Draft Preview

(2007 Texans #1 pick Mario Williams)

It seems like football just ended, right? It was only about two and a half months ago when the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots in one of the greatest Super Bowls ever. But, the first part of next season starts today with the 2008 NFL Draft. If your a football fan, you usually watched the first round or two, like myself, because it's impossible to sit there for eleven hours watching the draft. Last year's draft had a first round which stretched six hours and eight minutes. That's why the NFL changed a few things to shorten the draft.

The time a team had for their first pick used to be fifteen minutes, but this year they will have ten minutes. The second round went from ten minutes to seven minutes. The time of the draft was also changed from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday will only be the first two rounds of the draft, giving Sunday to the third-seventh rounds. This was a great move by the NFL because the draft was definitely way too long...I don't think you could find something more boring to do on a Saturday afternoon. The first round is usually very good, with all the big name players going to their new teams. But, after that, it just gets plain exhausting. Now let's get into the top players in the draft.

The Miami Dolphins already made their first overall pick, by signing Jake Long to a five-year, $57.75 million deal. Long was the top offensive lineman in college, where he played at Michigan. Nice safe pick. They say the safest first round pick is a lineman, but I just don't get that. With a play-maker like Darren McFadden, or a future star quarterback in Matt Ryan, why would you waste your first pick on a lineman? But I guess you need to build a team safely, by choosing a guy who you know can protect your quarterback and block for your runner.

I think Darren McFadden of Arkansas is going to be the best player out of this draft, a 6'2 runner with speed and power. It looks like the Raiders might take him, although the Jets have been trying to trade up or land McFadden at the sixth overall pick. Other than the top few picks, there are a few guys to look out for. Felix Jones was the back-up behind McFadden at Arkansas, and I can see him going late in the first round to the Cowboys. But, there's a quarterback who I would look out for. Joe Flacco. Quarterback from Delaware. At an incredible 6'7, Flacco is one of the most talented quarterbacks I've seen in a while. I wouldn't be surprised to see him slip to the early to middle of the second round.

3 p.m. today, NFL Draft. Whether your an NFL fan wanting to see who your team gets, or a college football fan wanting to see where these players go, the draft can be interesting for a little bit. But don't watch it for too long, you might waste your day.

Not So Fast, Hank

As you have probably heard, Hank Steinbrenner made some comments this week that suggested making Joba Chamberlain a starter, rather than keeping him in his setup role. Joba is such a dominant pitcher, with his 100-mph fastball. And as Hank put it, you would be "an idiot" to keep him as a one-inning pitcher. Joba appeared in 19 games last year and didn't lose once. His ERA was an amazing 0.38 and he had 10 more strikeouts than innings pitched.

Joba is off to a good start this year, appearing in 7 games and striking out 9 batters in 8 innings. Tonight, Joba pitched the 8th and 9th innings against the White Sox. With the score tied 6-6 in the bottom of the 9th, Joba hung a curveball to Joe Crede. Crede laced a base hit to centerfield, scoring Carlos Quentin from second base. Okay, rewind. There was one out in the inning and a runner on second base. Joe Crede has been as hot as anyone on the White Sox, with 6 hits and 2 homers in his last 5 games. If I could ask Joe Girardi one question, I would ask...WHY WOULD YOU PITCH TO CREDE?!?

I understand Joba is dominant and all, which he is. But, when you could walk Crede to put yourself in a position for an inning ending double-play, why would you pitch to him? Joba hung a curve against Crede and Crede did what he has been doing- went with the pitch and hammered a liner to centerfield.

Joba is an awesome pitcher and he will be for years to come. But, I think this was a good thing for the Yankees. It shows that Joba is human. Joba suffered his first career loss as a professional. If and when Joba becomes a starter, he isn't going to win every game and dominate every game the way he does as a setup man. People need to understand this. If Joba starts a game and goes 6+ innings, he isn't going to have the same 100-mph fastball and the same 86-mph ankle-breaking slider. Not so fast, Hank. Let things unfold as they should. If Joba is needed as a starter in the near future, it will happen.

First Time for Everything

I believe someone once said, "There is a first time for everything." I don't know who said it, but it is true. In Danica Patrick's case, there is definitely a first time for everything.

From 2005-2008, Danica has been in 50 IndyCar races. I don't know much about NASCAR, but the IndyCar Series is a popular American racing league. On April 20 of this year, Patrick won her first race...ever. She won at the Twin Rig Motegi in the Indy Japan 300. She is now the first woman to ever win an IndyCar race, after finishing 5.8594 seconds ahead of Brazilian driver Helio Castroneves.

In Danica's first year in the league, she won the 2005 IndyCar Rookie of the Year. From 2005-2007, she won the IndyCar Most Popular Driver. That's unbelievable! She didn't win a race until 4 days ago, but she has been the most popular driver for the last three years. You would think that Danica's attractiveness made her popular, and it did. Just like Anna Kournikova, Danica became famous for her good looks. But, Danica has the potential to be more than a good looking driver. It's a man's game, indeed, but if Danica can race the way she has been racing, I think we may be witnessing the start of a great career.

While we are on the subject, I'll let you know about another female who is dominating the sports world- Lorena Ochoa. Lorena left college in her sophomore year to become a professional golfer. She won 3 of 10 events at the 2002 Futures Tour, and topped the money list which launched her into the LPGA Tour the following year. Five years later, Ochoa beat out Annika Sorenstam as the number one woman golfer in the world. So far this year, Ochoa has won 5 of 6 events, including The Kraft Nabisco Championship and the Corona Championship...in back-to-back weeks! She is already qualified for the World Golf Hall of Fame, but can't be inducted until 2012. Ochoa will be hosting her own event called the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in November of this year.

Danica and Lorena are just about the 2 most popular women in sports right now. Heck, they might be 2 of the most famous athletes, man or woman, at the moment. I'm not usually interested in women's sports, but Lorena Ochoa's domination and Danica Patrick's first win have intrigued me and caught the eye of a lot of people. I never thought I would be so intrigued by a female racecar driver, and I never thought I would be captivated by a dominant female golfer. But hey, I guess there's a first time for everything, right?

A Truly Devine Player

I don't know how many of you have heard of West Virginia football sensation Noel Devine, but pretty soon everyone will have heard of him. Noel Devine will be a sophomore in this upcoming college season at 20 years old. Devine was a back-up runner, behind Steve Slaton, last year when he averaged 8.6 yards a carry. Devine is listed as 5'8 and 170 pounds, and that is really pushing it. He has a few videos on YouTube which show his amazing runs as a senior in Fort Myers High School in Florida. His incredible blend of speed and breaking tackles can only be comparable to Barry Sanders.

The story behind Noel Devine is more complex than a little guy with skills that could make him an amazing NFL runner. Devine was 3 months old when his father died of AIDS, and just 11 years old when his mother died of AIDS. Devine lived with his aunt to his grandmother to other relatives from time to time, along with his eight brothers and one sister. Noel had been living with the Harlow family before college, but was involved in a custody battle. This battles was between the Harlow family and Deion Sanders. Yep, Prime Time. Deion wanted to adopt Devine, after taking him under his wing. This never happened, but Noel and Deion remain good friends. Devine brings a lot of emotion to his story, so what better way to translate this emotion than to bring it to the football field?

Off the field trouble is another troublesome issue with Noel Devine. In high school, Devine was suspended five games for cursing out his coach after a loss. Some can look at this as wanting to win and being a team player, but it isn't necessary to yell at a coach. Devine has also been the father of two children, since he was 18. He went a while before getting in trouble again. During this off-season, Devine learned that Steve Slaton was going into the NFL Draft and skipping his senior season. This would mean that Devine would be the starting running back for West Virginia (even though, I think, Devine would have won the starting job over Slaton if Slaton had stayed at school). On February 16, Devine was involved with an altercation at a bar in Morgantown, WV, along with teammate Jock Sanders. There was a fight and both Devine and Sanders were arrested for assault. However, they both pleaded no contest and were sentenced to 24 hours in jail. They can serve 24 hours community service to avoid the jail time.

Noel Devine made it out of the fire and can now concentrate on football. I hope that's what he does because he has the talent that could make him the most exciting player to walk on a football field. You have to see his videos on YouTube to believe me. The kid is just unbelievable. Anytime he gets the ball, he is a threat to run down the whole field for a touchdown. The West Virginia Mountaineers had their first scrimmage game this year last Sunday. The Gold-Blue spring game (the team is seperated into gold and blue jerseys) held the second-largest crowd in West Virginia spring game history. Noel Devine only got the ball 6 times, but he gained 39 yards out of it. Oh yeah, Devine had a 21 yard run where he displayed his tremendous speed by jetting past the defense. NCAA Football should be interesting in the upcoming season, especially with the next Barry Sanders running for West Virginia.

Lebron's League

A couple days ago, I wrote about Lebron James' individual destruction of the Washington Wizards. Game 2 is in the 3rd quarter right now and the Cavs are up by 24 points. But that's not the problem. I am rooting for the Wizards but I can care less if they win now because I see what a joke the NBA is.

I have no respect at all for Lebron James. I don't know the exact amount, but Lebron is getting paid millions and millions of dollars to play basketball. If he barely gets hit, he will play the part just like every other player and pretend he got fouled. In tonight's game, it was just taken way too far. Lebron has been getting fouled all game because when he drives to the basket (and should be called for a charging foul 50% of the time) there is no way of stopping him. There were a few hard fouls in the game, but everyone kept on playing. The minute Lebron got hit hard, he went down to the floor and then got up and wanted to fight. But, because Brendan Haywood fouled Lebron, Haywood got ejected from the game.

Lebron then preceeded to keep grimacing and touching his elbow, where you could see a little cut. OH NO!!!!!! Lebron got a little bruise on his elbow, just keep crying about it you baby. The referees have no control in basketball anymore. They call random fouls and there is no justification to any fouls that are called. The NBA is currently at an all-time low in their ratings, and I can see why. The NBA lost Michael Jordan, so how else could they gain fans back? By getting another Michael Jordan...how do we do this? Let's draft an excellent player from high school and make him into the best player ever! He hasn't played a game in the NBA yet, but let's call him King James.

Five years later, NBA people are calling Lebron one of the best players ever. Why is it that someone can be a best player 5 years into a career? Only in the NBA because the NBA is an absolute JOKE. This year was my last year watching the nonsense that we call basketball and I won't give another penny to this farce. I love basketball, so college basketball will have to do it for me.

There's an interesting promo they have been using for Lebron for years. The slogan is "We Are All Witnessess." This is supposed to mean that we are witnesses of the greatest of King James. The only thing I'm a witness of is a player who was chosen to be the next Jordan. No one will ever be Michael Jordan. I think you can take any talented ball player and make them into Lebron James, just by handing him everything the way they did for Lebron. We are all witnesses alright. We are all witnesses of the end of the NBA, because anyone who knows the game can see that it isn't a game anymore. It shouldn't even be called the NBA anymore. It should be called the LBA. Lebron's Basketball Association.

I sound harsh on Lebron, but the truth is Lebron James is an amazing player. Other than Kobe Bryant, I think Lebron is the best player in the league. But, that doesn't justify catering to this guy like he is God. Or maybe I'm just crazy. Maybe Lebron is the second coming of Christ and my last 5 ranting paragraphs are absolutely pointless.

The KING

Is it just me, or does Lebron James get ever single call of every single game he plays? It seems like everytime Lebron drives to the basket, the referees immediately call a foul on any player who is surrounding him. The Cavs defeated the Wizards in a thrilling game 1 of first round NBA playoff action.

The Cavs won by a final score of 93-86. The final score is deceiving because the game experienced 6 lead changes and at one point, the Wizards were up by 11. The game had so many storylines coming in, and the overall story started to unveil itself. There was a scuffle at the end of the first half with Lebron, Brendan Haywood, and Antawn Jamison. This probably had something to do with all of the trash talk that has been going back and forth between Lebron, Deshawn Stevenson, and Gilbert Arenas. Arenas came off the bench in the first half and was on fire. Gilbert was hitting long range 3 pointers left and right. Lebron started off cold, but elevated his game during crunch time.

Now, don't get me wrong. Lebron James is an amazing talent. He can drive to the basket as well as anyone in the league and he can make a long range shot from time to time. But, everytime I see Lebron go to the basket, a foul is called. EVERY SINGLE TIME! I want to say most of these fouls are legit, but I don't think they are. Lebron James was named King James before he played a game in the league. Drafted right out of high school, the NBA crowned him before he touched a basketball in the NBA. That being said, I guess it would make sense that he gets a lot of games given to him and the Cavs.

The Cavs beat the Wizards fair and square. The Wiz couldn't hit a shot in the 4th quarter and the 4th quarter is when the Cavs play their best ball. I don't mind seeing Lebron take over a game single-handedly, but at least let it be fair. Ever since this guy has been in the league, he gets everything handed to him. But, I have to give credit when credit is due. Lebron James single-handedly defeated the Wizards.

The Best Goalie Ever

I just finished watching the Rangers-Devils playoff series. The Rangers defeated the Devils in game 5 with a score of 4-3. The Rangers will advance to the next round, after sending the Devils home. Every game in the series was close and equally intense.

Throughout the series, Sean Avery and Martin Brodeur were getting into fights and making the games interesting. But, the great thing about hockey is that when the game is over, the players shake their opponents' hands. You don't see enough of this in sports. Once the game is over, the winning team usually celebrates and the losing team walks off the playing area without saying a word to the opponents. In hockey, teams can be engaged in fights the whole game. Fists flying, teeth flying, blood gushing. It is all part of the game and the players know this.

It was about thirty minutes ago when the Rangers won the series. After the game, the Rangers celebrated with each other for a couple of minutes, and then they went over to their opponents to show what the sport is all about. The sport was built on sportsmanship. As Sean Avery saw Martin Brodeur next in line, Avery put his hand out and looked at Brodeur. Brodeur looked the other way and kept going foward as if Avery wasn't even there. Brodeur is considered one of the greatest goalies in hockey history, but he can't shake the WINNING opponent's hand? C'mon Brodeur, what are you doing?

The guy has a chance to show what the sport is all about, especially in this case, and he made a bad name for himself. He sounds like a sore loser to me.

NBA Playoffs Preview

A couple of months ago I said that it was the worst time of the year for sports. Two months later, it's just about the best time of the year in sports. We have the NHL playoffs heating up, with teams almost ready to advance to the second round. Last week, we saw underdog Trevor Immelman win the Masters. Baseball is a couple of weeks into the season and teams are just about back into the groove. And, of course, the NBA playoffs kick off tomorrow at 12:30 p.m.

There are some great first round matchups this year. In the West, we have the number 1 seeded Lakers playing the last seeded Nuggets. This should be a decent series, considering its a top seeded team versus the last seeded team. But, the Lakers should pull away in 5 or 6 games. The next best team in the West, the Hornets, will play the Mavericks. This is another good matchup, but I am taking the Hornets in 6 games. The Jazz and Rockets will face off in a series that could go to either team, but I like the Rockets. The most intriguing first round matchup in the West is probably the Suns and Spurs. The Suns revamped their team with the addition of Shaquille O'Neil during the season. O'Neil has won four NBA championships and is one of the best big men basketball has ever seen. It will be fun to see him match up against three time NBA champion, Spurs' Tim Duncan.

In the East, there isn't much competition in the first two matchups. The Celtics will defeat the Hawks and the Pistons should destroy the 76ers. The other two matchups should be better games with better overall competition. The Magic will face off against the Raptors in what should be a great matchup seeing Chris Bosh take on Dwight Howard. The first round series that I am most interested in is the Cavs and Wizards. This will be the third year in a row that these two teams will meet in the first round of the playoffs. The Cavs won the first time, in the controversial game 6 when Lebron James told Gilbert Arenas not to miss his free throws. Arenas missed both free throws late in the fourth quarter and the Cavs won the series. The next year, Arenas and Caron Butler were hurt and didn't play a game. The Cavs swept the Wizards in 4 games. This year, Gilbert has already started his usual sweet talk, saying that he is happy they are playing the Cavs because the Cavs can't beat them for a third time. Deshawn Stevenson, of the Wizards, added that Lebron James is overrated. Lebron said that he doesn't need his opponents to motivate him. This should be a great first round of playoffs, starting with Wizards Cavs 12:30 p.m. tomorrow afternoon.

Curse Avoided?

Earlier this week it was reported that a construction worker who was working on the new Yankee Stadium buried a Red Sox jersey in the concrete foundation of the new stadium. The worker was a Red Sox fan and hoped that burying the jersey would jinx the Yankees and create a new curse on the team.

The Red Sox were blessed with the Curse of the Bambino from 1918 to 2004, when they finally won a World Series after 86 years. The Sox fan was hoping that a curse like this would be created by burying a David Ortiz jersey under the new stadium. Two workers figured out where the jersey was and dug a two-foot by three-foot hole. The workers even had to use jackhammers to break the concrete and find the jersey. Yankees co-chairperson Hal Steinbrenner had something nice to say about the Sox fan. He said, "I hope his co-workers kick the [expletive] out of him." The Yankees may pursue a lawsuit on this construction worker.

I think pursuing a lawsuit is a little harsh. The Red Sox fan was trying to be funny and gain popularity by burying the jersey under the stadium. Besides, why would the Yankees need to win money from this guy? I would much rather see the worker's face and name be made available to the public. That would be a good punishment for him. I wonder how fans in Boston would feel if a Yankee fan buried a Yankee jersey under Fenway Park, or if they were building a new stadium. Boston is crazy about their Sox, so I think they would make a bigger deal over an incident like this if it happened to them. It just goes to show you what type of people Red Sox fans really are.

The Number One Sports Golden Ticket of 2008

There are six golden tickets each year in sports. These are the events that are the toughest to get to. Ticket prices for these events are astronomical and even if you get a ticket, odds are you won't have the best seats. Now what do you think the number one golden ticket of 2008 is? I would say the Super Bowl, or maybe even a World Series game 7. I was wrong when I found out that the golden ticket of sports in 2008 is the Masters Tournament. What the hell? The Masters Tournament? Who watches golf?

Tickets for the Masters are almost impossible to come by. There are only 25,000 people allowed into the tournament. To get in to the tournament, you must have a badge. Most families who have badges pass them down from generation to generation. To get to the Masters practice rounds, you must apply at least a year in advance and even then, only a select few are chosen. It is also tough to get the tickets when the people of Augusta, Georgia (the location of the Masters every year) discriminate against non-Southerners. There was also a patrons waiting list, which was opened in 1972, but then closed in 1978. They brought the list back in 2000, but saw it didn't work and it closed again soon after. The only way to get to the Masters is if your newspaper is covering it and you were able to get there as a journalist. Or, of course, you could play your way into the Masters.

When I first heard that the Masters was the number one golden ticket, I was stunned. Golf isn't the most popular sport watched on television and I don't know many, if any, people who have attended a golf tournament. There's got to be a reason why the Masters is such an amazing ticket. I don't know about previous years, but I know why this year is one of the biggest Masters ever. Two words, one name. Tiger Woods. Tiger is just unbelievable. With every tournament that he enters, he finishes 1st or 2nd almost automatically. The guy just isn't human when it comes to his golf game.

I was never a big golf fan, but after watching Tiger recently I am intrigued by the Masters. I will probably watch some of it on television. The practice rounds started April 7th, but the actual tournament starts Thursday April 10th. Tiger tees off at 10:45 a.m.

How Many Lives Left for Pacman?

(In this photo: Pacman Jones)

I don't understand some of these athletes...These guys are being paid millions of dollars to do their job and play a game, whether it's football, baseball, or basketball. But, they don't just do their job, they can't stay out of trouble. From shootings to arrests, it seems like some athletes just can't control themselves. But where does the problem lie? Is it the team and the coaches who should be controlling their players? Or is every player responsible for his own actions?

The first example I'll give is basketball player Stephen Jackson on the Golden State Warriors. In the past three years, Jackson has been charged with felony criminal recklessness, as well as other misdemeanors including assault, disorderly conduct, and two counts of battery. Jackson was on the Indiana Pacers during all these problems and he was also involved with the famous brawl in Detroit in 2004 when Jackson and other Pacers went into the crowd and fought with spectators. How does a team allow so many things like this to happen with one of their players? If I had control over a team, I would make sure every single player stays out of trouble. No matter how good the player is, you need to be clean, especially for the millions of dollars you are being payed to play.

Another example of this behavior is Adam "Pacman" Jones. Pacman is just plain hilarious in his antics. On July 13, 2005, Pacman was arrested for assault and felony vandalism stemming from a nightclub incident. A little over a month later, Pacman was arrested for disorderly conduct and public intoxication. Both clubs that Pacman visited were strip clubs. There were about 5 other incidents between 2005 and 2007 when Pacman received fines and such for minor violations. He did enough bad, he couldn't do anything else right? We are talking about Pacman Jones here! In 2007, the NBA All-Star Game was in Las Vegas, the party capital of the country. You bet your bottom dollar Pacman was there. He got in an altercation with a stripper named Minxx at a local strip club in Vegas. This escalated as a fight between Jones' entourage and the strip club bodyguards. There was a shooting involved later that night, but that's besides the point. This guy just doesn't know when to quit. The NFL suspended him for the entire 2007 season, due to all his legal troubles. He repeatedly asked the NFL to be reinstated, but that is just proposterous. It was great to see the NFL took a stand against this kind of behavior. Oh yeah, on January 15, 2008, Pacman was accused of hitting a woman at a strip club in Atlanta, Georgia. The woman claimed that on January 3, 2008, Pacman assaulted her in the club. The woman later dropped charges for unknown reasons.

You have to respect Commissioner Roger Goodell of the NFL for laying down the law with Pacman. The sad part about this whole story is, Pacman is a very good football player. He is a 5'10 cornerback with speed and great athletic ability, even though he's only played in the NFL for 2 seasons. Same goes for Stephen Jackson. Jackson is a very good basketball player, but his problems side-tracked him at times. Jackson seems to have cleaned up his act, but Jones continues with these problems. It is sad to say, but the only way these players learn is when something bad happens. NFL star Sean Taylor was recently shot and killed in his home. It is still unclear as to why he was shot, but there have been reports of his close friends saying he was doing things he shouldn't have been doing and it was only a matter of time before something like this happened.