The Truth

Bob's Preseason Rankings

2013-08-30T15:35:00.000-04:00

Jon

Will Foster continue to stay on the sidelines?

Awesome team………if this was 2005. In fantasy land, there is nothing worse than drafting on past production and that’s exactly what you did. Have you not read anything about Foster’s steady decline? Or the curse of 370? Or the fact that Ben Tate is a very capable backup who may take a lot of carries away? Well apparently not, but that’s not the worst of it. Every person on your team is like a year from getting their AARP card. Welker is 32 and like 4th option on his team. Ditto for Sproles. Jennings may be the #1 option on his team, but considering he has Christian Ponder throwing to him, he would have better value on Green Bay’s practice squad. I will say I did like the Vernon Davis pick but then you went ahead and picked Antonio Gates 3 rounds later, which confused me because I didn’t think offensive tackles produced a lot of fantasy points. To sum up your draft, your best pick was your defense……..

Grade: 45 (I had to go with a number because an F can still be a 65 and that was way too high IMO)

Lane-o

Fantasy STUD!

Good draft which usually leads to a good team. I love Jamaal Charles this year, especially in a PPR league with Andy Reid calling the shots (think Westbrook in his prime, but better). Also, keeping Alf at a 10th round value was a steal and allowed you to go WR-WR-WR with your next 3 picks. I really like White because he is Matty Ice’s bibby and even though Julio will be the #1, Roddy is 1b. It also helps him that Tony G is 100 and won’t see as many targets this year. Cobb is another one I love because even his own QB said he could be a 100 catch guy. Ball and Richardson are both RBs I am targeting as late rounders with a lot of upside. Richardson may lose carries to either Pead or Stacy as the season goes on, but he is such a good receiving RB that Bradford will look for him as his safety blanket. I could tell you how much I like Kenbrell Thompkins this year, but I don’t have 4 hours to delve into that. The only problem with this team is your TE is terrible, and I mean TERRRIBLE with a capital T.

Grade: B+

Matty V

Shady is looking promising in Chip's offense

If there was one player I like as much as Jamaal this year…. It would be Shady. This guy is 2 seasons removed from being the best of the best. Yes, that was helped by a 20 td campaign but what is to say that won’t happen again. New coach Chip Kelly likes to run and play fast, which just happen to play right into McCoy’s wheelhouse. Throw in the fact that they lost Maclin and may have to rely on the run even more, I am not betting against him finishing the year as the #1 back. Bruce Arians resurrected Reggie Wayne’s career last year and he is half the athlete that Fitzgerald is. I am expecting big things from Palmer and Fitz combo. Now onto the bad. Murray is a Boom/Bust pick and I wouldn’t have taken the risk in the 3rd, wayyy to early. Your WR’s outside of Fitz are very mediocre at best and your TE in the 13th is probably better than the one you took in the 7th. RG3 helps though so you will have a good, not great team.

Grade: C

Mike R

Lots of TDs?

I don’t like the drafting of QB’s in the 1st round this year, but with Brees I could make an exception. Saints defense is terrible and they are dropping like flies, which means Brees is going to throw a ton, and he is really good at that. If I had to choose a WR to finish #1 besides Calvin it would be Thomas or Dez. The Welker signing just assured that he will see a ton of 1 on 1 coverage and he may lead the league in TD’s because of this. He is an absolute BEAST and Peyton knows it. I think you reached a little for Wilson because he is a timeshare back but really liked the value of the Bradshaw pick. He could be a 3 down back on a playoff caliber team that you got in the 6th round. I also really like Garcon this year and James Jones because no one else on Green Bay can stay healthy besides him. Fred Davis that late is great value but when you already have Garcon it kind of hurts you because Washington is a running team, not a throwing one. And I have to mention that Ridley is so undervalued this year it’s scary. He is the best RB they have had since I can’t even remember when. Oh and they score a ton and he is their Goal Line back. Nom Nom Nom fantasy points.

Grade: B-

Orrico

Will Trent stay off the sidelines?

This looks like a good team if you look quick (and I mean real quick), but every one of them has question marks about them. Let’s start from the top. Trent averaged 3.5 yards per carry and always seems to be a little dinged up, oh and still plays on the Browns who aren’t exactly a juggernaut offense. How much longer can Andre be the only passing option on his team and how many targets will go to the newly acquired DeAndre Hopkins as they try to make their passing attack more spread out? Vincent Jackson is solid but still has Freeman throwing to him, which is just a hair better than Sanchez. Tony G is 59 and looked like he was stuck in mud in his first action of preseason. Colston has a foot issue that will linger the whole season. Ivory, plays for the worst team in the NFL and is always hurt, and I mean always. Peyton can’t throw right. The list goes on and on. Great Defense though. Your best pick was Luck and you will never start him over Peyton so it doesn’t do much good. I would trade for some youth and less risky players.

Grade: D+

Dan D

CJ?K

This team gave me an emotional roller coaster from highs to lows that I don’t think I have ever had before. I would rename this team to: The Good, The Bad, and the UGLY. The good is your RB’s. Doug Martin is a stud and almost consensus #2 back behind the one and only AP. Chris Johnson is so undervalued it’s not funny anymore. Here are some stats of his. He has NEVER rushed for less than 1,000 yards in a season (5 years running, and for this purpose MJD only has 3 in his career) and has always averaged over 4 yards per. He has missed 1 game in his whole career and that was his rookie year. Only once did he receive less than 50 targets in the passing game and that was last year with 49. But yet he goes off the boards around the 15th best RB this year. OK end rant. Next is Ed Lacy who is a lock for 10-15 TD’s and I am leaning toward the latter. Now the bad. Your WR’s. All of them besides Megatron. You took both Wallace and Austin over about a dozen WR’s that I would rather have (Garcon, Brown, Nelson, Jackson just to name a few). Then you completely reached on back up RB’s Mendy and Tate. I like waiting on a QB because Eli is great value when most are getting kickers and defense’s but not sure Bennett was the pick at TE you had in mind before this started. 2 teams let him walk for a reason.

Grade: C+ (only because your core 4 players are that good, maybe 5 if Eli has a good year)

Papa Scaf

HAHA McFadden, Healthy? HAHA

I am going to try my hardest to be nice because my grandfather always taught me to respect your elders. Papa, you have the best QB (I like him even more now because this is the last year I can keep him), a possible best WR in Dez, and Lamar Miller has a lot of upside this year for the rebuilt Dolphins. But, your whole season is banking on McFadden and a bunch of WR’s that are either 1st or 2nd year players. Even if Darren can stay healthy, a big if, he plays on a football team that would finish in the bottom half of the SEC, never mind the NFL. Your WR’s would be studs in a dynasty league, but are probably about 1-3 years away from true fantasy production for any given year. And you made a mistake by picking Le’Veon Bell that early, and then made an even worse mistake by drafting Dwyer later because his real back up is Isaac Redman. I will say you have the best kicker in the league bar none though. LEGATRON!!!!!!!

Grade: D

Steve

Crunched

Now this looks like the type of draft I would have. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing but the potential is there. Your first 2 picks were very safe, which is smart cause you can’t win a draft in the 1st or 2nd rounds, but you can def lose it by blowing those picks. Your next 4 picks are where you took the risk and at least 1 of these has to pay off. Bowe has the best QB of his career throwing to him now, even though it’s still only Alex Smith. Amendola will be the best pick of this draft if he plays more than 12 games this year, which I believe, will happen. Tom Brady is so good that he should be able to help Amendola stay away from the trainer’s room just by putting the ball exactly where it needs to be so the WR doesn’t have to reach or dive for throws off target. Ryan Mathews looks to be rejuvenated this preseason to prove the hater’s wrong and if Nicks can defy the odds and stay healthy this season, he is highway robbery in round 6. Hate Romo as a real life QB, but love him for Fantasy. Sure he may not be clutch but he loves to throw, has been very accurate throughout his career, and has a top 5 core to throw to. Finley is a top 10 TE on a bad year just because he plays with Rodgers. And then your bench offers good potential. Need some luck to reach full potential of this team but who in fantasy doesn’t need that?

Grade: B

Baby Scaf

Stud, end of story

If there is one team that has better RB’s than Dan, it’s Scaf Jr. Jackson, MJD, Spiller should average around 50 points per week between the 3 of them. Jackson should lead the league in TD’s because if fat Turner can get double digit TD’s, then I have to assume Jackson is good for 20. MJD is MJD and the whole Jax offense, and Spiller has been touted as this year’s breakout candidate by just about every site out there. Add to this that your QB will probably rush for double digit scores himself, and your team is looking pretty strong without even considering your WR’s (which is probably good because they aren’t too good). Reggie Wayne is good but is more of a move the chains possession type guy now that he is 48. Shorts and Gordon have tons of talent but both lack a QB with any of it. Austin has a good QB but never stays healthy and will be 2nd or 3rd option on his own team depending on the week. But you still have a solid TE because Eli has always loved his TE’s, especially in the red zone, and your RB’s/QB should carry you to a winning season. However, it may be your WR’s that keep you from a championship.

Grade: A-

Skinny

Ray Ray is a Monster

A tale of 2 halves for this drafter. I will compare this draft to a golfer that is shooting 4 under after the first 9 and then finishes the round 10 over. You kept Ray Rice who is worth a 1st rounder and then followed it up with old reliable Frank Gore to build a great core. Birdie, Birdie. Then you nabbed another safe pick in Tommy Terrific and followed that up with the PPR monster Cruz in the 4th. And Cruz will be even better if/when Nicks gets hurt or never quite finds the chemistry with Eli that they have had in the past. Then you picked up Witten who is a top 3 option in PPR’s in the 5th, which is like a sand save par on hole 9 to finish the front. BenJarvus will be good for about 3-4 weeks before Bernard takes about 70% of the touches from there on out. Bogey. Picking Boldin this late isn’t that bad because Kaep loves to lock into 1 guy and I think that will be Boldin. Par. Ingram still plays on the Saints which gives him potential but not as much in a PPR league. Bogey. Greg Little can’t catch it with stick em all over his hands and may get arrested for speeding at any given time. Double Bogey. Reaching for Houston’s defense. Another Double Bogey. Santana Moss is that snowman you hate to put down and just wish more than anything you could take that one back. Dalton is good but why do you need a serviceable back up you have Brady. Boges. And Janikowski may have the biggest leg in the NFL but that offense won’t make it over half too much. Triple Bogey. Yikes how quickly a round gets away from you. Better luck next year.

Grade: C-

Mike V

Will Matty Ice be better than last year?

“Mike Mike Mike Mike, guess what day it is????? HUMPP DAYYY!!!” Anyway, well done on your draft. You kept AP at a 3rd round value which is so fantastic it makes me smile. Then your first 2 picks are only 2 of the top 4 WR’s I would want on my team, which was followed up by an even better pick of Matt Ryan in the 4th. Ryan has the best receiving core to throw to out of anyone in the NFL and now that Jackson is in the fold to make defenses respect the run, he could be the #1 QB for fantasy. I think I gave my opinion of how the Bengals backfield will shake out in Skinny’s review and you have the better of the 2. DeSean Jackson is crazy value because he is basically working on a 1 year deal and should be motivated to perform this year so he can get his new pay check next season. Also, Vick has a huge arm which fits right into DeSean’s strengths. Hillman and Williams are more great value picks that late as both could be starting running backs, and anyone who is the starting running back for a team run by Peyton Manning is a fantasy commodity (ask Joseph Addai). The only thing that I didn’t like is the back to back mediocre TE’s. I like both because they both have upside with Cook being Bradford’s new go to and Olsen basically playing as Carolina’s #2 WR, but why not just commit to one or the other. Well that and the Pat’s defense, because in case you haven’t watched a game lately, they are pretty bad.

Grade: B-

Quinn

Can Reggie carry the load for the lowly Lions?

Ohhhh Quinny. If you thought I was hard on you last year, then you ain’t seen nothing yet. Lynch is a stud but this is his last year under contract with Seattle and they have Turbin and Michael to take the reins next year because they won’t want to spend the money for an old worn down RB past his prime. You reached like crazy for Reggie Bush. Yes it’s PPR but its still Reggie Bush and he is not a sure thing to stay healthy as he has the last 2 years. Then you had the biggest bonehead move of the draft by going TE-TE with your 2nd and 4th picks. Why not just keep picking them so you can have a stranglehold on the position if that’s what you are going for? The rest of your team might all be on IR by week 6. Broyles is coming off 2 ACL tears, Brown already has a broken leg, Jordy can’t seem to stay healthy the last 2 years, and even if Vincent Brown stays healthy, he plays for a bottom five offensive team. I hope you can trade one of your top 2 TE’s for a whole new squad.

Grade: F+

What a Week!

2013-06-28T15:16:00.000-04:00

What a week. No Stanley Cup, no more A-Ran, no more Doc, no more Paul or Kevin. Not the best week for what has been a fantastic run of New England sports. Did anyone see this coming? This week was crazy enough to get me out of my blogging hiatus (round of applause). Hockey isn’t my forte and I am not in the mood to write about a scumbag – so you got it C’s fans, what just happened?

First let’s start with what we know, we don’t have our coach anymore. What does that really mean? In all honesty, probably not a whole lot in such a players’ league with a rebuilding team. Could he have bought us a few more wins next year? Maybe. Could he have kept the core together one more run? Maybe. But would it be worth it? Probably not. So why does it hurt so much still? In Boston we aren’t used to being second fiddle in anything. That is basically what happened, the greatest organization in NBA history was no longer desirable for a coach that preached family & togetherness. That is why it hurt, we are no longer good enough.

We saw the same thing last year with Ray, now Doc. Ray left for our rivals in Lebron and the Heat. Now Doc is going to LA – not to the Lakers, but to the lowly Clippers and their scumbag owner. Ray left more money on the table; Doc is going to a racist, sexist pig of an owner. That is why it hurts, Boston is no longer good enough.

Boston will miss these 3

What hurts the most isn’t any of the above, but what broke last night during the NBA draft. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett (and Jason Terry) will no longer be a member of the Celtics. It had been rumored for some time now, but it finally happened, the new Big 3 era was finally over. 15 years for the captain were over. The heart and soul of the last 6 years was gone. And to the ~~New Jersey~~ Brooklyn Nets. Wow.

We did double the length of the window that was expected at the beginning, doesn’t make it any easier to see now. No doubt #34 and #5 will one day come back to raise their numbers to the rafters, but it won’t be easy to see them in Black and White playing in an awkward new arena in Brooklyn. It will be weird to see them coming out of the visitors’ locker room in Boston.

But it had to be done, the time was right. The only way to be good in the NBA is to be a destination city in free agency or to be really bad, and get lucky in the draft. Boston and Danny Ainge had only one option, the draft. Boston has never been a desirable city for free agents, so they needed to go to the draft. And why not go for the 2014 draft? It is loaded.

Is Wiggins the future? One can hope.

Boston fans – it won’t be fun next year, but hopefully it’s bad enough to get better really quickly via the draft. One can only hope the next savior of the Celtics will follow the same path as the truth, from Kansas to Boston for 15 years. Andrew Wiggins will make it worth the bad year. Here’s to hoping for #22 to Boston.

Bob's Midseason Rankings

2012-10-25T16:48:00.000-04:00

Bob is back for more, this time with his midseason rankings. Please send all hate to him, not me. Just note, some of the recent trades were not accounted for as this took him a little while to write up.

LANE-O -

The Good: Jerry, you have great RBs in Foster, Mathews, and T-rich (even if it cost you hometown favorite Tom Terrific and the best WR over the last month in Colston). I also think you have 2 top WRs in AJ Green and Jordy Nelson that should keep this team in the hunt.

The Bad: You are very weak at QB (Luck & Dalton) and this could prove to be a huge difference maker. Most weeks you will be getting outscored by 10+ points just in the 1 position. Your bench is another area of concern. They are not scaring anyone so you better hope your starters stay healthy. The Black Unicorn (Martellus Bennett) is good, just not that good where he would be considered a strength on your team.

Best move: Your best plan of attack is to ship one of your RBs off for a QB upgrade.

Mid-Season Grade – B+

Skinny –

The Good: Since I own him in my major league, let’s just quickly talk about how good Aaron is. After the first 3 games of the season, I have to admit I was a little scared as Rodgers only had a 3:2 TD/Int ratio. It didn’t matter to the Fantasy world that he played 3 of the toughest defense’s in football as everyone seemed to question if he was still elite. Well that was 4 weeks & 16TD’s ago and since Week 3, he has been the epitome of perfection by averaging over 300 yards and 3tds a game. Can you say WINNING? Also, having 3 WRs (Cruz, Fitz, & Thomas) that could score 30 points in any given week (Ex. Cruz having 6 TD’s over 4 games). Add to this that you have the #1 ranked TE and a defense that probably outscores your RBs in most weeks….Very good team.

The Bad: Lynch and Bush are 2 very good real life RBs, the only problem is they are on bad offenses that don’t score a ton of TDs. Not good for Fantasy. But that’s about it Skinny, good luck.

Best Move: I would try flipping Witten and an RB for a better RB that scores TDs.

Mid-Season Grade – A

Mike V -

The Good: “My husband cannot f--king throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time” Very true Gisele, but your husband hasn’t been that good so far this year. Sure he has 4 300 yard games, but when you throw it 50 times a game, even Weeden can do that. However, he is in the good section because I do think that he turns it on soon since Hernandez is close to 100% and he is a huge part of what they do on offense to help Tom identify the defense. From here on out, I think AP only gets better and still could push for most TD’s.

The Bad: You have 3 WRs that are probably Strong WR2’s but no absolute Stud (Austin, Colston, Money-Sandwiches). Yes, Colston has been on a tear as of late, but will it continue when Jimmer comes back? Colston’s targets in the 1^st 3 games with Jimmer are 4, 4, & 13. His targets in the 2 games without him are 18 & 10. Now the worst of all, your 2^nd RB is a choice between (Pierre Thomas, Vick Ballard, and Hyphen). I know I wouldn’t feel good about those options.

Best move: Ship off either Brady or Peyton for an upgrade on your 2^nd RB.

Mid-Season Grade – C-

Orrico –

The Good: You still have 3 good RB’s (Rice, Gore, Run DMC) even if Mcfadden has been awful. He has the easiest schedule coming and a workload of 20+ touches a game. It has to get better. I love Cobb, especially since he is becoming Percy-like on a way better offense. He will have some down weeks but as long as Jennings is not playing, the sky is the limit.

The Bad: Flacco? Rivers? And you haven’t tried to trade for an upgrade? Bad bad bad. Rivers throws like an 8 year old girl and getting worse and Flacco can’t hit a barn. Also, outside of Cobb your WRs are mediocre at best. Smith was a beast last year, but since Cam Newton is playing worse than Jamarcus Russell he really can’t do much. (Editor’s Note: Mind your tongue.) Brown is a possession WR and Smith is a Boom or Bust.

Best Move: Trade for a QB and do it yesterday. See above, Mike V has 2 goodies.

Mid-Season Grade – B-

Quinn –

The Good: Well this is going to be short, Drew Brees. Done. Ok fine, I’ll give you Graham even though he hasn’t done all that much yet and Roddy.

The Bad: You traded Roy Helu Jr. for Dez Bryant and your team still isn’t good. Your RBs are terrible at best and once Bradshaw’s feet fail him again, which history has proven they will, it will get even worse. Wallace needs to borrow some “Stickem” from the San Diego equipment team and you may have a chance. Unfortunately, there is nothing to fix Dez from being an idiot and running wrong routes. Trust me the Cowboys have even tried a life coach.

Best move: Stop playing Fantasy Football? Or trade Jimmer and an RB for an upgrade.

Mid-Season Grade – Z-

Scaf –

The Good: This owner’s feeling everytime he looks at his team.

The Bad: Deciding which studs to play has to be brutal. Your RBs are top notch and your WRs are no slouches either. Marshall and Wes certainly would find a spot on my team. The only problem I have with your team is your TE situation. Scott Chandler barely is a starter in my 18 team league.

Best move: Go trade for an upgrade at TE, and with your roster, it shouldn’t be hard.

Mid-Season Grade – A+

Mike R –

The Good: Well I may have not given Matty Ice the credit he deserves in my Pre-season rankings but he is starting to be considered with the “elite” group of QBs now. I also love Owen Daniels this year. They are a run based team and leak Daniels out a lot for quick hitting throws. He will probably outscore Andre if they keep winning games and aren’t playing from behind.

The Bad: The rest of your team. Sure you have Calvin, but someone still needs to throw him the ball and Stafford obviously can’t. Also, I am pretty sure that anyone playing Indy has figured out if you shut down Reggie Wayne, then they will have problems passing. Turner has to slow down in the 2^nd half of the season as well, I mean carrying that much weight around can not be easy.

Best Move: Pray to the Fantasy God’s.

Mid-Season Grade – F+

Dan-o –

The Good: As a former owner of ALF, I have to say he is the most consistent RB I’ve had in quite sometime. Did you know he can squat 700 pounds? Well, he can and I see him being solid all year because of RG3 and their system. Also, CJ?K and Morris have their best days ahead of them, don’t sell either.

The Bad: Stafford. What a disappointment this bum is. How long before the Lions give Hill the starting job? He at least understands that throwing to Calvin is a must. You have a bunch of RBs on your bench, none of them any good, but you should have WR depth on the bench because that is where you need the most help. Julio is great, but the options of Crabtree and James Jones for spot #2, would make me want to punch my computer screen every time I looked at it.

Best move: Try to trade your entire bench of RBs for a WR. I say try because they are that bad.

Mid-Season Grade – C-

Matty V –

The Good: You have a couple of MVP caliber players in Percy and RG3. I mean RG3 is the 8^th leading rusher in the league right now. Not bad for a QB. Nicks and Andre form a nice Trio of WRs that is the strength of your team. And even though Gronk isn’t having the year he was last year, he still gives you quite the advantage in the TE spot.

The Bad: I hate being right about Cam Newton sucking this year as I predicted in my Pre-Season rankings. Oh wait, no I don’t. He’s terrible but probably because he was a War Eagle at one time (Editor’s note: you are treading on a thin line Bob). The only RB you have that will be consistently good for you is a 31 year old McGahee. Yup, I kind of want to throw up too.

Best move: Try to trade Cam for a bag of Doritos. Even a half eaten bag.

Mid-Season Grade – D-

Jon –

The Good: ………….. Ummmm Vincent Jackson’s pretty good I guess.

The Bad: Keeping this short may be difficult. Didn’t I say every MJD owner should have Rashad? Well there was a reason. Bingo, bango, bongo. Onto the rest of this stud filled line-up. Sproles is a Flex at best, Woodhead should be on waivers and you have him starting, ditto with Santana Moss. Jennings is probably done for the year, Blount is awful, and Lance Moore will go back to doing nothing once Jimmy Graham comes back. Oh yeah, and Green Bay’s D is looking good and worth a 5^th round pick. HAHAHA.

Best move: Probably drop half your team and go get better on waivers.

Draft Grade - F

My Preseason All American Teams

2012-10-09T12:16:00.001-04:00

So we are now less than a week away from my favorite time of year, the start of college basketball. This especially needs to happen because of my dysfunctional Auburn Tiger football team. Friday night is the start of it all with midnight madness getting things underway. With that, I am going to give my previews this week. I am going to first start with a very debatable topic, Preseason All American teams. With the constant influx of freshmen talent, it is a tough prediction to make as we saw last year with Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist making the 1^st team. This year you hear freshman names such as Shabazz Muhammad (if he even plays) and Nerlens Noel (aka the Flat Top from Everett, MA). This year, I am going to go against the recent trend and predict no freshman will be on the 1^st team. Without further ado I present my 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd Teams as well as Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year.

1^st Team

F: Cody Zeller One of two consensus 1^st Team members (Doug McDermott being the other) has put Indiana back on the basketball map. The younger brother of Tyler leads this title contending team in points, rebounds, blocked shots while being able to pass and run the floor well. Player of the Year contender will be on everyone’s ballot for the 1^st Team.

F: Doug McDermott The other shoo in, McDermott is the leader of the lesser known Creighton Blue Jays. He may never be a great NBA player, but the junior is one of the most complete college basketball players out there. He gave a much more talented UNC bunch everything it could handle by himself. This Creighton team is better than last year, so get used to hearing a lot about McDermott.

G: Isaiah Canaan This Racer (pun alert) from Murray State is a lot like Chauncey “Big Shot” Billups. Canaan comes up big when it matters most. Canaan may be the best college player in Kentucky this year. Canaan led the Racers to an awesome 23-0 start last year and expect similar results this year as Murray State will be a force again led by the feisty guard.

G: CJ McCollum Just ask Duke and Xavier how good CJ is as Lehigh knocked off Duke and put a huge scare into Xavier last March. I have been watching McCollum since he was a freshman at Lehigh (the perks of Patriot League basketball) and the growth he has made has been tremendous. Always a great scorer, he has developed into the best rebounding guard in the country and has such quick hands on the defensive side of the ball. His scoring will get him on this list, but it’s the other things that make CJ McCollum great.

G: Trey Burke As a freshman Burke exploded last year for the Michigan Wolverines. He is back, with a better squad this year and could be a sleeper to win Player of the Year. Michigan hasn’t been this excited about its team since the Fab 5 days, and Burke is the reason why. A great playmaker that can also score the basketball, Burke should be a first round pick in June too.

2^nd Team

F: Shabazz Muhammad What a name – Shabazz is about as talented as it gets. The only reason he is not on the first team, he might not play this year. Faced with charges of illegal benefits in high school, he may not suit up until January. But, if he does play, he will lead the UCLA Bruins back to where Bruins fans are used to – the Final Four. Muhammad can score from anywhere and is extremely athletic.

F: Tony Mitchell The Missouri recruit ended up committing to North Texas because of academics, Mitchell is as talented as anyone in the country. He also could be the most risky pick here as he doesn’t exactly have the best motor out there. North Texas doesn’t exactly have the most talent around him, so Mitchell will have to lead them to the tourney to be included in this list, but man can he play.

C: Jeff Withey Everyone likes to make fun of Withey – they even made a website about his goofy faces he makes. But what people don’t always talk about his how good of a defender Withey truly is. He is a legit 7 footer that has shut down some of the best low post players – ask Jared Sullinger and Tyler Zeller what its like facing him. Without Thomas Robinson or Tyshawn Taylor in the mix, look for Withey to expand his offensive role this year.

G: Elijah Johnson Back to back Jayhawks, does it get any better? Elijah proved last year he certainly loves the big stage as Kansas wouldn’t have made it to the Championship without him. No more Tyshawn Taylor, which means Elijah will now be handling the point guard duties. He is a better decision making than Tyshawn with a much better shot. Look for Elijah to shoot up everyone’s list this winter.

G: Phil Pressey Maybe the best pure point guard in the country (a lot easier without Scott Machado and Kendall Marshall around), Pressey can play. Without a lot of the seniors from last year’s veteran squad, Pressey is looking to the take the SEC by storm this year. Look for 8-10 assists per game from this little playmaker.

3^rd Team

F: Nerlens Noel In Lexington the Unibrow is gone and the Flat Top is in. Big shoes to fill for Noel, but the Everett native has been blocking shots everywhere he has played already. Look for that to continue as he looks to lead a very, very, very young Wildcats team with high expectations. Noel has an extremely high ceiling and may end up making the 1^st Team by season’s end.

F: James Michael McAdoo Zeller, Henson, Barnes, Marshall – all gone. McAdoo looks to step up in a similar role to Thomas Robinson did last year. The thing that separates McAdoo and T-Rob is the motor. That is why T-Rob was 1^st Team and McAdoo is 3^rd Team. UNC will lean heavily on this highly regarded sophomore. He has an NBA ready body but is still raw on the offensive end. If he gets a little help from his Tar Heel teammates I could see him as a 2^nd Teamer.

C: Mike Muscala Wow, another Patriot League player on this list. Has this ever happened? People forget that Muscala’s Bucknell Bison were the favorites in the Patriot League before CJ McCollum and Lehigh upset them in the Patriot League final. Muscala played well against Arizona in the NIT last year and will continue to improve this year. Muscala is a future NBA player who can rebound as well as anyone. Look for a potential two bid league from the Patriot League this year from Lehigh and Bucknell and just enjoy Muscala and McCollum.

G: Kyle Anderson The people of Los Angeles sure are excited about this young prospect Kyle Anderson. There are already people throwing around Magic Johnson comparisons. I am not ready to put him in the NBA Hall of Fame yet, but the 6’9 point guard is a matchup nightmare for anyone in the Pac 12. He has an NBA ready body with outstanding skills. Will he put it all together? I can’t wait to find out.

G: Ben McLemore Head Coach Bill Self doesn’t go raving about many of his own players as much as he has with McLemore. Ben is a freshman for the Jayhawks this year, but was in the program last year as he was a partial qualifier. Well, he is ready to step into the starting lineup. Think Xavier Henry with more explosion. Rock Chalk Jayhawk indeed.

Player of the Year: Doug McDermott

This is really a toss up between McDemott and Cody Zeller. Both players should be great this year for their respective teams. Look for McDermott to win the award because he will have to do more for Creighton to be successful than Zeller will for Indiana.

Freshman of the Year: Shabazz Muhammad/Kyle Anderson

Can you believe this award isn’t going to a Kentucky Wildcat? Well UCLA’s freshmen class is loaded this year. If Shabazz plays before January you can lock this award up for him. If not, I look for his teammate Kyle Anderson to win the award.

Is Patrick Chung Overrated?

2012-10-01T10:49:00.001-04:00

When people hear the name Patrick Chung they probably think great New England Patriots safety. I think overrated. To me, Chung is no different than Patriot cast-off Brandon Meriweather. In fact, I think Meriweather was a better player than Chung is. When people think of Meriweather, they think of bad routes and big hits. What is different about Chung? He doesn’t have the reputation of bad routes, but he always seems to be a step slow on everything. Primarily, tight ends get covered by safeties, and like usual Scott Chandler lit the Pats D up yesterday for two easy scores.

Let’s put up the stats of the two recent safeties for the Pats.

Player A:

Player B:

Just looking at those stats alone, don’t you want Player A every time. Well, player A is Meriweather. When you think of great safeties, you think of playmakers that can cause turnovers. That’s what Ed Reed does, that’s what Rodney Harrison used to do. Let’s face it - that is also what Meriweather did better than Chung. Chung also has a knack for getting hurt (has played in one full season so far) while Meriweather never missed a game for the Pats. The tackle numbers are pretty equal, and any advantage Chung has in that department over Meriweather is strictly due to being on a worse defense and being on the field longer.

I know it’s not a popular opinion in New England, but Patrick Chung isn’t very good. Maybe the young safety will figure it out this year, but if yesterday was any indication with Scott Chandler, it may be time to go a different route next year.

What to Think About This 2012 Pats Team

2012-10-01T10:03:00.000-04:00

This might be the most confused I have ever been about a Patriots team since the Matt Cassell days. Are they a power running team with good defense? Are they a fast paced team with a porous pass defense? So far, we have seen both. Yesterday, they actually showed both of those teams off. The first half the Pats made Ryan Fitzpatrick (and his Aaron Rodgers celebrations) look like Joe Montana. Brady wasn’t the Tom Brady we are accustomed to (has he really looked like Tom Brady this year yet). Even Bill was being a lot more conservative than he had in the past. Since when do the Patriots not go for it on 4^th and inches at the opponent’s 30 yard line?

But then the second half rolled around yesterday and boy did they look good. It all started in the trenches. The O-line started opening holes that I could have ran through. Bolden and Ridley were awesome. Then the d-line and linebackers started punishing every Bills ball carrier (even an unlucky Donald Jones). Brandon Spikes started popping balls out of everyone and the lethargic first half was gone. The offense started clicking when believe it or not; they got Wes Welker the ball. Tell me why anyone thought Edleman was a better choice please? Gronk was back to himself too, with over 100 yards and a TD. Order was restored again in the AFC East. No more Aaron Rodgers imitators, just “F*** you b******”.

Is this the Pats team we are going to see the rest of the way? It’s hard to say. If the offense continues to use Woodhead less in goal line situations and decides Welker is a good choice to throw the ball to, then the offense will be the same. But what about that defense? I think some weeks, you will get what you got against the Ravens, and some weeks you will see that 3-INT performance from yesterday (yes – Devin McCourtey can catch the ball sometimes). You will see plays like Scott Chandler going up the middle for 6 without anyone near him, but you will also see shut down rush defenses like yesterday – shutting down the NFL’s leading rusher and a stud from last year (yes, two different guys).

All I know, this year’s team will be fun and frustrating at the same time. But for at least the time being, order was restored in the AFC East.

Bob's Preseason Rankings of WWFL

2012-08-27T15:01:00.000-04:00

Team Hate –

The good: You did not pass on Andre Johnson and because of that you have 2 stud receivers (we won’t get into how you got 1 of them) and an OK to good QB (Rivers), which is a good start for 18 teams. You also have a great back up QB (Locker, but anyone but Tebow really). Great TE (Olsen) too, so underutilized in his career so far but I think that changes this year in a big way.

The bad: Well you took a shot at Ridley in the 4^th and I don’t mind that, but wasting the next 4 picks I do. You picked back to back TE’s (Olsen & Davis) who after Gronk and Jimmer not much of an advantage, a back-up level talent RB (Royster) and ANOTHER RB (Vereen) on a proven team to lead the league is passing attempts, not rushing. And I have Indy’s future starting RB, not you.(Ballard)

Draft Grade – D

My Dixie’s Wrecked –

The good: Very strong at WR, (Lane-o edit: but isn’t everyone?) Marshall/Nelson/Garcon will all be top 25 wr’s and I like Steve Smith West - because who knows who is starting in St. Louis. Jay Cutler should prove a good value in that spot (Lane-o edit: unless he throws another 55 picks) and if Rudolph meets any of the hype, you could be alright.

The bad: We all know McFadden is not playing a full season and you don’t have any good back- ups. Ringer has practice squad talent and Mendenhall isn’t doing much until after playoffs are figured out. Oh and Collie has a soft head and won’t play much.

Draft Grade – C-

Yes I CAM –

The good: Love the stealing of Dez from My Dixie’s Wrecked. He is what they consider a special talent. Also really like Welker once Lloyd starts opening up the middle and he’s playing for a new contract. Andddd stud kicker (my best player last year) (Lane-o edit: I think that sentence is an oxymoron).

The bad: The important thing when drafting Cardinals on your fantasy team, make sure it’s only 1 (and try like hell to make it Fitzy). You blew 3 picks on them!! (Beanie, Williams, and Floyd) THREE. Anyway, DeAngelo is getting shipped out after this year and will be worked out of the offense so don’t like that either. And you waited too long to get a TE (Chandler), which is proving to be a big difference maker.

Draft Grade – F+

Burnt Ham -

The good: Gronk. Gronk. Gronk. Your 2 young WR’s (Torrey and Titus) should both have breakout seasons with only aging vets in front of them. Since you have Vick, I think its genius to back him up with Luck. He should have a really solid year or better if you needed him. This may sound crazy, but I think Fasano has a breakout season under Philbin. Great pick.

The bad: RB’s are extremely weak. I mean BenJarvus made his fantasy living on TD’s, which don’t come around to often in Cincy. And Turner may have the biggest lower half of all football players, besides maybe Gates. The Burner?!?! The only thing he burns through is fast food. Robinson is an overpaid deep threat and the rest of your team isn’t that good. I think this may be the first time “best available” may have failed you. But I am sure you will find someone on waivers from your insider.

Draft Grade – D-

Team POWERS -

The good: Doug Martin could be the next Ray Rice, but you better hope so cause you reached badly to get him. I also like the Antonio Brown and David Wilson pickups. Getting Brown late in the 3^rd is a steal and Wilson should prove too explosive for the Giants to keep him on the bench.

The bad: You want to know how bad picking Eli Manning with the 2^nd pick in the 2^nd round was? Well it was so bad that it made my wife go “Eli Manning in the 2^nd? Eww”. Well said babe. Meachem isn’t doing anything this year because Rivers can’t throw the deep ball anymore. And you picked Tebow.

Draft Grade –B-

Team Defibrillators -

The good: Well, ummm……. Maclin is a good pick in the 3^rd I guess and backing up Trent was smart. Also, like your last 2 picks and the fact that RG3 will get a lot of rushing points.

The bad: Oh boy here we go again. I feel like Defib’s has an infatuation for old fantasy players and defenses like Al Davis did with players running a 4.3 forty. I mean I really think you could drop every person on your roster after San Fran’s D and get better players on waivers. Mark Sanchez should have gone undrafted or at least in the last 2 rounds, and Felix and Hightower were both wastes. Boom Roasted.

Draft Grade – F-

Owner of the Year –

The good: Your keeper was not Ryan Grant. Good start. Stafford I think is a very safe pick because no Lions RB’s are going to do anything again, so he will probably throw another 700 times this year. If Colston stays healthy, he should get more targets with Graham taking focus as top target with Meachem in Cali. Really like Jared Cook too because Locker loves him and Kendall Wright (spoiler alert, I have him).

The bad: I am up in the air on Gore. Extremely talented and they love to run, butttt he’s getting old and they added a ton of RB’s this offseason for a reason I’m guessing. I liked the Denarius Moore pick before his hammy’s started acting up again. He needs to be healthy because Washington is going to the bench once Britt is done with his suspension and that leaves you only 1 good WR.

Draft Grade – C+

Team Dan Mac-

The good: You missed the draft, so anything I say you can blame on your bro. You have 2 great starting Wide-outs in Steve Smith East and Bowe. I am not huge on either 1 of your QB’s (Freeman & Bradford) but with the pair you should be able to play matchups and be OK. Also, love the Martellus Bennet and Kendall Hunter picks. Eli loves TE’s and Kendall Hunter might end up as the best RB on San Fran this year.

The bad: MJD and AP look great on paper but they are both huge question marks right now. Best case scenario is that MJD gets traded to the Colts and AP proves he is a freak by coming back strong after ACL, MCL and meniscus tears. I think Redman will prove to be a wasted pick and TO may be the earliest pick on a person who gets cut. However, if you biggest problem is AP and MJD in an 18 man league, you came out alright.

Draft Grade – B+

Team Predators-

The good: Love Fred Jackson falling to you in the first. He is still so undervalued after leading the NFL in most categories before his injury last year and Buff loves to run. Mike Wallace is good value in the 2^nd as long as he reports soon and you have solid starters in (Bush, Money Sandwiches, and Lance Moore). Very good starters.

The bad: Ronnie Brown. He is just not good anymore (not like he ever was that good and once Mathews comes back, he won’t see the field beyond practices) (Lane-o edit: HEY! Watch what you say about my Auburn Boys). Other than that though, I really like this draft.

Draft Grade – A-

COME GET SOME –

The good: 2 Stud WR’s (Fitz & Roddy), even if Roddy is playing second fiddle to JULIOOOO (another spoiler alert, my team). Love your RB’s as well (McGahee, Ingram, Benson). They all play on what should be high scoring offenses (DEN, NO, GB) and all seem to be the goal-line options on those teams. Also, really like the upside on the bench with Leshoure and Sidney Rice for later picks. It’s almost like you did 20 mock drafts at work of something.

The bad: Another team that waited too long on the TE position. Not like you aren’t going to trade for one, but after the draft it’s not looking too good. And Sidney Rice may have upside, but if he gets injured AGAIN, you have no back up WR’s.

Draft Grade – A-

4^th and 20 –

The good: You actually have running back’s this year, and plenty of them. I really like Lynch this year as he has looked faster and quicker so far. I like Stewart a lot (Lane-o edit: We differ here, I hate anyone in Carolina’s backfield not named Cam), but a little too early for me considering Carolina has the most talented backfield in the NFL. Blackmon is your best value and will be a target monster. Think a younger Brandon Marshall. He just needs to stay out of jail (seems simple enough, but not for NFL players).

The bad: Outside of Blackmon, your next best WR was your last pick (Stokley). Not good, especially with the NFL becoming so pass heavy. Then you not only picked a kicker in round 9, but you picked another in round 15. And even though you picked a TE in the 3^rd and 7^th rounds, I am not a fan of either one this year. (Witten & Winslow)

Draft Grade – C+

Pull N’ Pray –

The good: CJ2K and Murray create a very talented duo for you. I would have liked Malcolm Floyd more if you waited another round or 2 but with Brown going down, he should act as their #1(besides Tubby TE). Carson Palmer was a great pick in the 7^th and I like Golden Tate and Chris Rainey as late picks.

The bad: Vernon was a reach but ALEX SMITH in the 5^th is just absurd. If I didn’t know better, I would think you have never played fantasy football before. I mean, you picked a much better QB (Palmer) 2 rounds later so that should tell you how bad it was. Then you picked Santonio Holmes, who I don’t know if you knew, still needs someone to throw him the ball (which you or I could do better than what they have currently). A lot of mid to higher picks wasted.

Draft Grade – D-

Doin’ Thangs –

The good: Welp, your 1^st year in the league and you get to keep the best RB in football (McCoy) and get the 5^th pick (Jimmy Graham). Good start. It went downhill quick after that though so onto the bad.

The bad: You picked a 38 year old QB with 4 neck surgeries (Lane-o edit: who can’t even throw to his right) before Matt Ryan? Peyton is a huge upgrade for Denver, but that’s not saying much from what they had last year. Then you picked Desean Jackson, who I like this year but not better than Maclin and followed that up with Shonn Greene. Shonn Greene. I don’t know if I should make a fat joke or an I suck at football joke (Lane-o edit: Definitely a fat joke – like can you tell the difference between Sexy Rexy and Shonn if you threw a jersey on both?). Reggie Wayne is OK but belongs on Team Defibs and Gerhart is back to the bench by week 4 or 5 for good. I will say, you drafted much better in the later rounds than early on.

Draft Grade – D-

Team Sillynannies –

The good: Steven Jackson. Yes he is an old 29, but if the Rams improve their offense at all, he will be great value as an unquestioned starter who gets the ball 25 plus times a game. Paired with Forte you have one of the best combo’s of a position becoming more and more diluted. You also have potential with Jonathan Dwyer and Bernard Scott. Dwyer will play a huge early season role with Pitt, which could lead to bigger things (think about undrafted Fast Willie Parker).

The bad: Is this the year for Finley to finally break out? Probably not. I think you backed up Forte too early with Bush (never listen to Mac) and I don’t like any of your WR (Manningham, Mike William, James Jones) outside Lloyd really. And I think besides the Def and K, you wasted your last 5 picks.

Draft Grade – C

Team Screaming Emu’s –

The great: Arian Foster is the first pick after 18 keepers. WOW.

The good: Amazing running backs (Foster, R. Mathews). They alone should carry (pun intended) you to the playoffs at the very least. Love Matty Ice to have a monster season. Great WR’s if Austin can get over his leg issue he’s had the past couple years (Lane-o edit: Is that a joke?). Britt will be a beast once he’s back (Lane-o edit: if he’s not drinking and driving); you just have to hope his suspension isn’t long. Great depth as well. Pierre Thomas is such an effective football player when healthy and on a great offense. Greg Little had 120 targets last year and now has a better QB to play with.

The bad: I would have picked a lot of these guys. (I don’t have a good history of winning, but that has to be because of pure luck).

Draft Grade – A

Team Willie Beamen –

The good: Cruz and Jennings are 2 explosive WR and could score a TD on any given play. Pettigrew will put up top 7 TE numbers, and if Mike Wallace reports soon then Big Ben should have plenty of weapons to perform well. Add the fact that all of Pitts’ RBs are hurt and they could air it out more this year.

The bad: Darren Sproles will never live up to last year’s performance and therefore will be overdrafted. Same with Helu, since Shanny loves to destroy fantasy teams by playing musical RBs. You have OK starters but very weak bench that includes James Starks, Tolbert, and Snelling. Oh and you drafted Plaxico Burress.

Draft Grade – D-

Team Air McNairicides –

The good: You got an absolute steal by snagging Hernandez in the 3^rd. And considering KC said they want to run it 500 times this year, Jamaal is looking like he is going to have a huge year (Lane-o Edit: Ya know, unless he gets hurt…). I like Flacco to outperform this draft spot by a lot as well.

The bad: You picked Ben Tate before about 15 RB’s I would rather have. He’s a great player, he just plays behind an even better player and will see his 5 – 7 carries a game. Not good enough for 4^th round. Reaching for Randy was a huuuge mistake. San Fran does not throw, and when they do it’s to Vernon or their running backs. The rest of your team is very blah. I could take them or leave them.

Draft Grade – C-

Team D-X –

The good: This is the perennial best drafting owner (Lane-o edit: so you must have missed the playoffs last year due to lousy trading??). He has 3 top 20 WRs (that’s not including Kendall Wright, who is a spry young WR with loads of potential), the best QB in football (besides Tommy of course), and sooo much more. Jaquizz is probably the biggest steal of the draft (could change to Rashard Jennings once MJD is traded or never reports) and we haven’t even got to the 10^th round yet. Giants D, Powell (eventual starter for Jets cause Greene is just plain bad) and Ballard just really put the icing on this team’s draft.

The bad: This game is mostly luck and the best team doesn’t always win. (Lane-o edit: He conveniently leaves out his running back situation and the fact that Bilal Powell has a career rushing average of under 2 yard per carry…hmmm)

Draft Grade – A+ (Lane-o grade: C-)

The NFL or NCAA – Who Has It Right?

2012-08-22T14:44:00.001-04:00

It is late August, so that means only one thing when your baseball team is out of playoff contention – Football. This always brings the interesting debate around the country, college or the NFL – what game is better. Both sports are so different, which is why I love both. Alright, enough of this intro, let’s get into what you came here for – the actual debate.

History

The NFL has teams such as the 49ers, Cowboys, Steelers and Packers who have tremendous history. However, they can’t compete with USC, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, and Notre Dame. The first college game took place in 1875, which is almost 50 years before the NFL was founded in 1920. There are hundreds of college teams to choose from and discover their history as opposed to the 32 in the NFL, which includes numerous expansion teams in recent memory.

Advantage: NCAA.

Stadiums

This point comes down to your preference rather than factual information. Are you one that loves the history of a stadium or would you rather a corporate municipal type stadium. The NFL stadiums have more comfortable seats, bigger aisles, HD monitors and are newer. College stadiums have hard bleachers, skinny aisles and are less fan friendly. However, the college stadiums are much more unique with tons of history. You will not see that with NFL stadiums.

Advantage: NFL. (NCAA would have huge advantage if stadium seats were stripped to be all chair backs).

Play Calling

Do you see this in the NFL?

The NFL is considered to be a copy cat league, while college football is constantly changing its play calling. In the NFL you see mostly the same thing – an ace backfield, 3 wideouts, a tight end. Sometimes you see this same variation in a shotgun. There is absolutely no variation at all. At the college level and you can see all kinds of variation. Like running football? There is the power option at Georgia Tech. Like a fast paced spread option? Look at Auburn and Oregon. Like to see a lot of passing? Go to Oklahoma St and Texas Tech. Like an I-formation? They run that at Alabama. Like the pistol? Arkansas runs that. Like a balanced attack? That is what Oklahoma runs. College football is the total opposite of a copy cat league, teams are constantly thinking of new ways to attack. The NFL is constantly stealing ideas from college – where do you think the Wildcat came from?

Huge Advantage: NCAA.

Fans

Uh oh NFL fans, we have another category here that is favoring the college game. This one is a landslide. NFL stadiums are filled with white collar corporate people who are afraid to make noise at a game. At college games, half the stadium is filled with college students. There are two, not just one, two stadiums with the nickname with Death Valley. They have a stadium named for their “12^th Man.” Kansas City is the only city in the NFL that can come close to this, but there are multiple college stadiums like this.

Huge Advantage: NCAA.

Players

Finally, the NFL has a huge advantage. The NFL boasts the best football players in the world and it’s pretty deep as there are only 32 teams. Compare this with the 100+ teams in college football with a high turnover rate, the NFL wins this easily. The only thing you can say about these future accountants, insurance salesmen, etc is they really play with a passion that is unparalleled in the NFL.

Huge Advantage: NFL.

Rivalries

The Iron Bowl is one of the
top rivalries in Sports

Top rivalries in NFL include Steelers-Ravens (Browns), Cowboys-Redskins. These games have included some of the best players that have ever played and some of the best games ever played at the NFL level. However, college boasts Auburn-Alabama (Iron Bowl), Texas-Oklahoma (Red River Rivalry), Florida-Georgia (World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party), etc. These games not only have the history that the NFL games have, but most of these games are played with a National Championship or major bowl game on the line. The NFL games never have that level of intensity unless they are in the playoffs.

Advantage: NCAA.

Playoffs

This is one we could look back on in a few years and flip the scripts here. College football currently has one of the most corrupt and wrong ways to determine a national champion – a “computer”. The best two teams based on these rankings play for the title game. This can lead to controversy (see 2005: Auburn going undefeated and being left out). However, in 2 years they will create a 4 team playoff, which I think eventually gets to be an 8 or 16 team playoff and watch out. That would be runner up to March Madness in terms of a playoff system. But anyways, right now the NFL has the best playoff system going. 12 teams make it, single elimination – win and move on.

Huge Advantage: NFL.

Without ordering NFL Sunday ticket you can only watch possibly 4-5 games a week with the NFL. This is totally not the case with college football. Not only do you not need to order a special package but there are always 3-4 games on National TV at each time slot on Saturday. One game is a blowout, no need to worry, just switch to the other. You don’t have this luxury with the NFL as you are just stuck with whatever game CBS/Fox decides to air for you. Oh, did I mention college football is literally on ESPN every day of the week besides Sunday and Monday.

Huge Advantage: NCAA.

Overall

I think its pretty clear to me what the better game is – NCAA. 5-3 in favor of the “amateurs”. The passion, history, uniqueness make the college game a far better game. See you on Saturday. War Eagle all Day.

My Breakdown of The League

2012-08-21T10:29:00.000-04:00

So with the controversy that Bob created yesterday with his terrible rankings. I figured I would give my unbiased rankings soley on stats and my projected points. These power rankings include only starters in the rankings. However the pictures below that show all the breakdown of every player's projected points for each team.

First, let's explain. I have included starters (based on where they were drafted), team, bye week, positional ranking and projected fantasy points. I then average the positional ranking among starters and total the projected fantasy points. This leads to the below rankings. Let the hating begin.

Below is the breakdown of each individual team. I know you will all have issues with this, but these are totally unbiased rankings and stats.

Bob's Preseason Rankings Fantasy Football

2012-08-20T16:34:00.000-04:00

So I know it has been a while since anyone has blogged. One of my buddies, Bob recently assessed my current fantasy league I am in giving his unbiased opinion on everyone's team. Don't take any of this personal, as he didn't make the playoffs in his league last year. Without further ado, I present Bob's Preseason Rankings.

LANE-O -

As a fan of the Pats and winning, I would have to say I love your first pick. It’s a safe, very high upside pick that will make all Pats games more enjoyable. However, your 2^nd pick is terrible. Not only did you pass on the likes of Jamaal Charles or Demarco Murray, but you picked a rookie RB who plays with a 48 year old Rookie QB and their best WR is a rookie out of the Supplemental Draft. If you think MJD saw stacked boxes last year, you ain’t seen nothing yet. After that, you followed it up with 2 walking injuries (Matthews and Colston) and then picked the worst RB playing organized football, and that includes high school teams. Oh wait it gets better, you picked back to back WR on the same team next. I mean good team but it could have been soo much better.

Draft Grade – C-

Skinny –

Rodgers, Fitz, and Cruz are all studs and will produce for you every week. The Lynch pick was wayyy to early though. I mean do you really trust Marshawn Lynch to keep running for skittles??? Ya, me neither. He just got paid and can buy as many skittles as he wants now. I would have picked any RB that was picked in the next 2 rounds over him, except the offensive tackle named Michael Turner but we will get to him later. And then you added even more risk by taking Beanie and Reggie. I like to pick running backs on teams that actually know who their starting QB is but that’s just me. Your best 3 picks were probably your last 3.

Draft Grade – D-

Mike V -

Like this owners draft the most so far. (Just remember, you are going against a C- and a D- so far) You have 2 of the top 5 RB’s (AP could play with a prosthetic leg and be top 10). Andre Johnson is in for a rebound year and your next 4 picks (Jordy, Hernandez, Austin, Peyton) are all solid picks with upside. Greg Little that late is even a great value. But you picked a Defense in the 9^th round. The only way they live up to that draft spot is if they play the Jets every single game.

Draft Grade – B

Orrico –

Best RB combo out there. Rice is so dependable and McFadden probably has the highest ceiling of all players. Frank was too early there considering the talent he has behind him and the miles he has on his tires. I am a fan of the double dip (Rivers and Gates) but think you could have got a QB that will finish with similar #’s at least 2 or 3 rounds later (Vick round 7 is just 1 example). Love the WR’s you got so late because they all have the possibility to be #1’s on their teams (Antonio Brown, and Torrey Smith). Buttttt Plax really? I want to give you an F just for that 1 pick but will be nice.

Draft Grade – B+

Quinn –

Quinn Quinn Quinn. I love the fact that you picked 7 RB’s, great ambition. The only problem I have is that none are any good. You picked Bradshaw before Mathews and Mathews would have to miss the first 8 games for me to do that, not just 2. Then you picked Roy Helu, Law Firm, and Ben Tate all before your best running back Stevan Ridley. You do have the best TE out there but you only have 3 WR’s. Roddy will be solid (even if he is the #2 on his own team), Wallace isn’t even playing yet, and Meachem has caught 1 pass so far from Rivers in 2 preseason games. Not the rapport I would be banking on with only 3 wide outs. Start thinking about the first pick for next year.

Draft Grade – F

Scaf –

WOW! Talk about a great draft. Like having the best RB fall to you at 6^th wasn’t good enough, but Jamaal Charles in the 3^rd. Are you serious?? Incredible! Then to lock up 2 proven starting WR’s in Welker and Marshall is just fantastic. Oh and it gets better. You should be arrested for getting Vick (who was the unquestioned #1 pick last year) in the 7^th. That’s Bernie Madoff type stuff. Decker, Spiller, and Romo just round out a great overall draft. Well done.

Draft Grade – A+

Mike R –

You have an OK team, and by OK I mean not that good. Calvin is, well Calvin but Matt Ice with your 2^nd?? Yikes. I mean I play in an 18 team league and he lasted until the 3^rd round. I mean if you could have got Tony Romo in the 11^th, you could have had Matt Forte /Tony Romo instead of Matt Ryan / Mario Manningham. I would much rather have the first. Like Murray but HATE HATE HATE Turner. I think he will either be cut or moved to the O-line at some point this year. And if one of those guys gets hurt (or cut) you are screwed. And Reggie Wayne and Boldin are both on the backside cliff of their careers. Love Lloyd but I also loved Ocho last year. Best pick on this team was Cutler in the 12^th.

Draft Grade – D-

Dan-o –

Dan-o the man-o put forth arguably the best draft (sorry but my vote goes the team with McCoy, Forte ANDDDDDD Jamaal Charles….. that just shouldn’t happen unless you are in a 4 man league). But CJ2K, Old reliable Steven Jackson, and Doug Martin isn’t too bad either. Add to that you have 2 of my favorite WR’s in Julio (he will be the #2 wr this year behind only Calvin) and Percy “I do everything” Harvin. Like that you waited on a TE and stole Pettigrew late. And you waited on a Defense and Kicker til the last 2 rounds. Great draft.

Draft Grade – A

Matty V –

I am going to try to be as nice as possible since I’ve heard you are a UNC fan and I have a soft spot. I am not as big a fantasy fan of Cam Newton as others are. Listen, I know he is a stud in the making (Lane edit: War Eagle); however his fantasy points were inflated from rushing TD’s that will never be repeated. Why? Well if I own the Panthers, and saw the QB play before Newton, I am def not letting him take goal line carries to risk injury and going back to Jimmy Clausen. Not happening. Add that he only threw for over 200 yards once in the last 4 games last year and avg only 28 attempts over the last 8 games compared to 36 from the first 8 games. Well you get my point, rant over. Gronk is a beast but will never live up to that draft spot with all the other mouths to feed in New England now. The rest of your guys I like but don’t love any, except Nicks, but with him he is always hurt. You have a bubble team as of right now, sorry bud. Go Tarheels tho.

Draft Grade – B-

Jon –

Hopefully you missed the draft because that would give you an excuse of having such a bad team. First, MJD isn’t that bad a pick right there, but not backing up him with Rashard Jennings and instead choosing GB defense, Danny Woodhead and Santana Moss is realllly bad. You could have made up for it by taking a sure thing RB next round but instead you picked a QB that throws 25 interceptions a year and has lost some valuable weapons in his arsenal. I do like Jennings and Dez, but not enough to call your team good. Hope that Green Bay defense really holds it down for you.

Draft Grade - D

My All-American Teams & Player of the Year

2012-03-30T13:56:00.003-04:00

It is that time, The 1^st Annual Prestigious The Truth Boston Blog’s All American and Player of the Year (I guess we can think of a better name at some point). I had done a midseason All-American team earlier and I think it’s a good time for the end of the year awards.

The Player of the Year Award was the most difficult for me, as I think Thomas Robinson and Anthony Davis both are very deserving for this. However, I look at overall team success this year and Kentucky was better during the regular season. In fact, both Kentucky and Kansas played earlier in the season and Kentucky won. I’ve done a lot of blogging lately, so I am going to be lazy here and just posts stats next to their names. Feel free to debate in the c-section.

POY – Anthony Davis

1^st Team:

G: Kendall Marshall 8.2 pts, 9.8 asts, 2.6 rbs

G: Damian Lillard 24.5 pts, 4 asts, 5 rbs, 1.5 stls

F: Draymond Green 16.2 pts, 10.2 rbs, 1.5 stls

F: Thomas Robinson 17.9 pts, 11.8 rbs, 1 blk

F: Anthony Davis 14.3 pts, 10.1 rbs, 4.6 blks, 1.3 stls

2^nd Team:

G: Isaiah Canaan 19.2 pts, 3.3 rbs, 3.7 asts. 1.4 stls

F: Doug McDermott 23.2 pts, 8.2 rbs, 49% 3pt

F: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 12.0 pts, 7.6 rbs, 2 asts

F: Jared Sullinger 17.6 pts, 9.3 rbs

C: Tyler Zeller 16.5 pts, 9.3 rbs, 1.3 blks

My Take on Harrison Barnes

2012-03-30T08:03:00.003-04:00

It is the Final Four, but with Harrison Barnes, John Henson, and Kendall Marshall all declaring for the draft I thought I would give my opinion on Barnes. First let me say as an anti-UNC fan I love that he is going pro, but as a college basketball and NBA fan, I am disappointed. Barnes is one of the most talented guys in college basketball, hence why Chad Ford of ESPN.com has him going in the top 10 of every mock draft he does. But to me there is so much more than that.

Harrison Barnes is a guy who to me suffers from the same thing LeBron James does, except for that whole destroying a city on national TV thing. As a fan, we see these guys and all their talent and think, man I wish they played with more passion and desire. You then look at someone like Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and can’t help but imagine Barnes playing like him, with the passion, desire to win, and just to play the game with a reckless abandon. But some guys aren’t wired like that; it’s just unfortunate they aren’t.

Part of me wonders whether the hype of him coming into college had something to do with it. If college basketball writers didn’t name him a preseason First Team All-American as a freshman, would he be in a better position than he is now? Who knows, really? I remember when he was in high school and he had a typical signing day for an elite athlete (that is if you consider a typical signing day to include being on national TV), but then he wanted to be a little different, a little unique, so he Skyped in Coach Roy Williams to declare he would play for UNC. As I would later learn, this was probably based on bad advice, because watching Barnes in college I realized he’s just a guy who seems like he just wants to fit in, rather than stand out.

You look at Barnes’ numbers this year and you see 17.1 points a game, 5.2 rebounds a game on a team that went 32-6. You see that and you think wow, this kid is special. Which is true, he is special, which is why I demand even more out of him. In the game against Kansas in the Elite 8, the Tar Heels' offense went cold against the zone in the final 5 minutes, making two of their final 13 shots, including eight straight misses to end the game. If you are truly that special, you take over the game and you don’t allow that kind of thing to happen, Barnes went 0-3 from the floor in those final minutes and scored 1 point. That is what kills me, because he has the ability to demand the ball, get to the rim, get fouled and take control of the game, but he just doesn’t.

By all accounts, he is a great kid that works really hard, but maybe that is also his downfall, he’s too nice. Maybe he will figure this out in the NBA. But a lasting image of LeBron passing out of late game shots always comes back to me as a comparison for Barnes. I hope I’m wrong.

The State of Your Boston Bruins

2012-03-29T17:27:00.006-04:00

Hello, Hello, Hello. Been awhile, I know. I could blame it on a few things but let's just go with I was in an end of the winter slumber just like our Boston Bruins, as my excuse.

As we speak the B's are doing just fine, they have picked themselves up, dusted themselves off and are holding strong as the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference with the playoffs a week and a half away. But let's be honest it hasn't been an easy road..

From February 1st thru March 15th the Bruins went a pathetic 8-14, along the way they lost Rich Peverly to a knee injury (just returned 2 games ago), they lost Tuukka to a groin/abdominal pull (50-50 shot he returns for playoffs), Bergeron was banged up, Thornton had the flu for what seemed to be 2 weeks and Joe Corvo played like he was hurt but unfortunately he just sucks. Injuries are not to blame though, the Bruin's lost their focus, the only way this team can be successful is if they stick to coach Claude Julien's style, it's how they are built, they cannot rely on skill alone because they simply don't have enough. They are built to be a TEAM and if they don't play like a TEAM they will fall faster than an Iona 25 point lead in the NCAA tournament (sorry V, I had to). Now that we are on the topic of team I would like to quickly point out I still believe the Bruins lost their way when Tim Thomas went on his political campaign but for the sake of not repeating myself I will not go on another rant about it.

So what's to come..

Well the Bruins should wrap up the 2 seed shorty and if the season ended today they would be facing the Ottawa Senators in the first round. This is a great match up for our Bruins. Thomas has played in 16 of the last 17 games, so look for him to get a breather over the next couple weeks (assuming they don't start another losing streak), you may see Marty Turco get a few games or Khudobin from Providence and maybe even Tuukka before the season is out. Depending on how quickly the B's can wrap up the 2 seed I wouldn't be surprised to see Bergeron, Chara, Seidenberg, Ference etc. get a "maintenance" day or two.. Other than that we just wait, so until then.. strap on your seat belt, pull on your helmets, put on your foil, ready the troops, dust off your bear claws, if you are a bandwagon fan (Lane-o) hop on the bandwagon, hold onto your _____, and get ready to have your world rocked because it's almost NHL PLAYOFF TIME!!

The Best Final Four Ever?

2012-03-29T08:16:00.001-04:00

Could we have a better Final Four than the one we have this weekend? This is going to be awesome! Not only is my favorite team (Kansas) in it, but we have 4 of the top ten programs of all time in it. There is no mid major this year, which is fitting because New Orleans does everything big. Big rivalries, big men, big games, everything is big.

Most everyone is talking about the Kentucky-Louisville game, and rightfully so. You don’t get bigger rivalries than those two. There have already been fights among the fans and I would expect a lot more. These guys literally hate each other. You also have two of the biggest coaching personalities out there with Rick Pitino and John Calipari. Both coaches have have strong connections at UMass, both have tried (and failed) at the NBA, and both have coached at Kentucky.

So getting into the game itself, Kentucky should win handily based on talent alone, with Unibrow (Anthony Davis), MKG, Terrance Jones, and 3-4 other NBA players they can role out there. However, this is a rivalry game and Louisville is as hot as any team in the country (see UConn last year). Their matchup 2-3 zone (a Ralph Willard – Holy Cross staple) has given teams fits this year. They are finally healthy and Peyton Siva is making a ton of plays. But when it

comes down to it, I can’t pick against Kentucky (mostly because of the Unibrow) in this game. My pick: Kentucky 78-65.

Now let’s get to the game that I am really more concerned about, Kansas and Ohio State. These teams played back in December with Kansas taking it 78-67, but all you will hear about that game is that Jared Sullinger did not suit up for it (was he ducking it to avoid Thomas Robinson?) But people forget that Tyshawn Taylor has surgery the next day for a torn MCL and meniscus, and he still had 13 assists in that game. Jeff Withey wasn’t nearly the player he is now and don’t even get me started on Elijah Johnson. EJ is currently playing the best basketball for the Jayhawks, who is going to defend him? William No-Show Buford? The funny thing about this game is that both teams were actually better last year and didn’t make it this far, its weird sometimes how March works. The key to this matchup will be foul trouble and who matches up on who. Both teams have zero depth, especially for the bigs. If Withey is matched up against Sullinger and Deshawn Thomas is matched up with Robinson, I will take Kansas every single time. If T-Rob and Sullinger are matched up against each other down low, it could be a toss up because both guys could get in foul trouble. This will be a tight one, but I will go with Kansas 72-63.

Now if you have been reading this blog for a while now, you will remember I predicted this back on February 13. I think a Kansas-Kentucky final would be everything a college basketball fan could want. Two of the biggest fan bases, storied histories, elite coaches, and exceptional talent. This is going to be a fun ride in New Orleans and it begins Saturday night. The best playoff could possibly have the best ending ever, let’s just hope the Superdome is ready.

Jayhawks Prevail Over Former Coach (Again)

2012-03-27T07:53:00.002-04:00

Anyone who knows me knows this weekend was about as good as it gets from a basketball perspective for me. The other two bloggers on this site happen to be UNC fans, yeah I know – I am not sure why or how, but I happen to be a big Kansas fan and yesterday my Jayhawks whooped the Tarheels. To give you a little background, in case you don’t know, Roy Williams was the coach of Kansas until 2003 where he left to go coach UNC. Well to say us Jayhawk fans were upset would be an understatement, we are in the top 3 winningest program in the country, so we don’t consider our program to be a stepping stone for anyone. But then maybe the best thing could have happened; Kansas hired an up and coming star in Coach Bill Self. In their very first matchup against each other, Coach Self and Former Coach Roy Williams matched up in the Final Four in 2008, Kansas ended up winning that (this will become a pattern) en route to a Championship that year.

This brings us to this past weekend where those same two coaches matched up again, only one player remains from that original match up, former walk-on redshirt senior Connor Teahan. The first half was like a great boxing match, Kansas would go on a quick strike for 6 unanswered points, then UNC would answer back with a 8-0 run of their own. The first half was played at such a high level, it was no wonder there were so many NBA scouts in attendance. After 20 minutes, they were knotted up at 47 all.

Surprisingly I was confident going into the half tied up, because I was extremely happy with the offense I saw the Jayhawks display and I knew Kansas would start to clamp down on defense (something I felt UNC couldn’t do). Well, this didn’t happen soon enough for me as both teams continued to exchange little 4 or 6 point runs and the score stayed even for much of the second half. But then, Coach Self went back to their rarely used Triangle and Two defense, the same one that eventually slowed down Robbie Hummel and Purdue in the round of 32.

Once this defense was installed, UNC had no answer. Kansas collapsed into to the paint, allowing no penetration or scoring by the Tar Heel big men. UNC then settled for 3 pointers (11% for the game) and mid range jump shots (22% in 2nd half) and Kansas finished the game on a 13-0 run. Even though I almost had a heart attack, that Kansas defense finally showed up.

This Kansas team is led by All American Thomas Robinson and streaky point guard Tyshawn Taylor and those two were the reasons that Kansas is moving on to the Big Easy for a chance to cut down the nets once again. Robinson had a typical T-Rob day, with 18 points and 9 rebounds, while TT had 22 points. No one would have expected this at the beginning of the season when the Jayhawks only returned one starter and depended heavily on a guy who only played 14 minutes a game last year. Everyone else barely even cracked the rotation last year. Bill Self probably said it best after the game, “This would have been a year, if we got to the second weekend (of the tournament), most Kansas fans would be happy. But that's not how those guys think. They think this is their year, and I'm certainly not going to tell them anything different.”

Now my Jayhawks are only 2 wins away from doing the improbable. It will be a very tough road as they have to go through Ohio State, who just dismantled a very good Syracuse squad and likely a Kentucky team that may have 7 pros on its team. But, this is March so anything could happen, who would have expected them to get this far. Why not us?

Family Over Everything

2012-03-25T12:02:00.005-04:00

#RockChalkJayhawk

Kansas-UNC: The Battle of Two Unique Styles

2012-03-25T07:25:00.000-04:00

So I know it has been a while since I last blogged, and I know you missed it. Well I am back by popular demand. So I am going to preview one of the best days that a college basketball fan can have. As you may or may not know, I am a huge Kansas fan and today my Jayhawks go up against some team that a few of my friends support, North Carolina. Now not only is this is a big day for me, because I just despise the Tar Heels, but it is a big day for all Jayhawk fans because Roy Williams is going up against his old team.

In 2008, Kansas went through UNC and Roy in the final 4, this year they are playing for a trip to the final 4. 2008 was also the year Kansas brought the title back to Lawrence, maybe it is only fitting that they have to go through UNC again this year? Does that mean another title in my future? I sure hope so.

The only negative thing about this game is that All-American point guard Kendall Marshall has a fractured wrist for the Tar Heels; I can already hear the excuses coming from their fans. Who is to say Kansas wouldn’t win even with Kendall? Yes, I get that Kendall is important to the Heels, is that because he is that good, or just because they didn’t recruit another point guard? If Tyshawn Taylor went down for Kansas, EJ would just slide over to the point guard spot and Connor Teahan would move into the starting lineup. That would be ok with me. If Thomas Robinson went down (arguably the most important player in college bball) then the Jayhawks would just slide in Kevin Young. I wouldn’t make the excuse, I would just tip my cap. The Heels have plenty of talent with Barnes, Henson, Zeller, Bullock and McAdoo, if they really are the better team we will find out today.

This matchup will be one of my all-time favorites because it displays two very unique styles, the Jayhawks play very physical defense, while the Tar Heels are all offense (and Henson). We have already seen in last night’s games, physical defenses (see – Louisville & Ohio St) have advanced to the Final Four. Today, Kansas and Kentucky play very physical defense, while Baylor and UNC don’t and rely more on their athleticism, which is why I am picking the two K schools to advance. I can’t wait for today and I hope you are excited too.

I will leave you with this video to get you excited for today:

IONA IS GOING DANCING

2012-03-11T21:29:00.002-04:00

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES !

The committee answered my prayers this evening. Iona is in the tourney. First up is BYU in a play-in game in Dayton, OH. Winner plays Marquette.

I love all the analysts hating on Iona for getting in, saying Drexel should have been in blah blah blah. If Iona scheduled all their games against middle school basketball teams they could have had the 25 game win streak or whatever it was, also. Iona is the first MAAC team to get an at-large bid in 17 years.

I'm so jacked up right now. Only 48 more hours. Tuesday night cant come soon enough.

Now, I gotta go check and see if I get truTV...

#IonaDeservesaNCAABid

2012-03-11T10:54:00.004-04:00

Well, today is the day I have been waiting for since last sunday when Iona suffered a terrible loss to Fairfield in the MAAC tourney. Currently, Joe Lunardi has them in the first four out. Earlier this week they were in the next four out, so we have made some progress up the board. Xavier needs to get a win today to prevent St. Bonaventure from potentially bursting Iona's bubble.

We will find out on the NCAA Selection Show tonight at 6pm. I hope the committee gives them a chance, but they also didnt take care of business when it mattered most - so I can see them as a top seed in the NIT as well.

Come on NCAA committee, give me a chance. They havent been in the tourney since 2006, got shutout each year I was in school. Please.

#IonaDeservesaNCAABid

Most Rewarding

2012-02-14T14:38:00.004-05:00

I have been doing something that I absolutely love for the past 7 years now, that is coaching baseball. I played baseball at Assumption for a year before I decided it would be better for my academics and my life after college if I give up playing the game that I have loved my entire life. Growing up baseball was everything to me, I played 4 years of AAU baseball and we traveled to various tournaments throughout the country. I have played as far south as Florida and as far west as Arizona for the best pastime out there.

Baseball helped me get into college, but I decided that it wasn’t going to define me and there was going to be more to college than that, but I never lost the love for the game, Then a wonderful opportunity fell into my lap my sophomore year, an assistant coaching position at the high school I went to. I immediately fell in love with coaching and have been doing it ever since.

With anything, there are certain highs and lows, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. There are good experiences and bad experiences and there are good parents and there are bad parents (hint: the good parents don’t complain to the coaches ever).

This past summer I was given even a greater opportunity and was offered a head coaching positioning for a 15U AAU team. How many 23 year olds can say that? I was a little over a year out of college and just learning to finally do some things on my own and that opportunity fell in my lap. I couldn’t say no. So immediately I called up my family and told them the good news. I then started scrambling, I need assistant coaches, I need to schedule games, and everything is now on my shoulders. No more just being an assistant coach and not having to shoulder the load of everything. Luckily I have a few friends that have played baseball just as long as I have and agreed to be assistant coaches for me. I am still trying to put that schedule together, but we are getting there.

The biggest challenge for me was trying to plan everything and not too much in a single practice and not overwhelm the kids. I was trying to teach discipline and strong work ethic but also to mix in a little fun, because remember they are 15 year olds and can be distracted really easily. I am also lucky and so far it seems that I have very good parents that have let me do things my way.

We have been practicing for a little over a month inside and I am already seeing tremendous strides for the team and they have increased their work ethic tenfold. I no longer need to always tell the kids when they are doing something wrong, a lot of them realize it and try and fix it. My voice appreciates this and there is no greater joy when you see the kids finally start to “get it”.

I hope everyone gets the chance to coach one day as it is just a tremendously rewarding experience. Not only will you get great joy out of seeing the improvements from day 1, you will also have a great deal of respect for the coaches out there. It’s not as easy as some make it seem, there are ups and downs, but to me there is no parallel.

-The Boss

Despite Patriots Loss, Super Bowl XLVI Still Winning Experience

2012-02-13T19:52:00.000-05:00

They say time heals everything. No matter how extreme a situation, giving emotions chances to settle and thoughts opportunities to collect allow individuals to reflect and draw meaningful conclusions. This goes for all facets of life, including sports.

Enter Super Bowl XLVI, the National Football League’s title match between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots. The game watched around the globe, with the Feb. 5 spectacle boasting a world record as the most watched TV show in U.S. history when 111.3 million viewers cast their eyes on professional sports’ biggest stage.

As a Patriots fanatic whose family had season tickets to the cherished team for more than a decade, I—along with my family—traveled to Indianapolis hoping to see the Patriots capture its fourth championship. But once the game clock expired, celebrations erupted and confetti strewed—for the Giants. Instead of leaving Lucas Oil Stadium with feelings of elation, I left with feelings of dejection, anger and resentment as Boston fell victim to another New York victory.

No Patriots fans need recapping of the game that began with the Giants securing a safety and ended with Patriots quarterback Tom Brady throwing an incomplete Hail-Mary bomb to the end zone. Of course there were highlights of running back Danny Woodhead and tight end Aaron Hernandez scoring touchdowns that—at one point—looked to capture the Vince Lombardi trophy. Like a Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees battle, the Giants seized and sent the Patriots and their fans packing.

A season that began with heartache for Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who lost his beloved wife Myra, ended with heartache for Boston sports nation as a victory literally slipped out of the hands of the AFC championship team.

That’s when time heals everything. Five days later and more than 900 miles away from Indianapolis, I reflect. My Super Bowl trip had been a whirlwind of exhilaration from the moment arriving in downtown Indianapolis. Super Bowl banners hung at every street corner, fans decked out in their hometown colors poured the streets and celebrities such as actors Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg attended the event and ushered past screaming fans who aligned barriers.

And then seeing Lucas Oil Stadium for the first time sent tingles up my spine. Stepping inside the stadium transformed those prickles into anticipation and awaiting kickoff propelled that anticipation into euphoria. I was at the Super Bowl, hungry for the Patriots to win and ready to see the biggest game of my life—no matter the outcome.

This had been a-once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. While 111 million viewers witnessed the game via TV, only about 70,000 watched it live inside the stadium. Seventy thousand fans cheered from the stands for their favorite team. Seventy thousand fans had been given an experience that would last well after the victor’s crowning. I was one of them. I was lucky enough to be part of the crowd and that alone was pretty sweet.

I’m determined to not let the loss sack my overall experience. No matter how hard a loss, time heals everything.

Is It Going to be An All Blue Final?

2012-02-13T19:44:00.001-05:00

We are about a month away from the greatest event in all of sports. No it’s not that thing that just happened that none of us will blog about, it is the NCAA Tournament. You have 64 68 teams all fighting for the same goal, to cut down the nets in early April. Obviously if you are a 16 seed, realistically you don’t have a shot, but just looking back at last year you had a Final Four matchup of 12^th seeded (and first 4) VCU and 9^th seeded Butler. Before the season there was all this talk about the power conferences are back, but guess what, unless you have been under a rock this year, it’s the year of the mid-major and Kentucky. With all these powerful sophomores in Perry Jones III, Terrance Jones, Jeremy Lamb, and Harrison Barnes all returning to campus, the blue bloods were supposed to be back. Instead who do you have in the top 25? Creighton, UNLV, San Diego St, Murray St, Wichita St, Gonzaga, Harvard, and St Mary’s are there rather than expected powers of UConn, Texas, Vanderbilt, Villanova, and Pittsburgh. So if there was ever a time for a 16 to beat a 1 seed, it would be this year.

Right now, every team is vulnerable and every team has weaknesses. Just look at some of these home losses that should never happen at home, UNC to Duke, Ohio St to Michigan St, Murray St to Tennessee St, Creighton to Wichita St, Florida to Tennessee. That was all in the last week, CRAZY! What is going to happen in March on neutral floors, I can’t wait.

Now when I say every team has weaknesses, let’s just exclude one team, Kentucky. This team is loaded, like my god are there freaks just all over the court for them. When in doubt, throw a lob to Anthony Davis and he will dunk it. Fear the Unibrow. Their one weakness, Marquis Teague is all of a sudden turning into a legit threat as well. In his last 2 games, he is scoring 12.5 points and dishing out 9 assists per game. I haven’t even mentioned the most clutch three point shooter in ~~Ray Allen~~ Doron Lamb for the Cats, he is shooting almost 50% from 3 and just has a knack for hitting daggers against teams. I don’t need to say anything about Michael-Kidd Gilchrist, for more on him click here.

Now after Kentucky, my prediction for the Final Four is a crap shoot. Everyone knows March is all about matchups, so until you see the bracket you have no idea who is going to actually get there. Even then you might as well pick like most girls do, by mascot name, the colors, or “Hey I know someone who went there.” But you know what, I am going to give another prediction on my Final Four (read the original here), since it clearly seems like Baylor isn’t making a run for it with how lackluster Perry Jones III and company play that zone defense (if you want to call it that).

The safest bet I have to a sure thing after Kentucky is Kansas. Oh yeah, that’s right, my boys from Lawrence. The Jayhawks now have 3 legitimate options on offense in POY front runner Thomas Robinson, the mostly up Tyshawn Taylor and wait for it, wait for it, oh yeah it's Jeff Withey. That three headed monster is unstoppable right now and the real x-factor isn’t Taylor or T-Rob, it's the tall lanky transfer from Arizona Withey. If we exclude the Missouri game (which I am going to do to skew my argument) he has scored 10, 15, 25 and 18 points in his last 4 games and has 8.25 rebounds per game including the monster 20 rebound, 7 block, and 18 point game against Oklahoma St on Saturday. Can you imagine that 7 foot monster in the tourney? I sure can’t wait for it.

Everything else is a crap shoot. Syracuse, Duke, Michigan St, Ohio St, Missouri, Baylor, UNLV, and UNC all have issues and I have to pick two more teams. I know for sure I am not going with Duke or UNC and a lot of that has to do with the lack of toughness that either team has shown this year. If you are UNC, how do you blow that lead at home to Duke and that is on top of a 33 point loss at the hands of team that lost to Boston College in Florida St. Yeah, I’ll wait while you wrap your heads around that one for a second. I’ll say it again, UNC lost by 33 points to Florida St who has lost to Boston College. If we go by that logic, Boston College lost to Holy Cross by 22 and beat Florida St by 4, soooo that means Holy Cross could beat UNC by 59. That doesn’t sound like a Final Four team to me. And because Tyler Zeller routinely scores for the other team. Duke, well to steal Mark Titus’ line has Austin Rivers’ Punchable Face and a few other guys that aren’t very athletic, that is always Duke’s problems when they cant advance in the tourney. I will cross these two teams off my list.

The leaves me with a few obvious options in Syracuse and Ohio St to make the Final Four, but you know how March is, you just never know. The Orange scare me because they don’t have a go-to scorer that you need in March to be successful and Ohio St is too injury prone for me. We also all know March is crazy and relies on great guard play. Guess who that leaves me with? You guessed it, UNLV and Missouri. I will start with Missouri. It pains me to put two of my least favorite teams in college basketball with Kentucky and Missouri (I will never call them Mizzou – gross). But my god, this team reminds me a lot of that 4 guard offense that Villanova had. They have 5 legitimate scorers that can go off at any time. Phil (Flip) Pressey is just unbelievable and is easily a top 5 point guard in America, youtube him if you haven’t seen him (okay I will make it easy for you - a link to Phil Pressey is here). Marcus Denmon has Jimmer range and has serious guts. I guess I could also mention that Ricardo Ratliff is shooting 74% from the field, yeah he is about to break an NCAA record for field goal percentage, no big deal.

Moving on to UNLV, all I have to say is MIKE MOSER. The UCLA transfer is just an absolute animal, just gets after it. He is averaging 15 points and 11 rebounds right now and can light it up from 3 as well. The Runnin’ Rebels are back. If anyone thinks I’m crazy for putting them in, the Mountain West is probably a 3 or 4 bid league while the Pac-12 is a 1 or 2 bid league for the tourney. This league is loaded with SDSU, UNLV, New Mexico and Colorado St. I have nothing else to say on UNLV because you have probably quit reading this post by now anyways so I am just rambling to myself.

Anyways, it’s tough to leave out my sleeper of every year, Marquette. They will continue to be my sleeper this year, Buzz Williams has got them rolling. DJO is about as good as it gets from a guard in college ball and is as tough as they get. I would also look to Wichita St, Saint Mary’s, and Florida come tourney time. Now that football season is over, I hope you get out and enjoy the last month before the greatest event in sports.

-The Boss

Hawaii - Let's Try This Again

2012-02-04T07:40:00.002-05:00

Yeah I know this post isn't sports related but I thought I would show the world my videos I created. This is from my family trip to Hawaii a couple weeks ago. They both have the same pictures however the bottom one is longer and has different songs. I apologize for the lack of posts lately, been really busy. I plan to get back into it next week and maybe this weekend before the big game.

For now, enjoy these videos and if you have never been, you need to go to Hawaii. Or go back!

Hawaii HD by Matt Lane

Yo Soy Fiesta

2012-02-03T19:51:00.002-05:00

The game is finally here! After a week off and some jabs back and forth...mostly by the Giants since Brady's comment was nothing more than the truth. Anyways, it all comes down to Sunday. Brady vs. the other Manning on Peyton's home field. Is it Sunday 6:30 yet?

This is going to be one of the better Super Bowls in recent history. You have the "favorite" in the Pats who are on a 10 game win streak and have a new found, motivated defense vs. the typical New York team, talking before the game has even started. Everybody is comparing this game to Super Bowl 42 and how the Pats are out to get revenge. This game has a totally different feel to me. 4 years ago, there was so much pressure on the Pats to go 19-0. We all know that didn't happen. This year, everybody is going against the Pats because they think the defense is weak and the Giants pass rush will put too much pressure on Brady. The Pats are being written off by all the writers and already giving the trophy to the Giants. Remember the last time this happened?

2001 season. Nobody was giving the Pats a chance because the Rams had too much firepower. They had a MVP caliber QB in Kurt Warner (Eli Manning), dynamic wide receivers in Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt (Hakeen Nicks and Victor Cruz), and a good running back in Marshall Faulk (Ahmad Bradshaw). The Rams came into the game thinking they already won the game and were way over confident. Very similar to what we have seen this week out of the Giants.

Onto the more important topic: Gronk. I'll keep it plain and simple. He will play and he will be effective. You're telling me that an ankle sprain is going to keep this man out of the biggest game of his life? No way. Imagine the pain threshold Gronk must have? My guess is he could break his leg during the game and not even know it. Okay thats an exaggeration but you get the point.

Gronk is the key on offense Sunday, along with Hernandez. If Gronk and get up field with out favoring his ankle, they will be fine. He needs to be able to stretch the field to open up the 5-10 yard passes for Wes and Aaron. The offense will be fine and you won't even know that Gronk is "hurt."

On defense, its big Vince. He needs to play the same way he did against Baltimore. Get pressure on Manning to force a quick pass. You can't let Nicks and Manningham get deep. Pass rush is going to play a huge part in this game if the Pats want to be champs. Get Eli off the spot and force him to make bad decisions. We all know what happens when Eli makes bad decisions...he throws the ball right to Asante Samuel who clinches the game with an INT! Oh wait, Asante didn't catch that? No wonder why he isn't here anymore. The man has a tattoo that reads "Get Paid" but he can't even catch a duck that was thrown right to him with the Super Bowl on the line. Sorry, another topic for another day.

Anyways, enjoy the game. It has the makings to be one of the best Super Bowls ever.

Pats 28 Giants 20. Parade Tuesday.

Timmaayy Drops the Ball..

2012-01-24T19:39:00.006-05:00

So here is my take on the Tim Thomas situation.. I wouldn't call myself a person who is into politics, I watch some debates, I usually know the candidates and where they stand and I vote, that's about it. I will never pretend to understand what Tim Thomas was trying to prove yesterday because he clearly has much more deep rooted beliefs about politics than I do, but in my opinion yesterday had nothing to do with politics and Thomas chose to make it about that.

For any of you who do not know, The Boston Bruins were hosted at the White House by president Barack Obama on Monday. This is an annual event for the championship team of the 4 major sports. Tim Thomas decided because of his "beliefs" he was not going to attend this event even with the urging of the organization over the last 2 months leading up to the event. Here is what Thomas later posted about the situation on a facebook page..

"I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People. This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government. Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL."

Tim here is what I have to say to you.. You say it wasn't about politics and you say it wasn't about party (Thomas is a strong supporter of the Team Party), but then everything you said was about politics? But whatever, that is all fine and dandy and you are more than welcome to have your beliefs, butttt Mr. Obama invited the Boston Bruins TEAM and organization, he did not invite everyone as INDIVIDUALS. Mr. Obama did not invite the team to the White House to talk politics, share political beliefs or to support a campaign of his. It was a celebration of what you and your teammates accomplished this past year together. Yesterday you chose to not be a part of your team, a team comprised of players from countries all around the world and who I am sure disagree with how our government is run, but you decided you are better than everyone else, your beliefs are stronger than everyone else, you decided you didn't want to be a part of your team yesterday for personal reasons. And to that I say, wrong place wrong time.

I hope you understood what was going to happen when you made this decision. You have now stood up for your beliefs but you have also caused unnecessary negative publicity to surround your entire team that just won a Stanley Cup due to how "together" you guys are. You have forced your management team to have to tap dance around trying to defend your actions but at the same time saying they do not agree with them. You also forced them to decide to have you stay in your hotel room, probably the most notable player on the entire team while the rest of your "brothers" attended a charity event for the Boy and Girls Club of Greater Washington because they worried about how much negative energy you would bring to event through the media.

And to that I say I am sorry, I am sorry that you have brought this upon your team, I am sorry that the kids at the charity event didn't get to meet you because of your "beliefs". I am sorry that you couldn't see the event for what it was, a celebration for what you and your TEAM did on the ice NOT a celebration of what our government is currently doing.

I hope Timmy the Tank, I really hope, that your teammates just brush this off, the media let's it fizzle out and the effects of this situation do not trickle into the performance on the ice. But I hope you understand that the issue isnt with what you do did because of your beliefs, it is an issues because you let your team down and you let your fan's down.. And really, in the end, I am not sure what you proved??