicago Bulls. This team is really good and they could easily be a top three team in the East. You also can't forget about the usual suspects of the Magic and the Celtics.

Nothing is said and done about the stacked Miami Heat turning into a championship team, much less a dynasty. Take a deep breath people.

George Steinbrenner: July 4, 1930-July 13, 2010

2010-07-13T22:06:00.007-05:00

Known predominantly as the most powerful owner in all of sports, George Steinbrenner died of a massive heart attack earlier today.

We lost a great owner whether you loved him or hated him. In fact, most of us loved to hate him just like his beloved Yankees.

Many, including myself, criticized the way Steinbrenner threw his millions of dollars around to stack his teams which gave him unfair advantages over other owners.

However an interesting point was made on ESPN radio and I can't deny how valid it actually is. Other owners and fans alike can be upset about how much more money Steinbrenner had than their own ball clubs, but his teams that he built filled up the stands in opposing ball parks.

Ever seen a Royals game sold out? Not for a regular game you haven't, but if the Yankees are in town then that ballpark is getting the highest attendance it will see all season.

I remember back when the Rays were the Devil Rays and better yet the worst team in baseball. They barely had a higher attendance than some high school programs probably get. But when those Yankees came to town that ballpark filled up like the Devil Rays were a dynasty.

Those owners get that extra money for all those Yankee fans filling up their seats.

Yes, he was the villain but sometimes the villain is the most important character in the movie, or in this case the sport. He rebuilt a Yankee organization that had fallen behind the Mets when he took them over in 1973.

The best thing about Steinbrenner was that he cared so much about winning. He was actually passionate about his team and wasn't just in it for the money. I respect that so much after growing up in a world where sports is becoming more and more about the dollar sign and less and less about the actual game itself.

You can't hate the man for using his money wisely. What was he suppose to do? Equally share his money? I wouldn't do that if I was in his situation, and neither would you.

He bougth the team for around $10 million and now the team is worth over $1.5 billion. I'd say that was a good investment Mr. Steinbrenner.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the Steinbrenner family tonight.

The Yankees Under Steinbrenner

7 World Series championships
11 AL pennants
16 division titles
Worth jumped from $10 million in 73' to $1.65 billion today

UT Turns Down Chance To Play USC

2010-07-10T00:31:00.003-05:00

There was plenty of bad blood created between the Vols and the Trojans after Lane Kiffin decided to unexpectedly split for Southern Cal.

Lane Kiffin came right out and proposed settling the dispute on the field for the 2011 kickoff game, but the Vols declined.

I'm sure every UT player who was ditched by Kiffin was foaming at the mouth at getting the chance to get even with the coach that ditched them like a prom date.

This game would have generated so much in television rating but unfortunately we won't see it in 2011, but it is a possibility in the following couple of years.

The UT athletics director said that the schedule was tough enough, and I can definitely understand where he's coming from. After all they play in what I think is the best all around conference in college football.

The Vols have already gotten one back on Kiffin by getting one of his players who transferred just last week. It was defensive end Malik Jackson who decided to make the transition to Tennessee.

I see a rivalry in the making for sure and hopefully these two teams will meet real soon, but in the mean time both programs have a lot of work to do to return to glory.

Reviewing All Of LeBron's Options

2010-07-07T19:31:00.004-05:00

The free agency landscape is finally starting to take shape, but of course there's still one major thing that is missing and that is where in the heck LeBron James in going to end up.

We'll find out live on ESPN tomorrow night as LeBron has announced that he will have a one-hour TV special that will benefit the Boys and Girls Club of America.

Everything is pretty much laid out on the table for LeBron to make his decision. Here's the significant deals that have happened so far:

Amar'e Stoudemire signs with Knicks
Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh sign with Heat
Carlos Boozer signs with Bulls

LeBron stands to benefit from all of these situations, but each situation offers a diferent opportunity for LeBron.

If LeBron truly cares about nothing but being a part of a possible dynasty, then he needs to take less money and go to Miami and join Wade and Bosh. This would undoubtedly be the best trio of stars the NBA will have ever seen if it happens.

If the most important thing to LeBron is starting his own legacy and maximizing his global brand then he'll go to the Knicks. He'll be in the biggest market in the world playing in New York.

If the most important thing to LeBron is remaining loyal to his hometown and the city that has embraced him so much for the first seven years of his career then he'll stay in Cleveland. Of course he'll greatly sacrifice his chances of winning an NBA championship anytime soon, but that wallet will be a lot fatter.

As great as all of these scenarios are in their own unique way, Chicago is still the best destination for LeBron. By signing with Chicago he would be going to a team that is already at the very worst the third best team in the Eastern Conference with the recent addition of Carlos Boozer.

How's this starting lineup sound: Derrick Rose, LeBron James, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, and Joakim Noah.

But does LeBron want to play in the enormous shadow of Michael Jordan? If he's smart he'll let that go and give himself the best opportunity to not only win multiple championships, but still play in a great basketball market.

Hands down Chicago is the best fit for LeBron after the addition of Boozer.

Knicks Sign Amar'e, Get Closer To LeBron

2010-07-05T19:59:00.004-05:00

Nothing like adding a guy like Amar'e Stoudemire to get yourself closer to signing the real prize which is LeBron James.

Basically the Knicks are still the same team they were before adding Stoudemire because in return they're going to lose their best player in David Lee, who is also a power forward.

Last season Stoudemire averaged 23 points and nine rebounds, while Lee averaged 20 points and 11 rebounds.

But the key here is LeBron James. Big surprise. LeBron wanted to play alongside Stoudemire last season but the Cavaliers settled for Antawn Jamison.

Now LeBron is not only lured to New York's glamour, but now has a superstar that he's already expressed he wants to play with.

Seems like a no-brainer that LeBron is heading to the Big Apple, but not so fast.

Subtle hints are being made that LeBron is going to stay in Cleveland. He's in Akron right now doing his Nike camp so it's very likely we won't know his decision until the end of the week.

Even though I'm sure Wade will love to play with the likes of Amar'e Stoudemire, I can't see him going anywhere but Chicago or Miami.

Here's how I think it will all shake out:

The Amar'e addition will entice LeBron to go to New York and increase his global brand image along with putting himself on a playoff team in a watered-down Eastern Conference.
Dwyane Wade will ditch Miami and go to Chicago to be closer to his kids and will pull Chris Bosh with him, making Chicago a good favorite for Eastern Conference champions.
The city of Cleveland goes into a state of emergency as ALL of their sports teams are horrible once again.
Boozer ends up with a desperate Miami squad that just lost the face of its franchise.

I realize that I could end up being way off, but at this point its anyone's guess as to what is going to happen within the next three days or so.

At least one dominoe has fallen and it landed in the Big Apple.

My Odds on Where LeBron Will End Up

Knicks: 40%
Cleveland: 20%
Chicago: 20%
Miami: 10%
New Jersey: 5%
Anywhere else: 5%

Did Strasburg Deserve Spot on All-Star Roster?

2010-07-04T17:19:00.006-05:00

Despite the boat loads of hype Stephen Strasburg has received throughout the season, he was denied his first bid at becoming an All-Star.

He'll get plenty of All-Star selections throughout his career.

The question here is whether Strasburg would have deserved the All-Star selection if he had gotten it? He's only appeared in five games this year and no matter how impressive you are, there are other guys that have put in the work during the first part of the season.

National League manager Charlie Manuel cited that as the reasoning behind not selecting Strasburg.

The pitchers he did pick were right on the money in my book. Ubaldo Jimenez of the Rockies was a no-brainer. Jimenez just recently had his ERA creep above one. It sits at 2.27 no, and he has 14 wins.

I'm not as crazy about the Roy Halladay selection, but you can't blame Manuel for making a pick from his team. Halladay is only 9-7, but some of those losses can be attributed to the Phillies' horrible hitting slump they went through for a month or so. You also can't forget about the perfect game he threw.

Some of the other notable NL pitchers will be Tim Lincecum, Tim Hudson, and Adam Wainwright.

We'll have to wait one more year to see Strasburg light guys up in the batter's box during the mid-summer classic.

Building the NBA's Super-Team

2010-06-28T16:14:00.004-05:00

At least one team is going to come out of this year's free agency looking almost like an all-star team with the Knicks, Heat, Nets and Bulls making the biggest push.

All of this is of course centered around the acquisition of LeBron James, but it comes nowhere close to stopping there.

Teams are figuring out ways to lure LeBron in and since this is probably the flashiest free agent class in NBA history, teams have plenty to work with.

Currently the Heat have the most leverage here because they have Dwyane Wade and are now working to get Chris Bosh to join.

Imagine that? Wade, LeBron, and Bosh all on the same team. Plus Miami is a glamorous city that will attract the likes of LeBron.

The overall consensus has been that LeBron will go to the Bulls in the end, but that really depends on where Bosh goes. He's kind of the x-factor in where all of the dominoes end up falling.

Then you have the lowly Nets who are extremely young and have nowhere to go but up. At the end of the week they'll make their first face-to-face pitch to LeBron and still plan on making pitches to Bosh and Wade as well.

It doesn't matter where these three guys end up if they end up together. Wherever it is that team will be nearly unstoppable. It will make the 2008 additions of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to join Paul Pierce child's play.

The Cavaliers can pretty much kiss LeBron goodbye because there's no way he's staying there and passing up on the opportunity to play alongside the likes of Wade or Bosh.

And then you have the Knicks who have the advantage of playing in New York City and offering more to LeBron's "brand" than any other team can. But LeBron said he wants to win championships more than anything else.

The Knicks are trying to address that by talking to Amare Stoudemire and Joe Johnson. Those players would definitely be enticing to LeBron so we'll have to see where that goes.

So take all the time you need to decipher all of this because it's really like firing into the dark and trying to hit a bulls eye to figure out where LeBron will end up after he becomes a free agent on July 1.

2010 Noteworthy Free Agents (Unrestricted)

LeBron James
Dwyane Wade
Amare Stoudemire
Chris Bosh
Carlos Boozer
Joe Johnson
Dirk Nowitzki
Paul Pierce
Kenyon Martin

FIFA Gives Whole New Meaning To Bad Officiating...

2010-06-27T17:50:00.003-05:00

This World Cup has had its ups and downs when it comes to the actual play on the feel, but I'm sure a consensus could be reached in regards to the officiating, or lake thereof.

I have a new found appreciation for officials in our major American sports now after seeing the horrible job that the FIFA officials have done during the World Cup.

Those bad calls continued today with a clear goal being taken away from England and a Argentina goal being allowed against Mexico. Both calls were easily the wrong call.

The England no-goal really hurt them because it would have tied the score 2-2 and changed the entire complexion of the game. Instead England continued to be down one and had to keep pressing for that tying goal which left wide open holes in the defense for Germany to counter attack.

Germany went on to win 4-1 with all of the momentum on their side.

The Argentina goal should have been disallowed because the player who scored the goal was offside. Now this missed call was also crucial because the team that scores the first goal usually wins in soccer.

So let me get this straight. You can't call offsides enough against the Americans, but then you miss offsides in an even bigger game?

These officials have to get better if this sport is going to gain any popularity in the United States. We have enough bad officiating to deal with in our own sports.

Team USA Has Easiest Path To World Cup Semis

2010-06-26T00:51:00.005-05:00

I guess you can call it poetic justice that the U.S. got a last-minute goal against Algeria to advance to the Knockout stage of the World Cup, something they haven't done since the Great Depression.

That single goal by Landon Donovan increased soccer's popularity so much in this country. Even in bars here in Nashville people were up bright and early on a work day to support their country in the world's greatest sporting event.

By scoring more goals than England they got the tiebreaker and won the group, meaning they avoided the likes of Germany and Spain which are on the other side of the bracket. They wouldn't have to potentially play Brazil until the semi-finals.

You definitely can't get caught looking ahead at this point. Ghana is said to be a young team that is very capable of scoring a quick goal. Their defense is their weak point which I believe the U.S. will be able to exploit effectively.

If they get by Ghana then the U.S. would play either Uruguay or South Korea. Everyone expects Uruguay to take care of business here but then again no one expected South Korea to advance to this point.

Either way both of these teams are not impossible to beat by U.S. standards.

If we are all fortunate enoughy to see the Americans reach the semi-finals then we might be rewarded with a rematch of last summer's Confederations Cup final with Brazil. A game that the U.S. was leading 2-0 before crumbling in the second half.

Looking over the 16 teams remaining in the World Cup I would say the Americans are better than at least half of them which means the have a great chance at advancing to a date with Brazil.

If this happens then this whole country might just have to take a sick day. Just tell the boss you're supporting the country. I'm sure he or she will understand and probably go watch it with you.

ESPN Interview Shows Chris Johnson's Frustration

2010-06-21T16:12:00.003-05:00

If the Chris Johnson holdout wasn't national news then it certainly is now.

An exclusive interview by ESPN with Johnson outlined his frustration with the Titans over his current contract that currently only calls for him to make $550,000 next season.

Here are some of the main quotes that have come out during this holdout:

"I wanna be one of the highest paid offensive players in the league" ESPN

Yes, Chris you did come this close to setting the single-season rushing record last season, but those are strong words. The Titans do have to re-work your contract because you did obviously out play that contract, but demanding to be the highest paid offensive player in the league is pushing it. There are players that had to put in their time and prove on a consistent basis that they weren't a one-hit wonder. It's happened before and the Titans have to protect themselves to some degree.

"Its like how u expect ur players to give they all and put their bodies on the line when you not willing to give them what they deserve." CJ's Twitter page

Now this makes a little more sense, with the exception of the horrible grammar. Johnson did play a huge role in the Titans' season turnaround last season. Even during the 0-6 start Johnson was playing well. Once again, the Titans do have to throw Johnson a bone so to speak. He deserves more than what he's up for. A happy employee is a productive employee.

" I want anywhere between 30 and 40 guaranteed". ESPN

This one really kind of surprised me. First of all that is a bold statement coming from a guy who has only put two years into his line of work. Sure, he's had two great seasons but what happens if those were the two best years he's got? What if defenses finally figure him out and he turns into just another average running back? What if a career-altering injury comes up next season with all of this guaranteed money? If that were to happen, then the Titans would be dead in the water.

You can't blame a team for being cautious about guaranteeing that much money to a player who's only been in the league for two years. How many job professions offer their employees that much of a pay increase in just two years? It just doesn't happen and in this regard Johnson is being extremely selfish.

If the Titans do end up paying up then Johnson is putting a ton of pressure on himself to perform and live up to his demands. He screwed up by taking the bait and naming a figure like that.

A below average season will leave Johnson looking like a fraud, so he better live up to his demands.

This situation is far from being resolved. Recent history has shown that the Titans don't like to throw their money around.

Group C Still Up For Grabs

2010-06-18T16:47:00.004-05:00

Every team in Group C still has a chance to advance to the knockout stages thanks to Algeria shocking England with a scoreless draw earlier today.

That drama came nowhere close to the drama the U.S. brought to the table against Slovenia earlier in the day.

For once the U.S. was the favorite to win, but that expectation was handled poorly as Slovenia took a two-goal lead to halftime.

Considering the U.S. had never come back from two goals down to get a draw, it looked hopeless that the U.S. would advance out of the group.

That's when Landon Donovan and the rest of the team began to work their magic. We saw a team that was desperate like a vicious dog backed into a corner.

Donovan scored the first goal as broke loose the right side and got within inches of the goalkeeper before scoring top-shelf just minutes into the second half.

The U.S. would get dangerously close to running out of time before the second goal and game-tying goal was scored by the coach's son Michael Bradley. It was pure excitement to say the least and it made you proud to be an American.

Jozy Altidore set Bradley up beautifully with a header that would make the soccer greats like Pele very proud.

What ended up overshadowing the great comeback was a horrible foul that was called on the U.S. that cost them from taking the lead with just minutes remaining. Even South Africa is ripping their own officials for calling a horrible game, but the U.S. should be counting it's blessings that they even got a draw after playing such a horrible first half.

With two draws Group C is still wide open for all four teams. The final two matchups will be England against group-leader Slovenia, and the U.S. against Algeria.

The scenario is simple for the U.S.: Beat Algeria and they'll advance. They'll still be alive with a draw if England loses or draws but fails to outscore the U.S. by more than two goals.

Confusing, I know.

One common thread among almost all sports is to just take care of business, and the U.S. has the luxury of controlling it's own destiny by defeating Algeria.

Don't expect this to be a walk in the park because obviously Algeria is better than some people gave them credit for. They held a solid English team to no goals and lost a tough one to Slovenia.

The U.S. has to play the full 90 minutes the way they're capable of playing and they'll beat Algeria. It's been 13 straight games since the U.S. shutout a team in the World Cup so what better time to do it than on Wednesday against Algeria.

Group C Standings

Slovenia 1-0-1 (4 pts) 3 goals
United States 0-0-2 (2 pts) 3 goals
England 0-0-2 (2 pts) 1 goal
Algeria 0-1-1 (1 pt) 0 goals

It's All Come Down To This..Game 7

2010-06-16T17:16:00.003-05:00

Like so many of us wished for, there will be a Game 7 between the Celtics and the Lakers thanks to a full team effort by the Lakers on Tuesday night.

Now the Lakers will get a chance to avenge their 08' loss to the Celtics by winning their second-straight NBA championship.

You would have to be very dumb to count the Celtics out at this point even without Kendrick Perkins. The Lakers have yet to win back-to-back games in this series and a lot of that can be attributed to Doc Rivers and the adjustments he's made after each loss.

Expect Game 7 to be anything but a blowout. You can make reasonable argument for either team to win it all at this point.

In the end I wish I could stick with my prediction of the Celtics in seven, but I'm afraid I'm going to end up being wrong by the slimmest of margins.

The Perkins injury really hurts the Celtics from a defensive standpoint. He's the anchor of shutting down Pau Gasol. Gasol came one assist shy of recording a triple-double with Perkins out of the lineup.

We all know Kobe Bryant will get his numbers, but Pau Gasol can put this team over the edge as far as winning this series. Perkins was a great defender against Gasol and now that defender is gone.

Glen Davis is a sub-par defender against Pau Gasol and Rasheed Wallace definitely isn't known for his defense.

If Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett all come out firing on all cylinders on offense then they have a chance to just simply win in shootout fashion, but last night's dismal 67-point output tells me that might be a stretch.

I'm not counting the Celtics out completely, but it's going to be a tough challenge to stop the momentum the Lakers built on the home floor in Game 6.

Once again if Rondo plays like his heroic self then maybe, just maybe, the Celtics can pull this one out.

Either way it does promise to be another great Game 7 between the Celtics-Lakers rivalry.

Trouble Finds Vince Young Once Again

2010-06-14T10:09:00.002-05:00

What is it with Titans players not being able to stay out of trouble lately?

Vince Young was involved in a fight at a Dallas strip club over the weekend after a club employee taunted Young with an upside hook em' horns symbol. Young then responded to the insult of his alma-mater by shoving a few people out of the way and landing a punch on the employee in a small office.

You've probably already seen video of this altercation, and if not then ESPN or YouTube will gladly supply you with that priceless footage.

The employee is originally from Oklahoma, which is obviously Texas's long-time rival in college athletics.

Instead of using self-control, Young proved he still has a ton of growing up to do. This is something an 18-year-old might do because he's just getting use to going to a nightclub, but not an adult who is suppose to be setting an example for young teens.

You have to expect Young to get some sort of punishment from Roger Goodell, which has had his hands full since becoming commissioner.

Young is lucky to only get a minor citation from the altercation, but the NFL has proven in the past that they can be harsher than the law.

When are these athletes going to learn that being in these nightclubs greatly increases the likelihood of putting themselves in a negative spotlight.

The employee suffered a cut to his lip from the incident, but nothing serious.

It's now a possibility that Kerry Collins may have to step back in as a temporary starter and send the Titans back down the dark road of who the starting quarterback is going to be.

As much as I don't want to see Collins thrown back in as the starter, in this situation Young has to be suspended in a no-nonsense league that the NFL has become.

This video puts a negative light on the NFL and that will lead to a suspension from Goodell.

Thanks, Vince. I hope punching that average joe was worth it. Now we're stuck with Kerry once again.

Americans Lucky To Get The Draw

2010-06-12T17:18:00.005-05:00

Luck has always played a crucial role in sports, and today the USA used a botched save attempt by England's goalie to earn a 1-1 draw.

If you're England you have to be upset over the draw considering they had a number of opportunities to put more goals on the board.

On the other hand, if you're the USA you have to be happy about earning the point. Now the Americans have two seemingly easy opponents to get them out of the group and into the next round of the World Cup.

At first it seemed like the Americans were a little intimidated by the big stage and the third ranked team in the world according to the FIFA rankings.

It definitely showed when England scored in just the 4th minute of action.

Eventually they settled down and started playing some great soccer that created more scoring opportunities, including the goal by Clint Dempsey just before halftime.

Even though the Americans got a little lucky you still have to give them so much credit for being resilient and never giving up.

That resiliency almost got them a 2-1 lead late in the game when Jozy Altidore broke loose and hit the post. Dempsey also came within inches of shooting on a wide open net.

It's obviously never good thing to give up a goal, but giving it up in the 4th minute gave them virtually an entire match to get it back.

There's nothing wrong with having a little luck on your side and now the Americans are sitting in a good spot to advance.

Goalie Tim Howard deserves player of the game honors for sure as he made five clutch saves to keep everything knotted up in the 2nd half.

Next up is Slovenia on Friday. They're no England, but they shouldn't be taken lightly by any means.

USA-England Stats

Shots on Goal: England 6, USA 4
Corner Kicks: England 8, USA 4
Time of Possession Percentage: England 57%, USA 43%
Time of Goals: England- Gerrard (4th min.), USA- Dempsey (40th min.)

Goodbye Big 12, Hello Super Conferences

2010-06-11T16:10:00.005-05:00

We are witnessing a historic time in the history of college football as every second ticks by.

Colorado is the latest team to take the plunge and leave the Big 12 by joining the Pac-10. Not sure I understand why an average program like Colorado would go to a conference where it will most likely be at the bottom of the barrel.

It's also becoming more and more likely that the likes of Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State will be leaving for the Pac-10 as early as Tuesday.

Texas A&M is in this conversation as well, but they're more on the fence.

The Big 12 as we know it is done for.

Teams like Kansas State, Baylor, and Iowa State are left out in the cold and will have two options: Look for a new, much smaller conference to join, or wait and see if the Big 12 can find new teams to join their conference.

It's really going to leave a huge mess to sort out. You can basically throw everything you learned in geography out the window because schools in the heartland of the country will be playing in a conference made for the west coast.

When this is all said and done the Pac-10 could end up with 16 total teams and the Big Ten with 12 total teams thanks to the inevitable addition of Nebraska.

Like most conferences that have an even number of teams, the Pac-10 would be divided into two divisions that would most likely lump the two Arizona schools with Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State.

Now that would be the gauntlet of all divisions in college football.

The WAC also got rocked today as they lost their best program in Boise State to the Mountain West. They won't officially join until July of 2011. All of the sudden the Mountain West is a conference that should be respected greatly, if it wasn't already.

With the addition of Boise State, the Mountain West now has four teams that won at least ten games and finishing in the Top 25.

All of this realignment could mean that smaller schools in America's heartland would get an invitation to join the Big 12.

This could have a trickle affect and impact smaller conferences like Conference USA and maybe even the Sun Belt and the MAC. It really depends on whether or not the Big 12 decides to throw in the towel or tries to stay in existence.

This whole thing is far from being over.

Nebraska Adds Credibility To Big Ten

2010-06-09T20:02:00.006-05:00

The talk of conference expansion by the Big Ten and the Pac 10 has been all the rave over the past week, and the Big Ten has become the first of the two to make a move.

This move makes sense for the Big Ten. Nebraska is right in the middle of Big Ten country and will add a solid program to a conference that has regressed over the past few years.

Nebraska improved greatly last season and was one questionable call away in the Big 12 championship game from upsetting Texas.

If you're Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, or to a lesser degree Iowa then you have to love this addition because it gives your conference more credibility. Now of course that adds another tough obstacle to your conference schedule, but you have to welcome that obstacle.

For a while now the Big Ten has been attacked for being to easy of a conference that lacks a conference championship game.

This addition has to lead to the formation of two divisions and a conference championship game.

This scenario has been talked about for years now with the possibility of Notre Dame joining the Big Ten considering a good chunk of their schedule consists of Big Ten teams, but that obviously never happened.

The ball has officially started rolling on conference expansion and I'm sure this won't be the only change we'll see.

The Pac 10 is still waiting to possibly pull the trigger on the golden goose of Texas, but the Big Ten also wants Texas.

If the Big Ten or the Pac 10 gets Texas then they'll instantly be elevated to the most feared conference in the country along with the SEC.

Previous Conference Expansions

Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College joined ACC in 2004
Penn State joined Big Ten in 1990
Arkansas and South Carolina joined SEC in 1994
Arizona State and Arizona joined Pac-10 in 1978

Commodores Bunt Their Way to Super Regionals

2010-06-08T16:20:00.002-05:00

Walk-off home runs are always exciting, but sometimes walk-off bunts are just as effective.

Vanderbilt (45-18) used the bunt squeeze play to perfection on Monday night as they defeated the highly ranked Louisville Cardinals (40-15) for the second time in as many days to earn a date with Florida State in the NCAA super regionals.

The winner of this three-game series will get a berth in the College World Series.

The Commodores have relied on their hitting all season long, but last night proved that their pitching is just as dangerous at times.

They held the Cardinals to just seven hits in ten innings.

Last season this same exact scenario occurred between these two team, but Louisville came out on the winning end.

Louisville sent out an undefeated pitcher to try to slow down the Vandy bats, but he didn't slow them down enough to get the win.

Now the Commodores get a chance to play on the big stage, which doesn't happen often in college baseball. They'll be on ESPN2 for the series opener on Friday in Tallahassee to take on a very tough Florida State team.

Vandy shouldn't be too intimidated because the Seminoles are actually ranked one spot behind Louisville, so they have to be feeling confident enough to beat anyone in the country right now.

It's only the second time the Commodores will play in the Super Regionals in school history. Congrats Commodores!

Who's Got the Edge With Lakers-Celtics Tied

2010-06-07T09:23:00.006-05:00

There's already two games down in the NBA Finals and it's still a toss up to many on who's going to win this series.

The first game was dominated in almost every way by the Lakers, but last night's game proved to be a little different. The Lakers had every opportunity to take a commanding two games to none lead, but in a shocking turn of events Kobe Bryant actually found himself in foul trouble. That almost never happens to the superstars of the league.

With Bryant being in foul trouble he couldn't be as aggressive as he normally is, which helped the Celtics increase their slim lead to a deceiving nine-point win.

Don't be fooled by the road win. The Lakers are still in great position to win this series in as little as six games. Sure, the Celtics are going home for three straight games in Beantown and can win another championship on their home floor if they don't slip up at home.

Home-court advantage may be a slight edge in this series, but it doesn't matter where the game is being played, the Celtics will not beat the Lakers three straight times. They barely got by the Lakers last night with Kobe Bryant in foul trouble, Ron Artest playing like he should be on a junior varsity team, and Lamar Odom being virtually invisible on the court. With all that, the Lakers still had a chance to win last night.

There were a few questionable calls at the end of that game as well that really swayed the momentum. One call being the out of bounds call that ruled Pau Gasol last touched the ball. Instant replay proved that Kevin Garnett last touched the ball. At that point every possession was of the essence.

The other horrible call was the foul called on Artest as he was trailing Rajon Rondo. Artest hardly even grazes Rondo and a foul was called.

This is suppose to be playoff basketball where physical play is suppose helps your team, not handicap it.

However, Ray Allen does deserve a lot of credit for setting the record for most three-point field goals in an NBA Finals game.

He had eight and seven of those came in the 1st half. Chalk up another great adjustment by Phil Jackson because the Lakers held Allen to only five points in the 2nd half, including an air ball that looked like a shot you would see in a YMCA pickup game.

Also, as I've been saying all postseason long, Rondo is the straw that stirs the drink for the Celtics. His stat line is down right remarkable and once again he leads his team in rebounds with 12. It's not like the Celtics are full of small interior players. We're talking about Rondo out-rebounding the likes of Garnett, Kendrick Perkins, Glen Davis, and Rasheed Wallace.

That shot he hit on the elbow to seal the game was just icing on the cake to a great individual performance. It may not have been as flashy as Allen's three-point extravaganza, but it was just as effective.

He'll be the Finals MVP if the Celtics figure out a way to win this series.

The bottom line is the Celtics still have way more adjustments to make than the Lakers do. We all know Bryant will come back with avengence in Game 3, and until the low post defense of the Celtics can figure out a way to slow down both Gasol and Bynum then the Lakers will win their second-straight NBA championship.

Notable Game 3 Stats

Rondo record 5th career triple double (19 points,12 reb, 10 ast)
Gasol and Bynum combine for 46 points, 14 rebounds, 13 blocks
Garnett held to just 6 points and 4 rebounds in 24 minutes
Bryant plays less minutes than any of the other four starters (34 minutes)

Teams Make Final Adjustments For World Cup

2010-06-02T15:01:00.006-05:00

There's not a more simple way to say this. The World Cup is finally almost upon us.

Ever since USA's improbable run in the Confederation's Cup last summer the World Cup has been something I have greatly looked forward to.

Most teams, including USA, have arrived in South Africa by now and are in the midst of acclimating to the climate of South Africa. The climate is more on the winter side this time of year so teams from the Northern Hemisphere will have to make sure they adjust to that.

The Americans have already expressed how comfortable they feel playing in South Africa and how it's almost become a home away from home. The people there have been very welcoming and that has to be good for the psyche of the players.

It's definitely got to be better than having bags of urine thrown at you like in Mexico.

So just who is the favorites to win the World Cup. Well it's almost like firing a shot in the dark to really answer that, but the usual suspects are there.

Brazil is obviously a safe bet here. They're by far the best team in this World Cup but that doesn't always mean success. All it takes is one simple goal and an offensive breakdown for your team to get sent packing by the likes of a less formidable opponent.

What makes Brazil so tough to beat is how explosive their offense is. We saw that against USA in the Confederations Cup final when Brazil came back from two goals down in the 2nd half.

Obviously you have to watch out for teams like Spain, Italy, and Germany.

As for the Americans' group, England will be a tough obstacle to climb if they want to win the group. You should be reminded that they don't have to win the group to advance. It's the top two teams that advance to the second round.

That means that the Americans will have to get by either Algeria (31st in the world) or Slovenia (23rd in the world). The way the Americans have been playing as of late leads me to believe they'll finish second in their group.

The Americans just won an international friendly against Turkey this past week and have a date with Australia before beginning World Cup play a week from Saturday.

Mexico is my sleeper pick and everyone should be afraid to play this team. They have so much tenacity and such a high soccer IQ. They're always very nicely conditioned and they fought their way into this World Cup against all odds.

When it's all said and done I'm playing it safe here and calling Brazil to win another World Cup. They'll meet a fellow South American nation in Argentina in the final and their will be plenty of excitement to go around.

Now by no means is soccer my specialty but my love for March Madness is coming out in me when looking over the World Cup bracket. All I can say is I can't wait to here those World Cup announcers yell "GOOOALLLLL" when the Americans take the field against England on June 12.

Baseball's Newest Pitching Sensation

2010-06-01T13:13:00.005-05:00

There's a new force to be reckoned with on the mound in the National League, and it's not Tim Lincecum or Roy Halladay. It's Ubaldo Jimenez of the Rockies.

Just in case you don't keep up with baseball, Jimenez currently has an ERA of 0.78. In fact, he hasn't given up an earned run since May 15.

This is the kind of pitcher that can carry you to the World Series. We saw it last season with Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia, and we could very well see it again this season with Jimenez.

The most surprising thing about this is the fact that Jimenez is no stranger to baseball. He's been around since 2006 but has never pitched anywhere close to how he's pitching now. His career ERA is a modest 3.39.

He's also never won more than 15 games in a season and he's already won ten this season. Let's also not forget that no-hitter he threw towards the beginning of the season.

Barring some kind of meltdown, he'll easily win the NL Cy Young and help the Rockies at least get a Wild Card berth.

Thanks to Jimenez the Rockies are very worthy contenders for the NL pennant.

The Numbers

10-1 record (1st)
0.78 ERA (1st)
70 strikeouts (T-7th)

What We've All Been Waiting For....Lakers-Celtics Finals

2010-05-31T11:23:00.004-05:00

There may have been a few bumps in the road for both NBA dynasties, but in the end the Lakers and the Celtics took care of business and made it back to the NBA Finals.

This will be the 12th meeting between the two teams in the NBA Finals, with the Celtics winning the majority of them.

These two teams haven't changed all that much from the 2008 NBA Finals when the Celtics took care of the Lakers in six games, including a 39-point crushing in Game 6.

Sure, the Lakers now have Ron Artest and the Celtics have Rasheed Wallace, but overall these two teams are almost the same as two years ago.

Like I've said all postseason, Rajon Rondo is once again the x-factor in this series. The Big Three of Garnett, Pierce, and Allen will show up as usual, but if Rondo continues to play the way he has all postseason then I expect the Celtics to win another NBA championship.

We've seen the Lakers tested by the likes of the Thunder and the Suns. They got down right lucky against the Suns in Game 5 which swung all of the momentum in favor of the Lakers.

However, if Artest somehow finds a way to play consistently good basketball on the offensive side of the floor then all of the sudden Kobe has a second option on the perimeter. He was missing that option for the most part in 2008.

This series could easily end up going seven games, but the Celtics seemed poised to win another championship and they're a more complete team than the Lakers.

Kobe Bryant has the ability to win a couple games in this series all by himself, but in the end that gritty Celtics defense will force Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum to find an offensive game. Just like in 2008, I think both Gasol and Bynum fail to be effective in the low post and the Celtics win this series in seven.

Series Notes

Celtics x-factor: Rajon Rondo
Lakers x-factor: Ron Artest
Series prediction: Celtics in 7
Finals MVP: Rajon Rondo

Rampage vs. Evans: Heads Will Roll

2010-05-28T06:19:00.003-05:00

Perhaps one of the most anticipated fights since UFC 100's Mir-Lesnar fight pits Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (30-7) against Rashad Evans (14-1-1).

Needless to say these guys don't like each other which always makes for a good fight. This dislike for each goes back a while but really got going when the two fighters were coaches on one of the Ultimate Figther series.

We've always known Rampage as trying to get under the skin of his opponent, but Evans has generally been more mild mannered than Rampage.

However, don't expect any cheap shots like UFC 113 when Paul Daley sucker punched Josh Koscheck well after the final bell hand rang.

Both of these guys respect the sport and will put on a great show for the sport's most loyal fans.

Rampage is the knockout specialist while Evans is more of a technical fighter. If the fight goes to the canvas then many are saying Evans will have the advantage. To the same degree, with the fight standing Rampage possesses that deadly strength that can put you out before you even know what's coming. He did it to Chuck Liddell and he can do it to Evans as well.

Evans is a very smart fighter but has been known to get careless at times when the fight is standing. Don't expect that to happen this time around. Much like Rampage, Evans is completely focused on the most hyped non-title fight in UFC history.

UFC 114 marks the beginning to a summer loaded with good events that will lead up to the Lesnar-Carwin fight in July.

Will Jackson Ditch Sunny SoCal For Old Stomping Grounds?

2010-05-25T20:00:00.003-05:00

Not only is Phil Jackson currently having to coach his team back to another NBA Finals, but now he is in the midst of a contract negotiation with owner Jerry Buss.

Rumor has it Jackson is up for a hefty decrease in pay to make room for one of the free agents out of this historic class that's coming up in just a month.

Sources close to the situation are saying that contact has already been made by the Chicago Bulls to bring back the coach that put them on the map. We already know they're lobbying for LeBron James as well, and it's not crazy to think that Jackson would be drawn to another superstar.

Whatever happens in the Western Conference Finals might determine if Jackson stays or not.

There's really nothing to lose if Jackson does go to Chicago. He's already cemented himself into coaching royalty even if he does end his coaching career on a sub-par team. However, Chicago is a team that is on its way up.

Worst case scenario Jackson sails off into the sunset with at least ten rings, and maybe 11 if the Lakers win this year. In other words, I think Jackson has some wiggle room to do what he wants.

This offseason is going to be a busy one in the NBA and it looks like Phil Jackson wants a piece of the action. In the end I think Jackson stays where he's at in L.A. The situation is too comfortable and he's already made his millions.

It would be a great story seeing Jackson return to where he won six championships as a coach and possibly coach LeBron, but he's going to stay with a team that's going to continue to be contending for championships for years to come.

Don't Bank On Lakers-Celtics Series Just Yet

2010-05-24T09:25:00.006-05:00

Last night Amare Stoudemire made sure the Suns wouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence as the Magic in the 2010 NBA Playoffs.

Stoudemire went for 42 points to get the Suns right back in the thick of the Western Conference Finals.

Lately scoring hasn't been the problem for Stoudemire. Oddly enough it's been the lack of rebounding. Last night he grabbed 11 which was two more than his rebounds total in the first two games combined.

The Suns don't have a lot of size outside of Stoudemire and Robin Lopez so it is extremely important that Stoudemire continues to be dominant on the boards like in Game 3. It was only his third double-digit rebound game in this year's playoffs.

Now it's obviously no time to panic for the Lakers. They're still in great shape to wrap this thing up quickly and prepare for the Celtics who at the moment look better than the 08' championship team.

Pretty much all of us outside of the state of Arizona want a Lakers-Celtics series in the NBA Finals. It is easily the most recognized rivalry in the NBA and so far the 2010 NBA Playoffs have not been very exciting. In fact, the NHL has shown them up a little bit. That would all change with a Lakers-Celtics series.

To go back to the Western Conference Finals, don't count the Suns out of this at all. This team is resilient and has a ton of great pieces in place for this team to go down swinging. I can promise you that guys like Steve Nash, Jason Richardson, and Grant Hill aren't going to let the Suns be embarrassed like the Magic have been.

Oh yeah, and if Stoudemire somehow figures out a way to follow up that career performance with another one than this thing will be tied up going back to L.A.

The talent and sheer size of the Lakers will ultimately win this series, even if it takes seven games, but crazier things have happened in sports. For the sake of the bottom line, the NBA is hoping that all goes according to plan and the Lakers make yet another trip to the NBA Finals.

MLB Enters Interleague Play

2010-05-22T17:23:00.006-05:00

There's not much going on this time year in sports, but the baseball season has entered interleauge play which always provides at least some excitement.

What we've come to know as the Subway Series between the Yankees and the Mets. The Yankees took the first game in a close one. Much like the Cubs in Chicago, the Yankees are the darlings of New York, but the Mets have a very loyal blue collar fanbase which makes this series so fun to watch.

It's always fun going out west to witness the Giants and the Athletics go at it. They're separated only by San Francisco Bay. The series opener was especially intriguing because reborn Barry Zito played against his old ball club that made him great at one time.

The Athletics took down Zito and the Giants in that series opener.

Other than those two series, the others really didn't jump out at me. However, there are plenty more interesting matchups left on the interleague slate.

Upcoming Interleague Matchups

6/11: White Sox @ Cubs
6/11: Phillies @ Red Sox
6/15: Phillies @ Yankees
6/18: Dodgers @ Red Sox
6/22: Tigers @ Mets
6/22: Dodgers @ Angels
6/25: Yankees @ Dodgers
6/25: Red Sox @ Giants

The one that sparks the most interest is the rematch of last year's World Series between the Yankees and the Phillies, and I'm sure those faithful Dodger fans can't wait to have the pin stripes come into Dodger Stadium.

Interleauge play is one of the few exciting moments in sports during the dog days of summer.

CJ's Current Contract a Slap in the Face

2010-05-18T20:09:00.004-05:00

How is it that last year's leading rusher by almost 600 yards not even close to being the highest paid player on his own team?

That's the million dollar question that Chris Johnson is probably asking himself while holding out from Titans offseason practices.

In Johnson's current contract he stands to make $550,000 in 2010. Have you seen some of the contracts that professional athletes get these days? And all the Titans can manage is a shade over a half a million.

For the average person I realize this is a lot of money, but you have to move along with the business. If you were performing among the best in your line of work and not getting paid nearly what everyone else was then you would gripe too.

This is classic Titans and one reason why they have never been able to hold down a descent NFL star for longer than a few seasons.

Johnson is the backbone of this team and rest assured, if the Titans don't pay him the money he deserves then someone else will.

If the Titans do continue to be the tight wads they have always been then this will come back to bite them in the butt. Without Johnson last season the Titans would have won three to four games.

Johnson single handily was the reason you almost made the playoffs. Get rid of this current contract that is a slap in the face and pay the man the money he deserves.

This holdout is nowhere close to coming to an end. Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk is publicly endorsing Johnson's holdout and there is also a petition in circulation that many fans have already signed.

You're fighting a losing battle here if you're the Titans trying to save money. It's not going to work. Swallow you're pride, pull out one of those giant checks, and give your franchise the best chance to be successful for the coming years.

Analyzing LeBron's Next Destination

2010-05-17T00:41:00.005-05:00

Absolutely no one knows for sure where LeBron James will be next season. Probably not even LeBron himself.

If LeBron does end up leaving Cleveland, and shattering the hearts of Cavs fans everywhere, then he won't do it because of money. More than likely Cleveland can offer LeBron just as much money as any other team can thanks to their cap space.

However, if LeBron's top priority is winning a championship anytime soon then he's has to get out of Cleveland. The last few years have shown that he just doesn't have the supporting cast that it takes to win a championship.

We saw that first hand in Game 5 of the Celtics series when LeBron had one of his worst games of his playoff career. The Cavs fell apart like a wet newspaper as soon as they realized LeBron was not going to be his heroic self.

Championship teams don't rely on just one player, even if it is one of the best the game has ever seen. Whenver Michael Jordan had a bad game, which he did, his supporting cast was always there to stop the bleeding.

He's already admitted that winning a championship is all that matters to him which leads me to believe he's not coming back to Cleveland.

His best option if he wants to win a championship as soon as possible is the Chicago Bulls. This team is full of young talent that's only going to get better. They played right with LeBron's Cavaliers in this postseason, but were lacking just one more playmaker.

If LeBron would have been on the Bulls instead of the Cavs this season then you're looking at a Bulls sweep of the Cavs, hands down.

Critics of this scenario say that there's not enough room for LeBron and Derrick Rose, but I beg to differ. Rose is a laid back player who doesn't need to ball in his hands to be effective. You also got rising stars like Joakim Noah and Luol Deng to help LeBron out.

This is going to be a dangerous team in the Eastern Conference in a few years, with or without LeBron.

Even though LeBron's personal brand will sky rocket if he goes to either the Knicks or the Nets, these two teams don't give him the best chance to win a championship. He's better off staying in Cleveland if he wants to use that reasoning.

Some people are guessing that he'll go to the Clippers and try to create a legacy of his own with a new franchise, much like Jordan did with the Bulls. However, LeBron cares too much about his personal brand and playing on the west coast will keep him from getting that mass appeal.

It's really a shot in the dark at guessing where LeBron will be next season, but if winning championships is truly his top priority then Chicago is his next stop.

LeBron's Top Five Choices

Chicago- supporting cast: Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, Brad Miller
New York- supporting cast: David Lee, Al Harrington, Tracy McGrady, Chris Duhon
Cleveland- supporting cast: Antawn Jamison, Mo Williams, Anthony Parker
LA Clippers- supporting cast: Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Blake Griffin, Drew Gooden
New Jersey- supporting cast: Devin Harris, Courtney Lee, Brook Lopez

Oh Canada!

2010-05-12T21:49:00.003-05:00

There's finally a team based out of Canada making a run for the NHL Stanley Cup. Fittingly enough it's the Montreal Canadiens and they're turning heads in the NHL.

The Canadiens entered the playoffs as an 8-seed with a daunting task of taking out Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals. Despite what all of the experts said, the Canadiens went into the nation's capital and took out the Capitals in Game 7.

Then there was yet another heavyweight to take out and it was the defending Stanley Cup champions in the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Once again the Canadiens stuck to the gameplan and took it to a Game 7 where anything is possible. Well the near impossible happened yet again as the Canadiens convincingly went into the Steel City and beat the Penguins 5-2.

Perhaps the most telling stat in this series is the fact that Sidney Crosby was held to just a single goal in seven games. He scored 51 goals in the regular season and five goals in the previous series against the Senators.

There's no denying the reason the Canadies have made it this far and looking at becoming the first even 8-seed to win the Stanley Cup. It's becasue of Jaroslav Halak and his stellar goaltending that is like nothing I have ever seen.

The Penguins socred two unanswered goals in the 2nd period and had all the momentum on their side when Halak made amazing save after amazing save to keep the game out of reach for the highly talented Penguins.

If Halak keeps this up then you're looking at you're Stanley Cup champions. In hockey, great goaltending wins Stanley Cups.

This series wasn't the only great series going on in the Eastern Conference. The Flyer have now won three straight games in their series to force a Game 7 with the Bruins.

With all of that said, as of right now this year's NBA playoffs have nothing on the NHL playoffs and the Canadiens can greatly be thanked for that.

Inside the 2010 NHL Playoffs

Number of 7-game series: 4
Number of 6-game series: 6
Number of 1-goal games: 33

The Titans Backfield Is Suddenly Crowded

2010-05-09T21:06:00.004-05:00

After last month's draft, the Titans have fixed any need they may have had at the running back position.

In fact, they kind of have an over abundance of running backs at the moment. This isn't the worst dilemma to have in the world, but there will be plenty of competition when training camp opens up.

Currently there are seven running backs on the Titans roster. We all know Chris Johnson will be the starter, but the replacement of recently departed LenDale White is up in the air.

The competition will be between primarily second-year player Javon Ringer, LeGarrette Blount, and Stafon Johnson.

The draft picks of Blount and Stafon Johnson were excellent picks in my mind.

Blount is of course the infamous guy who sucker punched the Boise State player at the beginning of last season. Even though he made a huge mistake in coming after that guy, he's still an excellent running back that has the physique to run guys over in the open field.

Some of you may remember Stafon Johnson as the guy that had the unfortunate weight lifting accident that almost cost him his life. The doctors said that Johnson's great athleticism helped pull him down the road to recovery.

You can't complain about having a strong-willed guy like that on your roster. He'll end up being a valuable asset to some NFL team even if the Titans end up not having room for him.

I see him becoming the second string running back with Ringer and Johnson fighting for a spot on the team.

Regardless of how things sort out in the backfield when August rolls around, the Titans offense is starting to shape up to be a solid one.

Ron Artest Catches the Twitter Bug

2010-05-07T17:07:00.007-05:00

This whole Twitter thing has turned out to be a great emotional tool for professional athletes, much like it probably is for the masses of high school teens.

The only difference is professional athletes put themselves in the possibility of heavy fines whenever they express, or rather tweet, their emotions about certain things involving the team or the league.

Ron Artest is the latest to use Twitter to show his displeasure, and it was in the form of criticizing Lakers coach Phil Jackson:

"Finally Phil Jackson didn't mention me in media talking me Now I can build on game 2. Hopefully he talks to me before the media"

Just about an hour later another tweet came along:

"Ever since phil mention things about me in media before coming to me first I was weird . So every pray he can somehow close his yapper."

Now Artest has declined to elaborate at all on the subject which is usually typical. I'm starting to think that some of these athletes just have to be in the spotlight in some way other than what they do on the playing field.

Some people, including Artest's brother, is claiming that someone hacked into his Twitter account. That might be a possibility, but if that's the case then why wouldn't Artest just say that.

Once again it comes back to the need to be in the spotlight.

Jackson was very critical of the shot selection from behind the arc from Artest, and I'm sure it bruised Artest's ego a bit when he heard the legendary Phil Jackson to tell him to stop shooting so much from behind the arc.

Artest is shooting around 17 percent from behind the arc, so can you really blame Jackson for addressing that issue?

If you can't deal with the media then maybe you shouldn't be playing your professional ball in the NBA. It's the line of work you've chosen and you have to learn to deal with the criticism along with the praise.

Meanwhile, the Lakers seem to be in cruise control to another Western Conference Finals appearence as they're up 2-0 in their series with the Jazz.

Rondo Providing Young Spark To Old Celtics

2010-05-04T13:31:00.003-05:00

Rajon Rondo is single handily addressing the Celtics' biggest criticism of being to old to get past the Cavaliers, or much less another NBA championship.

If Rondo continues to play like he is then the Celtics will cruise to the NBA Finals. He's the x-factor in this series and he's the one making the rest of the Boston Celtic players play better.

He set a franchise record in last night's Game 2 win by dishing out an amazing 19 assists in 45 minutes of action.

Give this guy a raise because he is putting in everything he's got to carry this team to the promise land. Five players scored in double figures last night and that is a great statistic for a team in the playoffs.

Rondo has made such an improvement from two years ago when the Celtics were carried by the "Big Three" of Pierce, Garnett, and Allen.

Don't discount the ability of the "Big Three" because they're still capable of playing like they did two years ago.

In all reality this is the most dangerous team in the playoffs if Rondo stays on top of his game and continue to run the point to perfection like he has the entire playoffs.

This has become a league full of great point guards and Rondo is making his case of being one of the best.

Rondo Playoff Averages vs. Season Averages

Points: +2.7 in postseason
Assists: +1.8 in postseason
Rebounds: +1.5 in postseason
Free Throw %: +18%

Parts of LP Field Under Water

2010-05-03T15:16:00.007-05:00

The flood that Middle Tennesseans will never forget has now affected the Tennessee Titans as flood waters have been reported to reach the third row of bleachers in LP Field.

These flood waters are coming from the Cumberland River, which is still currently rising as we speak and not expected to stop until later tonight.

Some high ranking officials within the organization, including Jeff Fisher, aren't too worried about the field or the structure itself. The main concern is with any electrical equipment that was stored under the stadium itself.

Officially the water is at four feet on the field, but it's important to remember that these NFL fields are built with state of the art draining mechanisms. However, I still expect there to be minor damages to the field.

This would be a much bigger deal if the season was closer to starting, but there's still over three months before the first preseason game kicks off.

The Titans practice facility is also in danger of being damaged by the flood waters.

This is the least of our concerns here in Nashville as residents all across the mid-state have lost their homes, vehicles, and in some cases loved ones.

Some of the players have been personally affected by this disaster including Chris Johnson who's neighborhood is completely flooded.

Other major Nashville landmarks being affected are 1st Avenue, Broadway, and the Opryland Resort.

People love their Tennessee Titans around here and it thankfully looks like LP Field will only suffer minor damages to this historic disaster.

Mayweather Unanimously Defeats Mosley

2010-05-02T18:39:00.004-05:00

Boxing doesn't get mentioned much on here, but I have to give a lot of respect to Floyd Mayweather Jr. for making such a great boxer like Shane Mosley look like an amateur.

Mayweather improved his professional record to 41-0 and has made it even more apparent that he is the best boxer in the world.

Early in the second round it looked that Mosley would take control after he landed two hard right that stumbled Mayweather a bit, but he weathered the storm like great boxers do. He had no trouble winning the remaining rounds of the fight.

"It's a contact sport, and you're going to get hit," Mayweather said. "But when you get hit, you suck it up and keep on fighting."

That is an excellent attitude to have that makes me a huge fan. It's really something that boxing needs as a sport to get the general public interested again.

Some people have criticized Mayweather's style as not aggressive enough, but he changed that by being extremely aggressive against Mosley.

Most of the major scorecards had Mayweather winning by a landslide:

Judge 1: 119-109 Mayweather
Judge 2: 119-109 Mayweather
Judge 3: 118-110 Mayweather
Associated Press: 117-110 Mayweather

Originally Manny Pacquiao was suppose to be Mayweather's opponent and Mosley might be wishing he was. He took a beating almost the entire fight.

Hopefully Pacquiao will agree to eventually fight Mayweather. It would be another huge box office draw for boxing, and another great opportunity for Mayweather to cement himself into boxing history as one of the greats.

Love him or hate him, it's time to give Mayweather his dues.

LeBron or LeHype?

2010-04-28T18:01:00.005-05:00

There's no question that LeBron is the most talented player in the NBA, and maybe of all-time for that matter. However, that doesn't always mean that he has what it takes to take this Cavaliers team to an NBA title.

One thing is definitely for certain. This team has little chance at defeating the Celtics in their 2nd-round series if LeBron James can't figure out this puzzling elbow injury that has just surfaced.

Just seconds before closing out the Bulls last night, LeBron grimaced in pain forcing him to shoot a free-throw left-handed causing it to clank off the rim.

LeBron did his best to pull Cavs fans out of panic mode by insisting that it's nothing serious and that he'll be fine.

That elbow may be fine enough for him to play, but will he be 100 percent going forward? He's got till Saturday to figure out what's up with it.

Even with LeBron healthy I'm not sure this team has what it takes to defeat the Lakers in the NBA Finals or the Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals.

If the Cavaliers fall up short yet again then Cleveland can say bye bye to LeBron. The truth is LeBron is sick of being a star player without any rings. It's a huge blow to his ego to not have a ring by now.

I'm still not sold on his supporting cast when it comes to this upcoming series with the Celtics and the remaining two series after that. The recent play of Antawn Jamison does give this team a fighting chance to get to the NBA Finals.

Either way I would not be surprised if the Celtics take the Cavaliers to seven games and the Magic sends them home packing again.

Even a player as talented as LeBron can't live up to the enormous amounts of hype that is continuously put on his shoulders. The funny part is he brings most of it on himself with his "look at me" persona. That's why if his team comes up short again I'll do nothing but laugh.

It's different when a player like Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, or Chris Paul comes up short. They play the game in a respectful manner that makes me cheer for them over a player like LeBron, even if LeBron may be more talented.

Looks can only get you so far in this world, and so can talent to a degree.

Titans Draft Recap

2010-04-24T17:42:00.003-05:00

Historically Jeff Fisher and company have always been good during draft time. This year looks to be no different, but we won't know that for sure until a few years later.

Nonetheless, the Titans entered the draft with needs at the defensive line and in the secondary as they finished 28th in total defense last season.

The addressed those needs with the picks of defensive end Derrick Morgan of Georgia Tech and outside linebacker Rennie Curran of Georgia being the most notable picks.

The Titans actually picked defensive players for six of their nine picks.

What may end up being a huge steal in this draft for the Titans will be the sixth round pickup of Myron Rolle from Florida State. This guy dropped due to questions of his commitment but his skill level is very appealing. It's a great bargain pick if you ask me.

It was very smart of the Titans to address the defensive line with their first pick and Morgan was widely considered the best all-around player at his position in the draft.

Like almost every other draft, the wide receiver position was also a need. The Titans addressed that in the later round with the picks of Damian Williams out of Southern Cal and Marc Mariani from Montana.

Williams is a great route runner, but Mariani is probably a lot more unknown for most. He's known for his gritty style of play and will also compete for being a kick returner.

Another intriguing pick was the selection of quarterback Rusty Smith from Florida Atlantic. This guy has a great skill set, but he played in the Sun Belt so he didn't exactly get the best competition week in and week out.

However, the Titans needed a quarterback and Smith could definitely end up being a steal one day in this league. There have been plenty of quarterback in NFL history who got picked in the later rounds and ended up being great. Tom Brady is a perfect example.

Overall it looks like the Titans addressed all of the positions in need. Only time will tell if these draft picks will work out in the Titans favor.

Titans Draft Picks

1 (16) Derrick Morgan,DE-Georgia Tech
3 (77) Damian Williams,WR-Southern Cal
3 (97) Rennie Curran, OLB- Georgia
4 (104) Alterraun Verner, CB- UCLA
5 (148) Robert Johnson, S- Utah
6 (176) Rusty Smith, QB- Florida Atlantic
6 (207) Myron Rolle, S- Florida State
7 (222) Marc Mariani, WR- Montana
7 (241) David Howard, DT- Brown

Tebow Picked Before McCoy, Clausen

2010-04-23T14:50:00.004-05:00

Everyone knew that Tim Tebow would get his NFL opportunity no later than the 2nd round of the NFL Draft, but few thought that he would go before both Colt McCoy and Jimmy Clausen.

The Broncos took Tebow with their 25th pick yesterday.

This pick came out of left field considering that the Broncos already have Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn on the roster at quarterback.

Most likely the Broncos are going to use Tebow in certain offensive packages that could include running the option. It's going to give opposing defensive coordinators another factor to plan for.

What may be even more surprising is the fact that the Broncos passed up on McCoy and Clausen. Both of these guys will most likely get snatched up in the 2nd round later today.

Now that Tebow has officialy been granted his chance at the NFL it'll be interesting to see if he can eventually silence his many critics.

Best Available

Colt McCoy (Texas)
Taylor Mays (Southern Cal)
Terrence Cody (Alabama)
Brandon Spikes (Florida)
Jimmy Clausen (Notre Dame)

Jets Add Another Valuable Piece To The Puzzle

2010-04-20T14:10:00.005-05:00

You can always expect plenty of huge deals to happen right before the draft each year, and this year has been no different.

The Jets have contributed to a lot of that as they just reportedly signed Jason Taylor to a deal that will make that defense even scarier than it already was.

This pick solidifies them as the Super Bowl favorite out of the AFC. The AFC is no longer dominated by just the Patriots or the Colts anymore. The Jets want in on the action as well.

Even without Santonio Holmes and Jason Taylor last season they still came up just short of going to the Super Bowl.

They're definitely putting all their chips on next season. Most likely this deal with Jason Taylor will be of the one year variety. The Jets want a Super Bowl now and they're done being patient.

The Jets also signed Ladanian Tomlinson earlier in the offseason. There are question about whether Tomlinson is way past his prime, but worst case scenario he acts as a great mentor for Shonn Green and Leon Washington.

This team now has a certain swagger to them that puts them ahead of every other team in the AFC at this point. They've got it all going in the right direction.

They've got an excellent coach that the players respect in Rex Ryan, Mark Sanchez is going to get better most likely, the defense is still one of the best, and now they've got a great group of receivers that includes Braylon Edwards, Santonio Holmes, and Jerricho Cothcery.

The AFC East as a whole has been somewhat busy with the Dolphins acquiring Brandon Marshall and the Patriots just recently adding Torry Holt to their roster.

Hands down, the AFC East will be the best division in the NFL and the Jets will be the top dog of that division.

Jets Offseason Acquisitions

Santonio Holmes (from Steelers)
Ladanian Tomlinson (from Chargers)
Jason Taylor (from Dolphins)
Nick Folk (from Cowboys)

Tiger Woods Owes Roethlisberger A Hardy Handshake

2010-04-19T18:15:00.004-05:00

For a good two or three months Tiger Woods and his extra curricular activities dominated the air waves. Even CNN couldn't get enough of Tiger.

It's crazy how fast things can change. Now it's Ben Roethlisberger that is being discussed every time you turn on a sports channel.

Roethlisberger brought this all on himself by doing what usually leads to trouble for every professional athlete. He was hanging around a bar somewhere in Georgia, having drinks, and flirting with girls he has no business flirting with.

I hate to use a cliche but it works so well for this situation. You play with fire and you're going to get burnt.

This whole situation with Roethlisberger has made us virtually forget all about Tiger Woods and his affairs which are far from over.

It has to feel a lot better for Tiger knowing that he's not the focal point of every sportscast right now.

Nothing really surprises me anymore when it comes to athletes getting into these kinds of messes.

For some reason it is so difficult for these professional athletes, and celebrities in general, to stay out of trouble.

Roethlisberger may be completely innocent of the charges that were brough against him, but he still should have never been in that situation. He knows the NFL's conduct policy and he obvioulsy failed to follow it.

In the end Tiger Woods will bounce back way faster than Roethlisberger will. Roethlisberger has the weight of an entire organization bearing down on him to make things right again.

Tiger is going through much of the same thing, but at least he plays for himself on the golf course and doesn't have teammates to answer to. We also already know that Tiger is still one of the best golfers in the world despite everything that happened. He proved that by finishing fourth at the Masters.

On the other hand Roethilisberger will continue to be grilled by the media all the way up until the start of next season, and somewhere in a quiet room Tiger Woods has a modest grin because of it.

Four Reasons Today Was Craziest Sports Day I Can Remember

2010-04-17T23:22:00.008-05:00

What a day in the world of sports! It started off so ordinary, but today was anything but that. Here's four reasons why:

1. Mets and Cardinals Go 20 Innings:

It's not often you see more than 10 innings of baseball, but the fans in St. Louis got their money's worth Saturday night. Technically they saw over two full games of baseball played. The Mets ended up winning 2-1, but sadly they'll only get credit for one win in the standings. If I was a player on either one of those teams I would be expecting a bonus.

2. Ubaldo Jimenez Throws No-Hitter For Rockies

A no-hitter is significant in itself, but the fact that Jimenez looked average for the first four innings makes this even more amazing. He had five walks to start the game but still managed the first no-hitter in Rockies history. To put the icing on the cake, his last pitch clocked at 97 miles per hour.

3. One-Seeded Capitals Come From Three Goals Down To Tie Series With Habs

Hard to believe that this is only third on the list of most impressive sports stories of the day. It still deserves a lot of attention. The Capitals were in danger of going down 2-0 to an eight-seeded Canadiens team that was given no chance to the President's Trophy winner. Despite trailing 4-1 with less than two minutes remaining in the 2nd period, the Capitals raillied to win 6-5 in overtime. They scored the winning goal just 31 seconds into overtime. Now that's playoff hockey!

You want to hear parity? Currently every series in the NHL playoffs is knotted at one game a piece except for the Predators-Blackhawks series which has yet to play the 2nd game of the series.

4. Dan Henderson Loses Strikeforce Debut, Brawl Breaks Out Afterwards

This could end up being costly for the sport of MMA. To catch everyone up, Strikeforce is basically the little brother of the UFC. It's featured on CBS instead of Pay-per-view and virtually the entire country has access to their events. Tonight was particularly special because MMA superstar Dan Henderson was featured in the main event. He lost in an unanimous decision to Jake Shields. Unfortunately the main storyline from this fight didn't occur during the scheduled fight time. The camptain of Shields and another fighter got into a physical confrontation in the middle of the ring shortly after the fight. This all occurred on national television and shines another negative light on the sport of MMA which is slowly trying to move into the national spotlight.

Honorable mention:

Alex Rodriguez (584 home runs) moves into 8th all-time in home runs.
Rookie Brandon Jennings (34 points) comes just two points short of tying Derrick Rose and Kareem Abdul-Jabarr for the most points scored by rookie in playoff game.

Let The Feuding Begin Between Lakers and Thunder

2010-04-15T14:24:00.004-05:00

Usually it's a player that starts the fireworks prior to the start of a playoffs series, but this time coach Phil Jackson got the ball rolling.

Jackson made a bold statement saying that Kevin Durant gets special treatment from the refs which pads his scoring totals each game.

"Yeah, by the calls he gets, he really gets to the line a lot, I'll tell ya," Jackson said.

Durant is obviously not happy about the remarks and views them as disrespectful, and I can't blame him one bit for feeling that way. However, Durant has to use this as a positive influence to help propel the franchise to it's first series win since becoming the Thunder.

There is some truth to Jackson's comment. Durant led the league in free throw attempts and tied with LeBron James in free throw attempts per game at just over ten a game.

However, you can't blame Durant for that. If anything it should be viewed as a strength of Durant's because it means he's being aggressive. Is that not what every coach teaches? To drive to the basket and draw a foul if anything else.

It's a two way street and Jackson should take a look at his own star player who also gets some of that "superstar treatment" from the refs.

It's unfortunately part of the game. The NBA wants their stars to succeed and put up big numbers night in and night out. Like almost everything else in this world, it's a business that's driven by making the most money possible.

You can't come down on Jackson too hard because Kobe Bryant, arguably the NBA's best player, attempted almost 300 less free throws that Durant did. Once again though, you can't blame Durant for that.

The Thunder should not be taken lightly by the Lakers going into this series. They're a very talented team and playoff inexperience is the only thing that really could hold this team back from making a solid run in the playoffs.

I'm sure the NBA is happy to hear Jackson's comments because it will certainly impact the ratings in a positive way.

NBA Leaders In Free Throw Attempts

Kevin Durant- 840
Dwight Howard- 816
LeBron James- 773
Dwyane Wade- 702
Amare Stoudemire- 632

Once Again Titans Are Keeping Their Heads In The Sand

2010-04-13T13:43:00.006-05:00

This happens every offseason. A ton of free agents show up on the market that could do the Titans a lot of good. However, the Titans always sit back and do next to nothing during the offseason.

Like almost the entire time the Titans have been in Nashville, their primary need is a dominant wide receiver. Not a slightly above average receiver that has maybe two great games a year, but one that consistently puts up strong numbers every week. A wide receiver that demands double teams.

The Titans currently don't have that now and really never have. However, they had that opportunity this offseason with a large number of wide receivers who were free agents.

What upsets me is that the Titans didn't even show the slightest bit of interest in star receivers like Brandon Marshall or Vincent Jackson. Instead they just sat back and acted like their content with Nate Washington being their number one wide receiver. It makes me sick every time I think about it.

Top Three Titans Receivers in 2009

Kenny Britt: 42 receptions, 701 yards, 3 TD
Nate Washington: 47 receptions, 569 yards, 6 TD
Chris Johnson (halfback): 50 receptions, 503 yards, 2 TD

It doesn't reflect well on your passing game when the running back leads the team in receptions and is third on the team in receiving yards. Chris Johnson did that last season.

In addition to that, it's also not great when a rookie leads the team in receiving yards among the rest of the wide receivers who have plenty of experience. It shows that this team is still very shallow at wide receiver.

I'm not really sure who's to blame here but Bud Adams is the first person that comes to mind. He's one of the richest owners in the NFL and we're heading into an uncapped year, which means Adams could've thrown some money around for one of these free agents.

Jeff Fisher is also somewhat to blame because he refuses to move with the times. He's just a stubborn coach who refuses to abandon his traditional ground and pound offense that is gradually becoming an unsuccessful gameplan in the NFL.

The Titans will continue to be a middle of the road team in the NFL until some aggressive moves start occurring in the offseason. Simple as that.

You should get use to finishing with eight or nine wins a season if you're the Titans front office, because that's all you're going to manage if this lack of aggression continues.

Predators Slide To Seventh Seed, Will Face Blackhawks

2010-04-11T18:40:00.003-05:00

Finally the Predators will play someone other than the Red Wings or the Sharks in the first round of the playoffs. Instead they got division foe Chicago.

The Predators finished out the regular season on a winning note by beating the hapless Blues in a shootout to finish with a 100-point season for the third time in franchise history.

There was a huge log jam in the Western Conference standing with four teams (Red Wings, Canucks, Kings, and Preds) all being within three points of each other.

As I've said before, I believe the Predators have never been a better all around team going into the playoffs than they are right now. There's balance in all phases of the game right now.

On offense players like Patric Hornqvist (30 goals) and Martin Erat (21 goals) can change games with their scoring abilities.

On the defensive side of puck there's no denying the greatness of Canadien gold medalist Shea Weber.

Of course we can't forget the great play in net of Pekka Rinne. He's the x-factor of this playoff series for the Preds.

It's almost inevitable that the Preds will have their scoring droughts during this series and the key will be whether or not Rinne will be able to hold down the fort during those droughts.

Mickelson, Tiger Among Leaders At Masters

2010-04-10T18:08:00.005-05:00

The game of golf can't be more happy to have Tiger Woods back. There hasn't been this much positive buzz surrounding the game since Woods last stepped on the golf course over six months ago.

Currently Woods sits just four shots back from the leader Lee Westwood with a score of 8-under par.

As for Phil Mickelson, he sits in a much more comfortable position after he had a remarkable third round to bring his overall score to 11-under par. He had back-to-back eagles on 13 and 14 to ignite the Augusta gallery.

Mickelson has been in this situation plenty of times before at Augusta. He's a virtual lock to always finish in the top ten, but he's choked his way out of a green jacket a few times before.

Both Woods and Mickelson have dealt with their own set of circumstances outside of golf, which makes it even more remarkable at how well they're playing right now.

To go back to Woods, everyone has been paying close to attention at how Woods handles his emotions during this tournament. He's been under a lot of scrutiny for the way he has presented himself in the past whenever he hits a bad shot.

There was a little bit of that today with the most memorable remark by Woods saying to himself, "Tiger Woods...you suck!". He is clearly locked in on wanting to win his fifth green jacket, and that makes him ever so dangerous going into the final round tomorrow.

The critics should back off and not make a big deal about the expletives he said under his breath today. He's only human and he's extremely passionate about the game.

I did have a problem with whenever he slammed his clubs down in disgust, but he hasn't really done that during the Masters. That's a good sign that he has worked on controlling his emotions and respecting the game of golf.

There are several other talented golfers who are in the mix going into the final round. The most notable of those are Ian Poulter, Fred Couples, and K.J. Choi.

Couples is a great story here, much like Tom Watson was at last year's British Open. Couples is also at 8-under and has a great chance at pulling off the unthinkable.

If Westwood continues to play as consistent as he has the first three rounds then it will be hard for anyone to overtake him for the lead.

It's going to definitely be another photo finish and golf has definitely returned back to the spotlight of the sports world, thanks mainly to Tiger Woods.

Masters Leaderboard After Three Rounds

Lee Westwood (-12)
Phil Mickelson (-11)
K.J. Choi (-8)
Tiger Woods (-8)
Fred Couples (-8)

Notables:

T-14. Tom Watson (-2)
T-16. Kenny Perry (-1)
T-22. Angel Cabrera (E)
T-31. Ernie Els (+3)
T-38. Sergio Garcia (+4)

Odds Are You Won't Recognize The 2010-11 Wildcats

2010-04-08T15:09:00.006-05:00

Everyone expected John Wall and Demarcus Cousins to enter the NBA draft after last season.

Some speculated that Eric Bledsoe would join them, but that wasn't for sure.

Very few probably predicted that the block specialist Daniel Orton would join them.

Well they all ended up declaring for the NBA draft, including senior Patrick Patterson who definitely did his time as a Wildcat and did it well.

In all only five players will return next year for the Wildcats, leaving Calipari with a huge rebuilding project. However, Calipari does already have some great prospects lined up to make up yet another stellar recruiting class.

All of these players have about a month to change their minds and pull out of the draft, but that's highly unlikely.

This is the compromise you make as a coach when you recruit these top tier players. Calipari should be use to this by now. It happened to him at Memphis with Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans, and both of those players are flourishing in the NBA right now.

It really goes back to the recent rule that was passed down by the NBA that forces players to attend at least one year of college before being eligible for the NBA.

This just teaches bad work ethic and wastes the time of these college professors. It also makes somewhat of a mockery to the institution of higher learning.

You know John Wall could've cared less about what he was learning in the classroom or what kind of grades he was receiving. He was just thinking about how many points and assists he was going to dish out next game, and can you really blame him? It's not his fault that he was forced to attend college to chase his dream.

These guys are adults and deserve to make whatever decision that want to make to chase their dream. If that means skipping college to do that then so be it. And if you are going to force them to attend college then requiring just one year is pointless.

With all of that aside, it will be interesting to see how next year's Wildcats will look as compared to last year's richly talented team that came up just a few steps short.

They'll probably make another run next season, but youth will be something Calipari will be dealing with for the rest of his time at Kentucky until this stupid rule of "one and done" is uplifted.

Returning Wildcats

DeAndre Liggins: 3.8 ppg, 15 min/game
Darnell Dodson: 6 ppg, 14.5 min/game
Darius Miller: 6.5 ppg, 21.1 min/game
Jon Hood: 1.2 ppg, 4.4 min/game
Josh Harrellson: 1.3 ppg, 4 min/game

Maybe Pujols Really Is A Machine....

2010-04-07T20:28:00.004-05:00

Albert Pujols, who is in my opinion the best all-around player in baseball right now, hasn't wasted any time getting his numbers up this season.

After just two games Pujols is already 5 for 8 with two home runs and four RBI's. He's still due for one more at-bat in tonight's game against the Reds so those numbers could easily go up.

Pujols is by far the most consistent hitter in all of baseball. There's no hitter I want stepping up to make a big hit more than Pujols. He's not just a home run hitter like Mark McGwire was. He just knows how to put the ball in the field of play and score runs.

Most importantly, he's done it cleanly as far as we know.

I like the Cardinals to easily win the NL Central this season and Pujols is the main reason why. However, this team has a very solid starting rotation as well.

The National League overall will be a very strong league this year. Oh yeah, and don't be surprised if Pujols wins another NL MVP and makes a run at baseball's first triple crown in over 30 years.

Butler Looks To Take Down Another Goliath

2010-04-05T11:29:00.006-05:00

Once again Butler will have to prove mostly everyone wrong tonight as they take on Duke for the National Championship.

There's no secret to why Butler has made it this far in the tournament. They've done it with their defense, and they leaned on that defense more than ever to get by Michigan State on Saturday.

In case you didn't realize this, Butler shot 30 percent from the field. They didn't score a single point for over seven minutes of the second half. It didn't matter because their defense never let up.

The problem is that now you have a Duke team that is coming off their best offensive performance of the season. The big three ( Scheyer, Smith, and Singler) all scored 19 points or more against West Virginia.

Furthermore, Zoubek looked unstoppable on the boards down low. If Matt Howard can't go tonight, then Butler will have virtually no big man to contend with Zoubek down low. That spells disaster for Butler.

It seems almost unbelievable, but Butler has held all five of its tournament opponents under 60 points. I don't see that happening against Duke. They've got too many weapons.

Basically, Butler is going to have to put up a good amout of points itself to win this game. They also can't expect Gordon Hayward to do it all on his own like in the Michigan State game. Not to play devil's advocate here, but Butler was extremely lucky to beat Michigan State.

That kind of performance won't work against a much more potent Blue Devils team tonight. They're capable of pulling it off, but the offense has to start complimenting the defense to beat Duke and complete this great story.

Predators Dump The Red Wings, Clinch Playoff Berth

2010-04-03T19:31:00.004-05:00

There's no game that was more suited for the Predators to clinch their fifth playoff berth in six seasons than against the Red Wings.

That happened earlier today as the Preds defeated the Red Wings 4-3 in overtime at Joe Louis Arena.

The Predators got everything they could handle from the division rivals, but players like Martin Erat and Shea Weber continued to battle in hostile territory.

So now the question is who will the Predators play in the first round. Thankfully it won't be the Red Wings for the third time, and it's very unlikely it'll be the Sharks.

Right now it looks to either be the Coyotes, who the Preds just defeated this past week, or the Canucks. Either way the Predators will have their hands full against a very good team.

Preds Against Current Top 4 seeds

vs. Chicago ( CHI leads 4-2)
vs. San Jose ( SJ leads 3-1)
vs. Vancouver ( Tied 2-2)
vs. Phoenix ( PHO leads 2-1)

Despite being without their captain Jason Arnott (concussion) for the last several games, the Predators have continued to battle and pick up crucial points in the standings to cling onto that fifth spot. Arnott should be back well in time for the playoffs.

The Predators won't have home-ice advantage, but frankly that shouldn't be a concern. Their record is just as good on the road as it is at home this season, which is crucial in the playoffs.

So much credit is owed to Barry Trotz who has been here from the start. He coached his 900th game for the Predators today which is among the most all-time in the NHL for one team. He also picked up his 410th victory for the Predators. Hopefully he'll be the Nashville coach for many more years to come.

This might be the best Predators team ever that is going into the playoffs. It's extremely important that the Predators don't relax for the last two games of the season because those four points that are still left on the table could end up being the difference between the fifth spot and the eighth spot.

Analyzing the Final Four

2010-04-01T13:27:00.006-05:00

There's not a more simple way to put it. This year's NCAA Tournament went anything but according to plan.

Outside of Duke, each one of the Final Four teams had more critics than they did believers going into the NCAA Tournament.

Well that can all be thrown out of the window because each of one of these teams you can make a reasonable argument for winning it all. Let's look at each one:

1. (1) Duke: The Blue Devils were my national championship pick and they're the only team keeping my bracket above water. They play so well as a team and it has shown over the past few weeks. To me Nolan Smith deserves all the credit in the world for keeping Duke from becoming yet another upset victim. If they lose to West Virginia, it'll be anything but an upset loss. They've got all the right tools to do it, but Kyle Singler has to put up a better performance than he did against Baylor ( 5 points, 0/10 from the field) or Duke has little to no chance. I give them a slight edge over everyone else because they have so many weapons and if they all have a good team then there's not a defensive gameplan in the world that can shut this team down.

Interesting fact: Duke's first Final Four appearance since 2004

2. (2) West Virginia: Much like the Blue Devils, the Mountaineers also bailed me out on my bracket. I had this matchup in my bracket, but with the Mountaineers losing a close one. I very well could be wrong and West Virginia could easily win this game. They're just that good. That was proven against a Kentucky team that was blowing everyone out. The defense of West Virginia is what will give them a great chance against Duke. Duke's offense looked very shaky against Baylor, so we know West Virgnia's defense is capable of doing the same thing. That Mountaineer offense looked pretty solid against Kentucky as well. It should be one of the better games of the tournament.

Interesting fact: First Final Four appearance since 1959

3. (5) Butler: You can't really call a 5-seed a Cinderella team, but I'm certainly going to break that logic and say they are. Despite not having a loss since before Santa Clause came to town, very few people gave Butler a chance against Syracuse or Kansas State. They're shooting the ball extremely well right now and Michigan State will have their hands full if Butler shoots that way again. Remember, Butler will be playing just minutes away from their campus in Indianapolis. This could benefit them or hurt them. They'll either feed of that pressure or implode from it. Either way, this team deserves just as much respect as the other three Final Four teams. Here's a interesting fact for you: Butler has never sent a player to the NBA. That will change after this year with Gordon Hayward.

Interesting fact: Only 4,000 students attend Butler

4. (5) Michigan State: The Spartans have to be thanking the basketball gods for being in the Final Four. They've won their four tournament games by a combined 13 points. That's not to take away from how good this team is. First off, they've got the benefit of being coached by one of the best in the country in Tom Izzo. He'll bring a great gameplan for the Bulldogs. The question is will the Spartan players execute it effectively? Injured point guard Kalin Lucas sure would be helpful in this situation. Korie Lucious has to run the point better than he did against Tennessee. Five turnovers and only two of seven shooting probably won't cut it against a surging Butler team.

Interesting fact: Izzo has now taken MSU to six Final Fours in last 12 years

I'd be a coward to count Duke out now so I have them defeating Michigan State in the National Championship game. However, in no way will I be surprised if both Butler and West Virginia win their games and move on to battle it out.

McNabb to Oakland?

2010-03-31T02:16:00.006-05:00

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

2010-03-25T13:16:00.004-05:00

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!

2010-03-24T12:48:00.006-05:00

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

2010-03-21T22:03:00.006-05:00

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)

Alex Rodriguez-$33 million/year
Manny Ramirez-$23.8 million/year
Joe Mauer-$23 million/year
Derek Jeter-$21.6 million/year
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?

2010-03-20T23:30:00.006-05:00

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

2010-03-18T15:56:00.005-05:00

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

2010-03-17T23:25:00.004-05:00

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

2010-03-16T13:46:00.007-05:00

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

2010-03-15T23:55:00.003-05:00

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!

2010-03-14T19:51:00.003-05:00

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

2010-03-03T16:31:00.006-06:00

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

2010-03-02T21:30:00.009-06:00

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?

2010-03-01T23:19:00.003-06:00

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.

Top Two Teams Go Down, But Does It Really Matter?

2010-02-27T19:09:00.004-06:00

Two more huge upsets have left college basketball analysts and fans alike scratching their heads at who could possibly be the best team in college basketball right now.

No.1 Kansas went down to unranked Oklahoma State and No.2 Kentucky suffered their second loss of the season to No.19 Tennessee.

Both of these losses should be taken with a grain of salt in all honesty. Both came on the road and both teams have their reasons to look at the glass half-full here.

First of all Kansas (27-2) didn't have that bad of a game. They shot 46 percent from the field and 40 percent from behind the arc against a 20-win team.

Apparently Oklahoma State was poised for this huge victory that most certainly puts them in the field of 65. They had to have the best shooting day from field in over three years to win by only eight points. Their field goal percentage was 60 percent.

As for Kentucky (27-2) once again their youth got them into a little trouble. They kept firing blanks from behind the arc instead of pounding it inside to Cousins and Patterson.

Once again, however, their talent got them back into the game. They actually had the game tied a 65-65 with a little over two minutes remaining and it looked like Kentucky had all the momentum to win another close SEC game.

To steal a cliche from Lee Corso, not so fast my friend.

Tennessee went on a 9-0 run to close the game out. For everyone who isn't keeping score at home, that means Tennessee has defeated the No.1 and No.2 team this season which hasn't happened in college basketball since 2002.

To get back to the question of who is exactly the best team, I believe it's down to four teams: Kansas, Villanova, Syracuse, or Duke.

Sorry, that's the best I can do at this point.

The number one ranking is very overrated in college basketball and in all reality these two losses by Kentucky and Kansas really mean nothing. If Kentucky loses another game then they might fall back to a No.2 seed. Kansas is just good no matter how you look at it.

It should be a great March Madness and good luck filling out your brackets.

With this year's parody in college basketball you should hope for the best with your brackets, but expect the worst!

My Current Top Five

Kansas (27-2) Last week: Lost to Okla. St, Def. Oklahoma, Def. Colorado
Syracuse (26-2) Last week: Def. Providence
Villanova (23-4) Last week: Def. South Florida, Lost to Pitt
Duke (24-4) Last week: Def. Tulsa, Def. V. Tech
Purdue (24-3) Last week: Def. Minnesota

Almost In: Kentucky (27-2), Kansas State (22-4)

Titans Should Make Move For Tomlinson, Westbrook

2010-02-24T19:17:00.005-06:00

Two of the NFL's best veteran running backs, Ladanian Tomlinson and Brian Westbrook, are bidding farewell to their franchises that both have called home for a while now. Tomlinson for nine seasons and Westbrook for eight seasons. Both have already expressed their desires to keep playing.

As for the Titans, they have to look at these two situations as an opportunity to give some help to Chris Johnson. The NFL has turned into a league that features two tailbacks per team and the Titans only have one to lean on right now.

Most likely Lendale White will depart during the offseason leaving the Titans with very little experience at the position. That's where Tomlinson and Westrbrook come into play.

Tomlinson is the better choice for the Titans because he runs more like Chris Johnson and would be a great mentor.

Even though Tomlinson is the better fit for the Titans, Westbrook's style of play would fit very well with the Jeff Fisher's offense scheme as well.

Westbrook is a running back that can lead your team in receptions week after week and Fisher loves to throw screen passes and dumb-off passes in his offense.

There are still a ton of questions about Westbrook's ability to stay healthy for an entire season so that has to be put into consideration here.

Either way, the Titans need another proven running back to help out Chris Johnson in the backfield.

There's no reason for the Titans to sit on their hands this offseason like they've done so many times in the past. It's time to make a move and see if the Titans can find their way back to the postseason.

Just How "Miraculous" Was the Win Over Canada?

2010-02-22T12:07:00.008-06:00

Just shortly after Team USA upset Cananda 5-3 on Sunday many people were comparing this win to the "Miracle on Ice" in 1980 when we upset the heavily favored Russians in Lake Placid.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves here even though it is really easy to. Although it was a great win for U.S hockey, the gap between ourselves and Canada is nowhere near the gap that there was between us and the Russians in 1980.

Team Canada hasn't looked spectacular during this year's Olympics. It took a shootout to get past Switzerland while Team USA defeated the Swiss in regulation, 3-1.

You also have to really study the "Miracle on Ice" to understand how big of an upset that actually was.

The Russians were ahead by one goal three separate times during the game before Team USA notched back-to-back goals to take the lead. There was also still ten minutes left in the game for the Russians to tally the tying goal and go for the win.

Sunday's game was predominantly led by Team USA on the scoreboard as they scored 40 seconds into the game. They also led 4-2 before Sidney Crosby added a power play goal with less than four minutes remaining.

What really made this such a great game was the stellar net-minding by Ryan Miller. He made 42 saves including three simultaneous saves in the third period to keep Team USA ahead.

We also can't get too big-headed here. There's still a ton of work to do. When you really look at it Team USA got bailed out by Ryan Miller. They were outshot 45-22 which will probably lead to a loss in the medal rounds.

The next game will be against either Switzerland or Belarus. I expect a rematch against the Swiss to be the next game for Team USA. It's always harder beating a team a second time in a row.

One good thing about Team USA's spot in this tournament is that both Russia and Canada are on the lower part of the bracket meaning that one of them will be taken out by the other before they can reach Team USA in the tournament.

Either way, Team USA will most likely have to beat one of them if they want a silver or gold medal.

In the end the gap just wasn't as large as people originally thought between Canada and the USA in hockey. The Canadiens are better, but they're not on the same level as the 1980 Soviet team that everyone feared at the time.

Bracketology: Tennessee Edition

2010-02-20T18:10:00.003-06:00

Last season was a great season for basketball programs from the great state of Tennessee. You had Memphis, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Tennessee-Chattanooga, and East Tennessee State all make the NCAA Tournament.

Their most likely won't be that many team representing Tennessee this season, but there's still two teams that could do damage and that's No.19 Vanderbilt and No. 18 Tennessee.

In no way do I agree with Tennessee currently being ranked ahead of Vanderbilt in the rankings. Vandy has beaten them twice this season, including a double-digit win just a week ago.

Joe Lunardi is the expert when it comes to the science of bracketology and currently he has Vanderbilt as a No.4 seed and Tennessee as a No.5 seed.

I believe both seeds are a little generous considering the SEC is very weak once again. Vandy deserves no higher than a No. 5 seed thanks to some questionable losses against Cincinnati, Illinois, and Georgia.

Tennessee on the other hand should be no higher than No.7 seed as of right now. They've faired even worse in the SEC and their only impressive win of the season was against No.1 Kansas. Without that huge upset win then Tennessee would be even farther back for me.

The only other team representing the state right now in Lunardi's bracket is Belmont out of the Atlantic Sun Conference. Belmont always has a respectable program and many of you probably remember when they gave Duke that scare just a few years ago. Sadly enough they'll be another sacrificial lamb to the likes of Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse, etc.

You can't ever count Memphis out of the equation. They still have time to build on their resume with their current record sitting at 19-7. After looking over their remaining schedule it's very likely they could win-out the rest of the way and get into the field of 65.

Out of all of these teams Vanderbilt has the best shot at making a run in the tournament. They're balanced and well-coached. A Sweet 16 berth is probably the most you can realistically hope for, but in college basketball the impossible sometimes happens.

Current Resume's

Vanderbilt ( #5) Key Wins: Tennessee twice, @St. Mary's, Missouri
Tennessee (#7) Key Wins: Kansas, @Memphis
Memphis (#13) Key Wins: @Tulsa