Upcoming Potential Blog Topics / Food for Thought

Work has been incredibly busy over the last few weeks and clearly this blog has suffered. I'm not sure if I can hit all of these topics, but here are some questions I hope to answer in some upcoming posts:

-Is this legal with the new playoff OT rules in the NFL: the team receiving the opening kick drives down the field and converts a field goal. On the ensuing kickoff, can that team kick the ball out of their own end zone for a safety and end the game? 

-How does Gregg Williams have a job?

-Why are left-handed starting pitchers so revered?

-John Lannan is in line for a $5m / season contract. Where did I go wrong? (Answering the previous question might help here.)

-If Sandy Alderson knew he wasn't going to re-sign Jose Reyes, why didn't he trade him when he had value before the deadline in July?

-Same question as previous, just replace "Jason Isringhausen" for Jose Reyes.

-Can Andrew Luck possibly live up to this hype?

-Are the Tigers really that good? Last I checked, Delmon Young is still penciled into the 5-spot of the lineup.

-Can we start calling Ponzi schemes by a new name: Boras schemes?

-Did you know my three favorite prospects in the 2012 NFL Draft are Trent Richardson, Justin Blackmon, and Brandon Boykin?

-Could James Dolan be any dumber? I love the fact that Time Warner is refusing to broadcast MSG. The only thing worth watching is the Knicks, and they are terrible right now. JD loses more leverage with every loss.

-How do you pass the time when your fantasy basketball team has been eliminated less than a month into the season?

-How long until a young American baseball player moves to the Dominican Republic, gains citizenship there, and signs for a lot more money than he would have gotten in the draft?

-Does T Rowe Price know the answers to the ridiculous questions they ask during their commercials? Does Southwest realize how stupid their flag-throwing baggage fee refs are? Can Pepsi Max never make another commercial?

-Does anyone know who Bruce Ellington is?

-How could I get fooled by Patrick Witt?

-Is Syracuse really going to fall apart without Fab Melo, a player that was laughably terrible last year when I saw him play live at the Garden? Remember this when filling out your brackets in March.

-More of a request than a question: Peyton, can you please not be Brett Favre II. If it's time to go, just ride off into the sunset.

-I don't care how bad AJ Burnett is. If the Yankees are willing to eat 90+% of his contract, why won't anyone take him? A team like the Padres or Mariners with huge ballparks couldn't use this guy?

Sometimes, Being a Sports Fan Sucks

And this is absolutely one of those times.

I'm 28 years old. In my conscious sports fandom - basically since I was five years old - none of my favorite teams in any of the major sports has won their respective title. I have never been able to enjoy a championship, and it sucks.

Mets: Came closest in 2000 when they lost to the hated Yankees in the World Series. Should have won ithe World Series in 2006, but choked in the NLCS. Figure to be the worst team in the NL East for the next few years. Outlook: Dim for the next four years...at least.

Jets: Have not reached the Super Bowl in my lifetime. Lost in the AFC title game in each of the previous two seasons. Internal quarrels threaten to crumble the current team. Franchise quarterback turns out to be a fraud. Outlook: Dim for the next couple years.

Knicks: Lost 1994 and 1999 NBA Finals. Haven't won a playoff series since 2001.  I purchased season tickets last year in the hopes they could sign LeBron. They didn't but made playoffs anyway.  After being eliminated in the first round and throwing way too much money at Tyson Chandler, the Knicks decided to increase prices by 50% for this season.  I declined to renew. Outlook: Dim for the next couple years.

Islanders: Perennial doormat of the Eastern Conference. Haven't won a playoff series since 1993. Outlook: Dim for the next four years...at least.

Not only do my teams perform poorly, but the teams I despise have been INCREDIBLE over this same timeframe.

The Yankees have won five World Series titles. The Giants have won two Super Bowls and might win a third this season, and the Patriots won three as well. Even the Rangers broke a 54-year Stanly Cup drought in 1994.

 Am I jealous? Absolutely.

Things are just not looking bright for me. However, I'm going to spin this into a positive.

We all know when things are going badly, they usually go very badly. Based on the rankings of "how awful the Super Bowl would be if this ended up being the matchup" I will be able to determine who will win this weekend. 

Acceptable:  Ravens-49ers - The Harbaugh brother talk would get repetitive and boring but it will be easy to change the channel and/or simply tune it out. Chances of this matchup occurring: 10%.

Bad: Ravens-Giants / Patriots-49ers - In either of these scenarios, one of my despised teams would likely be favored.  Chances of one of these matchup occurring: 50%.

Downright Awful: Patriots-Giants - A rematch of the 2008 Super Bowl would pit my least favorite teams in the sport against each other in a no-win game for me. Chances of this matchup occurring: 40%.

Gimme the Pats and the Giants this weekend.  Fate wouldn't have it any other way.

***************************************************

A couple more NFL thoughts:

-Best thing that could have happened to the New Orleans Saints this offseason occurred this week: Gregg Williams took another job.  I have no idea why this guy is a desired coaching commodity. If someone could explain it, I would appreciate it.

-Apparently, the Jaguars didn't watch the Falcons stink up the joint offensively in their playoff game two weeks ago in New York because they decided to hire Atlanta's offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey to be their next head coach. Expect a lot of QB sneaks in Jacksonville over the next two years...at which point MM will either be fired or this team will be in LA.

2012 NFL Mock Draft 1-20

 I like to get at least one mock draft before the ESPN and CBS guys do theirs. Here are picks 1 through 20 with a few comments mixed in.

1. Indianapolis Colts: Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford

2. St. Louis Rams: Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama - They need playmakers, and I am going on record as saying TR will be this draft's best player. 

3. Minnesota Vikings: Matt Kalil, OL, USC - This seems like the most obvious spot for a trade as Washington, Miami, and others will need to jump ahead of Cleveland to have a shot at RGIII.

4. Cleveland Browns: Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor - Colt McCoy, not the answer.

 

The Freak

5. Tampa Bay Buccanneers: Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU - Ronde Barber might play forever

6. Washington Redskins: Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State -

7. Jacksonville Jaguars: Alson Jeffery, WR, South Carolina - Last year, I begged Jacksonville to trade up for either AJ Green or Julio Jones. Did they listen? Of course not. Did they suck this year with one of the most pathetic receiving corps the NFL has ever seen? Of course.

*8. Miami Dolphins: Quinton Coples, DE, North Carolina

*9. Carolina Panthers: Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame - Floyd and college teammate Jimmy Claussen form one of the best QB-WR duos in the NFL...or something like that.

10. Buffalo Bills: Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama

*11. Kansas City Chiefs: David DeCastro, OL, Stanford

*12. Seattle Seahawks: Mark Barron, S, Alabama - Seattle fans would love to see the Barron - Earl Thomas safety pairing for the next ten years.

13. Arizona Cardinals: Jonathan Martin, OL, Stanford

14. Dallas Cowboys: Alfonzo Dennard, CB, Nebraska - Eventually getting lit up by Eli Manning gets old, right?

15. Philadelphia Eagles: Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College - Might not look the part but one of the most productive seasons in college football history.

 

 The anti-Mike Mamula

16. New York Jets: Riley Reiff, OL, Iowa - I mentioned it after Sunday's debacle, but this team needs help in a ton of places: offensive line, quarterback, wide receiver,

17. Cincinnati Bengals (from Oakland): Jarvis Jones, LB, Georgia

18. San Diego Chargers: Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama

19. Chicago Bears: Vontaze Burfict, LB, Arizona State - The heir apparent to Brian Urlacher? Maybe. He could learn a thing from BU.

20. Tennessee Titans: Devon Still, DT, Penn State

Monday Mullet

Dave Steib (kind of looks like David Wells facially)

The Jets Disappointing Season Ends in Appropriate Fashion

Mark Sanchez sucks and needs to be replaced.

Wayne Hunter sucks and needs to be replaced.

Kyle Wilson sucks and needs to be replaced.

Santonio Holmes and Plax suck and need to be replaced.

I was way too optimistic about this team. Too frustrated to post a full blog here, but it is going to be a long offseason.

NFL: Week 17 Picks

Jets +3

Titans -2

Ravens -1.5

Chiefs +3.5

Colts +4



Record: 34-40-6

NBA Season Preview

Eastern Conference

1- Miami
2- Indiana
3- New York
4- Chicago
5- Boston
6- Philadelphia
7- Atlanta
8- New Jersey


Western Conference

1- Denver
2- LA Clippers
3- Dallas
4- Oklahoma City
5- Memphis
6- San Antonio
7- LA Lakers
8- Portland


NBA Finals: Clippers over Knicks


MVP: Dwyane Wade
Rookie: Ricky Rubio


Lastly, make sure you avoid Al Jefferson in your fantasy draft. This guy makes terrible offcourt decisions, like dating this 38 year old nut. This beauty was arrested last week on charges that she bit Al. Stay away from both of them.

Quick Thoughts

*The Falcons were upset that the Saints called plays that allowed Drew Brees to set the all-time passing record last night? Instead of whining, stop the guy. Just because Sean Payton called the plays doesn't mean you have to let them be successful. Look in the mirror before complaining.

*The Mets are getting rid of their Class A team in the Gulf Coast League because it will cost them about as much money as they pay Jason Bay to play every three weeks. Bite nose, spite face.

*First it was TJ Ford enjoying the fruits of Croatia and now another heralded college point guard will be doing the same: Khalid El-Amin. Smart guys.

KEA, just as svelte as I remember him

*Maybe I'm old school but I am not a fan of all the flair NBA players are wearing these days. And, yes I know I sound like a greybeard when I say that. I would estimate that a quarter of the players in the league wear either two arm-sleeves or two knee pads with half of that total wearing both. No matter how much clothing you wear now, no one is forgetting about those short shorts of the 80's.

*I'm a little late to the game on this one, but it's a pretty cool article about paying NBA players based on their on-court production.

Monday Mullet

Ugly man, beautiful mullet.

Just For Men pitchman Randy Johnson

NFL: Week 16 Picks

Cowboys -1
49ers -2
Chargers +1
Bears +13
Falcons +6

Record: 34-36-5

Jacksonville's Conundrum

Next week, the Jacksonville Jaguars will host the Indianapolis Colts in a seemingly innocuous season finale.

A closer look, however, will show this to be the most important game of the week. In fact, the future for a number of teams rests on the outcome.

First, the Jaguars. If they win this game, they will hand the Colts Stanford QB Andrew Luck. That means for the next 10-12 years, they will have to face Luck at least twice per season. A win for the Jags would also mean a drop from the fourth overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft to as low as tenth overall depending on the outcome of a slew of games these next two weeks.

Now, the Colts. A win in this game would likely cost them Luck. By my count, this would  keep one person in the organization happy - Peyton Manning - and even that is a stretch as he won't be playing for too many more seasons and must understand the business of football by now.

Eyes in Minnesota and St. Louis will also be fixated on this riveting 2-13 vs 4-11* matchup. Within the last two seasons both the Vikings (Christan Ponder, 12th overall in 2011) and Rams (Sam Bradford, 1st overall on 2010) have spent high first round picks on franchise quarterbacks. While it's likely too soon to pass final judgment on how good these two are, it is widely believed, although not by this author, that Luck is the best quarterback prospect to come along in 20 years. Would either team be willing to take their chances with Luck?

*Assumes Tennessee will handle business in Week 16 against the Jaguars.
Lastly, the rest of the league. There might be a couple win-and-in games in Week 17 but the chances of a team which needs to win their last game just to get into the playoffs advancing very far is low. There are definitely counter-examples to this - like Green Bay just last season - but I'll stick to my thesis that the Jax-Indy game will be more meaningful a decade from now. Put more bluntly, no team winning a win-and-in game this season will advance to the Super Bowl.

As a gambler, I'm extremely curious what the line will be. It's a game that neither team wants to win and will be a great example of winning the war but losing the battle... or something like that. Where's Cadillac Williams when you need him?

 

Monday Mullet

Terrible name for a pitcher, terrible hair for a human being

College Football: Bowl Picks Volume I

12/20:

Florida International -4: This game is being played in St. Petersburg, FL so the crowd should be on the side of the Golden Panthers. FIU is also the better team in this matchup. They have playmakers on offense (T.Y. Hilton, Wes Carroll) and a top-20 defense in the nation. Marshall struggles to move the ball on offense, and they allow almost 90 more yards per game and they amass.


12/22:

Boise State -14: Are the Broncos disappointed to be playing in the Las Vegas Bowl? Of course they are. However, they lost one game (by one point) all season and one game all of last season (by three points). Kellen Moore has accumulated more wins as a starting quarterback than anyone else in FBS history. He won't let this team throw in the towel. On the other side, we have an Arizona State team that seemingly cannot wait for this nightmare season to be over. After a 5-1 start, the Sun Devils skidded to a final record of 6-6. They have lost their last four games on just saw their coach get fired. I don't see the motivation.


12/27:

Western Michigan +3: Broncos WR Jordan White had more receiving yards this season the top four Boilermaker wide receivers combined. QB Alex Carder led a lethal aerial attack that averaged over 330 yards per game. On the flip side, the defense struggled to stop anyone with a pulse as they allowed over 430 yards and 28 points per game. This game is being played in Detroit so it can't be considered a home game for either team, but I think Western Michigan has the added incentive of trying to knock off the Big 10 squad.


Regular Season Record: 37-27-2 (PoW: 6-8; Upset: 7-7)
Bowl Record: 0-0

NFL: Week 15 Picks

Three games under .500 with three weeks to play. Need to get there to save some face.

Chiefs +15
Seahawks +3.5
Chargers +2.5
Jets +3
Broncos +7

Record: 31-34-5

Monday Mullet

Rod Beck, RIP