Bleacher Report - Articles by David Cohen

2009 NBA Draft Grades and Analysis

David Cohen — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:01:00 -0400

This draft wasn’t top heavy in talent, but it did provide for some interesting prospects for some teams and some blockbuster deals.

The report cards are in.

Here are the winners, losers, and everyone in between.

Los Angeles Clippers – B+

F Blake Griffin

The Clippers had the easiest decision of the night and took the consensus top prospect in this draft.

He won’t be the best player from this draft in ten years, but he’s a solid player who could average a double-double for a long time.

Now the Clippers have to trade either Chris Kaman or Marcus Camby to make room for Griffin. There is more interest in Camby because of his versatility and his contract.

Since Camby is the likely casualty of this selection, the Clippers fall short of a top grade.

Memphis Grizzlies – A

C Hasheem Thabeet, F DeMarre Carroll, F Sam Young, G/F Quentin Richardson

When Darko Milicic and Kwame Brown are in your front-court rotation, you need help.

Thabeet will be a shot blocking presence from day one. If the Grizzlies focus his efforts on becoming a great defender, he should fare better than Greg Oden in Portland.

With no power forward prospects in this spot, Thabeet was the only smart pick for them to make.

Carroll was a stretch but the Grizzlies made up for it by stealing Sam Young in the second round. He will be a major contributor off their bench.

Getting a productive player for Milicic is also a plus.

Q-Rich should help mentor their young core of players and will especially help the development of O.J. Mayo.

Oklahoma City Thunder – A+

G James Harden, C B.J. Mullens, G Robert Vaden

Harden is a perfect fit to play alongside Kevin Durant. He can shoot and drive into the lane. He complements Durant perfectly.

Also, he isn’t someone who can lead an NBA team and be the primary creator of offense. However, as a supporting facilitator, he’s the best available in this draft.

The only spot in their starting lineup which isn’t set in stone for the next five years is center. Mullens is athletic and could develop into that guy.

Right now he’s an upgrade over Robert Swift.

Vaden can flat out shoot it from the perimeter, and that’s his trump card to earn a roster spot.

Sacramento Kings – A

G Tyreke Evans, F Omri Casspi, F Jon Brockman, G Sergio Rodriguez

Evans can play either guard position and could develop into the next Brandon Roy if everything clicks for him. He walks in as the best player on the team.

Casspi is the first Israeli player taken in the first round and will be the first to play in the NBA.

He is a tough player with a little more offensive skill than most are giving him credit for. He should develop into a consistent contributor off the bench.

Brockman should be able to get rebounds for a team lacking interior toughness. Realistically, that’s about all he’ll consistently provide at this level.

“Spanish Chocolate” will remind fans of the Jayson Williams days of exciting and erratic basketball. He puts some pressure on Beno Udrih.

Minnesota Timberwolves – B-

G Ricky Rubio, G Jonny Flynn, G Wayne Ellington, F Henk Norel, F/C Etan Thomas, F Darius Songailia, Oleksiy Pecherov,

The T-Wolves didn’t have to move up to get who was supposed to be their guy in Rubio. He is Steve Nash reincarnated and will be a perennial all-star in this league.

Flynn isn’t the flashiest player but has the toughness and the “it” factor to lead the Wolves for the foreseeable future.

Flynn, at No. 6, was the most puzzling selection of the night. T-Wolves president David Kahn says he wants both point guards to play together.

This would be a complete disaster as opposing back courts destroy the duo defensively. Flynn is undersized and Rubio physically is no match for most NBA guards.

If Kahn is serious about playing them both at the same time, he might have to go Kevin McHale and coach the team himself because no legit NBA coach is going to sign off on the idea.

If Minnesota wants to keep both players, the smart solution is to use Rubio as an insurance policy. They can save money and let him stay in Spain next year while playing Flynn as the primary point guard.

If Flynn becomes the floor general of the future, they can then trade Rubio next year for a great player or a high lottery pick.

There are already reports that Rubio isn’t pleased with the idea of playing in Minnesota and that he might prefer to stay in Spain. The situation could work in the T-Wolves' favor if they play their cards right.

Otherwise this could be Yi Jianlian with Milwaukee all over again.

Ellington is a pure shooter who will replace the departed Mike Miller.

Thomas and Songailia give Minnesota some versatility for their second team front-court.

Pecherov is famous for his role as Stewie Griffin in Family Guy and for getting dunked on by Andres Nocioni:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbxzfVl_7c4

Warriors – INCOMPLETE

G Stephen Curry, G Acie Law, G Speedy Claxton

Law never found himself in Atlanta and could resurrect his career in Golden State in the same way as current Warriors G Kelenna Azubuike.

The Warriors don’t have a grade yet because Curry might be part of a trade package to bring in Suns F/C Amar’e Stoudemire. The rumored trade proposal would send Curry, G Marco Belinelli, F/C Andris Biedrins, and F Brandan Wright to Phoenix.

If the trade goes through, the Warriors get an A+. Amar’e isn’t even in the prime of his career yet and is a major upgrade over Biedrins.

Golden State already has plenty of scoring guards and Belinelli and Wright aren’t the greatest prospects on the planet.

Getting Stoudemire makes the Warriors a playoff team.

New York Knicks – B+

F Jordan Hill, G Toney Douglas, C Darko Milicic

The Knicks got the short end of the stick when both Flynn and Curry were taken ahead of them. Hill was the only pick they could make given the circumstances.

With that said, Hill is a solid player who could develop into a well balanced machine.

In the short term he will replace David Lee when he’s traded or gets the big contract he deserves in free agency.

Douglas is a tough guard who can get his shot up and drill it from almost anywhere on the court. He isn’t afraid to play defense either and his efforts are contagious.

If Douglas played for a high-profile program, he easily could’ve landed in the lottery.

Milicic saves the Knicks around eight million dollars in 2010. He’s useful for once.

Toronto Raptors – D

G DeMar DeRozan

DeRozan didn’t show anything at USC to warrant a top ten selection. There has to be a bust in the top ten and he’s the most likely candidate.

The Raptors needed a long term answer at the two-guard. They’ll need to find it in whatever they get back in the inevitable Chris Bosh trade.

Milwaukee Bucks – C+

G Brandon Jennings, G Jodie Meeks, F Bruce Bowen, F/C Kurt Thomas, F Amir Johnson

Jennings is a player with a ton of upside who accelerated his maturity curve by going to Italy for a year and learning about real life and responsibility. He isn’t the same person he was in high school and that’s a positive.

With the rumored departure of Like Ridnour, there should be a good chunk of playing time for Jennings.

Meeks can score but will struggle in the NBA unless he learns how to separate from defenders.

I know moving Richard Jefferson was purely a salary cap move, but to get absolutely no major future value in return for his talents is a waste.

New Jersey Nets – A+

F Terrence Williams, G Rafer Alston, G Courtney Lee, F/C Tony Battie

The Nets were finally able to move the huge burden of Vince Carter’s contract, and unlike some other teams trading away big name players, they got some talent back in return.

Courtney Lee will continue to develop and will become much more of a scorer in New Jersey as he gets a lot more touches. He is a slasher with some range and creates a quick back court with Devin Harris.

Alston solidifies the point guard position off the bench and provides a nice marketing chip as Skip to My Lou when the Nets move to Brooklyn if they keep him.

Battie gives them some much needed depth and veteran know-how behind C Brook Lopez.

Williams is an outstanding selection. He has point guard passing ability and lock down defense. He can get to the rim and is simply a winner.

The Nets are planning for the future but should be a perennial playoff contender in a few years.

Charlotte Bobcats – B

G Gerald Henderson, F Derrick Brown

The Bobcats didn’t hit a home run with either pick but picked up two athletic players to work into the rotation at some point in the future.

Charlotte basically has its major rotation in place, so they didn’t need an impact player in this draft.

This is the year the Bobcats make the playoffs.

Indiana Pacers – C-

F Tyler Hansbrough, G A.J. Price

Hansbrough is a gritty player who will earn his paycheck in the league for many years. But the Pacers had bigger needs.

They needed someone athletic in the front court with some range for the future. James Johnson was still available.

They also could’ve taken the point guard of the future as it doesn’t seem T.J. Ford or Jarrett Jack provides a long term solution.

Price gives the Pacers decent value but isn’t something they don’t already have at point guard.

If the goal of the draft is to improve the quality of your team, the Pacers didn’t help themselves much.

Phoenix Suns – INCOMPLETE

F Earl Clark, F Taylor Griffin, F Emir Preldzic, G/F Sasha Pavlovic, F/C Ben Wallace

Clark is a very talented player who just couldn’t take his game to the next level at Louisville. If he can utilize his skills and play consistently, he has all star potential. He can do a little bit of everything.

The other Griffin is a novelty pick. The fact that he could make the team tells you a lot about the depth on the Suns.

Pavlovic and Wallace are cap savers. Neither will be a major factor as players for this franchise.

The incomplete grade stems from the potential Stoudemire deal. In that case, the Suns would get an F. They would be trading a big man with immense skills for a couple of solid role players and a couple scrubs.

The Shaq trade was understandable. That experiment was a failure. They needed to just unload his contract.

If the Suns just waste Amar’e, they’re making the type of move which haunts a franchise for at least a decade.

Curry would be a nice addition but there’s no evidence to show he can actually play the point in the NBA. He didn’t make his supporting cast at Davidson any better and they had experienced players who should’ve progressed.

It’s no accident Davidson was an elite eight in 2008 with point guard Jason Richards, who led the country in assists.

With a veteran squad, Curry didn’t even make the big dance running the offense.

If Curry plays shooting guard, then you have a major defensive liability on the floor and no plan behind an aging Steve Nash.

Biedrins is a great rebounder but is very limited offensively.

The Suns need to try and trade Stoudemire for a proven star if they insist on moving on without him.

Otherwise Steve Kerr will continue to murder the Suns.

Detroit Pistons – B-

F Austin Daye, F DaJuan Summers, F Jonas Jerebko, C Fabricio Oberto

The Pistons don’t receive a great grade for a couple of reasons.

Daye is the primary one. He’s a toothpick and is easily the softest player in the draft. He has great potential and range, but doesn’t have the mentality to capitalize on his skills.

He’s the next Channing Frye. And just like Frye, Daye will find himself in NBA obscurity in four years.

Summers can get after the ball and knock down a jump shot. He should develop into a consistent scorer and gives the Pistons second unit a different dimension.

Jerebko is a developmental talent who could evolve into a Trevor Ariza type, so he’s worth a shot at some point.

The other reason for the low grade is that all three of these picks address the same position.

If rumors about the Pistons moving Richard Hamilton and/or Tayshaun Prince are true, the Pistons could have covered themselves a little by drafting a shooting guard.

Chicago Bulls – B

F James Johnson, F Taj Gibson

Johnson is an excellent selection as the Bulls finally take a front court player who can score from outside ten feet.

He gives them great depth at the three or four, and with the uncertainty surrounding Luol Deng, he’s a solid insurance policy who should develop into a starter down the road.

Gibson can make an NBA team but didn’t make much sense for the Bulls in the late first round. They needed guard depth and will now have to either resign Ben Gordon or find that player for Kirk Hinrich.

Philadelphia 76ers – B+

G Jrue Holiday

The Sixers needed a point guard prospect for the future.

As long as they keep Andre Miller, they can wait on Holiday to mature and develop while staying with Miller and backup Louis Williams.

Denver Nuggets – A

G Ty Lawson

The Nuggets needed a better backup behind Chauncey Billups.

Lawson loves to push the ball up the floor and fits in perfectly with the likes of J.R. Smith and Chris “Birdman” Andersen on Denver’s second unit.

Atlanta Hawks – A-

G Jeff Teague, G Sergiy Gladyr, G Jamal Crawford

Teague is a nice point guard prospect and the Hawks can let him come off the bench and ease into the starting spot in a couple of years.

For now he’s an energy guy with some scoring ability off the bench.

Crawford is an excellent addition as the Hawks lost nothing to get him after drafting Teague.

He is a great scorer and a severely underrated point guard. When given the slim opportunity in New York he easily proved he can run an offense in the half court and get the bigs involved.

If this move means the Hawks lose Mike Bibby, it’s an added plus. Bibby is a perennial choke artist and the team played better with Johnson running things.

Johnson and Crawford can switch off point guard duties. Together they’ll give NBA defenses all kinds of issues, especially with Josh Smith patrolling around and a center in Al Horford who can knock down a 12-footer.

The only minus sign is the second round pick. The Hawks need some front court depth.

Ahmad Nivins was available and is the type of player they still lack on their second unit.

Utah Jazz – C

G Eric Maynor, C Goran Suton

The Jazz drafted two solid players. The problem lies in where they fit in.

Maynor is an underrated point guard who can lead a team and score.

It seemed the Jazz were set on Ronnie Price as the backup to Deron Williams after his performance in the playoffs, but this move indicates he could end up elsewhere.

Suton is a decent center prospect who has solid rebounding and touch around the basket.

He’s basically a polished Kosta Koufos. Either this pick means Koufos isn’t coming along as planned or the Jazz are log jammed at center.

Either way, it doesn’t help the Jazz catch up to the contenders out west.

New Orleans Hornets – B

G Darren Collison, G Marcus Thornton

Collison is a quick point guard who can spell Paul for a few minutes.

The Hornets needed a backup point but Collison was a bit of a reach. They could've traded down easily and still had him, and the way the board unfolded there were probably teams interested in moving up.

With that said, Collison is an accomplished defender and can keep pressure on the ball like Paul.

Thornton is a nice acquisition and can light it up. The Hornets hope he can replace what they lost a couple years ago when they let Jannero Pargo go.

Portland Trail Blazers – B+

F Victor Claver, F Dante Cunningham, G Patrick Mills, F Jeff Pendergraph,

Claver is a talented player who the Blazers can stash overseas.

Mills is an absolute steal in the second round and will find himself on an NBA roster someday. Portland has no use for him right now and will ship him overseas.

Cunningham and Pendergraph give the Blazers some scoring depth in the front court. With Portland willing to wheel and deal, a spot should open up in the rotation for one of these two when the season starts.

Dallas Mavericks – C+

F Ahmad Nivins, G Rodrigue Beaubois, G Nick Calathes

Beaubois is supposed to be a talented point guard but will take years to develop. The Mavericks needed more of an immediate impact.

Nivins is a gritty hustle player, but the Mavs already have that kind of player in Brandon Bass.

Calathes could make or break this draft. If the Mavs still have Jason Kidd next year, they should try and bring Calathes over this season for Kidd to mentor him.

There is an element of Kidd in Calathes in how Calathes anticipates plays. On a team with an actual basketball IQ, he could blossom into a major steal.

He needs to become an offensive asset because he will never get it done in man to man defense in the NBA.

Cleveland Cavaliers – D-

F Christian Eyenga, F Danny Green, C Shaquille O’Neal

The Cavs were decimated by the Magic because they had no depth. They failed to address that glaring weakness in this draft.

Green gives the Cavs someone off the bench with shooting ability but he’s as inconsistent as the shooters they already have.

The deal for Shaq has been widely praised as a major move which steers the Cavs toward the NBA finals. I completely disagree.

Can Shaq guard Rashard Lewis? Hedo Turkoglu? Rajon Rondo? Paul Pierce? Kevin Garnett? Pau Gasol? Lamar Odom?

The Cavs were slammed by the Magic because they had no one to stop any of their key players. Skilled starting lineups can destroy Cleveland.

Now they have an aging Shaq who didn’t help Phoenix do anything.

He’s a much better fit in the Cavs half court offense but will also clog the lane and hamper LeBron James in his assault on the paint.

There is also the issue of what happens to Zydrunas Ilgauskas. You obviously can’t start both players and Z is a capable starter in this league.

Cleveland absolutely needs another major roster shakeup before next year, and odds are Z will have to be part of that deal.

As it is now, the Cavs have no front court bench and still have a midget back court which will struggle to stop championship contenders.

Once again, GM Danny Ferry is chasing a big name, but hasn’t helped his efforts to get LeBron a ring.

The only reason they don’t get an F grade is the fact that at least they finally turned Sasha Pavlovic into something.

Washington Wizards – A++

G Randy Foye, G/F Mike Miller

The Wizards are looking to win now. With their trade for Miller and Foye, they’re a top three team in the east if they stay healthy.

First off, they now have tremendous depth. They can start Arenas, Miller, Butler, and Jamison and have solid reserves at all positions.

Foye and Nick Young will anchor the second unit for some time and could eventually start themselves.

Getting Stevenson out of the starting lineup is another plus as he’s much better suited as a role player off the bench.

Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee should continue to develop and are nice options off the bench up front. One of them could also be involved in a trade to bring in an established center.

The Wizards now have tremendous firepower. It’s now or never for coach Flip Saunders.

If the Wizards can play under control, they’re the sleeper in the east.

Houston Rockets – INCOMPLETE

G Jermaine Taylor, G Sergio Llull, F Chase Budinger

The Rockets bought three useful players in the second round to bolster their roster.

Taylor is a cheap Aaron Brooks and Budinger gives the Rockets tremendous offensive talent for someone in the middle of the second round. He should have an immediate impact.

The Rockets needed depth and got it in this draft.

They don’t have a grade because of the impending departure of Tracy McGrady. It’s long overdue and if they get anything of value in return, the draft was a success.

San Antonio Spurs – A+

F DeJuan Blair, G Jack McClinton, G Nando De Colo, F Richard Jefferson

The Spurs continue to show why they are the best run franchise in the NBA. They had a tremendous draft given they were out of the first round.

Blair is an absolute steal and is a perfect replacement for the departed Kurt Thomas. He is tough as nails and is the best rebounder in the draft since Paul Millsap. He also has an underrated face-up jumper from ten feet.

He will immediately spell Duncan and Bonner in the rotation.

McClinton might be one of the best pure scorers in this draft and has ridiculous range for a second round pick. With Roger Mason getting major minutes next year, McClinton has a chance to become the bench guard scorer who can make some big shots when Ginobili or Parker doesn’t have the ball.

De Colo is a talented prospect and allows the Spurs to continue stockpiling talent overseas.

Jefferson is an excellent addition, especially for what they gave up.

The Spurs didn’t need Bowen anymore with George Hill and Ime Udoka.

Jefferson gives the Spurs a reliable scorer and should thrive not being a primary option. He also serves as major insurance should Ginobili go down again.

The Jefferson deal puts the Spurs back in contention for the west crown.

Miami Heat – C-

F Robert Dozier, G Patrick Beverly

For a team which needed better depth, the Heat didn’t accomplish much.

Dozier can block shots and get on the boards, but with the Heat picking up the option on Joel Anthony, Dozier either starts in the NBDL or will be cut.

Beverly is a defensive minded player who will have to fight to beat out Yakhouba Diawara and Dorell Wright for a spot on the team.

Los Angeles Lakers – INCOMPLETE

F Chinemelu Elonu

The Lakers sold their first three picks in an effort to save as much money as possible to get back Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom.

This draft is a success if it helps the Lakers keep their title team together.

I’m sure Elonu can be had for the right price too.

Boston Celtics – B

G Lester Hudson

The Celtics might be in need of a shooter. Rumors are swirling about Ray Allen and Eddie House might actually opt out of his deal.

Hudson was the best shooter available.

If they landed McClinton, he would’ve been a perfect replacement for House if he skipped town, but the Spurs beat them to the punch.

Overall, the Celtics get a player who could make their roster, and that’s a plus at the bottom of the second round.

Orlando Magic – C+

G/F Vince Carter, F Ryan Anderson

The Magic traded their starting back court from the NBA finals to bring in Carter and a talented offensive minded bench player in Anderson.

Carter can still score but is a shadow of what he once was. He isn’t a good defender and is more of a volume shooter.

The Magic see him as an all star caliber player but he won’t help them win a ring.

He is another jump shot happy player and will stunt the growth of Dwight Howard as the few touches Superman got in the fourth quarter may have just vanished.

The Magic are a good team but aren’t aggressive enough in driving to the paint. They also don’t play enough smart basketball and take too many bad shots.

Carter doesn’t fix any of their problems.

If they also bring back Turkoglu, which just became even more of a costly move with the luxury tax situation attached to Carter’s contract, they have an offensive force of a starting five.

Defensively though, they are worse off. Lee was the closest thing they had to a shutdown defender in the starting lineup.

Pietrus is going to have his hands full coming off the bench to stop every wing player giving the Magic fits.

If Turkoglu isn’t back, then Pietrus is the starting two guard, which would kill a second unit already sure to lose Marcin Gortat.

Rafer Alston was expendable but Lee was developing into a very good player. If the Magic don’t reach the finals with Carter, they’ll regret trading Lee away in a couple years.

If they keep Turkoglu, their grade is elevated to a B-.

Breaking Down the Bracket: South Region

David Cohen — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:00:32 -0400

The long road to Detroit and ultimately a national championship won’t be any easier this year. The tournament is loaded with teams which can blow up your bracket if they actually show up.

The selection committee actually did a great job overall for once. If Wisconsin was out and St. Mary’s was in, I’d have no major problems.

With that said, it’s on to the bracket and bragging rights with your buddies.

First Round

LSU is a balanced team which doesn’t do anything extremely well but is solid in all facets of the game. They can defend, shoot the three, block shots, and create turnovers. They have one of the most athletic starting lineups you’ll see in the tournament.

They have also lost three of four and played one of the weakest out of conference schedules of anyone in the field. They lost to the three good teams they played out of conference: at Texas A&M by 11, at Utah by 30, and against Xavier by ten.

They did beat Tennessee and Mississippi State on the road and seemed to have put things together until recently.

Butler is a solid team which relies on shot selection and defensive discipline. They are always a tough team to play against.

They lost by three at Ohio State and beat Xavier by nine.

However, they struggled in conference to put away teams which were inferior to them, which came back to bite them in the Horizon final against a Cleveland State team which outhustled them.

With Butler being untested against many quality teams, I have to go with what’s out there on the court. In that case, LSU should be able to shoot right over Butler’s defense.

Illinois scored 33 points in a home loss to Penn State, so it’s possible they won’t score for ten minutes against Western Kentucky. It’s possible, but not likely.

Western Kentucky can shoot the ball and rebound effectively, but that’s about it. They won a weak conference and have been hurt by the losses of their top two players from a year ago.

They did beat Louisville back when it seemed every mid major was doing so. They also lost on a neutral court to Florida State and were blown out at Mississippi State and at Evansville.

They have to be on point from behind the arc and it might still not be enough to beat the Illini.

The size difference is just too much as Illinois should be able to just outmuscle the Hilltoppers.

Arizona State is hard to figure out. On one hand, they beat BYU on a neutral court and swept UCLA and Arizona. On the other hand, they were swept by Washington in the regular season, as well as Washington State.

To the Sun Devils' credit, they avenged their losses against the Huskies in the conference tournament.

When the Sun Devils are on their game, they are a well balanced team. They defend it well but struggle at times against quality defense.

Sun Devils star G James Harden is one of the best players in the country when he wants to be. He’s too unselfish at times.

Temple is an inconsistent team which can put up a good fight when everyone besides G Dionte Christmas shows up. They gave Clemson all they could handle on a neutral court and beat Tennessee at home rather easily.

When they go cold, it doesn’t end well. They were blown out at Villanova and lost by 12 at Kansas.

This is an interesting matchup which either team could win. When push comes to shove, good defense has typically won out against the Owls, so I’ll take Arizona State.

Michigan is a team with a litany of focus issues. This team split with Duke, losing on a neutral court and beating them at home. They beat UCLA, lost by just five at Maryland, and lost by just eight at UConn.

They also needed overtime to beat arguably the two worst teams on its schedule: Savannah State and Indiana.

The fact that they actually try against good teams and falter against bad ones is a lack of focus, which their numbers reflect. They are horrible shooting the ball and defending it but can stop the three point shot and don’t turn the ball over. They can beat a lot of teams when they put it all together, but that doesn’t happen very often.

Clemson once again got off to a smoking start but has since stumbled all over the place.

They beat Temple on a neutral court and won at Illinois. They slaughtered Duke but lost the next game to FSU at home. They were swept by Wake Forest and had an inexcusable loss at Virginia.

The interesting thing about Clemson is that it seems they play better away from home at times, as they took care of their business on the road all year with the exception of Virginia. They’re not as good as FSU, Wake Forest, and North Carolina, but took care of teams like Boston College, Miami, Virginia Tech, and Maryland on the road.

They did lose in the conference tournament to Georgia Tech, and even though it was effectually a road game, it’s a pretty bad loss. There’s a reason they’re a seven seed.

With both teams unsure as to who will want to play in this game, I’m going with the team that can afford a bad game from one of its key pieces: Clemson.

First round winners: (1) North Carolina, (8) LSU, (5) Illinois, (4) Gonzaga, (6) Arizona State, (3) Syracuse, (7) Clemson, (2) Oklahoma

Second Round

Syracuse proved they had the heart of a champion in the Big East tournament but ultimately came up short. In all honesty they are the most overrated team seed-wise in the field, as they would have been a five seed at best if not for UConn’s inability to put them away in each of the first five overtimes.

With that said, the Orange is a solid team. They have arguably the most balanced starting five in the tournament as the makeup of their starting lineup has more of an NBA feel to it.

They don’t have a lot of depth behind those guys, especially at guard. If PG Jonny Flynn or G Eric Devandorf gets into foul trouble, it could spell doom for the Orange.

The Orange has some solid wins on its resume. They beat Kansas in OT on a neutral court and beat Memphis at Memphis earlier in the year.

In the Big East, an interesting trend developed. The great defensive teams which could be physical with Syracuse won out. They lost at Pitt and were swept by the full strength UConn and Louisville. They lost at Georgetown and needed OT to beat the Hoyas at home.

Teams with great guard play also gave Syracuse issues. They were swept by Villanova and needed OT to beat a Marquette team without G Dominic James.

The signs indicate that if Arizona State brings its best defensive effort, they will stay with Syracuse until the very end.

Syracuse at times has lapsed on the defensive end, as shown by giving up 100 at Providence and 102 in a virtual home game for Villanova.

The key matchup in this one is F Arinze Onuaku against F Jeff Pendergraph. If Onuaku stays on the floor, he’ll get the better of that one and put Pendergraph in foul trouble.

Syracuse is going to have to win in the clutch. That’s one thing they definitely have over the Sun Devils.

Oklahoma is another overrated team as they and Missouri should be switched around. They are obviously centered around F Blake Griffin, who is probably the best player in the game. They use him as a focal point to the point where it hurts the rest of the Sooners.

When he went down against Texas, the supporting cast nearly beat Texas on their home floor. Then against Kansas at home the supporting cast couldn’t hold serve but played valiantly. The Sooners actually have some solid pieces around Blake Griffin but are suffocating them by force feeding it into Blake.

What this has done is allowed teams which they should be blowing out by 20 points to hang around. They won by just eight at Oklahoma State, ten at Iowa State, six against Texas A&M, five against Colorado, and then four against Oklahoma State in their last regular season game.

Then they lost out by a point to the Cowboys in the Big XII tournament.

The Sooners seem to be mirroring the Kevin Durant Texas team, the O.J. Mayo USC team, and the Michael Beasley Kansas State team in that they don’t look like a team which will advance far in the tournament.

Clemson at its best is a frenetic, pressing team with very good athletes in the frontcourt which give you fits.

In the Big XII that would be Missouri. The Sooners played at Missouri and lost by nine.

In the non conference schedule, the Sooners beat up a lot of the good midmajors like VCU and Utah.

They almost lost to Davidson, needed OT to beat Purdue on a neutral court and beat USC by just a point at home. In the case of USC, it’s another example of how a team with an athletic frontcourt which can play defense gives the Sooners trouble.

Clemson loves to attack the rim, and if they’re willing to take on the beast in Griffin, they should find some success. With F Trevor Booker and C Raymond Sykes they have two to go at Griffin.

Clemson’s supporting cast is ultimately better than Oklahoma’s because they have stepped up in the past.

Clemson has a solid, experienced head coach and the ACC tournament loss to Georgia Tech might have been the spark plug they needed to refocus.

Second round winners: (1) North Carolina, (4) Gonzaga, (3) Syracuse, (7) Clemson

Sweet 16

If PG Ty Lawson isn’t 100 percent, the Tar Heels have no chance against Gonzaga.

With a healthy Lawson, UNC has enough polish in their game along to ultimately win out against Gonzaga.

Gonzaga might be playing with its best team ever, but they just didn’t win the luck of the draw. They would’ve won the East.

Syracuse has one major quality the Tigers lack: composure. They are starting to take up the makeup of Flynn and it is getting them by.

They benefit from the luck of the draw as much as Gonzaga was slighted by it.

Syracuse may have reached the Elite eight in the East and West but they would’ve had a lot more trouble.

Sweet 16 winners: (1) North Carolina, (3) Syracuse

South Final

In a game where both teams have terrific guard play, only one team has a “Psycho T” to go to inside.

The more fluid Tar Heels are like last year’s Kansas team in that their sole purpose is to get back to the Final Four. Like their counterpart a year ago, they will do so as long as their floor general has two good wheels.

South winner: (1) North Carolina

Final Four

Louisville and Memphis are playing to be the national champion. Whoever wins this game will cut down the nets.

Louisville is absolutely staunch in how they go about their defense. Their issue throughout the year is their struggle at times on offense, which is a bit hard to understand.

All of their losses except the beat down the healthy UConn gave them were against teams which had no business on the same floor: Western Kentucky by 14, Minnesota by six on a neutral court, UNLV by one, and at Notre Dame by 33.

Since mid-February this team hasn’t lost, but they didn’t have to play Pitt or UConn. They are playing better but still not up to their ability. A B-level Cardinals team won the Big East regular and post-season crowns. If this team plays up to its full potential, their run in this tournament is going to be downright scary.

Memphis hasn’t lost since December, but with the exception of games at Tennessee and Gonzaga, they haven’t played anyone since December.

It’s also interesting in that Memphis has lost to the two Big East teams it’s faced: Syracuse by seven at home and Georgetown by nine in OT.

Tyreke Evans at the point has been magic for Memphis in their terrific run. Unlike Louisville, Memphis has found their A-game and has left a path of destruction against most of the teams it’s played.

In a game destined to become an instant classic, the only place I truly see an advantage is low post scoring. The Tigers get a lot of their points inside on offensive rebounds and hustle plays, while Louisville has players in the frontcourt like Earl Clark and Samardo Samuels who can create offense for themselves in a half-court set.

That gives the slightest of edges to Louisville.

In the other semifinal, it’s a complete contrast in philosophies.

Pittsburgh is the Rottweiler which smells blood and wants to rip you limb for limb while North Carolina is the winner of the Westminster Dog Show.

In this game Pitt’s fatal flaw emerges. They don’t get enough scoring out of their guards and don’t have any reliable shooting game to speak of. This makes it even more imperative that DeJuan Blair stay out of foul trouble.

And therein lies the problem. With the aggressiveness of Ty Lawson and Tyler Hansbrough it’s almost a foregone conclusion for Blair to get stuck on the bench.

With Blair as a nonfactor, the Panthers simply don’t have the firepower to hang with the Tar Heels.

Advancing to the final: Louisville, North Carolina

National Championship

Louisville can provide the defense while having the balanced scoring threats all over the floor to take down the Tar Heels. Earl Clark and F Terrence Williams are going to have a field day against G/F Danny Green and G Wayne Ellington.

Hansbrough will have a big game himself in his last as a college player but UNC will still come up a bit short.

The North Carolina team which started the season may have won this one. The injury to Marcus Ginyard killed their backcourt depth off the bench.

Louisville’s depth in the backcourt will net them a national championship.

In a way, since UNC is the team where everyone returned to get the title, this game will be what should’ve happened in last year’s final.

Louisville is playing as Memphis and this time a three pointer at the end won’t make any difference.

2009 National Champion: Louisville

Breaking Down the Bracket: East Region

David Cohen — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:55:59 -0400

The long road to Detroit and ultimately a national championship won’t be any easier this year. The tournament is loaded with teams which can blow up your bracket if they actually show up.

The selection committee actually did a great job overall for once. If Wisconsin was out and St. Mary’s was in, I’d have no major problems.

With that said it’s on to the bracket and bragging rights with your buddies.

First Round

Oklahoma State appears to be playing its best basketball of the season.

Despite that, the only good win they have outside of the state of Oklahoma is a nine point neutral court win against Siena. The only road wins they have in the Big XII are at Nebraska in OT, at Texas Tech, and at Colorado.

They lost to Oklahoma twice but were able to edge them out in the conference tournament. All three games were decided by 10 points or less. They played Missouri tough in the tournament but couldn’t pull out the win.

They have a formidable set of guards in Byron Eaton, James Anderson, and Obi Muonelo. They can all make plays. They also can’t defend very well.

Tennessee, to their credit, stacked their out of conference schedule.

Unfortunately, they didn’t do that great against it. They lost twice to Gonzaga, on a neutral court and then at home. They lost at Temple, at Kansas, and against Memphis by just two points.

They did beat Siena at Siena and Marquette in Nashville.

In the SEC, they were all over the place with their inconsistent play. They don’t shoot the three very well but relied on it too much. They are too complacent and settle too often when they have the talent and athleticism to get to the rack.

If the good Tennessee shows up, they can easily win this game. They are the bigger team and will destroy the Cowboys on the offensive glass. If players like F Wayne Chism and F Tyler Smith actually play aggressively inside, they should beat up Okie State.

The Cowboys, because of their size, are a bad rebounding team. This game is a long way from Oklahoma.

While Tennessee isn’t a great road team either, at least they’ve left state lines a few times. The Vols just have a bit more potential, and in this tight matchup, that’s what I’m going with.

Xavier looked like a great team at the start of the season. They beat Missouri at home and beat Virginia Tech and Memphis on a neutral court in their first five games. They were later handled on a neutral court against Duke and lost at home by nine to Butler.

The Musketeers also won at LSU by 10.

Lately they’ve been losing to everyone on the road. They lost at Duquesne, at Dayton, at Charlotte, at Richmond, and then to Temple in the conference tournament. They easily have the talent to win multiple games in the field but could also find the upset bug early on.

Portland State is a run-and-gun team which hasn’t played many good teams out of conference. They’ve fared surprisingly well when they have though, beating Gonzaga on the road by seven and losing by just a point to Washington at Washington.

Later on in the year, they were dropped at Baylor.

They also dropped a bunch of games in conference but have won six in a row heading into this game.

The reason the Vikings can pull this off is their three point shooting. They make more threes then almost anyone in the nation and Xavier will allow you to shoot the three in order to protect the paint.

Xavier is dedicated to the boards and doesn’t like to give up offensive rebounds so they sacrifice defending behind the arc.

This is one of the toughest early-round games to evaluate since Xavier played Missouri and Memphis so early in the year. Both of those teams are markedly better than they were at the start of the year.

In the end, the Vikings have righted the ship while Xavier is sliding into the tournament. The double digit seed upsets have to show up somewhere and I’ve thought for a while Xavier is ripe for a first round shocker.

Portland State’s performances early on against the Huskies and Bulldogs show they aren’t going to be outmatched by Xavier.

It’s a risky pick but not with too much risk, since neither team can beat the Seminoles in the next round.

First round winners: (1) Pittsburgh, (9) Tennessee, (5) Florida State, (13) Portland State, (6) UCLA, (3) Villanova, (7) Texas, (2) Duke

Second Round

Tennessee can give Pitt plenty of trouble, but their inconsistency and lack of desire at times will come back to bite them against the grittiest team in the field.

Florida State has the defense and size to ward off Portland State.

Texas has some players who can trouble Duke, but they’ve played way too inconsistent and are a lot like the Vols in their complacency throughout the year. Duke survives.

UCLA is a team which has fallen off from recent years but still has plenty of talent as a six seed. PG Darren Collison and F Josh Shipp give them two solid scorers when they’re on their game. They have a good supporting cast which could help them bust up the bracket.

Villanova will go as far as F Dante Cunningham takes them.

This game is very hard to call. Based on how they’ve performed this year, it’s hard to give the Bruins any shot.

Looking at the matchups, it’s hard not to like UCLA’s starters. Collison against Nova star G Scottie Reynolds will be one of the best one-on-one matchups in the tournament. F Alfred Aboya will give Cunningham a lot of trouble and could neutralize him.

Reynolds has been the most consistent player in this field. When he plays an opposing PG who can hang with him, he doesn’t score. Collison will limit him, so it’s up to Cunningham and the others to pick up the slack.

UCLA has been poor defensively against the three and from the field this year. That spells trouble against the Wildcats.

I really want to take the Bruins but they haven’t won a game like this away from L.A. all season. Nova is much more battle tested and will find a way to survive.

Playing in the Wachovia Center is as close to a home game as Villanova can legally play in. Home court advantage in college means a ton.

Second round winners: (1) Pittsburgh, (5) Florida State, (3) Villanova, (2) Duke

Sweet 16

Duke is a solid team which is improving in its defense but still has plenty of holes for Nova to exploit. Duke’s defensive problems allow teams which are not close to the same talent level as they are to hand around against them.

Villanova has gone toe-to-toe with the best of the Big East. They are experienced and unlike in the UCLA matchup, both Reynolds and Cunningham will come up large.

Duke has been absolutely victimized by its point guard play at several points this year. If G Jon Scheyer is playing the point in this game, Reynolds will destroy him. You need solid PG play to advance in the tourney and Duke doesn’t have it.

Pitt and Florida State will play in a rematch which really was the start of the emergence of the Seminoles. The Panthers shot just 33 percent from the field in that game but held FSU under 30 percent. Sam Young had to carry the offensive load, and if that happens again, the Panthers might be out.

FSU has played great this season but continued to come up short against Duke and UNC. Teams with enough offense and shooting can beat them, but Pitt doesn’t have that on their side.

The Panthers have been exposed. If you get star F DeJuan Blair in foul trouble, the Panthers are borderline horrible offensively. F Sam Young needs Blair to clog the paint for his game to be effective, and the Panthers guards aren’t good perimeter shooters.

FSU has arguably the best scoring PG in the field in Tony Douglas. He has carried this team all season and will continue to do so in this game.

The Seminoles kept it close at home in the first meeting and will keep it close again. But ultimately they don’t have enough scoring options in the paint to overpower Pitt’s top-notch defensive intensity.

If the 'Noles were in the west, they would’ve been an Elite Eight team.

Sweet 16 winners: (1) Pittsburgh, (3) Villanova

East Final

It’s another rematch for Pitt. Nova beat them by ten at home earlier in the year. They were able to get Blair in foul trouble, allowing Cunningham to have a great game. For the Wildcats to have any chance to pull it off again, they will need this to happen.

If Blair can stay on the court, he should dominate this game. His presence inside would allow F Sam Young to also play well and piggyback the Panthers into the Final Four.

Ultimately, Reynolds is going to struggle but he could get to the rim and put Blair on the bench.

In the end Nova hasn’t beaten any defensive oriented teams since the Pitt win. When in doubt, take the team which won’t rely on three pointers.

East winner: (1) Pittsburgh

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Final Four

Louisville and Memphis are playing to be the national champion. Whoever wins this game will cut down the nets.

Louisville is absolutely staunch in how they go about their defense. Their issue throughout the year is their struggle at times on offense, which is a bit hard to understand.

Since mid-February this team hasn’t lost but didn’t have to play Pitt or UConn. They are playing better but still not up to their ability. A B-level Cardinals team won the Big East regular and post-season crowns.

If this team plays up to its full potential, their run in this tournament is going to be downright scary.

Memphis hasn’t lost since December, but with the exception of games at Tennessee and Gonzaga, they haven’t played anyone since December.

It’s also interesting in that Memphis has lost to the two Big East teams it’s faced: Syracuse by seven at home and Georgetown by nine in OT.

That gives the slightest of edges to Louisville.

In the other semifinal, it’s a complete contrast in philosophies.

Pittsburgh is the Rottweiler which smells blood and wants to rip you limb for limb while North Carolina is the winner of the Westminster Dog Show.

And therein lies the problem. With the aggressiveness of Ty Lawson and Tyler Hansbrough it’s almost a foregone conclusion for Blair to get stuck on the bench.

With him a nonfactor the Panthers simply don’t have the firepower to hang with the Tar Heels.

Advancing to the final: Louisville, North Carolina

National Championship

Hansbrough will have a big game himself in his last as a college player but UNC will still come up a bit short. The North Carolina team which started the season may have won this one. The injury to Marcus Ginyard killed their backcourt depth off the bench.

Louisville’s depth in the backcourt will net them a national championship.

In a way, since UNC is the team where everyone returned to get the title, this game will be what should’ve happened in last year’s final.

Louisville is playing as Memphis and this time a three pointer at the end won’t make any difference.

2009 National Champion: Louisville

Breaking Down the Bracket: West Region

David Cohen — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:49:33 -0400

The long road to Detroit and ultimately a national championship won’t be any easier this year. The tournament is loaded with teams that could blow up your bracket, if they actually show up.

The selection committee actually did a great job overall for once. If Wisconsin was out and St. Mary’s was in, I’d have no major problems.

With that said, it’s on to the bracket and bragging rights with your buddies.

First Round

BYU is a quality team. They lost by just a point to Arizona State on a neutral court and lost by seven to Wake Forest at home.

They have a problem which many teams have: They don’t have many quality road wins.

The only good one they had was against San Diego State, who just beat them on a neutral court. They took Utah to OT but didn’t get the win. They also beat Utah State, but that’s another team with no power to do anything on the road.

Texas A&M is a team, with two very talented players, which has underachieved. Guards Josh Carter and Donald Sloan, when on, can play with anyone in the nation. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened too often.

They did beat Arizona and LSU, but both of those games were at home. In a solid Big XII conference, they have no good road wins. At home, they beat Missouri and Texas.

In another toss-up game, I like the team which has been more consistent and has the better shooting. At least BYU beat who they were supposed to beat in conference on the road. They will advance.

Washington is an up-and-coming young team with some great starters but not a lot off the bench. They lost to Kansas on a neutral court but beat Cleveland State, Oklahoma State, Portland State, and Morgan State at home.

In the Pac-10, they swept USC but lost at Arizona, at UCLA, and were swept by California. They won at Arizona State but just lost to them in the conference tournament.

The note to be taken here is that against teams who have a lot of good shooters, they struggled.

When they’re on, Mississippi State can be Cal with the best shot blocker in SEC history in C Jarvis Varnado. The Bulldogs have some different pieces from a year ago, when they took Memphis to the brink. But they still have Varnado, and his defensive ability makes this team very dangerous.

The Bulldogs have several good three-point shooters who can make shots when they take smart shots and work inside-out with Varnado. They have a freshman PG in Dee Bost who takes very good care of the ball for a freshman.

I like what Mississippi State brings to the table, but I don’t like them in this matchup. The best way to go at a shot blocker is right through his body, and Huskies F Jon Brockman is basically the DeJuan Blair of the West Coast. They have guards who are athletic enough to defend the Bulldogs and clamp down on the three-pointers.

California is the best three-point shooting team in the nation and is one of the best overall shooting teams around. They score through their guards and are undersized but have some forwards with great hustle and toughness.

They lost by three on a neutral court to FSU and were blown out by Missouri. They swept Arizona and Washington but were swept by UCLA and lost twice to USC. They play fine against offensive teams and struggle at times against tough defense.

Maryland is by far the biggest head case in this tournament. They are ranked 200th or worse in field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage, three-point percentage defense, and rebound margin.

Despite all these deficiencies, they managed to beat Michigan State, UNC, and Wake Forest. They’ve also lost to Morgan State and were decimated on a neutral court by Gonzaga and Georgetown.

In the end, Cal thrives against defenseless teams, and while Maryland can beat anyone (somehow) when they play well, they absolutely can’t be trusted.

First round winners: (1) Connecticut, (8) BYU, (5) Purdue, (4) Washington, (6) Marquette, (3) Missouri, (7) California, (2) Memphis

Second Round

UConn is susceptible to an upset, but BYU doesn’t have what it takes to get it done.

Memphis is the defensive team which will give Cal all kinds of trouble.

Marquette could have beaten Missouri with a healthy Dominic James. They have no chance now.

Purdue’s fate rests in the play of F Robbie Hummel. With a healthy Hummel on the floor, Purdue was able to beat Boston College on a neutral court and took Oklahoma to OT. Without him they were just another team in the mix in the Big Ten.

Washington played a lot of defensive teams in the Pac-10 and fared very well. They swept Oregon State, Washington State, USC, and Arizona State in the regular season.

The loss in the conference tournament was more of a wake-up call than anything else. The Huskies move on.

Second round winners: (1) Connecticut, (4) Washington, (3) Missouri, (2) Memphis

Sweet 16

Missouri is a terrific story this season. They are one of the most well-balanced teams in the country in terms of offensive-defensive ability. If they were a four seed, they would take UConn out in this spot.

For that matter, if they were in the East or South (especially the South), they could have made it all the way to Detroit.

But they have to play Memphis, and these Tigers have experience and a major chip on their shoulders.

PG Tyreke Evans is the reason this team will continue to advance. In essence, Memphis is a better version of Missouri in a battle of pressure defensive teams.

UConn has beaten all kinds of teams but has struggled to live up to their early season greatness without the services of Jerome Dyson. Without him, they lack any perimeter scoring presence and rely too much on C Hasheem Thabeet and F Jeff Adrien for scoring. There’s a reason this team is just 4-3 since losing Dyson.

They are still one of the best teams in this field, but now, they absolutely cannot afford to lose Thabeet to foul trouble. When Pitt beat UConn the first time, DeJuan Blair just outmanned him and bullied him. He went right at the shot blocker and put him on the bench.

In the second meeting, Thabeet won the personal battle, but F Sam Young scored 31.

In the epic battle with Syracuse in the Big East tournament, Syracuse bullied Thabeet around all night. Thabeet is basically a defensive Roy Hibbert as he is soft most of the time.

Again, Brockman is the key player for the Huskies to advance. If he can go Blair on Thabeet and put him on the bench, the Huskies can match UConn man-to-man and force them into jumpers.

In a battle of who can make more contested shots, the Huskies are going to prevail in one of the upsets of the tourney.

Sweet 16 winners: (4) Washington, (2) Memphis

Midwest Final

Much like Missouri, a determined Tigers team that can create offense, along with their tenacious defense, will cause the Huskies' undoing. Brockman will be matched by F Robert Dozier and F Shawn Taggart, and Memphis will use its physicality and size in the backcourt to outmaneuver the Huskies.

Memphis has simply been a different team since Evans was put at the point. They found their balance. And while Evans isn’t as natural at the point as Derrick Rose was a year ago, he has played just as well and is a better on-ball defender.

The team we saw whup Gonzaga is the real Memphis. They are determined to get back to the Final Four after seeing the title snatched away from them. This supreme motivation made the experienced players on the team truly buy into playing defense. This has made them one of the supreme defensive teams in the country.

The Memphis defense carries them to Detroit.

Midwest winner: (2) Memphis

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Final Four

Louisville and Memphis are playing to be the national champion. Whoever wins this game will cut down the nets.

Louisville is absolutely staunch in how they go about their defense. Their issue throughout the year is their struggle at times on offense, which is a bit hard to understand.

All of their losses except the beat down the healthy UConn gave them were against teams which had no business on the same floor—Western Kentucky by 14, Minnesota by six on a neutral court, UNLV by one, and at Notre Dame by 33.

Since mid-February, this team hasn’t lost but didn’t have to play Pitt or UConn. They are playing better but still not up to their ability. A B-level Cardinals team won the Big East regular and postseason crowns. If this team plays up to its full potential, their run in this tournament is going to be downright scary.

Memphis hasn’t lost since December, but with the exception of games at Tennessee and Gonzaga, they haven’t played anyone since December.

It’s also interesting in that Memphis has lost to the two Big East teams it’s faced—Syracuse by seven at home and Georgetown by nine in OT.

Tyreke Evans, at the point, has been magic for Memphis in their terrific run. Unlike Louisville, Memphis has found their A-game and has left a path of destruction against most of the teams it’s played.

In a game destined to become an instant classic, the only place I truly see an advantage is low-post scoring. The Tigers get a lot of their points inside on offensive rebounds and hustle plays, while Louisville has players in the frontcourt like Earl Clark and Samardo Samuels who can create offense for themselves in a half court set.

That gives the slightest of edges to Louisville.

In the other semifinal, it’s a complete contrast in philosophies.

Pittsburgh is the Rottweiler which smells blood and wants to rip you limb for limb, while North Carolina is the winner of the Westminster Dog Show.

In this game, Pitt’s fatal flaw emerges. They don’t get enough scoring out of their guards and don’t have any reliable shooting game to speak of. This makes it even more imperative that DeJuan Blair stay out of foul trouble.

Therein lies the problem. With the aggressiveness of Ty Lawson and Tyler Hansbrough, it’s almost a foregone conclusion for Blair to get stuck on the bench.

With him a nonfactor, the Panthers simply don’t have the firepower to hang with the Tar Heels.

Advancing to the final: Louisville, North Carolina

National Championship

Louisville can provide the defense, while having the balanced scoring threats all over the floor to take down the Tar Heels. Earl Clark and F Terrence Williams are going to have a field day against G/F Danny Green and G Wayne Ellington.

Hansbrough will have a big game himself in his last as a college player, but UNC will still come up a bit short.

The North Carolina team which started the season may have won this one. The injury to Marcus Ginyard killed their backcourt depth off the bench.

Louisville’s depth in the backcourt will net them a national championship.

In a way, since UNC is the team where everyone returned to get the title, this game will be what should’ve happened in last year’s final.

Louisville is playing as Memphis, and this time a three-pointer at the end won’t make any difference.

2009 National Champion: Louisville

Breaking Down the Bracket: Midwest Region

David Cohen — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:35:14 -0400

The long road to Detroit and ultimately a national championship won’t be any easier this year. The tournament is loaded with teams that can blow up your bracket if they actually show up.

The selection committee actually did a great job overall for once. If Wisconsin was out and St. Mary’s was in, I’d have no major problems.

With that said it’s on to the bracket and bragging rights with your buddies.

First Round

Now for the other big issue I have with the committee this year. Louisville as the overall No. 1 seed might have to play Ohio State in Ohio in the second round, which is absurd.

Even playing virtually at home, Ohio State might not make it to Louisville.

Siena is a scrappy team and are looking to win a game in the tournament for the second year in a row. They have played hard against several teams in the field. They lost by 13 at Pittsburgh and by seven at Kansas.

The issue with the Saints is that they haven’t beaten anyone in the field. They lost by 14 to Tennessee at home and by nine against Oklahoma State on a neutral court.

Both of these teams play similar in their ability to block shots and not foul very often. Both teams also shoot the ball well.

If Siena is to pull off an upset in this one, it will be because of their guard play, where they have a huge edge. Their ability to pressure while limiting turnovers themselves will keep them in the game against the Buckeyes.

When push comes to shove, I think the home-court advantage is the only thing saving Ohio State from a first-round out.

Arizona is going to be the “sexy” pick as the mandatory 12 seed to advance to the next round. They have good wins on their resume, highlighted by wins at home against Gonzaga and Kansas.

They have also lost five of their last six and seem to once again be the underachieving team coming into the tournament.

Utah has also beaten Gonzaga at home and destroyed LSU by 30 at home. They are led by a 7’2” center, which is why I’m disappointed they won’t play UConn at some point in the tourney.

Both of these teams have the same major problem. They struggle away from home. Neither has any good win on the road all season. Utah at least won the conference tournament but didn’t have to play either BYU or UNLV to get the title.

Arizona is tempting because they are one of the most talented teams in the field, but they clearly aren’t being coached very well.

Any team with forwards Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill, and guard Nic Wise has no excuse for playing this poorly. It’s clear their current coach is nothing more than a figurehead.

Utah shoots it better and defends it better. They move on.

Boston College is a team which can go on the road and beat North Carolina and then lose at home to Harvard. They beat Duke and FSU at home but lost at Saint Louis. They are very talented but come and go with point guard Tyrese Rice.

USC is a tough team which has run into trouble this year because of their lack of an ability to blow people out. They have four very talented players on their team and can play very good team defense. They beat UCLA in L.A. in the Pac-10 tournament but lost early in the year at Seton Hall.

They lost at Oklahoma by a point.

In a coin-flip game, I’m going with the better shooting and better defending team. USC has the athleticism to slow down Rice, and with him go the Eagles out of the Big Dance.

Kansas is sliding a bit and now face a 14-seeded team named the Bison. The Jayhawks lost the last time they played the Bison in the tourney, but I think Kansas has enough talent to overcome an underrated North Dakota State team.

Cleveland State will give Wake Forest a good game as well but the loss of one of their starters will come back to haunt them against Wake’s athleticism.

First round winners: (1) Louisville, (8) Ohio State, (5) Utah, (4) Wake Forest, (6) West Virginia, (3) Kansas, (10) USC, (2) Michigan State

Second Round

Ohio State is getting practically a home game, so their fans can suffer just a little more when Louisville wipes the floor with them.

Wake Forest got off to a great start this season, but has fallen off significantly since mid-January. They won at BYU and Clemson and beat UNC and Duke at home.

Since mid-January, they’ve lost at Georgia Tech and North Carolina State. These are horrendous losses. Their vaunted defense has given up 101 to Duke and 88 to Clemson (to Wake’s credit, they won this game).

Their major problem is whenever they can’t get out on the open floor and get easy buckets off their athleticism. This team simply can’t shoot from the perimeter. Period. When they can run, they’re one of the best teams in the country. When they can’t, anyone can beat them. It’s a sign of their youth as a team.

Wake is beatable against the Utes because they haven’t played a big man all year as good as Utah center Luke Nevill. If Utah can deter shots from close range, they’ll stay in it.

With that said, take Wake to advance as Utah has no quality road wins, and Wake Forest isn’t the super underachiever Arizona is.

West Virginia, minus their win at Madison Square Garden against Pitt, has no impressive wins away from home on its resume. The best road win in the regular season is the beat down they put on Ohio State.

They beat Villanova at home, but 'Nova is also a relatively small team.

Kansas doesn’t have a ton of depth but they do have leadership in guard Sherron Collins and a solid big man in center Cole Aldrich. They won at Oklahoma late in the year but lost earlier in the year at Arizona and at Michigan State.

At home they beat Tennessee, Siena, Oklahoma State, Temple, Missouri, and Texas. They also beat Washington on a neutral court and lost in overtime to Syracuse on a neutral court.

Kansas has typically lost to teams which they should easily have beaten. When they show up in the big games and are focused, they’re a tough out. Since both teams have struggled on the road, I have to go with the team with more marquee wins. As long as Aldrich stays on the floor, Kansas has enough to move on.

Michigan State is a solid team which is not playing its best basketball at the end of the year. They have talent and are the best rebounding team in the nation.

However, I don’t like how forward Raymar Morgan is playing since his comeback, and the fact that they are primarily a half-court team facing a Trojans team which is more athletic when you look at both teams across the board.

Michigan State has played several neutral-court games. They were easily beaten by UNC and Maryland and barely beat Texas. All of these teams have multiple scoring threats, especially UNC and Texas. Multiple matchup problems can land Michigan State in hot water.

USC has that with forwards Taj Gibson and DeMar DeRozan, as well as guards Dwight Lewis and Daniel Hackett.

Easy buckets in a half court grind-it-out game will decide this one. The Trojans will have more opportunities so I’ll take them in one of the bigger upsets in the tournament.

Second round winners: (1) Louisville, (4) Wake Forest, (3) Kansas, (10) USC

Sweet 16

Louisville can pressure better than Wake Forest and can match their athleticism. They can defend one-on-one with Wake as well.

The Demon Deacons will have to shoot their way into this game and that’s why they are going to have a hard time against Louisville.

Kansas is a very young team but is also a great defensive team. Unlike Michigan State, they went out and played people and play in a better conference. They are battle tested.

USC is a solid team but won’t be the sleeper Elite Eight team.

Sweet 16 winners: (1) Louisville, (3) Kansas

Midwest Final

Louisville’s depth allows them to get by. They have bench players who would be getting 30+ minutes a game at Kansas.

The Cardinals also have a young F/C in Samardo Samuels to go at Aldrich and have the balance between guards and forwards to get by the Jayhawk defense. Forward Terrence Williams and G/F Earl Clark are going to be too much to handle for Kansas.

Midwest winner: (1) Louisville

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Final Four

Louisville and Memphis are playing to be the national champion. Whoever wins this game will cut down the nets.

Louisville is absolutely staunch in how they go about their defense. Their issue throughout the year is their struggle at times on offense, which is a bit hard to understand.

All of their losses, except the beat down the healthy UConn gave them, were against teams which had no business on the same floor: Western Kentucky by 14, Minnesota by six on a neutral court, UNLV by one, and at Notre Dame by 33.

If this team plays up to its full potential, their run in this tournament is going to be downright scary.

Memphis hasn’t lost since December, but with the exception of games at Tennessee and Gonzaga, they haven’t played anyone since December. It’s also interesting in that Memphis has lost to the two Big East teams it’s faced: Syracuse by seven at home and Georgetown by nine in overtime.

That gives the slightest of edges to Louisville.

In the other semifinal, it’s a complete contrast in philosophies.

Pittsburgh is the Rottweiler which smells blood and wants to rip you limb for limb, while North Carolina is the winner of the Westminster Dog Show.

And therein lies the problem. With the aggressiveness of Ty Lawson and Tyler Hansbrough, it’s almost a foregone conclusion for Blair to get stuck on the bench.

With him a nonfactor the Panthers simply don’t have the firepower to hang with the Tar Heels.

Advancing to the final: Louisville, North Carolina

National Championship

Louisville can provide the defense while having the balanced scoring threats all over the floor to take down the Tar Heels. Clark and Williams are going to have a field day against G/F Danny Green and Wayne Ellington.

Louisville’s depth in the backcourt will net them a national championship.

In a way, since UNC is the team where everyone returned to get the title, this game will be what should’ve happened in last year’s final.

Louisville is playing as Memphis and this time a three pointer at the end won’t make any difference.

2009 National Champion: Louisville

NFL Mock(ing) Draft 2.0

David Cohen — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 11:57:50 -0500

* This is literally a draft mocking the situations of the teams involved based on last season and their current standing as teams in the league.

1. Detroit: GM Isiah Thomas, New York Knicks

Stats: Destroyed the CBA; led the Knicks into salary cap hell

*Formerly had taken QB Ronnie Fouch, Washington (Freshman)

They just had Matt Millen. It can’t get any worse.

Isiah is a legend in Detroit…

2. St. Louis: TE/RB/WR/QB/S James Casey, Rice (Sophomore)

Stats: 111 catches, 1329 yards, 13 TDs; 4.2 yards per carry, 6 TDs, 2 passing TDs; 3 tackles

*Formerly had taken S Eric Berry, Tennessee (Sophomore)

The Rams were equally terrible on both sides of the football last year, so why not grab someone who can single-handedly address all of their problems.

He broke the Conference-USA record for catches in a year and was initially a safety in his freshman spring practice.

He was also a minor league baseball player for four years and a javelin thrower at Rice. So if you need a headshot on an opposing QB, he’s your best bet.

3. Kansas City Chiefs: QB Matthew Stafford, Georgia (Junior)

Stats: 61.4 completion percentage, 3459 TDs, 25 TDs, 10 INTs; 7,731 career yards, 51 TDs, 33 INTs

*Formerly had taken QB Colt McCoy, Texas (Junior)

If you thought Todd Haley v. Anquan Boldin was bad, just wait until Stafford comes to the sidelines after throwing his 20th pick of the year.

And that’s just in week 13.

Haley might actually explode.

4. Seattle: WR Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech (Sophomore)

Stats: 97 catches, 1165 yards, 19 TDs; 231 career catches, 3,127 yards, 41 TDs

*Formerly had taken WR Ryan Tannehill, Texas A&M (Freshman)

The Seahawks are tired of watching Larry Fitzgerald victimize them in their own division, so they take their own prodigy at receiver.

Crabtree should end Matt Hasselbeck’s sleepless nights in Seattle. In case of injury troubles, Crabtree was a starting quarterback in high school.

5. Cleveland: F LeBron James, Cleveland Browns

Stats: 28.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 1 appearance in a professional championship

*Formerly had taken K/P Louie Sakoda, Utah (Senior)

Cleveland didn’t score an offensive TD in their last five games. LeBron scored more TDs in a Browns jersey in a 30 second State Farm commercial than anyone on the Browns did in 16 games.

He was an all-state receiver in Ohio. And he’s built like a really tall linebacker.

The Mangenius pulls one over everyone once again. New York is absolutely irate with him after this selection. Cavs fans begged for LeBron to stay in Cleveland. Be careful what you wish for.

6. Cincinnati: QB Michael Vick, Falcons

Stats: 53.8 career completion percentage, 11,505 yards, 71 TDs, 52 INTs; 3,859 yards rushing, 7.3 yards per carry, 21 TDs; #1 on PETA’s hit list

*Formerly had taken S Jamar Hornsby, Ole Miss (Sophomore)

Marvin Lewis is still on board and is looking to skip the arrested development process and take someone straight from prison.

Vick could pump some excitement back into the franchise. With Ocho Cinco and T.J. Who’s Your Mama likely on their way out the door, Vick could be their best deep threat at receiver.

We know he’ll kill the Dawg Pound in Cleveland.

7. Oakland: QB Robert Marve, formerly of “the U” (Freshman)

Stats: 54.5 completion percentage, 1293 yards, 9 TDs, 13 INTs; 59 carries, 119 yards, 2 TDs

Al Davis to Randy Shannon: “Robert Marve is a great player. Get over it!”

This wouldn’t be the first time the Raiders had someone who couldn’t handle discipline.

8. Jacksonville: WR Pat White, West Virginia (Senior)

Stats: 63.6 completion percentage, 1510 yards, 18 TDs, 6 INTs; 170 carries, 919 yards, 8 TDs

This is the perfect pick for the Jags, who are suckers for unproven speed receivers who never catch passes.

White is the most hyped QB transition player since Matt Jones, who is the Jags’ best receiver. So this was a no-brainer. Coincidentally, Pat White is what Matt Jones calls his secret coke stash. As we know, his use of a credit card to draw up a double sniff option was picked off by police.

9. Green Bay: CB Malcolm Jenkins, Ohio State (Senior)

Stats: 54 tackles, 3 INTs, 2 forced fumbles, 1 sack

*Formerly had taken QB Tim Tebow, Florida (Junior)

The Packers have to find as many corners as possible. The cheese heads are toxic to members of their secondary. They’re dropping like flies.

10. San Francisco: CB Vontae Davis, Illinois (Junior)

Stats: 78 tackles, 3 FF, 2 INTs

With the Cardinals being the only threat in the NFC West for the near future, the 49ers need some players with coverage skills.

When informed of the selection, Mike Singletary had a little misunderstanding:

“Cannot play with him. Cannot win with him. Cannot coach with him. Can’t do it.”

Defensive Coordinator Greg Manusky: “You mean Vernon. We’ll ship him to wherever Martz ends up.”

GM Scot McCloughan: “There’s just one problem. Michael Vick has a better chance of getting a job than Mike Martz.”

The 49ers think Davis can put the “F” in physical.

11. Buffalo: RB Chris “Beanie” Wells, Ohio State (Junior)

Stats: 1197 yards, 5.8 yards per carry, 8 TDs; 30 career TDs

*Formerly had taken CB Curtis Brown, Texas (Sophomore)

The Bills need some insurance after Marshawn Lynch got caught packing heat while puffing up smoke back in Cali. He’s now staring in the barrel of three misdemeanor charges for having an unregistered, concealed, and loaded gun.

Because the incident went down in California, Lynch evades marijuana charges. This comes after a hit and run in Buffalo earlier this year. The Bills hope Wells can hit the hole and run for extra yards.

12. Denver: DT Jarron Gilbert, San Jose State (Senior)

Stats: 51 tackles, 9 sacks; 142 career tackles, 1 forced fumble

*Formerly had taken WR Mike Shanahan, Pittsburgh (Freshman)

The YouTube sensation can stay fully submerged in a swimming pool and jump right out of the water onto the deck. That alone makes him the most talented member of this defense.

He can withstand the resistance of water. Just imagine what he might do in thin air.

13. Washington: FB/HB Jorvorskie Lane, Texas A&M (Senior)

Stats: 35 carries, 93 yards, 5 TDs; 49 career rushing TDs

At worst he can serve as a tackling dummy for LaRon Landry so he doesn’t get planted again by Brandon Jacobs.

14. New Orleans: QB Graham Harrell, Texas A&M (Senior)

Stats: 71.5 completion percentage, 4747 yards, 41 TDs, 7 INTs; 15,429 career yards, 130 career TDs

The ultimate system quarterback; the Saints believe they have the system for him to take down Dan Marino after Drew Brees came 16 yards short.

15. Houston: CB Darius Butler, Connecticut (Senior)

Stats: 40 tackles, 23.5 yard punt return average, 1 receiving TD; 10 career INTs, 43”-44” vertical

*Formerly had taken CB Malcolm Jenkins, Ohio State (Senior)

The Texans need players in the secondary to take their team to the next level. This guy might be a 4.2 guy, which means he might be the first Texans defender to stay in front of a fast receiver in some time.

And with his vertical, he should be able to fill in for Andre Johnson as a red zone target when he inevitably gets hurt next year.

16. San Diego: RB Shonn Greene, Iowa (Junior)

Stats: 278 carries, 1729 yards, 17 TDs; rushed for at least 100 yards in all 13 games

With LT apparently being human and starting to decline, the Chargers take the college equivalent of him to appease concerned fantasy owners everywhere.

17. New York Jets: QB Kevin Craft, UCLA (Junior)

Stats: 55.6 completion percentage, 2341 yards, 7 TDs, 20 INTs

After Brett Favre valiantly led the Jets down the tubes in the final month of the season while leading the league in picks, the Jets take Craft to finally get some consistency at the quarterback position.

18. Chicago: WR Jeff Samardzija, Chicago Cubs

Stats: 1-0, 26 games, 25 strikeouts, 1 save, 2.28 ERA; 172 career catches, 27 TDs

*Formerly had taken DE Michael Johnson, Georgia Tech (Senior)

Name the best receiver on the Bears. I’ll wait. Lovie Smith doesn’t have that much time, so he’s going with the best receiver in the city.

19. Tampa Bay: DE Michael Johnson, Georgia Tech (Senior)

Stats: 45 tackles, 9 sacks, 1 INT, 1 TD

*Formerly had taken WR Percy Harvin, Florida (Junior)

The Bucs are going to continue to ignore the fact that they don’t have an offense.

20. Detroit: WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (Sophomore)

Stats: 42 catches, 609 yards, 5 TDs

*Formerly had taken WR Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech (Sophomore)

You didn’t really think the Lions wouldn’t take a receiver in the first round, did you?

Even Isiah can’t screw this up.

21. Philadelphia: WR Hakeem Nicks, North Carolina (Junior)

Stats: 68 catches, 1222 yards, 12 TDs; 5 carries, 34 yards, TD

*Formerly had taken RB Rashad Jennings, Liberty (Senior)

On the rare 95 percent of the time the Eagles are throwing the football, they need someone who can actually catch it. Nicks fits the bill and won’t voluntarily drop the ball before going into the end zone.

He can make catches behind his back, so just imagine what he could do with the ball coming in front of him.

Seeing Nicks against West Virginia gave McNabb flashbacks of the good times with T.O.

22. Minnesota: DE Brian Orapko, Texas (Senior)

Stats: 38 tackles, 10 sacks, 20 career sacks

*Formerly had taken Terrence Cody, Alabama (Junior)

The Vikings felt they have enough beasts on their defensive line. They were going to take a QB but then Orapko bench pressed both Pat and Kevin Williams.

23. New England: WR Kerry Meier, Kansas (Junior)

Stats: 97 catches, 1045 yards, 8 TDs; 61 percent career completions, 1542 yards, 17 TDs, 10 INTs

Bill Belichick has to find someone to play backup to Brady after next year.

Meier played under center for the Jayhawks two years ago and is now a pretty good possession receiver. He even has four career punts, so if the Pats ever end up in 50 mph winds at Buffalo again and don’t have Cassel, Meier has a 34.5 yard average.

With Troy Brown gone, Meier will learn how to play corner in training camp.

24. Atlanta: T.I., Rapper

Stats: Nine Top Ten Billboard Top 100 Singles, top rap album of 2008

*Formerly had taken TE Brandon Pettigrew, Oklahoma State (Senior)

The Falcons are good again and can’t think of what to do here. With the impending departure of Michael Vick, the Falcons need to replenish their prison inmate position.

Unlike Vick, T.I. is going into jail as his performance continues to rise. And unlike Vick, he’s already on his road to redemption.

Also unlike Vick, his jail time only gives him more upside.

25. Miami: FS Anthony Reddick (Senior)

Stats: 66 tackles; 142 career tackles

*Formerly had taken CB D.J. Moore, Vanderbilt (Junior)

Miami wasn’t sure where to go with this pick, so they stayed close to home. After what Channing Crowder did to Matt Light last year, the Dolphins feel they need to bring in someone who can finish the job.

The lone FIU player hoping to be drafted can vouch for Reddick’s ability to swing a helmet and hit someone.

One Reddick swing could mean lights out for Matt next year.

26. Baltimore: WR Jeremy Maclin, Missouri (Sophomore)

Stats: 102 catches, 1260 yards, 13 TDs; 40 carries, 293 yards, 2 TDs; 41 punt returns, 270 yards, 1 TD, 42 kickoff returns, 1010 yards, 1 TD

Let’s see. Ball hawking secondary, check. Smash mouth defense, check. Big arm quarterback who actually completes passes, check. Running game, check. Kick returner/receiver...

Maclin could make the Ravens exciting to watch on offense. The defense doesn’t have that problem with Ray Lewis shooting the gap.

27. Colts: OT Phil Loadholt, Oklahoma (Senior)

Stats: 6’8”, 343 lbs

*Formerly had taken DE Brian Orapko, Texas (Senior)

The Colts could use some help on their line and this guy can definitely add some beef up front.

This just in: The over/under is 20 on the amount of times Peyton Manning says “he’s quite a load” next season.

28. Philadelphia: QB Josh Freeman, Kansas State (Junior)

Stats: 58.6 completion percentage, 2,945 yards, 20 TDs, 8 INTs; 44 career TDs

*Formerly had taken WR Hakeem Nicks, North Carolina (Junior)

The Eagles consulted with McNabb, who could care less now that the Eagles actually want him in the city which welcomes him with folded arms.

Unfortunately, Kevin Kolb has pulled a McNabb and is throwing a hissy fit.

29. New York Giants: WR Kenny Britt, Rutgers (Junior)

Stats: 87 catches, 1371 yards, 7 TDs; 7 carries, 75 yards, 1 TD; 6’4”, 215 lbs

The Giants take a local kid; a big receiver with good hands who can go up and get it for Eli Manning. They made sure he wasn’t armed.

Britt is not allowed to go to clubs as part of his contract.

30. Tennessee: QB Mark Sanchez, USC (Junior)

Stats: 65.8 completion percentage, 3207 yards, 34 TDs, 10 INTs

The Titans take another Rose Bowl MVP. Only this time they have no intention of playing him.

They just hope battling a USC guy brings Vince Young back to legendary status.

31. Arizona: WR Percy Harvin, Florida (Junior)

Stats: 35 catches, 595 yards, 7 TDs; 61 carries, 538 yards, 9 TDs

*Formerly had taken RB Arian Foster, Tennessee (Senior)

The Cardinals need anyone who can play running back. Harvin could start there for them and catch screen passes and bubble screens for Warner next year.

He’s a major addition to the offense as he’s fast enough to catch James Harrison.

32. Pittsburgh: G Duke Robinson, Oklahoma (Senior)

Stats: 30 catches, 341 yards, 2 TDs

*Formerly had taken WR Josh Chichester, Louisville (Freshman)

The Steelers won the Super Bowl with an offensive line which let Big Ben turn into broken bruised Ben.

If things don’t change soon, Roethlisberger might crash on a motorcycle again to blackout the pain.

51. Dallas: P Kevin Huber, Cincinnati (Senior)

Stats: 56 punts, 44.9 yard average

With Tony Romo being smitten with Jason Witten and T.O. and Roy Williams plotting their revenge, Jerry Jones had to step in and put everyone on an equal playing field. Everyone needs to be on the same page.

And that’s why the Cowboys are going to punt on first down next season. And this guy can punt it into a coffin corner like no other. Which is important considering Cowboys fans could be putting Romo and Owens into coffins pretty soon.

The team might too, but we’ll be in the dark on that. Jerry has put down the gag order on the entire coaching staff.

Wade Philips is just bending over and taking it. New arena, same good ole’ Cowboys.

59. Carolina: CB Captain Munnerlyn, South Carolina (Junior)

Stats: 40 tackles, 2 sacks; 33 punt returns, 118 yards, 9 kick returns, 218 yards

The Panthers are the team that was forgotten before the season started, and in a loaded SEC with great defenses, this guy is the forgotten man.

Plus, if the Panthers are planning on plundering the Buccaneers every year, they’ll need a captain to ward off the cannons.

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That’s every team’s first pick in the 2009 draft if it were today.

So much for those 40 times at the combine.

A look at 1.0.

Projecting the Final Four 2.0

David Cohen — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:01:48 -0500

This is the first of a weekly series of projecting the Final Four.

I’m using the brackets from the most accurate bracketologists by projection performance I’ve found on the web. They can be found at bracketology101.blogspot.com.

The current bracket.

Also, based on my own observation, I will be using a benchmark I call the 4-1 rule. This states that at least four teams rated as a six-seed or lower must make the Sweet 16, and that at least one of these teams must make the Elite Eight.

Key Developments from Last Week

Tuesday: Purdue wins at Michigan State, showing they have a chance to make major noise in March with an effective Robbie Hummel.

Wednesday: FSU beats Miami. They continue to mature into a team capable of making the Sweet 16 if put in the right matchups.

Illinois cemented themselves as the most overrated team in the field after putting up a pathetic 33 points against Penn State.

Thursday: Xavier continues to falter down the stretch run as they lose to Charlotte, a below .500 team.

UCLA beats Washington, showing both their ability when everyone plays well and Washington’s learning curve in big games.

Saturday: The UCLA that has been playing for most of the year shows up and gives up 82 to Washington State in a one-point loss.

Texas barely beats an OU team without Blake Griffin for most of the game.

Washington shows it can progress on its learning curve by coming back and beating the Trojans.

Saint Mary’s beats Utah State in perhaps the most important game of the weekend for evaluation purposes. The Gaels are having role players step up now in the absence of Olympian PG Patty Mills. If they can continue to develop and Mills returns, this team is more than capable of winning multiple games in the Big Dance.

As for Utah State, it’s more confirmation they can’t do anything away from home.

Sunday: Duke puts up 101 against Wake Forest, showing their offense has plenty of firepower against a good defense when everything clicks.

As for Wake Forest, they are coming down to earth.

Arizona State was able to hold on against Arizona in a measuring stick game. The Sun Devils have enough balance to deal with almost any type of lineup and were able to withstand Arizona. Arizona showed in the loss that they aren’t quite up to their potential yet.

Monday: Georgetown’s season is officially over.

East Region

First Round winners: Pitt, Utah, Washington, Purdue, Cal, Memphis, Tennessee, Clemson

Second Round

Intriguing Matchup: (5) Washington v. (4) Purdue

This is one of the most unpredictable matchups in the field.

Purdue may or may not have Robbie Hummel. With him, they took the Sooners to OT on a neutral court. But they’ve struggled at times against teams who pride themselves on their defense (Illinois has swept them).

Washington is a young team with a learning curve. They lost to Kansas and Florida at the beginning of the year. They lost to Cal in their first real game in the Pac-10.

Then they bounced back. They beat USC and UCLA at home. Then they hit a bump in the road at Arizona. Then they went to Arizona State and won.

Later they lost at Cal and at UCLA but have since rebounded from the UCLA loss by beating USC.

The Huskies are a team that will take hits but then gets back up. They don’t have this luxury during the Big Dance. One fall and they’re gone.

Ultimately I’ll need to see more out of the fully equipped Purdue as they make their way into the Big Ten tournament. If they are all together, they should win this game.

If not, expect the versatility of Washington’s starting lineup to make the difference.

So for right now, I’ll take the Huskies.

Second Round winners: Pitt, Washington, Memphis, Clemson

Sweet 16 winners: Pitt, Memphis

Regional Final

Every team in this year’s tournament has a type of team which can spell doom. For Pitt, it’s a team which can match and in essence trump their overall athleticism across the starting lineup.

That team is Memphis.

The Tigers can put Antonio Anderson and Tyreke Evans against Levance Fields and Jermaine Dixon. Robert Dozier and Shawn Taggart have the athleticism and grit to take on DeJuan Blair and Sam Young. And Memphis can go to players on the bench who are just as capable defensively, especially against Fields.

Pitt relies on its frontcourt for most of their offense. If Young is neutralized, I don’t feel Blair can have the kind of game he had against UConn against Dozier, who is a physical presence and prides himself on his defense. Fields will struggle to find good looks against a rotation of defenders.

On the flip side, Memphis could face similar troubles when they’re on offense. That’s a bigger problem for them, as they rely on their athleticism to create easy baskets. They aren’t a good shooting team by any means, and Pitt should be able to force them into plenty of jump shots.

The other knock on Memphis is their schedule. They get a few months off before the tournament, and it’s unknown whether they have a different gear to kick into. Last year they found it and should’ve cut down the nets.

The only other team Pitt has played that had the depth and athleticism to defend them across the board was Louisville. They went there and lost by six.

There are two key factors to this game. With the physical play inside, foul trouble will be key. If Dozier and Taggart are in foul trouble, which does happen, then Blair or Young should have a much easier day. If Blair is on the bench, the Panthers are in trouble.

The other wildcard is freshman Tyreke Evans. He could pull a Derrick Rose and elevate this team to another level. It took some time for the Tigers to adjust to his play, but they have done well of late, as showcased by their thrashing of Gonzaga. He is the one person who should be able to do as he wishes whenever he needs to in this game.

In the end, I love what Pitt has done this year, but I think this is a case of the perfect team to take them down. Memphis hasn’t played its best ball this year, and I think we’ve seen the best Pitt has to offer. If both play their best, Memphis should prevail in the final moments.

East region winner: Memphis

West Region

First Round winners: UNC, Florida, Gonzaga, Villanova, UCLA, Missouri, Syracuse, Michigan State

Second Round

Intriguing Matchups: (5) Gonzaga v. (4) Villanova, (7) Syracuse v. (2) Michigan State

Gonzaga against Villanova is interesting on a couple of fronts.

The Bulldogs finally have a group of players that could net them a trip to the Final Four. Their problem is that with the exception of one of their wins against Tennessee, they’ve lost to every team with great team athleticism (Arizona, UConn, and Memphis). Villanova aren’t exactly slouches.

These Wildcats have found an interior presence in Dante Cunningham. His emergence has opened up things for their four-guard lineup to prosper as someone can clean up the glass. They create all kinds of matchup problems for teams that play a traditional lineup.

Gonzaga would have a huge edge inside in this one if everyone shows up. Austin Daye and Josh Heytvelt should have a field day if they can stay on the floor. They have the guard play to ward off Villanova. For what it’s worth, they also have the best FG percentage defense in the country.

The problem is their level of competition in conference and the fact that their terrific defense hasn’t fazed the high quality teams they’ve faced out of conference. For that reason, I’ll begrudgingly take Villanova.

Syracuse v. Michigan State is all about which teams show up.

Syracuse at the top of its game should have the players to beat Michigan State because the key matchups are in their favor. Arinze Onuaku should handle the Spartans' inside game, while Jonny Flynn and Eric Devendorf pick the Spartans apart from outside.

However, there’s no denying the Spartans have played better so far this year. The issue with them is their losses to Maryland and UNC out of conference, coupled with wins against Texas and Kansas. They beat some of these quality teams, and they lost to some. The way they were handled at Purdue extenuates this point.

In the end, I feel compelled to roll the dice on the Orange, as their superior depth should ultimately get them through. They’ve been handled by offensively gifted teams, and I’m not sure if the Spartans have shown enough firepower to give Syracuse enough to deal with.

Second Round winners: UNC, Villanova, Missouri, Syracuse

Sweet 16 winners: UNC, Missouri

Regional Final

If the real North Carolina stands up, they win this by double digits. However, they’ve had defensive lapses this year (as shown by their loss at Maryland), which could get them into trouble against a well-balanced and battle-tested Tigers team.

Missouri are game in the Big XII as they’ve beaten Kansas and won at Texas. If they run through the rest of their schedule (Kansas State, @ Kansas, Oklahoma, @ Texas A&M) and run the table, they can legitimately defeat the Tar Heels. The game against OU is particularly important if Blake Griffin is playing because it gives a good indicator of how these Tigers would fare against Tyler Hansbrough.

The stats indicate this could be a great game. These two teams, coincidentally, are the top two teams in the nation in scoring margin per game. Both shoot the ball really well, but Missouri defends both from the field and from three, while the Tar Heels will let you shoot threes as much as you want if you show an ability to get things done at the rim.

These two teams are also the top two in the nation in assists per game. Both force a lot of turnovers and rely on them to widen their leads.

The areas of the game in which UNC have a huge advantage are from the line, rebounding, and in limiting fouls. In what could be a close contest, the team with the most shots at the hoop is going to prevail.

So for now, UNC survives.

West region winner: UNC

South

First Round winners: Oklahoma, Dayton, Notre Dame, Arizona State, Butler, Wake Forest, Texas, Louisville

Second Round winners: Oklahoma, Arizona State, Wake Forest, Louisville

Sweet 16

Intriguing Matchup: (4) Arizona State v. (1) Oklahoma

Nothing has changed in my eyes in the outcome of this one from 1.0:

It’s a battle of lottery picks as Blake Griffin carries his Sooners against James Harden and the Sun Devils.

The Sooners have done what has been asked of them, but they haven’t won in impressive fashion despite having the best player in the nation. They have looked vulnerable in a handful of games this year.

Arizona State has swept UCLA already this year and matches up well with the Sooners. They have their own big man in Jeff Pendergraph who can at least put a body on Griffin.

Both of these teams emphasize their defense, but Arizona State seems to get the most out of their efforts, while Oklahoma seems to fall asleep at the wheel at times. This lack of concentration could cost them a trip to Detroit.

Right now I’ll take the Sun Devils in this one, as Harden can make his supporting cast a bit better right now.

If anything, the last two performances from the Sooners without Blake Griffin have shown the supporting cast is being suffocated by making Griffin the sole focal point of the game for the Sooners.

Sweet 16 winners: Arizona State, Louisville

Regional Final

My opinion hasn’t changed from last week on this game either. The Cardinals are a more polished and deeper version of the Sun Devils, so they advance.

South Region winner: Louisville

East Region

First Round winners: UConn, Arizona, FSU, Kansas, Xavier, Marquette, LSU, Duke

Second Round

Intriguing Matchups: (9) Arizona v. (1) UConn, (6) Xavier v. (3) Marquette, (7) LSU v. (2) Duke

Thoughts of how the parity of this season of college basketball is going to create craziness in March will culminate in complete chaos right now.

Arizona is to UConn as Memphis is to Pitt. They have the one-on-one matchups to take out the Huskies.

The problem with UConn post-Jerome Dyson is that no one has stepped up in the scoring department in his absence. Right now Hasheem Thabeet and Jeff Adrien are the two top scorers and provide about 36 percent of their offense. This is a major issue because neither is really a great offensive player. They get a lot of their points close to the rim and through sheer force on the glass.

This is where Arizona’s frontcourt comes in. Jordan Hill is the type of player to go right at Thabeet and take him right out of the game in the same way DeJuan Blair did earlier in the year. Chase Budinger should be able to shoot right over Adrien and possibly get him into foul trouble along with Thabeet.

If UConn’s frontcourt can’t stay on the floor, Kemba Walker or Craig Austrie will have to step up. They haven’t yet, so I’ll take Arizona.

I’ll give UConn a lot more credit if they sweep the rest of their schedule (@ Marquette, Notre Dame, and @ Pitt). Someone will have to step up and replace Dyson for them to do this.

Xavier and Marquette can both do a lot of the same things offensively, but Xavier is far and away the better defensive team.

Marquette is a bad defensive team, allowing their opponents to shoot 44 percent from the floor. They’re no better against the three. This is partly due to their starting lineup and their focus on scoring.

Xavier has solid players and defends the ball well. They block shots and hit the glass hard, and their combination of defense and rebounding will take Marquette out of their rhythm.

Xavier has struggled in conference of late, but based on their recent success in March, I’d expect their coach to get everything back together. Marquette has a first year coach, and his lack of experience in this spot could further aid the Musketeers.

Right now, I think Xavier’s balance gets them into the Sweet 16 once again.

Duke does a lot of things good, but not really anything very well. Sometimes they’re on fire shooting, and sometimes they’re cold. Sometimes they defend, and sometimes they’re an open door to the basket. The same team which put up 101 on Wake Forest put up 47 against Clemson.

LSU needed an adjustment period to get used to new coach Trent Johnson, but it looks like they’ve clicked.

Naysayers will say they haven’t really beaten anyone, and that’s a fair argument. They lost at Texas A&M, at Utah, and to Xavier.

However, since winning at Tennessee the Tigers haven’t lost, and if they can continue to carry their momentum into the Big Dance, they’ll give Duke all it can handle.

The Tigers are one of the most balanced teams in the country in how they can score and defend and rebound and buffer shots out of the paint. They have plenty of length and athleticism to give Duke a ton of trouble.

Duke has struggled against pressure, as they are searching for consistent play at PG. Overall they get worn out by teams with versatility and athleticism across the board, which can play on both ends of the floor. Clemson, Miami, and UNC have exposed this deficiency.

Duke’s win against Wake Forest may be the signal of this team overcoming this issue, but Wake is coming down to earth, so it’s hard to tell if the win is a fluke.

This is one of those games when filling out your bracket where you just have to go with your gut feeling. In my case, that means moving the Tigers on.

Looking at all the other matchups in this round, I need a fourth team as a six seed or below in the Sweet 16, and this is the best spot for it to happen.

Second Round winners: Arizona, Kansas, Xavier, LSU

Sweet 16 winners: Arizona, Xavier (It’s a tough game to call, but Xavier beat LSU in their house earlier this year.)

Regional Final

At this point, we have a final few saw coming. Arizona becomes the Cinderella of the tournament as they try to finish the deal with a trip to Detroit. Ultimately, their size coupled with their team athleticism should allow them to squeak by Xavier.

East Region winner: Arizona

Final Four

Memphis v. UNC

Last year’s Memphis team beats UNC. This year they aren’t as good, while UNC brings everyone back.

It’s a great first half, but then UNC’s shooting allows them to separate and get to the finals.

Louisville v. Arizona

Once again the lower seeded team is going to run into a brick wall. Louisville is a better and deeper team than the Wildcats and will slowly chip away at them until late in the game, where they will separate for a double-digit victory.

UNC v. Louisville

This is a rematch of the East Regional final last year, which the Tar Heels won 83-73.

Louisville can go man-to-man against North Carolina and force them into committing turnovers.

North Carolina has handled the press well in crucial situations so far this year but will face a tough test here. They have shown lapses in discipline and focus, which could finally cause their undoing.

The wildcard in this game is Louisville freshman Samardo Samuels. If he can rise to the occasion alongside Earl Clark, the Cardinals will shut down Hansbrough and take the heart right out of UNC.

If Samuels fades in the big moment, Hansbrough will have a great chance of putting the team on his back and carrying them up on the ladder to cut down the nets.

In the end though, Louisville is too good defensively man-to-man for the Tar Heels to effectively run their offense. The Cardinals will find the easier shots down the stretch.

The Cardinals are this year’s Memphis with free throw shooting, while UNC is this year’s Kansas without as much drive.

Unlike in 1.0, I’m picking Louisville in this matchup. The play and leadership of Terrence Williams will ultimately allow this team to reach its full potential.

National Champion as of today: Louisville

In this bracket the matchups weren’t there to produce the great first round upsets.

However, the East region is a keg filled with dynamite which, if it shook out this way on Selection Sunday, could produce the wackiest bracket since 2002.

In ’02, a 10, 11, and 12 seed made the Sweet 16. The 12 seed (Missouri) beat an eight seed and the 10 seed (Kent State) beat a three seed to get to the Elite Eight. A five seed (Indiana) went all the way to the finals.

It feels like this could be another year where brackets are just mangled by upsets deep in the tournament. Maybe it’s just me. We’ll find out soon enough.

Knicks Acquire Larry Hughes, Chris Wilcox in Separate Deals

David Cohen — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:29:28 -0500

The New York Knicks have bolstered their rotation today.

They have traded F Tim Thomas, C Jerome James, and G Anthony Roberson to the Bulls for G/F Larry Hughes.

The move doesn't save the Knicks a lot, but with their luxury tax problems every dollar saved is doubled.

For Chicago, it gets rid of someone who wasn't a happy camper in the locker room. After getting John Salmons yesterday from Sacramento, this trade frees up playing time for him.

The Knicks accomplish a couple of things in this trade. First off, they made use of Jerome James, which was thought to be impossible. Secondly, the Knicks may have picked up a steal in Hughes.

The best years in Hughes's career were unquestionably when he was running all over the place in Washington. He's been trapped in offenses which haven't suited his style of play ever since taking the money and leaving for Cleveland. With the Knicks, he could start averaging 18 a night for the first time since his days with the Wizards.

The Knicks have also traded the expiring contract of Malik Rose to the Oklahoma City Thunder for PF/C Chris Wilcox.

The Knicks pick up an athletic player who can legitimately play center so that Jared Jeffries doesn't have to try and become the next Boris Diaw in Coach Mike D'Antoni's system. Wilcox also provides some added rebounding help to go alongside David Lee.

For Malik Rose, it doesn't mean playing time, but he is an aspiring coach. The Thunder might be the place for that to start as he can start teaching the young players on their roster.

The Knicks may have needed help from Tyson Chandler's big toe and the Bulls trade with the Kings to make this happen. In any case, the Knicks add two productive players to their rotation for next to nothing.

The Knicks actually have some depth now.

Projecting the Final Four 1.0

David Cohen — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:15:10 -0500

This is the first of a weekly series of projecting the Final Four. I’m using the brackets from the most accurate bracketologists by projection performance I’ve found on the web. They can be found at bracketology101.blogspot.com.

* The current bracket

Also, based on my own observation, I will be using a benchmark I call the 4-1 rule. This states that at least four teams rated as a six seed or lower must make the Sweet 16, and that at least one of these teams must make the Elite Eight.

East Region

First Round

Intriguing Matchup: (12) Virginia Tech v. (5) California

What makes this interesting is that VT never beats who they should and beats who they shouldn’t. They don’t shoot well by percentage and rely on their athleticism, but when they play their best, they can go to Wake Forest and win. Just ask UNC how much of a pest this team is.

Cal is one of the sharpest shooting teams in the nation. They are top five in the nation in FG percentage and are the best 3-PT shooting team in the country. But they have serious defensive troubles at times and lack an interior presence.

Based on how they’ve played so far, Cal should win this game.

But the “good” VT could run them out of the gym. Given how VT seems to get up around the ACC tournament in recent years and the fact that Cal is a relatively inexperienced team, I’ll give a very slight edge to VT.

First Round Winners: UConn, Utah, VT, Xavier, Butler, Missouri, Syracuse, Wake Forest

Second Round

Intriguing Matchup: (9) Utah v. (1) UConn

Utah is the kind of team UConn could lose to without Jerome Dyson. Without his leadership, the Huskies have already shown they can’t win it all.

Now their two most productive players offensively don’t have a lot in the offensive repertoire. Jeff Adrien and Hasheem Thabeet are great rebounders but can’t seriously be relied on to produce the bulk of the offense.

A.J. Price has declined significantly in offensive effectiveness since becoming the lone slasher in the starting lineup.

Even with Dyson, UConn had a major weakness in that they can’t hit jump shots with any kind of consistency. They can play great defense, but if you can defend and attack them, as Pitt did, they are beatable.

Utah presents a lot of problems for UConn. They can battle on the glass and defend. They are also one of the top teams in the country in shooting percentage.

Plus, Utah can battle Thabeet with someone his own size. Their best player is 7’2”, 265 lbs.

Luke Nevill gives the Utes 17 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks a game. He can neutralize Thabeet and put him in major foul trouble.

Right now, I’ll still take the Huskies. Utah has beaten Gonzaga and LSU but has beaten absolutely no one on the road this year.

With all of their major road games in conference coming up, we’ll know by the start of the NCAA tournament whether they can pull this off.

Also notable: (12) VT lost at (4) Xavier by a point in OT already this season.

Second Round winners: UConn, VT, Missouri, Syracuse (A healthy Syracuse has the experience and the inside toughness and point guard play to overcome Wake Forest’s defense; Wake is last year’s UConn team reincarnated, minus a giant center.)

Sweet 16 winners: UConn, Syracuse (I want to take Missouri, but by my own rule I need a lower seed in the Elite Eight, and this is the most logical place for it to happen.)

East Region winner: UConn

West Region

First Round

Intriguing Matchup: (14) VMI v. (3) Duke

Duke’s team this year is much improved from a year ago in that they don’t solely rely on the three. They do defend well as a team most of the time and have several playmakers they can call on in tough spots.

However, it’s evident that the Blue Devils haven’t fixed all of their problems from the last couple of years. They struggle against the press and struggle against teams with a lot of athleticism. Wake Forest, UNC, and Clemson have shown this.

VMI is basically the Mike D’Antoni Phoenix Suns. They play at 100 miles per hour.

They lead the nation in scoring at 96 a game. They lead the nation in steals per game (14), turnover margin, and threes per game.

Duke isn’t proficient statistically in any offensive category. The only thing that they do extremely well is create turnovers. Otherwise, they’re good but have plenty of room for improvement.

VMI can’t defend a lick. There are 330 teams right now better in rebound margin. On top to that, VMI allows its opponents to shoot 52 percent from the field.

VMI’s main weapon besides their shooting is their press, which they do very well. If you can break the press, you get a ton of easy scores. If you can’t, they can jump on you in a hurry.

Duke’s struggles against pressure this year could spell the major upset of the tournament. With shaky play from the point guard spot at times, VMI could come up with a major upset.

The problem with picking VMI is that they are a very hit-and-miss team. Their first two games of the year sum this up.

They went to Rupp Arena and beat Kentucky 111-103 to start the season, but then lost at Virginia 107-97. They have also recently dropped two games straight against sub-.500 teams.

If VMI brings their A game, they probably beat Duke. However, history is on Duke’s side, as VMI hasn’t fared well against good teams in recent years.

First round winners: Pitt, Tennessee, Purdue, Kansas, Ohio State, Duke, Dayton, Memphis

Second round winners: Pitt, Purdue, Duke, Memphis

Sweet 16 winners: Pitt, Memphis (They have the athleticism and the defense to shut Duke down.)

West Region winner: Pitt (More balance and toughness; Pitt could struggle with several teams in the tournament, but have a really nice draw in this bracket.)

South Region

First round winners: Oklahoma, West Virginia, Arizona State, VCU, UNLV, Clemson, Texas, Louisville

Second round winners: Oklahoma, Arizona State, UNLV, Louisville

Sweet 16

Intriguing Matchup: (5) Arizona State v. (1) Oklahoma

It’s a battle of lottery picks as Blake Griffin carries his Sooners against James Harden and the Sun Devils.

Arizona State has swept UCLA already this year and matches up well with the Sooners. They have their own big man in Jeff Pendergraph who can at least put a body on Griffin.

Right now I’ll take the Sun Devils in this one, as Harden can make his supporting cast a bit better right now.

Also notable: UNLV beat Louisville at home 56-55 earlier this year. However, I think the Cardinals have improved and that UNLV has gone a little bit backwards since then.

Sweet 16 winners: Arizona State, Louisville

South Region winner: Louisville (better version of Arizona State with better defensive ability)

Midwest

First Round

Intriguing Matchup: (9) Arizona v. (8) LSU

This is a great matchup of two dangerous teams in the tournament.

The Wildcats started off as rocky and inconsistent as they’ve played over the last few years. However, the light may have finally gone on.

This team has played differently ever since Chase Budinger got stomped on his face against Houston. Arizona rallied to win that game in OT and hasn’t looked back since, beating Washington, USC, and UCLA.

They have a starting trio of Nic Wise, Budinger, and Jordan Hill that can rival anyone else in the country. If they all play up to their potential, the Wildcats can be the sleeper team of the year.

LSU is learning under a new coach. They are learning how to play and how to win as the season goes on.

They couldn’t beat anyone out of conference, losing to Texas A&M, Utah, and Xavier, but have recently won at Tennessee in conference.

They take care of the ball, shoot the three very well, rebound better than most teams in this field, create turnovers, and can play very good on-ball defense.

The only question with them is just how legit they are given the fact that they lived off very mediocre teams in their out of conference schedule. If they make a deep run in the SEC tournament, the jury won’t be out anymore.

This is a battle between the consistent solid play of LSU and the potential for greatness of Arizona. Right now, I’ll take the Wildcats, as I believe they may finally be living up to their potential.

First round winners: UNC, Arizona, Gonzaga, Villanova, Washington, Marquette, Davidson, Michigan State

Second Round

Intriguing Matchup: (9) Arizona v. (1) UNC

Nic Wise v. Ty Lawson. Chase Budinger v. Danny Green. Jordan Hill v. Tyler Hansbrough.

The only team the Tar Heels have played which could truly match all three of these players was Wake Forest. UNC lost.

On the season, there’s no question North Carolina has played better. But if Jordan Hill truly is a better pro prospect than Hansbrough, he will shut him down. Budinger also has a mismatch in his favor.

The wildcard in this game would be Wayne Ellington, who should get plenty of good looks from behind the arc. He’s been on and off this year, and UNC will need him to get at least 20 to get out of this game alive.

If the good Arizona shows up, they’ll give the Tar Heels all they can handle virtually in their backyard in Greensboro, North Carolina. UNC’s defensive lapses could come back to haunt them in this one.

At the moment I’ll take UNC, as they’ve been the more consistent team this season. Plus the fact that it’s a “home game” really makes a difference.

If UNC is to win it all, this will be the game they look back on and say they “somehow escaped” with a win.

Second round winners: UNC, Gonzaga, Marquette, Michigan State

Sweet 16 winners: UNC, Michigan State

Midwest Region winner: UNC

Final Four

UConn v. Pitt

After what DeJuan Blair did to Thabeet in the first meeting, there’s no reason to believe he won’t carry Pitt to victory again. Pitt is more versatile in their offensive ability and tougher mentally.

Louisville v. UNC

This is essentially the national championship game, just like UNC v. Kansas was a year ago. It is also a rematch of the East Regional final last year, which the Tar Heels won 83-73.

Louisville can also match up man-to-man against North Carolina and is the better defensive team.

North Carolina has handled the press well in crucial situations so far this year but will face a tough test here.

The wildcard in this game is Louisville freshman Samardo Samuels. If he can rise to the occasion alongside Earl Clark, the Cardinals have the leadership and ability to pull off the win.

If not, Hansbrough should be able to put the team on his back and carry them to the finals.

Right now, I’ll take UNC because they’ve played more consistently throughout the season. But if Louisville plays their A game, which they haven’t yet this year, they’re the best team in the country.

Pitt v. UNC

It’s a battle of the beauty and the beast. Both teams have great production in the frontcourt, but I think the Tar Heels win off the ability of their guards to create offense.

National Champion as of today: UNC

I feel this is more of a logical description of how things could go. I don’t anticipate three teams from the Big East getting to Detroit, but in a year where there are so few great teams, this is the year for it to happen if it’s ever going to happen.

The Contenders for the New York Jets Quarterback Position

David Cohen — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:28:50 -0500

The Jets have big shoes to fill. Now that Brett Favre is done making Wrangler commercials, Rex Ryan and the Jets need to figure out who will take over the mighty task of replacing the league leader in interceptions. If he listens to the mass media, he’ll realize the Jets would’ve somehow finished 0-17 if Favre wasn’t the quarterback last year. With that said, there are many people who could end up starting for that “other team” in New York in 2009. Now for the contenders (in no particular order).

Begin Slideshow

Seven Ways the Suns Could Trade Amar'e Stoudemire

David Cohen — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 19:46:55 -0500

The Suns are at a crossroads. They had the most entertaining team in the NBA and in many ways are responsible for the more free-flowing games we see across the league right now.

Then they hired Steve Kerr as their general manager and he tried to make the Suns the Spurs. It hasn’t worked out.

Now you have a team of malcontents slipping in the Western Conference. If the goal is to win a title, the Suns won’t as they’re currently constructed. Amar'e Stoudemire will likely leave on his own in 2010, and trading star players in the final year of their contracts is problematic.

As its best tradable asset, the Suns must make a deal that starts a rebuilding process for the future, with players that fit the new style of play Terry Porter and Steve Kerr feel will bring a ring back to Phoenix. Reports around the league indicate that the Suns are open to trading everyone except Steve Nash at the moment.

If they trade Stoudemire before this year’s trade deadline, they will almost certainly ship him to the Eastern Conference. With that said, here are the best possible trade options Steve Kerr can hope for.

*These were done using the ESPN.com trade machine to make sure the financials work out.

1. Stoudemire to the Raptors for Chris Bosh

With reports that Chris Bosh might want a change of scenery himself, this move makes the most sense for both teams. Stoudemire is better suited for how Toronto wants to play and is the best possible value they could expect to get back if they were to move Bosh.

The Suns would get someone with more passion for rebounding and defense, which is something Kerr wants to infuse into the Suns.

The strained relationship between Kerr and Raptors General Manager Bryan Colangelo could be the only thing standing in the way of this blockbuster deal.

2. Stoudemire and Goran Dragic to the Pistons for Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince

If the Pistons truly believe their window of opportunity has closed (which would make the Billups for cap-space deal make sense), they could be open to trading two more pieces of the previous regime to bring in their franchise big man to play with Rodney Stuckey.

For Phoenix, Hamilton and Prince bring championship experience with them and are the kind of players Kerr loves. He always raved about Hamilton when calling games for TNT. A starting lineup with Nash, Prince, Hamilton, and Shaq could fuel the Suns back in the right direction.

3. Stoudemire and Louis Amundson to the Wizards for Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison

This trade would be good for the Suns in that they could keep a lot of the production given this year by Stoudemire while bringing in arguable the most underrated player in the league in Caron Butler. The Suns would have a complete starting five with these two, Nash, Shaq, and Richardson. They would have no more cap room to make any major moves, but would have one of the most balanced starting lineups in the west.

The Wizards could appeal to Agent Zero by giving him someone athletic like Stoudemire to play with. Eventually, a starting frontcourt of Stoudemire and JaVale McGee could be the most athletic in the East.

While this is a major win for Phoenix, it’s unlikely Stoudemire would like to stay in Washington long-term.

4. Stoudemire and Dragic to the Bulls for Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, and Drew Gooden

A deal like this would commit the Suns to the defensive end of the floor. Thomas can provide that with his freakish athleticism, and with Nash they could turn into a poor man’s version of Chris Paul to Tyson Chandler. Deng is the all-around player the Suns have missed since trading Shawn Marion. Gooden provides a good rebounding presence and, more importantly, an expiring contract.

For Chicago, Stoudemire would be the low post scorer they have lacked for years, and they could build a contender around him and rookie sensation Derrick Rose.

5. Stoudemire and Leandro Barbosa to the 76ers for Andre Miller, Thaddeus Young, Marreese Speights, and Willie Green

This is a good deal for Phoenix if they decide to blow the team up and start fresh. Miller is a great point guard and could play the two for a bit and spell Nash when needed. Along with him come three solid young players that add depth and athleticism, something the Suns lack.

For the Sixers, adding Stoudemire and Barbosa to Iguodala could take the up tempo attack they like to run to another level.

A deal with the Sixers probably won’t happen because Philadelphia would have to find a way to ship out some of the money they have tied up for them to keep Stoudemire.

6. Stoudemire and Barbosa to the Heat for Michael Beasley, Udonis Haslem, Dorell Wright, and Mark Blount

Now we’re moving into the realm of the absurd as far as likely trade partners.

The Suns would be banking on the future in getting essentially a top draft pick and some good role players for Stoudemire. If Beasley were to develop as expected, this could work out down the road.

For the Heat, bringing in Stoudemire could ensure the resigning of Dwayne Wade, and bringing in a scoring-oriented point guard like Barbosa could create all kinds of matchup problems for opposing defenses.

This is the first deal where the Suns are truly at an outright loss.

For Miami, moving Marion before the deadline along with this acquisition would make them a team none of the East’s big three would want to run into come playoff time.

7. Stoudemire to the Knicks for David Lee, Wilson Chandler, and Al Harrington

Since the Knicks are an obvious favorite destination for Stoudemire, I feel compelled to throw a scenario in here.

This deal would give the Suns two very talented players that could develop into all-star contributors for them in the future. Harrington could come in right away and provide scoring and play center when Shaq takes a break.

For the Knicks, it would mean landing a franchise player with absolutely nothing around him. Stoudemire would be the big dog, which is what his ego wants. If the Knicks were to make this move, they better have something in writing from LeBron saying he’s a Knick in 2010.

If the Suns decide to trade Stoudemire, it could create a domino effect similar to what we saw when Pau Gasol was given away to the Lakers.

2009 NFL Mock(ing) Draft

David Cohen — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 05:58:25 -0500

* This is a literal “mock” draft based on the college football and NFL seasons for humor and entertainment purposes only, so Phil Savage, don’t read this and start getting ideas...oh wait, he just got deleted from the Browns.

1. Detroit: QB, Ronnie Fouch, Washington (Freshman)

Stats: 45.2 percent completions, four TDs, 13 INTs

He led his team to no wins. He knows where the back of the end zone is, making him an upgrade over Dan Orlovsky. He may or may not beat Daunte Culpepper in a footrace. Joey Harrington was from the Pac-10, and he worked out great for the Lions.

2. St. Louis: S Eric Berry, Tennessee (Sophomore)

Stats: one catch, three yards; seven carries, 37 yards; 72 tackles, 21 TFL, three sacks, seven INTs, two TDs

The Rams were equally abysmal on both sides of the football, so why not grab someone who can single-handedly address all needs? He also returned a couple kicks. He did line up at QB, and while he's never thrown in college, the Rams are sure he can get sacked less than Marc Bulger.

3. Kansas City Chiefs: QB Colt McCoy, Texas (Junior)

Stats: 77.6 percent completions, 32 TDs, seven INTs; 576 rushing yards, 10 TDs

Herm Edwards knows that "you play to win the game! You don't play to just play it!" The BCS standings do not compute. McCoy beat Oklahoma and can now have a shot at a championship, as there are no teams from Oklahoma in the NFL.

4. Seattle: WR Ryan Tannehill, Texas A&M (Freshman)

Stats: 55 catches, 844 yards, five TDs; 1-1, eight yards passing

After the messy lawsuit over who really has the rights to the "12th man," the Seahawks reconcile with Texas A&M by taking Tannehill. They are always looking for third string receivers to start for them, and Tannehill projects well. He also used to play QB. With him and Seneca Wallace, the sky’s the limit whenever it’s not raining in Seattle.

5. Cleveland: K/P Louie Sakoda, Utah (Senior)

Stats: 21-23 FG, long 53; 50 punts, 41.7 yards average, long 81

Cleveland didn’t score an offensive TD in their last five games. Since they can’t punch it in, they need a reliable kicker to score on what little opportunities they actually have—and he’ll have plenty of chances to attempt 81-yard punts. Even with Phil Dawson, the Browns can never have enough offensive playmakers.

6. Cincinnati: S Jamar Hornsby, Ole Miss (Sophomore)

Stats: 111 tackles, two INTs at East Mississippi Community College; four misdemeanors

Marvin Lewis is still on board and is looking for another criminal to anchor the defense. Hornsby can charge upfield and charge gas cards like no one else in college football. With the uncertainty of the economy, Hornsby could be a valuable asset in more ways than one.

7. Oakland: QB Robert Marve, formerly of “the U” (Freshman)

Stats: 54.5 percent completions, 1,293 yards, nine TDs, 13 INTs; 59 carries, 119 yards, two TDs

Al Davis to Randy Shannon: “Robert Marve is a great player. Get over it!”

This wouldn’t be the first time the Raiders had someone who couldn’t handle discipline.

8. Jacksonville: WR Pat White, West Virginia (Senior)

Stats: 63.6 percent completions, 1,510 yards, 18 TDs, six INTs; 170 carries, 919 yards, eight TDs

This is the perfect pick for the Jags, who are suckers for unproven speed receivers who never catch passes. White is the most hyped QB transition player since Matt Jones, who is the Jags’ best receiver. So this was a no-brainer.

Coincidentally, Pat White is what Matt Jones calls his secret coke stash. He was going to use a credit card to draw up a double sniff option, but the card was intercepted by Hornsby.

9. Green Bay: QB Tim Tebow, Florida (Junior)

Stats: 64.9 percent completions, 2,515 yards, 28 TDs, two INTs; 154 carries, 564 yards, 12 TDs

After a tough 6-10 campaign, the Packers take someone who really doesn’t have the fundamentals and creates on the go, but is an inspirational player that can just somehow come up with wins. Is Ted Thompson trying to make up for something?

10. San Francisco: CB Vontae Davis, Illinois (Junior)

Stats: 78 tackles, three FF, two INTs

With the Cardinals being the only threat in the NFC West for the near future, the 49ers need some people with coverage skills. When informed of the selection, Mike Singletary had a little misunderstanding.

“Cannot play with him. Cannot win with him. Cannot coach with him. Can’t do it.”

Defensive Coordinator Greg Manusky: “You mean Vernon. We’ll ship him to wherever Martz ends up.”

11. Buffalo: CB Curtis Brown, Texas (Sophomore)

Stats: 0 INTs, one missed tackle against Michael Crabtree

The Bills shot out of the gate with a 5-1 start and then choked like they always do, so they take Brown to help keep the tradition alive. In case the Bills ever get in a tough spot with a championship on the line, they can count on Brown to keep the trophy out of the locker room.

12. Denver: WR Mike Shanahan, Pittsburgh (Freshman)

Stats: DNP last season, 6’5”, 220 lbs.

The Broncos lose out to Buffalo again with Brown, whose tackling skills rival those of the Broncos defense. Instead of fixing the unfixable, the Broncos try to appease Jay Cutler with the pick, as he seems pretty peeved about the loss of Mike Shanahan. Problem solved.

13. Washington: FB/HB Jorvorskie Lane, Texas A&M (Senior)

Stats: 35 carries, 93 yards, five TDs; 49 career rushing TDs

Jim Zorn complained about Portis not getting in the way of defenders, so he solves that problem by taking the Jared Lorenzen of backs. At 6’0”, 285 pounds, he’s a good diet away from being another tackle for Jason Campbell. At worst he can serve as a tackling dummy for LaRon Landry so he doesn’t get planted by Brandon Jacobs again.

14. New Orleans: QB Graham Harrell, Texas A&M (Senior)

Stats: 71.5 percent completions, 4,747 yards, 41 TDs, seven INTs; 15,429 career yards, 130 career TDs

The ultimate system quarterback; the Saints believe they have the system for him to take down Dan Marino after Drew Brees came up 16 yards short.

15. Houston: CB Malcolm Jenkins, Ohio State (Senior)

Stats: 54 tackles, three INTs, two FF, one sack

The Texans need players in the secondary to take their team to the next level. They’re also hoping Jenkins can rub off some of Ohio State’s “second best” karma to help Houston in the AFC South.

Losing in the title game is an incentive in his contract.

16. San Diego: RB Shonn Greene, Iowa (Junior)

Stats: 278 carries, 1.729 yards, 17 TDs; rushed for at least 100 yards in all 13 games

With LT apparently being human and starting to decline, the Chargers take the college equivalent of him to appease concerned fantasy owners everywhere.

17. New York Jets: QB Kevin Craft, UCLA (Junior)

Stats: 55.6 percent completions, 2,341 yards, seven TDs, 20 INTs

18. Chicago: DE Michael Johnson, Georgia Tech (Senior)

Stats: 45 tackles, nine sacks, one INT, one TD

The Bears really, really need a receiving weapon, so they take the former USA Olympian. Whoops.

19. Tampa Bay: WR Percy Harvin, Florida (Junior)

Stats: 35 catches, 595 yards, seven TDs; 61 carries, 538 yards, nine TDs

Jon Gruden is always looking for his next project at quarterback, and Harvin will be his biggest one yet. Seeing him line up in the shotgun is giving him all kinds of ideas. He just might make Percy Harvin boring.

20. Detroit: WR Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech (Sophomore)

Stats: 93 catches, 1,135 yards, 18 TDs, 40 career TDs

You didn’t actually think the Lions wouldn’t take a receiver in the first round, did you?

21. Arizona: RB Arian Foster, Tennessee (Senior)

Stats: 131 carries, 570 yards, one TD; 19 catches, 166 yards

The Cardinals need anyone to play running back. Foster can get them from 20 to 20. And since the Cards always throw in the red zone, they don’t have to worry about Foster fumbling the drive away on the five.

22. Philadelphia: RB Rashad Jennings, Liberty (Senior)

Stats: 263 carries, 1,500 yards, 17 TDs; 24 catches, 190 yards, two TDs

As usual, Andy Reid takes someone out of left field whom no one has ever heard of. He is hoping lightning strikes twice, as Jennings is also an FCS player who transferred from Pitt, a la Joe Flacco. Reid is finally going to commit to the run after Donovan F. McNabb finally told the Eagles to go F. themselves.

23. Minnesota: DT Terrence Cody, Alabama (Junior)

Stats: 6’5”, 365 lbs. (that’s all you need to know)

The Vikings had to take him after he devoured Pat and Kevin Williams.

24. New England: WR Kerry Meier, Kansas (Junior)

Stats: 97 catches, 1,045 yards, eight TDs; 61 percent career completions, 1,542 yards, 17 TDs, 10 INTs

With Matt Cassel getting the keys to another castle, Bill Belichick has to find someone to play backup to Brady. He loves players with multiple positions, and Meier played under center for the Jayhawks two years ago and is now a pretty good possession receiver. He even has four career punts, so if the Pats ever end up in 50 mph winds at Buffalo again and need a pooch punt, Meier has a 34.5 yard average.

His camera skills remain to be seen.

25. Atlanta: TE Brandon Pettigrew, Oklahoma State (Senior)

Stats: 42 catches, 472 yards

Now that the Falcons are good again, they can take a chance on someone with talent but problems with the police. Hopefully it doesn’t end with Scooby and Scrappy fighting it out 'til the death for a Scooby Snack.

26. Miami: CB D.J. Moore, Vanderbilt (Junior)

Stats: 59 tackles, one sack, five INTs; 24.7 punt return average; seven catches, 143 yards, two TDs; nine carries, 76 yards

The Dolphins, like the Commodores, came back from the depths of hell back to relevance. But they still need weapons on both sides of the ball, and with the lack of offensive talent at Vanderbilt, Moore has done a little bit of everything, and all of it well. Think of the wrinkles in the wildcat you can add with this guy.

27. Baltimore: WR Jeremy Maclin, Missouri (Sophomore)

Stats: 102 catches, 1,260 yards, 13 TDs; 40 carries, 293 yards, two TDs; 41 punt returns, 270 yards, one TD; 42 kickoff returns, 1,010 yards, one TD

Let’s see. Ball-hawking secondary, check. Smashmouth defense, check. Big arm quarterback who actually completes passes, check. Running game, check. Kick returner/receiver...Maclin could make the Ravens exciting to watch on offense. The defense doesn’t have that problem with Ray Lewis shooting the gap.

28. Colts: DE Brian Orakpo, Texas (Senior)

Stats: 38 tackles, 10 sacks, 20 career sacks

Since the Colts always win 12 games, they don’t feel they have any needs. So they take the one person who may have actually sacked Peyton Manning next season.

29. Philadelphia: WR Hakeem Nicks, North Carolina (Junior)

Stats: 68 catches, 1,222 yards, 12 TDs; five carries, 34 yards, TD

On the rare 95 percent of the time the Eagles are throwing the football, they need someone who can actually catch it. Nicks fits the bill and won’t voluntarily drop the ball off before he goes into the end zone. He can make catches behind his back, so just imagine what he could do with the ball coming in front of him. If only McNabb stayed...

30. Pittsburgh: WR Josh Chichester, Louisville (Freshman)

Stats: 30 catches, 341 yards, 2 TDs

Big Ben is tired of throwing the ball to midgets, so the Steelers take the behemoth 6’8” Chichester. He drops more passes than Braylon Edwards, but at least now Roethlisberger has a big target.

31. New York Giants: WR Kenny Britt, Rutgers (Junior)

Stats: 87 catches, 1,371 yards, seven TDs; seven carries, 75 yards, one TD; 6’4”, 215 lbs.

The Giants take a local kid—a big receiver with good hands who can go up and get it for Eli Manning. They made sure he wasn’t armed.

Britt is not allowed to go to clubs as part of his contract.

32. Tennessee: QB Mark Sanchez, USC (Junior)

Stats: 65.8 percent completion, 3,207 yards, 34 TDs, 10 INTs

The Titans take another Rose Bowl MVP—only this time they have no intention of playing him.

They just hope battling a USC guy brings Vince Young back to legendary status.

51. Dallas: P Kevin Huber, Cincinnati (Senior)

Stats: 56 punts, 44.9-yard average

With Tony Romo being smitten with Jason Witten, and T.O. and Roy Williams plotting their revenge, Jerry Jones had to step in and put everyone on an equal playing field. Everyone needs to be on the same page.

Which is why the Cowboys are going to punt on first down next season. And this guy can punt it into a coffin corner like no other. Which is important considering Cowboys fans could be putting Romo and Owens into coffins pretty soon.

60. Carolina: CB Captain Munnerlyn, South Carolina (Junior)

Stats: 40 tackles, two sacks; 33 punt returns, 118 yards, nine kick returns, 218 yards

The Panthers are the team that was forgotten before the season started, and in a loaded SEC with great defenses, this guy is the forgotten man.

Plus, if the Panthers are planning on plundering the Buccaneers every year, they'll be needing a captain to ward off the cannons.

That’s every team’s first pick in the 2009 draft. Plenty of interesting picks that even Mel Kiper couldn’t see coming. Hopefully your team got who they need to take them to new heights (or lows).

Why Colts-Chargers Is Super Bowl XLIII

David Cohen — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 09:21:52 -0500

Since the NFL has gone to the four-division format, four teams playing in the wild-card round of the playoffs have made the Super Bowl: the ’03 Panthers, ’05 Steelers, ’06 Colts, and last year’s Giants. For the last three years, the Super Bowl winner has come out of this round of the playoffs.

And there’s a good reason for this. With four divisions, there’s usually a weak division (see AFC West, NFC West) that gets a team with a mediocre record into the playoffs. This is creating wild-card teams with better records playing lower record division winners.

This year is the culmination of the NFL parity transformation. For perhaps the first time in the history of the wild card, all four road teams could be favorites at kickoff.

The run of wild-card champions should leave eight teams in contention for at least a spot in Tampa. But there’s a catch.

All the wild-card champs have something in common. They all made the playoffs the year before they hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy. If that’s applied to this years’ playoffs, where just five teams return to the playoffs from a year ago, it narrows the field down to Saturday night.

The Colts and Chargers are the only two wild-card teams that made the playoffs last season. So, if recent history is any indication, the winner of this game wins the whole thing. It also means either the Giants or Panthers win the NFC.

Looking at the playoffs from an on-field perspective, it’s not unreasonable for the winner of this game to win it all.

First off, in the NFC, there’s a clear divide between the Giants and Panthers, and everyone else. The Falcons have a first-year head coach with a rookie quarterback and are a .500 road team. The Cardinals are a one-trick pony. The Vikings don’t know what they’ll get out of their quarterback and have a star running back that keeps putting the ball on the ground. The Eagles tied the Bengals.

Out of the four wild-card teams, the Eagles are clearly the best team. They have the experience and equipment on both sides of the ball to contend with the Giants at the Meadowlands.

They could make a run at Tampa, but you never know when they’ll forget they have Brian Westbrook. And if they beat the Giants, it will give the Panthers a home game for the NFC crown. They’re 8-0 at home.

As for the AFC, it’s absolutely wide open. There is no dominant team in the conference and all of the playoff teams have noticeable flaws. The Titans can be bottled up if you stop the running game and will have players coming back from injury at the start of the playoffs.

The Steelers might be without Big Ben, haven’t established a consistent rushing attack with Willie Parker in the lineup, and have pass protection issues. Miami isn’t explosive. The Ravens have a rookie coach and quarterback and rely heavily on the run.

Basically, the conference is a matter of matchups. The two teams that can create the most matchup problems in the conference: the Chargers and the Colts.

The Colts come in winning nine straight. They’re the hottest team in the league. According to conventional wisdom, they should be fine.

They have a robot named Peyton Manning playing quarterback. They still have a variety of options to throw it to. Defensively they are coming on as they are finally getting healthy.

They aren’t the best defense and they will give up plays, but they are good at making you work for points. They make you put together drives to get scores when the unit is at 100 percent. They also have a proven running back but haven’t been able to run the ball. That could change.

The Colts have seen every team they could face down the road as long as the Ravens beat Miami. They beat the Chargers in San Diego at the end of the game in late November. They beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh in early November. They play the Titans twice a year and know them very well.

The Titans are the last team to beat the Colts but it was early in the year. And if the Ravens somehow get to the AFC title game, the Colts did blow them out at the start of the season, even though both teams are dramatically different from that time. So there’s no matchup where the Colts haven’t proven they can contend with the competition.

The Chargers are the first 4-8 team to make the playoffs. On paper, they have the talent to hang with any other team in the NFL. Until the last couple of weeks, it hasn’t showed up. The question with them is whether that’s a result of the Bucs and Broncos.

They were up against these Colts with a minute and a half to go and had a terrible call go against them that may have changed their fate if called correctly.

Their offense can give the Colts problems because they have so many options. Philip Rivers, performance wise, is the best quarterback in these playoffs and has carried this team all season long.

If Tomlinson is O.K. with the groin injury, he’s as close to his real self as he’s been all season. The receiving core can beat you down field and go up and get the ball.

The defense is the big question mark. There’s a lot of talent on that side of the ball but they haven’t generated a lot of pressure on opposing quarterbacks and haven’t covered receivers nearly as well as they should be. They have especially been lit up by opposing tight ends, and Dallas Clark may be the best route-running tight end in the league.

The Colts are a tough match for the Chargers, but if they can get by them, everything opens up.

The Chargers played the Steelers in their house and lost by just a point earlier in the year. With Big Ben a question mark and a Chargers team coming on, they could take the Steelers by surprise.

If they get by the Steelers, the Ravens will probably be waiting for them. Baltimore has an elite defense and relies heavily on the run. The Chargers have certainly had their struggles against the run this season but have improved in that department during their winning streak. Ron Rivera can give Joe Flacco some confusing looks, and the Chargers offense should be able to get some movement through the air.

It’s another tough game for the Chargers, but one they will be in entering the fourth.

Either of these teams can win the conference. The Colts especially have all the pieces in place to make a run at Tampa.

The Chargers lost a ton of close games earlier in the year and are now figuring out how to finish games. All but one of their losses this season was by seven points or less. The Panthers won on the final play. The Broncos beat them on a blown call. They played Miami and Buffalo on the East Coast at 1:00. They weren’t too far off 12-4.

If the Colts beat the Chargers, they probably keep the Super Bowl wild-card streak alive.

The Manning Bowl would be a Colts victory, simply because they match up tremendously well against the Giants. Their offensive line is the best in the playoffs in pass protection. The amount of receiving threats can take advantage of holes in the Giants secondary. The Colts aren’t great against the run, but good enough to neutralize it.

That’s the same reason they would beat the Panthers. Both of the NFC front-runners rely on pressuring the quarterback as the basis of their defensive success. When you take that away, opportunities present themselves.

If the Chargers go to Tampa, it’s a whole different deal.

The team Eli didn’t want to play for can throw the ball all over the Giants when their quarterback isn’t getting drilled. But that’s a big if. They would need an effective Tomlinson to keep the Giants pass rush at bay.

Defensively, their run defense would have to be better than it is now to keep the Giants from doing whatever they wish. But if the Chargers get this far, that’s already been solved.

The Giants' lack of a game-breaking receiver could do them in. The Chargers have athletic corners that could play up on the line of scrimmage.

The Panthers could be too much for the Chargers to overcome. But the Chargers took them to the very brink to start the season.

Recent NFL history has spoken. This year’s Super Bowl is in San Diego, and the Colts appear poised to take the crown.

But the Chargers have a lot of fight left in them. They have tremendous potential and finally got over their playoff demons a year ago when they beat Indianapolis after losing L.T. and Rivers during the game.

A one-legged Rivers with no L.T. nearly beat the Patriots last season. Perhaps it’s time for another quarterback to join the elite ranks. A Super Bowl ring would do just that.

Banking on the NFL: Week FIve

David Cohen — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:38:59 -0400

Week 4: 1-1, +.05 units

(Titans -2.5 @ Vikings, 49ers +6 @ Saints)

Overall: 4-1, +2.25 units

Well, I finally lost a game. J.T. O’Sullivan turned it over in scoring territory a couple times too many and that cost me. On the bright side, I did have a “winning” week.

This week doesn’t have a lot to offer, so I’m making a super play.

Chargers (-6) @ Dolphins

The Dolphins immediately gain a little too much respect from Vegas after they beat the Patriots with the Darren McFadden formation.

The Chargers are still getting off to slow starts, but are finally getting healthy on offense. LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates are coming around and that spells big trouble for Miami. They can’t cover both Gates and Chris Chambers. With the offensive LT and Darren Sproles in the backfield the Dolphins are going to have their hands full. Philip Rivers is no Matt Cassel.

Meanwhile, I can’t see how the Dolphins are going to score any points. The Chargers can play bump and run coverage the entire game and not have much to worry about.

This means they can blitz all day long and cause trouble for Miami. The Dolphins will have some success with the run but when they get behind and have to throw, they’ll be in big trouble.

The only danger in this one would have been the Chargers overlooking the Dolphins, but after the Patriots game, that’s not going to happen.

The Play: Chargers (-6) for 2 units, to get back 3.85 units

PROP BONUS PLAY: Bengals total points OVER 13.5

The Bengals have only scored more than two touchdowns once. That was in Carson Palmer’s last game against the Giants at the Meadowlands. He was gone last week, and the other two games were at Baltimore and against Tennessee. Those are the two best defenses in the league.

Dallas has given up the required amount in the last three weeks. Only the lowly Browns couldn’t do this against the Cowboys.

With Chad Ocho Cinco, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and the impending return of Chris Henry, someone should be open when Palmer isn’t getting sacked. Even if they just have a touchdown going into the fourth, they will be throwing because they will be down big and get a garbage touchdown to get the points.

And if all else fails, Tony Romo will make the key mistake to put the Bengals in position to get the touchdown. He always makes one egregious error per game.

The Play: Bengals OVER 13.5 for .8 units to get back 1.55 units

Other lines and why I’m not playing them

Colts (-3) @ Texans

The Colts are due for a comeback but they seem to struggle against Houston for some reason, and the Texans looked like a football team last week.

Titans (-3) @ Ravens

Neither team will be moving the ball much in this one. The Titans should win but might meet their maker here.

Chiefs @ Panthers (-10)

You never know which Panthers team will show up.

Redskins @ Eagles (-6)

The game of the week, but with the health of Westbrook up in the air, it’s tough to take the Eagles. The Redskins are still ailing on the defensive line, and it’s uncertain how they will handle the Eagles blitzing packages. The Giants gave them fits with their pressure defense.

Barring a major injury the rest of the way, the Redskins will win the NFC East if they win this game. And for those who listen to 1420 sports in St. Augustine, you’ll realize “that kid” who picked them to win the division wasn’t so crazy after all.

Bears (-3.5) @ Lions

I don’t like taking road favorites unless I’m 100 percent sure they will cover. That’s the only reason to avoid the Bears.

Seahawks @ Giants (-7.5)

The Giants are without Plaxico and their offense drops significantly without him. The Seahawks are going to struggle offensively. A toss-up.

Bucs @ Broncos (-3)

The Bucs should pull off an upset here. The only major concern is that whenever you get Ronde Barber in single coverage this year, you burn him badly. Eddie Royal might go off again.

Patriots (-3) @ 49ers

The Patriots didn’t show up against the Dolphins. Their players went into the game thinking that they just had to show up. We’ll find out this week just how good they are going to be as the season moves on.

Bills @ Cardinals (-1)

You would think the Bills have an easy one, but the Cardinals are much better then they showed last week and could bounce back with a win.

Bengals @ Cowboys (-16.5)

The Cowboys should destroy Cincinnati. Then again, T.O. should keep his mouth shut.

Steelers @ Jaguars (-4)

The Jags could easily be 0-4 right now. The Steelers might not be able to field enough players. In a normal week, the Steelers are better. But after their slugfest Monday Night, they may fall in Jacksonville.

Vikings @ Saints (-3.5)

The Saints should be able to throw all night against the Vikings secondary. The problem is that All Day Adrian Peterson should be able to run all night against the Saints. The Vikings know they are in a must-win spot. This will be another interesting Monday Night game.

That does it for this week. The Chargers better cover.

*Because of the uncertainty of Aaron Rodgers, the Falcons @ Packers game line is currently off the board. I would say the Falcons cover if Rodgers is out and the Packers cover if Rodgers makes it through the game.

College Football Week Three: What We Learned

David Cohen — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 02:34:40 -0400

Week three is over and done with, so what's the new developments that we learned after the games? Consider these:

To hell with Michigan:

Michigan looked like they didn’t know what rain is. They fumbled the ball seven times—that is pathetic. They made the Fighting Irish look like a good football team.

A week ago, San Diego State Head Coach, Chuck Long, was asked if Notre Dame or Cal Poly was tougher...he had to think about it!

Michigan disgraced their conference and themselves. But Charlie Weis had karma reach around and snap his knee at the end.

Tom Brady went to Michigan and now he and Coach Weis have the exact same injury. Coincidence?

The Big Ten (with eleven teams) stinks:

Right now, Northwestern and Minnesota sit atop the league standings. Ohio State and Michigan...the bottom.

This week really showed the weakness of the conference. Ohio State got drummed like everyone thought they would against a team made for football played in this century.

Purdue was given the game against Oregon a couple of times and ended up losing to the third and fourth string quarterbacks in overtime, Illinois barely survived Louisiana Lafayette, and then there was Michigan.

Minnesota also had a competitive game against Montana State. Wisconsin, on paper, is better than Fresno State but had to tough out a three point win.

It seems that only Penn State is interested in actually making positive statements on the field in the Big Ten.

Chink in Georgia’s Armor:

The Bulldogs have a weakness, and Steve Spurrier exposed it. The Bulldogs can’t stop speedy tight ends running go routes. They refuse to adjust defensively to this type of weapon. Isolate their linebackers on a receiving target, and you’re bound for a completion or holding penalty.

If Georgia refuses to adjust to things happening in-game, they won’t beat Florida. This game is also telling of perhaps another slugfest when they play Auburn.

No one to challenge the Trojans:

It’s clear that the Pac-10 is a league of USC, and then the rest of the field. There is no team in the conference that should be able to hang with them for four quarters. All the “contenders” found themselves in trouble yesterday.

California was expected to roll through Maryland, but got beaten and basically trailed throughout. Coach Tedford always has a loss like this every year, good thing he got it out of the way before expectations were too high.

Arizona State lost at home to UNLV. The game went to OT and the Sun Devils had a tying field goal attempt blocked to lose. They were supposed to be the best competition for USC, but they are too inconsistent to be trusted, as yesterday showed.

A lot of people liked Arizona as a sleeper team, but they couldn’t beat New Mexico.

UCLA performed a miracle against Tennessee, they were then exercised by the Mormons 59-0, and Bruins QB Kevin Craft only threw one pick.

Oregon barely survived, and may have to use freshman quarterbacks to get by with the injury bug biting them again. They are the only other team in the conference without a loss.

Once again it seems if USC does its job, they will play in Miami.

What happened to Rutgers?

After a great year, the Scarlet Knights lost some players. But you would expect the program to build from its success. Not so fast. Rutgers got beat down again at home, this time by ACC bottom dweller North Carolina. They have been outscored at home 68-19. What a difference a year makes.

Poor Temple:

Last week, they lost a field goal kicking contest in OT against Connecticut after the Huskies robbed them last year in the final seconds on a bogus call by the refs and yesterday, they outplayed Buffalo, but lose via Hail Mary in the final seconds.

Losing is a tough habit to break, but Temple is being punished.

Monster shootout in Big 12 looming:

All signs point to an Oklahoma vs. Missouri showdown at the end of the season, which could possibly determine a championship game participant if the Trojans stumble and Florida and Georgia don’t get it done.

Both teams have the offense—Missouri is the top scoring team in the country, averaging 57.7 points a game and Oklahoma is averaging 54.7 a game. Both teams have dynamic offenses with great quarterbacks leading the way.

The variable is their defenses—Oklahoma looks like they can actually play some, that’s why I would give them the edge if the two teams played tomorrow.

It’s time for Terrelle Pryor:

I don’t know what happened to Todd Boeckman, but he isn’t good right now. He was overwhelmed on the big stage again last night. Meanwhile, Pryor came into the game in stints and actually looked composed and knew what he wanted to do. He was the lone bright spot for the Buckeyes—he showed he can handle the big stage.

Now it’s time to loosen the chains and let him go. At the very least, he should be getting half the snaps. He is the team's leading rusher this season, and him paired with a healthy Beanie Wells could make the Buckeyes hard to contain on offense.

Right now their receivers aren’t good enough to beat elite teams on their own. After three games, no Ohio State receiver has a hundred yards on the year.

If defenses have to stack the box to try and contain Pryor and Wells, it could open up the entire offense.

If Tressel stays the course like he usually does, he’s bound to get embarrassed again. And he might not have to wait long. The Buckeyes play another band of Trojans next week, and Troy has come close to a mega upset every year for the last few years. They are searching for their “we’ve arrived” win. A demoralized Ohio State team might finally give it to them.

That’s week three. Hopefully the upsets keep on coming.

College Football Week One: Top Ten Things We Learned

David Cohen — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 04:37:26 -0400

In the “preseason” of college football there was some interesting action for the second straight year. Here are the top ten things we’ve learned about the season so far:

Tommy Bowden, you’re fired

Once again, Clemson came into a game with big expectations. And once again, they fell flat on their face. The media appointed “best running back duo” help lead the Tigers to zero yards rushing. A second-tier SEC team beat the Tigers down from start to finish.

Now their national championship expectations are shot. This means Clemson will be fine until they play Wake Forest. Then expectations will rise and Bowden will coach his last meaningful game.

The ACC, now that’s a tough conference

The top two teams in the conference were both toppled. Virginia Tech redshirted their best player and have suffered the consequences. A talented East Carolina team went Beamer ball on Coach Beamer and took it to the house to upset the Hokies.

Meanwhile, NC State got crushed by South Carolina 34-0 and Virginia got owned by USC 52-7. North Carolina squeaked by McNeese State by eight. The conference has to hang its hat on Maryland beating Delaware by seven. And Delaware lost its quarterback to the NFL.

They better pray Miami and FSU have bounce back seasons. I like Wake Forest, but it doesn’t look good for the ACC if a basketball school wins a conference title for the second time in three years.

The Gators have a running game

The Gators rushed the ball very well against Hawaii. They rushed for 255 yards and four TDs, including ones by Brandon James, Chris Rainey, and Jeffrey Demps. When Harvin comes back, he might also see some carries.

Clearly the Gators are changing their philosophy, and a consistent running game will help their young defense tremendously. All that team speed gives the Gators perhaps the toughest offense to stop in the country.

Florida Atlantic should never call someone out

Their head coach said that Texas is a “well polished team, but soft.” They proceeded to get trounced 52-10. If you’re going to call a team out, make sure your own team has actually done something before you go running at the mouth.

Pat White the passer

Under Rich Rodriguez, Pat White never threw for more than a couple TDs. He threw five in the season opener. Sure it was against a FCS team, but again we have a change of philosophy, and for the better.

West Virginia fell short the last couple of years because when it came to the tough game, they didn’t throw well enough because they didn’t have enough reps. The Big East is another weak conference and the Mountaineers wont have too much competition if they play at their peak.

Be careful what you wish for

There were three programs that noticeably called for the heads of their former head coaches: Michigan, Arkansas, and Texas A&M. The Wolverines lost to Utah 25-23 and were basically handicapped by Vegas as a pick 'em in the Big House. They are clearly in a transitional period.

Bobby Petrino almost had to write another letter as his Razorbacks barely beat Western Illinois 28-24 at the end of the game. They gave up 157 rushing yards to Western Illinois’s top back. Texas A&M called for Dennis Franchione to get axed and now his replacement loses to Arkansas State. Sometimes you get what you ask for.

USC is officially back as a title contender

They destroyed Virginia and Mark Sanchez clearly looks like the next big time QB at USC. They have a calvary of running backs and their defense might be the best in the nation by the end of the season.

They are in a conference that will give them a couple of challenges, but as long as they don’t slip up against a team they have no business losing to (UCLA two years ago, Stanford last year) they should be playing in Miami at the end of the year. Especially with the pending injury to Beanie Wells.

Texas Tech is still Texas Tech

There was talk about them playing some defense this season. Throw that out the window.

They are still the gun slinging team everyone expects, and both sides of that style of play were on display against Eastern Washington. The Red Raiders took a 20-0 lead after the first quarter but the defense wore down toward the middle of the game and Eastern Washington was down just eleven by the end of the third quarter. If the Red Raiders truly want to be Big 12 contenders, they will have to give their defense a break once in a while and wait for longer than three minutes before scoring and putting them back on the field.

They scored 49 points. The longest they held the ball on a scoring drive was 3:26.

Missouri better hope Maclin is OK

They shredded the Illini defense but gave up 451 yards and five TDs to Juice Williams, who is not a great pocket passer. Everyone knows how potent their offense is, but if they want to be seriously considered to win their conference, they need to play better defense. Otherwise Sam Bradford will have a field day.

And Oklahoma can play defense.

College football needs to remember who they are

The anti-celebration rule is absurd. The players who you are making your money off of are mostly 19-23 year olds. Let the kids have some fun. That’s what makes college different from the pros. The exuberance of the players and the fans makes college football stand out.

Take that away and you’re just left with the BCS. Just cut the “C” already.

It looks like another thrilling season of college football is under way.

New York Knicks Trade Vince Carter Poster For Patrick Ewing

David Cohen — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 02:45:52 -0400

The New York Knicks traded, arguably, the worst draft pick in their history to Houston for the son of Patrick Ewing.

The younger version looks just like his dad but lacks the skills of his father. He has great athleticism, but lacks the intangibles to become a major contributor in the NBA. He will probably get cut after training camp.

But for just a couple weeks, it will be nice to see a No. 33 Ewing jersey running up and down the floor at the Garden.

You would think the son of a legend could fetch a price. In this case, the Rockets landed a goldfish in a sea of bass. They get Ewing’s contract off the books and will obviously have nothing to worry about in terms of Fredric Weis coming across the ocean to mess up their plan. Tracy McGrady has enough posters of his own.

For the Knicks front office, it is a switch of philosophy. They actually made a move for the fans. They traded away a mistake instead of bringing one in.

Weis was the middle man in a six-year run of draft failure for the Knicks which ultimately was a huge factor in their collapse since the turn of the century.

The Knicks drafted 12 players during that time. The only one to make an impact scored nine points and four rebounds a game in his best season.

1996

The Knicks had three first round picks at No. 18, 19, and 21. A great draft here could have created the next great core of players in New York. Instead, they took John Wallace, Walter McCarty, and Dontae’ Jones.

Cleveland had the 20th pick in that draft. They took Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Vancouver had the 22nd pick. They took Roy Rodgers. The Lakers had the 24th pick. They took a small PG out of Arkansas-Little Rock. Enter Derek Fisher.

Notes

Milwaukee traded the rights to Stephon Marbury to the Timberwolves for Ray Allen. Also, Charlotte traded the draft rights to Kobe Bryant to the Lakers for Vlade Divac. If that trade never happens, the Hornets might still be in Charlotte today.

1997

The Knicks had the 25th pick in that draft. They took John Thomas. He is best known for being called while working in an office to help the Nets in the playoffs. Utah picked two spots later. They grabbed Jacque Vaughn.

Notes

This marked the beginning of the Tim Duncan dynasty.

1998

The Knicks had a couple of second round choices this time. They took DeMarco Johnson and Sean Marks. At least Marks is still in the league. He is the only one of the 12 picks that is still on a roster. The pick after Johnson: Rafer Alston. Two picks later: Cuttino Mobley.

Notes

Dallas makes separate draft day deals for the rights to Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash. Pat Garrity was the best of the bunch they gave up.

The second round was unusually deep. Ruben Patterson and Rashard Lewis were both second round picks in this draft.

1999

The Knicks had the 15th pick and drafted a French center named Fredric Weis. Weis chose not to even try the NBA, and his decision was reaffirmed in the 2000 Olympics when Vince Carter cemented his legacy.

The Bulls had the 16th pick. They took Ron Artest. Denver took James Posey with the 18th pick.

The Knicks took J.R. Koch in the second round. No one taken around that point really panned out in the league. For once, the Knicks get a pass.

Notes

With the second to last pick in the draft, the Spurs took some guy out of Argentina.

Charles Barkley: “Gi-NOOO-Bi-li”

2000

The Knicks didn’t get it all wrong here. They came in with the 22nd pick in the draft and took Donnell Harvey. However, they traded him and former bust John Wallace to the Mavericks for a second round pick and Erick Strickland. It could’ve been worse.

The Knicks used their own second round pick at number 39 on Lavor Postell. Milwaukee had the 43rd pick. They took Michael Redd. Dallas traded the final pick in this draft in the Strickland deal. Pete Mickeal never worked out for the Knicks or anybody else.

Notes

The top 15 in this draft might go down as one of the weakest classes in history. Kenyon Martin, Mike Miller, and Jamal Crawford are the only players in that group to have all-star caliber seasons.

Stromile Swift, Darius Miles, Marcus Fizer, DerMarr Johnson, Chris Mihm, and Joel Przybilla were all top ten picks.

2001

The Knicks were left with two more second rounders and made nothing of them. They took Michael Wright with the 39th pick. This proved to be a bit of misfortune for the Knicks.

Mehmet Okur was taken before him and Earl Watson right after him.

With the 43rd pick, the Knicks took Eric Chenowith. He is the ultimate proof that if you are seven feet tall you will crack an NBA roster no matter how pathetic you are.

Notes

There were two pretty significant trades in this draft. The Bulls traded Elton Brand to the Clippers for Tyson Chandler and Brian Skinner. The Bulls banked on their new pick, Eddy Curry. Not a good decision.

The Nets made away with robbery when they acquired the rights to the Rockets three first round selections for their 7th pick, Eddie Griffin. Richard Jefferson and Jason Collins were two of those picks.

MJ shot a brick with Kwame Brown. Meanwhile, the Spurs were at the bottom the first round and found another international sensation in Tony Parker.

The Knicks went through a terrible stretch of evaluating talent. That has been their Achilles heel for some time. And now comes word of the arrival of the worst international pick since Weis in Darko Milicic.

The Knicks are discussing a Zach Randolph for Darko deal. The move would save the Knicks $16.1 million over the next two years and more than twice that amount overall.

Milicic is the worst $7 million dollar investment you can find but his contract comes off the books before LeBron hits the open market.

If the Knicks don’t land LeBron, they are just trading away their only proven low-post scorer (when he wants to be) for a big man rotation of Eddy Curry, Milicic, and Jerome James.

On the bright side, the move would signal Wilson Chandler’s arrival into the starting lineup. He is our Shawn Marion. Now if we could just find our Steve Nash.

Will Brett Favre Make the New York Jets a Playoff Contender?

David Cohen — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 04:06:39 -0400

The Jets have made a ton of additions this offseason:

LG Alan Faneca

RT Damien Woody

NT Kris Jenkins

OLB Calvin Pace

FB Tony Richardson

TE Bubba Franks

RB Jesse Chatman

TE Dustin Keller

OLB/DE Vernon Gholston

Despite all of these moves, the Jets had one glaring hole: QB.

Kellen Clemens struggled last year but showed some signs of becoming a serviceable player during the fourth quarters of games. Chad Pennington just couldn’t stretch the field, which allowed defenses to clog the running lanes and shutdown the running game.

This forced the Jets into many three-and-outs during the year, which put a suspect defense in bad situations. It is this dynamic that makes the Favre trade significant.

Especially with "Hanging Chad" under center, defenses would crowd the box and would, at times, have the entire defense within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage before the snap.

Jets running backs had some weak players on the offensive line and had nowhere to go. The Jets' passing game didn’t go all that well either, since everything was congested. Defenses showed no respect for the Jets' aerial attack. Brett Favre changes that completely.

With Brett Favre, everyone knows the bomb can hit at any moment. This will naturally force the defense to spread out and will create rushing lanes. The Jets don’t have burners at receiver, but if you forget about Laveranues Coles or Jerricho Cotchery, they can hurt you badly.

Dustin Keller is a tight end playing as a slot receiver and could cause a lot of problems for opposing defenses with someone like Favre taking the snaps. RB Leon Washington is a great asset in the passing game and will thrive this year going into the flat.

And when the Jets are in the red zone, Favre will have a familiar target in Bubba Franks to look for. The Jets' passing game is almost dynamic, something that was unimaginable a month ago.

Favre will allow RB Thomas Jones to return back to his form with the Bears. Jones had just one measly rushing touchdown last year, and the Jets were second to last in the league in rushing touchdowns. They had six.

Despite the suspect blocking, Jones did rush for over 1,100 yards, with defenses aimed at stopping him.

Having the safeties backing away from the line of scrimmage, along with Faneca and Woody joining up with a more experienced C Nick Mangold and LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson, should allow Jones, Washington, and anyone else in the backfield to succeed.

Having Tony Richardson at fullback only helps matters, and he could become Favre’s next William Henderson.

The Favre acquisition also signals the necessary and overdue end of the Chad Pennington era. His abilities and head coach Eric Mangini’s offensive scheme never worked together. The Jets reportedly plan to release him.

Pennington can still succeed in this league, but in a solely West Coast system. The Vikings should reach out and get him. They already took former Jets QB Brooks Bollinger. Pennington could walk in and be the best passer on the team, and the Vikings just need an above-average quarterback play to go deep into the playoffs.

Clemens is currently slated to be Favre’s backup, but his struggles so far in training camp could open the door for rookie QB Eric Ainge, if he somehow evolves from his days in Tennessee. That remains doubtful. It’s also highly doubtful that Favre will miss a start, so things should be fine.

Before getting Favre, the Jets were a 7-9 team this year. But with a balanced offense that will be able to eat up clock and give the defense a rest, the Jets have greatly improved their chances of a wild-card slot. And as the Steelers and Giants have proven, you can win the Super Bowl on the road.

Here’s the Jets' schedule: @ Miami, vs. New England, @ San Diego, vs. Arizona, Bye, vs. Cincinnati, @ Oakland, vs. Kansas City, @ Buffalo, vs. St. Louis, @ New England, @ Tennessee, vs. Denver, @ San Francisco, vs. Buffalo, @ Seattle, vs. Miami.

The schedule isn’t strong, but the Jets definitely have a few coin-flip games. They should start the year 2-2 going into the bye. Then they hit the weak part of the schedule, as they don’t face a .500 team from last year in their next five games.

Out of those teams, the Bills are the toughest team, and because of how the schedules work out, the Bills-Jets series will go a long way toward deciding the final wild-card spot in the AFC.

The Jets will need to go 4-1 in this stretch if they expect to make the playoffs.

Then they hit a snag. The Titans are always a tough team, the Broncos aren’t a pushover, and the 49ers could be one of the more surprising teams in the league this year.

If they can go 2-1 in this stretch, it would put them at 8-5 with three favorable games left in the year. They get the Bills again, in what will amount to an elimination game. Then they go to Seattle, which is usually a tough place to play.

However, if the division struggles again, as expected, the Seahawks may have clinched the division, which could help the Jets. The Jets then get the gimmie against the Dolphins at the end of the year. If the Jets can win out, they will make the playoffs. If they go 2-1, they could make the playoffs.

10 wins is definitely a possibility for the Jets. They profited from a weak schedule two years ago and would have beaten the Steelers if they could make a field goal. Now the Jets are equipped to make another run at the playoffs. But there are still a couple of things that could get in the way.

The defense could still turn into a liability, especially in pass coverage. The Jets, as a unit, are weak at corner. When you have to sign Ahmad Carroll, you have a problem. You could tell the Jets had problems at QB last year because Marques Tuiasosopo was on the roster.

Darrelle Revis is starting to become a great corner, but he is on an island by himself. The Jets have a big hole at FS and John Lynch is available. He won’t cost much and pairing him with Kerry Rhodes will provide a heavy-hitting duo. They would intimidate receivers from going over the middle will, which would help the Jets' cover problems, to an extent.

The Jets' linebackers could be a dangerous unit because Pace and Gholston give the Jets great flexibility in how they create blitz packages. Since the Jets have secondary issues, they will be blitzing early and often to compensate for that. Since the defensive line won’t get much pressure on the quarterback, the linebackers will have to step up.

Offensively, there are still two holes. The Jets need a reliable RG, and Brandon Moore hasn’t proven he can be the guy so far in his career. If Ferguson continues his improvement in training camp and in the preseason, and can be trusted to handle his blocker alone, then Mangold can help Moore out and shore up the line.

The other missing piece is a speed receiver. The Jets never replaced the speed threat Santana Moss provided and are yet to do so. The Jets could have done this by trading Coles during the offseason, when he was in a contract dispute.

Cotchery is poised to surpass Coles as the Jets' No. 1 receiver in the near future. It’s too bad the Panthers aren’t interested in trading Steve Smith because he is the type of deep threat the Jets are lacking.

Dustin Keller is the best vertical threat on the team right now. If someone emerges as a speed guy, it would complete the offensive transformation.

The Jets have changed the fabric of their team by getting Brett Favre. How far he takes them depends on how quickly all the new pieces can gel together. If the Jets get off to a slow start, which can certainly happen, it will be a struggle. But if Favre can beat the Patriots in Week Two, he will quickly become a hero. And it would only add to the budding Belichick-Mangini rivalry.

It is also paramount for the Jets to have Favre to play at least through the end of next season, so the Jets can find and start developing his successor. The fact that Clemens wasn’t beating out Pennington means he isn’t the answer. The Jets acknowledged that in making this move.

If everything can mesh together quickly, the Jets can fly high in 2008. Whether they do or not, they still made the right decision. The Jets' QB situation was painful to watch for most of the last two years. Those days are over.

Houston Rockets to Aquire Ron Artest

David Cohen — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:40:32 -0400

The Houston Rockets have agreed to a deal that would net them Ron Artest, according to a report in the Houston Chronicle Tuesday.

In exchange, the Sacramento Kings get a huge boost in their rebuilding process. Bobby Jackson returns to the Kings, along with Houston's 2009 first-round pick and a player who cannot be named until the deal is completed Aug. 14, rumored to be 2008 first-rounder Donte Greene. As far as deals for Artest go, the Kings got exactly what they were looking for.

Greene can provide a valuable shooter and scorer that the Kings desperately need. With the inconsistent play of Quincy Douby, pairing Greene and Kevin Martin is a smart move. The duo could become one of the most dynamic in the conference in a few years.

In getting a second first-round pick for next year's draft, the Kings could end up with two picks in the lottery. That could put them on their way to becoming the next Portland Trailblazers.

The Rockets get a talented player in Artest, but gave up a lot for him. The Rockets weren't a deep team before the trade. Artest gives them another defensive stopper to go with Shane Battier. Artest may start at power forward, or push Battier to a sixth-man role.

It remains to be seen how effective Artest will play for coach Rick Adelman. Based on last season, the Rockets needed more offense. They had enough defense.

If Artest can give them both and Yao and McGrady stay healthy, the deal could make the Rockets a contender. If one of the two spend more time on the disabled list, the Rockets will miss the young talent they gave up in the deal for a long time.

Because of the collective bargaining agreement, rookies who sign their contract can't be traded within the first 30 days of signing, so that's why this deal can't be made official until Aug. 14, if Donte Greene remains in the deal.

New York Knicks Make Small Trade With Big Implications

David Cohen — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:41:10 -0400

The Knicks have agreed to trade SF Renaldo Balkman to the Denver Nuggets for SF Bobby Jones, PG Taurean Green, and a 2010 second round pick.

The deal is a great move for the Nuggets, as Balkman directly replaces Eduardo Najera. Green was going to get cut by the Nuggets after a poor Summer League showing, and Bobby Jones would have been at the end of the bench.

As far as the incoming talent is concerned, the best thing the Knicks received was the future pick. The Knicks already have PGs in Chris Duhon, Mardy Collins, Nate Robinson, and Anthony Roberson. Jones is also in a bad spot when you consider forwards Quentin Richardson, Wilson Chandler, David Lee, and Danilo Gallinari.

The most important thing in this deal has to do with guaranteed contracts. The Knicks had 16 guaranteed contracts when they signed Roberson, but the departure of Balkman fixes that. Neither Green nor Jones has a guaranteed contract, so if (and probably when) the Knicks waive them, the team will be at the cut line.

If this is indeed the plan, then it means the Knicks are not planning to buyout G Stephon Marbury or C Jerome James. They needed one spot to trim off the roster, and buying out either of them would have satisfied that goal.

Marbury is part of a convoluted picture at the point for the Knicks. If head coach Mike D’Antoni and General Manager Donnie Walsh plan to keep him, he won’t start at point guard.

The Knicks have a hole at SG if you look at the depth chart. Marbury could start at SG and Jamal Crawford could slide to the SF position. This would allow Quentin Richardson to backup the two of them at either position.

This would also take some pressure off Danilo Gallinari to contribute big minutes immediately. Since his durability has already become an issue, that isn’t a bad idea.

The Knicks could still move PF Zach Randolph, G/F Jared Jeffries, and/or F David Lee. But in the case of Jeffries and Randolph it would be difficult for the Knicks to work out a deal of value if they couldn’t bring back an equal number of players. Getting down to the 15 line gives the Knicks some more flexibility in trade talks.

Donnie Walsh and the Knicks are up to something. It might be a major deal.

It might also mean that Marbury will lace up his Starbury’s at the Garden again after all.

WNBA: Shock-Sparks Suspensions Shocking

David Cohen — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:22:14 -0400

As everyone knows, the Los Angeles Sparks and Detroit Shock got into a little brouhaha at the end of a highly contested basketball game the other night.

The two most widely recognized players in the league, Lisa Leslie and Candace Parker, were both major players in the altercation. Parker was the spark plug after a foul with about ten seconds left, and threw a player to the floor after being knocked down. Leslie was shoved by Shock Assistant Coach Rick Mahorn.

WNBA President (or first lady) Donna Orender issued a statement about the event:

“The events Tuesday, however, were inexcusable and in no way indicative of what the league stands for. We hold our players to a very high standard and these suspensions should serve notice that the behavior exhibited at the end of Tuesday’s game will not be tolerated.”

In other words, she’s going to bring down the hammer.

Shock forward Pienette Pierson will be suspended four games for her actions that “initiated and escalated the altercation." She is the one who basically boxed out Parker until she was knocked down.

Rick Mahorn will be suspended two games for “escalating the altercation.”

These two were understandable suspensions. Pierson started the chain of reaction, and Mahorn pushing down a woman—even though it was not his intent to do so—doesn’t look good for the league and had to be dealt with in some manner.

Three more Shock players: Kara Braxton, Tasha Humphrey, and Elaine Powell, will be suspended one game for “leaving the area of the bench during an on-court altercation.”

Sparks forward Sheri Sam will be suspended one game for the same reason.

Sparks guards Shannon Bobbitt and Murriel Page will be suspended two games for “leaving the area of the bench and becoming physically involved in an on-court altercation.”

The league is still going strong. That just leaves the three biggest figures in the altercation: Leslie, Parker, and DeLisha Milton-Jones, who punched Mahorn twice in the back. Now it’s time for Orender to finish the deal.

Apparently the steel hammer turned into an inflatable one. And it was deflated.

All three players will be suspended just one game for “throwing a punch.”

I’m confused on several levels.

According to the WNBA, taking a couple steps off away from the bench = throwing a punch. Is my calculator broken!?

Mrs. President, you cannot say you are going to “serve notice” against this type of behavior by handing out one game suspensions for the very act you are trying to reprimand.

Pierson got four games. Parker initially reacted when fouled late in the game to start the tension. She retaliated by throwing Pierson to the ground, which led to the melee. She should get the same amount of games.

Milton-Jones also got off easy. Mahorn’s actions were unintentional. Milton-Jones’s actions were. She deliberately punched a coach. Since the WNBA is calling all of the actions despicable, Milton-Jones deserves at least the same suspension as Mahorn.

I think she should get at least four games. Mahorn is an authority figure and Milton-Jones helped to escalate matters by hitting him. What kind of message does it send to basically sanction player-coach combat?

Just imagine if it were the NBA’s Palace Brawl and someone on the Pistons had punched Pacers coach Rick Carlisle. He would have been suspended longer than Artest. Just ask Latrell Sprewell.

Also, I don’t remember Lisa Leslie throwing anything during the altercation. If you are going to suspend someone, get it right.

The WNBA talked a big game, but when it came time to act the punishment was not fair. The big name players were treated differently from everyone else.

And as Bill Walton would say, “This is a disgrace!”

I’m just amazed the dirtiest player in his day, Bill Laimbeer, kept his hands clean. Something must be wrong with him. Why else would he be going around signing 50 year old ESPN broadcasters?

But seriously, the WNBA finally got a chance to set an example in the spotlight. They shot a brick. Instead, Orender and her league showed why the WNBA is a footnote in American sports.

Atlanta Hawks' Front Office Stumbling in the New Millennium

David Cohen — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:07:40 -0400

Until this season, the Atlanta Hawks had the longest playoff drought of any team in the NBA, missing the playoffs for eight straight years.

They haven’t finished a season above .500 since the 98-99 year, and that was in a 50-game shortened season.

And while taking the NBA champs to seven games looks good on paper, the fact is that the Hawks were never in contention to win a game in Boston, and a makeshift Cavs team that had less than three months to gel did the same thing. In two of the three wins the Hawks were down by double digits heading into the fourth quarter. There was a little luck involved.

But for the first time in nearly a decade, there is optimism in A-town. The Hawks are young and improving, and Joe Johnson has reached star status.

Unfortunately for fans, the Hawks are repeating the same pattern of behavior that has put them in this rut of mediocrity—the front office is screwing up again

The Hawks' front office, which is currently counting its pennies and hoarding them away, has been very reluctant to commit big money to fan favorite Josh Smith and athletic swingman Josh Childress.

Childress was so upset about his neglect and the front office that he opted today to play for a team in a country he’s never lived in, leaving the NBA rather than play for the Hawks. His deal with Olympiacos is reportedly the largest in Euroleague history and was closer to what he could’ve received in free agency next year

Hawks GM Rick Sund said he just thought Childress was trying to create leverage with the Hawks, and didn’t take the Greek threat seriously. The Hawks were busy counting pennies—and just lost a key player from their playoff team as a result.

This just adds to a laundry list of things the Hawks front office has botched in the last ten years.

The management of the Atlanta Hawks has been bad since the turn of the century. Almost all of their major moves have backfired. It started right after the lockout season, when the Hawks broke up one of the most overlooked backcourt tandems in the last 20 years—Mookie Blaylock and Steve Smith

Blaylock is still the Hawks all-time leader in three-pointers and steals. He is also one of just three players to lead the league in steals in back-to-back years. The Hawks traded him to the Warriors for the 10th pick in the ’99 draft, which turned into Jason Terry. That one wasn’t a bad move. It was the exception to the rule.

Steve Smith was one of the best sharpshooters of his time. His departure killed the fan base. He was traded with Ed Gray to Portland for J.R. Rider and Jim Jackson. This would start a trend of bringing in questionable character players based on raw talent. Jackson was traded in the following offseason, along with two other players, for Brevin Knight.

Knight would then only play in Atlanta for one year. In 2001, he would be part of one of the worst deals in franchise history. The Hawks traded the third pick in the draft, along with Knight and Lorenzen Wright, to the Grizzlies for Shareef Abdur-Rahim and the 27th pick.

The third pick that year? Pau Gasol.

Abdur-Rahim was a 20-10 guy in Atlanta for the better part of three years, but if the Hawks had kept Knight and Gasol, they would have found their next big-time center. This is especially important, considering the other major deal they pulled off in this offseason.

The Hawks traded Dikembe Mutombo to the 76ers for an aging Toni Kukoc, Theo Ratliff, Nazr Mohammad, and Pepe Sanchez. Kukoc gave the Hawks 20 points a game the next year, then fell off considerably over the rest of his career. Mohammad had a very unfulfilling and injury-prone stint with Atlanta.

Ratliff was supposed to be a poor man’s Mutombo, but played just three games for Atlanta in his first year with the Hawks.

Meanwhile, Mutombo won the Defensive Player of the Year Award and helped the 76ers reach the NBA Finals. The Hawks now had a void in the backcourt and frontcourt.

In 2002 the Hawks made a “blockbuster” deal with the Milwaukee Bucks and acquired Glenn Robinson for Kukoc, Leon Smith, and a future first-round pick—which turned into T.J. Ford.

Robinson averaged 21 points and seven rebounds, but had the worst shooting year of his career. He was also a headache for the coaching staff. He would only play with the Hawks for one season.

If the Hawks kept the pick and took Ford, they wouldn’t have needed to bring in Mike Bibby last year, and would have found a permanent resident at the position. If this had happened, Ford may have avoided all of his neck problems.

In 2003, the aforementioned Robinson was dealt in a four-way deal to the 76ers in exchange for Terrell Brandon, Randy Holcomb, and a future first-round pick. The Hawks wasted little time in getting rid of another bad decision. By trading the pick later on, the Hawks got nothing for a player they gave up a whole lot to bring in just a year before.

In 2004 the Hawks unloaded Abdur-Rahim, along with Theo Ratliff and Dan Dickau, on Portland for Rasheed Wallace and Wesley Person. Person became an inconsequential member of the bench for two years, and played just 67 games for the Hawks. Rasheed Wallace was literally one and done, traded almost immediately to the Pistons in a three-team deal.

This would be one of those rare deals to work out for the Hawks, as they received Bob Sura, Chris Mills, Zelijko Rebraca, and a first-round pick. Mills was cut about a month later and Rebraca was useless. Sura was gone by the end of the season but averaged 15 points and eight assists. In reality the Hawks should’ve kept him.

The deal worked out because the Hawks used that pick to draft Josh Smith. Smith has paid more than enough dividends—and the Hawks better lock him up long term in the coming weeks.

The Hawks made one other deal that year. They acquired Michael Doleac, Joel Pryzbilla, and a 2005 second-round pick for Nazr Mohammad in another three team deal. Doleac never played for the Hawks. At least Pryzbilla played in 12 games. The draft pick never did anything in the league.

Current Olympiacos guard Josh Childress was drafted sixth in the draft later in the year.

After the draft, the Hawks worked out a sign and trade, picking up Al Harrington from the Pacers for Stephen Jackson. Harrington started for the Hawks for the better part of two seasons and played extremely well. His versatility turned him into one of the most promising big men in the league. The Pacers regretted letting him go and would do something about that later on.

The Hawks then traded Jason Terry, who they didn’t want to pay down the road. The Hawks traded Terry to the Mavericks along with Hawks stronghold Alan Henderson and a future first-round pick for Tony Delk and Antoine Walker.

Walker led the Hawks in scoring the following year with 20 a game, but the Hawks won just 13 games. Meanwhile, Terry resurrected his career in Dallas. Ironically enough, the Mavericks, in making the Terry deal, shelved trade talks with the Nets for Jason Kidd.

At the end of the busy year, the Hawks traded away Jon Barry for Tyronn Lue.

In 2005, the Hawks made more financially-motivated moves. They traded Antoine to the Celtics for Michael Stewart, Tom Gugliotta, Gary Payton, and a future first-round pick. Payton was then purposely cut so he could go back to Boston.

Tom played 74 games in two years with the Hawks. Walker and Pierce were a dynamic duo for Boston for some time.

The Hawks would then make a major move toward their current lineup. They traded Boris Diaw and two future first-round picks for Joe Johnson. Johnson has been a star—but if the Hawks had kept Terry they could’ve used those two picks and be a year or two ahead of their current schedule.

In 2006, the Hawks were finished with Al Harrington. They traded him back to the Pacers along with the non-telepathic John Edwards for a future first-round pick.

The pick in the deal was Acie Law. Law could certainly turn into the point of the future in Atlanta, but as of right now he is struggling and underutilized. His current career path with Atlanta is reminiscent of someone they traded the year before—Boris Diaw.

If the Hawks showed a little patience and kept Harrington, they would’ve enjoyed one of the best starting fives in the Eastern Conference for the last couple of years. The starting lineup would have been Johnson, Childress, Smith, Harrington, and Horford.

And with Childress being a full-time starter, there would be a much better chance he would have been content with playing in Atlanta. The Hawks would’ve played above-.500 ball in 2008. They may have ended their playoff series drought as well.

On top of that, it would’ve prevented the Hawks from resorting to signing Slava Medvedenko at the end of 2006.

2007 was a quiet year for the Hawks. Not a good year. Just quiet.

Last year was the most recent “mega deal” in Atlanta. They picked up declining and injury-riddled Mike Bibby from the Kings for Tyronn Lue, Anthony Johnson, Shelden Williams, Lorenzen Wright, and a future second-round pick.

The Hawks didn’t give up a lot to get Bibby but they are hurting themselves on the court. So far the Hawks have been better off with Johnson running the point and Bibby on the bench.

With Childress now leaving, that might no longer be the case. If Bibby can get and stay healthy, the Hawks should ultimately win this deal. And if things don’t work out, recent history says Bibby will be gone by the end of next season.

The Hawks' front office is muddled with communication problems as the Hawks co-owners clearly have a conflict of interest. This is creating a situation where a young promising team that will cost money to keep together might break apart because of the power struggle in the skybox.

In a weak Eastern Conference where the champs are a team of mostly 30-plus veterans, the future is ripe for the taking. The Hawks have some pieces of a future title contender already in place. Only pinching pennies can prevent that from coming to fruition.

And it looks like it will.

In-Depth Q&A with Joe Abunassar, Founder of Top NBA Offseason Camp

David Cohen — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 03:32:53 -0400

Joe Abunassar is the founder of Impact Basketball. He has worked with and helped to develop players like Kevin Garnett, Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince, Baron Davis, Dwight Howard, Ron Artest, Chris Bosh, Paul Pierce, Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, and many others.

This year he was behind the physical transformation of Kevin Love before the draft, and is already working with other rookies like Joe Alexander, J.J. Hickson, and Marreese Speights.

Abunassar started as a manager under Coach Bobby Knight for four years at Indiana in the early 90s. In 1993 he became an assistant coach at Wyoming.

In 1997, he was headed for another coaching opportunity when he was approached by an agent to work with three players: KG, Billups, and Joe Smith. Abunassar always had an interest in health and training and had strength and conditioning certification while he was coaching. He took that role with the agent’s players. His success spread among agents and players.

In 2001 he started the IMG Basketball Academy in Florida. Eventually that led to Joe founding Impact Basketball. He is now one of the most sought after specialists in American basketball. The Impact Basketball Camp has become the biggest offseason NBA player camp available to players looking to improve their game.

I got a chance to ask him some questions about the camp, his experiences with players in the training world, and about the NBA in general.

Q: What do you feel you and Impact Basketball can offer to a player that separates you guys from the field?

Joe: What we do really is integrate everything. We’re able to take a basketball approach and look at a basketball player and then put in the nutritional component, the weight lifting, the explosion, but all that stuff is focused on improvement on the court.

Whereas a lot of strength people know how to get people stronger or faster, to integrate that into basketball is very difficult. So what we manage to do is to really approach guys from a basketball perspective but also lock down the other parts of it so they’re able to improve on the court.

A lot of guys have good skill coaches, good strength coaches, and good nutritionists out there, but to integrate it into understanding how these guys move and play, we've studied their movements on the court and we've designed programs to improve specific on-court movements.

We've managed to get improvement on the court, which is really what has made us successful.

Q: What is a day in the Impact Camp like?

Joe: The guys come in around 9 a.m. They go an hour and a half on the court in small groups (guards, smalls, and bigs). Then they go about an hour and a half in the weight room with performance issues, whether it is explosion or balance or weight lifting that day.

They take a break for lunch and then come back every day at 1:30 p.m. and play for about an hour and a half until 3 p.m. or 3:30 p.m. or a little longer, depending on how many guys are there and how long they want to play. After that we do specialty work—a lot of shooting—maybe a few guys stick around and just do ball handling.

So they’re really in there from about 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. or 5 p.m. Then they get treatment. Our trainers and our therapists are there to give them treatment and everything afterward.

A lot of guys come in for most of the day. Some of the veterans make it like a 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. day where they come in and get all their work done and work right through lunch, and then they play and then they're done when they're done playing.

Q: How much of the game is physical and how much is mental?

Joe: You know, Coach Knight used to say that mental to physical is 4:1. I think you have to have the physical in place; you can't disregard the physical, but it does become more of a mental game. Seeing so many young guys come in the NBA talented and just not make it, it really boils down to their mental approach.

The physical is critical, especially in the NBA. These bodies are going to break down over 82 games. As many as Garnett and Billups have played over the last five years, if you disregard the physical, you're going to have problems, but in order take care of the physical, you have to have your mental approach in place.

Q: I know for me on the court I'm a player who tends to over-analyze everything and now I'm starting to understand the negative affects of this. Clyde Frazier has a saying during Knicks games that sometimes a player is thinking, not reacting. How much of that do you see in players and how big of a problem is it?

Joe: It's a problem, especially because I train them, so when I see them in the gym they're always analyzing their jump shot and their release. If you ask any of those guys—Garnett, Billups, or Baron Davis—any of those guys what they’re thinking when they have their best games, they probably couldn't tell you.

You've got to have a feel. They talk about "the zone" and all those types of things. I think it’s a big deal, especially guys with their shots—they're always analyzing their release. Once they miss one shot you're thinking about what you have to do on the next, and you know as a player, once that comes into play you're in trouble.

Q: You started out working with Billups, KG, and Joe Smith for an agent. What is the interaction between agents and players that you've seen that the general public doesn't get to see?

Joe: Most of the time you hear about the negotiations with the teams and the endorsements. I think good agents help build their players' career, communicating with them daily and weekly during the course of the season, and giving them advice.

A rookie comes in and they have a hard time; they don't get along with the coach. There's a lot of counseling, a lot of guidance from a good agent that people don't really get.

They think it's all about getting that $100 million or $60 million, but they have to reach that point; that's why guys that sign big contracts, a lot of times it's such a great accomplishment because the agents had to go through so much with that player to get them there.

Counseling through rough times as a rookie or a second year player, deciding whether to be traded or to not be traded, etc...there are things like that that you have to deal with. A good agent guides a player's career and sets him up. It's not just going into the general manager’s office and beating him up for money. There's a lot of relationship there that I think most people don't get.

Q: You work mostly with pros, college players, and high school players. Which group gives you the most gratification?

Joe: I think I love them all. I mean, the draft is great because you see a guy like Kevin Love lose 25 pounds and move, where some people were questioning his upside. Now he's the fifth pick in the draft and he did really well in Las Vegas (averaged 27 minutes, 18 points, 13.5 rebounds, 48 percent shooting). I think people are seeing what a good player he is.

Then there's me sitting here watching KG win a championship this year. It's taken him 10 years of work. It's all really great.

But we get a lot of gratification from high school kids, you know a kid that couldn’t have played then gets with us and we get him better, and all of a sudden he's in a great situation. Or a kid whose dream is to play D-1; he worked hard and got himself a scholarship. Stuff like that is all great.

I think it's equal at every level. I think there are different good things about every level.

Q: You kind of touched on it but how does it feel to see someone like KG or Chauncey, who you've worked with since your beginning, win an NBA championship?

Joe: It's great. It's not about the money. That part's over and done with. It's all about winning, and especially when Chauncey won the MVP of the Finals, it was an amazing thing. He said to me, "You never thought this would happen," and I said, "No, I didn't."

We go back so many years—working out in back doors, back gyms in Denver, bringing him up through the whole system, and seeing him get traded—that's great.

Also, for a guy like Garnett, who has such a passion for the game and works so hard, it's great to see that. Really, really great.

Q: Which players have you worked with in your career are you the most proud of?

Joe: I think Billups for sure—having been with him ever since Colorado, there's no question.

Al Harrington is a great guy too; he's my son's godfather, coming in out of high school, growing as a person, becoming such a solid player.

Tyronn Lue is another guy. You know, not a major guy in the league in terms of role, but he's a guy that's come up and that I've been very, very close to.

And also Tayshaun Prince. He and I had dinner when the Olympic team was here and I asked him, "Could you imagine when you were a kid that you'd be on the Olympic team getting ready to represent the country in the Olympics?"

So those are guys, you know, they're not just clients. They're friends, so it's great to see them grow and become the kind of players they become.

Q: You have several high profile rookies at the camp. I know you've been a big part of Kevin Love's development as you've mentioned. As a Gator fan I've seen a huge improvement in both the physique and work ethic of Marreese Speights in the Summer League. Which rookies whom you've worked with stand out the most to you and why?

Joe: This year Speights was great. I told everyone from the beginning that in terms of upside and potential he's probably the best guy I've had. He's a really, really good player and worked hard for us and you saw he looked a lot better. He got a little tired toward the end of the Summer League but he's been going strong for three and a half months now.

I think J.J. Hickson showed what he can do in the first game; he really came along.

I think Joe Alexander was terrific.

[Kosta] Koufos was great too. You'll see from him, with his body cleaned up coming from Ohio State, that he had kind of that football player look with the big shoulders, and we chiseled him up and worked on his game and got him quicker.

This year's rookie class is going to be great. There were a lot of guys that made a lot of improvement. With Speights and Hickson and Love and Alexander, it's just a lot of fun to get those guys and improve them. We had a lot of time with each of them.

Q: What player and team habits do you see that drives you nuts?

Joe: The worst thing is the eating. I hate that. It drives me crazy what they do. They just don't eat right. A lot of them. For the most part it's a struggle for them. That drives me nuts.

Also, guys that wait all summer and start working in August. Guys who come to us and say, "OK I have to be in shape in three, four weeks." And what ends up happening is, you work so hard to get them in shape that their bodies are tired by the time they get to training camp. They all drive me nuts everyday (laughing). I just wish guys could keep themselves in shape all year.

Abunassar also says there are many good and even great players in the league that could really improve themselves through nutrition, not for health reasons but for energy. For instance, a player's team might have a week with a back-to-back Tuesday and Wednesday and then Friday-Saturday, and if the player would just eat right and make the right choices, he would perform much better on the tail end of those games.

For the 2008 Impact Basketball Camp, KG, Billups, Prince, Harrington, and Jermaine O'Neal will be participating, as well as several high-profile rookies like Kevin Love. For more information about Impact Basketball, go to impactbball.com.

Wilson Chandler's New York Knicks Scorch the Suns in Summer League Action

David Cohen — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:59:48 -0400

The Knicks started off slowly in the first quarter again. Then Wilson Chandler took over and led the Knicks to an 85-80 victory.

The second-year man out of DePaul had the full arsenal on display and really showed his improved ball-handling skills. He attacked the glass, made put backs, hit several mid-range jumpers, and showed off a couple of spin fade-away shots.

He uses the glass more effectively than most young players. His shot selection was much better in this game, and it showed. He scored 31 points off 11 of 19 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds.

He only attempted one three-pointer and made it; he has shown a bad habit of settling from out there at times so far in his career.

His best play of the game was a block of a seven-footer who was posting him up, then running down the floor and finishing with a jam off a nice lob pass from Mardy Collins. The dunk had shades of LeBron bringing down the house.

Collins himself had a steady game at the point. He had 13 points, six rebounds, and seven assists. He played some good defense and looked much more relaxed. He hit a difficult floater inside the final minute to help the Knicks hold on to the victory.

Newly acquired Anthony Roberson struggled again. He scored 13 points but kept up his summer-league shooting average at 38 percent. He had, by far, the worst shot selection of any Knick. He makes a lot of the smart shots that he takes, but he simply doesn’t have the ability to knock down difficult or forced shots.

The play of the game was made by someone who won’t make the Knicks' team. Former Western Kentucky player Delonte Holland made a great one-on-one block on Suns guard D.J. Strawberry as he pulled up for what would have been the game-tying three-pointer with 18 seconds left.

The only true disappointment for the Knicks was center Paul Miller. He played well enough in the last game to get the start, but was invisible in this game. He had no points and just a single rebound. His play was so non-existent that he was benched for most of the second half in favor of local New York product Zhang Song Tao.

Song Tao won’t make an NBA roster, but he has a lot of heart. Nate Robinson was cheering for him and he had his couple minutes of glory in the third quarter. He scored six points in a quick stretch, including one basket where he was at the top of the key, then dribbled to his right and spun back to his left, then took the ball to the hole.

The spin moved shocked everyone in attendance and got a nice reaction from the crowd.

The game itself was entertaining and the commentary from MSG network was insightful because of the guest announcers. Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni joined the telecast for most of the second quarter and had several interesting comments. He loves Wilson Chandler and compares him to Shawn Marion because he feels Chandler can guard any position besides center.

D’Antoni raves about his athleticism and says he could see time in the backcourt next year. He said Chandler should dominate summer-league games because of his talent on both ends of the floor, and Chandler didn’t disappoint.

He says Chris Duhon is a great defender who can also push the ball up the floor. He also says Duhon was a good shooter at Duke and doesn’t know why he struggled with his shot in Chicago. He will try to recover that part of his game.

D’Antoni wanted to see Nate Robinson in action but said, “I guess he’s taking the day off.”

His comments about Roberson were light-hearted:

"He didn't miss a shot for three straight practices; I think he went 20 for 20. Then we offered him a contract and he hasn't made a shot since. Hopefully that doesn't slow down his paperwork.”

In the third quarter, the guest announcer was the Knicks' assistant coach for player development, Greg Brittenham. He said that David Lee has incredible work ethic and has worked out with the Knicks trainers every day since he’s been in the league.

He feels Danilo Gallinari has the same drive and that he and the rest of the staff have needed to slow him down at times. He also said that it’s his understanding that Gallinari has only had three days off in the last year.

The Knicks' conditioning will be tested as they play their first game without rest on Saturday against the Bobcats. They will look to improve to 3-1 in their first back-to-back game of the year.

This Week in Sports: The Wackiest in Recent Memory

David Cohen — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:18:01 -0400

I’ve been watching sports for many years now, and every once in a while, you’ll hear something that makes you chuckle. Most weeks in sports are exciting, but as far as the giggles go, it's rather mild.

However, this week has been a firestorm full of madness.

Brett Favre

The never-ending mini-series on Fox News. Favre used to be a gunslinger on the field; now he’s dodging bullets On the Record. There were three parts to this interview. That’s absurd.

The whole interview should’ve been two questions: 1) Are you coming back? And 2) Will you play for the Packers?

That doesn’t take THREE days!

Coming up tomorrow on Greta: Favre goes fishing but they aren’t biting: Is it the Packers fault?

Fox News

As if the Favre trilogy isn’t enough, the show Fox and Friends is airing a three-part interview with David Beckham. Now they’re really digging deep into the American conscience. I thought Fox News was supposed to cover, well, NEWS! Were they replaced by Fox Sports? I didn’t get the memo. It’s not as if there’s anything important going on in America right now.

Matt Jones’s Daddy to His Defense

Jones was caught with the coke in his hand. He wasn’t doing a soda commercial. Jones has kept his mouth shut since the arrest, but his father has taken up the cause.

Poppa Jones: “We want to make it clear that Matt was not in possession of any drugs, but that there were drugs in the vehicle and were located in the closest proximity to Matt. He does not claim any responsibility for the drugs.”

“There were drugs...located in the closest proximity to Matt”. OH REALLY! They were right under his nose! Did he fumble the credit card?

The cops, and apparently Matt, saw things differently:

"Jones was spotted in the backseat of a Toyota 4Runner when an officer on foot patrol saw him with a “white, powdery substance and in his hand, a credit card that he was using to chop up and scrape the powder.”

When asked by the officer if the powder was cocaine, Jones said, “Yes.”

If Matt takes his father’s account of events, this will be his plea in court:

Prosecution: Mr. Jones, were the drugs in the vehicle in question purchased for or by you?

Mr. Jones: No. Judge: Then what were you doing?

Mr. Jones: “Trust me your honor, I was just trying to clean the stuff off my credit card and my hands were tied.”

Clemens Undone by TV

Kurt Radomski was doing some housecleaning when he lifted an old television and found an envelope. The envelope had receipts of HGH shipments en route to the Rocket. This story is as believable as the needles hoarded away in McNamee’s closet. At this point, Clemens should just come out and say it:

“I did not have inappropriate relations with those needles. Those allegations are false.”

Problem solved.

A-Rod Bails on All-Star Game To Host a Party

Guess he couldn’t wait to move on past Cynthia and the divorce, huh? Madonna was reportedly a no show, so I guess she’s more than just a material girl (I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist). Once again, A-Rod the airhead was offbase. Who in their right mind would go to an A-Rod function! That’s like inviting Michael Jackson on your family vacation to Disney World.

It turns out many people at A-Rod’s party waited for the game to end and then moon walked it over to Jeter’s bash. Not a hard decision. Mariah Carey or Madonna. It’s really a no-brainer.

Knicks vs. Suns in Summer League Basketball

This has nothing to do with D’Antoni. The real story is D.J. Strawberry. Darryl’s son is playing against a New York team wearing orange and blue. The irony is killing his father; he’s calling Matt Jones for some sniff to get by the sniffles.

Starbury Goes Tyson on His Head

The soon to be ex-Knick was in Vegas the other day and showed off his shiny new head. There’s a star tattoo on his head that just so happens to be the logo of his shoe company. It’s an interesting take on marketing.

It also just so happens that his company has filed for bankruptcy protection. I guess his company mirrors his on-court performance. In between fights with Isiah on team flights, I guess he overlooked financial success rule numero uno:

Never imitate Mike Tyson.

The NFC North

I think it’s great that one team in this division can say, “Brett’s not our quarterback," while another team in this division has to say, “Rex is our quarterback.”

Rick Reilly During the Home Run Derby

No one at ESPN caught it, but he had the comment of the night during Grady Sizemore’s first round. As one of Sizemore’s hits was going into the stands, Reilly wasn’t called on by the crew for a comment and didn’t realize his mic was live. He said the following:

“Look at those steroids go!”

Everyone acted like it didn’t happen. My jaw dropped. Then it started shaking. Then I rolled over in pain.

Packers Accuse Vikings of Tampering

The Packers have filed a grievance against the Vikings for tampering with their well-handled Brett Favre situation. They claim the Vikings' offensive coordinator, Darrell Bevell, and maybe even head coach Brad Childress, had “inappropriate dialogue” with Favre.

What does that mean? Darrell Bevell & Brad Childress: “So Brett, what are you wearing?”

Since retired people count now, the NFL has taken action. They have filed a grievance against former head coach Jim Mora for tampering with the playoffs.

Mora’s response: "ARE YOU KIDDIN’ ME!"

There are also a few grievances that have been filed under the table:

The Jets have filed a grievance against the wind for tampering with Chad Pennington.

Bill Belichick has filed a grievance against Eric Mangini for tampering with “the dark side”.

ESPN has filed a grievance against Fox News for stealing their Sunday Conversation and making it their Monday conversation, Tuesday conversation, Wednesday conversation...

Phil Mickelson’s “Game Plan”

With Tiger out of the way, Phil would have no competition in his diligent quest of winning another major. This was his quote before the tournament:

"I am working hard to get my game ready for this week, and I've practiced hard. I've developed a good game plan for this event, and I am excited to compete against whoever is in the field."

Apparently Phil’s plan was to get out of England as quickly as possible so he can check in on Tiger’s progress. Phil forgot that golf isn’t football. His game plan has too many plays: Rough, Deep Rough, Bunker, Three-Putt, Big Tree, Tiger Hail Mary. Tiger has just one play: Ball in Hole. Golf, at heart, really is a simple concept.

Rocco, Part Two

After the first round of the British Open, Rocco Mediate is leading again. And this time, there’s no Tiger to come after him. Or Phil. Or Ernie. Or Vijay. When Rocco was asked about being in the lead, this is what he said:

“I have no explanation for that whatsoever. No idea why that happened.”

This is Rocco’s modern life. It’s the only good show now running on the PGA Tour.

Chris Henry Wants Back in Cincinnati

Because of a favorable court decision, Chris Henry might play in the NFL next year. Any sane person would realize that once you have repeatedly violated a code of conduct with your employer, and they let you go, you can’t come back.

Not Chris Henry.

The guy who was once arrested for throwing D’s at Mckie D’s wants to come back to the orange and black, which is coincidentally the colors and letters many prison inmates wear:

"Going back to the Bengals is possible. I wouldn't mind it happening because I loved playing in Cincinnati. I got real close with all the guys out there, and I planned on being out there for a long time.”

Chris Henry is clueless. Somewhere I see Herm Edwards going, “Dat-dat-dat, hello? Dat-dat-dat, hello? Dat-dat-dat, dat-dat-dat.

If he was really planning to stay with the Bengals, he could’ve at least made sure the police didn’t have him on speed dial. And looking at the Bengals and the model behavior of their citizens, there’s no way Henry could possibly think he can come back.

If he’s reinstated, I’d put $10 on him going to Dallas. They're actively looking for another veteran receiver. They already brought in the Pacman and the Tank, so why wouldn’t they bring in another “model citizen”. Then we could have this great Vegas prop once training camp starts:

Which Dallas Cowboy will be arrested first?

Adam “Pacman” Jones: 4-1

Chris “Model Citizen” Henry: 2-1

Tank Johnson: 10-1

Tony "Romeo": 100-1

Terrell “Get Yo’ Popcorn” Owens: 35-1

Michael Irvin: 1-2

There won’t be another week like this for a long, long time.

Honorable Mention: Rampage Jackson in the looney bin, Chris Draper's daughter desecrating the Stanley Cup.

Knicks-Spurs, Summer League: New York Flat, Renaldo Balkman Hurt

David Cohen — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:23:03 -0400

After an impressive and entertaining showing in their summer-league opener, the Knicks seemed to just be going through the motions against the Spurs.

The team as a whole was lackadaisical and most of the players were in a “let me get mine” mentality.

It didn’t work too well, as the Spurs steady diet of midrange shooting and power inside was too much for the Knicks to handle. The Spurs won 82-67, outscoring the Knicks by 19 in the second half.

This game marked the notable absence of top pick Danilo Gallinari. After rebounding from a rocky start, the “Rooster” sat out the game with a sore back. A precautionary MRI revealed nothing serious. He is questionable for Friday’s game against the Suns

Late in the game, incumbent forward Renaldo Balkman sprained his left ankle after trying to block the shot of former Creighton starter Anthony Tolliver. Balkman landed on Tolliver’s foot, and was in excruciating pain for quite a while before being taken into the locker room. He came back near the end of the game on crutches, with the ankle taped up with ice applied toward the Achilles.

The fact that Balkman doesn’t really fit D’Antoni’s system makes this injury significant for his future in New York.

The Knicks now have 16 players under contract after signing Anthony Roberson to a two-year contract for around $800,000 a year. The signing was fairly premature considering the Knicks had four more games, including today, left to go. They could’ve waited and evaluated him further.

Roberson hasn’t proven he can play point guard. In both games when he has tried to run the show, he’s struggled to get his teammates involved and his shot selection has been poor—especially today.

Roberson led the Knicks today with 12 points—on four of 13 shooting. He is now shooting 38 percent for the tournament.

The Knicks need sharpshooters, and Roberson hasn’t proven he is one. It’s unrealistic to label Roberson a “combo guard” (as the Knicks have) because of his size. A 6’2” player in the modern NBA will get eaten alive by taller, bigger shooting guards.

The depth chart in New York also makes this puzzling. With Nate Robinson and Chris Duhon both being small guards, there isn’t much room for Roberson to make the contribution the Knicks are expecting of him. They expect Roberson to be another Jannero Pargo.

This marks the second questionable move in as many days by Donnie Walsh. The first was denying a second-round pick from the Clippers for Zach Randolph.

Walsh specifically stated in his opening press conference that the goal of the Knicks was to get under the cap by 2010. This was the best opportunity to do that, as they were essentially offered a $48 million refund on their investment in Randolph.

If the Knicks accepted the deal, their payroll for 2009 would have been $33 million less then this upcoming season after the departures of Marbury and Z-Bo. They would be one good move away from being under the cap next year

Walsh declined the Clipper deal because he wanted value in return. The Clippers basically bought Marcus Camby, and now have two pure centers in their starting lineup.

Camby would be a nice fit in D’Antoni’s system as the athletic enforcer in the middle who can run the floor. It would also be welcomed by the fans, as they get back a familiar face. Camby is owed $15 million before bonuses over the next two years, and his contract expires before 2010

Nate Robinson also played today in his first summer league game. He looked rusty at times and was trying to make a highlight a little too much. He was two of 10 for eight points but did chip in four assists and four rebounds

Wilson Chandler also came up short after a terrific opening-game performance. He had 10 points off four of 11 shooting, after exploding for 26 points in game one.

The lone bright spot for the Knicks might be the play of center Paul Miller. He had 10 points and nine rebounds after recording a DNP in game one. He was five of seven from the field and displayed a nice mid-range game.

Miller played for the Knicks summer league a year ago and has Brad Miller-type range. The Knicks currently don’t have a big man with consistent range from that distance. If Miller can build on his effort today and the Knicks create room on the roster by trade or by releasing Marbury and designated couch potato Jerome James, he might finally stick on an NBA roster

But Miller will have to show he can play some defense. He had seven fouls today and frequently looked slow laterally on the defensive end

Hopefully, Gallinari will be fit enough to play against the Suns. That game should be fast paced and free-flowing, and would be a good test of how Gallinari fits into the high octane offense D’Antoni is bringing to Madison Square Garden.

The young Knicks already face a little pressure after a poor showing. It’ll be interesting to see how players like Chandler and Robinson respond Friday afternoon.

New York Knicks Summer League: Danilo Gallinari Falters, Then Triumphs

David Cohen — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:34:37 -0400

With Jamal Crawford, Quentin Richardson, Donnie Walsh, Mike D’Antoni, and even Stephon Marbury in attendance, the Knicks debuted their new up-tempo offense in Las Vegas, and edged out a 97-94 victory over the Cavs in their first summer-league game.

Wilson Chandler looked like the player who flourished at the end of last season, and was consistently New York’s best player on the floor. He showcased every facet of his game, finishing with 26 points, eight rebounds, two steals, and two blocks.

Incumbent Mardy Collins had a nice game, scoring 17, with six rebounds and five assists. Former Gator and current NBA journeyman Anthony Roberson had 22 points off 19 shots. Roberson was signed to a deal shortly after the game.

But the Knicks fans and the front office were at the game to see one player and one player only—Danilo Gallinari

Gallinari got off to a bad start. Within the first three minutes, he had two fouls and two turnovers. He finished the half with no points, three fouls, and three turnovers.

He looked like a scrub who had no business on an NBA team. He seemed overpowered by the bottom of the NBA, and the likes of Robert “Tractor” Traylor were bouncing him around.

The next quarter started with a great block for Danilo—followed by more problems. With three minutes left in the quarter, he had four fouls, four turnovers, and no points. He looked like a train wreck.

Then suddenly—and finally—the potential shined

First, he helped recover a broken play and hit a nice jumper at the end of the shot clock on the wing. Then, after a missed three-pointer, he came back and had a nice follow-up dunk.

That got him going. Shortly thereafter, Danilo posted up and made a nice up-and-under move to get to the line, where he calmly knocked down two free throws. Gallinari finished the quarter with a sideline jumper just inside the three-point line with three seconds left.

Suddenly he had eight points and five rebounds. Not bad.

Gallinari then continued his hot streak at the start of the fourth. He knocked down a jumper on the Knicks' first possession of the quarter. Later on, he swished another.

Then, with just over five minutes left, Danilo showed his versatility. He took the ball up the court like a guard, pulled off an impressively deceptive dribble-drive move to the rack, and drew the foul.

The move was the only play of the game that drew “ahs” from the crowd—and Gallinari sank both free throws.

He finished with 14 points on five of 11 shooting, despite missing his first five shots. He also grabbed six boards

Overall, Gallinari's performance in the latter part of the game certainly had some indications of a great player. He has some good instincts, his jumper is silky smooth, and his makes don’t touch the rim.

He showed the range and ball-handling skills that could give opposing teams fits once the Knicks get the right players for D’Antoni’s system. He looks better than former top pick and fellow countryman Andrea Bargnani.

But he still has plenty of room for improvement. His defense wasn’t good and he needs to toughen up.

Gallinari and Chandler meshed well together, and are clearly the future of the Knicks frontcourt. Danilo showed flashes of brilliance in the second half after looking like the bust of the year in the first.

It should also be noted that it really seemed like Jamal Crawford and Quentin Richardson were genuinely pulling for him. Both of them were guest announcers at different points during the telecast and were clearly cheering him on.

That enthusiasm was something the Knicks were visibly lacking as a team last year.

Immediate success for this team is a definite reach. But as of now, the Knicks are undefeated in the post-Isiah era.

The important thing now is improvement—especially for the rookie. Which Gallinari will show up against San Antonio—the good, the bad, or the ugly? We’ll see on Wednesday

Matt Jones Busted: The Bigger Picture

David Cohen — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 04:58:31 -0400

Jacksonville Jaguars receiver (for another 24 hours) Matt Jones was booked on felony drug charges after police say he was preparing a sniff of coke with his credit card. He was busted in his old college town (ala Joakim Noah).

Jones did something typical of someone still in college. He made a bad line of credit. But the real question is…was it a Visa, MasterCard, or American Express? God forbid it was a Discover card; then Jones can say for sure “it pays to Discover.”

As for his future in the NFL, it doesn’t look good. Jones was a first round pick taken as a project. Scouts were raving his combine numbers and felt he could turn into an unstoppable tight end.

Unfortunately Jones never learned how to block, can’t get off the blocks well at the snap, and can’t catch the ball. Not a good combination for a receiver. Now a team would be inheriting a bad player at his position with a coke problem.

Let’s face it: You don’t want a coke fiend on your team selling the team playbook to Bill Belichick for $10. Unless someone is going to try and convert him back to quarterback, Jones may have seen his last action on Sundays in the NFL.

Ultimately Jones is part of a bigger picture that involves NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Jones will have to enter the NFL substance abuse program but should be suspended for his transgressions.

Goodell has set a standard with the punishments to Michael Vick, Adam “Pacman” Jones, and Tank Johnson. Adam Jones had several run-ins with the law but was never convicted. Johnson was suspended eight games after serving jail time for essentially having too many guns in his room. Matt Jones was caught red handed (and white nosed). A conviction or plea of some kind is probably in order.

Thus Goodell must suspend Jones for at least eight games. Illegal gun possession is a crime, but doesn’t affect a player’s performance on the football field. Snorting coke does. Coke possession is a more serious offense because the odds are much greater for Jones to negatively affect someone because of his actions. The odds are much less for Tank Johnson to fire off a round.

If Goodell doesn’t suspend Matt Jones or gives him a light sentence, then Goodell will face some serious criticism. People will be able to make the case that when a black player was involved the mallet came down hard but when white people are involved, like Belichick and now Jones, the punishment wasn’t so heavy. But that's probably a bit harsh.

However, you could say the NFL is trying to create a certain image. Johnson and the guns, as well as the manner that Vick and Pacman carried themselves, were considered “thug like” and in the case of Vick and Pacman personify the hip-hop/rap image major American sports leagues like the NFL and NBA are trying to expel from their organizations.

The NBA has its dress code and the NFL is trying to limit everything regarding the appearance of its players, both on and off the field. General Goodell has vowed to be consistent across the board and must now continue this trend in the case of Matt Jones. If he comes down with a feathery touch instead of an iron fist, Goodell is clearly setting some kind of double standard.

The end of the Matt Jones saga in Jacksonville is sad. He was a scouting creation who never had a chance. There was too much pressure on him and the disappointment mounting from that pressure may have gone a long way toward his arrest. It certainly was a contributing factor to his cocaine use.

He is another example of an NFL player who couldn’t manage his newfound financial success. Vick just filed for bankruptcy and owes creditors anywhere from $10 million to $50 million. Players are thrust out of college into the NFL with no transition system of substance in place to help them be smart with their money.

According to a Rutgers study a couple of years ago, an astounding 78% of NFL players are bankrupt, divorced, or unemployed within two years after their retirement. So many players end up without an occupation after football, which means they run out of money, which leads to friction in relationships.

A better support system early would help players while they are still young in the league prepare themselves financially so they can enjoy their earnings long after they retire. A better support system in the NFL could help a lot of players down the road while keeping them out of trouble.

It may have saved Matt Jones.

Rampage Jackson Robbed of His Title

David Cohen — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 18:39:57 -0400

At UFC 86 the main event was the ultimate 205 pound showdown between champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and decorated challenger Forest Griffin. The fight was full of intrigue and ended up full of suspense.

And then at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, the judges turned into crooked cops and stripped Rampage of his title.

The first round was a tough one to call. Griffin was clearly the better technical fighter, but Rampage hit the big hook that took Forest down. It was a toss up between precision and damage.

In my book I gave it to Griffin because he was the better fighter throughout the round. His defense after getting taken down was among the best I’ve ever seen.

The second round was the most clear-cut of the fight. Two kicks to the leg and Rampage became the wounded dog. Griffin got him on the ground and proceeded to physically dominate him while looking for the submission.

While trying to end it Forrest continued to smother Rampage and hit him in the head. Jackson looked wounded and finished. This is the round that made the judges give Forrest the title.

The third round, in my opinion, is why Griffin shouldn’t be champion. He had the chance to hurt the champ for good. He should’ve picked a moment to go for the leg and wrestle Rampage to the ground. Instead these five minutes were basically a light boxing match with Rampage landing the better shots.

The fourth round was the best round for Rampage in the fight. He got Griffin on the ground and was on top for the majority of the round. Griffin locked in a triangle at one point but Rampage lifted him up and if Griffin had held on to the triangle his head would’ve gone through the Octagon. Griffin’s defense was good but he didn’t hurt Rampage at all in the round.

In the final round it was anyone’s fight to take.

Griffin as the challenger has to beat the champ to be the champ. He didn’t do it. They fought an even round, and if you go by who was the better fighter in the round Rampage won the round.

Strategically, the last round was a Rampage round, and in a knotted fight any coin flip round should always go to the defending champion. Thus Rampage should’ve won the round.

That left this fight either as a Rampage victory or a draw if the second round was 10-8. The judges unanimously gave the belt away to Griffin.

If a champion in boxing or MMA is to lose their belt they must be beaten. There cannot be any doubt as to whether they lost. Anyone who didn’t see the fight should be able to look at the former champion on the street the next day and see evidence of a beat down.

If anyone sees Rampage tomorrow they wouldn’t know he was even in a fight unless he told you. That’s why he should still have the title. Griffin was the better technical fighter and came in with the better strategy. He executed his strategy better. But he didn’t beat Rampage. You can’t strip someone of his title when he stands relatively unharmed at the final bell.

Rampage hurt his knee and/or leg during the second round but was recovered by the end of the fight. Griffin had a cut over his eye. Neither fighter was bloodied badly. It was an exchange more than a fight.

This fight was obviously a draw. Neither man was really hurt in the fight. Last time I checked that’s the definition of a draw.

Except in Vegas. I guess that’s why what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Because those judges would be in prison for grand theft anywhere else.

The Sonics Are Gone...On Vacation?

David Cohen — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:08:10 -0400

The Sonics were just sold by the city of Seattle for $75 million. Seattle fans are devastated about the loss of their 41 yearlong basketball stronghold. Many NBA experts and reporters will tell you Seattle is a basketball town that loves their Sonics. And while attendance was among the worst in the NBA last year they were packing the house competitively in most years before that.

There was even an organization formed, called Save Our Sonics, that ultimately failed in its efforts to keep the team in Seattle. It’s been a great run but now Sonics fans will forever go sleepless in Seattle. Or will they? The Sonics are gone but could easily be on the way back.

If former Sonics owner Howard Schultz is truly committed to having an NBA team in Seattle and the Save Our Sonics organization can use its resources to find willing partners to resurrect the Sonics, it’s possible Seattle will have its team back more sooner than later.

Basically, if KeyArena is renovated to a sufficient level in the near future, the Sonics should return. But there is a structural problem outside of the building. Right now the NBA is in perfect balance.

There are 15 teams in each conference in three divisions. Putting another team in the West is going to give the Eastern Conference a competitive advantage as far as the playoffs are concerned by giving 15 teams a shot at eight spots versus 16 for 8 in the west.

Also there would be a division with six teams, which gives all the other divisions a competitive advantage. Now I’m sure Seattle fans could care less but the rest of the league might take umbrage with this. So what’s the solution? Schultz can put his money where his mouth is.

He is the chairman and CEO of Starbucks so he has money and good business sense. He will now have a community yearning for a basketball team. That means that with good marketing the returning Sonics in a newly renovated arena will draw great attendance. He sold the Sonics for $350 million and good businessmen reinvest their sales.

The money from the sale should be worth close to $400 million today. Now all he needs is a team to buy. His opportunity to purchase is right now. The Memphis Grizzlies are currently for sale. They have been around for just 13 years. They are a team whose entire history involves their search for a belonging.

They started in Vancouver but couldn’t develop a fan base. Now in Memphis they’re facing the same problem. The attendance in Memphis has been consistently well below the league average. Memphis is as much of a basketball town as Vancouver was. The Grizzlies have never enjoyed a strong following.

I’m not positive about this but the value of the Grizzlies is probably less then what Schultz sold the Sonics for. Schultz could buy the Grizzlies with the intent of moving them to Seattle and reviving the Sonics. Then this maligned franchise would have a devoted following and Seattle would have a team again. It’s a win-win situation.

That’s the simple but expensive solution. Even the logistics work out. If Memphis were to end up back in Seattle they would switch from the Southwest division to the Northwest division. They would switch places with Oklahoma City. This would geographically put Oklahoma City in the right division.

It would also give David Stern a convenient way out of the Seattle problem. There won’t be much of a clamoring from Memphis to replace a team they barely know exists. Seattle can’t say that. They’ve been invested in the NBA for over 4 decades. And it should stay that way.