Gonners View

2009 NFL Offseason Preview: NFC West

2008 Overview: The Arizona Cardinals were two minutes away from Super Bowl glory after finishing the regular season 9 and 7. However off season problems with wide receiver Aquan Boldin might hamper their chances of making it back in 2010. Other than the Cardinals there were very few bright spots for the division. The St Louis Rams end up with the second pick in the NFL draft for the second straight year after winning just two games last season and just five the past two seasons. For the second time in three years the San Fransisco 49ers finished 7 and 9 but this time it was thanks to interm head coach Mike Singletary as they won four of their final 5 games of the season. And after finishing the last four seasons as division champions, injuries lead to a difficult 4 and 12 season for the Seattle Seahawks. The Cardinals was the story of a crazy NFC playoffs, being the underdog at home in a win against Atlanta, being a huge underdog the upset of Carolina, and was not favored one more time in the NFC Championship win over Philadelphia. That led to Arizona having the lead in the Super Bowl with under two minutes to go before Santonio Holmes spectacular near the sideline of the end zone ended their improbable run.

New Faces: Key Players
Arizona:Bryant McFadden,

San Francisco Dre Bly, Damon Huard

Seattle:T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Ken Lucas

St. Louis:Kyle Boiler

2009 Predictions
Most Improved Team:Seattle Seahawks-Injuries kept the Seahawks down in 2008 but with a healthy Matt Hasselback and a new weapon for him to throw to in T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Seattle very well could be back to the top of the division. Oh yeah and their defense won't be too shabby either, especially with #1 draft pick Aaron Curry in the lineup.

Team On The Slide:St Louis Rams-Its very hard for a team that only won five games in two years to be on more of a slide but I think the Rams will do it. The Rams released their best receiver Tory Holt, running back Steven Jackson has had injury problems the past few years and Marc Bulger isn't the quarterback he use to be. New head Coach Steve Spagnuolo will bring much needed help to the defense, but the offense will keep the Rams spiraling in 20009

Player In The Spotlight:Chris "Beanie" Wells- The Cardinals first round pick will be in the spotlight in 2009 as he tries to fill in the shoes of former running back Edgerrin James. Injury problems in Well's career had some scouts labeling him as "soft" coming into the 2009 NFL Draft. Granted he won't be carrying the ball every down with the emergence of of 2008 rookie Tim Hightower, but Wells should expect the bulk of the load. If he can stay healthy, the Cardnials will be in good shape to make it back to the playoffs in 2009.

Division Winnner:Arizona Cardinals-I think the Seahawks will put a little bit of pressure on the Cards, but at the end of the day Arizona has too much firepower on offense for the rest of the teams in the NFC West Division. Like the Chargers, the Cardinals didn't do much in the offseason besides sign Bryant McFadden on the defensive side of the football, but this division is rather weak and Arizona should come out on top.

2009 Projected Standings
Arizona Cardinals- 10-6
Seattle Seahawks- 8-8
San Francisco 49ers- 6-10
St. Louis Rams-1-15

A Small Victory For The Mountian West Conference

Finally a win for the Davids of college football...well at least for one conference of Davids. With the Mountain West agreeing to sign an agreement allowing the conference champion to automatically qualify for a spot in one of the the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) bowls it might be the beginning of the end of one of the worst post season ideas in sports history. Never in any other sport has an undefeated team end up in second place. But in division one college football it has happened a handful of times this decade alone. Yes this agreement doesn't mean there will be a playoff in college football next year or the year after but this agreement just is stalling the inevitable.

Division One College Football Can Make A Playoff Work
I wrote this paper for my college english class and I thought I would share it with you
As the University of Utah football stepped off the Superdome field after a 31 to 17 win over South Eastern Conference (SEC) foe Alabama, the taste of victory was bittersweet. Sweet because they beat a historic SEC foe and finished their 2008 campaign with an undefeated record. Bitter because they wouldn’t be crowned the National Champion of Football. The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) system has recently screwed teams out of a chance for a national championship. Before the 2008 Utes team, Boise State went undefeated in 2006, ending the season undefeated and without a title. In 2004 three teams finished the season undefeated, but only the University of Southern California (USC) Trojans walked away with the crown as National Champion. How can you have a sport where a team which finishes their season without a blemish and not have them be the champion? There are so many flaws with the BCS the only real way to make things right is to have a playoff system in Division I college football. My question is why don’t they have one? Why after so many hiccups with the current system they don’t try and change it? And is there a chance it can be changed for the future? People who are against it say it would make the season too long, it would make college football too much like the pros, it would affect the students final’s schedule, or it would be financially worse for the sport. Excuses, excuses, excuses. The fact is Division 1 College Football can make a playoff system work, and if it moves to a playoff type format it would get rid of the disparity surrounding the BCS’s faulty ways of crowning a champion.

Before we get into how the Bowl Championship Series works we have to go back and see how it was created. The 1997 National Championship was supposed to slate the Michigan Wolverines and the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Michigan, however, was already committed to play a Pac 10 team in the Rose Bowl. Both teams won their bowl games that year. The hard thing for voters was longtime Nebraska coach Tom Osborn had announced prior to the bowl games that he was retiring after the season. Like every coach Osborn wanted to go out on top. In the end the AP poll had voted Michigan as the National Champions, but the Coaches poll picked Nebraska as the National Champion. This led to a big mess in college football because there was no clear-cut winner in 1997. The result of this conundrum led to the creation of the Bowl Championship Series, which made it so the top two teams had to play each other for the National Championship. While I will say the BCS is better than ending the season with a split national champion, sometimes the BCS makes college football fans feel like there is still a split champion when they don’t let undefeated teams play in the title game. Ones in favor of the BCS say a little parody is good for the sport, but how is a split national champion bad for the sport while leaving an undefeated team out of a national championship is ok? It just does not make sense to me.

The 1997 split championship left College Football’s National Championship in the hands of a computer system. The Bowl Championship Series is based on four elements: the team’s ranking in both AP and Coaches Poll, computer rating, the strength of a team’s schedule, and their overall team record. The first number the BCS truly looks at is rankings in the polls. Then they move on to the seven computer rating systems, which includes Anderson & Hester, Billingsly, Colley, Massey, New York Times, Sagarin, and Wolfe. They take the averages of these computer ratings and use this as the second number in the BCS formula. Then, they look at strength of schedule, which used a measure that combines the records of each team’s opponents and the records of their opponent’s opponents. This number is divided by 25 and is used as the third number. Finally, each team receives a point for every loss they have. All this information is calculated and the BCS computers spit out a number. The lower the number, the higher the BCS ranking is, and the more likely a team is to play in the National Championship Game. I know math helps determine post season probabilities in almost every sport, but this system is so complicated and a little unfair if you ask me. Yes, teams who play a tougher schedule deserve to be recognized for it, but what if there is a mid major team who cannot help the conference they play in but they play tough teams in their out of conference schedule? They get screwed out of a chance at a national championship. Teams like Florida and Oklahoma are afraid to schedule teams like Utah because they are worried about hurting their BCS rating if they happen to lose that game. This is why a playoff needs to implemented. So the Goliaths have to play the Davids in order to be crowned National Champions.

Student athletes have been the main discussion on why the BCS should stay the way it is. Some college presidents think student athletes are spending too much time on the practice field and too little time in the classroom. A study has shown the average college football player spends an average of 44.8 hours a week on gridiron duties. It’s like having a full time job on top of going to school. Orin Starn, professor of cultural anthropology at Duke University had this to say about the issue, “As college football has become a multibillion-dollar business with millionaire coaches and enormous TV contracts, the season has progressively stretched--from as few as five games back at the dawn of college football in the late 19th century to as many as 14 between league championships and bowl games. A playoff system would likely add yet more games, and that would mean more chunks of time, travel, and training for 19- and 20-year-old students who are already way overstretched--spending far more time on football than their studies and a genuine college experience." I have to agree with Professor Stram and I honestly believe this is the BCS’s best claim on why not to have a playoff. The word student comes before athlete for a reason, they are there to get an education because most college players won’t ever play at the next level and they need to be prepared for life after football. Plus, college is quoted by some as the best four years of your life because of the experiences you have. However, I still think a playoff would work. Why don’t they cut the regular season down by one game? Or why don’t they have the every team end like the Big Ten teams do right before Thanksgiving? The Ohio State Buckeyes ended their 2008 regular season on November 22^nd this year. They didn’t end up playing their bowl game until January 3^rd. Forty-two days passed between games for the Buckeyes. They can put a playoff during that time period. Division 2 and 3 football does. So does Division 1AA. If they play the playoff games within that period of time, they can get them done and then the players won’t be affected come finals time. There are ways to mold the college football schedule in order for it to fit within the academic calendar.

One of the cornerstones of college football is the regular season means something. In other sports, a team can drop a few games and still be in the running for a championship. In college football they say every game means something. "In Division I(-A) football, every game is a playoff. Once you lose one game, you're mostly out. If you lose two, you're definitely out. We got 12 playoff games. Teams take that approach. That's probably why there's so much interest. You stub your toe, you can never get back in,” said Michigan Wolverine Head Coach Rich Rodriguez . That’s all fine and dandy coach Rodriguez, but sometimes the regular season doesn’t fix things. What do you say to a team who has done their part and won all their games in regular season play and you won’t give them a chance to play for a national title? What do you say to the 2004 Auburn Tigers and Utah Utes? What do you say to a 2006 Boise State Broncos team? What do you say to a 2008 Utah Utes team? Just because there is a playoff doesn’t mean the regular season doesn’t mean anything. You won’t see teams with .500 records playing for a championship. Just the ones who deserve a chance will get to play.

One thing the BCS does for college football is keeping the season a one semester sport. Some of the people against a playoff think if there were some type of a playoff implemented it would make the season too long and could possibly spill over into the second semester. Mike Slive, Southeastern Conference Commissioner and BCS coordinator, said in an interview with Sports Business Radio’s Brian Berger, “I have been talked about football staying as a one semester sports because you don’t want to take the first two weeks of a new semester and have teams so a meshed and so visible and in such demand that they can’t get really a grip on their academics early in the year.”Slive goes on to say, “I think the Presidents are concerned about that and I think all of us are concerned about that.” I understand Mr. Slive’s point of starting a new semester and not wanting the sports championship conflict with the start of a new semester. I get that. But serious people are really complaining about the length of the college football season and I don’t understand. I hear fans everywhere whine when the season is over. Making the season longer with a playoff would help hype the sport even more because a playoff would add suspense to the sport. Again going back to Ohio State, they had 42 days in between the end of their regular season and their bowl game. Use that down time to implement a playoff.

Injury is evident in any contact sport and as the season wears on, the wear and tear on the human body becomes more and more. This wear and tear leads to a heightened chance of injury. Doubters of a playoff system think a longer season would lead to a bigger risk of injury. Iowa Hawkeyes Coach Kirk Ferentz said, “We ask so much of these guys it's just unbelievable. We ask an awful lot of them as far as the football part, yet we want them to be exemplary students, we want them to be exemplary citizens, and that's all right, but how much more blood do we want to take out? At some point you have to put the welfare of the players (first). That should be our guiding light on all of our thinking. If we go down the playoff road, then we're not thinking that way. We're appeasing someone else, not the players.” I do agree with Coach Ferentz that we ask a lot of college athletes and of course there is a bigger risk of injury, but it shouldn’t stop the NCAA from having at Division One college football playoff. Football, like most sports, is a team sport and one person shouldn’t make up a team. Injuries are a part of sports. It would be there regardless of how long a season is. Besides, I have heard teams with national champions that lose some of their best talent to injury and they were still able to win the crown. A real champion battles through injury and finds ways to win. Injuries just show a team’s true color and willpower.

Sports, like other things, is a business, and college sports is no exception. The BCS has made hundreds of millions of dollars a year from companies wanting to advertise their product with bowl games. The last reason some people don’t want to change the BCS is because it would be financially worse for the sports. Back when the BCS first started, various estimates showed a full blown tournament could generate 250 to 400 million dollars. Who even knows how much it would be today. I think a playoff is a goldmine for college football. I will say the one thing about the BCS is one company can have most of the 3 hours of advertising time to themselves. It is great how companies can show their best products and promote themselves for the length of a football game. However, they could have a ton of sponsors for a playoff. Heck it seems like everything is sponsored now-a-days. They could have the halftime show sponsored by someone, and the pregame show sponsored by another person. Heck the first down and 10 marker I’ve see be sponsored by someone. People who think a playoff won’t make money are crazy.

Figuring out the right number of playoff teams is something many experts and I have been looking into. You could take a blueprint from other Divisions of College football. Division 1AA has a 16 team playoff, meaning no one gets a bye in the first round. Division II Football has 24 playoff teams which are selected by Regional Rankings with the top six teams from each region going to playoffs. The top two from each region get byes in the first round of the playoffs. Division III football has a 32 team bracket with no one getting byes in the first round either. The proposal I like is the one Mountain West Coordinator Craig Thompson just recently sent into the BCS for evaluation. Under his proposal it would rank the ten teams playing the BCS bowls 1-10. The 9^th and 10^th ranked teams would be done after their game was over, but the winners of the Orange, Fiesta, Rose, and Sugar Bowls would move on to keep playing. Those teams would move to the semifinals played one week after the BCS bowls were finished and then one week after the semifinals they would have the National Championship. Why I like this proposal so much is because there is a limited amount of teams who can play for a championship, preserving the importance of the regular season in College Football. I think the other playoff formats in College Football wouldn’t work for Division I. It needs to be simple.

As you can see there are many reasons or what I like to call excuses for why there is no playoff in Division One football. None of these, in my mind, are valid reasons for keeping college football in only bowl game format. Even President Obama agrees there should be a playoff. In an interview on 60 Minutes with Steve Kroft, the President said this about the BCS and his thoughts on a college football playoff, “This is important. I think any sensible person would say that if you got a bunch of teams who play throughout the season and many of them have one loss or two losses there is no clear decisive winner that we should be creating a playoff system.” Obama goes on to say, “I don’t know any serious fan of college football who has disagreed with me on this so I am going to throw my weight around a little bit I think it’s the right thing to do.” How can you tell an undefeated team they can’t play for a national championship? College football is the only sport which an undefeated team isn’t the national championship, which leaves a bittersweet taste in those teams’ mouths. If there is to be justice, there needs to be a change and a change soon.

2009 NFL Offseason Preview: AFC West

Over the next several weeks I will preview every division in the NFL, giving you teams who will rise in 2009, who will fall, and where each team will end up in 2009. Getting started with this week with the AFC West.

2008 Overview: The AFC West was seen as a joke to some football fans. San Diego and Denver ended the season tied for the division championship at 8-8 with San Diego winning the division due to a tie breaker. Oakland played spoiler late in the season last year, ending 2008 on a 2 game winning streak including beating Tampa Bay the last game of the season costing the Bucs a playoff spot and ultimately Jon Gruden his job but sadly finished the season 5 and 11. Oakland hasn't had a winning season since they were in the Super Bowl back in 2002. The injury plagued Chiefs had one of the worst seasons in team history, finishing 2 and 14 as Herm Edwards was shown the door and Carl Peterson resigned. San Diego was able to knock off Indianapolis before losing to eventual Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional Round.

New Faces: Key Players

Denver: Kyle Orton, Chris Sims, Brian Dawkins,

Kansas City: Matt Cassell, Mike Vrabel, Zach Thomas, Mike Brown, Bobby Engram,

Oakland: Jeff Garcia, Greg Ellis. Lorenzo Neal

San Diego: None

2009 Predictions

Most Improved Team: Kansas City Chiefs: Its hard not to pick a team which only won two games last season. New GM, New Coach, New Quarterback, and new veterans should help this team win some ball games this year. They won't win half of their games but I think they can win 5 to 6 games in 2009.

Team on the Slide: Denver Broncos: They showed Mike Shanahan the door, they traded Jay Cutler, and it looks like Brandon Marshall could be on his way out as well. Things just don't look good for Denver fan in 2009. They very well could win just three games in 09.

Player in the Spotlight: Matt Cassell: Cassell needs to prove to Chiefs fans that he isn't a one hit wonder. Cassell had an excellent year filling in for injured quarterback Tom Brady throwing for 3,693 yards 21 TD and only 11 INT's. Now can he put up similar numbers with less talent and a shaky offensive line.

Division Winner: San Diego: The Chargers didn't do much this offseason, but they shouldn't have any problem winning this division by two or three games this season. The bigger question is will Philip Rivers take the Chargers to the next level. LT just turned 30 years old and with his injury problems the past couple years he may only have two years left in the tank so San Diego's window of winning a Super Bowl is closing rather quickly.

2009 Projected Standings

San Diego: 11-5

Kansas City: 5-11

Oakland: 4-12

Denver: 3-13

A Tribute To Ed Thomas

Many people who have followed my blog in the past know I do more criticizing of people in the sports world rather than give them praise. It is just how I operate. However today I want to talk about a man who people should look up to and model themselves after whose life was tragically taken away by a former player and student. Many people don't know this but my parents live in the state of Iowa just about 70 miles away from where Ed Thomas's lived in the town of Parkersburg. I remember the storm that ripped Parkersburg to shreds and I remember the E:60 story on how Thomas used football to uplift the spirits of a community in shambles. Forget that he has 292 wins as a head coach. Forget that he won two state titles. Forget he has four players right now playing in the NFL. Forget that he went to the 1A State playoffs in Iowa 19 times. He will be remembered for all of that sure, but its his heart people should remember. The fact is he cared more than anyone about making boys into respectable young men. In a sports state where we see the Iowa Hawkeyes have 26 arrests in 26 months because of lack of life skills being taught and probably questionable players being recruited to the school, he focused on making boys into stand up gentlemen. He taught them life lessons. Ed Thomas was a model coach. Someone who if you want to be a coach at any level you would want to be. He won over 77 percent of his games while making his boys into men. Now a days you would be lucky to have that winning percentage without having some guys who make the news for all the wrong reasons. Sure he had some bad eggs (including the man who would end up taking his life) but Thomas always gave people a second chance and pushed them to learn from their mistakes and become a better person through the experience. A town of 1800 in Iowa is all over ESPN because of the death of their head coach. That doesn't happen by accident.

Remembering Him
I want to share some of the things people have said about Ed Thomas from people who knew him best.

"We didn’t just lose a football coach. We lost an icon,” said Tom Teeple, Thomas's Barber-Des Moines Register.

“He’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. He really cared about every one of those players like (they) were his own kids. It’s just hard to believe that somebody would do something like this.”-Brad Meester, Jacksonville Jaguars Center-Des Moines Register

A rock is gone. A year ago, Ed Thomas reminded us of all that was good in the human spirit; the strength of community; the power of hope. Wednesday, he reminded us of the frailty of life; the senseless; the random; the tragic; the dark side that festers deep within us all.-Sean Keller, Des Moines Register Columnist.
"This is Iowa's John Lennon assassination. This is something and someone no one will ever forget."-Ken Miller, 1460 KXNO radio host in Des Moines-ESPN Story

"I wish I could give an organ. I wish there was just something I could. I had just signed a new contract he and I hadn't talked about it yet. And I just can't fathom the idea that he and I won't speak again."-Denver Broncos center Casey Wiegmann-ESPN Story

He demanded more out of me than I thought I had in me, and you know what? That's one of the things that made him such a great man-Taylor Schrage, former player-Des Moines Register.

In 37 seasons he not only he made Falcons football what it is but he made people better for just knowing him. The shoes left by Thomas are bigger than any high school, college, or even professional coach ever left. He not only won games, he won with class. He won while making his players better people. That is the mark of a great coach and a great human being. R.I. P Coach Thomas. Many will miss you. The man who took Thomas's life 24 year old Matt Becker will be on trial July 2nd.

Five Players I Think Will Be Busts In The NBA

Its NBA Draft week and the players I loved to watch in college will go to the dark side and get paid to play the game most of played since they were in elementary school. With every draft you see players taken in the first round just flat out stink in their sports. Here are some first round locks who will fall flat in the NBA.

1) Jrue Holiday-Seriously I don't understand why he left college. This kid has so much promise when he came to UCLA. The hype led to a season where he didn't average double digits yet ESPN says he is "the most complete freshman" in the draft and has been rumored to go as high as #4 to the Kings. The most points he scored in a game was 20....against Florida Atlantic. The kid better be taking classes during the summer because I honestly think he will do about what he did in college in the NBA. Be an ok player who will do good things on the defensive side of the ball but not one that is going to score in the double digits consistently and won't be a leader on the floor. I don't care that Holiday wasn't a real fit to UCLA's system. Players should be able to adjust to the offense they play for and Holiday didn't do that at all. Holidays stats-8.5 ppp 3.8 rpg 3.7 apg

2) Brandon Jennings- The player "too good for college" is gonna wish he went and played at Arizona. Jennings averaged 7.6 points in the Euroleague and the weaknesses he has including not being good in a half court game and fading away when he shoots could mean he could be a scoring bust for anyone who takes him. As for defense he is average, he is good at keeping shooters in front of him but they still can shoot over him and blow past him into the lane It will take him a few years before he maybe considered a regular starter in the NBA and won't be playing 40+ minutes much. Jennings stats-7.6 ppg 1.6 rpg 1.6 apg

3) James Johnson-The big man from Wake has some upside to him, but inconsistency will kill him in the NBA. There were stretches where you wondered if Johnson was day dreaming on the court. Needs to work on not taking bad shots, especially early in the shot clock and needs to drive to the basket instead of taking the outside shot. He can be a force inside he is a big boy that won't be pushed around to much and is a pretty good rebounder. Time will tell though if he can play inside for 82 games against the best players. My guess is he can't. Johnson stats-15 ppg 8.5 rpg

4) Jodie Meeks-All I have to ask is why. Why didn't you go back and play for a coach that has NBA coaching experience? Why didn't you go back to a program that with Meeks would have been favored to win the SEC title and could play for a national championship. He is a Ben Gordon prototype however I really don't think he will be a first round pick. If you leave early from college you go because you are going to be a first round pick and get paid millions. Meeks won't do that. He needs to work on his ball handling skills and was too soft on defense at Kentucky. Yes he can put up big numbers scoring (54 at Tennessee last year) but I think he would benefit more if he went and played one more year at Kentucky. Meeks stats-23.7 ppg 3.4 rpg 1.8 apg

5) Austin Daye-Can you say stick man? He needs to beef up or he is going to get pushed around like a pinball. He settles to much on the outside shot and needs to learn to drive the ball a little bit more to the basket if he is going to make it in the NBA. Like Johnson he needs to work on consistency shooting the basketball. Could very well fall out of the first round like Meeks.- Dayes stats-12.7 ppg 6.8 rpg

The NBA Draft can be seen June 25th at 7pm EST. Join me and wave good bye to the stars of the college seen and see them enter the dark side.

Doing The Crime Without Paying The Time

The news of Donte Stallworth being suspended from the NFL got me thinking today. If you haven't been following this closely Donte Stallworth has been in trouble for manslaughter after killing a man with his car while he was under the influence of alcohol. Stallworth if convicted could of seen 15 years in prison. He ended up getting 30 days in jail. How is it that the NFL dishes out a tougher penalty than the feds? I have to commend Roger Goodell for suspending Stallworth because do you honestly believe he will have learned his lesson after 30 days in jail? I mean Michael Vick served a longer term for killing dogs then Stallworth is going to for killing another human being. There is something really wrong about that. Unfortunately this has happened before in all major sports. Kobe Bryant just had to hand over what in his world is considered pocket change when he was in court for sexually assaulting another woman at a hotel he was staying at. We all know Adam "Pac man" Jones seems to have a problem with staying out of fights at night clubs yet he had how many second chances before finally enough is enough? But back to Stallworth, if it was you are me we would totally be in the slammer for at least a decade with probation after we got out. When Stallworth gets out he has only two years probation. Unfortunately society somehow has made these athletes play on a social playing field that is well above normal peoples level. Just cause they are in the spotlight means they get treated differently. Thanks to Roger Goodell Stallworth won't get off as easy as some of his sports colleagues in the past have. Its about time someone did something about this.

Pittsburgh Being In The Super Bowl Is Bad For NFL

What do you think of when you someone says give me one word to describe the Pittsburgh Steelers. Some might say ferocious cause of they have the best defense in the NFL. Others might say conservative because they rely a lot of the running game and less on the arm of Big Ben. If I had to describe them in one word it would be boring. Now before people go and shoot me let me explain my reasoning. I know defense wins championship in any sport, and Pittsburgh's is one of the best in the business but they don't have the flair factor. A thing where you look at the team and say wow they are fun to watch. Luckily for the Steelers they are playing a team which has been wowing football fans all across the country the past few weeks with their flashy offensive displays. Larry Fitzgerald has been nothing short of spectacular catching the football. Kurt Warner is making people debate whether he is a Hall of Famer or not. For the Steelers its defense and really only defense.

What's So Special About Big Ben?
I don't get all the hype about Ben Rothlisberger I just don't. Yes he is a guy who has won over 50 games in the first five years as a starting quarterback. I will say that is impressive but his game really isn't. This season he has thrown for 17 touchdowns and 15 interceptions while getting sacked 46 times because he is slow. He hasn't had a quarterback rating over 100 since Week 7 against the Bengals. Yet he is getting the spotlight. He says he is going to make up for his bad performance in the last Super Bowl he was in which he went 9/21 123 yards 2 INT's, but I don't see it coming true. If the Steelers win Super Bowl XLIII it will be because of the defense, not because Ben Roethlisberger lead them to a game winning drive.

Prediction
I am hoping to see some great commercials especially for Bud Light and I hope and pray Arizona doesn't fall flat after having two weeks off. Kurt Warner I already think is in the Hall of Fame, but he can punch his ticket to Canton with a win on Sunday. I think you can guess that I am taking the Cardinals to finish the Cinderella story and walk away from Tampa with a win on Sunday. I want to apologize for my long stint away I have been rather busy but I hope to be back now for a long time to come.

WNBA Fight Not A Big Deal

Ok so I am not gonna lie to you guys. I didn't watch the game nor did I have any interest to. That is how it is for many sports fans when you are talking about women's basketball. But as pity and childish as the fight that went on Tuesday night might have actually put this sport on the map. Look I have heard this fight being called everything from a brawl to a throwdown and so many other things to make me think this fight was an epic 9 round boxing match. But if you honestly look at the highlights, to me anyway, it looks like any other high school cat fight that goes on in the halls during passing periods. Honestly if we weren't in the middle of baseball season that fight wouldn't of been a top story on Sportscenter. Ok that maybe a little bit harsh but seriously this fight is being blown way out of proportions.

Don't Compare To 2004 Brawl

Another thing that is making me mad about this issue is that most analysts are comparing it to the fight that happened in the same arena four years ago. If you don't remember the Pacers/Pistons got into a huge scuffle in November which ended in Stephen Jackson punching Piston fans. What happened on Tuesday wasn't what happened four years ago. Its not like the Spark players were going into the stands and beating the crap out of the Shock fans. This fight doesn't even deserve to be said in the same breath as the brawl of 2004. All this fight did was make this rivalry between these two teams interesting. The fight of 2004 made David Stern change his entire thought process about the game. Yes there maybe a little bit tighter security but not as much as after the brawl.

College Basketball Minute

News about my Missouri Tigers in this edition of college basketball minute. Former Missouri basketball coach Norm Stewart is recovering from open-heart surgery.University officials said the 73-year-old Stewart had an aortic valve replacement on Friday. He is recuperating at Boone Hospital Center and is expected to be released later this week.Stewart spent 32 years as coach at Missouri, his alma mater. He earned 731 career wins in his 38-year coaching career and is a member of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. I wish you a very speedy recovery Norm.
Anyway this weeks team rounds out the top five in my preseason top 25 poll and for the second straight time the team hails from the Big East conference. The UConn Huskies have the best team they have had since being stunned by George Mason in the Elite Eight of the 2006 NCAA tournament. Hasheem Thabeet the 7'3 center said no to the NBA draft and has everyone talking about the Huskies. If A.J Price can come back from his ACL injury and be as productive as he was UConn has a good shot at cutting down the nets in April of 2009.

Gonners View Top 25

1) North Carolina

2) Pittsburgh Panthers

3) UCLA Bruins

4) Louisville Cardinals
5) Connecticut Huskies

Is College Footbal Here Yet?

Psh I wish. I am sorry for die hard baseball fans but after the trade deadline I really start loosing interest in baseball until it gets to be the playoffs. So I am gonna talk about a sport I am seriously excited for every single fall. One reason I am excited is because my two teams (Missouri Tigers and Northwest Missouri State Bearcats (Division II)) should be very competitive this season. Yes I am very sad for my Bearcats cause they lost Xavier Omon and will be down compared to years past, but I do expect them to stay competitive. As for Missouri Chase Daniel is the man plain and simple. Missouri should be in the National Championship hunt the entire season if they don't let the hype get to their head. Here is a look at my preseason top 10 for college football season.

Gonners View Top 10 Best College Football Teams

1) Georgia Bulldogs-Offense has fire power with Stafford and Moerno (both should be Heisman Canidates) however off season problems have plagued the Bulldogs this season as Possible starting defensive end Jeremy Lomax and offensive lineman Clint Boling have pending legal problems; Lomax was arrested on concealed weapons charges and Boling was charged with DUI. This team has a hard toad to the National Championship but in my opinion has the best team in the nation to start the season.

2) Oklahoma Sooners-Sam Bradford is one of my early picks to win the Heisman. If he can be more consistent especially away from Norman the Sooners will roll over everyone in the Big 12 and be playing in the National Championship

3) Florida Gators- They have Tim Tebow and a slew of offensive weapons. I am interested to see how Emmanuel Moody comes in as the Gators relied more on Tebow for their running attack. Don't expect Tebow to get over 20 rushing TD's this season but Florida will be in the mix for the National Championship. Write this date down November 1st. Thats when they play Georgia.

4) Ohio State Buckeyes- They still have a great running attack in Chris "Beanie" Wells and Todd Boeckman back as quarterback. And they still have James Laurinaitis on defense (seems like he has been in college for over five years now). Should be heavily favored to win the Big 10 this year.

5) West Virginia Mountaineers- They still have Pat White at quarterback and after seeing how they torched Oklahoma in the Feista Bowl they make me believe they can play for a national championship. As we have seen in years past expect a let down to a less than par football team. My guess it will happen November 22nd at Louisville.

6) USC Trojans- Mark Sanchez finally gets his chance to take the reigns for the Trojans and with the great recruiting class they get year in and year out at Southern Cal you always have to expect them to compete.

7) Missouri Tigers-Yes I may be tooting my teams horn a little bit too much but I really believe the Tigers can do some special things this year. They return 1o defensive starters which vastly improved throughout the season and with Chase Daniel at the helm the Tigers should be in every game this season and should win the Big 12 North for the second consecutive year.

8) Clemson Tigers-Is this the Tigers year to shine in the ACC? Cullen Harper is a senior and is trying to be better than his 27 touchdown and 6 interception season last season. This is another team with major off season problems as they will be without starting middle linebacker Cortney Vincent, who was dismissed from the team in May. Vincent started 12 of 13 games and had 68 tackles and seven tackles for loss.

9) Texas Tech Red Raiders-The Red Raiders have one of the best offenses in all of college football. Michael Crabtree will have one hell of a season and with Graham Harrell at the helm he should have a 15+ touchdown reception season. The real question is will the defense be able to stop anyone on defense?

10) LSU Tigers-The national champs will be down a little bit with a lot of loss on not only the offense and defensive side of the ball but also in personnel. Still they have enough talent on both sides of the ball to compete. The big question will be at the quarterback position since Ryan Perrilloux was dismissed.

Others to consider: Auburn Tigers, Texas Longhorns, Arizona State Sun Devils, Wisconsin Badgers.

College Basketball Minute

Well Texas apparently loved Kevin Durrant's time at the school so much they don't want anyone to wear his jersey ever again. He is one of nine longhorn athletes to have his number retired which also includes former quarterback Vince Young. Now I have a problem with this. Honestly yes Durrant is one hell of a player but does he really deserve to have his number retired? He was their one year. His team did better in the NCAA tournament without him this year than they did the year he was on the team. Unfortunately I see this happening more and more around basketball. I wouldn't be surprised to see K-State retire Michael Beasley's number or USC retire O.J Mayo's number. Anyway on to my new team in the top 25 this week is Louisville. Yes they lose David Padgette but they still have Edgar Sosa, Earl Clark and Terrence Williams. The ACC might have the best team but the best conference race this year will be in the Big East.

Gonners View Top 25

1) North Carolina

2) Pittsburgh Panthers

3) UCLA Bruins

4) Louisville Cardinals

Home Run Derby Preview

I don't know how many people actually look forward to the Home run Derby but it is something I look forward to every year. True this years contest doesn't have the marquee names as it did in the past but it has a lot of young up and coming players that are quickly becoming All-Stars in Major League Baseball. Here is a look at the contenders.

American League Contenders

Justin Morneau 1B Minnesota Twins-2nd Home Run Derby contest. (Finished 5th place out of 8 in 2007). Morneau was the last competitor named to the home run derby. He has 14 HR and 68 RBI's in the first half of the 2008 season. Morneau is one of the only two competitors who actually have home run derby experience and is one of my picks to surprise in tonights competition.

Evan Longoria 3B Tampa Baby Rays-First Home Run Derby Contest. Longoria has 16 HR and 53 RBIs in the 2008 so far. Longoria is one of the many surprises to come out of the sunshine state this season as the Rays are a half game behind the Red Soxs for first place in the AL East. However I don't think Longoria will get out of the first round because nerves will get to the young guy.

Grady Sizemore CF Cleveland Indians-First Home Run Derby Contest. Sizemore has 23 HR and 54 RBI's in 2008 so far. Sizemore is one of the only bright spot for the Indians this season as he is the AL leader in home runs at the All-Star break. Should be one of the favorites to win the competition but I see him fading after round one. Expect to see him in this competition for years to come.

Josh Hamilton RF Texas Rangers-First Home Run Contest. Hamilton has 21 HR and 95 RBI's in 2008 first half. The best single player story of the first half is definitely Hamilton after his battle with drug addiction. It would be absolutely amazing to see him win the competition. Expect Hamilton, who is the MLB RBI leader at the All-Star break, to stay around for a while.

National League Contenders

Dan Uggla 2B Florida Marlins-First Home Run Contest. Uggla has 23 HR and 59 RBI's in 2008 so far. Uggla has probably the best home run swing of any of the competitors. However with this being his first time will he let the pressure get to him. That is something to watch out for. If he can brush the pressure off, Uggla has a real chance to win this competition.

Chase Utley 2B Philadelphia Phillies-First Home Run Contest. Utley has 25 HR and 69 RBI's in 2008 so far. Utley was one of the hottest hitters in first few months of the season. However his last few months he has been overshadowed by teammate Ryan Howard, who leads the National League in home runs with 28. I see Utley being a first round casualty but he will have a huge second half for the Phillies.

Lance Berkman 1B Houston Astros- Fourth Home Run Contest (Best Finish- 2nd in 2004 contest). Berkman has 22 HR and 73 RBI's in 2008 so far. Berkman is my pick to win the contest for a few reasons. One he has been here before and should be the most loose of all the competitors and two he has a swing that can get him deep in this competition. However his home run history is somewhat of a concern. Berkman has been a first round exit in two home run contests he competed in including only having 1 home run in the 2002 contest so anything can happen.

Ryan Braun LF Milwaukee Brewers- First Home Run Contest. Braun has 23 HR and 66 RBI's in the 2008 so far. Braun has been the hottest hitter down the stretch as Milwaukee is closing in on the Cubs in the NL Central race. I think Braun will be a first round exit, I just seeing nerves getting him in the way of any success in this contest.

College Basketball Minute

The three point line is officially moving back in 2008. The three point line, which was 19 feet 9 inches, is moving back one foot and is getting closer to the NBA 3 point range (23 feet 9 inches). I think it is a very good move for college basketball because it seemed like three pointers were easy to come by in 2007 especially for some post players who have some range on their shot. The true three point shooters shouldn't be affected by the new rule but it should be interesting to see come November how much a foot will actually affect the game. Also #3 team in my poll despite losing a lot players the UCLA Bruins have yet another good team ready to make a run in March. They are fine in the guard position with Collison and Shipp but need some young guys to come up and take the place of Love and Mbah a Moute on the interior.

Gonners View Preseason Top 25 Poll

1) North Carolina Tar Heels

2) Pittsburgh Panthers

3) UCLA Bruins

A Letter To Brett Favre

So if you are like me you are pretty sick and tired of ESPN reporting every little text message Brett Favre sends to the entire world regarding his thoughts of coming back to the NFL for the 17th billion time. Yes when Brett Favre made his decision to retire in early March I honored the great NFL quarterback. But now instead of taking the Joe Montana or John Elway road into retirement he is taking more the Vinny Testaverde or Warren Moon approach to it (basically hanging on until no team wants him anymore). I personally think Favre has nothing left to prove to us. So I have decided to write a note to Brett to hopefully set him straight.

Dear Mr Brett Favre,

I know you could give a rats ass about a 20 year old kid from Iowa's opinion on your return to the NFL saga but I am gonna give it to you anyway. Its simple....don't come back. I mean seriously Brett you have played for 17 seasons you own every good (and some bad) NFL records and the biggest thing every player in the National Football player is after and thats a Super Bowl ring. Yes it will be weird not seeing you take the huddle with the Green Bay Packers next season but its time to hang up the jersey. I mean I dunno what your feelings towards Aaron Rodgers are but seriously the young guy has more pressure on him than probably any quarterback having to replace a legend ever has. Its been nice seeing you play and we will see you in Canton in 2012.

Sincerely,

Nate Gonner

College Basketball Minute
The UConn Huskies, one of the teams that will eventually make their way into my Preseason Top 25, have released their Big East schedule for the 2008-2009 season. That include two games against Notre Dame, Seton Hall, and Pittsburgh. UConn’s BIG EAST regular season home games will be against Georgetown, Providence, Rutgers, USF, Syracuse and Villanova. UConn’s road BIG EAST games will be at Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, St. John's and West Virginia. Speaking of Pittsburgh they are my #2 team on my Preseason top 25. If they can stay healthy this team has the depth, led by DeJuan Blair, Levance Fields, and Sam Young, to cut down the nets in April.
Gonners View Preaseason Top 25
1) North Carolina
2) Pittsburgh

Rose The Right Fit For Chicago

A Note to my readers,
I am sorry for the long absence. It has been a very crazy summer for me and I hope to get back in the groove and am excited to bring my view of sports back to you.
Nate Gonner

When the NBA Draft lottery was set a month ago I was dead set that the Chicago Bulls would take Michael Beasley from Kansas State. Personally I thought the Bulls needed so desperate help on the interior both rebounding and scoring. What better way to fix that then to bring in a guy who was third in the nation in scoring and first in the nation in rebounding. However Derrick Roses maturity and leadership skills are something the Bulls need far superior than Beasley's numbers. In one season at Memphis, Rose won 38 games and was two minutes away from winning a national championship with the Tigers. His play against the top guards in college basketball (i.e. D.J Augustin, Darren Collison, Drew Nietzel) in the NCAA tournament propelled him from a Top 10 prospect to the number one pick overall. His ball handling skills and quickness are already better than any of the guards on the Chicago Bulls right now (a backcourt which consists of Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, and Larry Hughes). Beasley has skills to make him a All-Star in this league, but with Rose's leadership and not to mention his ties with Chicago (he hails for the windy city) it was a no brainier for the Bulls.

Who's on their way out of Chicago?
Now with Rose on board Chicago has a ton of guards and not a lot of big guys down low. Now they have trade bait that could land them a very good veteran post player. Personally I think if you can the Bulls should keep Ben Gordon who has averaged 18 points his career compared to Kirk Hinrich and Larry Hughes who both have averaged 14 points per game for their entire career. Not to mention Gordon is much cheaper at four million dollar contract in 2008 compared to Hinrich's 11 million and Hughes 12 million. I would expect the Bulls to move one or both Hinrich and Hughes in order to open up some cap room for free agency this year and for years to come (Remember Lebron James contract in Cleveland ends in 2010). If Bulls fans are patient, Rose can bring another championship back to the windy city.

College Basketball Minute
If you are regular reader of my blog you know how much I love college basketball and so I have decided to incorporate College basketball into everyone one of my posts. Now that the NBA Draft is over its time to look at the Top 25 teams starting the season in 2008. Starting with the team at the top. They brought back more talent from last years team than any other team in college basketball, including the player of the year Tyler Hansbrough. The depth and experience the North Carolina Tar Heels are second to no one in the ACC Conference and in College Basketball.

Gonners View 2008-2009 Preseason Poll
1) North Carolina Tar Heels

Mayo Recieving Gifts Isn't Surprising

Finally we have a source to back up the allegations. Just yesterday the story broke on ESPN that O.J. Mayo has been receiving gifts since he was a freshman in high school. I mean come on people if the guy has been dubbed the best of the 2007 class as a 7th grader, you don't think someone is going to try and lure him to their agency? If you don't think so then you are crazy.

The Background Story
According to Louis Johnson, a former part of Mayo's inner circle group and a story from ESPN.com said Mayo accepted around $30,000 in cash and gifts during the past four years from Rodney Guillory, a 43-year-old Los Angeles event promoter. In addition to cash, the gifts included a flat-screen television for Mayo's dorm room, cell phone service, a hotel room, clothes, meals and airline tickets for Mayo's friends and a relative, according to Johnson, others with knowledge of the gifts and store receipts. When Mayo was in high school in Ohio and West Virginia, Guillory was receiving monthly payments from the Northern California sports agency Bill Duffy Associates. Johnson said BDA provided Guillory with around $200,000 before Mayo arrived at USC, and that Guillory used most of the money to support his own lifestyle but also gave a portion of it to Mayo. Mayo denies all allegations. Read the full story here

My Thoughts
The thing that caught my attention that wasn't brought up in the story had to deal with Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony and Mayo. It was rumored that during the season, Mayo got free tickets to a Denver Nuggets game courtesy of Anthony. That was the first thing that popped into my head when I heard that Anthony and Mayo were both Bill Duffy Associates (BDA) clients. Could this be a gift from one basketball player to another? Perhaps, but it seems kind of fishy that two players now owned by the same sports agency just happen to talk and Anthony just happened to give him free tickets like he was his best friend or some type of family member. I think once more things unfold you can bet a couple things. One USC is treading on thin ice with this and the Reggie Bush scandal still fresh in the minds of the NCAA committee. Two that if convicted Guillory is going to be behind bars as it is a misdemeanor in the state of California for sports agents or their representatives give gifts to high school or college athletes. Last at number three as he is trying to do anything to raise his draft stock, Mayo now has something no player wants while trying to make it in sports, a distraction.

Plus Check Out The Sports Flows MLB Power Ranking

Whats Wrong With New Yorks Baseball Teams?

So the baseball season is officially into full swing now. After struggling early it seems like the predicted front runners are now a top of their division after a tumultuous start. Everyone except New Yorks duo of high paid and high powered teams. Yes you can throw the Tigers struggling in that mix too. But for Detroit this is new territory. They haven't been outright picked to be a World Series contender in years,while the Mets and Yankees have. As of May 7th both the Mets and Yankees are a combine one game over .500. The New York Mets are sitting at 17-15 and a 1.5 behind the surprising first place Florida Marlins. Johan Santana has only won three of his seven starts this season. While the Yankees are 17-18 right now and are 4.5 games behind the Boston Red Soxs in the AL East. Alex Rodriguez being on the DL doesn't help the Yankees at all either. So for how much longer can the fans of these two franchises hold out before they start getting on a roll and start winning on a regular basis? Probably not for too much longer.

The Mets Not Over Collapse?
Now bare with me here I know the Mets have had some serious injury problems, especially to the starting rotation, but has this team really shaken off one of the biggest collapses in Major League history? To me I don't really think they have. I know the Mets front office thought that bringing in Johan Santana as their ace would be a quick fix but it really hasn't. The fact is the Mets have basically the same offensive team as they did a year ago. And in sports today, if you stay with your same team for a long period of time eventually things start to fall apart. For one they are getting fairly old with veterans like Moise Alou and Carlos Delgado still on the team. The fact is the core of the that saw their seven game lead with under 20 games to go just disappear is still in tact. Sure this team has the talent to win over a 100 games and make it to the World Series, but somethings like a collapse haunt you for a very long time and that maybe the case with the Mets.

Predictions for the Rest Of The Season
Honestly I see the Yankees hovering around .500 the entire season. This team seems to be in a little bit of a rebuilding stage and is trying to slowly replace the old veterans with young players and it is going to take sometime for them to gel together. So Yankee fans don't be disappointed if your team is watching from home this postseason because it more than likely is gonna happen. As for the Mets I think once they get healthy you will see a turnaround from them and they will start going on five and six game winning streaks more often. They are still my favorite to win the NL East.

There Is A Reason Kobe Has Only One MVP Trophy

I think it is about time I chime about this Kobe winning his first MVP award this year. I got the news from a sports buddy of mine and not ESPN. Well me and him have had debates all year long about the NBA and the LA Lakers. Some of them have gotten very heated. For those who don't know my favorite sport of all time is College Basketball, and my least favorite is the NBA. Now some of you may look at that and be like how the heck does that work. Well I will tell you, it has to do with players like Kobe Bryant.

Kobe The Oversized Baby
Yes its All-Stars like Kobe Bryant that make me hate the NBA. Guys who think they are all that and a bag of chips and have that no one can touch this smug about them. Kobe is seen around the league a role model. If you ask me he is anything but that. It seems like everyone forgot that this guy wanted out of Los Angles just last summer and was throwing numerous hissy fits about it. He complained about how Jerry West wasn't getting him guys that he could win with. Does a role model complain when he doesn't get his way? Apparently. Does a role model run his best teammate and coach out of town? Seems like it since Kobe ran Shaquille O'Neal and Phil Jackson right out of town after the 2003 season after they helped Bryant win three rings. Kobe said he didn't need anybody, that you could win without them. Well Mr Hot Shot hasn't won a ring since, and its because his I'm god complex has hindered him winning championships. Now I will be one of the first to admit that Kobe Bryant has amazing basketball skills, that is no question but his attitude and immaturity up pretty much until this point in his career has been the main reason I have a beef with the guy. For the first 28 years of his life he must of thought there was an "I" in team because this seems to be the first time that I have seen him actually being a team player. Which is why he finally won the MVP because the most valuable player because he learned to win with the players around him and was able to put up the numbers he has had in the past. Kobe finally woke up, smelled the roses, and thought hey I really do need some help in order to win and became a leader instead of trying to win a championship all by myself. Congratulations Kobe you have finally grown up, and everyone is so proud of you.

Comparing Kobe to MJ
The thing that makes me angry is when NBA experts have said Kobe is the next Michael Jordan. All the those experts you need to shut up and stop comparing this man child to the greatest player to ever run up and down the NBA court. Yes Kobe scored 81 points in a single game against the lowly Toronto Raptors in a regular season game. Yippee that still doesn't make him Michael Jordan. The only way Kobe could be MJ is if he somehow cloned himself from Michael Jordan, and I don't think that happened. When it is all said and done Kobe Bryant will be a lock to be an NBA Hall of Famer, but he will never touch Jordan's Legacy. So will everyone stop comparing any good player in the NBA to Michael Jordan, cause they aren't and will never be Michael Jordan. The bottom line is Jordan made the NBA great, and Kobe is slowly destroying it. That and the fact they play no defense in the NBA is why I think it is horrible. And thats the way the cookie crumbles. There maybe a day when I can watch the NBA again and actually enjoy it but it won't be until Kobe Bryant announces his retirement. Which won't be for another 10 or so years.

Headlines from the Sports Blogging World

Hey guys,

Unfortunately I won't be able to post a thursday post this week. I am in the process of moving out of college and finishing up finals. So I wanted to use this post to give some of my colleagues some press. There are a lot of great sports blog posts up this week, and here are a few of them.

My colleague Neil over at The Sports Lounge has a couple great basketball posts up on his site, including a great one about the Washington Wizards still having a pulse. The Sports Lounge

For all you fantasy baseball fans, my buddy Joe over at Sports Flow has a great fantasy baseball recap from last week. Breaking down who is hot, and who is not in the majors. The Sports Flow

April DeLancy, one of the most talented women bloggers I know, has a great blog up about Roger Clemens over on her blog Women Like Sports

Sports Attitude has some great stuff up on his site, including his thoughts on the NFL Draft. Sports Attitude

If you are interested in getting in my blog roll. You can leave me a post on here or email me at gonnersview@gmail.com. Happy Thursday everyone.

The Chiefs Are HUGE Draft Day Winners

As I watched the NFL Draft the past two days, I just hoped that the Chiefs would bring in someone that would make the Jared Allen trade worth while. I was maybe one of the only Chiefs fans not happy with the trade, and while I still am not 100 percent happy with the move, I definitely can live with it now.

First Round
If you have to give up a great defensive player in Jared Allen, no doubt getting the best defensive player in the draft is worth it and thats what the Chiefs got in Glenn Dorsey. Taught under the tenacious coaching of Bo Pelini, Dorsey is a guy that can just flat out push over offensive linemen. He will definitely be the anchor of the Chiefs defense for years to come. Then with their second first round pick they got the guy many mock drafts were predicting the Chiefs would pick at #5 in Branden Albert. Both guys will start day one for the Chiefs.

Second Round
With Ty Law gone and Patrick Surtain getting up their in age, the Chiefs needed a corner and they got a first round corner in the second round in Virginia Tech's Brandon Flowers. He is a very hard hitting corner with some pretty decent speed. He has a very strong upper body. Expect Flowers to be a starter from day one as well.

Third Round
Three picks in this round starting with running back Jamaal Charles out of Texas. Now I really didn't want a running back in this draft, but if we had to get one Charles was the guy. He is very explosive and has break away speed to leave defenders in the dust. The first questionable pick I thought was two picks later with getting tight end Brad Cottam out of Tennessee. This guy has some work to do but he could definitely pan out for the Chiefs. Big guy at 6-7 but doesn't seem to have good hands. Hopefully he can learn a thing or two under Tony Gonzalaez. I just didn't think they really needed a tight end. The last pick the Chiefs had in the third round they used on DaJuan Morgan out of NC State who should be a very solid back up safety for the Chiefs. Morgan was the Wolfpacks leading tackler in 2007 with 97 tackles to go along with three interceptions.

The rest of the draft
Loved the pick in the fourth round getting Will Franklin out of Missouri. He is the second fastest receiver in the draft and did very well last season at Missouri. He does have some injury problems which is why he fell into the fourth round. Brandon Carr out of Grand Valley State maybe a steal. He played for a two time Division Two National Champion and has excellent speed. Seeing him crush Northwests dreams twice in the national championship was enough to have me sold on this kid. They also got a good kick returner in Utah State's Kevin Robinson who had a total of four touchdowns ran back on kick returns.

All in All I am very impressed with the Chiefs draft. They hopefully will make some strides into getting back to the playoffs.

Sleepers in the 2008 NFL Draft

While everyone is talking who is going to be going in the first round, I am going to talk about some guys that aren't getting a lot of press that could very well make an impact at the next level.

1) Xavier Omon RB Northwest Missouri State University-Yes I might be biased, but I have seen him play for the past two years in person and ladies and gentleman the man flat out has game. Over 2,300 yards this last season and is the only back in any division college football to rush for over 1,500 yards in four consecutive seasons. He rushed for over 600 yards in two playoff games (309 against Chadron State and 292 against Grand Valley State). Yes he doesn't have Darren McFadden speed but the guy has pretty good speed running a 4.55 40 yard dash. I can easily see Omon being taken in the late rounds (probably 6th or 7th round).

2) Paul Smith QB Tulsa-Stellar senior year for Smith throwing for over 5,000 yards and 47 touchdowns. He also rushed for 13 more. His leader ship skills helped Tulsa win big in their bowl game against Bowling Green and to a 10-4 record. Some experts say he is a system quarterback and may have poor arm strength but his accuracy is comparable to the other quarterbacks in the draft. I don't see him slipping past the 6th rounds and could even go early in Day 2.

3) Todd Blythe WR Iowa State- Huge receiver out of Iowa State University with very good hands. The only reason he is not higher in the draft is he played for a bad team. Brett Meyer never really stayed in the pocket long enough to find Blythe down field. He was an All-Big 12 candidate in his sophomore season at Iowa State as well. A team that would draft Blythe is a team looking deep in the draft for a guy that could possibly come in a fill the #3 wide out spot. I see him going around Round 6 maybe late 5th but not much higher than that.

4) Dexter Jackson-WR Appalachian State-This kid has tremendous speed. Jackson runs a 4.37 40 yard dash and he could really be a great punt returner or kick returner at the next level. Didn't really have outstanding numbers receiving in college but his senior season was the best catching 30 balls for 688 yards and 8 touchdowns. He could be put in as a fourth or fifth wide receiver too. I see him going middle of the second day in the late fourth early fifth round pick.

5) Josh Johnson QB San Diego-Finishing up with a quaterback which had a 43:1 touchdown to interception ratio. Thats right Johnson only threw one interception this last season in college football while completing 68% of his passes. The only knock against him is he is very skinny for a quarterback and some are questioning his toughness in the pocket. He is a threat though to run the football at anytime. I see Johnson going early in Day two being a early to mid fourth round pick.

Baseball has had Backward Start To Season

For all my fellow readers out there I want to apologize that it took me until the middle of April to actually start talking about. You see to me the baseball season doesn't begin until the Final Four is over so last Monday was actually the first time I had even paid any attention to baseball. However, after the week I have used to get caught up on whats happening in the baseball world I have seen that there has been one reoccurring theme throughout the early going, its all backwards through the first few games.

The Good Surprises

As of Sunday night, the Arizona Diamondbacks are the best team in baseball. Yes all of baseball. They have scored a Major League leading 77 runs through 12 games while only giving up 45 runs. Justin Upton has been the leader for the Diamondbacks hitting .400 with 5 home runs and 11 RBI's with an on base percentage of over 1.100. And with Brandon Webb already having three wins in this young season, the Diamondbacks are quickly become the team to beat in the NL.
The team with the lowest payroll in baseball is leading the NL East. Yes it is not a typo the Florida Marlins with a 7-5 record have a game and a half lead in the NL East, the same Division as the New York Mets and Philadelphia Philles. It surprise me especially since the Marlins have given up 14 more runs than they have scored on offense. (56 Runs Scored 70 Runs Allowed).
The state of Missouri baseball teams has a combine record of 16-9. The Kansas City Royals have had a very good start to the season sweeping the Detroit Tigers in Detroit to begin the season and have been 4-5 since then. They also took 2 of 3 games from the New York Yankees. While the St. Louis Cardinals are leading the NL Central with a record of 9-4 while Albert Pujols is hitting .390. Going to school in Missouri I hear about both teams a lot and I have to say I am surprised by both teams fast start. Something to keep in the back of your head, A source of mine who is a Kansas City Royals fan said if the Royals are still around by the All-Star break that the Royals will go out and get another power hitter like the Reds Adam Dunn.

The Bad Surprises

The Detroit Tigers are the worst team in baseball with a 2-10 record. If you told me the Tigers would start 2-10 I would of thought you were smoking weed. How can this offense only score 33 runs? They have a payroll this season exceeding 150 million dollars. Thats absurd.
The AL East has all five teams within one game of the lead, and one of the teams on top isn't New York or Boston. Both are 6-6 and 5-5 in there last 10. David Ortiz is off to the worst start of his career with only three hits this season. Will Big Papi, the Yanks, and the Red Soxs get out of this early season slump. Stay tune. By the way the Mets aren't much better at 5-6 and a game and a half out of the NL East race. While Missouri has a record of 16-9 the state of New York is 11-12. Explain that one.
The NL Champs last year are 4-7. The Colorado Rockies haven't seem to shake off the World Series loss hang over just yet. And with how competitive the NL West has been in the early going, I don't see things getting any easier of the Rockies.

Right now the Division leaders are Arizona (NL West), St. Louis (NL Central), Florida (NL East), Oakland (AL Central), Chicago (AL Central), and Toronto/Baltimore (AL East). I know its early, but if this continues we are in for an interesting baseball season.

Self Would Be Smart To Stay At Kansas

It seems like even when things are going well for Bill Self the eyes of all Kansas fans are watching him, judging his every move. This time Jayhawk fans want to see if their coach, who lead them to their first National Championship in 20 years, is going to leave them. Last week it was rumored that Self was interested at taking over at his alma mater which is Big 12 rival Oklahoma State. The job opened up after Sean Sutton resigned after two years of being the Cowboys head coach. Now they want Self and for good reason. He is an amazing recruiter, and finally got over his elite eight hump and now has a championship on his resume. Not to mention he played basketball at OK State. However, even though he has a long history at Oklahoma State, I wouldn't accept the job.

Self's Road To Kansas Has Been A Long One.
Self's coaching career ironically started at the place he is currently employed. From 1985-1986 he was an assistant coach on for Kansas. For the next seven years he was an assistant at OK State. He finally got his first head coaching position at Oral Roberts started during the 1993-1994 season where he won only six games. It took him only two more seasons to build Oral Roberts in a contender, winning 18 games in his third year and in his fourth he guided the Golden Eagles to their first ever NCAA tournament in over 10 years in 1997. After the 1997 season, he was hired at the University of Tulsa and in just three seasons he guided Tulsa to their only Elite Eight. He then took a job at Illinois where in his first season lead the Illini to the Big 10 title and a birth in the Elite Eight. Then after two more successful seasons he went back to the place that gave him his first coaching job.

Oklahoma State his next destination?
Now Oklahoma State is throwing money at Self to be their next head coach. Self said he is committed to staying at Kansas and I fully believe him. He reminds me a lot of Les Miles and how he handled the situation at Michigan opened up. He said he was committed to LSU first and even though being a Missouri Tigers fan and hating Bill Self's guts I do have immense respect for how the guy handled the first round losses to Bucknell and Bradley back to back years and how he handled the critics saying he couldn't get over the Elite Eight hump. I hate flaky coaches who jump from one job to the next. Honestly coaching the Kansas Jayhawks is one of the Top 10 best schools to coach in college basketball. While he would be at his alma mater at OK State and would get more money to coach there Kansas is a once and a lifetime job. He just won a title there, meaning the fans will back off of him a bit. Not to mention I see a contract extension in his future. If Bill Self is smart he will be coaching Kansas for sometime to come.

National Championship Preview

Tonight one coach will win their first ever National Championship. Tonight two teams with high powered offenses and scrappy defenses square off in San Antonio. With a combine four losses between them this is one game you do not want to miss. So who is gonna take the prize? Will it be Brandon Rush and the Kansas Jayhawks or will it be Chris-Douglas Roberts and Memphis. Before I pick who will come out on top lets go back and see how these teams got here.

Kansas Jayhawks (36-3 (13-3 Big 12 Champions))-The Jayhawks started out the season red hot winning their first 20 games before losing on the road at Kansas State on January 30th. They would lose only two more the rest of the way leading them to tonights game with Memphis. Seven players have been leading scorers for the Jayhawks this year and not a single Jayhawk was named to the All-Big 12 team. This selfless group is lead in scoring by Brandon Rush who is averaging over 13 points a game, while three other players average over 10 points per game. A player to watch out for is freshman center Cole Aldrich who had 8 points 7 rebounds and 4 blocks in 16 minutes in the win against North Carolina. He will be a factor in stopping Joey Dorsey down low. Kansas has had a winning tradition the past couple years, winning 84 out of their last 94 games.

Memphis Tigers (38-1 (16-0 CUSA Champions)-The only team that had a better start to their season was Memphis, winning 26 games in a row before losing in late February to Tennessee. The haven't lost since. Not to mention that they had the toughest non conference schedule, playing Georgetown, Arizona, USC, Oklahoma, Connecticut, and Gonzaga along with Tennessee. They are lead in scoring by Chris-Douglas Roberts with almost 19 points per game and freshman sensation Derrick Rose who is averaging 14 points this season and dropped 25 in their win against UCLA on Saturday. Memphis is playing in only their second championship game, which they lost to UCLA in 1973.

Who Will Win-Kansas leads the all-time series with Memphis 3-2. Tonight Memphis evens the score. Kansas won the last match over 20 years ago back on December 28th 1987 64-62 and Memphis will win by the same score. This game is going to come down to who turns over the ball more and Kansas turned the ball over 19 times against North Carolina. UCLA turned the ball over 12 times and lost by 15 to Memphis. CDR will have a great game for Memphis as they will win their first ever National Championship Game. And as a Missouri Fan living in Midwest country I see a lot of Kansas fans all the time and today I came up with another great Kansas Hater Chant. So for Kansas fans this is for you: Rock Chalk Jayhawk....FUCK KU! Have a good week everyone talk to you on Thursday.

My Thoughts On The Final Four

Now two remain. Memphis and (Kansas) are left to fight for the 2008 National Championship. Here is what I thought of Saturday's action.

For the second year in a row my champion falls in the semifinals as UCLA loses to Memphis. Last year I had Georgetown winning it all and they fell to Ohio State.

Lets start with UCLA. One thing it seemed like many of their players had butterfingers in today's games. They have too many rebounds slip through their hands leading to second chance opportunities for Memphis. Also UCLA wasn't committed to getting Kevin Love the basketball. The Bruins had Joey Dorsey and Shawn Taggart both had 3 fouls in the early portion of the second half and they were more worried about trying to get back into the game by way of the three pointer.

The critics (including me) can shut up about Memphis's free throw shooting ability. They make the free throws when they count stepping up and making 20-23 from the charity strike to put UCLA away. Derrick Rose scores 25 points the tigers and was giving Darren Collison fits on the defensive end. Collison would end up only scoring 2 points and fouling out in the final minutes of the game. Also loved Joey Dorsey's stat line. Zero points 15 rebounds.
Also congratulations to Memphis for winning their 38th game this season, the most ever in one season in Division 1 basketball.
Kansas let Tyler Hansbrough score 17 points but made him earn every single one of them as the Jayhawk defense propelled Bill Self into the championship game. The Jayhawks at one point in the first half were up 40-12 over the Tar Heels. It was just the third time this season that North Carolina was held under 70 points.

The player who impressed me the most was Cole Aldrich off the bench for Kansas. In 16 minutes he scored 8 points, grabbed down 7 rebounds, and had four blocked shots. I would expect Aldrich to player more minutes Monday against Memphis.

The stat that really hurt North Carolina, 5-24 from three point land. It looked to me that UNC was trying to get back into the game with one shot instead of using their great transition game to get them easy points.

One game remains. Tune in tomorrow for an in-depth championship preview as Memphis takes on Kansas for the 2008 National Championship.

Final Four Preview

We are down to the final four and man what a tournament it has been. After all the upsets and nail biting games we are left with all #1 seeds left in the tournament, the first time that has ever happened. San Antonio is the place to be this weekend and here is the way I see the games going on Saturday.

UCLA vs Memphis-tip time approximately 6:07 pm on CBS-This is a rematch of the Elite Eight contest back in 2005 (UCLA won that game 50-45). While I don't think that game is going to be that low scoring, it will be just as close. The Memphis Tigers come into the Final Four as probably the hottest team defeating Michigan State and Texas soundly after getting a scare from Mississippi State in the second round. UCLA is in about the same boat. They just squeaked by Texas A&M in round two before winning more comfortably against both Western Kentucky and Xavier. Many of these players on Memphis's team played in that 2005 Elite Eight game and would love nothing more than to get some revenge on their way to the National Title Game. However this is UCLA's third straight trip to the final four and Memphis is looking for revenge, the Bruins don't see the Florida Gators in this Final Four (the team that ended their season the last two years) so you have to like the Bruins chances as well. The matchup I am watching for in this game is Kevin Love against Joey Dorsey. Dorsey isn't a guy that is going to score you 20 points a night. He reminds me a lot of Ben Wallace of the Cleveland Cavilers because he revolves his game around defense. He is gonna have to be at his best against one of the best freshman in the land in Kevin Love. Also am looking at the Freshman Phenom story angle between Love and Derrick Rose. Who Wins: I have UCLA as my champion and am picking them in this basketball game. Both teams have great defenses and both have very good transition games but UCLA has been their the past two years and you can't beat experience. Bruins by 5.

Kansas vs North Carolina-tip time 30 minutes after the conclusion of UCLA/Memphis on CBS- Its a game Jayhawk fans have been waiting to play for the past five years. As good as the players are in this basketball game the biggest storyline will be Roy Williams going up against his former team. Williams left the Jayhawks after the conclusion of the 2003 basketball season. Finally Bill Self has got over the Final Four hump and wants to make sure his first final four experience is a memorable one. Overall for this entire tournament North Carolina has been playing the best basketball from the opening game to now. Every other final four team has had a game in this tournament decided by 3 points or less. Carolina lowest margin of victory was 10 against Louisville. However if there is a team in this entire tournament that has the talent to go toe to toe with the two loss Tar Heel team it is the Jayhawks. They play of Sasha Kaun off the bench helped the Jayhawks escape Davidson and don't forget about Brandon Rush, Mario Chalmers, and Sherron Collins. Hansbrough will more than likely will be guarded by Darnell Jackson (with Arthur getting some time on him as well). If they can stop Ty Lawson from outrunning them up and down the court the Jayhawks are in this game. Carolina will like to get out and run. Who Wins: I think the game though comes down to depth and Kansas has it. The Jayhawks need to get Hansbrough in foul trouble early and if they do that they can build a lead and keep it. Kansas wins against Roy's Tar Heels and advances to the Championship game.

Full National Championship Preview coming up on Monday. Hope everyone has a great weekend of watching College Basketball (and when basketball isn't on a little baseball)

My Thoughts of the Elite 8

In all my years of being a die hard sports fan I thought I would never see all #1 seeds make it to the final four. Some of the 1 seeds coasted into the final four, others struggled. This is what caught my eye in the round of 8.

The dream for Davidson is over. I couldn't believe Curry picked up his dribble and actually passed on the final shot of the game. Curry for now is saying he is going to come back to Davidson for his junior season, but we all know that could change at anytime. If he does infact come back Davidson will more than likely be in the preseason Top 25 poll. To me this game is kind of in different. For those who know me I am a huge Missouri Tigers fan so I hate Kansas but I have them going to the championship game this year. Although the bracket side of myself is happy, my hating Kansas side hurts because it would of been an amazing story to see Kansas lose to another mid major in this decade. Plus it would of set up an amazing rematch between Davidson and North Carolina (for those non die hard college basketball fans Davidson only lost by four to UNC during the regular season). Oh well I guess I will just have to settle for what very well could be the game of the decade between Roy Williams and North Carolina against his old team the Kansas Jayhawks. Darn.

Have to give props to Memphis who really suprised me as they easily handled Texas. I had been on the bandwagon of Memphis all season saying they deserve to be #1 when they were playing Conference USA teams. I dropped off them winning the championship when I saw the side of the bracket they were on which had some of the hardest teams in it. They have proven me and the rest of the critics wrong by getting by three great teams (Mississippi State, Michigan State, and Texas) to get into the final four. Free Throw shooting has really not been a problem since they played Mississippi State but they are playing a very very good UCLA team who they have seen in recent tournament past. I love the matchup down low that could go on between Love and Dorsey.

Finally even though it was only a ten point win I thought North Carolina had dominated most of the game and has been no doubt the most impressive team in this tournament to this point. All the other number one seeds had a least one game decided by three points or less. They will have a great opponent waiting for them in the final four when they play Kansas. Expect a fast paced game on Saturday as both teams like to get out and run up and down the floor.

We are down to the final four now and in less than a week a champion will be crowned. Tune in Thursday for Final four analysis and predictions

My Thoughts On The Sweet 16

The Sweet 16 can really be summed up by one word...blowout. There was only one game decided by single digits in the round of 16 (Xaviers overtime win over West Virginia 79-75) and many of them weren't close at all. Here is what caught my eye in the Sweet 16.

We will start with the Cinderella Davidson who took Wisconsin behind the woodshed in the second half and torched the Badgers 73-56. Stephen Curry went off again scoring 31 points in the game and now has 103 points scored in 3 tournament games. It was his teammates who helped him out today by scoring early and allowing Curry to get looks in the second half. Let me say to all those people who think KU is going to run over Davidson you are in for a wake up call starting right now. This team has gone toe to toe with Duke, UCLA, and UNC in the regular season. Yes Kansas is beating teams by an average of 20 points per game the best margin in the NCAA but it won't happen in this game. Jayhawk fans better be ready for a nail biter on Sunday.
Speaking of Kansas they had themselves a good game against a team they should of beat in Villanova to move into the Elite eight. Kansas's defense tonight was great and is one of the most underrated part of this teams game. They are more known for there high octane scoring but this team can very much win games in the 50's and 60's. Curry will get his points but you can bet there will be a couple Jayhawks hassling him all night on Sunday.
Texas used at 20-3 run to pull away from Stanford which shows that even though having big men is good having a good core of guards is just a little bit better. D.J Augustin was his normal self today as he scored 23 points to lead the Longhorns. The Big 12 is the only conference that has two teams left in the tournament and i think they will have two in the final four as well.
Xavier got luck Joe Alexander fouled out in the first minute of overtime cause if he played the full five minutes i think Xavier is going home. Josh Duncan played the game of his life and in foul trouble none the less scoring a career high 26 points. He played with four fouls for half of the second half. Duncan is going to need that kind of effort if he is going to be UCLA.
Western Ketucky's Cinderella bid is over thanks to UCLA but not without a fight. After being down 41-20 at half, the hilltoppers climbed back to cut the lead to four but couldn't get int any closer. Kevin Love's 29 points was a killer for Western Kentucky.
UNC rolled despite not scoring 100 points for the first time in this tournament. It was amazing that Tyler Hansbrough was held to only 2 points in the first half.
Probably the biggest surprise of the tournament was how bad Louisville beat Tennessee. The Vol's, who never lead in the game, shot a horrid 33 percent for the game and 25 percent from three point land. It is the second straight impressive blowout in as many games for the Cardinals. Something tells me they won' do that against UNC.
Drew Neitzel ends his Spartan career with only three point in a blowout loss to Memphis. What a bad way to end a great career.

Elite Eight Picks

UNC over Louisville-Tarheels have the best transition game in the country. Louisville has to cut down on the turnovers (19 against Tennessee) if the want to keep it close.

UCLA over Xavier-This one will be very close in fact I think this goes to overtime but Kevin Love will be too much for Xavier and will get Josh Duncan in four trouble again.

Texas over Memphis-Impressive performance by Memphis as they were up as much as 30 against Michigan State but the guard play of Texas will be too much.

Kansas over Davidson-I am rooting for the Wildcats but at the end of the day there is too much talent on this team as KU is on a mission and will meet UNC in the final four which could be the game over the decade.

Enjoy the next few days of basketball guys talk to you again on Sunday.