Shakers on Sports

USA Basketball - Getting Set For London

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 01:24:00 +0000

UPDATE:
Chris Sheridan is reporting that 19 players will be selected for the preliminary roster. I almost nailed it. They included Chauncey Billups instead of Amare Stoudemire. I assume Amare pulled his name from contention. LaMarcus Aldridge is the 19th player selected. I would've chosen Rudy Gay as #19.
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USA basketball was quickly back in the headlines this week, as Director Jerry Collangelo has started contacting players to gauge their interest in playing in the upcoming Olympics. Unlike previous Olympics and FIBA World Championships post-Dream Team, Collangelo and Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski have the cream of the crop to choose from. This is lining up to be the best group of talent since the world-famous squad in 1992.

So, with that in mind, I wanted to take a dive in the current roster to see how the top 18 will shake out. USA Basketball plans to announce the 18 players who will be candidates for the Olympic team by the middle of this month, Colangelo said Friday. I started going through the names in my head, and I quickly realized that cutting to 18 already includes some very difficult cuts.

Four players from the 2008 Olympic team have been ruled out of consideration for the 18 2012 finalists. Those four are Chicago's Carlos Boozer, Detroit's Tayshaun Prince, Phoenix's Michael Redd and Dallas' Jason Kidd, so that makes it a little easier. But, there are some GOOD players that won't even make training camp! A good problem to have, I guess. Let's take a look:

Point Guards
Locks to make the cut: Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Derrick Rose
Probably in the 18:
Russell Westbrook - can play the 2 with that crazy athleticism.
On the outside looking in: Stephen Curry - his great outside shot is a good fit as a zone buster. Weak defensively.
Won't make it:
Rajon Rondo - he's probably not even including his name as a candidate, but even if he did, he's still probably out. Not a good fit for international ball.

Swingmen
Locks to make the cut: Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Lebron James, Kevin Durant
Probably in the 18:
Andre Iguodala - His versatility defensively gives him a leg up over the other small forwards on the roster.
Eric Gordon - Played well in Greece and is their best fit as a zone buster, but still plays defense (unlike Curry).
On the outside looking in:
Rudy Gay - similar to Iguodala, will be a fun competition to watch between the two.
Danny Granger - seems like a great fit for this style, but didn't play well in Greece and barely saw the floor.
Won't make it:
Tyreke Evans - much better NBA player than international style against mostly 2-3 zones.
OJ Mayo - won't outplay Gordon or Curry with this roster.
Jeff Green - scheduled for heart surgery soon

Bigs
Locks to make the cut: Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Dwight Howard
Probably in the 18:
Blake Griffin - hasn't played with USA basketball yet, but the rumor he is the only new addition to the roster. Need to find a spot for that talent.
Kevin Love - good fit as a big defender and outside shooter. Pretty good token white guy :).
Tyson Chandler - the only other "true" center on the roster and a favorite of Coach K.
On the outside looking in:
LaMarcus Aldridge - doesn't have much experience with these coaches and really, look at that list above.
Al Jefferson - an interesting choice, with the paint moving the NBA size in these Olympics. The best post-scorer on the roster, but too much competition.
Lamar Odom - was a vital part of the FIBA champs in Greece and has a lot of USA hoops experience. Coach K will struggle to not include him.
Won't make it:
David Lee - not enough defense
Brook Lopez - not enough FIBA experience
Robin Lopez - doesn't belong on this list

The Final 18
So, after thinking long and hard about this list, here is the 18 players I think Collangelo and Coach K need to bring to camp to get ready for the London Olympics

Point Guards: Paul, Williams, Rose, Westbrook
Shooting Guards: Bryant, Wade, Gordon
Small Forwards: James, Durant, Iguodala
Power Forwards: Anthony, Bosh, Stoudemire, Griffin, Love, Odom
Centers: Howard, Chandler

Now THAT is a great list of ballers to choose from. A great group of talent with versatility, athleticism, shooters, defensive, and international experience. While we're at it, here's my top 12 to suit up for Team USA in London in a perfect world:

PG: Paul, Williams, Rose
SG: Bryant, Wade
SF: James, Durant
PF: Bosh, Stoudemire, Griffin
C: Howard, Chandler

Good luck with that team, world.

USA Basketball, will this roster fit the bill in Turkey?

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 02:45:00 +0000

With the FIBA World Championships approaching quickly, I've oddly spend a lot of time thinking about who should play for Team USA in Turkey next month. After watching the first few practices on NBATV, and re-watching how Coack K and his staff handled his squad in the Gold Medal game two years ago, I've decided to take my best shot at figuring out the best 12 players the red, white, and blue can take to the Worlds. Nothing wrong with some elite-level basketball in the summer, right?

Point guards

Chauncey Billups – A natural leader and truly the only veteran presence this roster has. He's not an ideal fit for this team in that he's not a push-the-ball PG, but he brings value with a solid outside shot and physical defense against bigger guards. Team USA needs Chauncey to be a calming presence in close games. I picture Billups playing more off the ball the way Deron Williams was used in the Olympics against pack-it-in zone defenses.

Rajon Rondo – Obviously I'm a little biased here, but Rondo fits the mold of what Jason Kidd has brought to USA Basketball throughout his undefeated FIBA career. I know, I know. He can't shoot. But Rondo brings a lot more to the table than he takes off. The biggest advantage we have over other countries is our athleticism, so we need a point guard that will push the ball every possession and try to get as many easy buckets as possible. With the right shooters around him, Rondo has a knack for finding guys open and in rhythm. He's also the best on the ball defender on the roster and will pressure the hell out of opposing point guards, causing turnovers and getting more of those easy baskets we need. The less we are in a half court set, the better.

Shooting guards

Andre Iguodala – One thing that Coach K has stressed over and over is that he wants position flexibility with his roster and Iggy brings just that. His ability to guard both smaller quick guards and bigger forwards provides Team USA options for the right kind of lineup to handle different styles. While he's obviously not at the same level, I can see Coach K using Iguodala in a similar way he used Lebron in China. Run the floor on the break, while hitting open shots on offense; guard some of the bigger forwards on defense. His athleticism will cause mismatches when slower forwards have to keep up with our aggressive, uptempo style.

Stephen Curry – The best shooter on the roster outside of Kevin Durant, plus his ability to play the point or off the ball gives him an advantage to make this team. He may a bit of a liability defensively, but he seems to have the type of court sense to be in the right place at the right time. He seems like a guy you would love to play with, and I predict that Curry will find himself playing big minutes and even crunch time minutes.

OJ Mayo – Much like Curry, Mayo can handle the ball but will add more value off the ball as a shooter. He also is good at getting in passing lanes to start fast break opportunities. While I don't see Mayo providing anything that Iguodala and Curry already bring, Mayo seems like the right fit as an emergency guard that will only play in mop up duty against weaker opponents. Not bad for a borderline all-star caliber player.

Small Forwards

Kevin Durant – the only no doubt, superstar on this Team USA roster. The biggest adjustment that Coach K and his staff will need to make in Turkey is to truly revolve an offense around one scorer. I'm not saying that KD needs to jack 25 shots a game, but it would be wise to make sure Durant gets in a rhythm early and they continue to ride his offense. We've seen how the expanded offensive repertoire of Carmelo Anthony has dominated recent FIBA competition. Well, Durant has that game and more. It will be fun to see how much he can carry us offensively.

Danny Granger – one of the least recognized all-star caliber players in basketball today. The way I think Iguodala can play the 2 on offense and the 3 spot on defense, I think Granger can be a sniper on offense, but guard power forwards with his 6'8” 230-lbs. frame. People keep talking about the lack of shooters on this roster, but I think the right lineups can expose zone defenses very effectively.

Rudy Gay – the type of elite athlete that not many other countries can showcase. He's exactly the type of player you want to see on the wing filling the lane on every fast break. I worry about his defensive indifference at times, but he should be able to get some run against countries that are more turnover-prone against our pressure.

Power Forwards

Gerald Wallace – the biggest flaw that this roster has is a serious lack of rebounding. Good thing that we have one elite rebounder with Wallace. Another elite athlete, “Crash” will attack the boards and run the floor for plenty of dunk attempts. The problem with Wallace is his lack of any offensive moves that will translate to the FIBA game. Coach K will need to surround Wallace with plenty of shooting, so he can spend his time doing the dirty work. I don't see a lot of other options.

Lamar Odom – the last time Odom donned the red, white, a blue, Team USA left Athens with a very disappointing bronze medal. I'm hoping that Lamar learned a lot from that experience and comes to this training camp with a better knowledge of how to utilize his wide array of skills. Coming off three straight trips to the NBA Finals, Odom now has a lot of big game experience. Hopefully that will come in handy in Turkey. We will need his length on the boards and his shooting touch when guarded by less mobile big guys.

Centers

Brook Lopez – the only true center that has the skills to make a big impact in the World Championships. He has the size to guard a player like Marc Gasol, and still has to touch to step out from the trapezoid and knock down shots. Lopez better have his conditioning down, because we will need a lot of minutes out of this budding star.

Kevin Love - Love has the kind of game that's a perfect fit for FIBA. He doesn't have amazing size or athleticism, but has a great knack for rebounding. What I really love is what he does when he grabs those rebounds. Our point guards will love the Wes Unseld-like outlet passes that will help us push the ball for bunnies. Love may not be a true center, but he is our best option to back up Lopez for this run in Turkey.

Toughest Omissions

The obvious guy left out is Derrick Rose, who is becoming an elite NBA star. I just don't see how Rondo and Rose can make this team and be useful together. I can definitely see Rose making the team and Rondo being left off, but I give Rondo the edge because of his pressure defense and superior passing ability. With Steph Curry filling in as a 3^rd point guard if needed, I don't see a need for Rose. It reminds me of the U.S. roster for the 2002 World Championships, when we had Andre Miller and Baron Davis. Both young point guards trying to become elite players and butting heads throughout the whole process as we stumbled to a 6-3 record without a medal. It will be tough to leave a guy like Rose or Rondo off the roster, but I think it's the right thing for this coaching staff to do.

I would have picked both Amare Stoudemire and David Lee to make this team, but Amare's lack of contract insurance forced him to stay away and Lee destroyed his finger in their very first practice. The injury will keep him out of action.

Tyreke Evans is of a similar mold as Rose, with a great NBA game. But, the versatility of our other guards leaves him out.

Russell Westbrook is left out because of too many point guard options and not enough spots.

Tyson Chandler could get a possible roster spot because of our lack of size, but Wallace and Love should be good enough rebounders to leave Chandler's limited offensive game home.

Starting Lineups & Second Unit

After watching how Coach K handled his roster in China, I can see a similar outline for his rotations with this squad.

My predictions for the starters:

PG Rondo

SG Iguodala

SF Durant

PF Wallace

C Lopez

Similar to the way Jason Kidd was used to start games and get guys running and comfortable early, Rondo can be used in the same fashion. We want to speed up the game as much as possible, and Rondo is the perfect guy to force turnovers and fly up the court looking for open scorers. The length of Iguodala, Durant, and Wallace will give opposing offenses plenty of trouble, while Lopez works with Wallace to clean up the boards. We may have a lack of size, but all five starters here are excellent rebounders.

My second unit:

PG Curry

SG Billups

SF Granger

PF Odom

C Love

This unit can come in and provide more of a half-court offense if the opposition slows the game down. Chauncey will still be effective off the ball as a spot up shooter and can guard bigger guards so Curry isn't a defensive liability. All five guys can stretch the floor with their outside shot with Steph providing the offensive creativity and Granger getting his offense going with his size advantage.

My crunch time lineup:

PG Curry

SG Billups

SF Durant

PF Granger

C Lopez

This group has four excellent free throw shooters down the stretch and can play a variety of styles. Curry can push the ball with Durant and Granger filling the lanes, or the shooting range of our guards and forwards can bust a zone. Lopez provides the size needed for post defense. Coach K liked to use Lebron as his power forward down the stretch in the Olympics, and I can see Granger filling this same role.

Overall, this team will have its share of weaknesses and can be exposed against teams that slow the game down and use the pick and role as their primary offense. Lucky for us, Team USA is not the only team without major stars. Dirk, Pau Gasol, Ginobili, Parker, Kirilenko, and Mehmet Okur will all miss the World Championships with an assortment of injuries or other reasons. It should still be an exciting tournament for die hard basketball fans like me. We'll see if any of my predictions for our roster and lineups come true. We're far from having a Dream Team, but I think we have enough talent to win it all if we play the right way. I'm looking forward to watching some basketball without hearing about Lebron's decision or worrying about KG's knees.

Go USA.

My 2009 Sports Wish List

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 19:16:00 +0000

Much like my 2008 Sports Wish List, I feel the need to write a list for this year based on two huge items that really happened:

Paul Pierce wins the Finals MVP

and you know what that means...
Banner number 17 goes up for the Boston Celtics

When something that big happens in my life, I don't take it for granted. Also, My list in 2007 had the trade for Garnett on the list, so I think it's definitely worth my time to come up with a new group of bullets for what I would love to happen for my teams in '09. In somewhat of a particular order, here we go:

We can sit down and watch one Michigan football game without highlights of Appalachian State or Toledo...ugh
The Lions head honchos (Tom Lewand and Martin Mayhew) hire a set of coaches with winning experience and aren't behind the curve with some fancy "system" that stopped working two years ago (Mariucci with the West Coast offense, Marinelli with his Tampa Two, Marz with his Fastest Team on Turf, etc.)
The Tigers get back to their 2006 ways with solid starting pitching and top notch defense.
Danny Ainge is able to pull off one last move for a veteran big man before the playoffs starts for the Celtics.
Rich Rodriguez uses his snake oil and wizardry to lock up a 2nd QB and some surprise talent on signing day without losing any more of their verbal commits. We've already had way too many.
Calvin Johnson and Kevin Smith stay healthy and make their first Pro Bowl together.
Gary Sheffield makes a shocking comeback and hits well all year as the DH in Detroit.
Rajon Rondo makes the trip to Phoenix in February to play his first of many All-Star games for the Celtic point guard.
KG, Pierce, and Ray Ray all join him.
Mayhew and the Lions draft at least five solid starters for next year's squad. It can't be that hard to find five starters for that crappy roster, right?
Michigan basketball finishes above .500 during the Big Ten season and makes the NCAA Tournament.
Manny Harris wins Big Ten Player of the Year along with the Tourney bid.
Tate Forcier immediately locks up the starting QB gig with the Wolverines and we never, ever, ever, ever see another snap taken by Nick Sheridan in Ann Arbor.
Tigers newcomers C Gerald Laird, SS Jason Everett, and SP Edwin Jackson quietly add a spark to the roster at Comerica and push Detroit back into playoff contention.

and for the Big Ones:
Michigan basketball makes an exciting run to the Sweet Sixteen behind a turnover-creating 1-3-1 trapping zone and great three-point shooting from Harris, Deshawn Sims, Laval Lucas-Perry, Stu Douglass, and Zack Novak.
The Lions get back to mediocrity behind a nice group of youngsters and quiet the critics about behind the worst franchise in sports.
Miguel Cabrera and Magglio Ordonez battle for MVP votes as the Tigers are winning Playoff games.
With Forcier at the helm, the Wolverine offense starts to click, the linebackers and safeties improve and Michigan has a chance down the stretch to get into a New Year's Day bowl game again.
Everything falls back into place, the defense continues to dominate, and the Celtics win championship number 18 with another Finals win over the Lakers.
And this time, Kevin Garnett wins Finals MVP

NBA 2008 Eastern Conference Preview

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:49:00 +0000

Since every single football team I root for is either completely rotten or just mediocre, including my stupid fantasy teams, I'm jacked that the Celtics first preseason game is tonight. With that excitement comes my 2nd annual Eastern Conference preview for the 2008-09 NBA season. A certain team that I enjoy from Boston did pretty well last year; I think this gives me a little more drive to write. My opinions may have been biased last year, but they sure ended up being pretty accurate, weren't they? Let's get it going:

Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics – 59-23

This is the same record that I predicted for last year, but the C's shot right past my win total for a league-best 66-16 record. I'm obviously still high on my ballclub this year, but I think there are a few reasons for expecting them to just miss the 60 win total. First, losing James Posey to New Orleans is a big loss. "Pose" not only was a clutch three-point shooter, his defensive prowess allowed Boston to play small ball when Kendrick Perkins needed a rest or was in foul trouble. I'm not sure the combo of Tony Allen/Darius Miles/Bill Walker/JR Giddens can make up for the loss of the new Big Game James. The second reason for a worse record is just the fact that the Celtics will get every team's best game each night with a big target on their back. The Big Three are a year older and I think Doc will truly try to limit their minutes this year. Winning in April is a lot more important than blowing teams away in December. I'm still loving this team, though.

Toronto Raptors – 45-37

While the big news in the Atlantic this offseason has been the addition of Elton Brand in Philly, those rabid fans up in Canada are screaming, "What about us?!?!" Not only do the Raptors return their starting lineup from a year ago, they've added Jermaine O'Neal to bolster their interior defense. On paper, the rotation of Jose Calderon, Anthony Parker, Jason Kapono, Jamario Moon, Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargani, and O'Neal looks pretty impressive. If the trio of Calderon, Bosh, and O'Neal can stay healthy, they could really make a run at Boston. That's just not an "if" I would count on. They're still a low-seed playoff team at worst.

Philadelphia 76ers - 44-38

Maybe I'm way off on this, but the 76ers sure feel like the overhyped team that will really just be an average team in the East. Sure, Brand is definitely a nice addition to a playoff team. But, that playoff team was 40-42 last year. This team could definitely be scary in a playoff series, because they are so scrappy. I just don't see them as a season long dominant team. I'm giving them a 6 seed or so. However, this could be the year that Philly finishes the first round upset. You paying attention Pistons fans?

New Jersey Nets – 30-52

Can you really trust Vince Carter to carry a team for 82 games anymore? I say no. With a young group of guys, including Devin Harris, Yi Jianlian, Brook Lopez, and Josh Boone, being "led" by Vince, I can see frustration and tanking-thoughts come April. It's not a contract year for Carter. Meanwhile, Jay Z will continue to talk to Lebron every single day.

New York Knicks – 28-54

Well...they have a new coach. Mike D'Antoni takes over a Knicks team that isn't really built to run. This should be interesting. Stephon Marbury is still hanging around, but Chris Duhon is supposed to start at the point. Yup, Chris Duhon. I think Jamal Crawford could put up some big numbers, but how can you push the ball when Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry are your big guys? Square peg, round hole.

Central Division

Cleveland Cavs - 61-21

Man, this team scares me. When you have a superduperstar, how do you want to build around him? An array of good shooters? Check. A group of big men that make an impact without needing the ball? Check. Hard-nosed defenders? Yup. Lebron has been asking for a better supporting cast for years, and I think he finally has it. Mo Williams is the type of point guard that can take a bit of the scoring load off James, and they now have the right mix. I see the Cavs getting home court throughout the Eastern Playoffs this year. And I don't like it.

Detroit Pistons – 52-30

We heard about all the changes that were going to happen to the Pistons roster this offseason, and all they got was Kwame Brown? I agree with Joe Dumars that they couldn't make a deal just for the sake of making one, but a little bit of a shakeup might have been needed here. The only interesting bit I've found on Detroit this preseason is that Amir Johnson may be starting at power forward over Antonio McDyess. We'll see how long that lasts. Jason Maxiell is their best 4-man anyway. Maybe they can snap out of their lull and be dominant again, but I see them taking a few steps back this year.

Indiana Pacers – 38-44

Larry Legend is starting to finally look like he knows what he's doing as a GM. Jim O'Brien's system is basically to chuck up as many threes as they can and play solid enough defense to win. This team is capable of doing just that. Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy are their shooters, Danny Granger is their go-to guy and their three centers should be scrappy and physical. The addition of TJ Ford and Jarrett Jack is an upgrade over Jamaal Tinsley, too. I think Indiana can get in as the 8-seed this year.

Chicago Bulls – 36-46

The Bulls completely falling off the map really came out of nowhere last year for me. I predicted they would be in the Eastern Conference Finals! It turns out the early Kobe distractions made an impact and shots just wouldn't fall anymore. Number one overall pick Derrick Rose should take over at point guard early and bring a new energy to this team that really needs a spring in their step. Then again, they still don't have a post scorer. So when their shots are falling they will look like world beaters. The next night they will get killed. Another lottery might be needed in the Windy City.

Milwaukee Bucks – 29-53

If there's a team that could come out of nowhere and be much better than expected, it's the Bucks. I actually like their starting lineup. It's just that I think they currently have the worst bench in the league. I don't see one impact player on their roster off the bench for this season. Michael Redd and Richard Jefferson can score, but I don't see enough here to get them out of the Central cellar unless their starting five stays healthy all year and a solid sixth man emerges.

Southeast Division

Orlando Magic – 52-30

There really isn't a big reason to believe that Orlando will be any better or worse than last year. Michael Pietrus is a bit of an upgrade at the 2 over Keith Bogans and Jameer Nelson should continue to improve. But I don't expect Hedo Turkoglu to play as well as he did last year and Dwight Howard is coming off a long summer winning Gold with Team USA. So I'm keeping them at 52-30 like last year.

Atlanta Hawks – 44-38

The Hawks have definitely put together an intriguing group of athletes. Joe Johnson emerged as an elite scorer in the NBA and the Josh Smith/Al Horford duo provides a crazy combo of athleticism and strength inside. If Mike Bibby plays well, this team is as intimidating as any in the East this year. Atlanta fans are probably sick of hearing it, but I think they are still a year away from being real contenders.

Washington Wizards – 37-45

Not only is Gilbert's knee a huge question mark going into the season, Antawn Jamison went down last night with a knee injury of his own. Is just doesn't seem to be in the cards that the Arenas/Butler/Jamison Wiz will ever climb the mountain. They'll have a chance to get hot and make a run at the Playoffs, but really, what does it matter?

Miami Heat – 35-47

I can't figure out Shawn Marion. He wasn't happy playing with the best point guard in the NBA and now he still seems dissatisfied playing in Miami. Why wouldn't you want to run with D-Wade and Michael Beasley? There point guard situation is beyond shaky, but that's quite the talented trio to build around. We'll see how this Matrix drama unfolds, but for now I'm keeping them out of the Playoffs. Still a great improvement on last year's tank job.

Charlotte Bobcats – 20-62

Imagine if the Bobcats drafted Brandon Roy instead of Adam Morrison in 2006. We could be talking about Charlotte hosting Playoff games. Instead I think they are the worst team in the East, if not the League. Jason Richardson and Gerald Wallace will be exciting enough to keep some butts in the seats, but they won't win many games.

Playoff Teams: Cleveland, Boston, Detroit, Orlando, Toronto, Philly, Atlanta, Indiana

Eastern Conference Finals: Cleveland over Boston in seven

NBA Finals: Lakers over Cleveland in six

What Went Wrong For Michigan?

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:42:00 +0000

It's an exciting, frustrating, energizing, and curiously confusing time to be a fan of Michigan football in 2008. After being accustomed to slugfest Big Ten football for generations, Rich Rodriguez was brought in to throw this program for a loop. And that he did.

As much as we either loved or hated Lloyd Carr, there was always the comfort of knowing that our athletes and style of play was superior to the majority of our opponents and three or four tough games a year would be the difference between a Big Ten title or a fan base grumbling about an 8-4 "down year."

Not exactly the case anymore. With a slew of talent either leaving for the NFL, transferring, or quitting altogether, Rodriguez is now forced to put a square peg in a round hole to get a few "W"s on the board in '08. So what went wrong against Utah and why will we struggle this year? Here's a few things I've noticed, some of them pretty obvious:

1. Nick Sheridan was even worse than I expected. Steven Threet was only a little bit better.

Anyone that watched a minute of this game or read any team previews before the season knew that the QB position was going to be a weakness for the Wolverines. But Sheridan was lost. It was thought that his hint of speed would be an advantage in our offense over Threet, but Sheridan's feet were not effective in any way; although he did have a chance at one first down on an option keeper. Of course he stumbled and fell over before the 1st down marker. At least Threet throws a good deep ball that can keep safeties out of the box to open up swing passes, bubble screens, and short crossing routes from our buzzing slot guys. Sheridan decided that chucking the ball up into triple coverage when he was forced into trouble was a good idea. He also missed plenty of reads that should've moved the ball. Threet will take a sack and make the correct check down reads. It's the difference between a four-star talent and a walk-on. Just sayin'. The longer we stick with Sheridan, the harder it will be for the rest of the offense to improve. Thank God that Tate Forcier and Shavodrick Beaver will be in Ann Arbor next year.

2. This is the worst offensive line Michigan has had in my lifetime.

Normally this would sound like an exaggerated statement. But it's true, and there's good reason for it. Jake Long and Adam Kraus headed to the pros. Seniors Jeremy Ciulla and Alex Mitchell didn't like the new running program and quit. Our highest rated returning lineman, Justin Boren is a dirty Benedict Arnold and transferred to that state down South filled with tramps and idiots. Add the knee injury to presumed starter Cory Zirbel and you have a mess of backups and freshman as your new starting line in a new system. It's a horrible combination of erratic recruiting and bad timing. But there's no getting around it, this offensive line will make it very hard for our offense to be successful against good teams.

3. The defense under achieved in the first half, but they'll be ok.

I had very high hopes for this defense going into the Utah game, and towards the end of the 2nd quarter I thought I was watching last year's Oregon game again. Terrence Taylor looked slow, our linebackers couldn't cover, and we were getting no pressure on a QB who was obviously faster than the men in winged helmets chasing him. But in the 2nd half things changed. Defensive Coordinator Scott Shafer made adjustments (seriously, halftime adjustments!) and pulled back the zone blitzing and three deep coverage that obviously wasn't working and went to a cover 2 mixed with some man-to-man that helped our linebackers in coverage and relied on pressure from the defensive ends. For once in the past 20 years, our defense was in better shape than their opponents and things started clicking. I like our chances to be solid this year, and we'll need every stop we can get to win ballgames.

4. Our backs and receivers are talented, but looked nervous and a little a slow in the first game.

I'm definitely not saying our backs and receivers are slow (OK, Greg Mathews is a little bit slow), it's just that with a new offense sometimes the players are out there thinking about what to do instead of letting their talent take over and make plays. I think this was the case against the Utes. Sam McGuffie and Michael Shaw seemed to stumble a lot, Daryl Stonum and Martavious Odoms were not very sharp on their routes, and all of these little things add up to be the difference between a successful play and an incomplete pass or a stop for no gain. I'm confident this group will look faster and sharper this weekend. Getting Kevin Grady back this week may give them a boost with a power runner as well.

So that's my thoughts on the first week of Michigan football under a new regime. It was ugly, as we all probably thought it would be. It's just too bad that the defense couldn't keep us close enough in the first half to come back and win the game. As far as I'm concerned, I will enjoy this season as long as we improve in small steps from week to week. It's cliche to say, "Be careful what you wish for," but in this case we definitely got what we asked for. It's that "being patient" part that we're not so fond of.

My 2008 Sports Wish List

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 20:11:00 +0000

The other day I decided to read through the Wish List that I created in January last year and it turned out that almost every bullet point on the list didn't end up happening this year. The key word here is almost.

At the time, the craziest wish that I added to my list turned out to be one of the only wishes that actually came true for me:

The Celtics make a huge trade and Paul Pierce suddenly has a new teammate.......
Kevin Garnett

You can check out last year's wish list here.

Because that one huge sports wish came true for me, I'm compelled to write a 2008 version. If anything on this list can make me as happy as the Garnett trade has, then this blog will be an overwhelming success.

So here is my 2008 Sports Wish list (in somewhat of a particular order again):

We can watch one Michigan game in 2008 without seeing highlights of Appalachian State
The LA Clippers buyout Sam Cassell's contract and he comes to Boston in time for some clutch Playoff shooting
Miguel Cabrera reports for spring training in the best shape of his life
The Lions find a way to trade up and build their offensive line around a rookie named Jake Long
Mike Hart finds the right roster and is a starting running back in the NFL
Dontrelle Willis finds his electric 2005 form
Mike Martz stays in Detroit and figures out a way to move the ball consistently with passing AND running plays
Antonio Bass comes back healthy to give another spark to the Wolverine offense
Jeremy Bonderman finds a shrink that can hypnotize him during 1st innings
Kevin Jones and Roy Williams play one full healthy season together in Detroit
Sam McGuffie becomes a freshman sensation juking and hurdling Big Ten defenders all year long
Jim Leyland ages yet ANOTHER year without lung cancer
Super Mario Manningham decides that he wants to spend one more year in Ann Arbor
Ernie Sims makes the Pro Bowl that he deserved this year
Shaun Rogers joins Sims in Honolulu not because of his big name, but because he stopped being lazy and earned it
Justin Verlander pitches another no-hitter, this time in the Playoffs
Scout.com's top-ranked QB, Terrelle Pryor, follows his cousin Tony Clemons to Ann Arbor and is running the spread offense for Coach Rod next year
Ryan Mallett decides to stick with the Wolverines to form a dominant 1-2 QB Combo with Pryor a la Chris Leak and Tim Tebow at Florida
Joel Zumaya comes back from his dirt bike accident, ahem, I mean box falling accident and still has his 100 mph heater
Calvin Johnson starts to prove that he really is the best player from the 2007 NFL Draft
The starters stay healthy, the bullpen holds up, and the best offense in baseball lives up to their billing on its way to a Big October
Lions players JUST SHUT UP and make the Playoffs without any damn predictions
Rich Rodriguez seamlessly fits his spread offense and 3-3-5 stack defense into the Wolverine's current group of talent and finally figures out a way to beat Mr. Sweater Vest in Columbus
Kevin Garnett brings home the hardware as regular season MVP and Defensive Player of the Year

BUT
Paul Pierce wins the Finals MVP

and you know what that means...
Banner number 17 goes up for the Boston Celtics

My Biased Eastern Conference Predictions

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 20:39:00 +0000

I haven’t been this excited for an NBA season since I was dunking Nerf balls through a plastic Dr. J court in my bedroom. If you know me, you know why. The Boston Celtics are contenders again. Not Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker, make it to the Eastern Conference Finals contenders, but real NBA Championship trophy contenders. The C’s are on National TV right now, it’s only the preseason, and I can’t wipe this smile off my face.

Almost every year I pick up the NBA video game for whatever system I have. This year I’ll be picking up NBA Live for the Nintendo Wii. The only difference this year is that I won’t have to make the trade in my Celtics Franchise that I make every year. That’s because every year I trade for Kevin Garnett. I never thought that KG would actually don the green and white.

Soooooo, there’s a pretty good chance I’ll be watching a lot of NBA games this season. I always have my own ideas of what teams will succeed and who will fail and I’ve never been shy about expressing my opinions. This seems like the best tool I have for letting you all know what they are. Division by division, here’s my Eastern Conference shakedown for the upcoming NBA year. I’ll make sure that I let everyone know about any of these predictions I have correct when The Truth hoists that beautiful golden trophy over his head in June. That’s right, you heard me.

Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics – 59-23

Let’s start this thing off with a bang. You all know about the Big Three, or the C-Notes, or the P.G.A. Tour, or whatever nickname ends up sticking with them. My sky-high expectations also exist because I really like the players they have around them. Rajon Rondo defends, can handle the ball and take it the hole. He may be inexperienced, but he won’t have to completely run the offense like Nash or Kidd. Kendrick Perkins is a banger, works hard on the boards, and doesn’t need the ball to make a positive impact. James Posey also defends, can hit the three, and does the little things that help teams win close games. Eddie House is a fantastic outside shooter and can be a Microwave-like player off the bench. Tony Allen’s athleticism gives Pierce or Ray a nice break every night. There’s a lot to like. I’m sure there will be a transition period, and they may struggle when the frontcourt gets in foul trouble, but when it comes down to it, KG’s intensity and superior talent can push them over the top.

New Jersey – 51-31

This is another team with a “big three,” but they have failed to get their entire unit to click in the past few seasons. Every year I’ve looked at Kidd, Vince, and Jefferson and thought, “Man, they should kill this crappy division.” It just hasn’t happened, and now the division is WAY better. The magic of Jason Kidd will still get this team into the playoffs, and getting Nenad Krstic back is a big help, but until I see Vince stop settling for jump shots and start taking the ball to the rack in key situations they will just be another team.

Toronto – 45-37

The Raptors had a very nice regular season last year, with Chris Bosh taking his game to a new level and things falling into place for coach Sam Mitchell. Now, I look at their roster and I just don’t see the same type of success happening again. TJ Ford and Jose Calderon is a nice point guard combo and Andrea Bargnani has some nice potential. Is that it? I really believe that having three teams in the Atlantic with 35 wins or less lifted them in the standings to where they were mentioned with the top teams. Then in the Playoffs they were exposed as an average squad. With rumors swirling that Bosh isn’t completely healthy further leads me to the conclusion that Toronto will struggle to get a final spot in the East and my guess is that they won’t get in.

New York – 42-40

This may be the toughest team to predict in the League this year. Is there talent here? No doubt. Would you bet your bank account on this group of guys meshing to form a consistent team? I know I wouldn’t. Between the distracting offseason with Isiah’s sexual harassment lawsuit and their best two players earning their money with the exact same type of game, it seems unlikely to me that this is going to work. Stephon Marbury and Jamal Crawford are both gunners, Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry are both black holes, and David Lee is stuck on the bench. If Phil Jackson or Greg Popovich coached this team, I would be worried about the Knicks. With Zeke? Not so much.

Philly - 35-47

One thing about Philly is that you know they will play hard every night. Sixers fans should be proud of the guys they have on their roster. But they just don’t have enough firepower to contend. Andre Miller is a very underrated point guard and Andre Iguodala is a stud, but where will the scoring come from? Kyle Korver better start launching as many shots as Iverson used to, because they will need 20 plus a night from him to hang in this division. That doesn’t mean they won’t give teams fits every night, though. Losing a superstar is never easy; it will take a few years for Philly to get back to normal.

Central Division

Detroit – 61-21

Their starting five may be getting old, but with the improvement of Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson I think the Pistons have the right formula for a very successful regular season. Chris Webber is gone, but Antonio McDyess can step into the starting five seamlessly. They’ll still execute, they’ll still defend, and they will continue to keep on clicking their way to one of the top spots in the East. The problem with Detroit is that I think they will wear down come Playoff time when young legs will have a nice shot of ousting them again. That team may very well be…

Chicago – 58-24

Another year of this group together has Bulls fans almost as optimistic as the fans in Boston. Hinrich, Gordon, and Deng are tough as nails and Tyrus Thomas should be improved with a year under his belt. Throw in the hustle and defense of Joakim Noah and the leadership of Ben Wallace and you have yourself a team built for the long run. The downfall of this roster still seems to be the lack of a post scorer, and relying on the jump shot to score enough each game can get difficult. I think they should’ve pulled the trigger on the Pau Gasol trade. They still have enough to be a lock for the Playoffs and will push Detroit to their limit for the top spot in the Central and even the top record in the East.

Cleveland - 49-33

I think that Lebron James is completely capable of averaging 30 points and 10 assists for an entire season. But until the Cavs add some players that can finish open shots that James sets up, it won’t happen. Lebron has had one busy offseason, trying to become the “global icon.” After watching him on Team USA I kept saying, “He is going to be even more unstoppable this year,” after he kept hitting jumper after jumper. Yet, without help, the Cavs don’t have enough talent around James to get through the improved East this year. Cleveland’s franchise better be careful or Lebron will be wearing that N.Y. hat and playing there too.

Milwaukee – 39-43

The Bucks roster is a lot like the crowd when you watch a game in Milwaukee, blah. Michael Redd is tough and they have a nice young frontcourt with Andrew Bogut, Desmond Mason, and Charlie Villanueva, but I’m definitely not sold on them making any real noise this year. Chinese rookie Yi Jianlian will at least keep the media interested in the Bucks for a little while. The Cheeseheads shouldn’t get their hopes up here.

Indiana – 36-47

Jermaine O’Neal is already beat up and sulking, not a good sign for fans in the Hoosier State. I expect a break out year for Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy is a nice role player, but they lack a game-changing point guard or any depth in the post. Larry Legend needs to start wheeling and dealing soon, because this team is going nowhere fast.

Southeast Division

Washington – 58-24

Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, and Antawn Jamison are all back and healthy, so I really like how this team is built for the regular season. They’re kind of like a poor mans version of the Phoenix Suns. Their lack of post scoring will make life very tough for them once the Playoffs roll around, but Hibatchi is good enough to dominate this division with their run-and-gun fun. The Wizards still a healthy Brendan Haywood for the whole year, because they don’t have much depth behind him at the center spot. Still, they’re my pick to win the Southeast.

Orlando – 50-32

Dwight Howard looks ready to finally become the dominant force we’ve been waiting for and the addition of Rashard Lewis gives them the type of outside scoring they need, even though the contract Lewis received is ridiculous. The biggest weakness I see with the Magic is that they don’t really have a guy that can create his own shot on a consistent basis. Lewis always had Ray Allen making plays for him and Howard can’t pass it to himself. Jameer Nelson and Trevor Ariza really need to pick up their game for Orlando to become a legit contender in the East. I still like them to earn a Playoff spot.

Atlanta – 46-36

I really like what the Hawks did in the draft this year, picking up the most NBA ready talent outside of Durant and Oden with Al Horford, and finally getting the point guard they need in Acie Law. Joe Johnson and Josh Smith are legit NBA talents; there’s no doubt that there’s plenty of talent here. I just think that Speedy Claxton isn’t the answer at point guard and Earl isn’t ready to take over right away. They’ve got a shot to get that final spot in the East if Toronto falters like I think they will.

Miami – 41-41

Speaking of the Heat, my main man Ricky Buckets just got sent to some much nicer weather getting sent from Minnesota with Mark Blount for Antoine Walker, Michael Doleac, Wayne Simien and a first round pick. Ricky Davis provides the type of scorer the Heat need while Dwyane Wade is out for the first month. Does that mean they’ll win without Wade? No. Shaq will still dominate in spurts, but why should I believe he’ll play for more than 50 games? And with Flash’s aggressive style, can he stay healthy when he does come back? I’m not so sure. I think the Heat’s lifespan has passed and they’ll miss the Playoffs altogether this year.

Charlotte – 32-50

Sean May: out for the year. Adam Morrison: out for the year. Things are starting out horribly for the Bobcats this year. Sure, Jason Richardson and Gerald Wallace will be fun to watch and Emeka Okafor is a great defensive talent, but that’s it. No consistent go-to scorer, no bench, and a rookie coach with no NBA experience whatsoever tells me that they’ll really struggle to find their way. They’re a year away from earning their stripes and becoming a real NBA franchise.

Playoff Teams: Detroit, Boston, Chicago, Washington, Orlando, Cleveland, New Jersey, Atlanta

Eastern Conference Finals: Boston over Chicago in six

NBA Finals: Boston over San Antonio in seven

There you have it, my rundown of the East; an improved conference with a lot of big-time storylines. Of course I’m biased towards Boston and may be finding extra faults on other teams because of it, but hey, this is my blog and I’ll be biased if I want to. That 25-point beatdown of last year’s Eastern Conference champions and KG’s triple-double sure didn’t help that bias. I’ll check back on these predictions come Playoff time and let you all know how well I did. And if I’m way off, maybe I’ll forget to bring it up again ;).

Go Celtics!!!

Wolverines Looking for Champaign

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 00:09:00 +0000

I'm officially nervous. Just when I thought that Michigan's season wouldn't matter as much to me and I would just watch games on Saturday and relax, they reeled me right back in with six straight wins. Now they're taking on the Illini tonight and we find out that Mike Hart isn't starting. Wait, what?!?? I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. So here we are, 7:12 p.m. CST and I'm gonna keep writing as this game goes on with my big boy of Amber Bock and my cell phone handy.

First Quarter

Opening kickoff, sick. First of all, we can barely see what's happening because of the stupid ABC camera coverage and he returns it to Michigan's 33. Kirk Herbstreit and Brent Musburger are giddy. Musburger is under my skin already.

Can't have a worse start than this. Juice Williams' first pass goes for a TD. I'm already having Oregon flashbacks. Speaking of Juice, why would you want to keep the same nickname as a famous murderer?

Carlos Brown gets the start at tailback tonight instead of Brandon Minor. They look like they are ready to suffocate right now as he gets swallowed up. I guess we'll see tonight if Chad Henne has improved at all in four years. I'm not so sure he has.

After a couple completions, Henne throws an absolutely rotten pass behind and off Manningham's hands for a pick. Champaign is rocking right now, and I just threw my first pillow of the night. This team looks absolutely stunned and lost without Hart. Maybe this is what I get for letting the Wolverines take hold of my emotions again.

Amazingly, the defense gets a nice stop finished off with a Chris Graham sack. That's big. Also, Illinois just ran into Greg Mathews before the punt came to him. Hey Greg, there's this football invention called a "fair catch." Feel free to use this tonight. I guess it was better for Mathews to be lucky than good this time.

Wait, Michigan lost to Appalachian State? I didn't know that. Thanks ABC for letting me know. On a similar note, Minnesota lost to I-AA North Dakota State today. My life just got a little bit better.

3-and-out for Michigan. The blocking looks terrible and Henne has a Navarre-like feel to his game tonight. I wonder if Hart will lobby with Lloyd Carr to suit up at halftime? If anyone would pull a Willis Reed during a football game, it would be Hart. This is my imagination's way of staying optimistic about this game.

Coming back from the break, they show Henne walking towards the locker room with a shoulder injury. Looks like we'll have a Mallett showing!!! Talk about learning under fire now. I truly realize now how much I've never trusted Henne in a tough situation; when a true freshman is coming in to a game on the road down 7-0 and I'm happy about it. Heath just texted me a hilarious message about Henne. I think he agrees. The defense gets a second 3-and-out in a row. Here we go.

Sideline reporter Lisa Salters makes sure we learn nothing new about the Henne injury.

After a decent drive, Michigan settles for a field goal. Decent throw from Mallett to Arrington on 3rd and goal, but great coverage breaks it up. Henne just ran back onto the field as well as we go to commercial. Where's Ryan Seacrest to add drama when you need him.

Zoltan Mesko! Sweet name, awesome punter, AND a great hold on that field goal. Now Henne looks like he's coming back. Boo. That'll end the first.

Second Quarter

Manningham is hurt and is going to the locker room!!!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaghhh!!! I just started ripping out my chest hair.

Illinois storms down the field like they're the Patriots or something. The defense never wraps up and it looks like they have no clue where the ball is on each play. 14-3 Illinois. It might be a long night. And to add on to the misery, I just started the Shakers Pizz Plan.

Why does Michigan insist on Minor as their kick returner? We don't want to use someone with breakaway speed? C'mon. At least use Mathews.

Henne is back in. Herbstreit thinks this is a great sign for Wolverine fans. This from the guy who probably has a scarlet sweater vest on under his suit.

Manningham is back in and looks ok and Arrington beats his man for a long reception from Henne. This is a TD-needed drive right now.

Touchdown Manningham!!! When in doubt, throw it to Mario. Again and again. I can't stress this enough. Throw it to Mario 20 times a game. I even think the Michigan marching band should learn the Mario Brothers theme song and play it during every third down just to remind Henne.

MJ's son, who will play hoops for Illinois this year, is shown at the game. Apparently Musburger's scouts think he will do well. Apparently Musburger has scouts. Jeffrey Jordan is getting interviewed during a football game. I wonder what's happening during the FOOTBALL game? Jeffrey does seem to have some of his Dad's charisma, though.

A nice stuff job by Big Blue on 3rd and 2. The first time that Juice's fake handoff out of the shotgun didn't confuse the D.

So this is what happens to our offense without Mike Hart. We completely throw away the running game and go four-wide shotgun every play. Two straight sacks later, we punt out of our own end zone.

Roughing the punter!!!! Big break for the Wolverines. Mesko almost broke his leg on that landing. With the ball back, the running game comes back too.

Huge third down catch by Carson Butler with a real nice throw from Henne. Go ahead Chad, prove me wrong. Please, prove me wrong.

Touchdown Adrian Arrington!!! Wait, no!!! The ref rules him out. We NEED to review this. Review it. Review it. Hurry up. Ok they are. I can't figure out what the ref saw that made his brain think incomplete. It seems obvious that his left foot was in. They better overturn that call or I will completely flip out.

The call is reversed! Yessss. 16-14 Michigan. Make that 17 with the extra point. Adrian Arrington is definitely one of the most underrated receivers in the country. He gets overshadowed by Manningham, but he has been equally if not more reliable this season. He will make an NFL franchise happy next year.

Another twist to this Saturday night TV Drama. Henne is back to the locker room and this time is looks way worse. He is holding his arm against his body like he can't move it. Mallett better get ready for the 2nd Half.

Illinois lets the clock run out and that's the end of the first half with a score of Michigan 17, Illinois 14. Another funny Lloyd Carr halftime interview. Like he was really going to talk about Henne's injury. These interviews will be the only thing I miss when Lloyd finally retires. Les Miles, we love you. Time for a bathroom break and a mug fill up.

Third Quarter

We're back with Kirk and Brent. It looks like Henne is still ready to play. Michigan will get the ball first, and Junior Hemingway is even worse at kick returning than Minor. I miss Steve Breaston. Didn't think I would ever say that.

Guess I'm wrong again. Mallett is in, but Henne is suited up. This is one of the strangest games I've ever seen. Did the Desperate Housewives writers script this game?

After some conservative play-calling, Michigan is forced to punt when Mallett gets sacked on 3rd and long. The pass blocking was great, but Big Tex ran around for a few minutes and didn't find anyone to throw at. Where's that gunslinger we saw in his first few games? Lloyd must be secretly turning him into a robot. A robot that holds on to the ball too long.

Juice misses an open receiver in the end zone on 3rd down and forces Illinois to attempt a field goal that flies wide left. Michigan's D looks shakey but still holds on for the stop. Now we'll see what QB Michigan decides to use this drive.

Mallett's in again and just scrambled for a first down on 3rd and long while getting whacked instead of getting down. I love his moxy, but Mallett doesn't always seem like the sharpest knife in the drawer. That'll end the 3rd.

Nooooooooooooooooo!!! After a pass inteference on Manningham brings Michigan to the 3o, Mallett fumbles the snap and Illinois recovers. Our momentum is officially gone.

Illinois running back Mendenhall thrashes through our defense down inside the 20, but the D holds again and forces a field goal. 17-17 with 3:36 left in the 3rd. The barn is burning folks.

Daaaaammmmmmniiiittt. After a couple really nice runs from Carlos Brown and Minor gets Michigan inside the 20, Mallett throws an interception on 3rd down. It looked like he was just a second late on his read, and you can't afford to be late at this point of the game. I like the fact that we didn't run some stupid draw and we're playing to win, but a freshman QB will have his ups and downs. That was a big down. We really could've used that field goal.

Fourth Quarter

For some reason Juice has been benched these last two drives replaced by Eddie McGee. He is extremely fast, as shown by leaving Shawn Crable in his dust the previous drive. I have no clue why Juice was benched, but McGee is making some things happen.

Morgan Trent just got toasted and ends up interfering instead of giving up the TD. Morgan Trent, the Terrell Buckley of college football. The pass interference ends up being a good thing as Michigan's D forces a punt.

Chad Henne is back in the football game. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to what QB comes in from drive to drive. Let's hope Henne brings something new.

And he doesn't. BUT, they luck out and Greg Mathews gets tackled by his facemask giving the Wolverines a first down. Zoltan would've been punting without the penalty.

Another gigantic penalty: Manningham gets hit late out of bounds on a wide receiver screen. Fifteen more yards. Thank you very much.

Just when it looks like Henne and the boys are putting a nice drive together, they try a hand-off out of the shotgun for a six yard loss. I'm not sure if this was a Henne audible or a bonehead play call, but I do know it was atrocious. Third and 16 on the biggest drive of the game. Henne just called a timeout to scheme what crappy play we'll try next. What's that I hear? Yup, it's the Mario Brothers theme song. Throw it up Henne. Do it. Do it.

Holy crap, they really tried to try it. But Henne overthrows him by five yards. Mario was WIDE OPEN. This goes back everything I hate about Henne.

What a rollercoaster!!! Illinois fumbles the punt return on the 13 yard line!!!! Big, big mistake by the Illini. Time to take advantage. We need seven.

Unbelievable, Arrington throws a reverse pass to Mario for a touchdown!! 24-17 Michigan. The most creative, unexpected play call that Michigan has run in my lifetime. This almost feels like Lloyd Carr's swan song. That play call would've never been called in the last 20 years by the Wolverines. I'm shocked. I'm laughing like a school girl. I just did a little dance. Great throw by Arrington too. Eight minutes left in this game and I am drained.

Illini are forced to punt after a 3-and-out with Juice Williams back in the game. Nice pass rush from the front four on all three plays. This is followed by a horrendous punt and Michigan has the ball at the 50. Now, we will see if Carlos Brown and/or Brandon Minor have what it takes to grind out some first downs and run some clock. You KNOW we won't be throwing on first and second downs now. I just got worried again.

Offensive Coordinator Mike Debord continues to shock me. First down Michigan on a nice catch and run by Greg Mathews. 5:00 left.

Carlos Brown gets dropped on 3rd and short and we bring in the kicking team. Ooooh boy. Let's see if Lopata can make a pressure kick. No way he hits this. And he does!!! Great pressure kick. Fantastic. 27-17 Michigan. We have a chance to pull this out.

Interception Donoven Warren to end the game!!! Nice win, a real nice win here. I gotta admit that I didn't think that the Wolverines would pull this game out after that terrible start. Mike Hart definitely would've made that game a LOT easier, but it's nice to know that Michigan was able to win a game without him. Off to Minnesota next, that better not be a let down game.

Well that's all I have for tonight's Michigan-Illinois game. I hope you enjoyed my running thoughts throughout. Shakers on Sports will be controlled by only Michigan for the rest of the year. So check back for more Wolverine rundowns. Go Blue!!!

A Dark Saturday: Michigan Football’s Biggest Problems

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 23:48:00 +0000

It’s a very dark day for Michigan football fans. After losing to a Division I-AA team last week, we still held on to the idea that it was a fluke and they could regain enough control to have a solid season. After today’s 39-7 loss to Oregon, we’re suddenly looking for any reason why we would want to watch Michigan football for the remainder of the fall. The problems with the Michigan football program can’t possibly be discussed in a few simple points, but here are the six biggest problems with Michigan football from a guy that hasn’t missed a game since he was watching games on his Dad’s lap. It all starts with:

Lloyd Carr. Lloyd Carr. Lloyd Carr. I think that most football fans would agree that if you keep the same coach in the same program with the same system and the same plays for too long, you start to self-destruct without even realizing why. A perfect example is Bobby Bowden at Florida State. Is Lloyd Carr on Bowden’s level? Not even CLOSE. Yet, the same coaching problem exists at Michigan with a coach that has been surviving on a National Championship that was TEN years ago. Any real Michigan fan wanted Carr fired four years ago. There’s only one way to get this program moving in the right direction again, and it starts with Lloyd Carr retiring, moving to Boca Raton, and never having another say in anything that involves football at the University of Michigan.
Chad Henne is overrated. It’s not that I hate Henne. But if you watch every single Michigan football game, you never really believe that Henne is going to come through in the clutch and win a tough game for you. Sure, he’s came up with some big plays a few times (Penn State, two years ago to Mario Manningham was nice) but without All-American linemen and either Braylon Edwards or Manningham to throw to, is Henne really a star? I say no. Just listen to his interviews. Do you think that he has the type of personality that can control a huddle in a tight spot to win a game? There’s no way. Mike Hart has been and will be the only offensive leader on this team until they both graduate without ever winning a bowl game and never beating Ohio State. Poor Hart.
The spread offense. This time last year, it looked like the obvious choice to replace Carr at head coach was defensive coordinator Ron English. Michigan’s defense was steamrolling teams and English was the hottest name in the Big Ten coaching circle. Now, Michigan’s D looks like they’ve spent the entire preseason preparing to stop a high school Wing T offense. Appalachian State and Oregon have came out in five-wide offenses with running quarterbacks and you would think that these Wolverine players had no idea it was coming. English really has two play calls against the spread: either rush the front four and let the QB run for a first down or send the blitz and watch his corners run behind receivers running with the ball for six. It’s at the point that Michigan fans are shocked anytime we force a punt. If Athletic Director Bill Martin doesn’t realize that his football program needs a completely new coaching staff that leads the program in a new direction, he should resign himself. Which leads me to:
Scheduling. If you know that the only way to beat Michigan last year, with a swarm of pro talent on D, was to spread them out and attack their weak secondary; why would you schedule two teams to start the season that run this same offense? You can’t tell me that the multi-million dollar Michigan football program can’t hand-pick a few teams to start the year that likes to pound the football the way that Michigan’s defense is designed to stop. College football is a completely different monster than it was ten years ago; Michigan has an obvious weakness in its style and Martin needs to mask this weakness or continue to get dominated.
The Big Ten Conference. Not only am I convinced that the Big Ten is the worst major conference in the country, I also think that the weakness of this conference has forced the leaders at Michigan to believe that their football program is better than it really is. The sports media has also been sucked in by this. When Michigan cruised through the first ten games of their schedule last year, no one realized that it was only because Notre Dame was terrible and the rest of the Big Ten had less team speed than Division I-AA teams. Everyone thought that they were really a great team, including me. Even USC was wooed into the idea that Michigan’s D was great until they finally realized at halftime of the Rose Bowl, “Oh wait, this secondary is really slow. Let’s go five-wide and throw all over them.” Now every team Michigan plays has an offensive template of how to dominate the Wolverine defense. I think I could throw for 300 yards against them next week. Here’s a prediction that goes WAY out on a limb. Notre Dame’s freshman QB Jimmy Clausen will throw for 350 yards and 3 touches next week and ESPN will be drooling about Clausen as the future of college quarterbacks. Just like Armanti Edwards was the second coming of Michael Vick and Dennis Dixon is the next Vince Young. Of course, this has nothing to do with Michigan’s putrid secondary.
Fans at the Big House. College football fans that have never been to the legend that is the Big House in person may be shocked by this. But take it from a guy that’s been to 9-10 games there himself, other than the size, it is not a very intimidating place to play. Michigan’s rich alumni sit on their hands and expect to win every game in a blowout. The student section is fine, but it’s not like Madison or Columbus where the students spend their pregame getting rowdy in the bars. Michigan students sip wine on the golf course and discuss the latest books they’ve read. I think it’s great that Michigan students hold themselves to a higher standard, but it’s not the greatest thing during a close football game when the defense needs their fans to be so loud that the opposing offense can’t hear their audibles. I love going to Ann Arbor, but is the Big House one of the toughest places to play in the country? Just like the AP Standings, Michigan is not in the Top 25.

So that’s the biggest part of the story. There are probably 20 more reasons that Michigan’s football program is at its lowest point in the last 25 years. And sorry Michigan fans, but things aren’t getting better anytime soon. The Wolverines will be lucky to win five games this year, and they will probably be a lot worse next year, considering they lose Mike Hart, Jake Long, Adam Kraus, and Jamar Adams. These four are the only guys playing well right now. Maybe someone can figure out a way to get a letter of this sort forwarded to Bill Martin to let them know that big changes are not only needed, but are mandatory for the future success of this great institution. We just want some change. Give us a reason to watch next year’s team with a bit of optimism. Without a big change in coaching, strategy, play-calling, and recruiting style, I won’t have any plans for Saturday afternoons next fall. A world without Michigan football is something that I don’t want to imagine. Maybe I’m just in Dr. Evil mode right now, but throw us a fricken’ bone here.

A Look Ahead To London

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:20:00 +0000

I've been thoroughly enjoying the past two weeks, with USA basketball on TV nightly competing in the Tournament of Americas. This team, led by Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, and Carmelo Anthony seems to have a sense of team chemistry that USA Basketball lacked in the 2002 FIBA Championships and Athens Olympics disasters.

It's apparent that a lack of FIBA experience was also a big downfall of these previous teams, as Lebron, Melo, and Dwight Howard look far more comfortable with this style of basketball than they did in Athens. They are now attacking zone defenses and making correct rotations on high pick-and-rolls that killed them in 2004 and 2006. Adding shooters like Michael Redd and Mike Miller makes life a lot easier for Coach K and Jason Kidd's experience and style of play is paying dividends. I'm definitely excited to watch the U.S. vs. Argentina game tonight, even if that means that I'll be staying up until 1 a.m.

Watching these five games in six nights probably has me thinking about USA Basketball a little too much, but I couldn't help but wonder what kind of squad we will put together in a few years. I'm not just talking about the 2008 Olympics, but what will Team USA look like when we head to London in 2012? Well look no further, here is a first look at our 2012 USA Basketball team:

Point Guards

Deron Williams

"The Kingpin" is already getting minutes for Team USA and sorry Pistons fans, but he already looks better than Chauncey Billups. Williams ability to drive and kick, hit the open shot, and push the rock on the fast break is making him look like Jason Kidd-lite. By 2012, Utah Jazz fans will be comparing him to John Stockton and USA Basketball will have a confident and very skilled point guard running their show. But then again...

Chris Paul

It may be hard to decide who to start at the point between Deron Williams and Chris Paul, but I think that's a pretty nice problem to have. Paul has experience as USA's starting point guard, and hopefully his outside jumper will be more consistent in five years than it was in Athens. Either way, Chris Paul is the future of NBA point guards and should be a lock for this team in London.

Shooting Guards

Kobe Bryant

Much like Jason Kidd is this year, Kobe will be the veteran leader of Team USA if he decides to continue his presence five years from now. He will really only be 34, so it's not like he'll have grandkids. By then, Mamba should be dominating with an array of jump shot and fadeaway moves a la MJ is his second three-peat run. When it comes down to it, Bryant is the best all-around basketball player in the world, and barring injury he will still be five years from now.

Dwyane Wade

Wade will be in the prime of his career at this point, as long as he can keep the injury bug away. Just another explosive option who can create his own offense and still be a zone buster. Wade can also work as a third point guard option to rest Williams and Paul. I see DWade coming off the bench and being a spark plug that no team will be able to guard. So tough.

JJ Redick

Maybe I'm crazy, but I have a feeling that Redick is going to get healthy this year and start a very productive NBA career. No one has a more pure jump shot, making him the ideal zone buster and we know he has the confidence to hit big shots in tight spots. Maybe he'll just be the token 12th man on this roster, but I wouldn't mind having him as the ace up our sleeve.

Small Forwards

Lebron James

Is anyone as impressed as I am about his jump shot lately? Perfect form, smooth, and consistent as his 11-for-11 first half performance showed last night. Not to mention that he is the nastiest finisher since Dominique, the NBA is in for a world of hurt if Lebron has really figured out his shot. Anyway, Lebron really looks focused in this tournament and may be the star of stars on this team. The Global Icon is a lock for London.

Kevin Durant

Durant was so impressive in Team USA training camp this year, that he almost played his way onto the actual roster. KD was in camp for a reason, and the experience he is gaining now will be instrumental in his success in future FIBA competition. His silky smooth game is a perfect fit FIBA rules, much like Carmelo. I predict that Durant will be an NBA scoring champion by 2012, and will be playing big minutes in this Olympic run.

Power Forwards

Carmelo Anthony

Speaking of 'Melo, USA's Male Athlete of the Year will be a seasoned FIBA veteran by 2012. He looks so comfortable with the ball right now, defenders must feel completely helpless against him. Drop down off him and he hits the J, guard him close and he goes right by you for the dunk. 'Melo is as obvious a choice for this team as Lebron is.

Chris Bosh

Bosh probably would be playing right now if not for a foot injury that slowed him towards the end of last season. He already has some FIBA experience, playing in Athens, and his game has improved greatly since then. A big man that can step out and shoot as well as block shots around the basket, Bosh is the prototypical power forward for the trapezoid lane.

Centers

Dwight Howard

Dwight has played pretty well these past few weeks, shooting a very high percentage and blocking a lot of shots. He may get lackadaisical on defense at times and his hands are somewhat brick-like, but he has no ceiling for how good he can be in five years. He seems to have a much better understanding of the zone offense this year, and should be Team USA's starting center for as long as he wants to participate.

Amare Stoudemire

His defense might be rotten, but you can't argue the fact that his offensive attack is too good to be left off this team. His outside shot continues to improve, and he's starting to attack zones with the thunder that only Lebron can match. He's a pretty nice weapon to use for 15-20 minutes a game.

Greg Oden

If you don't like how Dwight or Amare are defending the post, go ahead and bring Big Greg off the bench to shut them down. Oden's shot-blocking ability may eventually be in the same category as Russell and Mutombo, and in five years I'm guessing his offensive game won't be too bad either. Like Durant, Jerry Colangelo had Oden in camp for a reason. He's the future of USA centers.

So there you have it, my Dream Team for the 2012 London Olympics. I realize that it's very unlikely that all of these guys will be injury-free and/or will accept the invitation. There's also a good chance that there will be a superstar that comes out of nowhere by then. But as of August 2007, this would be the best-case scenario for Team USA. This team has quickness, athleticism, size, shooters, and most-importantly winners. Let's hope the London run will be for back-to-back Gold Medals. We'll see tonight if the U.S. of A is on pace for that first one.

Are The Tigers Done?

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 20:17:00 +0000

Doesn't it feel like this season for the Tigers is slipping farther and farther away? I realize that they are only 2-1/2 games back and there's still 34 games left, but my usual healthy dose of optimism is starting to fly away quicker than a Jason Grilli fastball. They just don't have it right now.

So what is it? A combination of a few things:

Timely hitting: Not just runs per game and rarely getting shut out, but scoring a run when the game is tied in the late innings. It seems that when the Tigers have had a chance to win the game, that at-bat has ended in a lot of easy outs. In today's 3-1 loss, Ramon Santiago flew out and Curtis Granderson K'd with a runner on second in the bottom of the ninth. With the score 3-1 in the bottom of the 10th, Pudge Rodriguez had a chance to tie the game and he flew out. At this point, I expect Granderson to strike out against lefties and Brandon Inge to check swing on strike three twice a game. And just when you think they'll get the big rally to come back and win, they get your hopes and lose in the end. Last year the Tigers seemed to win these types of games. It doesn't seem to happen this year.
Consistent starting pitching: It's never an easy thing to be consistent when injuries jumble your rotation all year long, but the Tigers really don't have one starter that the fans rely on to win every game they pitch. I thought Justin Verlander was headed in that direction, but his lack of velocity is starting to look awfully familiar to his late season slide in '06. Maybe Kenny Rogers and Andrew Miller come back and are lights out in September, but you're asking a lot out of a 42-year old coming back from injury and a 21-year old to show poise down the stretch.
Holding a tight lead with the bullpen: This topic has already been beaten to death, but when Joel Zumaya is expected to be our bullpen savior immediately after injury it's not a great sign. Fernando Rodney has been ok and Tim Byrdak and Bobby Seay are starting to get lefties out, yet the Tigers continue to lose close games in late innings or completely implode when a starter gets pulled after getting roughed up. And don't get me started on Grilli.
The little things: Last year it seemed that Jim Leyland could do no wrong. He pulled all the right strings and always seemed in control. Now it seems that Leyland and Dombrowski have been forced into desperation moves. Bringing up Cameron Maybin is exciting, but he's just getting his feet wet in this stretch drive. Ryan Raburn shows some nice pop, but if we have to bench Inge to win aren't we in big trouble? From the entire team catching the flu, to costly injuries to Sheffield, Kenny, Zumaya, and Miller, I'm beyond worried about them making the playoffs.

Maybe last year was the perfect combination of a hot team riding the wave with perfect chemistry at the right time. Maybe we expected too much.

Forget that. This team has too much talent to roll over and die. We can't squander Magglio's MVP season can we? I'm not writing about the Tigers again until I have something good to say. The only way to go from here is up right? Aww, there it is. Optimism.

Big, Big Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 12:51:00 +0000

For as long as I can remember really caring about sports, Monday, July 30th has to be one of the most intriguing days in my sports watching life. Three of the four teams I care the most about, the Detroit Tigers, Michigan Wolverines, and Boston Celtics had days that may have a huge impact on their future. Of course, one is probably bigger than the other two.

Let's start with the Big Kahuna. My beloved Boston Celtics took all their young promising trade pieces and said, "screw it." Danny Ainge made his career make-or-break move and traded future All-Star Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff's expiring contract, Ryan Gomes, a 2009 Lottery-protected first round draft pick, and the other 1st-rounder they acquired from Minnesota in the Ricky Davis/Wally Sczerbiak trade for the one and only Kevin Garnett.

I'm not sure if Danny Ainge has been a genius in these last few months, or if he's just plain lucky. But when he traded the C's number five pick for Ray Allen, it just seemed strange. It was like a huge cop out, as if he was saying, "Well I don't want to trade Pierce, so I'll give him another veteran to keep him happy. Maybe we'll even make the Playoffs!" I never would've guessed that we could still land Garnett without that top five pick. Thank you Mr. McHale.

So what does this do to Boston's roster? Giving up five players and two picks for one guy is a lot. After Pierce, Ray Ray, and KG, they have a promising point guard in Rajon Rondo, a hard-working young center in Kendrick Perkins, a defensive stopper that's rehabbing his busted knee in Tony Allen, and probably a mess after that. It seems that Ainge still needs to wheel and deal to bring in a veteran or two including a backup point guard and big man.

Overall, I'm happy that the Celtics will be relevant again. They should be on national TV more, they'll have the ESPN and TNT crews chirping about 'em, and most importantly they should be able to make a run at the Finals in the crappy East. If Lebron and that joke of a squad can get to the Finals, why can't the Truth, Jesus Shuttlesworth, and the Big Ticket?

Now, to my next team. After a horrendous six-day stretch where they lost three of five to the White Sox and then were swept by the Angels, the Tigers got a big win last night from an unexpected source. Jordan Tata, a 25-year old, was brought up from Triple-A Toledo to fill in for Kenny Rogers and held Oakland to two runs on six hits over seven innings to get a 5-2 win.

While his stuff is not overpowering, he was able to keep hitters off balance all game and even struck out five. In a long season full of injuries, it's key games like this that can turn things around and Detroit needed this win badly. The Tigers are holding a one game lead over the Indians and without help from their Triple-A additions: Ryan Raburn, Mike Hessman, and Tata, they may not have that lead.

Finally, big news in Ann Arbor as Michigan football was able to lock up Rivals number one all-purpose running back in the country Sunday night. Sam McGuffie, the speedster from Cypress, Texas, chose the Wolverines over USC, Florida, Notre Dame, and Texas A&M. If you're into college recruiting like I am, you've probably heard some buzz about this kid from his amazing highlight reel runs. If not, you HAVE to watch the video below and make sure you catch the run at 2:15. You won't be disappointed. He may be a small white kid, but 3200 yards and 44 TD's speaks for itself. Suddenly, I'm not so worried about losing Mike Hart next year. Brandon Minor and McGuffie will do just fine.

Well that's all I've got for ya, it was a huge day in the sports world, and I didn't even mention the baseball trade deadline. (Jack Wilson coming to Detroit?) I've got a lot to look forward to, and DirecTV will now make a lot more money off of me so that I can watch all of these games next year. That's ok, when's the last time the Celtics, Tigers, and Wolverines all had legitimate contenders in a 12-month span? I wouldn't miss this for the World.

Missing Some Zoom

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 13:44:00 +0000

The Tigers let another close game get away yesterday afternoon against the White Sox. A typical ending for a bullpen that just doesn't seem to be able to get key outs at the end of games this year. Whether it's Jason Grilli, Bobby Seay, Zach Miner, Chad Durbin, Tim Byrdak, or Macay McBride coming out of the 'pen, Tiger fans don't exactly have a lot of confidence when Jim Leyland pulls one of our fantastic starters.

Rumors have been flying for weeks about who Detroit may be targeting to beef up their staff before the stretch run with names that include Eric Gagne, Akinori Otsuka, Chad Cordero, Brian Fuentes, Dan Wheeler, Al Reyes, and Octavio Dotel. Even former Tiger Kyle Farnsworth's name has been brought up. But I don't see any of these guys as automatic lights-out upgrades. I also don't think they are worth the price we would need to pay to get one of these relievers.

If all goes right, the Tigers already have the bullpen help they need on their own roster. Fernando Rodney will be starting in Toledo tonight to begin his Triple A rehab. Within a week, he may be back on the mound in a Detroit uni. Joel Zumaya has already thrown from a mound a few times, will throw a bullpen session next week, and could be back with the Tigers in a few weeks. There's no need to trade valuable prospects when you already have the studs you need.

Like I've said before, I would love to see Grilli let go to make room for Rodney's return. My bet is that Leyland options Miner to Triple-A instead. Since Byrdak has been somewhat effective, my other vote would be for Seay to go when Zumaya is ready. That would still give us a couple of matchup lefties (Byrdak and McBride), a solid long relief guy (Durbin), and three power arms (Zumaya, Rodney, and Grilli (if we're forced to use him) before we get to Jones in the 9th.

If Rodney and Zumaya are anywhere near as effective as they were last year, Detroit is absolutely the favorite in the AL to go the World Series again. But if they struggle, the Tigers have a major weakness that will be hard to overcome in big-time September games. As good as their lineup is, you can't win every game by hitting home runs and putting up big numbers. This series win by Chicago proves it. Detroit needs their Zoom back. Hopefully our goatee wearing, Guitar-hero loving fireballer will make all the difference.

USA Hoops Back At It Again

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 17:34:00 +0000

Other than the Tigers, my favorite topic to tackle in this blog is USA Basketball and what we need to do to put together a team that will regain the status as the World's best again. Whether you're watching the pros or even your local prep team, it's a frustrating process as a fan to pull for a team that obviously has the most talent, but does not have enough chemistry to put it all together.

So our U.S. Team will start practice again this weekend in Las Vegas to prepare for next month's FIBA Americas tournament, the regional qualifier for the 2008 Olympics. With a slew of injuries that seems to shorten the list for every U.S. Basketball minicamp, there will only be 17 players training out of the 32 players involved with the national team program. The team will be trimmed to 12 players before the tournament starts on Aug. 22.

With injuries to Dwyane Wade, Elton Brand, Paul Pierce, Carlos Boozer, Chris Paul, and Shawn Marion, the active minicamp roster includes:

Carmelo Anthony, Shane Battier, Chauncey Billups, Chris Bosh, Kobe Bryant, Tyson Chandler, Kevin Durant, Kirk Hinrich, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Jason Kidd, Mike Miller, Tayshaun Prince, Michael Redd, J.J. Redick, Amaré Stoudemire, and Deron Williams.

With this list intact, here is how I see the roster shaking out and why Coach K should choose the 12 needed to sweep through the FIBA Tourney to qualify for the Olympics in 2008.

Point Guards

1. Jason Kidd

While Kidd has been called "ason" because of the lack of a "J" in his game, there has not been many better point guards in the history of basketball. No one, with the exception of Steve Nash the Canadian, will be able to complement and enhance our athleticism better. The more the U.S. can get transition baskets, the better. And that is where Kidd is the master. It may be frustrating to see Kidd miss open threes against tight zone defenses, but the rest of his game will make up for his weakness outside.

2. Chauncey Billups

While Chauncey's game may be slowing down a bit, Billups is still the guy I want to control the offense, pressure the ball, and take big shots. If Kidd struggles to get out in transition, Chauncey will be a great guy to come in and help be a zone buster. His size and strength should cause problems for the smaller point guards he will play against and he will likely become one of the leaders for this U.S. Team.

3. Deron Williams

While Kidd and Billups are the elder statesmen of this U.S. squad, Williams brings everything you could want in a point guard for FIBA rules. He can push the ball on the break, extend the opponents offense by pressuring on defense, and most importantly, he can consistently shoot the 3-ball. When Chris Paul comes back healthy, I'll be very happy to see Williams and Paul lead USA Basketball for years to come.

Swingmen

4. Kobe Bryant

Obviously we want the most talented player in the World. We desperately needed a player like Kobe in Athens to take over games and do it all. With Wade injured, it was even more important that Kobe agreed to play this summer. Plus, since he loves Coach K and is in dire need of improving on his greedy reputation, we can expect a classy Bryant to show up and represent. The Lakers can't say the same thing if they don't trade him soon.

5. Lebron James

One of the captains in Athens, hopefully that experience will help Lebron to maximize his skills this time around. The thought of Kidd leading the break with Kobe on one side and Lebron on the other puts a smile on my face. It should be exciting to watch. The only dilemma I see here is will Lebron take a back seat to Kobe down the stretch? You don't see two alpha dogs of this magnitude on the same team very often. I'm hoping they will feed off of each other instead of clashing. Anyway, Lebron needs to be there. His "global icon" status depends on him dominating in Beijing.

6. Carmelo Anthony

Another U.S. captain, Carmelo was far and away their best player in Athens. His well rounded offensive game fits perfectly with FIBA ball. Anthony should have plenty of confidence going into the games this summer and with Kobe garnering so much defensive attention, Carmelo should have plenty of open looks to knock down. I think that Coach K will be able to play him at the 4 and run teams off the court; they should have enough size with their guards to be able to still rebound effectively.

7. Michael Redd

The player I've been begging for since the 2004 Olympics. You can't ask for a better zone buster than Redd. He won't need to carry the offense like he does in Milwaukee, so he should really be able to focus on spotting up and dropping 3 after 3 after 3. I'm just giddy knowing that Redd can be on the floor against those boxed in zones. Just a fantastic addition to this team.

8. Mike Miller

This spot on the roster will be the hardest for Coach K to decide on. Do you want to keep another shooter, a defensive standout, or another big guy? My decision would be to go with Miller for both his shooting and defense. And of course, USA Basketball does need its token white guy. Really though, I think Miller would definitely be effective as a spot up shooter and a guy that will play hard and do the little things as a solid role player. The coaching staff will love this guy in minicamp this weekend.

Big Men

9. Dwight Howard

Even though Howard struggled at times in Athens, I think that he will learn from that experience and be much better this time around. Howard has the physical presence the U.S. needs to defend the basket and give plenty of second chances on the offensive boards. With Kobe, Lebron, Carmelo, and Redd getting big minutes, there shouldn't be a big need for post scoring. So Howard's lack of a face up game shouldn't be a big deal. And for as big as Howard is, he can run the floor like a gazelle against the big slow centers that teams have in the Ilgauskas mold.

10. Amare Stoudemire

Now here's a big mismatch for opposing centers. Stoudemire's strength is running the floor to catch and dunk on the break. With Kidd running the point like Nash does for him in Phoenix, I think Amare can thrive in this tournament and get more minutes at center than Howard does. Plus, his improved mid range jumper and face up game fits nicely with the trapezoid lane that tends to give NBA big men trouble.

11. Chris Bosh

A lot of what I said about Amare can be said about Bosh. A nice face up game and the ability to run and attack slower centers should give Bosh an advantage every game. Howard, Amare, and Bosh should be able to rotate and stay fresh throughout the game to get plenty of easy baskets and use their athleticism to rebound and block shots that start those fast breaks. Bosh didn't get many minutes early on in Athens, but played well when given the chance. I think Coach K will be ready to keep Bosh happy this time around.

12. Shane Battier

You can't have a team coached by Coach K without a Duke player right? With all the scorers and big time stars on this team, you need a guy like Battier to dive on the floor, take charges, and bring defensive energy in tough games. He can defend the big bruising centers as well as the Bargnani-type finesse big men. He is definitely an asset for any type of basketball team.

Why I left the rest off

Kirk Hinrich - Hinrich was one of my favorite players on the team in Athens. But, I just don't see him cracking the top 12 now that Kidd and Billups are playing. Deron Williams is just a better player at this point as well. Nothing against Hinrich, the other three options were just better.

Tayshaun Prince - Prince is the guy I considered most to make the roster in that Mike Miller spot. He's a defensive gem that could wreak havoc on the opposing teams best swingman. I went with Miller just because he's a much better shooter, and you can't have too many shooters in FIBA ball.

Tyson Chandler - If Howard, Amare, or Bosh get injured anytime before the tourney starts on Aug. 22nd, Chandler would be a nice replacement as a rebounder and shot blocker. Like Hinrich, the other three guys are just better players.

JJ Redick - While Redick is a phenomenal shooter, he is still not ready to play at the level of the guys ahead of him on this team. Redd fills his spot on the roster, and no one will argue with that. Maybe he will fit the bill for the World Championships in 2010.

Kevin Durant - Now this would be an intriguing addition to the roster. Much like Carmelo, Durant's offensive game is perfect for this style of basketball. His handle and range will be hard for the Euros to handle. But he's not ready to crack the 12 man roster just yet. I can't wait to see him playing for USA Basketball in the future, though.

Settling the Staff Scenario

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 14:20:00 +0000

There is exciting news for Tigers fans this week as Kenny Rogers is probable as the starter for this Friday night's game in Atlanta. After such a dominant postseason last fall, Detroit would love to get a big boost in their already solid rotation from the Gambler. While getting an All-Star back from injury is never a bad thing, it does present Jim Leyland with a tough decision on how he wants to handle his active roster.

Nate Robertson is also on his way back from injury and looked good in a 50-pitch bullpen session on Saturday. 22-year old phenom Andrew Miller has pitched pretty well is his three starts this season going 2-1 with 3.62 ERA and 13 strikeouts. Chad Durbin has been a serviceable replacement for Rogers this year, going 5-3 in his starts. Mike Maroth, like Durbin, has kept Detroit in games all year going 4-2. With such a logjam of pitchers, Leyland will need to figure out if he wants to move a starter to the bullpen, push Dave Dombrowski to trade Maroth, or send Miller back to the minors. It will be a tough decision that will have a big impact on the remainder of the season.

It's not a secret that the Tigers bullpen has struggled this season. Between the loss of Jamie Walker to Baltimore in the offseason, Zumaya going to the IR with a dislocated finger, and the Jose Mesa experiment crashing and burning, Detroit fans don't exactly sit back and relax after a quality start from their rotation. So with a boatload of starters and a lack of quality relievers, here is my request to Leyland on how to reorganize their pitching staff after the All-Star break when they are back to full health.

SP Bonderman
SP Rogers
SP Verlander
SP Miller
SP Robertson
RHRP Miner
RHRP Durbin
LHRP Maroth
LHRP Ledezma
Setup Man - Rodney
Setup Man - Zumaya
Closer - Jones

A key to the Tigers success last year was that Leyland made the decision to use his young talent now, keeping Verlander and Zumaya up with the big boys. I'm hoping he makes the same decision this year with Andrew Miller. Miller may have a few rough spots here and there, but his stuff is good enough now to win games for Detroit. Same goes with keeping Miner in the bullpen. I think a lot of Detroit fans would be happy to see Jason Grilli without a Tigers jersey.

I think the hardest adjustment with this change would be for Maroth to come out of the 'pen. It's not always easy for a career starter to come in without the full warmup routine that they become accustomed to. However, I do think it would be a nice asset to have Maroth come in if a starter struggled early. Wilfredo Ledezma has not had a great year so far but, I would still rather have Ledezma coming in to face a lefty in a close game than Tim Byrdak or Bobby Seay. Chad Durbin would probably adjust nicely to being a reliever, as he has been strong in the first few innings of the majority of his starts. Simply, he's just more talented than Grilli or Yorman Bazardo.

Overall, I think this rotation and bullpen give the Tigers their best combination of talent and youth going forward. If Zumaya can return with his 100+ mph fastball, I think some of their relief struggles will slowly disappear. With the bats still steaming hot and their cagey veteran returning to the rotation, we should have some fun baseball to watch in the coming months. Let's hope Leyland's pitching decisions will leave us thinking the same way we usually do after he makes a big move, "That's why he's the manager and we're not."

Enjoying The Verlander Experience

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 12:27:00 +0000

Last night was the first time in my life I was able to sit down and watch a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers sit down batter after batter until nine innings were complete without giving up a single hit. It's one of those rare occurrences where a few great plays need to be made defensively and usually a little luck is involved. Some of those great plays were definitely made, but I didn't see a lot of luck needed as 33,555 people in Comerica Park rallied behind 102 mph fastballs followed by 85 mph nasty sliders, curves, and changeups. Brewer hitter's swings were missing the ball by a foot-and-a-half as they were sent back to dugout bewildered 12 different times.

You've all probably read it by now: Justin Verlander pitched the first no-hitter for the Detroit Tigers since Jack Morris did it in 1984. It was the first no-no by a Tiger in Detroit since Virgil "Fire" Trucks blanked the Washington Senators in 1952. It was the first no-hitter in Comerica Park history and Verlander's 12 K's is a high for a career that looks as promising as any in baseball today.

Two things struck me about Verlander's brilliant performance last night. The first was his demeanor. Of course he had enough adrenaline pumping to lift a car, but he was still able to remain calm enough to hit his spots and trust Pudge to pick the correct pitch to use. I think it's amazing that in a situation like Verlander had in the 9th, with the crowd roaring and a no-hitter in the back of his mind, that he didn't fire any of those fastballs up into the backstop. He sure seems mature for a 2nd-year pitcher. I think this really bodes well for the Tigers if they can get back to the postseason.

The second thing about last night's outing that I loved is that the Tiger players seem to genuinely like Justin Verlander. Next time you see the highlights, watch Pudge after JJ Hardy makes contact on the 3rd out flyball in the 9th. He's absolutely giddy. Detroit players acted like it was a Little League World Series game the way they were jumping around. Todd Jones even hit Verlander with a shaving cream pie. I just can't imagine the same reaction if Roger Clemens threw a no-hitter for the Yankees. When it comes down to hit, team chemistry does mean something and the Tigers seem to have plenty of it.

Let's hope that Verlander's unhittable outing can springboard Detroit into a nice string of victories this month. The Tigers are now back to a tie with Cleveland for first place in the AL Central after the Indians were shutout by the Marlins last night. With Kenny Rogers coming back soon and Bonderman pitching well, the Tigers trio of aces should be able carry them a long way. We all know what happened the year Jack Morris pitched Detroit's last no-hitter; there's a World Series Championship banner in Comerica Park to prove it.

S-P-U-R-S Spells Game 1 Win

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 03:41:00 +0000

Instead of writing an NBA Finals preview that was forced and unoriginal, I decided to wait until the end of Game 1 to see if I could make a little more sense of how these teams matchup. So, it's 10:44 p.m. CST, the game just ended and I have to admit that I still don't have anything new for ya. Pretty much everything the experts thought would happen, did. So, like a third grader writing a poem about something they love, I give you my reasons why the Spurs won tonight and why they will eventually win the 2007 NBA Finals. Is it lame? Sure. Was it fun? Probably more fun than watching this slow, rusty game itself. Here we go:

Superstars - This one is pretty obvious. If Tim Duncan outplays Lebron James this badly every game in these Finals, this series will be done quicker than Paris Hilton's jail stint. It's not that Duncan was spectacular tonight, he was his typical solid self (24 and 13). It was that Lebron really struggled that much. Bruce Bowen did a nice job of keeping James going side to side instead of gaining momentum towards the basket. It was like watching a linebacker forcing a running back towards the sideline each play, stopping him from running downhill. The Spurs team defense also did a great job of mixing a trapping defense with straight up man-to-man and no team defends the rim better than their Duncan-led frontcourt (He had five blocks too). You didn't see any posterizing from Bron Bron tonight.

Parker - As in Spurs point guard Tony Parker and his fantastic play this evening. Parker sparked the Spurs to an early lead with his aggressive drives, stopped a Cavs run late in the 2nd quarter with a quick scoring spurt, and then made a similar burst early in the 4th that helped the Spurs put the Cavs away. When Mr. Longoria stops settling for his jump shot when he runs the pick and roll with Duncan, he is almost unguardable. He was able to either get to the basket for two, bounce to Timmy for the dunk, or get two at the line. The pick and roll was really the only play that consistently worked for the Spurs tonight, and it was a big part of this W.

Unselfishness vs. uncreativity - When the Spurs were struggling to hit shots midway through the second quarter and the Cavs were just hanging around, this game changed when San Antonio seemed to snap out of it and started moving the ball. The ball started snapping around the perimeter after Duncan would get doubled and Ginobili would get an open look or Parker would get a defender running at him. When the Spurs offense is crisp, four or five guys are touching the ball each possession and they get easy shots that go in. It's not rocket science.

As for the Cavs, Mike Brown insists on running an offense where Lebron catches the ball 20 feet from the basket and has to do something spectacular for Cleveland to get a basket. Sure, he's very capable of doing it, but the Spurs defend the rim so well that too many of these possessions end with a forced jumper by someone other than Lebron. Pavlovic and an obviously-injured Larry Hughes just isn't cutting it. Daniel "Boobie" Gibson continued his nice shooting display, but he didn't seem to get enough minutes to make a big difference. Sadly, they're better off playing Eric Snow right now. At least he has a chance to slow down Parker.

Respect - With all of the talk this week about how lopsided this Finals should be and how the Spurs now have a dynasty, it would've been easy for them to show the Cavs some disrespect and come out flat. Didn't happen. This will be one of the many reasons why the Duncan-led Spurs teams will go down as one of the best in history. They are always prepared, they play hard consistently, and their best player is their hardest worker. The Spurs showed Cleveland plenty of respect from the tip and came out to dominate Game 1 and pretty much did.

Savvy - While the Spurs outplayed the Cavs by quite a bit tonight, Cleveland was still in reach with two minutes left in this game after Lebron knocked down consecutive threes. After what Lebron did to the Pistons, San Antonio could've tightened up and gave James an opportunity to takeover and have a chance at the end. But the savvy Spurs stayed calm and executed down the stretch and finished the Cavs off like they were never really that close. Just a well coached, veteran team doing what they do best.

So, is this series over? Actually, I think the Cavs have a lot of reasons for optimism. They know that Lebron will shoot much better, they know the Spurs style of play leads to a lot of close games, and they were able to get more confident play out of Boobie Gibson and Anderson Varejao. If the Cavs were able to get hot in the middle of that horrific 2nd quarter, they could've had a halftime lead and a lot of confidence going into the second half. It's not over by a long shot.

Then again, the Spurs looked rusty tonight, Parker is too quick, Duncan is too consistent, Greg Popovich is a great coach, Mike Brown isn't, and I'm still bitter about the Draft Lottery. Sorry Cleveland.

Spurs in 5

Take This Lottery and Shove It

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Wed, 23 May 2007 01:58:00 +0000

Bare with me here. I need to let off a little steam before I take this laptop and toss it through the window. Which is what Celtics fans can now do with their favorite franchise for the next ten years, toss it right out the window. Oden or Durant was their chance, their new start, their wake up call to the great days of old. Now what do we do?

Hope Brandon Wright develops an offensive game? Watch Joakim Noah run around screaming all day to the tune of 3.5 points per game? Wager our basketball watching life on a Chinese guy who may be 17 years old or possibly 25? Greaaaaat. The fifth pick sounds wonderful.

Now the great fans of Boston can wake up each day before the draft and read the Globe or Herald and get shoveled mouthfuls of B.S. from Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge about how "we're fine with who we have" or how "we love the young guys we got." Will they still say the same thing in May of 2008 when we have to sit around hoping a stupid ping pong ball will give us another chance?

I do feel bad for Tommy Heinsohn right now. Someone who loves the C's more than me had to sit and watch that. Tommy is one of the few who almost got me to crack a smile tonight with this gem: "They brought me down because they thought I was lucky. Now they know," Heinsohn said. "I paid off the leprechaun this morning and the sucker lied to me."

How can Celtic fans possibly sit through another spike covered stomach punch after we already have to sit here and watch Tim Duncan win another ring when he was supposed to bring us those rings. And then get a second reminder of a flailing franchise when the best point guard left in the Playoffs hits big shots in Detroit after Pitino gave up on Chauncey after a few months.

At this point I don't really see any other choice but to trade Paul Pierce for 60 cents on the dollar. There's not a chance that The Truth will play hard enough to make it worth their while without Oden or Durant. They might as well try to cut their losses and extinguish any memories of a team that Rick Pitino smashed together before running out of Boston faster than he sweet talks athletic high school seniors.

Who can they get for Pierce? Who knows. I'm not sure if I care right now. So here's my message to Doc and Danny. There's around 365 days until I will truly care about the future of the Boston Celtics. Hurry up, start tanking. Again.

Tigers Hit the Metrodome

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Fri, 11 May 2007 13:40:00 +0000

The first-place Detroit Tigers (I love writing that) visit the Metrodome in Minneapolis tonight to start a three-game series against the Twins. What was once seen as a pushover series by Twinkie fans has now blossomed into a full-fledged rivalry. Walking into that dive they call a baseball stadium tonight in full Tigers apparrel will surely bring plenty of "Tigers suck!" chants in my direction, and I love it. Because if they hate you, that means they respect you. Detroit baseball is a pushover no more.

Minnesota has fallen to 17-17 after going 3-6 since their last series against Detroit at the end of April. They've struggled to get quality starts at the bottom of their rotation with Carlos Silva and Sidney Ponson. Twins fans are starting to call for their collection of young arms as replacements as soon as possible, whether it be Matt Garza, Glen Perkins, Kevin Slowey, or Scott Baker. However, no announcements have been made at this point for an early call-up for any of these potential future aces.

The Twins problems were compounded when Joe Mauer, arguably the best catcher in baseball, was sent to the 15-day DL with a strained quad. Losing his bat in the lineup hurts big time and Minnesota's pitching staff suffers without him calling the games as well. Mike Redmond is a serviceable catcher, but Mauer is a star. Minnesota has some obvious holes in their lineup, starting Jason Bartlett, Jasin Kubel, and Jeff Cirillo everyday, so playing small ball and getting great pitching is even more crucial to their success than most teams.

The Tigers, on the other hand, have won nine of their last ten games and have taken over sole lead in the AL Central after Cleveland lost two of three in Anaheim this week. Detroit's bats are starting to heat up and the bullpen performances have improved considerably since their mid-April blunders. Their relievers did take a big hit this week when Joel Zumaya ruptured a tendon in a finger on his throwing hand. Zumaya missing 12 weeks will force Fernando Rodney into the setup role and Bobby Seay and Jose Mesa will be counted on to consistently get big outs in close games.

I'm never particularly optimistic when the Tigers head into the Metrodome and this series is no different. The Metrodome is a very tough place to win games and I'm not very excited about the pitching matchups this weekend. Friday night Mike Maroth will take the mound to try and outduel Mr. Cy Young himself, Johan Santana. The Tigers have been somewhat successful against Santana in the past, especially Magglio Ordonez who is batting .429 with four homers against Johan in his career. And the Tigers are 6-0 when Maroth has started for them this year, despite his 5.35 ERA. But Santana is capable of completely dominating any game he pitches and the Tiger bats will need to come prepared tonight if Maroth wants to leave with a win.

Saturday afternoon will likely be a high scoring affair as Chad Durbin hits the mound to square off with Sidney Ponson. Detroit has managed to win the last three games Durbin has started, and he's improved his record to 2-1. Hopefully he can keep this momentum going. Like Durbin, Ponson has pitched a little better as of late, but his 6.42 ERA shows that he has struggled for the majority of this year. I like this pitching matchup for the Tigs, but the game will probably come down to the better bullpen and who can manage to get their way out of jams.

The Sunday night's pitching matchup is still up in the air, because Jeremy Bonderman is still struggling with a blister on his throwing hand. Jim Leyland may give Virgil Vasquez a start in his place to help Bondo's hand heal. Boof Bonser will go for the Twins coming off three solid starts in a row. Bonser hasn't received much run support this year getting only one decision, in a 10-1 loss to the Yankees. I like the Tigers chances if Bonderman can go, but this third game will be a much taller task if Vasquez gets the start against Boof.

I'll be in the Metrodome for all three games this weekend, so if you're catching any of the games on TV look for me. I'll be rocking the Ty Cobb jersey and a road Tigers cap. There will a group of 15 or so of us with decent seats on Saturday. "Let's go Tigers" chants will be heard.

GO TIGS!!!

Detroit Pistons vs. Chicago Bulls: An Analogy

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Sat, 05 May 2007 21:57:00 +0000

Chicago Bulls vs. Detroit Pistons

As is turns out, predicting the Bulls to beat the Heat in the First Round was not as risky as I thought. Picking them to win in seven games actually looks like too safe of a pick now, doesn't it? Truthfully, before the season started I picked the Heat to miss the Playoffs entirely. I should've stuck to my guns and picked them to get killed as badly as they really did.

Chicago really is built well to have Playoff success: ball-pressuring guards with athletic shot blockers controlling the basket, an athletic scorer that can create his own shot when the offense breaks down (Luol Deng), and a gutsy shooter that makes more shots in clutch situations than he misses (Ben Gordon). They also have a sharp, firey coach that gets the full effort out of his players.

Now if you take that explanation of a basketball team and apply it to a previously successful team, who do you think of? The 2004 Detroit Pistons. Which is why this could really be a great matchup. The former champs facing a younger version of themselves.

Strangely, this brings to mind a different basketball matchup that I will never forget. During the 1994 NCAA tournament, Michigan basketball had been in the last two National Championship games behind the forever game-changing Fab Five. With their bald heads, baggy shorts, black socks, and cocky swagger, they became the most talked about team in college basketball history.

But Chris Webber had jumped to the NBA after his sophomore season, and this Michigan team, while still good, looked a lot more beatable. And in came Arkansas. Wearing baggy shorts, black socks, bald heads, and that same cocky demeanor. To this day, I wonder if Jalen Rose looked across the court and wondered if they were playing against their clones. The imitators went on to beat the Wolverines on their way to a national championship.

Now, if I think this analogy will hold true to the Pistons-Bulls series, that must mean I'm picking the younger version of the 2004 Pistons to beat Detroit and move on to the Eastern Conference Finals, right?

And that's where this all comes together. Those Wolverines were missing their star, their leader, their biggest talent. The 2007 version of the Detroit Pistons have theirs, his name is Mayce Edward Christopher Webber III. Webber makes all the difference.

When it comes down to it, the Pistons match up too well. Hinrich did a great job of chasing Dwyane Wade around and disrupting the Heat's offense, but he won't throw off Chauncey Billups. Rip Hamilton and Gordon will essentially cancel each other out. Tayshaun's length will make it very difficult for Deng to get consistent open shots. PJ Brown won't be able to get out on Rasheed's shot. Webber will take Big Ben away from the basket, so that his shot blocking won't make as much of an impact. Plus, Detroit has home court advantage.

The Bull's lack of a post scorer will be too much for them to overcome against a tough defensive team like the Pistons. You cannot beat Detroit shooting only jump shots. Chicago is tough to beat at home, have a much better bench, and they will make the Pistons work hard every possession, so they can win some games. But Detroit can handle it. They've done this before.

Pistons in 7

NFC North Draft 2007 - Anything Blow You Away?

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Tue, 01 May 2007 15:48:00 +0000

Now that I've had a few days to do some research, I wanted to make an attempt to break down the NFC North's Draft this past weekend. I'm not even going to pretend that I can predict the future, but I think that based on ratings and team needs I can at least try to form an educated opinion.

I love the NFL Draft; every year I spend countless hours reading mock drafts to see who the Lions and their North rivals will take to attempt improvement. Lions fans know how exciting/painful the draft experience has been these past 397 years, here's hoping that this year is not unlucky 398.

So take a gander at my NFC North draft breakdown:

Chicago Bears

1 31(31) Greg Olsen TE MIAMI (FLA.)
2 30(62) Dan Bazuin DE CENTRAL MICHIGAN
3 30(93) Garrett Wolfe RB NORTHERN ILLINOIS
3 31(94) Michael Okwo OLB STANFORD
4 31(130) Josh Beekman OG BOSTON COLLEGE
5 30(167) Kevin Payne DS LOUISIANA MONROE
5 31(168) Corey Graham DC NEW HAMPSHIRE
7 11(221) Trumaine McBride DC MISSISSIPPI
7 31(241) Aaron Brant OT IOWA STATE

Greg Olsen gives the Bears a new offensive weapon that will be able to stretch the field in a way that Desmond Clark hasn't been able to do consistently. Bears fans hope that the new tight end will also be a nice security blanket for Rex Grossman to dump off to, in favor of his wreckless late throws over the middle.

Dan Bazuin should add some depth to Chicago's defensive ends, where they already have a nice duo of Mark Anderson and Adewale Ogunleye. If Bazuin really shows something, he may even be used as an extra pass rusher on the other side of Anderson. Gotta root for the guy from Central to get on the field.

Garrett Wolfe is an intriguing pick, not only because he was fun to watch in college, but because he seems like a nice change of pace back from Cedric Benson. Wolfe wasn't a returner at Northern Illinois, but the Bears may attempt to mold him into a kick returner. He's gotta the speed and shiftiness to pull it off. Wolfe and Hester back there is a scary combo.

I think that the Bears made three nice picks and the rest look like backups and special teamers. I thought that they would take a chance on Alan Branch to fill a need at D Tackle, since they probably can't rely on Tank Johnson. Paul Pozluszny could've filled a need as well, considering Lance Briggs will most likely be out of Chicago in the near future.

Will be a successful draft if: Olsen becomes an All-Pro caliber tight end, Bazuin becomes an every day starter, Wolfe succeeds as a returner and 3rd down back, and any of their other picks play a considerable amount of snaps on this strong roster.

Green Bay Packers

1 16(16) Justin Harrell DT TENNESSEE
2 31(63) Brandon Jackson RB NEBRASKA
3 14(78) James Jones WR SAN JOSE STATE
3 26(89) Aaron Rouse DS VIRGINIA TECH
4 20(119) Allen Barbre OT MISSOURI SOUTHERN
5 20(157) David Clowney WR VIRGINIA TECH
6 17(191) Korey Hall ILB BOISE STATE
6 18(192) Desmond Bishop ILB CALIFORNIA
6 19(193) Mason Crosby PK COLORADO
7 18(228) Deshawn Wynn RB FLORIDA
7 33(243) Clark Harris TE RUTGERS

Almost every mock draft that I have read this year had the Packers taking Marshawn Lynch with their first round pick to fill their need for a starting running back. But Lynch was taken right before their pick (I didn't think the Pack would take an iffy character guy anyway), so they went with the big run stopper in Justin Harrell. With inconsistency from Ryan Pickett, Harrell can be inserted at D Tackle and gobble up blockers so that Nick Barnett and AJ Hawk can wreak havoc on ball carriers.

The Pack still needed an every down back, and they may have found it in the second round with Brandon Jackson out of Nebraska. While Jackson may be a bit fumble-prone (Ahman alert!), he should become Green Bay's starter after a he gains some experience behind Vernand Morency.

Donald Driver is starting to put on a few miles, so Green Bay is hoping that his eventual replacement as a possession receiver is James Jones. Jones isn't exactly a burner, but route running is listed as a strength. Favre will need him to get open with that ability real quick, or he may not catch a pass until it is thrown by Aaron Rodgers.

The Packers have struggled with their safeties since they lost Darren Sharper, so they've added some depth with Aaron Rouse. Rouse doesn't sound like a playmaker in the mold of Sharper, but rather a physical run stopping strong safety. He may be able to push Marquand Manuel for some playing time.

I don't think the Packers wowed anyone with their draft, but they may have added some immediate starters in Harrell and Jackson. Jones and Rouse may also push for PT. David Clowney's name seems to be coming up a lot in draft grades as well, because of his great speed. My guess is that this draft will turn out pretty nice for the Pack.

Will be a successful draft if: Harrell clogs up the middle the way that Grady Jackson and Gilbert Brown did in the past, Jackson becomes Green Bay's every down back and a 1,000+ yard rusher, Jones and Rouse eventually become starters.

Minnesota Vikings

1 7(7) Adrian Peterson RB OKLAHOMA
2 12(44) Sidney Rice WR SOUTH CAROLINA
3 8(72) Marcus McCauley DC FRESNO STATE
4 3(102) Brian Robison DE TEXAS
5 9(146) Aundrae Allison WR EAST CAROLINA
6 2(176) Rufus Alexander OLB OKLAHOMA
7 7(217) Tyler Thigpen QB COAST CAROLINA
7 23(233) Chandler Williams WR FLORIDA INTL

The Vikings were in a nice spot in the draft this year at No. 7. They could sit and see what playmaker fell to them: Adrian Peterson, Brady Quinn, or LaRon Landry. When Landry went 6th, the Vikings jumped on the hands-down best running back in the draft in Peterson. Along with Chester Taylor, the Vikes should really be able to pound the ball this year the way Coach Brad Childress wants to. And since they passed on Quinn and will start Tarvaris Jackson, they're gonna need to.

Sidney Rice is a big and fast receiver that could possibly give them the No. 1 receiver they need now that Troy Williamson has shown that his hands are unreliable. If Rice comes on strong, Williamson could be moved to the slot to maximize his speed and shiftiness. Tarvaris will probably be handing off 50 times a game behind that mammoth offensive line, but he will need strong play from Rice immediately for the Vikings to have a potent offense.

Marcus McCauley is a big corner with good speed, but regressed as a senior at Fresno State and his draft stock fell. Apparently he has first round talent, so this may become a solid pick, but I don't see him pushing Antoine Winfield or Cedric Griffin for snaps.

Overall, the Vikings picked up one of the premier talents in this draft who may become a Pro Bowl running back for years. Rice is a big talented guy that will be a welcome addition to their weak receiving core. That might be it.

Will be a successful draft if: Peterson becomes a stud running back, Rice becomes the Vikes top receiver, and anyone else in this draft becomes a starter.

Detroit Lions

1 2(2) Calvin Johnson WR GEORGIA TECH
2 11(43) Drew Stanton QB MICHIGAN STATE
2 26(58) Ikaika Alma-Francis DE HAWAII
2 29(61) Gerald Alexander DS BOISE STATE
4 6(105) AJ Davis DC NORTH CAROLINA ST
4 18(117) Manuel Ramirez OG TEXAS TECH
5 21(158) Johnny Baldwin ILB ALABAMA A&M
7 45(255) Ramzee Robinson DC ALABAMA

Unlike the Vikings, the Lions were in a spot that they did not want to be in because no one would sacrifice enough picks to trade up to their No. 2 spot. They obviously didn't believe that Brady Quinn, Joe Thomas, or Gaines Adams were worth No. 2 overall money, so Detroit went ahead and took the player that everyone seemed to agree was the best talent in this year's draft. Calvin Johnson joins a Pro Bowl receiver in Roy Williams along with Mike Furrey, who led the NFC with 98 receptions in 2006. Too bad they had so many other holes to fill.

The Lions biggest needs coming into this draft were defensive end and cornerback. So, with their second pick, the Lions take a quarterback. At first I was completely confused until I finally heard that the Lions traded Josh McCown and Mike Williams to the Raiders. Quarterback then became a need, and Drew Stanton is a tough SOB with good mobility and has some potential. I'm still not sure if I like this pick or not, but if anyone can make Stanton a solid NFL quarterback, it's Mike Martz.

I was happy to see the Lions trade up into the 2nd round to get a defensive end, but I didn't think the pick would be a guy named Ikaika from Hawaii. I can't really rip on Millenin this case, because I know nothing about Alama-Francis. I do like what I've read about him.

The Lions traded up again to take Gerald Alexander, a safety who has some cornerback experience as well. Like Alma-Francis, I had never heard of him before but I like what I read about him too. Seems like Marinelli is pushing to take hard-working, football-obsessed guys. Can't argue too much with that. We'll see if these no-names become productive now. I know that the big names they've taken recently didn't work out so well.

I can't say that I'm overly excited by this draft. Johnson has a chance to be one of the best receivers in football, but other than that did they draft any starters in addition to a 3-13 team? Alma-Francis and Alexander will get their shot, but they are far from locks to get starting snaps. Stanton is intriguing, but a lot of Lions fans still think Dan Orlovsky is too. This draft feels a little empty to me.

Will be a successful draft if: The new CJ becomes as good as the CJ in Cincinatti, Stanton takes over as the starter for Kitna eventually, and Ikaika and Alexander become starters.

The NFC North teams really didn't blow me away with their draft picks this year, they all seem to have their strengths and weaknesses. The Lions and Vikings took great talents in positions that weren't their biggest needs, while the Packers and Bears filled needs with guys that aren't considered the best talents available.

If we could fast forward three years, it would make then make sense to give out draft grades. Like I said, I won't even pretend to predict the future. I thought Joey Harrington to Charles Rogers was a future Pro Bowl connection. Shows what I know.

The Regular Season Is Finally Over!!! It's NBA Playoff Time

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 15:02:00 +0000

The 2006-07 NBA Season has been a strange one to say the least. Only a few teams have shown signs of greatness, while the majority of teams have either wavered in mediocrity or full-out tanked their seasons for a chance at drafting Greg Oden or Kevin Durant. The injury list has constantly shown superstars (Yao Ming, Dwyane Wade, Paul Pierce, Gilbert Arenas) and the MVP debate has been a two-man (and mostly dull) race since December.

But forget about all of that. The regular season is over. It's time for the best ballers in the world to bring out their best for us to enjoy. This year's Playoffs have some very intriguing first round matchups with plenty of star power. It will at least provide some entertainment while we wait for football to start again. So here's my take on the first round of the NBA Playoffs, Shakers style:

Dallas Mavericks vs. Golden State Warriors

The defending Western Conference champs have had a phenomenal season, winning 67 games behind MVP-favorite Dirk Nowitski, a coming-out party for All-Star Josh Howard, and one of the deepest benches in the League.

However, if there was one hickup to the Mavs season, it was their matchup with the Golden State Warriors. These two teams squared off three times this season, and the Warriors took all three. G-State, behind the offensive mentality of Don Nelson, scored an average of 112 points in these three matchups. So you know this series is going to be explosive.

I still give the advantage to Dallas because of their playoff experience, but a healthy Baron Davis and Jason Richardson will give them fits.

Dallas in 6

Phoenix Suns vs. LA Lakers

Kobe Bryant's scoring sprees have been nothing short of spectacular this year as he has joined only Wilt Chamberlain with nine 50-point games in one season.

Too bad he's going to need a lot of help to run with the Suns. This is the second year in a row these two teams have met in the first round; The Lakers had a 3-1 series lead before Phoenix won the final three games to take the series.

It will be interesting to see if Phil Jackson tries to use Kobe as more of a playmaker than a scorer like he successfully did in Games 1-4 in this series matchup last year.

No matter what Kobe does, I still think the Suns are too good for LA to take down. Remember, Amare Stoudemire is healthy this year.

Phoenix in 5

San Antonio Spurs vs. Denver Nuggets

A classic matchup of dominating defense versus a high octane offense. The Nuggets have sure had their share of ups and downs this season, between the Carmelo Anthony wussy-fight suspension, the mid season trade for Allen Iverson, and their early struggles to find team chemistry.

But Denver has come on strong as of late winning 10 of their final 11 games. I have to admit that my gut feeling says that the Nuggets matchup well enough to pull a huge first round upset.

I can picture Iverson going off like it's 2001, Carmelo dropping 30 a game, and Camby swatting shots into easy fast break dunks.

But my brain tells me that it's stupid to pick against Tim Duncan. Besides, the Spurs were my preseason pick to win it all.

Spurs in 7

Utah Jazz vs. Houston Rockets

The Utah Jazz have been one of the best stories in the NBA this year as they have turned themselves into one of the NBA's elite teams. Carlos Boozer rebounded from injury problems to have an All-Star caliber year and Deron Williams has quieted some of the doubts about being drafted higher than Chris Paul with an outstanding sophomore campaign.

The Houston Rockets came into this season excited about Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady playing a full healthy season together to see how far this dynamic duo can take them. Then Yao was forced to miss 32 games this year with a broken leg. McGrady was able to put this team on his back and carry them to the playoffs, and now Yao is back just in time.

Both of these teams have outstanding coaches and should be candidates for Coach of the Year (Jerry Sloan and Jeff Van Gundy). Both have one spectacular guard (D. Williams and McGrady) and one dominant big man (Yao and Boozer).

So, I think this series comes down to Shane Battier vs. Andrei Kirlenko. Kirilenko has really struggled this year playing out of position and Battier has proven his worth as a top notch defender and the elite "dirty-work" player in the world.

That's why I'm picking McGrady's squad to finally get past the first round.

Rockets in 7

Detroit Pistons vs. Orlando Magic

Losing Ben Wallace to the Chicago Bulls seemed like a big loss before this season started. He was their emotional leader and defensive captain. But the Pistons didn't seem to take notice on their way to quietly winning 53 games and the East's best record. Of course, the big move was bringing in Chris Webber to improve a struggling offense with his amazing court vision out of the post.

The Magic didn't exactly come into this season with high expectations either, but after winning seven of their first nine games NBA fans started wondering whether Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, and Co. had enough talent to turn the corner. Well, they did make the playoffs. But with a 40-42 record, they squeaked in and never were a consistent team.

Other than Darko Milicic and Grant Hill returning to Detroit, I can't really think of many good story lines in this one. The Pistons shouldn't have any problems here.

Pistons in 4

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Washington Wizards

A few weeks back, I would have been absolutely giddy about a rematch of last year's epic 7-game battle between these two teams. But the excitement of this series dropped real fast when Gilbert Arenas went down for the season with a torn up knee and Caron Butler went out with a cast on his hand. If you take the best two players on of any team in the NBA, they will immediately be a lottery team.

So the Wiz limp into Cleveland, who needed a Bulls loss on the last day of the season to secure the No. 2 spot in the East. There's no doubt that Lebron James mailed in the first half of this season, playing just hard enough to keep the Cavs afloat. After the All-Star break, Lebron turned back into King James and became the unguardable freak-of-nature we expect him to be.

Lebron's supporting cast is still extremely weak, but I can't see them having much trouble with a Hibachi-less Wizard's team. I do expect one spectacular game from Antawn Jamison before this series is over, though.

Cavs in 5

Toronto Raptors vs. New Jersey Nets

The Raptors have been the NBA's biggest surprise this year, improving from a team with the first overall draft pick to a division title. Chris Bosh has truly turned himself into a dominant star, and a group of mostly unheard of players (Jose Calderon, Joey Graham, Jorge Garbajosa) have played at a high level.

The Nets were my preseason pick to run away with the weak Atlantic Division, but just coasted through another regular season without a big impact on the League. With a Jason Kidd-Vince Carter-Richard Jefferson trio, the Nets have as much talent as any team in the East.

It will be fun to see Vince Carter back in Toronto getting a constant wave of boos. It will be great to see if Bosh can carry his great regular season into playoff success. But, what I'm really looking forward to is the matchup of Jason Kidd vs. TJ Ford.

Kidd has a reputation of being a great defender, but I don't think he has the quickness left to keep up with Ford. I also think the Nets will have a hard time defending the post and scoring in the paint. New Jersey lives and dies by the jump shot; this time I think they die by it.

Raptors in 6

Miami Heat vs. Chicago Bulls

Much like the Cavs-Wizards series could've been, this series is the highly-touted rematch of last year's slugfest between the Heat and Bulls. It's been a rough year for the defending champs. There hasn't been a lot of games this year that Shaq and Wade have played at the same time. But they are both healthy now, and that means that they are the team no one wants to play in the East.

It was a big letdown for the Bulls to lose the last regular reason of the year. It was a difference of playing Superman and Flash, or playing the Wizards without Arenas and Butler. Big difference.

However, I think the Bulls are built to have playoff success. They play outstanding defense with pressure on the ball and shot blockers behind them. This Bulls team actually reminds me of the 2005 Piston's team that no one gave a chance to beat Kobe and Shaq in the Finals.

If Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon can consistently hit their outside shots, I really like their chances of pulling this upset. Hinrich will give Wade fits again, Ben Wallace knows how to guard Shaq as well as anyone, and I think Chicago has what it takes to do all the little things that win close games. I'm talking myself into this...

Bulls in 7

It's Time For Some Tigers Baseball

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 15:46:00 +0000

I think it's about time that I say a little something about our beloved Detroit Tigers. It's been way too long since I've written anything, but with baseball in full swing and the NFL Draft and NBA Playoffs coming up, there should be plenty for me to talk about.

I purchased MLB.TV now, so unlike last year when I listened to most of the Tigers games on the radio, I can now actually watch the games on my laptop. Pretty sweet setup. We're nine games into the year right now, and I've watched 8 of 'em. So here's a little rundown of what I'm seeing in this fetus of a season:

1. Starting pitching is holding this team together and keeping them in games.

There were concerns during spring training that Justin Verlander has a tired arm after pitching so many more innings last year than he ever had in his career. Thirteen innings of shut out ball later, I'm not hearing those concerns anymore. Too bad his record remains 0-0 after these two excellent outings.

Jeremy Bonderman needs to be the ace of this squad, and other than one really rough first inning of opening day he has settled down with 5 more solid innings against the Blue Jays and an 8-strikeout 2-run outing against the Royals. I know it's just the Royals, but Bondo doesn't worry me a bit.

Unlike Verlander and Bonderman, Mike Maroth is now 2-0 after two solid but unspectacular performances against K.C. and Toronto. He has shown a nice ability to get out of jams without getting blown away. As a fourth or fifth starter, Maroth is pretty tough to beat.

I think the most impressive starter for Detroit so far has been Nate Robertson. What a bulldog. Giving up only two runs in 13 innings so far, Nate has also struck out nine guys this season. Do you remember Robertson ever being a strikeout guy? Verlander has been pretty dominant and Bonderman has the best stuff, but for some reason I feel the most confident when Nate Robertson is on the mound.

Chad Durbin? Well, not so great of a start. On April 9th, Durbin gave up six earned runs in 4 2/3 innings in a loss to the Orioles. Many Tiger fans are already calling for phenom Andrew Miller to take his spot, but I'm willing to give Durbin a few more chances. You would have to think he will be on a short leash with the 6'6" lefty waiting in the wings to take over his spot, though.

There is no doubt that Detroit really misses Kenny Rogers every fifth game. With a healthy Gambler, I am confident in saying that Tigers have the best rotation in baseball. Without him? We're still OK, but we're not great.

2. The Tigers are really struggling to score runs right now.

Other than a hot start from Placido Polanco and some early power from Curtis Granderson, the Tigers hitters have had a tough two weeks. It's a little worrisome that Detroit has yet to put together a strong rally this year. All of their runs have either come from the long ball (Granderson and Craig Monroe each have grand slams this year) or by one hit and a few sacrifices to score one run at a time. I'm always concerned about sitting back all game waiting for a home run to bail you out, because there will be plenty of games this year when that homer just won't come.

Our biggest acquisition this year is obviously Gary Sheffield, and he's off to a start that's as icey as the stadiums they've been playing in. Sheff is hitting .125 and only has four RBI's despite hitting right behind their hottest hitter in Polanco. I am impressed with his ability to take a walk, but knocking in runs is why he's making the big bucks and so far that ain't happening. Disappointing start, but I'm not panicking, yet.

One hitter that does have me a little more worried is Brandon Inge. Coming off a 27-homer season hitting mostly in the nine spot, Inge was awarded with a new contract and bigger expectations for 2007. But after 20 at bats, Inge was still hitless with a string of horrid check swings and ugly strikeouts. But finally, he came back after a day off given to him by Jim Leyland, and blasted a bomb into the left field bleachers and followed with an RBI single last night. Hopefully this will give him the confidence to stay out of his funk and just swing the damn bat. Tiger fans would appreciate a little better defense out of him as well.

A newcomer that's been forced into a big league role is Mike Rabelo. When Vance Wilson was sent to the DL, Rabelo was called up to be Detroit's catcher when Pudge Rodriguez gets a well-deserved day off. Last night was our first chance to see Rabelo in action, and I was happy with what I saw. I doubt he'll ever be a big time hitter, but he did a wonderful job defensively behind the plate. We may be seing him around for a while.

3. Detroit's bullpen will make or break this season.

You heard it here: If the Tigers do not have the best bullpen ERA in the A.L. this season, they will not win their division.

The thing is, I really believe they should have the best bullpen in the league. Jose Mesa and Fernando Rodney are the keys, though. Mesa and Rodney have looked rough so far and the drop in Rodney's velocity scares the bejeezus out of me. What happened to that 99 mph fastball? He's hitting 91 tops right now.

Leyland does a great job of rotating and resting his pen, but the loss of Jamie Walker is a lot bigger than most people realize. There's not a whole lot of room for error in the toughest division in baseball. We must win the games when we get six solid innings from our starters. The Twins, Indians, and White Sox are just too good to blow close games and still compete for the A.L. Central title.

4. Jim Leyland is still pulling the right strings with this ballclub.

What do you do when your third baseman is off to a terrible start and his confidence is dropping like Don Imus' credibility? Give him a day off, give Neifi Perez a start (who actually got a hit and scored a run!) and let Inge relax for a bit. Inge comes back the next day with three RBI's and is the key to a Tiger victory.

What do you do when a key reliever gets blasted in his first two outings of the year? Give him a spot in a lower-pressure situation before throwing him in a one-run game again. Surprise, Rodney comes back strong with two scoreless innings and three strikeouts.

You can have all the baseball knowledge in the world, but it's Leyland's ability to handle egos and keep player's confidence up that separates him from most managers in baseball. The Tigers are in good hands.

Overall, it's been a nice little start for Detroit. If you keep winning 3-game series', you will find yourself playing in a 7-game series in September. So far the Tigers have split the first series (third game was cancelled due to weather) and won the next two. I can handle that. Now if the bats and bullpen can up their games to the level of their starters, the Tigers may actually be able to live up to all of the hype we gave them this winter. I know I'll be watching on the edge of my seat, with my laptop on my coffee table.

The 2007 Super Bowl Drinking Game

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 15:25:00 +0000

For as many hours per week I spend on the computer reading articles, columns, and every other contrived idea about the Super Bowl, even I get overwhelmed and burnt out with Super Bowl coverage. So I'm not going to waste your time and try to force any new information about the big game because one, there isn't anything relevant that hasn't already been beaten into the ground and two, Super Bowl stories by Friday are usually as original as Kevin Federline jokes.

So I'm going to try and have some fun again this year and create my 2nd Annual Super Bowl Drinking Game. Hopefully I can give you a few things to watch for that'll add some humor to the most hyped sports event in the World. Each rule comes with a drink count and the reason why you should pour that delicious beverage down into your belly. So stock your fridge, get some friends together to give 'er a try, and enjoy the best American Holiday of the year: Super Bowl Sunday.

Rule 1: Any time there's a reference to Tony Dungy or Lovie Smith being the first black coaches in a Super Bowl: Two Drinks.

Reason: Much like last year's "Jerome Bettis is playing at home in Detroit" stories, this has been the topic that every sports website and newspaper has attempted to cover and has failed to capture my attention or enthusiasm. Everyone wants to bring up that our society has advanced so far now that black men can be at the top of such a big stage, but if that were really the truth wouldn't it not be a big deal? I don't want to go off on some rant on racism, but it just seems a little too ironic to me that the media tries to convince us that Dungy and Smith proves that our country is less racist when all we talk about with the two is race. Hooray irony.

Rule 2: Every discussion involving Peyton Manning getting past his "can't win the big one" image: Three Drinks.

Reason: One column that I did enjoy this week came from ESPN Page 2's Eric Neel called "Why I'm Rooting Against Peyton." Basically, he explains that the main reason that Manning is an interesting figure is because he has obvious flaws that make him different from Joe Montana or Tom Brady. I can't agree more. If the Colts win on Sunday, why will we need to discuss his career anymore? He'll be thrown in the same conversations we have every year (or week for that matter) about the best of all-time and that'll be it. He'll lose his individualism. I'm sure that this is what Peyton would prefer, but I don't. I like that he looks uncomfortable on the sideline in close games and that he's kind of dorky. Maybe I wouldn't if I was a Colts fan, but I'm not. If the Colts win, Manning becomes boring. Three drinks to end the boredom.

Rule 3: For every conversation about how Rex Grossman needs to "manage the game" for the Bears to win: Four Drinks.

Reason: I always find it funny that after this entire season with the Sexy Rexy Rollercoaster columnists actually believe that Grossman will morph into Trent Dilfer with the Ravens. It's not happening. Bears fans shouldn't want it to happen either. Sure, their defense is great. But until Rex finally stepped up in the 4th quarter and completed a few down-the-field throws and finished a drive, they were going to get beat by New Orleans. Once the offense became unleashed a bit, Chicago exploded and ended up routing the Saints. Still, I guarantee the pregame crews and in-game announcers will say that the major key to Chicago's success will be for Rex to not make mistakes. Sorry, but the Bears aren't winning this game unless Grossman puts some points on the board. Four drinks for stupid football analyzing.

Rule 4: Every time Jim Nantz goes on a sugar-coated tangent about someone's greatness: Five Drinks.

Reason: This is the staple of a Nantz announced game. It works well for a slower event like the Masters, but I'm waiting for the awkwardness this brings to football. It'll go a little something like this: "3rd and long, Manning back to pass and Tank Johnson brings him down for an 8-yard loss!"
Nantz: "What a spectacular move here by Tank. I had the chance to talk with this misunderstood athlete this week and what a joyful character he is to be around. Forget the three arrests in 18 months, Johnson brings a tenacity that the Bears need and may go down as one of the Bears all-time greats with wonderful plays like the one that millions of excited football fans were just able to witness."

Of course I'm probably exaggerating here, but you'll see what I mean. Nantz will get emotional and syrupy and we will be able to reap the benefits. Five drinks for awkward moments.

Rule 5: Every time Prince gets groped by one of his smokin' hot dancers during the halftime show: One Drink. (Yup, only one drink. This should happen a lot.)

Reason: The Super Bowl isn't just about the game, right? I know that most halftime shows are junk-filled crapfests, so let's add something to liven it up. Prince is performing this year. He may have just had hip surgery and won't have the moves he had 15 years ago, but what he'll lack in youthfulness, he'll make up for it with his dancers. Trust me. The CBS producers will be sweating with their 5-second delay; I mean has Mr. Purple Rain ever not been sexual? The halftime show will probably still blow, but we can all prevent this with a drink every 2-3 seconds.

Here's an additional list of drinks that need no explanation:

Every commercial you enjoy: 1 Drink. Every commercial you don't: Two Drinks.
Every touchdown: Drink and count to six.
Every field goal: Drink and count to three.
Every turnover: Five Drinks.
Every sack: Three Drinks.

Of course, feel free to add your own rules or change the rules I've come up with here. I want YOU to have fun on Super Bowl Sunday. Let me know how it goes.

And just for the helluvit: Bears 31, Colts 21. MVP: Muhsin Muhammed. That's gotta be a new one, right?

My 2007 Sports Wish List

noreply@blogger.com (Shakers Jacobson) — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 16:18:00 +0000

I've never been a big fan of creating New Year's resolutions. Most people stay strong to their resolution for a couple of weeks and then that plan falls by the wayside. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing to set goals for a new year, but what do most of these resolutions eventually become? Wishes.

Since it seems that I no longer root for any teams with a chance of doing anything before the snow melts, I have plenty of wishes. So instead of trying to create realistic New Year's resolutions for my favorite teams, I'm going to take it a step further and create my 2007 Sports Wish List (in somewhat of a particular order):

Gary Sheffield stays healthy and settles in as a very productive number-3 hitter
Doc Rivers is replaced as Celtic's head coach by Larry Bird

Lions new Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry runs a Tampa 2 that can actually cover someone and/or get pressure on the quarterback
Ron English is still Michigan's Defensive Coordinator
The Tiger's young pitchers (Bonderman, Verlander, Zumaya, Miller) continue to improve and we never hear anything about a man named Tommy John
Either Al Jefferson or Gerald Green starts showing real star potential
Kevin Jones plays at least 12 games with healthy foot bones
Mike Hart is a Heisman frontrunner

Kenny Rogers and Todd Jones have one more good year in their arms and Pudge's body holds up behind the plate for another year
Either Sebastian Telfair or Rajon Rondo becomes a reliable point guard
Detroit's starting O-Line can all play an entire GAME together.....with the addition of Wisconsin's Joe Thomas
Morgan Trent is not a Wolverine starting cornerback
Jim Leyland ages another year without lung cancer

Ping pong balls in June fall the C's way
Alan Branch is still wearing Maise and Blue
Matt Millen realizes how embarrassing he really is, changes his mind, and finally resigns

The Tiger's team chemistry enables clutch hitting and pitching into October again
The Celtics make a huge trade and Paul Pierce suddenly has a new teammate.......Kevin Garnett

Lloyd Carr makes one relevant halftime adjustment in a big game
The Lions are NOT starting their new first-round pick at wide receiver
The Wolverines have not yet played their bowl game on January 4th, 2008